any doctors like internal medicine, family practices, things like that they even painribe pain medicines on management type situations like they used to. what i feel like is, i understand that the v.a. hasn't their place and they do good -- havestopping -- do their place and they do good work in stopping people from going doctor to doctor. i agree with that. and thee it so hard main thing i want to make is i told my wife a well back -- a back,ack, when -- while when they made us a restrict on this a few years ago, i told my wife what it is going to do is

drive a lot of patients out on the streets to star buying illegal drugs. host: we will pick up on that point. talk about the use of heroin. guest: a lotta people start of prescription painkillers and graduate to heroin. that is well known and well documented and study trend. here when it's cheaper -- heroin is cheaper. you can get it, a bag of heroin .or $10 versus namebrand prescription that could be hundreds of dollars. depending on the type of high, their users who prefer the prescriptions because they know what they are getting versus the street heroin. lo a number of patients have not been able to stay on their regular dosages prescribed by a

doctor and has started taking more and more praying -- pain prescriptions and that turned into a heroin addiction. host: go ahead. caller: good morning. i want to say that this is nothing more than discrimination from the federal government and an attack on people who are disabled and that need these prescriptions. it is like was going to be next? will it be heart patients? will they pull insulin from diabetics? these regulations they have, the only people they have heard is those of us who made their prescriptions and take it legally and go through the right channels. not only go to a doctor but has to go to a specialist and jump through hoops doing pill counts. you have to go once a month.

you do blood tests. you do urine test to get a prescription. the only people that this is going to hurt are those who use the drugs illegally. host: let me ask you this, is there a compromise on the table? pendulum is the definitely on the pain is undertreated and we need to who needpioid patients these drugs. it has swung towards we need to do something to stop the overprescribing. i would say regulators and lawmakers are hoping to find a healthy medium. there are patients who do really well on these drugs and there are patients who are selling them to others and dying of overdoses independent and do not have active lifestyles anymore because of them. host: liz essley whyte reporter for center for public integrity.

to the website to read the reporting she and others did as well as the associated >> next week, "washington journal" will devote the issues to the issues facing the trump administration. we will look at national security and defense issues, including the challenges facing the national security team and a closer look at defense secretary nominee, james mattis. jobecember 27, trade and issues -- examining how congress and the trump administration could trade trade -- could change trade laws. is energy our issue and environmental policy. we will discuss out an and climate issues might be affected by the new incoming trump administration. we will talk about immigration and how president-elect trump

and the congress might change immigration policy. friday, we will look at the future of the affordable care act and how the trump administration and congress will repeal and replace the aca and the key players to watch in the months ahead. "washington journal" at 7 a.m. eastern. ahead -- nextt's comment update on the situation in afghanistan from today's "washington journal." then technological innovation in the banking industry. then the use parliament from the united kingdom. then join us for a look at the career vice president-elect mike pence. then a profile of charles schumer and interviews with several new members of the 115th congress. here's a preview. >> my grandfather immigrated to this country from ireland.

stationuilt a gas business of the small town in southern indiana. politics as ad in democrat, when i heard the voice of the 40th president of the united states, it all change for me. live the dream of becoming a congressman for that small town and now i serve as governor of the great state of indiana. [applause] i served 12 years in congress and i love to say if i only had 12 years left to live, i would want to live it as a member of congress. that was the longest 12 years of my life. [laughter] our challenge say has really just begun. the american public has rejected the policies of george bush and they are waiting to see what we can do and we are going to show them we will never lose sight of

them in terms of making their lives better and creating a better america for the average person and for all americans. >> that was a short preview of some of our prime time programming tonight. tune in at 8:00 eastern to watch the whole event. a live look at the u.s. capitol here. reparations are underway for next month's inaugural. january, the start of the 115th congress. we recently caught up with one of the incoming freshmen members. >> tell us about your experience in washington because you are not new to washington. >> it has been a lot of years. i started with the clinton administration worked for the clinton administration and it has been great to be back. when i've been most excited about is this chance to work with and sit down with democrats

and republicans and it's one of those opportunities where everyone gets to spend time together and there's a lot in common, a lot of issues. representative fifth district from new jersey. what did you do from the clinton administration? >> i was a speechwriter for president clinton. most recently, i worked as chairman for the fcc. i worked at ford motor company and most recently, i was at microsoft where i did corporate strategy. >> what does that background mean for the job you are doing out here? how has that impacted what you will do? asked it gives me a great perspective on public and private perspective. one of the things that's so important talking to things out here is how to actually solve problems? iran on this idea that we need to get our taxes down and cut our necessary regulation and i

think bringing this perspective of being willing to sit at the table and get angst done and worry less about partisanship, you can't come to the table and scream at each other. hopefully it's one of the greatest aspects in greeting -- bringing it to the table. we are greatly frustrated with what is going on. too little in terms of solving problems and people are focused on screaming and -- i'masty versus anxious to work hard from the beginning. i think there's so much opportunity to work together and that is what you are hearing. i am most hardened from what i'm

hearing from democrats and republicans in terms of wanting to make progress because that is what they are sending us here for. >> you defeated scott garrett and did a lot of work on financial issues. do you plan to do the same? >> financial services is critical to our i'm from. what committee i'm on, i know what i am focused on. in new jersey, it's really key to the global financial sector. thriveusinesses need to and we are getting taxes down and cutting regulation is critical. thingsif we do the right and do right by our community, make sure we do everything to

help the economy and bring jobs in and make sure the companies that are there stay there, the world is our oyster, but it's going to take a lot of work and that's what people want. they want us to work together. >> where did you grow up? mosher childlike? jersey,w up in north not far from where i live now. to public school and my dad owned a small business and my mom was a schoolteacher. learned like most people, the value of hard work and the importance of giving back what you can. the private sector leads the way, so it's important to do everything possible to thrive but also standing by people who stand by us. that's why i spend a lot of time standing by folk -- standing by first responders and women's issues and families. i have a four-year-old and seven-year-old who remain the most important thing in the

entire world. the kids come first. what guides me every day is doing right by them and that is probably what drives a lot of people here. end's why we realize at the of the day what is most important is building a future for them. >> what do your kids say? >> we did not find out until about midnight. asleephter had fallen and it took her a few minutes to get them out of the haze. my son had eaten a lot of veryes and we were both excited about it. there was a great chance throughout this process to teach them about democracy and how it all works and no matter who wins, the country moves on and that is what is most important. comexcited for them to down here and see what we do.

this really is about their futures and it's about them being part of it. they were very into it. >> you went on from public , harvard go to oxford law school, how do you think that will help you in washington? >> education is a good grounding and i've met a lot of people here. education is critical and i've supported so many opportunities. i think the chance now is making sure we give people opportunities so we can succeed. i think we bring all of these experience to bear here. values.ffects your -- what i've learned from president clinton, a time we had surpluses and created economic growth and we balanced the

certainnd there are values i think that are important and it's important for the democratic party to make sure we find this middle. on eitherextremes side. my dad always told me that i think that's a good lace, we find a place where we work together to move things forward. >> thank you for spending time with c-span. 3 join us on tuesday, january for live coverage of the opening the new congress and watch the swearing in of the new members of the house and senate and election of the speaker of the house. for all they live coverage from capitol hill beginning at 7 a.m. eastern on c-span and c-span.org or, listen to it on the free c-span radio app.

now, an update on the situation in afghanistan from today's "washington journal." this is just short of half an hour. continues. we are back and will wrap up today's washington journal by getting an update on the fight against isis in afghanistan. joining us from that country to take your questions about this is brigadier general charles cleveland with a deputy chief of staff for communications for the resolute support mission in afghanistan. general cleveland, let's begin on what is the mission in afghanistan? you very greta, and good morning. u.s. forces in afghanistan have two missions -- the first mission is a unilateral u.s. counterterrorism mission specifically focused on al qaeda and islamic state. franchisemost recent of isil.

it is a component located in afghanistan and in pakistan. we do have the authority to conduct unilateral operations with defeating al qaeda as well as ifk. aggressively pursue that omission. last year, we conducted 350 operations against those terrorists, and specifically, we captured or killed over 200 al qaeda members. and we think the degraded the isk industry by 500 and reduce their overall presence in the country. the reason the focus this mission is to protect our homeland protect the homeland of our partners and allies here. the second mission is really, we are members of a larger nato mission refer to -- referred to

as resolute support which is to train, advise and assist afghan security forces like the army and administrative defense. the reason we do that is the want the afghans to not only to be able to defend their own borders, but we want them to be able to address these terrorist threats as well. when we look at both of the missions, we think they're very complementary. in the short term, u.s. forces are applying great pressure on these organizations. in the longer term, we are working with our partners to train up the afghans so that they can conduct these missions themselves. host: general cleveland joining us via skype this morning. general, how many american men and women are on the ground in afghanistan? guest: sure. we are in the middle of a transition. than 9800d not more

americans here, but by the first of january, we will be down to 8400, so we are in the transition right now. by the first of generic, we will be at or below a thousand 500. host: here is a story in the new -- it was written on december 2 and they write the afghan security crisis is stealing more opportunities and al qaeda. there is a concern that the original mission in the country, removing its use as a terror haven is at risk. is that true? guest: friendly, that is overstated. if we look at the total numbers of al qaeda -- there is a component that is core al qaeda, which is the historic al qaeda,

but there must be sent franchise is al qaeda in the indian subcontinent. there are probably around 300 or so and that is a rough estimate. we continue to keep very significant pressure on them. most recently, as announced by the pentagon, we took strikes in one of the northeastern provinces of afghanistan, we leader andal qaeda his two closest associates. we think we are putting significant pressure on al qaeda and we will continue to do that. standpoint, this time master, we believe there were 1500 and 3000 members of isk located in a province on the eastern border of afghanistan. at that point, he thought they had a presence in about 10 to 11 districts. now, a year later since united states did receive the authority

to go ahead and target isk as based on ourns partners, we think we significantly reduced that present. think there are approximately 1000 members of isk in a province in the south. we think they are only in about two to three districts. the combination with the afghan efforts with ours has been very successful. host: general, why does the threat exist in the first place? with united states presence there since 9/11, why are these terrorist groups still attracted to afghanistan? what is going on here? what is the problem? isst: of course, afghanistan --it is one of their historical

locations in a very difficult place to operate in. there is a lot of space that is intentionally ungoverned and the ability to cross waters very quickly countries to all of that. as we look around the globe, there are 98 u.s. designated terrorist organizations in the world. 20 of those are in the afghanistan and pakistan region. that is why we believe this mission of counterterrorism and focusing on these organizations and keeping as much pressure as we can as possible is absolutely critical for our nation to make sure we are defending our homeland. host: let's get to our first call. lee in maryland. go ahead. caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call. i am a high school teacher. many of my students are from afghanistan and iraq.

right now, i have three of my students sitting around with me. and theo thank c-span awesome educational opportunities i get. the question my students have and that i have, how is this war affecting civilians? how is it affecting teenagers? and how was it a fitting education in afghanistan? they are here if you want to ask many questions or anything like that. host: we will have a general respond. guest: thank you so much for the question in my greetings to your students. i was certainly welcome any questions from them. if you take a step back and you go back to pre-9/11, a look at the very few numbers of afghan children who were in school and now you look for to the end of 2016, there is an increase.

overall, as you look at the progress that the afghans have made within their own country in a look at their commitment to education, you can see some startling success new compare and contrast taliban era 2001 with today's government in 2016. destructive for these young children as they are trying to go to school. that continues to be one of the main engagements with the taliban is to remind them that number one, you are not going to win militarily. so all of this violent you are perpetrating is really doing unfortunately affecting these children and affecting these teachers. sadly, we do see that everyday. host: would any of the students, just one, would like to respond to the general's comments? caller: yes. would you like to respond?

we have one student who would like left a question. host: ok. i would like to ask, how many are coming from afghanistan ? -- how many refugees are coming from afghanistan? guest: thank you for the question, because it is very important. the second largest refugee population heading into your are afghans. that is one of the things we work very closely with the government of afghanistan to address, is how do we develop security and prevent the taliban from affecting these people so that people feel secure in their own land? that is not a military mission.

that is not something we focus on, but we do believe it is our effort to help prepare the security services, set the conditions for the eventual economic opportunity. host: republican, democrat, independent. we do have a number for veterans. joining us from panama city. go ahead. can you give us an update on the afghan air force? i serve their last year -- i served there last year. it was costly to maintain the pipeline and the logistics. we heard during the last segment s not the interpreter getting into the u.s. can you explain about that situation?

guest: sure. first of all, thank you for your service and i know you know this region very well. let me take the second question first regarding the special immigrant beezus. to be honest -- the special democratic visas. to be honest with you, i am not really qualified to answer that. there are probably others out there who can get a better sense . but general nicholson who was the commander of resolute ofport is a strong supporter the special immigrant visa program. to your first question on the air force, i can tell you that i think you would be quiet -- quite proud of the direction that the afghan air force has gone over the last year or so plus. the first thing i would highlight to you is this time last year, the afghan air force did not have any attack aircraft that were organic. today, they have eight aircraft.

by the end of 2018, they will have a total of 20. it is a larger program. year,ing in april of this the afghan air force began conducting their first combat operations, and now they are conducting those operations almost daily. they have been a bit of a game change on the battlefield. the second topic i would highlight are the small helicopters that have rockets or machine guns on them. currently have 27 of those and they are using them all over the country. we absolutely do expect that they are going to get more. the point i think you are making is a great one, which is you just cannot have a pilot. and an airplane -- have a pilot and an airplane flying. you have to have people on the ground. unique ability for your commanders to understand how to integrate fires. -- you need the ability for your

commanders to understand how to integrate fires. they are able to train these afghans so they are able to control those fires as these aircraft, to the area. aircraft, intose the area. host: we will go to charles, an independent. caller: thank you for your service. i just have a comment. i spent about 30 years in and out of that area starting in the 1970's as a naval officer and ofed up as a director chrysler corporation. the one thing that i learned from being in that region is no matter what we do over there, it always seems to turn out wrong. reason is i of the

that think we understand we try to input their image on that in the end are ready for it. moneynd a lot of time and . i am not sure that we are doing the right thing over there. is. much of what the value i really would like to know what the value is if you can explain that to me? guest: absolutely and again, and she for your service and this question. we believe the value of being here is preventing these terrorists funding able to strike the united states again. of course, 9/11 was conceived here and it was planned here and al qaeda was sheltered by the taliban. submission number one for us is again, trying to protect our homeland by being able to

aggressively target those who wish to do us harm. you make some great points about cultural -- cultural misunderstanding. i think what is critical right now is that if you look at the government of afghanistan led by the president, and he has his chief executive -- the peace of this is that number one, they want us here and are looking for u.s. and nato assistance. i should point out that the nato mission has 39 nations participating. a significant effort by nato. it is nato's longest-running mission and nato's longest operation. number one, the government wants us here, and number two about your point about trying to put thatmprint on the region,

is the aspect of the traded advisory assist that we work with our afghan partners and collaborate together to help them build security services that also work within their country and that they have the lead for and making decisions about. i hope that helps. host: what are the challenges with the training and advising? times articleyork -- guest: there are a couple of challenges with it. it is important to remember that the afghan security services, both the army and the police, our only about seven years old. natoorces that were then mission prior to our current mission did not start aggressively start the security services until the 2010 timeframe. are stillty services very, very young, and on top of

that, they are in the midst of a difficult fight. they are not only trying to improve from a tactical standpoint, but also from an institutional standpoint while they are also engaging this insurgency that continues. challenge number one is being able to balance those efforts. , and youd challenge reference afghans are withdrawn from their positions -- and what happens at these lower levels is a degree of corruption. it is something we are constantly working with our afghan partners on. ae president has made this number one priority and he has spoken about it publicly. oftentimes, we are trying to work with our afghan partners so that the young soldier at that checkpoint is also receiving the food, ammunition, and the fuel that he should be. host: and what about pay? how much are they getting paid?

actually, the taliban is not able to pay tremendous amounts of money. and so, as you talk to recruits out here, you find that there is a constant recruiting pool where afghan do want to join -- were th do want to join. if you look at the taliban, they are wildly unpopular. most polls will take that over 80% of the population want to -- do not want to see the return of the televangelist government and into their lives -- do not want to see the return of the taliban into their government and into their lives. they recognize the fight continues. it really comes down to us to

train, advise, and assist so that afghans can defend their own land, but also address the terrorist that threaten all of us. host: we will go to maryland, a democrat. question orh your comment, and please turn down your tv. caller: hello. host: yes. the general can hear you. caller: good morning, good morning. [indiscernible] you must remember one thing -- they have put them all over the region and in the whole world. [indiscernible]

figure the whole root of this evil. -- they are the whole root of this evil. they are getting closer to pakistan. they are using the religion to play hide and seek game. how long are they going to fight this war in the hills? host: journal cleveland, go ahead. guest: well thank you. i will try to be a little more specific? nato and the u.s. are not

fighting the taliban. when the resolute support mission must created at the beginning of 2015, the afghan security services and the afghan government to complete responsibility for their own security. our role is to not to do the fighting for them, but to enable them and homebuilder capabilities and build their expertise. 2016 though was a pretty important year we think from a longer-term decision standpoint and it started off at the nato warsaw summit last july when nato decided to continue to see the mission as it isn't to 22017, and also agreed to continue funding the afghan national army until 2020 for another four years. in the fall, there was a large donor conference that occurred in brussels essentially run by the e.u., and donors committed to providing $15 million for the next four years also.

so our view is that this really does provide us a great opportunity to continue to work with our afghan partners to string their capabilities and to continue to get them stronger over this period because the international community does recognize that the afghans have made progress, but they still have a ways to go, and therefore, we need to remain engaged, and we do remain -- and we do need to remain focused on the terrorist threats from the area. .ost: todd from illinois caller, you are on the air. caller: good morning. i was wondering whatever happened to the afghans that went awol on trading. i forgot where they were? host: general, do you know anything about that? guest: todd, i don't have their specific disposition right now, and there are probably others in the beltway who may be able to get you a better answer. but when you look at the number

of afghans would have trained in ,he west, united states, europe frankly even the gulf states, it is a pretty large number, and those who have gone awol is a very small fraction of the afghan elements. that is everything from pilots to maintenance personnel, people going to u.s. army military schools, two people learning how to fly helicopters, etc. it is a pretty large number and it is a very small fraction of gone awol, not only in the u.s., but across the gulf. host: you are on the air with the general. caller: good afternoon, general. i don't know if it is morning or afternoon there. guest: i think it is evening. caller: i received a navy core metal and i noticed on your uniform that the flag is flipped.

back in the 1970's, our flag was not flipped. my son came home and said his arm is the flagpole and we are charging forward. we were trained to stand fast and think fast, don't talk fast. don't always flip forward. i will take your comment on that, sir. guest: thank you first offer your service and i am sure you that experiences i cannot begin to fathom, and thank you for your son's service. i know it is a legacy thing and it is really important. to become fairly honest with you, i am really not well-prepared to discuss this. the son is right and it is intent behind the flag and we are always moving forward, but as you know from your own service and your son's service, our military today continues to be really the most well-trained and most well led military that

perhaps the world has seen. so, we stand on your shoulders from people like you who have already been there and passed on your lessons to us, and we will hopefully do that. host: people try to get adam in from california, democrat. caller: thank you for having us in general, thank you for your service. i am calling in regards, i believe, how can i say? issuesf transparency regarding the military and a lot of people don't understand our role. like in afghanistan and other foreign countries, and how we can, i guess i am a little nervous, i apologize. want to say how can the military help to be more transparent and why we do what we do yo?

guest: sure, it is something we think about. the more we can communicate and have the opportunity to describe what america's military is doing and why the are doing it, we think that will begin to address what you are describing. of course, i cannot speak for every location around the world, and i cannot speak for afghanistan, but first and foremost, it is to protect our homeland and aggressively target these terrorists that have the potential, and certainly the intent to threaten our homeland, and ultimately, that is why we're here. host: general, what are your plans and the rest of the soldiers for the holidays? guest: thank you for asking and happy holidays to everyone as well. our hope is to have a day of reduced activities. there will be a couple of sporting events and we are looking for to a great meal from our dining facility.

think most people are pretty much in the holiday spirit right now and we are looking forward to hopefully a good day to kind of reflect on what they are doing and why we are doing it in the direction we are going. host: happy holidays to you and everyone serving there, and thank you for spending time talking to our viewers this morning and explaining your responsibilities and the steps you are taking in afghanistan. stay and everyone els >> next week, washington journal will devote the entire program to key issues facing the new trump administration and congress. beginning monday, december 26, we will look at national ,ecurity and defense issues including the challenges facing

president trump's national security team and a look at defense secretary nominee james mattis. and job issues examining how congress and the trump administration could change current trade laws in an effort to create or save jobs. on wednesday, our issue topic is energy and environmental policy. we will discuss how energy and climate issues might be impacted. thursday, december 29, we will talk about immigration out of -- and how president-elect trump might change immigration policies. then, a look at the future of the affordable care act and how the congress and trump administration will repeal and replace the aca and the key players to watch in the months ahead. watch washington journal beginning monday, december 26 at 7 a.m. eastern. >> here is what is ahead. next, technological innovation in the banking industry. later, the annual youth

parliament from the united kingdom. tonight, on c-span prime time, join us for a look at the career of vice president-elect mike pence. then, a profile of incoming senate democratic leader, charles schumer. then interviews with several new congress. the 115th here is a preview. >> my grandfather immigrated to this country from ireland. my dad built a gas station business and a small town in southern indiana. as a i started in politics democrat, when i heard the voice of the 40th president of the united states, it all change for me. of becoming aam congressman from that small town and now i serve as governor of the great state of indiana. [applause] i served 12 years in the congress and i love to say if i only had 12 years left to live,

i would want to live it as a member of congress because that was the longest 12 years of my life. [laughter] say, our just challenge has really just begun. rejectedcan public has the policies of george bush and they are waiting to see what we can do and we are going to show them that we will never lose sight of them. in terms of making their lives better and creating a better america for the average person and for all americans. >> that was just a short preview of c-span's prime time programming. see all of tonight's program starting at 8:00 eastern followed by our profile of senator schumer. >> this holiday weekend, here are some of our featured programs.

a lookrday, we will take at farewell speeches and tributes for outgoing members of congress and the white house. starting at 12:30 with senator barbara mikulski of maryland and tributes and speeches for vice president joe biden. at 8:00, christmas at the white house. obamairst lady michelle as she receives the official white house christmas tree. tour the white house and see this years decorations. make christmas crafting projects with military children visiting the white house and the tree lighting ceremony on the national mall. former house from speaker john boehner on the trump presidency and his time in the congress. portraitattend the unveiling of senate minority leader, harry reid. speakers include hillary clinton, vice president joe biden and charles schumer. fromnday, we will hear retiring member of congress,

charles wrangle of new york. 2:10, from the shakespeare theatre on capitol hill, we take you to the romeo and juliet wrongful death mock trial where as presidingserves judge. the look at the career of vice president-elect mike pence and his new role as vice president. and c-span.org and listen on the free c-span radio app. banking how institutions are adapting to the technological innovation affecting their industry and with the changes mean for their customers. d.c. is a several banks gathered to discuss these issues at the annual conference of the clearing house association, a trade group representing the world's largest commercial banks. this is just under one hour. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

we will talk about the state of the industry and will leave a few minutes at the end to questions from the odd against. particularly in that last session, it has been an interesting month, this last month. the markets have certainly found real optimism for your industry. maybe we start with you. do you share the markets optimism? do you have reason to feel skepticism, maybe a little of both? and why?

chinese's the old proverb, may you always live in interesting times and i think the last month has done that. the markets have certainly had a very constructive reaction to the changes in the election, so thati keep looking at is it is perceived as a catalyst and within that catalysts, i think people are looking for something other than the status quo and the belief that there will be higher interest rates, there will be fiscal policy to aid monitoring policy, that we will see growth, we will see tax relief and regulatory relief. when you look at those things, the market is suggesting they think this will be a catalyst for a different trajectory in the overall economy and specifically in our industry with growth and the potential for regulatory relief. ihope they are right, but will also tell you 30 days in

that i don't know based on what set of facts, what policies, , and i don'ttions even think we know that if's and then at this point. if you believe things can be a catalyst at a tipping point and there will be some self-fulfilling prophecy as well as a different town in washington, it looks like we will be in a different landscape, but i think as bankers are conservative folks same path wen the have been on until there is more substantive insights into what some of those changes will be. it has been a fun ride. i don't think anyone has had a hard time watching their stock go up and create a little extra shareholder value, but it is true the animal spirit seems to be up and there is a sense of optimism that things are going to have a different trajectory than low growth, low-interest rates than some of the times we have seen in -- some of the

times we've seen recently. i'm not thinking it up and change your strategies tomorrow. >> i would agree with that. have a the fact we now republican administration and republican congress and pro iswth form, the market responding well to that, but we don't know for sure what the key priorities will be and whether some of those more extreme policies that have been stated during the campaign will actually make it in are not. have a bit good to of a tail wind at this point wech could materialize, but have to continue to stay focused on our strategies and the things that are working in terms of running our banks better, investing in technology and things like that. >> you all talk to your customers all the time. what are your customer saying?

are there particular bright spots or dark spots? today, reflected in the confidence numbers going to nine years high -- nine-year highs. the data forat thanksgiving weekend, i have not seen the final four monday yet, people werep 9% and spending money. more of that is online, but that is a trend that has been going on relentlessly. their customers are spending this year and if they got a reason to think differently, you cite conference number that has not popped in a while, so that's the consumer side of it. the election was a tuesday and wednesday, but it was thursday that i sat with a group of midsize business owners in a relatively midsize town and their enthusiasm was palpable.

i had another meeting with a so thereder group and is an enthusiasm that there will be a new spirit of pro growth, less regulation, and these were all kinds of industries, not financial services companies. corporatenk about customers who may have been reticent to act, or how it would affect what they would invest on, they are saying it ought to get better so let me get more aggressive. if you follow your customers, they are telling you that they are happier. the question is what happens next and what happens over the next couple of years that will determine what they really feel, but they are enthusiastic right now. >> we have all said and we have seen for a long time that there is a lot of what i describe of being congress on the sidelines awaiting to get in the game.

part of the clarity of the election is clearing some uncertainty, even though we have no idea what it cleared. think we feel that on the surveys we do on the commercial ise reflect that, that there still confidence in their companies, whether they are confident in their company, they want to continue to invest in their companies. on the consumer side, i agree with what ryan said, but there is a lot of contradiction. we got here.r how 70% of americans are feeling some kind of financial stress. while the consumer seems healthy and we see better spending, i think the fact the election and that where it is because so many americans are feeling financial

stress. there are some contradictions and balances and we want to be careful to remember to invest on one side and report to invest on the other side as well to attack those challenges that still exist in the country. they did not change overnight either. they existed and will continue to exist. you made the point that we can celebrate that it has been 30% or that there is a rise in industry values in the last youral months, but for institutions to stick with your strategies, are there things stepping back from your individual institutions that the industry should do to deliver on the optimism the marketplace is feeling for you all right now? i would suggest that i think we have all had a strategy that we have will this nimble enough to flex to the time and the muscle memory we have is to flex

we haveautious side as watched some of the uncertainty and slow growth we have seen in the last couple of years. but the way i look at it as we have all built strategies to last to benefit from growth and have been waiting for growth and focused on client needs, building relationships, fulfilling the mandates that we have in the economy, investing in technology and being more client-centric. banks those things, most are well-positioned and we need to continue to have the mantle of public trust and if there is a regulatory debate, making sure we all show up and be ready to make sure we do the right thing by our community. >> making sure we really build

the trust with our customers in light of the whole situation we have, we have worked well since the great recession to regain the esteem of society and we need to constantly keep a vigil on that. are working hard every day for good client experience and adviceunbiased, valuable to keep upping our game. >> there has never been a more important time than right now. when you make these parallels on time and they don't get it, the old american airlines add where he pulls up the tickets and says get up and go talk to your clients, that's the environment we are at.

what does it mean for hedging strategy or multiples and m&a? where should you be investing? >> building on the customer asnt, it seems equally clear we are in interesting times that customers are getting more and more demanding. and are attuned to cuts availability, rapid responsiveness. continuing on the customer theme, what are your priorities as the leader of an institution and for your institution as a what you deliver to your customers? >> everything is turned from the client back.

it always emanates from the community to the shareholder back. trying to respond to that. we spend a lot of time and energy trying to understand what clients want and what they want is everything. ubiquity in terms of access, they want a seamless experience across all access points and i'm a fundamental believer that the digital and ethical platforms work together. they don't replace each other. they are synonymous. demographic assumptions we make our always wrong. i think they are always wrong and millennials don't go into branches.

the biggest change our retirement communities in florida. is anlients want institution they can trust. they want ubiquity in terms of access. they want things to work and everything we are doing and investing is along those themes. think the study of statistical analysis has all been turned on its head. around the world, whether it has thought it night, was one way and i will cup in the morning and thought was another way. week, whathis past could happen in italy. the unpredictability of people's

behavior. they are not really behaving. i mean they will do things but not necessarily mean it. makes running a biggest addition interesting because you have to pay attention to what they are doing and how they will do it and i with they say they will do. i'm other's birthday party, a woman comes up and says, i have always wanted to meet you. i thought it was the seat -- because i am the ceo of bank of america. she had a point of view of the customer. viewaid i have a point of about the branch. the usual, you will have to answer a question, but i love your mobile banking. no demographic.

all the research is challenged now because of all these different things. can see the older people are going a certain direction, and i think that will make it fascinating and figure at what they can do in a direct dialogue with the customer they can actually have. always connected to us. that is a fascinating step forward for the industry that will be while in the next 10 or 15 years as to what we faced. >> where do you think the industry is innovating enough to us -- to respond to what you described and where do you think the pace of innovation has fallen short? >> let's go to why we are here. in our company, about 10% of the costs are to move coin checks throughout the system. just thinking about that.

massive amounts of electronic occasion going on. a paper check and a dollar bill and coins. there is so much you could do on that if we take the view that the reason you want faster or payments, the reason you want that is to take out the cost. people have their money and they want to make payments. saying you should not charge me for doing this. the dialogue we have here is critical. customers tell us they want payments, without having any ability to do it. they want to know if they have the money to spend. for the clearinghouse, it is a fascinating read division of the franchise. beens the board have

trying to support them and say, figure out where this is going and drive us because at the end customer controller strive us, that is going to be fun. will build on something bryant said because the notion , andwill be interesting address in 10 or 15 years, the pace of change and innovation is accelerating. part of what is exciting is tanks historically, their business model, the 10% would have an a lot more just 10 years ago and the pace of innovation and change is ticking up and within the payment sector, watching trends within consumerism and what it looks we have got to up our game and be more nimble. to other forms of delivery and other industries,

to make sure while we have a core purpose in security and safety and privacy of packageion, how we also and deliver and meet needs against a changing and evolving set of expectations, i think that will cause us all to do things more nimbly and it will be an exciting time to be in the industry. >> i will agree we can learn a lot for mother industries are fasters who digitized and better, the consumer when they are shopping on amazon, they go to a bank website and -- expect a similar performance. most banks are not there yet. we have to continue to up our game and make those investments to have a seamless experience when they go from one website of people who get it to a bank website. >> where are you changing to innovate faster?

>> we are doing a lot of work on customer -- there is the affluent customer, so how can we have good value for the broad category of customer, recognizing it is hard to pigeonhole individual folks. if you will differentiate through lifeple go cycles in different phases of their life. they take on debt when they go to college and then they pay the debt down and minimize the cost. money.ey start saving as people go through life. comments, in both think the industry is getting this right where we are collaborating where it is

important. armed -- onborating the things that are competitively important to the industry but do not have a competitive advantage. it has really provided us to make appropriate forms to do than weh more speed have in the past. we have been a little busy, as you know. then spend the time investing in things that differentiate us, geography and segmentation. that is the right place for the industry to be. it has probably taken a while to get the balance. we are probably getting close to the right place. if you think about what all buts have said, innovative, careful that we do not innovate past the point of trust.

hand, the thing we uniquely have to play a different role than other providers are -- out there at the role that large. that is where there is a benefit to thinking through it and -- withforms with it people because what is the way we all learn about security, real-time payment potential. we both a system that fits that. we have not done that much with the industry in a while. it is good for us. from the customer demand that also you need trust and safety and cyber security and other types of protections. if we lose trust, we do not have cost structure out there to redeploy beyond -- it is just not out there. andould take 1000 plus more everybody else's case to you cannot fathom not using the tools.

you have got to be secure. i think all of us need to make sure we are clear. in our case, banks will not be in the competitive world where we are not important about trust, communities, clients giving advice and writ -- and building relationships. how do you think about innovation and technology and what is out there to enhance what you are doing? they are not likely to be on point. be real clear about where we can compete and differentiate ourselves. and how we innovate and collaborate around that. different from the banks these

days. let's follow the faster payments trail for a minute. what are the most important the globalsee from move toward faster payments and implementing it in the united dates? -- united states? >> we had to come and talk about the experience in the different parts of the world, whether it was the u.k. were australia and other places. we have looked at all of that. they are different. america is so different. the social mores are different. the fact that you probably cannot take the checkbook out of the hand like you can in other countries is different. consumers, asthat awareness has been raised about

the payment process in a way that we need to make it simple again, the way i think about it is if that we had the bills in the pocket and pay for a service, we have got to make it so simple that we do not think about the payment side. literally, we are good at that. there. to go you have had payment forms that .ave had multi-day delays i ordered today and the product ships tonight. you adjudicate it? we have a great system, the visa mastercard, but it is a tacked on expense. debates and other types of debates.

clarity payment, accountability payment on both sides, and taking the customer out of the i justf how to repay, want the car, i want to clothing, i want the deal, and i want to pay for it and not think a lot about it. -- when they pay for it, they know what they are getting. it,e guys all set through but we learned faster is better. question was the quality of payment and accountability. >> it is a little easier to get an agreement moving. it is important here in this country that we have a nucleus of clearing house that take the initiative and take the lead and ande on certain protocols go out and get people to sign-up, it is a little harder

given the fragmentation. it can be done and we have to stay focused. >> it is critical. we have to do it today. it may take us 10 years. not the tendency of our industry, to get the payback in one year. they are probably not the smartest rules. across roadhink bridges. if you sat there and thought itut the atm and how long took at the atm, and how fast a mobile phone moves, for us, it took us 30 years to get 50% that could have gone through the atm. it is easier for the customer, but still only 20%. 80%, a long way to go.

it will take us five or 16 more years. this may take of 10 or 15 years to get a transformation where the real hard benefits come through. jen would come and present the case, and you say, i know you will try to convince me this is a great economic choice, but the reality is we have to do it and by spreading the cost, we make it easier. toce as you are trying , described the future to customers in a way that gets them excited, what do you use to crystallize the value you create? front,n the customer there is a poll not a push. is it ispparent incumbent on us to build the

right road and have the discipline, that this is a fragmented industry and it will take leadership in groups like the clearinghouse and all of us staying clear about having a vision for how to get there. the preference in the customers ahead of us in that regard, we need to build infrastructure that fits how we can deliver it and what they expect. the customer side is a matter of .eeping up i think it is more a matter have how we as an industry make sure we have a strong view and bring ourselves along. >> challenging her organization, talking about innovation and what is happening outside of the

banking industry with others, when you talk about nonbank competitors, they come in all different kinds. nonbank lenders, and others. many different ways, as competitors. testbeds for new technologies that i can observe without having to invest in. as potential acquisitions and assets to bring to my organization. how do you think about constellation of nonbank competitors as it relates to businesses? i think there is great opportunity to partner with syntax. they are coming around to the , we wouldinitially eat the bank's lunch because they are slow and do not do a good job of taking care of customers. as they have gone along, they

have understood that banks have a lot to offer and a lot of inherent advantages with customers and deposits, with brands, technology. some of the great work being done innovating technology around customer experience and for settlement are all things that if we could leverage that and improve customer experience and shortened fulfillment and origination cycles, we should be willing to embrace that. to the earlier point, that is part of the core mission, to make sure we are taking care of customers. we have a couple of partnerships already where we said publicly we would already have another two that we announced before the end of the year. i'm excited. that is an opportunity gets a good product out there to better serve your customers.

>> the guys, their partners, competitors, and clients, there are three elements. of three and i will be focused on all three at the same time. just knowing all three banks, there is a lot of collaboration. we have a number of partnerships. an online consumer i think it isss, all around understanding the companies were built from the client backwards. there is a lot to learn. not only in the core capabilities, but the philosophy and partnering and experimenting makes us better at doing that. which we livein

in a concentric circle and watch each other closely and collaborate and work together and figure it out. , and they arebank not our partners. >> we learn about this stuff. we look at the 24 months ago, online lenders and mobile they are going to take out all that this is that it was all going to be over. not different in the last set. they're are willing to take risks on artificial things like that. to learn why they are appealing to groups of customers and figure out that business model.

the analyze straight, 21%, we had the best data science, so think about that. back. to pull we had so much human interface, you're driving your customers crazy. studying business models out i think it was important to learn what you're not doing right. they would not have a customer niche to go after if we as an industry do it perfectly. we learn from them all the time and forgot how to apply a risk scale. think the second tank's innovation.

when you bring it to scale, that is the art form. to bring it to scale, when you're willing to turn the switch, like we do every weekend , it takes a little innovation to figure out how to turn that every weekend. when you start thinking about the scale and innovation, that is where it gets in this -- interesting. the benefits can be through the roof by the way. one thing our industry has a responsibility for is figuring out these concepts at levels that have not been thought of. beth: i would echo the notion of learning to collaborate and partner. it is a different skill set when you are doing with this world. you have to resist the shiny object notion and more, how are in somely embedding it

service and what does that collaboration look like and you almost have to rewrite some of the rules. liability for whatever that is. the risks occurring through the partnership will be ours. in how we go deeper were going to invest in what the border relations look like and what you know about the management and if you will reduce them, you have got to be thoughtful. you also have to learn to be nimble. it is an interesting journey for all of us. have chosen to go fewer and try to make sure we learn and make sure it is on point and on strategy. >> those of you who run companies, the other thing you cannot do, i believe, is absolve

your management team of having to figure this all out and drive it. lendingked about online , you can partner with people ,nd build some challenge groups but you cannot absolve your basic team of understanding this and figuring it out. a list of my former company, i always thought the best thing i did was not doing a lot of stuff against the core strategy enhancement online back in those days. us to move fast. getting managers to understand it is their duty, so even though you partnered with and entered into a strategic development agreement, or whatever, you cannot absolve that core person running the business. they have to understand how everyone of these trends are affected and figure out how to deal with it.

if we as managers do not force them to do that, we potentially have not enough of the right people running the countries. >> how do you get folks to strike the right alan's being enough outside of their day to day work that they understand what is going on and where the innovations are without being distracted by the next shiny object? is we are nott outsourcing innovation to partners. we need to make sure we understand how consumers are changing their behaviors. it is our responsibility as managers running the units, to think about ways to do things better. developing a mindset of continuous improvement, how can we serve the customer better and deliver better outcomes, that is part of the responsibility. the things wee of have done, for example, the

iscation refinance market pretty much old technology. a debt consolidation product applied to student debt, which has complications, banquets -- bankruptcy roles, but basically, there was a real need for borrowers who had taken out loans to go to college. a lot of times, the parents want a guarantee. they get out of school and they have a good job and the credit rating is strong, and they are paying a high cost to carry on that debt. what is better than offering a product that allows them to consolidate the loan against the new credit score, and the average loan we consolidate is about $55,000 and the average savings per month is about $150. a field did not sit in and spoke a pipe and think these big thoughts. they said i have got customers who are a burden, how can i help solve the issue, how can i make

their lives better? you set the tone, it is just part of your job and part of the responsibility of being a senior leader of financials institutions. team, if my management have got them by the bell to remind them i have got a job here. the other is to remind them we have a job out there. it is just individuals, making sure you strike the right balance. the key is setting the tone that it absolutely has to be a part of your job. that is the responsibility of being a senior leader of a financial institution. beth: what is exciting right now is i think with the explosion of shadow banking, we are a beneficiary. we are attracting talent into our organizations that hereto for would not have thought of going to work for a financial institution or a bank. a paradigm shift as we become appropriately attractive to

bring some of the talent into our own organization. chris: as you think of at the role -- the role of technology more broadly, are your priorities more on the customer side, driving customer satisfaction, generating new revenue or change in the way you operate internally to drive your cost down? >> yes. >> both. yes. >> what a lousy question. [laughter] >> what is the next question? everybody, when you talk of other types of things we're talking about, right away goes to mobile banking and mobile application. it is just easy to get people to understand, whether it is your board or external constituencies. there is a tremendous change in the ability to manage a company with the data flows we have. you go back 30 years ago when interstate banking became a rule and you found out all the

commercial real estate loans are in the book because there was not any data or information. a few of us can empathize with that i'm sure. was not there. >> thanks for bringing that up. because ofcan say the process, because of information, when the question yout oil prices came up, know, you are still modeling against but you can understand borrowers of related oil and gas companies and what would happen and what might to legacy rise and the stresses of different oil prices to the individual consumer on the card and then the corporate side. that was pretty interesting. that data information and the ability to analyze and the ability to bring it to the four, as opposed to a mountain that would take you weeks to achieve -- retrieve, it is unbelievable.

so that is one example but that is tedious spirit we talking public domain versus banking and 21 million customers and what they do every day but it is just as important to the industry. even payments, the institutional side of stuff, think of how much paper we're still taking out every day. all of those payments go to all of those companies and give the information. .t is amazing the application of the technology process to artificial intelligence gathering data, it has got a long way to go. i do not know how efficient we can be as an industry. i have not had a chance to do this repeatedly and now we do. thatly we are big enough we can have a scale and qualified. it is different from our predecessors, dealing with, whether you will be able to survive. >> the other thing is many of

times, these things go hand-in-hand. you can be more efficient and look for more of a customer experience. if you look at process robotics, you look at areas and i think it took about 45 minutes to get all corporatea to open a cash management account. we can do it in form with an error rate of zero. customer can get set up faster. now it takes 10% of the time it did before to open an account and you are more efficient. can you get a better customer experience, lower cost, and bigger control. >> let's follow up on something set a minute ago related to that

. it feels like a different kind of person than a traditional bank employee to deliver on that. have your strategies change or how are they changing to make sure you have got folks who can drive the innovation? you need to do a skills assessment and a gap assessment as to what are the needs of the future and how can we train up some of our people to get strong in those areas and where we have gaps, how to weep bring people to other industries? that i alsod echo think who you choose to partner with not just on the product side but on a middle and back office, and what is out there, there are thought leaders who can really help you build a road map. they have some capabilities and you can go three their teams. i do not think you advocate it

but ite responsibility is an accelerator. that is another example of how to choose who you do business with and who you partner with, it can be an accelerator to that. you can grow and build on your own. you do both on the same -- at the same time. >> the skill sets are changing dramatically in the business. the types of people we hire now and partnerships we have at different placements and different universities, we have the business school and we know about all of that here at where are the data scientists coming from, engineers, how do we create those partnerships and those types of alliances. you know the changing demographics and diversity of our teammate population is really exciting, to see what is happening. beth's point, we went from

industries people probably did not want to work for, and that is changing hopefully quickly. chris: what is making that change? william: the work is more interesting and the skill set is so much broader. the talent we need is so much broader. it creates more places to have entries -- entry points to come and work with our country. we are purposed riven and people want to work for purpose driven companies. that.k a lot about it is a big part of our value. it is important in every forum and everywhere we are to talk about the role we play. playlk about the role we on the communities we serve and the role we play in the economy, there has never been a more important time for the financial service industry than right now. we're sitting maybe not on a launching pad for we are on something.

if it is going to work effectively, these financial service industries will have to be accelerant or whatever to make it happen. that is an exciting thing to versus all the host of run-up earlier that we do not think about anymore. >> you think that the we were always the recognition of the development practice, it is probably the biggest change you see. part of that is driven by cyber security that we had to be the best and highest this -- sophisticated people. mobile technology liftoff took place in the last 10 or 15 years. also just on how we developed and drove on them for structure.

it has become more interesting because of the ways we are wrestling down problems. companies, of bigger with most companies, it is less a dependence on third parties, though they are looking to tap the knowledge base, but in some ways, more talent is coming into the system for a lack of a better term, is that of selling it on the other side. a lot of is coming into the system. we need it repeatedly enough. chris: i will close and then we will open it up to the audience with a last question. you think about a three-year horizon not tomorrow but not 10 years from now. what are one or two things you think are the best opportunities for the industry, and when you wake up in the morning staring at the ceiling, what were he woke you up?

about the industry. we will leave the other ones. [laughter] think it is the same worry and the same opportunity, the same worry. businesses that are gdp dependent. the next three years will be great for the business if the economy is good. toare well-positioned capitalize on it. we go in with a lot of capital. a lot of strengths from all of the things we talked about. if the economy is good, i think we can have a great fun three-year run. the last, look up at 3:00 a.m., donald trump was president and that was weird. [laughter] i have the same worries. my worries are not generally mica related to the company because i know what we are doing and they are -- in the right

place. there are more macro issues. the same sort as the same sharp end on the other side of it. off, it is at take more challenging environment. that is the answer to the question. bruce: we need to stay on the front foot of staying on the investment technology and leveraging the brand. a lot of company edition is out there and we can succeed and be successful. if we fall behind and do not leverage technology, then we can fall off and people would like to eat their lunch. keep that focus on the customer. beth: it is the risk and

opportunity of the same concept. highbeamn to leadership. we need a sense of where is our going. need to be building skills and value propositions and capability, leveraging our core strength and the flipside is what in the environment and what in the road that you missed cause you to derail or go off. speed is aision, the riskier time to be managing the things that have been in the past. that is exciting and the leadership imperative for the industry right now. >> the number one risk for the industry is to lose the trust of dimension.ng any we lose it in pieces, you see

how much more difficult it is to make progress, that is one side. day, oure end of the core mission as a financial services is a titian is to transmit the economy, between our business customers and back-and-forth. we do not make it happen. groups of what our clients need to happen. them find a way home. different places to think about ever lose two things, we are susceptible to what that is whenn do, we have the ability to lose trust to get to your purpose or whatever words we might use. do it the right way as

responsibly in good times so in bad times, we are in better shape. but also we don't lose shape. chris: can we take a couple of questions from the audience? request is that you wait for the microphone. beth: a brave soul over there. >> he provided interesting .nsights to a extent is data and using it in many ways to form part of your strategy?

>> we are all referring to that. that is an example of the consolidation product, and exercise to figure out the risk and everything. we have a massive amount of information and transaction information. understand and anticipate all the things, it is critical. because we have that, we have to be careful. it is one of the biggest tensions we have, meaning other people are smaller. it is not really good and we end up paying a lot of money to fix it. likee other hand, it looks we made a mistake.

it looks like all you can do is your basic job. alsog the data is critical. we spent a lot of money on data and getting the information straight. that we do not understand the data and big did at all the words used around the analysis, it is what enables all of the stuff we talked about. >> the disruption model is all about the disruptor having a cost advantage. you guys represent collectively different evolutions of consolidation and the consolidation in the industry. have the bestes cost structure? >> with every -- whichever one you represent.

>> i do not think cost is a definer of what differentiates or makes one better than the other. but we have learned in the past couple of years is everybody has a role they play with the tools leveraging all of the business models. businesses that are important to the economy, i see it as a continuum and not one or the other. >> i think that is a great answer. chris: one more question. thank you very much. [applause] >> tonight on c-span's prime

time, join us at 8:00 p.m. eastern for a look at the career of vice president mike pence. then a profile of democratic leader charles schumer. at 10:20 p.m. eastern, interviews with several new members and the 115th congress. here on c-span. the holiday week and on c-span, here are some featured programs. on saturday, we will take a look at tributes for outgoing members of congress for the white house. starting with senator barbara mikulski of maryland. for viceand speeches president joe biden. at 8:00 p.m., christmas at the white house. join first lady michelle obama as she with -- she receives -- the white house christmas tree. make christmas crafting projects with children of military families visiting the white house and finally, the tree lighting ceremony on the national mall.

former house speaker john boehner on the trump presidency and his time in congress. at 9:40 p.m., attend the portrait unveiling of senate minority leader harry reid, democrat of nevada. speakers include hillary clinton, vice president joe biden, and charles schumer. sunday, we will hear from retiring member of congress representative charles of new york. theater on capitol hill, we take you from romeo and juliet wrongful death mock trial. a look at the career of vice president-elect mike pence in his new role as vice president. watch on c-span and c-span.org and listen on the free c-span radio app. >> military force is one of the , they american public

really believe they have a trump card, a great military that can defeat anyone. but it is not true. militaryery powerful that can only win in certain situations. it can only really destroy things. cannot build a new order in its place. professorrnalist and talks about his career in his latest book, trapped in a forever war. respond not want to's in such a way that would produce more of these militant organizations. overreact ando occupy muslim countries so they can build recruitment. they want us to torture people. they want us to do things that will allow them to make their case against us. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern

on c-span's q&a. >> more than 300 members of the u.k.'s youth parliament ages 11 to 18 gathered recently in the british house of commons for the annual debate. the students debated five topics considered for the campaign. this portion runs just over an hour. >> we now move to the third motion of the day, consideration by the youth parliament and of course, members of the youth parliament, the last morning session. make public transport, cheaper, better, and accessible for all. move --on is printed to please welcome from the liameast of england, liam

cartwright: i wish to speak in favour of the motion we need to improve the pricing structure, cleanliness, frequency, reliability, accessibility, and treatment of young people on public transport, including those in rural areas. i am not sure how to follow darragh's speech, but i will give it a go. across the uk, we have the luxury of a diverse network of public transport systems, from rail, bus and ferry. on the surface, it is superb. we can all travel independently and hassle free. only when we look at the issues raised by our constituents does the can of worms. truly start to open. since 2012, when public transport first came on the agenda of the uk youth parliament, we have seen no change. four years and no change, and the issues are exactly the same. we are calling for cheaper, we are calling for cheaper, better and more accessible transport. we are calling for it now. the first change we wish to see implemented is a uk standardised fare system for bus and rail. what will that look like? the age at which people are obliged to purchase an adult ticket would be raised to 18.

after all, in the eyes of the law, we turn adult at that age. why at the tender ages of 14, 15 and 16 are we paying adult fares? that injustice must be ironed out. it is not right that transport companies capitalise on our need to use their services to attend compulsory education. in my constituency in newcastle upon tyne, a young person over the age of 16 could pay up to £7 a day for a ticket. the situation is similar across the whole country, but those in london travel completely for free. why? there is no reason why fares should differ because of geographical location. that must be changed to a system of standardised fares for everyone. finally, we wish to see clean, frequent and reliable bus and rail systems. in rural areas, the waiting time for a bus can be in excess of an hour, which can be the difference between being a whole lesson late for school and being on time. bus companies need to produce a more frequent bus service in line with our needs. the issue of public transport returns time and again, and has been debated in this chamber over and over.

the time has come when we listen to the needs of our constituents, and to rectify ever worsening transport problems to rectify. how do we do that? we will lobby local government and mps to support us.we will make local service providers listen to our concerns until they understand that the problems of public transport can no longer be swept under the carpet. we will shape a transport system for young people, we will provide fares that reflect our age, and we will have frequent bus services. not only that, but services will be accessible to all. let us be the generation of myps to make a real change within transport. mr. speaker: liam, thank you very much indeed for kicking off this third and final debate of the morning. to oppose the motion, please welcome enthusiastically, from the north west of england,

caitlin cavanagh. caitlin cavanagh: there are massive inequalities between those deemed 15 year old adults and those deemed 18 year old children, and between those who can miss a bus and still be on time, and those who will have to wait so long for another that they miss half their day. so how can anyone stand up here and say, "no, we should not work for better transport"? the young people of my city, liverpool, worked for better transport by campaigning for our youth ticket the my ticket, which enables me, as an under 19, to travel across six local authorities for £2 a day. lightbulbs should be flashing, because that shows that better transport is achievable, we did

it, but it took us over five years. we are in times of austerity, when budgets are being cut like paper to save money, so how will the government fund cheaper transport and concessions? some people argue that it should be from the £1.1 billion spent on bus passes for the elderly something that i know my nan would not be too pleased about, and she can vote. if we had over a year, perhaps we could apply enough pressure to the government to make them find the money to support this, but 12 months just will not cut it. i know that i amso lucky to have affordable transport, but you, too, can work within your local authority and focus on transport issues, if you need to. some people may argue against this because they believe that young people cannot achieve

those things. that is not the case, but success cannot be rushed. problems with the campaign must also be considered. what is "better" transport nationally? "better" in cornwall may be reducing unaffordable prices, while in london, a problem may be too many of us northerners standing on the wrong side of the tube escalators. and ask yourselves whether better transport in some places would be better for our planet. in many urban areas, why work for better transport if it is already good? why work for better transport when we can campaign for 16 and 17 year olds to vote on it in general elections instead? for us to be truly united as an organisation, we must tackle issues that affect all local authorities, not an issue that

is a postcode lottery, so i will stand up here and say, "no, working for better transport is not something that we as the uk youth parliament should do," as this is a topic that youmust tackle in your local area instead. thank you. [applause] mr. speaker: caitlin, thank you very much indeed. who do we have as a would be contributor from the south west of england? yes, the woman waving at me. indeed, your good self. no, the woman who just sat down. chelsea white: hi, i am from somerset. in order to go to college every day, i have to pay £650 for a bus pass every year, that is the most expensive bus pass in the country. i am from bridgwater, which consists of the most deprived wards in somerset. the fact that families face this financial pressure simply to

send their kid to an educational institution, as is compulsory, is absolutely disgusting. even for low income families, like mine, it is still £300 a year. with regard to costs, how is it that we are categorised as adults when it comes to transport, and made to pay these ridiculous fares, when in every other aspect of our lives we are treated as children? we need a national student fare introduced in order to provide equality within public transport. [applause] mr. speaker: thank you very much indeed. it is now timely for me to welcome sir peter bottomley, who has just entered the chamber. he is the conservative member of parliament for worthing west and has been in this place since the mid-1970's, so he has a long track record of service to the house of commons and he is a long time believer in the rights and opportunities of young people. peter, thank you very much for joining us today.

do we have a would be contributor from wales? we do. please, let's hear from you. say who you are. samantha locke: i am from torfaen. i really do not think that i need to tell you people that transport needs to be cheaper and more accessible for us. in wales, most of our buses do not have ramps. therefore, disabled people cannot even use the buses. to me, that is ridiculous. most taxi drivers are not criminal records bureau checked, meaning that we do not know whether they are safe. do you really want a young person to get in a taxi with a woman or a man who might not be safe? personally, i would not want my son or daughter to do that. finally, us 16 year olds are forced to pay for an adult ticket on a bus to get to work, yet we work for a child's wage. it is our job, as myps, to attend education, but because we are forced to go to places of

education, we are made to pay to get to that education. isn't that wrong? it is our job as myps to distinguish between what young people want and what young people need. cheaper, better transport is something that young people need. thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker: thank you very much indeed. does anybody from scotland want to take part in this debate? the young gentleman here, please. taylor mair: i represent mid scotland and fife. a lot of you will know of stagecoach. its headquarters are in my home town, perth, in the heart of scotland. about six months ago, the company introduced a system where a dayrider ticket cost £1.90 to travel around the city. that lasted for as little as three weeks, but sir brian souter, whose company earns hundreds of millions of pounds a year, did not want to subsidise it.

scotrail is now being operated by abellio and network rail. if there were reduced train fares and all young people had the opportunity to take advantage of them, they, like my colleague from the south west, would not have to pay £650 a year. it is absurd that the government will not provide funding for young people to travel around. it stops young people having the opportunity to expand their viewpoints and maybe get involved with politics. so please support the motion. support votes at 16, but if people cannot use transport, they cannot get to the polling stations to vote. [applause] mr. speaker: who from london wants to take part? jonelle awomoyi: i represent the london borough of croydon. two days ago a tram derailed, taking the lives of seven innocent people. the first victim to be identified was a young teenager, just one year older than me. hearing about that instantly struck a chord.

the tram is a method of transport that i take regularly, and that lots of my friends and family regularly use. trams should be fitted with safety protection systems to apply brakes automatically if they are going too fast. lives are too precious to be lost in such a way. [applause] mr. speaker: what about yorkshire and humberside? back,s someone in the somewhere at the end. the red tie. benjamin waudby (yorkshire and humber) i would like to respond to my friend from liverpool with the point made by my friend from the south west. i congratulate my friend from liverpool and the people of liverpool on the my ticket campaign. [applause]

>> however, that experience is completely different from that of my friend in the south west. paying £650 to go to college, which is essential for your future, is an absolute disgrace, but can we really do anything nationally? personally my bus fare for , college is £190 a year, which is a significant difference, but this is a devolved issue. as we mentioned with the nhs earlier, every local area is different. nationally, with transport, it is not viable, feasible or achievable to do anything. instead, should we not have casual youth debates about a curriculum for life, politics, votes at 16 or anything else? i plead with you not to support this motion, but to support a curriculum for life. [applause] mr. speaker: is there a would be contributor from northern ireland? ben sharkey (northern ireland) i am from lagan valley. i support this