mr. crawford. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. peck, what were your impressions of the $30,000 pool party awards ceremony where you were given an award for your work on the stimulus program? >> mr. crawford, there was a reception i think the afternoon i got there. it was outdoors at the hotel. i wasn't aware of what it cost until reminded by the investigator, i didn't remember what the food was because i don't think i ate very much of it. but i -- nor was i aware that there might have been an awards ceremony there to justify food expenses. that's not something i would have thought of. not a rule i believe i was familiar with. i saw it as part of a hotel package i had seen both in private and public sectors before, that those kinds of receptions were provided as part of a hotel package. so i thought at the end of the day not knowing the expense, i didn't think it was out of the ordinary. may i say one thing about the awards? >> sure. >> i want to say if i have ab opportunity i'd like to say something about coins. when i left the go

mr. crawford, our own herb greenberg a couple weeks ago wants to ask you a question. got an executive from walgreens coming on. herb, ask mr. crawford a question, if you can. >> when we talk about walgreens, we lost -- you ended your deal with express scripts. medco you have a relationship with. how do you make money on the pharmacy side of the business if these deals are falling by the wayside? >> well, herb, you probably are aware that back in december we made a significant offer to express scripts and at that time we had a time where it would allow us to provide service to the men and women of the country through the department of defense and express scripts decided not to accept that offer. we have a great relationship with medco. we've made it publicly known that we plan to honor that contract and we're excited that express scripts has also decided to honor that medco contract. we're working with all of the different payers and this is one of the most exciting selling seasons. we're really excited about the opportunities that we're going to have for new customers

mr. crawford, there was a reception, i think the afternoon, i got there, it was outdoors at the hotel. i wasn't aware what it cost, i don't remember what the food was because i don't think i ability very much of it. nor was i aware that there might have been an awards ceremony there to justify food expenses. that's not something i would have thought of and it's not a rule i believe i was familiar with. i thought as part of a hotel package, i had seen in both the public and private sectors before that those were provided as part of a hotel package. so i thought at the end of a stay, not knowing the expense, i didn't think it was out of the ordinary. may i say one thing about the awards? >> yes. >> if i have an opportunity, i would like to say something about coins. when i left the government in 2001--civilian agencies had coin, everywhere i went, somebody gave me a coin from one of their agencies. when i was told they were running out and that we needed to order more, i was asked how much they cost, i was told about $10 apiece, if i want to give somebody an atta boy, i can give them a c

mr. crawford. guest: hi.aller: my question is how much impact do you think faith or religion is going to have on the upcoming elections. guest: you know, when i look at mitt romney, he's got a problem with the hate wedges that we've seen in -- from republican campaigns in the last few cycles. that's god, guns and gays. he has a difficult time using the religious issue because at least he appears nervous about his mormonism because he talks very little about it. he speaks of religion in sort of other ways like he quoted earlier and then guns, his massachusetts record on signing a ban on assault rifles and saying he wasn't in line with the nvm r.a., he did his best talking to the n.r.a. to speak their language. host: let's look at what he said friday. he spoke in st. louis, missouri, at the n.r.a. convention and he addressed that issue. let's watch in just a moment. [video clip] >> you know, we've all seen enough of president obama over the last three years to know that we don't want another four. in a second t

mr. chairman -- crawford. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. peck, what were your impressions of the $30,000 pool party awards ceremony where you were given an award for your work on the stimulus program? >> mr. crawford, there was a reception, i think, the afternoon i got there. it was outdoors at the hotel. i wasn't aware of what it cost until reminded by the investigator, i didn't remember what the food was because i don't think i ate very much of it. but -- nor was i aware that there might have been an awards ceremony there to justify food expenses. that's not something i would have thought of, not a rule i believe i was familiar with. i thought as part of a hotel package i had seen both in public and private sectors before that those kinds of receptions were provided as part of a hotel package. and that's -- so i thought at the end of the day, um, not knowing the expense, i didn't, i didn't think it was out of the ordinary. may i say one thing about the awards. >> sure. >> i want to say, if i have an opportunity, i'd like to say something

very sophisticated lady, but she was very new on the scene then, and so joan crawford, who was seated across the table from mrs. douglas, and joan crawford knew that you're supposed to put the fork and the spoon here and take the finger bowl and the doily and put it here so you can serve your dessert on the clean plate. well, cathy didn't know that. she would have figured it out, but ms. crawford wasn't going to wait for that, so she stood up, this is what you're supposed to do, and so she moved her bowl and her silverware and said, you'll learn how to do that. >> aren't you glad you didn't have the job in the 24/7 news cycle period? ladies and gentlemen, would you please join me in thanking bess abell, laurie firestone, and cathy fenton? >> thank you all. thank you all. richard, thank you, very much. >>> this year is the bicentennial of the start of the war of 1812. up next, we hear from donald hickey, author of "don't give up the ship! myths of the war of 1812." mr. hickey attempts to dispel the many myths intertwined with the history of 1812. this event took place at the detroit historical museum. >> good e

mr. crawford. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. peck, what were your impressions. $30,000 pool party award ceremony given an award for your work on the stimulus program? >> there was a reception, i think, in the afternoon. i got there. it was outdoors at the hotel. i was not aware of what it cost until i was remined by the investigator. i don't know remember what was food was because i didn't eat much of it nor was i aware there might have been an award ceremony to justify food expenses. that's not something i would have thought of, not a rule i believe i was familiar with. i saw it as part of a hotel package i had seen both in public and private sectors before. those kinds of receptions were provided as part of a hotel package. that's -- i thought at the end of the day, not knowing the expense, i didn't think it was out of the ordinary. one thing about the awards? >> sure. >> if i have an opportunity, i want to say something. i left the government in 2001, federal agencies did not give out coins. when i came back in 2009, this evo

mr. crawford: the average break for every attendee $44. that's $44 per person per stay. i safe the worst for last, $33,000 pool party. the chief organizer was approved for a bonus by senior obama officials for his work in organizing the conference. officials who organized and authorize wasteful spending must be held responsible. this body must work to end the culture of waste at g.s.a. and other government agencies and ensure that taxpayer dollars are respected. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? the gentleman is recognized, without objection. >> thank you very much, mr. speaker. i rise today in honor of the national day of silence which is tomorrow. this is the 15th year we've commemorated the national day of silence, a time when students across the country remain silent at a hole day to -- whole day to draw attention of lgbt peers, lesbians, gay, transgenders, questioned youth and their allies face physical bullying on a daily basis just for being who they are. mr. farr

mr. crawford: they have been married for 49 years. together they have three children, andy, andrea, and matt. he's also the proud grandfather of anna and ella. mr. speaker, today i honor him for his lifetime of service, arkansas and our nation is a better place to live because of his efforts. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. ask permission to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: gentleman ask unanimous consent? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. farr: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i rise today in opposition of h.r. 4628, known as the interest rate reduction act. keeping student loans rates at a current level should be an easy, bipartisan bill. however it should not be at the cost of an assault on women's health. of all the offsets available to the majority, they chose to undermine the well-being of america's women and children by gutting investments in screening for

one of the first things i did going back was to travel to crawford, and i photographed mrs. bush as she was delivering the radio address on afghan women. i think everything had changed. i mean, how can everything not have changed after 9/11? what was so amazing and wonderful was sort of the powerful that came from that to recognize that women -- discussions about women's rights need to be part of our discussions about democracy and moving forward. that had a big shape, and it was all leading towards going to afghanistan and making -- working with women's health and status. >> one of my favorite quotes is from groucho mamarx. the secret to life is sincerity. once you can fake that, you have it made. one of the most difficult parts of being first lady is you always have to be on and be in the moment. you spoke about the laura bush bubble. talk about that a little, susan. >> i think, for those of you who have had the chanced to with mrs. bush, it's a wonderful thing. everything from the letter she spent out to families and children which was so moving. i met so many people that