but today treasury secretary timothy geithner says house republicans hat assured the president they will allow congress to raise the debt sealing. >> the told the president that on wednesday. we know that the risks would be catastrophic, and at it not something you can take too close to the edge. >> alan: geithner explained it the u.s. does not raise its debt limit it would have to stop making payments to veterans and machine social security recipients, and it would cause a default. >> for alloff you procrastinators out there tomorrow is tax day. your returns must be postmarked by midnight tomorrow and several bay area post offices will be offering extended hours for the last-minute filers. redwood city's main post office will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. in san francisco the post office at evans avenue will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and will all-curbside dropoff from 4:00 to 10:00 p.m. and in petaluma, the post office while be open from 8:30 to 6 p.m. >>> still ahead, it was a sailor's paradise in oakland. a look at the latest vessels. and a chance of rain in the foreca

but on "the newshour", treasury secretary timothy geithner said there is no plausible way to cut the cit without raising taxes. republicans strongly oppose higher taxes, but geithner said, "we are closer than people think." and to hari sreenivasan for what's on the "newshour" online. hari? >> sreenivasan: there's more on the president's plan for cutting deficits and a look at the winners and losers in the last- minute deal on this year's budget. and on "art beat," jeffrey brown talks with the founder of the jazz label, impulse records, turning 50 this year. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. gwen? >> ifill: and that's the "newshour" for tonight. on thursday, views from the right and the left on president obama's deficit-cutting proposal. i'm gwen ifill. >> lehrer: and i'm jim lehrer. we'll see you online and again here tomorrow evening. thank you and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> oil companies have changed my country. >> oil companies can make a difference. >> we have the chance to build the economy. >> create jobs, keep p

today, timothy geithner talked about the risks of not raiding the debt ceiling. >> we would tip the u.s. economy and the world economy back into recession and depression. it would make the last crisis look like a modest crisis. >> alan: he said house republicans have assured the president they will vote to raise the debt limit. >>> up next, the tax filing deadline is just a day away. how much we're saving with tax deductions. and there is a chance of rain in the forecast. leigh glaser will tell you about that. >> mike: the giants and a's going in different directions. the d-men lose a heartbreaking in arizona, and trevor cahill >> alan: as the tax filing deadline nears, half of americans pay no income taxes at all because there are so many tax breaks that in 2010, 45% of u.s. house hold were able to restitution their tax liability to zero. an independent watchdog group that's the tax code gives americans $1 trillion a year in credits, deductions and exemptions. among the biggest tax breaks, the home mortgage interest deduction which saves americans $77 billion. next is the $1,000 per ch

meantime, timothy geithner went on the financial channels to reassure investors that our credit rate will not fall as predicted. meantime, the housing market got a slight boost today. builders broke ground on the most new homes in six months. they say home construction rose more than 7%, however, the building pace a far below what economists consider healthy. new homes can splurge job growth and each new home creates the equivalent of three jobs a year and generates $90,000 in taxes. >> we are following developing news in houston. three students were hurt after a kindergartener brought a loaded gun to his elementary school. police say the gun accidentally fell out of his pocket during the lunch period. the child and two of his classmates were injured. school officials say they were hurt by fragments after one bullet fired. one of the injuries ra appears to be serious. investigators are trying to figure out how the young child got the weapon. >> a little more than an hour from now, president obama is holding a discussion on immigration reform at the white house. former governor swarze

meantime, timothy geithner went on the financial channels to reassure investors that our credit rate will not fall as predicted. meantime, the housing market got a slight boost today. builders broke ground on the most new homes in six months. they say home construction rose more than 7%, however, the building pace a far below what economists consider healthy. new homes can splurge job growth and each new home creates the equivalent of three jobs a year and generates $90,000 in taxes. >> we are following developing news in houston. three students were hurt after a kindergartener brought a loaded gun to his elementary school. police say the gun accidentally fell out of his pocket during the lunch period. the child and two of his classmates were injured. school officials say they were hurt by fragments after one bullet fired. one of the injuries ra appears to be serious. investigators are trying to figure out how the young child got the weapon. >> a little more than an hour from now, president obama is holding a discussion on immigration reform at the white house. former governor swarze

. >>> turns out treasury secretary timothy geithner hit the beach during president obama's bay area visit. a surf instructor says he didn't realize he was teaching a vip until he caught sight of secret service officers keeping watch of the beach. >> those guys in suits on the beach, you have to watch out for them. >> with ear pieces in their ears. >>> and the sharks, how are they doing tonight? >> they've had very impressive wins in the past few days. they work out today to get ready on what they hope will be a close out. right now they have a 3-1 lead in their series against the kings and looking to give them the kiss of death down in the tank in san jose and move on to round two. >> we had the opportunity to win that fourth game you have to take an advantage of it. we don't want to get on a plane and go there and fight for another 60 minutes. you want to get the time you can, get the extra rest. >> we have to be hard. we have to be ready to go. they are playing for their lives. you know they're going to come out strong. definitely in the past two games and we expect them to come harder.

. >>> treasury secretary timothy geithner said today republicans have agreed to go along with raising the national debt ceiling. geithner spoke to david gregory on nbc's "meet the press." >> let me tell you how we're going to do this. congress is going to have to raise the debt limit. just think of it this way. if you allow people to start to doubt whether the united states of america will meet its obligations, that would be catastrophic. you can't take that risk. >> it's expected the debt ceiling will be raised next month unless congress takes action. >>> by the way, if you haven't filed your taxes yet, you have a little extra time this year. instead of the usual deadline of april 15th, the government is giving you right up until the 18th to file. that's midnight tomorrow night. >>> today is palm sunday. the beginning of holy week for the world's christians. tens of thousands gathered in st. peter's square in rome this morning. pope benedict led them in celebration of palm sunday mass, recalling a triumphal entry of jesus into jerusalem. >>> up next, the raiders who first struck back

. >>> treasury secretary timothy geithner said today there has been a private break-through in the latest fight over washington spending. he says republicans have assured president obama privately that they will raise the nation's debt limit because doing otherwise is not an option. >> they told the president that on wednesday in the white house. i sat there with them and they said we recognize we have to do this and we're not going to play around with it, because we know the risk would be catastrophic. >> but publicly republicans say there is no deal unless democrats are willing to cut more spending. if republicans and democrats don't agree to raise the government's credit line in roughly a month, the united states would be unable to pay its creditors. >>> the u.s. supreme court plans to take on the issue of climate change this week. justices are due to hear arguments on tuesday on whether states or groups such as the audubon society, can sue large electric companies and force power plants to cut their emissions. both the obama administration and environmental activists agree that climat

timothy geithner says it can't. >> he's saying this cannot be brought to the brink the way the previous vote was. wall street is beginning to watch the markets. and also urging the republicans to get along and sign that deal to raise the debt ceiling. >> all right, christiane. thanks so much. again tomorrow morning on "this week," christiane's interviews, treasure secretary tim geithner and members of the tea party. an jon karl asking how they great secretary john boehner. you can find that at abcnews.com/world news. >>> now to an anniversary today. 50 years ago, the failed attempt to overthrow fidel castro. they were celebrating that today in cuba, 50 years later but is the party for this regime about to end. jim sciutto is in havana. >> reporter: on an anniversary many here see as a fourth of july, cubans celebrated. 24-year-old anna belle told us with a smile -- before quickly insists on switching to spanish as a meat of cuban pride. it's no accident that the cuban government is celebrating what many see as the greatest victory over america. the failed invasion at the bay of pigs. at

later, treasury sector -- treasury secretary timothy geithner says he believes congress will raise the debt ceiling in may. a couple of light is best to tell you about tomorrow on c- span2. first, a hearing from the house natural resources committee about the conflict between embar metal walls and border security. that is it 9:30 a.m. eastern. at 12:40 eastern, the brookings institution and the national endowment for democracy host a discussion on emerging democracies and human rights. we will hear from the senior director of the national security council office of human rights. >> this weekend on a booktv, the politically incorrect died of socialism. kevin williams and defines socialism and how is it is at work today. carla peterson recounts the lies that african american elites in the 19th century. you can find the complete schedule at booktv.org and get our schedules e-mail. >> next, house speaker john boehner on the spending and budget measures are making their way to congress this week. he met with reporters in the war -- before the house voted on this year's spending bill. >> goo

treasuries and since seismic events but were they tipped off by the likes of timothy geithner well you know member of leading up to the iraq war invasion colin powell before the u.n. with a vial full of talcum powder and said this is going to kill everybody and i was all prearranged stagecraft to get halliburton a bunch of contracts to murder people senselessly in iraq so now it's just a guy who are deciding to murder people's sense of sleep with inflation and they prearrange all these s. and p. ratings and they cook the books and the proof is on the dollar which is collapsing and they're going all slow and maybe if you had anything in us dollars prepare to lose it all it's all going to opus i'm so sorry anyway stacey never thanks so much for playing the cards the report take humans and i come back i'll be speaking with matt taibbi so don't go away. well i go back to the guys are in for a time now to go to new york and talk with the rolling stone journalist matt taibbi matt welcome back to the kaiser report are you doing next all right matt i want to talk to you about your piece the re

treasuries with seismic event but were they tipped off by the likes of timothy geithner well you know member of living up to the iraq war invasion colin powell before the u.n. with a vial full of talk and powder and said this is going to kill everybody knows all prearranged stagecraft to get how important a bunch of contracts to murder people senselessly in iraq so now the system geitner decided to murder people senselessly with inflation and they prearrange all these s. and p. ratings and they cooked the books and the proof is in the dollar which is collapsing and they're going off line baby if you have anything in us dollars prepare to lose it all it's all going to. i'm so sorry anyway stacey never thanks so much for being on the cards to report that i come back i'll be speaking with met so don't go away . this song. for decades. trying to five years ago the entire fifty thousand population over ukrainian town of pre-fight was a market weighted with this three hours. plus now it wants to be heard recently some people started receiving post notices telling them to pick up letters at

treasuries with since that seismic event but were they tipped off by the likes of timothy geithner well you know member of the leading up to the iraq war invasion colin powell went before the u.n. with a vial full of top and powder and said this is going to kill everybody and i was all prearranged stagecraft to get how important a bunch of contracts to murder people such as lee in iraq so now system guys are deciding to murder people senselessly with inflation and they prearrange all these s. and p. ratings and they cooked the books and the proof is in the dollar which is collapsing and they're going offline baby if you have anything in us dollars prepare to lose it all it's all going to. i'm so sorry any way station number thanks so much for playing the cards to report when i come back i'll be speaking with met so don't go away. more news today is once again flared up. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. trying to corporations are relieved a. mum. welcome back to the kaiserin for our time now to go to new york and talk with rolling stone journalis

timothy geithner has been a lifelong government official and the federal reserve system and was head of the new york federal reserve and now head of the treasury. he was never, as far as i know, in the private sector. hank paulson was. that was the former treasury secretary under president bush. he was head of goldman sachs. he had extensive private sector background. quite varied in their backgrounds, have very different perspectives on the economy, financial mall -- markets and policy. going to your point of intentionally debasing the dollar, the answer is no, i do not think that is their intent. i think is ben bernanke's view, appropriately, that the economy is still weak which is represented by 8.8% unemployment rate. we are making progress, starting to create jobs, but still early on in the process. the unemployment rate is very, very high. inflation is still low. even considering the surge in gasoline and food prices, consumer price inflation is still about 2.5%, quite low by historical standards. inflation expectations which are particularly important for the monetary policy,

the dollar will not last is the reserve currency of the world those days are over and you know timothy geithner goes to china and he tells beijing university students all the dollars fine everything's fine and they laughed at it but here the other day is you know standard course gives a negative prognosis on america's aaa bond rating and it and nobody in the united states really seems to understand the impact it was cool and not so the central bankers of the world know what's going on the american people are the ones that will be victimized by this and those are the people for whom are hurt in this world so they can protect themselves from this government ok ok let me let me go down that path our second that western part negative outlook there's a lot of people are you going about with political that it's a lot. had to deal with its deficit so that's one argument another issue is that it was a downgrade the u.s. has a aaa credit rating is still considered the risk free asset in financial models for many people the world over so what really is at stake here the u.s. has not been downgraded even

the president, secretary timothy geithner, they have been talking. they are in the initial stages of coming together to say what will our tax code look like going forward? from a corporate standpoint, the u.s. has the highest -- highest court -- corporate taxes in the world. you have businesses saying we would be glad to trade off some of these unusual aspects of the code for a lower rate. the same conversation is taking place with regard to individual tax rates. somebody said to me that our tax code is held together by bubblegum and rubber bands. it looks like it. his broader point about what the tax code should look like, it is a valid one. it is very complex than many would say is a drag on economic growth. probably, it needs to be updated host: the next call on the debt ceiling for robert nichols is susie, here, in washington, d.c. on the line for democrats. caller: i have one question, then a couple of comments. i agree with the previous gentleman. i think all subsidies should be removed, even if we have to limit them to 5, 10 years. i think tha

prices are driving up the price of food, clothing and everything else, and treasury secretary timothy geithnerst finance ministers from the g-7 industrialized nations in washington this week. the economic crisis in japan is expected to be high on the agenda. >>> the federal reserve says the recovery is gaining some steam. we'll find out what the feds think when they release the beige book survey later this week. >>> what are the hot jobs right now? which companies are hiring? where are those positions? we'll find that out when the labor department releases job openings and labor turnover report. >>> tuesday is equal payday. drawing attention to the disparity in wages between men and women who perform the same jobs. >>> i'm sue herrera. get your business news on cnbc. >> get it before the market opens weekdays on "today in the bay." >>> in health watch, a new study shows drinking more than a glass of wine or beer a day could increase your risk of getting cancer. the study published by the british medical journal and links alcohol consumption with cancer ofe esophagus, liver, and bowel. >>> gett

. >>> plus the budget war, jobs, all topics for my leading guest, treasury secretary, timothy geithnerg up this morning on "meet the press." >>> that's going to do it for us on this sunday morning. jenna, thank you so much. tr francis, thank you so much. >> i didn't say anything. >> and lester, thanks for your time here today. >> thank you. >> you brot your a game and we appreciate it. >> "nbc nightly news," we'll see you then. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

check out vice president biden sitting right there next to treasury secretary timothy geithner.ep or concentrating on his boss' words. we may never know. the woman into the back doesn't look not into it either. >> at least she's blinking though. >> that's true. >> she looks conscious. >>> barry bonds wakes up this morning as well, still baseball's home run king but also a convicted felon. bonds was convicted of obstructing justice yesterday but a jury deadlocked on three other counts involving charges that he lied when he knowingly denied using steroids. now federal guidelines call for at least 15 months in prison for the obstruction charge. everybody will be back in court for a hearing on may 20th. >>> l.a. lakers star kobe bryant is $100,000 lighter in the wallet this morning after being fined by the nba. he was slapped with that fine after being caught on camera using a gay slur tuesday night. kabc's john hartung reports now from l.a. >> reporter: it started with an offensive foul that led to a verbal foul that was simply offensive. kobe bryant went to the lakers bench late i

treasury secretary timothy geithner. >> the people who take this to the edge from the brink, they'll own responsibility. >> and then the leading edge of the opposition. the tea party, key members join us, 100 days after a revolution swept them into office. how far are they willing to push the president and their own party to fulfill their promise to balance america's checkbook? >>> and later -- >> we have to take our country back. >> -- what to make of this surprise republican front-runner. >>> plus, hillary clinton warns, the arab spring may melt into a mirage into the desert. but will it? a special reporter's notebook from terry moran, at the heart of the revolution that is still unfolding. >>> live from the newseum in washington, "this week" with christiane amanpour, starts right now. welcome to our viewers here and around the world. president obama hits the road this week, on a mission to sell his brand of fiscal responsibility to the american people. this, just days after house republicans approved their dramatic plan to tackle the debt crisis. at issue, a national debt that has

triggering a sell- off on wall street but the markets have risen since then and treasury secretary timothy geithner insisted again today on c-nbc that a broad consensus is emerging. >> i think our challenge now is to lock that in. in terms of reforms that congress passes so that people around the world will look at the united states and know that we won't get this behind this problem. we're going to get ahead of it. >> woodruff: two new polls reflected growing public anxiety about deficits in the economy. with mr. obama bearing much of the fallout. an abc news/"washington post" survey found the president's approval rating falling to 47%, a 7-point drop since january. disapproval over his handling of the economy was up to 57%, and 44% said the overall economy is getting worse, the most in more than two years. still, the poll showed mr. obama besting all potential republican presidential contenders. a separate news survey found 61% disapprove of how the president is handling the deficit issue. and 64% said they think the country is is headed in the wrong direction. mr. obama will be looking to change

timothy geithner has been a lifelong government official and the federal reserve system and was headthe new york federal reserve and now head of the treasury. he was never, as far as i know, in the private sector. hank paulson was. that was the former treasury secretary under president bush. he was head of goldman sachs. he had extensive private sector background. quite varied in their backgrounds, have very different perspectives on the economy, financial mall -- markets and policy. going to your point of intentionally debasing the dollar, the answer is no, i do not think that is their intent. i think is ben bernanke's view, appropriately, that the economy is still weak which is represented by 8.8% unemployment rate. we are making progress, starting to create jobs, but still early on in the process. the unemployment rate is very, very high. inflation is still low. even considering the surge in gasoline and food prices, consumer price inflation is still about 2.5%, quite low by historical standards. inflation expectations which are particularly important for the monetary policy, what

you've got a potential catastrophe, if you believe timothy geithner, the treasury secretary. what's going to happen there? what needs to happen for you to vote yes to raise the debt ceiling, the amount america can borrow? >> well, look, i will not support an increase in the debt ceiling without real and meaningful changes in spending in the short term and in the long term. we've got to change the way we spend the people's money. again, we've got a $14 trillion national debt. the president sends the budget to capitol hill that will double the national debt in the next ten years, and simply expanding the credit card is not the right answer. >> on this issue, how will that fight be fought? >> it would be hugely dangerous for our republican colleagues to play a game of chicken on the debt ceiling. you would see an economic catastrophe if they faulted on their debt. now, the budget proposal they'll bring forth will require increases in the debt ceiling for years and years to come. so for them to say we're not going to support an increase in the debt ceiling on this and thun put a

. >> reporter: treasury secretary timothy geithner says he does not need to reassure overseas' buyerst of confidence in the capacity of this economy to grow, to make sure that we can meet our commitments or obligations. >> reporter: but a house democratic insider told abc news that this just throws gasoline on the bitter debate over raising the nation's debt ceiling. if congress doesn't take action by mid-may, the united states potentially could default on its debts. there is something positive that president obama can take from this latest polling. americans aren't sure that anybody can do a better job. the president leads all of his potential 2012 republican challenges. rob and peggy. >> and the president faces a tough sell as he pushes his plan to reduce the national debt. according to an abc news poll just released, only 39% of americans approve of the way he's handling the deficit. republicans, though, fared worse. they got only 33% on the same issue. most americans, 72%, now approved raising taxes on the wealthy as a way doubt the deficit. but most rejected a voucher plan for me

on thursday, treasury secretary timothy geithner said that he is confident that congress will raise the debt ceiling because lawmakers recognize the consequences of not doing it. the debt ceiling will be reached next month and congressman -- congress will bring it up. the secretary was followed by henry waxman added day-long economic forum in washington, d.c. this is just over 45 minutes. >> is a great pleasure to be here. >> happy to be challenged. >> will we get a budget deal done? >> that is an excellent question. i think that will be dominant economic policy challenge for the united states if you look at the next several years. we spent the last two years preventing a great depression, laying the foundation for economies to start growing again, cleaning up a financial mess. just reached agreement last week on a way to start to reduce spending in part of the budget. this is the time where, for the sake of the economy overall, we need to shift attention to building a political strategy to lock in financial reform to restore sustainability to the u.s. fiscal position. it is important t

. -- to timothy geithner.partment of treasury takes very seriously and with a strong commitment to promoting financial education among all americans. we believe financial education is critical and ensuring americans make sound financial decisions and helping individual families and communities gain greater financial stability now more than ever. as we have learned, we must focus our efforts on those tasks where we can be most effective and combine with the efforts of the private sector, state and local governments, academia, and individuals to to move towards a culture of greater parental capability. critical in this effort is to make it timely, relevant, and pragmatically connected to say, are for it products that enable people to execute on their benefits of choices. last november the commission created by congress and consists of 22 federal agencies promoted its national strategy of the first meeting of the president's advisory council on financial capability. i have the pleasure of chairing the last commit

treasury secretary timothy geithner was on "need the press clause would talk about the debt ceiling and what is the, the weeks ahead -- to the guy was on "needs of the press." >> congress will raise the debt ceiling. >> are you sure? >> absolutely. they said we recognize we have to do this and we will not play around it with it because we know the rest will be catastrophic. it is not something you can take was to the edge. >> what they say in private is not quite what they say in public? >> they said in public, too, they recognize america must meet its obligations. it is about the trust and confidence in the united states -- we have to make commitments. there is no alternative and they know about that. host: treasury secretary geithner speaking on "this week" and he was also on "meet the press. " gop leaders will support eight abt increase -- will support debts increase. let's go to st. paul, minnesota, where sam joins us -- i think we just lost sam. claudia on the democrats' line in michigan. good morning. do you pay your fair share? caller: yes, i do. more than my fair share. over the

[applause] our secretary of the treasury, timothy geithner is in the house. jack wu from the office of management and budget. [applause] gene sperling, chair of the national economic council is here. [applause] members of our bipartisan fiscal condition are here in trading -- including erskine bowles and alan simpson. [applause] we have a number of members of congress here today. i am grateful for all of you taking the time to attend. of course, what we've been debating here in washington for the last few weeks will affect your lives in ways that are potentially profound. this debate over budgets and deficits is about more than just numbers on a page, more than just cutting and spending. it's about the kind of future we want. it's about the kind of country we believe in. and that's what i want to talk about today. from our first days as a nation, we have put our faith in free markets and free enterprise as the engine of america's wealth and prosperity. more than citizens of any other country, we are rugged individualists, a self-reliant people with a healthy

also timothy geithner and members of the tea party from north carolina, florida, and others.fox and news sunday" is at 2:00 p.m. chris wallace welcome is republican senator tom coburn and chris van hollen. ray lahood talks airline safety. republican senator rand paul, new york democrat weiner and former cia and administrator and donald trump. at 4:00 p.m., "face the nation." bob schieffer talks with paul ryan and senate budget committee member bob warner. these are brought to you as a public service by the networks and c-span. you can listen to them all on c- span radio, 90.1 in the d.c. area, xm 132, an iphone app, or c-spanradio.org. >> your questions for chapman university professor tibor machan. he will take your calls coming emails, and tweets sunday, may 1st, on booktv. >> to be a parent means that you are treating the people you cannot live without you to live without you. >> his son's college admission process, the s.a.t.'s, and more. andrew ferguson was not prepared for "crazy u." >> that did not happen to me when i was thinking about college in the mid 1970's said t

have a bill being sponsored by representative tom quinn thought that says this -- it director timothy geithnero has a tax problem of his own, to tell him he is mandated to first pay off all debts of the united states, all interest and all obligations so we do not put the credit of the united states at risk. i am here to tell you, and i believe you will agree, we are in trouble now. not 10 years from now, not five years from now? we are in deep trouble now. you cannot allow us to continue to go on in the united states congress and spend money that we do not have. we are paying a price for this now. what we have to do is have a very real conversation today with every segment of our population -- young, old, black, white, poor, rich -- all of us. we are all americans and we are all in this together. we have to have a conversation today about why this year we should look at how we are going to balance our budget this year. have those conversations this year about medicare, medicaid, social security, discretionary spending, not discretionary spending. had it this year. our nation is capable of this

. >>> timothy guider in -- geithner hired a surf instructor to give lessons to his daughter. the instructor said he didn't realize who the student was until he saw secret service on the beach and then saw geithner nearby. >>> >>> recent shark deaths that caught the high of bay area researchers. six lepard sharks have been found in pay front lagoon in redwood city. experts say the deaths may be caused by some kind of infection or toxic discharge. the deaths include both juvenile and adult sharks. researchers say there have been several large dieoffs of sharks in the last five years. >>> in san rafael a car without a driver rolled across the freeway causing several collisions. it started about 12:30 p.m. on highway 101 near smith ranch road. a 73-year-old man stopped the car and got out. he didn't put it in park so it drifted across the freeway. two other cars slowed down to avoid it but one of those cars was rear ended by a 17-year-old girl who was reading a text message while driving in the fast lane. >>> san francisco police are lacking an important tool when it comes to far

timothy geithner is former president of frbny. hat's not as much of reagan as we think they are today. secretary geithner once testified said when he was president he was not a regular and had never been a regular. the bank itself defines itself not as an entity of the u.s. government. it says it is a private corporation, that is owned by its shareholders which are the commercial banks that are within its district. its board is made up of at least a third from ceos and commercial banks, and assist in the selection of its president. let's dropped him to go are the people who run the t.a.r.p.? senior officials who run country. herb alison whose former president of merrill lynch and went on to the ceo, and currently the acting president, a corporate transactional lawyer here in the city. go down to the chief investment officer. he came from an import export bank. david bittner from goldman sachs. a new person will be from maryland. head of the housing program, she came from bank of america. other senior advisers on the program officia

. >> you heard timothy geithner trying to be reassuring. i was in a job like his, so i know that is his job, but the song you heard two hours ago was official washington whistling past the graveyard. we have not fixed any of the problems. they have to keep up a good front, but the real underlying problem is here on the banks. on the eve of the crisis in september, 2008, the top six banks had $7 trillion in assets. they were clearly too big to fail because every one of them was bolstered in one way or another, bank of america, jpmorgan, goldman and so forth. today, they are now 30% bigger. they have $9 trillion in assets. what happened was the failing banks were forced into the arms of those who work propped up by tart and -- who were propped up by tarp and all that nonsense. what we did was change the accounting rules so that they would not have to acknowledge the tremendous amount of bad assets better still there. >> one more question over here please. >> my question is mostly to governor engler. following upon dennis and his colleague fro