an earlier in her career karen worked on capitol hill and for the afl-cio. she joined aahp in 1993 and has turned many accolades for her leadership. washington magazine named her one of three top guns of all the trade association heads in washington. in new york times wrote, in a city teeming with health care lobbyists, karen igagni is concerned -- considered one of the most effective. and she blends a detailed knowledge of health policy with an intuitive feel for politics. fortune magazine described her association's political program as worthy of a presidential election bid. we think that's a compliment. [laughter] no wonder that modern healthcare magazine ranks karen among the most powerful people in the field. in recent years she has been before congress on matters ranging from medicare to homeland security to patient protection into the all important issues of access and affordability. she's a prophet -- prolific advocate author of more than 90 commentaries and publications ranging from the new york daily news to the new england journal of medicine. she

early in her career, karen worked on capitol hill and for the afl-cio.she joined hhap and has joined many accolades for her leadership. washington magazine named her one of three top guns of all the trade association heads in washington. "new york times" wrote in a city teeming with healthcare lobbyists, karen iganagni is considered one of the most effective. she blends a detailed knowledge of health policy within an intuitive feel for politics. "fortune" magazine described her association's political program as worthy of the presidential election bid. and we think that's a compliment. [laughter] >> no wonder that modern healthcare magazine ranks karen among the most powerful people in the field. in recent years she has appeared before congress on matters ranging from medicare to homeland security to patient protection. and to the all-important issues of access and affordibility. she's a prolific advocate author of more than 90 commentaries and publications ranging from the "new york daily news" to the new england journal of medicine. she's appeared on a

karen shaw petrou, good to see you and matthew gambs, we appreciate you joining us. thank you both. >> brown: now, for the other news of the day, here's hari sreenivasan in our newsroom. hari. >> sreenivasan: the end appeared in sight today for the us senate after 25 days of debating health care reform. newshour health correspondent betty ann bowser reports. >> reporter: it was the news debate-weary senators had been waiting to hear for weeks. majority leader harry reid announced late today, the final vote on the democrats' health care reform bill is set for 8:00 am on christmas eve. >> the yays and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. >> reporter: the word came hours after democrats prevailed again on 3 more test votes by a 60 to 39 margin on each one. following those votes reid addressed the rancor that had grown as debate moved closer to christmas, urging both sides of the aisle to "try and get along". >> mr. president, i said after the senate opened today, and i'll say it again, because of the long hours, there is a lot of tension in t

some other areas. >> sir, since you -- you, karen and dr. guise and i. not karen dr. guise & have worked closely and commiserated on the two bits of law. one that established the f.r.c.'s and later on the n.d.a. that established the r.c.c.'s is a parallel program. and the question is, as we work through this since they're so parallel, why not bring them both together? i think prorblee the initial intent was to have one program cover all and not just the f.r.c.'s for the ones that are the most seriously injured and destined to department from the department of defense and move into the v.a., but also the category two, the middle level that -- that really sort of up in the air, where they will progress medically and return to duty and then depart. i think there's a hot of questions there, that was the number one priority of the number one recommendation of the commission, it is one i think we need to -- e we are making progress in that area and it is going to be significant to the success of the recovery and reintegration of our soldier and sail es and airmen and marine

karen, this has been a mess in the air and on the ground. >> yes.t couldn't come at a worse time, folks are trying to get their holiday shopping done and the commerce people, the commercial people were expecting a big weekend. here we go with a classic nor'easter that could rival some of the records. i don't think we are going to shatter records. this is going to rank in the top five, definitely in the top ten. this is a live picture of herald square, west 34th and broadway. i have watched the heavy bands of snow showers move in. we watched a person carrying a cart and some children trying to walk across the street. a person trying to clean off their car. just wasn't happening. the snow has come down rather fantastically in the last couple of hours. this is a map of virginia and power outages. richmond, williamsberg, more towards fairfax and frederi fredericksburg. more outages. the airport is not closed but the runways at washington's national and dulles are not running because the snowfall has been coming down all day long. drew, back to you. >> p

the dream as senator kennedy promised does live on. " karen wrote. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the article by karen list in "the daily hampshire gazette" be entered into the record. the presiding officer: without objection. kirk kirk karen's statement was a letter of hope. their age did not matter. their economic status did not matter. mr. kirk: each received the highest quality of health care available, and so it should be for all our people. senator kennedy understood that we are all connected to one another. he often referred to president lincoln's words about our common humanity and the good that can come to us all when touched by the better angels of our nature. and he knew that on no issue are our futures more connected than on health care. ted kennedy's voice still echos in this chamber. his spirit of hope and strength, of determination and perseverence is still felt here. he said, and i quote -- "for all my years in public life, i have believed that america must sail toward the shores of liberty and justice for all. there is no en

karen mills, who holds an economics degree and m.b.a. from harvard was a venture-capital list and business manager before she came to washington from maine earlier this year to join the obama administration. she ran to successful capital ventures, investing in and guiding a range of businesses and serving as a management consultant. in maine, she also served on the governor's council on competitiveness and the economy. her challenge today is to help millions of small businesses get back on solid ground. so we welcome hearing today from the head of the small business administration to hear about the jobs, the economy and outlook for small businesses. please help me welcome to the national press club, small business administrator karen mills. [applause] >> thank you very much, donna. thank you for that introduction. good afternoon, everyone. it is a great honor to be here. donna said i am from maine, and first women to take the opportunity to help the chef -- to thank the chef at the press club for this maine-oriented lunch. i understand w

karen mills, the administrator of the u.s.mall business administration, is speaking of the national press club. that begins at 1:00 p.m. eastern, and we will have a live for you here on c-span. a look at americans recently arrested in pakistan. this is about half an hour. journal" continues. host: matthew levitt is the counterterrorism director for the washington institute for near east policy come here to talk was about what is becoming known as homegrown terrorism, particularly in the wake of the five young men arrested in pakistan in the last week or so. reports from pakistan indicate that that country's judiciary will not release those five suspects to the united states. what is behind all of this increase, or is there really an increase and what is called homegrown terrorism? guest: we are seeing the product of a radicalization process that for a while we were noticing in europe and has now come to the united states. for the past couple of years, people have been saying that europe is very different from the united states

karen mills runs the united states small business administration. the sba is the nation's single -- largest single financial backer of small business. the sba was created in the 1950s when most banks did not like to lend to small business. the thinking was if you could provide the bank a guarantee in order to make the loan, you could spur credit in amounts large and small for american entrepreneurs. today sba provides direct and guaranteed loans, technical help and training, government contracting programs and even disaster assistance. karen mills, who holds an economics degree and mba from harvard, was a venture capitalist and business manager before she came to washington from maine earlier this year to join the obama administration. she ran two successful capital ventures, investing in and guiding a range of businesses and serving as a management consultant. in maine she also served on the governor's council on competitiveness and the economy. her challenge today is to help millions of small businesses get back on solid ground. so we welcome hear

of course karen tronsgrard- scott, who i've known for many years.she is the leader in for montan vermont. i mention karen because people think of for mvermont with low e rate and everything else. we have domestic violence in every state. every state, every situation. ççsometimes in more ruralt( a, it is more hidden because it is something people do not want to talk about. t(i know that. the witnesses will beç sharing the personal stories with the committeeç. one has gone on to become a successful actor. what has become a passionate advocate for victims in california -- one has become a passionate advocate for victims in california. i know that violence and abuse reaches homes of people of all walks of life, regardless of race or gender or age, sexually, or economic status. domestic violence is a crime. we should never forget that. domestic violence is a crime. i]now everybody knows you have o prosecute. it does not make a difference whether it is a family member, spouse, or a stranger. it is a crime. it is a crime. we have made some remarkable p

marinette, new york, karen on our democrats line.aller: i'm calling because i'm getting really frustrated and angry with the republicans on practically every issue, including this one. i think that obama did the right thing. immediately the republican peter king, you know, they start ratcheting up the fear in people. i think you gather -- he gathered intelligence to make the statements. no, it is not easy. in the bush administration, everyone seems to forget that prior to 9/11, cheyney and bush were aware -- cheney and bush were aware of the events that happened and did absolutely nothing. i don't believe obama did. new know, the republicans are coming up with every piece of crap that they can find in there about to put him down and the administration down. i am not saying that they should investigate more fairly napolitano. i don't think her response was appropriate. and she may not be the right person for the job, but most definitely the republicans have to look at themselves to see what has brought all of these events including 9/

i think karen said that it is all about confidence. as long as confidence is not walls come and also the deficit, in may be a problem and not a catastrophe. when it comes to greece and spain, is difficult. spain also has big macro problems, financial policy, especially in the construction sector. spanish banks are doing very well. the spanish problem is manageable. of little more difficult because of greece, the administration is not working -- if at all report which is monitoring the grease administration, and even the minister does not know the data, that is the feeling. that is a problem. i think it is a danger for the eurozone, but we have to keep in mind that there is a stability and growth pact. in spite of the crisis, you may say that we are quite well. we've brought down deficits and debt for most of the countries. as long as the confidence in the overall stability and growth pact is not lost, i think that we can cope with that. but i will not deny that there are certain risks, and we have to be careful and know that there's so

karen mills is the sba adnistrator. >>o far we've done about 4,500 of them t in every state in the country and theyre right now aboualmost 1000 banks making tse loans. >>he government flatly designed the program wh the best of inntions and the prram just flatly does not work >>eporter: the banrs associatios childears says his member don't want to take part because the arc qualication process is byztine. >> i don't kw if anybody within the sba, state government, anlenders that would defend that kindf bureaucratic nhtmare that they put togeth. 32 pages of deil whereas if i think a bank desned that, it would be a couple of pag of easy to undetand things. therare not very many small businesses who actuallqualify for arc loans. >> reporter: barbara kanr couldn't find a ba that would even talk to her aboutn arc loan collin shattuck's baer wouldn't even ke an apication. attuck has been selling moto scoors at four stores in colora for more than 10 years. in 2008, sportique scoers had a record year. what aifference a year makes.

karen on our republican line. caller: good morning.nt to be respectful because i am a respectful person. i feel like my heart is in my mouth. let me step back just a minute. this issue is extremely controversial. and i would appreciate it -- c-span, if and when you have a guest who is speaking on the issue that you would now and would have in the past had those that represent the full spectrum of ideas and concerns. one myth i want to dispel is that republicans are not for health care reform or don't care. that is an absolute untruth. and they have been very -- i just lost my -- i want to say full of void. i watch c-spans in the evenings, many, many evenings when the doctors who are in the house spoke about all of their ideas and plans. and i doubt that a lot of people were watching. they were effectively shut out and have been shut out. and they have presented many, many amendments that have just been dismissed. the truth of the matter is a lot harsher than what i'm speaking. this president wants this. it's more about control than it

i am karen but most of got screwed up on the telephone. host: what is your question?r: i enjoy cspan and i was listening to the professor and now i am listening to the gentleman on now. i can't say where every president needs to get away. i am not against that. this president has gotten away quite a few times. he takes his family with him. !i have never)éÑ picture in the paper of him actually sitting at the desk doing work. he listens to other people, what they want. did we get a right to vote on this health care? it is shoved down our throat. we want a president that we can be proud of and i thought we had one. he headed in the palm of his hand. he does not take that much into his nationality, for being the first black president, which he should probably be. a kind of let it all go and no. guest: i think there is a long way to go here. looks like health care of some kind will pass in some way but it will be very messy and the game, too many divisions to make a go smoothly. we have many other things. this argument that the country is so polarized that it is hard for

karen mills is the administrator of the u.s. small business administration and she is speaking at the national press club at 1:00 p.m. eastern to live on c-span. elsewhere, virginia democratic congressman bobby scott is hosting a forum on education disparities in the u.s. that we live also at 1:00 p.m. eastern on our companion network c-span3. president obama is meeting with the heads of several large banks today. among them, have american express, jpmorgan tase, capital one, wells fargo and others. also, rahm emanuel, larry summers and timothy geithner expected to be there. here's a preview of that meeting. journal" continues. host: we're joined by eamon javers. facing what else pressured to increase lending. in a meeting financiers will tell obama they're ready to step up to promote recovery in additional steps. what is the president going to tell them? guest: that they need to be lending to lend to credit- worthy businesses. these are the job creation engines of the u.s. economy. they can i give credit to expand and grow beca

>> (applause) >> thank you very much karen for the wonderful introduction. also thank you for inviting me to be part of this great operation here. tonight it's about honoring those who break down the barriers and to promote social justice. tonight's heros have excelled in all walks of life. i think that each and every one of those honorees are also, at the same time, a great inspiration to millions and millions of people. and i will say especially for the young people, because that's the important thing. they need this extra push to know that the american dream is also there for them,. that they can reach whatever dream that they have, and so this is why we have inspired them to show them that there's more out there than just gangs and violence and drugs and alcohol and those things. there are positive alternatives. >> i have felt very strongly that athletes have a responsibility, whether they like it or not, or whether we like it or not, to be role models. those who had the biggest impact on us as kids growing up are the people we came in contact with every

karen? -- cara? >> in reading of the letter of paul to philippians.g our lovely body to conform with his glorified, the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself. >> thanks be to god. may i just for a moment be the voice of so many of around the world to pay a final tribute to senator ted kennedy and to offer our heartfelt condolences to his wife vicki, sister jeanne, children and grandchildren, and to all the kennedy family and to the extended family that most probably include most of america. they also add a word that we who are privileged to watch the very beautiful funeral mass this morning had to be touched by the wonderful part in that liturgy played by the younger generation of kennedys, the warm and very personal tribute in the elegies of teddy's sons and even that of the president of the united states whose warmth and friendship for ted was obviously so powerful. that together with the splendid homily of ted's parish priest made our farewell to senator kennedy on forgettable -- unforgetaable. upon learning of

and to karen his wife, thank you for your support and sacrifice while your husband serves this nation, i enjoyed meeting you. i know that first sergeant simmons can do what he does because of your love and support. thank you, first sergeant bradley simmons, for your distinguished service to the people of ohio and for your continued commitment to protecting our nation and the prosperity of all americans. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. lemieux: thank you, mr. president. it's always good to follow my colleague from ohio. i want to speak today about the health care bill, and i specifically, mr. president, want to speak about this new report that we received from the office of the actuary from the centers for medicaid and medicare services. and this report, mr. president, unfortunately confirms many of the problems that we already knew. but now this report comes from an independent actuary who works in the very agencies that have to implement our federal health care programs. and this actuary has r

karen joins us on the independent line. >> caller: yes, hi. i have a very simple point. i oppose the war in afghanistan and i also oppose the war in iraq and i was proven right. those who opposed war in iraq were proven so dramatically right. i'd like to ask mr. ricks, doesn't see that obama will never be able to convince us that we should now support the war in afghanistan because our simple, common sense was proven so right over all the pundits and generals we saw on tv and the congressman who have thrown a trillion dollars at the war in iraq, which we could use in this country so much better? we're never, never support escalating wars or we want to get out of there. thank you. >> host: mr. ricks?. >> guest: you don't need to preach to me about iraq. i wrote a book called, "fiasco" about the war in iraq. it states and i still believe that the war in iraq was the biggest mistake in the history of american foreign policy. and, even now, we only have a dim sense of its ultimate cost to this country in blood, treasure, credibility and influence. i don't think the war in ir

on december 14, karen mills, the administrator of the u.s. small business administration will discuss their efforts to boost the small business sector to drive economic recovery. she will not be bringing any for a monsters that we know of. on december 15, the hon. the army, chairman of freedom works will discuss the future of the republican party and the need to return to their roots of fiscal conservatism. on december 21, francis collins in the, the director of the nih will discuss medical research and new horizons for human health. i like to present both of our guests with a traditional and must coveted npc mug. [applause] >> grover, did you get this? >> he does not seem to havethu thumbs, so i will give this to you. i have two for you. how often do you get upstaged by bob betz, and who is your favorite muppet? >> the answer is often, and grover. >> good answer. >> thank you. i have been abused by moppets around the world. it is a wonderful job, and i hope we can continue to work with great colleagues to do great things for kids. [applause]

next is karen. on realclimate.org answering all the e-mails on climate change. he's tirelessly answering every question, that's gavin schmidt from nasa. host: we want to review what is happening in the state capitol as moving from tim mccain to bob mcdonald, and with the move from keep cuts for commonwealth presidents next year. and a related story in new jersey, corzine and christie still at war as the government elect looks to block some moves from corzine. duke is joining us, "time magazine," person of the year, who should it be, duke? caller: first let me give you the worse person of the year, and that's barack obama, the worse president ever, not even close. now the best person of the year who tells it like it is, you ain't going to like this, but it's going to be rush limbaugh. he's the man. don't forget it. host: thanks for the call, duke. speaking of president obama, one viewer saying that the president left with the hug -- huge mess is not done yet. from the times, google is making a move w

on december 14, karen mills, the administrator of the u.s. small business administration will discuss their efforts to boost the small business sector to drive economic recovery. she will not be bringing any for a monsters that we know of. on december 15, the hon. the army, chairman of freedom works will discuss the future of the republican party and the need to return to their roots of fiscal conservatism. on december 21, francis collins in the, the director of the nih will discuss medical research and new horizons for human health. i like to present both of our guests with a traditional and must coveted npc mug. [applause] >> grover, did you get this? >> he does not seem to havethu thumbs, so i will give this to you. i have two for you. how often do you get upstaged by bob betz, and who is your favorite muppet? >> the answer is often, and grover. >> good answer. >> thank you. i have been abused by moppets around the world. it is a wonderful job, and i hope we can continue to work with great colleagues to do great things for kids. [applause]

karen has a reaction to governor paterson's marks. let's go back to the calls. çaustin, texas.democrats' line. caller: i like gov. david paterson, but i think he is off base on this. he really has not offered any evidence or facts to substantiate his claims that giving all of these big wigs on wall street, who have a track record of cheating and lying and stealing, and the evidence to prove his claims. if you go back to ivan bosky, all the way to bernie madoff and in betweenç, you can seew3q thy giving these people on wall street increased salaries and all of these things, incentives, it doesn't do anything for the common blue-collar guy here on the street. so with all due respect to governor paterson, i think he needs to go back and do his homework and check the history and in fact he can even go back to 1929 and sees some of the players back then, many of their descendants are still living today and still pulling some of the same games they did back with the great crash of 1929. anyway, the bottom line is i just thing governor paterson is putting out of formation did get his

host: next call, karen on the independent line. caller: i oppose the war in afghanistan and i also oppose the war in iraq, and i was proven right. those of us who happen opposed -- who have opposed the war in iraq have been proved dramatically right. i would ask mr. ricks, does he see that obama would never be able to tell us that we should support the war in afghanistan because of our common sense was proven so right over all of dependence and the generals on tv and the congressmen who have this -- u.f. roane $1 trillion at the warner iraq that we could use so much better -- who have thrown $1 trillion at the war in iraq that we could use a much better, we could never support that. guest: there's a book about the war in iraq called "fiasco" and it still state that the war in iraq was the biggest mistake in the history of american foreign policy. even now, we only have a dim sense of what its ultimate cost to this country in blood, treasurer, credibility and influence. i do not think the war in iraq is over. i think we may only be

>> (applause) >> thank you very much karen for the wonderful introduction. also thank you for inviting me to be part of this great operation here. tonight it's about honoring those who break down the barriers and to promote social justice. tonight's heros have excelled in all walks of life. i think that each and every one of those honorees are also, at the same time, a great inspiration to millions and millions of people. and i will say especially for the young people, because that's the important thing. they need this extra push to know that the american dream is also there for them,. that they can reach whatever dream that they have, and so this is why we have inspired them to show them that there's more out there than just gangs and violence and drugs and alcohol and those things. there are positive alternatives. >> i have felt very strongly that athletes have a responsibility, whether they like it or not, or whether we like it or not, to be role models. those who had the biggest impact on us as kids growing up are the people we came in contact with every

karen, go ahead.ican administering these trusts themselves? when are they given a chance? they seem very capable of managing their gaming, and certainly, these attributes could be transferred to trust management, rather than the u.s. government or the department of the interior. guest: this is an excellent question, and now that we are resolving the past, i think that this is opening up possibilities for how the future is looking. the commission should study how these trusts should be managed in another way. one aspect of the settlement is that there is a large amount of money to buy back this with interest. sometimes you have 100 different owners. that makes it very difficult to manage this with all of those individuals. to get that resolved, there is a system with more personal involvement by the individuals. i think that the intense settlement is setting the foundation, and we can set the ideals. we're just not at that place, where this will be implemented. say that you are one of those 100 owners.

i am karen but most of got screwed up on the telephone. host: what is your question? i enjoy cspan and i was listening to the professor and now i am listening to the gentleman on now. i can't say where every president needs to get away. i am not against that. this president has gotten away quite a few times. he takes his family with him. !i have never)éÑ picture in the paper of him actually sitting at the desk doing work. he listens to other people, what they want. did we get a right to vote on this health care? it is shoved down our throat. we want a president that we can be proud of and i thought we had one. he headed in the palm of his hand. he does not take that much into his nationality, for being the first black president, which he should probably be. a kind of let it all go and no. guest: i think there is a long way to go here. looks like health care of some kind will pass in some way but it will be very messy and the game, too many divisions to make a go smoothly. we have many other things. this argument that the country is so polarized that it is hard for pr

before i say anything, i want to say how proud i am of what you and karen have done with c-span over years -- you and brian have done with c-span over the years. i wonder if you could do me a favor. after vietnam -- since d.c., was one of those kids there. i was just a 20-year-old kid and i was one of these assassins from vietnam, according to the local marxist newspapers down there. [unintelligible] i had a confrontation three times with an individual back then, he would have been in his '30's. [unintelligible] host: jaret, thank you for your long-term watching. we appreciate it. next is greg on the republican line. caller: i am a republican, but i switched to obama because he said a change. but we are getting no change. we are getting continuous wars. he gave all this money to bernanke and his friends. i think mr. paul could get 40%. i think there are enough people are fed up in this country that it is time for him to run and he would get elected. host: there are two pieces i will share with you about ben bernanke and the fed. stephen ratner is the counselor to the treasury secreta

caller: our session led by karen mills and timothy geithner.as participants, i do not have a complete list, but there were numerous small businesses. people like eric schmidt, kaufman enterprises, and nobel prize-winning economist. very much a cross section of the united states. host: also available online, we can get more information on the company there. thank you for being with us. the headline this morning from "the wall street journal" "ben bernanke in power. one of the issues that came up, the impact asñr it moves from te recession from the recovery to the u.s. economy." >> the first line of defense should be regulation. if there are risk controls that stop the banks from piling into overcrowded positions, which look at emergence -- emerging asset price increases across the system. i think that that is the best way to address, i said it should be regulation of supervision, even if you are not sure about the increase in asset price bubbles. unfortunately we do not have that system. i think that monetary policy has to pay attention to the s

his mother karen was rushed to the hospital and brandon was taken to jefferson hospital in philadelphia to undergo brain cooling treatment to return brain activity. it was too late. after minimal return of brain activity, it was decided after three weeks to remove life support." and she concludes with this haunting sentence, this haunting reminder of how -- how bad a case this is. she says, "who saved money here? was it worth a child's life to save a few dollars? and i'm sure three weeks of life support cost more than a c-section." that's the end of her letter. so anyone who says that, well, you know, we've got to make a couple little changes on the margins here but we've got to -- we've got a great system here, you know, it is not in need of major reform, i need only point to these two examples. it's all the information i need. but fortunately we've got thousands, hundreds of thousands of additional examples, literally millions of people denied coverage because of a preexisting condition. sometimes the fact that a woman has been the victim of domestic violence, that's been used as a pr

karen? -- cara? >> in reading of the letter of paul to philippians.y to conform with his glorified, the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself. >> thanks be to god. may i just for a moment be the voice of so many of around the world to pay a final tribute to senator ted kennedy and to offer our heartfelt condolences to his wife vicki, sister jeanne, children and grandchildren, and to all the kennedy family and to the extended family that most probably include most of america. they also add a word that we who are privileged to watch the very beautiful funeral mass this morning had to be touched by the wonderful part in that liturgy played by the younger generation of kennedys, the warm and very personal tribute in the elegies of teddy's sons and even that of the president of the united states whose warmth and friendship for ted was obviously so powerful. that together with the splendid homily of ted's parish priest made our farewell to senator kennedy on forgettable -- unforgetaable. upon learning of his death last w

attorney edwin meese, karen kerrigan and brian mcmahonness for affordable health insurance. let me mention the constitutional objections i've been raising for the past few months and which the distinguished senator from nevada has carefully raised this morning. first, the only enumerated power that conceivably can support the mandate for individuals to purchase health insurance is the power to regulate interstate commerce. since the 1930's, the supreme court has expanded this power to include regulation of activities that substantially affect interstate commerce. but the key word here is "activities." congress has never crossed the line between regulating what people choose to do and ordering them to do it. the difference between regulating and requiring is liberty. i agree with the 75% of americans who believe that the insurance mandate is unconstitutional because congress's power to regulate an interstate commerce does not include telling americans what they must buy. second, the financial penalty in forcing the insurance mandate is just that: a penalty. it is not a tax. t

karen on our republican line. >> caller: good morning. want to be respectful because i'm a respectful person but i'm so angry, i just feel like all my heart and my words are in my mouth and ready to explode. me step back a moment. this issue is extremely controversial. i would appreciate it, c-span, if when you had a guest who is speaking on issue, that you would now, and, would have in the past, had those that represent the full spectrum of ideas and concerns. one myth i want to dispel is that republicans are not for health care reform or don't care. that is an absolute untruth. and they have been, i just lost my, i wanted to say full of voice. i watch c-span in the even, many, many evenings when the doctors who are in the house, spoke about all of their ideas and plans. and i doubt that a lot of people were watching. they were effectively shut out and have been shut out and they have presented many, many amendments that have just been dismissed. the truth of the matter a lot harsher what i'm speaking. this president wants this. it is mo

john mcdunn that, stacy sacks, tom krauss, terry roney, increase martinez, karen morrisey, andrea harris, sarah selgrade, dan stevens, caroline fichtenberg, lori yuden, evan griffith. and now i want to mention one other person who's been on my staff but is now on the "help" committee some o staff, gentleml knell -- janelle kristinverde. i have been advocating for many years that we have to change our focus in america from a sick care society to health care. i mentioned that earlier. and this bill contains more for wellness and prevention and public health than any bill ever passed by congress. ever passed. and it's not talked about much. you don't hear too much debate about it. but it is significant that we are going to change this paradigm, we're going to start putting more upfront, keeping people healthy in the first place. one person who's done more than anyone else to make this happen is janelle kristinverde and i want to thank her for the last couple of years or so just focusing laser-like on this and making sure that this became a big part of our health care reform bill. on my pers

>> (applause) >> thank you very much karen for the wonderful introduction. also thank you for inviting me to be part of this great operation here. tonight it's about honoring those who break down the barriers and to promote social justice. tonight's heros have excelled in all walks of life. i think that each and every one of those honorees are also, at the same time, a great inspiration to millions and millions of people. and i will say especially for the young people, because that's the important thing. they need this extra push to know that the american dream is also there for them,. that they can reach whatever dream that they have, and so this is why we have inspired them to show them that there's more out there than just gangs and violence and drugs and alcohol and those things. there are positive alternatives. >> i have felt very strongly that athletes have a responsibility, whether they like it or not, or whether we like it or not, to be role models. those who had the biggest impact on us as kids growing up are the people we came in contact with every

bruce gellin, gary naibel, karen highman and tony fauci whose leadership in this whole area over thehas put the united states in a position of international prominence in terms of the technology and the way in which vaccines can both be developed and tested. so i think it's going to be very interesting morning. and again i hope those listening on the web will feel free to send in questions through that address that was mentioned a moment ago so there can be a chance for back and forth including people in the room and people beyond the room. finally i'd just like to say thanks to the secretary, secretary sibelius, who could not be here this morning but who has currently played a critical leadership role over the course of these many months of pandemic flu. she made a joke about how she didn't expect to have a pandemic in her welcome wagon, but she has adapted to that i think quite brilliantly. and i'd certainly like to give a great deal of credit to her leadership in pushing the agenda forward and making sure that all of the areas that needed attention got that kind of attention. she

on december 14, karen hills, the administrator of the u.s.iness administration will discuss efforts to drive economic recovery. she will not be bringing any burry monsters that we know of. december 15, the hon. dick armey will discuss the future of the republican party and the need to return to its roots in the fiscal conservatism. on december 21, francis collins, m.d., the director of the nih will discuss biomedical research. i would like to present both of our guests with the traditional and much coveted npc mug. grover does not seem to notthumbs, so -- grover does not seem to have thumbs, will give that to you. how often in your career do you get upstaged by puppets, and also, who is your favorite muppet? >> the answer is often, and grover. >> good answer. [laughter] >> i have been abused by muppets around the world. it is a wonderful job, and i hope we can continue to work with our great colleagues to do great things for kids. thank you for having us today. [applause] >> i would like to thank all of you for coming today, especially our yo

host: next call, karen on the independent line.caller: i oppose the war in afghanistan and i also oppose the war in iraq, and i was proven right. those of us who happen opposed -- who have opposed the war in iraq have been proved dramatically right. i would ask mr. ricks, does he see that obama would never be able to tell us that we should support the war in afghanistan because of our common sense was proven so right over all of dependence and the generals on tv and the congressmen who have this -- u.f. roane $1 trillion at the warner iraq that we could use so much better -- who have thrown $1 trillion at the war in iraq that we could use a much better, we could never support that. guest: there's a book about the war in iraq called "fiasco" and it still state that the war in iraq was the biggest mistake in the history of american foreign policy. even now, we only have a dim sense of what its ultimate cost to this country in blood, treasurer, credibility and influence. i do not think the war in iraq is over. i think we may only be h

it benefited from the participation of our former colleague, larry summers as well as karen mills and valerie jarrett, who are also with us this morning. those discussions resonated with ones that followed at the white house jobs summit. and with the president's recent visit to hard-hit communities in pennsylvania. so he's been out there listening to americans, who are suffering from unemployment, and we've been listening to him as he grapples with the search for remedies. we thank him for coming to brookings today, with his message, with his respect, for good ideas as the basis of good policis. with his high standard of civility in public discourse and of course, with his leadership. ladies and gentlemen, it's my pleasure to introduce the president of the united states. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. thank you so much. thank you, everybody. please, everybody have seat. thank you so much, strobe, for your extraordinary leadership here at brookings and thanks to all of you in attendance. almost exactly one year ago on a frigid winter's day i met with my new economic team at the he

[laughter] on monday, december 14th, karen mills, the administrator of the u.s.small business administration will be here. second, i'd like to present our guest with the traditional and much-coveted npc mug. [laughter] [applause] >> thank you. >> okay. and for our last question, let's see, which of your mother's films is your favorite and why? [laughter] >> well, i don't, i didn't say this when i did the voiceover for turner classic movies, but i would have to go with rear window. i mean, i like all of them, but -- [applause] but rear window, i think, has a credible, well, it's a great story and an incredible quality to it. and the relationship in the movie between jimmy stewart and my mom was simply magical. so -- [applause] thank you. >> i'd like to thank you all for coming today. i'd also like to thank national press club staff members melinda cook, pat nelson and joann booze for organizing today's lunch, also the library for its research. the video archive of today's luncheon is provided by the national press club's broadcast operations center, and our events