let me talk about secretary lahood. he has been a colleague to many of us in the congress for a little while. when he became the secretary of transportation, it was no surprise to us he shared a representation of illinois with the president, served as a great leader on the transportation and infrastructure committee. we knew full well his knowledge of the issues, the possibility and opportunity for the future. he knew about infrastructure in transportation being job creators, improving the quality of life, the air we breathed, lowering the amount that people are spending in their cars. he understood that this was not just about infrastructure. it was about jobs for the future that make our community better. when he became the secretary, he had all of that experience. he had the respect from both sides of the aisle in congress. most importantly, he had the confidence of the great president of the united states, barack obama barack obama trusts ray lahood. one other person that is not here that i want to technology is jer

we also have to thank president obama and secretary lahood. they deserve recognition for the recent $400 million in arra funding we have received. it is that funding and that a war that has propelled us into construction with the levels which will ultimately serve both caltrain and future high-speed rail. i also would like to thank the federal government for the 7 $1 million we have received as san francisco and tsa. we have used that to develop jobs that have created over 800 hours of job hours and also has allowed us to rank as the fourth leading agency in the nation for creating and retaining jobs. going forward, we will remain steadfast and committed to working with our federal partners to improve transportation and workforce opportunities in the bay area. in that same vein, i would also like to thank acknowledge our congressional delegation, speaker pelosi, senator feinstein, senator boxer, congressman miller. [applause] is through their hard work and their contribution that we have been able to get to this day and have a successful trans

secretary ray lahood also addressed the crowd, and encouraging them to be more alert wall walking, biking and driving. >> if we do that, we will save a lot of heartbreak, injuries, and we will probably save some lives. >> there have been at least three pedestrian-involved crashes on the m street area just this year, including one where an employee was killed. >>> some federal employees are enjoying a four-day weekend after a fire broke out at the usda office. it is the second fire at a federal building in the same week. last week, the commerce department closed. >>> leaders from another federal department are helping to launch another healthy initiative. the deputy agriculture secretary is at an elementary school in south east today to celebrate the end new garden as a part of a farm-to-school week, and will feature a competition where chefs will use healthy ingredients to cook for judges. >>> still to come -- a deadly trap on american troops. 10 years later, remembering the uss call. it was the steamiest night yet on "dancing with the stars." later today on "oprah," love s. love s. is a

secretary ray lahood was out here with speaker pelosi. the temporary facility is open. you know this. the only press we are getting is a bad press, that there are not enough benches. by the way, everything that we did was -- in housing was for long-term shelter. 12,000 human beings are off the streets since i became mayor. i know what you say, it does not feel like it. but the last survey we did in january, 44% of the people on the streets had been there for less than 90 days. think about what that means. as soon as we house someone, someone else is arriving. real progress, 30 years like this, we are finally moving in the right direction on homelessness. we are not giving up. and i get it every day. i see the same people you do, every day. we are working to try to solve this problem, again, large and small. 2600 housing units and maria will talk about as part of the transbay terminal redesign. an extraordinary designed. and at the theater, a living proof. similar to the academy of science. that is $400 million that guarantees the northern terminus. do not underestimate

at a dedication ceremony yesterday, ray lahood says it's one of wonders of the year. he hopes the structure will become another. michael callaghan and iraq hero pat tillman opens next week. >>> and for just one night, the white house became the pink house thursday. this in honor of breast cancer awareness month. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,094 after dipping one point yesterday. the s&p slipped 4 points, the nasdaq fell 5. taking a look at overseas trading this morning in tokyo, the nikkei dropped 83 points. while in hong kong, the hang seng lost 94. bank stocks took a beating investors worry the fallout from the nation's investigation could take a toll on the nation's rally. the nation's biggest banks were hit hard yesterday on fears that mounting mortgage problems could add up to a big bill. an unexpected rise in jobless claims added to the cautious tone as investors hedge their bets ahead of this morning's speech by fed chief ben bernanke all listening for clues to confirm the fed is about to pump mor

for example, here's a minnesota congresswoman michele bachmann's letter to ray lahood asking for stimulus to rebuild i-94, quote, this project will promote economic prosperity while alleviating safety concerns along interstate 94. the minnesota department of transportation estimates the project would directly produce 1,407 new jobs per year, while indirectly producing 1,563 a year. her own words. but wait a minute, didn't she just bitterly oppose the recovery act? >> government spending doesn't create good jobs, that's why i fought and voted against the bush wall street bailout. the failed pelosi trillion-dollar stimulus. >> and she's not alone as well, here's another one from tennessee senator lamar alexander, also to secretary lahood, also for highway spending, saying, quote, this transportation project would provide both short-term and long-term benefits to this evening nomically disadvantaged and distressed section of rural tennessee. so, senator, which is it? both short and long-term benefits? or -- >> this bill as it's presently headed toward passage is a colossal mistake. for our c

here we have ray lahood who is very much pro-walking and bicycling, and we think there will be more federal funds available to be able to build this out. i think the money will not be the biggest issue. it is building a political will to get this done. that can be done by adopting strong stretch goals now to get us to that 20% mode share. supervisor campos: thank you. anyone else? thank you very much. commissioner avalos? supervisor avalos: just reflecting on the presentation, it reminds me that there is a lot of work going on in my district along ocean avenue and the balboa park station. there is a new development near avalon day, on the north side of ocean. there is a terrible connection near ocean and felin to navigate around that area. i am not clear if the city, developer, if there are nonprofits involved, if they are developing their plans that will accommodate the great opportunity that we could have to make an easier access route all-around that area for bicyclist. for example, going east on ocean avenue past felin is difficult terrain on a bicycle. but if you are going to bypass an

in addition, glenda joined me along with the mayor, secretary lahood, and house speaker nancy pelosi after the ground breaking of the temporary transbay terminal. she conducted a tour that traveled to the new navy shipyard. that tour was attended by quite a few distinguished guests. it went through with no hitches, very smoothly done, and very professionally handled. glenda, john haley, our director of transit, here to present your award. congratulations. director nolan: mr. haley? >> just to show that glenda is a true team player, she even agreed to stabbed -- stand next to me after yesterday. congratulations. she's one of our most valued street inspectors, has done a little bit of everything over the years, and is the first person, as mr. ford said that we call on to handle situations that require not only knowledge of the service but great public communications skills as well. so congratulations again. [applause] >> i'd just like to say thank you very much for the recognition. ms. roberta and i go back aways. we do work as a team. we are part of the muni, the m.t.a. family. so whe

secretary of transportation ray lahood, speaker of the house nancy pelosi, senator boxer, mayor newsom, who has been supporting this project since he was a supervisor, and the california high speed rail authority, all on hand to celebrate the groundbreaking of the first high-speed rail station in the united states. the first modern bus station built in this country in the past 40 years. on august 6 in the evening, we shut down the existing transbay terminal. the next day on august 7, we started operations at the temporary facility at main and beale. we are currently in demolition. so far, we have demolished the east ramp on howard we are working now on the west ramp. then we will have the demolition of the existing facility by november of this year. concurrent with that, we will be starting utility relocation as well. what we then expect to do is begin the excavation work for the transit center in the first quarter of 2011. so what is it that we will deliver to the public? we are delivering to the public a five-level, 1.4 million-square foot station that will accommodate 11 different t

secretary lahood, please give the president to our appreciation, thanks, gratitude. when he became president, he stood on the steps of the capital and asked for swift, bold action now. to create jobs for the future, and education, we will use the soil and wind and sun to run our cars and fuel our factories. you know the list, it goes on and on. health care for all americans is a right, not a privilege. one week and one day after that speech, the house of representatives passed the recovery act. [applause] because we were ready and had worked with the president in advance with his vision and leadership. the senate took up the bill, and as the senator said, weeks later, was signed into law, and here we are today because of it. so thank the president, and as we break ground, for the families in san francisco, and the bay area, because of the work done here, our hopes are rising. thank you all very much. [applause] >> thank you, madam speaker. this concludes the speaking portion of the program. i would like to invite the speakers to join me for the historic groundbreakin

at a dedication ceremony yesterday, transportation secretary ray lahood said the dam itself is one of the wonders of the world and he hopes the bridge will become another. the structure, named for former nevada governor mike o'callahan and iraq war hero pat tillman opens next week. >>> for just one night the white house became the pink house thursday. in honor of breast cancer awareness month. here's your "first look" at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 11,094 after dipping one point yesterday. the s&p slid four points, the nasdaq fell five. taking a look at overseas trading this morning in tokyo, the nikkei dropped 83 points. in hong kong, the hang seng lost 94. >>> bank stocks took a beating yesterday as investors worried that the fallout from a nationwide foreclosure investigation could take a toll on the markets recent rally. the nation's biggest banks were hard hit yesterday on fears that mounting mortgage problems could add up to a big bill. an unexpected rise in jobless claims added to the cautious tone as investors hedged their bets ahead of the speech b

. >>> pedestrian safety will be the focus of events featuring transportation secretary ray lahood. today's events follow a number of pedestrian accidents in recent days. on friday for woman and child would hit on georgia avenue in silver spring. yesterday a teenager was injured by gaithersburg police officer. on sunday two people were killed on rockville pike in north bethesda. >>> 5:36, 65 degrees. >>> a popular pizza restaurant could shut its doors for good. this strange reason behind the troubles. >>> the countdown has begun for 33 trapped chilean miners, they could be alice from freedom -- they could be ho [ female announcer ] the healing power of touch just got more powerful. introducing precise pain relieving cream. it blocks pain signals fast for relief precisely where you need it most. precise. only from the makers of tylenol. just got more powerful. introducing precise pain relieving heat patch. it blocks pain signals for deep relief precisely where you need it most. precise. only from the makers of tylenol. >>> >> we are at the national zoo great apes palace. these are no

. -- to secretary ray lahood, to encourage commuters to be more helpful. -- more careful. >> this is a sad, sad story. a man identified by his neighbors as david radcliffe lived along with his dog and cat and today, he died alone in that fire. >> the smoking fire started in the living room, they think. the floor just caved in. around 7:00 a.m. this morning, a motorist driving by the house saw it and called 911. neighbors tell us david radcliffe lived here and they tried to rouse him. >> i grabbed a ladder and started beating on the window that i thought was his bedroom. >> i noticed that the class was very hot and there was smoke coming out of the basement window well. >> his body was discovered in his bedroom, along with his dog, albus, who also died. authorities sifted through discarded beer cans and decided that discarded -- improperly discarded smoking material was the cause. neighbors rick -- neighbors described him as in his 50s's, pleasant, but it -- as in his 50s, pleasant, but a loner. >> when ted passed away, he called mrs. kennedy right away and was speaking with her. >> o

. >> reporter: transportation secretary lahood was confident but not sure where the money could come from. >> stay tuned. we'll let you know. >> reporter: john micah, the ranking republican on the house transportation committee criticized what he called, "the attempted justification of a $50 billion spenneding proposal, while more than 660% of the stimulus infrastructure dollars remain unspent." the administration officials say virtually all the infrastructure money is obligated and breaking contracts would leave the government open to lawsuits. triple-a says hike in the gasoline tax is overdue. they hear 10-40 cents a gallon. >> if you hit in the middle you may look at 25 crept per gallon tax increase that could be rolled out in stages to make it more palatable or easy to live with. >> reporter: critics point to already repaired stretch of road in atlanta repaid last year with federal money. the new plan will create a bank to allow public projects and private project to allow marketplace to decide which gets the biggest bang for the buck, but again they don't say precisely how. >> i

. >>> transportation secretary ray lahood will headline an event aimed at reducing pedestrian accidents, following several recent incidents in our area. friday a woman ensiled or hit on georgia avenue in silver spring. yesterday a teenager was hurt after being hit by a gaithersburg police officer. on sunday two people died after being struck in north bethesda. >>> attack alert near tysons corner for the beltway drivers. more headaches. the ramp to 495 north will be shut down starting today. >> good morning. expect to spend more time in your car traveling through tysons starting today. the warning signs are flashing. drivers are guided to the detour. expect backups on the beltway as well as route 123. more construction is coming to tysons and that means more headaches in an area already clogged with cars during the morning and evening rush. >> it will be worse. >> the ramp to 495 north at cambridge road will close two years. that means a change of traffic pattern. estimate a left turn at this light traveling north on 123 to get onto the beltway. >> i plan to leave earlier or take another

we live hood was there -- ray lahood was there. >>> and this morning, one area was a muddy mess, but now, it is a playground. they were up early this morning and worked down to the wire to get this ready for a dedication. you can find the playground just off the parkway. >>> first of all, let's talk about liquor. liquor makers at mount vernon are apparently toasting their success. there they are. >> yes, indeed. >> a group of historians and experts from around the country finished borrowing 60 gallons of peach brandy at the mount vernon facility. president george washington made this brandy, and historians were trying to retrieve his recipe. it could later be bottled and sold. it already produces rye whiskey, which george washington created, as well. >>> next fall, md. travelers will have traffic alerts at their fingers, calling 511. any driver can get real-time traffic information. it is a free service and were able to be accessed any time of day. it is part of a five-year contract. >>> now, let's get a look at the traffic situation. >> leon, we are back to reality on the beltway, a

isaiah leggett and the transportation secretary ray lahood and lieutenant governor anthony brown joined students walking to east silver spring elementary school this morning. it's promoting healthy lifestyle and inspired by a legally blind parent at the school who advocates for pedestrian safety. >>> facebook is trying to figure out what went wrong last night, leaving millions in the luh -- lurch. it slowed down or in some cases, didn't work at all for some people and this happened before 10:00 and haven't said what caused it. it's the second time in a month that users have been unable to get the site to work. >> and how could this happen? firefighters respond to an emergency call and refuse to put out the flames. >>> the latest from chile where trapped miners are closer to coming up above ground just ahead. >>> and first tonight, we want to remind you about all the action. it's time to catch your vote in the high school football game- of-the-week. the choices are on the screen. go to www.myfoxdc.com and you can even text your vote. the phone number is 5 -- or the text number is 55171.

my name is ray lahood. we just had over an hour meeting with secretary timothy geithner are reviewing a report done on infrastructure in america, a path forward for infrastructure. we were joined by the president and he listened to the mayors and governors who gathered with us today. this continues our message that the president announced in milwaukee on labor day, that infrastructure does provide jobs, we will be working with congress after the election on a 6-year bill to begin with a $60 billion opportunity. the report released today co- chaired by secretary skinner substantiates the idea that infrastructure puts people to work. these opportunities can create thousands of jobs across america. to really emphasize the president possible leadership in lochte -- milwaukee, announcing the $60 billion opportunity. i will ask secretary skinner to talk for a moment about the report. we will be happy to answer questions you may have of any one gathered here. >> go ahead. >> your senior. >> -- you are a senior. >>

we expect we will get more information later today when transportation secretary ray lahood releases all of the latest findings. >> still ahead, the new way to pass the time at the d.m.v. that could save a life. >> plus, we will look back at week three of dancing with the stars. >> first, another check of the traffic and weather every 10 minutes. we have some problems to tell you about here on the roads. jim russ is in for >> we passed the breast cancer patient protection act. "good morning, washington." >> nice to see there. 6:40 on this tuesday morning. time for traffic and weather. >> adam caskey has the latest on a very chilly morning. it is hard to believe some areas around here in the 30's? >> sorry i have a big smile on my face but it is fall. that is fall-like weather and some of us have been waiting for it after the hot summer. 51 at reagan national. you see some clouds locally. there is variable cloud cover. either you are cloudy or clear. much of northern virginia is clear. bristow harry davis field 37 degrees. dulles international airport at 40. leesburg 50 degrees. that

. >>> transportation secretary ray lahood wants to know why the nation's biggest transportation project was slapped. thursday he slapped the project saying the initial $8.7 billion budget could balloon. more than $500 million already spent on this decades long project. the transhudson tunnel would have doubled the number of commuter trains from new jersey to manhattan. >>> on the defense, lou dobb goes after a report that says he hired undocumented workers. plus, the outage in britain over a new docu-drama that depicts a member of the royal family captured by the taliban. ♪a young man with ambition ♪ met an old man at the top ♪ asked him if he d a secret ♪ ♪ and the old man stopped and thought and said: ♪ ♪ free 'cause that's how it ought to be my brother ♪ ♪ credit 'cause you'll need a loan for one thing or another ♪ ♪ score 'cause they break it down to one simple number ♪ ♪ that you can use ♪ dot to take a break because the name is kinda long♪ ♪ com in honor of the internet that it's on ♪ ♪ put it all together at the end of the song ♪ ♪ it gives

in washington, secretary of transportation, ray lahood, has suggest said new changes in the rules, which would require nine hours of rest in a day, an increase of an hour. it would also bar airlines from scheduling pilots longer than 13 hours in one 24-hour period, down from the 16-hour duty day. >> sometimes you don't realize how tired you are. >> reporter: dave swegert is the manager. >> it can be serious. it can be serious because it degrades the performance and alertness of a pilot. >> reporter: the issue of pilot fatigue is a critical one. using data from three different agencies, the cbs 4 i-team pieced together a troubling history of pilots falling asleep or fatigue behind the stick. earlier news report showed more than 300 fatigue-related incidents or accidents nationwide. the i-team uncovered more than three times that number. and in more than 600 of those cases in the last five years alone, the pilots were so concerned they anonymously reported thmszs -- themselves to authorities. >>> the faa rules are still months away from becoming official. >>> the body of an american missin

today in the rose garden, with the democratic president, there was the transportation secretary, ray lahood, a republican and a former congressman. also two former transportation secretaries, sam skinner, there on the left behind the president. he served under george w.h. bush. he's a republican. also, norm mineta who served president clinton and president george w. bush. he is a democrat. i repeat, a democrat who served in the cabinet of the george w. bush administration. infrastructure is so bipartisan, it's not even bipartisan. it's not even nonpartisan. it's like apartisan. and it often looks like that. we have often had cross-party transportation secretaries, democrats serving republicans, republicans serving democrats. it's because infrastructure, particularly transportation infrastructure, has been one issue that both sides have, in the big picture, sort of agreed on. even as recently as the very partisan fight over the stimulus, many republicans argued, we need more infrastructure. >> we do need more money on infrastructure spending. we need more on the infrastructure. we need more

after a visit today from transportation secretary ray lahood. now back to "hardball." >>> welcome back to "hardball." well, president obama was in chi-town last night his hometown. campaigning for the man who wants to have his old senate seat. well, here's the president, think what you make of this, tell us what you make of this. here he was talking about what he's up against, what the voters are up against. let's watch. >> two groups funded and vaepzed by karl rove have outspent the democratic party 2 to 1 in an attempt to beat alexi. 2 to 1. funded and advised by karl rove. just this week, we learned that one of the largest groups paying for these ads regularly takes in money from foreign sources. so the question for the people of illinois is, are you going to let special interests from wall street and washington and maybe places beyond our shores come to this state and tell us who our senators should be? that's not just a threat to democrats, that's a threat to our democracy. >> i don't know, is that smart politics for the president to be tal

secretary lahood also said they needed a governor who would support i-73. i support i-73. i have supported it for the last four years. i have supported resolutions about i-73 to get the support we need in the legislature. we have to have a governor who will convene other governors in this country who will have an input into i-73. i will do that. we have to have a governor who will support the creation of a national infrastructure bank. otherwise, i-73 won't be able to be funded. this is a distinct difference between my opponent and myself. i will do what it takes to have i-73. that may mean tolling i-73, it may mean public-private partnership but we have to explore these opportunities to make i-73 a reality. the next secretary of transportation when i appoint him or her will be on the same page as i am. and will support i-73. the amount of job creation projected to come from successful i-73 projects is staggering. thousands and thousands and thousands of jobs. when i had the opportunity to vote to support i-73, i have. my opponent voted against the resolution, i think this

were going into the billions but after an emergency meeting with the transportation secretary, ray lahood he says he'll give a panel of experts two weeks to evaluate ways to continue the project. the tunnel would double rail capacity between new jersey and manhattan, and he says the state cannot afford it. bill: we're on the hunt, yet again, now for two suspects thought to be involved in the falcon lake mystery, the story along the texas-mexican border. reporters say -- reports, say authorities in mexico are searching for two brothers at the moment, part of an investigation into the death of american david hartley and his wife, tiffany, and she claims that she and david were riding jet-skis on the like and david was shot dead in the head by mexican drug cartel members and she was on "fox & friends" a bit earlier today. >> it is day by day. i have some days that i am just kind of focused on bringing david home and other days i'm a wreck. it is... it's hard, it is just a day by day -- i miss him and it is hard not living with him and going to sleep with him and waking up with him. bill: so

christy met with ray lahood on friday who said his people will review options and report back to the governor. christy has canceled the project over escalatin costs. >>> and finally imagi captain jack sparrow visiting your school. it happened to some lucky children in london after johnny depp, dressed as his character from the pirates of the caribbean movi sang pirate songs, he danced for the kids, along with four other cast member depp is in london filming the latest installmentf that movie. a class act. that is the news for now. now back to amy. >> all right, carl quintanilla, thanks so mu. and now let's get a check of your weather from nbc meteorologist bill karins who is out on the plaza. >>> happy saturday. i'm news 4 meteorologist chuck bell. sunshine out there for you on a saturday morning. it will stick around all through the first half of the weekend and. second half. 56 degrees in town right now. 57 at andrews air force base in prince george's county. 47 in la plata, maryland. plenty of sunshine today and toasty warm as well with high temperatures up in the low 80s thisafte

christy met with ray lahood on friday who said his people will review options and report back to the governor. christy has canceled the project over escalating costs. >>> and finally imagine captain jack sparrow visiting your school. it happened to some lucky children in london after johnny depp, dressed as his character from the pirates of the caribbean movie, sang pirate songs, he danced for the kids, along with four other cast members. depp is in london filming the latest installment of that movie. a class act. that is the news for now. now back to amy. >> all right, carl quintanilla, thanks so much. and now let's get a check of your weather from nbc meteorologist bill karins who is out on the plaza. bill? >> good morning, amy. so beautiful out here. nice in so many areas today. all right, fredricktown, ohio. that's where we're from. who are the next people on the sign? >> these are our children. >> so there's a halle and a halie? let's talk about the pore cast. so many warm temperatures from iowa down to texas and the southeast. 80s and 90s. a beautiful weekend. just the pacific

. >>> transportation secretary ray lahood is considering a complete ban of cell phone use in cars including hands-free calls. >> i think this is a good call. >> i love it. >> in an interview he said drivers are too distracted by their phones. he doesn't believe current restrictions on texting go far enough. he says he plans to meet with automakers to try to gain support for his campaign to eliminate distracted driving. >> driving out of the city on friday, a bunch of accidents because there was volume and they would text and hit the car in front of them. you know that was happening. >> cell phone makers have a way to make these things not work while it's moving. >> i think there should be slammers in cars. >> what are slammers? >> is that the right word? >> is that like a slider? i'm hungry. >> there is a device that can within a certain par ram ter not allow cell phone use. >> jammer. >> jammer, slammer, yellow hammer. >>> now to sports. >> a tough night. >> they're still alive. but they've had a heck of a run. sometimes they're let down after a big game. >> this is the case for the s.e.c.

was that what was behind secretary lahood yesterday saying he'll push sooner rather than later in the $50 million in the transportation fund? >> first off, we met the goal of ensuring that 70% of the money from the recovery act was was spent by the end of the most recent fiscal year. we met that goal but understand that it's -- that's a lot of funding to get into an economy in a very short period of time. so there's still -- there's still some funding that continues, obviously, that has not -- that's been obligated but -- and projects are under way though the money -- the check hasn't finally been written. the economic activity is happening. again, i think those statistics bear that we not just what we can politically bear but we got into the economy what could be gotten in the economy in as quick a period of time. and to do so without waste, fraud and abuse. in terms of infrastructure or expensing or some of the proposals that the administration continues to have, some of them are built off of existing ideas that we're in the recovery act that we'd like to see extended. infrastructur

secretary load also said they needed a governor who would support -- secretary lahood said they needed a governor who would support i-73. we have to have a governor who will convene the other governors in this country who will have an input into i-73. i will do that. we have to have a governor who will support the creation of a national infrastructure bank. otherwise, i-73 is not going to be able to be funded. this is a distinct difference between my opponent and myself. i'm willing to say i will do what it takes to have i-73. it made me and tolling, it may mean a public/private partnerships. we have to make eye-73 and reality. the next secretary of transportation, when i appoint him or her, will be on the same page as i am and will support i- 73. the amount of job creation for the project is staggering -- thousands and thousands and thousands of jobs. when i have the opportunity to vote to support i-73, i have. my opponent voted against the resolution this year would not allow for public/private partnerships and told it is necessary. if we are serious about it, we have to partner with

this morning, secretary mineta and secretary skinner briefed the secretary of transportation ray lahood, secretary of the treasury timothy geithner, and the president himself. as soon as his white house duties were over, secretary mineta came over here and is seeded in the audience. i would like for him to stand and recognized. [applause] now i would like to bring them -- bring gene to the podium. he established goldman sachs's banking reputation during the 1980's in the 1990's. he's a founding principle of what the capital, al seen -- walter capital, llc, and is a board member of caterpillar. he now serves as chairman of the governing council of miller center public affairs. he is a wonderful friend, provides great oversight to all that goes on the miller center. for a few concluding remarks, i will call on gene. [applause] >> i have to add a word of thanks to all of you to being here and taking the time out of your days to be here and listen to this topic. having spent a good number of years of my life in the international irina for goldman, i have a very significant appreciation for