chairman, senator shelby, senator reid. it is a great pleasure for me to be here this morning to express my strong support for dr. janet yellen, obama's nominee for vice chairman of the federal reserve. she has dedicated her life to understand the complex field of economics. her background makes her a strong candidate for vice chairman at a time when the country is recovering from the economic crisis. she graduated from brown in 1967. she earned a doctorate in economics from yale in 1971 and began her teaching career at harvard where she taught from 1971 to 76. from 1977 to 1978 she served as economist at the federal reserve board of governors. in 1979 she moved onto another teaching position, this time at that london school of economics. in 1980 she began as assistant professor at at berkeley and she has been there ever since. today she is professor emeritus of business and economics. why she has been awarded teacher of the year at uc-berkeley's school of business. during her time at berkeley and elsewhere, dr. yellen has

senators chris dodd and richard shelby. the senate judiciary committee votes on the supreme court nomination of elena kagan next thursday. members were scheduled to consider the nomination this week, but committee republicans asked for a week's delay. live coverage on c-span 3 at 10:00 a.m. eastern. . . >> good morning, everybody. we have been advised by the floor that there will be of vote on financial reform legislation. so while we are awaiting the arrival of lisa jackson, i am going to move ahead with the hearing. we are so pleased that dr. barry robinson is here from noaa. when he concludes, hopefully ms. jackson is here. if not, we will go forward to hearing our very able administrator from epa, whom i traveled to the golf with. this hearing will mel come to order. it is the official hearing of the commerce -- in this hearing will come to order. the purpose of the hearing is to determine what is it that we dispersants.is perso what is the impact is having on people, on real life, and on communities. what do we know it

marcus shelby and john holloway. >> good afternoon, my name is marcus shelby. i am a local musician. i'm also a teacher here. i teach at rooftop elementary school, alternative school in spin peaks, and i'm also a parent of two young children. i have more personal testimony. i have been associated with sfjazz for about 12 years now, and i can say that they've had an amazing impact on my life in all three areas, as an educator, as a parent, and as a musician. one of the things that has inspired me in music education and history and in social justice has been in their commitment to education as well, as a larger organization that supports these efforts that happen with musicians and other artists, not just in jazz, but with all the creative music that happens in this city. as a parent, there are programs that they have provided for young people that have been important in exposing the music not only in a historical context, but also in current context, artists that are alive and breathing today that are creating, either from right here in san francisco or from oth

in fact, the shelby-dodd amendment began to address this problem right here on the floor. unfortunately, the democrats once again overreached i believe at the 11th hour and undermined the seriousness of our efforts by emphasizing social activism over financial stability. democrats insisted that the overall financial stability mission of the financial stability oversight council i believe was less important than the political needs of certain preferred constituencies. this dangerous mixing of social activism and financial stability follows the exact same model, madam president, that led us to the crisis in the first place; that is, private enterprise co-opted through political mandates to achieve social goals. fannie and freddie proved that this definition can be highly destructive. oochecongress could have writte, madam president, legislation to address key issues that played a role in the recent crisis. on government-sponsored enterprises, fannie and fredy, the bill is silent aside from a mere study. on the tri-party repo market, the bill is silent. on runs in money marke

and shelby campbell, who just joined us, but shelby is our new key person who is our project director. we keep talking about this thing over here, and i should mention that this is from blue-green pacific wind turbine manufacturers, and they are in the bayview district of san francisco, and we hope to be using their wind turbines on this project, so we wanted them to be here today and there went turbines, so you could look and talk to them if you want to during the last speaker today as our other partners in this city from the department of public works, and he is also joined by edgar lopez. [applause] >> thanks. we are really excited and honored to be working with our partner on this project. the department of public works has been delivering capital projects to the people of san francisco for over 100 years from small 10 and improvements to large projects such as the academy of sciences, the renovation of city hall. we are particularly excited about this one because, first of all, we have been involved with this project since for a much today 19 years ago in getting the design movin

let me begin, raise the issue, senator shelby made note of the recent crisis in europe. let me start out there as i can, the european union announced its stabilization program in may, you briefed us, in fact, here on the committee on the fed's decision to temporarily reopen dollar swap lines with the acb and other foreign central banks to support liquidity in the dollar funding market he is. clearly, the fed identified a need to protect american economy from events in europe. with continued downgrades of european of rinse, i noticed ireland the other day they downgraded a bit, european bank stress test results expected this week and again there has been a lot written about that, what -- how successful th may be and uncertainty about future economic growth as well, what challenges lie ahead energy your view, for our -- the photograph efforts you and your counterparts in europe have made to stabilize the financial system? >> well, senator, as i mentioned, concerns about the european situation created some problems in financial markets this spring, which spilled over into o

before i recess i want to read a question from senator shelby. he is quite concerned about hurrica hurricanes and hurricane preparation. he's concerned that what is going on in the gulf, any reaction to the hurricane and preparation will have to address booms, the anchors holding the booms, cleanup crews, et cetera. if oil dispersants wash ashore, what will that be in impact? i'm going to read the question, share it with you and i think in the interest of senator shelby would like that answer in writing for him, which is can you tell us the status of the emergency plan for the gulf if a hurricane hits, when do the agency plan to advise the local communities on what they need to do, they haven't heard anything. since contamination could exist in the sge waters, what agencies will be on the site, on site to make the call for the safety of residents an property owners and people in the seafood industry? you call them fishermen, we call we call them working americans. and the hurricane surge or tidal waters, we need to know what's going don to be the

senator shelby? >> mr. chairman, some observers warn of growing risk in the 2.8 trillion municipal debt market. parts of california as well as municipalities in illinois, michigan, new york, seem to have been vulnerable to market-driven widening of spreads on their bonds relative to treasuries, especially when market anxiety over fiscal conditions in the euros -- i have two questions regarding municipal debt. what is your assessment of the state of the u.s. municipal debt market? secondly, do you believe there's any merit to a recent characterization by warren buffett that there is potentially, quote, a terrible problem, end quote, ahead for municipal bonds? >> well, first, the -- it's certainly true that states and localities are under a lot of fiscal and financial stress. their revenues have fallen considerably and they're trying to maintain services and so on. clearly we've seen some deficits and some cuts at the state and local level. my view, though, is that first of all that the municipal debt market

shelby. >> aye. >> mr. kriegel. crapo.mr. krieg >> aye. >> to the measure is a tie and it is defeated. >> we are going to recess for five minutes. >> come to order. let me say, we previously had a tie vote and the proposal failed on the tie vote. as an expressive to senator chambliss, i believe -- as i expressed to senator chambliss, i think it is important to note that, while i do not necessarily disagree with what he is suggesting, and the fundamental reason for the vote on this side has less to do with the substance of the thing. the fact of the matter is we have a limitation on the parameters of this conference to be focused on the title that deals for the pay-for provisions the deal. i'm prepared to work with my colleague from georgia on this to see if a call away solves the problem or something else may be done. >> in the procedural footing, i hope to not vote to reconsider. this is a very large bill. i think we would need a technical corrections bill that goes beyond just minor things people on the house side also ment

history will show whether republicans like richard shelby were right to warn the bill will cut off credit when the economy needed it most. >> this bill, i believe, is a job killer and will saddle americans with billions of dollars in hidden taxes and fees. >> reporter: the dodd-frank bill changes the way wall street does business, limiting risky trading, bringing more transparency and oversight to complex financial contracts known as derivatives. it also empowers regulators to step in earlier, to close down failing banks, and to police risk across the entire financial system. consumer activist travis plunkett says the new consumer financial protection bureau will become a household name. >> they're going to be out there stopping scams, stopping abusive practices, educating consumers, handling complaints, talking to the public, talking to the media about the latest problems in the financial services marketplace. >> reporter: some analysts argue this bill also marks a turning point away from an economy driven by finance to one that is more focused on making things. but to do that, regulator

. >> richard shelby, the senior republican on the banking committee thinks differently. >> it creates vast new bureaucracy with little accountability and seriously, i believe underminds the competitiveness of the american economy. >> wall street has been under a cloud of uncertainty for about three years. does the dodd, frank financial overhaul dispel that cloud? >> no, it doesn't, john. they didn't deal with too big to fail. they didn't really get the casinos out of the banks. they got an enormous number of new regulations. the thing is half the size of the king james bible. it is confusing. businesses are upset about it. it's on core with obama care. it's online with that, which is a gigantic increase in the power and control of government and i don't think people think it's going to do anything good. >> how many new regulations? >> thousands. >> 243. how big are they? >> how big are they? >> yes. >> they're big. >> some of them are hundreds of pages in length. >> read it before you condemn it. eleanor. >> it's a big country, you need a lot of regulations. you need a list, and you h

. >> reporter: one of the biggest critics was republican richard shelby. today, he still thinks the out was a s a mistake. >> the american taxpayers are still on the hook, will always be on the hook. still on the h a lot of this money will never this money w >> reporter: he's actually right about that. the bush administration gave the bu n, nothan $25 billion, no strings attached, to bailout gm and chrysler. and and nobody expects that money to torepaid. st they have already started repaying some of the $60 billion from the obama administration's administration's x payerstreasury department says backyers will get back every penny of that money, eventually. t the gm plant today, the president took a little drive in a soon to be released $41,000 .hevy volt. t?d why not? he is, after all, the company's eholder.shareholder. t is at is a dirty word these ays, but this is one bailout the white house makes no nologies for. ,n fact, next week, the president will visit yet another uto plant, and diane, take credit for more jobs, he says, jobs, hve been saved. you,

work for real, think for ourselves and take competence againsts along with the rewards" reporter shelby lin with the story of william's sudden exit. conservative commenter mark william has been kicked out by the greater organization. >> because of the letter he wrote, which he, i guess may have considered satire, but was clearly offensive. >> reporter: williams a spokesperson for the tea party express was an author of the fictional letter. provoked outrage for its disparaging characterization of the community. he says he was written in response to the bloop. william says he only wanted to spur discussion. i'm sorry i had to go to those lengths to slap some sense into a lot of people who are so afraid of politically incorrection language that we can't get a conversation started. >> reporter: the naacp disputes the claim that williams was not a leader of the larger national group. >> he absolutely was and was the day he wrote that vile note. >> reporter: the tea party is working to distance itself from images captured at its rally, saying that "there are fringe elements in many groups, bu

i was out of the room for a moment and i know senator shelby asked you about supervision. she seemed to indicate in your testimony that to sell a lot of problems and felt the fed should have responded or could have responded a little more nimbly and talked a little bit about that a minute ago. you are on -- you were head of the fed in san francisco. you had a pretty large calamities out there. i know you addressed commercial real-estate earlier. there is a huge bubble out there in residential real estate. as you look back, do you wish there were actions that you had taken or the fed had taken as it relates to the residential side? i know you are still focused on commercial. i agree with you, that is still a problem here in our system. but do you wish there were actions that the fed had taken as it relates to housing in your part of the country? >> i think we were monitoring housing prices very carefully and became concerned by 2005 that there might well be a bubble in the housing market. i think personally, i gave speeches in 2005 warning of that possibility. this is somet

. >>> we're going to turn to financial reform legislation to senator richard shelby. he is coming to us from london this morning. he missed the uake senator, ye y this bill is a 2,page legislative monster. does that mean that you, like the house republicalead, john bner, to t? >> we would like to repeal it. but i think what we have to do now is change the political landscape. and that will probably begin in november, george. we have to wait and see. but this is not a big victory for the american people. this bill is not real reform because we ignored the reform of fannie mae and freddie mac. we did not do very much of anything, to speak of, dealing with the rating agencies. we have empowered a lot of the regulatory bodies that failed us before. and the question is, what have they learned? and it's not going to create jobs, which we desperately need. it's going to cost jobs. it's going to hurt the economy, not help. >> you say it's going to hurt the economy. president obama said yesterday, unless your business depends on cutting corners or bilking customers, you have n

i believe senator shelby of alabama was a factor in that. think it was wrong for condoleezza rice to confirm we had a mole up next to osamba bin laden. not good for the double agent se's health. and it could be that some of these things, i would agree and others would say shouldn't have been put out. but that remains to be seen. the fact is that when it comes to judgment as to what should be secret and what should not be secret, julian assange's judgment has been good so far. i don't think i've seen any mistakes. that video of the apache helicopter they kept wrongly secret for years. and i don't give the benefit of the doubt to the people in the government who decided to keep that video secret and to keep these cables secret, these reports secret. >> larry: peter, as a journalist, are you comfortable with how wikileaks operates? >> yeah. i mean, they do seem to be acting responsibly. just, you know, this whole discussion recently, the investigation, there are 800,000 americans with top secret clearances. the real problem here is this overcla

and yes, shelby is exactly right. it depends on how you ask the question, so if you ask if they're pro-choice or anti- choice or pro-abortion or what words you use, people feel differently, and they respond to different words, so that could be part of it. also, part of it -- and i'm kind of in this in between generation. i'm in between the feminists from the 1970's and this third- generation feminist, so i'm, like, in this weird place, but it also seems to me that there are lots more opportunities to become active around different kinds of issues. the environment and immigration and all that kind of stuff, so maybe, we need to raise the profile of reproductive rights in a sense, so that people know how they think about it, maybe. what do you think? >> i sweated to add something. i am used to raising my hand. we detest. i also wanted to say that i think that' with reproductive rights and reproductive health care issues, they are very personal, and i think that what someone says to a gallup pollster who asked them a fun

host: senator shelby on the floor last week. steve verdier, the executive vice president of the independent community bankers association. what is your reaction? guest: he covered an awful lot of ground there, but we believe this is a a a voluntary program and the strong gains that are able to use it to will be very helpful to the community banks. i think in response to concerns like he raised, the program has been carefully crafted so that you really will live create the kind of problems that the head of the prize. host: the president did get a late lift last week from two republican senators. guest: that is right. host: how you word that there is any more support over the weekend? guest: i have not heard anything more over the weekend that more republicans are supporting, but it is good advice. host: cora calling from texas. caller: the credit union that i have done business with for over 40 years, i had 4 acres of land unencumbered, no mean or anything. i wanted to purchase a manufacturer of home to put on the land. none of t

in fact, the shelby-dodd amendment began to address this problem right here on the floor. unfortunately, the democrats once again overreached i believe at the 11th hour and undermined the seriousness of our efforts by emphasizing social activism over financial stability. democrats insisted that the overall financial stability mission of the financial stability oversight council i believe was less important than the political needs of certain preferred constituencies. this dangerous mixing of social activism and financial stability follows the exact same model, madam president, that led us to the crisis in the first place; that is, private enterprise co-opted through political mandates to achieve social goals. fannie and freddie proved that this definition can be highly destructive. oochecongress could have writte, madam president, legislation to address key issues that played a role in the recent crisis. on government-sponsored enterprises, fannie and fredy, the bill is silent aside from a mere study. on the tri-party repo market, the bill is silent. on runs in money marke

>> talking about a gallup poll or something, shelby is exactly right. it depends on how u.s. the question. are you pro-choice or anti- joyce? are you pro-abortion? it depends on the words that you use. people do feel differently and respond differently. that could be a part of it. i am in this in-between generation. between the feminists of the 1970's and third generation of feminists. it seems that there are many active -- many different ways to become active in these different environments and we need to raise the profile of reproductive rights. >> i also wanted to say that i think with reproductive rights and reproductive justice, was someone says to a gallup pollster who asks them a strangely worded question on the phone and what they say in a conversation is very different. there has never been an enormous debt, as people have claimed that their position has changed. this is a reproductive health needs of women have and you have. summing it we need to think about and talk about more. with that said, i think my favorite new poll is for our generation. when young women are

host: last phone call, republican line, shelby. caller: i am going back to school today. i am the school nurse at our charter school. we have 130 students and just graduated 100% of the senior class. we are a mix of cultures and races and achievement abilities. i think i did hear complaints from somebody that they wished we had more students in the middle category, because we had so many high achievers and then we have lower achievers. be that as it may, our building is an old store, and we are not supported by the local board of education to be our eyes state -- we are not supported by the local board of education. we are eight local charter school. we finally got almost the right amount of funding, but i still the we get funded like the local schools do. -- still don't think we get funded like the local schools and to bring out director is out of a separate public education. i did not see students in sixth grade with all the same textbooks. i don't see that in our schools. but we have thousands of books. my mother taught 29.5 years in public schools, my sister is almost

thanks to oppositionç from richard shelby, the ranking member on the senate banking committee, there, to maintain as a percentage of their portfolio such loans. the question is whether or not that encouraged banks to lower their lending standards to make home loans, for instance, to people that might not have been the best credit risks. i think the cra was a contributing factor but not a primary factor. i think it worked in concert with a number of other regulations and government efforts to subsidize home ownership that fuelled the deterioration of lending standards that led to so many bad loans being made. i think almost more important than the community reinvestment act is we go back and look at some of the things the clinton administration was doing with respect to fannie mae and freddie mac. pushing the two to make homeownership and particularly low income home ownership a bigger part of their portfolio, pushing them to lower their standards so that more low income people could qualify for loans. discontinued -- the bush administration was also guilty of this. --- this continued

thanks to oppositionç from richard shelby, the ranking member on the senate banking committee, thereailout. but that is just emblematic of the haste with which this legislation was drawn together, and i think this legislation, if they took more time on that, see further improvements. host: next call, sarasota, florida. republican line, greg. guest: i just wonder what you thought the fairness act effect was on the financial meltdown. guest: this was a law that required -- i should not say required, but strongly encouraged banks to make loans to increase loans to low income communities, to maintain as a percentage of their portfolio such loans. and the question is whether or not that encouraged banks to lower their living standards, to make home loans, for instance, to people that might not have been the best credit risks. i think the cre was a contributing factor but i do not think it was the primary factor. it worked in concert with a number of other regulations and government efforts to subsidize home ownership that fueled the deterioration of lending standards that led to so many b

host: last phone call, republican line, shelby. caller: i am going back to school today. i am the school nurse at our charter school. we have 130 students and just graduated 100% of the senior class. we are a mix of cultures and races and achievement abilities. i think i did hear complaints from somebody that they wished we had more students in the middle category, because we had so many high achievers and then we have lower achievers. be that as it may, our building is an old store, and we are not supported by the local board of education to be our eyes state -- we are not supported by the local board of education. we are eight local charter school. we finally got almost the right amount of funding, but i still the we get funded like the local schools do. -- still don't think we get funded like the local schools and to bring out director is out of a separate public education. i did not see students in sixth grade with all the same textbooks. i don't see that in our schools. but we have thousands of books. my mother taught 29.5 years in public schools, my sister is almost

normally, we would begin with an opening statement and senator shelby would make consultation with my friend from alabama. i would like to invite our colleagues who are here to introduce the witnesses. then we will make some opening statements ourselves and then we will get to our witnesses. if you bear with us, we have very distinguished nominees this morning and we will proceed in that matter. but you have the votes here. paul does not. i want to make sure that we take care of you as well. >> thank you. it is a great pleasure for me to be here this morning to express my strong support for dr. janet yellen, president obama's nominee for vice chairman of the federal reserve. i know dr. yellen. she has dedicated her life to understanding the complex field of economics. her background makes for a strong candidate for vice chairman at a time when the country is recovering from the economic crisis. dr. yellen graduated summa cum laude a from brown in 1967. she has a doctorate in economics from yale from 1971. she began her teaching career as an assistant professor at harvard where she tau

one out of 10 people live in shelby county. it is the largest medicare provider in mississippi and arkansas. that is a problem that we need to work on. >> thank you, gentlemen. our next question is coming from the moderator. recent proposals to build new mosques have been controversial. is there were an obligation to build a mosque in your neighborhood, how would you respond? >> there is nothing more important in america that our state. as it is what defines us and it is sometimes what divides us. that is an issue that is a local zoning issue. i have seen this as mayor, but there are local land use issues. >> mr. mcwherter? >> the first amendment, freedom of religion, there is a reason that our forefathers adopted that into our constitution. having said that, i truly understand the concerns of some of these neighborhoods about bringing these kinds of institutions in. he just cannot drop these into the middle of a very quiet neighborhood and expect the same client -- the same kind of quality of life. as long as developers will p

thanks to oppositionç from richard shelby, the ranking member on the senate banking committee, theref the haste in which this legislation was thrown to get there. if they took more time on the legislation, it could see further improvement. host: next call on the republican line. >> i was wondering what effect is of fairness and housing act have on the financial meltdown. guest: what you are referring to is something called the community reinvestment act. is it similar to that? host: i did that his point. guest: -- i think that is his point. guest: this law strongly encourage banks to make loans to increase loans to low-income communities to maintain as a percentage of their portfolio such loans. the question is whether or not that encouraged banks to lower their lending standards and make home loans, for instance, to people who might not have been the best credit risks. i think the cra was a contributing factor but not a primary factor. it worked in consort with a number of other regulations and government efforts to subsidize home ownership that fueled the deterioration of lending s

len, shelby township, michigan, good morning, republican line.aller: yes, good morning, gentlemen, and good morning, america. the one thing that it seems like in the media that i'm hearing about, the bush tax cuts are coming up there, if they do not continue is very shrilling. i've talked to several financial people, and everybody is holding back to see what's going to happen this november, and one of the things that i just wanted to bring up this morning that if seems like no one -- i haven't heard it since the time it happened, and i believe that, correct me if i'm wrong, i believe it was june of 2007 that there was a day that we actually collected, with these bush tax cuts in place, the largest amount of taxes that the federal government in the history of america, and i believe the one day, it was $85 billion. so these bush tax cuts work. so that's all i have to say this morning, and thanks for letting me say that. host: gary duncan says there must be concurrent spending cuts with any tax increase, including his suggestion of reducing federal

senator shelby asked you about supervision. and no that she saw a lot of problems and felt that the fed should have responded or could have responded more quickly and talked a little bit about that a minute ago. you were the head of the said in san francisco any of the sea had a pretty large calamity out there. it seems to me that there is a huge bubble out there in commercial real estate. do you wish there was actions that you could have taken as a relates to the residential side. you are still focused on commercial. i agree that that is a problem in our system. do you wish there was actions that could have been taken in housing especially in your part of the country? >> i think we were monitoring the housing prices very carefully and became concerned certainly by 2005 that there might well be a bubble in the housing market. personally, i gave speeches in 2005 warning of that possibility. this is something that we were attempting to end and to evaluate what the risks would be coming out of that, i think we failed to understand

host: last phone call, republican line, shelby. caller: i am going back to school today. i am the school nurse at our charter school. we have 130 students and just graduated 100% of the senior class. we are a mix of cultures and races and achievement abilities. i think i did hear complaints from somebody that they wished we had more students in the middle category, because we had so any high achievers and then we have lower achievers. be that as it may, our building is an old store, and we are not supported by the local board of education to be our eyes state -- we are not supported by the local board of education. we are eight local charter school. we finally got almost the right amount of funding, but i still the we get funded like the local schools do. -- still don't think we get funded like the local schools and to bring out director is out of a separate public education. i did not see students in sixth grade with all the same textbooks. i don't see that in our schools. but we have thousands of books. my mother taught 29.5 years in public schools, my sister is almost

. >> shelby. >> very nice. where are you guys from? >> kentucky. >> happy birthday.a very nice sign here. let's check your weather, she what's happening. and we'll show you, got this developing storm, it looks like that this would become bonnie, this tropical wave over the bahamas, probably will become a tropical depression or storm later today. we've got storm warnings probably going to be issued later for the bahamas and southern florida later on today. we've got severe storms from northern indiana all the way in to montana today. possibility of tornadoes. would-be storms firing up already. rainfall amounts going to be big. we're talking anywhere from three to five, some areas seven inches of rain in southern wisconsin on into southern nans and into central michigan. >> good morning. happy thursday. a lot of cloud cover and fog as we look over alcatraz and of course the tower in the distance, angel island. temperatures running cooler than average. 6 # is average for san francisco, going 06. 85 is average in san jose, going 77 and cooling will continue through the w

first, i'd like to shout out to my mom and my daughter, shannon and shelby, my granddaughters and my girlfriend, our daughter. today at this moment, all with the exception of my mother, are living in rochester, michigan. i'm from royal oak, michigan. i'll use my time to address president obama through you people because you are his commission appointed. in 2008 i was living in rochester hills. demographically, it's a highly conservative republican area, and i rode my bike door to door to get the vote out supporting president obama and his campaign for presidency. and even though i do not agree with all of the decisions he made in office i support him up until this response because of the b.p. response. i understand right now it sounds like they have another chance to stop the leak, the gush of oil coming from the bottom of the ocean 50 miles from shore. i am not sure of our feeble response of stopping the oil hitting the new orleans coastal shoreline. we did absolutely nothing. i cannot understand why you would put confidence in the mayor running the coast guard, admiral thad allen,

senator shelby? >> mr. chairman, some observers warn of growing risk in the 2.8 trillion municipal debt market. parts of californi as well as municipalities in illinois, michigan, new york, seem to have been vulnerable to market-driven widening of spreads on their bonds relative to treasuries, especially when market anxiety over fiscal conditions in the euros -- i have two questions regarding municipal debt what is your assessment of the state of the u.s. municipal debt market? secondly, do you believe there's any merit to a recent characterization by warren buffett that there is potentially, quote, a terrible problem, end quote, ahead for municipal bonds? >> well, first, the -- it's certainly true that states and localities are under a lot of fiscal and financial stress. their revenues have fallen considerably and they're trying to maintain services and so on. clearly we've seen some deficits and some cuts at the state and local level. my view, though, is that first of all that the municipal debt market is

rogers, as well as our two united states senators from alabama, senator shelby and senator sessions, i'm extremely proud to rise today in support of house resolution 1525, honoring the 50th anniversary of the publication of the a truly great american novel, "to kill a mockingbird," and madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman. mr. bonner: it was 50 years ago this month when nell harper lee of monroeville penned what is today considered one of the most beloved american stories of all time. before i speak further about ms. lee and her masterpiece, however, i'd like to take a minute to thank chairman towns and ranking member issa of the oversight and government reform committee and their staffs for working with my staff and me to get this resolution brought to the house floor before congress breakers in august district work period. if approved, i hope to present a copy of this resolution to the people of monroe county when i return home later this week. i would also like to thank the speaker of the house, the m