may not be as bad as we think it is. i'm going to stop here because i don't want us to get off schedule and to you how much i appreciate you coming. we are going to learn a lot and i hope the humidity won't do too much damage. thank you, good job, thank you very much. >> thanks. >> if you are a history or social studies teacher, c-span classrooms can provide you with hundreds of hours of content and lesson plans. learn more about c-span classroom's educational resources and sign-up to axis our classroom content. it is on our website. deputy attorney general rod safetyein discussed

recommendations for protecting first responders from exposure to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. this comes as the justice department announces the release safety videoanyl produced by u.s. customs and border protection. >> good afternoon everyone. welcome to the very inspiring unveiling of the first responder training video. fentanyl, the real deal. the assistant as director i am fully committed to

supporting programs, training that are focused on augmented perspective and the safety of our first responders. our attorney, general, are deputy attorney general today, all of our department heads are equally committed. and i can tell you personally both the attorney general and deputy attorney general have made it very clear that it's an absolute priority of this department to focus, apply its resources in protecting our first responders, our officers, those who get to the scene of risk first to keep our community safe. this video seeks to further inform the risk associated with fentanyl exposure. i'm sure you are all familiar with the potential harm, the

lethal impact of being exposed to that poison. seeks to do is unify our knowledge across the country and make sure everyone is aware of the risk. but at the same time dispel the myths associated with misinformation that circulates in terms of level of awareness and what the potential risk may be if in fact there is an exposure. inspired by this video but i am also inspired by the collaborative efforts of the interagency working group. they have done a phenomenal job putting this together. i recognize the working group in building the content of this video, cbd for doing an outstanding job. these things don't happen on their own. and keeping our first responder safe is inspiring.

personally, as a former 9/11 first responder, i very much appreciate the value of this training video. back in the day we didn't have the real deal. we had a dust mask and a lot of theage information about potential hazards associated with toxin exposure. wear with pride a -- whot that remembers was a first responder on 9/11, and unfortunately passed away in 2008 as a result of lung cancer. i think one of the last things he said was, would you hesitate to do it again? now our current first responders can now access this training video, make sure they are aware of the risks.

itit is not rumor how dictates how we do business. it's fact, it's science, it's credible information. we are honored to have the deputy attorney general here. and other distinguished guests. many chiefs are here. national leaders with the national law enforcement group. it's outstanding to have you here today. it's my privilege to introduce the acting principal deputy assistant to attorney general. and by way of background she is a former prosecutor. as a former prosecuter she completely embraces the importance of this video, the importance of keeping our first responders safe. laura. >> thank you.

it is a pleasure to welcome everyone to the office of justice program. i'm very pleased to be part of this event today because as john mentioned i am a career prosecuter come to ojt and i feel very much at home in the room of first responders and law enforcement having spent my career in the corps room representing all of you who do such good and fine work. i am honored to join the deputy attorney general, deputy director of national drug control policy, our partners from the d.e.a., and customs and border protection, and first responders from across the nation as we discuss the fentanyl crisis and debut this new training video.

as the acting head of the office of justice programs, i'm proud to carry forward the commitment of the attorney general and this administration to combating the opiate epidemic. this important panel discussion and the va we are releasing are among many of the resources of the department of justice's tool kit we are using to fight the scourge on behalf of the american people. office of justice programs with with dja leading the way has been on the frontlines of the battle of the opioid abuse. last year we launched the program to reduce opioid misuse and help bring down the number of overdose fatalities. we're continuing that program this year and we'll continue the program every year, and we'll have more grants to announce in the coming weeks.

in addition, the fy-2019 president's budget includes $103 million for programs authorized by the comprehensive addiction recovery act including $20 million for ojt's comprehensive opioid abuse program and $43 million for the drug court program. i want to thank john and his team for leading our efforts. i particularly want to thank carol and dave, the in-house experts, who have been guiding our work. many thanks as well to our many partners for their help bringing us together today. they've worked hard to make this gathering possible. and most of all, i want to thank all of you. everyone here. for your commitment to this important issue.

we're grateful for all you do and we're proud to stand together by your side. our commitment and our investments have been and will remain substantial because this department of justice understands what's at stake. with we know that the lives of countless americans and the health and safety of thousands of first responders lie in the balance. with we are fortunate to have leaders at the highest level who understand the magnitude of this crisis. we are committed to giving and our brave public safety officers the resources they need to bring it under control. our deputy attorney general is one of those leaders. deputy attorney general rosen

stine has built a distinguished career of keeping americans safe and establishing the rule of law going back to his days as a trial attorney with the public integrity section in the 90s. he has since served the department in a number of capacities from associate independent counsel to the assistant united states attorney to head the department of tax division. in 2005, he began 12 years of service as united states attorney for the district of maryland and was confirmed as deputy attorney general in 2017. over the course of his career, he has earned a well-deserved reputation for integrity and the fair pursuit of justice. and his appreciation and support of first responders is second to none. it's an honor to have him with us today. i hope you'll join me in giving a warm welcome to our 37th attorney general rod rosenstein.

[applause] >> thank you. we're very grateful for your work and also i want to thank john for his leadership. john runs the bureau of justice assistance at the director of that bureau. he previously spent 25 years in law enforcement and serves as the president of the federal law enforcement officers association and also vice chair of the memorial fund. lara is managing one of the largest components in the department of justice, about 30% of our budget. we are very grateful for your work. i want to thank john for his leadership. previously spent 25 years in law enforcement and served as the

president of the federal law enforcement association and also a vice chair of the lash know -- the national law enforcement. i'm very pleased, some of the folks actually doing the work on the frontlines, that resulted in the production of this video. and she mentioned, several other of the folks here, including a lot of effort to make this happen. we are grateful for your efforts. i'm also grateful to see the and theeputy director many local state and federal first responders. including firefighters and emergency medical service personnel. supporting state and local law enforcement and first responders is one of the priorities of the

department of justice. goal if weeve our cooperate with our law enforcement partners. a number one item on the agenda was this challenge that we face. you're are all familiar with the numbers. about two thirds of those are treated to opioid drugs. it's attributable to fentanyl. that's an initiative for us today.

drug overdose deaths surged over the past five years. we have turned that around. are devoting law enforcement resources to the challenge of fighting back against an opioid overdose epidemic. we are pursuing a whole government approach. we know the challenges that you face. never know what kind of dangers. and the president of the and are general thrilled of justice understand the tremendous risk you face. a know we need to help used

in offense. and to make the street unsafe. therefore they are the top priorities of this at -- this administration. announcedey general the largest federal prosecutors -- largest surge of federal prosecutors in the decades. we are empowering those prosecutors to make an impact. in 2013 the government justice adopted a policy that restricted prosecutors from pursuing sentence enhancement of traffickers. they were not required to accept responsibility or to cooperate with law enforcement authorities. the total number of drug dealers charged by the department of justice annually in federal court fell from about 30,000 to

just 20,000. during that same period of time, drug-related deaths surged from about 40,000 to the 72,000 we faced last year. in response to that epidemic the attorney general authorized federal prosecutors to return to the traditional policy of charging drug traffickers for the most serious readily proveable offense that they committed. we know what that means to our prosecutors and police on the frontlines. that's not a new idea. that was adopted in the carter administration. so it's been around for a very long time, and we've returned to it because we know that our prosecutors and police officers need our help to incapacitate those drug traffickers, to dismantle criminal organizations and deter others from following in their footsteps. but law enforcement is not just about being tough with criminals. it is also about being compassionate to people in need.

in april, i saw this first-hand. i was in chicago and two members of my security detail deputy u.s. marshals came across a young woman who had passed out, and was unconscious in the hallway of a hotel. they didn't know it at the time but she had overdosed on fentanyl. it's an experience many of our law enforcement officers face day in and day out. one deputy started cpr while the other called for help. they were able to keep that victim alive until emergency services personnel arrived, administered naloxon, and saved her life. the officer who performed cpr was checked at a hospital and thankfully he received a clean bill of health. but we know for those of you in that situation, with you have

to worry not just about the drug abuser but about the potential impact on yourself and your families. those officers did not know at the time what kind of drugs that woman had taken, they did not know whether they were putting themselves at risk. such encounters with drug trafficking victims may be as stressful for the officers and their families as it is to encounter violent criminals on the streets. so the department of justice is committed to helping officers stay safe by providing facts and advice about how to avoid the harm that can come from exposure to dangerous drugs such as fentanyl. last year, preliminary data showed that 29,000 americans were killed by synthetic opioids. that's a six-fold increase over four years. as i mentioned, much of the overall increase in drug overdose deaths can be attributed specifically to the surge of fentanyl, which we know is being imported largely from china, much of it through mexico, and we need to do everything we can not just to prosecute domestic traffickers but to work with our foreign partners to try to stem the supply of o these dangerous drugs. we know if proper safeguards are

not taken these can endanger officers against even small quantities. they pose potentially fatal risks if they're inhaled or come in contact with the eyes or mouth. so it's important to educate everyone about the practices that you should follow to minimize the risk of contact with fentnal and other synthetic opioids. that's what the video we're releasing today is the about providing facts and highlighting steps that first responders in the field can take to minimize the danger of exposure to synthetic opioids. we're grateful to the f.b.i.,day, and bureau of justice, d.e.a. and others to produce this video

and ensure that guidance that we provide serves the needs of law enforcement officers, fire, and ems personnel. we're grateful to our colleagues in the department of homeland security and department of health and human services who contribute significant expertise to this effort. this va was developed also with assistance from the national sheriff's association, the international association of chiefs of police, the major city chiefs association, the fraternal order of police and other organizations that rement men and women in blue and first responners who serve on the frontline. it's rewarring for us to see law enforcement associations standing side by side with all major associations representing fire and ems personnel across our nation who have lent their support to this important effort. we need to make this video an the safety remations available -- and the safety recommendations available to frontline personnel so they can stay safe and avoid exposure to harmful drugs. in conclusion i want to thank

the working group and the offices for making this video. it's a great service to our law enforcement officers and first responders. in conclusion, i want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for the work that you do every day to keep your communities safe. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you for your unwavering leadership as well as your commitment to officer safety, first responder safety. for all of those folks in rank and file serving our communities every day. thank you, sir, that resonates and means a lot. our next speaker is jim, the acting director of omdcp. jim also a rather passion nal -- passionate leader as well.

jim has worked every day working closely with our president, the attorney general, other leaders within our government, to ensure the resources are there to support all of our first responders, to make sure we're equipped, we're trained, and capable to confront this plague that we are dealing with every single day. so it's my honor to introduce jim, acting director. [applause] >> thank you all very much today. we are honored to be here with the first responders, who as was said are on the frontlines helping americans across the country. you all are truly on the frontlines. you are the ones responding in the event of a crisis.- as we have seen time and time

again it is important tor you to have the facts when dealing with all of these substances. fentanyl, car fentanyl, other substances, as the deputy attorney general said, primarily coming in from overseas, from asia, are playing a major role in the overdose deaths of so many americans. what that means of course is that the first responders are dealing with these substances as well. that's why president trump has committed as well as the president's commission on combating drug addiction and the opioid crisis recommended creating science-based guidelines in its report last november. as a result ten federal agencies, 24 nongovernmental partners, as well as first responders across the country came together to create the safety video that you're about to see. we wanted to make sure that you, the thin blue line, and -- thin blue line, as the thin

brown line, that you all have the absolute best information that is available based on the science that is available. we decided to create this as a roll call video to make sure that the awareness of this dangerous drug is spread across the country. i would like to thank our numerous colleagues as the deputy attorney general said, and the partners with who made this video possible. the customs and border protection agency, joel cohen the national security adviser at the white house, as well as the rest of the team at the white house in the office of national drug control policy. so many of you all have been the driving force behind this video. i would also like to thank the west virginia charlestown police department and berkeley county emergency ambulance authority for playing an important role in the production. i also see in the crowds today members of the alexandria police department where i grew up.

i would like to thank you for the speeding ticket i got when i was 17. since i'm not under oath i have obeyed the law and never broken the speed limit since then. in all seriousness, you'll see the video in a moment and i think you will agree that it is actually proof that when we work together we can accomplish great things. as you all are aware, working together is one of president trump's key initiatives. he cares deeply about addressing this crisis. he wants to make sure that people can access addiction treatment and can also, act with the attorney general, deputy attorney generals, that we can bring drug traffickers to justice. today's video will help play a role in this. as the deputy attorney general

said, this attorney general, in the conversations i've had with him, with rod, there is a laser focus at this point on cracking down on the opioids that are flowing into our country, and cracking down on the illegal online pharmacies and dark web sales that is the way that so much of the drugs moving in this country. so along with our many colleagues at the department of justice, including the f.b.i. and d.e.a. , so many u.s. attorneys across the country our colleagues around the country, our state and local first responders, law enforcement, you are reducing the flow of fentanyl into our country. thank you very much for being here. we would like to turn this crisis around and with your help we

are doing that. i would now like to introduce the video. we are calling it fentanyl the real deal. because it is designed to keep first responders safe and clear up any misconceptions about handling fentanyl. this would not be possible without so many institutions, the distance learning center within the department of justice, within the department of homeland security. because of your hard work and the exceptionally high value of this video, our nation's first responders will be better prepared. thank you all very much. [applause] ♪ [phone rings] >> 911.

>> there is in the bathroom. >> is it long to get go >> yes, and we do not have the key. ♪

>> and it can be lifesaving. >> how do you feel?

>> very inspired. that video, which i hope will add tremendous value as we get it circulated out there on the field. moving the program fore, we're -- move the program forward, we're now going to have a very important panel discussion led by assistant administrator from d.e.a. john martin. i want to thank the d.e.a. for all of their help in this particular area as well.

obviously they're also on the front lines. their entire law enforcement workforce, their special agents, their supporting teams in terms of being exposed to fentanyl. thank you very much for sustaining the lead in the war against fentanyl, the opioid epidemic, and drugs in general. so now i would like to introduce john to come up to moderate this panel. come on up, john, and introduce the panel members. >> thank you for that introduction. and thank you deputy attorney general rosenstein, deputy director carroll, and my distinguished colleagues for your leadership in this critical area. i am honored to be here today on behalf of the drug enforcement administration and acting administrator dillon joining my fellow federal state and local law enforcement partners and first

responders to get the word out about the threat of fentanyl exposure. it is imperative that we work together to protect those who keep our communities safe. as we continue to fight the opioid epidemic, it is critical that we provide every tool necessary to educate our first responders about how to protect themselves when the presence of fentanyl is suspected or encountered. the materials today do just that. we have a number of distinguished guests with us today who represent thousands of men and women nationwide who have dedicated their lives to public service and are on the frontlines of this threat. law enforcement, firefighters and ems personnel. for those of you that will be on the stage here momentarily and in the audience there, the associations that you represent, thank you. and thank you for your dedication, your service, and your continued collaborative

support. support. if i can get the panel members up here right now. gentlemen. to our distinguished panel, good afternoon. please take a few minutes to introduce yourself and tell us why this video and guidance materials are important to your stakeholders. >> i'm the vice president of fraternal order of police. about 340,000 members coast to coast representing rank and file law enforcement. keeping our members safe is one of the top priorities of the fraternal order of police. one of our top goals is to protect themselves from fentanyl exposure, from prevention through treatment.

so we're looking forward to this video providing correct and accurate information to our members and allowing them to eliminate that worry of a fentanyl exposure. one of the things that i think was most important about the video is learning that exposure to fentanyl is not an automatic disastrous result. that's something our members need to know out in the field when they're making traffic stops in the middle of the night or as they're going through the door to execute a search warrant. i think this va will help explain that to the men and women of law enforcement across the country. >> thank you. >> good afternoon. national sheriff's association. we represent 386,000 sheriffs across the country.- i want to thank you all and the president as well for having the strength and fortitude to continue keeping this issue at the forefront of what we're all confronting, which is an ever

changing dynamic in the street, from the beat cop, all the way up through leadership. it's affecting everyone, it's affecting how we learn, how we train, and how we review the practices that we need to every single day. because in law enforcement, nothing is static. as you all know better than anyone. what we need to focus on is not necessarily the video itself but the importance of what the video is saying, which is you have to follow the protocols that you have in your agencies, make sure that you are prepared for whatever may come at you.- and every day is different.- as i said it's not a continuum, it's a constant threat. today is fentanyl or carfentanyl. tomorrow we don't know what it will be. but we always have to remember that protecting the men and women that are literally on the frontline, whether ems, fireman, firewoman, a deputy or a police officer. we've got to keep these

utensils in their hands. we have to keep the tools forefront in your thinking. but most importantly, we cannot let down our guard. so i want to thank the government and the whole government approach is exactly the right approach. this is not just a law enforcement problem. this is our community's problems, this is our nation's problem. it cuts across health and human services, dhs, the department of justice, and every agency in the federal government. we want to thank you for doing this. >> good afternoon, my name is bill, i'm chief of police, member of the board of directors at the international association of chiefs of police. we represent about 30,000 police chiefs and exand level -- and command level officers from 150 countries around the world. jay and john have already eloquently hit the high lights -- that the highlights of

what our police officers face out in the field every day. not only are we first responders handling medical calls, particularly talking about overdoses, but the police sometimes are ahead of the ems and so we're dealing with those, and family members. most departments are carrying naloxon. it's been a phenomenal tool for us. aside from the overdose issue, our offices are making more vehicle stops, they're arresting people, sometimes they're arresting people who are resistant. in some cases, who are throwing drug evidence into the air which creates heightened risks. excuting search warrants, handling this on a day-to-day basis. i think you see law enforcement reaching out to people who have overdose, even following up, contacting the person,

contacting their family. with we do drug interventions with people we believe who are recently addicted or have come to our attention. and we do that kind of corrective work. we are in and around this stuff all the time. just fentanyl that is out there. that's the bad news. the good news is incidental skin contact should not cause a fatal result. there are common sense, mitigating recommendations in the video that i think police officers, firefighters, and medics will take two hearts -- -- take to heart. between common sense, risk based on what science has shown us, and recommendations for officer safety, first responder safety that are really straightforward.

>> i'm harold, general president of the international association of firefighters, representing 314,000 career professional firefighters across the united states and over 400 o local unions representing over 10,000 cities and towns. our concern is that in fact to my colleague here to my right fire and the paramedics that we represent are oftentimes also very first on the scene for overdoses. recognizing that now overdose is the leading cause of death or accidental deaths preceding firearms, accidental deaths. ems and firefighters are often

experiencing on the frontline this crisis of fentanyl and carfentanil coming into this , and unfortunately it is becoming a scourge among our communities. our concern is to make sure that our state and local governments, our departments are adequately informed, install the proper protocols and training, provide the personal protective gear that our members need to do their job, and to assure that every rig, every truck, every engine, every rescue unit has naloxon or narcan as it's known to be able to administer first-hand and what is a very successful protocol. i would also like to mention kind of a second related concern, and that is the use of opioids that are prescribed from the medical community.

firefighters, paramedics, unfortunately, have a very high rate of serious injury, disability, and oftentimes themselves need to be prescribed for the various medication to help reduce pain. so we have to make sure that prescription opioids are being prescribed adequately and used correctly, and the first responder community is adequately informed on that.- with we look forward to working with the department of justice. i want to thank the administration and department of justice, particularly the bureau of justice assistance, and all the federal partners that are bringing such attention to those frontline crisis that all of us and those that we represent are experiencing each and every day.

>> good afternoon, i'm bryan, i serve as an elected director of the national volunteer fire counsel. we represent fire and emergency medical service personnel. the nation has approximately 70% volunteer responders and the fentanyl epidemic is a devastating crisis throughout the nation. we want to be able to take the safety recommendations announced last year, along with the video announced today, and pass them along to our emergency responders to give them the best efforts, tools, and resources to prevent them from coming in contact with fentanyl as well as the synthetic opioids. the problem with the national emergency response system is we have experienced an increase call volume which is putting a strain on our volunteers.- we need more personnel, more

training, more resources including naloxone to combat the disease. i would like to point out that the video are going to be able to spread and the myths, that it's not going to be a problem as long as you follow our standard operating procedures, as long as we adopt the safety recommendations. and if we move forward with the administration's strong message we can be able to be resilient.- last, i would like the point out i'm a volunteer firefighter and emt in new jersey. i would like to thank joel for inviting me today. interagency working group, many sitting to my left, that i worked with last year on the fentanyl safety recommendations. >> i'm dennis, president of the national association of emergency medical technicians. and we represent a menagerie of folks of all different type of medical providers. on the frontline, the tip of the

spear, the people who are actually touching patients day in and day out. our firefighter friends and law enforcement do that, our focus is the patient. there's nothing that kills more directly than ignorance. and that's a great thing about this particular video coming out, is now we have evidence-based information that can be utilized to protect ourselves and there's nothing more important than, at least in my mind and i think most of my colleagues, is when the end of the day occurs, being able to go home to our loved ones all whole and intact, not in the emergency department being treated because we erred. with that, we've trained the national association of emts, almost 100,000 folks a year, in our different educational courses and combat casualty care

with department of defense to prehospital trauma courses, et cetera. so we have a menagery of education programs that with we hope to make this part of our cadre of weapons and tool in the toolbox to be able to go out there and work effectively and safely to take care of our community and loved ones. >> good afternoon, i'm the president of the national association of ems physicians.- we are 1600 members strong. for those not in the public safety sphere, we are the physicians that actually write the protocols just referenced about how to treat not only patients but first responders.- every community has one of us. you may not know it but we do. we have become subspecialty board certified so they recognize that what happens outside the hospital and clinic walls is a unique practice and this is an example of that. the ability to have evidence-based guidelines around

exposure is important. it is sad to report that as of now, there are as many calls for opioid overdose every day in the united states as there are for cardiac arrests, for heart attack, for stroke. it is that common. there will be 800 calls today at a minimum across the united states for opioid overdose.- the nice thing to report is all of those today almost assuredly will not involve exposure for responders, because it is to have exposure. so the problem is there's going to that be that exposure that can occur, most likely in a drug manufacturing facility and not at a single patient's side. so we need to keep our awareness

level up. but at the same time we need to be evidence-based in our response recognizing that it is highly unlikely, particularly if the guidance in the video is followed. so i want to echo everyone's thanks for having us here.- we are looking forward to being here and having an interactive council. >> highlight one key message or lesson from the video that you would want your stakeholder group to take away. >> a lot of law enforcement officers will have the misperception that even the slightest exposure to fentanyl or carfentanyl could be disastrous to them. so knowing how to reaspond to that, knowing what first aid to administer, and what preventive equipment to use will be the message that we push out to our members in order to help better protect them from exposure. >> i would say it's preparation. preparation for being able to positively respond and be prepared for the unknown.-

-- and be prepared for the unknown. that i think the video helps us very clearly illuminate what we know now and how to be better prepared for the future. >> just to follow up. i think it's the idea of achieving some balance that the risk is perhaps not as great as it was when fentanyl was first around but there is some risk.- understand the nature of that risk and the level of that risk. by the same token understand what you can do to protect yourself. merely being in the presence of fentanyl is probably not going to harm you. we tend not to see overdoses in places where the drug traffickers cut and package drugs or people who perform cpr on people who overdose so to that -- you have overdosed, so to that extent the risk is probably low. there are drug traffickers who will rip open the drugs and throw it in the air because that will defeat the minimum mandatories that are weight

based. so i think education is the first part, understand what is a risk and what is not. i think the film very effectively points out what you can do to protect yourself. the idea of putting on goggles somebody uninformed might seem like an overreaction but what it does is it prevents you from touching your eye. you've got that fentanyl on your glove and you inadvertently touch your eye, that can be a more efficient transmitter point than just contact with skin. just understand what the mitigation recommendations are and follow those and as has already been mentioned have the ,women with you when you go up, in our case, we go on patrol. have that equipment with you when you go out, in our case, when we go on patrol. >> i think our fundamental

concern is of course following the film as far as how it could affect our members in a response environment. but quite honestly, my biggest concern is to make sure and to hopefully that our state, local, cities, and towns will adequately provide resources, whether it be staffing, personal protective gear, whether it's narcan on each and every rig, so that those that are on the frontlines delivering service in response to the community can do so in the most effective and efficient way. >> the biggest takeaway is that our nation volunteer emergency responders now have the tools and resources available to them to then collaborate amongst each others, to educate themselves through the use of the training video and recommendations, as well as to wear proper personal protective equipment and the proper application of such is

to reduce incidental overdoses for first responders. >> i think getting this many people to come to agreement that these are good facts and useable is one of the most commendable things i have seen happen in a while. which means we can sit down and work through issues and hopefully provide good information. the one single point that i think will save a lot of our folks is not using the alcohol-based hand cleaner. believe it or not, families, teachers, ems folks, all use that alcohol which will dissolve the material and drive that in to the skin quicker than anything they can do. that to me is one of the most key features is that safety item enhancing that and making sure people are aware of it. because that's the first go-to thing we do when we get contamination on our hands.

so once again, i highly commend everyone for pulling this together. it's going to be a great tool in the toolbox to go forward and teach folks safe handling. ofcho the general president the iss that we've got to make sure we have the right protected equipment and make sure our in andre cared for day day out. >> i hate to be the stereotypical physician, but yes, we just had a video that emphasizes the importance of hand washing, and that's important. the other piece to keep in mind is that the group that came together for those to help write that guidance almost a year ago is a group that not normally enters into the spear but they -- interest into this state are, butnters into this sphere, they did a great job that allows us to point to evidence to then

write these guidelines. so i would like to give a shout out to the toxicologists. >> thank you, gentlemen. we appreciate your keen insights. before we take our seats, i want to turn things over to customs and border protection k-9 officer program manager. chris. [applause] >> good afternoon. my name is chris, i'm a k-9 instructor for the field operations national k-9 program. i'm waiting on my prop. he will probably be coming through the door any minute. we'll have a field operations narcotic detections k-9 team. this is officer stone and k-9.- -- canine pharrell. this team narcotics detection just like all is trained and

certified to detect fentanyl. we have approximately 460 dogs right now narcoticwise throughout trained to do technical topics. approximately a year-and-a-half ago, ofo decided to do a double blind study to determine if k-9 teams trained to detect narcotics as currently trained would be able to detect fentanyl. we determined then that we needed to train our dogs to find fentanyl. i am glad to say that within a span of a year we trained over 450 dogs. our operational k-9 instructors conducted this training in the

field. the training was completed in april of 2018 and fentanyl, like heroin, can cause an overdose within canines just like humans. for the last 20 years we have issued naloxone to our k-9 teams and i am proud to say we've never had an exposure or overdose to fentanyl by any of our k-9 teams. it is the mission of every cpp officer take these narcotics off the street. every seizure that our k-9s make text america lives. we have seized over 450 kilos of fentanyl and we'll continue. thank you. [applause] >> >> i would like to thank john and all of our panelists who provided us with great insights and guidance to things we need to keep in mind moving forward, as well as chris, the star of

the show who just went up. thank you all for joining us today. i think again, in summing up what we really want to do, the , message we want to get out there to our rank and file is be informed, be prepared, and be safe. god bless. thank you. [applause] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2018] c-span's washington journal

with means and policies the impact you. monday morning we will talk with radio show host and political analysts across the country about the 60 days into the november term elections. the skoda watch washington journal live at 7 a.m. eastern monday morning. join the discussion. >> join us monday for a special labor day edition of the on c-span2, starting at 30 a.m. with the national book festival. then at 5 p.m. eastern, a profile on all points books. at 6:30 p.m. eastern, a discussion with the librarian of ofgress and the archivist the united states on collections in the digital age. and at 8:30 p.m. eastern, in-depth fiction addition with author jacqueline woodson.

>> a group of conservatives met in austin, texas for what they called the resurgent gathering. sat downhair ajit pai for a conversation about energy, technology, and government. conservative blogger erick erickson organized the conference. >> i have two guess. i get to take a break for a little bit and let jesse blumenthal have a conversation with the chairman of the fcc, who is probably one of the most hated men in washington, but should be applauded by everyone here for helping make the free market work when it comes to telecommunications in this century. i'm glad to have someone who enforced the free market. does supports the free market as chairman of the fcc. without further ado, the chairman of the fcc, ajit pai,