expertise to contact tracing to outbreak control to logistics are things that the cdc along others are and doing. there has been some encouraging trends. in some parts of each of the three countries and i believe those encouraging trends are fundamentally proof of principle that we can still stop ebola. some have heard at times sense of, the problem is over already. i am very concerned by that perspective because it is nowhere near over. it will be a very long hard fight. every single one of those cases , and they areng more than a thousand cases a in west africa,

every one of those cases needs that kind of response that i described. going to be incredibly difficult. a reminder that cases are still growing. despite some progress, there was more cases in west africa in october than there were in september and though the numbers decreased in liberia, we believe, there are so many cases that we are not able to do the kind of outbreak control as needed and so many communities that have not yet had cases that need intensive control measures. in october, west africa had more all of the than in recorded ebola outbreaks over the last 40 years. we have a long way to go but we do have proof of principle and we do have tremendous commitment from societies. my team was describing how many communities themselves were

taking action among they identified buildings or schools to isolate and care for people with ebola. they tracked the contacts so they would be rapidly isolated and would not further spread disease. this is outdated because it is from yesterday. one additional case has been confirmed and this is an example of the kind of rapid assessment we are doing for the cluster. one individual, a 70-year-old became illand imam and died. it was understood that he had ebola. likelihood come he did. in all likelihood, he might have gotten it by performing some of those funeral rights that were mentioned. he was the grand imam of a large town that is literally on the border between ginny and molly.

summit he said, you mean like, kansas city. it is a town that straddles two countries. when he became ill, he had other conditions. had large funeral service. in those health care facilities, he was cared for in his family, by individuals who have in confirmed to have ebola. the team has identified more than 450 contacts and they have taken contact tracing to track those individuals ideally every day so the moment anyone get sick they get isolated. we expect people to get sick because there is flu, there is malaria, there is typhoid, there are other conditions. an indicator is that people would be brought into the unit and tested. test,ou have a negative

you have to repeat it 72 hours after symptom onset because early on there is so little virus that individuals are not infectious but they also cannot be diagnosed in some cases. map of whatjust a happened. you can see on the border through ramallah, it will travel bamoko. ago -- do every person that leaves the screen, there temperatures taken. over the past few months, we have identified within 80 people and have notfever had fever. in many cases, they did not even the airport. is retaken by the airline several times and keeping federal people off of airplanes. at that second and third ring.

this is a slide. there is roughly speaking some green. them, it is challenging. there is a whole lot of for emergency response capacity, even more yellow where we are not there yet and that is why the emergency funding is so critically important. there can be another exposure like the exposure and molly and we will be dealing with another potential outbreak. every one of these countries has the risk of being like lagos and control enough spark or like the next liberia or sierra leone. that kind of widespread transmission doesn't just harm people from ebola, it really cripples the health care system. the health care system is

basically closed. we don't come in for treatment of malaria. women that need emergency care don't come forward. people that are bleeding are not cared for. the effect on society are generally more devastating. schools are closed. economies are suffering severely, crops are either not being planted or harvested to the extent that they could be otherwise. there is also progress. this is a woman i met in liberia. she lives on the firestone rubber plantation. cluster ofad a ebola, they would did government can set helpless, the government said, we cannot, we are too busy. we will do it

ourselves. they were able to stop the spread of ebola for their population of 55,000 people. this is one of the survivors. so, in the u.s., there are a series of things that we are doing to strengthen our preparedness against ebola. ofming and monitoring travelers when they leave affected countries and when they arrive in the u.s.. .heir temperature is taking a they are provided a care package. that care package has a thermometer, a fever log, health information, a number to call if they get sick. over the last couple of weeks, at least four people have gotten

sick. they have taken their temperature, they have called that number. the state health department has arranged for safe transfer order of the individual from where they are to a hospital ready and waiting for them. they were cared for safely in that system. yesterday, we notified people that starting today, we will be doing that same kind of active monitoring for everyone who arrives in mali. not because we believe there is widespread transmission but because there are so many contacts there and we are not yet confident that they are all being identified and monitored daily. if one comes here, we don't want to take the risk that they may become ill and the health care system would not be aware of it. we don't know that we have the perfect response but like everything in public health, everything for clinical medicine, everything in science, we use data to continuously

improve practices. that is the approach we will take. with the health care system to strengthen control. they have visited three dozen hospitals all over the country and a dozen states to assess the ready. they provided the tests for ebola. usually only the cbc is can you test in the u.s.. now they're only 30 that can. this will very closely. in the emergency budget request,

, this is divided into the one hand, immediate and on the other hand, contingency. request is divided into three parts, domestic, ebola, and a broader global health security component. for the aspects of that request, it is $1.83 billion. ebola specific work in west africa and global health security work. this is absolutely critical. we have $30 million stopgap funding and expires on december 11. that money is all committed. it allows us to keep going at the level at which we are going but not to scale up and ramp up.

say, we with confidence can prevent the next outbreak. global health security is something we have been working on for some time and our home framework has clear parallels with the ebola work. there is tremendous synergy between preparing for ebola and preparing for other health threats. i think it would be a responsible of us some scarce dollars. this is prevention to the case of ebola.

now, before closing, there is closing about just ebola. ebola has been pretty all-consuming for all of us. we take the sample itself, this view them, or we can look into that sample.

we don't know what is going to come out of this. we can think rapid diagnostics of infection, of drug thestance, perhaps identify strengths ready more. this might change the way we understand certain it's -- current infections. there might be multiple infections. this might not be someone making someone the sickest. that is all interesting theoretically. it means that we can save lives, money, time. thean cut time out of detection and make outbreak smaller. that is a promise but we need to continue to invest in it. this is where we had dozens of another disease,

there was an outbreak, it turns out there was multiple different. once sequencing machine can create enough data to overload 100 computers. data isnt of mind-boggling. the fivethat over years, this initiative will transform the way we do genetic epidemiology for some of our conditions and we are able to identify things sooner, finding, diagnostics that can make a diagnosis in a shorter time,

helping states implementing sustainable systems and developing more predictive modeling measures. new technologies don't take the place of careful analytic work. they may point in a direction where we can be more fruitful but we don't take the place of that really thoughtful complicated work. in the u.s., and globally, we are seeing an annex herbal rise. there were more than 2 million drug resistance in the u.s. this we're even conservative estimate.

this was an infectious disease. i treated patients for whom there are no modern medicine. it is a horrible and helpless feeling for physicians, patients, and for families. it reflects the fact that for some patients and some organisms, we are not in the pre-antibiotic era, we are in a post-antibiotic era. unless we take urgent action, a greater proportion of infections will be difficult if not impossible to treat with modern medicine and it is not just about treatment of infections. routine infections like pneumonia, urinary tract infections might become very difficult to treat. we are tracking one particular cannism and that organism

be resistant to all antibiotics and currently this mostly in hospitals. it spreads out to the committee, then routine urinary tract infections have become extremely difficult. treatment of infections has become an integral part of monaco medical care whether it is cancer, chemotherapy, the treatment of arthritis, joint surgery,nt, complex dialysis. all of these things depend on the ability to rescue patients when their immune system is low. 600,000 americans will get cancer chemotherapy this year. about 60,000 of them will be infected, will be hospitalized with a serious infection that is a complication of their chemotherapy. one of 14 may died. the more resistant organisms we get, the higher the proportion,

the greater the risk of cancer treatment. that is just one example. we have identified seven particular threats. there are others. we think that we can actually substantially reduce the burden of these risks. will see this is quite familiar. detection, response, innovation for new diagnostics and new treatments. we have a proposal. will see this is quite familiar. to accelerate the detection and response to drug resistant infections and to improve prevention and an antibiotic prescribing. we think between a third and a half of use is either unnecessary in the first place or are inappropriately broad spectrum. we have a long way to go. address the gaps that can reverse drug resistance.

in fact, we think we can make significant progress, we think we can cut this by 50% through the five years and that is not just a guess, that is what the best performing systems have done. that is what other countries have done. we know how to do it. we estimate that if we have this sector multi intervention, over five years we can prevent 600,000 multi drug resistant infections and over 37,000 deaths. news are two lines, if we keep going with we have always gone, if we implement aggressively and intensively. it requires commitment, leadership, tracking. we now recommend that every antimicrobialn stewardship program. we think it has tremendous

benefits for the facilities. it saves money and it saves lives. the national healthcare safety network now includes virtually every hospital in the country, plus titles as facilities and outpatient facilities. have had a very productive collaboration with the center for medicare and medicaid services to use this information to feedback to hospitals and encourage rapid progress. resistance is a time bomb and we have got to stop it before it gets too late before the routine infections that we could all get tomorrow are not easily treatable. the pipeline is not full of new drugs. unless we use the antibiotic agents today, we could lose those as quickly as we have lost these. i think with that, i will stop

and i look forward to taking any questions you have. >> i'm the head of aspen global health and development. we are honored you are with us. we have a packed house both here and outside, we have got to take the time to have a little bit of engaging with the audience. we have microphones. wait until the mike comes to you. >> i work in senator casey's office.

i remember, this is the last briefing, you discussed ppe's and mass production as well as just hospital preparedness and staffing. describe how ready do you think these individual hospitals are all over america? >> i think you have to divide hospitals into several different groups. [laughter] there is a highly specialized group that might be able to care for someone with ebola. they send an assessment team to see if they are ready and to help them get as ready as possible. there would be a suspected case, we send a team with control, environmental, waste issues to deal with the situation at the team actually went to bellevue before dr. spencer was diagnosed when he

first was admitted and was ill. there's a specialized google hospitals that might be ready to deal with serious infectious disease such as ebola. are hospitals that need to be ready to assess patients if they come in and may have an infectious disease such as ebola full dump we do expect that travelers from parts of the world that have had ebola outbreaks get sick, they will get flu, they did not take their malaria -- every hospital needs to be ready and thinking about what do i do have someone comes in and there might be concerned for ebola. that is why the cdc issued guidelines for emergency departments on what to do if someone comes in and that is why there is such appropriate interest in ensuring that we have training, drills, information for health care workers on the front lines. >> let me recognize secretary

sebelius, thank you for joining us. i wonder if you want to make any comment at this point? we are really grateful you're here. >> i am an emergency physician in maryland. way we dochanged the business. i work in several hospitals and one thing that struck me is the variety of approaches that each hospital has taken on how to prepare the employees for ebola. i have gone through protective equipment training and equipment i use, how i applied, how i how i cleanse afterwords is entirely different dependent on the facility. it is surprising to me that there is not more consistency. the second thing, i've been

surprised by how available the cdc has been, there is a 20 far hotline and not intricately we call it with the patient with a fever in the middle of the night and how available they are. two hours is a response and people from the cdc will come in and screen his patients. it is very impressive. we cannot be everywhere. we can provide a information, consultation. there is not sufficient for every hospital.

that is what every hospital should ensure. health care workers should practice, and practice, and practice so they are comfortable putting on and taking off the protective equipment. the second is the putting on and taking off, particularly taking off of protective equipment these to be particle eyes to, routinized in a very standard way so that a trained observer is watching, guiding, and providing a checklist as each step is undertaken so that it is done with consistency, not because ebola is so terribly infectious because the stakes are so high. important to have an ebola patient.

all of those were critical control points. everything done to minimize the risk of infection. >> thank you very much. i'm a professor of medical ethics and public health law. a very prominent ethicist published an article questioning whether individual hospital should performs cpr on ebola patients. when ebola patients come in, that they are halves automatically be categorized as do not resuscitate patients. i'm wondering if you have any

comments? obviously, everyone in the hospital are struggling with this idea. >> you have to go back to first principles. we can want to get the risk of ebola to zero in the u.s.. the only way we are going to do that is by controlling it at the source in africa. we will not have to face that kind of very difficult dilemma. if we don't control it at the source and it spreads. we might have a real challenge. patients who may have ebola are admitted, we can rapidly treat them appropriately. we have patients severely ill with ebola. as you know, to them have died, one today, despite maximal

treatment. we have had patients who survive with very intensive support. including kidney replacement therapy, including mechanical ventilation, including very substantial support. we want to provide that best possible care in the safest possible way. >> two questions. as you know, medical countermeasure development and production is in high gear. what role do you see any successful candidates that are fielded in the current outbreak or do you see any outbreak finally been solved through the traditional health measures you described? i'm a veterinarian and i'm interested in your opinion on an

issue that those of us that her policy-minded that are discussing now which is the relative lack of attention being potential -- nature of ebola not to mention other infectious diseases. >> in terms of technological innovation, i think we have the potential for innovation that is important in the current outbreak. they can't promise that, we can't count on them, we have to assume they won't be there and maximize our current tools. the one that may be closest within reach although you can't predict the future are rapid diagnostics. there are at least a half-dozen companies fairly far along. the navy has a product that is encouraging. we might be able to do a test in the field at the point of care and have results within a half

hour to an hour. we have a good test for ebola but it is a real-time pcr. it requires a laboratory that is highly specialized. we have been very creative with mobile labs. that is a far cry from being able to hike for hours to a diamond mind and take out -- dia mond mine and take out something from your pocket they could determine if it is ebola. i am guardedly optimistic that in a few months we may have something that works well enough to be used in the field. it may not be as sensitive as a real-time pcr, but even if it had a slightly lower or moderately low sensitivity it would be very useful. it would be helpful for the management of outbreaks. diagnostic tests for symptomatic infection at the point of care i

think can be brought to bear in the current outbreak. second is a vaccine. we have two vaccine candidates, both of them work well in animal models. we are now assessing implementation of two different clinical trials of vaccine. mostas the lead on one, likely to be used in liberia, which will be a randomized clinical trial. the cdc has the lead on the most likely used in sierra leone, and adaptive trial. -- an adaptive trial. the step which can get the answer quicker. a randomized controlled trial may be more difficult to do. i think these are two very complementary in pledges -- complement your he approaches and i hope we will be able to find effectiveness and one by the middle of next year.

we are also looking at therapeutic's and what are some things that can be done to improve outcomes. i think it is important to think of them in the setting where most of the patients are treated. getting those settings upgraded and provided with federal care as rapidly as possible. let me take a moment to ask a question -- i see one in the back. curious to piggyback on that conversation. if and when we do get a viable vaccine, what actions and thoughts is the government putting in to actually getting that manufacturing out at a large scale so it can have an impact? barda, bringing

new technological advantages to the field, is working very actively on this issue, as is the defense department. it wered a vaccine, if effective, we would consider using it in at least two different contexts. one would be providing for health care workers so they would have a reduced risk of infection. vaccinatingould be and clusters, to stop the spread in individual areas. our staff has been working for many months in liberia. ways, the response reminds them of other outbreak response is where you are seeing many bushfires. each one of them and cool it down and control it and save lives and prevent others. but we don't know that. early on in vaccine work, the

-- we that are promising just don't know what role vaccine will have and that is why the trials are so critically important. we are trying to get them off the ground as fast as humanly possible and we have been very encouraged by the reception we are giving in sierra leone and liberia. they are committed to moving fast and forward just as quickly as possible. >> let me take a moment to ask you about health workforce. -- perhaps many are shocked by the lack of capacity in countries like liberia and sierra leone. is aware ofbelius the practice around health worker migration. frankly, they are very under resourced. tony blair was working in sierra leone for almost seven years

very intensively with the ministry of health, yet the capacity is not there. the level and density -- do you think this crisis has woken up the world to the need to move more resources toward that, and what is the cdc doing in that regard? >> i hope it wakes the world of. i hope we get commitment from congress over the coming months to support the kind of efforts that we want to do it the cdc. we have a parameter model. canhe most basic level, we get any health worker to recognize and report illnesses, infections, ebola, or other and it will get more accurate information in a more timely way. at the middle level we can train over a several month. thele who were working at district or county level so they can understand those reports that are coming in and take action based on the. -- on the highest level.

h of theeight -- eac three countries in west africa, particularly sierra leone and liberia, not only started out with fewer health care professionals per capita and it very underdeveloped but it hasth system, also suffered through the deaths of hundreds of doctors and nurses from ebola. and are greatly challenged they are responding, understanding that we are not going to have as many doctors and nurses as we wish. we are going to continue to create them and train them and support them but we are going to need to use a wide range of health workers and upgrade their skills so they can respond at the community level. >> would you mind standing? >> i am prompting you to talk

about another of your favorite topics. you might talk a little bit about as a follow-up what you the knowledge that everybody has about in country capacity and how helpful it might be to have some sort of global measurement so that as something happens from afar, at the world bank or to be late w.h.o., we can say this country is equipped and this one clearly is an. >> global health security -- there are a clear set of capacities. country have syndromic surveillance? four things like viral hemorrhagic fever? does it have one trained epidemiologist for every 200,000 people?

do they have an emergency operation center that can operate within two hours? these are noble things but they are not currently known systematically. we have now worked with a coalition of more than 30 countries on the global health security agenda to agree on a set of action packages in each of the area in prevention, detection, response. are putting into place assistance that can objectively monitor them independently. that is the world health organization or nongovernmental organization is not yet determined, but i think the world deserves to know if countries have systems in place. the world health organization butestablished the system, it has not yet done this in the international health regulation area, which is so intimately related to global health security work. whether the areas -- one of the is, are we really

tracking where ebola came from? this is one component of the global health security work, reducing the risk of spillover events from the animal kingdom to humans, and understanding. they have had-- for many years funding from congress to understand this better. we do some work in this area with our laboratory work. we send people in to a cave in uganda. i have been there. in has an enormous python and it. we know 10% of them are infected with the marburg virus. it is like ebola but it didn't have a movie. we had -- our staff went into this cave to sample the bats and try to understand the ecology of

marburg virus in uganda. i said to them, weren't you scared? you have got this huge python, 10,000 bats, a lot of them have marburg. they said, but that scare us because we had our suits on. the python didn't scare us. what did scare us were the cobras. [laughter] there were cobras at the bottom of the cave. so we wore leather chaps up to our waste so if we had a cobra strike we wouldn't be killed. some of this work is a little challenging, but it is very important. we need to understand the cycle of how diseased spreads and we need to have some practical ways of addressing it. i spoke with the first lady of about this.tail she is from the forest region in guinea, which has been the epicenter of the outbreak.

emerged,disease first either from contact with bats -- or fromor ebola , from animals living in the forest and people who hunt and kill bushmeat may get infected. not so much in the consumption of bushmeat but as the hunting and cleaning. we still don't know what the source was here. we stopped this whole outbreak it could happen again in the next week if we don't find out how it happened this time. that is very important work. it is one of the critical components of the global health security work and it is why it is so important, that congress funds all three.

not only the domestic preparedness, not only be stopping ebola and west africa, but the global health security work more broadly. >> we will take one more question. rachel? i was struck when you said that there are a lot of cdc workers who were being away from other projects to fight ebola. i was wondering whether on some level you saw this as a net loss, for these other infectious diseases that are happening, because attention is being taken because thereer is increased infrastructure because of this. >> it is both, actually. 20, 30lly have about people working on ebola that today we have 850. the other 800 were doing other things before and that is another reason the supplemental request is so important, so that

we can make sure we can do both -- that which we have to do, whether it is blue of m -- flue or mrsa or other infectious disease. the longer this goes on, the more challenging it is to keep all parts of the cdc protecting the public the way we are committed to doing. the longer itme, goes on, the more we are able to build the capacities and west africa and u.s. and other countries that will be useful, not only for ebola, but for the next ebola or the next sars or the next mrsa or hiv. --leave you with one thought think of what a different place the world would be today if decades ago we had had basic surveillance systems in pl ace, if we had recognized hiv when it first emerged and stopped it. even without a vaccine or

treatment, contained it, and we wouldn't have had 3 million deaths -- 30 million deaths. we have so much that we can benefit from this. the system that could have found and stopped this outbreak in west africa cost a tiny fraction of what the response is going to cost. unfortunatea very -- it would be very unfortunate if we didn't at this moment vote to stop ebola and prevent this country from having vulnerability. also putting in place the laboratory, the disease, the response, that will find, stop, and prevent the next. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. we are so grateful for all you are doing.

your message was very helpful. give a shout out to the wonderful health medicine and society team. two more inaving the spring and we will let you know as soon as they are announced. thank you very much for joining us today and thank you, dr. frieden for joining us. >> on capitol hill tomorrow, a couple congressional hearings looking at the ebola outbreak. the head ofng, doctors without borders and the president of aftercare testify about the need for more trained health care workers to treat ebola patient. the houseve from foreign affairs subcommittee hearing at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span3 stop in the afternoon, takes questions about the u.s. and international response to the ebola virus. atwill have live coverage

1:00 p.m. eastern on c-span3. up next on c-span, epa administrator jim mccarthy takes questions about the environmental policy. .hen, unimportant -- the 2015 student cam video competition is underway, open to all middle and high school students to create a 5-7 minute documentary, showing how a policy, law, or action by one of the branches of federal government has affected you or your community. there are 200 cash prizes, totaling $100,000. for a list of rules and how to get started, go to c-span.org. mccarthy talksa

to reporters about the obama administration plus environmental policy. thewas asked if she thinks incoming congress will try to limit the epa. administrator mccarthy spoke at a forum hosted by the christian science monitor. here we go. imd cook from the monitor. our guest this morning is gina mccarthy. her last visit with our group was in september, 2013. we thank you for being her -- thank her for being here. she graduated from the university of massachusetts with a degree in social anthropology. primitive cultures was a great training for government work. to graduate with environmental health planning. she began her career in 1980.

she went on to positions of increasing influence of the environmental -- environmental field, first in massachusetts where she got appointed by two governments who shared little else in common. she moved to slightly south in 2004 to become head of connecticut's epa. president obama nominated her to be the assistant administrator in 2009, where she earned the nickname the green quarterback. the administrator and her husband have three grown children. she is reported to relax in the evenings by reading government with "barefoot contestant" playing in the background. -- contessa" playing in the background.

thanks to marty durbin and frank mir viola. as always, we are on the record. no live blogging were tweeting. no filing of any kind while the breakfast is underway. there is no embargo when the session ends. to help you resist them selfie urge we will e-mail several pictures of the session to our reporters here as soon as it ends. as regular attendees know, if you would like to ask a question, send me a subtle, nonthreatening signal. you inhappily call on the time we have available. i will start off by offering our guest to make some opening comments and we will move to questions around the table. thanks again for doing this, we appreciate it. >> thanks very much.

coming and giving me the opportunity to talk for a few minutes and i am happy to take questions. thate just begin by saying i assume that most of what is on your mind is going to be related to climate, in particular may be the china-u.s. joint a $3ncement as well as million commitment -- 3 billion-dollar commitment to the climate fund. we can talk about other things as we move forward but the most important message i have is that the joint announcement between china and the u.s. was a historic announcement. it was a significant step forward, and i believe a lot of it is attributable to president obama possibly leadership on climate change, domestically and internationally. i think this step forward that the president took to put out a

climate action plan really showed that the u.s. could be aggressive on climate change, but also make sure that it was being done reasonably and in concert with a growing economic climate. big,nk it sent a international signal, which was what it was intended. i think it was clear that the clean power plant it put out was as a significant confirmation of the president's as well as our ability under existing law to move forward under the clean air act to regulate climate change in a significant way. in particular, with carbon pollution from the power sector. i think with growing confidence not only has the president shown leadership that he could deliver on those commitments, i think our work in resiliency and to

understand the economic impacts of these efforts really showed up, that there was significant work with our communities to ensure that they are safe. in light of the climate impact we have seen, but also in the efforts underway like clean power plants and the methane strategy, that it would be to entirely -- entirely consistent with a growing economy, additional job growth, continued investment and take -- investment in technology that would be consistent with a low carbon future, and also that it would spark innovation and send clear signals about where that investment could be made and where there would be significant opportunities, in particular for u.s. companies to take advantage of the change, that would result

from realizing climate changes -- the joint agreement with china, i think is a clear indication that the president was very serious when he said it was about taking domestic action and about starting an international solution. these are the two largest economies. they are the two largest sources of carbon pollution. their ability to work together, which basically was a significant step forward, outlining with the president was doing with that climate action plan, as well as how china interprets its responsibility, was a big step forward. believe know that we the president's climate actions are going to be significant, but also achievable. i would indicate that the commitment of china is also a

big step forward. been involvedhave in these climate discussions for any length of time as i have on will i thinkyou appreciate the fact that china has never put an absolute reduction on the table. commitment they have made, which is a 2030 commitment, really does require immediate action to make sure that commitment can be delivered. we do consider both of these commitments to be solid steps or word. -- forward. it was a good signal for the international community, because with us and china and the eu it represents half of the budget in the whole world. it sends a big signal and i think you will see other countries wanting to take similar actions, which hopefully will lead to a sound and aggressive international

commitment. with that, i think i should stop, other than to say that one of the great things about the isna-u.s. joint commitment the fact that it also represents and acknowledgment -- and acknowledgment on the part of china that looking at carbon pollution and putting that in concert with what we are doing to develop our economies could help us spark investment internationally. the kind of technology that will drive toward the numbers we need to achieve. i can answer some questions on the $3 billion fund. i should introduce it by saying this was expected. this was a commitment that the u.s. was forming and shaping since copenhagen in 2009. we join a number of other

countries that have already made commitments and we expect this commitment will spark significant additional efforts. we also think that this is going to be an opportunity for us to invest in a significant way in the kind of innovation and investment strategies we need to address climate change, and to get to the levels that are necessary. it also will provide us opportunities to work and some strategic areas that are in our national interests, and also deal with the resiliency challenges that we need to address, given that the climate is -- has already changed. >> thank you. i will do one or two and then we few to start.

bullish on thely china arrangement. there are critics who don't share your enthusiasm on one of the more -- the senate majority leader said it requires the chinese to "do nothing for 16 years." ran a piece saying that it is clear the announcement is not meant to create any new obligation, and left them plenty of room to step back if their pledges becoming convenient. what are your critics missing? is this as evanescent as they make it sound? is. don't believe it i think it is as significant as i make it sound. i don't know if anybody has looked at the numbers and has looked at the way in which china has been relying on coal as a part of their growth strategy. that theyrly a signal

needed to make significant economic changes in the structure of how they look at their economy, and it will require significant investment in zero carbon technology. the --oing to result in in immediate shift in how they look at continuing to grow the economy. whicht this commitment, is that no later than 2030, their commitment to look at earlier dates is significant. if you look at just how much renewables they need to actually construct as a result of this, we are talking about on the order of the entire generation capacity. change thatg requires a lot of action now to turn this lagging economy around, and that can't be done

on a dime but it needs to be done right away. >> >> last one for me. the good folks the courier, jim carroll, had an interview with the majority leader or incoming majority leader. and the sense was that there's a war on coal he feels and now he's going to run a war on obama. and one avenue would be the spending process. he said he will fight the white house any way we can. how vulnerable -- and actually your predecessor christine todd whitman told politico with jim inhofe as chair of the environment committee, i think what they're going to do is starve the agency. question is, how vulnerable do you feel the e.p.a. is to starve the agency strategy by senator mcconnell and others? >> well, i feel very confident that the american people understand the value of e.p.a.

i am confident that for 40-plus years we have been able to do our job and continue to grow the economy. i feel confident we have had four republican administrators at e.p.a. that have testify brd that very committee and this just this past year and we're very strong about their cry for immediate action on climate change. so this is not been -- e.p.a. has not been a partisan agency. it's been an agency that's done its job to protect public health in the environment in the smartest way we can. i do not believe that the american public wants to see us not do that. >> have you had conversations with senator mcconnell in recent days on this or anything else? >> not in recent days but certainly we have met before. i certainly respect his position. but i think the american public

will speak. >> the administrator analyst looking at the u.s. commitment with u.s. and china, looking at the 26%, they say that the power will not get us there. there will need to be there.ions met do you think that's the case and other things need to happen? that ink you may recall we regulate the compounds from natural gas wells. the question is how do we continue to get reductions. do that you capture methane as well. we put out white papers and president his climate action plan called on methane reduction strategy to be developed. we're working on that with the rest of the administration. it's not just about what e.p.a. can do but where we see emissions of methane that are readily reduced and can be done

cost effectively and with certainty. so we are looking clearly at both regulation and voluntary actions and commitments of the business community as opportunities for reductions. with a e coming out plan. where that ends in terms of which tool is going to be relied on more heavily is still being analyzed but we fool like we can make significant cost effective reductions. and we're going to go after those. >> i will ask you a nonclimate question administrator. >> yep. >> two decades ago exactly e.p.a. tried to promulgate a ban on aft bestous. one in the court and one on technical ground. since then they tried legislative ban with congress he way it's going to be.

>> we certainly have an ability through a is issue number of actions as what's shown before. we know we can help provide standards for removal of asbestos where it exists and do it in a healthy way and protective way. we know we're addressing this with old disposal sites. i think the challenge you raise is more whether or not we have the systemic tools we need to et at this issue and others. for my perspective, this is not the strongest batch it we have available to us. we have shown that time and time again. we are being as creative as we can in terms of looking at what our opportunities are to address toxic substances and pesticides and other issues, but a closer look would be welcome.

there was an active interest in doing that and i hope there continues to be. >> arian? >> you started the agency with -- >> i had you have certain lauren it from c.q. trying to be better by giving you affiliation. go ahead. with offers not necessarily climate related. are you prepared to negotiate with republicans on these issues? do you think that you and the president are going to stand your ground or do you see room for compromise on any of this? >> i feel very confident that e president has the best interest in the e.p.a. and mine. he's made very clear what his

priorities are. so i feel like we're on very solid ground and recognizing there may be challenges ahead but the president will do the right thing. he's made the interest clear. and while there's a lot of discussion and things in the press and statements made, the president's been very clear he's supporting this agency. i feel very well supported in everything that i am doing. he knows we're working hard to make sure what we do is right to protect public health and the environment and that we do it in an appropriate way and way to continue to grow the economy. the most important thing i want people to know is people we regulate and stakeholders are paying very close attention to what e.p.a. is doing. and they're sitting at the table

with their sleeves rolled up. there's no one banking on us getting stopped. they are acknowledging and understanding that if epa does its job well, they should be at the table working with us to make sure that their interests are heard him and that is clearly happening. so even with lots of rhetoric, the work continues, and it continues with the stakeholders at the table. >> you've got a tough job. you talk about global warming and climate change. there've been some reports in the last year from the likes of henry paulson and his successor in the treasury. calculating the economic impact of global climate change and global warming, saying that if there was a 3% increase in temperatures, rather than the 2% increase, which is legitimate,

the cost globally would be a 1% reduction in global economic output. i wonder if you think that's a reasonable estimate, and why should people who terribly nervous about a 1% economic output dropped globally? >> actually, i do have a difficult job, but i would rather be doing nothing else, to be very honest with you. this is where i want to be, and i think it's because this is a work across the administration. one of the reasons why i wanted to say that is that we have had a lot of opportunity to have the economic representatives of this administration speak to climate

change and the need for action. what they tried to do is talk about the discussions, the facts and figures you are raising, but also talk about the cost of climate inaction. when you compare the two, you will see that actions have to be taken, and if you take a look at the actions we are taking, you will see that they are moving in the direction in which the energy world is moving in this country, in which is toward a lower carbon future. you will see that we are doing it in a way that will actually spur economic investment, spur economic growth, and grow jobs. now, epa and myself are best left to how we evaluate that honor rule by rule basis, but the president will clearly listen to his economic advisers on how dangerous it is to think that if we do nothing on climate, we will have picked the most economic strategy moving forward.

it's clearly not the way to go. >> this is sort of a seasonal, topical question based on an industry in my state. we produce a lot of turkeys that are going to be on tables in the next 10 days. as you know, they've been involved in the renewable fuel standards fight. they for trade themselves as losers because their largest input is corn. do you recognize there are losers in the base system, and how to industries like that go forward in dealing with what you are doing, if that is the case? >> epa's job is not to pick winners and losers. is to look at what the economic mpacts are of our rules, but also to implement the law that was handed to us and to implement our regulations in a

fair and consistent way. if you look at the renewable fuel standard, i know everybody is anxiously awaiting epa's final rule on 2014, but we move forward with that rule in the same way we do every other rule. we looked at what the law said, we looked at what the regulations require, and even-handedly try to provide the best impact analysis we can so everybody understands where that rule is heading. if you look at the renewable fuel output this year, it has been pretty robust. i can say that without having to project much, because they are in mid-november. while i would have preferred to have this rule done earlier, it hasn't slowed down that industry, that i can see. we will continue to have a commitment to moving renewable fuels out and getting that rule done, because renewable fuels are part of a low carbon strategy and we want to continue to promote those. >> zack coleman from "the washington examiner."

i just wanted to talk a little bit about the u.s. climate deal. you said this bottom-up approach how you arrived at this number. and it hasn't bnt same thing -- today technically but last minute for us here. technically feasible and politically feasible are two different things. you already have the clean power plan out there as a draft. is there any sense that you might have to go for even more aggressive targets in that proposal to achieve what you're looking to do in the 2020-2025 time frame when you already have just two years left with this administration? >> that's a good question. i wish more often technical and political analysis aligned. thankfully, i think in the clean power plan, it does. let me just clarify one thing, and that is that we are implementing the individual rules under the climate action plan i'm including the clean power plan, in a way that is

consistent with the underlying rules. the way we would always do it, to try to achieve what is aggressive, that is intended under the statute, and to meet our mission, but also to do it in a way that is as smart as we could, meaning in the case of the clean power plan, it's going to be legally sound. it's going to look to achieve cost-effective reductions. it's going to look at how we define it mission reduction, how we estimate what those reductions will bring. so we are doing it in a consistent way in each and every rule, not in a way where were going to let what are in goal is on climate intervened in a way that is inappropriate. we are not shooting for outside targets. we are shooting for the targets that we are supposed to, under implementation of the current rules. >> when the water rule was put out in the spring, it was presented as kind of a noncontroversial tinkering with the guidelines in the

standard. it engendered a pretty big backlash among most of the defenders of the ad economy. my question -- a couple of questions. first of all, were you surprised at this backlash from most sectors of the ag economy? the house has already presented a bill to effectively -- what will the administration's response be? will you recommend to the president that he veto those bills as they were the statement of administration policy when the house passed it? would you still recommend them?

>> let me start by saying that i wasn't surprised by the backlash. i was surprised by the focus of it. let me explain. the clarification of the jurisdiction under the clean water act, which is what this rule represents, has been tried a few times before. let me explain. the clarification of the jurisdiction under the clean water act, which this represents, has been tried a few times before. one of the criticisms i was not prepared for was the criticism that we did no outreach before we put the rule out. we actually did a guidance document that went through extensive public comment, that included the very same science that underpins our proposed

rule, that approaches it in exactly the same way, with very, very, very similar conclusions. the main comment there was, put this out in a rule. it deserves broader comment. i was surprised we were criticized for not actually taking public comment in a way that was open and engaging, because that is what this proposed rule was responding to, and i think we want to continue to be responsive to that public comment. the other thing to keep in mind is that we also actually tried to explain this rule in the best way we could. we did not try to minimize its impact. we tried to explain it. i think because we did what we call the interpretive rule, which was to expand on the expansions already in the current role, and expand the kind of actions where the agricultural community would not have to worry about jurisdictional issues -- that became a confusing issue out of the gate, as if we were limiting the exemptions of the agriculture. it became a communications challenge.

the we are very confident that the comments we are receiving are consistent with the way in which we need to head, jurisdictional he -- jurisdictionally, and we will be able to get this over the finish line. we will continue to combat misconceptions of this rule and misconceptions about any idea that is beyond the historical jurisdiction of the clean water act. it is in no way doing that. >> we will go next to "the l.a. times." >> i wanted to ask you -- we have been talking a lot about how the gop might react, come january. right after the election, industry lobbyists -- cutting through the rhetoric was this idea there might be room for compromise on the power plan, what they keep referring to as a sort of tailoring of some provisions of it. with the clean power plan, given the feedback you have been getting on the building blocks or the pace of reductions at the front-end, do you see some wiggle room there? they were talking about maybe

not going so fast in the beginning. now we have the climate pledge we have made in china. it actually requires us to go quite fast at the beginning. i guess it is two parts. is there room for tailoring some of the aspects of the clean power plan? what should we be doing it in light of the commitment the president has made? >> clearly, i think one of the reasons where we got off to a pretty good start on the clean power plan was the flexibility t offered. and the engagement we have done that solicited these types of comments, i also think that we have shown this industry, the utilities and the states, that epa does listen to comments. we actually do change from proposal to final on the basis of what we here in comments. the notice of availability that highlighted many of the issues

you have identified is another clear signal we are listening. and we are not going to craft a final rule that is trying to achieve a certain level or a certain timing that is dictated by the climate goal that was recently released by the president. it will be dictated by what we have seen in the data, but the comments have said, what is the most reasonable and achievable but aggressive goal we can move towards here, and what does the data and the comments show us? we are not going to measure ourselves by those goals. those goals were set by a variety of actions, not just this one, and every rule has to stand on its own and be done the way it is supposed to be one. i think outside stakeholders

know that we will be true to our obligation under the clean air act, limit our authority to that, and will listen really closely and make changes. >> jake gibson -- i'm sorry. >> i look forward to getting this over the finish line. >> i apologize. > jake gibson. thank you very much, first of all. so the release of new regulations with significant economic impact not long after midterm elections could strike some as suspect timing, as it would coming from any other administration. you think the american people, when they headed to the polls earlier this month, might have had the right to know what the obama administration was intending to enact with the new epa regs? insofar as the president said his policies were on the ballot earlier this month, to what extent do you think the result should be interpreted as a rejection of the administration approach to the environment? >> first of all, i have -- i have no reason to believe that the timing of these

announcements are anything other than the timing we were able to achieve. these discussions have been ongoing, and i welcome the availability to explain to the merican public what the u.s. can do under our existing authority, moving forward. i do not know of any new regulations that epa that have been announced since the elections. i do not know of any new regulations that epa that have been announced since the elections. >> there are a couple, like ozone and some others. >> those have been on the books. everybody has known about those, and i think most of you have written about those for a long time. i have not heard of any new announcements in that regard, unless i missed something. >> do the elections in any way speak to how the public feels about the administration's environmental policy? >> i will let you speak on that.

>> "dallas morning news," back in the cheap seats. the vote tomorrow in the keystone pipeline -- i want to get a sense of the steps. that decision is not in your ballpark, but you could speak to maybe what you see the stakes environmentally, one way or the other. what dave asked you in the beginning -- i understand you are relying on the american people to support the goals that you have laid out. that specifically, with regard to the budget tool that congress has -- what capacity does the epa have to survive that kind of scrutiny? it is not going to be a bill that obama can veto. what kind of dialogue or strategy is there? >> let me hit the keystone issue first. i thank you for acknowledging that it is not in my wheelhouse. hat is a good thing. you know, i cannot yet speak with entire certainty about the

nvironmental impact, because part of the reason why we have not provided comment on a final draft is because we don't yet know where the exact layout of the pipeline is, because of the challenge in nebraska, which is what we are holding off before providing comment on that, and eeing where the final document is. on the budget, let me just, again, go back. you know, i feel very confident that the american people want the epa to continue to protect them and their family, and importantly their kids. i think that is a reason why the focus on climate change. that is a reason we are focused on other pollution

standards. i also know that the american people are listening, even on climate, you know? when you survey folks, they are worried about climate change and they want us to do something. many of the recent polls show they actually like the work that epa is doing on this. and in particular, the clean power plan. i will hopefully let democracy work and recognize that the president is going to be working these issues, and that he has great faith in the work we are doing and will be supportive of us. >> dave shepperton, "the detroit news." >> after a four-year low, americans are shifting back to suv's. the fuel efficiency of the fleet has dropped dramatically in the last few months in terms of new vehicles sold. are you concerned this will impact meeting the 2025 standards? >> know, if you take a look at what has happened over the past year, which is how we look at these things, rather than month-to-month, i am not sure what the general fluctuation is. you will see that we have been really -- we are really seeing

significant efficiency improvements all across the fleet. and i think the most important thing to remember is that our uel efficiency standards allow more suv's and trucks, that some are less efficient than others because of the way in which we designed the standards. i expect that we will continue to have more and more fuel-efficient vehicles, and people will still want them. everything i have read indicates that fuel efficiency remains the number one characteristic of what people look for in a new vehicle. so while there may be some that see a need in the winter to take a look at suv's, there will be many others who are looking for those fuel-efficient vehicles. thankfully, our domestic car companies are doing well by selling them. >> you announced a $300 million fine to hyndai and kia for not reporting proper vehicle sticker labels. do you think a system is in

place that you can prevent this from happening in the future? and he you think other auto companies lost sales or were hurt by the misleading numbers? >> first of all, i think we were pleased that the existing system actually caught this. this was our own initiative, our own audit, that realized these numbers did not quite add up. the reason why hyndai/kia was the specific example of one that we wanted to make sure to highlight was because it was particularly egregious and systemic. it does send a signal. the reason for the high fine is because we thought they did have an economic advantage in the market because they advertised over 40 mpg cars that simply did ot achieve that. we are doing our best to make sure we treat car pollution the same as other pollutants. we are not going to just do

rules, but we are going to implement them and get the pollution reduction we were supposed to get. that is what we are doing with hyndai/kia, and i think it sends a strong signal. >> we go to the back of the room, the brotherhood of the pink shirts, "the washington examiner." >> epa is on a tour to listen to stakeholders right now. a lot of european countries and beekeepers blame neonicotinoid pesticides for the disasters that seem to be hitting the bees. are you open to possibly considering a ban of these pesticides, and you share concerns that the the bee is in trouble? >> we share concerns in the decrease in the honeybee population. the president put out an executive order asking us to work together to make sure we understand the science, understand what is happening here, and take whatever appropriate steps are necessary. and we will do that.

i think you will see there are a number of factors that need to be considered. a lot of this could be attributable to habitat loss, and much of it might be. we also have already put out different requirements for how you handle neonicotinoids that people are most concerned about, so we can make sure to build the proper distance and applications, so that any impact they have on the honeybee population is minimize what we look more directly at these issues. these issues are not off the table. we recognize a wonderful partnership between folks who care about honeybees and folks who like to use these pesticides to manage their crops. we have to make sure we get this right and focus on what the science and data shows us. >> "the wall street journal." >> on ozone, you said weeks ago

there are a lot of ways to reduce the -- with a deadline coming up in a few days, will you release a stricter standard for ozone? some environmentalists are worried you are not willing to ut the political calculus on ozone. second, a followup to the methane rule, are you planning to make some sort of decision sometime this fall, by december 21? >> first of all, on ozone, there is -- i am going to put out a rule in the timeline that the court has dictated. i am doing that because it is not just required, but because it is essential for us to continue to look at what health-based standards are necessary so that we can do our

job. i will not indicate what that decision is, other than to say it is going to be based on the science, and i will take close consideration of what our scientists have told us and advised us. and we will put a rule out that i think the presents that science. nd it is not a political decision. it is a decision i have to make. i welcome moving these rules forward. the second issue is on the methane strategy. we will put something out. i do not know the exact timing of that. as i indicated before, it is an administrative line review and work product. we will make sure to get that done this fall. >> "the courier-journal." > on friday, going to war with the president on coal.

can you talk about what these olicies will mean? the coal industry think they are ultimately doomed, perhaps not only under your policies, but in the long term. would you respond to that? and where is the avenue for detente in this so-called war on coal? what active steps can you take to try to reduce the rhetoric and maybe produce something that would be seen as productive? >> first of all, we have had this "war on coal" scenario coming up for a long time. i think it is important to remember that regardless of where it epa is in its rulemaking, the energy world is in a transition. and i think a lot of that is attributable to inexpensive natural gas. and that technology continues to develop, and makes more natural

gas resources available. and so there is a changing world here, and we have always looked at the direction that that world is heading. and so that we can understand the economic impacts of our rules. and i would suggest that the rules there was the most concerned about -- the first was the american air toxic standard. the question was whether that was going to -- whether every change in the energy rule was attributable to that rule. we put that rule out. it is going well. it is not impacting the liability. it is following the direction the energy world is heading, because that is what we are supposed to do. that is how we look at costs and benefits. the same with the clean power plants. i would suggest we are following the way in which the energy world is actually developing, and we are doing the things necessary to protect public health and the environment.

it is not specifically targeted at coal. and because coal can continue to survive, we expect it to. we expect it to remain a part of the energy mix. we have specifically looked at the coal states and where they are, and we have made a goal for them, set a standard for them, that we think is reasonable and achievable for them, and not asked them to look like or feel like any other place. we have done the best we could to set a stage for good discussion with those states. we have frankly been having good discussion with them. it is not a case where they refuse to come to the table or do not think there is a place for them in looking at and talking about the proposal, and what we need to do to get it finalized, the custom they are active and interested in working with us. we try to send as much of a signal as we can that coal is a part of the mix and will remain so. the great interest of china in stepping up to the plate now may

signal that they have great interest in looking at things like carbon capture sequestration as well. you may see innovation that we believe is available to us today become even more readily available and cost-effective, with these types of international agreements. >> robert schlesinger, "u.s. news." >> you mentioned the american people are listening on climate change. it never reaches the upper echelons of issues that people vote on, such as the economy. given the scope of the problem, why do you think people are not -- they may be listening, but are not acting on it. what can you or politicians do to change that? >> what i am trying to do is try to get people off the idea that acting responsibly on climate

change is in some way contrary to the country's economic goals. and remind them that there is no dichotomy between working hard for the environment and working hard for the economy. and that particularly where climate is related, we have great opportunities to become more efficient, to switch to cleaner technologies, to grow a robust and growing renewable energy sector, and to use this as a way for the u.s. to become even more competitive internationally. and so i am hoping that people will not see the climate issue as simply an environmental as simply an environmental issue, the closet is a fundamental choice about whether or not this country is investing and innovating in the future and the present, as opposed to the past. we have made an energy transition that i think is minimal for the kinds of reductions we are seeing, and really providing a backdrop for strong economic growth.

>> "the hill"? >> sort of a two-parter. how can we as a country in force this agreement we just made with china, on china. china does not have the greatest record when it comes to ollowing its international commitments. also, when it comes to agreements we might make in the next year, coming up to paris, the conference there -- how do we enforce those? do these hold the weight of international law, like a treaty? how do we enforce these? >> as far as i know, there have been no decisions made. there probably will not be until paris, for how you capture these international agreements, in what type of forum. the impacts in what way it becomes enforceable and legally binding.

the u.s. feels very good about the joint announcement with china, because it not only represents a great step forward, but it also continues to represent a broadening of the u.s. and china relationship. and we don't go into a hole and wait until one another's says something a year from now. we have an ongoing dialogue with china. we have a climate workshop -- i am sorry, workgroup -- that actually gets together all the time. we have goals we set for one another and work through together. as you may guess, epa has a lot of opportunity to work with china. i think one of the reasons why china has really begun to step up on climate change is because of the broader demand they have for air pollution in general to be addressed. and as many of you may know, epa has been working hand-in-hand with folks in china on many levels, to try to provide them technical assistance and to help them monitor their air pollution. and if there is any example of what we can do together, and how it benefits the u.s. -- if you ake a look at the technologies

that are selling in china on air pollution, if you take a look at the monitoring equipment they just installed as a result of the push for better air pollution monitoring, those are all u.s. companies doing really good business. and so if we continue to align air pollution challenges with this climate challenge, i think both china and the u.s. see great value in that. and we will continue to do that, work hand-in-hand with them. >> thanks for doing this. you said a few times that you are not going to tailor the clean air act rules to the china agreement, but have come up with a fairly specific range of targets.

and they're also taking a look at what other things we didn't think about. which is what business is doing. one of the great events that we did over the past six months or so was working with the business ommunity on h.f.c. reductions. we had no sense that the business community was going to be as aggressive as it was in stepping up to the plate on their own, and dictating what they were doing as individual

companies to move away from high global warming, ozone-depleting substances, and moving away. i think the u.n. conference in new york indicated significant interest on the part of this country's largest companies to step forward in saying, we are factoring the cost of carbon into our decisions -- why aren't government? there is a change in dynamics which gives us a better understanding of what we might be able to achieve by 2025 on the basis of the common action plan. no one tool is going to be the inchpin. it is going to have to be a combination of efforts between government, the business sector, states and local communities, and others who need to step up to the plate and contribute. >> thanks for being here today. in the past, depending on which data you look at, there has been

a slowdown, pause, or hiatus in global warming for the last 15-18 years. i was wondering if the epa factors that into its policies. recent studies say climate is less sensitive to co2 then maybe we thought in the 1990's. 15-18 years. i was wondering if the epa factors that into its policies. recent studies say climate is less sensitive to co2 then maybe we thought in the 1990's. is that something you take into account the future rules? >> we work with the u.s. government to take a look at these factors, but i want to ake a lot of time on that. that is a short-lived issue that does not represent climate on a longer-term basis, and it represents one factor, when there are so many others. most of which are looking like they are accelerating at levels we did not anticipate, as opposed to being more moderate. if you look at the entire science record, we are looking at all of those issues, but nothing tells us that we are being overly aggressive in understanding the actions we need to take, or the impacts of doing nothing on climate. >> thank you for doing this. we appreciate it. >> you are welcome. thanks, everybody.

>> i apologize for the food. >> it was delicious. >> occupational hazard. >> whether it will take six hours and 06 votes but the senate tuesday will vote on keystone x.l. pipeline legislation.

lauren gardner is covering the he debate in the senate. what's behind the senate taking up the keystone measure? >> well, obviously some political implications here on the line. senator landrieu of louisiana is in a very heated runoff race with congressman bill cassidy, a republican who is currently serving the house. landrieu, this is key to demonstrate she can legislate and hold her own on the floor of the senate even when they are leaders are not necessarily behind her and she wants another legislative twoin take back home to louisiana and show voters she can get things done. >> what would the keystone bill do? >> the keystone bill would approval take the process away from the president and give it to congress.

and it would just be in the pipeline approved and consider the environmental impact statement the statement department already issued congr. and it would just be in the pipeline approved and consider the environmental impact statement the statement department already issued as having fulfilled the requirements under an environmental policy law that has to be followed in order for a cross-border permit to be considered. >> let's look at the 60 votes needed in the senate to pass the measure. you said i am confident we will have the 60 votes to pass it . where does it stand now? >> as it stands it appears he has 59 votes. last week senator carper and bennett pledged support for the bill. as of right now we have not yet. that 60th vote but landrieu said they don't think she would have pushed this hard if she didn't have 60 votes. we will have to wait to see going into tonight and tomorrow. >> seems like a fair a pressure out there. you retweeted a modified tweet from the environmental activist saying a warning shot fired --

your words -- democratic leadership saying senator schumer marched in the climate march. f he votes for the kxl, he's never invited again. tell us what democrats are feeling. >> democrats in particular are feeling pressure from environmentalists who want to tie keystone to climate change and make the argument by allowing this pipeline to go forward it would exacerbate the level of greenhouse gas emissions the earth is already experiencing. for any democrat to want to be taken seriously on climate change now and in the future, there's a lot of pressure there. for senator schumer's part, his office said he's voting no against the pipeline. >> bill cassidy in the house last week got 31 democrats to vote for his measure. what happens to congressman cassidy's keystone measure if senator landrieu's passs? >> if senator landrieu's bill passes, the house bill by congressman cassidy will be considered passed. that's the actual bill that be

will be sent to the president's detching. senator landrieu said it doesn't matter to her as long as the bill reaches the president's desk. >> back to the politics of this. you mentioned how this is playing in louisiana. here's the headline in "roll call" -- keystone dominates the senator runoff but does louisiana care? what's the story line behind that. >> there's been a lot made about this keystone vote for both candidates they want to be able to take home some kind of victory, however they're going to get it to the voters. but the question is do louisiana voters actually think this is a wedge snoish for senator landrieu in particular, a lot of her legislative victories she's touted on the campaign trail have had pretty direct impacts on louisiana citizens, flaverage earlier this year when she successfully negotiated a delay to flod insurance premium increases, for example. >> it's a big issue to president obama as has the white house

said whether or not the president will sign or veto the bill? >> they have been very -- they have not wanted say directly one way or another but president obama has repeatedly said while he's on foreign travel he wants the state department process and the separate supreme court process in nebraska to play out. so if he had his druthers, he wouldn't have a bell at his desk but they have not said one way or another if the state would issue a definitive veto threat. >> readers can read more at rolecall.com and follow laura gardner at twitter. gardner-lm. >> thank you for having me. >> thank you for our comments about our programming. here are a few we received about "washington journal." >> i must say "washington journal" first thing in the morning, absolutely wonderful. very informative. i really appreciate you guys etting people such as myself

actually call in and sometimes even talk to people who are running our country and our world. >> i would like to make a suggestion instead on dividing the country between democrats, republicans, independents, c-span should ask the question and have callers either call and agree or disagree. this would save a lot of partisanship but the ideas get out there, not the political divisions. >> thank you. thank you. this morning today is the best show i have seen. that's what we need. please have more shows like the one today. having a democrat and republican on there so people can ask them a question about what they're going to do. this was a great show. need to have them explain

what the policies are and how they differ. they gave reasons and they were just like mine. we need to know how he think, how they vote and how we should vote and have one every day with their ideas, their policies and what they plan to do for the people. and have us call in and question them. thank you so much. >> continue to let us know what you think about the programs you're watching. call 202-626-3400. e-mail us at comments@c span.org or send us a tweet at c-span #comments. join the conversation, like us on facebook, follow us on twitter. >> in 1963, the u.s. supreme court ruled that suppression of evidence favorable to a defendant violates due process. up next -- the discussion on evidence disclosure procedures in criminal cases.

we will hear from a chief judge for the ninth circuit u.s. court of appeals. the national association of criminal defense lawyers hosted this event. >> good afternoon. my name is theodore simon. i'm the president of the national association of criminal defense lawyers or nacda as we like to call ourselves and trustee for the foundation of criminal justice, f.c.j. nacl and foundation for criminal justice are proud to have partnered with the var atass initiative at the santa clara law school to produce a major research report addressing one of the major challenges facing the nation's criminal justice

ystem. the need to ensure fair, full, and kindly disclosure of information favorable to an accused in a criminal action. let me begin by welcoming all of you and expressing the heartfelt gratitude of nacdl and the foundation for criminal justice for your interest in this port issue. the right to a fair trial and due process of law is essential to the survival of a free society. no one lives the process may contribute to the conviction of an innocent person. no one wins when the open arbiters of the required standard of proof, guilt beyond a rm doubt, by a jury of one's peers are deprived of information that is favorable to the accused, because all favorable information is critically relevant to that

determination. the commitment of nacdl and foundation of criminal justice to seek reform in the area of fair disclosure is one of the many areas in which we are working to make our criminal justice system fairer and more humane across a wide range of issues. in recent months we worked to expand access to council, promote reform with the nation's inthat jept reform system, address ethnic and racial disparity in the criminal justice system, explore impact of militarization of the nation's law enforcement infrastructure, rein in criminalization and promote restoration of rights and status for those who had a brush with the criminal law. all of this is a reflection of the core mission of america's criminal defense bar liberties last champions as we define ourselves. fairness is the bedrock principle of any society and of

any judicial system. the reforms, sharing -- ensuring fairness, proposed, and material indifference are not ideals would are realizable actions that can and should be employed. and so, i am proud to welcome you to join with us in the indifference are not ideals would are realizable actions that can and should be employed. and so, i am proud to welcome you to join with us in the release of this important report. a report that we hope will lead to the vital reforms essential to ensure a fair trial for every accused person. now, to introduce the extraordinary speakers we have gathered for this event and to moderate the discussion, i am pleased to invite nacdo's executive director to podium. -- to the podium. >> good afternoon and thanks for a much to our president, theodore simon, for the introduction and also for the

support has been provided for this project by the foundation for criminal justice. material indifference, how courts are impeding fair disclosure in criminal cases illuminates a problem that is widespread in the criminal justice system. to fully appreciate the importance of this report, we have assembled a distinguished panel including the authors, a prominent judge who has recognized the problem, and a practicing attorney who understands the depth of the challenge and took steps to address it during his tenure at the justice department. before i call upon our panelists, i want to put the problem of fair disclosure in the real-world context of how america's criminal justice system actually works. in the nation's civil justice system, when individuals, companies or government entities bring lawsuits to address a wrong, to seek compensation for injury, or for a court order to enforce a right or prevent a harm, our legal system provides

for early, open and complete disclosure. parties can and must provide access to witnesses, disclosure of all documents, opportunities for pretrial depositions, interrogatories and more. knack the failure to provide -- in fact the failure to provide full and full disclosure to ensure there's no trial by ambush can lead to severe monetary and other sanctions. but throughout most of the ountry in both state and federal criminal cases disclosure to the accused is minimal and highly limited. so we have a system that provides mem when what is at stake is usually a sum of money, there's full disclosure. , t when a person's reputation liberty or even in in some cases his or her life hangs in the balance, as it does in all

criminal cases, discovery is very limited. this is extremely problematic for two reasons -- first, because prosecutors bring criminal charges at the time and place of their choosing, they do so after having fully investigated the case including interviewing all potential witnesses. they control the tempo and timing of arrest and indictments. they have exclusive control of the investigative reports. yet in most places prosecutors do not even have to veal the names of witnesses unless and until those witnesses testify at trial, nor do they have to provide the accused with access to the investigative reports that were compiled during the investigation. even statements of testifying witnesses often do not have to be vealed until late in the process, sometimes on the eve of trial or when the witness testifies. accordingly, favorable information, that is information that tends to support lack of

guilt of the accused or mitigate wrongdoing or that which undermines believeability of witnesses and evidence that the prosecution will use to prove guilt is within the sole and exclusive control of prosecutors unless and until they decide to provide it to the defense. another hallmark of the criminal justice system is that it is add versarl. prosecutors view cases through the prism of their own theories. prosecutors also seek to win cases as they should. but that means that we have a system in which the party that brings the charge and is zealously committed to theory of prosecution must recognize information that undermines that theory and further even though the prosecutor has every incentive to win the case, he or should must also decide whether and win to disclose the very information that may undermine the prosecution they are bringing. more than 50 years ago the supreme court in the brady case

held the prosecutors must provide the helpful information that has been uncovered in law enforcement's investigation to the accused. failure to provide such information violates due process, where the information withheld is material to guilt or punishment, irrespective of good or bad faith. that is a core aspect of a fair trial and well it should be. without that disclosure, it may never be known and there can be no confidence in the outcome of the case. more than 300 d.n.a. exonerations, which have scientifically established the innocence of wrongfully convicted persons, show that favorable evidence was withheld from the defense in an alarmingly high percentage of exonerations. but biological evidence that can definitively establish innocence is available in only a tiny, minuscule percentage of all criminal cases.

most cases turn on the reliability or foulability of human perception, accuracy or inaccuracy of witness accounts, truthfulness or falsity of testimony, all within the vast, gray zone of interpretation and inference. thus in the majority of cases the disclosure of helpful information to the accused is necessary if the jury is to make an informed, fair and accurate assessment of the case. yet too of on information is not disclosed or too whoven -- too of on when the accused learns of the information, it's to different to make a difference in the case how the case is presented or prepared or considered by a jury. while there are certainly many documented cases of prosecutors who have willfully withheld helpful information, that is not what this report addresses. the problem is far more pervasive and insidious than simply a handful of bad apple

prosecutors. there's an inherent tension tween the add versarl system -- adversarial system and prossal duty to disclose. that is why the courts have the ultimate responsibility for ensuring fair, prompt and effective disclosure of information helpful to the accused. so the report we release today, material indifference, is an analysis of how i am pleased to introduce our first speaker, one of the authors of the report, professor kathleen rudolphe. she is the founder of the innocence network, working to address wrongful condition. -- conviction. she was the lead researcher on a report on wrongful conviction.