>> that is not the case, senator leahy. the only question that ever came up -- as you stated earlier. this was a balance for the -- the law school. because on the one hand, we wanted to make absolutely sure that our students had access to the military at all times. but we did have a long stand going pack to the 1970s' antediscrimination policy which says no employee can use the office of career services if that group would not sign the plemg that applied to many categories, race, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status as well. but the military couldn't sign that pledge. >> because of the don't ask don't tell. >> because of the don't ask don't tell strategy. >> which the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff said should be repealed. you said military service is the noblest of all professions. those cadets serve their countries in the most important of all ways. it didn't sound very anti-military to me. tell me why you said that? what you did at west point. >> i said it because i believe it. i was so honored to be invited

senator leahy is with kayen if she is confirmed to have sat through the h

senator patrick leahy discusses the upcoming supreme court nomination for elenajkagan.agan. >> tonight on book-tv, a novel but took 30 years to publish, " matterhorn." sunday, your questions for bill bennett live. former education secretary and first drug czar is the author of many books for children. get our entire schedule at book- tv.org. >> it was a volatile and emotional young man and very adventurous. >> take a new look at alexis de tocqueville and his 1831 tour of america. that is tonight on cspan's "q &a." >> next up is "washington journal." journal." we will have brian fishman of

the chairman of the judiciary committee-- vermont democrat patrick leahy-- summed it up. >> solicitor general kagan will be confirmed. >> reporter: indeed, kagan managed to sidestep republican challenges on key issues, and democratic invitations to criticize the current court. that, despite pleas from senators on both sides, such as republican jeff sessions of alabama to be more expansive on her views. >> some of the critics who are saying, "who is this nominee? exactly what do you believe?" might find it from the... from the testimony difficult to know if... if, ms. kagan, whether you'd be more like john roberts and more like ruth bader ginsburg. so i think we need to know a little bit more what we can expect of you as a judge. >> reporter: rhode island democrat sheldon whitehouse tried to get at that point, asking about high-profile split decisions, driven by conservative justices. >> i want to ask you what you think about all these five to four decisions and what effort the court should make to return to a collegial environment that the court, where even these highly contentious de

patrick leahy of vermont chairs the judiciary committee. live coverage >> we have families who have gone through terrible tragedies, and trie tragedies and show the respect due for that. it's been now 50 days since bp's deep water horizon oil rig exploded and oil began gushing into the gulf of mexico. deadly contamination has reached the shores and wetlands of the gulf coast. our nation faces an environmental catastrophe. americans are angry. in the past week, when i was home in vermont, i don't know when so many people have come u to me on one issue as this saying what's happening. american people want to know how and why this happened. attorney general holder and others investigate this disaster, i'm confident the facts will become known. and if criminal conduct occurred, it should be and it will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. senators on both sides of the aisle believe those responsible for the disaster should be held fully accountable. we cannot let big oil companies play roulette with our economic and environmental res

>> there is no doubt, senator leahy. that is binding precedent entitled to all the respect of binding precedent in any case. so that is settled law. >> reporter: later california democrat dianne feinstein returned to the gun issue. >> california is not vermont. california is a big state with royaling cities. it's the gang capital of america. the state has tried to legislate in the arena. so here's my question to you. why is a 5-4 decision in two quick cases, why does it throw out literally decades of precedent in the heller case in your mind? why do these two cases become settled law ? >> senator feinstein, because the court decided them as they did. once the court has decided a case, it is binding precedent. i think that that's an enormously important principle of the legal system . that one defers to prior justices or prior judges who have decided something. and that it's not enough, even if you think something is wrong, to say, oh, well, that decision was wrong. they got it wrong. >> reporter: feinstein also raised th

. -- questioning by senator patrick leahy.oining us on the phone is susan for riccio of the "washington examiner" erb with some of -- susan ferrechio of the "washington examiner" with some perspective on the david patraeus confirmation hearings. what is your perspective on what perspective there will be coming from? guest: from the republican perspective, they will be getting the general to talk about when the troops will be leaving. a lot of them feel this deadline is not secure -- a lot of the democrats feel this done is not secure, that they will push beyond this date. there will be asking if this will be a real withdrawal date. maybe not get everybody out in july, but to really begin the drawdown of troops. on the republican side, i think you will hear a lot of members talking about a couple of things. what has been controversial in the is the rules of engagement in afghanistan. some of the troops have been complaining that they feel they are compromise because they are not able to aggressively move against the enemy becau

senator leahy was with kagan you do have some people with real continuity. i think the most interesting person to watch or one of the most interesting people to watch could be arlen specter. he has lost his primary. he voted against kagan for solicitor general, and it will be interesting to see if he will come off as the prosecutor. does he tell the party line? that should be interesting to watch. >> she said -- he suspects she will say it is settled law. you think that is the big issue that will be controversial in these hearings? >> i did not know if it is the big issue. it is always a big issue whenever you have a supreme court nomination, i think along with other issues that could come up that would be hot button, such as campaign finance and free speech, the place of religion and separation of church and state. i think those are all issues, but you heard him say he thought she would say it settled law. that is close before the supreme court decided on that and i am not going to go -- that is cospeak for, "the supreme court decided on that and i am not g

patrick leahy of vermont chairs this two-hour hearing. >> good morning. i appreciate everybody -- everybody being here. i know this may be an emotional meeting. i'd ask everybody to recognize the appropriate degree of decorum. i understand we have families who have gone through terrible tragedies and show the respect dufort them. it's been now 50 days since b.p.'s deepwater horizon oil rig exploded and oil began gushing in the gulf of mexico. dead leaf contamination has reached the shores of the wetlands of the gulf coast. our nation faces an environmental catastrophe. americans are angry. in fact, the past week when i was home in vermont, i don't know when so many people have come up to me on one issue as this saying what's happening. the american people want to know how and why this happened. as attorney general holder and others investigate this disaster, i'm confident the facts will become known, and if criminal conduct occurred, it should be and it will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. senators on both sliles believe that those -- side

senator leahy. >> thank you. secretary, admiral mullen, always good to see you and incidentally i appreciate the fact that both of you have always been available for questions by myself and other members of the committee. let me ask you a little bit about afghanistan. we all want to see al qaeda and taliban defeated but i worry about our clear, achievable goals there. i supported 10 years agonow going into afghanistan. i did not support going into iraq because i saw it is no threat to the united states. secretary, you said last january we weren't trying to make afghanistan and central asia's ohio love that right now we have top officials in kal did not have the confidence or respect to thefghan people and they seem to be making common cause of a lot of people we are fighting. we have committed so much, so much money here, and we have neglected so many things inside the borders of the united states we see china and now others developing green tech allergy, creating jobs, exporting elsewhere. we see a number of oth

senator leahy. >> thank you. secretary, admiral mullen, always good to see you and incidentally i appreciate the fact that both of you have always been available for questions by myself and other members of the committee. let me ask you a little bit about afghanistan. we all want to see al qaeda and taliban defeated but i worry about our clear, achievable goals there. i supported 10 years ago now going into afghanistan. i did not support going into iraq because i saw it is no threat to the united states. secretary, you said last january we weren't trying to make afghanistan and central asia's ohio love that right now we have top officials in kabul did not have the confidence or respect to the afghan people and they seem to be making common cause of a lot of people we are fighting. we have committed so much, so much money here, and we have neglected so many things inside the borders of the united states we see china and now others developing green tech allergy, creating jobs, exporting elsewhere. we see a number o

you'll hear from patrick leahy and jeff sessions.the host will talk to guess including texas senator and new jersey democrat robert menendez. also, senate armed services committee jack reed, democrat from rhode island, and georgia republican, saxby chambliss. you can listen to all of those talk shows starting at noon eastern on c-span radio at 90.1 f.m. in the washington, d.c., area. you can listen live on the web at cspanradio.org. you can follow us on facebook and on twitter. >> tonight on c-span2's "book tv," sarah ellison. after that, the discussion with the reporter who was caught for 45 days and kept in a cell. after that, bill bennett -- the author of more than 20 books for adults and children. you can run the entire schedule at booktv.org. join us on twitter. more than 30,000 viewers already have. >> what is the internet? monday, a look at the fcc's efforts to reclassify the internet with two members of the house communications subcommittee -- john shimkus and mike doyle. that is on "the communicators" on c-span2. >> this is

. >> thank you very much, chairman leahy, for those kind words of introduction. ranking member sessions and to all my colleagues on the important judiciary committee at this important moment. members of the committee, mr. chairman, 16 years ago, i had the privilege to introduce stephen breyer to this committee. and with the loss today of senator byrd, i'm particularly reminded of senator kennedy sitting beside me that day. as you all know, better than anybody, senator kennedy served on this committee for 46 years. and i know the pride he would feel seeing elena kagan nominated for the supreme court of the united states. when ted introduced then judge breyer, he quoted oliver wendell holmes that every calling is great when greatly pursued. those words applied to stephen breyerrand i can share with you my complete and total confidence that they apply equally to solicitor general elena kagan. massachusetts is proud, mr. chairman, of enain lane nan kagan's accomplishments. and we believe through these hearings as each of you get to know her as we do, we willer and br

chairman patrick leahy of vermont. >> i believe that fair-minded people will find her judicial philosophy well within the legal mainstream. i welcome questions to solicitor general kagan about judicial independence, but i would urge senators on both sides to be fair. there is no basis to question her integrity. no one should presume that this intelligent woman has excelled during every part of her very and distinguished career . >> reporter: party line divisions were clearly on display. the ranking republican jeff sessions of alabama declared it's not a coronation but a confirmation process. >> ms. kagan has less real legal experience of any nominee in at least 50 years. it's not just that the nominee has not been a judge. she has barely practiceded law and not with the intensity and duration from which i real legal understanding occurs. ms. kagan has never tried a case before a jury. she argued her first appellate case just nine months ago. while academia certainly has value, there is no substitute, i think, for being in the harness of the law, handling real cases over a period of years.

leahy. >> mr. leahy know by proxy. >> mr. shelby. >> know. aye. >> mr. crrdo. >> aye. >> mr. chambliss. >> aye. >> the measure fails. >> this measure creates a consumer financial protection bureau the gives regulators the power to break up large, failing to financial companies that pose a threat to the greater economy. there are also a number of restrictions on banks that trade in derivatives. the white house and democratic leaders are hoping to have a final vote on the measure by july 4th. here is more on the debate on how the bill is being paid for. >> next, a look at oil spill cleanup efforts in a louisiana parish. >> i am under the weather. how are you doing? i came in to see you all. >> take care of him. he is so special. >> well, let us go upstairs. >> he is like my little kid, because they went to school together. >> i knew i was going to shut down soon. >> i am amazed you are on this long. i was worried about getting through. [unintelligible] >> do you know jackie? >> it is nice to see you again. >> this is danielle, from arne's office. >> [unintelligible] [inaudible]

senator cardin. >> thank you, chairman leahy. solicitor general kagan, welcome back to the judiciary committee. last year, i had the privilege of chairing your confirmation hearing for the position of solicitor general and while we had a spirited debate, i think we can agree we didn't have quite as much media attention at lost year's hearing. why is that? as i prepared for this had week's hearing, i have been thinking about the role of the supreme court and the constitution in our lives. many people may say to paraphrase our vice president, why is this such a big deal? why should i care? does the supreme court really impact my life or my family? if you have children, if you work for a living, if you're a woman, if you vote, if you care about the air we breathe or the water we drink, you need to pay close attention to the confirmation hearing and the work of the supreme court. the constitution has a very tangible impact on all our lives. it is the foundation of the role of law that is supposed to protect us from the the abuses of

host: coming up, we sat down with senator patrick leahy who is the lead on the committee. i want to show you a little bit about what he said on that criticism. about her stance on the military. let's take a look. >> jeff sessions has doubts about elena kagan's position about days. she said she was being hypocritical by criticizing gays but not accepting members from the royal family for an islamic center. what do you make of that? >> it was not a law school that accepted money from the saudis. if i was on the board of harvard i am not sure i would be that eager to except saudi money. i am interested in having studies of islamic life. that is a good discussion to happen this country. i think that is a bit of a stretch for her. there were questions about recruiting. everyone has talked about that. in my mind, that is the tempest in teapot. the military were able to recruit on the harvard campus all the time. this is when she was the dean. host: what do you think? guest: there are a couple of things that the senator said that were misconstrued. there were recruiters that were

leahy: madam president, i appreciate the words of the senator from north dakota.i recall sitting here on the floor, i tell my friend from north dakota, he may well have been there too when senator byrd spoke of the pygmy strutting like a colasses, we know who he meant and the effect it had. i thank him for reminding us of that. madam president, we -- i believe all of us who served with and knew senator byrd are sa saddend by news of his passing. no senator came to care more about the constitution or to be a more effective defender of our constitutional government than the senior senator from west virginia. madam president, how many times have we seen him reach in his jacket pocket and hold up the constitution and he would say, this is what guides me? now, madam president, i say to the judiciary committee today, many of us carry the constitution and we can turn to it and read from it. senator byrd, if asked, would recite it verbatim from memory from page one straight through. and he was a senator's senator. whether it was on the time before he stopped playing when

. >> on news makers this week, senator patrick leahy, chair of the judiciary committee talks about thermation hearings for supreme court nominee elena kagan. the senate confirmation hearings begin on monday, june 28. newsmakers, today at 6:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span. >> this week on prime minister's questions, acting british later it labor leader raises concerns with david cameron on the impact of his proposed budget. other members ask questions on uk troops in afghanistan and the rise in night crimes. that is tonight at 9 eastern on c-span. a look now at the latest cleanup efforts on the gulf coast. this is about 25 minutes. lakehe president of the carriers' association here to jones act.the let's start with the definition of it. while you are talking, we will putn words onhe screen. what does it y? theis section -- of marine act of 1920. it is not just limited to a maritime. that movement has to be carried by an american company. it is to be a u.s.-owned ship operated by u.s. workers? . . it only comes into play within 3 miles of the coast. beyond 3 miles, there is no jones act i

. >> of justice william brennan, who senator leahy mentioned. it's coming out in october. and called justice brennan, liberal champion. >> thank you both for being here. >> president obama met with executives from bp on wednesday to discuss compensation for those affected by the gulf coast oil spill. following the meeting the president confirmed that bp will set aside $20 billion to pay damage claims. that fund will be administered by ken feinberg who previously managed the 9/11 victims funds and the tarp pay funds. bp has agreed to compensate oil workers affected by the oil workers moratorium. >> and in the coming days and weeks these efforts should capture up to 90% of the oil that is leaking out of the well. now, that's not good enough, so we will continue to press bp and draw on our best minds and resources to capture the rest of the oil until the company finishes drilling a relief well later in the summers that expected to stop the leak completely. the second topic revolved around the issue of claims. as i traveled across the gulf, i heard growing frustration over the

leahy, aye by proxy. mr. harkin, aye by proxy. mr. shelby, no. mr. corker, no. mr. gregg, no. >> the clerk will report. >> the votes are 7 aye, 5 nay. the bill is passed. >> i thank my colleagues, immensely. [applause] >> will the house and senate conferees in favor of passage of the bill, i declare the bill passed and the conference committee is now adjourned. [applause] [inaudible conversations] >> i think chairman frank and his team. we recognize the tremendous effort of the staff, representative barney frank and i worked together the last couple of years. it is a big legislative effort. we have a lot of work to do. this makes a huge difference. we thought we could get this done, but to establish a consumer protections bureau for the first time in the history of our country. stopped too big to fail, provide for the protections and see to it that we don't end up in a kind of cataclysmic event that brought our country to the brink of financial collapse. that kind of early warning, there are other items that are included. we believe we have something that has been n

this week on our newsmakers program is the chairman of the senate judiciary committee, patrick leahy. we just take this interview with him yesterday, and here is a sneak preview. >> republican senators with a variant like -- much like you to push of a hearing back after the july 4 recess. any circumstance where you would delay the hearing if they ask you? >> i can't think of anything of hand. i am always open to suggestions. trying to do it so nobody could say we are being partisan. taking the schedule for the john roberts and sonia sotomayor, which turned out to be to the day, the same. probably do the same scandal for elena kagan. she will take a day longer only because we don't want to start a hearing on sunday. i have to go to mass on sunday. i will started on monday. we get a lot of stuff to do in the senate. i want to get it done, because of she is confirmed she has to set up her chambers, do all of those kinds of things that really take a little bit of time to do. >> how long do you expect the hearings to last? more than a week? >> if they last more than a week we would probabl

licoln aye, mr leahy aye, mr. ahrkin aye by proxy, proxycorker no, mr. greg no. the votes are seven ayes, 5 nays, the bill is passed. >> i thank my colleagues immensely. [applause] >> conferees in favor of passage of the bill, i declare the bill passed and a conference committee is now adjourned. [applause] [random chatter] [random chatter] [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] [crowd chatter] >> we have consumer protection for the first time in this country. we don't want to end up with the same situation that brought our country to near financial collapse. we believe we needed this before the crisis. it is nice that we could actually get this job done. chairman frank leading the house effort is a great college. -- colleague. they have done some plant that the needed to do for a long time. [unintelligible] [inaudible] ñxu>> senator dodd and i triedr best to get this done. as things happen, we got a lot of legislation prepared. if you intend to focus [no audio] [inaudible] risk retention requirements, but the volcker, the widespread use of deriv

but senate judiciary committee chairman patrick leahy says she would be approved with lots of votes. he says her lack of judicial experience is not an issue, citing earl warren, hugo black as justices who did not have that experience. the hearings will be it live on c-span radio, c-span3 television, and c-span.org. in its last winning -- last meeting until the fall on the last of justice john paul stevens and martin ginsburg, the husband of justice with bitter ginsberg, has died -- the husband of justice with greater ginsburg, has died. ginsburg, has died. - analysts say that much higher spending reflects produce electricity and other utilities. those are some the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> "washington journal" continues. host: now we want to hear your views on the passing of senator robert byrd, the longest serving member of congress ever. first elected to the senate in 1954. born in 1917. his mother died in the flu pandemic of 1918, and his aunt took him to west virginia and he became robert byrd. in 1946, first elected to the west virginia state legislature, to the u.s.

patrick leahy of the judicial committee set the hearing date of june 28 to keep them on that schedule, so she could have her hearings, which will take one week, and then be debated by the senate, and be confirmed before the first week in august is out. so as much as both sides want to have a debate, there is a deadline. i think a lot of republicans are uncomfortable with that right now. host: we are going to be there live and on the senate floor when they take it up. any part of you that thinks the time table will slide? guest: there is a chance. republicans have now ratcheted up their warnings that they will ask for a delay if they do not have enough documents. they do not have the power to actually postpone the hearings. they can insist on it, but it is not part of their provocative as the minority. but there are certain rules that they could use to draw on the hearings, to prolong the vote in the committee. as far as i have heard, the chairman of the committee has shown no appetite for postponing this. at this point, june 28. host: 46,000 pages released so far. 160,000 total. guest

leahy. >> aye, by proxy. >> mr. shelby. >> no. >> mr. crapo. >> no. >> mr. chambliss. >> know. >> the voters are 7-5. the measure is passed. we can send this proposal to the house. all those in favor? the ayes have it. >> under consideration, this is no (a recognize the gentleman from alabama. >> thank you, chairman. we convened at 5:00 p.m. we got a three-minute notice as to the amendment. but it was not three minutes before the meeting. it was three minutes after the meeting started. here is the mail. i would like to put -- here is the e-mail. i would like to put it in the record. attached is a copy of the amendment that will be addressed at today's meeting. this bill is like giving due consideration. we have all been out on the highway and seen an 18-wheeler that is swerving from lane to lane and we said that that driver has not had any sleep in 16 hours are 20 hours. last thursday and friday, we had a lot of weaving. part of the weaving is going to cost american companies as much as an estimate of $1 trillion on the derivative pursuit. now we hear that w

because of what the departments have been so proactive, we are also needing to overcome the bad policing leahy -- bad publicity that seafood is not safe. there is not one fish or byrd harvested and put out on the market unless it has been tested. >> we have been working closely with the louisiana seafood marketing board, with the mayor's office. this is a collective effort by a number of partners to ensure we don't lose a valuable tourism revenue. this is a lot more than a safety of seafood issue, this is jobs, this is livelihood's. in addition to the lives and jobs we are talking about in the affected areas, the publicity we are ssying over the world -- this is something we are diligently trying to get ahead of him and we are working with the national restaurant association and the many other partners who are affected, because those other rest, and if they want to help us and understand a lot of their products come from this area. >> wendy is with us. let's talk about restaurants. we have more restaurants open then we had before katrina. we have more open post katrina then we did before. talk

sunday on "newsmakers", senate judiciary committee chairman patrick leahy on the upcoming confirmation hearing for supreme court nominee elena kagan. "newsmakers", sunday at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern on c- span. supreme court justice clarence thomas on the prospect of a new justice. >> you are bringing in a family member and it changes the whole family. it is a different today than what it was when i first got in. and i have to admit, you grow very fond of the accord that you spend a long time on. >> with the confirmation hearings for elena kagan starting june 28, learn more about the supreme court in this new book. providing unique insight about the court. available in hardcover and also as an e-book. >> a look at the proposed merger between united and continental airlines. lawmakers heard testimony from airline executives and a labor union representatives. if approved by the justice department, it would create the world's largest carrier. held by the house transportation subcommittee, this is 3.5 hours. [gavel opounds] >> the chair will ask that everyone turned electronic devi

senator patrick leahy will be discussing this.ere is what he had to say on the program regarding what he is doing to prepare for the hearing. >> i went to my farm house in vermont and sat under my favorite apple tree. it sounds silly, but i am away from the phone in the computer and the blackberry. i was able to sit there and read. i have been trying to do that evening's and weekends getting off quietly. i try to get away from the phone and the computer. members of my family, and black. -- call my blackberry my crack berry. i am one of the few senators left in the whole hearing because of the questions i asked. host: you can see the entire interview on sunday, tomorrow, at 10:00 a.m. as o'clock p.m. eastern on c-span. it is also available online. you can also see it as an application for your iphone. back to the phones regarding our conversation of evidence of stimulus spending in your area. next is on our democrat line in illinois. caller: good morning. i was just calling to say that the stimulus in illinois, i do not see anythin

we have talked to senator leahy and senator sessions. there are multi jurisdictional issues relating to this. the fact is that we never did the work. i know that is not our jurisdiction to do, but we didn't do the work to look at bankruptcy. we're also balancing of mechanism almost in a vacuum. we're looking at the way things were a couple of years ago when, in fact, this bill is going to change tremendously the way things are. we'll have a clearing mechanism for derivatives, the relationships are going to be very different. with this amendment will o is direct the federal reserve and the administrative office of the u.s. bankruptcy court to do a study on what we would need to do to bankruptcy law to change it and make it more effective for complex entities like this bankruptcy. go through%- what we have done by not doing the work is that we have almost confirmed that in every case, we're going to use this resolution mechanism. i don't think that was our intent. >> let me inquire. it is a very good point. as i listened to the house colle

concern o our judiciary committee part about criminal activity, i believe i discussed that with senator leahythere's been a clearing up of the criminal pieces. we have a provisional for treatment of private mortgage insurance and the fees calculation. there's a limitation on forced placed insurance charges on the question of appraisers, that's the gentleman from pennsylvania's provision. we have some joint rule making authority. and exempting services providing coupon books from the fixed state loans for the piodic statement requirement. i move that offer s there any further discussion? if not -- gentleman from pennsylvania has an amendment. >> i have an amendment at the desk. >> crk will des nate. >> kanjorski amendment to house counteroffer, strike modification number 5 and insert. >> i would ask unanimous consent. is this something agreed to with the senate? >> i understand it has. >> we can take a brief description then and we'll send it over. repeat the description. >> it's right rite here. >> the counteroffer with the amendment modifies the house position on broker ordered appraisals an

senatoray newsmakers, patrick leahy on supreme court nominee elena kagan. >> c-span, our public affairs content is available on television, radio, and online. you can also connect with us on twitter, facebook and youtube. >> general david patraeus. now look at the first day of his testimony. he fainted during the testimony due to dehydration. >> good morning, everybody. today, the committee proceeds testimony on the progress in afghanistan with the commander of u.s. central command. we extend to all of the men and women who serve under your command, the banks of this committee for their service, their valor and their dedication. they deserve our support. i know our committee gives them that full support. >> i would do that, mr. chairman. thank you. >> the milestone was reached for the first time, more troops are serving in afghanistan and in iraq. this marks one year since standing crystal -- stanley mccrystal took command. there have been mixed results in marjah and assassinations of local officials. there have been failures of afghan officials to deliver services, a delay in the kanda

becae of what the departments have been so proactive, we are also needing to overcome the bad policing leahy -- bad publicity that seafood is not safe. there is not one fish or byrd harvested and put out on the market unless it has been tested. >> we have been working closely with the louisiana seafood marketing boa, with the mayor's office. this is a collective effort by a number of partners to ensure we don't lose a valuable tourism renue. thiss a lot more than a safety of seafood issue, this is jobs, this is livelihood's. in addition to the lives and jobs we are talking about in the affected areas, the publicity we are ssying over the world -- this is something we are diligently trying to get ahead of him and we are working with the national restaurant association and the many other partners who are affected, becae those other rest, and if they want to help us and understand a lot of their products come from this area. >> wendy is with us. let's talk about restaurants. we have more restaurants open then we had before katrina. we have more open post katrina then we did before. talked about