he's part of the national association of state foresters out of charleston, west virginia. charles a. holmes, the choice resource policy group, the national association of conservation districts in . dr. richardman, on behalf of the american loggers council, from perry florida and mr. michael t.gorgan junior. and it looks like our second panel is all seated so i now recognize mr. burke, if you please begin with your five minutes of testimony. >> good afternoon. [ no audio ] >> sorry. thank you for allowing me to appear before you this afternoon. i extend that thank you to chairman thompson and to ranking member holder as well as the other members of this subcommittee. a bit of an introduction. we manage a family forest in central virginia. i also have the pleasure of working with the american forest foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is among others to encourage healthy forests. we speak for 10 million landowners, those are private forest or private landowners. allow me to set the stage a bit for my -- my family spans 6 generations. from those trees, we produ

morris movisi is president of the national association of realtors. he was elected president of the florida association of realtors in 2002 and was named realtor of the year in 2003. i want to welcome you here today, and continue with your testimony, please. >> chairman tester and senator vitter and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to test on this urgent need for a five-year reauthorization of the national flood insurance program. and i'd be remiss if i didn't bring you these salutations from marbury little, past president of the louisiana association of realtors and all the 5,000-plus realtors in louisiana who appreciate senator vitter, your involvement and commitment to this issue. and from betty kissic and rhonda tompers who said specifically, chairman, to tell you that they are very much pleased and very much committed to what you're trying to accomplish here on the hill. >> thank you. >> my name is mo veissi. i'm the n.a.r. president 2012 for the national association of realtors and a broker owner of veissi & associates i

the 2012 president of the national association of realtors. lastly, dr. mark sandy as the chief economist. mr. emerson, please commence. >> chairman johnson, ranking member shelby, members of senate committee on banking, housing and consumer affairs. thank you for allowing me to testify at this hearing, responsible homeowner refinancing act of 2012. my name is bill emerson. i'm ceo of quicken loans. it's 26-year-old retail originator based in downtown detroit. we're the nation's largest online lender and fourth large eretail lender. highest in customer satisfaction for primary mortgage origination in the united states for 2010 and 2011. my testimony will address some of the issues with harp 2.0. it will help more homeowners than 1.0. we applaud the administration, gse and mortgage industries for working together to improve the harp product. however, harp 2.0 is not helping enough homeowners eligible. why will it not help enough of these 4 million homeowners? there are two answers. the difference in repurchase risk versus new originators and same servicers.

he's the executive director of the national association of people with aids. he also serves on the board of directors for the national minority aids council. mr. oldham was the city-wide coordinator under mayor bloomberg, the assistant of public health division on std, hiv/aids public policy and programs and the deputy assistant commissioner on the bureau of hiv services for the new york city department of health. he launched the faces of aids project in 1999, which spawned two books and a touring photo exhibit showcasing the stories of people living with aids. mr. holdham advises several planning bodies to new york city, the centers for disease control, the lamda legal and washington, d.c. mr. oldham, thank you very much for being with us. >> thank you for providing us with the opportunity to share our thoughts with you on this subject that is so important to 1.2 million people living with hiv/aids in america. the national association of people with aids is the largest and oldest patient advocacy group for people living with hiv/aids. we've also seen as the mo

captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> "this is america" is made possible by the national education association, the nation's largest advocate for children and public education. poongsan corporation, forging a higher global standard. the ctc foundation. afo communications. and the rotondaro family trust. >> mr. ambassador, let's talk a little bit about the summit of the americas. i gather that 33 of the 35 leaders in the area attended. i suppose the question is -- i hate to do it backwards, but who didn't attend? >> venezuela. his health is in a difficult situation, as you know. he was represented by his foreign minister. the president of nicaragua, president ortega. we don't know why he didnt' make it. they are the two were absent. but we had a good crowd and great attendance. >> we get all confused in the media here and we did not understand -- what was the agenda of the summit? >> the agenda was very relevant. for example, at infrastructure -- how can we connect our systems, our grid, how to increase our use of local energy and alternative energy? we also had as a topic how to fight poverty

." >> susie: home prices rose in more than half of the nation's metropolitan areas during the first quarter. the national association of realtors says the median price of homes sold was just under $160,000. the areas with the biggest gains in prices: fort myers, florida; grand rapids, michigan; and titusville, florida. and if you're in the market for a new home, a good real estate agent is key. tonight's "money file" has some tips. here's "money" magazine's donna rosato. >> the real estate market is heating up and home sales are at their highest level since 2007, but selling your home or buying a new one is still a tricky process. finding an experienced real estate agent can make all the difference if you want to close a deal at the right price. start by asking about the last three deals the agent has closed. you want someone who has experience buying and selling in your neighborhood. your ideal realtor should be able to say off the top of her head how long homes in the area have been listed and why they have or haven't sold. you also need to know your realtor's batting average. find out how many homes he's closed o

i am of president of the 2012 for the national association of realtors and the broker onerous associates in miami florida in 42 years. the national association of realtors represents more than a million members as you mentioned involved in all aspects of the realtor industry. long-term reauthorization of the program is a key priority on may 17th here in washington, d.c. we will have over 15,000 realtors of the washington monument and one of the five key issues that we will be speaking to the folks on the hill about on just this issue. ensuring access to the affordable flood insurance is critical. it creates uncertainty in the real estate market and uncertainty is required for this realistic market to require dahuk what -- recover. home prices are still enormously fragile across the united states and more than a quarter of a million of existing home sales are distressed property. tight lending standards remain a problem and we don't want to give an linder another excuse not to approve the loan. since 2008 and twice failure act led to programs set down in the latest susceptive spark as you

on behalf of the national association of conservation districts, our 3,000 member districts and our 17,000 supervisors across this country, i thank you for this opportunity to be here today. i currently serve as a board member from the state of alabama for nacd as well as chairman of the nacd forest resources policy group. my wife and i own homestead company, a sole proprietorship in marian, alabama where we are a tree farm operation. my family has used a variety of conservation practices over nearly 200 years, including cross venting, rotational grazing, padded water troughs and ascribed burning. we received our first farm plan in 1939 and have been a certified tree farm since 1941. we have a mix of pine and hardwoods on our property and in 1999 we reintroduced long leaf to our property. we currently have a forest management plan and a registered forester to assist us with our forest management. the importance of conservation cannot be stated enough. that's why nack supports the passage of a 2012 farm bill. conservation districts throughout the country provide technical assistance to nine

"this is america" is made possible by the national education association, the nation's largest advocate for children and public education. the american federation of teachers, a union of professionals. the singapore tourism board. there's something for everyone. singapore airlines, a great way to fly. poongsan corporation, forging a higher global standard. the ctc foundation. afo communications. and the rotondaro family trust. "zbig-nef," as opposed to "zbig-new." thank you for the -- >> it is phonetic. it is slavic, phonetic. >> i have not been too good with my languages. i welcome help from you. the middle east is in turmoil. at one point, you say that the e.u. is irrelevant and america is in some kind of decline. that is a pretty bleak picture. and we do not pay attention, unfortunately, to south america and latin america and africa. where are we in the world? >> 60, 70 years ago, who was dominant in the middle east? it was the british and french. they were -- they left or were pushed out after world war ii. who replaced them? we did. with whom did we have the best relationships ther

the american association of state highway and transportation officials. the national asphalt pavement association, the american trucking association. i just had a meeting with them in my office. they are so strongly behind this bill. the american society of civil engineers. the association of equipment manufacturers. the associated general contractors of america. the national stone sand and gravel association. american council of engineering companies. american road and transportation builder's association. transportation department of the aflcio. the labor s international union of north america. the national association of manufacturers. american public transportation association. american highway alliance. international bridge turn pike association and associated equipment distributors. these groups and all of their logos are on this. and i will make sure that the members of the conference committee receive this letter along with the op-ed. i would say to you i'm working on a parallel strategy. one is an inside and one is an outside. the inside is to make sure every

renderers association, the american soybean association, the united states canola association and the national restaurant association. our industry has production facilities in all but a few states across this land. in fact, 13 of the distinguished members on this subcommittee have at least one plant in your districts, including representatives lucas, peterson, thompson, holden, stutzman, gibbs, holz camp, macintyre, walls, owens, pengory, fudge and nome. the other nine members of this subcommittee have bowe diesel production facilities in your states and mbb estimates that those plants and others like them across this country supported more than 39,000 jobs in all sectors of the u.s. economy in 2011. this generated household income of more than $2.1 billion and created more than $3.8 billion in gdp. many of our production facilities are located in rural america, where in many cases they are the primary economic engine for the local community. in addition to creating direct manufacturing jobs, our diversified feed stocks and co-products represent expanding markets for u.s. farmers, livestock p

. >> "this is america" is made possible by -- the national education association, the nation's largest advocate for children and public education. poongsan corporation, forging a higher global standard. the ctc foundation, afo communications, and the rotondaro family trust. anne, thank you so much for joining us. we are talking about nuclear energy and nuclear power. are they the same thing? >> i think you can call than the -- i think you can call them same thing. nuclear energy, nuclear power, using nuclear reactors to generate power, pretty much the same term. >> and nuclear power, nuclear energy used for electricity, heating, things like that. do you know off the top of your head what percentage of our power in the united states comes from nuclear energy? >> i should know this more precisely. i think it is about 25%. >> and throughout the world is a big deal, right, more so than in the united states? >> france, for example, has 85% of its power, from nuclear reactors. so in some countries, very substantial. japan, prior to fukushima, was extremely substantial. >> how do we step from

and the national association of convenience and fuel retailing says this is done to prevent fraudulentvoid the limit simply go inside and patient the attendant directly. i think this has always been the case but because we haven't been at $4 a gallon we haven't noticed there was a limit. who pumped $150 of gas before? >> right. and you can go inside. >> and they can check your signature. that's right. >> all right. next question from mike in arlington, virginia. mike wants to know how long you can keep ketchup and other condiments in the 'fridge. >> not years, mike. the usda gave us this answer. it says that open ketchup and cocktail sauce, chili sauce, will last up to six months in the 'fridge. mustard 12 months. that is a year. mayo and salad dressings two months. foods like pickles and olives only two weeks. >> no. >> yes. usda says two weeks on those. that is a big surprise to me. >> so those pickles from last summer's barbecue? >> uh-huh. >> oh, my goodness. last question is about temporary tatoos. is henna a safe alternative for people who may not want a permanent tatoo? >> but t

the national association of people with aids, known as napwa, is the largest group of people living with hiv/aids. we've also seen, because of the trusted voice in our community and longstanding independence. next year will be bittersweet. napwa will be in existence 20 years. i say bittersweet, because we don't like seeing people lost. these are 30 years that dear friends of mine lost in the epidemic in the early '80s and 199s 0, they never had a chance to live. so with this in mind, we thank the pharmaceutical industry, the fda and the brilliant researchers for creating anti-retrovirals. i am living proof they do work. i've been positive for over 23 years. we are at a brilliant beginning in saving the lives of people living with aids. however, according to recent studies from cec, less than 25% of people prescribed anti-retrovirals stay on treatment. some say it is because they get nauseous, especially when they first start them. others, because of the barriers, access to the medication, and they have the potential to increase risks for long-term organ damage. and while premature death

"this is america" is made possible by -- the national education association, the nation's largest advocate for children and public education. poongsan corporation, forging a higher global standard. the ctc foundation, afo communications, and the rotondaro family trust. americans know very little about africa and south africa. what is the size of the country? is it a big country? >> i think it is probably a bit of a subcontinent. i think we could easily be one- third of europe. but that is the massive size of the african continent. it as massive as the land mass is the opportunity that opens up across africa and getting the impression that americans are learning more and more about africa because they understand that the economic salvation lies on that last frontier, that the u.s. has been shying away from. >> why do you think we have been shying away from it? >> the u.s. has only seen africa -- and sometimes justifiably -- as a continent that needs its assistance, rather than a partner in trade and investment and tourism. american has often seen the continent of africa as a place -- absenc

rivers association of the american soybean association, the united states come all association and the national restaurant association. we've production facilities and all but a few states across this land in fact 13 of the distinguished members of the subcommittee have at least one plant in your districts including representatives lucas, peterson, thompson, holden, gabus, mcintyre, calls, owens. the other nine members of the committee headed by moody's and production facilities located in your states and estimates those plans and others like them across the country support of more than 39,000 jobs in all sectors of the u.s. economy in 2011. this generated household income was more than $2.1 billion created more than $5.8 billion in gdp. many of our production facilities are located in rural america where in many cases they are the primary economic engine for the local community. in addition to creating the direct manufacturing jobs, our diversified peace documents include product represent expanding markets for u.s. farmers, livestock's, renders and restaurant owners. given this overview, you

kate mitchell is the former chairman of the national venture capital association. ron sheikh is the founder, executive chairman and co-ceo of the panera bread company and the co-founder of no labels. and karen mills, the administrator of the sba small business administration. thanks for being here. mike, the stage is yours. >> thank you. like old home week, these panelists know each other quite well so i think that makes the conversation more interesting. as you can see the segue about entrepreneurialism and competitiveness makes a lot of sense. when you look at the panelists we have up here, we have an entrepreneur who's shown through two businesses he knows how to build it, he knows how to create value, he knows how to create jobs. he created one of the companies that my two daughters liked the most, which is panera bread, so i thank you for that. it means we have a lot of dinners out. we also have a venture capitalist who understands what it means to invest, how to create jobs. she was instrumental in creating the ipo on-ramp and in the jobs act. so we're glad to

. >> the national association for the advancement of colored people is officially taking a stand on marriage equality. >> when people ask why the naacp stands firm for marriage equality, police say that we have always stood against laws which demeanor and humanize -- demesne, dehumanize, or discriminate against any person in this great country. >> the organization's executive board approved a resolution saturday, saying the naacp will continue to oppose any national, state, or local policy or legislative initiative that seeks to codify discrimination or hatred into the law or to remove the constitutional rights of lgbt citizens. texas is not a religious or moral issue for the naacp. -- >> this is not a religious or moral issue for the naacp. >> the groups on members disagree. >> i have spoken to many clergy who feel differently, different sides, different 3 op -- different ideologies. all are clear that it is a difference, not a division. it is a contrast, not a conflict pierre >> it is merely not endorsing a marriage, but what we are supporting is that everyone be treated the same. >> core

. >>> the national association of realtors is now holding an event to protect the american dream.ld this morning at the washington mon. >>> we are working on a few stories for you this morning including one about employers at a frederick >> they say they're in shock over claims found in one coworkers' computer. >> and dreams are coming through for a group of local girls. we'll share their stories of leaving their disabilities behind them to become ballerinas. >> an early stop at a gas station turned into a memory they will never forget. >>> and mild temperatures working their way in here this morning but some cooler air is on the way and i'll have those details coming up. >> everything is up to speed here. i'll let you know what the jfx and the beltway look like coming up in my time saver traffic report.

i represent the national association of firefighters, 300,000 members that serve communities in each of the nation's 435 congressional districts. i'm especially pleased to be before the subcommittee because i am currently a constituent of the member john sarbanes and after the november elections will be very proud constituent of the ranking member. as sorrier fighters have taken on additional responsibilities, and extend the capabilities of the total response of the communities so too must define your administration evolves in the needs of the 21st century service. today the firefighters primary function is to simply put out fires. today's fire fighters are well-educated trained and skilled and all-purpose emergency responders with broad responsibilities ranging from the ems has mattress' once, wmd and all hazardous response. most significantly, your fire fighters are always the first deutsch on the ground for any man-made or natural disaster. the prevalence of the delivery systems requires the agency to fully integrate the training and preparedness and to its mission. although usfa i

secretary of state mad lynn all bright and well-known figure here in california who cofounded the national association. now he's home. the special honor he received today from his classmates. summer like weather is returning to parts of the bay area. rose marry will let us know what day will be the warmest. if you're on the go, you can still watch ktvu newscast live on your commuter smartphone or tablet. get the app on ktvu.com. >>> next couple of days -- going to be closed from 5:30:00 p.m. wednesday until 5:30:00 p.m. friday. traffic will be diverted to delta fair boulevard to the south and north park and california boulevard to the north. meteorologist rose marry joins us now you said it's going to be a little bit warmer and it is. >> 5 to 10 degrees to some of our inland areas. spinally heat up we're talking about, temperatures are going to feel like summer all of a sudden as we get into your wednesday outside our door at this hour a little bit of haze. we've got low clouds right along the coast. and the winds in some cases that's reporting 24 miles per hour. we've got san jose with 16. 18 and on

john paul jr., division director of fire analysis at the national par friction association. the doctor has been active in fire analysis and research for nearly 35 years. our third witness is chief jim critchley, chief critchley represents the tucson fire kept in my home state of arizona and currently serves as the president of the western chir chief's oh. sour final witness mr. kevin o'connor, assistant to the general president for the international association of firefighters. thank you again for, to our witnesses for being here today. as our witnesses should know, spoken testimony is limited to five minutes each, after all witnesses have spoken, members of the committee lieutenawill h minutes each to ask questions. i now recognize chief ernest mitchell. >> good morning, chairman quayle and distinguished members of the committee. i'm at the federal emergency management agency and the administrator in charge of the administration at the department of homeland security. it an honor to appear before you today to discuss the u.s. fire administration. the fire administration is c

. >> the national association of home builders is now investigating the issue and as you might imagine there is a lot of money at stake here. the saving grace for the window industry at this point is that there has not been a high number of reported cases. but a little scary there. >> now they know when those do that, if you more people will come knocking. >> good news for mothers out there. mother's day spending on the rise. this year the average american will spend $152 on their gifts, $12 more than the average person spent last year. the national retail federation estimates appreciative sons and daughters across the country will spend $18.6 billion for sending flowers on sunday were not alone, two-thirds of consumers will be buying the same guests. lawrence has mother's day and his wife's birthday. >> here is a segue, could the sound of your alarm clock make you fat? german researchers say that there's a chance that it could. they studied a phenomenon called social jet lag when people wake up, at one time during the weekend and on the weekends they sleep in. scientists found that sl

the national association of home builders and wells fargo has unveiled its top 10 most affordable cities to buy a home.in big cities... indianapolis take theenumbbr home price coming in at about 102-thousand dollars.among smaller housing markets.... cumberland ttpped the affordability chart for the first time. 3we are getting our first look inside the new maryland livee casino at arundel mills. mills.((nats)) ((nats)) 32-hundred slot machines light up the venue that covers three football fields.maryland live...will aaso feature four restaurants.... including phillips...and the prime rib. phe cordish ompany days it's anxxous to make a huge impact pnnthe local economy. (weinberg) "arundel mills alreadyyattracts 14 milllon people a year, so we have among theebest shhpping anywhere in the country." country."maryland live opens to the public next wednesday... june 6th. you can now buy tickkts to the prix. last year's race attracteddlots of speccators... but baltimore racing development collapsed financially... leaving millions in unpaid debts. the newest organizer... "race to oversee this yea

that is where bill is supported by the national association of realtors, the national association of homebuilders, many lenders by quicken loans, some mortgage investors like amherst securities and by small business groups. our bill will help the 17.5 million borrowers who have fannie mae and freddie mac loans but who are trapped paying interest rates above 5% because of barriers to that refinancing. most estimates are that it is likely to help an additional 3 million borrowers to refinance although that depends on how many are worse take advantage of it. our bill will make it easier for homeowners to refinance and love for their mortgage payments which is both a popular and common sense way to help the housing market and by the way to help the economy as well. if i have a roof that has been making and all of -- now i have the wherewithal to fix it, i'm going to preserve my property, reserve the value and at the same time go ahead and hire someone to do that and actually has a ripple effect in our economy. allowing homeowners to refinance on the home that is 6% interest to a loan tha

. >>> the national association of homebuilders is investigating the issue and there have not been a high number of reported cases. it's the one kind of text we all hate. spam. americans got almost 5 billion unwanted messages last year. so this man is driving you crazy here are three things you can do to make it stop. first make sure your cell phone number is on the ftc's do not call list. one block everything but it certainly helps. it makes it illegal for telemarketers to call or text you. second report text yourself and company. most carriers offer a free service just for the unwanted message to the no. 7726 or spam. and third it download and that if you have and enjoy the phone their hundreds of spam blockers and google play two of them most popular one is mr. number which lets you text and call the ones you love and blocked everyone else. and privacy star which lets you file complaints directly with the sec. there are also free ads for the iphone. and now there is one thing you should never do do not reply back to this them tax because that basically sends a message to the stammer th

the best place to start is the national association of student financial aid administrators. that's nasf.org. you'll find art cells, videos and work -- articles, videos and work sheets. check out college board.org. they have great information on financial aid and grants. click on the college planning tab. you'll get great information on schools and can make a customized plan based on what grade you're in, where you want to go to college or how much you're looking to spend. three other sites threw federal student aid dot ed.gov. also student aid.com and saving for college.com provide a resource. if college is a long ways off, open a college savings account and start contributing right away. >>> they've been serving their community for 75 years. we'll take a look at the good work that's been done at the kennedy krieger institute. >>> the ground is thursday, even though it had a pretty good drink of water it needs more. >> it's overtime in in annapolis. the special session starts next week. what the governor said will be on the table. >> the great wallenda doesn't disappoint us.

people probably have damage and they're not aware it is the windows that are causing this >> the national association of home builders is investigating and there is a lot of money at stake. the saving grace at this point is there have not been a high number of cases reported. >> it is more like a high- powered year >> when you combine that with the sun angle and the concave glass, it is >> another gorgeous day >> we did have a significant cool down today but the temperatures are still averaging above normal for this time of year. let's have outside, a bird's eye view of the city of san francisco. the visibility is unlimited at this hour. 74 in san jose. 85 in morgan hill. santa clara is now in the mid- 70s. napa is sitting at 73 with clear skies and the numbers are stacking up in the '60s from san francisco to sausalito. ocean beach, currently a bit chilly due to the westerly wind blowing at 15 m.p.h.. 53 degrees but the fog has certainly burned off. the fog will return overnight tonight and it will become sunny and bright after the morning burn off on thursday. the extended forecast calls for a war

i am the nar president 2012 for the national association of realtors. the national association of realtors represents more than 1 million members, as you had mentioned, involved in all aspects of the real-estate industry. long-term reauthorization and reform of the national flood insurance program is a key priority to our members. as a matter of fact, on may 17 here in washington, d.c., we will have over 15,000 realtors at the washington monument, and one of the five key issues we will be speaking to the folks on the hill about is just this issue. entering access to affordable flood insurance is critical. it creates certainty in the real-estate market, which is required for this real estate market to recover. home prices are still enormously fragile across the united states, and more than 250,000 home sales are distressed properties. tight lending standards remain a problem, and we do not want to give a lender another excuse not to approve a loan. stoppages or shutdowns exacerbate the markets uncertainties. there have been 17 stoppages since 2008, twice

i'm kevin o'connor representing the national association of firefighters whose 300,000 members proudly serve communities in each of the nation's 435 congressional districts. i'm pleased to be before this subcommittee i'm currently a student of member john sarbanes after the november elections will be a new constituent of the ranking member. as firefighters have taken on additional capabilities to meet total response needs of our communities so too must the fire administration evolve to meet the needs of the 21st century fire service. the days of firefighters whose primary function was to simply put out fires. today's firefighters are highly educated and skilled all purpose emergency responders with broad responsibilities ranging from ems, hazmat and all hazards response. most significantly your firefighters are always the first boots on the ground for any manmade or natural disaster. the prevalence of fire based ems delivery system requires the agency to fully integrate ems training and preparedness into its mission. usfa is beginning to move in that direction, we want to make sure tha

would see that i have done a lot of work with governors, senators, congressmen, and with the national association of counties, and many different human service organizations. i would very much like to be involved in the life and breadth of san francisco and your community. i have done 40 years of work in the disability community, primarily in the mental-health community. i have worked extensively with the homeless. i was the director of mental health for a large county, 800,000 people. in the area of housing, for homeless housing programs, i have been very successful in grant writing. one of the skills that i bring to you and that i offered is my experience in bringing in money from the federal government and through many other different, pd public organizations. i volunteer with the red cross and have been very active in the last, i would say, 20 years. i have worked at the pentagon on 9/11. i also have volunteered with the san francisco suicide prevention, and through that, we to also get calls from people who are homeless and in need of housing. i have a lot of experience in working with coali

would see that i have done a lot of work with governors, senators, congressmen, and with the national association of counties, and many different human service organizations. i would very much like to be involved in the life and breadth of san francisco and your community. i have done 40 years of work in the disability community, primarily in the mental-health community. i have worked extensively with the homeless. i was the director of mental health for a large county, 800,000 people. in the area of housing,