really busy, monday and friday, we have a part-time workforce to cover those times. noon on a wednesday, it may not be so busy. we do not have as many people's back at that time. that is one of the responsibilities we have. one of the challenges is to try to professionalize the work force, more part time, people may say, that makes more challenges. it is not that simple. some of our offices are part- time, some are fu, how we deplot workforce. there is no discussion i have a hearing six or seven

weeks ago where the chairman of the oversight that we would do with their work force. my response is that would be a challenge. >> are you immune from work- force cuts? >> i would not say immune. our current budget envisions a full staff. >> next --

>> there are different levels of security. we have tried to address that through rulemaking and work closely with industry. there is april in process that will -- there is a rule in process that will address certain sizes, some basic things. when that rule is published, we will get comments and move forward in that regard it as a shared responsibility. it is not good for the industry or the airport so the industry

has been very responsive in terms of voluntary issues that we identify a vulnerability and here is what you should do generally on those airports and airplanes to is not in the form of regulatory action beyond the baseline right now. as we see from time to time, that could be an issue. the access to wide-body planes with extra fuel, that is a high concern. the fact that somebody might get into a small cessna, that is not a good thing but the overall u.s. government and industry perspective, we cannot lockdown every ga airport. that is part of the dialogue. >> you are willing to tolerate

it less of a risk? >> not tolerate but it is a recognition but we cannot guard against all things at all places at all times. we could do more to try to do that but the cost to taxpayers and industry would be exceedingly high >> my hunch is the people directly affected have a lot of clout. >> they may. everybody i have found in this milieu has a voice. everybody's got an opinion. some are very vocal and those opinions.

>> i and the spouse of an active duty marine in open our, japan. i have had the opportunity to fly from japan to hear. i have noticed that they do not require us to take your shoes off. they have a device that we can go through and they can detect anything they are looking for as well as if we have bottled water, they can put it in a device that can detect what they're looking for. why don't we have this? >> let me start with the liquid ts. the issue with the 311 liquid came in. we have bottled liquid scanners, nearly 3000 of those across the

country. it involves processing so it requires a fair amount of additional work by the gsa. -- tsa. we do that for medically necessary liquids and other things. it involves 100 milliliters, 3.4 ounces. we have an effort to improve that. inre working with the eu terms of trying to facilitate the flow of those liquids and particularly perfume's and things like that. we have a meeting on monday with the eu. that is what the issues we will be discussing.

with shoes, there is different technology. there is not technology that i am aware of that allows for the whole range of security screening other than metal objects with a walk a metal detector that would do the job. there is no good technology that allows for efficient detection. it is a policy matter. they allowed choose to stay on because they see less of a threat. they can require you to take them off. those in pre-check, you can leave your shoes on. we are working on expansion of that. it is not a process that is their universally.

>> why do we have to take their shoes of domestically? what's the risk there? >> it depends on whether there is an aide -- a terrorist that wants to try something previously. shame on us if they are successful in second time. it would probably be on a regional jet. what risks are willing to take? if it is that flight that is blown up because someone with a shoe bomb, if it is something like a liquid to plot, often times, we're not looking at one flight at 1 times. we're looking at multiple flights in multiple cities for the maximum effect. we might have when regional jet

and that is a terrible thing. it would have 5-10, the impact would be great. we get to the point where we have the highest possible confidence in technology. we would make different policy decisions. >> a few more. the gentleman here. >> i would like to address the issue of real security. i am surprised how relaxed and easy it is to get onto a train at union station and go to new york. it is easy for someone to put it back on a train and get off the train and have the trenbolone -- have the train blow up by a timer. what's the difference between

real security and aviation security? what would you do differently if there is an explosion on a train going to new york? >> that's a good question because it gets to the heart of where all the buildings and exist and whether it was deep madrid bombings or what we see in india in pakistan in terms of real explosions. there has been more people killed and injured in real attacks than aviation over the last 10 years. what could we do differently? there are a lot of things we could do and there's a fair amount of discussion on that. there is not a lot of appetite for doing screenings at rail stations.

the positive is that the idea of published schedules that are predictable and then open are put -- architecture. the ability to get on and travel safely -- you probably see amtrak police. there may be of viper teams from time to time. it is attractive to terrorists because it is predictable. because 9/11 involved aviation, that has been our major focus. as we look a rail safety, it could be done more but at significant cost. that is a public policy debate that congressman and two administrations have not invested heavily in that area. >> this gentleman here --

>> it seems the benefits of pre- check can be wiped out by possession of an artificial joint. is there any thought about changing that? >> if your in pre-check and you walk through a metal detector -- if you have an artificial joint or something else, you will get off the line. we are trying to explore different ways we might include the body scanner. it is more difficult to do that. the issue is not resolved yet but we are in the process of trying to address that. it is not resolved yet. >> we are a country that is

over-tested medically. there is a concern of radiation exposure in all kinds of places. how do you respond to critics who say the back scanner device is the excessive exposure to radiation for the general public? >> i cite to the scientific studies being done before deployment and continuing whether it is john hopkins or fda and some other studies have been done. they say the exposure is so minimal, and across country flight, you can figure out how much radiation you can get. the latest study said you would

have to go through a scanner 5000 times in one year to make the minimum standard. another study said close to 15,000. there is much naturally occurring radiation. should we add more radiation? we want to get to a breakthrough technology that can detect items with the depth of alarm resolution possibilities and not dependent on one technology exclusively. out of the 750 machines we have deployed, we want to have the privacy filter built into them.

it is the generic l. boren of a person, man or woman. -- it is the generic l. boren of a person, man or woman. >> do you store those images? >> no. >> earlier profile and was asked about by country. does mogadishu verses london, there is no difference you pay attention to? >> there are other things we do in terms of travel patterns and things like that there are citizens we may look at. if you have been to yemen 6

tons, the times square bomber is a good example, i believe he was there nine times in the prior seven years. is that an issue? not necessarily, but if there is other intel that helps to identify that person has a concern, there will probably head into the terrorist watch list or of the area's other derogatory until, they would be made a no-fly. in terms of generics, it is not based on ethnicity or race. is based on behavior patterns. >> the trip wire would be retreated -- repeated trips to pakistan?

>> that's a possibility. they have a terrorist training camps in the af-pak region. what is the current intelligence? what does that tell us? how do we need to be proactive about identifying and working with our partners to ask this is somebody we should be focused on based on travel patterns? >> do you want to be described as an intelligence agency? >> we are clearly a beneficiary of the intel community. we are a hybrid agency. we have intel, some law enforcement but we are really a hybrid because we are also a regulatory agency. >> right back there --

>> i would like to revisit the congressional help you are getting. there are between 88-108 committees that oversee tsa. what are the challenges to you as a minister in the tsa as an agency that you have to report to so many oversight committees. ? is there a conflict in the oversight you get and how do you resolve the? >> yes. [laughter] congress has a key role in providing oversight. there are things that are important for us and representative for the american people. we spend a lot of time to

prepare for hearings and briefings of staff. on monday, we had the chairman of one of our appropriations committees in the transportation facilitate to see what we were pushing out. we have the german out and he could see exactly what we do -- we have the chairman out and he could see exactly what we do. there are certain committees that don't have jurisdiction that try to bring as in all the time. the deputy secretary is here and

speaking later and i think she can probably address this. i appreciate the support in terms of trying to engage witnesses on panels. bett as an opportunity to engage and provide the perspective and content of they may not have otherwise. >> we'll take a couple more questions.

>> we are aware of terrorist intent and there is follow-up reporting on that. we work with our international partners to say here are some things you need to be doing. some of that was in guidance and some was in regulatory action. these things include making an assessment and the concerns of somebody who may have had recent surgery. it is a very challenging proposition. thus one of our challenges. >> it would defeat our current

machinery. in the intelligence to defeat the threat. >> the two things we would have is their be possibly some type of report of something in jet to via a syringe. the other thing is if somebody is acting strangely, we may find something that would lead them to that. it is a high risk, i challenge proposition. >> we have time for a couple of more. >> yesterday, there was a number given that said there were over 800,000 people in the united states with elevated clearance. by definition, they have had background checks. given that you now have the pre- check population, you don't have

to worry about creating counter intelligence and in the interest of trying to maximize the roi and energies of the step you have, has there been a consideration of using all the background on those people to reduce the time spent on that particular population? yes, in fact, we have taken those steps. we have current members of the intel community to initially become rigid be included in pre- check. that is something that goes agency by agency. we have a two-three agencies that are included and other agencies are including -- are being included.

if you have somebody who does not want to be identified in any way, the agency handles that. the information that person is better than a bar code. it does not distinguish between the intel community and someone who wants global entry or someone who was a frequent flier. we're looking to expand that and there are other non trusted groups of individuals that we want to continue expanding. >> last question of m --a'am? >> pamela brown, fox news -- i want to find out what you learn

specifically from the british case of the ba worker receiving specific e-mails that was admitted in british court asking detailed questions about where he worked and what kind of cess he had to cabin crews and made a point of discouraging the terrorist from joining him in yemen. there was an interesting amount to court records on that. do you have any comments? >> anwar al-awlaki was looking for trusted insiders. he found this person that worked for british airways. they have the exchange of information. he did not want to be an upper to himself but to recruit others. there was great work by british airways and the security service and that was all

identified. there was some help from the u.s. intelligence community. that recruiting effort was identified. the people he contacted were handled on the the british system. that is another example of where intelligence is that key enabler before anybody would get to a checkpoint or had insider opportunities to do something bad. >> do you get the sense they are hungry to get inside? >> absolutely, yes. it is not so much a challenge in the u.s.. >> thank you very much and thanks once again for your service and best of luck to you and your teams [applause] . [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

>> in 10 days, what coverage of the republican and democratic conventions live here on c-span. in a few moments, the surgeon general on preventing illness. "washington journal" is live at 7:00 eastern and we will talk about the 2009 stimulus, the federal debt, and the u.s. fertility rate. >> the alliance for health reform is hosting a forum today on the availability of dental care in the u.s.. live coverage is here on c-span at two o'clock 3:00 p.m. eastern. o'clock 15 eastern. >> we have findings on the life of a millionaire heart and more

from "the contenders. " >> i draw the line into dust and tossed the gauntlet before the tyranny with segregation forever. >> this sunday, a former alabama governor george wallace. american history tv on c-span three this weekend. >> which is more important? our honor. this is the kind of nation we are. it is whether we still possessed the wit and determination to deal with many questions including economic questions but certainly not limited to them. all things to not flow from welsh or poverty. i know this firsthand and so do

you. all things flow from doing what is right to [applause] >> look at what has happened to -- we have the lowest combined rate of unemployment, inflation in home mortgages in 28 years. [applause] look at what happened to -- 10 million new jobs, over half of them highway judge, 10 million workers getting the raise they deserve with a minimum wage low [applause] >> cspan has aired every minute of every major party conventions since 1984. you could want our live coverage every minute of the republican and democratic national convention live on c- span, cspan radey of, and street on the c-span.org line at starting monday, august 27. up next, surgeon general regina benjamin on the national

strategy for disease prevention. she spoke for half an hour in washington. >> [applause] thank you very much. welcome to the 2012 annual scientific meeting. what a great meeting. [applause] this meeting will be unlike any other event ever attended. not only is there scientific program the most medically advanced it has ever been and there exhibit hall is completely sold out, but as you saw on the videos, we're celebrating our 100 year anniversary. [applause] in july, 1912, to the 25 members gathered to organize the national association dedicated

to the means of practicing chiropodists. what they started has become the premier association for more than 12,000 podiatrists, physicians, surgeons, and specialist of the foot and ankle. we are to base podiatrists and we will continue this long tradition of pediatric medicine. i am honored to serve as the president during this historic time. i officially welcome you today and our nation's capital. i hope the next few days is educational and celebratory for you all. we start this 100-year anniversary celebration with a special guest. i'm honored to introduce dr. regina benjamin, the 18th

surgeon general of the united states. [applause] as our opening session speaker today, as america's doctor, she provides the public with the best scientific information available on how to improve their health and health of our nation. dr. benjamin also received the operational command of 6500 uniformed public health officials who serve in locations around the world to promote and protect the health of the american people. dr. benjamin is the founder of their rural health clinic in alabama. she kept it in operation despite damage and destruction inflicted by two hurricanes and a devastating fire in 2006. today, she is the leader and the worldwide advancement of preventive health care. dr. benjamin has forged a career

that has been recognized by a broad spectrum of organizations and publications. dr. benjamin bs in chemistry from its favre university in new orleans. --xavier university. she completed her practice presidency in macon, georgia. she holds eight teamed honorary degrees. please help me welcome your surgeon general, regina benjamin. [applause] [applause] >> wow. good morning. the light is bright so it is hard to see you guys but i can't

see lots of people thank you, doctor. it is wonderful to be here with you today at the largest gathering of podiatrists and the world. that says a lot. i have one job i have to do before start talking. on behalf of president obama and the entire administration, congratulations on the 100th year of the profession of polyester and medicine -- a poet detrick madison -- podiatric madison. [no audio] [applause] [applause] you have a lot to be proud of. you really do have a lot to be proud of.

i was talking with some board members earlier and i realized that i want to share with you how i got involved. many of you here are here for the same reason. when i was an intern, i attended the medical association of georgia. one of the intense issues that was being debated was sexually transmitted diseases. i stood up in a room with maybe 15 people or so and i said i had never seen certain diseases except in a textbook. the resolution passed. the georgia delegation for the bat resolution to the american medical association. they sent me to the ama to speak to the resolution. it also passed. within six months, every medical school in this country was encouraged to include sexually transmitted diseases as part of their core curriculum. i learned one person can make a

difference whether it is in medical policy or medical practice. i learned that i could make a difference in medical practice. i was sent to a poor place and i found a community of working poor, too poor to afford medical care and too rich to qualify for medicaid i liked the people and the community and i want to practice medicine there. i quickly learned that practicing medicine was not just treating shark bites. i had to deal with land sharks and the red tape. i also learned that my prescription pad was not enough. patients have problems that went beyond that. i had a patient who had seizures. for a long time, hersey's is were under control. -- her seizures were under control.

she took out a piece of paper and she said the pharmacist used to give her pills that one was a solid and one was a strike and now she gets two strikes. she was in her 20's an i realize she could not read. i had to find some sort of service to help her reach. it was as important as keeping her blood pressure under control. another patient -- ms. smith - that her hipaa name - [laughter] she called me and said her back is really hurting.

she was trying to lose weight of her back was hurting and the ibuprofen was not strong enough. i could hear the pain in her voice. i told her she needed to come in to see me monday or tuesday. she said, sure. sure enough, on tuesday, i walked in the examination room and there she was leaning over the examination table and so much pain that she could not sit down. i s to the medicine helped. she said i did not get it. she said i did not have the money. but she had insurance.

she worked in the school system and the janitorial department. she got paid on friday and she would get it. i stepped out of the room and have her go across the room -- street to get some medicine. she came back i went and the room and i said here is your medicine. i told our want her to start taking the medicine. her eyes welled up with tears. she said i am so embarrassed. i did not want you to have to do that i realized at that moment that i had taken her dignity. i also realized -- she is like 5 foot, 4, african american lady, really sweet lady about that tall. i realized at that moment -- the

fact that i had taken her dignity from her that cultural competency has nothing to do with the color of your skin. it has to do people keeping their dignity. i tried to figure out how to get out of that but i told her that we had a few people that was sent as a small pot of money and we call our medication fun for people like her. if she wanted to pay it back, she could. but she did not have to ensure was ok with that. as i was leaving the room, she said, by the way -- she asked if she could get a work excuse. today was tuesday, start taking your medicine and go back to work on thursday or friday. she said we have to strip the wax off the floors tonight.

i have to go back tonight. here was a woman who is in so much pain she could not sit down in exam room but she is willing to strip the wax off the floors so our kids could go to school and a clean environment. it was for people like her that i was willing to take this job. so i could be a voice for her. it is gratifying to me when the affordable care act passed and health services are required by insurance companies and required with no copiague. i -- no co-pay. i call that might mrs. smith moment. [applause] one of the most important aspects of foot care that you do as a podiatrist and you provide this to those with diabetes. podiatryudes today's

in diabetic management as part of the tool in preventing amputation. i have been a longtime champion of the power of prevention and it is the foundation of my work as surgeon general. health does not occur in the doctor's office or in a hospital alone. health also occurs where we live, where we learn, where we work, where we play, where we pray. i believe prevention is the greatest opportunity to improve the health of america's families now and for decades to come. and also believe prevention is the key to building a stronger and more sustainable health care system. prevention is not new to the national dialogue. in recent years, it has become more volatile and more relevant than ever before. it is becoming imperative. that is largely due to the change in dynamics and the demographics that more american

families are struggling to deal with chronic illnesses like diabetes and hypertension and cardiovascular disease. it impact people of all ages, ethnicities, and economic strata. in the case for focusing more of the nation's attention on resources in prevention is more than a theory. it is a reality grounded in science and experience. we know that with better health, children attend school more regularly and they are better able to learn. we know it better health, adults are more productive at work and work more days. with better health, students can better -- seniors can better maintain their independence. the lack of prevention to to devastating toll on patients, their families, their communities and the workplace. it is interesting that much of the illness and early deaths related to chronic diseases is

caused by modifiable risk behavior is. the lack of physical activity, nutrition, tobacco use and alcohol consumption. almost 50% of adults have a least one chronic condition. in 2012, more than 800,000 americans will die from heart disease and the overall cost resulting from cardiovascular disease is estimated to be $444 billion each year. diabetes is a major cause of heart disease and stroke. 26 million americans have diabetes and 7 million of them don't know they have to. it. diabetes is the leasing -- leading cause of heart failure and blindness among board -- adults and the united states. ti "diabetes is an emerging

health problems in youth particularly minority youth being driven by our obesity epidemic. i got more statistics for you -- according to cdc, if the current trend continues, as many as one in three u.s. adults could have diabetes by the year 2015. up to 25% of those with diabetes will develop foot ulcers and more than half of those could become infected and require hospitalization and some will require amputation. people with a history of diabetic foot ulcers are 40% more likely to die in 10 years than people who have diabetes alone. it is important that quality posiatric care continues. by preventing amputations and possible solutions, podiatry has not only save lives and health

care dollars, they also help patients preserve their dignity and their quality of life. we have to make prevention part of our everyday lives and empower people to make better health choices. i am pleased that the obama administration has launched a broad agenda to help americans get health become a live longer, state well. as surgeon general, i have the privilege of sharing health promotion that was established by the affordable health care act also known as health reform. this council is composed of 17 cabinet level heads of federal agencies such as the department transportation, agriculture, labor, environmental protection agency, hud, department of defense -- all coming around a table to talk about prevention. last year, the council released the first ever national prevention strategy.

i think there is safe -- next slide -- the national prevention strategy released last year and our vision is to move our health-care system for my focus on sickness and as the to refocus on wellness and prevention. if we truly want to reform health care in this country, we need to prevent people from getting sick and the first place, stop the disease and illness before it starts. in addition to the state-of-the- art medicine, we need a new approach to promoting prevention in our communities. this depends on transportation and housing, education, the availability of quality, affordable food, our work place and our environments. we want to change the way we think about health in this country and that calls for the nation to take a more holistic and integrated approach to community health, something

you've already been doing. we need to do that as a nation. everything from safe highways and worksite programs to help the foods -- to help the food and good schools and good roads. to healthy foods. i'm going to figure on how to work the slide. the goal of the national prevention strategy is to increase the number of americans who are healthy at every stage of life. whether you are 2 or 92, we wanted to be healthy. like many patients say, i want to be old but i want to be upright. we want healthy and safe communities, community benefit services, and our people, and elimination of health disparity. i know you have been working on all of these things and we need to put them altogether. if we follow the

recommendations and we have several priority areas if you can read them but if we follow the recommendations of the national prevention strategy, we can prevent or significantly reduce fighting -- five leading causes of death. we've been working with partners like you as well as partners of industry and philanthropist and local governments to bring the national prevention strategy to life. we need to have a north star and the strategy puts this together. it gives us a direction to go and is available to you on our website, surgeon general.gov can we will talk more about it. the biggest challenge we have seen has been lifestyle changes. lifestyle changes makes the

biggest difference. we can make being healthy fund. we can make healthy behavior enjoyable. we have to put the joy beckon to help. there is no joy for the individual, the health officials. we have to find are a joy. you cannot underestimate how important it is to have joined in health care. -- joy in health care. what may be a joyous for may may be different for you. it might be joining a marathon. may be torson's joy fit in an old pair of jeans. another one may be to set up long enough to play the grandkids. whatever your health care jury is, we in government want to help you get there. our road is to make it easier

and affordable to get there. we have to stop telling people what they cannot do and cannot happen until the mccann do. -- and tell them what date can do. whenever i to talks, i do walks and activity and walking is something you know a little bit about and want to make sure that we promote walking. i wanted to go to a walk at this conference but i have to catch a flight some of the next time. we walked in north carolina. anybody who wants to walk with us can shop after the meeting. it is a nice trail. we have a couple of hundred people in the community walking with us. it was a lot of fun.

we also do zumba, any kind of activity. we walked in boston with doctors with white coats and sneakers. we will do it next time and cannot in your community if you invite us. have fun, enjoy what you're doing, making it fun with the family and everyone. there is another walk which had don't call it a walk but it was the grand canyon. it was 26.2 miles, 3,000 feet down and 3,000 feet back up. it was a challenge but it was fun and it was being out there, being in the community -- being in the grand canyon. some parts of it was woods but most of it wasn't.

it was not difficult except i had cameras following me the whole way. you're huffing and puffing in front of cameras. if i can do it, anybody can do it and that was the whole idea. making health care fund is the idea. when you ask people what they don't walk, oftentimes we don't want them to have a reason for not walking. encourage people to walk and you could do that with your patients. zumba and you certainly need your feet to dance. we're asking british stations to help us with what i call 30-62nd

desperate. they play music and you stop what you're doing and dance. one day maybe rock-and-roll soul- r day may be ss just dance, just move. you may not burn a lot of calories but it is good for mental health. the odd idea is to have fun. i want to tell you about one other area i am interested in. i need your help with that, too. that is smoking. you know that smoking really affects the peripheral circulation we just released the surgeon general report this spring on spoken in youth and young adults. every single day, two hundred americans die from smoking -- two hundred americans die from smoking and each of those debdes

are young people. smokers start by the age of 18. 99% start at the age of 26. the surgeon general report is 800 pages, 136 scientists put it together. everything i say about have to be scientifically factual. over $1 million per hour is being marketed on tobacco products. $27 million per day. if we can get our next generation not to take their first cigarette before the age of 26, we can make that next generation tobacco free. it is importance that we look to our young kids, particularly college-age kids -- they're the ones starting to pick it up.

we have made wonderful strident smoking but this is an area where we have a ways to go. i hope you will follow me on twitter. on our journey to joy. i want to commend you for the important health care services that you provide to millions of americans every day. as an american doctor, i want to tell you we need you and therefore we need you to take care of your own health. i will be getting on a plane in a little bit and the flight attendant says put on your face mask before helping others. we needed to put your face mask on and take your shots into the things -- and do the things to exercise and eat right and get enough sleep. in order to help others.

here's a quick story -- there was a young girl who was jogging along the beach early one night -- early one morning -- as she was jogging, there was an older gentleman tossing a starfish and the water one at a time. as she was doing her run, he was tossing starfish and water. when she finished her round, she went up to him and ask what she was bothering -- what was bothering to stock -- toss the starfish. he reached down, picked up a starfish and said," because it makes a difference to this starfish" and he tossed in the water. i hope this next few days, you

can learn as much as you can and go back home and find your starfish and you continue to make a difference. thank you so much and congratulations on the 100 years a podiatric medicine to [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> new jersey governor chris christie will be the keynote speaker at the republican national convention. he told reporters this week that his 20-minute speech will focus on the case for mitt romney rather than a case against president obama. mitt romney will be introduced at the convention by florida center marco rubio. watch the c-span coverage for your front row seat to the republican national convention

august 27-30. >> intent days, what coverage of the republican and democratic conventions live here on c-span. in a few moments, today's headlines and your calls live on "washington journal." at 10:00 eastern the tobacco and firearms party that focuses on personal liberty and gun rights and at 12:15 p.m., the alliance for health reform event will talk about the availability of dental care in the u.s. in about 45 minutes, michael grunwald on his book on the stimulus deal. former comptroller general david walker will take questions about walker will take questions about the national debt