he was joined by agriculture secretary, tom vilsack, at a briefing on agriculture assistance programs in pakistan. this is a half hour. >> now we know who the intrepid journalists are that get up at 9:45 a.m., an unheard of our in this unique profession. good morning and welcome to the department of state. we had promised last month when secretary of agriculture tom vilsack visited with you prior to his trip to afghanistan that we would bring him back to report on what he has seen and the progress in developing -- redeveloping the agriculture sector of afghanistan as a critical part of the ministrations strategy, and president karzai strategy, for the future of that country. so we have him back with us today. along with our special representative, the intrepid, indomitable richard holbrooke, who will start and just kind of put, you know, agriculture strategy in the larger context. richard? >> thanks, p.j. this is really secretary of agriculture's chance, as we promise you, before on this trip and i just want to give you the overarching view of it. but before do that i just want to say

on february 23 we will have tom vilsack highlighting the obama administration's shell nutrition act -- child nutrition act. on february 26, francis collins will be speaking on a new era of quantum leaps in biomedical research. on march 5, mitt romney, former governor of massachusetts, will discuss the case for american greatness. an announcement for our audience, members of the press who are here. there will be a question and answers session for press only. the election would be complete without the traditional presentation of the national press club's beloved mug to our speaker today. [applause] as noted, this is the last of your for state of the coast guard addresses. it will soon be selling to other stores, and we don't really know where they are. they said a happiest days of the sailor's life or the day he buys his first boat and the day that he sells it. as you prepare to leave the coast guard, what are you looking forward to, what will you miss, and would you consider other forms of government service sunday such as secretary of the department of homeland security? [laughter] >>

the event was a briefing by agriculture secretary tom vilsack and mr.holbrooke on agricultural assistance programs in afghanistan. it's about 35 minutes. [inaudible conversations] >> all right, now we know who the intrepid journalists are they get up at 9:45 in the morning, in unheard-of power in the profession. but good morning welcome to the department of state. we have a promised last month when secretary of agriculture tom vilsack visited with you prior to his trip to afghanistan that we would bring him back to record on what he's seen in the progress in developing, redeveloping the agricultural sector of afghanistan as a critical part of the administration strategy and president cars i strategy for the future of that country. so we have him back with us today a lot with our special representative, the intrepid idiot tartabull richard holbrooke is going to start and put them in the context first. >> thanks, p.j. well, this is really the secretary of agriculture's chance as we promised to report on this trip. and i just want to give you the overarchi

eckert he was joined by agriculture secretary tom vilsack foie on agriculture assistance programs in pakistan. this is half an hour. [inaudible conversations] >> the entry of journalists to get up at 9:45 in the morning in the unheard of power in your profession. good morning and welcome to the department of state. we had promised last month when secretary of agriculture tom vilsack visited with you prior to his trip to afghanistan that we would bring him back to report on what he's seen and progress in developing, redeveloping the agricultural sector of afghanistan as a critical part of the administration's strategy and president karzai strategy for the future of the country. so we have him back with us today along with our special representative the intrepid indomitable richard holbrooke was going to start and kind of put the agriculture strategy in the largest context first. richard? >> this is the agriculture's chance as we promised to report on this trip and i just want to give you the overarching view but before i do that i want to say a word about the reasons in pakistan this

on february 23 we will have tom vilsack highlighting the obama administration's shell nutrition act -al research. on march 5, mitt romney, former governor of massachusetts, will discuss the case for american greatness. an announcement for our audience, members of the press who are here. there will be a question and answers session for press only. the election would be complete without the traditional presentation of the national press club's beloved mug to our speaker today. [applause] as noted, this is the last of your for state of the coast guard addresses. it will soon be selling to other stores, and we don't really know where they are. they said a happiest days of the sailor's life or the day he buys his first boat and the day that he sells it. as you prepare to leave the coast guard, what are you looking forward to, what will you miss, and would you consider other forms of government service sunday such as secretary of the department of homeland security? [laughter] >> with all due deference to my future appears in the room, i have a saying that the smartest apples i have ever me

monday, february 8, we'll have secretary tom vilsack of the u.s.department of agriculture who was hilet the obama administration rules on the health of america's children. on friday, february 12, we'll have admiral ted allen of the coast guard, who will discuss the state of the coast guard, and on march 5, mitt romney, former governor of massachusetts, will discuss the case for american greatness. second, we would like to present our guest, the man of the moment, with the traditional national press club mug. >> thank you very much. [applause] >> for our last question, going back to your introduction, one of your duties as commerce secretary includes blizzard warnings and my question for you is, do you believe that low pressure coming from canada could lower temperatures to the point where the storm would be sent further south or that current weather forecasting models would go forth, leading to 24 inches of snow in the washington, d.c. area, leading to havoc and canceling a lot of people's weekend plans? >> well, just be prepared. [laughter] >> wat

agriculture secretary tom vilsack.ed across greater arizona to meet with stakeholders on each project and visit with folks in the community that will benefit from these projects. it was a real milestone for our efforts. arizonans were able to make their voices heard on the project and let the secretary know about the positive impact they could have on our economy. along with the communities, i'd like to thank the secretary for his time. i hope his trip helped him gain a better understanding of these projects and what they can do for arizona. efforts like these will help end the downturn and get folks back to work. creating jobs has to be our top priority and these projects are my top priority. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until 2:00 p.m. today. >> you heard the house back at 2:00 p.m. for pro forma session. no legislative business scheduled. all legislative work on hold as washington and th

on february 23 we will have tom vilsack highlighting the obama administration's shell nutrition act - nutrition act. on february 26, francis collins will be speaking on a new era of quantum leaps in biomedical research. on march 5, mitt romney, former governor of massachusetts, will discuss the case for american greatness. an announcement for our audience, members of the press who are here. there will be a question and answers session for press only. the election would be complete without the traditional presentation of the national press club's beloved mug to our speaker today. [applause] as noted, this is the last of your for state of the coast guard addresses. it will soon be selling to other stores, and we don't really know where they are. they said a happiest days of the sailor's life or the day he buys his first boat and the day that he sells it. as you prepare to leave the coast guard, what are you looking forward to, what will you miss, and would you consider other forms of government service sunday such as secretary of the department of homeland security? [laughter] >> with a

monday, february 8, we'll have secretary tom vilsack of the u.s.epartment of agriculture who was hilet the obama administration rules on the health of america's children. on friday, february 12, we'll have admiral ted allen of the coast guard, who will discuss the state of the coast guard, and on march 5, mitt romney, former governor of massachusetts, will discuss the case for american greatness. second, we would like to present our guest, the man of the moment, with the traditional national press club mug. >> thank you very much. [applause] >> for our last question, going back to your introduction, one of your duties as commerce secretary includes blizzard warnings and my question for you is, do you believe that low pressure coming from canada could lower temperatures to the point where the storm would be sent further south or that current weather forecasting models would go forth, leading to 24 inches of snow in the washington, d.c. area, leading to havoc and canceling a lot of people's weekend plans? >> well, just be prepared. [laughter] >> watc

monday, february 8, we'll have secretary tom vilsack of the u.s.e health of america's children. on friday, february 12, we'll have admiral ted allen of the coast guard, who will discuss the state of the coast guard, and on march 5, mitt romney, former governor of massachusetts, will discuss the case for american greatness. second, we would like to present our guest, the man of the moment, with the traditional national press club mug. >> thank you very much. [applause] >> for our last question, going back to your introduction, one of your duties as commerce secretary includes blizzard warnings and my question for you is, do you believe that low pressure coming from canada could lower temperatures to the point where the storm would be sent further south or that current weather forecasting models would go forth, leading to 24 inches of snow in the washington, d.c. area, leading to havoc and canceling a lot of people's weekend plans? >> well, just be prepared. [laughter] >> watch the news and all the information that you're getting from your weather fo

please welcome back to the national press club, secretary of agriculture, tom vilsack. [applause] >> well, thank you. thank you very much. allen, thank you very much for that kind introduction and i certainly appreciate the opportunity to return here to the press club. i consider it an honor and i'm looking forward to visiting with all of you today. you know, when americans think of the united states department of agriculture, they understandably think about the millions of farmers and ranchers who are among the most productive in the world. who produce our food, our feed, our fiber, and our fuel. they are indeed a truly amazing group of people. and have built a truly amazing story. but today i'd like to draw your attention to a different group of americans who are directly impacted by the work of usda. the millions of our children who are fed through our child nutrition programs. at the beginning of the 20th century, school districts and community organizations began providing meals to ensure that our school children wouldn't sit hungry in our nation's classrooms. the