the acting director. [applause] >> but i really want to thank you for having opportunity to come and talk with you. i have not been in a state or community over the past time that i have been doing this work that hasn't been impacted by significant drug-related issues. one of the things that we talk about is just kind of scratching the surface of any major issue that you have in your state, whether it is child welfare, whether it is medicaid, whether it is correction cost. you will find that drug issues are beneath that. it is an issue that i think we all have interest in today. you have a critical role in

terms of representing the voice of the people in your state. you help guide legislation and state responses that have an immediate impact on your constituents lives. as state leaders you have the opportunity to help us reform our criminal justice system. we have an appreciation for the work that you do. having spent most my career as a state -- at the state level, i worked for the massachusetts public health department as the director bureau substance abuse services. we had a governors task force on substance abuse that was chaired by our lieutenant governor. we were really understanding the issues under substance abuse. he was a critical leader in our state reduce drug use. my colleagues saw firsthand how the state budget translates into services. often a bed in treatment can make a tremendous difference to

an individual in his or her family. how providing treatments helps contain costs in our state. the office of national drug policy sets the national drug control strategy that recognizes substance abuse as a public health issue. nation's drug overdose death account of more deaths than either homicide or motor vehicle crashes. thatmic data indicates illegal drug use alone in our estimated 100 $93 billion in 2007 alone due to health care crime and lost productivity. we agreed it is time for new approach. the good news is that we are not entering this task blindly. we have scientific research that informs our decisions at the state, federal, and local level. this research has provided us with the knowledge that addiction is the disease of the brain which can be prevented,

successfully treated, and from -- fromil can pop or which people can recover. those insisting on an outdated war on drugs. build more prisons. arrest more users. on the other side, advocates lobbying for legalization as the silver bullet. promising to fill state coffers with increased tax revenue. the truth is, neither of these extremes is guided by experience, compassion, and most important, scientific evidence. expanding real evidence-based drug policy reform is a huge undertaking. i like to focus on three issues states are facing. prescription jogger bruce, overdose death, criminal justice reform, and treatment for substance abuse disorders.

in all of you know too well, the abusive opiates and drugs such as heroin has reached a level of epidemic proportions. traffic crashes is the leading cause of death in america. heroin use, there has been a troubling increasing the number of people using heroin. the obama administration took a plan to tackle prescription plan based on four pillars. educating parents. most important way, educating prescribers on appropriate and safe use and storage. monitoring prescription drugs at the state level. disposing of medications properly. and enforcing the law by eliminating [inaudible] . dedicatedave

resources to educating the public and prescribers. 49 states have adopted prescription drug monitoring programs. it can identify patients who may be at risk for substance abuse disorders. >> sorry to interrupt. >> data from these programs can help prescribers, pharmacist, identify patients who may be at risk for substance use disorders, overdose, or other significant health consequences of miss using opioids. state regulatory and long for the agencies may also use this information to identify and prevent unsafe prescribing, dr. shopping, seeing multiple authors to attain prescriptions, and other methods of illegally

diverting controlled substances. the drug enforcement agency has now hosted seven national kick packed days providing no questions ask opportunity for people to get rid of unknown prescriptions. million pounds of medication have been removed from circulation. level, we have developed resources for prescribers. my office work with the national institute of drug abuse to develop training tools on safe prescribing for pain and managing pain patients who abuse prescription medication. eligible for continuing medical education and continuing education credits provide health care professionals with critical skills to manage high-risk patients and more safely prescribe prescription drugs. steps in the right direction. we are still losing are to many people. an average of 100 people a day in 2010 died from drug overdose.

unfortunately, recent data indicates an uptake and use of heroin. in aer opioid involved significant number of overdoses. we must prevent overdose deaths. can help save lives by recognizing the signs and symptoms of an overdose. education is the first step. we also are promoting use of an opioid reversal drug among people who will encounter overdose victims, such as family members and first responders. -- the american society of anesthesiologist developed an resuscitationioid card for identifying overdoses and assisting a person suspected in an overdose.

these cards can be downloaded from their website. in identifying the warning signs of straw -- stroke or heart attack, we can save lives by recognizing the signs of an overdose. can rapidly over -- the outcomes have been nothing short of miraculous. in quincy department massachusetts has partnered with the state public health department to train and equipment police officers to resuscitate overdose victims during an overdose. ince october 2010, officers quincy, a city just south of boston, only 60,000 residents, have administered it more than 220 times and reverse those events. all of them successful in reducing overdoses. started a similar program establishing a one-year pilot program in lorain county allows first responders to administer it and establishes a

distribution paradigm. i encourage you to look at ohio senate bill 57 to see if this is something that can serve your community. lorain officers equipped and trained the use have overdosed have reduced overdoses in their community. we encourage you to examine 911 good samaritan and amnesty laws. encourage bystanders to call 911 by providing limited immunity criminal charges for drug possession. they take several forms. the immunity most often applies to the person who seeks medical aid during an overdose. currently, these laws are in effect in 14 states. laws13, good samaritan were being actively considered by half a dozen state legislatures. at every stage of the criminal justice system we should enough

i ways to reduce costs and improve efficiency while keeping our committed to say. now there is a state-level movement towards justice reinvestment, a data-driven approach to reduce criminal justice spending and reinvest savings in strategies that can reduce crime and strengthen our neighborhoods. in north carolina, the justice reinvestment act was signed in 2011. he legislation includes several policy options to address the challenges of jail and prison overcrowding in increasing collection cost. policyther things, the diverge nonviolent first-time felony drug offenders from prison to community-based programs, saving both prison beds and tax dollars. another way to reduce resin populations of prey the cycle of drug use, rest, and incarceration, is to connect nonviolent drug offenders to sentences and sanctions that do not require a jail sentence. through drug courts and projects

such as project hope. approaches totive develop a continuum of interventions that include appropriate supervision and services at every stage of the criminal justice system. our office is funding an initiative to develop the gym all -- such a model. they are leading the project and is working with national committal justice experts and other organizations on model development, training, and technical assistance. our hope is that this model will help enable jurisdictions to allocate resources for programs and strategies and reduce recidivism. unfortunately, even after someone has completed a sentence, he is still subject to legal obstacles that make it difficult to successfully reenter the community and maintain recovery from a substance abuse disorder.

the presence of a criminal record can make it hard to find a job or find housing. employers may ask questions about criminal records on job applications and a limit applicants based on criminal history. this is led to a number of ban the box initiatives which relieves questions and checkboxes from job applications. these initiatives allow applicants to reach the interview stage and discuss their histories without automatic disqualification. banning the box can allow offenders to get to work faster. target, the country's second-largest retailer, announced it would remove criminal record questions from its job applications. and the box action has been taken in more than if the jurisdiction, in 22 states, and the district of columbia. adopted new ores revised ban the box policies.

in addition to banning the box, it would be worthwhile to ensure that your state statute and processes the collection of s do not hinder successful transition back to the community. allowing a job applicant to see what nonlaw enforcement entities have requested or mental prior to interview or after a rejection, and reducing the waiting to see those records. these are a few approaches that would provide someone who has done his or her time the opportunity to start anew. criminal justice program must address the root cause and cycle of drug abuse and incarceration. substance abuse disorders. the criminal justice system can be a critical intervention point for individuals with substance abuse disorders. prisons and jails provide opportunities for evidence-based

treatment services, including medication assisted treatment. for those incarcerated, and have -- the ministration supports the fda. several for a whole use disorders. in an effort to reduce recidivism in the united states, the ministration encourages primary and specialty care providers treating jail and prison populations to provide medications as part of a comprehensive approach to treating prescription and illicit drug use disorders. beyond the criminal justice of the 23.1 million americans who needed treatment for a substance abuse disorder in 2012, only 2.5 million actually received treatment they needed at a specialty facility. this is unacceptable.

affordable care act it best to we have to ensure that people get the substance abuse treatment they need requiring insurance companies to cover treatment for addiction just as they would cover it for any other chronic disease. extendssignificantly the reach of the parity requirements by making mental health and substance use one of the 10 essential benefits health insurers are required to cover. leadership opportunities at the state level include not only ensuring that insurance benefits are comprehensive, and that address the. rectum of substance abuse treatment for prevention, early intervention, and recovery support, will working to make sure people are enrolled in health insurance by the march 31 deadline. million currently uninsured americans, the majority will be able to find a plan for $100 a month or less in 2014 under medicaid expansion. a state leaders, you have an

important role to increasing affordable health care in your state. to conclude, rethinking drug policy is a collocated task area and much of the work must be done at the state level. i am so glad to have the opportunity to share our federal bureau perspective, and hear about your challenges and concerns. look for to continuing the hummer station and work with you to make our country safer, healthier, and more adjusted. thank you. [applause] >> i think we have a few minutes for questions and comments. >> we have a lot of rural areas. i didn't hear math. -- meth. math is not the highest, or one of the top three unique addiction levels that come out of methamphetamine.

could you speak at a national level to any of the efforts that you see happening there? while prescription drug abuse has been pervasive, we still see pockets of the country, rural areas, where methamphetamine remains a concern. part of what we have been trying to do is focus on ensuring those funding sources for states that allow flexibility for states in woman program is on their state problems. our job is to look across that budget at all funding sources, make sure states and locals have a opportunity to have focus on the issues that are important to those communities. one of the programs are offers administers, the goal is to say that when communities drug issues are not the same as every other community. what it does is provide funding at the local level for community coalitions to look at what is a specific issue in that locality.

to provide resources and implement prevention programs you need to does amenities. i think the while we are trying to call attention to the widespread issue surrounding the script and drug abuse issues, we understand that every community, and the impact is different. make sure you have the resources to address opal programs. -- address local programs. >> anybody else? have an marijuana initiative on our ballot in august. can you tell me what federal policy is in the states i go this route? the federal administration remains opposed to legalization. the department of justice issued guidance to washington and colorado come up basically saying that if limited law

enforcement resources, we are not going to deploy file resources to focus cases that involve people who are using it for personal use. we come at this from a health perspective. looking at what are the significant health consequences as relates to marijuana, particularly as it affects our youth. you, you have the obligation to create an environment particularly with our youth to promote opportunities for them to succeed. what we see is there is a dramatic decrease in the perception of risk of marijuana use by our youth. that has resulted in a significant increase of use. it exceeds tobacco use for people 12-17 years old. marijuana has been associated with those who start during adolescence, lower iq, lower

educational attainment, 1-9 people who start using marijuana as youth become addicted to marijuana. we are trying to come at this not from an ideological perspective, that a public health perspective. when we see what has been happening as relates to their want i use, as well as the significant health consequences, and public safety consequences, that is how we combat our issues. one of the things that we're doing is working with both colorado and washington as well as our federal partners to look at what is the impact of the legislation particularly in colorado and washington. driving, like drunk diversion marijuana, looking at treatment. so we are monitoring what is the

public safety and health impact. >> i have to ask, [inaudible] it doesn't matter what it is going to be. it is always going to be for personal use level. betweenou distinguish any narcotics? [inaudible] >> from understanding you correctly, i think what we are trying to say is that with limited federal law enforcement priorities, going after people who are using marijuana for personal use, it is not a law

enforcement priority. that was the decision of the department of justice. we are trying to say is that from a public health perspective, we are not making a distinction. atsee as we've been talking the issues with prescription most him a if you look at people's progression around addiction, it often starts with alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana at an early age. we know that giving legal status to a substance decreases the perception of risk. it is one of the issues we see around prescription drugs. if it is seen as legal, seen as a medicine, kids perceive it as less harmful. we are trying to draw the distinction between what is a law-enforcement priority versus what is the public health priority.

>> that's what they're hearing great air not going to enforce this. you don't change the drinking law. think it may the job more complicated. fromthink, we come at this states havesure resources to implement prevention programs. when you think of prevention programs, while some of them are drug specific, giving kids resiliency skills around substances, it transcends what the drug is. with alcohol, tobacco, and other substances. prevention.ongoing thank you. >> any other questions? >> we hear hearings are on state before the initiative in august. would your office be dissipated

or reporting on what you found about organizations in other states? >> we can have subsequent conversations around this. our office certainly can provide information in terms of some of the health consequences and some of the health issues. we can have a conversation terms of what our role can be. now tohere a way understand how stoned they are? how are other states dealing with that? .> we are having conversations part of a we have been doing, this is been work funded on the national institute of health abuse -- national institute of haveabuse, we scientifically-based impairment standards around alcohol. we are doing research in terms

of what are those threshold arels around marijuana that the threshold for impairment? we hope to have some information available through the national institute of drug abuse to provide guidance to see what should be the threshold around impairment. >> i know you have a very busy schedule. -- we havehave made delayed you a bit. my apologies. [applause] >> thank you. >> you can watch more next week. he will be testifying on the presidential proposal for next year. we will bring you live coverage from capitol hill with testimony at 3:00 eastern time on c-span three.

>> c-span. ringing public affairs events from washington directly to you. putting you in the room. offering gavel to gavel coverage of the u.s. house. we are c-span. watch us in hd. like us on facebook. follow us on twitter. a spring à la report said the drought in the west could spread. here to talk about how these weather conditions can impact a isdent prices -- food prices volpe.d

guest: we are worried about commodities and we see severe weather. if food prices go up, it will be three commodity markets. our i mostly on california. --re is on the great drought. powerhouse agriculturally. most of these markets in california are the biggest producer of consumers. if there is a problem with the weather, commodity prices will increase. pricesow soon our food impacted by specific weather events? guest: it depends on the event. it also depends on a commodity.

we headed drought in the midwest. that drove up field crop prices. shoot up itrices takes a long time to see any major impact. there's processing and packaging and contracts. but the onesrable, in california are fruits and nuts,bles and milk and they don't undergo much cancer mission from the farm to the kitchen. prices case, we see the transmission quickly. yet.ven't seen it we have not seen any impact on retail food prices yet. host: had you forecast food prices? use data sources the come from the bureau of labor statistics. they talk about the consumer price index.

the cpi is a measure of how food prices are changing. wholesale prices are changing nationally. we look at these indices and how they are changing over time. we take into account energy prices and labor wages. they run them through a model and we forecast where they are likely to go to the next six to 18 months. host: you look over the last month and year, the latest report the changes food prices. food prices ticked up .4% from january 2013 two january 2014. what were the main cause of that? guest: you highlight that change from december to january. we saw an increase from january to february.

that is talking about supermarket prices. they are notable. sawhe first two months, we food prices rise in the entire year of 2013. we update our forecast monthly. you run a new analysis every month. 2013 was an anomaly. food prices were flat for the entire year. seen a, we have artie fairly substantial increase in food prices early in the year with only two months of data in hand. this is not due to drought so much. we are seeing exports pick up. that is an inflationary pressure. we are so -- although seeing something cyclical. to see costing increases passed on to consumers. retailers were dealing with a lot of pressure from farm rices and wholesale prices and weather factors.

looking at the ppi, they were absorbing losses. we are stunned to see that turnaround. that is going to be one of the bigger stories. if you have questions about food prices, give us a call. or centraln the east united states. we will look for your comments on twitter. you can e-mail us. specific foodthe prices ticked up quite a bit. one of the ones that was not flat for fish and seafood up six

percent over the course of the past year. what specifically makes fish and seafood prices rise? guest: they have some pressure just in terms of sunlight -- supply. there is pressure on fisheries across the world. that is specific to the u.s. because of what is going on with beef prices. you talked about what is dropping prices early in the year. at or near record highs across the united states. that is relevant to fish because we are seeing a lot of evidence that starting in late 2012 through today, we saw consumers make choices and substitute things instead of a stake. it the prices have been so high. this is a demand-side factor.

it has been driving up fish prices and poultry prices. aere are a few exceptions. lot of it has to do with what is going on beef market. corn is often watched. stop using fool for -- food for fuel. the story with corn and field crop prices is positive for consumers. figures are forecasting great years for corner, soybeans, wheat and the staple crops. we are not looking for price pressure there. it is not spiking like you did in 2012. i understand a lot of people are concerned about the food and fuel connection. up the growth in ethanol production has slowed down a lot in the last decade. that is not

to say it is not a major production in the united states. it has not been a major factor in driving food price inflation in recent years. if there was an effect we would've artie seen it. if you want to follow along with some of the charts that his group puts out the ers.usda.gov guest: followinghave been this for years. i used to live in the west. i used to live in california. there is a bad drought that has been going on for many years. if you could talk about the fight that is been going on for years going back to governor

schwarzenegger with the farmers itthe imperial valley saying is dry and yes there is a doubt, but the water exists if the state and the epa and the fed would be willing to divert water from the north but this little smelt,his little delta let farmers go out of business as food prices go up. as far the midwest, what are your projections on the runoff. the great lakes are frozen over more in decades. had you see that affecting food the lattering into part of the year? guest: i will start with the second question. we are looking forward to a

really solid year for a lot of the major buffer crops grown in the united states. the ratio is projected to increase which is usually good news for consumers. it would have concerns about food price inflation in 2014, they're not rooted in what is going on with corn or soybeans or fundamental building blocks of the food we buy in the supermarket. there are a lot of questions about why corn is so important. the real concern with a commodity like corn is that it is used as animal feed. the vast majority of cattle and hogs and other animals across -- theyed states, it is are fed from field corn that grows in the midwest and upper planes.

when the price of corn went up, that was a major concern for what was going to happen to food prices. this year, we are more worried about localized droughts. i can say is that there is always competition for scarce understanding of what is going on in california is not so much we are concerned about a water shortage for producerse or our key are going to run of water. the problem is it is expensive to use to acquire irrigation. we may a concern because see producers and california reducing acreage. they reduce the number of trees for train outs or person vegetables. they reduce the production of alfalfa. this could be a concern that

could create higher commodity prices for coming years. contracted, a can take a while for that to cycle back to normal levels. the montgomery advertiser talks about california's top 10 products. host: jodie is on our twitter page.

guest: there is a relationship between food prices and energy. identifying work on how important the energy sector is to driving food prices and farming food prices. relationship to a pay and the supermarket is there. it is weaker than people expect. there is a correlation. spike, we wills see an impact on food prices. impact on percentages of food is typically a lot smaller than what we see in energy markets. energy and commodity markets are very volatile compared to retail food.

can you talk about the usda food dollar graphic which our viewers are seeing right now. guest: i have a colic is a lot of work into this area it breaks down the the retail food dollar. as is built up from all the industries that contribute to it. there are a number of surprises for people who are. food dollar ise a can of four by agricultural commodities and are small. energy prices are just 5.5 cents. pharma agricultural business is 10.8 cents. actually is netting

out factors such as energy, transportation. these go into their own the sectors. there is a piece of the fiber of them out for energy prices and transportation. we are really just talking about commodity rices and farm labor. that is around 11%. simple back of the envelope copulation, if commodity prices , we would expect to see food prices go up around 10%. that is substantial. it is not catastrophic even given the stork increase in commodity prices across the country. berry is waiting in new jersey. is when wequestion

have a drought in camden, does this have anything to do with pollution or because the ground is a poor farming area? what about the quality of the food? a severe weather event retaildrought can impact food prices and that depends on what the production is in the area. in new jersey, if there is a drought or a problem locally, you're more likely to see an impact in local or regional food prices. a lot of retailers across the united states and gotten very heavily involved in store brands

or private labels. they are more likely to be produced regionally or locally. itemight see a localized increase. would you think about severe weather impacting food prices, we worry about places where there is a large degree of distribution throughout the country. fruits and vegetables in california, corn in iowa, cattle in the southeast. to get your second point, there is the potential for severe weather that affects the quality. we hear about that with wine and the great industry. not enough rainfall can affect the quality of grapes. that certainly can happen. we saw that happen in 2012 with field corn. not only was the amount reduced

quality of of the the corn was significantly reduced. becertain cases it can unfair to consumers plain higher -- paying higher prices for a lower quality good. host: we are talking about food prices. ine is a longer-term look food prices from 2006 to 2013. host: why our food prices second

on that list in terms of increase? guest: is food becoming more expensive? that is not the easiest question to answer. there are real prices if you adjust the dollar. around 2006, food prices have become more expensive. they have outpaced other items. risen more than a representative amount of goods and services in the economy. decades,irst time in you see a turnaround in the shared disposable income that is being spelled -- spent on food. 2005, that is turned around a little bit. it is not anything gratis traffic -- catastrophic at this point. it is a clear implication of the

increased price of commodities across the world. host: we are talking about the usda. sincebeen doing this job 2010. we love to hear about how food prices look in your part of america. tim is up next from wisconsin. caller: thank you for c-span. usedur food and fuel not to compute cpi? water used for for california being dumped back into the ocean. i think what you're for them to is the core cpi. the bureau of labor statistics

the core cpi. food and energy prices because they are more volatile. energy prices are more volatile than a lot of other prices in the commodity. items,look at the all that does include everything. it includes everything from food and energy. that is all in there. consumer price indices are copulated individually. ,f you want to study food eating go -- you can go to the usda website. everything is measured. if you're concerned about how much your monthly or annual expenditures are going to

change, just take a look at the all items cpi. to the water in california, i policy changest in california. options are on the table to make sure that we don't have water shortages for major agricultural producers. in -- on thes line. policy in terms of water why are the top three issues usda being done? we want to make sure that resources are being used efficiently. the last caller talked about freshwater being dumped into the ocean. that does not seem to be an efficient way of using resources. this is a little bit outside of my specific wheelhouse.

usdald just say that the has a division devoted to resource and economics. increasing. nation and those sorts of factors. as what is being implemented in not in my office. i am watching those stories as closely as you are. host: peter is khan and from new york. cpi?r: what is the actual 3.5%.ulate it is about the largest pork producer in the united states was bought by the chinese. i heard it reported that there is a stomach virus that was

knocking off the pig population. how are they are just by the exportsto increase pork , how will it affect pork prices? referring to're what is happening annually, 3.5% is within the range of what is possible. -- our forecast is 2.5%. terms, ifat in simple an american household spent in hundred dollars on food in 2013, they would spend $103 and $.50 on 2014. that is our expected range. if you just extrapolate the rate of change is seen in fort --

food prices in january and february, there are a lot of things that can happen. the drought could exacerbate this. it remains to be seen. the bigger issue we keep our eyes on our the virus that could impact work supplies. china, weports to have seen it for beef, soybeans, it drives up commodity and food prices in the u.s.. the possibility of increase inflation. the more looming and serious concern is the virus. it is too soon to attribute anything to it. couldrate uptick in pork be paying record prices.

meet -- me prices are very high. we want to show a chart showing that over the long term. guest: that chart should be oh -- reassuring. these are annual changes overlaid on top of each other. of prices overge time. blue line, food prices are flat. they do the same thing every year. i hope that hammers home that there is always some looming concern.

there is almost always a frost or freeze or doubt -- drought they can drive up commodity prices. implication for consumers are limited in terms of major increases. an increase in a specific food category. is an average across all food prices across the whole country. it takes a lot to. host: we have just a couple of minutes left. let us go to dave calling in from arkansas. caller: good morning. done athat he cause-and-effect study. every thing in this country

moves by truck. big truck prices over the last 10 years have almost tripled. a truck fory $50,000. now it is $160,000. all of the parts that we get are from somewhere else. i have a report about specific foods that we are shipping mass tounts of processed foods china. in plastictting them bags and shipping them back to us. how is this more efficient. way i could can spend some time asking questions. guest: the issue that you raise

that i want to focus on is an important one. we are talking about the trucks. but we are getting at is the transportation cost. that should not be discounted. they are important. there was a recent study that came out of my office and showed when there is a jump in crude oil prices, that results in wholesale food investable rices. increaseller than the they see in california then in some place on the east coast. that difference is easy to pin point. that is worth keeping into account when you're thinking about what drives retail food prices and how important is energy. the cpi.t ,epending on where you live

when transportation costs go up where you live has an application on what you pay. we have a call from mark from earth carolina. caller: i am another truck driver. i have a question. have you ever looked into having trucks it takes to get things on the walmart shelf? it takes 54 trucks just to get a jerk. butter on the shelf at walmart. i did not realize that for. butter. there is pretty good data on transportation for raw commodities. from production .2 terminal markets.

for a lot of commodities and truck markets. what happens with retailers and wholesalers, the data is proprietary. and was going on with the individual retailers and how wholesale prices are determined, it is a much thornier issue. i will just say that if there is a problem there in terms of education costs being unwieldy or driving up prices, it is a private company. they have an incentive to minimize those costs. , that is a good thing. it reduces volatility over time. ricky v

and davidw, max booth discussed the situation in ukraine in crimea and how the u.s. should respond. reporterstreet journal talks about the internet and how it is governed. he discusses the interval data system. washington journal, live at 7 a.m. eastern on c-span. collects today's young adults -- >> today's young adults were coming up in the world. they are paying money into a system to support a level of benefits for today's retirees

that they have no realistic chance of getting themselves. there needs to be a rebalancing of the social compact. it is a very important and because notallenge only is social security and medicare half of our budget, it is the biggest thing we do. the purestlically statement in public policy that as a country we are a community all in this together. these are programs that affect everybody. paul taylor on the looming generational showdown tonight at 10 a.m. -- 10 p.m. eastern. in a few weeks, your chance to talk with military strategist and former assistant defense secretary dean west. he will take your calls, comments, and tweets on the middle east and afghanistan.

book tv, every weekend on c-span 2. join the discussion of the new biography. look for the book club tab on booktv.org. >> the cover station with supreme court justice elena kagan. conservative in hollywood. then after that the medal of honor ceremony. supreme court justice elena kagan talks to students about her life and career at georgetown university law center. williamol dean, traynor, is the moderator. >>