tierney, thank you for being on. we will take a break. we will go to c-span radio to get more headlines. then we began a five-day series looking at states' budgets. >> in the headlines, elena kagan appears to be on her way towards confirmation as the 112 a supreme court justice. with republican showing a little appetite for a long-shot filibuster attempt after sparring with her on abortion, gays in the military and other issues. today the committee questions outside witnesses about the nominee. live coverage starts at 4:00 eastern on c-span radio, c-span3 television and on-line at c- span.org. initial claims for unemployment benefits rose for the second time in three weeks, a sign that layoffs are rising. the labor department says new claims jumped by 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 472,000. analysts had expected a small drop. laos by construction firms contributed to the increase after homes will slump last month after the expiration of the home buyer tax credit. bp's oil spill will become the largest ever in the gulf of mexico by today

tierney calls this warlord inc., extortion and corruption along the u.s. supply chain in afghanistan. and perhaps most disturbing of all, madam speaker, is the department of defense apparently has long been aware of this and hasn't done a thing about it. as in tierney points out, at a time when communities here at home are crying out for investment in schools, hospitals and other infrastructure, it's galling to think that american taxpayer dollars are supporting the kind of thuggery in afghanistan that is quite possibly endangering our troops. it's bad enough, madam speaker, that the american people are being asked to pay for a failed war. now it appears they're being asked to pay for the wrong side. madam speaker, we simply cannot sustain a counterterrorism strategy that has us doing business, however indirectly, with the terrorists themselves. it's illogical and its unconscionable. this is just one more -- it's unconscionable. this is just one more piece of evidence that this war is failing the american people, undermining instead of advancing our nation

>> good mornig, chairman tierney, ranking member flank. thank you for inviting me here to address the challenges of contracting in combat zones, specifically to address the issue of who are our subcoractors. permit me to provide three premises that frame my remarks. first, the iraq experience underscores the truism that contracting in a war zone is uniquely challenging and vulnerable to fraud, waste and abuse. second, that fraud, waste and abuse will get worse unless a regime is implemented that balances the principle of effective financial stewardship with the goal of mission accomplishment. third, a weakly resourced contract corps, such as we've seen in iraq and afghanistan, will harm oversight and, as you pointed out, potentially undermine mission accomplishment. we' we've been studying the problems arising from iraq contracting for the last six years. 've issued 230 reports. that's what -- we've gotten into some of the subcontracting issues. in those cases, we've seen that the primes don't frequently know who their subcontractors are e

tierney. the speaker pro tempore: this vote -- the speaker pro tempore: on this vote -- the speaker pro tempore: the yeas are 162, the nays are 260. the nays have it. the fifth portion of the divided question is not adopted. without objection, the motion to reconslaid upon the table. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from hawaii gsh the gentlewoman from rise? >> i ask to be considered the first sponsor of h.r. 709, a bill originally introduced by representative abercrombie of hawaii for the purposes of adding co-sponsors and requesting this pursuant to clause 7 of rule 12. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the speaker pro tempore: the house lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable, the speaker, house of representatives, madam, on july 1, 2010, the committee on transportation and infrastructure met in open session to consider 15 resolutions to authorize appropriations for the general services administration for fy 2010 capi

host: on your screen is congressman john tierney of massachusetts. a report on contract thing in afghanistan. the famous phrase that an army moves on its stomach. we have a $2.1 billion contract there. what are we getting from it? guest: yes, $2.16 billion for contacting that goes through everything from food to supplies. they are getting the goods delivered. there is no argument on that. but there is a failure on the side of authorities to know who they are paying in these contracts, wh impact that might have in terms of waste, fraud, and abuse, and in terms the counterinsurgency mission in afghanistan. host: that last part is what you seem to emphasize in your report. guest: we are not really traina lot of these companies. and they go and hire trucks and drivers and security companies, which in manyinstances, turned out to be warlords. they do whateverhey need to to get the goods to where they need to be, but they are all set extorting -- also extorting to get the goods to where they need to go. there is also rumors that there are bribes being paid

we will listen to the words published 244 years ago that urged americans to throw off the verge of tierney of tyranny. signing the declaration of independence was a daring move by brave fall full command. they risked life and limb to create a nation based not on ethnicity, religion, or geographic boundaries, but one based solely on ideas. the declaration of independence is a textbook of freedom. the declaration's parchment has yellowed with age. america has become a rich nation and is the envy of the world. we have faced down many in the neat repeat -- facedown many enemies at home and abroad. one of the best dangerous threats does not come from abroad, but from within. i am talking about our national debt. thomas jefferson warned of this danger early on. he once said, "there does not exist and engine so corrupt of the government as public debt." it will bring us more room at home and then all of the enemies from abroad against them this army and navy or to protect us. as usual, jefferson was right. at a time when americans are clipping coupons and pitching pennies, president obama and the

i tell tierney, these are the guys i want to be with. >> the army doesn't put bad troops in bad placesand the corn gall was 1/5 of the come bat -- combat in all of afghanistan happening in those six miles. the enemy basically owned the southern half of the valley. when they went down there, they got attacked. simple as that. and i wanted to understand what it was like emotionally. i wanted to understand the emotional terrain of combat. what it's like to be in combat and so the platoon seemed like the choice. host: what are living conditions like there? guest: it was up on a bridge. there was no running water. so they didn't bathe for a month at a time. they built this outpost with pick axes and shovels literally hacked out of the rock by hand while they were getting attacked. the first day they were attacked 13 times in one day. there was no communication with the outside world. no internet, no phone, no cooked food. it was infernally hot in the summer, swarming with flies and in the winter, zero degrees, incredibly cold, built plywood hooches heated with gasoline that didn't really wo