the battle for control of congress. stay in touch and engaged by following us on twitter at c-span. and "like" us on facebook @facebook.com/cspan. disabled veterans memorial was dedicated in washington, d.c. earlier this month. speaking were president obama, the interior secretary, veteran affairs secretary and actor and disabled veterans advocate gary sinesi. >> it is with great pleasure we introduce our master of ceremonies, former department of transportation and current senior policy adviser in washington, d.c., the honorable ray lahood. >> good morning. isn't this a glorious day?

made even more glorious by all of you being here. we are making history today. ladies and gentlemen, honored dignitaries, long time friends and family members and, of course, our very special guest the men and women who sacrifice on the battlefield is an eternal reminder of their service to our nation, we welcome you with the deepest of gratitude and thank you for joining us for this mow men to us occasion. the dedication of the american veterans disabled for life memorial. at long last we have arrived! 16 years of hard work and

dedication summed up just now in our five-minute film "vision to reality." want isn't this a magnificent setting. thank you to all those who made it happen. great care and thought has gone into the design of this sacred place. i hope you all will spend some time after the ceremony exploring the memorial's beautiful grounds. i am personally particularly inspired by these stunning glass walls. and i want you to know that several of the courageous men and women, whose words and images are displayed in the walls, are here with us today. thank you for being here. and let's not forget while we're here, at present there are 4 million living disabled

veterans. some with physical disabilities and others with invisible disabilities such as ptsd. those disabilities, life-long disabilities, are a part of the ongoing cost of war. but, unfortunately, often forgotten. that's why it's imperative that this memorial be built. and here we are with a permanent reminder and tribute to the service and sacrifice of america's disabled veterans. they have honored us with their service and selfless duty. now it is our turn to honor them with this memorial. the first of its kind to honor disabled veterans across all branches of the military and through all historic and current conflicts. before we begin today's dedication, i'd like to

introduce our guest that are with us. the honorable robert mcdonald, secretary of veterans affairs. the honorable sally jewell, secretary of the department of interior. a great american, gary sinise, national spokesman of the disabled veterans light memorial foundation. robert vogel, superintendent of the national mall and memorial parks. michael mccoy, acting director of the national vh chaplain center. representing the disabled veterans life memorial foundation, are its passionate, hard-working board of directors who have been charged with erecting this memorial and they

spent the last 16 years working on this and have given countless hours of time to ensure its successful completion. mrs. lois pope, co-founder and chairman of disabled veterans' life memorial. thank you. co-founder and president, arthur wilson. secretary dennis joyner. treasurer gene murphy. mrs. diane mussleman. roberto bobby barea. we owe all of them a deep debt of gratitude. another round of applause for all of their hard work. thank you for your work.

and sadly, there are three men who made enormous contributions to the memorial who did not live to celebrate this special day. the honorable jesse brown, former secretary of veterans affairs and co-founder of the memorial. and board members, the honorable gordon mansfield, former acting secretary of the va. and kenneth mussleman, a distinguished disabled vietnam veteran, please join me -- please join me in a moment of

silence to honor these three great men. i know they are here with us in spirit today. thank you for remembering them. we are also indebted today to many individuals, foundations, organizations, and corporations whose donation made this historic day possible. many of them are listed in your program. there are more than 1 million individual donors whose contribution made this memorial a reality. again, we thank everyone for their generous contributions. many of you are gathered here today. thank you all for your contributions.

and now i'd like to welcome the reverend michael mccoy, the acting director of the national va chaplain center for the invocation. >> let us pray. oh mighty god, we invoke your presence as we come today on this ground in our national capital to dedicate our nation's first memorial to living and deceased disabled veterans. we thank you for the american veterans' disabled for life memorial and for those whom you use to bring it into being. we raise this memorial to span as a reminder of disabled

veterans sacrifice. may it stand as a lasting symbol of their love for us and for their country. may it stand for the world to see the commitment beyond the call of duty that they may have given. let this memorial stand, oh god, as a monument that generations now and forever may always remember our military men and women, patriotism, sacrifice and suffering. we ask this day that you make this monument of blessing to all who pass by and whose eyes glance upon it. may it call us to remember that which is commemorates and also to find in it your love forever.

feel us with your peace and strength as we bless this memorial in your name. may it span as a symbol of the love that we have for each other and as a reminder to us and to our nation of the cost of freedom, inspire the president and others who shall speak on this occasion. and may we all carry to our homes an increased love for our country and for nation's disabled veterans. in your name, o god, we bless and dedicate this monument. amen. >> ladies and gentlemen, please rise if you are able for the presentation of colors by the armed forces color guard military district of washington and remain standing for the pledge of allegiance and our national anthem.

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ >> to lead us in today's pledge of allegiance, the director of veterans' life memorial foundation, mr. robertoberea. >> please join us. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands. one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

>> thank you. you may be seated. it is now my pleasure to introduce our first speaker, mr. lois pope, whose commitment

to disabled veterans knows no bounds. she was instrumental in the creation of this memorial. joining forces in 1998 with then dav national adjunct arthur win son and late secretary of veteran affairs, jesse brown. please welcome lois pope. >> thank you, ray. thank you for that very gracious introduction. and thank you for your strong interest in support for the memorial for so many years. good morning, everybody. and welcome to the dedication of this magnificent american veterans' for life memorial.

history is being made here today. at long last we have a memorial to inform, educate and remind our public of the courage, sacrifices and the continuing struggles of the more than 4 million living disabled veterans and the hundreds of thousands who have died before them. these walls stand as a symbol our disabled veterans have never been forgotten. to adjust to new family life and

professional realities. our respect and recognition of their struggles and sacrifices are long overdue. [ applause ] i wish i could tell you that i've always had the plight of disabled veterans close to my heart, but that simply was not the case. i started out as a young broadway actress in young musical theater. i was naive and clueless about the horrors that work on the bodies and minds of human beings. disabled veterans first entered my consciousness in the 1960s in a dramatic way when i was asked to entertain vietnam vets at rufk rehabilitation center in new york city.

as i walked into that room, jammed with men lying on gurneys, hobbling on crutches, and multiple amputees in wheelchairs, i was shocked. but a piano started to play and i began to sing the song, "somewhe "somewhere" from westside story. as i sang the line, hold my hand and i'll take you there, i reached out to hold a young soldier's hand, but he had no hand for me to hold. that was my first impression of the sacrifice our nation's disabled veterans have suffered and sacrificed. years later i stopped by to place my hand on my cousin's

name inscribed in the wall of the vietnam memorial. a young man, multiple amputees struggled in a wheelchair to lay a bouquet of flowers on his buddy's name. as i turned to leave the park, i asked a park ranger, where is a memorial for disabled veterans. and he said there wasn't one. well, that was it. that did it. that was a spark. that was the catalyst that set me on this 16-year quest to build this memorial so that our nation's disabled veterans could earn the respect and recognition that they so deserve. the memorial, though, we dedicate, is the rightful

achievement of the many. devoted countless hours, energy and talent to the project. chief among these were the late jesse brown, who's standing beside me here today in spirit. he was a former secretary of veteran affairs and arthur wilson, past national adjunct of the d.a.t. he's sitting right here. [ applause ] he is also the co-founder and president of our memorial foundation. to the many donors of the memorial, both large and small, to the dedicated board of directors, to its superb staff, to the able and cooperative members of the united states park service, you have my profound gratitude.

this magnificent edifice was built with private donations and largely, largely, from the disabled veterans themselves. this is their gift to a grateful nation. [ applause ] this is a day of firsts. this memorial is the nation's first public tribute in our history to the 4 million living disabled veterans and those who have died before them. it is also the first in our history to honor the men and women of all five branches of the military services, army -- where are you guys? navy, marines, air force, and coast guard.

yea, coast guard. okay. it's the first in our history to honor all of our disabled american veterans and over all of our nation's conflicts. all of them. all of our nation's conflicts and wars. of the 12 memorials along the mall, sits closest to the united states capitol. a mere 1,000 feet away. this is significant because this memorial with its ceremonial flame bears witness to one and all including our elected representatives in the nearby capitol of the continuing human costs of war. today our journey that began so many years ago in new york city has ended. but our fight for disabled

veterans continues and our commitment to their cause endures. for too long, they've been unsung heroes. today we say, unsung no more. thank you. >> thank you, mrs. pope, for your vision, dedication and generosity. i just noticed sitting in the front row here, an outstanding member of congress, outstanding

veterans affair member. jeff fisher. thank you for your leadership. stand up and be recognized. you've been a great leader for veterans. thank you for being here. now i'd like to welcome the outstanding secretary of interior, the honorable sally jewell has shown great leadership since arriving at the department of interior. the department of interior has nearly 20% of america's public lands, national wildlife refuge, national parks, including the very spot on which we stand today. please give a warm welcome to the secretary of interior, secretary sally jewell.

>> thank you so much, ray. thank all of you for coming out on this spectacular day. i can't think a better day to honor this cause for what we're hire for today. thank you, lois, art, volunteers and over a million donors and the board members for what you have done for all american people through this spectacular memorial and everything that it stands for. one of the great privileges of being secretary of the interior is the honor of overseeing the national park system. 401 special places that tell the story of america. among those are more than 50 national parks, which include monuments and battlefields, that serve as memorials to the men and women who fought for our freedom across the country and around the world. collectively, these sites underscore the cost of war. the burdens and the sacrifices

that few make on behalf of the many. at pearl harbor, oil still leaks to the surface from the u sch"u arizona" after more than 70 years. a reminder of entombed in the s battleship below. i have been there, and it's a powerful place. a few blocks from here the vietnam veterans memorial is a living memorial where visitors have left more than 400,000 poems, flowers, photographs, and other items in remembrance of the 58,300 men and women whose names are inscribed on the wall, and i invite you to go there to see this memorial live and the number of people that come every day to pay tribute. so today it is a great pleasure to add a new memorial to the national park system to honor those who carry with them the visible and the invisible scars of war, a memorial dedicated to

disabled veterans, our friends, our neighbors, our co-workers, our family members who bear the physical and emotional cost of defending our country. like so many of our national parks, the american veterans disabled for life memorial is a result of a partnership between the american people and their government. with the inspiration and funding coming from private citizens and organizations, and i applaud all, all who contributed their time, their talent, and their treasure to making this day possible. thank you, all of you, who contributed. [ applause ] the national mall is one of the most visited places in the national park system with 24 million visitors a year. many of those visitors will now cross independence avenue just over there to visit this memorial. and when they arrive, a

volunteer coordinator with the national park service named james pierce might just be the one who greets them, like he greeted me when i came shovel in hand to do work on the martin luther king, jr. memorial on a day of service there. i enjoy running into james multiple times on the national mall. he walks with a brace on his leg, the result of an injury he sustained at a suicide bombing when he was serving in afghanistan, and like many wounded veterans, james has chosen to continue to serve his country as a public servant. he now has a solemn honor to be one of the caretakers of this powerful memorial. so, james, i think you're out there, if you would please stand as just an example of the men and women of the department of interior and national park service who continue to serve all of us. right over there. thank you, james. and thank you, colleagues of james, who also are giving service after serving in wars. james' story is one that's echoed throughout the walls of this beautiful space.

stories of bravery, stories of injuries sustained, stories of hope and healing, stories about the rediscovery of purpose. the national park service is america's storyteller, and on behalf of the men and women at the department of the interior, we are proud to welcome this memorial and this story and the many other stories that will be told on this memorial to the national park service family. thank you all so much. [ applause ] and now it is my pleasure to introduce someone who has been an incredible champion, not only for this memorial, but for veterans and active duty u.s. military personnel and families. what began decades ago as a personal commitment to our nation's heroes back home in his native chicago quick i evolved

into handshake tours with the uso in iraq and afghanistan and around the world. he formed the lieutenant dan band performing for hundreds of thousands of troops at home and abroad. in 2011 he established a foundation to honor our troops, our veterans, our first responders, and their families. for his tireless work and dedication he's been honored with the presidential citizens medal, the second highest civilian honor awarded by the president of the united states. so please join me in a rousing welcome to the stage, this actor, humanitarian, and national spokes fern for the american veterans disabled for life memory gary sinise. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. >> thank you, secretary jewell for that wonderful introduction. thank you so much, everyone.

welcome, everyone. a special thank you to all our past and present military here today. it's an honor to be in your presen presence. there's my ride. first i'd like to congratulate art and lois and the foundation board of directors who after a 16-year effort brought this memorial to reality. a magnificent tribute to the most honored guests of all here today, our injured veterans. [ applause ] and also a special acknowledgment to the late jesse brown. i know that he is smiling today. in his farewell address to the nation in 1988 ronald reagan said that all great change in america begins at the dinner table. it is clear what president

reagan meant. it is at these gatherings often with family members that one respects and admires who have experienced and sacrificed much in life that one can have the meaningful conversations that stir our convictions, inspire us to action, and bring us to an understanding of what life is really all about. in the late 1970s and early '80s as a young man, i sat at that dinner table with a vietnam veteran side of my wife's family, and i began to receive an education of what they experienced during the war, how bravely they fought, and how they felt at the shameful way they were treated when they returned home. imagine it being a risk to wear the uniform in public as was the case for many returning from vietn vietnam, and i'm sure some here today remember that all too well. my brother-in-law, jack trice, a

combat medic, passed away this past wednesday of cancer at age 68, and today, october 5th, he would have been 69 years old. he was like a brother to me and told me once how after his tour in vietnam, upon arrival back in the states, he went into a stall in the airport bathroom to remove his uniform, to change into his civilian clothes to keep from being stared at or shouted at or possibly spit at. i will miss jack dearly and learned much from him. listening to his stories and the stories of the vietnam veterans in my family was an epiphany for me. it made me think hard about the precious gift of my own freedom and the price paid to secure it, and i felt a strong sense of guilt for being so oblivious as a young teenager to what our

vietnam veterans, many just slightly older than i, were going through. but it was out of that guilt and shame that a new mission began, a need to take action, to do something, to try to make a difference in the lives of those who serve. in 1993 as i continued my journey in television and theater and film acting, good things came my way, and i was fortunate to have the opportunity to play wounded vietnam veteran double amputee lieutenant dan it taylor in "forrest gump." that role -- [ applause ] that role led me to what is now a 20-year association with the disabilitied veterans association and for the past eight years the great privilege as acting as national spokesperson for the american veterans disabled for life memorial foundation, and this extraordinary tribute to our wounded that we dedicate today.

it was president abraham lincoln who said, "any nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure." today and from this day forward with the opening of this national monument, we honor millions of our heroes living with the wounds of war, with a place of healing, remembrance, and gratitude for all they have given, and by so doing we help to ensure that our nation will endure for generations to come. for if we do not remember our defenders, our heroes, how can we expect future generations to step up to serve? [ applause ] certainly what happened post-vietnam when we forgot our returning veterans weakened our nation. it was a shameful period in our

history, and we must never, ever let that happen again. [ applause ] remembering and honoring our veterans is paramount to our national security. this place is a critical importance on always taking care of our military service members and their families before, during, and after the battle. the dangers of the 21st century are clear. with no doubt that this century will be equally, if not more dangerous than the previous one. the united states must maintain a strong defense, impossible to do without strong defenders, and for all they've done, for all they've sacrificed, they ask so little in return. knowing they are honored, that they will get the care they need when they need it, that they are not forgotten, and that their

sacrifice is appreciated can make a world of difference. 13 years ago on that terrible september morning little did we know that the coming years would bring us thousands of gold star families and entire new generations of real life lieutenant dans. we now have upwards of 4 million living with their injuries, wounded in america's wars, supported and looked after by our unsung heroes, america's caregivers. we cannot give those wounded veterans back their arms -- we cannot give back those wounded veterans back their arms and legs. we cannot give them back their eyes, their ears, the pieces of themselves that have been lost, or the minds that have been altered, but we can give them and we must give them our respect, our everlasting thanks, and our support. [ applause ]

one of our great military leaders, retired admiral william h. mcgraven, a u.s. navy s.e.a.l. gave the commencement speech last spring at his alma mater, the university of texas. their motto at ut is what starts here changes the world, and he gave lessons from what he learned in his s.e.a.l. training that the students could implement to change and influence the world as they graduated and went forth into society. one of those lessons was about having to swim under a ship at night and find the keel, the center line, and the deepest part of the ship. this is the darkest part of the ship where you cannot see your hand in front of your face, where the noise from the ship's machinery is deafening, and where it is easy for even a

well-trained navy s.e.a.l. to get disoriented and fail. admiral mccraven said every s.e.a.l. knows that under the keel at the darkest moment of the mission, it is the time when you must be the most calm and composed. when all your tactical skills, your physical power, and all your inner strength must be brought to bear. if you want to change the world, you must be your very best in the darkest moment. we can never do enough for our nation's freedom providers, our heroes, but we can always show them we appreciate what they have fought and sacrificed for by doing a little bit more to give something back to them. and as all americans benefit from the freedom and security provided by our military community, very simply if every citizen in every neighborhood in

every community and every town and city and every state would make it a priority to seek out and serve the needs of the veterans and military families within those communities, to have the courage to take determined action to walk with our veterans, many of whom have lived through the darkest moments of life in combat or have come home physically or mentally injured and may face many dark moments eye heahead, the people will show our appreciation with a willingness to serve above self, to help them move forward just as lieutenant dan taylor was able to do, then we will be at our very best in someone else's darkest moment. thank you for pallowing me to speak at this important dedication ceremony for the american veterans disabled for life memorial. i'm proud to have played some

small role in this effort. thank you to those brave warriors in attendance today for everything you have done for our country. may god bless all those still serving in harm's way, our military families, and may god bless and watch over our america and help us to continue to honor our heroes so that we may long endure. thank you. [ applause ] ♪

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ [ applause ]

>> let's hear it once more for the united states army band, conductor first lieutenant joel dubois. as you know, recently president obama appointed a new secretary of veterans affairs, the honorable robert mcdonald, who w is here with us today. secretary mcdonald is a 1975 graduate of the united states military academy at west point and an alumnus of the university of utah where he earned an mba, an army veteran and both airborne and ranger qualified he served with the 82nd airborne division. upon leaving military service, captain mcdonald was awarded the meritorious service medal. in 1980 secretary mcdonald joined proktor and gamble, a fortune 50 company, and he rose

through the ranks to become chief executive officer and president. he retired in june of 2013, nominated by president obama as the eighth secretary of veterans affairs on june 30th. he was confirmed by the united states senate on july 29th, 2014, and we are grateful to him for his service to our country and our veterans. please welcome secretary mcdonald. [ applause ] >> thank you, ray. secretary jewell, mrs. hope, mr. sinise, mr. wilson, mr. joyner, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, a heartfelt welcome to our veterans and to all their families. i am deeply honored to help dedicate a grateful nation's

memorial to veterans disabled for life. individually and collectively they are the lifeblood of democracy. as president obama recently reminded us, when the world is threatened, it calls on america, and then we call on our troops. because of them, our country's highest principles and ideals endure. our nation stands as the world's foremost example of freedom, justice, and opportunity, and because of them we can ensure a more secure future for all americans. the men and women we honor today in whom this memorial honors in perpetuity endure the pain and meet the challenges of lifelong disability. through their sacrifices and perseverance, they have contributed not only to the freedoms that we all enjoy, but also to the medical advances that benefit so many people.

more than any others, the veterans affairs department exists to serve them. they are the va's most important focus, and their disabilities and needs continue to drive progress across our triad of care. in va research that advances medical science, in our training that prepares doctors and nurses to treat veteran patients according to the highest standards of excellence, advocacy, and respect, and in leading edge clinical care that promotes treatment, healing, and ultimately cures. as the nation's health care leader, all americans have benefited from va successes in treating disabled veterans. the work of va's medical professionals has been recognized by three nobel prizes, seven lasker awards, among many, many other honors. few are aware that va research

developed the cardiac pacemaker, the first successful liver transplant, the nicotine patch, and the world's most advanced prosthetics, including va's revolutionary brain gate. it's a break through that makes it possible for totally paralyzed patients to control robotic arms using only their thoughts. affiliated with over 1,800 educational institutions, va has no equal in training america's health care professionals. more than 70% of all u.s. doctors have trained with the va, and each year va educates 62,000 medical school students and residents, 23,000 nurses, and over 33,000 trainees in other health fields. every day from massachusetts to manila, they deliver

compassionate care using things like the electronic medical records that va pioneered and it's error reducing bar code software that ensures the correct medications in the correct dosage are administered to the correct patient. it's all carried out in the knowledge that veterans disabled in service to our country are at the heart of our mission. few have given more to america and here in the shadow of the nation's capitol, this imposing memorial stands as a powerful reminder of their service and their sacrifice. at va we're reminded every single day of their outsized contributions to our country, and it's our pride and our privilege to claim the honor of caring for those who have borne the battle. without question it's the most noble and inspiring mission in all of government. thank you and may god bless us all. [ applause ]

>> thank you, mr. secretary. also with us today to share their unique insights are two disabled veterans, both of whom have devoted countless hours to the creation of this memorial. the first speaker a dennis joyner, a director and secretary of the disabled veterans life memorial foundation who was awarded the bronze star and purple heart for his service in vietnam. let us thank dennis and welcome him. [ applause ] >> thank you. thank you, former secretary lahood. distinguished guests, thank you. distinguished guests, friends,

my fellow disabled veterans, and their families, today we come together to dedicate the american veterans disabled for life memorial. i would like to take a few moments to share with the journey that brings me and my family here today. i was in vietnam only 32 days when i was wounded. being assigned to a recon unit with the united states army 9th infantry division in the may congress delta, we were on patrol when we came to a canal that we needed to cross. with the tide coming in causing a strong undercurrent, those of us who had already crossed went back to help the nonswimmers across. after getting back in single file formation, little did i know that i would walk the last three steps of my life. for after that third step, my life was going to start over.

i never heard the explosion that day, june 26th, 1969. never losing consciousness, i could see exactly what had happened to my legs and my left arm, and my immediate reaction was let me die. knowing that he must keep me from going into shock, sergeant reynolds slapped me across the face and screamed, joyner, you have a lot to live for. you have a wife back home waiting for you and a son, and you want to die? sergeant reynolds, i would never have survived without you on moo battlefield that day or for the last 45 years without the assurance that i had a lot to live for that you gave me. i owe you my life. [ applause ]

and i know that saving my life has had a profound effect on you and your family. as the visions and memories from that day are forever etched in your mind, and i am so blessed that ed reynolds and his family are here today to share in this historic event. ed, please stand up. [ applause ] thanks, buddy. i was sent back to valley forge army hospital to recover under a young army surgeon, dr. craig roberts, who was not yet even 30 years old. my wounds eventually healed cleanly, and although fitted with prosthetic legs, i opted for a wheelchair. for me i have been blessed to pick up the pieces from that day in vietnam and live a life of fulfillment. although we, disabled veterans, live a life different than most,

we have been most fortunate. we don't have to go it alone. we've had our family and friends with us for the entire journey through the good times and the difficult times. our families and friends have also had to deal with the effects caused by our injuries. i can't imagine the fear, the terror, that must have been in my family's hearts and minds that day they received the telegram explaining the severity of my injuries with no way to contact the hospital or even know where i was 12,000 miles away in a war-torn country. and probably more difficult than that, having to walk those long halls at valley forge army hospital for the first time not knowing what to expect, what was i going to look like, what my attitude would be, trying to think of what to say. seeing me for the first time

minus three limbs. a walk my mother would often say was the longest walk of her life. and how difficult must it have been for my wife to hear the words her daddy doesn't have any legs said by one of my daughter's kindergarten classmates and the laughter that filled the room. all the children laughing except for one, my daughter. as tears filled her eyes, she said, why are they laughing at my daddy? or the lifelong impression that was formed in a 14-year-old girl's young mind as she visited us wounded soldiers on ward 4-cd at valley forge army hospital, an all amputee word for four years helping to lift our spirits and encourage us on. diane, i thank you, and we will forever remember and love you

for all that you have done for us. to my family, my sister and brother, who were there that day my parents received the telegram from vietnam. to my sons and daughter who have had to live their lives as children of a disabled veteran. with a father who at times was unable to be as normal as their friends' dads. and to my wife, donna, who came into my life at a very difficult time and who has always accepted me for the man that i am. i want you all to know that a part of me wants to say i'm sorry that you have had to share in my lifetime sacrifices as a disabled veteran, but down deep in my heart i can't apologize. i can only thank you for showing your love for this great country

of ours by being beside me throughout my journey. today i have been honored to share a small part of my life as a disabled veteran and the impact that it has had on my family and my friends. we are not unique in our story. we are just one example of the thousands of lives affected by the lifelong disabilities that are the terrifying consequences of war. although i have been plblessed with many achievements in life, the achievement that i am most proud of is this memorial. [ applause ] a memorial that gives me and the many thousands of other disabled veterans like me a sense of contentment knowing that what we

gave, what our families gave, and what we continue to give will be forever remembered here in our nation's capitol. god bless the nation's disabled veterans and god bless the united states of america. [ applause ] >> dennis, i know that everyone here will agree with me that your words were moving beyond measure. i would like to add that dennis was honored by president ronald reagan as handicapped american of the year and by the dav as the national outstanding disabled veteran of the year. dennis, all of us here are indebted to your sacrifice.

thank you. [ applause ] and now a man of enormous vision who defines what this memorial is all about, mr. art h. wilson co-founder and president of the disabled veterans life memorial foundation. art served in vietnam, the philippines, thailand, and taiwan and for much of his life has been an outspoken advocate of disabled veterans striving to ensure that america understands the sacrifices made by disabled veterans. so it is my pleasure to introduce the leader, an outstanding leader, art h. wilson, retired national adjunct tant of the disabled american

disabled veterans organization known by all of you as dav art! [ applause ] >> thank you and good morning. to all of our friends and distinguished guests, to my fellow board members, and most of all to my fellow disabled veterans, it is humbling for me to be here on this historic occasion as we dedicate a permanent place of honor for those who whose sacrifices and contributions for freedom have endured the duration of our nation's way of life. this is a culmination of hard work, support, and vision shared by many among them are some dear friends who are here in spirit and watching from above. we gather in our nation's c

capit capital, a place where honor is bestowed upon nearly every cause and history is remembered in bronze and stone from every vantage. we honor our fallen. we honor every branch and the battles and the bold, but until this day, this very day, we have not remembered those who lived and whose lives were forever changed by the sacrifices they made in uniform. and yet without their stories and the experiences of their loved ones, we as a people cannot know the cost of war. without acknowledging their sacrifices, we forget the courage that ensures our freedom and the promises we have made to those who defend our land. the experiences etched on these walls remind us that for those

who serve and their families, war often continues long after the final bullet is fired. the most difficult fight often begins after the injury is sustained. that includes people like felicia westin. on february 26th, 1991, while serving as an army radio operator in saudi arabia, a scud missile struck the barracks adjacent to hers. some 27 soldiers lost their lives that day. specialist westin was among the nearly 100 who were severely wounded. though partially blinded by the attack, she recounts on these walls the bewildering feeling of helplessness. i felt so alone watching what was happening. by this point i knew i had been hurt, but i just wanted to find someone from my company, she

said. you know, the purpose of this memorial is to honor those changed by war and to show them that they are never, ever alone. and as the words of my dear friend the late jesse brown remind us, for a tragic story of life unraveled by military battle, there are a dozen tales of individuals who have managed to triumph over the harrowing experiences of war and ruin. the story of people like felicia westin does not end with the destruction war brought to her person. it instead shows a beginning. it reminds us in granite and glass and fire and water of the hope and the gratitude that they have earned. many on these walls have done much more than survive the war. they have lit a path for their brothers and their sisters to follow.

though the bandages and debrises were removed from felicia's eyes, the visions on that day of terror were not. the invisible wounds she faced took years of intensive recovery and may never fully heal. yet instead of distancing herself from the military service, she has dedicated more than 15 years of her life providing direct advocacy to her fellow veterans ensuring that they have someone they can count upon. bobby berrera, who was in an armored personnel carrier in vietnam when a command detonated mine today known as an ied was detonated under his vehicle. his fellow marines pulled him from the fiery wreckage, but not before he suffered burns over most of his body which resulted in a loss of his right hand and his left arm. like many here today, bobby had

a choice to make. he could succumb to despair or find a new direction. when he made the choice to live, he decided to dedicate each moment to making the world a better place. with his wife by his side, he tackled his education. he became a counselor serving the department of defense. he became involved in veteran service organizations and rose to the ranks to become the national commander of the disabled american veterans. i have a purpose in life that's been to help other military families through some of what i had to go through, bobby's words will tell generations. if i had to go through it myself in order to help others, i'm okay with that. these walls represent veterans of multiple eras and conflicts. those who are represented give

voice to the many quho are pawh part of nationwide community of intergenerational heroes. they include men like army sergeant jason pepper, deployed to iraq. his last memories as he dove on two of his soldiers to cover them from a rocket propelled grenade was that he would never see his wife or his child again. well, he would survive. his last words proved to be prophetic. the blast cost him his sight, but in spite of his injuries, he has pursued his education and his planning to start a new business. though he may never actually see his firstborn daughter, he and his wife, heather, have added two more children to their growing family. in a sense veterans like sergeant pepper and many others have sacrificed one life to their country and service.

in an instant their hopes and dreams for the future were shattered. but with the love of their countrymen and the support of their family and their communities, they rediscover their purpose in life to learn to accept or overcome the obstacles their injuries have imposed. these walls remind us, too, that a sacrifice made on behalf of our nation is most often shared with the loved ones who cared for our injured heroes. every individual dream changed by disability reverberates to the families, survivors, and communities on whom our wounded rely upon for support, care, and advocacy. we are at this point in time it appears disentangled ourselves from more than a dozen years of war. in that time we have sent our sons and daughters into the battlefield with no fronts and intimate dangers. these may be the first wars on

record where our society has not fully experienced the mobilization of an era. our nation has become so great and so prosperous that we can send our armies to fight two wars without any type of rationing or demand to change the lifestyles of the general public. we have created the best military in the history of the world. we have given our fighting men and women the best arms and done our utmost to ensure that every soul deploys comes homes. and through the capabilities of our forces, which are great, and their valor is unquestioned, the toll that war has taken on their bodies and hearts and their minds is a timeless reminder of the need for this memorial. for so long as a nation that we have and as long as we send our young to fight, we have entered into a promise with them as we

drafted and enlisted them into our military. we made a sacred promise. this is our greatest social contract, the men and women we send into harm's way will be made whole should they become ill or injured in service, that they should enjoy the dream they fought to defend, that their survivors should see a feature that remembers the fallen. without this agreement, it would be inconceivable to ask our young to be willing to fight and die for our country, and without their doing so, our ideals as a nation, our freedom, and our prosperity would not exist. this obligation etched here in stone to recall the deepest sentiments of our founding father, george washington, is what brings us together here today. to behold those who have shed their blood or lost their limbs in service of their country. this obligation for our injured service men and women first

proclaimed by general washington in 1783 is perhaps the highest form of public justice. as we stand here in sight of our nation's capitol, the centerpiece of our democracy, we must fervently pray that the price paid by our nation's heroes will be remembered by those who we have elected to represent us. we must pray that our obligation to veterans remain a commitment that goes above partisanship and that they remember those for whom the battle continues. we must ask the heavens as those representatives ascend to the halls of power and walk those grand steps that they look to their west at this sacred ground and remember the promise that we have made for those who have served. thank you so much. [ applause ]

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ [ applause ]

ladies and gentlemen, please welcome miss lois pope, mr. arthur wilson, mr. robert vo lk er and the honorable sally jewell. ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states, barack obama. ♪ ♪

♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the disabled veterans life memorial foundation, it is our honor to present to america's citizens the american veterans disabled for life memorial. [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor and privilege to introduce to you the president of the united states, barack obama. [ applause ]

>> thank you so much. good afternoon. please be seated. to all our disabled veterans, our extraordinary wounded warriors, we gather here today on this gorgeous autumn day in america because each of you endured a moment that shaped the arc of your lives and that speaks to our debt as a nation. maybe it was there on the battlefield as the bullets and shrapnel rained down around you. maybe it was as you lay there, the medics tending to your wounds. perhaps it was days or months later in that hospital room when you finally came to.

perhaps it was years later as you went about your day or in the midnight hours when the memories came rushing back like a flood. wherever you were, whatever your story, it was the moment that binds each of you forever, that moment of realization that life would not be the same. your foot, your hand, your arm, your leg, maybe both, your sight, your peace of mind, a part of you was gone. speaking to his fellow veterans of the civil war the great oliver wendell holmes jr. once said as i look into your eyes i feel a great trial in your youth made you different, different from what we could have been

without it. and he said, we learned a lesson early which is givhas given a different feeling to life, a sense of duty that burns like a fire in the heart. to lois pope, art wilson, and everyone at the memorial foundation and our incredible veteran service organizations who devoted so many years of effort, especially our friends at the disabled veterans of america, to all the architects and craftspeople who lent your talents to bring this memorial to life, members of congress, secretaries jewell and mcdonald, distinguished guests, but most of all to our veterans who have come to know a different feeling to life and to your families. it's a great honor to be with

you here today. for more than two centuries americans have left everything they have known and loved, their families and their friends, and stepped forward to serve. to win our independence, to preserve our union, to defend our democracy, to keep safe this country that we love. and when the guns fall silent, our veterans return home ready to play their part in the next chapter of our american story. as a nation we have not always fulfilled our obligations to those who served in our name. this is a painful truth, and few have known this better than our veterans wounded in war. in the first years after our revolution when our young nation still resisted the idea of the

standing army, veterans of the continental army returned to towns that could be indifferent to their service. one veteran, his hand mangled by a british musket ball, was deemed like many veterans as unfit for labor, and frustrated by his inaability to secure a disability pension he wrote that many of those who aided in conquering the enemy are suffering under the most distressing poverty. after the civil war and after the first world war, our disabled veterans had to organize and march for the benefits they had earned. in the decades our nation has worked to do better, to do right by these patriots. because in the united states of america those who have fought for our freedom should never be shunned and should never be forgotten. so today we take another step

forward with this memorial we commemorate for the first time the two battles our disabled veterans have fought, the battle over there and the battle here at home. your battle to recover which at times can be even harder and certainly is longer. you walk these quiet grounds, pause by the pictures of these men and women, you look into their eyes, read their words, and we're somehow able to join them on a journey that speaks to the endurance of the american spirit. and to you, our veterans and wounded warriors, we thank you for sharing your journey with s us. here we feel your fears, the shock of that first moment when you realized something was

different, the confusion about what would come next, the frustrations and the worries as one veteran said that maybe i wouldn't be quite the same. and then here we see your result, your refusal in the face of overwhelming odds to give in to despair or to cynicism. your decision, your choice to overcome. like a veteran who said it's possible for a man to lose half his physical being and still become whole. it is here we can see your perseverance, your unyielding faith that tomorrow can be better, your relentless determination often through years of hard recovery and surgeries and rehab learning the simple things all over again, how to button a shirt or how to write your name. in some cases how to talk or how to walk, and how when you've

stumbled, when you've fallen, you've picked yourself up, you've carried on, you've never given up. here we get a glimpse of the wounds within. the veteran who says i relive the war every day. because no matter what war you served in and whether they called it shell shock or battle fatigue or the thousand yard stare or post-traumatic stress, you know that the unseen wounds of war are just as real as any other, and they can hurt just as much if not more. here we're reminded that none of you have made this journey alone. beside each of you is a wife or a husband, mothers and fathers,

brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, and neighbors and friends who day after day, year after year have been there lifting you up, pushing you further, rooting you on. like the caregiver who said i love him for who he was in his heart, and he still had that. today we salute all your families and the love that never quits. and finally here we see that our wounded veterans are defined not by what you can't do but what you can do. just ask captain don havaker. in iraq her humvee was hit by an rpg. she suffered burns and broken bones, lost her right arm. she struggled physically and

emotionally, but with the help of her fellow wounded warriors she came to focus, she said, not on what i lost but on what i still had. and today what she has is the respect of her fellow veterans that she that she mentors, a business of her own, with one that hires veterans. a beautiful 6-month-old son. dawn's picture, this member of the 9/11 generation graces this memorial. we are honored she's here today. dawn, please stand up. [ applause ] i have seen dawn's story over and over again. all the wounded warriors and veterans i had the honor to meet from walter reed to bethesda to bagram. in dawn's life many of you see your own.

today i want every american to see it. after everything you have endureded, all the loss. you summoned the best in yourself and found your strength again. how many of you learned to walk again, stand again, run again. how you have competed in races and marathons and the paralympics on team usa. how you found joy and love. getting married, raising children. how you found new ways to serve. starting new businesses or teaching our children or serving your fellow veterans or leading in your communities. america, if you want to know what real strength is, if you want to see the character of our count country, a country that never quits, look at these men and women. i would ask all of our disabled

veterans here today if you can stand, please stand. if not, please raise your hand s so our nation can pay tribute to your service. we thank you. we are inspired by you. we honor you. [ applause ] from this day forward, americans will come to this place and ponder the immense sacrifice made on their behalf. the heavy burden borne by a few so we might live in freedom and peace. of course, our reflection is not enough. our ex presentations of gratitude are not enough.

here in the heart of our nation's capital, this memorial is a challenge to all of us. a reminder of the obligations this country is under. if we are to truly honor these veterans we must heed the voices that speak to us here. let's never rush into war because it is america's sons and daughters that bear the scars of war for the rest of their lives. let us only send them into harm's way when it's absolutely necessary. if we do let's give them the strategy, the mission, the support they need to get the job done. when the mission is over it is our war in afghanistan coming to a responsible end in two months. let us stand united as americans and welcome our veterans home with the thanks and respect they deserve.

if they come home having left a part of themselves on the battlefield on our behalf, this memorial tells us what we must do. our wounded veterans set out on the long road of recovery. we need to move heaven and earth to make sure they get every benefit, every bit of care they have earned, that they deserve. if they are hurting and don't know if they can go on, we need to say loud and clear as family and friends, neighbors and co-workers, as fellow citizens and as a nation, you are not alone. it's all right to ask for help. we're here to help you be strong again. because our wounded warriors may

have a different feeling to life but when we are truly there for them, when we give them every opportunity to succeed and continue their enormous contributions to our country then our whole nation is stronger. all our lives are richer. if you're an american and you see a veteran, maybe with a prosthetic arm or leg, maybe burns on their face, don't ever look away. do not turn i way. you go up and reach out. you shake their hand, look them in the eye and say the words every veteran should hear all the time -- welcome home. thank you. we need you, more than ever. you help us stay strong. you helped us stay free. [ applause ] to every wounded warrior, to

every disabled veteran, thank you. god bless you. god bless these united states of america. [ applause ] ♪ god bless america ♪ land that i love ♪ stand beside her and guide her ♪ ♪ through the night with the light from above ♪ ♪ from the mountains to the prairies to the oceans

white with foam ♪ ♪ god bless america my home sweet home ♪ ♪ god bless america my home sweet home ♪ [ applause ] ♪

♪ ♪

♪ be part of c-span's 2014 coverage. follow us on twitter and like us on facebook for debate schedules, video clips of key moments, debate previews from the politics team. c-span is bringing over 100 senate house and governor debates. you can share your reactions to what the candidates are saying. the battle for control of congress. stay in touch and engage by following us on twitter at c-span and liking us on facebook at facebook.com/c-span.

>> tonight on c-span 3 selections from the homeland security conference hosted by the american bar association and the airline pilots association conference. these annual events look at a host of issues including cyber security, surveillance programs, modernizing air traffic control and space travel. the program gets under way at 8:00 p.m. eastern. the house energy and commerce committee last month held a hearing on innovations in health care, health and human services secretary sylvia burrwell testified along with the heads of national institutes of health and the food & drug administration. congressman upton of michigan chaired the two-hour hearing. >> we'll get started. good morning, everybody. today, this morning, we're

going to continue our really very strong bipartisan efforts on the 21st century cures initiative with this roundtable. to discuss ideas that the committee had received over the last couple of months and look to more specifics about the steps that we can take to accelerate the cycle of cures, embrace technology advances and the rise of personalized medicine and keep america, in fact, the innovation capital of the world. over august and early this morning our committee members held round tables across the country to hear about how american innovation is providing hope, saving lives, and, yes, creating jobs. the initiative affects every american, every one as they, their families, their friends have been affected by disease. there are committee members

during august hard work remains to find and deliver cures and treatments for the approximately 95% of diseases without cures. we have seen an outpouring of support inside and outside washington to work together and achieve this common goal. today to continue that work towards more cures and treatments, we brought together truly another all-star roundtable. joining us, we have sylvia burwell, hhs. secretary of hhs. dr. francis collins, director of the nih, dr. margaret hamburg, commissioner of the fda. michael milken, chairman of the milken institute. dean kamen, founder of deka research and development. mr. bill parfet from michigan. and dr. dan theodorescu director of the colorado cancer center. we need to hear from

participants as much as possible. that's why we have this roundtable today. we're going to listen. i know my colleagues agree that the participants are the experts and this roundtable is an opportunity to learn. to that end while we may want to ask the experts some questions to guide the conversation, we want to keep our talking to a minimum. i would also ask the participants to try to keep their answers brief so that we can keep the conversation moving, knowing that we have really a hard stop at noon. in closing, i want the thank these folks who have offered their input on the 21st century cures initiative. i can't tell you how much we appreciate the thoughtful contributions especially those of everyday americans. we intend to release a cures legislative discussion draft in early january, 2015. we'll look to swiftly move the

legislation early in the next congress. so if you want your idea considered, you can send it to cures@mail.house.gov really as quickly as possible. the more specific the idea, the better that it will be. so now i want to turn to my colleague diana degette from the great state of colorado. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. thank you for convening this last roundtable. i want to welcome everybody here today. i see the chairman today, in whose shadow we toil. i'm glad he's here. i want to thank secretary burwell for coming. i know she has a very busy day and, of course, my homie, dr. theodorescu, from the university of colorado, i want to thank you for coming all the way out here. as fred said, we've been working together to hold a big series of roundtables and hearings on the 21st century cures initiative and have taken many white papers. we've had a lot of suggestions, but i think we will both agree that we have a lot of

commonality in the themes that we're hearing and we're eager to sit down and actually start drafting legislation. the roundtable we had in denver over the break, we talked about personalized medicine. and we had active engagement and interest from the audience. we heard from the nih, the fda. we've heard from local universities and health centers and private investors, industry and researchers. and we're really beginning to honey in on some areas that we can think about how we streamline the process so that we can get from the lab to the clinic. and that's very important to all of us. one of the things we talked about, for example, was the potential time and cost savings of a central irb process, which is something i have been working on for a long time. we also talked about the importance of sharing data and information among clinical registries.

and these are just some of the topics that fall under this. today, what we're doing is we're looking for feedback from participants on what we've learned so far and where we could go. and i'm really happy to see so many members here. some of the common topics that we've seen are modernizing clinical trials, facilitating data collection and data sharing, incentivizing drug research for unmet need, incorporating the patient perspective into the research and regulatory process and developing young, emerging scientists as well as making sure we have adequate and stable funding for biomedical research in this country. and so i'm looking forward to hear from our experts and our colleagues today about how we can make a positive difference. i just want to echo your thanks for all of the members, all of the participants who have worked so diligently on this. it just really shows that there's a need. i want to leave you with one thought.

i went around my district in august and some of you might know, just as happens every two years, in election year, colorado's a purple state. so we have shock and awe of campaigning going on there right now. and every time i talk to somebody, democrat, republican or unaffiliated about 21st century cures, their eyes lit up. they were so excited about the prospect of bipartisan legislation, where we would actually be working together in congress to do something, but even more to do something big about how we can get those cures to the patients. and that's why i think we've got the germ of something here. i told a group last night, the big risk is it falls of its own weight. we can't let that happen. we have to work together to make it happen. and so i just really appreciate this effort. thank you, mr. chairman. >> we'll start with secretary burwell. >> thank you, chairman upton and

representative degette for convening this roundtable and having me here today. i'm looking forward to working with all of you. that's why i'm here today. while i'm sorry i won't be able to stay, dr. collins and dr. hamburg, two of our best at hhs will ably represent us. but i wanted to come because of what you both said. the importance -- i'm here today because we want to be your partner in making something go forward. i'm a big believer that if we're going to deliver impact, we have to start by building the strong relationships. that means listening to the experts we have and listening together and being responsive as we work together for meaningful solutions. i want to just first thank you for what you all did in terms of bringing everyone together, but this committee has also done important work previously in this space with fda and our user fee legislation. these roundtables are an

excellent way to continue making some of the progress that we've already made. when we watch a loved one who is taken by alzheimer's or als, we all want the same things, the most effective treatments, the groundbreaking cures and the best medical care possible. and so we take at hhs that very seriously and we're committed to keeping us on that cutting edge of innovation, science and technology. and nih has supported most every significant advance of biomedical research in the last 50 years. we've led from the human genome project and attempting right now to unlock those secrets of the most complex mysterious things like the brain. and dr. collins and his team walk the line, i think, some days between science and science fiction in terms of whether it's robotic, exoskeletons, nanotechnology developments or the revolutionary possibilities of personalized medicine and what that can mean. this work isn't just improving our health care system.

it's hopefully going to transform it. these advancements allow us to shift from keeping up with illnesses to getting ahead of illnesses and they empower patients to engage in their own health care like never before. and new biomedical science and technologies create high-paying jobs and strengthen our economy, another important part of what this work is about. in fact, we have estimates that say for every dollar of nih funding, it generates over a dollar in local economic growth. so, at a time when the world is vigorously forging ahead in medical innovation, we must protect our competitive edge and make sure that we're a global leader and not falling behind. with that said, we have a crucial equilibrium to maintain and hhs tries to balance that in terms of the speed of discovery with the oversight that keeps us safe as a nation. and that's why dr. hamburg will be speaking to those issues. fda is committed to reducing the length and cost of medical

development. we've shortened the high-risk device to review times by a third since 2009 and also working to strengthen and improve the medical proprocess. we've expanding accelerated development pathways. last year nearly half the new drugs approved took advantage of expedited development and review approaches with review times as short as 4 1/2 months. over the last years we've made great progress with support and we appreciate that. we also know there's a lot more to be done in that space and we want to focus on that as part of this conversation. we're committed to partnering with you while continuing to maintain a safe and accurate product data and information for people. with that, we look forward to working with you all. this kind of session where a conversation can occur, i think, is an important part to moving forward. and the committee process, which we want to engage and support.

so thank you for having me. >> i just want to say that you and i talked about this, literally, the first week you became secretary of hhs. and you indicated then you would be very supportive. we're delighted for your participation today and all the way down the line. so we really appreciate you being here knowing that you still have to leave a little bit early, but thank you. >> thank you. >> peggy, do you want to say something? >> sure. well, thank you so much for including me in this discussion and importantly for the leadership that chairman upton and congresswoman degette have brought to this 21st century cures and all of you on the committee. and it is true, as secretary burwell said, this committee has done great work to support science and the advance of biomedical product innovation and most recently with the passage of fadazi, i think we really accomplished something that's important in a very bipartisan way. this goes to the heart of what matters to us at the fda. our mission is to deliver on the promise of science for the public, to do our part not just in assuring the most streamlined review times, but also in helping to support the most effective and efficient research and development pathways for

promising new products, and to be able to provide information and oversight throughout the whole life span of a product not just in the development and review stij but also when it's in the marketplace being used by people when we have the opportunity to learn more about what works and for whom and why. and, you know, we think that the discussion so far has been enormously productive. in the identification of some of the critical area that is congresswoman degette noted are ones that very much align with our priorities and perceived needs. we want to work with all of you, to continue to reduce the length and cost of medical product development, to improve medical product review. of course, improving business

processes and systems but also to bring new tools and perspectives to bear. more advance science and technology, patient perspectives and, of course, increasing the predictability and transparency and partnership in what we do. we think that there are a lot of lessons to be learned from the work that's been going on with accelerated development, including the breakthrough designation that congress enabled us to move forward with with the passage of fadazia. the more the fda engages with stakeholders and importantly with companies as they develop products to make sure that the right studies are done, we can reduce the time for research and development. we can certainly dramatically

decrease the time for review. and, most importantly, we can give the american people the products that they want and need, recognizing that the ability to really advance biomedical product innovation is essential for the health of individuals and families, but it's also vital to the health of our health care system and the health of our economy and the continuing preeminence of our great country in this important sector. so, i'm really delighted to be part of this and look forward to moving to the next stage of really translating all these good ideas into action. >> great. bill? >> thank you, fred. and i'm very pleased to be here. i'll take a few minutes to give my background. not too impressed. i'm humbled by how little i know but to share with you where i'm coming from as we have these discussions today. so i'm 67 years old. and for the last -- i'm proud of it. and for the last 50 years, i have been developing drugs. i worked at the upjohn company for 20 years. then i started my own ceo with

the contract research organization. we do business for small biotechs, many of who just have three months of cash flow and six employees. as we know today, they've been very effective and productive in bringing new products to the market. and i also served as chairman of stryker corporation, a device company located in our district. i'm pleased with my background, humbled by what i don't know, but excited about what we can do here today and in subsequent periods before your legislation moves forward. i've listed -- i'm not going to go through them now but i hope during the two hours that we have here today, what i consider to be the critical success factors for our success going forward. talking about such things as the collaborative role we need between the private sector and industry and government. including regulations that are required and can be a real companion to what we're doing, including looking at the changing role of the patient. we have to have a changing role for the patient, including the consequences of risk, which are

sometimes becoming so onnerous that risk takers don't want to step up to the plate with really innovative ideas. and looking also at the role of government in terms of helping out some of these smaller biotechs that have great ideas but don't have the funding sources. then finally, making sure we can energize our young people to be rigorous scientists. we clearly are the best -- we have the best health care system in the world. we have the best ability to innovate in this world, and we want to unleash, unshackle some of the impediments that, over time, have allowed us to be the best we can possibly be. i'm pleased to be here and thank you for the opportunity. >> i'm dean kamen. i'm not 67, but i spent a lifetime designing and building medical equipment over the last few decades, as everybody in

this room is aware. i'm concerned that the pace at which technology is developing is increasing. we're in the 21st century and accelerating. the pace at which the systems around us are moving makes us feel like we're trapped in a 19th century model trying to deal with 21st century opportunities. again over the next few hours i'd like to maybe talk about a few of them, but a list of things that i think should be noncontroversial that could help things go better since, as michael milken has said more than once, the whole issue is time and money. we've got to shorten the time and reduce the cost. if cms, fda and all the other agencies that are part of the chain of events could work together so that we could, for instance, in parallel do all the work we need to do as industry to deal with cms and reimbursement at the same time as we go through the fda

process, things would get faster and simpler and cheaper. another issue, which i hope is noncontroversial, no business i know could run if it lost 25% of its people every year. we have had multiple projects come through the fda and the reviewer changes. one of our most recent projects, the reviewer changed four times. each time you sought to do a restart. it's expensive, it's frustrating, it takes time and it costs money. we have to find a better way to keep continuity on the government side of this process. the third, and i'm glad that the congresswoman brought it up, is irbs. you develop a product. you want to get it tested around the country, you go through a pretty detailed expensive process of getting an internal review board to approve it. that's a necessary thing. it protects the public and the company.

you have to do it in three or four medical centers and have to go through each and every one separately. that's a little crazy. we should find a way to make it more universal. international competition. it's not just that they compete sort of in the marketplace. these days, most of my major partners, the biggest companies in the world that want to take our products out, look at the situation and because of the lack of certainty in how long it will take to get a product approved or the lack of certainty of what the reimbursement will be for it, almost -- almost universally now, we transition to a world where our biggest clients would prefer to go and launch a product in europe or japan than in the united states. and that hurts on many levels. it makes the product less accessible in the united states. it has a lot of bad implications. we should recognize as a country we should be competing to be the most favorable place to attract innovation.

finally -- and maybe it's just a small one to some of you -- the device tax which does nothing but make things more expensive, but it's really kind of a slap in the face to this industry. you could say it's only a few percent. but a few percent is a pretty big number to people that are trying to make a new product. and particularly because it's uniquely a medical device tax. as a matter of public policy, we learn that you tax tobacco, alcohol, have luxury taxes. there's certain taxes that the government puts out because they're trying to encourage or discourage certain kinds of behavior. i don't know why people trying to make life-saving equipment should be taxed the way you tax industries that you're trying to say it's a luxury or it's a sin tax. i don't like to be lumped with that crowd. and i think it's bad policy. >> thank you. dr. theodorescu? >> yeah.

close. and the green light on. >> it's a privilege to be here. and a little bit about myself. i'm director of the university of colorado comprehensive cancer center. in that role, i am charged to really set the vision and the synergies of cancer research at the university of colorado which is a consortium cancer center which means we encompass three universities as part of our consortium. i also have a very vibrant laboratory that's funded by the federal government with multiple nih grants. and our area of interest is really doing personalized medicine, establishing genomic tests to assign therapeutics as well as doing drug discover pep in addition, because of my role as cancer center director, i'm involved directly or indirectly with clinic trials and i also

get a lot of positive and complaints from our membership regarding the access and process of global trials. so, i think i bring a perspective of both the user and also somebody that's recipient of feedback from my colleagues. you know, i think this is a -- this enterprise by medicine is basically bringing upon it a defining moment for this country because this is something that is going to be the future. personalized and precision medicine. how we do it is really our moment in time. the united states, thanks to dr. collins' initiative and vision has really built an incredible genomic engine and infrastructure and has resulted in a lot of technology to really push forward a molecular and biotechnology in medicine. it would be a shame not to

capitalize on that and maintain our international and national leadership in that area. we have a great opportunity. this initiative is fundamentally important, i think both from a health perspective and doing right and doing good by our citizens, but our international leadership and also for the economy. and we have discussed the numbers of things about the irbs, et cetera. there are tangible things that we can do. one of them, for example, is aligning the reimbursement process with the regulatory process for biomarkers. biomarkers are really the part an parcel companions to targeted agents. you can't have a targeted agent without a biomarker. they go hand in hand. we need to establish the guidelines for biomarket development. because the biomarker sphere is

really an area that's a lot less reimbursed than drug development, yet it's really fundamental to precision medicine. so we really could thing how we have parallel tracks so companies, small biotechs, small businesses, can really develop biomarkers and have a possibility an expectation of a return on investment to grow this economy. the other sort of vignette that i like to bring out is in trying to protect our patients, patients are basically the heart and soul of translational medicine. we rely on them. we're eternally grateful for their participation. but we need to encourage them to participate which means removing barriers. when we have consent forms for drug trials 40 pages long, even though they're written at the eighth grade level, perhaps my children when they're in eighth grade were not as smart, but i can tell you they were really not prepared to read 40 pages. i think we need to visit this because in trying to protect

people we are actually dissuading them from participating and we're hurting them. we really need to rethink that. that's a vignette of a practical thing we could do in addition to the central irbs and supporting our young investigators. that support can be in the form of facilitating the transitional research operation. people who want to do translational research have to have a clear career path and basically be able to spend their time really with forward motion. getting trials done, getting patients on trial. if the barriers to approving patients for clinical trials are so high we'll get progressively fewer young investigators wanting to embark on those careers. it's not a money thing. it's basically trying to overcome obstacles. after a while, you just get tired and you just go and do other things. we need to remove those barriers and that will promote our young investigators and also the entire translational infrastructure of clinical trials. thank you.

>> thank you, mr. chairman. i commend the work that both you and representative degette had done in this efforts. i am here today not as the chairman of the milken institute. i'm here today not as the chairman founder of faster cures. i'm here today not as the chairman and founder of the prostate cancer foundation. i'm here today not as one of the founders of melanoma research alliance or adviser to the focused ultrasound foundation. i'm here today as an american who lost ten relatives to cancer and representative of the men and women in america, one in two men, and one in three women, that will be diagnosed with cancer. and i am the happiest person to be with you today, mr. chairman, in that they gave me 12 to 18 months to live when i was diagnosed with cancer 21 years

ago. and i'm here to remind the committee that 50% of all economic growth in the last 200 years has come from bioscience and public health. that the greatest achievement in the history of the world has been the increase in worldwide life expectancy from 31 years of age in 1900 to over 70 today. it took millions of years for average life expectancy to go from 20 to 31. and a little more than a century we've risen average life expectancy from 31 to 70. i'm here today to remind all of us that it was 20 years ago that a woman had more than a 90% chance of passing hiv or aids on to her children.

and today with modern science, the probability of passing it on has gone from over 90 to 2. it's easy to understand economic growth when in sub-sahara africa, life expectancy has increased by 50% in a generation with two-thirds of everyone living with hiv or aids. living in sub-sahara africa today and it is no surprise as a result that today six or seven of the fastest growing economies in the world in this century are in sub-sahara africa due to the great benefits of u.s. medical science possibly the greatest contribution of the united states to the world has been the benefits of this medical science that is available to so many people today. those countries that lead in the biosciences will lead the world in this century. we're not just talking about health. we're talking about agriculture,

environment, energy, air, water, et cetera. and so we're of the dawn of the golden age, this enormous investment that the american public has made with the leadership both in the administration and the senate and the house, approving in '98 an increase in funding, which now exceeds over 200 billion. we're about to reap those benefits. whether those benefits will accrue to the united states of america or to some other country will be determined by the leadership and the commitment of this committee and others today. there are five easy lessons we could talk about today that we've seen over the last 30 or