talks about the affordable care act. al foe president richard trumka talks about the latest. as always you can follow us on twitter. >> this sunday on q&a, dr. francis jensen on the recent discoveries on the teenage brain. >> they don't have the ability to analyze the cause-and-effect of actions. they are not as readily acceptable. the connections can't be made as quickly for split-second decision-making. don't forget, a lot of the hormones are changing a lot.

the brain hasn't seen these yet in life and tell you hit teenage years. the brain is trying to learn how to respond to these new hormones , locking on to receptors. they are -- it's trial and error. it contributes to this roller coaster kind of experience that we watch as parents. >> sunday night and ate :00 p.m. eastern. -- 8:00 p.m. eastern. >> keep track of the new congress on c-span, c-span2 c-span radio, and c-span.org. >> homeland security secretary jeh johnson talks about security and his departments role. this is one hour.

>> very quiet. good morning. good morning. i am jane harman, president and ceo of the wilson center in the front rows we have the wilson center next, counsel, corporate councilmembers. i think we have general keith alexander. we do not. where is he? >> he is right there. >> there he is. [laughter] >> he used to have a really big job. >> you don't recognize him because he is wearing a suit. >> i saw that the last time i saw him and he said he had rented it for the occasion. we're supposed to have walter isaacson, but we we will have him later, former dhs secretary. i am the other cochair.

is he here yet? no. members of the aspen homeland security group, members of the aspen security advisory council. i am also a member of that. i am a dhs groupie, and many current and former moment -- leaders of homeland security and many dear to me from past , lives. when secretary johnson was 1st nominated some did not no what to expect did not no how coming , from the defense department he would approach the broader homeland security mission. today, more than a year later no one would think twice about his. -- his leadership. secretary johnson has more than one the trust of washington, washington, law enforcement around the country end of his department staff. he is a rock star at this job. he has led dhs through challenges focusing on major strategic priorities like cyber,

addressing the child migrant crisis, and first and foremost protecting the homeland against a very sophisticated terror threat. the threat that we face today is very different from the one that we confronted on september 11. it is less hierarchical, more diffuse, in many ways more innovative. that is the new danger. the new jihadists collaborate opportunistically. some have cyber skills, some have social media savvy, many are young, many tragically our -- our western. our enemies are making dangerous connections in syria and yemen. we face the most talented bomb maker al qaeda has ever had in -- and he has targeted western aviation before.

we are threatened by radicalization here at home. dhs operates is in a challenging area. radical bullies protected by our constitution can become violent action. it is very difficult to find that gray area to intervene. our society protects freedom of thought including radical thought but inspiring how to build a bomb a bomb in the kitchen of your mom is not free speech. stopping the threat of dangerous ideologies in partnership with faith communities in law enforcement is as crucial and difficult as it has ever been. if all this weren't enough, dh dhs tackle some of the more thorny issues, immigration disaster response, just to name two. it is a lot of.

one of his trips was to the port first of los angeles which with the port of long beach is the nation's largest container port. surely the challenges there are huge. i joined him on that visit and we did a helicopter flyover. then the marine layer role then -- in and we were unable to land. what a metaphor. navigating through the fog. of course we persevered, and so has dhs, ably led by jeh johnson. it is our honor to have them at the wilson center for the 2nd -- the second time to address the state of homeland security. please join me in welcoming the secretary of homeland security. jeh johnson. [applause] >> thank you very much.

good morning, everybody. let's try to get employees -- let's try again, police. good morning, everybody. i want to start with a family photograph. you won't believe this. this is me and my kid sister in 1966. i was at years old standing next to my dad. the most striking thing about the photograph is that as recently as 1966, a private everyday family of tourists like ours could drive our car onto the grounds of the u.s. capitol and parking with no restriction or prior notice. this is the same spot today. the public parking lot is gone replaced by police vehicles and

heavily armed members of the capitol police. sadly there are threats to our , homeland security today that did not exist in 1966. the secretary is responsible for addressing those threats. one year ago i filled up my vision for the department of romance security. i was then new to the job. i can give a progress report with the benefit of the year's experience. i think the wilson center and jane harman for right providing a forum. her wide support in this town people like her be the lot to people like me. on new year's day, i wrote out a set of new year's resolutions

for the dhs. on top of the list with the manner we conduct security. the reality is dhs is so large , and we are still finding our way. we have filled almost all the senior level that existed in our department. just prior to the time i took office one year ago the department of fall plan security had no secretary or deputy secretary and senior level positions. we now have a secretary in the -- a new deputy secretary and the undersecretary, an undersecretary in the new undersecretary for science and

technology, new commissioner and a new director for citizen of immigration is services and assistance secretary for customs enforcement, and new chief financial officer, new deputy director, a new deputy administrator of fema. a new inspector general. a new assistant secretary for legislative affairs. and a new assistant secretary for public affairs. we are actively working through slates of candidates to fill the vacancies that has arisen this past year. the last one is sitting back there. john, good to see you again. we are restructuring the whole

manner that we make decisions within the department of homeland security. an april i originated a community effort initiative that has brought about a more centralized and integrated process to make budget decisions acquisition and strategy and other functions. we are moving away from decisions made in stovepipes. as part of the initiative to have the joint requirement consisting of senior leaders to identify and recognize investments to maximize efficiency. we have also realigned several major dhs headquarters functions to promote efficiency. next, as i said here last year we are committed to greater transparency. government transparency breeds credibility and conference one of our executive actions from november 20 is to direct

our office of immigration statistics to collect and maintain and report consolidated data on the number of people we every hand, remove return, and -- or repatriate every year in a manner that could be made public. this is how we collect and report. ipod chief fisher for making public the border patrols use and policy. last year to make public the recommendations about use of force by the border patrol that which is sought by the media. the deputy secretary and i are on an aggressive multifaceted campaign to improve morale within the components of dhs. we had the secretary of ford's program to recognize those who had made outstanding

achievements. next dhs is one of 16 departments and agencies on the so-called high-risk list. we are on a path to get off that list soon. they have informed us that our interaction service a model for how other federal agencies can work to address gao designation. we have improved the department's responsiveness to congress. despite the challenge of how you count, 92 committees and subcommittees of congress who claim and oversight role over this department. members of congress on both sides of the aisle including some of our biggest critics have taken note of our increased responsiveness. finally, and this is my favorite one which i learned about yesterday, earlier this week, in

the judgment of the center for plain language, the department of homeland security has gone from worst to first amongst federal agencies and our ability to communicate in plain language. one of my personal passions. in these challenging times management reform is itself a homeland security imperative. here is where we are on the substance of some of our important missions. i said here a year ago, as long as i am secretary, counterterrorism will remain the cornerstone of the department of homeland security's mission. 13.5 years after 9/11, it is still a dangerous world. in 2015, we must recognize that we have evolved to a new phase in the global terrorist threat. today, the terrorist threat is more decentralized, more diffuse, and more complex. we are concerned about the so-called foreign fighters who

leaves his home country, travels to another country to take up the fight there, links of a terrorist extremist, and they return home, whether it is this country of one of our allies with a terrorist mixture was purpose. we are concerned about terrorist organizations new, slick, and skilled use of the internet to publicly recruit individuals to conduct attacks in their own homelands. a qa team no longer builds bombs in secret. it is now publicize its can -- it's instruction manual and calls for people to use it. we are concerned about the domestic threat of the so-called lone wolf who may be inspired by the extreme propaganda on the internet. what are we doing about this in 2015? is everyone knows, we are taken the fight to these groups in places like iraq and syria. our intelligence community

continues to detect terrorist plots at the early stages. domestically, the fda -- fbi investigates and prosecutes terrorist plots in the homeland. in response to the recent attacks in paris, ottawa sydney , and elsewhere, and the public calls for attacks in the west, i directed that the federal protective service increase its presence at federal buildings in major cities in the united states. we continue to taylor and enhance our security to every appropriate method. for example, the visa waiver program we offer to 30th nations is a viable tool for international commerce and travel. it is a program that must continue, but there are ways in which the security of the program can be improved. to enhance security while maintaining the integrity of the program, last november we identified added information to the electronic system for travel

authorization to learn more about those who travel to the united states from countries for which we do not require a visa. we are considering further security enhancements to the program. we are engaging our allies in europe and elsewhere to encourage them to maine gain and share travel information about individuals of suspicion. we are sharing more information and training with state and local law-enforcement in this country, given the manner in which the terrorist threat is involving, the cop on the beat must be as vigilant as the intelligence analyst. our efforts must include public engagement dhs along with the justice department are engaging immunities, organizations, institutions here at home that are themselves in a position to deter others who may be turning towards violence. in 2014, dhs held over 70 of these roundtable meetings in 14

cities around the country. i present participated in these meetings in chicago columbus, ohio, minneapolis, boston, los angeles. we are doubling down on our if you see something say something campaign. yesterday i rolled out this new enhanced program, but it must be more than a slogan. our counterterrorism efforts also include the joints in aviation security. i directed that we enhance 80's and security at overseas airports with flights directly to the united states. several weeks ago, tsa made further enhancements, and we are reviewing whether more is necessary. as secretary, i made it a deep -- dhs priority to establish clearance by personnel before a passenger gets on the plane bound for the united states.

at present, we have preclearance in 15 overseas airports at which we have screened more than 16 million passengers before they arrived in the united states. the newest of these operations at our dobby in the uae, since that time, we have screened 364,000 passengers in that year and crew bound to the united states, and denied boarding to 571 individuals, including a number that were in the terrorist screening database. we want to build more of these at overseas airports where make sense from a homeland security point of view, and in a way that u.s. air carriers will support. last year, we put out a solicitation and received 25 letters of interest from airports around the world. we are taking steps to fix our broken immigration system. some say we should have waited for congress to act, let's not

forget that we did wait for years and congress did not act. the president continues to urge congress to finish the job and pass a comprehensive bipartisan immigration bill. he is willing to work with any serious partner, democrat republican, or independent, who wants to fix the system. in the meantime, we must improve the system within our existing legal authorities. we did that. the president announced a set of reforms on november 20 last year. we have established a new program for deferred action for undocumented adults, those who have committed no serious crimes and have been in this country since january 1, 2010, and have children here who are citizens and lawful permanent residents are eligible to reconsider for this program. the reality is that these immigrants are not enforcement priorities. therefore, we want to encourage these people to come out of the shadows, be accountable, pay taxes, and get on the books.

our executive actions also prioritize the removal of felons over families, includes a number of measures to further secure the border, discontinued the secure communities program and replaced with a new program. streamline legal immigration to boost the economy and promote naturalization. support military families in enhanced options for foreign-born high skilled workers, entrepreneurs, and businesses. we are taking a number steps to further secure the border. i'm on a mission to strengthen border security and to replace public misperception with facts. in june 2013, research conducted a survey and ask the following question, just your best guess compared with 10 years ago, do you think the number of immigrants entering the u.s. illegally today is higher lower, or the same question mark

amazingly, 55% of respondents answered higher, and only 15% answered lower. the reality is on the slide. in 2000, apprehensions on the southern border which are a direct indicator of total attempts to cross the border illegally, exceeded 1.6 million. apprehensions on the southern border have dropped considerably since then to around 400,000 a year in recent years. apprehensions are at the lowest rate since the 1970's. these numbers are no doubt partially due to economic conditions and trends in the united states, mexico, and central america. they are also due to the very large investment this nation has made an border security over the last 15 years. today's border patrol has the largest deployment of people vehicles, aircraft, boats, a quick and along the southern border in its 90 year history. this includes a budget of $3.5

billion, a total of 23,000 personnel, and 20,133 border patrol agents. without a doubt we had a challenge last summer. we had an impressive than a number of unaccompanied children and knows who crossed a narrow area of our southern border into the rio grande valley. in search of a family member and a better life in this country. we responded aggressively with more people and resources on the southern border. beginning in mid-june, the numbers of unaccompanied children crossing the southern border declined sharply. they are now at far lower levels. but, we are not declaring mission accomplished. the president and i are committed to building an even more secure border and a smart strategy to get there. much illegal migration a seasonal. the poverty environments that are the push factors in honduras, bought a mullah el salvador still exist. the economy in this country is a pull factor.

it is getting better. there's still more we can should do. we are pursuing a risks based strategy for border security. this means focusing resources where our intelligence and our surveillance tells the threat exists. this is a smart, effective, and efficient use of taxpayer resources. there are more aircraft, surveillance, radar technology and other equipment that our experts have determined that we need, which we have requested for fiscal year 2015. in december, we opened a new family facility in taxes that will house of two 2400 individuals. we are continuing aggressive public awareness messaging and central america and elsewhere. this campaign was launched on january 5. on january 21, i wrote another open letter in spanish-language press to repeat the message.

finally, we have launched a department of homeland security wide southern border campaign plan. we're doing away with the stove pipe approach to border security. instead, we are putting to use in a combined and coordinated way the assets and personnel of various agencies towards the goal of border security. we have established three new department task forces, each headed by a senior official of the department to direct the resources of the various departments and three discrete areas. the first is joint task force ease, responsible for our maritime ports and approaches across the southeast. the second, joint task force west will be responsible for our southwest land border and the west coast of california. the third will be a standing joint task force for investigations to support the work of the other two task forces.

a key part of our mission is to facilitate lawful trade and travel. this is vital to commerce in our economy. the president is committed to this. last year, tsa continue to expand the very popular tsa project program which the administrator spearheaded. enrolling in turn thousand of her disappearance. at the same time, tsa screened 653 million total air passengers , 14 million more than the year before, more than 43 billion checked bad and 1.3 7 billion carrion on backs. i did not know that much existed on this planet. last year, we screened three hundred 74 million passengers at land, sea, and airports, an increase of 4% from the year before, and enrolled an additional 1.2 5 million travelers in our various trusted travelers programs to bring total enrollment to 3.3 million members.

in 2014, we also processed 2.4 trillion dollars in trade, an increase of 4% from the year before and 25.7 million cargo can attain his -- cargo containers. we're working with canada and mexico on programs and initiatives to facilitate lawful and secure movement of goods and people between our countries. in response to president obama's executive order dhs is beating a 47 agency effort to create a national electronic single window, trade processing system for importers and exporters to do business with the united states. we are working to modernize in other areas to promote lawful trade and travel. we need to make strides in cyber security through our national cyber security and communications integration center.

dhs is responsible for assisting and sharing information with the private sector concerning cyberattacks and threats. i was pleased that last year congress provided bipartisan support for our efforts with the passage of legislation that codifies the dhs's authority to assist the private sector, codifies djs dhs's authority to assist other federal agencies and legislation to enhance dhs's ability to hire cyber talent. we need to go further. on generally 14, president obama came to us and announced and ministration support for more cyber security legislation that will ensure our economic prosperity, national security and individual civil liberties. we are proposing legislation to encourage the private sector to share cyber threat indicators with us. to protect the private sector with limits on civil and criminal liability when they do. require businesses to notify

victims and the government when there is a data breach at that company. and enhanced criminal penalties for cybercrime. the secret service is the finest protection service in the world. no other agency of any government in the world protect 135 world leaders all at once when i gather at the u.n. general assembly. the secret service does this each year without -- with great professionalism and without incident. the secret service continues to enjoy the president's trust and confidence as it protects him and his family. it is built tremendous talent and give ability to pursue cyber and financial crimes. recent events have highlighted the need for change. an october, i appointed an independent panel to take a hard look at the secret service. in december, the panel reported its findings back to me. those recommendations were astute, thorough, and fair. a number of security enhancements of vertigo made and

if amended by acting director clancy. the secret service must also commit to longer-term and more systemic change. for my part, i am committed to sustaining and encouraging oversight of the secret service to ensure it has what it needs to get the job done. last year, our federal law enforcement training centers trained over 59,000 offices and agents from federal, state local, and tribal, and international law enforcement. the coast guard -- we are ensuring they have with a need to get the job done. these are exciting times for the coast guard, as it is replacing its aging fleet with new vessels. for new cutters are in service and a fifth will be commission the summer. 12 new fast response cutters have been delivered and are making a difference every day in south florida. we are more than halfway to completing replacement of our fleet of aging patrol boats.

meanwhile, the coast guard is in the design phase of a new midsized offshore patrol cutter. i am committed to ensuring this project is affordable before going forward. fema has become the premier emergency management agency in the country. it has earned the confidence of federal, state, and local leaders throughout. in the year that i have been in office, i've personally had the opportunity to observe this at disaster recovery sites. finally, dhs cannot pursue all these important missions alone. i cannot print money. i cannot appropriate money. we need a continued partnership with congress. we need a fiscal year 2015 appropriations bill. at present, dhs is operating on a continuing resolution, which expires on february 27.

as long as we are on this, we are restricted to last year's spending levels and cannot engage in any new spending and activities. this means that we cannot pay for the added border security that i talked about. this means that we cannot invest in the things that the independent panel recommended to improve secret service could we cannot hire agents for the upcoming presidential election cycle. we cannot fund new non-disaster grants to state and local governments. mayors, police chief, fire cheese, and everything they depend on. our ability to fund aviation, maritime, port, homeland security's is severely constrained as long as we are on this. as was introduced by the house appropriations committee the 15 -- fiscal year 2015 appropriations bill was a good bill.

39.7 billion for the department for many of the things we need. on house floor the bill was amended to include politically charged language to define all of our executive actions to fix the immigration system. the president has vowed to veto any bill that includes such language. the clock to february 27 is taking. the homeland security budget of this government should not be a political football. i urge congress to pass an appropriations bill for dhs free and clear of politically charged amendments. i will in with the very last two words i ended last year speech with. last year i said that in the name of homeland security we should not sacrifice our values as a nation of people who cherish privacy, freedom celebrate diversity, and are not

afraid. fear is corrosive. in the final analysis, courage and resolve in the face of challenge are the greatest strengths of any nation. terrorism cannot advance if we refuse to be terrorized. whether in response to a terrorist threat, a natural disaster, a deadly virus, or in the pursuit of a more perfect union, courage and resolve will always prevail. thank you for listening. [applause] >> let me applaud you for the second year in a row for that fine ending to the speech. i think it's based of the vice of the wilson center and people in this room and listening over the airwaves and in overflow

rooms in the center and elsewhere. it really does matter that we keep our values as we keep our country safe. i don't think it's a choice. i think it is a positive or negative sum game. we either do both are we have neither. let me ask you a few questions. i can't see that clock around the cameraman, but i think we have about 25 minutes left, and i do want to leave time for audience questions. one more comment this audience i did not see john. where is he? there he is. i just want to :00 you again for your furnace service as head of tsa and i hope that when you find his replacement will you pick someone just as tall and just as good. >> just as cool under fire. >> that, too. >> you made news in your remarks

by saying syria is a homeland security threat. you did not mention syria today or yemen or some of these other places in the middle east that are sadly subjected to failing governments. is syria still a homeland security threat? >> i have said that had become a matter of homeland security and i still believe that. what i was referring to is what i referred to here today, the ability of terrorist organizations to reach into the homeland by use of the internet, by use of social media, the foreign fighter phenomenon people traveling to syria and other places to take up the fight there linking up with extremists, and then returning back to their home countries with an extremist mission. that's what i was referring to then and now. >> that segway is to a second question about our visa waiver

program. i think most people here remember why we enacted that program. it has built bridges to many countries. it has created goodwill about america. however, it has recently created fear that some of the so-called foreign fighters who have pledged allegiance to isis or al qaeda and have gone into syria and elsewhere good return on their clean passports to europe, most of them come from europe less of them come from the united states, is it an achilles heel? are you taking safeguards to ensure an interest public here that it is not a loophole for these foreign fighters? >> the visa waiver program is an important bible program. there are some out there who want to scrap it. i think that's a mistake. i do believe that there are security enhancements that have

been made to the program that can be made to the program. as i said in my remarks we added additional data fields for information's in the system, and each nation, almost every nation, that is in our visa waiver program signs on to a set of security assurances. i have asked my folks to take a hard look at whether we are monitoring that, whether there are additional things that we could ask for, whether they are being complied with. that is under review right now. >> just a few more questions from me. we have about 18 minutes left here. i want to conserve all time. something you've heard from me over and over again and many of the rest of you have two, there is no such thing as a hundred percent security, no matter how good you are, and you are good, no matter how good the first two rows are, something could happen

somewhere. >> right. >> what are you doing to prepare america for the day after a possible attack? >> well, i have a lot of faith in this country. we have agencies, systems in place for emergency response disaster response. i have a lot of faith in the character and culture of this nation and how we respond to crises. i think it is no accident that twice i think i got it right twice as many people ran in boston marathon this year as last year. in light of what happened in 2013. i was there on the finish line. there was a remarkable experience to be at the boston marathon in 2014 after the

tragedy of 2013. i was in manhattan on 9/11 and i was in manhattan the days after 9/11 and in the new york area to see people -- a lot of people in lower manhattan got up and went to work the very next day. there are former colleagues of mine in the pentagon, the day after the pentagon was hit, they were at work the very next day at their desk in the evening. -- in the wing. -- in the e wing. i think that what is incumbent upon us in the government service in homeland security is to be straight with people about the risks, the threats. the last two statements that i put out where i announced the

things we're doing to enhance homeland security ramping up the federal protection service and aviation security, people in the public always think when they readings like that, what you're not telling me? what you hiding for me? why are you doing these things? what i said in each of those statements and i write to myself because it wanted the tone right. the reasons for doing this are self-evident. the attacks that occurred in canada, paris, and the calls by terrorist organizations for further attacks on the west. we are not hiding the ball. i think it's important for us in homeland security to be straight with the public about the situations that we face, without scaring people, without

encouraging -- discouraging people from flying, going to the super bowl, going to public gatherings, these are things we all cherish and take for granted in this country. i think it is important that we be straight and and not be afraid to ask the public for things, ask for public precipitate -- participation in homeland security. that is why we have this new presentation that we rolled out yesterday for the super bowl. it will be all over the super bowl, all over the city. it's like the very expensive painting you probably have in your house that you hate. you hang it there, and stop looking at it after a while, but if you put a new frame on it or you move it around you think it's a nice painting and start looking at it again. that's what i want people to do with the new campaign, if you see something, say something. we are we presenting it to the american public.

>> just a comment on resilience. there was a photo on the evening news of a guy in boston shoveling the snow off the finish line at the boston marathon. his point was that this should not be covered up, boston strong. what a powerful message. let me in my questions. get ready folks. i want to ask one about the super bowl. you said that homeland security should not be a political football, let's ask about football. i'm not sure how much you can tell this audience about the precautions for the super bowl. you would not tell me whether you're going or not. it is classified. >> i was there yesterday. [laughter] >> can you reassure the public that the cautions are being taken. you can make any comments you want about deflated footballs. [laughter] >> i will stay away from

deflated footballs or any preference for my teams. i was there yesterday. i saw firsthand the marvelous cooperation and partnership that the federal government has with arizona state public safety with the glendale police department, the phoenix police department. i met with the governor. it's a marvelous partnership that seems to be working seamlessly. i am confident that we have taken tremendous precautions for the super bowl. there are magnetometers everywhere. we're screening all the people who come into the stadium including workers. we are cleaning all the vehicles they get within a certain distance of the stadium. i was encouraged in a press conference yesterday -- i'm confident that we will have a

safe and successful game. somebody asked me, would you fear most about the super bowl? i said, overtime. [laughter] >> it's warmer weather there than -- so the ball should not deflate. questions from the audience. police identify yourself and ask a question. we will hear your comments in another form. yes, in the corner. >> mr. secretary, the zebrowski institute at naval post graduate school. it is a leading light on information technology. i am working on a project with the naval academy on trying to expand the knowledge of the threats of information technology without making everyone feel the way i felt as a child. i had to dive under a chair.

>> ask your question. >> hide you tell that story to let everyone understand how tenuous you are in terms of what can go wrong, everything from -- when we started working at this guns could just put -- >> thank you. you get the idea. >> i think we have an obligation to be straight with the american people realistic and when we present challenges and threats i think we also have to present the solutions, too. when we talk about the terrorist threat globally, i also want to talk about in the , here's what we are doing about it. and i go to the things that -- ok, it's good to bring the public the problem, but we only solution as well.

i am not of the school of thought that you just tell the public about all the threats without also telling the public about that we are doing this, that, this that, and i think that's key. >> questioned over here. >> thank you. i am from the syrian-american council. we are covering 13 states. we would like to thank your department about everything they're doing with the syrians. at the same time, i just handed you a letter from the syrian american community that we would like to be a partner with you. i know syria is focused for the terrorist. it's our enemy as much is your enemy. we are from the same nation. we are looking forward to working with your department. thank you.

>> last year, when i was in a chicago suburb, i visited a -- with leaders in the syrian-american community. i was impressed by the cohesiveness of the community and i have been doing a number of engagements and the communities around the country as i mentioned, to talk to people about their issues with the department talk to them about public awareness, public participation in their efforts, and i want to continue to do that. thank you for your comment. >> in the far back, last, last wrote. >> i'm with the bbc. can you tell me about the conference is planned in february on countering violent extremism and the cooperation you have with u.k. officials and people in other countries.

>> am going to the u.k. next week to meet with several of my counterparts and i suspect that one of the things that will be on our agenda is ways in which we can engage the community further and our respective countries. we have had that conversation. one of my engagements -- i believe this one was in columbus ohio -- the mayor from belgium was with me. he wanted to see how we do it here in this country. that is a level of international discussion that i think is becoming all the more important. as the homeland security challenges we have evolved to a more domestic-based type of challenge, i think it becomes all the more important that we have these community engagements

that we partner with state and local law enforcement, and we encourage public participation in our efforts. >> if i could just add a follow-up question to that. one of the differences, at least it is alleged, between france and us is that we've made a lot of effort to assimilate communities, especially most am communities in the united states. the comments from our friend from syria are evidence of that. are more efforts planned? are you planning more? are most of these happening at the local law enforcement level? in los angeles, there are a number of these efforts. >> we are definitely planning more. we have ramped up our efforts in the past year. the department of justice, fbi is doing the same thing. what happens when i do these things is i will go to a city and the county sheriff will be

there, the police chiefs will be there, couple of members of congress will be there, and community leaders will be there. in the most am community, i've learned a lot from these engagements in the moslem community. they have a lot of issues with airport profiling, how we administer our immigration laws they tell me about some of the discrimination that they face as most loans -- as muslins. some of the issues that their children face going to school. i really feel for these people. what i said back to them is that i hear you and i know that there are things we should work on in my department, but i want as few to do something, which is -- it is all of our homelands. it is our public safety, your public safety, we'll have a vested interest in it.

we want to see you build bridges with my department, with this sheriff, with this chief, this may or, this assemblyman, this member of the county legislature here. if you see trouble in your community, you will think to contact one of us. >> that works. there is a lot of evidence that that works. a question in the back of her here. you. catherine, well, all right. then we will go behind you. can you use the microphone better. we are still not hearing you. >> that catherine knows how to shop, but then she will be heard over the airways. >> she is an important voice. we need her hard.

let's use the other microphone police. ok. >> thank you for your patience. thank you for hosting today's event. secretary johnson, has the paris massacre embolden a q ap and isis and assist make the likelihood of a similar attack in the united states more likely. the fbi has been throwing around this figure of 100 americans in syria for the better part of the year. is that still the figure you're working on or has a gaza -- or hasn't gone up? >> first of all, i will not try to surmise the mindset of aqap leaders. i do believe that the attacks in europe plus the calls for further attacks in the west by these groups means that here in the united states, we have to be

vigilant, vigilant and looking out for similar attacks here in the united states, which is one of the reasons that we have made the enhancements in homeland security that we've made in the last several weeks and months. i think it is a rather obvious thing to do. i think it is necessary. so -- and, what i was saying before, there are no secrets here. these groups are operating in the open. they are calling for these attacks. there are calling for independent actors to commit these attacks. so, we have to be vigilant. we have to be working with the nypd, with major chiefs and sheriffs around the country, to share information. one of the functions of our intelligence and analysis directorate is vertical intelligence and information sharing. i think that has become all the more important given the current challenges that we face.

i said that to a group of mayors and sheriffs and chiefs earlier this week. look, the numbers -- what i will say about the numbers is that i think that we and the fbi do a reasonably good job of tracking people who are going to syria going anywhere near syria, attempting to go to syria and take up the fight there. you don't know what you don't know, but given the systems that we have in place, i think we do a reasonably good job of tracking these people as they travel and as they may return. the bigger challenge are the european countries. they have much bigger numbers. that is why we also need to be vigilant when it comes to travel from countries for which we do not require visas.

looking at the security assurances that go along with participating in the visa waiver program, that is something i have asked her my folks to do. it is an important program could we should maintain it. it is something we should focus on. >> let me say that as i say to my opening remarks people weren't sure how a dod guy was going to adapt to the homeland security mission and then when you said you had a slideshow, i started to shutter -- shudder. [laughter] >> i told my stuff over and over again, one message per slide place -- police, not 20. >> the slide that shows people standing up for freedom, and the last like, if i remember right was selma.

it was the 50th anniversary of selma in a few weeks, and a good crowd will be going down there to celebrate the fact that we achieved, not perfectly, but we achieved more a quality in the united states. i want to say to you that there won't be 100% security something bad will happen, but it is very reassuring to many of us to have you as the face of homeland security and to have you speak honestly, including about the problems with the mission going forward. there will be problems, certainly congress is a problem. i am hopeful that with good leadership and increased morality in the department come of that our country will be safer and i am confident that with the kind of leadership you offer that our country will be freer. thank you for coming back. next year will be speech number three, promise me? >> yes. >> thank you all. [applause]

>> funding for the homeland security for runs out on february 27. the senate will consider a spinning built next week that also blocks the department from implementing president obama's executive order on immigration. a vote is set to be on tuesday when senators will decide whether to take up the bill. the steelers will be required for the legislation to advance. as always, you can watch live on c-span2. >> the political landscape has changed with the 114th congress not only are there 43 new republicans and 50 new democrats in the house and 12 new republicans and one new democrat in the senate, there's also 180 women in congress, including the first african-american republican in the house, and the first woman veteran in the senate. keep track of the members of congress using congressional chronicle on c-span.org. it has lots of useful information there, including voting results and statistics about each session of congress.

new congress, best excess on c-span, c-span2, c-span radio and c-span.org. >> this sunday on q&a dr. frances jensen on the recent discoveries about the teenage brain. >> they don't have their frontal lobes to reason. the cause and effect, consequences of actions are not clear to them. they are not at the ready. they are not readily accessible. they have frontal lobes but the connections cannot be as quickly for split-second decision-making. also, don't forget, a lot of the hormones are changing in the body. the brain has not seen these yet in life until you hit teenage years. the brain is trying to learn how to respond to these new hormones that are rolling around and actually locking onto receptors synapses of different types. it is trial and error.

i think this contributes to the roller coaster kind of experience that we watch as parents. >> sunday night at it :00 p.m. eastern on c-span q&a. next, journalist discussed how the media of tackles race issues including coverage of ferguson, missouri and new york city. then, president obama and vice president biden take part in a pentagon farewell ceremony for outgoing defense secretary chuck hagel.