levin. we're about 50-odd days away from the national broadband plan being presented to congress, could you give us a status update on that report? >> guest: sure. we have been giving status updates all along. in september we laid out for the fcc kind of what we thought the state of broadband was in the united states. in november we laid out what are the most significant problems we need to deal with, a couple weeks ago we laid out how to think about how to address those problems. and right now we're in the situation where over the holidays we are busy trying to kind of write up our best view of what's in a very, very extensive record, literally tens of of thousands of pages have come in. we've had over 30 workshops where these issues have been debated, we've had a number of field hearings, we've had a number of what are called public notices where we ask people specific questions can, and we're now in the process of taking all that information in, and we'll be talking with the commissioner'

our guest is blair levin, leading up the initiative at the fcc. could you give us a status update on the report? >> sure. we have been doing status updates all along. september we laid out for the fcc kind of what we thought the state of broadband was in the united states. in november, we laid out the most significant problems. a couple of weeks ago, we laid out how to address those problems. now we are in a situation where we are busy trying to ride up our best view. we have had 30 workshops, a number of public notices were we ask orrin questions, and we are now in the process of taking that information income -- in, trying to make recommendations, putting our country in the right path towards a healthy broadbent ecosystem over the next 10 years. >> what is the most important thing in developing this broadband the plan? >> a number of things. first, we have to make sure we connect all americans. second, we have to make sure there is a plan for having broadband be affordable. we have to have a plan to make sure that broadband is used to solve publ

levin, for three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from -- without objection, the gentleman from michigan is recognized for three minutes. mr. levin: let's be clear what's involved in the pay- fors. the issue of fairness. those who invest their own money will continue to receive capital gains tax treatment, period. those who manage other people's money will have to pay ordinary income tax like everybody else who performs services. there's widespread support for this. one man that was on president bush's council of economic advisors said this, deferred compensation, even risky compensation, is still compensation and it should be taxed as such. when i wrote my book, i opposed different levels of taxation on different types of compensation. this from a former member of president reagan's council of economic advisors, william. the share of investment profits are basically fees for managing other people's money. also, another person who was deputy undersecretary under george h.w. bush. i think it's od

levin: i rise in support of h.r. 4284.s bill extends two preference programs, the generallyized system of preferences, knowledge as g.s.p., and the andean trade preference program, known as atpp, for one year. without this extension, the two programs would expire less than three weeks on december 31. preferences including g.s.p. and atppa is important in trade policy. they are means by which the u.s. can work with developing nations to help and capture the opportunities and to meet the challenges of trade and globalization. over many decades, the g.s.p. and andean programs have seen these results for developing nations. g.s.p. currently provides duty-free treatment to over 3,500 types of products coming into the u.s. from over 130 developing countries. the program provides duty-free access to even more products from the 44 poors or least developed countries. last year the g.s.p. program had over 43.4 billion imports. atppa provided additional benefits to the andean nations to help address their special circumstances. in pa

levin: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.m call: quorum call: the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. all time has expired. the question is on the conference report. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. there is. the clerk will call the roll. vote: quorum call: vote:

levine, we're about 50-odd days away from the national broadband plan being presented to congress. give us a status update on that report? >> sure. as we set out in july, we have been getting status updates all along. in september, we laid out for the f.c.c. where we thought the state of broad broadband was in the united states. in november, we looked at the problems we needed to deal with. a couple weeks ago we looked at how to address those problems and right now, we're in the situation where over the holidays we are busy trying to write up our best view of what is in a very, very extensive record, literally tens of thousands of pages have come in. we have had over 30 workshops where these issues have been debated. we have had a number of field hearings, a number of public notices where we asked people specific questions and we're in the process now of taking all that information in and we will be talking with the commissioner's staff and the commissioners, of course, in january, trying to make a recommendation that will helpfully put our country on the right path toward a very h

levin: thank you, mr. president. first let me thank the senator from montana for the extraordinary work that he has put in on this bill for so long, so many months, so many years. thanks also go, of course, to the democratic leader, our majority leader, senator dodd and others who have worked so hard to get us here. we are at a pivotal moment in the long fight to reform our health care system. everyone should by now be well aware of the history, of how presidents of both parties have tried and failed to achieve reform. and of how, after months of painstaking review, we've arrived at this instant, closer than ever to health care reform. it would be impossible to fashion legislation on an issue so massive and so complex on which all could agree on every detail. those seeking perfection will have to look outside this chamber or, for that matter, in any piece of complex legislation. but when they look outside the walls of this capitol, senators will also find problems that dwarf the imperfections of this bill. they will

. >> senators richa lugar and carl levin u want to see bipartisanship onhe hill? barrett is, a leading republican and democr both with the -- there is, a leading republican and mocrat both with concerns abt the policy. >> president oba has flowed richard nixon's great dictum, that a leader s to be challenging his ba at any moment to really be a leader. he was certain challenging his base. his candacy was launche on his anti-war position in 2002 against thiraq war, a position which i think has been vindicated and valated by the arguments made to vance that war -- weapons of mass destruction, wave of democracy sweeping across the islamic world, and no connection to 9/. that is where his base and enthiasm came from, and right now, disilsionment, and certainly at the best, lack of enthiasm. >>hold that thought. leme play the nger version of the sound bite we pyed at the beginning of the brocast. >> i definitely did notxpect it from him as our new president. thats something i wouldave expected from bush. it has tak me byurprise and i don't agree th >> it. >> we allnow

levin: mr. president, many who are filibustering this defense appropriations bill tonight are filibustering because they want to delay health care. they want to delay the health care reform legislation from being voted on. so the bill that provides the funding to support our men and women in uniform who are serving on the front lines, often under arduous and dangerous circumstances, to protect our nation is being filibustered to keep the senate from acting on another unrelated piece of legislation. this is not only unbelievable; it is unconscionable. a 3.4% pay raise for the troops is being filibustered, additional funding for needed medical research in traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress syndrome and to improve the care, the medical care, for our wounded warriors is being filibustered tonight. funding to provide over 6,000 m wrap vehicles -- shows are the mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles that are so desperately needed by our troops in afghanistan, is being filibustered t

levin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. levin: mr. president, first on behalf of senator dodd, i would ask unanimous consent that a military fellow in his office, captain joselyn hemler, be graintd floor privileges for the duration of the 2010 defense appropriations bill. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. levin: mr. president, i want to speak for the few minutes i have this afternoon in support the appropriations bill which is before us, the defense appropriations bill. senator mccain and i and other members of the armed services committee spend a lot of time each year authorizing important programs to support our troops, protect our troops, support their families in a whole host of ways and hopefully to authorize funds which can help us succeed in afghanistan and iraq. that bill now is law and in front of us is an appropriations bill which contains most of those same provisions. not all, but most of those same provisions. and it's critically impor

our guest is blair levin, leading up the initiative at the fcc.ld you give us a status update on the report? >> sure. we have been doing status updates all along. september we laid out for the fcc kind of what we thought the state of broadband was in the united states. in november, we laid out the most significant problems. a couple of weeks ago, we laid out how to address those problems. now we are in a situation where we are busy trying to ride up our best view. we have had 30 workshops, a number of public notices were we ask orrin questions, and we are now in the process of taking that information income -- in, trying to make recommendations, putting our country in the right path towards a healthy broadbent ecosystem over the next 10 years. >> what is the most important thing in developing this broadband the plan? >> a number of things. first, we have to make sure we connect all americans. second, we have to make sure there is a plan for having broadband be affordable. we have to have a plan to make sure that broadband is used to solve public p

host: as part of this process, it is war council as you wrote about levin of michigan, reed of rhodeachusetts and kerry phroeting the idea of visiting -- float being ting the idea vi tehran and saying this is the type of think that he should undertake. guest: john kerry has become, along with levin and reed, at least within the senate one of the obama administration's sort of top wise men if you will. that isn't to say that he doesn't have others in other branches of the government. but on the hill these three are considered at least by obama to be people that he should listen to. if you will remember, when he was a candidate he/@@Á@ @ @ @ @r terry has done other work for the administration before and is very much in tune with obama's policy. he does not carry some of the heavy baggage not hillary carries with her statements that she has made about iran in the past. particularly statements about obliterating i ran, if it were to get to frisky with their nuclear weapons. so, someone like john kerry serves as a a very, very useful cut out for the administration. guest: procedurally, it

levine, we're about 50-odd days away from the national broadband plan being presented to congress. can you give us a status update on that report? >> sure. as we set out in july, we have been getting status updates all along. in september, we laid out for the f.c.c. where we thought the state of broad broadband was in the united states. in november, we looked at the problems we needed to deal with. a couple weeks ago we looked at how to address those problems and right now, we're in the situation where over the holidays we are busy trying to write up our best view of what is in a very, very extensive record, literally tens of thousands of pages have come in. we have had over 30 workshops where these issues have been debated. we have had a number of field hearings, a number of public notices where we asked people specific questions and we're in the process now of taking all that information in and we will be talking with the commissioner's staff and the commissioners, of course, in january, trying to make a recommendation that will helpfully put our country on the right path toward

the nfl expert dorothy levins will talk about that and more. join us on sportsnite. 6:00 and 11:00. 7-point lead for the wildcats. inside to fraley. orton comes up with the steal for the wildcats. liggins was getting a lot of run time in practice yesterday, as you watch the kentucky can wildcats go through their work-out at the practice facility. bledsoe got tripped by marcel willaims. that is the second foul on him. dave loos will go to his bench. roberson will check in. and caleb brown goes to the bench. tyrone cladwell checks in for him. >> kyle: coach loses it. caldwell feels like is an offensive threat, than brown. brown more defensive. that fits, because coach loses into the defense first and then gets points as well from the offense. >> matt: demarcus cousins. [ cheering ] nine-point lead for the wildcats. >> kyle: big 'cuz is the ultra personality as they call him. >> matt: fraley. fraley walks into a double team. got it up and over. his point of the ballgame. he had a double-double the last time out. that was against naia marion. went

host: as part of this process, it is war council as you wrote about levin of michigan, reed of rhodean and saying this is the type of think that he should undertake. guest: john kerry has become, along with levin and reed, at least within the senate one of the obama administration's sort of top wise men if you will. that isn't to say that he doesn't have others in other branches of the government. but on the hill these three are considered at least by obama to be people that he should listen to. if you will remember, when he was a candidate he flew to iraq and to afghanistan and brought along reed with him on that t p trip. now, kerry has done other work for the administration before, and he'sç very much in tune wi obama's foreign policy. so to have him go to iran, he doesn't carry some of the heavy baggage that hillary carries with her because of statements she's made about iran in the past,ç particularly statements aboutç obliterating iran if th were to get too frisky with their nuclear weapons. so, someone like kerry serves as a very useful cutout for the administration. guest:

mr levin ,aye. mr. lieberman,aye. mrs. lincoln,aye. mr. lugar,no. mr. mccabe,no. mrs. castle,aye.mr. mcconnell,no mr. menendez,aye. mr. merkley, aye. ms. mikulskiaye. mr merkowski, no. mrs. mary,aye. mr. nelson of nebraska,aye. mr. nelson of florida,aye. mr. pryor,aye. mr. reed of rhode island,aye. mr. reid of nevada, [laughter] mr. reid of nevada,aye. [laughter] mr rich, no. mr. roberts,no. mr. rockefeller,aye. mr. sanders, mr. schumer,aye. mr. sessions, mrs. shaheen, aye. mr. shelby, ms. snowe,no. mr. spector,aye. mr stabinow, aye. mr. tester,aye. mr thune, no. mr udall of colorado,aye. mr. udall of new mexico,aye. mr.vitter, no. mr.voinivich, no. mr. warner,aye. mr. webb,aye. mr. white house,aye. mr. wicker,no. mr. whiden, aye. mr. bennett of utah, no. this is a hutchinson,no. mr. cochran,no. mr. bennett of colorado,aye. [no audio] mr. sessions,no. [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] [applause] mr. sanders -- [laughter] >>yes? >> mr. sanders, aye. mr. shelby -- no. [no audio] [no audio] >> and the other senators wishing to go toward change their vote? the amendment is passed. [no

buzz aldrin and fellow astronauts on the legacy of apollo levin, a discussion on the role of muslimsn america and the world, later, a former cia intelligence officer on u.s. strategy against al qaeda in afghanistan. starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern, remembering the lots of william f. buckley jr. and senator ted kennedy. all next week, a rare glimpse into america's highest court threw unprecedented conversations with 10 supreme court justices about the court, there were, and the history of the iconic supreme court building. five days of interviews with supreme court justices starting next monday at 8:00 p.m., eastern on c-span. >> early monday morning, the u.s. senate voted 60-40 to limit debate on a key amendment to the health-care bill. now remarks from senate majority leader harry reid and we will hear from the president elect of the american medical association as he announces his support for the senate bill. this briefing is a little over 20 minutes. we step closer than ever for giving every american to leading a healthier life. we've never been closer to fixing the broken health ca

finally, on rt beat," a remembrance illustrator david levine. see slideshow of his work and hear an intervw with the editor of "the new york revi" of books. all at and more is on our web site, newshour.pbsrg. gwen >> ifill: and that'she "newshr" for tonight. i'm gwen ill. >> brown: and i'm ffrey brown. we'll e you on-line. d again here tomorrow evenin thanyou and good night. major funding fothe pbs newshour is provided by: >> we are int, sponsors of tomorrow. >> chevron. this is the por of human energy. and toyota. and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supportingcience, technology, and improved economic performance and financl literacy in the 21st cenry. and with the ongoing suppo of these institions and foundations. and... thisrogram was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions tyour pbs stion from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrerroductions captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

the other contradictions are there is a genuine idealism here and when this levin don't evil was created by-- that resonated on this campus because you can embrace that as being true, as the fitting who you were, yourself identity but in the real world you make compromises like you did in china, right? and that is a contradiction inevitably. here you are, with all your ideas. you have hired some nice price lobbies in washington, a contradiction. those are just some of the contradictions but the truth is that is the adult world and the adult world is full of compromise and contradiction. and it doesn't mean it is evil, but it doesn't mean it is good either, and if you think about it dooby evil is really a slogan. it may satisfy you and all of that bed i was it tee'd i have here and someone said, berry and sergey were up on the stage and i said how could you close the phoenix of this? is evil. to the people in the phoenix office that may have seen evil. i don't think it is. again, evil is often an eye of the beholder so it's kind of self-righteous and the way. yes, sir. >> a toka lot about

others by malcolm goebel, a bold fresh piece of humanity by bill reilly, liberty and tyranny by marc levin, are you their vodka by its mead chelsea by chelsea speed and vicky myrick. here is john on the independent line. go ahead. >> yes, mary christmas. my favorite of the year is god who hates by the subtitle courageous woman who enflamed the muslim world speaks out against her experience and the evils of islam. pascrell here is jones fell virginia. republican line, you're favorite book of 2009. >> caller: i would like to say merry christmas and thank all the troops that serve in the army and military. i appreciate them and my favorite book is the bible in every time i read it i read something new about a so it's new to me at this time of year our savior's dearth it is a good time to read it and i would like to say that jesus was conceived in december and born in september. it might be something somebody wants to study but i was a farmer who for many years and in the wintertime we didn't put our sheep on the side of the hills to graze. we took them to the barn that might be something you

we're here with steph levine. >> the best way to understand what's going on in russia and what's been doing on for the last several years is to look through the lens of murder. what i argue that under putin, under vladimir putin that there is a culture, a structure in which murder and death occurs with impunity. and it goes on with the indifference of the russian people. and i call that the culture of death. >> why does that occur? why don't the russian people know? >> they do know. but it's been going on for centuries. they've learned, i track it back to ivan the terrible. and people are so accustomed to hardship in their lives, to death, to famine, to all kinds of terrible hardships that we never encounter. and so if there is something that happens to something to someone very close to them, to your relative, to your mother, to your aunt, to your daughter, you care. if it's a murder of someone next door of the village next door, maybe you could care. but you don't care. and you go on with your life. >> you profile six lives and deaths of six different russians in the book. you want

how did he get away with that, and why didn't mark levine that has sold a million copies, his book, get any play? a million copies? and my last point is, i hope all you senior citizens like me are happy that obama's not going to give us our little $20 raise i get at the end of my year on my little social security check, and i cannot figure that out. now he's going to bribe us with a $250 cash to us. see, he's bribing us now. >> host: thank you, dale. larry klayman, last comment. >> guest: sandy berger's the only example of anyone in washington putting something into his pants rather than taking it out. that's how he got the documents out of the national archives, he stuffed them in his pants, believe it or not. and that's a disgrace. and he was covering up for the chinagate scandal where the clinton administration was getting down on its knees to communist china for campaign contributions, republicans were doing it on the other side of the aisle and that's why those investigations went nowhere, and as far as what we're getting out of the government, forget about that. have you been to t

. >> our guest this week in blair levin, the omnibus executive director who previously served as chief of staff to the sec chairman. our guest reporter is from the "wall street journal." >> one issue is because of the study, which the sec asked for. you say there is no support on the hill, but there was arguably not much support for net neutrality on some parts of the hill, either. >> it is -- >> it depends on the party. but when you talk about issues like this, it sounds like you're basically saying that from your perspective, open access is not an issue you think should be going down. >> that is not what i said. we asked for studies and gave complete and total editorial freedom. we simply ask for input. we thought it was an important foundation for having a data- driven analytic record. they did a lot of things that are helpful to understanding what is going on, but it is fundamentally backwards looking. and we asked the columbia folks to be more forward-looking. on bundling, it covers eight wide spectrum of things. the court threw out certain kinds of things, but there are still som

. >> blair levin, executive director for the f.c.c. f.c.c. and we hope you will come back after february 17 and give us a live update. thank you both. >> thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> coming up here on c-span, a senate judiciary committee hearing on the backlog of d.n.a. evidence collected for unsolved rape cases. then at 12:20 p.m. eastern, a former c.i.a. tell intelligence officer on policy in afghanistan and later scholars and former presidential advisors discuss u.s. foreign policy. in the mid '90's, newsweek named omar wasow as the one to watch for cyberspace. he has explained new technologies on oprah. sunday night he talks about his current studies at harvard and what's ahead on c-span's "q&a". tomorrow on "news makers" national institutes of health director dr. francis collins on the latest developments in stem cell research, the future of genome technology and how nih may be affected by the healthcare bill making its way through congress.

. >> secretary gates in answer to chairman levin's question, he said that it was conditioned-based the withdrawal plan for july, 2011, and you said no. would we withdraw our forces based on conditions on the ground or an arbitrary date? >> we are talking about the beginning of a process, it will 60% of afghanistan is not controlled by the taliban or have significant taliban influence. >> i said with with respect, my question is that if the date of withdrawal of 2011 that the president said would be based on an arbitrary date regardless of the conditions on the ground? >> i think it's the judgment of all the people in department of defense involved in this process that we will be in a condition in uncontested areas that we begin that transition. >> let's suppose you are not. and suppose that condition on the ground and that it would jeapordize the mission and would we do it anyway? >> i believe we will be in a position that the president indicated that we would have a thorough review in 2010. >> i say with great respect, that the president announced a hard date of july, 20 len. -- 2011.

levin and many other leading economists in the country and positions -- people of high position and economics -- in economics, they know that for 20 years there's been a fight in this country to try and protect investors from unscrupulous activity. we saw seven years ago enron and that's the genesis of where this rule came from. to now sumaryly reverse this rule because the not very nice to have companies spend money to protect their shareholders is very appealing. but we're not talking about -- when our adversaries talk about small business -- it's not hurting small business. these are companies that are registered public companies on the stock exchange and have up to $75 million in capitalization. that's a pretty large company in most places. it certainly doesn't classify itself under government speak to be a small business. what we -- the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. . mr. garrett: i yield 1 1/2 minutes to the the gentleman from texas. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. mr. hensarling: i'm struck by the fact that this united states congress doesn't seem t

buzz aldrin and fellow astronauts on the legacy of apollo levin, a discussion of the role of muslims in america and the world. later, a former c.i.a. intelligence officer on u.s. strategy against al qaeda in afghanistan. starting at 8:00, remembering the lives of william f. buckley jr. and senator ted kennedy. >> this christmas holiday, we have three days of the tv on c- span2. beginning friday morning at 8:00, books on history, politics, and public affairs. you'll see sarah palin on her recent book to work and you'll hear about a biography on supreme court justice scalia. tracy kidder from the miami book festival is also included. you can get a full schedule at booktv.org. >> an event now with former congressional staffer and scholars on what goes on behind the scenes before legislation is passed. hosted by the university of virginia, this last about one hour and 40 minutes. >> if everybody in the room can do the same, we will be in pretty good shape. we have come pretty far and we have a little bit farther to go given the dimensions of the problems associated with debt and deficit.

monday, an update by blair 1 levin. >> and now, a house subcommittee on how cyberspace is being used by terrorist groups to spread their message. the subcommittee on terrorism and unconventional threats is chaired by adam smith of washington. it is about one hour 5 minutes. >> what some. i appreciate everyone being here this afternoon. i think we have about an hour block to go through. i will make a few opening remarks and then turn it over to questions. i really appreciate the doctors being with us. several of us on the committee have been briefed a couple of times of what has been going on in cyberspace in regards to al qaeda. it is a very extensive part of the battlefield but i think that too few people on our side are aware of. al qaeda is on the internet, aggressively recruiting and trying to radicalize people and spreading their message and they're viable -- their violent papal message. -- hateful message. it is my belief that they have occupied that message space without a sufficient counter from us. the analogy that occurred to me was to be in a close political campaign and o

my colleague senator schumer, senator reed of rhode island, senator brown, senator merkley, senator levin, senator reed of nevada have joined us as cosponsors of the sponsors of this bill. and likable, our legislation will establish an opt in rule for overdraft coverage for atm and debit transactions. customers would now have to consent before overdraft coverage is applied to their account. our legislation would go further, however, and limit the number of overdraft fees that banks can charge, one per month, and no more than six per year. that he would have to be a reasonable and proportion to the cost of processing the overdraft. our legislation would also put a stop to the practice of manipulating the order in which the transactions, transaction or post every require banks to warn customers if they are about to overdraw their account, giving them a chance to cancel the very transaction they are about to engage in. finally, our legislation would require banks to notify customers promptly when they have overdrawn an account, through whatever means the customer chooses to e-mail, text mess

senator levin said the ratio is four nato to everyone afghan army in helmand. i think the u.s. has set less than a third was able to fight on its own of the afghan army. the u.s. has given enormous amounts of money. why haven't you done better? but prospects you have for success? crust i am not sure about the $19 billion. i cannot tell you it is exactly $19 billion. that money has not been given to the defense of afghanistan. the money has been spent directly by our partners. the reason we are not fair, first, the approach was not proper. we wanted to have an army of at least 200,000. everyone said, this is too much. you cannot have this kind of army. how are you going to pay for it? so they put a ceiling on it. for a country bigger than iraq, and more complicated than iraq. in this condition, the 35,000 was extremely unreasonable. the training that took place was basic. soldiers were fighting with recycled ak-47's. up till recently, the army was fighting with old ak-47's. there was no nato equipment. just recently they switched to nato guns. the national army does not have air

an update from bleier lovaine -- blair levin. >> president obama made it remarks on the attempted bombingof a northwest airlines flight on christmas day. he spoke from a way where he and his family are spending 10 days on a christmas vacation. his remarks are under 10 minutes. >> good morning, everybody. i want to take a few minutes to update the american people on the attempted terrorist attack that occurred christmas day and the steps we're taking to ensure the safety and security of the country. the investigation is ongoing and i spoke again this morning with attorney general eric holder and janet napolitano and my advisor john brennan. i asked them to keep and continue monitoring the situation and to keep the american people and members of congress informed. here is what we know so far. on christmas day, northwest airlines flight 253 was on route from amsterdam to detroit. as the plane made its final approach to detroit, a passenger allegedly tried to ignite an explosive device on his body, setting off a fire. thanks to the quick and heroic actions of passengers and crew, the suspect

senator levin, "we're going to be hurt by this bill." irresponsible and cruel" said senator kohl. senator reid, senator hillary clinton -- that was to restrain the growth of medicare to spend it on the existing program. yet this proposal by the democrats would take $465 billion and spend it on a new program -- mr. mccain: and isn't it true, now that the senator from montana is on the floor, if he wants to enter in here, maybe he could respond to his comments 14 years ago, "we weren't trying to create a new entitlement program," which is the object of the senator's bill. we were just trying to enact some savings in the medicare system. so what does senator baucus say -- and above all we must not use medicare as a piggy bank. what are we using $483 billion in cuts in medicare for? then the senator from montana said, "that is disgraceful. perhaps some changes lie ahead. but if they do, they should be made sore the single purpose of keeping -- they should be made for the single purpose of keeping medicare for senior citizens and people with disabilities." isn't it true that we are tak

senator levin, will be hurt by this bill. senator reid, senator hillary clinton. mr. president, those first $10 billion to spend it on the existing program, get this proposal by the democrats would take 465 billion spend it on a new program. is that true? >> and and a veteran of the senator from montana is on the floor that he wants to enter in here. maybe you could respond to his comments 14 years ago when we were trying to create a new retirement program, which is the object of the senator's bill. we were just trying to enact some savings in the medicare system. and so what did senator baucus said? and above all we must i use medicare as a piggy bank. you know, whenever you send $483 billion in cuts in medicare for? and then the senator from montana said come of that is disgraceful. perhaps some changes lie ahead, but if they do, they should be made for the single purpose of keeping medicare services for senior citizens and people with disabilities. now that we are taking 483 alien dollars out of the system that is failing, that the medicare trustees are going to go

polk, a country of vast designs, robert and mary looks at the life and times of our levins president sunday on c-span's q&a. >> now tomas perez of the assistant attorney general will be hearing about his agenda for his office with the justice department. the american constitution society for law and policy host this event. it's about an hour. >> good afternoon, everybody. i'd like to welcome you to today's event. i'm caroline fredrickson, the executive director of the american constitution society for law and policy. also known as acs. acs for those of you who are new to this organization is a national network of lawyers, law professors, policymakers, law students, and judges that promotes the vitality of the u.s. constitution and the fundamental values that express is, individual right and liberties, genuine equality, access to justice, democracy and rule of law. and we are so honored today to be joined by the assistant attorney general for civil rights, thomas perez. i think it's clear to all of us in the rim how vitally important for civil rights division is and how critical it is

>> tonight expanding broadband to rural and underserved areas of the country, an update from blair levin, the f.c.c.'s broadband initiative executive director on "the commookt fors" on c-span2. >> "washington journal" continues. host: greg stohr, harvard law school graduate and reporter for bloomberg news, supreme court reporter for bloomberg news, here to talk about the supreme court and their 2010 agenda. the 2010 term. we'll start with -- at the beginning of this most recent term, there was talk about a possible retirement among the justices. where is that now? >> the talk centered on justice john paul stevens, the oldest justice at age 89, and there's always talk about him because of his age, even though he appears to be very much at the top of his game. but at the beginning of the term, it came out that he had only hired one law clerk for the term that would begin in october of 2010. and typically he would have hired four, his full crop at that point. so the thinking is that perhaps he's making it possible for himself to retire at the end of this term in june or july. host: greg sto

buzz aldrin and fellow astronauts on the legacy of apollo levin, a discussion of the role of muslims in america and the world. later, a former c.i.a. intelligence officer on u.s. strategy against al qaeda in afghanistan. starting at 8:00, remembering the lives of william f. buckley jr. and senator ted kennedy. >> this christmas holiday, we have three days of the tv on c- span2. beginning friday morning at 8:00, books on history, politics, and public affairs. you'll see sarah palin on her recent book to work and you'll hear about a biography on supreme court justice scalia. tracy kidder from the miami book festival is also included. you can get a full schedule at booktv.org. >> an event now with former congressional staffer and scholars on what goes on behind the scenes before legislation is passed. hosted by the university of virginia, this last about one hour and 40 minutes. >> if everybody in the room can do the same, we will be in pretty good shape. we have come pretty far and we have a little bit farther to go given the dimensions of the problems associated with debt and deficit.

durbin, senator grassley, stphorb johnson -- senator johnson, senator kerry, senator kohl, senator levin, senator johnson, senator shaheen, senator specter, senator tester. widespread bipartisan support for legislation which says let's end the absurdity of the american people having to pay substantially more for the same exact medicine that is sold in other countries around the world. let me just take a look at some of these charts. to begin with, we all understand that when you deal with the drug companies in the pharmaceutical industry, you are dealing with some of the most powerful lobbyists and forces right here in washington, d.c. these people spend huge amounts of money on campaign contributions, huge amounts of money in lobbying. just recently in order to make sure that they got in under the wire, in case there was some real reform passed here in washington, they substantially raised their prices for particular drugs just in the year 2009. and here is the chart right here . single 12%, plavix12%, lipitor 5%. bonivar18%. and one of the reasons that health care costs are soaring in

now maybe it is hard for them but it is not hard for the american medical association, the ama who levin torstar bill. it is not hard for the american heart association who have endorsed our bill. is not hard for the american cancer society action network to have endorsed our bill. the american hospital association 11 torstar erbil. families usa, the business roundtable, the small business majority. be here colleagues say small business opposes our bill. the small business organization supports it and how about the aarp who represent our seniors? millions of seniors. that is just a few. they not only defend our bill, they support our bill. madam president this is indeed an important moment in our nation's history as we approach a final vote on this major health care reform legislation and i think whenever you were trying to change something, you have to take a look at how things are at the moment so why is it that we need to change our current system? and their are certain numbers here that i think explain it. the first number is 14,000. madam president, we know that every single day, 14

senator levin, "we're going to be hurt by this bill." irresponsible and cruel" said senator kohl. senator reid, senator hillary clinton -- that was to restrain the growth of medicare to spend it on the existing program. yet this proposal by the democrats would take $465 billion and spend it on a new program -- mr. mccain: and isn't it true, now that the senator from montana is on the floor, if he wants to enter in here, maybe he could respond to his comments 14 years ago, "we weren't trying to create a new entitlement program," which is the object of the senator's bill. we were just trying to enact some savings in the medicare system. so what does senator baucus say -- and above all we must not use medicare as a piggy bank. what are we using $483 billion in cuts in medicare for? then the senator from montana said, "that is disgraceful. perhaps some changes lie ahead. but if they do, they should be made sore the single purpose of keeping -- they should be made for the single purpose of keeping medicare for senior citizens and people with disabilities." isn't it true that we are tak

the problem of the shai levin date is the concern that there's one constituency we are not talking to yet. were talking to the american people want to win income home. we are talking to the afghanis and karzai yes byd take responsibility. we are not going to be your surrogate army and we are not going to stay forever and that is important but the al qaeda intel bennett the other constituents and this july 11 date gives them some opportunities so i think statements like what he said secretary clinton about being determined by the outcome on the ground and admiral mullen you have been quite clear and you said yesterday secretary gates the president has to change his mind anytime a wanted based on the circumstances that take place, but and i'm not asking a question you but i'm going to tell you what part of the confusion still exists for some of us who were scared about sending it wrong signal. press secretary gibbs this morning according to an article about chip reid of cbs news in responding to a question about the july 11 date said befalling and i quote, the president told me it is lo

we have a researcher named mark levine from the university of wisconsin, milwaukee, who has kept data of the discouraged workers, those who are not officially unemployed because they're no longer standing there, discouraged workers. among white men in my community, we have a 17% unemployment rate. we have a 40% to 50% unemployment rate among white men and of course a staggering statistic, about 30% among hispanic men. but 17% among white men in our community. so it's really a crisis of gargantuan proportions. mr. ellison: would the gentleman yield? ms. moore: have you ever talked to somebody who's been un employee -- yes. mr. ellison: have you talked to somebody who's been unemployee ffered 16, 18 month what does that do to their self-esteem? ms. jackson lee: the gentleman is right. stastistics -- statistics lay the framework of what we're talking about. what i will tell you is that people are more and more going to places where there are mass feasts and feeding. when you go amongst those people, you hear the stories of mothers and fathers who lost work. now more families coming into

, byrd, conrad, dodd, dorgan, feingold, feinstein, harkin, inouye, kerry, kohl, lautenberg, leahy, levin, mikulski, murray, reid, and specter. all 21 of these senators voted for caps on attorneys' fees. that would at least do something. that would help get the ball rolling on medical liability reform, but the same thing that they've done with medicare, saying that they are going to keep medicare savings in medicare, that they haven't done, not real. nor gregg has a real amendment to fix that. i have a real amendment to fix the medical liability reform that hopefully will be voted on later as well, but at least let's go for a little bit of a compromise right now. mrs. hutchison: will the senator from nevada yield? mr. ensign: i will be happy to yield. mrs. hutchison: i have real statistics. we hear the other side saying we're going to lower the cost. that's what health care reform is about, lowering the cost of health care reform so -- health care so more people will have access to affordable options, and yet the main one that is clearly available is medical malpractice reform, tort refor

senator levin said the ratio is four nato to everyone afghan army in helmand. i think the u.s. has set less than a third was able to fight on its own of the afghan army. the u.s. has given enormous amounts of money. why haven't you done better? but prospects you have for success? crust i am not sure about the $19 billion. i cannot tell you it is exactly $19 billion. that money has not been given to the defense of afghanistan. the money has been spent directly by our partners. the reason we are not fair, first, the approach was not proper. we wanted to have an army of at least 200,000. everyone said, this is too much. you cannot have this kind of army. how are you going to pay for it? so they put a ceiling on it. for a country bigger than iraq, and more complicated than iraq. in this condition, the 35,000 was extremely unreasonable. the training that took place was basic. soldiers were fighting with recycled ak-47's. up till recently, the army was fighting with old ak-47's. there was no nato equipment. just recently they switched to nato guns. the national army does not have air

chairman levin, senator mccain, members of the committee, i am grateful for this opportunity to testifyormer colleagues and friends. my experience on this committee helped form my views on many of the issues facing our nation. and it's privilege to be here before you now in this different role. yesterday, president obama presented the administration's strategy for afghanistan and pakistan. today, secretary gates, admiral mullen and i will all be providing you with additional details but let me speak briefly at more personal level about why we are making this commitment. simply put, among a range of difficult choices, this is the best way to protect our nation now and in the future. the extremists we are fighting in afghanistan and pakistan have attacked us and our allies before. if we allow them okay stoesz the very same safe havens they used before 2001, they will have a greater ka pass toy regroup and attack again. they could drag an entire region into chaos. our civilian and military leaders in afghanistan have reported that the situation is serious and worsening. and we agree. in th

. >> and you can watch "the communicators" with blair levin again tonight at 8 p.m. eastern here on c-span2. >> while embedded with the u.s. air force in southern afghanistan, freelance video journalist david axe observed how the u.s. uses unmanned aerial vehicles or drones. >> there are two drone units, two american drone units in afghanistan. basically one handles the north and one handles the south, and the south is the bigger and busier of the two. the exact numbers are classified, but i don't know, i'd guess a hundred predator and reaper drones. the predators look like giant model airplanes, about the size of a small compact car. the reapers look about the the same, but they're about twice as big and look more like, you know, honest to god fighter jets than they do model airplanes. and you can hang missiles and bombs on these things, and their noses they carry a bunch of different sensors. cameras, radars, things like that. and these things can stay in the air a long time the. the exact number depends on what you're carrying or flying, but a day. it's not imposs

billion people you talk about -- the national army been present in much of the company, but senator carl levin a few days ago said the ratio is for nato for everyone national afghan army. i think the u.s. has said less than one-third of the net -- the national afghan army is less -- is able to fight on its own. given the u.s. has given such enormous amounts of money over the last few years and there is such little time before july, 2011, why haven't you done better and what prospect have got of success? better? but prospects you have for success? crust i am not sure about the $19 billion. i cannot tell you it is exactly $19 billion. that money has not been given to the defense of afghanistan. the money has been spent directly by our partners. the reason we are not fair, first, the approach was not proper. we wanted to have an army of at least 200,000. everyone said, this is too much. you cannot have this kind of army. how are you going to pay for it? so they put a ceiling on it. for a country bigger than iraq, and more complicated than iraq. in this condition, the 35,000 was extremely unreason

fiscal year 2010, signed by 17 senators as follows: inouye, reid of nevada, baucus, leahy, whitehouse, levin murray, begich, cantwell, pryor, reed of rhode island, kaufman, franken, harkin, webb, kirk, and bennet of colorado. mr. reid: madam president, i move to concur on the house amendment with an amendment which is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, moves to concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment with amendment number 3248. at the end of the amendment, insert the following. mr. reid: i ask further reading of the amendment be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. is there a sufficient second? there is. mr. reid: i have an amendment at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, proposes an amendment numbered 3252 to amendment numbered 3248. mr. reid: madam president, i have a motion to refer with instructions which are at the

. >> tonight, an update from blair levin on c-span 2. >> thursday, a tribute to world leaders -- includingd kennedy, rahm reagan, colin powell, robert byrd. and then a look ahead at the new year. vladimir putin discusses his future. austin goolsby on the global economy. the creator of the segway and the inventor of "guitar hero." >> macdill last spending bills of the year requires the president to get -- one of the last spending bills of the year requested president to get congressional approval for any cuts to space programs. this is about an hour and 15 minutes, a hearing on manned space flight. >> good afternoon. this is an exceptionally prudent topic. i think that buzzer might tell us that a vote is starting. [laughter] no. it is not. it is a quorum call. hallelujah. we really want to peel back the onion and get into a lot of the specifics of the extraordinary work you have done, mr. augustine. thank you for the public service you have rendered to this country over a lifetime, that you have in government in -- in government and in these private sector. you have paid an enormous public