addition to the assistance we have provided. >> would you character it as a civil war? >> i think the way i characterized it reflects what is happening on the ground. >> c-span 2 provided live coverage of the senate events and on the weekend booktv. for 15 years the only television network devoted to fiction books and authors. watch us in hd, like us on facebook and follow us on twitter. coming up on the next washington journal, a look at the situation in iraq. our guest is michael gordon and then matt kibey discusses eric cantor's primary loss and the impact of -- >> tonight on c-span 2 senators

examine child nutrition programs and then a hearing on nuclear waste and then a trade between the united states and mexico. >> at a senate hearing on child nutrition witnesses talked about how school meals effect the health of children. debby stabenow chairs the agriculture committee. this is an hour and a half.

>> well, good morning. the committee meeting will come to order. we are pleased you are here. i want to welcome everyone to the committee's first hearing as we begin to reauthorize childhood nutrition programs. these conversations couldn't come at a more critical time. 16 million children don't have enough to eat in this country. at the same time, childhood obesity rates have tripled over the past 30 years. something is wrong with this picture. these are not just a threat to the health of america's young people they are a threat to the future of the national security.

for generations the u.s. military has depended on the strength and courage of young americans to form the world's most elite fighting force. our leaders recognize this and when they ask congress for help in the past we have responded. general lewis hershy came before the congress to explain that under feeding and malnourishment were to blame for recruits being rejected for service in the armed forces. in response for the concern congress launched the school lunch program calling it a measure of national security. today, as we will hear, our military leaders have a similar request for congress and it is the same we will hear from pediatricians and school he'd leaders and parents.

they ask we protect the school programs so we can improve the long term health of the next generation of americans and improve the military. this has more urgency today than it did years ago. 27% of americans between the ages of 17-24 are too overweight to serb in the military. and the proportion of people who failed examines rose by near by 70%. childhood obesity weakens the nation's security. the nation spends about $14 billion a year to treat obesity and preventable weight-related diseases in children alone. not counting adults.

yet for 14 cents we can give a child an apple in school. $14 billion a year or 14 cents? that reminds be of what franklin said. an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. this are the critical investments we can make now reducing many of the high cost associated with treating tib two diabetes, hypertension and liver disease. in the classroom, a school breck fast can cause the children to have better math schools and be less absent from class. a healthy lunch can form the foundation of a good lifetime. it will mean they can focus on

learning, growing and ultimately becoming productive and successful in future years. it is easy to think of programs in six week budgets, this hearing is about the big picture. school breakfast and lunch are important but this is also about we wellness policy, wic, farm efforts, daycare, reducing hunger during the summer months. this is important. investing in our children's nutrition isn't just about the cost of a meal. it is about educational success

and health and happy lives of our families. we have a great panel with us who can discuss the big picture impact of investing in the health of our children. our ranking member isn't able to be with us. if either of my colleagues want to make a brief comment we will be happy to have it otherwise we will go to witnesses. >> i had a statement to introduce one of the our witnesses. >> i will led you proceed. >> i would like to introduce dr. cook. he is serving at children's hospital in rod chester. he served as a member of my healthy children's working group and he shared research with us on childhood and adolescent obesity and his work has been a resource to me as i have developed my information with

respect to children's health. his research focuses on childhood and adolescent obesity by alum examining cardio vascula health. the rodchester team was among ten teams participating in the event that curbs obesity in the u.s. for children. he has completed an academic fellowship focusing on research on activity and obesity. dr. cook has received a number of rewards and honors and have been recognized by the national heart association for being the research advocate and serves on the government's anti hunger

task force. we welcome him to the senate agriculture committee today and look forward to his testimony. >> thank you very much. and thank you for your leadership. you are a strong advocate for the childhood programs and i look forward to working with you in partnership. i am so pleased to introduce our first witness. general richard hawley who serves on military leads for kids which is a non-profit organization of hundreds of retired military officers committed to strengthening future generations. he served in a variety of command during his military

career, commanded a group, wing and two major commands. his assignments as flag staff officer included director of operation during the first gulf war and secretary of acquisition and commander of united states air force in europe and allied central. we welcome you. orha thornton is our second guest. mr. thornton is a retired united states army lieutenant kernel and his last two assignments were with the whitehouse communication agencies and united states forces iraq in baghdad. he earned the bronze star medal during operation iraqi freedom

in 2009-2010 and as a pta leader mr. thornton's background has allowed him to volunteer throughout the country and world at various levels. we are pleased to have you with us. let me turn to ms. yolanda who is a principle of a middle school in silver springs, maryland. she is an educator starting as a an earth and science teacher in new york city. and she taught at chevy chase high school and served at principal at a couple schools

and has spent several years in the montgomery school system and they participate in the national school and breakfast programs and have after school snack, summer meals and farm to school activities. we are pleased to have you all here. i would remind you we are asking for five minutes worth of testimony. we are happy to accept whatever you would like to give us in writing as well. >> thank you chairwoman stabenow and members of the committee. thanks for holding this hearing and including me. i appreciate the opportunity to give my testimony.

it might seem odd a retired general would be here talking about childhood nutrition. but the school lunch program was established in 1946 in large measure to our response during world war ii when we discovered of those not qualified for military service about 40% of those were malnourished. so the congress took action and established the school lunch program and it has had a great effect on the health of the potential recruits we depend on to defend the nation. unfortunately, 70 years later nutrition remains a national problem and a problem for the military. but the issue now is we have too many children and recruits who

are obese and overwight and hence unfit to perform the service required from the nation in the military. about 75% of young americans today are unfit for military service and that is a tragic figure. as the chairwoman pointed out, about 27% of your youth are too fat, overweight, obese to meet the demands of military service. others cannot meet the educational requirements or have a criminal background which d disqualifies them. from 2006-2011, young men and women were denied enlistment at the rate of 62, 000 because they

were overweight or obese. just to put an easier number on it that would man about 30 air force combat wings. it is an astounding figure and one that demands action. 1200 first term enlistees are discharged every year because of weight problems. and of course the military has to then go out and recruit and train replacements. i don't know how this adds up to the 14 cent apple chairwoman, but it is $90 million a year we spent to train and recruit replacements. dod spends another $1 billion to treat the obesity health issues. the military is responding to those problems. they have launched a number of

initiatives that deal with the issues but they need help. and that is why school nutrition and environment is so important. a child is overweight in his pre-teen year has an 80% chance of being obese by age 25 and those are the ones who can not meet the requirements for military service. in 2010, our group released a report too fat to fight and another still too fat to fight and they highlight the need for standards in our school lunch program. our children were consumming with a too many junk food figures. two billion candy bars and that weighs more than the air craft carrier midway. but the advised standards

endorsed in 2010 are showing results. the rates of obesity is slowing and in some age groups reversed. culture changes don't happen immediately, but the standards you gave us in 2010 will give us a stronger military in 2030 and heathier nation as well. i thank you for the opportunity to highlight the link between a beasty and national stua leal s. >> thank you for that testimony. mr. thortan. thank you again. >> i am honored to have the opportunity here to speak before you on behalf of over 4 million of the national parent teacher association members.

pta exist in all 50 states, the district of columbia, the virginia n islands and in some areas in europe. in addition with my involvement with pta, i have been local in georgia, maryland, michigan, texas and in germany. i am a senior operation dynamics in georgia and i am a retired kernel. i have two decades of experience of a father with my wonderful children. pta was founded in 1897. it is the oldest and largest volunteer organization of childhood protection in the united states.

we have made an impact in the lives of millions of children and families. this includes the creation of kindergarten, a juvenile justice system, child labor law, and mandatory immunizations for school children. one of the purposes of pta is to preserve children's health and protect them from harm. pta has been at the table from beginning piloting a hot lunch program in schools in the 1920s that led to a national school lunch program and each reauthorization of the school lunch act. the pta and our coalition partners fought for the passage of had healthy hunger free act which made significant updates to the nation's food nutrition

programs. pta viewed this as a win for the kids and parents because parents knew for the first time no matter what our kids purchase in the cafeteria it was going to be good for them. as for primary decision makers in our kids lives it provided us a stronger role through local wellness policy development of impleme implementation and develop. i mention these accomplishments to show the commitment and provide a context of where we are today. we have made a commitment for over 70 years to do the right thing in the cafeteria and we cannot turn our backs now. i know some of my fellow panelist will address the reality of the obesity crisis as it relates to our overall health and national security.

as a pta leader and father i am here to tell you our parent and families are committed to working together to ensure the continued success of the nation's childhood nutrition program with well. schools are making progress to the meals they are serving. there have been challenges along the way but that is to be execs expected. when was the last time you changed the rule in the kids wellbeing and they were happy about it? as partner in the school building, pta and parents understand all are challenging realities and never enough time, seldom enough money and minimum resources but that can never be a free pass not to do the right thing for our kids. for parents it means we need to step up to the plate and support our schools, the board, the

administration, and the school food service and teachers and students to make sure the school meals are successful. and that means having a seat at the table and finding solutions to the challenges. do we need updated kitchen equipment? how are we going to secure funding? volunteers for breakfast to be served in the classrooms? do we need to adjust our fundraising? >> i am a pediatrician and adult

internist from up state new york and an american heart association volunteer. today, i cy young patients with type two diets, high cholesteral and fatty liver disease. these are conditions i am familiar with as an internist and treating adult patients by my pediatric colleagues never saw before. our children are developing adult diseases. 1-3 kids are overweight or a obese which is tripped from the 1960s. more than 90% of children meet none or only one of the five components the heart association uses to define a healthy diet such as eating fruit and vegetables and whole grains. the cost of treating obesey

related illnesss have tripled. i work in a pediatric practice and i am on the front line of the war of childhood obesity. half of the students in the district are overweight and obese and half of them qualify for school lunches and in many cases that being the only healthy meal they get all day. i learned as a pediatrician i must care for families beyond the four walls of my office. what good do the medications and vaccines do if these children are going to have an early death brought upon by unhealthy diet? on a positive note, i have seen first hand how eating habits are

established early on. this provides unique opportunity for improving the health of the nation's children, lowering medical cost and improving productivity. a small change in the life of a challenge if made at the right time is huge. a child during his 3-year-old checkup had a bmi in obesity range. during his four year checkup he was now at the 98th percent. they discussed on cutting back the sugar drinks and increased in levels. his weight increased over the last two years but slowly and over the last two visits it decreased by a pound. but his bmi was 69th percentage

where it should be. these changes in behavior were not of high intensity levels like needed for older children. but the consistent message is part of well child visit with nutrition, exercise, and sleep. this was a motivated parent who sought out resources including a high quality child care center that moved to quality snacks and now the patient is on the track to a healthy life. programs authorized by the healthy hunger act set the stage for children to get a head start of healthy habits. i urge congress to continue the work with school districts to prioratize the school nutrition programs. i believe we cannot let perfect be the enemy of good.

usda and school can work through challenges and provide evidence-based strategy to alter the school benefits at minimum cost. the programs play a critical role in improving the health of our nation's children, their future and our nation's future. it is one of american strategy that must be implemented to turn the tide on obesity and the other chronic conditions among the youth. the very lives of our children are at stake. >> thank you for that testimony. welcome, principal. >> thank you for this opportunity to share my experience and views on the importance of childhood nutrition programs. when i think about this from a

parent and teacher of middle school and elementary children the benefit of free and reduced school programs is obvious. i was a child of two working class parentss who worked to clothed, nurture and feed their children. i recall looking forward to going to school and wondering what was going to be served for breakfast and lunch. i can testify first-hand the school meal program had a positive impact on my life and learning. there are children in classrooms all over the nation in cities and suburbs and communities who are coming to school extremally eager to learn but they must be prepared and ready to focus by starting their day off with a

healthy breakfast. 1-5 school age children struggle with hunger in this country. i have 65% of my students who receive free and reduced breakfast daily and they are still struggling with nothing enough to eat at home. i can tell you this makes it harder for them to learn. there are teachers and principals all over the country that will tell you the same thing. there are children all over the nation who are coming to school too hungry to learn. the school breakfast and lunch in some cases are the only meal they have. children that don't get enough

to get go to the nurse more and struggle with participating in the task at hand. research shows that student who do get enough nutrition feel better, learn more, develop good eating habits, and grow up stronger. we spend time, thought and money around educating our children. we ask questions like how do we improve our test scores? how do we make sure students graduate? there are some wonderful programs and innovations to help our kids but if they are too hungry to learn we have lost them before we begun. there are two times i see hunger as a wide spread problem. in the morning and after the summer and the start of the school year. for a student of low income family their nutrition comes

from school meals. without school breakfast and lunch they will not get the nutrition nay they need. i have seen kids come to school and they have not eaten since the lunch before. they are irritable and only able to think about where their next meal is coming from. i am grateful my school has a univerl free breakfast program and it allows all my students to start their day off right. another danger time is over the summer vacation. students don't get school meals when school is out of session. you can see a real difference at the start of the school year over the kids who had enough over the break and those who struggled. the ones not getting more consistent meals with stressed

out and take longer to get into the swing of the school year, they have forgotten a lot of what they learned and it make as real difference with their progress. i make it a duty to greet my students every morning and this let's me gauge my students emotional state. i noticed a student who was tired and unhappy. before i could ask him what was wrong he asked me are we going to be getting breakfast this morning? i don't have any money. i told him breakfast was waiting for him in his first period classroom and a sense of relief came over his face and he quickly proceeded in the building. this is other similar stories con firm how important it is that schools have a nutrishious

breakfast for students. i would like to share with you current research by the non-profit organization no kid herni hungry. they analyzed the way hunger affects a child's ability to learn. their research focused on what happens when students from low income families get breakfast every day. their attendance rate went up, tardy and absent went down. 17.5% higher on math assessments on average. higher attendance and test scores are closely tied to graduation rates. student who attend school regularly and receive better grades are 20% more likely to graduate from high school. this has a huge potential impact on their future and ours. high school graduates are more

likely to find better employment, make higher salaries and become self sufficient. i am the proud principal again of francis scott key high school. >> i know as you said general, the department of defense has expanded their efforts to combat obesity and people would be surprised we start the reauthorization process talking about what is happening in the military and department of defense but this is a real concrete example of what is happening with obesity. the dod is investing time and funding to prevent obesity. can you talk about those investments versus the amount of

money being spent to treat obesity? >> well, as you know, i retired some years ago, so i cannot claim to be an expert with everything going on today in dod. but they have instituted a number of trial programs like the healthy base initiative to increase awareness of the problems among the soldiers, sail areas, marine and coast guardsman because as some of the testimony pointed out people don't understand what their diet is doing to them. they are color coding things in the dining hall and facilities red, green and yellow so that green says you can eat all of that you want. it is good for you. it will help you be a better person in the military. better soldier, sailor, airman.

if it is yellow, not so much. if is red, why don't you avoid that. that is full of sugar and not good for you. the airforce, i know, instituted a program on a trial bases tay hope to expand better food, better body. trying to increase awareness among our airmen to let them know your nutrition is important and it will effect you how perform and that will effect how well you do in your career. there is a lot going on and i know it will expand because this is important. the cost of those programs is insignificant compared to the cost of treating the problem. i think i sighted the number 1.1 billion to treat obesity and overweight illnesss and the tri-care program that supports people like me and others.

so, you sited 14 cents and it is 14 billion there is no comparison >> would you take about as a principal how you are working to ensure program.

so students are welcome to come for that free lunch. >> and mr. thornton, could you talk from the parent stand point of working together to make it a success? little more on parents in the involvement. >> we believe and push a solid wellness policy around our school system. pta uses six standards for effective school partnerships and working on nutrition like welcome families and an example -- at home we understand

it is important with the family meals and sometimes they don't have to time to properly plan those things and we understand that. one of the tools we have is we partner with the healthy weight commitment foundation and provide grants to a lot of local pta units to help parents work on nutrition. what does a healthy plate look like? what does a healthy grocery shopping trip look like? those are the grants we do to assist parents. >> thank you very much. senator brown. >> madam chair, thank you. all four of your testimony was terrific. i want to make some comments. first, i appreciate the comments

about the program being created in response to far too many recruits being malnourished. it is important to point out things the government does in historical context because it teaches for the future. a health care provider in toledo and southwest michigan announced a plan to reduce hunger and they view ending hunger not just as the moral issue but one of the most important ways to lower health care cost. and third, the summer feeding program in my state, we have about 600,000 students every day that get the free or reduced breakfast or lunch program. in the summer, only about 60,000

students are participating in the summer feeding program. 600,000 in a particular day in march or april and in july and august it is 1/10th of that. and what that says about where we need to go. let us say if i had children i would want them to go the middle school. i know watt the leadership does in that. everything is better. i held a conference call with ohio reporters on the issue of summer feeding and i asked them to help get the word out for the summer feeding programs. part of it is we only have about 1700 sights which is more than we had other summers.

americore and other groups help us build the sites in may or jo june and you have to find them to do the them at schools and library. but talk about what it means in terms of the dropoff during the summer and what that actually means to children, their development, their physical and mental development and preparation for next fall. >> thank you. when i look into their faces that is where i start. i can see immediately if a student has been really taken care of over the summer, has had nutritional meals, you can tell by their physical appearance, by their level of energy when they come back -- it doesn't even

take a summer. you can see like a spring break if they come back very often it takes them a lot longer to get ready for their school day/week. if school starts on a monday they might be ready by wednesday. so what i noticed was just a drop in the socialization, i have noticed them misbehaving more where when they have a level of consistency and know they have eaten a nutritional breakfast and lunch every day their anxiety doesn't go up. it is the second to last day in my school and many other middle schools and as principals talk we are noticing the anxiety in

the children increasing and i think a part is because they know they are not going to come in and get the free breakfast and lunch. i have a school that will do not but not all of the district does. >> probably in the state of maryland the summer feeding program is 10-12 percent, how does that compare if you have an active middle school like yours with however many students, you said universal free breakfast, how many are there in the summer and what can you learn from what you do in your location to reach into communities and do better everywhere? >> thank you. it starts with communicating and this summer will be my first summer with the school to see

how the works. i have over 900 students. it is us really reaching out to the parents. >> 900 during the school here? >> yes. we are not sure how many over the summer >> last year how many did they have? >> we did haven't the summer program last year. i can get back to you and let you know the success of it. >> if i could interrupt again. it seems most things i have observed the breakfast and lunch and snacks in the summer are pre-prepared will you in the summer feeding program because you are using the middle school cafeteria will you prepare it the same way? >> warm lunches and breakfast is

usually cold like a cereal and bagel. but the lunch is prepared the same way it with was during the school year. they will have hired staff to come in and ensure the teachers are teaching. >> and reimbursement for this is enough to fund the same feeding program you do during the school year? >> yes, the county is handling the funding. >> okay. sorry for the length of that madam chair. >> oh thank you very much. another great children's advocate we are lucky to have senator brown. and senator casey, welcome. >> madam chair, thank you. thank you for having this hearing and he great testimony

and witnesses here. senator brown was asking a lot of the questions i think are on the minds of each of us, just a general point, a drop off of children that get breakfast and lunch and then the drop out. a fraction of the kids in our state are getting help over the summer. that is one of the big challenges. i want to take a comment about a guiding principle for me. i think a problem we have nationally and what you might call a national strategy which i think we have for children, this question we are examinein this

hearing is one of the four pillars or parts of the strategy. we should make sure that every child has health insurance and every child has a quality early learning opportunity and every single child -- that has to be the goal. that every child has the basic protections from predators and then the issue we are talking about today; that children have access to enough food to eat and making sure it is nutritional food. wield be a better country and our national security would be enhanced if we did that. i know we don't have time for every question. but starting with dr. cook, the wic program, talk to me about that in terms of the women, infants and children program as a preventive step to cutback on

the potential that child will be obese down the road. if you could talk about that one particular program. >> the women, infant and children program represents a great opportunity. in new york they piloted the first changes and we saw in your community how the offerings to the the mothers were changing. more whole grains and better variety for the mother who is nursing. and more diverse groups because if a family from a cultural background isn't relevant who watt the parent serving the meals is used to doesn't work. if we can get wic workers in our office two days a month and they

can make that information available to families that is a huge advantage. 90% of children in the community qualify for free and reduced lunch and we have the universal lunches as well. in the two largest practices in the city we have about 14,000 patients and we reach 45-50 percent of the children in the city. for the past couple years we have been working with our food pantry agency that is organizing the summer meals to get the information about where the summer meals are into the pediatric offices. when the kids come in we have it

available. we try to think a season or two ahead and that is one strategy we looked. where i trained the concept of community pediatrics is helping. we are seeing a wave of morbidity and we have to think outside the four walls of the office. >> i was going to ask you a question but i will answer the question in my own way. i think if you looked at one indicator of how we are doing in terms of national policies that underguard a national strategy for helping pregnant women, i don't think we would get very high letter grade. maybe a d. that is my opinion. but i think we have a long way to go and wic plays a role. and i know we are almost out of time. but i want to ask our principal

to maybe on a lighter note, when you talked about irritability in the morning and sustain silent reading periods, that might help in the senate. no more irritability but sustained silent reading. this whole question that is so central to the life of a child. i like to say if kids learn more now they will earn more. but you cannot learn if you are hungry or have a lot of things happening to you. just the basic trouble that children have concentrating because of lack of access to food or nutritional food. talk about that for a moment. >> i think for me personally

because i was one those children and i have a personal connection to what that feels like if you don't have your breakfast or dinner because there is nothing at home to eat and you are truly waiting to come to school for that meal -- i can get it. i can envision what that feels like because i have lived it. even when my students as middle schoolers say i am fine or try to be too proud i know what that really, really means. it may mean taking them into another location and saying here is your breakfast. yes, it plays a heavy role and that is why i think as a principal you need to be in touch with the social/emotional side and way children are and

really get to know them and their families. unfortunately, there is a really big stigma with being a student who receives free and reduced lunch. for some reason they just know i am a student who receives free and reduced meals but having my breakfast program made a difference because any child now can get their meal in the morning and it is no stigma attached. so it is pushing students passed that in order to help them unlock their best thinking because if you -- if you are hungry, you are not going to concentrate. you may get some of the information but you will miss most of the information. and at times the hunger and the misbehavior tend to go hand and

hand. once you take care of that fundamental need you often mind that students are able to elevate their progress throughout the course of the day and throughout the course of the year. >> thank you very much. thank you, madam chair. >> thank you. >> sorry i was late. i was at hearing when i had votes but i knew i was at the right hearing when i saw the orange here. thank you to our witnesses and the chairwoman for holding this hear. in 2010, we overhauled the hunger kids act and i supported that and oppose some of the current efforts to role it back. i think we have shown a little progress with stability in the

numbers and rates of childhood obesity but i think we all know there is a lot of work to be done. general, in your testimony you included an antidote and the consumption of two million candy bars saying it weighs more than the uss carrier. i worked closely to change the vendor machines and this takes effect on july 1st. what role do vending machines playing in recruitment? >> i think they play a huge role. we all know sugar is a primary contributor to the problem. i am not an expert on what is going on in today's school but i can relate a tale from one of my partners in this effort who

related when he was a child in north carolina they had cigarette machines in the schools. this is a place where kids go to get bad habits reinforced. our experience in the military is that by the time we get them as recruits it is almost too late to influence their habits because we know we develop eating habits early. i like the things my mother fed me when i was a child. i am 72 years old and nothing has changed. so these habits that our children form by accessing the vending machines with sugary drinks and you name it shape their habits going forward and that effects us being able to

recruit and contributes to the fact that only 25% of enlisted youth could join the military. we need to get a handle on that. >> thank you for your work as a principal. my mom taught second grade until she was 70 years old. i really appreciate your work. as implementation of the healthy hunger kids act continues, usda has provided additional assistance including $25 million in grant funding to help schools purchase equipment to provide healthier meals. do you think there is going to be more investment in equipment? >> i think the food services

admin straig administrators visit the school and our country has done a good job giving our schools and all of the schools across the country a guideline as to what is acceptable. days of pizza parties are gone because we want to make sure the foods are nutritional values. we do have a vending machine. it is on a timer and i thank for ensuring we have healthy snacks that fit the expectation here for this committee and also the expectation for my county. ...

>> thank you very much. senator. >> thank you, madame chairwoman. thank-you all for being here, providing great insights on this important subject. thank you for your service, general. welcome back. nice to see you again. i am interested in the fact that 25 percent of our young people are eligible.

you listed academic preparedness, obesity. criminal records. how -- worked as a b.c. fit into that and how has that changed in the time that you were in the service? relative to those other factors. >> well, on the first point, or best -- people are disqualified sometimes for multiple reasons. it is hard to pin down exactly what percentage is to to overweight or obese city. it is better than one in five of the disqualified applicants attributable to overweight or obese city. my service. i became a second lieutenant in 1964. it was a different country than. obesity was not nearly the problem i would guess it was below 10% were rejected from

service because of their weight. >> and use it 1200 a year i discharged because of that. when they are discharged we assume that when they came in the met requirements. >> most of them were borderline when they can mend. and of course we feed them well. we exercise a lot, but we offer a lot of food. sometimes it is due to other factors. they have consumed so many sugar retrain extravagant no end to a few festivals. bones are brittle and we wind up with a weight-related problem and a diet-related problem. they will not suffer fractures, serious sprains, whatever. there are a lot of issues.

every time we must discharge one for these problems we spend about $75,000 to go recruited replacements and trenton, to the tune of about $90 billion per year. >> let me make a directive to anyone on the panel. just what can be done to encourage parents to do a better job, take more responsibility surf. people hearken back to their younger days. some of my mother managed to give up of the morning. yet something for breakfast and put something in the oven for lunch. it is a different world. what can we do to encourage and better incentivized parents to

complement the meals are provided and insure that our kids are getting nutrition that they need. >> speak on that topic. and feeding and sleeping a pro with the most important thing to a parent of a newborn. it is important to think about that necessarily. we are looking and seeing research at the time of conception and during pregnancies when mothers are planning what to do, how they feed, if a breastfeed, a number of things that go on and sustain those behavior's. it is important to understand. become a burden of mothers it is important to understand that identifying these issues.

try to identify where parents feel is normal and not normal, what is really healthy verses perceived tilt the. we have hit on history a lot. i find it important. that can be a great resource for the family. unfortunately many of the families that vessey cannot really the traditional nuclear family, very disconnected, may not have the social structure that can give that kind of beneficial anecdotal evidence. it was like an evidence studying a child the same way you can and adults. using families and in this case providing resources as critical times. infancy and childhood. this is an important time because it can imprint behavior's throughout their life

>> do you think it would put too much? is a disincentive to parents when you increase the number of meals and they start increasing? >> i think it is an important balance. parents to have a respect for the schools to protect their child. it represents the balance, assuming that it is the right thing that is being done. as we have an appearance in a school's, they become concerned when there are and they're seeing what is available. i think it is a balance of the responsibility of the parent as well as the school which is why having parents involved in the process is moving this forward very well. >> my time has expired. >> thank you very much. senator. >> thank you,. with the start of summer upon us

i am reminded that many of our low income students will lose access. bofa under an obesity go. the summer nutrition program, access throughout the summer. most occur. however, this summer meals all it reach a fraction of eligible children. talk a little bit about me to ensure access year round so that children are returning. >> thank you for your question. address former senator lee. one of my things, parents around the country, a personal accountability of education at

the helm. different people come from different stages of life. i have one of those kids that did not have during the summers of food and things like that. my family did the best that they could. we have to keep that in mind as we look at the public-school system as a public good. these types of programs that help kids that may not have privilege or opportunity as other kids have had. senator, as the programs we are looking at and working for. the organization. of fun of those resources to get additional. thanks for those kids, recognizing the principle today.

the impact. the academic performance and coming back to school after having to deal with that. so very directly we are working with government agencies and advocates to try to get those programs in the communities. >> we talk a lot about the intersection of childhood obesity and actual hundred. the quality of the nutrition that some of our most of these children are receiving is so low that they are obese was still starving. we address this a bit trying to make sure that inner-city is a remote areas have access to affordable fruits and vegetables you would be surprised about the bronx, brooklyn come on the north country, in a state of wealthy and rich as new york a way it seems outrageous. can you talk a little bit about the intersection of under an obesity and whether the dynamic

is at play and your best ideas for the school the attrition program to combat those or any other programs you think is worth mentioning. >> thank you very much for the question. the interaction of auger and obesity is an important and complex one. and as research as shown above the body physiologically adapts to different states. anecdotally the story is that at the beginning of the month families have more food and near the end there's less. we have seen evidence that shows the eating patterns are different at the beginning bursas the end. the problem is metabolic that has an impact. when we put on calories the body's metabolism, we altered so whole lot because we know we needed to survive. even though it is not the stone age, body physiologically still responds the way which makes which was extremely difficult.

you have a person who has gained a tremendous amount of weight for whatever reason that makes it more difficult to lose weight the stress that comes with hunger also drives a hormone that drives up appetite. the distress that goes on in children, obesity is just one of the manifestations. hunter is always there. as we look at these children metabolic week, even though their weight baby normal or high, they are nutrient deficient. we see many of these children your iron deficient, borderline vitamin d deficiency. while they get excess calories, they do not get important nutrients. in serve to my infancy and toddler heard when the brain is growing dislike is is more susceptible to eric small amount of a toxin like lead, a big

impact on the brain. very concerning that the nutrition sciences, suggesting some of the same findings. are we imprinting eating behavior's affecting the development and growth, the brain growth in children. >> talk about participation in school nutrition programs such as offering breakfast or lunch for free for all students, of participating for free or implementing a breakfast program . >> i still struggle every year with having my parents complete a form that will make them eligible for their students to receive free and reduced meals. as stated earlier i have over 65 percent of my students eligible, but i can assure you that i have more children in my

building his parents may not have felt comfortable filling out that for because it in a sense stigmatizes them. once we receive the free breakfast program for all students, that stigma will go away. so wouldn't it be amazing to laugh a free breakfast and a free lunch program so that it would take away the stigmatism that goes with having to fill up the form and turn it in and go, my gosh, what are they going to think about me to back so our struggle with that every year. sometimes it is me calling a parent into my office and having a heart-to-heart and mindanao is a carry. it makes that difference, but that is the difference that i am willing to take, and many of my

colleagues to ensure that children get what they need. so i think that if it does not change it is exciting. food as fuel as opposed to a just want to eat it because it tastes good. trying different things will excite them and in turn i have found as a principal of tin it excites the parent. but going back to, if it were free for all i can imagine that everyone would partake in the program. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. >> senator bozeman. we're glad to see you. >> thank you, madam chair. i really don't have a question for you, but i want to thank you i know how hard you work. and from surf.

we do appreciate all that you represent. the consumption. a young person is there any other low hanging fruit out there that we can do? >> the area that we look at -- >> lohan in brussels, would add. i think both of those are part of the key points. it is important to find where the evidence is and what is feasible. i can give them all kinds of advice. if it won't fit it will not work the lohan need for early and often giving the message seven times as is kind of a joke but a

useful strategy. if we have some of these same messages and schools and day care centers around screen ton, physical activity, running around, but necessarily have to be structured sports, fruits and vegetables are important and probably the toughest of all because of taste and presentation. liquid calories. you can drink this package full of water or it could be pressure group of rich. it will probably be minimal. 600 calories and their and you could have zero. this to be active. so a big misperception : children are active.

screen time -- >> you run into the same problem the beverages over. the same problem. >> absolutely. >> carbohydrates. >> virtually all of the liquid calories we drink will fall into the range. it as a very similar pattern. little hanging fruit can be liquid calories. again, very important. when we can bring in more evidence, screen time is bad because it is mindless time. it is more time for consumption. he said in front of the screen, you may not burn up hundred calories, but you may need to wonder 50. the same thing with children, and it becomes competitive -- repetitive.

a very important concern for our parents. having the stealth type of intervention or other collateral perform to we can give an age appropriate symbols that, in other settings. gerald care program, after-school programs, we are hitting them with multiple messages. >> in your testimony recorded the. i hear from parents occasionally you have a kid. a healthy and normal looking kid . a body types. is there another test that is killing of?

a little bit better job of identifying people in need of the -- >> that is an important point a thousand people, but fallen this range for hope. can be more limited. analysts caution pediatricians to talk about it. i will also ask a pediatrician if they're asking for advice, but as the parents weight? actually much bigger risk factor . the importance. children are a group that is not steady this closely. the need to understand the normal physiological growth. the sub point is we don't have

as many children going through normal physiological growth. i also, at the point that parents will say, they're big boned or pretty large most toddlers don't have the muscle mass. it will have more components of body fat. teen-agers, it is a different story and can be very interesting. it does need to look at a mix of when we can identify as the first step. what i like to say is not every timber is cancer. we really do have to work. >> you record good point along the pediatric community. my concern is that at the school level where you have an administrator or whoever is doing these programs people like

that, they simply look at a number. it is automatically have low. >> i agree and think schools have a lot of things on their plate. increased cardiovascular fitness as we have seen in rochester, they want to your about this. few will love stories. different context when help can be presented. you can put it in a setting where parents may be more comfortable. >> an important question to discuss. wrapping it up. would like to ask each of you the question that would be

helpful. nutrition and the impact within the school but also more broadly for our country. if you could give the committee a piece of advice as we consider reauthorize in child attrition programs for what would you say is the most important thing that we could do to address some of the concerns and ideas that you have raced to the? >> well, i learned during my career probably the most honorable trade that you can have his persistence. as they say, persistence will help. i guess my advice would be, stay with it. this is an important program. i am sure it is not perfect and can be improved, but the think it is beginning to work. my view is that this is a cultural issue in our country, and cultures take a long time to change.

three should not expect instant results, least of all program that tries to change the nation's eating habits. my advice is stay with it, keep up the good work. in time we will see the results. >> great advice. >> thank you, chairwoman. we talk about these. they remain the same whether you live in iowa or georgia. it is impractical to try to force parents to meld their foods one school at a time. reinventing the wheel while facing the same obstacles, this is the way, not just the reauthorization. the week card throughout the history of pta to ensure that kids have this access to equal education, proper nutrition, fitness. it is important. i think you have the committee

and all for engaging this topic, which is critical to the future and our children and our country make no mistake of the decision to reauthorize will have a debt and impact on our schools and hospitals, economy, military columns, and most importantly our kids. and thank you for this time. >> thank-you very much. >> thank you for the question. i find it a persistent question that we get. sometimes it is, what is the one thing that i would do if i could do something, to get everyone to realize that there is not one thing that you can do. everything is part of the problem. each one of these strategies and proposals represents 1 percent of the solution. cannot be left off. we need to include all of these. think global and act local.

it will occur at the grass-roots level. i thank you for the question. to conclude, we discussed this a lot and it is important that of the city has come up as a disease but it is probably the one that does not carry the dignity of other chronic diseases coming even more so a problem for children and adolescents. it is important to make this about promoting. >> thank you very much. >> thank you kutcher woman. mentioned a few times a day how the schools are on the front lines. thank you for the opportunity to share my thinking in my experiences with our school and my school system. the partnership is definitely something i would say let's continue this conversation and think about what actions we will take and then we can take back

to our schools and school districts. continue the opportunities to increase the education for parents. one principal school halls. up to find that we struggle to fund a to have a different defense for families afterschool events. does take money to put these things together. at times we are robbing peter to pay paul in order to make this happen. and if we can't think about opportunities for these partnerships with the university's as a badge of the earlier or increased funding so we could have after-school so that we can not only have the dishes after school progress of the spec programs but also physical activities and clubs the students could be a part of so that there are not sitting in front of the screen and how. this continued conversation does not need to stop here.

getting feedback from other principals and schools would be a great welcome to different educators. think you. >> they key to each of you. this discussion does bus stop here. this is the beginning. it was important that we start with the big picture of why we have these programs fifth. we are going to be hearing from all perspectives and working with every one to make sure that the way that things are done makes sense and are workable and we certainly want to move forward, not backward. we will move forward. we think it is important that we talk about why as a country the community to live as parents and family members that we need to care. thank you to everyone. let me just remind colleagues that any additional questions should be submitted to the

committee clerk five business station. that is 5:00 p.m. on friday june june 20th. the hearing is jerry. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> coming up, a look at the situation. in militant capturing key areas. freedom works. primary loss. the impact of the tea party of the 2014 midterm elections.

his recent article the case reparations. examine the struggles and treatment of african-americans in the u.s. .. for a lot of us in the private and nonprofit sectors we have work to do too. government doesn't have a monopoly on good ideas obviously and even if it wanted it couldn't and shouldn't try to solve all the problems by itself

we have responsibilities to do what we can.

>> the senate homeland security committee held a hearing on radioactive waste in the risk of it being used in a dirty bomb. officials from the nuclear regulatory commission the department of homeland security and the national nuclear safety administration talk about how they secured these materials. senator tom carper chairs the hearing. it's an hour and a half. [inaudible conversations] >> of this hearing will to order. a little over a year ago the city of boston as you will recall was struck by tragedy

during the running of 117 boston marathon. to terrorist detonated pressure cooker bombs near the finish line that killed three-part -- people and injured nearly -- the attack which we viewed again and again on the television and again on the first anniversary will never be forgotten and neither will be the heroism that unfolded immediately following those attacks. police, medical personnel, national guardsmen and women volunteers runners and spectators all ran toward the blast to provide immediate aid to the injured. these acts of courage and selflessness saved countless lives. the tragic events of the 117th marathon reminds us we must constantly seek to anticipate

the threats from homegrown terrorists and to improve our nation's ability to anticipate and prevent the next attack. today as we strive to improve our counterterrorism efforts we have the opportunity to look back at the boston marathon bombing and ask ourselves this question. what if the attack had occurred differently? what if it was even more deadly? what if the pressure cooker bombs weren't just simply bombs but dirty bombs? the last question is what we are going to focus on today in this hearing. a dirty bomb is in a kind of crude explosive device that when detonated disperses radiation around and beyond the blast. but dirty on successfully goes off and those who survived the blast can be exposed to harmful amounts of radiation that could cause sickness or even death. moreover a dirty bomb could render areas uninhabitable for

not just days or weeks or months but for years, making that particular weapon a highly disruptive one. the boston marathon terrorist turned turn their pressure cooker bombs and did. ernie: owns them the consequences of that day could've been multiplied by order of magnitude. i want to think about that for a minute. for instance when those police medical personnel volunteers runners and spec taters ran toward the blast to help the injured what if they had been exposed to harmful amounts of radiological material? in many cases this material cannot be seen as we know cannot be smelled, cannot be felt or tasted. in this hypothetical what would have been a heroic display of courage and selflessness could have quickly spiraled into far more deadly and disruptive situation.

today's hearing will focus on how we can ensure this hypothetical situation does not come to pass. we will focus on the threat of a dirty bomb and specifically examine the security of radiological material here in communities across our country that could be used to create the dirty bomb. two years ago at the request of then senator danny akaka goodfriend of us all the general accountability office issued a report examining the government's efforts to secure radiological material in u.s. radiological facilities. gao found in many cases this radiological material was all too final for two threat or sabotage. shortly thereafter adjoins senator akaka and center casey and requesting the gao audit to secure radiological material used in construction and industrial sites.

unlike the radiological devices in hospitals that are stationary and large, industrial radiological sources are often found in small highly portable devices routinely used in open populated areas and we have on the poster over here an example of the kind of highly portable radiological waste we are talking about. this is a radiography camera. it's a camera that is commonly used at construction sites to survey pipes and foundations for? and imperfections. these cameras contain radiological material that are seized by the wrong hands could be used to help create a dirty bomb. this clearly is a type of portable advice that a thief or terrorist could walk away with if they found it left unsecured.

gao will testify today on the radiological material security like this camera but the message from the audit is clear. despite government efforts to radiological sources are far too vulnerable to theft or sabotage by terrorists or by others wishing to do us harm. in fact gao found four cases where potentially dirty bomb material was stolen between 2006 and 2012 and moreover gao found two pieces for individuals with extensive criminal history were given unsupervised access to potential dirty bomb material. one of those individuals had previously convicted of making terroristic threats. what we are going to learn more about these vulnerabilities and i think we will have maybe some comments from our friends at gao but let me just say this. we have got to do better than

this and given the consequences of the dirty bomb there really is no excuse for the vulnerabilities identified by the general accountability office. so i will say it again, we have just got to do better. if we are to protect against the next oklahoma city bombing the next 9/11 were the next boston marathon bombing we need to stay several steps ahead of the terrorists. we must anticipate and neutralize the evolving ability to carry out terrorist plots way before they are conceived or executed. today we will hear from three agencies that play a critical role in securing radiological materials in the u.s. in preventing dirty bomb attacks from occurring and without we are going to turn to our panel. i'm going to make some brief introductions of each of you and then we will invite you to present your testimony and i will ask him questions and some

of my colleagues will drift in and out in ask questions as well by the time it will be time for dinner hopefully we will be done sooner than that. i want to welcome each of you and thanks for coming. and for your willingness to respond to questions. the honorable anne harrington is the deputy administrative for defense and nuclear nonproliferation for the national nuclear security administration. does that fit on a business card? barely. a position you have held since 2010. prior to national nuclear security administration see served as the director of the national academy of sciences committee on national security and arms control. she has held positions in the state department's acting director and deputy director of the office of proliferation threat reduction. welcome. next on our panel we have got their home in.

i'm going to ask you to pronounce your last name. i will try it and i want you to pronounce it for us. that's a great name. the director of the domestic protection office of the department of homeland security. she was appointed in september september 2013 after being acting director since 2012. welcome. she has served in multiple positions at the domestic nuclear detection office in 2005 and prior to that worked at the department of homeland security science and technology director the transportation security administration and the federal aviation -- aviation administration. our next witness on this panel is mr. mark said tory is executive director for operations at the u.s. nuclear regulatory commission. in that role he served as chief operating officer.

he joined nrc 25 years ago as an operating license examiner and then as a reactor inspector and senior project engineer. a u.s. naval academy graduate served as the officer in the u.s. navy's nuclear program and is a nuclear chain -- trained submarine officer. thank you for that service too. the final witnesses mr. david trimble who serves as a director for the national resources and environmental group u.s. government accountability office. mr. trimble is a offer the gao report underlining threats presented live security of domestic industrial radiological sources. in his current role at gao mr. trimble provides leadership and oversight on nuclear security and cleanup issues. previously he is focused on environmental causes including

controlling toxic substances clean water clean air issues and management. before joining gao mr. trimble served at the department of state's political military affairs bureau responsible for export compliance and enforcement issues. those are the introductions. we truly don't do justice but we are delighted that you are here and are willing to help better informed this committee and hopefully the senate with the potential threats that they assess and what we might do about them. ms. harrington please proceed. >> thank you mr. chairman. thank you for giving me the opportunity to testify on the department of energy national nuclear security administration efforts to enhance the security of vulnerable high-risk radioactive sources in the united states. i would like to thank you for your continued interest in the interest of the committee and its leadership on this important issue. i would also like to thank my

colleagues from the department of homeland security and nuclear regulatory commission for being constructive and indispensable partners in the effort to reduce the risk of radiological incidents. the office of defense nuclear nonproliferation which i lead in conjunction with their federal local and industry partners works to enhance the security of civilian radioactive materials in the united states and internationally. i provided details on our programs in my written testimony. we do appreciate the comments and recommendations from the general accountability office and we are actively implementing their recommendations to expand outreach to increase the number program volunteers and enhance coordination with other federal agencies. i want to use the time allotted for my oral remarks to look at the path forward in the strategic approach we are developing to address the challenges of securing the materials that can be used in a dirty bomb. the importance of securing high-risk radiological sources was highlighted at the 2014

nuclear security summit when the united states and 22 other countries signed on to a so-called gift basket committing to secure all international atomic energy agency classified category 1 radioactive material subtle level that meets or where possible exceeds the guidelines in the agency's code of conduct on the safety and security of radioactive sources. the goal is to accomplish this by it for 2016 nuclear security summit. the recent theft in mexico for truck carrying a large cobalt 60 source demonstrates how much our own security depends on the quality and security outside her borders. commitments like the ones implemented and then there nuclear summit process contributed meaningful way not just to the security of individual countries but to our joint security. while we continue to proceed with implementation of security enhancements for high-risk radioactive materials several

factors have led us to consider a new strategic approach to addressing the dirty bomb threat through actions that achieve more permanent and sustainable threat reduction. factors that we considered include the large number of radioactive sources worldwide, the fact that we secure our retire existing sources even as new sources and new devices are being introduced, the long-term costs for sustaining security systems the limited options for disposal of these sources in the general constraints within the federal budgets. the grand challenge we should consider is how we can achieve permanent risk reduction rather than continuing in the current preventive posture. just as we have demonstrated that highly-enriched uranium or heu is not necessary for producing critical medical isotopes and that we can eliminated h. e.u. from that

technology cycle. can we apply the same principle to radiological sources? we should strive to not only further enhance security but reduce the size and complexity of the overall problem and achieve permanent threat reduction by decreasing the number of sites and devices that require a high activity radioactive materials. the centerpiece of the strategy is to engage in a worldwide effort to provide reliable nonradioactive alternatives to the highest activity radioactive sources that pose the greatest risk. more defined -- to find ways to reduce the amount of material needed for a given function. we will need to have the engagement and active participation from the research industry and medical communities but the potential benefits from moving the risk of a dirty bomb altogether are significant. considering the range of incentives for replacement were

commercially viable alternatives exist is something we are investigating and we are collaborating with their research and development office to explore and assess technical improvements that could be developed and transferred to industry for commercialization. we recognize however we may not succeed in replacing the need for all sources. for sample radioactive industrial sources such as mobile well blogging and radio a a -- radiography sources may not have the viable alternative. in such cases we are collaborating with industry partners to develop innovative and sustainable security solutions. we have seen other countries are willing to go above and beyond international norms and standards for radiological security through collaboration with our programs and through commitments they have made that the nuclear security summit. we are also announcing domestically that some agreement states have taken radiological

security to a higher level. while we have an important role to play in this regard we also encourage all others states to show the same initiative to demonstrate leadership and commit resources to take radiological security beyond minimum requirements. thank you for your attention and i'm happy to answer any questions. >> ms. harrington thank you so much. thank you for your service. dr. gowadia would you please present your testimony at this time? thank you. >> thank you chairman. good morning chairman and i would extend thanks also for holding this hearing. it is a good opportunity for us to appear today to present to you and discuss with you in the detections offices efforts to prepare for radiological events. i'm honored to be here today to testify with my testing was

colleagues. their support and assistance are fundamentally to the mission you have given my office. we are focused on nuclear attack and seek to make nuclear terrorism a difficult undertaking forever series. in court nation with the federal state and local partners we develop and enhance the global nuclear detection architecture which is a framework for detecting analyzing and recording on nuclear and other radioactive materials that are out of predatory control. although my office focuses on detecting and locating radioactive materials once they are lost or stolen we work closely with our colleagues in the department of energy and the nuclear regulatory commission who are responsibresponsib le for the safety and security of these materials. our approach to detection is based on the critical triad of intelligence and law enforcement and technology by ensuring intelligeintellige nce operations are connected by well-trained operators using the right technologies to maximize their ability to detect radio

nuclear threats. the first leg of the triad intelligence and information-sharing is very -- the backbone of the architecture. timely and accurate indicators and warnings are crucial to the deployment of resources and operations raid additionally we analyze past nuclear cases and terrorist events and bring his knowledge to bear on the development of architectures and systems. the domestic offices joint analysis center enables information-sharing and provides adjudications support and sensual situational awareness to sticklers. to increase the awareness we regularly publish information bulletins for state and local partners summarizing relevant articles with useful facts about radioactive materials. the second leg of our triad is law enforcement officers and first responders those on the frontlinefrontline s of

prevention efforts. domestic nuclear detection office works to ensure they have the necessary capabilities and are well-trained and ready for the mission. since 2005 through many collaborative efforts we have provided radiation detection training to over 27,000 federal state and local law enforcement personnel and emergency responders. anyway we conduct 15 exercises that stressed operator abilities to detect illicit radiological and nuclear materials while enhancing collaboration and building trusted networks. today the domestic nuclear detection office has engaged with 21 -- 29 states to raise awareness of this event and my sister state and local partners as they develop their own detection programs. we were for them to build a flexible multi-layered architecture that can be integrated in the federal assets into a unified response in the event of a credible threat. by the end of 2015 we will have expanded these efforts to cover all 50 states.

dmd further supports operations by providing mobile detection deployment units. these are designed to supplement existing local detection reporting capabilities especially in support of national security and other special security events. the program was instituted in 2008 and the trailers house equipment for up to 40 personnel. in fact this year on july 4 we completed our 150th deployment of the mobile detection units. the final leg of our triad is technology. in addition to requiring in deploying radiation sensors for the department of homeland security's operational components we maintain an aggressive transformation. the domestic nuclear detection office collaborates with federal research and development partners as well as industry academia and laboratories to bring the right technologies to fund line operators. operators are ours included in our efforts. for instance we recently led the

development of the next-generation handheld radioactive identification device. these are regularly used by law enforcement and technical experts in the field. we worked closely with our official partners to identify key requirements for the design of the system. the final product is lightweight easy to use more reliable and even has lower lifecycle costs. with your support we will continue such collaborative efforts to develop record technologies and offers significant operational improvements and enhanced a national detection capabilities. thank you again for this opportunity to discuss our efforts to protect a nation from radiological and nuclear threats. i sincerely appreciate your interest and support for the entire nuclear security and a price greater leadership in our collaboration will help us ensure a safe secure and resilient homeland. thank you. >> dr. gowadia thank you so much. mark satorius please proceed. when he left the navy how many years had usurped? >> five years of active-duty

service in 18 years of reserve service. >> okay in 18 years of reserve service so that's 23 years. that is how many years i served. i was a navy mission commander and our job was to track soviet nuclear subs. we did a lot of low-level stuff during the vietnam war including the south china seas. >> yes sir and you often spend time looking for submarines without success. >> we knew we couldn't find them because they were so quiet in the way we found them as you know was through sound. bet very proud of your service there and a retired captain. >> yes sir. >> so i might. my son calls me captain and i always say as you were sailors. captain welcome. >> thank you and good morning

chairman carper. i appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today on behalf of the u.s. nuclear regulatory commission or the nrc. radiological source security has been and continues to be a top priority at the nrc. the nrc continues to work with the 37 agreement states and domestic and international organizations on a variety of initiatives to make significant radioactive sources even more secure and less vulnerable. the events of september 11, 2001 changed the threat environment and resulted in significant strengthening of the security of radioactive sources. immediately following 9/11 the nrc working with other federal and state agencies prioritized actions to enhance the security of radioactive sources read these initial actions resulted in the nrc issuing a number of security advisory nrc and state licensees to communicate general threat information and recommend specific actions to enhance

security and address potential threats. once nrc identified actions at licensees need to take to enhance the security and control of significant sources the agency issued orders that impose legally binding requirements on our licensees. in addition as amended by the energy policy act of 2005 nrc convened an interagency task force on mediation source protection and security to evaluate and provide recommendations to the president and the congress related to the security of radiation sources in the united states for potential terrorist threats. this task force amended its first report to the president congress in august of 2006 concluding there were no significant gaps in the areas of radioactive source protection and security. the second task force report is provided at the end of august 2010 and a third report will be submitted this august. at a hearing held july the 12th ,-com,-com ma 2007 by the

permanent subcommittee on investigations of this committee and a web-based licensing verification system was discussed in an effort to better tract transactions of radioactive material nationally the nrc developed a portfolio of automated tools to verify licenses and track credentials inspections devices and sources and events. this portfolio includes the national source tracking system for web-based licensing system and the license verification system. the nrc also ceased relying on the presumption of applicants for a license were acting in good faith and instead instituted a policy by which the nrc in the agreement states would verify the legitimacy of applicants when first dealing with them. we also issued a licensing guidance that includes various applicants and licensees screening activities to ensure radioactive sources will be used as intended.

the nrc also has implemented a process called the integrated materials performance evaluation program to assess its own regional material programs as well as those of the -- the program provides the nrc with a systematic integrated and reliable evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of their respective programs and provides an indication of areas in which the nrc and agreement states should dedicate more resources on that. through significant collaborative effort to join the nrc and the agreement states the agency developed a radioactive source security rulemaking to replace the earlier orders and provide requirements to a broad set of licensees. this rulemaking was informed by insights gained for the implementation of yours. the resulting rule part 37 is an

optimized mix of performance-based and prescriptive requirements that provide the framework for a licensee to develop a security program for risks significant materials with measure specifically tailored to its facility. compliance with the rule was required for nrc licensees by march 19, 2014. agreement states to licensees need to fulfill compatible requirements by march 2016. the nrc efforts in material security have not ended with the publication and implementation of a radioactive source security rule. the nrc will continue to assess its programs to ensure that they promote the secure use and management of radioactive sources. this concludes my remarks concludes my remark senator and i will be happy to respond to any questions you may have raised the captain thanks so much. david trimble of the gao. nice to see you and thanks for joining us.