for advanced composites. in conclusion, there is a wide range research underway that will achieve many benefits for the nation's transportation system,'s transportation system, including improving energy efficiency, reducing environmental impact and driving u.s. competitive this. thank you. i will be be happy to address any questions. >> thank you. >> thank you chairman and members of the committee. innovation is. >> higher spending is increased by 5%. interestingly our consumer customers want to buy cars from car manufacturers who bring new technologies to market. we see today five areas of spending and patent fighting for car manufacturers and suppliers today.

it includes certification, connectivity, safety, and then they are offshore by regulation and also by advancement. if i look at there's mainly three years, one is commission engines and one is electric vehicles, the next one is fuel cells. we see many improvements and right now with all the low friction advanced cooling and others we have bringing you efficiency and provement by 35% to 50% reduction in fuel efficiency. roughly at a cost of $2000 or $2500 per car. this is why we see today a landscape and it will continue for the future where it naturally these technologies

would present the vast majority of the market. meanwhile, the market for hybrid and better electric vehicles is being challenged. right now this market has been growing for ten years and peaked in 2013 at three at 3.8% of the u.s. market. and that it declined to 2.9% last year. the challenge is only 6% of the u.s. drivers are ready to pay more for a greener and more efficient car. and what they would spend on average is $4600. that creates an unstable market for hybrids is well below the sales. this means support from the leader in form of incentives will have to remain, and then support for charging will be needed for this markets in the next few years.

he agreed that about 20% of reduction would help gain six - 8% fuel efficiency on each car at a cost of two-$5 per -- materials are aluminum, magnesium, and steel, there is the availability for these materials, it is true for steel and maybe for the cost of carbon cyber, the other thing is now they all agree that we are peaking the right material for each different part of the car needs to happen, and bonding technologies will be a main source of technology. connectivity includes two areas, one would i would say is not happening with vehicle to vehicle infrastructure which will require a minimum adoption,

both in terms of safety and traffic regulation. there will be needed for further regulation of this market to happen naturally. i see safety features today that are available with existing technology that have the potential to reduce 30% of accidents on the roads and the number of fatalities. the benefits with about 250,000,000,000 dollars per year to the u.s. economy. the challenges those features cost about twice more than customers are naturally willing to pay and therefore purchases low, and only growing at a few%. whereas with more support we could decrease in a sustainable market. were there for more support to increase the penetration and more regulation another step has

two reduced by 90% and therefore to reduce congestion and improve fluidity of traffic. furthermore, we think that in an urban environment we could replace with a share of automated cars we could replace 900,000 private cars and new york by which reduces the number of cars on the road, improves traffic and has significant impact. therefore that the major challenge now to get to this as soon as possible. overall this technology deserves the attention of the legislator, there is an important balancing act to think about where just end,. >> thank you.

we appreciate their testimony from each of you. it is always interesting to hear where the exciting developments are. i mentioned in my opening that i'm in that group of lawmakers that is really reluctant for us and the government to be picking winners and losers, whether it is relating to a type of automobile or energy sources, mr. muscat just let me right into this, by acknowledging that some of the incentives and supports that we currently have are going to need to be around for a while longer. with looking at the charts you provided it is clear that what has happened with the lower price of gasoline at the pump it

has influence consumers decision as to whether or not they're going with electric or hybrid. could you speak to this issue of where we try to pick a winner and loser and emerging area. from your members perspective and preferences, how should the federal government handle, or should they had all in promoting fuel and efficiency related that inadvertently or not may push in the direction that perhaps does put us in a situation where we are picking winners and losers. >> so the short answer is, our members prefer an approach that is technology neutral. so that the short answer. the longer answer is more

complicated. we identify with the goal of reducing carbon. we identify with the goal of reducing fuel dependency. all of those things are noble objectives. the complication comes from the nature of the regulatory regime, and what we have is an approach that were measures by mpg's, epa measures by greenhouse gas and that there is an overlapping state program from california which is executed in other states and the lab program is effectively not technology neutral. it is either to comply to and in

today's world most electrification. both were complying but different regimes create friction and at a cost. we get caught the middle between a mandate on consumption, some mandate on what consumers buy in the low gas tax environment consumers are moving away from the stated social objectives of electrification and moving folks into smaller cars and trucks. it's a challenge. technology neutral is ideal. you have to recognize consumers will respond in a fashion that is rational for them and they are not into optimizing policies. they are into maximizing their pocketbook. >> i appreciate that. ms. ms. : had mentioned in her testimony that contained within this bipartisan energy bill we have moved out of committee and will be on the floor next week that there are some r&d provisions in

their that are good for the industry. i appreciate you pointing that out. anything else in that energy bill that the auto makers are looking at insane this is helpful. >> yes first of all a major bill that has bipartisan support is a wonderful gesture around the country, it's a great symbol of the accomplish work. >> we want it more than a simple, we watch update policy. >> it's consumer confidence is vital to purchasing because items like cars. more specifically, there are provisions in the bill that are helpful, critical minerals piece matters, i showed a chart that has increasing price of cars, to the extent we can rustle challenges down where

stabilizing supply and reducing costs. that allows allows people to buy new cars and that is terrific. the virginia component that was brought to the table is also helpful. we without to focus because at the end of the day they can address 80% of all non- impaired accidents. the fuel implications of safety implications are substantial. the system there is helpful. >> i appreciate you bringing up the critical minerals bill. you mention that as well in the context of material availability and what that means for the industry. recognizing that we do not want to go in the same direction as our critical minerals, that we were headed when it came to real vulnerability.

and also relying on foreign sources for oil, think that something we are all paying attention to. the 1030 vote has started, i am started, i'm going to excuse myself from the committee and senator will ask her questions that i would ask her to go back and forth, i think you'll see members popping in and out don't take that as a lack of interest. i'll be back task another round of questions. >> thank you madam chair, i'm going to defer to my colleague from michigan so. >> thank you very much. i have to say that i can spend hours talking about this representing michigan in so many the technologies are being developed through our industries in michigan and our great university that better collaborate with the department of energy and so on. vehicle to vehicle technology,

all the safety things you're talking about that are so critical as well as addressing energy savings and emissions and what is happening on a range of things around better battery development. i'm sorry the chair left because i'll be talking to her more about this, 11 piece that did not get in the energy bill that were looking forward on the floor is the provision that senator kathy and i put forward on the advanced technology vehicles program to be able to expand the flexibility of that to larger vehicles which is so important to auto suppliers. we know now that the latest department of energy advanced technology actually went to alcoa and tennessee to be able to help them continue the very

exciting opportunity around aluminum. we know the f1 50, i saw my cats for automobiles on talking about this. the f1 50 has been able to take 700 pounds out of their truck by using aluminum instead of steals. but i wonder if you might expand on what is in your written testimony as well about the importance of taking existing program and giving them a broader portfolio so we can address what needs to be done around larger vehicles and trucks. >> we are supportive of your effort to broaden the eligibility to track and suppliers. we think that makes sense. >> from your perspective as well, how do you see that helping us as we are moving forward to tackle energy savings. >> it is clear that heavier vehicles is an important area to

tackle when it comes to fuel efficiency. the super truck program has shown there is a lot of progress that can be had, progress needs to be backed up with investments especially when you consider long-haul trucks account for 4% of registrations but 10% of oil use. clearly having more resources and opportunity to invest is an important part of a balanced portfolio. >> and listening to all of you and watching and going to the north american auto show and having the chance to sit in these vehicles which is exciting to see. one of the things that i keep coming back to leaving your chart looking at what consumers are choosing and certainly gas prices work against as we look at new technologies and so on will look at this what i hear all the time from people is a concern about lack of infrastructure. at the auto show where seen hybrids and electric

vehicles with 120-watt it could be plugged into a regular plug but when i look at things that hydrogen fuel cells that have huge potential, our department of defense is doing in all of these areas, it seems to me that we have got to be focused more aggressively on making sure the gas station is actually a service station and you have the option there and they are consumer friendly. i wonder, if you could respond to that and anyone else who would like to respond, how do we really get there where we get over the huge barrier of lack of choice at the service station. >> i agree particularly with hydrogen in the title. the lack of infrastructure is a big problem. i think one of the big roles the

federal government can play is to make sure their technology for the infrastructure is as ready as the technology for the vehicles are. the auto companies have done a fantastic job. if you get a chance to drive a new vehicle it will knock your socks off, it's really great. drivers will want reliable fueling stations that are online every time they go there. if they don't, we are going to have a false start. that's why at an ro we have built a research station specifically for the purpose of looking at the reliability of the hydrogen infrastructure to make sure the components are ready to identify mistakes, we are working with h2 usa which is a public and private partnership of people in the industries to try to identify what are the critical items for them to make sure hydrogen infrastructure can

get ready. >> and armada time but if you could just briefly respond to that. >> i was greek completely on the hydrogen infrastructure if it's premised on a gas station model of centralized once week fueling for plug-in vehicles it is more of a cell phone model. work, home and opportunistic charging so they're responding to to the needs of work, home and public are slightly different. i would say that we are working, the industry is working with the department of energy, state, local programs on all of those levels. >> senator gardner. >> thank you very much, thank you for the witnesses for your time today. welcome to the energy committee. i joined the drive in the hydrogen fuel vehicle at the golden headquarters last year,

it was a great opportunity to see the work you were doing there. also for the interest of members, senator gary peters and i have treated as smart transportation caucus so it is going to be a vehicle to vehicle communication. if anyone is interested in those efforts i would love to see you on the caucus and talk to senator peters and i for that. we have a range of issues that we can talk about. kind of fun to hear about what everyone is working on. in colorado if you german to the mountains anytime in the last several years you have probably spent a couple of hours and traffic jams. thoughts aren't we are not going to be drilling a new tunnel through the eisenhower, johnson anytime soon. so the solution we have to look for are being talked about in this panel, vehicle to vehicle

methods and modes. so if you questions that go beyond this committee. we have questions of spectrum, how are cars going to communicate with each other to have enough spectrum to make sure cars can communicate with each other. we have issues of moral authority that will have to be determined. when a car is going to make a decision driving by itself to take the ditch, to hit the wildlife that might be crossing the road because a car might become a. these are questions over time that need to be worked out, under thomas will have to make those decisions, the kind of communications an older vehicle makes its interesting and agriculture that we have been using driverless tractors for over a decade now. you can retrofit a 30 or 40-year-old tractor with a self steering mechanism. it brings increase of productivity to agriculture so what it could mean to sell

transportation, clogging daughters of our transportation system. this morning it was just announced, just recently announced that they had entered into an ammo you with the department of transportation in colorado for research on i 70 and i 25 quarter when it comes to vehicle to vehicle communication. can you talk about that. >> c dodd has announced their road x program which is to look at the potential for using these automated and connective technologies in all aspects. they joined with national renewable energy lab, in particular to bring in the fuel economy and emissions aspect of it. we are in discussions with them and are looking at a number of possible projects where we can help see.by collecting data and

providing analysis and the data for them and confirming that these technologies do make the difference that we hope that we make. we are very excited about it. in particular, we have not quite found that i7070 quarter project but i am looking forward to the day the car drives me up i 70 rather than me sitting there and traffic. it's a very exciting partnership. >> what is research shows about congestion. >> we are working on modeling it. right now what we have seen is if we look at the energy impact, there can be dominated by several effects, if the dominant effect that introducing these new technologies is to make the traffic flow much more smoother, we will reduce the energy per mile driven significantly.

the problem is now if we make it so convenient, will people drive more miles? that's that's a big research question where looking at now. what is the bounce back effect of having removed the barriers? if no one cares if they're sitting in their car will they drive more miles and drive the emissions up even though there are fewer emissions per mile? that's a tough nut to crack, says much about how consumers think and make decisions based on the information they are receiving as it is on the technology. i can't give you an answer right now, could be anywhere from half of the energy consumed to twice as much energy consumed. i think it is going to be a big effect and i think we need to understand that as soon as possible. >> think it would be a perfect

solution that it would have over senators team the new york patriots will end of this month. >> dream on. your dream can last a few more days. >> the throwdown, senator warren,. >> thank you. >> there are two ways to repeal a rule, you can repeal it out right, stricken from stricken from the books or you can paper over the role with enough exceptions and alternatives that the role becomes fairly meaningless. the auto industry complains about ambitious fuel economy standards because it costs money to make cars more efficient and to reduce their pollution. the industry knows it cannot when they had on fight to roll back standard so it looks like the industry is trying to paper over it. here's how it works, recently, house, house republicans introduced a bill to improve auto safety that includes a

loophole that lets the automakers a break from fuel economy standards. the bill is nine specific safety technology. car companies have already agreed to install several of him. this is not a big stretch. but the bill says if any automaker installs three technologies from the list they will be eligible for a credit equal to at least 3 grams of carbon dioxide per mile toward their greenhouse gas emission requirement. another way words it says you do what you already agreed to do and you can slide by with lower epa standards. so it's a pretty slick operation. what i can't figure out is the calculation that three safety features should be were exactly 3 grams of carbon dioxide per

mile. not one grammar 10 grams. you represent the auto industry and you have been a vocal supporter of this provision, so can you tell me whether your industry suggests this number to the house of representatives or to the house republicans give you the number? >> i think in a context if i could. >> i just want to know who came up the number. >> we did not originate the number. >> so the house republicans came up the number? >> this was a draft presented provision that was shown to us for the grams per mile. but let me contextualize. >> so you be okay if they didn't do it. >> the tesla, gets about 600 grams of credit, that's a car that's roughly three -- were providing 6 grams of credit. the safety technologies as we

talked today have a value for safety and fuel efficiency. >> let me stop there. the question is not whether or not reducing congestion may or may not reduce pollution ultimately, i, i think it's actually quite a debatable point. there's been evidence on both sides of this that as i understand the economists puts it when it comes to pollution the evidence suggests that if you reduce congestion, people actually drive further and that more than offsets the point that was just being made. i i just had just one question and that is, who kelly collated the number that it was three grams. if you're telling me the auto industry do not do it, then i just want to know who did it. your lobbying for it and are supported by scientific evidence, where did the number come from?

>> this is a draft document, i don't know where the number came from but it is a modest number in context of what is going on in the context of the overall cap a target. >> i appreciate that you think it's a small number. >> but were not talking about tesla, were talking about our gasoline powered engines. were talking about not meeting establish epa standards. i think that's clear and i asked if you have evidence on this and you said now even though you said it supported and backed up by evidence. neither the idea of northern number number is based on any concrete research. i think it's just trying to rollback part of the epa rules without having to tell the american people about it. in 2014, more than 32,000 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes as you pointed out. that is 32,000 reasons right that is

32000 reasons right there to encourage the adoption of promising safety technologies like automatic emergency braking. car company should make cars safer and they should also meet their fuel economy obligations. if they do not want to do that, they should paste the american people and explain why they want softer pollution standards and let's see what the american people have to say. >> thank you. >> man i respond? we signed up for the café program and as i noted the café program is a consumption mandate not a production mandate. i showed you a number of models, both electric highbred and high mpg models that we have generated and put on the show room. we are doing our part, if we are production mandate it would be over, but it's it's not it's a mandate on what consumers buy. consumers are not by the products you want so i asked for

scientific evidence that how it is. >> if you do what you're already doing you're going to get credit so far. >> let's talk scientific evidence. >> we are out of time and senator warren does have to vote. maybe you can do that in response. >> senator dane. >> thank you for holding this hearing it is very important and timely topic. my home state of montana is a big state, the fourth largest state, not as big as elastic but we are the fourth-largest. we have a very dispersed population, over 75,000 miles the roads, we have roads, we have second-highest rate of car ownership in the country. it brings unique challenges on a transportation infrastructure. it is the pillar of our economy

and allows people to go across the state and it's imperative to keep people and freight moving efficiently and safely as possible. today we've talked about the role of regulations, my concern with mandates, like so many others as they typically do more harm than they do good. based on cases we have seen in this administration they are often unattainable, they pinch the wallets of hard-working americans, and they waste taxpayer dollars. for example as pointed out, of the 17 and a half million vehicles sold last year, only approximately 400,000 were plug-in hybrids, battery electric and fuel-cell vehicles. not reaching half of obama's goal to have 1,000,000 on the the roads by 2015. in 2008 congress mandated the

control on freight rail tracks that carry passengers of certain hazardous materials by the end of 2015 despite the rails best efforts the complexity and scale make full development possible. additionally, president obama's fiscal year 2017 year 2017 budget will request for billions dollars for the development of a thomas vehicles. meanwhile, automakers are going to in fast $100 million a year globally to produce reliable and safe solutions. 99% of of this investment is from private, nongovernmental sources. we should continue innovating technology to make our vehicles safer and more efficient but we should not let consumers determine, but we should that

consumers determine not a bunch of washington bureaucrats. as you know public policies and regulations do not always align with the preference of consumers. can you expand upon your vision of more productive relationship and i emphasize productive between industry and government and how do you see reducing the federal role may actually benefit the industry and benefit the consumer? >> that's a tough one but easier than senator warren's question so thank you. the goal of fuel efficiency, then those are social goals and to get there requires an investment in us 100,000,000,000 dollars that you have reference. it requires consumers requires consumers of all because it is a consumption mandate not a production mandate. it requires government being supportive of research help but

or in the form of infrastructure of electric and hydrogen vehicles. it's a complicated matrix. once we have established that we are shooting for a target, we have to find a way to get there and in the low gas price environment, that's a challenge. it's exasperated by the success -- were kind of caught. we are producing great products and we want this program to succeed because we have to, both because it's good for the environment but because we have mandates to make that happen. but it's a trick, consumers want to do a consumers want to do, their rational and their behavior and policy makers seek to optimize an outcome. consumers are motivated by

different standard which is enough is enough. if they they can save $5000 and applied to a college education or food on the table and not by a hybrid, they they may choose to do that. then we are caught in the middle. >> it may seem counterintuitive to some, how do you see reducing the federal in vehicle technology and innovation benefiting the industry and consumer? >> where government could be most helpful -- we have a mandate for quarter of the marketplace, it's it's not a federal role but it is a rule and it affects 25 or 30% of the country. we have the nits the mpg requirement and we have the epa greenhouse gas requirement, and they are not harmonize. if we had one national program that it would be much more efficient to comply. we we could reduce the cost of the vehicles, that would speed up adoption, that be a great thing.

there is a way to square this but we have to get rid of regulatory burdens, then there is a chance for to succeed. >> thank you madam chair, sorry to be late, i was at an armed services hearing. first, i should say that i'm excited that i just bought an electric car. i'm looking forward to using it. seems to me and i apologize if i am repeating, because because i did not hear your testimony. >> ..

>> >> such as wind power ha -- and solar power but to integrate electric vehicles into the rugged selenite with more wind blowing you can use cost-effective wind power during the day the demand is up the be batteries can pride electricity to balance the load that is a great example

but if you look back over a lifetime and those ever either dramatically slowed or reverse. and with electric vehicles and instead we need to focus on investing in technology to prove there resiliency of the grid. and to give consumers a lot more choice in the of marketplace. >> and the rise is with that

battery segment is scaling of the options and with energy storage. and to be used. >> as the house battery they came from automobile technology. >> correct. tesla partnership for energy storage. >> but what people don't realize it is like a church built for christmas day it has enough room for the parishioners but on a slow sunday in march there are a lot of the d.c. it's. the wires are built for the heaviest day and that night

in the winter because they are more conductive and cold weather there is a tremendous access -- excess capacity you could do that without one dime of additional infrastructure that is one of the attractive features of electric cars just beyond the fact to free yourself from the dependence of false -- fossil fuels. >> one of the earlier studies of this and with that existing powless 81 dash policies to mcfadyen is important and i missed your testimony but and where are we with battery technology

with the two or 300-mile range? >> with those batteries that were removable if you take out the propane take -- tank what happened to that idea? >> i am holding hear the of lithium ion battery developed at the national labs this is no laces to the auto industry to help you drive off in the 200-mile range continuing to invest in technologies like these and that is for the rooftop

solar for example, and also for grid stability there is a national security interests here in decentralizing the grid so it is said to centralize attack to be more self dealing can somebody say yes? >>. >> but as be go to hundred miles or more you will need 220 volts so with some support to a the consumer

everyone people to access more that offers more mileage. >> i object go-ahead. >> guard any estimates going at 73 percent of the vehicles without changing the grid what is required to go to 20? is of that would a clothes dryer use this? is just a matter to rewire your house in the carport.

>> is the injured al let level to is to under 40 that is the dryer that will charge your car and 480 volts is more of a commercial or public installation. >> how many people could have day electric car with a short range, the people only use them for short trips? >> the vast majority more than 80% travel less than 40 miles a day. and that 80 percent of charging happens out were scanned at home in the last 20% is opportunistic but that is the part that adds to long distance travel but in fact, the existing infrastructure is the cost

of the day very to upgrade the panel has come down materially. >> we haven't of program that is focused to have more and more partners even add of level 1120-volt range war two vintage 50 partners and if i plugged in and out work that could double the range i could use on a battery so that is the incredibly effective option. >>. >> i know there is no one

answer for what happened to the of battery i was very intrigued because israel was doing that. and the answer that i got but israel is a very small country but i don't have very many brands but with a high percentage of israelis so i love the idea of it but it doesn't seem to work for the united states. >> this is the additional challenge not only of the standardize vehicle configuration it contemplates an inventory of

very expensive batteries. >> what i love about this that is too bad. >> because of the logistics challenge and to ship batteries from one to the other? >> maybe you get 50 or 90 miles and then the last part of your travel. >> that is the analysis that opportunity cost to have that so many tied up with the batteries to those that have a much higher value.

while giving him an extra three minutes i spent 15 seconds answering his question. yes i am here to serve my colleagues. that's why i am so popular. i was fascinated with us testimony with the incredible evinces we are making and with that cost of high energy of more than 45% in three years. this is very, very exciting i think. but one thing we had a few years ago with an american

energy and innovation council a guy from cisco systems and they basically were saying on energy research. ended the paper today 2015 the hottest year on record by a significant margin and to have a real problem. but shouldn't we be spending

more on basic research of this kind of research as a percentage of gdp? >> assured the answer is yes. joining with 19 other worldbeaters in november to kick off mission n innovation with the globe to as much as double spending on clean energy research. to put that investment toward technology investable by energy it works well by of the tough problems then be in a position to handoff those industries to provide more options to develop a fellow car bin dai it address the warming pollution. >> including the oil and gas

industry. and then today gas and oil out of jail was a partnership but to meet our -- we're the ones that i know we do it when we need to do more with health care. and to have funding for alzheimer's but this is so important than the benefits or the offshoots give me some day down the benefits of on the money that we spend. >> and to save fuel to reduce as much and lung

disease have a 70 / one benefit to cost ratio but overall the last 20 or 30 years lookit that benefit to cost ratio. so to develop technologies to save lives and save fuel and cut carbon emissions we deliver that to tax payers and breaking the pharmaceuticals extending 50 times what we do and we need to close the gap. >> talk about technology neutral and with that

analogy you don't know which course will win the race to have every horse of the track in the beginning is good. and to be behind by some analogies but you never know what the end that is the technology that wins the race. >> m1 to talk about what alaskans are talking about. trucks. because we drive on a lot of trucks in the senator mentioned montana is big with open space and alaska is an open spaces we haul a lot of the year. whether the votes or the of for reelers or snow machines are the stuff you move

around with those worse conditions with snow accumulation. there is a lot of interest where is it going with these technologies? with my opening statement to run on compressed natural gas and propane but when you talk about the difference remaking with lighter vehicles to gain to the efficiency is is important you cannot haul what you need to call. tell me where we are to read mitt that consumer demand.

those setter of the eastern seaboard that is interested how we make the trucks more fuel-efficient and in addition to a that recognizing in places like alaska or minnesota or some of the things we talk about -- of course, . i am looking at you. but some of the issues that we face with colder temperatures with trucks.

>> now the first is that the end of the day this is a consumption mandate we have to respect what consumers want to do. the cafe program begins to do that with that footprint base is a composite of what cars gets for that flexibility for trucks within the terms of expectations is rising. it is a trick so our mission is to comply with the obligations but also what consumers want.

>> where are we on the technologies? >> said traces are also making their way into the segments you will see the plug given hybrid and cross over vehicles they are meeting the demands of their consumers as well as the dry cycle. for instance with the plan again hybrid when the utility go ocellated night to work on that silently to activate the bucket because

of the workers on the ground can hear what they're doing there are few will sell buses on the road today to accommodate those heavier loads. >> rubio not seen that with the tracks. we are a three truck family and we are still looking at the older trucks that are out there. >> in many ways right now is the story of about innovation that is dramatically boosting you can buy a truck engine it has said better or save safety performance so i

would argue there is massive progress and it just isn't as obvious because it is under the hood. but with the standards but no matter the size of your vehicle you can double the efficiency that is even more valuable than a car or truck so you can save money on fuel with technologi knees are right now is about to introduce diesel into their training ticket truck, dramatically boosting fuel efficiency to the diesel engine. great progress on the internal combustion engine. >> are we doing anything with handrails? >> another thing i would like to add to this, we are looking at the various molecules we can get

out of biomass and unique field properties associated with different molecules combine in different ways and combined with what we can get from petroleum, that will enable the next generation of combustion improvements and be able to continue to make improvements on the efficiency of internal combustion engines while increasing renewables going into the liquid fuels and those two that together have potential to give us fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. since there is a lot of rooms that hasn't been pursued. we start to look not just an engine efficiency but what we can't do on the fuel side to use various bayou feedstock. >> senator king, if you want to wrap up the question and let our panel go at 11:30 as promised. >> thank you.

i want to thank you for holding this hearing. this is an important topic in diapers she your allowing us to have this discussion. i am interested in the finances of this. when will the electric vehicles be fully competitive and not need a tax credit, particularly with regard to gas prices. i heard recently about one state whose tax credit when 2-way and sales plunged. the real question for any renewable seems to be when can it stand on its own and i went your thoughts about where this goes and the realize there is a lot of speculation about gas prices, hard for anything to be competitive with gas prices the way they are today but your thoughts? >> as you said, nothing is sure about the future but it may take

some time for a number of reasons. look at the evolution -- they have significantly reduce costs but if we want to have congress with 200 miles plus driving range we need 50 or 60 kilowatt hours to fuel both cars and with the costs when sales per kilowatt hour, you see what the cost is going to be, it will remain at the given costs. depends on what break moves will come up to take that down another -- is not impossible but probably a few more hours but highly dependent on the price of gasoline. we need our initial regulations anywhere between 120, and $180

per barrel out there today. and typically three years, we are far from this. >> the current plunge is attributable directly to my having made the decision to buy the electric car. >> it is the good thing. and to improve the efficiency of the conventional and before we give up those technologies to ensure our sales the more we keep the prices down. it is of winning proposition for the consumer but at the same time makes the life of the battery long term. >> a professor friend of mine, richard hill of the university of maine made the most profound observation of oil prices i ever heard, oil for prices will always the opposite of what you

expect. if you expect them to be hot and act accordingly by conserving and doing more conservation measures that will create an excess supply which means prices will be low. if they are low, we have a contraction of supply prices that aloha. that is an interesting observation, oil prices will always be the opposite of what i expect. >> we have to -- this is why legislation is important because otherwise you get the effect -- >> madam chair. >> thank you for the contributions you provided the committee this morning. it is nice to know what is new, if we want to see it, go to the auto show. see the advancements they made.

it is clear that we are moving forward in different spaces. quite honestly the driverless cars, takes a while to get comfortable but advances we are making, ensuring a level of safety and level of efficiency responding to what they are hoping for in a range that is affordable. with that i thank you for your contributions and we stand adjourned. [inaudible conversations] >> join us later for road to the white house with republican

presidential candidate town hall, you can watch it live at 10:00 eastern on c-span. later in tonight, holding a campaign rally at waterloo, iowa. watch that live at 8:00 p.m. eastern. >> and going on the road to the white house, february 1st coverage begins at 7:00 on c-span and c-span2. at the:00 p.m. eastern, a republican caucus on c-span and democratic caucus on c-span2. see the event in its entirety, stay with c-span join in on the conversation on c-span radio and c-span.org. >> michigan governor rick snyder delivering his state of the state address that the state

capitol in lansing. he apologized for the water contamination and pledged to fix things. this is just over 50 minutes. [applause] [applause] [applause]

[applause] [applause] [applause]

[applause] [cheers and applause] [applause] >> thank you. thank you very much. thank you. >> members of the joint convention of the state of

michigan, rick snyder. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you. thank you for joining me tonight. governor brian kelly, majority leader, senate minority leader, house minority leader kim gre greim greimel, members of the supreme court, members of the court of appeals, secretary of state ruth johnson. attorney general bill shooty, congressman fred upton, congresswomen burn the lawrence. the cabinet. ladies and gentlemen of the legislature. public servants, citizens of michigan and my family, i

welcome you tonight, i would like to begin by adding -- is to active military, reserve, national guard members, members of law enforcement and veterans, give them a shot out. [applause] [applause] >> thank you. i want to share one special situation with you with respect to our military. last year we had deployed 127th air wings, the 127th has two key element in terms of their

aircraft, a close air support unit that was actually deployed in the middle east dealing with terrorists, other issues over there, it it also is the can 135 tanker which was deployed refueling aircraft like the work hog and other aircraft to run those emissions. we should be so proud. a 10 pilots actually flew three years of flying in six months. in terms of the casey 135, all of them together they did incredible work, they have a special mission critical role, and something that was never achieved, not just the air guard. and they see 100%.

and that shows the michigan, we have brigadier-general err -- general isabel, regular general jack fulcrum, and command sergeant major, if you could rise and we could give the recognition. [applause] [applause] >> they returned right before christmas and i was happy to say i had the opportunity to return to the ceremony and when i heard about their incredible accomplishments i had to share it with you.

to show what they were doing to keep us safe. in addition we have over 400 michigan national guard members serving overseas as i speak today. all of michigan should be glad to hear a marine veteran was finally released from iran and will be welcoming home in michigan. [applause] >> before i begin in terms of the speech i would like to ask for a moment of silence for all those who have fallen in defense of our country. thank you. tonight will be different state address. there is so much we could discuss, to make the great state even better, stronger over the

next year. we will address the crisis in flint, to begin, i would like to address the people of flint. families face a crisis, a crisis you did not create and could not have prevented. i want to speak directly, honestly and sincerely to let you know we are praying for you, working hard for you and absolutely committed to taking the right steps to solve this crisis. to you, the people of flint i say tonight as i have before, i am sorry and i will fix it. no citizen of the great state should have this kind of catastrophe. and federal state and local leaders by breaking the trust you placed in bus. most of all i am sorry i let you

down. you deserve better. you deserve accountability. you deserve to know the buck stops here with me. most of all you deserve to know the truth, i have a responsibility to tell the truth. the truth about what we have done and what we will do to overcome this challenge. tomorrow i will release my 2014-15 e-mails regarding flint to you to citizens so you will have answers to your questions about what we have done and what we are doing to make this right for the families of wind. anyone will be equal to read this information for themselves and michigan.gov/snyder because the most important thing we can do right now is to work hard and work together for the people of flint. [applause]

>> thank you. thank you. >> olustee is no makeup for the mistakes that were made, nothing will, but i think all responsibility to pick -- fix the problems and it will never happen again. let me tell you what has been done so far and what we will be doing in coming days, weeks, months and years to keep our commitment to you to make flint an even cleaner, safer, stronger city than it was before because that is what you and your families deserve. we are working to do whatever we must until this crisis is resolved. the people of flint have chosen a new mayor and i am personally committed to work hand in hand with major weaver to rebuild the

trust that has been broken. i have already taken steps to bring new leadership to the department of environmental quality. these are individuals who understand the severity of the problem and who will effectively communicate to the people of the state. for those whose mistakes contributed to this disaster we are fully cooperating with investigations and will hold those individuals accountable. let me be perfectly clear to all state government, in situations like this they must come to my desk immediately, no delays, no excuses period. [applause] >> thank you. >> we provide resources to help

everyone and anyone who is affected as we provided since we first learned of this crisis. in addition to e-mails, releasing a comprehensive timeline of the stuff we have taken and actions under way to solve this crisis, let me walk you through the facts. first this crisis began in the spring of 2013 when citicorp also voted 7-1 to buy water from the water authority, former flint mayor wally supported the move and the emergency command approved the plan, the department of detroit water and sewer provided notice of termination effective one year later and on april 25th, 2014, flint began to use water from the plant river as an interim source. second, soon after the switch from detroit water to flint water residents complained about the water, the color, the smell,

and concerns with bacteria. ultimately localized boil water advisories were issued in august and september of 2014 each lasting several days. third the department of environmental quality, a federal environmental protection agency began communicating about concerns in january of 2013, said the boats were ineffective in full be addressing and solving a the problem. they e q misinterpreted water safety regulations and the epa did not act with sufficient urgency to express concerns of the experts about the approach and the risk of lead contamination. in may of 2015, when residents, removed due to high service levels but still they both failed to systematically identify and solve a problem. fourth, in july of 2015 my

office proactively asked about the quality of flint's water, test results and blood testing. they told us flint was in compliance with the rules, told us there was one concern with one house that was corrected since there was nothing widespread to address. department of health and human services says told is the elevated levels were to be expected because they follow normalcy of no trends. these conclusions were shown to be incorrect. when the department of health and human services conducted the analysis of relevant data. fifth, hin in a professor marc edwards from virginia tech, sounded alarm about lead in flint's water but tragically they found what deq and the department of health and human services had seen on the ground initially failed to reach the same conclusions.

i want to thank the professor, the doctor and concerned people of flint for bringing this issue to light, actively investigating why these agencies got it so wrong. we have dr. t. show with us, if you could rise please. [applause] >> dr. hannah, always call you dr. nona. on september 28, 2015, i was first briefed on potential scope and magnitude of the crisis and a phone call with deq and the department of health and human services. on october first 2015, dhhs at a

genealogists validated the findings. at this point i immediately ordered them to develop and implement a ten point plan that includes immediate distribution of water filters, immediate water -- expanded water and blood testing for anyone who might be exposed. about 12 of isn't were distributed, 700 water tests, 2,000 blood tests were conducted within the first week in months. 7, on october 8th i announce the flint water system would be reconnected to the detroit water system to minimize further damage. later that month by an ounce the independent flint water task force to review actions that occurred so far to make recommendations to address the crisis. eight, the task force issued its initial actionable recommendations and identified critical problems in december

specifically pointing to a primary failure of leadership at the deq and a culture that led to this crisis. the task force was right, i immediately took action applying new leadership at the department. ninth i declared an emergency on january 5th so we could access additional resources and mobilize additional support including michigan state police and michigan national guard. these critical resources were needed to help families get clean water and end any risk or exposure for any president of wind. also requested a presidential declaration of federal emergency which was granted ainge to members of the congressional delegation who are here tonight this is the challenge we must work together to solve. i look forward to working with you to bring additional support from the federal government to the people of flint. tenth, to date, more than 37,300

cases of water, more than 53,700 water filters and morton 7,300 water testing kits have been distributed. more than 21,300 homes have been visited. this is not enough. i am increasing support from the michigan national guard starting tomorrow to ensure that every home we need to visit in flint gets visited as soon as possible. i am appealing the president's decision not to grant a major disaster declaration, continue to deliver water filters, we will not stop working for the people of flint until every single person has clean water every single day no matter what. [applause]

>> thank you. thank you. that is why today i made an official request of the legislature to fund a series of immediate actions to provide everyone clean water and care for flint's children. in addition to the $9 million supplemental appropriation for flint made in october of 2015 the request today is for $20 million, with $22 million from the general fund. includes additional bottled water filters, replacement filters for anyone who needs these resources. assistance to the city of flint to help with you to the related issue is, testing and replacing fixtures in schools, and other high risk locations. treatment of children with high lead levels, diagnostic testing nurse visits, nutritional counseling and environmental

assessments. services will be available for treatment, behavioral health issues such as a.g. hd for those who have or could have had elevated blood levels. and also work with local primary care providers in hospitals to educate the committee about toxic stress and how to identify developmental delays. support for children and adolescents health centers, additional support for children's healthcare access. infrastructure integrity study for pipes and connections using outside independent experts. and this will not be the last budget request for flint. additional resources will be needed for water related needs, health-related needs, educational needs, economic development needs and more. if you would like to age flint coach to helpforflint.com to volunteer. if you are a flint president who

needs help getting what you need go to helpforflint.com. these are the facts of what we have done and what we are doing. just as important in solving short-term needs and improving long-term solutions we need to make sure this never happens again in any michigan city. [applause] >> we begin by creating independent flint water task force, asking them to report on exactly what happened, what ability measures must be in place and what investments need to be implemented. this month i issued an executive order to ensure state and local leaders have everything they need to clean up this mess,

ensure that anyone with lingering health care concerns is quickly, compassionately and effectively treated. i know there will be consequences but i want you to know we will be there with long-term solutions for as long as it takes to make this right. there can be no excuse. when michigan native turn on the cap they expect clean, safe water. it is that simple. it is that straight forward. so that is what we will deliver. to the families in flint is my responsibility, my commitment to deliver. i give you my commitment that michigan will not let you down. [applause]

>> in addition to the issues in flint we have a statewide infrastructure challenge. flint is not alone. michigan is not unique. we have a national problem with infrastructure. michigan's infrastructure was ranked d by the american society for civil engineers. worse than national ranking which was d plus we need to get this right in michigan for the long term. we need to invest more in the infrastructure to avoid crises like this in the future. one illustration of success was roads. this past year we made the largest investment in transportation funding over the last half century that will allow us to fill potholes, rebuild roads and make bridges 8. i want to thank speaker and senate majority leader and all your members for that leadership in making this happen. thank you. [applause]

>> more than roads we have another problem. we see resting bridges, drive on the road and feel the pot holes and cracks concrete. underground, some are over 100 years old, some are made of wood, others of lead. many burst in the winter. out of sight out of mind until we have water problems, power goes out, sewer backs of from flood or freeways led because the pumps don't work. aging natural gas infrastructure, waste water overflows, energy reliability, emergency bridging, underneath the great lakes, we need to have a better solutions. we can come up with better solutions. one illustration is we made progress with respect to iron pipes for natural gas.

across michigan we have many miles of aging pipes for natural gas. this is not theoretical risks, there is real risk their. michigan public service commission in 2011 for identifying this problem and taking action. they made a commitment that required raising rates but we started to replace a number of poles cast iron pipes to make it safer for people, the environment, we were smart, we began the process when costs were low so we could afford to replace those pipes. we still have many more pipes to go. this is the kind of problem solving we need in the future. here is some action we can immediately take on infrastructure. first i want to issue an executive order. i will issue an executive order to the michigan department of transportation. that they will confer with local officials a utilities every time we do a new road project because it is the best opportunity quite often to replace the aging infrastructure underneath those

roads when the road is torn up. we can save money. we can do this. i ask the legislature to consider looking at the same issue when local government does road projects and how we can partner, roads are torn up, let's do more, while we have that opportunity. win led investigations are made in the state, we don't currently do this but we should be checking water sources in critical areas which in addition to checking for paint, dust and other environmental factors. we should be ensuring that all schools in michigan test for less, putting priority on areas where we know they have aging infrastructure or lead problems in the past and we should be increasing nutritional and lead education efforts in school as well. overall we need a smart strategic plan for all of this, it requires an honest assessment of the challenges, opportunities and costs. that is why i will be creating

the commission for building the 21st century infrastructure. we need experts seeking credibility and clout, visionary leaders committed to michigan's future. michigan needs to develop plan, making the right investment in water, sewer, transportation, broadband and other areas and also discuss how to pay for these investments. i asked for the report september of this year. in addition to infrastructure in flint, i want to talk about detroit and education. great challenges cannot be addressed without hard work, long hours and true partnership for committees in need of new health and a fresh start but solving them is not impossible. certainly not without precedent. let's look at detroit. one year after bankruptcy. as detroit continues to rebuild, every city in the great steve the hope and believe we can

deliver new opportunities for everyone. who would have dreamed possible the idea that just a year after bankruptcy our state's largest city has become a hub for innovation and excitement. there is dynamic economic growth in midtown and keeping and drying the young people to our state. it is important to note there is more work that needs to be done. progress is evident everywhere. there will be 59,000 lights turned down, 7600 structures demolished in 2014. violent crime is down 18% since 2012. we are showing what detroit can do. as part of that i ask recognition for mayor mike the dog who is witwho is with us.

please stand up. iron queue for your partnership in building a great city. recent work in detroit gives us a measure of pride. the two schools are in crisis. the default rate schools are in need of a transformational change. too many schools feel their central tasks of preparing young michigan for success and rewarding life, simply put, not all students get the education they deserve. this is a large problem. nearly 100 feet for public schools, 50 charter schools in and around the city, a 15 educational achievement schools, several adjacent charter and school districts, parents can't find the education they seek.

one of the issues is the quick public schools are deeply in debt. by summer over $550 million in debt. to achieve the needed academic outcomes financial stability in detroit public-school must be achieved. over $1,100 per student is going to debt service and not the classroom. let's solve this problem and help the kids. caking legislative action is needed to minimize the fiscal impact on both detroit and the rest of michigan. the time to act is now and avoid court intervention that could cost much more and be more detrimental. i want to thank senator hanson for the legislation and input of many legislators they provide over the last several months and i ask you to move with great speed. senator hanson, please rise. [applause]

[applause] with >> we should be proud we have a michigan legislature taking a lead in solving the fort public-school issues. the default education coalition also recommended detroit education commission to help students achieve better results in all the quick schools. this is a good idea but hasn't drawn much support. we should keep looking at key elements to help detroit's kids. the school reform office working with the 4 republics schools and local leaders will actively address these issues in lieu of the commission. all of us from state and local officials, education and civic leaders, parents of concerned citizens need to work together quickly. the challenges are well known, alternatives are defined, now is the time to get something done. grade schools are critically important both to the city of

detroit and the state of michigan. let's address this decades-long crisis now. [applause] >> every michigan child deserves an education that launches them into a successful career path in life. best careers and the modern economy require training with access to programs that give them the skills and experience necessary to prepare them for college, career and life. we made progress. we have made good reforms. we have added tougher academic standards without federal mandates, talked about teacher effectiveness. we are a national leader in funding preschool, we created early literacy programs in terms of reading, stem programs like first and square one. we have done some wonderful

things with early and middle college programs and we have made a commitment, i have made a commitment to make sure we are the nation's leader in career technical education. these are all great opportunities. said we can see the great potential of our children when we see these things. the illustration i would note far as to you tonight hopefully you got that program because i want to recognize the wonderful young student that designed the program cover end we have yelena in the gallery from new baltimore anchor bay middle school. [applause] >> you are the future of our state and appreciate your parents bringing you here tonight. i like that thumbs-up. all this, whether we are a

policy leader, educator or community leader for a parent or student we have to have accountability for achieving these outcomes. to be blunt, we have fought nineteenth century education system in the 21st century. it is time to ask ourselves why. we have two comprehensive studies in 2016 to help with this issue, one on school funding and another run career technical education. we have done wonderful task force with actual items, one i am proud of is what we did with freaked three readipre three re completed. another one-brian weston has done a great job. she went through a complicated process with multiple

stakeholders and developed an excellent set of goals to make michigan a top ten state. please stand up so we can recognize you. [applause] >> i want to show partnership with the state superintendent and state board of education by creating a commission for 21st century education. again, let's do a multi stakeholder effort to look at all the studies, all the recommendations and investigate the obstacles holding us back from greater success and deliver recommendations to michigan's educational future. the goals we want to achieve, the appropriate structure, the appropriate governments, and how we fund it and i ask the commission to deliver the results by the end of november.

now let me transition to talking about the economic future in the state. our economy might seem good today but we need to take action to make sure it is a good in the future. we should not take it for granted. in terms of accomplishments we should be proud from a job creation point of view. since december of 2010 we created 420,000 private-sector jobs, ranked no. 6 in the nation equating to 232 new jobs every single day in the state. [applause] >> we are number one in the nation in manufacturing job growth. our unemployment rate has been cut by more than half since december of 2010. we are third in the nation for

the largest reduction in unemployment in the time period. importantly it is not just about more people working personal income is increasing again in michigan. we sought a huge drop in the last decade. the lost decade. i am proud to say in 2014, 3.9%, morton doubling the prior year's growth rate of 1.4%. it is important to remember not everyone has participated in this come back and we need to take special efforts to make sure the people and places that have not participated salinas. we created programs that do this. we need to continue to random up. with respect to urban areas, in particular places like deflates, one program i am particularly proud of and we have a number of others, community adventures with a program we built with

state resources. it has been successful and employed 4,000 people by parker and with 110 companies, retention rate after one year was 70%, 69% and wages on average are 11.8 -- $11.80 an hour. if you think about it what a great start but what i will tell you is that is not a final point. that is a point to get people successfully working the habit and then we can apply traditional programs to give them upward mobility. more opportunity for long-term future. in flint alone this program accounted for 618,000 jobs already. we need to help other places, urban areas. too often we forget we have world communities, smaller

communities that also suffer great poverty and we cannot leave them behind either. i am proud to say we launched the program called rising tide and the program is based on the premise that go to each of our ten regions in the state in identifying a challenge community. we have gone to those challenge communities and said we want to present a team of resources not just about money but people that can help and we have a collaborative effort between economic development resources, community development resources and talent human-resources all teaming together to help those communities join the rest of us. as soon as we get those communities succeeding and we see progress we will pick new communities to take care place and keep on going down the list until we have covered every corner of michigan. that is what we should be doing. in terms of michigan's economic future, if you look at

industries in michigan we have automotive, agriculture and tourism. they are all doing well in the states. extraordinarily well in some ways. i want to talk about the automotive industry. we should be so proud. we set u.s. records for car sales in this country over the last 12 months and next year is expected to be even better. michigan has been the beneficiary of that. we are the heart and soul of the auto industry, we should carry a special pride with that. 70% of research and development for the u.s. auto industry happened right here in michigan in addition to building more cars than any other state. [applause] >> i want to share something with you. a tremendous opportunity and

privilege to support the industry and wonderful hard-working people online's building cars, supplier base doing hard work to make the world's best products but we have a threat. i can tell you if we did what we did in the past we could lose the auto industry out of our states in terms of leadership. why is that? the auto industry is transforming to something new. world is changing. the automobile industry of today in 10 or 20 years will be called the mobility industry. it will be about how people travel. not just about the vehicle they travel in. it is time to understand the need to be looking towards the future, not just add miring the past. this area in particular we need to make investments and we started that process. we made some good investments, the primary being the area of

intelligent vehicles. smart infrastructure and how it communicates with vehicles. wikipedia is the we created something exciting in partnership with the university of michigan called the michigan mobility transformation center. this is a real project you may not realize is taking place in southeastern michigan. they literally had a test bed of thousands of connected vehicles talking to infrastructure even today and when i say connected vehicles did not worry, you may confuse that with autonomous vehicles. they don't have a drivers in them so you can feel safe on the road. that this is part of our future and we need to do more. just as last year we did a partnership in something called him city. it is a 32 acre -- at the university of michigan protecting autonomous vehicles, closed loop system, many

different environments. it is swamped. the auto industry, they are looking for a place. and what i propose to you, and congressional delegation thank them for their efforts. and the american center for mobility. we have the opportunity to create a three acre campus that will be the world's best place. this place is critically important, the industry needs us but we need to bring in the federal government and say this is the place where standards for safe operation should take place, it can be the base for international standards, that is how we can help keep leadership of the auto industry in michigan

by making that future looking investment and doing the right thing to make sure really exciting cars at the beach with auto show, in ten years, just king, it will still have wheels but it is a computer on wheels. we need a place like this to make sure we maintain our leadership for the long-term future. [applause] >> thank you. alas dynamite talked about involved automotive going to mobility with an opportunity thatitem i talked about involved automotive going to mobility with an opportunity thatthe last item i talked abou

involved automotive going to mobility with an opportunity that to become a threat. something we always talk about, we don't talk about how important it is, more than 4,000 commercial ships a year use the locks annually, they are absolutely crucial to supplying the iron war that makes the steel for all the vehicles i just talked about and many of our clientappliances. if inert accommodates the carriers we see, the whole what is critical to our future. the issue islock is critical to our future. the issue is there is one of them. what if it went down? we could run out of steel. this is steal that does not come

from other places. is based on the war that comes through the su locks. it is interesting if you look at the history. a second thousand ft lock was authorized in 1986 by the federal government. congress approved the second of lock. they did not allocate money to build it. this is something we need to work with congress on getting done. the important part of this is we have partners in the federal government the we have been working on making sure we explain this issue to the public, so leaders in washington commit to get it done. i would like to recognize two great partners in the gallery with other military people. the captain of the united states coastguard, lieutenant-colonel michael sellers jr. of the united states army corps of engineers if you could please rise. [applause]

>> just as i mentioned the commission and infrastructure and education when those commissions get their work done we need to aggregate this talk of of the economy of the future so i am going to appoint a commission to build a 20 onest century economy. our economy is more productive than it has ever been in years. we are doing better but better isn't good enough. we need to be committed to continuing improvement delivering the healthy economy michigan deserves, one that provides opportunities for every michigan, every person that wants to work hard, get ahead and stay ahead. let's work on the work of the first two commissions but also the concept of innovation and long-term economic tools and

creating a culture of continuous innovation and i am proud to say we have a group that represents that here tonight. i made a trip to the upper peninsula and went and visited northern michigan university and they took me to a place that was an old bank branch, it was not your campus that much. i walked in and it was about students helping inventors. the inventors were walking in with ideas, students were talking to those investors about the ones that could be made into real products. it is happening today this is programs throughout michigan. think about this. engaging our students with our inventors, creating new economic opportunities. it is exciting. so i ask that you give recognition. also with us tonight in the same section of the galleries a group of students and some of their beaterdeleaders, please rise.

[applause] >> we need to create an environment that supports a gimmick development encourages differences to grow. opportunity needs to be part of our dna in the state and i will ask them for the report by the end of december. in summary tonight the challenges we face in flint and detroit and beyond are serious but solveable. the question is can we come together today in the spirit of cooperation to find the solutions people deserve or will we succumb to crisis and all-out politics and finger pointing to overcome the real needs of real

people? we have to solve this challenge because every single citizen depends on us and we need to give them a bigger brighter future. they deserve it. to raise a family, to work hard, to get ahead. i am personally committing the next three years of my administration to tirelessly where to ensure the families of flint can heal from this wound and every michigan enjoys the quality of life they deserve. to do this i ask in return that your prayers include the people of flint. i ask for the continuing strong partnership, counsel and commitment of legislators gathered here. and the commitment of all our citizens to work together as

michigan with positive action. and to hold me accountable for results. i thought the office of governor of michigan reinvent our stage. because we were broken in many ways. we have repaired and reinvented many critical items over the past five years including e shoes many didn't think could be solved but the crisis in flint makes it clear to me that more needs to be done. it is a humbling experience to see the people you worked for and care for, the people that worked for you. michigan don't quit. we don't give up. in stead, we work with even more passion and commitment to improve our state for everyone who has chosen , we work with e

more passion and commitment to improve our state for everyone who has chosenstead , we work we passion and commitment to improve our state for everyone who has chosen, we work with ev passion and commitment to improve our state for everyone who has chosen to make michigan their home is this is my commitment. thank you and god bless michigan. [cheers and applause] [cheers and applause] >> the escort officers will escort the governor, first lady and first family to the chamber.

[applause] .. new technology that expands our senses and craig