the best policies based on the best science and the kind of information tony talked about. crisis, thehiv-aids role of the faith community preaching about passion -- about non-stigmatization, about service, that is part of the response. there were faith leaders from all faith denominations that were sending people to volunteer to west africa. dr. can bradley, who has become a face of recovering ebola cases in united states and has generously donated, he was there on a mission in west africa. places like georgetown we wonder how the faith and science go together, how we reconciled these two things, and the ebola crisis is a crisis that joseph we need both these things all helmets other sponsors, all omens of crisis.

>> i think you both have captured a couple of important points. -- i would like to exploit a limited but for the. ron mentioning faith, identify the role that communities play in helping to control the spread, the arc of an illness. in the 1980's, many communities came together to complement, supplement, the work that colleagues were doing in the science to create a more immersive context in which to respond to some of the dynamics of the elements. thet now one of organizations that has been on the front lines has been doctors without borders, and they seem to borrow some of the efforts that you were describing with paul farmer's work of bringing a whole community into the work. could you talk more about your own experiences in trying to

mobilize thick power of communities in support of responding in moments like this? >> well, the thing that i have most experience obviously is in hiv, because it was so pervasive. we had the anxiety of ebola, and we have had a handful of cases here. back then we had tens of thousands of cases and not a lot of people were paying attention to it early on. ien you talk about community, think the involved and caring community, mostly the activist community, have transformed the now inlook at diseases the united states. so it is a little bit because we don't not have the or need that with ebola in the united states. but i can tell you the reason that we have had the success in southern africa with hiv is that

the activist community in africa borrowed a page from the playbook of the activist community in the united states there are drugs out there, they are making people well, we are dying, we need those drugs, and that is the reason why we had the evolution bush stepped to the plate and did what he did . i think now, if the communities in africa, and i know they are very stressed because there is government dysfunction, civil war, a lot of things there that are dysfunctional, but our community next the demand for the kinds of systems, the kind of infrastructure that we are talking about, i think, jack, that is going to go a long way in making that happen. there is nothing like a community that gets together with one message to change the way leaders look.

it happens right here in the united states with hiv and aids activist community. why not happen in africa about health care? ask two quick questions, and then we will open it up. first, on funding. billion has been committed to the international community. the united states has been responsible for a good quarter of that. the who has outlined an ambitious plan to bring this into control by generate. is the level of funding roughly $2 billion that a been donated from nations around in thee e.u., is that sufficient to respond to the crisis? >> no, it is not, and that is why we have been moving on a number of fronts, jack. we continue to solicit contributions of both people and resources and funds all over the world and from all kinds of

international organizations. i also think it is worth remembering there is also not tallied in that a fantastic response from nongovernmental organizations, foundations, nonprofits, generous actors in our country and around the world that are also part of it. but critically, president obama asked the congress to consider emergency funding request of $6.2 billion, $4.7 billion for immediate use, $1.5 billion for a contingency fund in case the disease changes in otherand goes into toer countries. we are hoping in the next week up its omnibusps spending bill that a large chunk of that funding will be passed. we need those funds urgently. withesponse of the u.s.,

all the agencies doing something, has been on borrowed money, reallocating resources, reallocating people. no one a year ago had ebola response in the budgets. we simply set hundreds of civilians to west africa, thousands of service people. that has come by moving resources round. those resources are running out. the only way we can keep up the response let alone expanded is by getting this emergency funding request approved. >> tony, in your earlier comments, you mentioned the importance of a vaccine. my colleagues here will no doubt attest that i never allow an opportunity to go by where i do not make a pitch for increased funding for the nih. it works its way back to our colleges and universities. [laughter] >> you're right, he never misses an opportunity. [laughter] >> but this disease was

we doered in 1976, and not have a vaccine. can you tell a little bit about the background context. >> absolutely. we have been working on a vaccine since 1999, 2000, when i recruited the team from the vaccine research center. 2000.rst paper was in neverinterim way we were able to get a serious pharmaceutical partner for the simple reason that they did not perceive it as something that would be a blockbuster. from 1976 until now, 24 outbreaks for a total, excluding the current outbreak, of about 2300 people. no one wanted to invest in that. i think that is one of the roles of the federal government. people talk about the federal

government, state out of our way. this is one of the roles whether federal government of the ball and said we are going to stick with this, develop it, and finally when things started to percolate, then we got good pharmaceutical partners. but if we had not been involved in that, and, again, it is a wantn that if you really to be prepared, one of the things that is so difficult, and i have been frustrated for a long time, it is very difficult to get money for something that has not happened. you know, when something happens, people say, what were you doing, why weren't you ready for it? but when you say, we need to be ready for a pandemic flu or what have you come it is, we have priorities, the budget is flat, etc. the same thing with pharmaceutical companies. they want something that will be used right away. >> all kidding aside, the reality is that the level of funding for the national institutes of health was

significantly impacted during than $1.5ter, more billion was removed. we got $1 billion back in january, the new budget reconciliation, but we are still below 2012 levels, and that is not a trajectory for us as a nation if we are going to be able to respond to the kinds of challenges that we face. we're going to open this up now. there's a microphone in the center i all. if you would like to ask a question to him if you could just get in line behind the microphone, and we will take as many as we can come in the next 20, 25 minutes or so. >> -- >> please introduce yourself. the facultyber of of the school of public policy. one of the topics that was not discussed so far is the relationship between science and politics. and we have seen the difficulty in the u.s. system of dealing with one aspect of the political role, which is the structure of

our system of federalism. and i wondered if you would comment on that, and also comment on some of the other might draw onou the relationship between science and politics. thank you. >> thank you. think we do have a federal system, and in the popular press i inferred often as the ebola czar, and i never feel as unczary as when we try to do with this complex patchwork of agencies involved. that said, our response in the united states it has incredibly benefited by the hard work of many state and local officials, so this is a two-way relationship. right now we have about 1400 people who have traveled from west africa in the past 21 days, and we monitor them twice a day for their temperatures.

that is done by state and local officials. local authorities take on network every day, and make a contribution to the effort. rollediously, as we have out our system of ebola treatment centers, as we just week, 35 earlier this hospitals, 53 beds, those are set by federal standards, but by state and locals designating, reviewing, and approving the hospitals ready for that. i think the federal system has worked for us for 225 years, and i think has some days frustration, but many days great benefits to us. has been thenk centerpiece of our response in the administration. it has been the guidepost for us. i think by and large that has been successful. as tony said, translating the scientific ideas into a public discussion is always tricky. we have been very lucky. i want to repeat myself.

itwe're lucky to have some a tony to help explain the bridge between science and popular discussion, and we just need to keep on that dialogue, and i think that dialogue can be successful. >> one thing, jack, though, we should be careful to not always equate politics as a dirty word. ,e live in a political system but the political system really works a lot sometimes. you know, politics is politics, but it does work. it does work. >> please introduce yourself. >> hi, i'm a senior in college here. this is for dr. fauci. from an honor district you my high school. we have a couple of fellows in the audience here. my question has to do with ebola

and something that we have learned in one of our classes at georgetown. learnedology seminar we about neglected tropical diseases. one of the topics that came up was if ebola could be considered a neglected tropical disease, and it is a point of debate because it has certain qualities of a neglected tropical disease, but it is missing a few key once. i'm wondering what your union was on this to become whether or not you would consider it a neglected tropical disease. , byhe answer is certainly broader criteria, it is the tropical disease that is neglected because we do not have the tools right now that we wished we did have. neglected tropical diseases are given different come as you know, because you are studying it, different definitions phone into a different category. i look at it much more loosely. i would consider this as something that now it is going to be considered by the world as a neglected tropical disease because it is on everybody's

radar screen. and the one thing i do hope we we out of this is drugs that prove work and a vaccine that we know works. if there is one silver lining of tragedies like this, it is that you get something out of it so we do not have to go through this the next time. the answer to your question is, in my mind, it is a neglected tropical disease. >> thank you. >> good morning. i'm a junior. i was wondering if you could speak about the case of thomas duncan and whether his life could have been saved or not. there was a lot of debate surrounding the case, so i was wondering if you could share your opinion. >> you really cannot make those havingf predictions of taken care of so many thousands and thousands of patients in my life to say we could have saved his life if we did this. there is always the possibility. the man was sick.

he went to an emergency room. he was not immediately diagnosed. tough to be pejorative about that. it is easy for somebody in an easy chair here to say, well, you know, an african man comes in, he says he feels sick, you are in the middle of an rebuild epidemic. emergency rooms are very busy places. it was unfortunate he was not diagnosed early. in he got, and when he got into the hospital, he was really very ill. had he been plugged into an unit earlier, it might've been possible. we should try to look at lessons learned from that. so i do not think we could definitively say that things would have been different, though it is possible it could have been. >> thank you. >> thank you but for coming to speak to us today. i'm a senior in the school

foreign service. you touched on briefly the role outbreak.the ebola i was wondering if you could give thoughts on white or such a discrepancy between msf response in calling this the outbreak of president in march, and who's waiting until august to declare and and emerges. could you talk about why we saw this? thank you. >> that is a tough question. been knownave always and still am a straight shooter. whoink if you look at who, has suffered from chronic underfunding, and one would have hoped that they would have recognized very early on that this was something that really was going to explode. they did not have the manpower. they had been hampered by budgetary constraints. have had substantial cuts in

their experienced personnel. so what msf, which is a fantastic organization, they are there, they are on the ground, they see it as it is happening and as it is unfolding, and they called it correctly very early on. i believe if the who had had the strength that they should have had at the time, that they probably would have been much more intensively involved there on the ground. >> hi. a pleasure to speak to you today. i'm a sophomore in the school foreign service. as a student of anthropology, i've been taking careful note of how the media has been reacting to the ebola crisis. and so i was just wondering why you both thought the media is a big part other sponsor at least on the ground, and we have been seeing this high level of anxiety. why has there been such extreme levels of stigmatization? in new jersey we had an issue two -- a lot of issues, but

schoolchildren from rwanda who were almost kicked out of school. there was a schoolteacher in kentucky who had visited africa and was almost forced to resign. why is the a bullet crisis triggering such high levels of anxiety? is it a marker of racial tensions, is it something else going on? what do you guys think? >> i'm not an aunt apologists, id so what i would say is cannot really explain why the direction of ebola has been what it has been in america. what i can say is what we've been trying to address that. and so we have been working very hard to make sure that those who are involved in treating the disease, both overseas and her subjected andot their families are not subjected to stigmatization or ostracism, anything like that, but are celebrated for what they are, which is heroes.

i think part of this is just a need to do more educating, or informing -- more informing about the low level risks that are involved here and getting to be more aware and cuddle with that. we've seen this for health care workers in america. people at delve view who treated dr. spencer reported that many of them and their families were having negative reactions. it is an important thing for all of us to do, to speak out against that time of .tigmatization those people, the people who are volunteering, the people at msf, paul farmer's group, those are the people who are keeping us safe here. they are doing great humanitarian work. they are saving lives. but if nothing else, we should think of them as the people who are keeping us safe here and welcome them home with the kind

of welcome they deserve to be given when the come back from that. >> one of the things that i have learned that was tough for me to youpt, but after see it a lot, is a raw emotion that sometimes gets people who otherwise would be considered as good people to do things that are not so good. in theaw it in spain hiv-aids epidemic. now, obviously, there are shades of racism and other things that might be going on, but i do not think that is the predominant motivating force. it gets to what i was trying to explain before about the issue of how the public perceives risks. we go through risks every day of our lives, but the risks are chronic and you accept them. for one reason or other, which

anthropologists, budding anthropologists yourself, probably no better than i, that when there is a new risk, even if the risk in a probability prioritization is much lower than the risks that you are already accepting on an everyday basis, for strange reasons, you react much more violently in your mind metaphorically against that risk because you do not like a new risk, even though you are already living, many many risks. so the one that was very committed very clear, there were many, but back in the aids days, when children of an aids patient or ryan white, who was a young man who was a hemophiliac who got hiv, they tried to burn down his house. they would not let him into school because the fear of this unknown disease, even though the

than any ofh less the children who did not want to go to school with him, probability and risk. the probability of their getting was infinitely less than them getting hit by a car going to school. yes they would not let ryan white into the school. really does strange things to people. that is something that is deep-seated in our nature, and is part of us, unfortunately. >> hi. major in the college, but also a biology minor. i was wondering whether this crisis, which has been such a nexus of the science and political systems in the united states, do you think the cabal of crisis or a similar crisis would create the political and

economic wealth to fund research neglected diseases, whether they are tropical diseases or not, and really make that a national priority that is bipartisan? how would that go? what methods would we need to create to ensure that these are priorities, and how would we go about that? >> well, i think it already has. at the when you look progress we have made, hopefully on a bipartisan basis in getting the president's emergency refunding requested that covers, and a lot of money is going to hhs nih, and other parts of and to this global health response, which will be investments in dealing with our immediate crisis. that is why they are an emergency. but also making investments in more long term approaches as well. i think it is important. the president was at nih on tuesday, and the point he made

tony and i were talking about on the way appear, was how this crisis shows the importance of a sick science and investments in basic science. after decide the day ebola first appears on the front page of "the new york times" that it is time to do the basic research to build a faxing to treat ebola, you're 10 years too late. shinest of this response a spotlight on the need to be making these basic investments well in advance of the crises so that we can do with these crises as they arise. and to see something like dr. anthony sullivan at nih whom i have met twice who has been working on this for 15 years and for the first 14 years of that was one of the most obscure people in science and in the past year is now one of the most prominent people just shows you how long this takes and how

much, how important basic sciences to dealing with crises like this when they arise. >> we're coming close to the end,. . if you could answer questions, each of you, and then we will try to see if we can give a response to them all. inyou could be quick articulating doors, that would be great. >> i am a senior in the school of foreign service. what specifically -- what has the medical community, what has the washington community, so does become what has been learned specifically from this crisis looking forward in terms of identifying the next risk or how to respond to the next risk? >> ok, next. >> hi. i wanted to about more about the relationship between underdevelopment, poverty, in the medical if structure in this country, but what is being done

and what could be done to actually have a sustainable approach to ebola, addressing lack of capacity of the states? >> last question. student ine minister the advocacy program. my question is how ebola will precedent on the global health platform and how it is basically going to set the stage for how people are going to react to potential outbreaks in the future? thank you. >> so we have lessons learned, capacity -- >> you are prescient because all the three questions are linked, what have we learned, what about the global approach, it relates a lot of what ron and i have it iseen saying about dramatic is princes like we are going through now which underscore what people have been saying for some time of building not only the kind of health care

infrastructure, global health security agenda, infrastructure purchase, not only from a health standpoint, but from a research standpoint. investment in research that will not have us to play catch up on the time and the investment in a health infrastructure that not only will detect these diseases earlier, that will allow us to respond early. and that is really what a lot of the global health agenda is all about. well, i really cannot add much to that other than to say what a largeact role poverty plays in the fatality rate from ebola. think when this crisis started, everyone read in the newspaper that ebola kills 70% of its victims. well, that is true without treatment and without interventions.

even in west africa, some of the ngo's treating people with moreng more cultivated -- cultivated than rehydration are bringing down fatality rates 35%. when you think about you can cut the death rate of a disease in half like giving someone the most basic kind of health care, it just shows you how important what a role resources and building up these health care systems and helping these underdeveloped countries get to a basic level of care, what a huge difference that can make. if you can cut the death rate from ebola in half by giving people i.v.'s. not what tony had been doing when he was treating nina pham, but just very basic care, that is a telling fact, a telling anecdote about this. so certainly, we need to make

the investments in getting our health care system. the united states ready to deal with infectious disease and. we have to invest in countries around the world in getting that global health infrastructure in place and trying to address these long-term development issues as well. >> one last question. classes are ending this week. you go into exams next week. we are then going to be off for a little while paired we will be back in about a month. advice for us as a university community. are the things that university like church town could do to contribute to the response to this challenge, this really that ishallenge particularly facing west africa, but raises a number of important questions beyond that require our attention? any advice for us as a university community? >> well, i would not recommend you all go and try to take care of patients, but i think to develop as part of the

experience in global health a darity with young people of this countries's to get them tried to realize that the young people here care about them, and you can do that through various organizations, volunteering, or doing it just by communications. it meant an awful lot to the people in southern africa when we reached out to them in the aids epidemic without even going re, but encouraging them in their fight against aids and the pressure that they would put on their own governments, particularly in south africa when the government refused drugs to be distributed because they did not believe hiv caused aids. >> i would add to that. i think that, one, it is great all the different schools at

georgetown where this is an appropriate discipline study what happened in this case, domestically and overseas, and learn. you cannot learn from crazies like this if you do not study them, if you do not learn about them, and if you do not have the academic work that communicates that and disseminates that. that is an important project. i think that being voices for dealing with some of these stigmatization, ostracization issues, are things that students and faculty in the georgetown community and do both here at and isd overseas, important for georgetown as a global university to make sure it is engaged people from these three nations. you had someone here talk about her experience in sierra leone and have that experience, and be a bridge between our community at georgetown and those communities is an important part of that.

more of that interchange will make us a better community in georgetown and make this response in the future a more effective response. >> i want to thank you both for being here with us today. this is been an ordinary moment for our community have a chance to be in conversation with you both. we are grateful to you for the leadership in providing our nation and our globe at this important moment. and it is a real privilege the it would have you with us. 80 is and gentlemen, will you please join me in expressing our gratitude? thank you, jack. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

president obama named ashton carter to run the defense apartment. as the announcement came this morning in a white house ceremony. it is expected he will be easily concerned -- confirmed by the senate. you can watch the announcement tonight at 8 p.m. eastern on c-span. in the next "washington journal," a look at the november jobs report and the overall health of the u.s. economy. then a discussion on president

obama's executive actions since the elections. after that, genetically modified foods and their use in the u.s. plus, your phone calls, facebook comments, and tweets, all on "washington journal," live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> and compton, who recently retired as abc white house news correspondent, on her over 40 years of covering the white house and the administrations of gerald ford through barack obama. andy card interrupted president. 9:07 a.m. nobody interrupts the president, even in front of second-graders. the president said he had to go, and he went into a room, and then we heard, we discovered that it was two planes

crashing in new york. then he came out to the pool, the parking lot outside the school, and said stay right here ,. speak indent has to the captive. he did not want to scare the children, but he did go to the capture, he said it was a terrorist attack, and we must go back to washington. the door slammed, and in the pentagon was hit. p.m.nday night at 8:00 eastern and pacific. the white house briefing with josh earnest. he talked about a range of issue, racial tension, in u.s., and the safe return of nasa's orion space flight. >> the first is you may have seen the news today that nasa successfully completed their test flight of the orion

spacecraft. this is a new dawn -- well, this is the dawn of a new chapter in space exploration. it certainly is an important milestone in achieving president obama's vision of sending humans onto an asteroid by 2020 and on to mars the decade after. everyone here sends our congratulations to the men and commercial partners for this successful launch, and we look for to future milestones. the second thing is scheduling update. on monday, the president will host at the white house prince william, the duke of cambridge, in the oval office. the vice president and dr. biden will also host a separate meeting at the white house. the duchess will travel in december 8 will deliver remarks at world bank. the president welcomes the

prince's work in this global fight against what is a national security threat and a devastating environmental problem. in february, in support of the president's executive order and in conjunction with efforts at the london conference on the illegal wildlife trade, which the duke of cambridge attended, the administration announced its own strategy for combating wildlife trafficking. that strategy mobilizes the entire government to combat this threat. this will be the duke's first visit to washington, d.c. the president looks forward to the hospitality shown to them by the royal family during their recent visit to the united kingdom. this visit underscores the special relationship between the united states and the united kingdom. i believe the duchess is not planning to travel to washington. with that, try to follow that up. >> can you give us a sense of what kind of conversations the president and his nominee had

today? is he looking for a change in direction that the defense department? did they talk about islamic state, russia, anything you could tell us. >> i don't believe they had a detailed discussion prior to today's event. as the president alluded to in his remarks, the president has had a number of conversations with mr. carter in the context of his previous services as deputy secretary of defense. the president certainly intends to rely very closely on mr. carter's advice and expertise on a range of areas. his strategic thinking will be very valuable as we consider the range of threats that are facing this country. the president is looking forward to mr. carter receiving careful consideration by the united states senate, but also swift

approval. >> is he looking for a change of direction at the pentagon? >> we talked over the last couple of weeks about the president's decision that new leadership was needed at the pentagon even the challenges that secretary hagel has managed quite well are challenges that will endure and will continue to confront this country and the next secretary of defense as well. so the president is looking forward to having somebody with mr. carter's experience and evident talents to confront these challenges, and to lead this large department as they guarantee the protection of the american people. >> on ferguson, i saw the president did an interview with b.e.t. can you tell us why he wanted to do that, and also give us an update on the timeline for any sort of executive order that he may be putting out? >> that interview has not been

conducted yet. it will be this afternoon. it's an opportunity to reach an audience that has been closely watching events in ferguson, missouri, as well as recent events in new york city as well. it's an opportunity for the president to deliver a message that, i think to many of you, will sound pretty familiar. it's an opportunity to reach an audience that obviously has been following these developments closely and has pretty strong feelings about it. i think there are a lot of americans who feel strongly about some of these issues, but certainly we would anticipate the viewers would have some strong feelings. it's a good opportunity for the president to make sure that they understand where he is coming from on this issue. >> executive action? >> no update on that at this time.

>> finally, senator landrieu, is the president planning to do anything with the election coming up this weekend, in support of her? >> i don't know of any political activities the president has planned for the weekend. you have heard the president speak on previous occasions on senator landrieu's important independent leadership for the people of louisiana and here in the senate. i do not have anything that the president is planning in the next 24 hours in support of the campaign. >> what are we to take away from the fact that secretary hagel did not attend this morning? >> well, i saw the defense department put out a statement indicating that secretary hagel decided not to attend because he did not want to distract from an event that was held to honor mr. carter, his service to the country, and the new opportunity before him. that was a decision that secretary hagel made.

certainly, it's a decision that is respected by everybody here at the white house. secretary hagel put out a clear statement showing his very strong support for mr. carter's nomination. for any additional questions about the secretary's casual, i would refer you to the department of defense. >> was the president disappointed he did not come? >> i think he understood the sentiments that were made by the secretary of defense. he certainly appreciated those comments from secretary hagel about mr. carter's nomination. >> did mr. hagel give him advance notice that he would not be coming? >> that is how he knew, yes. >> so we should not see this as a snub of any kind? >> i don't think that secretary hagel intended it that way. it is evident that he is a strong supporter of the

president decision to nominate mr. carter to this role. >> given it was announced that hagel would be attending ahead of time, clearly the white house wanted him to be there? >> no doubt about it. >> the change that happened late then -- was that a surprise to the president? >> i would not characterize it as a surprise, but a decision made by secretary hagel. he was very clear in his statement that he issued today that he strongly supports the president's decision to nominate mr. carter to succeed him at the department of defense. he, like the president, believes that mr. carter has all the qualifications necessary to confront the challenges that no one knows better than secretary hagel himself. >> he has described it as a mutual decision, that there would be a change of leadership needed, but it has not been explained why that change was necessary, especially since he went on to say that he could've done the job and it was not a

problem that he has. >> this is the result of a number of conversations between the president and secretary of defense. those were conversations that were held with the two men in the room. any sort of account that i could provide would be second- or third-hand at best. secretary hagel is someone who has honorably served this country in a variety of roles. he is somebody who was willing to serve his country overseas in combat. it is the thing that distinguishes him from every other secretary of defense. he is a decorated combat veteran who rose from the ranks of somebody who was fighting on the front lines of this country, to serving in the top job at the department of defense. that is a testament to secretary hagel's talent, a testament to his love for this country, and a testament to his commitment for serving the people of this country, and that is service

that the president was pleased to have the opportunity to pay tribute to a week or two ago. i'm confident the president will have additional opportunities to pay tribute to secretary hagel and to his services to the country. >> given all that has been said about hagel's service by the white house, doesn't this strangeness of hagel being announced at this meeting and then not showing up -- doesn't that highlight the tension that has been reported on so much? >> i'm not sure there is anything that is clouded. i think everybody has been pretty straightforward with whether what happened, with the exception of the detailed readout of what had been pretreating the commander in chief and the secretary of defense. the outcome of those

conversations is something that has been discussed extensively by the president himself, by the secretary of defense, and certainly by me on a number of occasions. i think there is no doubt about secretary hagel's commitment to the job that he has filled very ably over the last two years. there is no doubting his commitment to serving this country. there is no doubting his strong support for ash carter to be in the secretary of defense. i think that certainly is indicative of what continues to be a strong personal relationship between the president of the united states and secretary hagel. >> on the issue of -- [inaudible] >> i would not anticipate that any ongoing reviews would face a dramatic change as a result of this new leadership in the building. for an update on that process, i would refer you to the pentagon. >> you talk about an ongoing

review, but the pentagon says no review has been ordered. >> we can try to get you more details if you like. i do not know a whole lot about this. >> [inaudible] >> it is my understanding, and maybe i will be corrected on this, but i understand there is a review undergoing on this question. we can look into it further for you. >> britain, from whom we inherited the grand jury system, dispensed with it many years ago because they found it ineffective and it obviously favored the prosecutor so much. do you think it is time for us to look at and have a review of our justice system and perhaps consider getting rid of the grand jury system? >> well, let me make a couple of

observations. the first is the grand jury proceedings that have attracted so much attention in the last 10 days or so, i don't think they received attention because of efforts of the prosecutor were significantly advantaged in the context of those proceedings. i think the concern was evidently something else because, ostensibly, you have prosecutors making the case for an indictment that was not handed down by the grand jury. >> [inaudible] >> grand jury proceedings are conducted in private, so it is hard to tell. in terms of what their goal was, i would direct you to those prosecutors for what kind of case they were making. frankly, i'm not inclined and pretty unqualified to have a philosophical discussion about the basis of our legal system and how that has been translated over centuries. i am sure there is somebody at the department of justice that

might be inclined to have a discussion with you, or not. you can certainly try. >> during his remarks, ashton carter turned to the president and pledged candid strategic and military advice. a lot of people have noted that moment. is that something the president felt was lacking before? >> in my previous comments about secretary hagel, even in the president's comments about secretary hagel 10 days ago in the state dining room, he talked about how he had relied on secretary hagel's advice as they confronted a wide range of national security challenges. certainly, the president does expect, not only from the secretary of defense, but every member of his national security team, direct, unvarnished advice based on that individual's expertise. >> was he getting that under secretary hagel? >> i think the president was pretty clear, and i have been, that the president appreciated

the kind of candor and advice he received from secretary hagel during his two years of serving as secretary of defense. >> some republican lawmakers have noted this is his fourth defense secretary in six years. they have argued that creates a sense of unsteadiness. can you speak to that, is there concern that changing defense secretary so frequently, in some ways, destabilizes the agency? >> i don't think there is any evidence to support that claim. the president is very pleased with the service and leadership and advice he has received from each of the gentlemen who have served his country as secretary of defense during the president's administration. we anticipate that mr. carter

will continue in the footsteps of those that have come before him in terms of offering the president the kind of insight and strategic advice that he relies on and certainly expects from his secretary of defense. >> on the military, senator gillibrand is considering reducing a bill that would take military sexual assaults out of the chain of command. last time the bills up for vote, president obama did not weigh in on it. at this point in the cycle, would he support it? >> we would want to look carefully at the legislation she decides to propose. >> would you support the broader idea of taking military sexual sold out of the chain of command? >> what he supports is making sure that there is keen awareness at the department of defense, that the commander in chief will not tolerate the scourge of sexual assaults that we have seen in the media over the last few years. the president said it himself, that even one sexual assault in the greatest fighting force in the world is something that the commander in chief will not tolerate.

the president made that very clear to the civilian and military leadership at the pentagon. we did recently see that the department of defense conducted what is at least a lengthy review of the way that sexual assault cases are handled inside the military. that is a review that is being carefully analyzed here at the white house. >> something from yesterday, i saw the president did see the eric garner video, the takedown by police. what was his reaction? >> i did not have the chance to speak to him directly. we did this electronically. while i'm able to confirm that he has seen the video, i have not spoken to him about his reaction to it. >> do you know his reaction to the non-indictment? >> i think you heard from him a

couple of times to discuss this. i would not elaborate too much on what he has already said about it. >> after ferguson, he came out here and said this was the grand jury's decision to make. would that apply to this case as well? >> certainly the legal matter. as somebody who is not particularly credentialed when it comes to legal matters, but as a legal matter, the decision that was handed down by the grand jury that is consistent with the legal process, but what is also true of the legal process is that it is now subject to an investigation by federal attorneys, both in the eastern district of new york as well as the civil rights division of the u.s. department of justice. >> so many people were just shocked that this case ended up without an indictment with that video, seemingly so obvious to anybody that saw it. did the president have a similar shock? >> again, i have not had a

specific conversation with him about his reaction to the video or the immediate decision, beyond what he said in public. >> two other quick things. one, king abdullah made a comment in an interview before the meeting that the effort against isis is world war iii. i wonder what the president thinks of the characterization? >> well, i think what i would say about that is that the united states has played in a leading role in building a broad international coalition to confront, degrade, and ultimately destroy isil because of the threat it poses to a number of countries in the region and the threat it could pose to the world if it were allowed to establish the safe haven in iraq and syria. to the extent that you have the world united alongside the united states in standing up

against these extremists, you certainly have a global element here. it is a threat that the president takes very seriously, obviously a threat that our close partners in jordan take seriously because this is happening right in their neighborhood. so they are -- the king has devoted significant resources and energy to ensuring the humanitarian needs of those who are fleeing the violence have been met. many have fled to jordan. and that has pose a significant challenge to that country. and the united states -- and this is one of the announcements from the meeting today -- is committing additional resources to help the jordanians respond to this urgent humanitarian situation. i think it's indicative of the role the united states can play in supporting our partners as they deal with this very difficult situation. >> one last item, following up on the mitch mcconnell meeting.

obviously, an afternoon meeting. there was no bourbon served, so to justify on the president's statement after the election that he would look forward to having a bourbon with mitch mcconnell. is that going to happen? >> i'm confident that will happen. we will try to give you a heads-up when it does. >> this is about the governors meeting today. i know the white house has said that they want to try to develop specific partnerships. can you give me a sense, if there is going to be anything specific in mind when the governors are talked to, and just a flavor for -- it seems like school for new governors day. can you give us a flavor of what you might see, any concrete plans out there, and how were the governors selected? >> the first impression we would like to leave is that this white house and administration more broadly has a strong interest in

working with governors across the country to expand economic opportunity for middle-class families. that is something the president has laid out as a top item on his domestic agenda. he has tried to work with congress to make progress on that goal. we have seen there is opportunity to make significant progress by working directly with governors. this is a group of newly elected governors, and we certainly want to build the same kind of strong working relationship with them as well. there are a variety of areas where we feel progress can be made. there are many governors in both parties that have been committed to making important investment in high-quality early childhood education programs. we certainly will look for opportunities to partner with governors across the country to make those kinds of investments. we have been gratified over the last year and a half or so to see a number of states take action to raise their minimum wage. this is something the president has urged congress to do. we have seen congressional republicans block efforts to

raise the minimum wage, but we have seen states take action to raise the minimum wage and give their workers a raise there. the president supported those efforts. there are a lot of equities as it relates to the affordable care act. there's an opportunity for at least some of these states to provide health insurance by expanding medicaid to a large number of citizens in their state. this is health insurance that would be at least for this year paid 100% by the federal government. at no cost to the governors or citizens of these states, the federal government for this year would be in a position to provide important health care benefits for them. the thing that these governors know all too well is that individuals who would qualify for expanded medicare present

themselves at the hospital in dire need of medical attention, that medical attention is provided. and it is the state that is ultimately on the hook for providing that medical assistance in the least cost- effective fashion possible. there is an opportunity for us to lower cost for states and for the federal government to get involved in helping states as they try to meet the needs of working people in their states. there's a lot to talk about, a lot on the agenda. there will be an opportunity for not just the president and the governors, but there are other senior white house officials they will be meeting with. >> you talk in broad terms. if you can think of something specific -- each of these states

have different stages in their medicaid programs. can you tell me how these governors were selected? >> i believe all the newly elected governors were invited to the white house and these were the ones who were able to attend to that. >> i know it was early this morning, but did the president watch any of the orion launch? >> i don't know if he had the >> i know it was early this morning, but did the president watch any of the orion launch? >> i don't know if he had the opportunity to see it. >> this is the first time in over 40 years that nasa satellite or any satellite on a planet has left lower orbit. nasa scientists say this is the biggest thing since they apollo program. is this something the president is excited about? >> it does reflect the enthusiasm and excitement that everybody here at the white house feels. i'm confident the president shares that enthusiasm and excitement for this significant achievement. >> the president wants to focus on stem achievement for students.

is there a better ambassador to a student's ambition than the world's greatest space program? could there be more attention from the white house on this issue? >> we welcome all the attention that is shown to this achievement. the president himself has talked about how he was inspired as a kid from some of the innovations and achievements of the space program when he was a kid. i talked before about having watched it on television as the astronauts were recovered from the cap shoals that had returned to earth in splashdown's -- capsules that had returned to earth in splashdowns. this is something that we are pretty excited about, and it is a testament to the successful strategy the president has put in place for our space program. we look forward to even more exciting results in the years ahead.

[inaudible] >> a couple things. we are still waiting to see the details included in the budget or postal -- proposal that is supported by house republicans. there have been a number of conversations between white house officials and administration officials with members and staff on capitol hill in both the house and senate. the second thing i'll say is that we do continue to believe it is the responsibility of congress to pass a full year budget for the full federal government. that is what congress is responsible for doing. there are a lot of americans who on this cold and cloudy friday got out of bed early and went to work because it was their responsibility to do so. we certainly would expect -- more importantly, they expect

their representatives in congress to do the same thing. what we are expecting congress to do is get out of bed early this morning, soldier through the cold and the gray and take action to pass a full-year budget for the full federal government. >> is the president going to veto whatever they produce? >> i did not come prepared to issue a new veto threat. i did come today to make clear that our strong preference is for congress to do only what they are supposed to do, and that is to pass a full-year budget for the full federal government. at the same time, we will consider what kinds of proposals are passed through the house and senate. we will reserve judgment on

them. it is clear what basic responsibility congress has, and we hope they will take action to fulfill it. >> to follow-up on the question about the governors, there are a range of governors who are concerned about the president's immigration action in the context of their own budget. will the president be able to outline to those governors who are concerned about the budgetary impact of executive action why he feels strongly that this will all work out or that the federal government [indiscernible] or how may he respond to questions he may get about that? >> i'm not aware of any significant or negative budgetary impact on states as a result of the executive action the president announced a couple of weeks ago. one of the key reforms included in these executive actions was an extensive overhaul. even a replacement of a secure communities program. this was part of an effort to try to strengthen the working relationship between local law enforcement communities in the federal government, and that it would actually remove some red

tape and make it easier for local law enforcement and the federal government to coordinate their efforts, protect communities, large and small across the country. that is one example of how the president's executive action will actually make it easier for the federal government and local law enforcement. >> can you give us the specifics on the increase in age? what are the details? >> we will have more details in the fact sheet that is out later today. what the president did announce was a commitment both in terms of resources to help jordan manage the humanitarian situation in their country. i believe there was an announcement related to additional economic assistance that will be provided to our

partners in jordan. the king has been a pretty strong advocate of economic and political reforms in his country. he deserves a lot of credit for that. the united states wants to be supportive of those ongoing reform efforts. that is one way we can support those efforts. [inaudible] >> i don't know the funding details. we can get back to you on that. >> related to the comparison [indiscernible] he said this is a generational issue. the president talked about tectonic plates shifting in the middle east. the larger conversation seems to be different -- to be between these two leaders, about something that is many decades in duration. king abdulla says this transformation in the middle east is about jihad itself. do you want to elaborate? >> a couple of things come to mind.

the reason there are 60 countries that have joined this coalition the president is leading is that countries throughout the region and across the world understand the significance takes of this conflict. i don't think there's anybody attempting to downplay them. we have seen even before this more recent rise of isil that the broader middle east is working through some very tumultuous issues, and the impact on their society and on governments across the region have been significant. these are the kinds of issues that the people who live in this region of the world won't resolve overnight. it's going to take some time for them to make some decisions

about what kind of government they want to have in their country, how they want to exercise their preferences about that government, what kind of economic opportunity will be available to them, about how basic human rights are going to be protected, and that has prompted a lot of questions and a lot of soul-searching not just among leaders in that broader region, but also among people on the street. those kinds of conversations and considerations about what kind of country or what kind of society they want to be a part of are important. and sometimes they can be tumultuous, but what the president has tried to do is to be very keenly focused on understanding that even in these roiling waters, that we need to be focused squarely on the national security interest of the united states. in these dynamic, rapidly

changing times, that can require some nimbleness. that is evident in some of the policymaking you have seen from the president. it certainly is part of the flexible strategy the president has pursued. it also is why we have worked so hard to make sure that we are working closely with partners in the region to align our interests with them and with other countries around the world. that is why building this coalition to confront, degrade and ultimately destroy isil is so important. that is why it is so important that members of the coalition are in fact arab countries. we have seen countries like jordan joined the united states in bombing isil targets in syria. that reflects the commitment the president has to working closely with leaders in the region to align our interests, and to get other countries to act with us in pursuit of those interests. >> even those favorably inclined towards ashton carter would say he doesn't have now and never

has had any expertise on some of these underlying issues in the region, militarily or diplomatically. why was it a good idea, why is it a good idea to continue that vacuum within the civilian pentagon leadership? >> what mr. carter does have is a lot of experience in thinking strategically about how to orient the department of defense in a way that ensures it is properly positioned to protect the national security interests of the united states. that is something he has spent a lot of time thinking about. we are going to continue to have experience --they are useful intelligence channels that ensure a strong relationship between the united states and our partners in the region and around the world, and i would anticipate that -- the president

does have complete confidence in mr. carter possibility to fulfill the responsibilities to the secretary of defense, build a strong military to military relationship with our partners and allies around the world as well. he is somebody who knows the building inside and out. he is someone who has a key understanding of how to orient the posture of the department of the department of defense to best protect the american people. that is why build -- why we believe he's the best person for the job. >> ok. along those lines, someone like senator mccain will be overseeing confirmation hearings is saying nice things about ashton carter's essentials, but claiming that rabia's defense secretaries have not been able to crack the president's inner circle, that defense policy is really run here inside the white house and the defense secretaries have been railroaded. how do you answer that? >> the president is proud of the leadership and advice he received from the men who served as secretary of defense under his presidency. the president will rely on the

expertise of carter the same way he relied on the advice of secretary gates, panetta and hagel. >> it it not seem that secretary gates and secretary panetta thought that influence was looked at. >> i think to a person, secretary gates, secretary panetta and secretary hagel would echo that sentiment. >> has carter had any assurances from the president about his personal access, one-on-one, to the commander-in-chief? >> secretary carter -- mr. carter is somebody who will be afforded the privilege that previous defense secretaries have had, which is a weekly meeting with the president in the oval office. that is extensive access.

when those secretaries of defense communicate with the president outside of that weekly meeting, the president has been responsive to their communications. >> yesterday some questions about the american journalist who is being held by terrorists in yemen. on one of those questions you were asked whether there were delays. i understood you said yesterday some of this is still classified. since then, there have been reports [indiscernible] was it hesitation inside the white house to move forward, or were there problems him a gap's in the intelligence that justifies waiting? >> there are still some significant limits on what i can say about what is still classified operation. what i would reject in the strongest possible terms is

there was any delay at the white house in approving this mission. once the intelligence and the concept of operations had been developed by military planners and approved by the secretary of defense, it was forwarded to the white house. it did go through an interagency process that was as rigorous as you would expect it would be. there was careful consideration about the risk this operation would put -- would pose for our men and women in uniform. there was careful consideration

of the intelligence. there was careful consideration of a kind of diplomatic equities that are involved. there are important questions raised when an operation like this is taking place in a foreign country. there are important diplomatic questions that are raised when there is the potential that some of those who may be rescued are of a different nationality. there are important equities raised when it comes to either killing or even capturing extremists. thinking through all of those things is something that is important, consistent with the way the process worked in previous administrations, as something that only involves defense, intelligence, diplomatic channels, and others. there's careful interagency consideration given to this plan after it was signed off on by the secretary of defense. it was something that was approved by the commander-in-chief after that review in much less than 48 hours. >> there were reports that the administration is considering sanctioning israel over the

settlements issue. i wonder if you could say true or false. >> i have been informed of some of these reports. what i can tell you is i'm not going to talk about any sort of internal deliberations inside the administration and certainly not inside the white house. i will say something i have said many times before, which is that israel is a close and strategic partner of the united states. i don't need to remind you of the strong and unshakable bonds that exist between the united states and israel. the united states' exceedingly strong commitment to the security of israel. we have also been crystal clear about our view of settlement activity. that view has not changed. we believe settlements are illegitimate, and we have deep concerns about highly contentious planning and construction activities that the israeli government is pursuing in east jerusalem and the west bank. we believe those activities are counterproductive. we made those views clear in public. we made those views clear in private. >> you are not denying that sanctions or on the truck -- are on the table. >> am not denying we have strong concerns about that settlement activity. it has not and will not affect the united states' strong commitment to the national security of israel. >> at the same time you're considering sanctions against an ally in israel.

>> i'm not going to comment on those reports about our discussions as it relates to israel. >> you're leaving the door wide open here. you're not considering sanctions? >> i'm not willing to talk about those kinds of conversations. we have been clear about what our strategy is against iran. there is a historically tough sanctions regime in place against iran. those sanctions that were put in place by congress and implemented by this administration have been effective, both in terms of exacting a heavy toll on the iranian economy. we have seen their economic output, been significantly negatively affected by this. we have seen significant decline in the value of their currency. we do believe that while productive talks continue, it

would be unwise to put in place additional sanctions on iran only because of the success of that sanctions regime depends upon the ability and willingness of our partners around the globe to enforce the sanctions regime. there's not a whole lot of business conducted between the united states and iran directly. we are relying on other countries that do more business with iran to abide by the sanctions regime. so far we have gotten that international buy-in that has prompted the iranian leadership to come to the negotiating table to try to resolve the international community's concerns about their nuclear program. we have been clear about what our strategy is as it relates to iran. i'm less willing to talk about internal conversations about israel. mike? >> [indiscernible] the jobs report today --

>> i thought you would never ask. [laughter] >> 321,000 jobs. a series of economic data that shows the strengthening economy. investors seem to like it. yet americans remain deeply dissatisfied with the economy. do you think that is partly because the administration has failed to sell this to americans? is it partly the administration's fault that americans feel unhappy with the economy at this point? how does the administration [indiscernible] on to that? >> today's job report will have impact on the public perception of the economy, as it should. there are a lot of numbers included in this report to indicate the economy has not just made a lot of progress in recovering from the worst economic downturn since the great depression, but that progress is starting to accelerate. that is true whether you measure the number of jobs created or even in this instance, that the strength included in the [indiscernible] number is cause for up to miss

him. not just for people in this building, but also for working people across the country. we have now had 10 consecutive months of more than 200,000 jobs created. that is the longest streak we have seen in 20 years. that is a testament to how sustained this economic strength is. the other thing that is notable about this is we have actually experienced more job growth in the last 11 months than we have in any year since 1999. the strength we are exhibiting here is significant, and particularly as it relates to the kinds of economic projections that have been in place over the last few years.

as it relates to public appraisal of the economy, i think you heard from the president directly in the roosevelt room's a couple hours ago that there is more work that needs to be done to make sure that middle-class families are benefiting from our strengthening recovery. there are some metrics to indicate they are benefiting from it as much, that there are corporate profits are at an all-time high, the stock market continues to improve. we certainly welcome those signs of strength. we want to make sure that working folks are experiencing those benefits to. that continues to be the focal point of the president's policymaking agenda. >> the administration's request, does that include more money for the imf? last time you did not get it. are you pushing for it this

time? >> it's my understanding that the obama administration continues to be strongly supportive of congress acting on proposed imf reforms that would significantly expand the financial contribution the united states is able to make to the imf and development efforts without a significant increase in the kind of budgetary -- without significant increase in budgetary impact. [inaudible] we continue to be strongly supportive of the idea that congress should act on these reforms to the imf. these are reforms the united states originally proposed. we have seen countries around the world adopt them. failing to adopt them has had an impact on the kind of influence that we exercise in that multilateral body. we certainly would like for congress to take action. >> ok. mark? >> president obama went out to dinner last night. it was not told who he was having dinner with. why is that? >> i don't have a full list. i know there were some members

of his staff and friends who happened to be in town. it was not a working dinner. this was a social dinner. >> ok. can you get the list for us? >> i don't know -- if there are a couple names -- >> transparency. >> i know you are a leading advocate. i will look and see if we can get you some names. [inaudible] >> the point is that they

weren't doing business there. it was purely a social occasion. >> it is widely expected the senate intelligence committee will unveil its report on enhanced interrogation techniques next week. in advance of its release, has the president been given a copy of the report? >> the president has long advocated the declassified release of this report. we certainly welcome the news from the committee that they're planning to do so next week. the white house has been working closely with the committee and with the intelligence community to resolve some of the differences that have cropped up and are in the process of declassifying that report. the president is certainly aware of that report. he was able to be briefed on the classified version, and the president continues to believe he has articulated himself many times that it's important for

our country to be transparent, at least as transparent as possible when we are talking about classified programs about what occurred. we certainly welcome the news that the committee is preparing to release these reports. >> what is the level of expectation building ahead of the visit by prince william? >> there's a lot of enthusiasm. we certainly are looking forward to toasting him here in washington and at the white house for the first time. the president has had the opportunity to visit with prince william on a couple of other occasions. i alluded to my opening statement that the president, first lady had the opportunity to visit with the duke and duchess when the president and first lady were in london for a state visit.

the president also had an opportunity this summer at the 70th anniversary of d-day to visit briefly with prince william there as well. the president has had the opportunity to meet him a couple times. the president has enjoyed those previous conversations and is really looking forward to monday's conversation. john, last one. >> you mentioned the imf reforms. it would seem the talking to members of congress -- this has been sitting in congress for four years, and the president and managing director repeatedly call for action on it.

the attitude, particularly on the republican side, seems the opposite. not only do they criticize the reforms, but they talk about rescinding the extra $100 billion that congress voted above what it regularly gives. that was in 2009. a couple years ago this measured 100 co-sponsors in the house. senator duncan of tennessee has talked about reintroducing it right -- it. what are your feelings about the attitude of members which seem to be going in the opposite direction? >> the white house and the administration and president have been very clear about how important these imf reforms are. many of the people you described who are -- who opposed imf reforms are the same people who are suggesting we do more to support the people of ukraine. certainly the imf played an important role in offering economic assistance to the people of ukraine, and more assistance could be provided if the imf had access to greater resources. the imf would have greater access to resources if congress would follow through with passing these imf reforms. it's a pretty open and shut case, and we are hopeful that congress will do the right thing here and act on those imf reforms. >> let's do the week ahead before we go. on monday, we mentioned what i think will be the highlight of an eventful week, the visit of prince william to the white house. in the afternoon on monday, the president will take an interview for the colbert report with stephen colbert at george washington university. [inaudible] i believe so, yes. he had a great clip in promoting the president's participation in the show on monday.

he said he was traveling to washington and he was hoping to book his favorite 1990's alternative band, the presidents of the united states of america. they said there had been a mistake and he booked the actual president of the united states of america. it was for a clever. -- very clever. [inaudible] i don't know. [inaudible] >> why the change of heart? >> change you can believe in, right? [laughter] on tuesday the president will deliver an event for the senior executive service at the washington hilton. the senior executive service is comprised of federal workers. nashville, tennessee, urging congress to pass a comprehensive bill to get the job done. wednesday, the president will host a white house summit on early education. the summit will convene prominent business leaders, philanthropists, elected officials and members of the public committed to the expansion of high-quality early childhood education opportunities for children across the country from birth through school entry.

the president will announce new efforts to enhance and expand high-quality preschool programs in high need communities. the president will highlight new actions to invest in and expand access to high-quality early learning opportunities in communities across the country. the vice president will. also participate and deliver remarks --also participate and deliver remarks. on thursday, the president will join a meeting of the president's export council. the president expert counsel advises the president on policies and programs that affect u.s. trade performance and promote export expansion. this is something the president spent a lot of time talking about on his recent trip to asia. on friday, the president will attend meetings at the white house. thank you all.

have an excellent weekend. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] ? prison obama named ashton carter to run the defense department. the announcement came this morning in a white house pony. it is expected he will be easily approved.

on the next washington journal, the november jobs report and the overall health of the u.s. economy. discussesn selzer president obama's executive actions. terry gilliam talks about genetically modified foods. bless your phone calls, and tweets. live at 7:00 eastern on c-span. ? when the house and senate return they will be taking up legislation dealing with new federal spending. they face a december 11 deadline. what could be the final week of the congress. let's start with the article that talks about ironing out the money details for a deal.

what is the status? what are the details? ? >> the idea is he would allow every single federal agency except immigration enforcement agencies. that is a concession of republicans who want to find the immigration in the beginning of next year when they take control of the senate. aat is the condition for larger spending bill they had .greed watch for that to be a big fight going forward. there are other details that need to be ironed out. are things that

negotiators are going through right now. restrictions are , and some ofbills those things could be controversial if they are not ironed out now. those of the final details we are going to be watching closely. doesn't have the votes to pass the house? if they cannot do that we're going to look at it short-term for the entire government. ? what are you hearing about house republican leadership efforts to pass the bill? ? they are relying on democratic votes for that.

they view this spending fight as critical for stopping the presidents immigration move. do notepublicans leaders want to go down that path. they are worried about a government shutdown. as a result john boehner is going to possibly lose several dozen potentially conservative republicans come time for a vote. he will have to rely on democratic votes to get that through. going to makeis some concessions to get democrats on board. that is going to be a big question going forward. how far does he moved to get that democratic support through the house? those are things they are hammering out. >> nancy pelosi, another article talks about her flexing her muscles. what is she telling democrats?

? her aim is to show the democratic leverage on this particular issue. they say if we hold out votes right now, if we tell the republicans we are not going to some work this, then the republicans will move closer to their direction. riders of certain policy the democrats don't like. the longer they hold out support the mower boehner will have to give to them. a lot of republicans think this is an effort by the democrats to lead to a short-term continuing revolution -- resolution. some think democrats want to have this big fight over spending at the beginning of the new congress to prompt a government shutdown at the beginning, something that would get republicans blamed for.

on that show we're going to go down that direction. pelosi believes holding out as long as possible would help. here,ing down to the wire we are talking just about the house. one of a going to need to do in order to get this? a difficulte is institution as you know. it takes longer to ask bills unless all of hundred members be a consideration which is not an easy thing. bill, theng democratic led senate is going to need cooperation from republicans. conservatives cannot slow down the spending bill once it passes the senate. assuming that it does. that is one big consideration. the senatether bills majority leader wants to get done like the defense authorization bill.

they are trying to get that out of the senate next week. republicans want more time to debate that. the big question going forward, and the extension of expired tax breaks. --ething that is awake awaiting senate action. in addition to nominations, judgeship and executive ranch nominations that democrats want to be confirmed in their final days in office before the republican leader controls the senate next year. those are things they are trying to get done in a week's time. if they don't get republican support they could see the senate calendar slipping into the final week, something all senators want to avoid. ? thank you for joining us -->> thank you for joining us. ?

tree, we heard remarks from john boehner during the 25 minute event. [applause] >> keeping with tradition, the speaker of the house will extend his holiday greetings to you and officially light this tree in just a few moments. before we get to that big moment i want to welcome members of congress and distinguished guests. our capitol hill neighbors. those who are visiting the nation's capitol today. thank you for joining us. like to acknowledge members of the minnesota delegation in attendance, including senator amy klobuchar, al franken, and congressman rick nolan. [applause]

this incredible tree has been beautifully decorated with thousands of handmade ornaments crafted by children and others in minnesota communities as a gift from the land of 10,000 lakes. [applause] speaking of ornaments, each year the united states capitol building -- capital society prisons a stunning ornament. olis features a classic capit design. at this time i would like to introduce former member of congress and president of the ca pitol historical society, mr. ron sarasin. ? thank you. my thanks to this

event. this christmas tree is absolutely beautiful. to have the privilege of the capitol historical society, adding our ornament to the jury. -- to the tree. i would like to present to you this ornament. it is made from marble that came from the capitol from the steps that were removed in 1990. thank you very much. [applause] ? thank you. thank you. fire0 years the u.s. service has partnered to bring a christmas tree to the capitol

from one of our nation's national parks. i would like to specifically thank all of the dedicated for service staff here in washington and in minnesota who have helped make this event possible. it is quite an undertaking. we are always appreciative of your hard work. in particular, we would like to thank you, beverly carol who will be retiring after 30 years with the fire service. she has been a part of the christmas treat your duration -- christmas tree tradition for 30 years. we wish you all the best. [applause] joining us tonight is the honorable robert body representing the department of agriculture. he has a holiday message to share with all of you. mr. bonnie? it is an honor to be here to

represent the u.s. department that are alter and the u.s. fire service. the speaker of the house 50 years ago began the tradition of the capitol christmas tree to share the holiday spirit. the capitol hails from one of our national forest is a reminder to all of us of the importance of conserving our national resources. the tree is a wonderful example of the american can-do spirit. thousands of hours are spent to bring it to the capitol. the year's tree comes from chip on national forest. established in 1908 as the first national forest east of the mississippi river, it is at the headwaters of the river. it contains 400,000 acres of wetlands and latex.

lakes. it has been home to native americans for 10,000 years. that makes the celebration even more important. y have played a critical role to bring the tree here. there are members here today. a tree from the chippewa national first was last selected. partners like these are vital for all the work we do on the national forest. let's celebrate this partnership

and this tree. merry christmas and happy holidays. [applause] ? thank you. this tree has traveled 2000 miles across the country from minnesota. just a mere 12 days ago this white spruce arrived here where our dedicated team of grounds crew went to work decorating it. this is the final tree, the final of 34 trees. you will be missed. do at the ground crew fantastic job? [applause] a special shout out to their leader. the superintendent of capitol grounds. he had the top task selecting just one tree from the many amazing trees found in ship on

national forest. next, it is my honor to bring up members of the minnesota delegation to offer their remarks. i have the honor of introducing senator amy klobuchar who became the first woman to represent minnesota in the united states senate in 2006. she serves on the senate committee on the kirk coulter, nutrition, and forest tree. -- committee on agriculture, nutrition, and forestry. [applause] >> hello everyone. it is so great to see you here. we are proud of this tree from the state of minnesota. words of garrison keillor, a state where the women are strong, the men are

good-looking, and all of the trees are above average. this tree is 88 the above average. we are proud of it. we had our delegation here. congresswoman bachmann is here. congressman paulson are here. petersonan ellison and are also very proud of this tree. thank you speaker boehner for being here in the midst. another leader on the democratic side is also with us today. i would like to thank our brave boy for being here. we are excited to have you light up this tree tonight. our stateitting that is providing this huge christmas tree from the forest. you should know it is home to a huge statue of paul bunyan.

here is a fun fact. it would take for paul bunyan statue's to reach the star on that tree. as was noted, i was there at the beginning when this tree was cut by minnesota's longer of the year, who is a big guy. i wanted to do it myself but he took over. .his tree traveled 2000 miles i was at some of the events in minnesota. i was astounded by the school kid that would turn out to see the tree. , it makeshe citizens you realize that people of this country, and the children of this country still care that their tree from their state is going to be standing in front of this capitol building. from the forrester's and the conservationists and the loggers who work every day to maintain

the beauty of the forest, my a logger,r -- he was so i know how hard this life could be. but it was all the kids the work on the ornaments, the tribal tree.s that blessed the by sharing this not so small piece of minnesota here, we are letting everyone know about the natural beauty and cultural richness found in our state. we are letting everyone know why we need them to come to minnesota and experience it for themselves. i would like thank everyone who made this possible. we are proud to have minnesota tree in front of the united states capitol building. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. now ladies and gentlemen it is my pleasure to introduce senator al franken, who has been serving

the people of minnesota since 2009. [applause] thank you for being here everyone. it is a big honor to have this years tree from the chippewa national forest. we minnesotans do not like to brag. our tree is 88 feet tall. tied for the second-largest capitol christmas tree ever. only a foot shorter than the tallest. the second-largest doesn't sound much like a brand. in minnesota, home of hubert humphrey and walter mondale, being second is a brag. [laughter] 88 feet. do you know how many years it takes to grow and 88 foot tall

tree? neither do i. it took a very long time. what you don't see here are the 70 other trees that were brought from minnesota to washington dc along with this huge one. those trees are scattered throughout offices around the city, including one in my office. made 10,000ildren ornaments to decorate all these because we are the land of 10,000 lakes. 42 lakes.1,8 that doesn't have the same ring as 10,000 lakes. the land of 10,000 lakes. thus the 10,000 ornaments.

one of the very popular ornaments that these children called a dream catcher. circular,e one, it is it has knitting in there. jibwe legend. of o they are believed to protect you by catching the bad dreams and thoughts are letting only positive thoughts come true. i think that is a good sentiment for the holidays these and, don't you? yes, you do. [applause] today, as we like the tree, let us only be filled with positive thoughts and with the joy and love of the season. i, wer klobuchar and

represent the entire state of minnesota. this tree comes from the eighth congressional district. it is wonderfully represented by congressman rick nall. he can lay claim to it as well. here we have him, are great congressman. [applause] ? on behalf of the minnesota delegation, i want to welcome all of you to this wonderfully warm afternoon. and evening. believe it or not it was an 80 degree difference change in temperature from the time we left minnesota yesterday and got year today. what a wonderful tree this is. i want to thank the forest ,ervice, chairwoman cari jones

thank you for nurturing this tree and the wonderful celebration have created for the harvesting of this tree. one is wonderful about this tree , many things, but with its 10,000 ornaments and lighting that you will be able to seek up,r space once it is lit what is really wonderful about it is it is right in the middle of the capitol building, and there is nothing partisan about it. there are no democratic, republican parts of that tree. are brancheshere going out to the left and to the right, and everything in between.

what is magnificent about it is that it reminds us all that we are one nation, one people. joined together in a common cause, in a common message to the world about the importance liberty, ande, freedom. what a great honor it is to be able to provide this tree at this time. thank you. [applause] ? thank you so much. now it is my great privilege to introduce the speaker of the house, john boehner. speaker boehner has served the people of the eighth district of ohio since 1990. theanuary, 2011, he became 53rd speaker of the house. he carries on the tradition of lighting the u.s. capitol

christmas tree. ladies and gentlemen, the honorable john boehner. [applause] thank you. let me thank all of you are here tonight. thank you to everyone involved in making this evening happen. minnesota, andf to the thousands of students who maybe decorations. this tree truly embodies the christmas spirit. is int, just as our dome a season of restoration, we are here to begin one of our own. it is to these simple men that the angel suddenly appears announcing that on to you is born this day in the city of david the savior, christ the

lord. shepherds don't just rejoice at this gift. they catch a claims of it for themselves. bethlehem theyo say, and see what has come to pass. they share their good tidings with the world. that is what makes christmas so magical. rediscover for ourselves the glory of god's love. to see the fresh eyes of traditions, and hope and all, just as the lights on the tree shine together to overcome the darkness. from my people and the people's's house, i wish a happy christmas to all of you, and to all a good night. we have now reached that moment you've all been waiting for. to go back inside. [laughter]

to help us like the tree this year we have a special guest from just up the road in maryland. he and his family are here from the help of the make-a-wish foundation. we have asked him to come down here and help us kick off the holiday season. ladies and gentlemen, join me in giving a warm welcome to aaron urban. [applause] ? are you ready? let's start. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! [applause] ♪

>> what a magnificent tree. thank you everyone for coming tonight to join speaker boehner. the minnesota congressional delegation. the u.s. forest service. the united states ceremonial band. the lighting of our capitol christmas tree. merry christmas everyone, and good night. [applause]

♪

>> next, president obama announcing his choice for secretary of defense. a form on the u.s. and global response to ebola. after that, discussion on the presidents policing task force. nominatedobama has ashton carter to be his next secretary defense. he made the announcement from the roosevelt room of the west wing. mr. carter will succeed mr. hagel. this is about 20 minutes.