House republicans agreeing to suspend the debt ceiling in exchange for Senate Democrats agreeing to pass a budget. All this comes as deputy as defense secretary leon panetta prepares to retire and former nebraska senator chuck hagel awaits Senate Confirmation to take his place. Carter served for more than two years as the defense acquisition chief where he drove acquisition logistics and efficiency reforms becoming deputy secretary in october 2011. Dr. Carter great to have you back. Thanks, good to be here with you vago. Something thats been making headlines is secretary panetta changing the guidance to allow women to serve in combat roles that had been closed to them at one point on a standards based sort of way. But physical Fitness Standards arent the same for both sections. Are you guys sexes. Are you guys going to have to establish new standards to make sure they are up for the task . Were not going to change standards that matter for war fighting capability. And 237,000 now positions that used to be closed to women will now be presumptivively open to women. We are going to have to work through the implications of that. What that means and whats really and what isnt real as regards to the differences between men and women in these roles. Thats why the secretary and the chiefs who recommended this want some time to work through 2016. Through the details. You always find in changes like this that you have to think it through. You have to work it through. You cant think of everything up front so were going to take a little time to make sure we get it right but we will get it right and the basic point is that unless somebody finds a good reason why a job cant be open to a woman, its going to be open. Right and thats the whole point of services petition or give a good case on why certain for example soft jobs or whatever. To the issue now of the fiscal guidance, you were a big player in preparing all of the guidance thats gone out. To prepare the department both for sequestration but as well as continuing resolution expiring and so on. The critics have said this should have been done a long time ago. Both to better prepare for the cuts and also to glaringly illustrate to lawmakers while avoiding sequestration is the why now, what changed . A lack of confidence on the departments side that congress for example might avert these . No, whats changed is that were coming up to the moment in time in which first of all sequestration might hit in less than two months time. Right. But very importantly also were on a continuing resolution which means we are stuck with the budget of last Year Category by category. Right. And as the year goes on, then you have less and less time to adjust to that. Now, the reason not to make adjustments too early is these are not desirable things to do. Theyre not good for defense. So you dont want to do them until you have to. So we for each one, are trying to balance acting too early against acting too late. So let me give you an example. We are now starting to freeze hiring of civilians. We hire in the department about 1,000 people a week. In order to keep our our numbers up. Uhhuh. And we would like to continue to do that. However, if i worried that im going to run short of money later in the fiscal year i better stop hiring. Now thats not a good thing. Thats jobs people for example. 44 of the people we hire are veterans. And we care about hiring veterans. And of course most importantly we care about getting the work done. These are not bureaucrats in washington with dod civilians, these are Shipyard Workers people who are doing important things. We didnt want to take that step until it became too late. And until the balance of caution shifted in the other direction. Thats why weve waited to act until now. Now weve been planning for some time. And weve been doing that quietly because we havent wanted to act as though sequestration or any of these things was either inevitable or certainly something that we could manage with ease. These are damaging destructive things to do. And you can you can see that. But there are some folks who say that even though they welcome the guidance, say theyre not detailed enough. Why isnt this guidance even more detailed than weve seen . Well, what i did in the guidance i issued was say here are the categories in which i now authorize you to act. I want you and the various services and components to go out and come back and tell me exactly what you intend to do. And what im trying to do there is balance between some decentralized execution which is necessary for something so vast. Done so quickly. Right. While making sure that i see what everybodys doing so that good ideas that also can be carried over. Exactly and so i sit down with all the Different Services and components and they say heres what im doing. Heres what im thinking of doing. Right. They learn from one another. And i get to approve everything at once. So thats the reason for the two step process for the efficiency and the reform stuff we saw earlier. Why are some of the cuts sort of being i want accomplishmented immediately . I mean implemented immediately . I mean its looser for further decision. Were taking every step that we think is prudent now in the expectation that the continuing resolution might be extended to the whole year or sequester might half. So what were trying to do is take steps that are reversible. Theyre harmful if they last the whole year but if i take them now ill be better off later in the year. But if sequester doesnt happen and its not extended i can undo it earlier. An example. Were canceling some maintenance of ships. Maintenance thats scheduled to occur later in the year. Im canceling those contracts. Now, if later in the year, the money comes through and all of this disaster about sequester and crs and so forth doesnt happen, ill go ahead and do that maintenance, the cancellation of the maintenance is reversible. Right. Later in the year, im going to have to do things that are irreversible. That do irreversible harm for example . Obviously i dont want to do that. Furloughing people and letting them off. That the 20 pay caught and the giant cut and the giant gap in the furlough. More importantly reducing training which will have the consequence in the near term that units wont be ready to go to war. The ones that are available for other contingencies. If it goads on long enough will do damage to redness that will be difficult and take years to reverse. We dont want to take that kind we dont want to take that kind of step until we its been a long, tough year. A real test of what im made of. There were times i thought of giving in, but i did it. Opened up that navy federal savings account and now we have this. Ah. Did it all online. It was easy. I dont hear any sweating. Civilians. Psh. 4 million members. 4 million stories. Navy federal credit union. Were back with dr. Ashton carter the deputy secretary of defense. Sir i want to take you to a question where folks are asking whether the plan that you guys built, the 487 billion that was going to cut is not going to be something thats going to actually have something thats going to have another couple of hundred billion dollars in cuts that are going to come on top of it. Secretary panetta repeatedly said no thats the plan. But doesnt prudence dictate even when strong supporters on the hill are saying that defense will likely get hit even if sequestration is averted. Dont you have to start planning for that now . One aspect is that we have just absorbed a half a trillion dollars in cuts. And what i think the secretary panetta is saying and what i would say certainly is that as we approach the overall fiscal situation there, we need to look at the entire package. You cant pay our way out of our fiscal situation on the backs of Discretionary Spending or defense. So thats the first thing. The the we believe that we have now a strategy and resources that are well matched up and we understand that people are wondering whats going to be the next move in the overall budget. What were trying we have a very solid now matching of our program and with the country needs to the budget. And as people make decisions in the next round, they need to see what it is that the country needs for its defense and thats what were showing them with this carefully thought out budget. But by this point you already would have been building the Defense Budget and it would be going to the congress in the beginning of february. Obviously thats been delayed. Do you have how are you going through the process of building a 2014 bucket plan at this point when you have basically no guidance coming to you on what your top lines are . We havent officially received from omb from the fiscal guidance is. We know that down the road, the countrys going to be dealing with the fiscal cliff. We are building now our budget for next year according to the plan that was in the budget control act which took half a trillion dollars out of defense. Right. Were building to that plan now. That we will be ready for other contingencies and were very good at that in this department. But i think that when people see how much weve already had to absorb in the way of budget cuts including working to make the Defense Budget as efficient as we possibly can, theyll say theyll see that theres a real price for going further. I hope that theyre listening because you guys have been transmitting how bad the stuff is going to be as it is much less if cuts are deeper. To the question of ma lee. France launched a Major Military operation there against alqaeda, islamic insurgents and rebels and france has been asking the allies look time is of the essence in this fight and soliciting help from the al lice. But the United States is allies. But the United States has been criticized and slow and lukewarm in providing that support. The french complained that while theyve gotten american intelligence and air lift support. Tanker support has been lacking and then theres the question of being billed for the services. Services received. And critics are saying that the administration that this violates some of the administrations tenets. First well fight alqaeda wherever it and well engage with allies. How do you answer that and what has been any of the slowing of support . We do support the french. Thats a fight that we have a dog in. That is the fight against al qaeda and the establishment potentially of a safe haven for alqaeda and the islamic magrave up in the northern part of mali. We do support the french. We are doing things and wee not asking for reimbursement for the things that were doing and the french as is very understandable and welcome, asked first for intelligence. Then for transport. Now were discussing tanking with them trying to understand exactly so this is a complete misperception from your standpoint. It is. It is, we are really behind the french and were trying to help them as a number of nations are trying to do. Let me take you weve got about 0 seconds left 30 seconds left and i want to take you to. Youre going to have a new boss soon and youre staying on. What are the roles you see how do you see your role changing under chuck hagel if hes confirmed . Well, i had a great relationship with secretary panetta and i think first of all, im his alter ego and thats the job of a deputy. So the alter ego to secretary hagel when he becomes secretary hagel. Secondly. I do a lot of the daytoday management of the department. Right. For the secretary. And third, i try to organize his Decision Making environment so that he and the president can make decisions on the basis of the best possible information 789 thats what i do. Dr. Carter as always thank you for joining us. You for joining us. Good to be here its been a long, tough year. A real test of what im made of. There were times i thought of giving in, but i did it. Opened up that navy federal savings account and now we have this. Ah. Did it all online. It was easy. I dont hear any sweating. Civilians. Psh. 4 million members. 4 million stories. Navy federal credit union. Army clerk in the show we heard from earlier in the show we heard from ash carter on how the penalty gone is preparing itself for deep budget cuts if congress fails. Many in washington are optimistic the worst can be averted after hows republicans a House Republicans agreed to suspend the debt ceiling. A measure that the democratically controlled senate agreed to vote on. We went to capitol hill to meet with senator Mac Thornberry of texas whos the number two republican. I asked him what he thought about the guidance and whether it answered the questions that gop members have been raising. Not really. I think a lot of us wanted dod to be serious about explaining the effects of sequestration before we ever got to this point and that would have in our judgment helped motivate people to find another way. Other spending cuts to take the place of the sequestration. And i still think there are a lot of questions as the Services Work through there with some this with some accounts exempt. Some not. Some are going to be hit pretty hard. Overall from a good fashion and at least trying to make clear that some of those are going to be dramatic cuts . It was a beginning but i still think there are lots of details to be fleshed out that most people including most members of congress dont fully appreciate. Just how painful this is going to be. Youve been a bipartisan member up here and youre now one of the gop part of the gop leadership. Whats it going to take to strike a deal that averts sequestration, extends the cr, avoids the train wreck in a way that can leave the house but also be passed in the senate . Well, i think everybody is grappling with that magic formula. You know the first thing youve got to have is a willingness to seek that compromise if you will. Where nobody gets everything they want but everybody gets something that they think is important. And that willingness has got to come from the white house as well as the house and senate. I think from a lot of us, as we look at this, theres no way to get a handle on our budget situation without dealing with entitlements. Its already twothirds of the budget. Its the Fastest Growing part of the budget. That has to be a part of this mix. Democratic leaders have told me throughout this whole process, that entitlement reform is an absolute must that at the end of the day we have to do that. We have to make sure that we get it right. Inlike a unlike a tax change and folks are going to want to know what happened to the Social Security or medicare. But also an acknowledgment its not going to get you the 4 trillion and that Government Spending cuts are going to be required for tax increases. You voted for the tax measure that we just saw. In part because you thought it was better than the alternative that it made permit innocent tax cuts that you wanted. Whats the way to do this and is defense still going to be something thats on the table for cuts if youre going to avoid further tax increases and still reduce Government Spending . Well, i think it defense is vulnerable. I would put it that way. Whether sequestration gets turned off with other substituted savings, or whatever happens, were going to see at best flat Defense Budgets i think as far as the eye can see. So that puts a burden on those of us in congress on those committees as well as the pentagon to figure out how we get more out of the money we spend already on defense. I think thats the great challenge going ahead. Its defense reforms so that we get more out of what we spend. And the department has been trying to cut into defense reform. What are some of the other things youd like to see to get more for each dollar spent on defense . We have to look at it across the board. Weve had some sort of acquisition reform Pass Congress i think roughly every other year since ive been here and now most acknowledge its worse than its ever been. One for example proposes that we get rid of all regulation in the department of defense internal and external unless theres a specific decision by the secretary to put it back in. Were going to have to get more drastic than we thought of before. Personnel reform needs to be a part of it but i think especially for the younger people coming into the service, an automatic 20 year retirement, health care and so forth like weve had before, may not be part and part of the package moving ahead. And it may be in their best interests to have some greater flexibility on those personnel reforms. Of course were waiting on the commission now that is going to make some you think there might be some traction on that. Absolutely, you cannot look at the growing part of the personnel part of the budget and say we cannot touch any of that. Lets go to emerging threats where youre the chairman. What are the threats you see emerging that we are not or the administration and the government is not addressing at this point that you think should be addressed . Well, i think there are some threats that are being addressed but maybe not adequately addressed. Cyber is the big issue on our plate. Is government does government have the tools including the legal authorities as well as the organizational structure and the money, et cetera, to wage war in cyberspace . Terrorism is another one. Weve just seen these events in mali, algeria and so forth. Its not done. Its spreading in more places around the world. Again do we have the legal authorities and are we able to act swiftly enough and do we have the military capability to go in and deal with the situation like the consulate in benghazi or the gas plant in algeria . I think those are some of the questions well be looking at in the months to come. Do you think one of the things the president has said in his address was the necessity for the United States to whenever possible to engage to build alliances and to have conflict as a last resort. Is he on the right track strategically do you think given the budgetary constraints right now . I think more and more of what we must do is work by, with and through others kind of the traditional definition of what special forces do. On the other hand, there are reports that the french have asked for help with mali and we were reluctant to give that help. And you think we should have been much more forthcoming for example if a request like that came in. Absolutely. And again, as i understand it, what they asked for was some refueling help and maybe some intelligence support. Thats the sort of thing were going to have to give allies when theyre willing to put their troops on the ground. And so, again theres a number of questions. Do we have the legal authorities to get aid in to help military swiftly enough and does it get all balled up in the bureaucratic nonsense . But were going to have to do more of that. Sir, thank you very much. Defense secretary leon panettas decision to remove the last remaining bars to women in combat merely codifies reality that over the last decade women have been serving in combat. Women have walked patrols as military police, manned machine guns on convoys, flown aircraft and conned warships and now even served on submarines but havent been allowed in aftermaterialry or other special operations jobs. The change will be through 2016 and perms the services to permits is services to argue why select career fields should be immune from change. Also unclear is whether women should be forced into battlefield jobs they never wanted. While male counterparts also deploy to combat. Since women served under fire with distinction losing lives and limbs, this change wont raise many ewe buys but it eyebrows but it will present challenges. Second enough qualified women must seek the new jobs to prevent those who do from being isolated in all male units. Third Sexual Harassment and asought remains say salt we mains a serious problem that must be stopped. Women must meet necessary fill standards and all must abide by strict codes of conduct or face tough consequences. Thank you for joining us for this week in defense news. Have a great evening. [ captions by caption colorado, llc 8007757838 email comments captioncolorado. Com ] alright everybody, get your heads up. Now when i was in the military, i learned that if you stand together, you can stand up to anything no matter where i was deployed, i always knew that somebody had my back you boys are your own band of brothers you have each other just like i had Navy Federal Credit union. 24 7. Live Customer Support lets go lets go 4 million members. 4 million stories. Navy federal credit union. Back to the future, how scientists are getting out of their labs and returning to the real world of medicine. Im steve usdin. Welcome to biocentury this week. Your trusted source for biotechnology, information and analysis, biocentury this week. Transformative advances in modern medicine came from physician scientists with one foot in the lab and the other in the clinic. But the complexity of science has caused many researchers to lose touch with patients. Today well hear from two leaders who are working to bring science back to a future where patients and physician researchers work together. Robert califf direct as 30year collaboration between Duke University scientists and the residents of an entire