d 16,000 jobs. reducing emissions also provides substantial public health benefits including saving lives, reducing illness, health care costs and lost workdays. our experience demonstrates a group of states can reduce emissions substantially and grow the economy at the same time. therefore, instead of asking whether we can afford to reduce that pollution, a more pertinent question is whether we can afford not to act now to reduce the emissions that are causing our climate to change. in new york, we are already experiencing a destructive effects of climate-driven extreme weather. three years ago, hurricane sandy decimated many communities and tens of thousands of homes in new york and new jersey at a cost of $67 billion. over 70 lives lost in the area struck by the storm. a year earlier, hurricanes irene and lee caused 66 deaths and 17 billion in damage. these storms disproportionately harmed low-income families and smaller businesses and communities located in low-lying

areas, most vulnerable to flooding. our nation -- our choice as a nation is straightforward. we can invest in clean energy creating jobs as a result at little or no net cost and reap the benefits of better health, lower health costs and reduced risks of climate change. or we can ignore the science and expect more frequent storm events causing tens of billions of dollars in damages. to new york, the answer is clear, we have demonstrated that it's possible to use energy more efficiently, stimulate economic growth, provide healthier air and reduce the potential damage for climate change. that concludes my testimony, thank you. >> thank you. and our final witness is dr. mary b. rice, instructor in medicine, medical school division of pulmonary critical care and sleep medicine. >> thank you i'm a pulmonary medical care physician. and i care for adults with lung disease.

most of whom have asthma and emphysema emphysema. my message is simple, climate change is becoming the worst public health crisis of modern medicine. hundreds of research studies have demonstrated that greenhouse gas emissions have already changed our climate over the past several decades causing heat waves that last longer and happen more frequently dangerous spikes in ground level ozone, increased wildfire activity, and longer, more potent pollen seasons. and these effects hurt american families. my physician colleagues and i are already seeing these health effects among our patients. the american thoracic society recently conducted a survey of our u.s. members who are doctors from all around the country caring for children and adults. and we found that the vast majority of doctors said climate change is affecting their patients today. let me describe just a few of the health effects that my colleagues and i see. consider heat waves.

several doctors commented that their patients with emphysema can't handle extreme heat. they visit their doctors more often and get hospitalized more often during heat waves. extreme heat also increases ozone to levels that are harmful to the lungs of people. also the lungs of babies and young children. have been found to contribute to premature mortality. the hot conditions promoted by climate change favor forest fires and grassland fires which are at great cost to human health. during a heat wave in may of 2014, for example, multiple wildfires broke out simultaneously in san diego county. that caused $60 million in damage.

this estimate doesn't -- wildfires can travel great distances and release a mixture of toxins that are irritating to the lung making it harder for people to breathe. a colleague of mine in san diego told me he advised all his patients to stay inside and keep the air-conditioning on. is this the future we want for american families? increased hospitalization for asthma in children and adults and respiratory illness in the elderly. climate change is also bad for people with seasonal allergies. about 30% of all americans and roughly 10% of americans with asthma. lengthen the pollen season because plants bloom earlier in the spring and higher levels of carbon dioxide increase the amount of pollen produced.

and there are also more powerful. studies have found that when pollen levels are higher people visit their doctors more for allergy. emergency room visits for asthma among children and adults go up. and one of my patients who is a single mother with a teenage son, both of whom have severe asthma called me on a weekly basis this spring because of trouble breathing. and between the missed days of school for her son and missed days of work for her this allergy season was a disaster for her family. i'm a physician and a researcher researcher but my most important job is my role as a mother to three children under the age of 6. one of them my 1-year-old son has had two emergency room visits and a hospitalize edd. i'm terrified this could mean the next ambulance ride. and when he's sick i can't go to the hospital and take care of my patients or my husband can't work. we're more fortunate than many

americans, many of whom risk losing their job or struggle to pay for the next emergency room visit when they or a loved one suffers an acute respiratory illness. i've only described a few of the threats to the health of americans from climate change. experts predict that we can avoid the most frightening scenarios if rereduce greenhouse gas emissions. we redeem immediate health benefits right here in the u.s. when we reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we also reduce air pollutants that trigger heart attacks, asthma and emphysema attacks, stroke and death. as a mom, a doctor, and a representative of the american thoracic society, i favor taking firm steps:d change because i support clean air and a healthy future for all americans. thank you. >> thank you doctor. i want to thank all of you all and we'll begin the questions, and i will begin.

mr. trisco, you mentioned in your remarks about the impacts of the conservation. would be least likely to be the ones to be the beneficiary of that or to be able to afford to make those changes. projects that consumer energy prices will go up by 4% by 2020, which seems rather low since we just had a 16% rise in our prices in west virginia. how do you see these two converging? the rising price and the really the lack of the conservation and efficiency aspects of this clean power plan for the elderly citizen and those on fixed income? >> senator, excellent questions. let me first address the observation that i offered with respect to senior citizens being

least likely to benefit from the energy efficiency aspects of a clean power plan. that observation derives from two facts. one the pay back period that is designed to support major investments such as replacement of windows heating and ventilating systems, those paybacks pay back periods typically are too long. to be economically feasible for lower income to senior citizens. it's also true in general for the population that american houses tend to be owned for a period of about seven years on average. if you're a homeowner looking at

a $10,000 window replacement project. a typical homeowner expect to live in those dwellings. secondly, and i've heard this from senior utility executives, as well, that one of the difficulties in securing energy efficiency gains from lower income consumers is the quality of the housing stock. the relatively poor quality of the housing stock will not support investments in fairly high cost energy efficiency upgrades. suchgs windows and hvac systems. such as better attic insulation,

weather stripping and the like. those have short payback periods and they're feasible. but the magnitude of the energy efficiency investments that e.p.a. is projecting in the clean power plan, which estimates to cost some $500 billion for american consumers. those investments simply will not be made. by the elderly and the lower income consumers. i hope that's responsive to your question. >> recently concluded this rule the clean power plan could reduce the gdp by $1 trillion. based on the analysis that you did and explained, could you just reimp size how you think that's going to impact low-income or minority citizens across the country? >> it's going to be very critical and tragic. it's going to hurt as far as 2.1

million black owned businesses we represent. their customer base is going to wither. and i think the quality of life is going to hurt in our community. moneys that would be used for health care or education. and i think people who would resort to crime and violence because they're poor and broke would increase. i think it would hurt our communities severely. >> thank you. and final question very quickly, mr. trisco, part of the arena act says that we shouldn't move forward with these regulations until all the legal aspects are settled. as you know states are challenging this, and will challenge when the final rule comes out. but if states begin to make changes, in the meantime what kind of scenario in terms of how states are going to be able to react not knowing whether the legal issues have been settled

as yet? >> senator you've hit upon one of the most desirable aspects of the arena act. and let me just put it in the context of the current situation that the electric utility industry faces with respect to epa's 2011 mercury and air toxic standard rule or the mat's rule. currently before the supreme court, a decision is expected shortly within a matter of days. it's possible that the supreme court decision could result in the rule. kr yet utilities in order to comply with that rule already have retired dozens of power plants across the united states and are scheduled to retire even more over the course of the next year. wouldn't it be advisable as a matter of public policy before implementation of the most expensive rule ever imposed on the electric utility sector,

$9.5 billion a year to know upfront whether the rule is legal. >> thank you. >> ranking member senator carper fellow west virginian i want to say welcome and also ask fe had can do his opening statement and do questions, which most certainly you can. >> thanks for holding the hearing and all of our witnesses, it's great to see you, and thank you for joining us again. some of you not for the first time. hopefully he has a great life. >> is it possible to have cleaner air, cleaner water and at the same time have a stronger economy? i go back to -- much of my life, retired navy captain for most of my life after the navy. i really focus on job creation, job preservation, what do we do to foster a nurturing environment for job

preservation? you go back to the -- a week in january 2009. the week that barack obama and joe biden were sworn into office. and we lost that week, 625,000 people filed for unemployment insurance. january 2009. 628,000 people file for unemployment insurance. and the previous six months the last six months, 2008, we lost 206,000 jobs in 2009, we lost another 2.5 million jobs, 5 million jobs literally in a 12-month period of time. since 2009, actually since 2010 we have adopted regulations new americaly regulations on power plants. we have adopted new carbon pollution or fuel economy standards on cars and trucks, that's two. and we've also adopted across state pollution standards, that's three. and since 2010, we have added

762,000 manufacturing jobs. millions more other jobs. but on 3/4 million manufacturing jobs. what leads me to believe maybe it's possible to have cleaner air and cleaner water and at the same time, actually, do better. i just ask this to keep that in mind. i was born in west virginia, the coal mining town. and grew up there in virginia. and now representing state of delaware. and we see every day what the effect of climate change and global warming is. sea level rise creeps up higher and higher on the east coast of my state. so it's something that is very, very real to us. for -- since coming here, i've tried to work on climate compromise that would use market

forces. harness market forces to reduce carbon pollution and reduce the cost of compliance. and as part of that compromise i work with senator verd, and a handful of other coal state senators on language that would have provided more than $10 billion in incentives to support deployment of clean coal power plants. this language along with other language intended to buffer impacts to the coal industry was included in the kerry/boxer bill which was not enacted into law. instead, coming to a compromise on climate change, congress came to a stalemate. all the while it's becoming clear that price of inaction is much greater than the price of action. released the comprehensive report that outlines the alarming truth that failure to act on climate change will result on duramatic costs. critically concern for low-lying states like florida and like delaware and others up and down the east coast. without action on climate change, we're going to need to

spend billions of dollars on this century to protect our states from rising sea levels and extreme storms. study also projects inaction on climate change could lead to extreme temperatures and cause thousands of deaths throughout the northeast and mid-atlantic regions of our country. it's clear, at least, it's clear to me that as each year passes without the action, the more severe, the more costly and perhaps irreversible the effects of climate change are becoming. and for those of us who come to states being impacted by climate change, i think the message is clear and that's we can no longer afford inaction. many states such as new york represented here today, thank you, welcome, and delaware, have already taken action to reduce the largest emitter of carbon pollution and that's carbon. we'll hear the economics of these states continue to grow at a faster rate than the states have yet to put climate regulations into place. however, we need all states to do their fair share to protect the air they breathe and stem

the tide of climate change. the epa's clean power plant attempts to do that. and under the clean power plan, states are given their own carbon pollution targets and allowed to find the most cost effective way to find cost reductions. sounds similar to the compromise, i tried to foist on my colleagues a number of years ago. i believe instead of undercutting the clean power plan, we should be working in good faith, with the agency to find ways to improve the regulation. regulation could be improved several ways. one, to ensure early action states are not penalized for being climate and efficiency leaders. number two, to ensure that all clean energy, including nuclear is treated equitably. and to ensure we meet our carbon reduction goals. no compromise is ever perfect. the worst thing that we could do is to do nothing while we try to find the perfect solution. must act anyway while the ability to mitigate the most harmful impact is within our grasp. choice between climate change and growing our economy is as

i've suggested many times a false one and must act on curbing climate change in order to protect the future economic prosperity of our country. all right. madame chairman, thank you for letting me give a statement and ask questions. i was delayed here today. we had a caucus lunch today. part of the lunch discussion was about the transportation bill. secured transportation bill authored by chairman senator boxer, senator ritter, myself, and i think going to be well received and we're excited about that. and so we had a little discussion of that before i came. so i got here a little bit late, and i apologize for that. i thought i would joke and i like to joke around a little bit. and thought i was going to come here and say i was delayed, taking a call from the pope. but i'm not catholic. and he rarely calls me. but if he did, we would talk about. and you know, he's really -- he's -- i must say i'm impressed with this guy. i'm impressed with, one, i think

he's read the new testament and has a real commitment to the -- when i was naked, did you clothe me, when i was sick in prison, did you come visit me? he gets that and he gets that. and those of us that are familiar with the scripture and know it more than me. and the other thing he gets is he know the moral obligation that we need to have a planet that there is

report. >> doctor rice. mother of three. you mentioned in your testimony, who are the most vulnerable and have the most to gain? >> thank you for your question. a number have the most vulnerable. the most are the elderly. because most of them have chronic health withins like lung and heart disease because of thebyz[

high heat and air pollution levels. and another very important group is low-income people. and people with less income and less access to air-conditioning during heat waves. there have been a number of studies looking at cities which suffer the most in some ways from extreme heat because of an island effect of the buildings if the cities and the poor neighbors have been found to have the worst urban heat problem. and people who have low income also have the same people who are often exposed more to higher levels of air pollution to begin with and have less access to healthcare and resources to help them manage climate change. and there is a third group -- i know i'm short on time and that is children. especially prevalent in children and they're at high risk from all of the issues i identified, high heat, air pollution from wildfire, and higher pollen

levels is a major consequences for american children. >> thanks. one quick yes or no answer. a study released by the lancet and the best known best known journalist that climate change threatens to undermines the last half century gains, would you agree with this yes or no. >> i would agree. it is major health problem facing the planet. >> thank you. my time has expired. >> madam fischer. >> thank you. mr. cicio. the nebraska is 100 power state and 100% of the power is owned by the people of nebraska. we're going to be hit especially hard by these regulation proposed in the clean you power plan and we're going to see rate increases that i believe will be

substantial. what do you believe will be the impact on our increase that we're going to have when theh electricity races on things like manufacturing. what is the impact there. >> all of the companies compete globally. there is almost no exception any more. and as i alluded to specifically, the competition is fierce. companies win or lose business based on a cents a pound or pennies on a ton of product they make. and so all of the costs are additive. and so when we get to the clean power plan it is not just the cost of the clean power plan. there is -- in the -- embedded in the electricity rates there is the cost of pm 2.5 and the

mercury fuel costs and there is the industrial boiler matt cost and now the clean power cost and now the ozone cost and it is a cumulative cost of doing business that our competitors don't have overseas and there is no way around the higher cost and loss of competitivenesses and it impacts costs and they are middle class jobs. >> and what is the impact on families when we see the increases cost on families and that has a direct impact and how will the arena act will address those coasts and what is in the proposed legislation. >> from a common sense standpoint, everyone in the country that has followed this knows that this is going to be litigated 100% sure, there is to doubt about it. and we know including the epa

knows, there is costs. an the epa does not want to hurt people by higher energy costs but this rule will. and so it is just common sense to say, let's wait until we have this setted out by the courts, before states act to particularly shut down as the aia report of last month said they are not going to shut down 40,000 gigawatts of 40,000 coal power plants. that will have an impact. >> thank you. mr. alford most of us in this room have the abilitynn1mñ to mention there is a large number of americansqx who [ technical difficulties ]

have a hard time putting food on the table for their families. but this is going to, as you mentioned, i think lead to [ technical difficulties ]

>> so therefore if we reduce emissions those communities stand the most to benefit from the reduce the omissions. >> and there is a illness and the deaths that are occurring? >> yes. >> that is a yes or no question. >> okay. well it special sounds like you were drawing an explanation of why that is indeed the case.

>> and you ended on the note that disproportionate benefits from changing the quality of the air goes to those most effected and those closest to the source of the pollution so the public health benefits are estimated from 55-93 billion dollars per year and that is compared to the estimates of 7.3 to $8.8 billion for the year. so order of 8 to 1 or 10 to 1 of health benefits to the cost that seems like a healthy benefit of an eight-fold return when you can get a health return. would you share that opinion. >> the public health benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions are tremendous and they've been looked at in a number of ways including the

report you just cited. the benefits from mortality fair out weighs the implementation costs far out weighed the benefits. that is one study. and there is one in chapel hill looking at the mortality benefits of the better air quality from reducing green house gas emissions and not even looking at the benefits from climate change just the air pollution benefits gained right away, it is estimated that the mortality benefits would exceed by 2013. >> and you noted the benefit of four stars, concerning us out west that have a major part of our lumber benefit and we've seen an increase of fire season

by 60 days with more acres of timber burning. you were pointing out in your testimony i believe the health impacts of the smoke and the smoke plumes can travel across the nation. >> senator i can give an example. wildfire smoke can travel far distances so there is health benefits and there is also respiratory and heart health effects in distant places. so the wildfires that effected russia, those travelled from chicago to san francisco, that equivalent distance and that means that thousands and thousands of people in the regions of wildfires are experiencing health effects to reduce the air quality. >> and since the prevailing winds go from west to east and when our forests are burning out

in oregon and california and washington state, the rest of the nation is experiencing those impacts. it is also an impact on our rural economy because when we lose to fire and pine needles and that is not your expertise and the pine beetles are not doing so well. and i'm over my time and so thank you very much for your feedback. >> thank you. i would like to turn it over to the chairman of the full committee, chairman inhofe. >> thank you madam chairman. i remember in this room when we had the first appointed director of the epa, lisa jepsen was in the room and i remember -- i'll tell you when it was senator merkley, it was just before the hearing -- or during the hearing

in copenhagen and i asked her the question at that time and i said if we were to pass the legislation that had been proposed here, let's keep in mind it started way back with -- oh back in 1997 when they said we passed a thing -- the bird hagel rule by 95-0, if you come back from rio de janeiro or one of the places with the treaty that hurts or economy or does not require the same thing from china and other countries as it does here we will not ratify it and consequently they never -- gore and clinton never put it for ratification. what she was saying at that time, and i asked her the question i said, now, if we were to pass by regulation or by legislation these reductions isn't this going to -- is this

going to have the -- the effect of lowering co2 emissions worldwide and her answer was no it only effects us here in the united states. this isn't where the problem is. it is in india and china and mexico and other places. in fact, wouldn't you say mr. cicio, that it would have the effect of increasing co2 worldwide emissions if we were to unilaterally reducing our emissions overseas and where do they go, to the place where's they have the least -- restrictions. am i missing something there? >> no. you are not missing anything. as a matter of fact, i testified before the house energy and power sub-committee and one of the key points i made is if we want to be serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions we need to increase

the manufacturing of products in the united states versus china for example. >> exactly my point. >> we manufacturer goods on average that has over -- less than -- well turn it around the other way. when china produces goods they emit 300% co2 than we do here. and so if energy costs goes up here, than it will result in more imports of the energy intensive products and as a reminder 70% of our manufacturing imports is from one country -- china. >> that is right. mr. alford good to see you again. and i had not seen you. and i asked for a copy of the study that you did, key findings is fascinating. i've never seen. it concentrated on the regressive nature of this type of legislation or rules. is that -- >> that is absolutely correct, sir. >> i haven't seen it done before where it was specific lie this.

so this is something we'll use. was this done for you by an outside group. >> dr. bez deck outside information systems, and we do a study every two to three years, and they are on the money. >> i appreciate that. mr. trisko, i think you made a vague reference to a -- a study of decisions of middle to low income people so i ask you to get the written copy and could you elaborate a little bit on that. i don't think you had a chance to do that in your opening statement. >> yes chair inhofe. this stdy that i attached to the statement is a run in a long running series going back to the time of the kyoto protocol. we wanted to know what american families spent on energy defined as residenceal --

residential utility and i've been updating that on an annual basis and on a general matter the annualin couple on energy has more than doubled over the course of the last 10-15 years. you mentioned the regressive aspects of energy costs and energy price increases. the study that i've attached to my statement today, let's look in particular at the percentage of after-tax income for energy spent by households with gross incomes of $30,000 or lersless and that is about 30% of the population and those households are spending residential

utilities and gasoline and that compares with an average of 7% for households earning more than $50,000 a year. so it is three times greater for the low income category of $30,000 or less. the impact of energy price increases is three times greater on those households than it is for households making $50,000 or more per year. >> that is almost exactly what you are saying mr. alford. that it is re gressive in that respect. >> yes, it is. and they graut up asthma -- brought up asthma. if you looked at the mayo clinic, there is no prevention for asthma. and there is no correlation of asthma and air. asthma has been increasing even though through the filter act we have been goodaalkphs stewards in

decreasingee missions and as ma continues to rise and no one knows where. and there is this false projection is that global warming acausing asthma. we don't know what is causing asthma. and most of the people have it get out of it by the time they are adults because their lungs and their bodies are strong enough to fight it off. but i've been getting sick -- very sick of people saying asthma and dirty air or global warming. it is a myth. >> thank you. my time has expired. thank you. senator markey. >> dr. rice you're here from harvard medical school. people are getting sick are they not? and they are not getting sick the way harry alford is getting sick. they are getting sick, aren't they and maybe you can bring with us the increased

hospitalizations and the respiratory related diseases and all of the things that are implicated in having this additional pollution in our atmosphere. can you talk a little bit about how it is impacted particularly the children in our country. >> thank you, soernt markey, this is a area where i can add to the area. and i am a lung doctor and i study air pleegs when i'm not taking care of patients and in addition to my personal observations as a doctor, i see patients come and see me more often because a pollen level or the ozone levels in boston can get high on hot days we also have the observations of the physicians of the american thoracic society and the survey that i mentioned and the doctors completed the survey the vast majority of them commented that they personally observed that their patients' lung function is

worse, the symptoms are worse during high pollution days. >> there are implications for the 12 million americans who already have respiratory illnesses. >> certainly. and we can look back at the filter act, the reductions in air pollution as a result of the filter act have been astanding and we've really come along way. and when we look back, researchers look back at the health benefits of the filter act and they are astanding not just for respiratory illness as symptom control but also mortality and heart disease. >> and you mentioned your own son earlyner your testimony who has a respiratory illness? so what could additional pollution that we send up uncontrolled mean long-term for him and for those others of millions of victims across the

country? >> so there is a variety of sources of air pollution. and one of them is the power plants and through the burning of greenhouse gases and traffic and other things. so the reality is that if we do not do anything about greenhouse gas emissions the epa report looked at just that piece of the pie and found that ozone levels will increase -- predict that we have increases in ozone levels and they have declined and we have health benefits as a result of those gains. >> so thank you for pointing that out. there is real sickness and not metaphorical sickness. and mr. martin is here representing new york and representing one of the regional

greenhouse gas initiative states, all of new england new york, maryland and delaware, nine stands that band together and over the last seven years, massachusetts has actually seen a 40% reduction in the greenhouse gases that we're sending up while we're seeing a 22% growth in the economy. so can you talk about the virtuous cycle that seems to elude those of the health of the individuals and the economy simultaneously. >> yes, senator, thank you. as i said my testimony, the reggie experience is an extraordinarily successful withinone. we had a study of the benefits over a three year period. from 2009-2011. $1.3 billion in reductions in

bills over the regi region, and extra, incremental activity. it has been an extraordinarily positive experience, all the while, as you said the reegean has experienced economic growth. we've reduced bills, reef reduced bills for low and moderate income families, especially in the beauty of the regi approaches. >> say that again. you've reduced the bills for low and moderate income people people. >> yes. the benefit to low and moderate income new york players has been $60 million to date through the first quarter of this year and those are going to keep -- those benefits will continue on into the future because new york has specified in two of the programs income eligible patients --

excuse me, rate payers. so again the beauty of the program is the states have the flexibility to target the revenue from the sale of those allowances to a variety of programs. so industrial customers can benefit, low and moderate income rate payer can benefit and businesses your average homeowners and it is a tremendous benefit. >> and it is my understanding that under the proposed rule making that new jersey and pennsylvania can join our greenhouse gas initiatives. >> and we hope they do. >> and plug into an already existing system that is working and lowering costs for low income and lower greenhouse gases and seeing tremendous growth in our gdp. so i think there is a reason to be very optimistic. well about our ability. and listening to our pope's admonitions that we should be the global leader on us and use

our market forces to accomplish the goal and taking care of the poor and the moderate income people in our country. >> i agree with you senator and there are places that can benefit from the model and it cannot be the regulari model but states cooperating makes great sense because the efficiencies of dealing with multiple states and energy systems that cross state boundaries is a great benefit in the reegi states. >> and i think too many people are pessimistic and not optimistic about americans to be the global leader and to invest in future and protect the economy at the same time and they unfortunately harbor a great doubt about our country's ability to do that and i thank you two for your testimony because you point out the

problems and the solutions in a way that i think should give people some hope. thank you, madam chair. >> i think that concludes our hearing. i want to thank the witnesses for bringing forth some very great information and facts and lots for us to think about. and i appreciate you taking time for being with us. and i want to thank the ranking member. and with that we'll conclude the hearing. thank you.

if you missed the hearing on the epa proposed rules for carbon emissions find is online at c-span.org. check that out on our video library. and next live a campaign event with hillary clinton here in florissant, missouri, near ferguson a community town hall meet. we'll join this event as soon as it begins in 25 minutes.

that is the scheduled start time. 3:45 p.m. eastern. before that we'll take a look at some of the conversations from earlier today on washington journal with writer ann colter. >> columnist and author ann colter joins us. her book is out called adios s, amer america, the plan to turn our world into a third world hell hole. and ann, i want to get your opinion on the debate since the charleston shooting. we began talking about the ounds. confederate flag shooting and whether it should be removed from the south carolina capitol grounds. what is your thoughts on the debate. >> i think it is moronic. this is an awful thing that ha happened in chorls tton. luckily it is quite rare. but to jump on this and go back to a litany of liberal talking

points that make republicans look bad, how about banning the democratic party. they were the ones who were on the confederate side of the he con civil war. they supported segregation for a hundred years.nt if we want to do something nice for black people. en how about ending immigration.dumpin which is dumping millions of low wage workers on the country taking jobs from african-americans as studies have shown. there are nice things can you do here. going back to the con federal flag in south carolina. which i might add, contrary to everything you hear on television, was not adopted by south carolina because they were opposed to civil rights, which i kept hearing on msnbc last night, in 1962, in detail, a few books back which mucked

demagoguery, it was opposing's eisenhower and nixon aggressive civil rights laws it was democrats insisting on segregation and the civil rights bills were blocked by lyndon johnson and two years later he figured it would be an advantage to him to proposed his own civil rights bill which was mostly voted for by republican.2? so why 1962. that is when democrats were on the wrong side and the bill was introduced by then i guess senator or governor but it was fritz hollings because it was the centennial of the beginning el of the fighting in the civil t war. it wasn't in opposition to modern civil rights laws. but if you want to do something nice for blacks, which i'm always i n favor of i think we handl need to get a handle on

completely stop illegal immigrations and switch it to t the immigrants that will take the ceo jobs, rather than the employee's jobs. >> and we just talked about the ch jobs, and after the shooting do you think it shows any momentum for gun control laws or a new gu debate in congress? >> no. no it's over. >> do you think it is over for the long-term or what do you think could bring it back? >> yeah. i think americans understand -- i mean, with no support from the supreme court the support for the right to defend yourself is such a fundamental aspect of our freedom, john lot has completely won the debate on for example, the only government policy that ss reduces mass shootings and spree killings is concealed carry permits and once again we have a

shooting in a gun-free zone. >> ann colters new book is out, called adios america, the plan to turn our country into a third world hell hole. on page 31 of the book you talk about who is to blame for this me immigration issue. you say democrats the rich, washington lobbyist, republican consultants and money grubbing churches. is there one that you blame the most? >> well, the one i think i'm t most or the group, the people i'm most aggressive toward in my book are republicans. because it is so idiotic. for one thing i think you would have some influence with them because they are just being stupid. and yes, that is the one error in my book though i knew it before it went to press and thats. is the sub title i just wanted it to be the plan. because if you listed it all of

the people the title would have gone on to the first six pages of the book. all of the elites in america against all of the american people the recent americans. the people who immigrated to thees country and decided they wanted't to come towa america and didn't want to go to mexico or honduras or pakistan and i don't know how th it is not turning this country to mexico, honduras or pakistan the only people who want it that way are the left because it is definitely -- it definitely punished america and liberals v think americaer is a bad country, racist sexist, phobic narso cystic greedy arrogant and we deserved to be punishment for for having a successful country and dumping low wage workers on the country without our traditions a because they tend -- the newest

immigrants who are quite dependent on government services depe compared to earlier immigrants compa an the latest population so they block it out for the democrats. but republicans, oh, por pete's , sakei i would say they are corrupt and just idiots. they are looking at their st short-term electoral interests t thei and as i wrote on the hill last the week i think this is the same calm democrats have run on republicans before. including on things like gun control where democrats convince republicans that for their electoral success, they have to peel off some small segment of a majority democratic a constituency. that is a great idea, where don't democrats do it.don' why don't they get gu' owners to vote for them or evangelical christians. why don't republicans start

doing that. >> ann colter is our guest. republicans call, and democrats. get right to callers. mark is on the line for democrats. you are on aann colter. >> good morning. i wish other stations like c-span would have people on like ann coltir more often so that new voters like a lot of the ns and mexicans and other ethnicities will see what republicans and a lot of caucasians are really allare real about.ab thank you.u. have a good day. >> ann colter, care to respond. >> well i guess i do, mark. your veterans agree with you. because nbc, abc, cbs, washington post, new york time t will not mention my name. so they apparently think i am

not good for the cause of host: liberalism. >> one of the major points you ne of make in your point is that the facts aren't being given by today's media when it comes to the immigration issue. what are the examples of that? >> well a big one is -- it makes me laugh when i hear democrats say on tv and even republicans that the dump of of tens of millions of low wage grants immigrants who hurt the working class and are taking massive amounts of government s of g assistance, it is great for the's economy. and this will shore up social security. how exactly will people who are e up s taking more from the government than they are paying into the nto th government be a great boon for the a economy? well of course it isn't. it is a boon for the wealthy who hire the people and get cheap servants, cheap maids and farm workers and cheap computer

programmers. their cheap labor is being subsidized by the major working class and it is a great deal for them but terrible for the working americans. med the main way the media plays a g game -- and utterly sensors information about immigration which is the bulk of the book isime. covering up grbt crimes and the government does that as well. and you sure knew the race of the shooter at the charleston ew church and you sure new the race of the cop in the ferguson shooting. but try to find the immigration status status of -- well take the colin ferguson the railroad massacre and that is what much of the book is about. how the media hides it, the headlines that describe the perp as man and the government officials that refuse to say,

even when you have a reporter e wh o is heroic enough who the child rapist who fled to mexico who was charged, was this an grbt, i'm sorry, we don't know,'m why wouldso you ask.ow. >> on the issue of the elite support for this issue, one passage from the book, are current immigration laws prefaced from backward cultures is merely a convenience for the 1%, the elites are gung-ho for an offense, when those with afford a chef, a nanny and a book gardner, one passage from ann colter's book.caller: alan is up next from scottsdale, arizona. >> and it is nice to see you for ancolter and thank you for c-span and it is always sunny in scottsdale. so here is my point.in

in regards to the murder down in new york north carolina, i would like to say to sy my black brothers i love them and i've been with them imes many, many times in music and in my band and era and things like that, but the point is your next book in right in front of you ann colter, and that is the democrats since the '60s have been trying to change history and they can't change it becausean' they can't change the truth. and the woman who was on the last segment in terms of support the confederate flag which was totally against -- the black woman, i would like to say to ut lou her shed screams out loud there e were people in the south killingling blacks but it was the northern people and the millions and millions of lives that put their life on the line for the blacks put to free the slaves and that is

the most ironic thing that i canblacks say to the blacks today. the other thing in regard to gun control which i like to bring up is just think i would rather see america more armed than less -- armed because isis wants to come isis in or russia wants to come in hereond attack this country or china, have at it. because they're going to see one hallacious -- you think the war in iraq was something awful or ireland, wait until they come to america and see what we do this them. >> ann colter several topics to choose from. >> yes. that is right. 600,000 white men died to redeem the principle that all men were created equal. slavery has existed across the globe. it is an evil institution.

it hasn't always been based on race. and those northerners dying were the republicans, the ones dying to protect -- their homeland and also the institution of slavery were the democrats. as for china invading, if only, chi at least we would know what is wh happening.at instead, we're giving away our country without a shot fired. both through immigration and it appears through massive debt to ch thein chinese. >> peter out of new york, line for republicans. good morning. >> good morning. hi, ann. pleasure to talk to you. i just got your book for ll the father's day. t read through 50 days so far.ing i it is great. you tell the truth. but they try to label you as a y racist but you are really a patriot and you care about the quality of life in america and

that is your concern. i don't think you hate anybody. i don't hate anybody. but i hate to see what is going i on here.to but nothing is going to change as long as the rich and the powerful who also control the media, because the big money, they want this. they own the politicians, at least most of them. but the thing that we need to do to fix this and i agree with you, is we need to make e verify the law with stiff penalties and put the fence up and anybody who over stayed their visa by six months spends one year in jail and anybody who gets caught coming over the border a second in timeja does 3-5 years in jail. you'll see how quick this will end.ow qui and people like mitt romney say we'll self-deport if they can't get a job here. thank you ann, and god bless you. >> thank you. you're a very lucky father to get that wonderful book.

just out of historical accuracy, of the many many hate campaigns waged against me accusing me of being anti-woman, anti-widow, anti-muslim, anti-semitic and anti-gay, one thing i've never been called in a racist.ds my anyone who reads my book or ld mugged would see that is a very make. difficult case to make and particularly on the issue of immigration. it was barbara jordan, the great civil rights hero who came out for a moratorium on immigration and strict limits and ore argument was on how the immigration policy has been devastated to african-americans. and one of the points made in the book is the idea that peoplehat who arrived yesterday can demandand

the the same civil rights and the same special treatment that black americans in this country deserve. given the black experience in america. i mean the reason we have civil rights laws and the reason there was affirmative action or set becaus asides was because of the legacy of slavery and jim crow laws and passed by and defend by the democratic party. that is something america has to remedy. but someone who arrives circa 2000, we didn't do anything to . you. if you have grievances, go home and address the perpetrators. but you have parasites. losers from around the world and coming in and piggy backing not only on the black experience but. taking black jobs. and i think -- i think serious i blackth leaders have traditionally recognized that and been on my on side on immigration. >> line for democrats suppose r democr

next. george, louisville kentucky, good morning. >> good morning, ann.i i met you at the i.u. auditorium years back. at i've done new hire paperwork in n for the corporate retail chain for many years.i and nearly every employer i know, whether it is a local llc big or a big massive retail chain that represent people, retail rvativ are hard core conservative and m woul every one of them would hire gal im immigrants if they could and yet they are on the conservative right and i have -- they would ir sou sell theirl soul to the devil for cheap labor. and not only that, wall street northern conservative business interests align themselves with southern conservative democrats

to fight against civil rights. so there is a lot of greed in the mix when you want to blame the left for everything. it is business interest that has sought cheap labor any way they can. if you look at the server scale, the two 13 server scale held ince 1 down since 1981 held down in the red states. but if you look at the retail ial to states. >> wait can i interest rupt this. you haven't been listening. you missed the whole point of what i just said. i'm not blaming it all on the left. i am specifically blaming it on i am the employers as for how a conservative republican it is and america said capitalists will sell us the rope with whichness to hang them. not all retail businesses. some of them are lovely. your history is wrong on northern interest lining with the south but we'll leave that we b

part aside. right now right here, yeah, a te lot of corporate america they don't care about american culture, about american tradition' they want to make their pile and retire. oh, well the country will be over. the people this hurts are ordinary americans and again, as i say,s especially african-americans and especially recent immigrants.nts but democrats don't care about recent immigrants.re about they just want the votes. the democrats want the votes andrepu the republicans want the campaign cash. labor the businesses want the cheap labor and the richuppies want the cheap nannies. >> and the recent book, you focus on the practice liars in the republican party and go through much of the current presidential field. who in the presidential field is saying the right things. >> and taking you live now to a community town hall meeting with presidential candidate hillary clinton.

somehow i'm sure all of that is not for me. [ applause ] >> just kidding. thank you for your patience. and it is either really hot in here or i'm having a hot flash. either one could be the answer. so we'll hope that it will calm down just a little bit. we are still in a house of prayer. will you pause with me please for a moment of prayer. gracious god, we thank you for your presence and your people that are gathered in this place. our prayer is simple, lord. open our eyes that we might see. open our ears that we might hear. open our hearts that we might

receive and be changed. you are known by many names, but i pray in the name i know. in the name of jesus amen. howard they are man is one of my favorite the ole oathans in one of his most books he makes this comment. the masses of men live with their backs constantly against the wall. they are the poor the disinherited, the dispossessed. what does our religion say to them? for me as a preacher that rings very shockingly true to the core of what i believe my mission is. but for us as a people, the question is still relevant. what does our nation -- what

does our country say to those who live with their back against the wall? last week in charleston north carolina, we were reminded of what hatred can do. and today we certainly continue to grieve with the lives that were lost there. we'll be crying for a very long time. but we also make take this moment to not just focus on the one who pulled the trigger that day, but on the policies the people, the structures that are pulling the trigger daily. [ applause ] >> today we're here for a

dialogue. a conversation. it's not the be all and end all of all things. we hope that it is the beginning of many conversations that we will have with those who seek to be the leader of this country. in st. louis there really is a tale of two cities. we live in a region that has some of the best education the nation has to offer. and yet, in that same region we have children who attend unaccredited school districts. [ applause ] children who are unable to read when they should be able to read. in this region, we have supreme

healthcare that is known all over the nation and yet we have failed as a region to expand medicaid so that everyone can just have basic health care. [ applause ] in this region you can travel a distance of ten miles and that ten miles will determine whether you leave in a mansion or in misery. in this region, we are 19th many metropolitan size, but 43rd in economic mobility. in this region we have community divisions in the places where we should have solidarity. there should be no question about what it means to protect and to serve. no question about what it means

to get a minimum wage that is fair. no question about what it means to have justice in this region. secretary clinton cannot answer all of those questions for us today. but it is important that we don't forget the questions. and we're grateful that she has chosen to come here today to listen so that we might be heard and to give us the opportunity to listen so that she might be heard. i introduce to you secretary hillary clinton. [ applause ]

>> thank you. thank you so much pastor tracy. thank you for welcoming me to your church this community and with such powerful words. i am here to listen but also to engage in the kind of open and honest discussion that i hope is happening all across america. last week just a few hours before the massacre at mother e manual ame church during wednesday night bible study i was in charleston visiting a technical school meeting students black, white

hispanic, who were pursuing paid internships and preparing for the jobs of the future. i heard their stories. i shook their hands. i looked into their eyes. and i saw the hope and the pride that comes from doing work that is meaningful learning feeling that you matter. and that there will be a place for you. that is the basic bargain of our country. and these young men and a few young women were doing their part. that night word of the killings struck like a blow to the soul. how do we make sense of such an evil act? an act of racist terrorism

perpetrated in a house of god. how do we turn grief anger and despair into purpose and action? those of despair into purpose and action? those of us who are christians are challenged by jesus christ to forgive 70 times 7. a daunting even impossible task for most of us. but then we have seen 125 scriptural admonition in action. isn't it amazing, remarkable even, when fear, doubt, desire for revenge might have been expected but instead forgiveness is found. although a fundamental part of

our doctrine, its practice is the most difficult thing we are ever called to do. but that's what we saw on friday when one by one, grieving parents, siblings and other family members looked at that young man who had taken so much from them and said "i forgive you." wanda simmons, the granddaughter of reverend daniel simmons said "although my grandfather and the other victims died at the hands of hate this is proof, everyone's plea for your soul" she today the killer "is proof that they lived in love so hate won't win." their act of mercy was as stunning as his act of cruelty.

hate cannot win. there is no future without forgiveness, archbishop desmond tutu taught us. and forgiveness is the first step toward victory in any journey. i know it's tempting to dismiss a tragedy like this as an isolated incident, to believe that in today's america bigotry is largely behind us that institutionalized racism no longer exists. but despite our best efforts and our highest hopes america's long struggle with race is far from finished. we can't hide from hard truths about race and justice. we have to name them and own them and change them. that's why i preesh dwrat

actions begun yesterday by the governor and other leaders of south carolina to remove the confederate batting flag from the statehouse. [ applause ] [ applause ] recognizing it as a symbol of our nation's racist past that has no place in our present or our future. it shouldn't fly there. it shouldn't fly anywhere. [ cheers and applause ] and i also commend walmart for deciding to remove any product that uses it. today amazon ebay and sears have followed suit and i urge all sellers to do the very same.

[ applause ] but you know and i know that's just the beginning of what we have to do. the truth is equality, opportunity, civil rights in america are still far from where they need to be. our schooling are still segregated. in fact, more segregated than they were in the 1960s. [ applause ] nearly six million young americans between the ages of 16 and 24 are out of school and out of work. think of that. neither learning nor working. and the numbers are particularly high for young people of color. statistics like these are

rebukes to the real progress we have made and they pose an urgent call for us to act publicly politically, and personally. we should start by giving all of our children the tools and opportunities to overcome legacies of discrimination to live up to their own god-given potentials. i just saw some of the young people attending camp here at the church down in the basement and i was thrilled to see that because that is the kind of commitment we need more of in every church, in every place until every child is reached. and i hope we can take that as a cause for action [ applause ] i learned this not from politics but from my mother who taught me that everybody, everybody needs a chance and a champion. she knew what it was like to

have feeneither one. her own parents abandoned her. by 14 she was out on her own working as a house maid. years later when i was old enough to understand i asked her "what kept you going?" her answer was very simple, "kindness along the way," from someone who believed she mattered. all lives matter. and for her it was the first grade teacher who saw nothing she had to eat at lunch and without embarrassing her brought her extra food to share. it was the woman whose house she cleaned who agreed to let her go to high school so long as her work got done. because those people believed in her, gave her a chance she believed in me. and she taught me to believe in the potential of every american.

that inspire today in go to work for the children's defense fund after law school. it inspired know work for the legal services corporation where i defended the rights of poor people to have lawyers i saw lives changed because an abusive marriage ended or an illegal eviction stopped. in arkansas at the law school there, i supervised law students who represented clients in courts and prisons, is organized college scholarship funds for single parents, led efforts for better schools and better health care. so i noeknow. i know what personal kindness political commitments and public programs can do to help those who are trying their best to get ahead. that's why we need to build an economy for tomorrow, not yesterday. you don't to look far from this sanctuary to see why that need

is so urgent. but you also don't have to look far to see that talent and potential is all right here if only we unleash it. i believe that talent is universal but opportunity is not. we need to rebuild the american opportunity soed forciety for the 21st century. and, you might ask, how do we do that? well, first start looking at the faces and the energy of the young people i just saw down stairs. we have to start early, make sure every four-year-old in america has access to high quality preschool. [ applause ] because those early years are when young brains develop and the right foundation can lead to life long success. now, i'm not saying this just because i'm now grandmother. [ laughter ] of the most amazing brilliant,

extraordinary nine-month-old in the history of -- [ laughter ] of the world. i'm saying this, again, because i know what the evidence is. i know that 80% of your brain is developed by the age of three. so we have to do more. and when i say "we" i mean churches and houses of worship. i mean businesses, i mean charities, i mean local governments. all of us have to do more to help families be their child's first teachers from zero to five. you know when i was first lady of arkansas i struggled with this issue. we had a lot of kids, poor kids in the delta and south arkansas and up in the mountains and we were not going to be able to afford at that point all those years ago a universal pre-k program. we had to do more, but we were never going to do enough. so i looked for programs that people could run themselves and i found a program in israel, a program designed to help the

children of immigrants into israel particularly in ethiopia who came with their parents seeking religious freedom. they were ethiopian jews, they had to escape, but many of them had never been to school. and the secret to the program called the home instruction program for pre-school youngsters, was to teach the mother to teach her child. we need to do more of that and i call on all of us to find ways to reach into those families and then as our kids grow up, they're going to need not only a good education to prepare them but the skills for tomorrow's jobs. we need tax credits for businesses that invest in apprenticeship apprenticeships, particularly providing opportunities to economically disadvantaged young people. in order to create those new jobs, we have to attract investment into communities. too often ignored or written

off. whether you live in ferguson or west baltimore, in coal country or indian country you should have the same chance as any american anywhere to get ahead and stay ahead. [ applause ] we should reauthorize the new markets tax credit which has encouraged billions of dollars in private funding for community development and small businesses in low-income low-investment areas. it should be permanent. a lot of new jobs are going to come from small businesses and we know that women and people of color face extra hurdles becoming entrepreneurs. it's harder to find the support networks. it's harder to get that loan. so we've got to do more to knock down the barriers so every good idea that anybody has will get a fair hearing and a chance to create a new business to employ people and raise their incomes.

we must do all we can to ensure our communities respect law enforcement and that law enforcement respects the communities they serve. [ applause ] and we need to come together for common sense gun reforms that keep our communities safe. [ cheers and applause ] the key to all of this is revitalizing our democracy and finally persuading the 50 million americans who do not vote that by not voting they make it possible for people who do not agree with them do not support their aspirations to call the shots. earlier this month i went to texas southern university to speak out against systematic efforts to disempower and disenfranchise young people, poor people, people of color and the elderly. we need early voting in every

state and automatic universal voter registration. [ cheers and applause ] i think every young american when they turn 18 should be universally automatically registered unless they say no. [ cheers and applause ] now, if we restitch the fraying fabric of our communities we will only do so if all americans do their part. i grew up in the methodist church, my mother taught sunday school and made sure -- part of the reason she taught sunday school was to keep an eye on my brothers who were supposed to be in sunday school, but you never knew. so she was there to make sure that they showed up in their classes. but she also made sure we heard the wisdom of john wesley, the

founder of methodism to do all the good you can by all the means you can in all the ways puck in all the places you can at all the times you can to all the people you can as long as ever you can. and that meant more than prayer. [ applause ] it meant we had to step out of the church roll up our sleeves and get to work. i was blessed with a wonderful youth minister who took some of us into chicago to hear dr. martin luther king, jr. speak i grew up in an all white middle-class suburb. i didn't have a black different, neighbor, or classmate until i went to college. and i am so blessed to have had so many in my life since. but i leapt at the chance to hear dr. king's words. the sermon that evening was titled "remaining awake through

a revolution." dr. king challenged us to stay engaged in the cause of justice not to slumber while the world changed around us. i think that's good advice for all of us today. we should all commit to stay awake and stay active, to do our part in our families, our businesses, unions, louses or worship, schools, and yes in the voting booth. never stop working for a stronger, more prosperous more just, more inclusive america. government has a big part of the responsibility to promote growth fairness, and justice, but so do all of us. so in quiet moments in the days ahead, in honest conversations, let's talk about what each of us can and should do. because ultimately this is really all about the habits of

our hearts, how we treat each other, how we learn to see the humanity in those around us and how we teach our children to see that humanity too. and we don't to look far for examples. those nine righteous men and women who invited a strange intertheir midst to study the bible with them, someone who did not look like them, someone they had never seen before, their example and their memory show us the way their families their church does as well. . so let us be resolved to make sure they did not die iní(mvain. do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good. thank you and god bless you. [ applause ]

>> thank you for those very poignant words secretary clinton. just so everyone understands how we're going to do this, all my life i'm wanted to be oprah. [ laughter ] just kidding i like my life. so reverend karen anderson and i, we're sister churches right across the grass from one another and when the call came for us to have this opportunity, it was important we do it together. so you get two oprahs. we've innovated on to the panel

with us what we lope people who will share a comprehensive view of what is good about our region, what is challenging about our region and how they've come up with innovative ways to make a difference. because st. louis is the show-me state, it wouldn't be complete if we didn't have an opportunity for the aud dwroens also be involved so we passed out cards ahead of time and at the end of the discussion or the middle however you see fit, we'll choose a card or question and involve that as well. i thought we would start the conversation with dr. jason per nell. he's a professor at the gwb school of social work at washington university. [ applause ] you can see he has a great fan base. he's also the lead author of "for the sake of all" which is a

comprehensive look at what is challenging in our region and so talking with him first will provide a backdrop for the rest of the conversation. >> thank you very much. i wanted to share the work we've been doing between scholars at st. louis university and washington university. just over a year ago we released this report, a comprehensive report looking at health disparities in st. louis through the lens of what we call the social determinants. so not just looking at health outcome bus also looking at educational economic u( rezresidential and neighborhood factors that

lead to health disparities. one of the findings that's been talked about in our region is an 18-year gap in life expectancy between two zip codes, 63106, and 63105 in st. louis county which is predominantly white. that's less than 10 miles of geography and an 18 year gap in life expectancy. and what we unpack is what's different about various areas of our region. what i've started calling the geography of inequality. what's different is an unemployment that's almost four times as high for african-americans. a median income that's less than half for african-americans than it is for whites. and the health outcomes that accompany that such as an african-american baby born in st. louis city and st. louis county being more than three times as likely to die before

their first birthday a homicide rate for african-americans that is 12 times as high as it is for whites in st. louis county, st. louis city and st. louis county. but we're not just focuses on disparities, we're also focused on solutions and talking about how addressing social determinants of health and health disparities impacts everyone regardless of their race or socioeconomic status in st. louis. we have recommendations in six areas, including, i was happy to hear you talk about early childhood. . investing in high quality early childhood for all children is recommendation number one. creating economic opportunity for low to moderate income households recommendation number two. investigating in coordinated school-based health and health care is another recommendation. investing in the full gamut of mental health services from stigma reduction to awareness to

treatment. investing in healthy neighborhoods so that no matter where you live st. louis you ought to be able to find fresh fruits and vegetable, live a safe place, have safe places to reck create. and addressing chronic and infectious disease prevention and management. so all of these factors interact but we believe there are evidence-based and community-informed solutions to these issues and we've engaged the community, we've engaged local and state policymakers, we've engaged business leaders and we're currently in the process of translating the work we did in into a series of discussion guides and action tool kits in partnership with an organization called focus st. louis here in st. louis to give community members tools to respond to the areas of

recommendation. we just had dr. anderson come out for a community action forum on school-based health and health care so we're very focused on what can the entire st. louis region do to move forward. >> well, first of all, i really comment you on doing this project because i think it's long overdue that we really dig into the data to try to understand what the disparities are, what the sources of them are and what as you rightly point out, are some of the solutions. because if we all we isdo is complain or criticize without coming up with a good base of evidence or a good set of recommendations, it's hard to build political and public support. i wanted to just follow up on something you said because this is not only true in this region between st. louis city and the county, it's true across the

country. so what wash u and st. louis university are doing is important because we have to put it all together from coast to coast. but just focusing here i think there are a number of strategies that could be deployed that would be self-help strategy, community-based strategy, neighborhoods, individual families, churches, businesses, and the next step should be to look at what the contribution nerve the private everybody in the private sector and the public sector can make then put out what those contributions can be and enlist people to start making them. so, for example, on early childhood, i'm a big believer in programs and they can start off as voluntary or they can start off as supported by various community organizations literally visiting the new mom, the new parents of every newborn born in the city and the county

and beginning to build a relationship and offering support because so many of these young parents don't have their families nearby they don't always know everything they're supposed to know to take care of their baby. they don't have follow-up. they're supposed to come back for well-child visits and shots but they need somebody an experienced somebody who can be in that home a few hours a week to show them what to do. and i think we could enlist a huge number of maybe retired moms and grandmother, retired nurses, people whoechb are still working but could give time during the week because we've got to start at the beginning to help parents understand they are their child's first teachers, they are the most important people, the most important adults in that child's development. so i think it's not only what we need to do to expand medicaid as pastor tracy said which is so

responsibility that people get the health care they deserve to have, a government program, a government choice which other states have made and i would hope could be made here. it actually saves states money and it helps support community and rural hospitals [ applause ] so it needs to be done. but we need to assign in a sense responsibilities to every sector of society and then work together to get those delivered. and i thank you for the overview that your report gives. >> thank you very much. [ applause ] >> we also have us with today dr. tiffany anderson. she is the superintendent of the jennings school district. you can give a a hand. [ applause ] because just a little over three years ago, we may not have thought we would have still had a jennings school district, but

she has come in and through some very innovative work taken the school from unaccreditation to exceeding accreditation standards. [ applause ] and she's done some wonderful innovative work and we have asked her to share some of that today. >> well it is so wonderful one this is a place of worship so let me start off with sharing a few things that we do but i must first say i thank god for being here and being next to all of these wonderful people today and just having a listening here about what we really deal with. so often we are invisible in what we say and what we have to offer but i think this moment truly tells you that you are not invisible in her presence. clearly, clearly. [applause] and you know i'm a preacher's daughter but i'm going to be very short with what i have to say because we have a lot of people on the panel.

anyone that has driven down jennings station road at 6:00 in the morning or 3:00 you see me on crossing guard duty because to do this work and to make the changes that you have to make you have to be willing to be in schools. you have to remember that schools are now the center of the community. we want it to be church and we all should be a church but not every parent sends their child to church. but guess that? they have to send their child to school. so when you remember that then you realize you have to do all of these pieces so i'm going to give practical examples. i will say because every teacher loves to show off their children, if any of my students -- because i gave them permission to leave early, we do year round school in jennings, we're one of the only places that does that. [ applause ] if any of my students are in the audience, stand really quickly so i can see you. they probably did not make it in since i told them they couldn't leave until 2:30. [ laughter ] okay, they didn't make it. they're probably standing

outside. but with that in mind, jennings first of all, we're 100% free lunch. we're 98% african-american. three years ago -- you have to be at 70% to be accredited below 50% is unaccredited. they were around 57% in terms of meeting standards. we are now at 78% as of last year. [ cheers and applause ] that was last year. so i thank you. now let me share with you some things about how we got there. the first thing that you have to know, in order to serve any child, you have to serve the whole child. so when i say the whole child, let me tell you some things jennings does. it is important for you to know this because we have got to be the highest minority, highest poverty in the area. so with that in mind we have one of these t smallest budgets in all the districts surrounding us, we have the low exexpenditure as well from all the districts because resource or low standards should be high,

resources will always be low. but my hope isn't what i share with you, it's replicable. so in jennings the first thing that i want you to know, in terms of health care, just like you have an eye exam and ear exam, you should really have as well a mental health screening when you come through the door. [ applause ] so every one of our schools has a mental health therapist. that's the first piece. it's just part of what we do. we do it for our students, we do it through our families. we are through wash u and a pirater inship with wash u building a hospital clinic. i committed spaces for classrooms. you can take those classrooms on the end of that building and turn it into a hospital. we're helping pay for the construction. it opened in january, the rest of construction is finishing. that means we have a pediatrician on staff. not only will they serve jennings students but they'll serve anybody in jennings because it doesn't matter if you come to jennings your child is my child, we are all interconnected in this thing. [ applause ] pre-school. in this state pre-school funding is pretty much non-existent so

most districts don't have pre-school. in jennings we have pre-school. it costs about $60,000. so that means i increased class size, i have one assistant superintendent, there's almost no value office which is why i wear the tennis shoes and do the crossing guard duty. but by doing that the money i save by not having assistant superintendents, the money i save i'm able to have a preschool in every school. you must do that. you must do that. my slope that it will start being funded because jennings -- the progress that we made we're being innovative but it's on a shoestring budget. you shouldn't have to have no central office and large class sizes and superintendents doing crossing guard duty. i love doing it but that shouldn't be the norm. so that's the other piece we do. i'll give you two other quick examples because i believe relationship, pod goj ji curriculum changes a district. so we have a washer and drier. a parent can wash one load of

laundry for free in exchange for volunteerism. come to any pto, any pto in jennings, at elementary and middle and you'll see a packed pto. you know why? not just for the washer and driers, because we have the only school-based food pantries. we are the only one. ther on east st. louis so we give out 8,000 pounds of food a month. that's 200 to 400 parents a month in jennings being fed by jennings. 30% of our staff are employees. i'm just going off the list because i know we have a lot of folks here. but 30% of our staff we hired our parents and alumni. economic recycling. so when you say i have to help the whole child unless you are pediand healthy and have those other pieces, you're not going to achieve. so if you want to know how, i've giving you a few examples, but all of you are invited to come to jennings at any time and volunteer while you're there.

[ applause ] because you heard what she said. it takes all of us. so in jennings we track our children from birth all the way to cradle and let me share what that means and we went and visited -- i don't care if you're private, charter we visited every school that you can imagine. so we went to new york, jeffrey candies, marlon children's home. we came back. so unfortunately they don't fund parents as teachers in the way they need to so our funding was cut. so now i'm a certified parents as teachers. i'm going through my training in a couple weeks. we have another staff meeting so when you're pregnant you meet with us and then you have your parents as teachers training when you have your child you come into one of our pre-schools. in jennings we teach two grade levels above so you get introduced to your kindergarten curriculum in pre-school. when you finish -- this is not front page news -- we have 100% placement. every one of my 138 babies that

graduated, they're either placed in post-secondary or a job and i have a counselor that follows them all the way through college. that's what it takes to make a difference. [ cheers and applause ] >> secretary clinton, may i suggest dr. tiffany anderson for vice president? [ cheers and applause ] [ cheers and applause ] >> well, what i was going say is i think we've got three oprahs up here. [ laughter ] but i'm so glad she talked about the whole child and working with the whole family and providing opportunities for parents to be involved so that they are

partners with teachers and i think what you've just said and the results you're getting should be a wakeup call about what's needed and i would hope that you would get more financial support for your pre-k, more financial support to do the work that is making a difference in these children's lives because you've earned it and you've shown what it means to take care of our kids [ applause ] >> i want you to know, i thought dr. anderson would be perfect for this because of the work she's done. we have many, many teachers in st. louis who are just as committed and as dedicated and that story doesn't really get told. one of the things that really strikes me about dr. anderson is when i called her about this panel she was on the road. you don't mind me telling do you? >> i don't remember. >> she don't remember.

she doesn't live here. she lives in kansas, right? and drives to take care of these babies. so when i call at 6:00 in the morning, she said "child i've been on the road since 2:00." that's the kind of dedication that we have here. [ applause ] >> it's almost impossible to follow. that [ laughter ] >> i don't want to go next. >> well you are going next, chris, i'm sorry. [ laughter ] i'm just glad i'm not you. i'm just introducing you. amazing. it is my pleasure to introduce chris craymeyer with beyond housing. [ applause ] and he is beyond housing. they don't just create

affordable housing. they do a comprehensive community development. if there is a single threat you're running running through each one of these persons is that we can not silo people. we can't put things in a box and only address one issue we have to look at holisitically what is impacting our communities and individuals and our families and we want him to share about his 24/1 initiative that looks at the whole family. >> thank you. it is an honor to be here and i note to myself never follow dr. anderson ever again. [ laughter ] madam secretary, thank you for coming and hearing our collective stories about our work here and i think you said earlier that we have a lot of solutions here and how do we take them scale. so we're a place-based community development organization. our place is nestled between jennings and ferguson in a place called normandy. an initiative called 24/1.

we believe in the notion that home matters and home is the place where you come home to every night but home is the life in and around where you live that fuels and draws the best out of people that live there so if we're going take care of our families and take care of our children we have to recognize what happens, yes, in the house, what happens outside that house as well. so we think you should focus on housing, health, jobs, economic development and education and do it all together intentionally and say how do they connect? you heard dr. anderson talk about points of connectivity, about the whole child. we believe in that motion. what we've done with our residents in our community driven by the leadership of 24 small little cities that you've heard about in news, we've worked with them to help them get better but what we've said is we're driven by your voice. so we believe in the revolving circle of ask, align and act. the community has the answers all we have to do is listen.

align resources and get work done. so we've done a variety of things. we've invested over $50 million in the housing stock in our community. we've built new homes for homeownership, we've built new homes to add to our rental portfolio, over 400 units of affordable housing. we've bought and rehabbed existing homes to sell to homeowners and bought and rehabbed others to add to our rental portfolio. we've said can we change the environment? can we get people's attention by building new buildings? by fixing up homes? by getting people's attention about, look, my neighborhood is getting better. even more than that what we've said, yes, the housing is important but that's all we do we're still going to fail. let's look at economic development. over four careers ago the community told us we haven't had a grocery store in our community for over 50 years. we love a new grocery store. so we were able to build using new market tax credits a 16,000 square foot save-a-lot in the city of pagedale. i can tell you the average

increase in sales over that four-year period is averaging 9% per year. and what's important about that is the average increase in all the other save-a-lot stores is less than 2%. so our folks know good healthy affordable food is aed goo thing. folks got to eat so they're coming to the grocery store and it's doing wonderfully successfully. we have a movie theater under construction catty corner from the grocery snore a senior building we build. you can clap, it's good. i'll invite you to the grand opening in october. four screen, 375 seats. the exciting part is a lot of times in our work in our communities we struggle with just the basics. something to eat, a place to live, important but that's not what a thriving community looks like. you have to have entertainment. so in october we'll open a movie theater. in toex that we have a two story community service building where we'll provide health care services and retail opportunity, maybe a subway maybe a jimmy