secretary vilsack? >> thank you, mr. chairman, and to ranking member peterson and all the members of this committee. i want to thank the chair for the opportunity to be here today, and i want to thank my colleague silvia burwell for the extraordinary work that she and her team have done in concert with the department of agriculture in getting us to this point today. i will tell you that i struggle with the dietary guidelines because i think it's important for people to understand precisely what they are and what they are not. these guidelines are a set of recommendations. based on a series of well informed opinions that create a framework that is designed to encourage and to educate americans about what they can do to increase their chances of preventing chronic diseases. this is not about treating disease. this is about trying to prevent chronic diseases. as a result the guidelines that we formulate are and should be restricted by law to nutritional and dietary information. the advisory committee report which secretary

secretary vilsack? >> thank you, mr. chairman and ranking member peterson and all the members of the committee. i want to thank the chair for the opportunity to be here today and i want to thank my colleague for the extraordinary work that she and her team have done in concert with the department of agriculture and getting us to this point today. i will tell you that i struggle with the dietary guidelines because i think it's important for people to understand precisely what they are and what they are not. these guidelines are a set of recommendations. based on a series of well-informed opinions that create a framework that is designed to encourage and to educate americans about what they can do to increase their chances of preventing chronic diseases. this is not about treating disease. this is about trying to prevent chronic diseases. as a result, the guidelines that we formulate are and should be restricted by law to nutritional and dietary information. the advisory committee report which secretary burwell mentioned i

vilsack, you said you were using the best information. your quote was we have the best informed opinions, but if you're not using the most recent peer review, that information that is there and your committee has not even agreed to put it into the final report, so maybe you all can give me some level of confidence that your staffs and you will take into consideration the strong scientific evidence with the final policy document even though it was not included in the evidence-based library throughout the working group process. >> congressman, can you be specific about which study you're talking about? >> i'm talking about the scientific study that came out that gave evidence that certain things were very important. let me just give you one example. let's look at the whole issue of the involvement of sugar and how it's not even included. why, for example, that low calorie sweeteners is not being recommended when the study pointed out that low calorie sweeteners could be used to lower weight, to be able to help with what is called atopocity

secretary tom vilsack made the with the extra money... experts say the number of wetland acres in iowa could double. this project, is part of a 30 - million dollar effort to keep wetlands alive nation-wide. as you know... caucus season is well underway.... and you can have a chance meet the iowa artist who is known for poking fun at politicians.. brian duffy is the cartoonist responsible for years of iconic caucus images. here's some from this election season. now... he's gathered some of his best... and turned them into a book. to celebrate... duffy is opening his studio to the public tonight... from 5-30 to 7-30. it's at the "cummins mansion" on grand avenue. another caucus staple is in jeopardy.... hotel fort des moines channel 13's justin surrency reports how the shine has worn off... and is about to return. there is no shortage of history at hotel fort des moines... "obviously very captivating when you walk into the lobby and all the woodworking on the 2nd floor, it just has a lot of charm to it"from the likes of presidents such as c

i would like to hear what secretary vilsack has to say. i would suggest that when you see those things in the report and whether it's a jump to )e8vú conclusion or not, there's a belief then that the people on the committee entered with a bias in some way, shape or form and were searching for the science to back up what they already believed to be true instead of using the best available science, whether it's true or not, we can debate. but there is that -- there's a credibility gap from those things working their way into the report. >> congressman, i would like just simply to again emphasize, there is a fundamental difference between the advisory committee's report and the guidelines. and there is confusion out there for some reason people seem to think that the report equals the guidelines. it does not. it is one aspect of information that will be taken into consideration relative to the dietary nutrition guidelines that we have to put together. number two, the national education library was used. and there's an extensive process that's

vilsack, you said you were using the best information. your quote was we have the best informed opinions, but if you're not using the most recent peer review, that information that is there and your committee has not even agreed to put it into the final report, so maybe you all can give me some level of confidence that your staffs and you will take into consideration the strong scientific evidence with the final policy document even though it was not included in the evidence-based library throughout the working group process. >> congressman, can you be specific about which study you're talking about? >> i'm talking about the scientific study that came out that gave evidence that certain things were very important. let me just give you one example. let's look at the whole issue of the involvement of sugar and how it's not even included. why, for example, that low calorie sweeteners is not being recommended when the study pointed out that low calorie sweeteners could be used to lower weight, to be able to help with what is called adiposity

secretary vilsack, you hit the nail on the head.when you stated that they sit there before the screen. that's exactly right. when you and i were coming along, folks would say, daddy or momma, can i go out to the play ground. that's a phrase we don't even hear now. they go up, i'm going upstairs or i'm going downstairs, i'm going in the room and get on the internet. sit before that screen hour after hour. and that's why it's so important now that we use our science to make up for that. and that's why i hope that you will take my suggestions to go back and look and make sure we have -- we're using the strong scientific evidence and if there's things like the low calorie sweeteners where the study has already shown that it will lower obesity, go back and review and explain why you don't use that. or maybe you go back and you look at it and you say, do you know what, i think.f)-ñ we can this and make a difference. and that's why i think, mr. chairman, that this has been an extraordinary and very important hearing, and i thank you for ca

secretary vilsack and burwell, this is a very important issue. i'm looking at this from a macro perspective. medicare and medicaid is such a huge component of that debt. the mast majority is spending is huge component of mandatory spending, and so you consider the obesity issue that we are facing and you mentioned obesity and heart disease as two major components that drive the cost of medicare and medicaid. all that gets back to what we consume, i think back to my time when i was in k-12 versus the schools that i go in today, when i look at the student population, i do not recall at least when i was growing up the number of overweight kids that you have in school. i visit all kinds of schools, a third of them are clearly overweight? some i knew their parents, grandparents and obesity was, you know, not an issue in the family until this generation. .. it was mentioned earlier about caloric diet, trying to maintain a certain number of calories. not all calories are the same. i would suggest just on a commonsense perspective 2000 calories of beef v

tom vilsack u.s. secretary of agriculture <"if we want to reduce the cost of treatment, there are many ways to do that but probably the most effective way is conservation, especially since 85 percent of the land mass of this state is involved in one way, shape or form in agriculture or forestry"> jack: one of the conservation practices shown today is called a saturated buffer. agriculture leaders say that filters water through an organic wood chip and soil filter. secretary vilsack finished his visit by making a call to action. he's asking more farmers and groups to be involved in conservation practices. jack lots of action on the campaign trail. as donald trump and ben carson threaten to boycott the next debate -- hillary clinton is confident enough to talk running mates. karen travers has the latest on the race for the white house. drama over a debate - the two leading republicans starting a revolt. donald trump, presidential candidate: "now they want to make this an extra hour money." donald trump

vilsack says its projects like this that will clean up iowa's waterways ... not lawsuits like the one filed by des moines water works. he says there is no quick fix for systematic water pollution. 4:09:58 no solution regarless of how it is ultimately determined is going to allow for some kind of rapid short term immediate solution. this is going to take a long term commitment and a patient commitment and a coordinated commitment 10:18 vilsack says he doesn't want to get personally involved in the lawsuit ... but he has spoken to iowa ag secretary bill northey about it. congress and retailers have acted to limit children from video games. but an i-s-u researcher says the real problem could be that parents are pushing their kids towards the games. coming up .... we'll talk with him about his research and how parents may be involuntarily encouraging their kids to play violent games. and some of the most amazing birdwatching iowa has to offer will happen this weekend. we'll tell you about a rare opportunity for ornithologists in northern iowa. giving small busine

secretary vilsack? >> thank you, mr.irman and ranking mek pe ining member pet the members of the committee. i want to thank the chair for the opportunity to be here today and i want to thank my colleague for the extraordinary work that she and her team have done in concert with the department of agriculture and getting us to this point today. i will tell you that i struggle with the dietary guidelines because i think it's important for people to understand precisely what they are and what they are not. these guidelines are a set of recommendations. based on a series of well-informed opinions that create a framework that is designed to encourage and to educate americans about what they can do to increase their chances of preventing chronic diseases. this is not about treating disease. this is about trying to prevent chronic diseases. as a result, the guidelines that we formulate are and should be restricted by law to nutritional and dietary information. the advisory committee report which secretary burrwell mentioned is n

vilsack announced today that the state is receiving 3-million-dollars... the grant is coming from the u- s-d-a to help save iowa's wetlands. experts say the money could double the number of wetlands here. this project is part of a 30-million- dollar effort to keep wetlands alive nationwide. 3:58:57 -3:59:12 the challenge here of course is to make sure these resources are used to continue to preserver our precious natural resource. our soil and our water and to promote sustainability in agriculture and our natural resources. officials say wetlands reduce west des moines library pond coming up...it might not look like school... but it is... nats@38:51 "i'm looking for some bugs." where students are diving into a local creek...and the four key these ames high school students spend more time learning outside...than in the classroom. with the pressure of school assessments, it can be hard for teachers to find time to get kids outdoors. channel 13's megan reuther takes of the curriculum. the story is new at five. @31:34 "each of these is a different micro- habit

chairman, secretary vilsack. my apologies for my voice. it still hasn't gotten better since yesterday. i wanted to just a couple of things that i've heard, especially you secretary vilsack, stating today is that you don't want to assume what we'll do with with the guidelines. you don't want to predetermine what the outcome will be. is that a fair assessment. >> the process hasn't been completed yet. >> and then one of the other themes i heard you say was that more public input you have, the better decisions you will have. is that a fair statement? >> yeah. >> one of the concerns i have about the process that you're currently following, my understanding is you have the dietary guidelines that are based on the expert report from the advisory committee. that's translated by you and your staff into -- or your departments into actual guidelines. is that -- >> that's one aspect of it, congressman. it's not the only thing we rely on or look at. it is one piece of a large puzzle. >> okay. well, the concern is -- i know that we've had a comment per

u-s secretary of agriculture tom vilsack announced today that the federal government is going to help save iowa's wetlands. the u-s department of agriculture plans to give the state three million dollars to help with preservation. officials hope the extra money will double the amount of wetlands across the state. over time that will help reduce soil eroson and water pollution. 4:09:41 water quality is not something that is something that is good one year and horrible the next. the reality is your dealing with a lot of complex facto. those ctors evolve over time...over a long period of time. 4:09:56 this project, is part of a 30 - million dollar effort to preserve wetlands in 6 states. this project, is part of a 30 - million dollar effort to preserve wetlands in 6 states. thanks ed.... we are only a few weeks away from the start of the college basketball season... later in sports how iowa head coach fran mccaffery feels about the ung talent on his team. but first...the white house announced troops will be staying in afghanian longer than expected. after the break...why the esident is g

>> so with regard to the specifics, i'll refer to my colleague secretary vilsack. i think what we know in younger children we are starting to see overarching across the board. we are starting to see the numbers go in the right direction. with regard to the specifics of school programs, i would defer to the secretary. >> i would prepared to redirect that question after your response. i will tell you we saw the obesity rate of high school decrease 9%. in the four years after that, the obesity rate increased by 16%. have you seen any data like that from the center for disease control control? does that cause you to wonder what the result of this might be? >> congressman, i would be happy to take a look at that information to better understand it. this is not a situation where we will see fundamental change in a year. i think it will be a general racial process. and i'm convinced that from a general racial process we're going to see progress. and i think secretary burwell is correct that we have begun to see progress, particularly among younger children. >> let ask you

. >> reporter: secretary vilsack the reason government updates dietary guidelines every five years tollow new research to be considered in the formulation. trish. trish: steak and eggs for me. thank you so much, peter. don't forget, government figures that tell you what to eat, they're making money to tell you there doing about that. what federal employees are earning in the private sector. smugglers are trying to sell bomb material to isis. we're looking at risks both immediate and long term. that is next. see you back here. romantic moments can happen spontaneously, so why pause to take a pill? and why stop what you're doing to find a bathroom? with cialis for daily use, you don't have to plan around either. it's the only daily tablet approved to treat erectile dysfunction so you can be ready anytime the moment is right. plus cialis treats the frustrating urinary symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently, day or night. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for ch

and secretary bill fact will be meeting with business leaders -- secretary bill fact --vilsack will be meeting with other business leaders. >> any conversations on the hill? secretary ernest: there have already been a number of conversations that occurred between leaders, and i would anticipate that a significant number of those conversations are also planned and have not taken place. the president is committed to the debate we've had over the summer, that the american public and u.s. congress will have ample opportunity to review the details of this agreement prior to the president signing this limit, but also prior to congress having to take a vote on it. that is an indication of a couple of things. the first is the priority that the president places on transparency. the second is that it should give you an idea of the confidence of the president about the benefits of this agreement. intense scrutiny, he feels, will only prompt more people to come on board. there are well-known differences of opinion on this, and i do not anticipate we will persuade everything will member of congress

health and human services secretary sylvia burrwell and tom vilsack appeared before the house agricultureee today. and the fox business network's peter barnes is live in washington. what did they say? >> the government updates these dietary guidelines every five years and the agriculture secretary said that's in part to allow for new research to be checked and considered in their formulation. >> i wish there were scientific facts, but the reality is stuff changes, right? stuff changes. and the key here is taking a look at the preponderance, the greater weight of the evidence, and trying to make a judgment based on the greater weight of the evidence. >> you have lost your credibility with a lot of people. and they are just flat out ignoring this stuff. that's why i say i wonder why we're doing this. >>> lawmakers from both parties, are demanding hhs and the ag department stick to the very . >> there is new research that finds drinking whole milk rather than lower fat milk may be better for preventing heart disease. make no mistake, there are billions of dollars in food sales at stake in th

and tom vilsack is the only remaining original cabinet member at the department of agriculture, and shawndepartment of housing omb is still there, and i am revealing too much obama administration information, but it is a sign that he is winding down. when obama was a political figure in chicago, and so he with because part of the administration when the president came in, and the president will be taking questions later on and he will be asked obvious ly about syria and the russians engaging in the air strikes, just as the coalition is, and how is the deconfliction process going with the russian, and of course sh, president is going to be asked about what is happening in response to what happened in oregon, the community college shoot, and does the president plan to advance legislation aimed at more gun control, and the president said i guess that we need to po lliticize this, a that is going to be a question. >> yes, and thank you much, jim. a lot more to come from us as well. we have a new forecast just in on the track of hurricane joaquin, and when we have the latest on this powerful s

and alex, that's the important message here, a message that clearly came from both secretary vilsacke guidelines are not meant to be the final word on nutrition. they are simply that they are guidelines. they use the best available evidence, the best science-based in information that they can to inform their decision-making. as they state themselves, in their defense, science is evolving and the guidelines are evolving to sort of meet that demand. >> how surprised are you that there are the guidelines that suggest full fat milk, for example, dairy products, will help reduce heart disease. >> there say lot of muddy waters here. one debate is about whether milk at all is good for you. the other debate is about whole milk and saturated fat and the other debate is whether the usda should be make the guidelines anyway or weighing in on them. the literature is definitely mixed. i think i personally would side with the american heart association that would say that saturated fats, which is what we're talking about, are not necessarily heart healthy. and a lot of the studies that suggested t

president go back as far as chicago and this leaves only one original member of the cabinet, secretary vilsackture, in the job to which he was appointed. that's a pretty tough road to hoe during a two-term presidency. but arnie duncan, long-time education secretary and reformer i think can be generally called in that position will be departing and then the white house made it known, the president will open to questions and answers after that. chris matthews in the washington bureau watching along with us. chris, first to the business at hand today before we get to the oregon mass casualty event and that is the tenure of arne duncan at secretary of education. >> yes. i think he represent it is president's thinking. he is a real reformer. he would like to see a real change in the way we finance schools, of course. we know that the way that he finance local public education is locally with the property tax and a great different shl between wealthier areas of beverly hills, for example, chevy chase or something like that and no money for quality education and like to shift it the another system an

while there, the president alongside secretary vilsack will be meeting with business leaders to talk about the benefits of the proposal. so we'll have more details on this tomorrow. >> briefings on the hill or other -- >> there have been a number of conversations that have already occurred between senior administration officials and leading legislators. i would anticipate that a significant number of those conversations are planned but have not yet taken place. the commitment that the president has made throughout the long debate that we had over the summer is that the american public and the united states congress would have ample opportunity to review the details of the agreement prior to the president signing the agreement, but also prior to congress having to take a vote on it. and i think that is an indication of a couple of things. the first is the priority that the president places on transparency. the second is it should give you a sense of the confidence that the administration has about the benefits of this agreement. the fact we welcome intense scrutiny of the agreement gi

i want to acknowledge and thank my friends tom and ruth harkin, tom and christie vilsack, leonard andboswell and your congressman for iowa dave lobesack. [ cheers and applause ] and i have to give a special shoutout to somebody really special. somebody whose birthday is tomorrow. someone who reminds us that sometimes you just have to let them hear you roar. katy perry, thank you for being here! [ cheers and applause ] did any of you see our debate in las vegas? [ cheers and applause ] you know, when republicans debate they compete to insult each other, demean women and they double down on trickle down. actually, it is reality tv with a cast of characters who don't care much about actual reality. but there's a big difference. when we democrats debate you see something. you see us tacking the hard issues, looking for solutions to our biggest challenges facing our families and our countries. how are we going to raise wages and create more good jobs? how will we respond to climate change and lift up our economy by investing in clean energy? how will we make college affordable and get pare

duncan and agriculture secretary tom vilsack are the only two remaining members of president obama'soriginal cabinet. since being confirmed for his post on january 20th, 2009, duncan has changed education policy in important and sometimes controversial ways. states are increasing the rigor of their academic standards. they are turning around their lowest performing schools, and they're opening new charter schools. these reforms were triggered by funding available through the race to the top and waivers given under the no child left behind act. after a legislative overhaul in 2010, the department of education is now the lender and guarantor for billions of dollars in student loans. duncan has used regulatory power to hold for profit colleges accountable for preparing students for jobs rather than loan defaults. he just unveiled a college scorecard to give students access to more federal data about colleges to help inform their search. he's been a lightning rod for some of the more controversial issues in education. these include the common core state standards, annual testing, and wha

tom and christie vilsack. leonard and dodi boswell. and your congressman from iowa, dave loebsack.ause] sen. clinton: and i have to give a special shout out to somebody really special. somebody whose birthday is tomorrow. someone who reminds us that sometimes you just have to let roar.ear you katy perry, thank you for being here. [cheers and applause] sen. clinton: did any of you see our debate in las vegas? [applause] sen. clinton: you know, when republicans debate, they compete to insult each other, demean women, and they double down on trickle-down. actually, it is reality tv. with a cast of characters who do not care much about actual reality. but, there is a big difference. when we, democrats debate, you see something. you see us tackling the hard issues. looking for solutions to our biggest challenges, facing our families and our country. how are we going to raise wages and create more good jobs? how will we respond to climate change and lift up our economy by investing in clean energy? how will we make college affordable and get parents to have the paid leave they need? how

. >>> we'll have another live hearing on c-span 3 as the agriculture committee hears from tom vilsack health and human services secretary on the health guidelines. >>> next monday on c-span's new series "landmark cases" in 1830, dred scott was enslaved to dr. emerson. emerson was assigned to several free states and mr. scott tried to buy his family's freedom from the widow emerson, but she refused and he sued. follow the case in the new series "landmark cases, historic supreme court decisions." exploring 12 rulings by revealing the life and times of those who were the plaintiffs and defendants and justices. next monday, live at 9:00 p.m. eastern on c-span, c-span 3 and c-span radio. and for background on each case while you watch, order your copy of landmark cases companion book. it is available for $8.95 plus shipping at c-span.org/landmark cases. >>> next a conference on the current political and economic landscape in the u.s. representatives from project new america and planned parenthood took part, as well as democratic state legislators from north dakota and connecticut. to talk

speaks with regard to the specifics of programs in schools, i will refer to my colleague, secretary vilsack in terms of those programs. what i think we do know is in younger children were starting see over arching across the board not just from a programmatic school-based but we are starting to see the numbers go in the right direction. with regard to the specific fiscal programs i would differ. >> i was prepared to redirect to that question after your response so thanks for pointing that out. according to center for disease control we saw the obesity rate of high school students decrease by 9% in the four years prior to the healthy and hunger free kids act implementation. in the four years after that the obesity rate increased by 16%. have you seen any data like that and as a cause you to wonder what the result of this might be? >> i would be happy to take a look at that information to better understand it but i think there's no question in my mind this is not a situation where we're going to see fundamental change in thank you. i think it's going to be a generational process, and i'm conv

department of agriculture, essentially providing various kinds of incentives to farmers, which secretary vilsack thinks will produce a reduction of 2% by 2025. there are also state policies that are part of the equation. and market trends, things like the abundance of low-cost natural gas, which can substitute and has substituted for coal in many cases. the decline of renewable energy costs at a much rapider and more rapid rate than people had anticipated. the possibility and indeed the reality, increasingly, of innovations in areas like electric vehicles and advance manufacturing. so looking at the totality of co2 reducing activities under way, we determined that 26% or 28% was a number that made sense and that we could meet on the basis of existing authority. and i would point you, by the way, to an analysis that was done by one of the most respected environmental think tanks, the world resources institute, which has concluded the same thing, that that target is something that can be met on the basis of existing authority. >> the u.s. chamber of commerce did an analysis and found about a 33% g

as agriculture secretary tom vilsack said at a sawmill in aberdeen recently, this is how we've got to do business. working together and finding common ground is the only way forward. working together we can develop timber 2.0, innovate, and build opportunities in rural communities and make sure that washington state leads the way. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from new hampshire seek recognition? mr. guinta: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. guinta: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to announce the interducks to honor our fallen heroes act, which came about thanks to the hard work of one of my constituents, pam rogers, of new hampshire. pam contacted me through my, we the people initiative, a plat porm for kernt citizens to offer ideas. pam fought to bury an anors who fought in the civil war with the recognition he deserved. he died at the age of 21 in a confederate prison camp. conditions were br

vilsack says iowa conservation groups are more interested in collaborating to protect land, "i want to pledge to secretary northey and to all who are assembled here that usda and nrcs stand ready to be part of that collaborative process to bring the resources that we have to bear on solutions." vilsack's announcement came along with his appointment of kurt simon as the new iowa state conservationist for usda's natural resources conservation service. simon has more than 30 years of experience with the usda and holds degrees in wildlife management and agronomy. he wants to start with conservation planning to work with farmers and see what resource needs are for long-term sustainability. he says his biggest challenge will be getting used to the new location, "well initially, it's going to be learning all of the ayers and the partners sincem not originally from iowa. though i do have roots here, andfather was born and isein iowa, in hardin unty. and so initially, i'm going t miw par toandf uhathe icoce ivi, aat he rvaivic p an." r sca rhiof ultandn ere h intodyin ois st inuntln owa. stow i

important agencies in government to sit at the same table at the same time, so i thank you secretary vilsack, secretary burwell, for making this happen. we appreciate it. we are joined by the secretary of agriculture and secretary of health and human services to develop the important document, the 2015 dietary guidelines for americans. it's not this committee's intention to legislate specific recommendations or guidelines, however, we will demand that the guidelines be developed in a transparent and objective manner. the dta is not only a recommendation to the american people on how to make healthy food purchasing decisions, to live a healthy lifestyle, but it forms the basis of federal nutrition policy, education, outreach efforts used by consumers, industry educators and professional health care professionals. it's essential that the guidance that comes out of this process can be trusted by the american people to achieve this it must be based on sound and irrefutable science. the national nutrition monitoring wheat and related research acts of