>> state of the state address coverage continues. governor sam brownback white at 730 p.m. eastern. another state of the state address with the governor of nevada, live at 9:00 p.m. eastern. in baltimore the president met with democrats at their retreat.

house and senate republicans are in hershey pennsylvania, for their congressional retreat, and john boehner joined mitch mcconnell who announced that joni ernst will deliver the republican response to the president's address on tuesday. here is more on that now. >> senator joni ernst for our side this year. she is a perfect choice. americans voted for change, and the senator will explain what the new congress plans to do and what it is already doing to return focus to the concerns of the middle class and away from demands of the political class. ernst has dedicated her life to iowa and her country, serving in the military, the national guard, for more than 20 years, and has deployed overseas.

she is focused on growing an economy and expanding the middle class. >> thank you. thank you so much. thank you, speaker, and leader also. i am truly humbled and honored to have this opportunity to deliver the republican address. and it is a long way from red oak to washington, d.c. and growing up on a southwest iowa farm years ago, i never never would have imagined that i would have this opportunity. so thank you. like so many of my colleagues, our folks back home sent us to washington, d.c., with a clear mission, and that mission is to get to work. that mission is to craft and

implement good policies, good solutions which will enable us to get america on a better path. and we are anxious to do that. we are very anxious to get to work and implement these good policies. so i look forward to that very much because we want to ensure that the america we are building leaves a stronger economy and more opportunity for our children and our grandchildren. again, i want to thank you very much, and i look forward to sharing more about our collective agenda this next tuesday evening. thank you, all, so much. >> part of the news conference held earlier by boehner and mcconnell. you can read their comments

tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. tuesday, january 20, this rate of the union. -- the state of the union. you just heard senator ernst will deliver the response. we will hear your comments throughout the evening. next up, remarks from sylvia burwell on the health care law and her purse for congress to find common ground as republican lawmakers work for it through appeal. she spoke for about 35 minutes. >> good morning. welcome, everybody, two new america. before i introduce secretary burwell, who is here to make remarks about the future of health care on a number of

dimensions in the new congress and the year ahead, i just want to make a few quick comments about new america and why we are so honored that we are able to host her here today for these remarks. among the founding principles of new america, which is reflected in the book "the radical center" by people who are among the founders of this organization 15 years ago, was a commitment to get beyond traditional partisan alignment and specifically to apply that idea to health care to treat it as a matter of both rights and responsibilities, and something that should be vested in in individuals and people not just some jobs and not others, and to improve care and not just coverage. over the following years, the middle of the last decade, new america's health program, which was led by others worked to put that vision into place. particularly in the period 2006, 2008 this organization and lynn nicholls created a space for

bipartisan and most importantly cross ideological conversation that ultimately -- it was wonderful to see it happen -- ultimately resulted in legislation that by 2008 had 10 co-sponsors from each party and and a piece of legislation that in some ways went further that the affordable care act, but not in others. in my work on political reform one of the things that we have done is try to look at the kind of situations where government can get things done, even in the situation where people have deep disagreements about values. and in doing that, i still look at that, the work new america did 10 years ago as a fascinating example because it reaffirmed for me a very basic truth, that when people share a commitment to getting something done, when they agree that the status quo isn't good enough, and they are willing to talk to each other, then even if there are very deep differences about what to do and how to do it, but if people are willing to talk to each other, anything's possible. and people can find solutions

even without giving up their core beliefs. i think secretary burwell will tell us we are on the verge of an era where we can being to have that conversation again. i'm also looking forward to hearing secretary burwell's thoughts about innovation and how the government can do better. last week two long-standing board members of new america published a wonderful article highlighting some of the ways in which the affordable care act was encouraging innovation reducing costs, while improving care. they concluded the article, "25 years from now we hope historians look back on the affordable care act as the start of a new era of public-private collaboration to develop innovative solutions to complex social problems and thus to restore trust in government itself." we share that confidence. now, i want to introduce secretary burwell. when our staff said you need secretary burwell's biography, i really know her biography because, when i was in

government, she was a hotshot in government. when i worked in philanthropy later, she was a hotshot there. i'll do the full bio anyway. she was born in sworn in in june as the 22nd secretary of health and human services, a smaller club than i would have thought. before that, she served as director of the office of management and budget, where she worked closely with congress to restore order to the budget and appropriations processes. before coming back to the government and rejoining this administration, she was president of the walmart foundation in arkansas during a period when that foundation surpassed $1 billion in total giving. for 10 years before that, she was president of the global development program at the bill and melinda gates foundation in seattle, washington, an extremely large foundation, and works on a huge range of issues from vaccinations children's health, agricultural development, and she was the foundation's first chief operating officer. during the clinton administration she served as

deputy director of o.m.b., chief of staff to the secretary of the treasury, and staff director of the national economic council. she was born and raised in west virginia, received her a.b. from harvard and a degree from oxford. we are pleased to have her here. let me do a quick logistical thing. after remarks, we'll have questions and answers. you have cards for questions. please put your question on it and your name. we'll go through it and i'll call on people and you'll say your question, but we want to do it efficiently with the cards first. with all that, secretary burwell, we are pleased to have you. [applause] >> thank you very much, mark. appreciate it. and it's great to be here at the new america foundation. mark twain once said that you can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. and i think the great thing about the new america foundation is that you work to refocus our

collective imagination on the things we can do together to renew american prosperity, and that's a very important thing and why i think this is the ideal place for me to be to reflect upon the values and interests and priorities that we have in common as americans and in the broader sense as citizens of a shrinking planet. i have long believed that across the globe, regardless of your nationality or your financial status, that we all basically have the same desires for our children and that is we want them to live healthy and productive lives. and as the mother of a 7- and 5-year-old, i share that dream as well. i'm a believer in the notion that people who share common interests and common dreams ought to be able to find common ground. and that's what i want to talk with you about today. i truly believe that there are a number of things where we have an opportunity and in fact a responsibility to get done

together in this new year. working across the aisle and working across different sectors. this is especially true in health care, where our system is on the threshold of both positive and i believe transformational change. there are also opportunities that flow from the innovations in science and medicine that are being advanced by american scientists, researchers, and entrepreneurs. many of these innovations are redefining the boundaries of progress. at the same time, they are opening the promise of a new innovation economy. the opportunities before us are good for families, they are good for business, they are good for the economy, they are good for taxpayers. there are things we can get done if we work together. and i believe there is a shared interest on both sides of the aisle and with business and civil society communities in moving them forward. at the same time, the new year

did bring in a new round of efforts to repeal the affordable care act. these efforts are happening despite increasing evidence that the law is working. millions more americans have access to quality, affordable care, some for the first time. what's more, millions of americans who are already insured are benefiting from the law as well. as you can imagine, i will be vigorous in making the case this law is working and families, businesses, and taxpayers are better off as a result. i believe this firmly, and as i have traveled around the country i have been told by people that i have met they are not concerned about the next headline. what they are concerned about is the next generation. they want us to stop the back- and-forth, to move forward, and to focus on the substance. and that's really what i want to talk about today. i count myself among those who do not believe that

disagreements in some areas, even significant disagreements should prevent us from moving forward on others. medicaid expansion is an example. governors from 27 states plus d.c., including those who disagree on elements of the affordable care act, have reached the same conclusion -- expansion is good for the people and the economies of their states. and some who have not yet expanded have expressed interest in moving forward, states like wyoming, indiana and utah. i want to see all 50 states expand in ways that work for their states. and we will work with governors from both parties to try to make that happen. there are other critical areas in health care where our common interests give us ample opportunities for common good. improving the quality of care we receive while spending our dollars more wisely, reducing substance use disorders

and overdose deaths, strengthening global health security, reaffirming american leadership in research, innovation, and science, and building an innovation economy. let's start with our health care system. for all the differences of opinion about how to move forward, there is one area which we have unanimous agreement, and that's that the system that's been in place for 50 years has underdelivered on access affordability, and quality. you could almost sum it up with the prices we paid far outweighed the progress that we made. health costs grew significantly faster than things like g.d.p. and middle-class family incomes. we all saw the effects of a system that did not spend our health care dollars as wisely as we could have. however, over the last several years we started making significant progress, thanks in

large part to the affordable care act. it's now within our common interest to build a health care delivery system that's better smarter, and healthier a system that delivers better care, a system that spends health care dollars more wisely, a system that keeps us healthy rather than waiting for care when we get sick a system where medical information and medical bills are easy to understand a system that puts information in the hands of patients and doctors and empowers them to make better choices. if we do this, we will leave a legacy for our children and our grandchildren. as i have met with members of congress from both parties, they have told me they want a better system, too. they want to tackle health care associated infections, so we keep patients safer when they are in the hospital and healthier when they are out of it. we are already making progress as a country.

we have achieved a 17% reduction in harms nationwide since 2010 and members of congress from both parties also share our interest in payment innovation. we all want to find better ways to reward quality and high-value care in the system. there are opportunities to work together on putting better information in the hands of patients and their doctors and building a more transparent system. we have had fruitful discussions with congress about supporting the interoperability of our information and health care system. we also share members' interest in expanding access to medicare claims and clinical data to support innovation and empower consumers with information. medicare and medicaid are two of the largest health insurance plans in the world. together, they cover one in three americans. so one of the things we are going to do is leverage the grant and rule making opportunities to improve the

quality of care that beneficiaries receive while spending those dollars more wisely. we understand that's our role and it's our responsibility to lead, and we will. but what we won't do and can't do is go it alone. patients, physicians government, business, we all have a stake, and i believe that this shared purpose calls out for deeper partnerships. some of our most important results-driven partners are actually state governments which are taking creative and innovative steps when it comes to improving the quality and achieving smarter spending on -- of medicaid dollars. i believe we have an opportunity to strengthen our relationship when it comes to things like modernizing medicaid enrollment systems, improving models for care in payment, coordinating and improving the care that's delivered to beneficiaries in managed care. part of building a health care system that keeps us healthy is

actually reducing substance use disorders and overdose deaths. for millions of americans who rely on prescription painkillers that are prescribed to them by their doctors, these drugs can be the difference between constant chronic pain or welcome relief. however, these drugs can be deadly. in 2009, drug overdoses overtook every other cause of injury death in the united states. outnumbering fatalities from car crashes for the first time. meanwhile, in 2012 alone, 259 million opioid prescriptions were written. that's enough for every american adult to have a bottle. rural america, including my home state of west virginia, knows the tragedy of this issue all too well. moving forward, we hope to work with members of congress from

both parties on the goals we share for driving down opioid dependency and overdose deaths. this is a critical and complex public health challenge and requires a multifaceted approach. we have an opportunity to work together on improving opioid prescribing practices by enhancing prescription monitoring, data sharing, and clinical decisionmaking. we also want to incentivize the development of youth deterrent opioids and expand the utilization of a drug used to reverse overdoses. there's more we can do together in the realm of medication- assisted treatment to help those who are addicted break that cycle. last session congress introduced more than a dozen pieces of bipartisan legislation to try and address this problem. many proposing ideas that would help fuel progress in some or even all three of these areas,

and we think we should continue to work together. i want to turn for a moment to global health security. the tragic ebola outbreak is a solemn reminder of our common humanitarian and security interests. the most effective way to protect americans here at home from outbreaks and other public health threats abroad is to stop diseases and the threats of them at their source. microbes and diseases are moving faster and further than ever before in human history, and they do not recognize national borders. i want to take this opportunity to thank the congress for choosing to act and invest in this critically important common ground priority of global health security. recently in a bipartisan fashion members of both parties made a $597 million investment with the c.d.c. to advance the global

health security agenda and its three pillars of prevention, detection, and response. we want to work with our global partners to enhance their prevention strategies and tools for both naturally occurring and man-made threats. with only about 30% of countries reporting that they actually adequately can detect, respond or prevent the health threats proposed by emerging diseases, there is an urgent need for this sort of investment and commitment. and it's important to note that just as congress has stepped up to the plate, so have governments from other countries who are choosing to invest as well because they recognize that all of us have a stake in stopping outbreaks before they become pandemics. in september, president obama convened the 44 countries that have signed on to be a part of that agenda, covering 4.8 billion people across the world.

these countries have the will and the desire to implement the global health security agenda, but many of them require assistance to achieve the full range of its goals. this is an important start from both a national security standpoint and a humanitarian one. our goal must continue to be for every nation on earth to have the ability to prevent, detect and respond to infectious disease threats. our ebola efforts overseas and our preparedness efforts here at home have also shown us where we can improve our abilities to add capacity and flexibility and wisely deploy resources in times of public health emergencies. we hope to work with the congress -- we hope to work with the congress in the spirit of the emergency funding we received, and that includes making sure that we share our approach for spending of this funding. i want to now turn to another

area where we as americans both have an opportunity and responsibility to lead -- innovation in science and medicine. the investments we have made through our federal government have reshaped our understanding of health and disease, advanced lifesaving vaccines, and helped millions of our fellow citizens live longer, healthier lives. but there's more we can do and should do together. and while we can always do better, our goals are bolstered by the f.d.a.'s regulatory review process. in the united states, our process is one of the most efficient in the world, but our drug review times are consistently faster than other advanced authorities around the world. while maintaining the highest safety standards. in the last year alone, f.d.a. approved the most new drugs in almost 20 years, including more drugs for rare diseases and more

new therapeutic biological products than ever before. we want to work with the congress to secure the investments in science research, and innovation that will allow our nation's scientists and researchers to continue the progress they have been making on new and improved vaccines, cures, therapiies, and rapid diagnostics. a few months back when republican representative fred upton and democratic representative diana degette invited me to attend a panel on 21st century cures, i said where and when? because i firmly believe that we have many common ground opportunities to work together, and i look forward to working with chairman upton, ranking member pallone, and representative degette on this bipartisan effort. as we look to move forward, i have told members of congress from both parties that we agree with them on the need to improve innovation, collaboration, and data sharing among scientists, to respond to patients' needs and give them a meaningful voice in their own care,

to bridge scientific gaps and bring products to market to attract the best experts, to accelerate cures to reduce the administrative burdens and duplications, and to do all this while maintaining and protecting the public's health safety. i want to give you an example of how by moving innovation forward we have the opportunity to deliver the sort of impact that can touch the lives of so many for the better, and that example is precision medicine. the science of harnessing our understanding of the human genome to customize our medical care to our own personal genetic makeup. for most of history, medical practitioners have been forced to make recommendations about prevention and treatment based largely on the expected response of an average patient. the ability to assess and use information about important differences among individuals

has been very limited. the promise precision medicine has is that it gives us the ability to develop medical treatments that are highly tailored to the individual characteristics of patients. i hope we can work with the congress to scale up initial successes we have seen in this promising avenue of scientific endeavor. it's in the interest of our health and our children's future to make these breakthroughs happen. it's in our economic interests to make sure that they happen here. i want to close by the way i opened and that's by talking about the common dreams that we share for our children. if we take action to advance innovation and if we choose to work together on the other priorities i have outlined this morning, then i believe we will build a stronger, healthier future for the next generation. in doing so, we can create a 21st century innovation economy in which we lead the world in advancing the next generation of scientific and medical innovations. at the same time, we hope

american entrepreneurs capitalize these innovations into the market for economic growth. the 21st century has been called the century of biology, and in this bil century, our common interest in job creation and innovation are mutually reinforcing. steve jobs told his biographer that he saw parallels between the ways medical research was capturing his son's imagination and the ways in which computers had captured his own. jobs said, i think the biggest innovation of the 21st century will be at the intersection of biology and technology. a new era is beginning, just like the digital one when i was his age. this intersection presents us with some of the most fertile ground for building and -- an innovation economy. as president obama said, when

-- what america does better than anyone else is spark the creativity and imagination of its people. we know that when we give american innovators the opportunity to innovate, they accomplish big things. this is especially true when it comes to innovations in medicine. i'm looking forward to working with leaders from both parties from the private sector, from civil society, and from the scientific and medical communities to deliver impact and drive progress that is worthy of the possibilities of our time. as i mentioned upfront, i hope that we can move beyond the back-and-forth of the affordable care act and focus on the substance of access, affordability, and quality. working families have come to count on that financial security that comes with having quality affordable health coverage. as secretary, i am contractually obligated to mention that open enrollment goes until february 15. whether we are talking about affordable health coverage, a

better, smarter health system, a healthier population, or a more secure world, i think it's fair to say that as a country and as a world we are on the threshold of positive and transformational change. it's up to us to build the common ground necessary to reach our common dreams. the world is watching. the next generation is waiting. the work is up to us. thank you very much. [applause] >> we'll take some questions. the first question is david morgan from reuters. go ahead and ask your question. >> i wanted to ask how confident you are given that 2/3 of the open enrollment period has

passed that enrollment will, in fact, meet or exceed your target of 9.1 million enrollees? >> i believe that we have made strong progress. you probably saw the numbers we announced yesterday for the federal marketplace. that we are almost at 6.8 million people who have either re-enrolled or newly enrolled. as i said all along and before we even started this open enrollment, it's my job to keep us focused every day. we have a ways to go. it's a short period of time to reach the 9.1 million, and that it is situated number -- infectiuated number of the goal we set out. so every day we are working hard against that. you probably know and saw that yesterday this is a week of latino action, firmly focused on that group. we are going to continue to focus across the populations that we are trying to reach. i'm out there traveling quite a

bit to different places. and what we are trying to do most to try and get to that goal is meet the consumer where they are. and that's both in terms of the speed and ease with which they can sign up and getting them the information they need to get there. >> mary agnes terry. >> i know you meet with a lot of members of congress. i'm wondering what you're hearing from republicans especially in the senate, about possible common ground around around around affordable care act? >> much of the conversation as is reflected in this speech is, as i focus on the issues where i think there are places for common ground. and we know that the issues that i mentioned, the bipartisan bills, there have been bills on the issues of opioids proposed by senator porter, senator ayotte has been an important co-sponsor of that legislation. senator wyden has been involved. mr. rogers from neighboring kentucky, west virginia, deeply interested in those issues. that whole list of issues that i mentioned. those are much about what the conversation's about. one of the things i'm trying to do in this speech is focus on

the places where we have common ground. there are, as i outlined today whether that's delivery system reform where people do want to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the dollars at the same time we do the quality. that's the place where i focus mainly. >> that is a key law. they are fighting it. but are there members that maybe have a different message or different agenda than the leadership has? >> we are hopeful and look forward to that opportunity. as we said all along, we want to find the places where the act can be improved. we did the piece of legislation that came before us, we think about it in terms of affordability, access, quality and how things affect the economy. that's how we think about it. we welcome the conversation. look forward to it. at the same time, we want to work to make progress on issues we know there is clearly common ground that we see.

>> madam secretary, what do you see as the next steps particularly in the direction of affordable care either through legislation on a bipartisan basis or from nonlegislative action? >> i think as we think about the affordable care act and continuing to move forward on the issues of affordability, quality, and access, i think making sure that we have a successful open enrollment and that we continue to serve the consumer. that's the thing that is most in front of us right now. that's both about quality and affordability. second and continuing to work on that in the marketplace and contributing to a marketplace that works for consumers. second, in terms of continuing to work on that space, i touched upon it in these remarks. medicaid expansion is an important place for focus. and that's a place that has more to do perhaps with governors but in a bipartisan fashion because

of the states left and have communicated clearly. we want to work to do plans that work with states. in my conversations it's reflected different governors have different priorities for their people and states. we want to work with them on flexibility. there are certain key elements of the expansion sha were legislated and we believe are important from a policy perspective. we are opened to the innovation of states. that's area two. area three, joe, in terms of the area of focus on those three things and moving that ball forward is to continue the work on delivery system reform. and that comes in a number of different ways. and that's one where it's going to take the government -- executive branch anti-rule making and grant making that i mentioned as a place that's very important to drive how payment reforms can occur because we are such a large payer. it has to do with what the private sector is doing. in that's the next one. the last one is focusing on how

we make sure that this access translates to care for individuals. whether it's in those that are newly insured or those of us who had employer-based coverage and that there are additional benefits and whether that's the preventive care you can be doing or the flu shots that you could be getting without co-pays or the child wellness visit. that fourth area of focus in terms of moving those balls forward is about focusing on making sure that it isn't just the access, it is the question of the actual use and benefit that comes from it. >> want to ask a quick question. crossing over your experience at o.m.b. and h.h.s., do you foresee a future in which the kind of things you propose today, some of the things are beginning to happen with the a.c.a., begin to reduce the growth of health care costs in a way that begin to take. so pressure, maybe change the complex -- complexion of the debate about the long-term

federal fiscal situation and potentially create new opportunities for different coalitions and alignments around that set of issues? >> i think we have seen since i came -- arrived in town at o.m.b. in terms of the deficit reduction, the most recent deficit numbers, cut in half from the point at which i arrived. so we continue to see downward pressure. i think always as an o.m.b. director it's important we always keep our eye on the long term, which is one of the issues that people have their eye on. health care costs are an important part of that. what we have seen is the changes in terms of when you start to see that 2011, 2012, 2013 those numbers in terms of the lowest per capita health care costs growth that we have seen on record, when you see that downward pressure on medicare in terms of the per capita growth being nearly flat, over an extevended period of time, i think we are--extended period of time, i think we are starting to see that.

are those structural changes that will last for an extended period of time? how that incorporates with more people getting care? we need to keep our eye on. that's why i was emphasizing so much delivery system reform because while that's an issue that's about quality, it is about changing the way we do things so we get some of that long term cost savings we are talking about. >> ricardo. >> thank you for taking my question. in your speech you didn't mention s.g.r. and chip. and could we get what your outlook is for those two programs and what has to happen on the hill this year? and does the fact that you didn't mention these two programs mean that you think it's going to be contentious? >> so glad you raised them. probably the reason i didn't mention is because at this

speech lasted much longer i'm not sure how long all of you would be here. the issue -- those are both important issues. they do fit into the frame of the conversation and what the speech was about, which is general bipartisan support, both for s.g.r. as well as the issue of chip. so i think those fall into the category of things where i think there will be bipartisan support. i think those are very clearly legislative issues that the congress will take the lead in terms of the timetable and focus they will do. not mentioned because i thought that they were very contentious. on the ledger of putting things in columns of more contentious or greater possibility for working together, i see both of those in that category of greater possibility for working together. i think the question will come back to a point that was just raised in terms of deficits and

that sort of thing. as one looks at cost. the administration has expressed support for both of them. so the question is a legislative approach to achieve them. >> weigh want to thank you for coming and thank secretary burwell for joining us at new america. we hope you'll come to future events here. not always as high profile as this one we are really glad we could host you today. thank you very much. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] quick and commodities dated the

state coverage continues with governor sam brownback of to become. live starting at 7:30 p.m. eastern here on c-span. earlier today, house speaker john boehner held a joint news conference with senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. speaker boehner responded to questions about the ohio bartender who allegedly plotted to poison him. >> speaker boehner, there was a possible attempt made on your life by a bartender at a bar in west chester, ohio. how are you feeling about that number one, and in light of the foiled attempt did attack on the capital, how are you feeling about -- attempted attack on the capital, how are you feeling about security in general you complex we are reminded every -- security in general?

>> we are reminded of the week of the dangers that are out there. we saw what happened in paris. my personal situation, i'm not going to get into it. it is one thing to get a general threat but another to get 13 doors from where you live. obvious you, this and has some mental health issues and i hope you. -- i hope he gets the help that he needs. i hope they resolve this issue rather clearly. but in regard to the threat to the capital the first thing that strikes me is that we would never known about this had it not been for the fisa program and our ability to collect information on people who pose an imminent threat. i will say this one more time, because you will hear about it months and months to come as we

attempt to reauthorize the fisa program. our government does not spy on americans unless there are americans who are doing things that tip off our law enforcement officials to an imminent threat. and it is our law enforcement officials and those programs that helped us stop his person before he committed a heinous crime in our nations capital. quick do you know something that we don't? because apparently he was on social media about this, is there something we don't know? >> i let this rollout, but it was far more than just that. next just some of the -- >> just some of the news conference earlier today with john boehner. we will show the entire briefing tonight at 8:00 eastern time here on c-span. also tonight here on c-span, the state of this data address --

the state of the state address by governor brian sandoval of carson city. that is live tonight at 9:00 eastern time. in tomorrow, "washington journal" with mark fray, the former director of homeland security visa waiver program, looking at possible national security risks associated with the program and current legislative gridlock. plus your phone calls, facebook comments, and tweaks all on "-- tweets all on "washington journal" starting at 7:00 a.m. >> on c-span2 saturday night at 10:00, wall street journal editor bret stephens argues that our enemies and competitors are taking advantage of the situation abroad created by the u.s. as it focuses on estimates kick re--- it's domestic concerns. and steve israel at 10:00 on his

novel about a top-secret government surveillance program. and on c-span3 saturday at 8 p.m. eastern, george mason university professor john turner on the early mormons and their attempt create a new zion in the american west during the 1830's. and sunday afternoon at 4:00 on real america, the nine from little rock, the 1964 academy award winning film about desegregation of arkansas's all-white central high school. find our complete illusion schedule at www.c-span.org and let us know what you think about the programs you are watching. call us. e-mail us. or send us a tweet. join the c-span conversation. like us on facebook. follow us on twitter. earlier today, the managing director of the imf, christine

lagarde, addressed low oil prices the economy in the u.s. and around the world. she spoke at the council on foreign relations for about an hour. >> good morning, and welcome. i have the distinct honor of presenting to you christine lagarde. clearly, she need no introduction but i do want to highlight what i think is a very place that she holds an world history, and i mean that. she was the first female chair of baker mckenzie, an international law firm. she was the first finance minister of a g8 country, and of course now, she is the first head of the imf, but maybe more

importantly in the context of that, right in the worst part of 2009, the worst crisis, she was ranked as the best minister of finance in the row zone. and of course, we all know here in d.c. she enjoys that kind of reputation. it is my distinct pleasure and honor to present you may download guard who will share -- madame lagarde. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you very much. and good morning to all of you, and happy new year to all of you . this is my first public appearance. i am delighted to be here at the council on foreign relations to speak about the world economy as

we see it from the perspective of the imf. i think the council -- i was checking just before i came in. the council and the imf has something in common. they were both created after world war conflict. the council after the first world war, and the imf after the second world war. our genesis certainly has something in common. and you are clearly focusing on peace and stability, and a mission, as embedded in the articles of the imf, founded in 1944, precisely stability and prosperity. there is no better moment and the beginning of 2015 to talk about prosperity and certainly to talk about peace. i think it is particularly important in 2015 because from a

personal perspective, i can assure you that teamwork, team spirit, and a collective approach will be not only expected, but required. i was watching -- i was not watching the streets of paris on saturday. i was watching the streets of washington. and it was incredibly comforting to see the number of not just french ex-pats, but the american french marching down the street of washington in support with that collective spirit that unites many of us around key values. that collective approach and a team spirit was also clearly demonstrated with the line of leaders and all those who participate in the same objectives on this occasion. many of you expect numbers, and

many of you will be disappointed. [laughter] because we are publishing our world economic outlook update in a weeks time. and out of respect for the team and the department of particular, i will not mention numbers. i will leave that to them. i can already say this. despite the boost from oil prices and despite a stronger u.s. growth, we see the global economic recovery continuing to face a very strong headwind. and that is what i'm going to discuss with you this morning. but i would like to first of all kick off with a little story. two months ago on november 12, 2014, a little spacecraft operated by the european space

agency made the first ever landing on a comment -- comet after a 10 year journey covering half of billion miles. and like millions of other people not necessarily into astronomy and the studies of the cosmos, i was just engulfed by what they did. the touchdown on the comment --comet was a mission led by multinational team of scientists. and together, they have expanded humanity's reach into the cosmos, and by doing so, they have enhanced our understanding of our own planet. rosetta, that will ring a bell with some of you -- rosetta

embodies the spirit of the 19th century scientists, who in their own time used the rosetta stone to decode the ancient egyptian hieroglyphs. why is this story relevant today, other than to demonstrate that europe can do really impressive things? [laughter] because i think that this year, the global economy will face what we might call three rosetta moments. if they want to accomplish the international mission that i will talk about. those major policy challenges, think about what is coming our way. they will acquire decisions -- require decisions based on political courage international

banking, cooperation, a bit like those fine demonstrators. the first rosetta moment is about boosting growth and creating employment. the second rosetta moment is about achieving not any growth, but more inclusive and better shared growth. and the third rosetta moment is about making sure that growth is sustainable and balance. -- balanced. the three of them are clearly interconnected. all are important and all demand strong leadership. they all require cooperation. if we can catch a comment -- comet out in space with a 10 year flight and cover the space

in between, surely we can address the challenges right here on planet earth. i will start with the first rosetta, the immediate challenge of how to inject greater momentum into the recovery. like i said, not releasing numbers, but i would like to give you at least an understanding of trends and policy recommendations. and the obvious questions that we have at the moment, should lower oil prices and a stronger recovery in the united states make us more upbeat about the prospect of global economy? and unfortunately, most likely the answer is no. no, why? because there are powerful factors legacies of the crisis that are still with us, and that are weakening our economies.

clearly, the drop in oil price is, as we say, a shot, and a welcome shot in the arm for the global economy. but to pursue the physical analogy, a shot in the arm is good. but if the global economy is weak and on his knees, it will not help. we need strong arms and legs as well. cheaper oil increases consumer purchasing, increases private demand in oil importing countries. and depending on how long oil prices remain low, this could provide positive contribution to global growth for some time. as for the u.s. economy, it performed well in 2014, and in our view it should strengthen even more in 2015, largely due to more robust household spending -- i'm not paying too

much attention to the latest number published this morning. to be checked, but it does not change our perspective. u.s. unemployment continues to decline. cheaper oil is boosting real incomes and consumer sentiment. and there is continued support for monetary policy. what is the catch? oil price and u.s. growth are not a cure to deep-seated weaknesses elsewhere. too many countries are way down by at least two factors legacies of the financial crisis, high debt and high unemployment. too many companies and households keep cutting back on investment and consumption today because they are concerned about the growth tomorrow. in fact, to look at the overall map, the united states is probably the only major economy

that is likely to book a trend this year. -- bucks the trend this year when others are being held back. there are some promising recoveries in some places, and certainly a promising recoveries taken hold and continuing in the united kingdom, for instance while growth remains very low in the euro area and japan and emerging economies that were the drivers couple of years ago are slowing down. in relative terms, granted, but slowing down, as is china, for instance. that is the overall situation. the low price of oil, while probably a net positive at the end of the day, depending on supply and demand driving it, and the strong you could -- the strong u.s. economy will not suffice to accelerate growth, other potential for growth in the rest of the world.

i mentioned the strong headwinds. what do i mean by that? and what risks are we facing? first risk, the asynchronous normalization of monetary policies in advanced economies. for many of those of you that have studied ancient greek, you will remember that the "a" before anything means exactly the opposite of what the word means. it means there is no synchronicity. and for the secret us from earth was, a synchronicity is to be watched. -- and for the synchronized swimmer that i was asynchronicity is to be watched. will watch to see the changes monetary policy to moving to

interest rate variation, while at the same time exit unconventional monetary policy by the fed. while at the same time very likely a slow, although not yet granted, other central banks including the ecb, will move into more conventional monetary costly -- policy. you have the combination of one major entry and continuation of, for instance, the bank of japan. there has been a lot of talk about it. and certainly, what we can expect from the talented chairmanship of the fed is continuous good communication and that would be very important going forward. we should certainly expect as well volatility of capital flows as a result of the asynchronous monetary policies around the world. and who says volatility of

capital flows is also likely to expect potential negative effects for emerging markets and global stability? among the emerging markets, they are very likely to face trouble risks. first of all, the strengthening of the u.s. dollar. i'm talking emerging markets here. strengthening of the dollar, and second, higher global interest rates, and third, more volatile capital flows. that will have a significant impact on financial systems in emerging markets because many large corporates have actually borrowed in u.s. dollars, and have increased their borrowing in the last five years. the oil price drop and weaker commodity prices more generally have added to these risks, with some countries such as nigeria

russia venezuela, facing huge currency pressures. and given -- there are other countries, but these are the three major ones. and given the size and risk of development in those countries it could have ramifications on a regional basis, what we call a spillover consequence. the third area of risk is that the euro area and japan could remain stuck in a world that i would call low, low. low growth, low inflation. that would make it even harder for many euro area countries to reduce very high unemployment and excessive public and private debt, and would have the result of raising the potential risk of inflation and -- inflation and inflation. the fourth risk that we hear

about watching television on a regular basis are the geopolitical risks. take, for example, ukraine which we are doing a lot of work on will stop -- a lot of work on. increase international support to complement the imf support is crucial. at the same time, while you have those spots of geopolitical tension which can be identified with which you can talk -- we can talk -- there is also this palpable sense that the forces of intolerance and fragmentation are gaining strength, and sometimes competing with each other. the recent atrocities in france, mike home country -- my home country, but also in nigeria, or in pakistan, are only the latest

actions of forces that are fundamentally opposed to what we here in this room believe in. you take all of these risks of different natures, apply it to the current economic situation and i would say this calls for a powerful policy mix that can strengthen the recovery and provide better employment perspectives for the citizens of the world. that is the first rosetta moment. better recovery, more employment. how can policymakers deliver? to show solidarity, to express common interest is good. but there is more to be done as well. i look at the policies available. first, economic policies remain essential, given the numbers we have. second, fiscal adjustments must

be as growth and as employment friendly as possible. and above all, the policymakers have to step up structural reforms. there is a lot of talk about it. some are doing it, but there has to be real implementation. all of that is not new, but it takes a sense of increased urgency and it requires increased political leadership. for example, and i will take an example that is only -- on our daily radar screen, the price of oil. it will have an impact, but it will be a test for many policymakers. not so much for the oil importers, for whom the windfall provides an opportunity to strengthen their economic framework, and help alleviate inflation pressures.

but oil exporters need to cushion the shock on their economies. some are using their rainy day funds that they were wise enough to set up in the first place. and countries like saudi arabia for instance, and a few others in the middle east will actually for the first time in many, many years have actually fiscal deficits. others will resort to allowing some central exchange rate depreciation, which will certainly raise inflation and require tighter monetary policies. in the euro area, cheaper oil should be a positive, right? most of them are importers, and not all of them have 80% of what they need supplied by nuclear power energy.

but it could also contribute to a further decline in inflation expectations, which increases the risk of deflation that, as you will remember, i have mentioned in both the euro area and japan. this bolsters the case for additional monetary stimulus. which i'm very pleased to see the european central bank is considering, january 22 or thereafter. most importantly, and we at the imf are very pleased to have obtained this development lately, the drop in oil prices provides a golden opportunity for those countries that have subsidized the use of fuel energy, to reduce the subsidies. and if the price of oil declines, they can take out

portions of all of the subsidies that were given to all consumers in many instances to consume at decent prices. we were very pleased to see that many countries have actually embarked on that project that we have been advocating. and the list is -- well i will mention a few countries. jordan, tunisia, cameroon, egypt, indonesia malaysia. all of these countries have embarked on that journey. and that bodes very well for my third rosetta that i will mention in a little while. does that concern only those countries that have subsidized energy? no, it could also include some advanced economies, for what it -- for which it might time to consider seriously what you sometimes call a gas tax, or carbon tax -- more

sophisticated, but same approach. in order to do what? to finance needed infrastructure projects, maintenance of roads for instance. i happen to cycle around washington, d.c. [laughter] and to reduce other taxes, such as taxes on labor in those countries were unemployment is high. it does not have to be an increase of tax. it can be tax neutral, but better thought through with a better basis. but it will require a little courage. -- political courage. now, my second rosetta. we look at the situation as it is. we have looked at the risks and identify policies. my second rosetta is about the more intrusive and better shared growth.

-- more inclusive and better shared growth. let me be blunt. for more than six years after the start of the great recession, too many -- and despite growth, except for one year. i am talking global numbers here. many people do not feel that we are out of the crisis. and into many countries -- in too many countries, unemployment remains high and inequality has increased. this is why we need a decided push for structural reforms, to boost current and potential growth. 2015 must therefore be a year of action. it means removing deep-seated distortions in labor and product markets. it means revamping crumbling infrastructures, and building new ones. it means trade liberalization and pressing ahead with reform on education, health, and social safety net.

it also needs -- means unleashing the economic power of an underdeveloped segment of our societies when it comes to the creation of value, and i am talking about winning -- when in. --women. we talk about two areas infrastructure and women. infrastructure investment, and my talking about the bridge to nowhere? -- infrastructure investment and i talking about the bridge to nowhere? note. --no. we want infrastructure that is carefully chosen and is carefully chosen and does two things, increases the output in short-term, whether publicly induced or publicly funded, or partly public and private. the investment in infrastructure actually contributes in boosting

the output for the short term. and in the long-term, that is where you have the double when he -- double when he -- double whammy as a result of infrastructure. it improves the productivity and capacity in cities and regions where infrastructure is being developed. the g 20 has identified major infrastructure investments as one of its leed projects going forward. the whole growth agenda, by the way, of the g-20 in the next several years is forecasted to increase gdp by 2 trillion u.s. dollars. it will do what it has committed to do. the scope of such investment will vary from country to country. if you sit in india, or brazil,

you will want to invest in removing bottlenecks, and focusing probably on transportation and coordinated transportation and energy. if you look at the u.s. and germany, it is not going to be the same approach. but it is certainly going to involve financing the maintenance of existing infrastructure, and possibly looking at creating a new infrastructure. why is that? because if you look at numbers for decades in both of those countries, the united states and germany, there is very little ants on the maintenance of infrastructure -- very little spent on the maintenance of infrastructure, and of new ones. a very similar plan created by the new president of the european commission, the setting

up of the $350 billion is also to be encouraged particularly to attract private money together with it. so much for infrastructure. gender policies. that is a major potential game changer. we have millions of women who are locked out of the labor market, locked out of the economy as we measure it. and excluding these women is not just morally wrong, but it is an economic mistake. gender gaps and labor force participation are everywhere in the world. they vary from an average of about 12% in the oecd countries to about 30% in the middle east and north africa. things can be done about it. if you look at the cases of chile, for instance, or sweden,

or the netherlands, using small lessees -- policies to structurally reduce that gap and get better access to women, poor women to the labor market, whether it is investment of childcare, or putting in place the legal framework that encourages out -- encourages without this incentivizing financially the system participation, these policies demonstrate that they work. and that is another goal of the g-20. i find it a little ambitious personally, but at least it is on the map now, and the goal is to close the gender gap by 25%. we could have dreamed more but 25% by 2025. be it as it may if that was to

happen it would bring to the labor market 100 million more women, and that means obviously a blister the economy, global growth, and the reduction of inequality. -- a boost to the economy, global growth, and reduction of inequality. how do we leverage them? where will growth come from? how will infrastructure be used? where will these women be employed? there is at least one area that we are not yet leveraging accordingly, and that is, the area of trade and trade liberalization. that might very well provide the right answer. if you look at the number of global trade, they go like that, in decline over time. and it's really about that, that the numbers be moving in the right direction. and there are ways to do that. and there ways are just -- the

ways are just around the corner and available. one is certainly one that you know, the transpacific agreement, tpa and the other is the ttitp, the transatlantic agreement, which is more based on compliance, standards compatibility, rather than reduction of high risk between those two zones, because that has already been done. and it is based on cooperation between new congress and the president will stop so there is hope, we hope. for the european union, progress on trade would be immensely helpful in lifting growth and confidence. the japanese government is very keen to reach closure and to use ttp in order to inject growth

into the three arrows of economic. an emerging economic development would breathe life into the global economic recovery. a political will, a collective approach will be necessary to get to the finish line. and i come to my third and last rosetta moment. hard to achieve -- how to achieve creative employment, and doing it on a more inclusive basis, how to achieve it in a way that is more sustainable more balanced. three proposals that we will be working on or supporting this year. financial regulation international development, and environmental policies. the three of them are key.

the first one is, again, becoming controversial. why should there be so much regulation? why don't we have just general principles and we will do the rest among ourselves? i think there is one lesson that we learn from the great recession. you cannot have sustainable economic growth without having sustainable silence, and a sustainable financial sector. -- sustainable finance, and a sustainable financial sector. there has been progress, especially on banking regulation, and to a lesser extent on addressing what i think is a key component of that regulation, which is the "two important to fail" -- "too important to fail" framework. the global banking industry is

less important than it once was, and in some countries has shrunk by half. if you take a country like ireland, for instance, it has bankrupted altogether. it has reduced its assets by half. should there be joy about it? it is just the fact that if you diagnose what has caused the collapse of ireland and required that beautiful country to actually go through a difficult for ram -- program with success and courage because the banking system was largely inflated relative to the capabilities and size of the economy, not the only cause but certainly one. if that has happened and progress has been made, there are more vulnerabilities coming out of other places that we call conveniently the shadow banking system. shadow banking is not bad in and

of itself. it is fine. it can be a resilient source of finance for the economy. but it is not good if it is a mess of unpredictable hazards and if the size of the shadow banking sector in some places or in some segment of business has exceeded the size of the sector. the challenge facing the financial sector is now to implement the regulations and to strengthen supervision. i will give you a couple of examples where there has to be more coordination, more collective approach. an implementation of the battle three -- basel 3 principles, that set the quiddity ratios for instance, there is an interpretation and divergence of

views between two critical markets, the u.s. market and the european area market. the second example where policymakers have to reform further and make more progress on the otc derivative markets, where he are still -- we are still very much in the unknown. and more important, other than focusing on those areas where there is a shortage of regulation or supervision, or progress in getting there, the ethical dimension of that sector. we will hear more this year about the behavior, the attitude, and the ethical framework within which people operate, because we will have the first jury trials related to the libor trading scandal. and i really hope this will be an occasion for the profession itself, for the financial sector itself, to reflect on its

mission, the ethical principles by which it operates, and that it will not only see it as a list of rules for which compliance is needed under the supervision of an army of lawyers and supervisors, but i hope there will be a reflection on what is ethical and what is not ethical. even if it is in compliance with the boxes and they are all checked, i kenexa do something while someone is not watching -- i can actually do something buffalo is not watching. certainly, as a mother, that is how i see the difference between what is ethical and what is not. i'm not sure i teach my kids always. but certainly, restoring trust is going to be all of our effort not just the part of the policymakers or regulators or supervisors. it has to include the profession itself. they have to be part and parcel

of it. another example of how to engender more sustainable growth is through international development. later this year, the united nations will, i hope, complete a major effort, which has consisted in thinking through what will replace the millennial developing goals, many of which have been obtained. with a new set of goals that will be called the sustainable development goals. we played an important role in that respect. we helped with thinking through the financing that will be needed. to reach those goals. we will also, of course, make available our expertise of working and giving on a day-to-day basis with developing countries and low income countries. 2015 will also be a make or break year for the effort to strike an international

agreement on climate change. if you hear about clop, that will be it. it stands for the climate change conference where people will try to agree on how much they will reduce the emissions of various things actually, not only some. to be convinced, all you have to do is look at temperatures. they are rising. in 2014, it is the highest year in terms of temperature ever since the recording of temperature has begun. and it is also the year in which the highest number of natural catastrophes have taken place. natural disasters, more food and water scarcity, and generally fuel, conflicts, disputes, wars.

again, we need great political courage to reach that political will, to cut carbon emissions. and that rings me back to the beginning, and is -- that brings me back to the beginning, and it is my conclusion. while i was thinking, -- speaking, and thank you very much for listening, during that time, the rosetta spacecraft has continued to circle the dark icy object that is, 67 p. --comet 67 p. and we may yet learn more of its secrets as it gets closer to the sun. look at the mission that put together that unbelievable success. they were diverse. they came from different horizons. they did not grow up together. i think diversity had something to do with the success of that

rosetta mission, and it is certainly a true testament to global cooperation. and policymakers should be inspired by that. you know, the real secret when we i found rosetta a long time ago, what can engender growth, but to deliver on the three rosetta moments as i call them, policymakers need to enhance cooperation. they need to enhance a new multilateralism, and they need to put it into practice. whether it applies to clop, ttp, ttip seg -- are you with me? it also requires new institutions that are efficient and credible and working in the

changing global economy. this is why in 2010, the international community decided that the imf should be reformed, that it should better represent the global community, that it should be down -- endowed with more capital. and that some underrepresented countries, including some of the big emerging market economies, should have a bigger voice around the table. the imf membership has called on the united states to ratify the 2010 reforms by the end of last year, 2014. this was a commitment made to the g-20 at the highest level. but it hasn't happened. and i've spoken much about leadership today. and i cannot but express some profound disappointment in the political powers who have so far failed to grasp the benefits of

reform, both for their own benefit because maintaining stability around the world making sure there are firefighters when something goes really wrong in any of those geopolitical areas that i have mentioned, but also for the world at large. we have seen so much fabulous leadership out of this country. i hope, i really hope that it is going to happen. absent that, we are now working on it intro solutions to address some of the concerns that the other 187 countries have, because they have ratified already. but it cannot go unless the country who has the veto power on all major decisions actually goes along stop -- goes along. but given the challenges of 2015

and that the following years will bring, i don't think there is an alternative to completing the 2010 reform. we will be trying to find intro solutions, trying to address some of these issues. but the real thing is the 2010 reform that was actually very much engineered and located by the united states of america. i will continue to call on congress to reprove -- to a proof that reform without -- to approve that reform without delay. and i have faith in your country . i know it will happen. i would like to end with a quote that encapsulates my goals for leadership and cooperation in service of the global public good, and that is, a quote from -- i had to move away from egypt, you see. we have talked a lot about rosetta. i'm turning to the greek. pericles, he knew something

about holding. -- building. he knew something about architecture. he said, "what you leave behind is not only engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others. -- of others they." i think we have a lot of reading to do this year. thank you. [applause] >> thank you so much for that. a lot of food for thought. i want to come back to some of the things that you can -- that you start with. you talk about the meteor light, global economy headwinds deep-seated weaknesses particularly the hero and japan -- euro and japan, and you talked about some of the downsides, but you did not talk about the risk of stagnation.

at the committee meetings where some were saying this was the seminal issue of the day -- of course, by that we mean the lack of demand drives the lack of supply, which creates a vicious circle that reinforces itself over time. is that one step too far in your point of view? are there real risks when you put your story together? >> will receive see is so much diversity fragmentation. at economic levels, banking levels. i don't like to use one single concept which is nice to have, but your name in the headlines. i think it oversimplifies the matter.

there are different ways to look at the world. we at the imf for trying to drill down in each and every area. at the moment, the price of oil is knocking down so many certainties and creating new categories. you have the oil importers and exporters. you have those that suffer the effect of the dollar but whether they are hedged or not hedged. if you look at the euro area and japan, we have the risk of a low low. i am using different terminology but i don't want to be bound by what has been said by many men before me. >> to blanket statement. >> for what we are seeing, more

and more diverse city. in a world -- you have the connections that continue. you have more and more diverse situations locally. you have political and geopolitical tensions that are operating in a very different favor. some retreat and retired to your own turf and mind your own business, while there is the need for collective approach. >> let's turn to one area where maybe there is more commonality and that is low inflation and in some cases, deflation. most of the concern people have with the aggressive action that the fed took, that the ecb might take, seems to be with inflation. how well our economies equipped

to deal with low inflation, many deflation? is that a real risk? the oil prices exacerbates that to some degree. >> it is exacerbated when you look at nominal inflation, if you look at core inflation and expectations of core inflation. i think it is important to understand why this might be monetary policies that we are seeing here. there is nonetheless flat or low inflation relative to the targets. i think it has a lot to do with the output. in those countries, maybe less so. that is why we might be seeing a change in monetary policy. there is still available capacity. there are still people who are looking for jobs and the ability

to join the market. because of that, we are not seeing an uptick in inflation. in nominal terms, the oil prices are still keeping that down. i am not a central banker but if i was i would look very carefully at core inflation. in the two situation of exits or entering into monetary policy. >> we have so many questions to ask you but i will not be selfish. i will turn to the audience and ask you for any questions you may have. please introduce yourself, your affiliation. >> i have my own consulting group. my question goes back to oil and the dropping prices and the role

of oil in our whole traded sector. it is the most traded commodity but is not subject to the rules. are we at a place now where oil should be more subject to the rules of the road when it comes to our trade policies? >> you are raising a really interesting question. the sleepy competition lawyer inside myself there are the independent producers. this operates along those lines.

i am not giving you exactly the answer but i completely take your point and there's a lot to be explored, actually. their are that have disappeared because of market forces. >> always a pleasure to hear you speak. i want to thank you for always being such a strong advocate for women's empowerment. i really enjoyed your comments. i have a question for you because i think it is something we are really struggling with. i think it is disputable that women were critical to achieve all eight of the millennium

development goals. when it comes to the post 25th agenda, we are struggling with not be awareness that women are quite critical but really financing quality which we have touched upon and i wonder if you could talk about how we encourage multilateralist editions, governments to take this seriously. >> i agree with you that the awareness has largely been achieved. i am not sure that the economic opportunities have been identified sufficiently. on a very precise basis. at the end of the day, there's so much you can say about the moral imperative. some will only be interested by economic results, the bottom line, or whatever. that is where we need to continue to document and

demonstrate. we started doing some discrete work about the role of women in the japanese economy. it is an economy that combines three things. one, not particularly women friendly. it is not especially immigration prevalent and it is aging. something has got to give. we document it and i actually presented on japanese television for over an hour with other japanese academics. the value of japanese woman and how they can change the economy over time. if you don't have people to do the work, it will not make any difference.

the prime minister has completely endorsed that project. he and his wife are really taking the leadership and championing the cause. he has tasked his finance ministers to create a budget to create childcare centers. i'm hoping they will soften the regulation on private childcare facilities which are extremely rigid. those are legal things and financial support. we will be publishing the study about the legal issues that constitute obstacles to the implementation of better access, better economic contributions by women. his amazing, actually.

it goes from the tax, the design of income tax, to the inheritance laws, to the ability to put a name on a property title. there are lots of elements that contribute to that. you need a combination of good policy framework, specific labor measures intended to facilitate access and financing because childcare centers will not just mushroom like that. >> was taken of the question. -- let's take another question. back there. >> happy new year. the crisis seems to be coming to haunt greece. to what extent does this affect

the eurozone? how do you think europe and the imf and the imf program relates to what happens next. >> we're all waiting on the elections. as soon as that happens and their stability in whatever government is formed, we will pursue the discussions that we have had. in order to help the greek economy create growth, to have sustainable and inclusive growth. the relationship with europe i think has been certainly better structured as a result of what the europeans change but the framework.

the fact that there is the european stability mechanism in place in order to avoid the contagion which could result from major crisis in any country is one important factor. the current work that is being done about the interpretation of the stability and growth pact in order to allow countries to pursue fiscal adjustments but at a pace that is reasonable considering the economic circumstances is also helping in that direction. the bottom line, greece, like any other european country is going to have to go through structural reform that is needed in order to sustain growth, it in order to create the conditions for investment and for employment creation.

>> father andrew from st. paul's. madam chairman, i will give you another brief quote, because we pray in ancient greek. "all good things flow into the city from the city's greatness." when he wrote it, he was referring to the spiritual aspect of athens. it was also referencing sparred a because of the amazing utilitarian pottery they had which was not decorated because the city had great soul. whether it is greece, portugal italy, i would like to know how you personally deal with the human cost. i have held the hand of widowers , from old pensioners who commit suicide because their savings

disappeared overnight. how much does the imf care about these things? >> a lot. i can assure you. you have to bear in mind one thing, the imf is asked to come to the country when the country has created the circumstances where it is no longer handling its financial situation. if it's not taken the policy measures that should have been taken to maintain stability. when i say that, i am not trying to point fingers at those policymakers over the course of time. i'm just trying to say that one cannot associate the difficult efforts, the huge sacrifices that have been made by people within the institutions. i wish i never had to go to greece, portugal. we don't have a program with italy. iceland, ireland. because if we didn't have to go there, it means the policies in

place, designed by policymakers were good. and maintain stability in those economies. point number two when we aligned the reforms for the country to restore his position we were always mindful of the poor people, the safety nets needed. i will give you an example. the pension system in greece the average pension in greece is the same as the average pension in germany. us of living not quite the same. but, when we suggested the reform of the pension system, we said, below a certain threshold you cannot force the needle, you cannot change. you cannot put fuel in a situation where it is too hard.

so, we have that in mind. in many countries we have reinforced that point. we are doing it also, the reforms of the subsidy system. if you take a country like egypt, for instance, that is going through a reform of its subsidies they cannot remove the subsidies just like that because a lot of poor people rely on fuel to go to work or do a little bit to get by. these people cannot suffer as a result of the reform. to have to use it to target those actually need the money. >> i'm looking at the time very sadly saying we're just a couple

of minutes over. so, i will wrap up with the final question. this has been a busy 1218 months on the scenes that are so important. if you think about the recent book, you will know them as well as i do. but maybe you have time to read them. is there one that is important for people that care about these issues? >> back to your first question. is there one definition in the entire world? a good solid review or any of them. then, the other one. you need to have the dissenting views different perspectives.

otherwise, you become narrowminded. i wish i had time to read them all. >> wonderful, thank you again. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> house and senate republicans are in hershey, pennsylvania for their retreat. earlier, john boehner joins senate majority leader mitch mcconnell who announced that joni ernst will deliver the republican response to the state of the union.

>> joni ernst will be given in response to the state of the union. she is the perfect choice. senator ernst will explain what the new congress plans to do. and what it is already doing. joni ernst has dedicated her life to iowa and to her country. serving in the military the iowa national guard, for more than 20 years and has deployed overseas. senator ernst is focused on growing a vibrant economy and expanding middle class. >> thank you, everybody. thank you so much. thank you speaker and leader. i am truly humbled and honored to have this opportunity to deliver the republican address.

it is a long way from red oak to washington d.c.. growing up on the southwest iowa farm years ago, i never would have imagined that i would have this opportunity. so, thank you. like so many of my colleagues, our folks back home sent us to washington d.c. with a clear mission and that mission is to get to work. that mission is to craft and implement good policy, good solution which will enable us to get america on a better path. and we are anxious to do that. we are very anxious to get to work and implement these policies. so, i look forward to that very much because we want to ensure

that the america we are building leaves a stronger economy and more opportunity for our children and grandchildren. again, i want to thank you very much. i look forward to sharing more about our collective agenda. thank you all so much. >> we will show the entire briefing tonight at 8 p.m. eastern. taking your calls and comments next tuesday for the annual state of the union address. the president's address at 9:00 followed by the republican response. we will have our phone line open and we will take your facebook comments. live coverage to getting at 8 p.m. eastern. in about 35 minutes, the state of the state address number sam

brownback live tonight. until then, a discussion about the presence new plans for committee college education and what it means for potential students. this is from today's "washington journal"." >> president obama announced the plan for students that had a certain gpa. we are joined by the president of the the american association for me colleges, walter bumpushus. it is great to be with you this morning. christie support this plan? colleges. we commend the president on this very exciting opportunity to

provide free education basically, to a new group of americans who haven't been quite touched with the higher education opportunities. how will it work? basically, what i'm understanding about the proposal -- and a lot of details have still not come out yet. as you know, the devil is still sometimes in the details. the bottom line is the students will have to attend at least half-time, maintain a 2.5 gpa and be well on their way to a bachelor degree. in many cases, community colleges will have to ramp up some of the academic programs and not provide not only opportunities for transfer, but opportunities for an individual to improve their skill set and be prepared to compete, in terms of the global economy we now live in. host: in this segment of "the washington journal," we want to hear your thoughts. a special line for community college students and graduates

(202) 748-0003. also lines for parents educators, and all others. we want to read you a bit from the lead editorial in tuesday's "usa today." given the success, guest: that is what i'm hearing. i read that same editorial.

i do believe that this is an opportunity for states to sustain their commitment and investment, if you will, in our education. not just community colleges, but all are education. i do believe that opening this door --- will open up more opportunities for our citizens to have their own ramp to the middle class. education can be a game changer. i know that personally and professionally, as we have had three of our grandkids at community colleges. and they are well on their way to finishing their associate degrees with a pathway towards a bachelor degree. host: is this going anywhere? guest: that is a good question. we hope so. one thing that i am familiar with well republicans and democrats don't often get along in the city some days, i do know

that whether you are republican or democrat, you love your local community college. so we have to believe that support for community colleges will be universal, and at the end of the day if not this particular proposal, hopefully the major elements of this rapoza will pass. host: walter bumphus is the president and ceo of the american association of community colleges. joe. las cruces, new mexico. you're up first, joe. caller: yes. we need -- moral charity. and moral charity is equal freedom. an equal freedom is food, shelter, medicine, and education. and i really support this

having free college, you know. this is really a good thing. thank you. host: some thoughts on the topics. a letter to the a editor in today's "wall street journal." saying that there would be in the best interest of the community colleges to raise their tuition to collect more free money from the u.s. treasury. guest: oh, i would not agree with that. at the end of the day, a lot of students have more than just tuition cost. books have be coming -- been becoming increasingly expensive beers at the end of the day, i don't think community colleges are interested in gout in the federal government, so much as it once the resources.

host: does the president's plan involved money for books and room and board and the other aspects? guest: not to my knowledge. but if a student can get their tuition colored -- covered and still get up how grand, that will help them. over 80% of our students are working 30 hours or more per week. so the opportunity to become more fully engaged in their educational activities i think will result in more completions and a higher retention rates for our students. host: in san augustine, texas. good morning, loretta. caller: good morning, thank you for taking my call. i have been a high school teacher and a community college teacher in six different states. and overseas. our high schools are free, and we do everything we can to motivate kids to stay in high school. we try to make it as easy for them as we can. and we don't have a whole lot of

success with a whole lot of students. making community college is free would be more of the same. about 40% of our kids go on to university now have to take remedial classes because they haven't learned, and they were given a really easy opportunity to learn. i have found that students on telegrams had the worst students. they don't hinder bring their books, do their homework, or try to finish because there is no motivation to finish within two years. most kids at community colleges don't graduate. they take a couple classes they'll and then. they have no real goal in mind because it is free. i think anything that you really want in life you have to work for, you have to pay for, you have to have a real stake in. if it is just handed to you, you don't appreciate it. host: walter bumphus, a lot of issues there. guest: loretta, good morning. you make an interesting point. i don't necessarily agree with every point you say because i

think a lot of our students are highly motivated. many of them do graduate. not in the two or three year range because many students come to us having to take remedial education. when you start to look at the graduation rates after three or four years, a lot of our students are completing. more graduates, hiredgher degree completion, and i have to say we are seeing an uptick in the reports racing. at the end of the day, loretta i get the point you make. believe me, our students to put a lot of skin into the game when you look at the costs outside of the tuition. host: some stats our community colleges from your association. about 1132 community colleges in this country. the percentage of federal aid received