we made them before in the united states congress and maybe we'd be wise to take governor schwarzenegger's advice and slow down and learn from our history rather than try to top our previous historic mistake, like

we've made them before in the united states congress and maybe we'd be wise to take governor schwarzenegger's advice and slow down and stop and learn from our history, rather than try to top our previous historic mistakes like the smoot-hawley tariff. that sounded pretty good at the time in 1930 with the idea was to buy american. but most historians agree it was a mistake and he contributed to the depression. there was the alien sedition act of 1798 senate pretty good at the time. we're going to keep his foreigners in our midst. they're mostly french then friends saying bad things about the government, but it offended all of our tradition of free speech. 1969, congress enacted a millionaire's tax they called it to try to catch 155 americans who weren't paying any tax. that turned out to be an historic mistake because last year it caught 28 million american taxpayers until we had to rest to change it. and just a couple more, there was a catastrophic coverage act of 1988. i was well named because it turned out to be a catastrophe, a congressional catastrophe. the idea was to help seniors deal w

and it may well be that it will take the campaign in 2010 if this united states congress will not pass a bill web a robust public option, could well be a campaign issue. i believe that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle may well be misreading the american people. i believe the american people do want health reform. and it does take time for the american people to understand the ramifications of it, that this may well be a campaign issue in 2010 to 111th congress may have a different view as to how we ought to proceed. during the month of august, when i was making the rounds of town meetings in pennsylvania in accordance to my habit to cover almost every county, almost every year, when i got to the first town meeting, the second tuesday in august, first week we were in recess i found instead of the customary 85 or 100 people, more than 1000 people, three national television sound, cnn, msnbc, and fox. and there were a lot of it to produce statements. one man approached me and said the lord was going to stand before me. i think he meant to say that i was going to stand before t

we were celebrating the bicentennial of the united states congress. racting with all kinds of folks at the supreme court and in congress. i was part of the speaker's office. i had a bird's-eye view of what was going on. i was on the floor for all kinds of interesting things, the state of the union speeches. i am not sure if that is a story in an of itself and i can publish it as a journal, or if i were to simply write a different kind of story. >> what about the history of your firing? i know that that is harsh language. but you were let go by republican speaker newt gingrich after serving three democratic camps. >> the republican takeover of the house in 1994, 95 when an awful lot of people changed. it is not surprising. it is the first time in 40 years the republicans have been in the majority of the house. they were euphoric. and all kinds of reasons to celebrate that they were not in the minority for the first time in their lifetime for a lot of these members. in the minority of their whole careers. it is not surprising that a lot of folks were fir

it walks to the corridors of the united states congress constantly. fghanistan in 2009 is not vietnam in 1965 or even 1961. it is a very different situation. we were attacked. the most successful foreign attack on the united states of america, bar none, was the attack on our capital in 1814 which was carried out from afghanistan. those who did that are plotting to day a repeat performance. in 2006, on the anniversary of september 11th, the plan a repeat performance that would have been more chilling and devastating than what happened in 2001 which would have been to blow up eight jumbo jet flying across to the united states and canada. had that succeeded, more people would have died on september 11th. the international airline systems would have gone out of business. no one in their right mind would have a phone anywhere again. that is the viet cong were. as bad as they work, they had no designs to attack the united states. the specter of the north vietnamese attack in seattle was entirely created by the johnson administration and had no basis in fact.

additional structure, to reinforce the readiness of the adigal units, much like the 22,000 approved by the congress for the united statesithout structure. that requires fewer leaders, fewer demands on equipment and no additional challenge to infrastructure. the second thing we did to get to 134,000 was to build small units in the existing kandacs. in the the 34 battalions -- battalions resident in the south and the east, each of those gets an additional company, and that fourth company, again, gives you more end strength, improves the readiness and capability of the existing unit, puts a reduced demand on leader development, equipment, and infrastructure and on mentors because you're putting a company in a kandac ha has -- that has existing mentors. it was in that that we would grow the kandacs required to create two additional brigades. we think by doing that, it gave us the ability to ramp up the manning that would be required to grow those units. frankly, the -- to add those two brigades was an operational requirement to have the right number of brigades in the battle space. the other thing that was key to this, the

joint resolution 22 which i filed yesterday, a constitutional amendment that requires the united states congressto balance its budget and also gives to the president of the united states a line-item veto so that he, like most of the governors in this country, can strike out inappropriate budget items, these earmarks that you hear about. senator mccain spoke this weekend about $2.5 trillion to the university of nebraska to study operations and medical procedures in space. we can't afford that program under any circumstance and we certainly can't afford programs like that when we are $12 trillion in debt. you know, these dollar numbers are so booed they're hard to comprehend. what does a trillion dollars mean? what does a billion dollars mean. in washington, we throw these amounts around and we don't even comprehend them. and i know the american people at home, it's hard to get your mind around how much money this is. and i've said this on the floor before and i'm going to keep saying it so people every dollar we spend is a choice. a million dollars of dollars laid edge to edge on the ground would

but i'm optimistic that we can succeed with the support of the united states congress. our mission has been under-resourced for years but now one of our government's highest priorities with substantial development funds and hundreds more civilian personnel. we will soon have increased our civilian presence in kabul three-fold and in the field six-fold, just over this past year and we will, of course, though, need more. u.s. foreign assistance is, also, a comparatively small but essential fraction of the total amount that's being spent in afghanistan and has been spent over the last eight years. additional resources will be necessary and we look forward to sharing more details on our anticipated needs with congress in the coming days and weeks. mr. chairman, afghanistan is a daunting challenge. success is not guaranteed, but it is possible. with the additional troops and other resources provided by the president and with the help of congress, we will work tirelessly to ensure that al qaeda never again regains -- gains ref few in afghanistan and threatens our country. tha

after studying a position, a particular statute passed by the congress of the united states was faciallyunconstitutional. i could not take that position and we did not take that position. the most enjoyable part was the sense of community within the office. there was a sense that this was really special. we knew we would not be there for a very long time. i would say that erwin griswold said to me, not long after i was privileged to take the office, that there was not one thing long -- was only one thing and wrong. the office does not enjoy article 3 life tenure. i knew that i was on worthy and that he should be there -- on were the and that he should be there -- and were the -- unworthy and that he should be there. >> is there unanimity that justice marshall was right? thank you, everyone. >> the supreme court historical society hosted this discussion on tuesday in washington d.c.. you can watch this program again or other recent programs at c- span.org. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: madam president, i -- i rise to speak on the

>> the unintended consequences -- and at the same time, our united states congress and senate is considering changing medicare, have by and between 55 and 65. quite frankly, it by was an employer out there, i would say, goodbye. you just went the opposite direction in terms of extending retirement. by having a policy that provides the companies to say, go over into the medicare by and and you're off my roles. i do not have to worry about paying the difference. these unintended consequences we talk about are so -- that is why this is so difficult and i am sorry for the media, is difficult to follow, is difficult for the american public to follow, is difficult for us to follow, but there are so many of these currents going on, i guess is the best phrase for it. >> i think we only have a few minutes left. i do want to give the audience a chance. are there any hands out there? do you want to ask a question? >> [inaudible] i read something that i thought was very intriguing. in light of all that i have learned that this conference and i compliment you all, the statement that i read was that obama

i don't remember in my 15 years in the united states congress, both in the house and in the senate, of any major piece of legislation such as this being debated and ultimately brought to a final vote within such a period of time. i've been involved in farm bills that have been on the floor for longer than this. any number of other pieces of legislation that we deal with on a regular basis that have been on the floor for longer than that period of time. i heard the assistant majority leader on the floor a little earlier talking about the fact that we've had the opportunity to amend this bill. well, the fact is the republicans have been offered the opportunity to introduce 10 amendments to this massive piece of legislation for debate on the floor. we've got a number of other amendments that have been filed. the four of us here today have significant amendments that we filed that now we're not going to have the opportunity to call up. and it's extremely unusual for such a massive change in american policy being debated and voted upon without not only bipartisan support, but without bipart

i want to emphasize that we think the most important is exactly with the united states congress. as you know, you have the special investigator for afghanistan reconstruction, which provides oversight for d.o.d. and state and usaid efforts. we think it's a -- >> quickly, mr. ambassador, are you familiar with the hospital in kabul? >> sir, i am not. >> okay. i want to make you aware of that. it's a success story that has not -- we've not participated in but americans made it happen. >> we'll get with you on that, sir. >> the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentleman from florida is recognized. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, gentlemen, for our extraordinary service to our nation. general mcchrystal, in response to senator mccain's question the other day about the inability to defeat al qaeda unless bin laden is captured, did you mean there will be u.s. presence until bin laden is captured and can your plan ever fully succeed if bin laden is not captured? >> congressman, thanks for the opportunity to expand on that. it was a very short quinn in a long hearing. i believ

state into deficits and further into debt. so it -- what is absolutely essential to have in the congress of the united states is a balanced budget requirement. the tradeoffs have to be made where hard decisions have to be made. where there has to be a reference point that at the end of the day, revenues have to equal expenditures. without that, i really fear for the future of the country. i think for the first time in hi life when we look at these deficits, look at the debt, when we think about the future of the country, and i know that democrats have pointed to republicans and said, you did it in the past. so now it's our turn. well, but -- i used to use that with my mother when i was growing up, i said, all the other kids are doing it and my mother didn't buy it, and the american people aren't buying it today. they realize, i think, that they have an unease about what's going on in the congress of the united states. they have an extraordinary feeling of insecurity about what is happening in this country, not simply because the way the economy is right now, but they understand that the political class in washington, led by the

it certainly walks through the corridors of the united states congress constantly. afghanistan 2009 is not vietnam 1965 or not even 1961. it's a very different situation. we were attacked from afghanistan. the most successful foreign attack on the united states of america bar one wha? the royal navy's attack on our capital in 1814 was carried out from afghanistan. those who did that are plotting today a repeat performance. in 2006 on the fifth anniversary of september 11, they planned a repeat performance which would have been more chilling and devastating than what happened on september 11, 2001, the so-called operation o vert, to blow up eight jumbo jets flying across the atlantic to the united states and canada. had that succeeded, more people would have died than died on september 1u9s. more importantly than that, the sbration airline business would have gone out of business. nobody in their right mind would get on an airplane and fly again. as bad as the veetcong were, as bad as the north veetmizz were, they had no design to attack the united states. the specte

after their distinguished service, they want a small business loan, only to find out the united states congress is limiting the ability of banks and credit unions to provide new business loans for these men and women. i don't think that's what they're fighting for. i urge you to vote for the republican substitute and vote against the underlying bill. thank you. the chair: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from alabama is recognized. mr. bachus: madam chair, i'd like unanimous con sent at this time to recognize -- consent at this time to recognize our troops that are in the gallery today. the chair: the chair cannot entertain that request at this time. the house will be in order. mr. bachus: thank you. madam chair, at this time i yield our remaining time to our republican leader, mr. boehner from ohio. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. boehner: madam speaker, my colleagues, it's been quite a year. this house has been on a spending spree and a regulatory spree and a bailout spree that i could never have imagined in any of my prior 18 years here in congress. it was a $1 trillion spendi

joining us to debate the issue are two top members of the united states congress. barney frank, democrat from massachusetts. he chairs the house financial services committee. and ron paul, a republican of texas, a member of the house financial services committee as well. ron is also a medical doctor. congressman frank, we'll start with you. is this dead on arrival in the senate? or do we have a shot here? >> larry, one of the things that is the most troublesome to me is the lack of interaction between the house and the senate. there's just an institutional barrier there. i tell you that, i'm not really sure what's going on. i also have to say i've been pretty preoccupied up to last friday with the financial reform regulation. so i haven't looked at it. but i don't think it's dead. there is a great need to do something. we do have some people who are always going to say if it can't be perfect, i'm against it. those are not the kind of people that should be in elected office because that's not the way a democracy works. i believe we are going see a pretty good bill.

it's time for personal responsibility here in the united states congress. we should defeat this rule. and we should get serious about limiting the amount of expenditures that happen in the united states congress. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: thank you, mr. speaker. i just make a couple of observations. first of all i should remind everybody when bill clinton left office he left george bush with a record surplus. which president bush and his republicans in congress squandered. we ended up going from record surpluses to record deficits and debts. that's just a fact. i understand the frustration of my friends on the other side. their goal is to obstruct and make sure we get nothing done here. that's their -- i will not. that is what they think is a winning strategy. to basically get nothing done. they are failing in that because congress is moving and getting things done. we are beginning to turn this economy around. and we are res

we're grateful to the american people and the united states congress.i think you for your efforts to make us a better command. >> thank you, general. >> thank you. thank you to the rest of the commission for the opportunity you're giving to me today to testify on the use of contractors to mentor and trained afghan police. i initiated our program in 2003. we current support a list mission funded through the o50 account. inl has been working with dod to deploy officers to afghanistan to train and mentor them. inl has complemented with this contract with dod. the united states this parking to help the afghan government developed a professional police force capable of providing public security and enforcing the rule of law. the development of this is challenging. the police training programs we initiated in 2003 are aimed at addressing these issues. building on the estoppels police training program and in light of needing more forces, the defense department was given authority by an agreement over all u.s. efforts to organize, train, and equip the afghan se

that's true for, i think, pretty much everybody, it seems like except the united states congress. here in washington, d.c. we seem not to be listening to what's happening in america, because marking spending bills up at 12% over last year's level at a time when the c.p.i. is actually running in the negative -- you've got negative cost-of-living increase -- and yet we are marking up appropriations bills that represent a 12% increase over last year's spending level? and you put that on top of a stimulus bill that passed earlier this year that with interest is a $1 trillion spending bill. so you have a $1 trillion spending bill with interest passed earlier this year, much of which went to the very same federal agencies that are going to benefit from this 12% increase over last year in annual appropriations. so you put $1 trillion stimulus bill, you look at appropriations bill -- and, again, this being representative of most of the bills this year, that year-over-year increase at 12%, at a time when most americans are having to tighten their belts. we hear that. we also hear that the

we made them before in the united states congress and maybe we'd be wise to take governor schwarzenegger's advice and slow down and learn from our history rather than try to top our previous historic mistake, like the smoot-halley tariff when it sounded like a good idea to buy american. there was the alien incidition act, we were going to keep the foreigners in our midst, mostly french, from saying bad things about our government. 1969, congress enacted a millionaire's tax they called it to try to catch 155 americans who weren't paying any tax that turned out to be a historic mistake because last year it caught 28 million american taxpayers until we had to rush to change it. and just a couple more. there was the catastrophic coverage act of 1988. that was well named because it turned out to be a catastrophe. a congressional catastrophe. the idea was to help seniors deal with financial reverses, but seniors didn't like paying for it. they surrounded the chairman of the ways an means committee in -- and means committee in chicago. and then there was the luxury tax on boats over $100,000. ano

the day will come although i recognize it is not today when the united states congress will have the courage to stand up to the private insurance companies and the drug companies and medical equipment suppliers, and all of those who profit and make billions of dollars every single year off of him in sickness and on that day when it comes, and it will come from the united states congress will finally proclaimed that health care is a right of all people and not just a privilege. and that day will come as surely as i stand here today. madam president, there are those who think medicare for all is some kind of a fringe idea. just a few left-wing folks think this is the way to go. but let me assure you this is absolutely not the case. the single-payer concept support all across this country. in a 2007 yahoo! poll, 65% of respondents said, and i quote, the united states should adopt a universal health insurance program and which everyone is covered under a program like medicare that is run by the government and financed by taxpayers. madam president, there is also widespread support for me

and it may well be that it will take the campaign in 2010, if this united states congress will not pass a bill with a robust public option, could well be a campaign issue. i believe that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle may well be misreading the american people. i believe the american people do want health reform. and it does take time for the american people to understand the ramifications of it. but this may well be a campaign issue in 2010. and the 111th congress may have a different view as to how we ought to proceed. during the month of august, when i was making the rounds of town meetings in pennsylvania, in accordance with my habit to cover almost every county, almost every year. when i got to the first town meeting, the second tuesday in august, first week we were in recess, i found instead of the customary 85 or 100 people, more than 1,000 people and three national television sound trucks, cnn, msnbc and fox. and there were two -- one man approached me, said that the lord was going to stand before me. i think he got mixed up. i think he meant to say that i was goin

congress has included language permitting transfer of gitmo detainees to the united states only under certain limited conditions in every relevant appropriations bill passed this year including the recently passed omnibus appropriation act. that's one of the reasons i voted against every single one of those bills. the president now has made the decision to purchase the thompson correctional center from state of illinois for the purpose of transferring and detaining gitmo detainees. further the president stated that he will need to expend millions of dlicial dollars renovating and securing the security when much has been invested in the state of the art facility at guantanamo bay. this unnecessary spending is an abuse of our tax dollars and one that holds dire national security consequences. the administration claims that many of these detainees will continue to be held by the military in the same prison where the department of justice will hold average ordinary criminals. what the administration fails to tell the american people is that these detainees will obtain the same rights as u

presents a real dilemma for the scientific community and even a greater dilemma for this congress as the united states climate change conference begins in copenhagen. as ranking member of the science committee, i'm concerned about these revelations dubbed by the press as, quote, climate gate, and their implications for the scientific community, congress and the american people. allegations of manipulations of scientific data would be troublesome under any circumstance. the fact that the scientific data in question here appears to be used as the basis of a global agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions or changes to the regulatory regime of the united states makes these allegations that much more disturbing. i've introduced a resolution which highlights concerns about moving forward with greenhouse gas emissions on the basis of scientific data which email excheanings indicate have been manipulated or deleted in order to advance a political agenda. forcing americans to meet carbon emission reductions may worsen our high unemployment rate and slow our economy while other nations advance their own gro

united states that, quote -- "the framers explicitly chose a constitution that confers upon congress the power to regulate individuals, not states." in that case, the court struck down federal legislation that would press state officials into administering a federal program, and more recently in prince v. united states, the supreme court stated, quote -- "we have held, however, that state legislatures are not subject to federal direction." and yet, this legislation does what these cases said congress may not do. it commands states to pass laws. it regulates states in their capacity as states, and it attempts to make states subject to federal direction. well, let me return to the principles with which i begin. liberty requires limits on government power. those limits come primarily from a written constitution which delegates enumerated powers to congress. we must be able to identify at least one of those enumerated powers to justify legislation, and those powers do not mean whatever we in our delightful wisdom want them to mean. those principles lead me to conclude that congress does n

they understand the budget gimmicks, and that's why they don't trust the united states congress to be honest and transparent when it comes to spending their money, because of their unfortunate experience. but i also want to focus on other promises that the president has made about health care reform which bear on the process by which these bills and the health care reform is being considered, and unfortunately ways in which the reid bill breaks those promises. this is one that we've talked about before, but i think it bears repeating again because the american people want us to read the bills before we vote on them. they want to be able to read the bills. they want to have it posted on the internet so they understand how this legislation will impact them and their families. here's what the president said. he said -- "i'm going to have all negotiations" -- these are the health care negotiations -- "around a big table. we'll have negotiations televised on c-span so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents and who are making arguments on behalf of the d

segar, which is a very robust auditing and investigation arm that reports directly to the united states congressindeed, in afghanistan today, in our united states embassy mission, we have over 30 from segar that are assigned. and they're very working in close partnership with us to rigorously audit and investigate the spending of our money. so yes, you are playing a very vital role. and as we move forward in afghanistan, we have many very progressive, good afghan ministers right now that like to condition developmental aid in ways that help them to work with their own parliament, with very stringent standards being set -- >> i think i'm looking for ways that this really translates to the afghan people, though. the extent to which they see that we're actually doing something about that, and that some of these leaders are not really acting in their best interests. how are we communicating that to them? and it's critical that they get to see that change. >> again, i think that president karzai, as he laid out in his inauguration speech, he has a program for reform. he's emphasizing accountability.

to be here with the president of the united states. as the congressestows its highest honor to a great leader, senator edward brooke. [applause] it was -- i will now lead off an array of leadership. senator. , leader mcconnell, leader -- with college other leader and all. patrick kennedy and senator kerry and eleanor holmes norton. a series of tributes to senator brooke. i heard bipartisan applause when president obama mentioned it. brooke senator, in honor of your birthday, last night we were there to cheer on our bipartisan football team, democrats and republicans working as a team and leading them with that great team work to victory over a full medicalfoe. we had -- over a formidable foe. çit was a spirit of bipartisanship in your honor. in 1967, that was the year senator brooke came to the united states senate. he signals a new style and a new hope. as the first african american popularly elected to the senate, senator brooke ignited more than four decades of promise. today, we also notes as others have mentioned some brooke under's partner -- s

many means for that here i want to emphasize we think the most important is exactly what the united states congresss you know, you have special investigator for afghanistan reconstruction, which provides oversight for d.o.d. and state and usaid efforts. we think that is a very speedy's quickly, investor. are you a movie with the hospital in kabul? >> i am not. >> i want to make you aware of that as a success story that we've not produce big in. but americans have made it happen. >> we will get with you on that, sir. >> the time of the joan has expired. the jump from florida is recognized. >> thank you for your export a service to our nation. general mcchrystal, in response to senator mccain's question the other day, a lot of the inability to defeat al qaeda unless bin laden is captured, did you mean that there would be u.s. presence in the theater until bin laden is captured? and can your plan ever fully succeed if bin laden is not catch? >> congressman, thanks the opportunity to expand on that because it was a very short question and a long hearing. i believe that al qaeda can be defeated overall.

we were told that we're literally days away from a complete financial meltdown in the united states unless congress act to authorize the troubled asset relief program. now, madam president, many of us, including myself, voted for tarp because we were told by the -- the smartest people on the planet that unless we did this, our economy would suffer an economic meltdown. but i must tell you that i'm extremely disappointed when the very nature of the program was changed after congress authorized it. for example, we were told by secretary paulson, and others, that the money would be used for one purpose and one purpose only, and that is to purchase toxic assets. well, you know, there's a saying that says, fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice, shame on me. and we were fooled into believing that the tarp would be used to purchase these toxic assets and get them off the books as a way of protecting pensions, savings, and investments in hard-working american taxpayers. unfortunately, the very people who promised us and told us what purpose the tarp would be used for misled us. because two administrati

we're grateful to the american people and the united states congress.tter command. >> thank you, general. >> thank you. thank you to the rest of the commission for the opportunity you're giving to me today to testify on the use of contractors to mentor and trained afghan police. i initiated our program in 2003. we current support a list mission funded through the o50 account. inl has been working with dod to deploy officers to afghanistan to train and mentor them. inl has complemented with this contract with dod. the united states this parking to help the afghan government developed a professional police force capable of providing public security and enforcing the rule of law. the development of this is challenging. the police training programs we initiated in 2003 are aimed at addressing these issues. building on the estoppels police training program and in light of needing more forces, the defense department was given authority by an agreement over all u.s. efforts to organize, train, and equip the afghan security forces. in 2007, congress responded b

again, not ten days after we were told, the congress of united states was cold, that the t.a.r.p.rogram, the money that was made available be used for something entirely different? >> right. we -- i was invited to attend that meeting. i was not involved in decisions about who should come to that meeting and who is going to get what. my role was confined to explaining the temporary, debt guarantee program and that was the only remarks i made to explain that program. and i did not opine or comment at all on the capital invechlgts piece. we were not involved in the decision-making and remained silent during that discussion, but, yes, these banks was strongly encouraged to take this money. >> going back to your answer to my first question, were you troubled that day about what you saw taking place in that meeting? in light of the fact you just said that you -- two statements already today. troubled by this unprecedented involvement of the government and in response to mr. issa's question, the government should act as one. were you troubled by what took place in that meeting ten day af

his sailboat, i am forever grateful to have the opportunity to have worked with him in the united states congresscolleague. i admit, i used to hang onto his t-shirt and his coat sleeve on the capital when i was just a little boy, so when i got a chance to serve with him on capitol hill, all i needed to do was set my compass to the principles of his life. my father and i were the primary sponsors of the mental health parity which was signed into law last year. this bill represented not only a legal victory for 54 million americans with mental illness who were being denied equal health insurance, but as one of those 54 million americans, i felt he was also fighting for me to help ease the burden of stigma and shame that a company's treatment -- accompanies treatment. i will miss working with my dad. i will miss his since a self- deprecating humor. when the far right made that the poster child for their attack ads, he used to say, "we kennedies sure bring up the best in people." [laughter] when he first got elected and my cousin joe was a member of congress and i came to congress, dad finally celebr

we don't have the will here in the united states congress to discipline ourselves. i think both parties have proven that over the years. so we have to come back with those tools such as pay-as-you-go, sequestration, spending caps, whatever it takes. there is a good deal going on around here called the safe commission. mr. neal: i yield the gentleman one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. boyd: what we're trying to do is press the pause button for less than 60 days and we'll move forward, break for the christmas holiday and then come back, and we have to focus on this issue of fiscal responsibility. i have said to my party leaders as i've said to the other party leaders over the last eight years, we have to look beyond the ends of our nose and we have to focus on fiscal responsibility. and the first step we have to do, of course, is to keep our country from going into default on its -- on its bonds. and then we have to move forward to reinstall such tools as pay-go, commissions, whatever it takes to get us focused on gett

it walks to the corridors of the united states congress constantly. 009 is not vietnam in 1965 or even 1961. it is a very different situation. we were attacked. the most successful foreign attack on the united states of america, bar none, was the attack on our capital in 1814 which was carried out from afghanistan. those who did that are plotting to day a repeat performance. in 2006, on the anniversary of september 11th, the plan a repeat performance that would have been more chilling and devastating than what happened in 2001 which would have been to blow up eight jumbo jet flying across to the united states and canada. had that succeeded, more people would have died on september 11th. the international airline systems would have gone out of business. no one in their right mind would have a phone anywhere again. that is the viet cong were. as bad as they work, they had no designs to attack the united states. the specter of the north vietnamese attack in seattle was entirely created by the johnson administration and had no basis in fact. secondly, we a

to be here with the president of the united states. as the congressghest honor to a great leader, senator edward brooke. [applause] it was -- i will now lead off an array of leadership. senator. , leader mcconnell, leader -- with college other leader and all. patrick kennedy and senator kerry and eleanor holmes norton. a series of tributes to senator brooke. i heard bipartisan applause when president obama mentioned it. brooke senator, in honor of your birthday, last night we were there to cheer on our bipartisan football team, democrats and republicans working as a team and leading them with that great team work to victory over a full medicalfoe. we had -- over a formidable foe. çit was a spirit of bipartisanship in your honor. in 1967, that was the year senator brooke came to the united states senate. he signals a new style and a new hope. as the first african american popularly elected to the senate, senator brooke ignited more than four decades of promise. today, we also notes as others have mentioned some brooke under's partner -- senator brooke

another september of 2008, it will be a debacle because there is no political will in the united states congressn discern on either side of the aisle for any continued support. if it gets bad again, let's be clear, those that kill that legislation today, kill that amendment ready ones that are going to be responsible and let them face the american people and say, well, we thought it was in the long-term best interests of the market. there is really no data anywhere that indicates that interest rates would rise. that's about a lone -- baloney. that's just the short term view. i would like to think that it's our responsibility here in the congress to take a long-term view and try to understand what the best interest of our free market economy is so that we have at the end of the day a functioning -- functional capitalistic system. but my question is -- how do we give ms. schwartz the leverage if we can't get the bill through so the voluntary modification programs work without going through all of the bureaucratic gyrations that we no longer have time for? maybe we should lock the four of you in a

partnership with the responsibilities are to be the advocates and the changemakers in the united states congress. we are writing legislation. our job is to make sure the legislation that gets to the president's desk response to the degradation and crisis in our community. it is a crisis is a peaking crisis and no one should leave here without knowing that we are in a crisis. our community is bleeding. and we are the worst hit, the old adage. someone has a cold we have got h1n1 dewey we are not going to cease like our sleeves, and i will say this, as you help those that are latinos and african-americans you help poor whites and appalachian because it has to do with the targeted on employed and the underemployed. we have an additional issue of, of course. a high percentage of sex offenders. people who have done their time and paid for the crime seven, ten, 45 years and they want to simply provide for their families. our caucuses has to consider those responsibilities and i would like to say there are moneys already out in the system in addition to the efforts, the emphasis we are utilizing that ar

and it may well be that it will take the campaign in 2010, if this united states congress will not pass a bill with a robust public option, it could well be a campaign issue. i believe that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle may well be misleading the american people. i believe the american people do want health reform. and it does take time for the american people to understand the ramifications of it, but this may well be that a campaign issue in 2010 of the 111th congress may have a different feel. as to how we ought to proceed. during the month of august, when i was making the rounds in the town meetings and pennsylvania and of course my habit to cover almost every county almost every year, when i got to the first town meeting on the second tuesday in august, the first week we were in recess i found instead of the customary 85 or 100 people more than 1,000 people in three national television sound tracks, cnn, msnbc and fox and there were a lot of statements. one man approached me apoplectic i think he got mixed up. i think he meant to say that i was going to stand before

it's certainly walks to the corridors of the united states congress constantly. one -- the royal navy's attack on the capital and 1814. it was carried out from afghanistan. those who did that are plotting to day a repeat performance. in 2006, on the fifth anniversary of september 11, they plan to repeat performance would have -- which would have been more chilling and devastating than what happened on september 11, 2001. the operation to blow up eight jumbo jets flying across the north the land and in canada. had that succeeded, more people would have died then died on september 11, and the international airline business would have gone out of business. no one in their right mind would have gotten on an airplane and loan anywhere today. as bad as the viet cong were, as bad as the north vietnamese were, they had no designs to attack the united states. the specter of the north vietnamese attacking seattle was entirely created by johnson administration. have no basis in fact. -- it had no basis in fact. second, we are not in afghanistan as a colonial, imperialist pow

our main mission here is the timely, innovative, and high- quality search for the united states congress, and the united states public. we're represented by 25 foreign and u.s. legal aid specialists. we answer question on barnaul when questions arise. our specialists provide legal opinions from multinational -- you can see samples of our research products here on the screen. you can also go to our web site and get our on line product. i invite you to come to our web site, and i can show you are someone -- a semblance of our work and statistics. during the last fiscal year, we prepared about 1500 legal issues. our panel discussion today [unintelligible] on the common article 3 of the geneva convention. it focuses on one aspect of the humane treatment of suspects -- suspected terrorists. after a panel discussion, it will be posted on the web site. it will not find answers on the web site, please contact us. i like to use this opportunity to invite all of you after this panel discussion to our offices on the second floor for a small reception or you can approach our presenters or talk with

women of the department of homeland security, the president of the united states, and the men and women of the united states congress are here to make certain that going forward in this holiday season, we have the ability to cure quickly the unfortunate and vast mistakes that have been made. and i hope as we proceed, we will hear that steps are being taken to make certain of the safe travel of the families that will be visiting their families during what i hope will be a very happy holiday season. we're here to discuss the revelations from last week, that a manual with sensitive information was posted without the proper technical safeguards. sensitive information about airports and the screening policies were made available for the world to see. we were alarmed by this development, as this was sending shock waves across capitol hill. we take oversight very seriously, and after all, this was constructed to help protect the american people from the kinds of things that happened on september 11, when things such as last week happen, it becomes clear that more must be done, and that we have to keep the eye on the ball.

united states. health care reform needs to fit within the constitution. it limits the powers that we have and the -- and the congress, the united states government, has never enacted anything that would regulate someone's inactivity. anything we've ever done, somebody actually had to have an action before we tax it. in this case, if you choose to not do something -- in other words, if you don't choose health insurance, this bill will actually tax you. it will act as a tax. so for the first time in the history of the united states, this bill will do something the federal government has never done before. the presiding officer: the senator's time has expired. the senator from montana. mr. baucus: mr. president, our committee and the "help" committee, we have all given a lot of thought to the provisions in this legislation. we also give a lot of thought to the constitutionality of the provisions, how they work in a relationship between the power of congress and states -- what states will be doing, particularly under the commerce clause and the tax and spending powers of the constitution. it is very strongly in our cons

women of the department of homeland security, the president of the united states, and the men and women of the united states congress is why we are here today, to ensure that going forward in this holiday season we have the opportunity to cure quickly the unfortunate and vast mistake that has been made. and so i hope as we proceed in this hearing, we will hear that steps are being taken to ensure the safe travel of the families who will be visiting their families during what i hope will be a very happy holiday season. we are here today as well to discuss last week's revelation that it is a manual containing sensitive security and permission was posted by tsa on the internet without proper technical safeguards. as a result, since it of information about our airports and screening policies were made available for the world to see. my colleagues and i were alarmed by this development, as it sent shock waves across capitol hill. the subcommittee takes its oversight of tsa very seriously. after all, tsa was constructed to help protect the american people from the very type of event that transpired on september 11, 2001.

bonds of the united states and the bonds of friendship between the united states and his holiness and the tibetan people are strong and durable as ever. u.s. presidents, members of congressican people continue to be inspired by his holiness' message of peace, not violence, human rights, and religious understanding. we can all learn from him. when we had a delegation that visited him in india last year and we were being particularly stirred up about our concerns about what is happening in tibet, his holiness advised them, particularly me, to rid myself of my negative attitude. [laughter] and to think with more reconciliation and peace and friendship in my voice. we're learning from his holiness. i am is so pleased that president obama recently appointed a special envoy to tibet, the undersecretary of state, who is with us today as well, and she just visited his holiness in india as well. thank you for being with us. it has been said over and over again, though he describes himself as a simple modicum and no more, no less. it is the simplicity that i hear. into millions of believers and admirers, that simplicity is a source of wisdom and compassion. last week his holiness

it certainly walks through the corridors of the united states congress constantly. utxd afghanistan 2009 ist vietnam at 1965 or not even 1961. it is a very different situation. we were attacked from afghanistan. the most successful, for an attack on united states of america -- the royal navy's attack on 1814 -- was carried out at -- barç one, the royal çnavy's attack on3ç 1814. the plan the reaperç performane çi]that would haveç been more chilling andw3q devastating that whatçxdççq happensbç on sepç çóup eighpçço[[çt(w2ç udboç g united states and canada. had iti]ç succeeded, more peope september 11. çthe international airline business would have gone out of business. no oneçç in their right mind d have gone on an airplane to fly anyway. çokas bad asççw3ç the northe were, they hadç noç designs to attack the united states. çóthe specter of the north vietnamese attacking seattle was entirely created by the johnson demonstration. it had no basis in fact. separately, -- secondly, we are not in afghanistan as the colonial and. lost power. -- imperia

another september of 2008, it will be a debacle because there is no political will in the united states congress that i can discern on either side of the aisle for any continued support. if it gets bad again, let's be clear, those that kill that legislation today, kill that amendment ready ones that are going to be responsible and let them face the american people and say, well, we thought it was in the long-term best interests of the market. there is really no data anywhere that indicates that interest rates would rise. that's about a lone -- baloney. that's just the short term view. i would like to think that it's our responsibility here in the congress to take a long-term view and try to understand what the best interest of our free market economy is so that we have at the end of the day a functioning -- functional capitalistic system. but my question is -- how do we give ms. schwartz the leverage if we can't get the bill through so the voluntary modification programs work without going through all of the bureaucratic gyrations that we no longer have time for? maybe we should lock the four of

additional troops and the other resources provided by the president and with the help of the united states congresswe will work tirelessly to ensure that al qaeda never again finds refuge inside of afghanistan and threatens our country and our homeland. thank you, mr. chairman. i look forward to your questions. >> mr. ambassador, thank you so much for being with us. if there are any photographers in the immediate front the witnesses, please, move to the side. i believe some already have, if not all. thank you for that. general mcchrystal. tell us what your mission is. >> mr. chairman, i believe that our mission is to do two things. first, al qaeda is a threat to the united states and to our allies worldwide. our ability to prevent lk ann curry reestablishing safe havens inside afghanistan is key. as most people know, many of the 9/11 hijackers were in fact trained on afghan soil in al qaeda-run training camps, and it's critical we prevent their ability to return to spaces inside afghanistan and repeat that kind of activity. wider than that, our mission is to help the government of afghanistan have

but i'm optimistic that we can succeed with the support of the united states congress. our mission has been under-resourced for years but now one of our government's highest priorities with substantial development funds and hundreds more civilian personnel. we will soon have increased our civilian presence in kabul three-fold and in the field six-fold, just over this past year and we will, of course, though, need more. u.s. foreign assistance is, also, a comparatively small but essential fraction of the total amount that's being spent in afghanistan and has been spent over the last eight years. additional resources will be necessary and we look forward to sharing more details on our anticipated needs with congress in the coming days and weeks. mr. chairman, afghanistan is a daunting challenge. success is not guaranteed, but it is possible. with the additional troops and other resources provided by the president and with the help of congress, we will work tirelessly to ensure that al qaeda never again regains -- gains ref few in afghanistan and threatens our country. tha