i find them roughly a 3% increase over last year. if you assume 2% inflation i guess no one assumes inflation anymore, but if you and assume 2% inflation you can see the minuscule amount were increasing. i don't ever quote and i rarely ever praised newt gingrich, but i'm going to, he wrote in the new york times this week, we are spending a fortune, what are we thinking. were not putting money into the research to alleviate these diseases. i would go a step beyond that and say he fell short of suggesting how we would pay for that which would be the important ending to the story. i would like to say for the record i have spoken to several

senators about this and i think it is time for us to step up as congress and do something truly bipartisan that the people will applaud. we are going to increase by 5% and were going to do it on a bipartisan basis. i would say for the record if there is going to be some conversation about money going to the pentagon i want to i want to be part of that conversation and i want to stick to the rules that it's shared equally. we make sure that there is money coming back into the non-defense side of the equation. i hope the administration will take the same position. if we can find oco money let's not do that at the expense of non-defense. i hope we can come to a conclusion that we are going to make our mark in bipartisanship when it comes to biomedical research.

i'd like to hear any comments you'd like to make. >> we to believe in terms of the number in investments in the choices we need to make in getting the nation to function right now but also preparing for the future right now. that's why we make the choices we do and the president's budget. i would also repeat what you just said about the match in defense spending and non-defense spending in terms of the security of our nation. i think we saw what happens when a bullet comes through our nation and that's a health and security issue but it's on the nondiscretionary side and we need to keep sure we keep these things moving on both sides. >> just one other one related issue. i believe in it and hope we can find ways to expand it and make it better. do you have any idea what what the eligible income is for qualifying for wic in the state

of iowa? >> no i don't. >> $90000 a year. turns out there is a great disparity within the states of about whether or not you qualify for wic. i would like to suggest that the statutory standard that we used to have that is somewhere around 85000 that you could qualify for wic and because of this eligibility there appears to be some gross disparities across some states. would you look at that? >> i would be happy to and work with secretary bill sac on these issues but certainly this is a number i've never seen so i want to look into it and understand it. >> thank it. >> thank you. >> thank you we have a little bit more time so there is time for a second round. 1155 is the

scheduled time for the vote so hopefully we can work with them at that time. on the issue of dietary standards she stated she didn't have a direct role in this and she was an advisor, you stated that you haven't looked at the law yet. it seems like there's a certain running for the hills here. senator bill sac said sustainable billet he falls outside the guidelines so the one person we've talked to who's looked at the law appears to think sustainability is not an issue you may want to argue that it should be in you only have to change the wall to make that happen, not happen, not add it to the law. will be watching for that, i'm sure. i've got a question for the record. on the risk corridor program,

the affordable care act -- the department released statements last april saying it would be implemented in a budget neutral manner. it's my impression from what the discussion i'm hearing now that the risk corridor program would find revenue somewhere else to make up the difference. is that your view? >> with regard with regard to the guidance that was put out at that point in time, a program that is about making sure we have premium control and put down pressure on premiums premiums, which i think is something real and important with regard to the program we believe it will be budget neutral.

the follow-up question i think will be what if it is not. at this point in time what we have said as it is our expectation it will be budget neutral. certainly in this year if it was not, it would be paid for when those payments came in next year. just so were clear when the end is, it's 2017. i think the commitments have been made and one would have to find appropriated funds. >> 27 is the 2017 is the end of the program? >> yes that's correct. with regard to the 3r's two of

those go away on that timetable. one of them was based on what we use the medicare part d which actually didn't go away in that short timeframe but yes the ideas are that people understand the marketplace well enough to get this. >> that would be something we would talk about next year. >> the question about whether or not we need the appropriated dollars and i don't know that were going to have any signals. we won't have a signal about this year until near the end of the summer and then will know what the first year is because it's a three-year program and all the data is starting to come in. >> designed in the scoring of the affordable care act not to cost money _ >> -- >> budget neutral is where it's at this point time. >> we will see on the audits one of the things you were

looking at was the incentive structure to bring these cases. >> yes, what were looking at is to bring any case that you would win. if you bring a case that you're not gonna win you won't get anything. if you bring a case that you can't get done in that period of time you don't get anything either. so changing the incentive structure of the things we can do is important as well. the increase that incurred in cases, we didn't get into this because he distinguished between the backlog issue. the backlog issue occurs because there is no provider to bring their all their cases to appeal. the only upside is the provider. making sure we have any size and amount, the cutoff is amount the cutoff is very low, we need to look at what the cutoff should be for how little money you can appeal for because of

the press question of processing. the second question is what are the steps for you and is there any bar in terms of you appealing everything? there's the issue of the providers and there's the issues of the perv process. in working with the congress and in working with others in a bipartisan way to make improvements. the funding will be important. funding additional ability to review those cases because as you know those are a judicial process and we have to have a certain type of judge and appeals judge that can review. we had a strategy that is about taking administrative action things that can get rid of the backlog. we need to do additional hires

to process the cases before us and create us, and create prevention in the pipeline so people aren't as encouraged to do certain types of things. >> there are a lot of new cases to be brought while you have a huge backlog out there? >> the issue is how the cases get brought. it's divided in terms of how the legislation was passed. there is the time limitation with regard to that. some things are coming through but portions are not. >> senator murray. >> thank you. as you noted this year marks the 50th anniversary of head start. i want to make sure headstart kids get access to full-year programs. the research on this is outstanding but the extended day

is really important. the half-day is inadequate. we need to make sure headstart prepares our children for success in kindergarten and later in life. i want to ask you what the administration is doing to improve quality and make headstart more effective? >> the quality progress has been over a number of years and part of it is we are requiring that the grantees are reviewed for certain measures of quality and people will have to reapply. we've seen that happen across the country. if there are people who are not meeting the standards, standards, that allows us to enforce those quality initiatives. thank you for the work that you all did in terms of reauthorization. it continues to give us guidance and that space as well. >> one thing i'm hearing about is the lack of getting and

retaining quality teachers. what is the department doing to deal with that? >> that is part of the quality standards in terms of what types of degree in training the teachers have. that is part of what we are trying to look at. we are seeing some increase in terms of measurement of quality and educational background of teachers. i know that's not the only measure of quality but we are seeing some progress in that number. >> i think that's important. my last question is the fy 2015 the first time there's a chance to utilize the budget control act current data indicates that for every dollar spent to address fraud, $7.60 cents is recovered by treasury. utilizing that cap adjustments should create over $5 billion in reduction. i think that's think that's a goal we think is

critically important so i don't understand why anyone would want to cut the who wants to cut the deficit, would oppose that. you did can you talk about how you can talk about how we can save money? >> the amount we put into the budget was estimated by the return we've been seeing and we use the conservative and to do that. it will be about 22 billion dollars. if we continue on our path that were seeing in terms of medicare issues. as i mentioned to you before we came in, having seen this and seen the awards it went to the miami heat for pursuing this

fraud. when we can see that kind of success in cross government work, we want to do more of it. we also know the issue of fraud in them proper payments and medicare is a large portion of what we see in the entire government. it's an issue i'm happy to be at a place where we can bear down and make some progress. >> if the cap adjustment is not allowed to be utilized, we will see an increase in spending? >> we won't reap the benefits we would've gotten. we see those benefits coming and we report those numbers every year. it was a 128 ratio last year and this last year it's been a one tmax seven ratio in terms of what were getting. >> thank you. i had an additional question. you mentioned they provide full funding in them medicaid area

through 2016 and it then goes to 90% excuse me, 10% or less. the state of west virginia before this year had to fill in 80 million-dollar hole in their medicaid budget this year. there was a hundred and 40 thousand new recipients. i raise this question when we are going through and voting on this. when it was passed, how are the states, our state going to be able to meet these budgetary expansions that they've taken on themselves because they've expanded medicaid by a hundred and 40000 people when their already short $80 million.

>> there are two things will we think about the answer to that question when we say how do we financially do the medicaid expansion in the state. there are two things. in kentucky they did a study about three months ago in terms of what happened with the medicaid expansion and how do you protect that out economically. we showed there would be more jobs and more money to the state's coffers. in terms of the economic growth and i think that's part of the answer. the other part of the answer has to do with delivery system reform. that has to do with why we are so deeply focused and changing the way that care is delivered and the quality of that care. one of the things that drives us is emergency use and while

analytics aren't strong enough yet we are starting to see indications that people are going to decrease that. we that. we want to get to the place where people are not using the most expensive care. we want them to care and look for ways to save and still have quality care. we need people to understand how to use the care other than going to the emergency room. they need to know how to access the care, read a bill, and understand how to keep themselves healthy. they're getting the care and that will drive down part of the cost. >> i would say that all sounds like it's going to solve this problem but an 80 million-dollar

shortfall already without the expansion, you are talking about changing behaviors and we know it's not going to take a year it's a year, it's probably a five or ten year kind of thing. with the creation of 40000 jobs i wish i saw jobs growing in our state but unfortunately that's not happening. happening. there a lot of people unemployed and we have a real problem here. i am very concerned about that. by this time you and the president will be gone by 2017 and we will have a new governor in our state. that will be a challenge for that governor. last question, if you expand medicaid which we have in west virginia and you've asked for an increase in budget and children's health and ^-caret insurance program which is sizable somebody asked me this and i thought it was a great question but didn't have the

answer. if you're standing medicaid wouldn't the cost of the children's health insurance program go down because a lot of them are being pulled into medicaid expansion? >> the children covered by chp are staying in chip. those children are not moving over. >> so they're not required, if you're in chip and your parents go into medicaid, you're not required to pull that child into medicaid with you? >> that's correct. >> i'm a big deliver in that program and i've always voted for the expansion of it because it's very important in mice date. date. my follow-up question would be from an economic standpoint is it more beneficial to the state to keep that child in chip financially or to go over and the medicaid program?

which is less costly? >> that is a piece of work that i think actually is coming out in the next week in terms of an analysis that we have been asked to do. with regard to the question of which cost more, that is part of the follow-up that will be coming up in a few weeks. >> i look forward to seeing the reports. >> one last question and then there will be questions for the record. i'll have them and others will as well. the next thing on my schedule is go to a meeting of senators talking about what to do. in the past you have said you're not looking at options if the court rules that the subsidies are invalid in a number of states. is that still your position. >> what i had said is there are

three things, and i think it is important we say we think we would win the case with regard to if the cart court would decide against and for the plaintiffs, the court will have said that we can not provide those subsidies. at the point in which that happens, our ability to do the subsidies is not something that exists. the real problem which is they lose subsidies, then made aren't insured because of affordability and the question of how that affects states in terms of costs. all three of those things result from the loss of subsidy.

that's the that's the problem were trying to solve and if the court says we don't have the authority is why when asked about the question that's not something -- if the court makes that kind of decision we do not feel we have an authority. >> the record will stay open for one week for additional questions. the sub committee stands in recess until 10:00 a.m. april 30. >> thank you.

here are some of our future program on the cspan network. correspondent annual dinner. live coverage begins at 6:00 p.m. eastern. entertainment. on c-span q&a, former judith miller on her time in prison for not reviewing her source of reports before and during the iraqi invasions. book tv is live on c-span2. authors include former attorney on immigration, another on climate change as well as world

war ii and the holocaust. coinciding with the release of the new book residential ladies. they explore the lives of our first ladies. on american history tv on c-span three, lectures in history. they discuss some of the issues debated during the time the constitution was created. get our complete schedule at cspan.org. on wednesday night the constitution project hosted a gala to honor two people. the internet company twitter was also honored. this is one hour. good evening i'm jenny sloan.

i'm delighted to welcome you here to our eighth annual gala honoring this year's constitutional chairman in their work in the area of criminal justice, detainee treatment and privacy reform. i want to welcome our past champions that are here tonight. we are honored to present the award to senator leahy, rand paul and twitter. obviously individuals and organizations do disagree about what the constitution means but

for nearly two decades they have surmounted many of these disagreements by bringing experts from across the bipartisan inclusive nature of our work that len sets credibility to our work. we are work. we are focusing on three vital areas this year. first how can we maintain public safety while ensuring that our government exercises its law enforcement policies in a fair and humane constitutional process. this comes at a high individual and societal costs and especially since 911, the growth of our national security apparatus is threatening some of

our most basic rights and protection. our second area of focus is how we should safeguard personal information and first amendment rights that are increasingly affected by rapid, sophisticated and complex technological innovations. finding a balance between privacy and civil liberties is a constant longtime struggle. given new technologies it is increasingly easy for the government to monitor our personal lives and it's more important than ever that our constitutional rights still apply in the digital age. our third area of focus is how can we make government more open and accountable? sadly it seems the government standard practice is one of nondisclosure. they are working to break down barriers to government transparency, facilitating the

oversight to monitor what the government does in our name. i'd like to highlight some specific examples of our work before turning to our awards. two years ago are bipartisan blue-ribbon group released a 600 page report examining the terrace in the bush clinton and obama administrations. the staff thoroughly examined public records and interviews and conducted on ground fact-finding all over the world. our report remains the most comprehensive of its time. the task force made three alarming findings. first the u.s. personnel engaged in torture. secondly that the decision to torture was made at the highest level of government and third the public record contained no persuasive evidence that torture produced significant evidence of

value. we used this report to further her education and advocacy work. they use their expertise, influence and access to constantly lobby congress and the administration to make public the report on the interrogation program. finally last december, a declassified summary was publicly released. the finding and recommendations closely mirrored those of our own task force :

tcp polenta shows that american oppose these abuses. we must understand what went wrong so it will never happen again so our work in this area will continue. [applause] thank you. task force members and tcp staff have also successfully supported critical steps in closing import guantánamo and the bush and obama administrations made some progress including a very welcome uptick on transfers at the end of last year detainee transfers have slowed again and some in congress seem set on even harsher restrictions that will ensure it they gitmo remains open. it is an outrage that 122 detainees remain untried at

guantánamo. nearly half of them are ready transferred by every relevant national security agency. our death penalty workers are another example. we have long brought together supporters and opponents of capitol capital punishment to ensure that our country addresses the inaccuracies and injustices that plagued the system. last made our death penalty committee issued a comprehensive report and 39 recommendations condemning the system's flaws from arrests to execution. texas death row survivor anthony gray stated that other had the recommendations been in place when he was convicted he would not have spent 18 years on death row for a crime he did not commit. in too many capital cases exculpatory evidence is withheld withheld defense lawyers are ill-equipped and out mats, deadlines are inexcusably missed, racial disparities

persist in people with intellectual disabilities face the ultimate punishment. in recommending a national commitment and improving forensic science the report foreshadows the fbi's recent acknowledgment that decades of flawed forensic testimony affects the integrity of thousands of individuals. the fbi's microscopic analysts overstated matches in 96% of the cases reviewed so far. this includes 32 cases in which defendants were sent mr. death. 14 of them have already been executed or they died in prison. and when there is privacy even before the snowdon revelations we were working to update areas laws that dramatic week outdated in the face of new technology. our bipartisan committees are demanding the disclosure of an strict limits on government snooping and they are demanding that law enforcement obtain warrants to access this information. we are pleased to work not only

with the privacy community and government but also with technology companies who are often caught in the middle of these battles. this past year we helped build iraq support for rating and bulk collection of our telephone records and for making the foreign intelligence surveillance court more transparent and accountable. we appreciate senator leahy and his staff for their tireless efforts to ensure that congress adopt these reforms. and all of these areas and more it is our mission to assemble the unlikeliest of the analyzed to promote consensus on vexing constitutional questions. we are looking for, we are looking for the consequences of collecting dna from people who have not been charged with a crime. we testify before the president's 21st century task force on policing of our constitutional principles that policymakers must consider before equipping police with

body cameras and military equipment. we just issued a report condemning one of the most common and overlooked constitutional deprivations experienced by poor people in the case of crimes, the denial of counsel when a judge determines whether the accused will be incarcerated prior to trial. because of our mutual mission advocates and state campaigns constantly seek our help as they did last december when we assembled over a dozen nationally recognized conservative leaders to plead for clemency for scott canetti because of his severe mental illness. mr. benettye's education -- execution fortunately has now been stayed. litigants including many here tonight ask us to organize important supreme cases, briefs that are unusually influential if there are former judges and prosecutors national security experts and other prominent and often unlikely voices.

you probably just read about one of those cases. anthony ray hinson who was exonerated in early april had -- after spending three decades on alabama's death row is as court-appointed lawyer didn't know enough to ask the court for enough money to hire a qualified forensic expert. before turning to our work i want to thank jonas john this day for lending us this amazing space and i want to thank our many sponsors this evening and especially those at the defender will level bloomberg and twitter. i want to thank her board of directors for their expertise and support and the tireless tcp staff and i want to particularly thank the creative and indomitable lisa banks jeni townley and brian for their work on this gala. thanks also to all of you who are here and to support our mission.

finally thank you to our constitutional champions who stand up for the constitution and the rights of us all. for more about our first honoree senator patrick leahy, please welcome dave patrick. his biography and speakers are in the so let me welcome dave 02 the stage. [applause] >> ordinarily i would ask for that step to come back here but tonight because we are amongst friends i will dispatch with that. good evening. it's a great pleasure to be here with you and to be here celebrating the constitution projects important work but it's a special pleasure to be here to present an award to my mentor, friend and former employer senator patrick leahy.

senator leahy by every measure is a constitutional champion and tonight able speak just briefly about some of the reasons why we know that to be the case. as a senator, a former chairman of the judiciary committee, as a ranking member senator leahy always equips himself as a man of principle and commitment and somebody who believes in the rule of law and the constitutional rules that we set for ourselves. most recently together with another one of our honorees this evening senator rand paul senator leahy is a co-sponsor of the justice safety valve act a measure which is intended to restore a measure of fairness and discretion to judges as they seek to sentence people in the context of mandatory minimums. in a post-9/11 world, senator leahy has lent his voice to the

rule of law and the tensions we face with respect to our constitution and the need to keep the nation safe. senator leahy has been in all of these discussions has been a central figure in all the legislation and has elevated our commitment to our principles even in the most harrowing times. but one unmistakable aspect senator leahy's leadership with respect to the constitution is that he is not just somebody who voices the important principles of the constitution but he acts in bipartisan fashion to make sure that laws are enacted to vindicate those principles. in the context of the voting rights act to senator leahy was a tireless voice in the 2006 reauthorization and help to get that legislation solid rate i had it opportunity to collaborate with senator leahy and his staff.

in another context collaborating with senator orrin hatch senator leahy has made sure there is access for post-conviction people who are sentenced to the capital to have dna testing done to bring up greater measure of fairness where people face the most severe penalty that our criminal justice system meets out. senator leahy, is a happy evening for me to be here and to raise tribute to you. i think when this award was named it must have been named with men like you and mind. i thank you for your leadership for your commitment for your example, for your friendship for the opportunity to stand with you in good times and more harrowing times. i welcome senator patrick leahy to the podium to accept the constitutional champion award. [applause]

[applause] >> thank you. thank you very very much for that introduction. you know i was thinking as they listened to your opening on this we are dealing with people here who have actually read the constitution. what a wonderful wonderful feeling that is to do that.

and dave zero you are a hero in our family. you are a hero to many of us here. i know christine lucius is here and david carle kevin mcdonough from my office. we think of you as a hero. he once said that the goal of the constitution is to form a more perfect union was inspirational but also aspirational. i know that i speak for many in this room when i say your dedication serving the public good and defending the constitution on behalf of all americans is an inspiration. you'd did the constitution for all americans even if it might cost you. in your own career. you stood up for the constitution. i can't think of anything that i admire moore and a person than

that and i would admire you even if your middle name wasn't patrick. [applause] but i admire you for that. and everybody here knows what i'm talking about. that is why we all admire you. a few years ago i chose to stay at the helm of the senate judiciary committee. those sessions i did that because i thought it would allow me to defend the constitution and judge thank you for being here. that is why it is such an honor to be recognized by the constitution project tonight. we worked for so many years we worked to defeat legislation that was fair to limit the right of habeas corpus. can you imagine?

we fought them and we won. we fought to end torture and secret detention. not because just a loan it was the wrong thing to do but it was basically un-american and we fought it. we fought to provide adequate funding for public defenders something i believe strongly end and i spent eight years as a prosecutor. i wanted to see good public defenders. we passed the innocence protection act. think of the number of people who are on death row who are now free and the person actually committed the crime is behind bars. doesn't that speak to what america should be? we are going to continue to work work. we have to push our great nation to live up to the ideals of the constitution. that is not just a goal.

it's not something that happens automatically. i think our founders knew that we had to fight for that every single day, persistence and determination, and unrelenting commitment to core american values. it also means that sometimes we make mistakes. our nation has faced times of great fear and stress. we sometimes reacted in ways that strayed from our core principles of democracy and freedom. but in the greatness of our country's weekend learn from mistakes and make sure that we don't repeat them. we shouldn't hide the errors of the past. we have had them. other countries may try to hide them. we are america. admit them and get better. that is why the founders designed the constitution that contained a way to improve it. each generation has done just

that. we have improved their original document by guaranteeing protection for individuals by expanding the franchise, by protecting many freedoms that we hold dear. i acknowledge -- by acknowledging the fact that all human beings are human beings all, no matter who they are. men, women no matter the color of their skin no matter who they are where all americans and we are all human beings. we are reminded of this progress as we prepare to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments the second commemoration which mind -- are mindless of forming a more perfect union. every generation has to do that. we have made rate progress. the things that we accepted in

the constitution was written we would not accept today. women were considered second-class citizens. can you imagine? the fact that we would segregate based on the color of our skin. can you imagine? and in your comments he spoke of the grave errors we have made in the recent decades with the cia's use of torture and secret prisons in the wake of the september 11 terrorist attacks. these things were done to make us safer. they did not make us safer. i would argue they didn't mean the greatest nation on earth. it was wrong. [applause] it was wrong and president obama ended the program the day he took office.

it was only a of last year he fully understood what happened. through the work of the senate i command dianne feinstein on this this. the constitution's project task force continues. we finally found out what happened. it wasn't easy to shed light on this. when we did we demonstrated to the rest of the world we were different. we are a great nation in part because we are always striving to do better. our government has also gone too far in intruding on america's privacy rights in counterterrorism, something senator paul and i have talked about many many times. in 2013 we learned that nsa had been engaging in a dragnet collection of private telephone records for years relying on deeply flawed interpretation of section 215 of the usa patriot act. we found out they did not keep

us safer from terrorist attacks. the testimony i asked how many terrorist attacks and they said well 52. we started talking, well maybe 20, maybe 12 or eight. but there was one that we were involved in after the fbi. section 215 expires in a few short weeks. some want to just expand. i want to work with both republicans and democrats on some real reform. i think we have to end this bulk collection program once and for all. it is not what we are as americans. it does not make us safer and it is foolish to give this to the next generation. [applause]

we passed mandatory sentencing laws. that is not made us safer. it has driven our federal prison population to historic highs in nearly 800% increase in 30 years years. a third of our justice department's budget is in the bureau of prisons not in stopping terrorists. these laws do not help us. i oppose all mandatory minimums. [applause] let's restore discretion to judges. you will find this is something that will unite people on the right in the last. rand i think you will agree with that. senator rand paul and i introduced the justice safety act to restore discretion to

judges and restore sanity to our system. not because judges will be right every single time. of course some of them will make mistakes but to pass a law and say one-size-fits-all is foolish. it is wrong. it doesn't help our country. as a former prosecutor i'm opposed to it. the president has power under the constitution. i offer clemency to those hired by mandatory sentences did very little in this administration. i hope the president will step up with this and say let's change this. i have spoken too long. i am preaching to the converted on so many things but it's nice. [applause] it's nice to be with the converted.

it's nice to share this award with my dear friend rand paul. it's nice to have people who actually care about the constitution. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you so much senator leahy and now to present the award to senator paul i would like to introduce my dear friend one of my oldest friends julie stewart who is the president and founder of families against mandatory minimums and i just want to tell one story to embarrass julie. and that is her husband ron is here somewhere. he is the dean at the university of baltimore law school. i went to their wedding how many

years ago? 20 some odd years ago and even at that time one of their was that they would always work together to obtain criminal justice reform. [laughter] it was a strange wedding vow that from ron and julie it's what they do and it's who they are and i can't think of a better person to present the award to senator paul. [applause] i didn't expect that the ds are ousted involved sentencing. some of you in this room are there. thank you jenny and thank you so much for the tremendous honor you have given me and introducing senator rand paul one of the recipients of the 2015 constitutional champions award. if you look up senator rand paul's official bio as i did to

prepare for these remarks he will read that he was born in pittsburgh. he was raised in texas. he went to baylor before he went to medical school at duke and yada yada yada. that's what they wanted to believe that i'm not buying it. after looking at senator paul's record, i've decided that the different theory of his true origins. i believe that senator paul was created in a secret laboratory by scientists working for jenny sloan and the constitution project. hear me out on this. for years the constitution project has defended the guaranteed of due process and championed the separation of powers that prevents overreaching presidents from infringing on our basic freedoms. and then seemingly out of nowhere an ophthalmologist from kentucky a champion of liberty so well-versed in the constitution and the shatters the status quo by standing on the floor of the senate for 13

hours in order to remind colleagues and fellow citizens of the importance, the necessity and the near sanctity of the rule of law. how did that just happen? and the constitution project has fought government surveillance and intrusions of individual privacy and yet in just a few years senator rand paul has become a leading critic of nsa surveillance programs and all other unconstitutional government snooping scams. go figure. closer to my heart of course the constitution project has sought to build bipartisan support for criminal justice reform including the elimination of harsh ineffective mandatory sentencing laws and as if on cue, rand paul enters and co-authors with senator patrick leahy and ambitious sentencing requirement called the justice safety with act that would

restore justice to work alongside the politicians hands in washington at the hands of the courts across this country. my theory doesn't sound so strange now, right? and there's one more thing jenny jenny sloan and the concert schussel project has always believed the safeguarding constitutional guys can only be done by bringing together people from diverse political parties and spectrums and to find solutions to the most contentious issues. they are right of course so how lucky they are to have found senator paul the leader proves you can be passionate and still pleasant. a champion who expresses bold ideas in a plainspoken and civil manner. thank you senator paul for reminding all of us politicians advocates and citizens alike that we can disagree without being disagreeable. i've had the privilege of working directly senator paul in support of mandatory sentencing reform and i've been in meetings where he is told conservative advocates for me not to be named

think tank that they can't just support white-collar sentencing reform, they must support reform for all people of all colors including nonviolent drug offenders. [applause] i saw senator paul's commitment when he crossed the capital to meet with house members of both parties to express his opposition to an unjust is very popular mandatory sentencing proposal. senator paul support for criminal justice reform has received a lot of media attention but it's what's done behind the scenes that he has been doing without being lost without being seen that has impressed me the most and it makes me very grateful he is on my side. senator paul is without a doubt a champion of the constitution and so even if you don't believe as i do that they created him for this award i think you will

believe this award was made for him. ladies and gentlemen it is my honor to introduce senator rand paul. [applause] >> thank you. it really is an honor to be here at the constitution project and to share this award with senator leahy. thank you julian jenny for making this happen. martin luther king wrote in a letter from birmingham jail up out what an unjust law was. martin luther king wrote that

it's a code that a numerical majority passes on a minority but does not make binding on themselves. for too long in this country the law was overtly unjust based on the color of your skin. this time it's fortunately passing for the most most part we have abandoned in justice to scheuer but i believe we still suffer injustice de facto. there still is injustice within the criminal justice system intentional or unintentional. it still exists. i don't think this is a conscious effort. we have had some discussion of this. the fbi director recently talked about how we have to be very very careful of racial insensitive or racially profiling. i think that's important but when we see the disparities i don't think the disparities are necessarily coming from and over over -- overt racism. nevertheless there is a

disproportionate impact. there's something going of ryan the criminal justice system. when you look at those who are incarcerated. i was always someone who was doubtful about the war on drugs but i became more aware of the racial indications of this after i read michelle alexander's mass incarceration which is a profound indictment for our criminal justice system. despite consistent evidence that white kids in black hues -- like it's used drugs at the same rate, three out of four kids in jail are black or brown for nonviolent drugs. i think we missed the boat if we simply say this is just racism. i think more likely the ultimate source of this is that poor people tend to live close together. there is more crime in cities and the police are there all the time and the police aren't in the suburbs so it adds up day in and day out. the answer isn't just racial sensitivity training. the answer is more

african-american police officers although it's probably part of the answer that's not the ultimate answer. i think the ultimate answer is in understanding the war on drugs is gone to park that we have treated the war on drugs we treated addiction and the problems as an incarceration issue and not an addiction or a health issue. i think we need less incarceration of people of all races. the injustices evident in her presence i think largely fail away as we begin to dismantle the overzealous -- zealousness of the war on drugs. as i have traveled the country as i went to ferguson who went to chicago detroit and all those cities i sense an undercurrent of unease. it's not just the instances that have happened. it's not the particular instances of the shooting of those those that haven't helped

but it's day in, day out. it's kind of like what martin luther king talked about having two americas. one america where you feel you can be treated in life liberty and the pursuit of happiness is there for you and you have the chance in other people who feel like they still have no chance. in ferguson in many cities in missouri 30% of the revenue coming in is from tickets and fines. who disproportionately gets these? poor people. 21,000 people live in ferguson and yet they were 32,000 the west towards last year mostly for patty fines. child support, everyone thinks that to pay child support. if you have been in prison for three years and you make $8 an hour should we put you back in prison because you can't keep up with your child-support? at all except an impossibility for some people and people are giving out. george will writes that in california there are 2000 people who have committed no violent

crime no serious crime and are serving 25 years to life. you may recall in california they passed proposition 47. they took the minor drug felonies and made the misdemeanors. this was in november. four months later they are finding they are no longer mandated to these people. the federal judges have been saying we have to push people out. violent criminals were being let out. everyone is being let out. in four months they are finding violent criminals serve their entire sentence because they are not crowding the systems with mayor wants to crimes. think the incarceration is out of control and i think it's time we get together republican democrat and independent and this time we fix fix it. [applause] to me it's about the faces and stories. "rolling stone" did a great exposé not long ago. timothy tyler was 23 years old.

he was a deadhead in the desert. i don't think all deadheads do that. [laughter] but here's the thing. somebody could have set him straight in life. there could have been another choice. he went to prison for life. he is 46 years old now. he has been in jail for 23 years. he might be in jail for another 40 years. he made a mistake. for goodness sakes could we give him another chance? this is one thing i want to complement the president on. he has gotten people out of prison. he has commuted sentences for people that have been desperately affected that were crack-cocaine users and for 15 years when the corresponding white kid in college for six months or nothing soviet done a good job to try to equalize this. a while back we changed 100:21 and it's now 18 to one.

we should make a one-to-one. there's no reason we can't fix that. [applause] people are rotting in prison for these mandatory minimums. the federal judges three fours of them, the majority appointed by republicans everybody is saying they don't want mandatory minimums. the judges need to be given back discretion but i think justice will only occur when we repeal once and for all all mandatory minimums. [applause] now i just want to stipulate the "washington post" and i don't always agree. they are not always my best friend but i'm here to pay a compliment to the "washington post" doing a great job and we will do a great disservice to the country we lose our newspapers. the major newspapers to do investigative reporting, the reporting on the "washington post" is changing minds. i can tell you that even in the

last couple of months we are now talking about it and i know senator leahy was there the other day in the judiciary talking about forfeiture. but the stories are what get me. chrystal survey list has a nice home in philadelphia. his teenage son selling $40 with an illegal drugs. what did they do? they have picked a family from the house. they barricade the house and take the house without a conviction. it's insane. too often this is a grandma in the inner-city he was the only stabilizing force in the family whose grandson is selling marijuana and the house and they take the house. to my mind it is thoroughly un-american that the government could take your stuff, to take your property without a conviction and i think we have to change it paid the sooner the better. [applause] senator leahy mentioned a collection of phone records.

millions of people's phone records are being collected. to my mind the fourth amendment says you need to name an individual, don't know anybody named mr. verizon. i think you reckon -- records and help a third party and been fully adjudicated but when your records are held by a third party and you have a privacy agreement with them i think you do not give up their private property interest in your records and you still maintain an interest in those records. [applause] one unapologetic senator who i've had a few rounds with says if you are not talking to terrorists why are you worried? he goes on to say that he would censor the mail if he could. really? this senator goes on to say that when you are an american citizen and ask for a lawyer you just tell them to shut up. really? have we stooped so low that is

our standard? that we fallen so low that is their standard? if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear. it's a long way from innocent until proven guilty. our founding fathers would be mortified. i think justice will predominate when the accused is always afforded a lawyer, always afforded due process and always afforded a trial. [applause] "the new yorker" also didn't exposé that affected me profoundly. a 16-year-old kid accused of a crime sent to jail for three years in rikers with no trial. republicans, we are great for the second amendment but you know what somebody has to stand up for the fourth, the fifth and the sixth decision get a. >> trial. [applause]

he was kept in solitary confinement. cory booker and i've a bill that gets rid of a lot of the solitary confinement for kids and it's going to help us from trying to keep this from happening again. [applause] the way i see it the bill of rights is for the least among us us, for the least popular, for those who don't dress and act like everyone else. the bill of rights is not so necessary for the problem. the bill of rights is not so necessary for the high school quarterback. but it's for the least popular among us. the bill of rights is especially for the unpopular, for the persecuted, for the minority. to meet a minority is not just the color of your skin. it could be the shape of your ideology. it could be the shade of your religious faith. what should motivate us all to protect and defend the system that defines justice and protects everyone whether you are richer poor, black or white.

until you are at -- until then i want to be one of those who remains wary of those that would trade liberty or justice for a false sense of security. thank you. [applause] >> thank you so much senator paul and now for our last award i would like to introduce marty baron who is the executive editor of the "washington post" and although i guess he is not supposed to be in the paper very much. in the past couple of days he has been in the paper for something very good which is the pulitzer that the post just one and for something very bad which

is the fact that the post bureau chief in iran is still in prison and about to go on trial. the statements from him are described accurately how terrifying that situation is. so congratulations for the pulitzer and please come to the podium. thank you. [applause] >> thank you very much and senator paul these few moments of a friendship have been a wonderful thing. [applause] early this year many leading media professionals gathered to address what we saw as an emerging crisis of free expression. it wasn't just that the rights of the press were under assault in countries around the world including our own, free expression itself is under

threat. we wanted free expression to widen. we needed more than media organizations to take up the cause especially the broader business community. after all, free expression means more accountability less corruption and the open exchange of ideas. so it gives me enormous pleasure this evening to recognize a business that has consistently taken a stand in favor of free expression for many years, twitter. twitter is present and future depend on the flow of ideas information and opinion. i am also pleased that this award goes to twitter because of its principled stand on an issue that was at the heart of coverage a year ago by the "washington post"," massive surveillance under national security agency which others have spoken about here tonight.

and servers so that surveillance system the government has compelled large technology providers including microsoft, google yahoo! aol facebook and apple to turn over millions of people's private data. disclosures about that breathtaking scope of surveillance talk about the proper balance between national security and individual privacy. as the aclu and human rights watch have noted surveillance carries profound implications for press freedom the public rights to information and the right to counsel. in the subsequent over those disclosures many technology companies sought the public market a one to reveal on broader law enforcement requests than they were already publishing. the department of justice resisted but ultimately agreed to allow publication of rock

band through certain types of national security information requests. is not -- even even as they continue to insist on a number of restrictions. twitter however failed to compromise -- felt the compromise did not go far enough. he did not join in the settlement. want to be still more forthcoming predicted to describe government requests and more informative detailed and to say openly what it received no request of a certain type. the government did not consent and so twitter sued in federal court arguing that his first amendment rights were being violated. twitter the company said in its filing is a unique service built on trust and transparency and people inside expect to share information quote without undue fear of government surveillance. the government prohibition twitter argued represented an

unconstitutional prior restraint of free speech and i'm proud to say the "washington post" is among the media organizations that filed a friend of the court read to support twitter. this is a battle that has just begun. twitter has indicated that it is is -- it is in this for the long-haul. the great thing is that it is fighting and fighting hard. so it is now my honor to present the 2015th constitutional champion award to twitter incorporated and accepting the award on twitter's behalf is colon brault twitter's vice president of global public policy. [applause] >> thank you. [applause]

>> thank you. thank you very much marty and thank you jim sloan and the constitution project. it is with deep appreciation and gratitude for the work that the constitution project does that day in and day out year after year and protecting civil liberties that twitter accepts this award and i'm here to accept the award on behalf of my colleagues at twitter and it's also a special honor for us to be recognized for these issues along with senator paul and senator leahy as well. senator paul s. been a vocal advocate of constitutionally protected freedoms and is he

just shared with all of us he too is in it for the long-haul and protecting these freedoms and has been quite active also on our platform and participated in a twitter q&a in southwest by southwest and senator leahy has an unparalleled record of defending civil liberties in his position on the senate judiciary committee. twitter practically supported senator leahy's legislation the usa freedom act in the last congress and we will be back along with our sister companies as part of the reform government surveillance coalition actively involved in that on capitol hill in this session of congress. we are proud to share the stage with both of you and will continue to work with you to defend that respect our users voices and their users rights.

marty touched on this a little bit in the introduction but what i thought i would do is talk a little bit about why a company like twitter would care about these issues. so a little bit of background on twitter because what i find it my job as i go around is awareness of twitter is very high and use of twitter can sometimes like a little bit but by way of background twitters goal is to bring people closer to what is most needed to them and is hopefully most of you know we do that by allowing people to share brief, 140 character messages with the world that we call tweets and over time these tweets have evolved so they can now also include 62nd videos from fine or short form video fare, photos screenshots and most recently links to allies were

cast to type content a new service we call periscope. for almost 300 million users around the world twitter is alive khobar to show where to share thoughts and perspectives instantaneously. one of the facts i learned on my first day at twitter was that from the very first tweet that was sent by one of our cofounders jack dorsett from the first tweet it took three years two months and one day to go from that first tweet to the 1 billionth tweet. twitter now serves 1 billion tweets every two days so the volume of content that is shared on the platform in multiple languages with diverse perspectives is really rich and another fun fact for you to take home maybe tryout later it is apparently it would take 361

tweets to tweet out the u.s. constitution so if you wanted to do that when you get home later fun for the feeble minded. you can try that. twitter connects people and ideas in a connect elected officials as many people in the room here we go to their voters. it connects causes to constituents celebrities to their fans, families to faraway loved ones neighbors to each other in times of crisis and just about every combination as diverse as the global community itself. twitter users have the power to make their own experience but they are also exposed to the ideas and perspectives of others. one of the wonderful things about twitter is it's often a discovery engine for our users and you will find content on there that might not otherwise run into are expected to find. so a person's timeline can be filled with inspiring content and also searing commentary.

it can be filled with breaking news and twitter as you know is often an important window into breaking news around the world and for journalists and activists and individual citizens is a meeting that often bears witness to history and also bears witness to atrocities atrocities. so that is something that is important feature of the platform. so like the rest of the internet twitter has seen posted content of painful content, natural disasters, terrorism government repression around the world but it's also a place where people can find greater connect to this. the people -- a place where people can find information conversation and where empathy can be shared. so the key thing in thinking about that for us at twitter is to recognize that our role as a

provider of this open platform for free expression is to recognize that that speech is not our own. that speech is the speech of our users and so as the public sharing of the thoughts and opinions of those who have come to twitter seeking to share such content with the world is it's precisely because it's not our own content that we feel that we have a duty to respect and defend those voices on the platform and to allow our platform to be a place and remain a place where users can discuss whatever they want whether we agreed with them or not, whether we agree with what they are saying agree with their hip call the platform is open. the platform and debate is mutual. the platform doesn't take sides of that instantaneous connection to ideas and perspectives and breaking news events is

something that we are continually working on to end on to innovate on and protect improve and enhance as a user experience on the platform. so why would we care about government surveillance and privacy issues here in washington? and beyond? it's because these issues now go to the heart of what twitter is all about. it reflects an interest in our core values of the company, is a collection of individuals who are working at twitter but it is also something that reflects the fact that twitter itself is compelling because our users voices made it compelling and for that reason defending and respecting the user's voice has been a core value and animates her efforts around freedom of expression. we also believe that the work we do to defend and respect the user's voice is an important part of what rings people to twitter instead of perhaps going

to some other platform so as a result for us it's not only good ethical practice but we believe it's good business practice. it's a good business plan for us so our efforts to reform government surveillance practices and provide greater transparency stem from this court understanding of our business center platform. one of the great things i love about the company and the german to the company to work for was that it has always been willing to put its money time its resources and employee efforts and basically put its tweets and people and resources where these issues come to the floor. some of this occurs on work you will never hear about and some of this work will be on things like pushing back on a warrant or noticing a user of a subpoena

request for their usury information and providing links to resources so they can seek pro bono counsel. some of this work is public but often doesn't get a lot of coverage. things like persisting production and fighting motions to compel the production of user data from plaintiffs trying to identify the twitter user using a suit name who may be ensuring personal commentary or opinion about a ceo or a politician somewhere in the world. so those are things that are important to twitter and for things that we work on. some of you have already heard as has been referenced here, the lawsuit twitter versus holder. as her deputy general counsel explained in this blog when he filed a suit quote at their believe that we are entitled under the first amendment to respond to our users concerns and to the statements of the u.s. government officials by

providing information about the scope of u.s. government surveillance including what types of legal process have not had received and we should be free to do this in a meaningful way, rather than in broad and exact ranges. so our lawsuit continues. we are committed to seeing it through. the next step will be a hearing on may 5 on the government's motion to dismiss parts of it than we have appreciated the outpouring of support that we have received here through amicus efforts from the "washington post" buzzfeed and other media organizations as well as the reporters committee for civil rights the electronic frontier foundation and many others who agreed that this issue concerns core first amendment protections for significant implications for our democracy. we appreciate the opportunity to take those issues and challenges and concerns to the northern

district of california. so even as we continue our core proceeding we will continue to be engaged in washington. there's obviously a lot going on on these issues here this spring and we will continue to build a their business in a way that makes us proud and constantly reaffirm our commitment to defending and respecting the user's voice. i had mentioned at the beginning that i was accepting this award on behalf of my colleagues. i wanted to just by name mentions several of them. our general counsel colleagues on the legal and trust and safety team in california, and del harvey ben lee amy keating jeremy kessel as well as the twitter team here in washington who are here at the event will party, jessica pham and carol as well so i just wanted to

publicly acknowledge them, their work and recognize that this is a companywide commitment to these issues. again i thank jenny sloan and the constitution project and for the introduction. thank you very much. [applause] >> so we are almost done. i am the chair of the board for tcp and my job is to thank all of you for coming tonight to support their work and to support our three honorees this evening. once again our friends at jones day have arranged for a fabulous venue and great weather and the thing that i like the most about this event is that as jenny and her team at the constitution

project doing all of their work they group together people from across the spectrum and find agreement and the remarks you heard tonight from our three honorees are just a perfect illustration of the type of things that the tcp does and what they stand for and so it's been a wonderful evening. i want to make sure to thank all of our sponsors who helped make this event happen. everyone who turned out for this lovely evening and as you come away from this first of all don't forget to stop and have some gelato but as you come away from this and think about what you have heard from senator leahy and senator paul and on behalf of twitter remember these issues affect all americans. senator paul said a lot of what

you think about the bill of rights and criminal justice reform is for the downtrodden but they work in terms of protecting privacy and those subpoenas to mr. verizon and to twitter certainly affect all of us. i don't use twitter, i'm sorry but my kids do and so it affects our kids so i think we all should care about this and it's fantastic that there's an organization here in washington like the constitution project that brings people together to address these issues. now the last thing i have to do before i thank you in bid you a good evening is to remind you tcp can't do this without your help. obviously the folks who bought tickets tonight people who respond to the campaigns throughout the year the foundations to support tcp to help make this happen but i would ask all of you there's an envelope you got underway in.

you can put something in it on the way out or stick it in the mail but please do what you can to help tcp and for all of the lawyers in the broom, i know there are plenty of you here we are always looking for volunteers to help with our work so please reach out. thank you all and have a great evening. [applause] ..

>> >> in our business protecting sources is part of the independent journalism and i felt the list the peoplehood fly routinely spoke to who had

access to classified information to address made to protect them my sources would dry up that i would just been -- a would not want to write so it was of matter of principle but i did not have much choice. >> this morning will want to express my condolences to

the families of two hostages , one american warren weinstein common and an italian comic giovanni lo porto was tragically killed in the u.s. counterterrorism operation. labor aid workers said pakistan living along the pakistan any people. they were abducted by al qaeda in 2011 i directed a national security team to do everything possible to fight him and bring him home safely to his family. is our government work closely to do so also working with that out of italian allies who is kidnapped 2012. this is the 11th the counterterrorism efforts of prevented attacks is saved innocent lives here in

america and around the world and that determination to protect innocent life makes the loss of these two men especially painful for all of us. there is intelligence we have obtained we believe u.s. counterterrorism operation targeting an al qaeda compound on the afghanistan border region accidentally killed warren weinstein and giovanni lo porto this past in january. i spoke with warren's wife in the prime minister of italy for. as a husband and father i cannot begin to imagine the english the families are in during today her or realize there are no words that will equal their loss. i know there is nothing that i could never say or do to ease their heartache. as president and commander

in chief i take full responsibility for all counterterrorism operations including the one that took the lives of warren weinstein and giovanni lo porto. i profoundly regret what happened and acceded states government to offer our deepest apologies to the families. as soon as we determine the cause of their death the existence of the operation be declassified to be disclosed publicly added so because the families deserve to know the truth. rand also within a certain aspects in order to remain secret to succeed the united states is a democracy in good times and bad. our initial assessment indicates it was fully consistent with the guidelines under which we conduct counterterrorism efforts in the region which has been our focus with the

home of oxide is leadership and based on intelligence we have obtained at the time we believe this was that no civilians were present in capturing the terrorist was not possible and we do believe it did take out dangerous members of the al qaeda. but we did not know tragically it was hiding the presence of warren weinstein and giovanni lo porto in the same compound. it is a better truce underscore in the fight against terrorist specifically that sometimes deadly mistakes occur. one of the things that sets america apart that makes us exceptional is a willingness to confront squarely to

learn of our mistakes. i have directed a full review of what happened to identify lessons that could be learned and to make changes that should be made and will do our most to ensure it is not repeated we will continue to do everything we can to prevent the loss of innocent lives not just americans paul innocent lives and our counterterrorism operations. today we joined families and friends to honor these communitarians to cave from different countries but were united by a spirit of service. won the of the ideals of our countries serving with the peace corps and devoted his life to people across africa and south asia and was a loving husband, father and grandfather who willingly

left the comforts of home to help the people of pakistan at the time is his objection he was a contractor helping pakistan the family's escape poverty to give a better life to their children. giovanni lo porto also took around the world's africa africa, haiti and pakistan. he fell in love with pakistan and the people and believe passionately he could make a difference in their lives. his service reflected the commitment of the italian people of great allies and friends of people around the world and today is a reminder of the bonds of friendship between the countries in the shared values that bind us together. there could not be a starker contrast between these two men and the al qaeda captors.

their work benefited people across faith they he was held cited his jewish faith and held both men for years even as warrants health deteriorated. there were irreplaceable years. the grief that is unimaginable and hopefully they will find solace that the legacy will and to work it will be remembered by pakistan the men and women and children whose lives were touched and their spirit will live on and their families especially warren's wife and their daughters and their families. and a shining example of these two men will be light

to reassert with compassion to offer their love to see war and want peace. god bless these two brave men may he watched over in comfort their families.

>> secretary of state john kerry was at the atlantic council to talk about international trade and how trade agreements could affect the local economy. before his remarks the panel discussed how congress could take action on future trade deals and the role of china in these talks. this is an hour and 40 minutes. >> good morning, everyone. i you can take your seats. >> good morning. take your seats.

good morning. ibm's ceo of the atlantic council and you are joining us for what i hope is a historic moment. secretary of state carey will join as a 10:00 a.m. to provide cheap note remarks for the launch of our new national security initiative. we're also building a business coalition for trade to help highlight the geopolitical implications of the ambitious global trade agenda to draw the attention not just to the benefits of action but to the cost of inaction and failure. so if you are interested to get more information please contact me at my office directly. the secretary will discuss the vital importance of trade to secure the future of u.s. leadership in the world to make strong

partners of our allies to strengthen the economies that helps us here at home. american leaders have understood that strategic logic since fdr signed that reciprocal trade agreements act of 1934 which paul ultimately included 19 trade agreements in the history of the 20th century president kennedy called the reciprocal trade program '' an expression of america's free world leadership. he made news around the world in 1963 with his speech as he stood up for the defense of a free west berlin. less remembered is his speech the same week at st. paul's church to talk

about the equally vital needs that sounds like the call for the economic nato. " in deep economic cooperation is needed throughout the entire free world to open our markets to the developing countries by a contributing our skills and stabilizing prices we can help assure them of favorable climate of freedom and growth. then he ended this is an atlantic responsibility. today we gather with a new atlantic responsibility with the idea of trade being geopolitically important this is new but we do have the new inflexion point that we feel is as important as the end of world war i and the end of world war ii the

end of the cold war. what it galvanizes our work is the conviction that each of those moments of u.s. leadership of friends and allies helped to shape the future if we don't lead others will fill the void as we have seen. president obama likes basketball and he is referred to the last two years as the fourth quarter of his presidency as the clock ticks he makes big bets on the foreign policy front on cuba and elsewhere but for all the publicity the completion would not u.s. much to shape a new world order through this defining moment as the trade agenda that could bring two-thirds of the world's economy under strictures

better friendly for what we tried to create with our allies after world war ii. timing could not be better while he makes his arguments here u.s. trade representative is in japan negotiating the remaining gaps of the trans pacific partnership bid to host the ninth round of talks in new york city. last week gave bipartisan bill was introduced in the senate republicans in dorset and it was in "the wall street journal" yesterday so let me torrent -- turned to those were uniquely qualified to talk about the connection between economic strength is of the place of these agreements and national security. and please come to the stage

for probe for the audience we welcome your participation. #ac trade for a brief introduction atkinson is a deputy national security adviser for affairs at the white house. no one better qualified to address these issues to provide inside of the obama administration trade efforts. you can make your way to the stage. from the center of international security and the board director former adviser to barack obama former supreme allied commander europe perhaps no one who has been a more consistent spokesman of the connection between national competitiveness issue and national security.

ambassador from the atlantic council will provide a republican view of the legacy moment to give us insight how it is viewed on the other side of the aisle there was the midterm elections this is one that is made easier rather than harder. she served as undersecretary of state and we are delighted to be joined by the ambassador of representing an allied nation with whom we already have a free trade agreement and a key partner trans-pacific partnership for rhodes scholar minister of defense who has all of those portfolios for go so

but we sit down to get the conversation going. the panelist does not have a prepared comment but i will ask them questions to make it as informal as possible feel free to jump bin and we will do in a less formal fashion. carolina, how much of the legacy will images is for the president and how does he see this and how do you get democratic members of congress to get that through? i think that is more the question of the moment but it is more republican in. >> there not for more remarks with 84 years of leadership with the terrific

panel members. i think it is a really important moment for the president's legacy but for america and leadership around the world. the notion of trade that will link the partners not just through market access but standards that trade will be conducted through asia and the fastest growing nation in the world because it will be good for american workers and companies and others but also our leadership in the world. you pointed out is the beginning there was a bill introduced last week for

overnight the senate finance committee said have a marked up. >> congratulations. >> think you'll. many people have worked hard on that. we have seen the president's leadership who has been now they're arguing why it is a good deal for america and it is very important for everybody in america and our allies. >> talk to me as we get into the arguments but looking at that vote what will be harder with the tpp? what you think are the most important arguments of the

people of america? it is interesting lowestoft it administration's make economic arguments that we talk about national security arguments in geopolitical. who needs to be convinced and how does that argument work? >> i think it is economic. people need to be satisfied that it will be good for america and america workers and families. we believe we know exports support 11 million jobs and have accounted for one-third of the growth we have had since the crisis in 2009 and job support by exports tend to be better paid by as much

as 8% more. but these elements are a good for american families. but the tpp itself includes not just market access but a wide brains of discipline that will spread our values and standards on the environment, protection of intellectual property to promote the innovation that makes the economy so strong and many other areas that will make it much more than a free trade agreement. my colleague refers to read as a 21st century in agreement. it is also referred to narrow as a progressive trade agreement. the economic argument but a

recent polling suggest many police said export sarah could. i suppose there is a lot of concern. that is partly why we need to make sure we're in the lead to establish a level playing field. once you have those america can do well to beat the other countries to be geostrategic first of economic strength in the the products that we make and sell talking about how much investment is an asia or how to build partnerships and

help to strengthen those. at the same time the leadership to work with others on this agreement helps to strengthen those ties and we will hear from our chief diplomat but remind every petty of what ash carter said and if he had to choose between tpp and aircraft carrier he would choose tpp. >> we cannot land jets on that. [laughter] >> spee mcdevitt is a good segue. how does a marine feel about this choice of aircraft carriers.

[laughter] and tpp? it seems frivolous but a serious question you gave a speech at the industrial association review said the administration should broaden the national security council role to encompass more in energy matters are regis not looking comprehensively enough? first we defy national security or use it? , then i think back wraps off nicely. >> this is an exciting time to be fully enthusiastic with the administration is trying to do do. i think the secretary from global or commercial diplomacy is one of the

bright things that is going on in our approach for go live recognizes we made the transition from twentieth century to 21st century. the 20th was bipolar and as a reality. demanded relationships the private sector is on the course of converging because one of the sectors that is of mired and recognized is when you think of the duke of pre-world and what is going on, even dealing with mr. putin is causing a large

part of the solutions to be economic energy security is something i am convinced not only to be the strongest in the future better way to show leadership in a more globalized world's end there will be changes between the two centuries. these problems would be solved not just by aircraft carriers and troops alone but the formula is obviously security before you can have economic development but the rule of law applies proportionately to prevent future conflicts. it is a lot cheaper and a

way that you can answer the radical threats by showing families around the world that there are better ways than brighter opportunities for families and children in the economic trade issues are indicative of the potential the united states can unleash. like the national security council to encompass a much broader response to traditional threats. . . really the way of the future. i'm very excited by the potential. >> drill down on that