Transcripts For CSPAN2 Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20131116

From you that we need to take steps to lessen the damage of the supreme courts hatch act so im pleased to announce my colleagues in Indian Affairs have issued a final rule to do just that. They issued it yesterday and that will help with Greater Transparency to make sure that lands will be taken into trust for housing schools and businesses that we want to continue to work with you to ask things like that. Next the Land Buyback Program and the historic cobell. We want to implement that in a smart and flexible way. We have been listening to you. You want predictability and transparency on the timing and implementation efforts and we announce we are expanding the implementimplement ation strategy so more tribes can participate. We know there is time sensitivity to this and we want to work with you to get that fully implemented because we no cobell is really important to write some of the wrongs of the past. The third is Indian Education. You know we have a generational transformation going on in this country and i know thats true in Indian Country as well. If our children are not welleducated and if they are not educated in a culturally appropriate way you are not going to achieve what your goals for your tribes and cultures are the goals of these young people to realize their dreams. While there has been over 2 billion invested in schools over the last 10 years we know a number of them are still an unfortunate shade. We have to fix them and Work Together with congress to get money to do that but i do know that there are opportunities to learn from others that do this really well. Arne duncan secretary of education has been a great partner in this process. He has detailed resources to us in Indian Education to understand how to do that and he has agreed to cochair a subgroup of the white House Counsel specifically on Indian Education. He and i share a vision as you do of both an academically rigorous education but also a culturally appropriate education. Whether your children are educated in Indian Schools are Public Schools how do we Work Together to make that happen . I know that he will be a huge resource as he brings his team in education together with the bureau of that Indian Education to make that happen. Fourth, in order to reform the knowledge that process we want to move forward to develop a fair efficient and transparent process and we will be issuing a draft rule for your comment from a Public Comment to make that easier in the future. Fifth, india or rights. You cant do anything if you dont have clean water. We have dropped circumstances all over the country. It impacts Indian Tribes in some regions for than anything else and its not Getting Better with Climate Change. Since secretary salazar and president obama were here in 2009 we have settled 10 indian water rights agreements the most recent one with the White Mountain apache tribe that i signed a few months ago. We remain committed to delivering clean Water Supplies to addressinaddressin g india or rights claims to strengthen your economies because we know that is critical. We will be working as alongside of you to make farmer progress than our predecessors made. Six then this is something i heard yesterday quite a bit as i held a listening session in my office. Energy development on tribal lands. You know we have work to do. Renewal Energy Conventional Energy unconventional Mineral Resource extraction are opportunities for Economic Development and for revenue on tribal lands and we are going to the standing of the Second Committee of the white House Counsel on native American Affairs this one chaired by dr. Moniz who is secretary of energy working closely with interior, with epa and aquaculture agriculture. We know we have a lot of opportunity to do that. I am very pleased we had our First Renewable Energy project on the trust lands in nevada. There is a lot of opportunity to do more of this alongside the downside of drought you have the upside of Solar Energy Wind Energy as well as other resources. So we are going to turn that into a reality by working across the various agencies of the federal government to make that happen. Next is a big issue for all of us and that is tackling Climate Change. If there is an area impacted by so many things Climate Change is one of them is American Indians and alaska natives. Coastal erosion, droughts impact on wildlife and habitat and subsistence. Its a huge issue. Im proud to work for a president who stood up in june of Climate Action plan instead we are going to stop arguing about whether this is a reality and start dealing with what we can do about it. He outlined a Climate Action plan and put out an executive order that created the mechanism for tribal and city governments to Work Together with state and local leaders. I want to thank karen who you will hear from later today chairwoman of the fond du lac Lake Superior chippewa and another state and local leaders who sit on the state and local and tribal region task force. They are saying how do we prepare lands to make it more resilient . How can we anticipate whats happening with Climate Change and prepare for that . We have a role at interior as well. Yes Renewable Energy conserving landscapes to understand actual defenses as the u. S. Geological service did bringing science to bear and understand what are those Natural Systems that you are so familiar with to help repair for storms and other weather events and how can we do more that . Last but certainly not least is selfgovernance and doing it in tight fiscal times. The house of representatives took a whack at the budget at interior and the budget of Indian Country in a significant way. Just for Indian Affairs it took 200 million out of the budget and thats not accounting for the other impacts and the other federal agencies that you were going to endure this budget goes anywhere. We need your support to make sure that their voices are heard and the importance of investing in Indian Country is the wellknown so that doesnt become our budget. We also want to work with you on standing up Economic Activities in your tribal lands just as i experienced as a banker so many years ago. So we are all collectively meeting our governments and challenging times. We are dealing with constrained budgets. We are dealing with a new emerging generation that is coming into tight economies in some cases challenging educational environments. We are dealing with Climate Change. Its not an easy time to be a leader which im so appreciative of you being here and working with you on the government to government basis to figure these things out. We want to consult with the first and that is why we held listening sessions yesterday and we will continue to do that this afternoon and over the course of time. We want to make sure we are operating as efficiently and effectively as we can so you can bank on me and my colleagues working together. The cabinet the 13 members participating today, the other folks that support them will be saying how can we coordinate in other areas as well. I know from growing up in this country the federal government does not have justice cannot be reversed overnight. Im proud of this president for stepping up and recognizing it exists and i pledge im going to work alongside you and the president and my colleagues to continue to make important progress as they think you can see happen over the course of the last five years. I wish you a successful and positive white house nations tribal conference and look forward to interacting with with you over the course the day into this evening and i want to thank you so much for your leadership of the nations you represent and helping lift all americans indians and alaska natives to make your world a better place in a better place for all americans. Thank you very much. [applause] good morning everyone. Secretary jewell thank you for your leadership of the white house american native Affairs White House but more importantly thank you for inviting me to participate today. Im honored to be here. I dont think is here yet but i would like to just express my appreciation for his leadership in the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs when he had that post. I know there are other distinguished members of Congress Resident and greetings to you as well. Brian, president of the National Congress of American Indians and other distinguished guests and among them i include its great to see all of you. Ladies and gentlemen as is my custom, let me begin by greeting tribal elders and tribal leaders with deep respect. Its part of my culture as well and i extend that deference to all the veterans who are here this morning. I beg your indulgence. Let me invite those who are veterans to stand if you are able to and raise your hands if you cant stand and let us have this opportunity to acknowledge your service. [applause] thank you very much. American indians and alaska natives have a long history of service to country and courage in battle and that goes back to before there was recognition recognition of citizenship. 14,0005 in world war i and 44,000 served in world war ii. Some 10,000 served in korea among them former u. S. Senator and northern cheyenne and navy admiral clarke a cherokee who is a veteran of oath world wars so a three war veteran. Over 80,000 american served in vietnam and Operation Iraqi freedom Army Specialist was the first native American Woman to die in combat and the first American Woman to die in Operation Iraqi freedom but this Third Generation in her hopi family to serve in war. Today some 30,000 native american server around the world preserving the warrior ethic that is so much a part of your culture. Let me greet you in the tradition of where i grew up. In the middle of the pacific and we say aloha. Hello and welcome. I grew up under marshall law following the attack on pearl harbor. Men from my Community Like medal of honor recipient senator dan inouye went off to fight in world war ii with abdominal courage determination and sacrifice. And in doing so they were among the most highly decorated army units to not just in world war ii but the history of this country earning 21 medals of honor for a unit that only existed three and a half years. They fought and bled so young japanese americans like me would have the full privileges of citizenship. They remain heroes in our Community Today and that is true of your communities as well. You have your heroes. The war in korea quickly followed in vietnam came my turn to go to war the time in 1966. I never planned on being a career soldier for 38 years flash by pretty quick way. A lot of that has to do with falling in love with the american soldier. We focused on two things to come as the missions you are given and take the best care you could have your people, your soldiers and their families very at today as secretary of the va i have the privilege of continuing that care. Caring for those i went to war with in vietnam, caring for those that i sent to war as a surfing chief of staff of the army and then caring for those giants as i called them in the history of our country who saved the world during world war ii and saved the nation during the 1950s. Among them are heroes like tenet van thomas art let a child to do during world war ii outflanked and destroyed enemy machine gun nest forces there to surrender and destroyed a tiger tank singlehandedly and drove to other tanks off. Exhausted from this battle she still managed to evacuate two seriously wounded comrades to soldiers. Nearly a mile to get them to safety. For his actions as you would expect fan Thomas Bradford was presented the highest award for valor that medal of honor. He went on to serve in both korea and vietnam another three war veteran. Heroes like wearing corporal ira hamilton hayes known to you very well brought great honor to his tribe during world war ii when he helped his marine comrades raise the colors atop mt. Surabachi on iwo jima. After the war Corporal Hayes suffered mental issues and died from exposure. He was buried with full honors at Arlington National cemetery. That is the reason or at lease one of the reasons im here today. Not here in this Conference Room but here in this job. I cannot change the records of injustice in our histories and they are there and they are many. Or the lack of trust i may have about government or this department but i do intend to make things better and i need your help. Most know that the as a Large Integrated Health Care System with over 1300 points of care as access. 152 medical centers, 829 Outpatient Clinics, 300 readjustment counseling that centers and about 70 mobile and outreach vans out of the most remade areas of our country to find veterans where they live. Aca provides 10 million in educational benefits annually along with arne duncan. Second only to the department of education and most of you know about this as a post9 11 g. I. Bill or the montgomery g. I. Bill but 10 million in educational opportunities. We guarantee nearly 1. 8 billion homelands 20 down and city in the nation. The va is the ninth largest Life Insurance enterprise with 1. 3 chilean dollars of coverage and 6. 7 million clients and the operate the countrys Largest National cemetery system, 131 cemeteries. 337,000 good people come to work every day at ca and one third of us are veterans. We bring the same Determination Initiative and leadership we learned in uniform to our duties as we were taught. People dont care what you know until they know that you care. So we are we are pursuing and still pursuing better ways to serve. In 2010 va signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance collaboration and resource sharing between our agencies. Then in december of 2012 working with secretary sebelius and dr. Dr. Rubineaux we signed a reimbursement agreement. So far under that agreement over 2000 eligible native American Veterans have received va reimburse care from the Indian Health service and Tribal Health programs. As of today 106 Indian Health Service Facilities are reimbursement sites for us. We have also entered into reimbursement agreements with 35 tribes and tribal entities and we are working closely with 62 more. For fy2014 this coming year, president obama has pledged a 52 million specifically for va reimbursements for Indian Health service and Tribal Health programs. We can do much more this year. [applause] we are expanding the as homebased primary care program to Tribal Alliance but for locating resources and Indian Health Care Hospitals clinics tribal clinics and va communitybased Outpatient Clinics that are adjacent to tribal lands. Over the past five years vas office of burr health has funded 101 initiatives located across Indian Country everything from Mental Health to transportation mobile clinics as i mentioned ptsd treatment homebased primary care Homeless Veterans and telehealth projects with increased native american access to Health Care Specialists while minimizing those long commutes especially for the chronically ill. Over the past three years the direct program va funded over 8 million to veterans living on trust lands. To honor your culture by ensuring nabe of American Veterans are laid to rest in the tradition of the tribes we have committed war than 19. 5 million tuesday sue acolla sue and the seminole nation of oklahoma. Over the last three years to construct tribal veterans cemeteries on tribal lands. In fy2014 [applause] in this next year in fy2145 more grant proposals will total five . 25 million. In january 2011 the va established her office of tribal government nations to improve communication so we could be more responsive to your needs. Deputy assistant secretary john garcia, many of you know him and director Stephanie Burke low also known love to you. They are charged with increasing travel veteran access to va attend services that they earn so we are looking to increase our outreach here. In february 2012 i signed her first tribal consultation policy so we could communicate directly with tribal governments and veteran related issues affecting Indian Country. Over 156,000 American Indian alaska native veterans live in the United States. President obama and i are committed to providing equal access to all veterans and if you understand the spread in the difference of the landscape you will appreciate that commitment means whether you are living in an urban area or a rural veteran or in the most remote of locations like the outer banks of alaska, or maybe even guam seven hours away, our commitment is to provide as best we can equal access to every veteran on the commission and that includes veterans living on tribal lands. With the support of the congress the president has increased his budget request for the va by over 50 since 2009. So rural urban remote native americans altering the same benefits and services and our commitment is to deliver on them. I took this appointment to help president obama make things better for veterans quickly and then to change this department for the longterm so that all veterans including native American Veterans with the well served and treated with the dignity and respect that they demonstrated to serve in our countrys uniform. Its been an honor to be here with you this morning and again sally thank you for the invite. Mahalo as we say god lesson may the almighty bless each and every one of you and navy all may be almighty continue to bless our nations. Thank you very much. [applause] ladies and gentlemen Kathleen Sebelius secretary of United States health and human services. [applause] good morning. Good morning everybody. Its my great pleasure to have another opportunity to be at this historic meeting of native americans and all alaska natives here at the department of the interior. I want to recognize my colleague secretary sally jewell who has been a terrific addition to the cabinet and a wonderful colleague and partner on a lot of issues. Thank you for hosting today and thank you for your leadership. You just heard from secretary shinseki and as he said we have worked together on it for i. D. I. D. For i. D. Dr. Yvette roubideaux who is a tireless and thank you to dr. Roubideaux wins a seat who works with our Governmental Relations department. I am also pleased that we have some of our Staff Members here. Followed our Senior Leaders cannot only budget issues that but Priority Issues and i know with us today are ken lucero and gary hayes who is the former chair and i want to thank gary for his service in the past so thank you all for being with us today. You know i make it least once a year visit to Indian Country and in july i had the opportunity to visit the Navajo Nation. I attended a special session of the Navajo Nation council. It was a really interesting opportunity for me because i had an opportunity to hear directly from the delegates about the challenges they face daytoday. They spoke about their efforts on diabetes and cancer, hiv aids prevention and treatment. They shared some of their concerns as well as hopes for how to improve health and wellness throughout the Navajo Nation. And i wanted to take this opportunity to offer some thoughts on a few of the priorities we share. Building our government to government relationship, obligations to Closing Health disparities and reinvigorating health and wellness in tribal communities throughout this country. So our Research Shows us that nearly one in three American Indians and alaska natives dont have Health Insurance, one in three. That compares with 62 of all americans who are covered with insurance that in the alaska native and American Indian communities only 36 are covered so the challenges they face are real. By the same notes over the opportunities to expand services and access to coverage. For example if every state in the country were to expand medicaid and i can tell you that something the president and i are dedicated to continuing to pursue, 94 of uninsured American Indians and alaska natives would call of it for Financial Assistance to get Health Insurance whether through the new Health Insurance marketplace, through medicaid or through chip. We have the pathway with the new build to getting people into the Health System in an economic fashion. Closing disparities in promoting health and wellness in tribal communities has been a priority for this administration as long as there has been an Obama Administration. A president inherited the worst economic crisis in a generation but he insisted on forging a new path, a ning new lines of communication and investing in Indian Country and you will hear from him later on today. As a result we have been able in the Obama Administration to make more progress for Indian Country than we have made in a generation. Let me give you a few snapshots from hhs. Before president obama took the oath of office there was a steady decline in the number of children in head start who spoke to tribal language at home. Today we are using it starts new performance standards to integrate tribal language and culture into classrooms and into curriculum. Thats a big step forward for the next generation. Before the Affordable Care act only 60 ihs and travel facilities were eligible for the national Health Service and this is one of the bestkept secrets in the country. The Health Service corps is the peace corps for Health Care Providers. If you agree after you get your medical degree to go practice in underserved communities the federal governments help to pay off some of your Student Loan Debt or get you a scholarship. The snapshot before was there were only 60 facilities in Indian Country that could accept these Health Care Providers including doctors, nurses and Mental Health practitioners. Today we have qualified every ihs in tribal facility to the ecological, more than 600 all and we have national Health Service corps graduates going into our facilities across this country and that is very good news. Whats more as many of us remember all too well it wasnt long ago that the reauthorization of the Indian Health care improvement act was stuck in congress. Today because the be a portal care act and in Health Services is here to stay after permanent reauthorization. Now many of you in this room worked tirelessly to make this happen and if it wasnt for your work we would be having a very different conversation today. Let us think urging us to progress we have made together has been all of us recognize washington politics has put much of that progress at wrist due to the socalled sequester. For Indian Country these cuts means 3000 fewer inpatient admissions and unconscionably 804,000 fewer out patient visits for ihs patients, 804,000 trips that should be to the doctor or to see a nurse or to keep people healthy have been cut due to the budget action. Its not only the human toll of these cuts contained. They also mean that kids have been kicked off of head start. Ihs facilities are understaffed. Tribes without the ability to staff facilities that use their own resources to build. The president has a commitment and its doing everything he possibly can to minimize the effect of these cuts on Indian Country that we need your help to talk to congress. Its congress has to take action on the budget getting rid of sequestration in preventing the next round of arbitrary cuts from having a potentially devastating effect. Last year at this conference i was able to announce the signing that you just heard from general he of the va ihs reimbursement movement, something you overcome for a long time. So far, ihs at travel sites received nearly 1 million in reimbursements because of this agreement and that means more resources resources to serve more people in Indian Country. We have been working on a number of fronts to make sure your voices are heard at the state level and the federal decisionmaking. As they say at hhs we are creating an Advisory Committee and we are meeting tomorrow and i continue to urge other colleagues throughout the cabinet to look at that model because the staff meets three times a year not just with me but with all of our Senior Leaders. We meet on policy and budget issues if they inform our priorities and they help to direct our initiatives. One of the areas i have asked them to work on his reducing barriers to eligibility access to hhs grants. Now we are at the department and we have a lot of grants that go into communities for a whole variety of Health Services but what we have learned very quick way is that the entities communities, tribal communities and others who need the grant money the most dont have the grant writers, dont have the sophisticated staff to track the money and cant follow the puzzling maze of when the grants are due and when they come out and what they are for and how they could best benefit. So what we heard from the staff is it would be really helpful to get some additional assistance to have some kind of roadmap to where the money is, how to access more kinds of services that would provide and Technical Assistance in grant writing. So we listened and we have done just that. We completed a twoyear effort to better understand the obstacles to remove them and the grants can be especially significant for behavioral abuse and substance Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse assistance, issues that are really important to deal with in tribal communities. It used to be that tribal nations were largely on their own and their fight against alcohol and Substance Abuse. Today our department has a dedicated Office Working with tribes as they develop detailed action plans and coordinate resources from across the federal government. Our grant applications are now in a a simple easytouse booklet thanks to the staffs work and we are doing training sessions with tribal communities across the country. Our efforts are also getting a very big boost from the recently announced here the group which was released last week. With the parity rule says which was passed by congress is Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse services are now on equal footing for Insurance Companies with physical health so you cant have a limited number of days and you cant have a limited number of inpatient or outpatient days. Whether you are seeking help for Behavior Health or Substance Abuse or a cancer diagnosis you must be treated the same. That is a huge step forward new insurance policies will now include Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse services. About 62 million more americans will have access to services and treatment. I know a lot of you in Indian Country are working on efforts around health and wellness and particularly health and wellness with children. The effort on Childhood Obesity led by a great leader and champion First Lady Michelle Obama is an initiative called lets move. What lets move does is to try and ensure that all kids have an opportunity to grow up healthy and pursue their dreams. Lets move in Indian Country focuses specifically on First American children. I have some news to share with you on these efforts. Our ministry should is entering a new partnership with notes. Would you stand up please and let us recognize you. [applause] [applause] i am hoping they will help me with my golf game but we will see about that i really want to recognize that he has done amazing work with his foundation identifying the best practices and areas for collaboration and tribal communities and focusing on reducing Childhood Obesity in Indian Country. I want to recognize that this effort could not be more important. We are talking about the next generation and talking about living longer healthier and more prosperous lives. Reducing Childhood Obesity and type ii diabetes in tribal communities is one of the most important initiatives we can work on together and with that i want to thank him for his efforts and focus and leadership in this area. Now ultimately one of the most important things we can do and are doing is to decrease disparitidispariti s and increase access to Affordable Health care. Affordable care act targets and reduces disparities by lowering health costs and make and quality care more accessible to people across the country. For those who already have Health Insurance the new law has made those policy stronger. With the new Health Insurance marketplace there is an opportunity for those without insurance to purchase insurance on their own and get coverage. If youre a member of the federal nice try at and you buy a private Insurance Plan through the marketplace you may not have to pay any outofpocket costs like copays or deductibles. If youre eligible for services through the Indian Health service the Health Program or Tribal Program cannot only enroll for coverage for the marketplace that you may be eligible for special exemptions to make it easier to qualify for medicaid coverage. In spite of the issues that have plagued the web site for the last six weeks it is significantly better see can go on line at health care. Gov and go to a call center, go in person order meet with someone to get a paper application and fill out the paper application. Train staff helps American Indian and alaska native patient and roll and get covered. We remain committed to building on this work, to ensuring that all American Indians and alaska natives have access to quality affordable Health Insurance and live quality affordable lives with her living on the reservation, on the tribal land or urban area. Many of the people who wrote the constitution were inspired by the iroquois great live piece of history principles, righteousness justice and health. In many ways those principles at the new meaning today. Theres no righteousness without justice. There is no social justice as long as there are unacceptable disparities in health. Therefore we continue to be committed to working with you to move this up or it forward and to move towards those great principles of righteousness justice in Better Health for all. Thank you all very much. [applause] ladies and gentlemen anthony foxx the secretary of the United States department of transportation. [applause] good morning. It is a pleasure to be here with you and i want to also extend i thanks to secretary sally jewell for the invitation to be here today. And to all of our tribal nations and our tribal leaders who are here, thank you for being here today and i know many of you have traveled a great distance. I am proud to be a part of the president s initiative to build a more respectful collaborative relationship of moves and a shins closer to our shared goals the department of transportations position is very clear. Residents of our tribal nations need and deserve safe roads and bridges and access to reliable public transportation. You know as well as i do that transportation is the lifeblood to communities, to families and to people. When we deliver on the promise of connecting every person on the shores to 21st century opportunities, that includes tribal communities all across america. That is the key part of our mission at the department of transportation and we are committed to ensuring that everyone cordless of where you live has access to safe transportation. Today im happy to announce the latest evidence of that commitment. As we award eight . 6 million to 183 tribes to help improve Transportation Safety on their lands. These new funds will improve and protect the roads for everyone who depends upon them helping to improve the quality of life or tribal communities at the same time. The projects cover a wide range of safety Planning Engineering improvements enforcement and Emergency Services and safety education. Just as an example the Cherokee Nation in oklahoma will receive 525,000 to modify a key intersection with new signal light, better signage and improved acceleration and deceleration lanes. The native village in alaska will receive 100,000 to create safe havens with emergency place place supplies for vehicle brake downs or impassable rivers. Importantly most significantly, these new tribal transportation de grants will go directly to the tribes for the projects and planning in Indian Country. In other words [applause] in other words tried to work directly with the federal Highway Administration on these important projects without having to go through governors or county officials. Its going directly to the tribes. [applause] whats more many of these grants will provide tribal governments with funds to develop randy safety plans so this program will see improvements that will extend into the future. The Highway Administration is working hard to boost safety among tribal communities. This is significant because it has an impact on our ability to save lives. In 2011, 55 of passengers killed in a car crash were unrestrained. But among tribal nations a full twothirds of those killed were unrestrained unrestrained at the time of the crash. We recognize safety enforcement and rural American Tribal lands will always present challenges different from those that we find more densely pop way to communities that we also know we must Work Together to influence behavior and save lives. So, nhtsa is working with other federal partners in addition to tribal governments to offer more coordinated programs and resources to support travel Traffic Safety and injury prevention efforts and we are working to extend Law Enforcement presence in Rural Communities so you can more effectively keep in touch and keeping of the road. Our partnership doesnt just improve safety that connects people to opportunity. We know and you know that a rebuilt road for a new Transit System can be the difference between a child getting to school on time or the difference between an elder going to the doctor or not. No one knows better than americans tribal leaders that they safe Reliable Transportation system is a key to accessing good jobs. It is why last year the federal trans Transportation Administration awarded 15 million from our Transit Program to help 70 to tribal governments provide the critical Transportation Services that thousands depend on every day. Its also why a total of 30 million has been authorized for travel Transit Programs for both fy2013 and fy2014. That is the doubling of available funds. Across five rounds of our innovative Tiger Program tribal projects have received nearly 80 million in funding for innovative projects to improve infrastructure in our indian lands. Those are just a few of the steps we are taking to improve transportation in tribal communities. Clearly there is more work to be done. Todays grants are you step in the right direction that we are by no means complete. I look forward to continuing to work with all of you to connect all of our communities with the 21st century economy and on behalf of the department of transportation i thank you for your attendance today. [applause] ladies and gentlemen ernest moniz secretary of the United States department of energy. [applause] its great to be here and thank you all for being here and thanks as my colleagues have said to sally jewell from the department of interior for hosting this conference and of course i was very pleased to be able to hear some of my cabinet colleagues in their discussions and i would just like to rant the size something that secretary jewell said this morning that we are looking forward to really establishing and advancing a subgroup of white House Counsel on native American Affairs to really focus on Energy Development and Energy Deployment in Indian Country. I think working together with agriculture epa and other cabinet colleagues we really want to help harness the Energy Potential in Indian Country, conventional energy Renewable Energy to expedite Energy Deployment and electrification so that is something we are really going to get together on and try to advance quite humbly. Of course i want to thank the tribal leaders who are gathered here today. I would like to add is that personal and do that this is my Second Time Around the track. I was there in the second half of the Clinton Administration and this gave me a great opportunity to work with tribal governments to end it notes from their. One is that the department has a major challenge in terms of cleaning up, there is no nice way to say it, the cold war a mess. Much of this has an impact on traditional tribal lands and when it came to establishing our programs i have to say that the tribes in the affected areas for example hanford reservation in washington state, the tribes were fantastic partners in making us focus on the longterm cleanup to a level where traditional activities for example could be removed and its a tremendous help as we structure those programs. A second very different example i will give and later on today one of my colleagues will be discussing this more in the conference but under the leadership of then secretary Bill Richardson really a historic transfer of almost 100,000 acres of land back to the youth tribe in utah. This was returning a call oil share reserve number two which had been taken by the federal government in 1960 to provide fuel for the navy in world war i and it was a tremendous event and melanie will say more about the implications today in terms of that asset. Its great to have a chance to come back and maybe accomplish some things like that as well in this Obama Administration. I have only been here five months so im just getting my feet on the ground in terms of this work. The energy field as a whole of course is a very exciting time. If we look at the conventional resources if you like oil imports for example right now the lowest level in 20 years. Natural Gas Production highest point ever. Those of course connected to a revolution in our ability to produce unconventional shale. This goes back in some sense to the story i just told about the Land Transfer that has to be part of that but also turning to renewables the u. S. During president obamas first term doubled the amount of Energy Produced by wind, solar, geothermal and the president has challenged us to do it again. In fact just in the last five years wind Power Capacity has tripled and solar power deployment has increased by a factor of 10. We believe that we have really are at the place where the significant transformation to lowcarbon energy is present and because the growing development of Renewable Energy of the United States will be to tribes not only because you hold many renewable assets but also as a way to meet the growing threat of Climate Change something that we all will be pitching in to do less than two weeks ago was the First Anniversary of sandy and none of us ascribes an individual event, an individual storm to Climate Change but we recognize and have the Science Community has recognized for decades how Global Warming Climate Change amplifies the effects of extreme storms but also droughts, floods, wildfires , all trends that we are seeing and have enormous implications in Indian Country which i will return to. For example in alaska rising sea levels for melting ice changing weather patterns and flooding rivers are seriously impacting alaska native villages. The army corps of engineers has identified over 30 alaska native villages as being at imminent risk from rising sea levels and flooding and in fact we also know by observation and bite addiction that in fact Global Warming becomes especially severe in the higher latitudes like the arctic. One example a town is being relocated. The town of galena suffered a massive flood and d. O. E. Office of energy and our national Renewable Energy laboratory are supporting fema in the town of galena in Recovery Efforts from this disaster. So Climate Change then impacts of Course Energy products projects in Indian Country as well. For example decreased river flows have serious impacts on the tribes who depend on hydro. Droughts rising temperatures pose a threat to coalfired plants in now the whole nation or reservations like the apache the yout and affiliated tribes are endangered because of the need for water availability. So we all have an interest and responsibility to act together to meet this threat and certainly to meet it in Indian Country. Let me say a word about the Climate Action plan that president obama put forward in late june to address these real and urgent threat broad lee. It has three pillars the first of course to cut Carbon Pollution domestically and second to prepare for these impacts of Climate Change to adapt to them and third to lead International Efforts to combat Climate Change and prepare for its impacts and initiative that is critical and of course can only be built on the foundation of our strong Domestic Program particularly our strong litigation and mitigation efforts. Cutting Carbon Emissions starts with improving Energy Efficiency pursuing Tech Knowledge he is that make fossil fuels cleaner to use an encouraging the continued development and deployment of renewables and like solar and wind and also lowcarbon sources such as power. This is the president s alloftheabove strategy that there wont be one solution for lowcarbon. There will be Different Solutions internationally and there will be Different Solutions in different parts of our country. The department of energy we want to work closely with tribal leaders to develop Renewable Resources on tribal lands in particular and that will be ongoing effort. Today we are very pleased to announce that nine tribes have been selected to receive over 70 million to further deployment of clean energy and energyefficient projects. A couple of examples in those awards are wind power for tribal government told things at seneca and a shin in new york and Energy Efficiency of grades to reduce energy use by 48 at fort yukon in alaska. And there will be nine tribes that will have these Energy Efficiency and renewable projects. Now that addresses this question of mitigation and as i said the second pillar is recognizing that unfortunately we are seeing the impacts of Climate Change as i said in amplifying storms, droughts, floods and the like. That is the second pillar of the president s action plan and i want to start out by thanking karen diver of the fond du lac band of Lake Superior chippewa and Richie Jewell of the northwest barro of alaska for representing tribal officials on the task force on climate. As in resilience. Preparing for the impacts of Climate Change means adapting our infrastructure to increase resiliency. For example but sure the grid can recover rapidly from stronger and more frequent storms and that is what we saw for example with sandy. Maintaining and upgrading infrastructure of tribal lands will be an important part of making american infrastructure resilience to these new challenges that are emerging. The task force prepared to send resilience will provide recommendations to the president removing barriers to resilient investments modernizing grant and loan programs to better support local efforts in developing information and tools that they need to prepare. The department of energy will also continue to work with tribal nations oneonone regarding new projects that affect your area. The office of Indian Energy policy programs at the d. O. E. Are working together with the Tribal Energy crop and to provide financial and Technical Assistance to tribes for evaluation and development of Renewable Energy resources implementation of Energy Efficiency and education and training to help build the knowledge and skills essential for Sustainable Energy projects. From Community Scale Solar Projects at the pueblo in new mexico in the southern ute tribe in to commercial wind projects in maine and small biomass projects in wisconsin d. O. E. Is working with 20 tribes in alaska native villages to empower tribal leaders with the tools and resources needed to lead Energy Development that can foster selfsufficiency sustainability and economic growth. So this is our program and i want to say at the department of energy i certainly have made it a personal priority to raise our game with states, local governments and tribes. We believe that in the end a National Policy needs to build from these tribal, state, local and regional policies and activities. We have very different needs across our country, across our tribal lands and so we really need to focus on collaborating and solving the problems as they are in different parts of our country. I look forward to working together as i said earlier and we look forward to working very closely with secretary jewell as we stand up our efforts and work with all of you so thank you very much. [applause]. One week into the crisis that we have been following and i thought with was important to update you on the data of the response. The first thing we have to express, again, is our sadness to all who have lost their lives in this tragedy. And i would like to say how much our humanitarian colleagues impress us and face this situation with huge determination and resolve. A week in the crisis we see the fruits of the labor we didnt see as they and all hoped in the first days. But they were working very hard. They were there from day one, the morning after the storm they were on the ground in the aff t affected areas and trying to do what they could do. We have over 13 Million People affected by this crisis. The latest figures on the displaced are at 1. 9 million. And they are sheltering in over 100,100 evacuations centers. There has been 287,000 houses seve severely damaged. And of that we estimate over 160,000 have been completely destroyed. As of today, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and management counsel of the philippians reports that the death toll is at 3,600. These figures are changing all of the time as you can expect. And they expect they will exceed 4,000 very shortly. In terms of the response as i said as of saturday morning they mobilized response from staff to get out in the affected areas. They came up against obiclstiac and other infrastructures and roads that are blocked. The electricity is destroyed. And the other things we need to mobilize the response. Transport, trucks, the fuel. We found ourselves in a waste land trying to get through the debris to get the roads open and the aid in to the people. As you have seen, it has been slow prom the perspective of the people who have been patiently frustratingly waiting for the support that they desperately need. But the pace of the activity of our colleagues on the ground has been phenomenal. The system worked in terms of mobilizing the people and soe support they need. We will circulate maps after the meeting that show how the roads have been systematically cleared over the past week. That logistical effort has been the principle focus of our humanitarian caolleagues on the ground and they have made substantial progress in doing that. It has been a partnership as well. We applaud the very generous support internationally for this huge crisis. The money has been rolling in. We have desperately needed that. I said in other briefings that we have to recall that as a humanitarian worldwide, we dont have warehouses packed full of huge quantities of supply. We are handtomouth in many crisis whether it is in the sahara to syria which is halffunded and to all of the other crisis we are stretched to the limit. So that means we need when a sudden crisis like this occurs, we need fast mobilization of Additional Resources to enable us to get the supplies that we need to respond to this crisis. And it has been, again, a phenomenal response by humanitarian organizations who have declared this crisis as their level three. They have activated the top Emergency Response mechanisms within each organization to release money, to release supplies and redirect supplies so ones that are intended for other crisis are all being redirected to this crisis because this one is urgent and hours matter. So governor, this mobilization is now what you are seeing on the ground as we speak. But as i say in partnership with donors i want to commend them. They have responded to the appeal the emergency coordinator launched on tuesday and asked for 301 million. We have received 72 million into the appeal. There has been a total of 153 million donated that we have been able to track which is additional and not just for our appeal but for the likes of the ifrc and icrc and other humanitarian partners. We have registered 104 million in pledges. These pledges have yet to be assigned. Whether they will come to us or other organizations, but the money is being mobilized. This is a lot of money very quickly and we thank the donors for that. The other partnership we have is with military partners. Both the Philippine Military and international militarmilitary. And they bring a logistical capacity which is essential for us particularly on air assets and the fixed wing helicopters. So we have seen a very Fast Response by all of the partners on this. And having said that, we have to keep our foot on the exceleraore because too many have not received assistance. And what they should know is the assistance is on the way and that is evidence by every day significantly more people receiving the support they desperately and urgently need. We are focused on getting people fresh and clean drinking water. That means Water Purification tablets, food, High Energy Biscuits being the product that is being shipped in in very large quantities by the World Food Program and other food items. Shelter, support to help people protect themselves from the elements and their at un hcr has been mobilizing and ion on this. But not exclusively either. So we have the full spectrum of the response and the water situation, the sanitation situation, my colleague ted speaks to the huge mobilization from unicef which is the Biggest Agency when it comes to the leadership of the clusters. I will let him speak to what they are doing. And the final thing to say and maybe i should have said up front is this is a nationally led response. The philippine authorities have been really in our view outstanding. Their infrastructure, their people have been caught up in this crisis across the affected areas and yet they have been able to mobilize, compensate for that. It has been incredibly difficult. It has been incredibly challenging and the consequences of those difficulties and challenges is we are not as fast as we want to be, but it isnt because of anyone involved in the response. But the philippines are getting the law and order under wrap because we are concerned about those, particularly those using weapons, and attacking the instillations and people in the affected areas. We are very concerned. And i am sure ted will speak more about those who are most vulnerab vulnerable, particularly women and children. With that said, a week on my summary would be that a phenomenal crisis, unpresidecidd in many ways and the complexity on the logistical side is being met with a phenomenal response and generous on part of the Donor Community and committed on the part of the humanitarian organizations who have mobilized in a very large way with a lot of expertise to sporespond. And then the partnerships which are so key, particularly with int International Military partners, to get us access to the areas we need to get to and overcoming the infrastructure and the roads being destroyed and other Communication Networks being damaged. All of the combination together is finally really coming together. And mobilizing at the speed the people need. And the resillance of the people we have been inspired at a human level by the stoicism and courage of the people who have lost so much and are suffering so much. So again, we feel that no matter what we do, it isnt enough. And again, that is a message that is being sent back to us do more, better and faster; the people need it. We are acting on that mess age. I do salute the colleagues on the ground because they have not allowed themselves to be overwhelmed and are working through this in a very commendable way. I will stop there and hand it over to ted. Thank you. I join john in expressing sympathy for the people. And we are impressed with the people on the ground. People say was there enough preparedness down and the reality is there is a lot. About when you get hit by Something Like this large you are going to have issues. It affected 5 million children. And that is the population that are children and they require immediate support. Unicefs Emergency Network is up and running and we have staff on the ground in four areas and setting up field officers. And the result of level three emergency and the systems, we have the ateam on the ground doing everything they can do really gear up the effort. And they are getting a clearer picture of the massive needs of children started with clean water, food, essential medicine and sanitation. Clean water and hygiene to people and reestablishing the Water Treatment plants in the big urban centers. And then really focusing on sanitation so we dont have a situation in major urban settings where the major way of dealing with sanitation is open defecation. In response to the situation, there has been work on the water supply system and we can announce the water supply system has been partially restored with repair of generators and urban Water Infrastructure and piping and the Different Military on the ground are assisting with the operation. The filipino and United States military had fuel to restore them and 200,00 of the population are getting water and 20 percent are up and running. So a long ways to go but something is started. We can also, this is work thz that is being done to get this up and running. We have had water and hygiene supplies on the ground. Hygiene kits and Water Purification tablets for 45,000 people and much more is on the way. They are arriving by road now. So we dont have the rely on c130. I talked to colleagues there and our representative is on site and i was speaking to him so the mobile phone is restored. He got from the airport to town in half an hour and it was taking an hour and a half two days ago. So thinks are improving in terms of getting more people on the ground and supplies in. And we are looking at challenges around exploitation and getting children back to families. Sanitation, water, hygiene, issues related to child protection, preventing disease outbreaks are the immediate concern. Much more needs to be done. But it is clear we are starting to open up the log jam. And were beginning to turn the corner. There is risk of disease outbreak and we have to prevent against diseases. I think we are starting to see the turning of the corner. This is thanks to the phenomenal work of colleagues on the ground from difference agencies and thanks to the leadership of the filipino authorities and the wider partnerships that john mentioned with the military. Unicef request for this immediate phase and we have to think about recovery and reconstruction as well. The requirements are 61 million and we have received generous contributi contributions and we hope to continue the momentum and say enough is on the ground soon and that the children of the affected areas from this typhoon haiyan can return to normal and return to school. We can take questions. Identify yourself and use the micr microphone. Thank you very much. Whenever we hear about disaster, the first thing we hear is difficult to get to the victims and then money. If you can change one thing in order to ease this problem, what would that be . Money we are chronically underfunded worldwide. And we are focused rightly on this immediate urgency of this disaster, children are dying in the sierra because we dont have the money to provide them with the livesaving support. Over half a million children have died over year across the sierra. So as a humanitarian organization we are chronically underfunded. We are in the spotlight and grateful for and this crisis exposes our capacity to respond. I would suggest to you that we have the people. We have the systems. We have proven that because they were there the day after the storm on the ground and flying in from all over the world. We have mobilized the best of the best as ted said to respond to this crisis. But i have said also that our warehouse, nowhere do we have wa warehouses, full of supplies for what is a predictable crisis. We know somewhere around the world there is going to be a crisis like this and if we had the resources first and foremost i cannot recommend we put supplies into a warehouse waiting for something to happen where children are dying. The first thing that has to happen is we have to be funded properly across the globe. We have put out the appeals. It is only for basic lifesaving support. If we are properly funded for our Current Operations we need to have the reserves in warehouses located across the world to be able to respond to predictable, sudden crisis. We know it is going to happen, but not where. We can strategically be prepared for that. And the Logistical Support is the same situation. It is predictable what we need. Helicopters in the early day to overcome the infrastructure problems we will meet. On the latter, we have seen a very effective mobilization of support from military partners on this. You can see on the Television Screen all of the aircraft coming in hour after hour. The helicopters that are getting out into the remote areas. But yes, if i had one request as a humanitarian it is that we give greater priority in funding to humanitarian action. When we look at the funding that is provided internationally in terms of what countries contribute in terms of military, security and other budgets they are involved in. Our request, and then i would say the Development Partners are quite modest when put into the Big International part of funding. We also need to say our Development Partners need hundreds of millions of dollars. In fact the cost of this will run into billions to help people, rebuild their lives and rebuild houses, rebuild roads and the rest of the infrastructu infrastructure. And out of their vulnerability because we know there is going to be more storms. So the government is supportive of relocating people into safer areas when we know the path of the storms. But all of this takes money. But the good news is if you have invest in humanitarian and development you save lives. It is as simple as that. Thank you, john. Is there a figure of how many millions billions is needed to or are underfunded right now for the needs than what would be needed for a reserve. And to your colleague from i unicef is the 61 million part of the 300 million that the un requested for the typhoon immediate aid . On the second question, yes it is part of the overall appeal. We worked together and it is for immediate aid. As john said this is what we need now for the immediate requirements. But very quickly we will be looking at recovery and reconstruction and that is going to require more resources. So we need to keep the momentum going on the generous contributions. On the question of the overall figures, we have them up on our website. The overall totals for the con sa solidated material. I can get it after this meeting because it is on the wb site. It is significant. Can you talk a little bit mor about the security situation in the philippians . In terms of military partnerships what is the need there . There is concern about law and order especially when it is comes to gas stations. Will you be appealing into the United States and other military forces . It is the philippine authorities that are stepping up to control law and order. The request is logistical and the air assets in particular, but they are also very generously supporting us and you are right, in the immediate after affect as the staff is caught up in this tragedy and there was a breakdown in certain areas with law and order because there was no body to enforce the law and order. But i know in the early hours after the you had this as a high pri priority and our caolleagues on the ground delivered the priority and that is why you have seen the redeployment of large number of services to the affected areas. We are concerned about the population until we say the full restoration of law and order across the whole affected area. But they are working. I mean our message on this is we see a response that is very affective from the philippine authorities given all of the challenges they face and see it improving teach day. It is an issue and appear issue that the philippine authorities are concerned about and we in the International Organizations can concerned about and in particular for those most vulnerable and it is women and children in particular women who are particularly vulnerable in this circumstances. Thank you. My question is usually the secretary general visits disasters. Is he planning a trip . As you know the secretary general immediately consulted with the emergency general and they agreed she would deploy immediately. She has done so to provide her support to the teams on the ground and connect back with the Head Quarters at the executive head level in realtime to insure the mobilization is as affective as it can be. Feeding in firsthand experience and engaging in the senior lead lead leadership to make sure we are focused on the right priorities and being as responsive as possible. She has been working around the clock. And i have personal experienced it because i am trying to figure out when her emails will stop because then i can see she is resting. She hasnt rested in days. She is there on the ground. And a number of other heads of humanitarian organizations are also on route. But they have discussed among themselves t themselves how necessary it is curtail to the minimum. High level visits take away time and resources. Space on aircraft from staff that are going out to do the work that needs to be done and they take away time. Time is precious because they have to be attended to in terms of meetings. They all want to be there. All of us want to be there. But that is not where we should be. We have to be where we can be most affective in contributing to the response. So the secretary general has been affective in where he has been in terms of what he has been doing. It is reflected in the amount of money that has been mobilized because he has been on the phone going the resources we need. In terms of the plans going forward, secretary jep general and valerie amos have discussed next steps. And valerie amos left to fill commitments in the gulf countries and these are important relationships we have there. They are being generous. And she is going back to the philippians on monday to follow up on what she was doing this week to make sure everything that can be done is combgetting done. And there is a number of other executives there. So there is a maximum use of time and resources in the most effective way. I dont think the general can do anything my his presence out there. We have not asked him to go because we have asked him to help us with other aspects and he has been doing that. George . George is my name. And i am sure you are heard there is an isralael organizati that is deploying an aircraft and 142 or more medical and specially Trained Medical personal. I was wondering what you know about this, what you can tell us, and how it is being deployed and use. How their services are being used. Thank you. Yes, i can confirm that. And all of the military support that is coming in from the military internationally is being planned to make sure they are being deployed n in a way to meet the most urgent needs. This is a cell that is in close harmony and connection with the government. The government is in the lead as you know. And therefore the priority is ultimately established with the government agreement. On the specific deployment of the capacity i cannot tell you off the top of my head what location it has been deployed it. But i can get that after the briefing. It is very welcome commitment because as we know the Field Hospital capacity that the isralies mobilize is very effective. You have commended the military assistance on the logistical and humanitarian affairs. But i am curious how many countries have offered their military in a humanitarian and logistic capacity. We have a long list of countries. The United States state of america, unit kingdom, israel. A a, japan, sweden, and i can get you the list. It is a very impressive list of co countries that mobilized quickly. We can most definitely give you that list very quickly after this briefing. Thank you. Belated welcome. One of the most critical needs is hospitals and you may have mentioned this, but the lack of electricity and water. And there is a Field Hospital that arrived on the vessel. But are you medvacking anyone out to other area hospitals . Any effort to get people to other hospitals . There is medvack as you have probably seen on the television reports. This is one of the indispensable capacities that is being provided by the military. They have the helicopter assets of moving at speed from remote locations. And that is why we are grateful they have mobilized so quickly. And on such a scale. I have been listing the countries who provided and it is along list. There was a steake out and i want to ask you in previous situations you talk about the separation of military people and humanitarian. All offers are welcome but how is this different in situations where you said there should be a line. And it says military were instructed not to let the philippians mean not to touch the goods thatt arrived. It seems like some of the delay was on passing on government. On the first question when we talk about worker in partnership with military we have very strict guidelines for doing so. These have been worked out. In essence, we dont want to be engaged in humanitarian response with anybody who is a party to conflict. And that is what we endeavor to work through. So on this one we are responding to a Natural Disaster and not in a conflict zone. And governor, we have strict guidelines that have been agreed between us and military partn z partnerz partners about respecting the humanitarian organizations. And thooese have been agreed on and are for the military partners. They are called oslow principles and you can find them on the world wide web. On the second question, i dont know what the specific details of that report are but i will say that again in a crisis you come up against so many dynamics. There is chaos. And obseverybods trying to breakdown anything that delays the aid to the people that need it. I think we have to be careful about citing from difference things out of context without commenting on the specific of this particular report. For us humanitarians, we have a long and deep partnership with the philippians authorities. It is one of the best relationships we have in the world. I have been in this job for three years now and i have travelled to so many countries. And i cannot think of a country where we have a better relationship. And that is before this crisis and for a long time in terms of True Partnership and mutual respect. Agreement on how we should Work Together and what we are seeking to achieve. So now in the midst of this crisis the strength of the relationship holds through and there is no tension between the humanitarians on the ground and filipino leadership. There is an openness to the leadership to our engagement in a way that is commendable. They are under pressure, we are under pressure and everybody is under pressure. And we are finding that the dynamics are overwhelmingly positive and we are sorting out issues. There are issues and there is always going to be issues on all sides where things are identified that are mistakes andthi and things need to be made better. And it very constructive and resulting in a, you know, an Optimal Performance in our partnership partnership. We are working together to do better, faster kw more. Until we have reached everybody, everywhere with all of the assistance we will not rest. If i can add just to sorry i think all of the solutions we are talking about will be done with the fill filipino authorities. Fixing the roads is the highways and reuniting children is their social work. It is a partnership and one of the strongest we have as john said. In the middle . You mentioned the gulf countries have been generous can you be specific as to which countries, how they have provided and how it has been used . The gulf countries are very generous internationally in all of the appeals they are putting out there and not just this appeal but worldwide. On this particular appeal, i know the united arab emrites have come up with a sizable amount of money. Let me check here. 10 million dollars. That is one of the gulf countries i have on the list of the larger donors that have contributed so far. And of course part of valerie amos visit is to mobilize more support. In the back row. Sorry. I am rick from the new york times. Can you provide clarity on the conflicting information on the death tolls. You mentioned 3600 today and the president of the philippians had a lower estimate and then there is the 10,000 estimated and osha had 4,460 deaths. Where are you getting 3,600 and anything you can do to provide clarity on how we are getting these numbers would be helpful. Absolutely. Kuqwait has give 10 million as well. On the the numbers we have been working on estimates in term of when the initial figures were put out there they were estimated. So the estimates we had is the death toll will be around the 10,000 figure. That is an estimate. Not a scientific bases but it is based on the foundings we have discovered. To insure there isnt confusion we have been asked by the philippine authorities to report consistent with them. They are not reporting estimates. They are reporting actual numbers. Sadly, they are going up. Yesterday it was the secretary of defense that put out the figure of over 4,000 but it was an estimate. So we use that figure. The figure today is the actual death toll that has been shutdown issued by the council and they say the death toll to date is 3,600. But we all know that figure is going to rise. There are places we have not been able to get to yet. But we stopped putting out estimates of what the ultimate death toll is because the figures are confusing. I didnt think it was when you saw estimate and actual and the estimate is rising toward the actual. But we are clarifying what the actual figures are. John, just to clarify yesterdays figure of, i believe it was, 4,460, that was an estimate. That came from the ministry of defense. And it wasnt clarified to be an estimate. And that is wie we have updated you on the official philippine Authority Figure of 3,600. It didnt come from the department of special welfare as we were told yesterday . The 4,460 figure didnt come from the department of social welfare . I had a figure yesterday for a member state briefing. I didnt put any figures out in press statements. So i dont know where you are 4,600 comes from. That is what was on the osha website. That is an error. That is a mistake. And we apologize. Mistakes are made. So if the wrong figure was up on the osha website we appaologize for putting it up there. We have reliant on what we get from our sources. And we take the point about being very clear about the source of those figures. Okay. Any further hands or are we done . Oh yes . Just one follow up on the curtailing of high level visits. Are you discouraging other leaders from visiting . No. What the leadership of the u. N. Agencies and our International Partners have decided is they will be juditious about curtailing their instinctive reaction of wanting to be out there with the people. It is very important for the overall management of the operation. So our executive leadership is carefully calculating how they can best use their engagement in the most affective way. It has involved in the first instance valerie amos deploying was it was felt her personal leadership was required. And a number of other heads are on route and because their leadership is required as it has been calculated. And that is how we will continue the calculation going forward. Thank you very much. Yeah. If you dont mind i want to ask you whether there is any update or progress on polio vack vaccinations . I would suggest there has been progress in the since that the government of sudan has agreed to further meetings. I appreciate this and demonstrating that even though in their views there is no need for a further meeting they are prepared to do whatever is necessary to get the Vaccination Campaign underway. I am grateful for that because that is what it appears is actually needed. And we, you know, we appeal to both sides to prioritize. I am hopefully that this will happen. But hope isnt enough. We have to actually see it translate into the operation on the ground. But yes, progress since i was last here. And hoping that progress translates into finally our colleagues on the ground led my unicef being able to do what they have been ready to do for a long time and it will take a couple days to vaccinate these 165,000 children from a disease that should be eliminated. Earlier the house passed a bill that would allow Health Insurance companies to extend Health Insurance plans that dont need the requirements of the Health Care Law. It was in response to a large number of individuals whose plan was canceled. 261157 and 39 democrats voted in favor. It is moving on to the senate for final aprub proval. President obama is threatening to veto the bill if it were to pass in the senate, and the senate has not made a comment on how they will handle it. Health cause was addressed at a breakfast round table hoshosted by the christian monitor. Here is some of what he said let me start in my role as nrcc chairman and talk about 2014 and what we see. I want to start by recapping what i said when asked about what 2014 would look like a year ago. And i believe 2014 is about the president S Health Care law; obamacare. And i believe it now more than ever. And now it has become a category five political hurricane that is not just causing havoc in certain regions of the country, it is ripping apart every region of the country. From tiny towns to major cities where people are finding confusion, chaos, cancelation, Cost Increases and all of which were predicted as if you reported the storm was coming years ago and the administration and the democrats in the house were in denial and misled and did something to prevent what is now unfolding. I think 2014 is being to be to r refrendemon the failure of this government and the answers of Big Government doing things better. And americans now fully apriegs appreciated and understand that is not the best approach. And they want a check and balance on the Obama Administration and Big Government ideas. They didnt have the check and balance when the Health Care Law was passed only with democrat votes. And Speaker Nancy Pelosi shut out every unit in the house on fate faithful day. The president has apologized to the American People in different ways. I think it is time for the democrats who voted for this law and for the speak of the house and today is a perfect day to paul apologize as well. The American People feel misled and the bond of trust