plan would work, because a traditional progressive income tax would be unconstitutional in pennsylvania. so we need a flat tax. i was giving him an example of how this would work. i said, peter, this is an example. this is not what i'm proposing. but what i'm talking about, what i'm talking about is a tax system that is fair. having been secretary of revenue, having been a business owner twice, i understand what a state government has to do to make sure we are setting the table for private sector growth. we cannot overtax or create tax burdens that are unfair to anybody, families, individuals or businesses. if i'm elected, i will do my best to make sure our tax system is fair. a fairer tax system, one that is actually good. >> when you say fair, do you believe most people of pennsylvania pay enough income tax or does that need to be increased in some ways because people are looking at the

budget and situation and think we need to raise more taxes? and they have painted you as the guy who wants to raise income taxes and businesses taxes. but let's talk income taxes and business taxes. do most individuals that pay that number, are they paying enough taxes to make ends meet in your view? >> what i'm talking about is a tax system that gets people to the point where they are paying that i think is propose. some people are paying too much. and the middle class hasn't had a tax break in pennsylvania in over 20 years. our property taxpayers are paying too much. we have the highest corporate net income tax, 9.99%, in the united states. that's too high. i believe there are people who are paying too much. if we are going to create a fair

tax system, some people will have to pay more. we need a tax system that enables everybody to do what they can do, and that is what i am talking about. people in this room, their antennae go up when they say that is going to hit me. theairness is in the eye of bell beholder. i think i should pay more. >> i think you should pay more, say but many people would they would like the check. that is not a problem. when somebody says you need to raise more, if it goes up 1% or 2%, that will not affect you too much. if you are over the $90,000 number, he cleared as rich, they are middle class, and if the taxes go up on them, it will not be hitting them.

>> most tax payers file separately and not jointly. >> but again, state, state, not federal, state. if you look at where we are in pennsylvania. i think there are a lot of people in the middle class and we need to figure out where that break point is and need to have a system of taxation that does not overburden the middle class. >> governor corbett, would you like to respond? >> sure. [laughter] [applause] as the secretary of revenue, i i know mr. wolf knows this, that the budget must have as much money coming in as is going out. can't spend that which you don't have. it has to be a balanced budget. so when i look at the spending, trying to figure it out in the plans that mr. wolf has put out and increasing to 50% education,

the state's share, and we haven't determined what is fair and that is $3.5 billion. returning the billion dollars cut by ed rendell, that is another. we have added it up and we believe that his increases in spending would be about $6.5 billion. the question is, how do you tax? where do you get the money? what is going to be fair? and honestly, i think it's time mr. wolf share his plans rather than stand up here and say we are going to have to figure it out, give us your plans. maybe we should have conversations about the state of delaware and incorporating in delaware and not in pennsylvania. , if you could lay out your plan, because just last week, the auditor general and democrats,er, both

pointed out we poured money already a couple of months into the budget and they basically insinuated that this but it was put together with smoke and mirrors, a lot of one-time gimmicks, and many people are saying that the numbers will add up without a tax increase. give us your plan, do you think it can be done without a tax increase or one of those moments we level with the pennsylvania people and we will need a tax increase? you tell me. >> number one, with me, the people know that they are going to have someone fight to make sure to keep our spending as low as we can and not tax them. somebody who is working to protect their tax dollars. mr. wolf indicated there will be a tax increase. you have to figure out what it's going to be. that's number one. and i know gene is right down there in front of me. it's always timely that it is the silly season.

since the middle of the summer we have been in campaigns. but this isn't the first time this has happened in pennsylvania where we have had to borrow money against future revenues and we under stood it. both parties have done it. i want to grow the economy in pennsylvania. the first place you have to look at is what are the cost drivers. $610 million. that's what we have to spend new every year for pensions. and you can't walk away from the question and the answer of having to deal with the pensions of pennsylvania. why do i say that? the fiscal year 1718, our contribution from the state to pensions will be $3.3 billion. every time we sit down and look at creating a budget, first

thing we have to look at, at least under me because some of my -- in fact, my predecessor did not completely fund the pension system, i have the responsibility to fairly fund the pension system. that is the starting point in my opinion for this whole discussion of spending and budgets and pensions. rebuttal?f, >> i understand we have to make ends meet. when i went back to my business i had to do that, to make sure that our expenses were in line with revenues. the first thing i did was to try to make my revenues grow, and i did. that is the parts we need to look at. we have to look at how we're going to make ends meet in terms of keeping our expenses in line with existing revenues. what we have not done is make

those revenues grow in this state. we have not set the table for robust economic growth and the proof is in the numbers. we have not done that. what the auditor general and the state treasurer revealed last week was not something that happens routinely in the course of any business or state. within 2 1/2 months of the new fiscal year we were already burrowing money, to pay bills and not just investment bills. these are bread and milk bills we are paying with that line of credit. if you look at the chart that was in the treasurer's report, it showed the average cash balances and the 2013 cash balances on a daily basis and 2014 in then projected. all of us in business, one of the things i would do is look at my cash balance. my cfo is here.

he and i do this together. we have done this for 20 years. and if i had a cash balance that look like the state's right now, a business and that's it every year you are getting worse in terms of your revenue your revenues are going down, there is no bank that will give a line of credit. that is the problem we have in pennsylvania. we do not have a business plan that is working. >> the governor called pensions a crisis. do you believe that the legislature has not been able to come to terms on some pension plan? >> i am not sure where this issue is. we have a problem. if we do not do something it will become a crisis. we need to make sure that we knew what the governor said we need to do which is to adequately fund our pension system. we have not done that over the

past 10-plus years. governors past and present have not done that. >> if we keep up with that pattern, we will have a huge crisis, because just like a credit card bill, the balance goes up every year we do not fully pay off our debt. we have not been paying off our debt over the past 10 plus years in that balance is been going up. we have got to stop doing that and it is not just talk about plan design. what we need to do is pay that ill that we did not pay for the past 10 years. if we find a way to do that we are going to have a solution to this problem. what it promises i am not going to kick the can down the road. >> one-minute rebuttal. >> i am surprised.

we are talking about the same thing. we are disagreeing on how to do it. we are talking the same thing. i am looking at budgets growing. i'm looking at the cost of the budget growing, because of health care, medicaid, because of contracts we have in pennsylvania, and just the cost of business continues to grow. we have revenues growing. i have yet to see any country that has grown its economy by taxes. i guess i am inquisitive as to where mr. wolf wants to spend the money, how much he wants to spend, and how is he going to get revenue. i heard him say 9.9% is too high. we agree. everyone in this room agrees. we could be tracking a lot more business coming to pennsylvania if we could lower that like we are about to illuminate the capital stock and franchise tax. like we eliminated the franchise tax. that is a start, but you have to

control your spending first. >> let's pivot to the issue of marcellus shale. critics say your refusal to have an extraction tax has left hundreds of millions of dollars if not more on the table. why do you oppose it when every other state in the nation that has natural gas has it? >> we talked about this a number of times. we tax that industry and we tax it differently than a lot of other states. we have a higher corporate net income tax. we have a personal income tax. when you are talking about the industry you're not talking just the big corporations. you are talking the small businesses.

95% are small businesses that supply the industry and continue to work with that. you're talking about the employees were getting good salaries. we are getting revenue. we have two point $5 billion in revenue since 2008 because of the taxes that we started -- we imposed. you asked me about it before. i recall during my campaign governor rendell saying -- he said if we put a tax on marsalis shale we will get $100 million a year. we put an impact fee because the communities are impacted. that impact fee in the first year brought in over $200 million. in three years it has run over $636 million. that is a little bit to the state. it has gone to every county in pennsylvania, so we do get that revenue. no other state has an impact fee on natural gas. we are the only state that i look at it this way. we are trying to grow relatively new industry here in pennsylvania. we are trying to attract businesses.

high taxes does not attract business. everyone in this room would agree with that. more difficult tax climate does not do that. here is what we are trying to do. come to pennsylvania. i have no intention of exploiting any of our natural resources whether it be timber or coal or wood or natural gas. i want to work with the industries so they employ the people of pennsylvania. mr. wolf, one-minute rebuttal? >> i believe the gas industry could be a game changer for pennsylvania's economy. i actually ran a business and i understand how important tax calculations and tax considerations are for any business owner or business manager who's trying to make a decision on where to locate a business. but a 5% severance tax is not a burden. if we do it right, we can make

the gas industry a partner with the citizens of pennsylvania. doing this economically responsibly, we could make it a economic game changer. that's why i'm talking about a severance tax. but my severance tax is not meant to kill the goose that's laying the golden eggs. i'm saying let's share some of that gold with the people of the pennsylvania and make sure the people and the industry benefit. >> now i want to direct the question to you on marcellus, if i could. so your ad says it would raise $500 million and your most recent ad would raise $1 billion. which is it? is it enough with you tax that one industry to pay for all the things you'd like it to pay for? >> it's not a enough. the reason for the change -- i thought the number was around

$600 million, we had more wells. we had a higher price, and so the estimate that i have seen most recently says that would raise about a billion. i don't know. i don't have a crystal ball. i work better with calculators. the estimate i'm using is that would generate about a billion dollars. some of that would have to go back to the localities. some of that would have to go to funding needed regulations and oversight from the e.p.a. some of that would create a bridge to a sustainable future. a big part of that could go to things like education. it's not enough in and of itself, but it would be a start. >> governor, minimum wage, this is for both of you. you don't need to take the full two minutes. minimum wage is right now $7.25. the proposal is to raise it to $10.10. support it or don't support it?

>> i support the federal program and the federal level. because frankly, i don't want to see people have to work on minimum wage. i want to see them be able to get a job. that's why we're changing the education system from a 20th century model to the 21st century model. that's why we're encouraging more of our children in high school to take a look at technical schools, to get a technical degree or two year degree or become a carpenter or a laborer or a plumber. 245% of the population in the trades today are 55 or older. if you are looking for a job in the future, you know that those are coming and we absolutely need them. secondly, because of the great work that my secretary of labor has done and all the people in labor, we've created a job gateway site where people in pennsylvania can go and look to see where there are jobs. today that site on average shows

about 200,000 open jobs, 200,000 open jobs. i have to be the each teacher year and ask every one of you, raise your hand. how many of you have at least one job that you're looking to fill right now? put your hands up. ok, a whole handful here. now, the people may not be trained, and that's our job in andcation to get them trained for that. in our career links. we've been working with our career links and the work force investment boards all across pennsylvania to bring everybody together and say how can we get that person out of a minimum wage job, working at a burger king or something like that, how can we get them the training that they need to get a good family-sustaining job? andfamily-sustaining job? that should be the goal of government. in a >> mr. wolf, one minute, do you support raising of the minimum wage? you >> yes, i do. but i would like to ask the governor. it's one thing to talk about

and specific things that you're proud of, but overall, how are a things working out for us? the unemployment rate has gone up for the past two months in a row in a time when the national economy isn't doing that badly. what we're doing here isn't working. i'm not talking about partisanship. i'm talking about open your eyes. we all run a business. look at what's going on around us. it's not working. we've got to acknowledge that. minimum wage, i think that's a something we ought to increase. i agree with the $10.10 an hour a from $7.25. now, there is economic theory that says that could not do good a things for jobs, but there's also a good economic theory that says it actually will. and in my own business when i went back to a company flat on its back in the construction industry, i raised hourly rates by a great deal. not only did that not destroy jobs, it actually increased them. >> ok, we are just about to closing comments.

i got to do one or both. >> these have not been? >> a look at your campaign donations other than yourself, the basic intruder has been unions. if people are worried you will be to hold and the unions, can you give one area where you disagree with the union agenda? quickly. >> first of all, my second-largest donor is a private business owner. i have gotten generous contributions from labor. in the primary i did not get the endorsement of the traditional democratic powers that be. i did not get the endorsement of chairs.unty sh what i'm getting out of support from organizations who agreed with me. i am who i am. in my business, i shared up to withf my profit employees.

i do not know anybody who is successful in business who does not understand that i understand that, and my contributions have come to me, i think, because people support that. i am not pandering to anybody in what i do. >> thank you, and a personal question to governor corbett, polls suggest you have had a big lead. what do you make of that? you think there were mistakes made in the first term, and what would a second term look like? >> and 15 seconds? >> take 20. [laughter] >> and the clock is not on, so, first off, everybody makes mistakes, ok? best, communicated the probably not, but i made the tough decisions. i was hired to change that culture of harrisburg, to change from the tax and spend to the save the tax payers their

dollars and be as efficient as you can be. maybe we did not indicate that well, but we went from and 8.1% unemployment rate to a five point eight percent unemployment controld if i can some of the things in washington, that would be one. second term, i cannot answer that. >> let's set the clock at two minutes. closing from tom corbett. >> thank you for the care. i hope you have enjoyed this, too. [applause] time.ost me five seconds' [laughter] you know, this has been such a wonderful experience for my wife sue and i. when she first walked in, and you had already introduced her, she was not here, but she's here now. we really enjoy seeing the people of pennsylvania, all of

the people of pennsylvania. and we are in a much better position than we were and i took office. 2 billion deficits. no more reliance for money from the federal government to balance our budget. new jobs have come into pennsylvania. recently we reported by an magazine, the number one state in the northeast, number 4 in the country, for the severn trent of new or expansion of corporate headquarters. why? we have created the answer for business to come and grow jobs in pennsylvania. we have built the foundation. but what am i really looking at? myid not make any one of decisions, as many do, and i'm not good a politician because i tried to keep my promises and look to the future, not to two, four, or six years, because we

have responsibility to do better, not to give debt to our children, not to give it to our grandchildren. i believe many of you have grandchildren. every day i get up and i look at the picture, and many of you looking at my soon-to-be grandson, and i am yourng at his and all of grandchildren because we need to leave a better state. just today i'm happy today to say that sue and i became grandparents today to identical twin boys, elliott and theodore, and i want them to have a better -- a betterg you pennsylvania. that is why i'm doing this. thank you. [applause] >> mr. wolf, two minutes? >> thank you to the chamber for event. this great

governor, thank you for sharing the stage with me. i appreciate that. i look at this challenge as governor, again, coming out of background i come out. in much the same way i looked at backsiness when i went to it. it was flat on its back. i saw some great virtues, great inner strengths in that company. and i turned it around and work with all my employees, and we turned that into a very successful company over the last four or five years. i didn't not with ideology, not with partisan camp, but practical problem solving. that is what i brought to that business, and that is what we need to bring to this state, because as a citizen i look at not likeand say i do to report that the auditor general industry treasure put out last week. i do not like the cash balances that seem to be interior reading each year. i do not like the fact the fact that we are creating jobs like these to create jobs and tens of

them. i do not like the fact that we robustting the table for economic the moment. i limit the fact that our schools are being hollowed out. that is the real world. we need to look at that. when i look at those things him as a citizen, the state i love, we need a fresh start. in ank we need to go different direction. i think we need a new governor. thank you very much. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, regardless of your politics, you have to appreciate the these two gentlemen have put themselves out there. can we have a big round of applause? [applause] >> a spam campaign 2014 debate coverage continues thursday night. the nebraska second congressional debate. sunday, the iowa u.s. senate debate. thann campaign 2014, more

100 baits for the control of congress. hhs secretary sylvia burwell will provide an update on the health care law this afternoon. we will have live coverage of her starting at one: 30 eastern. also president obama is in new york city for a number of meetings. the president addresses the united nations climate change summit. at 12:50 start eastern. the president will join a discussion at the annual meeting at the clinton global initiative. president obama's remarks will focus on public-arrived at partnerships. before leaving this morning, the president commented on last night's airstrikes against isis in syria. he spoke for about four minutes on the south lawn of the white house before leaving for new york.

[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> good morning, everybody. last night on my orders, america's armed forces began targets against iso-in syria. thanks toica gives the pilots who flew these missions with the professional momentum that we expect from the finest military we have ever known. i outlined the strategy to confront the threat posed by isil. i've made clear that the united states would take action against

targets in iraq and serious so these terrorists cannot find safe haven anywhere. i made clear america would act as a part of a broad coalition, and that is what we have done. we were joined in this action by our friends and partners, saudi arabia, the united arab emirates, jordan, arb ahrain, and qatar. the strength of this coalition makes it clear to the world that this is not america's fight alone. above all, the people and governments in middle east are rejecting isil and setting up for the peace and security that the people in the region and the world deserve. meanwhile, we will move forward with our plans and supported bipartisan charges in congress, to ramp up our efforts and train the syrian opposition who are the best counterweight to is

il. more than 40 nations have offered to help to confront this terrorist threat to take out terrorist targets, to train and equip iraqi and syrian opposition fighters who are going up against isil on the ground, to cut off isil's financing, and to stop the flow of fighters into and out of the region. last night we also took it must be clear to anyone who would plot against america and try to do americans harm that we will not tolerate safe havens for terrorist who is threaten our people. i've spoken to leaders in congress and i'm pleased there's bipartisanship support. america's always stronger when we stand united and that unity sends a powerful message to the world that we will do what's

necessary to defend our country. over the next several days, i will have the opportunity meet with the prime minister of iraq and with friends and allies at the united nations to continue to building support for the coalition that is confronting this serious threat to our peace and security. the overall effort will take time. there will be challenges ahead. but we're going to do what's knows take the fight to this terrorist group. for the security of the country and the region and for the entire world. thanks. god bless our troops. god bless america. >> the president this morning. the u.s. navy released video of airstrikes targets in isis area.

here is more.

>> and the defense department tweeted out this morning. these are before and after pictures that you can see on the left there. this is a picture of the isis finance center that was hit with tomahawk missiles. the damage on the right. at the defense department briefing this morning, u.s. army william mayville bereaved reporters on those strikes. he is the joint staff operations director. this is just under half an hour. >> good morning, everybody. as you all know, last night, and early this morning, u.s. and partner nation forces began undertaking military actions using a mix of fighter, bomber, and tomahawk land attack

missiles. our strikes were against two particular groups. these strikes were taken to degrade and ultimately destroy isil and to protect the united states and its partners. our coalition partners in the fight against isil which included jordan, the united arab emirate, bahrain and saudi arabia with qatar and supporting role continue to be a critical part of our strategy. secretary hagel appreciates their partnership. we do not coordinate with the ssad regime. there was no coordination and no

military to military communication. group, of the cor zahn these strikes were undertaken to disrupt attacking against the united states and western targets. these terrorists have established a safe haven in syria to construct and test devices and recruit westerners to conduct operations. in a minute, i will turn to director of operations bill mayville to provide more detail about the operation. but before i do, it's important to note just a few things. first, and while i will let general mayville get into the details of our assessment, our initial indication is that these strikes were very successful. second, while it's not our policy to discuss future operations, i can tell you that last night's strikes were only the beginning. for this reason, there may be

some tactics and procedures that we won't be able to address to preserve options that will be made available to us in the future. and we will leave it to our partner nations. you've already seen statements by jordan and bahrain acknowledging their involvement. and i also note that secretary hagel is immensely proud of the u.s. personnel who participated in and supported these missions and he appreciates their service and their sacrifices. with that, i will turn it over to general mayville. >> good morning. last night at the direction of the president of the united states, u.s. forces in conjunction with coalition partners in the region executed a series of strikes against isil and other terrorist targets in syria. coalition strikes targeted isil

training camps, headquarters, command and control facilities, logistical nodes, armored vehicles and leadership. u.s. military forces execute unilateral decision strikes against the group and a.q. terrorist affiliations located in northwest syria. the intelligence reports indicated that the group was in the final stages of plan to execute major attacks against western targets and potentially the u.s. homeland. the strikes were organized in hree ways. let me draw your attention to the map. the first slide, please. the fir wave of strike, the u.s.s. philippine sea in the arabian gulf launched more than 20 cruise missiles in northern

syria. as you look at that slide, these target area there. the tomahawk strikes were against compounds and manufacturing workshops and raining camps. the second strike is the bombers and drones. they launched from bases in the region around 9:00 p.m. eastern standard time against targets in northern syria. targets included isil headquarters, training camps, barracks, and combat vehicles. the final wave occurred after midnight eastern standard time. f-18's from the u.s.s. george h.w. bush and regionally based u.s. f-16 among others attack targets in eastern syria to include isil combats and

training vehicles. it's that circle to the far east around dario franchitti. -- dar deny zar. coalition partners participated in the second and third waves supporting with a range of capabilities that began with get air patrols to strikes on targets. the preponderance of coalition support was in the third wave. 96% of all the delivered munitions were precision guide munitions. i would like to show you several before and after pictures that highlight the effects of these munitions. ver to the next slide. this first picture serves the first isil in rocca. it's the before and after

picture. it was engaged with tomahawk cruise missiles fired from the u.s.s. philippine sea. now the intended target was the communications array on the roof of the building. the tomahawk cruise missiles detonated as air bursts with the effects focusing on the communications array. and as you can see on the right-hand side in the picture, the after picture, the rooftop communications is heavily damaged while the surrounding structure remains largely intact. i'm going to go to the next slide, please. the second picture shows an isil hand and control building that s targeted by u.s. air force f-22 targeted in the second wave of strike. this is the first time the f-22 was used in a combat role. the flight of the f-22's delivered g.p.s. guided

munitions, precision munitions targeted only the right side of the building. you can see on the left-hand side the before shot and then you can see as you look at it on the right-hand side the after shot. and you can see that the control -- the command and control center where it was located in the building was destroyed. let's go to the third slide. the third and final picture is of residents near the town along the border between syria and raq. this was used for isil fighters. it was engaged with multiple g.p.s.-guided missiles, fired from f-18 launched from the u.s. george h.w. bush. and as you can see, the aircraft targeted locations within the fence line of the residents.

there's a video here that shows exactly how that was done so give me a moment here to switch the video and i'll let you look at that as well of the same arget. again, you can look at the affect of the strikes were contained in the boundary of the area. the strikes involved multiple aircrafts and includes missiles from several countries. it received careful planning and coordination of u.s. central commands, combined arms combination located in the region that these strikes were successful with minimal collateral damage. last night's strikes are the beginning of a credible and sustainable persisting complain to degrade and ultimately

destroy the isil. our immediate tasks are to continue the degradation of isil in syria and iraq, to build and strengthen regional partners and to build a regional coalition, to assist and placing iraqi forces on the offenses, to support the broader diplomatic efforts to the region and to implement a syrian trained and equipped program and continue to work with iraqi forces and ministries. and with that, we'll take your questions. >> when you talked about the mission continuing use, you did not mention the korzon group. can you expect more about the group. should they assume this is it? and do you have any battle damage assessment against them? do you believe it's possible you killed their leader? do you have any sense of what

ou accomplished? >> we know they have attempted to recruit westerners to serve as operatives. they are not focused to the azaud regime or the syrian eople. >> do you have any assessment of what you did accomplish in those particular strikes last night? >> it would be premature to comment on the effects. we need to do a little more study. >> it took you a year to train the army to 5,000 troops on the ground. are you going to put ground

forces in syria between now and then? and if not, how is this any different from 12 years of war in iraq and afghanistan? why is this any different? >> the short answer to your question is no. we have not put and we will not put ground forces into syria. the syrian train and equipped program is, as you said, we're in the beginnings of implementation. it would be a multi-year program. >> it's not sufficient. >> are you concerned about not putting ground forces in? ? >> we're appropriately sized for the task that we've been given. >> general, were any leadership targets included on last night's hit list? and what results did you get? were any leadership, isis leadership taken out? >> no. we did not target individual leaders.

we did target hand and control nodes. and we looked as we redevelop those targets for patterns of life where leaderships would go. if they were there, that was an indication of a command and control node. we did not specifically target individuals. >> and you talked about credible and sustainable campaign. what does sustainable mean? how long can the american people expect these airstrikes to continue? and what shape will they take? can you look forward for it? >> what you saw today and what you saw last night were a disruption to isil forces that were enabling their strikes into iraq. and the way i would encourage to look at this is look at what we're trying do regionally. we are focused first in iraq because we have a partner in iraq to work with. the iraqi security force asks the iraqi government. but we are striking through the depths of isil's formations trying to disrupt

their support basis. we enabled in iraq the iraq security forces with the help of partners to dislodge and ultimately remove isil from iraq. >> could this take years? >> i would think in terms of years, yes. >> i like to follow-up on the curzon group. you say there's evidence that they represent an imminent throat the u.s. homeland to europe. is it your sense that the threat has been contained within syria or is there evidence that these same operatives are outside of syria to plan for attack? >> i would want to walk away that and not talk about that now. >> you did say it represented imminent threat to united states. and people want to know has that threat been deterred at this point because of strikes? >> let me -- let us give it some time to assess the targets and

before we can answer that. >> you talked about these strikes as hopefully having an effect on iraq. i wonder if you could assess a little bit, obviously, iraq and this campaign has been going on for a while. do you think you have an effect so far with those strikes and what more is going, is hoped from this way? >> the most important thing is to create some space for the iraqi security forces to reorganize and replace leadership that needs to be replayed, to allow them to reorganize their equipment and rearm, to get their ministry connected to this newly formed government and to allow them to get on the offenses. what we have been doing over these last couple of weeks and what last night's campaign was

about was simply buying them some space so that they can get on the offenses. >> you talked about the overall wouldg along the iraqi -- the strikes benefit assad? you're hitting isis, curzon. would that allow him to go on the offenses? this benefits him, does it? >> the task at hand is countering this. so that's job one. as you mentioned last night, we were not only doing strikes in syria, we did several strikes in support of pashing mya forces in iraq. but the center forces was to counter the attack in missile. >> it's benefiting assad, isn't it? i wouldn't characterize the effects as benefiting them. there is an air war against us. >> you say assad were informed

through the u.n. that this is going to happen. we've heard a lot about their air defense system being very robust. were any of your aircraft painted with radar coming in? was there anything leaning those lines? > the target acquisition would characterize as passed. i will not get into specifically but we know they did. it's fair to say it was a passive radar. >> can you talk a little bit about the decision to use the f-35 -- the f-22? >> we were looking at the effects we wanted to see on the target areas and what platforms in the region would be best suited to do that. we had a large menu of targets to strike from. and then we chose from there. so it's less the platform than it is the effects we seek and then it's what platform can deliver those effects. at's really the job of the

military. >> do you have a sense of what percentage of munitions are dropped by air partners in separation of the targets -- >> let me let those partner nations that provided capabilities to us last night to speak to their level of effort. >> general, could you talk to what level of coordination there was with the moderate opposition and whether there's been any movement on the ground, either on the part of the opposition forces to capitalize on these strikes or in the case of the syrian government forces? >> the links to modern opposition is rightly so in the hands of the civilian instruments of our national capabilities. i will deflect that and let our state department colleagues

address that. >> have you seen isis take any actions, post-strike? look, isis is a very well organized and very well resource force that is an adaptive and learning force. it's too early to characterize precisely what isil has done in result of last night's attack. but they are very well funded. they are alone in organization. and they will adapt to what -- address d seek their shortfalls and gaps against our air campaign in the coming weeks. >> what was the -- strike in the financial centers specifically its electronics? was that to disrupt any kind of electronic funds -- >> to look at this basis of

support as well as command control. so we saw -- we characterize the area and the activities that were going on there and gain an understanding of what that target represented to them and decided that disrupting -- striking would have a disruptive effect. >> they have a license to strike without going through the secretary of defense for prior approval of targets or is hagel still be the chain of command in terms of fleeting targets, fixed targets going forward? >> both the secretary of defense and the president are still in the chain of command. there are millions of chains of commands. as far as what targets and future operation, i'd like to not comment on what our next -- other than to say that you're seeing the beginnings of a sustained campaign. and strikes like this in the future can be expected. >> what can we expect -- if they see an opportunity, can they strike without going up the chain of command? they are operational pace will

be dictated by the facts on the ground and what the targets need in terms of the effect we seek which is to drufment it would be difficult for me to -- today to lay out some sort of very lockstep process. it's driven by the opportunity that we see. [inaudible question] >> yeah. >> there's been picture sent -- persistent reports that isil has been disperse its people and mix in with the population and hide. that is going to make airstrikes extremely. how are you going to contain their effectiveness and if the that going to require something like j-tax? are you going to train syrians in is? >> your point about isil adapting to the airstrikes is a good one and we have seen

evidence that they're already oing that. there are other ways to deliver precise munitions than putting a j-tack forward. and obviously, it is something thought we prefer to do when collateral damage or concerns about precision in a closed environment, in an urban environment, when there's a in ergence of forces is play. there's obviously a desire to put something on the ground. but we don't always have to strike with j-tax forward. we've been doing this very successfully thus far in places not only the rural places like you saw and as we move to support the iraqi forces, they went to sudan.

but in the deep hebert which is a relatively built-up area. we have been able to provide air support without putting forces forward. and i think we will continue to look at how we can do that as we move forward. >> time for just two more. >> general, just to ask this question in a different way. what percentage of the total munitions dropped last night were by u.s. forces? >> the preponderance of the force was -- came from u.s. platforms. i quite honestly will have to get into numbers and actually count the types of munitions. it's a little bit misleading because we use different types of munitions. so we might have available to us a very precise munition that can service in effect. we have one rocket and one missile. and others may have to service it a couple of times to get the

effect we see. >> the vast majority of the strikes were carried by the americans? >> that's correct. >> is there any plans or were there any -- in support of the syrian curds who have been fleeing because of isis, similar to what happened -- >> the supports last night in syria were in support of countering missile targets that the u.s. central command has been developing for some time. we haven't ruled out anything other than to continue to focus on what it's going to take to counter isil through the depths of the both iraq and syria. right now, the way our partnership or coalition air campaign is working is we've got the ability to find and to fix and finish, if you will, let me use some military major gone

there, with the asset that we have. those assets include partners in the region. >> you've been very patient to get the last one. >> the syrian servetory and other rights groups already said the citizens have been killed and they're claiming they were american strikes. do we have any confirmation that civilians have been killed? is that a way to get that tallied and how do you differentiate is it the united states that caused that or other nations? >> we are unaware of any civilian casualties but obviously, limiting civilian casualties is a top priority for the united states. and if any reports of civilian casualties emerge, we will fully investigate them. >> thanks, everybody. ppreciate your time.

>> nebraska's debate between litery and brad ashford. and sunday, the u.s. senate debate between bruce brayly and jonie ertz. c-span twain 2014. last week, our campaign coverage covered greg devitt and wendy davis. .he cook political report here is a part of that debate now. >> senator davis, do you regret voting for barack obama? >> mr. abbott, what i am working on right now is running for governor of this incredible state.

and bringing policies forward that will benefit this state. i am working to make sure that every hard-working texan, no matter where they start, has an opportunity to go as far as they dream. not haveago, i could imagined that i would have the privilege. strugglinga single mother of sitting on the stage and having the opportunity to ask texas to be its next governor. texas is at a turning point. it is important in this election. will we created 21st century economy that works for all hard-working texans or just some? i believe we need a governor who will fight for all hard-working texans every single day because their future depends on it. and i believe we need a governor who is going to make sure that her children receive a world-class education because our furniture -- our future depends on it.

your turn to ask a question. abbott, voted recently against you and for the children of texas, our schools are underfunded. the only thing coming between our children and appropriate funding of their schools today is you. on behalf of the 5 million children of this state, will you agree tonight that you will drop your appeal and allow our schools to be appropriately funded? >> there is another thing between me and selling that lawsuit and that is the law that you voted on and helped pass in 2011 that removes from the attorney general the ability to settle lawsuits just like this. it is important to understand that what i want to do is focus

on creating as governor a better education system in this state. put oure that we partisan differences aside when it comes to building a better future for the next generation. what i am focused on is not a school system that was constructed in part in the last century. building focused on is a better education system for the next generation. >> a portion of that debate held you can see the entire event any time online if you go to our website, check the c-span video library at www.c-span.org. sylvia burwell will provide an update on the health care law this afternoon. we will have coverage of her appearance at the brookings institution brookings institution at 1:30 eastern. lastly, new jersey governor and potential presidential candidate chris christie visited new hampshire to speak with citizens in nashua and salem. this is about half hour.

[applause] everybody. good to meet you. appreciate it. >> welcome to new hampshire. >> i am glad to be back. >> we are working on it. >> the to see you again. >> thank you, sir. your to see you.

that's good to see you. how are you? good to see you again. >> hey, dan. [indiscernible conversations]

lacks thank you for representing. >> my friend is going to get a picture of you. they won't be leave. >> good to see you.

>> it is good to be back. >> welcome. >> how are you? >> how are you?

>> thank you, sir. it is a pleasure. >> so great to see you.

>> you gave a great presentation. you made me a believer. >> good. we are going to do it again. thank you, sir. how are you? >> how you feel about [indiscernible] >> you should be concerned. like my shirt? thanks for coming out. >> good to see you.

>> you have to go. >> they are going to give us spatulas or something. >> mike. >> we are certainly glad to have governor christie back in our great state of miniature helping republicans -- state of new hampshire helping republicans

for the message of economic prosperity and job creation for our state. economic and job prosperity of our state, a critical aspect of the election. governor, good to see you. > i'm thrilled to be here. this is exactly where i thought this race would be come the middle of september. we're going to work as hard as we can. ll be up here and also the r.d.a. will be playing a large role in trying to get walt's message out there. i'm thrilled to be back here, but in the end, this is his campaign. he has done a great job through the primary. prime ary. he we are reaching out to

independents and democrats. i'm happy to be here and we'll take a few questions. >> governor, this is your third visit, you were here in june, july and now you're back again. do you feel like since you spend so much time here that in some way you're on the line here and your future political aspirations are on the line? >> no. what i do is come here to help. no one is going to see my name in the ballot in new hampshire in 2014. everyone is going to be voting on him and good for them that they're going to be voting for him. he's the guy that's dedicated so much of his life here and what i dost come here to help. that's all i do. it's always about the candidate. everybody that comes to help is a little bit of help but in the end, it's about him and that's why i think he's going to be a winner because he's a winer. >> how much do you think he will spend on the race?

>> i can't tell you. this is a guy who is worth envesting in. e see it as investing. i told all of you this was going to be a competitive race. i could sense it and now all of the objective indicators are there for it because we have a really good candidate. that's why i supported him in the primary and that's why i'm supporting him now. >> [indiscernible] >> we saw what the democrats did to the economy in new jersey. that's what i've been cleaning up for the last five years, the mess they created a decade before i got there. i'm not looking to take advice from democrats who screwed up my state and now are trying to blame me for it: no, i don't this i so. >> governor do you think looking past november -- >> i don't look past november.

you got to rephrase your question. i got 48 days. those are the questions that i'll answer. i don't look behind beyond it. >> let me try a different route. what's your view on isis? >> i have not been brubbing up on foreign policy. the fact is what i spent my most of my time is first and foremost running my state, and secondly helping folks who are friends of ours like walt and others who are not in office. i'm not in nush to talk about isis. i'm i'm up here to talk about why walt would make a good governor. >> [indiscernible] dern >> no. i've invested money in pennsylvania. we are going to work hard to protect tom and to advocate for

his reelection as governor of pennsylvania. i put my money where my mouth is in pennsylvania. we've now spent over $6 million and we are going to continue to fight hard in pennsylvania. >> are you going to come back? >> you bet. i'll be in coordination with walt and his campaign. whatever walt thinks is best in terms of me being help helpful, that's what i intend to do. when walt asks me to come up, i'll come up. >> what is it about -- [indiscernible] >> i saw a candidate. the atmosphere plays somewhat of a role, and that's helpful to republicans, the national atmosphere. the fact is when i spoke to him and i was firsted introduced to him, when i first spoke to walt i could tell this is a guy who

is extraordinary bright, very hard working and had a vision and a plan for the future of new hampshire. those are the elements you really need to be a credible candidate rblings especially in a place like new hampshire. so that's what i saw. i also saw the governor's record and it hasn't been a great one. when you combine an incumbent who is underperforming significantly with a guy who has the smarts, the honest and integrity and a vision for a better future of new hampshire, i say it's going to be a good race. they vote for the person, not for the party. that's why walt would be a great candidate. >> governor, anything about new hampshire -- >> people are really smart up here. they understand public -- politics. you asked a real le good question. i love being chalervingenchinged. when i get challenged. i love coming up here and

campaigning in front of people who really understand politics nd believe it's an important i'm glad to be back here for walt as many times as he asks me to come back. we are going to win. this is a good man, a good candidate. he should be a great governor. i'm looking forward to working with him. >> thank you. [applause]

indiscernible conversations]

>> governor, can i have a picture? >> sure. >> thanks so much. > thank you.

>> it was a great game when you're the father of a girl who's going to notre dame and it was actually my birthday. it was a lot of fun to be there with my daughter on my birthday. h, my gosh, hang on.

>> i'm a new jersey native. had to say hello. >> i know you're here for new hampshire but are you running for president? >> i won't make a decision until next year. >> ok thank you. >> thanks.

> thanks for your hard work.

>> we have an opportunity right now but it can't be done alone. working out here, each and every one of you, you give me lee or four hours a day for the next 48 days and i guarantee you we're going to win. so thank you, god bless and let's go get 'em. [applause] indiscernible conversations]

>> first of all i want to thank all of you for taking the time. obviously this san important election. . very critical part we have a long and strong relationship. i look forward to getting his spority to help make a difference. -- his support to help make a

difference. i'm just going to continue to take my messages to people and businesses. we have 48 days. >> so you must be encouraged? >> things are moving in the right direction. we are going to continue that. that's why you're seeing the constant burr ath of negativity we're -- berauge -- talking about isis, we're talking about energy, we're talking about obamacare. she's voting with the president 99% of the time. >> last question -- [indiscernible] sure the people of new -- i can'tant to see

find anybody i agree with 99% of the time. i don't agree with myself 99% of the time. this is just about partisanship. we need someone who is going to go down there and consider these issues on the merits and keeping in eople of new hampshire ind.

[indiscernible conversations]

>> we are alive this afternoon from the brookings institution here in washington as we await hhs secretary sylvia burwell. this is live coverage on c-span.

>> health and human burwell is expected to give an update on the nation's health care law. this is live at the brookings institution in washington. any minute now. president obama is on the road today. c-span 2 covered his appearance it for the u.n. climate change summit a moments -- a couple of moments ago. if you missed that, you can see it on our website, www.c-span.org. his remarks are expected to focus on private-public art as

ships worldwide. -- partnerships worldwide. that starts on c-span 2 half an hour from now. >> good afternoon. i am delighted to welcome you to the brookings's decision -- brookings institution.

i am even more delighted to welcome sylvia burwell, burwell, tolvia this event at brookings. i have known sylvia a long time. over 20 years. sylviafirst encountered in the clinton administration, i thought of her as that friendly, competent young woman who worked for bob rubin at the national economic council. i learned that sylvia was the go to person and a can-do person. that was a useful person to have around. i also learned that she liked to keep in touch with real people out around america, not just in washington. and that she grew up in west virginia. one day, i found myself in a hard hat, deep underground in west virginia in a coal mine

with sylvia, barbara ven and rich trumka. i was not the only one who noticed that sylvia was competent and levelheaded hearing the president notice to that, president clinton. by the end of the administration, she was the director of -- she's had a distinguished career. president obama had the good sense to bring her back to washington to be director of omb. i was delighted. affection forg the office of management and budget and i always feel better when i know the agency is in a strong, confident hand. a deep respect for

the difficulties of that job because it is the toughest job i ever did. but apparently, it was not tough enough for sylvia. talked her president into an even tougher one. the department of health and human services is a vital agency of government that literally affects every single american at sometime in their lives, often many times area at any time in history, running hhs effectively is a huge strategic and managerial challenge. but this may be the most challenging time of all. it includes implementing the affordable care act. is a far-reaching, much-needed piece of legislation that has -- that is already providing millions of people with affordable health insurance and will impact the way americans interact with their health care system for decades to come. it is complex. we don't things simply in the united states.

it gives states a lot of flex ability. it will play out differently in different parts of the country. it will change as we gain experience with what works and what needs to sing. -- needs fixing. people in the academic world and at ring tanks like this one often imagine that the hard job in government is making policy. no, it is not. after the political battles are fought, and the compromises are made, after the bills are passed and signed, the really hard job is to implement the policy on the ground. and that is city of -- that is sylvia burwell's job right now, to make the affordable care act work and she is here to give us a progress report. sylvia. [applause]

>> thank you very much, alice. it is an honor to be introduced by someone that i have known and followed for so long. i am sure most of you all know that alice was the original director of the congressional budget office as well as the first woman to head the office of management and budget. to follow in alice's footsteps, she was someone who has climbed many mountains, both literally and figuratively, for those who know her, and for whatever reason, in trying to aspire to do that, when i left the clinton administration, i decided to climb mount kilimanjaro. aookings is a place that has special place in the burwell household. we like to read to her children. our children are sex and four. it is a morning ritual over breakfast. sometimes we read the magic treehouse and sometimes we read

brookings institution reports. [applause] when my six-year-old daughter found out that i was coming today, i don't seem all dervish, but i do have a message firm -- from my six-year-old. on the whole aggregate gdp eating a less good measure of economic progress, she does not agree. while i am not going to get in the middle of my daughter and a brookings scholar and academic leader, i do just want to skip to the fact that i have great respect for brookings as an institution and the work they do. examining all issues, they take both the long and the short term view. they think about and analyze trends over time, conduct smart, systemic, empirical research. and focus on three words in the motto. quality, independence, and impact.

as a former omb director, those words are music to my ears. i want to take this opportunity to apply that analytical framework to the issue of health care. as we think about the question of how is the affordable care act working. then i would like to share with you a little bit about how i am thinking of the steps as we go forward here i. i have come to believe strongly in the importance of measurable impact. when it comes to the affordable care act, i think there are three basic measures. access, affordability, and quality. our more people getting covered? access and affordability. are middle-class families shielded from suffocating melba -- medical those? affordability -- medical bills? affordability. when you consider the law

through affordability, access and quality, the affordable care act is working. and families, businesses and taxpayers are better off as a result. four years after president obama signed a law, middle-class families have more security and many who already had insurance have better coverage. if -- fewer americans are insured and come at the same time, we are spending our health care dollars more wisely and we are starting to receive higher-quality care. as we walk through the evidence, it might be helpful to add a little historical context. as a country, we have been wrestling with these questions of how to cover the insured for as long as the brookings institution has been here. as a matter fact, even longer. in 1912, teddy roosevelt's progressive party platform called for universal health care along with priorities like women's suffrage and a national

highway system. in the 19 20's, women got the right to vote during in the 1950's, president eisenhower delivered this nation a highway system. franklinago, president delano roosevelt succeeded increasing social security but was unable to make roberts on the issue of a national healthcare system. 625 is ago, president truman asked congress for a fair deal, a deal that included things like equal rights for all, an increase in the minimum wage, and universal health air. congress passed the minimum wage. 50 years, president johnson signed medicare and medicaid into law. but a few years later, another president told the congress, "copperheads of health insurance is an idea whose time has come in america. there has long been a need to access tory american

health care." that president was richard nixon. heftyuntry has paid a price for inaction on health care even though president ford come up harder, bush, and clinton made this issue a priority. cost spiraled out of control and health care became unaffordable for millions of families and businesses alike. taxpayers felt the effect as well. priced outo weren't of the health-care market, many were locked out because of pre-existing conditions. and many who were fortunate enough to have insurance did not receive a very high quality of care. by the time president obama took the oath of office, our system had broken down to such a degree that we were spending far more as an economy on health care in both gross and per capita terms that all the other developed countries.

in 2009, we were spending $2 trillion a year on health care. it was almost 50% more per person than the next most costly nation. these rising costs took their toll on family budgets. study led byrvard a certain professor with a very bright future, elizabeth warren, found that 62% of personal bankruptcies were due to medical problems. what were we getting for the higher health care costs that we shouldered? fund10, the commonwealth benchmark our health care system against six advanced industrialized nations. in that the quality, access, efficiency, equity and healthy lives. we were dead last. while we were not scoring well in these benchmarks, we are doing a lot better on some measures of quality.

by the time the affordable care act was passed, tens of millions of americans were injured. -- were insured. everyone felt the impact. too many americans relied on the emergency room for the most basic medical care. uninsured children statistically were more likely to have fewer immunizations and go without prescriptions. uninsured adults were more likely to have chronic health conditions, many of which went undiagnosed. the system was not working either for millions of americans who had insurance. went bankruptwho due to medical bills actually had health insurance. just because you happen to have an insurance card, your carrot was not necessarily affordable. if you got charged several thousand dollars for an ambulance ride that was not covered. notng an insurance card did

guarantee that you had access to the services you needed. having an insurance card did not mean your doctors were effectively coordinating so that you wouldn't end up taking tests twice or getting procedures that you may not even need. thanks to the affordable care act, things are changing for the better. let's consider for a moment the evidence on the uninsured where we are making historic progress. the affordable care act addresses affordable, quality, and access. coversat barriers to like pre-existing conditions as well as annual and lifetime caps . it allows young adults to stay on their parents' policy until they were age 26. it created the health insurance marketplace. insurance companies now can provide affordable coverage to consumers through that marketplace. during the last open enrollment, consumers chose from an average of nearly he plans.

i have some news for you when it comes to choice and competition. today, we are able to announce aat in 2015, there has been 25% increase in the total number of issuers selling insurance in the marketplace. there is already real evidence these plans are affordable. just last week, the commonwealth fund released a study showing that 70% of americans with marketplace insurance plans feel they can now afford their care. and a majority say their premiums are affordable. it is no surprise therefore that, when folks evaluate the success of the law, the marketplace receives much of that attention. reportsmarch, news suggested it would take something close to a miracle to reach 6 million people. last week, we announced the that 7.3 million people signed up for marketplace plans, paid their premiums, and have access to

affordable care. borrow aon people, to phrase from the vice president, is a big deal. but i am here to tell you i don't think that is the number we should focus on very yesterday, we released another number, a significant number, and that is that 8 million people enrolled in medicaid or chips since the enrollment date, an increase of nearly 14% in terms of the monthly increases before that time. that is a significant number. but again, i don't think that is the most important number we should focus on. the number that is even more important is that, in just one year, we reduce the number of uninsured, adults that are uninsured, by 26%. 2013,nslate that, since 10.3 million adults are no longer uninsured.

i firmly believe this is the key measure. we should look at it because it represents historic progress on something that has eluded our country for over a century. there isn't a business in america that wouldn't be ecstatic with that kind of growth. ultimately, every number tells a story. i want to share with you the story of robert mailer junior, a floridian who was uninsured. roberts coverage, he signed up for the marketplace and it took in effect on january 1. on january 2, robert went to see a growth he had on his tonsils and i'm afraid the diagnosis was bad. it was late stage cancer. after prayer, perseverance, ration and chemotherapy, robert is now cancer free. without health insurance, those treatments that saved his life would be $200,000. under the affordable care act

for robert, what we saw is he paid a $2000 deductible, $1500 in co-pays, and what was roberts monthly premium? $118. i want to read some words to you from robert directly. "i was not in favor of obamacare," he said. tost year, i was not going pay for health insurance and i was quick to take the penalty. i am one of the luckiest people in the world. i'm going to live and work and be productive. so i would submit that roberts story is not a story of the left or the right. it is the story of affordability, access and quality. who it comes to americans already had insurance, i will be straightforward with you. those of us who support the affordable care act haven't done a good job at making the case that this was something that helped those people.

if you think about a mom or a dad sitting at the kitchen table working out a family budget, it is a big deal that they are saving money, still getting better coverage, and have financial security. many middle-class americans have more money in their budgets because their insurance company is now required to spend at least 80% of their premium on their health care. families have saved an average of $80 that they can live on their electric bill or back in their grocery budget. meanwhile, millions of seniors are saving billions of dollars on their prescriptions as we phased out the donut hole. more than a .2 million seniors have saved -- 8.2 million seniors have saved $5 billion. middle-class families are benefiting from the real security that comes from knowing your health care coverage will be there when you need it. to worryno longer have about losing their homes or

having their hard-earned savings or anaway by an accident unexpected diagnosis. there is security in knowing that, if you lose your job, you can purchase market place coverage, even if you have a pre-existing condition and you won't lose your insurance just because you get sick or get caught off or if you need chemotherapy or some life-saving operation. a healthier and more financially secure middle-class is good for business who benefit from a healthy workforce and consumers with more disposable income. the bipartisan policy center reported last week that businesses lose $576 billion each year because of an unhealthy population. as the new law makes our population healthier, we should be able to ring this number down. some of the biggest and most positive impacts that businesses and taxpayers feel from the law are in the area costs.

since president obama signed the affordable care act, there is evidence that we have been to the cost are when it comes to health care. we have held down health care price inflation to the lowest level in 50 years. premiums for employer-based coverage have been driven down as well. earlier this month, kaiser reported that this year's cost growth is the lowest on record. that, hadprojected premiums ground at the rate we saw over the previous decade, instead of the slower rate of the past four years, employer coverage would be $1800 more today. thisu are an employer, means it is easier for you to hire workers. if you are an employee, it means you can be keeping more that in your paycheck tomorrow. if you are a taxpayer, it means a healthier economy. improvements to our health delivery system are also having an impact on costs to taxpayers as we spend dollars more wisely. $160 billionyers

in spending medical dollars more wisely. in a further example, the accountable care organization models we are testing through medicare are saving $370 million and counting. at the same time, they are delivering care that is more coordinated to beneficiaries and rewarding providers that do that. taken together, i believe the evidence points to a clear conclusion. the affordable care act is working. my job as secretary is to lead our efforts, to keep it working and to help it work better. like anyone in business, we want to learn from the things we got right and the things we got wrong. we are taking that approach and we have a four-part strategy moving forward. first, improving access and

affordability through the marketplace. in order to make sure that americans continue to get access and affordable choices, we have to get healthcare.gov right. to me, the formula for this is technology, management and prioritization. off thehecking outstanding items from last year's to do list, cleaning up the backend personality and adding functionality for inewing and enrolling coverage. we are prioritizing the most important issues and the areas to improve consistent with our deadlines. givingfocusing on ourselves the appropriate amount of time for testing and we are very focused on security. anyone who can ever manage a wrought -- a large scale arctic knows that these are challenging and require tough choices. we are prepared to make those choices so that we can deliver the best consumer experience. second, improving quality for

patients and spending every dollar wisely. we are testing new models in medicare and medicaid and reaching out to the business community to find solutions that we can all benefit from. changing incentives from volume-based to more impact-based systems come investing in tools that can expand our capacity for change in the health care delivery system, improving the flow of information so doctors can spend more time with patients and less time doing paperwork, so they can coordinate more effectively with the -- with one another. third, expanding access by expanding medicaid. one of the first meetings i did with -- was a bipartisan meeting with governors and i said to all the governors we want to work with you. we want to work with you to be flexible, to expand access to medicaid. in the time that i have been there, we have added pennsylvania, a state with a republican governor, and we are hopeful that we can work

together to do more in that space. consumerslping understand how to use their new coverage, including the role of prevention and wellness. many of the folks who are newly covered have not held health insurance in years and some never before. we want to make sure that folks know how to use their coverage and we are partnering with organizations across the country to help them do so. i would like to close with one final thought. as we work through these issues, i think we need a bit of a course correction when it comes to how we talk about these issues. it starts with collectively turning the volume down. surely, we can all agree that the back and forth hasn't really helped those that we are trying to serve in terms of delivering for the hard-working families that we all try to serve. i prefer a brookings-type approach, quality, independence, and impact. a small business owner from texas wrote a blog for the hhs

blog. what you talked about is what it was like to be uninsured. she talked about what it was like to be insured but not have a member of your family be covered because your son had a pre-existing condition. she wrote about, for her family, the affordable care act is working. i want to read to you a few of her words. "recently, i was able to enroll my family, my entire family. not only is my son finally covered, our premium is only half of what we were paying before. i was shocked to learn my prescriptions, which used to cost $280 a month, now cost five dollars. my dog -- my family now has the financial security and jim and his peace of mind that comes with coverage. i don't have to work for someone else just for the health benefits anymore. i launched my small business and can focus on expanding it." families across the country are

counting on us. they are our boss and they are looking for this to work. let's work forward together. iq. -- thank you. [applause] i am happy to take some questions. yes. >> thank you. i am from the american cancer society. people touched by cancer know have available insurance is. the challenge for all of us has been making sure that people who have not been touched by the disease or may be at risk for it , how the law can help them. as well as those who have coverage through work, how the level stirs that. what will hhs and cms be doing to educate those people about the importance of the law. >> in .4, when i talked about the coverage and the covers, i

think the point you raise is one not just for the newly insured but across all. i think many people don't realize the extension of benefits for prevention and wellness. i think that is probably what you are referring to specifically. one of the things we will do as we do our education for the uninsured is do that more broadly. the other thing is, in our conversations with the employers , that is a place where we are having a lot of conversations. i think many employers are what we want to do is our own messaging, but we know in this case things will move more through our partners, the stakeholders on the ground,, people who are delivering to move that message out, and it is an important one.