does not back away from -- putin talked about domestic issues. this is essentially operationalizing regular people living their regular lives as a potential fifth column. they will now be treated with suspicion. that is very dangerous. that is a huge risk. to go with that, there are potential efforts to piggyback on annexing other countries. that also could create more instability. in the long term, and i will not speak too much about this, but the economic situation for ukraine is something that has to be dealt with. i think the way that ukraine wins in the long run is to become more attractive as a place to be than crimea is in russia.

that is where ukrainians go. i'm not an economist, so i have no idea how to go about doing that. i hope somebody does, but that seems to me to be a long-term challenge. not just the economy, but also the governance as well. [applause] i will stop there. >> thank you. we have some time for discussion. i invite questions. please keep them brief. please identify yourself. >> hi, i am from georgetown university. do you think the current actions will have some impact in future years? what about fiscal year 2016?

for the u.s. yesfor the u.s. >> i'm sure it will. i do not know how. i am not a u.s. defense expert. i know that there are people in the pentagon and various regional commands that are thinking about russia that have not been thinking about russia for a while. i am sure that will translate into structure and planning and so forth. it is hard to tell. there are no numbers yet. >> i am vice president of george washington university. i am a ukrainian-american.

i want to complement the panel. this is an impressive and informative panel. especially professor dubovyk. you should run for political office given how passionately you spoke. what is your educated guess about russia going into eastern ukraine in the foreseeable future? do you think it will happen? yes or no? >> i hope it will not happen. i do not think it will happen. >> my opinion is the probability is about 7%. [laughter] 7% probability of invasion into eastern ukraine. >> i think it is possible, but not very probable.

i am with them. it is possible, but there have to be missteps by the ukrainian government along the way. if the opportunity presents itself, it is certainly possible. i do not think it is in the plan. >> i have discussed this topic with my friends and my colleagues yesterday. it is only about 5% or 7%. iter the crimean referendum was maybe 15%. now it has gone down. [laughter] >> i am from georgia. i have fresh memories of russian activities in the same manner and same style.

one thing i would like to comment about the measuring of success is that putin has a different measuring system of his own success. please do not measure how we view successor loss. he does not care. a successful economy, people's lives, these are not measurements for him. i think in terms of projecting, he embarked on a road where he cannot stop. if he stops, it means defeat to him. he has to continue. he needs more victories. where he will dive, in which endeavor, it is hard to judge. with eastern ukraine, i think he now possesses more tools to make

things turbulent there without military intervention. that should be the issue where theinterim government for elections both they should concentrate on helping ukraine. i have a question also in this regard. it was clearly seen in putin's recent interview when he had his appearance justifying his very arrogant public appearance justifying his behavior that russia would not stand with nato on its own borders. the expansion of nato is something he fears. this will undermine russia. he will view it as his defeat. what is the ratio of public service has been conducted in ukraine of nato membership? >> let's collect a few questions. >> hello. my question is for the two professors.

aboutth mentioned polls the percentage of people in different ukrainian cities would want unification of russia. i want to know when those old -- when those polls were there areand also if any indicators about the current feeling in the cities are. i know you are from those cities, see probably have some perspective on that. over the last 2-3 weeks, there have been a lot of propaganda. that can change the opinions of people. [inaudible] >> i have a phd in crimea. i've been going to crimea for the last 12 years.

i am a crimean scholar at george mason. i want to address some issues. i spoke with the leader of the crimea movement. he spoke with president putin this month. putin wanted to talk to him and he invited him to meet in moscow. they spoke on the phone. putin asked him his support on annexation. he told them that they always supported ukrainian territory. this annexation was against the

budapest agreement of 1994. when he came back, he said everything was planned. this is just my opinion. you guys are talking about the soldiers. there were 25,000 soldiers together in sevastopol. those green men are not my worries. my worries are that i have been in crimea for the last will be years -- 12 years and i have seen those people who are called russian unity and other groups. they have been training against the enemy for the last when 20 years. the pro-russian guys are also my friends. these guys are local people. those are the scariest ones. they just tortured and killed crimean tartare.

kidnap someone else. they killed a member of the opposition party. iny're walking around tatar neighborhoods. there are other things. when the mosque was burned, the construction of the mosque in december 2012, it was russian unity. . i don't have a question, i'm sorry. it was just a little comment. >> thank you, i am emily andrews. first of all, one comment.

his't he clever to move capital? bywas an area that was also the soviet union where there were a lot of russians. i question is about unintended consequences for routine -- for president routine? are the further movement in the caucuses, in particular because of what has happened to the tartare is in the media and what the russians had done? i have a feeling that could be many unintended consequences for what has just happened. >> the first thing is a comment on comments. this could lead to further invasion of russian troops. and i think that is the case. obviously, we are seeing routine

operating based on some kind of he isl picture that constructed about what is going on in ukraine. it doesn't really matter what ukrainian government does or doesn't do. he would still be talking about polygrams and riots and missing journalists and people being tortured. none of it is true. that is still a picture what is projected to the russian consumers. it is also the picture that russia is trying to eject people in the west through their media channels and so on. should beknow that we careful and not do any of those missteps, that would be one thing. -- regardless of what we do or don't do in kiev, by the government or anywhere else in ukraine, russia would still make up their mind basically corresponding to the idea of what needs to be done with the

ukraine. that is even more scary. that leaves us without any kind of leverage the situation. point is a public support for membership. it is gone up dramatically in recent days, as you would imagine. recent polls have been showing %. it has never been that high. including in the east and the south. the government, is not talking about membership. the current prime minister went to brussels and talk to people, and he said that is not an agenda for ukraine. this is a technical position for our government. we need to look for some alternative ways of providing for security now. notthe ways we had did

work. it proved to be absolutely inefficient. all of those guarantees and assurances did not work. what else is left for ukraine to do other than to look for more functioningd a system of providing security? right now it is not a very good conductingor service. it is on the verge. what i'm seeing and hearing from them, they are even trying to avoid doing this, because there are a lot of pro--- provocations and hostilities. finde would be trying to out why we're asking these questions. we should wait a little bit until things calm down before

the new service and polls are conducted. finally, the possibility of conflict in crimea troubles me a lot. i would absolutely agree that it is not regular russian troops who should be scared of, but of irregulars and paramilitaries. not just local people but also people from other regions, chechnya as well. those are some really crazy people there. they might go and do stupid things. tatars have their own high emotions. that leaves potential for bloodshed. >> the polls that were conducted in february of this year by the

international institute. i don't know the new data after the crimean crisis. mike graduate students conducted europeanabout intervention and the so-called -- union integration. what are the options for the european union integration and for custom union agreement. [indiscernible]

membership,out nato there are two different situations. before the crimean crisis and after the crimean crisis. afterwards, number of supporters of nato membership dramatically increased. it increased in my home city and other eastern ukrainian regions. actually, it is questions of a great power game and interrelations between the u.s. and russia and ukraine. there is a lot of space for negotiations and for regional agreements about military -- about the military state of ukraine and international security after the crimean crisis. unintended consequences.

yes, it is probably too early to say something very concrete. i am not sure the situation in the caucuses might deteriorate directly as a consequence of the crimean crisis, but what might happen, and something that is more probable, is the growth of xenophobic attitudes, which inevitably -- which inevitably will follow this pathologic occasion that we are observing now. it will potentially lead to deterioration of internal interethnic relations in russia. this is definitely a potential. other unintended consequences which might occur -- let's wait thesee what happens -- with eurasian union and the agreement of the eurasian economic union. that was waiting for signature in may. it is not guaranteed that this

will happen. what will be the content of this agreement is not very clear. how successful will it be? one more thing which i would probably point out in the context of what was said, with the sanctions, yes, right now you see all the signs in the shops. obama is not welcome here, as a on thee to the sanctions russian elites. i think this is temporary. it cannot last for long. this solid there is a nation with the bureaucracy and the top, not just resident putin himself, the top leaders who are usually considered corrupt and inefficient and so on and selfish, that is something that can actually in the final analysis turn against president putin. it creates for the

division between the public and the bureaucracy rather than consolidation around the flag. concur, we might remember that after the georgian war there was a similar burst of nationalism and support. protests did not come that long afterwards. so that kind of thing can happen again. i want to just say one thing on ars. i thinkan tat you're absolutely right being concerned about these local groups. i think one thing we have to keep in mind is that the interests of these local elites may well diverge from the interests of vladimir putin and company or the elites in moscow

or however you want to phrase it. has been making all these noises about how we are going to respect tatar's there's is one of the laggards as of the republican how they're going to regularize everything. i forget which local politician said, we may have to expel rs from some of the land they are squatting on. but again, this is the sort of thing where the message -- because the locals are the ones relationsvery hostile for a longars time, whereas moscow is trying

>> - [indiscernible] do you have some and talking on this side of the room first? >> i have a question and a comment. arst, this is maybe more question for a citizen of ukraine. in case putin moves further into eastern ukraine. what kind of sanctions can we expect from the west? question which bothers a lot citizens of ukraine today. as for the comment, i would like to say that this is not the prime issue, but the situation was widely competent commented

that theent experts regime was shaken a lot with these events. date was denied nuclear weapons in exchange for any security guarantees for defense and security. that nothing can defend you, maybe except nuclear weapons. .his is a clear message to iran would annexea russia, the united states and the eu should apologize to iran and korea for trying to enhance their security with the only real means of security

enhancement. it means it would be a great impact for the horizontal proliferation or a push for the proliferation movement. then as for the vertical proliferation. dot for thee a big dream of nuclear zero. now russia has a good pretext not to continue its nuclear reductions just .o create new strategic forces everybody understands that the and creatingng scenarios in ukraine and other places. ofery much support the idea

vitislav who says there are no ideas that could be created in the idea that the hostile west is coming will create some as a meanssolidation to enhance russia's security. it means that russia will not pursue any kind of reductions. thank you. >> my name is abraham. to understand the russian winter olympics provided cover for putin to plan his crimean operation in the same way that invaded georgia during the chinese summer games. what are the prospects for -- moldova?led over

could you please comment to what extent the european union is unified in their resolve to come to russian aggression, especially what is the german attitude toward the crisis, thank you. >> thanks to the panel for a very interesting set of comments. i'm curious about whether there is any difference in what happened in the ukraine. listening to you, these are the same accommodations that might take days after an election, at the regional level to accommodate a new power in kiev. doesn't it matter that this new power did not come into power through an election, that they came to power through other means? encourage the east and

the south to support them? as far as russia not moving further into the east, it would also be applicable to never having entered crimea. given that we know they did enter crimea, i wonder if you could update the underlying logic in a way that would incorporate the fact that they invaded crimea and that they won't go any further. >> one more question in the back. >> i am from george washington university. my question is about the economy. i know none of the panelists are economists, but you said something about the long term dangers of the economic situation. of course it was the economy that triggered the protests in maidan last year. my question is if the eu and united states will be able to

absorb the turbulence is that willie -- that will be cost by necessary austerity measures. now the ukraine and russia live symbiotic economic unity. there will have to be a dissociation. unrest ascause social we have seen in greece, a far more stable country and is ukraine. which kind of government in ukraine will be able to regulate these kinds of unrest that are foreseeable and that will determine the future of ukraine? so, i can take two of these kind of parallel -- why won't they intervened and what further steps if they do intervene. obviously, there is no certainty here, right?

it seems that the main difference is that crimea is -- there are three. one is the presence of a base. two, crimea is self-contained. there is an obvious stopping place. into luhansk, maybe you should also go into donetsk. why you're added maybe you should take kiev. that doesn't mean that they won't do it, but ukraine will have no choice but to defend using arms, i mean. that is a big difference. it is not that russia can't defeat the ukrainian military. seen in u.s.e

interventions in various places in the world over the last few decades, it is easy to invade, it is hard to hold. there will be a lot of there would be a lot of pain to occupying troops, i think, so i think that is the reason why. the population, even in the easternmost regions, even if there were sizable percentages of some cities, as we heard from the polling data, rural areas are predominately ukrainian speaking. you know more about this than i could hope to. it seems it is much more complicated. as far as further steps, we have the plan, level three sanctions.

in the end, assuming we don't want to go to war, the final step is cutting russia off from the international financial system. that is the extreme sanction iran is under. that obviously causes a lot of pain to europe. there are further steps that can be taken. that is another reason why i kind of like the obama response. if you have a limited amount of ammunition, you don't want to use all of it that once. if things get worse, you want to be able to do more within the

upper limit of what you're willing to do. so that is another benefit. there was a question about using the winter olympics as a cover. i don't see it. putin spent a lot of money to use the winter olympics is a big p.r. show for the regime. nobody remembers that anymore. it still works on the domestic scene, but as far as internationally, it was wasted. to me, that is another indicator this was not something planned much in advance. can you address the germany question? i can do it.

go ahead. >> i will pick up where you stopped with the olympics. it refers back to the question about different measurements. within russia, these are two consecutive victories. in international politics, the crimean situation seems to have annulled whatever was gained by the winter olympics. it was a limited exercise to protect russia's influence and show that russia is still strong. in terms of potential further intervention, let me risk producing one more nightmare scenario. why don't you demand the corridor?

that could be a clever move from a certain point of view. it is all possible. at the same time, we must be aware of the fact that people in the kremlin, the ministry of defense, the ministry of finance, there are some sensible people. they must be able to at least make the case. the risks grow exponentially as you continue down that path. that probably partly answers the question about moldova. moldova will get close attention from the european union. the association agreement is already in the pipeline. the free trade area is probably

going to be in place soon. yes, of course, it is quite possible there is some agitation in moldova proper by russia. it is already very much agitated by itself. nothing is excluded. there is a possibility for overstretch. the reaction of the e.u. and germany, there is a strong presence of this position in germany. let's do business with russia. let's forget about the politics russia is trying to play, this kind of appeasement attitude.

it is very strong in the business circle and intellectual circles. it had been there before the ukrainian crisis. it is still there. it is still very tangible. germany within the e.u. is not exactly on the russian side, but on the more moderate side, let's put it this way. again, there are limitations to what can be done. they will come under pressure domestically from civil society. a crucial indication of what the e.u. is going to do would be the helicopter carriers which france is scheduled to deliver to russia. that will be a litmus test for the determination of the e.u. to do something about ukraine and

russia. >> the question about what would happen after the russian invasion in eastern ukraine and sanctions. they would probably need military protection from international forces. ukrainian territorial integrity. aggression is important in the crisis in crimea. the eastern ukraine indicates in current political international system which was created in 1945. symbolically, this order in 2015.

the resolution of the way of development. it is one point of view. the question about occupation of eastern ukraine. the central government does not have capacity to keep power in eastern ukraine without settlement of part of eastern ukrainian elite. in the current situation, in the ukrainian regions, the pattern is integration.

the new government [indiscernible] the second pattern is transition. the settlement with the formal elite [indiscernible] between the governor and the cabinet. failed state and failed region. [indiscernible] no settlement, no negotiation between kiev and crimea. it is the way to civil war. it is the topic of my future academic paper on a solution for ukraine.

establishing a new ukrainian constitution and resolution between east and west ukraine. each part of ukraine, 50% of elections include government. the democratic but formal part of the region. you need government in ukraine if you want to keep the eastern region in ukraine. >> we have about one more minute. >> my colleagues have done a good job answering questions, so i will give it to you cory. >> let me say thank you very much to our panelists for a stimulating discussion. we are hopeful and optimistic about ukraine's future, the relationship of ukraine with its

neighbors. please join me in thanking the panel. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] ." next, vice president biden talking about community health centers. ukrainian and estonian college professors discuss russia and crimea. at the end of the day, the economy is going to continue to need enormous a monetary stimulus. i think the fed will not be raising rates for quite some time. but i am optimistic that the u.s. economy is going to accelerate. i think the core dimensionis fact that last year the

u.s. economy grew 1.9% with fiscal drag of higher taxes and government spending cuts reducing growth by 1.3%. without that fiscal tightening, the u.s. economy would have been growing over three percent. cbo does not make policy recommendations, because it depends not just on analysis of the consequences of different courses of action but on how one those consequences. there is nothing special about our values. it is up to our elected leaders to make this policy judgments. our job is to help congress understand the consequences of alternative forces of action. >> this weekend, views on the u.s. economy with the cbo director and asked for from td times,he financial m.i.t., and the university of maryland. that is followed by the first press conference by new fed chair janet yellen. saturday morning at 10:00 a.m.

eastern live coverage of the virginia festival of the book. first, a panel on african-american history. followed by the impact of foreclosures and evictions in the african-american community. that starts saturday at noon at c-span -2 on american history tv, who might have been time magazine's person of the year in 1864? historians decide saturday morning. at 1:00, join a historian to talk about the pick. live on c-span three. now vice president joe biden's remarks to the national association of community health centers. he talks about the importance of community health centers helping people understand that in rolling and private health care plans. the vice president also said all states will eventually have medicaid expansion. the deadline for open enrollment and the health insurance marketplace is march 31. this is just over 30 minutes.

[applause] plays]to the chief" >> ladies and gentlemen, the vice president of the united states, joe biden. >> good morning. can you feel the excitement in the room? we are so proud today to have

with us the vice president of the united states. this is our opportunity to publicly express our gratitude to vice president joe biden and to president barack obama for believing in our community health centers and for moving forward with the promise of accessible and affordable health care to millions of americans. as you know the vice president's just back from a mission to europe where he met with leaders from poland and the balkans about the crisis we are having in the ukraine. from a personal perspective we want to make sure that he knows how much that we appreciate his being here. [applause]

>> community health centers love joe biden. \[applause/] >> throughout his public life, including 36 years in the united states senate, he has truly been a man of the people. a fierce fighter whose work has advanced the ideals and principles upon which this great nation was founded. he is a leader who has stood shoulder to shoulder with us in the fight to expand health care access and sustain a strong safety net in our nation. joe biden knows health centers. he knows what they mean to our communities and the people that we serve. and from a personal experience, he also knows that tragedies and hardships that often befall families through no fault of their own. and he has stood up for the

working poor, the frail and elderly, and most vulnerable in this nation. he clearly understands and is a huge advocate for the expansion of behavioral health services in this country. [applause] >> like all of us he believes that government as more responsibility to lift barriers, particularly for those in need and provide the opportunities for health, education, jobs, and the chance for a better life in this nation. he also knows government can't do it alone. it's up to all of us, all of us in the room and those in the greater nation to ensure that we live up to the highest ideals this country represents. vice president biden exemplifies the true meaning of a public servant. and he serves for the greater good. so please join me in giving a

warm, warm welcome for a great american and a champion of america's health centers, our vice president, the honorable joe biden. [applause] >> thank you very much, doctor. thank you. we got this backwards. i came to thank you. thank you very much, folks. it's a great honor to be with you. please, please, let me begin by apologizing, my voice. i just got back as the doctor says, been traveling around the world a lot, and apparently i acquired a sinus infection. so my doc told me i couldn't do an event last night in new york, which i felt badly about. i said how about this morning? i said, hell, there's 1,000 doctors there. [laughter] i'm fine. there's nothing wrong with that. if you guys can put up with my voice, i'm sure glad to be here with you.

thank you again. look, i mean this from the bottom of my heart. you are the blood and the sinew, you are the moral backbone of this country. you and so many thousands of people like you who just believe in possibilities and believe that it's one person at a time. you help one person at a time. and so my admiration for you is equally as deeply held by -- stop moving -- what's this thing called? teleprompter. barack kids me, he said, joe biden, i'm learning to speak without a teleprompter. joe is learning to speak with one. [laughter] seeing all of you i really mean it. the reason i'm here and barack wanted me to be here is to thank you. thank you so, so much for what you have done. not for us, but for the american people.

so many millions of people, vulnerable. so many millions of people knowing what they need and having no access to get it. first off, the president and i think you provided an incredible service that you provide to this country. nothing to do with the a.c.a. just what you have been doing. it's an incredible service you have been providing. you have more than 1,200 community health centers, and 9,000 sites. all 50 states. here's what i want you to think about. think about what those cities, what those communities, what those neighborhoods would be like if you hadn't been around. i mean it. think of how fundamentally the lives of those communities would be changed without you. those community centers you run, 150,000 hardworking men and

women -- feels like that with all of you today. 21 million patients, 21 million patients rely on you-all. more than 3.7 million, about 18% of your patients are children. for them and their families, you're the first place they go for primary care. you're the first time they have probably ever seen a dentist is because of you. the first time they have ever seen behavioral health services, maybe when they walkthrough your doors and benefit from your care and expertise. emphasize care. without you, the country would be a very different place. that's not hyperbole. without you the country would be a very different place. the thing i love about you all, i don't know you, but i spent a lot of time in the community, the thing i love about you all is in face of all that you see, you remain optimistic. i mean it.

it matters. it matters. you believe in possibilities. you're always looking about what can be better. why can't we get this, that, or the other thing done? great things happen when people believe. i have to admit the doc's right. i served -- every time someone says i serve in the senate 36 years, i bless myself. i can't be that hold. -- i can't be that old. during my career, as a lot of you know we senators and congressmen, we are called case workers. i had probably more caseworkers than most in one of the smallest states. i allocated more of my staff's salaries to people who are the people around the phone going into somebody's home trying to help them with things that mattered. mattered in their life. i was blessed with so many competent caseworkers who not only believed but were determined, were determined to

take care of people. one family, one person at a time. that's not some global thing we do. any of you have daughters that are grown, raise your hand. [laughter] again, i -- i always kid -- i have four granddaughters, and i kid -- i adore my daughter, i always kid them and say granddaughters are better than daughters. they go what? think about this. all you guys who have grown daughters. one night when they are about 12 1/2 years old, you tuck this beautiful little butterfly in bed. and the next morning you walk in there's a snake in the bed. dad, don't cheer so loud at my games. dad, don't kiss me in front of everybody. dad, johnny's really a good guy, i promise you that. [laughter]

all you women -- you-all come back to your dad somewhere between age 20 and 24. in my case it was 24. but i've got this magnificent daughter who is -- who's bitten with the bug that she can be the agent of change that she wants to see happen. she's -- all of my kids, all went into public service. i wonder how that happened? now they put me in a home i'll have no window with a view. one of them should have gone out and made a lot of money. my married daughter who lives in philadelphia but works in wilmington, delaware, runs a not-for-profit for at-risk kids. those being let out of the prison system trying to work their way back in. and she is like all of you. she really believes, she really believes that things can be made better. think of what it's like, it would be like if we didn't have all you guys.

i'm getting too maudlin about how much i appreciate what you're doing, but i mean it. this country's always been the defining feature of this country has been about possibilities. we have always believed that anything's possible. and the kind of work you have done has -- reflects that belief. i have been traveling around the country a lot lately. i have been traveling around the country constantly, actually. what i have done since the affordable care act is every community i go into i ask to meet with the advocates. i meet at the diners and coffee shops. a lot come from your ranks. and i met with moms and daughters. i met with seniors and students. i met with small businesspeople, guys that run the diners. during those visits in those coffee shops, i have gotten pretty clear picture of why i'm convinced this -- the affordable care act is going to work. in miami, i met with a

registered nurse and a couple of enrollment counselors from a local health center, where 95% of their clients live at or below the poverty line making $12,000 to $20,000 a year. they said they never thought, they never thought they'd ever be able to afford health care. and the enrollers never have been more rewarded, they say, than watching the look on a mother or father's face or a young person's face when you say, you're covered. you're ok. you can afford this. how many stories have heard and you have experienced where clients walking out of the health care center crying with joy that they never, ever thought this could happen. but since december that particular center has enrolled dozens of people a day. and their clients, as i said, just never thought this could happen. one of the things we underestimate most, one of the

things we underestimate the most to me, any way, is not, i think, the affordable care act, the single most incredible gift is giving to people. is giving to them a sense, a sense that -- it's lifted a weight off their shoulders about -- it's given peace of mind. like nothing else could for them. how many of your clients do you know go to bed at night staring at the ceiling wondering if god forbid they lean over and look at their wife, and she gets breast cancer what happens? or what happens when my children get sick? am i going to be able to sleep in this house the next night? after this happens? am i going to be able to afford to be here? am i going to lose my home? am i going to lose my sense of well-being? and i think the single biggest thing we do is we give people peace of mind. you give them peace of mind. i hear that more than anything else.

in phoenix i met with community health center workers who were once in the shoes of their clients. denied or dumped out of coverage because of pre-existing conditions and they reached a lifetime cap and they personally know what it felt like to live paycheck to paycheck and put the health of their families ahead of their own health. they told me, numerous examples, you all know helping people enroll at the certainty is one of the most rewarding things they have done in their careers. they tell me nothing beats seeing the relief on people's face when they can finally afford coverage from their selves and their families, maybe for the first time sleep easy. as i said it's what i love about

you all is you not only believe in possibilities, you -- these stories i have heard from scranton to atlanta to minneapolis across the country, another reason why you're in it, a reason why you do what do you. the thing that bothers me, anybody ever thought this is going to be easy never had insurance. seriously. assume you're a very wealthy person, you can buy whatever insurance you want. it's a complicated business. it's a complicated business. it doesn't matter whether you have a g.e.d. or ph.d., when you get that -- how many people do you know who have nothing to do with affordable health they come to you because they know you know something and say, i just got this thing about open enrollment. what do i pick? what do i do? and so it's difficult for people who have been able to have an afforded health care their whole adult lives, why do we think it would not be difficult for people who never, ever, ever had

insurance? look, it's complicated. so we shouldn't be surprised that it's complicated for people who never thought they would be able to have insurance. no matter how good the bargain is, folks looking at it for the first time, but that's why they are so vulnerable. with patience and empathy you look these people in the eye. the first thing you do you calm them down. the first thing you do is let them know there is no reason to be embarrassed that it's complicated. how many people have you spoken to? you can tell by the look in their face that they are almost embarrassed to ask you questions. they do not want to feel stupid. you know it. that is why they trust you. you dispel their fears. you put them at ease.

you walk them through the process. it is tedious. to add to the difficulty, we did not help you in the front end. [laughter] my boss, my friend, barack obama is an incredibly patient man. i suggested after going through the first couple of weeks, i would nominate him for sainthood as he kept his patients. -- patience. it got off to a slow start. it is basically fixed. in the last quarter of 2013, you helped 2 million people in the face of the confusion, you helped them enroll. they walk through your doors, they reached out for you. you made a difference. you answered questions, walked them through the enrollment process. more than 5 million people have

signed up for the drive and private health plans. [applause] many more that we are not even counting gained access to health care by signing up for medicaid. [applause] imagine if every governor did the right thing and signed up for medicaid. [applause] i am convinced, as a practitioner of the art of politics, they will not be able to sustain the heat. [applause] here's the deal. none of this would have happened without you. the fact is, community health centers are the resource for so

many people out there. you have been the only place millions of folks have been able to go for basic care. in the process, you have eased many concerns about the affordable care act. you have overcome language barriers. you have been so successful because people trust you. you are about -- of all the places in the world to go, doctors, nurses, hospitals, you guys, who will say this is a good thing, let me help you, this is how it works. they count on you. they know what you have done in the past. that is why you are our most valuable resource. and why the administration has always valued.

we have always valued, never doubted the services you provided. the president put me in charge of the recovery act. that was almost a trillion dollar piece of legislation that pulled us off the brink. we invested $2 billion towards capital financing and operating costs for community health centers. to build new facilities. hard.ght so that was in the face of the most god-awful recession in the history of the united states. that is not hyperbole -- it caused millions of people to lose their job. they lost their health insurance. we knew at the time of the incredible uncertainty and we knew they would come to the one place they could always count on. you. that is why we invested another

$11 billion in community health centers. you know what that means. [applause] you know what that means on the ground. more dedicated staff like physicians and nurses. renovations you needed. constuction on new sites. so many more folks could receive the services that you provide. these investments in health across the country, you have added 35,000 new full-time workers. you have served 4 million more people in 2012 than you did in 2009. it will continue to increase. it is incredible. that is why we believe in you. you were with us on day one because you believed that health care -- i have been in politics a long time.

i was vilified in my home state running by the other team because i thought -- i said health care was a right. that was an amazing notion. [applause] think about how far we have come. from the beginning of my career for the first two-thirds of it, there were still a group of people out there -- another party said health care is a privilege, it is not a right. my opponent and the president's opponent talked about these people -- they expect this help. what an outrageous notion. think about it. it was the centerpiece of the debate. the most incredible thing about the health care bill -- this is the first time in american history we have legislatively ended the debate. health care is a right, not a

privilege. [applause] you know as well as any group of people the peace of mind that that could be restored for millions of people knowing that they have coverage. because of the affordable care act, 105 million americans have gained coverage for at least one free preventative service such as blood pressure screening, colonoscopies. 129 million people with pre-existing conditions can no longer be denied health care because of this act. more than 3 million young adults are able to stay on their parent's health care until the

age of 26. it is no longer permissible to have insurance companies cut off services because you have reached your limit. the most vulnerable point in the life of any family and to be told sorry, your insurance has run out. insurance companies can no longer charge women higher premiums. for simply being a woman. [applause] pregnancy is no longer a pre-existing condition. think about it. the point is that you are among the most trusted advocates of the affordable care act because your mission has been increasing access to health care and giving folks a fair shot and a fair shake.

you understand the change in progress comes from the community up. people trust you. that is why i want you, so we can finish the job. we need you. that is why we invested around 200 million to help train and hire around 11,000 staff to help bridge language and cultural challenges. and you have delivered. [applause] you know that already. you see it every day. i want to remind you of 5 things you probably already know.

we only have about 10 days left in the enrollment. health insurance is about peace of mind. it gives you a chance to live your life with more security. every one of you mom and dads out there should be pointing out something to kids out there who think they are invincible. when i do these conferences, in all communities -- i spoke to a group of young advocates, i don't know how many thousands there were. i said remind your friends that even though they think they are invincible, they owe it to their parents to give them peace of mind. i mean it. a little bit of a guilt trip, but it is real. remind them that your mother is going to bed worried. you owe her. i mean it -- you owe her.

[laughter] it is true, think about it. the second thing, this is all about choice and opportunity. i cannot tell you how many people i have known through my life as a public official who have told me they stuck with a dead-end job that does not pay well, they have stayed in a community they did not want to live in for one reason -- they had health care coverage. guess what? they are now free. they are now free. they can look for a better job, move to another community, look at how many people you know who stayed where they were in the job they did not like and were underpaid because they were scared to death that if they moved, they had a pre-existing condition, or other circumstances, they would be in trouble. the law gives folks the freedom to follow their dreams regardless of where they live or

what they do because now they will be covered no matter where they go. [applause] as i go around the country, the thing i find the most -- i hear the most is i cannot afford it. i can't afford it. particularly from young people. my car. college bills, it is tough for them. all of a sudden, they realize, i can get health insurance for less than it costs me to keep my cell phone. think of how many very poor people come in and talk to you worried that they were not going

to be able to afford what they needed and that they would not get any help. a family of four can be making $95,000 year to get help, they are blown away. they have no idea. the most interesting thing for me is that the ultimate way this is going to work on the road is i am talking to your neighbor, finding out, you have this insurance and that is all it cost you. the cost is something you can break down the barrier when you're talking to people. it is affordable. it can be affordable. if the state takes advantage of the opportunity to expand medicare, it changes everything. many folks that you talk to receive a tax credit. many of them could gain coverage if the remaining holdout states take advantage of the opportunity to expand. in the states that have not made

up their mind, we should be pushing as hard as we can without relenting. [applause] the deadline for signing up for private health plans is march 31. there are a few exceptions. the point of the matter is that we only have 11 -- 10 days left. the bigger the number we bank, the more certain of the ability to turn his back, no matter what happens in congress and where this moves. the next enrollment day is in november. this final point i would like to make is remember why you're doing this in the first lace. these last 10 days, push as hard as you can. expanding access is what makes a gigantic difference. medicare and social security, it

is like a -- it is the single biggest social initiative the country has taken since medicaid. this is allowing everybody to be able to have affordable health care. let me close by saying that -- with the grace of god and the goodwill of neighbors, as my grandfather would say, we're going to come out of march 31 with a significant pool of people already signed up with the pressure being put on governors who have not allow their states to take advantage of the medicaid coverage, that we are going to roll into november, a situation that many more people understand. many more are afraid that they cannot afford it and we will see this thing continue to roll.

you are the ones that feel that progress. all i am saying is that you push as hard as you can the last 10 days. the higher the numbers, the more certainty that this will last forever. this is one of those experiences that sounds corny. you're going to be talking about it with your grandkids and great-grandkids. you were part of putting in place something that 20 years from now everyone is going to wonder what is the big deal? doesn't everybody in every country do this? let me conclude with saying, not only do we need you, not only have you done an incredible job, but we owe you more than we can possibly pay you. thank you very much. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

hearing looking and brain injuries and sports. then discussion of russia and crimea. at seven :00 a.m., your calls and comments on "washington journal." day, the end of the economy continue to need in norma's monetary stimulus. i think the fed will not be raising rates for quite some time. i am optimistic that the u.s. economy is going to accelerate. dimensions ise the fact that last year the u.s. economy grew 1.9% with fiscal

by 1.3ducing growth percentage points. fiscal tightening, it would have been growing over 3%. the cbo does not make policy recommendations and that's very important because policy choices depend not just on analysis of the consequence but courses of action and how long they weigh the consequences and what values one implies. leadersto our elected to make those policy judgments. our job to select congress understand the consequences. thehis afternoon, views on economy with the cbo director, the financial times, m.i.t., the university of maryland followed by the press conference of the new fed chair janet yellen saturday morning at 10:00 a.m.

eastern. live coverage from the virginia festival of the book. worst, a panel on effort in american history. then the impact of foreclosures and evictions in the african-american community. saturday at noon on c-span 2. on "american history tv," who might have been time magazine's person of the year in 1864? historians decide. then we talk about the pic live on c-span 3. a house energy and commerce subcommittee look at spore safety and brain injuries in football, hockey, and other other sports. nfl and nhl officials talk about the safety steps they have taken. we'll also hear injury stories from a professional soccer player and a high school student, and medical professionals explain the science behind brain injuries. the hearing is about three hours.

>> all right. i want to thank everybody for being here. we're now with the full committee ranking member, the gentleman from california joins us. we now have the ability to start our hearing. i will introduce you after my statement and before you start your testimonies. i will open with my opening statement will stop good morning, jan. good morning. welcome to this morning's hearing. today it is my hope to learn what steps are being taken to make sports participation safer for all athletes. every day, parents make choices about whether or not to let their son or let their daughter play soccer or what kind of mouthpiece to buy their son for his first day of football. unfortunately, it seems like every day we hear about how

participation in certain sports can be dangerous. it is easy to understand how what parents see in the news inevitably affects youth participation in sports. case in point, earlier this year, president obama said publicly that if he had a son, he would not let him play pro football. then the first lady wants us all to move. it seems to conflict. now, we want a better understanding of the innovations they made by sports leagues, equipment manufacturers, and the medical community to make all spore safer. one clear example is the nhl, which has been working hand-in-hand with the union to make us safer, dating back to 1997, a recognize the dangers of head injuries and took the proactive step of forming a joint concussion committee,

additionally, the nhl also established a department of player safety at its headquarters, the first of its kind, bringing professional league. usa hockey and usa football, to organizations that help oversee youth sports in the united states have followed the lead of their professional counterparts by employing a multipronged approach to making participation safer. usa hockey now requires coaches to complete an online education module specific to the age group their coaching at. and that includes safety information, concussion education, proper techniques. usa football, which is endowed by the generosity of the nfl and the nfl pa, was the first national governing body for the sport to participate in the cdc's heads of concussions in youth sports. initiatives also engaged in providing you with non-tackling

alternatives to develop their skills. additional usa football's heads up up all program encompasses six elements meant to make use football safer including coach education and concussion recognition. exactly what parents need in order to be assured that everything possible is being done to keep their child as safe as possible while they're on the field or ice. the doctor who runs the university of nebraska's brain biology and behavior center located inside the huskers football stadium has been developing an mri machine that can be used on game day to assess a head injury. this would allow medical staff to determine if a player has suffered a concussion, how severe the injury is, and if the player is able to return. the equipment manufacturers are

also using technology to make innovation changes to helmets, mouth guards, footwear, and other equipment in order to reduce injuries. i feel confident saying that given the recent rule changes and the rate which technology is advancing, when the contacts for today is likely safer than it has been in the past. however, we must accept there is no silver bullet, no helmet or pat is going to prevent 100% of the injuries 100% of the time. this is why we need to consider a multipronged approach aimed at keeping our kids safer also promoting youth participation, aimed at keeping our kids safer while still promoting youth participation in sports which involves listening to how leaders like the nfl, nhl, youth leagues and top-tier university researchers are partnering to

make progress toward making sport safer. these are the types of innovations and paradigm shifts needed to give parents the assurance that all the possible steps are being taken to improve the safety of their child on the field. i would like to thank our panelists for joining us here today. i would like to thank you for making the trips to washington, d.c. from lincoln, nebraska. and my time is over, so i will recognize the ranking member from illinois. >> thank you. this is a very important hearing on improving spore safety. i look forward to hearing from all of our witnesses on both panels about their experiences, proposals, about how to make spore safer for everyone from children to professional athletes. athletes are continually becoming bigger and faster and stronger. despite some efforts to make spore safer, much work remains. 300,000 sports related traumatic

brain injuries occur annually in the united states. sports are the second leading cause of traumatic brain injury among people aged 15 to 24 years old, second only to motor vehicle accidents. this is a crisis and won the subcommittee should do everything in its power to address. we are going hear today from a high school senior who suffered a severe head injury during a lacrosse game in his sophomore year. despite his impressive recovery, that hit later identified as his third head injury, left him with a limited ability to enjoy the types of activities many of his high school classmates take for granted. his story should serve as a reminder that youth sports injuries can have devastating and lasting consequences. and we will also hear on the panel from no olympic and world cup soccer champion goalie

forced from the field after a career ending dramatic brain injury almost four years ago. her struggle to overcome the physical and psychological injuries that followed illustrate that even our sports heroes are vulnerable to the sports injuries. they should be commended for their courage. thank you. for the recovery, and her willingness to testify on this critical issue. a pro bowl and super bowl winning safety and former member of my hometown chicago bears tragically committed suicide just over three years ago. in doing so, he shot himself in the chest to avoid any impact on his brain, she asked that donated to medical research in order to allow scientists to study the impact of brain trauma he suffered over his 11 year professional career. it was later disclosed that he suffered from "moderately

advanced" case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a disease and to repeated blows to the head which can result in memory loss, depression, and dementia. the stories prove that even severe career ending sports injuries can occur at any level of competition and this case should make it puts all of is the impacts of brain trauma go way beyond and athletes days on the field and can become more severe over time. we will also hear today from medical and scientific experts who have studied impacts of brain injuries on athletes of all ages. we will hear about the importance of taking athletes off the field of play as soon as your suspicion of a brain injury , and keeping them off into their cleared by responsible and trained individual. finally, we will hear from the nhl, nfl, the leaks responsible for mitigating traumatic brain injury in their sports.

i hope to hear what they will implement that will reduce the risk of brain injury moving forward. i am not advocating for an end to sports as we know it -- or maybe not exactly as we know it right now. i also feel strongly that 300,000 injuries every year are too many to overlook. we should take reasonable steps to reduce the risk. i look forward to hearing from our witnesses. i hope this will help the subcommittee to better understand the safety risks in sports and what we can and should be doing to limit these risks. i yield back. >> thank you very much. this time i recognize the vice chairman of the committee. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. thank you for holding this extremely important hearing. i want to thank dr. james johnston who will be one of the witnesses who came to my office earlier this morning. thank you. experts generally agree that

concussion can be classified as a brain injury ranging in seriousness from mild to dramatic. this interpret disease control states a concussion is caused by a bomb, blow, or jolt to the head or a blow to the body and causes the head to move quickly. according to the cdc, the sports that reported the highest number of traumatic rain injuries are bicycling, football, ground activities, basketball, and soccer. in 2010-2013, the participation rate of children in youth soccer and football dropped considerably. some have pointed to the increased risk of tbi as a result of participating these sports as a reason for the drop in the participation. the increased spotlight on concussions in sports has resulted in an increased amount

of research and brain injuries as well as research on how to improve sports equipment in order to prevent such injuries from occurring. collegiate and professional sports leagues have implemented standards and revised the rules in order to decrease the number of brain injury incidents. the nhl has been required -- has required its players to wear helmets on the ice in the nfl instituted new standards for evaluating concussions on the sidelines after the leak reported an occurrence of 223 concussions in just over 300 games in the 2010 season. state and federal governments have also been involved in tightening safety standards. since 2009, all 50 states and the district of columbia have adopted laws protecting youth and high school athletes from returning to play too soon after suffering a concussion or potential concussion. this hearing will focus on what more can be done to prevent brain injuries from occurring in sports.

this is at the youth level, amateur, and professional level. i look forward to the testimony of our distinguished panels. thank you, mr. chairman. i have two point five minutes remaining. is there any other member on the republican side that would like to speak with an opening statement? i yield back -- >> missouri, do they play sports? [laughter] on behalf of the big ten, i want to welcome rutgers to the big ten. >> thank you very much. >> five minutes to the full ranking member of the energy and commerce committee, mr. waxman. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. decades ago, many thought that head injury was serious only if a player was completely knocked out unconscious or suffered a severe contusion. after frequent painful blows, even a young athlete could continue to play. but we now have strong indications that the effects of repeated brain trauma in sports,

even those received during one's youth, can accumulate the consequences that are long-term debilitating and even life-threatening. these consequences can stem from injuries once considered minor known as sub concussive blows which may not be accompanied by any immediate adverse symptoms. serious psychological and emotional disorders have been documented among former athletes that have suffered repetitive brain trauma. researchers a number of times have found evidence of the neurodegenerative disease when examining the brain tissue of dozens of deceased former nfl players. new technologies have enabled to show the metabolic changes in the brain associated with concussions and sub concussive

blows. brain injuries in sports can occur in a wide variety of situations, and different athletes' brains may respond to freely to an injury. sports related brain injury is a complex matter. it requires addressing many issues. so when the title of this hearing suggests we take a multifaceted approach to improve sports safety, i could not agree more. first, we need more neuro science research. they can lead to a better understanding of the risk factors and maybe better treatment options for brain injuries. second, doctors, parents, players need to work together to establish health regulations,

game rules in the sporting culture that reflects the seriousness of brain injury and put the athletes help first. third, we must address the health and safety risks associated with the athletic equipment and pursue a better understanding of how the significant might be improved -- three years ago, mr. butterfield and i called for hearings about inadequate testing standards, lacks reconditioning certifications, economic disparities regarding the safety of football helmets used by millions of american athletes. we are to touch on some of those issues today. but i believe those issues very deep it -- a consideration and are likely to get today. the subcommittee chairman mike consider holding a separate meeting on these matters. i think it is viable the national football league is testifying here today given recent and ongoing disputes

the league and its players on this very topic. however, i believe as traders commiserations should also testify -- i also believe others should testify. mr. chairman, today's hearing is important. i appreciate the subcommittee review of sports related brain injuries. i look forward working together with all of us on this issue in the months ahead. thank you for holding the hearing. i look forward to the testimony of the witnesses. i yield back my time. >> still have a minute left with the gentleman from utah wanted to use it. >> i might just point out that moving physically and conditioning the body is not anywhere near dangerous as subjecting oneself to brain injuries. i don't think they're

contradictory. >> interesting, because that issue is we want kids to go out and play. we want them to join youth leagues. >> and we want sports, but we want the mess as possible. >> absolutely. to use your last 26 seconds, this is one of those where jan and i both agreed was necessary. this has been a bipartisan effort. with that, let's move on to our witness panel. i'm going to introduce the entire panel now and then we will start with mr. daly. we are blessed to have the deputy commissioner of nhl. am, the executive director of usa hockey. then we have the senior vice president player health and safety policy national football league. thank you very much for being here. and the executive director of usa football.

then a face of a brain injury, multiple concussions within soccer, briana scurry, a former professional goalkeeper of u.s. women's national soccer team. oh we will have even cover the other face of high school level concussions. with that, mr. daily cover your noun recognized for your five minutes. >> i would like to thank the ranking members to invite me to testify today in the reactive steps the hockey league is taken to make the best perpetual players in the world. it is the only major professional sport with no out of out of hockey is a physical game. at the nhl level are players

wanted to be physical and/or and wanted to be physical. permitting safe and responsible play in our game, the national hockey league working together with the national hockey league players association has gone to elaborate lengths to do that, and will continue to do so. we are pleased to have this opportunity to share with the subcommittee some of the measures enacted in this pursuit. the national hockey league was the first major professional link to a value of players after they incur head injuries. beginning in 1997 the nhl and the nhl concussion program requires that all players on all clubs undergo preseason baseline psychological testing. after he player is diagnosed with a concussion he goes free and posttest did -- he is tested after the fact to find when he will be able to safely return to play.

that is pursuant to the concussion program that narrow psychological testing results had added value and should be taken into account along with player reported symptoms when making return to play conditions and decisions. the nhl and nhl concussion committee has also taken at affirmative and proactive step to issue league wide protocols regarding the diagnosis, management and treatment of concussions. import link of the issuance of warnings to players regarding the risk opportunity to play before the recovery from a prior concussion is complete is an important component of the nhl and concussion committee citizens option. this is provided regularly to

all of the constituencies in our league of including players, all personal, and nhl officials. in addition to enforcing additional player rules, and more stringently penalizing conduct of a several new rules have been adopted. you're not allowed to hit the head when other contact is unavoidable. with respect to the fighting issue in particular, while it remains a small part of the game of its role is finishing. 75% of the 2013-2 thousand 40 regular-season and 68% of the games played happen obliquely free of fighting. the highest percent since the

2005, 2006. the number of major penalties assessed providing down 50% from last season, and on 31% from the 19 -- 2009-2010 season. in this important area in be the league's intention to discuss any playing world pages regarding fighting darkly with the nhl players association. alternately it is in the hands of the department of safety cover the first link department of its kind of professional sports with this department monitors everyone apart to 131 regular-season games plus all or playoffs games and assesses every hits in a replay to make sure that the links standards for safety and responsible play are being adhered to. when the department determines that the standard has been violent, awful mental discipline is assessed in the form of a suspension or a fine, and the department creates a video thanks points to our players and our fans why the behavior merited punishment. the cumulative effect of these efforts has begun to change the culture of the game in a

positive way, as we can see on a nightly basis layers avoiding dangerous plays a gratuitous contact that they no doubt would have engaged in just a few short years ago. since the adoption of a mandatory helmet rule in 1979 to the nhl together with the nhl pa has an continue to oppose a series of additional regulation carting a player equipment regarding to player safety generally but also to head injuries more specifically, including most recently a rule adopted prior to the start of start of the season requiring face shields for all incoming players. each of the four international concussion in sports conferences between 2001-2012, in support of the federal and state legislative initiatives regarding concussions, and the support and assistance in the

development of concussion education for grants for youth and junior age hockey players. to summarize, while worker a amazing that there is considerable work to be done for the national league has been and will remain absolutely committed to promoting the safety of its players. we firmly believe it is not only the right thing to do for our players but it is the right thing to do for our business, both in terms of promoting participation at the use hockey level, and in maximizing interest by fans and consumers of the sport at the professional level. i thank the chairman of the ranking member, and subcommittee members for your time and invitation and speaking to you this morning. >> thank you. >> thank you chairman, ranking members, and distinguished members of the subcommittee. it is a privilege to be with you today to discuss issue that is a drop for artist of a everyday and u.s. hockey, the safety of our participant both on and off the ice. we have adapted well to changing environments over time and we

had to particularly as we wish to thank, who guided a great deal of our decision-making. a chief medical officer, who is the head of sports medicine at the mayo clinic in rochester, minnesota, and the other is the chair of our safety and protective equipment committee. that committee has been existence for 40 years. it is an important group, helping to guide our board in making it decisions. we have a risk management committee, which is concerned with the safety of the playing environment and the surrounding area. in 1999, in cooperation with figures getting we began an organization called serving the american ranks, or dark, which is essentially a trade and education organization for ice facilities focusing on a variety of operational aspects including safety issues in drinks. in the safety of our participants, we positively affect the landscape through three primary areas, education, rules and enforcement, and risk management. education related to safety

happens on an ongoing basis in u.s. hockey, and we will use the many avenues to mitigate. we have direct electronic vacation with every single home, every player, and prepared from area official, every comment in our organization through database. we are constantly communication with them with educational bulletins and is. our coaches have a huge influence and providing a safe and responsible environment, and i am a coeducation -- in our current coaching education environment, we have the gold standard. two seasons ago we added an online educational module that is age-specific in nature, which also contains critical safety information including concussion education. officials obviously play a very important part and how our game is made safe as welcomed and they receive regular evaluation and education electronically in our video clips and also access to our national reporting system

which tracks penalties to help us understand and assess behavior trends. when annual e-mail posters to every ice facility in the country to help deliver our messaging and over the years that poster has focused on topics like concussion prevention, concussion education, laying rules, and disease, and our heads up don't check program. we have adapted the rules to the game on an ongoing basis for mouthguard and held issues to rules aimed at limiting dangerous behavior. another recent modification in usa hockey game in june of 2011 when our board voted to change the allowable age for body checking games from the peewee or 811-12 level up to the bantam age group of 13-14. this was done despite many voices around the country in opposition to change, which no one seems to like. research based on both athlete

development and safety guided our board decision. it is worth noting that two years later, hockey canada followed our lead. regarding equipment safety, usa hockey took a significant step in 1978 when it called for the creation of the hockey equipment certification council, or hecc. we seek out hockey clement for product certification. it is the same procedure that football uses and certifying its helmets. it is a completely independent body the above doctors, engineers, testers, sports bureau, and lawyers. it validates the manufacturers and indication that the equipment they produce has been produced -- tested and meets the requirements of the safety standards. before closing i would like to share with you briefly our newest off i safety program

called safe sport following the lead of the olympic committee, this is to protect our participants on policies regarding hazing, zero tolerance, locker room supervision and abuse of any kind. in the early 1990's we were when the very first use words organizations to required screening of all adults that have access to our youth. our 34 affiliated associations each have a volunteer safe sport coordinator that helps us as boots on the ground to provide the safest possible environment for our participants. our sport is tremendous and its growth in the last 25 years, doubling the number of youth players we have as we continue to provide opportunities for young people to we know that we have the responsible or to make argument safe as possible, and we will only continue to grow if we are successful in doing so. >> thank you. mr. miller, you're recognized for your five minutes. >> chairman terry, ranking

members, and members of the subcommittee, i appreciate the opportunity to testify this morning on the behalf of the national football league, and i commend the getty for -- the committee for digging up this issue. commissioner has stated repeatedly that he spent more time on health and safety of our board than any other issue that comes before him. football has our day vital place in the resume of american life, there are nearly 6 million children who play football across our country. another 1.1 million that play in high school, 75,000 in college, and so whether distance games in our backyard, at thanksgiving, or games late in our local parks, or friday night high school games, saturdays with college, or hopefully plenty of people watching the nfl on sundays and mondays and occasionally thursdays, football plays a significant role in our lives.

we take that popularity seriously. with it comes a great deal of responsibility. that is what we risk -- we embrace. we understand that the decisions we make affects all levels of football. i appreciate the opportunity to share the nfl's work with the subcommittee on the health and safety of our athletes to play our game. football has always evolved of the rules have always change them and so i would like to share with the subcommittee a few examples of that over the last couple of years, and the effect that that has had on our level. it has only been a couple of years ago that we changed the kickoff line, because we identified that as the single most dangerous play as root -- as responded to the number of concussions. we decrease it by 45% by moving it five yards. that number has faded in successive years. we have seen a greater emphasis

on eliminating helmet hits on our game. there is a system of fines and suspensions, not to mention penalties as a result of that. these are the sorts of things that we are looking to do to change the culture of our sport is played. we encourage players to lower the target so that they tackled, we've ever sent through our coaching that there are better ways to go about what they are doing. we have seen the results. the past year alone, between 2012 and 2013 the nfl has seen a decrease in the number concussions by 13%. now that is not in the ring, that is a trend, and it is one that we find encouraging but there's more work to be done as we begin to change the culture of the sport as it relates to that. we've added other protocols to our sidelines to take care of our players. there's one rule that governs the and that is that medical concerns will always have competitive once.

we have added unaffiliated, conversion -- unaffiliated from a positions on our sidelines. we have added trainers and skyboxes or little purpose of watching the game and coley down to the sideline if they identify an injury to mention the players attended to appropriately. we have mandated uniform sideband protocols across all of our team so that everyone is working on the same playbook, those protocols are based on internationally expected guidelines. we know as we change the culture of our sport as relates to health and safety we have an impact beyond. let me cite two samples of that. there had the program among other offerings are changing the game at our parks and communities around the country, literally asterisk big. the populated of these programs, which i will not deal scott's thunder on have been tremendous. we are proud supporter, and we are proud of his work regularly.

in addition, the nfl used as an inspiration a young man named zach who was a 13-year-old youth football player in washington state several years ago who suffered that is traffic injuries. he was returned to play too soon after suffering a concussion, and he still struggles with the challenges that come from that. his advocates were able to pass the new concussion law in washington state, which are commissioner said we will replicate in all 50 states around this country to make sure that all youth sports, not just the bulk of our played more safely. that given the coaches are aware of the risks of concussions, they are removed from play should appear they suffered a concussion, and i'll richard weigel in medical professional has cleared them. just this month with the 50th state has that law, and now the

nfl is solely responsible for that work, and we're happy to lead in the state to get this done. i wanted to mention two other components. we're proud to work with the cdc, promoting concussions material that cannot 2 million of kids, posters, and locker rooms. we've also invested tens of millions of dollars in research. $30 million with the nih which is the artist grants that the nfl had ever given. the first 12 million and -- $12 million of that have gone out to study dramatic brain injury, and we have a partnership with under armour and an electric to improve the diagnosis and treatment of concussion. find better ways to protect against concussion in the first place. these are ongoing issues and ones that we think are going to yield significant successes in a short amount of time. i apologize for exceeding the limit, but i appreciate the time. >> mr. hollenbeck. >> thank you for the invitation

to testify. u.s. football creates import standards rooted in education price cool football. we stand with experts in medicine, child advocacy and support to believe that education changes behavior for the better. this is precisely what we are seeing for our heads up the ball program, which is already benefiting wanted 25% of youth football leagues across the country in its first 14 months. we expect to double that this year. we advance safety derivatives based on his by independent experts, we also lead fun and dynamic instructional initiatives for young football layers and as well is a noncontact flag football program. aspects of our work resigned in my written testimony. the remainder of my time will be showing a video of how has a football programs are improving player safety within the fairfax county public school system which earned high marks from parents, coaches, administrators in its first season of a and paid close attention to hearing

from the athletic directors of the schools on how this program is making a difference. ♪ [video clip] >> when coaches get to the high school level, i think they assume that everybody who plays knows how to play, and they're going to be under friday night lights, anything is going to be great just like it is on tv. it is not like that. you're good to get kids who have never played before, and you're worried to get coaches that have never coached before. you really need to be able to teach coaches how to coach. >> through the had the program, what you do, three pillars. concussion awareness, properly controlling equipment, and the proper aspects of tackling.

>> it was a no-brainer to get involved with usa but all and the heads-up program, and go through a progression of tackling. they are learning how did keep their head up and not to lead with their helmet. they are taught that from the beginning. it has limited the amount of concussions we have had this year. we have worked on tackling from day one. >> squeeze, beat, low. >> the coaches have completely bought in and endorse what we are doing. >> elbows high. >> what we did not anticipate was how aggressive that the coaches association here in her jenny went after it.

we saw the need to make the game better and safer and we ran with it. the old days of the ammonium tabs are gone, and that is a good thing. >> heads-up football has allowed concussions to be a topic of conversation in a positive way. >> it is standardized, it becomes a much more consistent way of teaching the game. >> the kind of instruction gives my staff in line. >> you are seeing a distinct improvement and reduction in injury. i think that says a lot about the program. >> what this has really done, because we are hands-on with the parents, we're showing them how the progression lows, where teaching them the terminology as well. it brings a level of comfort to them. >> it is really good that all the coaches are learning how to teach the proper techniques of doing it right to these kids. what i was never taught this. >> in our family room he will show us and demonstrate on his dad the techniques that he is learning. his coach has not only employed

the technique of the they keep asking their kids to do it correctly. it shows they care about the kids, i am not worried about whether or not he's going to get hurt on the pill because i know that his safety is just as important to them as it is jimmy -- to me. >> this is a vital piece not only of our football program but of our athletic program in fairfax county. >> good. >> all the top cross programs are talking about what are we going to do overall in a very positive way. >> we agree with the mission of usa football and that is to allow her students to participate in competitive athletics and learn so many wonderful life skills, and do it in a way that is healthy. >> i can truly look at apparent and say this is what we have done, this is what heads-up football has brought to fairfax county schools. it is an awesome opportunity for