mr. mccain: yes. mr. coburn: saying they don't want it. mr. ccain: we will, i think -- well, i think the senator has made a strong poirnghts and i just want to -- a strong point and i just wanted to add clarification. and i hope we can start addressing the issue of sugar subsidies which i think is probably one of the really great ripoffs in american -- in america today. again, costs -- causing the cost of any confection or anything that contains sugar to rise and then of course the american consumer pays for it. preventing sugar from other countries to come into this country at a lower price. so -- mr. coburn: you know, senator mccain, the real issue is we spent three days this week not doing anything on this bill. we borrowed $12 billion. i've got amendments, if we could pass, would save us $20 billion. every day we don't take hard votes is a day we don't fulfill the responsibility of us -- given to us as senators. we ought to be take hard votes. people who don't want to do that, their constituency ought to ask the question: why are you there?

mr. mccain: i thank the president. mr. president, earlier this afternoon there was a vote on a two-week continuing resolution to fund the government that was divided along party lines. i voted for the passage of h.r. 1, which was a house-passed continuing resolution which will fund the federal government for the remainder of the fiscal year. and i supported this measure because i believe it's a critical first step toward reining in our deficit and debt and putting us back on a path to fiscal solvency. i appreciate the hard work of my colleagues in the house and the efforts required a lot of compromise and tough decisions. and i supported the passage of h.r. 1, but i do have serious concerns with the defense-related spending of this bill. the defense-related spending on h.r. 1 is not sufficient for us to carry out our responsibilities to the men and women who are serving in the military and fulfill our national security requirements. therefore, if we are going to embark on another two-week continuing resolution, as it appea

mr. mccain: and, mr. president, i ask that after my opening statement, that my colleague from connecticut be allowed to give his statement and then i ask unanimous consent that the senator from connecticut and i be allowed to engage in a colloquy, and i understand that the senator from connecticut may be using his 10 minutes; is that correct? the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mccain: i thank you, mr. president. today my colleague, senator lieberman, and i are introducing a resolution on the situation in libya. mr. president, is it allowed to send to the desk a resolution, even though we're in morning business and its consideratione delayed -- and its consideration be delayed until the appropriate time? the presiding officer: the resolution will be received and appropriately referred. mr. mccain: on behalf of myself and senator lieberman, i send the resolution to the desk. mr. president, the wording of the resolution is a sense of the senate. it is pretty simple and straightforward. it calls fo

mr. mccain: thank you. the senator from louisiana. the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana.s. landrieu: madam president, before i get into the business before us, which is sbir and sttr re-authorization, a very important small business program, let me just add a few thoughts to the colloquy of the senator from arizona and the minority leader had. i would most certainly support that view, and there may be others on the democratic side that feel that way as well, but as chair of the homeland security appropriations committee, let me be very clear that i don't think we should go to another short-term c.r. without a full-year appropriation of homeland security. not only is the defense department appropriations bill absolutely essential to the well-being of this nation, but so is the homeland security budget. they have complete jurisdiction of the customs and immigration over our safety and security at our powrts. we must certainly -- and our airports and train stations. we most certainly can't let our guard down as it pertains to our overseas operations, but we most certainly ca

affleck and mrs. mccain. i'm curious. how did you choose the eastern congo as a focus of your passion and interest? the reason that i say that is those of us who sit on this committee and others where global human rights is a concern and deep interest and essential, the insults to humanity, the affrontry that comes across our desk daily in so many places throughout the world can almost just be exhausting. so i'm curious, how did you choose this particular area? >> yeah. i came to it -- i won't go into my own personal journey because that may be inappropriate for this -- but i think really for me it was -- it was -- in fact i was reading. looking at some other stuff trying to cast around, looking at advocacy and i came across this, well of course it pales into comparison with the millions of daepgts in eastern congo and i was on the one hand really shocked and on the other hand ashamed. how could i not know this? i read the newspaper and yet i had no idea and so i thought well maybe this is a place where i can at least you

mr. actor ben afleck and the wife of senator john mccain testified during the second part of the hearing. >> i would like to welcome panel number two beginning with mr. ben afleck who is the founder of the eastern condo group. he is a passional advocate he founded the eastern congo initiative or eci. with the mission of helping the people of the congo support approaches that created a sustainable society in the long troubled region. eci is the first grant making initiative focused on working with and for the people of eastern congo. since 2007 mr. afleck has made multiple trips to africa. he has focused on understanding the causes of conflict on the continent and learning about african solutions to the problems affecting the drc. and then we will hear from miss francesca degolish. spearheading the effort to incorporate prevention and response in programming in conflict and disaster effect. >> miss walsh works with displaced communities and has spent a considerable amount of time in the eastern congo helping partners design effective responses to psycho social and medical needs of m sexual

afeck and mrs. mccain. i'm curious. how did you choose the eastern congo as a focus of your passion and interest? the reason that i say that is those of us who sit on this committee and others where global human rights is a concern and deep interest and essential, the insults to humanity, the affrontry that comes across our desk daily in so many places throughout the world can almost just be exhausting. so i'm curious, how did you choose this particular area? >> yeah. i came to it -- i won't go into my own personal journey because that may be inappropriate for this -- but i think really for me it was -- it was -- in fact i was reading. looking at some other stuff trying to cast around, looking at advocacy and i came across this, well of course it pales into comparison with the millions o daepgts in eastern congo and i was on the one hand really shocked and on the other hand ashamed. how could i not know this? i read the newspaper and yet i had no idea and so i thought well maybe this is a place where i can at least you

mr. mccain: i thank you, mr. president. i'd like to take time to address the ongoing situation in libya. last night the president made a strong defense of our military action in libya. i welcome his remarks and i appreciate he explained why this intervention was both right and necessary. especially in light of the unprecedented democratic awakening that is now sweeping the broader middle east. there's been much criticism of the president's handling of the situation in libya. some legitimate, some not. but the fact is because we did act, the united states and our coalition partners averted a strategic and humanitarian disaster in libya. even as we seek adjustments to u.s. policy where appropriate to ensure that we accomplish the u.s. goal, as stated by the president, forcing qadhafi to leave power, i believe the president's decision to intervene in libya deserves strong bipartisan support here in congress and among all americans. it's worth remembering, especially for the rittics of this inter -- critics of this intervention

aleck and mrs. mccain, i'm curious, how did you choose the eastern congo as a focus of your passion? those of us who sit on this committee and others where global human rights is a concern and deep interest and essential, the insults to humanity in so many place is throughout the world can almost be exhausting. i'm curious, how did you choose this particular area? >> i came to it, i won't go into my own personal journey, but for me, i was reading. i was looking at some other stuff, trying to cast around looking at advocacy and it pales in comparison with the millions of deaths in eastern congo and i was shocked and ashamed, how could i have not known this. i read the newspaper and i had no idea. so i thought maybe this is a place i could at least show up. and i started studying and learning. it took a couple of years, i didn't want to be a celebrity person that doesn't know what they are talking about and doesn't know what he is talking about. >> that is very well received. >> so i did a lot of studying. a

mr. mccain, specifically repudiated the notion that the c.r.a. had caused this. >> will yacht jealed -- will the gentleman yield? mr. frank: yes. >> i will be the first to acknowledge that republicans make mistakes as well. thank you very much. mr. frank: i was not talking about republicans making mistakes. i have no idea what that's supposed to contribute to this debate. i was citing two thoughtful and responsible republicans, plus all of the budget, all of the financial regulators under both bush administrations who said c.r.a. wasn't the problem. now the gentleman didn't say it was. some people said that because c.r.a. did have some kind of more mandatory position but it wasn't for those subprime loans. in fact, with regard to the oans the gentleman is with regard to the loans the gentleman is complaining about it was those on the democratic side trying to abandon them. beginning in 2004, the gentleman from north carolina, mr. miller, the gentleman from north carolina, mr. watt, i joined them later, tried to outlaw those loans. we were blasted

mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator mccain. senator lieberman. >> thanks, mr.hairman, thanks secretary flournoy and general petraeus for your service and testimony. general petraeus i don't think we can thank you enough for this service and leadership you've given our country, particularly in this case you had gone from remarkable leadership in iraq, helping with a lot of help from state department and our troops turning that situation around, then the central command. suddenly with general mcchrystal's departure from afghanistan, you are called to the oval office. the president asks you to go to afghanistan. you could have found a lot of reasons not to. you just didn't hesitate. you said yes, sir, and you've been there with a lot of support from the administration and others, and we're turning it around now in afghanistan, without any illusions about the difficulties we face. i just think the country owes you a tremendous expression of gratitude. you set by your example the standard for everyone who serves under you in afghanistan and frankly for any of us who

mccain? >> thank you mr. chairman and not like to welcome our distinguished witnesses and thank them for their -- for their service to our nation. want to say special note of thanks to general petraeus. the truest test of a commander is whether he is worthy of the sacrifice made by those he leaves. whether the young men or women we call upon the day in and day out to risk their lives for us feel their commander offers the same degree of devotion. as they devotion we are fortunate that general petraeus is such a commander. it is the highest priority of congress to be just as worthy of the sacrifices made by the men and women of our armed forces and to provide them with everything they need to succeed in their mission of defending our nation. let me take this opportunity to say again that we urgently need to pass a full year appropriations bill on defense for the remainder of this fiscal year 2011 as the secretary of defense has repeatedly called for. it is irresponsible to continue funding our fellow americans

mr. chairman. >> thank you very much, senator mccain. admiral olson, let's start with you. >> good morning, chairman levin, senator mccain and other distinguished members of the committee. i do thank you for this opportunity to appear before you to present the current posture of the united states special operations command. we, at the united states special operations command, recognize that we were created by the congress, and that our ability to meet our nation's high expectations is due in large part to this committee's continued strong support. i'm especially pleased to share this hearing with my friend and teammate, general jim mattis. general mattis' headquarters and mine are, coincidentally, located on the same base in tampa, and we and our staffs work together quite closely. so with your permission, i will submit my report for -- >> it will be made part of the record in full. >> so the lingering threat of violence in iraq, the fragility of the progress in afghanistan, the complexity of our relations with pakistan, the decentraliza

mr. ben affleck and ms. cindy mccain are testament to what the power of individuals can do in the great lakes area. i noticed that my friend john pendergrass and other ngo groups who are here wloz work has helped a great deal in moving this process along. let me tell you, mr. chairman, that the united states continues to play a significant role to make a difference in the lives of the people in the drc and wherever there is suffering and tragedy. in the tense years following 2003 we led an international effort through our tribe parte peace process to address the causes of violence and to end the tragedies that promote violence. i was honored to help lead the process for nearly four years making some two dozen trips to the region. secretary clinton traveled to the drc in 2009 as have many senior officials in the last two years. our overall arching goals and objectives in the drc to resolve it lies in governance and security. you need to have a government that is accountable to the people, and you need a security which is

mccain. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i would like to welcome our distinguished witnesses and thank them for their service to our nation. i want to say a special note of thanks to general petraeus. the truest test of a commander is whether he is worthy of the sacrifice made by those he leads, whether the young men and women who we call upon day in and day out to risk their lives for us feel that their cmander offershe same degree of devotion as they do. we are fortunate that general petraeus is such a commander. it's congress' highest priority to be just as worthy as the sacrifices made by the men and women of our armed forces and to provide them with everything they need to succeed in their mission of defendg our nation. so let me take this opportunity to say again that we urgently need to pass a full year appropriations bill on defense for the remainder of fiscal year 2011 as the secretary of defense has repeatedly called for. it is irresponsible to continue funding our fellow americans fighting two wars through piece m

mr. zandi, john mccain's advisor, says will cost us 700,000 jobs. so i am hopeful we can pursue in a bipartisan basis the make it in america agenda, expand our manufacturing capability, grow those jobs that pay well and provide good benefits and make america the kind of country it has been, is now and we want to be in the future. and i thank the gentleman for yielding and i thank him for focusing america's attention on this critical agenda. mr. garamendi: i thank you very much, mr. hoyer, and we thank you for your leadership on this entire agenda because this is about middle-class america. this is the middle-class america that was rapidly disappearing over the last 15 to 20 years as we exported american manufacturing jobs. your agenda, the make it in america agenda, brings those jobs back to america. i will note there are a couple pieces of legislation that you could add to that list. one of them was -- mr. hoyer: these are, of course, the ones that we have already passed and have been signed into law. you have a very important piece of legislation.

mr. ben affleck and ms. cindy mccain are testament to what the power of individuals can do in the great lakes area. i noticed that my friend john pendergrass and other ngo groups who are here wloz work has helped a great deal in moving this process along. let me tell you, mr. chairman, that the united states continues to play a significant role to make a difference in the lives of the people in the drc and wherever there is suffering and tragedy. in the tense years following 2003 we led an international effort through our tribe parte peace process to address the causes of violence and to end the tragedies that promote violence. i was honored to help lead the process for nearly four years making some two dozen trips to the region. secretary clinton traveled to the drc in 2009 as have many senior officials in the last two years. our overall arching goals and objectives in the drc to resolve it lies in governance and security. you need to have a government that is accountable to the people, and you need a security which is

mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator mccain. >> thank you very much for inviting us here today to update you on our efforts in afghanistan. nearly 10 years ago, after -- al qaeda operatives carry out attacks that killed thousands of americans. as we all know, these attacks emanated from a safe haven in taliban control of afghanistan. in response to the september 11 attacks, the united states supported by a vital international partners entered afghanistan by force in order to remove totaliban regime and to prevent further attacks by al qaeda and associates. our mission was just, fully supported by the international community, and initially, it was quite successful. in the years that followed, we lost focus on afghanistan. while our attention was turned away, al qaeda, the taliban, and other extremist groups retook their positions. as a result, we risk the return upon taliban lead afghanistan that would likely once again provide a safe haven for terrorists who could plan and execute attacks against the united states. when president obama took office, he immediately order a thorough review of our stra

whether you think senators like john kerry and john mccain are right about the fact that we ought to do something to help put into place a no-fly zone. >> mrtes comes up -- i understand the difficulty. we do not want to put a no-fly zone because we don't want the u.s. to be involved in another war. i understand that. give at least the people a chance to shoot down those silly planes gaddafi is using. we did in afghanistan and we were not even there. at least level the playing field. this is not a revolution by rebels. tavis: are you suggesting we ought to supply the people? >> i am indeed. the argument is these people are rebels. i understand if it is a rebel of 1000 or 2000, but not when 1 million people oppose you. these are not rebels. they are asking for an end to the rule, democratic rule in which they can participate. libya itself has tribes but is not a tribal society because most of the libyans most [unintelligible] important of all, libbin it is muslim but they are not islamic. -- libya is muslim. tavis: let me ask you this final question. that is whether or not -- i want to go back to where we started. given that there are many w

mr. obama had never run anything which disturbs me given this crisis. neither had senator mccainnd mccain is a prisoner of the cold war because of what happened to him in his wonderful service. the very qualities that made mccain effective in the cold war world, clarity, decisiveness, courage, leading, in a multi- polar world are bullying, misunderstanding, making things simpler complicated. it is a tragedy he has outlived his time. obama being younger and understanding was a better bet. i'm not a fan of sarah palin. i could not leave the cowboy one heartbeat away from the presidency. >> you talk about the democrats and recession at kate insisted in january. >> i hear from democrats that it is all george w. bush's fault. i'm not big fan of george w. bush pr. however, to blend hapless? present for this is a bit much and it is a reactionary, and from our secretary of state when she says that once we get over these local difficulties, when she was running for president, we will go back to the way things were in the 1990's. that is a curious reactionary comment from a progressive per

mr. king is doing right now and lieberman and mccain and what newt gingrich is doing right now.y are making more people radicalized. host: how so? caller: its dividing the muslims and christians right now. host: how are those people you mentioned making more people radicalized? caller: because all those [inaudible] host: thank you for calling in this morning. mayflower, arkansas, you are on the line. darwin on the line for independents. you have to turn down the volume on your tv. we will put you on hold. we will come back to you. . >> whatever that run the neighborhood came out and beat this 15-year-old boy with a pipe. they are letting this goi run off to israel. >> may flour, arkansas on the independent line. good morning and wake up america. i have a problem with c-span. people are calling that don't even know what the koran is or have never read it. i have read it twice. it is a radical religion. their goal is to an i'll ate christians and jews. that is the instruction host: james allen tweets in. today's republican party is attacking unions and muslims. notice the similari

mr. obama has approved the use of u.s. military aircraft and civilian flights to help refugees. and he left open the idea of establishing a no-fly zone over libya, which senator john mccain has called for. >> what are the chances that in his desperation, that gadhafi just starts to kill people? we all admit that he's insane. so, wouldn't we want to prevent that from happening? >> reporter: defense secretary robert gates says enforcement is not simple. >> a no-fly zone begins with an attack on libya, to destroy the air defenses. so, it is a big operation in a big country. >> reporter: moammar gadhafi has warned thousands of libyans will die if the u.s. or nato intervenes. hundreds have died already. and one doctor says he knows there are more casualties ahead. >> all the people are afraid. but this is my job. this is my job. >> reporter: today, there are protests all across the region planned for what's being called a day of rage. so, the turnout in tripoli, which is controlled by moammar gadhafi, could really be one signal of the strength that remains of his power in the capital city. mike and peggy? >> all right, emily. live from washington this morning. thank you. >>>

mr. obama had never run anything which disturbed me given this crisis a great gale -- deal but neither had senator mccain and mcskein a prisoner of the cold war because of what happened to him in his service is, which i honor. but he was effective in a bipolar cold war world, clarity, decisiveness, but in a multipolar world, it's bullying, he's a greek tragedy, he's outlived his time. i thought obama being younger was a better bet. i'm no fan of mrs. palin and to quote teddy roosevelt, i couldn't leeve -- leave that cowboy one heartbeat away from the presidency. brian: you talk about -- at cato -- >> it's all george w. bush's fault? i'm not a big fan of george w. bush as you can get -- guess from my iraq experience. from my iraq experience. however, to blame the happless ex-president for all this is a bit much and it's a curious reactionary comment from our secretary of state when she says once we get over these little difficulties we'll go back to the way things were in the 1990's. it's a curiously reactionary comment for a supposedly progressive person. are we supposed to get in our time machine and go

mr. president, let me read the first two paragraphs of thean revolution to the coke a resolution senator mccainnd i have introduced today becausea i think it sets with a setting in lebanon to the columbia in the context and explains why wel think america has a national interest in how the conflict inh libya in this. i first paragraph of the resolution we introduced just now. whereas peaceful demonstrationsl inspired by similar peaceful demonstrations in tunisia ande elsewhere in the middle east wih began and libya with calls for greater political reform, burton become a justice and the rule of law and quickly spread to cities around the country. second , whereas muammar qaddafi, his sons and and forcep loyal to them respond to the peaceful demonstrations by authorizing and initially to the violence against civilian lya noncombatants in libya including the use of air power, for the mercenaries, helicopters, mortar and artillery pryor the navalss, t'sets, snipers and soldiers. wa they set in context what is happening in libya. the fact is libya is occurring n in the context in these extraordi

mr. obama had never run anything which disturbed me given this crisis a great deal but neither had senator mccain and mccain a prisoner of the cold war because of what happened to him in his service is, which i honor. but the qualities that made him effective in this a bipolar cold war world, clarity, decisiveness, but in a multipolar world, it's bullying, he's a greek tragedy, he's outlived his time. i thought obama being younger and understanding this more was a better bet. also i'm no fan of mrs. palin and to quote teddy roosevelt, i couldn't leave that cowboy one heartbeat away from the presidency. brian: you talk about the democrats in your session at cato in january. >> i hear it from democrats who i talked to regularly and have known since my think tank days. it is all george w. bush's fault. i'm not a big fan of george w. bush as you can guess from my iraq experience. however, to blame the hapless ex-president for all this is a bit much and it's a curious reactionary comment from our secretary of state when she says once we get over these little difficulties we'll go back to the way thing

mr. ryan, introduced expedited rescission in the 111th congress. so did john mccain and senator carper with 32 bipartisan co-sponsors. exercising fiscal responsibility requires strong discipline and a commitment to cutting unnecessary spending. expedited rescission provides another layer of spending cuts and another opportunity for deficit reduction. i urge my colleagues to co-sponsor the legislation, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio rise? >> mr. speaker, request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, you heard it many times, energy is jobs. energy is jobs. we have a wealth of resources in our nation, oil, natural gas and coal. yet we see gas prices rising to unbelievable rates here in america. approaching in many places in excess of $4 a gallon. and what are we doing about it? not very much. we got a permitting process that is failing america, and we have an o

mr. speaker, are not only egregious but they are reckless and they are damaging. according to former john mccain economic advisor, mark zandi, the bill had the potential to lead to 700,000 lost jobs, exactly the wrong prescription for our recovering economy. and speaking of jobs, mr. speaker, where are the republicans' jobs bills? where is the legislation to encourage investment in new technologies and infrastructure and education and in medical research? it's been 11 weeks and we have seen nothing, not a thing from the other side of the aisle on jobs. let me remind my colleagues, that if you truly want to achieve deficit reduction, focus on job creation, put people back to work. we can grow out of this deficit that we have. mr. speaker, we can and must do better and i urge my colleagues to oppose this closed rule. i remind my colleagues that we have yet to truly have an open rule in this house. oppose the closed rule and oppose the underlying legislation. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from georgia is reco

wife of the distinguished senator from arizona, john mccain, but she's also worked with care operation smile and the land removal group, the halo trust. mr affleck, if you'll proceed. >> thank you very much. i'm very excited about this, and it's a great honor.

mr. obama told nbc news he's confident the leaders will step down. >> our expectation is that as we continue to apply strictly pressure to these other means that gaddafi will ultimately step down. >> reporter: senator john mccain believes he should be forced down. >> the united states wrestling remain strongly engaged enforce gaddafi to leave power. >> reporter: a classified briefing today for congress getting from hillary clinton she met with coalition partners on tuesday in london. >> i believe we're making a lot of progress together, we could not do it unless were representing international community. >> reporter: nato is assuming full control of the mission today. >> james: the u.s. has spent about $550 million on the libya effort 60% 20 missiles, another 40 million over the next three weeks. coming out we're finding of the people were working on fixing the troubled new juror powerplant are now being admitted to the hospital. a live look at the james lick, on this wednesday morning is about 4:10 a.m. traffic is doing all right eric is keeping her eyes and a couple of things that might slow you down. >> james: welcome back to the kron 4 news. 4:11 a.m. we will wind up in store for today, to marlowe-made '80

mr. chairman. >> thank you for the excellent statement. normally we limit opening statements to the chairman and ranking member on the committee but senator mccain, as you know, the original sponsor of the legislation that created the 9/11 commission senator mccain, i would invite you to make an opening statement if you like. >> i would like to thank the witnesses. i think what they did was one of the reasons why this country hasn't been intact since 9/11. the dedicated public servants in example of bipartisan shipment -- by partisanship and it's appropriate on the ten year anniversary we get their continued input. thank you again for your service to the country. >> thank you, senator mccain. before we go to the witnesses i want to introduce charles doud who is here, deputy chief of the new york police department for communications. he's been a very strong proponent of allocating the d-block public safety and we appreciate the fact that he's committed enough that he's in the room today. governor kean, welcome and we look forward to your testimony now. >> mr. chairman, ranking members of the committee, we are pleased to have the opportunity to be

mr. chairman. >> thank you for the excellent statement. normally we limit opening statements to the chairman and ranking member on the committee but senator mccain, as you know, the original sponsor of the legislation that created the 9/11 commission senator mccain, i would invite you to make an opening statement if you like. >> i would like to thank the witnesses. i think what they did was one of the reasons why this country hasn't been intact since 9/11. the dedicated public servants in example of bipartisan shipment -- by partisanship and it's appropriate on the ten year anniversary we get their continued input. thank you again for your service to the country. >> thank you, senator mccain. before we go to the witnesses i want to introduce charles doud who is here, deputy chief of the new york police department for communications. he's been a very strong proponent of allocating the d-block public safety and we appreciate the fact that he's committed enough that he's in the room today. governor kean, welcome and we look forward to your testimony now. >> mr. chairman, ranking members of the committee, we are pleased to have the opportunity to be

mark zandi, john mccain's former economic advisor, puts the job loss figure at 700,000. no matter who is right, the number is far too high. mr. speaker, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle don't particularly like public employees, but we do need to ask just who are these public employees. just one example is the staff at the tsunami warning center. under the majority's plan, the national weather center, the agency that houses the tsunami center that issued alerts after friday's earthquake, and there was significant damage in california after the tsunami -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. ms. bass: would result in a cost of $126 million. thank you. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? mr. pitts: to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. pitts: we know that gas to fuel jet planes come from oil. president obama realizes this. in fact, his advisors have considered opening up the strategic petroleum reserve in order to

mccain is a founding member and investor in the eastern congo initiative and mc shares mr. after fleck's dedication to ending the suffering in this region.ern she also has dedicated her timei and energy to a number of other very worthwhile projects.regi she serves on the boards of ded directors of several nonprofit philanthropies includinge, operation smile which provides reconstructive surgery to children with facial deformities and the land mine removal group the halo trust. mr. after fleck and his organization are -- after flecky and his organization are making a major contribution in focusing political will on resolving the crises in the drc and bringing constructive recommendations to the table. pol but just as importantly, he ishe setting an example for all of us as to the need to direct whatever resources and influence we may have to help those who are less fortunate and without r voice to help themselves. and his presence, perspectiveelp and example for that, the subcommittee is mostel appreciative. i'm also grateful for our distinguished witnesses who are here as w

mr. mccain: i thank you, mr. president. i'd like to take time to address the ongoing situation in libya. last night the president made a strong defense of our military action in libya. i welcome his remarks and i appreciate he explained why this intervention was both right and necessary. especially in light of the unprecedented democratic awakening that is now sweeping the broader middle east. there's been much criticism of the president's handling of the situation in libya. some legitimate, some not. but the fact is because we did act, the united states and our coalition partners averted a strategic and humanitarian disaster in libya. even as we seek adjustments to u.s. policy where appropriate to ensure that we accomplish the u.s. goal, as stated by the president, forcing qadhafi to leave power, i believe the president's decision to intervene in libya deserves strong bipartisan support here in congress and among all americans. it's worth remembering, especially for the rittics of this inter -- critics of this intervention