Transcripts For CSPAN Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20150203

Something that we believe will help with the issue of drug prices which i think is part of the first part of your question in terms of making sure that we can make progress both on quality as well as affordable in healthcare. With regard to the delta in that particular year, i will defer to my colleagues but having been at o. M. B. My guess the date in the year will be one of the elements if it is that large of change as well as other things but ill let andy speak to that. Im going to endorse what the secretary said. First smart comment. So theres a couple of things i think hes referring to his own not mine. And yours. There is a timingish issue and that is a significant driver and we can take you off line and go how that works. Second, specialty drugs, theres thats a driver there and then i think theres a small factor for growth in population but i think the first two factors will be the biggest driver in part d. Youll actually i think well be able to take you off line but well cover that theres a couple of spots theres reassurance and overall costs. Thank you. Yeah ricardo in ap. You can provide detail on how you envision these negotiations to work and should they be limited to medicare. Medicare is very important. Its a biggest payer, but what about the Medicaid Programs as well . Could you so i think with regard to this type of proposal as with our entire budget this is a conversation well be having hopefully with the United States congress. As we work through how they are thinking about it as well as how were thinking about it. In the earlier response i think this is about us trying to find ways that we can continue with what we have talked about as a real priority for us. Delivery system reform and thinking about how we improve quality and cost efficiency and we believe this would be a tool that would help us on both of those front. How would you define high cost drugs . I think that is something that we would work out. As i said this will be a statutory provision in terms of getting the authorities and that is something that we would work with congress to define and determine. Thank you. Hi. Melanie. I want to know a little bit more about the funding request for unaccompanied miner children and how that trigger for 100 million how that was decided upon to address the issue. Ill have mark continue the answer. What we were trying to do with the Contingency Fund is meet the two objectives that sometimes in terms of budgeting one thinks about how can you meet the objective of making sure that youre appropriately prepared for an extreme situation at the same time youre budgeting together in a fiscally responsible way. The concept of the Contingency Fund is our approach of meeting the needs of the congress to be clear when you would need money. Were hopeful theyll never come to pass in terms of the numbers that would trigger that type of fund and thats what we were going to work against. Based on experience we apt to make sure that we are putting forward the required needs if we have a change. Mark, did you want to add anything . Very quickly. So as the secretary indicates, were seeking to both prepare for our best expectations whats going to happen but also recognizing that there is inherent uncertainty in the prior three years that have been very dramatic growth in the unaccompanied children peaking in the summer. Since that time numbers have declined in a significant way. It is based upon what we see at this point that we believe our Budget Proposal would be sufficient for what we would anticipate at the same time the experience of the program has been one where sometimes unexpected things have happened and so we feel that its crucial to build in the ability to prepare for contingencies. The secretary has time for one more question and after that ellen will take over moderating. Thats mark greenberg. Make sure you have that. Happy to take another question. You you i was curious about funding for any new emerging viruses like the ebola virus. And are they going towards emerging viruses flu or anything else like that. So the answer to that question in terms of that type of preparedness is centered in three different places in the department. Doctor will come nicki ill invite you to say a few words. And in terms of our work at the epidemiological work and dr. Collins would have a few comments on exactly in each of those budgets we have levels to work on the issue of prepare edness. The 16 budget puts a strong foot forward when it comes to bio threats. And these are to deal with the bio threats that are traditional threats and microbial disease. Whether its ebola or another pandemic or something we havent seen before. There are substantial funds and good increase in 2016 to an address those different categories. We continue to see that Mother Nature plays tricks on us and its own bio terrorist and we have to be prepared to meet her wherever she shows up. Not only viruses and biological events but man made events. Its very important focus of this budget and substantial initiative to combat in fact across u. S. Initiative to combat the rise of it and allow us to establish protection in every state and the amount of testing thats done for Drug Resistance and organisms and to have Rapid Response in this country to improve Infection Control to stop outbreaks of drug resistant organisms of bacteria and viruses in the u. S. And Drug Resistance globally because its an area where if a resistant strain emerges it may be a threat to us. 238 million putting to good use in terms of therapeutic trials even as we speak. With regard to the Antimicrobial Resistance we have an Important Role to play with wonderful collaboration with our colleagues so there is 100 million of additional funds proposed in fy 16 for research to help us with the effort to set up a Clinical Trials network that would be ready to test a new antibiotic that might be developed and we hope and expect that will happen. But you have to have that network in place with access to individuals who may have pneumonia with resistant organism and you cant do that on the fly. You have to have that set up ahead of time. Well continue to work intensively on the effort to develop an influenza vaccine. We are in the early stages of stage two trials to develop vaccines that dont work for this season or next season but would work for all influenza viruses that have the shared structure of the hemogloben and protein. Dr. Hamburg, you can see this is a real cross your question hits it. What is an h. S. S. We have to take it through the epidemiological part of cdc when were developing those vaccines in terms of future development and as part of that fda. So doctor, do you want to say a word . We play a Critical Role in the chain of activities that will lead to better answers treatments and strategies against resurging infections disease threats. We obviously play a role in the development, review and hopefully availableability of new products, diagnostics vaccines and with respect to the huge challenge of Antimicrobial Resistance that the doctor touched on fda has a broader role. Were very involved in helping to achieve the most Efficient Development plans for new diagnostics, drugs and vaccinees, but we also are involved on the Animal Health side in terms of the use of antibiotics in Animal Husbandry and agriculture and moving forward with a program to remove apt tie antibiotics from Animal Agriculture in terms of their use of growth promoters and to bring this important class of drugs under the oversight of veterinarians. So thats a very exciting activity in this proposed budget will allow us to continue those activities i think you can see the broad range of what we do in the department. Ill leave you in the capable hands of ellen murray and the team. Ellen, ill ask to you come up and moderate for us. Do we have any other questions . Ill leave it to the microphone people. Jeremy with cnn. Talking about vaccinees, governor christie and senator paul talked about vaccinees should be optional or voluntary for parents to give to their kids with the recent outbreak of measles and mumps. I think ill ask dr. Freeden to response. Vaccinees are tremendously important in protecting children. While we understand the concerns of parents that theyre understandably concerned for the safety and ethicasy of vaccinees, part of the challenge we have is that the vaccinees have been so effective, the diseases they protect against are less familiar. 92 of American Kids are effectively vaccinated against measles, however there are communities where a large proportion of parents are not getting their kids vaccinated or in a timely way. What that means is theres a gradual buildup of those susceptible of measles. It can be quite serious, although some children get over it quickly. It cause severe illness or even death. The vaccine is safe and effective and choosing not to vaccinate your child also endangers the health of others in your community. Neighbors whos children may bend the age of six months or medical condition that prevents them from being vaccinated. In the year 2,000, United States eliminated measles ever since that year every case of measles in this country has ultimately been traced back to spread of mels somewhere else in the world. That emphasizes our need to continue to strengthen vaccination programs throughout the world but also emphasizes that we are all connected and that not vaccinating your child has implications not only for your family but also for families around you. The science on this is very clear. There was one study that has since been shown to have been fraudulent that alleged to show problems but review after review by independent agencies emphasizes of course a vaccine can make your arm hurt and give you a slight fever. There are no long term adverse consequences from the mels vaccination. Its also as one last point to make important that although there are some parents who are not getting their kids vaccinated, the vast majority havent gotten around to it yet and not the small number who have strong beliefs of the vaccine and what it it may lead to. We hope increasing number of parents, especially in communities that have had increasing refusal rates get vaccinated for their own sake and the sake of their community. Are they intended for the Medicare Savings Program . You can take that . Sure. I think the question is about the a. C. O. Items inside the pwupbl et. We have i think released very positive results over the last year which have shown we can improve quality while managing costs in a number of communities around the country there. Is more of this inside this years budget and i think theres also bubbedled payments incredibly important and primary care demonstrations and state based initiatives. All those things are a big part of the budget this year. Just to follow up on an earlier question on the negotiations. Just to follow up on the drug price negotiations, is that going to be a statutory proposal or is this more in the nature of an invitation to a dialogue . Its a statutory propose until when will that be available . Is that available now . Andy, do you know . I dont. I do not know. Thank you. Question for dr. Collins. Is there still funding in the 2016 budget for the Brain Initiative . Where is that at now . There most certainly is and were delighted about that. In fact the fq 16 budget proposes an increase of another 70 million on top of the 65 million which is included by the time you get to 15. This is in a ramped projection which is very much what this initiative needs in order to see the full opportunity realized. This is one of the more excite things going on putting together the expertise from a variety of disciplines to understand how the circuits in the brain do what they do. And the first go round of grant applications nor which we just funded a few years ago produced just the kind of scientific excitement that we had hoped for and we want to see that continue to grow over the course of the next 12 years because that is the plan that was put forward by this remarkable panel of experts led by cory band bill. If it want to see more about it its up on the web in the advisory page. What is it . 135 million. 70 thats new and 65 that was there from 14 and 15. Probably the first time in 4 or 5 years an afford press conference hasnt led off the press conference. How much money are you asking for next year to implement to with the Affordable Care act and go through the exercise where you tell us where you managed to scrape up money to run the law last year . By last year you mean 2015 . Right. Well, again, as in most years we will use program management. We have more fee income in 15 than we did 14 and more in 16 than 15. We could use the secretary of transfer and the expense fund. I think as time goes on, funding for these exchanges will be funded by the fees. Some of the activities cant legally use fee income to do so like running the hub which is a federal responsibility. But the need for prop rated dollars will be less as the years go on. But, andy, you can add to that . Thanks for the question. Yeah what allen said is exactly right. I give a couple of highlights. I believe in this year coming budget 70 or so will be taken care of by user fees and we think thats going to continue to grow. As it gets close to its natural limit. The other thing that happened is our ask for major expense items like Information Technology are going down year to year. Well see rediction of close to 200 million. So i think between getting the program to third fourth year of stability as well as the stability of user fees and so forwards, i think well see a sustainable path funding the exchanges going forward. Any other questions . Yeah, hi. Sara from nature magazine. I was intrigued by consolidating food services. You can talk a little bit about what the authority of that new agency would be and what it would not be and if that would would have any regulatory we hope to work with congress to develop this proposal. Right now theres no details in our budget money for food safety. But this is something we hope to work with congress through the year. It seems that fda oversight for drugs and medical products relies more than half on user fees and that seems like a larger percentage than it has been in the past and im wondering if that represents a significant increase and if thats permissible under the current user fee arrangements. We have as you know a kpwupblgbudget that reflects the contribution of Budget Authority and user fees and theyre negotiated on a regular basis with the relevant industry and then codfied in legislation and several years ago the bill was passed which laid out a five year plan for user fee spending. The at the present time our user fees are different in different programs within the medical products area and there are some areas of activity that are not paid for by user fees but strictly by Budget Authority and others where user fees play a Critical Role. In all honesty i dont know what the specific percentages are in the different domains and we could get that to you if the president s proposed fiscal year 15 went forward. But i can assure you that the numbers reflect a careful consideration both of critical needs and problematic areas of activity and also of course the requirement thats are put upon us as part of the User Fee Program and the various tar gets and triggers that are components of that legislation. Any other questions . I see none. Thank you all very much. Look forward to seeing you all next year. President obamas nearly 4 trillion budget request for 2016 includes more than 83 billion for the health and my Human Services department 49 for hughesing and urban development and 41 billion for Homeland Security. That according to the White House Office of management and budget and on wednesday, secretary nominee will be there for a confirmation hearing. He served as Deputy Defense secretary. Well have live coverage 9 00 eastern also on cspan3. Now officials from the state department and u. S. A. I. D. Have their 50. 3 billion budget request. This briefing is 25 minutes. President obama released his budget and im pleased to be joined here by administrator to take a few of your questions. I just want to note that this is actually his last budget rollout. Couple of weeks hell be moving on and i want to thank him for his service. He has been a really effective and dynamic leader at u. S. A. Id and pushed forward and innovative efforts and galvanized our response to unexpecteded emergencies and well miss you. Two weeks ago, president obama said if there is one thing this new century has taught us we cant separate the work at home from the challenges on our shores. We see it in action every day. And our fq 16 budget request makes critical investments. Strengthen the u. S. Economy and Global Markets and support u. S. Citizens and development presence overseas. First the top line. The state and u. S. A. Id budget request totals 50. 3 billion. Our base budget request is 43. 2 billion and this will allow us to address security challenges and carry out our Development Mission and advance the signature policy and Development Initiative and honor our commitments to partners and carry out Peace Keeping activities around the world. Weve also requested 7 billion in overseas Contingency Operation funds to respond to National Security requirements. Oko funds will support afghanistan, pakistan and iraq and respond to the conflict in isil and ukraine. Our budget invest 1 billion in Central America. It helped mexico secure its southern border. Our goal is to partner with our neighbors in Central America mitigate these factors. For afghanistan, our request includes 1. 5 kpweul dollars this assistance which will support the afghan unity government as it strives to implement key reform and economy and work with us. Our budget request includes 963 million to secure Embassy Operations and one 25 million. Our request continues the secure economic and civilian programs necessary to do so. As part of the administrations collaboration to degraded and destroy isil, our request includes three. 5 billion to strengthen regional partners and provide humane tearian assistance and opposition to advance the conditions for negotiated political transition. Request also includes an additional 1. 1 billion to support diplomatic engage toplt sustain our strategic partnership. Last year at west point president obama announced the creation of a Partnership Fund that enable us to train build capacity and help facilitate Partner Companies on the front lines against terrorism. It includes 390 million to support the stableization assistance and counter extremist and ideology. Our budget also includes vital support for ukraine to counter pressure and aggressive action. This includes 290 million to support up to 1 million if ukraine continues to make pro guess on its imf program and if other conditions warrant. It also provides support for democracy and anticorruption measures and Public Diplomacy strategies to counter russian propaganda. The request also provides over 5 billion for International Organizations and Peace Keeping efforts. These funds strengthen or strategic relationship across the globe and enables to us to advance security. It supports 17 u. N. Peace keeping missions and satisfy u. S. Obligations to the u. N. And 44 other organizations. At the same time our request will address urgent and humanitarian efforts around the world. To address this unprecedented challenge we are seeking a challenge of 5. 6 billion in humanitarian funding. Shifting gears a bit were investing over 800 million in clean energy and Sustainable Landscapes and this includes 350 million of a state Department Contribution to the Green Climate fund a new fund that will help developing countries access to public and private finance in strengthening resilience to climate change. This budget makes significant investments in the people and platforms who make all of this work possible. Budget includes 6. 9 billion to support groups around the world. These funds sustain our relations with foreign governments and International Organizations and aboard and vital overseas services to citizens. In order for our diplomats to do their work, they must be safe and secure. It our request includes 4. 8 billion for worldwide secure protection to support key security requirements such as protection of diplomatic personnel and new infrastructure such as the training center. Within the construction and maintenance account it includes 1. 4 billion which includes support for the cost sharing programs and upgrades for diplomatic facilities as recommended by the benghazi review board. American leadership is needed more now than ever. But it depends on our resources. The United States remains powerfully engaged on the myriad of issues. We look forward to working with congress to secure funding for these priorities and with that ill turn it over to rosh. Thank you. I appreciate your kind comments and your incredible leadership on behalf of ensuring and state and aid have the resources to carry forth the strong commitment to American Leadership around the world. Heather likes to point out and shes right that most americans think our collective kpwupblg et is greater than 20 of the budget and its somewhat smaller than that, clocking in at just under 1 . I like to thank the leadership of president obama and secretary kerry. And those who have strongly supported us aid and our countries missions around the world. In fact, 2015 is an important year for our collective partnership to asdz extreme poverty and promote resilient societies often in the most difficult parts of your world. No matter where we work across the globe the men and women work on behalf of the American People and the modest yet critical investments in improve the quality of life for improving the quality of life contribute directly to american strength, security, trade and prosperity. And above all, over the last years we have refocused on investments to make sure were doing our work in a way where over time our aid and assistance is no longer necessary, where self sufficiency can replace the need for outside assistance. The president s budget request includes 22. 3 billion that u. S. Aid will manage or partly manage. It allow is to advance or countrys interest in a far ranging set of contexts. By leveraging Public Private partnerships, were now able to deliver clear focused and Measurable Results with these resources. Since 2010, they have reduced the number of programs and Program Areas in which weve worked from nearly 800 in total around the world to just over 500 today. For a reduction of greater than 35 . This has meant our Global Health program has been phased out of 23 countries. Our agriculture support programs are phase the out of 25 countries and as a result were able to deliver better resource where we concentrate our investments and efforts. They are independently evaluated by third party evaluators and the results of those evaluation that are often important but not the most exciting documents to read, are available on an iphone app and unpresentcedented level of transparency. Just 8 of u. S. Global investment and well go to 46 . Nowhere has this focus on delivering real Measurable Results has been more significant than our work in Global Health. The foreign assistance budget includes 8. 2 billion including h. I. V. Aids, malaria and brood range of programs attack tropical diseases including ebola. These resources underscore our commitment to helping to realize the goal ofaids, malaria and brood range of programs usualing that every child survives until the age of five and thrives beyond that time frame of the to achieve this goal we narrowed our focus of investments in our program to 24 countries that account for 70 of under five child deaths and maternal deaths. As a result in the past two years alone in those countries weve delivered an out reduction in Child Mortality more than doubling the baseline rate in child death. Usualing that every child we saw the power last week as the United States committed more than 1 billion over four years to the Global Alliance for vaccines and immunization in order to immunize over 3 million children and and save 5 million lives by 2020. Another notable example of this model is president obamas commitment to africa and power africa. It includes 134 million in resources to take that Initiative Forward and as president obama reset the goal for that initiative this past summer in this building, at the African Leadership summit, those resources will help us bring tens of billions of dollars of private investments to the african power sector in the hopes of connecting 60 million homes and businesses to clean renewable affordable power. It includes 1. 02 billion we devoted to feed the future initiative. The state aid managed portion will be 978 million. In 2013 alone, these investments in addition to bringing more than 70 companies to coinvest with us in countries around the world, has directly helped more than 70 million farmhouse holds move out of poverty and improve nutrition for more than 12 million children who otherwise would go hungry not by giving out food but by helping families stand on their own two feet. Since 2014 they included attempts to ensure they have more hungry people by restructuring americas 60yearold Food Assistance program, foods for peace. We look forward to working with congress to get that done on a bipartisan basis this year. In doing so, we hope to renew the unique policy partnership between americas food producers, shippers, humanitarians and the worlds children who suffer through a crisis. This is important this year because smart results oriented humanitarian assistance is needed now more than ever. Last year was the first time in our 53 year history that we called simultaneously around the world to four large scale emergencies. Syria we supported more than 300 field hospitals that saved countless lives. In the philippians we reached near 3 Million People with Emergency Assistance in the wake of typhoons and in west africa we cut down dramatically on the number of new cases of ebola for more than a hundred, a day to one a day in liberia. Using the 2. 5 billion for the fy 15 ebola response, the budget presented today includes resources for the Security Program to work alongside a range of countries to make sure that threats like ebola do not emerge again. We know its critical to support Civil Society and human rights around the world. Thats why this budget will provide 2. 4 billion for democracy, human rights and governance programs, some of which heather has spoken about. And in addition, this budget will include nearly 200 million in central funding for science, second knoll technology and innovation. The lab has delivered results and ebola equipment to keep them safe and dating assess tense to tackle ebola and those types of results can be replicated across the broad range of what we do if Congress Continues to provide strong bipartisan support. Finally, and ecoing heathers comments with 1. 7 billion in expenses this allows us to invest in our most important resource our staff. This request represents just 7 of our total responsibilities and question urge congress to fully fund our operating expenses. Thank you for your time and attention. I look forward to taking questions. We have time for a few questions. Every year i have the same question because these figures you guys provide dont match in the historical page. If you cant answer these questions right now maybe somebody can get back to me. According to the cbo, in 2015 the Budget Authority for function 150 was 62. 12 billion and this year its 46. 476 billion which would be a reduction of 25 . And im wondering whats getting cut in this budget . So, well, well let our budget experts go to the tables with you but our request for state and aid and the account includes other agencies such as treasury and others is a 6 increase over our f request. Well make sure you get an answer. Off the top of your head in terms of highlights of things that are being cut, what are they . Overall our budget request is increase something nothing is being cut . There are some cuts here and there in the budget but overall the numbers are going up because there are more and vast crises. For example, even though we maintain a robust investment in our pakistan assistance that came down a small amount down by 10 and what we think we assess the capabilities of are. We have a level of funding for iraq and funding levels for many programs. So we can get into the specifics where there are cuts and walk through the table with you if youd like. I have two similar ones. One is that the cbj summary tables have blanks for just about all the fy 2015 estimates. Im guessing that because of the the specific with specific allocations theres a process after we get an appropriation we work through regular order every year with our prop rateers to decide on the level of allocations will we not get that breakdown until when do you expect to have that breakdown available . I would say in the spring. Thats when the sproprocess it takes quite a while to go back and forth. I have two granular questions. More granular than that . I much. I note i the economic support funds for egypt are budgeted at 150 million for fy 2016 and blank for fq 2015 because you dont have that yet and it was 200 million in fy 2014. As you know for many, many years it was 250 or 255 million, i think. What explains the decision to ask for less for fy 2016 than you had in 2014. Do you believe that the Egyptian Government is not making progress and you dont want to support them . We know from our engage in congress and our discussions with them they intend to be about 150 million so in working with them with this request and thinking about where we can go moving forward we settled it at that level. Then last one and again somewhat obscure but i see that you have imet funding for thailand. Of course thailand had a coup. I heardi would like more details on the initiative. 1 billion includes the billion dollars for Central Americath in the Central America response to the migration crisis we have included 120 million specifically for mexico for the southern border but thats separate from the billion. Our funding levels are pretty consistent with last years request for the western hemisphere with the exception of the central region. You can talk about colombia. Its about the same level. Its a slight decrease based on the increased capacity of the government to take on activities the cuban funding is similar. Its 20 million in democracy programming for cuba. The only difference in our funding request is that we ask for 6. 6 million to do some operational upgrades at our facilities there. And venezuela . I dont have the numbers but we can follow up with you. Well get them for you. Thanks. How about the western hemisphere and colombia. I thought you asked important more money. There is a slight increase not a decrease . Im pretty sure theres a slight decrease in colombia. Well make sure you have the right numbers. Could you focus on the numbers for asia, plea. Im glad you raised that question. We have increase of 8 for the asian region visavie fy appropriations. The same issue is relevant we cant compare to 15 without the allocations were going through with congress. But as to the appropriation we propose an 8 increase. Yes. Why asia pacific is not mentioned in your fact sheet and highlights . Well, when you look at the budget overall and what we have prioritized where we keep things level and had to cut its clear that asia pacific remains priority because of the level of increase. We can speak of the specifics of the fact sheet but the numbers tell the story. That has increased in our budget. Specifically where does the 8 go to . All the details of that are in the congressional justification and the call that youll have afterwards. They can get into that level of detail with you. You can get into more detail about the 3. 5 billion for antiisis isil. It includes the work that were doing to counter isil with iraq and our partners in the region to deal with the syria humanitarian crisis and to stable stabilize that region and ensure the ability to work there. The lebanon, jordan and other partners in the region that are taking a lot of their responsibility for the crisis there. We have time for a couple more. Go ahead in the back. You can tell us what is the budget request for pakistan and how much of that goes to security and economic eye assistance. Good question. The afghan request is 1. 5 billion for assistance as i said in the opening. I have the breakdown here. 1. 2 million is in security. And the rest is in 1. 2 billion is in security and the rest is in civilian assistance. Although the total amount of request is 2. 5 billion. But that includes our platform. 1. 5 is the number for assistance. For pakistan the number is 804,000,534 in civilian and 270 million in security. Thanks very much everyone. Theyll take up a bill tomorrow about the Affordable Care act. They worked on legislation on monday. Heres the exchange between congressman hastings and congressman of texas during the rules committee. I dont know about in your state which i think is a crazy state to begin with and i mean that just as i said it. He i will not stand here and listen to it. Then you dont have to listen. You can leave if you choose. I told you what i think about texas. I wouldnt live there for all the tea in china and thats how i feel. Now for all intentses and purposes i know what my state did which in many respects coming close to being just as crazy and that is they did not expand medicaid and for that reason i particularly take umbrage with the number of people 860,000 people in my state that are left and its because we are not being reasonable as democrats and republicans with each other with all the expand medicaid and for that brain power thats here we could very well have done all thats necessary to ensure that americans are not in the position of that theyre in with reference to healthcare in this country. Ill await the gentlemans apology. I yield back. You will wait until hell freezes over for me to say anything in an apollnthropology. I would apologize to you if i was commenting to you. Way commenting about the state that you happen to be a resident of. So i will not apologize. The gentleman from texas controls the time. I just do not see the brain power thats value in a member of this rules committee hurling hurling against a state and governor. It is just uncalled for and no reason someone should do that. Republicans have attempted to repeal the Affordable Care act a number of times since it became law in 2011 and faced numerous legal challenges. Watch live Health Coverage here on cspan and Suicide Prevention measure. Also debate Homeland Security department bill which does not fund the new immigration executive order. The procedure will vote on whether to move legislation forward. In a 10 00 a. M. Eastern live on cspan2. Keep track of the Republican Led Congress and follow its new members through its first session. New congress best access. On cspan and cspan2, cspan radio and cspan. Org. From washington journal this is 20 minutes. Each weekend this segment we take a look at how your money is at work. This week of course the federal budget has come out. Fiscal 2016 Budget Proposal and now on capitol hill and joining us to talk about it is william. Lots of details to go through still but the top line number is 4 trillion budget and includes 474 billion deficit and one that spends above sequestration levels. Your immediate value in a reaction . My Immediate Reaction this is a budget that is not dead on arrival on capitol hill. I would say its probably going to be on heavy life support though when it arrives up here. But it does have an opportunity here to really engage the president and congress in serious political debates that have been lacking. I have a little bit of concern that as we look out into the future when i look at the you gave the number, john, for 2016, but i think the president s budget shows it would go up. I think its about 640 billion in over ten years and giving the interest to balance the budget thats going to be a difficult task for congress to take on this budget that has a death continues to show an increase in the deficit. It assumes with Economic Growth that the proportion of the deficit remains relatively flat. The second concern i have, just glancing at the budget without having all the details in front of me, is that the debt of the country and kay kaoupl layings remains high. It stabilizes that around 75 but thats still well above historical average that we ran. Its a good start. Its going to be as for budget budgetteers its as exciting as the super bowl was last night and were off to a great debate. And hell take these comments and issues. Phone lines are open for the next 40 minutes until the end of the show. Republicans can call at. And a lot of experience in reviewing these budgets and the process they go through. What is the timeline for getting bad agreements. This begins the process. Im happy this president is submitting his budget. Its the first day that the president is issuing the budget. What happens this will be his day for his agency and cabinet officials. And theyll be making a presentation on the overall but beginning as early as tomorrow the house budget will begin the process of taking testimony from cabinet officials from mr. Oh donovan and others on the broad out lines of this budget. Under the process that we are operating under as we call it regular order the two budget committees will go to work and they will take the budget and theyll go through it and they will come up with their broad blueprint of what they would like to see fiscal policy be for the next year or ten years or longer. And they the two budget committees will report out of their committees. Their budget blueprints and go to the senate and house floors and for the first time in five years hopefully with republicans in control, they intend to conference agreement and that conference agreement is between laying out the blueprint, the fiscal blueprint for the years coming up and it will become the basis upon which then guide the committees of jurisdiction on filling out the blueprint, building the house if you like and moving forward. If everything works the way its supposed to, which isnt always the case of course, it would be tax filing day april the 15th when congress would have its answer to the bridge et in erplz it of its own fiscal blueprint. Once that has that blueprint as i William Hoagland served as a staff member on the Senate Budget committee from 1982 through 2003 and served as the staff director of that committee for several years as well from 1986 until 2003 and he works in the bipartisan policy center. We will start with sharon. Our line for democrats. Good morning. Good morning. Thank you for taking my call. I just wanted to ask the gentleman what the American People can do . What can we do . The stupid mistake has been made to put the republicans in control of the congress. Every decision they make has a big business hank on it. They dont care about Social Security. They dont care about what we have paid into, our retirement plans. They only care about the egg business and big business and the rich. Guest i think the fact you were calling into cspan is an indication that you are an active individual in the process. Thats good. I think what we need is people such as yourself and others to study, understand, when with your wayeigh in with your congressman as we are in this preparatory stage. I encourage you to do what youre doing, which is participating and continuing to do that with your elected officials. Host what is your group . What are you trying to do . Guest we were established in 2007. It was established by four former majority leaders of the United States senate. These were democrats and republicans. We are not nonpartisan. We work hard to find solutions to these issues, such as the debt and deficit and issues of health care and immigration. We want to find solutions with bipartisan issues. These are usually highlevel people. Many have served in congress or in statehouses. We bring these individuals together and we conclude that if you can find bipartisanship, we ought to be able to find bipartisanship on capitol hill with these issues. Host we are chatting with William Hoagland. Robbie is up next. Good morning. Caller good morning. I would like to say that i think the major reason for the 18 trillion debt that we have is the ability that congress has to raid the Social Security trust fund. People are very much misinformed about what is going on with Social Security. The vast majority of years its been in existence, its operated on a surplus. Congress has been able to get a hold of that money. If we change that, they would be more responsible. I would like to know his opinion on this. Host what do you think . Guest i dont want to get too far into the weeds. You are correct. When the Social Security when you are a in more on an annual basis in your taxes to Social Security, we build up a surplus in the trust fund. When the Social Security trust fund has a surplus, what does it do with those surpluses . It rights and iou to the treasury so they dont have to go out and aro from the public. It becomes available for operational government. You are absolutely correct. The difficulty is we are moving into a situation where we are not running a cash surplus and we are paying down that debt that was accumulated in Social Security. As the congressman previously on pointed out is that trust fund will exhaust by 2033. We will have to go into a payasyougo system. The revenues will only pay benefits. That will be a 20 reduction in what people will expect. This is a complicated issue. I apologize for going into all of the numbers. We have to look at ways to reform the system. We are not talking about cutting benefits for those who are in retirement. In order to make the Program Sustainable in the future, we have to look at ways to improve it. We have to modify the program for the future. Host john is on our line for democrats. Caller good morning. I would like to ask a question. Senator rand paul made a remark a week or so ago. I was listening on the television that he wants to cut Social Security disability by 20 because most evil people are scamming the system. I would like to say i worked for 35 years with one company. My lungs went bad and i had to go out on disability. I do know about most people scamming the system. What do you think about cutting disability by 20 . Guest thank you for the call. Let me point out that we have launched about a year ago a commission made up of a number of highly respected individuals including kent conrad and former undersecretary at Social Security jim lockhart to look into this issue. We set up a task force on disability. We are looking at the issue of disability. One of the things i have noticed in todays numbers, i have not seen what the president reposes to do about the Disability Insurance program. The reason i raise it is we have to trust funds. We have one for retirees and one for disabilities and the issue is the Disability Trust fund will exhaust its resources at the end of 2016 probably november. What senator paul was suggesting, i think, is not that he was proposing to reduce benefits by 20 . If congress does not address the Disability Insurance trust fund in this congress, this is in this congress, under the current law as it exists, those benefits would have to be reduced by 20 . The issue before congress how does he propose to deal with that budget . There are proposals out there. I dont think fraud is a major issue. There is some inefficiencies. We know there were some in new york with some of their Disability Programs. The vast majority of people deserve the benefits you are getting. The question is whether those who want to work can find work and not be disenfranchised by the Disability Program by the way it set up. This is a big issue. Its one that i did not see addressed this morning, at least in the initial release of material the president put out. Host lots of numbers will still be coming out today. We will be chatting about them tomorrow as well as new details come out. We are talking with William Hoagland. Joe is in kentucky on the line for democrats. You are up joe. Caller we keep talking about the budget every year. Whatever has happened to the plan . Guest the commission was set up , the president wanted recommendations in 2012 to move forward to find ways to reduce the longterm debt of the country. The commission had to have a super majority and they did not reach that goal. The recommendations did not become formal recommendations. The president himself did not take some of those recommendations and bring them forward. The commission, all of those commissions that were set up to look at the longterm debt of the country that has been set aside. This is for budgeteers, this is an important day for us. We are going to reengage on a number of proposals. A number of proposals that congress is considering our part of those proposals. We will see some of that. The president s budget is released today, without looking high numbers myself, it suggests there will be a 1. 8 trillion dollar deficit reduction over the next 10 years. It is said that there will be 400 billion from reforms of the health care system. When i checked this morning, it was about the same number. It is the same proposals of last year that focus on pharmaceuticals and increasing premiums for part b and part c. A lot of that was in the original commission report. Host we see these things pop up down the road. Andrew is up next on the line for republicans. Caller good morning. I was one the hearing wondering about that waste spending. Wasteful spending. What about getting rid of planned parenthood . The grants they give out to artist that give out statues nobody wants. Thats just wasteful spending. Bridges to nowhere. I would like to see what he has to say about that. Host it depends on your definition of wasteful spending. Guest its the eye of the beholder. 4 trillion of spending, there probably is inefficiencies in that budget. The question is does this indicate areas of consolidation of agencies and review of programs and look to ways to consolidate and move forward. There has to be ways. The previous caller, i believe there is fraud in the Disability Program. There probably is in the Defense Department and on down the line. It behooves us as managers and executives to weed out that as much as possible and make the government the most efficient for the limited dollars we have. How much is there . Its in the eyes of the beholder. Is a program that funds artists a wasteful program . Maybe it has lower priority. For that artist, it is his sustenance and livelihood. It is a challenging issue. That is why we elect officials who tried to make these hard decisions of setting priorities on how taxpayer dollars should be used efficiently. Host lets head to new york. This is the line for democrats. Caller good morning. I want to ask a couple of questions. One is in the health care program. It seems like the middle class is when someone goes to the hospital and cant pay, it comes back on the rest of us. The health care they have now covering everyone is more sensible. It would be more sensible to have a public option plan like other countries have. I think that would be an easier way out. Another question i have is why are we spending so much money overseas, i know we have to protect our country. We need to protect the people here. We need to feed and close the people here. You are supposed to help the poor and needy and anyone who says you arent, i dont know what kind of heart they have. Guest the issue of the public option was debated at the time the aca was going through congress. It was not an option we could move to at that point. The bottom line is we have a very complex Health Care Delivery system that includes public and private involvement. The public option elimination making it all public option was something a Democratic Congress felt they could move forward with. I do believe you are going to have a debate. There is going to be a debate over the Affordable Care act. Making changes and modifications to it, i think the house today will vote on a repeal of the entire Affordable Care act. With all do respect to congress, that is unlikely to get sufficient votes to overcome a filibuster in the senate. Modifications to the Affordable Care act will be negotiated and maybe successful. On overseas investments and expenditures, its a function of the budget function 150 we are in a global economy, but in this budget of 4 trillion, less than 2 of it is actually going for what we would refer to as overseas assistance. Host the rules committee is having a hearing on the rules for that vote on the Affordable Care act. We are covering that on cspan today for those who might want to watch that. Ive got about 20 in its left with William Hoagland. Vick is in peoria. Did morning. Caller we always have a problem controlling congress. I have a solution. When i tell people, we have candidates and they will vote 97 of the time what their constituents say. The way we will do it is an has to come in the form of cards. They have to be registered voters. If they say they want stoplights , lets say 51 of the cards come in, thats what they will get. We can hold their feet to the fire. I want them to give up their office if they want hold to that. Call some of these people up. Lobbyists, businesses, people with money, we would have control instead of a republic where we are not represented. What would you think of that idea . Vote 97 of the time like your constituents or leave office. Host i will let you weigh in on that. Guest im not a political scientist. Its an interstate proposal. I would suggest that there are 535 members of congress. It could be, difficult to manage administratively. Let me say that i am more concerned about voters are dissipating and just voting. It does seem to me that we have seen a decline in anticipation in harlot process. I think that is a concern our dissipation process. I think that is a concern. We will be better informed in the decisionmaking process. Host myrtle beach is next. Tim, you are on with William Hoagland on budget day. Caller good morning, john. I would like to say about Social Security, people should be more informed. I found out more about Social Security in these last 13 months that i knew before. He mentioned at one time we had a surplus and they rated it. Raided it. We are looking at the lowest gas prices in a long time. We are looking at a windfall right here if we keep the gasoline in the United States. What would you think about a . 50 a gallon for everybody and what it would do for the economy . We could do all the things that everybody wants to do. Host are you talking about a gas tax . Or lowing the price lowering the price . Caller think if it was . 50 a gallon. Guest first of all, you raise a good question. When the price of gasoline comes down, is this the time to establish a gas tax . The budget today has a very big effort as it relates to infrastructure. His proposal to fund the highway trust fund, which expires at the end of may of this year, establish a proposal that includes a tax, a 14 tax, on profits that are being held overseas. That is his way of funding it. Im not anticipating. I think that sets up the good debate. There are some rivers of congress that are starting to focus on a gas tax. Host the president is looking to raise money for those public works projects over the next six years. Guest it includes a 14 tax on overseas profits. A 19 , at his current, an interesting point, the way it is phrased in the documents that were put out today, it is a tax now. 14 on 2 trillion, im not quite clear on how that 280 million comes in. We would not be looking at a deficit. We would be looking at something much less than that. Its not clear how this is set up. For future profits overseas, the proposal is 19 . I think what the president proposed today will engage a discussion about is that the way to Fund Infrastructure in this country or is a gas tax, that has been at the normal way historically. Should it be out of general revenues . From a budgeteers perspective is this is a wonderful opportunity to talk about our funding needs. Host tennessee is up next. Ray is on our line for republicans. Good morning. Caller good morning. I have a question. He said that there isnt much fraud in the disability. I have a number of younger people in my family that are disabled. One is 45 years old. She has never worked a day. She is drawing disability benefits. Now she is drawing disability. She has ruined her health. She eats. How can he say before they make this decision . Guest if i lead you to believe i dont think there are issues in the Insurance Program in this area of fraud, i am sorry. I did not mean to suggest that. I meant to suggest that the program of this magnitude, that is an element of it, but there are clearly individuals who really did have a disability and it impacted their work. What i would suggest to you is one of the things that concerns me is not so much whether you r relative is eligible and receiving benefits. What is a problem at this point is she has no incentive to go off that disability to gain work. I feel that is one of the issues are commission is working on. We have a task force in this area. The way the program is set up, your disability and if its our reduced by 50 after a dollar amount. That is a disincentive to work. We need to find ways to incentivize people to work. There are a number of disabled who still want to work if its available to them and the system does not disenfranchise them from working. Host we bring up stephanie on the line for democrats. Good morning, stephanie. Caller i just have one simple question. Actually, i have a bunch of questions, but i wont argue with them. The cap on Social Security, it is 118,000. Guest yes. Caller if you make 1 million you keep paying. Guest that is a very good question. There are people who have suggested its one way to provide funding to the Social Security trust fund. When the cap was established, it was supposed to cover 90 of wages. Today it is much less than that. I cant remember the exact figure. There is a sense that the cap should be raised if not taken off completely. There is no civil answers to these very good questions. The reason you dont just take the cap off completely as it does have an interactive affect with the benefits. If you take the cap off, then Warren Buffett and bill gates will be paying, but they will qualify for larger benefits. That is not the intent. This is a balancing act. I think some mechanism for modification could be part of the solution for increasing the solvency of the Program Going forward. Host jan had a question on our twitter page. How does that process work . If you think there is fraud . Guest i am not a lawyer and i dont know what the procedure would be. You can go to the Social Security office if you have a concern. You can highlight to them to look at this case in more detail. Host napier phil, illinois is next. Morning. Caller i would like to ask the gentleman just a couple of issues. We already pay a high gas tax in illinois. It seems like they are not using it for its and if it. The other thing is Social Security, they use the surplus for other programs. Now we are paying interest on those other programs. They raided the social Security Program and the middle class is paying the interest. The third thing is, the gentleman where his policy center, is he paid by the taxpayers . Guest the policy center is a 501 c 3 organization. It is a nonprofit organization. Our funding comes from foundations, about 70 is from foundations, contributions. We solicit help to deal with individual projects. We are not a pay for play organization. We do have some Corporate Funding that comes into our organization. We do have some individual contributions. No packs to taxpayer dollars are involved in our work. Host surely is next in california. Caller good morning. I am a 79yearold woman. I have worked from the time i was 17 until i was 69 years old. I raised three children on my own. I never asked for any help. I was put on ssi and i moved to kentucky for one year. I came back to california and it took a year and a half of appeals to get my ssi back. I had to call my congressman. They would never return my calls. I turned it over to my congressman. We own you a year and a half back pay. They said it would be deposited in my account. No money. They sent it to the wrong bank account. Every third of the month, i get my deposit. What in the world is going on with Social Security, the whole organization . Guest again, we have a huge system. Its 50 Million People receiving benefits. I am unclear as to why your ssi benefits would have changed or that there was a disconnect as you move from one state to another. I have no good answer other than this is a management issue. Now i am going to be a little bit bolder than i should to say one of the problems is as we control spending, particularly on nondefense, one of the areas where we have reduced spending in this country, a lot of that is administrative funding. A lack of employees because of the reduction in funding, the irs, the Social Security Disability Insurance administrators, we have to rebuild those management structures to handle the growing caseload that is out there. If we are going to keep faith with the people who need the benefits they have paid for. Caller good morning. Thank you for taking my call. This is a twoway street. We need supply and a man. The guy that is on here right now. He is a supply side are. Right now, its working people and poor people who create the demand in our economy. That is 95 of the people in this country. The problem is our wages have been suppressed because the unions have been fading away. A lot of it has to do with republican policies. We dont have the workers. We dont have enough money to pay all of our bills and have money to spend back into the economy. A good Infrastructure Project would be a start. That would provide jobs for construction workers as well as increase productivity of workers. You wont be stuck in traffic as long. Guest first of all, im not sure im a supply sider or a demand sider. I am a hoosier from indiana thats how i look at it. The bottom line is i was not suggesting at all that there is a need for investments, we discussed the budget today will put that fourth. We need to do investment. There is a need for creating that demand through government. Government does have a role to play in making the economy grow and making it wages grow. At the same time, for the future and for my grandchild right now and the future generations out there, we have to be cognizant. We should not overspend and create more debt. That is a tax burden levied on future generations. I like to be serious about looking at ours ending in revenues to make sure balances going forward. That is not to suggest that there is not a role for government to play in increasing demand. Host we have just a minute or two left. We have david from philadelphia. Caller good morning. Good morning. I understand financing a little bit different. There is a tax that is zero. 4 trillion was invested, that would be the starting gate. I look at the year 2016, which is leap year. Monday is the 29th. You have a zero for Social Security. Under that, you have no tax. Then you have a plus plus. Host we just have a minute left. What is your question for William Hoagland. Caller there was a question of starbucks in germany. Then you had the japanese banks. You want to do a monopoly statement. Watch fortune 500 guest im not sure i follow the arguments. The funding is very complicated. I am not sure i understand the question. Host if you want to follow William Hoagland Bill Pascrell talks about the president s 4 trillion budget request. Role of the door will discuss his membership in the newly formed freedom caucus. His role in Immigration Reform, and his legislative priorities. And about Maternity Leave in comparison to other countries. We will take your calls and you can join the conversation at facebook and twitter as well. Washington journal is quote live at 7 a. M. Eastern. Here on cspan. President obama laid out his Budget Priorities which includes additional funding for infrastructure. Followed by an office of management and budget briefing. And the pentagon budget request. Not only are there 43 new republicans and 15 democrats and 12 democrats new republicans and [indiscernible] keep track using congressional chronicle. There is lots of information including Voting Results and statistics about each session of congress. On cspan, cspan2, cspan radio, and cspan. Org. President obamas 4 trillion budget the print include suspending for infrastructure, and National Security. He proposed tax relief for middle income americans and higher taxes for corporations and the wealthy. The president also said he would not accept the budget or automatic spending cuts. [applause] thank you so much. Thank you, everybody. Please, have a seat. Well, good morning, everybody. It is good to be here at the department of Homeland Security. And let me thank jeh johnson not only for the outstanding job that is hes doing as secretary of dhs, but also for a short introduction. I like short introductions. Give him a big round of applause. This is a great way to start the week, because i get to do something i enjoy doing, which is saying thank you. Nobody works harder to keep america safe than the people who are gathered here today. And you do not get a lot of attention for it that is the nature of the job. But i know how vital you are and i want to make that sure more americans know how vital you are. Because against just about every threat that we face from terrorist networks to microscopic viruses to cyberattacks to weather disasters you guys are there. You protect us from threats at home and abroad, by air and land and sea. You safeguard our ports, you patrol our borders. You inspect our chemical plants, screen travelers for ebola shield our Computer Networks and help hunt down criminals around the world. You have a busy agenda, a full plate. And here at home, you are ready to respond to any emergency at a moments notice. It is simply extraordinary how much the department of Homeland Security does every single day to keep our nation, our people safe. It is a critical job, and you get it done without a lot of fanfare. And i want to make sure that you have what you need to keep getting the job done. Every american has an interest in making sure that the department of Homeland Security has what it needs to achieve its mission because we are reliant on that Mission Every single day. Now, today, i am sending congress a budget that will make sure youve got what you need to achieve your mission. It gives you the resources you need to carry out your mission in a way that is smart and strategic, and makes the most of every dollar. It is also a broader blueprint for americas success in this new global economy. Because after a breakthrough year for america at a time when our economy is growing and our businesses are creating jobs at the fastest pace since the 1990s, and wages are starting to rise again weve got some fundamental choices to make about the kind of country we want to be. Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well . Or are we going to build an economy where everyone who works hard has a chance to get ahead . And that was the focus of my state of the Union Address a couple weeks ago what i called middleclass economics. The idea that this country does best when everybody gets a fair shot, and everybody is doing their fair share, and everybody plays by the same set of rules. The budget that congress now has in its hands is built on those values. It helps working families paychecks go farther by treating things like paid sick leave and childcare as the economic priorities that they are. It gives americans of every age the chance to upgrade their skills so they can earn higher wages, and it includes my plan to make two years of Community College free for responsible students. It lets us keep building the worlds most attractive economy for highwage jobs, with new investments in research, and infrastructure and manufacturing, as well as expanded access to faster internet and new markets for goods made in america. It is also a budget that recognizes that our economy flourishes when america is safe and secure. So it invests in our i. T. Networks, to protect them from malicious actors. It supports our troops and strengthens our border security. And it gives us the resources to confront global challenges, from isil to russian aggression. Now, since i took office, we have cut our deficits by about twothirds. I am going to repeat that, as i always do when i mention this fact, because the public oftentimes, if you ask them, thinks that the deficit has shot up. Since i took office, we have cut our deficits by about twothirds. That is the fastest period of sustained deficit reduction since after the demobilization at the end of world war ii. So we can afford to make these investments while remaining fiscally responsible. And, in fact, we cannot afford we would be making a critical error if we avoided making these investments. We cant afford not to. When the economy is doing well we are making investments when we are growing. That is part of what keeps deficits low because the economy is doing well. So weve just got to be smarter about how we pay for our priorities, and that is what my budget does. At the end of 2013, i signed a bipartisan budget agreement that helped us end some of the arbitrary cuts known in washingtonspeak as sequestration. and folks here at dhs know a little too much about sequestration because many of you have to deal with those cuts, and it made it a lot harder for you to do your jobs. The 2013 agreement to reverse some of those cuts helped to boost our Economic Growth. Part of the reason why we grew faster last year was we were no longer being burdened by mindless acrosstheboard cuts and we were being more strategic about how we handled our federal budget. And now we need to take the next step. So my budget will end sequestration and fully reverse the cuts to domestic priorities in 2016. And it will match the investments that were made domestically, dollar for dollar, with increases in our defense funding. And just last week, top military officials told congress that if congress does nothing to stop sequestration, there could be serious consequences for our National Security, at a time when our military is stretched on a whole range of issues. And that is why i want to work with congress to replace mindless austerity with Smart Investments that strengthen america. And we can do so in a way that is fiscally responsible. I am not going to accept a budget that locks in sequestration going forward. It would be bad for our security and bad for our growth. I will not accept a budget that severs the vital link between our National Security and our economic security. I know theres some on capitol hill who would say, well, wed be willing to increase defense spending but we are not going to increase investments in infrastructure, for example, or basic research. Well, those two things go hand in hand. If we do not have a vital infrastructure, if we do not have broadband lines across the country, if we do not have a smart grid, all that makes us more vulnerable. America cant afford being shortsighted, and i am not going to allow it. The budget ive sent to Congress Today is fully paid for, through a combination of smart spending cuts and tax reforms. Let me give you an example. Right now, our tax code is full of loopholes for special interests like the trust Fund Loophole that allows the wealthiest americans to avoid paying taxes on their unearned income. I think we should fix that and use the savings to cut taxes for middleclass families. That would be good for our economy. Now, i know there are republicans who disagree with my approach. And ive said this before if they have other ideas for how we can keep america safe, grow our economy, while helping middleclass families feel some sense of economic security, i welcome their ideas. But their numbers have to add up. And what we cant do is play politics with folks economic security, or with our National Security. You, better than anybody, know what the stakes are. The work you do hangs in the balance. In just a few weeks from now funding for Homeland Security will run out. That is not because of anything this department did, it is because the republicans in congress who funded everything in government through september, except for this department. And they are now threatening to let Homeland Security funding expire because of their disagreeing with my actions to make our immigration system smarter, fairer and safer. Now lets be clear, i think we can have a reasonable debate about immigration. I am confident that what we are doing is the right thing and the lawful thing. I understand they may have some disagreements with me on that, although i should note that a large majority or a large percentage of republicans agree that we need comprehensive Immigration Reform, and we are prepared to act in the senate and should have acted in the house. But if they do not agree with me, that is fine, that is how our democracy works. You may have noticed they usually do not agree with me. But do not jeopardize our National Security over this disagreement. As one republican put it, if they let your funding run out, it is not the end of the world. that is what they said. Well, i guess literally that is true. It may not be the end of the world. But until they pass a funding bill, it is the end of a paycheck for tens of thousands of frontline workers who will continue to get to have to work without getting paid. Over 40,000 Border Patrol and customs agents. Over 50,000 airport screeners. Over 13,000 immigration officers. Over 40,000 men and women in the coast guard. These americans arent just working to keep us safe, they have to take care of their own families. The notion that they would get caught up in a disagreement around policy that has nothing to do with them makes no sense. And if republicans let Homeland Security funding expire, it is the end to any new initiatives in the event that a new threat emerges. It is the end of grants to states and cities that improve local Law Enforcement and keep our communities safe. The men and women of americas Homeland Security apparatus do important work to protect us and republicans and democrats in congress should not be playing politics with that. We need to fund the department pure and simple. Weve got to put politics aside, pass a budget that funds our National Security priorities at home and abroad, and gives middleclass families the security they need to get ahead in the new economy. This is one of our most basic and most important responsibilities as a government. So i am calling on congress to get this done. Every day, we count on people like you to keep america secure. And you are counting on us as well to uphold our end of the bargain. Youre counting on us to make sure that youve got the resources to do your jobs safely and efficiently, and that youre able to look after your families while you are out there working really hard to keep us safe. We ask a lot of you. The least we can do is have your backs. That is what i am going to keep on doing for as long as i have the honor of serving as your president. I have your back. And i am going to keep on fighting to make sure that you get the resources you deserve. I am going to keep fighting to make sure that every american has the chance not just to share in americas success but to contribute to americas success. That is what this budget is about. It reflects our values in making sure that we are making the investments we need to keep america safe, to keep america growing, and to make sure that everybody is participating no matter what they look like where they come from, no matter how they started in life theyve got a chance to get ahead in this great country of ours. That is what i believe. That is what you believe. Lets get it done. Thank you. God bless you. God bless the United States of america. [applause] the white house budget director and other officials spoke about the blueprint for 2016. This briefing is one hour 10 minutes. Is this thing on . I have always wanted to do that. The administration has released budget. You have heard us talk about this quite a bit already. What i am going to do is have my colleagues each make very short opening remarks and talk about the highlights they have been focused on in terms of putting the budget together but we will reserve the bulk of the time to taking a detailed questions i have been putting off for weeks but now i can finally go through them. Since you are the principal author, white you go first . Thank you, josh. I want to thank my colleagues for joining us as well today. Let me begin with where we have come from. This budget comes on the heels of a breakthrough year for america. We have created over 11 million jobs and our Unemployment Rate fell 1. 2 Percentage Points from the previous year. The largest annual decline in 30 years. The number of uninsured americans has dropped and we have brought this is less than the 40 year average. This supports the vision for accelerating growth and expanding opportunity and does so while meeting key fiscal tasks of sustainability. Reducing deficits to below 3 of gdp and stabilizing dead as a share of the economy and putting it on a declining path. It achieves these goals by paying for no investments replacing my list sequestration cuts with smart reforms and achieving 1. 8 trillion in deficit reduction from health tax, and Immigration Reforms. I will talk about the letter to the latter to prompts. We began to move away from manufactured crises and austerity helping to lay the groundwork for stronger growth and job market gains. The budget act reversed the portion of sequestration and allows for higher levels. Not only has the agreement contributed to improving job market and accelerating growth it allows for important investments in critical priorities ranging from Early Education and manufacturing to providing appropriate funding for National Security. That agreement expires at the end of this fiscal year causing a return to sequestration in 2016 that would bring discretionary funding to its lowest level adjusting for inflation since 2006. That is despite the fact that since 2006, the u. S. Population has grown by 7 and costs in some key areas such as Veterans Administration better medical care have grown faster than inflation. It is despite important needs in National Security, the joint chiefs up in clear that a return to sequestration levels would significantly reduce the militarys ability to fully increment the president s defense strategy. That is why the budget proposes to in sequestration, fully fully reversing it matched by equal dollar increases for defense. These investments are more than paid for with smart spending cuts, Program Integrity ledges and loophole closures. This will make room for security investments that will help move the nation forward including a number of investments that my colleagues will discuss in a moment. I want to emphasize that every investment in the budget and also the new and expanded tax credits for middleclass and working families and mandatory investments that will expand access to Community College and preschool, all of them are fully paid for it through spending our tax reforms. Meanwhile, the budget also achieves an additional one point 8 trillion in deficit reduction in the budget. Primarily by focusing on the key drivers of our budget challenges , health care, cost growth and inadequate revenue levels in the face of an aging population. The budget includes 400 billion in Health Savings that built on the Affordable Care act including measures that comment the administrations other efforts on Delivery System reform that secretary are well announced last week and will help maintain the historic slowdown in Health Care Cost growth while improving health care quality. The budget also raises about 640 billion in net revenue for deficit reduction from curbing high and and income tax expenditures in the budget reflects the support for common sense contents of Immigration Reform along the lines of the Bipartisan Senate has to build. In part because it helps balance out an aging population. Immigration is good for the Social Security trust fund and our budget more broadly. The budget rings deficits down below 3 of the economy while putting debt on a declining path. It shows how we can build on the economic progress that has been made over the last five years and make investments to ensure our country remains strong and prosperous while at the same time continuing our fiscal progress. Let me turn it over to jason good afternoon. As sean noted, the u. S. Economy strengthened considerably in 2014 with the strongest job growth in any calendar year since 1999. Looking ahead, the administration expects that the economy will continue to grow at an abovetrend rate of 3 per year in 2015 and 2016. This assumption is in line with the forecast from a congressional budget office, and the bluechip consensus. It is somewhat more conservative than the latest International Monetary fund forecast. While the economy has come a long way since the recession the expectation of above trend