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GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS


	2013 JUNE June 17, 2013 Some States Have Second Thoughts About Refusing Medicaid Expansion Republican governors from Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Arizona were originally opposed to the health care law, but are now pushing to expand Medicaid. Hari Sreenivasan talks with Ohio Public Radio bureau chief Karen Kasler and Mary K. Reinhart, reporter for The Arizona Republic, about what's behind the changes in their states.

	June 12, 2013 Era of Online Sharing Offers Benefits of 'Big Data,' Privacy Trade-Offs Revelations about the NSA's secret programs have reinforced a national interest in striking a balance between privacy and security. Jeffrey Brown examines public perception of data monitoring with Jules Polonetsky of the Future of Privacy Forum, Kashmir Hill of Forbes and Viktor Mayer-Schonberger, co-author of "Big Data."

	June 12, 2013 NSA Chief Grilled at Senate Hearing on Secret Surveillance Programs NSA chief Army Gen. Keith Alexander faced tough questions from senators at a hearing over the agency's top secret surveillance programs. Alexander defended the programs, saying, "we're trying to protect Americans." Ray Suarez has more on the hearing and an update on NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

	June 11, 2013 Google Asks Approval to Offer More Transparency About Role in PRISM Program After news broke that companies such as Google, Facebook and Yahoo provided some user information to the PRISM surveillance program, the tech giants have started to grapple with how to comply with government orders while offering more transparency to users. Jeffrey Brown talks to Google's chief legal officer, David Drummond.

	June 11, 2013 How Does the Government Manage Workers With Access to Classified Information Edward Snowden's leak of classified NSA documents bring up concerns about the reliance on contractors within the intelligence community. Gwen Ifill talks to Irving Lachow of Center for a New American Security and Dana Priest of The Washington Post about how the government protects employees' access to sensitive information.

	June 11, 2013 Whereabouts of NSA Whistleblower Unknown as Lawmakers Call for His Prosecution U.S. lawmakers are calling for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Speaker of the House John Boehner called Snowden a "traitor" and says he put Americans at risk by disclosing the information. But not every member of Congress sees Snowden as the problem. Gwen Ifill reports.

	June 11, 2013 Google: We Turned Over Information on a 'Tiny Fraction' of Users In his first U.S. television interview since the latest news broke of the government's surveillance program, Google's chief legal officer David Drummond told the PBS NewsHour on Tuesday that the company has given the U.S. government information on only a "tiny fraction" of its hundreds of millions of users.

	June 10, 2013 What Should Be Up for Public Debate When It Comes to Secret Surveillance? Did Edward Snowden give Americans vital information about how they're being watched or did he put national security at risk? Gwen Ifill moderates a debate on the public and political oversight of U.S. intelligence with former Democratic congresswoman Jane Harman and James Bamford, author of "The Shadow Factory."

	June 10, 2013 Former National Intelligence Director: Leaked Details Help Enemies Duck Scrutiny The former National Intelligence director says the government needs to take some of the mystery out of U.S. intelligence programs, but not secret aspects of how they work. Judy Woodruff talks to retired Adm. Dennis Blair about implications of NSA contractor Edward Snowden's revealing the existence of surveillance programs.

	June 10, 2013 NSA Contractor Edward Snowden Is Source of Leak on U.S. Surveillance Programs Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old NSA contractor, came forward as the whistleblower who revealed the existence of secret government surveillance programs that collect data on millions of phone calls and online communications. Judy Woodruff reports on Snowden's defense of his decision, as well lawmakers' response to the programs.

	June 7, 2013 Mass Collection of Communication Data Speeds Inquiries, Prompts Privacy Debate What are the origins of the NSA's surveillance programs, how do intelligence officials use the information and what questions may arise about the cost of privacy? Jeffrey Brown talks with two reporters who have been covering the story, The Wall Street Journal's Siobhan Gorman and Charlie Savage of The New York Times.

	June 7, 2013 Obama Defends NSA's Surveillance of Phone, Web and Credit Card Use President Barack Obama defended the NSA's secret mining of Americans' phone calls, web use and credit card transactions, saying intelligence officials use the information to find leads and prevent terrorism. The president reiterated the government is not listening in on calls or scrutinizing content. Jeffrey Brown reports.

	June 6, 2013 With 47 Million Americans on Food Assistance, Congress Considers Cuts The Senate will soon vote on the farm bill, which includes funding for food assistance programs that help roughly 47 million Americans. How would spending cuts impact needy families? Judy Woodruff hears debate from Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute and Lori Silverbush, co-director of the documentary "A Place at the Table."

	June 6, 2013 News Wrap: IRS Apologizes for Excessive Spending on Conference In other news Thursday, a top IRS official apologized at a House hearing for a 2010 conference that cost more than $4 million. Also, Senate Democrats and Republicans blocked each other's proposals to keep student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1.

	June 6, 2013 NSA Secretly Collected Millions of Phone Records in Counterterrorism Effort The National Security Agency has secretly collected data about millions of domestic and international calls by Verizon customers. Jeffrey Brown gets debate on the privacy and civil liberty concerns from Kate Martin of the Center for National Security Studies and former NSA official Col. Cedric Leighton.

	June 5, 2013 Will Obama's Foreign Policy Change With Susan Rice as National Security Adviser? How will national security adviser designate Susan Rice and U.S. Ambassador to the UN nominee Samantha Power, known as advocates of humanitarian intervention, influence the president's foreign policy? Richard Haass of the Council on Foreign Relations and Anne-Marie Slaughter of Princeton University join Judy Woodruff.

	June 5, 2013 Obama Names UN Ambassador Susan Rice as Next National Security Adviser President Barack Obama named Susan Rice, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and his long-time ally, to be the next national security adviser. Judy Woodruff takes a look at Rice's tenure at the UN, the political contention over her statements last fall about the Benghazi attack, and her likely successor, Samantha Power.

	June 4, 2013 News Wrap: Conservative Groups Speak Out at Congressional Hearing on IRS In other news Tuesday, Conservative groups testified at a Congressional hearing about abuses they suffered at the hands of the IRS. Also, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced there will be a special election in October to fill the seat of long-time Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who died at the age of 89.



	MAY May 30, 2013 How Would James Comey Be Received on Capitol Hill? President Obama's likely nomination of James Comey as FBI director could prove an easy confirmation with bipartisan support. Judy Woodruff talks to Bloomberg News' Phil Mattingly and New York Times' Michael Schmidt about the former deputy attorney general's qualifications for the job and possible partisan reaction from Congress.

	May 23, 2013 News Wrap: IRS Replaces Official Who Refused to Answer Questions at Hearing In other news Thursday, the IRS announced that it had replaced Lois Lerner, the official who oversaw the agents who targeted conservative groups. Also, the U.S. House voted to peg federal student loan rates to those set by the financial markets.

	May 22, 2013 Line Between Social Welfare, Politics Plays Into Confusion on Tax-Exemption Law Controversy over the additional scrutiny the IRS paid to conservative organizations has raised attention about the regulations governing tax-exemption criteria. Jeffrey Brown explores who qualifies and how that status is determined with Richard Schmalbeck of Duke University Law School and Kim Barker of ProPublica.

	May 21, 2013 Senate Committee Grills Former IRS Commissioners on When Officials Knew Facts A Senate Finance Committee hearing on the targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service turned its focus to former IRS commissioner Douglas Shulman, who led the agency until last fall. Judy Woodruff has more, including testimony from his successor Steven Miller and the Treasury Department inspector general.

	May 21, 2013 Former IRS Chief: Can't Say How Targeting Happened WASHINGTON -- The man who led the Internal Revenue Service when it was giving extra scrutiny to tea party and other conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status told Congress on Tuesday that he knew little about what was happening while he was still commissioner.

	May 17, 2013 Outgoing IRS Chief Admits Mistakes, but Dismisses Notion Scrutiny Was Political Outgoing IRS chief Steven Miller admitted failures and faced tough questions at a Congressional hearing, but he also asserted that the IRS did not act out of political motivation in scrutinizing conservative groups. Congressional correspondent Kwame Holman reports.

	May 16, 2013 News Wrap: Justice Department Under Fire for Omissions on No-Fly List In other news Thursday, the Justice Department failed to add a small number of terror suspects -- members of the federal witness protection program -- to the government "no-fly" list. Also, tornadoes in Texas killed at least six people, injured dozens and left hundreds homeless.

	May 15, 2013 Obama Announces IRS Resignation, Promises Safeguards and Oversight Cooperation President Barack Obama announced that acting commissioner of the IRS Steven Miller would be stepping down, calling the political targeting scandal "inexcusable." Jeffrey Brown delves into the latest developments and lingering questions with Josh Gerstein for Politico and Paul Streckfus, creator and editor of EO Tax Journal.

	May 14, 2013 Disclosures About Involvement in IRS Targeting Draw Calls for Transparency The scandal at the IRS over political targeting of conservative groups has extended to include agency officials in Washington. Meanwhile, Attorney General Eric Holder ordered the FBI to see if any laws were broken. Jeffrey Brown talks with Juliet Eilperin of The Washington Post and CQ Roll Call's Eliza Newlin Carney.

	May 13, 2013 Understanding Tax Law Behind Reports IRS Engaged in Political Targeting Revelations that the IRS targeted conservative political groups for additional scrutiny has launched a political firestorm. To help understand the tax law, Judy Woodruff is joined by Richard Schmalbeck of Duke University School of Law and Jay Sekulow of the American Center for the Law and Justice.

	May 13, 2013 IRS Under Fire for Scrutinizing Tax Status of Conservative Groups Reports charge the IRS targeted conservative political groups in 2012 by applying extra scrutiny to organizations that focused on government spending or the U.S. Constitution or had the words "tea party" or "patriot" in their names. Judy Woodruff reports on responses from the president and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

	May 8, 2013 New Report Shows Staggering Differences in the Cost of Medical Treatments A new report released by the federal government raises questions about how exactly hospitals determine the cost of treatment, after it revealed that facilities across the country are charging wildly different amounts for the same medical procedures.

	May 7, 2013 Communities Prepare for Sequester Cuts to Staffing and Social Programs With no compromise in sight, communities across the country are bracing for sequester to kick in during the coming weeks. Ray Suarez looks at effects for workers and government programs at the state-level. Gene Grant of New Mexico PBS, Gretchen Frazee of WTIU and Flo Jonic of Rhode Island Public Radio share their perspectives.



	APRIL April 26, 2013 Shields and Brooks on Red Line Reluctance, Flexibility on FAA Furloughs Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks talk with Judy Woodruff about President Barack Obama's "red line" on Syria, the FAA furlough deal in Congress, repercussions of the Boston Marathon attack and George W. Bush's newly dedicated presidential center.

	April 24, 2013 Should U.S. Have Monopoly on Food Sent Abroad to Aid Other Countries? As the USAID announces a new budget proposal that reallocates food aid funding from American farmers to more global sources, Margaret Warner gets views from Ellen Levinson of the Alliance for Global Food Security and former USAID administrator Andrew Natsios.

	April 24, 2013 USAID Rethinks Who Gets Paid to Grow Food for Countries in Need American food aid is sent to places with dire need. And until now, the commodities have been bought from U.S. farmers and shipped overseas on U.S. vessels to be donated. Margaret Warner reports on a new budget proposal that would redirect nearly half the money to buy bulk food more locally to the countries that need it.

	April 23, 2013 Book Examines the Blurring Line Between Soldiers and Spies Since 9/11 Attacks How did the U.S. intelligence community embrace a more operational role in the days after September 11? Margaret Warner talks to New York Times national security correspondent Mark Mazzetti, who explores that transition in his new book, "The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the End of the Earth."

	April 23, 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings Stir Up Questions, Lessons for Public Safety Protocol The bombings at the Boston Marathons stirred up questions about public safety and security at events with large crowds. Jeffrey Brown examines the safety lessons learned with Jim Davis, executive director of the Colorado Department of Safety, and Ed Cannon, former assistant chief of the New York City Police Department.

	April 23, 2013 Boston 10th in Funds Received for 'High Threat' Urban Areas Terrorism has been in the headlines in Boston before. Ten al-Qaida hijackers departed from Boston's Logan airport on Sept. 11, 2001. And in 2012, Tarek Mehanna of Sudbury, Mass., a Boston suburb, was convicted of conspiracy to provide material support to al-Qaida.

	April 18, 2013 Sen. Durbin: Despite Strong Feelings, Gang of Eight Found Balance on Immigration A bipartisan team of senators rolled out its sweeping plan for immigration reform, meant to create a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. Margaret Warner talks to Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., one of the lawmakers who collaborated on the plan.

	April 12, 2013 Social Security Advocate: Obama's Budget Is 'Bad Policy. Bad Politics.' Leaders of a half dozen liberal and progressive groups rallied at the White House on April 9, 2013, to protest President Barack Obama's call in his budget to reduce cost-of-living adjustments to Social Security and other federal benefits.

	April 11, 2013 How Will President Obama's Budget Impact Medicare, Social Security? The president's proposed budget includes cuts to Medicare and Social Security. Jeffrey Brown discusses the various impacts with Joseph Antos of the American Enterprise Institute, Max Richtman of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare and Jared Bernstein of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

	April 11, 2013 What do You Think About Obama's Proposal to Reduce Social Security? President Barack Obama's proposed budget includes a decrease in cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security. What do you think? Should the president leave Social Security alone? Or is his approach necessary to tame the deficit?

	April 11, 2013 Judy's Notebook: A Budget to Get Worked Up About The very words "federal budget" make most of us yawn. But I'd argue that at 244 pages (not counting appendices and "supplementals") and with a proposed $3.77 trillion in spending "suggestions," the choices Mr. Obama has made make for exciting reading.

	April 4, 2013 Former INS Chief Talks Politics of Immigration Reform Doris Meissner, a former official in the Clinton administration, ends up talking a lot about politics when the subject is potentially landmark immigration reform legislation now gathering steam in Congress -- a plan she said offers more benefits than deficits for the United States.

	April 4, 2013 With Military Training Cutbacks Coming, How Are You Affected by Sequestration? The residents of the Hampton Roads area of southeastern Virginia, with its large military presence, are on edge: sequestration is going into effect.

	April 3, 2013 What Do Federal Spending Cuts Mean for Science and Researchers? Major science organizations rely heavily on government funding, including top federal programs like the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and NASA. Jeffrey Brown talks to Matt Hourihan of the American Association for the Advancement of Science on how the sequester will impact researchers.

	April 2, 2013 VA Backlog Files Stacked So High, They Posed Safety Risk to Staff Almost one million veterans are waiting for their benefit claims to be processed, according to an investigation by the Center for Investigative Reporting. One regional office in North Carolina was so overrun with claims folders that the sheer weight of their content actually exceeded the load-bearing capacity of the building.



	MARCH March 29, 2013 Returning Veterans Face Huge Backlog, Disorganization in Fight for Benefits Returning from combat, many veterans face another battle: waiting for medical claims to be processed. A recent report found that 245,000 veterans wait a year or more for help from the Veterans Administration. Hari Sreenivasan talks with veterans and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki about the delays and backlog.

	March 27, 2013 News Wrap: Obama Appoints First Female Director of the Secret Service In other news Wednesday, Julia Pierson was sworn in as the new director of the Secret Service. Pierson, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, is the first woman to hold this post. Also, James Holmes, the man accused in the Colorado movie shooting last July, has offered to plead guilty and serve life in prison.

	March 25, 2013 NPR/CPI Report: Deadly Work, Little Oversight in Nation's Grain Bins NPR and CPI spent six months reviewing government documents, interviewing workers, government officials, victims' families, company owners and legal and agriculture industry experts who have studied grain bin working conditions.

	March 8, 2013 Brooks and Marcus Discuss Washington's Effect on the Economy, Budget Deal Hopes New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus talk with Jeffrey Brown about February's job report and how much politics and the government policy -- sequestration in particular -- effect the economy, plus the possibility of a bipartisan budget agreement and Rand Paul's John Brennan filibuster.