excellence, from threading the

accidents of campfires to brushfires of quality. we invite you to use your influence through the power of words and ideas and join us on this journey to ensure not one, not some but every student has access to quality public-school. that is the goal and that goal can be a reality if we work together as you put together the platform for education. please remember the profession, quality of policy, quality of the school, quality of the unions so please keep listening, keep learning and keep beating. thank you very much. >> thank you. quite frankly i let you talk launder than the others.

but let me say to my colleagues here, who would have the courage to cut off russia? thank you for your testimony and you are a wonderful teacher and wonderful education leader and i am proud to have you here today. >> hello and the best you on your next journey and see you back in the states. >> thank you so much. let me let you know where we are. we are two thirds of the way through. you need to sit up and stretch. feel free to do that. we have eight more folksy hear from. the next person is mark perie o periello, president and ceo of the american association of people with disabilities. that is the nation's largest

cross this ability membership organization. the american association of people with disabilities mission promoted equal opportunity, equal economic power, independent living and political participation for people with disabilities. we thank you for coming and look forward to your testimony. it is a pleasure to be here. >> thank you for the invitation. it is absolutely an honor to speak on behalf of fifty-four million americans with disabilities. we are the largest minority group in the united states of america. something most people don't know or realize before i go on i would say as an american with attention deficit disorder i have no idea how you sit here all day. absolutely impressive. as an american at with attention

deficit disorder i have prepared remarks that totally changed the last few minutes. we heard about the war on women which is a very public work that people know about but there's a silent war that is happening against peoplear that people know about but there's a silent war that is happening against people with disabilities all across america in board rooms and schools and all across america. the decisions that you all make on the democratic party platform is the first step or one of these steps towards absolutely good positive change and a new direction in that war. i want to talk about some specifics i hope to see in the platform. before i do that just acknowledge under president obama's leadership we have seen such commence strides for people with disabilities. he signed into law the

twenty-third century--the twenty-first century access ability act and set hiring targets for federal agencies at 100,000 by 2015. we are making tremendous projects -- progress towards that goal with the leadership of john very. he has removed one of the traditional barriers to healthcare for so many millions of americans with disabilities which is preexisting conditions and the leadership has been outstanding and i hope as you look at the platform that that leadership continues and that it is strong and bold and staked out a big plane to move the ball forward, people with disabilities because -- and not one of the things i planned to talk about today but dr. williams who i know and respect talk about voter id laws. people with disabilities are

disproportionately affected by voter id laws. there are a lot of people with disabilities who do not have ids. we are working with a broad coalition of civil rights leaders to assure americans with disabilities continue to have a right to vote. i want to reiterate that point of dr. williams because it is so important not just for african-americans that people with disabilities in so many other constituencies in this country. the other thing that is interesting when you talk about the sort of silent war against people with disabilities, 85% of students with disabilities report incidents of being bullied. much higher than the incidents for other traditionally thought of groups when it comes to bouillon. one of the things we're doing every day is working to eradicate that. we are partnering right now with

nascar with huge anti bullying campaign at the brickyard 400 right now. we need to change so that all students regardless whether or not they have a disability can learn in a place where the first thing they need to think about is their education and not survival. turning to the platform one of the things that is so important for americans with disabilities is employment opportunity. so last december president obama and department of labor issued a notice of proposed rule making of section 503 of the rehabilitation act of 1973. what this would read do is require federal contractors to set higher targets around people with disabilities. it is 39 years overdue. this president's leadership has moved the ball forward. we haven't seen a final ruling yet but when is implemented it will be the most significant

change in employment opportunity for people with disabilities in american history in american history. it is a huge game change. there are a lot of folks out there in the business community that are quite frankly scared of this change. they're not sure how to find people with disabilities to work for them. they don't think people with disabilities are qualified at the same rates as other americans but frankly most of those arguments are false and the disability community really look forward to that rule being implemented fully and we hope the democratic platform will stake out a strong claim and specifically mention the 503 rule. there are companies that are doing the right thing and actually weighed in during the proposed rulemaking. companies like american airlines, list goes on and on. walgreen's. there's a lot of business reports, a lot of people doing

the right thing and the democratic platform, stating strongly that 503 is important and 39 years overdue. an important thing for people with disabilities and when i talk about board rooms imagine the discussions happening in board rooms right now about section 503. it is a silent war that people are talking about. 70% of americans with disabilities long-term unemployed. this is an opportunity to change that. you all have opportunity to change that. the second thing i would like to talk about is americans with disabilities act. it was past 22 years ago yesterday and it absolutely fundamentally transformed opportunity for americans with disabilities. 22 years later we are still defending it. we are still trying to push

through new regulations to see its full implementation. i don't think a lot of people actually know that 22 years later this battle is still happening through the regulation process but also through congress. one of the things we are focused on is not our top priority. something to mention in the platform is swimming pools. doj move forward on a rule that would require public swimming pools accessible to people with disabilities. seems like a fairly frivolous issue. aren't there more important things? absolutely. but this rule prompted the hotel industry to launch an all-out assault against the americans with disabilities and our equality and it took the form of legislation moving through congress that stripped the doj of funding to enforce this rule,

house, not the senate. they were very successful in encouraging the department of justice to change the regulation, to move from fixed west's which means people with disabilities don't need to ask anyone for help. they are there -- to require people to ask for help, to one train staff who don't necessarily know where the lists are or how to install them. and so making sure in the platform that the a the a used regularly --ada -- we need a strong statement of support about the weakening of the ada. it is providing access to the boy with disabilities, there is a trend of naming the opposite of what they mean.

there's a hearing in congress in june. what it would do is require people with disabilities to wait up to 120 days before they could have their day in court if a business was violating the a.d.a. and they wanted to sue. the proctors of the bill say that the goal is to cut down on frivolous lawsuits and there is no doubt that frivolous lawsuits are a problem. but if that is what you are looking to solve than focus on the attorneys who are unscrupulous and doing the wrong thing. don't penalize people with disabilities and force them to wait 120 days to have their day in court. what other group of americans need to have a waiting period before they go to court? no one. no minority, no people of faith. it doesn't happen. it is absolutely tearing down of

a.d.a. which passed 22 years ago and we need strong leaders like you in the fight alongside us to make sure that it doesn't continue to happen. because those efforts are ongoing and right now it is the a.d.a.. my guess is next there are other civil laws on the books that will see the same tactics used to undermine and weaken. healthcare. we have heard a lot about health care. i almost don't need to talk about it because i imagine that support for the ac a will remain in the democratic platform but the thing that i will really stress is the medicaid expansion. it is such a vital piece of the affordable care act. it will expand opportunity for independent living for employment for so many millions of people.

governor after governor saying they will not take expansion money. and that is part of the silent war people are not talking about. there are fifty-four million people many of whom need vital services that medicaid provides in order to live fully independent lives. finally one thing that was in the platform in 2008 that i hope you will reiterate his support for the u n treaty on conventional the rights of people with disabilities. president obama sent the ratification package to the senate a month ago. yesterday the former ration committee voted 13-6 to send it to the senate floor reiterating support that is absolutely important. when we pass the a.d.a. 22 years ago it was the first law

protecting people with disabilities on the entire planet. the united states was leading away. now on the convention of the right to people with disabilities there are over 100 countries that have ratified the treaty. our leadership on disability is waning and we need to make sure that it passes the senate and until that is done remained a central part of the democratic platform. it is an honor to be with you all today to share these thoughts. one thing that is so important to stress is these are only some of the issues. disability affects everyone. whether you are in a red states or a. state or a republican or democrat or man or woman. it absolutely doesn't matter. and so when you look at

transportation, so important. community living, so important. list goes on and on. disability issues are american issues. a broad segment of issues, i hope disability will be included as a lens. >> i want to be sensitive to our time but those who come to testify, an opportunity to be heard. unnoticed that it is passed 630 and we still have several folks here. if there are no questions we will go to the next presenter and on will ask presenters to please do as much as they can to keep their remarks to five minutes and i will ask my committee members if they have a burning question please ask it.

let's try to be as sensitive as we can to the fact the time is moving along. the next presenter, the rev. canon k. campbell and is executive director of minnesota council for churches, representing profits -- protestant denomination in minnesota. and respectful, welcoming and just communities in minnesota and also the past president of the national council of churches. thank you for coming and we look forward to your testimony. >> i know there's an awful lot of history and ways in which the clergy are like lawyers but i can tell you -- we will do our best. >> let me give you a warning. you are not from ohio.

>> thank you very much. i am deeply honored to be invited here to speak to you on behalf of the national council of churches today. welcome to my home state. it is made a 38 denominations. among those communions are forty six million a proximate members and constituents. that is who i am here for today. the past spring the national council of churches joined some of the nation's other largest groups to put together a fateful budget. this was put together in response to the budget that congressman paul ryan had whipped up. there are some similarities with earlier testimony you have heard today but national council signed on to that statement and that document from which i want

to share with you a little bit today. they wrote in that document that american society as a whole is or should be a place where we delight in the value of each and every one and gladly accept the mutual responsibility for one another's will be in. as american people we have to understand ourselves to be one nation under god, not a mere collection of individuals. and all of us have something to contribute together and none of us is to be excluded from this circle of mutual care and concern. government of, by and for the people at its best is a vital forum for promoting the common good and insuring that no one is left out. the message that they said, calling on national leaders in a

way that suggests that it is simply untrue that we have to reduce a system for the poorest among us in order to achieve fiscal recovery. that a faithful federal budget can advance fiscal responsibility while increasing support for the 4 leaders will for the vulnerable by focusing on job creation, economic revitalization and an equitable tax system based on fairness and true human security over the military spending. that particular day we called on our shared sacred scriptures and looked at what the profit rise they had to say about national recovery. here are these words. if you offer your food to the 4

and satisfy the needs of afflicted, then your light shall rise and the darkness and the gloom shall be like and in day and you shall rise up the foundation of many generations. you shall be called the repair of the breach, the restorer of the streets to live in. that national recovery starts with the care of the most vulnerable. i want to share those eight principles. we ask those eight principles to become part of a plank around federal budget issues. they are the following -- restore economic opportunity and i left my notes with your staff person. inshore adequate resources,

prioritize fruits human security, meet the immediate needs, accept generational responsibility, use the gift of creation sustainably and responsibly, provide access to health care for all and recognize the robust role of government. just a few remarks about a few of those principles. one of the most important, the opportunity to work hard and improve one's economic condition is a value that has defined this nation but it is a reality increasingly available only to those who are already wealthy. we believe in the inherent worth of every individual and that god intends dignity, health and wholeness to each person and we need an economy that empowers workers to self-sufficiency and provide pathways of poverty.

principles of liberty and justice for all enshrined in the pledge of allegiance seem hollow were and hollow words these days as that opportunity to work slips out of the hands of many. number 2, the most important, insuring adequate resources for shared priorities. from the time that a federal income tax was established the concept of a progressive tax system based on the ability to pay has been widely accepted as fair and equitable, but we want to suggest that over the last decade our tax system has grown less progressive and now frequently places more of a tax burden on the middle class than it does on the wealthiest among us. this results in a system that perpetuates inequality, rewards

behavior that generates financial security for those who already have it and excludes those who are working hard at low-paying jobs from the benefits. a tax code that is equitable and moral and rewards the efforts of low-income people to work and to save is part of the call we want to make. prioritizing human security with over half of the budget being of discretionary budget, being aimed at military spending, we are unable to invest in places we need to but we believe a fateful budget must reevaluate those priorities, increase investment in the areas of health, education, community well-being and that is what is essential to security. meeting the immediate needs, proactive stimulus policy that

the elasticity of the mandatory safety net programs supplemental nutrition assistance program and medicaid is essentials as we look at the future. accepting intergenerational responsibility. we agree we cannot leave our children a legacy of debt but neither must we leave them a legacy of rising poverty and growing inequality. using the gifts of creation sustainably and responsibly because of the -- the earth's resources, that must be -- that reference to that must be part of up fateful budget. reverence for the creative environment. making choices that protect the air and water and when and. providing health care access to all. we are providers of services in the congregation as individuals

in many institutions and we are well acquainted with the importance of providing access to health care for all people. we affirm what happened in the a.c.a. and as we continue to move towards health care for individuals all individuals regardless of age, income, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, employment status or health status all deserve an inclusive accountable health care system. recognizing a robust role for government. we are inspired by a common conviction that faith groups who spoke said we were inspired by a common conviction that god has called on all of us as individuals, as communities of faith and as society acting together through our government to protect the most vulnerable and promote the dignity of all

people. the faith community will do its part and we are but the government, public sector partnership is absolutely needed. that they last spring faith leaders gathered and said as faith communities and as americans of conscience we stand with those whose need is great and we call on all to act together as american people with mercy and justice to rearrange the national priorities from what congressman paul ryan is telling as needed to be the priorities. thank you for letting me be with you today. >> i think your testimony reminds us that the national budget is a moral document. i reminded listening to you of a verse from the gospel of st. louis where your treasure is there will your heart be also. >> we believe the heart of the american people is ready to take care of all of those who are

most in need. one of five children in poverty. america wants us to do that. >> questions for the rev.? >> good to see wall. >> thank you for coming. our next presenter is lilliana, the director of policy and legislation for the league of united american citizens, the largest and oldest of hispanic organizations in the united states. advances the economic condition of the educational achievement levels, political influence, health and civil rights of hispanic americans through community-based programs, operating at 900 councils nationwide. thank you for your testimony. >> thank you so much for having me here today. i am going to speak about

education as it impact the latino community. i worked at the league of united latin american citizens. we have air balance the -- volunteer base and looking across the united states and puerto rico. we do advocacy work with 900 councils and parts of our advocacy work focuseds on education, health, immigration, jobs in the economy and civil-rights. i will be talking to you about education. when it comes to education, to close the gap for hispanic students and build the public will and support among policymakers, advocates, community leaders for policies that strengthen school quality and increase graduation rates for minority and low-income students. my remarks today will focus specifically on ways that we can work to support students of color to be prepared for college

for life and how high graduation rates. the recessionary economy has impacted the hispanic community as million serve seen a decrease in household wealth and net increase in poverty and unemployment. the hispanic community has seen no academic achievements as 50% of hispanic students graduate from high school on time. our current education system is creating the next generation of highly talented and skilled workers that are needed to out in a vase, out educate and out compete other nations. we can no longer afford to turn away from the harsh realities. today we ranked nineteenth round world when it comes to education systems. every 29 seconds a child drops out of high school. that make the one.9 million students dropping out on an annual basis. of those the graduate of leigh three of ten students of color won't have the skills they need to be successful in secondary education or in life. for many families the only hope

out of poverty is a high-quality education for children. this is why a high-quality education is particularly important for low-income students of color and one of the most importance of rights issues of our time. additionally a country's economic competitiveness is contingent on increasing high school graduation and college completion rates among all minority students. ..

student to graduate high school also cost your nation over 2 billion a year in remedial coursework. restoring the guy of a high school diploma can only be done by increasing academic standards for students. it is no achievement -- excuse me, there's no understatement that in order to sure that prosperity of our nation we must align state academic standards to college and work readiness so that as our nation graduates leave high school, they're ready to enter college and be successful in life. in order to improve conditions for students of color, we must pay close attention to the critical importance of school accountability and achievement gaps. thereby, we should hold states, school districts and schools accountable for academic success of our students. we must also ensure that the most tiny schools are equipped with quality leaders and teachers. we must ensure that the communities also vested in student readiness and providing equitable learning conditions

and expand learning opportunities for all students. enhancing college and readiness and strengthen high school graduation rates for all students bring significant closer to strengthen the quality of education for all students. it is in the best interest of the 18-point forming students of color that are enrolled in public schools in the u.s. today, as well as the 1 million students that are dropping out on an annual basis, that our nation's high schools, that the committee considers education as one of your top policy priorities when you're drafting a policy platform. in order to ensure that all students are unfettered and equitable access to educational opportunities we must have a system education the challenges and supports all students to meet the demands of college and of the workforce. we hope you will make education a top priority and thank you so much for taking the time to listen to me today. >> thank you for being so parsimonious in your statement.

[laughter] we all appreciate that, but we also appreciate the content of what you said to us today. are there questions? him any questions at all? -- any questions at all? >> thank you very much. i had a question about some of the ideas that you might have to help improve the education of our younger people, particular particularly, and sometimes overcrowded disadvantage schools or poorer schools throughout the country. i know that mr. romney at one point suggested that class sizes actually could be bigger. of course, he went to a private school, so i don't know how he would really know that. but the bottom line is i'm wondering if you have a position on class size, the ability to really educate for the kids who

have language or learning issues for other kinds of problems that they bring with them to the classroom. >> one of the things we been looking at is not specifically focused on class size, but in trying to be creative with the types of leaders and teachers that are in the classroom, that they are more culturally aware of the intricacies of those students better in the classroom, and that they're more sensitive to those different cultural realities. there's data out there that shows english as a second language learners, when you teach them in a culturally relevant way, the more likely to perform better and achieve higher academic excellence. >> others? >> i just want to say thank you for your work. one of five kindergartners being latinos, such a high dropout rate impacts long-term viability

of the american middle class, so thank you for your feedback. >> just very briefly, that was great. thank you. and i've been thinking a lot about congressman leaves point about access to the middle class. those who are not there yet, just want to connect a because it seems to me in thinking about what our education system needs, highlight some history an important which is work ready, college ready, demanding standards. that then calls for great teachers and great schools so that people can live up to the standards, but in the last piece of it i just want to emphasize its importance of access to higher education. when kids work hard to meet the standards, the question in the mind is going to be new going to go with that, how can i actually didn't take the next step to end up in college. i want to encourage all of us to think about that. >> i want to thank you so much. you're such an inspiring young lady, and also your testimony

was very, very clear. and i wanted to follow up and ask you about the dropout rate, especially latino boys and african-american boys. we all know what the dropout rate means. it means, you know, oftentimes they never get back in school and that is a pathway, a pipeline to prison. and so in our party platform, what do you think of how do you think that should be addressed? because that's such a critical issue in education, especially for young kids of color. >> well, one of the ideas that we've been working with is for the students that to drop out of high school there needs to be some type of training for them to be able to have a skill set so that they can still be part of the workforce in a very successful way. and i very briefly mentioned being ready to work outside of the school environment. there are a lot of times economic reasons why the

students cannot continue be in high school. so we can encourage them to take these courses to build their skill set. i think that's a good way to continue to have them, have a successful, to have an opportunity to have economic success. and at the same time not have to be stressed about having to pay the bills, having to go to school but not having the time to do it. >> thank you so much for your testimony. we appreciate it. the next presenter is gary. gary is the director of research and collective bargaining for the american federation of state, county and municipal employees. in her role choose helping workers across the country stand up to attacks against public employees, and we thank you for being here. we look forward to hearing your

testimony. >> thank you, governor, and thank you members of the committee on behalf of afscme's 1.6 my numbers for this opportunity to spot and thank you for your stamina. it really is admirable the first of all, we commend the president democratic party on the many things that have been accomplished in last three and a half years of health care reform and pointing down the war in iraq. we have a lot to be proud of. looking at, we submitted written testimony on a number of issues. i want to touch on three of them. one is eight for state and local governments. basically the collapse of the wall street economy that began in 2007 also lead to a collapse in state and local revenues. at the same time that the need for the services at state and local governments provide have skyrocketed. state revenues are starting to inch back up an adjusted for inflation they are still less than they were three years ago. the president and the party's leadership in passing a i r. a staved off economic disaster. but even in spite of that release, some 6-under 75,000

state and local government employees have lost their jobs since 2008. that's not only problem for these men and women who lost their job and for the people depend on the services they provide, it's also a drag on our economy. and because the public sector such an important source of employment for women and african-americans, it's a those populations particularly hard. we fear there may be more to come. the lingering effects of the collapse of the housing bubble combined with cuts in state aid may mean that local governments have a hard long climb to recover. 's we urge the democratic party to strongly oppose any cuts in a two state of local governments, and instead support direct federal spending on job creation in targeted communities, and a to prevent further cuts in vital public services. secondly want to talk about is promoting fair, effective and efficient government. our members keep our streets safe and clean, they take ever children and our elderly. they make sure air and our water or say.

they are on the front lines and they see firsthand the impact of budget cuts and as a present of the ota so publicly pointed out, they know better than anybody how to make things work. unfortunately, they're often not consulted. instead, in the face of budget cuts and relentless vilification of government and the people who work for it, and often aggressive marketing by those who want to make a profit off of public services, too many officials see privatization as a silver bullet and we've seen the consequences of that in case after case. contractors are accountable to their shareholders, not to taxpayers. costs that used to be in plain sight are now off the books. at the federal level president obama has attempted to restore some balance where contract employees outnumber federal civil service employees for to one. there's for contract for cover -- every civil service employee. as shocking as that is, what's

more shocking is we don't have any idea what those number for state and local government. we would urge the democratic party to stand up to those who vilify government and to remind the american people that we are the government and the government exist with the common good. we urge you to from the public services exist to serve the public interest and not to line the pockets of individuals or corporations. the third thing want to talk about his retirement security. we have heard a lot about the alleged crisis in public pensions, and the facts as i are more nuanced than any soundbites. they very tremendously from place to place, and if you want me to stick to five minutes i'm not going to get too deeply into them but suffice it to say that price the economic collapse most public pensions were in decent shape. and we believe if the economy recovers again, they will be again. the real crisis and the one that we hear little about is the understanding of 401(k)s as retirement securities unfold. they were meant to be a tax

vehicle, never a retirement plan yet they replaced defined benefit pensions for the majority of americans. the result is the median household age 60-62 has one quarter of the savings that they're going to need to maintain a different -- decent standard of living in retirement. as many as half of all baby boomers may outlive their savings. et al. estimate to add up to the gap of $6.6 trillion between what americans should have saved for retirement to what they actually have saved. so as a nation and as a party we decided long ago that our elderly shouldn't live in poverty. so we urge the democratic party to reaffirm that commitment by, one, strongly defending defined benefit pension plans as the most effective way of providing retirement security and working to protect them and stopping those who do them damage. number two, acting to strengthen not weaken social security and medicare, and three, moving to replace the failed 401(k) experiment with a system that provides real retirement security for all.

and that's the three points. >> kerry, i wish we had 30 minutes with you. spent i'm from michigan so i thought i would only have three minutes. >> you gave us good information, and thank you for what you do and thank you for what afscme does. >> thank you for all the work you do. >> are the questions for kerry? you were very convincing, obviously. >> obviously. >> thank you so much, kerry. >> thank you. >> our next presenter is the national hispanic medical association president. it's a nonprofit association representing we 5000 licensed hispanic physicians in the united states. its mission is to empower hispanic physicians and other health care professionals to

improve the health of the hispanic populations with this panic medical societies, residents and medical students, organizations and then public and private sector partners. that's an impressive number of licensed physicians that you represent, and we are glad you and we look for to hearing from you. >> thank you, governor. it's an honor to be here in front of the committee, and on behalf of the national hispanic medical association, we are committed to improving the health of hispanics and the underserved and i'm happy to prepare, present comments. i've cut out quite a bit. just want to give the highlights and it's really a pleasure to be here. we first and foremost we apply president obama and his administration on the passage of the affordable care act, the most formidable health care law for our society since the federal government s. medicare for the elderly and medicaid for the poor. we started engagement with a

core group of hispanic doctors were working at the white house under clinton administration. i was there in 1993. we've been working on health reform ever since and we organize our health care to provide recommendations to the obama administration, the transition team when it started to congress but we were close with a tri-caucus on all the minority health bills, and since 2008 have convened health care reform forum to educate not only health professionals but community leaders in our communities to really understand the tremendous opportunities in the details of the operable correct. hispanics are now 16% or 50 million of the u.s. population live in every region of thecountry and are projected to be one out of four americans in the next 30 years. so for latinos, an estimated 30% are uninsured, compared with 16% of all americans, really have the most to gain from all of these programs. so i'm going to focus on four issues. the first is access, and i know

you've heard a lot about the affordable care act, but let me just say it is focused to increase affordable care and to decrease the rising health care costs in our nation while at the same time craig more efficient health care delivery that is accessible to more people through clinics, through medical practices that are in schools and in communities which have been underserved. the affordable care act ensures critical patient protection. a lot of insurance reform, the donut hole limitation, the increases to mental health care, oral health care, and new programs aimed at all our killer diseases like heart disease. the affordable care act assures patients in every state will have a state health insurance exchange, and online or phone accessible market place where they can easily compare quality health plans and choose the one that is best for them and their families. use committee health workers for

the first time, trust by communities to outreach and assist with enrollment. and get subsidized for those individuals up to 400% of federal poverty. today, there are also over 9 million americans who are called dual eligibles. they are enrolled in both medicare and medicaid and effort will care act actually creates a new initiative to have a seamless health care program. this is very important because these are among the most vulnerable people with chronic diseases, seeing different specialist, different multiple doctor visits, medications and caregivers. and we also recognize the importance of supporting increased medicare and medicaid or other vulnerable populations of puerto rico, the territories and the u.s.-mexico border. the affordable care act also expands medicaid coverage, and as was mentioned earlier, the expansion include adults without dependent children, but, unfortunately, the supreme court saw this expansion as a new program and made it optional to

states. this despite the fact that the federal government will pay 100% of the cost for additional coverage as well as pay doctors who serve medicaid patients at higher rates for the first few years. the second issue is quality. we applaud president obama and the administration for assuring nearly 30 million more americans can have access to quality health care, emphasizing comprehensive primary care. hhs developed national quality strategy with a new reimbursement system envisioned to be built on measures of quality related to patients who are caregivers experience of care, care coordination, patient safety, preventive health and caring for high risk populations. there will be patient-centered medical home's, accountable care organizations, health information technology. according to the hhs agency for health care research and quality, health disparities reports come hispanics in

general and other minorities have poor results for access and quality indicators. we applaud the u.s. department of health and human services for developing its action plan to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities. the office of minority health and all of the authorize offices of minority health within each of the agencies that hhs for the first time with this ack have carried out programs to reduce disparities that are very much needed. these programs continue to reduce disparities including community menstruations for culturally competent and linguistically appropriate care and safety net hospitals, clinics and medical practices. services for older adults especially home health care and day care, increasing recruitment and academic preparation of minority students who become health professionals, increasing multidisciplinary cultural incompetence of training of the rest of health workforce because we don't have very many hispanic or african-american doctors or

nurses, community based participatory research, increasing the participation of racial and ethnic minorities in clinical trials, improving data collection and reporting on health disparities, and providing technical assistance and building capacity in our communities. the third area is prevention and i'll just say we really see this is the most transformative part of the affordable care act to really change the direction of funding from a medical model to preventive model. we applaud the first lady for her let's move campaign, and empowerment programs to all americans, to start growing healthy food and help live healthier lives. we applaud the surgeon general for courtney the national prevention strategy for the first time with 17 federal agencies working together to have health and all policies from school nutrition to parks, to walking paths and bike paths, housing, to air quality, et

cetera. and then prevention of course is going to be free without premiums or co-pays for mammograms and cervical cancer screenings, et cetera. and in the last issue is health workforce. and lastly to have new injured people care for, we need a new robust increase in health workforce at all levels, professional and allied health. we know we have a critical shortage of doctors and nurses, and need more of an emphasis on promoting the fact that we're going to have many, many jobs with the affordable care act. the affordable care act also doubled the health careers opportunity program and the centers for excellence, which are the only two programs that have recruited minority students for the this country since the 1960s, and this was significant as a show of support for our communities to have minority providers. so we strongly believe that given the coming second station

debate that a second president obama term is needed to provide the leadership our country and to focus on the continued support for the implementation of the aca and its programs and policies that can build a healthier nation. we strongly urge that we consider the medicaid expansion that should be the top priority. this would provide affordable care to many working americans. we must maintain the medicaid system and not create state block grants. we strongly urge the committee to continue supporting our most vulnerable communities with the medicaid disproportionate share hospital program to continue to help safety net hospitals and providers, because there's going to continue to be people that fall through the cracks and people that are not insured. in addition, when the drug steadfast support for the prevention strategy and especially for the sport of the public health and prevention fund which will continue to be threatened to build a public health infrastructure need for community prevention programs, and especially the focus on

early childhood obesity because where to start with the next generation to have prevention. we urge the platform committee to reduce health disparities. with the real campaign and all institutions, not just safety net. calling for culture competence and language services whether it's in academics, public health, health systems, medical groups to assure increase patient empowerment. and participation in the physician patient encounter because i really believe that the only we were going to reduce health disparities by having a real emphasis on a communication with all people who need to be empowered. we encourage the continued recruitment of racial ethnic minorities and disadvantaged students especially in the math and science programs to consider careers in health care professions, and then lastly from our nhma perspective, we really strongly believe that the

federal government should support leadership training of hispanic physicians and other minority physicians, and health professionals who are committed to our underserved population so that they can be appointed to decision-making positions in the nation's public health infrastructure and work to build a healthier america. thank you. >> thank you, doctor. and thank you for your many years of effort to bring about a healthier america. are the questions for the doct doctor? well, we thank you for coming and we thank you for your testimony, doctor. >> and get. >> our next presenter, frank sherry, frank is the founder and executive director of america's voice. america's voice stand with majority of americans who support real and comprehensive immigration reform. the group's goal is to create a public momentum for reforms that

lead to meaningful immigration reform. and franken we're so glad you're here, and we are looking for to hearing what you have to say to us to speak thank you for having me. i told him a comment to one page, knowing that i stand between you and dinner. >> i love you, frank. [laughter] >> so let's get to it, shall we speak was i work for a group of america's voice. we are a reform movement that is made up of individuals and groups from immigrant commission ethnic committees, labor, civil rights, faith communities and some in business. and immigration is an issue that you all know, generates more heat than light. but democrats have a special responsibility for this issue with the traditional party of immigrants and we understand much more so i think than republicans that america really deserves a commonsense immigration process that currently is lacking. one that includes a new roadmap to citizenship for those who aspire to be full members of our

society. now, president obama and democrats in congress fought very hard and called for the platform last time for comprehensive immigration reform. it was blocked by republicans win arizona to federal law into its own hands and decided to try to purge the state of latino immigrants, legal and not, the obama administration through department of justice bravely sue them in a move that was not very popular at the time, but was absolutely neessary. and when he was an opportunity to move the d.r.e.a.m. act democrats fought very hard to pass it in a lame-duck session. it passed the house of representatives with the support of representative lee, and went to the senate and it was heartbreakingly close. lost by five votes in a filibuster only in the u.s. senate, in a vote of 55-41 in something we called a defeat,

but it was. now, in response to growing calls on the obama administration, and the last year and a half to take executive action, given disappointment, concerned about the wrapup enforcement, the lack of legislative action, with republicans blocking all forward progress, president obama finally heard the call of these brave young dreamers, these young people who are americans who grew up in america, who consider themselves americans, and want to contribute to the country that they love. president obama made a bold move recently and he provided protection and work permits to hundreds of thousands of young people who are d.r.e.a.m. act eligible for and i have to say of someone who has been a part of this move for a long time, it's been electrifying. and people are over the moon. people are thrilled. now, what was interesting about it, if i can move to my next

point, more of a political analytical point. there's this old conventional wisdom about immigration reform. i've got to give a shout out to my buddy, fighting these battles on the inside and outside for many years and know it will. there's an old conventional wisdom that if the republicans are the one to bring up immigration, that they want to mobilize their base, win over independents, and put the democrats on the defense. but as a solitary week, the campaign in 2010, and a very positive reaction with president obama's decision, we've a new dynamic in play and i think it's important for democrats to incorporate this moving forward. by leaning into the issue and taking bold action, president obama mobilize latinos and asians, thrilled progresses, found a lot of support among independents, the polling shows to to win support for the move, and put republicans on the

defensive. best exemplified by the rather flat-footed response by mitt romney who still hasn't come up with a clear answer as to what he would do. as we like to say, the republicans seem to be god between a nativist rock and a democratic hard place. so i think it shows that if democrats can really be on the offensive the next four years, clearly big reform isn't going to happen without republicans coming to the table. but i think if democrats stay on the offensive where the chance to make some gains. one of those games, we all want some sort of comprehensive immigration reform, a broad reform that includes a roadmap to citizenship for people have been here for a long time, nor contributing or who are committed to this country, a modernized legal immigration system that grows the economy while protecting american workers at the same time, and an enforcement regime that promotes the rule of law but also protects civil rights. that's what the left platform

called for. that's what immigration reform movement wants most of all, but it just may not be possible in the next years if there's no bipartisan cooperation. so i think the platform committee should consider stating and openness to work on more incremental measures. things like the d.r.e.a.m. act actually ratifying the d.r.e.a.m. act and putting it into law, something like that jobs perhaps, something perhaps green cards for high skilled workers. measures that are balanced and can help move our immigration reform agenda for in a way that served our country's interests. if legislation just isn't possible we think the president should retain the option to use his broad executive authority to protect other groups of people, other families and workers who are low priorities from an enforcement point of view, and are going to see all their lives. and it makes more sense for them to have work permits and to live

peacefully and contribute mightily, rather than live in fear, having their families separated. finally, just want enforcement point. i doubt this'll make it into the platform, but the secure community's program which is perhaps well-intentioned, a program to go after the worst of the worst, has ended up in fact outsourcing immigration enforcement to local police in a way that has led to widespread racial profiling. and it's eerily similar in some places to do exactly the effects of the arizona law that the administration is fighting, and i think many of us would like to see that either fundamentally reformed or stopped. let me just close by underscore the importance of this issue. you know, we have a start -- stark choice in this election. governor romney has tethered himself to the far right, the republican party on this issue. what he calls for self deportation, it's a strategy that has been concocted by and the immigrant hardliners your

they call it a tradition through enforcement, which is a nice way of saying that you want to make life so miserable for immigrants that don't have papers, they can't go to school, they can't work. if they are terrified by getting in a car and traveling, and they think they will be arrested by local police at any time, and maybe they will just pick up and leave. that's a radical and ugly visi vision. of what this nation of immigrants should do. and democrats i think really stand between that ugly vision and a more promising future in which we live true to the notion that all people are created equal, and no matter where they are from or the accent they speak with her how long they've been in the country, that they are considered one of us. and so i just think that this platform should stand boldly and strongly for a national credo that i know brings me to tears when i think about it deeply, is that we should live true to our

idea that they should be of e pluribus unum, out of many, one. thank you. >> frank, thank you for your testimony. i know that i'm proud of the president for many reasons but i was so especially proud of the president. he made the decision regarding the dream eligible young people. it just seems so consistent with our nation's value to that are the questions for frank? >> just a quick comment, and thank you for your presentation. i think you point out the intersect that good policies are and can be good politics as well. and i think as we think about our platform, there's a lot of places where we see that it's effective and i think our values, democratic party's values are good politics, more important than our good policies for our country. so i thank you for that comment. >> there's been a big debate about where independence in ohio fall on this. and you know, it's true that

what they favorite is action. so many of them support what arizona did. is because someone was doing something. that when asked they much prefer a pragmatic and more progressive approach to immigration which is why they support what the president did. lots of interviews with people in those polls who were in favor of the. many republicans, too, said these kids are americans. of course, they should do. maybe they thought he should've worked with congress but there was no question that the substance was right on. >> first of all, frank, thanks for your leadership, thanks for being here. in full disclosure i'm on the board of america's voice. >> he's one of my bosses. >> but i have to ask you, has the supreme court britain a patchwork of state immigration law? and what is the and that both economic and social of not having a uniform commonsense lay of the land when it comes to the issue of immigration?

>> the supreme court decision was a near fatal blow to the attempts by states like arizona and alabama to usurp federal authority and go beyond it. basically there were four provisions, they got three outs and an incomplete. three provisions were struck down. the one provision that they didn't strike down, which cops stop people asked for papers. they basically said in their decision, this is our interpretation. would love to strike it down but we don't have the evidence yet because it hasn't been implemented, but once it is implemented, bring it back. i mean, given the drop is going on right now of joe arpaio, the infamous sheriff in arizona with lots of testimony at his discriminatory practices, we think that's going to be struck down. so it may not be immediate. i think the administration has to stay vigilant but i think the move by the extremists and

republican party to block reform federally and to try to move extremist legislation at the state level has been dealt a really critical blow. i think that's really good news. in terms of the social and economic cost, the studies are very conclusive. we had immigration reform in this country where people without papers got papers, where we had a more functional and their legal immigration system. it would grow the economy by trillions of dollars. we would have a more level playing field. we would have greater tax compliance by employers and workers, and quite frankly it would just usher in a great opportunity that would really boost the economy. so unfortunately the republican party seems more concerned about keeping immigrants down and also keeping them out of the voting booth than they are in growing the economy through immigration reform. >> well, thank you, frank. and keep up the good work. our next presenter is ramsey.

the legislative associate for the iraq and afghanistan veterans of america and, iaea. iaea is the first and the largest nonprofit nonprofit organization for new veterans with over 200,000 members. iava is a 21st century veterans organization dedicated to standing with the 2.4 million veterans of iraq and afghanistan on the very first day home to the rest of their lives. iava strives to build and power generation of veterans who provide sustainable leadership for our country and for the local community. ramsey, we're happy to have you. thank you for serving and look forward to hearing from you. >> thank you very much for having me, and i applaud all of you, and thank you for your time on your perseverance and your interest. i can only assume that there's

an aid station on the other side of the door with red bull and five our energy ids. at the edit also like to say how proud i am as a native ohio in to be here in front of you chairing this committee. and i assume i get five more minutes. [laughter] >> i don't think that's the case i will try to keep this brief. you have our written testimony, and it's pretty exhaustive with what we think, so i will confide my remarks to basically say we are focusing on three areas in iava this year. and it's been a consistent three areas. the areas are protection of education benefits for veterans, employment and the transition of veterans home from military service to veteran status. right now veterans come home and they're faced with a lot of challenges. there is threats to the new g.i. bill, very high unemployment

rate for veterans, a tragic suicide numbers and ava there really is struggling to keep up with the current needs after decades of war, much less the needs that are coming as the conflict in afghanistan winds down and more veterans return home. on education, so far over seven and 50,000 veterans and their families, military members and their families, had used the new g.i. bill which is a fantastic program. i'm planning on using it the year after this one to go to law school, and it's really a life-changing program for a lot of veterans. but, unfortunately, it's under attack right now. and the attack, the threat it is facing is that there are some predatory for-profit institutions that have very high tuition rates, very low completion rates, very high dropout rates and don't necessary provide a quality education that they promised.

and that impacts a lot of veterans because the exhaust their g.i. bill benefits which are a one shot deal. once they are used and gone, that's it. you don't get them back. and it really sets a lot of people back on the life course that they planned after the military. a lot of these for-profits aggressively target veterans while failing to deliver on that quality education, and we think that one of the most urgent reforms is reforming some of the laws, the loopholes in the law, and 90/10 role that you may have heard so much about in the press recently that actually provides an economic incentive for schools to recruit veterans. because for every veteran that a school recruits, the way the law is structured, the school can receive 90% of its revenue from federal sources. that's loans and grants a buddhist money with, and had received 10% from private sources. the g.i. bill and military tuition assistance for whatever reason are considered private

sources of funny. so for every veteran that comes in for military member that comes in, the school can then get nine more civilian students on federal financial aid. the unemployment rate for veterans is far too high. last year, the unemployment rate for new veterans from iraq and afghanistan veterans is 12.1% which was significantly higher than the civilian rate, and in some categories such as 18 to 24-year-olds, the rate for iraq and afghanistan veterans was almost double that, their civilian counterparts in the same age group. iava does a survey of our membership every year and we found unemployment rate of our mentorship that was closer to 17%. last year there was bipartisan effort in congress to pass the higher a hero at which the president signed into law it was bold steps but we think there are more things that can be done. particularly in the area of

credentialing and licensing of that is big veterans receive, military members receive extensive training, education and experience in career fields that are analogous to many civilian career fields. medics and corman with the mps, pilots, self-explanatory. truck drivers, mechanics, airframe mechanics, air traffic controllers. but because they don't have a civilian certification, the day they leave the military they can't perform that job anymore. veterans have the skills, they have the training, they have the experience. they performed in the south under some of the most arduous circumstances that you would ever encounter, and no piece of paper should keep them from being able to continue to perform those jobs and contribute in the civilian world. so we think that at the state and at the federal level more emphasis needs to be placed on credentialing and licensing initiatives so that veterans can more seamlessly transition from their military careers into a

similar civilian career, if that's what they so choose. the uniformed services employment and reemployment right to act is also something we feel needs to be strengthened considerably. last year, according to the "washington post," there were 1500 complaints. they have risen by 73% since 2001, and out of those 1548, 286 were against the federal government which made federal government the largest violator of the rights. on transition, there are many, many issues that face veterans on transition. there are invisible injuries, ptsd, dramatic, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, suicide. the suicide rate for a military member this year, for the first 155 days of the year, the dod

reported 154 suicide, which outpaced combat deaths in afghanistan by almost 50%. and the transit estimates because we don't have the information, that 18 veterans a day commit suicide. that is a very important, a very important thing that needs to be addressed. part of, part of the problem is that people look at suicide as an individual issue, when it's really has to be addressed as a culminating event of things that veterans of space, high unemployed, the invisible injuries, relationship issues that are brought on, people are exacerbated by deployments, substance abuse and barriers to care. speaking of barriers to care, only there were hearings held in congress on va's mental health wait times, and contrary to what va has said putting forth that

they were keeping up with the demand, we are seeing veterans at a good faith and we're taking care of this, the va's own inspector general found that only 49% of veterans that seek mental health evaluations are seen within the required 14 day window, post request. that meant that 51% weighted, on average, for 50 days or mental health evaluation. really no veteran should be required to wait for a problem that is happening to them right now. as part of reforming that transition, we are really pleased that secretary shinseki and secretary panetta appeared before congress together and spoke about some of those transition issues, but we believe that the va needs be adequately funded, that advance appropriations need to continue for the va so they can worry

about how to help veterans and not worry about getting into a budget fight on capitol hill. even now in our 915,000 benefits claims pending with the va, and two-thirds of those claims are older than 125 days. so you can see that even as it is with the increase in va funding over recent years, that they are still not keeping up with the current demand, much less the anticipated future demand. we are pleased to see that the va and dod are working hard to integrate their health records, although the comments that were made this week still leave a thought to be desired, the issues are now, and veterans really need to have that taken care of so that they can make it seamless transition so that they can go from dod health care to va so they can get funneled into va, which is in itself a problem as only 54% of iraq and afghanistan veterans are

enrolled in va health care. we believe that the va should be a veterans one stop shop for all of the resource and benefits, and that starts with getting veterans in the door. so in conclusion, we would like to see addressed in the democratic platform the issues of protecting veterans education benefits, putting forth an all out effort to reduce veteran unemployment, and i know that unemployment is a huge issue for everybody. and nobody is doing particularly well, but we would like to see those efforts take place that brings veteran unemployment more on to a level of parity with civilian unemployment, then transitioning from the military because the va any seamless fashion. thank you been much for your time and attention. >> thank you, ramsey. are the questions for ramsey and i just want to say, thank you for your service, and i work at the pentagon for three years as

running the office, the middle east office at the pentagon focus on gaining us out of iraq so i want to thank you for your service. i just want to say that no income having worked with this president for three years, that he feels, first lady feels that there's no more solemn obligation than to make sure that we're taking care of military folks when they're in service, taking care of their families when they're back on, and taking care of veterans as they transition out. and i just want to thank you for your testimony, because i think there are a lot of ideas that are important. >> thank you. and it was my pleasure and we are really pleased with the focus at the white house has put with the joining forces initiatives, among others, and the work on about higher a he wrote and executive orders regarding for-profit schools in the g.i. bill. so we are really pleased with the progress we have seen. >> thank you very much. >> just very quickly, i think we have an extraordinary opportunity following the

gentleman's recommendation, both do the right thing and also distinguish our party. the president and governor romney both spoke to one of the leading veteran organizations this past week. president in an empathetic way devoted a good percentage of his speech to health care, education, job efforts, to retrain veterans as they come home, the best i can member governor romney didn't mention a word about any of those issues. the republicans are tone deaf on this issue. we have an extraordinary i think opportunity to engage with veterans in a way that our partisans -- our party hasn't always had. >> where are you from? >> i am from toledo. >> yes, congresswoman? >> as the daughter of a better i want to thank you so much for your service for everything that you organization is doing, and just highlight one fact, and that is under this president,

i've been in congress 14 years now, and i've never seen a party or a president work on behalf of veterans as this president has. and as this party has. and even with the backlog in claims, and glad you mentioned that because i come from the bay area. congresswoman and i had a huge forum to try to help veterans expedite their claims. because coming in, under this administration, you know, when the problem was identified, it's moving very quickly to try to help veterans in terms of processing these claims. and so i'm not sure if that should be part of what we want to see in the platform but i just want to say for the record, i know that this administration is doing everything it can to try to help justice really prevailed, and that's what our veterans serving the because the backlog has been a rent is. >> yes, ma'am. and we recognize the va has come a long way, and that they are

working hard and that the our many fine, fine people in the va working hard. and you mentioned ms. speier. we are trying to work hard to push through one of her bills regarding the 90/10 rule on the g.i. bill so we appreciate the effort. on veterans behalf. >> , i just did want to mention also the outstanding work of our first lady and dr. jill biden on veterans issues, as someone who is our support on a military base, a long, long time ago, and also as someone who grew up in the vietnam generation where perhaps we were not as appropriate and thoughtful and welcoming to the many veterans who served there. i think this is an important opportunity, and i thank you for your work. >> thank you ma'am. and i guess i'm the last person, so -- i'm not?

i was under the impression i was under a lot of pressure. >> you that we saved the best for last. [laughter] spent well, you know, marine ego. but thank you very much. >> thank you, ramsey. and the last presenter today is richard vargo. rick is the political director of the health care minnesota. which unites more than 15,000 health care workers and hospitals, clinics and nursing homes throughout the state of minnesota. rick today's testifying today though on the have of the seiu, an organization uniting 2.1 million workers in the health care property services and public services sectors. and rick, i'm not going to say we saved the best for last but i'm going to say we save one of the very best for last. so we are looking forward to hearing your testimony. >> i appreciate the opportunity to be happy to know, i will be

brief if only because i'm the last person between you and cocktails and/or baseball, which are sacred in my family. you know the service employees international union are. a 2.1 million members picking up route we we are to stand with and endorse president barack obama and the reason we did that. seiu members are committed to an agenda that rebuilds the american middle class and six to address the greatest economic and moral issue of our times, income inequality. four years after mitt romney and his friends on wall street wrecked our economy, the gap between the richest 1% and the rest of us, and 99%, continues to grow. makes you wonder if they are that eager for recovery. americans once offered the promise that working hard and playing by the rules would bring a paycheck that could support a family, provide opportunities to advance and create a better life for the next generation. but the corporation and their ceos have hijacked that

promise. working americans deserve good jobs. we can start by raising and indexing the minimum wage. ceos make millions, corporations make billions, at the minimum wage barely gets, doesn't even approach double digits. raising the minimum wage will boost our economy for putting more money in the pockets of ordinary americans who are going to spend it, and it will create greater equality in our economy. the richest few needs to pay their fair share in taxes. put simply, we like a tax system were mitt romney is eager to share his tax returns with the rest of us. he put them on the lead story on fox news. requiring the wealthy and corporations to pay their fair share is a key step on the pathway to reversing the historic income inequality that has devastated the middle class. until recently, working families

have struggled to get quality, affordable health care. that is why seiu is proud to support the affordable care act. we oppose any effort to repeal or scale back the landmark insurance protections and benefits under the law. protecting the affordable care act also means protecting medicare and medicaid. the corner stones of america's health care system. they provide essential services to americans have no other means of affording health care they need. the 2000 the democratic party platform must include a commitment to protect medicaid and medicare as the cornerstones of our nation's health care system. to rebuild the middle class, we need to pass comprehensive immigration reform which will eliminate the two-tiered labor force so that all workers have a fair shot. it will get undocumented immigrants out of the underground economy into the system and under the rule of law so that every job in this country will be fueled by legal

workers to the united workforce can rise together, guaranteeing civil rights and basic fairness for all. just as an aside, this building is guarded and cleaned by the members of seiu local 26, and i don't think there's a hospital or a building in this country that can be kept clean or taken care of without folks who don't look like me. so, the 2012 democratic party platform must include a commitment to come -- cover his immigration reform that includes a have for citizenship for undocumented workers, keeps families together, and forced labor and civil rights and removes the incentive to remove undocumented workers, and support enforcement that does not compromise our nation's values or terrorize and divide our communities. we must also be vigilant to safeguard our democracy. it is being challenged as never before by a flood of corporate money that threatens to silence

the voices of working people. seiu rejects the notion that corporations are people got and we believe voting is a constitutionally protected right. voter registration should be automatic and universal. our party platform should include a commitment to overturning the supreme court decision in citizens united, and should stand with americans as they fight back against a -- attacks against their voting rights, including voter id law here in minnesota that will eliminate same-day voter registration. history has shown that the best way to combat income inequality is to protect workers rights, to unite in a union and to collectively bargain. america's economy has been strongest when workers were free to unite together on the job and form unions. it helps with standards for all workers, union members and nonunion members alike to our party platform must embrace policies that level the playing field so that workers can form a union without interference and

intimidation. it really is terrible that workers across the globe in china and egypt are gaining new union protections, and an hour away from your workers have lost union rights. i had to spend an hour in toledo to protect the rights of workers in ohio. in closing, the 2.1 million members united in seiu are proud to endorse president barack obama for reelection and to stand and a strong record of the published an that face the great challenges. we are committed to electing all pro-worker, working on the candidates running for office at all levels of government. and i just want to say, i appreciate your time and thank you for the opportunity. >> rick, we thank you for coming, and for your testimony. are there questions for rick? you have convinced us. thank you, rick, and thanks to seiu and all your members for all you do. thank you so much. well, i want to say thank you to

each of the committee members. you are a hardy group. we have been here approaching six hours, and so this concludes our presentations for today. we have heard some wonderful organizations and wonderful individuals who provided us with important information, and we thank our speakers for being your. tomorrow, our day will begin with a breakfast for members only in the red river room to and that's located on the third floor of the marquette hotel, the red river room. we will then move from their back to this room to continue our hearings promptly at 9 a.m. so breakfast together in the red river room tomorrow. u..

in the lobby hanging back. [talking over each other] >> is that the began initial group? he will leave in 15 minutes. >> join us for day 2 and 3 of the democratic national convention platform drafting committee as they develop a new

national party platform. hearing from witnesses on committee members on issues like health care, immigration and education to slow it -- this morning at 10:00 eastern and again at 8:00 eastern on c-span. >> the education department opposing -- posting its third annual bullying prevention summit in washington. its focus is on ensuring anti bullying efforts are based on the best research. speakers include education secretary arne duncan bloggers the white house senior adviser value of -- valerie jarrett and the mother of lady gaga. [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> ladies and gentlemen, please take your seat. our program is about to begin. a number of -- [inaudible] -- thank you.

ladies and gentlemen the research policy coordinator for bullying prevention initiative that the united states department of education, deborah temkin. [applause] >> good morning, everyone. i am so glad you have rejoined us for very busy day. we have the jam packed agenda of this morning. what i think is the meat of the summit. two very important panels. but first we are dealing by the associate attorney general or acting associate attorney general who will be giving a wonderful keynote highlighting our partnership across the board. we heard from health and human services secretary kathleen sibelius last night. now we will hear from the attorney general this morning

and secretary duncan this afternoon. but first it is my job to introduce melodee hanes, acting administrator for juvenile justice delinquency prevention which has been an excellent partner for the federal partners. helping as hosts web seminars and being very supportive in all the work we have done. melodee hanes's work includes deputy attorney in yellowstone county attorney's office prosecuting child abuse, sexual assault and homicide cases and assistant county attorney in the polk county, iowa attorney's office and major felony crimes. she is a great partner and i am pleased to welcome her. please help me welcome melodee hanes. [applause] >> good morning. you are awake.

good. thanks for the introduction. i am melodee hanes leaders electing administrator of the office of juvenile justice and delinquency prevention known as ojjdp at the department of justice and i am delighted to be here today. i just want to thank all of you so much for your efforts and the work each person in this room does every day to support and intervene with bullying. bottom-line for all of us is kids deserve to live in an environment where they can feel safe to reach their full potential. no child should ever be scared in school war on the playground and the face of bullying is changing. bullying now happens every single day on line. i can tell you that you have an ally in ojjdp and the whole justice department because the needs of america's kids are a

priority and a commitment for this entire department of justice. some people ask how does bullying relate to ojjdp's working juvenile justice and delinquency prevention? people who work in law enforcement and in schools know that our jobs are often very closely connected when the neighborhoods and homes that kids live in don't feel safe, kids have a tough time focusing in school and when our kids aren't engaged in school, if there bullying others or if they are being bullied we know that that can lead to a path to the criminal justice system for both the buoys as well as the victims. the question is how do we develop policies that shift this balance of power to really stop bullying? the most important answer is to get there. we must be working together. nobody can do this alone.

schools can't do alone. law enforcement can do it alone. criminal justice can't. it is going to take all of us working together. we need each other's perspectives. we need each other's expertise. we need to listen and talk to each other about this issue. that is why at ojjdp we are partnering with the education department and other agencies across the federal government to come together as a team with federal partners in bullying prevention and that is why it is great to see all of you today. people from federal agencies, non-profit, corporate leaders, researchers at youth representatives to discuss and share our progress with anti bullying efforts across the country and i am really confident that working together, we can do the right thing for america's children.

at ojjdp, bullying is a major priority. let me tell you about a couple things that we are working on and have available that might be of interest to you. first of all you should go to our web site. just google ojjdp. you will find a multitude of things that were doing. one of those things is the model programs guide you will find on our web site. it is an online resource to more than 200 evidence based programs and there is a special focus on bullying prevention. all of ojjdp's programs work to make kids safer and stronger but one in particular -- mentoring. last year we invested 1 hundred eight million. $108 million in mentoring programs. why? because we know they work and the evidence proves that they

work. many of the negative outcomes of bullying we have heard so much about, poor attendance in school, poor performance, low self-esteem, bad habits are the same problems that mentoring effectively tackles. we also support the great program which shows kids how to communicate, resolve conflicts and manage anger. your role-playing scenarios and structured activities. we have conducted research. ojjdp by the way is one of the few places in the department of justice that congress when they created ojjdp gave us the mandate to research and there are a lot of divisions in the department of justice with that requirement so we do research as well. we have done research on bullying in schools and how it can cause kids to become less engaged in their studies and

school generally and how that disengagement leads to truancy and puts kids at risk of delinquency. the slippery slope in to vote juvenile delinquency world. true federal partners in bullying prevention ojjdp hosted a series of seminars on bullying to keep all of you in the field informed about proven strategies for prevention and intervention. the next one we are going to host is next week on august 15th and we hope you join us for is that. you can go to our web site and find out more information about that. we also sponsor web why is kids. that helps kids to make wise choices ise kids. that helps kids to make wise choices online. through internet safety tips and computer games modeled after real-life scenarios. they make choices that promote

safer, friendlier internet experience. we are integrating our work to address believing in to the justice department's larger initiative, the depending childhood initiative. to protect kids from exposure to violence. we tend to think automatically of adults as perpetrators of violence against children but as everybody in this room knows kids can be violent too. exposing the other children to that violence whether it is and a gain or bullying. that is why we have incorporated and are bullying strategies into the defending child the initiative. acting associate attorney general tony west is going to tell you more about that initiative which was launched by the attorney general in late 2010. speaking of tony west i am very pleased to have the opportunity to introduce him to you this morning. the acting associate attorney

general tony west supervises a broad portfolio at the departments of justice ranging from the civil-rights division to the research and grant programs in the office of justice, programs where we are at ojjdp. a justice department veteran before assuming his current position he served as assistant attorney general for the justice department's civil division. he also served as state special assistant attorney general in california. assistant united states attorney in the northern district of california and special assistant to the deputy attorney general. he spent years in private practice before returning to the justice department as the acting assistant attorney general. i am so proud to introduce you today to the acting associate attorney general of the united states, mr tony west. ♪

[applause] >> good morning. thank you for that very kind introduction and for reminding us about the vital work that is going on in ojjdp every single day. let me thank our partners at the department of education and particularly secretary duncan for hosting the summit and for inviting me this morning to participate. it is quite a privilege for me to be with all of you. i know that many of you have been instrumental in efforts to raise awareness about bullying as well as how to prevent it and intervene to stop it and how to deal with it once it occurred. you remind us that bullying is not simply just a part of growing up. it is not just a matter of kids

being kids. remind us that it is unacceptable and it is wrong and all of us, each one of us, we share in the responsibility of preventing it. many of you are helping to give us the tools that we need, the data will reference and strategies we will use as we seek to change policy and improve young lives. i join you today not only as a representative of the department of justice but like many of you as one who is now or has been a parent, and uncle, godparent, children in elementary, middle or high school. those experiences coupled with cases that involve young victims of exploitation that i prosecuted years ago as a federal prosecutor those have solidified for me a very

straightforward idea. the idea that all of you share and in order for young people to try to blossom and grow and fulfil their potential they must be and feel safe not just at home but at school, playground and a live. nearly one in three middle and high school students report being bullied and over half say they have witnessed bullying at school, we know that creating that sense of safety for children won't happen automatically. it happens only to the extent that individuals both old and young make conscious choices, acts of personal courage and outreach to create atmospheres of tolerance, climates of trust,

environments both virtual and real where young people need not as the song says hide themselves and regret but love themselves and accept the invitation to be who they truly are. for attorney general eric holder and those of us at the department of justice this is important work. it is work that we care about deeply. we care about it because what we have seen overall, violence in school reduced over the recent years, bullying incidents meeting with devastatingly tragic consequences have become increasingly visible in the public eye. we care about this work because we know the majority of children, 60% regardless of race are exposed to some form of violence, crime or abuse in

their childhood from brief encounters as witnesses to be in direct victims of violence themselves. we care about it because we know that some of that violence is linked to bullying. the research suggests that those who boule are more likely to grow up and abuse their partners, their spouses and children. so when we talk about effectively protecting young people from violence, in the home, and school work on the streets that conversation is incomplete. if it fails to explore strategies, to prevent and eliminate bullying. bullying is not something that affects only those immediately involved. it presents challenges for us

all. kids who are the targets of police show up in school and not ready to learn, there too afraid, students who are more likely the research suggests to have lower gpas to do for the on standardized tests. that is not just a challenge for those children or for the families of those children. that is a challenge for the entire educational system. when those believed children show up in doctors's offices and clinics suffering anxiety or depression or a host of other ills, that becomes a challenge for the health-care system. when those believed victims leave school and can't find jobs because they don't have the skills employers need because as the research indicates they are more likely to miss, skip or drop out of school entirely, that becomes the business community challenge.

when those who believe coming to contact with the criminal justice system as a convicted defendants they are more likely to do according to the trends we see then that is a law enforcement challenge. those single incidents of bullied and are not in isolation, one discrete from the other. they're like ripples in a lake that begin at a tiny sensor emanating outward and growing in size to touch shores unforeseen. that is why we care about this issue. that is why we care about this work. it is why we have been actively engaged at the department of justice to prevent bleeding. in march of this year the departments of justice and education entered a

comprehensive consent degree with the anoca school district requiring an investigation that several students were skipping school, dropping out, even contemplating suicide because of severe harassment based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation. after the consent degree, one su noted that climate at that school had improved saying that he had gone a month and half without being bullied. that never happened before he said. i see change coming and i am really glad about it. we have also awarded a grants eight cities and tribal communities as part of eric holder's defending childhood initiative. grants aimed at developing strategic plans for comprehensive community-based

anti violence efforts including anti bullying programs. in boston, massachusetts where supporting worked implement statewide school bullying intervention and prevention legislation. in grand forks, more the code where funding efforts to expand justice services for use involved in bullying and helping train teachers and other school staff in bullying prevention strategies. our nation's united states attorney's deeply engaged in this work. attorney general eric holder likes to say our u.s. attorney's our community problem solvers. over the last two years they helped raise the spotlight on bullying prevention community meetings and interagency summits and town halls in cities like detroit, michigan. and cleveland in -- san

francisco, calif.. notwithstanding all of these efforts, all the progress we made together. and as an issue of national concern. our work, our work is far from over. we know that. we know that we must continue to stand up, continue to speak out, continue to act in ways big and small, public and private reinforce the message that bullying knows no proper place. we must continue to work because today, some where there is a child who will feel the sting of a punch because the clothes he is wearing are not cool enough, there is a child who will believe that her difference is a detriment as she eats lunch

alone in a crowded school cafeteria, very is a child who will skip school another day to avoid a terrifying confrontation. there's a child who will contemplate suicide because nothing seems like it can hurt more than this moment of humiliation right now. and for each one of these kids, kids we know, kids will love, kids who we were in our own lives, we can't afford to simply be bystanders. because of summits like this, because of people like you, i am confident we won't simply be bystanders. thank you for everything you do on behalf of our nation's young people and thank you for inviting me here to share with

you in this important summit. thank you. [applause] ♪ >> in a moment we will bring up a panel that give another round of applause to the associate attorney general. [applause] >> when we say we are interagency we mean we are interagency. this is not just department of education even though the steelers on the podium. this is the department of health and human services department of justice and department of agriculture and interior, this is the white house initiative on asian-americans pacific islanders.

we are all working together in cooperation and for one reason. bullying of youth touches areas we all work on and it is important for us to address it. to make sure we are sending the same message and that is the charge to you all in the room. to make sure we are doing this not only at the federal government but each of you wi your own bullied in prevention initiatives. now we will enter into two wonderful panels to touch on issues that have been a little bit ignored and a lot of conversations we had about bullying. we are focused on kids who are bullied but a lot of time we forget they alone are not part -- they alone are not the only people involved in bullying. kids who bull be are affected by bullying and we have a great panel of experts to talk about this. i think they're still getting wired up. in just a moment i am pleased to

welcome two of my colleagues, dara blachman and valerie maholmes from the national institutes for child and human development, department of health and human services. please help me welcome them. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ >> good morning, everyone. my name is dara blachman and dry with the institute of justice and i think i will be joined momentarily by my co matter rader valerie maholmes from the national institute of child health and human development.

we're very excited to have this panel. the panel will join us shortly. we're getting mics up. we are on the federal partner bullying prevention work group specifically on the research subcommittee. we are very excited for this panel today. this panel grew out of a recognition in the last couple summits that we have been understandably focusing on youth who are victims of bullying but as we heard already had this year's summit be no this was an abrupt -- much broader context. in order to assure our schools are safe and support of places for all students we need to understand what factors are used to purchase of the in bullying behavior and find ways to support those as well. as we heard a little bit about yesterday many of the