we found servicemembers could benefit from better information. this is perhaps illustrated i the national guard who may be going through the process by themselves at their home state. they did not have access to the same information and resources as are active-duty counterparts. they are making decisions that will impact their entire civilian life and they are being asked to do with a little information of what the impact it will be. as a legion officers, with the bring insight to what benefits they are entitled or not entitled. -- as a legion officers, we can bring insight to what benefits they are entitled to or not entitled to. time is critical. what resources are available. what sure to discharge or options best suited to them. it is hit or miss without a good counseling. the american legion helps over 500,000 service members with a quick start claims. as thousands of veterans and go on represented. it is often difficult for service organizations to communicate with servicemembers. the a is making errors -- v.a. is making errors only on 69%.

and this generation -- this 9/11 generation of servicemembers -- they, too, felt something. they answered some call, they said "i will go." they, too, chose to serve a cause that's greater than self -- many even after they knew they'd be sent into harm's way. and for more than a decade, they have endured tour after tour. sergeant first class cory remsburg has served ten. and i've told cory's incredible story before, most recently when he sat with my wife, michelle, at the state of the union address. it was here, at omaha beach, on the 65th anniversary of d-day, where i first met cory and his fellow army rangers, right after they made their own jump into normandy. the next time i saw him, he was in the hospital, unable to speak or walk after an ied nearly killed him in afghanistan. but over the past five years, cory has grown stronger, learning to speak again and stand again and walk again. and earlier this year, he jumped out of a plane again. the first words cory said to me after his accident echoed those words first shouted all those years ago on this beach -- "rangers, le

and this generation -- this 9/11 generation of servicemembers -- they, too, felt something.they answered some call, they said "i will go." they, too, chose to serve a cause that's greater than self -- many even after they knew they'd be sent into harm's way. and for more than a decade, they have endured tour after tour. sergeant first class cory remsburg has served ten. and i've told cory's incredible story before, most recently when he sat with my wife, michelle, at the state of the union address. it was here, at omaha beach, on the 65th anniversary of d-day, where i first met cory and his fellow army rangers, right after they made their own jump into normandy. the next time i saw him, he was in the hospital, unable to speak or walk after an ied nearly killed him in afghanistan. but over the past five years, cory has grown stronger, learning to speak again and stand again and walk again. and earlier this year, he jumped out of a plane again. the first words cory said to me after his accident echoed those words first shouted all those years ago on this beach -- "rangers, lea

and this generation -- this 9/11 generation of servicemembers -- they, too, felt something. they answered some call, they said "i will go." they, too, chose to serve a cause that's greater than self -- many even after they knew they'd be sent into harm's way. and for more than a decade, they have endured tour after tour. sergeant first class cory remsburg has served ten. and i've told cory's incredible story before, most recently when he sat with my wife, michelle, at the state of the union address. it was here, at omaha beach, on the 65th anniversary of d-day, where i first met cory and his fellow army rangers, right after they made their own jump into normandy. the next time i saw him, he was in the hospital, unable to speak or walk after an ied nearly killed him in afghanistan. but over the past five years, cory has grown stronger, learning to speak again and stand again and walk again. and earlier this year, he jumped out of a plane again. the first words cory said to me after his accident echoed those words first shouted all those years ago on this beach -- "rangers, le

servicemembers dying while prying tos rescue bergdahl. >> and crushing student loan debt, a new poll finds 63% of 18-34 year olds say that american dream is unattainible. are you kidding me in 60% don't believe in american dream? we have to fix that. my commentary, on the money we're spend -- well the money this guy is spending on failed policies, and no one is doing anything about did. we'll take that up for discussion, here next. lou: coming up in moments, members of bowe bergdahl's platoon are outraged over the president's deal that released five radical islamist terrorists to set free a man they consider to be a deserter, one of these men will join us tonight. and president's critics and his supporters alike agree, he broke the law in doing this deal. we'll be joined we top radio talk show host monica crowley and john gambling here in moments. what are we citizens of this great nation supposed to do as all this unfolds, seems at every turn this president and his administration demonstrate they are unable to do anything correctly, lacking in the ability to succeed at anything, pre

servicemembers dying while prying tos rescue bergdahl. >> and crushing student loan debt, a new poll finds 63% of 18-34 year olds say that american dream is unattainible. are you kidding me in 60% don't believe in american dream? we have to fix that. my commentary, on the money we're spend -- well the money this guy is spending on failed policies, and no one is doing anything about did. we'll take that up for discussion, unlimited cash back. let that phrase sit with you for a second. unlimited. as in, no limits on your hard-earned cash back. as in no more dealing with those rotating categories. the quicksilver card from capital one. unlimited 1.5% cash back on everything you purchase, every day. don't settle for anything less. i'll keep asking. what's in your wallet? the numbers are impressive. over 400,000 new private sector jobs... making new york state number two in the nion in new private sector job creation... with 10 regional development strategies to fit your business needs. nd now it's even better because they've introduced startup new york... with the state creating dozens o

he helped reduce veteran homelessness and helped more than one million veterans, servicemembers, and their families pursue their education under the post 9/11 g.i. bill. his commitment to veterans is unquestioned. the service to our country is exemplary. i am grateful for his service, as are many veterans across the country. he has worked hard to investigate and identify the .roblems with access to care but as he told me this morning, .he v.a. needs new leadership he does not want to be at the -- a distraction because his priority is to get our veterans the care they need. that was his judgment on behalf is

we worked very hard to identify our servicemembers as soon as they came in to make ids to provide a name for the fallen warriors in to give them a decent burial. this is a section for slaves at arlington national cemetery. before there was a cemetery, this was a working plantation owned by the robert e lee family. there were slaves working here, dying here. thousands and thousands of slaves came to washington and began to trickle into washington from virginia and other slave states. searching for their freedom. that trickle became the flood with the emancipation proclamation of 1863. thousands and thousands of slaves came to washington. they lived here. they died here. they died in great numbers in the early years after the emancipation proclamation. we were prepared for the flood of refugees coming here. they do not have any place to live or eat. the union army decided let's build a place for them at arlington. they established a friedman village. as many as 1500 slaves came to live here in the spring of 1863. they stayed here one generation to the next generation to the next generation

trip to the consequences of vision injuries to our servicemembers and veterans will be with us for decades to come. therefore, va will continue to partner with dod to provide eye care providers, clinical care practitioners and researchers who have access to the information needed to develop a strategy that will enhance and improve patient care outcomes. mr. chairman, this concludes my testimony. i'm prepared to answer any questions you may have. next, i would like to introduce lorraine landfried, deputy chief information officer for product development come office of information and technology, to address issues related to 508 compliance spent thank you, and good morning and chairman coffman, ranking member kirkpatrick, and members of the committee. we appreciate the opportunity to discuss veterans affairs worked to improve access to information technology resources, for visually-impaired veterans, stakeholders and employees. i company today is mr. pat sheehan, director of our five await program office. since 2001 this office to provide a validation testing on the websites and applications

we are recruiting our first transgender servicemember, our first out transgender servicemember in the next month. >>reporter: there will be one military angle to pried weekend, as bradley manning, now known as chelsea has been named honnary grand marshal. manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison after being convicted of espionage. manning admitted to leaking documents to wikileaks while in the army. manning isn't worthy of honor according to fred shine who heads up the san francisco log cabin republicans. >> chelsea manning put many lives in jeopardy in iraq and afghanistan, perhaps other places in the world through the information that was released. >>reporter: simon perez, kpix 5. >> san mateo county is having its pride celebration today. it kicks off at 11:30 at the san mateo central park. that is on east 5th street. we have a link to all of the pride activities at ktvu.com. >>> well, california is dealing with a whooping cough epidemic and the highest number of cases are right here in the bay area. marin, smoam, napa counties, they've all been hardest hit. so far this year ther

and we are already for the final notification to that servicemember, we are now meeting the 30 days for that time period. >> okay. with the average of 48 days i think, all right. i'd like to ask you about the fact that 95% of the people are going to be discharged to go into this program. is there not some way to address that? we've heard a lot about segmented lanes and express lanes for other kinds of benefits. is that not some way to look as a more flexibility there, if we know 95% are not going to go back into active duty? can we figure out someway to prioritize those cases and move them out faster? >> you know, i think that particularly around the ides program it has been a joint process with dod. we want to ensure that we are meeting the spirit and intent which is to move that along as quickly as possible come and i will turn to ms. weaver to correct me to 100% but also think that there's the obligation of ensuring we've gotten them to the point where they're ready to be discharged and want to ensure that we work with dod and the requirements that they've established for ensuring th

is a character of the detainee that inspires and motivates our commitment to the recovery of servicememberssee this as setting a particular precendence vote because it does fall within that prisoner exchanges and that have been in the past locations where the united states has dealt with nonstate actors were holding servicemembers in order to achieve the recovery. >> can you give us a specific example of that? >> the one example i am aware of helicopter pilot michael durrant in somalia who was held captive by the warlord, and there was a quiet arraignment in with yo interstates regained durrant's freedom and functionally and exchange for individuals that were captured in the same operation. >> any characterization of this is to go shooting with terrorists misses the fact we were and are at war. he is a member of our military fighting that war. on the gitmo piece, is it your opinion at the end 2014, we consider that the end of facilities because we will still have 10,000 troops there, but there was hostilities, these five would have had to be released as the end of hostilities. was that the

reminder to us that when we face our darkest hours, we must always hold before us the resolve of our servicemembers, sailors, marines, soldiers, and airmen, coast guardsmen. we must remember the power of decisive leadership and most of all the distinguished service of those who fought and brought honor to the navy and nation at midway. may god continue to bless each of you. thank you for coming today. may god bless all of our sailors on watch around the globe this day, our families who care for them and support them, our great navy and this great nation. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you, admiral. to honor our midway veterans, the chief of naval operations had secreted -- decreed this day to be battle of midway commemoration day. battle of midway day 4, 2014,ion for june is the proclamation of the chief of navy operations. whereas the navy recognizes the great significance of the battle of midway as one of the greatest victories in its history and in that of our great nation. whereas the sailors of the united states navy take great pride in their service to our country and now take time

releasing five senior taliban commanders may put the lives of our senior servicemembers in americans around the world at risk. one of the five detainees was a deputy chief of the taliban intelligence service. one detainee fought alongside al qaeda as a taliban military general. another was a senior commander wanted by the united nations for war crimes and works closely with al qaeda and their affiliates. he led an attack with al qaeda the day before 9/11. al qaeda called it an important piece of the 9/11 strategy. the terms of the release are quite disturbing. they may help out the taliban while they are in cutter. that will be about the time the united states forces will be leaving, and the afghans will be on their own. it appears recent law signed by the president was violated in the secret deal. this law among other things requires 2 things. the administration must notify congress 30 days before releasing guantanamo bay detainees. second, the administration has to specifically tell congress how releasing each terrorist is in the national security interest of the united states. the

. >> she's never treated bergdahl but has provided therapy for hundreds of servicemembers returning from combat including former prisoners of war. >> i would guess he would probably have a significant post-traumatic stress disorder. smells, sounds, all of those basic senses are very easily activated in a way that can be alarming. >> reporter: bergdahl was freed less than two weeks ago in exchange for the release of five taliban prisoners at guantanamo bay. it caused a political uproar. several soldiers who served with bergdahl say he deserted his post in afghanistan. that could complicate his recovery and bergdahl's transition from captivity needs to be gradual. >> bringing him home, getting him off the plane and returning him to his family would be too much at the same time. >> reporter: he could spend weeks if not months receiving treatment before returning home to idaho. >>> well, now to iraq. president obama says he is considering all military options except sending in troops. overnight islamic militants continued their push toward the capital. security in baghdad has been increased.

two, you probably know that the taliban has standing orders to capture american servicemembers. and that has been a standing order for 12 years. that is nothing new where the taliban have been and where they continue to be. but i would say this also. now that we have our last prisoner back, this very much gives us more flexibility quite frankly to free up resources that every day we were thinking about our commanders on the ground in that area, how, if we have the opportunity, how can we get bergdahl. now that he's back, that frees up that obligation. i think that actually strengthens the point. and the last point i'd make, i mentioned this in my comments and again those who have served in this committee know this, pretty basic, the military and i expressed it in different ways by quoting different senior members of our military and retired. that to have our men and women in uniform all over the world who, some are more at risk than others every day, to have them be reassured that this country will come get them or make every effort to go get them has got to be pretty significan

seeking help but are often told to choose forbearance we have continued to hear complaints from servicemembers and military families that they call about their service relief benefits and are simply told well just do a military forbearance. that option will keep interest accruing. it will make the debt ridden harder but it's certainly easier for the servers are to accomplish rather than actually walking them through the steps to enroll in their legal benefits. >> is hard for them to get good information personally. i have about 15 seconds left. tell me in the last 50 seconds on the larger implications for our economy. >> in our discussions with the banking industry in particular the housing industry whose general concern about increasing debt-to-income ratios so while the advantages of going to college the differential between college graduates and nongraduates is growing most of that is growing because noncollege graduates wages are slipping. if college graduates wages are higher when controlling for inflation the debt which is growing faster than tuition costs that dean's less ability to cre

be that as it may releasing five senior taliban commanders may put the lives of our senior servicemembers and americans around the world at risk. one of the five detainees is the deputy chief of the taliban's intelligence service. one detainee thought alongside al qaeda hasn't taliban military general. another was a senior commander wanted by the united nations for war crimes and works closely with al qaeda and their affiliates. in fact he led an attack the day before 9/11. al qaeda call this attack an important part of the 9/11 total strategy. still another was a close confidant of taliban leader mullah omar. in terms of their release are quite disturbing. they may help out the taliban while they are in qatar and it's likely all of them all and fighting alongside the taliban in afghanistan later in the year. that will be about the time the united states forces will be leaving in the afghans will be on their own. it appears that recent law signed by the president was violated in the secret deal. this law among other things requires two things. the administration must notify congress 30 da

whether one of our armed servicemembers.his is such a problem, not just the idea of more kidnapping, but causing as much karnage as possible, going back to afghanistan continuing to fight. these five that were involved in the swap have been likened to four-star generals with the taliban. they're hand-picked. not only great propaganda for them, hey, we're finally being recognized but also great for their leadership. they're at the top. they're going to go on back and continue doing exactly what they were doing before and certainly does not make us any safer. >> it does not. >> you know what i love about live television? people send you things as talking real time. i said 71. the actually the number is 80 designated for potential transfer from gitmo. of 149 remaining detainees, 80 are designated. interesting number we're looking at. >> many of those are the war criminals from 9/11, right? let's ask victims families, what do they want to happen? >> recidivism rate is 33% at least. one of the guys we're releasing the obama admin

. >> this generation, this nine le ven generation of servicemembers, they too felt something.swered some call. they said, i will go. they too chose to serve a cause that's greater than self. many even after they knew they would be sent in harm's way. >> reporter: sacrifice, gratitude, word we've heard over and over today, jenna. i heard you talking a moment ago about the french and celebration there in new york. gratitude for what americans did to liberate france, europe, as a whole and again save the world. what we're driving in very early this morning before we got to the cemetery which by the way has more than nine thousand americans buried behind me who died here around d-day. i saw this large crucifix, and it had just a simple attachment. it had a french flag and an and the french people here do that because they want to make clear that they fully understand that they would not be free, they wouldn't have their homes here, this beautiful french country side, wouldn't be what it is today, without that american flag that represents america stepping up. jenna? jenna: must be

as an educator, it is so important to me that we provide tools and resources our servicemembers and sharein order to succeed on campus. but just as importantly, we all need to tell the story of what they bring to the classroom. i have seen it in my own classroom. veterans bring the same determination and focus to their studies that they did, that they brought to serving our country. as, and i have seen, when i have met with student veterans during my visits to campuses over the past few months, we need to highlight whether working for our servicemembers on campus and make sure that all schools understand the tremendous value of our, that veterans bring to the classroom. also, our nation's doctors, nurses and social workers have stepped up to make sure that they are prepared to meet the unique needs of our returning servicemen and women. organizations representing nursing colleges, medical schools, and family physicians have all pledged their support to enhance the preparation of our nation's medical providers to support veterans and their families. while these efforts i have mentioned are

in our country we don't sacrifice our servicemembers based on their political beliefs.hat is disgusting. and bear in mind in this case, the situation, the prisoners we exchanged, and a lot of facts we don't know yet, but fundamentally, the situation of the inmates at guantÁnamo has been untenable for a long time. these are people who have not had their day in court, either. personally, to return people who have been under the situation, even if they have done terrible things, to me, is a favorable thing to release these people anyway. whatever it took to get bergdahl home, to me, was appropriate. >> we want to thank you, james branum, for being here. lawyer for military deserters and content as objectors. he is author of, "u.s. army awol defense: a practical guide." when we come back, charles glass joins us. he himself was held hostage for months. he is a former abc news chief the least correspondent. his book is, "the deserters: a hidden history of the second world war." and then we will talk about charles taylor, five years after his murder. , five yearsiller after hi

he helped reduce veteran homelessness and helped more than one million veterans, servicemembers, and their families pursue their education under the post 9/11 g.i. bill. his commitment to veterans is unquestioned. the service to our country is exemplary. i am grateful for his service, as are many veterans across the country. he has worked hard to investigate and identify the .roblems with access to care but as he told me this morning, .he v.a. needs new leadership he does not want to be at the -- a distraction because his priority is to get our veterans the care they need. that was his judgment on behalf of his fellow veterans, and i agree. we don't have time for distractions. we need to fix the problem. for now, the leader that will help move us forward is sloan gibson, who will take on the reins of acting secretary. -- deputydebra gary secretary just three months ago, but he has devoted his life to serving our veterans. his grandfather fought on the front lines of world war i. his father was a tailgunner in world war ii. sloane served in the infantry after graduating from west poin

iraq, you had a lot of shia terrorists and iran kurds force who were killing a lot of iran's servicemembers think the white house's decision to send over 300 advisers. as far as legal protections for them since we were never able to negotiate a final status forces agreement there with respect to, you know, protecting another group coming in like this, 300 additional, what do you think their role will be, and will they be safe? >> well, it's hard to tell. any time we put boots on the ground, most of the people who are on the ground are support, and then you have a very small number who are actually the tip of the spear. so with 300, that's a very, very small number, and again, i think if our goal is to somehow say we're going to take the side of some of the shia groups who are fighting isis, i think that would align us with iran, and i just don't think that is something that is smart. iran, in their pursuit of a nuclear weapon, is still the number one national security problem that we have. we just haven't been given enough information at this point to know exactly what their role is going t

to take that request from legal u.s.ctions, for those servicemembers that would stayed behind, the u.s. determined it needed a vote from the iraqi parliament to ratify that prime minister malik he just wanted to give an executive guarantee that those -- thatvice members deal fell apart. there has been a great deal of debate over it. i would say that issue also pertained to afghanistan, where we are departing. the general question is what is the end game? to do thes are needed phase transition out and ensure the security forces of a country we have been helping for some time are able to stand up and move forward on their own. i would say that is an academic debate. i'm sure there will be a lot more written about it in years to come. very we are right now is a tiny office of security u.s.tion out of the embassy in baghdad. how much more are we going to do to support this government? it is seen as critical to bring the sunnis back over to the government side, which is more or less where they were when we departed. the violence in iraq was down. now many of them are siding with this extrem

to take that request from legal u.s.ctions, for those servicemembers that would stayed behind, the u.stermined it needed a vote from the iraqi parliament to ratify that prime minister malik he just wanted to give an executive guarantee that those -- thatvice members deal fell apart. there has been a great deal of debate over it. i would say that issue also pertained to afghanistan, where we are departing. the general question is what is the end game? to do thes are needed phase transition out and ensure the security forces of a country we have been helping for some time are able to stand up and move forward on their own. i would say that is an academic debate. i'm sure there will be a lot more written about it in years to come. very we are right now is a tiny office of security u.s.tion out of the embassy in baghdad. how much more are we going to do to support this government? it is seen as critical to bring the sunnis back over to the government side, which is more or less where they were when we departed. the violence in iraq was down. now many of them are siding with this extremist

i reducing the debt burden on servicemembers and veterans, we can set them up for long-term success. andhink the chairman ranking member and the subcommittee members for your time, attention and devotion to the cause of veterans and i are education. as always, we welcome your feedback and questions and we look forward to continuing our and with this subcommittee the congress to ensure the success of all generations on of veterans. >> thank you. >> mr. chairman and the distinct members of this committee, my name is robert and i'm a social studies teacher at woodrow wilson high school here in washington. i come to you as a member of the american federation of teachers and the washington teachers union. i want to thank chairman brown for the opportunity to testify. mike's appearances with student debt and loan repayment. i hope that sharing my experiences in the financial aid process makes it easier for students and their families to pay for higher education. island and a rhode family of teachers come i always felt like i could make a world -- make the world a better place by helping ki

approximately 370 servicemembers are in iraq now at the u.s. embassies. the president has authorized 300 more in special operations forces to provide iraq's beleaguered government advice and intelligence. the u.s. is already preparing for their arrival. the u.s. has now launched 24 manned and unmanned flights over parts of iraq to get a better idea of the strength of the insurgent group isis, the islamic state in iraq and syria. isis has already captured major swaths of territory. >> look. everybody shares the proper sense of urgency here. >> pentagon spokesman john kirby said friday two u.s. assessment teams will gauge the status of iraqi forces, the situation on the ground and how u.s. advisory teams made up of special operations forces might help beat back the insurgency. kirby took pains to stress one point. >> this is not a combat mission. this is not a combat mission. that's just the way it is. this is not a combat mission. this is not a combat mission. they're not there on a combat mission. >> reporter: more than 4,400 american troops gave their li

servicemembers died between 2003 and 2011. on friday president obama met with his national security team in the oval office and warned the u.s. can only give so much. >> nobody has an interest in seeing terrorists gain a foothold inside of iraq. the united states will do our part but understand ultimately it's up to iraq as a united nation to solve their problems. >> the republican chairman of the house buck mckeon criticized the white house saying they now have wealth technology and a safe haren on which to launch attacks on the united states. they must be stopped. vinita? >> thank you. also with us is juan zarate. he's a former adviser to president bush. good morning, juan. >> good morning. >> you heard him saying we'll not engage without a concrete plan from the prime minister. what really are the options right now? >> well the options are limited, vinita. you have no footprint on the ground. the military options immediately are not present. and so the president is talking about a political solution but the reality is you h

he is going to leave in place about 9000 -- 9800 certain servicemembers. i know this is the purpose of the hearing. the parallels between what iraq and what the president has lined up for afghanistan. i found that a place that i have been in iraq has fallen to extremists and we see what happens in a post-american situation. the reduction of forces will place a significant demand on the afghan security forces. years 2002 and 2013, nearly six the 5% of agency funding went toward supporting afghanistan security in areas such as developing the security forces and counter narcotics efforts. with the looming u.s. troop drawdown, more of the onus is going be placed on the afghan security forces to maintain the stability of the country. a large portion of the money we invested has gone to them and security. are they now prepared to take the lead in can help sustain an environment in which development will succeed? for 13 years, we have fought to create an environment that they could take over. i want to make sure that we are not in a hurry to fill a campaign promi

some of the servicemembers coming this year are unique. they signed up to serve to sacrifice, potentially to give security offor the this country, even though they were not yet americans. that is how much they loved the country. they were prepared to fight and die for an america they did not yet fully belong to. i think they have earned their stripes in more ways than one. -- why friday morning we will naturalize them in a ceremony at the white house. this independence day will be their first day as american citizens. the things we celebrate friday, one thing that makes this country great is we are a nation of immigrants. people come from every corner of the globe. that is what makes us special, makes us unique. throughout our history we have come here in wave after wave , understanding there was something about this whole wase the greater than the sum of its parts. the different cultures and ideas and energy would come together and create something new. we won this country's freedom together. we built this country together. we defended th

or online with lots of patriotic-looking flags and they are peddling terrible products to our servicemembers. we have been working with the department of defense for the past year to revise those rules, this is the same kind of problem we will be dealing with in the small lending market. this has taken a somewhat longer to adjust this but i think it is well worth the additional time in order to make sure that what we do will not be made a mockery of by people circumventing this through transforming their products slightly. >> thank you. i want to expand a little bit on senator menendez's questions about student loan servicing. i chaired a subcommittee hearing about this issue and i'm concerned that the problems we saw in mortgage servicing are being repeated in student loan servicing. confusing loan transfers, the nondisclosure of those violations of service members writes, in adequate and inconsistent modifications and refinancing options, three or four witnesses agreed that we need comprehensive and consistent standards for servicers of federal and private student loans. will you move forw

answer questions about fighting in iraq and that in a stan, troop readiness, health care for servicemembers and veterans. senator dick durbin chairs the appropriations subcommittee. this is two hours. >> am pleased to welcome the leadership of the department, secretary hagel and general dempsey to present their views on the strategic and budgetary challenges facing our armed forces. for your thank you expertise and your continuing contributions make a big difference. let me congratulate the capture of a the key figure in the september 2012 attack on u.s. the televisa -- u.s. authorities in benghazi that cost us four american lives. work with counterparts to ensure that this man will be brought to this. we are also following several other recent events that have american security and interests around the world. the shocking events in iraq this past week demonstrate the threats posed by continuing chaos in syria which has given rise to dangerous new extremist groups. -- the teary ration in yemen shows that established terrorist organizations remain a serious threat. the aggressive moves by ru

sallie mae to pay nearly $100 million for violating multiple laws including illegal treatment of servicemembers with student loans. second unlike other markets refinance opportunities for student loan borrowers are few and far between. when margaret's borrowers the broader and just rates plummet their own incomes rise in credit profiles and prove they try to refinance. responsible student loan borrowers rarely have these options. third transparency which we must address. as fed chair janet yellen has stated problems and mortgages would rebound through the financial system. currently financial regulators and the public lack fundamental information on student loan origination performance. unsurprisingly the drivers of pre-payment delinquency and default in the student loan market are not well understood and we must work to close the transparency gap. in conclusion we must ask ourselves how do we preserve the drive to succeed for so many who feel that the dream is just now out of reach. ignoring the warning signs may prove to hold back not only the future growth and dynamism of our conduit also ou

and this generation -- this 9/11 generation of servicemembers -- they, too, felt something.they answered some call, they said "i will go." they, too, chose to serve a cause that's greater than self -- many even after they knew they'd be sent into harm's way. and for more than a decade, they have endured tour after tour. sergeant first class cory remsburg has served ten. and i've told cory's incredible story before, most recently when he sat with my wife, michelle, at the state of the union address. it was here, at omaha beach, on the 65th anniversary of d-day, where i first met cory and his fellow army rangers, right after they made their own jump into normandy. the next time i saw him, he was in the hospital, unable to speak or walk after an ied nearly killed him in afghanistan. but over the past five years, cory has grown stronger, learning to speak again and stand again and walk again. and earlier this year, he jumped out of a plane again. the first words cory said to me after his accident echoed those words first shouted all those years ago on this beach -- "rangers, lea