i'm tom mann. i'm delighted to be a part of this event and to be part of this project and the commission. norm and i have over the years collaborated with our two institutions on a number of projects. and going back a decade ago, john fortier has been an important part of all

i think it's fair to say that the combination of norm orstein and tom mann and john fortier there arepart of this continuity government that is so important and i'm glad to be here and with my very distinguished copanelists. this is a very strong report that the commission has issued today. and i would really commend everyone who has a chance to read it, both in the room and if you have a hard copy or i think it's on the website or soon to be on the website -- it's a very easy read. it actually opens with a very stirring, dramatic narrative that to me reads kind of like a seasoned synopsis of the television show "24." i flew here from texas expecting to get a chance to meet kiefer sutherland who i assumed might be keynoting the event. but it is a very important report and the substance of the report, of course, is what we're really focusing on today. these are very real issues that we face including some very frighteningly real nightmare scenarios and i think it's clear we need reform and i'm glad we had that first panel to really focus on some of these reform issues. i want to focus

so i'm going to turn it to tom mann who >> today on washington journal, a look at the week ahead. discuss u.s. relations and president obama's trip to russia. california governor henry waxman talks about the last of the report of how congress really works. live on c-span. today, a look at the moss queue schmidt. live starting at 1:00 p.m. eastern on c-span >> when did you decide to name your book? >> when my editor suggested it. op the notion that we are not very honest in this country about what happens when students are shipped off to that wonderful fairy land. i had a hard time with it. i was lost in many ways. i had a story to tell that was intended on a non-fictional title based on my real experience. i didn't know that it would have much relevant vens to people unless they were assured that it actually happened. >> you say up front that this is a record of memory, it attempts to be truthful in its narrative there are, i suspect, a number of in5:0 rasies, no deliberate intentions. uncle admiral. >> he was someone that was a hero to me. he was a retired admiral whose job had b

and then by tom mann of brookings who joins me as the senior advisor to the continuity of government commission. sullenly turned over to john fortier. >> great, thank you. that was a great lead-in to a couple interesting discussions we hope to have today. we had a distinguished panel today with three panelists. you see two of them. i will introduce them all, but there's a third panelist, and because we are working in the world of continuity and contingency, we had in an emergency up yesterday where akhil arnar is not going to be with us on the panel but being with us by phone. i want to say from an on under an undisclosed location. is a professor at yellow school so you might guess what state he is in. but it also shows our succession plan because of course this current government is essentially harvard law school. we have you lost cool as the successor just in case things go wrong. this panel is going to be more about this theory of presidential succession. i do think it is worthwhile for me to make a few points about the report. our second panel will be much more focused about the

i'm tom mann. i'm delighted to be a part of this event and to be part of this project and the commission. norm and i have over the years collaborated with our two institutions on a number of projects. and going back a decade ago, john fortier has been an important part of all of those starting with a transition project and continuing now to this continuity of government. so i'm delighted to be here and delighted to have three members of the continuity of government commission here to segue a bit from what's the problem, what is to be done to focusing a bit, if not exclusively on how in the world to do it. norm, i think, mentioned that it's been eight years since 9/11. it was hours after the attack that the concern about continuity first arose in the mind of norm and brian baird and some others, efforts were begun almost immediately and yet over the years relatively little has happened and what has happened in congress, i would argue is -- has been perhaps at best neutral, having no impact and at wo

and then by tom mann of brookings who joins me as the senior advisor to the continuity of government commission. sullenly turned over to john fortier. >> great, thank you. that was a great lead-in to a couple interesting discussions we hope to have today. we had a distinguished panel today with three panelists. you see two of them. i will introduce them all, but there's a third panelist, and because we are working in the world of continuity and contingency, we had in an emergency up yesterday where akhil arnar is not going to be with us on the panel but being with us by phone. i want to say from an on under an undisclosed location. is a professor at yellow school so you might guess what state he is in. but it also shows our succession plan because of course this current government is essentially harvard law school. we have you lost cool as the successor just in case things go wrong. this panel is going to be more about this theory of presidential succession. i do think it is worthwhile for me to make a few points about the report. our second panel will be much more focused about the

and then by tom mann of brookings who joins me as the senior advisor to the continuity of governmentission. sullenly turned over to john fortier. >> great, thank you. that was a great lead-in to a couple interesting discussions we hope to have today. we had a distinguished panel today with three panelists. you see two of them. i will introduce them all, but there's a third panelist, and because we are working in the world of continuity and contingency, we had in an emergency up yesterday where akhil arnar is not going to be with us on the panel but being with us by phone. i want to say from an on under an undisclosed location. is a professor at yellow school so you might guess what state he is in. but it also shows our succession plan because of course this current government is essentially harvard law school. we have you lost cool as the successor just in case things go wrong. this panel is going to be more about this theory of presidential succession. i do think it is worthwhile for me to make a few points about the report. our second panel will be much more focused about the repor

i think it's fair to say that the combination of norm orstein and tom mann and john fortier there are part of this continuity government that is so important and i'm glad to be here and with my very distinguished copanelists. this is a very strong report that the commission has issued today. and i would really commend everyone who has a chance to read it, both in the room and if you have a hard copy or i think it's on the website or soon to be on the website -- it's a very easy read. it actually opens with a very stirring, dramatic narrative that to me reads kind of like a seasoned synopsis of the television show "24." i flew here from texas expecting to get a chance to meet kiefer sutherland who i assumed might be keynoting the event. but it is a very important report and the substance of the report, of course, is what we're really focusing on today. these are very real issues that we face including some very frighteningly real nightmare scenarios and i think it's clear we need reform and i'm glad we had that first panel to really focus on some of these reform issues. i want to focus

so i'm going to turn it to tom mann who's going to moderate the second panel. [applause] [inaudible conversations]