recommendation? caller: my recommendation is standardization, mandate standardization. host: we are out of time. thanks for calling in with that suggestion. we have a lot of c-span today, and book tv on c-span2. t.r. reid will be live on sunday. thanks for being with us. enjoy your weekend. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] .

>> you have been the tsa acting assistant administrator for longer than anyone anticipated. fog certainty about the long-term leadership but in the meantime, you have stepped up admirably to the demands of your role and we appreciate your strong and diligently to ship. i am confident as the air travel in our country more secure. that you for serving your country with distinction which is sometimes a thankless job. in the wake of the attacks of september 11, the initial focus of the tsa was to secure the

aviation sector in this country. soon thereafter, a texan london, madrid, and mumbai pointed to other threats. you have worked to fill gaps in all of our transportation networks. since 2003, with appropriate over a billion dollars to give tsa screeners ways to protect flights. we have appropriated over $400 million for tsa to vet passengers for links to terrorism to prevent certain individuals from boarding aircraft. congress has set in august, 2010 for screening all cargo and passenger aircraft appropriating $468 million to that end. to address threats outside the aviation and farming, congress has provided $1.8 billion in

grants to help local transit agencies and amtrak secure a rail and transit networks. we work with the administration last year to place emphasis on surface transportation security with the special response teams and funding to better coordinate security efforts in non-aviation modes like pipe lines, highways, mass transit, rail and shipping. this subcommittee has increased research and development of technologies to thwart threats that have yet to materialize. before the christmas day bomb plot, tsa had been working on a non-metallic explosive threat. this subcommittee supported. on december 25, went to more -- when mark -- the terrorist attempted to detonate a bomb,

our fears were realized. we wrapped up deterrent a -- we ran up procurement for this. the failure of dutch streeters to detect the explosive on christmas day was one piece of the blight -- break down that permitted the would be barred to get as far as he did. after ordering a top-down review of all aviation security proceedings, including our terrorist watch list system, president barack obama initiated a number of reforms including enhanced screen for passengers flying into u.s. from nations on our list of state-sponsored terrorists and other countries of interest. the deployment of additional law enforcement at airports, having air marshals, and canine teams to keep air traffic ssafe.

we want to discuss your efforts since the announcement of these efforts and how you have built on his efforts tol create lastg security solutions for the american people. the 2011 request includes nine of $46 million above the 2010 levels to secure airports and floods on the heels of the christmas day attack. we'll need to closely scrutinize your request today bearing in mind that the enemy is constantly watching and the evolving and no single tool is a foolproof solution. we will be watching tsa to ensure that the agency itself is evolving. we rely on the strategic vision

ensure annual expenditure plan to check baggage and their cargo. this plan is our guide book, indicating how funds will be allocated within various programs. it is return the updated to address changes in the threat environment, or revised estimates for technology development. without knowing what you want to acquire, we cannot make a complete sense of your 2011 budget as against the budget -- a bent imaging technology. -- advanced imaging technology. i look forward to learning more about this cohesive strategy today. as part of this discussion, we expect you to be able to answer why a 9% increase in security is a smart investment but also whether we are devoting the correct amount of resources to domestic versus international activity. aviation security does not

started our borders. we need to work close -- across the globe. we will want to hear about how tsa and the department are cooperating with foreign authorities to secure air travel worldwide as well as discuss the optimum mix of manpower and screen technology for the 2011 fiscal year. i want to thank you again for your service to the country and we look forward to working with you to ensure our transportation security professionals are equipped to keep the american people safe. we will ask you to take five minutes to summarize your written statement and we will be happy to conclude -- include the full statement in the record. before you begin, i recognize our distinguished ranking member. >> welcome to you for what is perhaps her final appearance before the subcommittee.

when tsa was established in 2002, i voiced strong concerns about the agency's inclination of overly reliant on manpower as opposed to the smart use of the effect of technology. eight years later, in the wake of another terrorist attack, it feels like deja vu all over again. back in 2002, just as today, congress was presented a request for funds to support thousands upon thousands of screeners. rather than a clearly articulated strategy for meaningful airport security. my concern back then and now is that we are not thinking through the proposed security enhancements in terms of

affordability, effectiveness, and adaptability for the next few years. as i look at the fiscal 2011 budget request for more than 500 additional full body in the jurors, more than 5300 additional screeners, i am apprehensive because it is unclear whether such a costly approach is the absolute best course of action, especially when the initial deployment of the whole body image yearw/ñrs t proven. far too often, government overreacts in the wake of a crisis and the reactionary posture is one thatamñ habitualy leads us into overspending on solutions that do not pan out.

let me be clear, i am not saying that there is not:a costly propl that seems to be a short-term fix but not a long-term sustainable solution, which effectively balances legitimate travel, security, and limited resources. unfortunately, these questions cannot be fully answered until we have a better understanding of what direction tsa is heading and the current year. that is difficult to do. we have not received your budget for 2010 even though we are well into 2010. as this subcommittee continues

its oversight responsibilities, i intend to press the press or decision of the budget. i have made clear in previous hearings that i believe the fiscal 2011 budget emphasizes ag -- aviation security and administration costs at the expense of virtually every other operational security program across the department. i do not dispute the need to enhance aviation security, improve program management, is important to recall that two very distinct plots were revealed his best year, the christmas attack, and the zazi plot in new york city. what this means to me is that we cannot exclusively focused upon the aviation sector at the expense of other areas. we must remain vigilant on the entire spectrum of threats

facing the country. having said all that, i would be remiss if i did not take a moment to recognize the noble efforts of all the tsa personnel that have worked tirelessly to identify solutions to difficult challenges since the christmas day attack. finally mr. chairman, i think we need to highlight, as you have, ms. rosedes efforts in tsa. she is one of the six original employees at tsa. , as young as she is. she has endured the full range of challenges facing aviation security in the post-9/11 europe. ra. we want to thank you for your service to your country.

to put it mildly, this subcommittee and arab nation owes you a debt of gratitude for your dedicated service. -- and our nation owes you a debt of gratitude for your dedicated service. >> please proceed. >> before you today, to as "half of the transportation security administration your support for the fiscal year 2011 total budget request of $8.2 billion, an increase of $512 million over fiscal year 2010. i also thank you both personally for your very kind words. having been with tsa since its first day, i witnessed and appreciate our enduring partnership with the subcommittee. we have achieved and continue to strive to meet important objectives.

i also greatly appreciate the work we have done with partners at all levels of government, industry representatives, our international partners, the private sector, and especially the traveling public we serve. this year, we expect to fully implement our secure flight program, a sick -- a key security vetting measure. tsa has now certified that we have generally met all 10 programs certification requirements set by this committee. we will also screen 100% of their cargo on domestic flights by august and make substantial progress on screen near cargo and international inbound passenger flights. we will obligate all $1 billion provided under the recovery act, accelerating passenger and baggage screening and has been. we will further in the shade over $1.3 billion in checkpoint and explosive detection systems with funds provided in fiscal year 2010.

we will stand up 15 in new viper teams and serve as the executive agent for decisions on $300 million in public transportation and railroad security grounds. tsa operates in a high-threat environment today in and day out. this drives us to be ever vigilant. the attack on a northwest flight 253 on christmas day was a stark reminder that there are still those who wish to do less harm. they are studying our security measures and will exploit our social norms to their advantage the men and women of tsa live with that reality every day. i truly appreciate the time that you and took to visit our transportation security integration facility last week to discuss many of the advancements we are seeking in fiscal year 2011. tsa has recognized the threat of and provide the explosive devices have focused our efforts

there. we begin testing advanced imaging technology in 2007 to detect metallic and non-metallic threads hidden on the body. because of the nearly three years of work we have put into this, we currently have 40 machines already in place at 19 airports. we will feel the approximately 500 units by the end of this year and our fiscal year 2011 request for $50 million doubled that number. the almost 1000 units will allow us to screen over 60% of all airline passengers. this requires 5000tso's which are also requested in our budget. i want to emphasize that tsa is the world leader in the marketplace for this advanced imaging technology and the work we have done to date has paved the way for other countries to follow suit in the wake of the december 25 incident. tsa does not screen passengers

in other countries but we are committed to helping our foreign partners and hence the security of flights coming into the united states. we have built strong relationships with our international partners, proven by the high level of cooperation we received in december. within five hours of tsa issuing new security directives, 95% of foreign partners were in compliance. tsa six additional $40 million for international programs. our request seeks to better equip our t.s.o's by expanding our field intelligence officer program. we're also requesting $60 million for 800 additional portable explosive detection machines which have proven to be very successful at detecting a wide an array of explosives. we propose to add 350 behavior detection officers and with an additional $71 million, we are requesting to add 275 canine

teams. the budget also request an additional $85 million to sustain international flight coverage. i would like to state that the tsa core mission is one of counter-terrorism. we continue the work we began eight years ago to close vulnerability with new technology and with new m very complex regime. as this will likely be my final appearance before the subcommittee as acting secretary, i am extremely grateful for your support of tsa for our program and for the everyday heroes i have been honored to serve alongside. i appreciate your support in achieving our security goals and i am happy to respond to your questions. >> thank you very much. i will ask the first such question having to do with the advanced imaging technology.

over the past two years, tsa has worked to develop imaging technologies for use in airport screening checkpoints with an eye toward replacing metal detectors at primary screening checkpoints. this replacement effort has been well under way. it has been well over one year before the christmas day attempt. tsa was quickly able to develop a screening for hundreds of passengers or to use an equivalent method to detect non- metallic threads after the christmas day incident. ait's which see beyond a pastor's close and identifies threats could have detected the materials that were smuggled inside the terrorists under their -- underwear.

if funded, the 1000 ait's purchased would allow this technology to be in place in 75% of the country's largest airports. it remains unclear how you deploy the system because they have a larger footprint and metal detectors and a slower processing time. ait's take much time -- a much longer time to scan a passenger. tsa stated they do not expect increased processing times with these machines because current passengers have to wait any way. this 20-second x-ray is about the same time it takes for an ait to scan a passenger. can you help us figure this out? i wonder if the ait's will increase wheat times. -- wait times.

how will you will be applied to passengers' backing up and the potential security threat as they wait to be screened? what is your at the deployment plan for the a i t's? will it be within the existing screening checkpoint? will it be a one-on-one replacement of metal detectors? how will this move forward? let me just recall the situation we faced when we wanted quickly to be able to screen checked baggage after 9/11. tsa placed explosive detection machines in less than ideal locations in a number of airports on a temporary basis. this created a series of problems and ultimately made permanent solutions more costly and time-consuming. i am sure that experiences on your mind.

-- experience is on your mind. >> let me start by talking about the work that has been done to date. we gained a tremendous amount of knowledge from the pilots we ran over the last couple of years in terms of how to process the passengers through and how to measure the wait time. from the time the passengers enter until believe the checkpoint, there are multiple processes going on one is walking through the advanced imaging technology. the other is screening of their carry-on bags. it is the combination of those process is working in parallel so that the passengers can go through and that tells us that we do not believe that ai deployment believet's will significantly increase the weight time for passengers. we believe that deploying the tso's in the right positions in

the checkpoints will inform the passenger how to properly divest and that will contribute to keeping those wait times down. the integration of the a i t equipment to the checkpoint has been something we have looked at as part of our pilots a. ing. we have airports that said they are ready to take this technology and put it in their existing checkpoint. we are confident that those we are rolling out this year to be done and put in the existing checkpoints and not have to go through major construction issues, not have the kinds of things we had when we had the check-baggage technology and lobbies, etc. we are also very much focused on how we educate the traveling public so that when they show at the checkpoint, they understand

exactly what they can expect as they go through the ait machine. it is a combination of looking at the entire process and looking at the public education element and making sure that we have the tso's properly station so they can make sure the passengers are. properly are this proper lead divested. -- properly divested. we want to make sure this is all well integrated so it is an effective screening process as well as efficient. >> the footprint of these machines is greater than the metal detectors? >> yes it is, stephen harper it what we have found is that -- yes it is, sir. we found they actually have more room within the checkpoints.

the initial deployment is to look at the checkpoints that are ready right now to handle the space. >> the idea is that the carry-on baggage will still go down the line and be screened but that the time the individual spends in the fit machine will parallel or be concurrent with that time used to ? that is how you come up with very little increase? >> yes. it is something we will be very focused on as passenger load increase over the next couple of years. we will look to make sure we are properly managing the lines. we will also -- as we are setting these machines up, we will have the ability to direct passengers through the advanced imaging technology and receive alternate greeting. wycombe man is the process that way, as well.

>> these pilot efforts in the last couple of years to check out this technology, is that also included with extensive work and what we are talking about right now? the deployment of the machines and the with a passenger flow works? and the passenger acceptance of the new technology? >> yes, and i am very pleased to be able to report you that the passenger response to this technology has been overwhelmingly positive. that was part of our pilot. i believe we had over a 90% acceptance rate by the traveling public when they opted to go through the equipment. this is been a great piece of technology for persons with disabilities going through checkpoints. during our pilots, we looked at both the configuration and the training requirements and looked at the passenger input and

passenger acceptance. >> you are also referring to the measures taken to protect privacy? >> yes, sir. we have signed it up in the checkpoint area that informs passengers that this is optional. they do not have to go through the event imaging technology if they choose not to. it also informs them that the officer that is guiding them through this technology will never see the image that the officer in a remote location is viewing. we have made sure that those privacy concerns have been addressed with the public. we have had a privacy impact statement out during this deployment of the technology and again, we have worked very hard with privacy groups and the traveling public to ensure that they accept and understand the privacy measures. >> thank you.

mr. rogers? >> continuing on the privacy aspect, the machine makes an image which is telecast 28 room where just one person is located? that is the only place where the images shown? >> correct. >> one person in a closed room? >> that's right. >> and the faces blurred? -- and the face is blurred? you say this is optional for the passenger presuppose they say no? >> they are directed to walk through metal detector and a could be subjected to a full body that down so we are ensuring that an alternative and comparable form of screening is applied to the passenger if they

choose not to use the new technology. >> every person that refuses the full body imager scan would be be >> they could possibly be patted down or have a review of their carry-on luggage and there is a variety of alternative measures we would have that would be applied depending on the particular technology that is available at the checkpoint. >> is the new machine as effective as a pat down? >> from ineffectiveness standpoint an efficiency standpoint, it is better. it allows us to do the images quickly. it identifies anomalies on the body. it identifies anomalies that may be on different parts of the body and it is also much faster

than doing a full body pat down. >> considering the christmas day bomber, would this machine had -- have detected on that person? >> without going into the specifics of that because of the ongoing criminal investigation, i will tell you that the experience we have had in the laboratories and their pilots, our offices are identifying objects on the body that are comparable to what that threat was. >> every time? >> our offices are doing a very good job. >> every time? >> i would have to get back to you but we have a very, very good measures in place for evaluating.

>> contrary wise, if you had petted this man down, would we have found the bomb? >> we do not do a full body pat down the goes into the sensitive parts of the body where the bomb was secreted. >> this machine is not foolproof, correct? it is not 100%? >> it requires the experience of the operator as well, yes. >> we may be getting into some confidential matters here. what i need to know is is this machine the and all? >> this machine gives us an increased detection capability that is significantly greater

than what we have at the checkpoint today. in working with industry, we are driving these manufacturers to continue to improve this technology. >> if a bomb were secreted in an article of the body, the machine would not detect that? >> inside the body? >> yes. >> correct. >> on the footprint, the machine but not replace the magnetometer, correct? >> we do not have plans to replace the walk-through metal detectors, correct. >> you have the metal detectors as well as the full body imaging? >> yes, right now. >> why would you need both? >> part of it is to manage the flow of the passengers so that we would be able to have an alternative for a passenger who

says they do not want to go through the advanced imaging technology. couple that with other security measures. also, what we are looking at now is, as we are deploying these, maximizing the use of it but to direct passengers through the walk-through metal detector at checkpoints so that when a passenger shows up, the security of venice we have is that when a passenger shows up in the line, they will be directed by the officer to go through ether technology. they will not know. the bench to us is that somebody could not protect the bacon "-- -- the advantage to us is that somebody could not predict which line baby should go through. long term, we hope to drive the industry to actually provide us with the technology with -- where the walk through metal detectors could be comparable to

the a i t. >> you have a combined machine? >> that would be a great set up force down the road. >> why haven't we done that? >> we are pushing the industry to do that but the industry has not gone to that point yet. >> if you put out a specification, you get some bids. >> i believe we are asking for that and the laboratories and we are working with the science and technology lab to help us push the industry towards that. >> let me know. >> i will. >> there is the machine and then there is the separate room where the images viewed by an operator. that has to be fairly close to the machine but not to close, right? nevertheless, it requires space that is not now required as far as the check-in procedure?

>> right. >> does your budget request cover the costs of installing the machines and acquiring space for the room and all that? >> the budget request includes money for constructing a viewing room within the checkpoint area. what we are doing is that in a lot of places we are taking a supervisor's office and using other pieces of the real estate close by to the checkpoint to create that alternate viewing room. the budget has some money in the to cover some of those structural costs to build up the viewing room. >> without the airports, what will be there financial involvement with this change? >> some of them are providing us the room.

in some cases, we are providing them nominal amounts of money to pay for this infrastructure cost. for the most part, the investment by tsa is for the checkpoint area. >> will you pay the airports for taking more of their space? >> i don't believe we are. i will get back to you on that. i have not seen that cost factor as we are looking at this. >> thank you. mr. rodriguez. >> thank you. thank you for hours -- your service to our country. we had a recent incident that occurred in texas in austin. it could have taken more lives. it took the life of an individual veteran who served our country well.

in 2008, tsa had proposed a plan to propose new rules for some 15,000 planes including requirements for jet operators to check passengers and watch lists and those kind of things. this proposal was met with a great deal of opposition in the private pilot industry group and others. when will the tsa's new proposal for regulating private aircraft be made available? what changes, if any, will be taken in consideration as a result of the incident that occurred in austin that the irs facility? >> we are going to go out with a second notice of proposal we are making on the general's

aircraft security program. we are hoping to have that through the administration and posted by the end of the year. we did receive a lot of comments on the first round and we had a terrific cooperation -- collaboration with the industry and pilots on comments. we are looking at that. in the aftermath of the austin, texas crash, we went back through the homeland security institute that had done the engineering study for us and asked them to take a look at the specifics of that crash. and if it should formulate any changes in that proposed rule making. we're waiting for the results of that study. that may help us and will inform us if any changes need to be made. >> what kind of security do we have, if any, in some of the small airports that we have in

terms of assessments that we might make at the present time? >> right now, in small gsa airports, we really don't have any. >> do we have some kind of assessment of the number of flights that go out of there. ? we have no way of checking to see who flies out of their tax ere? >> the faa knows the registration of the small plane in knows who the pilots are per the pilots have to be certified by the faa. it would be most of their regulations. >> not even once or twice a year do we check on this? >> on occasion, for national

security events, with the inauguration last year, we went and visited everycx)áp& aviation airport enroute from the train he took from philadelphia to washington, d.c. during the olympics, we looked at the general aviation airports. we did that with state and local law enforcement. depending on national events and significant activities, we will look at the general aviation airports. if intelligence suggests something, we would then work and looking at them. >> when you refer to intel, are you in contact with border patrol and others? >> we have a close working relationship with the border patrol. >> it has to do with the number of flights coming over the canadian border? thank you.

>> thank you. in the american recovery and reinvestment act, the committee provided tsa with $25 million for airport screening machines. they were to be deployed airports across the country. last tuesday it was reported that not one of these devices has yet to be deployed. i was really shocked to read that. we know the importance of quickly deploying this technology for travel into airports like kennedy and laguardia in new york. why did it take seven months to purchase 150 machines? you mentioned the timeframe for deployment technology in boston and chicago. what about new york? if you struggled to spend the $25 million, what assurances can you give this committee that you can quickly and effectively

spend the more than $240 million being proposed by the president to deploy nearly 1000 machines across the country? >> we bought 150 machines last september. we are in the process now of receiving those. they will be disbursed to go out to the airports. the reason that it took time is because we put in the order in september and the manufacturer has been delivering those. we have made sure they are ready and equipped the way we need them to before deployment. we also have -- we are in the process of awarding a contract for what is called an integration contract. that will be a contractor who love and expertise in deploying this kind of technology and rolling this out and supporting us to do that. we had two qualified vendors

with this technology today. as we make these purchases, we will be able to introduce the vendors list for it in the meantime, our laboratory is continuing to certify additional vendors. the industry is responding very quickly to this demand. we believe we pulled -- we will be able to complete these. it will take all our energy and commitment but we are very committed to this. >> you mentioned boston and chicago, how about new york? >> i don't have the schedule in from may but i will be happy to provide it. secretary of pulte, tomorrow will be announcing the deparle -- secretary napolitano will be announcing the deployment tomorrow. >> i hope the decisions are made according to threats? they are. i wanted to check that out. another issue -- secretary

napolitano testified last week that dhs did not have the rights to grant gso's collectively. what is holding up the department from taking this action when president barack obama said he supported this. it seems to me the threat to the general public is the terrorist and not the labor unions. this does not make any sense. could you respond? >> the secretary has indicated that she wants to get a permanent tsa administrator in place before the final decision is made on collective bargaining. >> that is a good excuse but what is happening? >> i will tell you what i have done in my tenure as the acting

assistant secretary. i have held meetings with both ntu and asde where the leadership of the unions have brought in representatives from around the country that are members of their respective unions. we have set down and have had great dialogue with those from my offices and the leadership of both unions on issues of mutual concern. i will tell you that you put me in a room with a bunch of tso's and it is a great exchange. i consider the leadership of tsa to take to have a great relationship with both unions. >> the chairman is about to crack the whip and now want to remind you that customs have

collective bargaining -- bargaining rights. you are aware of that? >> yes, i am. >> i probably fly more than anyone on this committee. i go home every weekend. i have a lot of experience with tsa. frankly, i have been critical of the air marshal's. was the cost effectiveness of them? -- what is the cost effectiveness of them? i don't think the christmas bomber would have made a difference whether an air marshal was on that plane. the committee last year asked for a report on the cost effectiveness of the air marshal

program. we have not received anything yet. in your request, you want $85 million for air marshals. i don't think our committee should give it to you until we get that report back. i wondered if you want to comment on what we are getting out of that program? there are a priority of issues. i'm a big fan of law enforcement, i don't think -- talking to the air marshal's, they have nothing to do with flying. they are not reviewing rosters. they're not helping with no-fly list. they have no access to the information of who was on the plane. they are shocked to find out that i am a congress member. the only find that out because they sit next to me and read my material.

i guess that is what has led to the issue of why we should keep beefing up this program. >> i would be happy to bring the leadership of the federal air marshal service to give you a briefing including some of the issues you questioned there. i don't want to talk about it in an open setting. i will tell you that the air marshal service is an extremely well-trained law enforcement specialty -- >> i have no doubt of that. >> they are doing other things including training. they are supporting our operations in airports. they work closely with the fbi. they are assigned to the jttf in the interest of aviation security. they have a number of deployment when they are not in the air. >> why don't you submit the

report we ask for it will have a discussion. >> i will do that and follow on where the report is. >> i wondered how the tsa is addressing the language barriers in field personnel in the middle east. what are you doing to train people in native languages or higher foreign country nationals to work for you? hotti>> we look to whether empls are fluent in a language where they are deployed. if they are not, they go through the department of language state school. they have at least some basic capability in the language.

>> who pays for the screening equipment foreign countries? >> the foreign countries pay for that. >> what lessons did tsa learn from their involvement in cooperation with other agencies in other countries during the vancouver olympics? >> we are in the process of doing a lessons learned now. we had great cooperation from the general aviation and commercial airports back and forth to vancouver. we had a great injured- governmental cooperative effort. the lessons learned are being reviewed now. >> kenya report goes to the committee? >> happy to. >> private aviation. >> very quickly, we have a boat coming up. >> as i mentioned, we are in the process of repairing the

supplemental notice of aviation which will go up this year. >> thank you. >> we appreciate your service and thank you for the job you have been doing. there is concern that the christmas day bombing was on a tour watchlist and was able to get in a -- an airplane. how can we prevent this? >> he was not on any terrorist watch list. we did not have any visibility on him. >> he apparently had a valid of the separate -- a ballotvisa. -- valid visa. >> are we looking at watch lists from other countries? >> i cannot vote -- enter that in an open session but president barack obama did direct that the u.s. government in the

department of, security and the intelligence community and look at this. that review is on going to see how we can solve that. >> it seems like common sense if they are in a watch list that that is automatically that they should not be left on an airplane with my wife and kids or anybody's. >> wanting tsa will have implemented by the end of the year is the secure flight program which will ensure that no-flys are not permitted. >> it is very frustrating to see the tsa applied these restrictions to all of us, frisking and searching 80-year- old woman -- women. there was an elderly gentleman that was pulled aside and her

arrest and search. yet young muslim men like this guy are not treated any differently. what federal regulation prevents you from singling out young muslim men and give them more attention than 80-year-old middle of honor winner? >> when i hear of circumstances like that, it troubles us, too. we want to make sure our offices are respectful of all passengers. in reality, the law requires us to screen all passengers. tsa does not profile. therefore, we do not single out different categories of different passengers. >> is there a federal statute that prohibits you from singling out a group of people or a particular characteristic or is

there an internal regulation? it is a federal -- is it a federal regulation or statute that prohibits you from profiling? >> i will have to get back to but the matter of policy, we do not profile. >> that is disturbing. it defies common sense. i get here in 2001 and was on the transportation authorizing committee before i joined this wonderful committee. right after 9/11, we brought in the head of elal security. that was terrific. we heard terrific to import from the head of israel's security. they just don't have this problem. if you are a 80-year-old grandmother, they don't bother you. they will screen you and check you but they have a security professional that will talk to them. if you fit certain characteristics, you will have a conversation with officer louis

and you have a special visit. it defies common sense. what do we need to do to make that happen? we do not have a problem with baptists or hindus or buddhists blowing up airplanes. that is just common sense what needs to happen so that you can let your officers use their own common sense and good judgment and zero in on the population that is the problem? >> first of all, we have consulted with the israelis frequently on security measures they have there and what we can use here. we have a behavior detection officer program that has officers looking for behavior that would warrant us to give somebody additional screening. in terms of what legislative remedy would we possibly need for this, i would have to get back to you. >> please do, find out where the problem is.

>> we will try to get your question in before we have to go vote. >> i just have to ask because thwe just had the head of secury at o'hare airport say that it was the least secure airport in america. that was on the front page of the chicago "and some time" today. -- the -- " the chicago sun- times" today. >> o'hare has an airport security plan. tsa inspects that plan for they are in compliance with the plan. any time we have something reported to us or we notice they are not in compliance, we would take up with any airport authority. >> one specific thing is that he says that zero here is the only

airport in the country to allow private vehicles to park anywhere. >> i am aware of the parking set up there but they have a security plan that they are in compliance with. >> to you have regular liaison with your european counterparts? >> yes sir, we do. >> one thing i would hope we would do that if you rna british no-fly list, at a minimum, you should be on a list for the united states. >> i believe that as part of what we are looking at in terms of how we share information across governments and how we make sure that information gets to the united states so we can properly act on it. >> this may take some money from foreign liaisons' but i think the no-fly list of nato allies

should immediately triggered membership on the selective list of the united states. >> thank you and i will take that back with me >> it would be expensive but i think the public deserves it. >> i am told that the christmas day bomber was not on the british no-fly list. he was denied a visa because of a related problem. >> that means that the foreign office had him. >> he was on our tide list which did not translate into the no- fly list. we will straighten that out. >> you should have the resources when they update their list, they immediately go on our list. >> tsa actually does not nominate and maintain that list.

it is something i will take back with me. >> i apologize for having to take a break. we'll make it as brief as possible and we will come back for one final round after two votes. hos[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] . . a7

>> we will have one more round. i will house more questions for the record. the first line of questioning has to do about how these machines will be deployed. i will not get into detail on that now. we do have this request for screeners that will want to explore with you. you'll see how that estimate is -- we will see how that estimate is. i want to ask you some questions about the plans for portable traced machines.

in this exchange in this hearing, i want to ask you about the goal we all share and we trust will be achieved, although there are some challenges. the goal of 100% screening of cargo and passenger aircraft. the 9/11 act requires you screen 50% of a cargo by february 2009 and 100% by august of 2010. it will be significant to achieve 100% screened. the difficulties lie in international corporate and car broke in these large pallets. and may ask you about the nature of these challenges. i think you've estimated last year that tsa may reach 75% for

international cargo in august of this year. we all want to make this 100% screening requirement garrett you have been working on the problem for over a year now. i wonder if you would still stand by that estimate. if not, why not? what is the screening estimate for international air cargo decks any possibility we can do better than that 75%? the other problem is the pelletallets or oversized conta. tsa has been working on this program for multiple years. it appears we do not have a solution in the near term for this dilemma. screen air cargo will be more person-

dependent than in the near term. can you help us understand the technical challenge we're facing an electric timeline for achieving our goals? >> yes, mr. chairman. with respect to air cargo, let's talk about that first. we are confident we will meet the domestic requirement to screen went%. all passenger airplanes leaving the united states, lifting off from domestic airports, that cargo will be screened. the challenge and is a different challenge is the international inbound. there are 98 countries that we need to have gained compliance with that requirement. right now we are working with those countries. the u.k., there screening methods meet the standards we

have set. we're looking at those countries that are going to abate -- that we have to look at their methods, how are they screening. are they using a similar approach, and are we comfortable with those methods. i did not believe we will get will get100% by august. the 75% might be optimistic. it may be more like 65% by august. we are looking at every country and working with ido and looking -- and working with iko and we're working with these host governments and the air carriers to begin to address this. it is going to be quite a challenge. we have about 20 countries that account for about 84% of the volume coming in. that is where we're focusing our

attention the most. we have been asked about our timeline how much longer it would take. we estimate it could be a more years, we would have 100% compliance from those foreign countries. >> what is the nature of the issue with the most difficult cases? it is the -- is it the technological capabilities and resources with which to do this? arthur more intractable problems of late -- are there more intractable problems of a diplomatic nature? it leads one to wonder, what will be taken over to overcome this? >> most of the challenges are

either basic capability to do it. we have gotten a great corporation every place we have visited and talking to the host government and foreign carriers. it is more this simply lack the resources to make the investment in the technology. we're going to have to look at alternative measures if it comes down to that. how we will enable those foreign governments to meet this challenge. what we're working with and working with iko, we are hoping they can assist some of these locations. the issue with the pallets is that these large pallets, there's not a good technology to screen in this huge configuration. we are looking at what kind of technology in our labs cannot

look at that and how we try to break down the commodity into smaller packages that we can use to address the compliance requirement. we looked at smaller packages vs. huge pellet-sized ones. >> let me quickly and finally referred to an item that was not surprised you given the content of past hearings. we had two hearings lester with tsa and fema and what solutions could be implemented for 2006 through 2008. 99% was on span from 2007.

for the 2006 grants, it took too wondered 86 days after the awards were announced to be approved. -- it's up 286 days. last spring, all tier one project would be approved at the time the awards were announced. this would allow the entities to access these funds faster. one year later, it appears in the process for approving this funding, the disbursement of funding has not improved dramatically. 67% of the 2006 grant remain unspent. there have been marginal improvements at best for 2007 with 93% of the koran's remained unspent.

why have these changes which are major changes to expedite the disbursement of these grants not produced the results we anticipated? we had intense interest in the spirit we had a second hearing. we asked you to report on your progress. we know you worked hard trying to solve this problem. we have not seen the report. it is over six months late. the main concern is the underlying problem. it is hard to get a handle on the problem. >> let me apologize that the report is not to the committee yet. we are working to get that through and to you. " we have done, though, is look at the recipients of this grant funds.

regardless of the process between tsa and fema, we wanted to focus on the recipients of these funds. tsa has met with the recipients of 80% of these funds. " what are seeing is that at the local level, these funds are being managed well. the challenge is, they do not invoice and so big drawdown rates do not reflect the progress that is being made with each of the projects. we are attempting to work with them so they do invoice us in a way that would show higher percentages of drawdown rates. most of these local recipients wait for the project to be completely over and then they submit their invoices for payment. so it looks like projects are not moving along when in fact our visits with them is showing

they are making some progress. we will get you that report. i apologize it is not to the committee. >> that is the sort of project that underscores the need for an accounting of this. we have no way of accessing -- of assessing what you just said. maybe this is an accounting method. we wonder how much of the problem that explains. to the extent some other way of accounting for this would help us understand what the real rate looks like, we would like to see that. we do need an accounting and we're still concerned about the underlying problems. these funds are not getting out to the community for bevin

needed protection. we will look for that report in short order. mr. rogers. >> ltd. back to the body imaging machines. -- let me get back to the body- imaging machines. i read your schedule -- your statement. summarize this for us. >> you asked about our ability to employ the technology and install them into the checkpoints. tsa has been designed for all the checkpoints across the u.s. airports. we're looking at, we know what the current manufacturers in terms of the size of these units is. we are looking at the airport configuration that we know and we can deploy this technology is so that it has minimal impact on the configurations of these checkpoints.

that process is ongoing between the staff and the airports. we are confident that these first 500 can deployed effectively and in a federal it accelerated manner because we know what those checkpoints look like today. we have at airports volunteer. they can take this checkpoint. they can take the technology as it is configured. as we continue to press the industry, we are not going to just stop with this technology and the capabilities that this technology promises. we want to get to the kind of technology that has the metal detector as well as the imaging technology capability. but we're confident right now

based on our planning and based on we know about this check. and the corporation from the airport industry that we can deploy these in a effective fashion. >> you say in statement on page -- "40 machines have been deployed already. last december, we hired 50 additional units. this year we expect to deploy it those and at least 300 additional units across the country, " were to be 450 additional units. and that the first units are set to arrive in boston, chicago next week. >> correct. >> the budget requests $214 millions to install additional

units to bring the total number of units to about 1000. and so you were asking on top of the money to acquire the machines, you are asking an additional $314 million for new positions. that will run these machines at it accelerated pace. if these machines are working out well, you will increase the number even further. correct? >> that is part of the ongoing assessment we're doing right now. it would be will be the optimum full capability in all airports across the country beyond 1000. we have not come to a final number. >> your initial estimates on the manpower to operate the thousand

machines is 5355 people. is there any hope that we can get that down? >> what we are looking at is that requirement for this initial 1000 machines. i believe as we continue to have additional machines, you will have different requirements for the large airports versus of the smaller. we will look at how we get to the maximum amount of effectiveness of our people and technology. that 5000 per machine represents a little over 1 1/2 fte. at is where we get the five per machine. >> some airports when not be

open. >> that is reichardt is an average. as we continue to move into more airports, we will look into the combination and what it will be once we are at a full capability. >> you are asking for a call% increase in the money for the fte's in one year. now, as you recollect, we first started this organization, or this department of the old transportation department, tsa. we tacapped the number of the employees at 45,000. what is it now? >> we have about 38,000 working in those areas.

>> for total screeners. >> it is about -- just under 45,000. >> which you would bump up to plus 50,000. there is some comments, some auto detect function which but it possible on his body scanning machines. >> the bottle detection capability is where the machine -- the auto-detection capability is for the operator does not have to study the image. the machine tells the operator there is an anomaly that requires further examination. >> does that exist now? >> no. it is being evaluated right now, that kind of technology.

>> would that help was produced a fte's per machine/ >> the configuration for the staff right now is to that staffing is to be in the check. assisting with the process and economic resolution process. it would not necessarily safe on -- with the auto-detection capability. >> you have the magnetometer. with the fte's, with that cover the magnetometer work? >> we look at it in terms of the whole checkpoint required staffing. and so the additional resources we are asking for would accommodate the checkpoint with the advanced imaging technology as well as if we had the metal

detector. we do not save fte if we get rid of the metal detector. there's still a number of people required in a checkpoint unit. >> so the metal -- with or without the full-body imaging machine -- without the full-body imaging machine, what is the manpower per check point? " i believe the configuration with the -- it would be 9.5 and then you normalize it across the whole system. the request that you are seeing is for the increase which is up to 1 1/2 per machine and you will supply that by the shift embody 24/7 operation in the major airports. >> your estimates of 5 per machine per day looks like it

will be conservative. >> well, sir, would have looked a we can do with our existing resources and with this technology and that is it good faith estimate of what are modeling shows. >> i hope that in some point in time we can talk about this in the subcommittee, withholding some money in the later part of the year until we see the practical application that we need five ftte's per machine per day. a may workout that the efficiencies beyond our thinking. -- it may work out does the efficiencies are beyond our thinking. i hope we can stage, manpower. >> we will be happy to keep the

committee informed as we are employing these operationally. >> thank you. >> all right. mr. ruppersberger, you cannot wrap all. >> we have a lot of hearings at the same time. -- you can wrap it up. >> your -- the training of your personnel and looking at how there are techniques used in other parts of the world that might work. i think -- we're not talking about profiling. israel talks about behavior. that is what we would like to talk about. what standards do you have for the average tsa% tax to the hav person?

what are your standards as far as hiring? " the standards for the security officer are spelled out in law and those require a high school degree or equivalent 6. there are requirements once they are hired for extensive training. they must set a minimum of 80 hours of training and it runs the gamut from how to run the technology, how to deal with passengers properly, how to resolve the alarms, how to conduct physical body pat-downs. the officers are required to be certified. they have to demonstrate the proficiency to conduct those duties. if not, paper subject to dismissal. we have another group of officers -- if not, they are subject to dismissal. they get to the israelis with

looking for a novelist behaviours of passengers as they are coming through the checkpoints. based on the behaviors they observed, they may refer the passenger for secondary or additional screening. >> i think a lot lot of times we do repetition because we have always done it. we're wasting our personnel's time when the could be focusing other ways. i will give you an example. i have two artificial shoulders. i set off everything. i stand in line. you did not complain. every time you go in, you wait for someone to come. eventually, there has to be some judgment on whether it is made or someone that does this type

of thing. i wonder if the people who are working on me because of my artificial body parts -- i am by on a comment by the way -- if they would be looking at -- i am bionic, by the way -- will get the manifest. i will look to the port os. have to be more open and get them more information and more intelligence. if you look at the israel system, it works. they are probably more exposed from a terrorist. of you. whether you would consider in evaluating the standards of people you are hiring. and if you do hire -- i am not judging the people you have hired. but then they need to be trained. are we doing the same thing over

and over, wasting time with certain individuals even though no al qaeda, try to find more caucasians or whatever. we're putting ourselves in a different situation and seeing what might work better. " you have described part of the reasons we're moving in this direction with advanced imaging technology. one of the great advantage it will give us is that persons like yourself who have metal implants going through that technology will now go through the machine and avoid the toll pat down and the time it takes. we have had a positive response of people with disabilities going through that. " i am not talking about someone like me or that person. i'm talking about the system. people spend their time with someone like a veteran that they

could be doing so. that would be making the system more say for and not just doing something that makes you feel good. >> in fact, we do do is we actually utilize our people in other parts of the airport to do random screenings procedures. that is exactly some of the lessons we have learned from the israeli model, multiple layers of security. we have worked closely with the israelis on a number of our programs. covert testing program. we did consult with them after the christmas day attack to talk about what might that have done in their system versus how it was carried out across the globe for the amsterdam -- where the suspect went through. our approach through multiple

layers of security and utilizing our officers in those layers is what we're trying to do similar to the israelis where isn't just focusing on the passengers coming through. >> a represent the airports. -- are represented -- i represent bwi airport. i see the way public is treated. you wonder where people were work -- where people work and a lot of that is the technology. [phone beeps] >> excuse me. thank you for a useful afternoon of testimony. good exchanges that are helpful to us. and for the outstanding quality of your service. >> thank you.

we enjoy and are appreciative of the tsa. >> we started out together. >> yes, sir. >> when the department was created. we have been laboring over these things for a good while now. we will miss your expertise. you've been a competent manager. you have demonstrated today your knowledge and we will miss you and we want to say thank you again for your lawn service. where are you going? >> right now i'm waiting for the administration to appoint a permanent administrator. >> are you holding your breath? [laughter] >> thank you. >> i think we best adjourn this

hearing. >> thank you very much. >> a live picture from arlington, virginia, where a crowd is gathering waiting for

more from president obama. he will talk about the statistics and a report on unemployment figures. the rate is 9.7%, unchanged from january. the president will talk about unemployment and talk about cutting jobs. live coverage of the president should get underway in just a second here on c-span. until then, your phone calls from this morning's "washington journal." morning. have you talked to your doctor about health care reform? your provider? and what has -- he or she said? caller: i have talked to my doctor. he said he is totally for the single payer system and was very disappointed with president obama. he said it is the most efficient

way to have the health care system resolve the -- or the problem resolved. and he said tort reform has not helped in florida. that was his opinion. host: what did you think of his remarks? caller: i totally agree with him. listening to mr. kucinich yesterday or whenever you have him on recently, i totally agree. unless you get help the people involved with contributing, the price is never going to be@@@@@) caller: good morning. i am a long time viewer of c- span. there is the public option. host: why?

caller: there is a lot of people. you try to put the patient's first and think about money. host: don in glen bernie, maryland. caller: i talk to my primary care physician last week. he said we need reform. but have the government to run and effectively, they are not the people who should be doing this. he mentioned defensive medicine and he gave me two examples. he said cataract surgery and colonoscopies. there are 6 million colonoscop ies. before these procedures are done, he has to do a $300 for

medical examination where it may be one in a thousand or one in 1500 were the might be some complication from some underlying thing. he said it is unnecessary. he said you have 99.9% or better success rate with colonoscopy ies. if you multiplied those numbers out, we see over $2 billion just on those procedures. host: what does he say -- >> we will go now to arlington, virginia. the president will be talking about the latest unemployment figures. this is live coverage on c-span.

[inaudible] [unintelligible]

>> how are you? >> hawaii. -- hi. [laughter]

[unintelligible]

>> live pictures from arlington, virginia. we are awaiting remarks from president obama this morning. the bureau of labor statistics released unemployment figures for february. the rate, 9.7%. it is unchanged from january. the president is expected to talk about initiatives for clean energy jobs. this is a live coverage of the president from arlington, virginia. >> that is good stuff. [laughter]

[unintelligible] [unintelligible]

>> para 20 states right now agree -- there are 20 states right now decorate the ability. they do not have -- [unintelligible]

>> bernanke. all right. -- thank you. good morning, everybody. it's great to be here. just looking around, this looks like a fun place to work. [laughter] the work you do here is making homes more energy efficient, it is saving people money, it is generating jobs, and putting america on the path to a clean energy future. i understand you doubled your work last year thanks to -- >> donnie. >> you're hoping to hire another 100 workers this year. and so this is a model of what we want to be seeing all across the country. we want to show similar job growth in the months ahead. this morning we learned in february our economy lost 36,000

jobs. this is better than expected, considering the severe storms all along the east coast that had a depressing effect on the numbers. it shows the measures that were taken are having some impact. even though it is better than expected, it is more than we should tolerate. far too many americans remain out of work. families are still struggling. that is why i am not going to rest in our efforts to help people who are looking to find a job, to help business owners who want to expand feel comfortable hiring again. we will not rest until our economy is working again. that is why my party is not only providing relief to people who are out of work but also to help the private sector create jobs and put america back to work.

after breaking through a political logjam that some of you probably saw if you're watching tv, congress passed a bill that extends unemployment insurance to help people that have been laid off give to these hard times. it also extended cobra so people to not lose health insurance. extended financing for small businesses and makes it possible for 2000 furloughed transportation workers to go back to work. this is essential. it is only a temporary step. the relief i signed into law will last about a month. i want congress to extend this relief to the end of the year. i am calling on congress to pass a jobs measures to cut taxes and incentivize expansion for businesses, both large and

small. the house and senate have passed a bill that would give businesses a payroll tax for person hired this year. for companies considering expanding, this credit could help them decide to bring an extra employee two this year. so for companies than are already expanding, the tax credit may have them hiring more companies more quickly. instead of 100, maybe we would get 110, 115. this bill would encourage small companies to expand by permitting them to write off expenses for new equipment. this legislation is an important step on the road to recovery. i look forward to signing it into law. even as we fight to bring about a full recovery, there have

been success stories of across america. this is one of those. this is a company that works with utilities to help folks understand their energy costs and how they can save money on their energy bills. for the press, but if you were not able to hear, this board testifies as to the number of kilowatt hours that have been saved and the amount of carbon that has been taken out of it absurd as a consequence of the great work these people here are doing. part of the reason you're growing is that you are doing your jobs well. a big part of the reason is that you are seizing your opportunity. there will be jobs in the clean energy sector. this company is a great emblem for that. my administration is taking steps to support a thriving clean energy industry, an

industry that is making solar panels, producing fuel efficient batteries and helping consumers get more control over their energy bills. i urged congress to enact a new initiative that would offer home owners rebates for making their homes more energy efficient. rebates up to $1,500 and up to $3,000, for retrofitting their entire homes. if they see that the drafty window is costing me a couple of hundred dollars a year, they have incentives to go to a home depot and hire a contractor and make the changes that will pay for themselves, improve our environment, and improve our economy occurred i want to thank mark warner for his great work on home star in the center to

think about the way the rebates could help spur private-sector job growth. it could help consumers make their homes more energy efficient. it will create business to local contractors to upgrade homes. these companies have to purchase supplies and that creates business for retailers. these burritos would be to restock their shelves. -- these businesses would have to restock their shelves. these goods are produced right here in the yen states of america. in this partnership a window across the ocean. -- right here in the united states of america. yes, we to extend unemployment insurance to help americans whether these tough times. we have to do everything we can to help the private sector

creates jobs right now. we also need to replicate the success of clean energy company's white o power. -- for companies like o power. i am convinced those companies will lead the global economy tomorrow. i want the country to be the united states of america. of what companies to be expanding and thriving all across america. it is good for consumers, our economy, the environment. it's exciting to be here. when you look at this group says gathered here, you can see the future. thank you for the great work you were doing. let's see if we can replicate your success all across the country. i think you very much, everybody. -- i thank you very much,

everybody. how're you? ♪

>> live coverage of the president in arlington, virginia, this morning. net runway will address the national press club here in washington. -- met ronnie -- mitt romney will address the national press club here in washington. the stimulus plan is now over a year old. more than $300 billion have been committed. over $190 billion have been paid out. we have a web site devoted to following the money at c- span.org/stimulus. will find links to watchdog groups are following the stimulus. >> we are in the business of trying to help our students,

young woman and some of these older women and men and they understand that you should focus on achievement in your own life and not been looking to grab headlines. >> meet the woman credit with turning around trinity washington university. patricia mcguire on c-span's "q &a." >> t.r. reid has traveled the world. he has written about the united states. join our conversation and your phone calls live on sunday at noon eastern on c-span2. >> now florida governor is completing a four-year term of governor. from the state capital in

tallahassee, this is a about 45 minutes. ready, sir? >> when you're ready. >> members of the legislature, ladies and gentlemen, fellow floridians, it is my privilege and high honor to introduce you to the governor of the great state of florida, governor charlie crist. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you. wonderful. thank you. thank you. thank you very much. thank you.

thank you. thank you. thank you, all. thank you. thank you very much. thank you very much. thank all of you. good evening. mr. president, mr. speaker, madame chief justice, the justices of the accord, members of the cabinet, honored guests, members of the house, members of the senate, and our fellow floridians. good evening to you all. i would like to acknowledge the woman i fell in love with as your governor, the first lady of florida. i love you, sweetheart. [applause]

my mother and father are here tonight also, dr. charles and nancy crist. mom and dad, please stand. i love you so much. [applause] and i have resisters -- i have three sisters. margaret, elizabeth, and cathy. would you please stand? i love you. [applause] this evening, more than 3000 members of the florida national

guard are proudly serving our country in afghanistan and elsewhere. not since allied troops trained on florida shores nearly 70 years ago have summit floridians fought to protect our freedom. on behalf of these thousands of floridians, please welcome two members of our outstanding national guard. with us tonight, sergeant michael mcguy. selfless service was vital in the success. he insured minimum downtime for air defense radar. he volunteered to assist the medical team when a high number of casualties were brought in. which a police stand, sir? -- would you please stand, sir? [applause]

also with us tonight is staff sergeant paul ligman, a west point graduate whose career has spanned four decades. one month ago today, after a training exercise, a bus carrying soldiers overturned. staff sgt ligman q several soldiers in spite of his own injuries. in minimize loss. thank you for your service up to this great country of ours. god bless you both. [applause]

tonight i want to recognize the generous outpouring from floridians toward our neighbors in haiti in the wake of the devastating earthquake. florida extended a helping hand. with us tonight is a child protective investigator for the department of children and families, born in haiti he was one of many who provided comfort to those arriving at the stanford international airport. much to his surprise, his own aunt walked into his arms entering the question he and his family had about her very say. welcome him tonight. [applause] . .

val represents the many caring floridians that welcomed more than 25,000 haitian americans, haitian or fans and severely wounded evacuees who fled the destruction. critically injured florida's doctors and hospitals stepped up to save lives, treating all those in need. thank interim director dave halstead and all the professionals at emergency management and florida management and florida national the able direction of the adjutant-general, major general douglas burnett and secretary george sheldon and his wonderful team at the department of children and families. [applause]

my friends, gathered here tonight are some of florida most dedicated public servants, all of you. all of you rank among the best and the brightest minds that our state has to offer. on behalf of the tens of thousands of florida employers, thank you for taking very swift action to help our economy on this opening day of the 2010 legislative session. your commitment to delay a significant increase in the unemployment compensation tax has provided needed relief to florida businesses at a time they need it most. i signed this legislation 10 minutes before i came in here today. thank you for doing the right thing. god bless you. [applause]

thank you. we sent a resounding message to the people and businesses of florida. job retention and creation is our number one goal. i salute you, and i encourage you to relish the day and what you did today. the enthusiasm you feel will prove to be a useful and precious resource during the next 59 days. for me, this is a bittersweet day as this is my last state of the state address as your governor. i have immensely enjoyed working with you and most importantly working for the people of florida as their governor. there's no greater calling than to serve our fellow man especially during difficult times. and i have been grateful for each and every day during the past three years. i will never forget my time as governor, nor the kindness and unselfishness of those i have served alongside. for floridians, these are

also bittersweet days. we face trying times but we must never forget that the promise of florida still burns brightly. when the rest of the country shivers, we bask in the warmth of our winter sun. people from around the globe are drawn to our white sandy beaches, and the endless vista of the beautiful everglades with rivers and water as clear as the air above them. when they seek the fulfillment of the american dream, they see our cities pulsing with the energy of new ideas spoken in a dozen different languages. these things have been, and my friends, will always be, the fundamental promise of florida. but in the last few years the promise of bright horizons has been marred by dark clouds. the worst recession in generations brought us more than our fair share of strife. businesses have buckled. people have lost jobs and the abundance of financial security that we all took

for granted just a few years ago seems a distant memory. but i tell you, this recession, as bad as it has been, will also be a distant memory one day. i understand that we still face tough times ahead but the promise of our florida remains strong and with your help we can make that promise even stronger. after stalling last year, florida's population is once again growing. the university of florida predicts that our state will grow by 300,000 people each year for the next five years. single-family home sales in 2009 exceeded sales in 2007. and amazingly are above the historic average and beginning in 2011 we anticipate most job sectors will once again grow. we should be mindful that difficulty times reveal enormous opportunities. some of florida's greatest corporate citizens were

started in financial downturns. burger king, disney world, publix. like these great organizations, florida can use this opportunity to gain ground on our competition. states like california and new york in drawing businesses and talent to our state. the adversity we have faced reveals the character of our people. the character of our people and it makes us stronger. shakespeare noted with more than a little irony, that quote, when the sea was calm, all boats alike showed mastership in floating. today, we face a far more difficult test and we'll be judged by the mastership we show while the sea roils around us. i have a fishing boat that i named freedom and in it i have spent many wonderful days on our beautiful gulf and my beloved tampa bay. i know from experience that storms often come from nowhere.

what begins as a tiny shift in the wind can in a matter of men's be a squall that sends waves crashing over the gun whale. the real test of a captain is how he guides the boat through the fury of a storm. to bring the ship of our florida safely back to harbor requires action, not rhetoric. it requires knowledge, not conjecture and it requires composure under pressure that believes in the a fair shore somewhere beyond the dark clouds and a belief we will return home safely. during this session, you will debate hundreds of issues important to many floridians. it is not only the substance of those issues that are important, it is also the attitude with which you address them. these will determine whether you have done your job well for the people of florida. whether you are a good captain in a storm. in our first year, we guarded, we guided our state through the storm of

skyrocketing property taxes and property insurance. we worked together to enact meaningful property insurance reform and the largest tax cut in the history of florida. thank you for helping us get this done. [applause] you did that. three years later, floridians are better off because of those insurance reforms and the diligence of insurance commissioner kevin mccarty through his rejection of unjustified insurance premium hikes. through these actions, property insurance premiums are lower today than they were in january 2007. property owners were seeing double-digit percentage increases in taxes levied prior to the beginning of my administration. now they have seen significant decreases over the past three years. due to these tax cuts, and lower values 2009 property

taxes were almost $3 billion below 2007 property taxes. senator thad altman, we agree that does indeed qualify as dropping like a rock. [applause] we must continue to be problem solvers. we were not given the privilege of serving the good people of florida to simply make grand pronouncements. we were given the privilege to serve so that we can change the everyday lives of ordinary floridians and make them better. during these very difficult economic times we do a disservice to the people who elected us, the people who are counting on us to elevate ideology over problem-solving. we are here to guide our ship through a storm. we are here to lead this state to that fairer shore. how can we be problem-solvers? by embracing our core

principles, and having the wisdom to separate the trivial from the meaningful. and i am confident of my core principles and what is meaningful to me and to the people of florida. i believe government should be smaller, not larger. and that we can envision a day when government can be half as large and twice as effective. government must live within its means or it will destroy our future. [applause] i believe taxes should be lower, not higher. i believe in freedom, knowing that with wit comes the duty of personal responsibility. government has a legitimate role in protecting the most vulnerable among us and where government is needed, it should be efficient and make a real difference. well there is great virtue being true to your principles, conviction must be tempered with practicality and pragmatism. taken to an extreme,

conviction becomes inflexible, even destructive. extreme views rarely solve problems and frequently can create them. look around the globe. can't we agree our world would be better with less overheated rhetoric and more common sense? [applause] my friends, you should know, that our practical solutions will serve only to further inflame extremists. take heart, know that it is we problem-solvers and not they, they who will move our florida forward. we must accept being in the arena, means enduring the hecklers in the cheap seats, where conviction abounds but wisdom is not required. nothing is either risked nor gained. problem-solvers recognize that important achievements often require consensus and consensus sometimes requires

concession. there are times we must hold loosely to our cherished con seats, in the interest of meaningful change. we also must recognize the consensus often means, all parties walk away feeling vaguely dissatisfied. some of america's greatest achievements resulted from this principle. as you may recall, from your history lessons in 1789 enormous controversy endangered the ratification of the first united states constitution. the entire future of our young country dangled by a thread. antifederalists, some of them founding fathers, argued that our constitution failed to protect individual liberty. so james madison proposed 10 amendments, known today as our bill of rights, to make clear the sanctity of the individual. these amendments allowed ratification of the constitution, completing the framework that is the underpinning of our entire history and our great nation.

allow me to offer a modern example of where consensus could benefit the people of florida. the seminole gaming compact. this compact, should you approve it, potentially raises billions of dollars for the practical purpose of educating florida's children. some of you oppose it because you find gambling distasteful. on a personal level you should know i'm not a big fan of gambling either. it holds no real intrigue for me. and much like the legislative process itself, over the long run, only a fool would bet against the house. president atwater, i feel exactly the same about the senate. nevertheless, i recognize that some times my personal biases have to give way to a broader and more important reality. so i consider these facts. i was elected to serve the people of florida. not to impose upon them my personal likes and dislikes. the people of florida very much need the money that this compact can provide for

critically important services. it can be used to improve their lives in profound ways, including educating our schoolchildren. whether we approve this compact or not, it does not alter the reality that the seminoles are currently running a number of casinos in florida and in fact, have been running gaming operations for decades. and to date, the citizens of florida have received no direct financial benefit from their operations. so, given the fact that florida desperately needs the money, and given the fact that gambling already occurs in our state and given that we all love freedom, doesn't it make sense to let people exercise their freedom in a way that directs money to florida's citizens? wouldn't it be appropriate to set aside -- [applause] wouldn't it be appropriate to set aside personal biases and approve a compact that will help pay to educate

florida's schoolchildren? approving the compact is but one example of he will straighting problem -- elevating problem-solving over ideology. another thing that comes to mind is the federal stimulus package. so let's talk about it. the federal stimulus package was enacted last year in the hope of jump-starting a national economy that was in the dire depths of recession. the stimulus package is frequently given a $787 billion price tag, but you should know that almost $300 billion of it was in the form of tax cuts, to families and businesses. the remaining money was apportioned to the states. a few governors may have rather loudly condemned the stimulus money but that did not stop any of them from quietly accepting it. [applause]

bear in mind, that floridians who as a group, floridians as a group represent a significant part of the american tax-paying public. we will be paying for part of the stimulus package. it only follows that if we're paying for it, we should have the advantage of receiving it. [applause] so given our budget shortfall, and given that floridians were paying for part of the stimulus package, doesn't it make sense to spend our energies maximizing the benefit of that package? isn't it our duty to advocate that florida receive her fair share?

isn't that more helpful to floridians then engaging hollow idealogical posturing that achieves nothing? [applause] this is what i mean by sticking to our core principles and not elevating ideology over real solutions. my core principles is not to raise taxes. although there were loud calls to broadly raise taxes, to keep the budget funded at a higher level, with your help, we chose instead to dramatically cut the budget and avoid devastating tax increases at a time when floridians were already under enormous financial stress. at the same time, the members of this legislature recognized the practical need for the stimulus money. and i thank you for it.

while not particularly pleasant for any of us, this step was the responsible thing to do for our people. and i commend you for your maturity, and responsibility and the people of florida thank you today. as we learned -- [applause] as we have learned from our own experience, when we focus on problem-solving we achieve extraordinary results. in december we came here together for the opportunity, for the construction of a 21st century rail system in florida. this remarkable achievement will potentially create thousands of high-paying jobs and keep florida competitive on the world stage. i appreciate your resolve and vision in making this a possibility for all floridians. i want to also express my appreciation to secretary stephanie cop louis sass,

steve if i kopelousos. first woman to lead the florida department of transportation. stephanie, thank you. [applause] during the last three years, my administration has focused on other economic development initiatives as well. in mid 2008, shortly after the recession began, i created accelerate florida to speed up over a billion dollars in direct expenditures for public sector projects. last week i had the privilege of breaking ground on one of those projects. the i-5-95 expressway improvements which will relief traffic congestion in south florida. this $1.2 billion project uses next generation contracting that will move it from design to ribbon-cutting in 4 1/2 years instead of the usual 15 years. and it will --

[applause] [inaudible] and it will create as many as 34,000 jobs in the region and boost our economy. at the same time, i launched an initiative to cut red tape in government and not burden businesses with unreasonable regulation. this action allows small businesses to grow faster and hire more employees. with your help, during the first three years of my administration, we made florida much safer. for all of our citizens. i enacted the anti-murder act. you improved the jessica lunsford act, striking back at violent criminals and sexual predators of children. fellow floridians, i am happy to report we are now seeing a decrease in violent crime. thanks to the great -- [applause] thanks primarily to the great work of state and local law enforcement

officers and the crime-solving tools of the florida department of law enforcement. our citizens are better protected than ever before. florida's new fingerprint identification system is improving our rate of solving cold cases by 300%. benefiting victims hurt by previously unsolved crimes. three years ago, florida had an estimated $3.8 million residents living without any health insurance. we proposed a landmark, a landmark market-based option of health coverage, called cover florida. this program is available to almost any floridian offering basic coverage for about $150 a month instead of the typical $600 a month. as with any private sector plan the more expensive coverage you want, the higher the premiums. but with so many lacking basic preventative care, cover florida remains a sound option for thousands of floridians. since i became governor, growth in kidcare enrollment

has reduced the number of uninsured children by more than 20,000 while our florida discount drug card has saved almost $251,000 floridians -- 251,000 fluoride deans, $5.4 million on prescription drugs. [applause] two years ago, two years ago, i asked you to fund the next generation of mobile devices to revolutionize how we protect children in florida's foster care system. at the time i noted that we were better attracting ups packages than the children of our state. today, caseworkers responsible for the safety of more than 18,500 children in foster care have begun using mobile devices. just like this one. [applause] to take pictures, record gps coordinates and enter case

information. these mobile devices will help 2300 caseworkers spend more time with children and less time on paperwork. also with your help, there are more than 10,000 fewer children in state foster care than three years ago. [applause] frankly your willingness to fund my request for an office of chief child advocate has literally meant new lives for thousands of children. for the last two years, florida has set records for the number of adoptions from state care. records two years in a row. florida's children deserve every opportunity to succeed in life. for that reason you passed, and i signed, legislation that provides early intervention for children with watt tim. now -- autism. families dealing with autism have insurance coverage among large group carriers for important services such

as speech therapy and essential screenings that can detect autism. while we are doing a better job of insuring the health and safety of our children, we must improve the background screenings of those who work with children. elders and persons disabilities and others of our vulnerable population. i ask you to join me that working on legislation that ensure we verify the screening results before employees are authorized to go to work. we have not lost sight of the fact that educating our schoolchildren is our most important investment in the future. we want to add to the accomplishments of governor bush and this administration by continuing to build the best public school system in america. [applause] florida's students must be equipped to become the entrepreneurs, the engineers, the researchers, and other

highly-skilled talent that will fuel our future innovation economy. over the past four years our schools have seen their rank move from 31st to 14th, to number 10, and now 8th in america by education week's quality count report. [applause] 8th in america. you know, florida, florida leads the nation in high school graduates taking advanced placement exams and is ranked 5th in the percentage of students passing those exams. [applause] today, today, our graduation rate is the highest its ever been. and we have more "a" and "b" schools than ever since we began grading them in 1999, despite tougher standards. with us tonight is jill rose, principle of miami community

charter school. under her leadership, miami community charter went from being an f to an "a" school in one year. congratulations to you. [applause] congratulations to you, the faculty, the students and their parents. you have recognized our highest achieving teachers by making teacher bonuses a reality. we must further reward teachers of advanced placement programs by increasing their rewards for success. your 2009-2010 budget, which i was pleased to sign, saved 20,000 teacher jobs. [applause] and this year, you have

already begun to look at other common sense ways to maintain our commitment for smaller class sizes but we must maintain our commitment to excellence. always improving the teacher skills of our teachers and making our schools more accountable for student learning. we should also expand our tax credit scholarships so that more low income parents are empowered to send their parents to the schools they choose. [applause] these and other achievements have positioned us to succeed in the race to the top competition for millions of dollars in federal fund for florida's schools. we will know the results of those efforts very soon. after slow progress for decades, my administration hit the fast forward button on a plan to save the everglades. the vision of a river of grass that once again flows from lake okeechobee to florida bay is now on the horizon.

long-requested federal dollars will finally complete the tamiami trail project. while the bold plan to purchase thousands of acres south of the lake will help make this vision a reality, i want to thank tonight the department of environmental protection secretary mike sole and his great team. stand up, secretary and please be recognized. [applause] i recently appointed three new members to the south florida water management district and i want to thank all of them for their efforts as well. we have also preserved more than 638,000 acres of pristine land through our florida forever program since 2001. to continue our progress, i am proposing $50 million towards everglades restoration and $50 million to reinitiate florida forever.

i -- [applause] i ask the legislature to fund these installments for florida's future. while we have accomplished many important tasks during these three years, there is still much work to do. my entire administration stands ready to work with you to address many issues we will confront over the next 59 days. yet there are three issues, three issues of major importance that we must address. jobs and prosperity for floridians, continued improvements to our schools, colleges and universities, and reinstilling confidence in the integrity of our government and the public trust. [applause] this session and for the remainder of my term as governor, my strongest focus will continue to be creating new and better jobs for floridians.

while corporate productivity seems to be growing we still long for a corresponding increase in the number of job opportunities. your action today, to delay a substantial increase in unemployment compensation tax is a tremendous help to business. to help even more, i ask you to create tax relief for families and businesses totaling at least $100 million in tax cuts. this -- [applause] this tax relief will help current and potential new businesses, those with the sole ability to create jobs for your citizens, as part of this effort, i ask you to bring back the sales tax holiday for 10 days just before the new school year. this step will put millions back into the pockets of florida families. they will thank you as will florida businesses. [applause] we can also help by slashing

red tape. we can create a business-friendly, virtual one-stop shop where entrepreneurs and business owners can easily find the information they need to open and run a business. business-friendly, potentially job-creating proposals are something government can do and should do to help jump-start our economy. florida's economy has long relied on the twin blessings of agriculture and tourism. bringing a combined economic impact of more than $165 billion to our state. these industries have served our state and our people well. and we must insure their continued success. we must also build the next generation of florida's economy. innovation has built florida's biotechnology business sector with almost 11% of all biotech companies in our country. yet we must do more. more innovation means more businesses and more jobs for our fellow floridians, to achieve these goals, i ask you to invest $125 million

to attract and grow innovation companies and the jobs they bring as well was 10 million dollars for shovel-ready projects in the rural areas of our state. we can also strengthen our clean energy business sector by investing $10 million for solar energy rebates, as well as injecting $176 million in federal funding into our economy by expanding green energy technology, including rebates for energy efficient appliances. the historic legislation passed two years ago is creating a new energy future for florida. where we strive to become among the top two states in the nation in terms of solar energy. we are now there. [applause] you know, come to think of it, ass the sunshine state

we should expect nothing less. 2010 marks 50th year of the manned spaceflight leaving from cape canaveral. the shuttle fleet almost completed its 30-year mission, leaving in question the future of nearly 7,000 floridians affected by this change. these are truly the best and brightest and florida would be ill-served if their many talents would leave our state. i recently convened a space summit to chart a new course for florida's aerospace industry. i would like to personally thank representative steve crisafulli and senatored that altman for sponsoring the space revitallization act that will marshall resources needed to create jobs for the talented professionals affected by the federal government's disappointing change of direction. [applause] i also call on you, to

invest $32.6 million toward the next generation of space exploration missions. florida is once again leading the way and to keep the momentum moving forward, i will meet with florida's congressional delegation and other national leaders in washington, d.c. later this month to explain the benefits of their continued investment in florida as the gateway to space. this is something that we must do. at the same time, we should also invest $100 million in our state universities in new florida, as a down payment to increase degree production in science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine. and strengthen florida's future. [applause] community and state colleges have been the workhorses of our efforts to provide access to higher education across our state. we should invest $67 million to help offset the tremendous enrollment growth

in these programs over the past several years. [applause] and finally, i will keep a strong focus during this session on fighting public corruption. i have proposed measures for at least one very important public agency, the public service commission. it creates more transparency and fairness in their deliberations. i believe the commissioners should function more like judges. and we can achieve this by making sure all communications, commissioners have with those they regulate is open and transparent. and it includes the public -- [applause] you can applaud that. that's the right thing to do. [applause] it will improve the public's confidence and give those who rule over the consumers a better opportunity to do what's right. i have also been concerned that since becoming governor i have had to suspend or

remove no less than 35 public officials from office. as a result last fall, i asked our great florida supreme court to impanel a statewide grand jury and i am grateful they have granted that request. my final request of these distinguished jurists, is that a timeline for the grand jury that will enable us to enact legislation that will hold public officials to a higher ethical standard and help restore the public's trust in their elected leaders. [applause] let me talk about trust. public trust. each and everyone of you in this room ran for office and when you ran you went in your communities, you knocked on doors and you asked people to give them, to give you, their vote. when you did that, you asked them to trust you. it was an important thing to

do. and they gave you by electing you, that public trust. it is precious. it is to be cherished. it is not to be sqaupdered. a great president once said of our country, that our country and our government should be of the people, by the people, and for the people. and that it should not perish from the earth. that was abraham lincoln. that government of the people, by the people, and for the people is nothing unless it is based on fundamental trust. it is at the core of everything we do here. everything we say here. if the people can not trust us, they won't believe anything we say. i know you believe that. i know it's important to you. and i know by passing additional legislation we will further honor the boss, the people, that we work for.

and thank you for doing that. [applause] in closing, i simply remind you, this year more than others, our achievements will be measured not by the passion of our rhetoric but our ability to be problem-solvers and guide the ship of our state through the economic storm that we face together. i have absolute confidence in the wisdom of the house and the senate. in each of you here today. i love florida. i love her with all my heart. as i know you do. and together, we can do great things for our people. i commit to you my energy and efforts in this endeavor. it is my loss that i will not serve again with you during a legislative session. but it has been my greatest gain to have served with you at all. when i imagined florida's future i can not help but see past the current troubles to the bright future that awaits us.

i ask you to focus your sights there as well. understand that a bountiful harvest will abound from the seeds we plant today. when the story of this session is written, i am confident it will be viewed as a unique time in florida's history when we set aside our minor differences to unite behind a much greater purpose placed before us, a greater good, if you will. that is the imperative of this session. and one that i know we will fulfill. and when we do, make no mistake, we can enjoy the greatest compliment of all. in a history yet to be written, we will be known as good captains in the fury of this storm. thank you very much. god bless each of you and god bless our florida. thank you. [applause] [inaudible]

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> the next journalism must be the next big open to blogs and e-mails that are hammering like this on the door to be led into the conversation to add new information, to raise new questions, to suggest new context. >> winners of the national press foundation awards talk about the role of journalism in a changing society saturday night at 8:00

eastern on c-span. >> we are in the business of trying to help our students board, lee young women and older women and women who come to us that you should focus on achievement in your own life and not be looking to grab headlines. >> sunday, meet the woman credited with turning around washington university. she was president for over 20 years, patricia mcguire. >> coming up another 20 minutes, former massachusetts governor and republican presidential candidate mitt romney will address the national press club. live coverage will begin at 1:00 eastern. a discussion on u.s. a id and disk -- and relieved in haiti and other countries. >> on your screen is the administrator for the u.s. agency for international development, siaid, and he is

here to talk to us about foreign aid and the budget. the foreign aid budget. doctor, if we could start with current issues, do you know how much has the u.s. government spent so far in haiti and chile? guest: between the two more than $600 million with the vast majority of that being focused on the relief effort in haiti. when this incredible earthquake happened, it was the worst natural disaster to hit haiti in centuries and destroyed critical infrastructure in and around port-au-prince. the main city. the president immediately asked for a swift and aggressive and coordinated response, so we put together a broad range of assets and capabilities and started to provide water, shelter, food and

sent more than 500 search and rescue experts to go that you buildings, remove rubble and identify people. it is a massive effort and continues and we will continue to stand with haiti going forward. host: what about chile? guest: in chile they have been hit by an 8.8-magnitude earthquake that has affected more than two million people. the city most directly hit has been concepcion where most of the damage and loss of life where more than 800 have lost their lives much the president and secretary of state was just there earlier this week, had asked us for specific resources and specific help in areas like water, medical and field hospital support, communications equipment to help their own relief system operate more effectively. chile has had an effective national response system like our federal emergency management

system so they are providing a great deal of their own support for what is a tremendous tragedy. host: where does that money come from, disaster aid in is it budgeted for? guest: it is budgeted for. and we just sent the president's 2011 budget request to congress so that is a great question and very timely. the american people invest in in our ability to provide services and meet the needs of humanitarian emergencies around the world, primarily by funding the office of foreign disaster assistance, which is part of the u.s. agency for international development. it critically important we continue to provide resources and capabilities so we can act quickly and aggressively and often the united states offers the first humanitarian assistan assistance. in haiti it was the u.s. capability that kept the airport open and made it accessible to people around the world so that we could bring in and coordinate assistance not just from the united states but more than 40 countries. host: let's put the numbers on

the screen. we have dr. shah for 20 minutes. he is the administrator for the u.s. agency tpfor international development. you can see the numbers on the screen. first-time callers only.i >> secretary clinton and secretary gates of both spoke about cooperation to other countries to solve these critical problems which did which is eithethe challenges ofr future. if we can help countries resolve these problems and put the mom

and step of sustainability and growth, we will have more trading partners and the more sick and be more secure. kids that have access to as -- education are far less likely to be vulnerable to the threats of extremist ideology or other things that could take him in a different direction. of extremist ideology or other things that could take them in a different direction. this is a critical part of foreign policy and sraoelt to national -- vital to national security interests an aside from the humanitarian efforts this is critical to our national security. host: does u.s. get political good will out of aid, or is it -- guest: we do. i will tell you when i was in haiti i visited a town outside of port-au-prince. that town had a u.s. a.i. tkfd. built school near where you

enter the opportunity and it was built to earthquake standards and it was one of the few buildings left standing. they were using it for jackson and distribution of relief supplies. there is a little plaque that it was the generosity of the american people that enabled that to happen. that is recognized around the world. i have visited those types of sites, whether schools, hospitals, health clinics or any other facilities, all over the world. in india, parts of africa, latin america. so, this is how we express our abili ability. this is really the expression of what is best about our country. it is a hopefulness that all people no matter where they are born should have the opportunity to lead a healthy and productive life and that we care about the well-being of people who may be born into extreme poverty and misery in some other part of the world. this is really an expression of american values. we recognize we have to be accountable for how we spend and be focused on results.

but people do recognize the value of this generosity from the american people. host: the chairman of the joint chiefs just said that the military is doing too much when it comes to foreign aid. do you agree? guest: well, i agree with the admiral's speech. i thought it was a very important speech and echoed many sentiments expressed by secretary gates an secretary clinton where he basically said as part of our foreign policy we have to have a multi-facetted foreign policy that includes a strong and capable and very effective military presence. but also it includes a strong diplomatic capability with active and effective diplomacy. and alongside that a strong development capacity. so, if countries are experiencing an actual increase in the number of people who go hungry or starve or kids who are m

malnourished or extreme poverty going up in places where it has been going down the past several decades, those trends work against our national interests. so, if we can do things that are effective and efficient to help kids go to school and have access to healthcare, make mature mothers with give birth without the risk of death themselves, then we should do something about that to create a just and more peaceful world for our own safety and security. host: how gdo you go from beinga medical doctor to being director of usaid? guest: before i went to medical school i worked in a tuberculosis program in india and saw the value of u.s. assistance and targeted and effective medical care in a way that could save lives an improve living standards for people who live in circumstances that

frankly i had a hard time understanding being born and raised in michigan. when you see that type of extreme poverty and suffering it is almost unbelievable. and it touches you very deeply. so, i had the opportunity to serve in this capacity and it is tremendous. i was at the bill and melinda gates foundation before that and i had a chance to participate in that and i hope to bring some of that focused on results and accountability. and we will make mistakes but we hope to learn and be more efficient and effective in the execution of or work. host: first call for dr. shah is from stone mountain, georgia. cayen cayenne. on the democrat line. caller: good morning. and good morning, dr. shah. thanks for addressing such a complex matter. that said, i would like to shift back to haiti because you made

the comment about the u.s. being the first presence on the ground shortly after the earthquake. however, isn't it true that cuba had already and a has pretty much always had a presence in haiti? and i wonder why is it that for the most part the corporate run media -- and i had also include c-span to a large degree -- ignores the efforts that are made by the island nation who are not occupying haiti with a military presence but actually are engaged in humanitarian work? and if you can address that. and -- host: caller, why do you care so much about cuba? caller: because i do think there is an unfair policy that has been in place for years now that has unfairly targeted cuba for its politics. host: all right.

dr. shah? guest: thanks for that question. i do think in a humanitarian crisis and emergency our goal both on behalf of the united states and our president but the buyer international community is to work with everybody as effectively and rapidly as we can. so, our initial effort was to open the airport, get the seaport working, make sure assistance could flow in. the united states, of course, has had a presence in haiti for many years making significant investments in building schools and providing health services to low income children and doing a range of other things. so, we did have a presence and we had many of our own staff and organizations and partners who had been working on the ground before the earthquake, lived through the earthquake and continue to provide results and humanitarian solutions after that. one point of note is that we actually do work with cuba in haiti through the medical care

system and in support of cuban doctors in particular. we were really in a position where we wanted to provide as many medical services as we could to the people who were affected. more than 200,000 people almost immediately needed some immediate medical attention, more than four million were affected overall by the earthquake. so away worked with everybody. and i think that it is great the cuban doctors were there and able to provide services in some of the hospitals. we september our own medical assistance teams that saw more than 30,000 patients and performed hundreds of surgeries. it continues to be an international effort and in a time of crisis like that it is wonderful to see people and professionals and assistants come together against that common service mission. host: our us aid people still in haiti? >> absolutely. we have a full team there. we have expanded it significantly to include people who can work directly with the

military and go up for guidance in support of the ability to the military to provide support to the humanitarian mission. and we will continue to thereby for some time. we have had a longstanding special relationship and commitment to haiti and we will absolutely see that through going forward. host: easton, maryland. phillip, republican line. caller: good morning, dr. shah and thank to you c-span. you helped my drive time go quicker. my question is this. i will take the answer off the air. during the vietnam war us aid was using or was employing military officers to work in an advisory capacity in helping the populace. i was wondering if that is still used in any areas where we have had recent conflicts, whether it be in bosnia or, say, in afghanistan and/or iraq? guest: i would say in all of those places we work very

closely with the military. we have a strong connection with the military through a variety of different personnel relationships and offices of civilian and military affairs. and it really is important to be very coordinated as we do this work. afghanistan is a great example where this is our largest u.s. aid mission in the world. we have had some successes going from 900,000 kids in afghanistan had access to school and now we have more than 6.2 million children six or seven years into that effort that are going to school and 40% of them are girls. so, there are some big improvements and there is a real opportunity to create improvement in meeting human needs n%a

it had more than eight times the standard capacity. we did have to make some decisions with the haitian government and with the united nations about prioritizing flights. the plot priorities were always about water and medical supplies and relief personnel. we did not have any situations on behalf of the united states where u.s. dignitaries took flight spots that would be normally used for assistance. we were specific about that.

the haitian government set other priorities and we had dignitaries from other parts of the world coming in at their request to help coordinate the relief effort and to a number of other things. this was a real success story of getting the airport up quickly to buy capacity. it is down far below that because the seaport is working at capacity that is 400 + containers per day. caller: given the estimated haitians that are homeless, how do i get involved in building

homes and orphanages. we build hurricane and earthquake-proof homes. we do it in two-four weeks. guest: that is wonderful. i would appreciate learning more about that. you can connect with us for website at www.usaid.gov. it is true that we are in a race against the clock. there are efforts to get emergency shelter materials to 1.3 million people in port-au- prince in advance of what we expect to be the rainy season in mid-april. it could come sooner than that. we are working with partners to create as much innovation in the

process. i got a briefing yesterday about how our teams on the ground, and i applaud their incredible work in tough circumstances, clearing rubble, working with patients and in haitian job programs, making cites a safe, determining which settlements are safe and populations are in vulnerable areas and trying to move them to safer places. it is a big effort and requires a tremendous amount of logistics and support. i applaud the interest of the collar and look forward to learning more about that. host: can you speak about the coordination of public and private funds? is about $600 billion in taxpayer funds. what kind of control is there over the private funds? guest: it has been a tremendous pr