it is a true testimony to the greatness of our nation and the greatness of our armed forces that the child of an immigrant would be allowed to serve as an officer in the most powerful fighting force the world has ever known. third and finally, of course, i am enormouslyyhumbled to call myself a member of the house of representatives. i think it is also testimony to the greatness of our military, our armed forces and to the united states army that i had the privilege earlier today of sitting in a hearing with general petraeus, discussing current actions and operations going on in afghanistan. i think one of the beauties of our army today is the fact that our army is professional, it is well trained and it also is under the control -- it is under civilian control and that even four star generals have to answer to the elected officials of our nation's people. as a member of the armed services committee and as a captain army reserve, i'm proud to speak in very strong support of this resolution. on june 14, 1775, in philadelphia, a group of continental congressmen worked to lay out the pr

national security adviser in the carter administration. live coverage now on c-span. >> we're delighted to have our speaker today, one of our national leaders nationwide as a person who plays not only a decisive role in our congress, but plays a critical role in the shaping of our national policy, collaborating in that respect with the president and the white house. he is going to address us today on the critical issue of what ought to be the national strategy of the united states at a time of the extraordinary complexity. national security, in that context, has to be broadly defined. it also has to be historically relevant. a security policy has to take into account how the world is changing. it is in this context that congressman hoyer is going to be speaking, and his speech is going to be focusing on a broad range of issues. in addition to playing a leading role in our national leadership, congressman hoyer is of course the distinguished and enduring representative of the state of maryland. i am not going to go through his biograph 8y in detail, but i want to know that he became a state legislature at the age of 27. he won a seat in the

as we speak, our nation faces a multitude of challenges. at home, our top priority is to recover and rebuild from a recession that has touched the lives of nearly every american. abroad, our brave men and women in uniform are taking the fight to al qaeda wherever it exists. and tonight i have returned from a trip to the gulf coast to speak with you about the battle we are waging against an oil spill that is assaulting our shores and our citizens.+ on april 20, an explosion ripped through bp's deepwater horizon drilling rig about 40 miles off the coast of louisiana. eleven workers lost their lives. seventeen others were injured. and soon, nearly a mile beneath the surface of the ocean, will begin spewing into the water. because there has never been a leak of this size at this depth, stopping it has tested the limits of human technology. that is why just after the rig sank, i assembled a team of our nation's best scientists and engineers to tackle this challenge -- a ttam led by dr. steven chu, a nobel prize- winning physicist and our natioo s

he was mindful of the justice and equality of our nation that have preserved our heritage. died so the and we may endure. bless their continuous service today as well as their families and a grateful nation. bring us together in a future in ace. protect those serving on a field of battle this very moment, and continue to be a strength for the families and loved ones of those deployed. in your holy name we dupo pray, amen. >> ladi and gentlemen, please remain until the vice president has exited and the colors are rered. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [applause] >> an hour public affairs content is available on television, radio, and online and you can connect with a son twitter, facebook, and youtube and sign up for our scheduled alert e-mails @ c-span.org. on "washington journal"

education ranks among our nation's highest priorities. e national parks offer an opportunity to engage in play space life long learning. just as the organic act established the framework needed to maintain the parks during the first century, education is the success of the parks. e they recommend it be at the forefront and congress establish a mandate education as a purpose of the parks. education is provided through the visitor experience, ranger-led interpretation, and academic roism. it is provided by the park service but by partners and volume tirs. students who participate in park educational programs show measurable improvement and achieve higher test scores, which help further the primary objective of enhancing the education of america. nature is an example of several partner organization which is has provided field science programs in national parks and currently educates 40,000 middle school and high school children a year. as chair of the board of nature bridge and parent of a program alumnus, i can testify to the transformtive n

as our nation continues its recovery from the worst economic downturn since the great depression, we must recognize that our comeback will only go as far as our small businesses allow. this includes tapping into the potential of women and minority owned small businesses. several studies have found that these small business owners are more likely to experience loan denials, pay higher interest rates and less likely to apply for loans because of fear of rejection. i understand that because of the economic challenges we face banks cannot lend to existing our expiring business owners but i understand that we must work with states to increase lending opportunities for women and minority owned businesses. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. carson: i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from illinois rise? >> i ask that the instruction printed in part b of house report 111-506 relating to page 11, line 8, be considered to refer to section 4-d-2-a of the matter proposed to be inserted by the amendment printed in part a

agriculture and our nation's farmers are consistently strong contributors to the economy, and are certainly vital for the survival of our rural communities and vice versa. many of our rural areas were struggling even before the downturn and we continue to see a decline in the number of farmers and rural businesses. often the loss of one rural business can have a domino effect throughout the community and surrounding areas. i think we need to be vigilant in bringing rural and farming issues to the forefront of the debates we have on economic development and additionally look at policies to promote access to and development of new food market and supply chain improvements and related rural businesses. i hope my colleagues will agree on the need to bring attention to expanding the opportunities for agriculture and farming to contribute to national and local economic recovery. i reserve the balance of my time. . the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from texas. mr. neugebauer: i claim time in opposition although i am not opposed to the amendment. the chair: without objection, the gen

we thank you for your blessing to our nation's and ask you bless our assembly today.rom the physical, emotional, and spiritual ones from that war. may we receive your comfort , and we will never forget those that gave their lives for your piece. in that process name that is above all the names we pray, amen and amen. >> thank you, chaplains. we've been working together for three decades to ensure that this site, one of the most visited areas in washington, d.c., continues to offer healing and educational experiences. we are going on a couple of preservation projects. one that you will see is the three servicemen statute. we are carefully restoring the original patina and color palette. it has been severely one of the last decade. it will remain open during their restoration. it will take us until august to do this. will will be starting probably tomorrow people dressed up like in space suits and they will be shooting the machine that will take the collar off to start a slow and laborious process to get it to look like it did when it was new. everyone will be able to s

that is why, just after the rig sank, i assembled a team of our nation's best scientists to tackle this challenge -- a team led by dr. stephen chu, a nobel-prize-winning physicist and our secretary of energy. scientists, experts from academia and other oil companies have provided ideas and advice. as a result of these efforts, we have directed bp to mobilize additional equipment and technology. in the coming weeks and days, these efforts should capture 90% of the oil leaking out of the well. this is until the company finishes drilling a relief well that is expected to stop the leak completely. already, this is the worst environmental disaster america has ever faced. unlike a hurricane, it is not a single event that does its damage in a matter of minutes or days. the millions of gallons of oil that have spilled into the gulf of mexico are more like an epidemic, one that we will be fighting for months and even years. bbt make no mistake. we will fight this spill with everything we have got for as long as it takes. we will make bp pay for the damage their company has caused. and we will do

flag is the official symbol of our great nation and its ideals. our flag serves as a beacon of hope, courage and freedom during times of crisis and triumph alike. the flag honors the men and women of the armed forces who paid the ultimate sacrifice in defending the united states and serves as a symbol to those families who have lost loved ones while defending our nation. madam speaker,,it is with great honor that i ask for unanimous consent on h.res. 1429 as we celebrate our nation's flag. i yield back. thank you very much. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from california is recognized. ms. watson: madam speaker, i'd like to yield as much time as i desire. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. watson: madam speaker, each one of our states proudly flies its own flag, but the flag that reigns supreme flies above ours. in each one of our offices here in the capitol, we have the flag from our state, our territory and the flag of the united states. and i proudly say that the

-pin the wake of the worst oil spill in our nation's history, we must nowwlearn from this disaster. we must reevaluate our operating methods and examine how oil will be a part of america's future energy policy. as oil prices and oil company profits have increased dramatically over the last decade, so was our nation's dependence on foreign oil with the u.s. importing approximately 52% of the oil it consumed last year. while i believe that our policies must be broad enough to create energy from a variety of domestic sources, including domestic oil and natural gas, i also recognize the importance of awful investment in biofuels, nuclear, hydro power, wind, solar, and clean coal technology. on day 57 of this disaster with no end in sight, i am hopeful that the five companies testifying today can inform us of what we're wrong, how this tragedy could have been prevented, and how the american people can have assurance that this will never happen again. i believe the administration and our government must do more to hold these companies accountable for their drilling practices and in short t

our challenges are as diverse as our nations, but together, we represent some 85% of the global economy, and we have forged a coordinated response to the worst global economic crisis in our time. in london last year, we took unprecedented action to avoid an even larger economic catastrophe, to put our economies on the path of recovery, and to begin recovering our financial systems so that the crisis, like the one that we were emerging from, never happened again. in pittsburgh, we went further, moving beyond the old economic cycles of boom and bust, by committing our nations for growth that is balanced and sustained as well as specific financial reforms. a bold action has succeeded, and in the united states, we are committed above all to leading by example, and because of the steps that we have taken to get our economy moving, we are growing again, and this growth is beginning to translate into job creation, and we are now poised to pass the toughest financial reforms since the aftermath of the great depression. globally, economic contraction has given way to economic growth. trade that

of our nation's educators. you all make a world of difference in the lives of our students and families. i thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from utah is recognized. mr. chaffetz: madaa speaker, we have no additional speakers. it doesn't appear that the majority has any additional speakers. if that's the case -- ms. watson: i have no additional speakers. mr. chaffetz: we'll yield back the balance of our time. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from california. ms. watson: yes, i understand that we do have another speaker, madam speaker. it's mr. minnick from california -- excuse me -- the gentleman from idaho for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from idaho is recognized for two minutes. mr. minnick: madam speaker, i thank the gentlewoman from california and extend her an invitation to come to idaho anytime, madam chair. you'd be a good addition. madam sp

i believe this mission demands unity of effort across our alliance and across my national security team. i do not think we can sustain that unity of effort and achieve our objectives in afghanistan without making this change. that, too, as that gutted my decision. i just told my national security team that now is the time for all of us to come together. doing so is not an option but an obligation. i welcome debate among my team but i will not tolerate division. all of us have personal interests. as have opinions. our politics of an actual conflict. we have to renew our sense of common purpose and meet our responsibilities to one another and to our troops who are in harm's way and to our country. we need to remember what this is all about. our nation is at war. we face a very tough fight in afghanistan. americans do not flinch in the face of difficult truths or difficult tasks. we persevere. we will not tolerate a safe haven for terrorists who want to destroy afghan society from within and launch attacks against innocent man, women, and children in our country and around the world. make

americans do not have a clear sense of our national security priorities. our military over the last two decades has obscured th need for any. the obscure what should be done with what must be done and what is more, we have lost our ability to differentiate between the threats thatust be addressed by the u.s. and those th can and should be addressed by others. washgton has allowed them military posture and to termine our security requirements as opposed to the other way around this must change in the portion of the report that we wrote, we call upon unique event it is. this calls upon open an active political culture. we should encourage pple to play a larger role in their defee. such a strategy would keep us safe. not all members of the task force increase our strategic vision but all agreed thate must revisit the purpose oour power. the mismatch between our means and our and this -- and our end s is growing every day. if we do't change the strategy, i fear a pleasant thing to haen. may settle a smaller and smaller military with more and moreissions, simila

our electric grid is increasingly vulnerable to cyberattack. if the nation state or terrorist grp were successful in crip 8ing our -- crippling our electric grid, it would have terrible consequences to our defense. we have news stories that spies may have navigated our system to control our power supplies. the smart grid we are counting on to improve reliability, enhance consumer choices could also increase our exposure to hackers in places like china and russia. our defense communy's concerned about possible electoral -- electromagnetic attacks from terrorists or hostile countries. we must take substantive action to address the susceptibility of our electric system to such attacks. the stakes are just too high for us to do nothing. the gridct,mr. speaker, takes care of all these pblems. it would shield our bulk power system with the -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for an additional minute. mr. barton: i appreciate the ranking member's yielding additional time. the grid act would shieldboth our bulk power system and infrastructure ser

lastly, in order to achieve our national energy goals, u.s. energy policy must create supply, diversity, promote technological innovation, encourage energy efficiency and environmental stewardship. today our country is working towards an energy future featuring a broad portfolio of sources and by include renewable sources and cleaner fossil fuels. broader conservation and more energy efficient technologies. each of those approaches will provide a part of long-term solution. as a nation we are on our way. we will get there but it is going o take us some time. until 's until then we must provide fuel that enables people to travel to work and back, moves goods around the world, powers the electricity and machinery in which our homes and factories and hospitals depend. and provides the fertilizer that enables us to feed a growing population. in doing this p, even with strong growth, the fuels must carry the energy load far into the future. unfortunately, we have -- and fortunately we have natural gas. one of the most important domestic resources av

our national energy policy is broken. e are addicted to oil and this addiction is fouling our beaches, polluting our ptmosphere, and undermining our national security. thank you. >> the chair recognizes the ranking member of the full committee, the gentleman from texas. >> thank you. i appreciate you and chairman of waxman holding this hearing to bring our major oil company executives before us and before the american people. i have a prepared statement i am going to submit for the record, but i am going to speak extemporaneously. i have listened with interest to the other speakers. i want to say that in terms of doing an investigation, i commend the majority staff, especially on the oversight investigation subcommittee that mr. stupak cuholds. we are getting the facts out in as fast and transparent a fashion so that the american extent that it is possible to understand, what happened. there is no question that british petroleum oil company, the owner and chief operator of the reagan that had the accident -- of the rig tha

his patriotism was strong and he was confident infusing his every action with deep devotion for our nation and its people. a senator from a state that sent leaninlegions of sons and daugho war out of love of country, sometimes out of a need to get work. he supported our troops whether he agreed with their cause or not. fought for our veterans and worked hard to make sure that those who served our country got the respect, the support, the supplies that they needed and that they deserved. he also earned the loyalty of west virginiaians with a record of support for education an economic opportuty that few senators at any time in any state, in my judgment, could ever match. to him every school building or education grant was a chance for a better life for some west virginia child or maybe quite a lot of children. and he cared about that. and he helped that become true. every overpass, every road represented an opportunity for a more dynamic for our cities and towns that could be taken for granted in some places, but not west virginia. unless there's a road or a bridge, you can't build anything

now more than ever our nation is relying on small businesses to create jobs and to lead us in our economic recovery. without sufficient access to credit or capital, small businesses can expand operations or hire new employees. there is little doubt that efforts to bail out banks and other major financial institutions has not led to improved access to capital by small businesses. last session i to the capital access programs overseen by the small business administration. that bill, unlike the one before us today would have improved access to needed capital by small businesses. incorporated into that bill was h.r. 3738 which provided a streamline process to enabled capitalists to boost venture to provide needed early-stage equity capital to small businesses. successful operators would pay back the federal government before they took their own profits. although the legislation came with a relatively modest price tag of $200 million, its benefits would sure outweigh the costs. moreover, if the program did not succeed, the cost of failure would be very modest. that certainly isn't the case toda

americans do not have a clear sense of our national security priority. our an enormous military of the last two decades have secured the need for any. -- obscured the need for any. we have lost our ability to differentiate between those threats that must be addressed by the united states and those that can and should be addressed by others. washington has allowed our military posture to determine our security requirements. as opposed to the other way around. this must change. in the report back then and i wrote, we called for a more restrained strategy that capitalizes on the unique advantages. this includes our strong dynamic economy and open political culture and an abundance of potential partners are around the world. we should encourage other countries to play a larger role in their own defense. such a strategy which he does say at far less and cost. -- would keep us safe at far less a cost. we all agree that we must revisit the purpose of our power. the mismatch between our means and ends is growing wider by the day. we must begin to close the gap. i

our nation is better than that. [applause] third, and finally, in addition to prosecution, we have made a historic commitment to outbreaks by keeping lines of the medication open and meaningfully in beijing -- commitment to outreach by keeping lines of communication open and meaningfully engaging in communities we serve. the fbi hold conference calls with local community leaders, and each district office employs a community outreach specialist to engage the whole community through town hall meetings, public speaking, a youth initiatives, and citizens academies. likewise, the fbi's at specialized community outreach team is working to strengthen engagement between the fbi field officers and communities of every ethnic background. other components of doj are also engaged in out rich opportunity to the arab-american community -- outreach opportunity to the out-american community. -- arab-american community. the office of justice programs have sponsored events that emphasize community engagement, and u.s. attorneys acros

afford not to change how we roduce and use energy, because the long-term costs to our economy, our national security, and our environment are far greater. so i am happy to look at other ideas and approaches from either party, as long as they tackle our addiction to fossil fuels. some would suggest raising efficiency standards in our buildings like we did in our cars and trucks. some believe we should set standards to ensure that more of our electricity comes from wind and solar power. others wonder why the energy industry spends a fraction of what the high-tech industry does on research and development. all of these approaches have merit and deserve a fair hearing in the months ahead. but the one approach that i will not accept is inaction. the one answer i will not settle for is the idea that this challenge is too big and too difficult to meet. you know, the same thing was said about our ability to produce enough planes and tanks in world war ii. the ssme thing was said about our ability to harness the technology to land a man safely on the surface of the moon. and yet, time and again, we

it is in our national security interest to have a good relationship with vietnam. we figure, let's figure out how you can clean up the agent orange we left there. we went there and got a group of. private citizens. i've brought the chairman of the aspen institute. christie todd whitman, the environmental protection agency director awhile back. we all said this is really not that hard to solve. sometimes government cannot solve problems because it gets into politics and who is to blame and whether the u.s. government should take responsibility for every disability in vietnam. and a private group can come and say for 30 million a year we can actually probably clean up this mess. there is a humanitarian gesture to help with the disabilities. that money can come from private sources, some from the government, some from the vietnam government as well. we pretty much got everyone to agree on how to resolve the problem. >host: when you say a lot of agent orange was sprayed, how much? guest: 20 million gallons was stored, handles, and sprayed over one-third of the country

garamendi: our national security is at stake. we spend $1 billion a day sending our money overseas to the oil companies. many of them owned by foreign nations. some of whom are not at all friendly to america. i hear a lot of whining from the republican side of the aisle about we can't do that. well, we cannot continue doing what we are doing today. we see the risks, $20 billion worth of economy destroyed along the gulf coast. big oil has had its day. $12 billion. you want to save some money on that side? let's retrieve the $1 billion subsidy we send to the oil industry every day. it's time for us to move to renewables. it's time for us to protect our coast on the west coast. we do not want new federal oil leases and therefore the west coast oil protection act must be passed. no more federal leases off the west coast. move to renewables. let's retrieve our $12 billion annual subsidy that we give to big oil. let's not send $1 billion a day of our money to foreign countries. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlema

to keep america safe, we're integrating every element of our national power -- military and economic, diplomacy and development, homeland security, law enforcement, and intelligence. this final element, timely and accurate intelligence, is uniquely important, because it is critical to each of the

own people, so a strong development policy must be a pillar of our nationalsecurity. international development reflects our moral values and service our economic interests. for an unstable countries make unreliable trading partners and weak markets for american goods and services. and we cannot exert global leadership while neglecting hunger, disease, and human misery. so democrats have made internationally agreed development goals a prime focus of our foreign policy. president obama has announced major new initiatives on food security and global health, and his administration is working to strengthen them through partnerships with other donors and the private sector -- data- driven analysis and a strong standards for accountability from aid recipients. we're working with wild -- world body's to strengthen international norms against corruption said the foreign aid reaches the people it was intended for and is not squandered by unaccountable regimes. we are acting on the well- founded conviction that ending the marginalization of women and girls is a key to e

technologies used in our nation's national defense are also being advanced by small businesses. components of the predator drone, for instance, were developed by small firms. and small businesses are helping develop new information technology and digital media services that better connect our world. the united states must continue to lead in all these areas if our economy's to remain strong in the long-term. this type of innovation creates good-paying, highly skilled jobs. however, before this business can develop the next game changing defense technology, unearth the next medical breakthrough, or discover a new source of clean energy, they need capital. the amendment before us simply ensures that the small business early stage investment program is targeted to fields like this, where there will be the biggest payoff for economic growth and job creation. madam chair, this is a good amendment, it will ensure the industries of tomorrow and future companies can secure financing to get off the ground. i urge my colleagues to vote yes and i yield the remaining time to the gentleman f

we affirm the sacred commitment our nation has made to perpetuate its ideals. ed whether in the nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal can long endure. the answer is all around us. from the former slaves that are here to the soldiers from the civil war to the children of european immigrants which once freed europe, to our brothers that fought and died and korea, vietnam, these grounds record not only that freedom and liberty have endured but that they have flourished. those who sleep in arlington's new section are from every race and every creed. their graves are topped by a cross, the crescent moon and star, the star of david. to wall from lee's mansion to arlington's freshly dug grave is to see in these grounds an important truth take root. that truth is this -- are all here themselves reflect the more perfect union they died to defend. in arlington like no worlds, we conceived freedom blossom -- like nowhere else, we can see freedom blossom. it is my privilege to introduce the next speaker. i want to say an

i do support the heroic efforts of our west virginia national guard, our local responders, and would urge my colleague to support the pending resolution. i have personally visited with the national guard members mentioned here and the local responders and members of the barto, frank and -- hen communities, volunteer fire departments in poke hons to county a couple of months -- pocahontas county a couple of months ago. the heroic actions of west virginias brought about the highly successful rescue of 17 military personnel who were onboard a u.s. navy helicopter, participating in the operation south-bound trooper x annual military exercise which went down in deep snow-covered and very rugged terrain in pocahontas county, west virginia. the remarkable rescue was an outstanding and highly coordinated effort on the part of many highly trained professionals as well as private citizens who worked under very difficult conditions to reach the crew and personnel on board the aircraft. many of whom had been injured in the crash. west virginians are the best neighbors for whom you could ever wish

from my friends on the other side of the aisle that want to identify our legislation, our energy, our national energy policy and legislation that's going to end our dependence on foreign oil from the middle east, make our economy more secure in the long run because $1 billion leaves america every day and funds ahmadinejad and so many others who are fight -- funding -- we are funding both sides of the war by our consumption habits.

senator kerry has distinguished himself as one of our nation's most respected voices on national security and international affairs and chairs the prestigious foreign relations committee. so senator kerry, chairman kerry, we're pleased to have you before our committee today. please go ahead, sir. >> thank you very much, chairman leahy, for those kind words of introduction. ranking member sessions and to all my colleagues on the important judiciary committee at this important moment. members of the committee, mr. chairman, 16 years ago, i had the privilege to introduce stephen breyer to this committee. and with the loss today of senator byrd, i'm particularly reminded of senator kennedy sitting beside me that day. as you all know, better than anybody, senator kennedy served on this committee for 46 years. and i know the pride he would feel seeing elena kagan nominated for the supreme court of the united states. when ted introduced then judge breyer, he quoted oliver wendell holmes that every calling is great when greatly pursued. those words applied to stephen breyerrand i can share with y

the comprise the most hardened military in our nation's history. there is no question that they and their families have made enormous sacrifices. many of them have deployed on numerous stores -- numerous tours. we cannot comment in my view, ever think our servicemen enough. what americans have done to support them has been wonderful. nothing has meant more than in the appreciation of those here, at home. as you noted, mr. chairman, my wife is with me today. she is a symbol of the strength and dedication of families around the globe who wait at home. she has hung tough while i have been deployed for over five and a half years, as have other on told spouses, children, and loved ones. clearly, our families are the unsung heroes of the long campaigns that we have been and are done over last decade -- that we have been embarked on over the last decade. teddy roosevelt once observed that the chance to work hard at work worth doing is one of the best opportunities in life. if i am confirmed by the senate, it will be a great privilege to soldier with our tr

who made these decisions to have dramatic impacts for our nation. i don't think they talked to any of the defense contractors, particularly the ones that develop the missiles for our strategic nuclear did he ter ants. . . i represent dejohnson space center. we asked, did you find out, pete, i found out about it when you did, i read the paper yesterday. that's another point. congress has the oversight. we're the power of the purse. i'm not aware of any outreach from the administration to any member of congress prior that decision being made. i'm a freshman here but i've been involved on the hill for a number of year, particularly in the military and the thing is when you were going to make a change in a program you went and talked to the chairman and ranking member of the committee and gave them the courtesy of what were you -- of what you were planning to do the thing with the termination liability, the anti-deficiency act we think it's unprecedented, we're doing research to find out if it's ever been done in the past. what it basically does, nasa to

. >> at this moment, our nation is facing a host of different challenges. we are required to meet those challenges right now. what we need is a willingness in washington to but the public's interest first, a willingness to score fewer political points so we can start solving more problems. that is why i was disappointed this week to see a dreary and familiar politics get in our wake of moving forward. in the united states senate, we have legislation that would boost our economic recovery in help americans who have been affected by the worst recession in generations. we have surly made progress since we were losing 750,000 jobs per month are on the time i took office. our economy is growing again and we have added jobs for five straight months. there are still millions of americans out of work and millions more who are struggling to pay the bills. the legislation in the senate right now would extend unemployment benefits to those workers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own and would provide relief to struggling state and save the jobs of thousa

the traditional national press club mog. -- mug. [applause] now our final question. it is inevitable when you reach the position of national press club the speaker at a relatively young age, compared to some people we have had speaking here -- no commentary on them or you. [laughter] you are the head of the usaid, but for some people, that is not enough. final question. development experts have said the usaid chief position should be elevated to cabinet status or a seat on the national security council. do you agree? [laughter] >> i thought you were going a different place for that question. in case anybody wants to know, i was not the running for president. i think it is incumbent upon us to get this reform agenda enacted in may usaid the most -- and make usaid the most effective strategic enterprise anywhere in the world. i have seen what people are capable of. i know we can be successful. i know in this administration, we have a huge amount of support for development at all levels. i have been fortunate to have as much access as i could ask for to help carry out th

an agreement that reduces the strategic nuclear forces of our two nations in a manner that strengthens the stability of our relationship and protect the security of the american people. america's nuclear arsenal remains a fight a pillar of our national security, deterring potential adversaries and reassuring allies and partners. the first that of the year-long nuclear posture review was an extensive analysis, which determines how many nuclear delivery vehicles and deployed warheads were needed. this provided the basis for negotiation of new start. the result of the studies give me confidence that the department of defense will be able to maintain a strong and effective nuclear deterrent while modernizing our weapons to ensure that they're safe, secure, and reliable. the u.s. strategic nuclear deterrent will continue to be based on the triad of delivery systems. under this treaty, we retain the power and the freedom to determine the composition of our force structure, allowing the united states complete flexibility to modernize our strategic nuclear forces in a manner that best protect

many conservatives recognized that when american citizens attend attacks on our nation, as we saw in the times square, and our civilian courts are more than equipped to carry out justice. there may well be times, however, in military commissions far opprobrious and should be used. we also honor our democratic values when we honor the tradition of civilian control of the military. as president obama correctly made clear last week. when we abandon our heritage, whether for expedience or fear or partisan advantage, we make our principles hollow in the eyes of the world, and we throw away one of the best weapons we have. all of our presidents have understood the value pragmatism, but they have also understood that it must be balanced with america's historic role as the advocate of democratic values and democratic movements around the world. fourth and finally, every one of these policies comes with a cost. every choice rules out other choices. and i set forth, but one of the things i left out in this speech thht i wish i would put in and will reference at this time, but another critical c

we applaud the president's decision in defense of our nation. we think no one is more qualified than general patraeus to achieve a successful conclusion of the afghan conflict. we praise the seevice of general mcchrystal and thank him for his service to our nation and wish him well and every success in the future. we are confident that general patraeus' leadership will have a positive effect on the situation in the region. we still have concerns about the civilian side. in fact, it might -- you might suggest that the consideration might be given to the reuniting the crocker-patraeus team. we still have concerns about the civilian side of it and the non- military side of these equations. relations between the ambassador and president karzai, whether there is a sufficient civilian side on the ground. the hearing for general patraeus' confirmation will probably be the fastest in the history of the armed services committee. it will be done very soon. the concern that we have and the issue that will be raised in'general confirmation -- raised in gene

this morning we ask for your blessing upon our nation, restore our hope, strengthen our faith and teach us your love, enable us to be a nation that cares as we pursue peace, practice mercy and offer compassion. we pray, o lord, that you would establish the cause of the faithful, give comfort to those that suffer and set right the injustices within our nation and the world. protect those that defend our cherished freedoms as they serve within our military branches. give wisdom to our community leaders, our courts and our national representatives. renew our commitment of service to the people of our nation and to the greater good of all humanity. these things we pray in the name of our lord, jesus christ. amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house her approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from south carolina, congressman wilson. mr. wilson: will everyone including our guests in the gallery please participate? i pledge allegiance

madam speaker, now is the time for our president to show some of the medals that defined our nation 60 years ago and stand up to the north koreans by %% redesignating their country as a state sponsor of terrorism. our south korean, japanese and israeli allies are depending on us to help shield them from the north korean provocations and the weapons of mass destruction. in the crisis on the korean peninsula, beijing has played a cynical game calling for the korean peninsula to be denuclearized on one hand and yet shielding its north korean cronies on the other hand. beijing had the audacity to publicly warn south korea not to let the aircraft carrier u.s.s. george washington to enter waters lying between the korean peninsula and china for a proposed joint u.s.-south korean naval exercise. well, we have news from beijing. if you don't want the u.s.s. george washington in your back yard, then you better rein in the bullies in pyongyang. another legacy of the forgotten war is the vibrant korean american community. %% immigrants from korea over the past six decades have contributed immeasur

it was very bad policy at the time, but it was worth it to me to get this issue solved because our nation's seniors, our patients, ouu doctors depend upon this. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. levin: the gentleman says he voted with us, but he was the only one, there was no one else. you have refused on the republican side to vote for a permanent fix. instead we're stuck with this bill because we cannot get a better -- i ask for another 15 seconds. because we cannot get the votes , a single vote for a bill that is better than this in the senate from a republican. that's why we're here today. i now yield one minute to the gentleman from georgia, mr. scott. the chair: the gentleman -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. scott: we have a unique opportunity today. i've heard from the other side, theerepublicans, who are saying they want to have a permanent fix.

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our national media processes, as they become more fractured and become more individually, focus on the polarization, and thas what reverberates around the country, continually, and kill americans believe it about themselves. but if you cut all that out, and you put people, and it's about health care, it's about the financial crisis, it's about fiscal sustainability, when you bring us togeer in a room, in large numbers, we have done it as large as 10,000 at a time spanning cities all across the country, the fact of the matter isthe vast majority of americans, and i want you to listen carefully to this, still feel responsible for the common good. got that? we're noas need be. we ae not as self-centered as 20 years of the drumbeat has said aout us. i'm going to come back to that point. in the last piece, and i think this is really good news. and the last piece, in every case, decision makers actually listen. decision-makers are actually influenced bywhat people collectively come up with as an outcome to a polic choice. in every case that we have done this, when the public is asked at the

taking away our liberty, taking away our freedom, knowing that the vitality of the nation comes from our individual choices, being able to make choices. obamacare has to go, madam speaker. excuse me. obamacare has got to go, there are those who think we can't get it done. the bill is passed, let's move on. we need to look ahead, not backwards. if we're going to look ahead, we have to look backwards and determine, obamacare is a terrible idea. it's an unconstitutional thing, an unconscionable thing to do to a free people. america with its vitality loses a chunk of its vitality when you take away our individualism and liberty. if people think we can't repeal obamacare let me lay out this scenario. it works like this every single republican voted no on obamacare. 34 democrats vote nod on obamacare. there was only one thing bipartisan about obamacare, that was opposition to obamacare. in the house and in the senate. so obamacare is the law of the land but the implementation of it doesn't get completed until 2014. that's when we're saddled with the jug you are naught of this taking our dec

and our nation faces. securing our networks is not just a d.o.d. issue. it is a national security issue+ with implication for all instruments of national power. the department of defense, u.s. cyber command will do its part to protect our great nation from elements wishing to do us harm in cyber space. as i said at the beginning, it is a privilege and honor to be a member of our cyber team. now it's time for me to listen to your questions and concerns, and i hope to broaden the dialogue that you at csis have promoted on cyber space issues. i look forward to the interchange and i thank you very much again for your attention. [applause] >> great. well, thank you, general alexander. congratulations. if i can ask when people raise their questions, could you do me two favors. could you identify yourself when you ask them, and could you keep the questions brief so we can respect the general's schedule. he does have a few other things to do. with that, we had one over right in the front row there. >> you get a free mic out of this. >> how do you streamline obtain

the challenges are diverse as our nation, but we represent 80% of the global economy, and we have forged a global response to the worst economic crisis in our time. in london last year, which our action to prevent an even larger economic catastrophe to put our economy is on the path to recovery, and preserving our systems so that the crisis that we were emerging from never happens again. this year we went further, moving beyond the old economic cycle of boom and bust, by committing our nations to a new framework that is balanced and sustained as well specific financial reforms. our bold action has succeeded. in the united states, we are committed of all two leading by example. because of the steps we have taken, we are growing again and this growth is translating into job creation. we're poised to pass the toughest financial reform since the aftermath of the great depressson. globally there's economic growth. trade that, did it is rebounding. we have pulled ourselves back from the brink and begun to move forward with economic recovery. but as we all know, that is not good enough. too man

let's bear in mind that what we're talking about is our nation's oil. it's not oil that's owned by these oil companies or by the private sector, it's owned by us the taxpayer, it's public land. it's owned by our children and grandchildren. and instead of being put to our benefit and their benefit because of neglect, carelessness, irresponsible decisions, it is destroying the ecology of the gulf and could well destroy the ecology of the everglades along the florida shore and could even go up the east coast. we have no idea how extensive this damage is going to be. how expensive it will be to clean it up. but we are now getting an idea of why it happened. and i would say to the jar and to the speaker that we ought to be mindful, first of all, that this was not under president obama's watch. it was not under any kind of democratic policy. it was under the administration of a president who owned an oil drilling company, an oil exploration company, a vice president who was the c.e.o. of haliburton, who made money from manufacturing and installing drilling rig

now, the reason the militaas never unionized thait would be disastus to our nation security. threason thaofhore inspectors should not be ionized is cause it has been distrous to our natnal security. when we se oil, off drilling, at the same time that oil wells e playing out acss the couny, and tre's still the matoriuon so many areas to drind we had secrery salazar, when he ok office, returnhe checks for leaes in other ars where drillng cou commence, in that 500-square-mile area, as i understand it, inuding some of colorado, utah and wyoming, secta salazar, u' recall year and half ago, sd, well, these as were let at the midnig hour. we've returned the checks. wee not going toet something thbush admintration diat e midnight hourtake place. so this administtion has already hurt us dramatically in our ability toecome energy free of countries that don't re for us. and when you get behind secretsalazar's position that this was the midnight hour lease, well, that's when the checks were accepted, turns out it was seven-year process ven years that oil compans have been workg on examini

in fact, it is the worst environmental disaster in our nation's history. i believe we must do everything in our power to cap the leak, find out what caused the explosion, and ensure nothing like this ever happens again. bp must bear the entire financial burden for this disaster, and the american taxpayer should not be on the hook for a dime. according to the occupational health and safety administration, there is mounting evidence that bp has one of the worst safety records of any major oil company operating in the united states. to this end, i am looking forward to examining with mr. hayward whether there is a deficient safety culture at bp which led to this disaster, including the bp refinery explosion in 2005 in texas city, texas. and a pipeline spill that released 200,000 gallons of oil into the alaskan wilderness. mr. hayward, why is bp's record on safety so spotty in what is equally as important is the knee jerk legislative reaction from this congress. right now the administration and the alleys in the house are more focus on the application of puttin