she tried to keep up her correspondence. >> she had rheumatoid arthritis. she had a caregiver. and several at the end. she died at home. >> i imagine that was the way home.died in the hospital andst >> how should we remember? >> i think we should remember the way she wanted to be remembered. that you can be a wonderful influencial first lady even if it at the't know time. >> she did that. >> did she have then any of first on the role lady? or was she really truly her own person? own would say she was her person. >> absolutely. >> it is not really possible any more. mrs. reagan said she would play cards with her friends which is something bess truman would have done. my goodness, you would think committed treason. mrs. truman would have responded i'm nott is my life and

elected. >> but not possible today. >> no. independent mind person at a time when that was allowed. woman.epends on the if she wanted to not get involved but today women are so they wereout than then. >> and this was 1940's and woman.american >> she was her own person. >> thanks to both of you for telling us the story of the truman family in the white job afterust into the the death of franklin roosevelt and then making it their own. your time.te and thanks to the white house historical association and to the folks at the truman library and undependence for their help video tonight. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute]

♪ ladies,row on first mamie eisenhower. she held only one press conference as first lady but was popular and took charge of running the white house. as first lady, she conducted inspections and approved menus for a record visits.number of state

suffering from an inner ear condition she spent part of her bed.orking from our program includes a look at the eisenhower farm in pennsylvania. in 1950 they spent time there for the rest of their lives including during the white house years. the lifeor a look at firstie eisenhower on first ladies on c-span. newseries returns in the year with the five most recent first ladies from nancy reagan obama.elle monday night starting january 13, live at 9:00 p.m. c-span.on and along with the white house historical association, we are ofering a special edition the book "first ladies of the united states of america" and biographies and a portrait of each first lady for $12.95 plus shipping at c-span.org/products. series website with the special section welcome to the white house which chronicles executive mansion at

c-span.org/first ladies. >> earlier on "washington journal" we looked at the inlthcare law and what is store beginning january 1. this is 50 minutes. >> right now we are joined at aeenen the joanne politico. editor for walk us through what took place over the past 48 hours when it enrollment?lthcare

>> the first thing is healthcare.gov seems to have stood up to the pressure. not crash. it did something called cueing. put people in virtual and it rooms on a list says you can come back now, it is safe. times they were so many people they did the waiting room. they could come back. whacked outget the purple error messages we were workedin october and it pretty well. >> the reason we had to have the thereg rooms is because were big deadlines this week. >> originally it was the 15th 23th and then the 24th. deadline. was the if you want healthcare cover and january 1, last night was the deadline.

they put out an announcement you were afternoon if genuinely stuck on the website and tried to meet the deadline did a good faith effort there will be an electronic you were of whether there or not and got somehow or theher overwhelmed by website which is not the best website in terms of the consumer have more then you time and they will work with you. that is 20ow if people or 20 million. somewhat case by case. we didn't know how many of the wound upwho got on having a problem yesterday. >> the call center is off today. off.get christmas they were 10,000 people working until midnight last night or maybe a little after midnight night. so the call center does get christmas day off. tomorrow they will be back. a problem call the call center on the website and happened mere is what to me, can you help me?

they just announced this theerday and put a post on web site itself and sent out an announcement. mechanics.ve the we don't know how many or if they will get all processed. we do know from the insurance industry people we talked to yesterday it is not a wide open door. really goteople who hung up on the website. ha that number is. >> and some stats about the number of people that have actually visited the website this week. the centers for medicare and services put out an ofouncement on monday as 2:00 p.m. that day there was 850,000 visits to healthcare.gov. >> do we know what this translates to in terms of people actually signing up? >> not everybody who shops on website actually guys buys something. that is true of any website. we will not know for awhile

exactly how many people signed up. gone know the numbers have up. president obama said at the press conference last week he it wasmber at that point roughly over a million in the private healthcare and a couple million in medicaid and the children's health program. and then that was last friday. we know we had millions of people that you and i are talking about, that is just the exchange. there are 14 other state exchanges and that includes areyork and california that big and they have given out bits and pieces of numbers. had 25,000 in one day and california had i don't remember all of the numbers. state 50,000 in three days. rattling off numbers from to quoteouldn't want me without checking. in the states there is also probably hundreds of thousands that signed up for care. so we are getting into serious goals. but not the >> and those goals before

rollout of the website and administrationhe was looking for over three million signups by the end of the year. that.ething like the big numbers in march, looking for 7 million. you know, is a number that basically came out the budget process. it wasn't oh, we need this to work.t they are sort of struck with it now. this many people will do this and cost us this much rat. et cetera,est set the seven million became the policy goal. tried to house wriggle. we all can say how many do they want? seven million. will getook like they seven million? it looks shaky. it?d they get yes. >> if you want to talk about the with joanneare act kenen give us a call. are open.lines

and we actually is have a ofcial line in this segment the "washington journal" for that recently enrolled we want to hear about your experience on the website you tried to go through the process this week or last week when we are talking about some of the large volume people that have been on the federal exchange and also some of the state exchanges. you are recently enrolled, 202-585-3883. and you will be talking with joanne kennen of politiconly the there.are editor we talked about pushing back the deadlines a little bit this month from the 15 to the 23 to the 24. what do the multiple pushbacks the deadline do for the insurers who actually have to make this happen on the back end? >> if you think you got apparel this morning on christmas day, i

anldn't want to work for insurance company today. i think they are facing a huge -- well, we know they are facing a huge, you know, sort of bureaucratic, i don't mean in a paperwork ort computer work. they have to make sure if you on the for plan w website that you are on their list of the person who should the insurance card by january 1 of plan w. lots ofplans and insurers. the website was having trouble. they have to send the files from to the insurers. blue cross or united or aetna. companies you are familiar with in the exchanges. is a probably a headache mild word for what the insurers have to do by january 1. the is why they can't make deadline never. that is why they wanted it december 15. ite two weeks to straighten out and then a few days. >> do the insurers get a say in inthe deadlines?

do they get to say we can still by january 1?en >> i think they are saying we are doing the best we can to are nothappen and they promising a that january 1 will be a completely flawless perfect tay. >> talk about when insurance starts. a difference between signing up paying your first payment to the insurance company, right? >> a little wiggle room there, too. some of the things got pushed back. if you signed up by midnight night you are covered january 1. most plans and there are a little pitt of variation on deadlines. so if you live on a state that is not on federal -- on the is your own, it state, you need to check your own state. basically the government -- the in theofficials government asked the insurers -- because they have to process it. and do thels invoicing and matching up and who is in which plan and what do federaland the government is subsidizing. it is complicated. giving most people until to pay.10 again, check with your carrier

isause not every health plan agreeing to january 10 and some are later and some earlier. as a general rule, sign up yesterday, your coverage is january 1, you have until january 10 to pay for the coverage that began january 1. kenen,ing with joanne politico's healthcare editor. yesterday,ou wrote this one early in the morning at 9:00 in the morning. and there has been a couple of more pieces you have written politico andr politico pro as well. she is here to take your calls the affordablen care act and implementation effort going on and we have a line set up for folks recently enrolled. 202-585-3883. the line waiting is bruce from walter burrow, south carolina. an independent. thanks for joining us this

morning. >> thank you very much. make a couple of brief comments. i tried to sign up when system the program first opened and everybody knows the nightmare so i won't go through there. i decided to wait and give the chance to fixe a it. i enrolled yesterday. on it, butot of time ton, most of that time was shopping plans, not signing up. i had a pretty pleasurable experience to be honest with you. looking at the dental part wasn't but that wasn't that important to me. will do that later. i called my sister-in-law and her husband. i said i will sign you up so i started actually doing someone night.st overall, i think it was a good experience. hours would you say you spent on it this week in others?yourself up and

caller: yesterday i started doing myself at 9:30 and stayed on until about 9:00 that night but i mean the day before -- i'm sorry. i was also doing other things. i was working and, you know, to stop and go do things. so it is really hard, but i was probably actually on the site for five hours. that i took an insurance was very college so i keen -- i knew exactly what i wanted and i want over every havebenefit of ever i plan. i just didn't look at the front posting so a lot of time was doing that. and then when i started doing my husband, iaw and her actually got all the way to the in an theirs probably hour. kenen, does this

seem like a normal amount of people using the system are on it for? >> there were a million people on the site. the error rates and response time -- he sounds like a pretty informed consumer. sounds like you understood what you kneed and check the bronze and silver. there are different health plans deductibles and copays. those that get insurance through our jobs, i know the healthcare i have three choices and i have trouble checking out which family.est for my when you get on the computer with all of the new options, particularly people who didn't have insurance before, the insurance market has changed and haven't had coverage in years. shopping a simple experience. were you someone who had your plan canceled? before?d buying it yourself and paying too much and got a better deal the extent you are comfortable sharing what you

had? a major i had healthcarier. >> you had a plan. caller: okay, i had a plan and it.ife and i bought deductible.h oh, shoot. >> catastrophic plan? savings account plan. deductible was $50,000 $5,000. paid in it for 20 years and never used it. startingd the costs going higher and higher. two years ago we said heck with our own will pay for healthcare so we dropped it. not having healthcare as you age more andttle more and more scary. so i chose yesterday the silver the middle the high deductible silver plan and that simple. be -- it is if people will look at that, it

is a very simple plan. deductible and then you don't have to worry about coinsurances and this and that the other. i didn't like the bronze plans. i thought they -- they left a little bit too much to the for me, the silver plan seemed much better from. >> from the data, we didn't know silver, about the bronze, i should explain that generousis the most plan. bronze covers the least. the gold will cost you more and cost you less. those are financial decisions families have to make. we don't know from the federal who is choosing what. the little data we have gotten from the states say most people did what this caller did which is buy the silver. don't have enough numbers to know if this that is going to hold up. hints that is the one people like, the silver plan. >> bruce, appreciate you sharing experience. we have the special line open

for people who used the website recently enrolled or tried to enroll in the website. the website has been giving through its own twitter page, healthcare.gov has its own and talked about the changes and deadlines this week, noting in one of the tweets from yesterday that those who couldn't get through yesterday but started their applications would have help and to continue their work. like with medicaid and medicare there is a case work system for enroll buttried to couldn't considered on a case-by-case basis talking about of that work that might continue after that december 24 deadline. want people too understand that yesterday was the deadline for january 1 coverage. deadline forgetting coverage in 2014. if you get on tomorrow you get covered in february. mid january, i don't know the exact cutoffs. january until february. and then covered through march.

through april. someone who for didn't get insurance that didn't go away. wentanuary 1 deadline away. people still have three more months and they will be trying to sign up inople the next three months because there aren't enough right now. indonald is waiting carlysle, pennsylvania on the line for republicans. good morning. "the washington journal." caller: thanks. question/comment is and i don't mean to be bashing anybody dayarticular on christmas and merry christmas to everybody. where was the press for the past three years and prior to the election? it seems like you guys were not doing your job in any way whatsoever figuring this thing out and recording to the people wholes country what this thing was about and how it was going to affect us. know, i get my insurance through my employer

things aboutng what is going happen to us in the year to come. >> you are unaffected. if you get insurance through your employer you are pretty much unaffected. majority, the millions who get insurance through the employer are unaffected. really skimpy plan in 2015 you will see some changes. if your insurance went up this year, i mean mine has gone up, every yearust about for the last 20 years. oh, my insurance went up this year, insurance been rising since there has been insurance. some years more, some years less. slowed down ait little. and in the early 2000's it went control. they had the law to try to address. so cost factors. gettingy the people insurance on the job, the changes you are going to see dramatic. be that you may end up paying more by

youris a decision that employer is making. and you may end up paying less because the law requires certain things of the employer in a year. the trends in the work place when the law goes into effect next week aren't that different. you get more preventive care. if you have a 25-year-old they have stay on your plan. is hard to tease out what arees or cost shifts because decisions employers make happenings just because healthcare costs have been going up. >> do you want to respond to about wherements the press was? do you think the press was taken by surprise in the rollout? expect thet cancellation numbers to be as big as they were. many, manyany, many, stories about essential benefits and how plans had to meet certain requirements. few-- i think that the last

months six people got through on day one. it was a disaster. the stories of the last two months, the complete cat catcataclysm of the website. and the plan cancellation got bigger because they couldn't get on the website to figure out what they had instead. if the westbound site was a smooth wonderful consumer get a letterd you saying this product isn't going to be available and you go to website, 40% to 50% of the cancellations actually have subsidies through the new program. cancellation letter but the insurer said i can offer you this that is similar. if youices went up but are getting a subsidy your price down.ly went i have spoken to people whose prices went way, way up. but also people who were paying a lot of money for a pretty

skimpy plan and once the dust settles they will be better off. twitter.tion on what other parts of the healthcare law still have to be implemented or have not been fully implemented that the point? >> january 1 almost all of it implemented on january 1. one tax on what they call cadillac plans which is sort of comprehensive expensive plans which most don't tha have. that is 2017 or 2018. pretty much everything else will be implemented a week from today. some of the benefits people are they don't even realize that. if you take your kid to the used tond something you pay 20 bucks for is new free i don't know if people are is part of the healthcare law. seniors getting more help. has been some effect. this will be a bumpy year and

be, too. i was not prepared for however many millions of plan cancellations. the c.b.o. wasn't. i looked at their may report and saw a two million net shrinkage of the individual market. congressional budget correction. >> right. >> and that is a net change. doesn't it will me ten people went out and eight people went in. it wasn't as big as -- but we really know how big it was because there is no central repository of every plan has to write a letter to me saying i canceled these 300 people this week. no federal -- they are estimates and they are across the board. they are wild. a few hundred thousand to 14 million. >> by january 1 most about implemented. >> almost all of it. some of what isn't you are not going to understand. system of penalties for hospitals and realized

missions and that is already in. theew conditions get added a.c.o.'s which people also don't understand. accountable care organizations. changes in how hospitals and doctors actually deliver medicine, which is a another part of the health law, that is going to unfold over a few years. january 1.arts >> it will be interesting to watch come january 1 and beyond and unfavorable ratings of the affordable care act. is kaiser family foundation on favorable and ratings of the healthcare law. the orange line rising over the the unfavorable rating. ended in december. unfavorable with 34% viewing affordable care act favorably. waiting on the phone is ed from albany, indiana, on our line for folks who recently tried to enroll in the healthcare plan.

ed, good morning to you. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. watch it quite frequently. just kind of set the stage. yearse and i are both 62 old presently. retired chemical engineer. becaused back in 2008 of some medical problems. i got a bad heart. diabetic and my wife is a polio survivor. with in 2008 we signed up what was called the healthy indiana plan here in the state excellent plan. premiums were based on your pay.ty to and which in some regards this what the healthcare program mr. obama has started is supposed to reflect. does.mewhat it

however, because we are going on to social security and because decidedce our governor to cut back on income requirements for the healthy indiana plan we saw we were going to have to enroll in the national -- the new national healthcare program. well, of course, indiana we have to go through the national healthcare exchange so i started process on october 13. in to some sort of a loop that made it almost -- was impossible for me to get out of. healthcarethere at work with me. did i even wrote an appeal letter to try tox plain my situation and i thought was causing the problem. they couldn't help either. on november 13 i i'm sorry on

december 13 i called and said today i got to get healthcare, i have to get signed up or else i find anothero healthcare plan that my wife and of, which i had found one with humana here in louisville, kentucky that is only about five miles from where live. and but for their bronze plan it was going to cost me out of the was going to cost me probably $500 more than the most expensive silver plan would in the marketplace. atany howe, the people healthcare ge.gov worked with me me to a point where i was signed up and submitted the which, byn to anthem, the way, was the only healthcare in the that was offered floyd county, indiana. they had 15 -- there was no competition in our state. basically or in our county. anthem basically had every

offered.at was >> are you set to be covered on january 1? caller: this is a good story. on the 13 of december i was told receive the information and gave my credit card information. they said i would have a packet of information from the insurance company. packetyet to receive the of information. we are stating to get into a point here where i do need coverage january 1, but i'm still sitting here, you know, i covered but i'm not sure. i'm hoping that we will be. think you should call anthem. h.h.s. isat the telling people if you enrolled and haven't gotten the card yet carrier. you are not going to be only person calling them. i would start tomorrow. answeringink they are today. i think if you have

documentation and you have got paid,mails and you have you are probably in their records and they have to get this flood of people who signed at thee were talking beginning of the program you fromto get the information insurer.e.gov to the you may be in the system and it will come in the mail tomorrow. you do have medical needs and i would call the carrier, the insurer and see that you are in there. the lackcomment about of competition, it really varied across the country. looked at-- when we it state by state and we also later have seen studies by various think tanks, states that have a lot of competition now, lot of different insurance carriers are having a fair amount of competition and areas states that didn't have a lot of competition, one or two plans they tend tow still be low competition. there is something that the toernment is trying to do create multi-state plans they

call and some of this so there in everyn alternative state. they will not be in every state this first year. remember whether indiana is or not. they should spread so you should ail tentives in the future although you may have found something that will work for you very well and you won't need anything else. is waiting in midland, texas. kenan ofn with joanne politico. caller: how are you doing this morning? >> good. caller: just recently president thea signed up with washington, d.c. plan, a bronze plan and his payment was $400 a month. i was stunned by that. because i work for a small regional freight company, we have about a thousand employees. now, we have insurance. it is through united healthcare. premium is like about $125 ally month and my hospitalization

a thousandis dollars. but the one thing about our plan maternity because 10% -- 5% to 10% of our many employees are women. and i'm just wondering with the healthcare plan we possible have to take on maternity. going to probably cause our rates to go up or, you know, i'm just wondering how is that type of situation going to affect certain companies like which is a freight company who doesn't have a lot of female now we probably have to take on maternity and it other 90%'scost the rates to go up. >> if covering maternity is going to cost more money, it is go going to make your rates haywire. all healthcare in the country in not justf the exchange because of the health law but

another law passed that was implemented there will have to be more mental health coverage for people. if your company covers spouses or just the work are but if it is family coverage an option there are people who you know even if you have mostly male workforce but if therespouses are covered may be more people needing that than you need. don'te thinking, well, i want to have to cover a 30-year-old having a baby but aey will also be covering 60-year-old getting cancer. insurance is about having a pool covered. who are and younger people do subsidize older people and that is sort of the way it works. ae you going to go from $100 month to $400 a month because of maternity? i would be sunday if that happened. >> he brings up the fact that the president this week signed up for his healthcare. >> somebody signed him up.

>> cbs news reports that obama couldn't use the website to sign up for obamacare. is not because -- they didn't let us watch. me. they didn't let the press watch. there was no photo op. did said oh, by the way, he this. part of the problem the report informationpersonal isn't kept in the databanks that the d.c. exchange and federal would have. if you and i signed up. >> tax information. >> so they can't process the president's like they process you or me. problem.art of the secondly, he is not going to fit in the normal check boxes when go to the exchange. president. thing.a symbolic he has plenty of healthcare. the white house physicians. go to walter reed, blah, blah, blah. yes, he it is as a symbolic

thing and they said back in 2010 he would do it as a symbolic thing. i don't know that we can -- call line orn the the ipad or, however, they did, calleduld assume they and said this is 1600 pennsylvania avenue and we need help with the exchange. i'm sure they did not have the five-hour experience that. in.allers without >> bob is from fayetteville, tennessee, on the line for republicans. morning. caller: yes, good morning. i have a question. wondering if the people that are going on to medicaid that they possibly assets if theyr vast sickness and a very dug dug.

>> the call is coming in and out. hear the question entirely. asset tests for medicaid. this usually applies when they about spending down someone's asset. i couldn't hear the whole question. is a program that the federal government and state governments share and it is for the poor. question usually comes in when people are older and home care and there are certain assets prodebted that don't count for the spouse. have $3 million in the bank they are not going to pay otherur nursing home or long-term care there is a tend down requirement. the health new to law and that is not -- there are toiations of the rules state state and variations of what the prodebt the assets are and aggressively how the states enforce it. it is not a new -- medicaid income people. if you are talking about the spend down that exists in terms getting on to medicaid now it

is also income based and i'm not of asset rules. it is not meant for wealthy people. subsidy.et a if you own a nice house and you middle class person and still have an income below a certain level you can get a private exchanges now in the private plans. i'm is not medicaid and apologizing if i'm not answering wanted to knowu because i couldn't hear it perfectly. did that are there, answer your question? caller: the reason i'm asking is because it was reported that was a lady in wisconsin health plan that was went in tod when she the -- to check on the new health plans because of her intoe she was forced

medicaid and so i just don't right.hat is >> wisconsin had a medicaid plan that was actually -- i mean i know about this individual case. wisconsin -- medicaid is for low income. and wisconsin did not expand medicaid which they had an doing.of everybodyhealth law, forsubsidies are available lower middle class and middle class people. beer people were supposed to in medicaid. court made itme optional, wisconsin didn't expand -- they did their own aretion where they -- they putting -- they are taking some of the federal money and taking linee over the the poverty and putting them in the exchanges where they can get federal subsidies. too poor for a federal subsidy then you -- the law doesn't allow subsidies below a certain income. it allows medicaid.

can pay forr wants.ce herself if she wap either looks for a cheap plan herself and there are catastrophic options or goes into medicaid. if she wanted there is nothing buying a planfrom on her own. if she doesn't want -- if she subsidized plan her choice will be medicaid. inal is waiting in florida morning an independent on the line we opened up for folks who toently enrolled or tried enroll in the healthcare.gov exchanges. al, good morning to you. caller: good morning to you. good morning. she just hit on a good point this. did get our son enrolled. it took about three weeksen the website. it is a task and he did get enrolled in the silver plan. he can barely pay his premiums that he did get and the deductibles are like six grand.

he won't even be able to pay deductibles, that is the problem. and getting back to the medicare, i know nobody wants to it but in florida here they didn't accept the so you gotey hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people down here you,the website just tells if you made under $10,000 it tells you to go to medicare and take the money they don't have the money for medicare. we are looking at hundreds of thousands of people that this program was supposed to help. gotrich don't need it, they the gold man and people working they have insurance. what are we going to do and how make the states take the money and get the poor health insurance? they can get an insurance policy if they want to. they don't have the money to pay for it. my question. >> medicaid was optional. remains for everybody over 65. medicaid was originally in the law that was passed in 2010. the supreme court said optional for the states.

as he pointed out. states is one of the that did not expand medicaid. governor scottda who is a republican came out in support of it and he is a strong health law and doesn't like obama care but actually said you know there is coverl money for me to poor people in the state and i want to take it and the state agree.ture did not so there are a few republican eight.rs seven or not even a few any more. ohio, arizona, and scott wanted to. i don't remember offhand the exact number of people in florida that fall into the gap too poor for the exchanges, too poor to get a subsidy. covered by the exchanges but have a little bit too much money to get into the regular medicaid it is mostly withomen and families kids. it is very limited. there is this gap of people who

are really quite poor who are getting anything when people who are a little bit less poor are getting something. million peoplea in florida. about four million, that may be too high for florida. i'm not far enough. to 5 millionlion people nationwide who fell into the gap. delight tostill change that. we strongly suspect not many the do that until after 2014 elections. virginia might because they just had a democrat elected. tennessee is still talking to the federal government about how to do it and if they can come up with a plan that suits them. >> how many states haven't? >> i believe the latest number is 24 that have not. a few in the middle of like iowa that might have made it 25. roughly half and half. ahead with it. tennessee still considering. virginia may flip now. and pennsylvania is talking about it.

inamerican hero joe writes what is being lost is that medicaid isn't free and people force inside medicaid lose own and everyy penny that they have. >> medicaid is free. can't -- medicaid is free. the upper border line, the people on the higher end of the income scale on medicaid have monthly premiums. some states have to pay a small amount for your medication. some of that states have some of states sotionary to that co--pays and things differ from states. pay to getave to into medicaid and the asset test usually in the long-term care setting. >> jay from simmy valley, california on the line for republicans. jay, thanks fo thanks for gettih morning on the "washington journal." caller: good morning. christmas. i'm a small business owner and i

cover about five families and i the premiums 100%. and because of the law i'm now peopleto pay for three that are between the ages of 21 to pay fori have them 100% even though they are other the workforce with jobs. i'm actually subsidizing other businesses. and my other question is about the five million people dropped coverage or so, whatever the number is. you have to assume that some percentage of those people that actually in a hospital right now and being covered by a doctor and what happens to them january 1 if their hospital or the doctor they are being covered by is not this their plan. don't have to could

anything, you are doing it because you are choosing to and up with there going additional people. you may find -- we are mostly talking about the exchange for individuals. there is also something called shop which is small business exchange. the first year there is not much there. on, online. have to go through a broker. the futures like letting workers have more choices instead of all.ing them the way it is supposed to work you should be able to write one but this everybody they shop around for their plan. that didn't happen the first year. it is happening in some states, not in too many. that on theind small business exchanges next more in it for you. in addition, you won't be yourized if some of employers -- some of your employees end up, i don't know structure is -- you are doing more than you are

required by law and doing more than most small business owners. if you have to cover more people it going to go up. required toare cover them, too t. depends whether you are grandfathered or not. just sort of a technical issue. if they have another job offer have to check this out with your broker. grandfathered or fatherred whether you have to cover the 26-year-olds vary. i went through this with my emplower. it depended on the option in at work and i happened to be in the he is still yeah, covered. but you also -- you may decide that you want to cover 95% instead of 100% because of the additional costs. you may talk to the workers the plan a change little bit. you have more flexibility as a small business owner because you mandated. if you have under 50 people you

are doing it because you want to do it and probably one reason you have loyal workers if in stickhat is true and they with you. part of why you compensate your workorce and why they there. >> steve in spring hill, florida. the line went on set up for folks who recently enrolled or tried to enroll. us on "thejoining washington journal." toller: merry christmas everybody. first of all, i was going to then iout my plan but heard jean said that medicaid or medicare is free. two different. caller: just blows my mind. >> medicare you pay a monthly premium and deductibles. the caller was talking about medicaid. caller: it is not free, though, ma'am. it is not free. premiums you don't pay. caller: i don't want to get into an argument with you, ma'am. can pay copays and pay

for your drugs and you don't pay. .> knew it caller: it is taxpayer funded. government and state government pays. caller: we can understand it is country.to the it costs money. number two, c.b.o. says medicare andoing broke in 13 years we are putting millions more on it. you don't say that, you know, the recoverrage of this obama care has been horrible. mr. obama, for president obama with his big lie that you can keep your insurance, you can keep your doctor. many of us cannot and now that we do not have insurance we when get on that line and we do get on line my premium was $6,000. my deductible i'm sorry. which was up $3,000. so this is not affordable. cannot stand the press sticking up for this plan repeater youing a should be a reporter.

you sound like you work for the d.n.c. worksler, joanne kenen for politico, the healthcare editor there. check out all of the work they on subject at politico.com and follow joanne kenen on at thi twitter if you o her work. >> talking medicare and medicaid and you had a plan cancel and went way up. the government did announce the other day that you have new options and you may want to look into the catastrophic. it is not going to be available and may not help you personally. thatked to other families had deductibles and premiums go up and they are not happy. california,ly in well, i didn't meet them, we were on a tv show together. from $3,000 to $13,000. they are very, very unhappy. certainly people who are finding

this did not help them. other people some of who have called in today finding things that they couldn't afford before. ande are definitely winners losers here. different is a whole issue. actually more solvent now that it was a couple of years ago. trust fund has a few more years. congress has been completely problem. solve this on the other hand, medicare spending still going up but the lowest rate in 50 way ford been that three years straight. through some bipartisan things medicare.agreed on on some trends in how the healthcare is delivered and how people spend their money in a recession. growth in medicare has gone down. problem. a solved nobody in washington report country thinks it is a solved problem. different than what is happening in the exchanges. for those who had canceled plans the roof,t through check into the catastrophic

option. a high detuckible plan. does still cover the preventive you a few free primary care visits a year and costs less. yes, not everybody is happy with this law. from texas,all in an independent. good morning and thanks for "the washington journal." caller: good morning. are you doing? i am calling to say i have insurance on my job and it went up an extra $100 a pay period two weeks.aid every but it is the idea of helping other people. you know id because waste more than that when i'm things. doing crazy badut the other part, the part about it is the people that and keep otherze people from having healthcare.

a saying that we become -- it as that we become a nation where we would rather have people to die on the side of the street without healthcare than pay a little more for people healthcare.p the people that have the just don't know one day they might be in the position where they need healthcare and then what? the same thing they fight against they are going to need one day. >> right. caller: so that is what i called in about. up, though the money went you would be amazed at the money people make and they throw away that money to put good use. >> i think what upset people about the law it has been the irritant politically since day one which is the mandate. recent being told they have to do something by the government. has been controversial. saying i feel this is part of my social obligation and i may need it some way. rather do itwould through charity or for the

private sector. any -- nothe way that they want people to die on the streets but they don't want the federal government to tell them very have to buy a health plan and what it will cost them. that is why it has been a hot button that is not going away for years. you also raised the point where sick and don't know when they will get sick. do end upf us subsidizing that. our insurance is as high as it because part of what we pay a portion of is going to the the uninsuredred who can't collect the bad debt and things like that. paying in ways that we may not see. one of the other callers asked a good question, talking about small business and i didn't know if he is still on. are sick on you have a different plan on january 1. if you have a chronic disease sick right now, some people have to change doctors and they are not happy about that. industry often makes accommodation changing

from plan a to plan b. film' in the hospital today and my health insurance changes tomorrow are they going to kick and move?the hospital apparently the industry does have some ways of working through this. administration announce. and it is not going to, i don't will be perfect for every person in the world who has to change doctors. administration has asked to let people see the current doctors for the month of january. insurers don't have to do that. some will. give you -- takes time. trying to find a new doctor and appointment and getting in is not something you can do overnight. get appendicitis on december 31 and your insurance changes january 1, some people not be happy. >> you can see joanne's work at

politico.com. appreciate you joining us this morning. >> good to be here. >> on the next washington talk politicsl ahead of the 2014 and 2016 elections. look at the republican party with eric hamm, author of "the civil war" then the future of the democratic party with c.e.o. alnder and from. washington journal live every morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern here on c-span. tomorrow a special airing of representatives robert ney. he talks about his memoir. his more than decade long career in congress he was sent to serve 30 months in federal prison. in prison for one year and released to an alcohol rehabilitation program in ohio months. former congressman bob

at 7:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> we now have secular norms of theo logical that the acceptance or rejection in ways in which a god people andn speak to what influence that has. the branch davidians. david karesh saying he has a insight to the bible and these help the other members of the community understand the the book ofularly better.on well, that buy itself doesn't seem to be a problem. leads to other trigger both that law enforcement's concern as isl as the popular press concerned then suddenly this idea of somebody listening to having his followers do be abhorrenteem to

to national norms is dangerous and needs to be policed and controlled. gottschalk argues that religiouses persecution has been prevalent since the 1800's. at 9:00.ght next, britain's quinn elizabeth her annual christmas message from london. the tradition dates back to 1932 radio address by king george v. this year's video address the 1953scenes from 1953coronation.

it is about ten minutes. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> i once knew one who spent a year in a plaster cast recovering from an operation on his back. he read a thought, thought a lot and felt miserable. later he felt this time had

helped him understand the world more clearly. we all need to get the balance right between action and reflection. with so many distractions, it is easy to forget to pause and take stock. be it through contemplation, prayer or even keeping a diary, many have found the practice of quiet personal reflection rprisingly rewarding, even discovering greater spiritual depths to their lives. reflection can take many forms. when families and friends come together at christmas, it is often a time for happy memories and reminiscing. our thoughts are with those we have loved who are no longer with us. we also remember those who through doing their duty cannot be at home for christmas, such as workers in essential or

emergency services. >> and especially at this time of year we think of the men and women serving overseas in our armed forces. we are forever grateful to all those who put themselves at risk to keep us safe. service an duty are not just the guiding principles of yesteryear. they have an enduring value which spaniels the generation -- which spans the generations. ♪ >> i myself had cause to reflection this year at westminster abby, in the service made in that great church on coronation day 60 years earlier.

>> all this i promise to do. >> today we celebrate 60 years since that moment, 60 years of commitment. [applause] >> the anniversary reminded me of the remarkable changes that have occurred since the coronation. many of them for the better. and of the things that have remained constant, such as the importance of family, friendship and good neighborlyness. but reflection is not just about looking back. i and many others are looking forward to the commonwealth ames in glasgow next year. that is now the other side of the world.

on its way across 70 nations and territories. before arriving in scotland next summer. that ourney is a reminder the commonwealth can offer us a fresh view of life. my son charles spoke in sri lanka of the commonwealth's family tires. with a thought of encouragement to many. >> each one of us is here because of the hope and the trust we place in the area to bring that pitch of healing to our troubles and deliver the very best future for our people. >> like any family, there can be differences of opinion. but however strongly they are expressed, they are held within the common bond of friendship and shared experiences. here at home, my own family is

a little larger this christmas. as so many of you will know, the arrival of a baby gives everyone a chance to contemplate the future with renewed happiness and hope. >> for the new parents, life will never be quite the same again. as with all who are christened, george was baptized into a joyful faith of christian duty and service. >> one, two, three. here we go. >> after the christening, we gathered for the traditional hotograph. >> good boy. >> really nice. >> it was a happy occasion,

bringing together four generations. in the year ahead i hope you will have time to pause for moments of quiet reflection. as the man in the plaster cast discovered, the results can sometimes be surprising. for christians, as for all people of faith, reflection, meditation and prayer help us to renew ourselves in god's love as we strive daily to become better people. the christmas message shows us that this love is for everyone. there is no one beyond its reach. on the first christmas in the fields above bethlehem, as they sat in the cold of night watching the resting sheep, the

local shepherds muffed no shortage of time for reflection. suddenly all this was to change. these humble shepherds were the first to hear and ponder the wondrous news of the birth of crist, the first noel, the joy of which we celebrate today. i wish you all a very happy christmas. ♪ ♪ the first noel ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> next on c-span, the congressional gold medal ceremony for native american towed talkers who served in world wars i and ii.

then a year in review of surveillance perhaps. then a review of faith based offers. then a look at the health care law and coverage that begins january 1st. >> now the congressional gold medal ceremony honoring the military service of the native american code talkers. they transmitted secret coded messages using their tribal nguages in world war i and world war ii. from the u.s. capital, this is about an hour. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the speaker of the united states

house of representatives, the honorable john boener. [applause] [applause] ladies and gentlemen. we are fortunate to have in congress two outstanding leadership of two native americans. tom, and mark wayne mullen. [applause] >> today we meet to immortalize men who were in a way we are meeting for the first time.

like edmund harjo, a member of the seminole nation, and during the war, a member of the 195th field artillery battalion. one day in 1944 he was walking through an orchard in southern france and heard one of his bertha ren singing under a tree. recognized the dialect as creek. the captain heard the two talking and immediately put them to work on opposite ends of a radio. that coincidence that brought these men on to the stage of history, and alongside that elite band that we call code talkers. we have with us today, and i ask all of you to join me in welcoming him here and thanking him for his service. [applause]

>> he and his brothers were at normandy. they were on iwo jima. they mobilized the simplest weapon, language, to thwart the fiercest enemy the free people have ever known, and they made a difference. after serving with honor, they did the honorable thing. they kept their service a secret, even to those that they loved. so these wives and daughters and sons, aching to give back to those who gave up so much for them dedicated much of their own lives to unfurling

the truth. not for gain or glory but just so people would know. it's the story that is important, one of them said. and many of these families are with us today and join me in applauding their perseverance. [applause] >> because of them, the deeds that may have well been relegated to legend will now live on in memory. and heroes who for too long went unrecognized will now be given our highest recognition. since the days of the revolution it has been the custom of this congress to award gold medals in honor of great acts and great contributions. the first recipient was a general by the name of george washington in 1776. many names were put forward, but few received the approval of both houses and the

signature of the president of the united states. today pursuant to h.r. 4544, we will recognize 33 tribes for dedication, for valor and for sharing what may be the toughest code, what it takes to be the bravest of the brave. they say every medal tells a story. but by adding these men to such lofty ranks, we also mean to add their story. one worth honoring today, one worth retelling every day. thank you all for being here. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the presentation of the colors by the united states armed forces color guard, the singing of our national anthem by the united states army band and chorus, and the retiring of the colors.

♪ ♪ >> oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hailed t the twilight's last gleaming

whose broad stripes and bright stars hrough the perilous fight oer the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming ♪ ♪ ♪ and the rocket's red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there ♪ ♪ oh, say does that star pangled banner yet wave ♪ oer the land of the free and the home of the brave ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ >> please remain standing as the chaplain of the united states senate, dr. barry black, gives the invocation. > let us pray.

oh, god our refuge and fortress , we put our trust in you. thank you for this congressional gold medal ceremony that provides long over due recognition to native erican code talkers of the first and second world war. we praise you that you empowered these wind talkers from many native american tribes to creatively use their native tongue to save the lives of countless thousands who would have perished on distant battlefields. lord, while sacrificing on

foreign soil for freedoms they nd their families were often enied at home, they were heros proved in liberating strife, who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life. as we celebrate their triotism, skill, creativity, speed and accuracy that made victory in combat possible in spite of daunting odds, challenge us, oh, god, to invest our lives in causes worthy of our last full measure of devotion. we pray in your great name.

amen. >> please be seated. >> ladies and gentlemen, united states representative from the fourth district of oklahoma, the honorable tom cole. [applause] >> as a native american and as the grandson of a career naval officer, the son of a career united states air force non-commissioned officer, and he nephew and name sake of a chikasaw uncle who fought in the batan and the philippines and the main island of japan, it is an enormous honor for me to get to share this moment with each and every one of us. in the long history of american arms, no one has fought against

in alliance with and for the united states of america like native americans. that is true to this day. native americans still enlist at a higher level than any other race or ethnicity in this blessed land. they do so proudly and with a determination to defend it. [applause] >> among the most famous of those warriors of course are the and a half hoe code talkers -- navaho code talkers of world war ii. 33 tribes contributed, 10 of those from my state of oklahoma, three from my district, and they siberiaed lives, and they won battles, and they did so by giving the united states a unique battlefield advantage. secure communication. all the first code talkers were of course americans, but many

of them in the first world war were not american citizens. they didn't come for many tribes until 1924. the code talkers of world war ii like african-americans and japanese americans often were barred from full participation in american life. but they still served with pride, with patriotism, with honor and with sacrifice. i am proud that congress is recognizing that service. i appreciate my friend dan borne's wonderful role in that. by honoring these code talk ergs, we honor all native american warriors past, present and future. good luck and god bless. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, united states representative from the third district of wisconsin, ron kind. le good morning.

admiral, my colleagues, guests, the recipients of the gold medal, but especially to our native americans and code talkers, those who were none able to make the -- who were unable to make the trip, thank you. we owe you a debt of gratitude that could never be paid. on behalf of a grateful nation we thank you for your service and sacrifice. a couple of weeks ago in this capitol we dedicated the bust of prime minister winston churchill. during the second world war, he was fond of saying that in time of war the truth is so precious that it must always be surrounded by a bodyguard of lies. but in the case of our code talkers, that wasn't necessary. you spoke the truth. but in the words of your

naturive language, and it worked perfectly. wasn't t deciphered, it de-coded. you did it with an extreme degree of accuracy and speed. in the first 48 hours of the battle of iwo jima, over 800 battlele field communications were given by the code talkers with 100% accuracy rate, typically in less than 30 second per communication, when it was take a typical machine at the time close to half an hour to de-code messages. it was a remarkable accomplishment that led to a quicker end to that conflict and saved lives on both sides. they returned home heroes but without a hero's welcome. the code was so effective that our military kept it classified 8. secret until 196

even then it took many more years for the recognition to start taking place, of what our code talkers and native americans did during that time. it is a remarkable legacy that they share and a remarkable story that needs to be preserved. that is why i'm here to make one last request from a grateful nation to our native american veterans in attendance and throughout our country today, and to our code talkers here and at home. we ask you to share your stories and make it a part of the veterans history project. there was legislation i helped advance with the help of many colleagues mean years ago with the intent to try to preserve an important part of american history, our veteran's stories, and what it was like for them to serving our nation so future generations will never forget the service and the sacrifice that came before them. today the veterans history

project is housed at the library of congress. we have collected close to 90,000 stories. they say it is the world's largest oral history collection, but many more stories are yet to be told. we are going to follow up with you to see if you would be willing to share your story of what it was like to serve our nation. colonel bob patrick and i will follow up in the days to come with our native american veterans and our tribes here in attendance to see if we can get more to participate and share these vital stories. i hope many of you will consider doing so. again, on behalf of a grateful nation, we thank you for your service. may god bless you and your families. my god bless all of our veterans and soldiers wherever they may be serving us throughout the globe today, and may god continue to bless these united states of america. thank you. [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, united states senator from the state of south dakota, the honorable tim johnson. [applause] .> good morning and welcome it is an honor to be here today as we celebrate the military service of the native american code talkers. i worked for over a decade to honor the code talkers with the congressional gold medal. it is great feingold that this day is finally here. the real work, though, began 95

years ago when native americans from south dakota and across the country left their homes and joined the military effort in world war i. many ame at a time when native americans were not yet american citizens but fought valiantly for our shared home land. native code talkers were always used sentencively in the european and pacific theaters during world war ii. the use of native languages was a fundamental tactic that saved an untold number of lives and helped win both wars. over the years i have had the opportunity to visit with everal of the code talkers and hear their personal stories. i always left those meetings

inspired by the dedication to our nation. these men did not seek the limelight, and in fact, their tremendous impact to our military was kept from the public for half a century. there is no question their contributions were unparalleled and have had an impact on history. most of the native code talkers have passed away, but we will never forget their heroic actions and are forever grateful for their military service. today we celebrate the lives and contributions to our country. we celebrate with their families and friends who are with us today. congratulations to all of you.

[applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, united states senator from the state of oklahoma, the honorable james inoff. [applause] >> we heard first from congressman tom cole, who is the native american on our congressional delegation. i recall hearing from him sometime ago before he was even in congress. at that time i was in the house, and introducing us to this best kept secret of world war ii and world war i, the code talkers. i look around, and i see a lot active who were very other than those who are on the program today. but on the program today we , ve made mention of dan borne

i think he is here, and i believe wes watkins was one of the initial individuals who reminded us of this best-kept secret. for decades so, for decades after world war ii, people did not know anything about the contributions we started introducing resolutions and it was not until 2008 that we were successful. i want to mention that the speaker talked about edmund of the seminole nation, one of our fellow oklahomans. those of us have been fortunate, those in oklahoma, involved in this meeting today, and one of the reasons is oklahoma has the largest population of native americans and second only to california, and they cheat because they have more people. nonetheless, it became evident to us as to the contributions made. in his opening prayer, the reverend talked about the lives that were saved.

we cannot quantify that but we know they were out there. because of the secretive nature of the code talkers contribution, you cannot say how many, but we know many, many lives were saved by these american heroes. we pay tribute to today, we love you, it will always respect you and remember you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the united states army band and chorus. ♪

♪

♪

[applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the democratic leader of the united states house of representatives, the honorable nancy pelosi.

[applause] >> good morning. it is an honor to be here with our speaker, to be here with our native american brother, with ron kind, with the distinguished senator johnson, and senator inhofe, and we in california take great pride in having the largest number of native americans. in 1941, and of course, with the admiral that we will hear from later. in 1941, a young member of a tribe, charles, joined the u.s. army, one of 17 members of his tribe, he was recruited to speak their language in service to our country in world war ii. even in a nation that has long denied him his basic rights that long refused his people citizenship, that long neglected the challenges facing native americans, charles volunteered. like many of his generation, his fellow code talkers and service members, he signed up to protect and defend our communities and shared homeland. that is the oath of office that we all take to protect and -- like many of his generation, his fellow code talkers and service members, he signed up to protect and defend our communities and shared homeland. that is the oath of office that we all take to protect and

defend, and the code talkers honored that pledge and helped us to honor hours, all americans to do so. years later, we save lives using the native american language. as soldiers and marines with codes, no enemy could decipher the code talkers saved lives on the beaches of normandy and at iwo jima. they save lives on the invasion on d-day, the battles in the european theater, and fighting across the south pacific. they kept their code secret and safe, as the speaker mentioned. they served with undaunted bravery, part of a band of brothers that defeated tyranny, said a confident free, and restore the hope of democracy across the globe. the code talkers carried forward the hope of their people committed to the cause of

freedom. their sense of duty was never shaken, nor was there a result. their patriotism never wavered, nor did their courage. the bonds of brotherhood were never broken, nor was there code. for their heroism and sacrifice, the contributions that went unrecognized for too long is a privilege for congress to bestow the native american code talkers the highest honor we can bestow, the congressional gold medal, and by your acceptance -- [applause] and by your accepting it, you bring luster to this award. may these metals long endure as a sign of respect, admiration and unending gratitude for our native american tribes and the sons and the sons they sent to battle.

we all know that god truly blessed america with our code talkers. thank you and congratulations. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the republican leader of the united states senate, the honorable mitch mcconnell. >> it is an honor to join my colleagues today in recognizing the service of the native american code talkers. a little more than a decade ago, congress and president bush honored the navajo code talkers for the tremendous contributions during world war ii. today, we honor the rest of the code talkers whose extraordinary skill and heroism will be remembered as long as the history of modern warfare is told.

rarely has a group of men then so crucial to a nation's military success, yet so little known for so long as the native american code talkers. these heroes, some as young as 15, answered the call when the country needed them, and they perform their task with extraordinary courage and grace. often working behind enemy lines, these men sent messages that once took hours to transmit in a matter of minutes or even seconds, all in the code they were not even allowed to put on paper for fear that it would be discovered by the enemy, and then when they came home, they could not even talk about their achievements. they had to keep them secret so that no one would know about this new weapon of war. so, we are deeply grateful for their service. hopefully, in the years to come, the deeds of these good men will

be more widely known and all americans will know the inspiring story of these native americans who saved so many lives devising and deploying a code so effective that our enemies never broken. it is a privilege to honor these men today, and to thank you -- thank them for their courage and sacrifice. the honor is long past due, but no less heartfelt. gentlemen, america is grateful for your service, and we are determined to honor the memory of your heroic deeds. thank you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the majority leader of the united states senate, the honorable harry reid.

[applause] >> according to firsthand accounts from the pilgrims when they arrived on this continent, native americans did not farm the land, so it was not truly their land. according to the pioneers who pushed past the mississippi, native americans were not civilized, so they did not truly own the land. according to prospectors who rushed for the hills of nevada, california, and even nevada, native americans did not speak

english, so they did not truly own the land. strangers had forced the native people from the land, slaughtered their game, stifled the religions, outlaw their ceremonies, and ravaged their communities. next, the newcomers even try to steal their languages. in the late 1800's, the united states government forced native american children to attend english-only boarding schools. native children were torn from their families, taken far from home in boxed cars and buggies, given english names, and forced

to cut their hair short. teachers build the -- beat the children with leather straps when they spoke their native language. the government told them their language had no value, but the children held onto their language, culture, and history, despite great personal risk, and in this nations hour of greatest need, the same native american thing disproves you have great value indeed. in the early days of world war ii, japanese code breakers cracked every american cipher, everyone of them and military members needed a code so obscure, so unknown, that even their own decoders could not break it. the perfect secret weapon would be languages all but forgot outside of a few isolated communities. the united states government ingeniously turned to people whose language they try to eradicate, but why would native american to have been robbed of their land and their culture of greed to use their precious language to protect a country

that either neglected or abused them for centuries? here is why. one native american code talker, a young navajo man by the name of chester put it this way, "somebody has to defend this country. somebody has to defend freedom." the matter how many times the united states government had tried to convince them otherwise, the corporal new that the united states of america was his land. this young corporal was just a boy, a high school student, when he enlisted. native americans, like the corporal, were so eager to serve that many lied about their age to enlist. these brave soldiers, these code talkers had a special gift, their special -- sacred languages, and they selflessly shared that gift with our country, their country. their gifts saved countless lives and helped win the war, and their willingness to share it made them american heroes -- share it made them american heroes. we honor our american heroes today. [applause] >> ladies and the speaker of the united states house of representatives, the honorable john boehner. [applause] >> thank you. i want to say thank you to my

colleagues for their testimonials, and of course all of those in mid-december the possible. we are now going to present the medals -- made this ceremony possible. we are going to present the medals, and i am asking you to hold your applause until the end so that we can give all of our honorees their proper due.

>> ladies and gentlemen -- [reading tribe names] cherokee nation. arapaho tribes. cheyenne river tribes. [reading tribe names] mohawk tribe.

pawnee nation of oklahoma. tribe. rosebud sioux tribe. [reading tribe names]

[applause] [applause] >> if you could all remained

standing, will have the benediction. >> ladies and gentlemen, the vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. >> ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats, and if our wonderful native americans who have received their medals, would like to retire to their seats, i will not make you stand while i talked. i will say good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and while you might be taking your seats again, allow me to say -- [speaking native american language] -- and i beg your forgiveness if i did not decode my readings -- greetings and i cannot produce greetings for all of the tribes that we have here today. mr. speaker, leader harry reid, leader nancy pelosi, distinguished guests, honorees, guests and families, we are very proud of you, and i'm very proud to be included today.

here during native american heritage month, i have the great privilege of representing the finest military in the world in recognizing the hundreds of native americans who have worn the cloth of our nation in the distinctive way that we celebrate today, and in such a courageous way defending a country that did not always keep its word to their ancestors. [applause] the 33 tribes and 216

individuals we recognize today represent native warriors that leverage their native tongue to defend our nation through an unbreakable code, patriots that possessed a unique capability and willingness to give of their special talent and their lives. as richard west, founding director of the national museum of the american indian so elegantly captured it, language is central to cultural identity. it is the code containing the subtleties and secrets of cultural life. as it turns out, the clever usage of our nations original, unique, and special languages -- these cultural codes was also an essential part of defending our great nation.

we have all heard the story throughout history -- military leaders have sought the perfect code, signals the enemy cannot break, no matter how able the intelligence team, and it was our code talkers the creative voice codes that defied the coding in an era of slow, bi- -- by hand, battlefield encryption, such an eloquent way to quickly divide communications. it was doubly clever in that not only the language was decipherable -- indecipherable, the special words used within the language were difficult as well, such as crazy white man for adolf hitler, or tortoise for tank, or pregnant fish for bomber. the code talker's role in combat required intelligence, adaptability, grace under pressure, bravery, dignity, and, quite honestly, the qualities that fit my useful stereotype of the brave, american indian warrior.

these men endured some of our nation's most dangerous tackles and served -- battles and served proudly. the actions of those that we celebrate today were critical insignificant operations such as comanches on utah beach on d- day, cherokees at the second battle, to name but a few. these men were integral members of their teams, the 36th infantry division, the fourth signals company, the 81st

infantry division, the 30th infantry division, and so many more, learning morse code and operating equipment to translate messages quickly and accurately. in the words of navy admiral aubrey fitch, employment of

these men has resulted in accurate transmission of messages that previously required hours. from the start, the service rendered by these men has received favorable comment, i praise him navy language. these men contribute it not only in battle, the fundamentally to military intelligence committees work in cryptology, and dollar museum highlights the code talkers -- our museum highlights the code talkers as pioneers of their specialty. here, once again, we learned that one of the greatest strengths of our nation is diversity, and your u.s. military, in particular, has always found great strength in this diversity.

you may wonder why this is so. when the chips are down and the bullets are flying, and the only way out is to win, it does not take long to recognize on the one hand that one's heritage is not matter much anymore, and at the same time if you can bring something special to the fight through your own diversity, well, so much the better. we can learn on how they manage the journey from war to peace. thanks to remarkable advantages in field and medical care, we have a great many warriors with wounds both seen and unseen. they will need support for decades to come. the smithsonian makes it a point to note that native american cultures has special traditions to help warriors return home with injuries or member and veteran sacrifices forever. after the two world wars, most native american code talkers returned to communities facing difficult economic times. jobs were scarce. so where opportunities for education, training. some of the code talkers stayed in their communities doing whatever kind of work they could find.

others work to cities where jobs were more plentiful. many took advantage of the g.i. bill to go to college or get vocational training. the code talkers a compass many things during their post-war lives. some became leaders in their community's, participated in tribal governments. others became educators, artists, and professionals in a variety of fields. many are and remain active in the cultural lives of their tribes, and some work to preserve their languages. all remaining recognized heroes within the tribe. the lesson for us today, these men and women that have served no about commitment and are ready to lead in communities across the nation.

they are a national resource, a wellspring of intelligence, innovation, hard work, and resilience. they deserve our best. as we gather here together in emancipation hall, in the long and benevolent shadow of freedom, i am reminded of the bronze statue to my right that warriors become great not only because of the competence in battle, because of their efforts for peace and unity, and a commitment to people when they return. we can best honor these great warriors among us not just with well deserved and long overdue recognition, but also within our own efforts to continue to leverage our nations that diversity, and to forever honor our veterans, including our native american veterans, for their narrative is an essential piece of our narrative. their journey is our journey, and as demonstrated by our code talkers, our nation's future is built on their contributions to our history. so, now, back to where i started, and these trying to speak it familiar language to our wonderful code talkers and their descendents, -- [speaking native american language] -- all special code for a special message, thank you.

and thank you, ladies and gentlemen. a god continue to shower his great blessings on our great nation. thank you. [applause] please stand for the benediction >> thank you creator the maker of ways for giving us this beautiful day to celebrate life. may the hands and hearts of this nation be raised in prayer and praise for the heroic service men and women native to this continent who as proud nebs of

the united states military served our nation so value yently in its numerous battles. though few in number and lacking any ego desired to be named heroes for doing their duty, these code talkers for many nations are honored this day by a nation which rises to celebrate their important work in military intelligence. may the breath of god up hold their noble and heroic story. they have hon rably carried on the legacy of their an zest tors who understood that service to one's people is the highest calling. may their great example of service communicate to all generations and to all nations a message to inspire citizens everywhere to serve their communities.

bless all women and men in military service no matter their racial, cultural or religious heritage and their families. god bless america and grant us peace both in the present and . th you forever, amen >> ladies and gentlemen, please remain in your seats for the departure of the official party. ♪ ♪

> tomorrow a special airing of our q&a. lessons learned courtesy of the itmen on capitol hill. he was sent to prison and leased to an alcohol rehabilitation program. >> tomorrow night our year in review continues with a look at gun laws. after the newtown school shootings last year president obama called on congress to pass new gun legislation. andl show you senate debate testimony.

c-span's year in review thursday ight at 8:00 p.m. eastern. >> next first lady michelle obama well comes military families to the white house for a preview of christmas decorations. this is about 15 minutes. >> good morning. my name is diane cole and i am thrilled and honored to be standing here addressing some of our military personnel and their families. when i applied to volunteer at the white house to decorate for this holiday season, i never thought i would be standing here. and, yes, i am extremely nervous. my son charles, who is here with me today, joined the u.s. army in 2002. he was trained as a telecommunications specialist and assisted in allowing soldiers and multinational forces to communicate in the battlefield. he was assigned to the first infantry division and deployed

in support of operation iraqi freedom in 2004. after this deployment, he was promoted to sergeant and took charge of his own team in 2006 for 16 months in baghdad. he was part of the surge in during that deployment, which allowed a further transition of u.s. to iraqi control. since leaving active duty, he has served two years in the army reserves, has been attending college and works full-time in the financial sector. as a mom, i was proud and scared that i son chose to serve and defend his country. when president obama was elected in 2008, charles was so excited that a change was happening in our country. with no invitation, no hotel room, no actual plans, other than to be part of history, charles and his sister got on a plane. they were determined to be in

d.c. for president obama's inauguration. they rented a van, bought air mattresses and blankets and made it their home for the next several days. they went from con to senators searching for someone touched -- they went from congressmen to senators searching for someone to give them an imitation to this auspicious occasion. they braved the cold as many people did to witness the swearing-in of our 44th president. charles is such an inspiration to me. he was so determined and he would not let anything get in his way. all of our military men and women have that kind of determination and love for their country. their families are by their side supporting them, sacrificing much at times. also by their side are the first lady and dr. biden who is -- who's joining forces initiative has way or -- has raised awareness around the country around the service and the sacrifice of our servicemembers and their families.

joining forces has also made meaningful changes by working with the private sector to secure jobs for veterans and military spouses, identifying educational opportunities for returning service members and raising the stakes for all communities all over the country to support military families. i am so proud that mrs. obama has also put our military at the forefront of the holidays. highlighting those who served and their families through the decorations and inviting military families to be the first to see the decorations today. it is truly my honor to be standing here today with a woman who has stood so honorably alongside our military families. i would like to introduce the first lady of the united states, mrs. michelle obama.

[applause] >> that was beautiful. well, hello, everyone. you guys look great. i'm talking about the front row. [laughter] you guys look ok, too. i am thrilled to welcome you all here to the white house. are you excited? why are you excited? because it's christmas? because you're going to get presents soon? because there may be treat somewhere? if you had to nodding. we are excited to have a guess here today. i want to start by thanking diane and her amazing family for all that they have done for this country and for that eloquent introduction and for being one of the many fabulous volunteers who help make this white house so beautiful.

in fact, diane told me that she got to work in this room so that we could personally thank her for this beautiful -- these beautiful decorations. diane, we are just so grateful to you. i want you all to know a little bit about diane. in addition to the long hours that she put in this week, on top of all of that, she has spent countless hours volunteering regularly in her community. through her church, through the red cross, so volunteering is no stranger or diane is no stranger to volunteering. in fact, diane isn't alone in the contribution she is making. and fat, i believe she embodies the spirit that we see in military families, families like all of yours all across this country, particularly during the holiday season. you all are serving our nation. you all are volunteering in your communities every day.

and you are also taking care of business at home with your own families. during this holiday season, as we gather with our loved ones, i would ask every american to remember what our military families and servicemembers often experience during this time of year. let us all remember the sacrifices they make to proudly serve all of us. for example, i am thinking today about the thousands of men and women in uniform serving abroad to wake up in the middle of the night in some remote art of the world to -- remote part of the world to read a special holiday tradition to their children on skype or to be on the screen to experience that special moment of joy when their kids opened those presents from santa. and then there are military families who spend hours painstakingly filling holiday care packages for their loved ones in uniform. sending the miniature christmas

trees, making holiday cookies, creating special homemade cards, doing their best to help them experience the magic of a holidays wherever they may be. and let us remember that many military families are assigned to bases that are far from their extended families so they aren't always able to make it home to see grandma and grandpa. and they have to find new ways to make the season bright. so they reach out and they banded together with other families and they create their own special military family celebrations and traditions. that is what i have learned family -- learned military families do. you all dig a little deeper. i say this time and time again. you just get creative and you find ways to make it work. and you do it with such strength

and humor and grace. on top of all that, somehow, like diane, so many of you still manage to find time over the holidays and throughout the year to give back to your communities. once again, digging deep and going above and beyond. and fact, a recent survey shows that 81% of military family members reported volunteering in the past year and that is compared to just 27% of the general public. so you guys really make us all look bad. [laughter] but in short, your sacrifice and your service to this country, your family's stories are such an important part of our great american story. stories that remind us of the true meaning of the holiday season. and that actually brings me to this year's official white house holiday theme, which is gather around stories of the season. this holiday season will be

focusing on the stories behind classic american holiday traditions, traditions celebrated here in the white house and across the country. our goal is for every room and every tree to tell eight story about -- to tell a story about who they are and how we gather together to mark the holidays. and that starts, yeah, with all of you. literally. when visitors arrive, the very first thing they will see is the tree decorated to pay tribute to our armed forces. this tree graced with special gold star ornaments tells the story of some of our greatest heroes. those who gave their lives for our country and any gold star family who visits the white house can create their own ornament to honor their loved ones and in addition, anyone who visits this white house this year gets it chance to fill out an operation on her card, pledging to serve their community and honor of our military families, service members or veterans, whoever you choose.

just find a way to serve. we also have an entire room right next door, the blue room, one of my favorite rooms a month dedicated to the idea of gathering around our military. the tree in that room is decorated with holiday greeting cards drawn by military children from bases all across the country as a way to celebrate their parents service. and they are beautiful. they are really sweet card. so that is how we will be honoring our veterans and servicemembers and their families this holiday season. and i would ask, during this time, that every american find a way to honor these great americans, not just during the holidays, but every day. every day. let us never forget the depth that we owe these men and women and their amazing families. as for the rest of the house, because there is more, we have a number of special touches that

build on our gather around stories of the season theme. in the east garden room, you will see christmas trees made entirely of stacks of books. you may have seen those coming in. they are very cool. in the cross hall, you will see trees reflecting the idea of gathering around our heritage. they will be decorated with ornaments representing great american sites, like the american -- like the statue of liberty and mount rushmore, people you might know today in history. these are just a few of this year's highlights. although people who visit the white house will see dozens of

rees and wreaths and ornaments and a gingerbread house that weighs about 300 pounds -- it's pretty big. some of the best sites they will see is kids enjoying all this wonderful glory, some of the best times in this white house is watching the faces of kids as they walk through this house and count the trees and look at the ornaments. and none of this would be possible without the 83 volunteers like diane who came from all across the country to help us decorate. once again, sacrificing, leaving their families because they start decorating this house the day after thanksgiving. it would not be possible for us to do all this without our volunteers. they are a pleasure to work with. they are high-energy. they are positive. just look around. every year, they do themselves. we are so grateful for their

hard work and enthusiasm. over the course of the season, about 70,000 people will come to see our holiday decorations. not bad. and i can't imagine a better group of people than all of you to be our very first guests. don't you feel special? [applause] no one has seen it. not even the president has seen these. you guys are the first. and truly, it is a treat to make your all the first every season. because you all do so much for us and we are so proud and so honored and so grateful. we just want to give you a chance to bring your families in and just get a little special something just to remind you just how special we all think you are. so i want you all to enjoy a free minute in this house. i'm going to stop right now because we have a little something we are going to do with the kids. all the kids, you think you are

ready to go have some fun? i'm going to take your kids -- [laughter] and don't worry, nothing can be broken. -- nothing can be broken that can't be repaired. and we will go and do some decorating. our chefs and our bakers and our florists are over there. they have special little things you can make him a little gifts. are you guys ready for that? yes ma'am. i love that. i love that. so why don't you get up. you guys can come up and go with me. ahrens, you can hang out, get some cider, cookies, look at the ornaments. breathe a little bit. they are in good hands. i guarantee you we will not lose them. but i cannot guarantee that they will come back clean. [laughter] so if you want pictures of them clean, do it now. and thank you.

thank you. have a happy holiday from my family to all of yours. enjoy this holiday season. be safe. be happy. i gather around together and remember what this is all about. you all take care. love you much. [applause] >> on the next "washington journal" we'll talk politics ahead of the 2014 and 2016 lecks. first a look at the republican party. then the future of the

democratic party. "washington journal" live every morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern here on c-span. >> c-span, we bring public affairs events from washington directly to you putting you in the room at congressional hearings, white house events, briefings and conferences and offering complete gavel to gavel coverage of the us house all as a public service of private industry. we're c-span, created by the cable industry 30 years ago and fund by your local cable or satellite provider and now you n watch us in h.d. >> you're watching c-span's 201 year in review. 2013 saw ref solutions about national security methods.

.eaked documents by snowden senator feinstein said the u.s. has to look for ways to get intelligence that is operable and ways that can prevent plots against americans. >> first of all, i really think that protecting the nation is important. secondly, protecting the nation within the principles of this great democracy and this great constitution is also important. now, the metadata is not constitutionally guaranteed to be first amendment material. the supreme court has passed on that. but having said that, we have got to examine ways to be able to get data, to get intelligence

that is operable and that can prevent plots from hatching and americans from being killed. that is the goal. now if we can do it in another way, we are looking to do it in another way. we would like to. if we can't, we can't. >> could you say that this program has thwarted some specific attacks? >> well, it has. but that is classified. we discussed it in there. i gather there is -- i have to -- there is a report on that. i'm going to look at that report. >> senator, was this a regular meeting or did you put this together because -- >> we just put this together. because what happened -- we just put this together quickly as a briefing because on the floor a number of members came up to me and said we really need a briefing. and what also happened is members who briefed made comments they were astonished, they didn't know this was happening. we thought so many things that people have to deal with that it would be critical if we could bring members that were

interested to come in. i think there was a good crosssection both of republicans and democrats there. >> senator, are you able to share with us some of the concerns that members -- >> this took place in a classified briefing and we don't talk about the substance of it. >> are you considering looking at changes to the program? what kind of changes would be made? >> we are always open to changes. but that doesn't mean there will be any. it does mean that we will look at any ideas, any thoughts, and e do this on everything. >> we are with mark mazzetti, national security correspondent at the "new york times" bureau here in washington. we saw a clip of dianne feinstein back in june. she had just come from a briefing on the n.s.a. revelations. take us back a little bit. who was edward snowden and how did he get such access to the top secret material?

and how did it make its way to publications like the "new york times"? >> edward snowden was a n.s.a. contractor working for a number of companies. most recently booz allen. working as a computer systems administrator which gave him access to a tremendously wide array of classified files inside the n.s.a. system. i think the f.b.i. and n.s.a. are still trying to figure out the extent of what he took and how he did what he did. but what he did over the course of 2012 and 2013 was systematically download and copy files, thousands and thousands of files from a facility in hawaii that the n.s.a. ran. >> is there any idea, do you think the n.s.a. has any idea how much information he has? >> they are still trying to grapple with that. even so many months later to figure out exactly how much he took.

and to some degree the american government has been scrambling with each new revelation in the press, the foreign and the american press, to mitigate the damage whether it is relationships with other countries or other intelligence services. >> and you have been writing regularly about this story, the n.s.a. surveillance and revelations. what has been the most surprising thing that has been revealed in his treasure trove of data? >> i think that you go back to the very beginning. i think in my mind the most extraordinary document is really the first one that "the guardian" published which the court order ordering both collection of cell phone records of americans. i think that even after months and months of revelations about tapping the internet, about gaming, of all sorts of things you go back to this because it is extraordinary the reach of the order which allows the n.s.a. to gather data about

pretty much every single phone call of americans, and i think that really is even to this day extraordinary. >> it unfolded almost like a weekly serial novel. your most recent article was about online gaming, an infiltration there. what is the n.s.a. and the .i.a. looking for? >> they are trying to just build up massive amounts of data, collect massive amounts of information in order to then go back and run searches in order to find what they call the needle in the haystack. and they say you have to build the haystack in order to get the needle. they are looking for terrorist activity. in this order they claim to find out cell phone records or e-mail records of people who might be ngage in the activity you need

to build up a massive amount of data and then run algorithms to find the information. in the gaming story that i did, it is hard to know exactly what it is that they were looking for in world of warcraft or in second life. they were, we believe, they thought that these games provided a venue for terrorists to go in, pose as different characters, and be able to discuss things in normal gaming code and actually discussing real world terrorist attacks. we don't have any evidence that was actually happening. >> we will show the c-span viewers on the year in review program some of the hearings held and some of the floor debate. what in general has been congress' reaction to the revelations? >> there have been episodic

attempts by congress over the course of this year to restrict some of these activities. but nothing has really in the end happened of any significance. in part because congress itself is very torn about what they think about these things, and the democratic leadership of the senate, the senate intelligence committee, dianne feinstein has broadly supported this activity. and so you have for the most part a congress that has blessed these activities of the n.s.a. so that is why any kind of real change is difficult. >> get back to the information with mark mazzetti in a moment. we wanted to show the floor debate on the amendment and other hearings this year on the n.s.a. surveillance program. >> in recent years, the information gathered from these programs provided the u.s. government with critical leads to help prevent over 50 potential terrorist events in more than 20 countries around the world. f.a.a. 702 contributed in over 90% of the cases. at least 10 of the events included homeland-based threats, and the vast majority business records fisa reporting contributed as well.