the president even proposing this? guest: i think the president was speaking in fairly broad strokes. it is evident to many people that there is a lot of interesting research important clinically for neuro science broadly and we hope that this gains momentum. it seems to be gaining momentum both inside and outside washington. host: he serves as the genetics professor at harvard. he is also involved with the genome project and he talked with us about brain mapping and what might happen in the future coming up tomorrow, we have a shortened program because our coverage of the national governors' association. we will start at 7:00. it will feature todd zwillich

and lesley clark. she serves as the white house correspondent. we will speak of the latest views on sequestration. we will talk about the chances of a deal to ward off the cuts. at 8:45 a.m., a chance for you to learn about the role and responsibilities of the top leadership position in both chambers of congress. we will talk about what is like to be a leadership person, what their responsibilities are. you will get to learn more about that discussion starting at age 40 5:00 a.m. hour "newsmakers" program starts at 11:00. bob goodlatte is the chairman of

the house judy's jury committee. this is part of our weekly series. -- judiciary committee. this is part of our weekly series. you may have seen our previous interview earlier this morning with our guest from delaware. the national governors' association is in town. our coverage starts in just a few moments. he will get to see part of their session today. gov. markell and gov. fallin talking about a number of things. that is it for our program today. another program comes you to mark at 7:00. we will see you then. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013]

[general crowd conversation]

ba >> is the governor here? he was here a minute ago. ok. good morning. i am jack markell, chair of the national governors' association. i am joined by governor fallin. through the nga we identified the priority of the state can find common ground on the issues that unite us.

the bipartisan nature of the nga allows us to have very candid conversations with our colleagues from across the country. that is what we will be doing this weekend. while each governor has his or her own agendas, we want to remain sustainable. federal spending cut means states will receive less. it can undermine our budget and slow the economic growth in our states. as it stands, state economies are slowly recovering and we are returning to the revenues we collected bac in 2008. we believed in flexible federalism. as we continue to work with

congress and the administration, governors are committed to a collaboration to maintain and promote a balanced system. we have as congress and the initiation to keep four points in mind. this should produce savings for the federal and state. it cannot be accomplished by shifting costs from the federal government to the states or by imposing unfunded mandates. state should be given increased flexibility. congress should not improve -- impose efforts as this. many of the decisions that affect our health care are made in the states, especially those about health care delivery systems.

as the demand for primary care is straining, we face a rapidly aging population. more than 16 million individuals are projected to gain health insurance coverage by 2016. many are looking for innovative ways to revamp how they deliver health care. the department of health and human services issued a number of states where they could work exactly on that. we will be spending time speaking about this and some other flexibility is. -- flexibilities. our discussions will be about my nga scherr initiative. -- chair initiative appeared mine is called building a better bottom line, it employing

individuals with disabilities. we want to increase the jobs for everybody in our state. we cannot forget the people in our states with disabilities. we need to be the jobs governors for them as well. it is up to us to enable people to engage in productive employment and to participate fully in their communities. that is why i have chosen to focus this initiative on ways that states and businesses can increase employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. it is designed to raise awareness of how talents can contribute to a company's bottom line. it is also defining way state government and businesses can partner to bring opportunities to individuals in the labor market. this is the economic issue. we have invited one of the

foremost leaders in our community to weigh in on this very important topic. we will be hearing from the president and ceo of walgreen 's. it is an incredible example of how employing those with disabilities makes good sense. he has a very compelling message. in our special session tomorrow, judy woodruff will moderate a discussion among the governors about how states can support businesses to include these individuals with disabilities. will also be joined by a panel of experts. we have a lot to accomplish. we are optimistic about our state. we are aware of the leadership roles that are entrusted to us by the citizens of our state.

we honor that by moving all of us for words. i would like to ask the vice chair of the national governor'' association, at the governor of oklahoma, to come up and say a few words. we will be happy to take for questions. to [applause] >> thank you. it is a pleasure to be here today. we appreciate you joining us as we open up our session for the governors' association to get numbers for our nation. i want to thank you for your leadership of the nga and the time commitment you have put in for this bipartisan organization as we work together to address the problems facing our nation to try to find solutions so we can move this forward together. we are going to have some very

productive days as we get through our schedule. we have great programs that will be held this weekend. it is a very busy weekend. we have a lot of important things to discuss. i want to talk about programs and issues we will be discussing during this meeting. economic development and our commerce committee have been in discussion about federal tax reform. if that is an issue on the hearts and minds of each of our governors, getting our economic situation back in order. the current tax structure is up for much debate. our slow economic growth and our concern over the sustainability of our federal debt is a few of the components trading the hardships upon our state and the need for comprehensive tax reform in the congress and

within our nation itself. the nga has created a task force to develop consistent principles we believe democrats and republicans can support that will address federal tax reform from our governors to be able to present to congress and to the administration into the president. the task force will address long-term standing tax policies and how we can help grow our nation's economy. we also face many challenges presented by the growth of cyber-terrorism and its cyber- .ttacks upon our nation an the nga has created a resource center for state cyber security to ensure we have adequate cyber security for state owned and a

state based infrastructure. governors will discuss the issue during the first one of our series which is on the help and home and security committee itself. a second half will focus on another issue. this is one we have been very instrumental in addressing, and securing our nationwide seeking network. -- nationwide public safety network. we were here on the development and implementation -- we will hear on the development and imputation and how we can work together to ensure success. tomorrow the work force committee will have a conversation about how states can best develop an innovative human capital strategy for our nation and work force and our jobs and to ensure that every child in our nation has affected teachers and we have great

school leaders and that we do everything we can do to meet the work force means across the nation. governors are leading to ensure that all students regardless of race or income or is a code have the ability -- or is the code have the ability to receive a zip code have the ability to move on. we will speak about some of the big issues, the extensive damage many states have received from national disasters brought on by a super storm sandy and the floods that have hit the midwest.

we are going to be talking about the resiliency of our flood protection that is bible to the health and safety of our citizens. -- viable to the health and safety of our citizens. we will be discussing extreme weather events and how we can improve communication once we do have a natural disaster and the coordination between our different agencies and the army corps of engineers and how important the role they play in helping us during recovery of these national -- natural disasters. we will be heading to the white house. we will be considering nga policies and hear from -- let me talk about this. we will have one last session to discuss some other nga policies relating to the health of

america and how we improve the outcomes of our nation. we have a great opportunity to takingom dr. oz about personal responsibility and about the role of personal responsibility and government responsibility in taking care of our health. there is a lot of things that will be discussed in our various committees. that is a quick snapshot of some of the core issues. we will be working on some other issues dealing with our national guard. it is of great concern to our governors. we are the commanders in chief of our national guards. the critical role that the national park place in responding to emergencies in disasters here at home as well as overseas were there is fighting.

last year we were able to deal with some important issues that were on the hearts and minds of our governors. the federal budget is helping to protect our national guards so they do not take a theroportionate cut in funding. the nga has been working to come up with some suggestions and has worked to convince congress to help moderate some of the setbacks of the cuts we have been seeing -- some of the cut we have been seeing. we have also created another task force on how we deal with substance abuse, in particular subscription drug abuse. it is one of the fastest growing

up abuses. drug problems related to prescription drugs. i know we will be talking about that throughout our nation. many states have already tackled this issue. a new initiative we have developed within the nga to implement a comprehensive and coordinated strategy to help reduce the use of prescription drugs and the abuse within our nation. we have seven states that have been leading this charge. they will share some lessons that have been learned of their analysis of that issue. gov. markell discuss that governors are advocating for various projects. we discussed that governors are advocating for various projects. we are talking about investment in our infrastructure and projects.

reauthorization of the secondary education act, restoring the 15% work-force investment act for our governors to be able to work on statewide programs on job training and doing what we think is in the best interests of our various industries as it relates to the work force. we have been doing a lot of work. there is still a lot more work to be done. we look forward to having a productive meeting and having some great speakers so it will be helping lead the discussion. these are the pressing issues facing our nation. we appreciate the governors to have joined us today. thank you for coming. >> will also been joined by the new government of puerto rico.

we would be happy to take your questions. >> i was wondering if gov. fallin can discuss the division among the states on medicaid expansion. do think it might lead to people moving states that offering the expansion so they do not have to purchase health insurance? >> you are right. there has been a divergence of opinions about how states handle be affordable health care act. we respect to the other governors. we know each state has different budgets and populations and needs. they have different unemployment rate. some have called the rainy da different political

circumstances. that is why you see about a states -- y you see states have about a split. each of honor has to do what they believe is in the best interests of their state. ninwe believe the expansion of medicaid would be unaffordable. we think medicaid needs to be reformed. we think it is unworkable. i think the test will still come in january to see if the government is ready to implement the federal exchange itself and be able to afford that. there are still some legal challenges with the state of oklahoma on the affordable health care act and the

taxability on the states. there are these different scenarios that can play out. we respect the opinions and each state has to do what is in their best interest. >> for a lot of us, this is not a partisan issue at all. this is not a democrat or republican. it is a matter of the math. for us to have the opportunity to expand the population to have the government pick up 100% of the cost meant a lot of people who otherwise may not have access to good care will now have that access. in addition, we are getting a higher reimbursement for a portion of the population. some of the important developments are taking place in

the state and not necessarily in washington. we have a session later today where we will be learning from each other about some of the efforts under way to improve outcomes and reduce cost hear is. is much of the war going on. i mentioned a couple of days -- there is much more that is going on. i mentioned a couple of states that are focusing exactly on that, payment reform with the intention of reducing costs. there is some very exciting work. we get to learn from each other. i will ask if my colleagues want to add anything to that. >> hello. i cannot say i am delighted to be here. we were doing so well up until this moment, right? what i am delighted about is to

be able to see mary again from the congress and to meet with all the governors. i think the emphasis that was just made by both governors emphasized that this is a national governors' conference. there has been some concentration lately on some of the difficulties and the congress at this time in terms of coming to a consensus. it is instructive for the nation. that is why we are pleased to hear that it is possible to set aside the democratic an ideological point of view to concentrate on the object, to serve our people. this is what this association does. as one of the recipients of the innovation grants, i believe

that whatever difficulties there may be now with respect to programs and approaches in the congress, the various governors are engaged right now in a very intense effort to try to determine how we can get better outcomes and get cost controls into place.-- this is a great example of working together on a solution of a very crucial and central problem. i suspect these grants will go a long way toward helping resolve some of the questions of access and questions regarding how we can maximize the efficiency of that access as the numbers increase under medicaid. >> do not hesitate if there is a question you want to answer.

>> it is good to see you again. the question. -- a question. at previous nga tings, a number of governor spoke about getting waivers from the department of health in order to cap medicaid and then having a autonomy. the government reduce the governor of vermont talked about what he did and what the results were when he got the waiver. are you seeing a lot of sentiment for getting waivers from secretary sebelius at the department of hhs in experimenting with the individual solutions? >> many states are in a continuous dialogue about how to make sure our systems can best

serve the people of our states. every time that we have ever met with the president, one of the things he brings up is he says i hear that you would like flexibility. please identify the kind you see. that is a responsibility we are taking on to make sure that we are putting those ideas forward. they have been working with many of us. we have some pretty big waivers that some of us have gotten. there are lots of different ideas among set the stage. we appreciated the effort on both sides to grant the flexibility is we need to provide health care for the people. >> as has been one of our main messages to the president, states are great laboratories

for democracy. we need to each state is different. my state has some loss we need to improve. i have been working on an oklahoma plan that best meet our budgetary needs but also will be able to raise the health outcome of our states. in my state, we will be looking at south hleath lifestyle -- health lifestyle choices, obesity, a tobacco use, prescription drug abuse, mental health issues. i put more money into my health care authority to be able to address the woodworking effect for those who will be eligible for medicaid or have to pay a penalty or fine. i am putting more money into

health for those that are uninsured. i am also putting money into mental-health illnesses in various programs that deal with emergency crisis centers and systems of care for our citizens to figure out what are the needs of not only our children but are families themselves and to get them into the right system. one of the thing that dr. oz has told me in the past is the majority of the diseases that americans face are diseases related to health choices. lifestyle choices. it is the things we do to ourselves. and how can we work with our state and improve the overall outcomes?

we have asked the secretary and the president for the flexibility. we have a great program called "ensure oklahoma" -- " insure of oklahoma." they're able to get insurance. we would like to expand upon that. we have a waiver right now. they may discontinue that waiver. we are talking to the administration to allow us the flexibility to craft a health care programs in our state was something we can afford to be able to do. >they have told us our waiver will expire by the end of this year. what the president has told me personally is that if your

waivers' meet our goals they will be inclined to improve that. there are governors to have applied for waivers that have been turned it down. what is the goal? mine is to improve access to health care. it is to improve the general health of our systems and be able to do it in a way i can afford it. and have health professionals that can meet the needs of our population. >> one last point. on this issue, what we consistently hear from the white house is they are very comfortable with this idea of the state's the laboratories of democracy. there are certain things they want to make sure we are achieving.

what are we going to achieve it? ? >> medicaid and the road signs are exempt from sequestration. are you concerned that any negotiation to sidestep sequestration will put those funds back on the table? >> the gene sperling said with respect to medicaid, many of us made the decision to expand and it was based on the deal on the table at the time. 100% for three years. it is pretty clear that this will not change. >> there is going to be a bipartisan messages shou to the president. >> a couple of months ago a

total delegation of three democrats and republicans came to washington. we met with the president and vice president. we met with john boehner and his leadership team. we met with harry reid and his leadership team. our message was we think it is very important that governors have a seat of the table -- at the table. we are partners. we wanted to make sure there were a few principles we could lay out. one is to the extent money is taken off of federal spending but he shifted to state spending, that is not accomplished much for our constituents. my view is that that they understood. they have reached out to us. we are pleased with the outrage. the main bipartisan message to us is that governors should continue to have a seat at the

table. we know cuts are coming. we do not want to suffer disproportionately. we want input. >> does sequestration protect the state's more than any alternatives -- states any more than other alternatives? >> look. if you take a look at its and when you say states, it is important that we can talk about the impact. you're talking about the impact on the people we serve. the state of vehicles on of service. it covers everything from substance abuse treatment to head start to work force training. one of the frustrations for many of us is a number of us are

seeing the economy coming back after difficult years. we wake up saying how can we put more people to work each day. when we see a potential negative impact, that is a real negative. one of the most frustrating conversations and a governor can have is with an employer in our state to says we have vacancies but we do not have people with the appropriate skills. one of the things we do is figure out how come we make sure people are properly trained to get the skills they need. many of the programs i suggested is to put people back to work. >> we understand that the

federal government needs to make cuts. we are concerned about our federal debt, our deficit, $16 trillion in debt. it is a huge hit upon our national of economy. i think it is a national security and economic threat if we do not reduce our deficit. we understand the government will be making cuts. as you identify federal cuts and savings, allow the states to be able to realize the savings to give us the flexibility to be able to make the cuts where we think it would do less harm to our families and children that we service. do not put it on the backs of state governments. we are still recovering from the national recession. there are still states with high unemployment rates. there are still states with

budget shortfalls. some states are doing better. do the least harm to give us the flexibility. do not be passing down maintenance of effort were you say you can have the money only if you do this certain level of service. give us some leeway to let us decide how we can enacted the programs and meet the goals be, whether it is improving jobs for our education outcomes. allow us the flexibility. we have some great ideas in our states. >> do you believe the show deficits our national security threat? are steep cut necessary? >> i have not heard a single governor not recognize that the deficits and indebtedness is a

serious risk on all those fronts. i also want to commence them for their leadership. it is important to look at how we engage people with disabilities. it has been a remarkable success. i think we all recognize we will have to be part of the solution and share the pain. we want to make sure we are working with partners as we figure out what are the priorities we need to maintain and what are the best places to make cuts and closing loopholes and finding other sources of revenue. >> good morning. you will understood -- you will understand very soon that my

english is worse than his spanish pronunciation. from our perspective, there are two ways. we suggest the loopholes are built before. what we have to think about is , that our people weture seek. we have to grow the economy. we need to create jobs. that is why we are here. puerto rico needs to create more jobs.

we have to make our economy grow. it cannot be done only by cutting expenses. >> we have time for one more question. >> there has been discussion about whether the administration is overstating the consequences of sequestration. i think you talked a little bit about your perspective. gov fallin, was hoping you could address your sense of whether sequestration meet your goals for sequestration. >> we can do it if states are given flexibility. governors understand the national debt is a huge issue for economics predict economic security.

the other nurse have had to deal with budget shortfalls. when i took office we had a $500 million budget shortfall. it was a pretty big budget. in previous years they have to cut spending up to 20%. many of our state agencies, we had $2.30 an hour rainy days savings account. we were able to prioritize our spending on a state level, provide for a central government. two years later we have dropped our unemployment rate from 7% down to 5.1%. this has done great. we went from having $2.30 to having over $680 million in

savings plus revenue growth of over two wondered $14 million. governors do have some ideas. we do know how to prioritize our spending. we have when it the best job growth rate in the nation. -- one of the best job growth rate in the nation. give us the flexibility to do what we know how to do best. >> let me make one last comment. what the white house has been doing is really important. people do not understand what it means. or people asks what it means, it makes it more real for people. one of the most important responsibilities is to make sure

we are communicating in a very clear way what the impact is of different government policies or programs. i think that is essentially what has been happening here. >> we should go back and remember that sequestration was originally designed by the administration as something so odious that it would force both sides to compromise. this is something that nobody wants. it is not a thoughtful compromise. >> the uncertainty is really harming our states and our national economy. i have had several companies tell me they're not going to expand because there's so much uncertainty. it is projected we could lose up to 8000 military jobs in our

state. we're talking about families. we're talking about their pocketbooks. it is not good to have been sequestered talk every couple of months and have a crisis by not making decisions. >> the question was whether or not the administration was overstating the issue with regard to sequestration. it is important to remember that every governor here is dealing with issues confronting their legislatures. we talk about the states as governor, it is not an abstraction. it has to do with our constituents and their budget decisions. it is literally impossible for us to meet our unnecessary

requirements putting our projects together. it we do not have a budget from the united states of america. we have been involved in congressional activity. we do not have a budget right now. sequestration is a symptom of what has been taking place in the congress of the united states in terms of this budget confrontation and how we resolve it. the case in point with regard to national security, at pearl harbor right now, for what happens when you're not prepared? at pearl harbor right now and a

command that has responsibility for the largest military security questions to be addressed for the united states in the world, we will be laying off 19,000 people. we can have an argument about whether or not they should cut wages and keep people working or whether or not congress needs to change the protocol. the fact is that will undermine our capacity for readiness at pearl harbor. that is not symbolize that far from overstating it is zeroing in on an example of what happens when we fail to meet our responsibilities. sequestration should be a signal to all of is that we need to do the kinds of things we are trying and succeeding to do.

they are concentrating on the object in the goal which should be to serve as our constituents nationwide. >> we appreciate you coming. we have an interesting couple of days ahead of us. thank you for the governor's and to all of you. >> gracias. [applause] >> c-span will return to the nga winter meeting in about 12 minutes. that is 11:00 eastern time for a panel on hiring people with disabilities. later, a panel on state and cyber security. we heard this morning from the chair of this year's nga.

this is what he had to say this morning. >> the national governors' association and their winter meeting. joining us to talk about a variety of topics that are important to states, the governor jack markell. he serves as the chair of the national governors' association. on the front page there is a story relating to a meeting they had with the president talking about a variety of things that we have been talking about. could you give us a sense of what the message was? >> one of the things that we feel is this is coming back. with these cuts potentially he

did it -- hitting a kid impact our budgets. it would impact our state and businesses. it may make them less likely to invest. >> it was expressed about pessimism. it is to get that? >> i think he is very focused on getting pass this. one of the biggest challenges has to do with what is the impact of not just on budget and

what is the impact on the economy? there are a lot of businesses that are sitting on a lot of cash. the more certain -- the more certain they are the more likely it is they will invest and put people to work. a lot of the conversation with the president was to assert his determination to see a stronger middle-class. that is a big part of the focus. guest: taking a look at the meeting that is coming up, issues that are concerning the state. if you want to ask him a question, here is how you can do so -- we set aside a special line for those in delaware. you mention concerns from the state. the lead story in the new york times this morning says specifically that cuts that come from the budget plans will flow into the state. how could delaware be affected? what about your fellow governors? whether they saying? host: there is still some uncertainty about what amounts there would be to the cuts in specific areas. it is everything from substance

abuse treatment and special education. work-force training as a particular area of frustration. we're so focused on getting people back to work. one of the most frustrating conversations any governor can have is with an employer who says i have got openings but i cannot find people with the right skills. we are focused on work force training. to see that money go away is a particular area of concern and frustration. those are some examples of the areas we are working best we can to prepare for. it would be helpful of the folks here in washington were able to find a solution other than a sequester. host: you mentioned work force training. unemployment in the united states hitting 7.9%. if we understand it correctly, unemployment in your state is 6.9%. guest: it is better than the

national average but it is not good enough. every day we wake up there -- we are relentlessly focused on people in our state. as we continue to have to focus on. we think the sequester is certainly more hurtful than helpful. host: how are you preparing? guest: our office has been working with the various state agencies. the specifics have not been defined yet at of the federal office of management and budget. we know the magnitude of what could be coming. host: what is the partisanship on this issue like? we hear about it on capitol hill but what about dubliners?

guest: the chair of the national association -- we got a bipartisan delegation. three democrats, three republicans. the real message that we brought that date was it is important that states have a seat at the table, that we are partners in many ways with the federal government, and we want to make sure that the people here in washington were making the decisions and realize that the transfer spending responsibility from the federal government to the state governments. we are not accomplishing much. we are heartened by the response and openness by the president. we look for to continue to having a seat at the table. host: governor markell. you can ask him questions on a

large scalable. if you are from delaware you can also ask questions. first call is from potomac, maryland. this is norman. caller: i just wanted to make a comment on the people who called and keep callign and talk about these social programs that are not allowed by the constitution. if you just read the pre-amble, it says "we the people -- provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare--" host: we are going to leave it there. moses lake, washington. caller: good morning. i have two questions for the governor. number one is why is delaware in

such dire need of government handouts? what is delaware doing to encourage businesses in delaware? number 3, i would like the governor to comment on businesses across the country where they are doing good in republican states and democratic states. host: caller, thank you.

guest: i did not understand the first part, the first question. let me talk about jobs in delaware. my view is simple. it is not the role of government to create jobs. we want to create the maturing environment where business is one to relocate. we thought a hundred the blogs visited a hundred businesses in delaware and asked -- we visited 800 businesses in delaware and ask what they wanted. businesses care a lot about the quality of our schools and the quality of our workforce. they care about being in a place where there are reasonable taxes. they care about having a responsive government. they also want to be in a place where there is a good quality of life. there are 3 billion people in the world looking for jobs.

there are only 1.2 billion jobs available. the businesses and employers have more choices the ever before about when to locate. we try to focus on those issues, making sure we have a good work force and we have good schools. they have to keep can better and better. we have good work force training programs. we are hiring responsibly. we have a reasonable cost of doing business. those things make a huge difference in data are what we are focused on. >> you just -- those things make a huge difference and they are what we are focused on. host: you just came back from a trip to india. best thing i've visited a city with a manufacturing plant in delaware. -- guest: i visited a city with a manufacturing plant in delaware.

the hot hot -- india is the third fastest-growing source of investment in the united states. as long as they are doing that, but like delaware to get their share. i have had a lot of meetings around that issue. it was encouraging trip. people talk about globalization, but it is real. it is here. whether it is india or a company from south korean the thought a poultry farm -- this is the real world we live in. we are opening up 20 immersion schools where students spend half of their school day learning in a different language. language.