their business will make thousands of dollars. there may be other larger retailers or smaller ones who engage in multiple transactions who can benefit by hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions and some of our investigative results will show restitution sentences that indicate -- that can range from hundreds of thousands to millions. >> okay. just so we kind of know if there are citizen watchdogs and people out there looking for this type of problem, can you give us an example of the most elaborate scam involving store owners that your office has investigated? >> oh, well, i think we certainly have a number of cases going on. most recently we've seen situations where there have been runners employed who will take cards from recipients and take them to many different retailers and use swipe those cards to get benefits and there will be maybe a group of retailers who work together to do this. so there's some very complicated

schemes there. >> okay. miss faulkner, you probably also have seen this type of thing and could you share maybe what one of the most egregious fraud cases that you're aware of and when that happens, do you frequently see children deprived when their guardians engage in fraud. >> i think anytime there's fraud, children are involved especially when it relates to the snap program. what i would like to share with you is one of the more sophisticated trends. in a program such as snap, i recipient will go to a restaurant or a bar and this is not place where they would accept ebt cards but they would go there and the restaurant or bar would go to a grocery store and buy say $200 worth of groceries and then they would for the bar or restaurant and then they would give the recipient half, 75%, you know, something off of the ebt card. and really, it cuts out, you never really see the bar or

restaurant transaction, what you see is the recipient using to buy $200 worth of groceries at this particular grocery store. that's a little hard to track. and being cricketer on the retailers will help this problem because you cut out that restaurant that is being used to get the money. so we see that in pennsylvania sometimes. >> i see my time has expired. but thank you all for what you do to make sure that those people in need get the food that they need. i yield back. >> some of the testimony earlier in the day before the house oversight and government reform committee, representative scott day jar lay republican of tennessee as he questioned representatives from the agriculture department and the pennsylvania inspector general following a series of reports including stories from scripps howard news services. what is the snap program, that is an acronym for the supplemental nutrition assistance program and the food stamp program is designed to help those who have low wages or

working part time, families or individuals. if you're unemployed or receiving welfare or any other public assistance, elderly or disabled or homeless. again, according to the testimony today, there is waste and fraud in the program. congress look aginto it. you're lis fling to washington today on c-span radio. members of the senate tea party caucus today announcing a plan to balance the budget within the next five years. doing so by cutting spending nearly $11 trillion compared to what the president has put forth. the plan is being called a platform to revitalize america. it is essentially a wish list of conservative policies, none of which according to the hill newspaper have any chance of passing the democratic controlled senate or being signed into law by president obama. it is though an ambitious blueprint that would achieve by 2017 a $111 billion surplus. here is senator rand paul, republican of kentucky. >> we're here today to announce a budget plan that would balance

the budget in five years. this is the only plan that's out there that's consistent with the republican efforts at a balanced budget amendment. our balanced budget amendment requires that congress balance it in five years so we think it's important to put out some of the details of how we would balance the budget. our plan has several aspects to it. it tackles the addition of new deficit but actually would he start paying back the debt in the fifth year. we have tax reform. we have a flat tax of 17% individual and corporate taxes would all be 17%. we have entitlement reform. we have something that i think is unique and we'll put out more details next week on entitlement reform. but we have a social security reform that will gradually allows the age to raise and means tests the benefit we're going to do the same for medicare. we're also going to give people the congressional health care plan with medicare. we eliminate several departments

by eliminating departments, we don't have to make as significant of cuts in other areas. so entitlement reform can be more gradual because we eliminate some departments that we think should be done by the states and the localities. also in eliminating departments and sending some of this back to the states and the localities, we're able to allow defense spending to rise at a rate faster than rises under the current sequester. there have been some saying they want to avoid the budget control act and the sequester of military spending. i have said that's a bad idea unless we find savings elsewhere. in our budget we find savings elsewhere, balance in five years and still allow military spending to rise above the sequester. which i think is the way to go about this. >> the comments earlier today of senator rand paul as he joined senate tea party members. the tea party caucus to put forth its own budget proposal that would cut government spending significantly and ultimately produce a budget

surplus within the next five years by 2017. this is "washington today" on c-span radio. >> and some other news today on wall street, the dow was up 70. the final close 12,907. nasdaq was up 34. and s&p was up 13. a new report showing the u.s. should customize emergency plans for each of the nation's 65 nuclear power plants that could expand the standard ten-mile evacuation zone in place for more than 30 years. this is one of the lessons coming out of a 40-page report released today by the american nuclear society. this is three days before the anniversary of japan's nuclear disaster. the panel from the society includes a former chair of the nuclear regulatory commission, a fellow at the department laboratory and seven other nuclear scientists. democratic lawmakers introducing a bill today to ensure access to american courts for terror

suspects captured in the u.s. congressman adam smith of washington state and senator mark udall of colorado, their bill would repeal a part of last year's defense authorization bill that required indefinite detention and military commissions for people captured on domestic soil. the two saying that the current law gives too much power to the executive branch. this issue did divide congress last year and angered some civil liberties groups. lawmakers battled how to handle the suspects without violating americans' constitutional rights. congressman smith said the purpose of his bill is to reassert the primacy of the u.s. system. >> after reporting it found 102 more misplaced head stone or markers and 21 gaves missing markers at cemeteries, the veterans affairs department telling lawmakers today it's trying to prevent future errors by requiring contractors to keep

head stone at sites by conducting daily inspections. the department has been auditing its cemeteries around the country. so far it found nearly 250 problems at 13 cemeteries. and from the associated press, newly released administration e-mails show the white house contrary to public statements was directly involved in the agriculture department's decision to seek the resignation in 2010 of federal employee shirley sherrod. e-mails obtained by the associated press don't contradict agriculture secretary tom vilsack's assertion he alone made the decision over a speech initially determined to have been racist but then because of editing was found to have promoted racial reconciliation. shirley sherrod is black and officials at the usda did ask her to resign after the video emerged. well, again, the associated press saying these new e il maile mails show the white house

was involved. they deny this. questions to press secretary jay carney today. >> the time of the shirley sherrod case at the agriculture department, we were consistently told there was no white house involvement. now the ap through a foya request come up with e-mails that contradicts that. do you know where the disconnect was. >> the reporting by the associated press is inaccurate. he the e-mails confirm what we said at the time which is the white house had no involvement in the decision made regarding miss sherrod's employment, her firing. but were made aware of the decision that had been made by the department of agriculture. there is nothing in those e-mails. >> they were not in touch with the counsel at the agriculture department at the time. >> the issue is was the white house involved in the decision that was made and the white house was not. i was not in this position then but we made clear at the time that there was discussion about the decision after it had been made but not, no involvement in the decision itself which i

think even the organization that made the foia request noted in its preample if you will. thanks very much. >> nas the white house press secretary jay carney taking questions from cbs's peter mayer. you can find the full white house briefing and all the events at the c-span network covers on our website, c-span.org. back in a minute with more "washington today." >> on march 26th, 27th and 28th the u.s. supreme court will hear oral arguments and challenges to the health care law. you'll hear an argument cited in several of the pending health care cases saturday on c-span radio's historic supreme court oral argument. from 1997, county sheriffs jay prince and richard mack, petitioners versus the united states, respondent. >> in the federal state context, this court has upheld laws passed under the spending power, the commerce power including the power to preempt state legislation and the article 6 duty of state judges to hear federal causes of action.

the interim provisions the of the brady acts is not an exercise of any of those powers. the court of appeals for the 9th circuit held that in essence, congress may commandeer the sheriff's departments of our country as long as the laws concerned do not interfere undially with their duties. >> mr. hole brookses answers in oral argument are i believe fully consistent with the position that they have taken in their brief. and i think for understandable reasons. they believe that there's a failure of power on the part of the federal government to enact the law of this kind just as if it were the government of brazil or the king of belgium. >> can is the state require the federal government to do something snug. >> no. >> why doesn't it work in reverse. >> because there's a supremacy cause. >> prince and mack v u.s., saturday 6:00 p.m. eastern on c-span radio. >> welcome back. this is "washington today" on c-span radio. i'm steve scully.

secretary of state hillary clinton joined today by michelle obama honoring then women from around the world honored for their courage and leadership in advocating for women's rights and empowerment, often at great personal risk. the secretary of state as we said joined by the first lady, michelle obama saying they saw corruption and worked to expose it. this is international women's day in the sixth annual award by the secretary of state for women of courage. the first lady recounted stories of honorees from miramar, pakistan, columbia and brazil who were imprisoned, silenced tortured and kidnapped for speaking out for women's rights, social justice, peace for democracy. among those on hand, zin mar ong, a pro democracy activist inch prison for writing a letter demanding that the elected civilian government be permitted to take over power in her country. now, after her release, she started advocating for women and little prisoners. here are her remarks today at the state department.

>> though we are from different part of the world, we meet and we come here with the same shared goal, that is to stand for justice, peace and freedom. i dare to speak that this award is not only for us but also for all of the women who want to change of the projects of their society. for burma, it the now very critical time for democratic reform and it is also the time to ask the questions. what is the rule of woman in many democratic reform? and how much we can do. fortunately, we already have an inspacingal leader through ong sang suu kui. in traditional society, the rule of the women is that women just become wives which means weise are objects of men. and surely the ability to choose

is the only significant differences between human and other creators. we women are human and so we must choose what we want to become or what we want to have in our lives. those women of courage are now here and it is great pleasure for me to be a friend of them. and we are here tore appreciate to initiate the sisterhood of the future leaders. finally, i would like to appreciate the hospitality of the united states and i would like to appreciate the united states embassy in burma because of their great effort to get my passport so that i am here right now. [ applause ] let me start by saying that when we dream a single dream

together, dreams come true. let us dream together for our future for the better world. thank you. [ applause ] >> zin mar ang is a political activist from mir ran mar, one of ten women honored today at the state department joined by the secretary of state, hillary clinton and the first lady, michelle obama. it's an event that we covered. it's available on our website at c-span.org. well, you may or may not have heard of joseph cony and the lord's resistance but they the army has been terrorizing civilians in central africa for 25 years. now their crimes have received prominence due in part to one of the most successful social media campaigns in american history and world history for that matter. national public radio reporting on this at this hour. on monday, a non-profit group called invisible children uploaded a video onto the internet already been viewed by 40 million viewers on youtube. many are young people and the topic is dominating a discussion

on social media sites such as twitter. there is no question the video has directed wider attention to a far away matter like cony and the lord's resistance army. it's an issue that came up today at the briefing at the state department with spokesperson victoria new land. >> have you seen this video that's going around the web, the cony 2012 video and does the state department have a reaction to that or a comment on it? >>. >> weep have. it's had some 25 million tweets, in fact, marking had it brought to his attention by his 13-year-old i thitd earlier this morning. well, certainly we will appreciate the efforts of the group invisible children to shine a light on the horrible atrocities of the lra as you know, there are neighboring states, there are ngo groups how have been working on this problem for decades.

and we of course, are very much involved in trying to support all the states of east and central africa. we have a multifacetted strategy to work on this, including as you know, we now have special forces adviseors working to train some of the neighboring states in their efforts to get a handle on this awful awful problem. >> if i could just follow up, the film makes a point that they are doing this now because the u.s., they say, the u.s. cos pull out these advisors that you say at any moment. so they're trying to keep up the momentum. is that a concern of a right concern on their part that these advisers could be moved out of uganda? >> i don't have any information to indicate that we are considering that. but that would be a question for the pentagon, as you know, they've only been in for a couple of months and we consider

them a very important augmentation of our effort to help the east and central african countries with this problem. as you know, hundreds of people, hundreds of and thousands of people around the world especially young people have been mobilized to express concern for the communities in central africa that have been placed under siege by the lra. so the degree to which this youtube video helps to increase awareness and increase support for the work that governments are doing including our own government, that can only help all of us. >> just one more if i may. would an update on what these advisers are doing currently be more of a question for the pentagon or do you have -- >> we've spoken about this in general terms if you need a detailed briefing, i would send you to them. but we are not part of the fight ourselves. we're involved in training and

supporting and providing advice to the forces of the governments of east and central africa that are engaged in the fight. >> an update on the situation in central africa and specifically this viral video that's getting a lot of attention and the comments of victoria nuland the state department's spokesperson earlier today here in washington. speaking of africa today, the president hosting the president of ghana, the twos sharing one thing in common, both up for re-election this year. the president in the oval office calling ghana a model on africa on issues ranging from democracy to foreign investment as well as food security and business cooperation. the president saying that there is a tendency to focus on the challenges in africa, but he also said it's important to talk about some of the good things happening in one of the largest economies in that country. the president of gone gnaw is john evans, add mam mills who was at the white house earlier today. here's more from the oval office. >> there's sometimes a tendency to focus on the challenges that

exists in africaen an rightfully so but i think it's important for us to also focus on the good news that's coming out of africa, and i think ghana continues to be a good news story. this is a country that has established a strong tradition of democracy and president mills and i were comparing notes. we're both up for re-election, but what we agree to is the fact that regardless of who wins and who loses, our countries commitment to making sure the people have a voice and determine who it is that represents them in their government is what gives both our countries such strength. and ghana has proven to be a model for africa in terms of its democratic practices. i very much appreciate the efforts that president mills has taken not only to ensure fair

and free elections, but also to root out corruption and increase transparency and make sure that government is working for the people of ghana and not just for the few. so, we're very appreciative of those efforts. in addition, ghana has become a wonderful success story economically on the continent. in part, because of the initiatives of president mills. you have seen high growth rates over the last several years. food productivity has been up. that trade benefits folks back home in the united states as well. in fact, the president's government recently is collaborating with a number of american businesses to build infrastructure inside of ghana, which will create thousands of jobs here in the united states. the trade that we engage in

creates jobs for tens of thousands of people back in ghana. that's a good news story. what we also have been able to do is collaborate with the ghanan government through the challenge and corporation. they are a grant recipient. it has helped to improve a wide range of infrastructure and institutions inside of ghana. the feed the future program. we have been able to help increase productivity there. and the partnership for growth is also another mechanism we are collaborating with businesses inside of ghana. ghana has been a leader on the international stage working in the region to help stabilize and reduce conflict there.

they have been a strong partner with us on the united nations on the international issues and as important, president mills has consistently spoken out on behalf of human rights and making sure that everyone is treated fairly and not discriminated against inside his country. >> president obama with the president of ghana in the oval office today. you are listening to "washington today" on c-span radio. you are listening to traditional japanese music from the cherry blossom festival here in washington d.c. from the tidal basin. this year celebrating 100 years. that music means cherry blossom. joining us here in washington is the japanese ambassador to the united states is ichir

ichiro fujisaki. >> thank you for having me. >> this was a gift from the japanese government to the u.s. explain. >> correct. it was 1909. 27th president was inaugurated. william taft and his wife wanted a beautiful tidal basin because she wanted concerts there. her friend advised her to bring japanese cherry trees. they have been trying to bring japanese trees for two decades in vain. she thought this was a great chance. taft, the first lady, knew the japanese cherry trees. she visited japan before and she was agreeing to this and right away she made the decision.

then gave the order to collect japanese cherry trees in the united states. there were not too many. she happened to meet a member residing in new york. a well known chemist of japan who made mention out of it and c council general. they met all together. he thought why don't we give them 2,000 trees from japan. counsel general said it should be a gift from the mayor of

japanese to washington. he conveyed that to mrs. taft. the first lady said she would accept it. then the ambassador considered this, the secretary of state, tokyo conferred with the city council and decided to donate 2,000 trees. when they arrived here, they had insects. they had to burn. then the japanese decided to give a second try. the second try arrived in 1912. then the first lady taft with the ambassador's wife planted the first trees.

this is the history of how it happened. >> it was, of course, march of 1912 when that occurred. this year marking the 100th anniversary of the cherry blossoms. you researched this. there is an editorial online of the washington post web site. the story of the cherry blossoms. you indicated the memorial was not built. a very different tidal basin 100 years ago. >> exactly. from the white house second floor, from the balcony, you will see the tidal basin in front of the white house. it was so barren. no trees. as soon as the first lady came into the house in march of 1909, she wanted to beautify it. >> ambassador fujisaki, how will the japanese celebrate the anniversary and how will the

u.s. honor the gift from japan? >> we ask for u.s. -- i'm not in a place to say it, but i think we will like to make it a big event. two or three things. one, we would like to have many artists from japan. for example, national gallery will have the special exhibition from japan which is not shown in japan as well. the first time going out of japan, the painter will have about 30 paintings of the animal and plants. it's very beautiful work. it will be shown in the national gallery. many other artists and musicians will be here. that is point one. the second thing is we'll try to

have some landscape changes in tidal basin. we will just start it from now. and also, some people are looking at planting the cherry blossom trees around the nation. not only in washington, but some other places to make it more nationwide thing. lastly, there will be programs for cultural and educational programs. for example, teaching japanese language and enhance those existing programs because we think it is a greater opportunity to look back at the history, but also look into the future. >> one final question, mr. ambassador, why are cherry blossoms so representative of japan and why do they grow so well in your country? >> i think and this is my