have made it, in my first mission over hanoi. there were three sands, a surface-to-air missile, about the size of a telephone pole. accelerated at our airplanes at about 1600 miles per hour. they would detonate and be deadly within 150 feet. my very first mission, three of them came within 100 feet of our airplane, failed to go off failed to detonate. thank goodness for that soviet quality control, wouldn't you agree? there were many other times, and had it not been for thousands and thousands of people, and the entire military and civilian support community who are proud of their work, who performed in a professional, outstanding manner. steve ritchie would not be alive. as you can imagine, i am pretty thankful, pretty grateful, i

feel very fortunate to have received so much of the credit belongs to so many that have helped make it possible. many fighter pilots i could've done what i did, but we had a unique opportunity in air combat arena, and there were some reasons for our success at the time given that opportunity, and you know what they are. preparation, teamwork, discipline, dedication education, training, communication, enthusiasm -- enthusiasm? [applause] it is after lunch, isn't it? attitude, attitude, attitude. will. determination, integrity. and surely must would agree those are the ingredients, the keys i go into the makeup of success, achievement, quality,

excellence, top gun performance, and anything that we do personal or professional. so in the final analysis, it is people and a wide array of support functions that are trained and motivated and willing to do the job who ultimately make it possible for us to win rather than to lose, to succeed rather than to fail and sometimes, sometimes to live rather than to die, and that gets to be pretty important, doesn't it? general patton said we fight with machinery but we would with people. we win with people. i really am convinced that people can and will do great things, they will reach for the stars when noted by -- motivated by inspired leadership. i would like to tell you for a few minutes about the three

great leaders that i had the wonderful privilege to fly with and work for, the wing commander in 1972, a young colonel named charlie gable. the vice wing commander was jerry o'malley. he became the vice chief commander of pacific air forces and then commander of tactical air command when he was tragically killed in an airplane accident in the spring of 1985. he would surely have been chief. there was an army one star there that we worked with, again his career in the listed ranks of the minnesota national guard became chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general jack bessey. these three people, these three individuals had that -- i don't know what to call it. i talk about it, but i don't know how to name it erie that special inequality that inspires a desire for excellence in everyone around. do you know people like that? we would have done anything for charlie, jerry or jack.

i know a lot of people will find this next statement hard to understand. maybe some of you will understand it, maybe you know it to be true. i would have died for them. so would many of my colleagues and some did. some did. that is a pretty special brand of loyalty, isn't it? i tell you what, there are a lot of people i don't feel that way about, or whole lot of people. have you thought about it very much? what is it that commands such loyalty? part of it is we admired them here and we respected them, we love to them. we would have done almost anything for them. and yet, maybe more important than anything else, we knew that

loyalty, roadways -- and cut both ways. when we got into a bind, we could count on them just as they knew they could count on us. that loyalty cut both ways. it is so important for us to think about, what is it in others that inspires us to be our best, and then try to be that way for those that look to us for leadership and guidance and counsel and inspiration. it is kind of like the author that wrote, i love you not only for what you are, but or what i am when i'm around you. for what i am when i'm around you. we were better people when we were around charlie gable, jerry o'malley, jack bessey. we did a better job, more productive, more creative. you know what else? we had a heck of a lot more fun. it is fun to work for people i that -- like that even those of us in leadership and management and supervisory positions have

such important responsibilities because we have either very positive or very mediocre or very negative affect on people. performance, productivity, creativity, communication. bottom line, mission accomplishment. it is more important today than it ever has been, isn't it? when we need to be as productive, in most cases, now with fewer resources, it has never been more important. bill danforth would challenge the people in his company to stand tall, to think tall, to smile call, and to live tall. aren't these the kind of people we have in the room today? you are proud, you are happy courteous, you communicate better, you like to work. i know it is a new concept in many orders these days. unfortunately. you like to work. that spirit is contagious.

and the score for vagabond king, give me 10 who are stouthearted, and soon i will give you 10,000 more. that spirit is contagious. many ask about the eighth of july, 1972, when we downed two make 20 ones in seconds, because it is a great example of how all the elements of the team come together to produce an incredible victory. the last thing that happened that morning, the crew chief told me we did not have any film in the camera. we had a gun and a camera, most of the time i was without a ton camera. i said what do you mean there is

no film? he said we are out of film, no film on base. i thought about for a moment and i said, i guess it's ok, i doubt we will see migs anyway. we never know, do we? we never know what is around the corner. we never know what is over the horizon. that is why it's so important to be prepared as we can possibly be in every area of our lives because we never know, and we need to be ready. that is why we are here today. that is why you are in school, to prepare. we never know, and we need to be ready in every area of our lives. today is probably more critical than at any time in our history. >> today is probably more critical than at any time in our history. think about the fact that millions and millions of young people all over the world as we speak right now, are being taught to hate us, and to kill us. to convert us or to eliminate

us. ladies and gentlemen, we must not fail. and whether we like it or not whether the main media likes it or not whether republicans and democrats and conservatives and liberals like it or not whether high school teachers and college professors like it or not we're in combat. we're in combat. and a it's a war of good versus evil right versus wrong freedom versus slavery civilization versus chaos. and we must not fail. in my opinion, free people and free institutions all over the world have never been threatened more. we must not fail. more importantly, you must not

fail. now, let me spend just a few more minutes and then we'll get to the very best part of our program. let me spend a few more minutes tell you about the most thrilling, exciting, challenging and heartwarming mission that ever flew. we're an even -- an even greater team effort resulted in a much greater victory. and it was the rescue of roger locher. locher. he was shot down on the 10th of may in 1972. for 22 days, nord wo. -- no word. there was no way to make that rescue without the communication link. proper communication. so important in every signature thing that we do, every day, all day long. isn't it? think about the problems caused

the time, the money the effort, the resources wasted by miscommunication. it's unbelievable. we went back in that afternoon and called and called on the radio. no answer. for days thereafter, there was never any reply. we finally decided that he -- well he must have been killed or captured. he never came out on a captured list that the north vietnamese like to public every few days. 22 days later, we're flying in the same area. there's a break in the radio chatter. you can imagine, with 20, 30 people, all trying to talk at the same time, particularly when they're shooting at you it does get a little busy, would you guess? anyway, there's a break in the radio chatter. it came over the air. any allied aircraft? this is oyster zero one bravo.

i remember thinking, oyster? we don't have an oyster call sign today. and then we realized, that's roger locher! we answered him. it's exactly what he said. he said, guys, i've been down here a long time. any chance of picking me up? [laughter] >> ha ha! pretty cool, huh? i don't believe i'd have been that cool after 22 days, do you? we said, you bet! you bet! went back to our respective bases that afternoon and quickly planned a rescue mission. we came back in. he was five miles off the end of the runway at the airfield. some 60 miles northwest of hanoi. the deepest rescue ever attempted. but the ground fire from around that area was so heavy that we had to back off. we couldn't get him out.

went home that night as you can imagine, we're pretty down, pretty frustrated. this is our friend. this is someone most of you -- most of us knew very well. he was on his third combat tour over 400 combat missions. not only did we admire and respect him greatly, but he was one of the neatest young men that many of us ever met. now we'd found him. after all this time, now we knew where he was. we wouldn't get him out. of course, now they knew where he was. and very soon, he would be captured. well the next morning, in one of the great examples, in my opinion, of courageous combat leadership general john vogt, the four-star commander in saigon in consultation with general fred, the army commander, cancelled. cancelled. cancelled the entire strike

mission to hanoi. and dedicated every single resource including over 150 airplanes, to the rescue of roger locher. we went in for about two hours. we made sure that the guns at the airfield were silenced. any young 27-year-old air force captain, class of '67, commanded the lead of two jolly green giant helicopters. i'm always so proud to tell this story, because dale was a freshman when i was a senior at the air force academy. you guessed it. i had a little bit to do -- i had a lot to do with his summer training program his first year. ha ha! dale commanded the lead of those two jolly greens. sent the jungle penetrator down through a heavy canopy of trees and snatched roger locher, as he was about to be captured. selected full power, pulled him

out of the jungle into the helicopter. they headed out. we flew cover. the two jolly greens, refueling tankers, as they made their way out of north vietnam. brought him all the way back to thailand. flew up in a 2, 39 t39 from saigon. hei was the first of several to meet him, as he stepped off that chopper, after 23 days. the flight surgeons, doctors nurses, medics, chaplains, quickly took him off to the hospital. but they did say he could come to the club that night. 1900 hours 7 p.m., for 30 minutes, the word spread. the club was totally jam-packed. and at 7 p.m., roger locher washed fed, shaven, and dressed in a uniform that we used to call our party suit. >> oh, boy!

>> he walked in the front door. applause broke out. it lasted for over 20 minutes. as he made his way through the crowd, shaking hands with friends, a magnificent appearance of human emotion. an incredible victory. a total force joint rescue victory, against all odds, with no losses. and when we think about that and analyze it in comparison to the theme of that movie "platoon" which suggested that we shoot each other in the back, and then we come to fully understand the effort to which we will go the resources we will commit, the risks that we will take to rescue one crew member, one american, one ally, isn't it a

very powerful statement about what kind of people we are? about the value that we place on life on freedom, and on the individual? and about the marketplace in which we all operate, which is defined by tremendous respect for the individual, and for economic freedom. and of course, as you know by now, without economic freedom we ultimately lose all of the freedoms. you see, jim, this is what i think it's about. the real mission, yours and mine business, government, civilian military, is to protect and preserve an environment, a climate a system, a way of life where people can be free to reach their full potential. as our friends in the army used to say, be all that they can be.

well as you can imagine, i could go on and on. when you give a fighter pilot a microphone jim, it's hard to limit it to 30, 45 minutes. we're sort of like italians and romanians, as long as we can use our hands, we can just keep on going. but this is by far the best part. for the next ten, 15 minutes mariana is going to tell you what it was like to grow up 20 years under commune communism, living under a brutal dictator, dreaming of america, dreaming of the american way of life and hoping that someday the american military would come to rescue her. [applause] >> thank you. at first sight, i am just a

general's little wife. but beyond all that, i am the oppressed that you rescued. and the american who fights alongside you to keep our freedom from slipping through our fingers. while american children were learning to love and trust themselves, we learned to hate, trust no one, control every word we said, because our life depended on it. we waited in line for hours for a piece of bread, sometimes even days. the communists believed in spreading the wealth. take from the ones who have and give to the poor. that paralyzed the economy because the ones who had didn't want to work anymore when it was all taken away from them. the poor didn't want to work because they were getting something for nothing. and that was only until they ran out of other people's money.

guns were illegal because armed people are -- unarmed people are easier to oppress and control. knowing that my grandfather was a priest, i was threatened with all kinds of things for going to church. and that only made me go to church more. and it was not courage. it was despair. i wanted to provoke them. i wanted them to come and kill me and get it done and over with. god was not allowed in schools. we were not allowed to say merry christmas. we had to say happy holidays. we could not say christmas trees. we had to call them holiday trees. the socialist health care killed many. it was supposed -- supposedly free, but nothing is free in this world. somebody will always pay and it's usually "we the people."

the doctors were paid so little by the government that they were not looking at you unless you were bribing them. so you ended up paying more. one of my first memories as a child was holding the hand of a dying man, and my grandmother crying saying there's nothing more we can do for him. just help him die. i can still feel his hand getting cold and stiff in my hand. and i remember thinking how quickly it happened. and the look of death in his eyes is still haunting me. all he needed was a simple surgery, which here in america is an outpatient surgery. there he wasn't worth saving because he was too old. and he was in his 60's. the communists also hated excellence and success. they wanted everyone to be equally poor.

it was easier to control people that way. and what they were doing, they were taking away people's dignity, because the message was, well, you're not good enough to take care of yourself. i have to do it for you. but here, to the younger generation, i'd like to emphasize the fact that nobody in this world can take care of you better than yourself. you have the power to not give it away to -- do not give it away to anybody, no matter what they promise you. one of the dreams i had when all was lost, we felt even forgotten by god at times -- one of the dreams i had was i had the picture of the american flag, the symbol of freedom.

so i would take it out and stare at it and dream of america and what it's like to be free, to eat a hamburger or cheesecake or to walk in central park. i got caught in class. and the teacher came, trying to take the flag away from me. i did not surrender it, in spite of all the pressures and threats. i was ready to die, because life had no meaning without freedom. but i couldn't afford to lose the hope. and that's all i had. the hope that someday americans are going to come and blow us up blow up every brick, every stone, every board until there was nothing left standing. you see, i was a part of such a corrupt and evil system that i felt that even i wasn't worth

saving. and we would have given the americans anything in exchange for freedom. all the gold in the mountains all the oil in southern romania, our lives and hearts. it's really important for you to hear and be aware of your government. keep on eye on them, no matter who is out there. and keep them responsible. it's not easy for me to put myself out there and share my pain with you, but i feel it's really important, because when you're out there and you look around the country, and you have the power -- i want you to think of me and learn from other countries' mistakes and do not try the socialism communism. i've heard that even hear in

america, that we can have a better communist or socialist. it's like saying you can have a better cancer. it's evil. please don't even try it. you're going to save yourself a lot of pain and heartache. there's another thing i need to set the record straight about. vietnam. we've heard so many times that vietnam was in vain, that american soldiers died for nothing, that we had no business being there. with every move, americans made in vietnam, we behind the iron curtain, felt the soviet grip lose its strength, and it gave us time to breathe and stay alive, because you kept them busy in vietnam. they lost track of us. and there's no more evil empire, thanks to you. it'sas a little girl, i didn't dream of prince charming on a white

horse to carry me off to his castle. i knew i needed a lot more than that. i needed an american fighter pilot. [laughter] that would come on a fighter jet, blow up everything and carry me off to america. and then the luckiest woman alive -- i am the luckiest woman alive to have found him and honored to spend the rest of my life with him, loving him and taking care of him. [applause] by the time i came to america, i was numb. i wasn't dead, but i'd never really been alive either, because that's what oppression does to you. it slowly kills your spirit first. only after that, it takes away your life. it's like living with a plastic bag over your head.

you can't see, and you can hardly breathe. and what makes it worse is the fact that you hear that somewhere far away, in a wonderful land called america there is better. we spent a night in new york. and i was overwhelmed by all the wonderful things i saw, the fancy cars, the clothes, and the shoes. i haven't seen a diamond until i came to america. the skyscrapers, all shiny grand, steel marble. and the food! and i had nothing. we came with a bag of clothes. not a penny in our pockets. and we didn't speak english. yet we were not bitter one bit. we were proud to be a small part of a country that could have and

make such wondrous things. and all those things were a promise that someday we can have all that. we can have it all. and i do now. you are light years ahead of me because you're born here. you can have -- you can do a lot more than i could even dream of. you took us in when we were outcasts in our country. you caught us the meaning of new words, like kindness and happiness and joy. and there's one more thing i would like to mention. for the younger generation, when you run the country, can you please put an end to celebrating diversity? instead of focusing on what separates us, focus on what

brings us together as one. i have to tell you, immigrants come to america to be free, to get away from government, to live the american dream. if we wanted to celebrate diversity, we would have stayed where we were. thank you for listening to that. and now, i would like to put a face to the oppressed, from all over the world and say thank you. thank you for everything you've done. i know in your darkest moments you're wondering if it was all worth it. it is worth it. and i want to say, oh yes! it makes a big difference. the world is a better place because americans are in it. americans are the best because they're the only ones who fight for other people's freedom

people who they don't even know. and they will never meet. and they never ask for anything in exchange. maybe just a little place to bury their dead. so thank you for everything! be proud! do not listen to what the news are talking about, because america is loved all over the place, but millions of oppressed people who are hoping that someday you're going to go rescue them next. so thank you for everything you've done, that you're doing and you will be doing, not only for our country but for the world. it makes all the difference in the world. god bless you and god bless america! [applause]

>> thank you very much, mariana for your remarks. oh. steve, thank you too. [laughter] no. they're a great team, aren't they? they really are. let's give them a round of applause. [applause] we've got about five minutes until the next session. so let's take a question or two. okay? >> okay. yes, i do have a question, for the awesome -- awesome presentation by woft both of you. general ritchie, you spoke about a very beautiful concept loyalty. over yesterday and today we hear beautiful stories about how our great servicemen don't let their fellow servicemen down. they're always there. so that loyalty is very, very touching. but i was just wondering if you could say something about trust.

i don't know if you would categorize trust as being the same as loyalty, how that played into it. is that a part of it? >> certainly trust has to do with integrity. integrity underlines everything that we do. if our word is no good, what else is there? there is nothing else. so all of those great qualities loyalty, teamwork, discipline, responsibility it's all tied together by integrity. and those who are here, from a lot of the great schools and universities, you understand that well, because you live by a code a code of honor, which is basically a code of integrity. we have to count on each other. we depend on each other. not only to accomplish the

mission but to live or die. my son is an air force p.j., which is the air force version of the seals. i don't know how they do it, but i'm sure glad they do, particularly as someone who flew fighter airplanes, we knew that when and if we went down, that they would make every effort. they would go to every effort. they would take every risk to come and get us. it's a matter of our code. it's a matter of our honor. it's a matter of our teamwork, our discipline. and it's all tied together by trust and integrity. and, of course, it's what makes our nation, as mariana said, the greatest on earth. churchill said america is great because she is good. she's good, which means integrity and trust.

and he said, when she ceases to be good, you will cease to be great. jim, it's amazing that we finished on time. but i think time is just about up, isn't it? >> one more question. real quick. >> all right. all right. ening thankthank you. >> thank you. [applause] >> tonight on c-span, a conversation about space travel with apollo 16 astronaut charlie duke, who was the 10th man to walk on the moon. he was also the voice at nasa's mission control when apollo 11 became the first manned spaceflight to land on the lunar surface in 1969. >> so things are really tense. i have never melt felt such tension in mission control, and i was there apollo 10, 11.

i was there 13 and 17. and we had never felt any tension like that. and it got dead silent, as i recall. i started a stop watch. and 13 seconds later buzz said contact, engine stop. and so -- and it was sort of a pause. and we knew they were on the ground. and the data said, okay, looked okay. and about this time neil comes up and says, tranquility base here, the eagle has landed. i replied, roger. and i corrected corrected myself. i was so excited, i couldn't even pronounce twan quill tranquility, so it came out twang at first. i said we copy on the ground.

you got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. we're breathing again. and that was the truth. at least i was holding my breath. are we gonna make it? now, neil had to write stuff. and if i'd have gotten to eagle aboard and him 20 feet off the moon, he wasn't going to abort. >> that conversation was hosted by the explorers club in new york city. you can watch it in its entirety tonight at 8 p.m. eastern, here on c-span. >> the c-span cities tour takes book t.v. and american history t.v. on the road. traveling to u.s. cities to learn about their history and literary life. this weekend we partnered with time warner cable for a visit to austin texas. >> we are in the private suite of lyndon and lady bird johnson. private quarters for the president and first lady. when i say private, i do mean that. this is not part of a tour that is offered to the public.

this is -- this has never been opened to the public. you're seeing it because of c-span's special access. v.i.p.es come into this space -- v.i.p.'s come into this space just as they did in lyndon johnson's day. the remarkable thing about this space is it's really a living, breathing artifact. it hasn't changed at all since president johnson died in january of 1973. and there's a document in the corner of this room, signed by among others, the then-archivist of the united states and lady bird johnson telling my predecessors, myself and my successors that nothing in this room can change. >> so we're here at the 100 block of congress avenue in austin. to my left, just down the block, is the colorado river. and this is an important historic site in the city's history, because this is where waterloo was.

waterloo consisted really just of a cluster of cabins occupied by four, five families, including the family of jay carroll. i'm actually standing by that spot. this is where lamar was staying when he and the rest of the men got word of this big buffalo herd in the vicinity. so they jumped on their horses. congress was just a muddy ravine that led north to the hill where the capitol now sits. they had stuffed their belts full of pistols and lamar at what became 8th and congress shot this enormous buffalo. from there, he went to the top of the hill where the capitol is and that's where he told everybody that this should be the seat of future empires. >> watch all of our events from austin throughout the day on c-span 2's book t.v. and sunday afternoon at 2:00 eastern on c-span 3.

>> this sunday on q&a the president and c.e.o. of the national council of laraza, the nation's largest hispanic civil rights advocacy group, on the state of hispanics and america immigration reform and her compelling personal story. >> i had the great privilege of experiencing the american dream here in this country born in kansas. you know, my parents actually came to this country in the very early 50's, very early 50's. my parents came from mexico, with no money and very little education. i think my dad had an eighth grade education. my mom a fifth grade education. and yet they believed in the promise of this country. and they were seeking better opportunities for their children. and so they worked really hard, and they sacrificed, as so many

latinos and hispanics have done in this country, because they wanted that better future for their children and they believed in the promise of this country. so they really taught us important values that have been our guide for our lives for me and my siblings, my six brothers and sisters. but they taught us the importance of family of faith of community hard work, sacrifice, honesty integrity all of those were important values that they shared with us. >> sunday night at 8 eastern and pacific on c-span's q&a. >> next, a look at consumer protections and steps the new congress could take to better secure personal data information. from "washington journal," this is 40 minutes. >> joining us now, john breyault of the national consumers league. he is the vice president for public policy, particularly

dealing with telecommunications and fraud. good morning! >> good morning, pedro. thank you for having me on. >> tell us about your organization. >> so the national consumers league is the nation's older consumer worker advocacy organization. we were founded in 1899. we work on areas, everything from child lean, safe food and drug, to what i do, which is protecting consumers from fraud and advocating on telecom issues. our support comes from individual consumers businesses unions, government grants. and we are really one of the only organizations here in washington that advocates both for consumers but also for workers, because in the end they are consumers as well. >> mr. breyault, we hear a lot the term data breaches these days. what does that term particularly mean to you? >> so consumers are sharing more amounts of their data with more entities than ever before, thanks to our interconnected digital economy. the downside is that all of this data is not being secured the way it should be. and so what we've seen over the

past year, and even before that, was the increasing incidence of what we call megabreaches. these are the 40 million cars that were compromised at antarctica, the 56 million that were compromised at home depot the 76 million accounts at jpmorgan that got hacked. even more recently, the hacks at sony pictures, the hacks at chick-fil-a, which we just learned about the other day. so as consumers get their data out there, hackers are taking advantage. and they've created a very robust underground cybercrime economy that feeds off of this continuing flow of breached data from consumers that are -- it's happening practically every day. >> is there a federal standard for companies and how they protect consumer data? >> generally, no there is no federal data security standard. for particular types of data, there are laws that apply. so, for example, financial data has a data security standard. health care data under hipaa has

data security standard associated with it. generally, when it comes to other types of data, it may fall under section 5 of the federal trade commission act. but even that is under question right now in the courts. so really, consumers don't have a lot of protections when it comes to the security of their data, at least at the federal level. >> if there is a breach, is there some type of federal law that says the consumer has to know that there was a breach and what the company is doing about it? >> no. so right now, there is no federal data breach notification standard. what we have is a patchwork of 46 states across the country that have their own data breach notification standards. so chances are, if you've been affected by a breach, you will get notified. however, what prompts that breach notification within the notification varies from state to state. one of the things that we are calling for, as part of our congressional agenda for 2015 on data security is a national data

breach notification standard, modeled after a strong standard like the one that exists in state of california. >> how does that work in california? >> so california was the first state to pass a data breach notification standard. and among other things they have strong standards for personally viable information so things like e-mail addresses user names passwords, fall under the definition of pii in california. there are things like a private right of action in california. there is quick notification required in california. we think those are all very pro-consumer parts of what we hope will be a strong national data breach notification standard. >> our guest, john breyault, of the national consumers league, here to talk about data protection. if you want to ask him questions about it, 202-774-8000. you can et tweet tweet us thoughts as well and accepted send us e-mail at

journal@c-span.org. if i'm an company, i basically have to tell even, hey my computers were hacked. if i'm a company, am i willing to do that? >> i think it's important for companies to do that. number one not only because it helps their customers to know when a breach has happened, to help their customers protect themselves but also it lets other companies who may have similar security software know that there may be a vullability that they -- vulnerability that they may need to learn about. even if i as a company have to incur costs with a national data breach notification, the benefits to me of knowing that everybody else has to notify as well, and the protection i can get from that, if i'm paying attention, i think outweighs any costs they may incur by having to notify when there has been a breach. >> as the 114th congress meets next week, what -- which areas of the congress, which panels

or, you know -- who is directly responsible for this kind of issue? >> well, right now the only federal agency that is really taking a lead on this in terms of going after data breach incidents and going after companies that may not be protecting the data that we might like is the federal trade commission, under section 5. as i mentioned earlier, that authority to do that is actually being questioned now in the courts. there have been more than r50 enforcement actions that the f.t.c. has brought against companies that didn't protect the data as well as they said they would. the f.t.c. is one of the lead agencies. there are others that take a lead on this the department of justice, the department of homeland security, s.e.c. they all have a role. in congress, certainly we're hoping that with the incoming republican majority, that we'll continue to see progress on this issue. we had some interest in this in the last congress, around things like information sharing. there may have been problems with that around sort of civil

liberties issues, but this is really a bipartisan issue. after the target breach, after the home depot breach, we saw a number of hearings on this in places like the judiciary committees, financial services looked at this issue. so we're hoping there continues to be interest in this in congress. we think there will be. we think there will be more breaches. so we hope the interest issue is going to continue to be high. and as an organization, we're going to be out there continuing to talk about the impact the data breaches are having on consumers, on a day-to-day basis, because the impacts are real and they impact us in ways visible and invisible. >> your first call is from george in maryland. independent line, john breyault of the national consumers league. go ahead. >> good morning, gentlemen and happy holidays to you. what i wanted to say is i feel that a lot of these tips on our

cybersecurity is coming from the fact that many people have a lot of contempt against us. and i don't see them decreasing. i see them increasing even more. they might not be able to beat us militarily, but oppressed people, exploited people, always find a way to overcome being taken advantage of. throughout history it's been like that. i grew up with a guy from arizona, that you talked to earlier. you talk about guest workers when it's convenient to exploit lo them. but as soon as they start home, the police are there waiting to call them an illegal alien. >> george, okay. thanks. let's hear from diana, democrats line new jersey. diana, go ahead. >> i've been following this issue since about 2011, because i took a health information technology course, which requires us to protect data which in many of the doctors'

offices, it's not being done. the personnel are not trained. and despite having been trained there's no resources. but so i've been following this, the cybersecurity bill. and basically, it's the unwillingness of the business leaders to work with the government in protecting america. plain and simple. even since 9/11, there's chemical factories. it's all voluntary. they've proven to us that they can't, they won't enforce their laws. they won't share the data. you mentioned breaches. how about experian, which has everybody's credit data? that's where i learned about the breaches, when i'm affected. the companies don't even call and tell you that they've been breached. you have to find out on the news. >> diana have you ever had a data breach personal happen to you? >> yes, you know jpmorgan, home depot,

just in the last year. experian. everyone has the credit files. >> so i'm glad that george and diana brought up these important issues. so, you know responding to george i think certainly the issue of state-sponsored cyberterrorism is one we're recall concerned about. we've seen incidents, allegedly the north korean hacking of sony. we've seen incidents iranians going after ramco in saudi arabia. that's definitely troubling. the resources that a state sponsor of hacking can put behind these attacks is significant. and i think we need a robust response to that. to diana's point about doctors' offices and what companies can do and their unwillingness to work with the government, i think this points to a wider issue, which is that companies often feel -- at least we've heard that they feel worried

about reaching out to the government, because they're worried about the liability that they're going to incur. so what we've seen is many companies who have attempted to look for a safe harbor basically, that if they notify, if they work proactively with the government when there's a breach or they suspect there's a breach they'll be protected from liability. i think her point about experian, about j.p. jpmorgan is very well taken. the -- if you today are connected to the internet, if you are using a credit card chances are that you have been a victim of a breach. they are affecting so many consumers, that it's -- i think it's practically impossible to find someone in this country who has not been affected. certainly i'm a big fan as she is, of security. that's where i learn about a lot of these breaches. and i don't think that that should be -- that we should be relying on the media to be alerts us when these breaches happen.

i think companies should be faster about breaching out to consumers who are affected. i think they should be more than anything, protecting the data better. right now, i don't think there are the right incentives for companies to take data security as seriously as they should, given the threat out there. >> martha, you're next. hello. >> good morning pedro. thank you for your work at c-span. this issue, of course, is very unique in south carolina, since i believe we were the luckiest state. if we pay our taxes in south carolina, we were the first state in the united states to be breached. and you mentioned earlier that california was the first state to help protect their people. is there anything you recommend uniquely for south carolina? >> well, you know, data breaches affect consumers regardless of the state they are in.

so i think consumers can take some steps to better protect their data. number one, make sure that you religiously check your credit and bank accounts, every month. looking for suspicious charms charges on there and disputing them with your bank when you see them. number two make sure and pull your credit report regularly. you can get that for free, from annualcreditreport.com. that's a site run by the credit bureaus to provide credit reports for free. and look for any suspicious accounts that may have been created in your name that you can dispute. then make sure you take basic cyberhygiene practices into account. don't click on suspicious attachments. don't click on suspicious links. keep your operating system and all of your applications up-to-date. install those patches as you're notified of them. now, if you take those steps you can reduce your risk.

unfortunately, there's no silver bullet when it comes to protecting your data from hackers. but certainly you can reduce your risk and more quickly identify breaches when they happen and when they affect you. >> from wake forest, north carolina rick, up next. >> if i just may add another personal protection that mr. breyault listed, that approximately -- well, i also changed my account on the credit cards, limit them, and then change them. however, that being said with the number of breaches that i've learned through the media, i am increasingly going to cash, to the point where i only guy buy gasoline, will use a credit card at a mom and pop store, a sole proprietor or to buy an airline

ticket. am i just fooling myself or reducingreducing my risk? >> i think certainly when you're using your debit or credit card at any retailer, there is a certain amount of risk involved. i would disagree a little bit that you're more secure when you are using it at a small, as you say, mom-and-pop location, because those locations are probably relying on a third-party card processing company, who may not have the resources to invest in security the way that a larger retailer might. so, for example, some of the recent hacks that we've seen have been breaches at parking lots, you know, the parking place where you run your credit card through an automated terminal, for example. those were recently hacked. so i certainly think that, you know, you're at risk regardless of where you use your card. a larger retailer, for example might have the resources to make

it stronger, but as we saw in target and home depot, the larger you are, the bigger a target you are for hackers the more cards potentially that a successful hack can glean for them. one thing that's encouraging that i have seen coming to the market has been the new chip cards. so this has been a topic for debate here in washington, in response to a lot of these retail hacks. and in response, many banks are starting to send out new credit and debit cards that have this chip on them. now, the terminals that actually use those cards are more slowly being distributed into the marketplace. however, one thing i think consumers can do to protect themselves is, when you are going and using your card at a retailer, take a look for a minute and look to see if they are -- if they do accept chips. if they do, try and dip your card in. it's not the swipe that most consumers are familiar with. it's actually dipping your card in. but that is more secure, because

the chip will produce a one-time use only code as opposed to the stripe which most of us are familiar with, which is a much less secure technology. so certainly look for that chip reader, if it's available. unfortunately, a lot of the mom and pops that the caller was talking about u i i think they may not have this technology yet. i think, as time goes on, this yooer in particular -- this year in particular, we'll hear more about retailers who put that in place. >> we've heard about apple pay. how much security is there in that? >> i think that the contactless payment, using mobile wallets, certainly is an interesting development. i think we'll see more of that as time goes on. now, is it more secure than other forms of payment? it can be, certainly. it's not reliant on an outdated technology like mag stripe which is what most of us are familiar with, with our credit and debit cards.

that said, there is a growing number of malware out there that is targeting mobile phones. and so if it's a technology that exists it can be hacked. so i can't ever say that mobile wallets like apple pay are going to be more secure than other forms of payment. certainly i think it can be more secure. in talking to folks who are involved in the development of mobile wallets, they take security very seriously. so i think consumers should be aware that this is out there. if you're concerned about security, it can be a safer way to pay. but it's certainly not 100% safe. >> las vegas nevada, leroy good morning. you're next. >> yes. good morning. good morning john. >> good morning. >> yes. what i'm hearing is, it's almost like an epidemic. and i think the institutions have a fiduciary duty to try to protect their products. that being said, i think it's

two sides of the coin on this, because if they had done what they were supposed to do to protect their product, i believe that there wouldn't be so much hacking going on, because these people graduating out of these -- some of the tech technical fields and some f to that, they know who is rogue and who is going rogue. some of the monies that they're operating with is coming from somewhere. and if people are so vulnerable and being exposed like this new products are being sold so, quote, unquote, protect them, which generates a whole new network of billionaires, which are creating zombies, you know. i'm really worried about this. >> so i think leroy is absolutely right. there's a very sophisticated

cybercrime economy out there. we hear about cybercrime forums out there where they are selling mall wall, they're selling -- malware, they're selling compromised cards, where they are very concerned about customer service, where they offer 24/7 technical support to the budding hacker. the fact that these criminals feel brazen enough and secure enough to offer these kinds of services, that openly, i think speaks to the fact that most of these criminals don't fear the reach of law enforcement. now, that said i think that there are -- he's absolutely right that there is more that companies can do to protect our data. there are standards that exist out there. we've seen the standard that's come out around critical infrastructure. i think that's a good start. nist is the national institute for standards technology, an arm

of the ntia. excuse me if i'm wrong on that. but they have a cybersecurity standards that come out for critical infrastructure. that's a voluntary standard. but it's a good step. i think companies can look at that and decide if there are parts of that that work for their business so that they can initiate to better protect consumers' data. but at the end of the day, i think there needs to be the right economic incentives in place. that's why one of the things in our congressional agenda for the 114th congress is taking a look at cyberinsurance. so this is an area that has become -- gained traction in recent years, mostly in response to these breaches. doing things like helping to make consumers whole when there is a breach, helping companies deal with the costs associated with data breach notification. we think that's a good start. but given the impact that breaches have on consumers from the inconvenience of replacing a card, all the way up to the ding

that your credit report takes when an identity thief tries to take out credit in your name, that creates somebody trying to pull your credit file to check that credit. that can affect your credit score. that can be thousands of dollars to the average consumer, that they pay in in in addition to things like on mortgages and auto to loans because their credit is lower. we think consumers should be complicated, when a breach happens. they should be made whole because ultimately, if i give my data to a company and they don't protect that data, we think they have lost my trust and harmed me. cyberinsurance is one way consumers can be made whole. we hope congress will take a look at those in the upcoming sessions. >> tom is next for john breyault of the national consumers league. tom is from erie, pennsylvania. hi there.

>> hi there. first, i've got a two-part question and statement here. first thing is, what ever happened to the idea that it was the responsibility of the retailer to verify identification before charges were made on a card? because now, they don't even ask you for i.d. or there they're just starting to get back into it now. but they tried to get away from that and make it the responsibility of the harm to the consumer if somebody used their i.d., you know, illegally. the next thing is, are we not in this situation because the entire internet was organized and set up to give businesses back-door access to everything you're doing? and, you know, the entire concept has been wrong from the

beginning. these people shouldn't -- you shouldn't be bombarded, every time you make a search on the internet, you're bombarded with e-mails and, you know, junk mail and all kinds of crap. >> thanks, caller. >> well, i'll take the first part of tom's question. in terms of -- i think most consumers, if you use a credit card or a debit card, and at a retailer, and you sign that slip of paper, i know i have not had my i.d. checked to verify that that was my signature in a long, long time. so i think that the signature method, as a way to verify somebody's identity, is less secure than using a pin, which only i should know. now, that said, that's not to say that there is not security inherent in the credit card

system. they have invested billions of dollars in trying to detect and prevent fraud on their cards for a very simple reason. when fraud happens on a credit or debit card and a consumer promptly reports it, the liability for that charge is on the issuing bank or the credit card company. now, that's going to start to change later on this year, in october, as we have what's called a liability shift where some of that liability will start to shift to retailers. so if i have a chip card and the retailer does not have a chip-enabled reader, and then there's fraud associated with that purchase, that liability may be on the retailer as opposed to the bank. so that is certainly one stick that's being used to try and get retailers to adopt this new chip system. so i think that will help. it's a step in the right direction. it's still going to be chip and

signature. it won't be as secure as chip and pin. but it will become more secure than the current mag stripe technology we have right now. >> a twitter comment says that banks should have distributed chips long ago but they prioritized for profits over financial security instead. >> certainly you've seen in europe, for decades now, they've had the chip and pin system in place. but that does not get rid of all the fraud. so when we saw in britain, for example, they had a mag stripe system like we have here today. and they switched to a chip and pin system. instead, we saw what's called the card present fraud. this is where people download millions of card numbers and code them on to counterfeit cards, then go on buying sprees of big-box retailers, for things they can quickly spend for cash. we saw that kind of fraud decrease when they went to the chip and pin system. but we saw online fraud go up. so even after we -- if we

adopted chip and pin technology tomorrow, we'd still have a fraud problem. that said, it is a more secure -- it is a more secure technology. but just to address tom's second point about security online. we have to remember that the internet was created with openness in mind. not security in mind. and i think we have to -- we have to deal with the internet we have today. it is inherently an insecure system. so i think there needs to be more prioritization put on coming up with standards that will help make it more secure, because certainly the openness is what has allowed it to spread and provided all the benefits to consumers and businesses that we have seen. but as security becomes a bigger issue, as consumers entrust more of their lives and more of their sensitive data online, the impact of breaches and lax security is going to continue to rise and continue to hit

consumers in the pocketbooks. >> emma, san jose, california. you are next. good morning. go ahead. >> about hipaa, i have a pretty good family, in california and we've had some odd things happening with our -- some of the providers we've seen. what happens is you go see a provider that is on your health insurance. and usually you sign a hipaa agreement. at that point, you know, you think your information is secure somewhat. and you see the medical rider and you find out they have your information. and it's like, how can you -- i think that's really -- it's wrong. and second of all, when you confront a provider about it,

they deny it. >> emma, thanks. >> well, you know, given the sensitivity of medical records and health information generally, i think it's proper that we have laws like hipaa on the books which require certain data security standards. now, why as we move to electronic health records it becomes easier for health care providers to share this information among themselves. i think there are certainly benefits to that so that, for example, i think there are benefits to that. for example, my general doctor can quickly share information with me to a specialist, who may be able to provide me with more seamless, and better care. that said, i do not think the issue of privacy of my health record should receive a short shrift in the drive for efficiency of this data.

there is a balance to be struck. certainly, data security standards associated with the hipa law are something we should look at. host: you said the federal trade commission could take a bigger role. guest: the ftc has brought more than 50 cases. but, their ability to breathe real penalties, civil penalties, is not bad. typically what happens is when there is a data security case, they will ultimately settle with the company. the company will then be subject to rules set down.

the question is, consumers who have been affected by the lack of security, are they able to be made whole. probably not. the ftc does not have the authority. clarifying the role in data security is a goal in our work with congress in months to come. host: mary, good morning. caller: our account was breached in february of last year. at least about $15,000 or $16,000 is missing, gone. the bank says it was a wire with my husband social security number. they have been trying to trace is to see where the wire went. my question is, when will they give us our money back? don't they have tthe obligation.

my question is, how long will this take and what resources do we have as citizens? guest: unfortunately's mary story is not unusual. we take consumer complaints, thousands of them every year. many of them are this story. i'm not familiar with the specifics of mary's case, but what we see in many complaints is the hacker will get access to somebody's bank account, with other information that they may of gone through identity theft. they can use the information to empty it of everything -- all the money that is in it. it is too often the case that when consumers try to get their

money back, there are roadblocks put in place in front of them that can take months, years, sometimes they never get the money back. we think it should be much easier when a consumer suspects a breach, for the consumer to be made whole when that happened. certainly, it is not unusual for money to be wired to a third-party, sometimes overseas. it is not always easy for consumers to get that money back. there are definitely steps that need to be taken. host: california, tom. caller: hi, inc. for -- thanks for taking my call. i was wondering what laws are there and what can i do with people reporting my credit report wrong.

the amounts are not the same, i cannot get any credit because of this. what are the things -- one of the things that they were reporting was totally false in the beginning. they have changed some things, but they have not put down that it has been disputed. guest: tom is not alone here. when consumers notice in accuracies in the credit reports, and they complain about it to the bureau, the response they get varies greatly. because there are three major credit reporting bureaus -- consumers often have to get in touch with multiple ones.

thankfully, there are laws in the books that say consumers can get their report free. consumers can also do a fraud alert on the reports. those can be done for free, they have to be renewed every 90 days, but again, free. what happens is if someone tries to open an account on your line of credit, you have to be consulted. i encourage consumers to look into the fraud alert. consumers who have already been victims of this, can put a credit freeze. you are not allowed to open credit on the account without

putting in a pin. those are two steps that consumers can take. if you have trouble working with the credit pearls, there is a great organization out there called the identity theft resource center. it provides direct counseling to victims of identity theft to help them recover from this. there on the web, and have a toll-free number. host: rene from san antonio, texas. caller: my question is in regards to the aca website. why wasn't that a hipaa violation? you're only as good as your

third party. for example cgi. guest: as with any other system -- the aca or the government website -- they are as at risk to data breaches as any retailer would be. that is why we were very happy to see the presidential executive order that starts to tackle this. it requires federal employees to use chip and pin cards. in terms of the caller's question about whether or not the risk exposure inherent in healthcare.gov, i do not know the answer to that. i do not know what sort of data may been breached. certainly, if consumers are providing the information to any

organization -- government or nonprofit, or corporate entity -- that data can be at risk. it is important for consumers to take the steps that i described earlier -- checking your accounts regularly. host: here is tim. caller: you said that consumers -- companies need to do more, of course. but, shouldn't the federal government do more? and, if they share information the government should be the the strong arm, what is the problem here? homeland makes it mandatory to give up this information. guest: i think the government and businesses need to work closely together to identify these threats.

often, information on particular cyber criminals get silenced. -- siloed. sharing the data gets lost. certainly, the consumer concerns about privacy, abuses the government may have been involved then in regards to an nsa make it harder for cconsumers to trust the government, particularly in cyber security. if consumers do not trust the government to not be snooping on them, they probably do not trust companies to not be abusing that as well. civil liberties have been one area of vigorous debates here in washington. host: as much as you want 114 congress to tackle this, what is the likelihood that they will?

guest: i think this is a bipartisan issue. they are hearing about this from the constituents on a regular basis. there will be a debate as to how much responsibility should be placed on to the businesses. for example, in the data breach notification area. private industry will hate it. we think it will be a real boon to consumers to better protect -- and incentives to businesses. we think they're far more areas of agreement on these issues than disagreement. we are hopeful that we will see movement on this issue. >> on the next "washington journal," brian nienaber and

stefan hankin. radio show host produce the top and domestic economic international stories in 2015. he will take your calls. you can join the conversation at facebook and twitter. "washington journal," live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> when the new congress begins tuesday, the house will have its largest majority since the 1928 elections. there are currently 247 republican house members compared to 188 democrats. michael graham of new york says he will resign january 5 after pleading guilty to tax evasion. the senate will be under republican control with 54 republicans, 44 democrats and two independence. mitch mcconnell will be the new

majority leader in the senate. in january of this year, senator mcconnell came to the floor to deliver his state of the senate speech. he discussed a range of issues, including how bills come to the senate floor for debate and the amendment process. >> bills should come to the floor and be thoroughly debated. we've got an example of that going on right now. that includes a robust amendment process. in my view, there's far too much paranoia about the other side around here. what are we afraid of? both sides are taken liberties and abused privileges, i will admit that, but the answer isn't to provoke even more. the answer is to let folks debate. this is the senate. let folks debate.

let the senate work its will. that means bringing bills to the floor. it means having a free and open amendment process. that is legislating. that is what we used to do here. that's exactly the way this place operated a few years ago. the senior senator from illinois, the democratic system majority leader likes to say or used to say that if you don't want to fight fires, don't become a fireman, and if you don't want to cast tough votes don't come to the senate. i guess he had not said that lately. when we used to be in the majority, i remember telling people the good news we are in the majority, the bad news is to get the bill across the floor you've got to cast a lot of votes you don't want to take. and we did it, and people groaned about it complained

about it. the sun still came up the next day. everybody felt like they were a part of the process. senator durbin was right about that the senate, and i think it is time to allow senators on both sides to more fully participate in the legislative process. that means having a more open amendment process around here. it requires you to cast votes you would rather not cast. but we are all grown-ups. we can take that. there is rarely ever a vote you cast around here that is fatal. and the irony of it all is that kind of ross s makes the place a lot less contentious -- process makes the place a lot less contentious. it's a lot less contentious when

you vote on tough issues than when you don't. when you are not allowed to do that, everybody is angry about being denied the opportunity to do what you were sent here to do. >> when the new congress gavels in on tuesday, senator mcconnell will be the new senate majority leader for the 114th congress. the house and senate gavel in on tuesday at noon eastern. we will show the swearing-in of members and elections for house speaker. watch the house live on c-span and the senate live on c-span2. with the new congress you will have the best access, the most extensive coverage anywhere. track the gop as it leads on capitol hill and have your say as events unfold on tv, radio, and the web. >> this sunday on q&a, the president and ceo of the national council of the raza, the nation's largest hispanic civil rights and advocacy group on the state of hispanics in

america, immigration reform, and her personal story. >> i had the great religion of experiencing the american dream here in this country born in kansas. my parents actually came to this country from the very early 1950's. my parents came from mexico with no money and very little education. my dad had an eighth-grade education, my mom a fifth grade education. yet they believed in the promise of this country, and they were seeking better opportunities for their children. they worked really hard and sacrificed as so many latinos and hispanics have done in this country because they wanted that better future for their children and believed in the promise of this country. they really taught us important values that have been our guide

for me and my siblings, my six brothers and sisters. they called this the importance of family -- they taught us the importance of family faith, art work, sacrifice, honesty integrity -- all of those were important values they shared with us. >> sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern and pacific on c-span's q&a. >> in the president's weekly address, vice president joe biden encourages people to sign up for health insurance through the affordable care act. the current enrollment period ends on february 15. in the republican response representative rodney davis discusses the higher more heroes act and the party's legislative priorities in the 114th congress. >> hello, everyone. this is joe biden. i want to wish you all happy new year. i know this is a time of year

when we make resolutions to take care of our health, whether it is joining the gym or eating healthier, but there is one thing you can do right now that will also make a big difference in your health. that is getting quality, affordable health insurance through the affordable care act. because of that law, access to quality health care is improving. last year almost 7 million people signed up for health care coverage under the new law and pay their premiums. the cost of health care in many cases is lost -- less than the cost of your cell phone or cable bill. millions more are getting the care they need through medicaid that they were not getting before. because of the new law, people who already have health insurance are also benefiting from additional protections. for example, insurance companies can't deny them coverage because of pre-existing conditions like asthma or diabetes, and they are able to get free preventive

services like mammograms or blood pressure screenings that their doctors ordered for them, saving them a lot of money. everyone is beginning to realize what millions of you already know. the affordable care act is working. we are just getting started during there are millions more of you who can get quality affordable health care if you sign up for february 15 of this year. that is now through february 15. if you don't have insurance, you can go to healthcare.gov, where you will find a bunch of different plans and what each land cover is and how much each plan costs. all you have to do is just pick one. the best one that fits your family's health care needs and your family's budget. if you don't want to go to healthcare.gov and you want to talk to somebody on the phone instead, you can call one 800 -- 318 -- 2596. from this moment on, you can

call anytime of the day, any day of the week. phone lines are open. funny four hours a day, seven days a week. -- 24 hours a day, seven days a week. there are translators available in over 150 languages. if you're not comfortable going online or speaking on the phone and you want to sit down with an individual to help you through this, you can find out where to go as well. in every community, local libraries or community health centers, people are there to help. all you have to do is go on healthcare.gov, type in where you live, and you can find out exactly where to go to sit down with a person who will help you walk to the process. here is the really important point i want to make. if you don't sign up i february 15 of this year, with only very few exceptions, you are going to have to wait until 2016 to get

health insurance through the affordable care act. even those of you who already have health insurance through the affordable care act, you can also go on health care.gov to find a plan with more benefits or one that is more affordable for you. you might even qualify for additional help paying for the insurance you choose because your income is and what it was last year. -- isn't what it was last year. i'm sure you have already heard from your friends and neighbors what i hear all around the country. i hear it provides peace of mind that someone you love will be covered if god forbid something happens. it provides security. if you have a bad strain or your ankle or your back or you don't have the money to get treatment tom a you can now get the treatment rather than wait and end up with a chronic condition. it provides a lot of freedom and choice and opportunity. you can switch jobs or move to another city without the fear that you will lose out on the

health insurance with the company you now have it with. what i'm hearing most is how pleased and excited people are about how affordable it is. an awful lot of people who didn't think they could or would find quality affordable health insurance are actually able to get assistance from the government to help them pay for their health care plans at a cheaper rate. a family of four with an income around $95,000, they can still get a subsidy to lower their health care premiums. most importantly, what i hear is that we have finally ended the debate in this country of whether or not health insurance is a right or privilege. we think everyone in america has a right to have adequate health care insurance, and the affordable care act gives some that right. so sign up, and spread the word. protect your health, not only for your sake, but the sake of your families. thanks for listening.

jill and i wish you a happy and healthy new year. god bless you, and may god protect our troops. >> happy new year, everyone. i'm congressman rodney davis from the great state of illinois. i'm honored to be seeking with you from springfield, the home and resting place of one of our nations greatest presidents abraham lincoln. on tuesday we begin a new congress, and that means a new start on the people's business. if we work together, we have a great opportunity to grow our economy and put our nation on solid footing for a bright future. that is why the house will start off with jobs bills that have bipartisan support were never considered by democratic-run senate. one of those is a bill is a bill i sponsored, call the higher more heroes act. -- called the hire more heroes act. it will encourage small businesses to hire more of our nation's veterans. one problem with the health care

law is that because of its cost and mandates, small businesses pay higher costs and have to hold off on hiring. when small businesses can't higher, we can't move forward. that is where the hire more heroes act comes in. veterans already enrolled in health care plans through the department of defense or the v.a. [indiscernible] not only are we providing small businesses and our economy with much-needed relief, but also helping more of our veterans find work. despite receiving the best training in the world veterans are consistently faced with higher unemployment rates than that of other veterans. as more and more of these men and women return home, the hire more heroes act will give them a better chance in a still tough job market. the hire more heroes act is an

example of bipartisan jobs bills the house will be bringing up on your behalf. in the coming days, the house will also act on legislation to approve the keystone xl pipeline and restore the 40-hour work week for middle-class families. from there, more good ideas for jobs and growth will follow. if the president is willing to work with us, we will have a real chance to address our nation's most pressing challenges. there is one more thing i want you to know about the hire more heroes act. this idea did not come from washington. it came from illinois. the superintendent of the veterans assistance commission came to may after seeing how -- came to me after seeing how servicemembers were having a difficult time navigating the new health care law. listening to people and making your priorities are priorities, that is what you connect spec from this new american congress. if we all unite and work

together 2015 will be a great year for our country. for now, thank you for listening. god bless all our veterans and servicemembers, and god bless the united states of america. >> the c-span cities tour takes a book tv and american history tv on the road, traveling to u.s. cities to learn about their history and literary life. this week and partnered with time warner cable for a visit to austin texas. >> we are in the private suite of linden and lady bird johnson. this was private quarters for the president and first lady. this is not part of a tour offered to the public. this has never been open to the public. you are seeing it because of c-span -- -- special access. vip's come into this space just like they did in lyndon johnson's day. the remarkable thing about this

space is it's really a living breathing artifact. it hasn't changed at all since resident johnson died in january of 1973. there's a document in the corner of this room assigned by the then-archivist of the united states and lady bird johnson telling my predecessors, myself and my successors that nothing in this room can change. we are here at the 100 block of congress avenue in austin. to my left is the colorado river. this is an important historic site because this is where waterloo was. waterloo consisted of a cluster of cabin is occupied by four or five families, including the family of j carroll. i'm standing at the spot where the cabin was. this is where mirabelle lamarr was staying when he and the rest of the men got wind of this blowhard in the vicinity. lamarr and the other man --

buffalo herd in the vicinity. lamarr and the other men galloped on their horses. they stuffed their belts full of pistols and rode into the midst of that herd of buffalo. lamarr at eighth and congress shot this enormous buffalo. from there he went to the top of the hill where the capital is and that is where he told everyone that this should be the seed of the future empire. >> watch all of our events from austin throughout the day on c-span2's booktv and sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. eastern on c-span3. >> here on c-span, "the communicators" is next, with a look at technology issues likely to come up and 2015. that is followed by cisco chair and ceo john chambers, talking about digital technology and internet security. at 8:00, a conversation about space travel with charlie duke.

>> c-span, created by america's cable companies 35 years ago and brought to you as a public service by her local cable or satellite provider -- your local cable or satellite provider. >> the 114th congress is about to begin in 2015 -- and 2015 is shaping up to potentially be a busy year in telecommunications issues. this week on "the communicators" we invited three technology reporters to join us to preview the year, what the congress and fcc and administration may do. joining us is politico they "washington post" and "the national journal." when we asked all three of you what were the issues he wanted to talk about, all three of you put net