Questions. Thank you very much. [ applause ]. Director general amano, thank you very much for your presentation. I have a few questions to pose to you. Im sure our audience has many that it would like to pose to you. I know iran is going to be a big focus of attention, so therefore isle start off talking about the agency and its role. I particularly want to raise the concern that i and many others have about the growing politicization surround iing th board of governors and its discussions about the agencys role. I remember when i yutzed to attend board of governors meetings, general conferences, usually there was a consensus among Board Members on any particular topic. It was very rare there was voting and a divided membership. Now its almost the norm on lots of issues for there to be voting and differences. You mention the the state level concept or state level approach. I think this is a very innova innovative approach to safeguarding. I think it would enhance the agencys role yet y
People who have worked this the state know whats going on. Then the challenge is to turn the knowledge into something more than interesting anecdotes of history of a particular state. But to figure out how we can learn to make the whole thing better. Thank you very much, alice. You made a lot of key points about why were here. Im sure for people watching this and listening to it, its a lot to take in. I have been over my career working with many people in this room and in the country on doing studies like this of new national policies. I have never seen a challenge as big as this one. Im not a young guy. So we have, as alice said, a lot to learn. Its hard to get your hands around it. I hope the program are has been helpful. The important thing is what tom said and what alice said. This is not going to happen next week or next month. This is a change of such magnitude that it is important to be able over a long period of time to look hard at what this law does in ways that go beyond wha
I want to thank you for your unbelievable strength and courage and leading that conversation. Thank you very much. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] out hearing of the subcommittee will resume. Thank you, e. G. , for your service, for dedications, for your sacrifices youve made for country. Im so grateful you are here today with this important hearing. Am also incredibly grateful that many of you came this morning and participated and listened to the first two panels. That means a great deal, not just to our witnesses but also to their families and all of our military families. We appreciate it very, very much. I know that this is becoming very debated issue, both within the military and in everyday conversation. I also know that many of you have seen the film the invisible war, so the jumping off point on how important this issue is for our military and their families. Im very, very eager to hear your testimony, and
Intention of fulfilling. The president scheduled to do his budget the week of april 8. The senate going to meet with House Republicans today. Give us the nature of these meetings and what will happen. Today is the second of four trips up to capitol hill for president obama. Its part of this consensus where hes trying to win over congressional support for a grand budget bargain. This has been an effort that was kind of served by failing to avert the squeft a couple of weeks ago. Hes got almost the opposite challenge of what he did yesterday when he met with Senate Democrats, when he was meeting with Senate Democrats yesterday they were pressing him on his kind of willingness to accept Social Security cuts and changes to medicare, entitlement programs. Democrats are very much in opposition to that. Today hes going to go face House Republicans who as we know are very much in opposition to any increase in tax revenue. And so while yesterday he was kind of trying to win over democrats for a