now continental and united -- say last year was not necessary. in addition, to sit again antitrust concerns which i will briefly outline here, there is the possibility that continental may not have been completely forthright. -- with congress and regulators with respect to its marketing and joint ventures last year or the proposed merger before us today. yesterday i sent a document request directly relevant to see the begin concerns produced by the inquiry and discussed below regarding the legality of the proposed merger under section 7 of the clayton act. the mergers advisability as a matter of policy and the veracity of continental and united representations regarding the purposes and the likely effects of the merger. when continental pursues antitrust immunity, key stakeholders concluded that the alliance was in lieu of a full- blown merger. jon cornyn stated last month that continental officials informed him that the alliance and a joint venture was an attractive alternative to continental merging with united. continental explained to the sena

we call on you to not let united and continental management use this merger as a vehicle to outsource more good, middle- class jobs. . >> we will not allow the negotiation process at united to be delayed as a result of this merger. the employees at united airlines make the sacrifices to keep the company flying it is time for the companies to share in those rewards. while much will be made over the coming months about the impact of this merger on consumers and communities, i urge you to remember the hundreds of thousands of airline employees across this country. keep us in mind as you review this merger and the impact that it will have on our lives and our families. we are the ones that have the most to lose and we have the least protection . i think you for your time and i look forward to your questions. >> the chair now recognizes mr. roche. >> thank you, chairman costello. i am the general vice president of the largest airline union in america. we represent employees that could be affected by this merger. we represents flight attendants, expressjet, a regional jet of continental and

after that, the merger of united and continental airlines. later, tony word testifies about the company's response to the -- tony hayward testifies about the company's response to the oil spill. you can connect with us on twitter, facebook, and youtube, and sign up for our alert e- mails at c-span.org. not to louisiana, where admiral thad allen brief reporters on the gulf oil spill response after returning from a tour of the region. this is 10 minutes. >> hello, i have a guest today. this is billy. billy is a fist down. he is offering an opportunity. he is from louisiana. we just spent a couple hours looking around, the rich, the barges. we were looking at some areas that had been foiled -- oiled. he has some expertise, and i wan to thank yo -- i want to thank him very much. he had to have his 15 minutes of fame. a great day today. kind of an interesting day for me. i just a bicameral meeting of legislators in congress. i talked about some of our current issues, which are vessels of opportunity, how to best take advantage of their expertise,

since 1870, the fact of the matter is, if you're going to find significant oil reserves in the continental unitedstates, they will be in the outer continental shelf. we need better energy. i agree that having a 500 page document that is a cookie cutter approach to what to do when you have a problem is not an answer. it is not an answer. you cannot have a contingency plan that says cross your fingers and hope the blowout preventer works. that was the contingency plan. we had not had a major accident on the outer continental shelf in 50 years. everybody had decided that these blowout preventers were so good anddso effective that all you had to do was push that magic button if all else failed and they would work. well, they pushed the magic putton, on the bp rig, and it did not work. german waxman is right. we need more than a cookie -- chairman waxman is right. we need more than a cookie cutter contingency plan. but where i disagree is that the gentleman before us have the wherewithal, the expertise, and certainly the incentive to put that plan together. -pnow, i do not know what the answers are. m

jackson lee: because i was chairing the committee addressing the question of the united continental merger i was unavoidbly detained and missed the vote h. con. res. 242, monday -- honoring and praising the national association for the advancement of colored people on the occasion of its 101 anniversary. if i had been present i would have voted a yes and ask that it be placed in the appropriate place in the record for the record to be correct. i would have voted iowa. the speaker pro tempore: the lady's explanation will be recorded in the record. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. will other members please take their conversations out of the chamber. for what purpose does the gentleman from the northern mir yawn ast rise? -- miranas rise. without objection. the gentleman is recognized. mr. sablan: madam speaker, some families have an outside influeece in their community, with 12 children, 40 grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren, manuel gomez has had an impact but the influence was more than a miracle. he wa

i will stipulate that america needs the energy beneath the outer continental shelf off the coast of the united states of america. and the five men before, representing five of the largest privately owned oil companies in the world, they are not a part of the problem. they are a big part of the solution. >> we thank the gentleman from texas. the chair now recognizes the chairman of the oversight and investigations subcommittee, that gentleman from michigan, mr. stupak. >> thank you for you and mr. waxman for holding this hearing and for your leadership. on the oversight committee, we have been investigating the actions of bp. this provides the committee a chance to examine the practices of the other major oil companies. he could be so that bp is the one bad apppe in the bunch, but unfortunately they appear to have plenty of company. exxon and other "companies are just as unprepared to respond to major oil spill in the gulf as bp. i've been examining the oil spill response plan of exxonmobil, the largest oil company in the united states. this document is over 500 pages long. in many respects, is

later, a hearing on the proposed merger between united and continental. then, legal experts and law professors look at the wall between congress and the supreme court -- look at the role between congress and the supreme court. >> he was a very complicated, depressive young man. very adventuress. he was having a venture. >> a new look at tocqueville. that is sunday. >> now the clare boothe luce policy institute holds their seminar. we will hear remarks from michelle bachmann and former virginia governor and senator george allen. at the clare boothe luce organization is a self-described conservative group that matures and trains women for leadership programs. -- that mentors and tradeswoman for leadership programs. >> hello, i am from mclean, va., and 2010 summer intern. i next speaker as former senator and governor of virginia george allen. he has served the commonwealth of virginia over 20 years. these years of public service are marked by the distinctive dedication to the common-sense conservative values of personal liberty, educational excellence, econo

i would much prefer this young generation fight the terrorists overseas, not in the continental united states. host: from twitter -- guest: i would refer you to the pentagon. that is a legitimate concern. i know this. just this week we have an improvised explosive device which killed a governor of a district in afghanistan. i am confident that we do keep count of acts of terrorism, barbarism, that they are conducting amongst the people of afghanistan. we know that the terrorists attacked mosques, mumbai. it is not just on america. these islamic extremists will kill people, whoever they are, wherever they are. i was in amman, jordan, and the building next to us blow up. i was in pakistan and then a couple of months later, the hotel was targeted. i had lunch with benazir bhutto one month before she was assassinated. this is not just america. they are going after all people who want peace and security in the world. host: next phone call from maryland. ann, democrat line. caller: i agree with you, but here is what i do not understand. in testimony before the congress, homeland security, in

united states and supports the goals and ideals of flag day. flag day is celebrated on june 14, which is the anniversary of the official adoption of the american flag by the continental congress in 1777. this is done by the first flag act which stated, resolved, that the flag of the united states be made of 13 stripes alternating red and white, that the 13 stars, white and blue star, represents a new constellation. since 1977 -- pardon me -- since 1777, our flag's design has been altered three times, rearranging the design of the stars and stripes each time a state was added. to reiterate what the gentlelady has stated, the first celebration of flag day is believed to have been introduced by bernard cigrand, a wisconsin school teacher to celebrate june 14 as flag birthday in 1885. president woodrow wilson proclaimed the first nationwide flag day in 1916, and in 1947, president harry truman signed legislation requesting national flag day be observed annually. flag day is a reported holiday as our flag is the official symbol of our great nation and its ideals. our flag serves as a beacon of hope, courage and freedom during times of crisis and triumph alike. the flag ho

united states. we produced 83.5% of the oil and 73% of the natural gas produced in the outer continental shelf. torn here. louisiana, we want to stop the leak and protect our great coast line. it is the estuary and habitat for a lot of the wildlife. we want to protect our way of life, whether it be the cajun cullure. but it is so much more than the cajun culture. it truly is a gun belt and louisiana. -- a gumball -- gumbo in louisiana. it truly is a gumbo of people of come together to fix our waters here in louisiana. it is big money here in louisiana. the boats are dormant. they sit in the dock. when you talk about where we are right now in terms of louisiana and the gulf coast, unprecedented. over 62% -- over 26% of the gulf is closed to fishing. 62,000 square miles of the gulf of mexico is now closed to fishing. it is sad. now we have to deal with another problem. corrected 9500. --re told that there have that has been used by bp in the gulf. we're scared. everyone of us is afraid because we did not know with this ongoing experiments in the gulf how it will affect our wildlife. i will give y

united states army celebrated its 235th birthday. since the continentacongress first created e continental army to protect and secure or new nation, me and women have ntinued to make the ultimate sacrifice he name of freedom and independence. three centuries from the revolutionary war to d-day and the current global war on terrism and every day in between, america'soldiers have pformed bravely. the american military has achieve the the largest number of countries livi tday and histry of the -- in theistory of the world. i appreciate firstha the army as a 31-ye vetera of the ar reserve army guardy sefment also mfather serd inhe armair cos as a flyingtir inhi a india. but more meaningful to me is that i havthree sons tay seing in the aratial gud. with my olde son an iraq veteraof the fie artillery. onhis 235thirthday,end my appreciation to those who serve or currely serving and especiallythose falynd friends of soldiers who paid thultite sacrifice in the defense of liberty. in conclusion, god blesour troops, we will never rget septemr 11 and the global war on terrorism. happy birtay, u.s. army. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's

continental shelf. when you talk about where we cms is, we give more money to the united states treasury in terms of moneyived from the extraction of minerals than any other state in the union. right now, when you talk about louisiana, we are getting a pittance of money that is coming in from oixploration and terms ofhe royalties. states that are landlocked in many cases, those in your -- wyoming, utah and wyoming, you derive more money from the extraction of minerals and oil and gas on federal land, you get 50%. and to your state treasury. in 2007, wyoming that 925 million. the mexico got five and $52 million. colorado, $122 million. california, $61 million. montana, 39 million. louisiana, with more pipeline than any other state, with the exploration of oil offshore, with the amount of refineries we have up and down the mississippi river, only got $24 million from the minerals and royalties from the drilling on federal land. anything outside of 3 miles. the senator has pushed the federal government's to give us 40% of those revenues now. here is the key going forward. in louisiana, what we have done asoo

continental shelf. when you talk about where we cms is, we give more money to the united states treasury in terms of money derived from the extraction of minerals than any other state in the union. right now, when you talk about louisiana, we are getting a pittance of money that is coming in from oil exploration and terms of the royalties. states that are landlocked in many cases, those in your -- wyoming, utah and wyoming, you derive more money from the extraction of minerals and oil and gas on federal land, you get 50%. and to your state treasury. in 2007, wyoming that 925 million. the mexico got five and $52 million. colorado, $122 million. california, $61 million. montana, 39 million. louisiana, with more pipeline than any other state, with the exploration of oil offshore, with the amount of refineries we have up and down the mississippi river, only got $24 million from the minerals and royalties from the drilling on federal land. anything outside of 3 miles. the senator has pushed the federal government's to give us 40% of those revenues now. here is the key going forward. in louisiana, what we have

united states citizens? why wouldn't we require the u.s. citizens, u.s. inspection laws to be applied within the u.s. outer continental shelf? i think we need to take that step. we need to take back the outer continental shelf and its resources just like we did the fish riss. currently, the gentleman worked on an offshore supply vessel. ironically, they gamed this. if they're attached to the bottom, it's a point in the united states and they have to be serviced by a u.s. flag. if they're not attached they can be serviced by a foreign flag u.s.v. so they temporarily detach. that's into very safe. that's not very smart. it may be legal but frankly it's wrong. host: has the president done enough to defend the jones act? guest: you know, i'm trying to be careful not to criticize the administration. i think they're doing a good job. i give the president credit for not doing a knee jerk reaction and making a bad situation worse. why do we need to put more americans out of work because of a situation created by foreign countries in our waters. host: is there talk up on capitol hill of revising the jones act? and, if so, what sort o

the continental european countries tend to have stronger welfare states so they have in place thee f these automatic stabilizers that come into play immediately when downturns occur where as the united states and england tend to be thinner on those kinds of mechanisms. so that debate took place, which i did the numbers on it. there really doesn't -- the automatic stabilizer should have counted because unemployment compensation is exactly like a tax cut cut. so it's a false debate when in fact their welfare state mechanisms did contribute a lot. there isn't a g-20 fund to bail out institutions. whattthere is is the international monetary fund, which you mentioned. and it's a universal membership organization. everybody contributes by quotas to it. and the united states to the imf. so that it's a burden sharing mechanism. and that's the intention of it. the fact is that all of the major countries have in one form or another shord up their banks, shord up various industrial firms and others, insurance companies that have been in trouble. so there has been a sharing of the burden i think more than you allow. host: newark, ohio on our lines for republicans. caller: i want to ask the ques