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we provide that opportunity for everyone. 55% of all students have a college degree. you do not have that and other parts of the world. other parts of the world are beginning to catch up. that is the only way we will win the future in the 21st century. >> we want to thank you very much. appreciate your time. >> thank you. it was a pleasure. continueslege tour tomorrow at the campus of records university. we will talk to the president there. first, we go to the senate for strategic and international studies where they are discussing latin america and the u.s. midterm. >> we are lots of money from the center for strategic and international studies hosting a discussion this morning on hispanic voters, midterm elections and how their votes may be swayed by latin america. among the panelists you should expect to hear from is the white house hispanic media luis marin does that can talk about -- to up talk about influences that can impact the vote of latin american and hispanic voters. this should get underway in just a moment. >> ok, i think we will get started here. good morning, and welcome. i am glad you could join us. i am the director of the americas program, and i want to welcome you to what i think is probably would've most interesting events we will have this fall. we're talking about latin america in the context of the midterm elections. i am sure some of you are wondering why this is relevant to the elections. i am sure some of you are thinking this will be about immigration reform, and indeed some of it will be. what we're hoping to impart is a different message. immigration is the only issue that makes latin america relevant. is one of many. there are a series of issues that are relevant to foreign policy and domestic politics. immigration is certainly an issue. u.s. cuba policy, energy and commerce -- these are all regional issues that have a large and growing electoral relevance here in the united states. let's look at the context we're operating in first. last year upwards of 70,000 illegallyied children crossed into the united states across the southern border. panama recently invited cuba to the upcoming summit of the americas meeting. the ongoing political crisis in venezuela has repeatedly made headlines in the united states, largely because of the country's stability and international grind throughout the region. that is not to say the developments are taking center stage here. isiss like the threat of and the russia-ukraine crisis mediatill dominate coverage and campaigns that and campaign talk reports. be a u.s.ica should foreign-policy priority, to. on the one hand i say that because it deserves substantive the term. on the other hand, instead of how this changes. latin america is uniquely relevant to the united states. and of course the evolving demographic makeup. in terms of prosperity, the numbers speak for themselves. the numbers are 180 billion from 160n america and 2013 and in exports. natural resources element and energy reform improves energy security as well. production chains are deep we integrated as well. containede in mexico labels manufactured in the united states. the u.s.-mexico border is 2000 miles long. vying to venezuela takes about three point five hours. cuba is 90 miles from florida. that should give you an idea of how truly close we are. because of the close list violence and drug trafficking reverberate. in flying that maintaining security on the border is a shared responsibility. as a result, most u.s. foreign-policy in the region is channeled into corporate security framework. cooperative security arrangements, which is a cooperative security arrangement with mexico. these issues of drug trafficking and violence are connected to our own security. is key to u.s. interests, even if it does not always gardner the crisis attention we see page two other global hot spots. the changing demographics beat to this. what do the demographics look like? 2.5 million have entered the u.s. since 2007. half are from latin america. a demographic group, people of the tino origin a cup 1/5 of the u.s.. group is growing fast and increasingly relevant in key electoral districts. latino americans often care about policy issues that impact the countries of origin. the media electoral context of what does that mean? geographic the -- geographically muslim in-state in florida, illinois, new jersey, new york and texas. five of those states have contestant midterms where latinos could make a difference. all nine will be key in 2016. let's look at colorado as an example. colorado's u.s. senate races closely contested. in nearly 15% the electorate is latino. many say the race has been made closer i president obama's decision to delay an executive action on immigration. numbers speak for themselves. latinos 25% more likely. three quarters factor it into the voting habits. the tino's affiliated with either party overwhelmingly support immigration reform, and it is the voters who can make a big impact in election years. in 2012 president obama won the support of three quarters of the country's latino and 53% of all americans. his popularity has certainly decreased overall, but we have withok at the spread regard to the issues as a whole. as the issues with latinos in particular, the president's support has dipped significantly. i will not get into the numbers because i think the panel will have their views, particularly on these issues, and i would say immigration is just one of these issues that will be relevant to electoral politics. think i have taken enough time in the opening and i am sure of the panelists will have different views. provide -- i will provide the introductions. moderating we will have a long-term -- longtime washington post writer. paper in miamihe in miami and mexico city and an accomplished author. i am thrilled to have him here. to my right is the cofounder and managing your. as spokesperson to president obama at the deputy communications director and on numerous campaigns. i'll come. senior advisor here. served as the u.s. executive director of the international development bank of the finger -- single member of the presidential affairs team. international law and banking. i would say you served as a political designee or appointment during the obama administration. welcome. hered friend and colleague is the director of the project of prosperity and development. he has worked of the international finance corporation as head of the unity and served as director of the office of global development alliance during president bush. welcome. i am thrilled all four of you are here and will turn it over manuel for his opening and i would remind you we are on the record and are lucky to be covered as c-span. >> thank you very much will have a conversation about two words " politics with "pol and policy and they are connected. i have been a reporter for a long time. a fundamental -- fundamental of journalism is you never make reductions. they catch up with you. i would like to start today by making a prediction. theprediction is this -- first latino president of the united states is alive, has been .orn the first latino president might be a member of congress. she might be a first grader in texas. he might be a highschooler in texas but that person is alive. we are looking at the midterm elections. for are always a test run the presidential election. as we work through the distinguished panel, i think we should be keeping an eye on the connection between those events. start with the anuel.ble m i would hope your prediction is very accurate. check with me and 50 years. saying yesterday there was a debate for the governor's race in new mexico. both debates are in spanish. i think this indicates the kind of interests there is on the part of politicians to reach out to the hispanic community. in states like in mexico, half the population is hispanic. the states that are traditionally associated with latinos at colorado and mexico and florida that have high percentage of hispanics. half -- roughly 9% or more of the population is hispanics. in states like connecticut, georgia --rge's -- over 10% is hispanic. not all of them are registered or eligible to register but over time the percentage of those hispanic descent who can vote will increase. i think getting to the heart of what the panel is about is to do the panel's vote in ways that further the interest related to the origin? argue you have roughly a third of hispanics in the united states that were born in latin america. ted cruz was born in canada. increasingly the individuals are the interested in seeing u.s. policy reflect interest. on the development front and security front, which hopefully we will get it to. get into. i think increasingly issues relating to hispanics linked to the country of origin will become more and more important. >> before we move on, can i ask you a quick question -- can we even say there is a hispanic or latino electorate in the united states? does that exists as a single entity? >> that is a great question. 10 years ago i would have said no. i would have said the hispanic really depends on the country of origin but i would say the immigration issue has galvanized the hispanic community in ways i have not seen before. i was born in cuba. grew up in miami. when i got to college i've met folks from other parts of latin america, and they consider themselves either primarily puerto rican or demented can. i think the immigration issue has caused a lot of hispanics to feel they are part of an embattled group and the need to stick together. that is my general sense. a couple of context issues. in which these issues play themselves out of a local level, i think we need context about what our boat moving issues today and in this atterm if you are looking the washington post before i came here, 19% of the economy. 12% said terrorism. 8% said immigration. to july and immigration was the number one issue in july. i think it had to do with the news about children crossing the border. in terms ofatility what the public opinion is thinking about him up but i would not say latin america is on the ballot. for those of us who think about international affairs issues or particularly energized, we may care about it but in west virginia second congressional district, it is not about moving issue per se. i think we need to be careful about how and where it will be expressed. i will share a couple of and it notes. raised the issue -- i speak to a lot of members of congress and a lot of folks , and often governor times i am the one that has to prop the conversation about international affairs. out because they are not globally aware or sophisticated, it is just it is not a moving issue. for those of us in think tanks it is fascinating and interesting. we need to understand it is part of a larger context. i asked governor christie about his trip to mexico. he went on for 10 minutes. a very sophisticated account of mexico. he said i think the mexican leadership is sophisticated, american educated. the reforms are very important. canada with the and having pipeline increased energy investments in the united states and things like hydraulic rack sharing along with increased foreign investment, imagine having a regional energy power in north america, what would that mean? he then took it and pivoted it to the ukraine. europe if we could offer , who are in some ways constrained for what they can do, we will produce so much energy that we can be your energy supplier so that we are not in hock to the russians. that was his sophisticated analysis. an opportunity for the united states we think in regional terms that has to euros strategic terms. -- zero strategic terms. you think showing on the ballot. the challenges and central america, which are personally a result of governance, corruption, but also partially , and part of gangs this is a u.s.-generated problem is causing people to send their children on trains and put themselves in danger. thousands of children. i think one of the ways this will show itself on the ballot, we need to think about how we respond to them. not just that the border but how will we respond in a sophisticated way? way we have looked at the problems in columbia. 15 years ago he had a -- wesation in this room have this conversation in the room. columbia is a bad brand. 15 years later people say i want to invest in columbia, it is an ally. so a big part of that was america's engagement. something that was through drugs or and security being exported with something on the ballot that people were concerned about. exhibiting as a security risk. also a development challenge. energy, the challenges and central america, and let me add one more. i am reading a very interesting book. that making the argument latin america and the united ,tates to progress and develop we will have to have more sophisticated ways of vocational training and education. we will have to have education that will involve the private sector and the role of technology. this is the role of challenge in the latin america challenge. he very elegantly licks the -- links the issues. but this will be something that people care about as an issue because it has to do with their ability to progress. qc education, from time to time, but i think linking them will become an intricate mastech issue. one of the reactions to the crisis with unaccompanied minors coming across the border was maybe we need a plan that central america. >> we have read about that, saying i am very much in favor of land central america. historically the attention span central america is short. if you go back 30 or 40 years we will respond to a crisis and focus and then we take our attention away. the bipartisan extended focus the way we did in columbia over 10 or 15 year time to make a significant change on the problem of governance and security, as well as plucking young people into productive activities. they will either use their energies in unproductive ways or productive ways. it is in all of our collective interest to have them participate in productive ways. >> it will be hard to not be repetitive on this panel. when you talk about the hispanic community, the latino post is an often gets thought of as something separate, something somewhat un-american. i think one of the biggest challenges we have as a community and americans is to try to break that down and really clarify what the actual dynamics of the committee are. the plurality of non-hispanic whites leave most hispanics were illegal. that is a tremendous statistic and tells you what a disconnect between the perception is in the united states and what the reality is. more than 50 million people of latino origin in the united states. the population is only 10.7 or 11 million, somewhere in there. that has to be rectified. essentially as much a 60,000. many of them, if not most will be able to register. the conversation about latin america and latino issues come into play is many do not feel motivated or connected to the political system or a sense of belonging or being reached out to by politicians. that is where we will have to make the switch. specific to are not the community. they are important to the broader interest of the united states. tot needs to be addressed residents important. when you have issues like ,epublican government shutdown they affected security operations that were decisively targeted in north america. those that are smuggling people , and then complain about the crisis at the border. we have to start looking at how the issues are interconnected and how they affect the united states as a whole and not think of it as latin america issues or issues that affect hispanics. breaking down the barriers so that as politicians and government officials look at wikido not see it as separate and distinct and checking a box, which is often what happens but rather, but they are embracing that. i think the candidates that will that recognizese that and start ahead of the curve. you are ready see that in many places. florida is a good example. -- you already see that in many places. when the president decided to delay executive act soon on immigration that have repercussions for the control of the senate. that's i think his word will will have to start to look at that from the national parks are. hispanics are not going to play that big of a role in the elections. so he can take that risk and protect folks like mike prior. the reality is he may have done the opposite. you look at a state like colorado that has a very tight race. hispanics have a significant population. do not turn out, energized and motivated, that could potentially cost control of the senate. also another state where you may not expect that. the state like north carolina of theou have 9% electorate in 2012. that could control the senate. you could certainly have plenty of other races. i mentioned florida. you see a lot of colombian americans which is traditionally a swing vote. they do not necessarily have a strong affiliation with the party. the newer immigrants were venezuela and latin america. reaching out to them makes a difference. cuba continues to be an issue. adaptcians are having to to the reality that a lot of cuban-americans actually want to go back and visit their family and support small businesses over there. a lot of politicians are clinging to hard-line policies which is alienating some of the younger folks. whether or not they are alienating is yet to be seen. that is a reality candidates have to address and have to stay on top of. again, the candidates that are realizing and recognizing how these things adapt earlier are the ones that are going to be successful and begin to integrate the hispanic outreach not as something separate but integrated. withu have had contact people involved in politics across the country. what do they tell you about this one fundamental question. why latinos are not turning out in bigger numbers and elections? >> it is feeling connected, a sense of ownership. but the same time venezuela was absolute crisis. very little coverage in mainstream media of what was happening. that really spoke to the disconnect between main stream media and 50 million latinos here. all you have to do is compare and i the newscast -- nightly newscast on telemundo with that on nbc. you see a completely different set of issues. ukraine in syria. hispanics care about education and the economy. see iting you regularly outpacing education. they often want to hurt other countries of origin. done, in 2005ave i traveled with howard dean to mexico. when they were in the middle of the president trey -- president sher primary election. will receive this a tremendous amount of coverage and mexican media. a lot of border media is heard in the border states and that reverberates. that is something that chris christie recognizes and the starting to do. if you want to reach a population the miami you can go through a radio that is columbia that has a lot of penetration into new york and los angeles. outou have to be able to go there and talk to them about not just the issues they care about that are domestic and also those that are international. show them you care about the part of whatever issue you're talking about. the biggest mistake they're making is they will hire someone think thatino and has checked the box. we have this thing with howard dean that just because you're black does not mean you can only stop -- talk to black people. our politics is still caught in that ethnic-type approach that does not make a lot of sense. make a lot of people feel like they are part of it. does nott is it include a bigger set of what the population really looks like. >> much of your work has been involved in business development and also have a component as a goal poverty reduction. why shouldn't the latino voter ise about whether business doing well in a central american country or whether there are high rates of poverty there? and not only why should they care, but do you think that they do care? >> a great question. a lot of americans do not realize latin america and caribbean as a whole is the largest trading partner. we export more to that part of the world than any other part of the world. i am roughly speaking about gdp per capita about a quarter of the united states. just imagine if they continue to grow. for that reason alone, it makes sense to do investment. was theg i worked on increased the largest in history that doubled the capacity of the bank. from the u.s. taxpayer commitment was $5 million over four or five years. leveraged an additional 50-60,000,000,000 in blending. cannot get that kind of leverage anywhere else. something very smart to do for those reasons i'm a but also because of what we saw at the border. the border with the united --tes and mexico -- i have measured it but the border with canada has to be at least twice that. you do not have the canadians trying to get into the united states, and there is a reason for that. canada doing relatively well from a economic perspective. , the more the folks there will decide to stay in the countries. it is a very hard thing to leave one's country. you do not leave unless you really have to. i was born in cuba. my family felt compelled to leave when they did. reason that we have folks that want to stay in the region and then you see how the illegal immigration issue goes away. >> it is almost somewhat counterintuitive. the question of latin america is not vote generating issue in the election in a lot of places, get it has been in other elections, right ?ap go nas nafta was a big issue out one time. , a largeerent era focus. how do you explain that? do withnk it has to these are trends. issue has been immigration. that is the issue in the media and spotlight. i would say two things. one is the issues will grow in importance as the population grows. you haved issue is almost had the developments of two parallel media conversations here. any night you see a whole bunch of issues having to do with regional issues. i do not think in 1991 and 1990 you have that kind of coverage or people watching it. so i think there has been a change in the context. not that these issues are less important. i think there is just a different approach to dealing with it. i would agree with what has been said, there is a last of a way of mainstreaming the issues. there is a separation here. you touched on it, and i think dan touched on it, too. you want to talk about latin america stuff, get someone who was a latin america last name and you check the box. i do not think it is like that anymore. i think it is getting less and less like that. ideally what we would like to see is these issues are part of the critical mass of issues that the candidates would have to deal with. dan is correct that when you pull -- poll the hispanics for , bymost important issues and large hispanic americans are no different than others. you care about jobs and health care and education. the immigration issue is important to them for social reasons. earlier, yousaid feel in terms of party identification, you ask yourself , what party do i feel more comfortable with and what party if i vote for i will be most welcome? i think the immigration issue is the canon to the civil rights issues for americans in the 1960's and 1970's. it is not by coincidence that the vast majority are democratic because they saw what happened in the debate's in the 1960's and 1970's. , i am stunned the republican party has not done a better job of reaching out to republicans. there was a study in 2012 for they identified this as an issue, and yet look what has happened. i think hispanics are looking at think this is i the time when they are forming the opinions of party affiliation. if democrats are successful and grabbing them now, i think they will hold on them for a long time. >> f you look at the -- debatelook at the nafta and why it received so much attention, it was not driven by latinos and the hispanic competition it was driven by the loss of jobs in mexico. i think that is a really great example of how we have to make sure people understand latin america issues are not specific to hispanics but the general situation and benefit and prosperity of the united states. it was also the fear of losing jobs that drove the issue and made a powerful. the fear it democratic change. -- demographic change. that is part of what they have been great at bringing attention to the immigration issue. it has backfired in a certain way in that it brought attention to the immigration issue in a way that seized hispanics of foreigners. a lot of hispanics have been there for generations, long evene those states where part of the union. so those are realities we have to address. there needs to be leadership in both parties, particularly in the republican party that looks at the very small minority. most republicans are ready to vote for immigration to support -- plenty of them even look at that. a very small minority that fears demographic change and has to recognize those that are not legal are a very small portion. arizona, there was a village discovered in arizona yesterday. --e of these folks were everyone in the village was like where did they come from you felt that this the attitude is hispanics were there for hundreds of years and we have to tell the story. we have to make sure they understand hispanics fought in the revolutionary war and hispanic war on both sides and every conflict has been a part of the american fabric. it allows for the issues of fear and has united latinos. i think it is becoming a sense of respect. the way it is talked about makes you feel your entire community is under attack. also, when you address them you give them a sense that we respect you enough to care about the other issues you also care about. x a couple of things. i think the countries have changed. they have been some of the best growth years for latin america. we want those countries to succeed and have conversations with mexico and peru that we have with south korea and other countries that used to get assistance from the united states and western europe. i think that is happening. conversationind of when the governor comes to washington, he wants to talk about trade, higher education and technology. he wants to talk about how can i get people to prosper and succeed and do not in a way that is interesting for both of us. i think we are having a more sophisticated armor station. think on things like trade we will see a lot of credit for his excellent record on trade deals. i think it is a problem if we are only tautness -- talking about the trade record. i think there were 15% that .oted i think the bush administration push for panama. and the colombian free trade deals that took three or four years to get them done. president bush spent a lot of time on those. i do think we do not necessarily get credit. often times i think the immigration debate is very divisive, but i think there are divisions in both parties that take up the labor unions that have not been asked about immigration and i think about the first two years of president obama's charm and he had democrats in the house and senate and do not pass comprehensive immigration reform at the time. i think it is sometimes republicans are easy to scapegoat but i think it is more complicated on the one hand. terms of the changing trajectory of the society in latin america, the kinds of conversations we are having our different things. they want more sophisticated discussions about education, andning and infrastructure there is an opportunity to prosper here. where they grew up as well. we want to have that kind of a mutually interesting dialogue or conversation. . think we're getting there i think the past 10 years have been part of changing the conversation. >> part of what i think matters is the government diversity in media organizations. not a tremendously big hispanic residents at government or the international level. to not look south but still towards europe. to includeo change more people but not quite where it needs to be. as educational institutions again to look south. one thing the administration is trying to do is 100,000 strong. traditionally when people want to study abroad they think paris, london. as more people start to get so it is not just for latino americans heading traditionalre of populations that would otherwise still study in europe begin to study in south america, i think that will help. you see those developments that will lead to eventually those will beple, then they in a position at cnn or the state department where they can influence things. >> one of the networks. >> on that note i think there are a couple of things that need to be mentioned. dan mentioned a little bit that the bush administration has free-trade agreements and had a budget of over $2 million. when you look at the current administration you see $1.5 billion. you see the programs like the one you mentioned, but there has pivot to asia and there has been a questioning with regard to the commitment to dealing with these issues. been thetment has initiative and not really expanded into other areas as much. on the one hand you have a lot of folks in this country on immigration discussions. along,ion, as it moves and i think you talked about ins, is interested investment and improving the social ability of its citizens. education issues as mentioned. we are forced to have this discussion regardless of republican democrats simply because the region itself. >> it is privately funded so that speaks to the issue as well. if you look at the day to day has beenm 2009 there an emphasis on trying to develop stronger relationships with will. mexico in the free-trade agreement is the perfect example to foster that. everyday there is work that goes into that. every day they continually get latin america to the middle east. that certainly sends the wrong signal even if there are people who every day try to strengthen the relationship on trade and security, you still have a problem of perception that i think needs to be corrected. secretary kerry, and of his first mistakes is to say they are in our backyard. secretary clinton visited the region and unprecedented amount of times. a lot of the mile she longed were to latin america. secretary kerry has not been as focused on not america and that is felt inside the state department and latin america. first question i often get is why doesn't the united states care about that america? >> took the headphones off. the news and argentina. news in argentina. >> we are going to take the microphone and pass it into the audience so they can ask you those wings and some of the other things. who wants to go first? >> hello. chris christie was not the only governor who went to mexico. also governor jerry brown in california. mean at the local level we can trust more business development between governments will occur or will that be more -- or will we have to do that through major application? is one of the best example of having a strong relationship with mexico and some of the other border states where they recognize the mutual interest in security border issues. we talked about getting trafficking and multinational gangs a little while ago. the efforts between the states and especially california and mexico are pretty commendable and how they're working together not just on the government side but bringing together public and private interests to help deal with the issues. have mayors going to visit mayor's them america and the other way around. and the business level where it is most important. the interesting trend is saying companies realizing they want to expand and they see the hispanic market as being very attractive. we tend to think about during tos is america's -- is going americans going to latin america. increasingly i think we will see latin america wanting to do business in the united states. them are seeing this as part of the role. fourth-generation mexican-american. her spanish is beautiful. distant relative who was a second-level hero in the mexican revolution so the adams,ld name is samuel paul revere. so when she goes to mexico people know who she is. she speaks rate spanish but her family has been here over 100 years. who had someative connectivity to the history of mexico. people connect with that. you have governors in michigan and maine who make trips. not just a border state. they see themselves as this is part of the role to be ambassadors. i askedple, in maine this question at a meeting and the current governor said 90% of maine is foreign. we are jumpstarting the paper and pulp start with the mexican paper and pulp firm investing in maine. because of what i said about the changing dynamics and economics and investment going the other way, it is an interesting twist. soare in a different world even a place like maine we're seeing this. governors absolutely have to do this as well. >> my name is alvin straight. i work for dss consulting. i am interested in unemployment and the work life, especially for young people. i was curious about higher education high schools and work waste. issuet going back to the of where countries are in the economic development, there is a challenge around the middle income trap. when the governor came to washington and met with coral and i and others, he wanted to talk about community college partnerships. president bush did this. president obama did this. think this issue about gangs, we need to find -- i think we will find young people orther it is in l.a. somewhere else, young people will use the energy for productive activities or unproductive. that is not just a challenge for the state or foreign aid providers but getting companies involved. getting community and churches involved. new ways ofs training and education. especially folks that leaves the great education system. i highly recommend if you are interested in this topic. that be the start amazon review right there. starred amazon review right there. i worked for the hispanic heritage foundation. i had a question about how can politicians find this as an investment in latin america? i think it is very hard to make the case of long-term investments. think it is hard to convince folks we need to invest in securities social economically. how can they create the platform? is we are talking politicians and of democracy. you want to appeal to the interest of the voters. to the extent that different districts, talking about the house of representatives or district levels you have a significant population that still has family in central america. i would think it is a very attractive case to make him that we should be investing for security regions -- raisins and you are helping family members and friends that are still there. you communicate with the individuals that know how difficult times are there. these are investments we are making. it has never experienced as a false. these are not grants we are making and hoping for the best. back, asipal is paid well as the interest. aterwise, if you look companies as enterprise in the united states, a greater percentage of those are owned by hispanics actually trade to exports.rica in case youk that is the could make. trying to help create government programs and working with private institutions are to promote exports. also, there are a lot of companies all over the region that are competing globally. bolsteris not just to security as much as these are smart, business decisions. ae region is now growing in way that it has not before. a very diverse region. you have issues such as where the business environment is not the best foreign investment. in other places come or brazil colombia, peru and mexico -- these countries have environments and regulatory frameworks that are much more attractive to businesses not just from the united states but all around the world. casenk it is unattractive to make that if we want to take off in the region, have better relationships, want to be able to hit the ground in a place return onill get investment, we have to be in these countries. not just an issue of bolstering security in latin america for instant. it is also putting latin america in the global framework of investment. .ery relevant in that regard >> our national leaders need to realize they need to invest time and effort does all of these things reverberate. southing i have said is americans need to recognize if they want to be taken seriously on the world stage, they need to be serious like -- like threats like isis and they are really global threats. >> there is no latin american coalitionat is in the that the united states is organizing to come back -- combat isis all around the world. >> not just at the assistant of really from the top. this administration has designated vice president biden to me the point person on the issues. he has become engaged and that is important. in the economic prosperity that helps both sides. we avoid crating a vacuum that allows foreign threats to enter latin america. >> i think dan was champing at the bit there. that it is inssue our mutual interest, talking about mexican investors industry, this is a one-off and you will see a lot more of this. the first bush and ministration where argentine a had a ship in the first gulf war. i think el salvador in the iraq war. we have a question from the gentle man in the striped shirt. >> thank you. wondering along the lines , can youcent comments speculate foreign policy in latin america? the event of a change of control of the senate, which is what it would take and there's not going to be any change in the house, are there any possible changes in u.s. foreign policy? rubber --ad a republican senate it would mean that marco rubio would be one of two candidates to have control over an important subcommittee on foreign operations. that one of the two people are both from florida. would have a series of thoughtful people. i think you have a bigger appetite for more trade deals. adding to republicans are known as a pro-free trade a party. a brazilianou have wehner, you would have the appetite in the senate to get a hemisphere trade agreement. the president obama would have a legacy project, this could be it. i think you could have an increased appetite and interest to do something about trying to deal with the challenges in central america similar to the way you have in the republican congress in helping columbia. to go with what some of my republican brothers just said, the real issue is going to be immigration reform. i think we have a window because of the presidential election a lot of people are going to be putting pressure on resolving that is dealing with root causes of why children are coming. that is dealing with the security side of it or being docket -- and document people in the united states. you mentioned brazil. you mentioned him it being the president. the big issue brazil is a tax treaty. for the u.s. and brazilian business to be able to do business more easily. keystone pipeline in the western hemisphere, depending on something relevant. i think it is important to be realistic. we can speculate as much as we want and we will have our own interests and agenda. the next two years ago in to be -- we used to talk about it when i was of the senate foreign and it iscommittee going to be the silly season. i think we are all interested in latin america. it is important to temper these ambitions with reality. >> i agree with you. years in axt two republican senate, he will see very little get done. it is going to be a split congress, even if democrats when the senate. the likelihood of a lot happening is not high. , i think thisck is why we need to work on diversity at every level. democrats are starting to get that message. they have not released the numbers yet. diversity in staffing and aggression all races is better than i think it is ever been. translate into of peopleg a bench who become campaign managers and then the become state directors and and they are political directors. people getart to see more experience. they are going to be making impact in the next one and the one after that. that diversity is going to make a huge difference. we've got time for one more question. abouthave not talked drugs. i think that speaks to how far latin america has come. narrative is changing from those bad, negative things. immigration is still an issue. >> colorado and washington are going to affect the drug legalization conversation. >> final question there in the back. >> a lot of pressure. >> thank you. since we are talking about the midterms, i hear a lot of optimism and enthusiasm on voter turnout. the statistics don't bear that out. point -- 7.8 million hispanics will come out. that may wind up hurting emigrant -- democrats. they are upset about the delay in immigration measures. this is going to wind up hurting democrats. republicans are getting closer to regaining the senate. i wonder if you could elaborate on areit is that hispanics feeling let down and they are not going to come out and vote considering the potential we have been talking about the sleeping giant for decades and the potential for their political clout. it has not come out yet. suggest -- there are a lot of things i hear from campaigns is how do we men -- motivate these voters. the afford will care act has lowered the uninsured rate among hispanics from the high 30's to the 20's. all of those people need to be made aware that kind of thing is at stake. the need to understand what is at stake economically and financially. any to compare with the economic policies mean for that particular community and that district area the challenge for democrats is to connect what difference it could make for those particular voters. immigration is a when. i mentioned it at the beginning. it has been a long hour. i was talking about the fact that the president may have hurt himself with the delay in states like colorado and north carolina where it is within the margin of air and hispanics can make the difference. there is an enthusiasm problem. it starts with reaching out and making people feel like they matter. done going to have to be one at a time. on that note, it is an opportunity for republicans. it is an opportunity to go from the rhetoric you have seen to action. thatnk that is something onublicans will be judged with this issue. it is an issue of growing interest in growing importance. i think it is an opportunity. vote is more up for grabs that it has ever been. >> i think the democrats amid a big mistake with not a more aggressive. he had the mark pryor's of the world dominating and affecting national decisions instead of the udall's who have a bigger constituency. the democrats are put them and a difficult scenario where they should be able to capitalize on this constituency. it is not 100% sealed. and it republicans are missing an opportunity in the lame-duck session. they misread it. let's not do with immigration because it is a loser. they should have looked at let's deal with it now so that we don't continue to have been challenged. the latinos and not going to go away. the dreamers and not go to stop showing up at these events and challenging them on the stump. wayhey get this out of the in the lame-duck session, it have to deal with it. soy take it off the table primaries to have the focus on immigration. there are be smart to do that. >> right all the data we will check it is months. or in 35 years. >> i think we should offer a route of applause to the panelist. [applause] thank you all for coming in participating. c-span was here. you can relive it. >> thanks. >> you can watch this discussion from the center for international studies later on her website. more coverage in a few moments. u.s. africar of command will conduct a briefing from the pentagon. that will be live at 1130 eastern on c-span. our campaign will can coverage tonight with live and recorded debates starting at 7:00. we will have the west virginia senate debate. jay rockefeller is retiring. here are some of the recent campaign ads and at race. >> we are losing our choice of doctors. and it inhibits our choice those are things that west virginians hold dear. >> she supports having your health insurance be portable from job to job. >> health care is going to get more expensive. this administration has put a big damper on our way of life. >> i approved this message. are. he had open heart surgery to save her life. we prayed with us. the insurance company called her pre-existing conditions. i know health reform wasn't done right. there is a lot i will do better. i will never go back to the days of putting insurance companies deny coverage to our children. i approved this message. seeing politics at its worst. my opponent is attacking my family. i am disappointed. i am not surprised because she has sown she will say or do anything. misleading voters is not a west virginia value. fight.ing to what do we really know about shelley moore o? -- bankers getrs rich and they have given her $2 million. while west virginians were losing their jobs, she gave her husband a wall street banker insider tips and they made more than $100,000 she keeps getting richer and west virginians pay the price. >> virginia senate debate between mark warner and ed gillespie. this is his first time running for elected office. that will be on c-span two. here are some of the ads virginia voters are seeing that race. enron, the largest corporate fraud in american history. ed gillespie was their lobbyist. $700,000 to block regulation of the energy market. it got worse. >> the former leaders of enron had to prison. >> the million-dollar lobbyist to put enron ahead of you. to put a price on carbon. >> mark warner wants to tax code. obama anti-coal agenda will raise electric bills and devastate the local economy and kill good paying jobs. i will fight the coal tax. we will create good paying jobs. i am ed gillespie and i approve this message. enrongillespie, the lobbyist is attacking false ads. is mark warner is fixing health care and finding a bipartisan solution to cut the national debt. republicans including a former governor have endorsed him. working together will solve problems. i approve this message. >> i am ed gillespie. i worked my way through college in my parents'grocery store. there is opportunity and dignity in work. byay, too many are scores president obama's policy that raise taxes and increased prices and kill jobs. mark warner votes with the president 97% of the time. you can see that debate on c-span-2. the north carolina senate debate will take place tonight. we will show that to you recorded at 9:00. a reporter talked with us about that race. you will see some of the campaign ads afterwards. shows kayest poll hagan with a slightly over tom tillis. is aus on the phone reporter from the raleigh news. this is the latest poll that shows the income it center slightly ahead. what is happening? >> we have been noticing in polls for the last month that senator hagan has been ahead at least a little bit. very much astill tossup. it is too close to call. at least half a dozen polls in the last month have shown her ahead. >> why? >> that is a good question. the race has been tight. north carolina is very closely divided between democrats and republicans. senator hagan has been making this as much as she can on a has about what her opponent done in the state legislature. they have taken the state quite a bit to the right and it made some reductions in education spending compared to what growth would require. that is your main talking point in the campaign. she is point out that she is the independent .4 north carolina in the u.s. senate. how does the campaign respond to that? >> think of insane that senator hagan is to closely aligned with president obama. to some policies that are unpopular with a large section of the population. >> as you look at the upcoming debate, what you looking for? the is a chance for candidates to show voters directly how they are different from one another. some experts think they will bring up things that did not come up in the first the fate -- debate. that might be done control or voting rights. some things have been in the news like the ebola virus and the fight against isis will come up. usingr tillis has been foreign-policy issues to show his strength and to criticize senator hagan. campaignoes the tillis have on the ground in north carolina? >> both parties are working really hard to turn out voters. this is more competent in a midterm election. both parties have people knocking on doors. also have groups that support them out doing the same thing. >> we are a month away from the midterm election. wheriswhere this campaign is rit now, has it surprised you or is it what you expected? >> it is so close. everybody said all along it would be close. we're not surprised about that. is still a tossup. >> the latest on the north carolina senate race. thanks for a much for being with us. >> thank you. >> i am kay hagan you've seen a lot about me lately. special interest are distorting my record. i approve this message because i am tough enough to keep taking the punches. you deserve to hear what i am really about. i am fighting to create jobs and build an economy that works for everyone. standing up to our troops and veterans and protecting medicare and social security. the next time you see those false attack ads, ask her self, whose side are they on? my first job was a paper route. i was a short order cook. instead of college i went to work and got my degree two decades later. 25 years in business. my story is not special. in america, it happens all the time. the train wreck in washington puts all that it risked raid i approve this message. americans can make it right. >> i'm an and i am from lack mountain. education was my way out. i am afraid it won't be for my kids. textbook funnyt that i can't help my son was homework. tom tillis once a certain class of people to have opportunities. his agenda is tax cuts for the wealthy. that is not working for my family. attacking tomads tillis? tillis fired the staffers. harry reid is trying to fool republican voters. the press says the democrats fear him the most. he brought a conservative resolution to raleigh. don't be fooled by harry reid. >> i approve this message. debate takes place earlier this evening. we were recorded and show it to you at 9:00 eastern here on c-span. we'll have the latest in the military response to ebola. that is coming up from the pentagon at 1130 a.m. eastern. about 2014 andk how you choose the candidates you will support. guest: it is a long process. the up and pertussis in this process for about eight elections. we try to find champions of economic freedom. we have an interview process and a research process. a lot of elements have to follow to place. it has to look like we can recommend endorsing a candidate to our members. we have 100 thousand members. they want to put despite in the process supporting candidates financially. they rely on us to have the that in process and make recommendations. we only do economic issues. that is the only basket of issues that we make decisions on. this is a process to take some time. we don't endorse a lot of candidates. our goal is to endorse the best candidates. we have a good track record of doing it. host: who are your members? guest: they are from all walks of life and all 50 states. them as they believe that pro-economic growth policy is the foundation for a prosperous country. we don't do social issues. we don't do foreign-policy. we can agree on pro-economic issues. these things result in a strong economy and lead to prosperity for everyone. host: they put together this graphic for your group trade money spent for or against candidates in this election cycle. this is the money spent against candidates. you spent more money against republicans than you have for them. why? guest: we protest fate in primaries. we are not a republican group. we are fiscal conservative group. we'll think all republicans are equal. is theyrtunate things run on the same thing. they all say the same thing. them too is challenge say in last 20 years, when have they done the things they say they are for? when do we have any entitlement reform? when have we had less debt rather than more debt? we are looking for people to run on those things that mean those things. when we find people like that, we support them in primaries. they say things but they don't do things. we're looking for people that have firmly held beliefs and use those to guide them. they will challenge the status quo here in washington the, which needs to change. host: where are you play now? guest: we have for general election candidates we are supporting. arkansas andces in alaska. those are very competitive races that will be and should who controls the senate. then we have two competitive house races as well. .ne is in louisiana louisiana has and let can system -- a unique election system. new hampshire, we are supporting a candidate named melinda garcia. she is running against an incumbent democrat. we are in six other races. but i have to spend long time or resources on those races anymore. host: let's talk with the arkansas a race. bill clinton was in his home state campaigning. we want to show our viewers what he had to say. afford to do what their opponents want. they want you to protest vote. you may like these guys, you know what you've got to do. you've got to vote against the promise -- present. it is a big scam. give me a secure job for a to your protest. that is the message. yes i voted to cut student loans and raise the interest rate. yet i voted against the violence against women act. no i will never vote for equal pay for equal work. i will give you one more protest vote. to do it yet you me six years. for a protest of the irrelevant into. he is talking about tom cotton. he is a great american. he has served his country in the military. he is a great candidate. bill clinton is bill clinton. he is very popular in arkansas. he is a great messenger in a lot of ways. he is probably the best they have host: host: are you concerned? guest: being an incumbent anywhere is difficult. name print -- politics. he is been in washington for a very long time. tom cotton is going to win that race because he has a good message. the first time i heard this secure term for a to your protest. i'm not even sure what that means. these policies are a lifetime. they are for future generations. how to we put our country in a better place for all of us for years to come. we have unsustainable debt. we have a lot of problems that we need to address. they need to be addressed going forward. host: host: you say that it will be a tight race. will you be on the ground? what is the gameplay? a grassroots not organization. when we have done a long time to support tom cotton through our members. we supported him when he first ran for the house in 2012, when he was a 3% in the polls. our members no tom cotton well. they have supported him generously and they will continue to do that. so ourled contributions members band together to make contributions to tom cotton's campaign. beginning in 2013, we ran ads in that race a we will continue to do those types of days that help put him in the position on election day to in. host: your contributions are nearly $2 million for this election cycle. your outside spending is over $7 million. how much in the end do you think you will be spending here? you are ranked 21 for outside spending. guest: we do what we need to do when we need to do it. we are not one of these organizations who say we are going to spend a whole bunch of money just to say we spent a bunch of money. we don't ask our members to support our efforts unless we know our efforts will be a determining factor in the outcome of an election. we look at that every single weekend we sit down and analyze arey reese -- every race we in and the resources that we need to put in those races you're a there are a lot of people supporting people like tom cotton and that is good. in these races, people say there's too much money and politics. i don't know what that means. how much is too much or how to define how much is too much. host: what about other republicans where there are tight races? guest: we are not a republican organization. we are not in the business of just electing republicans. we are in the business of try to find champions of economic freedom. host: so none of those republicans are that? guest: i would say that we have a select group that are the best and we support those candidates. . we do not pretend we could play in every race. we only ask members to support our efforts that we think really matter when we band together and tried to enter a race. everything we do is not about politics. it is about policy. we understand you can affect policy through the political process. we are looking for people to come to washington and go to the building behind you and say, we have talked about tax reform for 20 years and we are actually going to do it and we will stand up and espouse principles here in washington. very few do that. host: if republicans get control the senate, the republicans support senator mitch mcconnell? host: what we do is we figure if we elect enough champions of economic freedom, they will elect one of their own as leader. we do not get a vote so we do not comment on it. it is a numbers game and a headcount. the more people you have, the more likely it is they will elect their own. host: let's go to stephen in indiana, you are up next. caller: i asked my father about politics when i was younger, i asked about republicans and democrats. he said he would smack a democrat and punch a republican. that is my little comment. i have got a question. taxes, are you just for people who are real rich and want more money? in town here, ceos make a 300% increase while employees had a 30% discount. same price cuts. guest: tax reform certainly involves marginal rates. when you actually lower tax rates, which lowers the burden on people making investments and growing the economy, the economy grows and we are frankly not against revenue to the federal government because we think if you have a progrowth tax house policy, federal revenue will grow because the economy will grow at a faster rate. you are the smaller slice of the pie, but the high becomes bigger. it is not about any person making more or less money. it is about growing the economy and everyone benefiting from that and enjoying prosperity. host: what process do you think of tax reform? guest: that is a good question. the chairman of the ways and means came out with a progrowth tax -- most republicans criticized it. we came out and said, this is not perfect but directionally correct and a great step to get started. the problem is, once again, both parties have a habit of saying one thing and not always going through on it. we hope republicans have the house in the senate, that they will make good on their promise forecast reform. even the president says he wants to have tax reform, especially corporate tax reform. it is not about corporations getting a tax break. it is about putting the united states corporations in a place with a canopy -- can compete. tax in an industrial world which drives jobs out of the country. it is about jobs in america and corporations being competitive so they can compete, grow here, and employ more people here. host: the wall street journal this morning, "why the senate loss may be a win for obama." both parties will be forced to compromise. would you support some sort of compromise on tax reform? guest: i do not know what compromise means. more government, more spending, more favors, more corporate welfare, no. we do not think that is a good place to start -- to start. what republicans ought to do is invite president obama to their agenda and see what he does. i suspect they will not do that. i suspect they will not challenge president obama to veto some of the policies they long offered. 2016 will be a tough year for republican senator is because there are so many up for reelection. they will probably do relatively small things like the keystone pipeline. they are good things, but they are not bold leadership. i hope we are surprised. an aggressive program of tax and reform. host: republican caller, bill, new york, go ahead. caller: good morning. i would like to make a few comments. years ago, when president george bush became president, the first thing he did was cut taxes on the wealthy. the second thing he did was cut the revenue he sent to the states. now the states cut the revenue sent to villages and towns. now towns had to raise property taxes, raise school taxes to pay for school taxes, and now we are talking about cutting corporate taxes and our military around the world protecting to keep free-trade moving. now you will pass that cross. -- pass that cost to the citizens of america. alexander hamilton, the first thing he did was tax all coming into the country to pay for the coast guard and military. you now want the american people to pay for the tax and let all of these american corporations that george bush senior, when he was the ambassador to china under richard nixon, he is the one who started this trade with china. host: ok. i will have him respond. guest: going back, the government does not have any -- the president can'st cut money to the states. governement does not have any money that comes from the people in those states in the first place. history is history. this is not really a partisan thing. it is just math here in if you go back and look throughout history when you have tax reform nec marginal rates lower, you see federal revenue actually go up. so, it is not an ideological thing. it is an observance of history and it is math. when you talk about, we will lower the corporate tax rate and that will cause a problem, the problem is we have a high corporate tax rate and they are leaving the united states to seek out more friendly tax environments. with this whole in version debate, it is not about being patriotic or not. it is about growing your business where you can, most successfully, in the marketplace. you cannot put around our walls around put our borders. every time, we have suffered for it. it is history, learning the facts that have worked and not work and we try to support those who -- those that work. host: charles in california, independent caller. caller: yes, good morning. i like the program and i learn a lot. i was shook by a comment he keeps making. we have examples in history where we cut taxes and the economy grew and i was wondering if you give us an example. i am just looking at the economic issue of the country. the taxes were cut and the national debt doubled under the reagan administration. if you have a simple example of this notion that somehow we cut taxes and the economy just booms. guest: there are examples in history. the kennedy tax cuts, the reagan tax cuts, and the bush tax cuts in 2003. the debt and the deficit are not necessarily related to the task cuts. it is about spending. revenue and spending are two different things. in 2003 after the bush tax cuts, the revenue hit an all-time high. the reagan economy group. we can all point to the 80's and 90's where we had a robust economy and it prospered from that. the facts are there and the economy has grown and we had a more competitive tax structure. it is about giving people incentive. when people feel like they can benefit from good investing and they can benefit from working more and harder, they tend to do it. people are very good at understanding their own self-interest. when you reward people for doing those things, they do them. it is just history. but do not confuse federal revenue. it should be connected, but it is not always, because the more the government takes in, unfortunately, the more they spend. they always spend more than they take in. host: we are talking with chris chocola about progress candidates as well as the fiscally's death fiscally conservative agenda they would like to see. conservatively agenda theywould like to see. with your questions and comments, dial in and we go to marry in tennessee, a democratic caller. hello. caller: hello. i just hope america is paying attention to what this fellow is saying. because he is doing the same thing grover norquist is. this is just ridiculous that we are not raising taxes. the democrats are just the cowards, not fighting and not exposing. the only one exposing any of this corruption is bernie sanders. the economy will not grow without taxes. host: i will have chris chocola jump in. guest: the facts are these. we have an unsustainable burden that we know we have. take a number. one hundred trillion dollars, promises we made to americans in the future through our social security, medicare, and medicaid. other spending that we have no idea how we will pay for. you can confiscate the property, just take every car in every house in every bank account of every american in america and you would be 30% short of meeting the financial promises we already made. you can not taxed people enough to solve our problems. it is just impossible. the only answer is reform. we have to reform tiedemann entitlementr programs and get control and find ways to have a smarter and more efficient government. we have to get economy incentives to grow so we can fix problems. testing people more will not solve the problem. host: on spending, one way both parties tried to deal with that is the budget control act and they said, if we do not get the spending down, om -- automatic cuts go into place. sequestration across the board. i want to show you what a republican senator had to say -- what bobby jindal of louisiana had to say about that in washington. >> a lot will depend on november elections. i hope harry reid will retire and i hope nancy close and -- nancy pelosi will not still be speaker. when it comes to defense cuts, a mistake. added to the top, then you add the impact of sequestration, nearly $1 trillion reduction to what was the last responsible assessment of what the pentagon actually needed. secretary gates, i would argue he did not go far enough in his proposal. i would argue that is the last time there was a reasonable threat analysis. it is remarkable to me that in the space of a speech, the president would throw out his own secretary's work, and pick an arbitrary number and on top of that, congress would propose arbitrary reductions on top of those reductions. it was a mistake for republicans to accept sequestration cuts. we need to allow the cuts and another portion of the federal government to continue. when it comes to defense, i think the sequestration cuts were a mistake. if they were honest, even the administration would admit they played a bad game of chicken with the nation's defense and we all lost. host: he says he's calling for a 4% gdp increase in a certain amount of years. guest: sequestration was a game of chicken. no one could do their job well, so they all thought they would challenge each other to do the unthinkable and it got done. and then they gave it all back. we were actually in support of the sequester numbers. we thought defense spending was ok. the bottom line is we have got to find where we will spend less somewhere. for republicans, the sacred cow is military spending. democrats have a lot of other social spending. both sides will have to find ways that they can spend money in their pet areas. the sequester was actually working and it limited the size of government for the first time in over a generation. it was not really last, it was slower growth. it was something i think is unfortunate that was relation -- relinquished. him am proud to welcome general rodriguez. he is here to interview an update on the u.s. military contributions against ebola in west africa. i will turn it over to you. i will moderate. we've got 30 minutes total. >> good morning. good to see you all again. i am glad to have the opportunity to talk to you about the u.s.-africa supportive competence of government effort to help contain the outbreak of ebola in west africa. as you know, the president considers this to be a national security priority that requires mobilizing our collective resources to enable the success of the international effort. recently, i discussed the progress of the response with the president. in support of the u.s. government effort, the military focus is on providing logistics, training, and engineering support in conjunction with the greater interagency effort. headquarters in command in liberia, regional coronation of u.s. military support to the u.s. and international relief efforts. finally, we placed two additional mobile medical labs last week, significantly increasing the capacity for rapidly diagnosing ebola. we also enable health-care workers to safely provide direct medical care to patients. this is very important and i want you to help us to tell our families and the american public the health and safety of the teams supporting this mission is our priority. pre-deployment training and adhering to strict medical protocols well diploid and carrying out carefully planned reintegration efforts, i have confidence we can ensure our service members' safety and the safety of their families and the american people. as we deploy america's sons and daughters in this effort, we will do everything in our power to mitigate the risk to our service members,. employees, contractors and their families preventing. the spread -- preventing the spread of ebola is the core of our effort. -- this applies to our own support efforts and our own people. of doctorsionals without borders have a record of safe operation in their fight against the spread of ebola. we have looked at their procedures and consulted with the centers of disease control, the world health organization and others to develop our protocols based on known risks and improvement winning. we are taking the following steps. we are implement and procedures to reduce or eliminate the risk of transmission to service members as they go through their daily mission while diploid, including use of personal hygiene equipment. let me assure you that, by providing the pre-deployment training, adhering to strict medical protocols, and carefully planned reintegration measures, i am confident we can ensure our servicemembers' safety and the safety of the american people. our training procedures and the displayed of our leaders in our force will help us to ensure that our team accomplish and the mission without putting our mission and fellow citizens at risk. stopping the spread of this disease is the core mission. we are focused in all of our efforts to accomplish this by supporting the international effort and by keeping our own people as safe as we can. with that, i will take your questions. there have been some questions about whether the response to the overall crisis has been too slow. do the troops you have now -- are they enough to get the job done? or do you think, in order to quickly,ley and more you think you will need more troops there? do you have a cost estimate? >> first of all, one of the gainenges is continuing to understanding over time because of some of the isolated places that is creating problems. we are supporting the usaid efforts to do that. right now, the leadership has approved up to almost 4000 people. admiral kirby talk to you about that. we have a lot of flexibility to put people in their bank as they are needed and -- people in there as they are needed. the speed with which these things are done, it is not just one challenge. part of it is the ability of the host nation to absorb it. as you can imagine, their infrastructure and their capacity to house people, to feed people is limited. so it will have to come in in a very carefully orchestrated -- based on the demand out front. at the same time, they are increasing their understanding of their situation at the same time. so these mobile labs are very important. as you can imagine, some people have malaria and some people have the flu and it is important to understand who you have to treat and who you don't. we already have two of more those in that have impact and we have more on the way to better adjust. that is not what we expected when we got the first mission. i think we have the right flex ability and the ability to adjust as needed. >> cost? >> the cost estimates right now are probably around $750 million for our efforts. that is in a six-month period. is challenge with doing that that, those labs for example, they were not in the initial plan. so it will have to be a free-flowing, flexible adjustment in all of that. >> nbc. will any u.s. military personnel be involved in the direct treatment of any ebola patients or in the training of health care givers? will they come into contact with any ebola patients? >> no. the mobile labs are different. but enough for the majority of the force. the mobile labs are testing people so some of that will have the ebola virus. those are trained at the highest level of something like nuclear, biological, and chemical. so they are trained at a very high level. one has been operating there for many years, for example. and the two that we just deployed meet those standards of training. >> do you have any numbers of those who will be involved in the lab operations? what kind of protections or what kind of protocol will be observed? and if any u.s. military personnel should contract ebola, what is the protocol there? what happens? >> first, on the numbers in the labs, they are between a three and a four-person team. we have three labs deployed right now. we will probably deploy several others. so one lab adds three to four additional people. again, those people are trained at the highest level of nuclear, biological, chemical arena and they are testing all the people. they are the primary ones that will be contacting anybody. on the second point, if somebody does contract ebola and becomes symptomatic, they will be handled just like you have seen on the recent ones who came back on an aircraft that was specially designed to bring them back and they will go back to one of the centers that is specially designed to handle the ebola patients right now. >> so they will be returned to the u.s.. >> yes. >> fox news. and personnel be working side-by-side with liberian troops as they build these emergency treatment units? i thought we had been told that they would be separate run the liberian forces. is there a risk of contamination by working closely with the partner nation's troops? first question. of theyou have enough personal protective equipment that you need or is there a shortage of that? have you stockpiled any of the mac? >> we have people that will be working with and observing the other people that are building the etu's. our contractors will make sure they are meeting the standards and oversight. all the people who are doing that are tested and meet all the medical protocols and ensure they do not have the disease. then the continual daily checks are also a part of it. so all of the people we are working with go through those knuckle protocols. -- those medical protocols. on the last point, the virus, we do not have that stockpiled. the expert get opinion of the cdc, but that is still to be determined whether it is effective or not and whether they had a date in the future where there they will be able to tell if that is effective or not. adjectivefficient equipment for ourselves and we will continue to make sure that is the way throughout the process. >> military times. can you tell us a little bit about where this -- these three or 4000 medical servicemembers will be housed? and can you tell us about what kind of personal protective gear and what kind of hygiene protocols and monitoring will be done on a daily basis? >> for the majority of the people that will be in races like the minister of defense or some of the military posts that are out there, some will be at the air feels -- the airfield and at the locations where people will be flown in. we will have trainers that are in a training facility. most of these places that are in and around monrovia are in buildings. people will either live in the ministry of defense areas or they will live in tent city type procedures where everything will be taking care of them, including their food and water and all of those things. you have to watch all of that at these points. occur inprotocols that the daily monitoring, malay, it is built around the -- mainly, it is built around the multiple washings with your hands and feet and everything else. when you go into one of these ebola treatment units, you will wash her hands and feet multiple times. you will have your temperature taken in and out. there is a checklist for each personnel on the virus or any other sickness that might be coming up. it is a self questionnaire and checklist. the personal protective gear, the majority of the people will do ploy with personal protective gear that includes gloves and masks and things like that. they don't need the whole suit as such because they will not be in contact with any of the people. >> cbs. point aboutg your the ability of liberia to absorb all the stuff, you have the feeling that, if the american embassy were under attack in liberia, it would not take weeks to get there. about thisit operation that makes it seem to be unrolling in a much slower pace then sending u.s. troops to protect americans first? >> the protect americans peace is a small number. we have five times that we have sent in to libya to protect the u.s. embassy in that situation. there, withructure all the ability to sustain themselves. the other challenge in liberia, as you can imagine, their whole nation is overwhelmed. their health facilities are overwhelmed. that is all broken down. we have to bring in everything at the same time. now, they areix
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