i'm joined by deputy secretary of defense ashton carter. welcome, mr. secretary so let's just pick up with that comment from some republicans that this is exaggerated. >> well, for us in the defense department, unfortunately, it's not exaggerated. in fact, we don't want to take any of these steps. we certainly are trying to do it in the way that does the minimum damage to national security. we don't have a lot of flexibility, and we don't have a lot of time in that regard. sequester requires us to find $46 billion in the last half of the year, and then we have an additional problem with the lack of an appropriations bill, which is a particular problem for us. you put those two things together, and in some of accounts that fund training, for example, for army units, those accounts are 30% short over the year, and now we only have half the year in which to make up those savings. what that means is we're going to protect the wars in afghanistan-- we've got to nund them. we have to fund-- need to fund military personnel. the president exempted military pers

tonight, we assess the sequestration threat and zero in on the defense cuts with deputy secretary ashton carter>> ifill: then, we have a conversation with justice sonia sotomayor-- the first hispanic member of the supreme court about her life before and on the bench. >> sort of fine walking that we're always doing between when are we listening with an open mind and when has our mind been closed because of a bias? >> woodruff: plus, we have two medical research stories. first, our week long focus on guns. "after newtown" continues, with a report from miles o'brien on what science can tell us about the minds of rampage killers. andy williams called me collect inside the prisop. >> i didn't think 13 people were going to get shot. i just thought i'd make a lot of noise and the cops would show up. >> ifill: francis collins, head of the national institutes of health, walks us through president obama's call for a ten-year initiative to map the human brain.

martha: we injures getting word that the deputy defense secretary ashton carter is testifying right nowd he's not mincing words. he says that the cuts that are about to kick in on march the 1st at the pentagon would leave us in a position of unreadiness. he says the devastating cuts are no longer a distant threat, and that the wolf is at the door. very strong testimony about his concerns in terms of what it would do to hamper our military if congress allows those cuts to kick in, saying that it would cancel maintenance on 25 ships, 470 aircraft. the list goes on and on. we'll give you more of that as he continues to speak about today what he sees as a dire situation for the pentagon if this happens. and there are some new concerns about the potential impact of these cuts, because just when our enemies are strengthening their military, our military is getting to cutback on the first of next month. we are going to ask a general what he believes the ramifications are for our country's safety. bill: also a doctor taking heat for publicly kreu criticizing the president's policies and doing i

joining us now from washington, the deputy defense secretary ashton carter, and here on set columnist collins. good to have you back. >> the deputy secretary said that if sequester goes through, he's going to cut his pay. >> that's right. >> and won't the new york times, if they continue to have these sell-offs and if the boston globe deal doesn't go through as well as it'd like, are you going to give back part of your salary to the times? >> to the times? >> yeah. >> sure. anytime they want it. >> i don't believe it. she is a company player. >> yes, she is. >> well, secretary carter, thank you so much for being with us. obviously you guys are staring down a fiscal gun, so to speak. what's the impact if sequester goes through? >> well, what we have to do under sequester is take $46 billion out of a cut that much between now and the end of the year, and so that's sudden, it's steep, and also we have to do it in a way that is piece by piece, account by account, spread across like peanut butter, which is from a managerial point of view, the worst possible way to do cuts. so the effect is

my loser, other than juan, is ashton carter the number two at the pentagon.ody passed over for the top spot for is chuck hagel. after watching the performance yesterday and the confirmation hearings of chuck hagel, it's clear that ash top cart her be the person who actually runs the pentagon. if hagel is in fact confirmed. >> bret: okay. big story not getting attention anyplace else but fox is american pastor in custody in iran. abatheny. his wife was on fox talking about how she wishes the u.s. government was talking more about this. >> it's unfortunate that we are hearing, we're not seeing more aggressive action from the government. i hope to see more of that. not just from the government but all over the world. this is a violation of the human rights. >> bret: he is american, in custody. in jail. in iran. steve obviously we had the 60 minutes interview with president obama and secretary clinton. that didn't come up. probably an opportunity. megaphone that he could have. >> among many other things that didn't come up. the government has to be clear-minded w

members will hear from deputy defense secretary ashton carter and members of the joint chiefs of staffe committee will meet again this afternoon to vote on the nomination of chuck hegel to be secretary of defense at 2:00 p.m. eastern. in a few moments, your calls and a look at today's headlines live on "washington journal." also live at 10:00 eastern, a senate judiciary subcommittee holds a hearing on reducing gun violence. and house will be in for general speeches at noon eastern with legislative business at 2:00. in about 45 minutes, we will preview president obama's state of the union address with reporters withkumar for mcclatchy and jonathan strong from roll call. and center of response of politics, and lobbying rules and restrictions that apply to current and former members of congress. and we will be joined by the founder of

congressman bishop, i know that you had some fairly harsh words to assistant secretary of state ashton carter, i think on wednesday, february 13. i want to play a little bit of an exchange you had with him before we ask you about this here. >> december was too late to start this question. had you actually been doing something earlier about it, we may have been able to get momentum that was extremely necessary. and i'm sorry, there is a lot of blame to go around if we actually have to have sequestration. don't think you're going to get out of accepting some part of that blame. >> but congressman bishop, on the other hand, general said that it is impossible to plan for chaos. your reaction? >> well, look, the problem with sequestration is it doesn't start with a level playing field. when we passed the stimulus bill, which is probably the second dumbest bill we ever passed, every little of government was increased except for defense. defense was cut not once, but twice. so they start 1 1/2 trillion dollars below and that's why the impact of defense is disproportionate and will be devastating. th

secretary ashton carter, and representatives of each branch of the military have testified. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> good morning, everybody. the committee meets this morning to consider the impact of sequestration and a full year of continuing resolution on the department of defense. we welcome the deputy secretary of defense, ashton carter, and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general martin dempsey, who is accompanied by with the following friends. robert hale, chief of staff of the army, general ray odierno, vice chief of operations, mark ferguson, and general james amos, chief of staff of the air force general mark welch and chief of the national guard bureau, general frank grabs. i would like to stop by thanking all of you. please convey our thanks to the soldiers, airmen and marines at home and in harms way around the globe. they and their families deserve our utmost support. some members of congress and commentators in the press have said that we should live sequestration or let it go into effect. it would be better to severely

ashton carter. he sent out a couple of memos.p until this point, it has been the same dialogue, we do not know anything, which i do not understand. i think folks do know what they are going to do. our understanding is that agencies have the discretion to determine who will be exempt. in other words, agencies are going to be sending out information to say, these folks should be exempt, but my understanding is that it will come from the high levels, probably the secretary of the army, to make the determination about will be exempt. until i see it in writing, i do not tend to believe it that my position is exempt. right now, i am making steps to get out of dod. i try to get to another agency that by law is not part of the sequester. host: do you think that you might be furloughed? tallest how that might work. -- tell us how that might work. caller: i think i might be. they are telling us, one day a week, about 22 days of reduced pay. i have not even done the math. i'm afraid to do the math. i'm fortunate that i have just myself to s

include the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general martin dempsey, deputy defense secretary ashton carterand other pentagon officials. this is two hours and 20 minutes. >> good morning, everybody. the committee meets this morning to consider the impacts of sequestration and the full- year continuing resolution on the department of defense. we welcome deputy secretary of defense ash carter and chairman of the joint steve's of staff martin dempsey, -- joint chiefs of staff martin dempsey. undersecretary of defense, controller robert hale. vice chief of naval operations. general james amos. chief of staff of the air force , general mark welch. chief of the national guard bureau, general frank grass. i like to start by thanking all of you for your continued service to our nation. please convey our thanks to the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines at home and in harms way around the globe. they and their families deserve our utmost support. some members of congress and commentators in the press have said that we should let sequestration go into effect, that it would be better to severely cut

members will hear from deputy defense secretary ashton carter and members of the joint chiefs of staff. the armed services committee will meet again tomorrow to vote on the nomination of chuck hegel to be secretary of defense. also on c-span4 at 2:30 p.m. eastern. >> she said the first lady has a podium and she chose to use it. i think that was her quote. really knowing that, it was after me the presidential radio address about this, about the treatment of women and children in afghanistan by the taliban. i was here visiting jenna and we went shopping. elease at the cosmetic counter in the department store came up and said thank you so much for speaking for women in afghanistan. that was really the first time i thought, they heard me. i think i knew intellectually that the first lady had a podium but i did not really know it until after that. >> the new series, first ladies, influence and image. the first of its kind project for television, examining the public and private lives of the women who served as first lady. season one begins next monday, president's day, at 9:00 p.m. eastern

yesterday testifying before the house armed services committee, deputy secretary of defense, ashton carter, pointed out these cuts aren't happening because we thought about them strategically. they're not happening because we've identified wasteful spending. they're not happening because we discovered some new technology that makes it cheaper to keep our nation safe. they're only happening because they are, as he put it, the collateral damage of political gridlock. we've already seen the effects of these looming cuts in washington state. the puget sound naval ship yard, the largest employer in my district, had to postpone its career fair because of all of this budget uncertainty. this is a no-brainer. we have the work and we have the workers, but they can't hire because congress hasn't done its job. puget sound naval ship yard needs to be able to actively recruit and hire workers. our local economy needs it, and our national security depends on it. and yet here we are. later today we'll be focusing on legislation that doesn't solve this problem, isn't going to pass the senate and isn't goi

we will hear testimony from deputy defense secretary ashton carter and members of the joint chiefs of staff on what the impact of sequestration will be. see the hearing live tuesday at 9:30 a.m. eastern on c-span3. earlier today, pope benedict xvi announced he will resign february 28 due to health concerns. world leaders had been speaking about the pope's decision. here's a look at what the british prime minister david cameron had to say. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i am sure the whole house will join me in sending our best with fish to pope benedict following his announcement today -- our best wishes to pulte benett following his announcement today. his visit to britain 2010 is remembered with great respect and affection. pope benedict's message on that visit of working for the common good is something that's of to our whole country and i'm sure his success will continue to provide a voice of inspiration for millions around the world. >> president obama and first lady michelle obama also released a statement, saying -- pope benedicta is 85 years old and has served in his

witnesses include ashton carter and the members of the joint chiefs of staff.orrow morning kennecott 30. senator carl levin says the committee will vote tomorrow, on the nomination of chuck hagel to the defense secretary. he says the committee will discuss the nomination first. mr. hagel testified par the committee a week and a half ago. here's a look at his testimony. >> my 12 years in the senate, by one guiding principle on every sector decision i made and every vote i cast was always this -- simply this -- it is our policy -- is our policy worthy of our troops and their families and the sacrifices that we asked them to make? that's in question will guide me if i'm confirmed as secretary. our men and women and their families never to doubt that their leaders priorities is them. i believe my record of leadership on veterans' issues over the years going back to my services in the veterans administration under reagan domestic my commitment to veterans and their families. when must always take care of our people. that is why i will work to ensure that everyone wh

i just left a meeting with ashton carter, the secretary deputy secretary of defense on this issue but there are other cuts too. medical research, think about that for a second. we're going to cut back on medical research? research to find cures for heart disease, alzheimer's, cancer. they are going to lose $800 million in funding. 374 illinois women will be screened for cancer. 575 fewer children will receive vaccinations. $764,000 less for seniors for meals on wheels in illinois. 70,000 children will be expeled from the head start program because of sequestration. instead of them embracing these cuts as republicans have our bill would ensure that millionaires are not paying a lower tax than the secretaries that work for them and the janitors who keep the lights on. our plan closes tax loopholes that reward companies that move factories overseas. our bill eliminates wasteful spending. let me spotlight that because illinois is one to feel major recipients of direct-spord payments. we voted to eliminate them because they are not defenseable any long perp we're calling to end waste in th