back home. thanks to advances in protective technologies and battlefield medicine, more of our men and women are surviving combat. however, once home, many are grappling with the wounds of battle, both seen and unseen. traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress, the other psychological ailments that can contribute to the risk of suicide. the end of the war in iraq, the beginning of the draw-down in afghanistan will hopefully ease some of the strain on our troops

but that will not solve this problem. indeed, more than half, more than half of those who have committed suicide in the military have no history of deployment. so we're dealing with broader societal issues. substance abuse, financial distress, relationship problems, the risk factors for suicide that also reflect the problems in the broader society. the risk factors that will endure beyond war. for that reason, we've got to develop an enduring suicide

prevention strategy. the department of defense is committed to being a part of a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention. we're committed to doing whatever it takes to protect and support our people. building off of the recommendations contained in the 2010 dod task force report last november, we have established a dod suicide prevention office. this office will put new resources and a new focus towards implementing the task force's report's recommendations and enhancing the effectiveness of our suicide prevention programs. but i see our efforts having to focus on four key tracks and let

me discuss each of those areas. first of all, this is always critical when it comes to an operation like the defense department and to our military forces. leadership responsibility. leadership responsibility. we are directing military leaders to take this issue head-on. like almost every issue in our military, progress on suicide prevention depends on leadership. i've made that clear that this issue is first and foremost a leadership responsibility.

all those in command and leadership positions, particularly junior officers, ncos, who have day-to-day responsibility for troops, need to be sensitive, need to be aware, need to be open to the signs of stress in the ranks and they need to be aggressive. aggressive, in encouraging those who serve under them to seek help if needed. they also must set an example by seeking help themselves if necessary. as part of their leadership responsibilities, junior officers and ncos must foster

the kind of cohesion and togetherness that is a fundamental part of our military culture and can do so much to improve mental health. my wife was a nurse, worked on mental health care issues, and she said to me time and time again, this is a human issue, a human problem. you've got to look in people's eyes. you've got to be sensitive to their emotions. you've got to be sensitive to the challenges that they're facing. you've got to be aware. you've got to have your eyes open. the more we can see those problems coming, the more we can do to try to help people in need. to that end, we have to make

clear that we will not tolerate, we will not tolerate actions that belittle, that haze, that ostracize any individual, particularly those who have made the decision to seek professional help. leaders throughout the department must make it understood that seeking help is a sign of strength. not a sign of weakness. it is a sign of strength and courage. [ applause ] we've got to do all we can to remove the stigma that still too often surrounds mental health care issues.

outreach efforts such as the real warriors campaign which work to increase awareness and the use of resources such as the military and veterans crisis lines, are also a very important part of these efforts. secondly, we have got to do everything we can to improve the quality and access to health care. this is the second pillar of the suicide prevention strategy, improving the quality of behavioral health care, expanding access to that care. we now have more than 9,000 psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, mental health nurses, counselors, working in

military hospitals and in military clinics. that number has increased more than 35% over the last three years. behavioral health experts are now being imbedded into line units and the department has worked to place mental health providers in primary care clinics in order to facilitate access. guardsmen and reservists often do not have ready access to the same support network as the active duty force. we've got to do what we can to increase initiatives like the yellow ribbon reintegration program that's working to address this kind of problem. and going forward, i want to make sure that all service members and their family members

have the quality mental and behavioral health care that they need, the kind of care that must be delivered by the best health care professionals in the world. thanks to the efforts of so many of you in this audience, we are improving our ability to identify and treat mental health care conditions and we are working to better equip our system to deal with the unique challenges that these conditions can present. for example, i've been very concerned about reports of problems with the screening process for post-traumatic stress in the military disability evaluation system. for that reason, i have directed

a review of this process across all of the uniformed services. this review will help ensure that we are delivering on our commitment to provide the best care for our service members. we have got to do everything we can to make sure that the system itself is working to help soldiers, not to hide this issue, not to make the wrong judgments about this issue, but to face facts and deal with the problems up front and make sure that we provide the right diagnosis and that we follow up on that kind of diagnosis. thirdly, we have to elevate the whole issue of mental fitness. a third pillar of suicide prevention is better equipping

service members with training and coping skills that they need to avoid or bounce back from stress. to that end, all of the services, all of the services under the leadership of general dempsey and his senior enlisted advisor, sergeant major brian battaglia, are working to elevate mental fitness to the same level of importance. we've got to elevate mental fitness to the same level of importance that dod has always placed on physical fitness. separately, a whole of government effort that has been

led by the president and mrs. obama to combat veterans' unemployment and boost hiring of military spouses is aimed at helping to reduce the financial stress faced by military families and veterans. finally, fourthly, we've got to increase research in suicide prevention. in partnership across government and with the private sector, the fourth pillar of our approach is to improve our understanding of suicide, to improve our understanding of related mental health care issues through better and more improved scientific research. i'd like to note the leadership, health and human services

secretary kathleen sebelius, on this issue, and thank her for coming to address this conference earlier. all of us recognize that there is still far too much that we don't know about the causes of suicide, the effectiveness of particular suicide prevention programs, and the linkage between psychological health and traumatic brain injury. trying to find out more about these very difficult, complex issues is not easy, but we've got to do everything we can to continue the research effort into learning more about this difficult issue. many of you are working tirelessly to address these gaps. as part of this effort, the department of defense and

department of veterans affairs are working together to build a data repository that will help us better analyze suicides and suicide attempts, and do what we can to spot trends and to get ahead of that. likewise, we are improving program evaluation so that we can better focus our resources on those programs that are proven to be effective. the department is also working to fundamentally transform the nation's ability to understand and treat traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress. the signature unseen wounds, the last decade of war. earlier this month, the department and the intrepid

fallen heroes fund announced a plan to construct state of the art treatment centers for brain injuries, psychological disorders, at nine of our largest installations in the country. i am delighted that we were able to break ground on the first two of these centers at fort bellevar and camp lejeune. these centers, these centers made possible by the generosity of private citizens, god bless them for their generosity and what they do. because of their generosity, this will help complement the national intrepid center of excellence in bethesda and provide cutting edge

evaluations, treatment planning, research and education for service members and for their families. my long-term goal for the department of defense is to be a game-changing innovator in this field. just as we helped foster the jet age, the space race and the internet, i want us to break new ground in understanding the human mind and human emotion. in doing so, we will be drawing on a rich history of military needs, spurring innovation in this field. during world war ii, millions of

service men saw first-hand the need for better psychological services and psychological treatment. in its aftermath through the gi bill and the new veterans administration's clinical psychological training program, the entire field of modern psychology has transformed. it really has. for the first time, for the first time, psychology was a field that was richly funded in training and in practice, and the result has been better treatment and better care for millions of americans. i believe we could help bring about another transformation,

made possible by the hard work men and women like all of you. i know that you will not rest and will not be satisfied until we have given our service members and their family members and our veterans the support they need. there are, as i've said, no easy answers to the problem and the challenge of suicide. but that is no damn reason for not finding the answers to the problem of suicide. [ applause ] we have to keep trying to do everything we can to prevent it

and all of us and frankly, for that matter, all americans, have to always support and care for those who have stepped forward to defend our country in uniform. we are a family. we are a family. and by god, we have to take care of our family members. that's just not italian. that's american. we owe it to those who protect us to do all we can to protect them. may god bless you and may god bless all of those who protect this great nation. thank you very much. [ applause ]

we have more live programming coming your way across the c-span networks. coming up in a few minutes, a discussion on the financial situation in europe and greece. the atlantic council hosts that event live at 11:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. a little later, president obama speaks to the national association of elected latino officials. that's the same group challenger mitt romney addressed yesterday. you can watch that live at 1:15 eastern also on c-span.

later today, we'll have a look at women in government, business, and media. this comes from the claire booth lewis foundation. and later tonight, a debate between republican candidates running for the u.s. senate in texas. they are vying for the domination. you can watch that live at 9:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. this is c-span 3, with politics and public affairs programming throughout the week and every weekend 48 hours of people and events telling the american story on american history tv. get our schedules and see past programs on our websites. you can join in on the conversation on social media sites. the social security trustees thursday said congress needs to pass legislation shoring up the program's finances some time in the next five years. the latest social security

trustees report says current revenues are enough to fully fund the program through 2033 with a 25% cut in benefits after that if revenues are not increased. under current conditions, the disability benefits portion of social security would start running a deficit in 2016. the trustees testified before the house, ways, and means committee. this is an hour and 20 minutes. >> thank you for being here. according to this year's report from the board of trustees, social security will be unable to keep its promises to the hard working americans who pay into the system. we'll hear today that not only is social security's financing looking worse, but it will also be increasingly difficult to protect benefits for those who rely on them most if we delay action much longer. this contains projections about the finances,ed that congress

needs to act to ensure long-term solvency of this important program. according to the trustees, the survivor program will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2035, three years earlier than projected than last year's report. that means workers who are 44 years old today will reach their full retirement age in 2035, at which point everyone else will face benefit cuts of 25% unless congress acts. and in less than four years, the disability insurance program will be unable to pay full benefits. the average monthly benefit for disabled worker today is only $1,111. in 2016 revenues will cover 79% of benefits, so that's a potential cut of about $233. now that's real money for those who are getting by on fixed

income. social security's last major reform was in 1983. then social security faced an eminent disaster. in their 82 annual report, the social security trustees said without corrective legislation in the very near future the old trust fund will be unable to make benefit payments on time beginning no later than july '83. members of congress and the president were able to develop and ultimately pass on a bipartisan basis the social security amendments of 1983. come on in. we just started. despite the near failure of the green span commission and despite the opposition of senior advocacy groups ip colluding aarp, as this year's report makes clear, social security is in trouble. but just as in 1983 i believe our nation has the will to,

again, save social security. we should not follow the path europe has taken by waiting for a financial disaster to force changes that ultimately could end up hurting the most vulnerable. today we will hear from social security's public trustees, but we in congress are trustees too and the public knows the longer we wait, the more difficult the choices will become and the less time americans will have to prepare. with all the financial angty that americans face, we should not increase the burden on them by failing to fulfill our duty in protecting our nation's most important safety net program. we need to act now before it's too late. do you have an opening statement? you do. you arrived. what did they say up from the grave he arose?

okay. thank you again for listening. and i had a statement here i understand you're on your way. but i'll recognize mr. bah sar now for any opening statement you have. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i also want to thank mr. stark for being here in the event i was not able to make it. but i got my daughter to her program on time and i'm able to beg begin. our trustees who are here, i would like to say what i've been saying for quite some time. social security even through the worst recession since the great depression is a program that people have grown to rely upon and can trust. between 2007 and 2010, a typical middle class family lost thousands of dollars in their net worth.

between 2007 and 2010, social security added $439 billion to its trust fund surplus while paying americans on time and in full. so here we saw americans with their private savings and retirement pensions watching it go down at the same time during this great recession we saw social security continue to increase the moneys it had to pay out benefits to its recipients. over 77 years now through 13 recessions, social security has added not one penny to our deficit or to our debt. in 2011 social security provided earned benefits to 55 million seniors, disabled workers, and children. while saving all the reserves in its trust fund to pay future benefits. 6 out of 10 seniors who get social security rely on social security for a majority of their

income. there are millions of children lifted out of poverty because they receive social security. social security faces a manageable challenge. it never will be broke. this april social security trustees warned that without action social security will be insolvent by 2030. let's be clear about what that means. in 2030 worker kpri bugss are projected to cover 76% of social security's costs. the remaining balance of social security's trust fund will pay another 5% of costs. the shortfall is stable. after 2033, the income will be enough to pay three-fourths of earned benefits until at least 2087 and likely longer after that. social security's long-term shortfall is a problem. one we e need to address. even when the reserves were building up, social security will not be out of money. it will have a shortfall of

about .9% of gdp, slightly more than the cost of extending bush tax cuts for those who earn a quarter million dollars a year. one manufactured by a series of budget cuts forced by house republicans. if they continue, the cuts could delay benefits and damage social security's well-earned public image. they cut the social security administration's budget by $600 million despite rising number of americans applying for social security. in 2012 ssa's budget was frozen below the 2010 level. i strongly oppose these budget cuts which are kind of like the cable company starting to bill you for a service while you're at home waiting for them to show up and connect it. social security's trust funds the entire cost of paying social security benefits. in 2011 workers contributed over