and a lot of concerns at this time, why weren't you able to wait three or four months or a month when this died down? >> well, we have had very good discussions with our japanese allies on this issue. and we have assured them with regards to the safety of the ospreys. but the important thing we felt was to be able to deploy these planes there and that we will continue to brief them with regards to the operations of these planes. we actually think we have reached a very good compromise here. they had expressed a concern that you indicate. i think we have been able to relieve their concerns with what we have presented to them but we're going to continue to work with them. the good thing is that our ability to deploy these forces will certainly help us with regards to our whole rebalancing to the asia pacific region.

>> a quick question of iraq. the levels of violence in iraq in june have risen quite sharply. neither of i don't believe have been back to iraq since the withdrawal last year. and there was discussion of foll follow-on mission. what happened to that? is there a progress of a follow-on mission? will you plan to visit iraq any time this year? >> there's discussions with the iraqis with regards to the threat coming from aqi. we have seen increase violence as you have pointed out. we share the concern of the iraqis with regards to that increased violence. and i think we're going to continue to work with them to do what we can to improve their ability to be able to deal with those kinds of threats. this is something we obviously worked in great cooperation on prior to our departure.

we've continued to work with their security forces but we think it's really important now that we try to bring that cooperation even closer together to make sure that these kinds of threats are dealt with directly. >> yeah. and in terms of our engagement with them, the cent-com commander had high level consultive talks in the first part of the calendar year. i think it was late february, march. the acting minister of defense was here to meet with the secretary last month, i think. and what we're doing is charting a way ahead actually on, you know, the potential for exercises, the things we talked about at the closing ceremony, if you will. and i am going back to iraq. i'm scheduled to visit iraq in august. i was chosen august because it's the most miserable month of the year over there so i'll go back on a trip. >> you've mentioned as an

accomplishment in the last year implementing advanced measures to stop sexual assaults in the military. yet this week, we heard from the air force. they had 31 cases of alleged sexual assault, even rape, against young recruits when they're probably at their most vulnerable when they enter the service. first of all, what was your personal reaction to that? and second, is it time that there be changes in the way that the military pursues and prosecutes sexual assault in the military as some in congress have suggested? >> well, i was very concerned by the reports that came out of the situation involving the air force. and these allegations of sexual assault. you know, this is a situation in which these young recruits are very vulnerable at that point

and i think it is -- it's absolutely essential that the leadership make sure that those who are responsible for these recruits don't take advantage of that situation. for that reason, i've asked that this matter be fully investigated. it is being investigated now. it is the air force. following through on the allegations that are involved. we -- i take sexual assault allegations very seriously. we have no place in the military for sexual assault. we have reached out to bring women in to the military. i'm very proud of what we have been able to do. i'm proud of what women have been able to do in the military. but we have to maintain strict discipline here to ensure that sexual assault does not happen. for that reason, we put in place a number of steps to try to make sure that we deal with these

allegations, not at that level but at a higher level so it doesn't involve influence within a unit. we have taken steps to develop special victims units to try to directly deal with this. we have asked for legislation to try to also help us in this effort. the command structure from the chairman on down have made very clear to the leadership in this department that this is intolerable and it has to be dealt with. that we have absolutely no tolerance for any form of sexual assault. and this matter i can assure you is going to be fully investigated. >> mr. secretary, what do you tell the parents of these young women, the families, who have turned over their children to the military and expect them to be protected or at least respected?

>> you know what? what i tell the parents is that as a parent and as secretary of defense i am very proud of those men and women who volunteer for service in the military. and i want to make sure that we take every step possible to ensure that good discipline and that laws are abided by and that we do not have any tolerance for any kind of criminal action. they have my assurance. they have the assurance of the military leadership that we are going to do everything possible to make sure that they have the opportunity they deserve to serve without that kind of threat. >> i was struck when you read your list of accomplishments what you said about afghanistan. i wanted to ask you, it seems like nobody really talks about

winning in afghanistan. officials talk about responsible withdrawal, about meeting the national goal of withdrawing from afghanistan. for you, as secretary of defense and mr. chairman, is that enough? what are your thoughts about what it does to troop morale that you have seen or how the troops view having to go in to the war zone now still facing attacks and for them it's not about winning? it's about achieving the goal of withdrawal. >> yeah. let me start because, you know, i recently been to afghanistan and i wouldn't characterize it that way. i think what you are seeing is a recognition as we have learned the lessons of ten years and of this kind of conflict is that winning is defined as in -- in their terms. in other words, it is the afghan that is have to win this fight. you have heard many of us say famously, you know, you can't kill your way out of this kind

of conflict. so this is about us empowering and enabling our afghan security providers, providing the space necessary for governance and economics to catch up and that is the definition of winning. it is just that kind of conflict. >> yeah. i mean, the mission in afghanistan is to establish an afghanistan than govern and secure itself. that's what this mission is about. and the success of our effort there will be determined by an afghanistan that can truly secure and govern itself and that's the path we're on. that's the transition we're making. we have already got over 50% of the population transitioned to afghan control and security. we're in the process of going to 75% of their population in the third tranche that's been announced by president karzai.

general allen, i think, makes very clear that we are on the right path towards achieving the goal. that this mission is all about. and most importantly, let me just say this. i had a chance -- i was at brook hospital this week. and i saw a lot of wounded warriors. and i asked them, i asked them, i said, you know, where were you wounded? what happened? how do you feel about the situation there? because they're the ones that probably can speak with a hell of a lot more authority about what's -- how things are going there than almost anybody else. and everyone i talked to said, we're doing better. i feel like security is much better. you know? even though i got wounded.

i think our unit was doing a good job. and i see things getting better. and i said to them, i think your sacrifice is worthwhile because everything i see when i go there, everything the chairman sees when he goes there, every time we sit down with general allen and get the report, i think it's clear that we are, you know, we are in the right direction here. this is tough. we have seen a spike in violence. we have seen an enemy that continues to be resilient. this is still a heavy fight but we are on the right track. and that, i think, is what keeps me confident that we're going to be able to achieve the mission that afghanistan is all about. >> can i just follow up and ask you about brook? >> sure. >> what did -- when you sit down and talk to the grave wounded, the seriously wounded now, what are they asking you? what do they want to know from

you and what are you learning from them? >> well, i mean, first and foremost, when you walk in these rooms and see these wounded warriors, you cannot help but be inspired by the spirit that they have to fight on. you know? they have got incredible wounds as a result of the ieds. and yet, they have a smile on their face. and they're going to fight on. and i had a chance to not only go to brook but to go across the street to the intrepid center where they are providing rehab to our wounded warriors.

and they're together. they're all going through rehab together. there's tremendous spirit. tremendous things are being done. i mean, miracles are being produced every day with regards to these kids. and so, what i get from them is a tremendous amount of inspiration. with regards to the incredible spirit they have to fight on. what they say is that, you know, they're -- the other thing is that most of them want to go back. most of them want to go back. that they were there, they thought they were doing well. they thought they were -- that the mission was being performed. they felt very good about their unit. very good about, you know, the quality of colleagues that they're fighting with. and they feel good about the mission that they were involved with. so, you know, i'm getting very good reports that they feel good

about what they were being able to achieve. i think, you know, the one thing that they want to see is that we don't walk away from this. but that we continue the effort to make sure that this mission is accomplished. i think that's the message i get. >> could i add? you asked whenever we visit these wounded warriors, what do you learn? you learn about the real meaning of courage. i mean, the real meaning of courage and if i'm struck by anything it's the degree to which they trust us, the senior leadership of the armed forces, to take care of them. and that's -- that is both -- that's a great blessing that we have that kind of trust within the ranks. and it's the trust we have to live up to. >> over here. >> a quick question on the pakistan supply routes. two weeks ago you told congress it's costing $100 million more to transport through the

northern route and the talks seem to have broken off. is there a stalemate? is it hanging a question on the u.s. apology? you told congress there's other issues besides apology. would you talk about what the other issues are? >> there continue to be discussions in this area. we continue to have a line of communications with the pakistanis to try to see if we can take steps to reopen the glocks. and, you know, the good news is that there continue to be those discussions. there still are some tough issues to try to resolve but, you know, i think the important thing right now is that both sides in good faith keep working to see if we can resolve this. >> may i ask a quick follow-up? in kabul you said you were running out of patience with s.hapart of this discussion,tion

as well? >> it is general allen met with general kaiani and they had discussions on the issues we have talked about. and i think, you know, he made clear that we have to both the united states and pakistan have to work together to deal with the threat from the akainis and i think he got -- you know, he got a receptivity of the general that he understood the concern. after all, they, too, have been the victim of terrorism. they lost 17 pakistanis on a patrol to the ttp. and so, every day they, too, are the victims of terrorism. so, we have a common enemy. it would make sense if we could

work together to confront that common enemy. >> one more? >> mr. secretary, mr. chairman, the joint staff recently put together a lengthy report of lessons on the last decade of war. i wonder if you have had a chance to review it and if so what you thought of it and also many recommendations in there, everything from the need to create a new isr strategy to reorganizing the interagency in the national security arena and i wonder if any steps will be taken to implement those recommendations. >> i can take that. the secretary hasn't seen it yet an i'm just beginning to -- it's just beginning to be -- >> i was going to say that. i'm glad marty did. >> the -- you know what we have discovered is i asked when i first came to the joint staff to do a survey. what's out there? what studies have been done? what analysis? what findings and what recommendations? there were approximately 47 significant studies done and

when you add up the findings, approximately 400. so i said, that's a little overwhelming for me. new jersey and all. i asked the j-7 who now since the disestablishment of jiff-con is the unit for joint lessons learned to take this and within the staff, not contract it out, and not outsource, but within the staff, to take a look given the new strategy that the secretary approved and the president, my strategic guidance to the force and map those recommendations to those documents so that we have a coherent way ahead and decide which of the recommendations are most beneficial and should be pursued and we're working that. i think it's a very positive step actually. >> do you have an initial gut reaction to what you're reading? >> yeah. we did too many studies. but that's what we do. now we try to nick it down a little bit. >> happy fourth.

the purchasing power of gold specified as a weight unit, for example, of any national currency was constant for a period of four centuries. >> seems to me the record of the gold standard in some is a record by and large of growth and the macro sense and personal accountability if the banking or the micro sense. >> this weekend, they look at the origins, departures and arguments for returning to the gold standard. that's saturday evening just past 7:00 eastern. also this weekend, more from "the contenders," key political figure who is ran for president and lost but changed political history. charles evans hughes hand in

1916 and the last justice to be nominated by a major party. american history tv this weekend on c-span3. this is the conversation we need to have in this country that nobody is willing to have. okay? what role should the government play in housing finance? >> in "reckless endangerment" columnist gretchen morgenson detailed a continuing issue of government subsidized home ownership. >> if you want to subsidize housing in this country and talk about it and agrees that it's something to subsidize, then put it on the balance sheet and make it clear and make it evident and make everybody aware of how much it's costing. but when you deliver it through these third party enterprises, fannie mae and freddie mac and private shareholders and

executives who can extract a lot of that subsidy for themselves, that is not a very good way of subsidizing home ownership. i think we have seen that the end of that movie in 2008. >> more with gretchen sunday at 8:00 on c-span's "q&a." holding a hearing on the deceptive targeting practice of schools against veterans. in april, president obama signed an executive order aimed at protecting veterans of such practices. the hearing examined who would be affected by the president's order. multiple veterans organizations testified. this is just under two and a half hours. good afternoon, everyone. please take your seats. we'll get started. we are going to have votes probably within the next hour or so so i think we'll go ahead and

start the committee hearing. went to welcome everybody to the subcommittee on economic opportunity. to our oversight hearing and we'll be examining the executive order 13607 and the impact on schools and veterans. as you all likely know, there's considerable discussion on the other side of the capitol hill and in the press about instances of questionable practices by schools as well as the need to increase transparency to the operations of colleges and universities. president obama directed the va, department of education and dod to take steps to improve the information and services available to veterans and to police the college education market. we are hearing the remarks of those officials. i would note that the executive order contains some elements in legislation to consider in the

march hearing introduced by many other items. for myself, i'm opening to things to add to veterans' ability to make informed choices. for example, the department of education's college navigator website with 272 categories of data, when of which further subdivided by sub categories. after reviewing those categories, other than the number of veterans attended a school, i believe it would be the rare veteran to need more information to choose a school than in the 272 data points. before we begin with the first panel, i would like to note in reviewing today's testimonies, several witnesses testified there needs to be an effort on the part of the various oversight organizations. in my opinion, this subcommittee's role in that effort should begin with

ensuring that the membership of the v.a.'s advisory committee reflects that need. we must also insure that the advisory committee has the opportunity to present its views on these types of issues to the secretary and congress as required by 38usc-3692. i am disappointed that since congress revised the committee's membership in public law 111-275, the committee has not met in the past year and possibly longer. therefore i hope worley will inform us of his plans to make use of the advisory committee. also in reviewing the membership of the advisory committee i think that we should consider bringing in experts in compliance and enforcement, and i look forward to working with the ranking member in the subcommittee to enhancing the role of the advisory committee. i now recognize the distinguished ranking member for the remarks and i would note as a graduate of both iowa state

university and the university of iowa, he probably has no problem getting tickets for the autumn civil war, and i'm not sure which city it is in but and i would not put you on the spot and ask you which city you are rooting for since it is an election year. >> well, thank you for the gracious introduction, and it's true that i have degrees from both fine institutions. i spent four years at one and two years at another. i was a walk-on under coach earl bruce when he was coaching at iowa state and so it's a matter of basic math for me. you can figure that out. and so i look forward to the committee and discussing the president's executive order. everybody knows that the purpose of the post 9/11 g.i. bill is to provide service members, veterans and their dependents with a higher education. we continue to provide oversight of the generous veteran education benefit which i was

proud to implement. we owe it to veterans and the taxpayers to make sure that the money spent for this program is being spent wisely. veterans deserve to have accessible standardized information regarding education, institutions and degree programs in order to make informed choices on how to get the best education that they have certainly earned under the post g.i. bill -- post 9/11 g.i. bill. unfortunately, i have heard reports of aggressive and deceptive practices targeting service members and veterans by some educational institutions and as u.s. supreme court justice louie brandeis said "sunlight is the best disinfectant." i agree and that's why i'm pleased the administration is trying to address those abuses and the executive orders to provide veterans and service providers with the information they need and the to decide on the course of study that is right for them. we know that the executive order was prompted in part by a call

for action from 13 different veterans and service member groups when they wrote a memo called the military and veteran students educational bill of rights that i hold in my hand. the order establishes principles for excellence, for educational institutions. these principles provide added endorsement, oversight and most importantly transparency for prospective students seeking to use their post 9/11 g.i. bill benefits. these principles would require that educational institutions collect and provide information to help prospective students to make an informed decision when dieding on an educational program. they'll provide detailed information such as no before you owe form which discloses information about tuition and fees, financial aid and estimated student loan debt upon graduation and graduation rates. these principles will aid in making informed educational decisions and by providing needed information in an easily

accessible form, this executive order is going to curb fly by night techniques and add protection to service members whose deployment may require short absences. this is a passion of mine since i came to congress which is why i introduced and the president signed into law the plain language in communications act requiring every federal agency, including the veterans administration to write forms, brochures, pamphlets and other information in language its intended audience can understand. a practice that has been horrendous in most federal agencies until that bill became law. we know that the information is critical for the veterans and a good number of them may be the first in the families to attend college. that's why we need to provide them and all veterans with the tools they need to work their way through this sometimes confusing application process. i don't think there is any such

thing as too much information to provide veterans and service members making decisions that will affect the rest of their lives. i look forward to hearing from our witnesses today and i look forward to working with you, mr. chairman, as we try to make sure that all veterans, everyone utilizing these benefits has the information they need to make informed choices that are sound investments of taxpayer resources and i yield back. >> thank you, mr. braley. at this point i ask unanimous consent to enter the statements from several different organizations, the rand corporation for the american council on education, mr. steve gonzalez of the american legion, mr. ted dewalt from vet jobs, mr. patrick bellan from vets for common sense. miss heather anzley of vets first. paralyzed veterans of america and the military officers association into the record. there are copies of the statements on the tables outside

the hearing room. are there any objections? hearing no objections, so ordered. our first panel consists of mr. joe winn of veterans of america. mr. ryan galucci from the veteran of foreign wars and also veterans of america. and michael dukdut from the student veterans of america. if the first panel would take their seats, since we have many witnesses today, i remind each of you to limit your oral statement to the five minutes that is allotted so that the subcommittee will have sufficient time for questions. let's begin with mr. winn. you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you. good afternoon, chairman stutzman, ranking member braley, and fellow veterans and guests. let me first thank you for the opportunity to come before you on behalf of the veterans