sector. if i were to tell you who is most concerned from an attack standpoint, probably the government of iran, through proxy or some of these other proxies they are using. the russians are doing this every day. it does provide plausible deniability because smoking keyboards are hard to find. i do not know who is behind the clickety clack of the keyboard. we are getting better at attribution. finally you are starting to see criminal enterprises, with capabilities that used to be in the hands of government alone, and duration criminal enterprises. look at the target hack. that is what you are seeing combat is what you are reading. i'm glad it opens up people's eyes and makes it a board

responsibility and puts ownership in executives to address the issue, but they are the ones who got caught. if you think they are alone, think again. those whoy is that haven't been hacked on auto -- are not aware that they will be hacked. when you look at the business challenges, cyber is at the top of the list going forward. if you look at it from a national security standpoint, for counterintelligence, cyber is very high, and you also have to be concerned about those engaged in network attacks. we need to use a little more clarity and precision when we talk about cyber. right now if you were to pick up a newspaper you would not be able to do that. are there going to be the equivalent of cyber drive-by shootings? absolutely.

are they going to cause harm? yes, but not the same as a nation engaging in the attack. will foreign terrorists turned to cyber? they are trying. i'm still more concerned about connecticut tax. that fuels recruiting, -- i'm still more concerned about kinetic attacks. that fuels recruiting, that requires visuals. cyber is a force multiplier to a that is what we need to be worried about going forward. all that said and done, i don't -it was yogie was - bearra who said that the future ain't what it used to be. my version is that since the end threatcold war forecasting has made astrology look respectable.

the best way to predict anything is to shape it. i feel like we are in react mode . we are reacting to crises everywhere. we need to be in the business of shaping the environment, and yes, i am a proud american -- to our national interests, and do so in a way that is collectively beneficial for society. i will leave it at that. i spoke way too long. i will engage in any sorts of questions, but thank you. [applause] questions?any >> when you were talking about france having citizens and great britain having citizens who are siding with isis, and the french going to mali, can we count on

our western allies like great britain and france and all? my the concern is the land grab going on, because now there is a home-base. >> great question. when it comes to the five eyes community, yes, we can count on them. whether they have the capacity and capability is another question. i do think that they have a lot of capability, and they are one of our closest allies, and if they have something, they will provide it. quite honestly, the brits are probably upset with all the leaks, as i would be in their shoes, because it's time it's all other capabilities -- because it stymied their capabilities. in terms of the french, that is complex, because as happy as i went- by the way, it

against indigenous polls. 20%e was less than support for engagement. >> we will leave this to go to charlotte, north carolina, as president obama's about to speak to the american legion national convention. he is expected to announce action to improve the mental well-being of veterans. a new veterans affairs secretary will address the convention. he was confirmed to head the department at the end of july. [applause] >> thank so much. please, everybody, have a seat. hello, legionnaires. >> hello! >> i will thank the commander for the introduction, but more importantly, for your service in the army and as you conclude your tenure as commander. thank you for your tireless commitment to america's

veterans. i want to thank the entire leadership team for welcoming me nationaly, including a -- the objective director in -- executive director in washington, all the daughters, spouses -- [cheers] sisters of the auxiliary, and the sons of the american legion. let me say that i join you in honoring the memory of a friend to many of you, an army veteran and a great legionnaire from north carolina. [applause] two senators richard burr and mayor, thank you for

welcoming us to the great state of of carolina and two charlotte, and for your great support of our troops and our veterans. i do have to mention the presence of boys nation. , i welcomem alabama a method and all the incredible young people, boys and girls nation. i was running a little late so they just started singing, filling the white house with patriotic songs, and then they sang "happy birthday" to me, so i was pretty moved, nara tribute to the legion and to our -- and they are a tribute to the region and to our country. i've brought with me today the new secretary of veterans affairs, bob mcdonald. [applause] and for those of you who are not aware, bob is one of america's most economist is this leaders -- most acorn -- most accomplished business leaders.

he served as an army airborne ranger. so he has got a reputation for jumping into tough situations. and he has hit the ground running, visiting hospitals and clinics across the country, curing directly from veterans, helping us change the way ea does business. and by the way, washington doesn't agree on much these days, but he got confirmed 97-0. [applause] people understand he is the right man for the job and he has my full support. bob, i want to thank you for once again serving your country. it is an honor to be back with the american legion. the story of your service, we see the service of america. when your country needed you most, you stepped forward, raised her right hand, use or eight solemn oath -- you swore a

solemn oath, you earned the uniform on the title you carried to this day. among you are proud veterans of world war ii, of korea, of vietnam, desert storm and the balkans, and our newest veterans from iraq and afghanistan. crushed -- across the generations, you served with honor, you made us proud, you carried the memory of friends who never came home. our fallen, are prisoners of war , those missing in action, here is that our nation can never -- heroes that our nation can never forget. when you took off that uniform, you earned another title, the title of the veteran, and you never stop serving. the legion has two put on that

cap and war that emblem for god and country and took care of one another, making sure that you receive the benefits you have earned and deserve. just as you help the defend america over there, you have helped build it at home as leaders and role models in your communities, as entrepreneurs, as champions for a strong national defense. the united states of america become what we are today, the greatest democratic, economic, and military force for freedom and human dignity that the world has ever known. times.re challenging i don't have to tell you that. around the world, as well as here at home, you turn on the tv and we are saturated with heartbreaking images of war and senseless violence and terrorism and tragedy. it can be easy to grow cynical or get into the sense that the

future we seek is somehow beyond our reach. haves men and women who been tested like few others, you should know better. you know that cynicism is not the character of a great nation. even as we face, yes, the hard task of our time, we should never lose sight of our progress as a people or the strength of our leadership in the world. , six years after the worst financial crisis since the great depression, in some ways the crisis at the potential of being worse than the great depression, thanks to the the decisions we made to secure our economy, next to the determination of the american people, we are stronger at home. our businesses have added nearly 10 million new jobs, the longest streak of private sector job .reation in american history construction and housing are

rebounding. our auto industry and manufacturing are booming. our high school graduation rate is at a record high. more young people are earning college degrees than ever before. millions more americans now have quality affordable health care. we have cut the deficit by more than half. and now we have to sustain this momentum so more people share in the progress and the economy works for every working american. ,ust as we are stronger at home the united states is better positioned to lead in the 21st century than any nation on earth. not even close. we have the most powerful military in history. that is certainly not close. from europe to asia, our alliances are unrivaled, our economy is the most dynamic, we have the best workers and businesses and university and scientists. with the domestic energy revolution, including more renewable energy, we are more

energy independent. our technologies connect the world. our freedoms and opportunities attract immigrants who your to breathe free. our founding ideals inspire the oppressed across the globe to reach for their own liberty. that is who we are. that is what america is. and moreover, nobody else can do what we do. no other nation does more to underwrite the security and prosperity on which the world depends. crisis, no other nation can rally such broad coalitions to stand up for international norms and peace. disaster, no other nation has the capability to deliver so much so quickly. no nation does more to help citizens claim their rights and builder democracies -- build their democracies.

more nation does more to help people on the far corners of the earth escape poverty and disease and realize their dignity. even countries that criticize us when the chips are down, when they need help, they know who to call. they call us. that is what american leadership looks like. that is why the united states is and will remain the one indispensable nation in the world. now, sustaining our leadership, keeping america strong and secure, means we have to use our power wisely. history teaches us of the dangers of overreaching and spreading ourselves too thin, trying to go it alone without international support or rushing into military adventures without thinking through the consequences. nobody knows this better than our veterans and our families -- our veteran families.

because you are the ones who bear the wages of four. you are the ones who -- you are the ones who bear the wages of war. you are the ones who carry the scars but you know that we should never send our sons and daughters into harm's way unless it is absolutely necessary and we have a plan and are resourcing and plan to see it through. [applause] you know the united states has to lead with strength and confidence and wisdom. that is why after incredible sacrifice, by so many of our men and women in uniform, we removed more than 140,000 troops from iraq and welcome to those troops home. it was the right thing to do. is why wee -- it refocus our efforts in afghanistan and went after al qaeda's leadership in the tribal regions, driving the taliban out

of its strongholds. 4 months, we will complete our combat mission in afghanistan and america's longest war will come to a responsible end. and we honor every american who served to make this progress possible. [applause] especially thee, more than 2200 american patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice in afghanistan to keep us safe. continue toafghans work towards the first democratic transfer of power in the history, afghan leaders need to make the hard compromise is that are necessary to give the afghan people a future of security and progress. as we go forward, we will continue to partner with afghans so their country can never again be used to launch attacks against the united states. [applause] as i have always made clear, the

blows we have struck against al leadership don't mean the end to the terrorist threat. al qaeda affiliates still target our homeland. we have seen that in yemen. other extremists threaten our citizens abroad, as we have seen most recently in iraq and syria. as commander-in-chief, the security of the american people is my highest priority, and that is why with the brutal terrorist advancing in iraq, i have authorized targeted strikes to protect our diplomats and military advisors you are there -- who are there. let me say it again -- [applause] american combat troops will not be returning to fight in iraq, will not allow the united states to be dragged back into another ground war in iraq, is ultimately it is up to the iraqis to bridge their differences and secure themselves. [applause]

strikes we are conducting have the necessary to protect our people, and that helped iraqi forces pushed back these terrorists. able to rescueen thousands of men and women and children who are trapped on the mountain. our airdrops of food and water and medicine show american leadership at our best, and we and crews brave pilot who are making us proud in the skies of iraq every single day. [applause] more broadly, the crisis in iraq underscores how we have to meet today's evolving terrorist threat, and the answer is not to send in large-scale military deployments that overstretch our military and lead to us occupying countries for a long period of time and end up feeding extremism. rather, our military action in iraq has to be out of a broader strategy to protect our people and support our partners to take

the fight to isil. we are strengthening our partners -- more military assistance to government and kurdish forces in iraq and moderate opposition in syria. we are urging iraqis to forge the kind of inclusive government ultimately be the antidote against terrorists. we are urging countries in the region and building an international coalition, including ahlquist -- closest allies, to support iraqis as they take the fight to these barbaric terrorists. today our prayers are with the fully family -- are with the foley family in new hampshire as they continue to grieve the brutal murder of their son and brother jim. who harmse to anyone the american people as sybil -- america does not forget, our reach is long, we are patient, justice will be done, we have proved time and time again that

we will do what is necessary to capture those who harm americans , to go after those who harm americans. [applause] and we will continue to take direct action where needed to protect our people and to defend our homeland. rooting out a cancer like isil won't be easy and it will be tyrants and murderers before them should recognize that kind of hateful vision ultimately is no match for the strength and hopes of people to stand together for the security and dignity and freedom that is the birthright of every human being. so even as our war in afghanistan comes to an end, we will stay vigilant. we will continue to make sure that our military has what it needs. as today's generation of service members keeps us safe, and as home, we have to

meet our response abilities to them as they meet their response ability to america. [applause] so when i was here at the legion the three years ago, i said that the bond between our forces and our citizens has to be a sacred me, i and that for administration, upholding our trust with our veterans is not just a matter of policy, it is a moral obligation. together, we have made real progress. it -- working with the legion and other veteran service organizations, we have been able to a commish historic increases to veterans funding. we have protected her and self-care from washington politics with advanced appropriations. we have been able to make the a benefits available to more than

2 million veterans who did not have them before, including more vietnam vets who were exposed to agent orange. [applause] we have dedicated major new resources for mental health care . we have helped more than one million veterans and their families pursue their education under the post-9/11 g.i. bill. andmoreover, as the legion other veterans groups have said, once veterans get in the door, the care you receive from the ..a. is often very good the specialized good is among the best in the world. and many of the hard-working folks at the v.a. our veterans themselves, veterans serving .eterans and we can never thank them enough for their good work. but what we have come to learn is that the misconduct we have seen at 2 million facilities with a long -- too many

facilities, with long wait times, folks cooking the books thomas outrageous -- folks cooking the books, is outrageous and inexcusable. [applause] disclosed, i was got a for the american people and i said we would not tolerate it, and we will not. i know the legion has been on the front lines across the country helping veterans who have been affected. i know bob is going to give you an update on the actions that we are taking. but what i want you to know directly from me is that we are focused on this at the highest levels. we are going to get to the bottom of these problems, we are going to fix what is wrong, we are going to do right by you, we are going to do right by your families. that is a solemn pledge and commitment i'm making to you here. [applause]

already we are making sure that those responsible for manipulating or falsifying records are held accountable. we are reaching out to veterans to get them into clinics. we are moving with reforms at the veterans health administration and to help get that done, you supported and congress passed and i signed into law the veterans access choice and accountability act, it means more resources to help the v.a. hire more doctors and nurses and staff. it means that if you give war than 40 miles from the v.a. facility and your doctors cannot see you post enough, we will help you go to a doctor outside the v.a.. we are instituting a new culture of accountability. bob doesn't play. a cadets to recall prior from west point -- cadet prayer from west point, which should be the dose for all of

us. over thee harder right easier wrong if you engage in unethical practices or cover up a serious problem, you should be and will be fired. [applause] and by the way, if you blow the whistle on higher ups, because you have identified a legitimate problem, you should be punished -- you should not be punished. you should be protected. [applause] --my bottom line is this despite all the good work that the v.a. does every day, despite progress that we have made over the last several years , we are very clear eyed about the problems that are still there. those problems require us to

regain the trust of our veterans and live up to our vision of a v-8 that is more effective and -- v.a. thatt, is more effective and more efficient and that truly puts our veterans first, and i will not be satisfied until that happened. [applause] we are in the midst of a new wave of the better and. -- new wave of veterans. more than one million service members returning to civilian life. we have to uphold that not just this year and next year but for decades to come. we are going to have to stay focused on the five priorities i outlined last year and i want to reiterate them, so you know what it is we are committing to. number one, we need to make sure our veterans have the resources you deserve, and the new funding we just passed with the help of hagan, thatrr and

helps. but as you know, it is not enough. , in these tough fiscal times propose another increase in veterans funding for next year, and i will continue to resist any effort to exploit the problems of the v.a. to turn a -- to turn health care into a voucher system. you don't need of doctors, you need health care you can depend on -- you don't need vouchers, you need health care you can depend on. [applause] we need to make sure that veterans are getting the health care you need when you need it . , with morehe vha doctors and staff, is a good step. but with this new wave of veterans, we need the care that our newest veterans need the most, with care that fits women veterans with respect and dignity. it means doing more to help -- [applause]

it means doing even more to help arerans from all wars who struggling with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress. end this tragedy of suicide among our troops and veterans. as a country -- [applause] stand idly we can't by on such tragedy. so we are doing even more. more than ever, more awareness, more outreach, more access to mental health care. so long as any service member or veteran is suffering, or feels like they have nowhere to turn, or doesn't get the support that they need, that means we haven't done enough. we all know we need to do more. called for it, we heard you, which is why today i am announcing 19 new executive actions to help improve mental health care for those american

heroes and their families. [applause] so just one example -- we are ecstatic suicide prevention training across the military and the v.a., so colleagues and can spot warning signs and encourage veterans to seek help. we will improve access to care, with more bureau support -- more peer support, veterans counseling veterans. we are calling on congress to make sure our troops get coverage with mental health care that is on par with other medical conditions. we will make it easier for service members being treated for mental health conditions to continue their care as they transition to the v.a., connecting them with the support they need and making sure they don't lose access to any medications they take. all, we are going

to keep saying about include anyone out there who is hurt, is not a sign of weakness to ask for help, it is a sign of strength. talk to a friend, pick up the phone, you're not alone, we are here for you and every american needs to know that if you see someone in uniform or a veteran who is struggling, reach out and help them to get help. they were there for america, we now need to be there for them. [applause] our third priority, we have to keep attacking the disability claims backlog. the good news is that since its peak last year we have worked with u2/the backlog by more than 50% -- work with you to slash the backlog by more than 50%. influxly because of an of new veterans, partially because we open it up to people with ptsd, folks with agent orange symptoms, we had to work at backlog back down. the trendlines are good.

but we don't just want those claims processed fast. we need to make sure they get processed right. we are going to keep at this this backlog once and for all, and as we do, we will keep working to liberate you from the mountain of paper. we have got to move towards a paperless system, electronic health records that our troops and veterans can keep for life and that can cut down on some of the bureaucratic red tape so you get the benefits you have earned a little bit faster. [applause] number four, we need to honor the dignity and rights of every veteran, and that includes ending the tragedy of homelessness among veterans. [applause] again, we have got good news to report. that, i can announce working together over the past few years we have been able to reduce the number of homeless veterans by one third, and that means -- [applause]

on any given night there are 25,000 fewer veterans on the streets or in shelters. but we are not going to stop until every veteran who has defended america has hope in america. that is a basic commitment that we have throug -- have to uphold. we need to make sure our veterans have every opportunity to pursue the merrigan dream, and that includes a home of their own. under the law, our servicemembers are entitled to reduce mortgage rates. but the burden is on them to ask for it and prove they are eligible, which means a lot of get below rights they deserve. today we are turning that around and announcing a new partnership in which america's biggest banks and institutions will simple fight the process, proactively notify servicemembers who qualify for lower rates, and in other words, we are going to

help more of our troops and military families own their own home without questioning them wil. . [applause] we are also going to keep helping our troops transition to civilian life.o because of the work we have done together, if you have a military truck drivers license, every has the skills test so it is easy for you to get a commercial drivers license. [applause] we will keep pushing more states to recognize the incredible skills and training of our veterans. if you can do a job in a war zone, if you are a medic in a war zone, you shouldn't have to go take nursing 101 to work in a hospital in the united states. [applause] if you can handle million-dollar pieces of oak women in a war zone, that should count for something fresh million-dollar -- million-dollar pieces of equipment in a war zone, that should count for something in

getting certified acurback here at home. if you can do some of the jobs you have done in a most extreme circumstances, i'm confident you can do that here at home. [applause] veteransur troops and pursue education, we have worked with loan servicers to automatically cap interest rates on student loans to our servicemembers at 6%. for veterans going back to school under the post-9/11 g.i. bill, we will keep standing up against his honest recruiting and predatory practices that target entry on you and your families -- target entry on you and your families. 600 colleges and universities have pledged to do right by our veterans. colleges and0 universities have adopted our ats to make sure that they are truly welcoming veterans and helping them succeed on campus. every school in america should join them.

you should be proud if you are educating a veteran and you should be doing right by them. [applause] and we are going to keep helping our veterans find those jobs worthy of your credible talents. -- your incredible talents. our new implement sender is a new one-stop shop connecting veterans and spouses to more than 1.5 million jobs that are open right now. we are joining with states and local leaders to identify nearly two dozen cities and regions with the most opportunities for veterans. and with michelle and dr. jill biden meeting the call, businesses are leading efforts spouses.veterans and veterans unemployment is going lower thanow it is the national average. it was hired to begin with, and we have been driving it down, but we have more to go, especially for our post-9/11 veterans. we will keep saying to every does this in america, if you

want somebody who knows how to get the job done no matter what the mission, hire a veteran. a vet. th -- hire [applause] so fixing what is broken at the da, ensuring the resources you deserve, delivering the health care you have earned, eliminating the backlog, standing up for your rights and dignity, helping you realize the american dream that you so honorably defended, these are our commitments to you. this is what we focused on. together.at we can do especially as our war in afghanistan comes to an end and we welcome home our newest veterans, there are a lot of them here tonight. we salute captain scott miller of indiana, a proud hoosier and a proud marine.

in afghanistan he went out on dangerous patrols traveling to remote villages, meeting with tribal elders, building trust, forging partnerships to push , and here at the legion he continues to serve by encouraging businesses across america to get back to the veterans who defended our way of life and make our prosperity possible, so thank you, scott. where is scott here today? we are proud of him. there he is. [applause] we salute master sergeant carol barker of greensboro, north carolina, the first sergeant on a medevac unit, she was responsible for more than 100 troops, helped save the lives of our wounded warriors in those critical first hours when life so often wrong in the balance -- hung in the balance. here at the legion, she

continues to serve helping homeless veterans, off the streets and begin their lives anew with a roof over their heads. thank you, carol. where is carol? [applause] we salute sergeant joel grassi, who grew up just outside new york city, after his home town was attacked on 9/11, he left the civilian job and joined the army. a squad leader in afghanistan, he spent most of his time in the supplying ourt helicopter crews, and here at the legion he continues to serve helping veterans complete disability claims, raising a voice in washington for a strong national defense, because he says that some things are worth fighting for, america is worth fighting for. thank you, joe. we are proud of you. thank you, sir. [applause] scott, carol, joe, they are

among the patriots here today who served in afghanistan and iraq. post-9/11k all of our generation veterans to stand if you are able and accept the thanks of a grateful nation. the american people have to know that even as our war in ouranistan comes to an end, obligation to this generation of veterans has only just begun and this cannot just be the work of government and veterans groups alone. i want every american to take this commitment seriously. lisa stand, post-9/11 a generation, all of you who have served in afghanistan and iraq. we are grateful for you. [applause] this not just a job of government. it is not just a job for the veterans organization. join us incan is to

taking care of those who take care of us. only 1% of americans may be fighting our wars, but 100% of .mericans benefit from that 1% 100% need to be supporting our troops. 100% need to be supporting our veterans. 100% need to be supporting our military families. [applause] something.dy can do every american, every business, every profession, every school, every community, every state, all of us as one american team, that is how we will truly honor our veterans, that is how we will truly say thank you and that is how we will uphold the sacred trust with all who served in our name. god bless you, god bless our veterans, god bless the united states of america.

thank you very much. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute] obama, finishing up here at the american legion national convention, touching on a number of executive actions to improve veterans health care. also in attendance, state senators richard burr and kay hagan. hagan recently criticized the president for not doing enough for the nation's veterans and reforming the department of veterans affairs. senator hagan tweeted out earlier today that she is heading to the american legion's national convention in charlotte to speak about significant reforms we must make for our veterans.

veterans will hear from the new veterans affairs secretary, robert mcdonald. we will have it for you when it begins at about 1:15 eastern. live coverage will continue at 3:30 eastern. we will bring you a discussion on the future of the european union. european parliament secretary general is visiting washington, d.c. today and will take part in a discussion at the wilson center. again, that starts at 3:30 eastern here on c-span. this weekend, special programming on the c-span networks. friday night, native american history. saturday, a debate on scottish independence. with the chief justice of the second circuit court of appeals. friday at 8:00 p.m., "in depth" with former congressman ron paul. saturday at 10:00 p.m., "after

words" with william burrows talking about his book "the asteroid threat." on american history tv on a nasa, friday, documentary about the 1969 apollo 11 moon landing. on saturday, lyndon b. johnson's nomination acceptance speech from the 1964 democratic convention. sunday night, a look at election laws and the legal president -- bush versusent of gore. find our television schedule at cspan.org and let us know what you think of the programs you are watching. conversation.n like us on facebook, follow us on twitter. > >> the ceo of hbo recently

addressed at new york ideas festival in early may. he explained how hbo differs from the tv business model. his comments are 20 minutes and hosted by "the atlantic" magazine. >> now we need to invite to the guys from the tv revolution. let me say a quick word about willie geist. we talk a lot about disruption and innovation. i don't know if anyone knows this, but willie geist is cloned, because he is a host of both the "today" show and "morning joe," and they are on at the same time. and the hugely successful ceo of hbo. floor is yours. [applause] >> good afternoon. how is everybody doing? richard, you sold the place out, man. >> good. you, too. >> it is like the lazy susan of

ceo's. you have kickstarter, you spin it, the ceo of hbo. let's talk about hbo right now. as we think about kind of the history of television, what has been called the golden age, this renaissance of television, i'm curious where you trace it back. some people say it is "oz," '97, some people say it is "sopranos," a little bit later than that. >> it's funny, everybody always assumes "the sopranos" was the catalyst, "sex and the city" was the catalyst, "the wire" was the catalyst, all superior shows. but i think the tipping point was echoed the 1990's with "the --ry sanders show," because [applause] shandling ditties he said to the world that you

can do something with a truly original voice, you can differentiate yourself from everything else that is in the medium, and excellence in quality will define success, not necessarily numbers. i think what garry did was he opened the door to a lot of s who saw the attention that he garnered, who sought not only did claim he got in the media, but the attention he got in the creative community. people were watching what he was doing on hbo and said, wow, i can try something like that. i think he opened the door to what became the modern hbo. >> the next question is why did it take so long for us to get there? hbo existed, showtime existed -- >> in fairness, the model of television and the model of hbo are very different. the model of television is they are selling cpm's, they are selling advertising. that is the way they measure success, that is the business

model that informs their decision-making. our model is we are selling a brand, and what we are trying to do everyday is elevate that brand, and we believe that if we elevate that brand and we create addicts across a wide range anr business and build the model all over the world, which is exactly what we are doing. that is a very different raison d'etre than getting people in a certain demo to watch a particular show. i am coming from lunch with the great stephen -- steven soder bergh, who is doing the show with us on cinemax called "the a greatand steven, artist, talks about working on hbo with excellence as my metric. that is an extra ordinary thing for the actors, producers, and whether you're talking to david

ianucci, whondo that is a creative dynamic and it is a blessing. ," you mentioned "candelabra michael douglas comes to mind, who has seen it all and he is never seen anything like this. >> michael's line to me was "i've been doing this for 40 years. what is the w -- what is in the water here? everybody i encounter at your company -- the our team, the business team." i think that is because all we are trained to do is create the best product we can. that is a very liberating dynamic inside the company. we don't wake up the morning after a show premieres and say "what's the number?" we wake up and say "did it deliver on our expectation of excellence?"

i said to barry levinson after us,id "kevorkian" for before it went on the air, congratulations. he said, "why are you congratulating me? you don't know how this is going to." i said, yeah, but i've seen it, it is brilliant. i've been at this and longtime -- he said" i've been at the cilantro and you are the first ceo was ever said anything like that." that is literally what defines success for our brand and our company. and globally as well. i was in singapore, france, and everywhere we go, our brand is traveling, and what is fascinating is that the media in each country is as sophisticated about what we are trying to do as they are here. the questions and the level of sophistication of the questions artists, producers,

what we are trying to do, it is as if they live in los angeles or new york and they are every bit as expert on what the brand stands for. >> your point about this being about the numbers, "girls," if you read magazines or look around the culture -- >> mic. hello?o, hello, i will speak loudly until we figure it out. there we go. thank you. a case about it not being the numbers is "girls." i don't know exactly what it is -- a million -- >> no, about five. >> that is not a huge number. if we are thinking about network terms, that show is critical to success. absolutely. valley,"p," "silicon

they are high-quality shows -- i look at it this way. we have 43 million constituents across hbo and cinemax. we are trying to create more and more addicts among those constituents and we are trying to build a new generation of viewers. for some people, "silicon valley" is the reason they subscribe to hbo. for some people, it is "veep." for some people it is "game of thrones." some people are watching boxing. some people are watching our movies or documentaries. it does not matter to us if a subscriber feels an emotional connection, a passionate engagement with our brand, but is what we are striving for. me, youbergh said to guys stand for good shit. trying to do -- this is the key, because we are only as good as the people who come to work for us. my job, the job of my

colleagues, become a magnet for the best talent to want to work. there is a surfeit of competition, a lot of people doing great work. this is not a zero-sum game. as long as we are playing our game to our full capacity, which is what we think about every day, we will have more of our fair share of attention and acclaim. that is the north star. what you want is lena dunham feeling like there is not a better place to work because she is talking to her friends in the creative community and she is saying, this is an extraordinary experience. as is steven, david benioff ane d dan weiss. it becomes catalytic. >> if nothing else, we walked out with a good slogan for hbo. we do good shit. so lena dunham walks into your office one day. i think it goes to what you are

known for. having good instincts. and then trusting the instincts. walk us through the process. >> actually, it precedes me. what really happened, and this speaks to our culture, was a young executive in los angeles was at south by southwest and she saw "tiny furniture," which was her first movie. i believe she made it for $37,000. she took the dvd, brought it back to the team. lena parallel processed in writing the pilot of "girls." we all watched "tiny furniture." nobody knows that "girls" is going to be "girls." you do know that is an original voice. you know that is a

differentiated voice which defines our brand. it was all of us looking at it and feeling very comfortable that this was something special. if it breaks into the zeitgeist like it does, nobody knows if that happens. what we knew about "true detective" is that it was excellent. 12.5 million viewers. that you cannot predict. grant tinker, the celebrated executive at nbc back in the 1980's and 1990's, had a wonderful phrase -- we are looking for the two p's. we are looking to be proud and popular. since you don't know whether or not you are going to be popular, whether or not the show would break through -- he did not even know that about "friends" -- your north star has to be, are you proud of it? if we are collectively proud of the product, the scripts, we feel a shared vision, we are comfortable with that.

more and more if we stick to , that, you will find you have your fair share of things that break through. >> you were smart to trust your gut on "true detective." that is another lena dunham story. the guy had written a couple of novels. not particularly well-known novels. i do not think a lot of tv executives would've taken the meeting. >> when mike and sue and myself read 420 pages, you knew this was a remarkable piece of work. to have matthew and woody attached to it, everybody felt pretty comfortable that this was consummate with our brand. -- consonant with our brand. you do not know if it is going to become such a huge part of the cultural conversation.

that you can't just predict. if you had said to me that would do 12.5 million viewers, i would've said to you, highly unlikely. it is complex, dark. you have to stay with it and you have to pay attention. people loved it. >> in a broad audience. >> a huge audience. >> speaking of which, "game of thrones" has been a cultural explosion. in terms of your brand, it is nice to have that show.

it is nice to have that 17 million. >> 18. it is wonderful to have something like that that is very high quality, very much on brand, becomes a global phenomenon. 18 million people in the united states are watching it legally. dan andall david and george martin. they really are quintessential ode to her -- auteurs.

four george, his whole life is built on the books and to have entrusted them with the legacy speaks volumes about how special they are. -- -- 80% of viewership is for theatrical films. what does that mean for your business? you have to have the movies if you run a successful premium television network, as we run. programmingiginal takes a disproportionate share, as it should, because it is the original work of our network, the truth of the matter is that the consumer still loves to watch hollywood movies for a second, third, fourth time and they are in the tens of millions .f viewers you put "fast and furious" on,

you will of millions of viewers over the course of that run. the halo on our brand, the driving dynamics, what gives us our pricing power, is the combination of that natural superiority with the cultural cachet of the original programming. you need both. >> you are ahead of the game on so many things but the business moves so quickly. what makes sure you're not caught flat-footed in a relevant today -- and the relevant today. "the what can be screwed up today" list. the digital evolution is a big part of our thinking.

product. a remarkable it will evolve and get better and better. what i say all the times that we will not be caught without the ability to give it both with our partners, because i think whether it is cable partner or satellite partner, we want to grow with them. we think there's a lot of growth left in this business, and having an exciting digital product where you can and having a partner with whom you can grow is very important particularly for a generation of young people who are more and more, as you well know, getting their video in another place from the tv. competingrself directly with, let's say, netflix? -- you see your self competing directly with, let's say, netflix? >> no, we are constantly warning to revolve our own brand. since more people want the

option of watching hbo on different platforms, we want to make sure they have that. that is what hbo go is on -- all about. globally, as we explant -- expand on this ip platform, you think about a billion tablets around the world and you imagine the option of the globally where we have 85 million subscribers and growing, that is a very best -- very exciting dynamic. we will continue to advance the digital possibilities of the brand. we will continue to make sure we create as many options as possible for our customer. at the end of the day, it's about the product. first and foremost, make the content outstanding. secondly, build as much dexterity as you can, so people

can want when they want, how they want, where they want. >> we have less than a minute. the light became yellow. we are on our way to read. give us a hint of what is ahead for hbo. >> we have a wonderful piece by the entourage guys called bollards, which stars the rock and is about aging football players, said in miami. i think it will be a huge hit and quite poignant about the end of people's careers and how they evolve. we have a show called the brink, starring tim robbins and secretary of state, jack black as a foreign service officer. i liken it to mash in southwest asia, a satire and parody of america's hubris in getting involved in different parts of the world. leftovers, created by dana linda lost.o brought us a kind of metaphysical. you seen the trailer if you been watching the networks.

westworld, which jj abrams is producing, based on the movie. this may come, based on mary cramer's award-winning play, starring julia roberts and mark russell lowell. ruffalo. again, the blessing for us is the line at the door, of talent, artists to want to be part of the network. coming is to keep them in and make sure we can create an environment where they can do their best work. >> and just between -- between us girls, brad pitt on true detective? since this is being streamed, just to say there is an awful lot of people because of the brilliant work are in line to do next season. stay tuned. >> all right, brad pitt is on true detective. angst, everybody. -- thanks, everybody.

[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] -- >>ck to the new york back to the new york festival in just a moment. surely, we will go live to the merrigan legion national convention to hear mark from robert mcdonald. it will be live from a -- at about 1:15 p.m. eastern here on c-span. back now to the festival for cancer biologist, andrew hessel talking about the science behind the medicine that targets the cancer cell instead of the whole body. this is about 15 minutes. >> i'm going to give you a quick rundown of some of my world. i am a cancer biologist, a genetic scientist. i will run through a few things about cancer, the development, and the workup and doing that i think you will find very interesting. i'm with a group that is normally known for design called autodesk. with a brand-new group within that company focused on bio and

nano design. is actually a relatively straightforward disease, even though we have really accumulated a large body of information on it. strip it all down, it's really cells that have had their dna record did -- their dna corrupted and that corruption starts to grow without the proper restraint. and if he keeps growing and starts to spread to the body from a can crash the network. the problem is, when you think about it, cancer is an infection not with a microbe or virus, but with one of your own self that has gone rogue. that of your own cells has gone rogue. and it is a life-threatening disease. 100 years ago we did not worry so much about cancer, because it was actually bacterial infections that tended to kill us. mall cut, accidents, etc.

if we had a bacterial infection that stood to colonize and continue to grow, we had nothing to really fight it with. then this molecule was discovered in 1929, penicillin. it was a game changer in the world of medicine. it still took a while to get it up to production and up to commercial volumes, but once penicillin and its chemical became available, suddenly we didn't die from microbial infections anywhere near as much. today, exactly quite rare, unless you have a very resistant .acteria today, we don't even get a day off of work. but this was a major life-threatening disease. is treated in a completely different way. we carpet on any cell that is growing fast -- we carpet bomb any cell that is growing fast. the look of the cancer patient, the hair falling out, the iv,

that is the treatment. it is not necessarily the cancer. cellspletely obliterate in a nondiscriminatory that are growing quickly. modern medicines are targeting, medicines like receptors that key in on specific molecular pathways in the cell. they are very focused and tend to be used alongside chemotherapy. but when they were, when no started to exist in the cancer -- when they work, when those targets exist in the cancer, it is a phenomenally different thanment and outcome penicillin and bacteria. a phenomenal response. we don't have a lot of these magic bullets, so to speak. we all want more of them, but were not going to get them. and here is why.

this is a 60 year trend in the .utputs of drug development draft out as billions of dollars invested in research and development per drug. this is the next financial graph. and it's not the exponential to graph we like to see in digital technologies, moore's law, this is actually a negative exponential. what this means is that over the last 60 years, we are getting dramatically less -- fewer drugs per dollar invested in drug development. this is in one company, in one business. this is in one industry that is not able to make its products faster and better and cheaper. this is something we expect from every digital technology, even though drug development is very high technology. it is really not giving us the medicines we need.

last year, only 27 new drugs were approved. 27, for all diseases, not just cancer. of the pharmaodel companies is not hard to understand. it is basically the same one used why hollywood. they go out and find interesting projects. they bring them in-house. they polish them. they get them through sensors. the fda and in the case of drug development, and then the marketing team start to work to deliver it to the public. it's really long, risky, and expensive, which is why like hollywood, drug companies choose to seek blockbusters. it, targeted about medicines are more like those in the art films. not a big audience. cost about is, they the same amount of money to make a little independent art film as it does to make a hollywood block ester and get it through the drug -- blockbuster and get

it through the drug process. if you're making in niche drug for cancer, it is more competitive. and the more expensive it is, the harder it is to get insurance companies to pick up and pay for it, or for an individual to pay for it. the best medicines are helping the fewest people. it's kind of ironic. i sorted thinking about this a lot, how could this trend be reversed? how could we make a drug company that truly made faster, better, , and start tones generate lots of cancer drugs echo my philosophy -- lots of cancer drugs? my philosophy is simple, if you beat cancer, make lots of drugs. on the one side, mass-market drugs, for-profit, etc. i go the other way and i end up creating an experimental drug company that was completely different than anything else. it was cooperative drug company.

it was completely open source, taking its inspiration from letting -- from lennox, i went on to challenge major software companies. i don't need any money. i don't want any money. that's not the case for me. but i really wanted to focus on one person at a time rather than a mass market. for me, this was important. one, because no two cancers are the same. the set -- the cancer is your cells infecting your body. no two people have the same cancer. it's not an infectious disease. of the second thing where i really wanted to focus on one because if time is you make a drug for one person, all of the really expensive and time-consuming part of the drug making, getting it through phased chemical trials become irrelevant. risk and benefit reduces to a single individual, not a societal threat. it is simply a drug for one

person and one cancer. and that is actually a much easier problem to solve. i also had a big technology in my back pocket. i'm a genetic engineer. and genetic engineering is getting really cheap. my goal was, can i make the best cancer drugs in the world for the cheapest price possible, and giving them away for free echo remember, e-mail is free. cancer problem that had not been solved yet. what drug could i possibly make that was cheap enough to do for one person at a time? mine dropped of the paper on my desk on

oncolytic viruses. and oncolytic virus is a virus that breaks apart cancer cells. it turns out that her years of research and development -- 30 years of research and development in oncolytic viruses, there's a library of it. the basic idea of an oncolytic virus is this. it's a really weak virus. it's quite a common one, usually. and if it infects a normal cell, the normal cell just shuts it down. it is so weak that a normal cell has the viral defenses and says, go away. it breaks it apart and it never starts to replicate. but cancer cells are broken cells. they are corrupted. and it turns that some of those corrections leave them whole herbal two-week virus attack. and the virus starts -- leave them vulnerable to week virus attacks.

and the virus starts to grow and it can go on to infect more cancer cells. actually hijacking the cancer cells and turning them into little drug factories. this -- theseth are very safe viruses, but the problem is, your immune system agonizes all viruses as foreign and tends to shut them down. the real breakthrough in oncolytic pathology in the last decade is that we have learned how to help the immune system escape virus is a little better. some of these drugs being developed have been getting a lot of success. at the end of the day, cancer cells just get a cold. it's really gentle. you don't get all of the dramatic effects. i wanted to find a way to make these on kotick viruses -- oncolytic viruses faster, better, and cheaper. and i was inspired by a 2003 paper by a genetic scientist and his research partner, a nobel prize winner. in december of 2003, they showed

that they could computer design a virus. in this case, a very safe virus that just kills e. coli cells. can computer design the genome of the virus. they could print out the dna of that virus. and they could boot up that virus to make the virus particle. this is essentially the whole protocol. it reduces down to the design of the genome. the build of that genome. and the test of that genome. this is the part i want you to see. it took two weeks to do this work in 2003. of course, that's with some brilliant genetic scientists. i work with this design company autodesk. we make really cool design software. we have been working on a project called project cyborg. it is for all forms of bio nano design. molecular design, dna, origami,

i will not go into it. that bacteria. we modeled it. now you can see it and play with it. we're really good at 3-d printing. we actually print out some of these little virus particles. it's really cool when you hold them in your hand. they are little molecular jigsaw puzzles. we even made lollipop molds so you could handle them out -- hand them out and give them to people. here, suck on a virus. but we also made the same tools and technologies for 3-d printing. we send it to this company, one of the best dna synthesis companies around, and a number of other companies that do the same work, and we evaluated whether you could make this genome today that took these brilliant scientists 10 years ago to do, and it turns out they could. in some cases, they really had to push their synthesis machines

to the limit. but i was able to boot up with some colleagues these synthetic viruses. wherever you see a spot there, a synthetic virus has booted up answer to killing the e. coli cells around it. this is a synthetic genome booted up by a software company because viruses are really little biological software. and i didn't have to go to the lab to do this. it was all digital. here's what i see happening in the future of cancer. we already have this digital diagnostics and the ability to get cells and of a patient. that is very straightforward. today, we can sequence and cancer genome -- sequence a cancer genome in less than a day. that is so much information, but it can feed into and out of design program -- otto did sign -- auto design program and it can go to a printout and we can get that in two weeks for $1000

in print cost. and that allows us to make a virus that we can actually test on one person's cells. if it kills the cancer cells and doesn't hurt normal cells, it passes. and i could actually be used as a treatment. we are testing this in cell culture now. that is our next step. we would love to do veterinary studies. we think this type of approach could get into humans very quickly. because there's already such a foundation in oncolytic viruses. they can open source the entire design process, it's just software. you don't need a lab to do this. and the amazing part is, the cost of writing synthetic dna, like the cost of genome sequencing, is falling so rapidly that it is actually really remarkable. i'm sorry, it's not going back very well. but the cost is falling so low, it costs $1000 to make that virus. next year, it will cost about $10. the year after that, maybe a

dollar. newh allows us to explore business models in drug development. instead of making just one drug for $1 billion and taking 10 or 15 years, why not a netflix model for an individual where you can have all of the cancer drugs you want me to for you for one low price? change the fda requirements about approving a single drug, and instead approve a drug developing process. and if these tools keep opening up and keep getting cheaper, there's nothing to stop people from actually just making their own drugs. today, we see phenomenal amounts of creativity coming into the 3-d printing space, the software department space, all generally starting with one individual. , want to see every drugmaker you know, come from the maker community. i want to see it done fast and she. -- fast and cheap. i want to see these amazing garrisons -- amazing medicines

be available to everyone. and if we can do that, we will actually beat cancer. we have been fighting it for so long, we actually forget we might just win. thank you. [applause] >> live now to the american legion convention in charlotte, north carolina, for comments from veteran secretary robert mcdonald. he's just beginning. this is live coverage. but i deeply appreciate your trust and confidence in me, providing the opportunity to serve at the v.a.. , hisdent's presence here steady support of the v.a. in the past six years, and his leadership in demonstrating and driving greater support and opportunities for veterans are all evidence of his strong, unwavering support of veterans. once again, he has taken the lead in calling on the ,limination of claims backlog

the ending of veteran homelessness, better and more substantial mental health care and support, encouraging companies to seek veteran employees, increasing educational opportunities, and recruiting medical professionals to better serve our nation's veterans. there's no stronger advocate for veterans than president obama. first, let me take -- let me thank the legion for your staunch support. for almost a full century now of our nation's veterans. your counsel is important to me. i welcome your advice on how to reinforce the time-honored covenant between america and our veterans. the v.a. owes its existence in .art to the american legion you lobbied for the creation of the veterans bureau in 1921. you fought long and hard to see that bureau become first in administration in 1930, and then

a cabinet level department in 1989. your compliments on behalf of veterans are legendary. commander wrote the first draft of the g.i. bill of rights a year before the congress passed the g.i. bill, and two years before the first wave of world war ii veterans returned home. you lead the effort to pass the post-9/11 g.i. bill. thousands of your volunteers donate millions of hours through the v.a. voluntary service program. your veterans affairs and rehabilitation commission provides assistance to veterans and families to make sure they receive the benefits they deserve. and the myriad of other legion programs well serve this nation's veterans of all generations. jet -- toion to

veterans is not lost on me. i want to assure you that your contributions to the v.a. reform discussions have in of great help. that sort of ongoing give-and-take will be vital as we take steps to right the wrongs that have occurred. and importantly, to improve the department and reposition it for years to come. there is no question, no question, that this is a critical moment for the v.a. we have a lot of work to do to resolve the challenges we are facing. before my confirmation hearing, ice oak with bso -- i spoke with and many members of congress. again, and again, i was asked, why do you want to be the acreage area veterans affairs? here's what i told them and i believe this trolley to the bottom of my heart. there is no higher calling in life -- i believe this strongly to the bottom of my heart. there is no higher calling in

life than to serve our nation's veterans. i see this as an opportunity to improve the lives of the men and women i care deeply about. it is more than professional. for me, it's very personal. my wife, deeann, and i both come from military families. her father was a tailgunner in a bomber and was shot down over europe and survive the hardships of being a prisoner of war. my father served in the army aircraft world war ii and was in the occupation forces in japan. both of our fathers were educated through the original g.i. bill. deeann's uncle was a member of the 101st airborne division, the screaming eagles, and vietnam. he was exposed to agent orange multiple times and today, received care from the v.a. and right now as i stand here, my nephew, who is a pilot in the

air force, is flying missions in the middle east. from the united states military academy in 1975, along with sloan gibson, the v.a. deputy secretary, a great leader and great friend of mine for many years. education at west point and then my service as an airborne ranger in the 82nd airborne division instilled in me a life song -- lifelong sense of duty to country. for decades later, the words of the west point cadet prayer, which president obama referred to earlier, still guide me. "help me to choose the harder right rather than the easier wrong." subsequently, 33 years of experience at the procter & gamble company taught me about a mission driven corporation, about strong company values, about great management practices, and about goal oriented leadership. i believe i can use those lessons learned to help change

and move forward the v.a. unlike png, v.a. might not be concerned by quarterly loss statements or shareholder value, but the v.a. does have a bottom line, and that bottom line is care for veterans. [applause] v.a. is in them -- the important business of making positive difference in their lives. and i'm here to promise you to -- v.a. will go beyond its present difficulties and be stronger for it. there are two reasons for that. mission and values. first, v.a. has a great mission. it doesn't matter whether you are a gs one or senior executive, everyone wants to have a clear purpose for coming to work every single day. fewer clearer or more inspiring missions than caring for those who are bearing the

battle for our nation. weeks on just a few the job, there is no doubt in my mind that the vast majority of v.a. employees, many of them veterans themselves, come to work every single day with a strong passion and an even stronger sense of purpose. they take great pride in what they do, and importantly, who they do it for. and from what i've seen and from what i've heard, i cannot overstate their enthusiasm for being part of the solution to our current problems. overwhelmingly, their dedication to the veterans is over 100%. second, v.a. has strong institutional values. those mission-critical ideals and attitudes that profoundly influenced our day to day behavior and performance. integrity, commitment, advocacy, , allct, and excellence

taken together to spell the i.c.a.r.e. and that is why i wear this button. on my first day at secretary, i asked all of the employees to recommit to these core values. and i have directed the leaders to do the same for the people who work for them. v.a. specific problems, our values cultivate a climate where no one understands what the right thing is and then does it. said another way, v.a.'s way of doing business must conform to how we expect employees to treat veterans and how we expect employees to treat one another. those expectations extend to how people behave on the job, and how they behave when no one is looking. it's clear that somewhere along the way, some people's behavior was at odds with v.a.'s mission

and core values. seen in the stark difference between receiving say, one of our highest performing locations, like the medical center not far from here in columbia, south carolina, and until recently, phoenix. said, i don't think we can lose sight of the fact that it was in phoenix and elsewhere that met -- that employees had the moral courage to the right thing, to take a stand, to make sure that their voices were heard about what they saw happening that was going wrong. employees are an example icare at its very best. i just mentioned columbia a moment ago. to noteit is important that last year, the joint commission, which credits and certified health care organizations all over the country named the william jennings bryan dorm and medical center there in columbia, and 31

other v.a. hospitals to its top performers list in the annual review of patient care. this recognition goes back to my earlier comment that the vast majority of v.a. employees are 100% committed to veterans and to the highest standards in care. at columbia, and that v.a. facilities across the country, veterans always come first. i don't think we should overlook that fact. at the procter & gamble company, the most important metric for its most -- more than 120,000 employees is customer satisfaction. it's the most important metric for any organization, public or private. for v.a., that means veteran satisfaction. it strategic land says clearly. v.a. of the customer service organization. we serve veterans. despite how well we -- and

thosehow well we serve veterans that ultimately defines the organization. the truth of the matter is, we have to do better, much better. right now, it's up to the department to reaffirm and regain veteran trust. over the past few months, we have been forced to take a hard look at ourselves through the eyes of a veteran, and through their experiences, good, bad, and indifferent. i think one of the lessons i learned is that we have to be truly veteran focused. we need to continuously measure our performance not just when things go wrong, but also when things go right. it is a 24-7, 365-day a year each job and that is what we intend to do. from here on out, we want veterans to know that when they walk through v.a. doors, employees are all in money comes

to meeting our mission, living our values, and keeping veterans first and foremost in all that we do. -- without that, there can be no trust. listening hardre to what veterans, employees, and otherso's, stakeholders are telling us. a somewhat i've heard, we are in the process of rapidly developing and instituting an array of changing -- changes aimed at fixing this problem in the areas of initiatives, leadership, and resources. here's what we are doing to address these challenges. first, process initiatives. we have reached out to over 266,000 veterans to get them off of a waitlist and into the clinic sooner. wejust the last two months, have made almost 912,000 referrals for veterans to receive care in the private sector. of people waiting for

appointment has declined by 57% since may 15 of this year. facilities are adding more clinic hours. we are recruiting to fill vacant divisions -- positions. we are deploying medical units that are mobile. and we are staffing to provide care to veterans more quickly. updating the appointment scheduling system with a short term enhancement until we replace it entirely with the state-of-the-art commercial off-the-shelf system. we are contracting with outside organizations to conduct a comprehensive, independent audit of the bha scheduling practices. scheduling practices. we have directed every center and to rector to assess scheduling practices and identify opticals -- obstacles to timely care. so far, we have conducted over

2300 of these visits. i spoke earlier about the importance of customer satisfaction. right now, we are building a more robust system for measuring veteran satisfaction. it will capture real-time, on aspecific information continuous basis, and it will incorporate social media and online input as well. we will also be reaching out to leading health care systems to see what they are doing to attract patient access experiences. the 14-day access measure has been removed from all individual employee performance plans, to illuminate any motive for inappropriate scheduling practices or behaviors. -- to eliminate any motive for inappropriate scheduling practices or behaviors. tohave direct access facilities who need the most improvement. there is a team on the ground in phoenix where we have taken the action on all of the recommendations made in the ig's may interim report.

our systems up to capacity, we are expanding the use of private sector care. at the same time, we are better monitoring closely to ensure veterans receive the quality care they deserve, whether in v.a. or outside v.a. [applause] second, leadership challenges. fail to takeers ownership of the problems facing their facilities and employees. shortfallso identify in resources and take action to obtain the additional resources they have needed. and they fail to set the standards for honesty and integrity and quash the culture of self protection and retaliation. expect, we've made a number of leadership changes in the field and at the central office. to help address our immediate concerns, we brought in former v.a. undersecretary for health, dr. jonathan perlin, for a short

tour duty as senior advisor. and we brought in v.a. general counsel lee bradley to help sort inough v.a.'s responsibility taking action against those accused of god -- wrongdoing or managerial negligence. 2014, we have taken , and30 personnel actions investigations are ongoing. two members of the senior executive service have resigned or retired. three members of the senior executive service have been placed on administrative leave pending the results of investigations. health careen professionals have been removed from their positions. and for more gs 15 or below have been placed on administrative believe -- administrative leave. [applause]

att said, right now, we are 100 ongoing investigation that v.a. facilities being conducted by the office of special counsel , an independent federalization -- better role agency that investigates whistleblower allegations. and inspections by the inspector general, in some cases jointly investigating with the fbi. cases, we cannot begin our own investigations while third-party investigations are still active. but when those investigations are concluded and the findings are provided to us, you can bet we will take appropriate action -- [applause] unfold, wetcomes will share information to the degree that we can while abiding by the law. issues of privacy covered by the privacy act of 1974 and

appropriate due process. for cases involving senior executives, as president obama said, the veterans access, choice, and accountability act of 2014 that president obama recently signed into law, streamlines the removal of senior executives in the appeals process, intended to allow us to terminate ses leaders's employment more quickly than we might have done previously if misconduct is found. [applause] it doesn't change any timelines or -- any timelines related to front-line employees or low-level supervisors. a noble mission of caring for veterans and their families. and we have strong institutional values and mission critical ideals that must profoundly influence our day-to-day behavior and performance. integrity, commitment, advocacy, respect, and excellence. in performing that mission, and

guided by those values, we will judge the success of our efforts against a single metric, veterans outcomes. our strategic plan already v.a. is a customer service organization. we serve veterans." if we fail at serving veterans, we fail. they are our only reason for being. we are awaiting the outcomes of investigations now ongoing in the osc, the oic, and all other parties. cases, we have already announced personnel actions. in cheyenne, wyoming and fort collins, colorado, those are both examples. others will follow. in addition to leadership accountability issues, we are also addressing cultural issues, and we are creating a more open v.a. we have frozen bha's central centralnd --vha's

office and visitor center. and we have suspended awards for 2014. the a is now posting regular updates showing progress and improvements in access to health and making public additional quality statistics available for every medical center. communication is key. gibson and i have been making the rounds at medical centers and regional offers -- offices to get on the ground truth. over the past several weeks, i've been to facilities in phoenix, las vegas, memphis, reno, and palo alto. later this week, i will be back here in durham, north carolina. i've met withion, very good people who spoke from the janitorial service to the medical staff directors. caring and compassionate employees who want to do right by veterans. i have listened carefully to

veterans at all of these better -- these visits, and to our vso partners like the american legion, and to all our own hard working employees. i want to know when you and other veterans are not being served well. and i also want to know when you are. the information, the insight, and the input i hear from employees and from you and from others will shape and determine the way forward for the v.a. it will constitute the kind of accountability we had v.a. always want to ensure that veterans always deserve. last, let me turn to resource issues. gibson, acting secretary made a compelling case to congress for the additional funds needed to address our immediate needs. the result is found in the veterans access choice and accountability act of 2014. the act allocates $15 million to thev.a. -- $15 billion to

v.a., $5 billion to hire positions and medical staff and improve infrastructure, and $10 billion to improve infrastructure care while we need to man. it also authorizes the v.a. to meet 27 facility leases to treat more patients. and it streamlines the removal of senior executives based on poor performance or misconduct. do now isneeds to institute the operational efficiencies, the cost savings, the productivity improvements, and the serb -- service .nnovations we have to show congress that v.a. can operate with the same level of efficiency, customer service, and financial discipline as the best run companies in america. is right to change the status

quo. for one thing, we need to get back to basics. we need to set the focus on v.a.'s strategic plan. the scripture, so to speak, at the core of all we do. i will be organizing -- torganizing the department efficiently use its resources and operate cohesively to deliver the wondering, delivering the best care and services to veterans. part of that means streamlining and redesigning. in other words, ferreting out the bottlenecks in operations that slowdown service and frustrate the veterans. a lot of that change will come from our people in the field, in our hospitals and clinics. get-performance companies their very best ideas for improvements and innovations from those closest to the customer, and v.a. can, too. we need to do a better job of forecasting. it is essential for us to reliably predict future demand for services, so we can make good decisions about budgets,

about support system, and about people. wasequate forecasting partly responsible for the severe shortages of personnel at some locations. and so recruiting right now is job one. i intend to be out front and hands-on in an effort. later this week and i will launch our recruiting efforts by speaking to doctors, interns, residents, and students, at duke university's rather -- medical school. recruiting for hr. here's how i look at it. i was on an airplane going to phoenix to visit the v.a. facility there. the gemini mean you i was with the v.a.. nudee gentleman behind me that i was with the v.a. he is a 22 year veteran with the air force and is currently a lockheed martin employee. he said, i need to do something about recruiting. his daughter is a lieutenant in the air force and currently going to medical school in washington, d.c. he talked to her about a noble career with the v.a. and she said, dad, haven't you read the

newspapers or seen on television what is going on at the v.a.? why would i want to work there? you i asked for her phone number. i called heard three different times. i'm going to speak at her medical school. the v.a. is a great place to work. i also want to tell you a story about nancy. nancy is a neurologist in medical school. we met on a plane when i was coming back from memphis. is said, wow, my dream job to work at the v.a. and she is in school at george washington university medical school and she wants to be a neurologist. i gave her my card and my address. said, her my coin and contact me. i want you to work for the v.a., too. , it is an technology important enabler for us. we need to make the most of it, particularly by expanding the use of visual technology, which will free up doctors and nurses

to provide more direct care for patients. front, v.a. and dod synergy is critical. chuck hagel and i both agree on this. we need to create an integrated record system, and you should not see a difference or barrier between dod and v.a. want v.a. toon't be known just for standard care. i want v.a. to be known as the standard for health care in the united states. [applause] to help do that, i'm establishing a board of medical professionals comprised of the foremost medical minds in our nation to advise me on the best industry practices. i know i've just laid down a pretty ambitious agenda, however i'm confident that all of this and more can be done.

it can be done with the american legion's help and with the support of all of our veteran , close dialogue and ongoing priorities. i want that" operation. i want to hear from you. v.a.her, we can move forward with the urgency that the current situation demands. and with the balance reforms that will ensure v.a. as the private -- provider of choice .rom maine to manila testifying before congress last month, my good friend and our deputy secretary to muslim gibson, portrayed our situation this way when he said -- sloan gibson, portrayed our situation this way when he said, we can address these challenges as a ofat opportunity in history v.a. development.

i do not deny that we have challenges ahead and they are significant. there's a lot to do, but there is also a lot at stake. in tough times, i've always turned to a favorite saying of mine by winston churchill, "a pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity. an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." you should know, i'm an optimist. i'm a realist. i'm a pragmatist. i have no doubt that with the support of president obama, with the support of congress, with the support of the veterans service organizations like the american legion and other stakeholders, we can do what needs to be done to restore confidence in the veterans affairs department. i want to thank you for all that you've been doing for a long time. you've been a great friend of the v.a.. wantt to thank you and i to encourage you to continue to give us feedback, continue to

tell us what you like and do not like, and to continue to be there for veterans and their families. and i thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak with you this afternoon. i look forward to working closely with you as we go forward together. thank you very much. [applause] >> mr. secretary, i would like to thank you very much for taking time out of your schedule to be with us, and also, thank you very much for the steps you've already taken to make back intoput trust the stakeholders for our veterans. believe me, sir, we are looking forward to our partnership with you, and you will be hearing from us. but i know that. thank you very much. but god bless you. -- >> i know that. and he very much. >>. bless you. -- god bless you.

give the secretary a hand, please. [applause] ♪ but a quick programming note. -- >> quick programming note. the pentagon will be live at 2:00 p.m. eastern. president obama also spoke at the american legion convention, talking about his proposal of executive actions to meet veterans health care needs. you can see the speech online at www.c-span.org. also in attendance were north carolina's two senators, richard burr and kay hagan, kay hagan you see there on the screen with the president. at the political posturing between the president and kay hagan, who's running for reelection. says republicans are doing their best to tie the candidates to the white house. the republican national committee quickly tweeted out a picture of obama and hagans embrace at the airport and said the senator also embraces his

record 96% of the time. that is from the hill today. while congress is on break, we are spotlighting key hearings from the senate. and tonight 8:00 eastern, a senate investigation into irs are getting conservative groups. a portion of what you will see. house budget committee chair aboutyan questions missing e-mails. weekend, special programming on the c-span networks. friday night, native american history. then on saturday, a debate on scottish independence. a with judge robert katzman, chief justice of the cert court of appeals. on c-span two book tv in prime time. friday at eight :00 p.m., in depth with former congressman ron paul. then on saturday at 10:00 p.m.,

afterwards with william burroughs, talking about his book "the asteroid threat." another chance to see that program sunday at 9:00 p.m. eastern. and on american history tv on friday, a massive document -- nasa documentary about the apollo 11 moon landing. the 1964 lyndon baines johnson's acceptance speech from the democratic convention. laws look at the legal surrounding bush versus gore. let us know what you think about the programs you are watching. call us. contact us on twitter, or e-mail .s join the c-span conversation. like us on facebook. follow us on twitter.

>> a look at our weekend programming here on the c-span networks, but coming up tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern, house investigation into irs targeting conservative groups. a quick look at a portion you will see tonight with house budget committee chairman paul ryan questioning the irs commissioner on for missing e-mails. >> this is not being forthcoming. this is being misleading again. this is a pattern of abuse, a pattern of behavior that is not giving us any confidence that this agency is being impartial. you.'t believe this is incredible. >> i have a long career. that's the first time anyone has said he don't believe me. but i don't believe you. but that's fine. we can have a disagreement. center my record. it was not buried in 27 pages.

most of that 27 pages is exhibit. when asked about the custodians -- >> being forthcoming is to say, you know, investigators, congress is investigating us -- >> let him answer the question. >> i didn't ask any question. but yes, you did. [gavel] - >> i realize disrupting a hearing -- >> o, come on. >> the gentleman from wisconsin -- i >> i control the time. here is what is being forthcoming. if we are investigating criminal wrongdoing, targeting of people based on their political beliefs , and the e-mails in question are lost because of a hard drive crash that is apparently unrecoverable, which a lot of i.t. professionals would question, and you don't tell us about it until we ask you about it, that is not being forthcoming. i yield back the balance of my time. >> that is not true.

>> the doma has yielded back his time. >> thank you. >> the gentleman has yielded back his time. >> thank you. >> you will be able to see dad as well as other related events beginning at 8:00 p.m. eastern tonight on c-span. and prime time on c-span2, book tv with authors who have written about property and how to address it. and c-span3 will feature american history tv and a look at the decision to drop the atomic bomb on japan and the consequent as of that decision. that is tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span three. banking withnow on james gorman of morgan stanley. he was one of the spiegel -- speakers at the new york ideas forum. >> you have 60 minutes and 37 seconds, which is a -- i guess is a version of speed dating. i never went on a speed dating. i don't know about you. >> i don't -- i did not. >> we will try to cover the

whole history in this amount of time. everyone knows who james is. we've known each other a long time and everyone knows what a great job he's done it morgan stanley. let's try to get this pretty quickly and get caught up. looking back at history, there is been a lot of chatter about what could have been done different me, and going all the way back really to my to the time of glass-steagall being repealed, to the time when the decision was not to a delayed the over-the-counter derivatives come on the whole the regulatory phase, things like that. if you take that 10 years or so, what should we have done differently? >> first commit rate to be with you again, steve. we have known each other a long time. for those of you that stayed for the banking or shine, we appreciate that. -- the banking portion, we appreciate that.

i will try to adjust this in 45 seconds or so. it is very complicated. the country went through a time of tremendous prosperity, so there was a great wealth effect from that. we came to believe that owning a home with the right -- was all right, rather than -- was a right, rather than something that was earned, and by the way, that right was promoted by successive governments and the banks. the banks were complicit in adopting appalling underwriting standards that allowed folks who could not own homes to own homes , which if the economy ever turn, would lead to disastrous results, which he did. the banks themselves, through , stretchausterity their balance sheets. there were some banks that were leveraged to exceed times.

that means effectively, if they are wrong 1.5% of the time, they have wiped out their capital. not every buddy is that good, particularly when things get really grain. you had -- when things get really grim. people a lot of purchasing real estate that could not afford a down cycle and eventually, you headed down cycle. you had a down cycle. the barrier to protecting against it was ok because the bank had enough liquidity. well, guess what, they didn't. movieen the jimmy stewart "it's a wonderful life," and when people go to get the money out, if not there. that kind of panic is what drove the crisis. a complicated story. >> but that is a liquidity crisis, not a solvency crisis. for those who are not bankers, it's not the money being lent out to the house next-door, as we saw in "it's a wonderful banks simply the

being bankrupt. which was it in this case ecowas at all liquidity? because i think arguably -- was it all liquidity? because i think arguably some of the banks were bankrupt. >> you had the could he that had been written off, which then destroys the capital buffer. when individuals or institutions see the capital at their bank approaching zero, they say, i did this thing is going to turn around or the bank is out of business. if the bank is out of business, my money is inside and i won it back sooner. that starts a run on the bank. the next bank says, -- the next customer says, we could be next. i want my money out. that leads to poor quality, , andution of credit leading to systemic run on the financial system. that was the single greatest challenge to our financial system since we've had the great

depression. >> in a word, should we have repealed glass-steagall? which for those who do not know, it was the >> no. but if you step back from. and look at the broader consequences for the financial system, it was many of the sort of mon line institutions got into trouble. lehman brothers got into trouble, northern rock got into trouble and so on. >> and what about regulating the derivative? should that have been done sooner? >> you can always sec guess it. >> right. that's what i'm asking you to do. >> and i'm avoiding your question. [laughter]