quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the all of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask the to lay before the house a message from the house with respect to s. 3187. the presiding officer: the chair lays before the senate a message from the house. the clerk: resolved, an act to amend the food, drug and cosmetic act and for other purposes do pass with an amendment. mr. reid: i moflt concur in the

house amendment on s. 3187. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. reid: i have a cloture vote at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will please report. the clerk: cloture, we the undersigned senators in provisions with rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate hereby move to a close the debate on the read motion to concur to the f.d.a. safety and innovation act signed by 17 senators as followed, reid of nevada, harkin, whitehouse, conrad, reed of rhode island, coons, begich, kerry, schumer, mikulski, cardin, menendez, lieberman, landrieu, blumenthal, murray, carper. mr. reid: i move to concur in the house amendment to s. 3187 with an amendment. the presiding officer: the clerk

will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada mr. reid moves to concur in the house amendment to s. 3187 with an amendment numbered 2461. mr. reid: on that i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be a sufficient second. the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. reid: you now have a second-degree amendment at the desk i wish to be reported. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: is noter from nevada, mr. reid, proposes an anytime numbered 2462 to amendment number 2461. mr. reid: i have a motion to refer to the house -- i have a motion, mr. president, to refer to the house message to the health, education, labor, and pensions committee with instructions to report back forthwith with an amendment. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, moves to refer the house message to the senate committee on health, education, labor, and pensions with instructions to report back with

an amendment numbered 2463. mr. reid: on that i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be a sufficient second. the yeas and nays are a ordered. mr. reid: i have an amendment to my instructions. that's also at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: mr. reid proposes an amendment numbered 2464 to the instructions on the notion refer is $3187. mr. reid: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: sufficient? there appears to be a sufficient second. the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. reid: i have a second-degree amendment to my instructions that are at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, proposes an amendment numbered 2465, to amendment number 2464. mr. reid: i now ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum under rule 22 be waived with respect to the cloture motion that's just been filed. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the senate now proceed to a period of morning business, senators atloid speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: officer without objection. mr. reid: i ask that on monday, june 25, no later at than 5:30, s. 1940 be agreed to. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now ask unanimous consent notwithstanding rule 22 on tuesday, june 26, at 11:30 a.m., the senate proceed to executive session to consider the nomination number 652. that there -- i should say, consider the following nomination: calendar number 652. there be 30 minutes of debate equal by divide i had in the usual form. the senate proceed to vote on no intervening action or debate on the nomination, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate, no further motions be in order, that any related

statements be printed in the record and president obama be immediately notified of the senate's action and then resume legislative action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to executive session to proceed the following nominations: calendar number 779, 780, 781, 782, 783, 784, 785, 786, 787, 788, 789, 791, 792, 793, 794, 795, 796, 797, -79dz 8, 800, 801, 802, 803, 04, 805, 806, 807, 808, 809, 0811, 812, 8113, 814, 815, 816, and 817. that all nominations placed on the secretary's desk in the air force, army, foreign service, marine corps and navy, the nominations being confirmed en bloc, the the motion to reconsider be laid on the table with no intervening action or

debate, no further motions be in order to any of the nominations and any related statements be printed in the record and that president obama be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now ask unanimous consent that the banking committee be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 33. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 33, an act to amend the securities act of 1933 and so forth. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the national will proceed to the measure. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate, any statements related to the matter be place ed in the record as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration of the and

the senate proceed to s. res. 471. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 471 commending the efforts of the women of the american red cross club mobile for exemplary service during the second world war. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged. the senate will proceed to the parent. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the collins amendment to the preamble which is at the desk be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, the senate adjourn until 2:00 p.m. on monday, june 25, following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the, the senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to s. 1940, the flood insurance bill postcloture. at 5:30 p.m., the senate proceed to cloture vote on the motion to concur in the house message to

accompany the f.d.a. bill under the previous order. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: at 5:30 today -- i'm sorry, at 5:30 p.m. monday, there will be a roll call vote on the motion to invoke on the motion to concur to the house message to accompany s. 3187, the f.d.a. bill. mr. president, this has been a hard, long week. we have accomplished quite a bit. we have a lot more to do. but it has been one of our better weeks. if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it adjourn under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until senate stands adjourned until

>> this weekend on american history tv, harvard professor on the civil war and the movement to end slavery. >> is one of the fascinating aspects of the abolitionism, or the abolitionists, is that when lincoln gives his inaugural speech, self-described abolitionists are still in the minority. they are still -- what transforms abolitionists into respected critics is fort sumter. >> also, more commercially some key political figures who ran for president and lost, but change political history. the contenders, and to look at eugene debs, sunday at 7:30 p.m. american history tv this weekend

on c-span3. >> this weekend on afterwards, fast and furious. >> this is something that was swept under the rug. the art hundreds of faithless an innocent mexican citizens who have been murdered as result of this but the only thing that we knew outside of a government program was that guns from american gun dealers were going into mexico and causing all these problems with the cartel when really the government was sanctioning the sales and sending them into mexico. >> she is interviewed by major garrett, sunday night at nine, part of booktv this weekend on c-span2. >> defense department officials told lawmakers yesterday that despite challenges, the military is on track to hand over power

to afghan national security forces by the end of 2014. major general steven townsend, the joint steps pakistan-afghanistan coordination cell director, says concerns include corruption, illiteracy, and a lack of trained ncos or military officers. david sedney, deputy assistant defense secretary for afghanistan-pakistan and central asia says that while there is corruption is not intended to our progress is not been made. this house armed services subcommittee hearing is an hour and 15 minutes. >> related to afghan national security force, will receive testimony from -- [inaudible] be responsibility from u.s. and nato forces to the ansf. department of defense today is represented by mr. david sedney, deputy assistant secretary for defense for afghanistan and pakistan and central asia. and major general steven

townsend, director of the pakistan-afghanistan coordination cell. gentlemen, thanks so much for the dissipation. thank you for your service to our country. we look forward to your testimony on plans for training and equipping the afghan national security force and the details about the protective size, related rationale of the ansf in the near and long-term. many of us on the committee have just returned from a congressional trip to afghanistan. and during our visit we traveled to several provinces and met with local leaders, including chiefs of police and a number of provinces. we also have the opportunity to talk to the military commanders on the ground who provided their impressions of the level of support that will be needed to create a self-sustaining ansf. it is my hope that our witnesses today can provide for the context on these important issues. as administrative note, i recognize as members of other subcommittees will join us. pursuant to the committee rules i were recognize these members

after all subcommittee members have had an opportunity to question the witnesses. we have with us today, instead of the ranking member, mr. cooper, mr. andrews and would like to turn it over to them for any opening statement he may have. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i also appreciate the witnesses and their service to country and i want to record to show that i will never feel mr. cooper's shoes in any way, shape, or form. make sure you tell them that. thank you for calling the hearing. a pivotal aspect of our country strategy in afghanistan is with afghans to be able to provide their own security. and a pivotal aspect of that goal is the training of the security forces and with all stands. no reflection on today's witnesses, but one of the reason why i think it's a timely the chairman called this hearing is that frankly through two administrations we've had a long history of unfounded and inaccurate optimism on these questions. and i know that the two witnesses are dedicated to telling the facts as they seek

and. i know the committee is dedicated to hang the facts as they are. so chairman, thank you for this opportunity, and we thank the witnesses for being here. >> we appreciate your leadership on this issue also. at this point i'd like to ask unanimous consent that non-subcommittee members come if any, be allowed to participate in today's hearing. after all, subcommittee members have had an opportunity as question. is there an objection? without objection on subcommittee members will be recognized at the appropriate time for five minutes. and with that we will begin with our witnesses who again with mr. david sedney, deputy assistant secretary for defense for afghanistan-pakistan installation. mr. santa, the floor is yours. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. thank you, ranking member, or acting ranking member andrews thank you for the opportunity to be here today. the subject, as the two of you have introduced it, we in the

administered to believe it is its ugly envoy. the key to success in afghanistan is the success of the afghan national security force is over the long term. the united states funded the objectives our strategy, campaign plan in afghanistan have been consistent since president obama announced them in the summer, december 2009. our goal remains to deny safe havens to al qaeda and deny the taliban the billy to overthrow the afghan government. thanks to more than 10 years, particularly over the last two plus years, of dedication, sacrifice of our forces, our coalition partners and the, and their afghan partners and the afghan people, we have taken enormous strides toward these objectives here to that end, u.s. afghan and coalition forces continue to work to drive down the taliban, and to build up the capacity of afghan security forces and the afghan government.

our efforts remain on track to enable the afghans themselves to assume the lead for security nationwide by the end of 2014. as we continue to shift more areas to afghan security lead, and by the end of this september, pull out the final 23,000 search troops which will return home at that time, that is all made possible by the improvements of the afghan national security forces. american and coalition forces that remain on the ground after september will facilitate the continued transition of security to the afghan national army and afghan national police, in accordance with the general alan's campaign plan. as you said, as i mentioned, the key to the success is the increasing capability and confidence of the afghan security forces and of the afghan people. the afghan national army and afghan national police are both

on schedule to meet their goal for size, by october of this you. additionally, i would point out that the afghan security force now participate in over 90% of operations in afghanistan and are on the lead for over 40% of these missions. that rate of growth is on an upward trend. as general alan's stated to the house and senate in march, the ans are, better than we thought they were today, and importantly, they're better than they thought that they could be. this improved capacity is allowing the afghan security forces to assume the security lead effectively. with the first two tranches of transition that are already underway, 50% of the population lives in areas where the afghans a duty forces are in the lead. that number will climb to 75% with the recently announced tranche three which will begin to put in place this summer. tranche three contains a number

of contested areas, areas where the taliban is active. tranche three will really test the afghan security forces. this fighting season that is coming up that we are already in this year will be the most significant challenge for the afghan security forces as they are more in the than ever before. weber, the time for this test is now. when we and our coalition partners have the forces in theater to ensure this excess. certainly the insurgency retains ability to carry out complex attacks. april 15 attacks in kabul, recent attack on forward operating base salerno, with sophisticated and courtney. however, i would point out that those attacks were largely tactical and operational failures. the response to the attacks, particularly in kabul, highlighted the increasing competence of the afghan security forces because at kabul the afghan security forces carried out the complete reaction and taking down of the forces that had attacked.

we have seen two major achievements that send us in the last six weeks that have sent a strong segment of the afghan people, to the taliban people, and the countries in the region. first, the strategic partnership agreement that president obama and president karzai signed in may. president obama's subsequent mcgee speech to the nation from afghanistan. that show that the united states and afghanistan are committed to a mutually beneficial relationship, not just until 2014 but beyond 2014. that strategic partnership extends for 10 years until 2024. secondly the chicago summit, the nato summit in chicago earlier this month was a great success and demonstrated the continued dedication of over 50 nato and other partner countries in supporting stability and security in afghanistan. in chicago, isaf members and partners reaffirmed their commitment to the list of

timeline to complete transition by the end of 2014, and also, very importantly, to continued engagement in afghanistan after 2014. nato secretary-general rasmussen put it, nato and our isaf partners will not be dashed it will not leave the task and a big we will not let afghanistan slip back into the hands of militants which the vast mature of afghan people utterly reject. we will finish the job to help create a secure afghanistan, secure for our shared security. again, i will repeat, our goal is to ensure that afghanistan is never again a base from which attacks are launched on the united states, our allies, our partners. and in chicago, our partners acknowledged once again that shared goal. i'd also point to two recent u.s. afghan bilateral arrangements. the detentions and special operations memorandums of understanding. they proceeded a strategic partnership agreement, and those two mous are critical to

demonstrating u.s. commitment to afghanistan sovereignty and they rely for the execution on the increased capacity of the afghan national security forces. now, while i stress the successes and the progress, i also want to bury directly acknowledge that we have serious challenges still ahead. limited governance capacity and corruption continue to plague afghanistan. and they limit effective governance that will be necessary for full transition. additionally, as stated by general allen in his testimony come and repeatedly and testimony by other witnesses from this ministration and others, taliban led insurgency, the taliban led insurgency continues to operate from safe havens in pakistan. and although we've had indisputable successes against al qaeda, as ensure all of you are aware, we continue to press the pakistanis on the need for them to take action against the taliban and affiliated groups,

which operate out of pakistan and carry out attacks on coalition and afghan forces in afghanistan. we will continue to work with our allies and partners, and the pakistan and afghan governments, and our national partners to address these issues. we will keep congress informed of our progress. as i close i'd like to thank the house armed services committee, and the subcommittee, for the opportunity to appear before you today. we -- for your continued support far men and women in uniform, and for your support to the afghan security forces. because without your commitment to funding and resourcing the afghan forces, we could not have achieved the progress of the last three years. i look forward to your question, look forward to your insights. thank you. >> enka, thank you so much we test with. we now look forward to testament of major general steven townsend contract of the pakistan-afghanistan coordination cell. >> chairman wittman, congressman andrews, members of the subcommittee, thanks for this opportunity to appear before you

today to discuss how the afghan national security forces are doing. our bottom line up front is we are on track to achieve our nation strategic objectives in afghanistan. a sustainable and sufficient ansf and transition are two linchpins of our strategy. and to echo what mr. said he said, ansf continues to grow and improve and remain on track to assume the lead for security by the end of 2014. isaf remains focused on building a capable ansf of 352000. that comes for defeating the insurgency. the ansf continue to meet or exceed issues recruiting objectives with army and air force expected to meet their combined goal of 195,000 why the end of the summer. and the police reaching their goal of 157,000 by october. to be sure, the ansf continues

to face challenges, such as literacy, tritium, and shortage of noncommissioned officers. the nato training mission and afghan ministries provide literacy programs to approximately 90,000 ansf each day. this is going to make the ansf one of the most literate elements of afghan society. attrition continues to be an issue as well. all the attrition will not keep ansf from beating their meaning goals, it continues to hamper the long-term development of the ansf. the security ministries continue to implement policies to combat attrition, and they are working. attrition is going down the last several months. one example is m.o.d. recently approved stricter timelines. shortages of ncos, sergeant, continue to affect the development of the force as well. the army and police are turning everybody from within the ranks to fill this critical positions.

the ansf are taking the lead and training their own forces, and their implementing instructor cadre programs. these afghan instructors are providing more basic and advanced skills training of afghan led training centers every day. operationally the nsf is making steady progress as well. the isaf joint command currently rates 67% of the army units, and 62% of the police units, and the top two tiers were categories of operational effectiveness. that is, effective with advisors and independent with advisors. from january to april, the percentage of afghan led operations increase from 33% to 59%. in some regions afghan forces conduct more independent operations than they do partnered operations. the ana special operations forces also continue to grow and

increase their operational proficiency. for example, a in a soft led operations increase from 44% in january to 54% in april. as we plan for a responsible drawdown of our forces in afghanistan, the ansf will continue to face challenges on the battlefield. but they won't face these challenges alone. to support the nsf during transition, isaf issued to join security force assistance model. that puts afghans in the lead combat role, and has isaf forces increasingly assuming a train, advise and assist role. during this transition period isaf will still fight alongside our afghan partners when needed, but we will assist into more of a support role as the afghans moved to the front. ans that's operational challenges include logistics, army and police interoperability, and competence, among others.

in my own opinion, the ans as greatest challenge is one of confidence. our agreement to stand with them beyond 2014 has been a tremendous boost to their confidence. the will of their force will strengthen as their leadership strengthens, and as their capabilities improved. and as they continue to move more and more to the front. circling back to the bottom line, we assess that our security strategy, our security transition is on track to have a sufficient and sustainable ansf, a simple responsibility for security for all of afghanistan by the end of 2014. finally, thank you all for the work that you do on health of our servicemen and women, as was her efforts to ensure their protection and safety as they complete their mission in afghanistan. i stand ready to answer your questions. ..

are there alternative schedules if goals aren't mad? the transition doesn't take place smoothly and some of the more challenging areas within afghanistan? can you give your ears on what you see is this contingency scenarios and alternate schedules quiet >> thank you very much, congressman. thank you you and your colleagues are taking a trip to

afghanistan to meet with narcotics and troops and afghan partners. in terms of plans for how we are going to evaluate the success of the transition and how we assess the campaign plan, the process we have in place is one where at the end as the season, after and including the remainder fus surge forces are returned home at the end of september, as general allen and has vast will review would have been great as he said, my testimony will be the afghan security forces. they will be as upbeat before. do we have to evaluate that. at the same time, beginning in just a few weeks that third transition will be started, including some very difficult areas. so general allen will have experience to evaluate that.

he will do that and submit a report of the chain of command, evaluating what he believes, what the future requirements are. so rather than developing a holistic contingency plans, what we are focusing on is making what we do now successful and we have a review process in place, whereby the commander in the field will of value if there is changes necessary. he will recommend a set chain of command through a comment to the secretary and the president. so that is the process we are looking for. i will say and afghans and i will be able to -- you won't be the case in the last five days because they'll be up there myself. as general allen said as he may have have heard that you were out there, we are finding the afghans rather than doing less well than it are often doing better than it.

there are some cases where they are doing as well as either we expected thursday and were able to give them the additional help that they need. but we are also, as i said see in places where they do better than expected. we have actually very aggressive and very positive things afghan commanders pushing to do even more than sometimes we think they are ready to. that is the judgment commanders in the field have to make every day about whether people are ready to do things. if you stretched apart could be dangerous. if you don't stretch far enough you won't achieve the goal. so we do have the review process in place for this year. i'd expect to be the same process in place. i would also add that in terms of the issue of the composition of the insecurity forces, secretary panetta, and his formal meetings with the tan interior defense ministers in april, a group called to meet

their issues relating to the afghan security forces agreed on a six-month review process to examine the performance of the afghan security forces commit to evaluate what additional inputs might be needed in changes so they can we have these review processes in place that we take very seriously and look forward to being able to come back to brief you and your colleagues at processes are completed. >> thank you, mr. sedney. we write no right now the uppers surrounding him and most of that is executed by a special operators. as he began to draw down forces to the 68,000 by the end of 2013, the question is, is the transition going to take place in a way to make sure that support elements are in place to make sure special operators to continue half but they need as big a place more and more on an island to pursue operations, the concern is that it isn't strategic in the way the

drawdown is structured the special operators may not have what they need, whether it's air support, other logistical support and may find themselves on an island. can you speak to that issue, and is the planning taking into account strategically where we will be in continuing to pursue along the lines of the stabilization operation with the operators and support in this area? >> yes, sir. as you might expect, we are planning for various contingencies turn out so the 20 anything beyond 2014 from the enduring presence might look like. none of those plans have really firmed up yet, but the dso, village stability operations and afghan local police who mentioned as a high priority for isaf. so obviously, i can assure you that the planning will allow for the proper support of those

hardy little bands of special operations folks and also general purpose forces out on the frontier, where those sites iraq and the support they need will be there for them. bso aop is something that is part of their enduring presence planning comes to envision the program continuing after 2014. so even in our enduring presence footprint, there will be bso aop support. >> without mr. andrews. >> thank you. i think witnesses for your testimony. mr. secretary, you indicated that afghan security forces participated in 90% of operations in the lead in 40. what is the difference being in the lead and participating? >> i'm going to call a little bit -- >> your colleagues here is a lot

more accustomed to describing operations that i would say. i think to be one of the key things i look at when i look at colleagues on this, when the issue comes to lead, are they lead in planning the operation, not just carrying it out, but today have the capacity to plan, due to execute according to plan afterwards at the capabilities after action review to see what went wrong, but we're right and what to do it next time better? i will put a little onto uconn mystique. >> general, what does that look like? >> i will use the very kind of simple analogy of a patrol. a patrol gets a mission and the first thing they do is plan that mission. when the afghans are in the lead, they are planning the mission. we are helping and advising. a short while ago, almost every mission in afghanistan would have been planned in american, sergeant or officer. when the patrol rolls out the

gate, who's leading a patrol? who is actually in front and he was in the command position? a short while ago, that would've been an american. not increasingly and actually the latest reports on more than 40% are in the mid-to high safety range. half of those patrols are now led by and led by and ask him later with an american later tagging along behind, watching the afghan leader control the operation. we get the object did, the four sets on the patrol. but is predominant of the force? rc is in the recent report said 61% of the troops on a mission these days are afghans. that was not the case when i was there a little over a year ago. and on the objective, who is actually given the orders and who is controlling the soldiers as they move out increasingly in more than half the cases now, that is an afghan.

so that is the difference between very helpful and leading. >> one thing, sir. >> i want to jump to the next question. what is difference between the independent with an advisor and an effective as an advisor? what's the difference? >> affected with an advisor is really a matter of degree. if you affect it identifies there, you are getting a lot of advice. and if you're independent, you're getting much less advice. but the big difference is, who is generating if an afghan commander as saying hey, we need to do an operation tomorrow giving orders to an afghan set commander, then they're generating the whole idea of the operation. so that's really the difference between being independent. >> is it possible for an afghan unit to be not in the lead, but be independent with an advisor? or is that an oxymoron?

>> i haven't really thought about this particular question. to be not in the lead. >> if an afghan unit, are they independent or just affect this? >> they may be just affect it. >> are there any units in the late they don't have the top two categories? >> yes, there are. are you concerned american troops might be under the command of a commander and an outfit that is not least effective? >> sir, american troops are not under the command of the afghan leader. they are partnered on the battlefield together, but there is an american later in charge. >> to read data on the attrition rates among the afghan security forces? are they up or are? >> we do have data, which will be happy to provide the committee. we had some nice graphs. the answer is that those attrition is down in both the

afghan national army and police and the last six months to pass these graphs that to you if you would like. >> ask unanimous consent to put them in the record. >> what's the bottom line? >> bottom line is a year ago. but is it now? >> indicates that the afghan national police, a year ago attrition was ranging from 1.4% to 4.6% in the last six months as range from 3.4 in the most recent period, 0.5%. >> what is the main reason why people leave? >> i'm going to defers little bit of this to my colleague here, but a lot of the reason, attrition are people who enter and leave before their contracts are up. the most common reason his family reasons, people have family problems at home and they

feel they can't solve. >> one thing i would be interested is the kia rates for afghan forces i hope to zero. god forbid, but what is happening with the kia rates? are they going up or down or stay the same? >> i don't know which way they are trending, but i do know that the army loses about twice. they have twice the casualty rate that we do in their police have portends the casualty casualty rate we do. they are in this thing. >> i offer no clue what that statistic. i just wanted to know what it was. >> this is helpful. i appreciate your testimony. >> we go to mr. conway. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> one of the things general allen is making his presentation the other day talked about koch one, two, three. from what i asked is that we need a better way of measuring progress across the continuum of

an effective all the way to independent advisors, whatever your skills are. either district by district basis or some way to communicate progress in the transition. in other words coming you said after the first two, 50% of the population lives under the control of the afghans, which would say we are done with transition under tranche one and tranche two. maybe i just misunderstood it, but we need some of the metrics you are using to show yourselves progress. we need those, too. anyway you can be helpful in that regard relative to that. rob and i were over there last week and we'd went down to penury district to have a presentation but the afghan commander, operations of the last several that was as professional is anything we would get anywhere else by folks in the uniforms.

maybe it is just the interpreter knew what to do. i suspect he was being interpreted correctly. i came out of that meeting very impressed with this guy and the fact that he's going to be in charge here pretty soon. major general townsend, the alp, the numbers we are shown for post-2014 and terms of the numbers of security forces versus the money we will be meeting here in an year out to fund us, the numbers to pay is in the asked event about the international community will have to come up a teacher took on the security forces. but the force number itself, 30,000 alp guys is not in the force number itself. my concern on what we are doing because the taliban sold and

they're coming after them because they see them as a threat to their ability to operate in these villages. is there someone in the administrative interior who is going to take ownership and leave the champions necessary to prolong a? i know we like it, but there's got to be someone who's going to share that idea with ice. are you aware that? either one of you? >> first i would like to answer just the thing you said about transition not a star. those measurements are there. there are measurements throughout the stages of transition and to answer your unasked question about, has anyplace completed at? no, not the tranche one or tranche to district provinces and municipalities have completed all four stages of transition at. some of them are in stage three and some of them at enter stage four, but none of them have completed training missions.

>> on your question about the alp versus the troop numbers, is anyone going to take charge of that? the troop numbers are correct are not in the ansi strength by design. the money, however, a's. what we anticipate funding in the out years international contributions. the ministry of interior rd owns the bso aop program. in fact, there is the chain of command that runs through the police chain of command and those alp forces are responsible to the district chief of police. so there rdas a training funding and equipping line that comes down to the ministry of interior. >> i guess the question is, are you all confident that the afghans sufficiently value this program but they won't siphon off the funding because they

have to transition? >> two questions there. are we confident they won't siphon off the funding? yes, we are confident because we control that funding. the funding right now does not go. >> post-2014, the alp has been controversial. there was ownership in the ministry of interior as has proven its effectiveness, we get more and more support from the top levels there as that continues over the next two years i think we are very much on track for that. but it's certainly no secret that a number of high-ranking afghans, people and parliament have been critical in the past of the programs to get that by and we will need at least another year or two to build that support. bureaucratically, as my colleague said yes and the district of interior, there is a structure that govern the alp.

right now, we have a lot of mentors in the process, so we are building that and we think we're on track to complete by 2014, but it's one of the things we'll be having a nap review process. >> thank you, mr. conway. >> thank you, mr. chairman. general, you mentioned earlier something i heard last year in the year before the concern for attrition and the lack of ncos. if you could, the secretary mentioned that the attrition had gone to 4.4, around 4.5 a year ago to 3.4 a month ago, ranging down to half a percent. and just for comparison purposes, what is in the u.s. military, what is their attrition rate? >> congressmen, i don't know the answer to that question.

i can tell you about the afghan attrition. we have a goal, 1.4%. per month. and they have the afghan army is about at that point now. it is declining. their attrition has been declining. the police are actually at that goal. and in fact, they are slightly below the goal they are. they meeting the goal now. the army is not quite there yet, but it has been unsteady improvement from the slope of improvement for the last several months. >> that is because the police force was that i was going to ask about next as well. but can you explain when you say that there is an issue with ncos? what exactly do you mean? >> first of all, there is a shortage. about 17,000 ncos short in the army and about 11,000 ncos short in the police.

>> about 17,000. how many do they have and how he says that mean they need? >> that's a good question. i don't know. alaska colleagues. >> 17,000 short of some number. >> sawicki and see if there's two issues. one is a cultural one. they have not been an army that has a core previously. so we are trying to train the army and the leadership to value noncommissioned officers. so that work is probably the broad thing going on. the next is actually filling the ranks. and they have standards for the noncommissioned officers. they have to read, so that is one shortfall we are working on. so as these guys get recognized in the ranks, as a high-performing soldier, identified to be a noncommissioned officer, they have to read and go to and view course and pass that before they can be an nco. it is a work in progress filling

the slots. >> the reason i have to say it hurt the issue in the years past. as in afghanistan two years ago. i was in afghanistan last year. i'm curious with the growing amount of the force has it remained a constant percentage of lack of ncos, or is it a number that has increased exponentially, or are we seeing a sharp decline? we all know that she's got to have those surgeons on the ground because you're going to have some lack of order perching chaos at some point if you don't have the amount of people you need. as a transition here, i try to find out, will we have the ncos needed to support the 352,000 level, or as was discussed at the chicago sun and night, i was looking more to 230,000 number and where are we going this? >> well, we have the ncos we

need because that is a focused areas are trying to improve. before the hearing is over, we will provide it. my guess is it will probably remained pretty constant, slightly improving because it's hard to actually meet the objective when you add requirements, which we've been doing. but we will have the ncos we need to tan and lead the 352,004 is. i will let mr. sedney address workers in the air. >> just two additional points, mr. congressman. the first is as steve stated, the reason they don't have enough ncos is because justice in our forces, in order to be a really affect you the outcome you have to have 10 or 15 years of experience then this is an army that generally has less than five, so they will grow into that. secondly, on filling the ncos through the process as general

sedney townsend described, as we meet the 352,000 at the end of this honor, that is going to get the afghan security forces two years from october 2012th to the end of 2014 to refine their quality, build the nco course, will that process be finished? now, we and others will have to remain to train advisor system after that, but they will have the beginnings of what they need in terms of numbers if not quality by 2014 at the next two years will be there. when we see the greatest progress in the fto junior officers. >> thank you. >> will go to mr. costanza. >> thank you, mr. chairman. general towns van zandt secretary sedney, thank you so much for your service to our country. a couple points.

first of all, i have a concern. i think in looking back at u.s. military history and our involvement in south vietnam, one of the issues i think that complicated the efforts of the army south vietnam was that they give our doctrine and that is after we left yet non. and that was in november. and they took me out to see a training exercise for artillery. and there was a total artillery and having served in united states army and the united states were in court, i wonder why an earth that we procured for them total artillery instead of the workers? when i press the isaf representatives come he says there, karzai had insisted on coming in now, f-16s msn now.

so total artillery was kind of a compromise. i'm wondering how many areas like that, where we have given them weapons intact takes itself did there reduce the stake as to capability to maintain that after we're gone. and general towns and, i wonder if you could reflect on that. >> yes, sir. i'm actually seeing the same artillery. i would point out that the u.s. army and u.s. marineorps today have a lot of artillery and the afghans have had towed artillery for decades. it is nothing new in mathematics or her for the afghan army of the past or the present. they do have mortars as well. they have white borders and medium caliber mortars, much like we do. so they have a think and direct fire systems that they can have high mobility which they may have some that are less mobile.

i have seen them attach those, two of those. >> at lunch i want to remind you this is u.s. taxpayer expense. mother still require out the elements they artillery does. but let me ask you about my concern about a corruption and afghan security forces, which is stunning. i press the oversight investigation committee under darryl i said to conduct an investigation into the conduct of security forces and a lack of oversight at the towers military hospital, where an park, $42 million of military agents have been missing, unaccounted for, for the general officer charges that hospital, was merely transferred, never relieved, where afghan police and afghan soldiers were dying in the hospital for malnutrition

and medical care because they couldn't come up with the necessary bribes. certainly speaks to a lack of oversight for isaf personnel and monitor, but also, not just the culture of corruption, but also just the fact that, to what extent have a form or corruption of how capable are they when they would allow this to recur. so i wonder if you could reflect. who wants to start? the mac effective start, representative costs and. are supposed to for your selection. as he became aware with the work in the afghans to work with the corruption, there are currently investigations and collective

action underway at the hospital. i may just go back to the worse the culture of corruption. there is, to be frank, not just hundreds, but thousands of history in afghanistan and surrounding regions, where corruption is part of the fabric was fired is not something that the majority of military officers and leaders of the afghan military swans themselves, but ministers has been committed to destroy the structures. the afghans need and we are financing. yes, there is corruption is a mentioned in my prepared to end that we have to work with the afghans to give them the capability to get rid of the

corruption. that is a challenge because, not only do you need to have the laws in place. you have to have the effect of structures in place. you have to have the judicial system, prosecutors, court from a system of incarceration, all of these things. the afghans are building, or in some cases rebuilding, says a huge challenge. but while recognizing corruption is a problem, i would not agree that it is endemic to the point to where rss is not going to pay off his we have some really good partners in the afghans judgment. problematic one. we have one or corruption work at the afghans to get rid of those. i appreciate very much the points you're making. the things that happen in the hospital of things i should ever happened to to any human being anywhere.

>> last point that issue at the hospital is something that could very well be represented throughout the afghan security forces and i think we in congress certainly need to get down to the bottom of it. thank you so much. i yield back. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for allowing me as a non-committee member to ask questions today. i appreciate it. and greetings, gentlemen. mr. sedney, can you characterize for us position of the afghan security forces readiness over the last decade and basically tell me when did they start turning the corner to become a force to be reckoned with in afghanistan? >> i can. i actually was on the ground in

afghanistan. deputy chief of our ministry on may 1st, 2002 in the u.s. special versus iraq to begin training the afghan army a little over 10 years ago. from that comment very, very had to say discouraging start when we had not enough money, not of trainers, not much trainees and windowless bombed out buildings to a we have today we made incredible progress. i would also say that for too long, the effort in afghanistan was underresourced, both in terms of money, but also in terms of the level of training and support we were able to give the former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff admiral mullen described that very graphically when he said in afghanistan we do what we can. but the turning point, i would say really was about three years ago, following the strategic review by president obama and

members of this administration, which recognize soviet not been doing in afghanistan, where we put additional resources of personnel and money we really begin to build to the size and capability that they are now showing. we made the strategic decision and the impacts. >> let me interrupt you because i have a few other questions. i'm sorry, i would love to listen. so, how many taliban are we fighting now in afghanistan? >> their estimates in the intelligence committee and i will defer to them on that, but it's a very hard figure to come up with how many because many people who fight with the taliban are part-time taliban are people afraid with the day. >> they are taliban in pakistan. >> in fact, most of them would

be part-timers. approximately how many. 20,000 click >> again, the last estimate i recall seeing this publicly was 15,000 to 20,000. attanasio better or different figures. >> okay. now, the commitment to withdrawing our forces by the end of 2014, does that include social operations forces? >> we have committed to drawing down our forces by the end of 2014 and ending a late combat role. but we have committed to continuing a presence in afghanistan after 2014. in the strategic partnership agreement was signed with afghanistan last month, we agreed to begin negotiations on a bilateral security agreement, which will set parameters for what the forces, including

participation special factor 2014. so we are about to begin those negotiations to come up with how many special forces are in afghanistan after 2014. >> already. thank you. we are coming up with two under for team national security forces by 2017. we be trying down about 120,000 from the force at its maximum height. that is going to produce 120,000 jobless individuals who understand how to fight. and what do we do with those? and also, 230,000 on 20,000, how do we get to that 230,000 man power to hear? for 2017 clicks

>> does exactly one of the subject secretary pineda suggested that defense minister were back in minister as the form in april may agree to have a regular six-month review for the afghan security forces stand what her future plans are in the security situation and a guinness stand to see what pays that will allow for the drawdown of afghan security forces to a long-term sustainable level and the goal of some end in the neighborhood of 230,000 by 2017 as one would probably agree to. but the actual piece of something in a character, way they get there is something we'll be doing in the six-month reviews. in terms of what happens to those who might be demobilized, under the certain level of national attrition and afghan security forces, army and police sign-on for three, four,

five-year contracts and a lot of families 30% to 40% of the end of their contracts as normal and forces. there is a certain level of normal reduction for saves. there is the possibility of such things as a reserve force and we have had experience. >> who would pay for those -- >> in terms of payment, we worked on a future plan, a future plan of funding for afghanistan that would come from the united states, our international partners, but more and more from afghanistan is over because afghanistan paying for its own security forces by the year 2024. >> and how did we advise at a 230,000 mark for 2017? and is that still a reasonable estimate of the number of afghan security forces on the ground at

that time? given the fact that it's 20,000 television. >> well, that figure certainly depends on the degrading of the taliban. as i said in our campaign plan has been to degrade the taliban, push it down, but at the afghan security forces. interviews to check and see whether that's actually happening. but a much diminished talent in a much less effect to tell the ban will require of us forces and that is that the calculation is based on. but we look at it every success to see in fact >> thank you. guilt that. >> thank you, mr. johnson. we'll start with the second round. for some panel members interested to do that. i will follow-up on mr. johnson's question and that is looking at the underlying assumptions of where we are trained to shame with arghandab

as he spoke of three to 52,004 structure by the end of 2012 in transitioning the 232,000 by the end of 2017. i guess my question is, what are the assumption and analysis that went into determined i was a proper four structure at that time. how does that coincide with the drawdown of american troops over isaf troops during that time. ethic and a speaker for the thought process has gone, where it has been, where we are today and how we came to that number of 230,000. i know there's obviously a resource element associated with that comes at a strategic element with that. other tickets you are assessment on that. >> first of all, to 352,000 was the result of a lot of analysis to include wargaming in that kind of thing to allow us to defeat, allowed the arghandab

ansf to defeat the taliban. there has been a lot to sustain that through 2015 as you know. and that is to get them through a year or more after our drawdown and two elections and sensitive time frames that have been in the future there. so then, how do you get to some number in the future? y 230,000? actually, isaf are in a number planning excursions and 230,000 vicious one of the. quite honestly, one that we would probably pick for ourselves that is a smaller force that is pretty well-equipped and capable. there were other courses of action, some larger with less capability to have more troops you have to have your track and helicopters and things like that. so approximate 230,000 course of

action is one that we agreed to the afghans and our international partners. msu said, there is a resource. that is the first $1 billion action. but the six-month review that mr. sedney taught about, every six months we will reevaluate if that's what makes sense to us based on the threat, based on what is going on in the world. the afghans, quite honestly, would like to have a larger force and more capability. but the world community will find most of that. and so there is a trade-off here. so i think as we go down the road, we will make the six-month reviews and determine if 230 make sense or maybe something else makes sense. at some point in the near future, we'll be asking the afghans to give us your preferred course of action

because they've done a lot of that plan in a brought them into it. >> mr. sedney, and the six-month reviews, as soon they will also include isaf forces. you're looking at drawdown after 2015 of the ansf forces, but also trained by forces to the end of 2014, where we are theoretically out. although six-month valuations also consider if we haven't reached an acceptable security condition but the transition with isaf forces present after 2014? >> well, the mandate, the heads of state have agreed on a decision made at lisbon in 2010, that the afghan security forces would be fully in the lead by the end of 2014. in terms of moving towards that, very definitely the size, but

the size, but more importantly capabilities and the actions that will be carried out by the isaf forces will be considered. but his native state in chicago, in defining and true milestone in 23rd team, that will be the point in which afghan forces are in the lead with their support. so there would be a year and a half for the afghan forces in the lead and isaf support as they become more and more in the lead, they will need less and last isaf support. so we will be evaluating and six-month reviews, looking primary at the afghan security forces and if there's areas for the afghan security forces need additional training and advising and assisting areas where they are facing challenges from the commander in the field will recommend methods to do that.

so yes, it is very much a unitary process, looking at the entire spectrum in the whole country of afghanistan. >> thank you very much. mr. kaufman. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i understand president karzai can't run again and there's not been a credible election yet in afghanistan and i know in iraq under general casey, coalition forces actively supported the independent elect or commission of iraq to make sure there is a credible election. what efforts will be made next time to make sure were to assist the afghan people to make sure there is a credible election so there's a peaceful transition power? >> thank you very much, mr. cox named, and you've hit on a key issue, which is a successful

election and successful transition of power,ome name that does not happen in that region of the world in general. so it would be an historic achievement and when they afghan people are very much aware of as president karzai is pushed publicly and privately to the government that he plans to step down and facilitated transfer of power. in terms of the department of defense and the military role they made out and isaf will play both of the elections in 2004 and 2009, the actual security protection and available an area where security achieved was led by afghan forces and 2009, the judgment of our commanders in the field will be looked to be the case in 2014 as well. in terms of the military's role, we will be supporting the forces

to the degree necessary in 2014 for the elections to carry out the security. the biggest challenge of course is having a credible and legitimate process that results in the power that the afghan people, international community sees as legitimate, that there is an active political dialogue in afghanistan already and our colleagues at the state department and elsewhere are working to that end. there is in the security side, all the indications are, you can correct me if i'm wrong, but the afghan security forces were in good shape to take the lead and the very fact that it in maintaining security during the election period. >> going forward, president karzai has come down on the rates, which i have, in terms of my understanding are very fact that in terms of capturing key

insurgents. where we have right now with night raids and karzai administration? >> quite honestly, the night raids questions has pretty much dropped and the pressure which was highly pressurized a few months ago has dropped significantly since we made this agreement on night raids or special operations with the government of afghanistan. essentially we are turning over night raids an accelerated pace to them. they have now for a thorough strike forces that are doing these raids side-by-side. they are partnered with americans. they are enabled at americans, but they are completely in the lead for four straight forces. they are coalition forces still operating each night. they are partnered also with afghans. it's a discussion that really about who is in the lead in participating. but because of that agreement

because of the continuing success of the operations, the pressure on that topic has dropped significantly with the government of afghanistan. >> in terms of our ability to save some forces, being able to redeployed them out of afghanistan, utilizing pakistan has become an issue in working with the pakistani government. i wonder who could reflect on where you are right now in that negotiation process. >> we have been talking with the pakistanis about reopening the ground lines of communication to continue those discussions. i think people from my office have been involved in those discussions. in a deputy was in islamabad for the last six or seven weeks carrying them out. we have not reached agreement yet, but we do find a great deal of willingness on the pakistan

side to reopen those who report back to the committee when that happens. but i was stressed is primarily due to our partnership with a number of other countries to the north of afghanistan, we have been able to continue operations without any interaction or any hindrance in the level of supplies for our troops in afghanistan, nato partner troops in afghanistan is higher now than it was before the ground last communication that close. it does cost more money. it's a much longer route. it goes through the more difficult areas in terms of development of transportation networks, but all that said, do some tremendous for by our colleagues at trans-con, centcom and by a number of civilian carriers, we are actually in very good shape and able to move forces in and out of afghanistan

as is necessary. however, we don't want to be dependent anymore than pakistan paper interested in having both groups of 10, both healthy competition there and diversity of supply lines that we think is strategically important. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i got back here at >> will move back to mr. johnston. >> thank you are the $4 billion, mr. sedney, that is project due to being necessary to support the smaller force of 200 or the -- 2:30 a.m. ss, that represents about 20% of the afghan current -- current afghan gdp. if we assume that afghanistan will have economic and

governance, maintaining that force will of course require substantial international contributions. what steps are being taken to get commitments from international donors? and how much progress have we made? >> thank you, congressman. last year secretary defends propose publicly that are isaf and other partners contribute one aliens euros a year towards the future cost of the afghan security forces. since that time we've been working actively with our nato and other partners, including countries in the middle east and asia that are also part of the isaf force. i'd say we are very, very close to the goal right now because some of these discussions are still in diplomatic channels are not in a position to give you

details that come at us and we will be able to. we've got a very positive response to countries are able to make multiyear commitments. each has processes, political processes, but the commitments made in chicago have been very positive. at the same time as i mentioned before, the goal by 2024, the goal set up a president karzai and endorsed by about every ask and i knows afghanistan will be able to be kind self-sustaining for security forces. that's a very strange school that would require a huge growth in the afghan economy. there's other prospects a number of areas. agriculture, transportation, mining in the end depends on security. security templates, afghanistan has a lot of areas for economy can grow and meet the goal and that of course comes back to the afghan security forces. but as i said, we've been pleased with the response of other countries and we look forward to giving more details

once discussions are completed. >> i understand also that the poppies crop has been or the level of production has declined dramatically describing season. what is the reason for that? >> the full valuation is still ongoing, including by our intelligence agencies and we should have their official reports in a few weeks. but from what we understand, there is a effect as above. one of the largest is whether an crop rice and other natural fact yours. we've also seen a decline in production, particularly in areas where we've been most effect is in our military counterinsurgency operations, particularly an helmand province area where the combination of increased security and effective crop substitution witnesses a whole government effort of participation in usaid

development committee list apartment state departments and other international partners, giving farmers the opportunity to present enough that even though might be less profitable in one sense is much more secure because they don't have the risk of having the crop destroyed, legitimate outlets for not being preyed upon by criminals. as we've seen that happening to it i would say the largest reason, lease and it totally unnatural, but they are both natural as a result of our policies. >> can you share little bit with us about the afghan police forces that were also training? and what will be our financial commitment, if any for them after 2014? >> the financial commitment before was the afghan security forces, including army and police, both uniformed police, border police and the afghan local police the chairman discussed before fear the police

as a whole in afghanistan as in every other conflict does lag behind. the police and afghanistan. representative hoffman represented before, does very much higher casualty rate than the army. they tend to be in smaller groups, often isolated and are quite often the choice of target for the insurgents. that combination has made it more challenging to build the police. however we see significant progress. the attrition figures i mentioned before show the policemen are staying in, staying in longueurs, becoming part of their communities and in effect the way. as representative coffman mentioned, it's a problem and the police forces and many need to be addressed. i don't know if you have any

comment about the police in your experience. >> my experience over the last year, whether the police continue to improve. this was most notable in the selection and promotion of police leadership. i had, when i first got there he had an afghan police general, who was my partner. and when i heard word of him pending assignment i was quite nervous because he was not very corrupt and i found an honest guy trying to do pray for his country is very concerned. in every case, the incoming later proved to be better than his predecessor. so that was my experience in rc east. >> thank you, mr. johnson. i'd like to thank the members of the committee witnesses today for your testimony. we appreciate the time. and with that, this hearing is

adjourned. [inaudible conversations] >> the state department released its 2012 human trafficking report tuesday. secretary of state hillary clinton calls human trafficking modern slavery. the steps taken to bring human traffickers to justice. [applause] encourage the response of government to begin implementing anti-trafficking measures.

this briefing is 35 minutes. [applause] [applause] >> afternoon, everyone and welcome to the department of state. it's wonderful to have you here. i especially welcome will smith and judi pinkett smith for being with us. thank you for being here. [applause] every year, this event brings together committed readers and

at events from across the anti-trafficking movement and the enthusiasm that surrounded this role shows us the momentum we adults in the struggle against modern slavery. a maria otero, undersecretary of civilian for democracy and human rights. my office oversees the bureau setup countries and governments create just society, societies that are grounded in democratic principles that guarantee respect for human rights and apply the rule of law, whether we are helping strengthen judicial systems or denouncing human rights abuses or help them build strong white enforcement capacities are combating trafficking in persons where we need to help countries protect the individual citizens in their countries. trafficking challenges are one

of the problems that we have and it is also the one area that deals with one of our most fundamental values. that is the basic street i meant dignity of every individual. trafficking also tears at the very fabric of society. it rips families apart, devastates communities. it holds people back from becoming full participants in their own political processes and their own economies. and it challenges the ability of countries to build strong justice systems and transparent government. that is why fighting modern slavery is a priority for the united states. in that fight, we partner with governments around the world to improve and increase the prosecution of this crime, to prevent the crimes from spreading and to protect those individuals were picked to match by it.

.. we have still have to go to ensure basic human rights. i want to thank everyone who has worked this last year to compile these reports. from the ngos that submit this information to the governments that provide us with data, from the diplomats in our overseas

missions to their staff of the office of monitor and combating trafficking in persons who are here today and today really is the combination of tireless work over many months they have taken on. and for that reason, it is really my pleasure and my privilege to be able to introduce my colleague, who runs at at that office, and he was shepherded and given leadership to this process, our ambassador at large, to monitor traffic him in person, luis cdebaca. [applause] [applause] >> thank you madam undersecretary for the introduction and for your leadership here at the state department. bringing so many different issues together under this label of civilian security over the

last year has allowed room here in the state department and across the u.s. government for constructive collaborations, whether we are dealing with human rights, migration, criminal justice, war crimes counterterrorism or as today, human trafficking. because building democracy, growing economies, unleashing the full potential of the individual, these things don't just happen. based are with people. around the world in the last year, we have heard those people, their voices calling out for democracy, for greater opportunity. we recognize that sound. it's the sound of hope. and traffickers ensnare their victims by exploiting that hope, especially the hope of the boulder bowl. come with me, i'll help you start a modeling career. pay me $10,000, i will get you that job. i love you. i'll take care of you.

just do this for us. as long as the trafficking in persons report is needed, we will fi intages account after account of traffickers peddling false hope. but that is not all that we find in the pages of this report because every year that passes, those false hopes are overtaken more and more by real hope, the real hope that the modern abolitionist movement provides. just as trafficking takes many forms, the way that we fight slavery today, the way that we provide hope for those who have been exploited is growing, growing more diverse and more innovative. so it is people who are stepping up. we see the private sector where corporate leaders are using their skills. they are hearing from consumers who don't want to buy things tainted by modern slavery. leaders like ceo thomas out of. when he read a report about forced labor in the fishing industry he was not just

shocked. he acted. he wrote two letters. the first was to the company he used, until that day, to source calamari. the second was an open letter to all his customers telling them that his brand was his family, his family name and he would not taint it or its customers with slavery in the supply chain. we are inspired by his principled stand. we see it among activists like jada pinkett smith and her family who have the unique form which which to act. when her daughter willow began asking about these types of subjects, she didn't just explain it away is something that happens over there. she got to work. she's launching a new web site to serve as a resource for victims and survivors and as an information hub or those who seek to learn more about this crime. jada, we thank you for your advocacy. we see it in people's day-to-day lives, like when abram kovacs

was watching cnn one day. he saw the story of a young boy, a young boy because you refuse to take heart in a baking ring. he wasn't just horrified by the reality of modern slavery. he did something. he got in touch with the boy's family and paid for him to come to the united states for surgery. we are moved by your compassion. if i could take a moment of personal privilege we see it in the men and women who contribute to this report. our colleagues at embassies around the world, and our regional bureaus here in washington, and especially the reports over the team of monitoring combat -- persons. we thank you for your rigor, commitment and with the seal with which you attack this problem. and we see it ultimately in the victims, in the survivors, whether they choose to become activist or whether they choose to lead a life of quiet

anonymity. when you log onto slavery footprint.org, and i hope you do, and it asks you how many slaves work for you, remember that those victims are not statistics. it will give you a number, but these people are not numbers. they are people with hopes, with streams, with courage and with names. remember their names, names like mina, maria, joel, ashley. it's their courage that challenged us to deliver on this promise, this promise of freedom. and it's my pleasure to introduce someone who is never turned away from that challenge. from the start of this effort when most people didn't want to talk about modern slavery to this day, finley recommit ourselves to the vision of a world without slavery. ladies and gentlemen, the secretary of state. [applause]

[applause] [applause] >> thank you. thank you all very much, and i am delighted to see a standing room only crowd here in the benjamin franklin room for this very important annual event. i welcome all of you here to the state department. and i want to begin by thanking ambassador cdebaca and his team for all the hard work that goes into this report and the passion that they bring to the fight against modern slavery. i would like lou, for you and your team to either stand or wave your hand if you are already standing. could we have everyone from -- [applause] thank you.

[applause] i so appreciate what you do every day, not just when we roll out the report, and i'm very proud to be your colleague. i also want to welcome our 10 tip heroes whose work is making a real difference. you will hear more about each one individually when we recognize them, but i want personally to thank them because they do remind us that one person's commitment and passion, one persons experience and the courage to share that experience with the world, and can have a huge impact. and i'm delighted to welcome all of our tip heroes here today. thank you. [applause]

and i will join lou in thinking jada pinkett smith and well for being here, and through you, your daughter. because, as lou said, it was their daughter who brought this issue to jada's attention, and i am so pleased that she has taken on this cause, and we look forward to working with you. in the united states today, we are celebrating what is called juneteenth. that is freedom day come that the date in 1865 when a union officer stood on a balcony and galveston, texas and read general order number three, which declared, all slaves are

free. it was one of many moments in history when a courageous leader tip the balance and date the world more free and more just. but the end of legal slavery in the united states and in other countries around the world has not, unfortunately, meant the end of slavery. today, it is estimated as many as 27 million people around the world are victims of modern slavery, what we sometimes call trafficking in persons. as lou said, i have worked on this issue now for more than a dozen years. and when we started, we called it trafficking, and we were particularly concerned about what we saw as an explosion of the exploitation of people, most especially women, they were

being quote, trafficked into the sex trade and other forms of servitude. but i think labeling this for what it is, slavery, has brought it to another dimension. i mean, trafficking, when i first used to talk about all it all those years ago, i think her a while whether -- people wondered whether i was talking about road he. what we needed to do to improve transportation systems. but slavery, there is no mistaking what it is, what it means, what it does. and these victims of modern slavery are women and men, girls and boys, and their stories remind us of what kind of inhumane treatment we are still

capable of as human beings. some yes, are lured to another country with false promises of a good job or opportunities for their families. others can be exploited right where they grew up, where they now live. whatever their background, they are living, breathing reminders that the work to eradicate slavery remains unfinished. the fact that slavery may have changed but our commitment to ending it has not, and the deeply unjust treatment that it provides has not either. now the united states is not alone in this fight. many governments have rallied around what we call the 3p's of fighting modern slavery, prevention, prosecution and protection. and this report, which is being issued today, is a clear and

honest assessment of where all of us are making progress on our commitments and where we are either standing still or even sliding backwards. it takes a hard look at every government in the world, including our own, because when i became secretary of state, i said, when we are going to be issuing reports on human trafficking, on human rights that talk about other countries, we are also going to be examining what we are doing. because i think it's important that we hold ourselves to the same standard as everyone else. now this year's report tells us that we are making a lot of progress. 29 countries were upgraded from a lower tier two a higher one, which means that their governments are taking the right steps. this could mean enacting strong

laws, stepping up their investigations and prosecutions, or simply laying out a roadmap of steps they will take to respond. but this issue and the progress we have made are about much more than statistics on prosecutions and vulnerable populations. it's about what is happening in the lives of the girls and women i recently met in call qaeda. i visited a few months ago, and was able to meet with some extraordinary women and girls, who were getting their lives back after suffering unspeakable abuses. one young girl, full of life, came up and asked me if i wanted to see her perform some karate moves. and i said, of course. and the way she stood up so straight and confident, the pride and accomplishment in her eyes, was so inspiring.

this was a child who had been born in a brothel to a young mother who had been forced and sold into prostitution. but when her mother finally escaped and took her daughter with her, they were out of harm's way, and finally able to make choices for themselves. now i don't know what's going to happen to that young girl, whose image i see in my minds eye, in the years and decades ahead. but i do know that with a little help, her life can be so much better than her mother's. and that's what we needs to be focused on, and it's what we need to try to do for all victims and survivors. that is why in this year's report, we are especially focused on that third p, victim

protection. and in these pages, you'll find a lot of proven practices and innovative approaches to protect victims. this is a useful and specific guide for governments looking to scale up their own efforts. what kind of psychological support might evict them need? how should immigration laws work to protect migrant sums? how can labor inspectors learned to recognize the warning signs of traffickers? and what can you and all of us do to try to help? when i met with the people who are working with victims, i met several young women from the united states, who had been inspired by reading about and watching and going on line and learning about what was happening in the efforts to rescue and protect victims. and they were there, working with organizations ngos and

the faith community to do their part. so this is a moment for people to ask themselves, not just what government can do to end modern slavery, but what can i do, what can we do together? ultimately this report reminds us that the human cost of this crime. traffickers prey on the hopes and dreams of those seeking a better life. our goal should be to put those hopes and dreams back within reach, whether it's getting a good job, sending money home for the family, trying to get an education for oneself or one's children, or simply pursuing new opportunities that might lead to a better life. we need to ensure that all survivors have that opportunity to move past what they endured and to make the most of their potential. i am very pleased that every

year we had the chance to honor people who have made such a contribution in this modern struggle against modern slavery. and i am also pleased that this is a high priority for president obama and the obama administration. it's something that is not just political and not just a policy, but very personal. you might have seen over the weekend a long story about mrs. obama's roots, going back to the time of our own period of slavery and the family that nurtured her, which has roots in the fields and the houses of a time when americans owned slaves.

so, as we recommit ourselves to in modern slavery, we should take a moment to reflect on how far we have come, here in our country and around the world, but how much farther we still have to go to find a way to free those 27 million victims, and to ensure that there are no longer any victims in the future. thank you all very much. [applause] [applause] >> we are joined today by 10 amazing individuals representative of thousands of more amazing individuals, who

work so hard to do their part in this fight. and i have asked that the tip heroes from the side of the stage come over and join us starting with -- starting with marcelo colombo from argentina in recognition of his profound influence on efforts to investigate and prosecute human trafficking cases and taking a bold stance against corruption and official complicity. [applause] [applause] in recognition of her extraordinary commitment to uncovering human trafficking cases come come her innovative strategy to raise public awareness in spite of limited resources and a proactive approach to providing protection services to victims in aruba, jeanette richardson.

[applause] in recognition of her ambitious efforts to strengthen legislative and criminal justice responses to trafficking in southeast asia and her substantial contribution to identifying the core elements of a comprehensive antitrafficking model, from australia, ann gallagher. [applause] in recognition of his amazing courage to escape slavery and his remarkable activism to end human trafficking, raising awareness of labor exploitation in the fishing industry of southeast asia. [applause]

in recognition of this on wavering effort in the face of threats and acts of violence against him and his family to provide aid to trafficking victims in the republic of the congo, remy vincent torres though. [applause] in recognition of his dedication to victim protection and support and his tireless work to enlist new partners in antitrafficking efforts in greece, phil hildegard. [applause] for her compassion and courage

in bringing attention to the suffering of the human trafficking victims in the sinai and her groundbreaking projects that identify these abuses. [applause] for her ongoing and exemplary leadership to increase engagement and strengthening commitments to fight human trafficking in the osce region, judge maria graziano. [applause] in recognition of her courageous advocacy on behalf of all marble people and her pioneering work to outlaw slavery once and for all in mauritania, a country in which she was first woman

lawyer, fatima. [applause] the founder of international justice mission, an internationally recognized human rights organization, for his work to preserve the rule of law around the globe, gary haugen. [applause] [applause] >> if i could ask vincent to please come to the podium and

speak on behalf of the tip heroes, please. [applause] [speaking in native tongue] madam secretary, -- [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: madam secretary, honorable undersecretaries, honorable ambassadors, heads of diplomatic missions, distinguished guests. [speaking in native tongue]

>> translator: on behalf of my organization, and all the heroes here that i have the honor to represent, i would like to thank the united states government for honoring us with this award at this unforgettable moment. [speaking in native tongue] >> meteorologist: [speaking in native tongue]

>> translator: the phenomenon of human trafficking has reached alarming proportions around the world. my country, the republic of congo and many others represented at this meeting are unfortunately not spared of this crime. therefore, the international community cannot remain silent against this evil and must continue to respond relentlessly i would also like to thank the u.s. embassies in our respective countries for their advocacy and dialogue with host country governments in the fight against this phenomenon. [speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue]

>> translator: in my career as a medical doctor in numerous traumatic injuries i've seen inflicted and on child victims of trafficking that need to stand as a pillar of support for hundreds of children. child victims of trafficking have been identified, rescued, protected and sometimes supported by our organization in the republic of the congo. it has led to several kidnappings and assassination attempts against me by potential traffickers. but it has also filled me with joy and happiness when for instance, heard a senegalese teenager who i rescued tell me, you are my father. [speaking in native tongue]

[speaking in native tongue] >> translator: i have had the op -- honor to represent out so i freak and we will continue to fight against traffickers with passion and commitment, also work work jointly with the government, unicef and other international and national organizations. [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: this is a problem that must be resolved or

a joint effort through trafficking and human rights violations. [speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: and approach grounded in human rights in the prevention of the fight against trafficking has several requirements in both law and practice. most of all, victims rights must be fully respected and they must be clearly identified. finally, these victims are entitled to justice, reparations, and should be treated with close attention as they are vulnerable.

[speaking in native tongue] >> translator: perseverance in the eradication of this phenomenon. [speaking in native tongue] [applause] >> translator: madam secretary, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen i would like to conclude by stating that i hope we can work together to build better future for all children of the world. thank you. [applause]

[applause] [speaking in native tongue] [laughter] your words are inspiring and your leadership in this struggle is also inspiring. you and all the tip heroes are once again reminding us that the individual actions of each human being has tremendous impact in that we are all responsible for playing a role in eradicating this horrible crime that continues to persist in our societies. i want to thank you all for joining this event today. the commitment, the passion, the responsibility that all of you take on, and that is represented

in this room, once again reminds us that we are not only moving in the right direction, but that we are going to make this goal be within our reach. so thank you very much for being with us here today. thank you madam secretary. [applause] [applause] [inaudible conversations]

representative michele bob and if minnesota dressed her efforts to combat medicaid fraud and how congressional republicans are preparing for the supreme court decision. from "washington journal," this is 25 minutes. now joining us on the "washington journal" is michele bach and republican of minnesota representing the sixth district. congresswoman bachmann, it's a long way from the iowa straw poll of last august, isn't it? guess who it is and in fact it

was on most a year ago we are coming up on the one-year anniversary when i announce my candidacy for president of the united states on june 27 and here we are. this is the first real full day of summer and it brings back a lot of good memories back in iowa. >> host: and you want a straw poll that year. >> guest: i did and i was was a first republic and woman ever to win the straw poll. it never happened before and as a matter fact i don't think a republican or democrat no woman has ever won before. that was the first presidential contest and i was very honored to would have. >> host: have you endorsed mitt romney? >> i have. i endorse mitt romney in west virginia and i'm very excited about his candidacy. i think he is an excellent opportunity, an excellent way forward is as again this focuses on turning the economy around and creating jobs and i know he has wonderful experience doing that. he is very savvy, he is very optimistic and you can trust him because he has the background to do exactly what needs to be done. >> host: would you like to be considered for vice president? guest: i would like to see

our economy turned around as quickly as we can and i have every confidence in that run his ability to do that in every confidence that he will make a wise decision on who is vice president will be. i trust him for that decision. >> host: one of the political issues that will be discussed this year's health care in the supreme court who put out his ruling today on health care. >> guest: zero we were prepared to come today, could come next monday or we are hearing rumors that it could -- rumors that a few days to be tacked on it to go into next week. i know one thing, 70% of amec and people now say that they either want the current president's health care plan reformed or completely repealed. people are not happy with it. i think the reason why is because people are seeing into the future what this will mean to them. already we have seen huge spikes in health insurance premiums upwards of 9% or more, and we have also seen people have denial of care. they have been told no, you can't have access to something.

that is not a pretty future for a lot of people and the real problem in health care, and we know there are problems with the real problem is cost. that would have to be addressed and unfortunately the president's health care plan took us in the opposite direction rather than costing all of us less for health care. now under the president's health care plan we are all paying a lot more for health care and that is actually getting less access to care. this really would have to change and that is what the maccabee but to many. >> host: depending on what the supreme court decides if they overturn their individual mandate, is there a plan among house republicans to do something on health care, or to leave it as is? >> guest: there is absolutely a plan. no one wants to leave it as it is because we know there is a problem with health care. it costs way too much for the average american and that is what we want to do. i have a plan and several members have a plan. mine is very brief. it is led any american by any

health insurance policy they want anywhere in the united states with no requirements, minimum requirements from the federal government. then let every american paid for pay for it with their own tax-free money whether their deductible, their premium, their co-pay, going to the chiropractor paid for with your own tax-free money and have chew out practice medical reform. just those alone isn't a teams page bill for people to understand that was radically drive down the cost. that is what people are crying for. will congress bring down the cost of health care? that is what my bill bill come pushes. >> host: representative michele bachmann is her guess we'll put the numbers on our screens if you would like to spend a few minutes diving in to talk with her. she was a graduate of winona state university, and got her law degree at oral roberts university plus has a master's from the college of william and mary. >> guest: is a masters in tax law and i spent a number of us

litigating tax cases in the united states federal tax court. one thing i learned is that high taxes are devastating on the economy and devastating on individuals. that is one thing i want to do. reform our tax code. >> host: represent a bachmann congressional approval ratings are out, 10%. casco are they that high? i'm shocked. they must have spiked. >> host: the republicans are in charge in the house. guest: you are right, think the american people are rightly very upset with the united states congress, because they don't see a lot of action happening right now. the house of representatives has passed the budget. we have passed all sorts of bills that we sent over to the senate where they have gracefully died at the door of the harry reid democratic-controlled senate. this really shouldn't be about partisanship right now. it honestly shouldn't because the country needs us to come

together and get-somethings done so that we can turn the economy around. i don't really want to have to see us wait until november for an election as people can't wait that long quite frankly. a lot of people are really suffering. they are suffering in my state in my district and so that is what we want to do is to see things happen. the house passed a budget and unfortunately the senate they haven't passed a budget for years now and that is really malpractice. that his negligence of duty in its time to get with it. >> host: the first call for our guest represented a bachmann comes from richmond virginia, caroline on our independent line. >> caller: good morning. i would like to take you all for taking my call. my initial call for michele bachmann was a question about the economy but in listening to her talk and talking about the partisanship, and what and how we need to work -- that really threw me for a loop because it seems like there's so much bickering going back and forth.

are you willing to say to the republican party, we need to put all this bickering aside and we need to come together and work out our differences and compromise? it seems like you guys are always talking about needing to work together, however, when someone says compromises like a dirty word to you all. i have seen none of you all step up and hold the republican leadership accountable for working towards compromise. are you willing to do that michele bachmann? jaczko i am not overly willing but let me tell you how one of the most significant pieces of legislation went through this year and it was one that i was the lead on. are brought together republicans and democrats from two different states. we were able to finish the longest unfinished bridge project in the history of the united states. this was not easy sherrilyn. we had to have two-thirds of the

members of the house of representatives vote in favor of this bill, and i actively worked with democrats to get this done. as a matter fact i even reached out to former speaker of the house nancy pelosi and she voted for this bill as well. so i want you and all of the c-span viewers to be encouraged, because it can be done. when you can have michele bachmann and nancy pelosi agreed together to get a bill done and when you can have michele bachmann and our united states senator al franken agreed to agree to get something done, you know you have had a good day of compromise. so of horse again happened and i just want to give you and the c-span listeners or viewers an opportunity to know that we did get it done. i am just on the cost of introducing a brand-new bipartisan bill. i'm reaching out to democrat co-sponsors first on my bill because this is very important. one thing that we see is a lot of poor people need to have health care services.

what while we discovered a minnesota is that there is a stunning amount of fraud going on in medicaid. not medicare, medicaid. that is health care for poor people, so we are coming together because we found out something really shocking, sherrilyn. there hasn't been a third-party audit of where this money is being spent. it's not going to the poor people who need it, but somebody is getting this money. so i'm trying to bring republicans and democrats together, get this bill on the floor, because where the president's health care plan is in full force, that will expand medicaid just in my home state of minnesota by 21%. if we are seeing billions of dollars in just my home state, potentially lost to fraud, imagined when we make that pot of money 21% bigger. that means 21% more fraud in all likelihood. that has to end. that is why we have to come

together and do something good for the american people, and that is to make sure that your money, because it's your money, not mine, let's make sure your money is spent right. that is why i want to bring democrats and republicans together to do just that. >> host: you recently called for an audit to minnesota's medicaid program. casco i called on cms the federal agency for doing an audit and i said don't wait until the legislation has passed. do it now and take a look at what has happened in my state. that is kind of remarkable thing. remember congress says look at my state and see what the problem is and what's going on, because right now when you have billions of dollars, we are a relatively small state in population. 5 million or somewhere under 5 million people. imaginative presidents health care plan in my state alone, medicaid will expand 21% and it's really kind of like this. if you went to the grocery store and you pushed your grocery cart

up to the cashier and you figured you had $35 worth of food in your cart, and the grocery store cashier said, that will be $300 please. you say, $300? i only have $35 worth of things there. let me see my grocery tape and the cashier says, you can see the grocery tape. give me the $300. that is what is happening in medicaid. the managed care organizations are passing a bill along. we don't know what they are charging for. we don't know who they are charging for. we don't have any data. that is going to my state of minnesota. they are demanding more information on the bill. there are sending that the launch of the federal government and the federal government is paying it, no questions asked. this is gone on for decades. this has to stop now. we don't have extra money to waste. we don't have money for fraud. no more. so we have got to get this right.

it's not a partisan issue. it's not about reading up on democrats. it's not about beating up on republicans. this is an issue of out and out fraud. that is one thing where democrats and republicans can come together. nobody likes fried and it's got to end. i have to tell you i also sit on the committee that deals with intelligence, the classified secrets of our country. i'm happy to let your viewers no, my estimation it's probably the most bipartisan committee we have in congress. isn't that good news? the committee that passed this was dealing with the nations classified secrets. both republicans and democrats right now are absolutely outraged by all of the national security leaks that are coming out. both parties want this to stop. that is one more area where we are working together. >> host: mike rogers chairs that? guest: yeah, and mike rogers, i can't say enough about him. he is the chairman of the committee. he has done more to set a positive tone for

bipartisanship. we take our job very seriously. every member on the committee shows up him and they work extremely hard and unfortunately your viewers don't know that because everything we do is behind closed doors. it has to be. these are the classified secrets of the nation but this is the most highly functioning committee i have ever been a part of. the ranking members of democrat, dutch ruppersberger and i love him. we get along great. i get along with every person on this committee. it's just marvelous. i think it's important that people know that. the committee that really don't hear a lot about because all of our work is behind closed doors, very bipartisan. we are getting a lot done but we are equally outraged about the leaks, the national security leaks that hurt americans, our safety and can get people killed, innocent people killed. so we are trying to get to the bottom of these leaks to make sure they stopped. >> host: will "the new york times" story?

guest: i was extremely upset. >> host: just tell her viewers about the cia monitoring or working on weapons for syrian rebels. guest: that's right. this is unprecedented. we have never before seen, as a matter fact two weeks ago i was at the general who said michele and 55 years and they both ran being connected with the military, i've never seen this level of national security secrets being leaked. this is just unprecedented, so that was just within the last week alone. i don't really want to repeat what's been going on out there because it's very concerning. it has to end and i just want people to know that this is another area where you can feel good because democrats and republicans are coming together. both of us see this is a very serious and the frustration quite frankly has a lot of answers that they can give to us. host of "the new york times" reported the cia were officials and turkey have been working on this for several weeks, so this morning story was not news to

you? guest: of course i won't be confirming or denying anything that is in "the new york times" story. i think it's reprehensible that the story is even printed today. i think what is even more wrong is that these leaks need to come out and they have to end. there are real answers here and i do have a real concern with the frustration. "the new york times" would another story office said the president's political advisers, the guy who is concerned about the president's re-election, is sitting apparently and that most secure room that we have and the united states. that is the room that the president makes his decision on what he calls -- when he holds cards with pictures on it and decides who he will kill. this is the president making that decision. it's arguably the most sensitive national security secret we have. sitting right next to him is his political adviser, david axelrod. i call him general axelrod. now apparently he is in this

room. i will tell you as a member of congress, i wouldn't be allowed in the intelligence committee one minute after i was no longer on the committee. because you have to have that clearance to be in the room. a staff member on the intelligence committee, one minute after they were no longer a staff member comes they wouldn't be allowed in that room. why in the world is the president's political guy in the room when he is making national security decisions? that is absolutely reprehensible. no one has ever seen anything like this before. you can do that. he is the president of the united states. when it comes to national security, that has to be a very inviolate area that can't have anything to do with politics. politics can't touch our national security decisions. >> host: the next call for representive bachmann comes from tennessee, daniel, danielle, democrat. good morning. >> caller: thank you peter for taking my call. i want to express my

appreciation for the congress lady to appearing on your program. i wish more politicians would do that. it shows a degree of honesty to the american people. >> guest: thank you. >> caller: when you start getting carried away with obama and you start becoming political toward the end of your five-minute diatribe there, i was going to ask another question but now i'm going to ask this question. the gop shuns gw bush at this last convention. he was not allowed to speak. are they still embarrassed? will they be able to appear or speak at this convention? members are cut and run. mission accomplished. how about shock and awe? how? how about the yellowcake? okay? i am sorry, you just brought out

the bipartisanship at the last minute. i was going to ask you regarding whether are born that way or it's a choice? >> host: we have got a lot on the table there daniel. representive bachmann. guest: daniel, thank you for calling. i appreciate the fact that you did and your question originally began with the fact of being political about president obama and national security. that is really the issue right now. we are very concerned because it seems that the president of the united states is being political about national security. this is what i think is very concerning not only to myself, but millions of americans across the united states. because the one area where you should never, ever, ever be political is in the issue of keeping the american people safe on national security. and revealing intelligence secrets. no one has ever seen this level of highly sensitive national

security secrets revealed before. seekers have gotten out in previous administrations, but never to this degree. never to this level. so much so, danielle, that republicans and democrats agree from the lead democrat to the read republican all the way down to the newest member on the intelligence committee, we are in agreement. this is wrong, what's happening. it has to stop and clearly, there were some bragging that was going on when the information came out, that the president's senior political adviser -- this isn't his national adviser. this is his political adviser, who was sitting next to the shoulder, apparently in the room when the president is making the decision about who will be killed on the next list of terrorist. now, why in the world with his

lyrical advisor be there? are they doing a focus group tests on what would be best for the president of the united states? this camp he about the president's next election. when it comes to terrorism, and this is a real issue, terrorism, we are sitting here behind peter's shoulders. you can see the dome of the capital. it was only just a few months ago an illegal alien from morocco strapped what he thought was a bomb to his body, and he was making his way to the capital. i was inside voting along with over 400 numbers of congress. he was interdicted by the fbi, just three blocks away from that capital. had he been successful and had the fbi not stopped him, that capital dome wouldn't be there today. it may be 400 members of congress wouldn't be alive today. this is a real issue. i am serious about it and i know the american people are serious about it. we have to pull out the politics and do what's right for the american people.

>> host: someone hootsuite says oversight of gop asks as president today how would you handle the transportation quest. >> guest: well i would get a long-term transportation bill. this has been part of the problem. state and local governments need to have some certainty. they need to know what's going to happen. when congress does one stopgap bill after another, for instance a 60 page bill and transportation are even a six-month bill? how does the state or local government possibly planned? i mentioned earlier when i was on, that i help to build the stillwater bridge, the longest unfinished bridge in the history of the united states i am told, knit bipartisan way. yacht and a long-term down the road what money you have to work with, what the policy is going to be that you have to work with and i think congress, this is a legitimate function of congress. i'm a strong fiscal conservative but i believe it's the function

of government to build roads and bridges and interchanges. that is our job. so we should have a long-term transportation bill. i would like to see us have a five-year bill for the state and local government to know what they have to do. >> host: the house is coming in four minutes. butler indiana, republican. >> caller: good morning. michele, praise god. it is an absolute privilege and honor to talk to you. i was always pretty cynical about politicians for the last 20 years. i'm an old reaganite lover and two plus two is four. when i saw you and a bunch of the new young tea party conservative common sense folks who came onto the scene, my eyes lit up and my heart skipped a beat i was a happy. i've got a 12-year-old daughter that i love than she she is getg enthused. i moved from new york 13 years ago with taxes and regulations to indiana with common sense, low taxes, low regulations and the economy is improving despite

our government. i just want to give you a shout-out and say, keep up the good work. always remember two plus two is four. balance our budget, tell the truth and you are a shining light in the darkness. never waiver, never give up, and i'm so happy to talk to you. god bless you. >> guest: thank you for your words of encouragement. i wanted to know that i'm the chair of the tea party caucus in the united states congress and we are concerned about the overextending and the debt accumulation and we are going to continue that focus. people don't recognize the tea party has been wrongly maligned. they see us as three things and it's following the constitution, not spending more than what we take in, two plus two equals four, and also to make sure that people realize we are taxing more won't be the answer. i also wanted to know indiana has done the right thing. under your governor mitch

daniels and the great legislature, you've been able to pass some really good commonsense legislation. that has benefited the people of indiana. i know our current representative mike camp is running for governor in indiana. he will also continue the great african indiana i think long into the future. it will be a of great states of thank you. >> host: and off you know this but it was just announced that mitch daniels as he goes out of office will become the new president of duke university. just go he will love that job. that's a great job for him. he's a very smart guy. >> host: representative broxson we only have a minute left but this is from john in north carolina. rest assured we conservatives know we have a spending crisis and goes on to say the bush tax cuts annually is 5% of the annual -- >> guest: what we need to do to stop the out-of-control spending because right now the current tax rate will become the greatest tax increase in the history of the country. if we fail to keep the current tax rates where they are, your

c-span viewers need to know that the average household is looking at a 3000-dollar he eared tax increase come this january 1. i don't know people who can afford that when gasoline is $3.60 a gallon or whatever it is in your neighborhood. that is what it is an mind. an additional $3000 to go to the government. this place that is spending billions of dollars a year in fraud, just in one state alone, mind, on medicaid. this is correct and. the answer is not for us to give us more power of money, the ants or are is for the federal government to get its act together. when you have an out-of-control situation and you don't feed the fire. that is what we have to do. we need to get more commonsense and this governments of the government starts