you 400 crashed off of niagara airport in buffalo in new york it is operating as a part flight from newark new jersey. four crew members and 45 passengers were killed. of the aircraft destroyed by eight impact and afire one person in a house was killed and two individuals escaped the house with minor injuries. . . the ntsb has issued numerous recommendations to the faa on stall training, pie lit records, a remedial training, situational awareness, pilots monitoring skills, low airs ditto alert systems, a pilot professionalism and fatigue as well as aircraft icing. two of the series, aircraft icing in human fatigue are on the boards most >> while there are currently more than 450 open recommendations to the faa, on january 12 of this year, the faa took action on some of those recommendations when it published a notice of proposed rulemaking. >> race in numerous safety recommendations, the issue that we issued to the faa. in 1995 the ntsb issued recommendations for the faa to require an airline to evaluate an applicant pilots experience, skills and ability before hiring the individual. the f

that shows newark and it shows the pilots where they are living in order to fly to newark to get to a decent station. you might say it's always been that way. people have to be on their own. to have you got rest and so on. but this case had a copilot that flew all night long to get to her duty station. and so does that make sense? >> it makes sense, and i agree with you that that is, represents the reality of our air transportation system and our pilots. however, i think we have to take a very close look again at the system that has created this. you can't open and closed domiciles on a regular basis and transfer flying and layoff pilots at one airline and not give them some ability to either move to their station or get to work. even if i'm based in houston and the company needs me out of newark, they will deadhead me to newark. they will get me to where i should start my flight. there is a huge responsibility that professional aviators take very near and dear. none of us get into the cockpit believing that we are going to fail that they. every one of these aviators faced the weather

who trade in older cars for newark models. state department programs including the united nations peacekeeping and a measure to increase military and nonmilitary aid to pakistan. negotiators are trying to agree on a bill allocating almost $100 billion for additional iraq and afghanistan war spending. 6:30 p.m. eastern here on c- span. the senate continues work on the tobacco regulations with a procedural vote today at 53:30. live senate coverage on c-span2. >> there is time to get your copy of the congressional directorate. with information on house and senate members, cabinet, supreme court justices, and the governors. plus, district maps and how to contact committees and caucuses.

that shows newark, and shows the where the pilots are living in order to fly to newark to get to a duty station. you might say it has always been that way, they have to get there and get adequate rest. this case had a pilot that flew all night long to get to do station. does that make sense? >> it makes sense, and i would agree with you that that represents the reality of our air transportation system and our pilots. however, i think we have to take a very close look at the system that has created this. you cannot open and closed domiciles on a regular basis and transfer flying and lay off pilots at one airline and not give them some ability to either move to their new station or to get to work. even if i am based in houston and the company needs me out of newark, they will deadhead me to new york. they will get me to wear i have to start my flight. none of us get into a cockpit believing that we are going to fail that day. everyone of these aviators face the weather, the same weather and the same situation, engines failed, we have emergencies, and our pilots do it. >> but with very dif

. >> is there any concern about the -- in the towers, you know, newark, for instance. required 36 fully trained controllers in the tower. we have 26 or 27. seven of them are controllers in training. as we all know, we have a fantastic aviation system. we have lots of brilliant people. but we don't have enough and if you were to go in the operating room with a radiologist short you wouldn't say that is good for the patient. say that is good for the patient. so, are we concerned enough, mr. administrator, that we have enough people to take care of the needs presently and the-- that are right in front of us? >> appreciating i am relatively new on the job i certainly have been looking into this. i will say everyone starts a job somewhere as a rookie and the way that is handled whether it is in the cockpit, every pilot makes a first flight and those with a training captain with him. a every comptroller, at some point is going to pick up the microphone for the first time in control traffic in standing next to him is going to be fully trained, fully qualified comptrollers wat

host: we're joined on the democrats' line from newark, new jersey. caller: thank you to your balanced response to the questions coming your way. as a person who watches c-span consistently, it is a pleasure to hear you cannot avoid questions posed to you. my question to you as a reporter for "the washington post" regarding john mccain and lindsey gramm attacking the president's response to the situation iniran, do you s a writer for net to be out of hand on their part and only politically motivated? do you think -- what are we supposed to do in response, technically, to what is happening andiran? should we sit back, observe, and be the third party like the rest of the world was to our own the elections? be thankful that there was a process seat that the people are responding to change? guest: it is a good question. on being out of hand i do not think so. i think the debate taking place captures the two wings of foreign policy thought. republic hawks believe and voke ronald reagan and the cold war has been unambiguous in their criticism of authoritari

house, a plan to offer cash rebates to americans who trade in older cars for newark models. state department programs including the united nations peacekeeping and a measure to increase military and nonmilitary aid to pakistan. negotiators are trying to agree on a bill allocating almost $100 billion for additional iraq and afghanistan war spending. 6:30 p.m. eastern here on c- span. the senate continues work on the tobacco regulations with a procedural vote today at 53:30. live senate coverage on c-span2. >> there is time to get your copy of the congressional directorate. with information on house and senate members, cabinet, supreme court justices, and the governors. plus, district maps and how to contact committees and caucuses. $16.95. call -- >> robert gibbs was joined by vice president biden's chief economic adviser. we get details on the administration + and -- plans for the stimulus package this summer. this is just over an hour. >> good afternoon. i have an announcement. before we get started, chaired bernstein, the vice president's chief economist, will walk us to t

even if i am based in houston and the company needs me out of newark, they will send me to where i should start my flight. there is a huge responsibility that professional aviators take very near and dear. none of us get into a pocket believing we are going to fail at day. everyone of these aviators face the weather, the same weather, the same situation, engines fail, we have emergencies, and our pilots do it. >> but with different levels of skill and experience. do you agree? >> yes, without a doubt. >> i have very limited time. i am going to ask all my questions at the end of this. i don't want to abuse my colleagues. the question of pilot records, captain prater, if we know everything on an airplane, potential employers should know everything about pilot's record? >> i believe the record act can be improved. i do think history and import -- performance is necessary and could, but don't look at that in -- as the entire story. we are constantly going through training and must meet the standards every month, every week, every year. just like when you create an airplane, you test it to des

the plane took off from newark liberty international and february and cost the lives of 50 people. it told us we need to address pilot training, flight hours of service, and implement consistent safety standards for regional and large beer carriers. last year, was all disturbing reports for the faa let airplanes filled with passengers take off with cracked parts. this forced the cancellation of thousands of flights from airlines may not have taken the safety as seriously. we are anxious to learn whatever we can about the failure of good precautions with flight 3407. we extend our sympathies also to mr. maurer, and we would like to make a promise when we're finished with these hearings that we will have done whatever we can to make his excellent safety record that exists with american aviation even better. we look with interest on our witnesses. >> mr. chairman, thank you. my comments will be very brief. let me tell you what i am thinking about hoping to accomplish through this process. i think the burden is on the airlines to prove to the american people that when we get on for the

the mainline route has been replaced with a smaller, regional jets going from houston to york -- newark, used to be heavy carriers and now to save money the replace the larger aircraft with the regional airplanes. host: that a cut on the democrats' line. -- vivica. caller: putting out a national call for amtrak and the high- speed trains that they have in japan, it would not cost any more to buy a ticket for them and to implement as much money as we spend on the airlines and their big failures. it is safer to travel on the ground. the contract up to 200 miles an hour. of course, it would not work for international, but for national journey is, i think that the airlines and the businesses, the lobbyists that kept amtrak down, they are always down in them and saying it is not feasible -- yes, it is. it would save lives. and in the end, i think it would save money. host: minnesota, the morning to tom on the republican line. caller: the of -- i am a retired locomotive engineer on the railroad and we have very similar issues as far as hours of service. the younger people having to work the b

, where the greater settlement of many people from the caribbean in east orange and irvington and newark make their voices heard. past elections we have seen many people from the caribbean communities educate caribbeans on the awareness of participation in recognizing june as caribbean month. my work with the caucus this congress has continually focused on enhancing relationships between the united states and the caribbean states by reviewing proposals and pending legislation that has direct impact on the caribbean. i believe that by facilitating an ongoing dialogue we can continue to recognize the caribbean as america's third border for trade, for political stability, for fights against drug trafficking, and for economic development. we need to remember that the caribbean is not just a place for vacationing but it's a place in need of economic development with the current open trade regime, the challenge for caribbean is to quickly develop high productive sectors that could drive the region's development. we know that the same problems that have stricken us in the u.s. have stricken the

the plane took off from newark liberty international in february. it cost the lives of 50 people.ight 3407 taught us that we need to improve pilot training, address flight crew hours and service and implement consistent safety standards for both regional and large air carriers. and just last year we saw disturbing reports about safety inspection failures where the faa let planes filled with passengers take off with cracked hulls and these failures forced the cancellation of thousands of flights by airlines who may not have taken safety as seriously as they should have. and so we're anxious to learn whatever we can about the failure of good precautions with flight 3407. and we extend our sympathies also to mr. maurer. and that we would like to be able to make a promise when we finished with these hearings, mr. chairman, that we will have done whatever we can to make this excellent safety record that exists for the american aviation even better. and we look at interest at our witnesses. >> senator johanns? >> mr. chairman, thank you. my comments will be very, very brief. but let me

two properly respond to disaster 211 across america of newark unified technology and standard operating procedure to ensure best responsiveness. every resident must have 211 access on etiquette of telecommunications devices particularly cellphones. 211 need a system of national interoperability with each other and other three digit numbers. senator leandro, we are in desperate need of congress helped to ensure boat reliable response to disasters and everyday needs, fortunately congress can cure this vulnerability during this session by passing the calling for 211 act before the next event occurs. chairman landrieu, we are extremely grateful for your steadfast support of this legislation, for your co sponsorship of the bell, and your ability to deliver on dedicated federal funding for louisiana 211 this year. thank you again for this opportunity and i welcome the opportunity to answer questions. >> thank you very much. i really appreciate the contents of all of your testimony and the thoughtfulness that went into its ear and out like to start speech that -- mr. mascelli about this char

talking about maybe newark-type cars. people with gas-guzzlers' some of these people have no money and that is why they on the vehicles. they are fortunate enough to buy a newer vehicle, they are dissatisfied with american made cars. it is quality-control. we need to go into research and development to compete against the japanese. that is the bottom line. as an honest mechanic, i know what i'm talking about. host: any thoughts on his comments? guest: yes, there have been examples of this abroad, and in europe, especially, and there is really no telling what will happen. as the caller has said, there are many people suffering and maybe $3,500 will not be enough to buy a new car. host: he brought a point about people who have these clunkers and they are getting $3,500 or $4,500, but what is helpful in a not be in a range that they could buy a new car. guest: if you are struggling with monthly bills, 3500 bucks will not make a difference. host: could you buy a used car to get better mileage? guest: no, that was another cont

colgan air products committing to the newark base to begin work. you see that they live in one part of the country and commute to their duty station in oelrich and then get on an airplane to fly. the issue of fatigue has been cited by some as a potential significant issue. perhaps in that cockpit, both the pilot and co-pilot were affected by the key issues. would this chart look different if we were talking about another commuter or a trunk carrier? is this unusual, mr. babbitt? >> no sir. one of the issues that comes forward and should be interesting to know for the record that it was a new service provider, the capacity sale of their seats and service to continental airlines and hence the reason they are committing to new work. the same carrier could sign an agreement six months from now and be commuting to memphis and so the pilots often don't move immediately. underlined that there are regulations. the regulations are enforced the require the look back as far as their airline dooby is concerned. there is no reference. the pilot has an obligatio

he had driven his wife and 4-year-old son to the newark airport for a scheduled trip to visit her parents in brazil. mr. goldman was to join them a few days later. but before he could he received a phone call saying two things. his wife said their marriage was over and if he ever wanted to see their son, sean again, he would have to sign over custody. he refused to be blackmailed. he began a long and relentless campaign to secure his son's release. despite the clear legitimacy of mr. goldman's claim, the case has crawled along in brazil's courts, bouncing back and forth for years. mr. goldman's wife secured a divorce in brazil, began a new relationship with a prominent lawyer and, unfortunately, mr. goldman's former wife died, a fact that mr. goldman learned only sometime later because the family had concealed that from the brazilian courts. after my intercession and that of mr. smith and with the help of the state department, brazilian authorities moved to have the case once again sent to brazil's federal courts to secure visitation rights for mr. goldman. that effort was successful. dav

aviation market. 25 years this year since virgin atlantic's inaugural flight took off from london for newark in june of 1984. we started with just one 747, leased from boeing and now have 38 wide-body deed aircraft flying to 30 designations around the world from london's heathrow and gatwick airports. i'll never forget those first for you hours of operating. there was a bird strike on the test flight, bank was trying to close us down, most of the food wasn't loaded on board the inaugural, fortunately there was plenty of booze, anyway, just another typical day in our industry, of course. [laughter] so it's taken us 25 years to grow as a private company without any government subsidy or bailouts to get to the position where we are today. where we are still red-hot. the airline, that is. you've grown by listening to customers, innovating where big carriers can't or won't, and by providing a strong product against our competition. we don't have the giant marketing budgets of our rivals, yet travelers choose us because we offer real quality at good value. we provide red-hot competition. yet we're

in 1908, there was a journalist named israel white, he was the literary editor of the newark evening news and he was writing this will this will is an unwritten chapter it is possible if the suggestions had been followed there might have been no civil war in the united states and the race problem of today would not be so perplexing to economists. years later, an african-american educator named booker t. washington stopped in krakow, he wrote i knew in school history what kosciuszko had done for america in its early struggle for independence. i did not know, however, until my attention was called to it in krakow what kosciuszko had done for the freedom and education of my own people. the polish patriot is buried under the cathedral of krakow which is the westminster abbey of poland and is filled of the morals of the honored names of that country. he lies in a vault beneath the marble floor of the cathedral as i looked up on his tomb i thought how small the world is and how interwoven the interests that bind people together. when i visited the tomb of kosciuszko, i placed a rose on it

in 1908, a there was a journalist named israel white, the literary editor of the newark evening news and he was writing about kosciuszko's well. he wrote, this will listen underwritten chapter in american history. it is possible with the suggestions have been followed the mite have been no civil war in the united states and the race problem of today would not be so perplexing to economists. years later an african-american educator named booker t. washington was traveling through europe and the stock in krakow. he wrote his memoirs, i knew from my school history what kosciuszko had done for america in its early struggle for independence. i did not know however until my attention was called to krakow what kosciuszko had done for the freedom and education of my own people. the polish patriot is buried under the cathedral of krakow which is the westminster abbey of poland and is filled with memorials of the honored names of that country. kosciuszko lies in a faults beneath the marble floor of the cathedral. as i look on his tomb i thought how this all the world is that how curiously inte

its 25 years this year since virgin atlantic and nodule flight took off to newark in june 19 84. we started with just 1747 and now have 38 widebodied aircraft flying to 30 destinations around the world from london's airports. but i will never forget those first few hours of operating. and engine was hit by bird strike on test flight. the bank was trying to close us down. most of the food wasn't loaded on board the inaugural. unfortunately there was plenty of his. just another typical day in our industry, of course. so it's taking us 25 years to grow as a private company without any government subsidy or bailouts to get to the position where you are today. where we are still red-hot. the airline that is. we have grown by listening to customers, innovating where other carriers can't or won't and by providing a strong product against our competition. we don't have the giant marketing budgets of our rivals, yet travelers choose us because we offer real quality at good value. and we provide red-hot competition. yet, we are celebrating our birthday amid the most testing economic times

. >> i am from newark, delaware.my question is, in your 40 years of doing the media, et doing news did you think it you would make this big of an impact in your career? >> i don't know. i never really thought about that. i don't know that i have quite frankly. i will give you a little testier. how many people can remember something-- i was on television last week. how many remember one specific thing you heard me say last week? anybody here? she works for me. [laughter] how many of you can remember something your first grade teacher taught you? you see there? then people say, who were the opinion makers in our society? we get a much better press than we deserve in the media. the real opinion makers are the teachers. that is to the real opinion makers are and don't ever forget that. by the way if you are making a speech to teachers, always bring that up. they love it. >> that is what makes them one of our heroes. >> my name is allyson and i'm from crofton nebraska. i was wondering what had been some of your most memor