collecting and reading an immense number of e-mails, to and from the united states citizens brought by an without warrants, caused by the abuses discovered by the fbi in national security letters. how do we justify continuing these expansive authorities? even with these expand authorities, they're being abused. what is the justice department doing looking into these reports of abuse. >> they are insuring that national security is conducted in a way consistent with authorities designed to protect privacy and civil liberties. there is a framework that really struck a follow. the department of justice and intelligence agency follows strict regulation, whether we do surveillance. there are strict articles and guidelines. >> the problem i have is that more and more we find about -- find out about this not from the intelligence agencies, not from our government, by picking up the newspaper. it is reaching the point where "the new york times" gets us the information quicker and more detailed, plus we get the crossword puzzle. if this continues, i do not know how we will reauthorize any of the

the security agency is collecting and reading immense numbers of e-mails to and from the united states citizens done without warrants. and calls to mind the abuses in the f.b.i. national security letters. how do we -- i don't know how we justify continuing these expansive authorizations whether it's the pariot act, when they are being expanded authorities are being abused this way. what is the problem? what is the justice department doing looking into these reports of abuse >> the department works with the intelligence security to ensure that national security is conducted with the parties. there is a framework, congress establishes a variety of practices, and there are strict policies and guidelines. >> but the article today and my concern is that more and more we find out about the abuses not from the intelligence agencies, not from the government but picking up the newspaper. we are reaching a point that "the new york times" get the information quicker and get the cross word puzzle. what are we doing to go after that? if this continues i don't know how would reauthorization any of these thin

the bottom line of all of this is all pain for the united states citizens and no gain. then we get to page 237. the president shall provide a notification on climate change described in paragraph 2 to each foreign country, the products of which are not exempted under section 768. this is less than a fig leaf here. they're trying to pretend that this notification will satisfy the consultation required by the w.t.o. rules. it won't end there and it's going to result in retaliation against the united states exports. then we get further down on the pages, requesting the foreign country to take appropriate measures to limit the greenhouse gas emissions in those countries. so if they're really nice, they won't have to, but if we can, we can force them to adopt our

flag vessels carrying united states government cargos, operated by united states citizens. surely we can provide that. with that, i yield to the chairman of the armed services committee. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. skeleton: i rise in support of this amendment. there may be requirement to redraft part of it at a future date, but i think the purpose and the intent are correct. piracy is here. it's an age-old problem. from the marines' hymn, the phrase, the shores of tripoli, that was a successful piracy -- anti-piracy effort on behalf of the united states marines. we have to do our very best to protect america, american vessels, americans that are sailing the ships and particularly the government cargo that's on them. so i applaud mr. cummings for making this substantial step in the right direction in combating tie pi rahcy. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from california. mr. mckeon: mr. chairman, i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from california reserves. the gentleman from maryland. mr. cummings: m

accent, how long has he been in the country, where was he educated and how long has he been a united states citizen? the question is where does obama come out of the political system of the united states, chicago, the other system worker optus de kansas city during the 20's and 30's and he went to jail. so i think the country ought to know what type of system this man comes out of. >> host: door back routt -- >> guest: i was born in england, raised and educated and went to oxford university. came out to washington posted by the financial times and moved from the financial times and to "newsweek" and i left "newsweek" early this year. so that makes about 12 years in the united states, three presidential elections i have covered, and proud father of three american children. >> host: and chicago? >> guest: chicago, look, he is a chicago politician but as people in the circle tommy there are two strands to chicago politics and illinois politics. there is the reformists and party machine. and obama was never part of the party machine. in fact he lost his first national race, the race for the house of re

it's collecting and reading of immense numbers of emails to and from united states citizens, being done without any warrants calls to mind the abuses we discovered in the f.b.i.'s use of national security letters. how do we -- i don't know how we justify continuing the expands of authorities, whether it's fisa or the powers authorized by the patriot act being the expanded authorities are being abused this way. what's the department -- what's the justice department doing looking into these reports of abuse? >> well, the department works closely with those in the intelligence community to ensure that national security's conducted in a way that's consistent with the legal authorities that are designed to protect privacy and our civil liberties. there's a framework, i believe, that we always try to follow. congress establishes staff wear safeguards in statutes among them, fisa. the department of and the intelligence agencies follow really strict regulations when we actually do these surveillance. >> but the article today and the concern i have is that we more and more we find out about thes

some indications of the banks getting stronger and being able to pay back money that the united states citizens have invested in the banks in order to stabilize the housing market but i would like to have your opinion, based on your expertise and your involvement for so many years, do you think that this -- there is beginning -- we're going to have a turn around? mr. miller: you've worked closely with me over the years for defining loan limits for fannie and freddie. in california we almost felt like step children for years. the limits were so low that people in california couldn't use them to buy a home. they were forced into riskyier loans. we've raised the loan limit in california and we're helping a tremendous amount of people refinance their loans or people selling a home or buying a home will be able to get into a marketplace at least 100 basis points cheaper than they could get into a jumbo loan. i don't know if it's over. i wish i could say it was. i remember when prime went to 21 1/2% in the early 1980's, as a developer, i was paying 21 1/2% interest rate and if anybody could get a loa

we are not going to turn loose this man who's not a resident of the united states, not a citizen of thenited states if he's found not guilty. the president would never allow it. our judicial system would never allow it. do you think the department of homeland security is going to clear this man to move to louisville, kentucky, if he's found not guilty? or springfield, illinois? i don't think so. in fact, i think it's beyond the realm of possibility. i also want to make it clear that we have before us an important decision to make. are we going to deal with guantanamo because it is a threat to the safety of our servicemen, or are we going to keep it open so that some people who believe in it can have their political bragging rights. i would rather side with those who believe closing guantanamo brings steeft our men and women -- safety to our men and women in uniform. guantanamo is a recruiting tool for terrorists. that is not my conclusion alone. it is the conclusion that has been reached by many. when i look back and see those who've said, for example, chairman of the joint chiefs of st

that is why i am a citizen of the united states of america and not a citizen of the world. [applause] >> compare that passion for individual liberty and individual opportunity with the question as, group politics, and bureaucratic healthcare rationing advocating by our opponents. this republican commitment to the individual did not cease after lincoln. reagan in one of his radio talks in the 1970's, part of which we have in our movie, said the following: "some of our social planners refer to them as the masses, which only proves they don't know them. i've been privileged to meet people all over this land, in a special kind of way you meet them when you are campaigning. they are not the masses or as the elitists would have it, the common man, they are very uncommon. individuals, each with his or her own hopes and dreams, plans and problems, and the kind of quiet courage that makes this whole country run better than just about any other place on earth. and that's why rationing is wrong, and that's why question as are wrong. because in fact they eliminate the very power of the

scare the citizens of the united states. well, i can tell you that what is scaring the citizens of the united states is they can't afford their health care. they want us to do something about it. bringing up false horror stories that have no bearing on the plan before us to scare -- to scare our citizens and make them worry even more, that's not responsible. what's responsible is to do something about a broken health care system. this plan has lots more about how to kill health care. it says: take and say that this will destroy the personalized doctor-patient relationship. take and say that this will create waste, fraud, and abuse, and so on and so forth. every poll tested set of words designed to decrease support an scare people into foregoing this opportunity, this once in a decade -- or pass this once in a generation opportunity that we have to change the health care system. now, you may think that i'm raising this document before you, this -- this plan for how to kill health care, and that maybe it doesn't have any bear s

according to the united states state department's deputy assistant secretary for overseas citizen services, the united states received notices of 73 cases ofarental abductions involving 104 children just for the country of japan. unfortunately, many people are not aware of the severity of this situation and how it affects so many american lives. once taken to japan, american parents are unable to see their children because parental visitation rights are not recognized, they're not protected by japan, and abduction by one parent is not considered a crime. as an ally of the united states, i urge the government of japan to sign the 1980 hague convention on civil aspects of international children abduction and respect the rights of our american parents. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana rise? mr. fleming: i ask unanimous consent to speak to the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. fleming: mr. speaker, in a recent interview with c-span, the president made the very telling statement, we are out of money. yes, mr. speaker

those countries pay the pensions that they earned while working in those countries to citizens of the united states who now live here. and by the same token we pay social security to americans who are now citizens of a foreign country if they earned the social security while working here. we do not have such arrangements with any of the states with russia, ukraine, bell areuss and so forth. millions of people had no choice but to flee the oppressive former soviet union in the 1970's, 1980's and 1990's. several hundred thousands of these people now live in the united states and were forced to renounce their citizenship in the soviet union in order to leave. thousands of these people live here and they do not in spite of having worked 30 or 40 years earning pension rights in the states of the former soviet union, they do not receive pensions from any of the successor states. so i -- this amendment simply is a sense of the congress urging the state department to continue trying to negotiate such arrangements with the states of the former soviet union so that the former citizens of those countries who

and a test that you are a citizens of the united states. well, who says no? what if you don't understand the language, are you really going to read that as a legal document and know that if you attest that you are a citizen of the united states that you're guilty of perjury? by the way, out of 306 million or so americans does anybody know anybody that has been prosecuted for falsely saying that they are a citizen? no, it's an unprosecuted crime, a crime of perjury, which exists as a felony in every state that i know of, unprosecuted. so our voter register rolls were corrupted by the low standard of motor voter, and then we had the florida fiasco in 2000. and there if we looked across what was going on in florida there were allegations of voter fraud on both sides. i don't know if there weren't some on both sides, but what i saw was that -- was indicators that there could have been significant votes shifted. and i think all the scrutiny that came into those counties helped. i think a lot of people went down and watched the hanging chad count. but i also have se

united states was $11.409 trillion. wrads on june 19, 2009, each citizen's share of the outstanding public debt of the united states came to $37,236.88. whereas according to anew york times" cbs news -- a "new york times"/cbs news survey, 69% of americans do not think the president has developed a clear plan for the deficit. whereas the best way to develop a plan for budget deficit is a commitment to restraint and an open and transparent process in the house of representatives. whereas before assuming control of the house of representatives in january, 2007, congressional democrats were committed to an open and transparent appropriations process. whereas according to a document by congressional democrats entitled, democratic declaration: honest leadership and open government," page two states, quote, our goal is to restore accountability, honesty and openness at all levels of government, unquote. whereas according to a document by congressional democrats entitled a new direction for america, page 29 states, bills should generally come to the floor under a procedure that allows open, full, and fair debate, consisting of

established a system within the united states to combat fraud, this amendment is about extending that structure and in the process restoring a coherent market so that the citizens of the united states can benefit from fair pricing of pharmaceuticals. it is ironic, and i think a point to dwell on, that many of these drugs, many of these drugs were developed with research funded by the tax payers of the united states of america and that we turn around and create a framework where those same tax payers have to pay the highest price in the world in order to utilize those drugs. we fund the research and then we have to pay the highest price on the back end. i certainly embrace the conversation with my colleagues about safety. i think that we need to observe that there is a lot of this bill in this amendment that mccain has put forward that addresses safety. it's not that we can't do more. i certainly would fully entertain that conversation. i would encourage, since there is going to be a vote on this, i would encourage my colleagues to embrace the mccain amendment, the core principle he set out a structure of registration of licensee of supervision of excluding thos

united states. this is at a national park and goes to every citizen of the united states. and i ask my colleagues to oppose the amendment and i yield back. the chair: the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. the amendment is not agreed to. mr. campbell: on that, i would request a recorded vote. the chair: the gentleman requests a recorded vote. pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california will be postponed. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. campbell: i have an amendment at the desk, number 68. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 3 printed in house report 111-184 offered by mr. campbell of california the chair: the gentleman from california, mr. campbell and a member opposed, each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. campbell: thank you, madam chair. this amendment strikes $150,000 all

united states shall determine spending. the constitution of the united states also empowers our citizens to send their elected representative to washington to represent them. collectively we represent the american people. if you think about where we have been this year, we had the nearly $1 trillion stimulus plan when you look at the interest that's going to be paid on it. we had over $400 billion omnibus appropriation bill that had 9,000 earmarks in it. we had a budget that came through here that has trillion dollar deficits for as far as the eye can see. we bailed out wall street. we have bailed out the auto companies. we are spending money and racking up debt at record levels. so here we are, we are starting the annual appropriations process. 12 appropriation bills that will spend nearly $1.5 trillion that we do not have. $1.5 trillion we are going to have to borrow from the american people and further imprison our kids and grandkids. and you would think that as we are debating the spending of this $1.5 trillion that the majority would do as it has done for most of our history and allow for an open debate. allow for a pr

so moving detapeees to the united states -- so moving detainees to the united states would not be reasonable. it would also place american citizens at risk and inevitably creating a new set of targets. this is the problem you have. you have 17 places in the united states where you're putting these people. we have 17 magnets to draw in terrorists located around the country. three weeks ago -- or three weeks after i called for president obama and the senate colleagues to go see firsthand the facility at gitmo, attorney general eric holder -- he's our new attorney general, appointed by president obama -- went down there. he came back with a glowing report and the facility is well-run by its current military officers. this affirms what i've been saying all along and that is gitmo is a state-of-the-art facility that provides humane treatment for all detainees. it is fully compliant with the geneva convention. now, when the war supplemental came to the floor in the senate, i was extremely pleased that democrats and republicans in the senate joined together and announced that they would not include the $80 million in the war supplementa

of a sudden make a phone call to some terrorist cell in the united states someone could argue that's illegally wiretapping an american citizen, but isn't in truth the intercept is the personified as part of an intel operation outside the united states, and that has never been considered something that's controlled by warrants? >> so you're saying you actually haxi

united nations that don't respect their citizens' rights as nearly as much as we do. the number is probably larger than that and they're uncomfortable with the example of a country like the united states that sits on such a high pedestal our american citizens' right we not only protect those rights for our citizens but hold them out as something beneficial for their citizens as well. and this makes them uncomfortable because sometimes as we see in iran today, people decide it's a good thing to be able to exercise those rights and they feel the denial of that ability by their governments is wrong and they're willing to risk their lives as our forefathers did, to assert those rights. that's pow important they are. how oddity is, therefore, to come across such an intelligent, and he certainly is intelligent, an intelligent manlike mr. koh who has a very different point of view about these important american rights; who believes it is more important for us to be in the mainstream of international thinking even though that represents a view of rights far less than the united states' right and it is far more important for us to be well viewed in the international community than it is to str

when a citizen or national of a foreign country is convicted of a crime or fond found to be in the united states illegally, immigrations and customs enforcement or i.c.e. officials often order a final order of removal. while most countries repatriate their citizens and nationals in a timely manner, there are handful of countries that often refuse or unreasonabley delay this process. u.s. courts have ruled that our government cannot legally hold criminal aliens in custody for longer than six months following their sentence of imprisonment if their home country refuses or delays in taking them back. as a result, i.c.e. reports that more than 17,000 convicted criminals, many of whom would serve time for crimes such as murder, kidnapping and rape, have been released onto our streets after their home country refuses or delays repay theation. this creates a serious burden on our local law enforcement and wastes millions of dollars. under current law, our government has the option of denying visas to countries that refuse repay theation. however, this tool has rarely been utilized. the amendment i'm of

speaker, the united states and brazil are strong partners with a common history and ancestry that unfortunately includes experiences of slavery, racism and discrimination against citizens of african heritage. still the united states and brazil under the joint action plan are looking to learn from each other's experiences in order to combat racism and promote equality and education, culture, health and sports. madam speaker, because combating racism and discrimination requires constant dill gans, i support the gentleman's amendment which would move towards that end. i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from new york. mr. meeks: how much time do i have remaining? the chair: the gentleman has one minute remaining. mr. meeks: let me just say i thank you -- i want to give you good progress that has been made in latin america. dixon became the first black woman to head the panama supreme court. and another member of the supreme court. moreno is the first colombian to serve in the presidential cabinet. and in he can what door, more than 100 black women sought more government assistance for housing to combat racial discrimination. we are in this togeth

of a sudden make a phone call to some terrorist cell in the united states, someone could argue that's illegally wiretapping an american citizen but isn't it in truth the intercept is of a person identified as part of an intel operation outside the united states and that has never been considered something that's controlled by warrants? >> so you're saying you actually have existing authority on somebody who's overseas who happens to place a call into the united states? >> that's correct. >> it would -- >> but that's what we've been arguing over. if you wiretap a mafia leader and he calls somebody who the court does not have an approval of, you can listen in on that conversation. isn't that right? isn't that part of the approval? so if you have a lawful tap on a foreign person, i think the principle is the same. that's all i'm saying. and i think we've exaggerated the extent to which this is somehow violative of our constitution. that's my personal view of that. >> i agree with that except there's minimization requirements -- >> there are minimization requirements and if you go center here that deals with that they have incred

the united states has tried to put their own citizens in the context, for accountability on the human rights issues and at the same time we have tried to hold other countries accountable. i wonder what the judiciary will do with the human rights abuse, for the people in this government. >> the subcommittee hearing will be doing a lot of this, but much of this is by example, closing guantanamo bay -- [applause] the president is not afraid to talk about the greatness of america, but also he will be willing to talk -- he will be willing to talk about where he made mistakes, with the countries that never admit to their mistakes, in the past we could never lead by example. but we have to restore our own principles. at the department of justice -- during the last administration, as the chairman of the senate judiciary committee, i remember being frustrated, which is a new england understatement, with the attorney general, about what was going on, the manipulation of prosecution. when i was in law school, i was interviewed by the attorney general, there were trying to get some students to co

counterterrorism, policy and practice the past four years i can confidently state no foreign citizen has done more for the united states and a time of war since colonel thaddeus helped army liberated shores some 200 years ago. the two davids will discuss for about 30 minutes before turning to questions from you, the audience, about another 30 minutes and once the australian is thirsty we will adjourn to the foyer. having known him a while. [laughter] when he is really thirsty dave is going to sign books in the back and the rest of us will have a beer and if everyone could help him and make sure that he always has a beard, too, that would be much appreciated. gentlemen. >> let me start by thanking john and the center for new american security for putting that even on and particularly shannon, i can't see you, hiding behind the killer. set out from the shade for a minute. [laughter] sheehan and worked hard to put this together and i appreciate the effort of the whole team. david is going to ask questions. i just got back from columbia where i delivered possibly the worst counterinsurgency conference keynote addres

also requires the reports to identify which accounts could be returned to the united states treasury. now, the group citizens against government waste has advocated similar policies. most recently they advocated rescinding funds earmarked by congress for the federal transit administration that remain unobligated after three years. with so many families struggling in this tough economy, we must invest wisely to help our constituents and be vigilant with taxpayer dollars. we need to ensure there is strong oversight and accountability once taxpayer dollars are appropriated. this amendment is a critical step in keeping track of our dollars once they've gone out the door. i urm my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this fiscally responsible amendment. thank you and i yield back. i will yield. mr. mollohan: i thank the gentleman for his contribution to the bill. it's a real one and we are pleased to accept the amendment. mr. chairman. the chair: the gentleman from new hampshire. mr. hodes: thank you understand i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of hi

also, let me ask this about the voluntary purchase of treasury bills by citizens of the united states, people in china, middle east, and around the world. they don't have to boy treasuryy bills. and we're going to be offering amounts -- these kind of bills in volume we have never offered before in the history of the public. the question is, who wants to buy them? who wants to hold a mortgage on the united states? what if we defligh deflight our currency. maybe they want more. maybe china which had the huge trade surplus a few years ago, maybe they don't have it anymore. they don't. and maybe they're deciding they're not going to buy so much treasury bills in the united states. babmaybe they decide to invest n their own economy which has not done as well as it has done in the past. same with the middle east. they used to have huge reserves of american money as a result of the high price of gasoline and the price of "on th oil on the d market but that has dropped and perhaps they don't have the money on the treasury bills either. so who will buy them? we're not talking a little bit but

gingrich stated he was not a citizen of the world, with much fervor and fanfare, yet, low and behold, mr. reagan, president reagan stated in front of the united nations that he was a citizen of the world. could you tie and the disconnect -- those who espouse reagan and yet strobel -- strobel in a plea at attempts to carry the banner of reagan -- struggle ineptly to carry the banner with shenanigans and over the top sound bites. guest: thank you for the assignment. i will look at it, and i appreciate your kind words about my work. i think the question you raised is a fascinating one, not just for the republicans in 2009 but any political group at any time looking back at certain leaders for inspiration, for solace. particularly, parties who are not having a particularly easy time of it are particularly prone to try to look back and find a plan and playbook and hope that that leads them out of the wilderness. it is completely understandable human and -- reaction. i'm a great admirer of president reagan. he was the president of my childhood and his examples in some ways got me interested in politics. i think he was, as president bush would say,

that can be accessed right now by and has been there and available for any member or any citizen of the united states to be able to read. it is on the website. mr. barton: do members have access to the website on the floor of the house? mr. markey: in the lake-cook room there is access -- in the cloakroom there is access to it. we have similar technological access in our cloakroom. mr. barton: in the cloakroom but not the floor. mr. markey: it is also available at the desk. mr. barton: reclaiming my time on the gentleman's reservation on the unanimous consent request. what is at the desk that is physically available for any member of this body who's engaging in debate is not apparently the official copy. it is missing 300 pages. now, what's on the website is almost immaterial because it's unprecedented in this gentleman's history in the congress and not have some -- usually at least two copies that both sides can access during the debate on the floor. mr. markey: will the gentleman yield? mr. barton: i'm asking for a 15-minute recess so we can get a copy that we can access. and i'll yield to the gent

citizens. and residents. furthermore, he said," the united states cannot stand on strong footing, attacking iran for illegal detensions when similar charges can be and have been lodged against our own government." mr. president, the u.s. policies professor koh is criticizing are those that have been authorized by the united states congress in a bipartisan fashion. and each of us are accountable to our constituents for the decisions that we make. it is offensive to compare the policies of the united states government to those of a thee crate i can -- a theo crate i can dictatorship -- theocratic dictatorship to responds to oppression with brutal violence against its people. we've heard enough about moral equivalence about iran over the last year and a half. we've heard enough apologies for the policies of the united states and enough soft peddling of the brutal suppression by the iranian regime of their own people. we don't need another kois voice in the administration -- we don't need another voice in the administration whose first instinct is to blame america and whose long-term objective is to transform this country

but we're fortunate in the state of illinois to have a health bureau in our attorney general's office. we're lucky to have an aggressive unit and they're available for the citizens of the state of illinois who go through the same situation my brother did. but again, most people don't have the knowledge that i have and, by the way, it took two appeals. the first time she wrote the letter they said, "no." it took a further letter to them before they did reverse their decision. >> thank you. mr. barton, questions? >> may i ask a question? >> just a technical question as a doctor i get nervous with so many lawyers around me. there's an active -- >> you should feel zmur less than secure. it's opposite of secure. as i understand, there's an active class action suit one of the witnesses before us oh snee in california it's being going on for some time. >> the speech and debate notwithstanding, are we subjecting ourselves to possible subpoena in that to testify in that court by our questions here today or our opening statements here today? >> no. but if you wish to were we could arrange that. >> no. i don't want a trip to california. >> no. i think we're okay. we're not

good intentions but government-run care is not serving their citizens' need and we don't need to replicate their problems in the united states. in canada, claude, chair of the commission which recommended the quebec establish a government-run system in the 1960's declared last year the system is in "crisis," his words. private clinics are opening all over canada at the rate of one per week to treat those who are on waiting lists at the public hospitals. many canadians who have the resources to get out of the bureaucratic government have chosen to do so. as the republican leader pointed out, britain's national institute for health and clinical excellence, the entity responsible for setting guidelines on pharmaceuticals and treatment for british patients denied parents in that country access to four kidney cancer drugs with the potential to lengthen the patients' lives explaining it this way -- and i quote -- "although these treatments are clinically effective, regrettably the cost is such that they are not a cost effective use of resources." a chilling statement, indeed. the stories of parents being denied treatment by their

i happen to think it should be a right as a matter of being a citizen of the united states you should get health care. i recognize that the only way you do that is by lowering the cost of care across the board. we spend twice as much as all of our other industrialized nations on health care, essentially, maybe a little less than twice as much, for a system that still leaves 50ing million people uninsured -- still leaves 50 million people uninsure. we can get access to everybody out there as long as we start spending less or start controlling the rate of growth. i think we're going to talk about all of these things tonight as the 30-somethings come to the floor, that we're going to talk about health care as health care reform as a moral imperative, a matter of consciencefish this nation, we're going to talk about it as an economic imperative and from the perspective of getting care to people who don't have it today and trying to lower the cost of care so all of us, whether or not we have it or don't have it, don't continue to pay for a system that far too often provides very expensive

state of illinois to have a health bureau and the attorney general's office. we are lucky to have an aggressive unit and they are available for the citizens of the state of illinois who go through the same situation my brother did but again, most people, you know, do not have the knowledge that all i have, and by the way it took to appeals. the first time she wrote the letter they said no. so it took a further letter to them before they did reverse their decision. >> thank you. mr. barton for questions. >> mr. chairman, may i ask a question? >> no, it's mr. barton's unless he yields his time. >> this is purely, i noticed with so many lawyers around me there is active -- >> you should feel secure. >> it's the opposite of secure. there's an active class action suit on one of the witnesses before us? >> in california it's been going on for some time, i believe ms. horton is a plaintiff in the action. >> the switch and debate calls notwithstanding, are we subjecting ourselves to possible subpoena in back to testify in the court by the questions today for our hour opening statements today -- >> know but if you wish to we could arrange that. >> i don't want a trip to c

assistance and protect units -- protection units sending a very loud and clear message to criminals that our citizens and we in the congress of the united states of america will not be deterred by fear tactics like intimidation. speaking of intimidation, mr. speaker, in the city of baltimore we have a group that put out a -- two trailers entitled stop snitching. in one of those trailers i along with the state's attorney were threatened because we were standing up for this legislation and standing up for witnesses. but i made it very clear to them that i have no fear because if you can have a situation where a person can literally be standing on a corner and 20 people know the perpetrator, perpetrator comes up and blows somebody's brains out and nobody testifies, what happens then is that we have then given the criminal more power, we have taken power away from regular citizens, and the next thing you know the criminal feels that there are no consequences to his or her actions. you cannot have a criminal justice system that is effective and efficient unless you have the cooperation of witnesses. it is up to this congress to make it very, very c

citizen. the reason we come to the united states is because there is justice for all. i'm pretty sure you understand that the united states is different than all the other countries. the reason we come here is because we run away from tortureug[ and being proyson an all kind of reasons. you sit here and argue torture. this is where the terrorists want you. that's why they did what they did. it doesn't matter how much you torture, they will tell you anything you want to hear. they'll tell you what you want to hear. it doesn't justify to torture because it doesn't work. i've been there and seen it. that's why we run away from here. it is sad to see all the congress res and the vice president to a torture worked. >> where were you from? >> i was born in ethiopia and went to italy to the united states. >> the reason i left africa is because i was in prison over a year and a half. they don't care if you are a woman or anything. they will beat you up until you tell them what you want to hear. >> you are ok that this information came out from a closed committee hearing, right

and more prosperous future where we meet our obligations to our citizens, our children and to god's creation, and where the united states of america leads once again. that is the future we are aiming for. i've got a great secretary of energy who is helping us achieve it. i want to thank again the house of representatives for doing the right thing on friday, and we are absolutely confident that we are going to be able to make more progress in the weeks and months to come. thanks, guys. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> tomorrow morning, a discussion on u.s. energy policy and the future of renewable energy. we will hear from the chairman of the federal energy regulatory commission. live coverage on c-span 2. later, a conversation on iran's nuclear program and the political situation in tehran. live coverage from the heritage foundation begins at 10:00 eastern, also on c-span 2. up next, a number of federal judges talk about ways to improve the u.s. unusual system. from the american constitution society, this is 1:35. >> our first session of

transparency and good oversight, what they're actually suggesting is that the united states does not respect the privacy of foreign citizens. and more specifically our allies in the western hemisphere who are invited to attend the u.s. military schools. what concerns me is that this amendment expresses winsec -- exposes the students and instructors, which includes u.s. citizens, to hostile personal hazards such as identity theft and surveillance, intimidation or attack from foreign intelligence, security and terrorist organizations. in terms of oversight, congress already receives the information. we just received a copy of the attendees for 2008, and we were able to keep our partners and their families safe. i think it's important to recognize that winsec is an important tool for strengthening security cooperation with our key allies in the western hemisphere. this includes our mexico neighbor to the south. the school provides training to mexican land forces in the spanish language and builds their capacity to prevail in the fight against drug trafficking, organized crime and other transnational threats. such training and

united states. there is a lot of human trafficking involving human citizens in the industry. what we see as far as heavy industry, factories, et cetera, it typical is this notion that bosses want a compliant and complacent workforce. one that won't complain they're being sent to a chemical area without the proper equipment or things like that because they're afraid the immigration service will come not help them, but arrest them. i think that is one of the things. on the one hand, we have to figure out what we will do as far as rimgration reform and immigration enforcement, border security. at the same time we have to have the baseline, the constitution, the 13th amendment said involuntary slavery shall exist. the first thing congress did after the civil war is pass a law to make it clear it is applied to everyone, including hispanics in the southwestern united states. it made it clear, the 13th amendment was not just a way for child slavery, for foreigners, immigrants, everyone in the united states. host: this sweet says obama announced he's going after immigration reform. w

something and that is that you can't really go back to being a plain, private citizen after you've been president of the united states. he wrote in a letter to a friend, he said i can't seem to get from under that awful glare that shines on the white house. and it's sad in a way because i think he felt like he had almost become a burden to his friends. that he had lost -- he had lost something that he could not -- you can't be casual when you're a former president. my brother and i went over to the truman home today and did the tour. i've done it before, of course, but you're reminded on the back porch when they came home, they returned to this -- the same house they'd been living in basically all their lives, all their married lives, anyway. bess' mother had just died in 1952 and bess and harry bought out her two brothers and it was the first time harry truman ever owned a house. the guy didn't own a house until 1952. and they came back to this house. i think at first they really expected to settle into ordinary quiet entertainment life and they would go on the back porch and if the weather was nice maybe have break