know when our partners that she's been will be carrying this, most likely in the next month. we have an event coming up on the 18th. it will be a live town hall and you are all invited to come after questions of congressman desantis in a live broadcast. that will be the 18th right here in the auditorium. dr.matusis will be selling his dvds and just a moment. you can line up and say hello and pick up a copy. we will be making no sales right here. ladies and gentlemen, once again, dr. jonathan misuses -- matusis. [applause] thank you for being with us tonight. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014]

>> next, representatives of the national basketball association talk about sports and cultural diplomacy. after that, the executive director of the american legion talks about the backlog of american veterans claims. in the weekly addresses with vice president biden and indiana representative jackie miller ski. on the next "washington journal" atlanta council president reviews president obama's trip abroad last week. in the discussion of the deadline to sign up for insurance under the affordable care act. and the chief artie -- the tea party founder talks about the future of the party.

an examination of the u n roll with russia and the situation with ukraine. we will take your calls and you can join the conversation via facebook and twitter. "washington journal," live at 7 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> two weeks after the burglary, i received a large manila envelope at the "washington post ," and it had a return address of liberty publication, media, pennsylvania, which did not really mean anything to me, but was slightly intriguing. and inside, a cover letter from the citizens commission to investigate the fbi. that is the name that the burglars gave each other. what they wrote really sounded that a commission appointed by the president or attorney general would have done. they described the fact that they had burglarized and fbi office, that they had become concerned that there were informers and antiwar and civil rights organizations, and that

they saw no way to confront this except by getting evidence of whether such suppression of dissent was taking place. it said that files were enclosed and they hoped that i would make public the files. they had been sent to five people, to members of congress, senator george mcgovern, and karen mitchell, a congresswoman from baltimore. and three journalists who were not named. thearted to read them and paranoia document stood out. it's about so much that i was not sure they were real. i thought this might be a hoax. >> on march 8, 19 71, a group broke into an fbi office in media, pennsylvania and stole every document in the building. the story, sunday night at 8:00 on c-span's q&a.

>> former nba player yamane was part of a -- was part of an event looking at relations between the u.s. and china. he announced his retirement in 2011 after a series of foot and ankle injuries. this is about an hour. >> i will start by first chung li and the entire center. this is -- if this is not the best collection of china policy scholars in the united states, it might be here in universities

and around the world. this is an extraordinary group of people, including the director, and his predecessor directors, two of whom i see in the audience. it is a great group. we are delighted for them hosting this event. and the hospitality they showed to me and my family two years ago when i spent three months traveling through china in preparation for a book. celebrating a major not just transition, but transformational event of 35 years ago. and today, we are really blessed and honored to have true transformational figures -- to transformational figures in this sport that we hold very dear. way to, ping-pong gave basketball. after the ping-pong exchanges, they were basketball exchanges that followed. i think chumley -- chung li

touch upon the fact that basketball is the second most popular sport in china, behind ping-pong. -- dates back to the late 1800s when the missionaries that sounded basketball in america through the ymca took it all around the world. and in china, it took hold. and a hold was so great that even during the cultural revolution where other activities such as music and art and literature where associations with the west were banned, basketball was not. it could be found on court and in alleyways all across china. we saw that ourselves two years ago. we had arrived in beijing in march. we with friends went to the forbidden city. and after you go through the front gate, there is a basketball court fairly soon inside the forbidden city. and there were a number of army boots lined up on the edge of the court, and on the court was a three on three gain -- again

of -- a three on three gain of members all wearing nike and adidas, probably made in china, of course. it was great as we were going to go to one of the treasured places in china to see this sport that, perhaps started as an american sport, but really is a global sport. it is the highlight of the limbic. olympics. the final basketball game is played almost always on the last closing weekend. and it is considered perhaps the great team sport of the olympics every year. see it in just beijing. we sought in shanghai, where at the court near us there will be pickup basketball games at 7:00 in the morning and the players were all wearing lebron james and kobe bryant jerseys of one kind or another. on the street where people are wearing hats or t-shirts or other things of nba branded products.

and today we are honored to have two of the great with us. it goes without saying that yao ming is a giant, but he is a giant in more important ways. he was able to bridge cultures that were deeply divided for many years. it also beyond that, his other activities in public life and private life. of the give you a sense transformation that he himself has traveled, he was born one year after the reestablishment of diplomatic relations in 1980. the average person in shanghai made all of about $1800 a year. by the time he came to america in 2002, that had risen to about $4000 a year. and today, it stands at about 13,000 dollars a year on

average. and that is just in shanghai. of course, across china there are great disparities as well. and one thing we talked about before coming in here, and hopefully we will talk about today, is the broad effort to try to address those disparities in china, which is a real priority for yao. chinesehe first true nba star. there are other layers in the nba, but if you followed his career, you know he was the top draft pick in 2002, drafted by the houston rockets. eight seasons, he appeared in the nba all-stars every year. two shots at least per game. >> nine. >> nine? >> i was going by your contract. >> i would never get it wrong. [laughter]

>> i stand corrected. he is now the owner of the shanghai sharks, which is the first professional team that he played for for the few years before the rockets drafted him. and his philanthropy and public engagement ranges from environmental protection, including protecting sharks and the shark fin, rhinos and elephants. he has a well earned affinity for large animals of other species. [laughter] but his focus is on the smallest and most vulnerable. he has had a particular emphasis on children, building schools command addressing those that were impacted by earthquakes across china, in particular the great earthquake of 2008 in sichuan province that killed almost 70,000 people and left countless others missing. from one giant to the next, the man seated next to me may not appear as tall as he out -- as yao.

in fact, if we stood back-to-back, i'm not sure who would be taller. but david stern is a giant, not public sports, but in diplomacy and in american philanthropic and cultural life. he inherited a lead government verge of bankruptcy 30 years ago and served as commissioner or 30 years exactly, the coming commissioner emeritus on january 31 of this year. did i get that right? >> right. >> in those 30 years, he took the lead from bankruptcy and revenues have increased dirty fold in that time. seven new teams were added. in thatased 30 fold time. seven new teams are added. a question? yao >> we have time for questions. we want to give them context. broadcast on c-span, but the overlap of c-span and espn viewers is not an overlap of one to one. [laughter]

he has helped promote exhibitions all around the world. recruited top talent from every continent on earth, with the exception of antarctica, but that is probably coming, too. and if you had served a few more years, perhaps even there. the nba's mission has not just been to promote basketball, but to promote all the things that surround basketball, including social issues in the united states and abroad, from human health and developing, physical well-being, but also things like racial disparity and income inequality. it is an extraordinary accomplishment that is unmatched in professional sports in the united states. this did not get through without having dealt with challenges and controversies, but throughout, he lifted the game rather than dragging it through those issues. it is a real credit to us that he is here with us today. i first saw david -- i most recently saw david and met him

in october, when he received harvard university's the beauty metal -- -- w eb walk metal. -- theved on many boards naacp, the martin luther king foundation, the paley center for the media, jazz at lincoln center, and the global coalition /aids, tuberculosis, and malaria. all right, i will turn it down now. >> thank you. [laughter] >> you welcome. i wanted to start with when you started playing professional basketball.

it was a relatively new sport. china had had asked while for many years. your father played basketball. but you started playing professional basketball there, and made the transition to playing professional basketball here. what was that transition like? >> the transition was great. the professional basketball playing in china started in 97. i played five years for the sharks. i was drafted in 2002 by the houston rockets. that is a totally different country, different people. we all are linked by this very simple interest, which is basketball game. we are very interested. we love this game so much. obviously, so many people participate. i always have a problem with that.

i have been in texas too long. [laughter] this game links so much people. we know each other or we do not, and we always either play the game or watch the game through television or now with the new media, internet, everything. this game just brings everybody to get her. >> i want to ask about the game. how different was the game when you made the transition? was it played if early in china? -- played differently in china? you could go to simple stereotypes about team purses individual sport, but i have been struck by the complexity of nba they making. did you experience a transition in thinking differently on the court?

>> well, of course, nba is much more difficult than cba. there is a war class right here. i do not want to say that, but it is true. beyond that, i have to adjust to the new culture of the entire nba league. i have to deal with, play with, and live with my new teammates. you're either the guy from a college or maybe some guy from high school. like i mentioned, i played professionally at 17, so you can treat me as a high school player at the beginning. >> david, you watched yao make that transition, how did he do? you helped springboard the bringing of international players. what was different in this situation?

>> this year, we had 80 international players on our rosters, there is nothing like yao ming. i can still remember, i do not know if it is in the photo real slipping around here, being in this ceo, the cnn studio in beijing when i announced he was the first pick in the 2000 draft, and then became the journey, the pressure on him. some sense that he was the ambassador for the entire country. all of a sudden, americans were going to learn more about china than they knew in other ways through yao ming, and he took that responsibility. in an interesting way, through television, our chinese fans are going to learn more about america through yao ming.

and this is for a young, 22-year-old who was being burdened with -- i think he did wonderfully because he became an all-star player at the same time becoming an ambassador. it affects the two countries, and that to me is extraordinary, beginning contribution. >> did you feel the pressure that you had all china on your shoulders? [laughter] that's a lot of people. >> i felt the pressure, not from the people, but from those cameras. [laughter] >> was there a moment where you felt you had made it and the pressure diminished and different pressures took on? >> i think when you focus on something, like when there is a basketball game, he you reduce those pressures automatically, because everything still comes

from basketball. when you do not know what you are doing, do the best you can. do what you are good at. that is what they say, right? i feel a lot of pressure, but my parents told me you just need to focus on basketball and do what you are good at and let time take care of the rest of it. >> did you think you will go up and said, i have become an american? [laughter] >> he left his big hat in the car. >> sometimes when we finished a game, and we flew back to houston in the middle of the night, no car on the highway, no light on the windows, and pop music.

and they drive the car -- i should not say that i'm about 100 miles an hour. [laughter] but that wasn't you? but after i got my license. you lived in houston, you adopt some of their culture in this sense -- and it does not automatically pick up. it is not something that you have to buy a book to learn it. you learn from the lifetime spent with them. >> if you look back -- you were drafted in 2002? 12 years since you were drafted. when you look back on it now, how do you think the true

-- two countries have moved along in understanding them? -- understanding each other? >> i think this created an opportunity for us. people like to watch a sports game in china come in those countries and this could provide a channel for us where we extend our sense into the life in america, and also in other ones. every year there are dozens of sports journalists come to houston to follow the rockets game, and i talk to them, and they are also writing something like american life and how american teenage thinking and

how people treat the game, how they think about those games. all those are part of the american culture. those packages are delivered back to china through their pen. >> when you have taken the exhibition to china, do you see anything going back with journalists traveling with the team that follow the sport, but get to know the culture? and then project it back? >> i do see that, but in 2004, when we played the exhibition, what i was struck by -- it was yao and the sacramento kings, the houston rockets, and the demands made on yao back in china. we were traveling with -- people think the dream team was a sensation. yao topped them all.

many of our reporters following us and television crews were astounded by the popularity of yao and also the familiarity of the fans they saw with the game. talk about the universal teenager. you could see it. they are wearing their pants too low. they got headphones on. their hair is tinted blond, and they are shouting and shaking the bus. our traveling media was astounded by the melding of these cultures brought together by this little round ball and this very large player. >> yao, your dad played basketball before it became a professional sport. when he watches this now and sees chinese youth drawn to the professionals, the professional

glamour, does he reflect on how much it has changed? do you think about the huge leap to it being a national craze? >> time is a bit different today. my mom played basketball. >> my daughter plays basketball. >> both of my parents played in the 1970's, interesting as the same time the ping-pong relationship was established. basketball had taken a back seat by then. -- back then. basketball is trying to -- in the past, basketball is more like trying to encourage people. i should say the same thing today. back then there is no money and

no professional league. guys playing basketball because the pure love of the sport and also partly because selected in the draft by the sports. today, after 30-some years, the young generation has the opportunity to choose what they want to do. their attitudes are totally different. they are more aggressive to approach what they want in the sports and spread those passions to rest of -- when you have a basketball game like you just mentioned that you have something at 7:00 in the morning, i would love to have a cup of coffee and enjoy the morning news. i saw some of the game on the street. it encouraged me.

it is a new day, full of energy, still young. if i'm not. -- even though i'm not. that kind of activity is just so impressed on everybody who can touch it. >> there has been an enormous amount of encouragement by the government which has focused on basketball as a sport of exercise, fitness, and what we call teamwork or harmony in china. it really has been a force for the installation of backboards by the government in tiny villages of an million or more. especially with concerns about obesity and diabetes, basketball has taken on a different approach.

what we are seeing is a common interest/passion and yao is a focus for that. when yao says he wants an exhibition game to raise funds for victims, steve nash and groups of players go over there. yao said he would like them to form the nba yao school because there are no gymnasiums in schools. the nba says we are with you. so yao is a one-man policymaker for bringing these two countries together. people think of it as just about fandom, but it is more. we invited the chinese national team here in 1985. and the our back --

coaches worked with them. we always viewed basketball as something that was a little bit different than the government relation. and has the ability to do some melding and also working on issues of common concern. >> it has that ability, but because many of us played, the ability for people to participate but also observe and watch, and that has been an extraordinary thing. it draws people to it because they've had their own experiences with it. i want to ask you, with that in mind, as you run a professional basketball team, how you think about the development of the sport? do you feel like you are learning about basketball or marketing and player development and other skills? >> when you own a basketball team it is not just a basketball game.

it's not as simple as a basketball game. it is another skill. it is management. >> you were once a chinese export, and now you are importing management skills that you learned in the united states? >> well, there is some skills we can use in china. you have to understand these are two different cultures. you cannot copy 100% and simply move to there. you have to make some adjustments. i have to say that management in china is a lot more different than down here. but at the very bottom the love from the people to basketball is still the same. the structure will be a little bit different. >> and david was suggesting it

does draw people, and that gives you enormous power and opportunity to make contributions and decide -- i am -- contributions to society. i am curious to hear how you pick the topics used choose to focus on, things like education or wildlife preservation. give us your ideas of what you are interested in. education -- we shared a game with steve nash, carmelo anthony were we created a team to play against team china in 2007. we raised the first -- the money to get the funds to support the kids' education. we established a fund at that time. and moving into today we have

, built a school already. we are very interested about how can we help kids grow up more healthy. right now the sport is a little bit of a lack in chinese schools. because of testing and examination and also the science, it is a lack of a sport activity for them. we try to create some out of -- after school program with them and believe particularly team sports like basketball it will be beneficial for those kids. it is not trying to select the next basketball star. we are more focused on character, personality, life skills, like chemistry, teamwork, leadership you can name a lot of those things.

also, it is good to assemble to try to figure out how china can see its own responsibilities. for the world. a little bit of a story about this. in 2006, when we had a cooperation with an ngo organization, we launched a program which has created huge marketing and almost 70 million every year. it was to get people to stop eating shark fin soup. not long after that the reduced by 50% of the demand from a marketing --

>> did you face any resistance? were there people in traditional cuisine culture that asked about that? >> i got some letters. first letter was shocking. the first protest letter directed to me, maybe my team got a few already, it was a shock for me. i noticed you had to be pretty patient on there. >> one other thing. when china decided that they wanted to attempt to destigmatize hiv, who do they turn to? yao did a series of announcements with magic johnson, posters, promotions.

it was spectacular and had a huge impact. and the number of hits on the aaron diamond foundation website practically took it off the charts. yao is a much in demand spokesperson. and he has devoted his time spectacularly. >> david, you went through that here in the states. you were commissioner when magic johnson announced he had come down with aids, and you have seen that issue, the state -- the stigma associated with it, the de-stigmatizing process layout not only in the united states and around the world. why is it that sports are the vehicle for that? can you reflect on that? >> they are because they are some place away from the self where you can have these conversations. if you want to engage the world on any subject, it is so easy to do it when there is a racist

slur in an italian soccer game or an american announces they are hiv-positive, or a player graduating from college, a football player he not being able to read. it is amazing that in addition to the exercise part and in addition to the team value part you then go to the cultural part which allows people to have these conversations. magic johnson and his situation changed the debate on aids, not only in this country, but in the world because magic was the beloved figure and he was a sports figure. sports figures have a completely different set of familiarity to their fans. >> i want to turn to the audience for questions. one final question.

as you reflect back now on the hard times of that first year, and when you come to the united states now and see people that may be in your first year were challenging. there was a taunting relationship between you and shaquille o'neal, but he talked to you before you played him. the barriers you came up against. does that seem like a long time ago, and do these people now seem like family, or do you still bear scars from those days? >> bear some scars? >> [inaudible] [laughter] >> it's all good memories. [laughter] it is all good memories. yeah, my first year, i would say i was facing a lot of challenges, not only on the court, but also how you manage yourself off the court and deal with different language and the

community that is there. really -- >> did it help that you block his first two shots? [laughter] >> the fans are all alike. let me say something. yao, i mean, he slips over it. imagine your average 22-year-old thrown into the situation and then you have somebody really dropped from on high in who has to get a license, understanda new culture, change everything, and all i can say is in an attempt to help him out a bit, i remember hosting him for a lunch in my office during his first year. we had a very nice discussion. and i saved the only thank-you note that i ever received from a lunch from a player, because it was delivered by yao ming.

>> i want to use that as a reflection for the broader u.s.-china relationship, when the relationship has gone through good and bad times in the last 12 years since you first came or over the course of the last few years. do you follow it? do you pay attention to the diplomatic summits when they happen, diplomatic low points and sparring? does it affect you personally? how do you think about the high diplomacy, as opposed to the people to people things that you engaged in? >> fortunately, my time in the nba has always been stable. -- the china and u.s. relationship has always been stable. i would like to mention another player who just came over to the states. 2001, i think.

and he was given a hard question on the first conference. i remember he said, i think he, you know, i think he says -- i cannot remember exactly what he said -- he said this difference in understanding between each other, countries to country, but i am here to play basketball and i will show everybody how chinese people look like through sports. and i think he said something like let's be patient on those relationships. sometimes time will take care of everything. >> from our perspective, when we really feel pretty good when then vice president xi was visiting, and one of the stops he wanted to make was to meet

kobe, and then the vice li, you came over with a delegation, including the ambassador and the health minister and the deputy minister of foreign affairs, and they met with my then entity in chicago at a bulls game at a time when i was having dinner in new york with the president of a university. so we take seriously at the league level the opportunities that are presented by people who want to talk about our support, etc., and the level of knowledge of the chinese fans. when i did my first press conference, i was 6:00 in the morning here, we hosted a dinner for the media, many years ago, many, and they wanted to know about the salary cap, the lockout, all kinds of mundane

details, and that is when we knew we had something special going on. and then we had yao. which elevated us to another level. >> we will take questions now from the audience. please tell us who you are. microphone is coming. >> scott herald from the rand corporation. i want to note that yao ming broke a big barrier. these gentlemen played a role in basketball akin to breaking the color barrier, and it is quite an honor to be present and see that happening. recently, the first gay nba basketball player, the first player in a major sport come out. i want ask your thoughts. in china this is a very sensitive topic. you have attached yourself to very path-breaking issues.

i wonder in the cba we will see someone who will break that barrier. and for mr. stern in china, , there is a challenge in intellectual property rights. the nba has an interest in making sure that it is addressed. i want to see if you can help us understand how the nba is treating that issue. >> go first, yao. [laughter] >> i think it is a very good question. assuming that this works, basketball game, or any sport is a platform. a platform, you can put everything on there to measure, to measure not only by vertical -- >> vertical and horizontal. >> and also measure by the time.

this platform -- by those media right there and can also learn by the public. let them judge and let them help us improve this entire community. >> we have come a long way. on my earlier trips to china, i saw some walking down the street with a bulls uniform on. when you look at the back of the shirt, it had the san jose sharks. i knew it was not legitimate. [laughter] with the help of the government, the customs, the euro, and with our own partner adidas, there has been an increased respect for copyrights, trademarks, and a demand in consumers for authenticity, which is actually

our best weapon because if you do not have product in the market, you cannot effectively fight to keep out these other things. when there is a replacement product, you're much better off. we spend enormous sums of money to protect our rights. >> the third row. >> thank you. from the chinese embassy. a question for yao. you mentioned you are young, but you still have at least five decades ago or maybe six in the future. you are still young. in the next decade, what is your focus? now you are so famous, not in china, but also in the united states, you play a particular role in public diplomacy, but also in sports. could you please tell us how you

plan for maybe the next five years or longer decades? thank you. >> i can tell you, my goal for next year is to try to get my master's degree -- [laughter] the next two years. hopefully i can succeed. my main focus would still be sports, either on marketing and also building relationships area to area and country to country. and also philanthropy. i will focus on my own foundation, and we have a little flirtation on that and focus on children's education and afterschool programs, those kinds of things. and also work with special

olympics and animal conversation. for the next decade, i believe i wish i could bring more chinese people and american to join our journey to achieve -- to make those achievements. thank you. >> the woman in the fourth row. >> hi, i am from shanghai. i am working with u.s.-china is this council, and also a student from the university of north carolina. as a huge basketball fan, impressed by ming's achievement and his contribution to the u.s.-china bilateral relationship. since your retirement, we have not seen a chinese basketball player as influential as you. can you talk about chinese

ballplayers' futures in the nba and you have any advice for them? >> there is a few -- [laughter] even in the cba. there are a few guys that they had their chances. either cba or nba are very challenging today. they have to make their steps step i step. take your time. i think you are seeing some

surprises in a few years. >> and i think that jeremy lin, who was chinese background, ethnicity, it was pretty interesting that someone who was 6'3" made it because it is more encouraging for youths to participate. the emphasis on the national theme starts with the age-old slogan you cannot judge size. the players who come into the nba, a person was 7'2, another was 6'6" -- was he 7'2"? there was a trend there, and we need to see a different grouping of great players, because they have to be there. don't you agree? >> so this gentleman here right

there, fourth row, fifth row. >> the subject today is public diplomacy. we have another public diplomacy event in china that has been getting a lot of attention, and that is first lady michelle obama who was graciously greeted for a week traveling and got a great deal of publicity. would you care to comment on the public diplomacy? thank you. >> first of all, i know i would like to say welcome to the first

lady in china. [laughter] i hope she and her daughter had a pleasant journey over there. i follow their news on the paper, the internet, almost every day. it looks like they had a good time over there. i think -- this is a -- i am not sure i would call this like a relationship or policy. i think this is more like a lifestyle. this is more like a lifestyle. when the presidents on both sides need each other and

because of a family issue that a first lady cannot -- there, and a couple months after that, the first lady visited china again, and the first lady from the china side, they had a very nice meeting together. it is like walking to a neighbor's house, saying, how are you doing today? i have a pie i would like to bring to you. it reminds me of my first house moving in houston, and my neighborhood came to my house, and said welcome to my neighborhood. there is a tradition here. here is a pie. i remember she brought a pie to my house. it was very, very warm. it put those two countries' peoples close together. >> when you have taken other and be a players for exhibition games in china, have some of those players come back?

same kind of thing, like when you have gone with the rockets the china, the other rocket players, do they go back to china to visit from time to time? do they see that as a vacation place? >> tracy mcgrady is in china right now, doing something over there. i know there are other players who are playing in china, in the cba. >> 40 nba players and retired players visited china this summer. >> terrific. woman in the white sweater here in the back, middle. >> i am from aei. when i first went to china i was so surprised to learn that students there did not really have access to physical education, sports. when i was growing up i played all kinds of sports in school.

it was an everyday thing, and later often children are separated in china in different schools, and that is their main focus. you mentioned what you have been doing about after-school programs. i am wondering if more can be done in terms of changing the way the school works to include that, because i feel sports are such a thing in terms of character building, i can mention. that would be so an official not as an extra thing. if you could speak to that. >> thanks for the question. first of all, i do not know if you speak chinese -- yes. sports in china translates as two characters. in english, it is physical education. a strategy, but the goal is to educate, to educate. i totally agree, that is why those are my goals to change the

situation in china, particularly in the schools. you said that part of the students, including the being separated to focus on development of sports skill. in one day maybe one of us like me, i can play in the national team -- but also important for both sides to help us understand the sports, why we plays these games. and the fourth thing is to teach us how to obey the rules and to compete, to walk together, and finally a leader will be created among the people. on the other side, for the school's part, as i just mentioned, all those kids from -- all the way to college, they

are heavy loaded by -- and also by science studies. they do not have that time so they do not have extra energy to spend on courts to play. to change the situation where we have to increase the public wellness to understand how we are hurting us in the next 20 years. we already feel -- the flaws of that right now. in the last month when -- wait -- [laughter] you know what i am saying.

not only one person, not just a few persons mentioned that we have to reestablish a sports system in the school and also reconsider about how we train those conditions in life, this is very positive. and i know that president xi is a big fan of football, and that will be helpful, to -- [laughter] >> you just extracted or elicited from yao the brief for why the nba yao school is starting small. i am thinking of a nation of tiger moms. we are starting to get some respect for sports and the process, and yao is a wonderful spokesperson for that. >> towards the back, the gentleman with a piece of paper in his hand.

>> i'm from johns hopkins. my question is for both yao and mr. stern. i am chinese and also a basketball fan. i wanted to know your opinions about the situation that there is no chinese athlete in the nba right now. >> my opinion about? >> yes. >> well -- [laughter] >> and your comments on that. >> what are your comments about it? [laughter] >> you are the man. >> i think there is always a wave of a player that comes to china. i think the first wave starts from the draft in 1999, and then another after that, and then a

third player to come to the states. right now, yes, like you say, there is a gap, there is a gap between the first wave and the second. to answer the question, i have seen young talents in china. just be patient and i think the nba has -- already. >> to answer the question, i do not believe that yao ming is the last great chinese player. he is the first great chinese player. and the rest are coming. >> we have time for maybe one more question. the gentleman in the back, with a hoodie kind of thing here. yeah, you. >> hi. i have a question for mr. stern, how you compare yao's impact in

the nba, and how you deal with two countries, like the u.s. and russia are currently in an international crisis. >> well, i would say the whole issue of international ownership of teams is not a big deal. there are something like a dozen non-english owners in the premier league, which is perhaps the most successful sport in the world, to get with the nfl. and the owners of the seattle baseball team have been -- it has been in japanese hands for a long time. the ownership was just another iteration of that. stay tuned for the rest. there are going to be always changes in relationships between

government and the like, but it may be that sports provides the basis for leveling things out a bit and being able to engage in certain conversations. i think to this point, prokhorov's ownership of the brooklyn nets has been a positive thing and something we solicited and tried to nurture. we hope it will remain that way. >> i really want to thank our two guests. as you could tell from their answers, their experiences, these really are giants in the world, not just of support, but also in broad cross-cultural understanding. i think we owe them not just a big round of applause, but our thanks and hope that you will come back to brookings -- both. [applause] we take a break and then come

back at 3:30 for young rising scholars. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> the backlog of veterans benefits claims. biden.ice president phobiacognize islam exists. i am absolutely against it. it is part of the xenophobia. xenophobiang but the versus one group. what happened is that the islamist lobby have hijacked that notion and made into a weapon.

who was criticizing a policy issue that has something to do with the religion, they have been accused of islam phobia. this is what the not sees would have criticize anybody of their policies. policy the international level it becomes dangerous. on april 6, more discussion on westiddle east with being -- bing west. c-span every weekend on 2. budget and backlog of veterans benefits claims. from today's washington journal, this is over 30 minutes. "washington journal" continues.

host: and this past week, the american legion discussed its legislative priorities during its annual washington conference. we're joined now by american legion executive director, peter gaytan. mr. gaytan, according to projections i've seen, about 1.2 million members of the u.s. military are expected to be discharged over the next four years or so. is the u.s. prepared to handle this influx of folks being discharged from the mill snear guest: well, i think to be prepared, we need to consider all the needs of our returning veterans. some are in different points in their lives. some are coming back and maybe want to go to school, take advantage of the g.i. bill, which was created by the american legion, and we're responsible for updating that bill as well. they may want to purchase a home, or all of them need to become employed. we as a nation are aware, but we need to meet their needs. they met our needs. they put the uniform on and said we're going to protect you, and now they're coming home. we as a grateful nation need to

ensure those processes and programs are in place to take care of them. host: you had your washington conference this week, talking to members of congress. what were your highest priorities as you were talking to them? guest: we had several priorities, and our national commander mapped them out to our hundreds of legionnaire who is come to washington, d.c., to provide that voice for america's veterans. they walked the halls of congress. they meet with their members of congress, and they tell them the needs of america's veterans and what we want to see the american government improve upon in terms of understanding what veterans need and n providing them with what they need. one major was the back log, the claims back log. host: the benefits back log. we actually played a clip earlier of john boehner talking about this on the house floor. guest: that's true. leadership and the v.a. and d.o.d. and the administration and congress all understand how important this is, and this is only one aspect of providing veterans benefits, and that's the backlog. if we want to focus on that, we can see that currently the v.a.

backlog is about 35 ,000. that's not a number. that's not a stack. those are individual members who have worn the uniform in this country, 351 americans. we may talk about it in numbers or in claims or in files or in warning loads that are overwhelming our v.a. regional offices and the american legion service officers that are nationwide providing assistance to veterans filing their claims. scommoip what do these claims consist of? what is an average claim for? guest: it's for an injury or illness that can be attributed to their service. so what the claims process does, what the american legion does, we open our doors for regional offices. we have hundreds of service officers that are accredited through the american legion who provide free service to veterans. i'm a service officer. you come into my office, and say, i jumped out of planes for 18 years, and my back is really killing me. does this allow me access to the v.a. healthcare system? is this injury that i'm dealing with in any life a result of service to my country? our service officers helped

them develop a claim with exams, medical exams, military roffereds, affidavits from people they served with, to allow us to develop a claim that v.a., we can commit to the v.a., and the v.a. can consider and make a decision, is that injury service connected? if so, you'll gain access to the very healthcare system we as a nation created to treat your unique needs. it's the department of veterans affairs. >> speaker john boehner talked about this, and it's the subject of his republican address this week. here's him on the house floor on thursday, also bringing up this very same subject. >> mr. speaker and my colleagues, i know that the house shares my deep concern over the back log of benefit claims at the department of veterans affairs. it's nothing short of a black eye for our government. this country has made promises that it's our duty to keep, and the house has acted to tackle this problem. even so, reform won't get very far if it's carried out by managers who have proven that they're not up to the job. so we recently introduced

hr-403, is the v.a. management accountability act, and this measure gives the v.a. secretary the authority to fire and demote officials who aren't performing. the principle here is simple dwhashe you're not getting the job done, you got to go. at the v.a., it's been quite the opposite. for all the incompetence that we've seen and all the lives that have been lost, the evidence shows there's been no accountability. only half measures and little slaps on the wrist. and an agency which has fallen down on the job, this would be at any age that has fallen down on the job, this would be unacceptable. but to have it happen in the healthcare system for america's veterans? i think it's shameful. the v.a. is failing our veterans and their families, and it's time we hold these people accountable and get people in there who can fix this backlog once and for all. host: peter gaytan of the american legion, what is your stance on the bill that speaker boehner was talking about that he was supporting, and how do

you feel about secretary shinseki, the job he's doing at the v.a.? guest: the american legion supports the bill. we want to see more accountability at the v.a., but it's a shame that we as a nation have to legislation good management. the department of veterans affairs is the second largest federal agency in the government, and their mission is a sacred mission, and that's to care for those who have borne to battle, and that's not just an agency create created by this nation. that's for every people because of those who have chose ton wear the uniform. we support the bill. it's a shame that it has to come to legislating good management, but the american legion looks at the v.a. as a partner. you know, it's one thing to point fingers and say somebody has to help the veterans. the legion is raising their hand saying we help the veterans. twheats we do every day. we're trying to become better partners and go out to the had he jonl officers. i spleaped what a service

officer does. after the claim is developed, it's up to the v.a. staff person to go through that and make sure it's adjudicated, that a decision is made so f that veteran can receive the benefits they've earned. what we've done this past year, year and a half, actually, is our national staff has gone out to the regional officers where legion service officers worked, and we try to make sure that that level of communication between our service officers, the american legion, and the v.a. employees and the regional offices is as smooth as possible, so veterans are not suffering and waiting f. we ensure the v.a. and other service organizations are working well at the regional office level, then that process that speaker boehner described, the veterans claims waiting so long, if we can improve that, at least through communication amount the regional offices, we're making one step in ensuring they receive their benefits. host: we're talking with the executive director of the american legion, here to take your calls and comments. the phone numbers are on the screen, if you'd like to join us in this last half-hour of today's "washington journal,"

as we talk with mr. gaytan. want to talk about budget, a time of budget and restraint and impacts on the military and on veterans issues. we saw one budget-cutting member, the one practice trimmed the cola increases for younger veterans get passed, and then get overturned. what are some ways that you can describe that veterans and the military has been impacted by these budget reductions? >> they're affecting our readiness, the active-duty. and when we as a nation are relying more and more on our garden reserve to be deployed, to do the job next to the active duty for so long, we need to ensthure the funding is there, that the garden reserve and active duty can operate together to secure our freedoms. but more importantly, you mentioned the cola, the cola bill. in an attempt to decrease the federal budget, our national congress decided to reduce the cola increase, the yearly cost of living increase for our military retirees.

their retirement funds would be reduced every year with that cola decrease. they were attempting to balance the budget of our nation on the backs of america's veterans by saying you've earned your retirement, but we're going to reduce the amount we're going to give you yearly in terms of cost of living increase to help balance the budget. if we as a nation are targeting a tiny percentage of americans in this country to bear the burden of the huge federal debt we have, i think we're doing things wrong. the american legion made sure that our voice, the 2.4 million americans who wear the legion cap very proudly, their voice was heard in congress, and that was overturned. that fws back to every veterans day and every memorial day, you'll read an article that the american legion is decreasing in membership, that their relevancy is declining. i'm here to tell you it doesn't proof, and that's proof. because that cola legislation was overturned, this is as strong as it's been. host: i want to show the chart that shows funding levels for different parts. federal government, the red

circles, mandatory spending, the largest one being social security, medicare, and medicaid also being in those mandatory spending. but it also has discretionary spending in the orange circles. defense spending is here, $652 billion last year. veteran spending, $140 billion. two big circles here. are there places that the american legion would be ok to see some cuts in defense spending? >> i can answer that in a way that the american legion is working as close as ever with d.o.d. we've had meetings where we actually sat down at the pentagon with secretary hagel, a great friend of veterans. when he was senator, he listened to veterans' issues. he was very sandope transparent. he's carried that management style over to d.o.d. we've sat down with the chairman of the joint chiefs and sat down to put everything on the table, as he says, and discuss where the d.o.d. budget could be cut that won't affect

readiness, won't affect military quality of life, and won't affect the security of this nation. the american legion is open to doing that. we welcome that opportunity, and we thank secretary hagel for doing that. host: what are some of the places you put forward? are there places you point out as places to go back? >> decisions have not been made, but consideration is being given to things like reducing the quality of the benefit, the percentage of an actual military member or family savings by going, we're listening to that, we're discussing that. there are different areas to discussion, and we're in the first step. but that's the first stope a solution. host: the commissary issue is something that's got an lot of press in recent months about a billion dollar cut to the subsidies for commissaries around the country. you're not saying no to that cut is that we're saying. >> don't let the cut negative al fect the value of the benefit to our military families. can you imagine a wife whose husband has been deployed and

she has two kids at home, and she knows she can count on her husband's paycheck going further because she has the benefit of the commissary. to have that benefit cut, she's going to have to cut somewhere else, and she's at home by herself raising her children while her husband is doing what we've asked him to do as a nation and go out and protect us. host: do you think this is too much? is there a middle ground? guest: it's ball compromise, but a number has not been reached. the door is open to discuss these things, and we at the american legion are welcome to be at the table, and that's a reflection of the credibility of our organization as we approach our 100-year anniversary t. shows that the american legion has been part of the part of the fabric of this nation for almost 100 years, and we've always had the best interests of this country, specifically veterans, as a top priority. host: and that billion dollar cut part of the budget proposal. we'll get several folks waiting to talk to peter gaytan, executive director of the american legion. we'll start with james in rochester, michigan, on our line for democrats. james, good morning.

caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. my question is this, with less than 1% of our population serving and probably a complementary percentage there in congress, how do we get the remaining population to understand the importance of this? what is the american legion doing to ensure that everybody's on the same page? guest: we're taking advantage of those 2.4 million legionnaires that i mentioned earlier who are passionate and dedicated about preserving the benefits -- preserving and securing the earned benefits of america's veterans, so providing that voice, do something like we're doing this morning, making this a national debate. it's not a veterans issue. it's not a military issue. veterans benefits is an american issue. we all as a nation have a responsibility to ensure that we make sure that the veterans receive the thanks of a grateful nation. that's to talk about this, for you to go to your local community, your members of congress and say this is important to me, and i vote for you. host: let's go to lou waiting in evansville, indiana, on our line for independents. lou, good morning.

you're on the "washington journal." caller: good morning. i'm a vietnam let. i served in vietnam in 1972 and 1973, and my big concern -- i'm 61 years old now, and i'm involved with the v.a. quite a bit. they help me with treatment on my ptsd and things like that. i had heart problems a few months ago, and this has really been a big thing. i was stationed in two different places in vietnam, and i was in the let zones of agent orange. the thing agree with john boehner about is some of the deadbeat people that work with the v.a. i've been involved with the v.a. since 1978. my situation in being treated for that is saying that basically the person that took care of me, all he wanted to do was just register me and not be concerned about my heart issues, and then i went and did the lab work. i sit there for 45 minutes, the guy tells the lady out front, tell me to go home. this kind of stuff is really unacceptable, because, you know, i have grand kids. i have three kids of my own, and i like to be around a little bit longer than two or

three years, you know? to me, the agent orange stuff is nothing to mess around about. i don't know what the answer is. maybe set up a hot line where we have complained. i have filed a complaint. a lot of times these complaints are ignored, and an individual like that has a job, and he's a deadbeat. host: how do you feel about secretary shin sect snow some groups have called for him to lose his job in the wake of some of these numbers about veterans benefits. caller: oh, i agree. i've been dealing with the v.a. since 1978. you know, the thing you called back, when i had an individual take care of my agent orange situation, the first thing i thought was 1978, because that was horrible back then. the veterans today, even my era of vietnam vet, we don't need that. now the younger guys, i've been to group therapy meetings with all different iraqis theaters, different guys and gals in different combat zones, and none of us need this. we're there to get help, get back on track, deal with our families, and the last thing we need is to get pushed aside and

ignored. i think the group of people i'm around with, we're pretty aggressive, and my counselor says i need to be a spokesperson, and i said, well, i believe in the v.a., and the v.a. has done very well for me, but one or two people can make it bad for the rest of us. host: peter? guest: first, lou, thank you very much for your service in vietnam. what you're doing is providing a voice. you're asking, how can we make this more relevant, address these snishese you taking the time out raised the visibility. issue. then we can address situations like what you've dealt with, where you're confronted with you're going there because you earned the benefit. but you're confronted with a staff that's less than compassionate about your service to this country and the benefits that they're supposed to be administering to you. what we need to do is provide the voice. when those things happen, you can rely on the american legion to address it. we need to address the situations just like we did in pittsburgh, exposure issues in a v.a. facility, the american legion is on top of it. we have staff members and

volunteers who go to the v.a. hospitals to determine what's going on in those facilities. how well are veterans being treated. are there issues with access to treatment r. there issues like the thing you've experienced. the advice can be relaid directly to the secretary, congress, and the administration, so we can address it. but your voice is the first step in ensuring that an organization is large and powerful as the american legion can articulate what you need. host: lou said he would support firing of secretary shinseki. the american legion hasn't gone that far yet, correct? guest: no, we've not said that. what we are concentrating on, not standing within the beltway and pointing fingers, but going out to those veterans, those direct regional offices and v.a. hospitals, because we can say as much as we want to in washington, d.c., about agency leadership, but there's a veteran waiting two days, three days for an appointment. there's a veteran who's driven halfway across the country

because they live in rural areas and have to take an overnight trip to go to the v.a. hospital and being denied that access to the facility because they reschedule would his appointment. we can argue as much as we want to near washington, d.c., but when we do that, we have veterans who are waiting for their claims, 2 1/2 years for a claim. three weeks for access to v.a. healthcare. three months for an appointment. we're failing to see the big picture here. we have to address leadership in washington, d.c., but let's do it together in a way that benefits those veterans who have earned the right to access v.a. healthcare, and that's going out to the facilities and seeing what's going on, understanding the decisions we need to make here that will decrease the level of wait time. host: jan offers some praise for the v.a. in a tweet, she says the v.a. is taking very good care of my elderly uncle who's in hospice now. let's go to bill waiting in shelby, ohio, on our line for democrats. bill, you're on with peter gaytan of the american legion. caller: yes. can you hear me? host: go ahead, bill. caller: ok, i've listened to

boehner's statement about people needing to be fired, anybody that's been paying attention knows that it's the republicans that are cutting the budget everywhere. if somebody needs to be fired, it's baner and the republicans in the house. they're always talking about personal responsibility, but they take no responsibility for the things that they do. i support medical care for veterans. the republicans start most of the wars. they use and abumes the service people. -- and abuse the service people. anyone that's been paying attention knows it's the republicans cutting the budget. host: who does the american legion see on capitol hill as the biggest road block here for some of the issues that you're pushing on the budget side? guest: we often see the entire government is the major road block for access. we talk about the history of our organization, and it doesn't matter which party or

which individual sits in the oval office t. doesn't matter which party or which individuals are leading congress. we have been doing this for almost 100 years, and we do it in a manner whose voices we provide. there has to be compromise. we don't go after one party or another. we don't target one another. we don't target leadership. we look at the process, and we have enough experience in this process of benefit delivery for veterans that we know how to get it done. we deal with the personalities no matter what party they represent, because we keep in mind the goal and the mission of the american legion, and that's to make sure our veterans are taken care of. host: some of the sharpest political battles on capitol hill in recent months came during the government shutdown. earlier this week, bernie sanders was on the floor of the senate talking about the importance of protecting veterans during the potential future government shutdown. here's a bit behalf he had to say. >> during the last government shutdown, the truth is that we

were seven to 10 days away from a situation where veterans, disabled veterans, veterans who have pensions were not going to get their benefits. the comprehensive, bipartisan legislation that received 56 votes here on the floor, unfortunately not the vote for my colleague from louisiana, but 56 votes, and we are working to get the 60 votes we need to overcome a republican point of order, and we are going to get those 60 votes, make sure that we do have advance appropriations. so that no disabled veteran will not get a check in the event of another government shutdown. my colleague from louisiana may not think that's an important issue. i don't know. i think it's an important issue, and i can tell that the reason that the legislation that i introduced has the

support of the american legion, and by the way, 500 of them were here this morning at a very interesting hearing, has the support of the v.f.w., of the d.a.v., of the vietnam veterans of america, of iraq, afghanistan veterans of america , of the gold star wives and mothers of america. virtually every veterans organization, because they understand that the veterans community has very serious problems that we have got to address. host: senator bernie sanders, an independent from vermont, talking on the house floor earlier this week. he talked in that speech on the floor about this comprehensive legislation that's awaiting action in the senate. can you tell us a little bit about that legislation and what it would do? guest: it's an omnibus bill, and it addresses dental care to improving access to improving the back log process. and what we've seen with chairman sanders is a lot of activity, a lot of focus on

veterans issues. we agree with him. when you appointed out the issue of advanced appropriations for v.a., the american legion led that a few years ago to make sure that v.a. gets funded two years in advance to make sure that veterans are not suffering. what he mentioned about military retirees not receiving their pensions on time, that's a major -- that's a real issue with real implications and real lives of real americans. we can't use that as a political football tos to around veterans' earned benefits and military retirees who have earned that benefit, and for the federal government, because they're incapable of balancing our budget, to put that burden on the shoulders of military retirees is wrong, and the legion is fighting that. we thank him for working that into his bill. host: let's go to south carolina on our line for republicans. mary, good morning. caller: good morning. how are you? host: good. go ahead. you're on with peter gaytan. caller: ok. i'm just calling because i'm the widow of a disabled veteran. he died recently.

and as a result of his death, i'm having to stay in an assisted living facility, because i'm not able to stay alone. and my claim is one of the many, many, many claims that are backlogged. i want to know if there's anything i can do to help to clear that backlog. guest: yes, ma'am. there's a lot you can do. one is what you've already today, provide a voice from your perspective. it's one thing for a suit to say we have a problem, but when the person direct al fect by the inabilities of our process to work properly is telling the real story, and i appreciate that. the next step is to contact your local american legion. let us know your situation, because we can help right away, because we have dedicated legionnaires who not only help you with your v.a. claim because of your husband, and by the way, thank you very much for his sacrifice, but we can help you with your immediate needs. we have different programs within our organization that are so strong because of the dedication of men and women who

wear the cap and understand that they have a need to continue to serve. they wore the uniform and serve this had country. now they're wearing the cap of the american legion, and they're serving this country by helping you directly. to contact your local department of veterans affairs, but also contact your local american legion, or go to the website, www.legion.org. host: this is the executive director of the american legion. you also served in the air force. where? guest: in delaware, had a great mission there. host: what was the mission? how long were include? guest: for five years active and five years reserve. in active duty, i worked on the c-5 i've onyx, but i realized id no mechanical skills, so i shifted over to the protocol and public affairs and honor guard, so i was able to work at the port mortuary, where dover air force base, you bring back the remains of all military individuals who perished overseas, the remains come through there. you've probably seen news stories of the president and the transfer cases being draped

with flags being unloaded at dover. the process goes from there to processing and delivering the remains to the families so they can be put to rest. whip years were that? guest: that was in the 1990's. host: we're talking with peter gaytan of the american legion. we've got about 10 minutes left with him. james is up from oklahoma on our line for independence. james, good morning. go ahead, james. caller: i drafted and volunteered for the infantry, and when i graduated, they said was in the job. and i also was an honor graduate in sniper school. and somehow i have this lawyer

mentality, and when i started dealing with the v.a., i came own with this horrible disease that possibly you could get. , s called cro -- dermatitis which affects the whole body. and let me tell you, if anything could put a person in a mental institution, it would be this disease. now it's in my lungs. they did a cat scan in 2012 of january and found out i had nodules in my lung, which is a nodule disease, but they never did recheck it. and recently i had to recheck, and they said i have nodules in my left lung and all the roblems are on my left lung.

host: go ahead, james, i'm sorry. uhipe i discovered was the v.a. has the ability to go in and eliminate records. they seem to do nothing. they actually committed some federal crimes in attacking me, and he refuses to give me back my records. i'm still having problems with this disease, and if it wasn't for a doctor, i would have been dead. and now they want to see me back on april 1 to determine whether i have cancer or not.

and i was also able to discover that they had agent orange they used in korea. apparently i won a case where a representative of the v.a. was ot in the v.a., but one that -- host: thanks for sharing your story with us. i want to give peter a chance to talk about some of the topics you bring up, specifically the idea of the v.a. deleting some records, something that you've heard of or looked into? guest: yeah, but look, the direct issue should be his need for care. i will address that, because if that exists, that's one of the reasons james is even calling in or having these problems with access to the v.a. the we're fighting this battle with you. we have a team of staff, legion volunteers, who go to v.a. hospitals to learn things like that. our system program, we go out to these facilities, and this

is our 10th or 11th year. the issue is all the veteran service organizations receive calls from people like james who have earned their benefits and have specific issues with the department of veterans affairs, and that's what we need to try to understand. the lady who tweeted in about how great the v.a. is, it is good in some areas, and what they're doing is improved considerably over the past 25 years. the i am annals that hollywood has portrayed of the v.a. healthcare system, where heroes are warehoused in old, incapable hospitals has changed dramatically. the american legion understands that. we promote that v.a. can provide quality healthcare. but we can't let people like james fall through the cracks. we need to understand what's going on, and are his issues based on the fact that v.a. is doing things like clearing records? we need to find that out. by doing that, we do that by going to the facilities and try to understand. we get phone calls and emails and letters from veterans just like james who are asking the

american legion, i understand the v.a. is there, want to go, but i'm having some problems. that goes back to us working with the v.a. to get it done, not just pointing fingers, but improving that process, because it's v.a.'s responsibility, and it's america's responsibility to make sure james is taken care of. host: you talk about some of these concerns with the v.a., folks falling through, veterans falling through the cracks. matt smith writes on twitter, i think americans overwhelmingly support giving veterans any and everything that they need. can the guest comment on where the disconnect is here? guest: the disconnect is in the process. nobody that i know of, that i've ever met in my years of doing this, has said let's not give veterans what they earned. everybody wants to. it's part of america. we are america because we have the strongest military in the world. and we need to make sure that we thank them, that we make sure what they have earned is taken care of. this isn't asking -- veterans have earned these benefits. they up haven't filled out a document and said i need some money. no. i put the uniform on. i answered your call. now i'm back. now it's your responsibility.

i appreciate that he took the time to respond on twitter to that. that's what we need to do. having do that today is the direct result of us having this conversation. you providing the american legion and america's veterans the opportunity to sit here and explain to you it's a real issue, and it affects americans right at home, like the last caller. it's what the american legion deals with every day. we know veterans need help, and we're there to help them. host: peter gaytan is the executive legion of the american legion. it's legion.org if you want to check it out. follow the american legion on twitter, on the next washington journal, fred kempe reviews president obama's trip role. we discussed monday's deadline to sign up for insurance under the aca.

tea party express cofounder talks about the current state of the tea party. we will also examine the u.n.'s role in russia. and youtake your calls can join the conversation via facebook and twitter. washington journal, live at 7:00 a.m. on seas than. -- c-span. president obama has been on an overseas trip to europe. he will be back in the u.s. today. was week's radio address delivered by vice president joe biden. he urged congress to raise the minimum wage. a congresswoman jackie walorski gave the republican address. >> ladies and gentlemen, i'm joe biden. i'm filling in for president obama, who is abroad. i want to talk to you today about the minimum wage and the overwhelming need to raise the

minimum wage. there's no reason in the world why an american working 40 hours a week has to live in poverty. but right now a worker earning the federal minimum wage makes about $14,500 a year. and you all know that's incredibly hard for an individual to live on, let alone raise a family on. but if we raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, that same worker will be making $20,200 a year -- and with existing tax credits would earn enough to bring that family or a family of four out of poverty. but there's a lot of good reasons why raising the minimum wage makes sense. not only would it put more hard-earned money into the pockets of 28 million americans, moving millions of them out of poverty, it's also good for business. and let me tell you why. there's clear data that shows fair wages generate loyalty of workers to their employers, which has the benefit of increasing productivity and

leading to less turn over. it's really good for the economy as a whole because raising the minimum wage would generate an additional $19 billion in additional income for people who need it the most. the big difference between giving a raise in the minimum wage instead of a tax break to the very wealthy is the minimum wage worker will go out and spend every penny of it because they're living on the edge. they'll spend it in the local economy. they need it to pay their electric bill, put gas in their automobile, to buy fundamental necessities. and this generates economic growth in their communities. and i'm not the only one who recognizes these benefits. companies big and small recognize it as well. i was recently in atlanta, georgia, and met the owner of a small advertising company, a guy named darien. he independently raised the

wages of his workers to $10.10 an hour. but large companies, as well, costco and the gap -- they're choosing to pay their employees higher starting wages. a growing list of governors are also raising wages in their states the minimum wage. they join the president who raised the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors like the folks serving our troops meals on our bases. they're all doing this for a simple reason. raising the minimum wage will help hardworking people rise out of poverty. it's good for business. it's helpful to the overall economy. and there's one more important benefit. right now women make up more than half of the workers who would benefit from increasing the minimum wage. folks, a low minimum wage is one of the reasons why women in america make only 77 cents on a dollar that every man makes. but by raising the minimum wage, we can close that gap by 5%. and it matters. it matters to a lot of hardworking families, particularly moms raising families on the minimum wage.

and one more thing, folks -- it's what the american people want to do. three out of four americans support raising the minimum wage. they know this is the right and fair thing to do, and the good thing to do for the economy. so it's time for congress to get behind the minimum wage bill offered by tom harkin of iowa and congressman george miller of california -- the proposal that would raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour. so ask your representatives who oppose raising the federal minimum wage -- why do they oppose it? how can we look at the men and women providing basic services to us all, like cleaning our offices, caring for our children, serving in our restaurants and so many other areas -- how can we say they don't deserve enough pay to take them out of poverty? the president and i think they deserve it. and we think a lot of you do too. so, folks, it's time to act. it's time to give america a raise. thanks for listening and have a great weekend.

god bless you all and may god protect our troops. lakhs good morning. i'm congresswoman jackie walorski. i am calling on president obama to support hr-4031. it is aca management accountability act. i am a member of the veterans affairs committee. i represent many veterans. i am the daughter of an air force veteran. we need this bill because it will empower the secretary of veterans affairs to fire senior officials who are not up to the job. without this real world accountability, the ba has become the academy of bureaucracy. i hear from veterans who are forced to wear months -- week months for their disability claims to be processed this is typical. average wait times or 330 days.

even worse, the backlog has been associated with the deaths of thousands of patients. are --of that, they their loved ones have to deal with miles of red tape. these men and women fought for our country. they should not have to fight for their own benefits. we have traced much of this problem back to a sheer lack of accountability. hospitalof an atlanta where deaths have occurred announced that two top officials wanted to retire early and three were reprimanded. the rest faced unspecified actions. have foundes, we that managers have received no discipline, and they have gotten bonuses. these tax on the back and slaps on the wrist only protect bureaucrats. it is putting our veterans at risk. that is where the v.a.

management accountability comes in. this bill will give these secretary the authority he needs to fix things. he will clear out those who made a mess and bring in people who will clean it up. otherwise all reform in the world will not help. this bill will not solve the backlog. it is a step in the right direction. continues to pick up bipartisan support. we have received the backing of john boehner and he organizations like the american legion and veterans. we are reaching out to the president and all americans. stake ins has a solving the problem. all the things we say, all the promises we make to take care of them and to take care of them, the v.a. wants to rn