leave, and then, some layoffs. i think it is more across the board. . i think that component is going to accelerate. it is hard to say. the governors have tried to protect elementary and secondary education, but clearly they are not able to do that anymore. there will be some additional teachers, as well. scott, do you wanted add anything? >> i just want to make 1 point -- the layoffs and furloughs of local employees are determined by local governments, which can be determined by the degree of state funds that they do or do not receive. >> thank you. >> are there other questions on the telephone? >> we have questions. >> i have two questions. thank you for taking my call. i am wondering if not $23 billion that -- it spending and that $23 billion -- if spending that $23 billion could help be another bridge. could you also talk about the impact of the funding on k 12 education? so much of that was four k-12. -- for k-12. >> senator harkin had been pushing. we did not support it as an organization. we supported mainly fmap. governors were concerned about -- they get concerned about the deficit. they were reluctant to support both. and there were some concerns about the maintenance of a efforts are round the education funding. -- of the efforts around the education funding. we continue to support a fmap, but not the education funding. -- support fmap, not the education funding. >> the bottom line -- it is more global than the issue of teachers k-12. fiscal year 2011 will be a particularly difficult year with a very tough choices. i always say you have to go or the money is. they have disproportionately cut a lot of areas of -- you have to go where the money is. they a disproportionate cut a lot of areas of state funding. -- they have a disproportionately cut a lot of areas of state funding. you are looking at a zero-sum game. we have to make some really tough choices as we look at this next fiscal year. >> other questions on the telephone? >> go ahead. >> can you comment on state debt levels and the extent to which states entered into more debt as they have dealt with these deficits? what is the prospect -- you mentioned cuts in medicaid reimbursement rates and layoffs increasing as other options for dealing with budget shortfalls. >> my own sense is that there has clearly been somewhat of a shift. the state has the option of paying for capital straight out or bonding it. there has been a shift to do more bonding. that is out somewhat. i do not think it is up dramatically. the other thing that we worry about is pensions, because, over the last several years, they have not been putting a lot of money into the pension trust funds. those liabilities have been growing. if we do not get some revenue growth in the next several years, that would just get to be an increasing problem. again, that is what i call that payback period. if we get the growth in revenues, i think we will be ok. otherwise, it will continue to be a problem. i do not want to say that we are -- i do not think any states are going into default or will have any magnitudes of problems. >> i really want to underline that, because a few localities are having issues a possibility -- but possibly defaulting. it is important to emphasize that the states are not looking at that year the states are fine on their debt. they have been fairly responsible -- the states are not looking at that. this dates are fine on their debt. the a been very responsible. -- the states are fine on their debt. and they have been very responsible. for the most part, that services and investors are going to be paid. that is an exceptionally high priority, usually by constitutional law. i want to underline that back get some attention, but on the debt side, i see absolutely -- that that gets some attention, but on the debt side, i see absolutely no default happening on the state's level. >> any other final questions on the telephone? >> if you have a question please press star then one on your touch tone phone. >> ok. >> no further questions. >> thank you very much. we appreciate it. >> thank you, ladies and abdomen. this concludes today's conference call. thank you -- ladies and gentlemen. this concludes today's conference call. thank you again. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> log on to find news, does, hearings, and congressional debates on the $787 billion stimulus. >> everyone has an agenda. as long as you know what their agenda is, as long as the facts are right, you can write about that story. >> over the past year, for brody -- year, brody mullins has written a lot of stories about the financial crisis. he is our guest on " e q&a -- on "q&a." >> james clapper would replace dennis blair who resigned last month. he would be the fourth director since congress created the office five years ago to oversee the nation's 16 intelligence agencies. this is 10 minutes. >> i have no prior -- no higher senate -- no higher priority than the safety and security of the american people. in an world -- in the world, we must protect ourselves from threats like terrorists, weapons of mass destruction, transnational threats such as fiber-criminals -- cyber- criminials. to keep america safe, we're integrating every element of our national power -- military and economic, diplomacy and development, homeland security, law enforcement, and intelligence. this final element, timely and accurate intelligence, is uniquely important, because it is critical to each of the others. as president, but also depend on the best available intelligence for daily decisions that i make. i depend on the director of national intelligence. dennis blair continued the extraordinary service that defined his entire career. during his tenure, our intelligence community became more integrated and agile. i will always be grateful to him for his sense of purpose and service. today, i am proud to announce my choice for the next director of national intelligence, james clapper. with four decades of service to america, jim is one of our nation's most experienced and most respected intelligence professionals. as undersecretary of defense for intelligence, he has successfully overseeing the military and civilian intelligence personnel and budgets that make up the bulk of our 16-agency intelligence the community -- intelligence community. his improved information- sharing, improved support to our troops in iraq, and played a key role in our effort to update and reorient our intelligence community to meet the threats of our time. as director of two critical organizations -- including the defense intelligence agency -- during a distinguished career in the air force, he developed an intimate understanding of our human and technical collection programs. he possesses quality -- a quality that i value -- a willingness to tell leaders what we need to know, even if it is not what we want to hear. he's a forceful champion of his fellow intelligence professionals -- he is a forceful champion of his fellow intelligence professionals, never forgetting what it felt like to risk his own life during the vietnam war. he will be the leader of our intelligence community. our intelligence community has made great strides since the 9/11 attacks. guided by good intelligence, we have struck major blows against the al qaeda and its terrorist affiliate's and disrupted many plots in our country which could have taken many american lives. as we saw in the failed attack over detroit, we need to do we evolve, adapt, and improve. i ordered a series of reform to strengthen intelligence this year. i will be lloking to engine to make sure we have the most capable and efficient intelligence -- to jim to make sure we have the most capable and efficient intelligent -- and efficient intelligence community we could. our national security demands it. our intelligence community needs to work as one integrated team to produce quality, timely, and accurate intelligence. this is a difficult task, but this will be the core mission. he is eminently qualified and he has my complete confidence and support. he also understands the importance of working with our partners in congress. as he has said, not only to appear when summoned, but to seek member's advice and consent. the senate has voted to confirm him for the senior positions on four separate occasions. it has done so over mall -- overwhelmingly, each time. given his unique experience, i urge the senate to do so again as swiftly as possible. i've spoken to the appropriate senate leaders and have indicated that i expect this nomination to be completed during this workshop period. this cannot fall victim to the usual washington politics. as we go forward, my administration will continue to work with congress to ensure that jim and all our insurance professionals have the authority and support they need to succeed. finally, let me say to the men and women across our intelligence community, most americans may never see your work, but everyone of us is safer because of your service and we are profoundly grateful. you have chosen to serve america, and now it is america's duty to back you up so you can fulfill the mission that we ask you and keep this country say. that is my promise to you as president of united states and that is what jim clapper will do as director of national intelligence. to you and your family, thank you for taking on this critical assignment. i invite you to say a few words. thank you. thank you, mr. president. i am humbled, honored, and daunted by the magnitude of the position. it is a job that cannot be done without your support and that of the congress. i intend to earn that support from both, as well as the public, if i am confirmed for this position. we have the largest, most capable intelligence and a price on the planet. it is a sacred -- enterprise on the planet. it is a sacred trust to make it work. nominees are like my oldest grandkids -- experience is better seen than heard. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> why are there still problems integrating intelligence, sir? >> here is a look at a base in louisiana where booms are being used to absorb crude oil in an effort -- at bays in louisiana where baboons are being used to absorb crude oil in an effort to -- where booms are being used tubes or crude oil in an effort to keep it off of the marshlands -- are being used to keep crude oil off of the marshlands. we have a response from at royal thad allen -- admiral thad allen. >> good morning, folks. i would like to talk about the operations out in the gulf with containment. i will discuss operations locally. i would like to talk about this unique facility. last week, i was given the responsibility to do the daily press briefing. i have been asked a lot of questions about why that was happening. one of the reasons is because i move around a lot. where i go, the press follows. it gives us a chance to highlight and frame the different operations around the gulf. it is important to understand that we are in theodore, alabama, at a facility owned by a local gentleman. we're supporting patriot industries, which is an oil spill response organization, employed by british petroleum to set up a staging area and a base camp for operations all around the gulf. i want to complement everybody that is involved in this operation. everybody that is involved in this operation. 90% of the people working here are local employees. the amount of business being generated with local contractors, local hotels and facilities, it is having an extraordinary impact on the local community. this is a really good working model and we can emulate this in other places. from here, they do training. the deployed boom equipment, repair boom equipment, ,econtaminate coily boomm, waste, and debris. almost anything for this type of operation could be supported from the based here. i would like to take the opportunity to update you -- from the base here. i want to update you. we're in the process of starting to bring hydrocarbons up from the reservoir and producing at a vessel called the discovery enterprise, which is over the wellhead now. when we first put the content cap down, it was full of tender, nitrogen gas -- of inert nitrogen gas, to keep the water from forming hydrates, which with the problem with the first cap. when natural gas combines with water at low temperatures, that is the problem you have. they have done a couple of things to improve that. they eased pressure so they could maintain control over the oil. they are also pumping methanol down there to make sure hey do not form. they are slowly learning -- lowering the pressure. in the first full cycle, as they brought the production level up, they were able to produce 6,000 barrels of oil from the well. the goal is to continue that production and hopefully take the pressure off of the well and reduce the oil that is coming out of the vents. i can answer any questions you may have about that. in general, the southerly winds and southwest, have taken the northern edge of the perimeter and move to close to the mississippi, alabama, and florida. we're seeing tar balls and oil patties. it is all the way from western mississippi to pensacola. it is starting to move north and slightly east. we're concerned from the mississippi and louisiana line all the way over to florida. in regards to that, we have a lot of people out doing clean-up operations on the beach, skimming off shore. i want to talk about a couple of things that will be of interest to the local community. we have a vessel opportunity system where local boatmen and boat owners can come and register their votes to do work on the water, anything from -- boats to do work on the water, anything from inspecting booms, observing oil concentration, anything that will help our response. yesterday, we had a total of 443 vessels of opportunity working around alabama. i want to give you a sense of where they were at. daulphins out of island. 23 vessels from fairhope. we're trying to optimize the local knowledge, expertise, and talent. i would also like to talk about are qualified community and responder program -- our qualified community responder program. what we're trying to do is find unemployed individuals that would like to seek training and get involved in this response. the goal is to train over 4000 people across these states, 1500 in alabama, 1500 in mississippi, 1500 in florida. we have trained 2700 individuals and they are ready to deploy. 898 in alabama, 1500 in mississippi, and 344 in florida. there are 1900 individuals scheduled for training. the types of tasks today are involved include carrying in handling the material and supplies, shovelling debris, removing the debris from beaches, operating power washers to clean rocks and beach areas, washing oil-covered items, and removing other trash and debris. safety is a primary concern. we make sure they go through basic training for whaa they are doing and for exposure to potential materials they will come in contact with. the majority of the training for this area it is done here. it is far beyond a logistic site and a staging area for boom, but also a dispatching and processing point for personnel who received their training, certification, and credentials to be deployed elsewhere in the area. the operation here is one of the best i have encountered. i commend everybody here for the job they are doing and the way they are doing it. the community has come to get a to help us optimize this response for the folks in aaabama -- have come together to help us optimize this response for the folks in alabama. >> and what are your plans to speak with the governor today? he is not very happy. what happened, happened. what are your plans? >> i am here to look at this operation. i will do it and overflight to look of all of our areas. i will meet with the governor later today. we will talk about whatever issues he has appeared that is at the direction of the president. >> that is -- whenever issues he has. that is at the direction of the president. -- whatever issues he house. that is at the direction of the president. -- he has. that is at the direction of the president. >> can you boom the beaches? >> you can. there is tension between where to boom and where to protect. the state identified areas to protect, where there is a lot of juvenile water life. the hardest place to pick up oil is in the marsh or the wetland. the easiest place is on the sandy beach. it is much easier to recover and remove. the best and is to do it on the water. if we have to do it on land, it is easier to do it on the beach, that in the marshland. >> they say -- [inaudible] >> there have been some anecdotal reports of underwater oil booms. the administrator of noaa has put together a large area sampling plan to form a consortium with universities in the area to get data from different areas and test the hydrocarbons in the water at different depths. it is being done right now within a five and 10 mile radius of the oil platforms and a place for the recovery is going on. those vessels are returning to port. others are going out. i do not want to put a timeline on it, but they will be putting together a profile based on all of that data so we can understand the picture for the entire gulf area and what kind of hydrocarbons are present and where they come up. they will have a general model. >> any more questions from the room? working? >> yes, with a couple of caveat. we put it down and there were four vents -- of caveats. we put it down and there were four vents. when the water gets in, it forms hydrates predict are increasing production up the well bore -- hydrates. bay are increasing production up the well bore -- they are increasing production up the wellbore. they will slowly start turning off those vents when they are sure they do not have see water coming in. because we do not have a perfect -- sea water coming in. because we do not have a perfect cap, we're trying to minimize the amount of leakage. we want to go into full production, because we cannot accommodate all of the pressure. we have to get a full-rate production before we know what ii going on with any chronic leakage that we may see all around the rubber gasket. we have dispersant to try to disperse the oil at the source and not have to deal with it on the surface. we're continuing mechanical skimming and in situ burning. we're trying to limit the use of dispersants. we have reached the 1 million gallons threshold on the dispersants. it is preferable to use the dispersant rather than have the oil, because the toxicity is much less, but there are toxic impact of the dispersant. we're trying to focus back on the subsea area. >> president obama has ordered the coast guard to get them anything they need. >> i am here to get a complete briefing on the people, the boom, and i will meet with the governor to get and give answers. >> we will now go to questions from the phone line. >> [inaudible] your first question.. >> [inaudible] >> we will repeat the question. >> i am not sure -- i am using the handset. he asked about, once we understand the full-production rate and what is being discharged that is not been recovered, will we make that public? the answer is, of course we will. we have a flow rate backing up with the revised estimate a while back. that estimate was between 12,000 and 25,000 barrels per day. what we're going to do is, once we establish the full-rate production, we will try to understand the oil that was released and we have to cut the pipe to contain cap in place. we will make that estimate available to the public and be completely transparent. >> next question? -- transparent. next question? operator? the answer was protection and flow rate from the ship. we will make that public- -- production and flow rate from the ship. we will