the folks. >> john kasich is for us. >> new day for america is responsible for the content of this advertising. that video was released yesterday. governor john kasich expected to announce he is getting ready to make a run for the presidency in 2016. c-span 3 live today at the ohio university, and he is the 16th republican to enter the race, and 21 total candidates in all and he is the governor of one of the most critical general election swing states but he still faces long odds at winning the nomination, and more centrist than many of the potential rivals, and he has taken heat for accepting money from obamacare and open to

immigration reform he became the youngest state senator in ohio history. he has a reputation as a budget, and he eventually rose to lead the prestigious budget committee. after he left congress he went into private sector work and spent several years at lehman brothers. wow, good morning and welcome. what a great crowd. if you are like me and i guess a few of you must be because you have shown up this morning, you may be thinking there might be an announcement of something we have been waiting for for an awfully long time. [ applause ] so we're just delighted that so many friends from across ohio and, indeed, across the nation are here today for the special moment and important moment in

time, and it's a special moment for ohio -- let's try that. o-h -- >> i-o. >> magnificent. and carmen ohio is etched in stone all around us, a sweet and solemn melody, with words so familiar to any ohio stater and any ohioan and beyond, and there are beginnings of big dreams to come. how about those words while our hearts rebounding thrill, and how firm thy friendship. i would like to introduce a man that caused a lot of hearts to rebound and thrill due to his extraordinary athletic talents and triumphs on the football field, and a man's whose firm friendship to ohio state is

unparalleled and he served as the president and cia of the ohio alumni association and a man that has given so much back to this institution and his community and state in charitable service to welcome us to this great institution please welcome the only two-time heisman trophy winner in the history of the united states, archie griffin. [ applause ] >> thank you. o-h -- >> i-o. >> no, i said o-h -- >> i-o. >> that's better. we gathered today at the ohio union, the hub of student life to welcome back one of our own. in fact, governor kasich and his

wife karen are both proud graduates of the ohio state university and we're delighted, absolutely delighted -- we're delighted to have them back today for this exciting occasion. as we await the governor's special announcement i would like to offer our sincere gratitude for governor kasich for his long and distinguished career in public service, and for more than 140 years here at ohio state our motto has been that. [ applause ] >> and we're especially honored the governor would choose to make today's big announcement at his alma mater. our school song at this university carmen ohio contains a line carved into the walls here at this student union and

that line is how firm thy friendship, ohio. and from kasich's days as state senator and two terms as governor, governor kasich has always been a true supporter of ohio state and higher education in ohio. and i have come to know governor kasich over the years, and i can tell you he gets it done. we all wish this buckeye family the very very best. i hope everybody enjoys their visit to our campus, and as always, go bucks! thank you. [ applause ] >> thank you, archie so much. there's a feeling of warmness and hopefulness in the room today, and we must have faith in

the good cause that we are gathered here for, and the sunshine. i would like to think that divine providence is shining down on us, and to ask for guidance from above welcome to the stage father kevin mainy. [ applause ] >> good morning. let us pray. god, our father creator of heaven and earth king of all the nations, we thank you for the gift of this new day, and ask that you bless this event and our nation. grant your servant, john, the grace and wisdom to speak and act with courage boldness and

power today and in the coming days give the american people ears to hear and hearts and minds that are open to his message, and in all things may your will be done so that your name may be glorified and honored by all people, and we ask it all in the name of jesus who is alive and reigns with you with the university of the holy spirit, one god, now and forever, amen. >> thank you father. ladies and gentlemen, it's a common act of respect that we voluntarily pledge allegiance to our flag, but before we do so may i ask you to recognize some uncommon citizens in our presence. ladies and gentlemen, the hymn on the wall says the seasons pass and the years will roll and we're joined today by many

veterans in our midst of many wars and conflicts, and some special veterans of the vietnam war, the cold war, and korea, but in just a few weeks we will mark the 70th anniversary a full 70 years have passed since the end of world war ii at least two world war veterans are here with us today at 92 years young, ed turlo, and 93 years old -- [ applause ] [ applause ]

>> another man of uncommon courage and faith, governor kasich asked him to serve as his director of veteran services because of his lifetime of service, and now retired he continues to serve his state and country as ohio representative to the world war i centennial commission. his name was shot down over vietnam and he spent five unspeakbly terrible years in the two casually called hanoi hilton, and yet somehow he persevered and returned a man of faith and forgiveness to lead us in the pledge to our flag, please welcome a true, great american hero, colonel tom moe. [ applause ]

>> thank you, ladies and gentlemen. won't you join me now as we recommit ourselves to our wonderful country through the pledge of allegiance to our beautiful flag. 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 all. [ applause ] ladies and gentlemen a big part of the governor john kasich's story is economic growth and prosperity, and here is a couple of a couple

dreamers. katherine dewey is the president of the mt. caramel brewing company in cincinnati, and for the past ten years she and her husband, mike, have worked together to built their dream and putting their whole heart and whole life savings into their work. it's paying off and they are an emerging success story in the ohio growing craft beer industry. their success has earned them this year's emerging excellence award for the claremont county chamber of commerce please join me in welcoming kathleen. >> good morning. my name is kathleen dewey, and my husband and i own mt. carmen beer company in cincinnati. we just don't make grain water

and yeast turn into beer we must create the right environment for mother nature to make the beer herself. this is kind of like what has happened here in ohio the past four years. governor kasich says that government doesn't create jobs, people do. as governor, john kasich helped create the right culture for ohioans to do what they do best create create small businesses and create jobs and create great beer and a better future for themselves ppz i am not here as a republican or democrat, but i am a political independent that votes my consciousness. like us, many americans have been able to push their dreams forward, but not because of our own work and our employees but because of john kasich's hard work and ideas, too. thank you, governor.

[ applause ] i believe that john kasich what he does he does for us. eliminating taxes on small businesses and balancing budget budgets and a commons sense to government. just think of what america would be like if those kinds of things happened everywhere. thank you. [ applause ] >> thank you, kathleen. there are those words, how firm thy friendship and there are many friends of john and karen kasich here today, and far too many to mention, and many of the governor's great partners in the ohio senate and house are here today but at the risk of missing somebody, i will ask you to

recognize somebody a few i see quickly in the crowd, the chair of the republican party matt bourjos. the great attorney general of the state of ohio mike duine. a great public servant auditor of the state, david yost. and the man who believes all elections should be fair and accessible and makes them that way, the secretary of state, john huested. we're joined by at least two members here of congress today old friends and colleagues of the governor pat tea bury and

steve stivers. and finally, governor marry tailor. another good friend of john kasich made a special trip here today from new hampshire to be with us. why? because he knows john kasich's extraordinary ability and leadership skills. how's that? in large part because he is a man of extraordinary ability and achievement himself so he recognizes what it takes to take on great challenges and put together the teams with resolve and resilience to succeed, and great challenges like balancing the federal budget and reforming washington and taking on pentagon waste. he knows this because he was there and fought alongside john kasich elected to the united states house of representatives from new hampshire.

his own exemplary service took him to the united states senate where he continued the fight. ladies and gentlemen who better to tell us what it took and what it takes -- did i mention he is from new hampshire by the way? what it took and what it takes, please give a great buckeye welcome from the state of new hampshire, senator -- [ applause ] >> thank you thank you. thank you all, very much. i was certainly proud to serve for six years in the united states senate, and met a lot of great senators in my day but backstage i said to archie griffin, you are a great american. it's an honor to be here today to talk with you just a little

bit about john kasich. i know many of you have known him a long time. he is somebody i am proud to call my friend. i have spent a great deal of time with him. he's been a mentor. he's been a great leader in congress, but maybe most importantly today, i believe he will be the next president to the united states. [ applause ] >> i first met john kasich nearly 20 years ago. i was a brand-new member of the united states house of representatives, a newly minted congressman and assigned to the budget committee, and as soon as i went to the committee room in washington and met john kasich, i knew right then he was a special person. kathleen just talked about the

importance of conscience in everything you do, and certainly not least of all casting your vote and serving the public. john kasich has always been about conscience. he did not worry about polls or popularity. he did what he thought was right. for his family, for his neighbors, for his state, and for his country. on the budget committee he led a group of young members young conservatives that wanted to make a difference, and he listened to us and debated and argued and at the end of the day he helped us achieve things that we honestly did not think we had in us. i saw firsthand the energy and the skill and the dedication that he brought to that fight to get america's financial house in order.

i saw the passion he had, the incredible intensity and fashion he had for solving tough problems and for taking on challenges, for taking on challenges that others were afraid to tackle, and then, like now, washington was full of politicians who constantly talked about cutting taxes or balancing the budget and they all had hopes and dreams and aspirations. john kasich has never bench ofen much of a politician as a leader. he knew talk was cheap and took on the challenge. he cut spending and took on special interests and he cut taxes and led the way to america i first balanced budget since man walked on the moon. [ applause ]

and i will tell you something else, he can do it again. [ applause ] on the armed services committee john kasich led the way to fight fraud, to cut wasteful pentagon spending taking billions of dollars back in reinvesting int in the men and women in uniform that serve our country. john kasich is compassionate but he's also incredibly tough. he's conservative, but he's generous. he's smart but he listens to us. these are the skills that make him such a unique and

extraordinary leader. more important, they have made him an effective and successful leader whether it's balancing america's budget, reforming and strengthening our armed services and restoring ohio to prosperity, john kasich has delivered a record of success and achievement that no one else in this race can match. [ applause ] in my time in washington i saw hundreds of politicians in the house and the senate talk about what they wanted to achieve. leaders like john kasich have already delivered time and time again. and -- and most of all, -- and my

friends, that -- most of all that's what america needs today a president that doesn't need any on the job training. john kasich is that leader. he's ready. he is strong and tough and honest, and that is precisely why john kasich will be the next president of the united states. thank you very much. thank you. [ applause ] >> thank you senator sununu. i invite you, ladies and gentlemen, to listen to a little bit of music, and we'll be right back. ♪ ♪

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♪ hang on sloopy ♪ ♪ sloopy hang on ♪ ♪ hang on sloopy ♪ ♪ sloopy, hang on ♪ ♪ ♪ hang on sloopy sloopy hang on ♪ ♪ hang on sloopy ♪

♪ sloopy, hang on ♪ ♪ sloopy lives in a very bad part of town ♪ ♪ and everybody, yeah, -- ♪ ♪ ♪ >> announcer: ladies and gentlemen, please welcome emma, reese and karen kasich and the next president of the united states of america, governor john kasich. ♪

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wow. standing with me of course are the people who i dedicated my life to. my sweet daughters, emma and reese kasich. you know i remember when they were born. remember that, sweetie? [ laughter ] >> i kept saying to the doctor, how's it going you know? he was trying to deliver two, and finally he looks me square in the eye and says can you shut up? i'm a little busy right now. they came out and i could hold them in the palm of my hand. it was so sweet. and so i along with karen have dedicated our lives to give them a better life than we were able to get from our parents, and you know what? they are doing fantastic. emma and reese kasich. [ applause ]

and my wife. pray for her. she's married to me, okay? from the very tips of my toes to the top of my head i just love my wife so much. such a great partner. and such a great lady. so i want to tell you, it's this whole business of the american dream, isn't it, that we can all work to make sure that next generation is going to be in a position of greater strength than what we received. i get my inspiration from the people who came before me. i want to tell you about a few of the ones that inspire me. i would like to start with my uncle steve. uncle steve was a tough guy, you

know. the son of a coal miner. rough and tkpwruf and tell it like it is and he found himself at ae ma jima. in the middle of all the violence and the blood and the death, he said to god, if you will take me off this island, i will go to church every day for the rest of my life. and he did. and he did. and uncle steve -- when uncle steve came home from the war, the brothers all slept in the same room. they didn't have a lot. and uncle george told me that he would have nightmares, and he would speak in japanese, and he

told his brothers never wake me never wake me from that nightmare, because i don't know what will happen. let me sleep and wake up on my own. uncle george he's here today, he is right over here, he is 89 years old. [ applause ] i so love my uncle george. he's the patriarch of our family. uncle george was in the infantry, and he was scheduled to take a vote from england to belgium, but the division he was in couldn't all fit in the boat so they asked uncle george to wait until the next day. well, that boat left england on its way to belgium and a

submarine launched a torpedo and sunk that boat and everybody on it perished. the next day uncle george took another boat and he landed in france, and he fought with great honor and he returned home and became a guidance counselor and guided young people for the next 38 years of his life. what a man. [ applause ] my father-in-law we call him poppsy, and he served his country, and most important, my mom and dad. you know, mom, she was a

visionary. didn't get the education. you know, her mother could barely speak english but boy, was she smart. if you think i have opinions you never met my mom. and my father he was the mailman. they called him john the mailman, and when we laid by mother and father to rest there were countless numbers of people that came and said john the mailman, he watched out for awful us. they gave up so much, didn't take -- i wish they would have spent more on themselves but no matter what you told them, they were going to do it. it was all about the next generation. they are the ones that have inspired me. all of you that are here today you are the same way aren't you? you got those people who did so much for you who are your heroes. they don't have to be famous. they are just people you love and you admire.

that american dream is pivotal for the future of our country. but i have to tell you, there are a lot of people in america today who are not sure that that american dream is possible that that american dream is alive and i can understand their concerns. you know when i was a kid, you went out and you got a job and you worked at that job your entire lifetime. you got your health care, and you got your retire and everything was good. today you could be a 51-year-old man, and one day after serving and doing everything the right way, somebody walks into your office and says, i'm sorry, but we don't need you anymore. can you imagine that conversation? could you imagine that dad when he is driving home or that mom when she is driving home? they lose confidence. they wonder what their future is.

can they get another job? can they support their family? will anybody be there to help them? or how about moms and dads today, they send their kids to college, and many of these young people ringing up massive amounts of debt trying to get an education, and they are living in the attic, and mom and dad are wondering, will they get a job? will they pay their bills? what kind of a future are they going to have? or, at the same time, we can also think about what all of us fear greatly, and that is the problems of bad health. can i afford those expensive drugs that i need to survive? what is it going to cost me to get treatment, not just for myself but for one of the loved ones in my family? will i be bankrupted and lose everything i have, everything i worked for? it's a real fear.

or the fear of the tsunami of drugs. it's everywhere, isn't it? the kids that are here and there are many of them, don't do drugs, don't put that 1,000-pound pack on your back and keep you from your god-given success. how about those that struggle to make ends meet? there are some people that say, oh, just work harder or pull yourself up by your bootstraps. i believe in all of that. some people just don't have the fortune that many of us have. they struggle. they struggle for a whole lifetime and they worry, can they rise.

can they pull the rest of their family members up the ladder the promise of america and they worry about it. how about if you are a member of the minority community, an african-american? you wonder. the system i think sometimes just didn't work for me and sometimes i feel like that system works against me. you think about the troubles that many of our african-americans face today in a world where we have worked to provide equal rights and opportunities, sometimes they are not so sure and i don't blame them. or how about all of us? we pick up the paper and it's chattanooga, it's ft. hood, it's isis. are we safe? are we going to be safe to go to

the mall? are we safe to leave our homes? these are the worries that many americans have. but i have to tell you, as serious as these are, and they are very serious we have had a lot worse, much worse in this country. think about it. the civil war. you remember reading about it? it's not just neighbors fighting against neighbors, but it was even family members kin fighting against one another and killing one another on a battlefield right in america. how about the racial violence that we experience in this country? the early days of television when they put the dogs and the gas and the batons on people of another color. or the world wars, where many in our families never came home,

leaving widows and children without a dad. or the depression, the depression. ask your grandfather, ask your mom and dad about that depression. my father used to say that he would go down to the store and get some food for the family, and the guy would say, we'll put it on your bill. there was no bill. that's what it took for america to get through the depression. you all remember that crystal clear morning and the horror we felt on 9/11. but guess what? we've always got through it because the testing makes you stronger, and it's the challenges that make you better. i have lived through them and i have become stronger for them and america has become stronger for them, and here's how we have

done it. by staying together. not by dividing each other, but by staying together with our eyes on the horizon, with our eyes on the horizon, about the future. [ applause ] we have a little town in ohio called wilmington. they followed that formula. let me tell you about these folks. they played by the rules. worked every day. highly productive. teamwork. and one day an employer said, we're leaving. we're out of here. and thousands of people, thousands of hard-working god-fearing people like your

neighbors went from getting a paycheck on a friday afternoon to visiting a food pantry so they could feed their kids. i was down there in 2010 after this earthquake -- economic earthquake hit wilmington. we had a campaign bus. my wife was with me. we walked through that food pantry and we looked at the people and preachers and civil servants and leaders and caregivers, they were at the food pantry but they had not any hope because they had their eyes on the horizon. we got back on the bus -- i will never forget it as long as i live, and we got back on the bus and i said, folks, do you understand -- some of them had been with me for a long time so they got it and some of them

were rookies. i said do you understand what we are doing here? this is not a political campaign. by the way, neither will this be. this is not a political campaign. did you see those people? did you see the tears in their eyes? did you see them hugging their children? did you see them not hopeless? we're going to join in and we're going to help them, because it's our job and our mission as human beings, as children of god, to work with them and lift them, and guess what? guess what? [ applause ] and in wilmington today, the sun is coming up. i told them that the sun would come up again. it hasn't reached its zenith

but the sun is rising and it will rise to the zenith in america again. i promise you it will happen. listen, you know who does this? you see, it's you and me. see, it's teachers and preachers and moms and dads, doctors construction workers like that sweet man in brown county that saw his family washed away over the weekend. keep him in your prayers. police and firemen, and people like my dad the mailman john the mailman, because we are the glue that holds our country

together. how about -- as for me as for me, look, i am just trying to do my best okay? i came here to ohio state and i found myself on the 19th floor of one of the towers and you could hit it with a stone from here, and i had 15 roommates and the place was 23 floors high, and ohio state can be a pretty intimidating place. it's big. it's a big place. i left my dorm room went down to the first floor and i walked just right down the path to ohio stadium. it was a time when you could actually walk in that stadium, and they didn't have that one end closed in, and i walked into that stadium and i swear this happened, and i walked right to the 50 yard line, and there was know one no one in the stadium that day, and i looked around, all of

those seats and those big structures that were there, and i thought to myself, either this place is going to take me down or i am going to take it down one way or the other. either it was going to be me [ applause ] you know, either it was going to be me, or it was going to be a place, kids, because you will face it some day, to help me move forward. you know what's amazing? i'm back here today. you could throw a stone and hit that stadium or you could hit that dormitory so many years later, and guess what? i am here to ask you for your prayers, for your support for

your efforts, because i have decided to run for president of the united states! [ applause ] [ applause ] >> you know, they ask you all the time, like it's a trick question or something you know, why do you want to do this? like they are going to catch you, right? i mean if you can't answer that question, you ought to be back at the 50 yard line at ohio

stadium wondering about your future. i do this because, first of all we are not born to serve others? i want you to think about this. if we're not born to serve others then what were we born to do? i do this for my family, of course, for my sweet family for my neighbors, for my friends of many, many many years many of whom are working with me today 30 40 years later and i really do it for everyone and i have to humbly tell you, and i mean humbly tell you that i believe i do have the skills and i have the experience.

i have the experience and the testing, the testing that shapes you and prepares you for the most important job in the world and i believe i know how to work and help restore this great united states, and i have to tell you, it's a daunting challenge. i was just at wendy's on saturday up here on hudson avenue and two wonderful african-american fellows were there and i walked in i was standing behind them and one said i don't if i believe what i'm seeing, and he said, that's governor kasich standing behind me. you better run. do you know what that meant to me? two african-american guys, one with a brace on his knee and another with a cane. i said, you know people are

going to have a lot more money than i am and they looked at me and said you got statistics! you got statistics! some are going to ask, as they always have, why do you think you can do do this? you know all of my life people have told me you can't do something. i will tell you why. it's because i do believe in the power of very big ideas, big, bold ideas. 1976 i went out to the convention in kansas city and not only worked for ronald reagan but i worked with ronald reagan and i got to travel with ronald reagan. i actually knew the guy, the real guy not from the history book. he lost at that convention.

i had been managing five states at that convention. you talk about lightning striking me. i was 24 years old. they were one man short and said can you manage five states for the governor. i said of course i could. i had no idea about it. he lost as you know. and i was there when he met with his closest advisers. and he said we have lost the battle. we hadn't lost any war because we will all be back. i'm going to fix america with all of your help. of course it further cemented my notion that big ideas change the world. big ideas change the world! [ applause ] so i came back here to ohio and

i was charged up and working as an aid. i came back and i remember meeting with one of my buddies. i said i think i'm going to just run for the state senate and beat that guy we had been watching. i remember he was drinking something and it fell on the floor when i told him that. i was 24 1/2 years old. i had no relatives that lived in the state. i didn't really know anybody, but i had a big idea. we went out and we got moms and dads, a lot of moms who went door to door and rang door bells. the weekend before the election one of the local newspapers said he is a fine young man but he has no chance to win. well, i won that election with the help of the army of volunteers. i went on to chair the health committee where i learned to work across the aisle because the house was run by democrats and that is where i learned that

policy is far more important than politics ideology or any other nonsense we see. you know they said it couldn't be done. we proved them wrong. at the ripe old age of 30 i decided i'm going to run for congress. my mother and father are like what are you doing now? well, they said i couldn't win. i was too young. and by the way, i was going to run against an incumbent in 1982 is like the worst year. we lost 26 republican seats that year. i was going to run against a guy who got one of his degrees from harvard. that's when i knew i had an edge. clearly he couldn't have gotten

into ohio state. i knew i had an edge! in 1982 i was the only republican in america to defeat an incumbent democrat all across this country. and guess what. here is the irony. i got to go to washington and work with president ronald reagan. [ applause ] they said it couldn't be done but we proved them wrong again. and then i got down to washington and got on the arms services committee where i served for 18 years on national security. i was there just the blink of an eye and i discovered that hammers and screw drivers had cost thousands of dollars. it was taking the resources from the people that needed it who were serving in the military. we were wasting money.

i said we need to clean this up. and they are like come on. it's the pentagon. you can't -- forget about it. it can't happen. well, we passed some legislation and we made things right. we saved money. we improved the system. and we helped the military. they said it couldn't be done and we proved them wrong again. let me be clear, our military must be improved. we need to cut the bureaucracy and we need to strengthen our services. now, i'm a person that doesn't

like to spend a lot of munoney but in this case national security climes to the top because we must be strong. we must assume our world as leaders of the world! [ cheers and applause ] so six years after i got to congress i got on the budget committee. i remember going to the first few meetings. it was like terrible. i was complaining. i was up here at a gas station and i'm saying these people don't want to do anything. some guy walked around the pump and said things are so bad what are you going to do about them? i flew to washington and met with my staff and i said i think we should just write a budget for the united states of america. they said there is like 100 people at the white house working on a budget and probably 50 up here and we only have six. i said i know we are under staffed and if you stay out of

our way we will get it done. we wrote a budget for the united states of america. why? it's not about numbers it's about vision and values. we do not have the right as grownups to ring up debts to suit ourselves and pass them on to the next generation. we don't have that right. [ applause ] 10 years of my life i worked at this. my staff was depressed. i thought we were doing pretty well. that's how i was. well, we just kept at it and kept at it and kept at it. you heard my great friend, john he was a wonderful wonderful man. if john had not told me he was going to help me in new hampshire i wouldn't have done this. he is remarkable.

we did it together. the politicians didn't care about anything about being re-elected. they cared about fixing america, pat. they cared about getting the budget balanced and getting the economy going. they said it couldn't be done. they said it was too big, too hard, too much politics and we proved them wrong again and we balanced that federal budget. we balanced it! [ cheers and applause ] you want job creation we balance the books. am i right? you balance the books. if i'm president or maybe i should say when i am president -- [ cheers and applause ] i will promise you that my top priority will get this country

on a path to fiscal independence, strength and we will rebuild the economy of this country because creating jobs is our highest moral purpose and we will muchb to get that done. by the way, how about a little balance budget amendment to the constitution so congress will start doing its job? so i left. i left washington and had a great time. i worked at lehman brothers and learned about businesses. i went to fox news where i was a giant television star. i had a great time. i had a calling. it was like here is kind of how it went. didn't hear anything but was clear to me.

you have an amazing life, a lot of skills. you are going back. and i sensed that when i was on the trip and came back and called my friends together and said i guess we got to do this and a lot of people said you haven't been in politics and have never run statewide and haven't defeated an incumbent in 36 years in ohio. we put together a vision. we put together a team. they said it couldn't be done and we proved them wrong again. and then we took over the reins. we didn't go unprepared. we knew what we wanted to do. i'm going to tell you -- i'm president i know what we need to do. there is no confusion about that. i know what needs to be done.

i have been there at all levels. we came in here $8 billion in the hole 89 cents in the rainy day fund. a lot of hopelessness here particularly among the poor and minorities. people said maybe ohio's best days are behind him. i thought that was a bunch of bologna. i said not only will we get the budget balanced i was like there is no way we can do that. we didn't have to slash things. we just had to use a 21st century formula and improve things innovate them. make a better product at a lower price. let mom and dad stay in their home rather than being forced in a nursing home.

let them stay in a home where they are healthier and happier. now today 4 1/2 years later, $8 billion in the hole $2 billion surplus. a loss of 350,000 jobs and tax cuts of $5 billion the largest in the country. and as i hope you all know economic growth is not an end into itself. if you're drug addicted we are going to try to rehab you and get you on your feet. if you are mentally ill prison is no place for you.

some treatment and some help is where you need to be. if you are the working poor we are going to give you an opportunity to take a pay raise and not bang you over the head because you are trying to get ahead. we are changing that system. if you have an autistic son or daughter for most of them they can get insurance and we will work to make sure all of them have it. for the developmentally disabled they are made in god's image. they have a right to rise. they have a right to be success successful. [ applause ] and with all of this they said it couldn't be done. guess what we proved them wrong again. i'm going to take what we learned here in the heartland that band of brothers and sisters that i work with every day and we are going to take the

lessons of the heartland and straighten out washington, d.c. and fix our country. well, you know they are going to say well you know, nice guy or good guy or whatever or not a good guy whatever they are going to say. i don't know if he can win. but with you and you, sweetheart can you paint signs? and with all of you together we'll prove them wrong again won't we? we'll prove them wrong again. [ applause ]

so our team we'll tame the bureaucracy and restore common sense. mary taylor has the common sense initiative. get rid of the stupid rules. how about putting people in the government that understand job creators and respect them rather than beating them down? how about that for an idea? how about some common sense to make america stronger erer militarily? here is what i want to say to you and i said this at my nog noggural. some people think they don't matter in this. do you know how wrong that is? we have this holocaust memorial and there is a line etched that

says if you save one life you have changed the world. do you believe that? do you believe that? if you save one life you change the world. and the lord will record what you have done for another in the book of life. now, we've got some values that we need to think about that can bring us together. folks, we are a divided country but we can fix it. i'll tell you what i think some of them are, personal responsibility. the dog ate my homework went out in the fifth grade. here is the thing. we own our lives. if you are hurting we will help you. my mother used to say that it is

a sin not to help somebody that needs help but equally a sin to continue to help somebody that needs to learn how to help themselves. personal responsibility needs to be restored in our country. teach our children. resilience. everybody doesn't get a trophy just for showing up folks. you know what resilience is? it's getting knocked down. i have been knocked down so many times. getting knocked down is not the problem. it's refusing to get up. we need to teach our kids, teach our children about resilience and remind ourselves that you're 51 years old and you lost your job, you are going to come back

stronger and better and we'll help you. empathy. this one is so important. i just would ask you to think. put yourself in the shoes of another person. we're so quick to make judgments today in our country. don't walk so fast. yesterday i was coming downtown and there was a lady and she was older and she had a cane and she was barely walking. she was putting one foot in front of another. i wanted to stop and just hug her, encourage her. people who have not been dealt the best hand in life we want to hold them accountable but the lord wants our hearts to reach

out to those that don't have what we have. i mean, that shouldn't be hard for america. that's who we are. when people have studied our country they have talked about our compassion. we need to bring it back empathy. don't be so quick to judge. me, too. me, too. and then teamwork. i know tom mow was up here. one time he used to run the veterans. i call it the great arc of life. the man goes in the military and beaten all the time in a tiny little cell. he comes home and i put him in charge of the veterans. this was the beautiful arc of what is right. tom had a code. i don't know where he is right now. here he is right here. he tapped out a code that kept them all together. it was team that carried them through the most difficult times. uncle george, it was team that

helped you to be successful. the vietnam veterans and iraqi veterans and afghanistan veterans we do best or the depression when we all hung together. teamwork not the enemy. we can disagree. and then family. look at these families here. building block of americans. the building block of our culture. let's recognize it. of course, faith. faith is real simple. for me it is about the dos and not about the don'ts. god didn't put us on this earth just to take care of ourselves. he put us on this earth to make things a little bit better because we live here. there are some that will try to divide us. we see it all the time. forget it. i don't pay attention to that nonsense. at the end of the day it's about being together because you know it says we the people. by the way if you think that i

or anybody who becomes president or a big shot we don't move america. we do our part if we have courage and intelligence, but it's all of us in the neighborhoods, in the families across the country. we're the strength and the glue. please please please don't lose sight of it. for me, i'm just a flawed man. flawed man trying to honor god's blessings in my life. i don't even understand it. he has been very good to me. i want you to know that i will do my very best to serve you because you are in my mind's eye. who are you? get up every day, go to work work hard, follow the rules come home spend time with your family. and at night you go to bed and

say your prayers for your family, for your neighbors and for our nation. and folks as it has been said many times the light of a city on a hill cannot be hidden. the light of a city on a hill cannot be hidden. america is that city and you are that light! god bless you and god bless america! thank you all very much! ♪

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ohio governor making his announcement that he is the 16th gop candidate seeking the republican nomination. 21 candidates in all running for the race in 2016. we're going to take your calls. you can let us know what you think about john kasich's entry into the race. stay here. look at the crowd watching supporters gathered in columbus, ohio. first caller is wallace calling from south bridge, massachusetts on our independents line. hi wallace. >> caller: hi. i must say i was very taken by his appearance of strength and compassion and concern and experience and i think that he

is probably very close to the mold of a ronald reagan type. >> do you remember his time in 1999 his first attempt at the presidency? >> caller: this is the first time i have ever seen him. >> thanks for weighing in, wallace. i want to let you know if you want to call in you can go to facebook.com. you can answer the question that we have there taking your thoughts and your opinions about john kasich and his entry into the presidential race. sue is on the line, lancaster ohio, independent. >> caller: this is sue. >> hi, sue, go ahead. >> caller: i want to know what john kasich thought of medicare and medicaid? and if he runts for president i will vote for him. >> he did expand the programs in his state under the so-called obamacare, federal health care law. so that might be one thing that a number of reports in the news

media have been saying that he may not be as attractive to some of the conservative leaning republicans. sue, any other comments or questions? >> caller: i think he would be a good president. i really do. >> you think he will get your vote? >> caller: he will get my vote. i'm normally a democrat but i haven't voted for a while because there wasn't anybody i believe in. i think his speech and everything really opened my eyes to what he truly has been is a great person and he believes in god and believes in other things to help people that can't work. i think he would make the best president we have had for a while. >> sue thanks for the call. on the republicans line kevin in west lafayette, indiana. hi kevin. >> caller: hello. i just wanted to call in on behalf of governor kasich.

this is the best republican candidate i have seen and best testimonial i heard on him came from a democrat at ohio state who has known him for decades and worked for him at one point. he said what a fine gentleman he was but thought he would make an outstanding leader in this country. this is the best candidate i have seen on either side. >> kevin there in indiana. take a look at a couple of reporters tweeting about the event. think nh matters to kasich? jill lawrence saying sununu on kasich he led the way to the first balanced budget. and then rick klein kasich mentions tsunami of drugs. that's a huge issue in new

hampshire and an issue overlooked nationally. and just one of the comments there from rick klein tweeting from the event itself. we are taking your phone calls. let's move on here to julian on the line, republican. >> caller: first time calling in. >> great. go ahead. >> caller: i don't think he sounds strong enough. i think he sounds very safe. i think he definitely could have done a lot better in his rhetoric for a speech. i don't feel he was very good. people there are there to support him but i don't think he is going to rile anybody up that is not already following him. >> he spoke for about 50 minutes. taking your calls on what you think about the governor of ohio, how you think what kind of candidate you think he would make. lynn is on the line providence rhode island, independent.

>> caller: i like mr. kasich a lot. i would like him to be more forceful about immigration. i like his budgetary message. i have grandchildren and i am fearful that our country is going down the tubes as far as being in debt and not having jobs. i want to see american manufacturing come back. i also like what donald trump is saying a lot. i don't know if donald is going to get voted in but i would hope that john would pick up the message and run with it. thank you. >> democrats line greenfield ohio. we have brandon. hi brandon. >> caller: hi, there. i am a lifetime democrat and i support governor kasich. i have been a teacher in ohio for over 20 years. governor kasich's first year in office here was pretty rough.

he went after teachers unions public sector unions and ohio voters rejected that at the ballot box. since that time he has come to the middle and actually done pretty good things for our state as far as job creation. also, k-12 funding is at historic highs in ohio. overall he's got my support. >> thanks for the call from ohio. brandon on the line. take a look at the "new york times" keeping up on the count of the candidates getting into the race. john kasich is the 16th but the 21st of all candidates. they have five including hillary clinton, martin o'malley. bernie sanders and jim web and then on the republican side it's a large field here 16 total now that john kasich is in.

you see jeb bush, a number of the other candidates. 16 total gop candidates running for that nomination. taking your calls. let us know what you think about either john kasich or the other people running. david is on the line in maryland, independent. >> caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. being from ohio i didn't follow governor kasich. i did like his speech a lot. i am an independent. i have recently been leaning democrat. i do like what i heard from him. i hope that he does more as far as income equality or doing

something about all of the wealth in this country going to the 1%. right now i support bernie sanders, but i'm open to other candidates that are going to reach across the aisle and be more towards the middle and not so much to the right or the left. >> so john kasich might have some interest there for you. >> caller: yeah. i think, i mean, i hope he doesn't go all the way back to the strategies of reagan era because we have empirical evidence as far as what works as far as democratic policies and republican policies. and you can see that our economy has gotten a lot better under

democratic presidencies. of course, it is never one president that is responsible for all the good and all the bad. >> he did make mention of reagan a number of times in his speech. just going to move on and get a call here from debbie in fredricksburg, virginia, republicans line. >> caller: hi. how are you? >> very good. >> caller: thank you for taking my call. i always liked mr. kasich. i thought he was fantastic the way that he can balance a budget and that's what he was well known for, but i had a very very bad experience with his office in ohio concerning my mother-in-law who was in a nursing home and was not receiving adequate care. they did nothing for me. they didn't even try to help at all for my mother-in-law.

it turned me totally against him. as a matter of fact the representative in his office cursed me. she used curse words at me and hung up. i did call back and report her and i said i want you to refer this to mr. kasich because he needs to know what you people have just done here. >> did you hear a response? >> caller: i didn't. >> i hope your mother is doing well in ohio. i will just take a look at tweets here one from the national journal talking about candidacy. john kasich went straight into politics. look back rick klein saying we've had it worse, a lot worse in this country during his speech, a touch more optimistic than rivals. this is a look back to 1999 when he first ran for president from

walter shapiro. as only reporter with kasich on last day here are quotes. kasich from 1999, i hate to lose more than anything else. i also know that if you beat me today you're not going to beat me tomorrow. the third, the polls reflect name id and name id reflects the polls. and then one more from those articles. kasich on corporate welfare in 1999 when the government gives subsidies to the big boys that you can't get as a small businessman. taking your calls for the next few minutes. want to hear what you think about john kasich governor of ohio. debbie is on the line. >> caller: thank you for taking my call. i live in ohio for 25 years and i was there when john kasich was in office. he did a good job of balancing the budget. he was a tempered man.

he was never very one way or the other in terms of his temperment. he never really got very excited or very angry in terms of in public. i was at the event when he announced his presidency in '99. i was at the front tables. and, again even at that he was tempered. i think he's the dark horse for the republican party. i think he will rise like a phoenix, if you will. and probably really up front there with the pack. he knows what he is doing. he has a great track record and he has done a lot. but he's not always what you see. the caller before you that

mentioned that she had a bad experience, some other people i know have had those too. i think he needs to clean some of that up. >> it's funny that you mention his being somewhat level headed moderate tweet from john harwood who is a reporter saying john kasich on questions about his brashness. people say he's direct. how's he supposed to be? indirect? that is cnbc interview done with john kasich if you want to learn more. and then a tweet from abby huntsman, the daughter of former presidential candidate john huntsman, kasich roll-out reminds me so much of my dad's four years ago, same team same timing, similar strategy. hope it ends better for him. and then if you want to read more about another republican in the running for 2016 they have a list of items detailing governor

john kasich of ohio. steve is on the line democratic. >> caller: well, i'm a liberal democrat who is most likely voting for bernie in the primary. what i like about john kasich is he's not the typical like religious republican. usually what turns me off is when they talk about religion and usually say how much they oppose abortion and gay marriage. kasich was talking about how his religion inspires him to help marginalize. i'm a catholic and that is always where i think politicians who care about religion should put their focus on. i just want to say if republicans really want to win in november 2016 they should take a look at him. >> thanks steven. we will continue the conversation online.

you can go to facebook.com, answer the question that we have on what you think, what your opinion is of john kasich and the other candidates. facebook.com/c-span. send us a tweet. i want to let you know we have live coverage today at 2:30 eastern. a senate hearing with labor secretary talking about the conflicts of interest for retirement advisers and the kind of advice that they give their clients. that will be 2:30 here on c-span 3. first we take a look at another senate hearing recent one about the avian bird flu and possible impact on homeland security.

good morning. this hearing is called to order. i want to first thank the witnesses for taking the time to be here this morning and the time you have taken to provide some very thoughtful and i think important testimony. this hearing is really about the recent outbreak of avian influenz influenza. it has been sprinkled out west and further east. it has not gone up and down the eastern seaboard yet. this is a serious issue. we have a mission statement for this committee to enhance the economic and national security of this country.

this is an economic issue. it is a very serious one. i do ask for unanimous consent to offer my written opening statement for the record. i do want to just cover quick stats here because i think we may be interrupted by votes a little later on. in terms of how this is going to effect our economy there are 300 million egg laying chickens over 40 million of them have been affected by this and destroyed. that is 13.3% of the total egg laying population. there are 238 million turkeys raised every year. 8 million have had to be euphonized because of this outbreak. that is estimated about an $8 billion impact in our economy. fortunately, we have not seen a new outbreak since about mid june but the migration period is over but will start up again in the fall. so we are extremely concerned about what is going to happen

when we have the migratory bird pattern once again. the purpose of the hearing is to examine our initial reaction to the outbreak in the spring and also ask and explore what our reactions are going to be and how to further limit damage so that i hate to say it it is probable in the fall including we don't want to alarm anybody but we have heard about bird flu potentially mutating from animals to human beings. that is why we have a panel here to discuss that and try to minimize the concern but also provide assurance that we are monitoring that and do everything we can if something were to happen. we have real good panel people from the u.s. department of agriculture represented from the center of disease control professor from senator carper's

home state. we have a victim not a direct victim. you are human, but somebody from state of wisconsin who lost his entire egg-laying flock of 200,000 chickens and is here to describe what he has gone through and his appreciation for what the usda has done and the frustrations in terms of getting compensated in a timely manner. that's part of the hearing. this is a very important hearing. and totally appropriate for this committee. i will turn it over to ranking member who is saying so far delaware has dodged a bullet. >> so far we have been lucky. it's better to be smart or lucky than smart. so far pretty smart. so far we have been lucky doesn't mean we will always be.

i welcome you all today. i want to welcome from delaware. i want to thank you your staff, others that worked on this hearing and we look forward to hearing from each of you. as some of you know, the issue of avian influenza is important to all of us. del mar peninsula it's hugely important. we raise more chickens in sussex county delaware. we raise more chickens there than any county in america. a big part of our ag economy in delaware is poultry. so it's hugely important for us. my hope as we come away from this hearing more confident than ever in the strength and importance of america's poultry industry and ready to respond to further outbreaks should they

occur. i think some of you know this the poultry industry is an integral part of our national economy. it supports about $350 billion in total economic activity every year. some of the industries to egg production which several know very well. other parts of the industry in my home state of delaware focus on the kind of chickens we eat. dell marvelous is a word. we call the chickens we eat broilers. i don't know what you call them where you come from but we call them broilers. some of you know the birth place of the broiler industry comes from sussex county delaware. the industry brought about $3 billion in economic activity, i think, last year. and we export our chickens all over the world.

and the trade partnership which we are attempting to negotiate, one of the approaches is to sell chickens into canada. they impose a 200% tariff. we don't sell a lot of chickens there. we work very hard to get the open markets to africa. hopefully we can be successful and africa and in places like that and instead of exporting 20% of chickens we will take it to 25 or 30 or even higher. some parts of the poultry industry particularly in the midwest continue to grapple with devastating impacts of recent outbreaks of avian influenza. the economic losses are staggering. some of the biggest trading partners have temporarily closed doors to our poultry exports and in some instances the bans

effect every state that produces poultry products and not just those that have had a confirmed case of avian flu. the frequency of new cases has shown significant drops. broiler chickens have yet to contract the virus. as of now there is no evidence that there is a threat to human health. we have farmers across america to thank for much of the fortunate news. their efforts sacrifices really made a difference. i would like to recognize our federal and state agricultural and public health officials for all of their hard work. friends in academia have done a great job. not a time to pat ourselves on the back. the possibility of new outbreaks on the east coast is real and all of us need to remain on high alert. this is especially true as we move into the migratory season. today's hearing provides a better opportunity to understand the threats posed by avian flu

and help us examine the steps taken to put an end to the outbreak. should use this hearing to identify lessons learned as well as any best practices to make a difference in stopping future outbreaks. i am especially interests hearing about measures taken in delaware that can be applied nationwide to further contain the spread of this virus. the end of the day we work together to stop the spread of avian influenza. we have a dog in this fight and must work to ensure americans along with people all over the world that eggs are safe to eat. this current outbreak is a serious matter. we have experts around the country dealt with these issues before and are laser focused on

stopping the spread of the disease. with continued hard work can and will continue to solve this problem together. >> it is the tradition of this committee to swear in witnesses. if you will rise and raise your right hand. do you swear the testimony you give before this committee will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god? thank you. please be seated. our first witness is dr. john clifford the deputy administrator and chief veterinarian officer for the animal and plant health inspection service. in that position he provides leadership and safe guarding health nationwide and served since 1997. dr. clifford. >> thank you mr. chairman, members of the committee. thank you for the opportunity to testify on behalf of the united states department of agriculture. in recent weeks the number of new detections found in u.s. poultry farms has slowed

considerably. in fact it has been a little over three weeks now i think for iowa and four weeks for the state of minnesota. a few farms impacted by this disease months ago have started the long process of repopulating with new poultry. these are bright spots in the largest animal health emergency in our country's history. while encouraging developments the impact of this unprecedented disease outbreak is being felt throughout our industries. trading partners have restricted u.s. poultry exports and the risk of disease reemerging in the fall is significant. our hearts go out to the affected producers, their employees and communities they live in in support. i assure you that this disease has usda's fullest attention and are committed to standing with our producers in industry to get them back on their feet. the secretary is leading efforts to respond to this virus to assist producers and maintain

trade markets. as we look to the fall we will be ready for the challenge. more than 400 usda staff and over 2,000 usda contracted personnel have been working around the clock in every affected state on a response. we delivered over $180 million in indemification to control the spread of disease and help them recover. all told usda is committed over 500 million an amount more than half of the yearly budget in responding aggressively to this outbreak. we can and will request additional funds should we need to. we have carefully studied and assessed the epidemiology of this virus as well as response efforts in conjunction with state and industry partners. we know that wild birds brought this disease to the western united states in late 2014. as the birds and the virus moved into the midwest we saw point

source introductions as well as farm to farm spread of the virus. although we cannot pin point a single specific practice that caused this, our epidemial report we talked at length with state and industry partners about our findings and the need for all of us to think more comprehensively about virus security. we agree we are in this fight together. we have a shared interest in eradicating the disease and getting the poultry industry back on its feet. we met with officials to ensure we have high level preparedness to deal with the reemergence in the fall. we encourage partners to review the existing avian influenza response plans so they understand what we expect and what actions we will need them

to take should the disease strike. we are urging states and industry to develop site and county level specific depopulation plans for land filling or composting of birds. our experience in the midwest showed that the biggest road block to efficient depopulation is the lack of ready sites to receive and process dead birds. for our part we are taking proactive steps to be ready for the fall. we are identifying staffing needs and hiring more than 450 additional temporary employees including 210 animal health technicians and 90 veterinarian medical officers. we are developing a potential vaccine strategy. should we decide to use vaccine to address the outbreak we will have the systems in place to do so. as part of our planning we are also working with partners to increase surveillance of wild

bird populations the need to identify presence as quickly as possible to stamp it out. later this month we will be meeting directly with state veterinarians to discuss the need for more bio security. the meeting will help ensure that our collective bio security is more stringent and we are as prepared as we can be for the fall. i want to thank all of our partners in the industry and the states for their cooperation in this process their efforts and willingness to work with us are appreciated and will help us as we plan for the fall. mr. chairman this concludes my testimony. thank you. >> thank you, dr. clifford. next witness is dr. ann shoo schuchat. she is assistant surgeon general

within the health service. she joined as epidemic intelligence services officer. >> thank you mr. chairman and members of the committee. i am here to discuss the potential public health impact from the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks and cdc's actions to prepare for human interactions. influenza virus is a formidable adver aers. the propencity to change presents unique challenges. each human case of infection with an animal influenza virus. strong collaboration between animal and human health sectors and robust partnerships are critical to identify, monitor and respond to viruses of concern like the avian influenza

viruses circulating. cdc continues to assess the risk for these viruses for the general public as low. however, people with close or prolonged unprotected contact with infected birds or contaminated environments are likely at greater risk of infection. this includes poultry workers and workers responding to the current outbreaks in u.s. birds. although there have been no reported human cases of h-5 influenza among americans to date cdc is taking action to prepare and ensure that we have systems and tools in place to protect the public's health. we have issued public health guidance for testing treatment and prophylaxis and worker protection. in january we posted guidance for clinicians on testing, specimen collection and processing for people who may be infected with novel influenza a viruses. we posted guidance on follow up

and antiviral chemoprophylaxis and amanded guidance on use of antiviral drugs stock piled for flu pandemic to be available for use in response to the current domestic outbreaks. in june we posted recommendations for worker protections. we recommend personal protective equipment for those in direct contact or going into buildings with sick or dead birds and carcasses, feces or litter from potentially infected poultry. recommended personal protective equipment includes properly fitted safety goggles, disposable gloves, boots and an appropriate respirator as well as disposable fluid resistent cover alls. we have protocols in place for field investigations and contact tracing in the event of a expected novel flu case.

statehood health departments are asked to notify us within 24 hours of identifying a person under investigation. the states are monitoring the health of workers who have had contact with infected poultry for signs and symptoms of illness that could occur within ten days of last exposure. we have equipped and trained public health labs to detect flu strains including recent strains using test kids that we developed and distributed. we have received sample of these viruses and carried out genetic analysis which do not show any markers previously associated with increased severity or trans missability in people. we have also got ongoing studies in animals including mice and ferts to evaluate disease severity of these viruses. seasonal flu vaccines don't protect against avian influenza

so we are preparing candidate vaccine viruses for humans should a vaccine become necessary. the collaboration between cdc and usda is critical to efforts protect americans from avian and other novel flu viruss. during the current outbreak we coordinated messaging and communications, collaborated on the analyses of the viruses and the development of candidate vaccine viruses and we've imbedded a cdc influenza expert with the usda's. and our strong partner networks with response to flu and other infectious shus disease threats. there must be strong at federal state and local levels. our investments in domestic public health capacities, surveillance, communication and public health preparedness will help protect the public in this and future outbreaks.

it priors -- our global partnerships continue to protect americans from infectious disease threats like this. we work with ministries of health, public health labs and the world health organization to strengthen global capacity to conduct flue surveillance, perform lab testing and prepare to respond to pandemic. more rapid and xashgization of flu viruses bolster's our nations preparedness. the current h5 avian situation has caused enormous impact on farmers and agricultural communities within the state but fortunately has not led to human infections. this is only one of the challenges that influenza viruses pose to our economy and health. we must continue the efforts to detect, respond and prevent the

consequences that these viruses pose here and around the world. thank you. >> our next witness is chris curry, director of government actability office, national preparedness and critical. he is aexpected by steve morris director at gao's national environment which leads food safety and ag safety issues. >> thank you. we appreciate the opportunity to testify before you. thank you for the introduction. as you mention, i handle our work on emergency management and national preparedness issues. steve sitting behind me is responsible for our work on food safety and agriculture and he can answer any questions that i can't that may come up in that area. today lied like to discuss key

themes across gao, particularly as if deals with path againic avian flu in the midwest. we have reported on efforts to prepare and respond to such outbreaks. we have reported at the highest levels on broad, national surveillance and defense efforts and coordination all the way down to more specific efforts within sectors like foods and agriculture. it's important to note that biodefense in the u.s. is a huge and complex effort. it requires coordination and cooperation among different federal agencies. various levels of government and the private sector. our work that has shown preparing requires careful planning to better know who's responsible for doing what, how will he will koort nature and

what resources we need. one key area is biosurveillance at federal, state and local level. that's a big word but biosurveillance is collection analysis and interpretation of data to better monitor path agains in either humans animals, plants or in the food and agriculture sector. coordinating biosurveillance efforts is a challenge because it requires working across tradition at agency boundaries and missions such as cdc and usda. but have common goals for preparing for and responding to disease outbreaks. planning and coordination are so important because they dictate the actions taken in the event of a real emergency. for example, in 2010 we found that there was no national strategy or designated focal point lead for developing national biosurveillance capability.

we recommended the security council within the white house designate a focal point. they designated a focal point. however, that strategy has not yet identified certain resource and investment needs and priorities. which was an element we thought was critical to help prioritize resources across such a complex enterprise such as biosurveillance. now, drilling down a little deeper into the area of animal and plant disease surveillance, our findings are very similar. in 2004 the president issued homeland security presidential directive 9 to better coordinate responsibilities and efforts. the homeland security department is responsible for coordinating efforts across all federal agencies like hhs and usda. however, while dhs has made some efforts, it hasn't yet fulfilled that role fully.

in addition, we found that usda had not implemented department strategy for requirements. . we recommend they had do so and they told us they intended to do so but resource challenges and competing priorities have stalled those efforts so far. so back in 007 we reported on various federal efforts to prepare for and respond to an avian flu outbreak similar to the one we're facing now and made several recommendations. for example, we recommended usda identity the capabilities it would need to respond to an outbreak. two, develop a response plan that identified various responsibilities and resource needs. three, help states develop their own response plans for high path avian influenza, four, conduct to test these response plans. usda implemented all these recommendations and now these response plans and actions rbing tested during a real life

outbreak and with new challenges as dr. clifford mentioned, such as the disposal issue. we'll continue to monitor these efforts and we'll continue work looking at the specific response later this year. this completes my prepared remarks. steve and i would be happy to answer any questions you have. >> thank you, mr. kurrie. >> thank you mr. chairman. i'm pleased to introduce dr. jack gelb, university of delaware avian biosciences center. he coordinated teaching at the center and participates in national/international outreach. receives poultry surveillance and works with delaware agriculture sectors. dr. gelb is a poultry strid industrywide recognized expert joined by his wife and children and 37 grandchildren in the

audience. that's part of it. his wife of 39 years is here. they left all their children and grandchildren at home. they don't have 1 children and 37, but when asked why they have such a healthy family, jack and becky also said, we eat a lot of chicken. >> thank you very much. it's a great pleasure, an honor to be with you today. i'm hearing a buzz here. delmarva and the dell ma var region which includes the states of maryland and virginia, experienced a low pathogenicity

firsthand in 2004. we were very, very fortunate to have a successful outcome because of advanced planning and rapid implementation of the regional response plan by our incident command system. we're very frlt in delaware to have many outstanding experts

because the ai virus the cause of the disease is highly contagious and will multiply to enormous concentrations in poultry and spread via the air and by off-farm movement of infected infected poultry, human carriers and contaminated farm equipment. all normal farm activities must cease immediately when ai strikes and the farm must be prepared to implement an emergency biosecurity plan. part of the emergency plan is that infected flocks must be depopulated, ideally within