putting the lives and well-being of patients first. in closing, i ask you to spend time with your constituents that are involved with cancer innovation as you enjoy the thanksgiving day holidays. many go back into their districts and whatnot. i would ask you, if you see cancer patients ask them what would ask you, when you them what they care for. cancer researchers, if you see them, asked them, if they have adequate funding for cancer research. "think about, but we do not fund research, what does this a nation ages, and the for oncologists grow.

finally, if you see an oncologist or nurse, ask them what their hopes are for the future. you ask yourself, if one of your loved ones was diagnosis of cancer, what you want the most innovative personalized care for them? c can focus on the survival, a sub optimal position. thank you. [applause] >> good morning. thank you all for being here. two years ago i would have never imagined i would be speaking to group like this. a o years ago is lying in hospital bed. two years ago i had just been that the tumor i had

was not operable. two years ago, i was preparing to. let me start from the beginning first awakeningof cancer was following a seizure when his end of the hospital. prior to that, i visited my primary care doctor, but i was the much useless. i had headaches, they wouldn't stop. did having -- they shortly after, the craniotomy. when the tumor was surgically as oved, it was diagnosed stage for metastatic cancer with an unknown primary. that tissue, however, was consistent with lung tissue. what followed were many doctors

visits and tests. would need rmined i to begin chemo -- they found another mass in my stomach. we would start the absolute highest dosage. we had to wean that down because it's too devastating all my blood cells. i was another victim of the killer cancer.would need herded into a infusion room of like patients. if you look in that infusion room, you see that cancer does not discriminate -- it hits all. all sit impatiently while punk chemotherapy into our bloodstream's. hope, and trust, that the practice will get us through this journey.

unfortunately, after three and ds of chemotherapy, actually a fourth, there was minimal change in the size of a tumor. i talked to my oncologist and were two options -- genomic testing was a new not be it may or may covered by my insurance. i opted to go by both. first, was the surgery. as information was being me, almost simultaneously the results from genomic testing came to me. a met d me that i had

i should tion -- to a drug.sitively that was november 19, 2012. in january, when i went for the has ow-up scan, the tumor shrunk 60%. is w, in subsequent test, it completely gone. that is all due to a simple pill. cancer is not an easy road to navigate. many failures, and many along the way.s but, after the genomic testing, the story becomes very short and precise. it is science, and nontraditional medicine, it is innovation. you today story with -- certainly not because i enjoyed reliving every moment of it -- but, is important to what is ecome aware of

available. for s given opportunity genetic treatment -- genomic treatment -- through that we found a drug that was specific to treat my cancer mutation. there are, i'm sure, many other benefit from ould it. not know why it could be regulatory or government obstacles. can save know they for lives. other innovations can provide like sustaining treatment. i can only speak on my -- genomic treatment can help many, maybe not all. science is moving rapidly. other

the itional medicine in past needs to change -- and it needs to change now. that can be up to you. i strongly believe that with the help of science and the near t funding, in future -- >> we want you to understand its mission is.

so that we can can secure the future of innovation. the cancer in a beijing college in january shed 2014) patient advocate campaign. american cancer society, friends of cancer support , and cancer community, health care nurses, business leaders. our membership numbers 65 national organizations. cancer innovation coalition

will focus on policy and 2015 in the following three areas -- there will be tremendous focus in the we need to do area of clinical trial -- clinical trial design, and accelerated accruals for trials, there will be cancer innovation coalition on testing, and reimbursement. there also be very deliberate area of the transparency, and access. as we know, the affordable care that should issions cover clinical trials. however, absent rulemaking on main street throughout america,

very different interpretations as to what will be paid for and what will not be paid for. it is very important that we look at the issue of transparency. in the affordable care act, we call for transparency. that ll for transparency form of pose any of crimination to any member the society. today, we of health plans that through loping pathways financial compensation. that may be good process. we do not know. we think it can be advanced with a clear definition of what is a pathway. and what options are being eliminated from the pathway. we know that as we look at the cancer innervation coalition

and the work that we have ahead of us, but we must understand united states can handle of cancer population of 2.3 million people by the time we get to 2030. we know the fda has worked deliberately in recent months to united states can accelerate and expand.

that usually cost -- we know that if we're of all research hours in efforts to improve clinical trials, part of is legislative guidance that allows us to create new and diverse models. and to be able to move drugs to market more quickly. we also know that in the united to secure it to future renovation, we have a model the we can look at it united kingdom. the government said that they change something -- we

are losing our citizens to this disease, cancer. 2001, they have started trial network -- a couple that with the creation clinical trial registry through which, if i have an interest, and funding a clinical trial, we can register with that body. introductions will be made. today, we have multiple trials in the country that include multiple manufacturers, nonprofits, and the government. they had been able to move trial since 2001 now to 17% annually. nation ted states is a of compassion. is a nation of sensitivity

to the needs of its population. it is a nation that wants to embrace the future, and make life better for everyone in this country. one way that we can do that is to deal with securing innovation in the field of cancer. let's remove the statistics about the 70% families who have a cancer diagnosis -- that they will move into bankruptcy six months into diagnosis. let's get rid of that. of the statistics we are not reaching the successes that we need. you are in a position in the work d states congress to with us to have introduced regulatory reform measures that can improve what we have currently in statute. you are in a position in introduce new legislation that can perhaps

instead more creative clinical trial design. that can insert more funding for federal funding. we have lost 20% of our funding agencies whose job are to start the research at the bedside. that is where began. there is no one who can step forward and fill that gap. so, when you combine the loss 20% of revenues of research escape of th the foreign capitalists to markets -- you can see where we are today in the united states. clinical trial approvals are happening overseas. that means, we lose jobs, we lose revenues.

the patient but that's really ill, and need options. so, through cancer innervation coalition, and project innovation, we will be moving with multiple regulatory and legislative asks in 2015. we want to partner with each of you in this room. need your ideas. on february 11, we will be at the national press club.

at that point, we will announce to america at the blueprint of the cancer innovation coalition further project innovation remedies that we are working with members of the united states congress to shape today. i am pleased to have had the opportunity to give you a bit of academic background of the cancer innovation coalition and what we want to achieve. questions and answers after we hear from one additional group of experts. at that point, we will announce to america at the blueprint of the >> this is an exciting time because we have an opportunityto make the most advanced clinical decisions to every cancer patient regardless where they live and the socioeconomic background. i think now innovation becomes so important and healthcare

is no expectation. happening hings are right now -- technology, etc. there's really an application by the patient on innovation. >> one of the goals of cancer to improve.+++

we need animation to continue to move and operate. experience of cancer can improve. >> you have heard from a number of people today. now it is your turn. to do is invite you to address your questions of our panelists.

scott nly congressman would also like to join in the dialogue and discussion. and we have left you speechless -- that could be a good thing. if we have left you energize, that is a better thing -- what i would save you definitely have our contact information. don't hesitate to advance your questions, your ideas. it will take all of us together

develop a strategy to improve innovation and cancer for 300 million people in the united states. thank you so much. you congressman scott. heather, the patient always gets it right. also like to thank nancy and john to have helped us with this meeting. please excuse, my colleague was in the back of the room.

the announcement received -- was received very positively by cubans. they said, this is a great day, see now we have to wait and what will happen. it is believed that every cuban will be better off moving forward. my sense is that president castro moved into this direction for pragmatic reasons. the cuban n updating been my -- it has not going too well.

moving forward. in the u.s., taking cube off the list of state-sponsored terrorism, which is likely to happen over the coming months, could be very important and have huge implications. the embargo still remains and will likely not change given the politics in washington. but the changes in the mood and the environment in u.s. latin america relations are already being felt. the move has been cheered and applauded throughout the region.

there is a sense the upcoming summit, the next summit in panama in april in 2015, we can expect some warm feelings given this decision. breakthroughnning long-awaited. we're still trying to absorb it and figure out what it means. there are always challenges. there are challenges in washington to figure out how to move forward, hopefully -- given the divisions and doubts that exist, there are challenges in the region, how to take advantage of this shift for better u.s.-but america relations on a range of critical issues that we all face, which implies very hard work. there are challenges in cuba. as president obama said quite rightly in a speech last wednesday --

with those brief referral actions and impressions, but return to the real experts to tell us why this happened now, what it means, what consequences we should expect, and the perception of what the reactions have been here in washington come in miami, and cuba as well. i first want to give the floor to ted who has been directing a terrific program on cuba. we are delighted to be collaborating with ted and brookings at this event. >> working five or six years intensively and i want to make note of in particular 50

huddleston, former head of the u.s. intersection of havana can to brookings as a visiting fellow. and formed a working group to focus deeply on the cuba issue and put forth this set of ideas, really a roadmap for what the new president in 2008-2009 could do to move toward a new policy of critical the constructive engagement with cuba. and since then, we're taken up the mantle, myself and other colleagues, richard feinberg, to really look more deeply at what , inhappening on the island particular, on the economy. richard new farmer and others formed a working group with a group of cuban economists richard gere and a half to two years to really meet regularly .nd look at a series of issues i think that is important part of the story. let me step back a little bit.

i really want to take a moment to appreciate what just happened. it was stunning. as michael said. even among the optimists, much more than we had hoped for. i think it shows something about presidential leadership on both sides of a particularly president obama, for taking the steps you took in a very bold way. we were at this conference together, the ministry of foreign relations diplomatic academy. you had a group of 80, 90, 100 people committee 20 americans, the rest cuban specialists, people, maybe 100 20 americans, the rest been specialists, focusing. it had a certain drama to it that was particularly important. as simultaneous presidential announcements. in cuba, we all such

together watching raul's statement and they were able to take resident obama's following that. that was important symbolic recognition of something that is so important to the cuban mindset, which is some sense of respect. some mutual recognition that they are not just this island that is sub sovereign to us. they have their own identity, their own nationalism, their own history. at the same time, airplanes in the air with returning -- in our case and their cases, spies, but heroes for some. that was particularly important. as we have heard this spy swap was part of the unlocking of the received an intelligence agent back in

return for the three of the cuban five who have been here for 16 years in prison and she military and gesture, the return of alan gross on the beginning of hanukkah, which i think is .lso particularly important symbolically, import to the jewish community. not eligible jewish committed, december 17 is also the saint lazarus holiday, which is particularly important in cuba, not just cuban, but an important festival. i think a powerful man which the president obama used in his announcement was noteworthy. he admitted failure. -- isk that is his

something important to recognize. it is hard for a president to get out there and admit failure. the embargo has failed to achieve the aims initially set out. those aims changed. that is where became so difficult for us to promote.

it affects all americans, not just cuban-americans.

americans should not be restricted in their ability to travel. this is a neighboring country, many other to go to difficult countries. including north korea, we should be able to go to cuba. it also restore the sense of hope that change will continue, as it must. cuba is a place in great need of change. i think this is the beginning end.he the end of a long nightmare. there is real sense of hope that their lives will get better. i can keep going, but also cause there. we could talk about all the that led to ctors this, but i will --

>> tthank you. turn out to carlo. carlo is one of the best informed cuban-americans. joins us from miami. >> thank you for inviting me. i wish of i was a fly on the wall when you are in cuba. looking forward to hearing about what transpired there. would like to mention, i am so pleased to have collaborated the inter-american dialogue group and the council of the americas. this reflects a lot of the hard work that has gone into this.

there have been a lot of efforts and is really rewarding to see that work begin to pay way for ch a wonderful the cuban people. long ago, we decided that it was not strategically relevant to be assessed with the regime. we need to focus on the cuban people and their welfare. ou had asked me to talk about what accounts for the change -- on the human side, i think it for an increasing awareness of economic change, that what they're doing is not enough. and more substantive reforms to turn things around.

agree that what happened with oil prices, and acids of had a arabia has significant impact in putting nail on the coffin of the expectations of venezuela. i think that should not be understated. i think it is a significant factor. the next factor is the diminishing value of getting the prisoners out of jail. it has already been several some point they there is any if value to this, it is probably the best time to use the card now. last but not least is the willingness of the u. s.

those of us that humans understand how cubans behave, how important it is -- clearly, this was structured in great part by the office of the holy father. he became very acceptable to the cuban leadership. on the u. s. side, this is a opportunity for president obama. it is a historic and transcendental thing that has happened. was also broad support from the cuban-american community for this to happen.

a demonstration that being bold on cuba, and doing the right cuba was no longer the famous third rail of american politics. i think that was borne out by miami on this n reaction. day as his announcement, there was a people on h st. on saturday, many organizations called for demonstration. i think that they were barely 250 people. sometimes i felt like the wolf grinding the desert on this issue. i think the facts now is that miami faces big change.

america is coming out of the the qa issue -- cuban issue. this reaking down on relationship that was not doing side of the either equation. this was a strategic move on the part of both presidents. able to change single handedly what was a unilateral approach to cuba. last year at that you and we lost the important ally of laos. turned that around a significant multilateral

approach,, and support for engagement. putting the things that matter on the table. human rights, democracy, all the other things that we value. smart also an incredibly and strategic move of resetting american ive on latin relations. there was an awful lot of pressure from latin america and europe to make this happen. has ink the president turned that around. we can develop more common ground on cuba and dialogue about things that matter. has but not least, this

and chavisimo in venezuela. the repercussions of that. now, they have to face her own own country heir and change the things that need to be changed. reaction action -- internationally has been very strong. within the republican party, there has been unspoken support of these measures. marco rubio and others have hurt themselves more than they ave held themselves on these issues. to the point where marco rubio

unpresidential on the issue. and amongst the cuban-american community, i think the reaction has been very positive. especially in the business community, it has been very well received. to arly, the future belongs the young people. there, the president has overwhelming support for the steps the years taken. the reaction in cuba -- hope has been flowing back to cuba. hope has been restored. when people are hopeless, it is hard to make change. i'm hearing from younger people may have been thinking of s. or ating to the u. other countries, now they are saying i need to think --

rethink. also important here, how the civil say the community has been aligning with this. when you gauge the reaction of and you see ople, dissidents who are more in tune with the hard-line of miami, we see a huge disconnect. they are asking the u. s. government to do something that is hugely impossible and does not connect with the masses. this is very telling. it would have negative consequences. then, a few consequences, i think the embargo has been more than wounded. however, i think the worst

mistake we could make is to have made all the changes and leaves the embargo in place. are leaving the empty suit of the boogie man. a huge think would be mistake. things that will happen, all the other embargoes not been lifted -- this will allow investors from all around the world to poconos into cuba, see what is happening in cuba. it is a bigger interest and hope that cuba will be more investment in the future. it will mean the american business people and interest will keep falling behind.

the consequence here is the more normal we treat cuba, the more difficult it is for them to behave. an opportunity for e.alogu i think this is the best opportunity that come along for cuba to dialogue. we no longer have the crotch of using the u. s. as a proxy to solve problems.

still have a we government with a very exclusive policy. the government is focused on the exclusion of certain sectors of society. puts pressure on cuban-americans and cuban society to reinvent themselves, reposition themselves. new market strategy to dialogue. look for unifying solutions for the future. of change on dialogue and engagement among cubans themselves. this will be the most wonderful

opportunity to reinvent themselves in a new way, a new light. to cuban be a boost civil society. conclusion of my remarks. >> thank you. that was terrific. be a lot of re will questions. >> thank you. said already, and i know their questions out there. cuba has engaged for quite a while and want to recall one we undertooktivity was back in 1995 when we brought

a delegation of americans and latin americans to cuba together. this was a group that was chaired by elliot richardson, the former attorney general of the united states, a very prominent statesmen as well. escar arias from costa rica who had finished his term. that iter very well was, in many respects, it was a great success. i remember talking to a group of staff in a smaller conference room we had them and telling people what great success this trip had been, the press conferences we had in washington , the number of people we talked to in cuba, we met with all most everybody in cuba except for the common dante.

i can tell you what we did not meet with him. dinnersvent, -- we had in congress with 25 congressmen and senators. i was explaining all of this to the staff. a new staff member, a venezuelan, was sitting next to me and she pulled my suit and she said " peter, i thought the inter-american dialogue, its purpose was to change policy." and i don't see any policy changes on the horizon." i went through a long explanation of why this was going to be the case and i have been explaining it now for 20 years. [laughter] change, we have a policy and i like to think we had at least a small contribution to it along with brookings and others that have been working on it. my basic response was that, in a chess game come you don't kill

the king or try to kill the king on every move. you have to work toward that. sayny event, let me just the most important thing i think that is not gotten enough attention in the first round was that i think we really now have a situation where it's up to the cubans and particularly the coop -- the cuban leadership. the united states has gone pretty far as we have heard everyone speak now. the changes, if they take place with an increased opening from the united states and certainly policy changes in cuba are going to depend on decisions made in havana and nowhere else. be an increased pressure and somewhat increased influence in the united states but those changes have to be made and we can watch the slow

pace of economic reform in cuba and the slow pace of political reform up to now in cuba. frankly, i was a bit disheartened after hearing obama speak about a call for change and it's a mission of failure and its readiness to move forward. role -- speech of castro told talked about what was -- what would not be changed. and that has been repeated by raoul castro. i think one has to be a little bit cautious because unless there is change at that level, there is not going to be much of the consequences. i am very hopeful and i think the fact that the cuban government agreed to what they agreed to is good news and maybe and the journey of

1000 miles starts with a first step of the journey of two miles starts with one step as well so let's hope. it's the extent to which the cubans open up that will make it easier for the u.s. government to move forward. if the cubans regress on there is any retrogression, it will be very, very hard. the opponent seven opening will that i think emerge, should be a source of concern. let me just say one other thing. then i will turn it over for questions. carlos emphasized and michael and ted to some degree, u.s.

credibility in latin america has risen substantially. i do think, with what i said before about the important changes coming from havana and the leadership, for the first time, we may have some allies on cuba. i think the u.s. policy toward cuba may have partially failed because it was the wrong policy. but it also failed because we were working without partners or allies in latin america or elsewhere in the world. nobody really wanted to be associated with the u.s. policy. any kind of international pressure was sort of undercut and we were trying to do it by ourselves. perhaps is, we now can

not immediately but over time get allies in this and i think it's important. that i findnt interesting in this is that this was an initiative by the president. without congressional support he has also taken action on the two other issues. other major irritants in the latin-u.s. relationship and created more distance between the u.s. and latin america on drug policy and on immigration policy. initiativesave been done only by the president. there has been no congressional action on either of these. wheren interesting case the president who, before the cuban inch -- initiative, it was not recognize he was operating on his own. now it becomes clearer that has happened.

i must admit, i am watching all the pundits change their views on president obama. suddenly he is one of the most creative individuals in international affairs because of cuba. i think a lot of us that work on latin america suddenly see him in a as well. event, i will turn it over to all of you and michael. >> thank you. why don't we open it up? i want to recognize colleagues from the cuban intersection who have joined us here. it may perhaps soon be the cuban embassy in havana. they are looking for a flagpole so they can raise the american flag which i think would be the next step in this process. i only ask you to please identify yourselves and be brief. you can make a comment or have a question. we want to get as much from all of you as we can.

let's start with steve and we will collect a few. >> good morning and thank you very much. folks got be that the ahead of their community. >> one comment is that we and the association experience wantg to make changes and

to concentrate more on changes in economic policy in cuba. after 25 years, unfortunately, we see very little. the most egregious example is the policy of unification that they continue to do against the advice of the war pack. the question is, now we have a responsibility, those who work in latin america and support dialogue, we have this opportunity with the political opening. i'm very happy that president obama took this position. we do have the responsibility to promote an opening with civil society in cuba, promotion with human rights, and the question we have -- can we come in the united states, try to do that in civil society? with the clear understanding that president castro and his regime are not really interested in those changes.

>> thank you. let's go in the back. do you have a question? >> the first question is -- >> tell everybody who you are. i'm from the university of denver now moving to nyu. carlos, you said the cuban government was not interested in going as far as restoring diplomatic relations. evidence do you have of that? on the issue of the connection between venezuela and the process that took place, it seems to me there is another way to see it. venezuela, cuba can takenited states the relationship to the highest level in a way that both can play a constructive role promoting negotiated and constructive solutions rather

than the crisis in venezuela touching only cuba. >> thank you. let's go to carlos and maybe you can respond. we will have time for other questions. do you want to respond to those question mark >> thank you, michael. >> i am not belittling their emotional -- how emotional they are about the issue. they are personally invested in this position. frankly, one part of the deal which was the release of three of the remaining five, that carries some additional emotional baggage and pain in the community that needs to be respected and understood you

however, i have said many times in this community that while there is a lot of pain, we cannot allow ourselves to have a meritocracy of pain. is an important issue here. we need to move forward. i was really surprised by the extreme of marco rubio's ifction, to say that even 99% of the population wanted this he would not budge for it last time i heard somebody say that was fidel castro in the early stages of the revolution. [laughter] that does not make any sense to me. fact that theyhe were not of informed ahead of time. feelings are hurt and their pride is hurt. i think you need to understand that reaction. cooler heads will begin to prevail at least i hope they do. what we canncerning

do -- clearly, the sum opportunity to strengthen civil society. a change ofng aside prisoners and putting aside the diplomatic relations, the rest of the entire basket obama mentioned are measures that are intended and geared to helping civil society. letter thatned the included a significant number of those recommendations and they were intended to help civil society take an active role in cuba's life. not because we believe that civil society will bring down the regime but because we believe that cuba needs to have a civil society and over time, a thriving civil society is

democracy's best life insurance policy. arturo'srespond to don'tt, i said clearly i have information from individual sources but i reasons to believe that is exactly what has happened, that there was resistance on the cuban part of the decision. >> ted, you do you want to add something? >> i want to take this question about the economic changes and civil society together and look at it this way -- first, cuba has been going through some process of change. it is modest and not as dramatic as we would like but it does create some interesting openings. the microly in economy. you see the opening of new private businesses, people can use their homes to rent out rooms, that is now beginning to take off and you have restaurants, etc.

this is one category of economic activity that could come over time, create a class of people who are invested in more change and more opening and less regulation and less role of the state in the economy and get people some independence from the state. this is a good thing. we should be encouraging this but not blocking. that's why it is important for the president to outline a series of steps the administration can take to get us out of the way and get our narrative of embargo out of the way and get about empowering the cuban people. one way to empower them is through the economic changes. on the macro side, there is a much bigger problem a cuba faces. it's the currency reform. it's a dual currency system that completely distorts the economy and it is creating an inequality in their system. they know they need to address it and it will be very difficult for them. it will create winners and losers. the losers are the poorest in the society. some of them do get by with

remittances and through other smaller economic activity but many of them do not. the government is very concerned about how to protect those are their constituency. it's the goals of the revolution that everyone be and benefit from health and free education, etc. those major goals of the revolution are being threatened. you already see a deterioration in the quality of health care and the quality of education. they need to send more doctors and teachers abroad to earn currency. this is really fraying the system they have there. they need some way of unifying those currencies and rightsizing the economy and it will show all the inefficiencies of all the different state owned enterprises. it will be a major shakeout. to me, that will be the biggest story to watch in 2015. civil more specific society issue, what will happen,

carlos is right, the community that has been looking to the united states to save them, the dissidents, artists -- are upset with this decision and will need to refashion themselves and adjust. in cuba, there is a much broader sense of civil society. there is great debate within that community. that includes within the government and the party. you will see greater fragmentation and greater debate happening even within the confines of the party. that is a good thing. that is the seeds of change and that's why i am hopeful for it. >> this is going to sound strange but maybe the u.s. should give an opportunity for other countries and the cubans forward, too move move too quickly and provide large amounts of support to cuba is going to sort of create -- the cuban leadership has shown over and over again they want to

maintain control. control is the central part, the central problem of the reform process. they want reforms but they don't want to let the reforms takeover. to the extent that other latin american countries whether it's mexico or brazil who have lots cuba well andknow travel regularly there have a much more normal relationship to take more of the leadership. that might be more effective than trying to wonder what the next steps are for the u.s. and what does usaid do? what does the state department do? what do the ngo's do>? what does latin america and spain and the rest do. we have to let that progress. >> ambassador, let's take another round. >> i am a retired foreign service officer. i'm a political of us are at the

u.s. interest in havana 1979-80. 35 years ago and i'm getting older and so are fidel and raoul so i want to take your ideas of models of transition. who does this? how fast do you go? it's the international community's responsibility. i watched leaders down there when i have been down there acting nastier and tougher than raoul who is a tough guy. are they just showing off for their bosses? are they in new generation of leaders that will move this process along? mentioned byt was carlos -- why don't we come over here -- >> if the embargo is not list -- lifted for a year, what is the

line? what can the u.s. do in the way of economic health that will help the smaller enterprises? someone at the state department said it is not open season for american business down there. where is the line, what will be permitted other than being able to send in more money in investment and encouraging these entrepreneur businesses? >> thank you. i'm from the german marshall fund. carlos mentioned there was a role that your plate in bringing pressure on this. as their role has changed the last year, they are rethinking their policy toward cuba, how much pressure to that rang? removing anout irritant from latin america in u.s. policy. what will it do for u.s. and europe? -- let'sgo in the back get a canadian and venezuelan perspective. and then sonia.

huh? ok, i'm sorry. issues that's in the road -- in the way of the road to full relations is u.s. property claims in cuba. what steps have been taken through the claims settlement process to think about how that will happen in order to move along this change question mark >> sonja? >> thank you, is venezuela going to be the new cuba in u.s. foreign policy? ok, let's start with carlos. i think we need to understand -- i think the cuban leadership knows and understands this. if they don't know it, i hope they do. is goingdevelopment

crazy. just because you have it increasing of the outlet, unless you have the right connection, you will not get any benefit. the fact that the world opens up to cuba economically -- the rest of the world has been open to cuba except for the u.s. the fact that it is open to cuba means nothing unless cuba implements the right kind of reforms that it needs in order to meet the challenge. before the investment law was put in place a year ago, they have not been able to show one investor of credibility, it just doesn't work. at some point, the cuban government has to stop fooling around the edges and come back with significant reforms. that it is okaid

to the cuban government to decide there are sectors of the economy they want to keep it under state control. what they need to do rather than reform ever sexually of the economy -- -- then reform every sector of the economy is take the certain ones and turn them over to the public and turn them over completely. that's the only thing that will work in cuba, it's incremental reform at the margins of every economic sector. i think this is obvious. i don't know what more evidence they will need to come to this conclusion. to me it is incredibly obvious. is where i come back to the embargo, the embargo remains lethal. castro inhat raoul the cuban government want to implement macroeconomic reforms, the embargo continues to be the

biggest obstacle to macro economic reform. in my opinion, cuba cannot make the necessary macro economic reforms without access to the international financial world. until that changes, it's going to be hard for the cuban government to implement the necessary and significant macro economic reforms. this is why it is important to deal with this issue and not just leave the embargo in place. i agree with peter that the key to future changes is in the hands of the cuban government. if they made significant macro reforms, a friendly and welcoming foreign investment law, this will put enormous pressure on the u.s. to get rid i call remains of what the eggshell of embargo and finally get rid of the whole thing and open the door to more

economic activity. andink cuba needs to have the people need to see a vision from the government as to the path of change. people are willing to make great sacrifice even if it takes another five years. but they need to see the endgame. they need to understand where this is going and how we are going to get there. this is a challenge both for the cuban government and the opposition. if the government fails to present its vision and roadmap, then that challenges on the opposition to do so. the vision and the roadmap are clear to know where we are going and how to get there. last but not least on the european role, once the european union decides to change their policy and beginning policy of engagement, what happened in latin america as it relates to the summit where there was pressure to say we will have the

summit with cuba, i think all of this combines to place enormous pressure on the united states and to understand that we cannot continue to be loners on the front of international relations particularly >> in this hemisphere. thank you. >> if you look at the president's statements and the fax sheet accompanying it, you will see that the president did every he possibly could under executive authority to directly support the self-employment sector. it is in forms of trade and commerce but specifically for that community and for small is anotherch important and big challenge for cuba, the agricultural sector and how unproductive and inefficient it still lives. they got to address that because 70% ofe importing up to their food demands. they cannot continue that. they of huge opportunities to

develop that in their own country. because of all the distortions in the economy, they are not able to do that. i think the president is outlined a number of steps that can be done that will make a difference for that sector. it's important to watch what happens the next few months, to see how those regulations are going to be rewritten. i'm sure there will be a lot of. battles this is where marco rubio and that group will try their best to make sure those come out in a restrictive way. it's important that the white house follows through on the president's vision to get the message across to the bureaucracy that we really mean it. we saw with the first round of regulations in 2009 and 2011 that it was slow and it was tight. in the end, it was pretty restricted. there were so many difficulties in the most basic kinds of permitted travel -- the onerous

regulations to get to the special licenses you need -- no more special licenses. now you will be able to go on a general license. you still have to go with them but 12 purposeful travel categories, you cannot go to cuba as a tourist. let's be clear about that. there is the prospect down the road that that will be allowed. this goes to the foreign direct investment law. cuba has made some changes on that front but it is not completely done. what i heard this past week in havana in talking to people is yes, there are no deals signed and the this new port special development zone but we will see some deals being announced. this announcement i think we'll get those moving. it's not just some european companies but chinese and others. the idea will be that that will become a hub of activity for transit, re-exports through the to latinnal and onward

america but sunday to the u.s. market. i think that's what cuba is trying to create is that niche for their system. on the property claims, i think that is still not touched yet in the negotiations. it will have to be negotiated. there are different ways of doing it and we have experience with vietnam and nicaragua. those are relevant but i don't think it's going to be exactly that model for cuba given all the history. it is still to come and it will take a while longer. on the european side, i think it had the effect on the americans -- we've got to get in there before the europeans get in there. i think it helped push the business sector to really wake up and put some pressure on the white house. finally on the next drivers of change in the cuban leadership, the first time i went to cuba, i had a meeting with a very senior party official.

he told us cuba is changing. we welcome economic growth and our society and we know there will be inequality and people will get rich and we are ready for that. i could not believe what i was hearing. -- ink he also recognized asked who the next generation is? he said they are with you in this room and we were with a group of economists from the university of havana. i think he was referring more broadly to the new leadership that has been coming into the party that is been moving up the ranks. you will see in particular the new vice president who did not come from the immediate next generation but a generation below. he comes from the provinces. it was the minister of higher education but is not had much of a profile yet but i think he is the guy to watch. he's clearly been appointed as a successor. by having the castro's move this

thing along, it has a certain legitimacy to the parties hardliners. they have their own politics thingy to deal with a 90 to manage. what we see unfolding now is a soft landing. post" thathington stories read on the money. we don't want to see a collapse of our neighbor. we want to see a gradual transition. underwayhat's what;s but it is slow. >> i want to emphasize how much i agree with carlos, excuse me, that cuba cannot emerge from its current impoverished state -- most people are impoverished in cuba and they are not getting much better. these small enterprises are helping a small group of people still and particularly people who have access to remittances from overseas. they are not going to make a big

difference unless there are these macroeconomic changes that carlos argues for a. . wee venezuela or argentina, can see what bad policies due to economies. close.s not even come venezuela has no embargoes on it now. it has the most minor sanctions. and yet, look what it can do. cuba has to sort of raise its game enormously to become an ly moving, growing, generating new incoming new possibilities. i think i agree with carlos on the second that the prospects of lifting the embargo, taking the next steps depend very heavily on cuba's showing its

willingness to take steps on its own. that is the most important thing. cuba has to move on its own. without that movement, it may wait until the new generation comes along but you will not see an economy flourishing in cuba. >> thank you. i understand we have another question. we have not mentioned the role of pope francis at all. pope francis is not here. [laughter] we did not see his name on the list. can you hear me? ok. huh? come in here. let's start with alec. >> do you hear me? >> oh yeah. unfortunately, i arrived

late. >> hello? >> here i am. >> ok. >> i don't want to take somebody else's time. >> go ahead and we will get to alec after your question. >> i came late last night from costa rica so it did not have a chance to indicate that i wanted to be here. >> we are happy to have you. >> thank you. this is obvious they one of the most important discussions we have had in the last few years in the inter-american dialogue. since i did not all that carlos was saying, i think i am talking in a certain sense to a point that peter made about pope francis on the role of the catholic community in cuba. that theelieve

bysident had been very moved a conversation or by communications with the holy father. hear whatve to see or our distinguished experts say about this. i think there is truly a future thatin the the interests of the catholic church in resolving some of these problems will continue to be present and i trust that will be something which will be one of the matters that will be discussed. i hope it will be one of the factors which will have influenced both in havana and possibly even here.

i was troubled as an american rubio's by senator discussion of the role of the holy father. if it was himg trying to get over the announcement of jeb bush's nomination. that may have caused some reaction. whether that is true or not, i think there will be some who, as time goes by, will be sorry they said what they did. that, you have brought together an interesting and intelligent group as you always do. i wonder if they would try their analysis on the role of the cuba and the united states and in this new process.

i have some small role to play in some of the so i would be interested in seeing how you improved,could be that the role of the church in thee more useful important needs especially in the economy and in moving towards a new understanding of the embargo. thank you for giving me this opportunity. >> thank you very much. let's take that one a go back and start with alec and we had a few more. carlos, do you want to respond on the question of the role of pope francis in the church in cuba? clearly, we know from all the media announcements that the pope played an incredibly influential role.

in fact, i don't know if you have seen the cartoon on the internet that talks about a conversation between che and fidel back in the 1960's that asks if we will have good relations with the united states. an argentinian like you becomes a pup and african-american becomes president of the united states. [laughter] i think this pope being latin american clearly has an enormous interest in this region. role, anded to play a incredibly important role. everybody knows the work of the cuban church. it is not a political actor but has an agenda to strengthen cuba's civil society because it's the right thing to do and

create as much as much as account for the cuban people to come together, to dialogue and do the things we need to do as normal people to solve our own problems. we have a lot of problems. there has to be a willingness to solve these problems. i think the catholic church has historically or at least recently in the last few years, offered its services to make this happen. this pope,esence of that will continue to strengthen. i want to stress the fact that because the differential is in the process of being solved between russia and havana, there's still a huge differential to be solved among the cuban people. then needs to be put on the table and needs to be put on the agenda. cuba cannot have the prosperity it will need or the future it deserves without a country that can come together as one people to move forward. that requires a lot of work on

all of us, on the cuban-american community in miami, on the cuban government, and the cuban people who do the hard work at the heavy lifting that will be needed to do this. there is no better opportunity now to do this than with what happened here and with the continuing participation of the holy father. we need to really put our differences aside and have the courage to talk about the things we need to talk about and start moving forward. our country needs it and our country deserves it. >> thank you, carlos. >> there is another normalization process underway for some time in cuba which is a normal role for the catholic church and other churches. that has been going on for many years as we number pope john paul visiting and then pope benedict calling for cuba to hope itself to the world and the world to be open to cuba. those are important but getting to the push of a u.s. side is

the meeting with pope francis. there are many other actors who got us to that point. i think we should recognize that mccarick has been an important voice in the process of dialogue. thesecond point is within catholic church in cuba, it's not monolithic. there are debates about the role of cardinal ortega, archbishop of havana and whether he was too close to the government and not critical enough. i think it might vindicate a little the role he has played a someone who has quietly been working behind the scenes to move this process forward. an interesting development -- there is a space beenialogue that has working on trying to create these kinds of debates within cuba. a group of them have broken up and created something new called cuba possible. it was profiled in hope of the new york times" and it's worth

watching these ankle -- these intellectuals trying to create their own think tank in a big tent approach to inclusive dialogue about public house he in cuba and out needs to be changing. i think that's an interesting offshoot of something within the church and may now be broadening. mccarrickng -- father , i don't know where you are sitting in the audience. what i have heard you say about the issue of immigration, that it's not merely a political issue but it's also a moral issue also applies in this case to cuba. it is not just merely a political issue. there is a moral aspect to it. i think pope francis recognizes that and i think that's part of the role he is playing, to demonstrate there is a moral issue here. >> thanks, let's take the last

round of questions. alec, we'll start with you. >> thank you, i will always yield to the good cardinal. i wonder the panelists would address the attitudes within the cuban armed forces, the coherence of the cuban armed forces and have extended themselves into the economy deeply and the pressure that raoul castro will feel from them? >> did you have a question , ken? >> i'm from toronto responding to michael's earlier request. it's interesting to note the role canada played in this process. this is an and ministration and candidates probably the most vocal in its opposition to what has been going on in cuba. there was a lot of concern in canada that canada was going to a hard-line u.s. in

view of cuba so it's interesting to see this and the leading candidate for the next election is the son of year elliott trudeau was not a good friend of fidel castro. the question i have is to what extent does the upcoming summit of the americas and the psycho drama being played out again whether the u.s. would attend or not. what affected that have on the timing of this? -- what effect did that have on the timing of this? >> thank you. aspect of thetain issue in this room today. are rightr speakers about that. in venezuela, it is a big issue. especially to the president. about how elegant

president obama was with raoul castro but he was not particular elegant. what you think about that? >> let's get eric and then mike. you have two questions? >> i'm from the woodrow wilson center. i want to ask this is a longtime human rights activist with amnesty and other places. can you talk about the human rights element here? i recognize the historic human rights groups have really changed their view on this. amnesty and human rights watch and even freedom house agree the policy was not helping human rights. but there is another side of this that makes it sound as though human rights will just sort of magically improve along the line. i am deeply skeptical about that. it's possible 10 years from now that you may have more

investment and people still have a hard time expressing their --ws, assembling, accessing due process may be just as bad 10 years from now as it is today. concerned about that given the i agree that this is a big opportunity in policy change. there is nothing automatic about improving human rights in a place like cuba and much of latin america. >> thank you, -- mike -- >> i'm from the center of latin american studies on this fits in with the previous question -- is behind thence press reports about 53 political prisoners being released? fit into the deal and the broader picture of human rights that was just asked about? thanks, let's turn to our three speakers for final comments. i think we should also maybe

talk about what we can expect at the summit. ken asked if this event was forced to bring this decision about but on april 10, we will have raoul castro and barack obama together in havana. what should we expect to happen? summit, i don't know if the summit had a significant influence. this has been going on for a while. clearlyng of the summit had significant importance in the timing of the announcement in my opinion. somebody mentioned human rights. i think they're probably right. human rights are important. human rights are violated in cuba. ly important that the community of nations keeps human rights at the forefront. i think we can do with human rights significantly that are while engaged then we can while

disengaged and isolated. it's one of the issues that needs to be put on the table. it's part of the whole process. the entire community of nations have come together to understand and give cuba the opportunity to engineer a soft landing. this is critical for cuba's future and critical or the hemisphere. however, think it needs to be clear that while cuba has been afforded a soft landing, they don't need to land. that's important. >> thank you, -- ted -- on the summit, i agree with carlos. it was an action forcing you that for the president on the white house to mobilize the process. the president did not want to go to panama with cuba hanging over his head and dominating the proceedings. i think it was very important.

in terms of the substance of what happens now, maybe we can now turn to the other issues on the inter-american agenda than need to be addressed. that's a good thing. on the human rights issue, i also share your skepticism. with the political prisoners, there's an understanding announcement of 53 political prisoners to be released but it's not clear that they have been released yet. it might happen slowly. it's not clear. months from about now they will be picked up again and harassed -- i think the harassment of political activist will continue. it has shifted from throwing him in jail for a long time to these much shorter-term detentions and release. siblanco had their sunday march yesterday and i don't think was interrupted. i think it happened without interruption and whether that is a signal it's too early to say. the other two points worth mentioning that the president

emphasized is freedom of the internet or greater access to the internet. an information blockade on the cuban people all these years. that has got to change. thecannot find grand ma on streets in cuba. it is bereft of serious printed and other materials. there is radio and there is tv but it's all state controlled and that's got to be addressed. the internet is one way to get around those sensors. given their proximity to us, it could be an important breakthrough. on the other commitments allowing the u.n. human rights monitors into the country including potentially juan mendez, an expert on torture, it's an interesting choice if he is allowed to come. the cubans would completely deny that they torture. jua on theno

island m and hase been wantedn tod go to guantanamoe for somez time in the u.s. will not let him go with free access to the prisoners. that is a politically driven choice that he would be able to perhaps he can go under the right circumstances. i also see access to the political prints -- prisoners and others. those are small but important steps we can build on. overtime on the role of the armed forces, that is the hardest to penetrate and understand. the most important factor is the role in the economy. control the tourism companies which will be a big beneficiary and already has been. i think they are the most critical ingredient in a soft landing approach. they are able to transition and have the continued economic prerogatives that they will accept as change going forward.

>> final word? --let me say on none of the three questions do i have an answer. on the summit of the americas, i know only what i read in the newspapers essentially. i don't know what actually happened during the negotiations and i don't know what motivated them and i don't know what created the particular timeframe. yet i have created in my mind this narrative that i'm sure is correct. [laughter] i may show that at some point with some people but i really don't know exactly how these pieces all fit together. it's nice to take them and try to arrange them and see it like a jigsaw puzzle and what goes where. to really know, we will have to wait some time for that.

the human rights issue -- that goes back to -- this is most crucial as to what happens in havana with the leadership and in the armed forces. if the cubans make the initiatives and begin to open the internet and begin to invite the red cross and united nations to come as observers, i think deeper andacilitate more profound political changes from the u.s.. if they don't come if they regress and throw 300 people in jail, if they fire at some people trying to live cuba, it will have the other impact. it may close this window of opportunity. i don't think it will shut it but it may close it and make it more narrow. i think it is what now happens in havana. >> thank you. i want to thank all of you for joining us this morning for your

great contributions and great questions. i want to thank ted and the collaboration with brookings and of course, carlos, thank you for joining us from miami. [applause] it was terrific, thank you all. happy, everybody in all the best in the new year. we will see you next year, thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] "q&a" is tenures oldham we are featuring one interview from each year of the series over the holiday season. today, the director of the smithsonian national museum of african american history and culture and that museum is currently being built on the national mall in washington. that is today at 7:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span. 8:00 eastern on book tv, economic writers -- man" about how one man

stayed local and helped seven american town at 9:30 p.m., steve forbes and elizabeth ames on "money o." at 10:25 p.m. eastern, michael lewis tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span two. there is a look at some of the programs you will find christmas day on the c-span networks. holiday festivities start at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span with the lighting of the national christmas tree followed by the white house christmas decorations with first lady michelle obama and the lighting of the capitol christmas tree. just after 12:30 p.m., celebrity activists talk about their causes. at 8:00, supreme court justice samuel alito and former governor jeb bush on the bill of rights in the founding fathers. on c-span2 at 10 a clock a.m. eastern, venture into the art of good writing with steve pinker

and at 12:30 p.m., see the feminist side of superheroes as we search the secret history of wonder woman. reading habits of authors and on american history tv on c-span3 at 8:00 a.m. eastern, the fall of the berlin wall with c-span footage of president george bush and bob dole with speeches from presidents john kennedy and ronald reagan. noon, fashion experts on first ladies fashion choices and how they represent at the styles of the times in which they lived. at 10 of clock, former nbc news anchor tom brokaw on his more than 50 years of reporting on world events. that's this christmas day on the c-span networks. for a complete schedule, go to www.c-span.org. with the 113th session of congress completed, the associate press is reporting today that a house republican probe faults senior irs officials in the mistreatment of conservative groups that apply for tax-exempt status but could

find no link to the white house according to a report released today. the investigative panel reviewed 1.3 million pages of documents and interviewed 52 officials, the probe continues but the report marks the end of 10gressman darrell iss'as years of leading the investigation. he is stepping down as chair of the house oversight committee because of term limits. house speaker john boehner will not comment on whether in new york congressman should retire until the pair speak. we will not having announcements until the speaker discuss the matter with mr. graham, said michael steele, his spokesman. ism from staten island expected to plead guilty in brooklyn to tax evasion and john boehner's office did not comment on when they will speak. earlier, nancy pelosi said john benner should force grim to resign. up next, a portion of today's "washington journal."

host: and we are back with sharyl attkisson, author, investigative journalist. new book came out in november, "stonewalled: my fight for truth against the forces of obstruction, intimidation, and harassment in obama's washington." remind viewers why you left cbs this past year and why you wrote this book. guest: the short version is there's nothing left for me to do. we specialized in investigative reporting and in the last couple years those stores had a difficult if not impossible time off and getting on cbs news, so i felt there was no point. host: you wrote the book why? guest: a lot of people had expressed to me -- fellow journalists as well as people in the public -- that they sensed something was going on culturally in journalism and with the news. we would share reflections on what we thought was happening and trends and i thought it would be a topic of interest. host: you wrote in the book that what is even more dangerous is the fact "that today, government and big corporations might as

well be one and the same." so it is not just what is going on at the networks but it is larger than that. explain. guest: it is intertwined, in my view. corporations have co-opted many congressional committees as well as members of congress with campaign contributions and other links and ties. to some degree they have co-opted some in the media with corporate and advertising interests. congress is not always doing a good job at oversight. the presidency is not doing a good job in his oversight function. -- the press is not doing a good job in its oversight function. what we have now is politics and corporations in some respects are allowed to put out when i call propaganda largely unchecked because of oversight roles not being fulfilled. host: what about the other side of it, the consumer, the consumer of investigative journalists? is there not an appetite there?

guest: i think there is a huge appetite for it and that is what was somewhat baffling for us at cbs and other places as well. we know this is one thing that the public still likes about the media. people liked the watchdog reporting we do. they don't like much about the news media these days, polls show, but they do like that role, and people at a hard time figuring out why at the one hand the public has a thirst for this information, but on the other hand we are having so much trouble getting it published and on television. host: what did you hear from network executives about the pieces you would bring forward? our viewers are familiar with your work on fast and furious, benghazi, etc. guest: it depends what executives and on the time period. the management changed over the years. during fast and furious, the management at the time were very excited about these stories and