for crashed prevention survivability while regulation enforcement provide crucial safety standards. this includes identifying defects in recalls developing educational materials that touch every segment of our society improvement in fuel efficiency and emissions and so much more. it's a leverage leverages this diverse portfolio to enhance safety. resources and authority aligning with mission and expectation. this must be balanced with the need for ongoing efforts to identify and pursue actions that will constantly improve agency's effectiveness in meeting its objectives. if confirmed i plan to apply my knowledge experience two safeties mission. the ntsb shares the same in mission says that so which is to stabilize and prevent injuries. for the past four and a half years it's been my privilege to pursue active investigations

issue safety recommendations and undertake fse efforts. as an assignment i develop manacled david da'ish data-driven approach and become an expert in human fatigue. while that nassau expanded by philip knowledge and translate that science into effective solutions that address operational problems in safety critical environments. provided valuable lessons in developing innovative solutions to complex challenging real-world safety problems. i recognize my nomination to lead comes at a pivotal juncture. if confirmed you have my commitment that will maintain an aggressive focus while continuing to improve the safety record and insuring nhtsa's regulatory regime is current for today's safety environment. to this task i will bring a fresh set of eyes and a different perspective honed over the years of safety professional manager at nasa ntsb and in the private sector.

chairman in closing safety has also been a very personal priority for me since my earliest days. my father was a san francisco police officer killed in a line of duty when a driver ran a red light. through this profound event of my own life i share an individual personal stories of so many people who have been affected by preventable tragedy on our roadways. thank you again for your consideration of my nomination to serve as a mustard and i look forward to your questions. >> thank you doctor. mr. monje. >> thank you senator. chairman mccaskill, ranking member finn members of the committee i am humbled to appear before you today as president obama's nominee for secretary of transportation there would like to thank my wife for being with me and for her support and love prevail like to thank my friends and colleagues who are backing me me up and from it like to recognize my parents and my

sisters who couldn't be here but taught me the value select my career. transportation is a particular meaning for me because my parents immigrated from united states. my dad accepted a job in the new orleans shipyards and literally would not be in america today if it wasn't for the transportation industry. as a former senate staffer i have deep respect for this confirmation process so i'm honored for your time and your consideration today. i have served in a variety of positions in the executive and legislative branches. currently a service counter to the secretary of u.s. department of transportation. it produced a work in an agency with a visionary leader clear mission and dedicated workforce and a very strong partnership with is congressional oversight committees. secretary fox directed me to focus on high-end priorities policy issues such as the roe america act the tiger grant

program and promoting mobility equity and economic development in urban areas across the country. i have had the opportunity to see first-hand the impact that infrastructure has on communities. ..

for the federal government to work with our nonprofit. my most personal work came in making the federal government a better partner to local communities following disasters. when the administration began in 2009 too many gulf coast residents including those in my hometown of new orleans were trapped in post-katrina red tape. one mississippi official compared the federal government to quote a dysfunctional grocery store. you have to check out at the end of every out. i'm proud the masters has improved dramatically on that record. focusing on the ground are breaking down administrative stovepipes. lessons we have learned from her efforts to improve how how we partner with communities every day. i'm very grateful to secretary fox and president obama for their support. if confirmed i will work to promote information to get more out of the taxpayer dollars to strengthen our safety framework to help our infrastructure serves for stronger communities.

i will work with this committee to strengthen the apartment and she better results for the american people. i know that you and your staff have a deep expertise of our shared expertise challenges that yuran knowledges on revenue role as a partner in governing his vital to our shared success. chairman mccaskill ranking member finn members of the committee thank you again for your consideration and for the opportunity to appear before you. i look forward to your questions. >> thank you chairman mccaskill. franqui member thune and members i sincerely appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today for a member of the national transportation safety board. before it began i would like to introduce my family who is iced been so reported of me. with me is my husband dr. robert zara pediatrician and my 6-year-old son. my mother my three older

brothers and their families are supporting me from the states of texas florida new jersey washington and north carolina. i would also like to thank the honorable norman panetta who i consider an inspiration. i'm grateful to my friends and colleagues who are able to be here and you are watching me from around the country. i believe strongly in public service and if confirmed he would be a great honor to serve our country by supporting the mission of the ntsb to advance transportation safety. i have had a lifelong passion for transportation in all its forms and i'm committed to ensuring the transportation is as safe as possible for everyo everyone. my personal and professional background as uniquely prepared me to be an ntsb board member. my childhood on the gulf coast in my early years working at the railroad museum in galveston texas has made me acutely aware of rail marine and pipeline

safety. my graduate training and work in highway safety reinforced in me the critical importance of transportation safety to the health of our country. and of course i will never forget that it was an american airplane that carried my family to safety when they fled vietnam in 1975. an airplane that we were able to board because of my father's lifesaving work and his wartime friendships with his american colleagues. my late mother instilled in our family a deep respect and love for this country. i love that my three brothers demonstrate every day in their lifesaving work and surgeons. after witnessing first-hand the devastating effects of traffic crashes while working as a young volunteer in a level 1 trauma center i became committed to finding ways to prevent families from experiencing this needless suffering. i have a diverse background and

experience working in both the public and private sectors and i'm proud of a long history of collaboration with state and local organizations throughout the country as well as colleagues are in a row my training and practical experience has prepared me for an approach to safety that translates to all modes of transportation. my passion for keeping people safe and my expertise in data analysis consistently drives me to find good solutions to real problems threatening people's lives. i'm especially proud of my highway safety work has spanned a generation from keeping children safe on the road to innovative transportation solutions to ensure that seniors get safely mobile for as long as possible. if confirmed i will not forget the grieving families i have met over the years. i will work hard to do everything i can to provide

victims, their families and the american public with answers they need and to ensure data from crash investigations and safety studies are used to prevent future tragedies. the ntsb is in a unique position of being an independent body whose mandate can prevent countless deaths and injuries. if confirmed he would be my honor to dedicate myself to the lifesaving mission and legislative mandate of the ntsb. it has always been my belief that each of us have strived to serve our country in our community in the best way we are able. i can think of no greater privilege than to serve my country by ensuring that transportation in every mode is as safe as possible for all people now and for generations to come. thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today and i look forward to answering any questions you may have. >> thank you so much.

we thank all of you for being here and i think i'm going to spend most of my time because of the work i've done in this area on the subcommittee dr. rosekind with nhtsa. it's a sad state of affairs when the airbag manufacturers have now refused nhtsa's request to do a nationwide recall of airbags that are killing people. says a lot about where we are in this country right now and how your agency is viewed. it's become fairly clear to me the hearings we have had on the ignition switches that gm in the takei the hearings and i think it's really important that you keep that at the top of your list in terms of priorities.

if you are not feared and respected then you cannot do a good job policing the safety of automobiles in this country. you have to be feared and respected in our bank nhtsa is theodore respected at this poi point. let's talk about the budget. it has been flat line for over a decade. keep in mind what has been going on a technology of this decade. keep in mind how automobiles have changed over the decades that yet the budget for nhtsa has been flatlined particularly in the area where you need to keep up with this technology. and once again this year the request is another $10.5 million. i need for you to talk about working on the budget and what the real needs are and mr. monje i would like you to speak to that also working with

dr. rosekind if confirmed to really for the first time in a decade look to see if we are taking this job seriously in light of the resources we are committing to it. >> senator mccaskill thank you for the question. it's all about transparency and those hearings have been critical for the american people to understand what's going on. ..

connect the dots when you are getting 75,000 complaints every year. you want those complaints. every voice should count. we we need to increase the people and technology. i think that that entire system needs to be considering how an upgrade will help us deal not just with those complaints but the other beta sources to determine where we are seeing feedback early. >> it is just the kinds of people. if you are not hiring the kinds of engineers that these automakers would want to hire away from you because of their incredible

competence and capability, you can't regulate an industry if you don't no the right kind of questions to ask. you don't no what you need to no if you don't have the same training and competence as the engineers you are going head-to-head with. let's talk about the inspector general's report. there were ten recommendations made. one of them has not been addressed. that is determining what i was just referencing, the appropriate mix between the workforce assessment. what should your workforce look like? they missed the may 2014 target, and he testified back in september that it would be done by mid-november. well, we have gone through mid-november. it is now december. it is critical we have this.

it is my understanding that contractors were hired to conduct the original workforce assessment but was dissatisfied with the findings and the spent the last month trying to revise it. i would like your commitment that we get the revised report but your commitment that we get that report that they are revising. i would like to see. if the government paid for this outside assessment that is now busy being revised. revised. i want to see what that original assessment says so that we can get a a sense of if in fact it was inaccurate it is important we have the ability to check that. >> absolutely. if confirmed, you can you can pretty much guarantee i will have the same level of not just review but as to what actions need to take place to change what is going on. >> thank you. senator blumenthal.

>> thank you, madam chairman. thank you for your lead of the consumer protection subcommittee. wouldn't you agree with me that the rejection by takata of a national recall is unacceptable and unconscionable? >> i have to be a little cautious talking about where i will go. my balanced perspective. on the other hand, i am i am a driver and passenger and pedestrian and can tell you that i not only agree but am concerned with the slowness across all of the recalls, timing, recalls, timing, responsiveness, and the information they have been forthcoming with. >> what will you do as administrator to enforce a national recall? >> if confirmed, i am going going to look to every one of the legal tools available to enforce regulation.

this came up in sen. mccaskill's question. as you know, their are, there are a lot of concerns about the authorities, fines, penalties. people are not are not worried that they won't act in a proactive way that has to be established. or is a a concern, of course, that sometimes the legal course takes time. i understand the ability to try and have companies take there own action. if that is not happening we need to be the enforcer. >> my impression is that it has been an agency adrift because of the lack of the aggressive kind of action that i believe ought to be taken and that you have supported at least implicitly in your response. and i would suggest that

with respect to that enforcement action that you can make a profoundly important first impression, and you only get to make the first impression once by taking that kind of aggressive no holes barred action to help eliminate the widely held perception that regulatory capture has taken hold and that this watchdog agency has become too cozy with the industry that it is supposed to oversee and scrutinize. when. when mr. friedman was here last i asked him about the potential action that can be taken to make sure their are sufficient air bags available to do the repairs necessary for the literally millions of cars, perhaps 15 million or more cars.

and at the rate that the takata witness at that.said that airbags would be available, about 300,000 months, it we will take years. so i asked whether he would commit that they use the power under the motor vehicle. to order to order car manufacturers to use replacement parts that other airbag manufacturers make, even if it means requiring takata to share proprietary information. >> thank you for that question. there their have been questions about the authority tools that are available. i i think the more important

question is what you are highlighting. >> and will you commit to using that power? there is no question in my mind that that power resides in the department of transportation to order effective steps that make available sufficient air bags in the interest of public safety. i i am asking that you do whatever is necessary to use that power then invoke the secretary's name and authority to require takata and the auto manufacturers to do the right thing. >> if confirmed, you can count on my commitment to use every possible legal mechanism as forceful as possible to the greatest extent to get these things enacted. this is all about public safety. we cannot be shy to get what needs to be done to help save lives and prevent

injuries. >> would you agree with me that a regional recall policy simply makes no sense in an era when drivers from different parts of our nation drafts and more humid or heated parts and where products have to be designed for a nationwide market? >> i appreciate that question. extremely data-driven. what you are raising our practical, normal, commonsense things. that sense things. that has been one of the challenges. you just don't have the data common sense and other kinds of decision making needs to come in so you're protecting lives and preventing injuries. >> i appreciate your forthright answers to my questions. thank you, madam chair.

>> senator markey is not here. >> thank you, madam chairwoman. i i want to thank you personally. we have worked together on our subcommittee and have had interesting hearings, to say the least. i want to thank the nominees that are here today and congratulate you. i also want to welcome the families, whether here or elsewhere watching today's hearing. they should be proud of this moment. like the like the others, i think my questions will be more toward you because of the subcommittee. obviously it is imperative. you agree with that. we all agree with that. you you are walking into an agency that has lost trust. we have this conversation.

thirty-eight now is loss of trust? >> part of my nomination is to come before you acknowledging the work that needs to be done. i appreciate that question. i understand the specific juncture and i think the challenge is a tremendous. i also view this as an opportunity. of these hearings and other opportunities have clearly identified directions that need to be examined, pursued, acted on. some of those opportunities will mean safer roads and vehicles for all of us. >> did you have a specific conversation about restoring credibility?

>> not specifically. >> did you have a conversation your detailed plan is? >> i appreciate the question. those kind of conversations have been more with the secretary. >> i want to change topic for a minute. we touched on this a little bit earlier. probably the most advanced cars in the country in the state of nevada. tesla announced. here is my concern. gm has even said publicly that they did not understand how their cars worked. takata, we had that discussion last week. now we have a new discussion about child safety seats. things are moving in all directions. here is my concern. if. if gm does not understand how their vehicles work, how do you come to the conclusion about how the

vehicles work? >> i appreciate that question because it gives me a chance to highlight how there is an ongoing technological challenge, to make sure your not just keeping pace but trying to stay ahead. third generation san francisco. i totally get this. and fact, the early question , nasa, ntsb is always a challenge to figure out how these agencies maintain highly trained technical individuals who can be doing our jobs with the different industries. so the challenge is identifying the people, keeping them, but most importantly what you just stated. the worst thing that happens is complacency where people are not continuing to learn and stay up to speed on what is going on. >> do you believe they have the right employees to do that? >> i appreciate that question. i i have not seen yet the specific layout.

i think that is a question that needs to be asked him and not only asked, but some of the evaluations of personnel, then needs to be one of the specific things that you look for. take a fresh knew set of eyes and a different approach and go after those questions. if if you find where improvements can be made, make them. >> resources is probably the most important question. i am concerned that you we will have the employees and expertise in your shop in order to stay ahead. the new technology coming down the road, how can you convince me that is your top priority. >> it's all about the technology. two technical organizations, if your technical expertise but things don't fly, things don't get investigated accurately. i have to admit, i am less about counting the

numbers as to looking at what you are talking about. >> in some of the subcommittee hearings, hearings, it has been difficult to connect the dots. that is why we are where we are today. congratulations to all of you and thank you. i yield back. >> senator thune. >> thank you, madam chair. it sounds like that is where most of the questions have gone. following the record number of recalls and the growing concern. the public seems to be losing confidence. i think it is fair to say 2014 has not been a good year. so i guess the question is a general one. what specific steps do you plan to take to restore the public trust? >> thank you for the question. they are not written down.

at the ntsb there are three things i would i would almost call principles and practices of the agency. that gives you a sense of my perspective and viewpoint. i will take the same critical eye used in the investigations, using independence, transparency, and accuracy and apply those. when you think about having a a critical eye, mine would probably be the most critical to look at every single area where things could change and the not hesitate to make those changes. i i believe that we need to drive safety forward. we have to acknowledge its successes. the lowest fatality since 1950. seatbelt seatbelt use is at a high. we have to balance that with the improvements that have been clearly identified. >> according to the new york times there is -- the obama administration is conducting a comprehensive review to determine if it has the dial

set correctly. the inquiry is being conducted by the department of transportation in addition to an internal investigation. are you familiar with the comprehensive review being conducted by the administration? if so, could you provide us with details of this review including when you might expect it to be concluded? >> i appreciate the question. i am familiar with it. i don't have don't have all of the details, but i will commit to not only reviewing but discussing. that is a perfect example of how much i am looking forward to working with you, staff, and this committee and identifying actions that need to be taken. >> you would make those findings available to congress? >> absolutely. >> terrific. some of your academic work focused on driver impairment. we have a state

law law that provides alternative methods of enforcement through a program known as 247 sobriety. as an example, rather than only using ignition airlocks they would use twice-daily breathalyzers and alcohol monitoring devices to enforce mandatory sobriety and to prevent repeat drunk driving incidents. different but comparable safety enhancements to dramatically reduced repeat offenses. would offenses. would you support recommendations for alternative programs provided the equivalent level of safety? >> thank you, sen. i appreciate that question because i have been keeping an eye on your state, state, as you know. that is a specific interest of mine. my background has spanned many different dates, i am sensitive to the differences in cultures in every state and the need to ensure that any type of recommendation is implemented in the state

in a way that we will save the most lives. as you as you mentioned, and south dakota you found a way that has been very effective and welcomed, it seems. so absolutely. i would do everything that i can to ensure that any recommendations, if confirmed, that are acted upon as an ntsb member, i would work closely with my chairman and the fellow board members to ensure that the state can utilize them in a way that is most helpful and that can save the most lives and prevent the most injuries and utilize innovative practices >> thank you. your work at the department of transportation, transportation, you worked on the authorized infrastructure grant program how can the program be more transparent and efficient so that the american taxpayer can have confidence?

>> thank you. one you. one of the most innovative programs at the department. very proud of the projects we have been able to fund. innovative projects that bring in additional funding that would not otherwise have been. they have been a number of steps we have taken to improve the transparency of the program, improving the documentation. documentation. those are things we need to continue to work on. i would like to see out of the tiger program moving forward, and increasing of that program as well as taking some of the lessons learned in bringing it to other programs. >> my time has expired. thank you. thank you all very much. >> thank you, madam chair. congratulations to each of you. very important positions positions in our

society, especially in this era. i no i know senator blumenthal touched upon this, but i just want to reinforce that takata is rejecting the call to make this a nationwide recall. i just want to say that it is entirely unacceptable that takata is refusing to accept this common sense resolution right now their are thousands of people from massachusetts driving down to florida. they won't come back until after the red sox league spring training. there are 1 million per year from the northern states that go down to florida. they are in automobiles that did not originate in human states. there there is a real danger, and we have to make sure that there is a complete compliance by takata with the request that

they, in fact, have a have a nationwide recall. i guess what i can say to you is that you must make takata recall all of these airbags. you must force the automobile companies to comply with a nationwide recall. there is no choice. the safety of the american people as a stake. takata is toying with the safety of the american people when they refuse to recognize this danger, and i just wanted to say that to you and hope that you understand how much we want this issue to be resolved. now, let me move on to a related issue. in 2,007 that's a asked for and received secret documents related to the death of two wisconsin teenagers.

that document was first made public by me at our may 7 hearing, and it is referenced repeatedly in the report, including a report by the wisconsin state patrol academy that said that the ignition switch defect prevented the airbag from the. it also found other examples of the same problems happening in other cars and identified at 2,005 gm warning. in short, it correctly identified the safety defect do you agree with me that gm ceo and others, if the public of been told about this secret document and warmed about its conclusion at the time it is possible that some of the deaths and injuries caused by this defect could have been avoided. >> thank you for that question. yes. what you are

highlighting is the need for greater transparency at many levels to understand where complaints are coming from, where defects are, etc. i am going to apply independence, transparency, and accuracy. you know what is going on. >> thank you. in october senator blumenthal and i sent a letter informing that so that the 2,009 death of an oklahoma teenager caused by an exploding airbag that was settled by honda and toccata in a secret court decision had never been reported by either? i have also learned that five other serious injuries were not reported to the early warning reporting database by honda. do you disagree that if the public knew about all of the deaths and serious injuries caused that the company's new, it is possible some of the later deaths and injuries could have been avoided.

>> i appreciate that question. again, it, it is about transparency. what you are highlighting is a number of areas that need to be examined to see where transparency could be increased. >> a a lawsuit over the 2,009 oklahoma death that honda and takata both failed to report was settled secretly in 2,009. do you disagree that if the public knew that the oklahoma death, knew that honda and takata had been sued about this death, it is possible some of the later deaths and injuries could have been avoided. >> what you are highlighting his transparency. the more the public knows where the defects and problems are the more they get to make their personal choice. >> sen. blumenthal and i have authored legislation to require more information to be publicly available, including documents like the ones that were kept secret by gm, honda, and toccata.

gm and we have reached substantial agreement on a slightly modified version of that legislation. would you would you confirmed to work with me on this legislation and increase transparency and public disclosure by automakers? >> absolutely. i look forward to working with you, the community command your staff. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. congratulations on your nomination. my state has had a lot of interaction with all of your agencies. secretary fox made it his second visit. that disaster and how we were able to build a knew bridge within a year, but we lost 13 13 people. it was a tragedy and certainly shirk our citizens up about the status of our transportation infrastructure and the need for safety. i thank i thank you for

taking on these important roles. i have been amusing myself by watching your son behind you. i can't figure out if he is doing homework or taking notes. >> i think you would like to be a senator. >> he looked a little critical. she took a harry potter -- she took a a harry potter book and put it in front of her face. i wanted to ask you specifically about rail derailments. i no that that ntsb has a unique perspective on safety,, and we have had some derailments in our state. where do you think we should be focusing our attention and resources? what do you think we need to do differently in the rail area to avoid these crashes? >> thank you, sen., for that

for that question and forgiving some attention to my son as well. rail obviously is important to the health of our country it is also a personal priority for me. as i understand it, the ntsb has quite a few recommendations related to rail safety. everything from related long-standing recommendations to train control and other areas. i think that if confirmed what i would make a priority is to work with the excellent staff of the ntsb as well as with the chair and other members of ntsb to ensure that those long-standing and important recommendations are implemented as quickly as possible.

>> all three of you, as you go forward i hope you we will continue to focus on distracted driving. this was a major focus. some problems with the grant program. we have a bipartisan bill to fix them. the the only state last year that got the grant was connecticut. we love connecticut, but i think that that we can maybe make the grant program better and more accessible to other states as we look at trying to push states gradually to change there law. it is a major problem. i wanted to shift to the last issue, the issue of takata and the airbag and make sure that you are aware about what happened in minnesota. i spent a few hours in a family's home over thanksgiving. a woman a woman from north oaks minnesota was simply a passenger in a 2,002 bmw crash.

traveling about 30 miles an hour near their house. someone ran into them deploying the takata airbag which left her permanently blind. the airbag somehow had too much for senate, and it ruptured both the veins leading into her eyes, and she cannot see. she has been to mayo clinic for multiple surgeries, businesswoman who who ran an indian restaurant in our state that is pretty well known. the kids have completely changed their lives to take care of her. i want to start with that question there. you talked a lot about the recalls and what concrete changes you think you should implement. you should know, they sent a complaint. and in may 2013 or in

march of 2013 the accident happens. they submit the letter about the case, and they really did not here back. if you could comment on that , the complaint process. >> thank you for that question, and thank you. this committee and your hearings and your statement just their, you have to put names and faces to these things. we keep talking about saving lives. these are these are all people. thank you very much for doing that. what you have highlighted is the one of my first immediate focus will be the defect recall system. a lot of focus on the investigation, but we have gone from 45,000 complaints to 75,000 complaints. with only nine people looking at those, those, we're not even talking about connecting the dots. the overload of having that many complaints. i also think every voice counts.

we have we have to look at the systems of data available to be analyzed. another thing is, need need to be looking at other systems that are available, public health, a lot of different systems looking for defects in high reliability kind of organizations. if confirmed, i would would go in to see how those systems can be applied. >> you might want to look at the university of minnesota. an award-winning way that they look at it. two or three times they have been able to identify and the national -- they do it very quickly with old-fashioned detective work, calling the immediate places. it is a completely different problem, but clearly clearly you have disparate information coming in from so many places you find it hard to identify more quickly what the problem is. i am also supportive of this nationwide recall.

i heard the senators say a million people go down to florida. when you add in arizona, probably half of them are from my state. we are aware of the issue and the fact that these vehicles are traveling up and down. we had the hearing last weekend. we were able to see the tragedies that occurred in some other states. we ask you to continue to push on that issue as well. thank you. >> senator. >> thank you, madam chair. thanks for holding this hearing. i wanted to start with you. what do we need to do to ensure 100 percent repair recalls? >> thank you for that question. one of my first, immediate focus is will be understanding the whole

defect recall process, and i appreciate you raising that. the recall, none of it matters if it does not get fixed. if there are not enough parts and it is not done in a timely manner, every time a person is in the car they are at risk. as part of my first look to understand that all system from the identification side to the final fix. >> do you support 100% recall? >> i'm sorry, 100% recall -- >> do you support getting to a 100 percent recall? do you support that same process? >> great. thank you for that question. i don't think this is one of those common sense kind of issues. i'm not sure there is another number to be targeted except 100%. >> 100 percent. >> that is good to here you say.

when we had some of these individuals before our committee has short time ago most of them blamed the fact that they were not going to pursue 100 percent recall to the fact that it was not required by the federal government. i'm sure it is also because they believe that they are operating within the legal framework that they have to operate in. if we can get to 100 percent which is what we are asking for, i think the american people we will be safer. is that right? thank you. i obviously care care a lot about what the department of transportation has been doing. that will be something that is in your review. i wanted to ask you about some of the recommendations and implementing those recommendations and whether you are fully committed to implementing the recommendations of the task force that was created by secretary lahood. >> thank you. if it were not for you the

freight advisory community would not be. >> i like to say washington. i ultimately take that title >> yes, ma'am. yes, ma'am. as i mentioned in my opening statement, freight is the lifeblood of our economy. i had the opportunity to visit memphis. the factories that are built all around the airport just because of their ability to bring goods in and out, the national freight advisory community had 81 recommendations. a lot of those we can act upon within existing authority, involving thinking about freight multimodal he. we take that attack. some of the other things they have recommended is figuring out where data gaps are.

in our conditions and performance report, report, you will see an emphasis on where data gaps are. they have addressed the workforce issues. we have a a partnership that we have been working with the department of education and the department of labor to figure out what the workforce needs are and how we can address them. there are a lot of things we cannot do within existing authorities, and that is why they grow america act proposes a $10 billion freight program to find where those national chokepoints are. >> i certainly support this as an economic development strategy for our country. there is a huge growing middle class that wants our product. if if we cannot get them their they we will look to other markets. making sure orders are expediting product is important. you do believe. this is what you can do internally, streamlining the multimodal

improvement process. >> we are we're doing everything we can to try to find those last mile and intermodal solutions. it is one of the things that tiger program really has focused on. we propose that $10 billion program within grow america. >> do you support identifying corridors, not just projects? >> yes, ma'am. >> i already no you support a a dedicated funding source to these projects, right? >> yes, ma'am. >> thank you very much. we are waiting for another senator to arrive. you can have a second round, and i will we will take another second round of kelly is not here yet. >> thank you. thank you, mdm. chairman. we have we have focused on the need for a national recall. i don't know of any scientific evidence for a a

regional recall with respect to airbags. do you? >> i appreciate that question because it highlights trying to be evidence -based and driving, and i think that is an excellent question. frankly, it is helping my understanding. >> but with all your knowledge, and you are a distinguished scientist, you don't no of any evidence to justify a regional recall? >> no. >> do you no of any evidence that would justify a recall a recall focused at the driver side but not the passenger side? >> this is an area i am less familiar with. i think my general response would be, again, to the bottom line, it is the traveling public and keeping them safe. that means that means going for as broad a safety net is possible so that your

evidence has to be that it is okay to decrease the safety net, not the other way. >> the burden would be on anyone's saying that we should limit it to the driver-side airbag. >> yes. >> and that burden has not been satisfied so far, has it? >> to my understanding. but, again, i am only the nominee. >> let me turn to another piece of legislation. you know, at the end of the day, sen. mccaskill senator mccaskill is absolutely right about the resource challenges that this agency faces. but even an agency fully and abundantly resourced will be an effective if it lacks teeth, if the penalties are ineffective. right now the $35 million on penalties for nondisclosure, inadequate disclosure is absolutely a mockery of

justice, wouldn't justice, wouldn't you agree? >> i appreciate that question. in the aviation industry the ntsb just released its report about the dream liner 787 battery. battery. when there was a problem the faa grounded worldwide, the entire fleet, until something was fixed. we are stopping everything and honoring safety. >> the same culture that this agency has to adopt, is that correct? >> that is why i am bringing it up. the questions about incentives versus punishment , the safety has to be proactive. being safe is really not just the safe thing to do, but the business and economic thing that needs to be done as well. >> on the economic aspect of these decisions, the only., if not the major point, that most of this industry is going to understand is

ineffective, strong penalties. would you support legislation that i have introduced along with senator markey and nelson to completely eliminate the on penalties for nondisclosure? >> the sec. and deputy administrator have come out and said right now it is pocket change. there is no question that needs to go up. if confirmed i would be pleased to work with you and see however we could support increasing penalties. >> another proposal is to put the burden on any party seeking a secret settlement, seeking secrecy and ceiling of a settlement involving safety that could endanger the public. would you support the bill that i have introduced along with senator lindsey graham, a bipartisan measure that would in effect require a judge to make a finding that

it is in the public interest to steal any settlement involving defective parts or products? >> i appreciate that question because it gives to the transparency issue. the kind of data that is not available to the american public. if confirmed, i, i would be very willing and pleased to work with you to review and make any measure as strong as possible. >> i want to conclude on an area where you are one of the nations experts, fatigue management and sleep apnea, the federal railway administration still has not issued regulations recommended by the ntsb or other agencies regarding developing, requiring a fleet management plan. wouldn't you think that the fra has an immediate and urgent obligation to issue such rules? >> i will switch hats quickly.

the saddest thing for a ntsb board member is to show up at a scene in an accident and realize that their are lives lost. there are already recommendations that could have saved lives. all those people out there right now on the railroads with apnea you are not being identified, diagnosed, or treated. >> because of a lack of regulations. >> correct. >> regulations could have avoided very likely for deaths that occurred one year ago this week last week >> and in the ntsb report on that accident we specifically identified that criteria used to identify people with apnea, that engineer would either have been not on the job or treated for sleep apnea. >> thank you. thank you, armchair. >> thank you. >> i want to thank the chair i appreciate all of you

being here. i want to ask about the ignition switch recall. in fact, previously come in coming before our committee was deputy administrator david friedman. i have also asked the head of gm legal department about this issue. there was an article in the new york times which described the course of action during the ignition switch situation in which numerous occasions gm told the agency that they were not going to answer questions about accidents involving potentially the ignition switch because it was either attorney-client privilege or they lacked insufficient information. it seems to me in those circumstances that as the

regulatory agency that is charged with getting to the bottom of these situations to ensure consumer safety that that was an acceptable answer to here from those you are regulating. ..

obviously has been vacant for too long appreciative of your willingness to do that. when you receive that answer, your agency when you are confirmed i hope that nhtsa will follow up and just say to those that are being regulated we are not going to accept that for an answer. we are and also not going to accept that there is insufficient information. you have her responsibility to provide us the regulator with that information. so i appreciate your taking an aggressive stance on that issue. i also wanted to follow up, as you look back at the situation on the recall of gm and the ignition switch there were, there did appear to be numerous opportunities to putting aside

what i think were numerous opportunities and some outrageous behavior on gm's part that we have had hearings on here. at this i think that they were many failings as well. what are the lessons you take from out? >> i appreciate that question because it gets us to two really important things. the thing that most people characterize is connecting the dots so part of this gets to what the data sources are that are available including when people are giving you sufficient information so again one of my amedi concerns is taking a look at the defect recall system fully to understand how to identify as well as a full recall process. just knowing that we have gone to 75,000 complaints in their there are nine people looking at it you need to understand not just with personnel but the technology to search the database to get your answers. the second thing i think that's

really important you have just highlighted is we have learned people were holding intentionally for a long time information. that's a game-changer. that's a new scenario. an agency is looking for certain patterns but i am not sure this scenario where someone is withholding is from the overtime today think that's another piece that has to be integrated basically into that detection system understanding that can happen. >> one thing we recently of course had hearings on the takata airbag recall issue too and i know my colleagues have asked you some important questions about that recall. let me share the concerns about the nature of the recall. as someone who represents a northern state i printed constituents who take their cars and drive down to more humid climates in the winter. i appreciate that you are very concerned about that and will follow up on that issue as well.

the plans i think what i would like to see is as you get confirmed for this position to come back within several months to this committee and let us know what changes you feel have been made or need to continue to be made to the oversight process of the agency and the recall process so that looking back on these really tragic situations that we are doing everything we can working with you to rectify those going forward and to give you the support you need to do that. >> i'm actually very much looking forward to working with this committee. i think again you have played a critical role in giving this information to the american people and i hope to build come back to if confirmed and tell you now what we have learned but also what we are doing. >> appreciated. thank you. >> thank you senator ayotte.

i have one remaining question that i wanted to get on the record and then i'm going to turn it over to senator cantwell has another question and obviously senator nelson has arrived. i will leave the committee to his leadership and if i have a commitment i cannot avoid at 2:00. but i wanted to talk a little bit about crude moving by rail. while senator cantwell kansas city and st. louis are the second and third largest freight hubs in the country and obviously we are very aware of the increase in the movement of crude by rail across our country. it is in fact one of the reasons i support the pipeline access i think that product is going to move. we are not going to stop it from

coming out of the ground. the question is how do we move it in a way that is the most safe from the environment and the people of this country. i think the pipeline is the safest way to move it, not rail. having said that rail is now obviously very busy moving crude and i have heard from local first responders both in kansas city and st. louis, while we had some crude by rail accidents they have primarily been in more rural locations. obviously if that were to occur in a major metropolitan area like kansas city or st. louis we would have a much more significant problem to deal with. the first responders are concerned that they are not getting enough information about what is the right response, what is the best response. they fear they are not trained and as knowledgeable as they need to be on this issue. so i wanted to ask you first

mr. monahan what can you do, what can the department of transportation do to ensure that the first responders and these major metropolitan areas have every bit of information they need in terms of their ability to respond to god forbid that we would have a crude oil spill by rail accident in a major metropolitan area? >> area? >> thank you very much chairman for that question. we agree with you that this is something we didn't anticipate, the growth of crude by rail over the last few years. but we have moving extremely quickly as a department to address the safety issues over two dozen activities with the industry to increase the transparency to better communicate with their first responders to reduce speeds and be thoughtful about routes and

the department is in the process of finalizing a crude by rail bill regulation that will do a lot of things that you are discussing. you are right the first responders are the folks that need the training. they need to understand what is being transferred and they need to ensure, to understand that the tanks that are bringing these materials are safe which is why the department is taking such a big step to get the rules right. >> i will follow up and hopefully i will follow up but really what they are asking for which is very reasonable it won't require regulation or period of comment or all the controversy that goes with tho those. it requires than getting best practices on what is the best tactic and method to respond to an accident like this if it were to occur taking into account that the challenge they have

been a metropolitan area are much different than aaron burr areas. let me finish by saying we are going to try to expedite the confirmation process and so i am requesting the members of the committee submit any qfr questions for the record by noon tomorrow. if the staff is here for the republican senators if you would make sure all the staff understand that the qfr's need to be in by noon tomorrow and the nominees must provide responses to the qfr's by noon on monday in order for us to have an opportunity. i don't know that we can have an opportunity for confirmation before the end of the year. i would have to occur in that i will now turn the gavel over to mike colleague senator nelson. >> senator cantwell.

>> mr. rosekind i wanted to ask you do you believe the role for a cargo pilot that was basically carved out should be reversed? >> i'm going to change my hat again that appreciate that question senator. i want this on record there's no physiological difference between cargo and pallets and passengers. there's no distinction. >> so you think it should be reversed? >> they should all be covered by the same rules. >> thank you very much in thank you mr. chairman. >> senator blumenthal. >> i have have asked to separate question so i will yield to use center and in the time remaining i would be happy to follow up. >> dr. rosekind first of all i'm absolutely delighted that you have been named for the position which has been vacant since i believe january of this year.

that's about 11 and a half months. the organization also with an acting administrator as needed leadership at a time and before i arrived you have had some discussion of the takata airba airbags. one of the things as we board in on takata and on honda was whether or not, since there doesn't appear to be enough replacement parts, honda would in fact provide a loaner or a rental car given the fact that people are driving around with a

live grenade in their steering column. the honda representative, the vice president of honda and u.s. said yes they would and yet, i have yet to have evidence that in fact that is the case. so, what would you like to do about it as chairman? >> thank you for the question and i think there has been some discussion that gives me a chance to elaborate and reinforce. in fact i will just highlight. i haven't talked about often my father but i come from a long family of law enforcement. the second part you are talking about is you don't have to recall because you said you were going to do something they need

to do it. you basically commit that if confirmed i will find every tool authority legal and otherwise to get that job done. we did talk about this earlier and it gives me a chance to focus on defect. if we don't get the recall 100% fully done people are still at risk. so i don't think it's my job to come up with all the solutions especially right now but there has to be a 100% solution to make sure those people are safe. >> there has been some discussion about an immediate fine on a per day basis. i would suggest to you that the fine ought to be on a per vehicle basis that if they are not replacing the vehicles and people are at risk for either being maimed or killed, there needs to be a very stiff financial penalty so that the

penalty becomes so severe to the company that if this moves them in fact to provide loners are rental cars so people did not have to try to drive around in the vehicles are at the alternative where they try to disable the airbag in their existing vehicle. now "the new york times" came out with a story that said that after-the-fact, after this committee have had a hearing, that indeed they admitted that they had never said publicly and released the information that an additional 1700 people had been harmed by exploding takata airbags and i think in one case

one person was killed. this seems to me to be the height of irresponsibility, that in the midst of us having been all there at that table and they are still not revealing information, what do you intend to do about that mr. chairman? >> thank you for that question and it gives me an opportunity to highlight again to things. one is transparency is critical and that's getting information and making it available not just to net send others but to the american public so they know what's going on and can make their own personal decisions about what safe for them. the other is i believe that when nhtsa asked for information and needs to be provided. every tool needs to be used to obtain that information. >> are you sufficiently briefed on the law with regard to nhtsa

as to what kind of penalties could be imposed for an auto manufacturer that specifically hides information from a federal regulator? >> i appreciate that question because i have been briefed on some of those things. i'm not an expert on it yet. i have really tried to emphasize that i do knew no who is in charge of enforcement i know who to call to get that information. more important i'm really willing to commit to whatever enforcement action is needed. i'm all about the action park. it's basically gave me the tool to get the job done and that's all about keeping all of us safer. >> well i want to commit to you that at least some of us on this committee are going to be rather vigorous in our oversight function to make sure that the executive branch, i.e. you once you are confirmed in fact are

following through because this egregious breach of the public safety by the way this thing has been drug out and these sleight-of-hand and not revealing information has reached the limits of the senators patients. as i have visited with families whose relatives is dead or in one case a firefighter that has no right i anymore. we will use to the full extent of our capability the opportunity to oversee that in fact you as the chairman and your regulatory agents are doing your job. i hope that's clear.

>> absolutely and i appreciate not only the statement and the opportunity to tell you that i will be looking forward to working with you on that oversight and pursuing budget and other authorities that will help us get the job done. >> senator blumenthal i'm going to turn the committee over to you for this intelligence briefing that just started 10 minutes ago. >> thank you very much senator. i have a couple of quick questions i appreciate your patience and diligence and i want to express again my appreciation to each of you for your willingness to serve in a very critical position. the recommendation of the national transportation safety board was for there to be a fatigue management plan, made rules by the federal railway administration.

that's one of more than 60 by my count, 64 separate rulemaking procedures that have not been concluded by the federal railway administration affecting the safety of passengers as well as freight on our nation's rail. what can be done to compel the federal railway administration to obey the law, and i know that dr. rosekind may have some observations because of his present membership on the ntsb as to answer that question as well and i invite you as well as if you have thoughts about it. >> thank you senator. as a safety professional i absolutely share your concern about ensuring the safety recommendations are implemented as soon as possible. as you might have heard when i

mentioned before if i were to have the honor being of being confirmed i would absolutely do everything in my power to work to make sure that these recommendations are taken seriously and are implemented. i think the ntsb has a good and long history of working with government agencies as well as with industry and i hope with this committee as well and i think if i were to be confirmed i would absolutely use every manner that is available to me as a member to push for the adoption of fact lifesaving recommendation but also all of the other ones that are related as well. >> thank you. any other responses? >> thank you very much senator. i haven't worked on that

particular rule but secretary fox says safety is everyone's responsibility at the department. i know from my vantage point my relationship with ntsb is one of the partnership for safety and often the recommendations, it is an iterative process to get to a solution. i will have regulations that focus on individual incidents and rulemaking's that take a lot of time to develop that benefit from public involvement. and that have to address the industry as a whole. if i had the privilege of being confirmed i will fail you to work with you and these two other nominees to make it as good as possible. >> i would be more than happy to let you off the hook on this one dr. rosekind carrying a substantial burden during his hearing but if you have a response i would welcome it. >> thank you for offering that. i would just say over 80% of

ntsb recommendations are acted on in a successful manner but i really thank you because it's the other 20% we should be worried about and that is what you are highlighting. those are the ones that are continuing to cost lives and create injuries. >> costing lives and creating injuries is with the failure can do and besides in bridgeport connecticut with the derailment there. many of these recommendations are invisible or unknown to the public but the failure to issue them can have real-life consequences, life or death consequences certainly injury. so i want to thank each of you and secretary fox as well on this issue of safety and i want to ask one last question

although it's outside of your jurisdiction. but the ignition switch defect has been raised and we are fast approaching the december 31 deadline under the compensation which also has a deadline of march of next year for acceptance by victims or their families of any compensation. these decisions must therefore be made before the bankruptcy court may decide what their rights are in overcoming that the new gm has invoked in the bankruptcy court procedures and therefore the department of justice finishes its criminal investigation that might enlighten the decision made is whether to accept compensation in the decisions.

one microcosm of the potential injustice that could be done by the deadline is illustrated by the ebro family of washington connecticut who were on notifi notified, completely uninformed by gm of their potential eligibility for the fund. had it not been for "new york times" reporter who dug into the death resulting from the defects they still would be in the dark. they have been informed now and their plight illustrates i think the need to extend the december 31 deadline and the march deadline. i know that you have no direct jurisdiction or power over the compensation fund but my hope is that the department of transportation department of

transportation and her agency in particular may join in calling for an extension of those deadlines in the interest of simple justice and humanity. you may not have the legal authority to compel it but you certainly have the moral authority to ask for it public publicly. i believe that there is a responsibility to exercise that moral authority. if you have a comment on my my suggestion or plea to you i again would welcome it. i know it may not be a question that you anticipated but i would respect and invite your comment. >> thank you senator. i have followed this process very closely but i do understand that you have been tracking the tragedy of the avril family and i feel they are lucky to have somebody like you fighting for them, and the role of nets and

this process is to force gm as much as possible to get the best cars on the road to address this and get better at identifying the recalls before they cost more. >> thank you very much. with that i'm going to close the hearing. i don't have a gavel in front of me that we are over and thank you again and thank you to your families for their service and support in you. i anticipate you will do well. thank you. [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] according to a recent report commissioned by the labor department millions of americans are victims of wage violations

and fraud fraud. thursday labor secretary tom perez discusses the minimum wage and enforcement of wage laws. >> as we begin to receive the final to be digitized, to be saved, we begin turning over the 45 so we receive. first off gospel music was not widely heard in the white community. it would only be the hits as that but the flipside would be heard even less. what we discovered quickly was how many of the songs were directly related to the civil

rights movement. since there are few databases all gospel music come we didn't know that. we do know the sheer number of songs that had overt songs like there ain't no segregation haven't type songs at a time when possessing one of those songs much less singing it was a dangerous thing in the deep south. you can get a lot of things in the deep south but singing that sort of song out loud well, that's a risk. the texas ranger hall of fame was set up in 1976 for the 175th anniversary rangers. honors at this .30 rangers who made major contributions to the service or gave their lives under her work circumstances. we had paintings are portraits of all those rangers. they really begin with austin. austin was successful with this rangers. they fought not only managed to make the area reasonably safe for settlement but when the

texas war for independence broke out, the rangers played a major role in texas gaining its independence by staving off the mexican army long enough to allow the colonists to build their own army and develop a strategy. as a result texas became its own independent nation in the republic of texas for about 10 years. next a defense department briefing updating the military's response to the ebola outbreak in west africa. we hear from general david rodriguez commander of the u.s. africa command. it's 25 minutes. >> good afternoon everyone. i'm glad to have an opportunity

to talk again on how u.s. africa command is supporting -- the president made clear that containing the spread of the bowl is a national security party and we have made significant progress as part of a comprehensive u.s. government effort led by the u.s. agency for international development. however the mission by completing me can afford to be complacent. boas to early take to clear success we have made encouraging advances. we think the biggest drivers of this progress have been the liberian leadership in educating the public as well as health workers safe burial procedures rapid contract tracing an increase lab capacity to diagnose quickly. from the us military perspective we are providing military support as the communication of ordination engineering logistics and training. our engineers are supported liberians as they build improvements to structure necessary for the response efforts and we have transportation professionals and

logistics professionals managing personnel and delivery of humanitarian supplies. our military medical personnel are supporting the training of medical support staff to a bowl of three main units and the commanders of our military forces are assisting in the ebola response currently major general gary molesky and previously general winds have a church servicemembers were taken care of before during and after deploying. we continue generating enough power to address mitigate mitigate the central mitigate the central restore servicemember civilians employs contractors and their families. in the end our equipment training procedures and most of all the leadership and indiscipline of our personnel will help to ensure our team accomplishes its mission and keeps our nation health system safe and i'm proud of extraordinary men and women supporting this mission and i thank you and i look forward to your questions. >> do anticipate having similar operations in other countries? >> right now usaid does not

think we will have to do that but they continue to monitor that very closely. as you know sierra leone were hard hit and there has been an uptick in mali so we are continuing to prepare but as of yet is not required. >> this country would not require u.s. military assistan assistance. >> well it depends really on the international community's effort to do the things that are required. much of it of course we provide the unique capabilities and neck medications and coordination as well as the logistics support. the things we are doing in liberia. now in liberia by the end of the year a lot of that will start to be picked up by the civilian agencies so we will just have to continue to monitor that situation. it began usaid has assistance and response teams in each of those countries and as of today

they have not requested that support. >> general rodrigues how you adjusted your mission out. given the fact that rates are coming down? how has it changed and what lessons learned if he had to do this again and sierra leone what would you do differently and finally to think u.s. personnel still need to be quarantined when they leave? >> i think as we look forward to another country and sierra leone those four things are what the committee believes are the things that are making a difference. outreach to people in the education and training of the people and the health care workers as well as the lab so those are the things that are the most important. of course the challenge to find and understand where there's a hotspot and move the resources there quickly will be part of that solution.

for people we are still collecting data. as you know we have had several people go through the 21 day controlled monitoring and we will continue to watch that through the next 30 days and then we will take a look at that again. okay? yes, sir. >> general when you were here two months ago you indicated that you saw the mission going about a year. have you revised at all or do you feel you are on track to wrapping this up? >> we could do a little bit less than that but again the challenge is you know you just have to watch it very carefully and things in and complacency are things that are not foreseen which have created challenges in the first place could come up again. right now i would say it would be less than that. again it depends on the situation what is asked outside of liberia. >> you mentioned perhaps 30 days

to review the policy. >> the original plan was to take a look at that and 45 days into a tizzy how we are doing. >> could you tell me what the criteria will be as to whether it should be retained modified or completely dropped? >> you know it's really based on the services and what they are able to do. we have had some of them go through mainly in europe. we have the first ones back in the united states. it will be about competence and ensuring the people who have had minimum risk or no risk to the disease. >> to follow up have you found there has been no exposure no one has brought it back, that would be a reason. >> to make recommendations to take a look at it so yes. >> general use of a second ago you thought the timeline might shrink a little bit depending on

the collaboration going for. can you give us a sense of the scale in terms of the number of people involved and how many troops are there today and where could you get to a potential peak? >> there are about 2900 folks they are today. that will probably be the peak and the majority of the big engineering and logistics things in liberia will probably start to tail off by the end of the year or january. so that is when we will again start to send some of those people home. most of that is about the logistics and engineering. and like i said either we will send them to another place or start redeployment. >> general, general glaspie said last month we would probably go

to 3000 or whereabouts by the end of this month. are you saying now 2900? >> 2900. he said about 3000. it's about 2900 the maximum i think we see right now. >> do you still foresee going through 17 treatment centers? >> right now they are asking for less. as we have come in and done this they have adapted the sizes so many of them are now only 15 set up 100 we are down to building 10 units instead of 17 right n now. based on the situation again. that's a decision that usaid in conjunction with the international community they somewhat variable to do. the intent to get in there and jumpstart things is moving in the right direction and the world food program will pick up a lot of logistics by the end of the year and some of the other international organizations have

built a bullet treatment units. >> the food program. >> is a different place in syria now. they are doing all right. they have a significant logistics supply and have picked up some logistics, yes. >> you said. >> the first three were 100 beds in the last will be 50 beds. >> you will forgive me i would like to bring up a different topic on libya. can you give us an assessment on the battle, you give us a sense of how you see the area particularly in eastern libya and what kind of group isis and other extremist groups have? >> yes, the challenge in libya of course is the multiple militias, the multiple governments and the national

convention as well as the house of representatives and quite frankly a lot of confusion on the ground of who's in charge. not the effort over there by former general who has been fighting ansar al-sharia and continues to go back and forth. it's about who controls the airport in who controls the checkpoints. that continues to go back and forth and agency continues to control the airport out there. i saul has begun its efforts in the east out there to introduce some people over there and we will continue to monitor and watch it carefully in the future and see what happens. >> quickly you are referring to the benghazi airport? >> yes. >> one of the things we have heard his isis is moved into western libya. is that something you are seeing

is low? >> there is intelligence community that has reports on map but most of it is over the eastern. >> libya in the east, what is your assessment of how many, what kind of isil fighters you are seeing in the east? today at the network network and are you saying command and control? >> it's mainly about people coming for training and logistics support right now for training sites and that's what we see right now. as far as a a huge command-and-control network we have not seen it yet. >> you are seeing isis training sites in eastern libya? >> the numbers are somewhere around a couple hundred is the estimate but again we don't have a specific precise assessment right now.

>> what you are seeing going on as boko haram as well as al-shabaab, in the last several days would he think is going on with them? al-shabaab as well, where they getting theirs and to potentially see isis connections using new aqap connections? can you walk us through at? >> the al-shabaab network has continued to be the same as it has been with some aqap and mostly from the east from that direction. they have continued to evolve their tactics and techniques and procedures so the improvised explosive devices, while the number is down the casualties are up -- you know they have struck out that many of the contributing countries beginning to kenya effort in the mall but

also they have continued to make attempts at ethiopia djibouti and uganda and that continues to be a way that they are trying to respond to their losing of ground inside somalia. >> what about with boko haram? >> boko haram continues the horrible attacks on the population in eastern nigeria and we are working with the nigerians as well as the surrounding countries of chad, cameron and they share to help prevent that from continuing to grow outside nigeria. [inaudible] >> no. the main connections they are our very small and most of it

still continues to be local. they have got a couple of trainers here and there but there is no continuity on who supports them. >> can i follow up please quasi-said you are working with various countries doing what specifically? >> we help train their forces to counter boko haram and work with people on the border can continue to share intelligence with boko haram spilling outside of the borders as in cameron. >> if it was stopped and excuse me i did not catch it but is the search from the air still ongoing? >> it's ongoing and we continue to share intelligence, yes. >> you said they have not made much use of it and there's not a lot of precision with where the girls are. there are areas, couple of

suspected areas and it's pretty tough to get a good solid fix on where they are because they have been dispersed. they are in some rugged terrain and we have just been able to get a couple of obstacles and that's it. >> what specific assets are still being used? >> we have national assets and some mandian unmanned assets. >> about to follow up on libya. does the u.s. had military personnel operating in libya right now? >> no, we do not. >> breeze to continue to search for any benghazi attacker's? >> we continue to search for the benghazi networks. >> benghazi, two years after the attack on the u.s. consulate a major issue with the right-wing

and the conspiracy theories about why we didn't rescue. two years later what assets do you have for your disposal right now? is something like that happen again what do you have available? >> we have the fast teams from the marines. we have commanders emergency response forces and we have this special crisis response and it may have the east african response force in djibouti. we also have for sharing agreements with european command to be able to be much more responsive and then we think we have developed an improved way to execute the indications are warnings with her interagency partners to ensure that we can move and reposition closer. we have done that three times for example into citronella

based on indications and of course the reinforcement of the embassies both by diplomatic security and the marine security guards has happened throughout the region. we have done that in libya. we have done that in tunisia. we have done that in the central african republic and of course in south sudan. >> the actual incident in terms of how you do differently. >> in terms with the intelligence community and diplomatic security. >> back in october the army was trying to set up the communications infrastructure and that a single operating picture of a desolate nation. your cio at the ausa conference talked about sending in centcom teams in there. what is the state of the communications so you have an operating picture that allows you to move fast. >> it's very much improved. we deployed some teams from the

joint communications support element initially and they follow them up with an element from the army. they have a good network to the satellite communications network. >> is the army in both? >> it will stay in places as long as usaid needs it and we see at some point in time the communications infrastructure of the nation will be able to handle most of that. >> i like to go back to something you said earlier about the investigation into the benghazi attack. >> it was our investigation. >> how is that you are able to go after them given that nobody really controls the preponderance and there's a tit-for-tat battle going on. the libyan government has no mechanism in place to go after those attackers and arrest the many don't have anybody, any

troops on the ground. how is it that you are booked to go after them and if you are going after them it's relative relatively -- capability to find and identify and bring those to justice. i'm just having a hard time understanding. >> as you know we brought one back and we continue to conduct intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance in conjunction with the entire interagency and international partners to continue to build the intelligence required to bring those people to justice. >> maybe i didn't ask it very well but is the challenge actually getting a suspect in keeping them out of would be a? >> it's hard to build a find them in a place, yes. >> i want to clarify you said the overall duration might be less than a year prior you saying this summer the military

mission in liberia may wrap up? >> this coming summer. but again we are in a good position now. the trend lines are moving in the right direction and if that continues as well as the international community's ability to pick up missions and the library health system continues to rebuild itself. >> just to follow up basically over the past few months we are looking at fewer troops you initially discussed. >> it was up to 4000 again as we move in there you have got to understand the situation understanding everybody had is not nearly as clear as it is now now. everyday we get better. the whole international community effort to gain that situational understanding. as you know we originally said somewhere around 3000 it could be up to 4000. it ended up to be as i mentioned around 2900 and we continue to

watch that carefully as usaid tries to manage the effort. >> is it fair to say as a situational understanding is grown that this is proven to be a more manageable, less risky mission than you initially thought it was a few months ago? >> no i don't think so. it's about the speed in which the international community can pick the things up that they are able to do. what we are doing is getting in there to help with the unique capabilities with the speed and the ability to build stuff in places that are not easy to get out and easily accessible areas and then to get the logistics support out there to sustain those efforts. and the same with the training. when we went into conduct the training, the training was conducted by many organizational organizations and they were able to move out into the ebola

treatment area so it's just based on the situation how we are going to adjust over time. >> i'm unclear on the business about isis and eastern libya. they are receiving training or giving training? >> they put training camps out there. >> isis training camps? the president has said borders are not going to be constrained in going after isis. is that a potential problem? >> that policy discussion is ongoing and we will see how that goes. >> is a denatured or airpower? you don't think any church or airpower? >> we are watching it carefully. right now is it's small and very nascent and we have to see how it goes. >> i assume you are talking about recruiting and training.

>> the flow of foreign fighters goes throughout that entire area. we work with multiple combatant commands working on the foreign fighter challenges now. >> are they people coming in from the outside crossing into libya who you believe art if you will hard-core mainline isis biters? >> i think it's just militia trying to make a name in trying to make that connection. >> do you think seriously they are adhering to isis? >> i don't think we have enough information to make that decision right now. >> do you see them migrating out of libya wants the training is completed to syria iraq or anywhere else? >> i'm not sure we have the understanding of that at this point. i must say it's a very nascent

efforts and not a clear understanding at this point. >> i would like to follow up as well. the u.s. military just stop training on the half -- of the nigerian government and he just mentioned the isr that you have been sharing is not being used and they are not very precise. how would you describe? >> isr does not give them a precise enough data to go after it. they have to continue to develop the situation further. because of the isolated area and because of the challenges they see with boko haram they have not been able to quell that situation. >> will to make this more precise and get the data to th them? >> it's a mixture of everything,

human intelligence, image intelligence and everything in coordination with the nigerian military. we have not been able to get the precise six and they desire to take action. >> the nigerian government has wanted more from the u.s. military. what more have they been requesting and is there more that can be given? can you describe the relationship between the u.s. military and nigerian military? >> the relationship between the nigerian military and the u.s. is like many relationships in africa. they ask us what we need in based on what we can provide them we do. they have challenges with human rights that we have to watch very carefully. but it's hard to get a unit that's properly vetted and would

be able to help. >> this has been going on for seven months now. the american public has the impression it's like a tom clancy novel. you can track them down after well. can you give a feel for why it's a difficult? is of the terrain? >> the terrain is tough. it's mountainous and very varied thickly vegetated and again they are not in one place. they are in different places. they are spread throughout the area so it really is like looking for a needle in a haystack. again we have a couple places we see that could be potentially where they are and everything but they have have been on my to get up there and develop that situation. >> just one more. in answer to a quick follow-up when you talk about these training camps in libya when you talk about hard-core isis are you seeing any iraqi or syria syrian -- local home are bringing in and training other

foreign-born jihadists are local jobless? >> no again in libya you have got multiple ansar al-sharia strains. you have got a lots of different militias. you have got a lot of different organizations out there. again i think what they are trying to do is to work the label to get support in everything but we don't have any precision on where the people are coming from. >> earlier when you are talking about a full complement of troops you said they might be redirected elsewhere. do you find they might be sent to sierra leone? >> yes, it's in the region. like at the mission was to support usaid and sierra leone and guinea and liberia focusing on liberia first to see how it goes and the rest respond to usaid efforts.

>> abc and similar numbers of american troops in sierra leone? >> i think that would be less than 2900 right now because again the major efforts in liberia for the military will end here in december or january. as far as logistics piece in the engineering piece which is taking most of the people. okay? thank you.

anne compton who retired as abc white house correspondent on 40 years covering the white house and the administrations of gerald ford through barack obama. >> we listen to a group of second-graders go through their trail and anne interrupted the president. i was stunned. i work out of my reporter's notebook 9:07 a.m.. nobody interrupts a present from the second-graders. the president stood and said that he had to go and he went into a side room and then we heard, we discovered that it was

two planes, two plane crashes in new york. ari thrasher came out of the parking lot outside the school and said stay right here the president will talk to the pool. said their light cameras in the cafeteria. a person has to speak there. you want to scare the children but he did go into the cafeteria. he said it's an apparent terrorist attack and i must return to washington. we raced to the plane and we were pushed aboard quickly. the door slammed and then the pentagon was hit. ..