2000. in 2000, to go by household income, michigan is one of the 15 by the estate. 152008,, we were one of the poor states. >> on american history tv, we visit the train depot where thomas edison worked as a young boy and make a stop at the thomas edison depot museum. we also speak with the museum's manager. >> we have a re-creation of his little chemical laboratory and printing equipment where he was the first person was in no want to print a newspaper on a moving train. he and access to the latest news to the telegraph as the train offices and would get that news right hot off the presses. weekend, -- today at 2

p.m. eastern on american history tv on c-span3, the cities tour, working with our cable affiliates and visiting cities across the country. >> the c-span radio act makes it easy to continue to file the 2016 election wherever you are. it is free to download. audio coverage and up-to-the-minute scheduling information for c-span radio and c-span television, plus podcast for public affairs, book, and history program. today -- stay up-to-date on the election coverage. c-span's radio app means you always have c-span on the go. with less than 100 days until our election day, and look here at where support for the presidential candidates currently stands. according to a recent poll from abc news and the washington post. among eligible voters, henry clinton holds a percentage point lead over donald trump. which is consistent with other polling that shows a gap forming

between the candidates. this poll in particular has a four percentage point margin are. on the sunday talk shows earlier today, we heard several guest talk about pulling and other topics that have come up on the campaign job. my actions have spoken louder than any words. this, i want to know when anybody had a convention where there were the governor who did not go in the convention hall. some people were really furious with me about that. what, i did what i thought i needed to do. you know what, i never went in that hall to promote myself to -- promote myself. ,respect to the nominee and my going up there in disrupting his deal was not what i intended to do. --can donald trump when ohio win ohio? they will be sections he will

win because people are angry and have not heard any hints as, -- any answers, that it is difficult if you are dividing to be able to win in ohio. >> eight points down at this stage, of course she would rather be ahead, but i remember george bush the first being 16 points down going into september. down.call down -- calm there is every opportunity for trump to win the selection -- this election. -- not just one or two, thousands of pieces of national security information. i am a former federal prosecutor and former associated attorney general and if i had done that, i would have been prosecuted. it is a clear violation. what she did were criminal acts.

>> as you know, mr. mayor, director komi said he would have to prove there was intentionally transmitted or hopefully mishandled classified information, our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case. >> many reasonable prosecutors came to the conclusion that they would have brought such a case. i would have brought such a case and i would have one banks of the case -- won such a case. she clearly violated the law. >> i have heard hillary clinton withver and over again, respect to the e-mails, i made a mistake and i learned something and i would not do it again. i did hear that back and forth, and i think chris wallace and hillary were talking at each other. she was saying what director come he acknowledged to be true, when she spoke to the fbi, when she was talking to the fbi and

they thought her answers were truthful. chris smith have been asking her a different question, but the bottom line is, she made a mistake and said over and over again, i made a mistake and i will fix it and i apologize. >> in an enter view, she told you she will do it differently, what does that mean? it is the same thing that she has said. knowing what i know now, i would not have done the private server in that way. she said it was a mistake. i am not presumptuous enough to start thinking about how i'm going to do things after november, but i know that this is something that she has learned from, and we are going to be transparent. >> a look again at that poll from abc news and the washington post, which includes third-party candidates gary johnson and jill stein who are showing single-digit support among

eligible voters. the green party officially made jill stein their nominee in houston. it was the second time in a row she was nominated. she is a position and environmental health advocate. she was introduced by her vice presidential running mate. ♪ >> are you ready to make history? [inaudible] -- i am so honored to be with

you this afternoon. it has been a tremendous experience the last couple of days. before i get into my remarks, my dearllow me to thank sister. i want you to understand something. she talks about human rights and the role that i played. when they write the history of the evolution of the human rights movement in this country, front and center will be my dear sister, believe me. [applause] admit, i told dr. stein that running with me is not going to be as adventurous as running with sherry.

you all know when you run with sherry, you better be ready to go to jail. [applause] avoid jail, myself. running with sherry, it can happen. what year was that? the national convention, one of those illegal gatherings and they told sherry that there would be no marches in new york. of course, they organized a rally anyway and the police surrounded the square. i had a chance to speak, and i saw what was happening. i said i would speak and then i'm getting out. out, more are coming and more in the police

barricades were pushed further and further back. the people are ready to step off and sherry said we are stepping off and i said when the masses are moving like this, you have to be with the masses and i joined that line with them and we locked -- we walked and it was the only successful non-permitted march in new york city. that is my sister. [applause] let me think the organized -- thank the organizers of these last couple of days. as an event planner, i know how difficult it is to organize these events. let me thank the conference of delegates. you have done a tremendous job. you took your responsibilities seriously. let me thank the green party in

--eral, but your consistency for your consistency. forys being a vehicle progressive politics. [applause] least, let me thank my leader, jill stein. [applause] brothers and sisters, friends. , asre at a critical moment jill says, a transformational moment. we have tremendous opportunities before us. longingican people are for a change. they are ready to do something

different, and we have to be the vehicle for that difference. there are difficult conditions that the people face. they tell us that there has been a recovery and things are alright from the crisis. there are millions of people, people who we work with who have not experienced any kind of recovery. whoe are millions of people still don't have a place to lay their head at night. why the a reason fastest-growing population of homeless people are black women with children. whoe are millions of people would like to have a job, so they can live a decent life, but

they do not have it. basicallyve a job, they are making starvation the wages, working two or three different jobs just to make ends meet. they tell us things are better. as ave a situation where consequence of austerity, across they are closing down schools. where live in communities they can't go to the store because there is no store. people who million are living in situations where they are going to bed every night, hungry. we have a situation where even with so-called obamacare, we have millions without health care. these are difficult conditions.

people are wondering why. thiso we have to accept situation? ton the two parties attempt herd people based on fear, we find that there are millions of people who are prepared to do something different. did do -- prepared to go another way. are going to provide that opportunity for a new day and another way. [applause] there are people all over this , whory engaged in struggle believe that we should not have schools closing, who believe that we all have a right to be healthy, who believe that

education should be something that is going to enhance our dignity and our spirits, who believe that people should not be going to bed hungry or walking the streets without a place to live, who believe that women have a right to their bodies and bodily integrity, who believe that trans people have a right to live in to see -- in dignity and equal rights. there are people engaged in struggles all around the world holding social movements and part of that motion, they are looking at how do we relate to the electoral process? how do we look at electoral processes as part of a larger, strategic plan? many people say that in terms of building power, we can look critically at how we advance our efforts through the electoral process.

when we look for that alternative, we have to be there. we have to have the possibility for them to be able to express themselves politically, on the green ballots across this country. that is why it is so important that we get as many oaks as we can, that we run the selection with the intent that we have, which is basically to win. [applause] my brothers and sisters, i have lived my entire life committed to the notion of independent politics, building alternative power, i have understood that we have the real possibilities in advancing that struggle for political independence, using the electoral process. that is where dr. stein and green party come in for me,

personally. you all get it. dr. stein understands that you system without a struggle. you have to organize the people. is thectoral process process of how we build power. for me, that is what is attractive to this process and the basis for me accepting when dr. stein called to say are you ready to join? i said dr. stein, i thought about it and i know where you are coming from, and you can count me in. [applause]

it is that commitment to the possibility of building power. that commitment to the people, that understanding that we have to build a multinational movement in this country, based on the need and the aspirations of working people, that i join this effort. it is that commitment that i stand here proudly and say to all of you, it is my honor to accept the nomination for the vice presidency of the united states from the green party. [applause]

our ticket is one that understands the struggle. it is a ticket committed to popular power. nois a campaign that says lies, we don't live to the people. it is a campaign that says no compromise, no retreat, and no fear. [applause and cheering] sisters, we are not in a position to determine the historical conditions we are born in. but, we can determine how we can respond to those conditions. determined that we are going to fight. i stand here before you to tell

campaign is committed to fighting. we are committed to fight not just for you, but with you. we understand that it is a collective process. we understand that all we have to keep us back is ourselves. i pledge to you my brothers and sisters, that we are going to do all of week -- all we can to events this movement. we will give it everything that we have. [applause] as our dear sister and leader says, it is in fact in our hands. thank you. [applause and cheering]

>> thank you. thank you so much. now, it is indeed my honor, my you,ure, to bring before someone who needs no introduction. someone who has been a freedom fighter all her life. someone i have seen work night and day for all of our's.

someone whose dedication is something to be admired. i have been on this adventure for just a couple of days, and i have even more respect for dr. stein, now. [applause] delays, please my outnds, join me in bringing and showing our love for the next president of the united states, dr. jill stein. ♪

>> we are what democracy looks like. let's go. [cheering and applause] we are what democracy looks like, and we are what political revolution looks like. [cheering] thank you, thanks everyone of you, thank you for that incredible inspiration. thank you to everyone of you for being here and leading the

charge for an america and a world that works for all of us. i want to agree with everything amu said ando -- ad everything that sherry said and i want to reiterate and add to that. lynn who hasou to been running the show. [applause] a big thank you to hillary came green party for making this amazing convention possible. [applause] honored beyond words to be your candidate.

i am so honored to be running for president of the united , thes with the green party only party of, by and or the for the people. we have been ahead of the curve in so many ways, on climate change, green energy, the militarization, marriage equality, free public higher education and canceling student debt, on stopping the , onspacific partnership ending the war on drugs and the , onrceration state providing reparations for slavery and to the indigenous , onle of this nation

opposing war crimes committed by saudi arabia and yemen and war crimes and occupation committed by the israeli government in palestine. and so much more. we have been ahead of the curve for decades, and all of a sudden, that curve is catching up to us. [applause] i want to recognize the heroes who have kept the party going through thick and thin. part of af you are state, local or national green party organization, a big thank you to you.

again, a big thank you, it is such an honor to be running in alliance with the bernie sanders movement that i now here call the burning green. we are burning green together. owe you such-- we a debt of gratitude for lifting up this revolution that has been smoldering for decades. you broke through the media blackout, you lifted us up and you refused to be shut down by the dnc. [cheering] please stand, so we can thank you from the bernie campaign. thank you so much. together, we are unstoppable.

you so much. to be running alongside of a -- of a powerhouse of human rights who brings a lifetime of dedication and his powerful voice. i have to thank cornell west who has been an incredible hero for all of us for so long, who has -- en free [applause] it is such an honor to have him in one of our two first commercials, speaking to the world. people have seen him yet, but he made a powerful speech which is out there. airport,lked to the when i arrived and walked up to

the curbside check-in, and i who werehe brothers manning the curbside check and i gave them my id card, and they say to me are you the jill stein? [cheering] i knew they had heard the voice of cornell west speaking to the broad community that has not been able to hear our message before. tonk you, i am so inspired have religion on this campaign. i also am honored to run along with the inspired state and local candidates who are also running for office in bringing our message of people, planet and peace. stand if you are running for

office so we can thank you and recognize you for carrying this fight into our communities. we are in this together. thank you so much. i just want to recognize that things have been forever changed. on the day that bernie sanders endorsed hillary clinton, the floodgates opened in our campaign. , more ballotrs access drivers, more funding, we are a different campaign than we have ever been in the history for having joined forces with you. honor to be your candidate in this historic moment of unprecedented crisis

and unstoppable momentum for transformational change. only a historic opportunity, we have a historic responsibility to be the agents of that transformational change. said, theluther king arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. i know it is bending through us, right now. we are the actors in something that is much her than us -- much anger than not -- much bigger than us. [applause and cheering] of justice is moving

through us as we mobilize, to ensure that every black live violencend we end policing and broken windows policing as the bristol five and the millions march new york city just achieved by moving out the leadership of their police department that had overseen broken windows policing. they are turning the tide in this crisis of racist policing. that arc of justice is moving through us as we sit in and as -- and cold and export terminals and all manner of poisonous fossil fuels and

nuclear infrastructure. justice is moving through us in philadelphia, like i have never seen, in the city of brotherly love, it was overrun by love in the streets, even inside the dnc as the sanders campaign broke away from that corrupt and backstabbing dnc. [cheering and applause] the bernie or bust movement that is here today, and i want give a wave, wherever you are, for helping us move to that higher place together, where we cannot be stopped.

we moved together in philadelphia, and we emerged our campaigns in rally after rally. growing stronger by the hour. the power of this movement was clear, especially during our power rally at fdr park. who was there? raise your hand if you were there. and it was aly us sea of people as far as my i could see. nature erupted in thunder and lightning to say there is a big change coming. [cheers] and as the heavens opened up and it poured down around us, we sought shelter because we were there inside of this little lightning rod of a tent in the middle of this part. the police said hurry up, go underneath that overpass.

we moved the rally and we continued under the underpass in the lightning and the thunder and the rain because we cannot be stopped. [cheers] here we are in this movement for justice and democracy that is sweeping the planet, from living wage campaigns to our fossil fuel blockade in the fight and mass incarceration, and cancel student death, and restore the rights of immigrants and indigenous people, and lgbtq and women and disability rights. across the globe we are part of a movement that is rising up like we have not seen for generations because we are facing an unprecedented crisis that demands transformational

solutions and a new way forward based on democracy, justice and human rights. that will not come from corporate political parties funded by predatory banks, war profiteers and also feel giants. it will come from us, from we the people. mobilize. broad social movements with an independent political voice, because as frederick douglass said, "our concedes nothing without a demand." it never has, it never will. we will be that demand. [cheers] as adjamau was saying, it is

still in emergency. those good jobs we lost a been replaced by part-time, low-wage, temporary, insecure jobs. a generation of young people is lost in the predatory student loan debt. black lives are on the firing line. immigrants facemask for tatian -- mass deportation. and the climate meltdown threatens civilization as we know it in our lifetime. while the superrich party on richer than ever and the political elite that serve them are making things not better but worse as they inflict austerity upon everyday people while they squander trillions of our

dollars on wall street bailouts, on tax savers for the wealthy and on wars that no -- know no end. we are in revolt. [cheers] news, the good news they don't want you to know is that we actually have the power to turn this around. the minute we stand up with the courage of our convictions. [cheers] because we not only have the vision and the values of the american people that we reflect and we lift up, but because we actually have the numbers to win the day. as you may know, there are 42 million young people and not so young people who are locked into

editorial student loan -- predatory student loan debt. that is a winning plurality of the presidential vote. right there. one placeis only those votes can go, and you are looking at it. campaign.dying it the time we build of the students. we bailed out the crooks on wall economyho crashed the with their waste, fraud and abuse. it's time to bailout some of the key victims of that abuse, a generation of young people. [cheers] we have the power. don't let them tell you for a minute that we don't. millennialk to the who is in debt and let them know

-- let them let each other know because they are the self-mobilizing demographic if there ever was one. [cheers] we also have the power to fix the other things that als. by the way, ending student debt, canceling it is our way forward. this is the gateway issue because who is it that actually leads the way forward on transformational change? whether it's the immigrant rights movement. whether it is the black lives matter or the climate justice movement or the peace movement or the women's or the lgbtq movement. it is always been the younger generation that leads us forward. we need to liberate the younger generation for all of our sakes,

not just for their sake. it is for all of us. them, which byng the way is my first priority when we turn the white house into a greenhouse and make the world a safer place. my first priority is deliberate that generation who can then take us forward on all the other issues we are fighting for for justice. that meets in emergency jobs program that will also solve the emergency of climate change. a green new deal that will create 20 million job. that will create 100% clean, renewable energy by 2030. [cheers] and it will create an immediate ban on all new fossil fuel

infrastructure. the day we take office. we will create health care as a human right thread medicare for all system. public higher education free. it pays for itself. we have news for the bean counters. for every dollar of taxpayer money we put into public higher education we get back seven dollars in returns. this does not cost us, this benefits us. there is no excuse not to have it now. support the disabled members of our community to ensure that they have full support for the treatments they need, the housing, the health care and the jobs to enable them to be fully contribute members of our

society and to respect the dignity. we will revive public education and fully fund it. people comeur young to school ready to learn. that means healthy. that means nourished with healthy food, not in food hazards. -- deserts. and that means free from poverty, the biggest obstacle to education that exist. high-stakesend testing, which is an obstruction to education. particularly for challenged learners. we will put an end for the school to prison pipeline. [cheers] and we will end the closing of schools because they are poor or because they are latino or in

communities of color. we will support those schools, not shut them down. we will find them -- fund them. we will provide them with real tools of education that they deserve. that is small last room sizes. this is not rocket science about how to educate kids. we will provide them with enriched curriculum. that means music and art and recreation and community engagement. [applause] kids what the our advocates and leaders of so-called education reform are doing for their kids. kidsare not sending their to school with high-stakes testing. a couple of other quick mentions because we're almost out of time. we will create a welcoming half the citizenship for our immigrants -- path to

citizenship for our immigrants. citizens leading the way for just, prosperous communities. we are all immigrants on this us. -- bus. if you were not brought here on a slave ship or your land was not stolen. everyone else here is an immigrant. [cheers] -- we will stop the deportation. we will stop the deportation, the detentions, and the nice rates -- night raids which are a national scandal while the republicans have become the party of hate and here mongering. the democrats are the party of deportation, attention and night raids. we all the alternative for a just and welcoming path to citizenship.

and the other thing we will do to fix the immigration crisis is to stop causing it in the first place. [cheers] say -- we say to donald trump, we don't need no freakin'wall. we just need to stop invading other countries. [cheers] a couple other quick ones. we can end the scourge of racist violence and brutality. it's not only in policing, but in our courts and prisons, and in the economy at large. we can start by ensuring that every community has a police review board subcommunities control their beliefs, not

police control the community. and we will ensure that every community has access to an investigator so that all cases of death in the custody of police are investigated. special you that get a thumbs-up from washington and the department of justice. and we call for a true reconciliation commission so we can get to the bottom of this crisis of racism and to provide reparations to acknowledge the enormous debt owed to the african-american community for the unimaginable price that they paid in building this country and sustaining our economy for generations all they were denied dignity and freedom. [chanting] no peace, no justice

no peace, no justice. no peace, no justice. stein: and we will in the result of privacy, the freedom of the press, the free internet. we will end the war on whistleblowers. we will free the political prisoners and that includes leonard peltier, chelsea manning, julian assange, edward andden, jeffrey stalling, edward pinckney. [cheers] create aly we will foreign policy based on international law, human rights, and diplomacy. not on military and economic domination which has been a catastrophic failure. we must abandon that policy.

[chanting] >> no more war, no more war. jill stein: the american people -- the american people deserve to know the truth about these wars. $6ce 9/11 may have cost us trillion when you include the health-care expenses of our wounded veterans. $6 trillion comes down to an average of $75,000 per american household for wars that have not made us safer. they have only increased the terrorist threat. the treated failed states and have created mass refugee migrations that are tearing

apart the middle east and europe. we say no to those wars. a new -- it is unthinkable that they want to do more of this same catastrophic policies. that's why we need to be on the debate stage, so we can tell the truth about this. [cheers] [chanting] have a new kind of offenses for the middle east. it is called a piece offensive -- peace offensive for the middle east and it starts with a weapons embargo. since we are providing the majority of weapons to all

combatants and to all sides. we can shutdown the flow of weapons to the middle east. we can shut down the flow of funding, which is coming largely from our allies who of it partners with us in this, what shall we say, schizophrenic war on terror. with one hand, starting back in afghanistan, where we and the saudi's created this great idea of the global terrorist enterprise that was created in order to help the mujahedin fight against the soviet union. this has come back to bite us in a very takeaway. -- big way. it is time to shut the whole enterprise down because with one hand, with one hand we and our allies are fighting it. but with another hand we and our allies have been funding it, training it and arming it

according to even hillary clinton. her leaked memos from the state department revealed that in hillary clinton's estimation the saudi's are still the major funder of sunni jihad forces around the world. we started this. we can shut it down. that is our answer to isis antiterrorism. -- and to terrorism. [cheers] [chanting] >> jill not hill. hill.ot so --tein:

[laughter] hold onto your hats, folks. we are in a whirlwind right now. a whirlwind that is way bigger than any of us. we have a job to do. we have a role to play that will not he played by anybody but us. we are the ones we have been waiting for when they tell us to get out of the way because we are standing in the way of the lesser evil. the answer to that is that this politics of fear, which we have been told to bow down to, has only delivered everything we were afraid of. toldhose reasons we were to vote for the lesser evil because we didn't want the outsourcing of our jobs, the meltdown of the climate, the massive a lot for wall street,

the expanding prison state, the attack on our civil liberties and not immigrant rights. all those things we didn't want is exactly what we got by allowing ourselves to be silenced and letting a lesser evil speak for us. [cheers] remember, when they try to tell you you are powerless remember what alice walker says. "the biggest way people give up power is not knowing we have it to start with." we have it. we are going to use it in this election. we are saying no to the lesser evil and yes to the greater good. decidinge are not only what kind of a world we will have in this election, we are

-- whether we will have a world or not going into the future. the day of reckoning is coming closer and closer on climate change. we are told there will be a civilization-ending development in the form of massive sea level rise as soon as 2050. anybody planning to be here in 2050? i think a few of us do, myself included. so we cannot wait. we have to act now if we want to stop that sea level rise from happening in 2050. we need to declare a state of emergency right now. and undertake a wartime scale mobilization to create those 20 million jobs and create that 100% clean energy now. we have a crisis in nuclear weapons.

and thanks very much to the democrats, bill clinton, who removed us from the anti-ballistic missile treaty. same for nuclear disarmament. and barack obama who could lead -- created a $1 trillion budget for us to spend on a new generation of nuclear weapons and delivery. on the count of climate, on the and the nuclear weapons same nuclear arms race we are once again headlong plunging into. and on academies and less and expanding wars that are blowing back at us all around the world. we cannot afford to sit this one out. the lesser evil is a losing strategy because people stopped coming out to vote for less er evil politicians throwing them under the bus so the republicans will win anyhow. trump.look at donald

donald trump does not stand alone. donald trump is about the rise of right-wing extremism, not only in this country but in europe. and if bernie sanders himself so often said, the only solution to the likes of donald trump is a truly radical progressive agenda that restores our needs and ends the economic misery that promotes the kinds of demagogues we are seeing in donald trump. we are the ones we have been waiting for. hillary clinton is the problem. she is not the solution to donald trump. we are the solution. we are the ones we have been waiting for. this is our moment. together we do have the power to create an america and a world that works for all of us. the power to create that world is not just in our hopes.

it is not just in our dreams. right here and now, it is in our hands. we will make it happen together. we are unstoppable. thank you so much. on we go. thank you. [cheers] [chanting] [cheers] [applause]

[cheers] >> respectability usa, an advocacy group for the disabled, looks at how candidate seeking public office can reach out to voters with disabilities this election year.

that day long discussion begins at 9:00 a.m. eastern on his -- c-span 2. we will hear about a new campaign aimed at engaging in mobilizing latino voters ahead of election day. that is live at 11:00 a.m. eastern here on the span. -- c-span. i wrote to the what is coverage includes donald trump speaking of the detroit economic club. that is live at new eastern on c-span. the c-span radio app makes it easy to follow the 2016 election where you are. it is free to download for the apple app store or google play. get up-to-the-minute schedule education for c-span radio and c-span television, plus podcast time for the popular public affairs book in history programs. stay up-to-date on all election coverage. the radio app means you always have c-span on the go.

weekend c-span's cities tour bullets for the history and literary life of port huron, michigan. we will talk with author tj gaffney and linda role railroads played. >> the container movement, particularly the connection of shipping containers moving over from places like china and indonesia and elsewhere. railroads are very much a part of that route. when you go to long beach, california, there are large shipping facilities. the railroads are right alongside the container ships. they are the one that helps get it to the next route. >> mike connell, former executive director for the port huron times herald talks about the history of port huron, its importance to michigan's economy, and the current state of the economy on the city. >> in the 1990's, there was a thriving economy. not just state what but locally.

we have done pretty well. that last until the year 2000. in 2000, if you go by household median income, michigan is one of the 15th wealthiest states. by 2008, where one of the 15th poorest states. >> on american history tv we will visit the train depot that thomas edison work that during a boy and stop at the thomas edison depot museum. we will speak to the museum manager. >> we have every creation of his little chemical laboratory and printing equipment where he was the first person that we know of to print a newspaper on a moving train. he had access to the latest news through the telegraph agents at the train offices. he would get that news. hot off the presses >> we will tour the fort -- white house, the first in the state of michigan. watch c-span cities tour to port huron today at 2:00 p.m. eastern

on american history tv on c-span 3. the c-span cities tour, working with our cable affiliates and visiting cities across the country. next, a look at the zika virus and its impact on women's health care. speakers include doctors and reproductive health experts. from the center for american progress, this is one hour. >> good afternoon, everyone. welcome to the center for american progress. my name is winnie stapp oberg, executive vice president of external affairs here. i want to thank each and every one of you for joining us for a timely discussion about the zika virus and women's health. in recent months we have seen zika's transmission escalate in parts of the developing world and here in the united states. according to the centers for disease control and prevention, the mosquito-borne virus has infected over 6000 people in the united states and territories including more than 800 pregnant

, women. the pentagon has reported that at least 33 american servicemembers have contracted zika overseas. just last week, the florida health authorities reported the first likely cases of mosquito transmission in the continental united states. as the cdc director recently declared, zika is now here. these cases are just the beginning and congress can no longer ignore this urgent and dangerous public health crisis. the center for american progress estimates that more than 2 million pregnant women in the united states are potentially at risk of zika virus this summer and fall. for pigment women, the zika virus can cause and lead to a serious condition at birth known as microcephaly, which can have severe lifelong effects on children's physical and mental development.

it can cost anywhere from $1,000,000 to $10,000,000 over a lifespan to care for a child with microcephaly and there is no vaccine for the condition. nor is there one for the zika virus. that is what makes prevention of zika in the first place so critical. unexpected health issues like zika can present tremendous challenges for already disadvantaged communities and sink families deeper into poverty. this is a vicious cycle as many of these committees living -- lit and -- live in conditions that can compound zika transmission including lack of access to shelter or air-conditioning, living or working near standing water, and inadequate health insurance coverage. these families cannot afford to wait any longer for congress to take action on zika. the good news is we can prevent zika transmission.

in zika response efforts we can help ensure access to contraception, family planning, and maternal health care for women at risk. for families of children born with microcephaly, we can ensure access to quality pediatric care and social support services. and we can support research and development for a vaccine an d adequate testing. in order to do all of this, we need congress to abandon political wrangling and allocate adequate emergency funding to combat zika. without harmful restrictions on women's health care. since president obama's request in february of $1.9 billion in emergency zika funding, congress has played political football with the lives of those at risk for zika transmission. in fact, the situation has become so dire that the administration has had to shift money from the fight against

ebola because congress won't approve new funding. once more, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, house appropriations chairman hal rogers, representative tom full and other republican leaders have put partisan politics before the needs of the people they were elected to serve. here we are in august, the day before the olympics in brazil, a place where zika is responsible for over 4600 microcephaly cases alone and we still have no resolution, no dedicated emergency funding. congress has gone on vacation. even after they return, senator mcconnell and republican leaders have promised to make sure capitol hill is as in-action packed as ever. we can't let that happen. the time for denial and delay has long passed and every day without this funding puts more women and families at risk.

make no mistake, we have the tools to fight zika. what we lack is a congress with the political courage to do right by the american people. today you will hear from a distinguished panel of public health experts and advocates who are fighting to ensure that women and families have access to the services they need in the face of zika. their discussion will examine our efforts to combat this crisis and why women's health care must be an integral part of any effective zika response. first we will hear from someone who has been at the front lines of the crisis, dr. jewell mullen. as the principal deputy secretary for health at the department of health and human services, dr. mullen has helped coordinate the administration's response to zika at home and around the globe. we are thrilled to hear her and -- insights this afternoon. please join me in welcoming dr.

jewell mullen. [applause] dr. mullen: good afternoon. i would like to thank mira and the entire cap team for inviting me to be a part of this important event i want to thank mini for the introduction. especially appreciate this convening because we are discussing an ever important topic, ensuring access to maternal and reproductive health care at a critical time, the zika outbreak. a disease characterized by transmission by both mosquitoes and sex that has associated potentially severe birth outcomes.