taking the local tribal system into account, you have to appoint your people in a way they can have localort of different tribes. >> you said the taliban are intending the local people and it will be a matter of time before they get fed up with that. how much time do you think that would be? it has been a significant amount of time now. did you see a degrading of that relationship between the local population and a taliban? >> yes, we did. it shows you how important that the concept is implemented the right way. once you start a shape in a clearing area, you cannot leave any more. you need to stay there. need to be able to deliver 24/7 security to the people. we cannot come into a village at 8:00 in the morning and leave it 5:00 in the afternoon because the insurgents will come back. counterinsurgency means supporting the people from the insurgents, delivery security 24/7 together with the afghans. that is what we need to do. the 30,000 additional forces deployed to afghanistan will have a significant effect in a relatively short period of time on security overall. that will be better. xn

retransmission of local -- into local programming. the most significant immediate change to the cable license is the negotiated resolution of the phantom signal liability issue that i appreciate the chairman including in this bill. in fact i commend the chairman, chairman conyers, for his decision to expand this re-authorization beyond the narrow limits of the expiring section 119 provision. while circumstances prevented us from being able to iron out all of the wrinkles from these related licenses, i'm pleased we were able to make substantial improvements and address some of the most urgent concerns. among the elements for which there was bipartisan support to include in this bill are provisions that, one, modernize the license to account for digital broadcasting. two, preserve the ability of consumers to continue to receive lifeline network programming. three, make clear that copyright owners are generally entitled to a royalty for each stream of multicast programming. and, four, establish a new right to permit copyright owners to m

complete count committees are down at the local level, often named by a local mayor.y often break up into subcommittees, some subcommittees focus on education, some on social services, some on the business community, some on ethnic and cultural groups, and they spearhead the effort to get the word out in their cities. we have over 9100 of those spread throughout the country, 37 states have formed complete count committees. a lot of ethnic groups have formed national complete count committees, and we're looking for more, and we're also focused entirely with our 3,000 partnership specialists on energizing those partners throughout the country. this decade more than any other decade in my experience we have tailored our methods to very small areas. we have gotten pairs of our folks at every local census office to focus in on individual small areas that we call census tracks. we've focused on the hard to enumerate tracks. we mean by that those areas, those neighborhoods that in the year 2000 had very low return rates or had characteristics since 2000 that suggests that th

at the local level. we're working closely with the government of afghanistan to innovate and try to figure out the best combinations of the delivery of very basic government, security, justice, and those essential services like health and education in rural areas, in areas where right now our troops are operating where the insurgency is in the south and the east in order to achieve that end that you've articulated. the need for governance to follow in. >> the success of iraq and the example set by maliki and the government to be able to take over responsibilities once the insurgency was reversed is evidence of the same thing we have to accomplish in afghanistan. although in a much different way because of the history and nature of that country. and i commend you all on what your effort is. >> it was established by presidential decree. it doesn't have a legislative basis. >> thank you. particularly, general petraeus, i'm one of those who understand that never have so few been asked to bear so much of the

and they are fighting to get local business. they are fighting to invest in future businesses. they're fighting to help young people get jobs and take on more apprenticeship ises. this is what people in britain want to do to help us get through the recession and get to recovery. but it is only possible -- it is only possible by having a policy that says we will invest additional money to take us through our

dayton local? >> i think state local, think they will have to get the message that the federal government has run out and if they are going to provide the services they are going to have define their own sources of revenue. >> the health bill? >> i think it is clear that the health care-- health bill would tie our hands and by taking some of the pieces of the budget of level 4 wiley, and appoint others had made before and setting up new entitlement programs is in my view is that the the wrong thing to do at a time when we are trying to get things under control. how to make a plan in peoria? what we are proposing or what my the was worried about, the economic consequences for and the american family, a sharp recession, diminished purchasing power and a lot of social unrest if you look at the kinds of things happening in the current crisis or in the slow version you just stagnation as far as i can see. this is better than either of those. >> alice, do you want to try the peoria question? >> i thought

but we're also looking, as i suggested in my remarks at local forces as well.artnering with local security forces, so there are, there is more than just the afghan national police and national army in this mix. the plan yearly is that we will responsibility to the afghans until the afghans have the capacity in that district or that province to be able to manage the security situation on their own. with us and our allies initially in a tactical watch and strategic over watch situation. the reality is set the circumstances in iraq differ from province to province. the difficulty will depend on the circumstances in each of these areas. in sum, it will take your afghans. a big part of this is additional training will put more and more afghans into the site and into a position where they can take responsibility for security. one of the purposes of the u.s. going in with additional forces is not just to partner with the afghans or to train the afghans, but to degrade the capabilities. you have a situation where the capabilities are rising at a time when our combat fo

do you really think we are just aching to throw money at states and localities? >> our concern is, and i think earlier it was discussed about -- i think if you leave it understaffed, that's why we say it is going to be changed to have to be within staff. as long as it is a stafford act event and we haven't fcl coordinating the activity and not this confusion about is a pfo or the fco then i think you find the locals are much more likely to accept that because that's a system we're familiar with and it's a system that we trust and we believe the stafford has brought enough that it will cover a lot of those events if the transit was simply given the authority to do his or her job without worry about -- >> if there was a huge catastrophe that struck los angeles, are you confident that we would be able to categorically -- categorize it as a katrina like catastrophe? are you satisfied that would have been instantly or in kind of fashion? because we have seen anything like that in our lifetime on the west coast whatever it says it's coming. >> i think that's, to find t

and they are fighting to get local business. they are fighting to invest in future businesses. they're fighting to help young people get jobs and take on more apprenticeship ises. this is what people in britain want to do to help us get through the recession and get to recovery. but it is only possible -- it is only possible by having a policy that says we will invest additional money to take us through our most difficult time when markets fail and banks falter and that is the policy that we have pursued. it is pursued by every other country. it's unfortunate again, i have to repeat. it is not supported by the opposition party. >> mr. speaker, since next week's prebudget report coincides with the start of the climate change talks in copenhagen, has the prime minister instructed the chancellor to reverse the falling green taxes which took place during the 10 years when the prime minister himself was chancellor. and does he not accept that a tax is only a green tax if it's primary purpose is to change behavior and not to raise revenue? >> mr. speaker, i don't think he's proposing

we have to move more to a provinceable level, they look to local province leaders and tribal leaders. and part of the strategy of general mcchrystal is to align our efforts with the culture, and that makes sense. >> does that mean at a local level we need to empower tribes to provide their own security? is there going to be some provision that you would have something like the sons of iraq where you play locals? >> i think there is something to a response fund or something comparable to that, to provide security , it may be more cost effective and may be better. since afghan's have more insight into that. i think there is an effort to be practical and innovative and try different approaches. much that was done in iraq with the army and marine colonels and saying that we can use these people. i think all of these options are seen. there is much more of a sensitivity of trying to understand the culture and align our objectives with the local tribes, the local authorities. >> when president obama announced his new troop increase this last week, there was this sense that he needed to sell

we send information down but local police department or a local sheriff's office is far more likely to know when or hear when something amiss is going on in their community and report that back up the chain. so we've talked about that. and i think while it's very important -- and i hear complaints and not enough intelligence is being pushed downstream, there may not be enough intelligence coming upstream and i hope you will pursue that. we can make fusion centers work but there's a lot of intelligence, i believe, can be gathered -- best gathered at the local level. on the federal level we need to make a firmer commitment to training these local authorities to identify and collect the in this. -- intelligence. ms. wagner if confirmed i hope you can make better training a reality. they can be done without additional costs but the benefits will more than compensate for any price they cost. madam chair, i'm sure that both of these nominees are anxiously awaiting our comments and their strategy and so i congratulate them on their nominations and i look forward to hearing from them today. >>

but we also looking as we suggested in my remarks as local forces partnering with local security forces. so there is more than just the afghan national police and army in this mix. and the plan clearly is that we will not transition security responsibility to the afghans until the afghans have the capacity in that direct -- district or province to manage the security situation on their own, with us and our allies in an initial and tactical overwatch situation. the reality is that the circumstances in iraq differ from district to district and province to province. so the ability for the afghans to take these on depends on the circumstances in each area. in some it will take clearly fewer afghans. but a big part is additional training, basic training and partnering in combat as training, to put more and more afghans into the fight and into a position to take responsibility for security. and particularly in the context of degraded taliban capabilities. one purpose of the u.s. going on is not just to partner with the afghans or just to train them, but to degrade the capability of the taliba

devastating his family, friends and local community. already that local community has been proactive in raising awareness of the possession and knife crimes. can my right honorable friend, the leader of the house, agree with me that such campaigns combined with such tough laws you are needed and ensure that the minimum sentence for murder by knife will be raised by this government from 15 to 25 years? >> well, first of all, i would like to express as he has done my sincere condolences to the family of leon jones for the terrible loss that they've suffered in this tragic death. and, yes, we have to take knife crime absolutely seriously. we are upgrading the sentencing to put it on par with gun crime. everything must be done to protect people and send out the message that knife crime cannot be accepted. >> mr. gerald howe. >> are you aware that a build a massive distribution center was refused by the local authority. the appeal was rejected by the inspector. yet an unelected minister, lord mckenzie who knows nothing about the area allowed

at the local level.'re working closely with the government of afghanistan to innovate and try to figure out the best combinations of the delivery of very basic government, security, justice, and those essential services like health and education in rural areas, in areas where right now our troops are operating where the insurgency is in the south and the east in order to achieve that end that you've articulated. the need for governance to follow in. >> the success of iraq and the example set by maliki and the government to be able to take over responsibilities once the insurgency was reversed is evidence of the same thing we have to accomplish in afghanistan. although in a much different way because of the history and nature of that country. and i commend you all on what your effort is. >> it was established by presidential decree. it doesn't have a legislative basis. >> thank you. particularly, general petraeus, i'm one of those who understand that never have so few been asked to bear so much of the sac

other local numbers show teens in frederick and gaithersburg, winchester and culpeper. fredericksburg 24. the way i see it today in the mid-20s through 9:00. mostly sunny at noon, 36. mostly cloudy at five. 38 degrees. i will have the seven-day forecast in a few minutes. >>> good morning, everyone. we are midway through the week. a lot of people have a short week and that makes it an even better day out there. traffic looks good as we check out 95 and bw parkway, clean and green. no problems on that route. as we jump on the beltway and see how traffic is moving on the outer loop in maryland, 95 to georgia just a few cars out there. smooth ride. 4, 5 and 301 as we switch our maps to that area, no big problems. clean and green, as well. in virginia, 395 northbound still clear from duke too the pentagon. no problems there and 95 northbound triangle to springfield, all lanes are open. >>> it has been talked about for years and now the national parks service is revealing its plan to overhaul the national mall. 9 news now digital correspondent alex trevino is live on location

is going to be some provision where you would be paying locals? >> there will be provisions through the response on or something comparable to that to provide security. it might be more cost effective and better, since afghans have more insight into the neighborhoods than we do. i think there is an effort to be practical, innovative, to try different approaches. much of what was done in iraq, where army colonels and marine colonel's over several years started saying we can use these people, we have their support. there is more sensitivity to trying to truck -- to trying to understand the culture and align our objectives with the local tribes. >> when president obama announced the true increase this last week, there was the sense that he needed to sell this to the progressive part of the democratic party. do you think he has done a good job with that? if not, what does he need to do? >> i think what happened is that this started with a very deliberate, very thorough review. the military officers who participated said it is one of the most exhaustiv

desert at the local level -- gizzi at the local level. -- these are at the local level. the spearhead the effort to get the word out in their cities. we have over 9100 of those spread through of the country. 37 states have formed a complete count committees. we are looking for more, and we are also hougfocus on energizing their partners to around the country. this decade we have tailored our message to bury small areas. we have gotten pairs of our people at every local census office to focus in on individual small areas that we call census tracts. we focus on the hard to enumerate tracks. what we mean by that, those areas in neighborhoods that in the year 2000 had very low return rates or have characteristic rates that suggests that their behavior in the 2010 census might be less than ideal. we are tailoring our methods, are our reach to those neighborhoods to the neighborhood itself. i am very excited about what we call those action plans because i think that will localize the census efforts and a particularly effective way. we have also launched a program called a cens

against our local real estate workers, our local construction workers. this bill will seriously damage our ability to create jobs and raise property values at the local level. our real estate partners, the real target of this bill, the real losers in this bill, these are average people who build our local facilities, who create construction jobs, who are the backbone of our economy. in this case they'll have their taxes nearly tripled. it will result in lower tax property values, fewer jobs at home, and what it really does is it punishes people who put in sweat equity and work for decades to bring it about. it forces them to go to the bank and take debt. to seek capital at a time when there is no bank and no lending available. we take one of the toughest parts of our economy, commercial real estate, and punish them. it's a false choice as the gentleman from michigan has said, it's the wrong choice. this is a bad bill. i yield. mr. camp: i want to comment on this perfect economic picture you said occurred in 2001. as we all know the bubble burst in 2000.

and then helping to re-establish local structures, many of them tribally based, the tribal elders, local emoms and so forth. there is an element that has now been formed. it -- one of the individuals helping general mcchrystal to do this is an individual that general mcchrystal and i knew very, very well from iraq. he helped us to the reconciliation piece there, the first deputy i had, sir graham lam. he is a special adviser to general mcchrystal. they have now established an organization called the force reintegration cell. it has a two-star british officer. there is some diplomatic component to it now as we had in iraq. we still haven't flushed it out as fully as we need to. that is ongoing as is the development of the kind of robust intelligence element that we learned in iraq you have to have dedicated on nothing but figuring out, again, is this -- this is a pretty big question. is this individual reconcilable or not? and if not, again, they have to be killed, captured or run off. but if they can be, then, of course, you can make them part of this solution instead of part of the prob

local 267 is a chartered local union of the united association of journeymen and apprentices in the plumbing and pipe fitting industries in the united states and canada. i'm here today on behalf of not only my 100,115 pension participants and their families, but i also stand here as president of the central and northern new york construction trade council which represents nearly 16,000 pensioners and their families also from central new york. today all like to discuss the drought -- a direct relationship between sipc and bernard madoff's ponzi scheme. sipc provides coverage for an individual limit of $500,000. my members pension investments have no real coverage. my members, like millions of workers across the country, rely on pooled investment for the future of their retirement. sipc coverage is not currently protect them rebel local 267 first invested with madoff securities in the 1990's. what i was elected in 2005, the investment was approximately 30% of our pension fund. we receive regular confirmation that our money was invested in s&p 500 companies, and while the return on the account

with regard to the question of competition with local resources, i think what should be important. and what would happen if the states are driving this planning process even on n interconnection wide basis is that they take into consideration state policies and use delivered prices as mentioned in the last panel as the basis for comparing different resources. that's a straight forward way to make sure the competition is fair. >> i'll ask you what i hope is the restoric cal question. is that a fair characterization of the proposal made? absolutely, i think the legislation you propose addressing these regional issues. this would only be able to step in if states couldn't reach a plan. >> could you address the concern from the gentleman from massachusetts about the west being crowded out, if you will. i think a stronger step would be to have federal institution on the loading orders i think within the context of what is doable, the approach is about as strong as it could be. i think your legislation reflects that as well. >> do you support the authority to modify any trangs mission pl

it might be a local lab, a private lab, a state lab. i believe one of the problems has been identifying all those locations, maybe some are still kept at the hospital and haven't been forwarded. so identifying what exactly do we want to count as part of the backlog and where exactly can we get those numbers. we've had problems before where i know many of lawmakers have tried to get precise figures from their state. they might be told by the state lab we have no backlog. they may be true at the lab level but if you were to go around to all of the local law enforcement, you might find there are quite a few samples that haven't been forwarded. so that's my concern. not that we definitely -- we definitely need the information but we should figure out how realistic can we be that we will have a precise number. >> ok. well, will the annual reporting requirements assist in reducing and eliminating the backlog by you think essentially shaming jurisdictions into testing more rape kits? >> i think that any time that we can use real numbers to dra

we are also looking at local forces as well, partnering with local security forces. there is more than just the afghan police and army in this mix. the plan clearly is the we will not transition security irresponsibility to the afghan until they have the capacity to be able to manage the security situation on their own. the reality is set the circumstances in iraq differ from province to province. the difficulty will depend on the circumstances in each of these areas. in sum, it will take your afghans. a big part of this is additional training will put more and more afghans into the site and into a position where they can take responsibility for security. one of the purposes of the u.s. going in with additional forces is not just to partner with the afghans or to train the afghans, but to degrade the capabilities. you have a situation where the capabilities are rising at a time when our combat forces are degrading the taliban. >> do i understand that there will be situations where our troops will be clearing in the area and not have afghans available yet? >> i think

that the key is local. unfortunately, to really change this it requires changing the constitution, which really is wrong for afghanistan and many afghans have told me this. but there are thing that is one can do. and i think this is part of the strategy. one thing is that afghan ministries, and as i said there are some competent ministers, who deal with outlying rural regions. for example, the ministry of reconstruction and rural development has a program where there are 30,000 elected village counsel. and international aid which is monitored by the world bank is funled through this ministry and through their line ministers who are out in the provinces and into projects that are vetted by locals and in which locals take part. now, for example, one thing that the military is doing, u.s., is commanders have discretionary funds and they are now beginning to use those discretionary funds to funnel through these local elected village counsels to go to projects in which villagers put in sweat equity so they want

it requires each locality to publish in detail what its common core would be. each locality must show how much classroom time is going to be devoted to each subject, what's going to be in the corsairs, wet assessments will be tied to those contents. so finland has found success by insisting on full disclosure of content at the local level. in the end, somebody is always deciding on content, even when it's fragmented and repetitive as in the united states. for decisions are generally made by risk reverse of commercial publishers who currently find some advantages in the house to conception of education. but the how to conception has always failed and always must fail and unless we solve the problem of commonality and coherence, we'll simply not get off the dime and improving education generally. so we outside of that world has to be willing to use our own critical thinking skills to challenge this anti-curriculum monopoly and revive the sound conception of jefferson and webster and lincoln and horace mann. thank you. [applause] >> i've been assigned the job of t

we have costs that are effective to the local incentives.nal issues should be expressed, for the regional planning bodies. finally, the existing tools can help them connect to the bread without distorting the location of price signals were burdening the customers with expensive transitions. if the cost of connecting to the bread is too much for one developer, multiple developers may be able to share these projects. where the rate payers will initially bear the costs, and they will be paid back after this becomes operational. i believe that we will meet the long-term goals, but sitting here with you today, i do not know which renewable technology, in what location, will get us there to serve the customers at the lowest possible cost. that is why i strongly support the policies such as this one, with the carbon pricing. the same pricing is releasing the spirit of the american people. >> the next witness is the senior vice presidents for governmental affairs of the american public policy association, representing 2000 community-owned electric u

despite the hard work of local officials. our rural communities are finding the bureaucracy to be an obstacle. i will continue working with local officials and federal agencies to allow greater arizona to take full advantage of recovery act so they can create more jobs and get folks back to work. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will remind all members not to traffic the well while other members are under recognition. for what purpose does the gentleman from nebraska rise? >> to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from nebraska is recognized for one minute to address the house. >> thank you, mr. speaker. since 2007 our national debt has increased 39% from nearly $9 trillion to more than $12 trillion. this works out to be $39,000 for every man, woman, and child in america to pay off our country's debt. now there is a push to increase our nation's debt ceiling to $13.9 trillion despite warnings this increase will be harmful to the u.s. ec

both national and local levels. people in towns and their country -- a identify the likely economy and provide afghans with credible economic insurgency. harvest is expected to be the highest in 30 years. programs funded by our this year create 20,000 jobs, and by 2013, raise the incomes of 200,000 people. deployments. support our strategy particular, to train more afghan soldiers and police forces -- the government implemented once 3 conditions were met. i can now report on each of these conditions. number of british personnel in afghanistan only if we were assured that it would continue soldier and unit deployed is fully equipped for the operations they are asked to undertake. the chief of the defense staff additional 500 troops. the continuing delivery of new equipment. helicopters have today been given the green light for operations in afghanistan, one month ahead of schedule. have doubled helicopter flying hours. mine-resistant mastiff vehicles will have almost doubled compared with august. smaller, more agile

both national and local levels. people in towns and their country -- a identify the likely economy and provide afghans with credible economic insurgency. harvest is expected to be the highest in 30 years. programs funded by our this year create 20,000 jobs, and by 2013, raise the incomes of 200,000 people. deployments. support our strategy particular, to train more afghan soldiers and police forces -- the government implemented once 3 conditions were met. i can now report on each of these conditions. number of british personnel in afghanistan only if we were assured that it would continue soldier and unit deployed is fully equipped for the operations they are asked to undertake. the chief of the defense staff additional 500 troops. the continuing delivery of new equipment. helicopters have today been given the green light for operations in afghanistan, one month ahead of schedule. have doubled helicopter flying hours. mine-resistant mastiff vehicles will have almost doubled compared with august. smaller, more agile

take a local travel system into account. you have to appointed people for a form of government and a way that they can support. >> you've just mentioned the taliban are intimidating the local people, and will be a matter of time before they will get fed up with it. how much time do you think that would be? it has been a significant amount of time now. while you were there, did you see a degrading of that relationship between the local population and the taliban? >> yes, we did. especially in areas where people realized that isaf was there to stay. its shares to how important the concept of shape, clear and cold bills. once you start to shape and clear an area, you need to stay there and deliver 24/7 security to the people. we cannot do any more -- if we leave at 5:00 in the afternoon, because then and surgeons will come back. counterinsurgency means separating the people from the insurgents. that is what we need to do. i think with 30,000 additional forces, in southern afghanistan, we will have a significant effect and a rel

some of that is-- a tax all the locals. so trying to impact that and actually we put people in place to focus on this specifically in afghanistan, so from that standpoint, those are the focus is rather than the individual weapons, and lease that is my experience in that part of the world. it is the question of who they are going to use it again so from that standpoint we are hard after that. >> let me give an example on the ied's pirg of the most devastating ied's that are being used against our troops in agents hour mrap's and so on is based on ammonium nitrate fertilizer. it is illegal to have that fertilizer in afghanistan so it is clearly a smuggling network that is bringing in huge quantities. one of the ied's that went off on one of our mrap's was 1500 pounds of this ammonium nitrate for the what they do is basically use it as a triggering device, mines left over from the soviet era so there is a lot of stuff left over from that period when frankly some of us were involved in shipping a lot of arms into afghanistan. >

local 267 is a chartered local union of united association of journeymen and apprentices in the plumbing and pipe fitting industry in the united states and canada. i am here today on behalf of not only by 1115 pension participants and their families, but they also stand here today as president of the central and northern new york building and construction trades council, which represents nearly 16,000 pensioners and their families also from central new york. today gallup like to discuss the direct relationship between sipc and bernard madoff's ponzi scheme. sipc today provides coverage to individuals with an individual and of $500,000. my members pension funds have no real coverage. my members, like millions of workers across the country, rely on pooled coverage which sipc does not currently protect. when i was elected in 2005, the madoff investment was approximately 30% of our pension fund. we receive regular confirmations that our money was invested in s&p 500 cos. while the return on the account slightly trailed the s&p 500 index, we were assured that the strategy offered adequate the

to do economic development to support local decision making, local institution, and we've been havingonversations with the government of pakistan where it's clear we're going to work with the ministries and the local leadership. i think it's important that we not make it either/or. there's a tendency to hear that we're turning off of this. we're very much working with the national government and the ministries of pakistan. what we vntd done in the past is develop those relationships at >> i wanted to directly address the issue. in recent months, there have been some unprecedented steps taken to extend certain political rights and other rights to those who lived in the federally administered tribal areas, that they have had never had before. i think that is an important step as well. >> i appreciate you saying that. senator lugar. >> ambassador eikenberry, i have a couple of comments. . as you are organizing the embassy there, the staff, they have observed that there deputy ambassador is working in afghanistan, facing considerable bureaucratic obstacles. maybe from the afghans and mayb

supporting a large drug cartels there and expanded our partnerships with their federal, state and local wittstock was border and mexico and mexican law-enforcement. compared to last year, seizures and all categories, drugs, smuggle cash, illegal weapons are up dramatically as a result of the southtown strategy. as noted, apprehensions are also at decade lows, down 23% this year, and senator sessions i agree with you, interior and enforcement as part and parcel of immigration enforcement. we have in the last year identified and removed criminal aliens, fugitives and gang members in record numbers. and fiscal year 2009, i.c.e. removed a record number of illegal immigrants, 387,000 of which 136,000 were criminal aliens. secured communities, which we are expanding throughout law enforcement agencies in the united states. it checks the biometrics booked in local jails, identified more than 111,000 criminal aliens just in this first year. we have improved oversight in the 287 gee program and renegotiated the agreements there to make them more effective. we have enhanced in expanded e-verify.

weiss then information down but local police department or a local sheriff's office is far more likely to know when the board here when something is amiss going on in their community, and report that back up the chain, so we have talked about that, and i think that while it is very important, not enough intelligence is being pushed downstream, there may not be enough intelligence coming upstream from thousands of communities and we hope that he will pursue that. we can make fusion centers were but there's a lot of intelligence i believe can be best gathered at the local level. on the federal level we need to make a further commitment to training these authorities to identify and collect-- ms. wagner if you are confirmed i expect you will leslie with director mueller and the attorney general in the coming months to make better training programs in reality. they can be done without additional cost and the benefits will more than compensate for any price of the cost. madam chair i'm sure both of these nominees are anxiously awaiting their questions and even more importantly their exit str

-- from any local channel interference. the amendments we adopted in the subcommittee consideration of the bill achieve that protection. among other provisions, the bill directs the federal communications commission to allow the operation of low-power f.m. stations on third channels to the full power of f.m. stations and f.m. translator and booster stations. retains the s.e.c.'s existing minimum distance separation requirements for f.m. stations that provide radio reading services for the visually impaired. at the same time the bill provides for remediation of interference complaints between low-power f.m. stations and full-power stations as well as f.m. translator and booster stations, and the measure directs the f.c.c. to conduct an economic study of the effect of low-power f.m. stations on full service commercial stations and submit those findings to the congress within one year. i want to thank mr. doyle for his tireless work on this measure. he has introduced this bill several times and this is the first congress in wh

small businesses, family farms, local newspapers, local marketing groups, equipment manufacturers, localuilders and auto dealers. we have local convenience stores and beer wholesalers. the people who make up the fabric of our local economies believe this bill will not help them. and will not help them enough. the other thought is, will this

our local government officials are complaining because the state and local government funds that are going to them are not available to them because all this money is flowing in this direction. in other words, under the reid bill, we will put more stress and further unfunded mandates on the states, making our health care fiscal picture even worse than it would be without doing anything at all. and this doesn't make any sense. i've often said -- in fact, when i was governor i said gone are the days when public officials will be judged by how much they spend on a problem. the new realities dictate that we work harder and smarter and more with less. in fact, i remember giving my state of the union address or state of the state addresses in ohio, and they used to take a poll about how many times i would say harder and harder, more with less. harder and harder and more with less. and that's what our states are doing, but not the federal government. not the federal government. oh, no. states are raising taxes and cutting, but not the federal government. we're just in there borrowing and bo

congressman, it is locally interpreted. >> locally understood? okay.orruption is something that a lot of people have been hitting on that theme. is there any -- is corruption inevitable, as long as we've got the massive poppy crops that are -- i have to say that carefully -- over in afghanistan? >> there's no question that the high level of poppy production and opium trade contributes to corruption. >> is it possible for us to deal with the corruption problem as long as there is that major dependence on that supply of income? >> it will be difficult, but there is progress that is being nad against narco trafficking. congressman, last year there was about a 20% reduction that occurred countrywide in poppy production, and last year the number of poppy-free provinces of afghanistan went from 18 to 20. there could be reverses from that promising development last year. but there is a comprehensive effort that's being waged by the government of afghanistan, sun port by our civilian side, especially in law enforcement and and the agricultural programs and the

be a quasi-state function, local, private or all.the report. as soon as you guys identified as, how you go back, the stafford act, grants, training, to start encouraging and recognizing that children from in the home -- again, you cannot just do one for all children but you have to look development lay a -- developmentally from infant of through certain grades. how do we change will we're doing that if disaster strikes we address these issues? >> i appreciate that comprehensive look. it brings me to the other point where you say fema is a partner in this ever. yes, i do believe that fema is a partner. but i would say fema is the leader. the much should be the experts on disaster with your other federal partners. -- fema should be the experts on disaster. it should be the driver, motivator, the communique appeared i look at fema and homeland security as not being the only entity that responds but being the lead entity that helps coordinate and manage your other federal partners, gives guidance to your state and local partners, provide

, or the local councils?way is working through the government of afghanistan. >> the central government? >>w3 the government of afghanistan. it appoints provincial governors. it appoints district chiefs. when i say district chiefs -- district governors. the police force of afghanistan, it stretches down to the district level at the district level, that is the county level. what i want to say first and foremost is that our programs that we are delivering to work through the government of afghanistan. what we are trying to do, in partnership with the government, is help them get their reach down further, down to that local level and an we do that throughout reenforcing promising programs that have been developed over the last five years. for example, a program that worked well is a program called the national solidarity program. it is run by the ministry of world reconstruction and development. -- rurual reconstruction and development. of village will selec elect a pt for that development. it may be wells. it m

this is a matter for decision by the local nhs, together with patients and others. i understand that he said at the last election that a hospital in his area would close. that hospital is still in being. >> jeff ennis. >> thank you, mr. speaker. will the prime minister join me in congratulating american bedspring manufacturers leggett & platt for investing some $22 million in establishing their european headquarters in grimethorpe in my constituency? that is mainly thanks to the efforts of yorkshire forward and the barnsley development agency. does he also agree with me that places like barnsley and doncaster specifically, and yorkshire and humber in general, are still great places for foreign companies to invest? >> this is exactly the policy that the chancellor is pursuing, and that his pre- budget report is about. it is about recovery from recession by investing in the future, and it is about getting growth in the economy so that we get new jobs in new areas. i applaud the work that my honorable friend does. this is the party of jobs, whereas the opposition would

i am not happy, frankly, with our state and local governments. it's always been frustrating to me that we do, have increases in law enforcement, but not enough for our forensics. and it's not just dna. i mean, there's fingerprints, there's forensics for the guns and firearm cases and all kinds of other scientific evidence that often backlogged leaving cases unsolved and not going forward. even simple drug analysis cases that often delay prosecutions for months, many months simply waiting on a chemist report to determine the substance, the individual had was illegal. so i guess, mr. chairman, i really think that we're on to something that's important. i'd like, i also believe the department of justice should be taking the lead in studying dna and how it could be better applied just as you said, what kind of protocols, best practices should be out there, what kind of new techniques are developing now in dna that can make, help local officials identify repeat criminals much earlier in their processes and stop victimization and actually reduce crime.

we hear about mass slaughter in distant countries and we imagined murder and mayhem to find those locales. i wanted the back of my mind anyway, i hope that his story would humanize our view of burundi and also open up a part of new york that seemed designed to be invisible, the service entrances of the upper east side in the camping sites that the people make in central park. certainly, this book has to do with war and genocide and with courage and endurance, the generosity of strangers, the uses in diseases of memory but we are to know the basic truths about those subjects. warring genocide are deplorable, human beings are capable of great resilience in charity happens, that memory can be an ungovernable torment but what i wanted without ever telling myself this exactly was to allow readers to experience those facts not as truisms but as we experience them in our own lives, to experience them through deo. the riders i admire alta this. they make the world knew again. i think the story teller possible job is to catch the reflection of individual human beings each by definition unique on t

>> there is recognition in the president's decisions of the importance of working with the local locals and i personally think a big part of our progress going-forward in terms of being able to transition responsibility for the afghans is not necessarily the afghan national army or the police, but local law enforcement, local security people who are working with the government, they may not be in the chain of command if you will, but clearly a major part of the president's strategy is more attention to the sub national government to working with the tribes. >> that's good. that's -- >> and the second point. >> those are words, we haven't changed the structure a bit. the leaders are appointed by kabul. our state department insisted on a centralized structure that's totally contrary to afghan tradition, and we expect that the afghan people are going to swallow it? especially when their government is so corrupt, they can't even have an honest election? how can we expect our men and women to go over there and put their lives on the line when we haven't been willing to actually be tough with