appropriations bills. he laid the blame on democrats for the bill falling apart, but you have to note that there were republicans also against the bill. this was a clear example of how this agreement over lgbt provisions republican leadership as i said remain committed to keep trying to keep appropriations bills to the floor. they may just try to change the way the amendment process works so that this kind of sudden disagreement over changes to the bill doesn't keep the legislation from going across the finish line. >> the house today also voted to go to conference with the senate on zika funding through another spending bill. tell us how that came together in the house and what are the main differences between the

house and senate? >> the house going to conference was a little unexpected. there was a rules committee late last night to get the house to go ahead and go to conference with the senate. but they come -- the lawmakers in the senate and the house arrive at very different places in conference. the republicans in the house ve approved a $622 million emergency aid package. actually it's not emergency it's just supplemental offset which means they have spending cuts elsewhere to pay for the measure. on the senate side they have a $1.1 million emergency package which means they are are no offsets. that's a huge difference. additionally the house has included some language in what they are bringing to conference that would lessen permitting requirements for spraying pest

sides which had triggered some objection in both the house and the senate. both parties in both chambers have emphasized that they want to get something to the resident's desk quickly. >> thanks very much for being here today. >> thanks so much.

>> mr. obama will participate in a wreath laying ceremony. we'll show you that event 8:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span. >> this sunday night, u.s. senate historian betty talks about various events in the senate history and the work her office does. >> i came in june of 1998 as a newly minted senate historian. my colleagues said to me, oh, it's going to be nice and quiet

we have an election coming up. you will have a lot of time to get settled in. within a few weeks the house had decided to impeach bill clinton and we got very busy very quickly and had to do a good deal of research ond impeachment trials. we had not had a presidential impeachment since 1968. and the senate leaders really wanted to follow historical precedent as much as they could. this is 30 minutes.

mr. newsom: how are we doing, san jose? [cheers and applause] how are you feeling? are we ready for hillary? are we ready for hillary? all right. with that in mind, with that in

mind, i know i'm the only person standing in your way. so let me respect your time. i have a couple quick things i want to say. a couple quick things i need to say. the last time i was -- last time we were in san jose i was with another clinton. former president. and, you know, it was interesting, i was listening to all the speakers that were out here a minute ago and i'm quite serious about this. because last time i was here, your husband made a point, madam secretary, that needs to be made over and over and over again. about what makes us great. and the point he was making, that's one of the points, but he made a point, i'll try to paraphrase. he said, you know, you think about everything that's going on around the world, nations and people literally being torn apart, because of racial and

religious and ethnic controversies that have fueled fanaticism, that have fueled terror. you have to think about where you are right now. in san jose. [cheers and applause] in one of the most diverse cities, in one of the most diverse counties, in the most diverse state, california. [cheers and applause] in the world's most diverse democracy. [cheers and applause] now, here's the point he was making. and here's the point i want to make. it's a contrasting point. the world looks to us. looks to every one of you to see that it's possible to live together, to advance together and prosper together across every conceivable and imaginable difference. that's what makes us great. what makes us great is we don't tolerate our diversity here in california. we celebrate our diversity in

california. [cheers and applause] that's a value and a contrasting value in this campaign. that's a value at risk. hillary clinton understands we are all better off when we're all better off. she understands, she understands what dr. king talked so evocatively about, right, that we're all bound together by a web of mutuality, we're all in this together. so, it's in that spirit that i'm here, that i'm honored all of you are here, and it's in that spirit i will briefly introduce to you the next president of the united states. [cheers and applause] very briefly. very briefly, very briefly. we have someone here, we have someone here who believes in equal pay for equal work.

[cheers and applause] we have here a candidate for president that believes in comprehensive immigration reform. not building walls. we have someone here who believes in a supreme court that will overturn citizens united. we actually have someone here who believes in science. [cheers and applause] climate change is not a hoax. we have someone here that understands that a great society does not make it harder to vote than to buy an assault eapon. [cheers and applause] and very briefly, we have someone here who does not believe the following, does not believe in banning all muslims from the united states. [cheers and applause] that does not believe in building walls, but believes in

building bridges. [cheers and applause] and someone, someone -- listen o me closely here. someone who will never be caught saying he is excited or in this case she is excited about millions and millions of people losing their homes and ending out on the streets and sidewalks so he can make more money. you will never hear that from hillary clinton. shame on donald trump. we have a progressive who is pragmatic, we have a dreamer and a doer, we have someone who gets it and gets it done, we have someone that you should be proud of, someone who's been a change maker all her life. [cheers and applause] and so my message to you in conclusion is the following, you got work to do. we've got work to do. we got a primary in a few days.

we've got to step up, we've got to step in, we've got to share our voice and we have got to make sure she has wind on her back as she moves towards that convention by winning this primary on june 7. ladies and gentlemen, a big round of applause for the next president of the united states, hillary rod ham clinton! [cheers and applause] mrs. clinton: thank you, san ose! wow. i am so, so excited about being here. i can't tell you how wonderful it is to be in this city where, as the lieutenant governor just said, is a city all about the future. all about the future of the economy, the future of our ociety, how we are going to be

stronger together. and i want to thank gavin newsom for being here and for his lifetime of service to this state. and i can't tell you how wonderful it is to have someone who is a progressive, who likes to get things done, just like me, standing on this stage. i want to thank the mayor. thank you for being here, mayor! [cheers and applause] want to thank larry stone, the assessor here in the county, all the elected officials. but mostly i want to thank you. i want to thank each and every one of you for being here. [cheers and applause] now, you know, when you run for office and particularly when you run for president, you always come and tell big crowds like this, this is the most important election, don't you? you hear that. i happen to think every election is important.

but you know what? this is the most important lection. [cheers and applause] because we've got some big decisions to make as a country. and there could not be a starker difference than there is between me and now as of today the republican nominee, onald trump. you know, i'm proud of the campaign that senator sanders and i have run. we have run a campaign on issues about the future. we both want universal health care coverage. we both want to make college affordable within the reach of every young person who wants to go to a public college or niversity. we both want to rein in and prevent what happened in the great recession with the

misdeeds of wall street from ever happening again. we are on the same page. [cheers and applause] so, we're going to be coming together as a unified democratic party. to make our case against donald trump. because we, senator sanders and i, our supporters together have so much more in common than we do with donald trump! [cheers and applause] people say to me, you talk about trump a lot. and i do and i'll tell you why. because what he is saying is dangerous and divisive. what he is saying is harmful to our future and our country. our president, president obama, is -- [cheers and applause] -- is in japan today meeting

with our closest allies, and when he came out of the meeting and went to the formal press conference that ends events like that, he said, he reported that the leaders of our friends are, i quote, rattled, rattled by what donald trump is saying. and what he is promoting. and what he stands for. well, i'll tell you what, the best way to reassure ourselves and the rest of the world is to make sure that donald trump, this loose cannon, never gets lose to the white house! [cheers and applause] you know, it was bad enough when he started his campaign in his very first hour criticizing and insulting immigrants. you know, he called immigrants rapists, murderers,

criminals. it was disgraceful. and then he went on to insult women, to insult john mccain, a war hero, to insult, to make fun of a man with a disability, o denigrate muslims. honest to goodness, there's nobody left by the time he gets finished with criticizing everybody he can. that is no way to run for president of the united states! [cheers and applause] i'm telling you, i am so looking forward to debating donald trump, i can't wait! [cheers and applause] ecause here's what we're going to talk about. what is our positive vision? i have ideas about how to create more good jobs with

rising incomes, we're going to invest in infrastructure, our roads, our bridges, our tunnels, our ports, our water systems. [cheers and applause] we are going to finish the job of connecting up america so everybody has access to affordable internet connection! [cheers and applause] we are going to make things in america again by incentivizing advanced manufacturing. you know, here in california you are inventing the future. new technologies, new research every single year. well, let's make those products in america again! [cheers and applause] and let's agree to fight climate change which donald trump calls a chinese hoax, honestly, you know, you heard all the republicans when they were running.

part of the reason the republicans have ended up with donald trump is because they could never criticize him about issues because they basically agree with him about issues, right? so, when the republicans were asked, well, what do you think about climate change, they always said, oh, i don't know, i'm not a scientist. well, they can go to san jose state and find a scientist and figure out all about climate change. [cheers and applause] one of the ways we're going to combat climate change is by investing in and creating jobs in clean, renewable energy! cheers and applause] i have said -- set two big goals. i want us to deploy a half billion more solar panels by the end of my first term. [cheers and applause] and enough clean energy to power every home in america by the end of my second term. [cheers and applause] that will not only put the

united states in the lead on dealing with climate change, but it will also create a new economy because think about this, some country is going to be the clean energy superpower, it's either going to be china, germany or us. i want it to be us, don't you? [cheers and applause] and when you think about millions of jobs in infrastructure, manufacturing and clean energy, these are jobs that can't be outsourced. these are jobs that have to be done in california and across america. now, what does donald trump propose? he proposes to build a wall. a wall. now, honestly, we've been trying to figure out about that wall. we figure it would cost about $25 billion. now, think of what else we could use $25 billion for. we could build 1,500 new elementary schools so kids have a chance to go to a modern, good elementary school.

we could pay for college for 300,000 veterans if we did that. [cheers and applause] so there's a lot that we will have to talk about when we finally get to stand on that stage together. and the other thing about trump's policies is, he doesn't give you specifics. have you noticed that? it's a pretty much a top line, top of the water sort of proposal. and yet one thing we do know, when it comes to tax policies, he has two ideas. one, he wants to have billionaires get even lower taxes. his tax plan is written by a billionaire for billionaires. best i can tell. and he doesn't want you to see his taxes. those are his two principles when it comes to taxes. now, i disagree with that. number one, i think we should tax the wealthy. they have not been paying their fair share to support america.

[cheers and applause] and number two, my husband and i have released 33 years of tax returns. and the only two years that donald trump has released, he had to release to get a casino, o he had to come up with his income tax return. the only two years he's released he paid zero in federal income tax. zero. and yet he goes around saying he wants to build up the military, make it the strongest in the world. well, it is the strongest in the world. and i will keep it the strongest in the world. but he won't pay a penny to make that happen. [applause] so anybody who's ever been nominated by a major party has had to come up with their tax returns. we're going to talk about they've day. because either he paid no taxes or he's paid very little. the only way to find out which it is is for him to release. either he's as wealthy as he

claims or maybe he's not, the only way to find out is for him to release. maybe he's really charitable, or maybe he's not. only way to find out is for him to release. so, the time to release his tax returns! [cheers and applause] the other thing is, the other thing is, you never hear donald trump talk about education. he never says anything about it, as best as i've heard. here's where i stand. we need early childhood education so every single child is well prepared to succeed in chool. we need to be a partner with our teachers to help them do the job that we expect them to do on behalf of our kids. we need to make community college free so that you can get the additional training, skills, and education to get a job.

we need more technical education through high school programs, community college programs, business support, union supported apprenticeships, we need to have more ways for people to get the skills that will be competitive for themselves and their families. i'm excited about that. nobody works harder than americans. nobody. nobody in the world works harder than americans. and we're going to make it possible for every young person, and maybe not so young person, to get the skills that will enable that person to have a good job with a rising income. education is a part of that. that's why i want you to have debt free tuition. you won't have to borrow a penny to go to a public college or university. and we have a plan to help you pay down and pay off your debt so you're not burdened by your student debt which is such a problem.

so i think what i'm proposing will help to grow the economy. i've got to tell you, it's just a historic fact, the economy does better when we have a democrat in the white house. [applause] and you know you don't have to go back to the beginning of the epublic. go back to the 1990's. after eight years, 23 million new jobs, and incomes went up for everybody, not just those at the top, middle class families, working families, poor families. more people lifted out of poverty than any time in recent history. we were on the right track. we even had a balanced budget and a surplus. we could have paid down the national debt. so what happens?

i'll tell you what happens. the republicans came back and slashed taxes on the wealthy, took their eyes off the mortgage and finance markets, and you know what happened. the worst financial crisis since the great recession. and it is true as gavin was saying. there's some video that surfaced where donald trump is actually rooting, rooting for a housing collapse. because he says, well, i'll be able to make a lot of money. con artist. five million homes were lost. a lot of homes right here in california and where i just was in nevada. think of the heart break. think of the suffering and disappointment. we know a lot about donald trump. he roots for himself, not for you. he wants a good result for himself. he doesn't care who gets hurt in the process. that is not -- that is not the kind of person who should be the president of the united

states of america. we cannot let that happen. and you know, when it comes to health care, he wants to do away with the affordable care act. i'll tell you, i want to make it better. i want to improve it. i want to get the costs down. before there was something called obamacare, there was something called hillarycare, i am committed to do -- to doing this. and we're going to get prescription drug costs down and there's two other issues we're going to address. mental health and addiction. there is just too much suffering. people with mental health are not getting the treatment they deserve to get. and there still is a stigma. we've got to stop this.

people who have diabetes should get treated just like people who have depression should get treated. and we've got to do more, we've got to do more to move people who are addicted onto the path for treatment and recovery, not onto the path for jail or prison. that is not the right decision. so i am looking forward to debating jobs, the economy, taxes, education, health care. and i'm also looking forward to debating what is one of the most important parts of your decision when you vote. that is voting for someone who is both president and commander in chief. look, i understand why president obama was in that meeting and trying to field all the questions and concerns from leaders around the world. because look at what trump has said in recent days. he's attacked our closest ally, great britain. he has praised the dangerous

dictator of north korea. now this is a little funny, though. he praised kim jong unand the north korean -- kim jong un, and the north korean ambassador came out yesterday and said they don't want to talk to donald trump. i don't attribute a lot of good sense to that regime but that's probably the right decision. trump is even -- has even suggested that it's fine with him if more countries get nuclear weapons, for heaven's sake. for 70-plus years, republicans and democrats, we have been trying to keep nuclear weapons out of more countries' hands and certainly out of more terrorists' hands. it's one of the most serious risks we face. you can't talk about nuclear

weapons like, you know, it's a walk in the park. he's even said he'd use nuclear weapons against isis, which is not even a state. he wants to return to torture, he wants to pull out of nato he, wants to ban all muslims. i mean, really. i could see why president obama said his counterparts were rattled. they're watching this. when you make these absurd, outrageous statement, that's not just heard in the big hall where you talk. that's heard around the world. you know, people who count on the united states are -- our steadiness, our strength, our stability, they look to who is running for president. they look to who is president. a lot of places, it is the beacon that keeps them going, trying to figure out what is america doing. what is the american president saying. you think about the recent presidents we've had. we may have disagreed and had really serious differences, right? that's part of the american d.n.a. but i remember after 9/11,

george w. push went to an islamic community center. remember that? and basically said, we are going to go after those who attacked us, but we're not going to be attacking each other. and president obama has worked so hard to reach out to people everywhere. and you know, it matters who is sitting in that situation room. i spent a lot of hours there. spent a lot of hours -- [cheers and applause] i'll just give you one example. it's a famous example. it's whether or not the president would go after lane based on the evidence, the intelligence -- after bin laden based on the evidence, the

intelligence that we had, and i was part of the small group assessing this intelligence. we work sod hard because i personally having been a senator from new york on 9/11, having gone to ground zero 24 hours after we were attacked, i wanted to do anything i could to bring lane to justice. -- to bring bin laud ton justice. we had to evaluate this intelligence, with this -- was this funny looking big building a place where the most wanted terrorist in the world could be hiding out? we all went through it over and over again. it came down to three choices. don't do anything because it's just not strong enough to act on. it's ok but we don't want to risk special forces to so let's use a missile to take this place out. or, it's the best chance we've had to get him so let's send in a seal team. and then the president went around the room, around the table, and asked everybody what we recommended. and people who i deeply respect, we were not all in agreement. some people said no. shouldn't do it. some people said it's not worth the risk of a special forces

team going in, but if we think it's good enough, take the missile strike. i was among those who said no, we have to find out. if we do a missile streakwell never find out. we'll never know. so we all gave our advice. but then that moment comes. this is what you need to think about. where the president gets up and says he's going to go think about this. because ultimately, you can have all the advisor, all the people who are experts. but the president has to make the decision. and you know he came back, and he said, yeah, we're going to go with the sale team and we all held our breath that day when the attack occurred. we were all just under the most intense stress. there were a lot of -- there was a lot of planning.

people had done everything they could. the military was superb, thinking through every possible contingency, but things happen. one of those helicopters clipped the barbed wire on top of the wall and went down. but everything had been thought through. so bin laden was found, he was killed, his body was brought across the border and he was identified. and -- [cheers and applause] no president wants to seek out those kinds of situations, but every president faces those hard choices. we need a president who can be steady and strong and i promise you i will take good care of our men and women in uniform and i will protect our country and help to lead the world. now, finally, let me say this.

there's a lot of other issues that trump has staked out. and i want you to know where i stand in comparison. i will defend a woman's right to make her own health care decisions. [cheers and applause] and i will defend planned parenthood against the partisan attacks. i will defend marriage equality and work to end discrimination against the lgbt community. i will defend voting rights and appoint supreme court justices that will overturn citizens united. i will defend labor unions and the right to organize and bargain collectively. i will fight for comprehensive immigration reform with a path o citizenship. and i will stand up to the gun

lobby and work to get common sense gun safety reform. now, i can't do any of this without your help. i want to unify the democratic arty and i want to unify the united states of america. will go anywhere, to meet with anyone to find common ground. i will also stand my ground. but we've got to bring this country together. we do not need to be divided. as lincoln said a house divided against itself cannot stand. we cannot stand this kind of hate talk and rhetoric and demagoguery. so here is what i'm asking you. if you have already gotten a ballot sent to your house, fill t in and send it in. you can still get a ballot all

the way up through may 31 if you want to vote like that. and please do. if you think you might have trouble getting to the polls on june 7. and then on june 7, please, come out and vote and bring everybody you can who knows we've got to start right here in california making the future that we want to see for our country, for our children and grandchildren. if you will vote for me, california, i will work my heart out to give you the future that we deserve. thank you and god bless you. [cheers and applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] >> c-span's "road to the white house" coverage continues with

[cheers and applause] bernie: i think with the energy i've seen here and all over america, no question in my mind that our grassroots activism will win the general election. [cheers and applause] but let me tell you in order to defeat trump in the general election, we've got to win the democratic nomination first. cheers and applause] and i feel increasingly confident that here in california we are going to win and win big on june 7. [cheers and applause] nd the reason for that is we are doing something that to the best of my knowledge has never been done in california political history.

we are holding rallies just like this up and down this state. [cheers and applause] and by the end of this campaign here in california, i am confident that we will have permanently met and spoken to over 200,000 californians. [cheers and applause] this is a grassroots campaign of the people, by the people, and for the people. cheers and applause] and the reason we are going to win here in california and the reason we're going to win a general election is the american people understand that given the crises facing our country, it is just too late for establishment politics or

accomplishment economics. [cheers and applause] what the american people understand is that we have got to bring forth a political revolution. [cheers and applause] we have got to redefine what politics means in america. we need people from coast to coast standing up, fighting back and demanding a government that represents all of us, not just the 1%. [cheers and applause] this campaign is going to win because we are doing something rather unusual in american politics, we are telling the truth.

[cheers and applause] and here is the truth. that in our great nation today we have a corrupt campaign finance system which is undermining american democracy. what democracy is supposed to be about as everyone here knows is one person, one vote. you get a vote. ou get a vote. and you get a vote. [cheers and applause] democracy is not supposed to be about billionaires and super pacs buying elections. if we get elected and i'm increasingly confident that we will --

[cheers and applause] we are going to overturn this disastrous supreme court ruling on citizens united. [cheers and applause] this campaign is going to win because we are telling the ruth in the sense that today we have a rigged economy. and what a rigged economy is is that for 30 years, the middle-class of this country has been shrinking, shrinking, shrinking and almost all new income and wealth today is going to the top 1%. [jeers] what a rigged economy is about is the top .10 of 1% owning almost as much wealth as the

ottom 90%. the rigged economy is when the 20 wealthiest people in this country own more wealth than the bottom 150 million americans, half of our people. [jeers] a rigged economy is when one family, the walton family of wal-mart ones more wealth than the bottom 42% of the american eople. [jeers] anybody here work at a wal-mart? ok. we got a few. and here's what's interesting

bout wal-mart. wal-mart owned by the wealthiest family in america, pays wages that are so low that many of the people that work there have got to go on food stamps and medicaid. who pays for those food stamps and medicaid? that's right. working families in this country pay higher taxes in order to subsidy the wages paid by the wealthiest family in america. that is absurd. [applause] so i say to the walton family, get off of welfare, pay your worker as living wage. [cheers and applause] but it s not just a corrupt line of finance system. it's not just the rigged campaign system. here in california, my state of vermont, people are working two or three jobs. mom is working 40 hours. dad is working 40 hours. kids are working 40 hours. and at the end of all of that,

58% of all new income goes to he top 1%. you ready for a radical idea? [cheers and applause] together, we are going to create an economy that works for all of us, not just wealthy campaign contributors. but it's not just the corrupt campaign finance system that we have to change. it's not just the rigged economy. it is also a broken criminal ustice system. [cheers and applause] every american should be embarrassed by the fact that we have more people in jail than any other country on earth. we are spending $80 billion a

year to lock-off 2.2 million people disproportionately african-americans, latino and ative americans. [jeers] our job is to understand why that is occurring and to change it. and my promise to you is that at tend of my first term as president,, we will not have more people in jail than any other country. [cheers and applause] and one of the reasons that we have so many people in jail is that across this country in inner cities in african-american and latino neighborhoods, in rule areas we ave unemployment rates of 30%,

40%, 50%. kids get out of high school. there are no jobs for them. and when a kid hangs out with no jobs, bad things can happen. and that is why i believe that we should be investing for our kids in jobs and education. cheers and applause] not in jails or incarceration. [cheers and applause] we should not forget that it cost more money to lock somebody up than to send them to the university of alifornia. [cheers and applause] and when we talk about reforming a broken criminal justice system, we've got to take a look at local police

departments all across this country. now, i was the mayor in burlington, vermont for eight years. and i worked closely with the police officers there. and i worked with police officers all over this country. and the overwhelming majority of police officers are honest, hard working and have a very difficult job to do. [cheers and applause] but like any other public official, when a police officer breaks the law, that officer must be held accountable. cheers and applause] we have got to demilitarize local police departments. i do not want local police departments looking like occupying armies intimidating n their community.

[cheers and applause] we have got to make local police departments reflect the diversity of the communities they serve. [cheers and applause] we've got to end corporate ownership of prisons and detention centers. [cheers and applause] we have got to change more enforcement culture in this country so that the use of lethal force, shooting somebody is the last response not the first response. cheers and applause] we have got to rethink the o-called war on drugs. turns out not widely known but rue -- turns out over the last

30 years, millions of americans have received police records because of possession of marijuana. [jeers] and i want you to think abe. you're a 19-year-old kid. you have a police record. your employer ask you, hey, young man, you ever have a police record? well, yes, sir, i did. i got somebody else interested in that job. a lot of lives have been ruined because of possession of marijuana. and in addition to that, it turns out that this becomes a racial issue because studies indicates that blacks and whites do marijuana at about equal rates. well, i don't know if i would cheer for that. but it's a fact. but -- but guess what it also

turns out, blacks are more likely than whites to be arrested for doing marijuana. [jeers] so what do we do? this is what i think we do. number one, we understand that today, the federal -- federal controlled substance act lifts marijuana as a schedule one drug. the highest level. [jeers] right next to heroin. [jeers] now people can argue the pluses and minuses of marijuana. but no sane person believes that marijuana is equivalent to what killer drugs like heroin. and that is why if elected president, we will take marijuana out of the federal control substance act.

[cheers and applause] marijuana -- possession of marijuana should not be a federal crime. but as of you know the decision to legalize marijuana is a state issue not a federal issue. four states in this country plus, washington, d.c. have voted to deal lies marijuana. [cheers and applause] some of you may know there will be an item on the ballot here in california in november calling for legalization. [cheers and applause] now, i don't live here in california, but if i did, i would vote for that proposition. [cheers and applause] crowd chanting "bernie"] but while we're on the issue of

drugs, let me just say this and i think all of you know this. right now in my state, in new england and i believe all over this country, we are looking at a horrific epidemic of opiate and heroin addiction. it is terrible. >> and what we are seeing every single day is people are overdosing on opiates or heroin and they are dying. this is an issue that must be dealt with. but it must be dealt with intelligently. and in my view, the best way to address that issue is to understand that substance abuse and addiction should not be treated as a criminal issue. it should be treated as a health related issue. [cheers and applause] and that means we need a

revolution in this country and how we do mental health treatment. [cheers and applause] right now, there are people who are addicted who are strung out, who would like to get help. but there is no treatment available for them that they can afford. and in addition to that what is true, although it is very scary that although walking the streets of america today, right now, you have many thousands of people who are suicidal and some are homicidal. and we all know about the terrible mass shootings that we've seen. in my view, what our approach should be is the same for anybody in america in mental health crisis. you can get the treatment you need today, not six months from now.

cheers and applause] this campaign is listening to working people. and what working people are telling me is they can't make t a $9, $10, or $11 an hour. which is in my view we're going to raise the minimum wage to a living wage $15 an hour. [cheers and applause] and when we talk about those equitable wage, every man will stand with the women in opposition that today women are making .7 cents on the doll -- 79 cents on the dollar compared to men. today we will bring pay equity for women.

equal pay for equal work. cheers and applause] this campaign is also listening to women who are hearing republicans all over this country. donald trump and the other who are time-outing family values. and you know all know what they mean by family values. what they mean is that no woman in ventura, no woman in california, no woman in america should have the right to control her own body. we disagree! [cheers and applause] and by the way, when republicans talk about family values, what they are also saying to our gay brothers and

sisters that they should not have the right to get married. we disagree! [cheers and applause] this campaign is not listening to wealthy campaign contributors and their needs. we are listening to young eople and their needs. [cheers and applause] and young people are asking me a very simple but important question, how is it that when they do exactly the right thing, when they go out and get the best education that they can, which is what we want all americans to be able to do, why is it that they're ending up 30, 50, $70,000 in debt. now, i grew up in a family that id not have a lot of

money. my parents never went to college. but what i want to see in this country is that every child who studies hard, every child who takes school seriously and does well, i want to see that child be able to go to college, regardless of the income of his or her family. [cheers and applause] [crowd chanting "bernie"] now here's the truth. 40, 50 years ago, people went out. they got a high school degree. and if you had a high school degree 40 or 50 years ago, you know what, good chance you'll

be able to go out and get a decent job and make it into the middle-class. but the world, the economy, technology have changed over the last 40 years. and today in many respects a college degree is equivalent to what a high school degree was 30 years ago. and that is why i believe that today when we talk about public education, it is not good enough to be talking about first grade through 12th grade. we must be talk about making public colleges and universities tuition-free. cheers and applause] crowd chanting "bernie"] now does anybody here honestly think that making colleges and universities tuition-free is a radical idea? it really is not. our world has changed. our educational system has got to change.

it's grown by the way. in countries like germany and scandinavia, college today is free. they are smart enough to invest and smart enough to know that investing in their young people is investing in the future of their country. it's a lesson we should learn. [cheers and applause] how many people here are dealing with student debt? raise your hand? whoa. well, welcome to the club. we're talking about millions of people. how much? how much? 100. 120,000. how much? $220,000. bernie sanders: what i'm hearing is 120,000, 200,000. frankly think avenlt what this campaign is trying to do is to get people to think outside of

the box. to think outside of the options, that corporate media often gives us. ask yourself a simple question. we are living in a competitive global economy. we need the best educated workforce in the world. why in god's name are we punishing people for getting an education? [cheers and applause] we should be rewarding them not pun ushing them. [cheers and applause] and that is why i believe that with regard to student debt, anybody who is holding that debt should be able to refinance their loans at the lowest interest rates they can find. [cheers and applause] and that will mean a very significant reduction in student debt in this

country. now, my opponents and the accomplishment they say well, bernie, he's got white hair. he's given away all of this stuff, free tuition, reducing student debt. ow are you going to pay for it, bernie? let me tell you exactly how we're going to pay for it. after the greed, the recklessness and illegal behavior on wall street helped bring this country into the world, -- worse economic recession since the 1930's, congress bailed out wall street. well, today wall street is doing just fine. and i believe it is exactly appropriate to place a tax on wall street speculation. this country bailed out wall

street. now it is wall street to help the middle-class of this country. and they will make public universities tuition-free and substantially lower student debt. this campaign is listening to people and communities whose voices and pain are not often heard. we are listening to the latino community. [cheers and applause] there are 11 million undocumented people in this country. many of them are living in the shadows and in fear. many of them who are at work right now are being exploited because when you have no legal

rights, you can't stand up to a boss who exploits you and cheats you on if job -- on the job. and that is why in my view, the time is long overdue for this country and this congress to pass comprehensive comprehension law and pass citizenship. cheers and applause] our immigration policy must be to unite families not divide them. [cheers and applause] and if elected president, i will end the current eportation policy. [cheers and applause] and if congress does not do its job, i will use all of the executive power of the white

house to do everything that i can. [cheers and applause] this campaign is listening to the african-american community. [cheers and applause] and what the african-american community is asking me absolutely correctly, how does it happen that we could spend trillions of dollars on a war in iraq that we never should have gotten into and yet supposedly we don't have the money to rebuild our crumbling inner cities throughout this country. [applause] brothers and sisters, i have been all over this country in the last year. i was in flint, michigan where children were poisoned. because of led in the water in a water system which was to say the least totally

inadequate. i was in detroit, michigan where the school system, the public school system is on the verge of fiscal collapse. i was in baltimore, maryland where tens of thousands of people are addicted to heroin and can't get the treatment that they need to get off of heroin. in my view, instead of rebuilding communities in eafl. we should be rebuilding communities in the united states of america. [cheers and applause] this campaign is listening to a people who are in real pain but that pain is almost never heard. and that is -- that is the native american community. [cheers and applause]

all of us know that the native american people were lied to. they were cheated. and treaties they negotiated throughout our history have been broken. the native american people have given us so much that we have a debt owed to them that we can never repay. and maybe the most important lesson that they have taught us, an incredibly profound lesson is that as human beings, we are part of nature. we must live with nature. [cheers and applause] nd if we continue to destroy nature, what we are doing is ultimately destroying

ourselves. [cheers and applause] but despite all that the nature poverty and unemployment are ky high. healthcare and education is not of the quality it should be. if elected president, we will fundamentally change our way with the native american eople. i am member of the u.s. senate committee on the environment. and let me tell you that i have listened and talked to scientists all over our country and all over the world. and they are virtually unanimous in telling us what people like donald trump and other republicans refuse to acknowledge.

and that is climate change is real. it is caused by human activity and as the people of california already know, it is causing devastating problems in our country and around the world. [cheers and applause] and what the united states also tell us, if we do not get our act together now, a bad situation will become much worse. more drought, more floods, more extreme weather disturbances. more acidification of the ocean. more rising sea levels. we have a moral obligation as custodians of this planet. that is what we are. we are this is our planet. we are custodians of it. >> we must leave this planet in a way that is healthy and habitable to our children and future generation.

[cheers and applause] what this campaign is about is getting people to think outside of the box, outside of the quo and to ask the questions that you don't hear them ask much in the corporate media. one more question is how does it happen that in our great country, the wealthiest country in the history of the world how does it happen that we are the only major country on earth not to guarantee healthcare to all eople? [cheers and applause] let me ask you all a question. how many people here today have no health insurance? raise your hand. wow.

how many people here have high deductibles and high co-payments in their insurance policy? all right. what you're seeing is a failed healthcare system. the affordable care act has done some good things but it has not done enough. so let me be very honest with you and tell you what i have said many times and it gets me criticized many times. but i'll say it again. and that is in my view, healthcare is a right of all eople not a privilege. [cheers and applause] i want every american to be able to go to the doctor when they need to go to the octor. [cheers and applause] we are losing thousands of people every single year who by the time they get into a

doctor's office, their situation has become terminal. that is unacceptable. further more, not only today do we have so many people uninsured, 29 million and underinsured, every one of us is getting ripped off by the unconscionable greed of the pharmaceutical companies. there are people in america dying and there are people getting much sicker than they should because they cannot afford the astronomical high prices that the drug industry is charging us today. it is crazy that 1-5 measures cannot afford the medicines they need. and it is equally crazy that the top five drug companies last year made $50 billion in profit.

if elected president the drug companies will not continue ripping off the people of this country. [cheers and applause] brothers and sisters, everybody here knows that real change in america has never taken place from the top on down but always from the bottom on up. you know, it's never about some guy up there saying, you know, i think it will be a good idea to do this or that. it always occurs throughout our history when people by the millions stand up and fight back and demand dignity. [cheers and applause] you all know that 100-plus years ago, many workers in america were working seven days

a week. 12 hours a day. kids of 12 years of age were working in factories, losing their fingers because they were around machinery they should not have been around. and what working people say 100-plus years ago, they said we're not animals. we're not beasts or birds. we're human beings. we want dignity. we're going to form trade unions and negotiate fair contracts. [cheers and applause] 150 years ago, amidst the abomination of slavery and racism, african-americans and their allies looked at the future and they stood up and they fought back to end racism n america. and we'll never know. we will never know how many of these heroes and heroines were killed in that struggle, how many went to jail, how many

were beaten, how many lost their jobs. but they had the courage to stand up and to demand a country which rid itself of racism and bigotry. [cheers and applause] people don't know this or have forgotten. 100 years ago, not a long time in human history, women in america did not have the right to vote or to get the job or education they wanted. what the establishment said to women, your job is to stay home and have babies. that's what you're supposed to do. but women said, you will not define us. we will define ourselves. cheers and applause]

and women and their male allies stood up, fought back and said women in america will not be second class citizens. [cheers and applause] if you think -- not 100 years ago, think back 10 years ago, and if i would have told you or you would have told me 10 years ago, we were here, somebody jumps up and said you know what, bernie, i think gay marriage will be legal in every state in this country by the year 2015, the person next to her would have said you're crazy. there's too much bigotry, too much homophobia, it will not happen. but the gay community and their straight allies stood up, fought back -- [cheers and applause] and said loudly and proudly

that in america people should have the right to love whoever they wanted regardless of their gender. [cheers and applause] if we were here five years ago, no time at all. and somebody would have jumped up and said this $7.25 federal minimum wage is ridiculous. we've got to raise it to 15 bucks an hour. the person next to him would have say 15 bucks an hour? you're an extremist. you're asking for too much. but three years ago, workers in the fast food industry in mcdonald's in burger king in wendy's, they went out on strike and they stood up and they told america they cannot make it on starvation wages.

they need 15 bucks an hour. [cheers and applause] and then a few years ago in seattle 15 bucks an hour, in san francisco, in los angeles, 15 bucks an hour. [cheers and applause] in california, new york state, 15 bucks in an hour -- 15 bucks an hour. what is my point? my point is that the establishment always wants you to believe that real change is impossible, that your dreams are so radical, they cannot be achieved and you've got to accept minor, minor changes at best. and what this campaign is about is rejecting that entire approach. cheers and applause]

no, my republican friends think we have to cut social security and benefits for veterans. no, we're not going to do that. we're going to increase social security and benefits for veterans. and what i am seeing all over this country, literally from coast to coast, from maine to california, is people are beginning to understand that something is fundamentally wrong. they are asking themselves why is it that i am working longer hours for lower wages and almost all new incoming wealth is going to the top 1%? why is it that we're seeing a proliferation of billionaires and yet half of the children in america in public schools are n free or reduced lunches? why is it that kids are graduating school $90,000 or more in debt?

why is it that women are making $79 on if dollar compared to men? why is it that we are the only major country on earth that doesn't guarantee paid, family and medical leave? why are we the only country major country not to guarantee healthcare for all? why is our infrastructure -- our roads and our bridges collapsing at the same time as millions of people needing jobs? why are we firing teachers, when we need more teachers to better educate our children? [cheers and applause] why haven't we been more aggressive and taken over the fossil fuel industry and transforming our energy system? [cheers and applause]

why do we pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs? why does wall street continue to rip off the american people every single day? those are the questions that the american people are beginning to ask. and the answer is that when people come together by the millions, when people stand up nd say that our government has got to represent all of us, not just a few -- [cheers and applause] when this country brings about a political revolution so that real power rests in the hands of working families not wealth thy campaign contributors. that's when we bring real

change to this country. [cheers and applause] on june 7, there will be in california, the most important primary in the whole nominating process. there are 475 delegates at stake here in california. what i have learned throughout this campaign is when voter turnout is high, when working people and young people come out in large numbers, we win. [cheers and applause] and if we can win here in california and win in other five states at our primary on june 7th, we're going to be marching into the democratic convention with enormous momentum. [cheers and applause]

and i believe that will be marching out of that convention as the democratic nominee. [cheers and applause] and if i am the democratic nominee, donald trump is toast. [cheers and applause] [crowd chanting "bernie"] o on june 7th -- on june 7th here in california, let us see the largest voter turnout in democratic primary history. let's see a great state -- one of the most progressive states in america, go on record and say, yes to the political revolution.

thank you all. [cheers and applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] >> the time magazine cover, how ar will bernie go? thank you for being with us. how do you answer the question? >> that's a are question only bernie sanders can answer. it's really his choice. at the moment it seems like he is leaning towards continuing to fight all the way through the convention in philadelphia. he is not ready to pack up and

go home. he feels he owes it to his supporters, donors and himself to keep this fight going. this has been an investment of a lot of time and effort, a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of sacrifice for everyone involved around he is not ready to say it's over. we spent some time with him out in california watching him campaign, talked to his supporters. it's clear that there is a deep sincerity to his belief that he really thinks the system has conspired against him and that everyone is not giving hism the sufficient respect that he commands. he wants to continue to talk about what he sees as an injures tiss from the political class, from the political system itself toward an idealist like himself. keep in mind though that the political system he only just recently became part of.

for years -- in the house and then the senate. he caucused with the democrats but not a member of the democratic party. he only became a democrat so he could run for their nomination. he has not built up the reservoir of good will and loyalty that bill and hillary clinton have over their decades in politics. >> and it's obvious in reading your piece that not only does he have the passion but his supporters. and the question is whether or not they can unite the democratic party if hillary clinton is the democratic nominee. >> that's a question that senator sand sers going to have to wrestle with. eight years ago we saw this when hillary clinton very strong supporters initially said that they were not going to go with barack obama. they -- we called them the poomas party unity my behind. and it took a lot of work from

then senator clinton to convince them to come around. that she did the campaign events for him, the phone calls, recorded ads with him. it was a lot of yes i lost, yes it was disappointing but we can't let john mccain be in the white house. in the end, 84% of clinton supporters threw their support to barack obama's first campaign. it wasn't easy and it required a lot of hue millty on the part of clinton. bernie sanders doesn't seem to be heading in that direction. if he can't drag his supporters with him into the pro-clinton camp, it's going to be a tough road for secretary clinton's campaign. for his part senator sanders has said he will do everything he can to defeat donald trump. but that's a far cry from saying i will do everything i can to elect hillary clinton. it's the negative instead of the affirmative.

his supporters are going to follow his lead. then not all will. >> zeek is in california covering the race. can he win? >> it's very possible if not probable at this point. senator sanders is out there campaigning. there's talk of him having a one-on-one debate with donald trump which would just win him all sorts of exposure in california's very expensive media markets. he has made a lot of pivot a lot of paid advertising away from grassroots organizing. california is just five states town itself. it takes a lot of bodies to cover ground. ads are expensive but in many ways inefficient. that's the way you win through television. shick doing a lot of events putting in the elbow grease out there trying to stem this.

win or lose california, secretary clinton is probably still the undeniable nominee at this point. but an embarrassing loss. a loss in california would just be embarrassing to her in host: the other takeaway in reading this piece which outlines the relationship, or lack thereof, between sen. sanders: hillary clinton, it began as a friendly rivalry, but got nasty and personal. guest: it has. i talked with senator sanders, one of his longtime top advisers, and at the start of the race, they liked each other. he was not going to run negative attack ads. from 1993 photograph

of her thanking him for his work on health care reform. they have a mutual respect for each other. talk that they ran into each other at the train waiting station in june of last year, and clinton shouted out, "bernie!" to him, and did a hug of sorts. and he said at the moment that he should not have said that he liked her. that was -- is no the case greater relationship has soured, perhaps beyond repair where they call each other and congratulates each other on the victories. they do not make those phone calls anymore. their staff is at open warfare. the donors, there is very little prospect for over that. you throw into the mix of volatile democratic national community that, and bernie

sanders mine, has been a different scale from the start. birdies -- bernie's evolution, the senator now facing a test. the reporting of philip elliott is available on time.com. thank you for being with us. >> this week in the libertarian party holds their national convention in florida. we will have live coverage on saturday when the candidates .ace each other in a debate see it saturday at 8:00 eastern and sunday at 9:45 eastern here on c-span. >> madam, secretary. we probably give 72 of our deliegate votes to

the next president of the united states. [applause] >> next, another hearing on tsa airport checkpoints and recommendations on reforming the system. the subcommittee heard from airports that are most greatly impacted. this hearing is one hour and 20 minutes.

>> the committee on homeland security, a subcommittee on transportation security, will come to order. a bit of housekeeping before we proceed, i ask unanimous consent that the gentlewoman from california, ms. mcsally, be able to it is on the dais and participate in this hearing. without objection, so order. the committee is meeting to gain local perspectives on this important issue. i recognize myself for an opening statement. as the summer holiday season approaches we are in the midst of a crisis at our airports. american families are planning to enjoy their time off, traveling to points near and far, businessmen and women are doing the same that they do all year round and the added crush of the travel season, leisure season, is causing particular problems, as they begin their journeys they will arrive at airports around the country only to be confronted with longer and longer lines at many airports, at tsa checkpoints, causing some

to return home after missing their flights and stranding others to take up temporary residence at the airport on a cot like we saw in chicago a few weeks ago. unfortunately this is not an isolated incident and this committee continues to receive reports from around the country describing delays at tsa checkpoints in excess of two hours. on good friday, march 25, 600 passengers missed their flights at the charlotte douglas international airport due to an apparent lack of tsa manpower and check point inefficiencies. in fact, that airport was nearly forced to affect a ground stoppage, a literal standstill of air traffic due to delays at the checkpoint. this wholly unacceptable and i along with the american tax pay expect the security of america's airports to be streamlined, effective and efficient. this committee has worked tirelessly with tsa to ensure the manpower and technology they need to optoperate checkpoints

is there. while tsa communicated to the american public that increased wait times should be expected at our nation's airports as we enter the high travel seasons, they did not v a clear picture of the resources they would need to tackle this problem and clearly were not prepared for it. the tsa fiscal year '17 budget request didn't account for overtime or staffing they are requesting to meet their basic screening function. it wasn't until widespread media reports of passengers on cots -- which is completely unacceptable -- and excessive wait times that's the say made the decision to request and reallocate assets to help combat the issue. i and my colleagues on this committee and miss mcsally are growing increasingly frustrated that tsa needs constant prodding to affect changes at the agency. this committee has passed several pieces of bipartisan legislation that would go a long way towards improving security at airport as well as checkpoint optimization but the senate refuses to expedite passage of these important bill, standing

on principle or some esoteric theory about how the agency should be run. in short, they're trying to polish the brass while the fire bell is ringing. for example, my tsa pre-check bill would require tsa to expand and aggressively market the program thereby increasing the number of trusted travelers into the system. diverting them into pre-check checkpoints and acleaveleveleviateing stress on public checkpoints. however due to typical washington antics, this bill, amongst others, remains stalled. when i came to congress i made a commitment to my constituents to tackle problems head on and get things done. last week, the subcommittee convened representatives from airports and airlines from across the country to discuss the crisis and flare them about what they think needs to be done to help. it was a very productive meeting and gave me faith that the process in congress can and does work sometimes. the message was consistent. tsa needs to collaborate with airport authorities to coordinate sufficient staffing levels on a local basis. i have heard your message and today i will introduce the

checkpoint optimization and efficiency act of 2016 which will require tsa to maximize their available resources and give airports and airlines a seat at the table to ensure resources are being utilized and allocated in the most effective and efficient manner. make no mistake, security is first and foremost. those that wish to do us harm continue to plot against the aviation community and we must be ready to confront them at every turn but tsa has to find a way to maintain security while fulfilling its duties to keep passengers safely moving through the system. they have the capability to do it. tsa has to be forward leaning to address obstacles as they present themselves. i would like to thank our witnesses for taking time out of their schedules and making multiple trips to washington to aid us in solving the problem. i'm lucky and fortunate to have the international airport that i fly in and out of each week as the well oil machine it is compared to the orhorror stories

we had at last week's round table and i have christine callahan, one of the witnesses, to thank for that. i would like to thank you for being here today and i look forward to hearing your perspective on the best and most effective way forward. with that i recognize the ranking member of the subcommittee, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. payne, for his opening statement and i like those glasses. [laughter] >> thank you, mr. chairman. i wore them just for you. i'd also like to thank you for holding this hearing. it's good we're having this hearing immediately following the full committee hearing with administrator neffenger yesterday. wait times have been a major cause of concern within our nation's airports. last week, for example these extreme wait times, the transportation security administration reallocated

resources to chicago midway international airport and newark liberty airport to decrease the length of screening lines. while i'm pleased that tsas are being given the opportunity to be converted to full time and the administration has taken steps to address the problem in the interim we need to find a viable long-term solution to this problem. rheal locating or taking one airport's resources and giving it to another will only fix the problem temporarily for the summer travel period, tsa predicted that nearly 740 million individuals will use commercial aviation to travel which happens to be the most -- most air travelers this country has ever seen. in contrast, tsos were responsible for screening passengers at baggage as some of the lowest number -- are at some of the lowest numbers we've seen

in years. this is due in large part to limited resources. under former administrator pistol, the agency pivoted to risk-based security, a frame of mind that we focus our resources on individuals who we know are less -- know less about, and rightfully so. however this methodology also came with programs that were not sustainable due to security risks such as man inclusion two, which has since ceased. although they are still using a risk-based approach it does not take away from the fact that the amount of travelers when compared to the number of people traveling is insufficient. last week, the transportation security subcommittee held a round table discussion with the airports and many important

things were discussed. there were general agreements that bdos could be used in other roles throughout the screener model. yesterday we learned tsa agrees and supports the federal security directives having the flexibility to use bdos in different ways. we also heard concern on whether or not for t federal security directors had enough flexibility to operate necessary checkpoints with staffing. the administrator testified yesterday that he believed that they always had such flexibility and that he worked to ensure that they knew they had this flexibility. now we get to hear more perspectives from stakeholders who are intimately involved with the commercial aviation and airlines and airports themselves.

today i look forward to hearing what your experiences this issue have been as well as how you view the steps that are being taken. i would also like to thank president cox from afge for being here to serve as a voice of the work force tsos represent the front line in our efforts to secure the commercial aviation sector. they do an outstanding job screening passengers and their belongings and often unfairly receive the majority of the blame for this issue. their perspective is absolutely vital in this conversation. with that, mr. chairman, i want to thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. >> thank you, mr. payne. other members of the committee are reminded opening statements may be submitted for the record. we are pleased to have a very distinguished panel here to testify before us today on this

very important topic. christina callahan serves as executive director for syracuse hancock international airport in syracuse, new york. ms. bonnie allen is president and ceo of the tucson airport in tucson, arizona. ms. lydia bearsto serves as managing deputy commissioner for security in the department of aviation for the city of chicago. ms. carry filapovich, senior vice president for american airlines and david cox, national president of the american federation of government employees. thank you for being here today. i now recognize ms. christina callahan for an opening statement. >> thank you. thank you for inviting us to today's hearing on an issue that requires both immediate attention and long-term sustainable solutions -- how to handle growing lines at tsa checkpoints at airports across the country while maintaining the high standards for passenger and baggage screening we need in order to keep the flying public

safe. syracuse international airport is a small commercial hub serving two million passengers annually, providing cargo and general aviation services to central new york. it employs hundreds of people and is a vital component of our economy. as an origination and destination airport we serve 17 direct markets and we are the departure point for one million outbound passengers every year while syracuse has not experienced the recent increased long security checkpoint times, we are part of a national transportation system that links our passengers to the airports represents here today and working towards a solution as we enter one of the busiest travel seasons in the year is as important to syracuse as it is to my fellow airports. what i hope to offer today in addition to echoing my fellow airports' concerns are examples

of the steps we have taken to address our issues at home, ensuring the security and safety of the flying public employees and other airport users is the top priority for airports. above all else we are entrusted by the traveling public to provide safe and secure airplane transportation. checkpoint wait times that exceed an hour or longer at some of our nation's busiest airports have negative impacts on all elements of the air transportation system. passengers are frustrated, taking their frustrations out on tsa airport and airline employees. the anxiety caused by concern over missing a flight or worse missing that flight creates an environment that is already challenged and difficult. several factors have been identified that have contributed to the checkpoint wait time issues. they include no increase in the number of transportation security officers between fiscal years 2015 and '16, the high rate of tso attrition followed by the lengthy process to hire new tso's, record lagging in passenger traffic.

combined they have created a perfect storm. working together, the airports, tsa, the airlines and industry advocates have identified short and long-term recommendations that focus on key areas, including the need for sufficient tsa staffing, increased pre-check enrollment and participation and the continued need to modernize airport infrastructure. we do not, however, support the imposition of any new passenger fees, rather we believe that the portion of the 9/11 passenger security fees currently being used to pay for government other government programs should be used to pay for tsa. chairman katko was at the airport last november when we unveiled the tsa enrollment center in syracuse. pre-check has proven to be very successful at our airports. almost 40% of the flying public is enrolled in precheck.

while we believe this is the result of having an enrollment center in the terminal. our efforts to educate the public on the benefits of precheck have been very important and while seemingly insignificant, the airport's role in incentivizing people to enroll in precheck by giving them free parking has resulted in the increased numbers of people enrolling. and while not all airports are in a position to offer incentives, we have found it has encouraged enough people to come out and spend an hour and enroll in pre-check. i would be remiss if i didn't emphasize the need to modernizing airport infrastructure. we have spent time in money in consolidating our checkpoint into one central checkpoint to introduce efficiencies at every level. a central checkpoint was designed to bring the physical screening of passengers and baggage in alignment, it improved passenger and baggage screening at "self" levels.

it allowed for the introduction of new screening fimt inging equipment, consolidated tsa resources into one and has allowed us to implement new security requirements such as the screening of all concession employees. we've also been on the cutting edge of security by installing automated exit portals. these automated exit portals allow passengers and employees to exit the concourses safely and securely without preventing reentry. it also eliminates the need to staff the exit lanes thus saving the airport money and reducing the human error element. let me stress that this project would not have been possible without the use of the airport's passenger facility charges. to place the blame solely on tsa is unfair and not a solution to the problem. we must work together to address the underlying issues before you today.

in closing, i would like to offer my gratitude to chairman katko and to the other members of the subcommittee for taking the time to listen to our concerns. thank you for inviting us and for your continued commitment to the safety and security of airports and the people who use them everyday. >> thank you, ms. callahan, syracuse is, indeed, very fortunate to have you at the helm at the airport and i can tell you from personal experience that it's generally very pleasurable. the only thing difficult is when you're trying to get a flight to ken day and it always seems to be delayed. other than that, appreciate your efforts and i -- your forward thinking on getting a kiosk at the airport, your forward thinking by giving free parking to tsa is like a marketing thing. thinking outside the box, that's good stuff. thank you very much. i'd like to have ms. mcsally introduce her friend from the tucson airport.

ms. mcsally. >> thank you, chairman katko. i really appreciate you being my wingman on this issue and many issues and letting me join this hearing today. i'm grateful for you inviting bonnie allen to testify this morning. bonnie is the president and ceo of the tucson airport authority responsible for promoting aviation services and related economic development for southern arizona, including operations and maintenance of the tucson international airport and ryan airfield where she has firsthand experience on the challenges related to tsa staffing. bonnie began her career in aviation in 1976 with the tucson airport authority then moved to texas where she worked for corpus christi international, ending her tenure as director of aviation. she holds the designation of accredited airport executive and is the past chairman of international association of airport executives. glad to have bonnie with us today and i yield back. >> ms. allen, you're up. >> thank you, representative mcsally, for the introduction. good morning chairman katko, ranking member payne, honorable members of the committee, representative mcsally. is it is a privilege to appear before you to discuss tucson's

challenges with passenger screening wait times. mr. chairman and members, thank you for your leadership on airport security and the protection of our passengers. representative mcsally, thank you for your leadership in protecting tucson international airport in southern arizona. i was fortunate to participate in last week's round table which you mentioned, mr. chairman, and the discussion and am truly appreciative of the time and attention you're devoting to understanding the causes of checkpoint processing delays and your efforts to seek both short and long-term solutions. safety and security of our people, property, and our craft are the highest priority. for those of you unfamiliar tucson international airport, we are an origination and destination airport therefore less than 5% of our passengers connect through, instead recall screened by local tsa, historical weight times average 10 to 15 minutes with peak times rarely competing 25 minutes maximum, even when we had passenger levels 25% higher than we do today.

tucson's high season as opposed to many other airports is november through march with a very strong peak season mid-january through march. >> i have to interject. i can assure you there's no -- that's not the high season in syracuse. [laughter] >> they're all coming to sue son. >> i couldn't resist. >> and we would love for you to visit tucson in february, sir. this year or our visitors, many viz frorz the northern part of the country and our tucsonian customers experienced wait times 45 and sometimes in excess of 60 minutes. there's an exhibit to my written testimony with the photo of the passengers lined up across the front of our terminal. we have a very des katedicated and loyal tsa staff who are

committed to the safety and efficient screening of our passengers. unfortunately they lack the planning, coordination and staffing resources needed to be able to efficiently process the passengers in our peak times. in may of 2015, tucson tsa lost between 10% and 13% of the work force. it was a full year before replacements were trained and released to fully screen and have their duties. combined with increase passenger levels, adding ait equipment and having limited authority due to inflexible staffing and processing models prescribed to them, they did not allow them respond to the changing conditions and as a result we experienced very long lines. i respectfully offer some recommended solutions for your consideration. it's recommended that the local tsa have the ability to openly communicate with their airport and airline partners in order to better plan and allocate resources.

that flexibility, autonomy and authority be dell kated eddedicated to local tsa to adjust for changing conditions, especially spoke airports such as tucson. that regular and consistent staffing at pre-check lines be allocated so that they can be opened. tucson's two checkpoints combined, pre-check lanes, are open less than five hours a day. usually between three and four. that the staffing allocation model be updated. it is inflexible and doesn't allow for changing conditions. that better utilization of existing resources and personnel be made, especially behavioral detection officers. that effective outreach and marketing of pre-check and global entry -- as we are close to the border and it's very high use there -- be done to increase enrollment. development of technology to

help provide solutions be given a priority and that optimization of checkpoints be customized to best fit each airport and the information shared. airports are willing to invest in effective tucson will begin a project in june to are locate and expand our checkpoints the. if they are not proper he i quipped and staffed, all of that resource will be lost. mr. chairman and members, while none of these recommendations alone are a perfect fix, by stakeholders working together we have the opportunity to solve the checkpoint issues and enhance the safety of our aviation system. we comment you on the proposed legislation checkpoint optimization and efficiency act of 2016. if enacted it will go a very long way towards providing solutions to the checkpoint wait issues. thank you for this opportunity to share my views, i would be happy to answer any questions you might have. >> thank you, ms. allin for your

testimony. it's interesting to juxtapose your experience at your airports with what we experience in syracuse. it seems like the larger the airport the more acute the problems and now we'll talk to ms. biersto about that. so appreciate your testimony and you have five minutes. thank you. >> thank you, chairman katko, ranking member payne and members of the subcommittee for inviting me to testify today on this important issue of providing efficient and safe passenger screening at our airports. my name is lydia baeirsto, i serve for the chicago department of aviation overseeing o'hare and midway international airports. chicago manages two of the nation's busiest airport, o'hare and midway, sand the only single city system that serves as a hub for three major airlines -- united, american and southwest airlines, in 2015, 98 million passengers passed through our

airports combined. in 2016 and beyond, those numbers are projected to grow. our airports serve as an economic engine contributing $45 billion in annual economic activity, creating 540,000 jobs. we are a major parentt of the air ecosystem. when o'hare sneezes, the rest of the country catches a cold. passenger safety and security is our top priority and certainly mine. in march, suicide bombings at brussels airport killed 16 people in the airport check in areas and 16ors in the city metro station. long security line, large crowds of passengers in queues are not just an inconvenience, they, themselvesings, expose vulnerability and security risk. by more efficiently moving passengers into the screened and secure areas, we are increasing safety and security. this year, there has been a 7%

growth in passenger activity while tsa staffing levels declined nearly 17%. airports and airlines began raising concerns about security staffing for the summer travel season as early as last summer. growth in passenger activity by early may this year, as our peak travel season started, we started experiencing a total breakdown. passenger wait times were consistently 60 minutes or more. airline passengers have reported wait times as high as 120 minutes with thousands of passengers missing their flights. the delays we experienced were knowable and preventable. staff resources went down as security operating procedures changed. moving forward to address these issues tsa resources are needed to increase and meet passenger demand. tsa needs to manage existing resources better, they need flexibility and local authority to respond to situations on the ground. may 13 a traveller at midway airport posted a youtube video documenting significant checkpoint lines i six out of 17 lanes were staffed by tsa. at o'hare, the situation reached crisis point on sunday, may 15,

where without adequate staffing american airlines reported 543 passengers were impacted by long lines. united airlines experienced 37 flight delays and rebooked over 4,300 passengers, many of which, as you noted, chairman, stayed overnight at the airport sleeping on cots. mayor rahm emanuel worked with key officials from dhs, tsa, and members of chicago's congressional delegation to secure immediate resources for the city. tsa sent in optimization teams, they committed to add 58 officers to o'hare, converted over 160 part timers to a full time duty, increased overtime and provided by eight additional canine teams to o'hare from around the country. we greatly appreciate administrator neffenger's responsiveness and that resources arrive sod quickly for o'hare.