are going to have to reduce the excessive costs we have. and the biggest one of those is health care. host: we have 30 seconds. we have been talking about the jobst( bill, by partisanship, gd lock. "the new york times" lead headline -- senator strike bipartisan bill and job creation. moved by reid, the announcement that he would only bring four parts, and threatens to reduce support by republicj.ásç there. i think there is opportunity for bipartisan progress on energy, on jobs, hopefully on health card> the needs to be long haul on deficit. -- there needs tomy be a long hl on deficit. but it is a hard slog. host: that is where we believe it. thank you for being with us, bruce reed, and lincoln's birthday and start a presidents day weekend. had a good weekendç.

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>> looking at our schedule today, later on, remarks from the coast guard commandant who will be speaking about the role of the coast guard. he will describe hard choices to meet president obamas call for belt-tightening in the federal government. that speech is live atçó 1:00 p. eastern here on c-span. after that, a senate hearing on efforts to regulate large financial companies whose failure could pose a risk to the entire economy. the concept of systemic risk or too big to fail has been part of the discussion on financial industry regulation. that begins on -- at 2: 30 p.m. eastern, also here on c-span. tune into book tv for a three-

day presidents' day weekend beginning saturday we will have henry paulson talking with warned of and on the 2008 economic collapse. ñiñiñialso on -- also gary willd how the atomic bomb changed the world. all day monday, books on american presidents. fdr, president obama, and ronald reagan. for the complete schedule, go to booktv.org. >> updated and released just in time for presidents day -- cspan's "who was buried in grant's tomb?" it is a guide to the resting places of this nation's presidents. contributor richard norton smith on the purpose of the book. >> it is a wonderful way to personalize and humanize the

past. to take events and movements that otherwise might seem impossibly remote. there is something universal about the fact that we will all one day of be on our deathbed. we will all face growing old. we all have to wrestle with questions of immortality and mortality. those are some of the themes that run through all of this. it is also and entertaining book. there are lots of stories and anecdotes designed to humanize all of these people. >> available now at your favorite book seller or order it directly from the publisher at public affairs books.com. >> european union leaders met in brussels yesterday on the debt crisis in greece. the eu nations allowed not to let the greek government default on its debt. they had a half-hour closing

news conference from the summit. this runs about 35 minutes. we decided to convene so we could discuss economic strategy. because the heads ofñi state and government are of the opinion that we really must look into the medium and long term. we should focus increasingly on the concerns that people have. economic growth and the jobs of

that come from that are extremely important we all agreed on december 10 that we should convene a special counsel to tackle this topic. unfortunately, we have done a lot of preparatory work but economic strategy ended up being pushed into the background due to the events occurring in the bureau's own. -- the euro the zone. that might beñi something that e former prime minister macmillan said. what is the most difficult thing in political life? õihis reply was events. it is often these events that

lead to us having to change our agenda and that is just what happened at this time. i would just like to point out that we have now met under the lisbon treaty and for the first time since january 1 when i took office officially. this morning, as i said, the main bulk of our discussion focused on the crisis in the bureau's own. -- the euro zone. i had had a number of bilateral context in an attempt to form a consensus, a number of meetings were held.

xdthey had different compositio. a consensus emerged. it was clear that was emerging so i wanted to putçó that to the informal council of 27 and we have with us the president of the european centralxd bank. in the meantime, it is extremely important that an agreement be reached. some have doubts about that but those doubts turned out to be unfounded it was necessary to reach an agreement and we must now implement that agreement over the coming days and weeks, of course. the disagreement is the expression of a clear political will and it is a political message that we wanted to send out today.

this political message has a responsibility to mention to it. the greek government is taking on responsibility in terms of recovery, public finances but it also reflects a political commitment to make sure solid territory -- solidarity is achieved is the necessary today. but anyway, you have now been informed of this text. >> the economic strategy for growth and for jobs -- we devoted the main part of our meeting to this topic. for sure, it would have been foolish to only talk about the long-term while neglecting the short term. therefore, we dealt with the short-term burst. it would be just as foolish or irresponsible to neglect the long term for the fact that many of the short-term problems arise

and the first place because not enough attention was put -- paid to long-term record is a clear evidence of all this. xdwe have longstanding reasons o put our strategy on the agenda. over the past two years, you're faced the worst economic crisis since the 1930's. the recovery is still fragile. our european economies are facing major challenge as. our economic growth is too slow to create jobs and sustain our social model. we need to act together to keep up with the major economies in the world. our european way of life is at ñ2istake. structural reforms are necessary. we have known that for a long time. the question is not what but how. i found a large consensus on the main ideas developed by the

president of the commission and by myself. ñihe had developed some ideas about the content of economic strategy and i have developed ideas on the government's. -- governance. i can say to you that the european council is very ambitious. they want the ownership of the economic strategyñr part of the european council. it should involve as much as possible national governments, national parliaments but the european council wants to take the lead in the coming economic strategy. i felt this ambition very strongly. that was also clear when a lot of members of the council asked for more meetings of the

council. i proposed, not for the coming months before the end of the year, that the council will gather regularly. it depends on me each month. as a council but to work a lot of topics because that is also the translation of her ambition. >> through the economic strategy that we will take, we want to have your objectives -- had few or objectives, quantifiable objectives and differentiated objectives which take into account all the particular circumstances of each country. this is so that we have a

strategy we can really follow, that we can really monitor, and that we cançó really fit into a framework of surveillance such that everybody feels in.mlve óñi progress we're making. çóñrthat is the main conclusionn this strategy. on the level of governance, there will be fewer objectives, more quantifiable objectives, and more easily controllable. the european council wants to take a regular look at progress. each year, we will try to organize the council where we put together the european banks.

we will look at progress on the economic strategy and we will look at progress made on the climate agenda. this is so that we can move forward in all three areas. the heads of state and government exchange abuse -- exchange of views on many matters like the relations with our main economic partners. also the functioning of international financial systems and other topics in that range. they want the president of the commission to take a strong position in the next two-20 summit. that will take place in toronto next june. we have prepared this common position. çóçói get the impression that ar

this first, in formal european council that we have been very successful with the main issues that we will be looking at over the next years. ?;t(xdeconomic growth and jobs. we have to put that issue right at the front of the agenda, not only for the next few months but for the time after that. that response to a fundamental need among the heads of state and government. ñrand everyone was enthusiastic that we were able to prepare a

çóçósummit in march or june whee -- where we will be implemented all of this. we did not really have enough time to talk about climate issues today. this is because we looked at the crisis in the euro zone this morning but replaced it at the top of the agenda for the march summit. that is only five weeks away. that will give us an opportunity to prepare a strategic notes and repair the commission that we will be able to submit to the march summit. i think this was a productive, successful first informal summit started it was very ambitious. for the permanent presidency

for the commission. we want to make sure that this is a success. thank you very much. this was a good forced meeting. i welcome the excellent cooperation of the council. >> today was about two main things -- responding together to crucial issues facing europe right now and discussing the strategy for the european economy. we want to address sustainable growth and jobs strategy. first of all, we have decided a statement that is available to all of you and we chose our confidence in greece and the euro zone. i really believe it is importantñixd to add this strong commitment from all states and

governments regarding our resolve and the regarding the situation that is being faced by one specific member of our union. i can tell you that i saw a clear determination to act. in fact, clear lessons from the financial crisis and all the difficulties in the economic situation worldwide is that we are more interdependent than ever before and by supporting one, we defend all our economies. afterwards, we have also discussed strategy for the future. we are linking the"du present wh the future. we cannot have a short-term strategy that is in contradiction to our medium and long-term strategy. the commission will welcome the strong backing for the ideas that have been presented on economic strategy for the next

decade, sustainable growth and jobs strategy. said that he can see there is strong backing in the european council for the ideas put forward by himself and by myself regarding the direction of this strategy in the future. i really welcome this consensus. my presentation a reference to three main drivers -- growth, knowledge, and innovation. we will develop green growth will come in a package of proposals on march 3. at fourth, that will be the subject of deliberation in the european spring council. to build tomorrow's europe, we must learn the lessons today. our priority should be to a sure

way out of the crisis while building a new economic model sustainable, inclusive, competitive, social market economy for europe. we have the institutions to make it happen. i am confident that europe also has the political will. i really welcome the spirit i saw in the european council not only regarding specific situations in one of our member states but also on the designing of this strategy for the future. we have addressed one. briefly at the end -- in the light of an appeal by the prime minister of haiti for urgent additional assistance and shelter and endorsed by the united nations, the representative and vice president of the commission is requesting member states to offer additional military assistance to meet the immediate

need. the secretary general called me yesterday to make a reference to this. this second appeal for military assistance is intended to complement the humanitarian community. i think it was important also to take note of this willingness of the european union to keep our solidarity with 80 and not forget the people of haiti. thank you. >> any questions? and yes, sir? >> since your declaration, clearly the markets have responded very poorly.

and i was just wondering whether the rather unconvincing nature of the declaration is due to blockages in this morning's meeting and whether your feeling is that promises of support are credible or not. shall we expect that finance ministers will provide details on the practical arrangements that the support will take? >> i have not been following the market because i have been working this afternoon. i am not really sure whether it is as bad as you portray it. we certainly did have a frank and open discussion. we reached agreement fairly easily. we agreed to a text.

i read the text. immediately after it had met with support of the european council, i read it and it is clear. of course, the text expresses a political will over the coming days and weeks. some aspects will be put into effect but what we did here was to translate and express it very clear and firm political result. let there be no doubt about that. it will be implemented as it was described here. i think it is too early to judge this political will and indeed this political text read it is too early for us to judge just a few minutes or hours after it was issued. we are very committed to go for this two-fold approach.

we want to preserve the greek government and we have the need for solidarity if needed. this dual approach, responsibility and solidarity. >> two questions -- the declaration on greece -- can you say how that would remove disquiet? can you explain that? and today, you have been having discussions for three hours. you wanted to create a sort of team spirit and the council. did that happen or do you need to hold other meetings to achieve that? >> on your first question -- i

just answered that. it is a very clear message is a political message in which we ask that the greek government accept for the responsibility to a large extent, the heavily done that but they want to take more steps to provide additional responsibility to accept responsibility for the financial targets. it is also a clear message of solidarity within the euro zone should that be necessary. that message needs to be sent through but i believe it is very clear that there is clear political will3. . secondly, the european council itself, is what i saw myself. i was there and you were not.

i feel there was a feeling there that we really do have to work towards a common objective and that all of us in all of our countries, we have the same problems, low economic growth and problems with jobs and that all of us in the eu, we have to accept the challenges of what we want to be as the eu to carry our weight in the world. i think that was an eye opener. i think that was very clear. i did not only experience that here this afternoon but i also made a trip to 26 countries, 26 capitals so that i could also feel the pulse there. also, i felt the same thing this

afternoon. it would have been nice if we could have met for longer. it would have been nice if we did not have to spend quite so much time on that urgent issue. given the ambitious and less of the european council, we want to meet more frequently so we can see each other more often so there will be fewer complaints of my lack of visibility. >> two questions -- on the economic strategy, do you have the impression that the heads of state and governments today laid down in sorrow basis -- a sort of bases on the way to economic governance?

secondly, how did your colleagues react to the proposal that they meet every month? >> first of all, on this idea of economic governance -- this is something that can be interpreted many different ways. we should not just reduce it to a slogan. one thing is certain, in view of what has happened in the bureau's own -- in the bureau zone, there has to be far stronger coordination of macroeconomic level so that a worse situation like the one we have seen now and it is important that there is our strong record nation in terms of economic strategy. and with regard to government, that is was meant when we use that term. the other strand is equally strong. make asomeplace a lot of emphasn disparate as the european union,

we will soon need more weight than the past. we need more blade becomes to the decision making in world wide institutions. there are some items on the agenda which we can raise in that regard. the union is often criticized unfairly dg-20 is a creation of the union. if there had been no implosion in financial terms, if we had not ended upñi in the major cris such as we had in the 1930's, the reason why that happened is that the european union was able to do something about it. the european union greeted the g-20 which took its own initiative to stabilize matters worldwide. we have been more present than is often implied. further to copenhagen, it is

very clear that we need to be more active and keep more initiatives on the external front. that is part and parcel of economic governance as well. what was your second question again? ñiñrit is not a formal proposals yet but i drew the conclusion from the many questions that were raised, questions as to whether we should touch upon one topic for another or whether we needed better coordination, there was only one possibility and that is that we need to meet more frequently. >> [unintelligible]

sorry, i am from the bbc. you have talked about the very clear political message that you have sent on greece. do you not accept that without specific pledges from eu nations and the civic obligations on grease that that won't be enough to be there reassure the markets or restore confidence in the bureau? euro. >> to date we were meeting at the level of the council. it was an informal meeting. decisions and the european union are taken by the ministers of finance in the appropriate institutional settings. what was on the agenda today was precisely on a two points that were very clear and that we agreed. first of all, the commitment of

the greek government to take all necessary measures internally. two, to implement the agreed objectives of reduction of their deficit, 4% in 2010. that is very ambitious. this was clearly set a statement. and also, it is also clearly stated that the new member states will take coordinated action if needed to safeguard financial stability in the bureau area as a whole. your question about pledges, in fact, was not raised because the greek government has not requested any financial support. the greek government believe they do not need this financial support for it that is why i think we should not now speculate about scenarios that so far are not present. this was a clear political commitment.

this was anñr informal council with the presence of the european central bank president stating this clearly. i think it is difficult to find a higher level of responsibility. this is a political commitment. the decisions, the formal decisions, are taken by the appropriate institutions and that the appropriate level. what is in consideration is to know two things -- the determination of the greek authorities to face the financial situation there. and the solidarity of the member states, namely the bureau. member states, to greece. on these two points, we were extremely clear in the common statement.

>> two more questions. >> the solidarity expressed in the declaration, does it extend to other countries who are under pressure with their dead? you said you want to be able to control -- [unintelligible] >> about greece, that is the only topic we mentioned. we did not even mention other countries. greece and only greece. in the meeting this afternoon, we spoke about governance but

not in a negative way of sanctions and penalties but in a very positive way. there was no debate on sanctions this afternoon. >> you said that greece has not requested any financial aid. the problem in greece is an economic problem. are you not planning an offer of financial support to greece? if not, what are the finance minister is going to discuss next week? ñr>> we cannot speculate on any scenarios. that does not get us anywhere and can even be negative. everything we said is and the

statement. it is correct to say the greek government has not requested any financial support. it was not on the agenda because the greeks had not asked for it. the meeting next week is a routine meeting of the euro group. after that, a routine meeting. of course, that meeting will consider the recommendations they will be discussed on the basis of those proposals. the finance ministers will taker decisions. as we say in the statement,xd it is quite clear we are inviting the ego-fin council based on the commission's proposal. i have nothing to add to this statement which was unanimously adopted or other scenarios and

other speculations, would lead up to the speculator. s. [no audio] >> mr. president, i have a question -- in the declaration, where you talk about corded action if needed to safeguard the financial stability of the bureau. as a whole, that sentence, does it mean that the european council would be prepared to enact a treaty so that financial assistance in the case where a

member state work really threatened by serious crisis -- this was a crest of the socialist summit yesterday were the prime minister of greece was bid -- was there. does that mean that the possibility of exists? >> yes, but that is a question that does not come up. the former belgian prime minister said that we have to deal with problems when they occur. [no audio] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010]

>> looking live with the u.s. capitol, the house and senate are out until february 22 but there is news from the congressional and lobbying world. the louisiana congressman who had been head of the pharmaceutical manufacturers association announces he will step down from. that from two sources familiar with the situation said that some of his board members were worried about salvaging the $80 billion deal that the industry struck with the white house last summer to help pay for health reform. coast guard commandant will talk today about risking a drop in readiness to accommodate a cut in the 2011 government budget. he will say that today at a speech at the press club. he will talk about the budget and haiti-relief efforts. we will have live coverage of

his comments at 1:00 p.m. eastern, here on c-span. after that, a senate hearing on efforts to regulate large financial companies whose failure could pose a risk to the entire economy. it is the concept of systemic risk or too big to fail. that hearing held by a senate subcommittee on finance begins live at 2:30, right here on c- span. i "hilae movie," was the subject of campaign finance reform. that is sunday on "and de." is the only collection of european presidents painted by -- is the only collection of u.s. president painted by one artist. see the entire collection on line at c-span.org. now a hearing of sexual assault

of the military and way to prevent it from happening. we will hear from a special defense department task force to study the issue. this is one hour and 10 minutes. this task force was created by the national defense authorization of 2005 as is an extension. we're very pleased you are here. we're pleased about the report and we know you get started a little after the initial 2005

authorization. that is not the task force's fault. we are glad that it commenced and you really did a tremendous work. thank you so much for that. sexual assault is a complex problem. it does not lend itself to a single hearing. last year, we set out to continue our examination of sexual assault in the military by starting a series of hearings on individual subject so that members and witnesses could have in-depth discussions about various issues. this deals with a comprehensive understanding of the problem. this will guide our deliberations on what can and should be done next the first two theories of a series or about victim advocacy and report as well as prevention programs put in place by the department of defense. our next hearing was to focus solely on prosecution of sexual assault in the military. since the defense task force

released their report in december, we have decided instead to have this hearing to fully examine their findings and recommendations. i want to thank the task force cochairs for the death, breadth and the thought police of this report. this is exactly the type of well-researched report we hoped for. this is complete with comprehensive and practical recommendations. i certainly cannot promise that all of your recommendations for congress will be implemented nor that of those are implemented will be done exactly as you have put forth. i can assure you that each and everyone will be carefully reviewed and considered by the subcommittee. we certainly don't want to steal any thunder but there is a recurring theme in the report that need to be mentioned from the outset. while the department has done ñiñimuch in recent years to adds sexual assault and the military,

much more remains to be done. thankfully, due to the work of this task force and others, we have a much clearer understanding of the problem. it is important that we make significant improvement to have the department deal with sexual assault and that we all do what we can to avoid inadvertently making things worse. sexual assault within the ranks is against the camaraderie that defines military culture. any sexual assault undermines the moral foundation of our armed forces and does irreparable harm to unit cohesion. hopefully, the hearing today will help us chart a legislative course to make progress in our goal to eliminate sexual assault in the military. we have with us two distinguished members of the task force. rather admiral iasello is a former chief of navy chaplains

and served as one of the task force co-chairs. brigadier-general dunbar served as the senior military member of the task force. we certainly welcome you to be here. i want to mention that i would ask that everyone participate and ask questions after the subcommittee members have had an opportunity to do that. i will turn to mr. wilson for any comments. >> thank you. i join you in welcoming the witnesses and thank them and the other task force members and staff for the excellent work on the report concerning a very difficult and important and challenging set of issues. this report is comprehensive, detailed, and highly insightful as to how much yet needs to be done to ensure that the military culture adequately and effectively addresses the issues related to sexual assault. the report cites many instances

and best practices by the military services to illustrate that progress has been made and is being made. among those bestñi practices are the efforts at fort jackson which is an assessment district of south carolina which i represent. sexual assault is addressed with in the first two days of training. overall, the report cites serious shortcomings in the strategic direction, prevention, and training, response to victims, and accountability efforts of the department of defense in the military services. the report is critical of the well-intentioned efforts of congress to create a new and comprehensive article 120 of the uniform code of military justice. practitioners see it as cumbersome, confusing, and a barrier in some cases to convictions. practitioners see it as cumbersome, confusing and a barrier to convictions.

also significant issues have evolved related to the article's constitutionality. finally, the report touched on implementation challenges of dod policies and practices during deployed joint operations overseas and in joint basing situations in the united states. it is said that near lly 65 yea after world war ii demonstrated the military necessity to expand the roles for women in the military and continuous efforts by congress to facilitate the integration and assimilation of women into the military, we're here today to receive yet another report that clearly indicates so much still needs to be done. i believe the office of this report provide most of the answers to my question. i quote, "the task force believes that culture change is essential for military services to improve how they prevent and address sexual assault." the lesson we should take away from this report is that culture

change is hard, difficult, and neither smooth nor quick. it's a process requiring enduring commitment to change over the long term. in that vein, i'm sure this subcommittee will energetically pursue and support the task force recommendations. but i would also caution that as the subcommittee begins to address other issues that will require significant military cultural changes that i've seen in my 31 years of army national guard service, such change will not be easy or quick. like the efforts to change military culture with regard to assimilation and integration of women like will be to be disruptive and difficult for many years, notwithstanding the assurances to the contrary of some advocates for change. thank you, madam chair, for holding this hearing. i look forward to the testimony of our witnesses. >> thank you. you would like to proceed?

>> chairwoman and other distinguished members, thank you for this opportunity to present the work of the defense task force on sexual assault in the military services. we're honored to discuss the findings of the staff. given the fact that our formal statements have been forwarded to you, we will keep our opening comments very, very brief. as regards to the task force authority, as the chairwoman has already mentioned, the congress directed the task force to be established in 2005 by the defense authorization act. employing quantitative measures, over a period of 15 months, we have visited more than 60 military installations. we interviewed more than 3500

individuals, 61 victims of sexual assault, senior military and civilian dod leadership, sexual assault response coordinators, victim advocates and, of course, the supervisors. we've interviewed the first responders to sexual assault, the doctors, lawyers, chaplins, the military police, the dod criminal investigative services. we reviewed hundreds of the criminal investigative reports as well as all prior reports on sexual assault leading up to our work. and at the completion of our work, we submitted our report to the secretary of defense december 1st of 2009. there were three yet related areas. victim response, prevention and training, accountability and strategic oversight. first off, the report recognizes the progress made by the department of defense in the area of victim response since the inauguration of the program

in 2005. we believe that the recommendations contained in our report will significantly improve these programs in this critical area of victim response. next in the area of strategic direction, the task force recommends that the deputy secretary of defense take responsibility for the office for a period of at least one year and until the secretary of defense owe prizes congress that the program is meeting its established goals. we further recommend that the program be given a permanent complexion. the department of defense needs to communicate the message that the program is here to stay. illustrate that resolve through designated funding in the dod palm or budgeting process. the das being force recommend that's the organizational design, personnel and mission of the dod office be revised to strategically lead in this

critical area. we recommend the establishment of a uniformed terminology and core structure to be implemented across service lines. they recommend the professionalization of victim advocates to insure if a qualified personnel with national certification and we recommend that the sexual assault response coordinators be either dod, personnel or uniformed personnel. we have program standards and subsequent metrics which will allow us to measure the healthst programs. and finally in the area of strategic direction, the task force is strongly recommending funding for the research and collaboration with civilian experts throughout our country. and now i'd like to turn the microphone over to my esteemed

colleague. >> congressman wilson, other distinguished members, as a senior uniform member of the task force, i appreciate the opportunity to come before you, to talk about the findings and recommendations of our report. based upon the 15-month review that we had several themes clearly emerged. first, prevention and sexual assault should be the number one goal. to prevent the devastating impacts sexual assault has on member, his or her unit, the readiness of his or her unit as well as the undermining effects, sexual assault has had on the reputation of our arms forces. second, there needs to be greater consistency among each of the services becausest jointness which we see our operations today, joint basing as well as deployed operations taking place. there are also differences between our components active and reserve. we do not have time to fully

address the differences which is why we recommend that dod undertake a separate review of this. the availability and consistency of data also remains a concern for us. finally, in the area of response, notable improvement in that area but additional improvements as we have discussed are clearly needed. in the realm of prevention and training, prevention if we accept it as a top priority, in addition to providing support for victim advocates and being key to combatting sexual assault, we would say that the group needs to establish a strategy. that is not clear. it was not clear during our review. we understand they have since developed a prevention strategy. the implementation will be cue to the sexual assault prevention program. in addition, that overarching tr strategy will allow greater consistency in the services and drive them into having uniform

terms and conditions, positions and approaches for addressing this particular issue. this is a very clear area where the services have made tremendous strides. he would argue that the overarching strategy entails much more. it encompass as sesment of a community's environment in terms of safety, facility, location, issues that we saw in the aor. it is also encompassing of community awareness, leadership, emphasis and involvement. to a certain extent, we have seen where leadership is involved, the success of the program is much more effective stemming from looking at the senior leadership of the military services, holding annual summits, addressing sexual assault, prevention and response to the chairman of the joint chief of staff's video which we saw when we travelled into the aor to the lowest level, commanders who are very actively engaged in addressing

sexual assault prevention and response. we also say that sexual assault from the standpoint of prevention, the strategy we would like to see will guide initiatives, process, training and the public outreach that is retired to address the issue which would also enable the military services and department men of defense to better leverage and partner with out side experts in addressing the issue that affects not just those servicing in the military services but all our society as well. in the training arena, we argue that in order to be infective, the training that is currently conducted must be more taylors a take lo tail order in development level, tailored to skill levels and improving awareness should be one of the key aspects of training, addressing the frequency of incidents, addressing perpetrator risk factors from age, alcohol,

location, acquaintance versus stranger, garrison versus deployed and risky behavior in general. it is accepted by members of society and our military services. and we would also argue that training needs to be less -- nearly focused on women. that makes it all the more difficult for male victims to come forward. we all know that the ability of male victims to report is much less. it's very difficult for any victim of sexual assault to come forward. but currently the training sends to be more geared towards females, that encompassing any individual that might become a victim of sexual assault. we argue that the training needs to be specialized. it has to be specific to the gender of the victim as well as investigators and prosecutors in order for us to be able to

improve successful prosecution of sexual assault. as well as specialized training for leadership as i mentioned at all levels of service. in the victim response area, as we've said, much is done in order to improve what we're doing there. but some of the areas where we see additional improvement is in providing the immediate victim support from the first responders, community based support and victim advocacy as well as greater access, the contact numbers and accessibility, all those are very key for victim to know and in a standardized way if they're anywhere surveying whether it is a deployed environment exactly who they go to, where they can go in order to receive the care and treatment that they need. we heard that the victims are dissatisfied with the treatment they receive during the investigative process. we make a number of recommendations in order to improve how the victims are treated in order to insure that they are able to receive support

from a certified, very well trained victim advocate to being able to get advice from a qualified military attorney to also providing them with privileged communication which we see as necessary to encourage more victims to come forward. and longer term support is something obviously that we need to be looking at beyond an individual service in the military. we offer that as an area to further explore. and accountable, we took a look at the system accountability as well as offender accountability and found we need improvements in terms of the data base, in temperatures of the reliability and validity of the data as submitted by congress. we have concern over the sufficiency of the funding in order to insure timely delivery of a much needed data base and the services ability in order to provide the data to be integrated into a data base which allows the opportunity for members of congress as well as

department of defense to do trend analysis of sexual assault. in t the need for commanders to address the issue of sexual assault at the unit level. we've seen it addressed at the senior levels of the services to include the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and we have seen it very successfully addressed at some unit locations. but we would argue that much but we would argue that much more needs to be done in this area. it helps to increase awareness, reinforce the commanders stance on no tolerance of sexual assault in the unit and instill! it needs to integrate thosew3 io

the strategy it is addressing. on behalf of task force members, we thank you for your leadership on this issue, your concern, and the chance to speak before you today. we stand by to enter any questions you might have. >> thank you very much. one of the recommendations you have as we move forward is to place a sexual assault prevention underxd theçt( depuy secretary of defense for a least one year. they could apprize what is happening. our experience is that maybe they are not in a position to be able to do that. it is not the staff and they're not designed for that oversight. i am wonderingç if you had additional thoughts about that, mo,t

that was the only way to give that stature perhaps that we're looking for. an we look at that? ç looking for. how can we look at that? there is a concern that they're just not ready to do that. we had an experience as well with oversight of the process at walter reed. you know, there is a lot of question whether that is really the best place to put this additional responsibility and for oversight. >> it was our thought aafter 2005 each of the services took off in their own direction trying to answer this issue and trying to confront this issue in the best way possible. and we aplowed that initiative that each of the services took in sort of taking this forward.

i speak for the membership when we say we really would like to see a strategic leadership role taken by the office at the dod. that would help to bring together these incredible efforts that we see now from the leadership of the difference services. the army being one of the many examples that are out there. and especially as the general mentioned as far as the comprehensive prevention strategy that we're talking about, someone really needs to take the lead on that. someone needs to -- to be able to liaison and to partner with the intellects that are out there and the civilian society and capitalize on the great ideas that are part of our american culture. we felt by placing the office under the deputy secretary of defense that the -- we expect, of course, a lot to be done in a

very short period of time. we felt that added support, added attention would in fact help them to realize their goals. >> i think you stand by that statement? i think what we're wondering, if it a decision is made that perhaps they don't have the ability now, the capacity to actually provide the kind of oversight that we're really seeking here, or there's some other thoughts about how this might be done. what i think i hear you saying is you want to have more authority, more oversight and certainly raised the level of -- i'm not sure the word is competency. i think it's the capacity to deal better and to be seen as a office that really means exactly what it says.

we're struggling to define that better. >> i think the intent behind the recommendation is to provide higher oversight. i think that there are a number of ways to do that. the recommendation was geared to highlight the fact that that oversight is necessary. and so that is one recommendation. but there are clearly other ways of doing that. and we indicated in the report one of the areas that we found short coming was just in the staffing alone of the office. in order for it to be able to do what is required. i think when you look at some of the issues that drove that recommendation, it stemmed from the nature of the staffing of the office that, frankly, you go back to the insengs ception of office, it was geared to response and now it has to expand into other areas. in order to do that quickly, higher level oversight at a level whether it is the level recommended in the report or elsewhere, we believe it is

prudent. >> if i may, we see it as critically important that there be uniformed members as part of that staff. people in uniform and people that have the experience of leading and understand we also are asking for a seasoned jag officer from one of the military services to be part of that staff. >> i was going to ask if there is professionals and you mentioned the jack officer experienced level educational level that you feel would contribute greatly to that kind of stature and authority that it would have. is there anything in addition to that would -- >> principally, the leadership of the office and the recommendation that we make is that it be led by a general flag officer or civilian level equivalent.

>> thank you very much. i notice behind you have a very distinguished jag officer with you. i'm a former jag myself. so i appreciate your service. and, however you want to answer and which ever order, you cite there are implementation difficulties with jag -- with article 120 of the ucmj in your report and recommend a review by military justice experts as to its effectiveness. is this related to the effect that the law only went into effect in cases after 2007 and layers not familiar how to use the new provision or are there serious issues with article 120 and on what particular issues should the review focus?

>> i believe article 120 is k m cumbersome and confusing. it is confusing for those trying to prosecute and confusing for individuals hearing the cases in order to listen to the types of charges that encompasses far more and i think as a result of that it's very difficult for individuals sitting on a jury in order to be able to come to a conclusion. the concern is because of the broad nature of it that there may be individuals that as a result may be acquitted. and that is why we just ask for a review of it. those who are implementing it, the jag officers know better than we do. i think that dialogue is important.

>> your report suggests of that you the military is aggressive in propering sexual assault. however, you note that the apursuit of court-martial cases where evidence is not as strong is that might be leads to fewer convictions. this is also an obstacle for obtaining court-martial convictions. what recommendations would you give to the military prosecutor for increasing court-martial convictions? what role can nonjudicial measures such as article 15s and administrative actions have in the effort to prevent and to punish sexual offenders? >> as a former commander this s difficult. i think in the end you want to provide justice for the victim. what we would recommend and we do recommend for prosecutors as well as investigators is

additional training. because sexual assault the incidents level of it spread across all the installations, across all the jags who have to try the cases, their ability to have familiarity with trying sexuality assault cases is not as extensive as one would think. so if you establish a cadre of individuals well trained able to prosecute the cases, the army is doing that. or you bring on additional investigators as the air force and other services are doing. and you provide specific training to sexual assault, we're hoping that leads to increased success in prosecution. to your reference as far as nonjudicial punishment, we argue that certainly when we're looking at cases in the ability to prosecute successfully, those cases that the jag and the commander need to have that discussion and they need to look at the tools that are there to provide justice for the victim. at the same time, probably

merits including some of the consul take theive process there and we have addressed that issue as well. >> and another concern i have is that it indicates victims often jeopardize their option for restrict the reporting because they share information with the assault of a friend, family member or superior. but for a victim to want to tell someone they trust about the assault. do you recommend they make a restrictive report? however, you exclude the direct chain of command or law enforcement from the third parties. why shouldn't a victim have the right to choose restricted or unrestricted reporting regardless of who is accused of the assault? >> the recommendation is trying to afford the victims with more latitude in terms of who they

can turn to in order to discuss their situation. right now they could confide in a peer and it may not guarantee them confidence shalt. having been a commander, for these people to talk to a commander about being sexually assaulted, it puts the commander in a very difficult position. the commander is going to want to seek justice. having that information not being able to act upon that information is problematic. hence the restricted reporting as we have it current set up we believe works very well. built expanding the opportunity for a victim to confide in peers, friends, as research indicates, they are more inclined to do as opposed to going to authorities who they know even offer them confidence. chaplins is being one of them. we believe provided a support

network for the victims which in the end one of the objectives is for us to insure that military victims of sexual assault come forward to receive the care and treatment they need. that is an option that allows that. while at the same time allowing the commanders to have that wall in order for them to be able to seek the prosecution of the offenders. >> i thank both of you for your efforts. they should serve without fear of sexual assault. thank you. i yield the balance of my time. >> would you give me your assessment of why this study -- there was such a delay between time of passage until you all went to work? >> sir, i cannot comment to that. i was busy doing my job just

waiting for us to be able to convene. i couldn't comment on that. >> do you have any -- >> i can't speak to the decision. but what i can speak to is the fact that when members were asked, it was an immediate yes. they saw the opportunity to help men and women in we cannot speak to the question of why. they responded in a magnificent way. >> when you look at the differences between how you view the challenges at a military base domestically versus overseas in a war zone, d.c. those as being different or canadair -- d.c. those as being different?

>> is a microphone on? >> of believed there are qualitative differences. we're looking -- one of the issues that we saw overseas was the need to ensure we're providing civilian members, civilian personnel with the support they require because they are overseas in a different environments. military member ste. , probably not much difference. inç the aorç, there are differences#g, individuals whoe moving in and out of theater çvery quickly, out of bases vey quickly. they are dispersed over the area and the need for accountability and the importance of having individuals know who they can go to is paramount. so there are differences.

ç>> oneof your recommendations of sexuali] assault know what te results of formal disciplinary action is. that is not aç problem just for sexual assault. you can have victims of other crimes. you could have victims of other crimes that break in their home, destroy vandalize, you know, their favorite trophy. who knows what it is, all kinds of things can happen, beat up their kid. that's a problem not just with regard to sexual assault, is that correct? >> if i may, obviously the investment that a victim makes in the whole legal process is a very emotional one, very draining one.

and also the way that things are handled and keeping the rumor mill under control and so on within a command is extremely important. obviously for the morale and welfare of the members of a unit. and i guess the point we would get at or trying to get at is the fact that too often we interviewed victims or we met with focus groups and people were absolutely unaware of what happened, why someone was acquitted, why charges were dropped or whatever. that's why the recommendation is made. >> my question is -- it's not just a problem. i understand. that's not just a problem of sexual assault. but the disciplinary process may not inform -- you know whether -- certainly equally take theively different but people who go down and file

charges and testify or make complaints may not hear -- hear what the results are in other areas, not just sexual assault. is that accurate? >> go ahead. >> yes, that would be the case. >> yeah. would you tell us why a military spouse who is not dod may not be a civilian, maybe a volunteer or why that breaks down so strongly? >> it's one of the recommendations we felt strongly about because it's really access to the commander. a person's ability to be able to access their commander and what we found with contractors is

sometimes replaced under other organizations like family advocacy groups or community services and so on. we feel there needs to be this immediacy of presence with their commanders, not only to keep them informed but to have that access when necessary. and so the membership as we were talking about ways to make things better, we felt that making the sarc a member of the dod team as far as a dod employee or as the air force has done in some locations making them uniformed members and giving them that sarc responsibility, we saw a great improvement in the areas where that was happening. so that's why we made it a recommendation.

>> thank you for having this hearing. i'm very interested to hear and i red the report with respect to the article 120 comments. and i would like to say that i think some of those comments and there were red herrings and i have a different view of it. but also some of them were due to i think just the nature of law making. the initial change that i proposed is different. when i look at the cumbersome pieces of it, those pieces came from the secretary's office. so i would love a chance to go back, madam chair, and be able to redo if we have to article 120. i think it's that important for us to bring it into today's world. in the military report, if you had a case by case synopsis of

all sexual assault cases reported and when i looked over the number of cases where an individual would be convicted of rape or aggravated sexual assault but then they would merely receive an administrative action or be demoted or in many cases no action was taken at all. there were quite a few of those. and you know, since one of the reasons we made the effort to change article 120 is so we could get prosecutions and now we have prosecutions. we have convictions. and so i'm wondering why is it that individuals who were clearly con vicked of sexual assault are getting away with mere demotions or administrative action? and i have to tell you, when i read that, unless you can clarify that for me pretty much angered me. so it's my understanding that most of the investigation and adjudication of the allegations of sexual assault fall under the

commander's jurisdiction. and so that's why i added language to the fiscal year '10 requiring the comptroller general to provide the congressional defense committees with the report on the capacity of each services infrastructure for the investigation and the adjudication of allegations of sexual assault. so what are the barriers that exist in the sense that, to facilitate a fair and infective investigation, to adjudicate the sexual assault cases to the full extent and why are so many individuals committing the crimes, getting convicted and getting minor sentences or demotions? >> i'm not sure how appropriate it is. we have great legal minds with us. they have studied this for the last 15 months and have poured over the -- a lot of cases and if it would be appropriate to

allow colonel grant who is a member who is also one of our legal experts to maybe address that question for congressman sanchez. >> any objection? >> hearing none. >> ma'am, as far as your initial statement, i believe you are referring to the reports at the end of the sacro report. >> yes. >> the way those are written is the allegation is rated as an assault. and one of the problems that we know in the report itself is there is frequently not a discussion of what the actual -- >> conviction to -- >> the allegation. i'm sure it is very critical of the way that information is related. it really doesn't provide you good information at all. that's why a lot of the recommendation deals with the report. so you get a clear figure as to

what really happens in each individual case. so, in other words, what you're saying is alleged rape and then it went to be prosecuted and we received a conviction we don't know what that person was really convicted of? under the reports? >> i do not believe that the reports actually had that information in them. >> but we do have that information? and if we figured out a way to get that information, we would have better information to tell us what they're being convicted and why. because, again, i saw mere dismissals and, you know, changing units, et cetera, et cetera which if that's the case, that's not the intent of what we had in mind. >> absolutely. what happens is they go and they report to the investigators. they say i was raped. and then the investigation occurs. and there is any number of different conclusions that could be reached as a course of that investigation. there is a gap in the report as to that particular process. maybe there is an unknown perpetrator.

we don't know who did it. she was raped by a civilian, not a military person. she recanted or it really didn't happen, she thought she was raped but actually -- [ inaudible ] there's any number of reasons. again, mostly it's a -- >> but again, there were convictions. so we didn't find the perpetrator. we don't know who he is. i mean you wouldn't convict somebody. >> yes, there are convictions in certain cases. i agree with that. but some of that information where you're saying that there is -- i can't remember exactly what the punishment was, but it was not consistent with a conviction. there are situations where if there are convictions and they are just like demoted, it's possible that the thing they were found guilty of was not actually rape or aggravated assault. >> okay. i understand that. i guess it begs back to the whole issue we need to have the right information so that we can figure out whether we're really

getting convictions or whether, you know, the culture is still one where the commandant or the commanding person is, you know, leery of, you know, ruining somebody's whatever. we've had so many stories of people being sent off to other places. we have to get to the bottom of what is a conviction and why are will just dismissals going on? >> i'm going to move on so we can get at least a question in before we have to break for this. i think, you know, i think what the discussion has been having the results of the disciplinary actions, having more transparency around those and trying to figure out what's the best way to get to that place. so, you know, even we're able to see that in the context of the discussion today. thank you. miss tsongas? >> thank you, madam chairwoman and thank you for your testimony and your report.

i found it very interesting, very serious effort to address the great challenge of sexual assault in the military. we know there's much more to be done just from anecdotal stories from people who have experienced sexual assault, who tell us how -- how they feel they're not particularly taken care of. one of the issues that i think we keep coming back to is the role of the commander in making the decision over whether or not a case goes to court-martial. the u.s. versus gamins in the court of appeals stated, quote, one of the hallmarks of the military justice system is a broad discretion in commanders to choose the appropriate disposition of alleged offenses. we know that the military is a unique place with unique requirements. the department of defense general counsel's office analogized the role of commander to be similar -- and we had a

meeting. to be similar to that of a prosecuting attorney in the event of a reported assault. he or she has full discretion over whether or not to take a case to court. the commander may get advice from a judge advocate general on the merit of the case but ultimately the commander makes the fiem decision. my question -- final decision. my question is what mechanisms are in place for third-party oversight of review of the decisions, are a commander's decision on how to continue on a case appealable, how do you appeal such a decision and does the lack of process, do you think, pose a problem? the other question is really the oversight around the jag officer. if the commander depends on the jag officer's recommendations how can we engage in questioning the jag officer's role in advising the commander?

>> those were all very good questions. from the jag officer, taking the last first, the jag officer has reached back authority back to the higher level commands if the individual is feeling as if they do not have all of the data points, all of the advice, all the support they need in order to provide the commander with the advice considering the circumstances. i believe that most commanders, when they are talking with jags, they know that the jags are providing advice. the commanders ultimately make the decision as to what they want to do if the commander is dissatisfied with the fis, the commander has a higher level of command authorities supporting major commands in order to elevate the

issueç to seek to get additionl guidance. from an oversight perspective, i will tellw3 you that our task force did notççt( feelç addi] oversight was necessary. theç review through the investigative files indicated that whereq informationi]okxd ws availablei]ç,ç to make a çdeterminationçç of having sufficientççkoçq+%9uzççóqçóe açç case, the commanders andr jags[çok soughvs toç prosecue case. to ascertain that information based on theç report. that levelç of data collection needs to be built into the assistant accountability per se you can see what is taking place. from the standpoint of oversight, i do not see that as being necessary. i would refer to dr. iasiellow3f

he hasç a differencexd of opin. >> not at all. those four important questions. çone of the things we did see s we went around these locations is we met with the convening authority to replace we went. went. we saw a desire to aggressively pursue and step forward wherever they thought it was possible. and i say that knowing that as we went in and conducted our interviews with these commanders and with these courts-martial convening authorities they knew why we were there. but i really sensed from them the intent was to aggressively pursue wherever, whenever possible any sort of perpetrator of sexual assault. of course, they know that a they set the tone. commanders set the tone. today send messages within the command as to whether or not they do pursue and aggressively

pursue these perpetrators or alleged perpetrators. i think the intent is there. i think, you know, we have added recommendations such as to recognize the special nature of prosecuting these cases and the need for more training for our jags and those involved in the judicial process. i think with that added training with these specialized prosecutes and with the intent of commanders to eradicate the crime knowing the impact on morale and welfare of the troops i think we're stepping in the right direction. >> i'm about out of time. did you see many instances in which a commander's decision not to prosecute as it went up the chain of command was overturned? that a higher-up in the chain, somebody said, no, that case, you really have to pursue it? >> ma'am, i have been informed that we didn't see anything like that a. >> thank you.

>> thank you. we have the first of five votes. this will be the last votes for the day. i beg your patience and we will return in -- oh, dear. it's probably going to be close to a half hour. thank you.

>> thank you for your patience. i will see if others arrived. we're happy to have you here and to continue with our conversation. i wanted to try to get in more depth about the privileged communication. chairing the armed services subcommittee on military personnel. >> how you see the changes that you're recommending.

you wanted to enact comprehensive military justice privilege communication between victim advocate and victim of sexual assault. it's interesting. i think some of the more emotional testimony that i've heard just more privately, as people have, have talked to us about that is how frustrating that has been. perhaps you can share with us if this is one of the areas where you really did feel quite a bit of passion on the part of the people you spoke to about trying to define that better. what can we do to make sure that works. are you aware of any time a victim advocate has actually testified in a court-martial? >> i am personally not aware of any specific incident. but i know that in the review that we did of the cases that

there have been instances where they have been called to testify, which goes back to why is it we believe this is very importa important. i think when we first established victims advocate, it was to allow victims to have a chance to talk to somebody trained, it's pretty extensive training, 40 hours of training. but i don't think folks thought about the unintended consequence of an individual confiding in somebody who ultimately would be called to testify against them. it goes back to what is the intent of why it is we address sexual response, prevention. we want individuals to be able to come forward so we can help them. if they know the individual designated, very well trained, can help them. ultimately can also testify against them. many of the victims are moved to come forward. as a result of that, do not receive the care and treatment they need.

>> are there other fekts you see as well in terms of that relationship, if, in fact, that person did have to testify? i think in some cases perhaps it would be a positive thing that they would testify as well. does it go both ways? >> madam chairwoman, as far as what the general has already said, i can think of no instance of that being reported. even just the threat that something could be used against someone, and as someone who enjoyed that privilege as a chaplain in my former life and having that sacred trust of having someone walk in my office and know whatever was discussed would not be discussed outside those four walls, that sort of comfort you give to someone in a moment of extreme pain, personal pain in their lives is so critical.

we don't make this recommendation lightly. we know extending this military justice privilege is really stretching things. but we feel that for the sake of the victim it's so important to know that -- not all victims feel comfortable going to their chaplain. to have that outlet of having someone else within the command, not within the command structure but somebody in the proximity that they can go to and share this incredible pain with, begin the catharsis, begin the healing we feel is so critical. even the threat that they could be called in some way to testify and to break that seal that others enjoy, that's why we felt strongly about making that recommendation. >> does that belief also go to -- that it be a uniformed advocate and a uniformed victim? >> ma'am, we were looking at whoever fulfills that role of

victim advocate. that's why we see the professionalization of that role and the national certification as extremely important, because along with the privilege comes a great responsibility that needs to be understood and needs to be put in context. so the extension of the privilege is really contingent upon the training and the certification of those individuals. >> did you have any concerns about the capacity of the system to bring forth individuals who are willing to go to that extent to become a victim advocate? did you sense a lot of willingness for people to be far better trained? and what kinds of benefits might they have to be in that highly professional position? >> madam chair, we actually have a number of victim advocates who are volunteers across the services. and that is actually one of the

things we focus on. we have probably far too many victim advocates. as a result, their ability to actually provide support doesn't occur very often, because you may have 80 victim advocates on any one installation and the frequency of assaults is that one or two might actually have some experience. so there is extensive training, the investment of training to keep people refreshed on the skill, to keep them aware of what is going on, and then folks are doing this as a second collateral duty, additional duty. so what we're recommending is actually narrowing down and professionalizing victim advocates so you may have a fulltime victim advocate that could be a civilian social worker-type. you also need to have military victim advocates because those need to deploy. while civilians do deploy in our services typically that is the military member.

so it's a combination of both. it is a smaller group of people, some of whom will be volunteers at a more senior level as opposed to some junior levels we've seen. through the training and professionalization, we'd be able to ensure they could provide the level of support for victims to include being able to have that level of maturity for the confidentiality. >> appreciate that. mr. wilson, do you want to go on? >> in conclusion, i want to thank both of you. general dunbar, your background here serving as a congressional fellow, senate fellow is well appreciated. just thank you for your service in this regard. admir admiral, i was so happy to find out your background as a chaplain. i'm very grateful the joint chaplain school is located at

fort jackson, south carolina. we look forward to a long history of working with the chaplains in your service. as chaplain of the marine corps i represent paris island, marine corps air station. and your service with the navy. thank both of you. it's certainly encouraging to me, and it certainly maintains my high regard serving military for the persons who are serving in the military that it's a great opportunity of service where people want the best for the young people who are serving our country. so thank you for what you've done to look out for the young people of our country so that they have the best opportunities to serve in the most fulfilling way. thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. wilson. one of the other recommendations in the report is for congress to enact a law that would exempt federal medical personnel from state provisions requiring them to report sexual assaults to civilian law enforcement and

ensuring that all service members -- to ensure all service members have a restricted reporting option. how do you see that working? what sort of concerns would you have about that? >> currently we only have a few states that fall in that category. it's problematic if we are trying to ensure that military members at installations in those states are afforded the same opportunity to be able to make a restricted report. there are agreements that can be made with local officials. but for the most part, one would think you should not have to do that. so that is the purpose of the recommendation that we make for congressional action. >> are there other federal agencies that would be in that same position? >> ma'am, i'm not familiar with that.

>> i think california and illinois, are they problematic in this regard? >> yes, those would be the two states. >> thank you. >> and what about federal assaults that don't take place on federal installations? -- >> the recommendation was focused on those assaults that take place with military jurisdiction. >> one of the other concerns we talked about in hearings prior to this is the accountability of commanders. the issue was raised whether or not we are certain that the case dispositions under that commander are well known when it comes to career advancements. did you have a chance to look at where this might resonate in

terms of how people are evaluated for their investment? is it part of the evaluation today? is there a way it could be more transparent in terms of instances that happened under an individual's command? >> currently commanders are assessed on their performance in command and the technical specialty as well as how they take care of the men and women in their charge. i think it is indirectly assessed as are so many other issues that run into areas of domesticymt( violence,w3 suici, workplace violence. çtoç categorize the response o sexual assaults,sagain, given the in frequency that it occurs during the course of command. i do not mean to dismiss the

fact that sexual assault does occur in the military. when i was in command, there was one time of sexual assault. we did what we needed to provide support to the individual. ini] other commands, it did not occur at all. if you were to separate a specific area that addresses sexualçç assaults, given the t á=#uátj not occur that often, i think it would be problematic. there is such a focus on taking care of peoplexd t ayç is >> doctor? >> i think the general stated it very well that first and foremost, of course, is the completion of the mission and making sure the troops are ready to do what they need to do for their country. but being so involved with the moral and welfare of their troops in every aspect, including family life,

interrelationships, and so on, i would say that specifying, you know, this in a way that would identify it as something special from all the other responsibilities would certainly in general be problematic. >> one of the concerns throughout the report is that the strategies in place have been to some extent with the exception of best practices that you witnessed and wrote about in the report that we haven't had the kind of strategies that really have an evaluation process in place. to be able to go back and understand. now as we move forward trying to incorporate many of your considerations in this report, what should that look like? what would you like to see. the other counter to that would

be you feel like all this effort was for naught if you didn't see something that took place in terms of this strategy. >> one of the recommendation was to record the metrics, coming up with a way to measure the effectiveness, efficacy of the strategies. and in this area we believe it would be very beneficial for us to work with others who are dealing with these issues. those colleges and universities that are addressing the same, youth population, federal, state and local areas that are support providers who have some strategies they believe might work. right now we did a lot of research. we could not find any particular way to measure the effectiveness of existing strategies. that is one area where we believe congress could -- i

think there needs to be research that would benefit everybody addressing a major social issue. >> this authority would lie in a more expanded, more tighter authority in the office at the time? >> i believe part of this is actually funding and research that would enable us to better understand what strategies are effective but certainly the sap ro office setting up it's overarching strategy can determine how it is you're having an effect on training, how it is you're having an effect on prevention. part of it is attitude national, understanding. we do surveys, gender relation surveys every four years. we advocate doing it every two years to see the impact of those strategies. i think as we ask some of the

questions in those surveys, they need to be specifically drawn back to some of the strategies we have in place to have a better understanding. that is just one example of being able to do it. but again, there are colleges and universities that have strategies in place. they don't have any kind of measures of effectiveness. we're hoping we might be able to learn from them. it is an area that requires some further study, we believe. >> ma'am, you've identified an area that for us we all feel passionate about. we would love to see the metrics there. you can't develop the metrics until you develop the standards on which to measure. we see that as an incredible void. not only helping us identify the health of our programs but the way ahead. to identify and give granularity to the numbers so we can begin to identify trends. we can begin to address issues proactively. so we all feel rather passionate

about it. >> is there any -- as we're finishing up, is there any interview or discussion you had that just really stands out that i think inspires you or inspired the task force in their work that you would like us to know about? >> i think there are a lot of compelling instances where we have seen the remarkable instances of how involvement, leadership and awareness improved. at the same time we've seen compelling cases where for us it's unearthed the fact this has been a long-standing issue that needs to be addressed that fekts not just females who are serving in the military but males as well. and i think as we've done the research and realized that others are in communities -- i

keep harkening back to colleges and universities, because that is primarily the age group of those who are most at risk, there is tremendous opportunity for collaboration in terms of coming up with some solutions to address a society issue. >> to be very careful this doesn't turn into a sermon but dealing with such a heinous crime can be something that could take the wind out of your sail pretty easily. for us going to these installations and seeing the caliber of young men and women in uniform for us was an incredibly uplifting experience. i wouldn't go to one area or one command and say this is a very special event, i'd like at them and say our interaction with young men and women have energized us and left us with a positive attitude. no how big the issue, the obstacle to overcome, it will be

overcome because of the caliber of our men and women. that for us has been very important in the process. >> thank you very much, we appreciate that. the young men and women serving our country inspire us every day as well. i appreciate that. i certainly hope you will feel and believe your efforts have been well taken and that we will continue to move forward and hope that many of those and i thank you very much.

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çcoming up, state of the state addresses with governor jerry herbert of utah and bill richardson of new mexico. next, elected the coast guard. later today, a senate hearing on efforts to regulate large financial hearings. their failure could pose a risk to the economy. too big to fail has been part of the financial industry regulation. that hearing will begin at 2:30 right here at c-span. a number of people are not running in the fall collections. patrick kennedy of rhode island is the latest to announce that. he released a video of his

retirementyç saying going forw, i will continue many of the fights weç waged together, particularly on those suffering from autism and post-traumatic stress disorder. if you go to our web site, you'll see a link to a list of members who plans to retire in 2010. speaker pelosi heading to haiti today leading a 12-member delegation to assess ways the recovery is going. she is accompanied by a number of senators including tom harkin of iowa. tune in to c-span for both today. çauthors include henry paulson talking with warren buffett on the 2008 economic collapse. historian garry wills on how the

atomic bomb changed the presidency. this bears some the night at 10:00 and all day on monday. books on american presidents. president obama and our culture. for the complete sculpture, go to booktv.org. updated and released just in time for presidents' day. "who's buried in grant's tomb: a tour of presidential gravesites ." it is a comprehensive guide to the resting places of the president's. richard smith on the concept behind the book. >> it is a wonderful way to humanize and personalize the past, to take events and movements that otherwise might seem impossibly remote. there's something universal about the fact we will all be on

our deathbed. we all face growing old. i]we'll have to wrestle with questions of immortality and mortality. those are some of the themes that run through all of this. but it's also frankly and entertaining book. there are lots of stories and anecdotes designed to shoot denies all of these people. >> available now at your favorite book seller or ordered directly from the publisher. >> utah governor gary herbert, from solid. this is 30 minutes. >> the supreme court justices, prefer slightly, but my great wife, my children, my mother, and my fellow utahans.

a humanitarian helping in haiti or ambassador and the people's republic of china. we give them all our heartfelt thanks. [applause] . .

[applause] [applause] >> i spoke about the importance of and the need for an unprecedented partnership spurted this will be a continuing theme for my administration. our success will be measured by the way we unite people from across the state and from across the aisle.

we must join together to combat the challenges we face and to seize the opportunities ahead over the past four months, we have formed several such partnerships. let me highlight two of them. first, we create the advisory commission to authorize state government critical is to help the state to do more with less in order to benefit all. it is headed by the former governor. this divorce and bipartisan group of civic and business leaders is taking and inside out look at all areas of the state. the efforts will improve are already well-managed state and now more than ever, we must achieve new levels of efficiency in state government. [applause] seated next to the former governor is former city mayor

ted wilson. he is leaving my balanced resource council. i have charged this group oon imports and issues such as public lands, water, conservation, and resource development. these are matters that have become so polarized that progress has become all but impossible. this unprecedented partnership will provide a much-needed new state of mind regarding environmental issues. this new mindset was recently successfully demonstrated by conservation groups, the bureau of land management, indian tribes, local governments, and oil drilling companies. these groups came together to protect priceless indian rock in the 90-mile canyon while still allowing responsible development of the utah national -- natural gas for this is a prime example of a partnership combined with leadership can achieve measurable results for our state. [applause]

on president of partnerships are essential because we are facing unprecedented challenge says. although we continue to undergo tough economic times, our state at its core is strong. the economic tide is turning. we are poised for progress and are well ahead of most other states in the nation. for the first time in three years, we're expecting an increase in revenue for the upcoming fiscal year. housing is beginning to stabilize. the state's labor market is resilience and our unemployment rate remains below the national average. i know this is a small consolation for those who are out of work but we will continue to make some policy decisions to move this state and your families back to solid economic ground and toward a more hopeful future. [applause]

we are already taking the steps necessary to keep a sunken -- in control of our own recovery. at my direction, state agencies have implemented plans to overcome a projected budget shortfalls for the current fiscal year. cabinet leaders are working with reduced budgets while maintain vital services for utah. we are exercising fiscal restraint in all branches of government. we recognize that the tough times are not entirely behind us. indeed, our future success will be in large part tied to how respond to these difficulties or the remaining 43 days of this legislative session. past sessions may be best remembered for the creation of a university and the implementation of a new program. i think in the challenging economic times, that the 2010 session will primarily be

remembered for the adoption of a balanced and responsible state budget. [applause] palle we accomplished this in a way that provides adequate funding for education, human services, public health and safety, transportation, and other critically important programs will be as challenging as any past faced by anyone in this state in generations. tonight, i ask you to join me in this unprecedented partnership because by working together, we can, we must, and we will succeed. [applause] first and foremost, we must protect public. and higher public utah has long

been committed to putting our public schools, our colleges, and our universities and our technical institutions. in fact, few states in the country spend as much of their overall budget on education as we do. demographics is a way of saying we have larger families and we must continue this tradition to support and maintain and enhance the solid education and training our students receive. in spite of our typical budget great legislators, to maintain our current level of commitment to education. [applause]

thank you. [laughter] secondly, we must balance our budget responsibly and in a way that does not stifle an economy that is beginning to show signs of recovery. we need to support our hard- working citizens and businesses, not stifle them with new tax burdens. we have helped them succeed, and not hamper their success. and we need to think towards the future, not just today. we can accomplish this and a budget that i've submitted to you offers a primer as to how it can be done. at this point in time, i strongly believe that the best thing we can do for our state, our citizens, and for our economic recovery is to exercise continued fiscal restraint and

not raise taxes. [applause] there are many positive thing happenimnng throughout the stat. there might be small businesses or a cutting edge medical device manufacturer or an international company like procter and campbell -- procter and gamble, businesses have stayed in utah as a place to go and invest. a key area of emphasis for my it ministration is growing businesses from within. i am pleased that the majority of our economic development efforts are the past two years.

they have been centered on protecting and expanding use of businesses. just last month, a homegrown medical record management firm announced it would expand its operations in san pete county. this allowed more than 300 full- time positions over the next several years. this is one example of what is happening right now in utah. a healthy economy is critical to the unparalleled quality of life in utah. another factor that makes living in the beehive state so rewarding is our access to some of the best health care in the nation. our medical professionals and hospitals are widely recognized as among the best in the country. we understand that public access to these services is critical. rather than simply talk, or sometimes fight about health care reform, utah has stepped forward with solutions. thanks to the efforts of medical professionals, citizens, the

lieutenant governor, and the legislative leaders, the utah health exchange is now open for business. [applause] this utah crafted solution is in interactive approach to control costs, increase access and expand choice. already hundreds of utahns have chosen programs for themselves. this is a revolutionary approach to health benefits that will soon be available to even more people in utah. our exchange is one example of how states can and should lead the nation on health care reform. we don't want, we don't need, a one-size-fits-all program that will balloon our national deficit and provide questionable

care for our citizens. several weeks ago, i traveled to washington, d.c. and met with top leaders in congress and the white house. i strongly emphasize that the federal government should not do what state governments all already doing on health care. they have a continued encroachment of the federal government into our businesses and our lives and a door pocket books must be challenged. [applause] the voices of fiscal restraints on critical issues like health care can be a north. we simply cannot stand what we don't have and that tax and spend mindset is so prevalent in

washington and that is not acceptable here in utah. [applause] i know the government closest to the people is the most affected. i have been fortunate to serve in on the local level for the past several years. i have had this privilege of serving in state government. over those years, i have worked with hundreds of hard working public employees and elected officials who carry out their duties with honesty and integrity. very seldom have i encountered situations where the ethics of those who hold a public trust has been called into question. still, breaches to occur and questions do arise, often better clarity would have provided better guidance. to set that standard for the executive branch, today i signed an executive order that reaffirms and clarify guidelines about accepting gifts,

participating in lobbying efforts, and identifying conflicts of interest. this session, i encourage u.s. lawmakers to remove any perception of possible ethics issues by implementing needful and substantive effort re--- reform. the work is already under way on these bills. i look forward to signing them into law this session. [applause] there is also good news tonight for drivers. congestion will soon be reduced under daily commute. construction will begin this year on the expansion of i-15 in utah county and a mountain corridor of southern salt lake county. a road and bridge improvement are taking place across the state. this will help eliminate congestion on roads and highways, saving time and money

for businesses and commuters. it will also improve opportunities for mass transit. with a growing population, we must do even more. thousands of additional cars and trucks on our roads each year leads to higher levels of air pollution. especially along certain areas of the state credit later this week, elected officials from across the state will join salt lake city mayor and made on the capitol steps as we address our air quality issues. we're going to ask for your help because this is not a partnership between government and the people, it is between friends and neighbors and co- workers and even strangers. it is a partnership with people who realize we all have a responsibility to reduce pollution and to increase the quality of the air that we breathe. [applause]

while on the subject of protecting the environment of utah and unsurpassed quality of life, let me be clear -- i remained opposed to the importation of foreign waste into utah. [applause] certainly, the challenges of being a state with a federal- permitted nuclear waste disposal facility are complex and ongoing. my responsibility on these issues are quite simple -- it will not be compromised. as governor, i will take and use all available state resources within the law to protect the health, safety, and welfare of our you tell people now and for generations to come. [applause] i would like to expend our focus be on the legislative session. when the budget is adopted, the

session has ended, and the bills have been signed, other important work will remain. i cannot say enough about the importance of supporting public education. i am bringing together individuals and groups across the education community to craft new and innovative solutions to significantly improve the education we provide our children. the utah teachers work hard. they face class is that continue to grow in size, complexity, and diversity. they need new tools to continue to be successful. the solutions to some problems does in fact come down $2 and cents, there are other solutions that rely on common sense, not just more funding. [applause] :i am optimistic that the governor's educational excellence commission which i

will personally chair will find, develop, and implement the solutions. our state deserves a blueprint for success in education. i believe this group can get us there. we owe to our students and teachers of our state to provide an education that prepares our youth to compete in the global marketplace. this will not happen, however, with a renewed and sustained emphasis in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and matt. many of the jobs that are available today already require the skills. i call upon students, care givers, parents, educators, and business leaders to join me in addressing the critical need to immerse our students in these fields of study. if we all pitch in with the spirit of commitment, we can be leaders in providing the most prepared and productive work force in the nation. this is not just an investment of dollars but of time, energy,

and innovation from all of us. tonight, i also call upon the utah board of regents and the commissioner of higher education to present me with the report due this fall that shows how our colleges and universities plan to meet the growing demand for students, to meet the work force needs of utah employers in the 21st century. on this front, i am proud to say tonight that we are taking steps in the right direction. the recently launched utah cluster acceleration partnership provides a way for critical industry group to communicate their current and future work force needs to educational institutions. this partnership will be the mechanism for education to anticipate an answer industry's needs. the utah cluster acceleration partnership is a true collaboration with leaders from industry, state government, higher education, and our research community, all working together to significantly

increase the economic impact of our most important industry clusters. let me offer just one example. the utah aerospace industry generates billions of dollars of revenue annually and employs tens of thousands of people across the state in high-paying jobs. this is good. but we can do even better. private and public leaders have teamed up with weaver state university to increase the size of the aerospace cluster in utah. they are focusing on workforce needs in this area and develop the talent and innovation necessary to become the premier player in the aerospace industry. as this happens, you tell becomes more than a place companies would like to be, it becomes a place that they need to be. [applause] long-term planning is critical

to the continued success of utah. i have outlined initiatives for education and economic development. i would like to conclude with my plan for energy. tonight, i am announcing what i would hope will be one of the most impact full economic initiatives ever undertaken in our state. it is one that we in utah are uniquely positioned to accomplish. it is the utah energy initiative. i am assembling the best minds in the state and charging them with creating a 10-year strategic energy plant whose purpose is threefold -- one, to insure that the continued access in utah to are: clean and natural resources and be on the cutting edge of new energy technologies and three, to foster economic opportunities and to create more jobs per [applause]

we have diversified natural resources. we have everything from traditional fuels like oil, gas, and cold, to read nobles like solar, wind, hydroelectric. we have wind projects which are now producing electricity. geothermal is rapidly coming on line. the blending of solar and other technologies show great potential. simply put, a few other states have the energy resources with which we in utah have been blessed. it is the innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit of utah that distinguishes us. we have some of the best research and technology mines in the world. we must further harness and empower them. we must also engaged the rural areas in this effort as there is no one who has more know how or more at stake than those communities in utah whose lifeblood is and has starkly

been the energy industry. just three months ago, the utah state university announced a partnership between the state, the department of energy, and the basin communities to construct an energy research center. the project's funding included a $50 million donation from a local resident. -- $15 million donation from a local resident. this shows how we can work together with universities, industry, and the private sector to accomplish together but none could achieve individually [applause] we are uniquely positioned in the western energy corridor which stretches from the north to the south. we have the generation capacity. we have the transmission systems and we're at the crossroads of energy and commerce.

billions of dollars of future capital investment will be required to maintain and expand our infrastructure. systems must be in place for our long term vision. one of our true economic competitive advantage as it -- is a relatively low cost of power. our energy plan must focus on maintaining a portability, encouraging capital investment, and protecting our environment. i will do my part to provide leadership both here in the state and also at the national level to form alliances. utah can and must be at the forefront of solving the world's energy challenge as. [applause] we have come a long way since pioneers were required to toil and sweat and sacrifice to build

homes and farms and communities. that was then the utah territory. since that time, our people have done much to make this a great and significant state. that work continues today. it continues in this capitol building and in homes and schools and offices and factories across the state. our best days are indeed at a bus. i am bullish on utah. i have high hopes for our economic future. there is optimism that is based on data, good day to come up fact that we show you to a turning the corner economically. if you talk or ace dock and i were your stockbroker, i would say to buy utah. [applause] as governor, i promise that working with you, you tell will

continue to be on the path for fiscal responsibility for which we are known. it selflessness and working together in unprecedented partnerships in an unprecedented way, we will find renewed hope and also insure that utah remains the greatest state in the nation. thank you and may god bless the great state of utah. [applause] pal [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] another state of the state address with bill richardson from santa fe, this is 35 minutes. good morning, governor, we

look forward to your message. >> before we begin, let me say that the thoughts and prayers of every mexican -- every new mexican are with the people of haiti. what we don't hold in riches, we have in generosity. i would like to encourage our citizens to do all they can to help those in such great need. lt. governor diane dennish, the speaker, the senate pro tem, distinguished members of the new mexico legislature, governors, the state supreme court, members of our great congressional delegation, our senators.

[applause] also among our distinguished guests, new mexico first lady, barbara richardson. [applause] and my fellow new mexicans. in an effort to save time and money, because i am known for these long speeches, i was tempted to deliver my speech using twitter. [laughter] but sending out 168 tweets is probably over kill so here i am. [laughter] that went over well. [laughter] i am sure you will agree that this year, more than any other, represents a defining moment for all of us. how we respond to tough times like these is a test of who we

are as a people. for 16 months now, new mexico has felt the full impact of the worldwide economic downturn. each of us knows someone who has been hurt by this recession, the family member was lost their jobs, a small-business barely making payroll, seniors who have delayed retirement, or a friend whose home is on the brink of a foreclosure. perhaps more than any other time in history, new mexicans need and are relying on state services from work-force training to health care to the delivery of unemployment benefits. they recognize the crucial role of our education system and what it plays in turkey and the path for personal improvements and competitiveness in a changing economy. while we continue to cut spending and look for ways to

make government more efficient, we must not turn our backs on our most vulnerable citizens nor should we be reckless with budget cuts and reverse the progress we have made in the last seven years i want new mexicans to know that we have been and will continue to be good stewards of their money. new mexico has always been fiscally responsible. on like washington, with the exception of our congressional delegation, new mexico cannot run a deficit or overspent. we must have a balanced budget. we have balanced the budget every single year. in the past, when we had extra resources, some are tempted to spend our cash reserves. i refused. i insisted we hold reserves at a minimum of 10% of overall

spending at that point, that was $650 million in our savings account. that savings benefit us all with a national economy that spiral downward. we have also grown our state's permanent funds which are recovering after the financial meltdown. those bonds are backed up to $13.4 billion. that is $4 billion higher than they were under of my predecessor. during the last year, we saw a 19% return on our investments. over the last seven years together, the legislature and the governor, we cut taxes by more than $1 billion, much of it went straight into the pockets of working new mexico families. however, despite balancing our budget every single year, building a sensible savings account and investing wisely and

our future, we face a serious and revenue shortfall. the national and global recession have taken their toll on our economy. just like 48 other states, new mexico must respond. after a pair of strong economic growth in our state, with incomes jumping by 30%, and a 39% growth of gdp between 2003 and 2008, the global recession has hurt our efforts to keep up that pace. the good news is that unemployment in new mexico is to lower than the national level. we continue to attract new jobs. many new mexicans are out of work and many more are doing more with less pay. we must never forget them as we grapple with the tasks before us.

i am proposing and responsiblexd -- a responsible and fair approach to balancing our deficit. we have already cut millions of dollars in state spending. while we can make more targeted cuts, it is important to note that most state agencies have been cut to the bone. any further cuts would mean certain layoffs, closing facilities, and in public services when our citizens need them most. i also believe that increasing taxes alone is irresponsible and not the answer to balancing the budget. i will not give anyone a blank check to raise taxes and overburden hard-working new mexico families. nor, should we roll back important tax cuts and incentives that we have used to create jobs and open new mexico for business. our efforts to build a high wage, high-tech economy must continue.

it is most urgent in this time of job losses and economic turmoil. to be fair and responsible, we need to take the middle path, a balanced approach that combines targeted spending cuts and short-term revenues with strong accountability measures. like our citizens, this has -- this administration has tightened its belt since the recession began. i implemented a hiring freeze more than one year ago. we currently have 3000 vacancies in state government. i eliminated positions and cut salaries of exempt state employees, those appointed by me, by 2%. 110 exempt positions are vacant. painfully, i ordered five furloughed days for about 17,000

employees. i froze $150 million and stalled capital outlay projects, both mine and yours. i urge this body to eliminate those projects. we have cut state aid budgets by 7% on average. none of these measures were popular. all were necessary. my budget plan for the next fiscal year reduces spending $510 million per the following measures -- first, make permanent the $280 million in cuts that we made during the special session and by executive order. second, reduce costs by another $158 million by cutting spending across state government. third, as i said, eliminates stalled capital outlay projects and end the practice of double

dipping. last, streamline and march government functions based on recommendations from the committee on government efficiency. by consolidating agencies, boards, and commissions with overlapping functions, we can say that least $25 million. i want to thank the former governor for leading this government efficiency effort. also want to thank the other former governor for taking on the critical job of overseeing the federal stimulus money flowing into mexico please give our two former governors a hand. [applause] as we look to raise revenue to help us through this crisis, i will only support a temporary revenue increase that automatically expires in three years or less. i will also oppose any tax

increase that hurts our efforts to keep the state economically competitive. we want to create new jobs such as increasing personal income tax, rolling back our capital gains tax cuts, or decreasing business tax incentives or credits that are working to create jobs. nor will i support reinstating the foods tax p. [applause] we cannot ask working new mexicans to pay more for groceries when too many are struggling to make ends meet. even in a time of shortfall, i insist that education must remain our top investment. [applause] let me also be very clear -- budget cuts are not an excuse for cutting quality.

for rolling back accountability, for rolling -- lowering our standards or giving up our responsibility to educate. we have invested more than $1 billion in classroom spending. much of that is for professional teacher salaries tied to increase accountability. we rank third in the country or percentage increase in average teacher salary in the last decade we moved from 46 to 37 in salary ranking. over that time, we moved from 67% of core courses being taught by highly qualified teachers to 98%. our investment in pre-k and full day kindergarten is paying off. new mexico pre-k graduates scored higher on early math and literacy skills than children who did not participated in the last year, when the first class of people they kindergarten

entered the third grade, and took their first round of standardized tests, they far outperformed third graders from previous years. [applause] we did that together. but i want us to go much further. i want new mexico to be the first state of the nation to have an hispanic education act. we will be held accountable by results, by creating an annual report card on the status of hispanic education. we will increase parental and community involvement and close the cheap and gap. we're also bringing back 10,000 dropouts to complete their education as part of our graduate-new mexico commission. through aggressive entered the engines in low performing schools, we're going into -- will make sure that more of our young men and women enter the workforce with the skills to get better paying jobs.

i will also continue my strong support for innovative charter schools. [applause] i believe the increased choices in competition charter schools is healthy for our state. that is why i will fight any move to place more importance on new charter schools. [applause] finally, while we have seen a positive return on our investment, we must always be accountable for tax payer money and safeguard our limited educational resources. to that end, i propose that all local school boards received national training to ensure they can hold schools accountable to the money that they spend. i also want school boards to establish strict policies and çóprocedures to prevent the abue of credit and purchase cards. [applause]

we must do all we can to stop fraud and abuse in our schools. i wantxd to recognize the work f the legislative finance committee. the state auditor on covered and investigated and prosecuted these abuses. [applause] my bottom line is this -- i don't want to cut teacher salaries and i don't want to cut class from spending. [applause] -- classroom spending. [applause] if we have to cut education spending, we should start with the bureaucracy in the district administration. [applause] together, we passed significant that the reforms, setting strict campaign contribution limits, providing public financing for

judicial posts, and capping gifts to candidates and employees and officials several vital reforms have been put off for too long, whistle- blower protection for reporting fraud, waste, orxd abuse, disclosure by any contractor wishing to make a bid on a state project of any contribution of $250 or more over the last two years, a ban on candidates using taxpayer funded public announcements. an end to the revolving door where legislators this year become lobbyists next year, just like we did. a ban on campaign contributions by corporations, state contractors, were lobbyists. if we want the public trust, we must trust our people. i believe we also need an independent bipartisan citizen-

led ethics commission. this commission must be able to investigate discipline, fine, center, not just public officials or state employees but also contractors and lobbyists. 41 other states have such a commission. new mexico needs one, too. [applause] our road to long-term solvency cannot depend on the whims of the oil and gas market. it must be built on the revenues generated by creating thousands of high-paying jobs and the emerging sectors of our economy such as alternative and renewable energy, aerospace, high-tech, research and development, media and others. nothing is more important to our families and nothing is more important for our state. at the beginning of my administration, i asked this

legislation to give me the tools and we will get the jobs. you did that and i thank you. today, i am pleased to report that those tools like targeted tax incentives to attract innovative companies offering high wage jobs are paying off. we have successfully recruited fortune 500 companies like hewlett-packard and others and they are creating 600 high- paying jobs in new mexico. those incentives are working equally to record medium-sized companies for rural new mexico. we have announced 200 jobs alamgorda.

in the next few weeks, i will be announcing new companies offering hundreds of jobs in gallup, new mexico and of rosslyn. [applause] thank you. i am very pleased to report that america is ahead of schedule and under budget as we speak right now, 467 new workers are on the job constructing the first commercial space port in the world with 150-300 more hires expected over this year. the spaceport is fulfilling its promise of inspiring young men and women to study math and science, developing our southern and statewide economy,

and expanding tourism, one of our top industries. for those who doubted that the spaceport would bring in business, you should know that burgeoned galactic has over $42 million deposited for more than 300 reservations for men and women to go into space. no, i will not be the first, as some would wish. [laughter] demand is there. i will go up but not first. [laughter] the demand is there. you are clapping because you want me to go. [laughter] the demand is there and new mexi wl get its return than 10,t and indirect jobs and thousands of new mexico businesses are tied to the film industry. this includes over 250 new businesses in mexico. [applause]

more than 130 major movie and television productions have been made in new mexico during this administration.

experienced management, and unmatched natural beauty. indeed, with awards going to the new mexico film "crazy art," new mexicans proved that they make the finest films in the world. just today, movie maker magazine announced that due to the state's excellent incentive program, albuquerque has surpassed new york and los angeles to become the best place in america to live and work in film production. [applause] due to our past efforts, which we did together, the legislature and the governor, and given the direction the industry is moving in, we have a unique opportunity over the next 12-18

months to make this industry an integral part of our state's economy along with ranching, oil and gas, and other core sectors. with more than 12,000 mexican students around the state currently preparing for a career in film and media production, our commitment to this industry is our commitment to their future. next, we will continue to keep our responsibility to protect our communities. we have thrown the book that drunk drivers, mandating ignition interlock for every offender. we run statewide super blitzes and crack down on board the over serve an opening up a 24-hour hot line. i am proud to report that since 2003, our alcohol involved fatalities have decreased by almost 30% it remains the lowest in state history. new mexico is no longer in the top 10 states for alcohol- involved fatalities.

[applause] ñithis session, i am proposing w legislation to continue our fight against bwi and gang violence. specifically, i will once again pushed for tougher penalties for gang crimes and criminal gang recruitment and i will close loopholes in our d w i laws that allow of defenders -- allow all vendors to skip out of mandatory jail time. the last session we passed more legislation to help victims of domestic violence take time off to get a protection order. we granted law-enforcement new tools to fight stock. i am proposing that the task l!9ñforce that offer this legislation and dozens of other domestic violence initiatives become permanent in statute. i also want to recognize and thank first lady barbara richardson for her tireless work on domestic violence. [applause]

next, i'm calling for a statewide ban on the use of hand-held cell phones for talking or texting while driving. [applause] we must get the message across to drivers -- put down your bones and focus on the road. you are putting people's lives at risk. perhaps the greatest area partnership between the legislature and this administration is making new mexico to clean energy state. others like california have tried to claim that title. i believe we have earned it, passing an aggressive portfolio standard, creating the renewable energy transmission authority, and creating the most comprehensive package of clean energy tax incentives in the nation. we are aided by the chairman of

the senate energy commission. [applause] just last session, we went further with initiative to train our green jobs work force to establish new de )ict board of renewable energy financing and to expand xdsolar market development tax credits. this year, which was built on that progress by doubling the incentive for solar electricity producers who locate in our state. in last year's speech, i announced the creation of a green jobs cabinet to create a state wide strategic plan for clean energy. , clean technology and job creation. for the work of that cabinet, we developed ambitious goals. one was to be the leader in renewable energy export, two, the the center of the north american solar industry, 3, lead the nation in green great

innovation, four, beñr a centerf excellence for green building and energy efficiency. 5, a highly skilled green tech work force. we have made tremendous progress on each of these breeds in terms of exporting, new mexico will soon be home to the three amigos superstation. this will enable our state to export renewable energy to customers in the u.s., canada, and mexico. this is happening in eastern new mexico. in terms of cell manufacturing, we are now a new home of the import cygnet solar and the international headquarters for shop solar. we will soon be announcing one of the world's largest solar generating plants in eastern new mexico. for green grid, our collaboration among our national ñrpartners and research universities is being built. that is a testament to this work and innovation.

we are proud to count a new ñipartner, the government of japan. we must do more. coal-fired energy plants remain a major source of energy at home and at work. because for too much pollution in our state. we must demand responsible actions by industry. we must also give them the tools to do it. that is what i am proposing three bills -- one, to punish those who repeatedly and grossly pollute our air, another, to enable coal companies to initiate carbon storage and 3, a global warming cap and trade bill to create market mechanisms for reducing pollution and rewarding inefficiency. with the help of senator udalol, l, we protected the largest protected. in the state.

we also opened four new state parks to the public. to continue our legacy of conservation, i am proposing the passage of the national conservation act to fund efforts to protect the forests and watersheds, working farms and ranches, as well as habitat restoration and management. i also ask this legislature to address three more important issues. one, our taxes are getting too many homeowners with unfair increases, sometimes two or three times as much as their neighbors. i will send this legislature a proposal to move us to a more fair and equitable property-tax system. two, our native american communities, our tribal communities have over $1 billion in critical infrastructure

needs. i believe it is time to dedicate modest recurring funding, 5% of annual severance tax bond capacity to our successful tribal infrastructure fund for the native american peoples of new mexico. [applause] #3, it is time to extend domestic partnership rights. [applause] a committed couple who agree to assist -- to spend their lives together deserves equal treatment under the law. [applause] and as i have sai"i before -- ad i will say again, as a state whose diversity is its strength, we cannot accept discrimination in any form. [applause] çówhile we have accomplished muh

together, this legislature, republicans, democrats, and the executive branch, there are times when we have stood for a part. -- far apart. we should be sitting side by side of the table solving problems. i may have been wrong myself once or twice. [laughter] but heading into this session, i urge everyone in this chamber to consider the following words from a great new mexico governor who passed away last year. his name was bruce kent. when asked what his legacymh wod be, this is what he said. "i guess just getting new mexico to realize that if we are going to be successful, we are all

going to have to be a family, one large family." [applause] i believe in this time of need that if we are to succeed, we must work together, maybe even as a family. our state cannot afford inaction were still made. we must act and act responsibly. as i reflected on how wanted to conclude this state of the state, please don't clap yet. [laughter] i thought back to how it all began during the campaign i started eight years ago. i remember that as we went town to town, door-to-door, little towns, big cities, chapter houses, we tried to explain what we tried to accomplish. i remember the cynics and

critics told us we could not do agree we could not do the following -- we cannot use money from the permanent fund to invest in school class is. we cannot hold school districts accountable by forcing them to shift dollars from administration to the classroom. we cannot invest $1 billion in modern public school buildings but we did. we cannot hold polluters accountable for their effect on the government or create new parks renewable energy standards. but we did. we cannot build a film industry xdor a space port or a modern commuterxd rail, but we did. we cannot lower taxes for working families or improve access to health care, or raise the minimum wage, but we did. we cannot start a pre- kindergarten program or expand

full day kindergarten, and we cannot get junk food out of our schools, but we did. we cannot invest $1 billion into modern and safe highways, curb domestic violence, and there is absolutely no way you can reduce drunk driving, but we did. if there is one thing i know about the people of new mexico it is that we can get past our beliefs and sometimes something is too difficult or far too out of reach. then we can accomplish great things. ladies and gentlem