what is the american administration is producing by its support to this policy? ality that is really dark. being a witness of gaza history. and it's unbelievable howou can observe how the middle class is vanishing completely due to this picy. not only the middle. -- middle class. it's like -- the education is going down. i mean, like you have a school which is different but it's unbelievable how, you know, people are -- you know, tend to forget and the international community tends to forget that there e governmental schools in gaza. and these governmental schools now, of course, they go under the government of hamas, therefore, you don't support them. but what are you producing? it's also like people are -- you know, like why this class of population to pay the price? why to create the division again when it comes even to education. the sad part when it comes to education, you have the p.a. -- the p.a. asking the governmental employees in gaza to stay home. it was very shocking that the p.a. asked the teachers in gaza to stay home. and not to go to schools in ord

legislators, we must continue to support american public education and make it the very best in the world. dedicated american educators, teachers, principals, administrators and the trade organizations work tirelessly to serve communities throughout the nation with care and professionalism. american education week celebrates the effort and achievements of these dedicated professionals and encourages community, parental and elected government official involvement in our public schools. as a parent of four children, all of whom benefited from an outstanding public school education, i've witnessed firsthand the extraordinary lengths to which our hardworking teachers go to helping american youth to learn. i applaud the nearly 15,000 teachers and thousands of support staff in idaho and those throughout this great nation who devote their professional lives to ensuring our children are equipped with the skills, knowledge and work ethic required to succeed in 21st century america. let's all enthusiastically endorse american education week. i urge my colleagues to support this resolution and recognize the efforts and sacrifices of america's educators. i yield back

the american people to actually have exposure. unfortunately expectmore.gov under the current administration is no longer maintained. the information is not up to date and consequently the american people do not have access to the information. i encourage the administration and support from both sides of the aisle to reinstitute this website. i want to conclude by quoting office of management and budget director, on may 24 this year, mr. orszag said, quote, we should never tolerate taxpayer dollars going to programs that duplicative or inineffective because in this face cal environment we cannot afford this. end quote. he's right. absolutely right. we cannot afford to let these programs go on and congress needs to step to the plate and do something about it. . so i do appreciate the amendment that was offered of going a long way to get a lot of support. i do wish this bill would come under a rule, and i'll reserve the balance of my time, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from california is recognized. ms. watson: yes, madam speaker, i'd like to yiel

the american people want us to fix this economy which we are trying to do. i would also point out that we have created more jobs this year than in the entire eight years of the bush administration. so i think we are doing the american people's work. at this time i would like to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from california, the distinguished speaker of the house, ms. pelosi. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. the speaker: thank you very much, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding and making the point he just made. i would also like to make a further point which is 87.5% of the american people support what the disclose act will do. which is to shed light on elections. mr. speaker -- madam speaker, nearly a century ago supreme court justice louis brandeis wrote about the dangers of corporate interest dominating our economy, stifling competition, and harming our nation. and he reminded us in the face of these force that is sunlight is the best disinfectant. today many of us will rise, and i do now, in that same tradition to shed sunlight on our democratic process and preserve the integrity of our election, to call to my -- to call on them to

the american people get it, though this administration doesn't. that's the problem. -- mr. broun: whether it's the oil spill and the disaster going on there and their disastrous response to that, forcing obamacare through against the will of the american people, thall administration is showing the american people is its arrogance, its ignorance and its incompetence. that's exactly what the american people have seen. just on the oil spill the other day, i was talking to a fireman in my district, and he asked me about this oil disaster and the poor response that this administration has shown. this working guy, just a guy trying to make a living and take care of his family and struggling to make ends meet, asked me if this administration was purposefully, purposefully not responding to this oil spill just so that they could force through their cap and trade? i call it tax and trade because the administration -- president obama himself said this was about revenue he had to have that revenue from this energy tax to pay for his health care plan, for obamacare. that's what we see o

in this country a tax cut, where you had the wealthiest 1% get tax cuts under the previous administration, 98% of americans got a tax cut last year. and we actually have the lowest tax rate now that we've ever had. it's really amazing the way things have been turned around. and we should be very proud of that. today in terms of job creation, from bleeding 700,000-plus jobs, we are now adding an average of 200,000 jobs a month. since the beginning of this year. and that's a really incredible accomplishment and i'm going to toss this to you in a second and get those charts so we can have an illustration of what we're talking about. but we have a lot to be proud of. we have a long way to go. granted we certainly aren't out of the woods yet. but we have turned things around and are beginning to see that in the economic indicators that i know we'll talk about tonight. so the a pleasure to be with you this evening. mr. tonko: thank you, and thank you for bringing us together for this special order which obviously will speak to the wisdom of sound policy. that breaks from the failed policies of the past. what is

the nixon administration -- the public outcry against nixon got him to resign. there is no more public outcry. the american people have become so blase. the corruption is so entrenched that the idiot from texas who apologized to bp -- that is how far it is. host: next, looking at what is going on in congress and some

you ask the american administration, general jones, if you ask the raelis, the israeli side, what is going on in the west bank, some of the exaggerate it but there is security. >> the israeli general said to me in fact over the lst three years the palestiniasecurity forces have-- hureds of israeli-- so thiis the answer to your question to the israeli side. we can incorrate. we can do everything and we ar interested, we are eager to do mething because we want the region to be quiet, to be calm. we to live-- we suffered more than 62 years. i wants my grandsons, to live in pea, to feel that he belongs to something. now we don't believe we are belonging toanything. we want this date, 22% out of alpalestine, we accpted no more demands, no more-- conflicts. and the conflict. >> when you look at, you look at your grandson and you look back over the four decades that you have been struggling to try to achieve this. >> i don't want my grandson and-- i ant him to live a normal life. i didn't live a normal life. also i didn't have any passport, any nationality. now we are in palestine. we wt th

surely over the past 5 is days the administration should be -- 51 days the administration should be able to step forward and give the american people a clear answer as to how this answered, how this is going to be stopped and how we're going to clean this up. this is something i think everyone would pause for those answers. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from california. ms. chu: mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentlewoman from california, congress member capps. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for three minutes. . miss caps: i rise today to express my strong support for h.res. 1330, a resolution recognizing june 8 as world oceans day. i want to thank my colleague and dear friend, sam farr, who represents the neighboring kiss trict -- district to mine for introducing this important resolution of which i'm a proud co-sponsor. we are a water planet, mr. speaker. the oceans cover 71% of the earth's surface and contain 90% -- 97% of the planet's water. they regulate our climate. they regulate our weather. we depend onhem for the air

they would rather retain and be put to use with the critical skills building and flying american-built spacecraft. the administration needs to focus on jobs, jobs and jobs but fails to recognize the destructive impact of cancelling constellation and shifting $100 million to the labor and commerce departments. so as we look forward to the next critical six months there are some things we must do. we must get answers from the administration. we in congress must recognize the impact on our work force and infrastructure. we must pass an authorization bill and perhaps most importantly, we must ensure that the final flights of the space shuttle and the space station are done safely and successfully. i'm both humbled and inspired that while men and women in our human space flight programs wants to debate whether jobs will exist, they continue to excel and drive towards new achievements in pace. their focus, their sacrifice, dedication and that of the men and women who came before them have enabled the united states to be the global leader in human space flight. let us work to keep it that way. i would like to -- if my coll

the administration doesn't care. determined to stop deep water drilling, the administration will appeal. why does the administration hate the energy industry in the gulf. why do they want to purposely destroy american jobs? reagan was right, the government is the problem. that's just the way it is. the speaker ro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. for what purpose does the gentlelady from maryland rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. edwards: mr. speaker, i rise with reeret today to express my concern about proposed changes to the disclose act i co-sponsored. one particular change is deeply troubling both on the politics and the policy. having worked on campaign finance and ethics reform for many year, i didn't come to this conclusion lightly or uninform. i was the first to say the supreme court decision in citizens united was wrong and shouldn't give corporations a blank check in our elections. we have fallen prey to bullying and threats from one of the most powerful special interest lobbying groups in the country. carving out exceptions for one big group like this is -- shame on us. this corporation would be required t

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 the most advanced technologies and safety procedures are in place. once agaan, mr. chairman, thank you for holding the hearing and i look for today's testimony. >> we thank the gentleman. the chair recognizes the gentleman from vermont. >> it's absolutely outrageous that we're here today. what happened in the gulf was something that bp assured us woull never, ever happened. and if it did happen, it was foreseeable and inevitable. at everyyturn, reckless corner cutting, and decisions that were made for money not safety. mr. chairman, i want to take this opportunity to address the current crisis. as bp debates with the issue of second quarter dividends on their annual $10 billion dividend, we have people in the gulf coast to need compensation. responsible companies pay their obliiations, and then they pay dividends. many in congress have joined me in my call on bp to direct divi

we've seen the government force through the administration forced through the health care bill where the vast majority of americans don't want. last night, instead of really focusing on dealing with the problem in the gulf that's going to cost maybe 150,000 jobs and make us more dependent on foreign oil, what the president did, he started talking about the cap and trade bill which will raise taxes on energy production and every family in america will suffer to the state of the union of $3,000 or $4,000. this is the time, mr. president, if i were talking to him, to deal with the problem in the gulf instead of taking more of the private sector and raising our taxes. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. rangel: thank you, madam speaker. i didn't intend to talk but i just wondered if my colleague was listening to the same president, a president who i thought was responding to all americans when he said that the government has a responsibility to make c

the great american outdoors initiative which secretary salazar, administrator jackson and i with the president announced several weeks ago really is designed to do a better job of utilizing conservation dollars in a way that increases outdoor recreational opportunities. that doesn't have to require a farm bill discussion. but what we hope to be able to do over the course of the next couple years is make sure that, as the farm bill is being as the farm bill is being crafted, there's an understanding and appreciation between rural development and agriculture, between the necessity of making sure we have an adequate safety net and recognizing that part of that is a good-paying job for many farm families. >> mr. secretary, for those who haven't had the pleasure of following a farm bill before, who may not realize that it typically is not a partisan issue, could you spell out the type of regional conflicts and industry and commodity conflicts that you're going to have to resolve to have a successful conclusion to this? >> well, chairman peterson is doing an interesting thing. he's going a

the great american outdoors initiative, which secretary salazar and administrator jackson and i with the president announced several weeks ago, is designed to do a better job at utilizing conservation dollars in a way that increases recreational opportunities. that does not require a formal discussion. but what we hope to do over the next couple of years is make sure that as the farm bill is being crafted, that there is an understanding and appreciation for the linkage between rural development and production agriculture, between the necessity of inadequate -- adequate safety net and recognizing part of the safety net is a good paying job for farm families. >> for those who have not had the pleasure of falling a farm bill and may not realize it is not typically a partisan issue, could you spell out the type of regional conflicts and industry and commodity complex you will have to resolve to have a successful conclusion to this? >> chairman petersen is doing an interesting thing, going around the country with the house agricultural committee and conducting a series of hearings. the bas

the white house at that point under the bush administration just let's buy out these lousy loans. let's just keep it going. and the american people and democratic congress and the democratic administration are having to pick up the pieces now from that imprudent, improper approach to housing finance. we want people to have homes that they can afford in this country. they can't afford them, then, ok, they don't get them. the f.h.a. bill that's before the house today provides in a proper and prudent way insurance for those home purchases to people who can afford and can show their ability to make these payments. that's the purpose of the bill today. my fend on the other side want to talk about some other thing that they didn't do three or four years ago. and i refer -- i yield 30 seconds to my friend from massachusetts. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. frank: i just want to talk about the past the gentleman from illinois is so desperate to cover up. the house voted on a bill that would have limited compensation to fannie mae and freddie mac executives a year ago. it was not another corporation.

the fact of harvard law school. where she would become later dean in charles hamilton houston professor of law. while at harvard, her article "presidential administration" was named the year's top scholar little article by the american bar association section on administrate i be law ann regulatory practice. she was nominatenated on 2009 to be solicitor general. i'm proud our nation's woman deep solicitor general has such deep roots in massachusetts. if confirmed, she would be the first in the history of our court. as solicitor general, she frequently represents the united states before the supreme court and she's argued several high profile cases before the court and was recently victoriorious in the holder versus humanitarian law project case which held that congress's prohibition of material support and resources to foreign terrorist organizations is constitutional. she's undown thely a brilliant woman whom has served her country in a variety of capacities and has made significant contributions to massachusetts and i certainly thank her for that. and this committee, as you know, mr. chairman, and members of the committee is, about to embark on one of the most serious duties that the senate is constitutionally tac

why is this ceding fact that now the obbma administration's in charge of the country and they believe that american exceptionalism is a myth, they're going to prove it? by taking way the things we're exceptional in? i have real issues with that. and i think all of us do. i'd like to recognize my good friend, rob bishop, from utah to tal to us about a little bit about -- he's on several committees that have looked into this. he's got a good insight into what's going on. po whatever time you wish to consume, my friend. mr. bishop: i thank the gentleman from texas. let me start, if i could, for just a second about jobs. because we're talking both inside these halls and outside about jobs. the president and the vice president is going on a recovery summer tour in which he's going to talk about the creation of jobs and the talking points he'll send out from the white house, they're talking about the 30,000 miles of new transportation, 80,000 new homes will be weatherized, 800 programs and will be increased, 2,000 drinking water projects, all in the name of creating jobs. the president's also asking cong

the u.s. central command. >> sreenivasan: petraeus was a key architect of american strategy in iraq and afghanistan. he replaces general stanley mcchrystal, who was fired for criticizing civilian leaders in the obama administration. also today, nato reported another american soldier killed in afghanistan. that made 59 u.s. deaths this month. those are some of the day's major stories. now, back to gwen. >> ifill: the administration's war strategy has come under sustained new scrutiny in the week since the president fired his top general. one of the top officials in charge of that strategy joins us now-- ambassador richard holbrooke, the special envoy to afghanistan and pakistan. welcome. welcome back. you're just back. >> yes. >> ifill: we have heard in the last week, especially, new questions raised about this, the whole strategy in afghanistan. and i wanted to ask you about something in particular, one of your administration's chief critics has said about this, that's lindsey graham the senator from north carolina. he said this is a dysfunctional relationship that's happening now among all the top leaders. what do you say to him? >> you're talking about--. >> ifill: talk about in the wake of mcchrystal's firing

the american people feel over this incident. so i think if tomorrow night we walk away with a clear sense of what the administration has done and then what the president wants to do as a result of all of this, i mean, we're just talking in the last segment about the escrow account and there are other people saying that president is is going to use this as an opportunity to talk about a more expansive comprehensive energy plan. we'll know if he's successful if the words on the paper and the words we hear tomorrow night are actually things that have happened and have occurred two years from now when he runs for re-election. >> woodruff: michael beschloss, does the standard or the criteria that we hold the president to in crises like this, do they stay the same over time? >> different with every president because especially with a new president like barack obama, a year-and-a-half in office, we're still learning things about him. everyone has subliminal worries about every new president. in barack obama's case maybe didn't have enough executive experience, didn't have enough national experience. maybe the temperament is a little t

host: john boehner last i said this, "i hope the the obama administration will not try used toocut -- a crisis for political points on the backs of americansiving and working on the gulf coast." dennis, upper marlboro. your next. caller: thank you for taking my call. thank you for c-span. first i wanted to say that i appreciate the president's management style in a crisis like this. bush shooting from the head, looking in the eyes of vladimir putin, seeing his soul in all of that kind of crap. through his eight years of running this country, all of these problems were building up. now they are falling in the laugh of this great young president. i am an african-american male. 60 years old. one thing about this nation, they seem to think that african- american men are emotional. not as cool under pressure and in a crisis. here comes obama. he is cool, calm, obviously intellectual. when you have these 24-hour news cycles constantly attacking this man from the right, from the left, from the middle, america wants things done immediately. anyone that knows anything about water pressure, the sea, oil and whenever, they realize that this thing has

the american soldiers trying to train them. ray suarez recently spoke with her. >> suarez: building an afghan military has been one of the central policies of both the bush and obama administrations. progress has been slow and uneven. a new documentary, camp victory, afghan, chronicles american national guard units and their work with an afghan corps commander and his troops in the western part of the country. flim maker carol dysinger, a professor of graduate film and new media at new york university's film school spent an extensive amount of time in afghanistan between 2005-2008 and joins me now. you got in , well, on recruiting day. to be able to chronicle the life of an army from day one is a pretty amazing experience. >> yes. well, it was an amazing experience. i was very lucky to have the time to be able to sit there . i think the advantage i had and the access i got came from the fact that i could be there for so long and film for so long. sfaurz you make the. >> suarez: you make the point almost from the opening frames of the film that this is more than just getting young men to join the army. this is something starting behind square one. there's not really quite a countr

same path who lectures the american people and says that the american people are cowards when it comes o race. well, he's not being a coward when it comes to race. his administration hurricanes agency, the justice department has can selled the most open and shut voter intimidation case in the history of america and the -- in the case of the new black pan chers -- panthers in philadelphia, who much of america have seen on videotape, youtube, paramilitarily uniformed individual, members of the new black panther, standing there in berets with a big old billy club, smaaking it in their hand as white people come to vote, calling those people crackers. and telling them we're taking over this country, we're going to be in power after that that's the summary of a generalization of their statements but the accuracy of that record is out there on youtube for all to see. that case, open and shut. the case was made by the justice department under president bush. as the handoff took place and went over to the eric holder justice department under poth because ma, what happens, mr. speaker? loretta king in the justice department can selled the most open and shut voter intimidati

the obama administration's tinkering has continued to fail the american people. is week, treasury's kicked more people out of this program than have received sustainable mortgage modifications. many of these americans are worse off for relying on the administration's promises. a look forward to hearing from the mortgage services today and play by erosion the process and their perspective is necessary and helpful for this program. ignoring the designers of the program and the people responsible for the waste of 7 $5 billion in tax payer money is a failure of oversight. in one personsted that was disinvited from the hearing. i want to focus on mortgage services that coincides with the testimony in this hearing. their testimony would have been liable for this committee here. i and urge you to invite the treasury department to reserve for its affairs. there is a joint response ability to the american people to hold this administration accountable regardless of political affiliations. those we hear from today have worked to comply with 800 rolls issued in of for 15 dif

today's town hall was the first of many events aimed at winning over a skeptical american public between now and mid-term elections. democrats and allies of the obama administration are raising $25 million to set up a new tax exempt group to head off criticism that might impact candidates in november. >> a key part of the strategy is showing americans how the law will benefit them. the president told seniors today the first batch of $250 rebate checks are being mailed to help millions of them when they fall into their coverage gap known as the donut hole. >> it's being phased in, but by 2020, this law will close the donut hole completely. the donut hole will be gone. ( applause ) it will be gone. >> reporter: seniors aren't the only ones unsure about new law. recent polls show more than 50% of americans don't like it. however, most people don't want to repeal the legislation. that is something republicans are trying to do in at least 30 states. while much of the new law takes effect in 2014, the administration is already beginning to roll out some of its provisions. including a high-risk pool for those who are hard to insure. and most major insurance companies ha

the past few decades to find americans have generally done better, but the rich have done better fastest. so, income inequality has gone up. the bush and reagan and clinton and clintonii administrationis working on helping the middle- class thrive, to help all americans to flourish -- bush, reagan, and clinton, and bush ii. it is about the execution of policies. host: here is a story about the tea party. one not recall them now? putting their efforts and to getting a bunch of senators recalled the in a half a dozen states. do you agree? guest: i don't think it is very productive. it is trying to accelerate what would happen in the electorial process. there is no evidence that it leads to terrific outcomes. we have a well-organized system in which people vote regularly. people who want change should focus on that. host: the last phone call for arthur brooks from san bernardino, california. caller: there is a problem with cause and effect, the result of why these things happen. i'm glad the argument has been changed from free-market and no regulation to now we need recognition that we need some regulation. host: your final thoughts? guest: thankfully, there have not been any economist

through his past, we have seen that he is at least more anti- communist than the last administration. >> i was a young american for freedom. we were always working in+ ccordination with the college republicans, but they weren't idaho logically conserrativee enough for us. until jack abramoff became involved. then they became ideologically conservative. >> abramoff is a little older than i am, but i was a college republican in the early 1980's. when the college republicans took that sharp turn to the right, that's the same direction i was going in. a lot of the same heroes. i thought ronald reagan was the greatest man who ever lived. >> in this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem. government is the problem. >> where do you find things like that clip of karl rove or dan rohrabacher? >> oh, man, we just dig and dig+ and dig. about my job. the fun things%- you start looking and you start believing that stuff is out there that hasn't been seen before and you usually find something. >> how do you find it? if i were sitting in your shoes, who would you call to find something like that? >> we

right now the american people are questioning what the future of their country is. they are seeing record deficits by this administration. this year alone if we had a budget we don't know what the deficit's going to be this year because, one, we haven't passed any appropriation bills in this congress, and secondly, the leadership of this -- majority hasn't brought a budget to the floor. maybe they are not going to because they don't want their members to have to take a vote on a budget that's going to spend -- for every dollar we spend we'll have to borrow 42 cents. i'm sure they would be embarrassed if you voted for a budget like that. one, we have to start cutting back our spending and reducing these deficits. leaving money in the economy. as a small business man when i had the capital in my business and the government wasn't taxing away my capital, i was able to leverage it and go to my lender and be a responsible borrower and it would be prudent to lend to me. we could expand our business. the other thing yesterday, this body had an opportunity to do something for small business and that was to repeal the mandate fo

the american people are not going to forget about the obama administration's failure to secure our borders and enforce our nation's immigration laws. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. costa: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i rise today to encourage my colleagues to put aside partisan differences and begin in earnest to address our nation's broken immigration system. although we do not always agree on how to change the system, it is clear that we all agree that the current system is broken. and in need of meaningful reform. yesterday i met with the president to discuss a way forward for immigration reform. while comprehensive reform remains my priority, we cannot allow the perfect to become the enemy of the good. we must begin to address our immigration issues this year. improve our security at the borders, a peace meal a-- piecemeal approach on

the small business administration has stepped in to provide loans and allow deferrals of existing loan payments. this week, the federal government sent bp a preliminary bill that was $69 billion to pay back american taxpayers for some of the cost of the response so far. in addition, after an emergency safety review we are putting in place aggressive new operating standards for offshore drilling. i have appointed a bipartisan commission to look into the causes of this bill. if laws are inadequate, laws will be changed. if oversight was lacking, it will be strengthened. if laws were broken, those responsible will be brought to justice. over the last few days, bp has played with their wealth. they are -- has plugged that there well. -- has plug theige their well. we are prepared for the worst, even though we hope the peace efforts will bring better news. regardless of this attack, there will be slippage until the relief wells are completed. there will continue to be a these are hard times in louisiana and across the gulf coast. louisiana has seen more than its fair share of trouble. i have seen communities determined to fight to this disaster, as they have before, to preserve not just a way to make

. >> the white house budget director was at the center for american progress today to talk about the obama administration's efforts to make government more efficient. he was introduced by tom-all. this is 40 minutes. >> good morning. i am tom-all -- tom daschle. i am privileged to introduce peter orszag. i want to speak about building more effective, efficient government agencies. government can produce better results and save money in two main ways. the first is by focusing on things in order of importance. the second is eliminating or reforming misguided spending programs. think about health care. we just enacted landmark legislation to bring affordable coverage to all americans. president barack obama and the congress deserve great credit for this. we should celebrate the accomplishment, but the legislation alone, as good as it may be, does not guarantee success. the policies may be smart and well crafted, but they will fall short of the government is not ready to execute. the story of the veteran's health administration underscores this point. when president clinton took office, the v h a provided subs

the deputy superintendent has been put on administrative leave in afghanistan, an american was killed by a roadside bomb-- the 20th u.s. death this month and the latest in a wave of violence. officials in helmand province said the taliban hanged a seven-year-old boy on wednesday. he had been accused of spying. the militants denied they carried out a suicide bombing at a wedding party in kandahar last night. at least 40 afghans were killed there and scores more were wounded. today, the u.s. commander in afghanistan warned it will take longer to secure the kandahar area than first planned. general stanley mcchrystal said: "i think it's more important we get it right than we get it fast." russia will pursue talks to build more nuclear power plants in iran. that word came a day after the u.n. security council imposed new sanctions on iran over its nuclear program. the russian foreign ministry said the sanctions do not affect the nuclear plant talks. it also said moscow will keep a commitment to deliver surface- to-air missiles to tehran. u.s. attorney general eric holder promised a thorou

the law demands. what's obvious to american across the political scum is this administration has been a day la since day one. unleo make this crisi a natialriority, we w hear that the president ispoised tonight to go te oval office inhe midst -- to the ov office in the midsof explaini the federal resnse to this crisis a use it an oppounity to press for a clate change bill. th american peop don't w this administration to exploit e disaster in the gulf to vance their disarous energy policy. erica eds a new energy policy. the cap and trade w't cap that well. this administrion should work th problem in t gulf instead of workingheir liberal environmental agenda. e speaker pro tempore: the gentleman'me hasxpir. for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado ri? permin addrehe usfor one minute. revisendxtend. the speaker pro tempore: thout jen. mr. polis: is lasteekend i was pa after delegation to mexico, as part of the u.s.-mexicparliamenty exchge this was the 49th an u.s.-mexico rliantary exchge and i rise day to emphasize the importance of the u.s.-mexico lationship. our topics included three major areas

to win, i would argue that when the taliban center around leaflet quoting members of the administration suggesting to people and afghanistan that after july the americanswill leave that the enemy is seizing on this inconsistency and uncertainty and no matter how well motivated he may be, the policy will fail because the enemy and our friends are uncertain. as john mccain said a million times over, you cannot sound an uncertain trumpet in that part of the world. that is my concern is that the policy is going to lead to freezing of momentum, of people coming our way who are armed of fans, and it will give the enemy a sense of purpose they would not have it the july 200011 date is held to. >> can we win in afghanistan with karzai being that of the government? >> absolutely, the behavior you have seen in my view has to do with his uncertainty about the command on the part of the united states of america. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> good afternoon, everybody. i support president obama decision -- president obama's decision to accept general mcchrystal's resignation. gene

now the laird case involved the nixon administration surveillance of americans. as the justice department's legal expert, when he's working with the justice department for the nixon administration, he testified before congress about that case. but then after his confirmation, he was probably five justice majority in the very case in which he had testified. and he voted to dismiss the complaint alleging unlawful surveillance of lawful citizens' political activity. now our supreme court justices have to make up their own mind back and forth with justice scalia about some things in his relationship with the former vice president and ruling on cases involving him. i regularly ask questions of nominees, not just for the supreme court, but further courts about potential recusals. now, senator sessions and i sent you a questionnaire and in that we had the question recusal. and you answered it, appears to me, very seriously. tell me about what -- what principles are you going to use to make recusal decisions if you can do just briefly. but then tell us some of the cases t

the fact that american idol is still the number one show on television doesn't exactly make our government burst with confidence. [laughter] now one could have viewed the first 18 months or so of the obama administration the public's engagement and reaction to it by bringing forth that old of americanpolitics. no good governance deed ever goes unpunished by the american people. we used to say that about efforts to reduce the deficit and such othr thing. if you consider the nature of the problems confronting the country in the globe and the possibility of descending into a global depression, if you look at the objective record of what has been accomplished in the 18 months with the multifaceted stimulus, although we don't call that stimulus, it's american recovery act, financial reform we don't call it that. we call it wall street reform. health reform is really by historical standards really quite extraordinary to sa that government is in grid lock and can't get anything done. it's also fascinating how little the public has come to believe any of that has been on any utility. a vast majorities believe that the financial bailout was a complete waste of money even though most of those dollars have alrea

the conduct of american foreign policy. this goes beyond republicans and democrats, beyond the obama administration. it's a path think a think we should all be reluctant to take and it is why i am voting no. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: mr. speaker, i yield 2 1/2 minutes to the gentleman from california, mr. ed royce, the ranking member on the foreign affairs subcommittee on terrorism, nonproliferation and trade and a house conferee on this measure. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 2 1/2 minutes. mr. royce: i thank the gentlelady for yield diagnose, yielding and in response to the previous speaker, i remind my colleagues that sanctions did work in south africa and that south africa gave up its atomic weapons program. the threat, my friends, in iran is crystal clear. and its regime closes in on a nuclear weapon. so a crystal clear response by us is urgent. while i support this bill, much of this legislation unfortunately is a muddle. good sanctions, good sanctions in this bill are weakened by delays and by the possibility of waiver a

the world. let's not outsource another of our industries. let's not give up on american exceptionalism. let's go back and reconsider the obama administration's desire to trash this prooram and let's go back to putting us on a path with a plan, as mr. bishoo pointed out, to go out and explore those new frontiirs we have left to explore. with that, mr. speaker, i thank you for the time and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, the gentleman from ohio,,mr. ryan, is ecognized as the designee of the majority leader. mr. ryan: thank you, mr. ppeaker. i want to take this opportunity here on the house floor to spend a few minutes talking about some friends of mine who are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. i wanted to take a second here to say what good friends they are and what great americans they are and what great people % they are. bill and margie skolaski will be celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary this week and they have been not only tremendous supporters of me, but great people in the community

few people, perhaps the only person on the american side, who has been to all of them because they were founded by secretary paulson in the previous administration it continued with modifications into the current administration. it is a meeting of essentially the entire cabinet of the united states plus the fed chairman and others with their counterparts in china. what i felt was the genius of this meeting is that it recognizes the wide range of issues in which the u.s. and china have common interests and concerns. when we go, we don't just talk about exchange rates and some things that have been a troubling part of our relationship, we talk about ways where we can cooperate on energy the says, and many other -- on visas and many other issues. the fact is, we need us -- a fact is, they need us and we need them. these are the largest developed economies in the world and we have a great deal to gain in working with each other. one of the benefits of these meetings besides the concrete achievements which are sometimes establishing a working relationship. having a working relationship with people so you can call and talk to them and get a frank answ

the war's deadliest. as of today, 76 international troops have died in june, including 46 americans. mcchrystal removal raised questions about the general, but also about overall administration policy in afghanistan. here to sort that through are jessica matthews, president of the carnegie endowment for international peace. she served in the carter and clinton administrations. elliot cohen, a professor at the johns hopkins school of advanced international studies. he served in the bush administration. and david ignatius, a columnist with the "washington post", who has covered the conflict extensively. let's start with all of you by talking about this eventful day. what was your first reaction, jessica matthews, not only to stanley mcchrystal's firing but also david petraeus' return? >> i thought the president had no choice. he did exactly the right thing and what had to be done. and if there was a way for this to happen with a minimal consequences for the war, he found it in the appointment of petraeus, that this was to make a personnel change without a hint of policy change , this was the only person. and petraeus was willing to do it, and i thought the president hit every

american lives? >> grenier: i think that's fair to say. >> pelley: but while nada prouty was hunting terrorists overseas, an investigation began back home that would destroy her career. the bush administrationking to break up terrorist financing. and by 2004, federal prosecutors in detroit were looking at the large arab-american population around dearborn, michigan. suspicion fell on a lebanese- american restaurant owner named talal chahine. and as it happened, chahine was married to nada prouty's sister. in 2005, fbi agents came to cia headquarters to ask prouty a few questions. >> prouty: they showed me a picture of my brother-in-law with a spiritual leader-- at that time, i didn't know who he was, but with a spiritual leader from hezbollah. >> pelley: hezbollah is the lebanese group, backed by iran and on the u.s. terrorism list. prouty says she had little to do with chahine. she thought he was a womanizer cheating on her sister. but because of the family ties, prouty was under suspicion. what began to happen, your relationships with your colleagues, your relationships in the agency? >> prouty: everybody scattered away. you would think that i had the plague. nobody wanted to have anythin

the administration is making a commitment to spend $20 million on health care. they're trying to bring the issue back up. they realize it has been a loser for this administration, and the american people know it. but the tension, no matter what channel you are watching, -- you can always see the oil coming up. we just saw the interviewhearins with ken salazar. itit looks like this is going to go on for years and years. host: senior citizens getting checks regarding the doughnut hole. the president spoke about that. >> we have a party that is running on the platform of repeal. they want to roll back these reform efforts. they say they have their own plan, but over the last 14 months of debate, they never advanced it. when you look at it, you can see why. they roll back the rebate that helps to pay for prescription medicines, they brought by the doughnut hole, they took away the insurance provisions that major insurance companies are not cheating folks who are paying their premiums. their plan would continue to allow companies to allow not giving coverage when they are sick. >guest: 1 in 10 senior citizens are going to get a check. you have to show that you want to help folks, bu