THUNE: Well, good morning, everyone. I want to welcome everyone to Commerce -- this Commerce Committee's first hearing of the 115th Congress, especially our new members, Senators Inhofe, Lee, Capito, Young, Baldwin, Duckworth, Hassan and Cortez Masto. In addition to growing in size, our committee how has the proud distinction of being the Senate committee with the most women members ever, at eight. (APPLAUSE) I also want to thank all of our returning members, especially Ranking Member Nelson, for their hard work last Congress. Together we were able to enact over 60 measures in the 114th Congress. I am anticipating another full agenda this Congress and I'm confident that we'll be equally successful. Today we'll consider the nomination of Secretary Elaine Chao to be the 18th secretary of transportation. The agency the Secretary Chao has been nominated to need plays a vital role in facilitating and promoting the safe and efficient movement of goods and people throughout our country and the world. The department contains 10 component agencies, employs over 57,000 full-time employees, and has an operating budget of $75 billion. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the transportation sector employs over 12 million people nationwide and contributes nearly $1.4 trillion to the nation's economy, or 8.6 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. In my home state of South Dakota this translates into approximately 10,000 jobs. But these numbers only begin to tell the story because so much of our economy is dependent upon a thriving transportation sector. For example, without a robust and efficient transportation sector rural states like mine would be unable to get their goods to market. Increasing the capacity and efficiency of our nation's highways, rail lines, pipelines, and ports is crucial and will have to be a top priority for the next secretary of transportation. Another top priority for the next secretary of transportation must be safety. While our nation's pipelines, railroads, airways, and highways have a strong record of safety, improvements can and should be made. Of course, it will be important to avoid one-size-fits-all solutions on safety. Instead, the department must offer a range of tools to combat unique safety challenges, as South Dakota has done with its innovative 24/7 sobriety program to combat impaired driving. Many of the strong safety improvements this committee advanced as part of the FAST Act and PIPES Act last Congress are yet to be implemented, and we will expect our next secretary of transportation to work with us to ensure speedy implementation. We will also have the opportunity to collaborate on safety improvements when we revisit the authorization of the Federal Aviation Administration later this year. The next secretary of transportation will also have a unique opportunity to show federal leadership in the advancement of transportation innovation. V2V technology, autonomous vehicles, and unmanned aircraft systems, to name a few, have great promise to increase safety, improve efficiency, and spur economic growth. But, like all new technologies, these must be properly integrated into our current networks in a way that maximizes their benefits without compromising the performance of the current systems. Secretary Chao, if confirmed you will have a momentous opportunity to transform Americans' transportation network by promoting safety and innovation, growing our nation's freight network, and ensuring all users -- both urban and rural -- benefit equally. To my colleagues I would say that if you were to imagine an ideal candidate to tackle these challenges it would be hard to come up with a more qualified nominee than the one before us today. In addition to serving for eight years as the U.S. secretary of labor, Secretary Chao has also served as the deputy secretary of the department she's now been tapped to lead. Her extensive experience also includes leading the United Way of America, the Peace Corps, and the Federal Maritime Commission. Secretary Chao, you have consistently proven your willingness to roll up your sleeves and address the challenges facing our nation. And I would like to thank you for testifying today and for your willingness to continue your record of service to the country. I will now turn to Ranking Member Nelson for any opening remarks, and then before Secretary Chao's opening statement she's going to be introduced by her husband, Senator McConnell, our majority leader in the United States Senate, and the other member of the Kentucky delegation, Senator Paul. Chair recognizes Senator Nelson. NELSON: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As we start out I want to take a minute to express on behalf of the committee our condolences to the friends and loved ones of the victims of Friday's horrific shooting at Fort Lauderdale's airport, and I want to thank the heroic work that was undertaken by the first responders and the law enforcement personnel in responding. And although the investigation remains ongoing, I expect all of us in the Congress will continue exploring ways to protect the traveling public in light of this tragic incident. And while we made some progress in last year's FAA bill to double the number of the VIPR teams, the dog teams, and bolster the screening of airport workers, this tragic shooting serves as a reminder that our work to improve airport security remains a constant challenge. This year's FAA reauthorization bill that we will have to take up could be a good place to start if more needs to be done to prevent similar tragedies from occurring. So, Mr. Chairman, we're here today at a time when our nation is at a crossroads. Many of our roads, bridges, tunnels, and rails are aging and desperately need to be repaired and replaced. Years of neglect and increased demand have brought us to the point that we can no longer sit by idly and watch our country's most critical infrastructure continue to deteriorate. We must step up to this challenge. And that's particularly pertinent to the hearing on the confirmation of Secretary Chao. We must committee to build the next generation of great American infrastructure or risk harming our economy and global competitiveness -- risk it -- by failing to do so. And that means investing in projects that will move people and goods for decades to come, such as ports -- we have a lot in Florida; they're responsible for moving a lots (sic) of the goods in and out of our country, rails and highways that move the goods throughout our states, transit and rail projects that get Americans to work, airports and passenger rail projects that connect our communities, and technologies of tomorrow that will move people and goods more efficiently and more safely. These projects will also create good-paying jobs, whether it's construction workers laying the foundation, an engineer doing the design, or the steelworker making the parts. The benefits of updating and expanding our transportation infrastructure can produce thunderous ripple effects: creating new developments, generating increased investments, and driving new economic opportunities. And that's what our country needs now in the immediate future. It takes a strong commitment, however, from the Congress and the administration, and specifically the Department of Transportation. And it's going to take a significant amount of funding. And so, Secretary Chao, I hope we'll hear more from you today on your administration's plan and how you intend to pay for it. And our nation's transportation challenges include more than the deteriorating bridges and roads. Safety, of course, continues to be a serious problem. In the last two years it marked a disturbing trend of rising fatalities on our highways and reversing a lot of progress that we've seen over the last half century. So the Department of Transportation must aggressively use all of its authority and resources to bring those numbers down, whether it's cracking down on the drunk and distracted driving, increasing seatbelt use, or getting defective vehicles -- such as those with the exploding Takata airbags -- fixed immediately. And as the department must prepare for the future, as I speak automakers are rapidly moving toward commercializing autonomous technology and self-driving cars. And the department is going to have to play a very central role in ensuring that this is safe for the American public. And then, of course, there's aviation safety. It's critical. It's an important task, and it will be before the committee in the FAA reauthorization bill. Now, Chairman Thune and I have worked hard on a bipartisan and comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill last year, and as a result, 95- to-3 in the Senate. The reauthorization bill was stalled in the House, given a proposal there to privatize air traffic control. Besides the total opposition of the United States Department of Defense, which has 20 percent of the air traffic; besides being costly and disruptive in implementation, such as privatization; this scheme would upset the partnership between the FAA and a lot of the agencies of government. And last, certainly not least, I hope, Madam Secretary, that we'll get a commitment from you that you'll look out for the traveling public by ensuring that they have the basic consumer protections. This means working with us here in the Congress to make sure that airline passengers know what they're paying for up front and that those costs are fair. These provisions had broad bipartisan support in last year's FAA reauthorization and we should get the across the finish line. And, Madam Secretary, just a personal note, you and my wife are the dearest of friends. She is one of your biggest fans. And I have watched you as you have comported yourself in a previous administration as a cabinet member, and it has been with grace and excellence that you have done so. And I certainly look forward to you in this new administration doing the same. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. THUNE: Thank you, Senator Nelson. It may be a first to have a Senate leader testify in front of this committee, but we're privileged today to have Senator McConnell here to make a very special introduction. And so we would recognize -- the chair recognizes the Senate majority leader for a statement. MCCONNELL: Chairman Thune, Senator Nelson, members of the committee, obviously it's a great pleasure to be here today. Actually, Chairman Thune, it's -- it's probably not the first time the majority leader has been before this committee. I'm reminded of something Bob Dole said at the confirmation hearing for another transportation nominee: his wife Elizabeth. We all remember Bob for having the best sense of humor ever of anyone who's served here. This is how he began: He said, "I feel a little bit like Nathan Hale. I regret that I have but one wife to give for my country's infrastructure." (LAUGHTER) Well, that was Bob Dole for you. The nominee before us is extraordinarily well-qualified, incredibly capable, and she's got really great judgment... (LAUGHTER) ... on a whole variety of things. (LAUGHTER) I know Senator Paul will have much more to say about her qualifications when he speaks next, but let me just say this: Elaine is going to do a fantastic job as secretary of transportation. She's going to do good things for our country. She's going to make the Commonwealth of Kentucky proud. She'll be only the second cabinet secretary we've had from my state since World War II. Who was the other, you might ask? Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao. I said at her last confirmation hearing that Elaine would be one of the best secretaries of labor we've ever had. I'm saying today that Elaine will be one of the best secretaries of transportation, as well. She's overcome some pretty big obstacles in her life, but everything she does she does well. I know she'll perform brilliantly again in this new role. Her family gathered here today couldn't be prouder, especially Elaine's father, Dr. James Chao. I feel exactly the same way he does. Thank you for the opportunity to be here, and let me turn to my colleague from Kentucky. PAUL: Mr. Chairman, it is my privilege this morning to introduce a friend -- a dear friend and a fellow Kentuckian, Secretary Elaine Chao, for her nomination hearing to serve as secretary of transportation. I'd also like to welcome her family, Dr. James Chao, who is renowned in his own right. My wife, Kelley, and I have come to know Elaine well since our first election to the Senate six years ago, and we are both grateful for her many kindnesses and friendship as we transitioned to public service. We both admire Elaine for her thoughtfulness, integrity, intellect, and dedicated service to the country. Elaine's record of accomplishment and leadership make her a truly exceptional candidate. Prior to her nomination, Secretary Chao had served this nation under three presidential administrations, most notably as the longest-serving secretary of labor since World War II under President George W. Bush. As an immigrant to this country, Secretary Chao's successes are not only a testament to the American dream but also the unbridled spirit of Kentucky. Having emigrated from Taiwan at the age of eight with no background in the English language, Secretary Chao would copy all the words of her teachers on the blackboard so her parents could go over them daily when she arrived at home to improve her English skills. Her father worked three jobs to support their six children, but they always expressed optimism for the future. The family was truly grateful to be in America. And despite the challenges, they seized the opportunity that this nation had to offer. Secretary's Chao's parents' belief in education, service, and hard work set the foundation for her success, which includes a degree from Harvard Business School and 36 honorary doctorate degrees from institutions around the world. But for the Chao family education is never the end; it is just the beginning. Secretary Chao's extensive background in both public and private sectors includes not only her previous stint as secretary of labor but also deputy secretary of transportation, chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission, deputy maritime administrator, and deputy administrator at the U.S. Department of Transportation, director of the Peace Corps. It's a long resume. We would all wish to have such a resume. She was also president of the United Way, as well. I have no doubt that she will do an excellent job and that her integrity will lead her to great heights as the secretary of transportation. I look forward to working with Secretary Chao and the officials at the Department of Transportation to address our infrastructure issues facing our country. I urge the committee's favorable consideration of my friend, Elaine Chao. THUNE: Thank you, Senator Paul. Thank you, Senator McConnell. And at this point we will ask our nominee, Secretary Elaine Chao, to please come forward and offer her opening statement. CHAO: (OFF-MIKE) Chairman Thune, Ranking Member Nelson, and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I also want to thank my home state senators from the great Commonwealth of Kentucky for their kind introductions. I'm very honored to have the support of Senator Rand Paul, and I'll be working to lock in the majority leader's support tonight over dinner. (LAUGHTER) I'm especially delighted to introduce my father, Dr. James S.C. Chao, who, along with my mother, Ruth Mulan Chu Chao, is the foundation of everything that my sisters and I have been able to achieve. Like so many others, as you've heard, my father left everything familiar behind to come to this country and build a better life for our family. My mother, two sisters, and I endured three long years of separation before we were able to join him, traveling from Asia to America via a cargo ship on an ocean journey that lasted 37 days. There were many challenges during those early days living in an apartment in Queens, New York; learning English; and adapting to a completely foreign culture. But my parents' love, optimism, faith, and diligence kept us together. If I can ask my father to stand up, I would really appreciate it. (APPLAUSE) Thank you so much. I'm also very pleased to introduce one of my sisters, May Chao, and her twin daughters, Miranda and Jessica, from New York City. May is the daughter whose name symbolizes America. My mother was seven months pregnant with May when my father left for America, and he did not see his third daughter, May, until she was three years old. And, May, if I can ask you and the girls to stand up? (APPLAUSE) And my brother-in-law, Gordon (ph) is here, as well. And that's it for the family. (LAUGHTER) My executive career in government began at the U.S. Department of Transportation. During my career I've had the extensive privilege of leading large, complex organizations in the public and the private sectors as deputy secretary of transportation, director of the Peace Corps, president and CEO of United Way of America, and the U.S. secretary of labor. In each of these positions my goal has always been to help others access opportunities in mainstream America and build better lives for themselves and their families by supporting policies that foster job creation and workforce competitiveness. Our country's transportation infrastructure is the underpinning of our world-class economy -- one of the most productive, flexible, and dynamic in the world. It is a key factor in productivity growth, which has provided millions of hardworking Americans with a standard of living that is the envy of the world. And it has provided us with unprecedented mobility, safety, and security. And yet, today these gains are jeopardized by aging infrastructure, growing congestion, increased fatalities on our highways, and a failure to keep pace with emerging technologies. The U.S. Department of Transportation has a rare opportunity to shape the transformation of our critical infrastructure, and the chance to lead the department at this pivotal historic time is a great honor. First and foremost, safety will continue to be the primary objective. Regulatory decisions should be rooted in analysis derived from sound science and data, with risk-based analysis that prevents accidents before they occur and considers both the cost and the benefits of new rulemakings. Railroads, airlines, aircraft manufacturers, pipeline operators, transit authorities, and hazardous waste material shippers should be deploying comprehensive approaches to safety. The department will also work with states to ensure that billions of dollars of federal funding are focused on improving transportation system performance and project delivery. Our rail and air traffic operational efficiency, which is so important to America's competitiveness, need to be continuously improved, and I look forward to working with this committee on FAA's transition to 21st century air traffic control technologies, known as NextGen. Eight months remain before FAA reauthorization, so it's important to start the collaborative process soon to provide air travelers with a system second to none. Another major challenge is to unleash the potential for private investment in our nation's infrastructure. As we work together to develop the details of the president-elect's infrastructure plan, it's important to note the significant difference between traditional program funding and other innovative financing tools, such as public- private partnerships. In order to take full advantage of the estimated trillions in capital that equity firms, pension funds, and endowments can invest, these partnerships must be allowed to participate with a bold new vision. And again, we look forward to working with you to explore all options and to create a mix of practical solutions, both public and private, that provide the greatest cost-benefit to the public, because we all know that the government doesn't have the resources to do it all. It's also important to recognize that the way we build and deliver projects is just as important as how much we invest. And we want to seek your advice in identifying and addressing unnecessary bottlenecks in the processes that govern project development and delivery, as well as the manufacturing processes that we oversee. And finally, we want to work with you to address the unique transportation needs in rural America as well as the challenges that major metropolitan areas face. Looking to the future, we also have a unique opportunity to address the exciting new technologies transforming travel and commerce. The private sector is driving this innovation. They're working with cities and states to demonstrate improvements in the safety and efficiency of autonomous vehicles. Drones are poised to become a major commercial force. And the federal role in these sectors is still very much in its infancy. We want to work with Congress to position the federal government as a catalyst for safe, efficient technologies, not as an implement -- not as an impediment. In summary, the Department of Transportation has a key role to play in modernizing our transportation systems, strengthening our nation's competitiveness, and improving our quality of life. And I look forward to working with you to rebuild, refurbish, and revitalize America's infrastructure so our economy can continue to grow, create good-paying jobs for America's working families, and enhance our quality of life. Thank you. And now I'll be pleased to take your questions. THUNE: Thank you, Secretary Chao. Before we being our questions I want to ask unanimous consent to put 20 letters of support for Secretary Chao into the record. They come from a diverse groups of stakeholders ranging from first responders and transportation infrastructure groups to labor and shippers. Without objection, so ordered. Secretary Chao, I think I counted at least a half dozen references to working with Congress and, more specifically, to working with this committee in your testimony. I know you appreciate the importance of cooperation between the branches of our government. Nevertheless, these hearings give us an opportunity to underscore that point. So if confirmed, will you pledge to work collaboratively with this committee and provide thorough and timely responses to our requests for information as we work together to address transportation policy? CHAO: I look forward to working with members of this committee and also the Congress on all these issues of concern. THUNE: Planes, trains, and automobiles are particularly important in a rural state like South Dakota, where long distances often separate people from economic hubs, the markets for their goods, and even hospitals. Secretary Chao, I appreciated your recognition of the need and challenge of achieving equity between urban and rural areas in your top priorities for the department. And as a senator from the state of South Dakota, this balance is especially important to -- to me and to my constituents. The FAST Act struck a careful balance to ensure that we appropriately invested in both urban and rural infrastructure critical for connecting the country, supporting mobility options for all Americans, and moving agricultural, manufactured, and other essential products to the market. To what extent do you see the funding allocations in the FAST Act as providing a framework for thinking about potential allocations under any infrastructure proposal put forward by the administration? CHAO: I think the president-elect's vision for a infrastructure proposal is ambitious and futuristic and comprehensive. We will be starting a task force and a process to address these issues. The FAST Act was a tremendous accomplishment by the last Congress, and there are many, many financing options which should be considered. And we would hope that as we go into the future that we would also be creative, innovative, and consider other options, as well. Because, as mentioned, the government does not have the resources to address all the infrastructure needs within our country, so all of us need to put our best thinking forward as to how to fund the aging infrastructure. THUNE: Would you strive also to try and strike the balance or achieve the balance when it comes to funding allocations between urban and rural areas that was -- that was accomplished in the FAST Act? CHAO: I've -- absolutely. I've lived on the east coast, the west coast; I now live in Kentucky. I'm very, very familiar with the balance that needs to be kept between the urban and the rural areas. THUNE: Another area of importance for South Dakota and for a lot of the members on -- on this committee is the availability of reliable and affordable commercial air service, which has the ability to allow access to and from geographically isolated areas of the country to hubs in metropolitan areas. And while it's a convenience for travelers, commercial aviation is something that often helps communities attract businesses, creating jobs and spurring economic development. Various factors have altered the market and, unfortunately, in some cases threatened or eliminated access to commercial aviation for rural communities. If confirmed, what will you do to improve commercial aviation connectivity to rural communities? CHAO: Rural communities are a central part of our country and their access to affordable and easy air service is an issue and something that we have talked about in many, many ways and over the years. So I look forward to working with the Congress on continuing the EAS program and finding ways in which we can improve it, as well. THUNE: New technologies I mentioned in my opening remarks, like autonomous vehicles, have the potential to improve our transportation system by saving lives, increasing mobility, and improving fuel economy. The department has begun developing a framework for autonomous vehicles in -- as you noted in your testimony, but the federal role is still at a very early stage of development. So I welcome your goal of making the federal government a catalyst rather than an impediment for technologies that improve safety and efficiency. If confirmed, how with the department, under your leadership, keep pace with evolving advanced technologies and foster innovation? CHAO: Innovation and creativity is a hallmark of America. We are famous throughout the world because of the ingenuity and creativity that we have shown, and we have led the world in so many fronts because of the new technologies that our country has been able to pioneer. We are now seeing the advent of autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, smart cars, and also drones. While the benefits are very much known, there are also concerns about how they will continue to develop, and I will work with this committee and the Congress to address many of these concerns. But we need to do so in a way that will not dampen the basic creativity and innovation of our country. THUNE: Thank you, Secretary Chao. Senator Nelson? NELSON: Mr. Chairman, I want to welcome the four new members on the Democratic side. They have certainly helped the ratio of male-to- female that you talked about: Senators Baldwin, Duckworth, Hassan, and Cortez Masto. And I hope to announce very shortly the ranking members of the subcommittees very shortly. I'm just going to ask one question -- I want to give the opportunity for our members to ask this plethora of subjects that this committee handles and then I'll do any cleanup at the end -- the question of privatization of air traffic control, the opposition of DOD, the fact that, whereas the Business Roundtable supports the privatization, there is dissension within that organization. On the other side, the Aerospace Industries Association opposes privatization. You want to offer any of your thoughts on this? CHAO: I'd like to get confirmed first. (LAUGHTER) Obviously this is an issue of great importance and this is a huge issue that needs to have national consensus. And for that national consensus to occur there needs to be a dialogue, a great discussion, a national discussion. The administration has not made a decision on this point, and I expect that come January 20th this will be one of the issues in which the White House will have some say as to where this -- where the position of the administration would be. I am open to all ideas. I'm very cognizant of those who are in favor of it. I'm also very cognizant of those who are concerned about the safety aspects of it. NELSON: OK. CHAO: I will work with this -- I will work, obviously, with the Congress and also with this committee on all those issues. NELSON: Well, in -- in view of your answer, let me just say that we will collaborate extensively... CHAO: Yes. NELSON: ... with you with regard to this. And it is so important that we get a full FAA reauthorization -- a multiyear. The chairman and I worked it out where we would get basically one year and get a number of important things etched into law in that bill. But for the certainty of the airline industry in the future, for the future of the next generation of air traffic control, et cetera, we need this multiyear FAA reauthorization bill, and there is a huge contention between the House and the Senate over this issue of privatization. So we will be consulting with you and collaborating and communicating with you extensively on this. Thank you, Mr. Chair. CHAO: I look forward to it. THUNE: Thank you, Senator Nelson. Senator Wicker? WICKER: Madam Secretary, I think most members of this committee are delighted that you have been chosen for this position, and I think you'll be confirmed with a nice bipartisan vote. And -- and I think we will be consulting and collaborating with you on -- on a wide variety of issues because you have quite a bit of jurisdiction. I -- I think what I heard you say with regard to Senator Nelson's question is if we're going to make a -- a major change, as has been proposed, then there needs to be a national consensus on that and that there needs to be more of a national conversation. And certainly I appreciate your assurances that Congress will be consulted on this, so I appreciate that. I would also simply like to underscore that in -- in response to Senator Thune's question about rural America you expressed support for the Essential Air Service, and -- and I would just use part of my time today to say I -- I think the point there that I would underscore in -- in -- in endorsing your statement, Madam Secretary, is that it is a bargain for -- for job creators and economic developers in the United States to have this assurance, and so I -- I appreciate hearing that from you. I'd like to just touch briefly on -- on three other things, and those would be the Federal Contract Tower program, the Merchant Marine Academy, and the Jones Act. Now, with regard to the Federal Contract Tower program, this had been one of the FAA's -- one of the FAA's most successful government- industry partnership programs, and it is critical to air traffic control safety and 253 smaller airports, including seven in my home state of Mississippi. What are your plans to ensure that this program would enjoy strong bipartisan and bicameral support in Congress, continues to provide these important air traffic control services for our traveling public and our small airports? CHAO: I would hope to work with the Congress. Obviously I've always done that in the past. This is a very important issue. I look forward to working with you on it. WICKER: OK. Well, I look forward to a continuing conversation on that, also. Now, as you may know -- and I think we had this conversation when you came by early on for a visit, which I appreciated -- I'm a member of the Board of Visitors at the Merchant Marine Academy. This has been one of the finest collegiate degrees a young American man or woman could receive in the United States of America. And we've had some -- some bumps and hiccups along the way. On -- on January 6th I was pleased to learn that Secretary Foxx has lifted the suspension of the sea year on commercial vessels for students for midshipmen at the Merchant Marine Academy. I want to encourage you to continue efforts to ensure the integrity of this critical training program for our future merchant Marine mariners. The Merchant Marine Academy is operating also under a warning with regard to accreditation. Now, this is -- this is unimaginable to me, based on where this academy has been historically, in terms of academic achievement. The accreditation warning presents a serious risk. I hope you have plans, and -- and my question to you is will you make it a priority, Madam Secretary, to ensure that the academy will stay on track to address the cited deficiencies prior to the April 2018 deadline? And will you agree with me that the alumni of this fine institution have a lot of knowledge and wisdom that they can impart to us as government policymakers in this regard? CHAO: Senator Wicker, during my courtesy visit with you you were very concerned about this issue, and I listened very carefully to what your concerns are, which you echoed once again here today. I have been to Kings Point when I was deputy maritime administrator. I know the facility very well. This is a huge issue and I can assure you that if confirmed this will be the first issue that I take up at MARAD. WICKER: Well, thank you very much. And then just briefly because my time is fleeting, a -- a -- a vitally important part of our maritime industry is the Jones Act, which this committee has jurisdiction over. I hope you will be a strong supporter of the Jones Act and advocate for our domestic maritime sector, as a bipartisan majority of this committee has always done. CHAO: The Jones Act is a law of the land and it will be obeyed... WICKER: Thank you. CHAO: ... unless the Congress changes its mind on that. WICKER: Thank you. THUNE: Thank you, Senator Wicker. Senator Cantwell? CANTWELL: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And welcome and congratulations on your nomination. I think we had a chance to discuss the state of Washington and how rapidly it is growing, how the fact that being a gateway to the Pacific has made our transportation system one of the key cornerstones of our economic success, that our state and local governments are making strategic investments. In 2014 Washington businesses, though, lost $800 million because of congestion, and we have very challenged infrastructure issues. For the third consecutive year Sea-Tac is the fastest-growing airport in the United States. In the last three years the passenger volume has increased by 32 percent. Railroads are moving over 105 million tons of freight each year; Sound Transit is the fastest-growing light rail service in the country; the Northwest Seaport Alliance the largest cargo center; and our GDP in the state grew by 3 percent, compared to the nation as a whole, which as 2.5; and Washington employment grew 3.5 percent, the fastest in the nation, adding 109,000 jobs in 2016. So we have growth. We have an economic engine. But we desperately, desperately, desperately, desperately need the infrastructure investment. So I listened to your words very carefully as you phrased out ways in which to get that infrastructure investment. I'm all for creativity. I would say that our last transportation bill stretched us to the limits. There's no more SPRO (ph) dollars to get for infrastructure investment, and so it is very important that we move forward. So I just have a couple of questions. You can just answer yes or no. They're not -- it's not trick yes or no questions, it's just more just trying to get a sense of what you will prioritize as far as funding. So do you support the legislation that this committee passed that was implemented, the Freight Act, and funding FASTLANE Grant programs to move freight more cost-effectively through the United States and continuing to fund that program? CHAO: In concept, of course we want to make sure that freight is moved efficiently. It adds to the productivity of our country; it's good for the economy. As for the second part of your question, I'm not quite sure yet because I've not been briefed on what the current situation is. But if confirmed I'll be more than glad to do that. CANTWELL: OK. When it comes to the FAA -- my colleague mentioned this so I just want to be clear -- do you support coming up with additional funding, however it -- however it works out? You do support in a -- in a new infrastructure investment in our airports? CHAO: We need more resources to build, repair, refurbish our infrastructure, including those that relate to the aviation sector, yes. CANTWELL: OK. I mentioned Sound Transit, one of the fastest-growing commuter systems in the country. There are projects that are already in the pipeline. Do you support continuation of those projects? And you mentioned creativity. One of the things that they've been able to use is the master credit agreements, so that they can get more affordable loan rates. Are those the kinds of programs you would support for Sound Transit? CHAO: At this point if I'm confirmed I need to take a look at those projects. There are many projects that are on the books, and there are different reasons why they are -- some are faster, some are slower. So I need to take a look at what is happening with each of those projects. CANTWELL: OK. I'd like to follow up with you, if I could, on that in -- in writing... CHAO: Of course. CANTWELL: ... and see if we can get an answer to that. And then when you and I visited I mentioned this issue of the volume of crude by rail going through the state of Washington -- extraordinary growth rates of trains that have every city in my state concerned about the volatility of this product. Department of Energy and DOT are working on an analysis of the volatility of that product. Will you continue to support that research? CHAO: You and I have talked this -- talked about this at length. The prospect of having these products go through urban areas is of great concern. But again, until I'm confirmed and I have an opportunity to be briefed on all of these, it would be premature for me to say anything at this point. CANTWELL: OK. CHAO: But I will work with you on this. CANTWELL: Well, I definitely came here very interested in your nomination and very enthusiastic about the prospects of a former cabinet member moving over to focus on something that has been very, if you will, administrations sometime choosing someone of the opposite party just because of the bipartisan nature of transportation and its ability. So I would -- I would hope you could look at some of these and give... CHAO: Absolutely. CANTWELL: ... and give me a more specific answer. I'm not trying to box you in as much as the main debate for my state right now is are we going to fund infrastructure investment. And so we need to know that you're going to step up and say yes to that and work creatively with us to find those solutions. CHAO: The way you have just phrased the question, absolutely. CANTWELL: OK. CHAO: Yes. CANTWELL: But the specifics you have... CHAO: The -- yeah, I -- I do need to -- once -- if I'm confirmed I do need to take a look at the specifics, but... CANTWELL: OK. I'm going to send you a few more in writing. Thank you so much, Mr... CHAO: Thank you. THUNE: Thank you, Senator Cantwell. Senator Blunt? BLUNT: Thank you, Chairman. Secretary Chao, it's wonderful to have you here. I think -- I don't know that any other committee will have somebody that goes through this process this year who's already been confirmed four times, so far without a dissenting vote on the Senate floor. You're in the process of setting a record that it'll be hard to -- hard for anybody else to meet in the future. We had a chance to work together when you were at the Department of Labor, the secretary of labor. I thought you did a tremendous job there. But one of the things I liked best about your focus there was on compliance even more than on enforcement. And I wonder if you'd talk a little bit about that theory of trying to get people into compliance as a principal focus, rather than the heavy hand of enforcement as your first place to go. CHAO: A lot of times the rules and regulations can be very confusing. And so the government, whether it be at the federal, state, and local levels, I believe, has a responsibility to engage in outreach, to help the regulated community understand what is required of them. This benefits not only those who are being protected, which is the sole criteria, of course, but also it builds a culture, for example, of safety that benefits those who are being protected because workers alone cannot protect themselves. They need the rules and regulations and the laws. They need the cooperation of the government. They also need the cooperation of their employers. But working together by making it very clear what the obligation of the employer is and how best to understand the plethora of federal, local, state, and local regulations to make it transparent and easily understandable, that's the best way to protect workers. And that was the philosophy in compliance that we followed. BLUNT: You know, I think another area that comes into that immediately, too, all of our appropriate discussions on infrastructure. And, you know, in Kentucky and Missouri really transportation is our greatest advantage. The rivers come together; the highways come together; the rail systems come together; and obviously not as dependent on geography, but air as well. But I think it's really important that we now be thinking of intermodally how all of those things work. And I believe 10 years from now we'll look back at this moment where world food demand is going to double in three or four decades and such great economic opportunities, and either think it was a good thing we got started right now looking at that intermodal opportunity, or why didn't we do that. And I'm wondering what your thoughts are as to the inland port structure, the -- the -- the rail structure, and the highway structure, how those things, along with air, come together. CHAO: Intermodalism is a concept that's been discussed since the 1970s, and as we've progress since then we've improved in many aspects but not nearly enough. We still have sectors of the economy, different modes of transportation, viewing each other as competitors, whereas we should all be working together in an integrated, intermodal system. And so as we consider the infrastructure of the future we need to focus more on how different modes of transportation can be a seamless partner, deliverer of services together to provide a more efficient and productive transportation system for the benefit of the consumer, of the shippers, and overall quality of life for our country. BLUNT: Yeah. I think that competitive model where we're all trying to figure out how we compete as a country by making this all work more effectively is a much more realistic model than trucking people worried about the barge people worried about the rail -- it's how -- how do you use this whole system in a way that makes us as competitive as we need to be and can be. And one last thought on streamlining, which you've mentioned. You know, in both the last highway bill and railroad bill we created some opportunities where you're working in existing space or the more fast-tracked process that lets you go ahead and improve that rail -- that rail spur, that rail line, that bridge that's already standing there. Just a few minutes on your thoughts on streamlining that regulatory process to get things done. CHAO: If I'm confirmed I think one of the few -- one of the major things that I will be looking at is the issue that you discussed and also the intermodal compatibility and interaction that can occur. We are seeing more cooperation between the different modes of transportation, but again, more needs to be done. Part of it is the lack of federal resources, overall resources, to improve our infrastructure. But all of that is connected to the question that you've raised. And again, if confirmed that would be an issue that we would be having with this committee and the Congress on how to improve the situation. BLUNT: Thank you, Secretary. Thank you, Chair. THUNE: Thank you, Senator Blunt. Senator Klobuchar? KLOBUCHAR: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And congratulations on your nomination. And we're excited to work with you going forward. I'm not going to pose an exact question about infrastructure except to say how important it is in our state. We are the state that had the 35W bridge collapse in the middle of that summer day. It got rebuilt with some good bipartisan work in a year. It was my first few years in the Senate. I'll never forget that, and I've been devoted to this issue of infrastructure ever since. I've joined with Senator Warner and Blunt on their proposal for financing authority. And as Senator Cantwell has pointed out, there's a lot of ideas out there and I was heartened by the fact that the president-elect listed this as a number one issue on election night, which all of America saw. So I'm hoping that we can come together on something that makes sense to up our infrastructure in our country, which would include broadband. And a number of the members here are members of our Broadband Caucus. I'm one of the co-chairs, and you and I discussed that. But I thought I'd get to some specific questions. First some air questions. Both Democratic and Republican administrations have pursued an expanded open sky agreement to provide U.S. consumers, carriers, and airports with more choice, access to new destinations. I'm concerned that recent actions by some companies, like Norwegian Air International, and some countries, like the UAE and Qatar, are undermining our open skies agreements, hurting American workers because of the way they're financing their airlines. Could you work with me on this to make sure that our American airline workers aren't harmed by unfair competition from abroad? Competition is great, but not when it's not an even playing field. CHAO: Thank you for offering that. I look forward to working with you on this important issue if confirmed. KLOBUCHAR: Thank you very much. The first item on the NTSB's list of most-wanted safety improvements for 2016 was reducing fatigue-related crashes. We have all seen a number of horrific crashes in the last few years, including Colgan Fight -- Flight 3407. We have worked really hard on this issue for passenger flights. Senator Boxer -- who is no longer with our committee, as she retired -- and I worked on a bill with Captain Sully Sullenberger, from the Miracle on the Hudson, involving cargo flights and having some rules in place that make sure that their pilots are flying safe. Secretary Chao, do you share my commitment to increasing aviation safety, working on this cargo issue, and continuing to have this as a priority? CHAO: I look forward to working with you on all these issues if I'm confirmed. KLOBUCHAR: OK. Thank you. You and I also talked about the general aviation. Minnesota is home of Cirrus, in Duluth; we make small jets. It's an expanding industry with a lot of exports nationally. And Senator Murkowski and I passed a bill -- we finally got the rules done -- to speed up the approval process for their safety additions. And I am hoping you will continue to help us. This is a important manufacturing industry to America. CHAO: If confirmed I look forward to working with you on that. KLOBUCHAR: OK. So now we go to snowmobiles. You know, gotta end good here. The Recreational Trail Program, it's extremely important. It funds off- highway vehicles, snowmobile, non-motorized trail uses. It's one of these issues where we've actually had the cross-country skiers and the bicyclists working with the motorized vehicles. It derives its funding from gas taxes paid by off-highway vehicle users when they fill up their machines, and I hope that you will work with us going forward on that issue, as well. It's maybe not the first thing you thought of when you got up this morning, but that's been a very positive program for recreational use. CHAO: Look forward to working with you on it. Thank you. KLOBUCHAR: OK. Last, just thoughts on rail safety. We've got a -- a lot of -- of issues in our state. You and I talked about the fact that we are at this hub where the oil is coming in from North Dakota and some from Canada, and we're glad that we've had more production in our country. But that combined with the biofuels, we've had a number of derailments. I look at Senator Baldwin in Wisconsin, as well. And just your thoughts on that? Rail safety. CHAO: Rail -- safety is number one. There's no question about that. And so safety will continue to be the number one priority and responsibility of the Department of Transportation, and if confirmed I look forward to working with you -- both of your -- we've talked about this during our courtesy visits -- and with all members of the committee and the Congress on this very important priority. KLOBUCHAR: OK. Thank you, and... CHAO: Thank you. KLOBUCHAR: ... I will put some questions on the record on distracted driving. I've been leading those efforts and we've had some success. It's a very hard issue, but overall nationally a 7 percent increase in traffic fatalities from 2014 to 2015. Secretary LaHood actually -- this was, you know, one of his top priorities when he was in, and I hope that we can reinvigorate those efforts and make this a top priority. CHAO: Thank you. KLOBUCHAR: Thank you. THUNE: Thank you, Senator Klobuchar. Senator Fischer? FISCHER: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Welcome, Madam Secretary. It is a pleasure to see you today, and I want to add my congratulations on your nomination. I appreciated you coming in for a private meeting that we had in our office, and I thought we covered a variety of issues. And I just want to touch on a few of those today with you. Of course, on everybody's mind is the Highway Trust Fund. When you hear the president-elect speak about infrastructure and putting money into infrastructure, part of that, I would assume, would go to the Highway Trust Fund. We are looking at a shortfall of $107 billion over the next five years following the expiration of the FAST Act, and what are your thoughts on addressing that long-term solvency of the -- of the federal Highway Trust Fund? CHAO: The Highway Trust Fund is in bad shape because of the declining miles -- because of the increased miles per gallon that cars normally get, the gas tax was just 90 percent of the funding of the Highway Trust Fund. It is no -- it is not as lucrative as it used to be, and the fund annually spends $47 billion, takes in $37 billion; there's a $10 billion deficit every year. You can't make that up on volume. So this is a huge issue, and the pay-fors for any infrastructure proposal are all challenging and all have their particular champions and also detractors. So once again, if confirmed I look forward to working with this committee and also the Congress on this number one priority -- among the top priorities of this president-elect. FISCHER: Thank you. This... CHAO: And it will go bankrupt by 2021 if we don't do something... FISCHER: Yes. CHAO: ... so we all know this. FISCHER: Yes. This is an issue I worked on in my state as a state senator. We were successful in -- in thinking outside the box on some policy issues, and in a couple weeks we'll be putting forward a proposal here to start that conversation on how we're going to be funding our highways. Another thing that I've worked on in this committee, Secretary Chao, is addressing and reduce the growing number of those unnecessary regulations that we face. And during the last Congress the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation that I chaired held nearly 20 hearings and events on how best that we can keep goods moving across this country and do so safely. So I was pleased to be able to have language in the FAST Act to reform the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's regulatory process by making it more transparent and responsive and open to input from our stakeholders. I would ask you: What do you think is the best way that we can keep passengers and freight moving across our system, and how do you plan to approach looking at regulations that many consider to be a -- a burden on how we are moving goods and people across this country? CHAO: You and I had a long conversation during our courtesy meeting, which I'm very grateful that you granted, on many of the transportation issues in your state, and it was very clear from your career in the past as part of the state legislature that you are quite an expert on all of these transportation issues yourself. So it was a real benefit for me to learn from you and hear your points and also see your passion for protecting the interest of your state. What was the question? I'm so sorry. FISCHER: How are we going to... (CROSSTALK) CHAO: Oh, the regulation. Sorry. FISCHER: ... regulations... CHAO: So on the regulations, I think the great challenge for all regulators is to balance the ultimate goal, obviously, of safety, but also to make sure that the regulations that are enacted are based on sound science, on true data, and that the underlying analysis is solid. That is the best way that we protect consumers and passengers. FISCHER: Right. I agree with you on that. Another point: We're looking at shortages with regards to commercial truck drivers, with airline pilots, and that -- that has a direct impact not just on our transportation system but on our country as a whole when we're not able to move people, when we're not able to move and see -- products and see commerce grow. So I look forward to working with you on that, as well. My -- my time is up, but I -- I thank you for being open to all of the issues that your portfolio is going to encompass when you take over the department as the new secretary. Thank you. CHAO: Thank you. THUNE: Thank you, Senator Fischer. Senator Moran? MORAN: Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. Elaine, welcome to the committee. Robba joins me in offering our congratulations to you on this nomination. And while I've... CHAO: Thank you. MORAN: ... always been an admirer of your abilities, it's your nieces that I'm most admiring this morning. They are well-behaved, apparently or seemingly attentive to what's being said here, and it's perhaps the only people in the audience that seem to be interested in what members of the United States Senate are saying, so I appreciate the suggestion that what we're saying is -- is of interest to them. And I -- I would commend your sister and her husband for raising apparently good daughters. So... CHAO: Thank you. MORAN: ... congratulations to your family, as well. Senator Nelson raised the topic of -- of privatization of air traffic control. One of the justifications that's been used -- and -- and I'm -- I'm very concerned with that privatization so I join Senator Nelson in that regard -- but one of the justifications that proponents of that privatization have -- have utilized is the failure of the FAA to, in a timely manner, implement NextGen, to bring the latest technologies in safety to our air traffic control system. And the -- the knock is that by the time the Department of Transportation completes its work on NextGen its technologies will already be outdated. So my question is maybe you can help us eliminate one of the reasons that people advocate for privatization by telling us how we could have faster, quicker, more efficient implementation of technologies designed to improve our air traffic control system and the safety that it provides. CHAO: When I was deputy secretary in President George H.W. Bush's administration the modernization of the air traffic control was a huge issue then. A lot has changed, a lot has been done, but more needs to be done, obviously, as times change, and the lag in the ability of the organization to keep up with the modernization that is required. This is a huge issue. I am very much aware of those who are for it, those who are against privatization. I know that you, with your state of many general aviation interests, have not been a proponent. We need to have a national discussion about this, and so I look forward to working with the Congress, especially with the FAA reauthorization bill coming up on September 30th of this year, on addressing many of these very important aviation issues if I'm confirmed. MORAN: Well, Ms. Chao, I appreciate that, and certainly interested in working on the privatization issue. I just would reiterate my belief that one of the ways we can diminish the demand for a different air traffic control system is to get the technology in place necessary for the latest updated advanced air traffic control system, even under its current governments -- governance structure. You're right, Wichita, Kansas is -- is the air capital of the world. We manufacture more general aviation aircraft than any place in the country. And that would give me the opportunity to highlight the importance of something that's developing today, and that involves the certification process, the -- the method by which we get new aircraft, new -- to -- to market. And getting that done in a timely fashion enables Wichita, Kansas and our manufacturers, but the aerospace and aviation industry in our country to compete in a global market. Reforms that encourage the full use of organization designation authority, ODAs, is important to us, meaning that it is moving in a direction of self-certification. The FAA has been helpful in recent times in accomplishing that, and I would bring that issue to your attention. It's -- the FAA and industry are moving toward a risk-based safety oversight approach, and I would encourage you to encourage the FAA to continue that process so that we can get the latest technologies in our manufacturing sector utilized, new products in the market, and better able to compete in a global economy. Any reaction or response? CHAO: I would certainly hope to do that, yes. Thank you. MORAN: I -- I appreciate that. I would only mention -- because, as was indicated earlier by one of my colleagues as the clock had already turned to -- to red that his time was fleeting, my time is fleeting and I would be interested in visiting with you because of the subcommittee that I've chaired on this committee in the past dealing with the vehicle-to-vehicle technology. And we have jurisdiction over NHTSA and we look forward to working with you and hearing your views on how we can implement safety in the latest technologies. There seems to be a theme here in my conversation, which is technology provides us great advantages and we want to work with you to see that it is readily available to the industry and to the consumer. CHAO: I look forward to working with you if confirmed. MORAN: Thank you, ma'am. THUNE: Thank you, Senator Moran. And -- and -- and following up on that point, I think the reason that there has been such a discussion about FAA and reform is because the promised benefits of NextGen have not been realized. CHAO: I understand. THUNE: And there -- there's plenty of documentation to that effect. And you've indicated an open mind about how to proceed. I have an open mind, too. But it's going to require that we work together. And it's certainly important that travelers, taxpayers, people in the aviation stakeholder community realize the benefits of this and make sure they're getting a good return on the billions that have already been spent. NELSON: And, Mr. Chairman, let me just chime in on that issue. What we're doing with NextGen is we're basically going to have air traffic control off of satellites instead of radars. And as a result, you can vector an aircraft much more efficiently to its designated airport. At -- at the same time, aircraft can be aware of each other so that you've got real-time awareness in air traffic control in the cockpit. The technology is there. We just need to implement it. And those contracts are being vigorously performed in the FAA. I just wanted to add that, Mr. Chair. THUNE: Thank you, Senator Nelson. Senator Blumenthal? BLUMENTHAL: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Welcome, Ms. Chao, and thank you for your past service. I look forward to working with you. And I might just say, although Senator McConnell has left, he and I have something in common, which is we both married above ourselves. And my wife Cynthia is a friend and admirer of yours, and welcome to our committee. I look forward to... CHAO: Thank you. BLUMENTHAL: ... working with you on issues that concern investment in infrastructure. You and I have talked a little bit about the need to modernize and upgrade our deteriorating railroads and bridges. We see this issue particularly in Connecticut on our roads and bridges, but also the safety and reliability and speed of our rail system, which needs to be significantly improved, and that requires real investment -- public resources, not just tax credits. And you and I have talked about the need for a public-private partnership. I hope that we can work together to make that happen and build a bipartisan consensus in favor of it, as I think is very possible. I also think that safety in our other kinds of transportation is very important. As you well know, a lot of the recommendations made by the agencies that will be under your jurisdiction very simply have not been implemented. According to the latest numbers from the National Transportation Safety Board, there are hundreds of open safety recommendations -- 305 at the Federal Aviation Administration, 61 at the Federal Railway Administration, 91 at NHTSA. These recommendations are essentially potentially lifesaving for people who are affected by them, and the agencies have failed to fulfill recommendations. And so my first question to you is, what can -- what are your plans to close those recommendations and make sure that they are implemented? CHAO: As mentioned, safety is a top priority at the department. If confirmed one of my first tasks will be to get briefed on all of these outstanding issues, and I look forward to working with you on your committee and all the (inaudible) on -- on all of this. BLUMENTHAL: I know there's a tendency sometimes to be dismissive... (CROSSTALK) BLUMENTHAL: ... about these kinds of recommendations. I hope that you will make them a priority. CHAO: If confirmed I will look at them very seriously. BLUMENTHAL: And make sure that they are implemented, because I know you're a doer and these recommendations need doing. Let me turn to one of the areas where technology is tremendously important -- you mentioned technology in your opening statement -- positive train control. Not a new technology. Been around for many years. The deadline for implementing it was 2015, which then was extended to 2018 over opposition from a number of us, including myself. And again, you and I have talked a little bit about it. Would you plan to make sure that that deadline is fulfilled and that, in fact, positive train control, which is a lifesaving technology, is implemented by 2018? CHAO: If confirmed I hope to get briefed on this, and if there's a deadline, as you mentioned, of that particular date I would look at it very seriously. And again, I want to get an up-to-date briefing on what's going on on that, and I did promise you that I would do that. BLUMENTHAL: You -- you have promised, and I hope the promise... CHAO: Yes. BLUMENTHAL: ... again, is not just to be briefed but also to take action. Because we've seen in the Northeast the consequences of the failure to implement it in a number of rail catastrophes that have happened at Spuyten Duyvil, in Pennsylvania, and others, where these disasters could have been stopped with positive train control. One last question relating to the plan recently issued by the Federal Railway Administration which would, in -- in fact, reroute some of the rail going through Connecticut in bypasses through areas like Old Lyme, where they would have disastrous effects on the environment, culture, and historic landmarks, quality of life. I would ask your commitment that you will review this plan and change it in response to the overwhelming outcry from people in Connecticut that the recently implemented FRA plan simply is unworkable, and it is also unaffordable. CHAO: You and I have spoken about this before during our courtesy visit and I will certainly review this very carefully if confirmed. BLUMENTHAL: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. THUNE: Thank you, Senator Blumenthal. Senator Schatz, then Senator Sullivan? SCHATZ: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Secretary Chao, and thank you to your family for their commitment to public service and their commitment to you. This morning was historic, at least for me. It was the first time I saw Leader McConnell hug anyone, so... (LAUGHTER) CHAO: I'm glad it was me. (LAUGHTER) SCHATZ: So, Secretary Chao, we have a serious safety crisis on our roads. More than 35,000 people died in crashes in 2015. As Senator Klobuchar mentioned, that's a 7 percent increase over the previous year and the largest increase in 50 years. The early estimates show that that number will surpass 40,000 in 2016. And these are not just car-on-car accidents. We're also failing those that walk along the roads. In 2015, 10 percent of all roadway deaths were pedestrians. Seniors are 50 percent more likely than other pedestrians to be struck and killed by a car, and this problem is particularly bad in the state of Hawaii, where we have the unfortunate distinction of having the highest rate of pedestrian fatalities among our elderly in the country. These deaths are preventable. They're preventable through the implementation of -- of best practices. Senator Heller and I have worked on the implementation of Safe Streets, and we worked with the current secretary of transportation to try to get metropolitan planning organizations, departments of transportation services, and state departments of transportation to implement Safe Streets. Do we have your commitment to work on pedestrian safety and the implementation of a Safe Streets agenda? CHAO: We've talked about this, as well. I look forward to working with you on that if confirmed. SCHATZ: Thank you, Secretary. Following up on Senator Wicker's question regarding the Jones Act, it is a bipartisan consensus, as you know. It's the foundation of the domestic U.S. flag maritime industry. And it is also essential to our national security. U.S. flag vessels and American merchant marines support our warfighters, transporting medical supplies, food, and other cargo to troops in combat. The military's confidence in a fleet of U.S. flag ships to move cargo to troops deployed in places like Iraq and Afghanistan allow the Navy to save limited cargo space for weapons, fuel, and other essential goods. And that's why every secretary of defense, every secretary of the Navy for generations has supported the Jones Act, and with the usual caveats. But understanding that you have a unique role as the former MARAD administrator, as the former deputy of transportation, and the former secretary of labor, and your private sector experience in the shipping context, can you talk about the importance of the Jones Act from both a national security standpoint and from an economic security standpoint? CHAO: The Jones Act is a very important program that secures national security. We have seen two wars now in the last 25 years. I'm of an age where I have seen two wars in pivotal areas of the world. If we did not have the merchant Marine assets to assist the gray hulls on these campaigns -- military naval campaigns -- our country would not have been able to supply our troops, bring the necessary equipment. All of that is not done on the gray bottoms, gray hull bottoms, but rather merchant Marine bottoms. This is an area that I'm very familiar with, I have great interest in, as well. And the national security of the merchant Marine fleet of this country is part of the way that we are able to be effective overseas and protect this country. So I am a great proponent of the U.S. flag merchant Marine fleet. SCHATZ: Thank you very much. And my final question is just following up on our conversation during our courtesy visit, Hawaii is the most isolated populated place on the planet, and so our unique geography and topography, the fact that we're an island state, means that our maritime needs, our aviation picture, our broadband infrastructure needs, and our surface transportation needs are different, and not dissimilar to Senator Sullivan's unique situation, representing the state of Alaska. We would just ask for your continued understanding, both as we're crafting statutes but also as you make rules and also as you interpret existing rules and statutes and even procedures, to understand that every place says they are different and that is only true in Hawaii and Alaska. (LAUGHTER) CHAO: We've talked about this and I appreciated your sharing with me the concerns of your state. SCHATZ: Thank you very much. CHAO: Look forward to working with you. THUNE: Thank you, Senator Schatz. Senator Sullivan? SULLIVAN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And, Madam Secretary, congratulations. I certainly agree with the chairman that you are an ideal candidate for this position. My wife Julie sends her congratulations, as well. And I want to begin by thanking you for your exceptional service to our nation. When you look at your background it's just remarkable what you've done for this country. And I also just want to mention that you and your family, including your nieces, are a great example for all Americans, and I hope a lot of people are watching to hear the story of your family. It's very powerful. I appreciate your focus on modernizing the transportation system, but I really want to emphasize that it's going to be very difficult to do that without modernizing the federal permitting system. And you and I have had the opportunity to discuss some of these challenges. But just last year in a hearing in this committee we had the head of the Seattle Airport, Sea-Tac Airport, when he talked about it took four years to build the new runway at Sea-Tac but 15 years -- 15 years -- to get the federal permits to start building. There are stories all across the country that I know you're familiar with. In Alaska we've had many nightmare scenarios. Took 20 years almost to permit a gold mine in my state. And, you know, the -- our country used to be the envy of the world in terms of building infrastructure projects responsibly on time. The 1,500-mile Alaska-Canada highway was built in under a year. And now in America it takes on average six years to get a permit for bridge. So if we're looking at infrastructure, the major infrastructure initiative, which I support, if we're not also undertaking major federal permitting I think that we're not going to be successful in our infrastructure initiative. Do you see this as a major problem, and will you work with us, both from your regulatory authority standpoint and legislation that we would undertake here and on the EPW Committee to try to address this? CHAO: Yes, I would. Senator, you wrote a very, very good article in the Wall Street Journal about this particular issue. And what we hear from many investors and outside interests, just various stakeholders, is the duplicative and bureaucratic permitting that sometimes may occur. We want to make sure that the regulatory process works, but that also means getting rid of some of the redundancies and some of the unnecessary burdens. So you've certainly been a leader on that and I look forward to working with you. SULLIVAN: Well, we look forward to working with you, as well. I would note that both the EPW Committee former Chairman Inhofe and Chairman Thune, we're all very committed to that. One other area -- and we want to work with you, and in that Wall Street Journal op-ed that you mentioned -- I appreciate you commenting on that, but we are working on a major permitting reform bill called the Rebuild American Now Act, and certainly look forward to working with you and the rest of the Trump administration on those kind of permitting reforms. One other area I just wanted to mention. You know, we have all these opportunities with regard to energy in this country. We're, once again, the world's energy superpower, and yet the Obama administration has clearly politicized and delayed the permitting of pipelines. The Keystone XL Pipeline took eight years until the president finally pulled the plug on that. And the irony is is that pipelines are much more safe than delivering by rail. So can we get your commitment to help us streamline the permitting of pipelines and to depoliticize what has become a very politicized permitting process with the current administration on that important area of permitting? CHAO: I look forward to working with you on this issue, as we've discussed, if I get confirmed. SULLIVAN: Thank you. And finally, I will turn a little bit, as Senator Schatz had mentioned, to talk about Alaska and some of the rural areas. You know, we're a very resource-rich but infrastructure-poor state. At almost 600,000 square miles of land, Alaska is more than two- and-a-half times the size of Texas. We like to say in Alaska, if you split Alaska in two Texas would be the third-largest state in the country. But we only have 10,400 miles of paved roads, compared to Texas, which has 313,000. Another comparison: Alaska is 118 times the size of Connecticut but we have less than half the roads that Connecticut has. So if confirmed will you commit to come to Alaska with me to meet my -- with my constituents to help us address the unique challenges and opportunities with regard to infrastructure, roads, bridges, pipelines in Alaska that are not only important to my constituents but really important to the nation? CHAO: I would be delighted to. In our courtesy meeting, Senator, you mentioned how important your office is in terms of convening important stakeholders to address these issues, and I'll be more than glad to help convene and also to help -- to participate... SULLIVAN: Great. CHAO: ... in those, as well. SULLIVAN: Thank you. Thank you, again, for your great service to our country. THUNE: Thank you, Senator Sullivan, and the newly minted chairman of the Oceans Subcommittee. So we're all for -- all for more roads in Alaska. Next up is Senator Peters, followed by Senator Inhofe. PETERS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Secretary Chao, it's great to -- to have you here. And I'll concur with my colleagues that it's a privilege to have you testifying before us today and also appreciate your story and your family's story. It's a true American story and shows the power of immigration and how immigration has brought many wonderful people to our shores to pursue their version of the American dream. So thank you for being an embodiment of that. CHAO: Thank you. PETERS: I also want to thank you for the time and -- which you spent with me in my office talking about a -- a variety of issues. And I think it was fairly clear at the end of the meeting, you know, that I'm focused primarily on automobiles, being from Michigan and some of the incredible things that are going to be happening when it comes to autonomous vehicles, or as I refer to them as self-driving vehicles. "Autonomous" sounds a little sinister. It sounds like you get in the car and it just takes you where it wants to go. It's autonomous. You actually will tell it where to go. It's going to drive for you. And it will have incredible benefits when it comes to things such as safety. We heard from Senator Schatz and others. I was just at the Detroit Auto Show before coming here. The whole focus of that is mobility. We think -- NHTSA believes we can eliminate nearly all auto crashes; 80 percent of auto crashes could be eliminated, savings tens of thousands of lives. This is transformational technology on par with the first car to come off of the assembly line. It's -- it's that big. But as we talked about, it is also a area where there's intense competition and who gets there first with this technology, from an international perspective, will have a significant competitive advantage. We know the Asians are moving on this very aggressively. We know the Europeans are moving very aggressively. We also know our American auto companies are doing a phenomenal job. In fact, Ford Motor Company has announced that they will have a production vehicle by 2021 -- a mass production vehicle of a self- driving vehicle available. That's roughly five years. And we may actually see that accelerating. So I want to just touch on a couple issues. We know that speed, though, is critical, and we got tough competition, as I mentioned, so we need to move this forward. One aspect that we talked about is test facilities to test these technologies. We're in a competition right now with a number of sites around the country. There may be multiple ones that are selected as early as next week to do this kinds of testing. I would hope that you would want to be -- will be fully engaged after those facilities are selected to work on collaborative ways that we can work with the federal government to help industry fully use those facilities to test vehicles and get your thoughts on that. CHAO: I would certainly want to do that. PETERS: Well, I appreciate that. And -- and the other aspect is federal policy. You know, these technologies are going at an exponential rate. Federal policy tends to move much slower than that. You have some specific ideas as to how we speed that process up but understanding, as you have said over and over again, safety is paramount. The public already will be a little bit concerned about a self-driving vehicle, and so any kind of accidents that occur will be -- will have a tremendous public blow-back. We can't have that. The industry doesn't want it. We certainly can't do that. But on the same token, we need to be able to allow innovation to go and test vehicles not just on test tracks but getting them out on the road. Any thoughts as to what you'd be open to see on that? CHAO: I'm very open to working with you on it. We've talked about it. You're obviously a tremendous proponent for your state and for the manufacturers that are in your state. I thought it was very interesting, with Senator Heller here as well, that you talked about testing grounds and how sometimes snow and cold weather are actually advantages in testing grounds. But what we are seeing is obviously technology outstripping the consumer ability to accept and understand some of the technology. So I think it behooves all of us as a country, as a society, to bring greater familiarity and greater comfort for those who are passengers and other stakeholders who will be eventual users of this technology to understand what -- the benefits, the limitations, and also what it means going forward in the future. So it requires a national discussion, and I look forward to doing that with you. PETERS: Well, I will look... CHAO: Thank you. PETERS: ... forward to that, as well. One final question, and it's another important issue for me: Back in 2005, following Hurricane Katrina, President Bush and the Department of Labor, which was under your leadership at that time, suspended Davis-Bacon provisions on federal contracts in the -- in the Gulf Coast. This action was very concerning to me, as I know many others, because even a -- a temporary suspension of Davis-Bacon will -- will drastically reduce wages to American workers who are tasked to -- to rebuild their community. Now, I know President-elect Trump has stated that his administration will follow a mantra of "buy American, hire America," and we hope that part of that mantra also means that there are fair wages paid to those Americans who are doing that work. And that's why just a final question: Can you commit now to us to the application of Davis-Bacon for all Department of Transportation contracts issued under your leadership? CHAO: Well, the Davis-Bacon is currently the law, and unless the -- unless the Congress changes that it will be the -- it is the law. PETERS: So the suspension we saw in the past is not... CHAO: The suspension in Katrina was very, very extraordinary. PETERS: Right. CHAO: It was extraordinary circumstances in which we needed to get rebuilding going at a very fast rate to enable, obviously, very distressed communities to come back to life. PETERS: So you support the -- the basic foundation of Davis- Bacon, as well, and that's something you will continue to support as the secretary... CHAO: Well, as I mentioned, Davis-Bacon is the law, and the law -- and it will be the law unless the Congress changes it. PETERS: Right. Well, thank you. I appreciate that. THUNE: Thank you, Senator Peters. Senator Inhofe and the Senator Baldwin? INHOFE: All right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I say to you and the ranking member that I'm just delighted to be on this committee and I'm looking forward to it. You know, I think -- keep thinking -- last night I was with you and your family, your -- your daddy -- how much -- how popular -- how -- how excited your daddy is right now, thinking about the things that are... CHAO: Thank you. INHOFE: ... going on and -- and that he is responsible for you and -- and your performing, and your cute little nieces, I guess they are, aren't they? I've really enjoyed... CHAO: Yes. Miranda and Jessica. INHOFE: Yeah. Yeah, they're great. Well, anyway -- well, I say that because, as you well know, I've got 20 kids and grandkids. You -- you got some more work to do but that's all right. Let -- let me share a couple of things with you that perhaps even you didn't know. I think you probably did know this, and I think a lot of the members of this committee did not know this, that I've been on a committee that is like this -- the Environment and Public Works has a lot of, you know, the jurisdiction here also in Transportation -- for 21 years; prior to that, eight years on the T&I Committee in the House of Representatives. So I've been around this thing for a long time. Our biggest problem used to be when I was in the House that we had too much surplus in the Highway Trust Fund. CHAO: Not anymore. INHOFE: Yeah. And -- and you outlined in your opening statement why that changed. But that was actually a fact. In fact, I remember when Bill Clinton was first president of the United States he was looking for some money to rob out of some other accounts and he took -- he took $16 billion out of the Highway Trust Fund. So those days are behind us and we can't go back to them. But nonetheless, it's kind of fun to review -- review the history. Let -- let me share something else, and I'm going to ask unanimous consent that two articles be made a part of the -- of the record this morning. That was a U.C., Mr. Chairman. THUNE: Without objection. INHOFE: All right. These -- these articles are articles that were very complimentary to you when you had your previous secretary position of labor and they talk about how you go on the job. I wouldn't bring this up except it's in writing here and on virtually the first day you got everybody in there and said, "This is what we -- these are our problems, these are going to be our solutions, and we're going to stay on top of them," and you never slowed down from the very beginning. CHAO: Thank you so much. INHOFE: And I would hope and would ask that you do the same thing in this job. And I do happen to know, because they contacted us, that in the audience here we have people who were strong supporters of you and worked for you during those -- those years. They're all gone and doing grand things now but they still have that allegiance and that love for you. In fact, I have to say this: In the years that I've been here -- and that's 30 years now -- I've never seen an -- anyone come into -- get the nomination for a position that people loved more than you. And there's gotta be a reason for that. All right. Let me -- a couple of specific things I -- I do want to get in. And one is we've been talking about the big issue, the privatization and all of this and, you know, I -- I think I might be the only active commercial pilot on this committee, and so I deal with this. And on controllers I -- I -- I know that there's other options out there, as has been pointed out by the -- the -- the ranking member. But they've done a great job and -- and we need to be sure that we do this thing right. I see as a problem -- just an observation to me -- my communications normally with the -- with the general aviation community, because I've been involved in it for so many years -- but it just seems to me that there's not a lot of communication going back and forth. And I would just suggest, judging from your past performance, that one of the first things you might do is get them all in one room and talk about it. It's surprising how sheltered people are in their own opinions. Just a thought. What do you think about that? CHAO: Thank you very much for making that suggestion. And obviously if -- if confirmed the convening power of the secretary of transportation is immense... INHOFE: Yes. CHAO: ... and that certainly could be put to good use in convening these various stakeholders to talk about an important issue like this. INHOFE: Yeah. One of the things that has not been mentioned so far -- and a lot has been mentioned during this -- is the use of drones and how significant that is now. It started out with, in my experience with them, in the -- in the House Armed Services Committee, then the Senate Armed Services Committee. And, of course, we had some provisions put in the FAA bill to facilitate the use of drones -- areas like pipelines and other areas. And I know this is going to be one that is -- is -- is going to be of interest to you. One of the inhibiting factors in drones is the -- all the over- regulations that are there. Do you, number one, agree with that? And do you have plans to attack these regulations pretty quick in your service. CHAO: You know, the drones started out as, as you mentioned, with the Department of Defense. It's an emerging technology. There are those who see the benefits of commercializing them for various uses. It's transforming the way we work, the way we do commerce. There are also others who are very concerned about privacy issues, security issues. And again, if we're going forward with an emerging technology as important as this with such vast implications for our future, I think we need to talk about it. We need to have, again, a national consensus on where we're going. INHOFE: OK. I... CHAO: State-by-state patchwork is of concern, and what does that mean for federal regulation? So I look forward to working with the -- with the committee and also with the Congress on these issues. INHOFE: That's great. And my time is expired, so for the record if you would address something that hasn't been addressed, and that is the energy infrastructure, which is -- hasn't really been given the attention that it should. And perhaps you can give me your ideas -- give us your ideas for the record. CHAO: I will be glad to do so. Thank you. THUNE: Thank you, Senator Inhofe, and welcome to the committee. Senator Baldwin is up next, followed by Senator -- if nobody else shows up -- Capito. BALDWIN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I want to thank the chairman and ranking member for a warm welcome to the committee. I'm delighted, Secretary Chao, that my first Commerce Committee meeting is -- is your confirmation hearing. Welcome, and thank you again for our -- our visit last week. It was helpful to start the conversation. And I actually want to start by asking you to speak a little bit more on a topic that we discussed when we visited, which is the Buy America rule. Simply but, I firmly believe that American workers should build our infrastructure with American products and that taxpayers' money should not be spent on Chinese or Russian steel and iron. So here in the Senate I have spent some time working on including a Buy America provision in our recently passed water infrastructure bill that was signed into law just a few weeks ago. And despite broad bipartisan support in the Senate, Speaker Ryan and the congressional Republicans pulled my Buy America provision from the water infrastructure bill, as we discussed. Now, their position against Buy America is at stark odds with the president-elect, who has repeated his pledge that there will be two rules for rebuilding America's infrastructure: quote, "Buy American and hire American." So if confirmed you will undoubtedly play a leading role in implementing the president-elect's infrastructure plan. But it's noteworthy to me that you have previously been critical of Buy America rules. In 2009 you wrote an op-ed describing Buy America as, quote, "dig a moat around America policy." This is in a Heritage Foundation op-ed. And to further quote you, you said Buy America squanders America's credibility on international trade. So I want to tease out how this conflict might be resolved. And my question is, if confirmed as secretary of transportation will you stand with the president-elect and support Buy America? CHAO: The president has made very clear his position on this and it is his policy. And of course all cabinet members will follow his policy. BALDWIN: OK. Well, that's a welcome change and welcome news to me from -- from your past writing on this topic, and I look forward to working with you on Buy America language as we move forward. I -- I -- I do want to note that Buy America provisions have been written into the authorizing language of several Department of Transportation grant programs. Every single statute, however, allows the secretary of transportation wide latitude to waive the Buy America requirement if, quote, "it would be inconsistent with the public interest." And given you past views on Buy America restrictions, I -- I guess I'd like to hear more about how you would intend to use that authority to waive Buy America restrictions, how you would evaluate what is in the public interest, and under what -- my -- my specific question is under what conditions would you see granting these waivers, or will you grant them sparingly or frequently? CHAO: I think it is premature at this point for me to comment on any of this until I get fully briefed. I have mentioned that Buy America is the president's priority. When you drill down to some of the details that you talked about, thank you so much for bringing it to my attention. I am not fully cognizant about that. So if confirmed I look forward to getting briefed on all those issues. BALDWIN: And I look forward to working with you in that... CHAO: Yes, of course. BALDWIN: ... implementation role. The president-elect pledged to rebuild our nation's crumbling infrastructure with a $1 trillion investment in transportation, clean water, telecommunications, and other pressing needs, and I welcome that discussion, especially if it includes real investments and not just tax credits. When we met last week I mentioned my support for reliable broadband infrastructure to ensure access to quality and affordable Internet in rural communities, and we have many of those in Wisconsin. Additionally, it's well-documented that water infrastructure across the country is in need of repair and upgrade, not only to avoid the failure and tragedy we experienced in Flint, Michigan, but to also meet the growing needs for delivering clean water to families and businesses. We talked about the water council located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that is working to find solutions to the nation's most difficult and pressing water problems, and I've introduced reforms that encourage the development and deployment of innovative water technology. And I believe these reforms have a place in any bold infrastructure investment. So my colleagues and I are eager to learn more about the scope of the infrastructure package that you will help shape. But my final question is, if confirmed will you work with me on an infrastructure package that includes real funding to address both the infrastructure challenges and support innovation exemplified by what is occurring in my home state of Wisconsin? CHAO: I would be more than glad to. BALDWIN: Thank you. THUNE: Thank you, Senator Baldwin. Senator Duckworth has returned, so you're up next, followed by Senator Capito. DUCKWORTH: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Let me say how pleased I am to join you on this committee. I am looking forward to working with you on transportation infrastructure and other issues that are critical to the Midwest and to Illinois in particular. Secretary Chao, first let me thank you for the time you took with me in my office earlier this week. Your commitment to maintaining an open line of communication with me is matched by my commitment to be helpful to you where our interests and those of my state are aligned. The question I have for you has to do with this new rule from the Department of Transportation on the Metropolitan Planning Organization consolidation rule. As we discussed in my office, I'm deeply concerned that this recent DOT rule -- in fact, it was passed December 20th, at a time when you sort of push through rules that -- that are problematic but -- and -- and may have some opposition. But it -- it -- it was pushed through and it threatens to disrupt important transportation projects in Illinois and throughout all of the Midwest. I appreciate that the intent of the initiative may have been to encourage better results through regional cooperation, but in fact, the impact of the new mandate will have unintended consequences for some localities and would be absolutely disastrous for Illinois, and in particular, the Chicagoland Greater Metropolitan Area. If it doesn't work in Illinois it's hard to see how it could work for any other metropolitan area in the Midwest and around the country. And essentially, the MPO consolidation rule will require, for example, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning to merge with a similar agency in Wisconsin, Indiana, and it would require the governors that the -- any federal transportation funding in Chicago be approved by the governors of Indiana and Wisconsin. The application of this rule will slow down the delivery of important transportation projects nationwide and in Chicagoland give other states huge leverage over decisions that are best made by the local community. And this -- there -- the converse is true, as well, for decisions that are made in Wisconsin or Indiana or our neighboring states. If confirmed will you work with me to either reverse this rule or to, at the very least, make sure that it works for everyone, including Illinois and other metropolitan areas, especially those near state borders? CHAO: Senator, thank you so much for that meeting in your office, and thank you for bringing this to my attention. So as I mentioned, if confirmed I will be very eager to look into this particular issue because the way you have characterized it I need to understand it more. So I look forward to getting more briefed and I look forward to also, of course, working with you on it as we go forward. DUCKWORTH: Thank you. Thank you. The Department of Transportation administers an important small business set-aside program for minority- and women-owned disadvantaged business enterprises, commonly known as a DBE. This federal program serves as a guide for state departments of transportation small business programs and, in fact, many of our states' departments of transportation align directly with whatever the federal DOT's policies are. Many businesses are concerned about the future of the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program, and as we're looking to put significant investments in the nation's infrastructure I am concerned that women-owned business disadvantaged business enterprises may not have as good an opportunity to bid on these contracts to bring those jobs into the local economy, to bring those jobs into those local enterprises and local entrepreneurs, local women-owned businesses if the DBE program is not emphasized. Will you commit to working with me to reassure Illinois small businesses that DOT will preserve the DBE program and ensure that if the president-elect follows through on the promise to invest trillions in new public infrastructure projects, small businesses such as women- owned businesses, minority-owned businesses will be included in the initiative? CHAO: I've always been a tremendous supporter of small businesses; I've been a tremendous supporter of communities of color, of women. When I was secretary of labor I was the only federal cabinet secretary to have gender parity in the executive leadership at the Department of Labor. So these are issues that I've worked with all my career and I will continue to work on them with you. DUCKWORTH: Thank you. That is very -- very important to me. These entrepreneurs are especially vital in areas such as rural Illinois because they do hire local people to work on their contracts. They are local businesses. They are incredibly important for areas -- economically depressed areas, such as the South Side of Chicago, East St. Louis, and as the like. So I look forward to working with you on that. And I'd like to close just by saying that I share many of my colleague, Senator Inhofe's, concerns about drones. I, in fact, have flown not too far from here and was flying at 2,500 feet when a -- a -- a remotely controlled vehicle flew off the nose of my aircraft and missed my propeller by about two feet. Let me just say it scared the living heck out of me, and it should not have been there. And so I will be monitoring the drone rules and -- and programs very closely myself. But thank you for being here, and I look forward to working with you. CHAO: Thank you. THUNE: Thank you, Senator Duckworth. Senator Capito? CAPITO: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I'd like to thank you for allowing me to join the committee. And I want to thank the ranking member, as well. I look forward to serving on this committee. I'm very pleased to be here to see my friend, Secretary Chao. My husband, Charlie, sends you his best and congratulations, as well, particularly because of your past service, but also being from neighboring states. It's nice to see a neighboring Kentuckian here today. And thank you for your visit to my office last week. As you recall, we recalled in that visit when you were secretary of labor you came and visited me and Senator Byrd in West Virginia, and so I would extend another invitation for you to visit the great state of West Virginia to talk about transportation issues. CHAO: Thank you. Look forward to it. CAPITO: Great. You know, it's hard to be original in questioning after many folks before us, the great members of this committee, have already asked some of the most important questions that I had before me. I think you and I talked about the significance -- and the chairman mentioned this, as well, in his statement -- of attending to the needs of rural America, in terms of transportation needs. They are different than urban America. When I heard Senator Cantwell mention about all the travails of congestion it kind of went through my mind, you know a little congestion might be good for a state like West Virginia because it does indicate economic development and vibrancy, and that's what we want. The financing part of an infrastructure package that the president-elect would be talking about has been mentioned many times in terms of including private investment, private dollars. As a person who represents a -- a almost all rural state like West Virginia, I'm concerned about how are we going to be able to incent the private dollars to go to the less-populated, less-economically developed areas of our country because the investments are just as important. And I wonder if you had any thoughts on that. CHAO: Rural America needs to be more connected in all sorts of different ways. And so as we look at the national infrastructure proposal, I think one of the great challenges are the pay-fors, and how are we going to pay for all these great ideas, which are so necessary to keep our country -

Universal Newsreel

5533 DNC NATIONAL CONVENTION MILWAUKEE WI POOL PGM SWITCHED 08182020 220000 2020 Good evening all on night two of this unprecedented and virtual Democratic National Convention! Iâ?Tll be trying my best to live up to the stellar work from Adam Kelsey and others in the unit last night, sending out updates on tonightâ?Ts speakers and remarks with timecodes in this chain. As recently confirmed in the note from Alisa Wiersema below, Colin Powell has been added to tonightâ?Ts speaker lineup. Among others, heâ?Tll join former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Former Secretary of State John Kerry, and Dr. Jill Biden. More on the lineup from the earlier note below, and the embargoed remarks from each speaker have also gone out again to the DL from David Reiter around 7:32pm. (*again, please note that the speeches are embargoed until delivered*). See you back here soon. Ashley Brown ABC News Segment Producer, This Week O: 202-222-6114 C: 202-400-1458 Ashley.Brown@abc.com From: Wiersema, Alisa <Alisa.Wiersema@abc.com> Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2020 7:30 PM To: #ABCTV News DC Political Unit Main <ABCTVDLNewsPoliticalUnitMain@disney.com> Cc: Klein, Rick <Rick.Klein@abc.com>; Parks, MaryAlice L. <MaryAlice.L.Parks@abc.com>; Karson, Kendall J. <Kendall.J.Karson@abc.com>; Scanlan, Quinn X. <Quinn.X.Scanlan@abc.com>; Cunningham, Meg E. <Meg.E.Cunningham@abc.com> Subject: Now reportable -- Colin Powell to speak at DNC tonight Now reportable -- Colin Powell to speak at the DNC tonight. GAVELING IN Night two began with a Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett wielding the gavel in the eveningâ?Ts call to order, praising party leadership for holding the convention virtually. Barrett drew, as he has multiple times since Bidenâ?Ts announcement that he would not appear in person, a distinction between how Democrats have addressed public health concerns compared to President Trump: (20:49:53) And as much as we would have loved to host you in person, I am proud that the Democratic Party and the city Milwaukee have made the health of our residents our number one priority. Unlike the president, we've never called COVID-19, a hoax. Unlike the president. we've never made fun of face masks. And unlike the president. We've never belittled, our public health experts. We understand why we can't be together this week, and I hope you do too. A DIVERSE KEYNOTE Following brief reports from several DNC committee co-chairs, the second night began in earnest with a pre-recorded keynote address video titled â?oWe Step Up to Lead.â?? Billed as a â?obellwether for the future of our party and our nationâ?? by the DNC. The stated theme of the address was â?oLeadership Matters,â?? but the subtext was ostensibly â?orepresentation mattersâ?? -- with appearances from a diverse, young group of lawmakers and political figures, including Tennessee State Senator Raumesh Akbari, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, Georgia State Rep. Sam Park, Nevada State Sen. Yvanna Cancela, Pennsylvania State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, and Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin. (More on the myriad communities they represent - Black, LGBTQ, Native American, Latinx, Asian, college students - here) The most well-known speaker in the keynote video was former Georgia Secretary of State, 2018 gubernatorial candidate and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams -- who, along with the other speakers, touted Biden as the candidate to help steer the country out of the compounded crises of a pandemic, economic downturn, and reckoning with racism: (211215) ...Our choice is clear. A steady experienced public servant who can lead us out of this crisis just like he's done before or a man who only knows how to deny and distract. A leader who cares about our families or a president who only cares about himself. We know Joe Biden. America, we need Joe Biden. (211244) In a democracy, we do not elect saviors, we cast our ballots for those who see our struggles and pledge to serve. Who hear our dreams and work to make them real. Who defend our way of life by protecting our right to vote. Faced with a president of cowardice, Joe Biden is a man of proven courage. He will restore our moral compass by confronting our challenges, not by hiding from them or undermining our elections to keep his job. Singer and actor Tracee Ellis Ross is tossing to and from tonightâ?Ts addresses. Following the keynote, she highlighted Sen. Kamala Harrisâ?T historic position as a Black and Indian woman at the top of the ticket, invoking the name of other Black politicians before her: (211502) Hello, Kamala. Her nomination is historic, for anyone who believes in â?owe the people.â?? Like senator Harris and many we saw in the keynote, today's leaders emerge from communities that have long been underrepresented. They're charting new paths in the spirit of Shirley Chisolm, Charlotta Bass, Fanny Lou Hamer, and John Lewis. They get in good trouble. Necessary trouble. They call things out, otherwise ignored, elevating our nation, and changing the course of our lives for the better. Ross introduced former Acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates -- who left in the early days of the Trump Administration after refusing to enforce his ban on travelers from majority-Muslim countries. Yates called the ban â?othe start of his relentless attacks on our democratic institutionsâ?"and countless dedicated public servants.â?? Yates went on to rebuke Trumpâ?Ts friendly relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin, contrasting it with his adversarial relationship with the U.S. intelligence community: (211847) Heâ?Ts trampled the rule of law, trying to weaponize our Justice Department to attack his enemies and protect his friends. Rather than standing up to Vladimir Putin, he fawns over a dictator whoâ?Ts still trying to interfere in our elections. (211856) Heâ?Ts even trying to sabotage our postal service to keep people from being able to vote. His constant attacksâ?"on the FBI, the free press, inspectors general, military officers, and federal judgesâ?"they all have one purpose: to remove any check on his abuse of power. Put simply, he treats our country like itâ?Ts his family businessâ?"this time bankrupting our nationâ?Ts moral authority at home and abroad. CHUCK SCHUMER Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, with a blurry image of the Statue of Liberty in the distance, evoked the statueâ?Ts famous New Colossus poem as well as the quote from President Trump that former first lady Michelle Obama blasted last night on the pandemic response: â?oIt is what it is.â?? Schumer also highlighted the importance of Democrats flipping the Senate this fall, pledging unity among the chamberâ?Ts more progressive and moderate figures: (212211) Millions are jobless. 170,000 Americans have died from covid. And Donald Trump says it is what it is. Presidents should never say it is what it is. President Lincoln, honoring the great sacrifice at Gettysburg didn't say it is what it is. President Roosevelt seeing a third of the nation ill housed, ill clad and ill nourished didn't say it is what it is. America, Donald Trump has quit on you. We need a president with the dignity, integrity, and the experience to lead us out of this crisis. (212300) If we're going to win this battle for the soul of our nation, Joe can't do it alone. Democrats must take back the senate. We will stay united from Sanders and Warren, to Manchin and Warner and with our unity we will bring bold and dramatic change to our country. FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER (AND THE KENNEDYS) Remarks from Caroline Kennedy and her son Jack Schlossberg came after Schumer (212513), followed by off-camera remarks from former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter (212712 - all covered by photos). In both videos, the Kennedys and the Carters never mentioned Trump by name -- instead, testifying to their personal relationships with Biden. Jimmy Carterâ?Ts remarks on Bidenâ?Ts character (with, perhaps, contrasts to Trumpâ?Ts character and COVID-19 response implied): JIMMY CARTER: (212840) Joe has the experience, character, and decency to bring us together and restore Americaâ?Ts greatness. We deserve a person with integrity and judgment, someone who is honest and fair, someone who is committed to what is best for the American people. Joe is that kind of leader, and he is the right person for this moment in our nationâ?Ts history. He understands that honesty and dignity are essential traits that determine not only our vision but our actions. More than ever, thatâ?Ts what we need. During these uncertain times, Joe Biden realizes that many American lives can be saved each day with the use of masks and testing, as recommended by our medical experts. BILL CLINTON Remarks taking direct aim at Trump returned with former President Bill Clintonâ?Ts remarks, who, notably, was given several minutes to speak (compared to longer remarks in conventions past). BILL CLINTON: (213056) At a time like this, the oval office should be a command center. Instead, it's a storm center. There's only chaos. Just -- one thing never changes -- his determination to deny responsibility and shift the blame. (213111) The buck never stops there. Now, you have to decide whether to renew his contract or hire someone else. If you want a president who defines the job as spending hours a day watching TV and zapping people on social media, he's your man. Denying, distracting and demeaning works great if you're trying to entertain or inflame, but in a real crisis, it collapses like a house of cards. (213358) And this job interview, the difference is stark. You know what Donald Trump will do with four more years, blame, bully and belittle. And you know what Joe Biden will do, build back better. It's Trump's â?ous versus themâ?? America against Joe Biden's America. Where we all live and work together. It's a clear choice. The future of our country is riding on it. AOC. BOB KING, AND CONFUSION OVER NOMINATIONS FOR SANDERS Tracee Ellis Ross offered condolences and support for Iowa residents rocked by severe weather before introducing DNC Chair Tom Perez, who spoke from Milwaukee. In a clear appeal to the progressive wing of the party, Perez touted the Progressive Movementâ?Ts â?odeep roots) in Milwaukee (213602). This is where some things apparently got confusing enough for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to later clarify her support for Biden -- Perez and Rep. Bennie Thompson teed up the nominating and seconding speeches from Reps. Bob King and Ocasio-Cortez for Sen. Bernie Sanders for the purposes of the roll call. In the one minute each of the representatives were allotted, they did just that: BOB KING: (213921) I'm excited to place into nomination the name of a great champion of the working class, Senator Bernie Sanders. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: (214003) A movement striving to recognize and repair the wounds of racial injustice, colonization, misogyny and homophobia. And to propose and build reimagined systems of immigration and foreign policy that turn away from the violence and xenophobia of our past. A movement that realizes the unsustainable brutality of an economy that rewards explosive inequalities of wealth for the few, at the expense of long term stability for the many. (214038) And who organized a historic grassroots campaign to reclaim our democracy. In a time when millions of people in the United States are looking for deep systemic solutions to our crisis of mass evictions, unemployment, and lack of health care, and espíritu del pueblo, and out of a love for all people, I hear by second the nomination of Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont for president of the United States of America. Ocasio-Cortez subsequently tweeted: â?oConvention rules require roll call & nominations for every candidate that passes the delegate threshold. I was asked to 2nd the nom for Sen. Sanders for roll call. I extend my deepest congratulations to @JoeBiden - letâ?Ts go win in November.â?? ROLL CALL WITH FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDERS & BIDENâ?TS BRIEF THANK-YOU The nominating and seconding speeches for Joe Biden were given by Delaware lawmakers, Sen. Chris Coons (214238) and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (214344) -- followed by the socially-distanced roll call, in a unique sequence visiting all 57 U.S. states and territories to officially nominate Biden as the partyâ?Ts nominee for president (see Karson/Scanlan 10:19pm DL note for details). The roll call included some of Bidenâ?Ts former primary opponents and leaders who have risen to prominence as protests for racial equality have swept the nation this summer: Rep. Terri Sewell began by invoking the legacy of the late Rep. John Lewis in announcing Alabamaâ?Ts delegates for Sanders and Biden (214530). DC Mayor Muriel Bowser made an appeal for DC statehood (215029). Former South Bend Mayor and presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg spoke of Bidenâ?Ts economic recovery goals, particularly for Indianaâ?Ts agricultural sector (215409). Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar spoke of healing the nationâ?Ts divides, and shared her roll call duties briefly with Melvin Carter -- mayor of St. Paul, which dealt with some of the more-immediate protests and unrest after George Floyd was killed in May. (215851) 5533 DNC NATIONAL CONVENTION MILWAUKEE WI POOL PGM SWITCHED 08182020 20000 2020 P2 After the roll call wrapped, Joe Biden appeared with his family, flanked by balloons and bookshelves. He seemed to have a brief delay, staring silently for awkward beat, before placing his hand over his heart and expressing his gratitude for all of the delegates: JOE BIDEN: (221942) Well, thank you very, very much, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you all. It means the world to me and my family, and Iâ?Tll see you on Thursday. Thank you, thank you, thank you. As noted by Kendall and Quinn, Biden officially accepts the nomination Thursday. ADY BARKAN Clips featuring various voices, including Joe Biden himself, promoted health care priorities for about 12 minutes after the roll call and subsequent applause for Bidenâ?Ts nomination wrapped up. One address came from activist Ady Barkan, lawyer and progressive activist, who talked about the ALS diagnosis thatâ?Ts left him paralyzed and blasted Trump and the GOPâ?Ts efforts to gut the Affordable Care Act. In moving remarks, Barkan implored supporters to get out the vote, and alluded to his staunch support for Medicare For All -- and wanting to put legislation on Bidenâ?Ts desk to that end: ADY BARKAN: (223139) We live in the richest country in history and yet we do not guarantee this most basic human right. Everyone living in America should get the healthcare they need regardless of their employment status or ability to pay. Even during this terrible crisis, Donald Trump and Republican politicians are trying to take away millions of peoples health insurance. With the existential threat of another four years of this president, we all have a profound obligation to act. (223206) Not only to vote, but to make sure that our friends, family and neighbors vote as well. We must elect Joe Biden. Each of us must be a hero for the communities, for our country. And then with a compassionate and intelligent president we must act together and put on his desk a bill that guarantees us all the healthcare we deserve. DNC NATIONAL CONVENTION MILWAUKEE WI POOL PGM SWITCHED 08182020 2020 The DNCC sent an update on roll call participants since they left out North Dakota (highlighted below) The convention is typically known for pomp and circumstance but the purpose of the gathering is nominating the partyâ?Ts candidate and getting official business done, such as announcing the vote on the party's platform, which will happen on Tuesday night. Joe Biden will formally be nominated as the party's presidential nominee during the 30-minute roll call, a usually long-winded process that can take hours. For other official business of the night, delegates voted on the 2020 ballot, including the platform, via email prior to the convention from Aug. 3-15. Highlights from the party's platform, which includes a single nod to Medicare for All, and no mention of the Green New Deal or "defund the police" - can be found here (h/t Beatrice, Johnny, Molly, Averi, Cheyenne and Adam for their help). The full 92-page document can be found here. Here's a rundown of what to expect: What is happening on Tuesday night in terms of party business? The party's virtual festivities will kick off on Tuesday with the convention chair gaveling in, followed by party officials announcing the results of votes on reports from each of the three standing committees to the convention -- credentials, rules, and platform. (OFF THE RECORD: This will take place just before 9pm ET, beginning at 845pm ET) This will include the vote on the platform, which is expected to be approved despite some dissent from allies of Sen. Bernie Sanders. Upwards of 360 delegates, most of whom back Sanders, pledged to vote against the platform, according to Politico, but there is a total of 4,747 delegates (pledged + supers) at this year's convention. There will be presidential candidate nominating and seconding speeches (for Sanders and Biden) and then the roll call, which is set across all 57 states and territories and will be a mix of live and pre-taped components, will then take place to formally nominate Biden over the course of 30 minutes. What is the roll call? The roll call is a process by which every state, one at a time, is called on alphabetically to announce how many delegates will be delivered to each candidate based on the state's primary results. But the process can take a long time since each state or jurisdiction comes forward when they are called on by the secretary, and a selected delegate or official from each will speak before announcing how the delegate vote should be allocated. This year, the roll call will include delegates, parents, teachers, small business owners, essential workers, activists and elected leaders inside businesses, living rooms and in front of iconic landmarks (see below for full list of roll call participants). Once the presumptive nominee reaches the magic number of delegates - *2,374* - the candidate will win the nomination. But the candidate only becomes the nominee when they accept the nomination during a speech on the last night of the celebration. Biden currently has 2,721 pledged delegates, according to an ABC News analysis, while the next closest Democrat, Sanders, has 1,118. What is the 2020 platform? The 2020 Democratic Party platform is a 92-page document that outlines the party's priorities and vision on an array of issues from the economy to health care and foreign policy and beyond. The platform is largely a symbolic document and is in no way binding. The details of the 2020 platform were finalized over Zoom meetings a few weeks before the convention, and heavily reflects the recommendations from the Unity Task Forces that comprised of allies of both Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. The purpose of the joint task forces was to bridge some of their policy priorities, but for the most part, the platform is closely aligned with Biden's campaign planks. Some Sanders allies have criticized the platform for not going far enough on some of their policy priorities (mainly health care) and the vision they had for the party's next four years. Two notable dissenters of the platform is California Rep. Ro Khanna, who served as a national co-chair of Sanders's presidential campaign, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, both who noted they are voting against the platform over the issue of health care. The platform includes one mention to Medicare for All, but does not embrace the progressive health care agenda. When do delegates vote on the platform? Voting on the platform was completely transformed this cycle, with the entire process taking plate remotely, and delegates given a nearly two-week window to vote on the official business *prior* to the convention between Aug. 3 and Aug. 15. All the votes were tallied on Aug. 15, rather than on a rolling basis. The platform was only open to amendments before delegates voted on the ballot and there were no minority reports submitted (a procedural tool that with enough support could force a debate on a policy or rule change on the convention floor). The votes on the platform, and the reports from the other two standing committees, will be announced on Tuesday night. What are the details of the platform? PETERSON/VERHOVEK/NAGLE/HARPER/KELSEY/HASLETT/KARSON Here are some topline highlights for each of the sections of the platform, and the team put together a more in-depth, but easy and digestible overview of the entire platform, which can be found here: PROTECTING AMERICANS AND RECOVERING FROM THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: The partyâ?Ts platform excoriates and lambasts the Trump administrationâ?Ts handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, attempting to draw a sharp contrast by highlighting their plans to ensure Americans receive adequate health care access throughout the pandemic...The party calls for substantially increasing funding to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), vastly expanding COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, and surging personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline workers and those vulnerable populations who need it most. BUILDING A STRONGER, FAIRER ECONOMY: Much of the economic portion of the Democratic partyâ?Ts economic platform mirrors portions of Bidenâ?Ts â?oBuild Back Betterâ?? economic plan... Along with a $15 an hour minimum wage, Democrats call for 12 weeks of paid Medical and family leave, and will also seek to address inequalities in the workplace by increasing funding to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. ACHIEVING UNIVERSAL, AFFORDABLE, QUALITY HEALTH CARE: The Democratic platform "believe[s] health care is a right for all" and advocates for "universal health care" through the public option plan outlined within Biden's presidential platform...To the chagrin of progressives and supporters of Sanders, the platform makes only a single reference to Medicare for All...simply saying that its supporters are welcome to join in the push for reform PROTECTING COMMUNITIES AND BUILDING TRUST BY REFORMING OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: Criminal Justice reform for the democrats in 2020 calls for a â?ooverhaul the criminal justice system from top to bottom.â?? In the platform it goes into detail about changes Democrats see for Criminal justice and sentencing reform, reforming and training the police changes to sentencing and more....Although they talk about police in great detail, they stop short of calling for â?oDefunding the Policeâ?? as some far left progressives would like but does put emphasis on investing in community projects. HEALING THE SOUL OF AMERICA: Democrats within this passage declare that they believe that Black Lives Matter. COMBATING THE CLIMATE CRISIS AND PURSUING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: The partyâ?Ts platform, which does not mention the Green New Deal, describes climate change as a â?oglobal emergency" ... The platform also embraces investments in clean energy infrastructure, with a goal of making all new buildings carbon-neutral by 2030, transitioning the nationâ?Ts transportation grid rapidly towards clean energy, echoing Bidenâ?Ts call for 500,000 electric charging stations on Americaâ?Ts roadways, 500,000 new solar panels and 60,000 wind turbines... RESTORING AND STRENGTHENING OUR DEMOCRACY: Central to the â?oRestoring and Strengthening our Democracyâ?? section is voting access, with Democrats pledging to pass a strengthening Voting Rights Act, make election day a federal holiday, support bills to ensure that disabled Americans have the ability to vote, and providing funded needed to allow for mail-in voting along with safe, in-person voting. CREATING A 21ST CENTURY IMMIGRATION SYSTEM: Democrats pledge to reverse Trumpâ?Ts actions on immigration and streamline the path to citizenship for those already in the country. They specifically call for a pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers, Dreamers, and workers who are essential to pandemic response and recovery efforts. They pledge expanded protections for Dreamersâ?T parents...The Party does not mention decriminalizing border crossings, a progressive policy that gained popularity during the primary that Harris issued support for, while Biden did not...The Democrats do not call for ICE to be abolished, PROVIDING A WORLD-CLASS EDUCATION IN EVERY ZIP CODE: The platform commits to making public colleges and universities tuition-free for students who come from families who make less than $125,000 per year, it would also make community colleges and trade schools tuition free for all students including DACA recipients...On student loan debt, the platform calls for up to $10,000 in student debt relief for every borrower. RENEWING AMERICAN LEADERSHIP: Democrats commit to rejoining and reforming the WHO, the United Nations Human Rights Council, and the United Nations Population Fund. The party also pledges to restore the White House National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense to prepare for public health crises in the future, and reverse Trump's transgender ban, discriminatory exclusions in military health care, and policies that stigmatize and discriminate against people living with HIV and AIDS...The party also makes clear that they "will never use active duty soldiers as political props, and we will never send military forces to suppress Americans exercising their constitutional rights" & more on China, Russia, Israel & Iran What about the rules? The convention is also an opportunity to make updates or changes to the party rules. Here is a link to the procedural rules of the 2020 Democratic National Convention. The rules committee approved a resolution in late July that directs the national party to keep in place the major party reforms enacted after the 2016 nominating process through 2024, as well as examine additional reforms in 2021. The reforms from after the 2016 contest include limiting the power of superdelegates and encouraging states to embrace primaries over caucuses, and making the caucuses more accessible (i.e. having an absentee voting requirement). "The [Rules and Bylaws Committee] shall conduct a comprehensive and structured review of the presidential nominating reforms adopted by the DNC for the 2020 primaries to evaluate where even further reforms are needed, while maintaining the advances that have been made. This review should include considerations of the successes of each of the reforms adopted in 2018 in achieving the DNCâ?Ts goals, empowering rank and file Democrats, and strengthening and unifying the Democratic Party in the lead up to the general election," the resolution reads. "In conducting this review, the RBC should take steps to ensure public and stakeholder engagement in the process, including at least one public hearing and an opportunity to submit comments. This review and accounting should be completed by March 31, 2021." There was broad agreement on the resolution in committee, before it headed for a vote among all of the convention's delegates. Who is participating in the roll call? Among some of the participants in the roll call is Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father and activist; Jaime Harrison, the Democrat competing against Sen. Lindsey Graham in South Carolina; State Sen. Nikema Williams, who was picked by the Georgia Democratic Party to succeed Rep. John Lewis on November ballot; Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the former 2020 contender; Fred Guttenberg, the gun safety activist from Parkland; state Rep. My-Linh Thai, a former refugee in Washington state; and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin. ALABAMA Rep. Terri Sewell will invoke the memory of Rep. John Lewis to advocate for restoring the Voting Rights Act. ALASKA Veteran, fisherman, and party activist Chuck Degnan will discuss the impact of climate change on tribal waters. AMERICAN SAMOA Party leaders Aliitama Sotoa and Patti Matila will celebrate American Samoaâ?Ts legacy of military serviceâ?"and Joe Bidenâ?Ts work to improve the territoryâ?Ts infrastructure. ARIZONA Middle school social studies teacher Marisol Garcia will discuss remote learning from the perspective of teachers, parents, and activists. ARKANSAS Chef Gilbert Alaquinez will describe his work delivering meals prepared at the Clinton Presidential Center to local families via food trucks. CALIFORNIA Sec. Hilda Solis and Rep. Barbara Lee will highlight the importance of Joe Bidenâ?Ts clean energy plan for communities of color. COLORADO Immigrant and party activist Howard Chou and his family will discuss the challenges facing working parents during the pandemic. CONNECTICUT Veteran firefighter Peter Carozza will explain why he and his fellow first responders trust in Joe Bidenâ?Ts courage and commitment to working Americans. DELAWARE Gov. John Carney and Sen. Tom Carper will share a local perspective on Delawareâ?Ts favorite son. DEMOCRATS ABROAD Organizer Julia Bryan will offer a call to action for Americans living abroad to get involved in this election. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Mayor Muriel Bowser will issue a call for DC statehood. FLORIDA Gun safety activist Fred Guttenberg will describe Joe Bidenâ?Ts compassion in the wake of his daughterâ?Ts murder in Parkland and commitment to defeating the NRA. GEORGIA State Sen. Nikema Williams, candidate for John Lewisâ?Ts seat in Congress, will urge viewers to overcome voter suppression. GUAM Party chair Sarah Thomas-Nededog will celebrate the 70th anniversary of Guam citizens becoming American citizens. HAWAII Civil rights activist Dr. Amy Agbayani will offer a special personal message to American immigrants. IDAHO Mayor Lauren McLean will share her cityâ?Ts bold response to climate change. ILLINOIS Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun will discuss the Biden plan for racial justice in housing. INDIANA Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg will describe his cityâ?Ts revitalization and the Biden plan to do the same nationwide. IOWA Secretary Tom Vilsack will take a moment to share best wishes for Iowans suffering after last weekâ?Ts storm. KANSAS Fourth-generation family farmer Mark Pringle will share his concern about the future of rural America and his confidence in the Biden plan for revitalizing rural communities. KENTUCKY Education advocate Colmon Elridge will share a personal story about Joe Bidenâ?Ts commitment to improving American health care. LOUISIANA Rep. Cedric Richmond and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell will visit a thriving independent art studio to highlight the importance of small businesses to cities. MAINE State Rep. Craig Hickman, the first openly gay African American to serve in the Maine House of Representatives, will take us inside his American dream. MARYLAND City Council President Brandon Scott and college student Bianca Shah will describe the Biden plan for racial justice in the economy. MASSACHUSETTS State Rep. Claire Cronin will highlight the Biden plan to help our economy recover from the pandemic. MICHIGAN Sen. Gary Peters and UAW auto worker Ray Curry will discuss how Joe Biden saved the Michigan auto industry and his plan to create a million new auto jobs. MINNESOTA Sen. Amy Klobuchar will discuss Joe Bidenâ?Ts ability to bring people together before throwing it across the Mississippi River to St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter. MISSISSIPPI College president Dr. Carmen Walters will discuss the history of the HBCU she leads and the Biden plan to invest in these important institutions. MISSOURI Bricklayer Reuben Gill will praise the contributions of his fellow working men and women and the Biden plan to invest in infrastructure. MONTANA Recent college graduate Rachel Prevost will describe her senior year of remote learning and highlights the importance of rural broadband. NEBRASKA Meatpacking plant employee Geraldine Waller will share a personal perspective on the dangers facing essential workers during the pandemic. NEVADA Backed by an array of working Nevadans, Rep. Dina Titus will describe the Biden plan for putting workers first in our economy. NEW HAMPSHIRE Gov. John Lynch will offer his personal endorsement of Joe Bidenâ?Ts leadership skills. NEW JERSEY Gov. Phil Murphy will mark the impact of the pandemic on his state and explains why Joe Biden is the right leader to help us recover. NEW MEXICO Tribal member and state Rep. Derrick Lente will celebrate his stateâ?Ts diversity and commitment to preserving natural and cultural resources. NEW YORK Registered nurse and a member of 1199SEIU Scheena Iyande Tannis will offer a raw personal perspective on the dangers facing health care workers. NORTH CAROLINA Longtime Democratic activist Cozzie Watkins will offer a call to action for Black women. NORTH DAKOTA Tribal citizen and advocate Cesar Alvarez will discuss his unique path to college and Joe Biden's plan to open up educational opportunity. Good evening all on night two of this unprecedented and virtual Democratic National Convention! Iâ?Tll be trying my best to live up to the stellar work from Adam Kelsey and others in the unit last night, sending out updates on tonightâ?Ts speakers and remarks with timecodes in this chain. As recently confirmed in the note from Alisa Wiersema below, Colin Powell has been added to tonightâ?Ts speaker lineup. Among others, heâ?Tll join former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Former Secretary of State John Kerry, and Dr. Jill Biden. More on the lineup from the earlier note below, and the embargoed remarks from each speaker have also gone out again to the DL from David Reiter around 7:32pm. (*again, please note that the speeches are embargoed until delivered*). See you back here soon. Singer and actor Tracee Ellis Ross is tossing to and from tonightâ?Ts addresses. Following the keynote, she highlighted Sen. Kamala Harrisâ?T historic position as a Black and Indian woman at the top of the ticket, invoking the name of other Black politicians before her: (211502) Hello, Kamala. Her nomination is historic, for anyone who believes in â?owe the people.â?? Like senator Harris and many we saw in the keynote, today's leaders emerge from communities that have long been underrepresented. They're charting new paths in the spirit of Shirley Chisolm, Charlotta Bass, Fanny Lou Hamer, and John Lewis. They get in good trouble. Necessary trouble. They call things out, otherwise ignored, elevating our nation, and changing the course of our lives for the better. Ross introduced former Acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates -- who left in the early days of the Trump Administration after refusing to enforce his ban on travelers from majority-Muslim countries. Yates called the ban â?othe start of his relentless attacks on our democratic institutionsâ?"and countless dedicated public servants.â?? Yates went on to rebuke Trumpâ?Ts friendly relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin, contrasting it with his adversarial relationship with the U.S. intelligence community: (211847) Heâ?Ts trampled the rule of law, trying to weaponize our Justice Department to attack his enemies and protect his friends. Rather than standing up to Vladimir Putin, he fawns over a dictator whoâ?Ts still trying to interfere in our elections. (211856) Heâ?Ts even trying to sabotage our postal service to keep people from being able to vote. His constant attacksâ?"on the FBI, the free press, inspectors general, military officers, and federal judgesâ?"they all have one purpose: to remove any check on his abuse of power. Put simply, he treats our country like itâ?Ts his family businessâ?"this time bankrupting our nationâ?Ts moral authority at home and abroad. GAVELING IN Night two began with a Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett wielding the gavel in the eveningâ?Ts call to order, praising party leadership for holding the convention virtually. Barrett drew, as he has multiple times since Bidenâ?Ts announcement that he would not appear in person, a distinction between how Democrats have addressed public health concerns compared to President Trump: (20:49:53) And as much as we would have loved to host you in person, I am proud that the Democratic Party and the city Milwaukee have made the health of our residents our number one priority. Unlike the president, we've never called COVID-19, a hoax. Unlike the president. we've never made fun of face masks. And unlike the president. We've never belittled, our public health experts. We understand why we can't be together this week, and I hope you do too. A DIVERSE KEYNOTE Following brief reports from several DNC committee co-chairs, the second night began in earnest with a pre-recorded keynote address video titled â?oWe Step Up to Lead.â?? Billed as a â?obellwether for the future of our party and our nationâ?? by the DNC. The stated theme of the address was â?oLeadership Matters,â?? but the subtext was ostensibly â?orepresentation mattersâ?? -- with appearances from a diverse, young group of lawmakers and political figures, including Tennessee State Senator Raumesh Akbari, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, Georgia State Rep. Sam Park, Nevada State Sen. Yvanna Cancela, Pennsylvania State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, and Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin. (More on the myriad communities they represent - Black, LGBTQ, Native American, Latinx, Asian, college students - here) The most well-known speaker in the keynote video was former Georgia Secretary of State, 2018 gubernatorial candidate and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams -- who, along with the other speakers, touted Biden as the candidate to help steer the country out of the compounded crises of a pandemic, economic downturn, and reckoning with racism: (211215) ...Our choice is clear. A steady experienced public servant who can lead us out of this crisis just like he's done before or a man who only knows how to deny and distract. A leader who cares about our families or a president who only cares about himself. We know Joe Biden. America, we need Joe Biden. (211244) In a democracy, we do not elect saviors, we cast our ballots for those who see our struggles and pledge to serve. Who hear our dreams and work to make them real. Who defend our way of life by protecting our right to vote. Faced with a president of cowardice, Joe Biden is a man of proven courage. He will restore our moral compass by confronting our challenges, not by hiding from them or undermining our elections to keep his job. CHUCK SCHUMER Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, with a blurry image of the Statue of Liberty in the distance, evoked the statueâ?Ts famous New Colossus poem as well as the quote from President Trump that former first lady Michelle Obama blasted last night on the pandemic response: â?oIt is what it is.â?? Schumer also highlighted the importance of Democrats flipping the Senate this fall, pledging unity among the chamberâ?Ts more progressive and moderate figures: (212211) Millions are jobless. 170,000 Americans have died from covid. And Donald Trump says it is what it is. Presidents should never say it is what it is. President Lincoln, honoring the great sacrifice at Gettysburg didn't say it is what it is. President Roosevelt seeing a third of the nation ill housed, ill clad and ill nourished didn't say it is what it is. America, Donald Trump has quit on you. We need a president with the dignity, integrity, and the experience to lead us out of this crisis. (212300) If we're going to win this battle for the soul of our nation, Joe can't do it alone. Democrats must take back the senate. We will stay united from Sanders and Warren, to Manchin and Warner and with our unity we will bring bold and dramatic change to our country. FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER (AND THE KENNEDYS) Remarks from Caroline Kennedy and her son Jack Schlossberg came after Schumer (212513), followed by off-camera remarks from former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter (212712 - all covered by photos). In both videos, the Kennedys and the Carters never mentioned Trump by name -- instead, testifying to their personal relationships with Biden. Jimmy Carterâ?Ts remarks on Bidenâ?Ts character (with, perhaps, contrasts to Trumpâ?Ts character and COVID-19 response implied): JIMMY CARTER: (212840) Joe has the experience, character, and decency to bring us together and restore Americaâ?Ts greatness. We deserve a person with integrity and judgment, someone who is honest and fair, someone who is committed to what is best for the American people. Joe is that kind of leader, and he is the right person for this moment in our nationâ?Ts history. He understands that honesty and dignity are essential traits that determine not only our vision but our actions. More than ever, thatâ?Ts what we need. During these uncertain times, Joe Biden realizes that many American lives can be saved each day with the use of masks and testing, as recommended by our medical experts. BILL CLINTON Remarks taking direct aim at Trump returned with former President Bill Clintonâ?Ts remarks, who, notably, was given several minutes to speak (compared to longer remarks in conventions past). BILL CLINTON: (213056) At a time like this, the oval office should be a command center. Instead, it's a storm center. There's only chaos. Just -- one thing never changes -- his determination to deny responsibility and shift the blame. (213111) The buck never stops there. Now, you have to decide whether to renew his contract or hire someone else. If you want a president who defines the job as spending hours a day watching TV and zapping people on social media, he's your man. Denying, distracting and demeaning works great if you're trying to entertain or inflame, but in a real crisis, it collapses like a house of cards. (213358) And this job interview, the difference is stark. You know what Donald Trump will do with four more years, blame, bully and belittle. And you know what Joe Biden will do, build back better. It's Trump's â?ous versus themâ?? America against Joe Biden's America. Where we all live and work together. It's a clear choice. The future of our country is riding on it. AOC. BOB KING, AND CONFUSION OVER NOMINATIONS FOR SANDERS Tracee Ellis Ross offered condolences and support for Iowa residents rocked by severe weather before introducing DNC Chair Tom Perez, who spoke from Milwaukee. In a clear appeal to the progressive wing of the party, Perez touted the Progressive Movementâ?Ts â?odeep roots) in Milwaukee (213602). This is where some things apparently got confusing enough for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to later clarify her support for Biden -- Perez and Rep. Bennie Thompson teed up the nominating and seconding speeches from Reps. Bob King and Ocasio-Cortez for Sen. Bernie Sanders for the purposes of the roll call. In the one minute each of the representatives were allotted, they did just that: BOB KING: (213921) I'm excited to place into nomination the name of a great champion of the working class, Senator Bernie Sanders. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: (214003) A movement striving to recognize and repair the wounds of racial injustice, colonization, misogyny and homophobia. And to propose and build reimagined systems of immigration and foreign policy that turn away from the violence and xenophobia of our past. A movement that realizes the unsustainable brutality of an economy that rewards explosive inequalities of wealth for the few, at the expense of long term stability for the many. (214038) And who organized a historic grassroots campaign to reclaim our democracy. In a time when millions of people in the United States are looking for deep systemic solutions to our crisis of mass evictions, unemployment, and lack of health care, and espíritu del pueblo, and out of a love for all people, I hear by second the nomination of Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont for president of the United States of America. Ocasio-Cortez subsequently tweeted: â?oConvention rules require roll call & nominations for every candidate that passes the delegate threshold. I was asked to 2nd the nom for Sen. Sanders for roll call. I extend my deepest congratulations to @JoeBiden - letâ?Ts go win in November.â?? ROLL CALL WITH FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDERS & BIDENâ?TS BRIEF THANK-YOU The nominating and seconding speeches for Joe Biden were given by Delaware lawmakers, Sen. Chris Coons (214238) and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (214344) -- followed by the socially-distanced roll call, in a unique sequence visiting all 57 U.S. states and territories to officially nominate Biden as the partyâ?Ts nominee for president (see Karson/Scanlan 10:19pm DL note for details). The roll call included some of Bidenâ?Ts former primary opponents and leaders who have risen to prominence as protests for racial equality have swept the nation this summer: Rep. Terri Sewell began by invoking the legacy of the late Rep. John Lewis in announcing Alabamaâ?Ts delegates for Sanders and Biden (214530). DC Mayor Muriel Bowser made an appeal for DC statehood (215029). Former South Bend Mayor and presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg spoke of Bidenâ?Ts economic recovery goals, particularly for Indianaâ?Ts agricultural sector (215409). Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar spoke of healing the nationâ?Ts divides, and shared her roll call duties briefly with Melvin Carter -- mayor of St. Paul, which dealt with some of the more-immediate protests and unrest after George Floyd was killed in May. (215851) 5533 DNC NATIONAL CONVENTION MILWAUKEE WI POOL PGM SWITCHED 08182020 20000 2020 P2 After the roll call wrapped, Joe Biden appeared with his family, flanked by balloons and bookshelves. He seemed to have a brief delay, staring silently for awkward beat, before placing his hand over his heart and expressing his gratitude for all of the delegates: JOE BIDEN: (221942) Well, thank you very, very much, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you all. It means the world to me and my family, and Iâ?Tll see you on Thursday. Thank you, thank you, thank you. As noted by Kendall and Quinn, Biden officially accepts the nomination Thursday. ADY BARKAN Clips featuring various voices, including Joe Biden himself, promoted health care priorities for about 12 minutes after the roll call and subsequent applause for Bidenâ?Ts nomination wrapped up. One address came from activist Ady Barkan, lawyer and progressive activist, who talked about the ALS diagnosis thatâ?Ts left him paralyzed and blasted Trump and the GOPâ?Ts efforts to gut the Affordable Care Act. In moving remarks, Barkan implored supporters to get out the vote, and alluded to his staunch support for Medicare For All -- and wanting to put legislation on Bidenâ?Ts desk to that end: ADY BARKAN: (223139) We live in the richest country in history and yet we do not guarantee this most basic human right. Everyone living in America should get the healthcare they need regardless of their employment status or ability to pay. Even during this terrible crisis, Donald Trump and Republican politicians are trying to take away millions of peoples health insurance. With the existential threat of another four years of this president, we all have a profound obligation to act. (223206) Not only to vote, but to make sure that our friends, family and neighbors vote as well. We must elect Joe Biden. Each of us must be a hero for the communities, for our country. And then with a compassionate and intelligent president we must act together and put on his desk a bill that guarantees us all the healthcare we deserve. JOHN KERRY & COLIN POWELL Pitches for Bidenâ?Ts foreign policy platform were flanked by a bipartisan paring of former Secretaries of State John Kerry and Colin Powell -- the latterâ?Ts appearance, officially announced and confirmed earlier this evening. Kerry did not give Trump any credit for a stronger economy at the beginning of his term and ridiculed Trumpâ?Ts appearances on the world stage as a â?oblooper reelâ??: JOHN KERRY: (222304) Donald Trump inherited a growing economy and a more peaceful world. Like everything else he inherited he bankrupted it. When this president goes overseas, it isnâ?Tt a good will mission, it's a blooper reel. He breaks up with our allies and writes love letters to dictators. America deserves a president who is looked up to not laughed at. (223547) This is the bottom line: our interests, our ideals and our brave men and women in uniform can't afford four more years of Donald Trump. Our troops can't get out of harm's way by hiding in the white house bunker. They need a president who will stand up for them. And president Biden will. Colin Powellâ?Ts remarks (224054) focused more on his immigrant heritage and his shared values with Biden -- taking no direct shots at Trump until the end of his remarks, casting the president as someone doing â?oeverything in his powerâ?? to divide the nation: COLIN POWELL: (224126) The values I learned growing up in the South Bronx and serving in uniform were the same values that Joe Bidenâ?Ts parents instilled in him in Scranton, Pennsylvania. I support Joe Biden for the presidency of the United States because those values still define him, and we need to restore those values to the White House. Our country needs a commander in chief who takes care of troops in the same way he would his own family. (224151) For Joe Biden, that doesn't need teaching. It comes from experience that he shares with millions of military families -- sending his beloved son off to war, and praying to god he would come home safe. (224258) Today, we are a country divided. And we have a president doing everything in his power to make it that way, and keep us that way. What a difference it will make to have a president who unites us, who restores our strength and our soul. I still believe that in our hearts we are the same America that brought my parents to our shores. An America that inspires freedom around the world. That's the America Joe Biden will lead as our next president. Jill Biden ended the night with a positive message from Brandywine High School in Wilmington, making the case for her husband-- not mentioning the president by name (instead issuing a call for leadership)-- but highlighting what Democrats see as his failures as families across America struggle with job losses, health care crises and an economic downturn amid the coronavirus pandemic. JILL BIDEN: (225935) We're coming together and holding onto each other. We're finding mercy and grace in the moments we might have once taken for granted. We're seeing that our differences are precious, and our similarities infinite. We have shown that the heart of this nation still beats with kindness and courage. That's the soul of America Joe Biden is fighting for now. She told America the story of her relationship with Biden and their family, the loss of their son Beau to cancer and how Biden returned to work to continue fighting for American families. JILL BIDEN: (230010) After our son Beau died of cancer, I wondered if I would ever smile or feel joy again. It was summer, but there was no warmth left for me. Four days after Beau's funeral, I watched Joe shave and put on his suit. I saw him steel himself in the mirror, take a breath, put his shoulders back, and walk out into a world empty of our son. He went back to work. (230046) That's just who he is. There are times when I couldn't even imagine how he did it. How he put one foot in front of the other and kept going. But I've always understood why he did it -- for the daughter who convinces her mom to finally get a breast cancer screening and misses work to drive her to the clinic. For the community college student who has faced homelessness and survived abuse but finds the grit to finish her degree and make a good life for her kids. Her only venture toward the president was in the midst of a call to leadership â?oworthy of our nation.â?? JILL BIDEN: (230238) Across this country, educators, parents, first responders, Americans of all walks of life are putting their shoulders back, fighting for each other. We haven't given up. We just need leadership worthy of our nation -- worthy of you. Honest leadership to bring us back together, to recover from this pandemic and prepare for whatever else is next. 230309 Leadership to reimagine what our nation will be, that's Joe. He and Kamala will work as hard as you do everyday to make this nation better. And if I have the honor of serving as your First Lady, I will, too. And with Joe as President, these classrooms will ring out with laughter and possibility once again. 230340 The burdens we carry are heavy, and we need someone with strong shoulders. I know that if we entrust this nation to Joe, he will do for your family what he did for ours -- bring us together and make us whole, carry us forward in our time of need, keep the promise of America for all of us. ***DO NOT EDIT OR MODIFY THIS DOC IN ANY WAY. ONLY LOGGERS ARE PERMITTED. TUESDAY AUGUST 18TH 2020 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION FULL LOG 5533 DNC NATIONAL CONVENTION MILWAUKEE WI POOL PGM SWITCHED 08182020 20000 2020 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE VIDEO 210022 >>> I pledge allegiance. >> To the flag. >> Of the United States of America. >> And to the republic for which it stands. >> One nation. >> One nation. >> One nation. >> Under god. >> Indivisible. >> With liberty and justice for all. âTªâTª KEYNOTES REMEMBERED 210047 DANIEL INOUYE (ON VIDEO)>> My fellow Americans, this is my country. Many of us have fought hard for the right to say that. Many are now struggling today from Harlem to Danang, so that they may say this with conviction: this is our country. 210115 BARBARA JORDAN (ON VIDEO)>> We are a people in a quandary about the present. We are a people in search of our future. MARIO CUOMO (ON VIDEO >> We must make the American people hear our tale of two cities. We must convince them we don't have to settle for two cities. That we can have one city, indivisible, shining for all of its people. 210144 ANN RICHARDS (ON VIDEO) >> If you give us a chance, we can perform. After all ginger Rogers did everything that Fred astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels. BARACK OBAMA (ON VIDEO)>> There is not a liberal America and a conservative America. There is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white america and Latino America, and asian-american. There's the United States of America. 210223 JULIAN CASTRO (ON VIDEO)>> The American dream is not a sprint or even a marathon but a re relay. Our families don't always cross the finish line in the span of one generation, but each generation passes on to the next the fruits of their labor. BARACK OBAMA (ON VIDEO) >> We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes. All of us defending the United States of America. 210253 >> Welcome. >> Welcome. >> Welcome. >> the second night -- >> of the Democratic National Convention. >> This is a different kind of convention. >> Look at the camera and smile. >> And this -- >> This is a different kind of keynote. >> -- is a different kind of keynote. >> This year -- >> All of us are on the stage. >> And weâ?Tve got a lot to say. JONATHAN NEZ (ON VIDEO)>> Let's get real. There's a lot riding on this election. 210313 ROBERT GARCIA (ON VIDEO)>> When we're facing the biggest economic and health crisis in generations. Because our president didn't and still doesn't have a plan. MALCOLM KENYATTA (ON VIDEO)>> When doctors, nurses and home health care aides in Philadelphia have to risk their own lives to protect others because there's not enough protective equipment. 210329 KATHLEEN CLYDE (ON VIDEO)>> When factory workers in Ohio are faced with dangerous conditions because this administration hasn't given clear guidance on how to protect our people. SAM PARK>> When teachers in gwinnett county Georgia and across the country are being asked to return to the classroom without a plan to keep them safe and parents are exhausted juggling full time work and full time child care. JONATHAN NEZ (ON VIDEO)>> And visiting our parents and grand parents through the window of a nursing home, worrying all the time that they'll get sick. 210400 MARLON KIMPSON (ON VIDEO)>> When unemployment in north Charleston, South Carolina, a city I represent, has risen nearly four fold and evictions are putting families out on the street in the middle of a pandemic. 210414 NIKKI FRIED (ON VIDEO0>> Make no mistake, it didn't have to be this bad. In the early days of the virus, Donald Trump didn't listen to the experts, and then he said something that a president should never say. VICTORIA NEAVE (ON VIDEO) >> He said, I don't take responsibility at all. CONOR LAMB (ON VIDEO)>> No responsibility. >> No leadership. >> No plan. >> He still doesn't have a plan. YVANNA CANCELA (ON VIDEO)>> Donald Trump just doesn't understand, we can't fix our economy until we get ahold of the virus. CONOR LAMB (ON VIDEO)>> While working families are struggling, he's looking out for the people who are already doing just fine. The wealthy, the big corporations, the donors to his campaign. [9:05:07 PM] JONATHAN NEZ (ON VIDEO)>> He's looking out for himself. RANDALL WOODFIN (ON VIDEO)>> But there's one person who's looking out for us. >> All of us. MALCOLM KENYATTA (ON VIDEO)>> And that's Joe Biden. NIKKI FRIED (ON VIDEO)>> Joe called it. We are in a battle for the soul of our nation. 210502 MARI MANOOGIAN (ON VIDEO)>> But Joe knows we can never let hard times turn us against each other. CONOR LAMB (ON VIDEO)>> And we can never stop doing the hard work to make things right. >> That's why we ran for office. Even when people counted us out. YVANNA CANCELA (ON VIDEO)>> Even when there had never been a Latina in the Nevada state senate. NIKKI FRIED (ON VIDEO)>> Or Democrat elected as Florida commission of agriculture in nearly 3 decades. SAM PARK (ON VIDEO)>> Or an openly gay man in the Georgia state legislature. RANDALL WOODFIN (ON VIDEO)>> When Birmingham hadn't had a mayor this young in 120 years. 210534 DENNY RUPRECHT (ON VIDEO)>> We ran for office because we know the struggles American families are facing, because we've lived them. MALCOLM KENYARRA (ON VIDEO)>> We've lived the insecurity and the indignity of an eviction notice. ROBERT GARCIA (ON VIDEO)>> I, like many of you, have lived the frustration of paying off student loans. RANDALL WOODFIN (ON VIDEO)>> We have lived the grief of losing loved ones to gun violence and the criminal justice system that unfairly targets our communities. SAM PARK (ON VIDEO)>> We have lived that feeling of helplessness when someone you love is very sick, and access to health care is a matter of life and death. 210609 COLIN ALLRED (ON VIDEO)>> By the way, Joe Biden has lived a lot of this too. >> He was raised in a middle class family in Scranton, Pennsylvania and Claymont, Delaware. >> He watched his dad look for work and learned that a job is about so much more than a paycheck. It's about dignity and respect. 210628 >> He was sworn into office from the hospital room of his two young sons after a car crash killed his wife and infant daughter. NIKKI FRIED (ON VIDEO)>> He knows what it's like to thank god you have health care. BRENDAN BOYLE>> He knows what it's like to work hard for everything you've got. CONOR LAMB (ON VIDEO)>> He knows what it's like to send a child off to war. VICTORIA NEAVE (ON VIDEO)>> And he'll never forget who he's fighting for. 210653 COLIN ALLRED (ON VIDEO)>> I look around my district in north Texas, and I see the people who built this country: the educators, like the single mom who raised me. The men and women on the front lines of our health care system. You built this country. MARI MANOOGIA (ON VIDEO)>> Small business owners like the ones whose shops and restaurants line the streets of Birmingham, Michigan. MARLON KIMPSON (ON VIDEO)>> Of Charleston, south Carolina. JONATHAN NEZ (ON VIDEO)>> Of tribal nations. MALCOLM KENYATTA (ON VIDEO)>> Line the streets of Philadelphia. And bring our communities to life. You built this country. 210721 RAUMESH AKBARI (ON VIDEO)>> The nurses in Memphis, who came out of retirement to treat patients during this pandemic. You built this country. ROBERT GARCIA (ON VIDEO)>> And you know what? You deserve more than the constant chaos that Donald Trump delivers. BRENDAN BOYLE (ON VIDEO)>> You deserve health care you can afford. A job that pays you fairly. You deserve child care and paid sick leave while you work. And when you pay into social security and medicare, you deserve to know it will be there when you retire. [MULTIPLE PARTICIPANTS]>> Thatâ?Ts why we ran. JONATHAN NEZ (ON VIDEO)>> And thanks to the voters across the country in both red states and blue states. [MULTIPLE PARTICIPANTS]>> We won. 210756 MALCOLM KENYATTA (ON VIDEO)>> A new generation of leaders is rising up. CONOR LAMB (ON VIDEO)>> And with Joe Biden in the white house, there's no limit to what we can do. YVANNA CANCELA (ON VIDEO)>> In Nevada, we're making drug prices more transparent, so people with chronic illnesses won't go broke while drug companies get rich. 210815 COLIN ALLRED (ON VIDEO)>> Joe's working to protect and expand the affordable care act. He'll make sure millions of people keep their coverage and no one can be denied for a pre-existing condition. He'll bring down the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs too. Giving tax credits to working families and allowing medicare to negotiate drug prices. >> That's a big fâ?Ting deal. >> That's a big fâ?Ting deal. KATHLEEN CLYDE (ON VIDEO)>> Because Joe knows we can't have a healthy economy if people can't afford health care. BRENDAN BOYLE (ON VIDEO)>> But let's remember, Donald Trump is suing to take health care coverage away from more than 20 million Americans and eliminate protections for 100 million with pre-existing conditions. >> In the middle of a pandemic. 210857 VICTORIA NEAVE (ON VIDEO)>> In Texas, we're standing up for fierce women like my mom and my tias who raised me never backed down from a tough fight. So we're fighting to make sure that mothers have access to health screenings for safe pregnancies and childbirth. And we're bringing long overdue justice to survivors of sexual assault. 210919 RAUMESH AKBARI (ON VIDEO)>> Joe Biden has been fighting for women his entire career. As senator, he authored the Violence Against Women act. And as president, he'll restore funding for Planned Parenthood. He will codify Roe v. Wade, and make reducing maternal mortality, especially for women of color, a top priority. NIKKI FRIED (ON VIDEO)>> In Florida, on the frontlines of our climate crirs, we're working to produce more renewable energy and shrink our carbon footprint. 210946 JONATHAN NEX (ON VIDEO)>> Joe has a major plan to invest in clean energy, jobs and infrastructure. BRENDAN BOYLE (ON VIDEO)>> In the house of representatives, we're closing loopholes to ensure local infrastructure projects use American made materials and local labor, and support American manufacturing. YVANNA CANCELA (ON VIDEO)>> Unlike Donald Trump, Joe Biden will actually enforce buy-American rules, investing in American made clean energy, building materials, high-tech equipment and R&D, all creating more good jobs. 211016 MARI MANOOGIAN (ON VIDEO)>> In Michigan, we're banning business practices that have exploited workers and cost them hundreds of millions of dollars in lost wages. MARLON KIMPSOn(ON VIDEO)>> When employment is the highest rate since the Great Depression, when millions of people have seen their hours and pay slashed, Joe knows it's not enough to rebuild the economy the way it was before. We've got to build it back better. 211041 BRENDAN BOYLE (ON VIDEO)>> He'll build an economy that rewards work, not wealth. And get rid of the trump tax cuts that only benefit big corporations and the rich. And then he'll invest in health care, education, and infrastructure. And in getting small businesses up and running again. CONOR LAMB (ON VIDEO)>> Take it from me, when you're in the trenches, you want Joe Biden right there next to you. MALCOLM KENYATTA (ON VIDEO)>> When I wanted to marry the man i loved, Joe Biden was the first national figure to support me and my family. DR. MATTHEW MILLER (ON VIDEO)>> Appreciate you, man. MARI MANOOGIAN (ON VIDEO)>> When the auto industry was going under, Joe stuck his neck out to protect it, and help save 1.5 million auto jobs. 211119 CONOR LAMB (ON VIDEO)>> When our economy was on the brink Joe led the recovery effort that created millions of jobs, including here in western Pennsylvania. Under his leadership, America bounced back with the longest economic expansion in history. NIKKI FRIED (ON VIDEO)>> You know, the one trump brags about creating. COLIN ALLRED (ON VIDEO)>> That's what happens when Joe Biden is in your corner. Working families get a fair shot. MARI MANOOGIAN (ON VIDEO)>> He understands that leadership means fighting for the people who built this country. All of you. >> All of us. 211147 STACEY ABRAM (ON VIDEO)>> This nation belongs to all of us. And in every election, we choose how we will create a more perfect union -- not by taking sides, but by taking stock of where we are and what we need. This year's choice could not be more clear. America faces a triple threat: a public health catastrophe, an economic collapse, and a reckoning with racial justice and inequality. 211215 So our choice is clear. A steady experienced public servant who can lead us out of this crisis just like he's done before or a man who only knows how to deny and distract. A leader who cares about our families or a president who only cares about himself. We know Joe Biden. America, we need Joe Biden. To make your voice heard, text VOTE to 30330. 211244 In a democracy, we do not elect saviors, we cast our ballots for those who see our struggles and pledge to serve. Who hear our dreams and work to make them real. Who defend our way of life by protecting our right to vote. Faced with a president of cowardice, Joe Biden is a man of proven courage. He will restore our moral compass by confronting our challenges, not by hiding from them or undermining our elections to keep his job. 211316 In a time of voter suppression at home and authoritarians abroad, Joe Biden will be a champion for free and fair elections. For a public health system that keeps us safe. For an economy that we build back better than before. And for accountability and integrity in our system of justice. We stand with Joe Biden. Because this isn't just about defeating Donald Trump. We are in this to win for America. So let's get it done. TRACEE ELLIS ROSS 211354 ROSS>> Hello. I'm Tracee Ellis Ross, and how exciting to hear from young elected leaders from across the country. A perfect way to begin night two of the democratic national convention, uniting America. Tonight is all about leadership. This unprecedented moment calls for leadership. Steady, inclusive leadership, driven by people who understand that our democracy is based on the value of each and every one of us being treated with dignity and respect. 211431 Leaders who respond to the needs of hardworking Americans who right this minute are unable to pay rent, put food on the table and keep their loved ones safe. As a black woman, I find myself at a crucial intersection in American politics. For far too long black female leadership in this country has been utilized without being acknowledged or valued. But we are turning the tide. 211502 Hello, Kamala. Her nomination is historic, for anyone who believes in â?owe the people.â?? Like senator Harris and many we saw in the keynote, today's leaders emerge from communities that have long been underrepresented. They're charting new paths in the spirit of Shirley Chisolm, Charlotta Bass, Fanny Lou Hamer, and John Lewis. They get in good trouble. Necessary trouble. They call things out, otherwise ignored, elevating our nation, and changing the course of our lives for the better. 211540 With every vote we cast for forward thinking, honest leaders, we chip away at ingrained systems of inequity, and we bend the arc of justice. True leaders make sure that policy is informed by all of us -- bridging our burdened past to a safe, equitable and even joyful future. 211606 Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are that bridge. Heeding voices from within the movement for racial justice, listening to the people to the people and acting with empathy and compassion to reflect our shared humanity. Tonight we'll hear from a number of American leaders, including former acting U.S. Attorney general Sally Yates who refused to defend an unconstitutional travel ban and paid for it with her job. 211637 JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> The threat to this nation, to our democracy is real. Itâ?Ts clear and itâ?Ts present. You've watched the president now for three years. Look at what he's doing, instilling fear. I mean, not joking. Instilling fear. Sowing division, stroking racial vision. Undercutting every institution that was designed to check the abuse of power by the president or anyone else. All this for what reason? All this in order to solidify his base and expand his power. SALLY YATES 211718 YATES>> Good evening. I'm Sally Yates. Speaking at a political convention is something I never expected to be doing, but the future of our democracy is at stake. I'm here, in my hometown of Atlanta, where as a young lawyer, I joined our nation's justice department. For nearly 30 years, through Democratic and Republican administrations, I worked alongside my DOJ colleagues to advance our nation's promise of equal justice. 211747 I served as deputy attorney general in the Obama-Biden administration, and stayed on as acting attorney general for the Trump transition.Then, ten days in, I was fired for refusing to defend President Trump's shameful and unlawful Muslim travel ban. That was the start of his relentless attacks on our democratic institutions and countless dedicated public servants. 211815 Like me, these officials didn't swear an oath to a person or a party. Public servants promise to defend our constitution, uphold our laws and work on behalf of the American people. But from the moment President Trump took office, he's used his position to benefit himself, rather than our country. He's trampled the rule of law, trying to weaponize our justice department to attack his enemies and protect his friends. 211847 Rather than standing up to Vladimir Putin, he fawns over a dictator who is still trying to interfere in our elections. 211856 He's even trying to sabotage our postal service, to keep people from being able to vote. His constant attacks on the FBI, the free press, Inspectors general, federal judges, they all have one purpose: to remove any check on his abuse of power. Put simply, he treats our country like it's his family business. This time, bankrupting our nation's moral authority at home and abroad. 211930 But our country doesn't belong to him, it belongs to all of us. Joe Biden embraces that. He has spent his entire life putting our country first. He has never backed down from a challenge or a bully. He summons the best in us. And lives by the values that define us as Americans. 211955 Service, integrity, courage, compassion. There are countless stories of Joe Biden reaching out to someone in their moment of need. Well, this is our country's moment of need. We need a president who respects our laws and the privilege of public service. Who reflects our values and cares about our people. We need a president who will restore the soul of America. We need Joe Biden. WE THE PEOPLE MONTAGE 212035 >> Over the last four years, we have experienced failed leadership under Donald J. Trump. >> We've had to deal with this insanity. >> I've watched our country deteriorate. >> The coverups, the lying, the favoritism. >> The disregard for the Constitution. >> Donald Trump has failed America. >> Itâ?Ts time for us to reclaim our constitutional and democratic value. >> We need to prove to the world, and most importantly, prove to ourselves that we are better than this. 212103 >> We need an experienced leader. >> A leader that has passion, integrity, and strategic leadership skills. >> And his name is Joe Biden. >> Joe Biden. >> Joe Biden is that leader >> And he really wants the best for this country. >> He understands and respects our democracy. The rule of law. And the U.S. Constitution. >> He will move toward creating a more perfect union. âTª Rise up âTª SENATOR CHUCK SCHUMER 212134 SCHUMER>> Hi. Hi, this is Senator Chuck Schumer, Democratic Leader from my hometown -- Brooklyn, New York. Behind me is a sight I see out of my window every night, the Statue of Liberty, the same sight that greeted hopeful immigrants like my grandparents. A symbol of freedom and a beacon of hope to the world. 212157 Today, Donald Trump has divided our country, diminished our greatness and demeaned everything that this statue represents. He even hid in a bunker as Americans were tear gassed and beaten. 212211 Millions are jobless. 170,000 Americans have died from covid. And Donald Trump says it is what it is. Presidents should never say it is what it is. President Lincoln, honoring the great sacrifice at Gettysburg didn't say it is what it is. President Roosevelt seeing a third of the nation ill housed, ill clad and ill nourished didn't say it is what it is. America, Donald Trump has quit on you. We need a president with the dignity, integrity, and the experience to lead us out of this crisis. 212246 A man with a steady hand and a big heart who will never ever quit on America. That man is my friend, Joe Biden. He will be a great president. But if we're going to win this battle for the soul of our nation, Joe can't do it alone. Democrats must take back the senate. We will stay united from Sanders and Warren, to Manchin and Warner and with our unity we will bring bold and dramatic change to our country. 212317 Let me tell you some of the things we do. With president Biden, Vice President Harris and a democratic majority, we will make health care affordable for all. We'll undue the vicious inequality of income and wealth that has plagued America for far too long and weâ?Tll take strong decisive action to combat climate change and save the planet. We will protect voting rights, fight systemic racism in the criminal justice system and in our economy, and restore a supreme court that looks out for people not corporations. 212353 We'll rebuild our infrastructure and make sure every home, from inner city to rural America, has broadband. We will save the post office and, once and for all, defeat Covid-19, this evil disease. And beckoned by the Lady behind us, we will reform our immigration system so that immigrants, yearning to breathe free, will at last become American citizens. 212421 Together, we can reignite the hope once felt by millions of men and women, huddled masses on creeking ships who glimpsed this mighty women -- woman with her torch, knowing they could build a better life here in America. And out of this long national nightmare, America will finally awaken to a brighter future and a new day. 212447 ROSS>> Senator Chuck Schumer reminding us that leadership requires integrity and accountability. Real leaders don't ask what we can do for them. They ask what they can do for us. In a minute, we will hear from two former presidents and they're going to speak to that. But first here are Caroline Kennedy and her son, jack Schlossberg. CAROLINE KENNEDY/JACK SCHLOSSBERG KENNEDY>> 60 years ago, in a crowded LA stadium, my father accepted the democratic nomination for president. He challenged Americans to look to the future and join him on a journey toward a new frontier. 212527 SCHLOSSBERG>> It was a call to the young at heart, regardless of age or party. Times have changed. But the themes of my grandfather's speech -- courage, unity and patriotism-- are as important today as they were in 1960. And once again, we need a leader who believes America's best days are yet to come. We need Joe Biden. KENNEDY>> I've admired Joe Biden since I was a senate intern in 1974. He shared my uncle Teddy's commitment to civil rights, women's rights and working families. 212557 He was a senator who cared, who led, who inspired. That's why I helped choose him to be Barack Obama's running mate in 2008. When I was US Ambassador to Japan, I got to see Vice President Biden in action. He stepped off Air Force 2, wearing his aviator glasses and a big smile, radiating American optimism and generosity. 212619 I saw a leader who was tough but fair, who commanded the trust and respect of other nations. And who always put America's interests first. Joe Biden's lifetime of public service reflects his unwavering commitment to our highest ideals. 212636 SCHLOSSBERG>> In this election, our future is on the ballot. For my generation, it will define the rest of our lives. We need to tackle climate change. We need to end systemic racial injustice. We need to make health care available for everybody, and we need to rebuild an economy that helps working families. We can do this. We can reach these new frontiers but only with a president who asks what he can do for our country and what together we can do to build a better world. It's up to us. Let's get it done. SCHLOSSBERG AND KENNEDY>> Let's elect Joe Biden the next president of the United States. 212712 ROSALYNN CARTER>> It's a great pleasure for Jimmy and me to join you in celebrating our next president of the United States. Joe Biden. We've known and admired Joe and Jill for many years. And most recently Iâ?Tve worked with them on tackling the demand faced by the more than 53 million unpaid caregivers in our country who are juggling work and other family responsibilities. And putting their own physical and mental health and well being at risk. 212743 Joe knows well, too well, the sorrows and struggles of being a family caregiver. From Joeâ?Ts time as a young widower, thrust into single parenthood, with a demanding job to he and Jill caring for their own parents and their son Beau at the end of their lives. He knows caregiving is hard, even on the good days. 212806 Joe and I also know the challenges for those who served in the military, and returned with visible and invisible wounds and we know those caregivers need a leader in the white house. Jimmy and I are voting for Joe, because he recognizes the challenges facing our families and has the heart and the talent to make life better for all Americans. 212834 JIMMY CARTER>> I ran for president in 1976, Joe Biden was my first and most effective supporter in the senate. For decades he's been my loyal and dedicated friend. Joe has the experience, character and decency to bring us together and restore Americaâ?Ts greatness. You deserve a person with integrity and judgment. Someone who's 100% fair, someone who's committed to what is best for the American people. Joe is that kind of leader and he's the right person for this moment in our nation's history. 212905 He understands that -- understanding dignity, our citizenâ?Ts (?) rights determines not only our vision but actions. More than ever, that's what we need. In these uncertain times, Joe Biden realizes that many American lives can be saved each day with the use of masks and testing as recommended by medical experts. Joe Biden must be our next president. BILL CLINTON 212933 CLINTON>> Good evening. A presidential election is the most important job interview. At the end, we hire a leader to help us solve problems, create opportunities, and give our kids better tomorrows. That's a tall order this year. With the Covid-19 outbreak on the path of killing 200,000 people and destroying millions of jobs and small businesses, how did Donald Trump respond? At first, he said the virus was under control and would soon disappear. 213002 When it didn't, he was on TV every day bragging on what a great job he was doing, when our scientists waited to give us vital information. When he didn't like the expert advice he was given, he ignored it. Only when Covid exploded in even more states did he encourage people to wear masks. By then, many more were dying. When asked about the surge in deaths, he shrugged and said, â?oit is what it is.â?? But did it have to be this way? No. 213032 Covid hit us much harder than it had to. We have just 4% of the world's population, but 25% of the world's Covid cases. Our unemployment rate is more than twice as high as South Koreas, 2-and-a-half times the United Kingdomâ?Ts, more than three times Japan's. Donald Trump says we're leading the world. Well, we are the only major industrial economy to have its unemployment rate triple. 213056 At a time like this, the oval office should be a command center. Instead, it's a storm center. There's only chaos. Just (?) one thing never changes -- his determination to deny responsibility and shift the blame. 213111 The buck never stops there. Now, you have to decide whether to renew his contract or hire someone else. If you want a president who defines the job as spending hours a day watching TV and zapping people on social media, he's your man. Denying, distracting and demeaning works great if you're trying to entertain or inflame, but in a real crisis, it collapses like a house of cards. 213138 Covid just doesn't respond to any of that. To beat it, youâ?Tve got to actually go to work and deal with the facts. Our party is united in offering you a very different choice, a go to work president. A down to Earth, get the job done guy. A man with a mission to take responsibility, not shift the blame. Concentre, not distract, unite not divide. Our choice is Joe Biden. 213204 Joe helped bring us back from a recession before, and he can do it again. In 2009, Barack Obama and Joe Biden started with the worst economy since the great depression. And when they were done, they delivered more than six straight years of job growth. What did Joe do? He accepted responsibility for implementing the recovery act. His work created a lot of new jobs and started many new companies in communities across our country. 213232 Now Joe's committed to building America back again. How? He's given us smart detailed plans to invest in areas vital to our future. Innovative financing from modern factories and small businesses. Good jobs and green energy and conservation to combat climate change. A modern infrastructure that brings small towns and rural American the connectivity and investment others take for granted. 213257 And a plan to ensure that black Americans, Latino Americans, Native Americans, women, immigrants and other communities left behind are full participants in our economy and our society. Joe Biden wants to build an economy far better suited to our changing world. Better for young people. Better for families working and raising their kids. Better for people who lost jobs and need new ones. Better for farmers tired of being collateral damage in trade wars. 213327 Better for workers caring for the sick, elderly and people with disabilities. Better because of a living wage, and access to affordable higher education and health care, including prescription drugs. And to child care, a secure retirement and for the first time paid family and medical leave. Joe won't just put his signature on a check, and try to fool you into thinking it came from him. He'll work to make sure that your paycheck reflects your contribution to and your stake in a growing economy. 213358 And this job interview, the difference is stark. You know what Donald Trump will do with four more years, blame, bully and belittle. And you know what Joe Biden will do, build back better. It's trump's us versus them America against Joe Biden's America. Where we all live and work together. It's a clear choice. The future of our country is riding on it. Thank you. 213427 ELLIS ROSS>> It's time to call the roll and officially nominate the democratic candidate for president of the United States. But this year, for the first time, the roll call is heading out to all 57 states and territories. Places that showcase our nation's natural beauty. Places where people are working together to secure a better future for our country and places that are working to rebuild and recover. Like Iowa, where thousands have been left homeless and hundreds of thousands have been left without power in the wake of last week's terrible storm. 213504 Our hearts are with you, Iowa. There's so much going on right now. Tonight we come together to nominate a candidate who will fight for all of us. The convention delegates will do the official nominating, but you can join them in supporting Joe Biden. Text join to 30330 to get involved. And now, the chair of the democratic national committee, Tom Perez. TOM PEREZ 213535 PEREZ>> It's great to be here in Milwaukee, a proud uniontown whose grit and character reflect the resilience of our party and our country. There's no doubt these last few months have been tough, but good leadership means being able to adapt to any situation, and I want to thank the people of Milwaukee for being such gracious and flexible hosts. It's also great to be back in Wisconsin where I was lucky enough to marry my wife, Ann Marie, a little more than three decades ago. 213602 The Progressive movement has deep roots here. And since today is the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment's ratification, we should point out that Wisconsin was the first state to ratify it. What's more, in its one word motto, â?oforward,â?? Wisconsin captures something so important about America. The way that, no matter what challenges today brings, we always believe a better future is possible. 213631 That's what my parents believed when they immigrated to this country nearly a century ago. fleeing the iron fist of a brutal dictator in the Dominican Republic. This nation welcomed them with compassion. And they quickly learned that their hope of building a better life through hard work was shared by generations of Americans. Indeed, every American story is a story about that hope, that sense of possibility. It's what unites us, defines us. 213702 And it's what sustains us now. We will work to meet our extraordinary challenges because progress is made by the hopeful, not the cynical. And we will do that work together because movements are built by the many, not the few. And as you watch tonight's decidedly unconventional roll call and reflect on the diversity of our nation, remember you too are part of the American story. And no matter where you come from or where you're watching from tonight, you have a place in Joe Biden's democratic party. BENNIE THOMPSON 213741 THOMPSON>> Delegates and distinguished guests, under our procedural rules, two democratic candidates submitted nominating documents to our convention secretary for the office of president of the United States. Senator Bernie sanders and vice president Joe Biden. 213757 As such, each candidate has provided names of individuals who will make nominating and seconding speeches on their behalf. We will begin with nominating and seconding speeches for senator Sanders. Speaking on his behalf will be two Progressive champions, Bob king and representative Alexandria ocasio-cortez. BOB KING 213823 KING>> I'm Bob king. As a proud union member and former president of a great American union, the uaw, I'm honored to nominate Bernie Sanders for president. For decades, Bernie has led the fight for working families, fighting for worker's rights to organize unions and collectively bargain. In a time of enormous inequality, he understands that we must confront large corporations which have far too much control over our economy and our politics. 213851 Bernie believes health care is a human right, and should not be contingent on a job. He knows we can rebuild our crumbling infrastructure by creating millions of good paying union jobs, while combating climate change. Bernie's moral clarity has emboldened the Democratic party's fight for justice. The grassroots energy of his supporters has cemented advances in our platform. Bernie will continue to lead a movement that helps defeat Trump and delivers transformational change. 213921 I'm excited to place into nomination the name of a great champion of the working class, Senator Bernie Sanders. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ 213933 AOC>> Good evening, bienvenidos, and thank you to everyone here today endeavoring toward a better, more just future for our country and our world. Infidelity and gratitude to a mass people's movement working to establish 21st century social, economic and human rights, including guaranteed health care, higher education, living wages and labor rights for all people in the united States. 214003 A movement striving to recognize and repair the wounds of racial injustice, colonization, misogyny and homophobia. And to propose and build reimagined systems of immigration and foreign policy that turn away from the violence and xenophobia of our past. A movement that realizes the unsustainable brutality of an economy that rewards explosive inequalities of wealth for the few, at the expense of long term stability for the many. 214038 And who organized a historic grassroots campaign to reclaim our democracy. In a time when millions of people in the United States are looking for deep systemic solutions to our crisis of mass evictions, unemployment, and lack of health care [SPEAKS SPANISH] and out of a love for all people, I hear by second the nomination of Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont for president of the United States of America. BENNIE THOMPSON 214112 THOMPSON>> Thank you, Mr. King and representative ocasio-cortez. We now turn to nominating and seconding speeches for vice president Biden. In a moment, we'll hear from senator Chris Coons who holds the Delaware senate seat once held by the vice president and representative Lisa blunt Rochester, my colleague in the house. But first, we'll hear from Jacqueline Asbit, a working American who met Joe Biden in a most unexpected place: the elevator where she worked. JACQUELINE ASBIT 214149 ASBIT>> I take powerful people up on my elevator all the time. When they get off, they go to their important meetings. Me, I just head back to the lobby. But in the short time I spent with Joe Biden, I could tell he really saw me. That he actually cared. That my life meant something to him. And I knew even when he went into his important meeting, he would take my story in there with him. 214212 That's because Joe Biden has room in his heart for more than just himself. We've been through a lot, and we have tough days ahead. But nominating someone like that to be in the white house is a good place to start. That's why I nominate my friend Joe Biden as the next president of the United States. CHRIS COONS 214238 COONS>> I'm Senator Chris Coons from Delaware, a small state where people expect to see their senators and even, sometimes, their vice president at the supermarket, at a church festival -- out in their community. Joe fights for us because he knows our struggles and hopes. He knows the pain of loss and the worries of working parents, and he's always brought that same personal concern he showed for Jacqueline to getting things done as our senator, and then as president Obama's vice president. 214307 Joe's tackled gun violence and climate change, he stood up to dictators and supported our troops, he lead the recovery effort after the last recession and delivered on a promise to make our healthcare system fairer and stronger. Through it all, Joe Biden's never forgotten where he's from. He's been sustained by his faith and his family through the toughest of times, and he has the heart and the compassion for this moment. 214332 For all of these reasons and more, it's my honor to second the nomination of my good friend Joe Biden to be the next president of these United States. REP. LISA BLUNT ROCHESTER 214344 BLUNT ROCHESTER>> I'm congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester. In some history class in the future, children are learning about this moment. They're learning about pain, our grief, our worry. But they're also learning about a man named Joe Biden, about how he restored decency to our government and integrity to our democracy. They're learning about how we conquered a pandemic, stood united for racial justice and built our economy back better than before. 214415 They're learning about how his leadership gave their generation a fighting chance. They're learning about us too. About the resolve and the unity we showed against the forces of hatred and division. About the work we will do over the next 11 weeks. And about the night when despite our distance we came together to nominate Joe Biden for president of the United States. A nomination I'm honored to second. 214445 THOMPSON>> Thank you, all. Pursuant to our convention rules, we'll now proceed to a roll call by states on the selection of our party's candidate for the president of the United States. Secretary Ray? 214506 >> Mr. Chairman, coming to you live from the Wisconsin center, it's time to begin our virtual trip around America. Our journey begins at the site of a major step forward in our national journey toward justice. Let's go to Alabama. REP. TERRI SEWELL 214530 SEWELL>> John Lewis marched across this bridge in 1965 to demand the right to vote. A lifetime later, civil rights and voting rights remain America's great unfinished business. But those who walked this path before us showed us the way forward. If we want to honor John Lewis's incrediblife life, let's restore the Voting Rights Act and ensure our democracy belongs to all Americans. 214600 Alabama casts 8 votes for Bernie Sanders, and the great state of Alabama casts 52 votes for our next president of these United States, Joe Biden. CHUCK DEGNAN >> Alaska. 214615 DEGNAN>>>The waters we rely on to feed our families and make a living are threatened by climate change. When Joe Biden was vice president, he and president Obama made sure Alaskaâ?Ts tribes had a say in how these waters were managed. Donald Trump took it away. We must elect a president who will respect our voices, protect our waters and address climate change. 214634 Alaska casts 7 votes for Bernie Sanders and 12 votes for the next president, Joe Biden. >> American Samoa. PETTI MATILA 214643 MATILA>> Joe Biden honors our service and we trust him to support our community. As vice president he helped expand rural infrastructure to communities like ours broadening our economic capacity. As president, he will continue to strengthen rural America from New England to the pacific. ALIITAMA SOTOA SOTOA>> On behalf of the governor and the American Samoa, the democratic party proudly cast 11 votes for our next president of the United States of America, Joe Biden. >> Arizona. MARISOL GARCIA 214719 GARCIA>> As a middle school teacher, I know that public educators are doing everything they can to make sure our students have quality learning experiences this Fall. As a mother of a high school freshman, I know that it's far from perfect. As an NEA union organizer, I'll fight to make sure that it's scientists, parents and educators that decide when it's safe to go back to school, not politicians. As an Arizona Latina, I proudly cast our votes -- 29 for Bernie Sanders and 51 for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Arkansas. 214749 >> Feeding people is an act of love, and I think we can all use a little extra love these days. So we took our food trucks out to the community to deliver meals, made right here at the Clinton Presidential Center, for our neighbors in need. Even when our leaders let us down, Americans kept looking out for each other. Arkansas casts 9 votes for Bernie Sanders and 27 votes for our next President Joe Biden. >> California. 214813 >> Climate change is not a hoax. It's real and communities of color have been bearing the brunt of this reality for generations. >> Joe Biden's plan to crack down on polluters to protect our air and water is about environmental justice and economic justice. 214828 >> He'll prioritize equity and bring new clean energy jobs to black and brown neighborhoods because that is how we build back better. >> California, home to our next vice president, Kamala Harris, casts 231 votes for Bernie Sanders and 263 votes for our next president Joe Biden. >> Colorado. 214851 >> Han and I grew up in poverty as immigrants. But we've been able to make a decent living. We're extremely lucky. But now we have three family members who tested positive for covid, and it just doesnâ?Tt feel safe to put Evan and Emma back to school. 214903 This is certainly(?) going to be hard on them and on us. But millions of working families will have it much harder. I know Joe Biden cares about these struggles and that's why I trust him to fight for us. With one abstention, Colorado will cast 36 votes for Bernie Sanders and 42 for our next president Joe Biden. >> Connecticut? 214924 >> Firefighters are proud to put our lives on the line every day to protect our neighbors. It's a badge of courage. But while we are protecting your family, we need a president who is committed to protecting ours. And that's Joe Biden. He has the courage we respect and the commitment to working Americans we need now. On behalf of our governor, Ned Lamont I am honored to cast Connecticutâ?Ts 75 votes for our next President, Joe Biden. >> Delaware. 214956 >> Delaware passes. >> Delaware passes. Democrats abroad. >> We represent the millions of Americans who live outside the United States and vote back home. Americans abroad can make a difference in the states that will decide this year's elections. We need your help to elect a president who will restore our standing around the world. Go to votefromabroad.org to learn more. Democrats abroad is proud to cast ten votes for Bernie Sanders and seven votes for our next president Joe Biden. 215029 >> District of Columbia. MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER BOWSER>> Welcome to my hometown and the best city in the world. Washington D.C. is 706,000 residents strong. We raise families, pay taxes and serve the United States military, just like every American in the 50 states. The house of representatives just passed a historic piece of legislation to make Washington D.C. the 51st state. From Black Lives Matter plaza, the District of Colombia proudly casts one vote for Bernie Sanders and 43 votes for the next president of the United States, Joe Biden. >> Florida. FRED GUTTENBERG 215106 GUTTENBERG>> When my daughter was murdered in Parkland, Joe Biden called to share in our familyâ?Ts grief. I quickly learned about his decency and his civility. But I also learned about his toughness, and how heâ?Ts beaten the NRA. Together, with the other victims of gun violence and the nation's youth, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will take on the NRA again, and win. Let's win back our freedom to live without fear. Florida casts 57 votes for Bernie Sanders and 192 votes for our next president Joe Biden. >> Georgia. 215141 >> My mentor, congressman John Lewis, knew that the right to vote is sacred. Georgians know that our ability to vote is under attack. Long lines, voter suppression. Donald trump is even trying to slow down the mail and force us to risk our lives to cast a ballot. We will not be silenced. 215159 Take out your phone and text vote to 30330 and make sure your vote is heard in this election. From the cradle of the civil rights movement, and in the spirit of good trouble, Georgia casts our 117 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Guam. 215216 >> 70 years ago this summer, Chamorros became U.S. Citizens. We are proud of our resilience, proud of our indigenous heritage, and proud to be part of this historic moment for our party and our nation. From the land where Americaâ?Ts day begins, Guam casts two votes for Bernie Sanders and 11 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Hawaii. 215241 >> I came from the Philippines to Hawaii, the land of indigenous native hawaiians. Today, I want to speak to my fellow immigrants, to the essential workers on the frontline, to the service members who wear our flag, to the parents with big dreams for their children, no matter where we came from, immigrants belong in our countryâ?Ts long fight for justice. We belong in the America we are building together. 215303 Hawaii, birthplace of president Obama, casts nine votes for Bernie Sanders and 23 votes for our next president, Biden. >> Idaho. 215314 >> We're not waiting for Washington to act on climate change. Here in Boise, we know that clean energy doesn't just mean a healthier planet, it means good paying jobs. Imagine what we could do with a president that listens to science and leads with courage. Idaho casts nine votes for Bernie Sanders, and 16 for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Illinois. 215437 >> Discrimination has denied too many black Americans the chance to own a home and build wealth. Joe Biden has a plan to end racist lending practices and help more people of color achieve the American dream of owning a home. This isn't just about racial justice. It's about strong communities and more economic security for working families. Illinois casts 59 votes for Bernie Sanders, and 122 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Indiana. PETE BUTTIGIEG 215409 BUTTIGIEG>> Here in South Bend, we once feared that our best days were behind us, but then we reimagined our economy with new jobs and even new industries. The Hoosier state is ready to lead America's recovery, with our diverse communities, our talented workers, and our best in the world agriculture. Joe Biden's plan gives us a blueprint to revitalize industrial cities in rural areas alike. Indiana casts two votes for my friend, Bernie Sanders, and 86 votes for the next president, Joe Biden. >> Iowa. 215441 >> We were going to talk to you tonight about biofuels, but the powerful storm that swept through Iowa last week has taken a terrible toll on our farmers, our small businesses and our families who are still without power. >> So while we have the honor of casting Iowa's votes, 11 for Bernie Sanders and 38 for Joe Biden, we also want to ask you to keep Iowans in your thoughts during this difficult time. >> Kansas. 215504 >> I'm a fourth generation family farmer. But I worry about the next generation. Many of our young folks end up moving from a rural community to find jobs. Joe Biden has a plan to help new farmers get a good start. And by funding schools and health care, he'll make sure that rural communities remain great places to live, work, and raise a family for generations to come. Kansas, the sunflower state, proudly casts ten votes for Bernie Sanders and 35 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Kentucky. 215547 >> One day when I was 14, my mom wouldn't wake up. Calling 911, I was scared not only because she was sick, but because I knew we couldn't afford the bill. Thank god she survived. When I told Joe Biden that story in 2008, he promised to continue to fight for folks like us and got busy passing Obamacare. Two years ago, when mom had a heart attack, we only had to worry about her getting better because Joe kept his promise. The commonwealth of Kentucky casts all 60 votes for the next president of the United States, Joe Biden. >>Louisiana. 215621 >> This used to be an abandoned building, now it's a thriving arts studio, a community hub, a place where independent artists can make their name, and parents can bring their kids during these difficult days of remote learning. >> Our cities are strong because our people make them strong, and our economy will come back because our small businesses will bring it back. >> Louisiana casts all 60 of our votes for my friend, and the next president, Joe Biden. 215649 >> Maine. >> My American dream? Iâ?Tm living it. A 25 acre organic farm on a lake, a roadside farm stand, and a bed and breakfast. My husband and I arenâ?Tt corporate tycoons, we just want to make an honest living and feed our community. Small businesses like ours are the backbone of rural economies across America. Joe Biden has a plan to help more Americans, especially people of color, start their own business. Maine casts nine votes for Bernie sander and 22 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Maryland. 215721 >> Black lives matter. And when it comes to racial justice, black opportunity matters. >> When Joe Biden rebuilds our middle class, he won't leave anyone behind. His plan, more capital for black entrepreneurs. >> More funding for public schools and HBCUs 215733 >> Banning racial discrimination in the housing market. >> And paying every worker a fair wage. >> That's building back better. >> Maryland. >> The home of Frederick Douglass. 215741 >> Casts one vote for Bernie Sanders and 119 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Massachusetts. 215748 >> We need a plan to get the economy going again. Joe Biden will get the pandemic under control, create new jobs in manufacturing and clean energy, help small businesses and our restaurants recover, and build back better so that our economy is stronger and fairer than it was before. Massachusetts casts 30 votes for Bernie Sanders and 83 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Michigan. 215718 >> Michigan autoworkers are the best in the world, but we would be nowhere without Joe Biden. And a lot of folks wanted to let Detroit go bankrupt. But Joe Biden believed in us, and together, we fought to save our auto industry. >> Now he's got a plan to create a million new auto jobs by investing in clean energy. Joe Biden believes in American workers. He's got our back, and we've got his. >> Michigan casts 53 votes for Bernie Sanders, and 92 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Minnesota. AMY KLOBUCHAR 215851 KLOBUCHAR>> I'm here in Minnesota, the home of the headwaters of the Mississippi river. We know that a bridge shouldn't fall down in the middle of America, but it did. And we came together to rebuild it. That's what we do in America. That's what Joe Biden will do as president. He'll build back better. He'll cross the river of our divides, and unite this country from our cities to our suburbs to our rural areas. And now, we will virtually cross the great Mississippi to St. Paul, to hear from my friend, Mayor Melvin Carter. 215922 CARTER>> Thank you, senator. As the 46th mayor of a city that's more than ready for our 46th president, I'm proud to cast Minnesota's 31 votes for Bernie Sanders and 60 votes for our next U.S. President, Joe Biden. >> Mississippi. 215940 >> Tupelo college reflects the progression of a people from slavery to citizenship to scholarship and leadership contributing to Mississippi and the world. Our alumni are leaders like convention chairman congressman Bennie Thompson. Joe Biden wants to invest $70 billion in HBCUs like Tupelo. 215958 Imagine what impact that could have on hbcus. Imagine what impact hbcus could have on america. Mississippi casts two votes for Bernie Sanders, and 38 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. 5533 DNC NATIONAL CONVENTION MILWAUKEE WI POOL PGM SWITCHED 08182020 20000 2020 P2 >> Missouri. 220013 >> As a member of the international union of bricklayers and allied craft workers, local one St. Louis, I love walking around the city and seeing the contributions that my brothers and sisters have made. We stand ready to rebuild our nation's infrastructure, and with Joe Biden's leadership, we'll create millions of new jobs -- building back better. Missouri casts 28 votes for Bernie Sanders, and 50 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Montana. 220041 >> When covid shut down my college, I came home to my parent's ranch to finish senior year online. But some days I can't even get a video to load or an email attachment to send. Without reliable internet, there's no remote learning, no virtual doctorâ?Ts appointments and just try starting a small business. Rural broadband can be a game change for rural communities like mine and Joe Biden has a plan to make it happen. Montana casts one vote for Bernie Sanders and 18 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Nebraska. 220109 >> I work at a meat packing plant making sure grocery store shelves stay full. They call us essential workers, but we get treated like we're ex-pendable. Workers are dying from covid, but a lot of us don't have paid sick leave or even quality protective equipment. We are human beings, not robots, not disposable. We want to help you keep helping you feed your family, but we need a president who will have our backs. Nebraska casts 33 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Nevada. 220136 >> Working people are the backbone of our economy, and the key to our recovery. Joe Biden knows it's not enough to praise them, we have to reward them. So let's raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, empower workers to negotiate for better benefits and safer workplaces, and make it easier to pay for things like health care and higher education. I am proud to cast 24 votes for Bernie Sanders, and 25 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. 220205 >> New Hampshire. >> Hello from the Granite state. We trust Joe Biden. Joe provides the leadership necessary to bring us back from this awful pandemic. Joe has a plan to attack global climate change once and for all. And Joe will restore honesty, decency and trust to the White House, reunite all Americans and build a better future for all. The great state of New Hampshire awards 9 delegates to our friend and neighbor, Bernie Sanders, and 24 delegates to the next president of the United States, Joe Biden. >> New Jersey. 220238 MURPHY>> We've been hit hard by covid. But we're coming back. But we have to be smart. We have to listen to the experts. And we have to have a president who has a plan. That's why in memory of all those we have lost, in solidarity with those who are sick or struggling, and in eternal gratitude for our heroic frontline workers, New Jersey castles five votes for senator Bernie Sanders and 139 votes for the next president of the united States, Joe Biden. >> New Mexico. DEREK LENTY 220308 LENTY>> [ Speaking foreign language] Greetings and good evening. My name is Derek lenty, state representative, coming to you from the homeland of my ancestors, here at the beautiful Pueblo of Sandia. New Mexico is a diverse state, home to 23 indigenous sovereign nations. With a rich, multicultural history. We are all united by the love of this beautiful place that we call home, and we believe that we owe it to the next generation to protect the natural and cultural resources that are their inheritance. 220337 And to that end, also respect tribal sovereignty. New Mexico proudly casts four votes for Bernie Sanders and 42 votes for the next president of the United States of America, Joe Biden. >> New York. >> As an immigrant from St. Vincent and the Grenadines and an 1199 SEIU registered nurse, I'm proud to be part of America's fight against Covid-19, but many health care workers don't get paid sick leave or have enough protective equipment. 220411 I have two children with asthma, and a mother who is high risk. I worry everyday about bringing this virus home to them. Joe Biden's plan will help us take better care of your loved ones, as well as our own. Along with the lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul, I cast New York's votes: 44 votes for Bernie Sanders, and 277 for our next president, Joe Biden. It's Joe time! >> North Carolina. 220446 >> I've been doing this for a long time, so let just me be plain. Black people, especially black women, are the backbone of this party. And if we don't show up, Democrats don't get elected. I'm putting on my mask, and we're going to every corner in North Carolina to help organize, because we need to make sure everyone shows up for Joe Biden. He would show up for us. 220508 North Carolina casts 39 votes for Bernie Sanders and 83 votes for the next president of the United States, Joe Biden. >> North Dakota. >> [ Speaking foreign language ] 220524 >> Welcome to the homelands of the (?) people. I graduated from a class of just 44 students and I had to drive three hours just to sake the S.A.T.S. But growing up, I knew that college was a ladder that could take you anywhere. Joe Biden knows that everyone deserves a chance to climb that ladder so as a proud tribal member, as a mexican-american and as a Harvard graduate, I'm proud to cast North Dakota's votes. Ten for Bernie Sanders, and eight for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Northern Mariana Islands. 220554 >> (?) and hello from paradise, the northern Mariana Islands. We may be far away, but we're American citizens. And this year, for the first time in decades, we finally have a democratic slate. Because Democrats organize everywhere. But we don't get to vote for president, so please don't waste yours. The northern Mariana Islands is proud to cast two votes for senator Bernie Sanders, and nine votes for our next president, Joseph Biden. [ Speaking foreign language ] Thank you. 220628 >> Ohio. >> It seems like every time working people believe in a Donald Trump promise, they wind up getting screwed. Well, Joe Biden has more than just a promise, he actually has a plan to bring jobs back to America. TIM RYAN TIM RYAN>> Like electric vehicles or a national network of vehicle charging infrastructure that will create good paying jobs for skilled union workers like Josh, and the future will be made in America. Ohio casts 20 votes for Senator Bernie Sanders, and 134 votes for the next president, Joe Biden. O-H! >> I-O! >> Oklahoma. 220708 >> 99 years ago, racial violence devastated a thriving black community here in Tulsa. Today, hatred still lives in our nation, but so does resolve. Oklahoma refused to let ourselves be defined by division then, and our nation must turn back the tide of violence again now. Oklahoma casts 13 votes for Bernie Sanders, and 24 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. [cheers] 220732 >> Oregon >> As black Americans standing on native land, we proudly represent Oregon. The dual viruses, Covid-19 and racism laid bare unequal health care access and deaths in communities of color. 220748 >> The Democrats are working to bridge divides and make sure everyone has equal access to low or no cost quality care. Today, Oregon casts 16 votes for Bernie Sanders. >> And with senators Wyden and Merkleyâ?Ts support, cast 57 votes for Joe Biden. >> Pennsylvania. 220806 >> When Joe Biden was young, his father came to this house in Scranton, sat down on Joe's bed and told him he lost his job. It's a moment that stayed with Joe his entire life. Right now, all across America, working families are experiencing that same fear and uncertainty. But Joe Biden has a plan to help them. And to help our country build back better, creating millions of good paying jobs, so more parents will be able to tell their kids what Joe's dad said to him all those years ago. It's going to be okay. 220841 Pennsylvania casts 34 votes for senator Bernie Sanders, and 175 votes for the next president of the United States, Scranton's own, Joe Biden. >> Puerto Rico. [ Speaking Spanish] >> Rhode Island. 220927 >> Rhode Island, the ocean state. Where our restaurant and fishing industry have been decimated by this pandemic. Iâ?Tm lucky to have a governor, Gina Raimondo, whose program lets our fishermen sell their catched directly to the public, and our state appetizer calamari is available in all 50 states. The Calamari Comeback State of Rhode Island casts one vote for Bernie Sanders, and 34 votes for the next president, Joe Biden. >> South Carolina. JAMIE HARRISON 220959 HARRISON>> Mr. Chairman, I am Jamie Harrison, candidate for the United States senate, speaking from the campus of South Carolina state university, the Alma mater of majority Whip Jim Clyburn and the late Dr. Emily England Clyburn, for whom its Honors College is named. This proud HBCU has contributed 22 general officers to our armed services, and tonight, I proudly cast South Carolina's 64 votes as follows: 15 for Bernie Sanders and 49 for our next president of the United States, Joe Biden. 221039 >> South Dakota. >> (?), relatives, as a first American, and citizen of the standing rock sioux tribe, I welcome you to the Pahá Sápa, the black hills, the site of my creation story, and home to the Oceti Sakowin the great sioux nation. We often say [foreign language] â?oWe are all related.â?? Our next president must lead by this philosophy for the betterment of our next seven generations. We cast three votes for senator Bernie Sanders, and 17 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Tennessee. 221112 >> 100 years ago tonight, suffragists based here at the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville cheered as Tennessee became the 36th and deciding state to ratify the 19th amendment, granting women the right to vote. This year, I'm casting my very first presidential vote for Joe Biden. Women will decide this election, and we'll replace Donald Trump with a president who respects us. Tennessee casts 23 votes for Bernie Sanders, and 50 votes for our next president of the united States, Mr. Joseph R. Biden. >> Texas. 221151 >> A year ago, my safe community of El Paso was targeted by a domestic terrorist who murdered 23 innocent people, injured 23 more, and devastated all of us. His motive was racism and xenophobia. In the face of hate, we choose love. [ Speaking foreign language ] And in the face of continued gun violence in America, we demand change. The time has come to act, with one abstention, the great state of Texas casts 98 votes for Bernie Sanders and 161 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Utah. 221229 >> Here in Utah, we've had mail-in voting for years. If you're registered to vote, you automatically get sent a ballot. It's fast, itâ?Ts reliable and itâ?Ts easy for everyone to participate. In 2016, we had turnout well over 80%. And this year, weâ?Tre expecting even higher. That's why Democrats and Republicans here in Utah agree, mail-in voting strengthens our democracy. Utah casts 17 voting for Bernie Sanders, and 16 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Vermont. 221302 >> The state of Vermont strongly believing in economic justice, social justice, racial justice, and environmental justice, proudly supporting democracy and the constitution of the united States, and vehemently opposed to the authoritarianism and racism of the trump administration, is proud to cast 15 votes for Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, and nine votes for the next president of the United States, Joe Biden. 221329 >> The U.S. Virgin Islands. >> In recognition of our governor, Albert Bryan Jr., and our delegate to congress,Stacey Plaskett, we bring you greetings from the virgin Islands of the United States. We are a young island (?), the vacation home of a nominee, with turquoise waters, white sand beaches and friendly people. We cast our 13 votes for Joseph R. Biden. >> Virginia. 221354 >> Three years ago, my beloved city Charlottesville, Virginia was attacked by white supremists and a young woman was killed. We were attacked again when Donald Trump praised those racists, turning his back on a community that just wanted peace. That was the day Joe Biden decided to join this battle for the soul of America. Over time, my wife Mazala (?) and I have come to know his soul. He's a decent, compassionate man. 221424 He will bring this nation together. Virginia casts 32 votes for Bernie Sanders, and 91 votes for our president, Joe Biden. >> Washington. 221442 >> As a 15-year-old refugee from Vietnam, I knew that education was the key to finding opportunities in my new home. When having children of my own, I became an advocate to improve the public education system that gave me a chance to contribute to our America. Democrats invest in education, because we are committed to fighting for all kids. Washington casts 43 votes to Senator Bernie Sanders, and 66 votes to our next president, Joe Biden. >> West Virginia. 221515 >> West Virginians have changed the narrative about public education. Parents, teachers, and service personnel have worked together to fight for safe and welcoming schools. Sufficient funding for classroom equipment, and fair wages for teachers and school service personnel. Elections matter, but so does activism. So let's keep fighting to guarantee a quality education for all our children and letâ?Ts elect a president who will fight alongside us. West Virginia casts 34 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Wyoming. 221549 >> After our son Matthew's death in Wyoming, Joe Biden helped pass legislation to protect lbgtq Americans from hate crimes. Joe understands more than most our grief over Matt's death. But we see in Joe so much of what made Matt's life special, his commitment to equality, his passion for social justice, and his boundless compassion for others. 221612 >> With three abstentions, Wyoming casts four votes for Bernie Sanders and 11 votes for the next president of the united States, Joe Biden. >> Wisconsin. 221623 >> Welcome back to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a great city on native land on a great lake. It's the place where I was born and raised, right in the heart of 53206 zip code. This is a community thatâ?Ts been faced with significant challenges due to historical injustice but what many don't see is the joy, the resilience and opportunity that lies within this community, and so many others across America just like it. We're hardworking people who are fighting to provide for our families and build a better future. 221650 We know that we build a better future for our nation by channeling Wisconsin's legacy as the birthplace of the Labor and the Progressive movement, and uniting around a bold, inclusive agenda that uplifts every community. In the pursuit of a more just future, one that recognizes health care as a human right and one that tackles the climate crisis and takes on racial and economic justice, Wisconsin casts 30 votes for Bernie Sanders and 67 for the next president of the United States of America, Joseph Biden. Joseph R. Biden. >> Delaware. 221724 >> Long before this train station bore his name, youâ?Td see Joe Biden up here on the platform with the rest of the crowd on his way to work or going home to his family. That's always been his north star, delivering for families like his own. Working people who struggle and sacrifice to build a better life. Nobody has ever had to wonder who Joe Biden's in it for. 221746 >> Our nation faces daunting challenges, but I've known Joe Biden for 40 years, and there's nobody I trust more to lead our party, unite our country and restore our standing in the world. What's more, he's humble, he tells the truth. He treats everybody he encounters with respect and builds bridges, not walls. He's a leader made for this moment and the finest public servant I have ever known. 221808 >> Delaware is proud to cast its 32 votes for our favorite son and our ext president. >> Our friend, Delaware's Joe Biden. [ Applause ] âTªâTªâTªâTª [VIDEO OF JOE BIDEN WITH JILL BIDEN, APPLAUSE] 221919 >> Thank you to all our delegations. I'm pleased to announce that vice president Joe Biden has officially been nominated by the Democratic Party as our candidate for president of the United States. Vice President Biden is hereby invited to deliver an acceptance speech. JOE BIDEN 221942 BIDEN>> Well, thank you very, very much, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you all. It means the world to me and my family, and Iâ?Tll see you on Thursday. Thank you, thank you, thank you. [applause] [MONTAGE OF APPLAUSE FROM VIRTUAL ATTENDEES] 222031 ROSS>> Come on, that was so sweet with the grandkids. Yay! And now, we have an official nominee. Onto the next step, electing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in November. Make sure you have a plan to vote. Text VOTE to 30330 to find out how. Now, we're going to talk about a topic that touches all of our lives: healthcare. 222057 The affordable care act was game changing. This pandemic has revealed just how important it is to protect and improve it. Increasing access to healthcare and bringing down itâ?Ts cost have always been a priority for Joe Biden. Because for Joe, and for all of us, healthcare is personal. [DNC VIDEO] 222121 >> Itâ?Ts the toughest battles that call for the steadiest leadership. Again and again they were told to give up on affordable healthcare. They knew it would them cost politically. >> The Republicans say this will prove to be unpopular. >> The bill is a legislative train wreck. >> But not nearly as much as it would cost the American people, if they did nothing. 222142 BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> We are not going to slow up on providing affordable healthcare for Americans. Healthcare is a natural American right. >> Giving up on the affordable care act would have meant leaving 20 million without coverage out in the cold. But Joe Biden wasn't about to give up. Because he knew what it was like to stand in their shoes. He was sworn in to this senate next to a hospital bed. His wife and daughter had been killed in a car crash. 222214 And lying in that bed were his two sons. 40 years later one of those little boys, his son Beau, was diagnosed with cancer. And given only months to live. 222229 It's hard to imagine a greater grief than losing your child. But Joe always knew that his family was one of the lucky ones. After that accident, his son got 40 more years of life, all because he had healthcare. VIDEO FROM SENATE PASSING ACA>> Without objection, the Senate reconsider is laid on the table. 222256 >> Now, it's unthinkable that Donald Trump is trying to take that healthcare away. In the middle of a pandemic, he is still trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. This fight is personal for Joe -- as personal as it gets. So when Joe says he has a plan to strengthen the Affordable Care Act, protect those with preexisting conditions and expand access to every American, heâ?Ts thinking about how having healthcare saved his boys. 222330 His plan talks about lowering drug prices and making care more affordable. He's thinking about Beau. Who spent his final days in comfort because he was insured. Joe Biden knows what affordable healthcare means to American families because of what it's meant to his. JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> This is my promise to you. When I'm president, I will take care of your healthcare coverage and your family the same way I would my own. 222401 JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> That's what the presidency is. The duty to care. To care for all of us. Not just those who vote for us. But all of us. This job is not about me. It's about you. It's about us. VIDEO OF BIDEN ON VIDEO CONFERENCE JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> How are you? You handsome boy. 222426 STEVE GOMEZ (ON VIDEO)>> He was born in 15. And with a heart condition known as transpositioned arteries. And ended up acquiring a transplant and thankfully the ACA had already taken effect. But now, that's something we think about all the time, especially with his coverage, the potential of coverage maximums and his initial hospital stays was over $3 million. That was billed back to insurance. 222450 BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> I remember thinking as beau lay dying in bed, and weâ?Td sit, lie in bed with him, his brother and I and his sister, and thinking to myself what in gods name would I do if the doctor walked in and said I'm sorry, you have out run your insurance, you have reached your cap, suffer the last few months of your life on your own. 222513 JEFF JEANS (ON VIDEO)>> I came from a part of the country, rural Missouri, where basically everybody was Republican and I was a Republican. And I lost my voice. And we put off going to the doctor because we didn't have health insurance. When we finally got in to somebody that could look at my throat, they said well you have cancer. It was stage 4. The worst kind of cancer you can have. 222542 My wife applied for insurance through the Affordable Care Act, and my coverage began on April 1st in 2012. And that same day, they started my chemo and radiation, and it saved my life. I'm here today. VIDEO FROM HEALTHCARE DISCUSSION WITH BIDEN 222601 DR. ANGIE TAYLOR>> Generally speaking, as a church, you're concerned about people spiritually but youâ?Tre also concerned about other areas of their life. And that includes their physical or physiological well being because the bible talks about all of us. There are people in the country and, in fact, people in my church that can't take advantage of it because they don't have good healthcare. That's -- thatâ?Ts pretty discouraging to me and thatâ?Ts pretty discouraging to them. 222628 JULIE BUCKHOLT>> Because of the myasthenia gravis and the fact that it's a very rare disease, a lot of our medications we have to fight for. And before the ACA, we worried about our medications. We worried about the pre-existing conditions for our children. We worried about age and the cap. Because having that cost of the medications, we would have reached that million dollar cap in no time. But once the ACA passed, we did -- we no longer have that cap on the million dollars. 222704 BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> The fear that you all live in understandably if somehow tomorrow they said no insurance. You canâ?Tt -- you're not covered. It's just devastating. Hey Laura, how are you doing? LAURA PACKARD>> Thanks again. BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> How are you doing? Well, you beat Hodgkinâ?Ts Lymphoma. God love you. But during it all, Trump was trying to rip away your coverage. The day you got your first chemo Republicans voted to gut the ACA. I can't imagine what it must have been like going to sleep at night wondering what to do. LAURA PACKARD>> Ever since I was diagnosed every night I go to bed concerned about what news I would get in the morning. And even still even today theyâ?Tre still trying to take away our healthcare even during a pandemic. 222755 BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> Look, we're going to make sure we don't lose ACA. We're going to provide a medicare like option, as a public option. And any state where there's a -- if you qualify for medicaid and the state hasn't provided it youâ?Td automatically be enrolled. I'm protect you like I tried to protect my own family. My own family. And I promise you that. â?oWE THE PEOPLE ALL DESERVE AFFORDABLE QUALITY HEALTHCAREâ?? VIDEO 222814 EUGENE F>> I met Joe last year at a campaign event to thank him for being so involved in the battle to cure cancer. Indeed, I have what's been diagnosed as terminal cancer. The inspiration and the empathy and the human love that he shared with me kept has kept me going. LISA P>> I made an appointment for my wellness check up provided for by the affordable care act. I was told that I had ovarian cancer. I finished my course of treatment and since then I have been cancer free. And I'm very grateful for that. JACQUELINE A>> I chose to become a Joe Biden delegate as I watched with our nation as president Donald Trump sought to dismantle the affordable care act. EUGENE F>> My purpose in life right now is to devote all my energy to getting Joe elected. 212908 JACQUELINE A>> I anxiously jumped at the chance to become a Biden delegate. LISA P>> He'll continue to strengthen the affordable care act so that diseases like cancer don't go undetected. â?oMAY 2018â?? VIDEO 222932 ADY>> Hey, Carl. It's me, dad. By the time you're watching this, you will have grown up to be strong and courageous. But, I don't know how much longer I'll be around for you. 222948 >> I was diagnosed with ALS today, which is a deadly debilitating disease. BARKAN>> After I was diagnosed, the president passed that tax bill that put my healthcare at risk. So I went to Washington D.C. CNN BROADCAST (ON VIDEO)>> My next guest made headlines when he confronted a Republican senator on an airplane. BARKAN (ON VIDEO)>> You can be an American hero. BARKAN (VO)>> I wanted to help create a better country for you to live in. 223017 BARKAN (ON VIDEO)>> Democracy is beautiful. CROWD (ON VIDEO)>> Democracy is beautiful. BARKAN (VO)>> All that matters to me is to make you proud because I'm already so proud of you. ADY BARKAN 223039 >> Hello, America. My name is Ady Barkan and I'm speaking to you through this computer voice because I have been paralyzed by a mysterious illness called ALS. Like so many of you, I have experienced the ways our healthcare system is fundamentally broken. Enormous costs, denied claims, dehumanizing treatment when we're most in need. Since my shocking diagnosis, I have traveled the country meeting countless patients like me demanding more of our representatives and our democracy. 223110 Today, we are witnessing the tragic consequences of our failing healthcare system. In the midst of a pandemic, nearly 100 million Americans do not have sufficient health insurance. And even good insurance does not cover essential needs like long term care. Our loved ones are dying in unsafe nursing homes. Our nurses are overwhelmed and unprotected. And our essential workers are treated as dispensable. 223139 We live in the richest country in history and yet we do not guarantee this most basic human right. Everyone living in America should get the healthcare they need regardless of their employment status or ability to pay. Even during this terrible crisis, Donald Trump and Republican politicians are trying to take away millions of peoples health insurance. With the existential threat of another four years of this president, we all have a profound obligation to act. 223206 Not only to vote, but to make sure that our friends, family and neighbors vote as well. We must elect Joe Biden. Each of us must be a hero for the communities, for our country. And then with a compassionate and intelligent president we must act together and put on his desk a bill that guarantees us all the healthcare we deserve. Text vote to 30330 to learn how to vote safely. Because our lives depend on it. 223240 ELLIS ROSS>> Politics and elections can seem like these far away things that one person doesn't have the power to change, but what's happening in our country right now makes it clear how personal politics are. I have discovered that when I get informed and participate, my fear gets smaller. Voting is a big part of that. 223301 So knowing the change you want, vote for the leaders you think will make it happen. And if you're able, if you can, help fund this campaign. Please go to joebiden.com and chip in whatever you can. With leaders like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, we can build back better here at home. And once again strengthen our nations security and standing in the world. VETERAN FOR JOE VIDEO 223332 GILLIARD>> My name is Demarcus Gilliard. I'm 34 years old, and I currently live in Los Angeles, California. I'm a 2009 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Innapolis, and I served on active duty in the marine corps as an officer for six years. I took an oath to support, uphold and defend the constitution of the United States of America, and I know that Joe Biden, in his years of public service, took a similar oath and he understands the sacrifice of the men and women in uniform who are overseas right now, fighting for the ideals of this nation. 223407 That liberty and justice can be extended to all people. I know that Joe Biden understands that at his core. I trust him to lead us on Day One into a greater future. There's nothing more important for me right now than making sure that we restore the soul of the nation. And I think that Joe Biden is the best person to do that. So thanks, Joe. JOHN KERRY 223447 KERRY>>Hi, I'm John Kerry.. For the eight years of the Obama Biden administration we led by example. We eliminated the threat of Iran with a nuclear weapon. We built a 68 nation coalition to destroy ISIS. We forged 195 nation agreement to attack climate change. 223504 We stopped ebola before it became a pandemic.Donald Trump inherited a growing economy and a more peaceful world. Like everything else he inherited he bankrupted it. When this president goes overseas, it isnâ?Tt a good will mission, it's a blooper reel. He breaks up with our allies and writes love letters to dictators. America deserves a president who is looked up to not laughed at. 223530 Donald Trump pretends Russia didn't attack our elections and now he does nothing about Russia putting a bounty on our troops. So he won't defend our country, he doesn't know how to defend our troops. The only person he's interested in defending is himself. 223547 This is the bottom line: our interests, our ideals and our brave men and women in uniform can't afford four more years of Donald Trump. Our troops can't get out of harm's way by hiding in the white house bunker. They need a president who will stand up for them. And president Biden will. 223606 Joe's moral compass is always pointed in the right direction. From the fight to break the back of apartheid to the struggle to wake up the world to genocide in Balkans, Joe understands that none of the issues of this world -- not nuclear weapons, not the challenge of building back better after covid-19, not terrorism and certainly not the climate crisis -- none can be resolved without bringing nations together with strength and humility. 223635 Joe understands our values don't limit our power, they magnify it. He knows you can't spread democracy around the world if you don't practice it at home, and he knows that even the united States of America needs friends on this planet. Before Donald Trump, we used to talk about American exceptionalism. The only thing exceptional about the incoherent Trump foreign policy is that it has made our nation more isolated than ever before. 223704 Joe Biden knows we aren't exceptional because we bluster that we are, we are exceptional because we do exceptional things. On June 6th, 1944, young Americans gave their lives on the beaches of Normandy to liberate the world from tyranny. Out of the ashes of that war, we made peace and rebuilt the world. That was and remains exceptional. It is the opposite of everything Donald Trump stands for. 223736 This moment is a fight for the security of America and the world. Only Joe Biden can make America lead like America again. If you agree, text JOIN to 30330. Thank you. BIDEN FOREIGN POLICY VIDEO 223756 BRETT MCGURK>> In the situation room, presidents make decisions of war and peace. So when Joe Biden walks into the Situation Room, first and foremost in his mind is how will my decision impact the lives of the American people? MARIE YOVANOVITCH>> He is experienced. He has made the tough calls. CHUCK HAGEL>> Heâ?Ts got courage. Heâ?Ts got tremendous courage, character, judgment and he can be tough. I witnessed it close up. LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD>> Joe Biden is decisive and well prepared for any issue. 223824 >> There's no one more qualified than Joe Biden to be sitting at the head of the table in the situation room making decisions for this country. >>Having sent his son to war, I don't think anyone can be more ready than vice president Biden. 223838 JACK WEINSTEIN (ON VIDEO)>> He knows exactly what's at stake when he sends our troops overseas. ROSE GOTTEMOELLER (ON VIDEO)>> Biden understands how important it is to have allies standing together with us. They are force multipliers. 223849 >> Joe Biden has the unique ability to connect with people. He knows the leaders and heâ?Ts dealt with them for years, knows what makes them tick. >> They trust him, they trust his judgment and they know that his word is good. TOM COUNTRYMAN (ON VIDEO)>> I know that Bidenâ?Ts personal diplomacy will save American lives. 223903 >> To build these relationships takes decades. And to tear them down, all it takes is a tweet. COUNTRYMAN (ON VIDEO)>> Thanks to Donald Trump our adversaries are stronger and bolder. >> Donald Trump has had a love fest with dictators including China and Russia. He hasn't been standing up to them at all. 223920 JACK WEINSTEIN (ON VIDEO)>> I served in the United States air force for 36 years. Iâ?Tve led space squadrons, nuclear missile squadrons and I never thought I would have a president who is a danger to national security. >> President Trump has degraded and debased the presidency and our country in the eyes of the world. JACK WEINSTEIN (ON VIDEO)>> The Russians offered bounties on U.S. Soldiers. I was shocked when I read that but the president didn't even ask Vladimir Putin about it. That's un-american. >> There's something wrong with that. I mean, thatâ?Ts a dereliction of duty. You're failing the troops. Youâ?Tre failing this country. JACK WEINSTEIN (ON VIDEO)>> The first thing a president needs to do is find out what the facts are. This president doesn't care about facts. 223956 >> Biden cares about the safety and welfare of American servicemen and women. >> Our military had a policy to maintain our presence in Syria. We actually came to the aid of the kurds against ISIS and we helped stop the advance. President trump told us to simply abandon the Kurds. Shameful. >> Joe Biden will be strong against dictators. >> I have heard him on the phone with some pretty tough characters. You know, you talk about Joe Bidenâ?Ts empathy, his decency. But Joe Biden is tough as nails and everybody knows it. >> He will do the right thing. No matter the political cost. 224030 >> I have served for two Republican presidents and one Democratic President. I have seen the trump administration make decisions without any thought. Without any preparation that had massive life and death consequences. >> At one of the most defining times in the history of the world Joe Biden is uniquely qualified to be president of the United States. JACK WEINSTEIN (ON VIDEO)>> If you want a strong America you want Joe Biden. COLIN POWELL 224054 POWELL>> Hi, I'm former secretary of state Colin Powell. 100 years ago, a young immigrant left a dirt farm in Jamaica and set out for America. Three years later, a ship pulled into New York Harbor, and a young Jamaican woman gazed up at the statue of liberty for the first time. They became my parents, and they inspired me to finish college and join the army. This began a journey of service that would take me from basic training to combat in Vietnam, up the ranks to serve as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and secretary of state. 224126 The values I learned growing up in the South Bronx and serving in uniform were the same values that Joe Bidenâ?Ts parents instilled in him in Scranton, Pennsylvania. I support Joe Biden for the presidency of the United States because those values still define him, and we need to restore those values to the White House. Our country needs a commander in chief who takes care of troops in the same way he would his own family. 224151 For Joe Biden, that doesn't need teaching. It comes from experience that he shares with millions of military families -- sending his beloved son off to war, and praying to god he would come home safe. Joe Biden will be a president we will all be proud to salute. With Joe Biden in the white house, you will never doubt that he will stand with our friends and stand up to our adversaries. Never the other way around. 224216 He will trust our diplomats and our intelligence community -- not the flattery of dictators and despots. He will make it his job to know when anyone dares to threaten us. He will stand up to our adversaries with strength and experience. They will know he means business. 224232 I support Joe Biden because beginning on day one, he will restore Americaâ?Ts leadership and our moral authority. He'll be a president who knows that America is strongest when, as he has said, we lead both by the power of our example and the example of our power. He'll restore America's leadership in the world. And restore the alliances we need to address the dangers that threaten our nation, from climate change to nuclear proliferation. 224258 Today, we are a country divided. And we have a president doing everything in his power to make it that way, and keep us that way. What a difference it will make to have a president who unites us, who restores our strength and our soul. I still believe that in our hearts we are the same America that brought my parents to our shores. An America that inspires freedom around the world. That's the America Joe Biden will lead as our next president. Thank you, very much. [â?oAN UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIPâ?? VIDEO] 224327 >> It was a friendship that shouldn't have worked. John, a former Navy pilot just released from a north Vietnamese prison. Joe, a young senator from Delaware. But in the 1970s Joe was assigned a military aid for a trip overseas. JOHN MCCAIN (ON VIDEO) >> I was the Navy senate liaison and used to carry your bags on overseas trips. 224359 BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> This son of a gun never carried my bags. He was supposed to carry my bags, dammit, but henever carried my bags. 224410 >> John and Joe traveled thousands of miles together. The families got to know each other. Gathering for picnics in the Bidenâ?Ts backyard. CINDY MCCAIN (VO)>> They would just sit and joke. It was like a comedy show sometimes to watch the two of them. >> But when John was elected to the senate as a Republican from Arizona, they found themselves on opposing sides. JOHN MCCAIN (VO)>> We're in different parties. We hold different views on many issues. TED KAUFMAN (VO)>> Theyâ?Td be going at it on the floor and youâ?Td think oh these guys must really, really, really dislike each other. And theyâ?Td be having dinner that night together. >> Senator Biden had great respect for the institution of the senate. He built relationships that were cordial, that were personal. 224458 BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> We have always been willing, when we thought the other guy was right, to cross the aisle and lock arms. It's good for the country. RON KLAIN (VO)>> It takes trust to get things done in a divided government. And I think with Joe Biden, his colleagues knew that your points were equally valid to him. >> Even if a deal seemed out of reach, it was always Joe who tried to cross the aisle. >> He was like a natural for that. He just had an ability to find the common ground but never give up your principles. 224532 >> For three decades, Joe was able to move his colleagues, and find a way forward on Violence against women, banning chemical weapons, assault weapons, and controlling nuclear arms. CINDY MCCLAIN (VO)>> It was a style of legislating and leadership that you don't find much anymore. >> And when millions of Americans were faced with losing their health insurance, it was Joe's friend who saved Obamacare by crossing the aisle. 224603 BROADCAST (VO)>> McCain cast his vote with a thumbs down. BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> John and I have been given several awards about bipartisan. We don't understand why we should get an award for bipartisan. MCCAIN (ON VIDEO)>> Thank you for your example. I'm proud you remain the same good guy that you were when you first got here. Most of all, for your friendship. My life and the lives of many have been enriched by it. JILL & JOE ORIGIN STORY VIDEO 224635 [BIDEN AND JILL KISS IN THEIR HOME] 224642 JILL BIDEN>> I have a rule that I never think of anything negative when I'm running. When I set my mind to something, I find a way to get it done. JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> She is so damn tough and loyal. When I met Jill, I knew. My brother said â?othere's this woman, you'll really like her, Joe.â?? So I gave her a call. And she had a date that night. JILL BIDEN>> You said, â?odo you think you can break your date?â?? JOE BIDEN>> Oh, that's right. And what'd you do? 224716 JILL BIDEN>> Well, I called and told the guy that I had a friend in from out of town. And went out with Joe. JOE BIDEN>> I was 30 and I was a senator, and I was a widower. Several years earlier, a tractor trailer broadsided my wife and three children. My wife was killed and my daughter was killed. I wasnâ?Tt big on the whole date scene thing. 224744 But when I met Jill, I fell in love with her when I saw her. JILL BIDEN>> He said â?oI'd really like to see you again.â?? So, he's looking at his calendar and heâ?Ts -- â?oThursday, no. No, I'm really busy. No, I'm busy Friday. How about tomorrow?â?? [Joe laughs] And I thought, â?oBuddy, you just blew your cover.â?? JOE BIDEN>> She's owned me since then. 224812 JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> The boys fell in love with Jill too. I'm brushing my teeth one morning and they came running in, and Beau and Hunger said â?oDad, we think it's time we married Jill.â?? Swear to god. I asked her to marry me five times. JILL BIDEN>> It wasn't just my heart that was on the line. I loved the boys so much. I had to be sure that it had to be forever. JOE BIDEN>> I'm going to ask you one more time, will you marry me? She goes like this, â?oOkay.â?? [laughing] 222846 JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> She put us back together. She gave me back my life. She gave us back a family. We were raised with the same values. 224902 JILL BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> I grew up in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, right outside of philly. My mom was English Scottish. And my dad was Italian. My grandmother made the homemade noodles that would hang, you know, and sheâ?Td be drying her noodles. BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> They were a very close family. Sheâ?Ts the eldest of five girls. >> She's kind of like the god mother of all of us. 224930 >> I think we've all seen the feistiness in her. >> There was a bully in my school, she marched up the street and knocked on his door -- JILL BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>>-- And I punched him right in the face. 224943 My father fought in World War II. He was a signalman in the Navy. And he was very patriotic. He would take us to watch the blue angels and he was so proud. We worshipped our mother. I can picture her so well, reading for hours. She just loved to read, and that had a great influence on me. I went to college at the university of Delaware. 225011 Then I taught in high schools. I mean, I got up every single day so excited to go teach. When I married Joe, I took off time to establish myself as the boys' mom. We don't use the term stepmother. 225028 JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> Beau and Hunter said, we have a mom and a mommy. Our mommy died. This is our mom. Then along came Ashley, and -- JILL BIDEN (ON VIDEO) >> Our family was complete. JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> Yep. ASHLEY BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> When I was growing up, mom was fun. The head butting started when I was a teenager. There were some conflicts. She dealt with it by taking up running. She started to basically run marathons âTª raised on promises âTª 225105 JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> I never ever doubted that anything she set her mind to she could do. I got to hand her her doctorate degree in education at the University of Delaware. JILL BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> Let's turn it positive so you will pass it. NAOMI BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> I would say she's not your average grandmother. NATALIE BIDEN (ON VIDEO) >> Yeah. NAOMI BIDEN (ON VIDEO) >> She's the grandmother who wakes you up like, what was it? Like 5:00 A.M. On Christmas eve to go soul cycling. NATALIE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> Yeah. We have a lot of stories. NAOMI BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> Yeah, she's a prankster. Sheâ?Ts very mischievous. Like When she goes on a run, sometimes she'll find a dead snake and sheâ?Tll pick it up and put it in a bag and sheâ?Tll use it to scare someone. 225148 AMB. CATHY RUSSELL (ON VIDEO)>> That's a classic Jill. She wasn't really a Washington person and I don't think ever imagined herself being part of that. JILL BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> When Joe was elected to vice president, I just thought, hey, I got to step it up here, because there are things that I really care about. Having had a father in the military, having a son deployed in Iraq, I saw the need to support military families. 225218 ASHLEY WILLIAMS (ON VIDEO)>> Dr. Biden could draw anyone in, and they felt like they were talking to an old friend. That is one of her superpowers. AMB. CATHY RUSSELL (ON VIDEO)>> When she was second lady, Jill told me that she would like to continue teaching at community college, and I said, that's insane, you cannot possibly do that. JILL BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> I said, I know I can do both jobs. AMB. CATHY RUSSELL (ON VIDEO)>> I never saw her on any day of the week where she wasn't carrying a huge stack of papers to grade. JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> As second lady she was teaching full-time for eight years, 15 credits a semester. 225256 JILL BIDEN (ON VIDEO>> These were students who wanted to be in your classroom, and I saw their tenacity. And they were taking care of children, just like I had done. YVETTE LEWIS (ON VIDEO)>> She gave 100% of her energy to the students. She's a great teacher. JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> Teaching is not what Jill does. It's who she is. Jill just simply cares. She cares about other people. 225320 JILL BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> When beau was diagnosed with brain cancer, nobody knew what we were going through. The secret service, you know, they're not supposed to react to your life or what you're doing. They would whisper, I'm praying for you. HUNTER BIDEON (ON VIDEO)>> Mom, it's your strength that holds this family together. And I know that you will make us whole again. 225353 JILL BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> You never stop grieving, ever. But you do have to find purpose. JILL BIDEN (AT CAMPAIGN EVENT)>> Please welcome my husband, Joe Biden! JILL BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> Running for president is too tough to not be together. 225411 >> The future first lady of the United States. >> That's right. There you go. >> If Dr. Biden is our first lady, the country will be getting one of the best humans that we have. 225424 >> She has been through some really tough things in her own life, and she knows how hard it can be. JOE BIDNE (ON VIDEO)>> The American people in their heart know that she'll fight like hell for them. JILL BIDEN (VO)>> We all need community. We need to depend on others for our strength. All American families, we all need each other. 225452 >>> And now, please welcome Dr. Jill Biden. JILL BIDEN 225505 JILL BIDEN>> I have always loved the sounds of a classroom. The quiet that sparks with possibility just before students shuffle in. The murmur of ideas bouncing back and forth as we explore the world together. The laughter and tiny moments of surprise you find in materials you've taught a million times. 225528 When I taught English here at brandywine high school, I would spend my summer preparing for the school year about to start, filled with anticipation. But this quiet is heavy. You can hear the anxiety that echoes down empty hallways. There's no scent of new notebooks or freshly waxed floors. 225555 The rooms are dark as the bright young faces that should fill them are now confined to boxes on a computer screen. I hear it from so many of you: the frustration of parents juggling work while they support their children's learning are afraid that their kids might get sick from school. 225619 The concern of every person working without enough protection. The despair in the lines that stretch out before food banks. And the indescribable sorrow that follows every lonely last breath when the ventilators turn off. 225641 As a mother and a grandmother, as an American, I am heartbroken by the magnitude of this loss, by the failure to protect our communities, by every precious and irreplaceable life gone. Like so many of you, Iâ?Tm left asking, â?ohow do I keep my family safe?â?? You know, motherhood came to me in a way I never expected. 225713 I fell in love with a man and two little boys standing in the wreckage of unthinkable loss, mourning a wife and mother, a daughter and sister. I never imagined, at the age of 26, I would be asking myself, â?ohow do you make a broken family whole?â?? Still, Joe always told the boys, â?omommy sent Jill to us. And how could I argue with her?â?? 225746 And so, we figured it out together. In those big moments that would go by too fast -- Thanksgivings and state championships, birthdays and weddings -- in the mundane ones that we didn't even know for shaping our lives -- reading stories piled on the couch, rowdy Sunday dinners and silly arguments, listening to the faint sounds of laughter that would float downstairs as Joe put the kids to bed every night, while I studied for grad school or graded papers under the pale yellow kitchen lamp. The dinner dishes waiting in the sink. 225829 We found that love holds a family together. Love makes us flexible and resilient. It allows us to become more than ourselves, together, and though it can't protect us from the sorrows of life, it gives us refuge -- a home. How do you make a broken family whole? The same way you make a nation whole -- with love and understanding and with small acts of kindness. 225904 With bravery, with unwavering faith. You show up for each other in big ways and small ones, again and again. It's what so many of you are doing right now for your loved ones, for complete strangers, for your communities. There are those who want to tell us that our country is hopelessly divided, that our differences are irreconcilable. But that's not what I've seen over these last few months. 225935 We're coming together and holding onto each other. We're finding mercy and grace in the moments we might have once taken for granted. We're seeing that our differences are precious, and our similarities infinite. We have shown that the heart of this nation still beats with kindness and courage. That's the soul of America Joe Biden is fighting for now. 230010 After our son Beau died of cancer, I wondered if I would ever smile or feel joy again. It was summer, but there was no warmth left for me. Four days after Beau's funeral, I watched Joe shave and put on his suit. I saw him steel himself in the mirror, take a breath, put his shoulders back, and walk out into a world empty of our son. He went back to work. 230046 That's just who he is. There are times when I couldn't even imagine how he did it. How he put one foot in front of the other and kept going. But I've always understood why he did it -- for the daughter who convinces her mom to finally get a breast cancer screening and misses work to drive her to the clinic. For the community college student who has faced homelessness and survived abuse but finds the grit to finish her degree and make a good life for her kids. 230122 For the little boy whose mom is serving as a marine in Iraq, who puts on a brave face in his video call and doesn't complain when the only thing he wants for his birthday is to be with her. For all those people, Joe gives his personal phone number to at rope lines and events. The ones he talks to for hours after dinner, helping them smile through their loss, letting them know that they arenâ?Tt alone. 230154 He does it for you. Joe's purpose has always driven him forward. His strength of will is unstoppable, and his faith is unshakable. Because it's not in politicians or political parties or even in himself -- it's in the Providence of god. His faith is in you, in us. Yes, so many classrooms are quiet right now. The playgrounds are still. But if you listen closely, you can hear the sparks of change in the air. 230238 Across this country, educators, parents, first responders, Americans of all walks of life are putting their shoulders back, fighting for each other. We haven't given up. We just need leadership worthy of our nation -- worthy of you. Honest leadership to bring us back together, to recover from this pandemic and prepare for whatever else is next. 230309 Leadership to reimagine what our nation will be, that's Joe. He and Kamala will work as hard as you do everyday to make this nation better. And if I have the honor of serving as your First Lady, I will, too. And with Joe as President, these classrooms will ring out with laughter and possibility once again. 230340 The burdens we carry are heavy, and we need someone with strong shoulders. I know that if we entrust this nation to Joe, he will do for your family what he did for ours -- bring us together and make us whole, carry us forward in our time of need, keep the promise of America for all of us. [JOE BIDEN ENTERS] 230418 JOE BIDEN>> Hey, everyone. I'm Jill Biden's husband. As you heard tonight you, excuse me, you can see why she's the love of my life and the rock of our family. She never gives herself much credit, but the truth is she's the strongest person I know. She has a backbone like a ramrod. She loves furiously, cares deeply. Nothing stops her when she sets her mind to getting something right. And you know, for all of you out there across the country, just think of your favorite educator who gave you the confidence to believe in yourself. That's the kind of first lady lady, lady, lady, this Jill Biden will be. God love you. 230457 JILL BIDEN>> So go to joebiden.com to join our campaign. JOE BIDEN>> Thank you all for watching. I'll see you soon. Thank you. [VIDEO OF SUPPORTERS CLAPPING] 230535 ROSS>> Thank you so much for being a part of this night. As Dr. Biden just reminded us, Joe is a steady and experienced leader who can bring us together and help us heal, who will support us in getting better. Remember, we bend the arc of justice if we participate -- if we vote. This moment isn't beyond you, it's up to you. Tomorrow night, we'll meet Joe Biden's choice for vice president, kamala Harris, and learn more about their vision for the future of our country. 230607 And we'll also hear from Senator Elizabeth Warren and President Barack Obama. Plus, performances from Billie Eilish and Jennifer Hudson. And now, with his song "Never Break", here's John legend. 230624 [VIDEO, JOHN LEGEND PERFORMANCE] ######

5533 DNC NATIONAL CONVENTION MILWAUKEE WI POOL PGM SWITCHED 08182020 200000 2020 Good evening all on night two of this unprecedented and virtual Democratic National Convention! Iâ?Tll be trying my best to live up to the stellar work from Adam Kelsey and others in the unit last night, sending out updates on tonightâ?Ts speakers and remarks with timecodes in this chain. As recently confirmed in the note from Alisa Wiersema below, Colin Powell has been added to tonightâ?Ts speaker lineup. Among others, heâ?Tll join former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Former Secretary of State John Kerry, and Dr. Jill Biden. More on the lineup from the earlier note below, and the embargoed remarks from each speaker have also gone out again to the DL from David Reiter around 7:32pm. (*again, please note that the speeches are embargoed until delivered*). See you back here soon. Ashley Brown ABC News Segment Producer, This Week O: 202-222-6114 C: 202-400-1458 Ashley.Brown@abc.com From: Wiersema, Alisa <Alisa.Wiersema@abc.com> Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2020 7:30 PM To: #ABCTV News DC Political Unit Main <ABCTVDLNewsPoliticalUnitMain@disney.com> Cc: Klein, Rick <Rick.Klein@abc.com>; Parks, MaryAlice L. <MaryAlice.L.Parks@abc.com>; Karson, Kendall J. <Kendall.J.Karson@abc.com>; Scanlan, Quinn X. <Quinn.X.Scanlan@abc.com>; Cunningham, Meg E. <Meg.E.Cunningham@abc.com> Subject: Now reportable -- Colin Powell to speak at DNC tonight Now reportable -- Colin Powell to speak at the DNC tonight. GAVELING IN Night two began with a Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett wielding the gavel in the eveningâ?Ts call to order, praising party leadership for holding the convention virtually. Barrett drew, as he has multiple times since Bidenâ?Ts announcement that he would not appear in person, a distinction between how Democrats have addressed public health concerns compared to President Trump: (20:49:53) And as much as we would have loved to host you in person, I am proud that the Democratic Party and the city Milwaukee have made the health of our residents our number one priority. Unlike the president, we've never called COVID-19, a hoax. Unlike the president. we've never made fun of face masks. And unlike the president. We've never belittled, our public health experts. We understand why we can't be together this week, and I hope you do too. A DIVERSE KEYNOTE Following brief reports from several DNC committee co-chairs, the second night began in earnest with a pre-recorded keynote address video titled â?oWe Step Up to Lead.â?? Billed as a â?obellwether for the future of our party and our nationâ?? by the DNC. The stated theme of the address was â?oLeadership Matters,â?? but the subtext was ostensibly â?orepresentation mattersâ?? -- with appearances from a diverse, young group of lawmakers and political figures, including Tennessee State Senator Raumesh Akbari, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, Georgia State Rep. Sam Park, Nevada State Sen. Yvanna Cancela, Pennsylvania State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, and Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin. (More on the myriad communities they represent - Black, LGBTQ, Native American, Latinx, Asian, college students - here) The most well-known speaker in the keynote video was former Georgia Secretary of State, 2018 gubernatorial candidate and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams -- who, along with the other speakers, touted Biden as the candidate to help steer the country out of the compounded crises of a pandemic, economic downturn, and reckoning with racism: (211215) ...Our choice is clear. A steady experienced public servant who can lead us out of this crisis just like he's done before or a man who only knows how to deny and distract. A leader who cares about our families or a president who only cares about himself. We know Joe Biden. America, we need Joe Biden. (211244) In a democracy, we do not elect saviors, we cast our ballots for those who see our struggles and pledge to serve. Who hear our dreams and work to make them real. Who defend our way of life by protecting our right to vote. Faced with a president of cowardice, Joe Biden is a man of proven courage. He will restore our moral compass by confronting our challenges, not by hiding from them or undermining our elections to keep his job. Singer and actor Tracee Ellis Ross is tossing to and from tonightâ?Ts addresses. Following the keynote, she highlighted Sen. Kamala Harrisâ?T historic position as a Black and Indian woman at the top of the ticket, invoking the name of other Black politicians before her: (211502) Hello, Kamala. Her nomination is historic, for anyone who believes in â?owe the people.â?? Like senator Harris and many we saw in the keynote, today's leaders emerge from communities that have long been underrepresented. They're charting new paths in the spirit of Shirley Chisolm, Charlotta Bass, Fanny Lou Hamer, and John Lewis. They get in good trouble. Necessary trouble. They call things out, otherwise ignored, elevating our nation, and changing the course of our lives for the better. Ross introduced former Acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates -- who left in the early days of the Trump Administration after refusing to enforce his ban on travelers from majority-Muslim countries. Yates called the ban â?othe start of his relentless attacks on our democratic institutionsâ?"and countless dedicated public servants.â?? Yates went on to rebuke Trumpâ?Ts friendly relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin, contrasting it with his adversarial relationship with the U.S. intelligence community: (211847) Heâ?Ts trampled the rule of law, trying to weaponize our Justice Department to attack his enemies and protect his friends. Rather than standing up to Vladimir Putin, he fawns over a dictator whoâ?Ts still trying to interfere in our elections. (211856) Heâ?Ts even trying to sabotage our postal service to keep people from being able to vote. His constant attacksâ?"on the FBI, the free press, inspectors general, military officers, and federal judgesâ?"they all have one purpose: to remove any check on his abuse of power. Put simply, he treats our country like itâ?Ts his family businessâ?"this time bankrupting our nationâ?Ts moral authority at home and abroad. CHUCK SCHUMER Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, with a blurry image of the Statue of Liberty in the distance, evoked the statueâ?Ts famous New Colossus poem as well as the quote from President Trump that former first lady Michelle Obama blasted last night on the pandemic response: â?oIt is what it is.â?? Schumer also highlighted the importance of Democrats flipping the Senate this fall, pledging unity among the chamberâ?Ts more progressive and moderate figures: (212211) Millions are jobless. 170,000 Americans have died from covid. And Donald Trump says it is what it is. Presidents should never say it is what it is. President Lincoln, honoring the great sacrifice at Gettysburg didn't say it is what it is. President Roosevelt seeing a third of the nation ill housed, ill clad and ill nourished didn't say it is what it is. America, Donald Trump has quit on you. We need a president with the dignity, integrity, and the experience to lead us out of this crisis. (212300) If we're going to win this battle for the soul of our nation, Joe can't do it alone. Democrats must take back the senate. We will stay united from Sanders and Warren, to Manchin and Warner and with our unity we will bring bold and dramatic change to our country. FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER (AND THE KENNEDYS) Remarks from Caroline Kennedy and her son Jack Schlossberg came after Schumer (212513), followed by off-camera remarks from former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter (212712 - all covered by photos). In both videos, the Kennedys and the Carters never mentioned Trump by name -- instead, testifying to their personal relationships with Biden. Jimmy Carterâ?Ts remarks on Bidenâ?Ts character (with, perhaps, contrasts to Trumpâ?Ts character and COVID-19 response implied): JIMMY CARTER: (212840) Joe has the experience, character, and decency to bring us together and restore Americaâ?Ts greatness. We deserve a person with integrity and judgment, someone who is honest and fair, someone who is committed to what is best for the American people. Joe is that kind of leader, and he is the right person for this moment in our nationâ?Ts history. He understands that honesty and dignity are essential traits that determine not only our vision but our actions. More than ever, thatâ?Ts what we need. During these uncertain times, Joe Biden realizes that many American lives can be saved each day with the use of masks and testing, as recommended by our medical experts. BILL CLINTON Remarks taking direct aim at Trump returned with former President Bill Clintonâ?Ts remarks, who, notably, was given several minutes to speak (compared to longer remarks in conventions past). BILL CLINTON: (213056) At a time like this, the oval office should be a command center. Instead, it's a storm center. There's only chaos. Just -- one thing never changes -- his determination to deny responsibility and shift the blame. (213111) The buck never stops there. Now, you have to decide whether to renew his contract or hire someone else. If you want a president who defines the job as spending hours a day watching TV and zapping people on social media, he's your man. Denying, distracting and demeaning works great if you're trying to entertain or inflame, but in a real crisis, it collapses like a house of cards. (213358) And this job interview, the difference is stark. You know what Donald Trump will do with four more years, blame, bully and belittle. And you know what Joe Biden will do, build back better. It's Trump's â?ous versus themâ?? America against Joe Biden's America. Where we all live and work together. It's a clear choice. The future of our country is riding on it. AOC. BOB KING, AND CONFUSION OVER NOMINATIONS FOR SANDERS Tracee Ellis Ross offered condolences and support for Iowa residents rocked by severe weather before introducing DNC Chair Tom Perez, who spoke from Milwaukee. In a clear appeal to the progressive wing of the party, Perez touted the Progressive Movementâ?Ts â?odeep roots) in Milwaukee (213602). This is where some things apparently got confusing enough for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to later clarify her support for Biden -- Perez and Rep. Bennie Thompson teed up the nominating and seconding speeches from Reps. Bob King and Ocasio-Cortez for Sen. Bernie Sanders for the purposes of the roll call. In the one minute each of the representatives were allotted, they did just that: BOB KING: (213921) I'm excited to place into nomination the name of a great champion of the working class, Senator Bernie Sanders. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: (214003) A movement striving to recognize and repair the wounds of racial injustice, colonization, misogyny and homophobia. And to propose and build reimagined systems of immigration and foreign policy that turn away from the violence and xenophobia of our past. A movement that realizes the unsustainable brutality of an economy that rewards explosive inequalities of wealth for the few, at the expense of long term stability for the many. (214038) And who organized a historic grassroots campaign to reclaim our democracy. In a time when millions of people in the United States are looking for deep systemic solutions to our crisis of mass evictions, unemployment, and lack of health care, and espíritu del pueblo, and out of a love for all people, I hear by second the nomination of Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont for president of the United States of America. Ocasio-Cortez subsequently tweeted: â?oConvention rules require roll call & nominations for every candidate that passes the delegate threshold. I was asked to 2nd the nom for Sen. Sanders for roll call. I extend my deepest congratulations to @JoeBiden - letâ?Ts go win in November.â?? ROLL CALL WITH FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDERS & BIDENâ?TS BRIEF THANK-YOU The nominating and seconding speeches for Joe Biden were given by Delaware lawmakers, Sen. Chris Coons (214238) and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (214344) -- followed by the socially-distanced roll call, in a unique sequence visiting all 57 U.S. states and territories to officially nominate Biden as the partyâ?Ts nominee for president (see Karson/Scanlan 10:19pm DL note for details). The roll call included some of Bidenâ?Ts former primary opponents and leaders who have risen to prominence as protests for racial equality have swept the nation this summer: Rep. Terri Sewell began by invoking the legacy of the late Rep. John Lewis in announcing Alabamaâ?Ts delegates for Sanders and Biden (214530). DC Mayor Muriel Bowser made an appeal for DC statehood (215029). Former South Bend Mayor and presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg spoke of Bidenâ?Ts economic recovery goals, particularly for Indianaâ?Ts agricultural sector (215409). Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar spoke of healing the nationâ?Ts divides, and shared her roll call duties briefly with Melvin Carter -- mayor of St. Paul, which dealt with some of the more-immediate protests and unrest after George Floyd was killed in May. (215851) 5533 DNC NATIONAL CONVENTION MILWAUKEE WI POOL PGM SWITCHED 08182020 20000 2020 P2 After the roll call wrapped, Joe Biden appeared with his family, flanked by balloons and bookshelves. He seemed to have a brief delay, staring silently for awkward beat, before placing his hand over his heart and expressing his gratitude for all of the delegates: JOE BIDEN: (221942) Well, thank you very, very much, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you all. It means the world to me and my family, and Iâ?Tll see you on Thursday. Thank you, thank you, thank you. As noted by Kendall and Quinn, Biden officially accepts the nomination Thursday. ADY BARKAN Clips featuring various voices, including Joe Biden himself, promoted health care priorities for about 12 minutes after the roll call and subsequent applause for Bidenâ?Ts nomination wrapped up. One address came from activist Ady Barkan, lawyer and progressive activist, who talked about the ALS diagnosis thatâ?Ts left him paralyzed and blasted Trump and the GOPâ?Ts efforts to gut the Affordable Care Act. In moving remarks, Barkan implored supporters to get out the vote, and alluded to his staunch support for Medicare For All -- and wanting to put legislation on Bidenâ?Ts desk to that end: ADY BARKAN: (223139) We live in the richest country in history and yet we do not guarantee this most basic human right. Everyone living in America should get the healthcare they need regardless of their employment status or ability to pay. Even during this terrible crisis, Donald Trump and Republican politicians are trying to take away millions of peoples health insurance. With the existential threat of another four years of this president, we all have a profound obligation to act. (223206) Not only to vote, but to make sure that our friends, family and neighbors vote as well. We must elect Joe Biden. Each of us must be a hero for the communities, for our country. And then with a compassionate and intelligent president we must act together and put on his desk a bill that guarantees us all the healthcare we deserve. DNC NATIONAL CONVENTION MILWAUKEE WI POOL PGM SWITCHED 08182020 2020 The DNCC sent an update on roll call participants since they left out North Dakota (highlighted below) The convention is typically known for pomp and circumstance but the purpose of the gathering is nominating the partyâ?Ts candidate and getting official business done, such as announcing the vote on the party's platform, which will happen on Tuesday night. Joe Biden will formally be nominated as the party's presidential nominee during the 30-minute roll call, a usually long-winded process that can take hours. For other official business of the night, delegates voted on the 2020 ballot, including the platform, via email prior to the convention from Aug. 3-15. Highlights from the party's platform, which includes a single nod to Medicare for All, and no mention of the Green New Deal or "defund the police" - can be found here (h/t Beatrice, Johnny, Molly, Averi, Cheyenne and Adam for their help). The full 92-page document can be found here. Here's a rundown of what to expect: What is happening on Tuesday night in terms of party business? The party's virtual festivities will kick off on Tuesday with the convention chair gaveling in, followed by party officials announcing the results of votes on reports from each of the three standing committees to the convention -- credentials, rules, and platform. (OFF THE RECORD: This will take place just before 9pm ET, beginning at 845pm ET) This will include the vote on the platform, which is expected to be approved despite some dissent from allies of Sen. Bernie Sanders. Upwards of 360 delegates, most of whom back Sanders, pledged to vote against the platform, according to Politico, but there is a total of 4,747 delegates (pledged + supers) at this year's convention. There will be presidential candidate nominating and seconding speeches (for Sanders and Biden) and then the roll call, which is set across all 57 states and territories and will be a mix of live and pre-taped components, will then take place to formally nominate Biden over the course of 30 minutes. What is the roll call? The roll call is a process by which every state, one at a time, is called on alphabetically to announce how many delegates will be delivered to each candidate based on the state's primary results. But the process can take a long time since each state or jurisdiction comes forward when they are called on by the secretary, and a selected delegate or official from each will speak before announcing how the delegate vote should be allocated. This year, the roll call will include delegates, parents, teachers, small business owners, essential workers, activists and elected leaders inside businesses, living rooms and in front of iconic landmarks (see below for full list of roll call participants). Once the presumptive nominee reaches the magic number of delegates - *2,374* - the candidate will win the nomination. But the candidate only becomes the nominee when they accept the nomination during a speech on the last night of the celebration. Biden currently has 2,721 pledged delegates, according to an ABC News analysis, while the next closest Democrat, Sanders, has 1,118. What is the 2020 platform? The 2020 Democratic Party platform is a 92-page document that outlines the party's priorities and vision on an array of issues from the economy to health care and foreign policy and beyond. The platform is largely a symbolic document and is in no way binding. The details of the 2020 platform were finalized over Zoom meetings a few weeks before the convention, and heavily reflects the recommendations from the Unity Task Forces that comprised of allies of both Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. The purpose of the joint task forces was to bridge some of their policy priorities, but for the most part, the platform is closely aligned with Biden's campaign planks. Some Sanders allies have criticized the platform for not going far enough on some of their policy priorities (mainly health care) and the vision they had for the party's next four years. Two notable dissenters of the platform is California Rep. Ro Khanna, who served as a national co-chair of Sanders's presidential campaign, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, both who noted they are voting against the platform over the issue of health care. The platform includes one mention to Medicare for All, but does not embrace the progressive health care agenda. When do delegates vote on the platform? Voting on the platform was completely transformed this cycle, with the entire process taking plate remotely, and delegates given a nearly two-week window to vote on the official business *prior* to the convention between Aug. 3 and Aug. 15. All the votes were tallied on Aug. 15, rather than on a rolling basis. The platform was only open to amendments before delegates voted on the ballot and there were no minority reports submitted (a procedural tool that with enough support could force a debate on a policy or rule change on the convention floor). The votes on the platform, and the reports from the other two standing committees, will be announced on Tuesday night. What are the details of the platform? PETERSON/VERHOVEK/NAGLE/HARPER/KELSEY/HASLETT/KARSON Here are some topline highlights for each of the sections of the platform, and the team put together a more in-depth, but easy and digestible overview of the entire platform, which can be found here: PROTECTING AMERICANS AND RECOVERING FROM THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: The partyâ?Ts platform excoriates and lambasts the Trump administrationâ?Ts handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, attempting to draw a sharp contrast by highlighting their plans to ensure Americans receive adequate health care access throughout the pandemic...The party calls for substantially increasing funding to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), vastly expanding COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, and surging personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline workers and those vulnerable populations who need it most. BUILDING A STRONGER, FAIRER ECONOMY: Much of the economic portion of the Democratic partyâ?Ts economic platform mirrors portions of Bidenâ?Ts â?oBuild Back Betterâ?? economic plan... Along with a $15 an hour minimum wage, Democrats call for 12 weeks of paid Medical and family leave, and will also seek to address inequalities in the workplace by increasing funding to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. ACHIEVING UNIVERSAL, AFFORDABLE, QUALITY HEALTH CARE: The Democratic platform "believe[s] health care is a right for all" and advocates for "universal health care" through the public option plan outlined within Biden's presidential platform...To the chagrin of progressives and supporters of Sanders, the platform makes only a single reference to Medicare for All...simply saying that its supporters are welcome to join in the push for reform PROTECTING COMMUNITIES AND BUILDING TRUST BY REFORMING OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: Criminal Justice reform for the democrats in 2020 calls for a â?ooverhaul the criminal justice system from top to bottom.â?? In the platform it goes into detail about changes Democrats see for Criminal justice and sentencing reform, reforming and training the police changes to sentencing and more....Although they talk about police in great detail, they stop short of calling for â?oDefunding the Policeâ?? as some far left progressives would like but does put emphasis on investing in community projects. HEALING THE SOUL OF AMERICA: Democrats within this passage declare that they believe that Black Lives Matter. COMBATING THE CLIMATE CRISIS AND PURSUING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: The partyâ?Ts platform, which does not mention the Green New Deal, describes climate change as a â?oglobal emergency" ... The platform also embraces investments in clean energy infrastructure, with a goal of making all new buildings carbon-neutral by 2030, transitioning the nationâ?Ts transportation grid rapidly towards clean energy, echoing Bidenâ?Ts call for 500,000 electric charging stations on Americaâ?Ts roadways, 500,000 new solar panels and 60,000 wind turbines... RESTORING AND STRENGTHENING OUR DEMOCRACY: Central to the â?oRestoring and Strengthening our Democracyâ?? section is voting access, with Democrats pledging to pass a strengthening Voting Rights Act, make election day a federal holiday, support bills to ensure that disabled Americans have the ability to vote, and providing funded needed to allow for mail-in voting along with safe, in-person voting. CREATING A 21ST CENTURY IMMIGRATION SYSTEM: Democrats pledge to reverse Trumpâ?Ts actions on immigration and streamline the path to citizenship for those already in the country. They specifically call for a pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers, Dreamers, and workers who are essential to pandemic response and recovery efforts. They pledge expanded protections for Dreamersâ?T parents...The Party does not mention decriminalizing border crossings, a progressive policy that gained popularity during the primary that Harris issued support for, while Biden did not...The Democrats do not call for ICE to be abolished, PROVIDING A WORLD-CLASS EDUCATION IN EVERY ZIP CODE: The platform commits to making public colleges and universities tuition-free for students who come from families who make less than $125,000 per year, it would also make community colleges and trade schools tuition free for all students including DACA recipients...On student loan debt, the platform calls for up to $10,000 in student debt relief for every borrower. RENEWING AMERICAN LEADERSHIP: Democrats commit to rejoining and reforming the WHO, the United Nations Human Rights Council, and the United Nations Population Fund. The party also pledges to restore the White House National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense to prepare for public health crises in the future, and reverse Trump's transgender ban, discriminatory exclusions in military health care, and policies that stigmatize and discriminate against people living with HIV and AIDS...The party also makes clear that they "will never use active duty soldiers as political props, and we will never send military forces to suppress Americans exercising their constitutional rights" & more on China, Russia, Israel & Iran What about the rules? The convention is also an opportunity to make updates or changes to the party rules. Here is a link to the procedural rules of the 2020 Democratic National Convention. The rules committee approved a resolution in late July that directs the national party to keep in place the major party reforms enacted after the 2016 nominating process through 2024, as well as examine additional reforms in 2021. The reforms from after the 2016 contest include limiting the power of superdelegates and encouraging states to embrace primaries over caucuses, and making the caucuses more accessible (i.e. having an absentee voting requirement). "The [Rules and Bylaws Committee] shall conduct a comprehensive and structured review of the presidential nominating reforms adopted by the DNC for the 2020 primaries to evaluate where even further reforms are needed, while maintaining the advances that have been made. This review should include considerations of the successes of each of the reforms adopted in 2018 in achieving the DNCâ?Ts goals, empowering rank and file Democrats, and strengthening and unifying the Democratic Party in the lead up to the general election," the resolution reads. "In conducting this review, the RBC should take steps to ensure public and stakeholder engagement in the process, including at least one public hearing and an opportunity to submit comments. This review and accounting should be completed by March 31, 2021." There was broad agreement on the resolution in committee, before it headed for a vote among all of the convention's delegates. Who is participating in the roll call? Among some of the participants in the roll call is Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father and activist; Jaime Harrison, the Democrat competing against Sen. Lindsey Graham in South Carolina; State Sen. Nikema Williams, who was picked by the Georgia Democratic Party to succeed Rep. John Lewis on November ballot; Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the former 2020 contender; Fred Guttenberg, the gun safety activist from Parkland; state Rep. My-Linh Thai, a former refugee in Washington state; and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin. ALABAMA Rep. Terri Sewell will invoke the memory of Rep. John Lewis to advocate for restoring the Voting Rights Act. ALASKA Veteran, fisherman, and party activist Chuck Degnan will discuss the impact of climate change on tribal waters. AMERICAN SAMOA Party leaders Aliitama Sotoa and Patti Matila will celebrate American Samoaâ?Ts legacy of military serviceâ?"and Joe Bidenâ?Ts work to improve the territoryâ?Ts infrastructure. ARIZONA Middle school social studies teacher Marisol Garcia will discuss remote learning from the perspective of teachers, parents, and activists. ARKANSAS Chef Gilbert Alaquinez will describe his work delivering meals prepared at the Clinton Presidential Center to local families via food trucks. CALIFORNIA Sec. Hilda Solis and Rep. Barbara Lee will highlight the importance of Joe Bidenâ?Ts clean energy plan for communities of color. COLORADO Immigrant and party activist Howard Chou and his family will discuss the challenges facing working parents during the pandemic. CONNECTICUT Veteran firefighter Peter Carozza will explain why he and his fellow first responders trust in Joe Bidenâ?Ts courage and commitment to working Americans. DELAWARE Gov. John Carney and Sen. Tom Carper will share a local perspective on Delawareâ?Ts favorite son. DEMOCRATS ABROAD Organizer Julia Bryan will offer a call to action for Americans living abroad to get involved in this election. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Mayor Muriel Bowser will issue a call for DC statehood. FLORIDA Gun safety activist Fred Guttenberg will describe Joe Bidenâ?Ts compassion in the wake of his daughterâ?Ts murder in Parkland and commitment to defeating the NRA. GEORGIA State Sen. Nikema Williams, candidate for John Lewisâ?Ts seat in Congress, will urge viewers to overcome voter suppression. GUAM Party chair Sarah Thomas-Nededog will celebrate the 70th anniversary of Guam citizens becoming American citizens. HAWAII Civil rights activist Dr. Amy Agbayani will offer a special personal message to American immigrants. IDAHO Mayor Lauren McLean will share her cityâ?Ts bold response to climate change. ILLINOIS Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun will discuss the Biden plan for racial justice in housing. INDIANA Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg will describe his cityâ?Ts revitalization and the Biden plan to do the same nationwide. IOWA Secretary Tom Vilsack will take a moment to share best wishes for Iowans suffering after last weekâ?Ts storm. KANSAS Fourth-generation family farmer Mark Pringle will share his concern about the future of rural America and his confidence in the Biden plan for revitalizing rural communities. KENTUCKY Education advocate Colmon Elridge will share a personal story about Joe Bidenâ?Ts commitment to improving American health care. LOUISIANA Rep. Cedric Richmond and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell will visit a thriving independent art studio to highlight the importance of small businesses to cities. MAINE State Rep. Craig Hickman, the first openly gay African American to serve in the Maine House of Representatives, will take us inside his American dream. MARYLAND City Council President Brandon Scott and college student Bianca Shah will describe the Biden plan for racial justice in the economy. MASSACHUSETTS State Rep. Claire Cronin will highlight the Biden plan to help our economy recover from the pandemic. MICHIGAN Sen. Gary Peters and UAW auto worker Ray Curry will discuss how Joe Biden saved the Michigan auto industry and his plan to create a million new auto jobs. MINNESOTA Sen. Amy Klobuchar will discuss Joe Bidenâ?Ts ability to bring people together before throwing it across the Mississippi River to St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter. MISSISSIPPI College president Dr. Carmen Walters will discuss the history of the HBCU she leads and the Biden plan to invest in these important institutions. MISSOURI Bricklayer Reuben Gill will praise the contributions of his fellow working men and women and the Biden plan to invest in infrastructure. MONTANA Recent college graduate Rachel Prevost will describe her senior year of remote learning and highlights the importance of rural broadband. NEBRASKA Meatpacking plant employee Geraldine Waller will share a personal perspective on the dangers facing essential workers during the pandemic. NEVADA Backed by an array of working Nevadans, Rep. Dina Titus will describe the Biden plan for putting workers first in our economy. NEW HAMPSHIRE Gov. John Lynch will offer his personal endorsement of Joe Bidenâ?Ts leadership skills. NEW JERSEY Gov. Phil Murphy will mark the impact of the pandemic on his state and explains why Joe Biden is the right leader to help us recover. NEW MEXICO Tribal member and state Rep. Derrick Lente will celebrate his stateâ?Ts diversity and commitment to preserving natural and cultural resources. NEW YORK Registered nurse and a member of 1199SEIU Scheena Iyande Tannis will offer a raw personal perspective on the dangers facing health care workers. NORTH CAROLINA Longtime Democratic activist Cozzie Watkins will offer a call to action for Black women. NORTH DAKOTA Tribal citizen and advocate Cesar Alvarez will discuss his unique path to college and Joe Biden's plan to open up educational opportunity. Good evening all on night two of this unprecedented and virtual Democratic National Convention! Iâ?Tll be trying my best to live up to the stellar work from Adam Kelsey and others in the unit last night, sending out updates on tonightâ?Ts speakers and remarks with timecodes in this chain. As recently confirmed in the note from Alisa Wiersema below, Colin Powell has been added to tonightâ?Ts speaker lineup. Among others, heâ?Tll join former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Former Secretary of State John Kerry, and Dr. Jill Biden. More on the lineup from the earlier note below, and the embargoed remarks from each speaker have also gone out again to the DL from David Reiter around 7:32pm. (*again, please note that the speeches are embargoed until delivered*). See you back here soon. Singer and actor Tracee Ellis Ross is tossing to and from tonightâ?Ts addresses. Following the keynote, she highlighted Sen. Kamala Harrisâ?T historic position as a Black and Indian woman at the top of the ticket, invoking the name of other Black politicians before her: (211502) Hello, Kamala. Her nomination is historic, for anyone who believes in â?owe the people.â?? Like senator Harris and many we saw in the keynote, today's leaders emerge from communities that have long been underrepresented. They're charting new paths in the spirit of Shirley Chisolm, Charlotta Bass, Fanny Lou Hamer, and John Lewis. They get in good trouble. Necessary trouble. They call things out, otherwise ignored, elevating our nation, and changing the course of our lives for the better. Ross introduced former Acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates -- who left in the early days of the Trump Administration after refusing to enforce his ban on travelers from majority-Muslim countries. Yates called the ban â?othe start of his relentless attacks on our democratic institutionsâ?"and countless dedicated public servants.â?? Yates went on to rebuke Trumpâ?Ts friendly relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin, contrasting it with his adversarial relationship with the U.S. intelligence community: (211847) Heâ?Ts trampled the rule of law, trying to weaponize our Justice Department to attack his enemies and protect his friends. Rather than standing up to Vladimir Putin, he fawns over a dictator whoâ?Ts still trying to interfere in our elections. (211856) Heâ?Ts even trying to sabotage our postal service to keep people from being able to vote. His constant attacksâ?"on the FBI, the free press, inspectors general, military officers, and federal judgesâ?"they all have one purpose: to remove any check on his abuse of power. Put simply, he treats our country like itâ?Ts his family businessâ?"this time bankrupting our nationâ?Ts moral authority at home and abroad. GAVELING IN Night two began with a Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett wielding the gavel in the eveningâ?Ts call to order, praising party leadership for holding the convention virtually. Barrett drew, as he has multiple times since Bidenâ?Ts announcement that he would not appear in person, a distinction between how Democrats have addressed public health concerns compared to President Trump: (20:49:53) And as much as we would have loved to host you in person, I am proud that the Democratic Party and the city Milwaukee have made the health of our residents our number one priority. Unlike the president, we've never called COVID-19, a hoax. Unlike the president. we've never made fun of face masks. And unlike the president. We've never belittled, our public health experts. We understand why we can't be together this week, and I hope you do too. A DIVERSE KEYNOTE Following brief reports from several DNC committee co-chairs, the second night began in earnest with a pre-recorded keynote address video titled â?oWe Step Up to Lead.â?? Billed as a â?obellwether for the future of our party and our nationâ?? by the DNC. The stated theme of the address was â?oLeadership Matters,â?? but the subtext was ostensibly â?orepresentation mattersâ?? -- with appearances from a diverse, young group of lawmakers and political figures, including Tennessee State Senator Raumesh Akbari, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, Georgia State Rep. Sam Park, Nevada State Sen. Yvanna Cancela, Pennsylvania State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, and Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin. (More on the myriad communities they represent - Black, LGBTQ, Native American, Latinx, Asian, college students - here) The most well-known speaker in the keynote video was former Georgia Secretary of State, 2018 gubernatorial candidate and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams -- who, along with the other speakers, touted Biden as the candidate to help steer the country out of the compounded crises of a pandemic, economic downturn, and reckoning with racism: (211215) ...Our choice is clear. A steady experienced public servant who can lead us out of this crisis just like he's done before or a man who only knows how to deny and distract. A leader who cares about our families or a president who only cares about himself. We know Joe Biden. America, we need Joe Biden. (211244) In a democracy, we do not elect saviors, we cast our ballots for those who see our struggles and pledge to serve. Who hear our dreams and work to make them real. Who defend our way of life by protecting our right to vote. Faced with a president of cowardice, Joe Biden is a man of proven courage. He will restore our moral compass by confronting our challenges, not by hiding from them or undermining our elections to keep his job. CHUCK SCHUMER Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, with a blurry image of the Statue of Liberty in the distance, evoked the statueâ?Ts famous New Colossus poem as well as the quote from President Trump that former first lady Michelle Obama blasted last night on the pandemic response: â?oIt is what it is.â?? Schumer also highlighted the importance of Democrats flipping the Senate this fall, pledging unity among the chamberâ?Ts more progressive and moderate figures: (212211) Millions are jobless. 170,000 Americans have died from covid. And Donald Trump says it is what it is. Presidents should never say it is what it is. President Lincoln, honoring the great sacrifice at Gettysburg didn't say it is what it is. President Roosevelt seeing a third of the nation ill housed, ill clad and ill nourished didn't say it is what it is. America, Donald Trump has quit on you. We need a president with the dignity, integrity, and the experience to lead us out of this crisis. (212300) If we're going to win this battle for the soul of our nation, Joe can't do it alone. Democrats must take back the senate. We will stay united from Sanders and Warren, to Manchin and Warner and with our unity we will bring bold and dramatic change to our country. FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER (AND THE KENNEDYS) Remarks from Caroline Kennedy and her son Jack Schlossberg came after Schumer (212513), followed by off-camera remarks from former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter (212712 - all covered by photos). In both videos, the Kennedys and the Carters never mentioned Trump by name -- instead, testifying to their personal relationships with Biden. Jimmy Carterâ?Ts remarks on Bidenâ?Ts character (with, perhaps, contrasts to Trumpâ?Ts character and COVID-19 response implied): JIMMY CARTER: (212840) Joe has the experience, character, and decency to bring us together and restore Americaâ?Ts greatness. We deserve a person with integrity and judgment, someone who is honest and fair, someone who is committed to what is best for the American people. Joe is that kind of leader, and he is the right person for this moment in our nationâ?Ts history. He understands that honesty and dignity are essential traits that determine not only our vision but our actions. More than ever, thatâ?Ts what we need. During these uncertain times, Joe Biden realizes that many American lives can be saved each day with the use of masks and testing, as recommended by our medical experts. BILL CLINTON Remarks taking direct aim at Trump returned with former President Bill Clintonâ?Ts remarks, who, notably, was given several minutes to speak (compared to longer remarks in conventions past). BILL CLINTON: (213056) At a time like this, the oval office should be a command center. Instead, it's a storm center. There's only chaos. Just -- one thing never changes -- his determination to deny responsibility and shift the blame. (213111) The buck never stops there. Now, you have to decide whether to renew his contract or hire someone else. If you want a president who defines the job as spending hours a day watching TV and zapping people on social media, he's your man. Denying, distracting and demeaning works great if you're trying to entertain or inflame, but in a real crisis, it collapses like a house of cards. (213358) And this job interview, the difference is stark. You know what Donald Trump will do with four more years, blame, bully and belittle. And you know what Joe Biden will do, build back better. It's Trump's â?ous versus themâ?? America against Joe Biden's America. Where we all live and work together. It's a clear choice. The future of our country is riding on it. AOC. BOB KING, AND CONFUSION OVER NOMINATIONS FOR SANDERS Tracee Ellis Ross offered condolences and support for Iowa residents rocked by severe weather before introducing DNC Chair Tom Perez, who spoke from Milwaukee. In a clear appeal to the progressive wing of the party, Perez touted the Progressive Movementâ?Ts â?odeep roots) in Milwaukee (213602). This is where some things apparently got confusing enough for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to later clarify her support for Biden -- Perez and Rep. Bennie Thompson teed up the nominating and seconding speeches from Reps. Bob King and Ocasio-Cortez for Sen. Bernie Sanders for the purposes of the roll call. In the one minute each of the representatives were allotted, they did just that: BOB KING: (213921) I'm excited to place into nomination the name of a great champion of the working class, Senator Bernie Sanders. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: (214003) A movement striving to recognize and repair the wounds of racial injustice, colonization, misogyny and homophobia. And to propose and build reimagined systems of immigration and foreign policy that turn away from the violence and xenophobia of our past. A movement that realizes the unsustainable brutality of an economy that rewards explosive inequalities of wealth for the few, at the expense of long term stability for the many. (214038) And who organized a historic grassroots campaign to reclaim our democracy. In a time when millions of people in the United States are looking for deep systemic solutions to our crisis of mass evictions, unemployment, and lack of health care, and espíritu del pueblo, and out of a love for all people, I hear by second the nomination of Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont for president of the United States of America. Ocasio-Cortez subsequently tweeted: â?oConvention rules require roll call & nominations for every candidate that passes the delegate threshold. I was asked to 2nd the nom for Sen. Sanders for roll call. I extend my deepest congratulations to @JoeBiden - letâ?Ts go win in November.â?? ROLL CALL WITH FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDERS & BIDENâ?TS BRIEF THANK-YOU The nominating and seconding speeches for Joe Biden were given by Delaware lawmakers, Sen. Chris Coons (214238) and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (214344) -- followed by the socially-distanced roll call, in a unique sequence visiting all 57 U.S. states and territories to officially nominate Biden as the partyâ?Ts nominee for president (see Karson/Scanlan 10:19pm DL note for details). The roll call included some of Bidenâ?Ts former primary opponents and leaders who have risen to prominence as protests for racial equality have swept the nation this summer: Rep. Terri Sewell began by invoking the legacy of the late Rep. John Lewis in announcing Alabamaâ?Ts delegates for Sanders and Biden (214530). DC Mayor Muriel Bowser made an appeal for DC statehood (215029). Former South Bend Mayor and presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg spoke of Bidenâ?Ts economic recovery goals, particularly for Indianaâ?Ts agricultural sector (215409). Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar spoke of healing the nationâ?Ts divides, and shared her roll call duties briefly with Melvin Carter -- mayor of St. Paul, which dealt with some of the more-immediate protests and unrest after George Floyd was killed in May. (215851) 5533 DNC NATIONAL CONVENTION MILWAUKEE WI POOL PGM SWITCHED 08182020 20000 2020 P2 After the roll call wrapped, Joe Biden appeared with his family, flanked by balloons and bookshelves. He seemed to have a brief delay, staring silently for awkward beat, before placing his hand over his heart and expressing his gratitude for all of the delegates: JOE BIDEN: (221942) Well, thank you very, very much, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you all. It means the world to me and my family, and Iâ?Tll see you on Thursday. Thank you, thank you, thank you. As noted by Kendall and Quinn, Biden officially accepts the nomination Thursday. ADY BARKAN Clips featuring various voices, including Joe Biden himself, promoted health care priorities for about 12 minutes after the roll call and subsequent applause for Bidenâ?Ts nomination wrapped up. One address came from activist Ady Barkan, lawyer and progressive activist, who talked about the ALS diagnosis thatâ?Ts left him paralyzed and blasted Trump and the GOPâ?Ts efforts to gut the Affordable Care Act. In moving remarks, Barkan implored supporters to get out the vote, and alluded to his staunch support for Medicare For All -- and wanting to put legislation on Bidenâ?Ts desk to that end: ADY BARKAN: (223139) We live in the richest country in history and yet we do not guarantee this most basic human right. Everyone living in America should get the healthcare they need regardless of their employment status or ability to pay. Even during this terrible crisis, Donald Trump and Republican politicians are trying to take away millions of peoples health insurance. With the existential threat of another four years of this president, we all have a profound obligation to act. (223206) Not only to vote, but to make sure that our friends, family and neighbors vote as well. We must elect Joe Biden. Each of us must be a hero for the communities, for our country. And then with a compassionate and intelligent president we must act together and put on his desk a bill that guarantees us all the healthcare we deserve. JOHN KERRY & COLIN POWELL Pitches for Bidenâ?Ts foreign policy platform were flanked by a bipartisan paring of former Secretaries of State John Kerry and Colin Powell -- the latterâ?Ts appearance, officially announced and confirmed earlier this evening. Kerry did not give Trump any credit for a stronger economy at the beginning of his term and ridiculed Trumpâ?Ts appearances on the world stage as a â?oblooper reelâ??: JOHN KERRY: (222304) Donald Trump inherited a growing economy and a more peaceful world. Like everything else he inherited he bankrupted it. When this president goes overseas, it isnâ?Tt a good will mission, it's a blooper reel. He breaks up with our allies and writes love letters to dictators. America deserves a president who is looked up to not laughed at. (223547) This is the bottom line: our interests, our ideals and our brave men and women in uniform can't afford four more years of Donald Trump. Our troops can't get out of harm's way by hiding in the white house bunker. They need a president who will stand up for them. And president Biden will. Colin Powellâ?Ts remarks (224054) focused more on his immigrant heritage and his shared values with Biden -- taking no direct shots at Trump until the end of his remarks, casting the president as someone doing â?oeverything in his powerâ?? to divide the nation: COLIN POWELL: (224126) The values I learned growing up in the South Bronx and serving in uniform were the same values that Joe Bidenâ?Ts parents instilled in him in Scranton, Pennsylvania. I support Joe Biden for the presidency of the United States because those values still define him, and we need to restore those values to the White House. Our country needs a commander in chief who takes care of troops in the same way he would his own family. (224151) For Joe Biden, that doesn't need teaching. It comes from experience that he shares with millions of military families -- sending his beloved son off to war, and praying to god he would come home safe. (224258) Today, we are a country divided. And we have a president doing everything in his power to make it that way, and keep us that way. What a difference it will make to have a president who unites us, who restores our strength and our soul. I still believe that in our hearts we are the same America that brought my parents to our shores. An America that inspires freedom around the world. That's the America Joe Biden will lead as our next president. Jill Biden ended the night with a positive message from Brandywine High School in Wilmington, making the case for her husband-- not mentioning the president by name (instead issuing a call for leadership)-- but highlighting what Democrats see as his failures as families across America struggle with job losses, health care crises and an economic downturn amid the coronavirus pandemic. JILL BIDEN: (225935) We're coming together and holding onto each other. We're finding mercy and grace in the moments we might have once taken for granted. We're seeing that our differences are precious, and our similarities infinite. We have shown that the heart of this nation still beats with kindness and courage. That's the soul of America Joe Biden is fighting for now. She told America the story of her relationship with Biden and their family, the loss of their son Beau to cancer and how Biden returned to work to continue fighting for American families. JILL BIDEN: (230010) After our son Beau died of cancer, I wondered if I would ever smile or feel joy again. It was summer, but there was no warmth left for me. Four days after Beau's funeral, I watched Joe shave and put on his suit. I saw him steel himself in the mirror, take a breath, put his shoulders back, and walk out into a world empty of our son. He went back to work. (230046) That's just who he is. There are times when I couldn't even imagine how he did it. How he put one foot in front of the other and kept going. But I've always understood why he did it -- for the daughter who convinces her mom to finally get a breast cancer screening and misses work to drive her to the clinic. For the community college student who has faced homelessness and survived abuse but finds the grit to finish her degree and make a good life for her kids. Her only venture toward the president was in the midst of a call to leadership â?oworthy of our nation.â?? JILL BIDEN: (230238) Across this country, educators, parents, first responders, Americans of all walks of life are putting their shoulders back, fighting for each other. We haven't given up. We just need leadership worthy of our nation -- worthy of you. Honest leadership to bring us back together, to recover from this pandemic and prepare for whatever else is next. 230309 Leadership to reimagine what our nation will be, that's Joe. He and Kamala will work as hard as you do everyday to make this nation better. And if I have the honor of serving as your First Lady, I will, too. And with Joe as President, these classrooms will ring out with laughter and possibility once again. 230340 The burdens we carry are heavy, and we need someone with strong shoulders. I know that if we entrust this nation to Joe, he will do for your family what he did for ours -- bring us together and make us whole, carry us forward in our time of need, keep the promise of America for all of us. ***DO NOT EDIT OR MODIFY THIS DOC IN ANY WAY. ONLY LOGGERS ARE PERMITTED. TUESDAY AUGUST 18TH 2020 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION FULL LOG 5533 DNC NATIONAL CONVENTION MILWAUKEE WI POOL PGM SWITCHED 08182020 20000 2020 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE VIDEO 210022 >>> I pledge allegiance. >> To the flag. >> Of the United States of America. >> And to the republic for which it stands. >> One nation. >> One nation. >> One nation. >> Under god. >> Indivisible. >> With liberty and justice for all. âTªâTª KEYNOTES REMEMBERED 210047 DANIEL INOUYE (ON VIDEO)>> My fellow Americans, this is my country. Many of us have fought hard for the right to say that. Many are now struggling today from Harlem to Danang, so that they may say this with conviction: this is our country. 210115 BARBARA JORDAN (ON VIDEO)>> We are a people in a quandary about the present. We are a people in search of our future. MARIO CUOMO (ON VIDEO >> We must make the American people hear our tale of two cities. We must convince them we don't have to settle for two cities. That we can have one city, indivisible, shining for all of its people. 210144 ANN RICHARDS (ON VIDEO) >> If you give us a chance, we can perform. After all ginger Rogers did everything that Fred astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels. BARACK OBAMA (ON VIDEO)>> There is not a liberal America and a conservative America. There is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white america and Latino America, and asian-american. There's the United States of America. 210223 JULIAN CASTRO (ON VIDEO)>> The American dream is not a sprint or even a marathon but a re relay. Our families don't always cross the finish line in the span of one generation, but each generation passes on to the next the fruits of their labor. BARACK OBAMA (ON VIDEO) >> We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes. All of us defending the United States of America. 210253 >> Welcome. >> Welcome. >> Welcome. >> the second night -- >> of the Democratic National Convention. >> This is a different kind of convention. >> Look at the camera and smile. >> And this -- >> This is a different kind of keynote. >> -- is a different kind of keynote. >> This year -- >> All of us are on the stage. >> And weâ?Tve got a lot to say. JONATHAN NEZ (ON VIDEO)>> Let's get real. There's a lot riding on this election. 210313 ROBERT GARCIA (ON VIDEO)>> When we're facing the biggest economic and health crisis in generations. Because our president didn't and still doesn't have a plan. MALCOLM KENYATTA (ON VIDEO)>> When doctors, nurses and home health care aides in Philadelphia have to risk their own lives to protect others because there's not enough protective equipment. 210329 KATHLEEN CLYDE (ON VIDEO)>> When factory workers in Ohio are faced with dangerous conditions because this administration hasn't given clear guidance on how to protect our people. SAM PARK>> When teachers in gwinnett county Georgia and across the country are being asked to return to the classroom without a plan to keep them safe and parents are exhausted juggling full time work and full time child care. JONATHAN NEZ (ON VIDEO)>> And visiting our parents and grand parents through the window of a nursing home, worrying all the time that they'll get sick. 210400 MARLON KIMPSON (ON VIDEO)>> When unemployment in north Charleston, South Carolina, a city I represent, has risen nearly four fold and evictions are putting families out on the street in the middle of a pandemic. 210414 NIKKI FRIED (ON VIDEO0>> Make no mistake, it didn't have to be this bad. In the early days of the virus, Donald Trump didn't listen to the experts, and then he said something that a president should never say. VICTORIA NEAVE (ON VIDEO) >> He said, I don't take responsibility at all. CONOR LAMB (ON VIDEO)>> No responsibility. >> No leadership. >> No plan. >> He still doesn't have a plan. YVANNA CANCELA (ON VIDEO)>> Donald Trump just doesn't understand, we can't fix our economy until we get ahold of the virus. CONOR LAMB (ON VIDEO)>> While working families are struggling, he's looking out for the people who are already doing just fine. The wealthy, the big corporations, the donors to his campaign. [9:05:07 PM] JONATHAN NEZ (ON VIDEO)>> He's looking out for himself. RANDALL WOODFIN (ON VIDEO)>> But there's one person who's looking out for us. >> All of us. MALCOLM KENYATTA (ON VIDEO)>> And that's Joe Biden. NIKKI FRIED (ON VIDEO)>> Joe called it. We are in a battle for the soul of our nation. 210502 MARI MANOOGIAN (ON VIDEO)>> But Joe knows we can never let hard times turn us against each other. CONOR LAMB (ON VIDEO)>> And we can never stop doing the hard work to make things right. >> That's why we ran for office. Even when people counted us out. YVANNA CANCELA (ON VIDEO)>> Even when there had never been a Latina in the Nevada state senate. NIKKI FRIED (ON VIDEO)>> Or Democrat elected as Florida commission of agriculture in nearly 3 decades. SAM PARK (ON VIDEO)>> Or an openly gay man in the Georgia state legislature. RANDALL WOODFIN (ON VIDEO)>> When Birmingham hadn't had a mayor this young in 120 years. 210534 DENNY RUPRECHT (ON VIDEO)>> We ran for office because we know the struggles American families are facing, because we've lived them. MALCOLM KENYARRA (ON VIDEO)>> We've lived the insecurity and the indignity of an eviction notice. ROBERT GARCIA (ON VIDEO)>> I, like many of you, have lived the frustration of paying off student loans. RANDALL WOODFIN (ON VIDEO)>> We have lived the grief of losing loved ones to gun violence and the criminal justice system that unfairly targets our communities. SAM PARK (ON VIDEO)>> We have lived that feeling of helplessness when someone you love is very sick, and access to health care is a matter of life and death. 210609 COLIN ALLRED (ON VIDEO)>> By the way, Joe Biden has lived a lot of this too. >> He was raised in a middle class family in Scranton, Pennsylvania and Claymont, Delaware. >> He watched his dad look for work and learned that a job is about so much more than a paycheck. It's about dignity and respect. 210628 >> He was sworn into office from the hospital room of his two young sons after a car crash killed his wife and infant daughter. NIKKI FRIED (ON VIDEO)>> He knows what it's like to thank god you have health care. BRENDAN BOYLE>> He knows what it's like to work hard for everything you've got. CONOR LAMB (ON VIDEO)>> He knows what it's like to send a child off to war. VICTORIA NEAVE (ON VIDEO)>> And he'll never forget who he's fighting for. 210653 COLIN ALLRED (ON VIDEO)>> I look around my district in north Texas, and I see the people who built this country: the educators, like the single mom who raised me. The men and women on the front lines of our health care system. You built this country. MARI MANOOGIA (ON VIDEO)>> Small business owners like the ones whose shops and restaurants line the streets of Birmingham, Michigan. MARLON KIMPSON (ON VIDEO)>> Of Charleston, south Carolina. JONATHAN NEZ (ON VIDEO)>> Of tribal nations. MALCOLM KENYATTA (ON VIDEO)>> Line the streets of Philadelphia. And bring our communities to life. You built this country. 210721 RAUMESH AKBARI (ON VIDEO)>> The nurses in Memphis, who came out of retirement to treat patients during this pandemic. You built this country. ROBERT GARCIA (ON VIDEO)>> And you know what? You deserve more than the constant chaos that Donald Trump delivers. BRENDAN BOYLE (ON VIDEO)>> You deserve health care you can afford. A job that pays you fairly. You deserve child care and paid sick leave while you work. And when you pay into social security and medicare, you deserve to know it will be there when you retire. [MULTIPLE PARTICIPANTS]>> Thatâ?Ts why we ran. JONATHAN NEZ (ON VIDEO)>> And thanks to the voters across the country in both red states and blue states. [MULTIPLE PARTICIPANTS]>> We won. 210756 MALCOLM KENYATTA (ON VIDEO)>> A new generation of leaders is rising up. CONOR LAMB (ON VIDEO)>> And with Joe Biden in the white house, there's no limit to what we can do. YVANNA CANCELA (ON VIDEO)>> In Nevada, we're making drug prices more transparent, so people with chronic illnesses won't go broke while drug companies get rich. 210815 COLIN ALLRED (ON VIDEO)>> Joe's working to protect and expand the affordable care act. He'll make sure millions of people keep their coverage and no one can be denied for a pre-existing condition. He'll bring down the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs too. Giving tax credits to working families and allowing medicare to negotiate drug prices. >> That's a big fâ?Ting deal. >> That's a big fâ?Ting deal. KATHLEEN CLYDE (ON VIDEO)>> Because Joe knows we can't have a healthy economy if people can't afford health care. BRENDAN BOYLE (ON VIDEO)>> But let's remember, Donald Trump is suing to take health care coverage away from more than 20 million Americans and eliminate protections for 100 million with pre-existing conditions. >> In the middle of a pandemic. 210857 VICTORIA NEAVE (ON VIDEO)>> In Texas, we're standing up for fierce women like my mom and my tias who raised me never backed down from a tough fight. So we're fighting to make sure that mothers have access to health screenings for safe pregnancies and childbirth. And we're bringing long overdue justice to survivors of sexual assault. 210919 RAUMESH AKBARI (ON VIDEO)>> Joe Biden has been fighting for women his entire career. As senator, he authored the Violence Against Women act. And as president, he'll restore funding for Planned Parenthood. He will codify Roe v. Wade, and make reducing maternal mortality, especially for women of color, a top priority. NIKKI FRIED (ON VIDEO)>> In Florida, on the frontlines of our climate crirs, we're working to produce more renewable energy and shrink our carbon footprint. 210946 JONATHAN NEX (ON VIDEO)>> Joe has a major plan to invest in clean energy, jobs and infrastructure. BRENDAN BOYLE (ON VIDEO)>> In the house of representatives, we're closing loopholes to ensure local infrastructure projects use American made materials and local labor, and support American manufacturing. YVANNA CANCELA (ON VIDEO)>> Unlike Donald Trump, Joe Biden will actually enforce buy-American rules, investing in American made clean energy, building materials, high-tech equipment and R&D, all creating more good jobs. 211016 MARI MANOOGIAN (ON VIDEO)>> In Michigan, we're banning business practices that have exploited workers and cost them hundreds of millions of dollars in lost wages. MARLON KIMPSOn(ON VIDEO)>> When employment is the highest rate since the Great Depression, when millions of people have seen their hours and pay slashed, Joe knows it's not enough to rebuild the economy the way it was before. We've got to build it back better. 211041 BRENDAN BOYLE (ON VIDEO)>> He'll build an economy that rewards work, not wealth. And get rid of the trump tax cuts that only benefit big corporations and the rich. And then he'll invest in health care, education, and infrastructure. And in getting small businesses up and running again. CONOR LAMB (ON VIDEO)>> Take it from me, when you're in the trenches, you want Joe Biden right there next to you. MALCOLM KENYATTA (ON VIDEO)>> When I wanted to marry the man i loved, Joe Biden was the first national figure to support me and my family. DR. MATTHEW MILLER (ON VIDEO)>> Appreciate you, man. MARI MANOOGIAN (ON VIDEO)>> When the auto industry was going under, Joe stuck his neck out to protect it, and help save 1.5 million auto jobs. 211119 CONOR LAMB (ON VIDEO)>> When our economy was on the brink Joe led the recovery effort that created millions of jobs, including here in western Pennsylvania. Under his leadership, America bounced back with the longest economic expansion in history. NIKKI FRIED (ON VIDEO)>> You know, the one trump brags about creating. COLIN ALLRED (ON VIDEO)>> That's what happens when Joe Biden is in your corner. Working families get a fair shot. MARI MANOOGIAN (ON VIDEO)>> He understands that leadership means fighting for the people who built this country. All of you. >> All of us. 211147 STACEY ABRAM (ON VIDEO)>> This nation belongs to all of us. And in every election, we choose how we will create a more perfect union -- not by taking sides, but by taking stock of where we are and what we need. This year's choice could not be more clear. America faces a triple threat: a public health catastrophe, an economic collapse, and a reckoning with racial justice and inequality. 211215 So our choice is clear. A steady experienced public servant who can lead us out of this crisis just like he's done before or a man who only knows how to deny and distract. A leader who cares about our families or a president who only cares about himself. We know Joe Biden. America, we need Joe Biden. To make your voice heard, text VOTE to 30330. 211244 In a democracy, we do not elect saviors, we cast our ballots for those who see our struggles and pledge to serve. Who hear our dreams and work to make them real. Who defend our way of life by protecting our right to vote. Faced with a president of cowardice, Joe Biden is a man of proven courage. He will restore our moral compass by confronting our challenges, not by hiding from them or undermining our elections to keep his job. 211316 In a time of voter suppression at home and authoritarians abroad, Joe Biden will be a champion for free and fair elections. For a public health system that keeps us safe. For an economy that we build back better than before. And for accountability and integrity in our system of justice. We stand with Joe Biden. Because this isn't just about defeating Donald Trump. We are in this to win for America. So let's get it done. TRACEE ELLIS ROSS 211354 ROSS>> Hello. I'm Tracee Ellis Ross, and how exciting to hear from young elected leaders from across the country. A perfect way to begin night two of the democratic national convention, uniting America. Tonight is all about leadership. This unprecedented moment calls for leadership. Steady, inclusive leadership, driven by people who understand that our democracy is based on the value of each and every one of us being treated with dignity and respect. 211431 Leaders who respond to the needs of hardworking Americans who right this minute are unable to pay rent, put food on the table and keep their loved ones safe. As a black woman, I find myself at a crucial intersection in American politics. For far too long black female leadership in this country has been utilized without being acknowledged or valued. But we are turning the tide. 211502 Hello, Kamala. Her nomination is historic, for anyone who believes in â?owe the people.â?? Like senator Harris and many we saw in the keynote, today's leaders emerge from communities that have long been underrepresented. They're charting new paths in the spirit of Shirley Chisolm, Charlotta Bass, Fanny Lou Hamer, and John Lewis. They get in good trouble. Necessary trouble. They call things out, otherwise ignored, elevating our nation, and changing the course of our lives for the better. 211540 With every vote we cast for forward thinking, honest leaders, we chip away at ingrained systems of inequity, and we bend the arc of justice. True leaders make sure that policy is informed by all of us -- bridging our burdened past to a safe, equitable and even joyful future. 211606 Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are that bridge. Heeding voices from within the movement for racial justice, listening to the people to the people and acting with empathy and compassion to reflect our shared humanity. Tonight we'll hear from a number of American leaders, including former acting U.S. Attorney general Sally Yates who refused to defend an unconstitutional travel ban and paid for it with her job. 211637 JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> The threat to this nation, to our democracy is real. Itâ?Ts clear and itâ?Ts present. You've watched the president now for three years. Look at what he's doing, instilling fear. I mean, not joking. Instilling fear. Sowing division, stroking racial vision. Undercutting every institution that was designed to check the abuse of power by the president or anyone else. All this for what reason? All this in order to solidify his base and expand his power. SALLY YATES 211718 YATES>> Good evening. I'm Sally Yates. Speaking at a political convention is something I never expected to be doing, but the future of our democracy is at stake. I'm here, in my hometown of Atlanta, where as a young lawyer, I joined our nation's justice department. For nearly 30 years, through Democratic and Republican administrations, I worked alongside my DOJ colleagues to advance our nation's promise of equal justice. 211747 I served as deputy attorney general in the Obama-Biden administration, and stayed on as acting attorney general for the Trump transition.Then, ten days in, I was fired for refusing to defend President Trump's shameful and unlawful Muslim travel ban. That was the start of his relentless attacks on our democratic institutions and countless dedicated public servants. 211815 Like me, these officials didn't swear an oath to a person or a party. Public servants promise to defend our constitution, uphold our laws and work on behalf of the American people. But from the moment President Trump took office, he's used his position to benefit himself, rather than our country. He's trampled the rule of law, trying to weaponize our justice department to attack his enemies and protect his friends. 211847 Rather than standing up to Vladimir Putin, he fawns over a dictator who is still trying to interfere in our elections. 211856 He's even trying to sabotage our postal service, to keep people from being able to vote. His constant attacks on the FBI, the free press, Inspectors general, federal judges, they all have one purpose: to remove any check on his abuse of power. Put simply, he treats our country like it's his family business. This time, bankrupting our nation's moral authority at home and abroad. 211930 But our country doesn't belong to him, it belongs to all of us. Joe Biden embraces that. He has spent his entire life putting our country first. He has never backed down from a challenge or a bully. He summons the best in us. And lives by the values that define us as Americans. 211955 Service, integrity, courage, compassion. There are countless stories of Joe Biden reaching out to someone in their moment of need. Well, this is our country's moment of need. We need a president who respects our laws and the privilege of public service. Who reflects our values and cares about our people. We need a president who will restore the soul of America. We need Joe Biden. WE THE PEOPLE MONTAGE 212035 >> Over the last four years, we have experienced failed leadership under Donald J. Trump. >> We've had to deal with this insanity. >> I've watched our country deteriorate. >> The coverups, the lying, the favoritism. >> The disregard for the Constitution. >> Donald Trump has failed America. >> Itâ?Ts time for us to reclaim our constitutional and democratic value. >> We need to prove to the world, and most importantly, prove to ourselves that we are better than this. 212103 >> We need an experienced leader. >> A leader that has passion, integrity, and strategic leadership skills. >> And his name is Joe Biden. >> Joe Biden. >> Joe Biden is that leader >> And he really wants the best for this country. >> He understands and respects our democracy. The rule of law. And the U.S. Constitution. >> He will move toward creating a more perfect union. âTª Rise up âTª SENATOR CHUCK SCHUMER 212134 SCHUMER>> Hi. Hi, this is Senator Chuck Schumer, Democratic Leader from my hometown -- Brooklyn, New York. Behind me is a sight I see out of my window every night, the Statue of Liberty, the same sight that greeted hopeful immigrants like my grandparents. A symbol of freedom and a beacon of hope to the world. 212157 Today, Donald Trump has divided our country, diminished our greatness and demeaned everything that this statue represents. He even hid in a bunker as Americans were tear gassed and beaten. 212211 Millions are jobless. 170,000 Americans have died from covid. And Donald Trump says it is what it is. Presidents should never say it is what it is. President Lincoln, honoring the great sacrifice at Gettysburg didn't say it is what it is. President Roosevelt seeing a third of the nation ill housed, ill clad and ill nourished didn't say it is what it is. America, Donald Trump has quit on you. We need a president with the dignity, integrity, and the experience to lead us out of this crisis. 212246 A man with a steady hand and a big heart who will never ever quit on America. That man is my friend, Joe Biden. He will be a great president. But if we're going to win this battle for the soul of our nation, Joe can't do it alone. Democrats must take back the senate. We will stay united from Sanders and Warren, to Manchin and Warner and with our unity we will bring bold and dramatic change to our country. 212317 Let me tell you some of the things we do. With president Biden, Vice President Harris and a democratic majority, we will make health care affordable for all. We'll undue the vicious inequality of income and wealth that has plagued America for far too long and weâ?Tll take strong decisive action to combat climate change and save the planet. We will protect voting rights, fight systemic racism in the criminal justice system and in our economy, and restore a supreme court that looks out for people not corporations. 212353 We'll rebuild our infrastructure and make sure every home, from inner city to rural America, has broadband. We will save the post office and, once and for all, defeat Covid-19, this evil disease. And beckoned by the Lady behind us, we will reform our immigration system so that immigrants, yearning to breathe free, will at last become American citizens. 212421 Together, we can reignite the hope once felt by millions of men and women, huddled masses on creeking ships who glimpsed this mighty women -- woman with her torch, knowing they could build a better life here in America. And out of this long national nightmare, America will finally awaken to a brighter future and a new day. 212447 ROSS>> Senator Chuck Schumer reminding us that leadership requires integrity and accountability. Real leaders don't ask what we can do for them. They ask what they can do for us. In a minute, we will hear from two former presidents and they're going to speak to that. But first here are Caroline Kennedy and her son, jack Schlossberg. CAROLINE KENNEDY/JACK SCHLOSSBERG KENNEDY>> 60 years ago, in a crowded LA stadium, my father accepted the democratic nomination for president. He challenged Americans to look to the future and join him on a journey toward a new frontier. 212527 SCHLOSSBERG>> It was a call to the young at heart, regardless of age or party. Times have changed. But the themes of my grandfather's speech -- courage, unity and patriotism-- are as important today as they were in 1960. And once again, we need a leader who believes America's best days are yet to come. We need Joe Biden. KENNEDY>> I've admired Joe Biden since I was a senate intern in 1974. He shared my uncle Teddy's commitment to civil rights, women's rights and working families. 212557 He was a senator who cared, who led, who inspired. That's why I helped choose him to be Barack Obama's running mate in 2008. When I was US Ambassador to Japan, I got to see Vice President Biden in action. He stepped off Air Force 2, wearing his aviator glasses and a big smile, radiating American optimism and generosity. 212619 I saw a leader who was tough but fair, who commanded the trust and respect of other nations. And who always put America's interests first. Joe Biden's lifetime of public service reflects his unwavering commitment to our highest ideals. 212636 SCHLOSSBERG>> In this election, our future is on the ballot. For my generation, it will define the rest of our lives. We need to tackle climate change. We need to end systemic racial injustice. We need to make health care available for everybody, and we need to rebuild an economy that helps working families. We can do this. We can reach these new frontiers but only with a president who asks what he can do for our country and what together we can do to build a better world. It's up to us. Let's get it done. SCHLOSSBERG AND KENNEDY>> Let's elect Joe Biden the next president of the United States. 212712 ROSALYNN CARTER>> It's a great pleasure for Jimmy and me to join you in celebrating our next president of the United States. Joe Biden. We've known and admired Joe and Jill for many years. And most recently Iâ?Tve worked with them on tackling the demand faced by the more than 53 million unpaid caregivers in our country who are juggling work and other family responsibilities. And putting their own physical and mental health and well being at risk. 212743 Joe knows well, too well, the sorrows and struggles of being a family caregiver. From Joeâ?Ts time as a young widower, thrust into single parenthood, with a demanding job to he and Jill caring for their own parents and their son Beau at the end of their lives. He knows caregiving is hard, even on the good days. 212806 Joe and I also know the challenges for those who served in the military, and returned with visible and invisible wounds and we know those caregivers need a leader in the white house. Jimmy and I are voting for Joe, because he recognizes the challenges facing our families and has the heart and the talent to make life better for all Americans. 212834 JIMMY CARTER>> I ran for president in 1976, Joe Biden was my first and most effective supporter in the senate. For decades he's been my loyal and dedicated friend. Joe has the experience, character and decency to bring us together and restore Americaâ?Ts greatness. You deserve a person with integrity and judgment. Someone who's 100% fair, someone who's committed to what is best for the American people. Joe is that kind of leader and he's the right person for this moment in our nation's history. 212905 He understands that -- understanding dignity, our citizenâ?Ts (?) rights determines not only our vision but actions. More than ever, that's what we need. In these uncertain times, Joe Biden realizes that many American lives can be saved each day with the use of masks and testing as recommended by medical experts. Joe Biden must be our next president. BILL CLINTON 212933 CLINTON>> Good evening. A presidential election is the most important job interview. At the end, we hire a leader to help us solve problems, create opportunities, and give our kids better tomorrows. That's a tall order this year. With the Covid-19 outbreak on the path of killing 200,000 people and destroying millions of jobs and small businesses, how did Donald Trump respond? At first, he said the virus was under control and would soon disappear. 213002 When it didn't, he was on TV every day bragging on what a great job he was doing, when our scientists waited to give us vital information. When he didn't like the expert advice he was given, he ignored it. Only when Covid exploded in even more states did he encourage people to wear masks. By then, many more were dying. When asked about the surge in deaths, he shrugged and said, â?oit is what it is.â?? But did it have to be this way? No. 213032 Covid hit us much harder than it had to. We have just 4% of the world's population, but 25% of the world's Covid cases. Our unemployment rate is more than twice as high as South Koreas, 2-and-a-half times the United Kingdomâ?Ts, more than three times Japan's. Donald Trump says we're leading the world. Well, we are the only major industrial economy to have its unemployment rate triple. 213056 At a time like this, the oval office should be a command center. Instead, it's a storm center. There's only chaos. Just (?) one thing never changes -- his determination to deny responsibility and shift the blame. 213111 The buck never stops there. Now, you have to decide whether to renew his contract or hire someone else. If you want a president who defines the job as spending hours a day watching TV and zapping people on social media, he's your man. Denying, distracting and demeaning works great if you're trying to entertain or inflame, but in a real crisis, it collapses like a house of cards. 213138 Covid just doesn't respond to any of that. To beat it, youâ?Tve got to actually go to work and deal with the facts. Our party is united in offering you a very different choice, a go to work president. A down to Earth, get the job done guy. A man with a mission to take responsibility, not shift the blame. Concentre, not distract, unite not divide. Our choice is Joe Biden. 213204 Joe helped bring us back from a recession before, and he can do it again. In 2009, Barack Obama and Joe Biden started with the worst economy since the great depression. And when they were done, they delivered more than six straight years of job growth. What did Joe do? He accepted responsibility for implementing the recovery act. His work created a lot of new jobs and started many new companies in communities across our country. 213232 Now Joe's committed to building America back again. How? He's given us smart detailed plans to invest in areas vital to our future. Innovative financing from modern factories and small businesses. Good jobs and green energy and conservation to combat climate change. A modern infrastructure that brings small towns and rural American the connectivity and investment others take for granted. 213257 And a plan to ensure that black Americans, Latino Americans, Native Americans, women, immigrants and other communities left behind are full participants in our economy and our society. Joe Biden wants to build an economy far better suited to our changing world. Better for young people. Better for families working and raising their kids. Better for people who lost jobs and need new ones. Better for farmers tired of being collateral damage in trade wars. 213327 Better for workers caring for the sick, elderly and people with disabilities. Better because of a living wage, and access to affordable higher education and health care, including prescription drugs. And to child care, a secure retirement and for the first time paid family and medical leave. Joe won't just put his signature on a check, and try to fool you into thinking it came from him. He'll work to make sure that your paycheck reflects your contribution to and your stake in a growing economy. 213358 And this job interview, the difference is stark. You know what Donald Trump will do with four more years, blame, bully and belittle. And you know what Joe Biden will do, build back better. It's trump's us versus them America against Joe Biden's America. Where we all live and work together. It's a clear choice. The future of our country is riding on it. Thank you. 213427 ELLIS ROSS>> It's time to call the roll and officially nominate the democratic candidate for president of the United States. But this year, for the first time, the roll call is heading out to all 57 states and territories. Places that showcase our nation's natural beauty. Places where people are working together to secure a better future for our country and places that are working to rebuild and recover. Like Iowa, where thousands have been left homeless and hundreds of thousands have been left without power in the wake of last week's terrible storm. 213504 Our hearts are with you, Iowa. There's so much going on right now. Tonight we come together to nominate a candidate who will fight for all of us. The convention delegates will do the official nominating, but you can join them in supporting Joe Biden. Text join to 30330 to get involved. And now, the chair of the democratic national committee, Tom Perez. TOM PEREZ 213535 PEREZ>> It's great to be here in Milwaukee, a proud uniontown whose grit and character reflect the resilience of our party and our country. There's no doubt these last few months have been tough, but good leadership means being able to adapt to any situation, and I want to thank the people of Milwaukee for being such gracious and flexible hosts. It's also great to be back in Wisconsin where I was lucky enough to marry my wife, Ann Marie, a little more than three decades ago. 213602 The Progressive movement has deep roots here. And since today is the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment's ratification, we should point out that Wisconsin was the first state to ratify it. What's more, in its one word motto, â?oforward,â?? Wisconsin captures something so important about America. The way that, no matter what challenges today brings, we always believe a better future is possible. 213631 That's what my parents believed when they immigrated to this country nearly a century ago. fleeing the iron fist of a brutal dictator in the Dominican Republic. This nation welcomed them with compassion. And they quickly learned that their hope of building a better life through hard work was shared by generations of Americans. Indeed, every American story is a story about that hope, that sense of possibility. It's what unites us, defines us. 213702 And it's what sustains us now. We will work to meet our extraordinary challenges because progress is made by the hopeful, not the cynical. And we will do that work together because movements are built by the many, not the few. And as you watch tonight's decidedly unconventional roll call and reflect on the diversity of our nation, remember you too are part of the American story. And no matter where you come from or where you're watching from tonight, you have a place in Joe Biden's democratic party. BENNIE THOMPSON 213741 THOMPSON>> Delegates and distinguished guests, under our procedural rules, two democratic candidates submitted nominating documents to our convention secretary for the office of president of the United States. Senator Bernie sanders and vice president Joe Biden. 213757 As such, each candidate has provided names of individuals who will make nominating and seconding speeches on their behalf. We will begin with nominating and seconding speeches for senator Sanders. Speaking on his behalf will be two Progressive champions, Bob king and representative Alexandria ocasio-cortez. BOB KING 213823 KING>> I'm Bob king. As a proud union member and former president of a great American union, the uaw, I'm honored to nominate Bernie Sanders for president. For decades, Bernie has led the fight for working families, fighting for worker's rights to organize unions and collectively bargain. In a time of enormous inequality, he understands that we must confront large corporations which have far too much control over our economy and our politics. 213851 Bernie believes health care is a human right, and should not be contingent on a job. He knows we can rebuild our crumbling infrastructure by creating millions of good paying union jobs, while combating climate change. Bernie's moral clarity has emboldened the Democratic party's fight for justice. The grassroots energy of his supporters has cemented advances in our platform. Bernie will continue to lead a movement that helps defeat Trump and delivers transformational change. 213921 I'm excited to place into nomination the name of a great champion of the working class, Senator Bernie Sanders. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ 213933 AOC>> Good evening, bienvenidos, and thank you to everyone here today endeavoring toward a better, more just future for our country and our world. Infidelity and gratitude to a mass people's movement working to establish 21st century social, economic and human rights, including guaranteed health care, higher education, living wages and labor rights for all people in the united States. 214003 A movement striving to recognize and repair the wounds of racial injustice, colonization, misogyny and homophobia. And to propose and build reimagined systems of immigration and foreign policy that turn away from the violence and xenophobia of our past. A movement that realizes the unsustainable brutality of an economy that rewards explosive inequalities of wealth for the few, at the expense of long term stability for the many. 214038 And who organized a historic grassroots campaign to reclaim our democracy. In a time when millions of people in the United States are looking for deep systemic solutions to our crisis of mass evictions, unemployment, and lack of health care [SPEAKS SPANISH] and out of a love for all people, I hear by second the nomination of Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont for president of the United States of America. BENNIE THOMPSON 214112 THOMPSON>> Thank you, Mr. King and representative ocasio-cortez. We now turn to nominating and seconding speeches for vice president Biden. In a moment, we'll hear from senator Chris Coons who holds the Delaware senate seat once held by the vice president and representative Lisa blunt Rochester, my colleague in the house. But first, we'll hear from Jacqueline Asbit, a working American who met Joe Biden in a most unexpected place: the elevator where she worked. JACQUELINE ASBIT 214149 ASBIT>> I take powerful people up on my elevator all the time. When they get off, they go to their important meetings. Me, I just head back to the lobby. But in the short time I spent with Joe Biden, I could tell he really saw me. That he actually cared. That my life meant something to him. And I knew even when he went into his important meeting, he would take my story in there with him. 214212 That's because Joe Biden has room in his heart for more than just himself. We've been through a lot, and we have tough days ahead. But nominating someone like that to be in the white house is a good place to start. That's why I nominate my friend Joe Biden as the next president of the United States. CHRIS COONS 214238 COONS>> I'm Senator Chris Coons from Delaware, a small state where people expect to see their senators and even, sometimes, their vice president at the supermarket, at a church festival -- out in their community. Joe fights for us because he knows our struggles and hopes. He knows the pain of loss and the worries of working parents, and he's always brought that same personal concern he showed for Jacqueline to getting things done as our senator, and then as president Obama's vice president. 214307 Joe's tackled gun violence and climate change, he stood up to dictators and supported our troops, he lead the recovery effort after the last recession and delivered on a promise to make our healthcare system fairer and stronger. Through it all, Joe Biden's never forgotten where he's from. He's been sustained by his faith and his family through the toughest of times, and he has the heart and the compassion for this moment. 214332 For all of these reasons and more, it's my honor to second the nomination of my good friend Joe Biden to be the next president of these United States. REP. LISA BLUNT ROCHESTER 214344 BLUNT ROCHESTER>> I'm congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester. In some history class in the future, children are learning about this moment. They're learning about pain, our grief, our worry. But they're also learning about a man named Joe Biden, about how he restored decency to our government and integrity to our democracy. They're learning about how we conquered a pandemic, stood united for racial justice and built our economy back better than before. 214415 They're learning about how his leadership gave their generation a fighting chance. They're learning about us too. About the resolve and the unity we showed against the forces of hatred and division. About the work we will do over the next 11 weeks. And about the night when despite our distance we came together to nominate Joe Biden for president of the United States. A nomination I'm honored to second. 214445 THOMPSON>> Thank you, all. Pursuant to our convention rules, we'll now proceed to a roll call by states on the selection of our party's candidate for the president of the United States. Secretary Ray? 214506 >> Mr. Chairman, coming to you live from the Wisconsin center, it's time to begin our virtual trip around America. Our journey begins at the site of a major step forward in our national journey toward justice. Let's go to Alabama. REP. TERRI SEWELL 214530 SEWELL>> John Lewis marched across this bridge in 1965 to demand the right to vote. A lifetime later, civil rights and voting rights remain America's great unfinished business. But those who walked this path before us showed us the way forward. If we want to honor John Lewis's incrediblife life, let's restore the Voting Rights Act and ensure our democracy belongs to all Americans. 214600 Alabama casts 8 votes for Bernie Sanders, and the great state of Alabama casts 52 votes for our next president of these United States, Joe Biden. CHUCK DEGNAN >> Alaska. 214615 DEGNAN>>>The waters we rely on to feed our families and make a living are threatened by climate change. When Joe Biden was vice president, he and president Obama made sure Alaskaâ?Ts tribes had a say in how these waters were managed. Donald Trump took it away. We must elect a president who will respect our voices, protect our waters and address climate change. 214634 Alaska casts 7 votes for Bernie Sanders and 12 votes for the next president, Joe Biden. >> American Samoa. PETTI MATILA 214643 MATILA>> Joe Biden honors our service and we trust him to support our community. As vice president he helped expand rural infrastructure to communities like ours broadening our economic capacity. As president, he will continue to strengthen rural America from New England to the pacific. ALIITAMA SOTOA SOTOA>> On behalf of the governor and the American Samoa, the democratic party proudly cast 11 votes for our next president of the United States of America, Joe Biden. >> Arizona. MARISOL GARCIA 214719 GARCIA>> As a middle school teacher, I know that public educators are doing everything they can to make sure our students have quality learning experiences this Fall. As a mother of a high school freshman, I know that it's far from perfect. As an NEA union organizer, I'll fight to make sure that it's scientists, parents and educators that decide when it's safe to go back to school, not politicians. As an Arizona Latina, I proudly cast our votes -- 29 for Bernie Sanders and 51 for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Arkansas. 214749 >> Feeding people is an act of love, and I think we can all use a little extra love these days. So we took our food trucks out to the community to deliver meals, made right here at the Clinton Presidential Center, for our neighbors in need. Even when our leaders let us down, Americans kept looking out for each other. Arkansas casts 9 votes for Bernie Sanders and 27 votes for our next President Joe Biden. >> California. 214813 >> Climate change is not a hoax. It's real and communities of color have been bearing the brunt of this reality for generations. >> Joe Biden's plan to crack down on polluters to protect our air and water is about environmental justice and economic justice. 214828 >> He'll prioritize equity and bring new clean energy jobs to black and brown neighborhoods because that is how we build back better. >> California, home to our next vice president, Kamala Harris, casts 231 votes for Bernie Sanders and 263 votes for our next president Joe Biden. >> Colorado. 214851 >> Han and I grew up in poverty as immigrants. But we've been able to make a decent living. We're extremely lucky. But now we have three family members who tested positive for covid, and it just doesnâ?Tt feel safe to put Evan and Emma back to school. 214903 This is certainly(?) going to be hard on them and on us. But millions of working families will have it much harder. I know Joe Biden cares about these struggles and that's why I trust him to fight for us. With one abstention, Colorado will cast 36 votes for Bernie Sanders and 42 for our next president Joe Biden. >> Connecticut? 214924 >> Firefighters are proud to put our lives on the line every day to protect our neighbors. It's a badge of courage. But while we are protecting your family, we need a president who is committed to protecting ours. And that's Joe Biden. He has the courage we respect and the commitment to working Americans we need now. On behalf of our governor, Ned Lamont I am honored to cast Connecticutâ?Ts 75 votes for our next President, Joe Biden. >> Delaware. 214956 >> Delaware passes. >> Delaware passes. Democrats abroad. >> We represent the millions of Americans who live outside the United States and vote back home. Americans abroad can make a difference in the states that will decide this year's elections. We need your help to elect a president who will restore our standing around the world. Go to votefromabroad.org to learn more. Democrats abroad is proud to cast ten votes for Bernie Sanders and seven votes for our next president Joe Biden. 215029 >> District of Columbia. MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER BOWSER>> Welcome to my hometown and the best city in the world. Washington D.C. is 706,000 residents strong. We raise families, pay taxes and serve the United States military, just like every American in the 50 states. The house of representatives just passed a historic piece of legislation to make Washington D.C. the 51st state. From Black Lives Matter plaza, the District of Colombia proudly casts one vote for Bernie Sanders and 43 votes for the next president of the United States, Joe Biden. >> Florida. FRED GUTTENBERG 215106 GUTTENBERG>> When my daughter was murdered in Parkland, Joe Biden called to share in our familyâ?Ts grief. I quickly learned about his decency and his civility. But I also learned about his toughness, and how heâ?Ts beaten the NRA. Together, with the other victims of gun violence and the nation's youth, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will take on the NRA again, and win. Let's win back our freedom to live without fear. Florida casts 57 votes for Bernie Sanders and 192 votes for our next president Joe Biden. >> Georgia. 215141 >> My mentor, congressman John Lewis, knew that the right to vote is sacred. Georgians know that our ability to vote is under attack. Long lines, voter suppression. Donald trump is even trying to slow down the mail and force us to risk our lives to cast a ballot. We will not be silenced. 215159 Take out your phone and text vote to 30330 and make sure your vote is heard in this election. From the cradle of the civil rights movement, and in the spirit of good trouble, Georgia casts our 117 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Guam. 215216 >> 70 years ago this summer, Chamorros became U.S. Citizens. We are proud of our resilience, proud of our indigenous heritage, and proud to be part of this historic moment for our party and our nation. From the land where Americaâ?Ts day begins, Guam casts two votes for Bernie Sanders and 11 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Hawaii. 215241 >> I came from the Philippines to Hawaii, the land of indigenous native hawaiians. Today, I want to speak to my fellow immigrants, to the essential workers on the frontline, to the service members who wear our flag, to the parents with big dreams for their children, no matter where we came from, immigrants belong in our countryâ?Ts long fight for justice. We belong in the America we are building together. 215303 Hawaii, birthplace of president Obama, casts nine votes for Bernie Sanders and 23 votes for our next president, Biden. >> Idaho. 215314 >> We're not waiting for Washington to act on climate change. Here in Boise, we know that clean energy doesn't just mean a healthier planet, it means good paying jobs. Imagine what we could do with a president that listens to science and leads with courage. Idaho casts nine votes for Bernie Sanders, and 16 for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Illinois. 215437 >> Discrimination has denied too many black Americans the chance to own a home and build wealth. Joe Biden has a plan to end racist lending practices and help more people of color achieve the American dream of owning a home. This isn't just about racial justice. It's about strong communities and more economic security for working families. Illinois casts 59 votes for Bernie Sanders, and 122 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Indiana. PETE BUTTIGIEG 215409 BUTTIGIEG>> Here in South Bend, we once feared that our best days were behind us, but then we reimagined our economy with new jobs and even new industries. The Hoosier state is ready to lead America's recovery, with our diverse communities, our talented workers, and our best in the world agriculture. Joe Biden's plan gives us a blueprint to revitalize industrial cities in rural areas alike. Indiana casts two votes for my friend, Bernie Sanders, and 86 votes for the next president, Joe Biden. >> Iowa. 215441 >> We were going to talk to you tonight about biofuels, but the powerful storm that swept through Iowa last week has taken a terrible toll on our farmers, our small businesses and our families who are still without power. >> So while we have the honor of casting Iowa's votes, 11 for Bernie Sanders and 38 for Joe Biden, we also want to ask you to keep Iowans in your thoughts during this difficult time. >> Kansas. 215504 >> I'm a fourth generation family farmer. But I worry about the next generation. Many of our young folks end up moving from a rural community to find jobs. Joe Biden has a plan to help new farmers get a good start. And by funding schools and health care, he'll make sure that rural communities remain great places to live, work, and raise a family for generations to come. Kansas, the sunflower state, proudly casts ten votes for Bernie Sanders and 35 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Kentucky. 215547 >> One day when I was 14, my mom wouldn't wake up. Calling 911, I was scared not only because she was sick, but because I knew we couldn't afford the bill. Thank god she survived. When I told Joe Biden that story in 2008, he promised to continue to fight for folks like us and got busy passing Obamacare. Two years ago, when mom had a heart attack, we only had to worry about her getting better because Joe kept his promise. The commonwealth of Kentucky casts all 60 votes for the next president of the United States, Joe Biden. >>Louisiana. 215621 >> This used to be an abandoned building, now it's a thriving arts studio, a community hub, a place where independent artists can make their name, and parents can bring their kids during these difficult days of remote learning. >> Our cities are strong because our people make them strong, and our economy will come back because our small businesses will bring it back. >> Louisiana casts all 60 of our votes for my friend, and the next president, Joe Biden. 215649 >> Maine. >> My American dream? Iâ?Tm living it. A 25 acre organic farm on a lake, a roadside farm stand, and a bed and breakfast. My husband and I arenâ?Tt corporate tycoons, we just want to make an honest living and feed our community. Small businesses like ours are the backbone of rural economies across America. Joe Biden has a plan to help more Americans, especially people of color, start their own business. Maine casts nine votes for Bernie sander and 22 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Maryland. 215721 >> Black lives matter. And when it comes to racial justice, black opportunity matters. >> When Joe Biden rebuilds our middle class, he won't leave anyone behind. His plan, more capital for black entrepreneurs. >> More funding for public schools and HBCUs 215733 >> Banning racial discrimination in the housing market. >> And paying every worker a fair wage. >> That's building back better. >> Maryland. >> The home of Frederick Douglass. 215741 >> Casts one vote for Bernie Sanders and 119 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Massachusetts. 215748 >> We need a plan to get the economy going again. Joe Biden will get the pandemic under control, create new jobs in manufacturing and clean energy, help small businesses and our restaurants recover, and build back better so that our economy is stronger and fairer than it was before. Massachusetts casts 30 votes for Bernie Sanders and 83 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Michigan. 215718 >> Michigan autoworkers are the best in the world, but we would be nowhere without Joe Biden. And a lot of folks wanted to let Detroit go bankrupt. But Joe Biden believed in us, and together, we fought to save our auto industry. >> Now he's got a plan to create a million new auto jobs by investing in clean energy. Joe Biden believes in American workers. He's got our back, and we've got his. >> Michigan casts 53 votes for Bernie Sanders, and 92 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Minnesota. AMY KLOBUCHAR 215851 KLOBUCHAR>> I'm here in Minnesota, the home of the headwaters of the Mississippi river. We know that a bridge shouldn't fall down in the middle of America, but it did. And we came together to rebuild it. That's what we do in America. That's what Joe Biden will do as president. He'll build back better. He'll cross the river of our divides, and unite this country from our cities to our suburbs to our rural areas. And now, we will virtually cross the great Mississippi to St. Paul, to hear from my friend, Mayor Melvin Carter. 215922 CARTER>> Thank you, senator. As the 46th mayor of a city that's more than ready for our 46th president, I'm proud to cast Minnesota's 31 votes for Bernie Sanders and 60 votes for our next U.S. President, Joe Biden. >> Mississippi. 215940 >> Tupelo college reflects the progression of a people from slavery to citizenship to scholarship and leadership contributing to Mississippi and the world. Our alumni are leaders like convention chairman congressman Bennie Thompson. Joe Biden wants to invest $70 billion in HBCUs like Tupelo. 215958 Imagine what impact that could have on hbcus. Imagine what impact hbcus could have on america. Mississippi casts two votes for Bernie Sanders, and 38 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. 5533 DNC NATIONAL CONVENTION MILWAUKEE WI POOL PGM SWITCHED 08182020 20000 2020 P2 >> Missouri. 220013 >> As a member of the international union of bricklayers and allied craft workers, local one St. Louis, I love walking around the city and seeing the contributions that my brothers and sisters have made. We stand ready to rebuild our nation's infrastructure, and with Joe Biden's leadership, we'll create millions of new jobs -- building back better. Missouri casts 28 votes for Bernie Sanders, and 50 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Montana. 220041 >> When covid shut down my college, I came home to my parent's ranch to finish senior year online. But some days I can't even get a video to load or an email attachment to send. Without reliable internet, there's no remote learning, no virtual doctorâ?Ts appointments and just try starting a small business. Rural broadband can be a game change for rural communities like mine and Joe Biden has a plan to make it happen. Montana casts one vote for Bernie Sanders and 18 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Nebraska. 220109 >> I work at a meat packing plant making sure grocery store shelves stay full. They call us essential workers, but we get treated like we're ex-pendable. Workers are dying from covid, but a lot of us don't have paid sick leave or even quality protective equipment. We are human beings, not robots, not disposable. We want to help you keep helping you feed your family, but we need a president who will have our backs. Nebraska casts 33 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Nevada. 220136 >> Working people are the backbone of our economy, and the key to our recovery. Joe Biden knows it's not enough to praise them, we have to reward them. So let's raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, empower workers to negotiate for better benefits and safer workplaces, and make it easier to pay for things like health care and higher education. I am proud to cast 24 votes for Bernie Sanders, and 25 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. 220205 >> New Hampshire. >> Hello from the Granite state. We trust Joe Biden. Joe provides the leadership necessary to bring us back from this awful pandemic. Joe has a plan to attack global climate change once and for all. And Joe will restore honesty, decency and trust to the White House, reunite all Americans and build a better future for all. The great state of New Hampshire awards 9 delegates to our friend and neighbor, Bernie Sanders, and 24 delegates to the next president of the United States, Joe Biden. >> New Jersey. 220238 MURPHY>> We've been hit hard by covid. But we're coming back. But we have to be smart. We have to listen to the experts. And we have to have a president who has a plan. That's why in memory of all those we have lost, in solidarity with those who are sick or struggling, and in eternal gratitude for our heroic frontline workers, New Jersey castles five votes for senator Bernie Sanders and 139 votes for the next president of the united States, Joe Biden. >> New Mexico. DEREK LENTY 220308 LENTY>> [ Speaking foreign language] Greetings and good evening. My name is Derek lenty, state representative, coming to you from the homeland of my ancestors, here at the beautiful Pueblo of Sandia. New Mexico is a diverse state, home to 23 indigenous sovereign nations. With a rich, multicultural history. We are all united by the love of this beautiful place that we call home, and we believe that we owe it to the next generation to protect the natural and cultural resources that are their inheritance. 220337 And to that end, also respect tribal sovereignty. New Mexico proudly casts four votes for Bernie Sanders and 42 votes for the next president of the United States of America, Joe Biden. >> New York. >> As an immigrant from St. Vincent and the Grenadines and an 1199 SEIU registered nurse, I'm proud to be part of America's fight against Covid-19, but many health care workers don't get paid sick leave or have enough protective equipment. 220411 I have two children with asthma, and a mother who is high risk. I worry everyday about bringing this virus home to them. Joe Biden's plan will help us take better care of your loved ones, as well as our own. Along with the lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul, I cast New York's votes: 44 votes for Bernie Sanders, and 277 for our next president, Joe Biden. It's Joe time! >> North Carolina. 220446 >> I've been doing this for a long time, so let just me be plain. Black people, especially black women, are the backbone of this party. And if we don't show up, Democrats don't get elected. I'm putting on my mask, and we're going to every corner in North Carolina to help organize, because we need to make sure everyone shows up for Joe Biden. He would show up for us. 220508 North Carolina casts 39 votes for Bernie Sanders and 83 votes for the next president of the United States, Joe Biden. >> North Dakota. >> [ Speaking foreign language ] 220524 >> Welcome to the homelands of the (?) people. I graduated from a class of just 44 students and I had to drive three hours just to sake the S.A.T.S. But growing up, I knew that college was a ladder that could take you anywhere. Joe Biden knows that everyone deserves a chance to climb that ladder so as a proud tribal member, as a mexican-american and as a Harvard graduate, I'm proud to cast North Dakota's votes. Ten for Bernie Sanders, and eight for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Northern Mariana Islands. 220554 >> (?) and hello from paradise, the northern Mariana Islands. We may be far away, but we're American citizens. And this year, for the first time in decades, we finally have a democratic slate. Because Democrats organize everywhere. But we don't get to vote for president, so please don't waste yours. The northern Mariana Islands is proud to cast two votes for senator Bernie Sanders, and nine votes for our next president, Joseph Biden. [ Speaking foreign language ] Thank you. 220628 >> Ohio. >> It seems like every time working people believe in a Donald Trump promise, they wind up getting screwed. Well, Joe Biden has more than just a promise, he actually has a plan to bring jobs back to America. TIM RYAN TIM RYAN>> Like electric vehicles or a national network of vehicle charging infrastructure that will create good paying jobs for skilled union workers like Josh, and the future will be made in America. Ohio casts 20 votes for Senator Bernie Sanders, and 134 votes for the next president, Joe Biden. O-H! >> I-O! >> Oklahoma. 220708 >> 99 years ago, racial violence devastated a thriving black community here in Tulsa. Today, hatred still lives in our nation, but so does resolve. Oklahoma refused to let ourselves be defined by division then, and our nation must turn back the tide of violence again now. Oklahoma casts 13 votes for Bernie Sanders, and 24 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. [cheers] 220732 >> Oregon >> As black Americans standing on native land, we proudly represent Oregon. The dual viruses, Covid-19 and racism laid bare unequal health care access and deaths in communities of color. 220748 >> The Democrats are working to bridge divides and make sure everyone has equal access to low or no cost quality care. Today, Oregon casts 16 votes for Bernie Sanders. >> And with senators Wyden and Merkleyâ?Ts support, cast 57 votes for Joe Biden. >> Pennsylvania. 220806 >> When Joe Biden was young, his father came to this house in Scranton, sat down on Joe's bed and told him he lost his job. It's a moment that stayed with Joe his entire life. Right now, all across America, working families are experiencing that same fear and uncertainty. But Joe Biden has a plan to help them. And to help our country build back better, creating millions of good paying jobs, so more parents will be able to tell their kids what Joe's dad said to him all those years ago. It's going to be okay. 220841 Pennsylvania casts 34 votes for senator Bernie Sanders, and 175 votes for the next president of the United States, Scranton's own, Joe Biden. >> Puerto Rico. [ Speaking Spanish] >> Rhode Island. 220927 >> Rhode Island, the ocean state. Where our restaurant and fishing industry have been decimated by this pandemic. Iâ?Tm lucky to have a governor, Gina Raimondo, whose program lets our fishermen sell their catched directly to the public, and our state appetizer calamari is available in all 50 states. The Calamari Comeback State of Rhode Island casts one vote for Bernie Sanders, and 34 votes for the next president, Joe Biden. >> South Carolina. JAMIE HARRISON 220959 HARRISON>> Mr. Chairman, I am Jamie Harrison, candidate for the United States senate, speaking from the campus of South Carolina state university, the Alma mater of majority Whip Jim Clyburn and the late Dr. Emily England Clyburn, for whom its Honors College is named. This proud HBCU has contributed 22 general officers to our armed services, and tonight, I proudly cast South Carolina's 64 votes as follows: 15 for Bernie Sanders and 49 for our next president of the United States, Joe Biden. 221039 >> South Dakota. >> (?), relatives, as a first American, and citizen of the standing rock sioux tribe, I welcome you to the Pahá Sápa, the black hills, the site of my creation story, and home to the Oceti Sakowin the great sioux nation. We often say [foreign language] â?oWe are all related.â?? Our next president must lead by this philosophy for the betterment of our next seven generations. We cast three votes for senator Bernie Sanders, and 17 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Tennessee. 221112 >> 100 years ago tonight, suffragists based here at the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville cheered as Tennessee became the 36th and deciding state to ratify the 19th amendment, granting women the right to vote. This year, I'm casting my very first presidential vote for Joe Biden. Women will decide this election, and we'll replace Donald Trump with a president who respects us. Tennessee casts 23 votes for Bernie Sanders, and 50 votes for our next president of the united States, Mr. Joseph R. Biden. >> Texas. 221151 >> A year ago, my safe community of El Paso was targeted by a domestic terrorist who murdered 23 innocent people, injured 23 more, and devastated all of us. His motive was racism and xenophobia. In the face of hate, we choose love. [ Speaking foreign language ] And in the face of continued gun violence in America, we demand change. The time has come to act, with one abstention, the great state of Texas casts 98 votes for Bernie Sanders and 161 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Utah. 221229 >> Here in Utah, we've had mail-in voting for years. If you're registered to vote, you automatically get sent a ballot. It's fast, itâ?Ts reliable and itâ?Ts easy for everyone to participate. In 2016, we had turnout well over 80%. And this year, weâ?Tre expecting even higher. That's why Democrats and Republicans here in Utah agree, mail-in voting strengthens our democracy. Utah casts 17 voting for Bernie Sanders, and 16 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Vermont. 221302 >> The state of Vermont strongly believing in economic justice, social justice, racial justice, and environmental justice, proudly supporting democracy and the constitution of the united States, and vehemently opposed to the authoritarianism and racism of the trump administration, is proud to cast 15 votes for Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, and nine votes for the next president of the United States, Joe Biden. 221329 >> The U.S. Virgin Islands. >> In recognition of our governor, Albert Bryan Jr., and our delegate to congress,Stacey Plaskett, we bring you greetings from the virgin Islands of the United States. We are a young island (?), the vacation home of a nominee, with turquoise waters, white sand beaches and friendly people. We cast our 13 votes for Joseph R. Biden. >> Virginia. 221354 >> Three years ago, my beloved city Charlottesville, Virginia was attacked by white supremists and a young woman was killed. We were attacked again when Donald Trump praised those racists, turning his back on a community that just wanted peace. That was the day Joe Biden decided to join this battle for the soul of America. Over time, my wife Mazala (?) and I have come to know his soul. He's a decent, compassionate man. 221424 He will bring this nation together. Virginia casts 32 votes for Bernie Sanders, and 91 votes for our president, Joe Biden. >> Washington. 221442 >> As a 15-year-old refugee from Vietnam, I knew that education was the key to finding opportunities in my new home. When having children of my own, I became an advocate to improve the public education system that gave me a chance to contribute to our America. Democrats invest in education, because we are committed to fighting for all kids. Washington casts 43 votes to Senator Bernie Sanders, and 66 votes to our next president, Joe Biden. >> West Virginia. 221515 >> West Virginians have changed the narrative about public education. Parents, teachers, and service personnel have worked together to fight for safe and welcoming schools. Sufficient funding for classroom equipment, and fair wages for teachers and school service personnel. Elections matter, but so does activism. So let's keep fighting to guarantee a quality education for all our children and letâ?Ts elect a president who will fight alongside us. West Virginia casts 34 votes for our next president, Joe Biden. >> Wyoming. 221549 >> After our son Matthew's death in Wyoming, Joe Biden helped pass legislation to protect lbgtq Americans from hate crimes. Joe understands more than most our grief over Matt's death. But we see in Joe so much of what made Matt's life special, his commitment to equality, his passion for social justice, and his boundless compassion for others. 221612 >> With three abstentions, Wyoming casts four votes for Bernie Sanders and 11 votes for the next president of the united States, Joe Biden. >> Wisconsin. 221623 >> Welcome back to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a great city on native land on a great lake. It's the place where I was born and raised, right in the heart of 53206 zip code. This is a community thatâ?Ts been faced with significant challenges due to historical injustice but what many don't see is the joy, the resilience and opportunity that lies within this community, and so many others across America just like it. We're hardworking people who are fighting to provide for our families and build a better future. 221650 We know that we build a better future for our nation by channeling Wisconsin's legacy as the birthplace of the Labor and the Progressive movement, and uniting around a bold, inclusive agenda that uplifts every community. In the pursuit of a more just future, one that recognizes health care as a human right and one that tackles the climate crisis and takes on racial and economic justice, Wisconsin casts 30 votes for Bernie Sanders and 67 for the next president of the United States of America, Joseph Biden. Joseph R. Biden. >> Delaware. 221724 >> Long before this train station bore his name, youâ?Td see Joe Biden up here on the platform with the rest of the crowd on his way to work or going home to his family. That's always been his north star, delivering for families like his own. Working people who struggle and sacrifice to build a better life. Nobody has ever had to wonder who Joe Biden's in it for. 221746 >> Our nation faces daunting challenges, but I've known Joe Biden for 40 years, and there's nobody I trust more to lead our party, unite our country and restore our standing in the world. What's more, he's humble, he tells the truth. He treats everybody he encounters with respect and builds bridges, not walls. He's a leader made for this moment and the finest public servant I have ever known. 221808 >> Delaware is proud to cast its 32 votes for our favorite son and our ext president. >> Our friend, Delaware's Joe Biden. [ Applause ] âTªâTªâTªâTª [VIDEO OF JOE BIDEN WITH JILL BIDEN, APPLAUSE] 221919 >> Thank you to all our delegations. I'm pleased to announce that vice president Joe Biden has officially been nominated by the Democratic Party as our candidate for president of the United States. Vice President Biden is hereby invited to deliver an acceptance speech. JOE BIDEN 221942 BIDEN>> Well, thank you very, very much, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you all. It means the world to me and my family, and Iâ?Tll see you on Thursday. Thank you, thank you, thank you. [applause] [MONTAGE OF APPLAUSE FROM VIRTUAL ATTENDEES] 222031 ROSS>> Come on, that was so sweet with the grandkids. Yay! And now, we have an official nominee. Onto the next step, electing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in November. Make sure you have a plan to vote. Text VOTE to 30330 to find out how. Now, we're going to talk about a topic that touches all of our lives: healthcare. 222057 The affordable care act was game changing. This pandemic has revealed just how important it is to protect and improve it. Increasing access to healthcare and bringing down itâ?Ts cost have always been a priority for Joe Biden. Because for Joe, and for all of us, healthcare is personal. [DNC VIDEO] 222121 >> Itâ?Ts the toughest battles that call for the steadiest leadership. Again and again they were told to give up on affordable healthcare. They knew it would them cost politically. >> The Republicans say this will prove to be unpopular. >> The bill is a legislative train wreck. >> But not nearly as much as it would cost the American people, if they did nothing. 222142 BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> We are not going to slow up on providing affordable healthcare for Americans. Healthcare is a natural American right. >> Giving up on the affordable care act would have meant leaving 20 million without coverage out in the cold. But Joe Biden wasn't about to give up. Because he knew what it was like to stand in their shoes. He was sworn in to this senate next to a hospital bed. His wife and daughter had been killed in a car crash. 222214 And lying in that bed were his two sons. 40 years later one of those little boys, his son Beau, was diagnosed with cancer. And given only months to live. 222229 It's hard to imagine a greater grief than losing your child. But Joe always knew that his family was one of the lucky ones. After that accident, his son got 40 more years of life, all because he had healthcare. VIDEO FROM SENATE PASSING ACA>> Without objection, the Senate reconsider is laid on the table. 222256 >> Now, it's unthinkable that Donald Trump is trying to take that healthcare away. In the middle of a pandemic, he is still trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. This fight is personal for Joe -- as personal as it gets. So when Joe says he has a plan to strengthen the Affordable Care Act, protect those with preexisting conditions and expand access to every American, heâ?Ts thinking about how having healthcare saved his boys. 222330 His plan talks about lowering drug prices and making care more affordable. He's thinking about Beau. Who spent his final days in comfort because he was insured. Joe Biden knows what affordable healthcare means to American families because of what it's meant to his. JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> This is my promise to you. When I'm president, I will take care of your healthcare coverage and your family the same way I would my own. 222401 JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> That's what the presidency is. The duty to care. To care for all of us. Not just those who vote for us. But all of us. This job is not about me. It's about you. It's about us. VIDEO OF BIDEN ON VIDEO CONFERENCE JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> How are you? You handsome boy. 222426 STEVE GOMEZ (ON VIDEO)>> He was born in 15. And with a heart condition known as transpositioned arteries. And ended up acquiring a transplant and thankfully the ACA had already taken effect. But now, that's something we think about all the time, especially with his coverage, the potential of coverage maximums and his initial hospital stays was over $3 million. That was billed back to insurance. 222450 BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> I remember thinking as beau lay dying in bed, and weâ?Td sit, lie in bed with him, his brother and I and his sister, and thinking to myself what in gods name would I do if the doctor walked in and said I'm sorry, you have out run your insurance, you have reached your cap, suffer the last few months of your life on your own. 222513 JEFF JEANS (ON VIDEO)>> I came from a part of the country, rural Missouri, where basically everybody was Republican and I was a Republican. And I lost my voice. And we put off going to the doctor because we didn't have health insurance. When we finally got in to somebody that could look at my throat, they said well you have cancer. It was stage 4. The worst kind of cancer you can have. 222542 My wife applied for insurance through the Affordable Care Act, and my coverage began on April 1st in 2012. And that same day, they started my chemo and radiation, and it saved my life. I'm here today. VIDEO FROM HEALTHCARE DISCUSSION WITH BIDEN 222601 DR. ANGIE TAYLOR>> Generally speaking, as a church, you're concerned about people spiritually but youâ?Tre also concerned about other areas of their life. And that includes their physical or physiological well being because the bible talks about all of us. There are people in the country and, in fact, people in my church that can't take advantage of it because they don't have good healthcare. That's -- thatâ?Ts pretty discouraging to me and thatâ?Ts pretty discouraging to them. 222628 JULIE BUCKHOLT>> Because of the myasthenia gravis and the fact that it's a very rare disease, a lot of our medications we have to fight for. And before the ACA, we worried about our medications. We worried about the pre-existing conditions for our children. We worried about age and the cap. Because having that cost of the medications, we would have reached that million dollar cap in no time. But once the ACA passed, we did -- we no longer have that cap on the million dollars. 222704 BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> The fear that you all live in understandably if somehow tomorrow they said no insurance. You canâ?Tt -- you're not covered. It's just devastating. Hey Laura, how are you doing? LAURA PACKARD>> Thanks again. BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> How are you doing? Well, you beat Hodgkinâ?Ts Lymphoma. God love you. But during it all, Trump was trying to rip away your coverage. The day you got your first chemo Republicans voted to gut the ACA. I can't imagine what it must have been like going to sleep at night wondering what to do. LAURA PACKARD>> Ever since I was diagnosed every night I go to bed concerned about what news I would get in the morning. And even still even today theyâ?Tre still trying to take away our healthcare even during a pandemic. 222755 BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> Look, we're going to make sure we don't lose ACA. We're going to provide a medicare like option, as a public option. And any state where there's a -- if you qualify for medicaid and the state hasn't provided it youâ?Td automatically be enrolled. I'm protect you like I tried to protect my own family. My own family. And I promise you that. â?oWE THE PEOPLE ALL DESERVE AFFORDABLE QUALITY HEALTHCAREâ?? VIDEO 222814 EUGENE F>> I met Joe last year at a campaign event to thank him for being so involved in the battle to cure cancer. Indeed, I have what's been diagnosed as terminal cancer. The inspiration and the empathy and the human love that he shared with me kept has kept me going. LISA P>> I made an appointment for my wellness check up provided for by the affordable care act. I was told that I had ovarian cancer. I finished my course of treatment and since then I have been cancer free. And I'm very grateful for that. JACQUELINE A>> I chose to become a Joe Biden delegate as I watched with our nation as president Donald Trump sought to dismantle the affordable care act. EUGENE F>> My purpose in life right now is to devote all my energy to getting Joe elected. 212908 JACQUELINE A>> I anxiously jumped at the chance to become a Biden delegate. LISA P>> He'll continue to strengthen the affordable care act so that diseases like cancer don't go undetected. â?oMAY 2018â?? VIDEO 222932 ADY>> Hey, Carl. It's me, dad. By the time you're watching this, you will have grown up to be strong and courageous. But, I don't know how much longer I'll be around for you. 222948 >> I was diagnosed with ALS today, which is a deadly debilitating disease. BARKAN>> After I was diagnosed, the president passed that tax bill that put my healthcare at risk. So I went to Washington D.C. CNN BROADCAST (ON VIDEO)>> My next guest made headlines when he confronted a Republican senator on an airplane. BARKAN (ON VIDEO)>> You can be an American hero. BARKAN (VO)>> I wanted to help create a better country for you to live in. 223017 BARKAN (ON VIDEO)>> Democracy is beautiful. CROWD (ON VIDEO)>> Democracy is beautiful. BARKAN (VO)>> All that matters to me is to make you proud because I'm already so proud of you. ADY BARKAN 223039 >> Hello, America. My name is Ady Barkan and I'm speaking to you through this computer voice because I have been paralyzed by a mysterious illness called ALS. Like so many of you, I have experienced the ways our healthcare system is fundamentally broken. Enormous costs, denied claims, dehumanizing treatment when we're most in need. Since my shocking diagnosis, I have traveled the country meeting countless patients like me demanding more of our representatives and our democracy. 223110 Today, we are witnessing the tragic consequences of our failing healthcare system. In the midst of a pandemic, nearly 100 million Americans do not have sufficient health insurance. And even good insurance does not cover essential needs like long term care. Our loved ones are dying in unsafe nursing homes. Our nurses are overwhelmed and unprotected. And our essential workers are treated as dispensable. 223139 We live in the richest country in history and yet we do not guarantee this most basic human right. Everyone living in America should get the healthcare they need regardless of their employment status or ability to pay. Even during this terrible crisis, Donald Trump and Republican politicians are trying to take away millions of peoples health insurance. With the existential threat of another four years of this president, we all have a profound obligation to act. 223206 Not only to vote, but to make sure that our friends, family and neighbors vote as well. We must elect Joe Biden. Each of us must be a hero for the communities, for our country. And then with a compassionate and intelligent president we must act together and put on his desk a bill that guarantees us all the healthcare we deserve. Text vote to 30330 to learn how to vote safely. Because our lives depend on it. 223240 ELLIS ROSS>> Politics and elections can seem like these far away things that one person doesn't have the power to change, but what's happening in our country right now makes it clear how personal politics are. I have discovered that when I get informed and participate, my fear gets smaller. Voting is a big part of that. 223301 So knowing the change you want, vote for the leaders you think will make it happen. And if you're able, if you can, help fund this campaign. Please go to joebiden.com and chip in whatever you can. With leaders like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, we can build back better here at home. And once again strengthen our nations security and standing in the world. VETERAN FOR JOE VIDEO 223332 GILLIARD>> My name is Demarcus Gilliard. I'm 34 years old, and I currently live in Los Angeles, California. I'm a 2009 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Innapolis, and I served on active duty in the marine corps as an officer for six years. I took an oath to support, uphold and defend the constitution of the United States of America, and I know that Joe Biden, in his years of public service, took a similar oath and he understands the sacrifice of the men and women in uniform who are overseas right now, fighting for the ideals of this nation. 223407 That liberty and justice can be extended to all people. I know that Joe Biden understands that at his core. I trust him to lead us on Day One into a greater future. There's nothing more important for me right now than making sure that we restore the soul of the nation. And I think that Joe Biden is the best person to do that. So thanks, Joe. JOHN KERRY 223447 KERRY>>Hi, I'm John Kerry.. For the eight years of the Obama Biden administration we led by example. We eliminated the threat of Iran with a nuclear weapon. We built a 68 nation coalition to destroy ISIS. We forged 195 nation agreement to attack climate change. 223504 We stopped ebola before it became a pandemic.Donald Trump inherited a growing economy and a more peaceful world. Like everything else he inherited he bankrupted it. When this president goes overseas, it isnâ?Tt a good will mission, it's a blooper reel. He breaks up with our allies and writes love letters to dictators. America deserves a president who is looked up to not laughed at. 223530 Donald Trump pretends Russia didn't attack our elections and now he does nothing about Russia putting a bounty on our troops. So he won't defend our country, he doesn't know how to defend our troops. The only person he's interested in defending is himself. 223547 This is the bottom line: our interests, our ideals and our brave men and women in uniform can't afford four more years of Donald Trump. Our troops can't get out of harm's way by hiding in the white house bunker. They need a president who will stand up for them. And president Biden will. 223606 Joe's moral compass is always pointed in the right direction. From the fight to break the back of apartheid to the struggle to wake up the world to genocide in Balkans, Joe understands that none of the issues of this world -- not nuclear weapons, not the challenge of building back better after covid-19, not terrorism and certainly not the climate crisis -- none can be resolved without bringing nations together with strength and humility. 223635 Joe understands our values don't limit our power, they magnify it. He knows you can't spread democracy around the world if you don't practice it at home, and he knows that even the united States of America needs friends on this planet. Before Donald Trump, we used to talk about American exceptionalism. The only thing exceptional about the incoherent Trump foreign policy is that it has made our nation more isolated than ever before. 223704 Joe Biden knows we aren't exceptional because we bluster that we are, we are exceptional because we do exceptional things. On June 6th, 1944, young Americans gave their lives on the beaches of Normandy to liberate the world from tyranny. Out of the ashes of that war, we made peace and rebuilt the world. That was and remains exceptional. It is the opposite of everything Donald Trump stands for. 223736 This moment is a fight for the security of America and the world. Only Joe Biden can make America lead like America again. If you agree, text JOIN to 30330. Thank you. BIDEN FOREIGN POLICY VIDEO 223756 BRETT MCGURK>> In the situation room, presidents make decisions of war and peace. So when Joe Biden walks into the Situation Room, first and foremost in his mind is how will my decision impact the lives of the American people? MARIE YOVANOVITCH>> He is experienced. He has made the tough calls. CHUCK HAGEL>> Heâ?Ts got courage. Heâ?Ts got tremendous courage, character, judgment and he can be tough. I witnessed it close up. LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD>> Joe Biden is decisive and well prepared for any issue. 223824 >> There's no one more qualified than Joe Biden to be sitting at the head of the table in the situation room making decisions for this country. >>Having sent his son to war, I don't think anyone can be more ready than vice president Biden. 223838 JACK WEINSTEIN (ON VIDEO)>> He knows exactly what's at stake when he sends our troops overseas. ROSE GOTTEMOELLER (ON VIDEO)>> Biden understands how important it is to have allies standing together with us. They are force multipliers. 223849 >> Joe Biden has the unique ability to connect with people. He knows the leaders and heâ?Ts dealt with them for years, knows what makes them tick. >> They trust him, they trust his judgment and they know that his word is good. TOM COUNTRYMAN (ON VIDEO)>> I know that Bidenâ?Ts personal diplomacy will save American lives. 223903 >> To build these relationships takes decades. And to tear them down, all it takes is a tweet. COUNTRYMAN (ON VIDEO)>> Thanks to Donald Trump our adversaries are stronger and bolder. >> Donald Trump has had a love fest with dictators including China and Russia. He hasn't been standing up to them at all. 223920 JACK WEINSTEIN (ON VIDEO)>> I served in the United States air force for 36 years. Iâ?Tve led space squadrons, nuclear missile squadrons and I never thought I would have a president who is a danger to national security. >> President Trump has degraded and debased the presidency and our country in the eyes of the world. JACK WEINSTEIN (ON VIDEO)>> The Russians offered bounties on U.S. Soldiers. I was shocked when I read that but the president didn't even ask Vladimir Putin about it. That's un-american. >> There's something wrong with that. I mean, thatâ?Ts a dereliction of duty. You're failing the troops. Youâ?Tre failing this country. JACK WEINSTEIN (ON VIDEO)>> The first thing a president needs to do is find out what the facts are. This president doesn't care about facts. 223956 >> Biden cares about the safety and welfare of American servicemen and women. >> Our military had a policy to maintain our presence in Syria. We actually came to the aid of the kurds against ISIS and we helped stop the advance. President trump told us to simply abandon the Kurds. Shameful. >> Joe Biden will be strong against dictators. >> I have heard him on the phone with some pretty tough characters. You know, you talk about Joe Bidenâ?Ts empathy, his decency. But Joe Biden is tough as nails and everybody knows it. >> He will do the right thing. No matter the political cost. 224030 >> I have served for two Republican presidents and one Democratic President. I have seen the trump administration make decisions without any thought. Without any preparation that had massive life and death consequences. >> At one of the most defining times in the history of the world Joe Biden is uniquely qualified to be president of the United States. JACK WEINSTEIN (ON VIDEO)>> If you want a strong America you want Joe Biden. COLIN POWELL 224054 POWELL>> Hi, I'm former secretary of state Colin Powell. 100 years ago, a young immigrant left a dirt farm in Jamaica and set out for America. Three years later, a ship pulled into New York Harbor, and a young Jamaican woman gazed up at the statue of liberty for the first time. They became my parents, and they inspired me to finish college and join the army. This began a journey of service that would take me from basic training to combat in Vietnam, up the ranks to serve as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and secretary of state. 224126 The values I learned growing up in the South Bronx and serving in uniform were the same values that Joe Bidenâ?Ts parents instilled in him in Scranton, Pennsylvania. I support Joe Biden for the presidency of the United States because those values still define him, and we need to restore those values to the White House. Our country needs a commander in chief who takes care of troops in the same way he would his own family. 224151 For Joe Biden, that doesn't need teaching. It comes from experience that he shares with millions of military families -- sending his beloved son off to war, and praying to god he would come home safe. Joe Biden will be a president we will all be proud to salute. With Joe Biden in the white house, you will never doubt that he will stand with our friends and stand up to our adversaries. Never the other way around. 224216 He will trust our diplomats and our intelligence community -- not the flattery of dictators and despots. He will make it his job to know when anyone dares to threaten us. He will stand up to our adversaries with strength and experience. They will know he means business. 224232 I support Joe Biden because beginning on day one, he will restore Americaâ?Ts leadership and our moral authority. He'll be a president who knows that America is strongest when, as he has said, we lead both by the power of our example and the example of our power. He'll restore America's leadership in the world. And restore the alliances we need to address the dangers that threaten our nation, from climate change to nuclear proliferation. 224258 Today, we are a country divided. And we have a president doing everything in his power to make it that way, and keep us that way. What a difference it will make to have a president who unites us, who restores our strength and our soul. I still believe that in our hearts we are the same America that brought my parents to our shores. An America that inspires freedom around the world. That's the America Joe Biden will lead as our next president. Thank you, very much. [â?oAN UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIPâ?? VIDEO] 224327 >> It was a friendship that shouldn't have worked. John, a former Navy pilot just released from a north Vietnamese prison. Joe, a young senator from Delaware. But in the 1970s Joe was assigned a military aid for a trip overseas. JOHN MCCAIN (ON VIDEO) >> I was the Navy senate liaison and used to carry your bags on overseas trips. 224359 BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> This son of a gun never carried my bags. He was supposed to carry my bags, dammit, but henever carried my bags. 224410 >> John and Joe traveled thousands of miles together. The families got to know each other. Gathering for picnics in the Bidenâ?Ts backyard. CINDY MCCAIN (VO)>> They would just sit and joke. It was like a comedy show sometimes to watch the two of them. >> But when John was elected to the senate as a Republican from Arizona, they found themselves on opposing sides. JOHN MCCAIN (VO)>> We're in different parties. We hold different views on many issues. TED KAUFMAN (VO)>> Theyâ?Td be going at it on the floor and youâ?Td think oh these guys must really, really, really dislike each other. And theyâ?Td be having dinner that night together. >> Senator Biden had great respect for the institution of the senate. He built relationships that were cordial, that were personal. 224458 BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> We have always been willing, when we thought the other guy was right, to cross the aisle and lock arms. It's good for the country. RON KLAIN (VO)>> It takes trust to get things done in a divided government. And I think with Joe Biden, his colleagues knew that your points were equally valid to him. >> Even if a deal seemed out of reach, it was always Joe who tried to cross the aisle. >> He was like a natural for that. He just had an ability to find the common ground but never give up your principles. 224532 >> For three decades, Joe was able to move his colleagues, and find a way forward on Violence against women, banning chemical weapons, assault weapons, and controlling nuclear arms. CINDY MCCLAIN (VO)>> It was a style of legislating and leadership that you don't find much anymore. >> And when millions of Americans were faced with losing their health insurance, it was Joe's friend who saved Obamacare by crossing the aisle. 224603 BROADCAST (VO)>> McCain cast his vote with a thumbs down. BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> John and I have been given several awards about bipartisan. We don't understand why we should get an award for bipartisan. MCCAIN (ON VIDEO)>> Thank you for your example. I'm proud you remain the same good guy that you were when you first got here. Most of all, for your friendship. My life and the lives of many have been enriched by it. JILL & JOE ORIGIN STORY VIDEO 224635 [BIDEN AND JILL KISS IN THEIR HOME] 224642 JILL BIDEN>> I have a rule that I never think of anything negative when I'm running. When I set my mind to something, I find a way to get it done. JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> She is so damn tough and loyal. When I met Jill, I knew. My brother said â?othere's this woman, you'll really like her, Joe.â?? So I gave her a call. And she had a date that night. JILL BIDEN>> You said, â?odo you think you can break your date?â?? JOE BIDEN>> Oh, that's right. And what'd you do? 224716 JILL BIDEN>> Well, I called and told the guy that I had a friend in from out of town. And went out with Joe. JOE BIDEN>> I was 30 and I was a senator, and I was a widower. Several years earlier, a tractor trailer broadsided my wife and three children. My wife was killed and my daughter was killed. I wasnâ?Tt big on the whole date scene thing. 224744 But when I met Jill, I fell in love with her when I saw her. JILL BIDEN>> He said â?oI'd really like to see you again.â?? So, he's looking at his calendar and heâ?Ts -- â?oThursday, no. No, I'm really busy. No, I'm busy Friday. How about tomorrow?â?? [Joe laughs] And I thought, â?oBuddy, you just blew your cover.â?? JOE BIDEN>> She's owned me since then. 224812 JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> The boys fell in love with Jill too. I'm brushing my teeth one morning and they came running in, and Beau and Hunger said â?oDad, we think it's time we married Jill.â?? Swear to god. I asked her to marry me five times. JILL BIDEN>> It wasn't just my heart that was on the line. I loved the boys so much. I had to be sure that it had to be forever. JOE BIDEN>> I'm going to ask you one more time, will you marry me? She goes like this, â?oOkay.â?? [laughing] 222846 JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> She put us back together. She gave me back my life. She gave us back a family. We were raised with the same values. 224902 JILL BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> I grew up in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, right outside of philly. My mom was English Scottish. And my dad was Italian. My grandmother made the homemade noodles that would hang, you know, and sheâ?Td be drying her noodles. BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> They were a very close family. Sheâ?Ts the eldest of five girls. >> She's kind of like the god mother of all of us. 224930 >> I think we've all seen the feistiness in her. >> There was a bully in my school, she marched up the street and knocked on his door -- JILL BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>>-- And I punched him right in the face. 224943 My father fought in World War II. He was a signalman in the Navy. And he was very patriotic. He would take us to watch the blue angels and he was so proud. We worshipped our mother. I can picture her so well, reading for hours. She just loved to read, and that had a great influence on me. I went to college at the university of Delaware. 225011 Then I taught in high schools. I mean, I got up every single day so excited to go teach. When I married Joe, I took off time to establish myself as the boys' mom. We don't use the term stepmother. 225028 JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> Beau and Hunter said, we have a mom and a mommy. Our mommy died. This is our mom. Then along came Ashley, and -- JILL BIDEN (ON VIDEO) >> Our family was complete. JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> Yep. ASHLEY BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> When I was growing up, mom was fun. The head butting started when I was a teenager. There were some conflicts. She dealt with it by taking up running. She started to basically run marathons âTª raised on promises âTª 225105 JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> I never ever doubted that anything she set her mind to she could do. I got to hand her her doctorate degree in education at the University of Delaware. JILL BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> Let's turn it positive so you will pass it. NAOMI BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> I would say she's not your average grandmother. NATALIE BIDEN (ON VIDEO) >> Yeah. NAOMI BIDEN (ON VIDEO) >> She's the grandmother who wakes you up like, what was it? Like 5:00 A.M. On Christmas eve to go soul cycling. NATALIE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> Yeah. We have a lot of stories. NAOMI BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> Yeah, she's a prankster. Sheâ?Ts very mischievous. Like When she goes on a run, sometimes she'll find a dead snake and sheâ?Tll pick it up and put it in a bag and sheâ?Tll use it to scare someone. 225148 AMB. CATHY RUSSELL (ON VIDEO)>> That's a classic Jill. She wasn't really a Washington person and I don't think ever imagined herself being part of that. JILL BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> When Joe was elected to vice president, I just thought, hey, I got to step it up here, because there are things that I really care about. Having had a father in the military, having a son deployed in Iraq, I saw the need to support military families. 225218 ASHLEY WILLIAMS (ON VIDEO)>> Dr. Biden could draw anyone in, and they felt like they were talking to an old friend. That is one of her superpowers. AMB. CATHY RUSSELL (ON VIDEO)>> When she was second lady, Jill told me that she would like to continue teaching at community college, and I said, that's insane, you cannot possibly do that. JILL BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> I said, I know I can do both jobs. AMB. CATHY RUSSELL (ON VIDEO)>> I never saw her on any day of the week where she wasn't carrying a huge stack of papers to grade. JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> As second lady she was teaching full-time for eight years, 15 credits a semester. 225256 JILL BIDEN (ON VIDEO>> These were students who wanted to be in your classroom, and I saw their tenacity. And they were taking care of children, just like I had done. YVETTE LEWIS (ON VIDEO)>> She gave 100% of her energy to the students. She's a great teacher. JOE BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> Teaching is not what Jill does. It's who she is. Jill just simply cares. She cares about other people. 225320 JILL BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> When beau was diagnosed with brain cancer, nobody knew what we were going through. The secret service, you know, they're not supposed to react to your life or what you're doing. They would whisper, I'm praying for you. HUNTER BIDEON (ON VIDEO)>> Mom, it's your strength that holds this family together. And I know that you will make us whole again. 225353 JILL BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> You never stop grieving, ever. But you do have to find purpose. JILL BIDEN (AT CAMPAIGN EVENT)>> Please welcome my husband, Joe Biden! JILL BIDEN (ON VIDEO)>> Running for president is too tough to not be together. 225411 >> The future first lady of the United States. >> That's right. There you go. >> If Dr. Biden is our first lady, the country will be getting one of the best humans that we have. 225424 >> She has been through some really tough things in her own life, and she knows how hard it can be. JOE BIDNE (ON VIDEO)>> The American people in their heart know that she'll fight like hell for them. JILL BIDEN (VO)>> We all need community. We need to depend on others for our strength. All American families, we all need each other. 225452 >>> And now, please welcome Dr. Jill Biden. JILL BIDEN 225505 JILL BIDEN>> I have always loved the sounds of a classroom. The quiet that sparks with possibility just before students shuffle in. The murmur of ideas bouncing back and forth as we explore the world together. The laughter and tiny moments of surprise you find in materials you've taught a million times. 225528 When I taught English here at brandywine high school, I would spend my summer preparing for the school year about to start, filled with anticipation. But this quiet is heavy. You can hear the anxiety that echoes down empty hallways. There's no scent of new notebooks or freshly waxed floors. 225555 The rooms are dark as the bright young faces that should fill them are now confined to boxes on a computer screen. I hear it from so many of you: the frustration of parents juggling work while they support their children's learning are afraid that their kids might get sick from school. 225619 The concern of every person working without enough protection. The despair in the lines that stretch out before food banks. And the indescribable sorrow that follows every lonely last breath when the ventilators turn off. 225641 As a mother and a grandmother, as an American, I am heartbroken by the magnitude of this loss, by the failure to protect our communities, by every precious and irreplaceable life gone. Like so many of you, Iâ?Tm left asking, â?ohow do I keep my family safe?â?? You know, motherhood came to me in a way I never expected. 225713 I fell in love with a man and two little boys standing in the wreckage of unthinkable loss, mourning a wife and mother, a daughter and sister. I never imagined, at the age of 26, I would be asking myself, â?ohow do you make a broken family whole?â?? Still, Joe always told the boys, â?omommy sent Jill to us. And how could I argue with her?â?? 225746 And so, we figured it out together. In those big moments that would go by too fast -- Thanksgivings and state championships, birthdays and weddings -- in the mundane ones that we didn't even know for shaping our lives -- reading stories piled on the couch, rowdy Sunday dinners and silly arguments, listening to the faint sounds of laughter that would float downstairs as Joe put the kids to bed every night, while I studied for grad school or graded papers under the pale yellow kitchen lamp. The dinner dishes waiting in the sink. 225829 We found that love holds a family together. Love makes us flexible and resilient. It allows us to become more than ourselves, together, and though it can't protect us from the sorrows of life, it gives us refuge -- a home. How do you make a broken family whole? The same way you make a nation whole -- with love and understanding and with small acts of kindness. 225904 With bravery, with unwavering faith. You show up for each other in big ways and small ones, again and again. It's what so many of you are doing right now for your loved ones, for complete strangers, for your communities. There are those who want to tell us that our country is hopelessly divided, that our differences are irreconcilable. But that's not what I've seen over these last few months. 225935 We're coming together and holding onto each other. We're finding mercy and grace in the moments we might have once taken for granted. We're seeing that our differences are precious, and our similarities infinite. We have shown that the heart of this nation still beats with kindness and courage. That's the soul of America Joe Biden is fighting for now. 230010 After our son Beau died of cancer, I wondered if I would ever smile or feel joy again. It was summer, but there was no warmth left for me. Four days after Beau's funeral, I watched Joe shave and put on his suit. I saw him steel himself in the mirror, take a breath, put his shoulders back, and walk out into a world empty of our son. He went back to work. 230046 That's just who he is. There are times when I couldn't even imagine how he did it. How he put one foot in front of the other and kept going. But I've always understood why he did it -- for the daughter who convinces her mom to finally get a breast cancer screening and misses work to drive her to the clinic. For the community college student who has faced homelessness and survived abuse but finds the grit to finish her degree and make a good life for her kids. 230122 For the little boy whose mom is serving as a marine in Iraq, who puts on a brave face in his video call and doesn't complain when the only thing he wants for his birthday is to be with her. For all those people, Joe gives his personal phone number to at rope lines and events. The ones he talks to for hours after dinner, helping them smile through their loss, letting them know that they arenâ?Tt alone. 230154 He does it for you. Joe's purpose has always driven him forward. His strength of will is unstoppable, and his faith is unshakable. Because it's not in politicians or political parties or even in himself -- it's in the Providence of god. His faith is in you, in us. Yes, so many classrooms are quiet right now. The playgrounds are still. But if you listen closely, you can hear the sparks of change in the air. 230238 Across this country, educators, parents, first responders, Americans of all walks of life are putting their shoulders back, fighting for each other. We haven't given up. We just need leadership worthy of our nation -- worthy of you. Honest leadership to bring us back together, to recover from this pandemic and prepare for whatever else is next. 230309 Leadership to reimagine what our nation will be, that's Joe. He and Kamala will work as hard as you do everyday to make this nation better. And if I have the honor of serving as your First Lady, I will, too. And with Joe as President, these classrooms will ring out with laughter and possibility once again. 230340 The burdens we carry are heavy, and we need someone with strong shoulders. I know that if we entrust this nation to Joe, he will do for your family what he did for ours -- bring us together and make us whole, carry us forward in our time of need, keep the promise of America for all of us. [JOE BIDEN ENTERS] 230418 JOE BIDEN>> Hey, everyone. I'm Jill Biden's husband. As you heard tonight you, excuse me, you can see why she's the love of my life and the rock of our family. She never gives herself much credit, but the truth is she's the strongest person I know. She has a backbone like a ramrod. She loves furiously, cares deeply. Nothing stops her when she sets her mind to getting something right. And you know, for all of you out there across the country, just think of your favorite educator who gave you the confidence to believe in yourself. That's the kind of first lady lady, lady, lady, this Jill Biden will be. God love you. 230457 JILL BIDEN>> So go to joebiden.com to join our campaign. JOE BIDEN>> Thank you all for watching. I'll see you soon. Thank you. [VIDEO OF SUPPORTERS CLAPPING] 230535 ROSS>> Thank you so much for being a part of this night. As Dr. Biden just reminded us, Joe is a steady and experienced leader who can bring us together and help us heal, who will support us in getting better. Remember, we bend the arc of justice if we participate -- if we vote. This moment isn't beyond you, it's up to you. Tomorrow night, we'll meet Joe Biden's choice for vice president, kamala Harris, and learn more about their vision for the future of our country. 230607 And we'll also hear from Senator Elizabeth Warren and President Barack Obama. Plus, performances from Billie Eilish and Jennifer Hudson. And now, with his song "Never Break", here's John legend. 230624 [VIDEO, JOHN LEGEND PERFORMANCE] ######

TVU 22 JOE BIDEN MARION IA TOWN HALL ABC UNI 012720 2020 MARION, IA-As Trump's legal team began to dig into the Biden's in the Senate Impeachment Trial in Washington DC, Former Vice President Joe Biden took the floor in front of a warm crowd of 300 in Marion, IA, who could be heard audibly agreeing with Biden has he gave his remarks, and gave him multiple rounds of applause. (Note; crowd count verified by owner of the event space) While Biden didn't address impeachment directly during his abbreviated remarks, he did reference the attacks he's been on the receiving end of from Republicans, as he often does some version of in his remarks. "I've been the object of the affection of this new Republican Party for a long time. I understand them better than any of my colleagues do. I've taken brick bats to my head. 12 billion -- million dollars spent on negative ads. All the lies. They've gone after my only surviving son. Ladies and gentlemen, I get these guys. I know them. I know them well. And I'm still standing and we're still moving forward. (171253) Biden was also critical of Trump for not abiding by the American code, before he was interrupted by an overzealous audience member. " It's a code. It's the American code. It's uniquely American. President Obama understood it. This President has a different code. No, he really does. It's a different code. One that-" Biden said before being interrupted by an audience member who said it was more like a 'mob code." Biden demurred on agreeing and continued on with his remarks. (171800) In the town hall portion of Biden's event, a young boy got the first question, and was looking for some convincing from the former Vice President. "Ok, Mr. Vice President, my question is since I used to be a Cory Booker supporter, what is your biggest issue that you are going to tackle on day one as president?" the young boy asked Biden (172838) "Cory is a friend of mine, he lives right across the river, the Delaware river, i'm from Delaware, and I just want you to know as tiny as we are, we own the Delaware river up to the high watermark in New Jersey. So I just want you to know that. But anyway, having said that, I'm only teasing you, but, but he's a good friend. And a lot of the folks in New Jersey that supported him are supporting me now that Cory has gotten out, he's a fine guy<' Biden said before going on to talk about Climate Change being the biggest issue he would tackle. (172852) The young boy spoke with Biden on the rope line following the event, and when Biden asked if he had won over his support, he told the vice president he was "ridin' with Biden." Biden was also asked by another younger audience member what he would do to replace the economic force of baby boomers when they retire, making a confusing joke about Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, referring to all three of them being older. "Well, I'll talk to Elizabeth and Bernie about that. I'm teasing. No, it's a, honey it's a great question," Biden said to laugher (174205) In. a light hearted moment at the top of his event, Biden walked out and addressed an elephant in the room: a man dressed in nearly all red, with a long white beard who looked very similar to Santa Clause. "I'll tell you what man, I didn't expect Santa Clause today but I'm expecting something in my stocking other than coal on February the third."( 170235) After his event, Biden did give any substantive answers to the waiting press-only telling us "I haven't seen anything" referring to impeachment. BITES: LITTLE BOY Q ON BOOKER: 172838 Q: Ok, Mr. Vice President, my question is since I used to be a cory Booker supporter, what is your biggest issue that you are going to tackle on day one as president? 172852 BIDEN>> well, the biggest issue we face as a country, and cory is a friend of mine, he lives right across the river, the delaware river, i'm from delaware, and i just want you to know as tiny as we are, we own the delaware river up to the high watermark in New Jersey. So I just want you to know that. But anyway, having said that, I'm only teasing you, but, but he's a good friend. And a lot of the folks in new Jersey that supported him are supporting me now that cory has gotten out, he's a fine guy. 172918 My biggest issue that I think you have to deal for your generation and for everyone else, is to end, to get to clean air. To have climate change, let's focus on it, it's the single biggest issue. That we face. And there's a lot we can do to get that done. There's a lot we can do and guess what, when you talk about that with your friends and they---it's going to cost people jobs you know, we're going to create over 10 million new jobs. High paying jobs, so people will be able to make a living. 172950 And guess what else? If you ride around this country in the midwest and particularly here in Iowa, we're going to make sure farmers are the first one to be able to do the most to provide for changing the climate. How are they doing to do it? We're going to pay them a lot more to put land in conservation ---- BIDEN ON AMERICAN CODE: 171800 Ladies and gentleman, I think we're a nation that's always done best when lead by the power of our example. Not just the example of our power. Being part of something bigger than ourselves. It's a code. It's the American code. It's uniquely American. President Obama understood it. This President has a different code. No, he really does. It's a different code. One that -- 171834 But look, for some reason he just doesn't get it. But what this President doesn't understand is that unlike every other nation on earth, America cannot be defined by religion, by ethnicity or by tribe. Think about it. BIDEN ON NEGATIVE ADS: 171253 I've been the object of the affection of this new Republican Party for a long time. I understand them better than any of my colleagues do. I've taken brick bats to my head. 12 billion -- million dollars spent on negative ads. All the lies. They've gone after my only surviving son. Ladies and gentlemen, I get these guys. I know them. I know them well. And I'm still standing and we're still moving forward. BIDEN ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING: 175843 Q: As a single mom who had been in foster care and all of those things, i'm actually also a survivor of human trafficking. Now, full time college student working to fight human trafficking in the state of Iowa. I was actually on the task force here. My question for you is -- the other survivors that I am working for, see God has redeemed my life and I get all my strength from the lord and so I can keep going, but they can't. So what are you planning to do to help me help them? 175911 BIDEN>> i've already done more than anybody else. I wrote the violence against women act, I provided those women's shelters, I made sure that we -- in fact have when we were in office, used our justice department to go out after traffickers, etc. In addition to that what we have to do -- I was a single parent for five years and I had -- I had -- i had means. But I couldn't afford the kind of help I needed. Thank god I had a family that I have with mine. I got elected when I -- told you November and December I was hiring a staff and I got a phone call and a poor first responder, God love her, she just said -- blurted you gotta come home. There's been an accident. Your wife and daughter are dead. 175948 And your children and your two boys may not live. I get -- they got broadsided by a tractor trailer. So I understand how hard it is to raise children as a single parent and I had great, great, great help because I had my sister, my best friend in the world. I had my mom, I had my dad, I had my brother. And so it's really, really hard. But the most important thing we have to do, folks, is in fact make sure that we invest in -- It matters a great deal that we invest in these kids. We invest in these women. 180023 By the way, you know, the people who are in prison today for violent crimes, two things they have in common. The general knows this better than I do. They're there number one because they can't read or write or number two because they were victims, their mother was a victim of violence. They were abused. You'd think that the exact opposite would happen. You'd think if your mom was a victim of violence the last thing you would ever do is commit violence. Violence is a learned behavior. A learned behavior. And that's why we need considerably more mental health facilities in this country. Considering more outpatient capacity. We need 35,000 more -- more psychiatric nurses in America. 180100 We need to be able to pour resources into what is an enormous resource that we have. Young women in particular, but some men. Mostly young women in particular who are the victims of trafficking. And guess what? It's happening right before your eyes. It happens in states like Iowa. It happens obviously in bus stops in New York City, but it also happens in Iowa. It happens in Delaware. It happens across the country and we have to fund the capacity to be able to go after it and deal with it and deal with it harshly in terms of getting these folks off the street, but not enough. 180138 Once we get the bad guys off the street, then we have to treat the good guys and get them back to a place that's normal, stable and ready. So i'm happy to talk to you about it more if you'd like to, okay? But i'm sorry to keep you all so long but that is a critical issue. Thank you. TOWN HALL: TRINT [17:02:21] I tell you what, man. I didn't expect Santa Claus today, but. Well, I'm expecting something in my stock and other than coal on February the 3rd. Wow, what a great crowd. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being here. Tom, thank you very much. I I couldn't hear what Tom had to say, but I know how much he was a friend of my son Beau's as attorney general. And so I'm sure whatever it was good because he probably was thinking of both. But thank you, Tom. [17:02:58] You're you're, you know, the longest serving attorney general of the United States of America. And there's a reason for it. Everybody think about this now. Everybody, Democrat, Republican, Independent, knows that Tom has absolute unvarnished integrity, and that's what we're looking for. And by the way, that's what the United States Justice Department supposed to represent integrity. As folks I'd like to do, I want to speak with you. [17:03:35] With your permission for about 10 minutes here and then I'd like to take some questions if you're willing to do that. And and those you stand in the back. I know if I keep you standing with my talk in more than 15 minutes, I'm gonna lose you all if I haven't already. Already. So I want. But those are the seats you can put up a little more anyway. Thank you. My mother is she'd make me turn to say, excuse my back. I apologize to my folks. [17:04:05] Look, every four years, you guys here in Iowa, you this word democracy begins in our presidential elections. I mean, for real. It begins here. And you set the nation on a path determined and narrow in their scope with the people who are likely to be the presidential nominees in both parties when there are more than one primary, when there's a Democrat and Republican primary. [17:04:33] And this is I don't think there's any caucus that you have been engaged in, whether it's your first one or whether it's her tenth one, that has been as consequential as this one, not because of I'm running or any one of us on the Democratic side of the aisle are running. But because of the man who is present, United States, America. No, I mean, think about it. I mean, for real, it's not it's not hyperbole. I I have never the one thing I've seen all across America has been that Donald Trump is. [17:05:11] Well, let me put this way. The character of the nation is literally going to be on the ballot this next time out. The character of America. And think about what we've heard from our president in the last few weeks. You don't have to go back very far. He just keeps outdoing himself. Well, I mean, for real. I have a friend from Scranton, Pennsylvania, not Scranton, Iowa. There is a Scranton. I know, but Scranton, Pennsylvania, that used to kid and say when something was just outrageous. Who would have thunk it? [17:05:44] Well, folks, look. Think about what you've heard from the last few weeks. Instead of respecting our warriors and our troops, we saw reporting about how how he berated generals and flag officers literally in the tank. This could be called a tank. And the justice in the Defense Department, where he to their face, allegedly, according to the report, are not denied, said that they were a bunch of losers, dopes as well as babies. [17:06:20] He's saying that to our commanders. These are the people who put their lives on the line for us. A guy who knows nothing about foreign policy is telling no national defense is calling them losers and dopes. You find him. When he almost started a full blown war because he walked away from an agreement that was working and we united the world behind us to keep. [17:06:51] Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. And what happened? There was a firefight. There were missiles shot from Iranian territory into Iran, Iraq, from Iran in an area, the al-Assad air base. Right. Ben, my son was there. And guess what? He said, no, worry about it now. No one hurt. Turns out we find out there were thirty four people, military personnel who are the victims of and received traumatic brain injury. And what was the response? [17:07:30] That's it. You got a headache. I mean, think about this. Ladies and gentlemen, we have over three thousand three hundred thousand, I should say. Military personnel coming back from these two wars in the past with traumatic brain injury. They had a headache. You know, folks, let's be clear about something. This these headaches are deadly serious. Deadly serious, and a number of them resulted in not only a traumatic brain injury. [17:08:07] But end up in a situation where you have post-traumatic stress. I carry with me every day. My schedule, they give me my schedule and my schedule. There's a black box I have on the schedule every day with that black box, say if you have your glasses on, because every single solitary woman or man who's given their life or is injured in these wars is a hero. Every one of them left behind. No, no. Everyone, I'm left behind. An entire community, the entire community. [17:08:49] And I don't want to hear people tell me when they say, well, there are roughly six thousand nine hundred dead, six thousand nine hundred and four for you are every single one of them matters. Same with the number of people wounded. Everyone matters. Here's the other piece of that. Three hundred thousand roughly have come home with post-traumatic stress. Affecting our lives right now in the United States, America on a weekly basis, approximately twenty one active duty and retired members of the military commit suicide. Twenty one. [17:09:26] And these are headaches. Ladies and gentlemen, you may be right, it may be 22. That's right. And folks, you know, our troops deserve a commander in chief. Who understands that the next president is going to inherit a world that is in disarray and a country that's divided. That's just going to be a fact. [17:09:54] There's give me no time for on the job training. No time. The president next president's going to have to be ready on day one to be the commander in chief on day one to lead the world, on day one to begin to pull this country together. Ladies and gentlemen, you need someone who's going to be able to command the world stage, leads our armies, repair our relationship with our allies, as well as once again, make America the most respected nation in the world. Once again. [17:10:31] We need a president who understands, as Barack did and I did as vise president, that Wall Street bankers and CEOs did not build America. Ordinary middle class people built this country given an exceptional chance. There's never been a time that has never really think about this. There's never, ever, ever, ever been a time when the American people were given half a chance. They've ever let their country down in war and peace no matter what. [17:11:00] But they're not getting the chance now. Middle class is getting crushed. We're getting crushed. Yep. Over half the middle class in America thinking their children will never reach the standard of living. They've had. 44 percent in a recent study of Americans are living on an income that in fact is not much above twelve dollars or thirteen dollars an hour. We're no longer the wealthiest middle class in the world. We're far from it. Ladies and gentlemen, you've got to understand this. [17:11:31] He talks about how great this economy is come right through the rest of Iowa with me. I've been to most of your counties. Come to my home state of Delaware. Watch. Folks, you know, in addition to that, we need a president can bring the country together. A leader who can unite our party as well as the country. And you know, we're a democracy. Democracies depend on consensus. No one, no one, no one has the power other than through gaining consensus to get anything done, no matter what the subject is. [17:12:06] And folks, look around. So we have to pull the country together. Democrats, independents and Republicans. Several of my colleagues in this race are good people seeking the nomination. Say that I'm naive about unifying the country. Well, it's not. I've done it my whole life and I will do it as president. I say they don't understand. They turn to me, say, well, Biden doesn't understand this new Republican Party. Granted, he's been able do all these things. He passed the Violence Against Women Act. He was able to get the Recovery Act. Nine hundred billion dollars passed. He was able to buy. But that was a long time ago. [17:12:43] Three years, but. But but they say that he doesn't understand this new Republican Party. I've been the object of the affection of this new Republican Party for a long time. I understand them better than any of my colleagues do. I've taken brickbats to my head. 12 billion. A million dollars spent on negative ads. All the lies they've gone after my only surviving son. Ladies and gentlemen, I get these guys. I know them. [17:13:16] I know them well. And I'm still standing and we're still moving forward. Here's the deal, folks. Look. A president can't hold grudges because they're not about me, it's about the American people is about you guys for me, for real. You got it. President has to not only be able to fight, but a bully, he'll got to heal this country. I mean, we really, truly do. It's gonna be hard. It's going to be hard as a devil. [17:13:52] But first thing we gotta do is we've got to get rid of this ugly, ugly political atmosphere we have. Folks, look, I learned a long time ago. The reason I've been able to get so much done and according to George Mitchell, the former majority leader, I got more legislation passed than anybody but Senator Kennedy had up to the time. Guess what? The fact is that we in this United States, America, a lesson I learned is it's always appropriate to question another man or woman is judgment, but never their motive. [17:14:22] Once I say you're in the pocket of or your motive is this, it is a maniacal motive. I say, by the way. Now let's get together, work out a health care plan. There's no shot. I'm serious. Think about it. Every time, every time we had a problem with the Republican Congress when I was vise president, got sent to the Hill to settle it. Me Because I'm for real, because I never question their motive. Even though is a self-evident that with what the motive was. You can never get anything done. [17:14:52] But there's so much so much we can and have to get done for our kids, for our grandkids. There's so many options we have. If we begin to deal with each other in a way that. Is decent, you know. The fact is that I've learned that. You know, as I said earlier, that character is on the ballot this time out. The American character. [17:15:25] I do not believe. Were the dark, angry nation Donald treats about tweets about every morning. I don't believe that we're a nation that puts kids in cages and thinks that's OK. I don't blame. Honest to God. Don't believe for a nation that builds walls and whips up hysteria about immigrant invasions causing the kind of response we get. I don't believe for a nation that embraces white supremacists and hate groups. We do not do that. I don't believe we're a nation that bowed down to Vladimir Putin, for God's sake. [17:16:10] And I don't believe for a nation that sees the free press as the enemy of the people. You can think about it. Were legally justified, encouraged by the Congress as witch hunts. Folks, I don't believe that's what we are. I don't believe the American people think that or the congressional oversight demanded by the Constitution is a hoax. Folks, think about it. I don't believe that we're a nation that says fulfilling your oath of office is optional. Look, folks, I don't believe we're a nation that believes the Constitution should be laughed at and be mocked. [17:16:50] Look, when I look at Donald Trump, what he stands for well, how he behaves, what he's done, how he speaks, the language he used describing other people. Oh, my. I think my response is always the same. I mean, this I think it's yours as well, whether you're a Democrat, Republican, Independent. We're a better nation than this. We are better than this. You know, I believe that there is a. What some of famous a well-known opinion writer said, there's an invisible moral fabric that holds up all democracy's invisible moral fabric that holds up this nation. [17:17:33] This made up of decency, honor, integrity. Giving hate, no safe harbor. Realizing there's something bigger than our own individual needs. Ladies and gentlemen, one that doesn't demonize anybody, doesn't take advantage of the poor or the immigrant or the other. Everything's the fault of the other. Ladies and gentlemen. [17:18:01] I think we're a nation has always done best, we've led by the power of our example, not just the example of our power. Being part of something bigger than ourselves. It's a code. It's the American code as uniquely American. President Obama understood it. This president has a different code. No, he really does. It's a different code, one that in. [17:18:33] But look, for some reason, he just doesn't get it. But this president doesn't understand is unlike every other nation on Earth. America cannot be defined by religion, by ethnicity or by tribe. Think about it when you're writing home, how would you define if you had a foreign visitor? Define America. How would you do it? Most other countries, you can define it by ethnicity or a country that shares one religion or a country that has is a same tribe. [17:19:07] You can't do it. America is an idea, an idea the only country in the history, the world. An idea, as corny as it sounds, it's real. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men and women are created equal, endowed by their creator with certain inalienable right. We've never fully lived up to it, but we've never before walked away from it. We the people in order to form a more perfect union. No other nation has ever been organized in that principle. [17:19:39] And the code we share. Is more powerful than any army or dictator, bigger than any ocean, more consequential than anything in human history. I mean it sincerely. Think about it. What makes us who we are? It's an idea. An idea. And he is selling the idea in a literal sense. He's selling. The rest of the world looks at us, and if you've had an opportunity or need travel abroad, elevate to five no matter what country and they've said you, what's happening? No. [17:20:19] International poll just pointed out back in, I guess it was March asking the most respected leaders in the world. They rated the Chinese leadership above American leadership. Not a joke. Think about it. What is going on? As my dad would say, Joey, our children are listening. They're listening. You know, we've been an idea, it has given hope to the most desperate people on Earth. [17:20:53] And it can't be extinguished by Donald Trump no matter how hard he tries. And quite frankly, is the reason I'm running. When I announced, I said I was running and I was criticized initially, but now people are looking at a little differently. I was running to restore the soul of America is the source of all our strength. The real. [17:21:21] To restore America, not to not to go back, but to go forward and this time fully expand the promise of America, the black and brown Americans as well, to rebuild the middle class in this time, bring everybody along regardless of their race or ethnicity, their gender, their disability. The real. And to unite this country so we can work together again to get all this done. Imagine, you know, when I got elected, when I was a 29 year old kid in the Senate and I wasn't old enough to be sworn in. I had to wait 17 days to be eligible. [17:22:00] And I came from the first United States senator I ever knew. And I come from means like I suspect many of you relatively modest means three bedroom, split level home for kids. A grandpop lived with us and a mom and dad. It was a safe neighborhood where we didn't think or stretched, but we didn't we didn't know anybody and we didn't know any. We know the name of the guy who ran the bank or we didn't know any lawyers or doctors other than the family doctor was just a normal family. [17:22:31] I come from. And folks, one of the things that I was characterized that when I as I run or was I won both locally and nationally in the state press, in the national press, was Joe Biden was this young, idealistic, optimistic young man. Well, let me tell you something. I mean, this is certainly no end and take questions. I am more optimistic about more optimistic about America's chances to own the 21st century than I've ever been in my whole life. [17:23:02] And I really mean it. It's not hyperbole. Think about this. If we can unite this country again, which I'm confident I can do, we can do together, we can unite this country again. There's not a thing we can't do. Think about it. We're the wealthiest nation in the history of the world. And if we continue to invest in our people rather than walk away from them, only pick the top 1 percent. There's nothing we can't do. No one can compete with us. I get criticized occasionally for saying Biden's not worried about China. [17:23:32] They said the same thing about me in 1997, says Biden. Not worried about Japan taken over America. I'm not about either, because guess what? I've never I've met every major world leader in the last 40 years. Every major one I've met and most and a lot of minor ones. And guess what? I've not met one single leader of another country who wouldn't trade places in a heartbeat with the press, the United States, for whatever problems they have versus the president's. We are the wealthiest nation in the history of the world. We are the most powerful nation in the history of the world. [17:24:06] We have more great research universities, the United States of America, all the rest of the world combined. And every major life changing thing has come out of a research university monetized by by business people and corporate people. But guess what? You own those universities. The American people own them. Think of China. China, I spent more time on Xi Jinping than anybody. Well, at least up until the time that we left office. This is a guy who has a million whiskers in prison camps in the west, in the mountains. [17:24:44] This is the guy who you see Hong Kong slide just crumbling under his reach. This is a guy who doesn't have enough water for his people. So they're talking about hundred billions of dollars to turn around rivers to provide access for potable water for the population. This is a guy who runs a country that, in fact, somewhere between the estimates between 30 and 45 percent of their arable land is contaminated with is just flat contaminated, not able to grow anything. [17:25:18] This is a guy who and this is not a good news, this is all bad news for the world and them as well. Guess what? More people are going to die of cancer in China from 2020 to 2030 than all the rest of the world combined. All the rest. The world combined. So, folks, the idea that China is going to eat our lunch is bizarre. It's bizarre if we do all we have to do and we can turn China and we can help them with some of their problems. They don't have to go to war with China. [17:25:54] We don't have we can compete with China, insist that they do it by the rules, not these phony trade wars that are being started battling and banishing and hurting American farmers in my state and yours and all across the country. So, folks, it's time we just get a little smarter than we have bad. I am absolutely confident. I am so tired of Democrats and Republicans, quite frankly. Walking around their heads down and going, whoa, what are we going to do, my God, we're in such tough shape, folks. [17:26:26] This is the United States of America. We've never failed to meet whatever object we have put in our sights. Never, not once. You know, we're in a print, we're in a position. We can make affordable health care a privilege, not a right for all. And we can pay for it. We can prepare every student from pre-K through college to succeed in the 21st century and be able to live a middle class life. We can lead the world and taking on the existential threat of climate change. And by the way, I help put that climate change package together in Paris. And in fact, we're going to rejoin on day one when I'm president. All right. [17:27:04] Call everybody back in. And we could stand up to the NRA by banning assault weapons and making a strike, beating them twice. I'm the only guy guys beat them twice. Nationally. And we can do all that and so much more, so much more and I want to get started here, get a little too excited. [17:27:34] But think about it. Think about the possibilities that exist for us. I really mean it. They're limitless. We're best position of any nation in the world. So let's just get going. Okay. Let's just start this. You guys, I said, are the starting gun for who the next president's going to be. And as I used to say, when I ran for the Senate, a 20 year old kid, a luck knock on your door and say, sir, my name's Joe Biden. I'm Democratic candidate for United States Senate. This time, Sam and Joe Biden. I'm seeking the nomination for the Democratic Party for president. [17:28:07] Look me over, if you like, which is you help us not help out, if not, vote for the other person. But give me a look. OK. All right. Anyway, let's take some questions. You have people with microphones. You want to go back. Here we have some here. Could you pick somebody up at the young guy? Yeah. [17:28:38] Okay. Mr. Vise President, my question is, sir, I used to be a Cory Booker supporter. What is your biggest issue that you're going to tackle on day one as president? Well, the biggest issue we face as a country and Corey is a friend of mine. He lives right across the river, the Delaware River. I'm from Delaware. And I just want to know, as tiny as we are. We own the Delaware River up to the high water mark in New Jersey. So I just want to know. But I haven't said that. I'm only teasing you. But, hey, but he's a good friend. And. [17:29:10] And a lot of the folks in New Jersey who supported him are supporting me now that Cory has gotten out. He's a fine guy. My biggest issue that I think you have to deal for your generation, everyone else is the end to get clean air. Have climate change us focus on. It's the single biggest issue that we face. And then there's a lot we can do to get that done. There's a lot we can do. And guess what? When you talk about that with your friends and say this is what's going to cost people jobs, you know, we're gonna create over 10 million new jobs, high paying jobs, so people will be able to make a living. [17:29:49] And guess what else? If you ride around this country, in the Midwest and particularly here in Iowa, we're gonna make sure farmers are the first ones to be able to do the most to provide for changing the climate and how we're gonna do it. We're gonna pay them a lot more to put land and conservation. We're gonna pay them a lot more. This time, we're gonna keep our promise and we tell them that we're going to make sure that ethanol has to be in our we spend one hundred million dollars in our administration to make sure those gas pumps could tolerate ethanol. [17:30:21] It creates lots and lots of jobs and reduces pollution. We're also going to see to it that, you know, there's this. I'm sorry I get tied up with the young guy here. But I won't because I can tell he knows this. I'm really impressed. I'm going to leave you just one idea. There's a lot more to talk about. Let me give you one idea. You know, the Amazon in South America is the biggest what they call a carbon sink. It's a phrase that that climate folks talk about a carbon sink means. [17:30:53] Do you absorb the thing that's ruining the atmosphere and causing always global warming? Is carbon and methane going up through the atmosphere? OK. And leave it kind of like a big hole in the atmosphere and everything gets sucked out. OK, here's the thing. And that's an exaggeration, but it's metaphorically correct. So what's happened is when the Amazon starts to burn. What happens is all those trees in the Amazon and all the foliage in Amazon, which sucks the carbon out of the air. [17:31:24] It takes it out of the air. It's called a carbon sink. When you take carbon out of the air, more carbon. That is the bad stuff gets absorbed from the air into the ground and doesn't cause anybody any problems in the Amazon. Then all the carbon that every single car, truck, plane and train emits in the atmosphere in the United States on a daily basis. But guess what's happening? It's burning now. It's burning. And the reason it's burning is in the Amazon, in Brazil. There's a lot of poor folks. That's how we clear cut our forests for always. [17:32:01] All farms and all agriculture and all the stuff we did. Well, they say, wait a minute, you did that and you did very well. Why can't we do that and have land to farm so we can make more money? So what you have to have is a president who come along and say, OK, let's. I'm going to organize the entire hemisphere and the rest of the world to say, look, we aren't going to pay you not to burn your forest for all of our sake and yours. And instead of. And there's a guy named Dick Lugar, used to be a senator from a neighboring state, a Republican who was a good friend of mine. [17:32:36] He and I introduced the first bill that said we will trade you debt for environment if you don't cut down your forest. We will not charge you. We will not collect the money you owe us because it benefits all of humanity if you keep those forests. So what I would do and I'm gonna need your help when I do it, I'm bringing along with me get the rest of the world to say, here's what we're gonna do. We will pay Brazil 20 billion dollars, not two billion dollars in the world to not cut down that forest and take out that foliage and provide a lot of jobs for you. [17:33:13] And the other things you can do with that, 200 million dollars of people in your in your country. And if you don't do it, here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna make sure if you clear cut all this shit, you're gonna pay an exceedingly high price because you're not be able to sell your products to the rest of the world. There's gonna be a problem. You're gonna have to pay a price if you're taking all your land and all this carbon, go back up into the air. That's s call that requires an international. [17:33:39] A president understands international policies can bring all these nations together. So it's not just what we're gonna do home here. We make up 15 percent of the problem in America. The reason why the glaciers are melting. 15 percent of the cause is us. OK. Eighty five percent of the cause is all the other nations. So we even if we do everything perfectly, which we're not doing any of it. Well, now, if we do everything perfectly, we still are going to have the glaciers melting. You're still going to have your rivers overflowing. [17:34:09] You're going to still your farm fields flooded. You're going to still be in a position where you have these tornadoes. Now you have hundred year floods every five years. You're still going to have all that happened. So requires someone who not only knows something about the environment and me and knows it means some require something someone can put together the rest of the world to get it done. I'll answer quicker questions, but his was so good. I'm sorry it took so long. [17:34:42] Sorry. This is on climate also, CCL is really trying to find sponsors to get the energy innovation and carbon dividend fee. Passed in the Senate. Is that something that you would sign on to? Yes. Try to push. Yes. And I would push that. Look, there's so many things that we have an opportunity to do. We just have to explain to the people and in our communities. By the way, if I had said to you all 10, 15 years ago, by the way, and I was one of the first guys to push wind energy and solar energy, that you could pride a lot of jobs by having windmills. [17:35:21] You could have a lot of jobs and you could do a lot and you could generate and you can make the environment cleaner. A lot of the American people smartest could be teachers. Look at me like what the hell you went ahead would take. You're talking about. But now everybody gets it, and by the way, windmills don't cause cancer is. But but, but, but here's the point. Think of what we can do right off the bat. Folks. One of the things that is important to do if we just kept this is not not the answer, but just one example, if we just cap the mileage standards we insisted on with the major manufacturers, they all agreed to it. [17:36:01] We would be saving twelve billion barrels of oil. Twelve billion. That's a lot of carbon going up into the air. OK. That's a billion. Twelve million. I misspoke. Twelve million barrels of oil. That's a lot of carbon. But guess what? This guy comes along and even though the automobile makers know we should in fact be doing that. He says, no, you don't have to anymore. Think what else? [17:36:32] Every new highway, every new piece of infrastructure rebuild must be a green infrastructure. Case in point, one of the things the president, when he put me in charge of dealing with the Recovery Act, that 900 plus billion dollar investment, we put 100 hundred billion dollars into making reducing the price of solar as well as as wind energy, lower than the price of a beater. You have coal. Making it competitive. But in addition to that, we can create every new highway we build in America. [17:37:04] We're going to put in five hundred thousand charging stations, charging stations, just like when, you know, you if you go to a big city, you see everybody scooters you can plug in. All kidding aside, we should own the electric vehicle market in the world. It will create millions of new jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars. And it will provide exceptional amount of work for the IBEW and other unions who in fact, install these things. It makes sense. So money we can double wind and solar energy offshore overnight. We can do it. We're going to. [17:37:45] I'm going to make sure, for example, one of the things that worked and this guy did away with is that if in fact we in fact insist that all buildings are contained and are not leaking a lot of energy, whether it's heat or or air conditioning. Well, guess what? We're going to provide for the ability once again to get tax credits for investing in windows and doors and ceilings and insulation and the rest that causes you to not have to spend nearly as much money on energy because it's escaping through the windows and doors. [17:38:19] But tax credits for you, we can give a tax credit for racehorse. We sure as heck can give you a tax credit to be able to do that. In addition to that, you think about this. The last thing I'll say. I've been meeting with some of the folks who. There's a guy named Wade Ran Lead who's been very involved in this cities from the valley in and out in California. One of these entrepreneurs and high tech guys. And one of the things he points out is that what's happening now and he's introduced me to some of these guys, there are people out there who are in the high tech business, are focusing on how they can help and not just hurt. [17:38:55] One of the ways they can help is we're in a position. They now are in a position. They believe they can produce batteries that are about the size of this podium and thickness. And with that, in fact, can be in your basement. So you can store if you have wind or solar energy, you can store a week's worth of it when the wind's not blowing and the or the sun's not shining. And it's going to fundamentally change people's ability through tax credits to be able to have completely solar free. I mean, give me carbon free environments in which they live. [17:39:27] We can also there's so many practical things that we can do and the process of getting there beyond the big things like carbon tax and the rest beyond those big things, we can also make we can create a lot of jobs. We're the only nation in the world, you think about it, that we had a crisis. We've been able to turn crises into and sink into significant opportunities. We can do that again. And so I'll conclude this part on the environment. [17:39:54] We could talk all night about it, and I'd be happy to if you want me to. But here's the deal. Think about where we are right now. I propose I invest four hundred billion dollars over ten years in new research and development. Right now, one of the biggest problems we have, but we've not expended the money in the research to find out answers to it is to be able to transmit across the country, transmit on high power lines or underground, transmit solar and wind energy to be able to do it there. [17:40:29] We can in fact do that, but we've not made the kind of investment needed to make it profitable. So you have. I'm going I'm not going to be heading off to Nevada a little bit. Nevada just has a four hundreds out anyway. They have a mega mega field. Solar is one of the second largest solar fields in the world out there. And it's going to be able to power 600000 homes and all their needs and are about to finish it often in a valley out there. But guess what? If you could transfer that all the way to Chicago, you could transfer that to Milwaukee or you could transfer that on a power line, just like you can't electricity, then you can have a phenomenal impact on encouraging people to do a lot more and cheaper for them and safer for them in life. [17:41:13] But there's a lot I'd like to give you a copy of my energy plan before we leave. OK. But it's the single most critical issue facing humanity. And we've got to get to it. And we've got to set down the guardrails now so we can't turn back. By 2030, we can't turn back. OK. Well, my question isn't that great, but baby boomers are a big economic force in the US. What will you do to replace them? After a lot of them retire? [17:41:50] Well, I'll talk to Elizabeth, Bernie about that. No, it's honey, it's a great question. Let me give you an example, words so important and I know you didn't necessarily want to go this direction, but here's the thing. As the baby boomers retired, guess what's happening? We're having a crisis in American education because the number of teachers who are gonna be leaving teaching and the baby boom generation right now, we're already one hundred fifteen thousand teachers short in our public schools. [17:42:25] By 2025, that could be as high as two hundred and fifty thousand teachers short. That creates a real crisis for us. So what we have to do is we have to incentivize the generation from you and you're part of what they call the Z generation. Reaching your generation and the baby boom generation to go into teaching is just a single example. And so what we do is how why aren't people going into teaching? Well, the average person graduating from one of your great universities in this state with a degree in education starts off getting their first job, getting paid 23 percent less than anybody else who graduates with a four year degree except like my daughter, who has a master's in social work. [17:43:06] So that even less I should have had one Republican candidate did it. I made a lot of money, but oh goodness, Obama cheesy. I'm teasing. But here's the deal. What happens is that I think there's a thing called Title 1 schools. There are the schools that don't have a lot of money to pay for their schools because they're not well, they're not big homes, not wealthy folks. And they don't make up enough of my money because that's how schools are funded by the taxes on the property around the country. And so they're called Title 1 schools. [17:43:37] And they're not they're they're white, they're black, they're Hispanic, they're they're Asian, but they're people with not a lot of money. Now, if, in fact, we increase the amount of money we spend on Title 1 schools from 15 billion a year to 45 billion dollars a year, we can do three things. We can raise the salaries for teachers in those schools closer to 0 over time to 60 thousand dollars a year. So they can stay and teaching, you know, continue to teach and attract them to rural or inner city areas that have these Title 1 schools. Secondly, we can make sure that every single solitary child, no matter what their economic background is, can start school, not daycare. [17:44:22] School at age 3, 3 years old, 3, 4 and 5 years old in school. Now we know things now that we didn't know 10 years ago. All the studies show if that's the case, you increase by somewhere between 45 and 55 percent. The chance of that child, no matter what their background, no matter what their color, no matter what their background has a 54, 45 to 55 percent chance, depending which study you take better chance of going all the way through school and all the way through high school and beyond high school without getting any trouble. That's in everybody's interest. That happens. [17:45:00] Thirdly, what we're able to do, because these baby boomers are leaving, is we also are going to be able to see to it that we doubled the number of school psychologists we have in our schools. Those who teach know that there is now one school psychologist for every fifteen hundred and seven kids. One study said every fourteen hundred but four. And everybody says it should be closer to one to five hundred or one to seven hundred, depending on the study you look at. But here's the deal. What we find out is that another thing we now know we didn't know before, and that is that that mental illness doesn't cause drug. [17:45:36] I mean, drug abuse doesn't call cause mental illness. Mental illness causes drug abuse. And the generation that is your generation and younger is the most stressed generation in American history, according to the American Psychiatric Association, International Psychiatric Association. And it generates significant anxiety in that generation more than any other generation that exists in America today. Now what that does. Anxiety ends up sometimes recalling and social behavior, inability to adapt, inability to move. [17:46:08] But if you have school psychologist in the schools in identifying this early on, we can do a great deal, a great deal to change things. A great deal. This is not rocket science. This is just plain science. This is about, you know, look, everybody knows who Donald Trump is. We got know who we are. We choose truth over lies. We choose science over fiction. We choose someone. So. There's a lot we can do now. I'm going to answer close to yes or no for the next several questions because I know I am really I'm really trespassing on your time. [17:46:44] Hi, Joe, my name is Kathy. In light of everything you've said today, today is the seventy fifth anniversary of the. Liberating Auschwitz prisoners and. What can we do? Given what Donald Trump is doing at the border? With those children who are incarcerated. So that so that they don't go out and experience the kind of stigmatization that so many Jewish people and and gypsies and Romas did in Europe. It's so important is particularly when anti-Semitism in the United States is on the rise again. And it's frightening. We're living in the 30s again in so many ways. Thank you. [17:47:40] That's a really profound question. Look. I was raised by a Catholic dad the Jewish community would call a righteous Christian. We. For real. We had dinner at my house where we talked. We had conversation, incidentally. My dad would come home and then go back and close up the business he managed. After dinner, we always eat dinner together. And my dad used to talk about. He was a student of the Holocaust. He couldn't understand how we could have not not responded to Hitler earlier, how we could have kept the ship off shore and not let them come, how we did not bomb the railroad tracks that the war was ended. [17:48:25] And so one of the things that I. There's a phrase in the Jewish community, which is never again, never again mean you will never allow this to ever happen again. But it is happening in other parts of the world. But it's not just in this case. It's not just Jews now, but in America. They're being victimized. There's again, more attacks on synagogues and in Jewish homes of worship. Houses of worship than any time in American history since this man has become prison United States, because hate doesn't hate. [17:49:00] I always thought coming out of the civil rights movement that we could defeat hate. I come from a city that has the eighth largest percent of blacks in America. I mean, it's not a city, a state. As the eighth largest black population in America, as a percent of population. And so I thought as we made progress in the civil rights movement that everything could change, we could defeat hate. And then I go after my city was the only city in America ever occupied by the military since the civil war, when one of my only two political heroes, one was Rep. Robert Kennedy, the other as Martin Luther King when he was assassinated. [17:49:39] I was a senior in law school and I came home and I had a job with a great law firm. But I quit after a couple months to become a public defender because there was such turmoil in my city. It was occupied by the National Guard. And as my wife, the professor, you can Google it withdrawn bayonets in every corner of virtually every corner in the city. And I decided I wanted to get engaged because I came out of that civil rights movement. And I thought things would never get better. I thought they'd never get any better. And what happened was that. [17:50:12] Almost 40 years to the month, I got admitted to the bar in September of 1969 after graduating in 68, and I used to interview clients down on along the railroad track where you there's a holding place down there for a the Northeast Carter, you know, Amtrak going up from, you know, Washington to New York, etc.. And I thought things would never get better. [17:50:43] But then 40 years to the month I was standing on that same platform, I was looking out over and ahead and didn't dawn on me. I was standing there. Ten thousand people along the track and I'm looking out and I looked over. They call the Third Street Bridge, which is had all been African-American men burned to the ground, most of it. And over the east side, which is all African-American men burn to the ground and it's up again. [17:51:04] Blacks and whites are working together again. And we've had black mayors since then, etc. And I thought, my lord, I can't believe it. Look what's happening. And so when I stood there, because I was waiting on that platform for a black man to drive, to come down on a train 23 minutes from Philadelphia to pick me up and drive and take a train. Another hundred and twenty seven miles to Washington, D.C., hundred forty seven miles to Washington, D.C., to be sworn in as president and vise president, United States. And I thought, God. And also it hit me how things can change. And I call my children up. And they were all on the platform waiting for the train. And my wife, the family. [17:51:45] And I call my son Beau, who was then the attorney general of the state of Delaware and ended up being a war hero, he won the conspicuous service medal, the Bronze Star. Before he passed away and my son Hunter, who was heading up the World Food Program USA, the largest food program in any country for the poor and disadvantaged. And my daughter, who is a social worker, and I said, don't tell me things can't change. Guys, look, look, look what's happening. 40 years ago to the day, this was in ruins. And now I'm being picked up by a black man to be sworn in as president. Vise president. [17:52:22] And I thought that we could defeat hate, but then it's on. And in a town in Virginia in 2017 where a group of people coming out of the woods, hundreds of them carrying torches. Close your eyes and remember the picture. Their veins bulging, spewing hate, carrying Nazi flags, preaching the same anti-Semitic bile that was preached in the streets of Germany in the 30s company by the Ku Klux Klan and white supremacist. [17:52:55] And a young woman was killed. And the president was asked to comment. And he said something no president has ever, ever said, including Andrew Johnson. He said when he described the surge, he said there are very fine people on both sides, very fine people. And reminded me of my dad's talk about silence is complicity. And folks, from the time each of my children were old enough to get on a plane and come with me when they were 15 years old, it took in each I've taken each of them. [17:53:31] And now my grandchildren, I have five grandchildren. I've taken three so far. My two children, my three children who are alive and my four grandchildren. So far, three grandchildren. I put them on a plane the first place. I take him to Europe as a CEO. People thought that was pretty cruel, but I took him to duck because I wanted to see you walk through Dakar, that concentration camp. The first place they set foot in Europe. [17:54:01] I want to see. And it says it says, as you walk through the gates, you know, work, I'm paraphrasing, you work will set you free. And their gas chambers in there as well. But I what I really wanted to see is the chain link fence that ran all along the lines on both sides that separated these beautiful homes with tile roofs. The same homes were there while all this was going on. And they could not deny. No one could deny who lived in those homes, that they didn't know what was going on and they remained silent. [17:54:35] Silence is complicity. And what I learned is hate never goes away. It just hides. It just hides. And when you breathe oxygen under that rock, you give them some credibility. They come out on from under the rocks. The history of America is not a fairy tale. It's not a fairy tale. But we've always risen up and spoken against, but only when we've all spoken. [17:55:03] That's why I say we have to unite this country, the whole of the country, because we're better, so much better than this. Thank you for asking the question. Apologize. I think we have time for one more one more question. Yes, sir. Mr. Vise, president, I'm a military veteran. Like your son. Can we please break my brothers and sisters hold? Absolutely, positively, unequivocally. As you may recall. [17:55:47] can say now, because it in fact, has been reported not by me. It's been reported I strongly opposed sending tens of thousands of troops to Afghanistan. I've been through every part of Afghanistan. My helicopter went down up in the Konar Valley at 14000 feet. We had to be taken down in vehicles. My point is this. I've seen it all. The idea that we're going to have nation building in Afghanistan is bizarre. It's not going to happen. [17:56:17] The only thing I think we should be doing in terms of placing troops abroad, wherever we place them, is to play small groups of special forces troops, to coordinate other nations, to work with us, to deal with failed states and terrorism. Because if we don't go with other states and other we don't bring others along and regain our reputation, we're going to end up doing it alone and we're going to be the victims of it. So we have to organize. And I'll bet you you had the same reaction. Every military person I know had that I and I've been through that. I've been. [17:56:48] And along the border of Turkey and the south there where the Kurds are. I've spent a lot of time with the Kurds. And guess what? You saw the looks on the faces of your former colleagues as they were coming out with their up armored Humvees, almost with their heads down, ashamed Kurdish women holding up their babies, saying, please don't leave us, please don't leave as you promised. Well, we had fewer than 5000 troops there. 10000 Kurds lost their lives, defeating ISIS. Ten thousand of them lost their lives. And a commitment that. And we train them. And we were there to help them organize. [17:57:24] And they did it. And then we left them. Nobody in the world is prepared to believe our word anymore. This president has an absolutely sullied the world of the united, the word of the United States. But I promise you, I promise you, combat troops for nation building will not exist in any one of those countries. [17:57:49] As I said earlier, I need I need your help. And you've got these caucus cards. OK. I'm going to try to sell you. I need you to sign up to go the caucus for me. And I need people who are prepared to be the folks who will be organizers for us. So if you're crazy enough to do it, I could really appreciate it. [17:58:12] And I'd really appreciate the help. And besides, my wife does this and we're in a contest here. She gets a lot more she gets a lot more people to sign than I do. So help me out. OK. And you've got more questions back there. I'm in trouble here. Okay. Oh, yeah. His yes or no? I'll do it. Well, no, it's not a draw. [17:58:35] My question is, first and foremost, I'm gonna give a shout out for my children standing and being hot and cold and hot and cold. But as a single mom who had been in foster care and all of those things, I'm actually also a survivor of human trafficking. Now, full time college student working to fight human trafficking in the state of Iowa was actually on the task force here. My question for you is. [17:59:01] Oh, my God. Oh, my God. What are you doing to help me? [17:59:11] I've already done more than anybody else. I wrote the Violence Against Women Act, provided those women's shelters. I made sure that we, in fact, have, when we were in office, used our Justice Department to go out after traffickers, et cetera. In addition to that, what we have to do, I was a single parent for five years and I had I had I had means, but I couldn't afford the kind of help I needed. Thank God I had a family that I have on my. I got elected when I told you in November and December, I was hiring a staff and I got a phone call and a poor first responder, God lover. She's just a. [17:59:44] Got to come home has been an accident. Your wife and daughter are dead and your children and your two boys may not live. I guess they got broadsided by a tractor trailer. So I understand how hard it is to raise children as a single parent. And I had great, great, great help because I had my sister, my best friend in the world. I had my mom, I had my dad, I had my brother. And so it's really, really hard. But the most important thing we have to do, folks, is in fact, make sure that we invest in. [18:00:16] It matters a great deal that we invest in these kids. We invest in these women. By the way, you know, the people who are in prison today for violent crimes, two things they have in common, the general knows, is better than I do. They're their number one because they can't read or write or number two, because they were victims. Their mother was a victim of violence. They were abused. You think of the exact opposite happened. You think even your mom was a victim of violence. The last thing you'd ever do is commit violence. [18:00:45] Violence is a learned behavior. A learned behavior. And that's why we need considerably more mental health facilities in this country, considering more outpatient capacity. We need 35000 more more psychiatric nurses in America. We need to be able to pour resources into what is an enormous resource that we have young women in particular, but some men, mostly young women in particular, who are the victims of trafficking. And guess what? It's happening right before your eyes. It happens in states like Iowa. [18:01:18] It happens obviously in bus stops in New York City. But it also happens in Iowa. It happens in Delaware. It happens across the country. And we have to fund the capacity to be able to go after it and deal with it and deal with it harshly in terms of getting these folks off the street, but not not enough. Once we get the bad guys off the street, then we have to treat the good guys and get them back to a place that's normal, stable and ready. So I'm happy to talk to you about it more if you'd like to. OK, but I'm sorry to keep you all so long, but that is a critical issue.

TVU 21 JOE BIDEN SPARTANBURG SC COMMUNITY EVENT ABC UNI 022820 2020 SPARTANBURG, South Carolina -- An energetic crowd of roughly 600 people greeted former Vice President Joe Biden tonight at his final campaign event before the critical South Carolina primary on Saturday, a contest long thought to be a make or break moment for his campaign. In front of a crowd diverse in both age and race, Biden said he believes if South Carolinians deliver him a victory tomorrow "that's significant," he will be the next presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. "My point is this: South Carolina not only has a place in my heart, I've tried very hard to earn the respect and the support of South Carolinians. And so you hold in your hand, this is not hyperbole, this is a fact, you hold in your hand the future of the Democratic Party. Determining who is most likely to be the next nominee, and the next nominee has to, has to beat Donald Trump. For the sake of the country. (19:11:06) "And so -- I'm here heart and soul to try to earn your support. And earn your vote. I take nothing for granted. Take nothing for granted. And folks, I believe if you send me out of here with a victory...you send me out of here with a victory that's significant, then I think I'm gonna be the next nominee of the United States," Biden said. (19:11:34) During the question and answer session of the event, Biden was first asked about the coronavirus and how he would deal with it as president. Biden pivoted to how he and President Obama dealt with the threat of an Ebola outbreak, and slammed the Trump administration for silencing scientists and said Trump views the coronavirus as a "conspiracy to defeat him." "We didn't do it by silencing scientists. If you notice what has been recently said -- the president of the United States, and Vice President Pence told Mr. Fauci, one of the leading scientists in the world on pandemics, he was not able to speak out. The scientists have been silenced. This president makes everything personal. He thinks that this coronavirus is a conspiracy to defeat him. No, I mean, look what they're saying," Biden said. (19:28:00) "Hopefully, the pressure is building on the president to step aside. He knows nothing about much. (crowd laughs) He knows nothing about this issue. Let science dictate the outcome. What we do. That's what I'd be doing," Biden added. (19:32:28) Biden also alluded to a possible victory in South Carolina a second time when a particularly pro-Biden questioner joked about telling people Biden was from South Carolina given his close relationships in the state. Biden said he didn't mind people saying he was from the state, joking that if he wins by a big enough margin, he might just move there. 19:45:00 We know that for 26 years, you represented the great state of Delaware in the US Senate. But do you mind for the next four years or 8 years that we tell everybody that you're from South Carolina? 19:45:15 BIDEN>> I tell you what. No, I tell you what, no, I don't mind that. 19:45:51 BIDEN: We have extremely diverse populations. We have the same kind of problems and opportunities. And folks, I can tell you what, the, if the numbers hold up and it turns out that, that I'm able to win, with the numbers they say, I may move to South Carolina. I'm only joking. Taking an implicit dig at Sanders, Biden said Democrats have a "gigantic chance to change the economy," without "being socialists," and without "having a revolution." "We have a gigantic chance to change the economy in a big way without being socialists, [chuckles] without going and having a revolution -- just being, straight up, fair [applause] I mean it," Biden said. (19:21:13) Biden also got in a few explicits digs at a few of his Democratic rivals, including businessman Tom Steyer who he hit over his private prison investments, in addition to Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who he dinged during a criticism of Medicare for All. "We should be using prison as a rehabilitation effort. It doesn't cost any more to do that, I might add, but it enhances significant -- that's why I've been so opposed to private prisons. That's why you had a private prison here, in this state, that one of my opponents spent $90 million investing in that -- where they literally hogtied teenagers and left them on the ground. What's that all about?" Biden said, alluding to Steyer. (20:02:04) An extended question and answer session led to the event lasting roughly an hour and a half, mostly due to an over 25-minute answer from, Biden on how to strengthen Obamacare. During the answer, Biden said of Medicare for All "they'll never pass it," and slammed Sanders and Warren for extending the timeline under which the program would be implemented. "Bernie says it's not going to cost you anything. Well, my Lord. Remember when he was asked, on Meet the Press, know what it cost? His response was, 'Well, we don't know. we'll all figure it out.' [laughter] As we say in my church, Bless me, Father, what are you talking about?. [laughter] And guess what? Nobody, nobody in the Congress on the Democratic side -- very few people want i. They're not gonna vote for it. And guess what they say? And -- Elizabeth and Bernie, they say 'Well, here's the deal. Granted, it's gonna take four years to pass it.' And they'll never pass it, i think, but maybe -- four years to pass and after that, it's going to take another six years to have a structure to move it in place. Anybody tells you they're going to take care of you in 10 years -- think about it. Think about it, not a joke," Biden said. (20:23:51) HIGHLIGHTS SC as the Determiner 191106 My point is this: South Carolina not only has a place in my heart, I've tried very hard to earn the respect and the support of South Carolinians. And so you hold in your hand, this is not hyperbole, this is a fact, you hold in your hand the future of the Democratic Party. Determining who is most likely to be the next nominee, and the next nominee has to, has to beat Donald Trump. 191131 For the sake of the country. And so -- I'm here heart and soul to try to earn your support. And earn your vote. I take nothing for granted. Take nothing for granted. And folks, I believe if you send me out of here with a victory, and with like, God love them, like you're doing former representative and Jim Clyburn and so many others that supported me, you send me out of here with a victory that's significant, then I think I'm gonna be the next nominee of the United States. Progress w/o Revolution 192113 We have a gigantic chance to change the economy in a big way without being socialists, [chuckles] without going and having a revolution -- just being, straight up, fair [applause] I mean it. CoronaVirus 192716 Q>> In the news right now we have this coronavirus that it seems it's expanding on the west coast here in the United States. As President, How would you deal with this pandemic that looks like it's developing here in our country at the present time? 192734 BIDEN>> Well first of all, we - Barack and I are - president Obama and I dealth with a pandemic. Come on, you can jump up here, pal. It's okay. The, it was called Ebola. And we were able to contain it on another continent, and when it spread here, we were able to make sure it did not spread. 192800 But we didn't do it by silencing scientists. If you notice what has been recently said -- (applause) -- the president of the United States, and Vice President Pence told Mr Fauchi, one of the leading scientists in the world on pandemics, he was not able to speak out. The scientists have been silenced. This president makes everything personal. 192828 He thinks that this coronavirus is a conspiracy to defeat him. No, I mean, look what they're saying. And here's the deal: there's 4 things we did to deal with the other pandemic. What we did was number one, we set an office in the president's office for pandemic disease. Some individual, a scientists in charge of the being able to keep -- because diseases know no border. Trump Dig 193228 Hopefully, the pressure is building on the president to step aside. He knows nothing about much. (crowd laughs) He knows nothing about this issue. Let science dictate the outcome. What we do. That's what I'd be doing. Moving to SC 194500 Q>> We know that for 26 years, you represented the great state of Delaware in the US Senate. But do you mind for the next four years or 8 years that we tell everybody that you're from South Carolina? 194515 BIDEN>> I tell you what. No, I tell you what, no, I don't mind that. Because you know, as you well know, you seem to know me pretty well, and you seem to know my state pretty well. You know, my state is different, but it's not fundamentally different from South Carolina. You know, that famous case, Brown vs the Board of education was south CArolina and Delaware. And Delaware. 194547 Were part of that case. We have extremely diverse populations. We have the same kind of problems and opportunities. And folks, I can tell you what, the, if the numbers hold up and it turns out that, that I'm able to win, with the numbers they say, I may move to South Carolina. I'm only joking. @Steyer, re Private Prisons 200204 So, we should be using prison as a rehabilitation effort. It doesn't cost any more to do that, I might add, but it enhances significant -- that's why I've been so opposed to private prisons. That's why you had a private prison here, in this state, that one of my opponents spent $90 million investing in that -- where they literally hogtied teenagers and left them on the ground. What's that all about? 200230 Or in Georgia, the same outfit that he bought into, was in fact not providing basic health care for people in the prison. How does that -- how does that help anybody? Forget the person in question, but how does it help society? Medicare for All 202322 You can rip down the Pentagon, the White House -- take everything we're spending $1 on, wipe it all out -- is double what we spend now in the government, and Bernie says it's not going to cost you anything. Well, my Lord. Remember when he was asked, on Meet the Press, know what it cost? His response was, "well, we don't know. we'll all figure it out." [laughter] As we say in my church, Bless me, Father, what are you talking about?". [laughter] 202351 And guess what? Nobody, nobody in the Congress on the Democratic side -- very few people want it. They're not gonna vote for it. And guess what they say? And -- Elizabeth and Bernie, they say "well, here's the deal. Granted, it's gonna take four years to pass it." And they'll never pass it, i think, but maybe -- four years to pass and after that, it's going to take another six years to have a structure to move it in place. Anybody tells you they're going to take care of you in 10 years -- think about it. Think about it, not a joke. 202423 So they say "what do we do in the meantime?". We say, we pick up on Biden's plan. We -- we take Obamacare, and we make it better. [laughter] TRINT [18:56:58] She compares the tax. [18:57:06] My name's Joe Biden. I imagine I am Ashley Biden's father. I want to meet my daughter. [18:57:15] She's a social worker, putting together Boys and Girls Clubs in Florida and Philadelphia. [18:57:20] And I embarrass her. [18:57:22] Imagine what it's like being the daughter of a senator and a vise president your whole life. You have to witness spots is dead. I don't have to come up, do I? I'm so proud of her. I want you all to see her anyway. I tell you what. Hello, Warford. I'll tell you what, I was a little worried when I was doing the press conferences. [18:57:55] They had me in front of a Warford sign and one of the other rooms I went to University of Delaware where to compete with you for the national championship and football's over years ago. [18:58:06] And and anyway. But they'll forgive me. They'll forgive me. How many Warford students here? Raise your hand. [18:58:14] We all know you can own this election. You can. And I really mean it. You can win this election. Knows that. The truth of the matter is, you all are among the most informed. [18:58:26] You are the most informed generation in the history of United States for a fact, the best educated generation in the history, United States. You have the least prejudiced generation. [18:58:37] You are the most involved generation. [18:58:40] And by the way, if you vote this time and the same percentage, 18 to 25 year olds vote, the same percentage that the rest of the population votes will be five point two million more votes. [18:58:53] And you can own it all. And we need you. [18:58:58] What? I really mean it. We need you. We need you badly. [18:59:02] We need you badly, folks. Look, I want to say thank you. I want to thank you all the students. [18:59:07] But I also want to say thank you very much to President Mrs. Sam, had they and their two daughters and I got to meet that, they allowed me to be here at the university. And I really appreciate their hospitality. And it's great to be back in Spartanburg. [18:59:27] They got back there many times. [18:59:30] And and Senator, I want to say somebody, Senator Glenn Rees and Donna. [18:59:40] Krispy Kremes, this guy makes is amazing. I think I think I'm kidding. You ever been over there? Go a couple of times, I bet. [18:59:50] It's so crowded you can't even get in the parking lot. [18:59:54] So he showed me around, took me back and he back, you know, where they're actually making the donuts. You can watch it. And I guess I wasn't supposed to, Lonnie, but I kept picking donuts off the rack. And out of all the people who come out, probably more your donuts in five minutes. Anybody else says that's a very tempting thing to do. I also want you to meet a great friend of mine, head of the IBEW and a great, great friend. Lonnie, stand up. Everybody know this together. [19:00:18] The IBEW International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. [19:00:23] By the way, you know, Wall Street can go on strike. But if every electrician in America went on strike, we're dead. We're gone. Let's remember where the power is. OK. No. [19:00:33] Look, I also you know, I I've got to say that Fletcher Smith, you run an old and good friend for a long, long time. And I really, truly appreciate your friendship. I appreciate your family. And you've gotten to meet my family. And and I tell you what. We share one overwhelming thing in common. That's the beginning, middle and end his family. And thank you for remembered my beau. My son Beau was the attorney general, the state of Delaware, and a really fine, fine man. And I. [19:01:08] And I miss him. I miss him, you know. Fletcher knows this like like all of you know, what's the stake in this election? [19:01:17] We really can't. And this is not hyperbole. Really can't afford to let Donald Trump have the four more years. [19:01:26] I'm being deadly earnest here. [19:01:29] Four years of Donald Trump, God willing, with the right nominee will mean that the kids who are kids, the young people who are students are now your children will look at this period of American history as an aberration. Four years of an aberration things. How did it happen? But if his eight years of Donald Trump, there'll be a fundamental change in the nature of who we are as a country. [19:01:52] And that's I don't think that's hyperbole. I don't think that's an exaggeration. And it can't let it happen. We can't let it happen. This election is bigger than a Democratic president, bigger than a Democratic nomination. It's about the country character, the character. The country is literally on the ballot. Not a joke. The character of the country is on the ballot. Many of you are extremely sophisticated people, you've traveled around the world and you know the rest of the world's wanted. [19:02:23] What in the Lord's name has happened to United States? I'm not joking about. I've met every major world leader in the last 40 years. Just because the nature of my job. Because not because I'm so important. But I had headed up the Foreign Relations Committee. Barack picked me because of my background in national intelligence and foreign policy to be with him. [19:02:43] And that was one of my jobs when I was the vise president to be the spokesperson for the president of the nations. He couldn't go, couldn't be there. And folks, the rest of the world worried. [19:02:55] This is a man who has embraced thugs and dictators. Is the man who I it's it's really I mean, I know, you know, it it's really deadly serious. This is the guy who stands on a stage with Vladimir Putin, who I know well and spent more time with than I suspect he has. And Putin knows who I am and I know who Putin is. And he knows you don't want me to be president, but I can decide. [19:03:24] He stands on a stage with Vladimir Putin before the whole world. [19:03:28] And says, I believe Vladimir Putin, why would he get involved in our elections? Why would he get involved? I mean, he can't be. Well, I won't say the word. He can't. It's impossible not understand why Vladimir Putin would want to interfere in our elections. Why that would happen. [19:03:48] And besides that, when he did that before the G20, that those world meeting of world leaders. What happened? He turned and he was told by 17 national intelligence agencies, 17 of them. Factually, without a doubt, I guarantee you it occurred, is still occurring that Vladimir Putin and the Russians got engaged in our election and that's a violation of our sovereignty. And he's done nothing about it. Don noted about. [19:04:16] And folks, you know, there's a lot more at stake with the embrace of these thugs around the world, like Kim Jong un, North Korea. He's a thug. He really is. He had his he had his brother killed at an airport. He in addition to that, he had his uncles, literally his brains blown out sitting across the table. This is this is a guy who I learned a couple of things in the last couple of months. Number one, Vladimir Putin don't want me to be president. [19:04:47] And they spend a lot of money to try to keep that from happening. Even Facebook has taken down the block that the so-called bots that he has put up and making sure that, in fact, I tried to see to it that I don't get elected president or not the nominee. And Kim Jong un doesn't like me very much either of North Korea. The official news agency fact of of the North Korea said Joe Biden is a rabid dog and should be beaten to death with a stick jersey. That's official. But as my wife, the professor would say, Google it. [19:05:22] But here's the deal. And then he got a love letter from Trump. You know, these love letters Trump keeps, Senator, we can joke about it, but so much is at stake. Our allies don't know. Don't know whether they can trust us anyone. He treats NATO the most significant alliance in modern history that in fact, engages and collectively we secure our our security with them as well as us. And what's he do? [19:05:51] He treats it like it's a protection racket. We made a sacred obligation after World War Two, our grandfathers and grandmothers. And they said, here's the deal. Attack on one is an attack on all. And what's he do? He treats it like a protection racket. If you don't put more money in NATO, we're not going to protect you. [19:06:09] Look what he did with regard to the Kurds. I spent more time with the Kurds and virtually anybody because of the nature of my responsibility in that part of the world. And guess what? We put together with a very small number of American special forces. We put together a group of 61 nations to help the Kurds and the Arab Arabs who supported our efforts to take on ISIS, which had us as an ultimate target. [19:06:37] The. And guess what was working with 10000 Kurds got killed, making sure they put 10000 ISIS members in prison to prevent the caliphate. The reestablishment of I call the caliphate in Syria and eastern and western western Iraq. What happened? It goes against the advice of all of his all of his military advisers. [19:07:04] And he makes it deal with a guy I also know very well who's more of an autocrat than he is a Democrat in Turkey. Guy named Irda. And he pulls all our forces out along the border. Of Turkey and Syria protecting the Kurds who are going after taking care of ISIS. [19:07:24] What happened? Close your eyes. Remember what you saw? You saw those those up armored Humvees coming out. Leavey and Kurdish moms and dads holding up their babies, saying, please don't leave us. You're committed to us. [19:07:38] And you could see the looks, those you're in the military, you could see the looks on the faces of those warriors, our warriors, their heads down, not able to look at them. Shame. Who's going to trust us? We gave our word, we gave our word. Who trust us. So, folks. The next president on his stage is going to have to be ready on day one to try to figure out how to put the world back together. [19:08:06] We focus on other things. If you take a look at it, you know, South Carolina has an incredible history of presidential politics. You, in the eyes of their nation, are R-South, kind of. Because you in fact, this is not it's not exaggeration. [19:08:23] This state lifted Bill Clinton to the presidency. The state lifted Barack Obama to the present and now once again, this state holes in its hands, literally, especially a state's African-American community. The power to determine literally the power to determine who the next nominee of the United States of the Democratic Party is going to be. And it matters. [19:08:48] I don't expect anything. [19:08:50] I've worked really hard to try to earn the support of South Carolinians. I've been coming here for a long, long time. The guy who helped me and more than just about anybody in the world was Fritz Hollings and his wife, Pizzey. I got elected in 1972 as a 29 year old kid. I wasn't old enough to be sworn in. [19:09:11] Literally had to officially wait 17 days to be able to be sworn in. In the meantime, what happened was I was in Washington hiring staff with Fritz's help. [19:09:21] And I got a phone call from a first responder. My fire department. So you've got to come home has been an accident. The poor woman they put on the phone just blurted out, your wife's dead, your daughter's dead and your sons may not live. A tractor trailer broadsided. I didn't want to go. Brandon knows this. We're friends. You know this about me. [19:09:42] I didn't want to come to this. So I let them know I wasn't going to be sworn in. I went to a governor, had my brother go and negotiate with a Democratic governor who they point my place. Fritz Hollings came to see me. I'll never forget what he said, he said, Joe, only seventeen hundred and two people have ever been at that time sworn in as a United States senator. Your wife and your family worked hard to make that happen. You owe it to them. I'll never forget the second part, he said. Just come and stay six months. [19:10:11] Help us organize. I was so I was the first senator I ever knew and I thought that, well, OK, that's reasonable. We aren't we had elected 57 Democrats. I would have been a 58 and they would have appointed a Democrat. But I thought that was real. [19:10:29] So but today I was supposed to show up to be sworn in. I didn't show up. I changed my mind. I stayed in the hospital with my boys. And he and Mike Mansfield sent the secretary of the Senate up to the hospital to swear me in at the hospital. And from that time, he and p.c took care, kept my, you know, my just making sure I was emotionally capable. So I owe them. I've been coming to South Carolina for a long, long time. [19:10:59] With a lot of people, a lot of people have gotten to know and know them well. [19:11:05] My point is this Soskin only has a place in my heart. I've tried very hard to earn the respect and the support of South Carolinians. And so you hold in your hand. This is not hyperbole. It's a fact. You hold in your hand. The future of the Democratic Party, determining who is most likely to be the next nominee and the next nominee has to has to beat Donald Trump for the sake of the country. [19:11:40] I'm here. [19:11:41] Heart and soul to try to earn your support and earn your vote. I take nothing for granted. Take nothing for granted. And folks, I believe if you send me out of here with a victory and with like, God love him. Mike, you're doing former representative. And Jim Clyburn and so many others have supported me. You sent me out of here with the victory that's significant then. I think I'm going to be the next nominee. When I say. [19:12:22] Once Donald Trump is gone. [19:12:26] The days, the days of hundreds of thousands of South Carolinians being denied health coverage just because your governor either didn't have the guts or the common sense to provide Medicaid that was under Obamacare. [19:12:40] They'll be over the days of the NRA and the gun manufacturers owning the Oval Office will be done. [19:12:50] The days of white supremacist and hate groups having a friend in the White House will be gone. [19:12:58] And the days of the climate deniers sitting in the most powerful office in the world will be over. [19:13:09] Look, of the many tragedies that this president has been presiding over. [19:13:16] We've lost so much time on climate change. Southcorp's like my state. It's a magnificent state is beautiful. My state is only three feet above sea level in most places because of the Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. You all are that way, too. [19:13:32] Whether or not whether or not we do something about climate change will determine the future of this state. To begin with. It's real, it's real. We make up only 15 percent of the problem in America. Eighty five percent is over there. That's why help put together the Paris climate accord, bringing China and every other almost two other nations into that accord. [19:14:01] What did this guy do? He walked away, said, we're not in it anymore and everybody else is walking away. Our children and our grandchildren are in deep trouble if we don't act, but we can act. The process in question has on my rehab will go into detail. We can act and we can write 10 million new good jobs, decent jobs. [19:14:24] He can have it not $15 an hour jobs, 45 five fifty dollar an hour job with benefits, folks. [19:14:32] So much. There's so much we can do. [19:14:35] And one other thing. Look, you know, the first thing I'm going to do as your president on day one is read. Join the Paris Climate Accord. [19:14:44] I'm going to make sure every I'm going to make sure all the major polluters are summoned to the United States. [19:14:51] Like you do with nuclear power, like we did with nuclear proliferation countries. Bring them here and say we've got to up the ante. We all have to work together and insist we do that, you know. And in terms of the NRA, you know, the Mother Emanuel. [19:15:07] You know what happened there? I was asked at a town meeting for CNN the other day by a minister whose wife was shot dead. And he said, tell me. He tells him how. How does your faith get you through it? Well, my faith gets me through it. And what he was really asking is how do you deal with that kind of tragedy when it happens? What do you do? Well, I learned I learned early on based on my faith, that it's all about. It's all about making understanding that part of you that never go away. It's one unit, both still and my son. He's my soul. [19:15:50] And the way I get through it is what we all have to do to get through it by having purpose, purpose in your life to change things. The kinds of things that people you lost would want you to do. And so folks, look, think about it here. [19:16:04] Think of all in in in the United States, in South Carolina, there is a situation where we've had literally, literally hundreds and hundreds of people die and all across this country because we refuse to take on not only the NRA, but refuse to take on the whole gun industry. The only industry in the world that can't be sued. [19:16:27] Think about that. Think about that. [19:16:31] The vote that took place in the early 2000s, 2005, I believe, said you can't sue. You can't sue a gun manufacturer for the lies they tell and or the promotions they mislead on. Well, guess what happened if I came here today and said, you know what? Not withstanding the the drug companies have peddled 9 billion opioid pills, caused the crisis in America. [19:16:58] Misled us about whether they're addictive or not. But you can't sue. What would you think? Well, guess what? One hundred and fifty thousand people in the United States, America's been shot, dead, murdered, murdered since that legislation was passed. And it's terrible. It's not about you not being able to own a weapon. I own a 12 gage or 20 gage shotgun. [19:17:26] And I only exist to skeet shoot, not very good at it, but I don't do much anymore either. And my sons are bird hunters. But here's the deal. We had background check requirements. Never has any amendment been absolute. You know, the First Amendment says freedom of speech. If one of you stands up and yells fire and there's a stampede out or someone's hurt, you're liable. That's not free speech. [19:17:54] Well, from the very beginning, not everyone can own a weapon. Criminals are not allowed to own weapons. Not every weapon that is available or you're able to own. From the beginning, for the longest time, you can't own a machine gun. You can't own a bazooka. You can own a flamethrower. There are certain things that are not absolutely you're able to say you can't own. They have no relationship, no relationship to the amendment. [19:18:20] So, folks, but some of the folks that I'm running against, they voted against the Brady Bill five times. You don't have to have a waiting period. Some of the folks are running against voted to protect, protect the gun industry, saying they can't be sued. I want to tell you something. If I'm a lecture tour president, I want to let you know now. Gun manufacturers. I'm coming for you. I'm. [19:18:46] You got to play it straight. [19:18:50] Look, there's a lot of things we would talk about. I want to get the question answered, but here's the deal. One of the things there's three reasons I. When I announced I was going to run, I said why I was running haven't changed my view on it. Number one is we've got to restore the soul of this country. Decency, honor. No, I really mean it. [19:19:14] And remember what happened when it happened in Charlottesville? Close your eyes and picture those people coming out of the woods in the fields carrying torches. [19:19:24] Their veins bulging, shouting anti-Semitic slogans, carrying Nazi flags accompanied by the Ku Klux Klan. [19:19:32] Nazis banned the Klan as well. And what happened when a young woman was killed? The president was asked was asked, what do you think? And he said something no president has ever said. He said there are very fine people on both sides. Folks, that's not who we are. From day one, he is tried to divide us based on race, religion, background, national origin. That's not who we are is now. Madison's come to your. [19:20:02] The second reason I had to, I decided to run. You got to rebuild a middle class. The. You know, the economy. He inherited a good economy from us in terms of a growing we created more jobs than he has in the last three years or I have no face in here. [19:20:18] But. [19:20:20] We knew the middle class was hurting. [19:20:22] We had to bring them a long way to change it, folks. All the studies show that for the first time in American history, the middle class, 56 percent think their children will never have a life, an economy, a bility to earn like they had. They'll never have the same standard of living. That's success. [19:20:43] We found ourselves in a position where you have if all the studies show if you received the bill, the average American for four hundred dollars in one month, they didn't expect the average American to have to go out and borrow the money or sell something to be able to pay the bill. [19:20:58] I said who we are. This time we build a middle class, we're going to bring everybody along. Brown. Black. Straight gay. Men, women. Those with disabilities across the board, because that's what makes us who we are, we have a gigantic chance to change the economy in a big way. Without us being socialist, without going having a revolution. Just being straight up fair. [19:21:33] So there was a lot more to talk about. I talked about too much. The biggest thing that makes provides for equality and opportunity is access to good education. [19:21:46] And it shouldn't depend. It shouldn't depend on the zip code you live in. [19:21:52] Because some zip codes are poor and some good schools are wealthy. Doesn't have to do with race or religion, but some are just much wealthier. We live in a zip code that doesn't have much tax base to have much money for their local schools. What happens is called a title one school. It means a school that needs additional help. We have a law that says it knows Title 1 schools. You get $15 billion spread out over the nation to be able to help them. [19:22:20] I take that from 15 to 35 billion, making sure the following things that are forcing me to forty five billion through a triplet for one reason that allows us to start paying teachers a salary they deserve. [19:22:37] By the way, we can easily afford that with the 1.9 trillion dollar tax cut. [19:22:42] I'm sure you all are bouncing from doing extremely well. [19:22:45] But here's the but but here's the deal. Here's the deal. You know, if you graduate from this college, this university or any other great school with Magnum colliding with a degree in education, you're going to end up starting off making 23 plus 23 percent less than any other graduate from this school in a different discipline. [19:23:04] We are short one hundred and fifteen thousand teachers in America now. As my baby boom generation steps out of teaching, we're not having people step up because they can't make a living on teachers, take more money out of their pockets just to keep their students going. [19:23:19] No, for real or $400 a month to help their students. [19:23:26] And by the way. So the first thing we do is we'd raise teacher salaries to make them competitive. If we don't, we're gonna be short by 2025. A quarter million teachers. [19:23:37] That's a fact. That's not hyperbole. It's a fact. Secondly, we've learned an awful lot from the great universities in this state and others around the world, right around the country. [19:23:48] If in fact, if in fact you put a child, no matter what their background, because they're 40 percent of the brain is developing as rapidly developing from that age. If you put them in school at age 3, 4 and 5, not day care school, you increase by over 55 percent. Their ability to succeed all the way through high school and go beyond to get a certificate and or a degree. [19:24:14] It is overwhelming in everyone's interest. Poor folks. Wealthy folks, middle class folks, if that happens, it benefits everyone. We do that everywhere. And folks, it makes a lot of sense as well. How many of you are on a school board or worked on the school board? Guess what? How many times you have to make a judgment? [19:24:32] Do we hire another teacher or do we hire a nurse, school nurse who hired another teacher to hire a school psychologist? There's one school psychologist for every 15 hundred and seven people in school. It used to be close to one to five hundred. Why is that important? Well, it's important because you could detect early on in children when they're very young whether or not they have any anxieties. [19:24:56] You can help them deal with and to begin with. We've learned that drug abuse doesn't call caused mental illness, mental illnesses, security causes, drug abuse. There's so much we can do. I'm going on too much detail of my wife here. Give me the hook. She's a teacher. But it's about being able to once you get through high school, if you, in fact, want to go on to get a certificate, to get a trade, and or if you want to get an apprenticeship or you want to go on to community college, it should be free. [19:25:25] It's easy, which cost $6 billion dollars a year for every qualified person. Did you go back to school and or qualify for school? We can we almost give that much of a tax break to race horses. [19:25:38] No, I'm I'm not, Joe. Think of what we're doing. We have a multi trillion dollar budget. The idea that it doesn't make sense to cut the cost of college in half. And I have a whole range of things that how we do deal with student debt. The overall point is this, you know. [19:25:58] As I said, they got elected when I was a young guy and I used to be characterized as the idealistic, optimistic young man. I'm more optimistic about America's chances, a day to lead the world in status, straighten this nation out than I've ever been. I really mean it. We. This is the United States of America. [19:26:18] There has never. We all walk around our heads and like, woe is me. What are we going to do? How's it going to happen? [19:26:24] It's time to get up. Take back this country. [19:26:27] We have never, ever, ever, ever failed when we decided to set a goal and we are doing together. So let's get up and take it back. It's within our power to do it. I'd be happy to take any questions. [19:26:49] If you guys want to call me, sit here, you can. [19:26:52] OK. You got room for kids if they want to come up. C'mon, guys. From a sit down stage. OK. [19:27:07] No. No. You got it. Seriously? I'm sorry, go ahead. [19:27:17] Mr. Vise President, the first question is in the news right now. We have this Corona virus that it seems is expanding on the West Coast here in the United States. As president, how would you deal with this pandemic? It looks like it's developing here in our country at the present time. [19:27:34] Well, first of all. We, Barack and I are President Obama. I dealt with a pandemic. Come on, you can jump up your power. It's OK. The ad was called a BOLO. And we were able to contain it. Another continent and want to spread here, we're able to make sure it did not spread. But we didn't do it by silencing scientists. You notice what has been recently said. [19:28:09] President of United States and Vise President Pence told Mr. Foushee, one of the leading scientists in the world, on pandemics. [19:28:18] He was not able to speak out. The scientists have been silenced. This president makes everything personal. He thinks that. This Corona virus is a conspiracy. To defeat you? No, I mean, look what you're saying. Right. And here's a deal. There's four things we did to deal with the other pandemic. [19:28:49] What we did was, number one, we set up an office in the president's office. For pandemic disease, some individual, a scientist in charge of being able to keep up because diseases know no border, they know no border. We number one. That's what we did. Second thing we did, we fund it signifies you commanders want to we fund it. We funded the the NIH, the National Suta Health, put more scientists, brought them in. Begin to work on vaccines. And the Centers for Disease Control. [19:29:25] We funded it. In addition, we provided significant resources for hospitals in states that were going to be the place where if there was someone who in fact had the virus, they would in fact be able to be quarantined in that hospital. And you'd have all of the help you need it so that they could deal with it by providing for everything from the suits that were needed to treat these people all the way through to the expertise that was there. And what did the president do when he came along? He cut the budgets and all, he eliminated the office in the White House. [19:30:05] And as recently as not too many days ago, remember that there were there were experts, supposedly people on those those those uniforms, those suits that are not they can't absorb the disease and look like they're walking around in a radiation area. [19:30:25] Well, guess what? Turns out they were sent to base and they weren't trained on how to do anything. And they were, in fact, had the wrong suits on. They were not, folks. This is a deal should be left to the scientists. The scientists should be able to talk and tell us what's happening. This doesn't have to end up being a pandemic that hits the United States in a bad way. But to pretend to pretend it's not spreading is absolutely ludicrous. And folks, look. This may be the one place and a concrete example of where. The reputation for a president to tell the truth. Is of great consequence. No, I really mean, think about it. [19:31:17] When he tells you, don't worry or worry. [19:31:21] How many of you going to go to the bank on that? No, no, no, no. I'm just I'm I'm being deadly earnest. [19:31:27] So as president of his states, I would reinstate all of those office that I would make sure we had all the funding we needed to deal with as we did before. And most important thing I would do that he's unable to do and hadn't done yet. This originated in China is now in at least now in other places as well, but originated there. I would've demanded the Chinese a lot of our scientists to come in and fully be informed on what's happening in the country where it started. [19:31:57] So we could be, in fact, helpful as well as knowledgeable as well as knowledgeable because requires total disclosure. [19:32:06] That's what we did with Ebola. Remember who? The people who got it done. Are United States military. [19:32:12] They set up all these hospitals in Africa. They put this together. [19:32:18] So there's so much we are able to do. And there should be no panic about this. You should be just the straight facts laid out for people. And now that's not happening. Hopefully the pressure is building on the president to step aside. He knows nothing about much. He knows nothing about this issue. [19:32:40] Let science dictate the outcome. [19:32:43] What we do. That's what I'd be doing. [19:32:47] Are there any questions from the audience? We have we have people with microphones somewhere and. [19:32:54] Want to pick somebody out? Got up top there. OK. [19:33:00] So greetings, Mr. Vise, president. And thank you for visiting us here at Wofford College. I'd also like to welcome the IBEW because what would we be without unions? In regards to unions and workers rights. One thing that your campaign has harped on is that if you become president, you will increase union membership around the country. However, under you and President Obama's administration, union membership steadily declined from twelve point three percent to ten point seven. [19:33:35] YOur administration also a Vanity Employee Free Choice Act, despite having the despite having the votes to pass it, which would have given life to the workers that are seeking to unionize. No, this is South Carolina, a right to work state and one of the most union hostile states in the entire nation. So my question is this what would you say to workers in South Carolina and across the country who feel and have felt abandoned during your vise presidency and during this presidency as well? [19:34:06] Well, first of all, let's talk about what happened in terms of the drop in union membership. States went out and passed. Laws say that, in fact, that those folks who worked for the state could not unionize. They did that from here to Iowa across the country. That's where they made the precipitous drop. Number one. Number two. [19:34:31] There was been a war declared on Labor's house for a long, long time in America because a lot of the corporate I come from the corporate state of America. Delaware. A lot of corporations have made the case repeatedly that reviews are bad. [19:34:48] You use cost jobs, unions raise everything, the cost of everything you buy. Now, what's happening is the figure we're beginning to figure it out is not correct, for example. [19:35:01] What's happened in the last 10 years never happened before. You have people who work in hourly wages. If you work for Friendly's making sandwiches, you have to sign a non-compete agreement that you won't compete with any other fast food restaurant. So you can't go across town to McDonald's and try to get a five cent raise. You can't go to any other sandwich shop in and out or anywhere else. And all of a sudden they're realizing that. Whoa, what's that about? [19:35:29] There's nothing to do with anything other than trying to suppress wages. Second thing has happened is that all of a sudden hourly workers and salaried workers are realizing that because of the power of corporate America and not all corporations are bad, but they've overreached in a big way power corporate America, that if in fact you are working and you work overtime by reclassifying you and saying your management when you're not, you don't get overtime pay that costs last year. [19:36:02] Hourly workers in you and nonunion workers, a billion. Two hundred million dollars in lost wages. Third thing is that if you work for the Fortune 500 companies, the majority of them require you, if you get hired to sign an agreement that you'll not tell anybody else what your salary is. And the corporation. Why is that? Because the guy sitting next to you doing the same job you're making is making 10 percent more. [19:36:31] You they don't want you to know that. It's all about suppressing wages and all of a sudden people who, in fact were either hostile to unions or not friendly to unions are realizing the only reason I have a 40 hour work week. The only reason I get overtime pay. The only reason I have work safety in where I work is because unions made it happen. That's the only reason. [19:36:58] I'll give you one example. Close enough to call, stop and shop up in New England. [19:37:04] They made 6 the mother. The the the company made $6 million dollars. The ownership last year. And guess what? They came along and decided they're going to cut. Wages. [19:37:16] Put your hand and we'll get there, cut wages and benefits for their employees. [19:37:22] They made $6 billion dollars. So I was asked I went up and I walked the picket line and spoke for the union that represents them. And I was in a big, big shopping center in Boston outside of Boston. Actually did Boston city limits, but it was outside of the main part of the city. And I stood there on the platform making my case why I supported the picket line and why I supported the union's move. [19:37:47] And I looked down and there they said, there are a thousand people in the parking lot. There are a lot of people that don't know. It's really a thousand. But the vast majority and we're not union members. But there are ordinary people who realize. I got to support these unions because I'm getting screwed. I'm getting now all of a sudden things are beginning to change. People realize that unless we have the Fair Labor Standards Act, which came along and we get to detail, you all expand it. But I don't want to keep you too long. Fair Labor Standards Act didn't say you could have unions. [19:38:20] It said it was the role of America to promote unions, because when unions are doing well, they raise the standard for everybody and everybody does better across the board. Right now, in a last sticky statistic I'll give you, there was a study done by a professor at the University of Massachusetts. He pointed out he looked at what the profits of the Fortune 500 companies were. From 2004 to 2014 is about a trillion dollars. That's a good thing. Not bad. They may love money, but hates that they found out. They found out that of all that profit. [19:38:59] Fifty six percent of the profit went to buy back their own stock. And that is how CEOs get paid now. And it's an incentive to do it that way, because if you can not get paid more than a million dollars if you run a multibillion dollar corporation into the law. [19:39:17] And so how do you get it? You get you get paid in stock options. So 56 percent. 37 percent. The money they made went to provide for stockholders dividends. OK. That left 9 percent for everything else. Everything. Research, development, expansion, salaries. Employees 9 percent. And so I had a group of people run the the the this big operation that they have that represents major corporations. [19:39:52] They wanted to come and see me as vise president. I wondered why they wanted to see me. They came in to see me and they brought in six people of the Fortune 30 companies and a former governor of Michigan who headed up the organization, said, we need your help. We've got to change the way corporations do business. [19:40:10] And I said, are you sure you're the right place? No, seriously. Because what's happening? Everything's become short termism. Now, CEOs only last from six to seven years. They make whatever profit they can make as quickly as they can make it. And they can not invest in because what happens those you're in corporate America. [19:40:28] And have businesses. Well, here's the deal. You go up to Wall Street and if you can't say every quarter what how you got what how much money you're gonna make that quarter. Then guess what? They downgrade your stock. So instead of investing in research and development, what you do. You don't do it. You try to do whatever you can to demonstrate you're going to make more money that quarter. CERREJóN our own seed corn here. [19:40:55] And so there's so many things that we can and must do. Not to not to become a socialist nation, but to make sure we just play it square and play in a square is and the union folks can tell you this. You know how much money corporate America spent on a yearly basis to prevent unions from organizing one billion dollars a year? [19:41:18] So there's a couple of pieces of legislation that I strongly support that say if you are in fact intimidating people from joining a union. And I strongly agree with the card check and I did then as you probably know, I can tell you know a lot about this. And what happens if you do that? They say there's legislation that says you're gonna be fined. Well, not the corporation we find. I want the CEOs to be fine. I want the people who are doing it to be fine. And then if they engage in the what's happening now, they will actually get a vote. [19:41:52] You'll have over 85 percent of the people deciding they want to join a union. The union is organized and then they won't negotiate. They won't negotiate. And what they do is they spend they spend hours and hours and hours and days and days and and come game years negotiating with no intention to reach an agreement. So I have I support a proposal that says if in fact that happens, we bring in arbiters, they decide. [19:42:17] And if they do not, in fact, negotiate, then corporations are fined heavily for refusing to negotiate. And an arbiter will sit down and make a judgment as to whether or not what the salary should be, what the ending, the process. So Folger's, a lot of things we can do just to make it fair. I'm not trying to tip the scale and say that kind of corporation. I'm just saying just being fair. [19:42:41] And it's a little bit like if you found people trying to prevent you being able to go and vote. And they were actively doing as a criminal offense. Well, guess what? Some of these folks who do go overboard. I think there should be criminal penalties for what they do. And so there's three acts. I'm not going to give you the names of all of those three pieces of legislation that I strongly support. And last one is, by the way, you know, a lot of folks have. [19:43:08] Have the corporations have not have squandered the pension programs. They haven't put the money into the pension plans they say are there and they're about to go belly up menwho. Well, we're able to bail out the banks. Why in God's name can we not bail out workers? [19:43:27] So I say there is there is a piece of legislation by Paul Ryan saying that here's the deal. [19:43:34] The corporation has to borrow the money at low interest rates from the United States government, but they have to make the plans work. So all of a sudden, you don't have an entire community is going belly up because the pensions are gone, have gone bankrupt. And so there's a lot of things we can do that are totally consistent with a capitalist system, but making it work, making it fair, making it decent,. [19:43:57] Because people are really being ripped over the coal, raked over the coals now. And the answer is, my dad used to have an expression. The only way to deal with the abuse of power is you amass power and the only people who keep the barbarians. The other side of the gate are unions. And I promise you, if I am prez, the United States union will never have had a better friend in the White House than me. I guarantee. [19:44:25] I can really give shorter answers if you don't ask me essay questions. [19:44:30] Let's go to somebody at this end of the house who's back there with the microphone. [19:44:34] Once you're. [19:44:41] Yes. South Carolina. [19:44:47] I know you have been an for our Brandis's and I saw I just know you haven't any friends in your state. Granholm, Brown, Badger Smith, Congressman Giampaolo, we know 36 year she represented the great state of Delaware in the United States Senate. [19:45:08] Do you buy for the next four years or eight years? Would you tell anybody that you were out South Carolina? [19:45:32] You know, I see well, you see anything the road in Sydney, you know, I've seen pretty well, you know, I say is different from the man himself. I know, you know, a famous case, Brown vs. Board of Education was something I don't remember. [19:45:49] Yeah, it's. Diverse populations of the same current problems and opportunities. [19:45:54] Folks, I can tell you the if the numbers hold up. [19:46:03] I said I need to sell. [19:46:18] Want to know where you are? My. He I expressed doubt as to his rabid. Yes, sir. Yes. I hate to say and we hate to come here. I know you do this every place that you go. OK, let's. Would you please stop making displaced families and jobs Asia as bottom of an African-American mayor of land? [19:47:02] I mean, she's a very good problems. We have our control. And by the way, if you have Charles to has the greatest conviction rate any, would you please let me speak? I'll be happy to answer the the highest conviction rate in America. You know, America is in is in more trouble. And there's a reason for that. [19:47:26] Because what's happened is the gentrification of races is putting people who, in fact, live in areas their whole lives. [19:47:33] Out of these going need to be able to afford to be able to afford whether or not they can save. So one of the things that Jim Clapper put together and I strongly support is regression. That does three things. [19:47:47] One says that if in fact, you are the victim of addiction, we will automatically have representation and legal representation, the right to free. Number one. Number two, that we move in a direction. That's okay. I'm saying it's all right. I don't mind. This is not a Trump rally. [19:48:18] You could say that although you don't pick out just standing right there. [19:48:27] Just let me speak. Thank you. [19:48:32] In addition to that, one of the main problems we have now is we have an awful lot of people and particularly people of color or find yourself in a position where there is not enough. Section 8 housing, only one in four people can qualify for Section 8 housing. That's why I spend billions of dollars for Section 8 housing to become number one. Number two. Number two. In addition to that, you find that it's awful hard to generate the wealth to be able to help purchase homes in the areas where you live. This area, too. [19:49:06] So first time homebuyers wondered if those alive gave the answer. [19:49:11] Housing allows you to get a $15000 tax credit, meaning first home buyers get a tax credit for $50000, which means the bank will have to lend them the money because they know the tax credit and they'll be able to pay for it. And what happened? You live in your house for 30 years. The neighborhood went away in value every day. [19:49:41] So what they say? What? Why? [19:49:50] Why? Twenty five. OK. That's a different issue. That's a different issue. I thought you told. Try something else. It's a little bit like now. [19:50:02] Do you wish? Do you? Fact. And this is what we're facing in Delaware. Long or short in our beaches. [19:50:08] And you're not going to face what happens if you allow building on places where you're in wetlands or there is a wetland and is increasing. And there is no way that you could prevent the hundred year floods from coming back every five years. It's not going to happen. So what do you do? [19:50:29] Do you say that you provide flood insurance, which you should be able to get in, or do you say you can no longer build in this area and compensate for the fact that you're losing that opportunity? The eminent domain is not that domain to Vic for the purpose of. I thought you were talking about gentrification. I've heard you talk about what's happening mostly. OK, I know that. But you're you're you're you're you're you're dropping different pieces of this. [19:50:57] OK. One thing is if in fact, an area continues to flood. For example, we had in the state of Delaware when I was a county office, there is a thing called a little built. [19:51:11] Hi, dad. I will talk to you after this to find out the detail, because what you have to be of the. [19:51:26] What's going on in some places, in some places like my state. [19:51:31] There is a place called little mill cricket. It's a creek that runs that we've a lot of estuaries in our state. [19:51:38] And what happened is that as people begin to build upstream, what happened is the creek became a bit of a river. So what happened after that was they built they built not sandbags, but you know, how they put stones in in and wire cages to provide the banks of the river and deepening what happens as they continue to build and the weather continues to change. Now it's flooding. So it's costing taxpayers millions of dollars every time it floods. Every time there's rain. It costs millions of dollars to deal with that. [19:52:15] So what was happening is there was a circumstance where in certain parts of that, everybody got compensated, got new housing, but they could not stay because you could not continue to build in the area, constantly flooded. [19:52:28] That may not be your situation, but that's a situation any place. I don't know enough about your neighborhood to give you an intelligent answer, but I'll be happy to talk to you about it. But I I happen to know it's a little like my saying to. [19:52:50] President by. [19:52:59] You don't remember me, but I may just go from city council to Spider. Next Monday. See? [19:53:09] I do remember I told you how nice to be in the council. I left to be senator. It was too hard being the council. And you did zoning? Yes. [19:53:16] And you told me. I told the. Side point. But the one thing I have to say and my life is a little bit. [19:53:30] And I appreciate that saying, boy in my brain was the fall in love. [19:53:40] This always gets on me about the right up front. [19:53:45] I think sometimes it to have a problem as well. I will call it as you look for common ways. [19:53:54] So I'll tell you what the problem with me is. No one's ever doubted. I mean what I say. The problem is I have the problem. [19:54:05] I sometimes say all that. I mean, look, folks. I think one of them, one of the most important things we have to do. I said there were three reasons why I ran. The third, I match. We have to unite this country. We have to bring it together. [19:54:22] We have to. Then I choose to accept the notion that the political parties will be cut to war from this point on, because in a democracy, you can get nothing done without consensus. [19:54:36] Consensus. [19:54:38] I never, ever tell you anything. I know me and I never tell you that you don't believe. [19:54:43] Even when I know it's not popular, I want to mislead anybody because part of me is a famous English politician. Years and years ago, you said when you elect me, you elect me not only for my representative, for my judgment. Part of it is to give you my judgment as well. And so I have voted for things in my state, like allies we're supporting, but things that were very controversial, what I thought was the right thing to do. [19:55:11] And I went straight up to the American people about the people's dilemma about doing it. I think it's important that whoever you elect know is going to be authentic is telling. Maybe I've gotten a little less verbose about and angry about some of the stuff going on, but doesn't mean I'm any less committed. Let's get somebody over there. And that is this young man is going to jump out and bite. [19:55:36] Why not this man right in front? Sorry. I'll try to get closer. Yes or no answers in my. [19:55:44] So I like to ask you, since a city, actually, a wise man once said. Forty five world peace. We had to fight in the streets. And I was wondering how you go about that, trying to find out how we find peace in the inner city. Help find kind of a way to tell everyone. [19:56:05] Well, I think it's a really important question. Andrew's very brief. Number one, you gotta give everybody a chance. And the way to do that is start over. The education system treats everybody the same. Then, in fact, gives people coming from deprived backgrounds the same opportunities where people come from backgrounds and in fact, are much more. [19:56:28] How can I say it's financially secure? Number one. Number two, you gotta let people be in a situation where they can have adequate housing and decency. [19:56:38] Look, here's the deal. One of the things that I talked about in terms of, for example, homeownership in neighborhoods where everybody rents and there's nothing wrong with renting. But if you like my my my my dad, you should define middle class the following way. [19:56:52] It's about being able to own your own home if you want to be able to send your kid to a school or public school. But if they did well, you'd be able if they'd be able afford to go beyond public school if they wanted to do that. Being able to be sure that you can send it to a local park, we're going to come home safely and making sure that you can bring home your geriatric mom after your dad dies and hope your children never have to take care of you. [19:57:18] Just a little breather. That's the stuff that provides for stable neighborhoods, stable communities, inner city as well as rural communities. And that means everybody given an even shot. And there's still no. As long as man is alive, there's going to be crime was going to be evil. But if what we can do to promote things that are good and one of those things that we can do as well is provide for people's dignity. [19:57:47] For example, how can my dad you say how can a person have dignity when they turn and look at their child still sick or someone and you can't afford insurance for you can't afford to cover? How can you maintain your own personal value? All of your parents? What's the worst? Not all of you who are parents. What's the worst that could happen? You look at a child who has a problem or an opportunity. There is nothing you can do about it. There's so much we can do about it, so much we can do. [19:58:16] We can make sure that everybody has health care is a right. We can make sure that we enforce the law in a reasonable way, not based on color, not based on neighborhood, but based on whether or not you, in fact, are engaged in something that is illegal. And then we should change the prison system into something that is not punishment, but rehabilitation. [19:58:45] I saw as not being soft on crime. Look, here's the deal. The vast majority of reason why violent criminals are behind bars for a violent crime. They are raised in a home where their mother was a victim of abuse, physical abuse. I think that's the last thing I would have. Anyone who watched their mother being beaten by their father or significant other. The last thing they do is raise your hand or woman ruin. [19:59:11] It's a learned behavior as a psychologist, psychologist point out. So they tend to use violence. And that's why I worked so hard in the violence against women. Because the fact. [19:59:26] It's a learned behavior bureau, there's so many things that are learned behaviors as well. And when someone is working like the DOE and they're doing everything they possibly can. You're not getting a fair wage. They're not being treated with decency. They're being present their prejudices and invoked against them. [19:59:45] What do you expect people? What are you expecting? [19:59:49] So it's all about giving everybody just not a joke. And even chance, there are still some bad people black, white, brown, black women. That that guy's not you know, Ralph Waldo Emerson once said society is like a wave. The wave moves on. The particles remain the same. Humanity hasn't changed in the millennia. But we have learned a lot about how to deal with. We have so many tools that didn't exist and so have you. [20:00:20] And that's why, for example, we shouldn't have police departments, the jump squads. That's why we should have drug courts, for example. I don't think anybody convicted of a drug crime should go to be put in jail. They should be a mandatory rehabilitation. You think about people that we shouldn't be more recently building more rehab centers that people can afford to go to in 30 days, they'll get 30 days. [20:00:48] But again, we should be. If you have if someone is in fact has gone to prison, they should learn how to read, write and subtract in prison, because that's one of the things that people like they should be taught in school. [20:01:03] They should have an opportunity. I'm the guy that wrote the same call, a second chance. For example, why is it that when you get out of prison, you're not you're denied the ability from that point on to take advantage of any government program? [20:01:17] You get 25 bucks on a bus ticket, you end up under the bridge, you start roughly what do you do? So I think anybody who's served their time. [20:01:27] Time should be able to qualify for every government program fair. For example, then getting to school. They should be able to get Pell Grants to go to school. If they are really getting the public housing, then no housing should be able to qualify. As long as they paid, they did their time. [20:01:42] They did whatever it was that was required, because that not only is not be easy on people, it's helped me. The entire community is better off if people have a shot to do to go to the right on the right path. What are you doing? Well, we left my office like kind of a much empty. They got a bus ticket and 25 bucks. Where did they go? What do they do? [20:02:05] So we should be using prison as a rehabilitation if it doesn't cost any more to do that. I might add. But it enhances significant. [20:02:14] That's why I've been so opposed to private prisons. [20:02:17] That's why you've had a private prison here in this state that one of my opponents spent 90 million dollars investing in that, where they literally hogtied teenagers and let him on the ground, one cell or a George in the same outfit. [20:02:34] That one was, in fact, not providing basic health care for people in the prison. How does that. How does that help a buddy forget the person in question, how help society to keep him there the rest of their life. [20:02:50] You're going to keep them in solitary confinement, which is I mean, what happens? We've got to prepare people to be able to compete, live and have an opportunity. And I think that one of the things we should be doing if people serve their time. By the way, you know, I. [20:03:07] I'm the only Irish, you know, noticed probably never had a drink in his life, which I never had, because too many in my family have had too many drinks. They have had the gene. But all kidding aside, I've never had this. I've never smoked in my life. That made me good or bad. I just never, never done it. [20:03:25] But anybody who, for example, goes to jail or goes a prison sentence for marijuana, they should have a record expunged. They should. What happens if you make those mistakes and their, quote unquote is as bad as a mistake? Now you go to apply for a job. You got to put down. You've been arrested or convicted. Yes. When I say expunged, I mean, you're going to be able to answer. No, I legally able. No, I never have that. No, I never have been arrested and or convicted. Why are we doing the kinds of things we're doing that make no sense? So I think the decriminalization so I can go on. [20:04:07] But my point is, I think when I look at things is what is the likelihood? I look at things in this world. What are the things we can do in government help you, your family and the community? That's how I view it. [20:04:22] The only billboards I ever had in mind was a kid running for the Senate, was it? [20:04:26] Said Joe. For all our families, it's about families. And everybody is better off. Everybody's better. People are better. Everybody is better off. People have jobs. Everybody's better off. We give people. [20:04:47] They tell it, I am understanding you getting the hook here. But there's a lot of questions y'all have. [20:04:54] If I can take two or three more, if you ask me a direct question, I can answer based on yes or no. [20:05:02] So, yeah. Oh, Betty, that was my guarantee. [20:05:11] No, wait, wait. If I didn't if I did not replace Betsy divorce, I'd be sleeping in the Lincoln Bedroom alone. My wife, who teaches my privacy. [20:05:23] She has an ad about education. This is a mind rather easy question. Drakeford not easy, but direct are far away. [20:05:47] One of here are. [20:05:50] Reparations means making up for things that happened in the past. No one there is a study being suggested by a former presidential candidate and the guy's a friend of mine from New Jersey saying we should study reparations and make a judgment whether or not what they should be, what they should do. There are certain things we already know, and I support that study. The sewer takes us number one. [20:06:14] Number two, we have to look at what we know has to be done already. There's an institutional racism that exists in this country. [20:06:23] It's redlining is prejudice. And so all the things that got me involved in politics in the first place are those very things. [20:06:32] So we shouldn't wait for that study to come through. I've spent my whole life trying to do away with these institutional racism that continues its systematic racism exist in the United States. And by the way, it goes across the board. It goes across the board. So I think let's see what the study says. Meantime, let's make sure we change the prison system. Let's make sure we praise housing policy. Let's make sure we don't put people in a position where they don't have jobs. [20:07:00] Let's make sure that's how I go by. Yes, Madam President. [20:07:05] The president of the student bar, the Democratic packrats. [20:07:09] So as the current administration is currently repealing the Obamacare, a.k.a. the Affordable Care Act, what plans do you have to expand or revitalize the US president? [20:07:21] OK. Good question. And maybe this one I should end up. [20:07:27] Let's get straight. What happened? Barack? And I, Barack, put together the Obamacare. It was called the Ameera the Affordable Care Act. Well, we wanted to do in the beginning was expand it more than it is, but what we did was five Democratic presidents have tried to expand health care. No, no. Succeeded till our administration. I was jaa I was tasked with the with a requirement to getting the votes. We didn't get one Republican vote, but I was able to spend months getting enough Democrats that it passed. [20:08:08] What it did was it for the first time ever, said that anyone with a preexisting condition, whether it's you had breast cancer or your child has Down syndrome or you have asthma or anything at all, any preexisting condition. And by the way, under the law and insurance companies prior to us passed that act, pregnancy was a preexisting condition. [20:08:30] No, I'm by the way, I'm not joking. Come on. Come on. Come on. You said it. Pregnancy was a preexisting condition. Well, guess what? Now, over a hundred million people cannot be denied insurance because they had a preexisting condition. Number one. Number two. [20:08:50] Number two, we wanted to make sure that if you had a policy, you your child could stay on that policy until age 26 because we were in the middle of a recession. And in fact, the job market is awful slow. [20:09:08] So we said you could stay on your parent's policy till age 26 and be covered for that age. The third thing we did, we expanded coverage to 20 million people, significantly increasing the availability of health care to African-Americans, Hispanics and women who hadn't had it before. Twenty million people were covered by health care because we believe that health care is a right, not a privilege. Now, what happened? [20:09:40] There's much more to it as well. We made sure that there's parity between mental health and physical health because they're both the same. [20:09:50] Partial parity. [20:09:52] My wife and I've spent time working with the military to try to eliminate the stigma of people seeking help for a mental health problem. It's no different than if you broke your back or your arm or your neck. It's the same thing. There should be no stigma attached to it. People do not seek the help either because it wasn't going to be covered or there's a stigma seeking now. So it did much more. But what happened immediately after it passed? [20:10:19] I went to the president. He and I are pretty close buddies. No, but I really mean it. I mean, the the presidential vise presidents scholars have written the last three years that the closest president vise president American history had been Joe Biden, Barack Obama, because they were just simpatico. And so what happened was we I went to him and I said, Mr. President. You should take in member I got criticized for a Biden ism saying that you should have a fireside chat, meaning you'd explain to the American people exactly what we just did because they're not going to understand it. [20:11:00] And he said we don't have time to take a victory lap. There's too many things happening. Everything but locusts landed on that president's desk. First time around. Brand new. We never had a financial crisis like this before, we had depressions and we had crises and downturns, recession, but never financial crises and so on. So he did. What happened in two thousand and sixty? We lost the Senate. I mean, we we we we we lost the House of Representative, the Senate. [20:11:33] And everybody said the reason we lost was because of Obamacare. And everybody was making the point that people didn't like Obamacare, etc.. Well, I was in the views because they didn't know what was in it. For example, if you ask yourself honestly, you ask the question yourself. Did any but did you all know the reason you keep your kid in the policy is because of Obamacare? [20:11:59] Did you know the reason why preexisting conditions were now covered by your insurance company was because of Obamacare? Some day a lot of people didn't. And so we lost 2018. I was so certain that it was because people didn't know what we did. I remember right after we got elected, what did Donald Trump and Republicans do? They tried to wipe out Obamacare. They went to federal court saying it was unconstitutional. They're still in federal court saying that they'll try and the all the administrative acts they could take to diminish it. [20:12:32] They took. So next thing to happen, 2018. I was invited to speak in two to go to 24 states, purple states, not red or blue, but purple state states were toss up states. I went to 24 states and I campaigned for sixty six candidates. And I pulled a Biden by saying we're going to elect 41 members of the House. They said. There goes Biden again. We elected 41 members of the House. [20:13:03] It all, but all kidding aside, I wonder the states in all those states where Republicans were campaigning against Obamacare. Then and I never go after another man or woman's motive, I learned early on you can attack someone's judgment. But once you say your motive, you're doing this because in the pocket over your dishonest, you can never get to an agreement. You can question your judgment and say, now how we're going to get well, how we're going to work on climate, how we're going to work on infrastructure, how we're going to work in education. [20:13:36] And you can work something out when you don't attack them personally. So I went into all these all these states and the result was that I would go into states where there was a Republican opponent who was trying to get rid of Obamacare. And I'd say now, Charlie here, Republican, he is running to get rid of Obamacare and Mary is running against him, the Democrat wants to support it. And all of a sudden what you find at the end of the last election cycle. No, no. I don't want a group to care. Did you find many Republicans walking around saying they want to wipe it out? Oh, no, no, no, no, no. [20:14:11] I mean, no, no, no. I think I even heard Trump say the reason why preexisting conditions are covered is because of Donald Trump. [20:14:19] No. Oh, he said it. OK. [20:14:23] And all of a sudden we were able to talk on the merits. And guess what? Guess what? We over we won governorships. We won. We went in from, you know, from Kentucky to to Virginia to, you know, across the country, because we talked about the merits. Now, what I do in my proposed. As I lay out specifically how we're going to proceed, I'd restore all the cuts that were administratively cut by the president. [20:14:53] Number one. Number two, I add what we call we want to do the first place a public option, meaning that we add Medicare for those who want it, who want it. And that means that anybody who qualifies. Like in your state, because your governors would not take advantage of the fact that that we in fact would pay for Medicare, Medicaid, you got one hundred ninety six thousand people that don't have insurance, they don't have Medicaid. [20:15:22] Well, I provide that anyone who qualifies for Medicaid is automatically enrolled in my Medicare proposal. But it's only Medicare if you want it, because under the. But, but, but, but other. But the other proposal for Medicare for all. Even if you've negotiated like unions have or many of you have the employees and you have a really strong plan. We have given up wages. You've given up opportunities for it. You cannot have any private insurance. [20:15:52] There's a section in Medicare for all saying you are not allowed under the law to have any private insurance. Period. Fact. I think in section thirty one or something. Whatever it is. So, number two, if in fact you and I'm in my proposal, I further subsidize buying into the Medicare, the excuse me, Obamacare. It cost a lot of money. My proposal, will you be able to your drug prices will come down precipitously because of two things. [20:16:26] All drug prices, all drug companies will have to negotiate with Medicare for the price. Let me give you an example, because it's complicated. You know, everybody gives me credit for being an expert on on on foreign policy. Health policy is more complicated than foreign policy. So here's the deal. Medicare could say we're going to pay for Medicare reimbursement, 2 cents for every aspirin. I'm making this up. [20:16:52] If you want to charge five cents, we're not going to let you or not going to buy it from it. We'll go to somebody else. Well, guess what? All of a sudden, people charge two cents for the aspirin, OK? Instead of five cents. Well, that's what I mean, being able to negotiate drug prices. The only exemption they can't now not negotiate. We can negotiate to try to get drug prices down if your company anyway. So that's number one. [20:17:16] Number two, all the new drugs. And I've been very deeply involved in the Biden cancer initiative and the moonshot. And we're making enormous progress. I'm curious and canceled because we're finally paying attention. But here's the deal. A lot of the new drugs are bio based drugs, not chemical based drugs. And usually only one of the many insurers. [20:17:39] One of the many drug companies are investing in it. So if they and I met with mine, I did the cancer moonshot with 13 companies privately after one of the major town halls was actually over 40000 people. And each of the states setting these up all we did this and what happened? [20:18:01] I said, how do you think you should be able to charge for your drugs? They said, based on their efficacy. I said, you mean if you find a cure for a particular cancer, you should be able to charge whatever you want? They said yes. I said, no, no, no. That's not the deal. You should be able to charge something related to what your investment was with a significant profit. But you can't say that you're going to charge like my son when he came home from. [20:18:30] Before Iraq, when he was stationed in Kosovo, and he turns out he had a marker for where they call ankylosing spondylitis, it is for the call bamboo spine, where the where the back here, where you're back, the vertebrae fuzed together. You see people walking like this. They couldn't stand. They'd break their hold back. And he apparently had the marker he was exposed in Kosovo to a bacteria that was really very bad and it kicked it off. Well, there was a experimental drug that came along that had to do with had to do with being able to deal with this kind of thing. [20:19:08] But it cost. It cost him $5000 dollars a shot. Poor shot, had to be taken twice a month. [20:19:18] Fortunately, it passed muster and it became a drug that was working for Rumah thought-out rheumatoid arthritis and the price came down and he was able to beat it. And that's when he was able to go and join as attorney general during the United States Army to get an exemption because he was able to beat it. How many of, you know, people who have an inhaler and or a drug they have to take that has gone up four or five? [20:19:45] Six hundred percent? You know, it's wrong because guess what? Nothing has changed. When the drug price was set 15 years ago, it worked and they were charging you are making a number up one hundred and fifty thousand one hundred fifty dollars a month for the drugs. Well, guess what? Now it's fifteen thousand dollars. What changed? [20:20:08] No new evidence that they've done anything different. It's just that people need it. They may well have raised the price. So what I do in my proposal and that is you cannot raise the price of the drug beyond the cost of medical inflation. Once it's approved, we set up a system like exists in Germany for these new bio based drugs. They're the ones that work on the immune system. [20:20:30] All this new technology, I don't want to bore you with it all, but all this new capability. Well, what happens is you set before they can set the prices, sit down before a panel of 25 experts in the area and say, how much did you invest in this? Tell me what you're your something. Costs were again making it up to $10. Well, you can charge $14 for you can make almost a 50 percent profit, but you can't charge $400 dollars for. And you can't raise the price beyond the cost of inflation. [20:21:03] So that's going to drive down drug prices considerably, because if that doesn't occur, if they say no, then we're not going to buy the drug. It's not going to be able to be sold and you're going to be able to go abroad and buy the same drug. You're going to be able to go if the FDA says the drug overseas, which is considerably less costly. You can buy it as long as they declared safe, but not allowed to do that right now. [20:21:26] Allowed to do that. [20:21:27] So we drive down the price of drugs considerably. The other thing we do is you can have no hidden billing. You go in and you have an operation. You find out the anesthesiologist is outside your coverage and all of a sudden you get covered for the insurance you have. But you have another bill for fifteen thousand bucks because you didn't know that person was out of bed. [20:21:49] Can't do that anymore. Not able to do that. [20:21:54] Whatever the price is for that hospital, that's the price that insurance company pays that you pay. And so there's a lot of basic things we can do. I know this is boring, but it's important. The last part I want to say to you is this. [20:22:09] It cost a lot of money. [20:22:11] My proposal by allowing people to buy in much cheaper for Obamacare or get it for free if they can't afford it, is going to cost about seven hundred and forty billion dollars over 10 years. That's a lot of money. But the way I pay for it is I changed the capital gains rate. I say that if you have a capital gains, you have to pay the rate of your income tax. So if you are in the income tax bracket, that's high is 36 percent, your capital gains tax is 36 percent on a gain you made. [20:22:48] If you're in a 20 percent tax bracket, you pay 20 percent. You know how much that raises? That raises. Eight hundred billion dollars over 10 years just being fair. So I know how to pay for it. But here's the other option. The other option is to talk about Medicare for all. You know what it cost? It costs. Thirty five trillion dollars. Trillion dollars. Trillion dollars. [20:23:16] Over 10 years, that's double the entire federal budget for everything you could rip down the Pentagon, the White House. Take everything we're spending a dollar to wipe it all out is double what we spend now, the government. And Bernie says it's not going to cost Jane. Well, my lord. Remember when he was asked on Meet the Press what it cost? His response was, well, we don't know. We'll all figure it out. [20:23:46] We say, my church. Bless me, father, what are you talking? And guess what? [20:23:53] Nobody and nobody in the Congress and the Democratic side. Very few people want it. They're not going to vote for it. And guess what they say? And Elizabeth and Bernie, they say, well, here's the deal. Granny's going to take four years to pass it. No, never pass it, I think. But for years to pass and after that, it's going to take another six years to have a structure to move it in place. [20:24:18] Anybody tells you're going to take care of you in 10 years. Think about it. Think about it. Not a joke. So they say, what do we do in the meantime? We say we pick up Biden's plan. We we take Obamacare and we make it better. [20:24:33] Well, go figure. But here's the deal, folks. It's critically important. Here's the promise I can make you. I've been a significant consumer of health care. Like many of you. [20:24:48] My wife and daughter were killed, my two boys were badly, badly injured. I don't know what in God's name would have ever done. Had I not had this peace of mind to know, I could get them the best care that was possible. [20:25:00] And by the way, I'm not you know, as a United States senator, for 36 years, I was listed as the poorest man in the Senate. Not a joke. Oh, joke. I entered the Senate as a 29 year old from a very modest background, had no savings at all. I was proud I got a good salary as a senator make it forty two thousand bucks a year more than anybody else was making in my neighborhood. But guess what? I never had. So it's not like I had the money. But I did have insurance. I did have insurance. [20:25:31] And I was able to take care of it. Had the peace of mind to know that my boys could be taken care of. I ended up in the hospital with a cranial aneurysm early on. That means I take the top head of a gwinn and take out a weakened in the wall of an artery below your brain. And they put a titanium clip in and it heals. [20:25:49] Well, guess what? I was in the ICU a long time. I can't imagine what it would have been like, the bill that was in the hundreds, thousands of dollars over time. If I didn't have insurance, my family would go bankrupt. Now, I watched my son. My son had a terminal disease when whether he'd live, it's how long he'd be. [20:26:14] Stage 4, glioblastoma. He came home from Iraq as a decorated war hero. Bronze Star conspicuous service medal. [20:26:22] In Kosovo, the only foreigner who's ever had a war memorial named in his honor, built in his honor. The only new highway in Kosovo billed as the Joseph our Beau Biden Highway because of the contributions he made to peace as a U.S. assistant U.S. attorney. Great guy. But we knew he knew. I can't imagine it used to be insurance companies could say you've outrun your coverage. [20:26:48] He lived out, not relived what was expected. He lived about 15 months after he was diagnosed. Didn't want anybody to know he was dying because he was attorney general and made me promise I wouldn't let anybody know his dad, they'll know I'm really sick since you've got to pretend you're still runnin. But here's the deal. Well, he was lying there like many of you had somebody. [20:27:10] How many of you lost a son, daughter, husband, wife, brother, sister to cancer? Raise your hand. Every audience. The same thing. Half to a third of the. You know what I'm talking about, it's not unique to me. But imagine if they're able to come along and insurance companies able to come along and say, look. [20:27:28] You've outrun your coverage, suffered the last five months of your life in peace on your own suffering. That coverage. The promise I make to you. Promise I make to every American. I give you my word, is a by. I will protect your health insurance as if it were my own. [20:27:46] That's an absolute promise. Thank you all very much for taking the time. And I want to thank all the guys. I want to say LoDo. Let me step down and say hi. [20:28:06] Gay families hit the stars with. Some.