Transcripts For CSPAN2 Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20240622

The below listed as an employee. But they do. This does present all the way is to look at this. But im just not sure how large those are. Thank you. Good to see you again. Can we connect a couple of big picture items with a challenge to drive that . To the extent that these are connected a very big issue that has arisen to focus some of the shortterm. Corporations somehow have capital that should be enhancing the technology to show better quarterly results. There are two different issues. Ive tried not to get too obsessed but lets get though longer term trend so i certainly tried to take a prospective to understand what is going on in in the economy. Which is at the heart of the question is an important thing to be had and i was talking before with basic research that we would under invested in but the business will still not investing enough. But that is by finding funding is so important. If you put that into research and development that is terrific also. Led to think the longer run perspective is important. We will limit questions to those already in line. Thank you for a wonderful presentation your students would be lucky if you go back to the classroom. But over time the industrial structure and how should we think about that . And to clarify plagal is not as much of an uptodate perspective. And the trade deficit or a similar concept is important in the trade deficits subtract from gdp. The economy does really well and then to buy less from abroad is a little bit complicated to understand. Whins certain countries run a surplus because of the macroeconomic policies, all as the trade balance as some have deficits. But then to give a persistent surplus. With the police state san derangements with those policies to address the global imbalance. But people point between climate productivity and though a non economist should interpret that. For someone who doesnt deal with that economic data. That has been reproduced a lot. 1. That is important has been slower than productivity growth since the 40s through the 70s. But productivity growth has not slowed. One that does not leap out in the graph is a shorter period of time or if somebody doesnt do that with the algorithms which is unforgivable. But if you see that as a distance so as something keeps going up by the same but if it is little is not the case otherwise is a slowing over time. That is the pet peeve of mine. [laughter] but second between the productivity and the wages with the gap want is increasing inequality in failure of workers to get the full benefit. A shift of the overall allocation in our society towards capital and to me it is important. The other reason is a set of statistical quirks. But use the price index and behaving differently over time. But half of that is the underlying inequality. But there are some conservatives whose delicate the statistical quirks settled pay attention. They are right we have been correcting for them so that is one way to say you are to fully capture productivity than a bunch of complications to come to those conclusions. What about non Wage Compensation . People showed that grafted different ways. I think 10 percent of the difference of the two is non Wage Compensation. Final question. Thank you for taking the question and for putting this together. With the concept of to what extent does it play a more pronounced role in this recovery with labor markets and an Unemployment Rates . So the first prong is to we have Good Measures for that or a good understanding of how that works to measure the policy and how it affects that much . So i will explain that a little bit. The concept was introduced into the economic literature with a really low Unemployment Rates over decades and it went up to the abc and stayed there. So Larry Summers said that is an example that were in the new bad place and stayed there. There was evidence the United States labor markets are more flexible that means you are less likely to end up in a bad place for go live in the recession first set we had Unemployment Rates had not seen since the 80s and longterm unemployment from the entire postwar period so people were nervous. What if we get stuck . At the time i was cautiously hopeful but i think the data has become increasingly clear that the unemployment now is 5. 3 cut the the average of previous but the other is elevated to what it was before but even then it has come down even faster than shortterm Unemployment Rate celibacy was that it could be in the neighborhood of where it was. Recently i would never taken for granted and why it is important is the longer the lapse that the likely they will lose their skills and employers dont want to hire them so temporary unemployment becomes permanent i think we have avoided that but nothing that we can take for granted in the future. Thank you so much. I consider this our a gift. To me it was a spectacular lesson of how to look at economic data. I know that will make a difference and i hope the people here in those watching at home appreciate the way that you put it into a very simple way. Thank you so much for taking time out of your incredibly busy day to join us today. Thank you. [applause] have a wonderful weekend. We will let you know, of the next event. [inaudible conversations] headquarters in washington d. C. , this is just over an hour. Good rnoo good afternoon. Welcome to nasa headquarters i am with the office of communications. The Horizons Research team is back to reveal even more unprecedented images and science that continue to be returned from the new horizon spacecraft. To set the stage for todays briefing please welcome to the podium astronauts that is one of almost 100 missions in his portfolio. Date you very much twain. This has been a phenomenal week. On monday we release the first image from the uzbek on undoes discovered mission this is the first true blue marble of the earth since 1972 when the apollo 17 astronauts to the famous blue marble image of the earth that paints an incredible picture of our home planet and how lucky and precious planet earth is especially when you compare it to the amazing views recently have gotten from the door of planet series and we Just Announced yesterdays discovery a cousin solar system to that of our own with the star much talk like our son of a little bit older and an extra planning that is 60 bigger diameter bigger of birthrate in the middle of a habitable so it is truly amazing the things were doing. The images were getting in the science were getting from pluto is really more of an amazing. And proof definitively a scientific theory that science never sleeps. Our panel looks pretty cheery for of a group of scientists that have not been sleeping for the last few weeks but they are here to tell us about the most recent amazing results from the pluto a new Horizon Mission and i am thrilled to be here to hear those results. [applause] before i introduce our panel for this afternoon obviously the nasa follow the accounts on twitter or facebook or your tube or other nasa accounts we have a lot of questions coming in and we will try to aeons of those as quickly as possible. And follow the conversation pluto flyby. Called the information in today and in the future can be obtained by going to the web site. You will hear from the director of planetary science. Allen served Principal Investigator at Southwest Research Institute in boulder colorado. Michael summers from George Mason University fairfax virginia. New horizons deputy treasurer also from the Southwest Research Institute. In the new horizons tell investigators from Washington University in st. Louis. Thank you very much. July 14 was very historic for nasa with the flyby of the new horizon spacecraft to the platos system we are just 10 days from that but yet we only have had an opportunity to see 5 of the data. Restorer that on board and it is just now starting to come back each and every day than a team is looking at the data and it is a pleasure to be a part of that to see the new discoveries coming out. Today we will talk about the latest data over the last few days. It is spectacular but also was taken on board and stored prior to the encounter and post encounter after it could fly through the system to look back as it hurtles away at 16 kilometers per second they are amazing discoveries so i will turn over to the Principal Investigator to start us off. Last week the United States explore the farthest frontier ever vicechairman kind we cannot tell you how happy we are to tell you what we are discovering. We came back on friday to give the first report of the first couple days in the first reactions now 10 days out we have had more time jews think about the etfs data set and we have three times as much now on the ground. We have about 5 back 96 is still on the spacecraft so were only scratching the surface. Also the size of the data set to do the exploration on the other side it was inspired by the deputies Systems Engineer the there is a a picture in the rearview mirror. I would like to call up my first graphic which is hauntingly beautiful. Pluto of the left and sharon on the right with true color added as i tell you where we are all of the mission this tears to be a scientific wonderlands the first phase of dowling was an extensive than day period just do what our appetites to tell us the basics and the discoveries that we will hear about report on some of the most important findings we have already made in the last few days. Moving into a second phase it is a little bit different and everybody understands that difference now we are transmitting Engineering Data from the flyby and header data em to go with the images we have already got. For the next couple of months through mid september only occasionally to have new Images Available to read these. Starting in september the spigot will open the tenth then for about one year or more this guy will have presents of data from the pluto system and will be quite a ride. We are excited about the interest in this mission so now we will get into the science. If you are seeing a cardiologists you may want to leave the room there are some pretty mind blowing discoveries. I will show the mosaic of the system is quite a resolution from the previous best and it is mouthwatering the level of detail is spectacular bid has a resolution of 2. 2 kilometers per pixel and you can tell that it has a complicated story to tell there is a lot of work we need to do is say complicated place and what to show you this image looking at just the northern half we could easily blow up even further to see across the northern terrain which includes the north pole this is a true color image a whole range of geological depressions. But just let your eyes gazed across the disk you can see different geological features and telling that complicated story that is there for us to unravel. Now go to the south the quake the great dark region the heart on pluto and massive tectonics features that emanate from others north and south you will learn more about that later one aspect of that interpretation to look more carefully at the heart like a real heart it has the two lobes on the left hand on the right and you can distinguish a difference the right to looks a much thinner deposit our interpretation of that material says the south is that in both cases we believe the source is the of western though to be transport off perhaps i went door alien transport or a process we have not thought about but we think we come to understand. Next a false color image that shows the dramatic differences of color units this his mind blowing. To talk about those eastern and western slopes of reggio they are giving us a composition with High Resolution. The polar region as a get down to is the dark equatorial region probably the composition seems to be correlated to tell us the payload that we brought was the right to payload because on board the spacecraft data set with highresolution color and chromatic mapping for geology and a spectacular data set with compositional information with 64,000 pixels to get the specter of massive relocation. You will hear this story over the next year. Moving on to tell you about Atmospheric Science this particular view is due show the of large moon sheridan to look for an atmosphere there is the pretty big body of literature how sharon could have an atmosphere we just got some dated down every dont have the full data set actually be walked until september but you can see the yellow line represents the path of the sun from the spacecraft and it just clips the regions of the of mood is exactly how we planned that trajectory to go. To look on either side you can see in the red and white graf go straight to zero it does not look anything like what we showed you last week where we can clearly see a refracted signature by easier it is a square to say that charon has much less atmosphere than pluto is any. But to do that through september work that will have the link the now it is a much more rarified atmosphere that confirms the preflight ocean that we look forward to see how that is. Maybe there is the san competion player of methane that must be very tenuous. Just how different they are despite their close proximity. Now we have some radio data from pluto that transmitted a powerful signal in time to arrive so we could measure their refracted index and as you will hear more rehab the data and they have a wonderful scientific surprises it measured for the first time is lower substantially then predicted that is telling us the story. Ive been like to close with their spectacular image a silhouette of pluto looking back after the flyby. This proves we were there you could only get this image to go to pluto to cross to the far side to look back it is striking and spectacular but it also represents a huge scientific discovery because above that dark desk the day and a flight that tells us they have a haze layer in its atmosphere. Afternoon. I will talk about to noosing said it is changing the way that we think to go from a we thought we knew the way of the climate and evolution worked. So the first time step, the first graphic, this is one of the first images of plutos atmosphere. This is the average that stunned the entire team. For 25 years we thought it had an atmosphere but this is the first picture the first time we have really seen it this almost brought tears to the eyes of the scientist. So what i tell you now is this is back lit by the sun is sunlight scattered by small particles in the atmosphere this constitutes the haze layer that is the a crosssection as the colors have been enhanced eric is structured there is an argument if it is dynamics or chemistry with in the tb is probably both but this is the first peek of whether in plutos atmosphere. So now to illustrate that, there is a hint there is of a layer of pays or a combination in this region. That will tell us about the details but the hays says extensive five times further than models predicted. We predicted hayes particles formed lower were the tenders are called but is for being higher in the atmosphere from plutos perspective and not ours. But we will have to sort that out. The haze is pretty but it is the piece of a big story. That is how the atmosphere and the surfaces are connected so i have one illustration for that. This shows how methane is broken apart belgium by the radiation from the sun than those chemicals have reactions of of as time goes on they become super saturated in the former case particles and eventually get big enough to see a haze layer and fall to the ground. At some point they are chemically processed the eric chemically altered hydrocarbons and rethink then is how cavuto got the surface we will talk color and composition but this is one piece of that story and we dont understand why eric is a haze layer at 100 miles altitude. The next jury regards surface pressure. The surface pressure at any level is up measure of the weight of the air above that level and weight is gravity acting on mass. See it together pretty good estimate of the total mass of the atmosphere. That is no way to quantify this base for growth this shows surface pressure on pluto as a function of time. A microbes are is 1 million the of the sea level pressure on earth. What is interesting is in in 1989 pluto was the closest distance to the sun now is moving away it should be cooling and it should be condensing on into the surface and the masses should be decreasing that we see the opposite. That is very interesting. We have been trying to figure this out. But now we have new data points. It is significant so this is it. The radio science experiment has contributed this to this story at datapoint that shows the surface pressure at most is 10 my crowbars so the mass as a decrease by a factor of two within two years. That it is pretty astonishing to the atmospheric scientist so something is happening. These are early retrievals with more data coming and there is more to the story but is another mystery we will have to do with over the next few years. Now i will turn it over to kathy. I will tell you about the color end composition to tie this to gather what we know from the color. Really is from different units. It is the same false color image and i will talk through which to show you where you are seeing a scientifically and but we know and understand. First of all you can see that dark region that is the darkest region and theyre all around that area even all the other side and the above that a little brighter and little less read said uc it brighter to put the grid on the image allows you to draw your eye to that pat that pattern. It talks about the complexity of the atmosphere and the surface of the interaction. Plateau has a complicated seasonal pattern it takes 240 years for plato to go around the sun is an eccentric orbit sometimes it is closer than other times and then north polling is 120 degrees all of these factors together cause different parts to get different amounts of sunlight that it is powering the sublimation into the atmosphere. Some parts are near the equator are baked and others receive the condensation as you can see on the north pole. So different pattern is manifested on pluto and what we understand from bottling modeling. But there is a glaring difference of the pattern and that is reggio. It clearly interrupts the pattern of the variation of colors and a bright is. And i should add that the darker regions of the seasonal transport is likely coming out from the haze from the atmosphere. But what is special about the reggio region greasy Carbon Monoxide ice and nitrogen and bad day and. And methane. So maybe what we are seeing is the source region for some of the different ices. We will live space in in the future. We have a small bit of the compositional data down. But we have some great images and next we will find out about the ideologies. Geology. Looking at the hemisphere values see that you can see the animation you have a full seven frames that will be a tall frame mosaic because this area it covers a vast i seaplane we are informally calling of around the periphery and the interior are geological wonder some would like to share those with you. Could i have the next slide please . That rectangle that you see on the upper left next slide this is the Northern Boundary there is a scale far down there but this is to run to 50 miles across across, the distance between kansas city, missouri and stateless. St. Louis. The next slide shows us that is wellknown to have the cellular structure and you can see this really well as you move to the left but at the top of the picture it is really different there is a rugged landscape but to be a sense of the eroded. But what is really interesting to us to bring that to the top. And to see a pattern that indicates the flow of viscous i case tour the rugged terrain and the mark them with the heroes they look just like glacial flow of money the earth but it glaciers are made of vice on earth but water ice at plutos temperatures will not move anywhere but the vice the ices Carbon Monoxide, methane a day are soft even with pluto conditions and they will flow in the same way glaciers do on earth. So basically it is recent geological activity. Just to back up one aero up there it is probably saw little nitrogen ice floating through a breach to partially fill in the interior. We need a there was nitrogen and ices we have known that for years and we imagined it was sublimating one and condensing in another but to see evidence of recent geological activity is a dream come true. When i say recent i dont mean yesterday i mean geologically recent but the lack up the lack of impact craters shows it is a young unit the the half various answers but the best ones imply that that ices and the flow features that we can see them going around will look to be Barrier Islands but they age is only a fraction probably only tens of millions of years and what we know coming from the interior there is no reason why it could not be going on today so now we go to the up bottom and we will blow that up. This is a very busy scene. A bit bigger than what i just showed you it is like going from los angeles to phoenix. At the top of the image you can still see sputnik and at the very bottom is the ancient black heavily cratered rate region that we have been calling reggio then a group of mountain blocks we discovered last week but you can see it in the picture another arrangement of mountain blocks you may think the ones on the left are different because the sun was higher in the sky so you dont see the shadows as prominently but it is similar from one region to the other the scientifically interesting thing about this picture is the mobile ices have surrounded to invade the mountains but they extend all the way down just to the edge of reggio. Garett it is a lot of structure that is different from the scale than the of polygons that tells us the ice is substantially thinner. Look at the edge of the dark unit you will see circles of the bright mobilized of this dominic nitrogen ice so take a fly over from one to the other if i could have the animation. Then we will go over the of clef there are the ice flows around the ivins there are the polygons and as we move to the interior it seems that the polygons disappear but they dont theyre just as scared vibrator ices is reproached the region of the Carbon Monoxide Carbon Monoxide region a long ride to the south so we will skip that are coming up near hillary mountains. The Cthulhu Reggio ancient service on the right then removed over the Hillary Montes then we are about the size of the d. C. Metro area now we have the norgay montes. And the screen has gone dark but there is a lot more that we will learn about pluto. Most of the images and data is still all of the spacecraft and we will downlink says over the year ahead. Now we will transition into question and answers then hits of phone lines and social media. I have questions about a couple of things i saw in the new disk image. It looks like a copyright mark just to the of left a big crater with concentrate circles and and also to continue on the ice floes do you have elevation data . Does it flow down into the mountains . I take youre talking about there are some circular features i did not point out to the west and to the north. And those are probably impact craters may be 250 kilometers long but at least fundamentally they are ancient. At this scale looking at the big picture you would see very distinct circles spec one is called eliot crater you can see that. At the 1030 position off the edge . Yes. That is another crater. That doesnt show on my graphic but it is another that has a bright ices with a central peak that it is dark and your other question . Elevation. We can just measure the shadow blank or we use another technique that is the of relative slope and regain some estimate of the typography that the original polygon cells are larger than the boundaries but the primary technique is called stereo imaging and we dont have the data yet to do that analysis that we will get more frames of that was a heck think it entirely new set of observations to have a beautiful stereo view. If it is high or low. But what you can tell it is lower than on the clef and it appears it is on to your Cthulhu Reggio so it is gradation of. If i could follow up, what could be the driving these flows how the source rejiggered got there to begin with as ices has accumulated from above or whether something allows ices to come up from within . Of this got to be there. Rehab a vast region that sales to create a reservoir. Navy is the entire atmosphere. Gore may be Something Else completely different. S. A. Have formed a crust but we cannot explain what is going on because field ec the seven emended is closeup. So there will be a much more complete story. To be filled in from below to inside the icy crust because it would be warmer inside just like all planets and is nitrogen could supply it there all interesting idea is said to have animated discussions. But as we are reacting to this in almost realtime but fundamentally on pluto will have a much more intricate interactions between geology and the seasonal climates that are feeding one another to have a complicated story of the planets history added it is rare to see this intricate and complicated system. So a few other examples that are so dramatic disparate just you wait until the rest of the images because there will be great stuff. We will go to the phones then go to social media. First from the new york times. Temperature at the services 38 degrees kelvin, 480 degrees below fahrenheit. Mr. Mckinnon even if 30 kelvin solid nitrogen can creep, and below ground nitrogen will warm up and it is very sensitive to temperature. There is nothing physically implausible about the gray shall glacial flow. If there is a modestly deep flow, you get down to that, the pressure from the overburden of ice can change the properties of nitrogen because it is getting warmer because it is less viscous. There may be conditions where you can get liquid digestion flowing below a deep liquid nitrogen flowing below. We have a lot of work to do to say that with any confidence. Mr. Brown next up, wr reuters. I heard you say the surface pressure measurements show that figure atmosphere had increased by a factor of two in two years. Can you tell us what the twoyearold data set is how that is comparativred to what you are getting from new horizons . Mr. Summers it is based on stellar occultations. We have to use these to extrapolate down to the service to get a surface pressure. That is what was done for each of those data points you saw. As far as we can tell, those are accurate measurement of the this fear where the stellar occultations occurs. The thing that is different about rex, you can go down to the surface. And the data looks good. This should be our best measurement of the surface pressure on pluto. This is early our first data, first retrieval. We have more studies to do on this. Taking it at face value, it appears the atmosphere has changed by quite a bit. All those data occultations are dated that is observed from earth. We are detecting what may be a significant shortterm variation in that atmosphere that might be a turnaround. We will have to see. What will help is the most recent observations from sophia, which is one of our 747s, a fabulous telescope, that most recently in june race down to new zealand and chased plutos shadow and got a very beautiful occultation. That is a very recent occultation compared with who dont data for which it might help the interpretation of previous observations. Mr. Brown did you have a followup . As far as the britishreddish hue what would that look like if you are on the surface of pluto particles being big enough to see, like snow ice, fog, and why they universally distributed, or Something Else happened on the surface . This is putting together a puzzle when you do not have pieces but it is curious what your thinking is on that right now. Mr. Summers there are several questions. Were talking about a very thin haze. We only see it when we are looking at long slants through the atmosphere and this is the way he get that image. It is distributed over a very large region. It appears to be 100 miles or so high. In terms of the conversion of those particles to tholins, we do not know the exact details in that. Tholins encompass a range of different Chemical Substances that appear to be altered hydrogen hydrocarbons and compounds, irradiated, so it is not any particular chemical substance. Without having more detail, we cannot test the exact mechanism. We know these substances are around. We see them on titan, and british color is distinctive. The reddish color is distinctive. I can address one part of that question. I believe there is a question about the hazes falling uniformly on the surface, and that probably does happen. We have a lot of work to do to find out the rate of the story of seasonal transport reveals why we see this thing different patterns with these latitudinal bands, and it has to do with those tholins that will absorb more lice. More light. They will be deposited on the poles and cover up the tholines. S. These are pieces of the puzzle that will speak to the production of the tholins and the deposition of it. I have another question which may be too early to answer. Based on the data you have gotten can you say anything about the exact mass of pluto and any changes in the models of what the interior may have . Thanks. Mr. Stern i will ask bill to chip in. We had not been able to attain a new estimate. Before the flyby, data already gave us a very accurate mass. In order to constrain the interior properties, the uncertainty was in knowing the radius so we could get the volume and convert to density. What new horizons was able to contribute west discovered that contribute was to discover was 1187 kilometers. We had uncertainty that ranged over 70 kilometers. Plus or minus 2. Center dot around 1186. It is somewhat bigger than what we had expected. That will lower the density and will have implications to the interior property. Mr. Mckinnon everything alan is pretty much the case. He had good sizes for both pluto and charon. In the years past we thought charon was very icy and please dont have much more r ock. Now they are much more similar. Pluto seems to be a bit rockier. In terms of what the inside of pluto is, without gravity data it is hard to be absolutely definitive. That is one way we test our models of planets when we fly by then. Everything we see, all activity we see is consistent with the idea it has a massive rock core surrounded by huge icy shell, and that shall and that shell is probably figure. It raises test it increases the probability there may be an oce an way down under a single mayor of ice. That is something you keep in mind as pluto. One of the things we learned not just the size of pluto, but it was close to spherical. We cannot detect any old lateness in the body bo oblateness in this body. Pluto probably was spinning very fast after what we believe to be a giant impact that led to the formation of its satellite. After that, pluto and charon are close together and tides have created them to be locked up the way they are. Pluto does not show any evidence from its shape from this fast rotation. We think it must have been warm enough that no residual she could be supported. It is still too early to say exactly how hot, but that is the thing we will be applying our research tools, theoretical models, and going to Scientific Conferences and writing scientific papers and either coming to conclusions or not. That is how it goes in science. Mr. Brown sky and telescope. Mr. Beatty because the atmosphere density is higher you expect it to be, can you tell us about the possibility that are gone playing in the composition argon is playing in the composition . Mr. Summers it has gone the other direction. We believe the atmosphere has shrunk. I am not sure that says anything about argon. I do not believe there is anything we can say about argon. This one goes out to alan. You called pluto a double planet. Considering that pluto is larger than previously thought, what do the findings say in terms of how we define what the kind actually is . There is a bone of contention for those who have followed pluto for a time. Mr. Stern we called the pluto system a double planet for a very specific technical reason, because the two objects are close enough together and their match ratio is sufficient strong balance point between them into free space. That is analogous to the way we define a double sources, when the balance point called Bay Area Center the barycenter, is not within either of the two. I do not think there is controversy about the double planet moniker. There has been this controversy where astronomers and planetary scientists have been on different sides of this. You and the public lightly on the site steam account what we are dealing with. It is hard not to call object like this in this level of complexity with complicated seasonal cycles, and certainly the big complicated system of moons a plan. The way science works is individual scientists make their decisions one time and did eventually consensus reached. Now a new class of plan in our system, we are going three time of transition, and definitions are in transition as well. They will shake themselves up. Mr. Brown leo, you will at the last question. You get to the public also. Leo Bill Mckinnon mentioned a classical ocean. I was trying to understand how to get into what you are seeing. Could you say that nitrogen glaciers could be explained easily without a liquid ocean underneath that other mechanisms could achieve this, or that norgay and hillary could not be explained without that . Mr. Mckinnon we do not have any direct evidence of an interior ocean. What i wanted to imply that pluto is a complex look, plus the fact that any ice mantel increases the radical likelihood that there may be an ocean done it. Mr. Brown lets see what the social Media Questions are. Emily . Emily derek asks what information is used to make these false cover images . Ms. Olkin color images coming from the color camera. We have four filters, and they cover wavelengths where charged coupled devices are typically sensitive. So those images are a combination of those different filters, and sometimes we welcomed by knows to make natural color, and then other false cover images. You can pull the Near Infrared so our i is not to do. We can understand these compositional in a detailed could not with our eye. Emily when images of planets without atmospheres be able to be caught with this . The ring around pluto is from it mr. When images from its atmosphere. We have taken selected images of other objects that do not have missed years do not see the rain. We have a see the ring. We have a nice image where we are talk looking back into the glare of this done that show the crescent of charon, and there is no evidence of it atmosphere. You see a brand new moon. Once we clean it up we will make sure it is released. Mr. Brown two more. Emily simon asks is there a theory of what is driving the nitrogen ice flow . Mr. Mckinnon i guess that is for me. It is not sunlight. It is internal heat. If you have a sick enough, a massive enough mayor of these kinds of cases nitrogen, Carbon Monoxide, or methane, it will move if there is sufficient flow. We have done calculations which we need to do better ones, but we believe our leading model for the formation of the polygon at this moment is internal convective motion rising and falling at a slow rate of the nitrogen ice within sputnik planum. It is driven from the heat that is leaking the interior of pluto. Mr. Brown the final one. Emily when will we see the relatively High Resolution of the service . Mr. Stern in the nature of new horizons, it demanded that it was a consequence that we were going to observe one hemisphere in exquisite detail and the other side in much less detail. That is a combination of the fast speed combined with the slow rotation rate. The last time we saw far hemisphere we were 3. 2 days out, and that corresponded to millions of miles away. As opposed to the image you are seeing, it was taken 10 times we have a dichotomy and our maps. The far side, we can detect the largest craters on the surface and the largest units, but not nearly as well as in the close approach hemisphere. We have a good bit of imagery still in the spacecraft that will help improve the maps more, and in the fall when the data starts coming in, we will produce a better map of the far side than we have now. Eric i have a question for alan or mike. This shrinking atmosphere, the plummeting pressure, assuming it got to zero, that means the atmosphere froze out. Does this mean you got there in the nick of time and that is what pluto that is where it was heading, and how can you reconcile a changing atmosphere with detecting haze higher than was expected. It seems contradictory to me, a shrinking atmosphere with a hza aze. Mr. Summers the haze particles are very small. You could have the atmosphere decreased by factor of 10 and can still have a haze present. It could still be there. If you want to take the other part mr. Stern for a long time there have been models and climate models for pluto that suggested as it draws the sunday pressure could precipitously drop. In fact, during a time when the National Academy and committees were looking at a Pluto Mission and its priority, there was an interest in trying to get pluto while it had a substantial atmosphere. That helped motivate the case to get a Mission Launched in the 200s0s. Eventually there came to be a believe that it has been 25 or more years since its closest approach to the sun, maybe there is not going to be any atmosphere to collapse. What rex has detected is the first stage of the collapse just as it arrives. We will see if this is in fact it is complicated, not related to atmospheric collapse, and we have several more rex data sets that will help inform the question because we got data from two different stations at ingress and two sets at egress. Mr. Brown that will do it here. Pluto is very complex, and as dr. Stern mentioned, the data is raining down and we will be bringing you more in the future. Stay tuned for updates on how we will share that with the public and the world, and follow us on the National Social media accounts twitter, facebook youtube. Keep the questions coming in. Follow the conversations which will go on for a long time at plutoflyby. And updates cutting down in the future at 2 www. Nasa. Gov newhorizons. This theme is notonnell madam president . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell madam president , the hard work to pass a bipartisan fiscally responsible multiyear highway bill that doesnt raise taxes or increase the deficit continues. It hasnt been easy. We always knew obstacles would lay ahead at every turn, and they sure have. But our country needs a multiyear highway bill, and well get there if well just continue to stick together. Perhaps the most challenging issue now relates to amendments. Supporters of the exim bank are demanding a vote to reauthorize it and theyve made it clear theyre ready to stop all other amendments if denied that opportunity. They have already proven they have the votes to back up the threat as well. This presents a challenge for the senate and to opponents of the exim bank, like myself, in particular. But i believe we can still move forward, and i believe the more equitable or balanced proposal i just offered will allow us to do so. So let me explain. It provides for votes on two longsought, nongermane amendments. First, it allows a vote on an amendment to reauthorize the exim bank, something nearly every democrat wants. Second it allows a vote on an amendment that would repeal obamacare, something nearly every republican wants and something well continue to fight for. Exim shouldnt be the only vote we take on this bill. And under the compromise i just filed, it wont be. Thats a much fairer way forward, madam president. I would urge my colleagues to join me in voting against exim and i urge every senator to take this important opportunity to join me in voting to finally give the American People a fresh start they deserve on health care. I know well engage in a robust debate on all of these issues. We should. And then well take a vote. And while the clock demands that we file cloture given that the Highway Trust Fund will expire at the end of next week, i hope we still have a robust amendment process on this critical bill. So i would encourage every one of my colleagues to work with the bill managers on their germane amendments. Senators should also note this yesterday i circulated bill language to both sides of the aisle that i intended to use to modify my amendment number 2266. That language contained technical and conforming edits as well as the removal of a provision related to fugitive felons that was not needed to fully offset the bill. I wanted to let my colleagues know that the amendment i just offered contains one additional modification. It removes provisions that would have terminated the 1. 7 billion hardest hit fund mortgage programs several senators on both sides of the aisle and in particular senator portman on our side of the aisle have been rea one to ensure the bill remains fully paid for over three years civic madam president today is a sad day for this institution. The senate operates based on trust. Whether we are democrats or republicans to with the 800 senators they have to trust they will do it even if we disagree on substance that we dont lie to each other but ba just witnessed is profoundly disappointing. I want to describe the context of two preceding discussions. A number of weeks ago the senate was considering the the trade Promotion Authority they gathered to block tpa for many minutes because there are pressing for the teeeleven to a negotiated deal in front of cspan and the world. That when they had their deal show a thereafter there was a republicanled jassem majority leader very directly what was the deal that was just cut to john tpa was there a deal to the exportimport to break . A direct question he was visibly ailing greek that i would even ask such a question in the majority said there is no deal. There is no deal. There is no deal. Lake st. Peter he repeated it three times. He said the only thing i told the opponents of the teeeleven is said the other senator to offer any amendment they like but i gave them nothing there was no deal. I gave them nothing. He and buses in fact it. He was in phatic following that discussion we approached after words to say there is no deal. I oppose the teeeleven all i said is they can offer an amendment like any senator to any bill. I went back to my office and had a long discussion with my staff. They told me that afternoon he is lying to you. That is what my staff said we have been around he is not telling the truth. I told my staff that afternoon i dont know if that is the case but i dont see how when the majority as a result i cast my vote is in favor of tpa i felt no choice but as any explicit promise there were not lying to rise. As tpa moved on it became abundantly clear there was the ideal in the house for the teeeleven the Export Import Bank i voted no because of the corrupt deal they have repeatedly said there was no corrupt deal weve made no deal that is one element of the context the will tell you a second element a number of weeks ago when we were debating the worker carden bill there were a number of amendments. I filed an amendment to actually put teeth into the high rent review act to say congressional approval before sanctions could be lifted and second senator rubio filed an amendment calling for iran to recognize the right to exist as a jewish state before sanctions could be lifted. Our friends did not want to vote that amendment. And in response, the majority leader cut off all amendments. I sat in the majority leaders office, senator rubio is amendment to invoke cloture to call on a iran to recognize the right to exist i argued though cedras leave with the majority leader if the democrats were so opposed to voting that they would not do so to invoke cloture was an extraordinary step and he would not do so. A minute ago to see the leaders the same procedural abuse over and over again to behave like the senior senator from nevada. But what we just saw it does not the proponents of the exim bank could offer whatever they liked but what the majority leader justed he called them off himself that matters because as majority leader he has priority of recognition nobody can stop him. He did just call that up just like here grey agreed he would block everyone amendment and i agree with senator redid the obamacare amendment of course, it is it is showmanship to have their vote to repeal it is day 68 vote threshold with meaningless political theater it to actually stop obamacare to be funded the majority leader was supposed to do something with real teeth in it but with the empty showboat that is a good whitehouse to describe what is going on. There is the profound disappointment among the American People because we keep winning the elections and keep getting leaders who dont do anything they promise. The American People were told if only we had a republican majority things will be different. In 2010 the people showed up with the enormous numbers and very little changed that the American People were told the problem is the senate if only we get a republican majority and retire here read then things will be different but in 2014 and the people rose up and voted to do exactly that. What has that majority done . The first thing is in december we came back to pass a 1 trillion plan with pork and corporate welfare the very first thing in that we did. And to Fund Obamacare and then to ram struves confirmation as attorney general lynch. Which of those decisions would be one iota of difference if harry reid were still majority leader . And zaph his name the same priorities. Not that the majority doesnt get things done but it only listens to one voice. From with the big money and big corporations if you go to the American People s standard response is what . Is an egregious example of corporate welfare. Hundreds of billions of loan guarantees. With cronyism in corporate welfare then senator barack obama food described it as a classic example of corporate welfare when he was in the senate but now he is in the white house that sounds pretty good. All the democrats are supporting corporate welfare with the exception of burgee sanders. I will give him credit to step but every democrat that real sore calls him the actions on that matter speaker far louder than their words. Republicans are listening to case treaty and the lobbyists. The image i corporations with a Campaign Check after Campaign Check the windows to democrats and republicans. By eluding the taxpayer with the powerful corporations. The single largest recipient the boeing Corporation Just had an earnings called the ceos said that it is sent impacting us there are private loan alternatives out there. To have compliant law makers to rich the giant corporations. To know who does not have lobbyist a single mom and waiting tables were a teenager midrange like my father making 0. 50 an hour struggling to achieve the american dream. A factory worker whod just wants to work to provide for his or her children theyd rather of lobbyists a career politicians to be struggling to achieve the american dream. To be those individual miners all they teamed up with a democratic leader to take from their paychecks to fund a giant corporation it is wrong and it is corrupt. It saddens me to say this i sat in my office and i told my staff, the majority leader looked me in in the eye and 54 republicans in and though i. I cannot believe he would tell a flat out lie and i voted based on those assurances he made to each and every one of us. We saw the ads in the demonstration that not only what he told every republican senator bennett told the press over and over was a simple light. This institution is should not operate at the beck and call of lobbyists. The majority and minority leader arm in arm again should not team up against the american taxpayers for coated is why our children are going bankrupt. Now we are facing an enormous threat with the every and deal posing the greatest National Security threat to this country and yet the majority leader refused to reduce what he did for the Export Import Bank to invoke cloture that is an extraordinary step. Data and president if he was telling the truth why would he do what he just said . We now know. When the majority leader looks us in the eye to make explicit commitment that he is willing to say things that he knows are false. That has consequences how the body operates. If we cannot trust what the majority leader tells us that will have consequences on other legislation as well how the institution operates there are a host of amendments like Defunding Planned Parenthood after the gruesome video. That is something the American People of our focused on. He brought up his obamacare amendment as a smokescreen because it is intended to fail beijing not bring up maya amendment to end the corrupted deal that harry reid cat with the president to exempt members of congress. We should live under the same rules but he does not want to vote because he doesnt want to end that cronyism for congress or giant corporations to enrich themselves at the expense of the American People. There are a host of priorities that the voters who elected you and me, madam president , a think about when you were running for the President Senate did in a constituency everyone to the Exportimport Bank . Know they have prairies but in that is not dead of republican leadership. Sad the today we have government of the lobbyist by the lobbyist and for the lobbyist. That is not how the United States senate is supposed to operate. A far more important amendment to bring back the corporate welfare and cronyism is my amendment to provide sanctions on iran cannot be lifted of less and and tell if it does two things. To recognize israels right to exist as a jewish state and to release the four american hostages languishing in the iranian prison. That is a far more important issue there and having lobbyist on k street with more Campaign Contributions for crop and accordingly i call of my amendment to the mcconnell amendment as modified. The amendment cannot be offered cannot be excepted with the order the number and kind. I appeal the ruling. The appeal is debatable one mw one what to death believe someone says to talk about a a hot topic number two where as a headon think that was normal at the time in battle thank they did not need that but jeff the distinguished newsman who do was embarrassed by this he was moderating iea disappears five minutes at a time today would not have a moderator jumping in every 302nd so everybody at abc let the fire burn and just a back. This event hosted by the Christian Science monitor, is just under an hour. [inaudible conversations] the last visit with our group was one year ago this month. Fears his bachelors degree where he was the first African American student body president and a law degree from New York University than spent a month in new orleans to play trumpet with marsalis and later served in the u. S. Department of justice and on the house of the judiciary committee. He was elected in 2005 and reelected 2007 in elected the citys mayor the and this person to ever hold that job and confirmed as the 17th transportation is secretary june 2013100 o a rare moment of bipartisanship. Were on the record. Have been told our guest is making news this morning as is always the case will thought of it chokes me up. [laughter] excuse me. It is an emotional moment. As is always the case please note live colligate zero were tweeting or filing of any kind while the breakfast is under way to this end to what he says the embargo, clinton 00 to curb that urge our photographer is year and we will even tell several pictures to all reporters your before the of breakfast ens. Please send a signal if you would like to ask a question for crowd we will start off by asking guests to make opening comments to add with that thank you for doing this the floor is yours. I have ben in government for a while so please feel free to eat you will not offend me at all. The first bit of business has to do with then investigation the department is opening on the allegations of price gouging following the tragic accident of amtrak train 188 in the philadelphia area. We have sent letters to for Airline Still the american, as southwest and jetblue to begin the process to recover if the airlines drove up prices in direct response to this incident to creates a challenge for consumers who were trying to move at that time. This is the opening of the investigation and but we are beginning the work today. There is also other news san transportation i spent a good bit of my time traveling the country go into more than 100 communities and 42 states to urge the country not only to avoid a highway shot down for transportation investment and obviously a flurry of activity in the senate this week. And the encouraging thing is both sides of the aisle who are trying to do what they feel they cant do. We are still in the process to go through the 1,000 page legislation that continues to change and we expect there will be changes introduced today as a result of input that folks have received. I dont have a harder or fast position because it is still very fluid but first of all as the agency that is responsible for a transfer station safety safety, introduced last tuesday there are portions of the bill to be high of the objectionable. I understand there has been work to soften in those provisions to say what the senate comes up with but that is an area where our department is fiercely committed. With that i will stop and maybe have some opportunity for backandforth. I will start. I will ask about gun firing drones. Can you tell us what the fda has learned the drone that operated of handgun four times while being operated . Are those the kinds of things that are covered in the standards in september and will you reach the september target . It is still under review. Integration of these what the faa calls Unmanned Aircraft has to be done, and it has to be done as quickly as possible. Our small uas rule resulted in more than 3,000 comments weve received. Were sifting through them and trying to push that rule out as quickly as possible. But i also think theres some consumer side issues