we are being driven out of the insurance business thanks to our governor, governor perry. thanks. caller: a couple of responses. -- guest: a couple of responses. fema does not offer coverage for tornadoes. you'd have to talk to your disaster aid and relief efforts are often managed by fema. there are some instinct interactions between the two. but they are separate programs. it is governor of the stafford act. a must request the presidential disaster declaration. fema advises the president on

that and perhaps through other agencies. those are separate programs. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] host: 1 not get the government involved in other types of insurance -- why not get the government involved? guest: there is some state involvement in other lines of insurance. california offers earthquake policies. lots of gulf coast states have state-run insurance for people who cannot find a policy in the

private market. host: carolyn kousky, part of our your money segment this week looking at the national flood insurance program. thank you for, not to speak with us. -- thank you for coming on to speak with us. thank you for joining us here on "washington journal." we will be back 7:00 a.m. eastern time tomorrow. we now go to the national small business week conference. we will be hearing from the head of the sba, karen mills. there will talk about procurement and entrepreneurial success.

>> we are live in the nation's capital this morning. this is the small business administration. a number of business leaders will talk about how small businesses are good for the long term health of the economy. we expect to hear from karen mills, the sba administrator. this is expected to start in just a moment. a couple of live events coming up later today. noon, eastern, a look at the future of the naval fleet while increasing the use of ships. that is at noon eastern. at 2:00 p.m., john paul stevens will address this year's meeting

of the american law institute' . a news conference by president obama at the close of the nato summit. much of the meeting is aimed to end the war in afghanistan. waiting for the start of the small business administration conference, set to start in just a few moments. right now your phone calls from this morning's "washington journal." host: president obama talks about the challenges of war. thousands of demonstrators took

to the street. host: hamid karzai is here in the united states. he is best known for periodic jabs, but is working on a charm offensive.

host: let's listen to what president hamid karzai had to say in chicago. [video clip] >> afghanistan reaffirm its commitment to the transition process and to the completion of nd the completion of drawing off of partners in 2014 so that afghanistan is no longer a burden on the shoulder of our friends in the international community, on the shoulders of the united states and our other allies.

afghanistan is looking forward to an end to this war and the transformation in which afghanistan will be working forward for institution building and development of the government in the country. host: we're getting some tweets and you can join the conversation. host: here is "the baltimore sun" --

>> you can see "washington journal" every morning beginning at 7:00 p.m. eastern. we're going back to the small business administration conference. this is karen mills. >> i want to start now -by giving my thanks and ask you to join me a warm set of thanks to my colleague, our deputy administrator. thank you.

if you think i travel a lot to your regions, they are out every single week and doing the work of this agency. this is a ground game, we call a it. we have i think really enjoyed meeting all of you out in your respective areas and regions and visiting your businesses. today it is more of a pleasure to. have you here with us. this is my chance to talk to you about everything that has been going on in the world of small business. i think the first place to start is that we are honoring businesses today that embody the entrepreneur all spirit of america. we can create cutting edge

products, to create services on main street that are new, that are special, that customers want. there are customers that exemplify this. i have to start with my personal favorite. i had it for breakfast. it is a great yogurt. how many of you have tried it? it is delicious. i am a fan of strawberries and blueberries, but they are all good. they took a yogurt plant in new york and made it a dominant player in the greek yogurt business. it employs more than 1200 workers. about.what we're talking you can innovate in yogurt.

it is high-tech business. another favorite of mine in boise, idaho, an innovative motorcycle clutch that is sold to professional racers and we can enthusiasts around the world. how about an irish brewer like sarah callahan from montana -- how about an entrepreneur like sarah callahan? she started her own line -- who knows what it's called? ants.nt p heavy-duty work attire for women.

let me just say to all of you. each and every one of you is a testament to the enduring drive of america's entrepreneurs and to the power of small business that changed lives as the transforms communities. at the sba, we're focused on our job, which is to make sure that you have the tools that you need to grow and to create jobs. people ask me what the sba does. we are the agency that helps you create two out of every three of the net new jobs in this country. half the people who work in this country own or work for small

business. that is half the jobs. the entrepreneurs in this country are the lifeblood of our economy. what to do at the sba to support your business? we focus on the three c's and a d. that is the grades my son got his first year in college. we don't go back to that. kapor, counseling, contract, and disaster relief. i know that many of you have worked with us in one of these areas. i am taking this moment to talk to you because you might be only getting one part of our services and you're missing out on the rest of the c's and the d. we want to make sure you know

about them. access to capital. how many of you have had a sba loan? 2011 was a record year for the sba. we did $30 billion in loan guarantees. that is more money into the hands of small businesses than ever before in history of this agency. [applause] and each one of these loans is a story, like one of yours. i was out in michigan, which was terribly hard hit and i met tom johnson, who was a chrysler employee for 15 years. he had a dream.

he wanted to run his own business. he decided he wanted to become a franchisee. frozen yogurt is great. we always need another. but he didn't have experience. he was able to get an sba loan. he is now looking for a second location. access to capital is a critical piece of what we do. we know we can be more streamlined. that is one of the things that a whole team has been working on, led by jeanne. jeanne has been talking to you and one of the results was a

program that we have for small businesses who may be one to win a big order but they need enough cash on hand to finance the inventory. we had a program but it was too cumbersome. we reengineered the program and we have a 220% increase in the usage of this program, something you asked us for. if you have looked into that, do. we not only do our regular programs, last year was a record year for our small business investment company program. $2.6 billion went into the hands of small business and we had record amounts that we put

out in newly licensed -- i want to think shawn green and a program for that. you just honored the winner and i was with some last week in nashville. it is amazing how many small businesses and entrepreneurs are getting their start the this program. you probably know some of the brand names that were accepted -- apple, fedex, costco, intel -- pretty good track record, and i know there are more successes on the way. we took our program and launched the early stage program. the real the valley of death -- an absence of capital and we're

pleased we put $1 billion a year for the next five years into the program in a competitive process so people are applying as i speak. theral contracting,th second c. i spoke about with the administrator of nasa. $100 billion annually is what is monitored across all agencies that goes into the hands of small businesses and we think of this as a win-win. it is good for the agencies because they get the most innovative companies and the most innovative ideas. small businesses get one the

most important things, revenue -- $100 billion. maybe the biggest program for small businesses across the government. i was in nashville last week. i spoke to about 700 of the department of defense contract buyers and people who help small businesses. they were there to make sure that they make their goals for this year. so all of you, we have a day tomorrow with the matchmaking and some other activities, real opportunities in our government contracts and opportunities. the third c. how many of you have a counselor

or long-term mentor that helps you with your business? raise your hands. i get this all the time. every single one of you should have one. it makes a difference -- more sales, more longevity, more success, hiring more people, and the best news is it is free. we have a network where many will be honored -- were honored this morning at practice and they are here with us from small business development centers come from oall of our clusters around the country. we reached a million entrepreneurs last year. with good results.

this, don't have time for go online. 2.5 million entrepreneurs have taken advantage of our online training since 2009. we have some terrific programs out there and want to make sure that you take access and opportunity. relief.s disaster last time i was in nashville was two years ago and it was six days after the horrible flood that flooded the grand old opry and some small businesses. two years later, i was happy to walk main street with the mayor and put $124 million into homeowners and small business owners to help them get back on their feed.

t. e do this in smith pville, where the tournedos came. we had a wonderful team and you'll hear more about this at our phoenix lunch. this is the core of what we have been able to do at the sba. better? i want to make sure you could hear me. i won all of the sba -- i want all of the sba staff to stand for a moment. i see my technical assistance people -- [microphone hums feedback]

let's walk back about three years ago. when i first took this job, the economy was in terrible shape and all of you remember this. the banking market just froze. america's small businesses took it hard. we were able to step in and give access to the capital markets with our loan guarantee program. we made helping small businesses a top priority. i want to make sure one point is clear. small businesses like tax cuts, right? this a administration has put through 18 tax cuts for small businesses. if you do not know what they are, go to our website. we want to make sure you have

taken advantage of all the potential tax cut opportunities. tax cut for hiring unemployed workers, veterans, allowing small businesses to write off the full cost of new investments. the president called on congress to pass another tax cut for small businesses. number 3 on the list is a small business tax credit 10% tax credit that will create more jobs in 2012. we want to extend the wonder% expensing -- 100% for all businesses in 2012. we also passed the recovery act, -- small business job at -act

that was the most important piece of legislation in 10 years. this gives us the flexibility to do more to help you grow your business is. we have supported 79 billion dollars since 2009. we brought 1000 community banks back to sba lending that had not made a loan since 2007. then we turned our attention to the big banks and we got our top 15 lenders to commit $20 billion in incremental small business lending. so we have the small banks and the big banks backed. there is still work to do it in filling the gaps with small loans and we have been focused on that for the last year and will continue to work on that with some new programs and

simplifications, more dollars so that we can make sure that we have all our entrepreneurs able to get access to the capital that they need. so now we're beginning to see the economy improved. when i sit down with a small business, there's a different conversation. now you're telling me, i need a loan because i need to take the next order, hire more people, grow my business. our economy has created more than 4.2 million private-sector jobs, many of them at small businesses. it is more than triple the number of jobs that were created in the recovery from 2000 to to 2004. look at the economy today. we have put in place for small

businesses and across the economy some of the structure that we need to do with the president calls build an economy that is built to last. that means and, that is not built on a bubble -- that means an economy that is not built on a bubble. it is built on advanced manufacturing and increased exporting. we want to make sure the foundation is inclusive, that there is opportunity for all on to birders in this country, because that is what makes this country strong and successful. now we're turning our attention to this issue. many of you have told me that you number one problem is finding skilled workers, especially in manufacturing. darlene miller will be up

shortly and has been instrumental in -- i will not steal your thunder. she has some great programs. we're working on supply chains. many of you are part of a supply chain, serving america's largest companies or the government. we have started with ibm working on a whole set of programs. part of our american supplier initiative to make sure that small companies can find those opportunities and that big companies can find a small companies. with ibm, we have 16 major companies -- banks, facebook, john deere -- signed up to work through this with $300 million worth of purchasing power.

go take a look and see if your business works for this supplier portal. we're trying to get more small businesses to be signed up and we have over 4000 now. we'll be talking about this more over the next day and have. this is what national small business week is about. it is about opening the doors and making sure entrepreneurs from all the communities across this country have access and opportunity to grow their businesses. i was with the president last week and we kick off national small business week. we did and we went out to small business that serves food. we went to a sub shop right here

in town. it was startup by two young men from the philadelphia that came to wash dishes and could not get a good hoagie. they claim it is not cheese steak but the hoagie. they truck the bread downo every morning from philadelphia -- down. a terrific time talking to them. they told the president they started their first shop, they had some success. they started a second shop. they wanted to start a third but they were tapped out. one of our district directors was walking door to door and walked into their shop and said

i'm with the sba and i want to know how i can help. grabbed their business store. eagle bank said, "we do not need the guarantee." the president got this. we don't create your business but we can accelerate what you do and then helped to grow the next level. at that store were two other entrepreneurs. kathy rachel's owns an organic market. she is a korean immigrant and had sba support. "i'm living the american dream,"

she said to the president. brian started a contract in and construction business after decades of working for other people. he is now a prime contractor for the federal government. he does the excavations and he is part of the win-win we're talking about when we were talking about federal contracting. these entrepreneurs and all of you here today and all across the country are the reason that i believe in america's future. you are the foundation stone of an economy that is built to last. that is why the president, the sba, all across this administration, we're committed to helping you grow and succeed.

america's greatest strength has always been rooted in the ingenuity of view, our small business owners. and the imagination and in the diversity of on to burners. and in all of our productivity together, it is this powerful combination that build the greatest economy in the world and has produced the greatest innovations in the world and has helped lift generations of americans into the middle class and allowing them to live the american dream. together we're going to make sure that this proud tradition continues and together we will create an america that is built to last. thank you very much.

[applause] thank you again for being here. i have the great pleasure of reinforce a panel that will have to gather -- look at my notes. but first, where's cathy? i will invite the other folks that will run the panel up to the podium to sit with us. i'm going to ask cathy martine from at&t to come up and say a few words to you. kathy is the executive vice president for small business

solutions an alternate channels &t.t she leads a $13 billion business. many of you need help, cathy is here. she and at&t are longtime sponsors of national small business week. i want to thank them so much for their support. to say ang cathy up few words and the rest of the panel up to join me here. >> thank you and good morning. it is such a pleasure to be here. i am always inspired by her comments and stories. you are the american dream.

small business week is the highlight of my year. i do a lot public speaking. you represent what america stands for. some of those statistics that we heard about -- a couple of challenges in 2008. many of you live that. it is exciting to be here. you have to see opportunity when opportunity may not be there. anyone who is committed to sustaining the american dream must insure that all of us has to support small businesses as best we can. we've turned our focus on a couple of key areas.

first, convincing -- by hiring small businesses. we try to persuade other corporations about how we can help. the providing and the financing. we've tried to support the financing. third is technology to drive future growth. providing financing and encouraging the use of powerful technologies and applications to help companies be faster and more productive. stop the aid to both and talk about products and services -- i help you stop at the at&t both. oth.

at&t spent $12 billion -- that represent 23% of diversified spending. we spent $9 billion with minority-owned firms and $3 billion on companies that were owned by women. if you want to be a leader, you need to work with the first suppliers to help you go to the next level. financing is the top of my issue with all the customers that i talk to. the number of small business loans has improved but we can still do more. i know the sba has been working hard on making sure to fill the gaps to other loans to other institutions. at&t capital has provided more than $6 billion in financing for

small businesses. that allows companies to access badly needed financing. that is been a key party since i started three years ago. 2010 and 2011, nearly two -- $42 million in badly needed financing. we continue to provide the level of support. when you have the tools to succeed, we succeed. access to funding is closely linked to access to technology. the oxygen of small businesses. no other sector -- that is an area we spent a lot of our time

understanding how we get help unleased the capacity of your businesses to become smarter and more productive. i would like to share a couple of examples. there is a company in minnesota. they supplement their wint busis in the winter by plowing snow. the more effectively you could tractor drivers, the more profitable your business. anything but smooth sledding. triers need to know where to go -- drivers need to know where to

go. long ranger employed a web-based application to track the drivers and to automatically build customers, so there is no paper in this equation. there is not a lot of time spent at starbucks. drivers became more efficient by providing more accurate and efficient customer billing. in miami, a catering company stands out because catering comes down to how good your food looks and how your customers will perceive it. their mantra is what looks good taste good. the use will time photo scaring

to send pictures back to headquarters for review and modification of the company's owner. they can then make any modifications on the spot. the results -- more satisfied customers. they manage their fleet of 40 drivers on a busy day, insuring the food arrives when it is supposed to. smart phones and tablets have become important. a new suite called mobile protection pact. it provides insurance and gps tracking of your location. if you left your phone summer, it can track where it is.

our goal is to make it easier to locate missing devices so you can concentrate on running your business. i'm so thrilled of the opportunity to be on this panel. i stand in awe of your positive attitude, not to mention the fact that you are making money. i have no doubt you will continue to provide -- thank you for what you do every day and i hope you are as pleased as i am to work with an organization as wonderful as the sba. thank you very much. [applause]

>> good morning. can you hear ok? i want to make sure you can hear well. my name is rick cochran, president and ceo of mobile medical international corporation. last year i was the small business person of the year. [applause] thank you. it really was a glorious moment. one perseon will be selected and it is a great honor -- one person will be route selected. we have a responsibility -- i speak at rotary clubs and some commencement addresses, things i

have never done before. i think that is the key and i appreciate the vision that administrator mills provides and what she is done for us. i want to tell a side story. after winning the award, it was a full weekend, a lot of interviews and activities. we had an international delegation coming to our facility. we met with them sunday night. that was denied the tornado hit in joplin, missouri. a staff member said, we do not know we do not know but everybody is trying to get information about the tornado that has decimated the hospital. we thought, as i sit stood on the stage and thought about the

moment with administrator mills, the moment i felt the appreciation for the opportunity to be recognized as a small- business person, i said, let's do something we have not done and we took a mobile unit and we put it on the road to joplin, not even knowing if there was a need. that was a seven-story building that was decimated. when they saw we have done side, they said, we need to another one. the surgery units were used until last month. i would say that it was inspiring but it also inspired me and thank you for that. [applause]

i like to introduce darlene miller, the president and ceo of permac in issues. darling is the owner and ceo, -- darlene is the owner and ceo. customers around the globe in a variety of industries including medical, transportation bill. they have received a number of awards. darlene was the minnesota state winner and the 2008 national chamber of commerce business person for the entire u.s., has been appointed to sit on the president's council for jobs and competitiveness. darlene. [applause] >> thank you and good morning.

.'m excited to be here today i have 38 employees and we're in the -- we do a lot of things in aerospace, defense, and have made some great connections to the sba. that is my real job i do everyday but i'm excited to serve on the president's council for job competitiveness and be a voice for small business. i believe the president and all of us have listened to a lot of recommendations and made a lot of the changes as administrator mills aluded to earlier and many other areas such as regulatory that we're working on.

i am excited to be here and to answer any questions that people may have. hank you.han i think you hear about what sba is doing and that is critical for small business. we have an opportunity to have some dialogue, some interchange amongst the panel, to hear your questions and to be able to participate. this is an opportunity -- not everybody is a billion dollar company. some are just starting out and still in the growth stage. what are the kinds of issues that impact you? things that you would like to ask? i will toss out, as i look at

some of the other issues out there. we talk about the importance of capital. there is a practicality of capital. withany biz's start off too much capital in their banks? probably not too many of us. tore struggling and trying piece things together. i think that is the heart of america. we do what it takes. we are persistent and we get the job done. i think we're proving that over and over again as a country. from my perspective, one thing we've done -- when i started the company, a one out to70

individuals that i've been working. i was setting up surgery centers around the country. out of the 70 doctors, i look for people that might be able to invest. i wrote a letter and put a plan together. out of 70 this is a, 35 had responses. 50% in anything is a good number. get a few ofet's us together. there were three surgeons and myself the started the company. we did some leasing along the way. we least the unit and we sold the units. we brought cash in four todayr . you have been there.

those are areas that we can do things. i was interviewed on msnbc maybe six months ago and they talked about -- they thought i had a unique story. people were not paid for some of their time as a company. they said, how you get away with that? how do you get people to work for free? they had a panel discussion but i had no chance to respond. two of the panelists were impressed and flattered because i was able to keep the company alive. the third palace said that is taking advantage of those people -- the third panelist.

ofdidn't ignore the value what they were putting into the company. we covered whenever there is shortfall was. we offered stock. we did things that made a difference. have the capital when i started -- went into the business. % of it. to buy 45 i went to get a loan. he became a mentor and a friend. help me with my business plan.

if it weren't for him, i would not be here today. in 2008, we decided to double our space again. we started from a small a thousand-square-foot -- 8,000- square-foot space. i was able to get another loan. ok. >> most of you -- in this room have been successful. we want to make sure that entrepreneurs have the opportunity. that is why the combination of loan guarantees and mentor ship and counseling is so critical.

as you know, you do not know what you do not know. if you walk in, we have small business development centers that were able to take 70% of the people who were unable to get a loan, sit down with them, redo their presentation and get them bankable. that was in north carolina. >> thank you. cathy, i wonder if folks would reach out and get some information on your program. >> we have a number of brochures that are applications that can help you run your business more

effectively. what we have found to be successful is a technical support. many times you do not anticipate the growth of your business. we provide technical support. hosting applications. imagine the customers if there system went down and they had no backup. we talk about hosting applications and making sure you have eight redundancy plan -- and make sure you have a lot of redundancy plan. we're happy to make that person available to you. we'll make sure we have account teams follow-up with you.

you can call or e-mail us. you can check our web site or portal app. we tried to position ourselves as the trusted person to help you run your business. we try to make sure we offer expertise to help you as your businesses grow. >> thank you. if there are questions, we're looking to receive those. we have a list of things we're happy to share but it is your questions and comments that are important. yes. >> [unintelligible] >> if you would step to the microphone. this is a live feed.

can you state your name? >> i am bob, consulting engineer. i find that i have less employees than five years ago, three years ago. had to dumb down the health insurance plan because the got too expensive. none of the tax credits apply to us because our employees make more than $25,000 a year. my loan was a suspect even though it is been a 1 four5 years. just a credit line -- my lawn was suspect even though it is for 15 years.ere

is it worh keeping. my great fear is that one day my wife of 37 years will roll over in the morning and whisper in my to sign fort going that bank loan anymore because we need to keep something for our retirement and you are getting older. maybe that's the reality that i see as a small-business owner and entrepreneur. maybe the panel can give me some advice on that. >> well, this is part of the effort for small-business owners throughout the country, especially in the beginning of this recession when we really

had a lot of bank lines and credit lines that were defaults. as you just described, we -- me take a couple pieces of the concerns you mentioned, because they have been universal voices and we have been able to bring some of these forward as concerns of small businesses. is, on the access to credit, are regulators than attention to making sure that guidance that is done at the top of the regulators is confirmed all the way down to the regional regulators so that small businesses, banks serving small businesses don't -- the pendulum does not go too far the other way. we are constantly having conversations with our colleagues in the ability dilato -- in the regulatory bodo make sure they are focused on

small businesses, to make sure they don't get caught in undo regulation or make sure that t he banking regulation that comes down, the guidance was communicated. fdic was effective in making sure local and regional regulators understood what the guidance was, to make sure small-business owners did not get caught up. that's an ongoing process. i pledge to lots of small businesses that we will continue to have those conversations, making sure small banks, community banks, and everybody is in the room with the regulators. that is something that across the administration we're very focused on. access to capital is critical. on health care, we want to make sure everybody knows some of the

benefits available. mentioned that the tax credit you did not qualify for. if everybody else should take a look to see if they do qualify for the health care tax credit. the other piece is with the health care legislation in 2014 there are going to be marketplaces where insurance companies bid on the business of small businesses, creating more opportunities for you to find a plan anthat works for you. running a small business is an ongoing challenge, as you described. we want to be there for retirement planning, having a counselor look at your business. ken, if you are here, someone who as paster retirement situation in the business to help you navigate that. we know you have a terrific business and we need to make it successful. >> i am with the chemical

companies and we are now entrepreneur success award winner for the southeast. -- kimbell cos. my daughter graduated and my wife and i drove here to be here this morning and we are excited to be here. [applause] it's great that she graduated and have two out of the nest now. [laughter] eric schmidt, the google executive chairman, i think that he has all the business practitioners and everybody in the audience and he talked about technology as a tool. you have to be brilliant and innovative. he says these young people will teach us more than we would know as people that are not as digitally engaged. i want to throw this out as a question and potentially as an

opportunity for the sba. is there a way that we could get people that are doing amazing things -- i know that we have a social media tweet-up --- but i think it will be even more portents that we get pas passionate people about the marketing and public-relations that will transform business and society, is there a way the sba can convene a group where we can collaborate and share best practices? i am a serial entrepreneur in three advisory c zero groups. if we had something on line with great young thinkers and maybe some of us old people of to come up with great ideas, i think it would be very valuable. i wonder if there's a way we could do something creative like that, ms. mills? >> it's a great idea. we will be talking about it today.

we have the sba community on sba.gov.hich woul -- on there are activities already in this area. all the social media is very good news for small business. it levels the playing field, allows us access and opportunity in big markets and in very targeted ways, highly cost- effective. we just need to find a way that's right for you. it is all starting so fast that it's hard to keep up. we are going to take your recommendations on this form and get people together in our community and we a are going to put together with some of the things you'll see later on and those that are occurring already and tried to focus on this, because it is so good for small business.

>> years ago i participated in a think-tank, health care specific. there were talking about how technology will change the way health care is delivered using for example the smartphone for interactivity between you and your provider. it was a fascinating lecture. i was there as far as the mobile hillside near the question was asked by the ceo of a large health care entity whow said what happens in 10 years from now if 50% of all the work that we perform inside a hospital is done outside a hospital? things like communicating, having your heart monitor connecting through the smartphone and on home dialysis. things are happening with mobile surgery and mobile technology and mobile health that suddenly the dynamics have sifted and how do you respond to that? that is the entrepreneurial activity for all of us, to look at whatever the market segment

is -- and clearly technology is a major driver in all those scenarios. i'm with the national association for the self- employed. my husband and i recently launched a business this month, a gourmet popcorn company. i have to say, we received indictable support from the washington d.c. small business development center in helping us put our business plan together and launch our business. counselor their work with us for over a year at the office. it's a wonderful program that we support. i would love to hear a little more. one of the big issues we have been having so much has been talked about cpac access to capital. we have seen the administration to help business owners particularly find access to capital. but one of the things not talk about his credit. even though there's a lot of opportunity out there or you hear a lot about a lot of money flowing through the bank's corporate unions sba programs, one of the things not discussed is how your credit comes into play. a lot of our members are finding

that you hear about all this money out there, but that they still cannot access it because of all the credit requirements. maybe we should learn more about how someone's credit score or credit comes into play with an sba loan and a beer from the business owners about how they managed the process in terms of their personal credit history and accessing a loan. >> i think this is a question that we get quite a bit. i know that you want to get to the other two. i will suggest our access to and get together with you and you can tweet with your organization. there's a lot of discussion about creating a more robust look at credit than just a credits or. we are actively participating in that. >> my name is jonathan come from interactive achievement of

roanoke, virginia. let me first it say that the blessing and helped us from 10 employees to 20 employees and that that rolling. my question does not quite piggyback off her question, but it kind of does. because of what happened -- and god bless us all for making it through the worst recession ever it -- [applause] but what has happened is -- and i don't know if everybody else is facing this -- it is not just a credits or, you have to have assets. i mean fully paid off assets bringing to the bank before they will even talk to you. whether sba is involved or not. has extended those loans to give you even more capital. it was wonderful for us.

in our region down in virginia there are so many businesses who are proving growth over time. they're hiring employees. revenues are growing. all those things that we want. those don't mean anything anymore to a bank unless it is an asset, unless you have an asset to put on the table. my question is, is the sba looking toward or looking in the future of becoming that assets for those young businesses that have proved growth over three years, five years, and they will be the asset on top of what the small business has already created? >> once again, i think the answer is he has a very good point. in the case of intellectual property, we have a lot of discussions with the patent office about how we can get small companies in their early stages started when all they

have is in the local property. the intellectual property is very valuable. out role is to become the backstop when it is the bank sees you as a young, growing successful business but it -- but you just cannot get there on the record you have, then we step in. so we become the wind at your back so we can get that loan for you. hopefully, then you grow into marketable status and go on to the next -- then we go on to the neck small business loan entrepreneur. people take greater risks, combined with private funds. always to be creative. we could spend a day just on the

banking side, for sure, and on the credit side. one more question and that's all we have time for. >> my name is donovan. i wanted to make a comment about the emphasis, the issues that i think are affecting us as a small business and many others, i think. i know that you are doing a tremendous amount with access to capital. i want to share one more perspective about the health carei issue health view my ability to provide health care to my employees as basically the most important issue after access to capital. think you are past the access to capital issue and are operating a profitable business, make sure that your growth is really tied to your ability to provide a really nice safety net for your staff. one of the things we have found

since we've been in business is the percentage increases that we are seeing annually from the options we have to provide medical insurance to our employees are large, the percentage increases are large. it's not unusual to have a 10% or 15% increase, sadly. one of the things that a lot of small businesses find themselves having to do is they're trying to make choices as to cannot provide both medical care and short and long-term disability insurance, and a 401k plan? and you look at the package and you want to provide all that. but when the medical plans go through with significant increases, it is challenging to do all that. i had an experience last year where a senior employee at our company had a stroke, it was unexpected and it came out of nowhere. our long-term disability insurance was able to provide a solution for her, thank god. that was a tremendous.

but the year before we had had a difficult debate internally on whether we would be able to keep these things. while she will actually probably never able to return to work, as the ability to receive 60% of first salary until she is age 65. it's wonderful that we were able to provide that. but there are tremendous pressures every year to do that. one of the things i wanted to mention is i feel the sba needs to be radically more vocal on this issue as to -- in some ways i feel our government fails if they allow insurance companies to discriminate against us when one of our employees is the loser in the genetic roulette of their health. the whole issue of pre-existing conditions, but more importantly the ability of an insurance company to look individually at a company's claims and if they have had a few employees that have been hospitalized with a stroke or something, they can

find themselves facing in the coming year and 100% increase or more. an insurance company trying to basically get them out of the plan. i would like to see a lot more from the sba. >> from my side, as an entrepreneur, as a small business, we know the pains you are struggling with. what we try to do a is a health care is going to be an issue and it is still a major issue and will be debated at a national level and at state levels, but what can i do today in my business, what can i do to help my marketing and my sales and other areas? i know i can make a difference tangibly and that's where we put as much as as as we can. that may seem a little simplistic, but that's a reality. that's while the other debate takes place. i'm sure the sba will do whatever they can to mitigate those challenges. >> i will say that we have heard

from small business owners all across the country. small businesses pay 18% more for the same coverage as big businesses because they are small. they don't go in a major risk pool. that is what the exchanges are designed to solve. the issues that you just described are very much a part of the basis of "the affordable care act. [applause] i will share with you that kathleen sebelius was working with small business owners and one of them said the day i was able to provide health insurance to my employees is the day that i called my small business a success. so we are there to help make this happen for small businesses. i think maybe we just have one other question and i am obliged to keep us on time. >> [inaudible] i only had 100 word vocabulary

and returned to run my business. i suffered from short-term memory loss, could not drive, could not read or write. fortunately, we do have such good medical care in this country and such good research that i was able to put myself back together. [applause] and i am happy to share my story with a woman that works for you, because we can get well. i am a living example. i happened to be the maryland person of the year. we develop a mobile application for amtrak. we were instrumental in developing this application for them. we were the beneficiaries of the sba, fbdc, , so we thank you.

we are extremely grateful. you made a difference in our business. our business continues to grow. our revenues as well as our profits. we tightened things down so our profits increased 190% year over year. my question, as small businesses, we are very strong -- by the way, my company's name is software consortium. we are the business person of the year. my question is, from -- we are looking beyond the recession and the global competition. so, as it relates to our business, what should we be doing as looking to that global autonomy? what advice do you have and who should we talk to? >> i will answer. i am in manufacturing.

it is really important that in 2003 i went on my first trade mission and i've been to india and south america since then. we have to grasp that we are a global economy, as small business owners, and get educated as to what our challenges are and what things we do better and what things others do better. there's a lot going on now companies coming back the united states and we all need to be prepared for that. we talked to other international groups and find out where your expertise is and where you can blend different programs. >> [unintelligible] >> thank you for doing a fabulous job. >> thank you all for attending.

[applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> i want to thank you all for coming to the forum. we will take a 15-minute break and then we will begin our exporting session here in this room. thanks again.

>> bloomberg news is reporting that u.s. nuclear commission -- regulatory commission chair is resigning. "i've decided this is the proton to continue my efforts to ensure public safety in a different form. my responsibility and commitment to safety will continue to be my priority until my successor is confirmed." his term expires june of next year. he has been criticized by his management style by a number of commissioners. a successor has not been announced yet. >> coming up later today on c- span at noon eastern, a look at the future of the u.s. naval fleet, the navy, plans to

downsize the fleet, increasing the use of small ships designed for operations close to the shoreline. that is at noon eastern about 40 minutes from now on c-span. coming up at 2:00, supreme court justice john paul stevens, a retired in 2010 after 35 years on the high court, he will address this year's meeting of the american law institute. at 4:30, president obama told a news conference at the close of the two-day nato summits in chicago. much of the meeting has focused on ending the afghan war. that's your live at 4:30 eastern on c-span. >> from 1971 through 1973, president nixon secretly recorded his phone conversations and meetings. this weekend on c-span radio, more of the nixon tapes. saturday at 6:00 p.m. eastern, with conversations between the president and the cia director richard helms, and the fbi director j. edgar hoover. >> people pink i ought to make a

statement about the freedom of the press and that we are trying to censored them and so forth. my inclination is not to do that. >> i think you're right. >> what is your judgment? >> mr. president, you should remain absolutely solid about it. >> in washington, listen and 90.1 fm, nationwide rihanna on xm 119, and streaming at c-span radio.org. >> last friday the g-8 and a number of african nations announced the new alliance for food safety, designed to improve agriculture in sub- saharan africa. we talked about the plan with the head of the u.s. agency for international development on this morning's ""washington journal."

host: rajiv shah is with us. what does global food security mean? almost 1 it means billion people go to bed hungry every night. there are tremendous consequences as a result. hundreds of millions of kids don't have the energy to protect themselves of disease and the die of malnutrition. those children don't necessarily learn well if they have the chance to go to school. then hold them back and told their economies back for decades. when we -- we know that when food prices go up and more and more people are struggling to get access to such a basic commodity as food, we tend to see food riots, failed states, famine and serious national- security threats and risks. the basic concept of food security is to have more people having access to food, to not be hungry, and as a result to build a more stable and secure world. host: in an earlier conversation

this morning about afghanistan and nato discussions about afghanistan, some of our callers say let's worry sayhome. why should americans be concerned about starvation, people going hungry abroad? guest: the secretary of defense bob gates used to say that it is cheaper to invest in development than it is to send soldiers. he meant that in financial terms but also in very human terms. the reality is food security, expanding access to health care so children can live beyond age 05 or building a more secure planet where everyone gets to go to school and be in a position to pull themselves out of poverty is part of how we keep our country secure, part of how we make sure we're getting ahead of the next conflict as opposed to dealing with. the consequences of with in afghanistan, the united states and other countries in the late 1980's essentially stopped in gauging afghanistan, stop investing in sending kids to school and helping that government thrive over time.

the results were deeply consequential. we do this work because it is in our moral interest and we also do it because it's in our economic and national-security interests. at the end of the day we spend less than 1% of our federal budget on the types of development activities that we will have the chance to discuss this morning. host: there was announcement on friday that there's a sports utility -- but there's a new alliance for food security and nutrition. here's president obama talking about this alliance and what the u.s. is involved. >> food security is a moral imperative but also an economic imperative. if history teaches us one of the most effective ways to pull people and interrogations out of party is to invest in their agriculture. as we have seen from latin america to africa to asia, a growing middle class also means growing markets, including more customers for american exports

that support american jobs. so we have a self-interest in this. it is a moral imperative, economic imperative, and a security imperatives. host: president obama speaking on friday. rajiv shah is the head of u.s. aid. -- usaid. talk to us more about why it is a secured imperative? guest: in the 1960's, south korea and taiwan were the two largest recipients of american food aid. we sent food to prevent people from starving and to help them survive. then we spent the next two decades actually helping both of those countries invest in their own agricultural production, to diversify their economy, to build systems of higher education so they could pull people out of poverty. today both nations are tremendous trading partners with the united states. we signed a free-trade agreement with south korea that will lead to a hundred of thousands of

american jobs. there are companies that my institution helped invest in and get going in the 1960's and 1970's to deal with food and hundred at today employ thousands of americans in america and as part of their global enterprise. so we know that we can get ahead of this problem. we know that sub-saharan africa, for instance, does not back to be mired in extreme hundred and poverty. in fact it can be the next economic frontier helping us grow our economy and create jobs and home. that's what the chinese are doing. it's what other countries are doing in terms of investing in those places and on these problems. and it's what we need to continue to do because we have a very proud and effective legacy in this area. host: we're talking with rajiv shah, the head of the agency for international development in america. if you would like to join the conversation, call.

usaid, its mission and its money. here's where the money ends up going. we see countries like afghanistan, haiti, kenya, jordan, pakistan, and then african countries. what is the money being spent on? guest: we primarily invest in a few subjects. one is the lulz security. the new alliance president obama announced on friday and that we discussed at camp david with the group of 8 leaders around the world was an effort to say if we are going to tackle on a grand party, we cannot do it alone, we need other partner countries investing with us. -- tackle hunger and poverty. we also need the private sector, we need american companies like dupont and others to make investments that will help reach small-scale farmers in ethiopia,

tanzania, and many countries you mentioned. we see the results of that. when we partner with american firms in haiti and with local farm cooperatives, we can double or triple rice production and help nations move out of poverty and not be as vulnerable as they have been in the past and as we saw after the tragic earthquake. we have seen in bangladesh for the first time in history the poorest states in bangladesh, a state with more than 40 million people, as a result of partnerships with american universities and american scientists have not produced enough rice to feed themselves and they have the first-ever surplus in decades. this partnership is part of a program that president obama launched called feed the future. it is our top priority. it is an efficient, effective effort to partner with the private sector and to eliminate hunger around the world. it's one example of what we are able to do when we invest with focus and clarity around the results will seek to achieve.

host: let's get to the phone. ann is on our democrat line in waldorf, maryland. caller: thanks so much. i am very concerned about how the commodities markets here in chicago sex the food shortages in other countries. i'm not talking about hedging. i'm talking about the speculation in which investors are not required to actually physically take possession of some of the soy, corn, wheat, rice and the markets. i just noticed that there is a connection between it food instability and some of the food riots we have seen and the speculation that goes on here, which is very unfortunate. i hope your guest can address the issue. and thank you so much. guest: thank you. that's an outstanding question, because it's absolutely true that when we see food prices

spike considerably, we know that populations that are vulnerable around the world suffer dramatically. in many sub-saharan african countries where we work through our feed the future program, a typical family of spends 65% of their total disposable income securing food for their children and their families. we spend about 10% in the united states buying food per household. that means if food prices double or triple, all of a sudden the kids are not eating and mothers are not eating, kids are not going to school and families suffer dramatically. it is a tremendous inconvenience here, but in other parts of the world in the east of food riots, failed states, and in some cases -- famine. in 2008 there was a reversal of a trend due to a major price spike. over four decades every year fewer and fewer people were going hungry. that changed dramatically in 2008.

100 million people were pushed into a condition of intohunger and party because of price spikes -- a condition of hunger and poverty. we know the country need to produce more food themselves and participate in a global economy. the consequences are not dealing with the high cost of blood and treasure and resources of failed states and famines and the types of things that our moral outrages but require immediate and very. -- and veryhost: reggi costly investment. host: president obama talked- about the agreement between g-8 african nations and private sector. it targets sub-saharan africa. it will kick off in tanzania, donna, and ethiopia. the goal is to get 50 million

people out of poverty within a decade. g-8 nations and the private sector are both kicking in money. rajiv shah, talk about a private-sector investment and i look to them for so much capital. guest: we look to the private sector because they bring more than capital. they bring technology, logistics capacity, they bring the ability to organize products supply chains and reach hundreds of thousands of farmers. the reality is we know how to an extreme hunger in sub-saharan africa. that's what the president could boldly claimed we will work with international partners to live 50 million people out of poverty, but it's not going to help with public investment alone. the president was clear we will meet our global and international obligations. we will continue even in a difficult fiscal in parliament to prioritize our own public investments in this area and demand of as much from our african partners and others. alternately, it is small-scale seed companies and entrepreneurs

that are creating drought resistant or disease resistant seed varieties that can be used by small farmers to protect themselves and eliminate the risk of famine and hunger during. companies like dupont have increased seed production in ethiopia. companies like unilever that have committed to source 50% of their supply from african farmers, thereby creating markets for those farmers to grow themselves out of poverty. casava farmers in nigeria that produce a product called sorbitol. by doing the work this way, we have stretched american taxpayer dollars. for every dollar we spent in this, we leverage up to $3 for other g-8 partners and from other private sector partners.

the dollar of american investment unlocks $6 or $7 of results in outcomes in sub- saharan africa because of this innovative new approach. host: let's hear from andy on our independent line in el paso, texas. caller: good morning. i can only attest to what this gentleman is saying, the miracles that have happened over the span of my lifetime. i am 64. my first memories are seeing war footage from korea. if you visit to seoul, korea, today, you see an economic miracle. that could not have happened without our help. those folks are our best friends. they are among our most loyal allies. the same thing with the japanese and the taiwanese. they have gotten the help that they have gotten from us. i think that we can count on them when we need friends. they don't suspect our motives. we did not go there to conquer. we went there to help.

they have not forgotten that. guest: i very much appreciate that question, because you are pointing out the basic reality, that we had a choice in the 1960's it. we could have invested in a bright and integrated and connected future for the south korean people and a real sense of partnership or we could have avoided that. that was our choice at that time. because we chose to help them build roads and universities to help them improve their agriculture, which was really the focus of our efforts there for about 15 years, and ween themselves off food aid and produce more food themselves. because of those basic decisions we made, today they are a dynamic economy. this year they hosted a major international summit with president obama on nuclear disarmament. that is the value of of having partners that are connected to us in a fundamental way. when i had a chance to visit

there last year i saw so many people who would come up to me and describe their own personal experiences of seeing their families not go hungry or not start because they were getting american food aid or many of them had the opportunity to go to american universities because of our partnership. the best universities in the world. as a result, they have gone back and helped to grow stronger and more stable society that is now the example of stability and peace in that region. we have an opportunity today. we can make these kinds of smart, targeted investments and ensure that the world as it comes together is both connected to american values and safe and secure and economically prosperous or we can retrieve and let others define the future. president obama and secretary clinton have been very clear. host: rajiv shah, administrator of the u.s. agency for

international development. john is on the democratic line in connecticut's. good morning. are you with us? let's go on to fairfax, virginia, it rich, republican caller. caller: good morning. everybody wants to do what is right in the world. it comes down to priorities. i guess my concern is that we have people in this country who could use the same help that we send oversees all the time. i watched a show on "60 minutes" last night. tel aviv is doing extremely well in the midst of a global recession. you look in the middle east and oil companies, doing

very well. why does the u.s. always have to take care of the rest of the world? maybe you could provide some feedback that would help me understand -- i know it's only 1% of our budget, but why we should do more when we have so much that needs to be done in this country. thanks very much. guest: the sentiments that you are expressing our very important. these are tough times here at home. that is why when president obama and secretary clinton asked us to reach imagine what our work around the world could be like, we took a tough businesslike approach to reforming the way we work. -- to re-imagine. now we know the concrete results are investments generate in country after country and we have restructured the way we do procurements. if we can save 20% or 40% in terms of the operations of how

we work, we can save the american taxpayer resources. in this area when we save money, we save lives. times are tough. that's why we have insisted on these reforms. we have insisted on delivering concrete results when we make investments. i would just know that if the united states stepped back, others are already stepping up. africa is one of the few places in the world where you can visit a village where someone will say that they have an abiding admiration for president clinton, president bush, president obama, because of the strong legacy that we have had in a bipartisan way around at making these kind of investments and trying to make the world a better place by putting our values first. we see the results of that. if we step back now, we will been ceding the world to other nations like china and others that are stepping up their engagement and their investment and offering people a very different picture of what the

future. would look future host: we have a very different picture of what the future would look like. host: we have this comment -- tell us about funding levels and how you justify getting what you need from congress. guest: the entire budget for the state department and for the united states agency for international development is just over $50 billion. it comes in the foreign appropriations act. i have been proud to note that there has been strong bipartisan support for some of these initiatives that we are describing today. the feed the future program that is funded out of the development assistance accounts, which is $2.5 billion per year, specifically. compared to our overall federal budget, this is less than 1% of what we do as a nation in terms

of our spending and our budgeting. but the returns on it are tremendous. if you look at just one program, our malaria initiative that was started by president bush and continued by president obama, that effort since about $660 million a year and has saved approximately 220,000 young children in sub-saharan africa on an annual basis. there used to be 1 million kids who died because they got malaria and passed away. now they're sleeping under in the pesticide-treated bed nets. they're getting better medications in the clinics and they are surviving. what that means is countries that are precisely the forefront of the battle against islamic extremism and terrorist threats to the united states are now in a deep partnership with our country. they are seeing our values. community by community, they have a deep affection and appreciation for the united states. the president of tanzania was just here.

tanzanian has seen a 28% drop in the children who died under the age of five because of our targeted investments in global help. he will tell you that as you walk through the villages of, those communities are forever associated with the united states in a proud, value-driven matter and that the spread of islamic extremism will not spread prove those villages because of that engagement. that is the vision of success we want to continue to replicate. that is much more efficient than the alternative. host: usaid was started by john f. kennedy but has its roots in the marshall plan. annapolis, maryland, brent, and

independent caller. caller: good morning. i have been asking a question for about 30 years. i've never really gotten an answer. at one point to the human possible asian exceed the ability of the planet to feed it -- at what point does the human population exceed the ability of the planet to exceed it? guest: there was a time in 1968 when a sociologists wrote a book called "to the population bomb" predicting with a tremendous amount of data, that 3 million people to 4 million people in asia would starve to death because population outstripped the planet and the recent set of productivity. the reality was a scientist invented a new form scientistwheat in mexico -- a new form of wheat in mexico and

that led to the green revolution, which helped to double, triple, and in some cases quadrupled food yield in india, bangladesh, pakistan, and other parts of south asia, and it helped save hundreds of millions of lives. he won the nobel peace prize, congressional medal of honor, and other awards. all these are examples where we have overcome the stresses and pressures that you are describing, by investing in smart technologies and by improving -- by proving that our own capacity to innovate and improve food production has avoided widespread starvation. so we expect this and to take place over the next several decades here. the next frontier on the battlefront in sub-saharan africa. host: a question on twitter -- guest: yes, absolutely. if we can get -- we know that

90% of calories that are consumed in the places and other regions where they are produced. so we know -- we have enough food commodities today to feed the world, but we also know that a typical african farmers, who is generally a woman, generally working on about 1 acre or two acres of land and generally producing enough food for her family and maybe if selling a little extra on local markets, if their production goes up considerably, we know with certainty that they will move their families out of poverty and extreme poverty and that will set off a chain reaction if where economies can diversify and grow in a more high growth manner, creating a more stable, more peaceful, and more equitable world. that is really the aspiration of this effort. host: annapolis, maryland, jo on the democratic line. caller: first i want to thank the gentleman for what he does, because it is such important work. i'm a member of bread for the

world. this year, our congregation is participating in their circle of protection letter-writing campaign. we are asking congress not to cut the budget when it comes to hunger programs domestically and internationally. first question i want to ask is whether or not aid partners with bread for the world, because bread for the world is the policy end and we are very concerned about the health care budget right now, especially considering less than 1% of our total budget goes toward these programs. the second question, i was wondering if you about south su, becausesomee who return from a p there was said the chinese are making inroads there, but what they're doing is taking very fertile farmland in south sudan

and working the farm land, but then the food is being exported to china. that is a concern to be especially because of all the issues in northern sudan and south sudan. guest: thank you, jo. bred for the world is a great organization and a movement and we are proud to work with before the world very closely on this effort. on food security, nutrition, health, and basic human protections for the most vulnerable people. thanks for serving as a part of that movement. the reality is, as you pointed out, hunger issues need to be tackled. this administration has made efforts to do so on both fronts. president obama on friday committed again not only to tackling this issue internationally but also to ending hunger here at home especially for children. the reality is we know that we can work across party lines, but

there are plenty of democrats and plenty of republicans wh o come together around these basic issues. i've been amazed in my few years in washington to learn about the fact that across both parties, across leaderships and rank-and- file, there's a deep commitment to doing this work if we can prove we are doing it in a results-oriented way, that our investments are efficient and leveraging others and that we are generating the kind of outcome is that people cared deeply and personally about. on south sudan, i would point out that right now is a very critical moment. the south sudanese have a chance to make a decision about the future. president obama has been clear in his request that both the south and sudan itself choose peace, that they choose the opportunity to invest in the health and welfare and growth

and unlocking the potential of their people. as you pointed out, we know from the chinese investments, deland's is incredibly fertile there, beautiful soil, rich in water resources, plenty of sunlight. you could very easily create a significant breadbasket of food, of opportunity in south sudan. at the same time, currently a young girl born in south sudan is more likely to die in childbirth than to complete the secondary education. and so, we need to work with them to make sure that they are prioritizing investments in their people, that we are backing that up, and we're offering a different model of american companies and american scientists and american faith based institutions working transparently with the american government and south sudan to create a better future? as opposed to the model you described with the chinese. host: there's a conflict between sudan and south sudan and now they are two separate companies,

as skirmishes happening on the border. are creatings situations for poverty in each other's countries by withholding money for the oil pipeline. how do you deal with geopolitics? members of your team on the ground and a war breaks out or fights happen, how do you deal with that? guest: you are right to point out that conflicts and war are development in reverse. people destroy their assets. they get injured and traumatized. any infrastructure that was being built like roads or access to markets for small-scale farmers gets destroyed and they get set back decades very quickly. so, stability and peace are fundamental to achieving development outcomes. that is really what president obama and secretary clinton have urged us to work hard to bring

together our developments and diplomatic resources to work in a more integrated, and cause manner. south sudan and sudan are great example. our talented diplomatic team in the region and in washington focuses very much on creating the conditions for success and supporting a development portfolio and. our development experts are helping to build roads and help farmers increase their production so that they can require less food aid, which over time will save us significant resources but also much more importantly would provide those communities a dignified pathway out of poverty and hunger and conflict. the two things are reinforcing. i'm glad you asked that. in the past there has been conflict between those who support development efforts and those trying to bring about peace and security -- a false conflict. the reality is it's one in the same and we have all work together to make sure we're

generating the best results for the american people. host: diane is a republican in new jersey. you are on the program with rajiv shah. caller: this morning, thank you for your very hard work, sir. i have one question. do you handle all the funding yourself through your own agency or do you have to go into a country and kind of an jiggle around or fight with them about how much they are going to spend? do you just control all the funding? a couple years ago there was something where pakistan wanted money that we were going to give them, not the products. i was wondering, is this something that you come up against? guest: thank you, diane. it is. we have been very committed to working in partnership with hosts countries where we worked and with communities.

working with civil society organizations in countries, finding sand on locking the talent of local entrepreneurs, whether they are creating feed companies that can help bring visibility and on that nation's struggles and inspire people to commit for the long run. we have under our stewardship really tried to change the way we work so that we are not sort of working in the mindset of patronage but really focused on building those rich and important partnerships in countries. the results of that have been extraordinary. pakistan is a great example. when i started, we had 140 different projects. we were doing that work without as much of the deep consultation that i think we need to have, not just with the pakistani government but with civil society and people fighting on behalf of those left out. today i just returned from a

visit where we were able to launch a new reading and education program. for the same amount of resources that we were going to spend before, by doing our work in greater partnership, we are now able to help 3.2 million pakistani children achieve literacy of comes at grade level to test their outcomes on an annual basis, bring more pakistani resources and dollars to the task of educating their own people and begin to envisioned a pathway where our resources can over time be tapered off as they take more domestic responsibility. that kind of transition to local ownership and local responsibility is a big part of creating the conditions where aid and assistance are no longer needed and it's a big part of creating the next set of south so we can taiwans live in a more prosperous and peaceful world. host: this on twitter --

we have been talking about this new alliance for global food security that was launched on friday. the sport to security and nutrition as a lot of private partnerships and reliance on it. is there danger of giving companies too much latitude going into countries? guest: we have worked very closely with the company to make sure that their investments are targeted and transparent. i would point out that this is the first time in this area that anyone has brought together 45 different firms from the u.s. but also from -- most are from africa, some from india and asia and some from europe. all the companies have agreed to abide by basic principles of transparency and openness in how they do their work. we will be able to measure the outcomes on small-scale farmers and their livelihoods. remember, many of these women are the head of household, so we will measure women's incomes and

children's nutritional status, real outcomes for these investments. at the end of the day, we need these companies -- a company like vodafone is committed to reaching 500,000 small-scale farmers and provide a market pricing data on their mobile phones. that's the kind of task that no country government could really do without the private sector. our argument has been it's time to rethink what it takes to get the work done, to bring different partners together, to abide by transparency and results, and to get on with the business of ending hunger, which is a problem that is solvable. host: this story -- what's happening? guest: