we would not have been able to make it happen without my .olleagues at fox [applause] after being atlter reed meeting with wounded words, he came to our office and he and conan o'brien spent an hour talking with the students. that is all they did for an hour. they talked to the students. [applause] the students were a little freaked out, but it was cool. [laughter] scott wilson at "the washington post," a big supporter of the scholarship fund and the internship program. we appreciate all of these folks out here. leaders at the of the tv networks also stepped in without hesitation. as one really got me. i went to jeff zucker from a cnn, and he immediately -- i said, would you offer and enter ship to one of our scholars and emilio he said, done. and i thought, -- and emea leahy said, done. and i thought, -- and immediately, he said, done. and i ought, this is the first time that anybody is glad to hear him say done. they have all been contribute to our scholarship funds. we thank you. this is the one that really got me. every year, we give the comedian at this dinner $10,000, which is

i think this is important for my olleagues. debt is already hurting growth in my opinion.ook at this chart. the blue line was based on what was predicted for growth two years previously by c.b.o. in 2008, they predicted 3.1% growth. it came in at 2.4%. in 2009, they predicted 4% growth. for 2011, it came in at less than half of that. in 2010, they predicted 4.4% growth. for 20 12, it came in at .2%. i believe we're seeing delayed slow growth as a result of the size of debt we have now and therefore i think it is imperative for us to have growth to get the debt coming down in a substantial way. not just a token way. >> senator, as i said, i believe there is a place that we do agree and that is the numbers should come down. with regard to these questions of growth, as one of your colleagues earlier said, i think there are different i points of view in terms of why we have the current growth rates that we have and in terms of why those growth rates are not where they should be. the other thing, and that harkens back to a comment i think the chairman made that everyone agrees