Transcripts For KQED PBS NewsHour 20170316

To slide in at 9 10, the folks that are on the spectrum will say, hey, i arrived at 9 02 today. Do i need to work until 6 02 . Woodruff all that and more on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by its hard not to feel pride as a citizen of this country when were in a place like this. And by the alfred p. Sloan foundation. Supporting science, technology, and improved Economic Performance and Financial Literacy in the 21st century. Supported by the rockefeller foundation. Promoting the wellbeing of humanity around the world by building resilience and inclusive economies. More at rockefellerfoundation. Org Carnegie Corporation of new york. Supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of International Peace and security. At carnegie. Org. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and individuals. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Woodruff much more for the military, much less for many diplomatic and domestic programs. Thats the upshot of President Trumps first budget, unveiled today. John yang begins our coverage, at the white house. Yang it runs just 53 pages, totals more than 1. 1 trillion, and embodies stark changes in federal spending priorities. Budget director Mick Mulvaney we had America First. An America First candidate. We now have an America First president. And it shouldnt surprise anybody that we have an America First budget. Yang the big winners in the white house budget request the pentagon, with a proposed 10 increase 54 billion. The department of homeland security, with a 7 hike, including 4 billion for the mexico border wall. And the department of veteran affairs, proposed to increase by 6 . Were 20 trillion in debt. Were going to spend money. Were going to spend a lot of money but were not going to spend it on programs that cannot show that they actually deliver promises they made to people. Yang the biggest losers would include the Environmental Protection agency with a proposed 31 cut, eliminating funding for international climatechange programs and for cleanup efforts in the Chesapeake Bay and great lakes. The state department would be cut 29 , mostly foreign aid and u. N. Peacekeeping. And the department of health and human services, is being asked to take an 18 cut. While the white house wants congress to cut Justice Department spending by 4 , it wants more money to target criminal organizations and hire immigration judges, at the expense of civil rights programs in tokyo, secretary of state Rex Tillerson said the proposed cuts in his budget are fine with him. I think clearly the level of spending the state department has been undertaking in the past, in particular this past year, is simply not sustainable. Yang President Trump tweeted that his budget request puts America First must make safety its number one priority. Overall, his plan represents the biggest military buildup since the 1980s and the most sweeping reductions in other programs since world war ii. Democrats immediately condemned the budget request. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said it takes from the middle class and gives to the rich. This budget is not a statement of values of anyone. President trump has shown that he does not value the future of our children and working families. This budget is really a slap in the face of the future. Yang the administration wants to eliminate funding for 19 agencies, including the National Endowment for the arts, americorps and the corporation for public broadcasting, a major funder for public radio and television. Other points of contention are likely to be calls to eliminate Community Development block grants, and, cut billions of dollars for teacher training, after school and summer programs and almost 100 million from the Rural Business and cooperative service. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry said today he wants even more money for the military. House Speaker Paul Ryan said the president s budget is just an opening bid. Well have a full hearing about how priorities will be met. But do i think we can cut spending and get waste out of government . Absolutely. Yang todays spending outline doesnt address taxes or entitlement programs like Social Security and medicare. Those are to come in another budget document in may. For the pbs newshour, im john yang at the white house. Woodruff a federal judge in maryland became the second in as many days to block President Trumps revised travel ban, nationwide. The other ruling came last night, in hawaii. Both judges found mr. Trumps public remarks suggest its still intended to be a muslim ban. The white house vowed to appeal. Well explore the court rulings, and what comes next, later in the program. Bipartisan leaders of the Senate Intelligence committee are the latest to dismiss President Trumps claim that he was wiretapped by president obama. They said today theyve seen no indications of that. House Intelligence Leaders said much the same thing, yesterday. But press Secretary Sean Spicer argued today nothing is clear, until the Justice Department reports next week. The d. O. J. Asked for an additional week. The statement clearly says that at this time, that they dont believe that they have yet to go through the info. The d. O. J. Has not supplied this. Woodruff spicer also said the president still stands by his claim. The House Budget Committee narrowly approved the Republican Health care bill today. Three g. O. P. Conservatives voted no, putting dissent in republican ranks clearly on display. For the first time, house Speaker Paul Ryan acknowledged parts of the bill may have to change, to shore up support. Clearly the main parts of this bill are going to stay exactly as they are, but were making those improvements and refinements based on the feedback that were getting from our members, and the president of the United States is the one whos been mediating this, the president of the United States is the one whos been bringing people together, sitting around a table, hashing out our differences so that we can get to a consensus document. Woodruff in a fox news interview that aired last night, the president said of the bill a lot of things arent consistent. But these are going to be negotiated. European leaders congratulated dutch Prime Minister mark rutte today, after his victory over antimuslim lawmaker geert wilders. In a victory celebration last night, rutte called it a victory for stability and security. translated this is also a night when the netherlands after brexit, after american elections, has said stop to the wrong kind of populism. Woodruff Wilders Party finished second, but the other dutch parties have said they will not work with him or include him in a governing coalition. Pirates in somalia have released an oil tanker that they hijacked on monday. They say they were not paid any ransom. The release came hours after a gunfight between the pirates and local security forces. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson urged north korea today to abandon its nuclear and missile programs. Tillerson was in japan, starting his first asia trip. At a News Conference with his japanese counterpart, he called for a new strategy but offered no specifics. I think its important to recognize that the diplomatic and other efforts of the past 20 years to bring north korea to a point of denuclearization have failed. In the face of this ever escalating threat, it is clear that a different approach is required. Woodruff today was the first time tillerson had publicly fielded questions since assuming his post in early february. Back in this country the head of usa gymnastics, steve penny, resigned amid allegations that he ignored sexual abuse of girls training for the olympics. The organization faces a brace of lawsuits charging that a former team doctor groped and fondled girls in training. They say penny and other officials knew about it and did nothing. And on wall street, stocks ended the day with little change. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 15 points to close 20,934. The nasdaq rose a fraction of a point, and the s p 500 slipped nearly four. Still to come on the newshour Congress Weigh in on President Trumps budget priorities. Halted again whats next for the white house travel ban. Previewing tomorrows meeting between chancellor Angela Merkel and President Trump, and much more. Woodruff reaction from lawmakers to President Trumps America First budget ranged from strong support to tough criticism. We turn now to two members of congress with two very different views of the president s budget proposal. First up, democratic senator chris van hollen. Hes a member of the budget and appropriations committees and he joins us now from capitol hill. Well, this budget tells me that donald trump is already getting very out of touch with the american people. Its the kind of budget you might expect from somebody who jets off to maralago every other week, and by the way, that costs taxpayers 3 million each time, which is the amount usually in the budget for the meals on Wheels Program to help feed over two million elderly. He wipes that out of the budget. And if you look at the overall budget, it really is an attack on working people and on Educational Opportunity in the country. It is a recipe for dirtier air and contaminated water. Its really a bad deal for the american public. Woodruff the president tweeted, senator, you probably know, that this is a budget that puts America First. Its a budget that makes safety the prime consideration. Well, actually, it makes america last in terms of investing in our people, investing in our economy, investing in our national infrastructure, something that candidate trump talked a whole lot about, yet they cut the infrastructure budget here by over 13 . So a lot of what he talked about on the campaign trail is actually under attack in this budget, including, i have to say, Important Economic Development programs and infrastructure programs for rural america. He does dramatically increase pentagon spending, but he cuts the funding for the state department, and the state Department Funding is designed to help keep us out of wars and to save lives and money, and thats what secretary mattis, his own defense secretary, has had to say. So this does not help america. In fact, it really erodes american influence around the world. Woodruff well, what theyre saying is the pentagon budget, the defense spending in this country has been cut back so much that the United States is vulnerable and that this is a critical moment for the United States to restore the spending for defense that should have been there for the last number of years. Well, actually, thats just another alternative fact coming out of this administration. Weve had robust defense spending. I can support additional investment in our National Security, but we just saw a few months ago reports out of the pentagon about over 120 billion in wasteful spending. In fact, donald trump has talked about the huge cost overruns on pentagon projects. So wed be much better off managing those resources better than simply writing new checks to the pentagon, which, by the way, is the one federal Government Agency that has not been able to pass an audit. Im all for investing on National Security. We have to do it, but we also have to recognize our National Strength includes making sure our kids get a good education, and he cut the department of education by close to 15 . It includes making sure we have a healthy population, and he dramatically cut funding for medical research to help develop cures and treatments. So this is really something thats going to hurt most of the country, you know, the folks at the very top who just got a big tax cut as part of the trumpcare plan arent going to be hurt, but everybody else is. Woodruff senator, again, im sure you know, this but i heard the budget director making the argument today, he was pressed on these cuts, for example, education, he said the administration has looked very closely at so many of these domestic spending programs and he says where there is no evidence that people are actually being helped, these programs cannot continue. Well, we certainly should not be asking taxpayers to Fund Programs that dont help, but the reality is that the afterschool programs to make sure kids are in a productive environment after school hours and not out on the streets, that actually is an important program. Its been underfunded in the United States. There are other career and Training Programs that have shown good results, and theyre cutting them. The same is true with respect to some of our manufacturing programs. I mean, heres a president who says he wants to restore american manufacturing, and yet he cuts manufacturing extension program, which helps take innovations and make sure that theyre available to industry throughout the United States. So this is a very shortsighted budget. I have to say that donald trump said he was going to be there for the forgotten people. In this budget, he forgets those people. I mean, theyre not even an afterthought. Woodruff senator chris van hollen, a member of the Senate Budget committee. We thank you, sir. Thank you. Woodruff for an opposing view, we turn now to representative todd rokita, a republican from indiana and vice chairman of the House Budget Committee. Congressman rokita, welcome. I think you just heard at least part of what senator van hollen said, and that is in this budget proposal, the president is forgetting some of the very people he said he wanted to be elected to help. Yeah, i heard that, and chris is a friend from the House Budget Committee. He was Ranking Member when i was vice chairman there last congress, and i heard some of the same rhetoric. Hes a good man, but let me just say this the president with the budget that he put forward today, recognizing that its his request, its not the budget. We still have our article 1 powers under the constitution, and well use them as congressmen and women to reconcile different priorities and make sure that were marching forward for the american people. But i would say the forgotten man that President Trump campaigned for should be proud of what was done in the budget. First of all, the one thing, judy, that the federal government does constitutionally and does well is our National Defense, and i will quibble with mr. Van hollen if he says that our National Defense has been taken care of. It only makes up about 20 of our budget historically, but it took 50 of the sequester cuts. Fair is fair. Were getting back to rebalancing that. Otherwise, judy, this is a traditional, as you would see in a economic textbook of some kind, traditional guns versus butter argument. For eight years or so weve been doling out a lot of butter, a lot of domestic programs. What mr. Trump is suggesting here is that we rebalance and put a little bit more into our guns to make sure that were protected from a military standpoint, that were safe, and. Woodruff well, let me interrupt you there, if you dont mind, because i want to ask you about that. We did hear senator van hollen say, yes, its good to spend more on defense, but he said there are problems with defense spending. He said we havent even seen a serious audit. But i do want to ask you about some of the domestic cuts, education down 15 , medical research, major cut, a 20 some percent cut in the environment, 21 . What are these cuts . What is going to be cut . I have within in a Budget Hearing all day repealing and replacing obamacare, so, you know, i dont have all the details, and i didnt write the document. Like i said, well digest that all in the budget committee. From an overview perspective, what im seeing so far is that what is being cut are really programs that shouldnt be in the agencies theyre in. We see this throughout government, 10, 20, 30 programs that pretend to do the same thing but dont do it well. So thats what i see mr. Trump and Mick Mulvaney, the o. M. B. Director doing here, really streamlining government. Hes also making good on other campaign promises. The 12th grade education Committee Chairman in the house. Were see manage trump making good on school choice, the idea that the property of parents, the tax dollars, are following the child more to a school that suits them, not being shackled to a school that doesnt work for them. Thats an important point. Thats not new money. Thats reprogrammed money. So its money being reprioritized. And thats exactly what a budget is about, and thats what hes doing. Woodruff so the cuts in medical research, for example, and i didnt mention cuts in agriculture. We heard senator van hollen speak about Extension Programs inning ary culture. Youre comfortable with all the cuts the administration is proposing in. Like i say, i have looked at the whole document. Ive been in an eight or so hour markup on obamacare, but well look at that. What im saying and what im comfortable with is getting rid of the due processlycation, getting rid of due duplicati, im for the president keeping his promises to the forgotten man and all the rest. Thats what im seeing in the budget so far. An well go through the budget process. The president s budget is just a budget request. The real budget will come through the House Budget Committee. Its it doesnt even have to be signed by the president. It goes into effect without his signature. So thats our article one powers. You can be assured well look at every item because thats our job and well do it no matter who the president. Is. Woodruff and thats a reminder of the way the process really works. Representative todd rokita of indiana, vice chairman of the House Budget Committee. We thank you. Thank you, judy. Woodruff another piece of the trump agenda is getting attention today the president s revised travel ban, which hit a roadblock in the courts. Hari sreenivasan has more. Sreenivasan the first ruling came yesterday in hawaii, where a federal judge blocked parts of the executive order, that would have barred refugees, as well as nationals from six muslim majority countries, from entering the u. S. And overnight, a federal judge in maryland issued his own block on the sixnation travel ban. For more on all this, we turn to devlin barrett, who now covers the Justice Department, and National Security issues, for the washington post. Devlin, this is supposed to be the executive order designed to skirt around the legal challenges that first one had. What were the problems . Well, first one basically foundered on due process problems. Basically the federal Appeals Court ruled the order had not been written to give people a fair shake in the system essentially, particularly people what had visas or green cards. So they changed that part of it and they thought they fixed that problem, and in a sense they had, but what you saw in the last two rulings by federal judges is that now theres a conflict over the real meat of the argument, which is is this a muslim ban or some partial version of a muslim ban, and what both these judges came down saying, yes, it was essentially a violation of the First Amendment rule that you cant disfavor a particular religion. Woodruff sreenivasan thet any explicit terms in the new executive order that say muslim or islam. It seems they put a lot of the administrations words in there. Well, right. The Trump Administration has struggled in the Legal Process to separate itself from what the campaign has said, what the president has said, and even what some of his top advisers have said in defending the order, and those statements have all been thrown back at them by the judges, and its really frankly remarkable the extent to which the travel ban, both versions of it, have been suspended at this point based on the words of the president and his senior advisers. What is the Justice Department going to do . Every indication is they are going to do. Notices of appeal could come as soon as tonight in the two new rulings. There is a third case where everyone just sort of waiting to see how the judge exactly handles that, but the expectation is there will be more appeals over this, more fights over it. And frankly, i think, this set of legal challenges will really be an argument about the basic issue of the term muslim ban, and is that an accurate description of what this executive order does. Sreenivasan whats the likelihood then in this executive order to challenge perhaps in other federal districts, other regions and have to be reconciled . Well, its growing every day. So, for example, last night we saw two different parts of the country in which federal judges ruled on it. That means that assuming the appeal goes through you, will see Appeals Courts ruling in one part of the country and another part of the country and oftentimes just the way the court system works, those rulings dont match up identically. When that happen, it increases the likelihood that something will go to the supreme court. That all depends, of course, on the notion that both sides still want to fight, but every indication right now is that whoever wins or loses at the Appeals Court round, the other side will want the keep fighting. Woodruff sreenivasan all. Devlin barrett of the washington post, thank you so much. Sure. Woodruff stay with us, coming up on the newshour when hiring people with disabilities can boost profit. And exit west, a new book about stepping into a foreign world. But first, german chancellor Angela Merkel has her first meeting with President Trump tomorrow at the white house. Mrs. Merkel is seeking reelection later this year. Tops on the agenda for the two leaders the Nato Response to a resurgent russia, and the stability of the European Union after brexit. I sat down with germanys ambassador to the u. S. Peter wittig and asked him about the importance of this high stakes meeting. This is an important visit personal relationships for us in the u. S. Policy very strong tradiition strong basis that woodruff we know trumps been critical of nato neither is the bedrock of our common security. After russian invaded ukraine and fueled the conflict in eastern ukraine, it is on a new mission against a newly assertive russia and facing challenges from the south of the nato territory in the middle east, for instance. But there is this discussion on burden sharing. Were ready for this discussion. Its an important discussion. Germany is committed to do more for the defense to increase our defense spending incrementally. Last year, for instance, we raised our Defense Budget by 9 . And we want to go forward on this path in an incremal way. Yes, europe, and also germany have to be more active in defense. Christa you mentioned more aggressive russia. We know President Trump has spoken about. The suggestion he would take a more conciliatory approach to russia. If thats what this president does, what will chancellor merkels response be . She has a lot of experience in dealing with russia. She has spoken so many times with president putin over the last year. I think we are pursuing a doubletrack approach, strong dialogue, keeping the channels of communication open, but at the same time being very resolute about our defense, keeping in mind our security interests, especially in the eastern part of europe and beyond. So i think we would welcome a new chapter of the american and russian leader in their relationships, but on the basis of a very clear idea where our Strategic Interests and our security interests are. Christa woodruff do you t that to come up . I expect to talk about russia and the ukraine conflict, about many things, judy. Woodruff we spoke about nato. The president has also been critical of the European Union. He was one of the first to argue that Great Britain should leave the e. U. , socalled brexit. What is chancellor merkels plan the change his mind on the e. U. . Europe is our home. Its our neighborhood. We are strong supporters of a strong and redill resilient European Union. We deplore brexit. We respect the vote of the people. We want to have close relations with the u. K. Even after they left the European Union. But we will do everything to keep the European Union as a strong and resilient economic and political union. And let me add this i think it is also in the strategic interest of the United States to have a strong and resilient European Union in the face of the challenges from the east and from the south of our continent in europe. Woodruff one can presume those are arguments the chancellor will make to the president. I assume so. Woodruff finally, i have to ask you about some of the comments President Trump made about the chancellor herself last year with regard to her refugee policy. He called it, among other things, a sad shame and a disgrace. He went to far as to say last year, and im quote, the german people are going to end up overthrowing this woman. I dont know what the hell she is thinking, he wrote. Does she believe she has President Trumps respect . The situation two years ago when the refugee crisis emerged was totally extraordinary. It was the biggest, largest movement. Of people since the second world war, and it was an extraordinary humanitarian crisis at our borders. Now the situation is different. The numbers are dramatically down. The refugees that came in are properly registered and vetted. So its gone back to an orderly and regular process some the situation has changed since that time. Christa what about the comments the president made about her and her policy in does she think he has his respect . The chancellor i think is interested to build a strong, constructive, forwardlooking relationship with President Trump, and she has said many times she will not go back to the campaign but will want to engage with him in a constructive manner. And i think thats what we want to see tomorrow. Woodruff well be watching tomorrows visit. Germanys ambassador to the whites, peter wittig, thank you very much. Thank you, judy. Woodruff we often hear about, and cover, the struggles that Many Americans face when they try to land a good job. If you have a disability, the challenge to getting hired or even getting a facetoface interview is significantly harder. Our economics correspondent, paul solman, explores why thats still happening, part of his weekly series, making sense. Good evening. My name is ami profeta. Reporter ami profeta has cerebral palsy. Hes been looking for work for over a year. People have hung up the phone. They dont respond to my emails. Reporter profetas job hunt may be more challenging than most. The Unemployment Rate for those with a disability is more than double the rate for those without. We interviewed economist douglas kruse, himself a paraplegic, via skype. Its not just a matter of people with disabilities, you know, staying at home and collecting disability income, its a matter of people who want to work are not easily able to find work. Reporter in a 2015 study kruses Research Team submitted 6,000 fake online job applications for accounting positions. One third said the applicant had a spinal cord injury; another third, aspergers syndrome. And one third did not mention a disability at all. The results . People with disabilities were 26 less likely to get expressions of employer interest. Reporter whats going on do you suppose . Theres a lot of discomfort with people with disabilities. I think, apart from that, theres a lot of uncertainty oh jeez, someone with a spinal cord injury im not sure theyre going to fit in here. They refer to it as fear of the unknown. Reporter mason ameri co authored the study. How do i know if this person can do the job . How do i know the cost . So all of these unknowns ultimately compel an employer to express no hiring intent. Reporter even though the americans with disabilities act bars such discrimination for firms with more than 15 employees. Nicole ellis returned to the job market after the bank she worked at went bust. But she decided to leave off her resume the fact that she is legally blind due to ocular albinism. I didnt think that i would be able to get my foot in the door. Reporter it still took three and a half years to land a job. Here at liberty resources, a philadelphia nonprofit which promotes independent living for the disabled. I would get the calls back, i would go on the interviews, and once you start discussing, because i have to let them know that im going to need these accommodations. Like software that enlarges font or enhances speech recognition. So, once you Start Talking about those things, it, it kind of becomes like dead silence, almost. Reporter really . You can feel it. You can feel it. Theyll give you some other scenarios, as far as, what, what about, lets say, if it snows, are you going to be able to get into work . Reporter but you can understand . Or can you not understand why an employer would be concerned about all those sorts of things . I do understand but, on the other hand, ive worked around people who do not have disabilities who do not come to work and do not work so i mean i understand the doubt and the question but you are discriminating just based on the what ifs of someones disability. Reporter Liam Dougherty has a masters in Public Administration from the university of pennsylvania, and ataxia, a condition marked by a lack of muscle coordination. The way that disability affects, affects employment is more more insidious, more subtle, more insidious, my resume has all these gaps in there. So, i think an employer looks at that, and they see you know, like why has this guy not been working . Reporter so, the gaps in your work history, and the kinds of work you havent done, are kind of signals, you think . Definitely. Reporter dougherty, like ellis, also found work here at liberty. Bill krebs says employers have always underestimated him because of his intellectual disability. At one time, it was the r word. We got rid of the r, it means mentally retarded. My i. Q. Was mild, so i was an i. Q. Of 70. When youre labeled with a disability, its like hitler did to the jews, they put a tattoo on your arm, and that stigma stays with you the rest of your life. Reporter so once youre stigmatized, then . Thats it. Reporter youre out of the game. Youre out of the game, no matter how hard you try. Reporter until he too found a niche at liberty, where disability is a commonplace but what prompted this story is a second and more surprising finding of the kruse Ameri Research early results show that when they sent applications just for jobs in data entry and software development. We found no evidence of discrimination. Reporter none . None, at least not with the preliminary data reporter and why might that be . We went looking for a case study in the real world and found one in philadelphia, at an accounting firm. We make a concerted effort now, were going to universities speaking to the people responsible for their students with disabilities. Reporter steve howe is managing partner for ey americas, formerly ernst and young. In a Pilot Program, its pushing to hire more people with autism, a group that has had, up till now, an estimated un and under employment rate of between 70 and 90 . But, says sam briefer. We all bring something to, to the table that a lot of people cannot. We are very detailoriented, we analyze things in a very specific way. Reporter briefer is one of four recent hires here with autism spectrum disorder. There are others that are very more detail oriented than, than i am. And are much better with numbers. Reporter well, its an accounting firm, i guess being good with numbers is probably a good thing. It is. So, it puts us all at a, at a huge advantage. Reporter but of course people on the spectrum typically have trouble socializing, communicating an obvious handicap. Were you nervous about taking the job . I was. Yes. I first thought that i would be, com, communicating with a lot of people at once which is something that i always get stressed about. But knowing that im, i work independently a lot, makes me feel a lot better with where i work. Reporter when things do get stressful, ey brings in a job coach to help. The teams regular manager, jamell mitchell, got neurodiversity training ahead of time but hes also learning on the job. Theyre very specific and very clear, as opposed to possibly a neurotypical person that may try to slide in at 9 10, the folks that are on the spectrum will say, hey, i arrived at 9 02 today. Do i need to work until 6 02 today . reporter and your reaction to that . Dont worry about the two minutes. Were okay. laughter a lot of people on the spectrum tend to be, or at least initially, more, more rigid in their, in some of their thinking. Reporter but, says Program Participant stan hwang, this form of rigidity has a major upside. It also tends to make them want to be more honest. I think. What would be the point of like, lying about something or being deceptive. Reporter because youre more naturally just straightforward . Yes. Reporter managing partner howe recently gave the team behind the Pilot Program a better begins with you award. Well thank you very much reporter but look, this isnt about feelgood inclusivity so much as boosting the bottom line. Howe hopes to leverage the special abilities hes seen in his workers with autism. Weve learned from Technology Companies like sap, microsoft, hp, who have hired people with these kind of skills. We think its a rich talent pool, and were gonna expand this now from this exercise in philadelphia to three or four other cities in the next year, and scale this up. Reporter and that means more job prospects for people on the spectrum like stan hwang. No matter uh, what kind of functionality a person may be, Everyone Wants to be treated like a human being, and everybody deserves an opportunity. Reporter and at long last, in certain jobs, theyre getting one. But for those with disabilities who dont seem to provide a profit advantage, many still seem to be on their own. Employers do not respond. Reporter this is economics correspondent paul solman, reporting from philadelphia. Woodruff one more note pauls team reached out to several major groups representing employers large and small to hear their take. Some did not respond, others said they will start to consider ways of tackling this problem. Woodruff and well be back shortly as Jeffrey Brown looks at a novel that might have been taken from todays headlines, about living in a city under siege, finding love and perhaps an escape to a better world. But first, take a moment to hear from your local pbs station. Its a chance to offer your support, which helps keep programs like ours on the air. Woodruff for those stations still with us we turn to the power of the great outdoors. Reporter Kavitha Cardoza from our partners at Education Week looks at a program to expose students to our National Parks. This story originally aired last fall. Nice big circle, come on in reporter fourth graders from Pennycook Elementary School will soon see something theyve never seen before. Welcome to the redwood forest, everyone reporter even though they live in oakland, just 45 minutes away, most have never been to a National Park. You might call it a sensory experience. Aaron, can you tell me another way to observe nature . With our nose . With our noses reporter ranger aracely montero leads the tour. The children approach the first stand of redwoods. We are now inside of the magical forest of muir woods. Oh, my god i want everyone to take a good look up. Wow ooh look whoa were now standing under the tallest living thing in the world reporter in this classroom, students use all their senses. This one feels thick. It does feel thick, doesnt it . Look here theres a cluster of ladybugs its like a whole country of them. Reporter teacher darlene wong says that placebased learning having children learn by experiencing subjects, rather than simply reading about them teaches skills like critical thinking. Show me your evidence. What evidence do you have to prove what youre saying or what youre writing here . Whoa, its so big reporter the National Park Services Educational programs serve approximately seven million children every year. Rangers conduct teacher workshops, go on classroom visits, and perhaps most importantly, create curriculum for these trips based on state standards. This class is learning about california habitats. Ooh, look what i found. Look at that reporter without these programs, wong says she couldnt have brought her class to the forest. In terms of testing and what we have to cover in terms of curriculum and time, it would be really hard to justify it. Reporter Julia Washburn went from junior ranger it still fits reporter to park ranger. Now, she oversees all Educational Programs for the National Park service. Its one thing to read about a wetland, for example, in a textbook, and its a very different thing to be standing up to your thighs in mud in a swamp or in a wetland such as the everglades. Reporter whats not easily seen are the challenges facing the park service. Budgets are down, theres 10 fewer staff than five years ago, and the next generation of park visitors is uncertain. Using National Parks as classrooms isnt just about learning. Its also about growing the next generation of park visitors. If we dont engage children of color with our parks, then 100 years from now, we are very concerned that there will not be the 200th anniversary of the National Park service. Reporter grace lee heads the National Park trust. They raise money for 20,000 kids to visit parks every year. Theyve been studies that have shown, of the 300 Million People that have gone to National Parks in the last couple of years, each year, that a very small percentage are young people, and an even smaller percentage of them are children of color. See the u. S. A. In your chevrolet reporter 50 years ago, the National Park service partnered with a. A. A. And chevrolet to reach returning world war ii veterans and their families, creating the generation of park users we see in parks today. Aging baby boomers remain the largest percentage of park visitors overall. What were feeling now is theres a new generation that is more urban, more diverse, maybe first generation immigrants to the United States. Maybe they came from a country that did not have public lands or parks, or a tradition of that. And so, we are reaching the kids and theyre bringing their parents to the parks reporter jon jarvis, the director of the National Park service, says americas parks must tell americas evolving story. Filling in the gaps, as i would say, in the american narrative. Weve added sites for civil rights like Harriet Tubman or weve added stonewall, which tells the story of the l. G. B. T. Civil Rights Movement as well. We need to be telling that story so that all americans feel part of the patriotic and symbolic values that this nation embodies. Reporter and jarvis says theyve also embraced technology webcams, online chats, even video games. National park sites are actually pokeemon go sites . They are, they are the pokeemon go community has spread these little monsters all over the National Park service, and were embracing that because its getting people outside and using technology in a way that connects them to these places. Whoaaaaa reporter the evidence shows that when kids are exposed to the place, they learn, they retain, they become more interested and more excited about learning. Whoahoho how do you feel right now . Being in the redwood forest makes me feel happy. Being in the redwood forest makes me want to meditate. Being in the redwood forest makes me feel short. Reporter service hopes that using parks as classrooms is just the beginning. What i wanted to do was to say that the National Park service is a contributor to american education, both for students, but for Lifelong Learning as well. Reporter for the pbs newshour and Education Week, im Kavitha Cardoza, reporting from the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in california. Woodruff next, a most unusual take on the refugee experience now and in the future. Jeffrey brown has this latest addition to the newshour bookshelf. Brown an unnamed city in the muslim world is plunged into violence and two young lovers are forced to flee becoming a small part of the mass migrations of our era. But they travel through time and space through magic doors. Exit west is a novel combining the very real with the almost surreal, imagining individuals behind todays headlines. Author mohsin hamid has spent parts of his life in the u. S. And europe, he now lives in his native city of lahore, pakistan. And nice to see you again. Nice to see you. Brown this is in one way a very up to the minute look at the dislocation of individual lives, but of course, its not journalism, its art. Its a novel. Tell me how you thought about what you were after. Well ive been moving around my whole life. California, pakistan, london, new york, pakistan again, and i wanted to write about the experience of migration. And i also felt this resistance to migrants was growing and i wanted to write in response to that. Brown so saeed and nadia, the two young people in love, they see their city fall to pieces, the violence that weve all grown familiar with i guess from newscasts, right . Theyre experiencing firsthand. They leave, but they leave through these magical doors. And its a little like the chronicle of narnia, right, which i read was one of your favorites as a child. Thats right. Brown tell me about the doors, what are they . Well, i think the doors sort of already exist. Distance is collapsing in our world. We can travel by stepping into an airplane as i did coming from pakistan to america. We can skype or go on video calls with each other. And we can open up our phones and surf the internet and be in china or antarctica. And i think in our world distance really is collapsing. People are getting pushed together in new ways, and the doors are a slightly magical way of capturing that. Brown but there but thats not what we see in, you know, the typical migrant story. I mean, youre describing a kind of globalized world in which you and i might travel around yeah. Brown but these people are refugees. They are, and i think it can be a mistake to focus too much upon how they move. You know, crossing the rio grande, or crossing the mediterranean on a small boat. Those are dramatic stories but the bulk of the migrant or refugee story is, what made you want to leave home . Like, what was so bad that you left and left people that you love behind . And then, what happened to you in the new place . And those two parts of the story are the parts i wanted to focus on. Brown its interesting to me cause you use a kind of magical realism but its a you dont write it as fantasy, is a very unembellished language. And its in the same tone as the rest of the story. So was it interesting for you, hard for you to mix these kind of real and surreal genres . It wasnt hard, i sort of believed in the doors and then brown you believed in them . Yeah. I mean it brown one can just find a spot in your city and walk through and youre in mykonos, youre in london, youre in yeah, well, you know, i mean as a writer what you do is you make up characters that dont exist and you believe in them. And so the doors are a little bit like that, i thought, you know, it often does feel to me that the movement between places is almost instantaneous. And you see people popping up in cities and you wonder, how is this person here . So the doors are not described in detail but the effect of the doors is huge because millions, billions of people move. Brown you also wonder, i mean, as you follow them through to these very real places where they meet up with some kindness and also some trauma, some nativist reaction against the migrants, theres a kind of meditation going on about what is a nation . , who are people . , whos the insider . , whos the outsider . Absolutely, i think that were all migrants. If you lived in the same town your whole life and never move and youre 80 years old, that town has changed completely. You migrate through time, your school has been brown wait a minute, you think of us as, i mean even if youve never moved youre a migrant just because wherever you are has changed. The novel in a way is about how human life in transient. Stuff changes. And the attempt to hold onto things that dont change, and to pretend they dont change, is a mistake i think. Brown because youre talking, you could have written much of what youre telling me without us seeing everyday people in boats and rafts and in great danger. Yeah, i didnt, i mean, in some ways it feels like world events have taken place the way that the novel suggested they might and i anticipated them. I didnt really anticipate them, but, when i moved back to pakistan i encountered so many people who wanted to leave and having just lived in london and encountered so much of how people didnt want people to come. I felt this tension between these two ideas and the novel expressed that. Brown well, what do you see happening today, because i mean on the one hand were having a discussion, youre what we could call a global citizen, you and i can get on planes and we can travel around to different parts of the world. In some ways, the world much smaller and open, but in many ways much more polarized and closed. How do you explain it . Well, i think theres been a failure of imagination. Everywhere around the world people are having difficulty imagining a future. People are going to move, things are going to change, and yet all of our leaders seem to be telling us to go back to a previous time when things were better, you know, in britain its go back before the e. U. , in america its make America Great again, in much of iraq, iran, pakistan, its you know, go back to the caliphate of 1,000 years ago. The danger is that were not imagining futures, not imagining something where we can go to thats different and progressive. And thats i think part of the job of a novelist is to start imagining those futures. Brown meaning what . Meaning to make people comfortable with what i think is the inevitable reality of a world where billions of people are going to move in the next couple of hundred years. You know, climate will change, sea levels will rise, people will move. And if we cant find a way to be hopeful and optimistic and find beauty in that, were in real trouble. Brown alright, the new novel is exit west. Mohsin hamid, thank you very much. Thank you. Woodruff and thats the newshour for tonight. Im judy woodruff. Join us online and again here tomorrow evening with mark shields and david brooks. For all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and see you soon. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by our tradition has been to take care of mother earth, because its that that gives us water that gives us life. The land is here for everyone. 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