help them meet their security challenges, and we have done that. alternately, iraq's future has what we have been saying for a long time now is that when it comes to threats to the united states and our national security interests directly, the threat hasd by affiliated groups

grown in yemen, for example, and as the core leadership and core al qaeda in that regions that been decimated. discussed that. he wasnt brennan when here and over at the c.i.a. has talked about it and that is a up front we are very about. but i don't think you can argue that when it comes to al qaeda in afghanistan, pakistan that the tragedy going after core al qaeda leadership has not been effectively prosecuted. it more dangerous to have an al qaeda lippinged group iraqi cities major than have them in the mountains pakistan? >> well, i guess i would have to that the most severe

military attack on the united states in our lifetimes occurred organized and ordered out of afghanistan and pakistan by core al qaeda. >> there's concern here for the the destruction of supplies? >> i have obviously, i don't have any specific information about that. i can tell you that when it fields in, letl this right, i get oil refinery that remains in control of the government of iraq, but i don't any additional information issue.hat

>> reports of evacuations of of baghdad,rth haver are going to be or been? >> i don't have anything on that. i'd ask the state department that. >> why is the president not considering ground troops at this point, given john's point administration contemplated having troops there? explain that's not on the table. >> because we don't believe that the approach we should take in this case. we would agree with senator point who made that today, that that was his view. what the president was referring the question about strikes.ting air because as i've been saying, challenged has to be met by the iraqi government forces.i secure

they can be assisted, as they by theen and are being, united states and other partners. review, requests for further assistance and other assistance very closely, and obviously in this situation very quickly. futureimately iraq's will be decided by the ability leaders toolitical come together in a spirit of they to deal with all challenges that a nation like iraq faces in building its future, and specifically in repelling the kind of assault that we're seeing now from an extremist group like isil, which changing iraqi politics, it focused on

season -- seizing territory and death and destruction within iraq and it's political of affiliation. (inaudible question). refer you -- pointed thate have baghdadd advancing on we may have an overlaps interest with iran. broadly wondering where whether you believe is there some degree of overlap in the interests that iran and the u.s. particular case, and if that's the case what role what constructive could iran play in diffusing crisis? think the question has to be not just the immediate

crisis, but how iraq can move forward and that is why we've this and we about can't confirm them, but we would certainly call in the government iraq to approach such considerations prudently and in .he interest of national unity and iraq's future, as the president was saying, has to be decided by all almosts of iraqi society, and when you to seely don't want situation where unity is even more severely theed than it has been in past. suggestld, i think, that the iraqi government would ofd to approach that kind question very carefully. >> but beyond staying out, is something else iran can do that would be constructive? thisll, i'm not sure that

is specific to iran, but everybody in the region in the anld we believe should have interest in not seeing groups flourish. and that's separate from relink also fill yaition. to do with the sovereignty of a nation like and the appalling actions that by groups like isil show no mercy when it comes to civilians and what their overall ambition is. >> one small internal question. , in aresident biden fairly formal way, and that changed in the second term. this now, is he deeply engaged? there some thought to having him pick this up again? >> vice president biden has to be one of the

interlocutorss of the administration he has a long with iraq with all of the political groups there and there, and that hasn't changed and certainly in recent months the vice president actively engaged in discussions with the iraqi leadership. of --, as president shat are the guarantee (inaudible). >> we're not contemplating boots ground, april. that weoking at options can take including in the assistance that we provide, assistance and other assistance that we can provide security forces, to

the iraqi government. requests ofting other actions that we might take. the president was referring in in theto the question oval office earlier today to specifically the question about would consider direct action, u.s. air strikes, but we're not considering boots on the ground. >> as things happen and they're expected and may escalate -- >> we're not considering that. zeke. then can you sayuestion)

that the united states has done can to -- russia, you mean post soviet russia? the approach that president taken has been one that's been driven by a clear focus on our national security interestsnd where our and russia's interests overlap to cooperateable clear have also been very about our disagreements with russia. disagreements have intensified, as you know. specially over russia's unhelpful approach to the situation in ukraine and its of annexation of a portion of the sovereign of ukraine.

continue to approach the relationship with russia in a very deliberate manner. russia to use its prevail upon separatists in ukraine to lay to vacate arms, buildings they've occupied, and to abide by the approach announced by the new president of ukraine when it comes to reconciliation and moving ukraine.n russia to take that newon to recognize the and to, and we'll views onto make our that issue and other areas where

we disagree reclear, both our frequentin with ourions counterparts in the russian government. to work withntinue russia cooperatively where we can, and there are areas where to worknue cooperatively with russia because it is in our national interest and in our so.onal interest to do >> why don't you call the government in kiev to show at --st some restraint inaudible. >> andre, i think that we all to be clear about who is responsible for the violence in ukraine. urge you to as well. probably, president

hishenko presented in inaugural address a cease plan contingent --a ceasing support for separatists and stopping the provision of articles and material across the border. we are concerned by reports that are now ins possession of heavy weapons including tanks. aich would represent significant escalation. president biden spoke barshenko, he confirmed that if the separatist thenm and vacate billions the ukrainian goch is prepared safeesent amnesty or offer passage back to russia. vice president biden ebbs pressed his strong support for the trilateral discussions andeen ukraine, russia

o.s.c. special representative tagliavini. so the government has demonstrated an absolute commitment to the conflict. so reconciliation within ukraine. it would be a very good thing indeed if russia would follow suit. one. >> you mentionedderrier that the had the authority to take action, i'm worried if one of the authorities -- does the white house believe that the -- i said was that we will evaluate requests and consider different actions that we may take, the president made that clear in the oval office. on that have a decision specific issue now. when we do, we can certainly get that question.

>> senator menendez introduced repeal bado resolution item from 12 years that something the white house is support ofive of? >> i think we've addressed the president's approach on this issue. have any updates on what he said in the past. thanks, everybody. >> coming up on c-span, the congressional radio and television correspondents dinner. tony perkins of the family research council on eric the 2014d issues in elections. later, the house of veterans onairs committee hearing veterans health care. >> friday customs and border protection commissioner talks inut his first 100 days office and efforts to make the

agency more efficient. theyou see his remarks from center for strategic and international studies, live at 10:00 a.m. eastern here on c-span. >> for over 35 years, c-span brings public affairs events directly to you, putting you in the room at congressional hearings, white ande events, briefings conferences. and offering complete gavel to gavel coverage of the u.s. public service of pretty industry. we're c-span, created by the tv industry 35 years ago and brought to you as a public service by your local cable or satellite provider. watch us in h.d., lake us on facebook and follow us on twitter. next, the annual congressional radio and television dinner.ndents this hour-long event includes that some may fine objectionable.

i want to rewelcome you to the congressional correspondents dinner. everyone, we are now live on .-span one. so since we're on c-span i have to do this, say hello to my mom, who would watching c-span any way. hi, mom, i love you. your like to you send attends to the video screens for an important public announcement. and verybout a common serious medical condition that many of us face on capitol hill.

>> i was in real trouble, i was irritable, i was unable to work with people. confused, ig easily was starting to lose my edge. to --ust wanted --i just >> my psoriasis was getting worse. i was starting to suffer from superman delusions. and everything, absolutely record.ng was off the nice throw. off the record. record, i canthe tell you where the jefferson memorial is. a like to have the eggs scrap and the mash browns off the record. that's when my doctor diagnosed campaignist perpetualis.

>> it's flawt to be the result constant campaigning and a never ending news cycle. your doctor right away if you experience any of these additional symptoms. judgment. >> let me interrupt for a moment, wee got breaking news out of miami. justin bieber has been arrested on a number of charges. >> anchor envy. >> chris, help us do the math there. >> 2052 by my math will be the presidential election in mezvinsky babyton- is eligible. >> but you don't have to live now, thanks to xivilis. managehelp you change your symptoms and make you easier to be around. >> it changed my life. now when i go to parties, peep will actually talk to me. most of the time e i don't even

hit them up for a campaign donation. talk to people with different points of view. we may argue in public, but we so many other things. see none of us wants to alan grayson twerk. includeeffects may reasonableness, listening, loss of super pac control, and dry mouth. rare cases, people may experience -- call your doctor if you experience an enjoyable lasting more than four hours. indifference to your number of twitter followers or thoughts of and living easy. don drive or fun raiseful you xivilis affects you. >> i'm carter fleming and i approve this message, since i've using xivilis my campaignis youis under control, i can talk to real people to myt referring scheduler.

when you're ready to take care of this problem, there is xivilus. [applause] video another example of the greatness of washington d.c. produced by the d.c. comedy writers we have with us tonight, and ali, thank you for that voosm if anyone needs you can fine them at dc comedy writers.com. here tonight, we all know this, during a time of great change in our industry, postxample, the washington is now a broadcaster with us tonight. tonight fore also the first time. of course the recession was not kind to everyone in the media landscape, and it would be easy just congratulate those of us here on surviving. but incitied i think tonight is next, becausees the people in this room, we're the ones who will form the next evolution, maybe revolution in

journalism. awardst's the reason the that we present are so important. fore awards set the pace excellence in our field. we start tonight with the david bloom award. this award is tbich for courage, innovation and enterprise dangerous under conditions, it is in memory of david bloom, an investigative blood how about who follow innovatorails, a rare whose bloom mobile carried live signal as it rolled toward baghdad with american troops. here to present the award are daughters.'s welcome, ladies. [applause] now, every year we read their kindlyevery year they give out this award. but i want to point out that now women aree young coming would their own and i

would like to quickly brag about right. their own christine and nicole, if can you believe this, are rising college juniors. christine is a french and economics double major. aut on the for punishment and couple of languages. nicole is also a double major and performing arts and in journalism. she's coanchoring in fact the morning news at her college, fantastic. [applause] to enter high school, exciting. volunteers to help children dealing with grief. ladies, we're so proud of you the blooment to you theers, the winner of memorial. [applause] >> good evening. it's such an honor to be here tonight. looksters and i always forward to coming to this event. of 2011, sorry yeah has been embroiled in a violent

ofil war in the wake uprisings against syrian al-assad.bashar censorship is sentencive and continues government to bar most independent journalists from entering the making firsthand reporting next to impossible. awardear's david bloom honors an incredibly brave riskedst journalist who his life to show the world emans inside syria during the military that has, oork to one thanition group, cost more 160,000 lives. >> the war in syria is now in its fourth year. in while policy makers washington continue to debate whether to step in and stop the bloodshed, brave journalists lives toto risk their shine a light on syrian

government's brazen brutality. for several months, mr. lambert, a correspondent for the u.k.'s channel 4 television, managed tole bed himself with both rebels and forces on both side of the river valley in central syria. here is an excerpt from across the syria, lines. thehe river valley tells story of syria. it reveals a warring nation that is breaking in two. in this valley neighbor is fighting neighbor. every day is a struggle to survive.

regime and rebels are fighting to the death. this is the story of the people sidesve and fight on both of the front line. neighbors now divided by religion, ideology, and the river that runs between them [applause] >> for extremely difficult circumstances, mr. lambert directedroduced and this revealing film that examined the effects the syrian ordinaryving on civilians much in doing so,

lambert offered viewers a report that the davidll bloom award is about. lambert exemplify courage, his recording reminded makers in washington, the bloodshedat is not letting up. this toonored to award television 4's ollie lamb bet. [applause] ollie is currently working he could not be here, but he recorded a video message to all of you. everyone.ening, from london. first of all i'm really sorry tonight,n't be there i'm gutted, i really wanted to come over and have a drink with you all. but unfortunately work stuff has just got in the way and you trip.make the but this is a really huge honor making really touched,

any documentary is going to be wasicult and this one particularly difficult. and not just me, but a lot of us stuff tough a lot of get on the screen and get it seen. and getting any kind of recognition at the end of that process is a massive bonus, but honor. a huge and i'm very, very touched. so have a great night. --ry i can't be from can't be there, but thank you very much. it means a lot and goes a long way. so thanks very much from across the pond. good night. [applause] figurestwo well-known on capitol hill who i am proud to call my friends, kelly o'donnell at nbc and jay mcmichael of cnn with the jerry thompson award. [applause]

a. >> good evening. >> hello. the jerryo present thompson award tonight, it unique in washington d.c. the man himself that it remembers, jerry thompson was an colleague and cnn photo journalist who always went to produce thed best work possible. but what really set jerry apart, especially for those of us who knew him was what a selfless friend, passionate teacher and was.dible person he this award was established three rtca too by the recognize those qualities, devotion to kravment and to the you.e around those who recognizes are role models among their

peers. >> it's hard to imagine someone of this year's honor. than this year's special winder hanson. eric passed away in february, and those in his life and in him stillwho knew feel the pain of that, it's still very raw and very re. that's because he was the guy at c-span who talked to everybody, everybody, and always made the effort to spend time with people. and we all know what a difference that can make. trying to spend time with people he has lefte gifts behind. one colleague said it would be hard to know how many people he took fishing, and so those personal gestures are the things about any of our lives that endure. eric had a long career at c pan on his fingerprints go back every political convention, all the way to 1988. andhe was really creative innovative, a teacher, he came up with one of the ideas was an of with a we think of now as live view 'for the

in thedcast civil ybs room that's like a satellite truck and a backpack. pictures andsend images in a real time in a much more portable way. he was being creative 'ways ahead of his time, and that made a mark. he also had a real sense of community. and even when he was fighting decision toade the retire to devote for time to his thinking about the people in his life and i'm ald he turned his garage into sports memorabilia center so friend could come and enjoy being together. we want you to take a look at the man we're honoring tonight with this presentation made by c-span. >> i just came to make sure everything is holding up all right. >> okay. go ahead and roll that tape. >> on camera eric hanson has

been instrumental in putting week.rogram together this he's one of our senior crew chiefs. >> if he can get one of the mics that, thenp and do the other mic will be for the questionsked the

>> it's 6:30 in the morning where we are as this program live. we go next to kansas.

[applause] >> eric never complained, his cree was don't argue. with us tonight in the spirit of friendship, in the quality of the work we honor, the people he loved, his wife sue, their children, of theirting in memory father, ryan and erika. [applause] >> before they take the award i

wanted to read something that by inez thompson, jerry's wife. ironically, eric ironically was inez' crew chief when she work at c-span and she wanted me to send these comments along. to express howed happy i am thatter ib hanson is the recipient of this year's award, he isn truly fitting and a great awarde of everything the exemplifies. years ago when i was fresh out c-span i landed a job at and for many years there are eric was my crew chief. he was professional in every his passion for his job and commitment to ex-less were evident from the start. was never a day that eric was grumpy or unwilling to give 100% to the hand.ternoon at i will be forever getful that inc was one my first mentors this business. so i want to congratulate eric for receiving this award and i want to give my sincere

condolences to his wife and met briefly ati the memorial. stay strong and know that his life was an example to all of us and that eric and jerry will forever reside in our hearts, lies or richer for having known these two truly wonderful men. [applause] >> a like to take a moment to dad.ome words about my back to when i was younger. i was always so excited for my one ofreturn home from his trips. looking forward to hearing all he stories of all the places saw, like china, england, berlin. and the many people he got to

meet. most of all, i really enjoyed the stories and all the fun times he had with all his coworkers that he got to meet and spend so many years with. that the saying is true, if you love what you do, then you never work a day in life. he showed all those he met compassion, he had a heart large enough for all those who got a chance to know him. humor made everyone smile and laugh. his words were his life. so let's leave here tonight he said so what often. huk your family -- hug your family, don fight, and look for the good in others. thank you. [applause]

>> wow. so much. ist an award that particularly meaningful to me because it's going to someone whom i personally admire who has taught me and who has taught men of us on capitol hill as a colleague and as a friend. career achievement award is a rare recognition from this weociation, and in year decided that it simply must go radio's vic radner. [applause] award, is ahis former chairman and someone who career at abc, the same year as vic, abc's ann .ompton dome,eath the capitol there are national treasures and

for 40 years one of those has been your colleague, vic radner of abc news. you know him as a classic a dedication to accuracy and fairness, vic is a an uncommonh ability to sten kindness and generosity. vic radner is tireless, cokie greatestone of his fans, tells me that once she had keys to the radio tv gallery because she had to be in so early in the morning and she got there,nd vic was already on the air. it was also vic who was chairman years agonner 16 inviting don imus for one of the dinners.rious ladies and gentlemen, this is radner.

washington, 1973,. >> there was a type one when water agree was just a place to work.nd >> as the new kid in the bureau, criminalt to cover the trial of a bunch of guys who got caught break being the water building. but a month and a half later one talk, conspirators started talking about coverups and payoffs. an inveryible time covering the news here, seven presidents. >> m.i.a. family members say president carter broke a promise. clinton will be on vacation in south carolina. to seethe opportunity how americans out there are we do.d by what >> nancy pelosi becomes the first woman elected to the speakership. towhen i got the chance

cover the space thing, i just jumped at it. >> challenger seals to shake ice.lf free of the >> on a live space shot you can thingsve a real script, are changing in front of your eyes much. >> across from me hundreds of school kids jumping up and down and cheering as this space off with teacher christa mcauliffe on bore. the enginesmeans are running well. >> what happened? what happened? has gone amiss. >> something is wrong. not a wore from mission control, here is -- >> i saw kids from christa and they don'tss know whether this is part, they to cheer orhether cry and their faces crumble. kids' faces those turn into tears, a never forget

that. i never walk into the capitol without the feeling of american history there in front of me in that building. >> the president of the united states. >> members of the house and both parties on their feet cheering and applauding as president obama works his way the center aisle of the house chamber. we talk about congress not anything.ing but one sentence in a 1500 pain change americans' lives much that's what matters, is we get this bill together, it's what's the effect going to be on people. >> please welcome a lifetime achievement, victor ratner. [applause]

>> thank you. .'m overwhelmed, i'm blown away my heart is very full. you, members of the abcd, to my colleagues at news and my colleagues that i've worked with and learned so much covering washington, thank you very much. the former senate majority leader howard baker once like senate toing the herding cats.

and his line was, under rules anarchy.urage well, after what's happened the the newk or so for folks in the room, for us old about news?talk what a time to be here. thank you very much. [applause] >> our final award of tonight is most press tin us awards for political and congressional reporting in the country. shorensteen award. >> thank you, lisa. look in your program and you see this name, woman' name,

know her, you don't know much about her, unless you're a certain age. why do i care? here's why. at a time woman who when women had a very hard time breaking the glass ceiling in business, went from researcher during watergate to producer of "face the nation." she is the kind of person who absolutely encapsulates what it means to be smart, funny, savvy with the news, the kind of thing you want your colleagues to be. she is someone that you would love to have at your table tonight. and she was incredibly kind, one for her atwho worked the san francisco convention in stayingls the story of up all night on a project for her. was surpriseday

with a ticket to the all-star game at candlestick park. pretty good. she had the kind of standards say today, years more. don't exist any but the winners of this award tonight attest to the fact that exist. joan wasn't just smart and she was a good friend to many of us, she loved politics, you over for had dinner, kind of person that you wish you were with. is why the award is forented annually excellence in washington based affairsg on national and public policy. wrote what the judges .bout nearly every reporter has covered out of control federal

spending, the conferences with too much acts and there. but in this series our winners, curley and daniel abc news, went oferneath the dan canopy washington's questionable spending. mightoned in on what otherwise be apparently meaningless fragments. thishen they woaf all together, the expenses by the cabinetongress, agencies that were on automatic as lawmaker were in the biggest of one of the, sorry, of one of the biggest spending debates in sense.it made a lot of curtness, catfish, and of officials may nod sound like a broad narrative about goch itself, but that is what this

correspondent and this producer exposed. watch dog series has also approached spending angle,e consumer illustrating how the millions spent in d.c. is a very practical concern to people outside the beltway. work. an example of their life foundation crunched the numbers for us, the house of representatives spent $2 million on coffee and food last year alone. and this is a true bipartisan effort. hosting their own members, the republican speaker john boehner $64,000. democratic leader nancy pelosi, $of 1,000. democrat, 52o grand. >> what do we do about this? in an age of budget cuts, maybe ask the members to buy their own coffee much. biggest spend under the house, the number three republican, california's kevin hisrthy, eve than on facebook page, pictures of

meetings with fruit, bagels, and coffee. total, $95,000 and another four grand for bolted water, salaries ofy the two mid level staffers. congressman mccarthy, dave abc, can i ask you a cup questions about your coffee and food spending here the the house? the congressman declined our an interview. 100,000, is that appropriate spending? what we noticed were left from a met e he was attending, a staffer even bagel. us a so you see why we are proud to year's award to david daniel steinberger.

[applause] # >> i never knew joan, but i do know bill plant. and i can't think of a better traveling mate on many trips that we've done around the world, it is a huge pleasure to this award from a man who has sent the last 50 years at cbs news. thank you, bill, thank you very much. [applause] you the radio and tv correspondents association, daniel.lations, i practice this craft like i'm sure many of my colleagues here room do, to provide

information to our viewers so they can make decisions about their life and how to run their country. efforts help preserve this democracy. ask those are able to in power, those who have the are penningw they our money and what they are money.ith our when diane sawyer and michael corn wanted to reviolentize this tonchise they said we want know from the people who are tax dollars and the people who are wasting our tax dollars why they are doing that. and try and out find them and occasionally as you can see the next majority leader we fine them occasionally. this is really a team effort. lotel steinberger, i have a other things i do at abc news and this is dan yesterday's baby, he has to scour looking these stories.

and has read more inspector general reports than anybody in this business should have to do. not the most colorful reading but he's done a wonderful job. then we decide how can we make it interest television, how can make it engaging for the viewer to under how their tax are being spent. i would like to thank our wives go and times we have to do some television around the world. and teachersentors who have launched our careers in this business. was professor jim .ayes to kind of

tuesday.d away on and he'd be very proud, which happy.e very [applause] add otherh more to than thank you very much. i learned early on that tv is supposed to be fun and i think these stories, as hard as they are sometimes, are a lot of greatd working with a correspondent like david curley who can write, can ask tough questions, is creative, and a pleasure to work with just makes it that much more fun. thank you very much to everybody and see you on the next one. [applause] thank the i want to

excellent staff of the house and senate radio tv galleries who tonight. [applause] thank you all, with depend on word would in the want the job of working for both congress and the press, but you do it so well. thank you very much. now we have a real rarity and an honor, a speaker who many of us seen, some of us including me have shouted many questions answers.d not gotten he doesn't generally talk to the certainly not in mass, but until tonight he's doing so dennis mcdonough has worked across washington including in congress as an advisor to the dashle.ic leader tom politics is his second career, he was first a high school and teacher.hool which actually was a big advantage when he transitioned to the white house. because he succeeded in getting sasha, i hear, to stop smacking gum, helped malia with al

you got, and is it true joe biden to stop taking selfies in cabinet meetings? there's ay, professional comedian coming up later. is our, tonight he honored speaker. ladies and gentlemen, white staff, denisf mcdonough. [applause] >> good evening, everybody. obviously say thanks to nick for hosting us tonight, fisher and to representative homes-norton, thank you for sharing the dias. and lisa, thank you for that exceedingly thorough introduction.

sure that'm pretty was yesterday. i'm thrilled to be here, i consider this another part of call our ongoing charm offensive at the white house. we leave msnbc feel charlesed, and members of call us offensive. and for those keeping score, by i'm the president's fifth chief of staff. for somed jack lew advice about that, how do i manage this relationship. look, it's like a marriage and the president is just like larry king. ( laughter ) still actually this really is an honor for me. i remember the day i found out i was being offered this position, the president looked me straight denis, if and said,

you like your krnl job, can you keep it. now one reason the president and well together is that we have a lot in common. one big difference is that he's tan and i'm a catholic. father" "dreams from my and i wrote "guilt from my father." and i've been lucky enough to have some pretty experiences, people often ask me what it's like to be right there in the room with the president. and i say we all those people white house photographers. it's not all fun and games, though. the white house can be pretty stressful. my boss likes to talk all the he's going gray. really? what's that like? ( laughter ) hard, huh?d of

there is always new challenges in this job, of course, and president is taken to slipping out unannounced to department. to a burger joint, starbucks. get kind of frustrating. you know, if i wanted a boss who when nobodyay out expects it, i would have tried to work for eric cantor. but look, for all the setbacks obstacles, we're seeing sue signs of progress. for example the last time secretary clinton joined the lunch the secret service didn't even feel the need to taste his food first. so that's real change right there. actually in all seriousness, both funke this are and important. daschle oftenm

says that debate is the music of democracy. not always mel lowious, never pretty, but functional discourse should always remain at the core of our democracy to keep us moving forward. the people in this room, the press,, the staff, the you're the chorus for this music of democracy. tonight's fun is about to be robust backrow into and forth and i think that's how it should be. same time as much as the founders urged us, even invited us to debate, they also urged us to action, not just to talk. so let's make sure that back and forth includes actually some decisions and some action. and i share the president's optimism and his exitment to in office toay working hard, building coalitionings and proving to the american people that their loaders in washington can still

get things done. in fact this may surprise you, but i reasonly learned that there really are a group common sense republicans in congress to want to work with us solve problems, and if they're not careful, i will leak their press.o the so thank you, everybody, thanks for the great hon for for being and have a great night. [applause] 6789 had. >> thank you, thank you, mr. mcdonough. to thank the white house communication staff for making this happen. all. you all right. now it is time for our final act of the night. an antigovernment government worker on nbc's "parks and recreation. a lover ofve he's history, a builder of canoes and ukeleles and one of america's greatest comics. i'm excited to introduce nick .fferman

>> thank you, kindly, lisa. good evening. they've left a gavel up here for me, it's apparently a stout oak, so if things get unruly i will call this room to order. good evening. here. great honor to be my sisters and i look forward to coming to this event every year, march of 2011 syria -- shit ( laughter ) excuse me. good evening.

( laughter ) me herek you for having tonight, it really is a great honor. paidorry, i'm being significantly less than jill abramson to do this job. town, my late may grand parade was the mayor of my cometown in illinois, i from a line of farmer politicianings. so it's only natural that i youd en up here speaking to this evening. and the citizens of our town grandfather, when ever he addressed the town's people, he always opened with this joke, i thought it was appropriate. so i thought i would try to to you in af similar fashion. a bus loaded with politicians driving down a country road when suddenly the bus ran off straight into old pete's barn. it was a terrible accident. tractor and off his

went to investigate the carnage, considerable. after some consideration he saw no choice but to dig a large bury the politicians. a few days later the local sheriff came out, saw the crashed bus and asked old pete to theppened >> you never can trust a politician. [laughter] i should apologize if you are expecting my mustache. mustacheith uta and my is with caa. cage and a soda campaign adamic the world cup [laughter]

i was very excited when i heard i would get to meet the white house chief of staff. that position has nothing to do with stick fighting. a lot more might get done if disputes were solved with the bo staff. news aboutou had the eric cantor on tuesday. he tragically got himself a job at fox news. [laughter] majority first house leader to lose a primary since 1899. that is the last time we were at war with spain. spain.ourself, [laughter] dinner celebrates

washington, d.c. itself. something that upsets me about this gorgeous town is that the sea residents and have to pay federal income tax despite not having a vote in congress. [applause] we fought a revolution over that. it's like massachusetts not letting straight people get married. [laughter] that one requires a little math. between republicans and democrats, the city has become a noxious sting: where very little gets done because of the backstabbing, deceit, greed. i just want to thank you for making a hollywood actor like myself feel welcome. right at home.

the republicans have come around on sex education. i heard they decided to teach fracking in schools. c-span?y that on gay marriage is now legal in pennsylvania. they got rid of the anti-gay marriage law and michael vick. pa. done it, i'm starting to worry that it is a trap. perhaps the koch brothers are just distracting us while they escaped on a spaceship. a giant gay spaceship. [laughter] growing up in a farm family, there were some early lessons in politics. in illinois, we have these

little black beetles. we would have these big family picnics that involved frosty mugs and draft beer. these beetles would dive into your beer so few did not keep it covered, eventually they would all be in there for the free beer. these bugs were known as democrats. some people assume that because i am an actor that i am a democrat. other people assume that because i like to hunt and build things that i am a republican. i am neither. i am a proud bull moose. teddy roosevelt was a personal hero of mine. he had a powerful mustache. he had an adventurous. and no patience for this sort of nonsense. be a bigly wouldn't

fan of this room to be honest. the news media speaks very loudly and is not own any sticks. i am proud to live in a representative democracy. almost entirely made up of rich white men, just like me. i appreciated. them, comcast and time warner are about to merge. i think it's great. and i amned by comcast contractually obligated to think that. [laughter] they were just named the two most hated companies in america. that's pretty impressive. gm just murdered a bunch of

people and they are not even in the top 10. you could start a company with a business model setting dogs on fire and then the owners have to pay to put them out and they would not be hated as much as time warner cable. court,ng to the supreme corporations are considered people. i think that is great. it is always been my dream to punch time warner cable in the pretty much all of our bosses are evil. and bc is owned by comcast. cnn is owned by time warner. fox is owned by an australian super villain. j was in the parlance of old racists one of the good ones.

as you are no doubt aware, georgia has adopted a new gun legislation allowing idiots to openly wield a firearm in church , the post office, bars, movie theaters, the library, etc. >> but not the statehouse. if you live in georgia, you will never need to back down again when wrestling another reader for the last copy of the wind in the willows. you are out of the elvis forever stamps? how about now? the second amendment root --

protects our right to own guns. so it can defend our company from invading armies or from our own federal government should a cane end up taking over things and trying to make things more royal around here. the second amendment is not there to protect our right to intimidate the teenage cashier atchafalaya. areel like we as a country a little unclear these days about the first 10 amendments. briefo run us through a lull of rights refresher course. the first amendment guarantees freedom of speech. freedom of speech does not mean freedom from criticism. that confusion is one of many things that fox news and donald sterling have in common. just as it cap punish you

doesn't mean the rest of us can't. we will enjoy punishing people for saying stupid things. america was founded as a christian nation. just stop it. it is nonsense. look at the bill of rights itself. it is meticulously worded. this is proof that america was founded as a jewish country. come on. thea firm believer in second amendment. a secondr myself to be amendment originals. i believe every man has the right to bear arms but only if

they're the same arms that our country's forefathers bore in the 18 centuries. muskets. muzzle loaded guns with a bandit. then only as a rest -- last resort. i am going to expect you to try to resolve reasonable discourse. use your words and civility. if our tempers are flaring up past the point of civil discourse, i expect you to challenge me in an honorable contest of fisticuffs like a grown adult. to remove one's safe to the safe range of a firearm to settle a dispute in america is nothing short of cowardly. capabilityiring eclairs you'd nothing short of lily liver do. yous hard for men to shoot when you're shaking his hand. now a bunch of mint improves in texas thought it would be a good

idea to bring shotguns into a chili's to prove some sort of point. all it did was remind everybody how flocked up it is that you are allowed to bring shotguns to texas. chili's band the guns. shit yourgoing to pants at chili's it's going to because of the food. [laughter] soldiers are not allowed to come into your house if you don't want them to. this is a good amendment. don't feel like there is a lot of confusion about this one. this is the only amendment that of serviceinto terms on airbnb. have forgotten about the

fourth. did someone at the nsa spill barbecue sauce on this one? it doesn't say some unreasonable search and seizure. something has gone terribly wrong. amendment is mostly for people to invoke during the second half of law and order. yellto seven are things to during jury shows or longer shows. the sixth amendment sets up the founding principles of jury duty the eighth amendment protects us from cruel and unusual punishment. the eighth amendment protects us from cruel and unusual punishment which apparently does not include strapping a citizen to a table and murdering them. that is a judgment call.

the rest of the civilized world has stopped practicing capital punishment. meanwhile officials in oklahoma are making legal injections the way and make a barbecue rub. screw it, throw some crushed rock salt in there, that ought to do a trick. the ninth and 10th commitments are there to make sure people don't get cute with the other ones. it is like in movies when someone looks in the rulebook and says there is nothing in here that says they can't play baseball. those amendments are there to make sure a champ doesn't get to play baseball because no one thought to explicitly forbid chimps from playing baseball. let's try harder from here on out. you can't pretend that the constitution says whatever you wanted to say. that is what the bible,

expiration dates, and speed limit signs are for. thank you very much for having me. i appreciate it. [applause] >> we just have some more thank you's. i want to thank our tireless event planner who made this happen. [applause] also, allison joppey, thank you. those of you who heard the reception band, that is the one night stand, another d.c. culture spot. there are mip cards that get you free into madams organ. i want to thank cnn, our bureau chief, my capitol hill colleagues, craig, danna, paul,

who dealt with me dealing with this dinner and could not be better friends and colleagues. i am honored to work with you. it is a privilege. thank you to my friends, megan and kristen. and to my husband, you make everything better. to all of you, i have the deepest thanks. it has been an honor. i would never have imagined reporting to the capital, much less standing up for the greatest reporters in the world. we will continue fighting for access at the u.s. capitol. we could use it. [applause] finally, thank you to the great city of washington. with that, i would like to turn the gavel over. to my friend and colleague who has been a great help on this dinner, frank thorp. [applause]

>> first off, let's have a round of applause for lisa. [applause] i am not going to keep you any longer. thanks for coming tonight. have a great year. see you next year. i love you luke. good night. thank you. [applause]

tony perkins is coming up next on c-span. the house veterans affairs committee meeting. coming up on "washington " a look at iraq. primary loss of eric cantor and the effect of the tea port he on the 2014

elections. examine the struggles and treatment of african-americans in the u.s.. liveington journal" is every morning on c-span. hillary clinton recounts her term as secretary of state. she will be interviewed today. on live starting at 6:00 c-span two. when i started covering congress, you had people like russell long. howard baker, dan rostenkowski. people who were giants in their own way.

some of those guys get themselves into trouble. ande were people who knew were very intelligent. they knew how to craft registration and they knew how to do a deal. weather was their party or the other party. yes there were politics. but they found a way to come together and make decisions for the good of the country. today you just don't see that. the quality of members of congress in terms of their intelligence and their work ethic has diminished. there are still great people. i don't want to malign some of the wonderful members. they are in the minority. people are driven by the politics and by their own self survival. the hardest work they do is raising money. speeches andng

positioning themselves to get reelected. is leavingrs washington, d.c.. find out why send tonight at 8:00 on "q&a." tony perkins discusses eric cantor's primary loss. washington journal continues. welcome tony to perkins. thank you for being here. tuesday nights. it sounds like you were having dinner in virginia when you got news about what was happening. was interrupted by an earthquake, politically. earlier ined about some of the political fund and its saying they should have

anticipated this, we have seen these trends. thad cochran is going to run off with a tea party candidate. there is a concern within the republican establishment, or there should be. conservatives are upset with what they are seeing. host: as cantor was defeated, andy roth, jenny beth, tony perkins were dining in northern virginia celebrating. eric is a friend of mine. i have worked closely with him on a number of issues. many have been disconnected with the conservative base. part of that is traveling the country, advancing.

i have told him this. i think the republicans were theting to be swayed by media on taking on issues that were totally inconsistent with the party platform and with the republican and conservative base. host: what were some of those issues? guest: top of the issue is the issue of immigration. they wereat promoting? not necessarily. in the dialogue, that was the perception many had. the biggest issue is the sense of lawlessness that is coming from washington, d.c. we were discussing how the republicans have been in -- have obstructingting --

the president. immigration is crisis on the border. that is a reflection of the lawlessness. host: rand paul is taking up immigration reform. he was on a conference call in favor of immigration reform in an effort brokered by anti-tax activists. potential 2016 contender. issue up?take this guest: there is an issue that needs to be addressed. what does the reform look like? in ao you communicate it way that is not overshadowed by amnesty? when you have family separated by immigration, it does need to be addressed.

let's address that first. let's address the border security issue. look at marco rubio. i appreciate the work he does. when he got out front too far in the immigration issue, it hurt him. cantor, this is a big part of what happened on tuesday night. talked to rand paul. i have no idea what he is thinking. do you disagree with george will? if his defeat reinforces the perception that republicans are hostile regarding immigration and immigrant, ripples might swallow attempts to align republican policy with the 51% of republicans nationwide who, like 62% of americans, favor for the 11 million a pathway to citizenship. it is an issue that must be addressed, but it is how you address it and it is the

priority upon which you place upon it. address thee to issue of border security, the issues that are hindering legal immigration. there are people trying to come to this country and play by the rules and the way the rules are structured, it is easier to avoid the rules. it is easier to come across illegally then come in and play by the archaic rules. let me go back to the dinner on tuesday night. how did all of those groups come together? just having a casual dinner to discuss a number of issues. it was unconnected with the election. we were getting together. we do it regularly. it is not the vast right wing conspiracy that we have heard about. large number of conservative leaders who work

closely together and we have a discussion. we were discussing the future in terms of gop leadership. we did not know it would be as imminent as it turned out to be on tuesday night. you had tony perkins, richard norman was there as well. who did you discuss as the future of gop leadership? would not be a private meeting if i talked about that. the message sent on tuesday wast and the message that sent earlier in mississippi and will be sent in about 11 days when the runoff is held in mississippi, when i believe chris mcdaniel will win that race, that look, the republicans are out of sync with their base. it in 2012 and in 2008.

if they will stick to the party platform and what the party has stood for historically, i think they will find success. especially in these conservative states. host: republicans will be voting on who takes over number two. do you have names? guest: we are watching this closely. tuesdayto this before night, there will be new leadership after the election. john boehner will likely not be the speaker and eric was positioning himself to be speaker. there are others that we are -- that were working on it. kevin mccarthy. i like jim jordan. i think he would make a great leader. he has done a great job of

building coalitions. a lot of the conservative leadership trust him because he has been consistent. he has been a reagan republican. that is what people are looking like. someone like dave brat who understands the winning coalition for republicans is that. it is a coalition of all of them -- all of those in the conservative movement. caller: i am calling because i am watching and have been watching for some time, since i retired. have been parte of our country and community in tune with the fact that we are spending way more money than we should peak -- then we should be. where the tea is

party came from. our democrat party decided to go on a spending spree. becauset is insulting this country has spent so much money that we are in oblivion. it is not going to be one party that goes down. people who do not pay attention to follow the pundits who say things that sound good and the people who -- versus the people who are a little smarter for whatever reason or pay attention more, this makes them the enemy. i have listened for several years. i have listened to many democrats. it is always democrats. they hate people they do not know. host: i will have mr. perkins respond. guest: it is not a single party issue. arespending problems we seeing is not just the democratic problem.

it goes back to republican administration. that is why you see a number of these establishment republicans being defeated. parties is a description of the conservative movement. these candidates are aligned with that agenda. office atnt time in the state level working on these issues, i am disturbed by what i have seen in the decade i have been here in washington, d.c. not gridlock. i think here in washington, gridlock is a good and. stability --k of we used to disagree.

in part, it is driven by a very polarized political environment and has become a winner take all. host: democratic caller. family before i am a political party. you have not mentioned the true academic. the young generation. you cannot go to a piggly wiggly without people saying i am going to carry my rifle. stand up to the gun epidemic. guest: i am not sure where that was going. host: i will have you weigh in on the issue about young voters. sayt: i don't think you can with a broad brush that every young voters for this. demographic shifts?

absolutely. tory young generation tends deviate away from their parent's and oration. there is a turning point -- .arent's generation there is a turning point. --n they become the first when they buy the first house, they become economically conservative. that is true. it is beyond dispute. marriage and childbirth is being delayed much later in life. part of the reason we are seeing , decline in the fertility rate down 1.8%, is because women are getting married later and not able to have as many children. those trends are there, but they are not your reversible. what should be the platform of the republican

party? what are the first three to five issues they should focus on? guest: i think they have a good form. free economy, less government. they are not anti-immigrants. they are pro-civil order. if you want to come to the country, you play by the rules. everybody here came as immigrants at some point in their family tree. it is not an issue of anti-immigration. that do it in a fashion upholds the law. what is happening at the border is a reflection of this lawlessness that seems to be nominating -- dominating policy in d.c. the libertarians want less government. you will never have less government until you strengthen

the american family. children born out of wedlock are more likely to go to a home that is impoverished with a single mother. be successful and avoid poverty, the best way is sexual activity until you're married, finished high school, get married, then have children. the chances of being in poverty dropped dramatically. .caller: it is not only people from mexico coming over here. it is companies down the road making a long, difficult travel. these are children. in the this lady earlier army came back and enforce the law.

than theigger problem president. these countries have terrible problems. it is a bigger problem than what you are saying. there is a supply and demand this side of almost every issue. of what is happening in central and south america and there.tability i am glad people still want to come to america. economy, we are better off than a good portion of the world. the reason these folks want to come is not a bad reason. are we doing it in a way we can assimilate them into our culture so they become part of the fabric of america and not pulling at the fabric. it is not just those from central and south america.

there are those from other parts of the world that are using forest borders to come in that want to do harm to this country. that should be incentive for us to secure the borders. are only economic platform is cutting taxes for the top 1%, not fixing immigration of restriction -- immigration infrastructure, v.a., student loans, guns. guest: i am for smaller government, more efficient government that moves to the state level where we have the states administering many of the federal programs that are out of control and increasing personal responsibility for how we conduct and care for our lives. i am interested in what is happening in the v.a.. i served six years in the marine corps. the way wenedy said treat our veterans is an indication of the character of our country.

treated ourave veterans coming back from afghanistan and iraq is unacceptable. clinics, people 120 daysing 90 to to be seen, i am concerned about that. we are moving towards a single-payer system of health care in this country. if we want care for our veterans and we >> a look at the situation in iraq. our guest is michael gordon. will discuss eric cantor and his primary loss. the recent article about the case for reparations.

"washington journal" is live every morning on c-span. we will need to learn how to work together. how to compromise. how to make right manic decisions -- pragmatic decisions. americans will have choices to make. i will leave that discussion -- leave that discussion to others. to the rest of us we have work to do as well. government does not have a monopoly on good ideas. not if it wanted, it should try to solve all the problems by itself. we have responsibilities to do what we can. latest booklinton's

is called "hard choices." friday, live on c-span to watch book tv coverage starting at 6:00 p.m. eastern. both events will re-air on a saturday night. this is television for serious readers. for over 35 years c-span rings public affairs of ants from washington directly to you. it put you in a room at congressional hearings, white house events, conferences. complete gavel to gavel coverage of the u.s. house. all as a public service of evidentiary. we are c-span. created by the cable tv industry 35 years ago. watch us in hd, like us on facebook, follow us on twitter. affairsveterans

committee meeting. the hearing follows action by the senate making it easier for veterans to get care outside of the a clinics. the committee will come to order. thank you very much for coming to this hearing this morning. we have numerous members that are on their way. but we want to respect the time of our witnesses. we appreciate them being with us today. before i begin, i want to ask in an unanimous consent to allow congressman mcnerney to

participate in today's hearing. without objection, so ordered. welcome to today's full committee hearing and examination of bureaucratic areas to care for our veterans. as we all know very well now, during our committee othersight with the results of a committee investigation that had uncovered evidence suggesting that dozens of veterans died while waiting for care at the phoenix department of veterans health care system. just over two months later, we know now that in addition to 23 veteran deaths at the department linked to delays in care earlier this spring, aft least 35 more veterans died while awaiting care in the phoenix area alone. what's more a va audit released earlier this week found over 57,000 veterans have been waiting 90 days or more for

their first va medical appointment and 54,000 veterans who have enrolled in the health care system never received the appointment that they requested. that's 121,000 veterans who have been waiting for care to be provided that they earned. that number exceeds the population of several medication sized u.s. cities like athens, georgia, abilene, texas, or even evansville, indiana. and i fear there is more yet to come. yesterday, i spoke to a group of va providers from across the country at an event for the national association of va physicians and dentists. speaking about the current crisis engulfing the department, they've said va's procedures and processes are inconsistent, inconsistently applied and often prevent efficient use of personnel. the statement echos the serious calls that we've heard from

others other recent weeks. during a recent committee hearing, the inspector general testified that va suffers from, and i quote, a lack of focus on health care delivery as priority one, unquote. as a result of several organizational issues that impede the efficient and effective operation of the va health care system place patients at risk of unexpected outcomes, end quote. in an article published last week, a former under secretary of va for health dr. kenneth kaiser wrote that the systemic data manipulation and lack of incident tegty va experiences are but, quote, symptoms of a deeper pathology because simply va has lost sight of its primary mission of providing timely access to consistently high quality care, end quote. all of these remarks go to prove what we have already known.

the va health care system and the bureaucratic behemoth that accompanies it and its problems are even more complex. i believe that the majority of va's workforce, in particular the doctors and nurses who provide our veterans with the care they need do, in fact, endeavor to provide high quality health care. unfortunately, va leadership has failed those employees almost as much as it has failed our veterans. in correcting those failures is going to take a lot more than the bandade fixes the department has proposed thus far. it's going to take wholesale systemic reform of the entire department starting with holding senior staff accountable. va hasn't gotten where it is today due to ineffective management or lack of training for professional development for administrative staff or cumbersome and outdated i.t.

infrastructure. the department got where it is today due to a perfect storm of settling for the status quo. va cannot continue business as usual. it's very clear the status quo is not acceptable and it's time for real change. again, beginning with accountability up to the highest levels of va bureaucracy, and i hear repeatedly from the va about its delivery of high quality patient center care. but this committee, republicans and democrats alike, will not rest until we hear that same assessment from every single veteran seeking care. it's time for va to tell us the bad news, not just the good news. with that, i yield to our ranking member, for any opening statement he might have. >> thank you very much, mr. chair, for having this very important hearing. examine the barrier toes care

for our veterans. this is a unique time in the history of the department of veterans affairs. we as a committee have been responsible for bringing to light systematic problems, many dating back over a decade. but as we are shining the light on these problems, we must also begin to take steps to address them. i'm proud that this committee has addressed these problems in a by-p partisan fashion and i'm hopeful this continues as we roll up our sleeves and begin to find solutions. the va is a sprawling organization with over 6 million unique patient facilities spread all over the country and nearly 275,000 employees and a $56 billion budget. it put va the largest integrated health care system in the country in perspective, dha is

roughly the equivalent of five mayo clinics combined. recent admissions of wrongdoing are shameful and the practice will not be tolerated. the systematic collapse confirmed by the axis audit and the va oig points to a bureaucratic bureaucracy that has seemed to have lost its way in its focus. i think with these problems the time is right to begin discussing how best to address these challenges and the time might be now to effect big changes that will put the focus back on the veteran s and away from the culture of complacency. in our discussion of reform, i want to make sure that we are not just rearranging the desk chairs. all the reorganization in the world will be futile without a strong base of value. i do not doubt the commitment of

the vast majority of va employees. however, sometimes we all know that we need to be reminded of who we are here to work for. we are here to work for the veterans. brave men and women who have sacrificed so much for our freedom, men and women who right now deserve better. i strongly suggest that vha develop a code of conduct or a caregiver culture that will become engrained throughout the organization regardless of whether there is one vision or 50. working in the va requires an utmost integrity. as dr. roe pointed out the other night, all va employee needs to do without a doubt is they have to be reminded that they are working for the veteran. not a bureaucracy.

as with most things, there are tradeoffs when looking at structural reform, centralization versus decentralization, standardization versus innovative. these discussions have been ongoing for years if not decades. i'd like to think vha is an adaptable learning organization that can make needed transformation. but let me be clear. the only way we're going to truly address the litany of problems is to look at the fundamental change within the department. and rightfully, we're all looking at ways to address the problems as we see today. but i'm hopeful that our ambitious schedule of hearings in the weeks ahead will think anew about how best to provide the quality comprehensive care to our veterans in a timely fashion. and i hope that they challenge us to think anew about how to refashion systems and infrastructure, management and

personal policy and procedures to address the axes issues head on and to help the va live up to its ideal. i believe it is essential that we look at structural and cultural root causes that got us in this position in the fist place. we have heard that the leadership of the medical center feels disenfranchised. we have real concerns over the effective level of accountability. we need to shorten the feedback loop from the front line provider to vha leadership. and one of the discussions we must have is over the right administrative structure of the vha. how to ensure that policies and procedures follow nationally while making sure that va is not a one size fits all system. we have heard many times about the excessive, intrusive administrative burden providers experience which takes time away from caring for our veterans. we need to do what we can to eliminate this administrative

work. many are pointing to the i.t. infrastructure. there is no doubt that an outdated scheduling system contributes to the current problems and needs emergency upgrades. at the same time, we need more detail and what's happening in the millions of dollars congress has appropriated for i.t. before we can look at investing even more money here. i want to know why the va did not do a better job in planning strategically, anticipating the needs of facilities systems population and putting in place actions, including things like i.t. upgrades to address these anticipated needs. the time is right to leverage outside expertise. there is no monopoly on good ideas. i look forward to hearing from the panels today and hope to continue this excellent discussion throughout the coming weeks. once again, mr. chairman, i thank you very much and to yield back. thank you very much to the ranking member joining us today.

we actually have two panels on our first panel already seated at the table is the honorable tim mcclain, president of humana government business, mr. dan collard, chief operating officers for the studor group and dr. betty mccoy, chairman of the committee to reduce infectious deaths. we appreciate all of you being here with us today. with that, mr. mcclain, you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for holding today's hearing to examine bureaucratic barriers to health care for veterans. i will focus my remarks on the very complex of organizational impediments in the veteran's health administration not conducive to the delivery of good health care to veterans. in my written statement that i ask be made part of the record --

>> without objection, all your statements will be entered into the record. i make four specific recommendations to improve organizational alignment in vha. but in this oral statement, i want to address just one and it's probably the one that is most disturbing to veterans in congress. and that's a failure of ethics. there is a pervasive va culture that puts personal gain and the system over the needs of the veteran. and hthis is wrong. and i want to make two points to the committee. let's not have congress and va just put band-aids on the current crisis. without resolving the systemic causes. and, two, i believe any long-term solution must include a cultural and organizational assessment by a nationally recognized company. the current crisis differs from previous va crises by the fact that it reflects a serious cultural deficit throughout va at certain levels of management.

this is a -- to the culture of what should be at va. now, i want to emphasize and make it clear that from my experience at va, i found the vast majority of va employees to be competent, professional and dedicated to the primary mission of severaling veterans. but the culture at certain management levels reflects an attitude of personal gain over service to veterans. some major changes are required. but before making any major changes, i propose in my written statement that va be directed to contract with a nationally recognized company to conduct a top to bottom assessment of the current culture. a gap analysis can then be performed to determine the current state and then what is needed to move the va system to a veterans centric 21st century system. the experience will be

influenced by what i will call the voice of the veteran, which essentially is direct veteran input into what this culture should look like going forward. if congress of va fails to seize the once in a generation opportunity to deliver a modern va health care benefit system, we will all be back in this hearing room in the future lamenting the then current crisis. mr. chairman, this concludes my oral statement. i'd be glad to answer any questions. >> thank you very much, sir. mr. collard, you're recognized for five minutes. >> thank you for this hearing, as well. thank you for the opportunity to address the committee on the issues of veterans health and the underlying elements of culture and leadership. i listened with interest monday night when i heard mr. griffin from the inspector general's office talk about the fact that if you've seen one visn, you've seen one visn. it seems both the testimony and

your questions centered around questions in variance. it's clear that those that implement standardized approaches to care produce the very best outcomes. these organizations build culture of accountability, alignment, consistency and sustainability. we also find that their evidence based approaches extend beyond evidence-based care to a framework of evidence-based leadership. this approach ensures that leaders are not only held accountability for the right goals, but these leaders are given the skills and the tools and knowledge to achieve those goals. these leaders ensure consistency in the workplace for their employees, they also ensure consistency in the care environment for their physician colleagues. and as the public has watched the vha issues unfold over the past 60 days, it's clear that the tolerance for variance is cheap among its ailments. the am of variance has created an unfortunately predictable outcome as we would say what you permit, you promote.

the data that demonstrates these connections is quality outcomes, patient experience and lower costs continue to mount. when one reviews the publicly supported data, it's clear better health care is less costly health care. data suggests a strong correlation between patients' perception of care and the clinical outcomes. further, there's data that correlates specific questions like preparation for at-home care with the likelihood of a readmissi readmission. a review of the vha facilities that report show only a handful show a few just above the national mean and unfortunately way too much in the lower ranks of health care. >> you connect this proof with the fact that employee engagement and one begins to see definite trends. a study published recently at the university of birmingham shoeg showed clearly the correlation between the level of employee engagement and the likelihood of the creation of work arounds which equals impact on safety. i was reminded of that as i read