senator howard baker jr. senator baker passed away today. howard baker served this country well, and he served it in a fashion that was worthy of admiration, from both parties, all people because he was an american first, a tennessean second and a republican third. he served three terms in the united states senate, served as majority leader and minority leader. he served as united states ambassador to japan. served as chief of staff to president ronald reagan. he was a private practicing attorney as well at the firm of baker-donaldson, which was a firm his grandfather started and practiced law at one time with his father who served as a united states representative from tennessee. howard baker's been recognized since his retirent from the senate many occasions and received the presidential medal of freedom and has received other awards. his was a life well lived and a life to be demonstrated to others as a role for legislators to work with both sides of the aisle and work for america fir mr. mcconnell: madamnd work for president, it is with great sadness that i announce the passing of one of the senate's most towering figures, senator howard baker. the senate sends its sincere condolences to the family of senator baker. in particular, we want to pass a along our deep sympathies to his wife, nancy landon kassebaum baker. many of us served along nancy here in the senate. we know this must be a difficult moment for her. senator baker was a true path breaker. he served as tennessee's first popularly elected republican senator since reconstruction. he served as america's first republican majority leader since the time of eisenhower, and he served this nation as distinction as a member of the u.s. navy, as chief of staff to president reagan, and as our country's ambassador to japan. senator baker truly earned his nickname, the great conciliator. i know he will be remembered with fondness by members of both political parties. so again, let me express the senate's insist tsenate's sympar family. he will be missed by the senate and by his country. mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: as the distinguished republican leader has said, this body, the united states senate, has lost a member of its family. tennessean howard baker -- we know of his long distinguished career -- served three terms in the senate, served as minority leader, ended his career as majority leader. he was an earnest man, worked with any members in passing legislation for the good of america. as the republican leader has mentioned, he worked as -- under the direction of president george w. bush as ambassador to japan. he was >> he preside was president's r chief of staff. he was someone that could do everything. he was well-liked by democrats, republicans and he was a fine man. i didn't know him as well as my colleague, the republican leader, or of course the two sitting tennies senators today. he enjoyed a career in public service and it was accomplished everyone said by his hard work. he loved foreign affairs and did a great job. he was motivated by his heart felt desire to do good in the world. our thoughts go to his family and his wife who i had the good fortune to serve with. i do say this, madam president, the two fine men who serve in the united states tennessee, i am sure they learned a lot from howard baker because the senior senator from tennies is a person who wants to try to work things out. and i have had many converitations and i believe he wants to be someone who works it out. so my sympathy goes to senator baker, his family, friends, and especially two senators from tennessee who i am sure are heartbroken as a result of their friend and great people who come out of tennessee and there have been plenty. >> at the robert j. dole institute of politics richard smith interviewed howard baker and he talked about his tenure in the senate and relationship with bob dole. >> my dad was in the house. i never was. >> the senate that you came into in 1967, how did that differ from the senate that you left or the senate today even? >> honestly, i avoided answering that question for a lot of reasons. one because i try not to second guess those who followed me. the other is in all fairness you don't know the senate unless you are there. and even though i was then out only a brief time when you speak of you just don't know it. you could lose it in a matter of weeks and months. so i avoid trying to do that. i acknowledge it would appear from outside that things are tougher now than they were and more personal and more confronitational but i could not say that because i am not there. >> describe the senate you walked into it. >> the senate i walked into in 1967 was a senate populated by the grand erls and dukes. you had so many of the ones who had gone before and made such a mark for themselves. fulbright and others. and i approached the matter as the youngest member of the senate at that time. and the second most junior person in the senate. mark hatfield was number hundred and i was 99 and the reason was mark stayed back for two days to complete his term as governor. so i jumped him by one term. and to this day we refer to each other as 99 and 100. and stood in awe of these people who had been there so long. and looking back on it i must tell you that has a returning affect on a new senator's ability to jump into the mainstream. i was pretty respectful. and i remember may speech on the senate floor and i went there prepared and excessively prepared and carefully prepared and not a soul on the floor except one democrat and my father-in-law who was republican leader and he was there out of curiousity. i spoke for 40 minutes. and i finished and sat down and dirkson came over and sat down beside me in his careful, methodical way and said perhaps in the future you should guard against speaking more clearly than you think. and that was by introduction into the senate. that was my hazing. >> bob dole comes along a couple years later. >> not much later. >> did the young members look out for it still younger members? >> not real. >> how were they brought into the fold. >> number one, dole wasn't outside of the fold. we all knew who dole was. and many were surprised he was elected. i was pleased he was and got acquai acquainted with him first off and we established an early and pretty warm friendship from the beginning. but, no, the older members, it was more like a sophomore/freshman relationship. that is sort of the way it was. but the senate is essentially a group where it isn't very long before everyone is streaming in the same stream. and everyone had a view of everything. they developed, in my time at least, it seems to me, they developed an early understanding that we are part of this group. we are part of the senate and that is something very special. we don't understand what but it really it. and that continued until i left actually. i am not sure so now. but once again i am not there and i cannot say. >> you are saying there is a real kind of institutional loyalty. >> it isn't loyalty but a recognition that it is a commonality and whatnot. but there is very little of this protecting your younger brother. >> the republican caucus was very different in 1967-1969. you had a significant number of moderate and even liberal senators. >> that is right. >> how did that work? i mean -- >> it worked very well. it never dawned on me it would not be that way. when i got there i was about surprised to find there were significant numbers of liberal senators i would call them and then a greater number of moderates or center of the road senators. i would say when i went there the two, that is the liberal and republican senators, were probably the majority. but that eroded and went away in elections. by the time i left, the republicans were a breed that was going away but that is not how it will be. if the two party system survives you will see a resurgeance of this complex of different points of view. and i think that is good. >> when dole arrived, any rough edges? was he -- i mean, the sense is he was someone who is very much a man of his place, of his culture, of western kansas, very conservative, house voting record, and how does that overtime evolve in the senate? >> well, you make an interesting point. when dole arrived, he had a reputation of being very tough, very republican, and i guess very conservative, although i don't recall that was one of the hallmarks of his early career in the senate. and that began to wane and he began to establish relationships and friendships in the senate and all of those previous things and images began to be subsumed by the newer relationships with members. he fit in. he didn't have any trouble fitting into the group. he did it very easily and very effectively. at some point in this interview i want to tell you a true story about the republicans gaining control of the senate. and that was in 1980. >> right. >> and i was minority leader about to be majority leader and we were full of excitement. and late at night as the results came in i called bob who was in kansas, i don't remember where in kansas, but i said bob, think, we have the majority and you are going to be chairman of the finance committee. and dole said who is going to tell russell law? and there were days when i thought no body told russell law. but he moved right in the chairman of the private committees of the senate, did so with ease and effectively. >> that raises questions. i have heard him talk about the difference between the minority can govern by press release and then all of a sudden you realize you are responsible. >> that is right. you have to govern. >> and for someone like him it is an opportunity to disprove doubters and prove what you are capable of doing. >> it is. it is really a remarkable transformation and republicans have a big part of that in the senate because they have not been in the majority since 1954-1956. there wasn't a single person in the caucus who was a committee chairman except therman who was a democrat at the time. so it was a brand new experience. a learning experience. there was a high level of cooperation twen the members. but the sudden realization we had the majority but we were responsible for the agenda, the timing, we could focus on what the country or at least the senate will be concerned about and just as important what they won't. what we will not do. and that is a big issue and deal. and for a while they said well the president will do that. but clearly after a week it was clear the republicans senate, the majority in the senate had, if not an equal role, even a new president, but significant role in setting the national agenda. i remember at the time we first gained the majority, '81, even in '82, that i think the things were different. we thought of ourselves at equal partners with the way it is. and we acerted those views and we would visit with the president, the leadership would and we would invite the vice president up to policy lunches on tuesday. and maybe it is just the nostalgia of retrospection but it seemed to me there was a better understanding of the relationship between those two branches and it worked very well. it had a sobering effect on the republicans because they realized this is our game. we get to run the show and decide what to do or what not to do and we will be responsible for it. >> what you say suggests that kind of relationship could work because you had a president who was willing to buy into that. >> and maybe it would not work for anyone but reagan. >> what was it about reagan that made it work? >> i don't know. except that he never looked down on the congress, he never ignored the senate, he was always willing and then it seemed to be anxious to hear what they had to say, and it was remarkable relationship. and the republican leadership and dole was as chairman of the finance committee involved in these things. ted stevens, me, dole, one or two others, hatfield would meet regularly at the whitehouse at the president's invitation and we would talk, frankly, about the agenda. and the candor between the congressional types in the whitehouse was remarkable. and i wonder if that is still so. but it was certainly so with reagan and it maybe reagan's personality made that possible and practical. >> not everyone agreed on the original tax cut-budget cut. bob dole himself wasn't -- >> and you are kindly for not recalling when we went to the whitehouse the president outlined his budget/plan, and i unwisely went outside and was asked about it and said to the press and the tv cameras, we hear and understand it and will support it but it is a river boat gamble and i caught all sorts of hell about that. but the truth of the matter it was a river boat gamble and the truth of the matter is it worked. but it is near the top of the list of things i should not have said. >> dole agreed with you. >> i know he did. we talked about it. a good part of my evaluation of the message was based on what dole and i talked about. he was important in the senate and to me because he -- there is one other thing you should know and i don't know if it still happens or not, but i had a meeting we called the committee of chairman and the leaders office over which i presided. we invited one freshman at each meeting who hopefully just sat there. anyway, that was an important thing to me. that is where i got insight and what might be going on and that is where i first game to have a regard for bob dole's ability as chairman of that committee. his presentation was lucid and prompt and it worked out well. >> what qualities made dole a successful chairman of finance? >> i don't know. i wasn't a member of finance except ex-fico member. but as undeniable it has to do with the success of the committee chairman. and dole was a highly successful chairman and not only in administering the staff and providing for the house keeping details and in terms of deciding on the agenda of the senate and the finance committee but he was -- the people respected his point of view. not everyone agreed but they respected it and i continue to. >> the 81 tax cuts and budget cuts -- not that they were easy, but relatively easy. easier to pass than the s-- whee you try to take the ornaments off the christmas tree. how did that happen? how did the whitehouse feel about taking a step back? >> well, you know, by that time a little of the luster had gone out of the new republican leadership and they were flexing muscles here and there and the white house was less reluctant. and the potential for controversy between the whitehouse and senate was greater. and the willingness to disagree with the president or administration was a little greater. but, even so, it wasn't a hostile relationship. and the fact that they would -- that the whitehouse and their representatives and the senate and our representatives would discuss these matters even with great excitement sometimes helped reduce the prospects of great controversy within the house and senate. >> let me ask you because one of the things we are trying to get out -- on one level what is it that dole did behind the scenes that made him dole? i have never strong spelled out. beyond that, the question institutionally, one of the tools at the disposal of a majority leader to get the desired results? >> richard, the majority leader accept a statutory position or a constitutional position. it is a device created by the senate itself to bring ordererlyness, and dispatch to the operations of that money. it had to be. and i am told that early on before the majority leader was disignated the chairman of the a properation committee did that. they have taken on special and unique opportunities and responsibility. but the power of the majority leader has the tradition and precedent that in case more than one senator is seeking recognition on the floor the chair is obligated to first recognize the leader. it doesn't sound like much but my friend it is a lot. because it means you get a chance to speak first, you have a chance, if everything else fails to adjorn or have a corem call and try to reason with the people. but that is powerful. the other is purely by example. i guess it goes back to the human condition that everyone has to have a leader some place. and even though it isn't statutory or constitutional that role falls tho the majority. as minority leader there was a special opportunity to go over to cross the aisle to mike mansfield or later bob bird and say boys, i know what you are doing. i understand it. i am sympathetic but that is not going to work. and as long as you had at least 44 votes you could stop it. so both leaders have an important role. let niasia ellis this. -- niasia ellis -- me say this, i will make you a deal, bob, if you never surprise me, i will never surprise you. he said let me think about it. he came back later that afternoon and said okay. and we never did. i think that tradition has been care carried on. the system itself and the rules of the senate are such that there is plenty of room for disagreement and plenty of room for controversy and to do so within the framework of the organization. >> i think dole learned things by watching how you operated. did you learn great odds and whether there was a culture iidentit f. and they had those things in common. they were both and in nixon's case great patriots. i must tell you that i guess i was -- i am thought of as being instrumental in the downfall of nixon because my role on the watergate committee. but i continue to have an admireration of nixon. he was great, center of the road moderate president in many ways. but he made one fatal error and this by private theory that he didn't know a thing about the break-in before it occurred. but he found out within hours after it occurred. he was in california. his fatal error was that when he came back instead of liquidating the problem but lining up the folks and firing them on live television he decided to contain it. and that case, and i think in most cases, proves to be fatal. and i don't know if nixon thought those thos thoughts or not but i bet he did. it was a great loss. a great trauma. a great talent was lost in nixon. but it was the right result because he made a fatal political mistake. >> as this unfolded did you and your colleagues have a stense of astonishment the revelations kept coming? >> daily. dole and where talked about that. dole was thought of as closer to nixon than i ever was. and i could remember cloak room conversations between us about that. and the amazement of the things that come out. >> you were both amazed? >> i am sure he was. he said he was. i believe him and i know i was. but they just told out one after another and it never ended. it was a terrible time. >> are you astonished when you heard there was a taping system? >> honestly, i wasn't. i think every president before him had had some sort of taping system. johnson did, roosevelt did. i wasn't outraged at that. no, i wasn't. but it proved to be the ultimate downfall of richard nixon. where was interested to see that ronald reagan's diraries had been released. i am astonished ronald reagan kept them daily. i saw the diaries and they were written in long hand in leath leather-bound books. they are not loose-leaf books. and there are rows and rows and dozens of them. and some day they will all be published and it must be the most important and thorough record of a presidency that ever existed. >> among other things it does give the lie to the notion that reagan was lazy or undisciplined because he was clearly the opposite of both. >> he was the most disciplined person i ever anyhow. he showed up at 9:00 in the morning on the button. and we would have a meeting that lasted no more than 30 minutes. by the way, he would start each meeting with a funny little story. it was a meeting or two before i realized when he finished he expected me to have a funny story. that was his stock and trade and i treasured that. and dole has that same talent. he can put things in perspective with humor more thoughtful. >> do you think that is a weapon in making the senate work? >> a tool. not a weapon. but it is valuable. and sometimes dole maybe criticized and i think of it has a quick mind that was able to put things in perspective and not everybody appreciated it but most of the quote "rape your thrust" were right on the market. he still has that sense of humor. >> it sounds like a cliche but dole never really forgot where he came from. he is still russell kansas at heart. and there is an element of the po po populus in dole and the notion of the loafers and the lobbiest and everyone else. the relationship with reagan -- you were thinking of running in '88 yourself. >> that is right. >> and put those on plans on the shelf to become chief of staff. and then you had this very unusual situation where the vice president is running and your senate leader is running. how did the president handle that somewhat awkward -- >> my recollection, richard, was he didn't handle it. he threat chips fall where they would. he showed no preference, priority between them, i admire that. it was a delicate situation and unusual. but i don't think he ever did anything about it. certainly never talked to me about it. >> your sense is he had a great relationship with dole? >> yes, he had a great relationship with dole. but i do remember the first time dole came to a leadership meeting. he asked about dole when i went down. i don't remember what i said except it was favorable. >> he was the only one we asked about. that is interesting because the story in '76 was one of the reasons dole wound up being on the ticket was the people were led to believe that he had reagan's mark and whether that was in fact true or not -- >> i have an old friend in tennessee that has a philosophical statement i have come to admire. he called and said howard we have reached the age where most of things that happened never happened. >> it has been said, i have heard it said, it is more fun to be minority than majority. >> don't you believe that. i have been both and majority is better. minority is interesting and challenging and may have fit dole's personal better. >> how so? >> well, it did. he was able to crystalize an issues and form a position that would go right to the heart of the issue. as majority leader he had to take out opinions from people and make a point of view. but majority leader is the second best job in washington. i said that to ronald reagan and he said it is the second best? and i said mr. president, i am sure that is so in terms of historical standing, but look around. i got a nice office, staff, car, access to airplane and i don't have oo secret service and i still have a life of my own. and he thought for a minute and said maybe so. >> i want to get back into the first reagan term. which was a revolutionary period in this country. i mean almost a u-turn in a lot of way with the relationship of government to the economy and individuals. dole was a good soldier and apparently very effective soldier but he couldn't have agreed with everything that he was being asked to implement could he? balanced budgets are like a spiritual thing and i assume that is the result of where he came from and lived through. >> that is right. i am sure that is true. but the first thing you said dole was a good soldier is the most important part of the conversation because he was. i cannot tell you an instance where he acted against his own instincts. i never went to bob dole and asked him to do something he didn't want to do or felt he didn't want to do. he had a heavy understanding of the importance of his role as a senator and clear understanding of the relationship between the senate and the president. he didn't confuse the two. he knew of the separation of powers and the special responsibilities each had. it is as if he had studied and perhaps he had how the relationships existed in the past imperfect as they were and he was determined to create a new relationship that would best serve the country and i think he did that in large measure. he served as a model for all of us and to me. >> how so? >> in establishing a willingness to talk to the whitehouse but without feeling you were in a subordant role. dole was dole and no body doubted that. >> but the implication is that by the dole who is operating in '81, '82, and '83 is different from the freshman senator of '67-'69. >> he was. but that is something that happens to all members of the senate. you are different after a month or year or your first term as you begin to understand the relationships and responsibilities and when you are no longer overwhelmed by your own importance. i remember the senator from new hampshire, and it may have been my first day of the senate, but i went into the chamber and he was there to greet me, as were others. and he said howard can you spell the marble? and i said, senator, i don't think so. i don't believe it has a spelling. and he said yes, it does, and once you spell it you will be ruined for life. i don't think i ever spelled marble and certainly bob dole didn't. >> conservatives don't like to hear the word grow. he grew in office. that means he moved left. can you explain what real growth is and why it does tend to terrify the right? >> no, i cannot. it varies from time to time. beauty is in the eye of the beholder is the saying. i don't think you would grow to the right. in my own case, forgive me for my experience, i think i grew to the left. not by design. but my force of circumstances. the panama canal was a good example of my life career. i started out in the mainstream opposition of the treaty and the more i thought about it, read about it and was convinced i was wrong and should support it and i did. and for those who cared to see i will so the scars on my head and shoulders. there are some in tennessee who think i am a multi vick. >> that is what i mean. growth is always assumed to be a co-opting by the left. and dole was regarded by some in the party -- and what does it say about the way the party has gone in the last 25 years? >> i don't know. but i think the party is permanent. i don't think it is about to collapse. i think its center of gravity will shift to change. i think it is a part of the g governing mechanisms and it must endure. >> you both came into the position and dole strikes me like gerald ford as a midwest conservative who was grounded in economics in many ways and had a kind of healthy, you know, skepticism about what government could do overnight. and at the same time, leave me alone, government should stay out of the classroom, the board room and bedroom. >> that is right. >> that is not for the public discourse. and yet, clearly in your political career, that line has been crossed. and conservatives were redefined. how uncomfortable was that process of having the social issues increasingly come to define conservative? >> it was important to me and i am sure it is to bob dole. but the party has moved. the country has moved. we owe responsibility to understand that and respond to that and not agree to that but understand it. you mentioned how it moved. by dad was in the house for many years. and he was opposed to any sort of federal aid and education. either directly or by implication. now is an article of faith. if you are in the house and senate you better get our share. so it has changed. but change once again is one of the hall marks of a vibrant economy and democracy. and it will continue to change. i don't know how it will change. it may go forward or backwards or sideways. but change isn't a bad word in my view and it is inevitable in my view. in terms of parties, i hear young people say the democrats are liberal and the republicans are conservative. but they are neither in my opinion. the center of gravity might differ. and those things will change. but the great centers still runs america. and i don't think it is a mathematical center. i think bob dole knows this more than anybody. it sent a mathematical center but rather a view that certain things are at the center of our political system. and that is what should drive our determination of other more complex issues. >> here is a scene that i remember dole telling me about. it involved you and jesse hames. and jesse was the vote and it was one of those post-'81 tax. >> i tell you the jesse story if you want to hear that. maybe the one he is talking about. i remember, i guess in february of '81, the first serious challenge i had as the new majority leader, the first republican since bill knoll of california. the first challenge i had was when we had to vote on a debt limit increase. and i assumed that all of that would go away. but then as i began to count heads, howard green came and said i don't think you will win this. and i got around the conference table and we talked and carried on and it was clear i had not convinced anyone we would read that thing. the bells rang for a vote. i went out and saw jesse and i said i don't think i will get the new senators to vote for the debt increase. and he said can i talk to them? and i said of course. and jesse came back in and they were all gathered there and he said gentlemen i understand you are not going to vote for the debt increase. i understand many of you ran against it. i never voted for a debt increase. but ronald reagan is my president and i am going to do it and so are you and i got all of them but one. but that was repeated with strong therman who did the same thing. the old heads, you earlier question, what effect did senior service have on the new members, in that case, the ones with experience had a profound effect on the outcome of that vote. without success of that vote, i don't know what the leadership would have been like. >> i remember asking george mitchell if he could describe watt it is, whatever qualities dole had, that made him succeed in the leadership position. and he said a combination of things. but almost a six sense about what combination of personality and legislative change. what mix would work? it isn't something you can quantify or learn in a textbook. >> not only that. it is an empthetic personality plan. you sense these things rather than hear or understand them. you sort of guess, but if you guess right, you win. >> a psychological gift. >> right. it is based on how you evaluate this person's basic views and beliefs and this prejudice of opposition. but that is quality of leadership and i think dole had it in the spades. >> that suggests that you get to know all of your colleagues when you find out? >> you have to know them. it is more than that. it is hard for me to tell you what i think about this. i don't think it is just knowing them. in some strange way you have to understand and be able to anticipate what they are going to say on a particular issue. maybe that is too a etheral for this circumstances. >> that is not something you teach in the classroom? >> no, either you have it or not. >> do you sense he was impatient? >> dole? yes. he was ambitious. >> dan rod told me a story about how before the budget talks -- no the government shutdown -- >> the first government shutdown. >> bill clinton called him and said tell me something about dole. give me a leg up when we are negotiating. and he said he is the most impatient man on the planet. there is going to come a time when he is so desperate to get ow of the room he will give you whatever you want. and that maybe an exeration but that impatience i saw and what you are talking about and senate mitchell talked about requires a large amount of patience to wait all night to bring it together. >> impatience was a tool in dole's arsenal. i think it was in mine, too. dole wasn't arbitrary in his opposition and had i been talking to clinton i would say he is grounded in deep conviction on a variety of issues and it will take a lot to dislodge him from this point of view but he is a man who will listen. he was a tough advisusary. >> how did you decide you were not going to run again? >> i decided two years. a year and a half before -- >> and what led you to? >> why? >> yeah. >> well, i guess i always thought being in the congress wasn't a life-time job but really the most immediate thing was my wife then had terminal cancer and i had to take care of her. i would always be grateful were the 18 years serving in the senate but i had no difficulty in leaving. the question of my successor came to be very interesting. i thought, and i think most people thought, ted stevens, who was by deputy would succeed. some thought, no, it will be pete deminish. i don't think anybody thought bob dole was going to be elected majority leader. >> may i ask why? >> i don't know why but that is what i think. and i also remember, you know, i didn't vote, i wasn't going to be back, but i was there, my role as majority leader and remember john was careman of and responsible for the election. i remember when they announced the vote and john leaned over to howard green and said burn the ballots. so no body would ask for a recount. but dole was a choice and i won congratu congratulated them and now. >> is the key trough of a majority leader persuasion? >> it is a combination of things. that is part of it but not the only part. it is too comlex to define in a brief short time. >> traffic cop? >> yeah, you are. and that has great power. when somebody wants -- especially the younger members want to get on the agenda or to get on a particular point of across, the majority leader will have unchallenged authority to deal with that. i don't remember a single time when i was majority leader that i set a schedule and anybody successfully challenged it. that is a powerful thing. and that maybe persuasion, it maybe intimidation but it is powerful. majority leader is illdefined but it is the second best job in washington. >> when dole was running for president, '88 and later in '96 and decided to leave the senate, my hunch was it was harded for you to go than him to go. >> i think so. probably. >> did he ask for advice? >> ask me? no. nor would i have volunteered. no body advised be and i would not advise dole had he asked. >> how do you think -- big question but say 20 years from now, a generation where is a name in a history book, how do you think dole should be remembered? >> well, that is a very good question, richard. and i have given a little thought to that. not because i want to write the history book but because it is a natural thing to think about it. i think dole will be remembered first as representation of world war ii. and that he shed credit on those who survived the war and those who then went on to be of service in the country. and that is no small achievement. it is something to be remembered for. as i drive by the world war two memorial i thought about that. he's going to be remembered not just for the stones and pillars, which were deserved, but as a legacy of that tradition. that is what he is going to be remembered for. and that the generation that fought world war ii came back and continued the service in the country in a variety of ways including in the senate and bob dole is a good example of that. >> tonight on c-span 2, the senate commerce committee holds a hearing on international tourism to the united states. and then a hearing on college campus sexual assaults and then members of the congress pay tribute to former senator howard baker. >> on the next washington journal we are looking at marijuana legislation in colorado with guest ben marcus of denver public radio. also on the program, we will bring you inside the states marijuana industry. here is a preview. >> here at medicine man on the recreational side of their store, a lot of products for sale and the people who helped them through the buying process are known as bud tenders. >> tell us about your role? >> i hope guest find the kind of high they would like >> how did life change after january 1st? >> this is one of the largest dispenraries on the planet. 50% total sales are out of state and out of country. i have had so many in-state people coming in not realizing they might qualify for a medical card and finding relief. >> resident, how much and out of state how. ? >> our state is seven grams and in state you can kerry up to two ounces and we will sell you that. >> what is the price like? >> $290 on ounce. and $30-$40 eighths. ... just like you pay at the grocery story. >> you sell a lot of products especially edibles. what to do for safety purposes especially those that are concerned that edibles might fall into the wrong hands like children? >> many changes especially since the new year a look at this packaging. it's a completely white bill bottle tamper-resistant on the top. you can't see the candy like product that's in there. it might be sweet and tasty but it can take a punch as well and we deftly don't want anybody and it is getting over this. >> so this is a childproof cap so to speak? >> this company is taking the extra measure to put it childproof cap aunt up but the regulation is to make sure you can see through their products no-space-off sitting in mom's purse they would know was candy -- they would know was candy by looking at it. >> what do you do about that? >> this is once again a product you can't see through a foil product. instead of a plastics see-through. we are making sure that no one is confused. there is no telling if a child looking at that would have no idea about medicine. once you see a bill bottle you had better tell mom and dad about it. >> when the things i noticed people walk out with these white envelopes. what is this? >> as required by state law for child safety tackler when you leave the front door with a controlled substance in these to be in a real -- resealable tamper-resistant container. >> hold it up for folks to see. >> the zipper sits on the tab and when it's closed it's not moving anywhere at all. >> is a required for anyone walking out with material to have the specs? >> it is now as of mid-march. the new auditing because there are companies that have been with the recent change. there will be auditing to make sure funds following the rules. >> jason coleman at medicine man. thanks for your time. >> thank you. >> we believe that all men are created equal. yet many are denied equal treatment. we believe that all men have certain inalienable rights yet many americans do not enjoy those rights. we believe that all men are entitled to the blessings of men yet millions are being deprived of those blessings not because of their own failures but because of the color of their skin. their the reasons are deeply embedded in history and tradition and the nature of man. we can understand without rancor or hatred how this all happened. but it cannot continue. our constitution, the foundation of our republic, the principles of our freedom, morality and the law i will sign tonight forbids it. >> the senate commerce science and transportation committee today looks at the federal government's role in providing tourism by international visitors to the u.s.. the committee looked at how tourist visas are issued, how foreigners are processed through customs and programs. hawaii senator brian chats chairs this one hour and 20 minute hearing. [inaudible conversations] >> good morning. we call this hearing to order. today's hearing will extend the federal government efforts to reach our nation's goal of attracting 100 million international visitors annually by the year 2021. last month we heard from key industry stakeholders on how we can achieve this goal. it was clear that there were areas where the federal government could do better. today i would like to focus on three ways to increase tourism. the first is how the federal government engages in travel and tourism export promotion. hawaii know same ports of targeting international markets to grow this sector, having the right data about international markets has been key to its success. looking at states like ois examples the federal government should partner with industry to make sure the right data are collected. this will make us -- this will help us make informed decisions about which markets to target at the national level. we need to shift their approach from meeting existing demand to driving demand and to doing so must ensure federal resources are prepared to meet it. the second issue is improving accessibility. a fundamental piece of travel promotion. we can do all the tourism promotion we want but if we are not ready to receive travelers our efforts are four knots. a key component is the arrivals process. customs and border protection has initiated several programs to reduce wait times at our ports of entry for but the united states still faces challenges with long wait times. this makes travelers less likely to return. the u.s. has also experienced challenges needing a demand for visas especially in emerging economies such as china and brazil read the state department has made progress in reducing visa interview wait times. as demand rises forher streamlid leverage new technologies to make sure those who want to travel here can do so without unnecessary delay. to address accessibility challenges senator scott and i have introduced this bill that would improve the arrivals process by expanding the global entry program and strengthening the model ports program. the invite at what direct cbp and the state department to look at ways to coordinate the passport, visa and global entry application processes. these would help to streamline application processes and encourage more travelers to apply for global entry. our bill would also build upon the print model program and require cbp to develop metrics to measure the program's performance. and it would further public-private partnerships for establishing matching grant program for eligible u.s. airports to create more user-friendly courts. i look forward to many comments the witnesses may have today related to this bill. the third issue is how we provide a quality visitor experience to attract new visitors and encourage repeat visitors. the federal government as a role to play in reducing barriers to equality experience. need to shift their minds as to become more customer focused and how we deliver federal services. this means rethinking of the federal government operates. it also means investing in today's workforce. we need to train employees at all levels to be forward-leaning to develop better services and create a positive experience for our visitors previously adjusted issues i look forward to hearing from eyewitnesses on how they are partnering with private sector stakeholders to grow our travel and tourism industry. thank you all for being here today. if senator blunt has an opening statement we would be happy to hear from him. >> chairman i'm just pleased you are holding this hearing any understand these travel and tourism issues as well as the importance of encouraging visitors and appropriate way so they want to come back in and things we need to do to secure our entry and understand our exit system in the country and i thank you for conducting this hearing. >> thank you for senator blunt and thank you for your leadership on these issues over the years in a bipartisan basis. senator heller do have air marks before we go on? senator scott god is on his way and when he comes he will be offering an opening statement. i would like to introduce the witnesses today. we have 10 hyatt deputy undersecretary for international trade at the department of commerce. michelle bond acting assistant secretary for the bureau of consular affairs at the department of state. michael stroud acting assistant secretary for the private sector office of the department of homeland security and john wegner acting assistant commissioner for the office of field operations at the united states customs and border protection. before we started wanting to know that you're written statements will be part of the record and i'd like to remind you please limit your oral remarks to five minutes. mr. hyatt please proceed with your statement. >> chairman schatz ranking members scott and members of the committee think every opportunity speak about the department of commerce's role in supporting coordinating the u.s. government's national travel and tourism strategy. want to thank my colleagues for their leadership and partnership in the hard work in moving the strategy forward. it's truly an administration wide effort. the travel and tourism industry now accounts for 26% of america's services exports, 8% of exports overall. travel and tourism is our largest service export it all together the trade surplus industry is bigger than ever at $57 billion in 2013. that's 20% higher than the $47.5 billion surplus in 2012 and the largest on record. we are pleased to report that a record 70 million international visitors traveled to the united states in 2013, a 5% increase over 2012 and spend a record $180.7 billion. these numbers are important. they represent export growth in the united states that support american jobs. international travel and tourism supports 1.2 million jobs in the united states and more than 7.8 million americans work in u.s. travel and tourism sector overall. contribute to our growth in travel and tourism international travel and tourism strategy. the strategy set an ambitious goal of attracting 100 million international visitors annually to the united states by the end of 2021. the tourism policy council cabinet level group led by secretary pritzger is coordinating the implementation of the strategy in cooperation with the private sector to help facilitate legitimate travel to the united states. however even as demands grow challenges remain to some travelers are experiencing problems at the borders demand for visas remain high, there's increased global competition for international travelers and the increased number of travelers have put pressure on our infrastructure. clearly we have more work to do. the perspectives of the private sector incorporating the five areas where we the u.s. government are focusing our efforts. first, we are working to continue improving these processes. secondly want to improve the experience of travelers at u.s. ports of entry. to that and on may 22 the president announce an effort to develop a national goal to enhance entry product -- process for entries travelers to the united states along with specific action plans at the nation's busiest airports. person upon the church of the secretaries of homeland security and commerce to lead this important effort. third, the united states supports brand with a public-private partnership established by the travel promotion act of 2009. fourth, we want to make more data about federal tourist sites more accessible to the industry for marketing use and finally we will explore ways to expand the statistical information we collect and publish on international travelers to the united states. while the federal government is coordinating across agencies is important to highlight what the private sector's role is in implementing strategy. the travel promotion act established the corporation for travel promotion now doing business as brand usa with a mission of spearheading the nation's first international effort to promote the united states as the premier global travel destination. as of september 2013 brand usa concluded more than 400 partners who are participating in more than 100 programs around the world. these partners contributed more than $122 million in fiscal 2013. they are being utilized by brand usa's international marketing campaign. we will continue to work with brand usa to ensure of as the u.s. remains the top global tourist destination. with a national strategy i'm pleased to report we are doing better than ever before and it continued to improve in our agency corp. -- cooperation. it is truly only by working hand-in-hand across the public and private sectors if we achieve the 100 million visitor goals set forthwith this strategy. thank you and i welcome questions. >> thank you very much. ambassador bond. >> good morning chairman schatz and ranking member scott and distinguished members of the subcommittee. my testimony this morning will focus on what the department of state has accomplished in support of the president's national travel and tourism strategy. i am pleased to report that we have met the president's directive and have been surpassing the benchmark he set since 2012. we do this while continuing to protect our borders and the safety of our citizens. the numbers speak for themselves. in fiscal year 2013 consular officers issued more than 9.2 million u.s. visas an increase of 42% over the past three years. we are in pace to surpass that number this fiscal year. the largest growth in travel comes from the world's emerging economies where we have seen demand for u.s. visas increase at a dramatic pace. in fact nearly half of worldwide these issuances come from just four countries mexico, china, brazil and india. in the first half of this fiscal year with processed more than three-quarters of a million pieces in china, a 20% increase in more than half a million pieces in brazil, a 17% increase over the previous fiscal year. these issuances and brazil have doubled since 2009 and almost quadrupled since 2006. since august 2012 consular affairs has met the goals set by the president to interview 80% of applicants worldwide within three weeks of submitting their applications. in fact so far this year we have interviewed 71% of applicants within a week and 95% of applicants within three weeks. at our busiest overseas posts são paolo brazil were reissued over half a million pieces last fiscal year appointment wait times are consistently less than one week and the average visitor to the consular section spends 20 minutes in the building. let me briefly highlight to key strategic improvements we have made to our visa processing model. first we increase staffing. we now have 167, solar officers in mission china and at more than double their consulate stepping in mission brazil since 2011. 59 adjudicators and men hired worldwide theory limited noncareer appointment program that hires visa adjudicators who already. >> chinese, portuguese or spanish. secondly expanded facilities to handle increased numbers of applicants and we are still growing. we are adding nearly 60 windows across her china post that we are moving into a new facility in monterrey mexico and brechtel allegro for sale and were one china we are opening entirely new consulates in the coming years. in conclusion let me state that our top priority in these adjudications is always national security. every visa adjudication includes extensive biographic and biometric checks supported by data from a law enforcement and intelligence communities. in 2013 we improve this process even more making possible an even more streamlined and comprehensive continuous monitoring of visa applicants. we are working with our colleagues across the government to expand the successful interview waiver program. we would like to discuss with congress to legislative authority to expand the applicant groups that can receive visas without personal appearances because waving interviews for travelers who are better known to us allows us to dedicate valuable time and resources to less known visa applicants. we believe that u.s. interests in legitimate travel trade promotion and educational exchange complement our border security mission. consular affairs also occupies a unique space at the nexus of foreign-policy and national security. our daily direct contact with the world gives us a perspective unlike any other in the u.s. government. we will continue to innovate increase our staff and improve our facilities to ensure that the united states continues to be as a secure and welcoming country. thank you. i would be pleased to answer your questions. >> thank you ambassador. mr. stroud. >> good morning chairman schatz ranking member scott members of the subcommittee and pleased to appear before you to discuss the darfur common securities tourism initiatives. the travel and tourism area showcases their dual goals of economic and national security. every year dhs facilities for travel attends a point of international visitors. we secure passengers and their baggage screening travelers across borders play an important role that this is security process. facilitating secure travel is a priority for dhs. dhs is working closely with the departments of commerce and state brand usa and others. at dhs we view efficient security not as a peer-to-peer growth and enhancing national security and boosting economic prosperity are fundamentally intertwined. in may 2012 demonstration once the national travel and tourism strategy setting a goal of attracting international visitors. to to meet fiscal dhs and the perfect commerce have already begun developing a national strategy for improving service levels for international air passengers. specific action plans are under development including both the private and public sectors. stakeholders include airports airlines local state and federal governments workers and passengers all with an essential role to play. dhs's recessive and facilitating international travels are dedicated workforce. thanks to congressional support 2000 new order protection officers will enhance security at reduce wait times and facilitate trade and travel benefiting our nations economy. to facilitate international travel streamlined entry processes and dhs continues purging with private industry including advanced technologies and expanding voluntary trusted traveler programs. one example is expanding tsa pretext to international airport to long-term goal of our risk-based in intelligence-driven approach to aviation security. another example is the presence four for developing a north american trusted traveler program. dhs continues to support the expansion of global entry within its international partners. dhs created a program that leverages private sector expertise to the executive program. this program brings industry expertise together to support efforts to promote dhs travel and tourism bills. last month teaches announce assignments to support these goals. these loan executives will help improve the travel experience for the american public and international visits. private sector nickerson developing our processes ensures a coordinated approach to finding innovative solutions. since 2003 dhs is cluttered with international partners to expand security measures beyond their domestic borders. we believe that new initiative should offer security and travel facilitation benefit. this is why we firmly believe expanding preclearance operations in strategic areas combined with expanding trusted traveler programs will improve national security facilitate legitimate travel all part of -- dhs continues to welcome the engagement of congress the private sector in the traveling public to pursue our mission in an effective innovative and efficient way. thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today and i look forward to your questions. >> thank you very much. mr. wegner. >> thank you chairman schatz ranking member scott and members of the subcommittee. during 2013 cbp processed more than three and a 62 million passengers in the land sea and air environment welcoming 102 billion air passengers. since 2009 you seen remarkable growth in international travel with passenger volumes in our airports rising approximately 4% each year. cbp staffing levels have struggled to keep pace with this growth resulting in increased wait times and ports of entry. when the main challenges we face is the current international air transportation model that creates a large pizza passenger arrivals. for example place like miami airport will routinely see 16 flights arrive per hour in the late afternoon early evening. that's 12,500 people over a five-hour. math. to address its ongoing times we have developed a three-part resource optimization strategy that identify staffing requirements using a workable staffing model to cost insures the fishies of resources by optimizing current business processes and three explores funding strategies to support staffing increases. the work was staffing model employs a data-driven methodology to identify staffing requirements for considering activities performed by cbp officers. the volume of those activities in the level of effort required to carry them out. the most recent results of the model showing 4373 additional cbp officers through fiscal year 2013 the cbp's greatest resource facility and travelers are professional workforce. thanks for the support of congress that 2014 appropriations act including funding for 2000 new officers. these additional officers will be allocating utilizing the work was staffing model and direct to those parts of the greatest day. while the 2000 additional officers will bring significant support the work was staffing mudlick in a place in it for additional 2000 cbp officers. this is included in the 2013 budget requests along with a proposal for user fee increases to fund this effort. we were less personal bond is not the answer to improving the arrivals process. cpp has been a closely self-critical to ensure operations are as efficient and secure as possible. we are incorporating technological enhancements developing self-service kiosks and reducing paper forms for travelers. with confidence of programs that segment processing modes like an easy pass line at a tollbooth. cpp's trusted traveler program a global entry provides expedited processing for preapproved participants that the use of kiosks. there's over 2.5 million travelers with global entry benefits and today the global entry kiosks have been used over 9.3 billion times. in the busiest travel day of the week travelers using these kiosk can account for 10% of all international air are rivals. we also work closely with airport authorities and airlines to deploy automated passport control kiosks known as abc. these are like the exact change booths. the administrator portion of the arrivals process thereby reducing the overall interaction time with the cbp officer and allows the cbp officer to focus on the security aspects of that inspection process. in the past year 16 airports are launched apcs and several more planned to join by the end of year. all of these airports that have launched these kiosk we have seen average wait times decrease by 30 to 35% after the installation of kiosks. we have also automate the for 494 arriving at seaports of entry. we have the arrival information from electronic record taking into processes easier and faster for travelers in addition to using -- reducing hc cause. we are are looking for paper production formed to eliminate the process. we envision several ways to use the internet mobile device kiosk and seeing the options available like when checking in for flight. effective secures should be a travel facilitation of a barrier. security measures protect travelers from the damaging effects effects of terrorists are security incidents. identifying and separating a low-risk traveler from those who may require additional scrutiny is a key element to the cbp's efforts to facilitate secure travel. we also dedicated to providing quality customer service to travelers from training programs of officer stood advanced audio video communications with providing travelers with their instructions in many languages on cbp's -- in conjunction with the travel industry we have developed a traveler satisfaction survey benchmark passenger satisfaction and cbp professionalism. last year's survey findings found 80% of the traverse a great entry process made them feel welcome in u.s. and over 90% of travelers agreed the cbp officials are professional helpful efficient and easy to understand. chairman schatz and wiki members subten members of subcommittee thank you for the opportunity to testify today and i'm happy to answer your questions. >> think it very much. we'll start with ranking member scott. >> thank you mr. scott and the rest of the panel for investing your time to help us with a clear path forward on our tourism and our economy. ambassador bond a quick question for you. our fyprovisions included a requirement from the state department to pilot esa videoconferencing technology. the secure technology would allow the state to conduct visa interviews remotely and provide a convenient solution for foreign travelers with limited access to the u.s. consulate. can you please give us an update on the status of this product and how effective you think it's been so far? >> thank you senator. the bureau of consular affairs is content to look into whether video could be incorporated into visa processing. we understand the allure and the attraction of the video interviewing idea. we have serious concerns about the security, efficiency and integrity of videoconferencing, video interviewing. we believe that expanding the pool of low-risk travelers who do not require an interview at all will realize far greater efficiencies than would video interviewing. we are focusing our efforts on utilizing technology and advanced fraud detection techniques to help us expand the pool of applicants for home interviews can be waived. that would allow us to focus resources on higher risk visa applicants, people we know less about 12 better facilitating travel for the others. expansion of interview with brenda visa waiver program are to efficient effective methods for facilitating numbers of legitimate travelers. the video interview process can work when you are dealing with a known group but when you are trying to interview several thousand people who are just coming in one after the other sitting in front of the camera, we think there are really serious security and efficiency questions about that approach in that process. >> so you perhaps focus on identifying those low-risk travelers as opposed to the use of that technology. >> yes sir. >> thank you. assistant secretary stroud how is dhs leveraging private sector expertise with six expertise with the six assignments under the program to support some of the department's tourism initiatives. can you give me a better idea of exactly what problems these roles will be focusing on and clear within the department they are located. will they be in a field or at headquarters? >> thank you sir. let me explain the loan executive program is a program that allows us and dhs to take advantage of private sector had essentially no cost. these folks continue to get paid by private sector employers. we currently have in the travel and tourism side seven assignments actually and they largely came about after a site visit to miami national airport where it would be solvent quickly with a couple of people from some of the larger theme park areas. they are expertise on queuing people was invaluable. we worked with cbp and tsa to jointly develop descriptions to create a task force team that could go-round to our gateway gateway airports and look at each airport because as administrator pistole he testified once you have seen 11 airport has seen one airports of this team has to literally go to these airports in love. to address your question with respect to to her over the located bearer tool reports essentially to tsa and cbp and the deputy secretary who under the law operates as a chief operating director for the department. they will be located for six month periods. a maximum of six month period and they will be used sporadically during that time. >> thank you. they were a quick question for mr. wegner. on the cbp's defense operations with our strong allies in canada and ireland and the caribbean this really has facilitated low-risk travel opportunities in the canadian preclearance especially the toronto location has done a lot of good for our economy in south carolina. i would love to get your perspective on the effectiveness of these programs from a facilitation perspective and they have. >> we are looking to expand the program with a lot of different gateway airports overseas but it does help with facilitation benefits and certainly the enforcement security benefits being able to search someone or inspect one and approve someone for travel to the united states while overseas before they board the aircraft. it's really essential for the facilitated and security mission that we do. >> thank you. thank you mr. chairman. >> before you get into my questions i want to thank ambassador bond in her testimony for flagging the issues and the opportunities to expanding the interview waiver program and commit to you that i know for myself many members of the committee are anxious to facilitate in any way possible your work on the mistreated side and affair legislative changes that need to be made we are pleased to work with you on that. mr. wegner as you probably know the cbp is working on resuming operations at the kona airport resuming operations to provide a gateway to increase economic activity there. i know there are facilities issues and their capacity issues but from our standpoint we are not landing commercial flights at the kona airport for lack of resources at the state and local -- state and federal level. do i have your commitment to solve that problem? >> the facility requirements and to operate and having the commercial airlines comment to bring the traffic to us. >> i can ensure you the commercial airlines will come if we can square away our end of the bargain. thank you very much. ambassador bond interview waiver program has helped to reduce visa wait time in the state department would like to pursue possible legislative authority to expand that program. could you put into perspective the benefits of this waiver authority? >> yes, thank you senator. the benefit of the waiver authority is that it allows us to carefully examine the people who are applying for visa applications and separate out the people about whom we already have quite a lot of information. an example would be someone from a visa waiver country who can already travel to give states without getting a tourist visa ends applying for student visa. we have information about the travel pattern. we have all of the screening that is done for 100% of travelers. we have the information provided in the applicants application. we really don't need necessarily to interview that person and because each application will be examined by a consular officer if consular officer if there is something in it and it will ju just -- individual application we can invite that person to come in for an interview. their other examples of people we would be able to remove from the queue of people waiting for appointments and move them along and focus their attention on the other folks about whom we know less. >> thank you very much. mr. wegner were we with the development of metrics and are we had a point anytime soon where we are going to have a maximum wait time target as an official policy of the cbp? >> we measure the wait times in a major airports today. that information is posted on our web site. we take two pieces information we have good data on it that's the time of the aircraft from the time we read the person's passport in the primary inspection area and subtract out the average talk time to get from the plane to our area. that date is calculated and tabulated every day. it's posted on the web site and is broken down into different increments of how long people actually wait. just yesterday nationally 75% of people cleared cbp in 30 minutes or less. so we break it down into boxes of information for the public. >> it seems to me that is not just a question of aggregating the data but you are trying to eliminate the outliers where you create such a bad experience where people won't combat combat. in other words of people are you moving through in two minutes and not hub airports that they are consistent problems this person on the international side you are removing people from the likely repeat traveler pool even if your aggregate data looks good. >> wreck. even at the gateway airports we are seeing for instance miami yesterday are maximum wait time was 79 minutes. the average was 20 minutes throughout the day but it's really those peak arrival times that of 15 flights land within an hour and a couple thousand people comment is that once we are working with airport authorities in airlines to find better ways to segregate that traffic into the risk analysis. we have partied on our pre-arrival targeting and setting up these passengers and now we have to match them with that information. that is what the kiosks come in and automatic passport control. we can remove those people completely. programs like one-stop with no check bags and trying to work with abbott also working with local authorities on measuring the different points in the process. >> where are we defending away time goal? >> we have met with the national wait time gold. we are looking more at whether the right measurements to measure the increase in travel, the economic benefits of that bring so if travel increases and wait times -- that supports the goal so we are looking more at what's the right metrics, what are the right things to measure in that process rather than setting an across-the-board goal which a lot of those factors are outside of our control. the planes might land all at once and these people will come at us. we don't have control over that and i don't want to get down the road of us regulating because arrival times just dagger those articles are telling planes were they have to park at the airports of people come at us in some type of structured environment. it's a deeper discussion we do have about what it actually means to implement a goal like that. >> my final question for ambassador bond, where we are we with negotiations between the united states and china on reciprocal visa validity? >> as you may know senator currently the visa reciprocity for chinese for tourism and business thesis students and so forth is one year. we are talking to the chinese government about extending those visa validity for several categories in order to allow people to make long-term plans. if you are somebody less you are some of the u.s. of feasibility travel for several years you are going to think ahead and start planning trips this year and next year in the hereafter. so we are in consultation with the chinese government and they are interested in finding a way. >> thank you very much. senator blunt. >> thank you chairman. in your testimony talked about the importance of reauthorizing what is now called brand usa. i appreciate that. senator klobuchar and i have filed legislation to do exactly that. at the same time we have included what i think are some important metric reporting and some accountability standards and i want to ask about those two things. one is the metrics you give us they were pretty impressive. the increase in numbers, the increase in money spent and what i'm wondering is what can you do as you establish these reporting standards to measure the impact of marketing efforts, the marketing efforts themselves? >> we think of brand usa is a global destination to the united states and therefore the classic metrics to >> we don't have the data to determine what portion they are responsible for. they are at a micro level marketing program after marketing program for the marketing partners talk about the results that brand usa creates and there is a lot of company by company destination marketing organization by destination marketing organization. responses and in addition brand usa had a study commissioned by the office of economics which also articulated the results that brand usa has created. the indication is there is value christian from brand usa and its activities. >> then the first year or so of implementing bisnow program largely funded by visa waiver fees paid by people visiting the country and i might get back to that is a topic later but it's largely the funding is not getting taxpayer funding from visa waiver fees but still has to be matched by a private sector matching funds. one of the -- in the first year we concerned of real value of any in-kind match and i wonder what the department has done and can do to fully value the in-kind match? >> thank you senator for the question. we have spent a lot of time working with brand usa and also third-party companies to help determine what is the most appropriate and effective way to determine the in-kind value. these are contributing in different media. billboards, space on a web site. we have built now a set of procedures trying to incorporate best practices from around the government to value the in-kind. where it is a unique or more difficult to value in-kind contribution we rely heavily on third-party valuations. i think both brand usa and we are comfortable that the procedures in place now are efficiently and effectively measuring the in-kind. >> and are there other monitoring metrics that you all have put in place to monitor the way money is being spent by the brand usa board and the people they hire to run the program? >> again as i said the metrics that we are watching are the metrics of the effectiveness of the campaign, of intent to travel and results program by program and what they are a wise's are for those vendors at dashboard that we have built and we are working with them. >> chairman if we have time for another round of questions i may have to mourn if not i will have questions for the record. >> senator. >> mr. wegner senator rubio and i are going to tagteam on the issue of miami and orlando. you have mentioned miami several times. it was curious to me when you specifically and mention in miami a five hour period where some 12,000 people are arriving all at once. aside from the issue of the number of customs border patrol officers do you consider on a temporary basis shifting cbp officers from other locations for that high concentration of need? >> yes, absolutely and that is what our local managers want to do from other work areas within their environment to make sure we have enough booths open every single day. we have been -- miami is of significant importance to us especially with the world cup travel and the increase american airlines has projected for the next couple of weeks so we are looking at the wait times every day and getting a report every single day of how we are doing and how we are monitoring and adjusting to the traffic. we were just down there on monday walking through the facility and the operations with american airlines and some of the other local stakeholders but it's very important to us. we want to make sure we are providing that level of service. >> so where would you get them? would you get them from a seaport on a temporary basis? would you get them from fort lauderdale? where would you get them? >> we could use them from other areas within the airports safer cargo processing or other types of work environments that we can afford to take a few hours break from activity and address that peak arrival. taking from other airports is more challenging because the impact of brings on a place like fort hood that also has wait time concerns themselves. >> so are you doing this now? >> we are doing it within the airport itself. >> nod from the port of miami. >> know we have not looked at that but that's an option available to us as we look at the summer peak arrival times. >> i will leave the other questions on miami to senator rubio but just to remind you that there is a period about two years ago in orlando where they had to keep the passengers on an international flight from deplaning for about an hour and a half. because of the lack of officers. you all responded but then the sequester hit and so i want you to be mindful of that as you are looking at here allocation. >> absolutely. >> i am curious. i want to come at this from another standpoint for all of you. we are facing a situation where it looks like we are going to have a lot of area of iraq and syria that at least for the short-run is going to be controlled by an extremely radical terrorist group. and presumably there are americans who have gone to syria for training. a floridian was the one that blew himself up recently but also a lot of europeans. okay if they have got a european passport, what are the extra precautions that you take, other than overall terrorists search in a visa waiver country which very well may be one of these home grown terrorist to catch them. mr. stroud? >> i would say primarily our national targeting center was cbp we began to look at the travel patterns of folks and we get that information well before they actually get on the plane. in addition to that as you have taken a visit to miami international you will see customs and border protection executes all of their rigor protocol with respect to ambassadors regardless of their visa visa waiver or global entry people still receive and i will defer to my colleague on the rest. >> is also working with foreign governments and allies to identify these people who are seceded with them and what we can decide from their intentions. going through that data and drawing links to pieces of information we know would give us national security concerns and who can be associated but also looking at travel patterns based on prior activities or intelligence reports on what we think would present national security concerns. that's a matter of reaching back through that travel continuum. what is the right point in that process to intercept this person, talk to them and have them inspected and searched before they get on board that plane. we have officer stationed overseas at 11 locations in major airports. cbp officers not so much pre-currents but immigration proprietary program. they get a list every day of travelers that give us concerned and they meet them at boarding gates and talk to them and make a recommendation to the airline whether or not the airline should fly this person based on national security concerns are bringing them to the host authorities to have someone fully search and check before we allow them onto the aircraft. preclearance is uniform cbp officers in places like abu dhabi they give us concerned with the types of connecting flights of travelers to go through there and the amount of national security activity that keeps us up at night. having officers on the ground with full authority to be able to search people and make sure they are safe before we put them on board that aircraft. >> senator heller. >> mr. chairman think you enter the ranking member thank you for holding this hearing. and for her witnesses being here today, thanks for taking the time time. think we have a hearing on the subject every month and if i was chairman it would be every week. anyway i'm not complaining is what i'm trying to say because you can tell we are well represented from tourist states from hawaii to florida nevada south carolina missouri tourism plays a huge part. you can imagine the state of nevada where for 20 consecutive years we have been the number one meeting and convention destination north america. this ear las vegas receives over 40 million visitors and tourism supports one into local jobs. what we are doing here today and what we are talking about is important and i want to thank the chairman and ranking member for holding this particular hearing. today i'm interested in learning what washington d.c. can do to continue the hard work on your behalf and on the states that have in the tourism industry and that is why i'm pleased you are here today. in particular inches in the ways we can open or international markets, markets like brazil while continuing to work to reduce wait times at her nation's busiest airports and for those seeking to visit this country. this was brought and continues to be today. according to the las vegas convention and visitor authorities international visitors stay longer and they spend more money during their stays. with that in mind i would like to ask a couple of questions. i will start with you mr. stroud. specifically on the may 2012 strategy to expand travel to the united states with the goal of attracting 100 million international visitors annually by 2021. how were we doing? can you quantify that? >> i think we are making some big strides towards it and i think we are adept where we are supposed to be. one of the things i would obviously say that the secretary has testified to is the fact that expanding number we believe expanding in facilitating the travel are worth experience will increase that number so preclearance locations but also expanding global entry. if you look at the department of commerce numbers on arrivals for 2013, 3.73 million from japan came to the united states. if you took 1% of that and roll that into global entry and use the number of 300 passes on a 777 which is the most common airframe flown it would take 124 airplanes off a cbp lines and puts them into a global entry

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