Transcripts For CSPAN American Perspectives 20100124

away. the impact knocked the wind out of state government. revenue fell is staggering $778 million short of projections. the biggest one-year drop in missouri history. the state government did what every family had to do. we tighten our belts, which stretched every dollar, and we reined in spending. we did not bellyache about it. we just did it. [applause] . we reduced our utility bill by 6%. i had to kutch $600 million at of the state budget, but i did so. -- i had to cut $600 million out of the state budget, but i did so. in terms of efficiency, we're not done yet. state government has been creating boards and commissions for this centennial or that special interest. some do good work, while others do not do much of anything. they just kept growing and growing, until they turned into bureaucratic subsidies. in an effort to root out waste and inefficiency, i have already eliminated 13 of these boards and 2700 positions and i call on the legislature to get rid of -- and to order 70 positions. and i call on the government to cut more. [applause] working together, we have been able to avoid meltdowns we are seeing in other states. massachusetts and nevada jacked up their sales tax. arizona is on the verge of closing their state parks and selling their senate house building. nevada's governor has proposed cutting k throughçó 12 funding y $700 million. this is not going to happen in misery. -- in missouri. our early action and sound action have kept the aaa credit rating. we have saved the taxpayers millions in tax payers. it signaled that it is where smart money goes to grow. we're one of the nation's premier financial ratings firms, making us one of the top states to lead the nation's recovery. by balancing the budget without raising taxes, making hard choices, and managing debt, missouri is in a strong position to accelerate out of this downturn, but we never could accomplish that without the stead fastñi bipartisanship last year. i want to thank allçóñi of you n this roomçó for standing togethr with us. thank you very much. [applause] we must summon that same bipartisan spirit for the hard work that lies ahead. this year, although we are in better shape than other states, we still face so bring financial challenges. revenue projections for fiscal 2011 are austere. we will have less revenue than we did it in 2009. we need the patience and good faith of every person in this general assembly, all 163 members of the house and all the members of the senate working as a team to manage our limited resources to move missouri forward on a path to prosperity. we must move off board once again. [applause] while we were taking steps to get immediate economic returns, we also need to be banking strategic investments to secure our long-term economic growth. investments in children's education, health care, communities that are safe and that vibrant and the beauty of our state. in our rapidly changing world, the education of our children is a high-stakes enterprise. [applause] where students excel, we have a dedicated teachers to thank. [applause] all across our state, our public schools are stronger for the commendable work teachers do, and i in my just talking about the work in the classrooms. from the first bill on monday morning to the last bell on friday afternoon. i am talking about the extra hours, giving students extra help with math or english, and the weekends that teachers devote to 8 p. and band competitions. teaching is not just a job, it is a calling. criticizing public education is easy and cheap. educating children it is hard and takes a serious investment. [applause] it is not enough to tell our teachers how much we value them. we must show them. that is why my budget this year has continued funding for our career ladder. our teachers have earned it. [applause] last year we provided record funding for classrooms even in the face of severe economic challenges. other states like kansas and georgia are restricting education funds already appropriated. let me be clear, every penny appropriate by the legislature last year will go to our class terms this year. -- will go into our classrooms this year. our budget challenges next year are no less daunting. until the revenue picture changes, most folks in government understand getting the job done with fewer resources is necessary, but budgets are about protecting priorities. as we discussed my budget, and where and how much to cut, i took one thing off the table -- k through 12 classrooms. [applause] our children are precious. their education is too important. even in these difficult times, i recommend increased funding at a record level for our classrooms. [applause] our commitment to education must extend beyond high school. for too long, steep tuition hikes have put college average for many missouri families. one family had three kids in college at the same time, still do. that is a big price tag. but they understood the value a college degree had it and were milling -- and were willing to make a sacrifice. they wondered how they would manage to pay all three tuition bills. i sure, we froze tuition at all two- and four year public colleges and our state. for thousands of families, that was a godsend. please welcome these outstanding parents, tom and sandy. [applause] we are not done. i call on you to join me and lead the nation by example. in supporting another tuition freeze this year. that would mean missouri students and their families will not have to pay any more in tuition and fees two years in a row. [applause] i want to bring college within reach for even more missouri students by addressing a blatant inequity in the eight-plus scholarship program. it pays for high-school kids to keep up their grades, give back, and stay out of trouble. today, one-third of the kids in our public high schools cannot even apply for the scholarships because their schools are not officially designated as a-plus schools. that is not fair. the scholarships should be open to every hardworking public high school student and missouri, and i count on your support to make that happen this very year. [applause] our children are growing up in a high-speed digital world. jtqt watch them texting their friends. access to the fast lane on the information superhighway, without it, we will be on a dusty de corps. this year we are competing to bring high-speed internet to every part of our state, from the urban core to the last mile of the road. for small businesses like strawberries bar-b-que, that means instant access to customers from jamaica to japan. a college student could take courses on her laptop, a cancer specialist could read it medical records from the doctor. we will compete for every possible dollar to turn this project into reality to help missouri stay competitive. you bet we will. [applause] there is an undeniable correlation between a state's competitiveness and the cost of health care. last year we were poised to make good progress on health care. the senate voted overwhelmingly to provide health care to missouri at no additional cost for taxes. [applause] unfortunately, the proposal failed on the last day of the session. this year, having noticed there has been a little talk about health care, from halls of congress to town hall meetings across our country -- [applause] congress is debating significant health care legislation, but if that passes, if that legislation passes, it is our job to show steady bipartisan leadership, to maximize the benefits for the people of our state. [applause] there is another important health care issue that demands our immediate attention, autism. [applause] this spectrum of disorders is diagnosed in one out of 110 children, and the sooner it is treated, the better their lives will be. miles and laura have a child with autism, and they have been an outstanding advocates not just for their son but for all children with autism. please welcome here -- please welcome them here this evening. [applause] blake's father tells and moving story about hearing his son speak his first words at the age of three. reaching that milestone took months of intensive therapy. it was an enormous victory for blake, summed up rather nicely in his first word -- "mine." when their insurance company refused to pay for his therapy, they willingly took a hit because they know there is a critical period of time to turn on the light in the developing mild -- in the developing mind of a job with autism. if that critical time passes, the light goes out. children with autism should not have to wait for their parents to come up with the cash or insurance companies to grow a conscience. they need our help now. [applause] for months, i have stood with democratic and republican legislatures -- legislators on this and laid out a key bill that we will make a difference in these children's lives. this is the year we stand up to insurance companies. this is the year we make them cover all to some. this is the year we turn on the light for thousands of children, this very year. -- this is the year we make them cover autism. this is the return on the light for thousands of children, this very year. [applause] there is another young man here tonight i would like to tell you about. his name is travis, and he is up in the balcony tonight with his family. both of his legs were crushed in a car accident caused by a drunk driver. his mother almost died of her injuries. they told me they feel lucky to be alive. travis is 11 now. he has had five operations on his legs so far and he will need three more. but he is making steady progress. please welcome this brave young man. travis. [applause] a man behind the wheel of the car that struck him and his family was convicted of drunk driving previously, but there he was again, not drunk again, coming at them the wrong way on an exit ramp. -- he was drunk again. that is what i have proposed legislation to effectively prosecute and punish drunk drivers and remove their licenses and get them off the roads before they shatter more lives. i urge you to send that bill to that my desk -- i urge you to send that bill to my desk this year. [applause] and the long term strategy for improving missouri's economy and enhancing our quality of life must take full advantage of natural heritage. hunting, fishing, hiking, camping are part of our way of life. you bet they are. [applause] when i was a kid, i did a lot of fishing with my dad. we will get up early, toss our gear in the back of our station wagon, and head down to the springs. i would be hip deep in cold water before the mist had rolled off the river. i learned many hours on how to read the river, time flies, and fish for trout. i hope they will pass that along to their children. we need to get more kids off the couch, away from video games, back at a worse. -- back outdoors. [applause] because there are some lessons only nature can teach. tonight, i am pleased to announce the creation of a missouri state parks district. we will put more than 1000 young people to work this summer and are 85 state parks and historic sites. you bet we will. passed on+'ñiñ9iñr us by peopln extraordinary vision and generosity. it even in these lean times, we have a responsibility to be good stewards of these treasures and preserve them for future generations. the youth corps will learn to be good stewards of the land from the ground up, picking up trash, cutting brush, building trails. they will also be an outdoor ambassadors in my effort to reduce a 10-year decline in our beautiful state parks. you bet. [applause] more visitors will also pump more money into our tourism industry for families that love the outdoors. there is just no better deal around. now we just have to spread the word. if you like to kayak or fish, bird watch or a mountain bike, come to missouri first. [applause] our land has always been the foundation of our economy. our farmers have fed the nation and could feed a ton in greek -- they can feed a hungry world. we're trying to expand exponentially. we have to sell globally and buy locally. this year we will sell a record amount of corn -- corn and soybeans to taiwan. that is good for our farmers. [applause] here at home, every family should be able to share the bounty of the land, including fresh, healthy produce. that is why we will promote missouri's locals farmers' markets and encourage more people to start community gardens all across the state. [applause] i have focused this evening on our shared obligations. creating jobs, managing the budget, holding down taxes. i have talked about working together to make our communities safer, stronger, and healthier. i have talked about making strategic long-term investments in our future. but we have one more piece of unfinished business -- ethics. it is time we gave the people of missouri a state government is as honest and straight-shooting as they are. [applause] last year, we demolished the patronage system long used for awarding licenses. we created a more efficient system with transparent processes, and it will produce revenue that we can put to good use. yeah. [applause] two years ago, the legislature passed a bill to pay for college of families of veterans killed or seriously injured in combat. just one problem -- no funding. last year the legislature passed a bill to pay survivors' benefit to the families of firefighters, police officers, state troopers, and deputies killed in the line of duty. same problem -- no funding. with the $800,000 the new office will produce, we can finally do right by these heroes and families and found both of these programs this year. -- and fund both of these programs this year. [applause] çógood government really does pd dividends. but we can do more. we can pass meaningful ethics reforms this year. there are a number of good proposals out there. to my mind, meaningful reform must do iour basic things -- four basic things. one, stopped seeking back door donations to committees. no. 2, ban someone from working for a political consultant for another office holder. 3, shut the revolving door between the legislature and the lobbyists for good. and most importantly, set strict limits on campaign contributions. [applause] ñimissouri voters overwhelmingly mandated them. as attorney general, i fought for them. the u.s. supreme court upheld them. it is just the right thing to do. [applause] in the last year, i have logged thousands of miles traveling our great state. i have had coffee with small business owners on main street and chewed the fat with cattlemen. i have visited with combat veterans and college kids. school teachers and scientists. i have met hard-working families struggling to pay their bills and laid off factory workers with no health insurance. a lot of people are worried about their jobs. about how they're going to pay the mortgage or their medical bills. they are anxious about retirement. what if anything will be left for their kids and grandkids? but not once, not one single time did i hear anyone say, "por mi." -- "poor me." not once did anyone tell me, governor, i give up. times may be tough, but people from missouri are tougher. remember the lesson of the ice storm. our greatest strength lies in one another. if we can hang tough a little longer, work together, stay on the path, we will keep climbing and climbing and climbing, until we see the bright horizon. because missouri's future is bright. even now, there are glimmers of recovery. health-care and technology are starting to hire again. at the home sales and industrial production are picking up. consumers are cautiously starting to spend. these first warm rays are a sign that our hard work and discipline are paying off for our people of missouri. and at the end of the day, whether we vote red, blue, or purple, most of us want the same things. a state that is competitive and prosperous. a state where hard-working people can find a decent job, buy a house, and raise a family. a state brimming with opportunities, where our children can sink roots and raise families of the run. or health care and funding is affordable. where every child gets a first- rate education. a state whose beauty beckons us to haunt, bite, and fish. a state where neighbors helped neighbors. -- a state whose beady beckons us to hunt, bike, and fish. will we make progress this year? yes, we will. it can we work faster, if we work together? absolutely. [applause] so tonight, let's swear an oath to the people of state we so dearly love, and to each other, that nothing will stand in the way of rebuilding our economy and imagining our future. let's work together to make 2010 the year that we put politics second and put missouri first. thank you, and god bless missouri. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> in his weekly online address this week, president obama talked about the supreme court decision clearing the way for corporations to spend freely on political advertising. house minority leader john boehner followed with the republican address, discussing scott brown the victory in the massachusetts special senate election and urging the obama administration and congressional democrats to work together on an alternative health care bill. >> one of the reasons i ran for president was because i believed so strongly that the voices of the everyday americans, hard- working people doing everything they can to stay afloat or not being heard of a powerful voices of special interest in washington. the result was a national agenda too often skewed in favor of those with the power to curry favors. we push back on the power by implementing a historical reforms, to get rid of the influence of special interests. on my first in office, we close to resolving. revolving door between lobbyists and government that nobody in my administration would make decisions based on the interests of former or future employers. we to executive officials. we imposed tough restrictions on funding to line the public of the well-connected. for the first time in history, we have publicly disclose the names of lobbyists and non- lobbyists like to visit the white house every day so that you know what is going on in the white house, the people's house. we have been making steady progress. this week, the united states supreme court handed a huge victory to the special interests and lobbyists and a powerful blow to our efforts to rein and corporate influence. it's strikes at our democracy itself. by a 5-4 vote, the court overturned more than a century of law, including a bipartisan campaign finance lot written by john mccain and russ feingold that barred corporations from using the nato clout by running advertisements for or against candidates. this opens the floodgates for an unlimited amount of special interest money into our democracy. this gives the special interest lobbyists new leverage to spend millions on average -- on advertising, swaying voters to vote their way or punishing those who did not. that means any public servant who has the courage to stand up to special interest and stand up for the american people can find themselves under assault come election time. even foreign corporations can now get into the action. i cannot think of anything more devastating to the public interest. the last thing we need to do is hand more influence to the lobbyists in washington or more power to the special interests to tip the outcome of elections. all of us, regardless of party, should be worried it will be that much harder to get fair, common-sense financial reforms, to close on awarded tax loopholes that reward corporations for sheltering -- unwarranted tax loopholes that reward corporations for sheltering their money. even foreign entities will be allowed to mix in our elections. a gives the health insurance industry more leverage to fend off reforms that would protect patients. we do not need to give any more voice to the powerful interests that already drowned out the voices of everyday americans, and we don't intend to. when this ruling came down, i instructed my administration get to work immediately with members of congress want to fight for the american people to develop a forceful, bipartisan response to this decision. we have begun that worked. it will be a priority until we repair the damage that has been done. one of the republican presidents, teddy roosevelt, fought to limit special interests spending and influence over american political campaigns and warned of the impact of unbridled corporate spending. his message brings as true as ever today in this age of mass communications, when the ducks are often stacked against ordinary americans. as long as i am your president, i will never stop fighting to make sure the most powerful voice in washington belongs to you. thanks. >> i am house republican leader john boehner, speaking to you from the capital, or next week president obama will deliver his first eight of the union address. this is a fitting time to take stock of where we are. nearly a year ago, the president signed into law a stimulus with promises that jobs would be created immediately and unemployment would stay below 8%. just then, roughly 3 million americans -- since then, roughly 3 million americans have lost their jobs. my own state of ohio has endured nine straight months of double- digit unemployment. for the better part of those nine months, democrats from washington have focused on the government takeover of health care that working families cannot afford and want nothing to do with. this is what happens when government overreaches and stops listening to the people. washington democrats believe government knows best, how to spend your hard money. democrats believe with one more tax, one more czar, where one bureaucracy away from solving all your problems. that is not the america i know. as i travel the country, i meet a lot of people who seek -- to feel the same way. for months, political rebellion has been growing, one born from the american people's opposition to greater government control over our economy and their lives. scott brown was propelled to victory in massachusetts. his victory in the bluest of blue states gives us new hope that common sense will prevail, that maybe now the hard work of the american people will no longer be stifled by washington democrats job killing an agenda, which we have fought tooth and nail against. we know that washington democrats will pull out all the stops to try to shove this government takeover of health care with medicare cuts and tax hikes. there is a sweetheart deal that needs to be cut, democrats can cut it. if there is a vote that needs to be bought, they will buy it. haven't we had enough of government propped up on the payoffs and pork barrel spending? haven't we had enough of the same old loss vs. them politics to distract us from these problems? we are all in this together. many positive solutions will bring us together. for families asking, where are the jobs, republicans have offered common-sense solutions to help small businesses invest in hiring new workers. we have also put forward irresponsible budget blueprint that makes the tough spending choices that others talk about -- we have also put forward a responsible budget blueprint that makes the tough spending choices that others talk about. we do this by implementing smart, common-sense reforms, whether it is letting families and businesses purchase health insurance or ending the job losses that contribute to higher health-care costs. when we get the job done without cutting medicare or raising your taxes. the solutions are not devised behind closed doors with special interests have in the final say. we are soliciting feedback on facebook and twitter, working with governments and mayors to develop the best ideas, and all the details are available at solutions.gop.gov. president obama and democratic leaders in washington have a choice, work of republicans to get the nation back on its feet or double down on the policies that make matters worse. at the state of the union, will listen to what the press and has to stay. make no mistake, the powers that be in washington keep turning their backs on the people, republicans will continue to challenge the status quo and offer better solutions. our fight for reform, for freedom, and common sense is far from over. thanks for listening. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> you are watching c-span, created by america's cable companies. up next, the northern virginia couple known as the light house party crashers at a hearing on the security breach. in remarks from first lady michelle obama on childhood obesity. after that, the state of the state address by south carolina gov. mark sanford and the missouri gov.. >> congress returns to session this week, the house returns tuesday to spend its short work week on two bills, the first to create a national historic site in the virgin islands, while the other one looks at the idaho wilderness areas. the house plans to be out of session on thursday and friday so republican members can attend their annual policy retreat in baltimore. live house coverage is on c- span. the senate dabbles back on monday to continue work on legislation -- legislation -- gavles back on monday to continue work on several amendments and a final passage that could happen toward the end of the week. that is live on c-span2. >> wednesday, president obama delivers his first eight of the union address to congress lang and his vision for the country in his plan to deal with issues such as unemployment -- president obama delivers his first state of the union address to congress, laying out his vision for the country and his plan to deal with issues such as unemployment. listen live on your iphone with the c-span radio app. >> earlier this week, but the northern virginia couple known as the white house party crashers refuse to answer questions at a house hearing. the salahis pleaded the fifth amendment when asked repeatedly how they managed to slip past security at a white house dinner. this is about one hour, 10 minutes. >> the committee on homeland security will come to order. the committee is meeting today for the sixth day of the hearing, a united states secret service and presidential protection, an examination of the system failure. good morning. i want to thank the witnesses for complying with the subpoena and appearing today. today marks the third time this committee has met to discuss security breaches at the white house state dinner. at our first hearing, the secret service director said the secret service or the sole responsibility for safeguarding the white house grounds and took responsibility for his agency's failure. the salahis were invited to appear at that hearing, but they did not appear, so the committee met again. at that meeting, we voted to issue a subpoena to compel the salahis to appear. top was media reports identified them as the couple who identified -- who attended the white house state dinner without appearing on the invited guest list. in multiple public appearances, the salahis have said they were able to enter the white house without triggering the suspicion of secret service officers stationed at checkpoints. this committee, charged with overseeing homeland security, as an important interest in understanding how two ordinary people were able to defeat this security system. yet, despite wide exposure in the media, the salahis steadfastly refused to speak formally or informally with this committee. although they have decided to appear today, we have been told they will invoke their fifth amendment protections. we respect the constitution, and therefore we must respect their decision. as a substitute, their lawyer has offered to appear and speak for them. however, those offers are not satisfactory. these lawyers or not at the state dinner and have no firsthand knowledge of the facts. at best, their statements can only be second-hand representations'. we believe the salahis have relevant facts and information. we look forward to hearing this fax when the current legal situation resolves itself. regardless of what fate awaits the of salahis, we must continue the oversight of the secret service. the safety of the president must be taken seriously. i look forward to the testimony presented here today. the chair now recognizes the ranking member of the full committee, the gentleman from new york, mr. king, for an opening statement. >> thank you, mr. chairman. from the outset, you and i both agreed this was a matter that had be investigated involving the security of the president of the united states, vice- president of the united states, and the prime minister of india, and it has potential consequences for future events at the white house and the future security of the president. the first day's hearing with director sullivan who came to testify was very significant. i give him credit for coming here and telling the secret service's part of what unfolded. unfortunately, the story was incomplete when obviously serves -- when obviously the salahis are not going to testify, and the white house still refuses to provide desire rogers and at give us any information with webber and continued to snow wall. -- refuses to give us any information and continues to stonewall us. the fact is it was the white house under desire rogers who changed the format. going back 15, 20 years we know of no other event at the white house where the secret service was told not to be at the gate -- i am sorry, where the secret service was told at the white house that protocol would not be at the gate with them, would not be there to do with back and checked. for whatever reason, we don't know, but obviously desire rogers and others were able to prevail upon the secret service to change a longstanding policy, a policy which we see could have had terrible consequences. i don't know what the white house is trying to hide. i don't know why they won't let desire rogers appear. while i do not see any reason for the salahis to be here, we would be willing to have desire rogers to testify if that is what it takes to find out what happened. we know that the deputy white house chief of staff sent out a memo to the white house reversing the policy which had been followed -- which had been started by a desire rogers. those of us who attended the christmas event at the white house saw that desire rogers and her people were everywhere that night. obviously, something went wrong and it originated with the white house, not the secret service. for them not to cooperate with our committee on a matter involving the secret service, to me, is just wrong and it's it's the wrong climate, wrong tone, and it is and is usable. certainly, they are stonewalling. the salahis are here today. i know they said it would not testify. i know an offer was made to have them testify in executive session. i would object it going into executive session. there is no reason to hide. they don't have state secrets or confidential methods. it should be an open hearing. i would agree to having an executive session with desire rogers or rahm emanuel or anyone at the white house to explain what they did, why they did it, what was the basis for it, and today asked the secret service's input. why after 15, 20 years of a policy was a change for this? that is the underlying issue which is not being addressed. today will be a bit of a show. i have no intention of asking questions. to me, it just continues disarrayed -- continues the charade. so long as desire rogerses here, we will not find out what happened. oversight of the secret service, oversight of the security of the vice president and president of the united states. so long as we refuse to insist that desire rogers be here, as long as the white house continues to stonewall, we're not doing our job, they are not doing their job, and i believe severe implications, not just at the white house, but our ongoing relationship with the white house. there needs to be trust. implies that we cooperate and insistence on controlling all the information, keeping all to themselves whether on this or other issues, the fact is this white house i believe has brought down an iron curtain. it is wrong. we should not allow it. we should be the ones defending the prerogatives of our committee speaking out against of houses down here and continues to do. so we have the salahis here today. we have been with their lawyer. the fact is, there is nothing more to be gained here other than going through the motions of asking some questions and then taking the fifth amendment. i just hope this commitment -- i just hope this committee and public believes we have effectively completed our investigation, because we have not. until desire rogers come here, there are serious questions that are unanswered and i put that to the white house. i yield back. >> under the committee rules, opening statements may be submitted for the record. i now welcome our witnesses today. as you know, under section 1621, is a felony to give preference testimony before -- to give perjure rest -- perjury testimony and from of a committee. the salahis are private citizens from northern virginia and attended the white house state dinner on november 24, though they were not issued invitations. there are here to provide their account of the events of that night. we would like to welcome both of you to this committee. i now ask that you summarize your joint statement for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman and committee. i have an opening statement. to the hon. members of the committee on homeland security, prior to being contacted to speak at the december hearing, we ask that our attorneys reach out to the committee, meet with staff members, and provide them with key information to assist the committee and review of relevant homeland security issues. winners and our attorneys met with chairman thompson staff as well as rep kang and staff and provide them with phone records, email, and other relevant documentary evidence. we have continued to provide relevant documentary evidence and be as helpful as we can to the airport security concerns you are investigating. to the important security concerns you are investigating. we based on the advice of counsel, we intend to remain silent and declined to answer any questions if we are to be subpoenaed to remain silent if we are subpoenaed to appear before the committee. we find it unfortunate that the committee required us to appear in person to invoke our fifth amendment rights under the united states constitution to remain silent even though it is against the eggets call rules of the d.c. bar to do so. congressman waxman chastised this will exact conduct in another hearing. on advice of counsel we invoke our right to remain silent and will decline to remain silent regarding the circumstances of november 4, 2009. we appreciate the offer from representative thompson's staff to present ourselves out of the public spectrum. we understand that to do so would afford us no legal protection and would not be sfare to accept the offer knowing that we would invoke our right to remain silent. our counsel offered last week to the committee an opportunity to provide further information and make a full attorney proffer to the full committee or any interested members of all relevant information. that offer was delinchede by chairman thompson's staff. we again offer the offer for our counsel to meet with the members of the committee and assist in this review of important homeland security issues. finally, my wife and i say we are strong supporters of the men and women here in uniform here and abroad, we have great respect for the presidency and members of the secret service and nothing that transpired on november 24 should take away from the services that the united states secret service performs on a daily basis. >> thank you for your testimony. i remind each member that he or she will have five minutes to question the panel. i recognize myself for the first set of questions. and this is to either one of you mr. or mrs. salahi. did you attend the white house state dinner held on november 24, 2009 as part of a reality tv stunt? >> mr. chairman, i am under a nondisclosure agreement and should not discuss matters related to the television matter. >> well, that is not the answer. let me give you another chance to -- >> mr. chairman, on advice of counsel, i respectfully assert my rights to remain silent and decline to answer your question. >> you have the absolute right. did you receive an invitation in the mail to attend the white house state dinner? >> mr. chairman, on advice of counsel, i respectfully assert my right to remain silent and decline to answer your question. >> can you describe for the committee your inner action with the secret service officer at each check point and how you walked from the street to the white house. >> mr. chairman, on advice of counsel, i respectfully assert my right to remain silent and decline to answer the question. >> were you on the secret service officers' list to enter the white house grounds? >> i respectfully assert my right to remain silent and decline to answer the question. >> did the officer at the first check point verify your names on the security list? >> on advice of counsel, i respectfully assert my right to remain silent and decline to answer your questions. >> what form of identification did you give the officer for verification? >> on advice of counsel, i decline to answer your questions. >> did the officer ask you probing questions about your biographical information such as your full name, social security numbers, date of birth and citizenship? >> on advice of counsel, i respectfully assert my right to decline to answer my questions. >> you are absolutely within your right to assert your constitutional rights to do so. i will now yield five minutes to the gentleman from new york, the ranking member. >> i see no need to ask any further questions. i ask if any members of my side yield? >> i would like to echo the ranking member's earlier comments. why weren't they on the list, who deals with that. and i can't ask the questions of the people who made the decisions and i think today's procedure is a charade. >> gentleman yield back? i yield to the the gentleman from california. >> mr. chairman, i perfectly understand that your statement that our witnesses are well within their rights to cite their constitutional rights. and that is true. and under normal circumstances, i would object to us even calling them here to have them actually do it personally. but this is an unusual circumstance in which we are talking about the security of the president of the united states. as he said just last week, we are in a war. because we are in a war, we have to take our responsibilities seriously. that includes the white house. that includes the secret service and that includes everybody in the white house, including the social secretary. it is almost as if we had given the social secretary greater protection than key advisers to the president on policy matters. but i agree with your decision to call them forward because of the unique circumstances that we are talking about, this goes to the question of protecting the president of the united states. and with all due respect to our witnesses, you have the very right that you asserted here. but to have engaged in conduct which undercuts the seriousness of our effort to protect our president and protect vital elements of this government as some sort of reality show or personal pique is an extraordinary afront to the seriousness of the issues before us today. you say in your last statement that you have great respect for the men and women of the united states secret service. you did not show that. you say that you have -- strong supporters of the men and women in uniform. they put their lives on the line every single day to protect us against any threat to this nation and for people to make a joke of it, to think it's not serious is an af front to those individuals, you have the right to claim protection under the constitution of the united states, but you have shown disrespect here to take the name of men and women in uniform who are protecting this nation and suggest that somehow suggest that what you do provides support for them. i was going to sit here and remain silent until i heard that last paragraph of your statement. but to suggest that somehow what you're doing shows support for our men and women is an abomination. the constitution protects fools. the constitution protects stupidity. the constitution protects errant thought. thank god it does. i yield back. >> the gentleman from pennsylvania. >> thank you, mr. chairman for yielding. i sat here at this hearing a few weeks ago in december when i saw that mr. sullivan stand here and basically accept responsibility for everything that happened on that evening. at the time, i said i expect the secret service to take a bullet. i don't expect the secret service to take a bullet for the president's staff. we are unfortunate that a good man like director sullivan who has had to suffer so much public humiliation and embarrassments over this event all because of your actions on that day and i wasn't going to say anything either but the fact that director sullivan had to take all that grief from us and so much from the public was unfortunate and i hold you responsible for it and i yield back. >> the gentleman's time has expired. the gentlelady from district of columbia, ms. norton, for five minutes. >> i thank you, mr. chairman. i thank you for going forward with your constitutional duty during an investigation of homeland security. i do want to say that there are two constitutional provisions involved in this hearing. one is the constitutional provision known as separation of powers where the president does not and endlessly did not, has not endlessly on most occasions have his personal staff come to the congress. yet there is yet another provision, one that i respect provision, one that i respect profoundly, that is the i want to say, mr. chairman, no one has a right to invoke the fifth amendment by proxy through their lawyer or by press release or in secret. so what you did, mr. chairman, you were duly bound to do. this couple is being investigated by federal authorities on criminal counts. including the u.s. attorney for the district of columbia. therefore, they have every right to invoke their fifth amendment rights not to incriminate themselves. and i want to respect that right and ask no questions of them. >> thank you very much. the gentleman from indiana, five minutes. >> thank you. the gentle lady from texas? five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman, and i add my appreciation for you up holding your duty as chairman of the homeland security committee. . curity committee. over the last couple of months we can see that the focus of the nation beyond personal economic concerns is to ensure the security of the homeland. over the last couple of months this committee and the crisis of homeland security has been on the peoples' minds. from the incident that involved tragically a military captain in fort hood, texas to the incident that occurred on christmas day, we know that the security of the homeland is not a joke. to the salahis let me say in all respect, the security of the president of the president of the united states is not a joke. your actions or alleged actions on that fateful night made a mock erie of this country, our security and your commitment to this nation and a mock erie to any representation that you are pates of this country. iminsensed for your dignity for i will never challenge that, but for individuals who can be so reckless to believe they could enter on property of the united states hosting a dignitary from a foreign nation of whom we owe an obligation to secure, the vice president of the united states and the president of the united states with reckless disregard for the perception and the reality of what would be seen as a breach in security for terrorists of all walks of life to be able to make the assessment i can do it, too. i'm saddened and disappointed and i'm outraged and i would ask you to check your patriotism and find out why you had to do something of that level. with that in mind, i do respect your constitutional rights i respect them because i respect this nation and i respect the rights and responsibilities of the of of the congresses and this committee and i will ask the question that both of you can answer. you had a duty to inform the secret service officer that you were not invited guess. you dressed the part. you did not receive an official invite. your names did not appear on the guess list and your invitation from michelle jones was denied. what more did you need in order to understand that you were not invited? >> on the advice of counsel, i respectfully assert my rights not to answer your question. >> after being told you had not received an invite, you began plotting and discuss a scheme dressing up. this is not the first time as i understand it that you were considered party crashers. this time you provided false information to a government agent secret service officer who borrow the responsibility of protecting the safety of the safety of the united states. i respect the fact that you respect the secret service. my question is, you did this to forward your own goal. did you falsely provide agents to secret service agents. >> on the advice of counsel i decline to answer your question. >> you knowingly misrepresented your status as invited guess and you tricked them into pleefing you were guests gaining access. makes you trespassers in furtherance of your initial crime in tricking a government agent. after scheming your way into the event you socialized with the president, vice president and various invited guests. then posed for photographs on your facebook page for the world to see. you could have endangered the safety and life of the president of the united states, vice president of the united states and the visiting dignitary. my question to you is did you have any consideration for the beach of security that you were engaged in at that time. >> i respectfully assert my rights to remain silent. >> let me offer to say that thrur two criminal actions under 18 u.s.c. 1, the intentional misrepresentation to a federal agent which under the present allegations suggests occurred and the intention national trespass on federal real property which apparently it seems to be. to the salahis we are pleased you are here today. i don't believe it is a mock erie or without purpose. i'm saddened that we have to say to the american public there are those who aren't concerned about the security of the homeland. i thank you, mr. chairman. and i yield back. >> the chair recognizes the gentleman from alabama, mr. rogers. >> i yield my time to mr. mccaul. >> this was the first white house state dinner of this administration with a dignitary head of state from india who obviously is a target neighboring to pakistan where the terroristsr with the president of the united states who we know is a target as well. this is a very serious matter and advancing this reality tv show agenda and exposing at the same time the vulnerability in our security and in the white house. while i appreciate the two of you showing up today and exercising your constitutional rights, it's important we examine the white house's role in this and what role the social secretary played or didn't play in allowing you access into the white house to get right up to the president of the united states. now in this case, obviously nothing happened but we were lucky. what if we aren't so lucky next time. i want to ask you a couple of questions. were you invited to the state dinner? >> on the advice of counsel, i respectfully assert my rights to remain silent and decline to answer. >> did you submit names and social security numbers before going to the white house dinner? >> on advice of counsel, i respectfully assert my right to answer your question. >> were you waved in by an official from the white house to get into the state dinner? >> on advice of counsel i remain my right to decline to answer the question. >> i echo the sentments of my colleague from colleague that this is a disgrace to the secret service. we are? a time of war. you say you support the troops, but they are in harm's way protecting us here at home. and we're going to continue to investigate this matter. with that, i yield back. >> the chair now recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania for five minutes. >> you know this has become a real distraction side show in this -- in the history of this country. and i spoke it's what happens when we need to pay closer attention to things and not focus so much on the people among us and that's what is going on. there are three sides to this story. mr. sullivan came and addressed his side. this is another side with no answers and we aren't going to get any answers obviously, but i agree, i agree with mr. king and my republican colleagues that i think ms. rogers or someone from the white house needs to come and tell the third side and if so doing we can understand what happened and to protect the president. and i want to extend my invitation as the chairman of the oversight subcommittee to the white house to come and have a chat with us. i think that makes a lot of sense. now as far as the salahis go, time is the only thing that we have of value here. and i can't believe how much you are wasting it and the taxpayers' dollars. it's incredible. i'm not going to answer the question because you aren't going to give me an answer. if you are patriotic and americans and truly love this country, think about your actions. that's all i will tell you. i yield back. >> the chair now recognizes the gentleman from texas or do you want to pass on your time? the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. deal for five minutes. >> i said most of what i wanted to say. there are very real threats to this nation and we are expending extraordinary amount of resources to mitigate those threats and we know about the christmas day attack and there are other attempts that have occurred in this country that we are all all too familiar with and the fanth that we are expending so much of our time and valuable resources dealing with this shameful stunt i think is truly unfortunate and i want to restate one thing. director sullivan, it still pains me to see me sitting here septembering responsibility and there are a lot of good people in the secret service and a mistake was made and reputations have been hurt because of this event, career people trying to do their best trying to keep this nation best and here we are today to deal with this issue in this manner. so i have no questions, mr. chairman, because obviously it would be a fruitless effort to ask any questions because we wouldn't get any responses. i want to restate what mr. king has said, we want to have the white house social office here to explain their role in this situation. we need to know what they did and why they did what they did and again perhaps take some of the heat off the secret service and director sullivan who stood up and accepted the responsibility for the entire event. with that, i yield back. >> the chair now recognizes the gentlelady from california, ms. richardson. >> we haven't heard anything from mrs. salahi. have you ever attended an event at the white house? >> on advice of counsel, i respectfully assert my right tory main silent and answer your question. >> were you advised to attend an event at the white house, one of which is needing approval to attend? >> i assert my right to remain silent and decline to answer your question. >> did you receive the information confirming your approval to attend the event and from whom? >> i assert my right to remain silent and decline to answer your question. >> have you not reserved your right and spoken to meet any media outlets about your attendance at the white house? >> i respectfully assert my right to remain silent and decline to answer your question. >> when you were advised your name was not on the list why did you continue to attempt to enter when you knew you did not have final confirmation? >> on advice of counsel i assert my right not to answer your question. >> when the criminal process is evaluated and concluded, will you return to this committee and testify and tell us exactly how you entered the white house? >> yes. >> thank you very much. the chair recognizes , congressman. >> you put this country in an incredible position by crashing that state dinner. terrorists are out there. and looking, looking for vulnerabilities in our security system and you presented them with a textbook of how to get access to the president, vice president, foreign minister, the prime minister of india. again, i can't tell you how much you have hurt our country and what you have done to expose us to the dangers that we are facing from the terrorists. they are still out there. we saw that in my home state of texas. saw that on christmas day and again by your actions, you have given a road map that shows the vulnerabilities that you can exploit and done incredible damage to our country. and that's all i got to say. >> the chair now recognizes the gentleman from new jersey, mr. pascrell. >> i want to break through here and get at the basic issue if i may. who would have thought that two normal-looking people -- look at them today -- dressed to the t, these beautiful people would have broken through in some manner, shape or form the home of the president of the united states. i want to mention, mr. chairman, to all the proponents of racial and ethnic profiling, that this case involving these two individuals, the salahis, just goes to show that while you're looking for a certain kind of person fitting a certain profile, you're going to miss the real targets. behavioral profiling is in order . and these two people are living proof. so i don't respect your right to take the fifth amendment. not at all. because it didn't have to be the president of the united states of the it could have been somebody else. it could have been someone not as important of the -- of the president of the united states. did you wear a tuxedo that night? are you going to take the fifth? >> i respectfully assert my rights -- >> were you there? >> on advice of counsel -- >> are you here right now, mr. salahi? you got to get an answer from your attorney on that? your attorney bobbed his head up and down when my good friend from pennsylvania was discussing the possibilities that someone from the white house should be here also here testifying. you can do it all you want. you aren't going to take the heat of your clients. no one's going to take the fall for them. there may have been something wrong going on and maybe the white house made a mistake, but they're not here to plead the fifth. >> mr. pascrell -- >> i'll continue. mr. and mrs. salahi, i believe the entire committee wsh we can move from the fake nature of this issue and concentrate on the security breach itself because if you two folks sitting here from patterson, new jersey, long robed with those hats on the top of your head, i wonder if you would have gotten through as you swished through in front of the cameras. your presence is required specifically so you could answer the events of that night to the events of that night. this committee gave you every opportunity to speak behind closed doors, did it not, mr. salahi? did it not? >> you did, but you didn't afford us any legal proiks. you wanted us to speak versus our attorneys. >> we did give you that opportunity? >> without any legal protection. >> and yet, you continued to evade every opportunity to present your side of the story. the fact that you now appear here and are unwilling to speak to any details and i associate myself with the words of mr. lungren who put it very plainly, simple and to the point the fact of the matter is you used the secret service to say so many nice things about them and what you have done is defy the will of authority. this whole episode has been a stunt and a charade on your part to gain attention and not right so desperately you speak. i want to turn my attention away from you because i don't believe that you have anything to offer this committee and it is my hope that they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. the issue we should be concentrating on is the failures in security. we do not know -- we now know there was at least one other uninvited guest that made it into the white house that night. there was another person. the fact that was never disclosed by the secret service during our first hearing. that individual was carl oost allen. >> the gentleman's time has expired. for the record, let me indicate that we have sent a request -- we have sent a -- we are getting feedback from the mic. [inaudible] >> somehow we are having technical problems. the chair recognizes mr. austria for five minutes. >> let me say i will keep my comments brief. i concur with what has been said. this homeland security committee, as we try to focus on homeland security issues that are important to this nation. let me just also re-emphasize what has been said on this side of the aisle. the u.s. secret service has the responsibility to physically screen individuals, its officers have no role in determining whether someone has been inappropriately excluded from or included on that guest list. and i think if we want to get to the bottom of what has been raised in questions, we need to get cooperation from the white house. the fact that the white house social secretary, ms. rogers, declined to testify in front of this committee leaves the committee out there unanswered as to how we can correct this problem and we need to pursue that and that issue isn't going to go away. and the answers we are getting from our witnesses, i don't think we are going to get additional information. with that, mr. chairman, i don't know if any of our members want to use my time. i would be glad to yield to them, if not, i will yield back the balance of my time. >> i would like to just remind the members that when mr. sullivan was here, he indicated that his office, the secret service had sole responsibility for the vetting and the security of whatever names that were provided to them and that the witnesses here, their name was not on the list according to director sullivan's testimony. >> the chair now recognizes the gentleman from connecticut. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. and mrs. salahi, i have been deeply ambivolent about these proceedings, i almost voted against the subpoena that brought you here today and i would not have asked the question but because of your ill-advised appeal to patriotism. we have spent 45 minutes and it would have been devoted to the unemployment of this country or the threats we face around the world. but you chose to appeal to patriotism. so i want to talk for a second about the fifth amendment right that you assert here today, which your appeal to patriotism would indicate that you put some value on. you have the absolute right to do so, but let's be very clear. you have no obligation to do so. you choose to assert your rights under the united states constitution. just as director sullivan when he sat in that seat made a choice. he could have engaged in the age-old celebrated washington game of finger pointing and the blame game of c.y.a., but he chose to be a man of honor and to take responsibility and to take some professional risk to put himself in professional jeopardy. i understand what you are doing and i celebrate your right to do it but let's be clear about the choice you are making. you are making a choice to limit your legal jeopardy which your attorney has rightly advised you to do but you are taking that route rather than help us understand what for its silliness and absurdity was a real threat to the security of the united states. you could choose not to assert your rights against self-inkrim nation or choose to and let's be clear. you are choosing to limit your legal jeopardy under a right we all celebrate and appreciate as opposed to assist in the open and fair airing of some things that could conceivably save the life of the president of the united states. my question has nothing to do with the events of november 24 and i give you a.m.le time to consult with your attorney in answering this question, given the nature of the choice that you are making today, would you not reconsider and consider airing the information that you have to assist this nation in the protection of the president of the united states rather than asserting your rights under the united states constitution? >> through our counsel, we are ready to tell you all the details, but through only our counsel. but if you want to know the details, they are ready to tell you. they're ready, but it's not going to come from our voice but from our counsel. but they're ready to tell you. >> mrs. salahi, would you at this point in time reconsider your choice to testify personally or will you continue to assert your rights under the constitution? >> the advice of whatever counsel suggests for me. >> i have no further questions. i yield back my time. >> the chair now recognizes the gentleman from georgia, mr. broun. >> it is right for us to look into the security breach. the protection of the leaders of this country is absolutely critical for the security that they must have. it is imperative that this committee look into the security overall of this nation, the salahis, undocumented attendees at a christmas party or state dinner and that is a tremendous breach of security that personally i believe the process was put in place by the white house and ms. rogers, to make an environment where the salahis could take advantage. and they took advantage of that process that ms. rogers put in place and the white house put in place. this committee voted pretty much on partisan lines to protect ms. rogers. and i find that did he test tabble. i want to associate myself with mr. king and what he said. but the salahis took advantage of a environment that the white house themselves in my opinion created. they were undocumented attendees. we have a lot of undocumented attendees in this country that are also security risks. we aren't dealing with illegal aliens in this country but we must because it is of vital interest to this country. i appeal to my colleagues on the democratic side. let's stop protecting these i will legal aliens in this country and let's be serious about national security and go forward in a manner that not only will protect the president and all the leaders of this country but will protect this nation against attacks, not just attacks by going to a state dinner, which is a security breach and a very egregious one. but we have have many at our borders every day that we must look into, we must attend to because the security of our nation depends upon it. i yield back, mr. chairman. >> the chair recognizes mr. cleaver for five minutes. >> i would like to associate myself with the earlier comments of the the gentleman from new jersey, mr. pascrell, with regard to racial and ethnic profiling and i have no questions of these great americans. >> the chair now recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. lungren. the chair recognizes ms. titus for five minutes. >> i understand that the salahis were out in my district this past week at celebrity host at a nightclub in sees ars palace and while you were there, i hope you @ h @ @ zz@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @å >> and our ability to secure @å our home land, and yet you have chosen not to. your behavior has caused us a problem in the security. i will ask with one more attempt, even though you are not going to answer, ncúyou are all concerned that your actions may inspire other people, either friendly or terrorists to try to crash other white house events? >> on the advise of council, i consider not to answer that question. >> i will try one more. did you have a good time in las vegas and did you notice that you had to stand in line and they didn't have to -- question doesn't have to do with the circumstances surroundings these events, i respectfully decline to answer your questions. >> the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida, mr. bilirakis. >> i won't ask any questions because we aren't going to get any answers. i would like to associate myself with the comments about the need to invite the white house about this serious security breach and i yield back. >> ms. kirkpatrick for five minutes. >> i'm disappointed that you did not appear before us when you were invited december 3. the importance of that hearing was for us to understand what happened so we could quickly act to correct that to protect our president. appearing almost two months after the incident is just not acceptable. as we saw on christmas day, we have a very real threat to our citizens, to this nation, to our president. and it is a responsibility of each one of us as a citizen to be vigilant and to report any breaches that we see in our security system that could cause people to come in harm's way. as a former prosecutor, i respect your right to assert your fifth amendment rights. i do have questions that i hope i wish could have been answered today. but i will submit them to the committee for the record. thank you. >> thank you very much. the chair recognizes gentlelady from michigan, ms. miller, for five minutes. >> i was listening to my esteemed colleague from new jersey, mr. pascrell, when he said look at these beautiful people. they may be beautiful on the outside but as we went through the martin luther king birthday, people will be judged on the context of their character and that's the way they will be judged in what they are doing here today. mr. chairman, i have the great honor and privilege to represent a district in southeast michigan arguably the ground zeroove of the economic challenges facing our nation. we have 15% unemployment in our state and on top of all of the heartbreak that is happening in my beautiful state, then on christmas day, we had this terrorist attempt over the skies of detroit where the terrorists have now seen the battleground as an assem met try call way and that was in seat 19-a over the skies of detroit. i knew people on that flight and if that flight would have exploded over my area there, would have spent my time going to an awful lot of funerals. so it is almost surreal for me to be sitting here today looking at people who wanted to get on some tv show called "the desperate housewives of washington, d.c." in the light and challenges that we face and i wish this congress was taking up. at that, mr. chairman, i would like to yield the balance of my time to mr. souder. >> part of this concern with this process and we have held many hearings where people have taken the fifth, we don't isolate one individual or two individuals in the course of a case when there is an ongoing case. we get them together and do it together or we would have done it at the first hearing or waited until we had some more information. the chairman referred to that third person. where is bravo? where is the company that did the contract that apparently may have filmed them getting their hair done, getting their clothes ready and been part of this process? we have talked to nbc. why aren't they here today with any video and other individuals who may have been implicated and maybe some of them wouldn't get fifth amendment protection, why are we just having one couple that clearly is the firestorm center clearly put our nation and everything we have heard today potentially at risk by exposing things, by showing weaknesses and behaved un patriotly? why if we're after truth why didn't we do this all together and is bravo coming and nbc coming and other potential witnesses as well if this was filmed in advance and there was cooperation in the media to do a scam on the united states government, we need to do more than just pick two individuals who were participants? mr. chairman, are we going after any of them, subpoenaing them? >> just for the record, majority and minority staff has already met with bravo, nbc, all those, everyone has indicated that they would be perfectly willing to provide us any and all tapes, copies of documents relative to this investigation. >> are we planning to show the tape or any of that or have a discussion with other members, because this has been interesting of them taking the fifth and showing the individuals and they don't want to share. but obviously we have information that would be interest to the public much more than taking the fifth. are we going to do this in public? >> i think the question is relative to the two witnesses here today. they are the persons who perpetrated the breach. the other individuals, nbc, bravo, others, have provided tapes and other information. we would be more than happy from a committee perspective to make the request that they provide it and any member of the committee at their leisure or whatever can review those tapes. >> reclaiming my time. i don't mind them being embarrassed even though i have concerns about the hearing. the questions that were asked today we already know. if we have the tape of what they look like, where they went by, what they showed, it would have been relevant to show that in this hearing since members were asking questions about information we already have. >> we don't have the tapes. they have been offered. we have met with all those studios and they have offered them. and i will be more than happy to request them. as you know, the salahis have been very up front in their interviews on the different networks so it's no secret what has been said. >> mr. chairman, can i ask a question? >> sure. >> why, if they offer the tapes and some of the answers to questions we are asking today are on the tape, why don't we look at the tape before we ask them snf in other words, some of the questions are asking, how did you get by, what did you show and so on, they are presumably on the tapes. why couldn't we look at the tapes? >> the information and questions we asked are not on the tapes. clearly we will have to have the witnesses for that. >> mr. chairman, would you yield? >> the gentleman's time has expired. ms. kilroy for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman, i share many of the sentiments that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle have stated here this morning with respect to these witnesses. but i would like to ask these witnesses a few questions despite their apparent unwillingness to cooperate. did you have a public relations agent with respect to any reality or unscripted tv show that you have been involved with in anyway? >> pursuant to section one of your subpoena, i'm only come peeled to answer surrounding the circumstances of the state dinner on november 24. the question is not relevant to those events, i respectfully decline to answer those questions. >> did you have a public relations agent with respect to any of the actions regarding the preparation or attendance, your attempt to get a ticket to the november 24, 2009 state dinner. >> i respectfully assert my rights to decline answer. >> you think the public relations agent invokes you the right to self-inkrim nation. >> i decline to answer your question. >> do you have a talent agent with respect to your attempt to get a ticket at the state dinner? >> i respectfully assert my right to decline to answer your question. >> has anyone else paid for your makeup or clothes that you wore to the state dinner on november 24, 2009? >> on advice of counsel, i assert my right to decline to answer your question. >> it would be self-inkrim in a tower to answer who paid for the clothes you wore to the state dinner? >> on advice of dinner i assert my right to remain silent and decline to answer your question. . >> was your attendance at the state dinner part of the reality show? >> on advice of counsel, i regret i cannot answer the questions. >> do you feel regret to the white house? >> on advice of counsel, i regret i cannot answer the questions. >> i feel that you feel no regret. d the white house state dinner at the invitation of someone at the pentagon or other agency of united states government. you claim that this is a misunderstanding or a miscommunication. are you willing to forgo any financial gain that may arise through this incident including appearances, books, bees, or television opportunities such as any reality tv shows? >> i am only compelled to respond to questions are on the circumstances. i respectfully decline that answer your question. >> i think that these witnesses have a right to invoke the fifth amendment against self- incrimination when it relates to criminal activity. something that would incriminate them in a criminal proceeding. i also think that they me be offering the fifth amendment question that do not so involved such jeopardy. i ask that we consider what response we should have to these witnesses. thank you mr. chairman. >> thank you very much. i thank the witnesses for their testimony and the members for their questions p. i would remind the witnesses that the member of the committee may have additional questions for you and we will ask you to respond expeditiously in writing to those questions. just for the committee members, we have another item to take up as soon as the hearing is adjourned. >> still to come on c-span, remarks from first lady, michele obama regarding child obesity, and still to come from missouri governor, jane dixon. sunday on "washington journal" a discussion on the status of health care legislation, in light of the senate, with byron york and christopher hayes. and sals with suzy de francis, and speak about guantanamo detainees, that's live on "washington journal." >> each year youth speaking of politics and their futures, "q & a" on c-span. >> remarks from first lady, michelle obama, this is about 25 minutes. >> good afternoon, everyone. hello, i am elizabeth couch, mayor of the city of bernsville, thank you. i would like to now introduce the conference leadership here with me, past president, jerry abramson. richard daily of chicago. [applause] doug palmer of trenton. don bister of akron. joe riley of charleston. c.e.o. and executive director, tom cochran. and ladies and gentlemen, our friend from the white house, valerie gerod. my friends, it's a great honor for me to introduce to you our feature speaker, michelle obama, as first lady has boldly advocated the importance of healthy eating and access to fresh fruits and vegetables especially for our children. nearly one-third of our nation's children are overweight or obese. and the rate of obesity, two to four-year-old children has increased from 12.4% in 1993, to 14.6 percent. more needs to be done to ensure the health of the next generation, and mrs. obama is leading the way. whether using or own garden to educate children about healthy grown fruits and vegetables or to appear on sesame street, mrs. obama is there with a clear vision and strong voice. the conference of mayors has championed reducing obesity for the last several years. in our summit, mayors are leading the way to promote healthy food alternatives as well designing cities to encourage physical activity and a healthy lifestyle. we are so happy that the first lady of the united states, has taken up this cause and providing the national leadership that is desperately needed. mrs. obama, the nation's mayors stand ready to work with you. to secure the future of our children. mayors and invited guests, i present to you the first lady of the united states, mrs. michelle obama. [applause] 4 f1 >> thank you very much and it's a pleasure to welcome you to my new home, washington. and thank you mayor for that kind introduction and congratulations on becoming president of this outstanding organization and i know you will do a great job. i see my friend, secretary chu, and want to thank him for his leadership in the department of energy. [applause] he's also my partner in quizzing kids. he was my pat sajavak, no, you were my vana white. i would also like to thank my hometown mayor, mayor daly, it's wonderful to see you. as well as mayor joe riley, a past president. and most of all, i want to thank all of you, for orkyour extraordinary work during everyday in the cities that you lead across this country. as some of you know, one of my first jobs was in a mayor's office working for this gentleman, mayor daly in chicago. and that experience gave me the opportunity to see first-hand the kind of challenges that you all face. and whether handling a crisis in one of your schools or dealing with cost-over runs in street paving or planning for upcoming snow storm. you have to be prepared for anything and everything, and i have seen that. and not like anyone catch a break when you leave the office, whether at church or the grocery store or the friday night football game. i know that people do not hesitate to come and tell you about the problems they are having and what you need to do better. and they never hold back; right? and there is a reason for that, because you govern when people need it the most, and you see people's struggles up close and personal. and what you see is what is happening on a national level. you are first to see the impacts of a struggling economy in the lines of unemployment officerses. -- offices. and the first to see the crime rising, and the first to see the job losses when c.e.o.s decide to locate operations overseas than in your hometown. and the same is true of the mental health of the people you serve. and that's one the reasons i want to talk to you about a problem that is of great concern to me and a lot you. and it's one that you see in your community, and that's the epidemic of childhood obesity in america today. and as you know in my first year in the white house, i am speaking about this issue. but the statistics never fail to take my breath away. the mayor pointed out that one-third children in america are overweight or obese. and one-third of the children will eventually suffer from diabetes and in the african-american communities that number goes up to one half. and that could not be a bigger threat than smoking. and this generation is on track for them not to outlive their parents. and these children will be obese. and now speak about health care and cancer and the missed days of work and decreased productivity that we will see. and what this means as a quality of life of how people will feel when they wake up. whether they can make it through a day of work and do something simple as play ball with their kids or grandkids. and this is not a future far-off problem, many see the consequences in the cities and towns that you lead. you see how the kids in your schools are struggling. some of them sitting on the sidelines unable to keep up with their classmates. and visiting the school nurse with weight problems. you see it in your clinics and emergency rooms and rooms overflowing with preventable problems, from asthma to blood pressure and diabetes. one member said that c.e.o.'s and entrepreneurs worry about high obesity costs and reluctant to set up shop in areas with high obesity rates. and none of us want this for our children or country. and a lot of parents are worried about this situation now. they desperately want to do what is right, and want to make responsible decisions for their kids, but reality makes it feel like the deck is stacked against them. many parents want to make healthy choices for their kids but not fresh produce in their area. or they are tight on money and healthy choices are too expensive. or tight on time, and working long hours and can't pull off the home-cooked meals around the dinner table that we long to have. they want their kids to be active but some schools have cut recesses and seen cuts to afterschool programs in their communities too. and the days of the tight-knit neighborhoods where you could send kids out to play and don't come back until dinner. remember those? for many folks those days are long gone. those communities don't exist. so those kids spend their afternoons in front of the tv's or playing video games. the kaiser foundation found that the average young person in america spends 7.5 hours a day using some type of media device. and sometimes parents don't have the information and you are inundated with conflicting information and food labels filled with ingredients they can't pronounce. let alone know if those ingredients are healthy. so really with the changes we see in our society, families having less time together and kids having fewer opportunities. the rise in fast food, no wonder that childhood obesity has tripled in the last years. and believe me i know how stressful with kids and these forces. . . ñrand i wasn't always aware of w the calories and fat and some of the processed foods i was buying were adding up. and it got to the point where a pediatrician had to tap me on the shoulder and say, you know, you might want to consider changing some -- making some changes in your family's diet. so we know that families could use a little help. but we also know that this isn't a problem that can be solved from on high. this isn't something that will be fixed by just a bill in congress or an executive order by the president. and i know that the last thing all of you all need right now is a bunch of commands from washington or a ton of red tape that makes it hard for you to get anything done at all. ultimately, it's going toñi take all of us. businesses and nonprofits, community centers and health centers, teachers and faith leaders, coaches, teachers, and particularly all of you. our nation's mayors, all working together to help families make common sense changes so our kids can get and stay healthy. now, i know that with the economy the way it is, a lot of folks are feeling stretched pretty thin right now and that's particularly true for all of you as you've had to make budget cutbacks that lead to all kinds of impossible choices and wrenching tradeoffs and there will be some people who might ask you, how on earth can you spend money on something like healthy school lunches when we've got overcrowded classrooms and outdated text books to worry about? or how can you worry about building parks and sidewalks and bike paths when we can barely afford to keep the community health center open. and these are fair questions. but when you step back and think about it, you realize that in the end, they're really false choices. we've all heard from teachers and principals if kids don't have the nutrition they need to stay alert and focused in class, even the best text books in the world aren't going to help them learn. and we've heard from doctors and public health officials that if kids don't have safe places to play right now, then a few years from now that community health center will be even more crowded and even more of a strain on your budget. ultimately folks like you know that leadership is about having the foresight and the courage to make those sacrifices and investments in the short run that pay big dividends. often paying for themselves many times over in the long run. and that is precisely what happens when we undertake smart, strategic efforts to help our kids lead active healthy lives right from the beginning. that's why mayor robert kluck from arlington, texas, is also is a doctor, by the way, is working to get kids more active and giving pedometers at the end of the school year so kids can keep track of their steps over the summer and why the mayor heiman is building walkways and bikeways that will connect schools and neighborhoods. mayor elaine walker of bowling green, kentucky launched a website to encourage residents to exercise, helping them find parks and trail maps and information on upcoming bike rides and runs. mayor ryback brought in farmers markets to introduce access to fresh produce. mayor sertatoni of massachusetts created a method to fight obesity by promoting restaurants who have agreed to offer low-fat menu options in smaller portions. and he and his staff view every decision they make, every project that they manage as an opportunity to take action for the health of sommerville citizens. and then there's mayor mick cornett who challenged the people of oklahoma city to lose a million pounds and created a website, the cityisgoingonadiet.com where people can track the weight loss and share their personal stories and tips with other. and so far i've heard 40,000 people have signed up and together they've lost more than half a million pounds. that's pretty amazing. [applause] >> i'm pleased the c.d.c. is now offering grants to local health departments to fund more initiatives like these all across america. and we're going to be announcing the recipients of next month's grants. and i hope that many of you have applied. i also want to take this time to recognize the u.s. conference of mayors for your leadership in supporting these efforts as well, including publishing an excellent guide for mayors on how to fight childhood obesity in their cities and towns. see, it makes sense this organization composed of mayors across the political spectrum would take the lead on this issue because like much of what you all do each day in your towns and cities, this isn't a partisan issue, this has nothing to do with whether you're a democrat or a republican or a liberal or conservative. it's about the kind of future that we want for our kids. and it's about whether we're willing to use both our policies and our bully pulpits to build that future. that's what mayor cornett did when he started talking about the problem of obesity and then lost 40 pounds himself to get down to his target weight. and the people of his city took notice. i was told that now when he goes to a restaurant, everyone watches what he orders. i can relate. [laughter] >> and a reporter quoted one of his constituents saying, when the mayor pushes you to lose weight, that says something. and that's the kind of impact that each of you can have. and many of you already are having. that is the power that raising awareness and setting an example yourself can have on an entire city or town, and that's why -- what i hope to do during my time as first lady. that's why next month i'm going to be launching a major initiative or movement on childhood obesity that mobilizes the combined resources of the federal government to work with partners across the country, including mayors like all of you and others in the foundation business and nonprofit sectors. the idea behind the effort is simple. put in common sense -- put in place commonsense initiatives and solutions that empower families and communities to make healthy decisions for their kids, and that includes increasing the number of healthy schools where kids have access to nutritious food, that includes providing more opportunities for kids to be physically active, ensuring that affordable, healthy food is available in more and more communities, and giving parents the information they need to make good choices for themselves and their families. and going forward, i really want to hear more from all of you about this effort. we're going to need your ideas and your input. we want to hear your thoughts about which strategies and programs really work on the ground and which ones don't. and we're looking to you to be leaders on the front lines of this effort all across the country. in the end, i know that achieving all of this isn't going to be easy and it definitely won't be quick, this isn't the kind of problem that can be solved in one year or even in one administration, but make no mistake about it, this is a problem that can be solved, and we don't need to wait for some new invention or discovery to make this happen. this doesn't require fancy tools or technology. we have everything we need right now. we have the information, we have the ideas, and we have the desire to start solving america's childhood obesity problem. the only question is whether we have the will. are we willing to work across party lines to give our kids a healthy future? are we willing to change our own habits as we work to change theirs? are we willing to make every decision about our schools, communities, and cities with the health and well-being of our children in mind? in the end, are we willing to put our kids first? and i'm here today because i think we are. because i think we all know exactly what's at stake if we don't do this. what i think about when i tuck my little girls in at bed at night, how i want them to be happy and healthy, and i want them to have every chance to follow their aspirations and ambitions. i want them to have the tools they need to succeed in life and that's not just education and opportunities, but the physical and emotional strength to seize those opportunities. i want them to be able to engage in life with a level of energy and endurance and focus because we all know they're going to need that to meet the challenges they're going to face along the way. and i want them to have the blessing that my husband and i have and that my mother has of being there to see their own children and grandchildren grow up. and god willing, their great grandchildren, too. that's what i want for my girls. and that's what i want for every single child in this country. so i look forward to working with all of you in the months and years ahead, to work together to help give our kids a chance. thank you all so much. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> in just a moment, the state of the state addresses from south carolina gov. mark sanford and missouri gov. mark nixon. later, and look at the supreme court case that struck down reforms on unions. after that, fbi director robert mueller testifies on the attempted bombing and his wire practic -- is wiretapping practices. tomorrow on "newsmakers," the chair of the national republican senatorial committee on his bid to seek a senate seat in the 2010 elections. "newsmakers," tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern on c- span. >> wednesday, president obama delivers his first eight of the union address to congress, laying out his vision for the country in his plan to deal with issues such as unemployment, health care, and the wars in iraq and afghanistan. that is wednesday night. our coverage starts at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. listen to the address live on your iphone with the c-span radio app. >> up next, south carolina gov. mark sanford delivers his state of the state address. he praised lawmakers and apologized again for his extramarital affairs. from columbia, this is close to an hour. >> sergeant. >> the joint assembly will please come to order. let us stand and welcome our esteemed governor, governor marshall sanford. [applause] >> good to see you. how are you? how are you feeling? nice to see you. good to see you. how are you? >> we were worried you weren't coming. >> i wouldn't miss it. you all right? see you in charleston. doing all right. how are you? good to see you, sir. happy birthday, indeed. doing all right? nice to see you. how are you? good to see you, sir. doing all right? how are you? good to see you. yes, sir. >> how are you doing? >> good to see you. >> good to see you. >> good luck to you sir. >> thank you. appreciate it. >> good to see you, sir. how are you? good to see you? >> how are you doing? hi, y'all. >> well, hey guys. >> how are you? good to see you, sir. yes, sir. how are you? good to see you. how are you? >> members and guests, please be seated. >> this joint assembly is convened for the purpose of the presentation of the governor's state of the state address. it's my pleasure to introduce the honorable marshall clement sanford, governor of the great state of south carolina. [applause] >> thank you, sir. >> thank you very much. >> mr. speaker, mr. president, ladies and gentlemen of the general assembly, constitutional officers and my fellow south carolinians. it's an honor to be here to deliver my view on the state of the state. but first i'd ask we pay tribute to those fighting in the middle east and afghanistan this past year. their deaths are a reminder to every one of us on how short and fragile life can be and beg of us that larger question of what are we doing both to honor their sacrifice and to live the gift of life that each one of us has been granted? their service is also a reminder to every one of us, particularly in these trying economic times of how important it is that we look for ways to serve others. there are little things here that we can do that can make a big difference. as, for instance, this year, as one of their initiatives at seacoast church, they decided to make a difference in a community in kenya where in one of their biggest obstacles to life was that which we take for granted, clean water. each member of the congregation was given what looked to be a bottle of empty water and the challenge to empty it and to refill it with coins simply saved by foregoing soft drinks and coffee over the couple of weeks leading up to christmas. and 50 cents here and 75 cents there doesn't seem like much of a sacrifice but cumulatively it enabled that search to provide five water purification machines that ultimately would save 15,000 people or provide water for 15,000 people there in central africa. or take it more locally what wayne fields and his team at the oliver gospel mission are doing in the lives of homeless people a couple of blocks from where we are right now. if every person volunteered just one day a month it would dwarf anything the government might do in the way of social service. so here in the new year, let's recognize that many families across our state and across this nation are indeed hurting in these particular economic times, that there is a lot of need out there, in some cases, i mean unimaginable levels of need as we see the tragedy of haiti unfolding. and it all begs one simple question, can we follow these soldiers' examples in looking for ways to serve. in fact, under the category of service for men and women in this chamber, representative ted pitts is bound for afghanistan. his wife christina and his father ed are here with us, and i would ask that you not only offer a round of applause for his service to our country, but that you match it with a prayer for his safety and if you might, ed and christina, would you all stand and be recognized? [applause] >> finally, the fact that each of the soldiers i alluded to earlier died in service to their country is once again a reminder that freedom isn't free. and this year's list of heroes goes as follows, and out of a point of reference not to become episcopalian to you but if you might stand as i read these names, i would appreciate it. private first class jason watson. staff sergeant ralph patrell. corporal ryan mcgee, specialist abraham wheeler iii, lance corporal christopher folks, specialist demetrius floyd, gary gutz jr., private first class jerry witson. thank you for doing that. i appreciate that. while on this topic of thanking -- i historically thank the state worker, someone in the private sector and oftentimes the first lady, ask them to stand and be recognized for their different contributions but tonight what i would like to do for one last time is to continue that tradition. first i'd like to recognize a state worker who is a representative of so many who do their work without recognition or praise. barry franco works down at trident tech and will be part of the program that trains workers at the boeing facility in north charleston. and i would ask that you join me in recognizing and thanking him for that important work and frankly for representing so ably all state workers across the state. barry, if you would stand and be recognized, i would appreciate it. [applause] >> we've also been joined by maxine white, an artist in the upstate and a reminder of the creative talents and the innovation found in the private sector. she reminds me of the ways in which every one of us south carolinians can make a difference if we so choose. maxine, would you stand and be recognized as well. >> and finally, if i might, i would single out the first lady, not as i did last year in recognizing what she had done in saving the taxpayers money at the warehouse and the mansion, but in her truly phenomenal grace that she showed the world and the state in the storm that i brought to our family and to the state at large. and here in her absence, would you give her a round of applause as well. [applause] >> now, never losing the perspective of the taxpayer, let me underscore that some of those -- the savings jenny created back at the wearing house, the mansion and lace house, is a reminder to every one of us at how we can follow the lead of working south carolinians in finding creative ways of doing more with less. doing more with less is what families across our state are indeed doing every day. it is something that is a part of their lives. and i would ask each one of us in government to look for ways to honor those daily decisions that are being made by the people who pay for government. xdso with all that being said, the state of our state is that we have both enormous challenges and opportunities before us. our economic challenges are in some ways historic in nature. but with every great challenge in life comes the opportunity, and the opportunity in this moment is that some changes are possible in these tough economic times that wouldn't be possible in good times. i mean, think about it. few companies, few businesses, few nations, few states, few people change until they have to. we have an environment for change that we have not seen in the seven years that i've been here with you. and some things are going to change by virtue of the world economy whether we like them or not, but the question in much of this is whether or not we're going to make the change or change is simply going to happen to us. and it's my contention that for the sake of future generations, we are to be as deliberate as possible in making changes that we believe will include the this also brings me to the situation that i created with the events of the summer. let me address it one last time. after this speech, those of you who have grown weary ofñr my apologizing can rest easy because i won't do it again. but given what happened and given that this is my first state of the state since then, i am compelled to say that i'm sorry one more time for the situation that i created and for the way that i put every one of you in this room in a bad spot. i disappointed you, i disappointed my family, i disappointed many across this state and across this nation. i could go down a seemingly unending his of disappointments but you know what it means? it means that i'm weak and at times all too human. it means that i can only be saved by god's grace and i get that now in ways that i never have. the grace of the people of this state has been none other than overwhelming and to me it has indeed been a reflection of god's grace. you know, people would come up to me and say, you know, mark, you really messed up. but sooner or later in life we all do. and the question is, how do you get back up? and they would say you messed up but it doesn't take away from so many of the good things that this administration has done over these last seven years, you get back up and you finish strong. and with god's help, that is precisely what i intend to do. and so it is my hope and my prayer that we can work together this year to make a positive difference in people's lives. the opportunity in all this is that i get it in ways that i never have, this larger notion of the fact that i'm not in charge. and these thoughts go to larger articles of faith that at some point are worth the private conversation. i mean, i was raised to strive and push and in the world of politics i thought to a great degree that was what determines success, how hard i worked, how hard i pushed. and yet i don't think that anymore. that is not license not to show up and do our part, but it is recognition of both higher powers and the fact that in politics what will determine success is more than anything not determined by what you do or what i do, but in what the people do. if their voice isn't loud on an issue, pushing at times as i have at times guarantees newton's third law of motion which says for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. and we have all seen plenty of that movie over the last couple years. so what i pledge to do is work more earnestly in simply asking the people of our state to ask for the changes that i'm suggesting this year. i ask that the people of south carolina make a loud but respectful noise for change. and i need to be a better messenger because if the people push for these changes and were not too tone deaf in hearing, they'll happen. and if they don't, they won't. as the people need to do their part, we need to do ours. not only in my conversations with the public but in my work with you. i need to be a humble messenger and take joy in the fact that our maker can use imperfect people in all walks of life. this very imperfection underscores both the grace of others and the grace of god, and though at times we may try and cover it or forget it, the imperfections of any of us underscore the degree to which we really are of the people and by the people and it's my hope and prayer this year that we will be for the people in the results that we produce. folks, i've been told they could care less about the ability to point out the faults and problems in each other's lives, what they really care with are fixing problems that impact their lives. so it is with that spirit that i hope that we can come together. it doesn't mean we won't have our differences. i mean, we always will given that we come from different political parties and different and political ideologies and different parts of the state, but we can bridge these differences by committing to work alongside each other, to make meaningful changes in this legislative session. and towards that end we decided to narrow our focus to that which we believed was specific and measurable and achievable in this legislative term. i still have strong opinions on the need to do something about unfunded liabilities that the state level or the need for school choice or the need to cap higher education costs more. but in this final year, we wanted to suggest just a few things in the hope that this greater focus by me and by you and by the people more greatly ensures their passage. accordingly, could we make this the year that we add just a couple tools to the tool kit of economic development and jobs, that we put in place spending limits so we avoid otherwise inevitable harm to those who both pay for government and those who serve by it. and finally, can we make just three changes to the structure of our government that i believe will pay tremendous dividends over time in both the efficiency and the effectiveness of the south carolina government that the people own. you know, boeing's announcement this fall was indeed great news for the 3,800 permanent jobs, the 2,000 construction jobs, the supply and support jobs that will come with it, it is the single largest economic development announcement in south carolina history and it's actually been named the economic deal of the year in the country. it is again as has been referenced, an example of the way that we can work together and produce extraordinary results when we do so. it is interesting to look at the way that folks at the private sector and the government levels work collaboratively on this project and did a great job doing so. but as great as those efforts were, if the sole conditions for the germination of the business they would plant here in south carolina were not better than the other choices available to them, they wouldn't have come here. it's a reminder of how every one of us need to work to improve the business solutions of this state each year and the item we believe is most immediately before us and long overdue is reform the employment security commission. this change is a tool we could add to the tool kit of job growth and economic development in south carolina this year. the employment security commission is yet another separate island of government in south carolina and in some ways seems accountable to no one, as their trust fund has literally bled from a $500 million balance to a negative $800 million balance. if nothing is done here, taxes are going to go up on every large mid size or small business in south carolina, and i don't believe a tax increase would be good for job creation in the state of south carolina. i'm joined in that belief by kenny bingham and greg ryberg and nickie sessler and others and i thank these men for leading the charge on e.s.c. funds this year and because of their efforts the senate will be taking up e.s.c. reform and i thank leaders in the senate for taking that step come tomorrow. separate islands of government are not only bad for the taxpayer and harmful to the business conditions of our state, they also in this case hurt those searching for a job. you know, by linking the employment security commission to the efforts of the department of congress, the e.s.c. would move in too many ways simply processing claims for those unemployed to those more actively coordinating with the department of commerce and others to connect those seeking a job with job opportunities in this state. we continue to believe there are other things we could do to improve the economy like raising our lowest in the nation's cigarette tax and swapping it with equal dollar cut to the corporate income tax. the net effect of the change that we have produced here is south carolina's ranking on the state business tax climate index would move from 25th in the nation to sixth in the united states of america. i believe a change like that would produce jobs and is for that reason that i applaud what the house did this week on taxes. regardless, the different merits of that proposal for others in taking one that legislative change that would maximize economic prospects for this year, it is e.s.c. reform, and as before its passage. for those of you out there listening, i ask for a loud and respectful change on this. concurrent with these efforts, i am committed to working with each one of you, those spearheading a local efforts, and the department of commerce to maximize every possibility in recruiting jobs in our state. the success that came in bowling's -- boeing's landing in charleston is a reminder of how we can benefit. i would ask that joe taylor stand and be recognized. you are shaking your head, but you have got to stand and be recognized, if you would. [applause] now, speaking of boeing's landing in charleston, we are also joined by the president and general manager of final assembly and delivery for boeing. i would ask that everybody in this chamber rise to give marco a warm south carolina welcome for the difference boeing will make in people's lives as they produce a world class product called the green liner. would you stand and be recognized? [applause] if i might, could i put one more person on the spot? proper protocol would be, since you're standing beside me, to recognize all you did for me legislatively in this effort. i see you in the corner over there. would you stand and be recognized for everything you did in making this happen? [applause] ok. that was fun. getting back to my legislative list, can we make this the year that we get off the spending and budget roller-coaster? we ask that this body and that spending limits. it measures aimed in that direction have passed the house a couple of times and once was awfully close on the senate side. constitutional change is the most lasting way to enact spending limits. i applaud those efforts. we are asking for your passage of a bill that would allocate any thing beyond down to paying down our deficit. the importance of addressing spending issues, i do not think they can be underscored enough. it is a reason i got into politics. my convictions on this front at times get old. history has consistently shown how government suspended their way into oblivion and into real pain for the people they supposedly represent. i would simply ask that you look at what we've posed in our budget because i think it is a starting point. on limits, if your persuasion isñr from the right, they make sense for the way they protect the taxpayer in good times. they help money from going intor wants and wishes rather than needs with $1.5 billion ofxd new money coming into our state as it did a couple years ago. if your persuasion is from the left, this makes sense for the way it helps us to avoid cutting past muscle and into bone when times are not as good. financial restrain is impossible without them. as i have said repeatedly at a rotary club talks across the state this fall, it is as if we have been having parallel universe conversations over the last seven years at budget times, much like what was described in "men are from mars and women are from venus." i would point out that our spending is not sustainable. i pointed it out in 1000 other places. last year, i did not have a crystal ball and economic trends. i heard from a lot of south carolinian is on the common- sense principles that they believe should apply to government. the trees do not grow to the sky. winter follows summer. as a nation, and as a state, too many have forgotten the simple notion for a long time. the unsustainable marks we are on in terms of building up that has come to an end. we're going to face a tremendousñi deal leveraging in the state and the nation. i said then and i still believe there is no way to avoid this reality. ólast year, i said anybody who said this economic slowdown will be short-lived was missing what i was hearing across the state. that is that people believe thatñr things are tough and sometimes they get worse before they get better. if you look at how high the forest of debt has grown over the last 20 years, you will say it is something we need to do something about. unfortunately, i have been proven right on this notion of the money we are spending not being sustainable. in fairness of -- to everyone of you as legislators, that was not the decision most 5%qe before u.s. budget time. i say this because the reality of any dollar that comes into the political system is not whether it will be spent, but where it will be spent. with their debt spending of the dollar is sustainable are not becomes a purely intellectual exercise at budget time when the question before each one of you is, do what but for my district and some of that money coming to the people i represent, or do i simply let others spend money? i don't begrudge anyone of you for doing that, which you were elected to do come in terms of trying to watch out for the people of your district. if we do nothing, we will be left the impasse we have found ourselves at for seven years. future governors who choose to hold the line on spending will burn large amounts of political capital and bridges in the process, or they might punt on the issue, as some have done, with results for the taxpayer. doing nothing will leave every one of you in a less than ideal position of voting for spending that you know is unsustainable and the only way getting that -- and as the only way of getting that money back to your district. we have seen a peaks and valleys approach to spending in the state. doing nothing locks in the spending tracked that will almost guarantee future tax increases. people are hurting and they expect action to be taken. what we do in addressing the issue is very important for the way that unsustainable spending can bring even greater harm to the jobs and the economy prospects of the state. spending money we don't have will never be the key to economic prosperity. this is true of bailout of washington as it is true of our own approach to spending. we have a second opportunity in these trying times, and that is to pass spending limits. i don't know when it will never happen if it does not happen in this kind of budget year. i join with thousands of others across the state in asking that you pass meaningful and real spending limits this year. if you are out there listening, i would ask that you make a respectful but loud noise for changed in this notion of spending limits. while on the topic of spending, i will say there is one other thing we need to do. that is to make our voices heard in washington. everyone knows my opinion on the fallacy of stimulus money and my belief that lasting jobs and economic growth can never come from a government bailout. i want to restate my beliefs on how damaging those efforts are to future generations, the american dollar, and the long- term viability of the south carolina and american economy. debts are spiraling out of control in washington, d.c. health care reform will bring immediate damages bolts to the state and this nation. in south carolina alone, it would expand medicaid rolls by over 500,000 people. it would wind up costing taxpayers in the state more than $1 billion over the next 10 years. it would mean that medicaid would grow to be almost 40% of our budget and almost once was three of the population of south carolina would be on medicaid itself. all this means that unless people across our state really make their voice heard, significant cuts to other parts of government or substantial raises in taxes are coming our way. if you are to take just one pearl of wisdom from this talk, and you are out there listening, it is that i ask you make your voice heard, whether in washington or south carolina, in improving the environment for jobs, growth, and the economy. in this last year of office, i backed away from some of our more ambitious proposals on government structure. by extension, the way things are done in the columbia. we are asking for just 3 changes that we believe are specific and measurable and achievable in this term in moving us toward a more balanced and thereby more efficient and effective state government. it is important to remember that soccer lot of government costs about 140% the national average. our structure leads in my two ways to this cause and it is something that hurts businesses and job prospects. i believe it hurts the taxpayer. three things that we believe would move us in a different direction our department administration, having the governor and lieutenant governor run together on a ticket, and along the people to decide whether a whole host of constitutional officer should be elected or appointed. last year, and a bill passed in the house unanimously but stalled in the senate. its premise is that we do notçó need to be the only state in the country that does not allow its governor to administer the laws that are administered by the other 49 governors in the united states of america. you would not be giving this power to me. i am gone in 11 months. please give this power to whoever follows me, whether they're republican or democrat, male or female, give them the tools by which to succeed or fail and then hold them accountable. will you put the governor and lieutenant governor together as a team? it makes no sense to have a governor elected by the people, and their first check is not the judicial branch of government, but the lieutenant governor, who could be of the opposite political party and opposite political situation. would it make any sense to have the president and vice-president elected with opposing agendas, wanting to go in the opposite direction? i don't believe it would. i respectfully ask that to make this change. can we let the people of south carolina decide on whether a whole host of constitutional officers should be appointed or elected? we are dealing state that elects them in general. we're not asking that you take a position for or against electing that position. all we are asking is that you let the people decide. we are asking, do what was done at the time of lottery, when many said they were opposed to lotteries, but they believed it was such an important issue that it ought to be decided by the people of south carolina. it is our contention that if it can be good enough for lottery, it can be good enough for the taxpayers chance to make decisions on the constitutional framework of the government may own. that is particularly the case for south carolina. when the farmer was handed to us in the 1800's based on the fear of black men in politics, it was both wrong and outdated. the need to change these truths have been recognized by democrats along with republicans. i think it is vital we do something this year about changing these truths. these are simple requests of this legislative term. i ask for your work on the passage and i hope that you will call on me to do anything in your respective districts that might help toward that end. i would say i am tempted to call it quits here, but has this is my last state of the state, let me add a few other words of thanks. together, we have made some changes over the last seven years that will make and have made a difference in people's lives. when i ran for office eight years ago, i pledged to make softer line on better place to call home. what this work is never done and never complete in the global competition for jobs and capital, we have made changes in each of the area's top about in that now-distant campaign. we talked about the need to improve a chance for a job, the chance to better what we brought home and build a life or family, how even a job was a key to using one's talent and how important it was each year we do things to make our business more competitive. that is why i would say i thank you for passing the first step to the marginal income-tax rate in south carolina's history. as a result of that, $292 million have already stayed in the hands of small business people that would have gone to government. it has made a difference in how the small business could add a job or even survive, frankly, in these tough economic times. i would ask that you offer a round of applause to the speaker and senator, who were instrumental in this passage, and would you all stand up, bobby, if i could, stand up again. jim battle? where is jim battle? [applause] thank you for doing what you all did on that project. i was trying to recognize jim battle as well because he worked hard on that one. i thank you for passing the largest recurring tax cut in south carolina history. $260 million of state in the hands of taxpayers. for the difference this will make in people's lives, if you would not mind, would you give the speaker and the senator round of applause? all of you all in the house and senate to instrumental in passing that vital change to people's pocketbooks, would you give yourselves a round of applause on that one? [applause] i thank you for passing the first total reform bill of its kind. that bill took a soft a listñi f judicial hellholes. it is instrumental to better in the business climate and the chances for jobs. i ask that you recognize senator larry martin and harry kekoe. stand up and be recognized. thank you. [applause] i thank you for passing the state's first reforms to worker compensation system. a change like that one is just the kind of thing that a business from afar looking at south carolina takes into consideration. in addition to thinking larry and harry, scott richardson was a senator back then. would you stand and be recognized on that one along with larry and harry? come on. [applause] i think you for passing things like the small business health care bill. i would like to thank the senators and the representative for making that will happen. are you tired of standing up? here's the interesting thing. the byproduct of these changes is evident in the record setting $4 billion of capital investment last year, which was matched by $4 billion of the best met the year before, which was matched by $19 billion invested in our state since 2003, or the more than 64,000 more people working today than there were when this administration started in 2003. these numbers are not where we would like them to be at times, but we ranked 14th in the united states of america in employment growth and ninth in the nation in labor force growth. a lot of people are voting with their feet and leaving the northeast or upper midwest and coming to south carolina to seek opportunity. it is evident in the decisions of companies like boeing and google and starbucks to put down roots in south carolina. it is evident in the expansion of bmw or aviation. it is obvious in the efforts of unsung heroes of small businesses. it is evident in a lot of different fronts. we talk about change in the way columbia works. we have reached -- we have not reached the promised land on record like to land, but we have made changes. for these efforts, i thank you. it too many boats were never recorded in these chambers and there can be no accountability without transparency. niki hallie and nathan valentine in the house and others in the senate led efforts to change this from the idea that if something was important to be voted about to be voted on, it was important enough to be recorded. would you give a round of applause to them for spearheading that effort? c'mon, stand up. [applause] we now have online transparency to allow a taxpayer to see more directly how their money is being spent in state government. would you give the comptroller general round of applause? he may not be here. he is watching a tv. i will give him a round of applause on that one. [applause] we ended the competitive grants program. i will leave that one alone. there was a lot of fussing and fighting and a court decision to boot, but there were meaningful steps in opening up our political process and making it more accountable to the taxpayer and i thank you for what you did here. when the ethics committee said it could not be done in 2005, we found a way to begin online disclosure so citizens could better see where money was coming from and going to in campaigns. we passed campaign finance reform. it had been vetoed twice. its passage ended the wild west practice of unlimited amounts of money going to a political party or to a political caucus. i think jim harrison and glenn mcconnell once again for the reference. thank you for what you did on that one. can you give them a round of applause? i know you're getting tired of that. [applause] i would thank you for passing steps toward improving our governmental structure that yield better results. think about this. the department of transportation had not changed since 1919. changes their means that more money will go to the places that need rather than places where there are fewer cars and more political power. larry groom did a great job on that one. where is a netannett -- where is annette? stand up and be recognized. [applause] you know the dmv story. it is really important to think about the impact on people's lives. we only have so much time here on earth and you can spend doing something you love or spend it in a dmv line. we lines have gone from on average 66 minutes down to 16 minutes. that kind of change matters in directly impacting somebody's life. for what the staff at dmv did in embracing the change, would you give them a round of applause as well? [applause] we talked about improving quality of life. for me and for so many others, this is an important measure in the look and feel of our state. that is why i think -- that is why i take particular pride in the fact that more land has been set aside during this governorship than during any other in south carolina history. 153,000 acres will pay dividends economically in attracting and retaining people in our state and giving them a glimpse of the splendor that keep so many of us here. i think mr. camps deserves credit for what he did with the country's aged conservation bank. would you stand and be recognized? i appreciate it. [applause] i would say the quality of life begins with life itself. i want to thank each one of you for working to pass dui reforms. over the course of this administration, fatalities due to drinking and driving have decreased by about 1/3, meaning more than 100 people each year are able to continue in this kit called life. that would not have happened without the changes you all made. would you join me in thanking moral smith and david weeks? would you stand for making that important change in people's lives? stand up. where are the others? [applause] did you know that we pass one of the toughest economic reform bills in the country? it was based on the notion that if you're going to have rules, we all ought to play by those rules. it has made a real difference for families across our state. i will thank jim harrison and glenn mcconnell. some would define quality of life and being able to buy insurance for your house if you live on the coast. when we walk into walmart, we never get the exact price we want. çówe get a better price than if there was no competition. this bill has allowed the private sector in theñr marketplace to work. i think not only members of the task force, but niki caylee and do yo)9want to stand again or should we class that you? we will clap at you. we talked about improving education. did we have a fight on this one? as a result of that back and forth on this administration's core belief that every parent ought to have an opportunity to decide what school works best for them and their child, a choice, more has been offered. virtual schools and classrooms allow someone in rural south carolina to get educational expertise from a different corner of south carolina. people worked hard on that one in showed real leadership? -- real leadership. we passed a school bill that was the first of its kind in the nation and i do not believe we would of thought in that bill through. we needed a larger debate on full-scale choice in education. westies deserves credit for advancing that bill. wes, would you be recognized on that one? [applause] i would say, whether in the additional $2.7 billion that has gone to education above and beyond the level of bonding that came with this administration in 2003 or with the education and economic the the attack that offers a tech prep program for students, or in fitness programs offered as a result of self carolina health, or even in full-scale choice, i know that darrell jackson and a long list of others deserve creditñi for work here that is making a difference in the minds ñiof students and thereby real difference in people's lives. would you give them a round of applause as well for their work? [applause]

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