are you going to use it against an enemy that has 200? if you are not 150% sure that it will go off, you have to haveone more nuclear weapons so that if you use one against israel and they begin to retaliate, you can react. absence of an agreement, i am not advocating the absence of an agreement, but it will take a lot of time before it becomes a serious threat. and the commitment of the united states to react to any act of violence involving nuclear weaponry in the region would have the same credibility and effectiveness, i believe. >> right back here, sir. i will get to you. i was going to give it to this gentleman in the back.

>> the question is about the interview with the washington post at the end of september. which kind of serious do you want? the answer was a secular syria. can you comment on if this is ideal? >> secular is a word that is associated very much with the political system in the west. between a mash religious traditions and political power. syria is not a democracy by any

means. within syria, there was more accommodation and toleration of religious diversity. some of them joining arab states policy of the sectarian domination of another and rejecting this rather complex arrangement that existed. >> since this has to be the last -- er question mentioneds one that i about the serious situation that was emphasized in russia. of christiansure

in syria. states is a country of religious freedom. for different reasons, including personal ones, mr. putin is very sincerely concerned about this. talks withn recent the pope in rome. it should be discussed and it should be considered, especially since we know what happened in iraq. >> i would say that it is discussed here, and goes back to what the doctor was saying about a nonsectarian tone to the debate. the u.s. doesn't want to take sides in this conflict. it was all various accusations of european countries.

they were standing because of others and historic religious partners. it is a completely accurate depiction of the 90s. we are skirting around the proper ways and the least inflammatory ways to describe the complex situation. it gets to the issue of the sunni and shiite divide. the role of other religious groups there, it is obviously something very focused on the middle east peace process. they are not seeing this kind of tone in the debate of the united states about this. there are other dimensions about this that we ought to mention about the refugee process.

obviously, turkey and jordan and other places like this, in spite of the fact that the armenian population of syria are essentially indigenous. this will be a debate of how to deal with massive refugee flows. this will be something that has an impact over every country. obviously, we have seen a spillover into lebanon. this is something we will have the next few years.

>> the conference is breaking now until 3:00. we will resume with a panel on syria. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] >> turning to capitol hill, both chambers of congress out today and will return on monday at 2:00 for legislative work. we talked to a capitol hill reporter about what to expect next week in congress. >> busy days ahead in congress as members get ready to wind up the year. the house is expected to gavel

out on friday the 13 for the holiday recess. the biggest things likely to come next week is a possible deal on the budget. nearing someo be type of agreement on setting spending levels and maybe even the year after that. revenue that are not new taxes. we will see discussions about moving forward to get them over the last little bit. pelosi is insisting unemployment benefits need to be part of the discussion. >> the extension has allowed people to receive benefits for 18 months and expires the week after christmas.

pelosi wanted to see that extended another year. it is pressing very hard for . speaker boehner has left the door open and said he would be open to having another extension. there are no real repercussions immediately. they will have defined some other way to keep government funded. they could reach a deal next week, like a race between the farm bill and a budget committee and conference committee trying

to get something done. it will take a lot to bring people together to try to find the votes necessary to pass it. >> just before the thanksgiving break, the senate was working on the defense authorization bill. our those going? >> they thought they were going to vote in the senate. it could drag into the new year. >> with the filibuster rules changed because of the nuclear option, where judicial nominations can we expect to see? >> three nominees to the d c circuit court, one of the most powerful in the country that deals in disputes between the executive and legislative branch. , harry reid said

he will bring those to the floor. quicklylikely move very in the beginning of the week for the senate. >> a congressional reporter for politico. thank you for joining us. hillary received a human rights award earlier today, an advocacy group founded by tom lantos. he was a holocaust survivor. this is about 15 minutes. [applause] my goodness. thank you. thank you very much. thank you.

thek you, and first to extraordinary lantos family, this is a great honor and an havese personal leisure to tom lantos around my neck. office or onin my asking me what i was going to do about something or offering to partner with me on an issue of human rights. and as all of you who are here no because you recognize the significance of the work that he his public career, he was a man of great courage and compassion with a wonderful partner and his wife.

and a fabulous support system for his daughters. i think we should give a round of applause for the entire lantos family. [applause] when the proceedings began, it was said we meet on the day after the loss of a giant among us, someone who by the power of his example demonstrated unequivocally how each of us can choose how we will respond to those injustices and grievances, those sorrows and strategies that afflict all of humankind.

nelson mandela will be remembered for many things. he will be certainly remembered for the way he led, his dignity, his extraordinary understanding, not just of how to bring democracy and freedom to his beloved south africa, but how important it was that he first brought freedom to himself. as i spent time with him, starting in 1992, until just in the last year and a half, i was always struck by the extraordinary depth of his self- knowledge, of his awareness about how hard it is to live a life of integrity, of service,

but to combine within one's self the contradictions he lived with a lawyer and a freedom fighter, a prisoner and a leader, a man of anger and of forgiveness -- has so captured the hearts of people, not only in his own country, but as we are seeing with the outpouring of response to his death people around the world. i only hope that as we both mourn and celebrate the passing

of this universally recognized and beloved figure that we remember he became that through an enormous amount of hard work on himself. the story has been told several times now in the coverage that i have watched of his passing about how he invited three of his prison guards to his inaugural festivities. i was there is a part of the american delegation for the inauguration, and i was there at the luncheon that was held back on the grounds of the president's house that had transitioned from the morning where i had breakfast with president de klerk to lunch that i had with president mandela. as he looked out, to the large gathering filled with dignitaries from everywhere,

including people who had been part of the struggle itself against apartheid and who had supported that struggle, he made the point of thanking his jailers and pointing out of all the distinguished vip's who were there, he was most grateful that these men with whom he had exchanged words of recognition and acknowledgment of the other humanity over the course of that long imprisonment could be there as well. as we think about nelson mandela, it brings to mind very much to me tom lantos, because here were two men who had seen the worst that humanity can offer. those who had been objectively denied their right to be a jew

in hungary during the holocaust or a black man in south africa during the apartheid, they had every reason to come out, if not embittered, cynical, believing that for the rest of their lives the only thing that would matter was acquiring power, being able to demonstrate their influence, especially as against those who had denied them the right to be who they were.

he had to leave his anger behind , where he would have remained a prisoner. of his own feelings and his own resentments. lantos, who escaped the inhumanityle of advocateo become an for anyone anywhere who was thatg the kind of fear

comes with standing up for yourself and your fellow men and women. so we on our two men by being here today. with incomparable souls. we also have just eight dollars other break -- we have just acknowledged other brave human rights activists. them has alsof to come upit's like against governments and powerful forces determined to squeeze the hope from your heart. to imprison your mind and break your spirit.

another stood up to that kind of oppression, escaped from it as tom escaped from the holocaust. and ran toward freedom. proud the united states is the place he ran toward. -- itt was our country was not something given to you. ground.d your you stood in the face of another horror that was almost unimaginable. the order of genocide in our time. and you saved and protected

great example, not only of courage, but compassion. here, we are reminded of those who have given that the hopeure that is represented in tom's legacy lives on. this foundation really embodies tom's spirit. and it is quite humbling for people like madeline albright, to knowfriend and i, that secretaries of state come and go. is that remains

profound commitment to making a difference. in whatever position we find ourselves, standing up and speaking out for those that might otherwise never have a voice. honored to be given this award, particularly on behalf of two causes near and dear to my heart. i want to acknowledge publicly in great work that micah did the state department and continues to do in the intersection of civil society and governments. helping people help themselves to make sure their voices continue to be heard. thato think it is critical

we look broadly, globally, about why this mission that many of us embrace for the full participation of women and girls. it is not just the right thing to do. girls just like men and boys deserve the right to fulfill their potential. they can participate in economies and economic growth. where they are given the chance to be educated and get the health care they deserve to have. we know that society benefits. women and girls can participate in peacemaking and peace building. as full members of society's trying to resolve conflicts.

we know resolution is more likely to be sustained. it is a great honor for me to have this award. it is a reminder of how much more we have ahead of us to accomplish. dreame sure that tom's and his life, the examples of the award recipients unlike bring out, income each of us, our own commitments to what we will do to further the cause of human rights. it is certainly what tom would expect us to do.

ideals and byis accepting this award, knowing that he would not let me off the hook otherwise. i willomething that continue to be committed to in every way that i can and every fiber of my being because the kind of world we want is a world tomhich nelson mandela and lantos can be proud. thank you very much. [applause]

>> later tonight on c-span, we will have remarks by kentucky senator rand paul who poke at -- spoke at the detroit economic club and talked about dealing with jobs and the economy. his comments tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span. >> i served in the navy for seven years before i was medically retired. i contracted a terminal lung disease in iraq and crushed both of my hands and had to have them rebuilt. work and theer life expectancy is down less than three years. the complicated claim took four years to adjudicate.

i am here not to represent my claim or my issues. my husband and i are here to make sure that this panel and everyone that will listen to us will understand that cases like and unfortunately like others, are not isolated. just in the last six months, they are dealing with complex claims that are being denied over and over again. >> e-house veterans affairs subcommittee hearing on dealing with the backlog and processing disability claims.

the current morning show host, joe scarborough. a.m.past midnight at 12:15 and 50 years ago, as a nation the vice president was sworn into the oval office. during the white house briefing, jay carney talked about nelson mandela, the health care law, and november unemployment numbers. >> i apologize for that. [laughter] know, even in middle age, you can turn over a new leaf. i know that it is in frequent that we are this close to on time and i want to say i owe you a standing apology on that.

we are just having fun here. with that, i will wish you all a happy friday even though it is raining. part of the daily messaging effort to highlight specific benefits of the health care law that are already making a big difference, the white house and supporters of reform are focused on how growth and health care costs are at historically low levels along multiple dimensions. most recent the projections, health care spending grew at the slowest rate on record over the last three years. person spending grew at a 1.3% rate. ,his was seen in medicare

medicaid, and private insurance. elf care price inflation is at its lowest level in 50 years. provisions to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in medicare also produces cost and improving quality through a variety of innovative reforms including by providing incentives to hospitals to reduce the re- admissions rate. hs is announcing new data showing that these incentives have avoided 130,000 for peoples following a hospital stay over the last few years. high readmission rates, patients having to be rehospitalized is costing patients and insurance companies. and if the patient is on medicare, taxpayers. it can be a sign of low quality

care. overall, these trends are encouraging news for families and our economy. they feel more secure in their own budgets. as you know, businesses in the united states have created more than 8 million new jobs. segue toa perfect something i just wanted to note. today, information that was released earlier this morning is jobs data and figures on job creation in november. worth noting when you look at this graph, not only , jobhe economy in freefall

loss was terrible at the end of 2008 and early 2009 when president obama took office, and not only has the trajectory been consistently in the right note when if you will we first began positive job creation in the wake of the great recession, it was right around when the affordable care act past. this is obviously not a direct correlation. but we are moving the right direction. the information i cited in the beginning about the positive effects of the affordable care act for reduce in growth in health-care costs combined with the steady job creation we have seen for so many months reinforces a number of things.

continuing to focus on those trends, making them move in the right direction, and increasing job growth even further. with that, i will take questions. >> on the president's travels to africa for the nelson mandela services, could you give us specific details of what the timing might be? there is a memorial service close to the funeral. and will the president invite former u.s. presidents to accompany him? >> thank you for those questions. i should have noted that for those of you that did not hear the president speak in the wake of the news of president mandela 's death, i will point you to those remarks. all i can say is that president obama and the first lady will go

to south africa next week to pay their respects to the memory of nelson mandela and participate in memorial events. this point, i don't have more information on logistics. that is all being worked out. , i refer youthers to them at this time. we hope to have it fairly quickly. >> will the president invite them to travel? don't want to get ahead of the process being worked on as far as the timing and logistics. when we have that information, we will get it for you right away. numbers, white house have told us that the

sequester would have dire consequences. are a welcome surprise for you guys. is some of the austerity not having the effect that you predicted? >> i would not look to what we said and predicted, but what i've it economists have said about the effect of the sequester on job creation and on jobs and economic growth. talk about trying to prove a negative or a counterfactual, but the economists say that absent those impacts, the picture would be even better than it is. building or who works on these issues in the administration is satisfied even with the steady progress we have been making.

it is nowhere near enough for the president. we need to keep working on this problem. seven .3% unemployment is far 7.3% unemployment is far too high. we need to be doing everything we can in washington -- not setting it back, like is what happened with the shutdown, but investing in it. making the right choices about it so we can build a foundation necessary for further economic growth and further private sector job creation. that is what the president is focused on. these numbers don't address what the president talked about the other day of a continuing concern to him and others around the country. the growing inequality and the diminishing ability for

in thens who are born thest 20% to move up economic ladder. that upward mobility has been something elemental to america's economic experience and americans identity that merits a great detail and attention and focus. >> in terms of long-term , [inaudible] should that be paid for? or is it an emergency issue? a plan put forward on this and the president made it clear the other day. past, i has, in the

noted the seven percent unemployment rate. significantly higher than the 5.6% unemployment rate which compelled president george w. bush to sign an extension of unemployment benefits when he was in office. i think that the news we have we need toorces that address this problem and extend those unemployment insurance benefits to those individuals. because this is a persistent problem. when president bush signed the law, the average person was unemployed for i believe 17 weeks. for that portion of the unemployed, they fell in november.

the number of long-term unemployed stayed pretty steady. that is more evidence we need to address this problem and it would be terrible to tell more than one million families across the country just a few days after christmas that they are out of benefits. we hope that congress will address this challenge. >> how close -- is the white that it isting extending that? we believe that congress should extend unemployment insurance. the vehicle that they used to do that is less important than the fact that they do it. i will not negotiate from the

podium about how that gets done. discussionsongoing and negotiations on the issue of a budget agreement, i would say that we hope and expect that they can reach one. i don't want to characterize the progress in any way except to sense there is a to eacho an ability side to come together and it would be welcome. it is what we have talked a lot about. i don't want to make any predictions about how successful it will be.

we have regularly involved with discussions that are engaged in this process. out ins to be worked those chambers that need to reach a compromise so that we can move forward and avoid another government shutdown. the self-inflicted wounds that have occurred over the past. we are engaged, we provide information, we consult regularly with those working on this process. it is something that congress needs to achieve. the anniversary of the shooting at newtown, i was

wondering if the president will be doing anything. >> that day for him and for all of us will stick in our memories forever. in terms of what we will be doing around that anniversary, i don't have any information to provide today. it will certainly be a somber occasion. we are going on three years now been getting a little late to the right. >> a couple things, to go through the busy work. can you tell us the last time the president had contact with nelson mandela?

>> i don't have a specific date, but it might've been 2010 or 2011 by phone. i know that nelson mandela called the president when he won the presidency in 2008 and they spoke by phone on several occasions after that. i am sure we have the last occasion on which they spoke. you probably also know that the first lady, and obama's daughters met with nelson mandela. on the president's last conversation, we will have to get that to you. >> any plans to go to south africa? i don't have any scheduling

updates involving the president of that nature to provide and i will forewarn you that because of the logistics, i will not a way to get one to you yet but we will when it is all prepared. the number of people had obviously already gathered in the media. it is pretty great to have them here in washington. >> the government accountability institute, they announced between july of 2010 and november of this year, the public schedule was released showing that there were no one- on-one meetings with health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius. there were 277 other one-on-one meetings. it draws questions about the leadership skills and the chief executive. i call me beforehand because

am in a very charitable mood today so i won't go too strong on this. that report, the published report that was written by an advocate is based on a ridiculously false premise. remember stories about records that indicated that hillary clinton met surprisingly infrequently with the president showed that with a little digging, cabinet secretaries don't normally get entered into the visitors logs because they come frequently. comesen sebelius frequently and meets frequently with the president. i will refer you to the department for more information and more detail. but she is here a lot. she meets with the president .ith regularity

with the exception of public calendars, there are standing meetings for the secretary of defense, state, and the treasury this president has, but he meets secretaries in one on ones and small groups all the time. that thosee calendars may never show a meeting i have with the president. i had to yesterday. that is how it works. >> a final question on nelson mandela. what people will be thinking about, when we consider the life of nelson mandela and the challenges that exist in our own country, what lessons can washington learn? i know you had conversations in the white house and what you think the message we can learn is. >> i think the president put it

very well yesterday in the remarks he made when he was in south africa earlier this year about the remarkable example that nelson mandela set when he was released from prison and made clear that he would embrace those the jail him, and he would build a southhelp that judged every person by his or her character and not by his or her skin color. i think that spirit of reconciliation that the president said yesterday is one that should imbue the work that all of us do here. asa professional level and the president said, on a personal level.

i cite the president here because he said it best. >> the question on nelson it struck me that the president talked about this great impact that he had on his life but only met with him one time face-to-face. i'm just curious, for people wondering if you could provide more details about nelson mandela's influence on the president and if he had a chance to talk about this. they only met one time. >> i think nelson mandela had a profound impact on millions of people around the world, beginning with the citizens of south africa. millions of people who never met him. a senator, hadas the good fortune to meet him, that i don't think that is why he had an influence on barack

obama. that influence extends, as he said yesterday, well back in time. those of us in college in the debates and the protests happening on college campuses over divestment in south africa because of apartheid. what therobably president was referencing in his own experience. importantrofoundly issue, internationally. the amazing transformation that happened from there to his and not much time later to his election as president, it was part of an era of historic that iaround the world

think will be remembered as such for a long time. the president has spoken a lot about this, not just last night, so i will point you to what he said in the past. it is a remarkable thing. in broadcast and in print, you guys have been doing a terrific job of celebrating his life and noting how unique he is. there is no debate around the world about the fundamental goodness of this man. ,ex we're getting really close but december 23 when people have to sign-up for insurance, on the first of the year, january 1 is a date were a lot of people will be focused on if the system is

actually working the way it should be working. any concerns at all about these dates coming up? >> we are extremely focused on teams and the the tech teams. earlier, we met the in november.set we are still engaged in a lot of work and we have a lot of work to do to make sure that we continue to address whatever problems remain with the website so it is functioning as effectively as a can for the millions of americans that want to use it. doing other things that we talked about to improve this time of implementation and enrollment. making sure that they are communicating with their issuer and let them know that if they

they have to meet whatever deadline is set by the issuer and make sure that everyone that andlled is enrolled addressing challenges that are particularly keen at the beginning of this process. ons process is still going and we are obviously encouraged by the progress. it continues to be a lot of work aboutand it is not corners being turned and things, or what that means for the president. it is what it means for the people that are trying to get insurance. i feel like we're making progress. but we are not there yet.

i will not suggest we are there yet. because this is about making sure the millions of americans persistently showed what the exchanges offer are rewarded with the experience that allows them to shop for coverage they think suits their lives best. that is what the president is focused on and everyone else. >> the president was asked by chris matthews, choosing between the vice president and former secretary of state hillary clinton, is the president going to stay out of it? >> it is 2013. i couldn't either when i was a reporter.

here,choing the president he is enormously grateful for the service of hillary clinton as his exceptional secretary of state. and is ever grateful for the service joe biden provides as vice president. the president feels lucky to have had hillary clinton on his biden, and that is what he is focused on. >> it was a very heartfelt statement about nelson mandela. she also had this address of human rights the other day. how closely did she consult with the president? he was aware of it but

i don't know how much they talked about it. i know that she felt strongly i encourageeech and everyone here who has not seen it to read it. as you expect, because she is the national security advisor of the president, they spend a lot of time together. as we test the potential for a diplomatic resolution, another test is if we begin to see progress on human rights. will that be a separate track completely as the human rights issues are raised at all? >> i think we raised the issue of human rights with regards to iran and other countries where we have profound issues with their track record on human rights.

we will always and consistently do that. what the ambassador was referencing is that the progress we have seen out of tehran and burn -- in terms of their willingness to proceed with negotiations and engage with the b5 plus one is important. all based on actions as far as we are concerned. it is important that compliance is upheld and it will be true all the way through to the completion of a comprehensive agreement. if that is achieved, it will be a good thing for the world. but there are obviously other issues. the people of iran very much

demonstrated in the election and cents that they want improved relations with the world, that there nuclearthat weapons pursuit has been unwelcome. but there is more to it than that. >> on the meeting with nelson mandela, did you ever talk to him about it? i would let him discuss it though. if you look at the occasions that he spoke about nelson mandela when we were in south africa, i think it reflects his feelings about the example and howandela set remarkable his life is and how unique he was.

i would just point to what the president said because it is a pretty long public record of comments about it. will hhs be able to tell us how many times -- will they refer us back to you? will have information for you. is point i am trying to make that there are a lot of folks out there who have been rightly and oboeof the website the care in general. have madeeffort to arguments, that is fine. this one is just based on bad information. i don't have all the figures in front of me, but if you figure

out the cabinet and the importance of health care matters in this presidency, it is safe to say kathleen sebelius has been one of the more attendancesitors and of meetings with the president. there are the secretaries of treasury, ase, well as department of homeland security. have all spent a significant amount of time with the president on issues that they oversee. >> on that one meeting that the and 20 two. an

1 billio

has the president been invited to deliver remarks for nelson mandela? >> i do not have an answer about visitgistics around the the president and the first lady will be making. i am not trying to imply anything. obvious, because for reasons, this is still being worked on, and i promise you we will get that information for a lot of you and your organizations when it comes to coverage. the sooner the better in terms of the information. we will get it as soon as we can. >> in "the new republic" this

morning, it said the error rate for a 34 processing is down to 10%,. i wonder if you can tell me if that is a verifiable or verifiable internal statistics that you are wanting to talk about, and if that is the beginning of a greater, at least larger data set on this 834 question that we can expect -- >> that would be coming from cms, and they are working on this issue. all i can say, what i know with to deliver and i try this information from here, only that information i know with confidence and that i have checked out myself, we are confident that the error rate which is a complicated thing, but that the overall number of errors and problems with the ack end of the system and the

34 forms has been decreasing significantly since the october 1 launch date. significantly, over the course of november, as i mentioned earlier this week among one of the major fixes that went in over the weekend prior to the change of the calendar to december was one that addressed some of these back and issues. -- end issues. the only thing from that report that i can confirm is that we do know that it is better now than it was. we know there are issues we need hasork on, which is why cms stood up a regular meeting of experts with issuers to address these specific problems on the back end, because it is very important that we make sure that 834 is accurate, past and present, and we will do that. >> i want to follow-up on a question from yesterday. you mentioned the vice

president's trip to asia. in his words and secretary hagel's words, that the united states rejected it, there's buting you can do about it it may be accommodating itself to its reality. is that a fair characterization? >> i try to be as clear as i could and i would put you to the vice president's remarks today, about this matter. we, the united states, do not recognize and do not accept the newly announced east china sea defense identification zone. and it will not change, will not change how the united states conducts military operations in the region. it does not have any tactical effect on u.s. government operations. we have been very clear about our view on this and have been clear not just in our public pronouncements, but in the

>> the broader point we are trying to make to the chinese is that this is not how major powers connect themselves -- conduct themselves. that, it sounds as if the u.s. posture is to say, don't do anything like this again. it will create confusion, misunderstanding, and it will lead to confusion. >> i am not sure where seeing that. china made the pronouncement. it is for china not to implement it. we don't recognize it. we don't accept it.

the fact of the matter is that we have been very clear about our view of it and how we will , and our broader concern about the tension in the ofion, and how these types provocative actions can lead to missed regulation and to further tension in the region, which is not in the interest of any of the nations involved. yesterday, and again today, that in order to make sure the people who have signed up get there started january 1, the administration is endeavoring to contact these people. would men suggest that you have enrollment figures? if you are contacting people, you must know the enrollment. so what are the enrollment figures? understanding is that

those numbers are being verified, scrubbed, and checked. there is a lot to come in from states. they will provide those figures in the middle of the month, which i think is next week, consistent with the need to make sure that those numbers are tight. know october. they can see who has pressed some buttons and reach out to them. maybe they find out this is part of the process. you find out that there was an error or some duplication. we are going to be very consistent to make sure they are as accurate as possible. never acquire some time, especially in a circumstance have been where you administering in a number of states. then you have states running their own marketplaces. that is all being kept in mind,

and we will get it to you when it is ready. the broader thing that we've -- i mean, iabout have not disputed or confirmed any numbers out there. we are waiting for hard, verify data. i think that the reports that we have seen reflect what we have. that is based on the early information that we have. the system is working much more effectively. many more people have been successful at in rolling and getting from beginning to end of the process. the number of problems with the site has been reduced significantly. that includes the front end and the back end. but we still have some things to work on. these teams are working hard. they are working as hard this week as they worked in the previous weeks. all more details today that he says suggest that the small business exchange would

.ot be ready by october 1 he was indicating there may be problems with it. going to have to delay that small business exchange. they said that you knew in august that there were problems. i am confident that there are pieces of information that come out the partially reflect what is happening at cms. i don't have any specific information on this. anything that reinforces the fact that the site had problems in october is probably something we will agree with. >> the president was asked about holding the cabinet secretary and the cabinet accountable. and he was asked if it was a reflection of his personal

management style. he said the big government agencies need to be fixed. >> he was talking about i.t. issues. >> he said that these agencies are not designed properly. is he passing the buck? >> no. no. no. there are people think -- are you asking me -- i have no personnel announcements to make. >> well -- >> here's what i can sell you. the president believes very strongly that we need to be functioning effectively at all levels for the taxpayers. we've afford forward the significant streamlining of some of our government agencies in a sensible proposal that he hopes congress will act on. it has agencies not related to

the affordable care act imitation, but i think the isader view that it reflects that the president thinks that we should bring up-to-date to date the functionality of all of our activities here. fasterld make it better, , more efficient, and more responsive to the consumer. in this case, the consumer is the taxpayer. the president went to you summit. harvard university put out a poll about young people being disillusioned with the health care law. my question is that, is he concerned about engaging the students? i know he has done it before. -- is thised it is white house that the people who supported him, especially the

young people, are abandoning him on health care. ? the questions regarding enrollment and implementation of obamacare has to do with a long- standing observation and a plan around it that we need young people to enroll. oft is true regardless the affordable care act. it was always going to be true. it was always going to be important. it was always the case, as i think we have discussed here in this room. younger people are more likely to wait to later stages of the enrollment process to enroll. this is part of a broader effort that we will be undertaking to make sure that americans around the country understand the advantages of having insurance and the need to have it and all of the options available to them.

i will leave it to folks on the political side who have looked at that. we are in pretty stark disagreement with some of the polls, particularly on youth and the afford will care act. there are good polls and apples. -- and bad polls. debate?ere a fear of basically, the percentage of americans who want to repeal the affordable care act has not changed at all. i think that speaks to the kind of entrenched political nature of this debate over the past several weeks. it is always been in our view

the case that we have to set aside those issues, those political issues, and focus on the advantages of the law. we've been talking about that. i talked about the improvements in health care costs, the reduction in the growth health seen sincehat we've the pass of the affordable care act. macro-deliverable. it assures that no one can be denied because of pre-existing conditions. young people cannot be denied because of resisting conditions. we are focusing on the benefits. we know from similar data that breaks down what people say they like and want in health care

reform that this is broadly supported. we have seen because of the remarkable resilience and grit of the american people, even when they're trying to get we,rance, that even when because of the troubles that we have caused with the healthcare.gov site that it was fix that upon us to they are still demonstrating in high-volume that they believe this is something that they need and want. they want to know more about it. that is why we are focused on delivering these benefits to them. road howee down the appreciate what this provides. right now we will be focusing on the dow jones. >> the president said he wants to expand unemployment

insurance. do you have any idea how you would pay for that? >> this is something that we are not new to the game on. i don't have the details on it. i know that we are looking to congress to do it has in the past, which is sit down and figure out a way to get this need -- the of the comparative of not depriving, or withholding benefits, from one million families before christmas because of the economic impact that these benefits would provide. question ande provide you to jason and others who have more detail on it. >> 2 questions.

you said the job creation -- are youund suggesting a correlation there? >> there is an argument out there. i am in a charitable mood today, so i'm not going to spend a lot of time in this. there is an argument out there that the aca is a job killer. the data would suggest otherwise. i am not saying creating these jobs, but there's been an is goingthat the aca to drive people into unemployment. it is one thing to make an argument, but you have to back it up with data. the data suggest that is not true. whenrend is very positive it comes to increasing full-time employment versus part-time employment. the percentage of people going into full-time jobs rather than

part-time jobs is actually better. i am not saying it is because of the affordable care act. the argumenthat that the affordable care act is causing these problems doesn't hold up when you look at the data. >> in september when you face to the continuing resolution question, the white house said that these negotiations, if they felt, we won't advocate a shutdown. if that the position going forward? >> we believe that it is a good time not to predict failure. we think that congress ought to do what it has been doing, which is working collaboratively to reach a compromise and a budget arrangement. we certainly oppose a shutdown. that our view of

what happened in september and october has not changed and will always apply, which is that the harm done by shutdown is completely unnecessary. and it was a decision made for expressly political reasons back in september and october that turned out to be very bad for the economy. >> with the job numbers that are president said in a speech that we are not seeing new policy initiatives being pushed out. are you comfortable with unemployment as it has been? is he planning on whittling it down at a greater pace? what is he doing to publish that? >> i will point to what the president said the other day. we need to invest in our infrastructure.

republicans and democrats need to do that together. we need to get that done. and alsoo do that lower our corporate tax rate and eliminate loopholes in a way that would be a better bargain for jobs in this country. universal invest in pre-cash. we need to do the things that the president has put forward to attract jobs from overseas and to bring home jobs from american companies that are located overseas, bring them home to build on those trends. we need to continue to build on the positive trends that we have seen in the manufacturing sector and are of this country, represented by the automobile companies but also by a host of other development in manufacturing. not the leastis

bit satisfied or complacent with where we are. he believes we ought to have a spirited conversation about what are we going to do. what are we going to do to reduce inequality? what are we going to do to -- increase jobs overall, particularly those that provide middle-class security across the country? he said in that speech that he believes that we can get some of this done with congress. move,congress refuses to he will take action that he can on his own. this is his fundamental preoccupation. is there a future date to roll out a specific legislative package? >> i promise not to bore you with the numerous legislative proposals that are are ready up there, reflected in this budget

and otherwise, it would create the foundation for further jobs growth in the future. he noted that in his speech, that he is a number of proposals on. he will focus i was noting that in the past a number of them enjoyed bipartisan support. and we hope there will not future. he calls on everyone in the congress and from both parties to vote for it ideas. if they disagree with the president's approach to to increasinggap upward mobility, he is all years. he looks for to have in a conversation. >> has the president ever given

any new consideration to -- >> you this kind of look like, do you know that? >> really? any newpresident given consideration to raise the minimum wage on contractors? >> we strongly ashe and i neglected to mention this, and this gives me the opportunity -- and i neglected to mention this, and this gives me the opportunity. thepresident knows that counterarguments, upon scrutiny, don't hold up. we ought to do this as soon as possible. he he thinks that there is an opportunity, and given the interest that has been expressed to get this done, and to do it.

and to demonstrate to the american people that we in washington and take action. remember, the informal care act does not have an adverse effect on businesses, so we are to do it. says he should lead by example, doing something he can do on his own, and not waiting on congress. >> the president is always looking for ways to move the where congress won't work with them do that. he believes this is an opportunity for congress to work with him in concert toward a goal that will help millions of americans and the economy. i am not going to speculate about hypotheticals. up onst to follow- something else the president said on a tv talk show yesterday --

>> sound like a new thing. >> i watch it. i couldn't figure out what was. he said he was going to be imposing some self-restraint on the nsa. what does that process and tell -- entail? >> the president is continuing to review ideas. i think it is important that you pointan important yesterday. he made important point yesterday that i know he believes deeply. the work done by the nsa, and others in our intelligence agencies, is vital to keeping america and americans safe, as was keeping our ally safe. we cannot lose sight of that. the president said in his comment yesterday, things that reflected and echoed what he said in the past about things and reforms that

we can make a better wise without forgetting that the fundamental mission that is undertaken by our intelligence community is designed to make americans and america safer. >> we understand that he is getting a report yesterday -- nsa -- >> iout the schedulinghave any announcements today. >> the president said he wanted to see immigration reform, health care reform, and a budget. is there a timetable on those? is there a way to get those or is this an ongoing process? >> we talked about the button aggressions that are underway.

the effort toto pass conference of immigration reform, the president believes the congress can act and should act as soon as possible. they can act right away, thousand could, when it comes to these issues. they are not gone yet. they ought to do something between now and their departure that could signal to the american people, in the case of have allbill, that we of the necessary elements of that important legislation taken up -- taking care of on behalf of americans who depend on food and efficient assistance. and when it comes to conference of immigration reform, as i've said in the past, and conservatives have said in the

past, there are many things that conservatives could make a strong case for, including strong economic growth, including bringing people out of the shadows and making sure that they get to the back of the line in the process to become citizens. making sure they're paying all their taxes, and holding businesses accountable, so that everyone is paying by the same rules -- playing by the same rules. the high-tech industries, in particular, and can take advantage of the talent that we see in american universities, with foreign students who want to stay here and work for startups. there is a lot to like encumbrance of immigration reform. lots of republicans and conservatives could like it. a lot of conservatives supported. what's not to -- lose sight of

that. it has support from across the political spectrum, law- enforcement, evangelicals, is -- business, labor. it has support from lawmakers, and a former president, and governors. there is a real opportunity here forgetting something significant done for our economy and our asure that could be heralded a bipartisan success story. when the president volunteered the phrase yesterday that he will recommend self- restraint, does that mean that he believes the nsa's overall surveillance program is doesn'tt enough that he

believe in needs to be reined in -- >> is this a dissection of different verbs? i think what he said was pretty clear. he is taking steps, as he is that in the past, to make sure that we are doing everything we did to do, and collecting all the information we need to collect, the guys we should collect this information. we can and should do it within the confines of law. but we are not doing it just because we can. umbrella under which these reviews have been taking place and how he is evaluating the options available to him when it comes to the changes that are going to be made. thank you. have a great weekend. week ahead you the

as soon as we can. we will get you more information on next week as soon as we can. take care. tonight on c-span, senator remarks at the detroit economic club. and economy,t jobs including what he calls economic freedom zones. his comments will be tonight at 8:00 eastern here on c-span. c-span. we bring public events from washington, directly to you, putting you in the room at congressional hearings, white house events, and also include gavel coverage of the u.s. house. c-span was created by the cable tv industry years ago. now you can watch us in hd. >> this morning "washington

journal" visited the national institute of health and bethesda, maryland. we heard about the mission and the role of the nih, as was the priorities and medical products. this is two hours. located just outside washington dc, the national institute of health comprises research centers. it has been credited with new breakthroughs in the study of medical science, including aids and mental health. this morning on the "washington journal" we want to focus on the nih and give you an opportunity to find out more about the agency. francis s. collins joins us live. >> it is great to be here. >> you are the director of the

nih. what is your objective? guest: we are the largest searcher -- researcher in the world. we focus on how life works at the most detailed level, and partly to apply that and come up with new insights that will prevent and treat disease. we support tens of thousands of grants across the country, conducted by our world's most cutting-edge scientists who are working from everything from cancer, to hiv-aids, two timers -- o all alzheimer's. you name it. we want to talk more about that, in terms of sequestration.

you form to this as part of the department of health and human services. what is your budget? how many people work for the and age? billion.9 the number of people who work for us focus on the work that we do from the grants that we give across the country, and some globally. spent inr money gets those great universities where you are hearing everyday about medical records. that is because an h supported the work grade host: -- the work. host: how long have you been at the nih? i came in when it was just getting off the ground. i had the great privilege of leading that team of more than 200 scientists.

billion letters of the human dna instruction book with the profound implications of how we understand ourselves. i stayed on with the genome institute for another five years and then got called back. collins, what makes a good medical researcher? guest: curiosity. willingness to take risks. willingness to tap into the brains of other people and not necessarily work in isolation. and a compelling desire to help people. that is why are scientists do what they do come a many of them working long hours for much less income than they could achieve and other sectors. how youn you explain work with comparable agencies around the world? guest: we have many interactions

with other agencies. i will be in london next week for meeting next week. around the table will bbc does ceo's of the- agencies that account for 90% of medical funding. how do you make sure that there is cooperation between you, your benefits of the world. -- world? everything is converged. if you want to understand biology, you need to also bring chemistry and physics to bear on the problems that are most challenging right now. are determined to have none of those barriers between the errors -- air years

areas of research. things have never been so constrained in terms of researchers best -- resources. we are focusing on open access. generate data that ought to be sensible to anybody with a bright idea on how to take it to the next level. host: let's talk about funding and the impact of sequestration. this chart shows the impact of sequestration. how has that impacted what an h is doing andih will be doing in the year ahead? is a historically

difficult moment in terms of the support of science. the budgets went flat. inflation has been eating away at the purchasing power. on top of that, on march 27, when sequestration hit us, we billion that would've gone to areas that i think the public really cares about here in the money disappeared. down in the money for research. serious very consequences. if you are an investigator seeking to pursue a really bold idea about cancer, or diabetes, or another illness, how do you get funded by the nih. you put your best ideas in them. you send it the nih.

we conduct a vigorous process to figure out what are the most promising ideas that are in the poll in that particular cycle, and then we make a priority decision. traditionally, we've been able to fund about one third. because of this deterioration of resources. , we are down to, after the sequester, only about 15% are getting funded. that is enormously frustrating for the people who want to get the research done and are just missing the funding. many of them are getting demoralized. we need things to be more encouraging. this is a serious problem. this is what keeps me up at night. are we at risk for losing this generation of scientists? if we lose a scientist they are not coming back when things get better. host: we are spending 2.5 hours

today at nih. this is part of the department of health and human services. we will tell you more about the research going on by medical professionals at the nih. collins, i also want to talk about the peer research that takes place at colleges and universities. how does that work, and how do you identify where you send the money? rigorous peer review. many of the ideas are sent in by to pursue who want that idea. and we give them the best shot we can. now,, unfortunately right six out of seven are going to be turned away. if that is not because they are not good science, but it is because we are in such a tough spot. we tried to and then if i areas where science is ripe for

exploit them. requestut a notice for for application saying, we are more interested in seeing research in these areas. and we say, any of you out there who have great ideas of how to do this, this is a moment that we are particularly interested in that. that is how we steered the ship. but all of this depends on the talent of the scientists out there to be bold, to be innovative. and they are stretched right there. this is also heard on c- span radio. dr. collins is the director of the an h. .ou -- nih you have been talking about a disease that is been impacting everyone. where are we with cancer research and what are the next hurdles? guest: later this morning you

frombe a will to hear the director of the national cancer institute. we are excited about the way in which the technology has been able to look at individual cancers. that is put us in a position to be able to read out exactly what is driving a cancer in each individual. it is going to be different depending on which person is being analyzed. we know the pathways that are involved in taking a cell down the road. increasingly, drugs are being developed to target this pathway it's -- pathways in a clear way. this is smart bombing. frome not that far away individuals being able to have their tumor analyzed, as part of the standard of care. and they will be a will to choose from the menu the ones that will work best for them, as opposed to the ones i've that's

all, which has generally been reduced. this is transformational. samantha is joining us from not too far away in bethesda, and she is in rockville, maryland. thank you for coming on and talking to us about the importance of the nih. i am a career scientist. i just got my phd from the university of new hampshire. i want to talk to little bit about the concern i have for career scientists. i am watching many of my friends stop theaduate program experiment they were working on in order to move forward. it grants are being lost from different labs. researchft an area of

and am pursuing a career in science policy, in an effort to be on the other side. and also within education advocacy group here in the district. i'm just wondering if you have a suggestions for us early career scientists. how should we keep moving forward in the next couple of years? it is going to be tough, even if we can reach some sort of a deal at the house. samantha, you are the voice of the young scientists that i am most concerned about. i appreciate you coming in. i'm glad you're moving to science policy. we need expertise there as well. at the same time, i think that there are many people in your situation who really would like to continue to research and are quite challenging to identify the path forward for them to move forward. at the nih we're doing everything we can to provide the kind of support.

grantsincreasing the that are bridge between a postdoctoral and an independent baccalaureate. we are also making it possible for individuals who come in for their very first nih grant application to compete against each other, instead of competing against established investigators, trying to give first-time investigators a leg up. frankly, i think we ought to recognize that, while this is a historic downturn, the case for an h support for nih is so strong across parties and houses in the congress, that if we can just get past this difficult time for our nation, we should get back on a stable track. people should be optimistic that we will get there. i'm certainly hopeful that next week that we hear what has come forward that we will finally see an opportunity to begin to get past what has been a real stalemate and decisions toward

absolution and toward bipartisan support. illustrative be wiped out of books, and it is done serious damage. if you care about health for yourself, for your families, for your friends -- if you care about the economy because what they nih does is a remarkable support of the economy. it has a remarkable return on investments. you get something like a two fold return in the first year. even if you were interested in medicine, you would be interested in that. the case is very strong. it has to win the day. i would say to all the other scientist who are listening, hang in there. we are going to get through this. host: for more information on largest which has the hospital dedicated to research, stimulus. i want to follow up on that.

neuroscience.g you have said that is the last frontier of human research. how so? is the mostrain complicated structure in the known universe. there are millions of neurons inside your brain. the ability to be able to make sense out of that has seemed pretty much out of reach for most of the time that we have been studying neuroscience and biology. this the last april president obama announced a very bold new step in that direction. it aims in a combination of and privatem nih foundations, working with the international community to really try to figure out how the circuits of the brain work. that is an amazing frontier to contemplate. we can measure what happens with

individual brain cells, neurons, and see what happens when the fire, and pass along a signal of some sort. liken take images, things , but the and mri scans real-time research is still kind of out of our reach. i believe this will be an important initiative over the next 10 years or so. we need to be clear that this is a long-term investment. how do you process that? how do you lay down a memory and retrieve it? how you begin to use the information to do a better job to prevent diseases like epilepsy, shamanic brain schizophrenia, all of which are brain-based. we need to take full advantage

of the kind of interventions that we are seeking. host: we're going to focus more in cancer research. this is a quick tweet. spend the same amount on cancer research as he spent on breast cancer? i don't have the information at my fingertips. but that is public and permission. that is another question you might pose to the doctor when he comes to talk about the cancer institute. heavily in breast cancer research. great strides are being made because of our ability to understand at the dna level what is driving the cancers. is francis s.t collins at the nih. you that want to tell i added disease when i was a child that had never been diagnosed.

nih andi went into the they kept me alive for the next 30 years with more tests. that manyoser to nih of the people who had worked there. ever problem came up, i was over there. about 30 years ago i was taking care of there. and then in 1989, i had a heart transplant. , and iam 54 years later go the fact that i'm alive to the nih. i cannot say enough about them. that is an amazing story. i hear similar stories almost everyday from people who come here to our clinical center. this is the largest research hospital in the world. 240 beds.

all of the patients are in research protocol. come whenere people medical practice has basically failed to find an answer for them. they come here to find research and see if we can offer them something. amazing things have been done here. your story sounds like one of the amazing things. youlso have because mentioned how difficult it was to come to a diagnosis, people who are out there after many years of a valuation, they still a diagnosis about what if with them. we were program called the undiagnosed program, where individuals can have the records and all kinds of tests done, including dna sequencing. a team of 30 experts look at every detail and try to figure out what is going on. about half the time they come up with an answer.

sometimes that leads to a dramatic intervention that makes a huge difference in someone's life. we are on the cutting edge. if that is for sure. the hospital is an amazing place to see what goes on. all the doctors who work there are enormously dedicated. they could make a lot more money up there working somewhere else but they believed that this was their call to public service. their desire to help people bring some here every day to do amazing things for people like you. thank you for calling. host: dr. collins, how big is the campus? we have many acres here. we have 17,000 people who work on the campus. it is like a small town with its own fire department, its own hospital, and an amazing group of counted, dedicated people. about 5000 of these people have doctorate level training in

science. almost any area of science that you're interested in, in the biomedical arena, there is somebody on this campus who is in the top 10 in the world. host: on the issue of brain science, do you believe that the brain has the power to do beat -- defeat diseases of the body at the cellular level? brain is very much connected to the rest of what is going on with the rest of the body. that mind and body connection is increasingly being revealed. take diabetes, for instance, which is a disease that my old laboratory work done in the 1960's. we used to think diabetes was a problem of the pancreas and the muscles not handling that insulin in the best way. and we thought that obesity was a big intruder. what over the last 10 years it is increasingly clear that the brain is a huge part of this whole circuit. the more that we learn about

that and the hormonal influences that, even now, are surprising as with their complexity, the closer we get to understanding the disease. that is just one example. we should never think of the brain is just being isolated there up in your head and not being connected to what is going on in the rest of the body. it is one ecosystem. host: with the comment of an online. caller: good morning. i am a mother in florida. i have two children. i am a mother of a two-year-old who is undiagnosed. we have been all over the place. we have done full genome testing. she is one of the children they don't understand. my question is that with all the issues happening with the funding, one of the things that i get intimidated by is the lack .f interest for rare diseases is there some a&m protects rare diseases for children up there

that there something protects rare diseases for children out there? she is mostly blind. his progressive hearing loss. she has a myriad of issues. we have taken her all over the place. they found that she is recessive genes. but they have not been able to locate exactly what is going on with that. they really are at a loss. we have been all over the place. but they really have not got a clue. host: thank you for sharing your story with us. you are telling the story that i think anyone understands a bit frustrating. you're going through all of these challenges and not getting a clear answer about what is happening.

and nobody is able to predict the path and what it may lead to going forward. i'm glad you're connected with these wonderful institutions. i hope they continue to work hard to try to come up with an answer, eventually, about what is afflicting your child. in terms of your question about rare diseases, yes. we feel that is a strong mandate. rare diseases may not get as commercial interest because there is a small market. but if you consider all the people of rare diseases and add that up, even though the diseases themselves are individually rare, there are many of them. there are 25 million people in the united states affected with a red disease. that is a lot of people. there are only effective treatments for about 500 of those diseases. there is a big mandate that we feel to try to fill that gap. if we are learning about the causes of those rare diseases. circle thatre is a

prevents us from knowing the answer. there is an area for rare diseases. that is part of an area i started years ago that is focused on rare diseases working in collaboration with universities, small businesses, whatever it takes to come up with those answers. we are very much dedicated to that. i should also say that our has half of the patients there who have reduce these is. a lot of the times the only hope they have to getting some answer that many of the doctors they've seen have never seen before, is to come does. comparison ofa breast cancer research to prostate cancer. $800 million spent on breast cancer. million on prosecutor.

largern you give us a idea of where you are today, presently -- approximately? the budget was only slightly less than it is now. 29 millionwas maybe dollars. in terms of our ability to do research, we have received a cut , particularly with the sequester hitting us hard. we very much hope that will go away with the next fiscal year. 700 researchout grants that we were about to ofrd, that were in the top all of the grants we received, and we had to turn down. one of those grants could have

been the brick due to cancer. and which of them might have gone on to win the nobel prize? we will never know. that opportunity is gone. that is heartbreaking. from our perspective, we have to do everything possible to get this turned around so that that doesn't happen. host: we have a call from ohio. .aller: good morning it is so nice to talk to someone who once to stands the importance of science in our world. i just wanted to call you because i have been a type one diabetic since 1964. i am perfectly healthy. i take care of myself. brain'sderstand the impact on the disease. i really do. i just want to ask you. is there anyone at all cash because i think i can help the diabetic community -- is there anyone i could talk to at nih?

i have tried to get through before. very little luck. think i can help the >> well, you are a remarkable well people st how can do who take care of themselves and take full advantage of all the advance happened with type one diabetes. you're telling me you've had years.agnosis for 50 in fact, there are individuals ike yourself that seem to be particularly well were the long term consequences of a disease risks in ies many to kidneys t does eyes. folks are at interest in terms of what you have been doing that's so effective. sorry you haven't gotten anyone at