host: midwest city, oklahoma. democrat's line. caller: i don't think you all have really looked at the public school system i know with my children i had a son who had an english teacher that was teaching chemistry. all he did was look up definitions for the whole semester. and of course he received an a for that class. i have another in the algebra class. i go meet with the teacher. he asked me, is he in my low skill no fail class? and i was stunned? he had a class that no matter what the students grade was he could not give them anything less than a d because they had to pass. it was a no fail class. so i think we really need to look at our school system and we need to pay our math and science teachers appropriately. that's all i have to say. guest: i think you've made incredibly important points. and they are very much in synch with the commission report. we have to -- the standards movement is about not lying to children and not lying to their parents about the quality of education they are getting. we need to be clear about w

the midwest governors said they had a plan to link the midwestern cities at 100 to 110 miles an hour. senator mccain said there is a plan to link washington with 100 to 110-mile-an-hour train. governor patrick said, slow down. we can't make this effort building 100-mile-an-hour train systems. or else we are truly consigning ourselves to be a second-class nation when it comes to transporting our citizens. we have to look at the maglas. we have to look at the bullet trains. we have to look at improving the aseller. we can go from new york to washington in an hour and 30 minutes. we can go from new york to philadelphia in 33 minutes. we can consign the shuttle to the rusty. and by doing that we can improve east-west traffic all over the eastern seaboard. we shouldn't be flying people 500 miles or less. we should put them on high-speed trains. now reabthern asked a very important question. -- now, ranking member thorn asked a very important question. what should be given priority? i suggest we create a national infrastructure bank staffed by professionals, not necessarily professionals al

to new orleans and east coast and south central corridor into oklahoma city, little rock and memphis and ultimately into the midwest. this project, impressive in itself, will require a unique part of of federal, state and local officials and the private sector and we would very much look forward to working with this committee with amtrak to make that happen. thank you for having us here. looking forward to questions. >> miss fleming, we welcome you and ask you to make your remarks. >> mr. chairman, ranking no. 19, thune, ranking member hutchison, thank you for the opportunity to discuss passenger rail, and the reinvestment act. the $8 billion provided by the act for high speed and other intercity passenger rail project have focused more attention on and generated a great deal of anticipation about the possibility of developing high-speed rail systems in the united states. my testimony have 2 parts, i will discuss the fact is that we have identified that affect the economic viability of high-speed rail projects and how f r a's strategic plan incorporates these factors. the potential benefits of high-speed rail proje

the governors were pushing for their own projects, the midwest governors said they had a plan to meet link the midwestern cities, 110 miles an hour. gov. cheney said there is a plan to link richmond and washington with 110 mile an hour trains. gov. nixon of missouri spoke up and governor patrick of massachusetts and myself said slowdown, we can't make this effort building 100 miles an hour train systems, or else we are truly consigning ourselves to be a second-class nation when it comes to transporting our citizens. we have to look at the maglevs and latrines, if we did the work we needed on amtrak we could go from new york to washington in an hour and 30 minutes, new york to philadelphia in 33 minutes, we could consign the shuttle to the rest heat and by doing that we could improve east/west air traffic along the eastern seaboard. we shouldn't fly people 500 miles or less, we should be putting them on high speed trains. ranking member thune asked a good question. how are we going to decide which of these projects, whether it is $13 million or 5 funded million dollars, how we decide which projects should be giv

midwest. you walk down bourbon street, and it makes an impression on you. so from the beginning i wanted to get a job in new orleans. i had fallen in love with the city, and i'm still in love with it, hopelessly, lo these many years later. c-span: how big is the school, by the way? >> guest: twenty-five thousand. c-span: is it a state school? >> guest: yes. it's part of the lsu system. c-span: i counted in the front of your book 16 books, plus this one. is that right, 17? >> guest: that sounds pretty good. c-span: which one sold the most? >> guest: gee, i couldn't tell you -- oh, "rise to globalism," certainly, by far. i'm sorry. that's a book on american foreign policy that is widely used as a textbook, and it's now in its ninth printing. it's been for 18 years a standard, really, around the english-speaking world. it's been a fabulous -- it put five kids through college for me. c-span: i started to say earlier, i've got another book that you did, one of the many that's on former president nixon, and in the introduction you say that "it's a lonely life that you spend, five-and-a-half or six days a week at a typewriter, and you wonder if anybody ever

and i can both attest, chicago is a diverse and inclusive city situated on the banks of the beautiful lake michigan, it is a jewel of the midwest. chicago has always been a global leader in culture, art, architecture, commerce, sports, and even cuisine. the olympic spirit is alive and well in chicago. the chicago 2016 olympic committee recognizes the importance of the games and renewing old friendships around the world as well as establishing new ones. this ideal and the value of a friendship through sports is at the heart of the city's olympic bid. it is a city i am proud to call home, and it showcases much of what makes this country so great. that is why it is the ideal site of the olympic and the paralympic games. the athletes, world-class training facilities and events located would be very close together, allowing for convenience and ease for visitors, outstanding public transportation and model infrastructure would make all events readily accessible and easy to attend. for residents of the city and people across the united states, chicago would shine on the world stage, and millions of dollars would pour in from across th