from ocean to ocean, the union stretched, and the continental united states was changed from a goal to fact. but full security had only just been established in the great western country within our borders when americans were called on to do battle outside our shores. in the spanish american war, america's desire to help the cubans to their independence from spain flamed into action when the battleship maine was blown in the harbor. roosevelt's charge made their famous charge up the slopes of san juan hill. 30 soldier of this war, won the nation's highest tribute. the first to win army medals of honor on foreign soil, 81 navy and marine corps fighting men were also awarded the medal. this first conflict by american ground forces outside our nation's borders was brief, but it was a hint of things to come. america's growth, the prospering of the adventurous idealism on which it was founded, these were making the united states a world power. a position of world leadership unsought but unavoidable was even then being thrust upon the this time it was no isolated conflict. this time the chal

of the africans sold in the western hemisphere went to brazil. 4.5% to 5% ended up in the continental united states. jamaica almost doubled the numbers. upwards of 50% of the survivors of the passage were transported to the americas during the 18th century. 90% of the africans involved in the trade were from the west and central african coast. the demographics of the slave trade take on more sictignifica. for contrary to popular opinion, african people's constituted the majority of people who migrated from the old world to the new world during the formative stages of european colonial expansion in the americas. this suggested a cultural role for african peoples in the colonial involvement than we've even begun to imagine. several sources state, for instance that, between 1492 and 1776 or roughly the first 300 years of what we understand to be the colonial period of american history, 6.5 million people crossed the atlantic from africa and europe and settled in the americas north, central, south america and the caribbean only 1 million were european. the others were african. i know you all studied th

but if you want to cover the entire continental united states from poland, your interceptor speed has to be up around 5 1/2 kilometers a second. much faster -- at least a kilometer second faster. now, why are the russians concerned? this chart shows you the footprint, the defended area for russian icbms launched from all the known launch locations in russia. it is high for any of the sm-3 interceptors currently being talked about. so if i put that sm-3 block 2-b in poland, which has been the source of most of russia's concerns, you really can't protect the united states. here's maine. only the ss 27s and ss 19s, you might catch them going to maine but the rest of the united states and alaska and hawaii you cannot intercept those icbm's's. to threaten russia's icbms, the launch site has to be up above five kilometers a second, closer to six or something like that. so just to summarize, the kinds of observations i'd like to draw from this, engage on remote is essential. the battle management system to tie all those assets together is key to the system. if you don't have it, the system d

ship that is operating from an overseas location can provide the same presence from the continental united states. be ready. we harness the talent and force to be ready to fight and responsely use our resources. this is more than completing required maintenance and ensuring parts and supplies are available. being ready profici profici proficiet. number one, we are will remain ready to meet our challenges today. consi consistent with the guidance, we will focus our war fighting in the asia pacific and the middle east. we will sustain the nation's survival deterrent. we will build a relevant future force. our navy will evolve to the maritime force and our ship building and aircraft investments will form the foundation in the fleet. in developing our aircraft and ship procurements plans, we focused on three approaches. to sustain production of the platforms, including early bird class destroyers and submarines and super hornets. we move platforms to the fleet such as the literal combat ship and ford aircraft carrier. to improve the ability of the platforms through weapons and sensors and unmanned ve

intended to defend the continental united states, not against a full scale attack from russia. but against limited attacks from other adversaries. this is a policy that the u.s. has sustained. obama sustained the bush policy. he's chosen not to augment the capability. that also has been attacked by republican senators. so we have a system in place, again, just to demonstrate the willingness to defend the united states against limited attacks. and we have this growth of regional network systems that are intended to make it more difficult for them to attack regional targets. final point, conceptually, missile defense involves three layers of attack. sometimes called a layer defense. slightly artificially the trajectory of the attacking missile is divided into boost phase and terminal phase. and different elements of the defense are focused on each phase of the trajectory or the attacking missile. so there's boost phase intercept, which is tough. there's recourse intercept, and there's terminal intercept. and as these technologies mature and as the networks and the -- the sense of

typically lose about 600 to 700 soldiers a month that are rotating either in or out back to the continental united states. >> just about every month is about 600 go home and 600 coming. >> yes, sir. i have asked general in the army to look at how we can build readiness and best value, and see what we can do and i am very mindful of the cost and i don't want to create a requirement that is not operationally focused. >> good. on the relocation plan, what do you see as anticipated problems? do you see anymore anticipated delays and implementing the relocation plan and either for young sunk or the partnership? >> congressman, first off, the land partnership program was a u.s. initiative. that is on track. i am in fact looking at some of those capabilities to make sure that the positioning is right on the peninsula, ie fires brigade, for instance, that i am looking at right now. the second program, the relocation, it was a little behind. we have that back on track. we will have both of those programs completed by 2016. it is what the estimate is right now. i would be more than happy to provide you the cost br

of sober and pragmatic way if we did we would say this is something to deal with is not a continental united states how can how can you say that the united states is right now at a time of less danger and threat than it has been through most of its history or much of its history and certainly to recent history of what's what's to back it up . well i mean just look at the world around us i mean there are fewer conflicts then than ever before and certainly in recent memory there's no great power rival to the u.s. there's no extension of threat to the u.s. there's no goal power that even has the inkling to threaten the u.s. and the us global hegemony we also live in a world that has more democracies never before that is more prosperous than ever before people live longer they're better educated all of those attributes all of you know more democratic countries more economically liberalized countries tend to be a countries that are are less inclined to go to war with each other so we look around the world right now and in fact the threats the u.s. are minimal certainly not nowhere near as difficult as t

in a few short years it could also be a threat to the continental united states. >>jonathan: and breaking news from the associated press, diplomats say images show iran cleaning up secret nuclear work. it is not clear what they men by "cleaning up." are they stopping the work? are they trying to hide the secret nuclear work? more tonight on the fox report. >>shepard: we will bring in former intelligence officer for the office of the secretary of defense with us. and he also is a former director of strategy for the white house homeland security council and the c.e.o. of the security consulting firm. mike, journalists want a little more concrete stuff. what we have is a bunch of crap floating around in the air. this is no way to know if this is real, if it is election year politics but it is frightening to be caught up in the middle of delivering a message and you don't know the truth. >>guest: well, if you want to get to the truth, what are the foundational elements? why does iran presumably want nuclear weapons? because they want to establish greater colleague tha

whereas, obama with 5,000 nuclear weapons in the continental united states, super power, is in a moreble position and say if we see the iranians going for a bomb, that's when we'll act, but he did one or thing, i i could, in the interview, that i thought was interesting. he took containment off the table. he said we cannot afford to contain a nuclear iran from an american point of view because that could trigger a nuclear arms race in the middle east. four or five nuclear armed states that will bring down the nonproliferation regime, and from an american point of view we can't afford that. we're not going live with an iran with nuclear weapons. that is already a shift in u.s. policy in which he is making very clear that if they go for the united states, we use force, and that's a much tougher message than we've heard before. >> nick, if the ambassador is right here, should this be enough to satisfy israel? in other words, they do seem to be -- both nations are saying iraq -- i'm sorry, iran cannot get a nuclear weapon. cannot have that capacity. and that now we're down to a matter of

i think if we can figure out good ways to drill and find more energy in the continental united statesndeed and safely dead in an environmentally sound way, i think that makes perfect sense. the more energy independent that we are the better off we'll all be. >> host: viejo is in. >> will tennessee, republican caller. >> caller: good morning. i'm concerned about the way the county unemployment. every day you turn that tv on. some big company has laid everybody off or gone bust. but then the president talks about all the new jobs. the jobs coming out, minimum-wage. that means most of the minimum-wage bill a $7 a something. the gas prices. you don't have much left fd by guess. >> host: what are you seeing where you live in clarksville? was the economy like? >> caller: it's rough. people get laid off. what mainly happened, businesses closed. that left people on unemployment . >> host: let's get mark zendi take on this. it. >> guest: well, it is still very tough. and we talked about the unemployment rate. if you also consider all the people that are working and are not counted as unemploye

>> because you're outside the continental united states. >> inclusive, is it really worth it?ngs. >> any time you see the word inclusive followed by an asterisk, you run. cruise liners telling you, all you can drink packages for $49. you can make it worth it and it's not cost effective. don't buy the package. >> you don't drink, drink, drink the whole time? >> depends on how bad the cruise is. >> that is true. >> and then cell phones? >> yeah, this is a big one. a lot of people think when you use your cell phone, it's your regular cell phone but if it looks for a cell simpt nearest cell is on the ship, you're paying international roaming charges. if you can see the ship, even if you're on the ship looking at land, don't use your cell phone. wait until you get on port, get away from the ship and get a regular cell phone call. >> are you suggesting we do or do not go on cruise lines? >> i'm on them all the time. they're incredibly safe. >> for pleasure or work? >> i'm always working, charlie. always working. >> they have to do something with the cancellation. a friend of mine's

you're talking about hundreds, perhaps a thousand or more of hezbollah agents inside the continental united statesepared to attack us in the event of an armed conflict between iran and israel. >> well, that's certainly the risk here, megyn. we have to be careful about use of the term "agent." these are people who know how to get cars, know how to get cash, they can get access to weapons, they know how to move people kind of under the radar, if you will, which is why this becomes a really important domestic policing problem, it's a law enforcement challenge here on the home front figuring out what are the networks that hezbollah has. and michael braun, you know, is a smart guy, and i know him well. the notion it's in only 15 cities is ridiculous. his what's all over -- hezbollah's all over the place. the question is, could those same people act as agents in place to support operatives who come in? megyn: colonel, does this support or work against america getting involved in any israeli bombing of iran's nuclear facilities? we're talking about hezbollah having a major presence inside the united stat

not just nat gas but oil production that is taking place in the continental united states is shockingt's going to have an extraordinary impact and a story we should be watching closely. >> and it's strange as gas prices are rising but the effects will be felt down the road. >>> new standards for medicare reimbursement rates are already moving ahead. bertha coombs has a new look at. >> it does, indeed, the pay for performance model on many fronts, starting this year, patient satisfaction scores will account for 30% of the calculation for hospital reimbursement. at florida's largest hospital in orlando, with a big medicare population, they've turned for help to experts on happiness, the disney institute. >> weith disney's name on the nw florida pavilion they turned to the magic kingdom to get the design right. >> they took our desires to have our environment be about healing and about nature. >> hello! >> and to improve their patient experience. >> we're getting away from the concept that you had to wait in an e.r. for two hours. >> kids are seen within five minutes, and in an e.r. bed

currently sitting in the continental united states with a lower 48 if you will. we also use other aircraft, the f-16 and f-15. we if use as many as is required and it's not uncommon to see us use a variety to fulfill the mission. >> it doesn't have any restrictions right now to the estimate is sitting on the missions today. >> and there is no restriction. >> i'm not going to get into a detail of some of the operational capabilities in this form but i can tell you it is operating in an envelope that expands and goes beyond that of any other that we have today. >> i would like to follow up without getting into the classified information. can you help us understand what is different about the environment and the pilot is in an f-22 that essentially, particularly in the case of the oxygen generator increases the risk. what's different in terms of the pilots environment. >> let me cut if i could talk about that. as i can on active duty in 1970, ausley along with all pilots go through a physiological training course that is required every three years, and we try to und

typically lose about 600 to 700 soldiers a month that are rotating either in or out back to the continental united states. >> about every month it's about 600 go home and 600 come? >> yes, sir. so i have asked the general and the army to look at how we can build readiness at best value. and see what we can do and i'm very mindful of the cost and i don't want to create a requirement that is not operationally focused. >> on the relocation plan, what do you see as anticipated problems? do you see any more anticipated delays and implementing the relocation plan either for young serl or just the land partnership? >> congressman, first off the land partnership program was a u.s. initiative. that is on track. i am looking at some of those capabilities to make sure that the positioning is right on the peninsula. i'm looking at a brigade right now. the second program, theoning sun relocation, it was a little behind. we have that back on track. we'll have both of those programs completed bye 2016 is what the estimate is right now. i would be more than happy to provide you the cost breakout and i'd like to take tha

united states. >> american airlines and united, continental backed by the lobbying group sued the e.u. this week dropped the case saying they are instead pinning their hopes for a resolution on the obama administration. in washington, james rosen, fox news. >> chris: being on food stamps is absolutely a good thing in some places. we'll tell you where and why next on the grapevine. this congressman is proud of his own body. but who paid for it? people here sure are friendly but some have had a hard time understanding my accent. so to make sure people get every word of the geico savings message i've been practicing how to talk like a true chicagoan. switching to geico could save you hundreds of dollars on car insurance... da bears. haha... you people sure do talk funny. geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. and i thought "i can't do this, it's just too hard." then there was a moment. when i decided to find a way to keep going. go for olympic gold and go to college too. [ male announcer ] every day we help students earn their bachelor's or master

we lose about 600-700 soldiers a month that a rotating in or out, back to the continental united states. >> about every month 600 go home? >> yes, sir. i have asked them to look at how we can build readiness at the best value and see what we can do. i'm very mindful of the cost. i do not want to create a requirement that is not operational. >> on the relocation plan, what do you see as anticipated problems tax d.c. any more location plan? >> it was a u.s. initiative. that is on track. i am looking at some of those capabilities to make sure that the positioning is right, ie the firebird grade -- fire brigade. we will have both of those programs completed by 2016. that is what the estimate is right now. i will be more than happy to provide to the cost break out. i would like to take that for the record. >> anything in the setup that causes you concern about meeting that goal? >> the only thing not associated with the land partnership program, there is a requirement in the 13 budget for a battalion headquarters for a battalion that is going to be deployed from the state's to force postures

take for example the formation of the continental congress as a transitional government body of the united states during and after the american revolution. it led thepath towards an elect government and to a convention which drafted the american constitution in much the seam t government has represented the will also guideduring and after the upcoming election of the national assembly in june. the national assembly will oversee the drafting of a constitution which will serve as a bedrock for our dwd and ensure peaceful transitions between elected governments. it will define the rights and responsibilities of all libyans. george washington once said the constitution is the guide that i will never abandon. and libyans, too, embrace this idea as we move forward with our democratic transition. libyans also fought for human rights and as interim government, we must pave

take, for example, the formation of the continental congress as a transitioning government body of the united states. during and after the american revolution, it led the states both along the path towards an elected government and to a convention which drafted the american constitution in much the same way the national transitional government has represented the libyan movement during and after the uprising, and would also guide the upcoming election of the national assembly in june. the national assembly will oversee the drafting of the constitution, which will serve as a bedrock, as the bedrock for our democracy, and insurance peaceful transitions between elected governments. it will define the rights and responsibilities of all libyans. george washington once said, and i quote, the constitution is the guide that i will never abandon. and libyans too embrace this idea as we move forward with our democratic transition. libyans also fought for human rights, and as interim government, we must pave the way so that human rights are respected and guaranteed in the new libya. as i explained in the 19th

. >> well, june 14th is flag day in the united states, and that's because in 1777, the continental congresst in philadelphia, and that's when they accepted the first-ever american flag. >> the declaration ofan flag. independence and the constitution were also written in pennsylvania. despite these contributions to our federal system, pennsylvanians did not want any government to have unlimited powers over their state. so emblazoned across their state flag for all to see is the motto, "virtue, liberty, and independence." and here's another influence pennsylvania had on colonial america. when william penn drafted the state's first constitution, he included religious freedom for all. that provision became the model for one of our nation's most important rights. with flag facts, i'm scott. you don't disappear at midnight. and now, you've met your match. new revlon® colorstay™ 16 hour eyeshadow. 64 colors that will take you from night to day without smudging, creasing or fading away. >> one more. come on. hard one. >> sometimes, recovering from an illness or injury requires more than just medici

the last two years which included the continental shift, american express has picked up 200 basis points per year in market share for spending in the united states. now, i do agree, losing continental was not fun, but if you listen to jp morgan and you listen to american express, they did not see the amount of shift that they thought they would through that transaction. american express did implement things that offset it, for me, personally, things like if you book online with american express, you get an instant 20% rebate on points if you pay with points for travel. they instituted a $200 annual airline credit for the airline of your choice. so i can still benefit technically by flying continental, if i choose continental or united as my airline of choice every year and any incidentals ha s i have up $200 on the airline is refunded. don't get me wrong. i got myself a jp morgan continental card so i can benefit from lounge access and things like that. if you're asking me where market share gains are coming from, it's a stock you just mentioned which is bank of america. i haven't seen a compelling effort from bank of america in a long time. >>

do we have areas have areas of development as we do in the united states. 85% of our continental shelfs off limits to development. otherwise it is fiscal which are difficult to invest. for our part, we're welcomed around the world and are able to make investments throughout virtually every region of the world. we have a major investment we're planning in top of those we made in kazakhstan. we have good business opportunities. we need the right combination of access and fiscal terms and geology to make it work. >> so you're not feeling at a disadvantage to some of the international corporations that may have access to those hot spots outside of the united states? >> well, the national oil companies typically have support of their host government. we see that in russia, china, many locations. but we've been welcomed as a partner, for example, in china. we're doing more business than ever today in china because that government has welcomed us for the expertise we bring in developing onshore natural gas, for example. so we have to have a competitive offering in health governments. when we

continental airlines flight leaves from phoenix tonight. when it lands in cleveland, ohio, what a better state, the brand name will be history. continental is being folded into united airlines which merged with continental in 2010. >> thanks for that. coming up next on "street signs," it's been one awesome week for apple. first the $500 billion market cap. and then the call for apple at $1,000. and get ready, leading tick analyst munster says they're about to do for the tv what itunes did for music and the iphone did for mobile phones. why he says this is a big game changer. later on, move over zuckerberg. soccer mom haves a new friend. and it isn't facebook, folks. how they're fueling what could be the next big thing in social media. "why did i roll over my i.r.a. to scottrade?" "for starters, it didn't cost me anything." "and i got a one-hundred dollar cash bonus for rolling over by april 16th." "i like bonuses." "plus at scottrade, there are thousands of commission-free investments." "and if i need help, i can find it online, by phone or at one of over five-hundred scottrade locations." "it's why more investors with i.r.a.s are saying.." "i'm with scottrade." ♪

as american enterprise institute scholar kenneth green has noted, the outer continental shelf of the united states alone contains enough fuel, enough oil to fuel 85 million cars for 35 years. yet, more than 97% of that territory is not under lease as a result of obama administration policies. expanding access to federal offshore and onshore and offshore lands, eliminating permit delays in the issuance of leases can help reduce prices and strengthen our energy security while creating jobs and boosting revenue to the local, state and federal government. that would help us close our budget gap. unfortunately the obama administration's proposed offshore oil and natural gas leasing plan for 2012 to 2017 eliminates -- eliminates -- 50% of lease-sales provided for in the previous plan and imposes a moratorium on developing energy from 14 billion barrels of oil and 55 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the atlantic and pacific oceans. the moratorium on the natural resource-rich gulf of mexico and persistent delays in permits in shallow and deep water lease could result in a 19% decrease in production i

continental shelf production. many people who thought after the deepwater horizon there would not be any more deepwater production in the united states of america. i think we'll continue to lead the world in both in terms of technology as well as the production that we're doing there, the $300 million lease sale that occurred just in december in new orleans i think is telling that we're moving forward in that direction. so in terms of my credentials and the president's credentials and support for offshore drilling, i have absolute confidence that we've moved in the right direction and we're moving forward in the balanced direction making sure we have safety and that we're protecting the environment as well. >> mr. secretary, thank you. senator landrieu. >> mr. chairman thank you so much and mr. secretary, thank you for your focus and interest in the gulf coast, and your many visits down and your commitment to the restoration of our region, and the investments in our national parks and state parks and i know that you have a passion for conservation, and we appreciate that, but i want to add my voice to try to clarify that, in fact, th

state budget negotiations. >>mark: big problems over the weekend as the united and continental airlines' merger completed and mergedth one traveler who is very frustrated because she went to the kiosks thinking everything was worked out for self checking, the family not. >> every three customers in front of me, we all have to go to the to the carrier. >> it would have taken with only 20 minutes to check in, but united did not do anything to communicate expected delays. >>will: you said you were flustered? >> yes. does not seem very smart. >>darya: we have a hot spot we are tracking this morning. >>george: it is the bay bridge. take care of the incidents occurred close to one another, a stall on the incline that cleared after a few minutes the van, a disabled big rig just past year of one island. traffic has actually been light at the bay bridge this morning because we are already noticing some recovery in the westbound direction even though from the macarthur maze over 26 minute drive times are being recorded. there is a lot of states opening up the middle class of flats. a big backup in the long drive time but it

united states. on our outer continental shelf. we should utilize the energy that our neighbors to the north are willing to help us out with. through the keystone x.l. pipeline. because if the strategic petroleum reserve is indeed about supply, a political fix to a supply problem -- mr. duncan: a band-aid so to speak. mr. gardner: why isn't this administration willing to actually do the right thing, do what's necessary to keep our economy afloat, to keep it from running on fumes and make sure that we can produce that energy in our own backyard? increase our opportunities to produce domestic energy. mr. duncan: the gentleman from colorado has been a stalwart and a leader in energy, american energy independence, as a leader of the house energy action team. we call it heat, h.e.a.t. and let me just tell american, if you want to find out some of these detail, some of the facts that we've laid out for you, in black and white, you can go to the website for house energy action time, -- team, unthe house g.o.p. website and find this data o

take for example the formation of the continental congress as a transitional government by the united states during and after the american revolution. it led the states both along the path toward the elected government and it to a drafted thewithich american constitution in a much the same way the transitional government has represented the libyan government during and after the uprising and will represent the election in june. it will oversee drafting the constitution which will serve as the bad crop -- bedrock for our democracy and insure peaceful transitions between our elected governments. it will define the rights and responsibilities of all libyans. george washington once said, "the constitution is a guy that i will never abandon." libyans, too, embrace this idea as we move forward with our democratic transition. libyans also fought for human rights. as the interim government, we must pave the way some human rights are respected and guaranteed. as i explained in the 19th session of the human rights council in geneva less than one week ago, several concrete steps towards insuring that t

united states and u.s. government in particular can't do anything to affect those prices. if you look what president bush back in july 2009 when he lifted the moratorium in the east and west continentallf you saw prices come down 45%. what happens you have betting on future supply of oil. people make those bets based on what signals they are getting from the administration. when an administration signals it's not interested in increasing supply on something as simple as this, that does affect price. >> bret: speculators factor in and oil companies but whole supply and demand question. secretary chu saying yes, when you release the strategic petroleum reserve the prices did go down. then conceding that supply does matter. president had talked about demand and lowering demand. >> he mentioned in his white house press conference earlier this week the administration is looking it up. my guess they will do something. but the reason he is losing the argument, he is the incumbent. it is his problem. he made the argument when he was running for president and it's coming back at him. >> bret: that is it for the panel. a had head to head political match-up. [ male announcer ] drinking a smooth

blair is holding up the atlantic charter, that the united states and britain, the counterbalance to the continentals anyone out there, i was just wondering how would feels to not be part of the euro. host: it did come up today. guest: we discussed the differences and what would happen in the year rose zone. many people are still worried that this is not the end of it, and that greece will be under more pressure. a lot of people in britain would agree -- this was a very controversial decision at the time, a very political decision, he lost the election and it was thought that tony blair would take them into the euro. many people now looked back on this as a great relief that this happened. europe is still a very big trading partner. over't think that this is for great britain, the economic troubles that sprang from the the euro. >> one of the questions from a british reporter about the cutbacks to try to reduce the deficit in great britain, and the parallels between your country -- >> this is a fascinating. many people in great britain are interested in this. why can't we do what barack obama is doin

state prison. however, the present condition is that the prisoners are still intact. we will keep you updated on the tennessee conditions as well. >>darya: of the merger with united and continentalf phoenix. this merge was announced in 2010. >> self west and airtran and sel--south west is based and dallas. airtran is based in orlando. it is still in the works. >>mark: this drug driver crashed through the gate and sped down the tarmac. drunk driver and pennsylvania. this 24 year-old man shot down the entire airport during this chase. air traffic controllers were falling in the was eventually --he could even face federal charges in addition to dui. >>darya: a 17 year-old drivers' license has been revoked for life! this happened last year. in october. there were three injuries. his lawyer says that this penalty is too harsh. however, the teenager can go to the courts and petition for his license back. however, he is currently without a license. >>mark: >>george: >> now now here is stanley roberts who found some people behaving badly. >>stanley: hop out. here is a reminder of the past. this person was caught behind the wheel the portias never had a license for the last 39 years. she

united states is on decline. host: thank you for the call. caucuses in kansas and wyoming, also in u.s. territories outside the continental u.s. in kansas, with one and a percent sign reporting, rick santorum getting -- with 100% reporting, rick santorum getting 51%. newt gingrich third, ron paul fourth. 44% for mitt romney. that translates to 577 votes. a very small turnout in wyoming. rick santorum getting 360 votes, or 27%. of course, what counts, our delegates. right now, mitt romney has 454 delegates. compared to 217 for rick santorum. newt gingrich has 107. ron paul has 47. yesterday, in springfield missouri, rick santorum saying that with the economy improving, foreign policy may be the dominant issue. he suggested that a nuclear- armed iran may emerge and is an import issue in the 2012 election. he said that foreign policy experience making the most qualified for the presidency. rick santorum argued the economy may be taking a backseat to foreign policy. again, that from inside "the national journal." bridget is joining us. good morning. is america on decline? caller: no. is is not. what is necessary is for the nation

united states. it's up only because governors on state land and on private land, but the area the president controls today, he has placed 87% of the u.s. outer he continental shelf on hold. if we want to talk about aif policy of developing our ownsour resources, clearly the c ministraration's policy has failed because they have locked up resources. they restricted our ability to produce oil and natural gas onns the nation's land a.. >> host: is a paragraph. help me understand it. the interior departmentokesmafor dementman said oil production on federal land has increased 13% since 2006, and natural gas oducuction has risen 6% in the sameti period. >> guest: what's important here, to remember when you lookt at theo president's activity, ie takes roughly three years from the point of securing a lease on deralal lands to the point of production. uctihe first year or so of the administrationon we were livingr leases and production that was leang online as a result of the previous siadministration. but if you look year over year, just yesterday the energy information agency that is part of the current administrationpat came out and made absolutely clear, oil pr

continental resources and larry nichols, chairman and former ceo of devon energy. give us an idea, harold, president romney with would one on day one to increase oil prok pr -- production in the united statesget it to market. these bottle necks of cushing and other places certainly doesn't help or in the bakken. we need to move the oil to market just quickly and as efficiently as we can. it winds up costing 25 cents or so to the consumer if we can't get the oil to market. that's some of the answers. >> so the key here you're saying is to permit the keystone pipeline project and that will resolve the bottle neck issues and that will bring prices down? >> well, the delay, add that's what we've had, we've had an extensive delay that continues. it does drive prices up at the pump, 25 cents a gallon or so just delaying the project. we need the cushing to houston segment. that's been talked about a couple years and been in the works for a couple years. it's time that got done. and certainly everybody support it is and we're glad to have the president here in oklahoma. we welcome the president every time somebody comes by. we're treating it as a campaign stop here. >> larry nichols, is the permit

underway in the united states, we have, we had a 55% increase in the snum per of rigs operating offshore for oil and gas as well as significant number operating in the outer continental shelf and gulf of mexico where the gulf of mexico is back to work again and oil and gas production is taking place there. on federal land and water we have moved forward in the last three years with a 13% increase in oil and gas production just from the federal land themselves. gas production in 2011 was one of the best years we've had in the past decade. and acreage being allowed to be developed by industry now includes about 72 million acres both on the land and in the sea where they currently are not developing. that is 72 million acres that have been leased to oil and gas companies where they currently have not developing. we moved forward to continue the robust, all of the above energy strategy which the president directed us to do so by con sinning to lease in the outer continental shelf as onshore n 2010 we leased 34 million acres we offered to lease 34 million acres of area in the outer continental shelf. oil and gas companies only leased 2.4 million acres of those offered acr

united states. my amendment offered along with senator murkowski of alaska, number 1965, would do that. what it would do is replace president obama's current five-year plan for outer continental shelf leasing with basically the plan that existed previously, which is double president obama's plan. so president obama's plan, which he put in place after coming into office, is about half of the previous plan. it backs us up, it turns us around, moving us in the wrong direction. amendment 1965 would turn us back, move us in the right direction and adopt pretty much that previous plan to expand our access to our own u.s. energy resources offshore. and so, mr. president, with that said, i ask unanimous consent -- excuse me one minute -- i ask unanimous consent that when the senate returns to consideration of s. 2204, the pending energy tax bill, it be in order for me to offer amendment number 1965 which i have authored along with senator murkowski. the presiding officer: is there an objection? mr. durbin: reserving the right to object -- the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: the senator from louisiana & can i get into debate about whether taking $5 billion aw