Focused on the future and how we can Work Together to create a better, brighter healthier one for the Healthcare System rather than on rehashing the mistakes we made long ago. As we begin to move forward, we must not lose sight of where we started. Years ago, next month in this very room, the Committee Heard testimony from a veteran named barry coates who spoke about waiting almost a year for care at the department of Veterans Affairs facility of south carolina. He was finally seen long after he should have been. He was diagnosed for colon cancer that had spread to his liver and to his lungs. He passed away in january last year. It was garys story and accompanying allegations that 40 veteran patients had died while waiting to receive care for the Va Medical Center in phoenix arizona that kicked off a nationwide access and accountability scandal the likes of which the da had never seen. It also led directly to the creation of the Choice Program and to the allocation of billions more tax
Lets hope it continues. And thanks for cspan for coming along. And just a few tips on how were going to handle this mornings meeting. It is being filmed live and when you ask a question, please state your name clearly so the world knows who you are and aunts and uncles can refer to the recording. The subject today i think is highly relevant. Iran sanctions and the nuclear deal. We heard a lot about the iran deal in the campaign, particularly from the president. But i think there is some confusion as to what actual policy is given that we have a nuclear deal with iran, which no one seems eager at this point in time to tear up. Even though the president says it is the worst deal ever negotiated. Secondly, we have a major fight with the Islamic State or isis which the president claims is one of our top priorities. In Foreign Policy. And yet ironically, one of the countries we will rely on to beat isis is iran. And iran has an election coming up. There is great pressure on capitol hill for
Exactly that. So im grateful to be here. Im also grateful for the opportunity to talk with a room of leaders who have a tremendous opportunity to have impact on behalf of or our nations children. So i know were going to get to a q a, so i wont speak for long, but i wanted to first try to frame a bit about our progress that weve made over the last seven years, some of the challenges that we face and the opportunities, the tremendous opportunities ahead. Since the beginning of the administration, we have seen significant reductions in the dropout rate. Even in this room knows last year we had the highest Graduation Rate from high school that weve ever had as a country. Thats thanks to leadership from folks in this room. [applause] much of that improvement has been driven by reductions in the dropout rate for africanamerican and Latino States in particular. That is a very encouraging sign. It is encouraging sign we have tens of thousands of more students with access than before the admini
Canadian Prime Minister justin who writes in washington Justin Trudeau arrives in washington for a visit. Watch live at 11 40 eastern time on cspan3. Tomorrow night, the white house hosts the state dinner for the visiting canadian leader. The first formal state dinner at the white house in 2016. Our live coverage begins at 6 15 00 eastern on cspan. The executive chef talked about preparations for the state dinner. Hi everyone. Welcome to the white house. I am the white house it is my privilege to welcome you to the state dinner happening tomorrow. The dinner will be happening in theeast room, followed by state dining room. This is the 11th visit of the obama administration. I am so glad youre here for a preview of the special evening tomorrow. You will get to hear from some of my amazing colleagues starting with the white house florist. She will tell you about the designs and the core of the visit. It was inspired by the scenic span between the u. S. And canada and also the color of sp
Remarkable friendship between the first lady and a reporter. It was also a time when i began to appreciate just how much she meant to the man who became the president of the united dates, not just as his wife, but as his best political advisor, as jim baker and others have pointed out. As we all saw in those photographs and videos, she could be the adoring wife in public, but behind the scenes was a politically astute analyst and the keeper of the flame. We stayed in close touch but it was not always easy. Shortly after his inauguration as president , i made some Public Comments about his early years in which i said i thought the poor boy there and it was somewhat overblown. After all, he had been a successful broadcaster in his 20s and then a movie star under contract before he was 30. Nancy was furious, and the word came from jim baker and others, stay clear of the white house for a while. We will let you know when it is safe to go back. [laughter] about two months later, meredith an