Police quell a riot at the Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, IL.

NOTES: COL PRINT LOCATION: PARIS TITLE: PARIS VOTING SERVICED DATE: 03/20/77 NO: LNC 80907 DATE SHOT: 03/20/77 LENGTH: 66FT SECONDS: 1.46 SOUND: MUTE DATE OF ARRIVAL: FILM SHOWS: ELECTORS VOTING IN THE SECOND ROUND OF THE FRENCH MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS ON SUNDAY: RIGHTIST CANDIDATE D'ORNANO AND LEFTIST FISZBIN CAST THEIR VOTES. LEAD IN: THE SECOND ROUND OF THE FRENCH MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS, HELD ON SUNDAY (20 MARCH 77), CONFIRMED THE TRENDS SEEN IN THE FIRST ROUND A WEEK AGO. THE LEFT HAVE OBTAINED 51 PER CENT OF THE VOTES, COMPARED WITH 46 PER CENT FOR THE RIGHTIST ALLIANCE. OVERALL, THE LEFT CONTROL ABOUT 66 PER CENT OF ALL TOWNS WITH MORE THAN 30,000 INHABITANTS...AND THERE ARE 221 OF THEM THROUGHOUT FRANCE. FEET R/SECS 9 0.14 MS VOTERS QUEUE AT POLLING STATION; ELECTION POSTERS (2) 21 0.34 MS WOMAN VOTING, OFFICIALS; PEOPLE QUEUE; VOTING (3) 33 0.53 D'ORNANO VOTES 37 0.59 MS D'ORNANO LEAVES 40 1.04 MS VOTING STATION; ZOOM IN ON PLACARD 42 1.07 MS TWO POSTERS 48 1.17 MS PEOPLE VOTING 59 1.34 MCU FISZBIN WITH WIFE; VOTES 62 1.39 MCU FISZBIN LEAVES 66 1.46 MS FISZBIN AND WIFE OUTSIDE COMMENTARY: IN THE CAPITAL, M MICHEL D'ORNANO, MINISTER OF INDUSTRY, AND THE CANDIDATE OF PRESIDENT GISCARD D'ESTAING FOR THE JOB OF MAYOR IN PARIS, HAS BEEN BEATEN IN HIS BID FOR POWER STANDING IN THE EIGHTEENTH ARRONDISSEMENT, HE WAS DEFEATED BY THE LEFTIST UNION AND THEIR COMMUNIST CANDIDATE, M. BAILLOT. M. D'ORNANO HOPED TO GAIN IN THIS SECOND VOTING ROUND...HE EXPECTED TO PICK UP VOTES FROM THE GAULLIST CANDIDATE, WHO WAS ELIMINATED IN THE FIRST ROUND. BUT THINGS DIDN'T WORK OUT THAT WAY. MANY OF THE VOTES D'ORNANO WAS COUNTING ON WENT INSTEAD TO THE LEFTIST UNION. THESE INCLUDED THE ENVIRONMENTALIST VOTE. IN ADDITION, THE LEFTIST UNION ALSO PICKED UP THE VOTES OF THE COMMUNIST REVOLUTIONARY PARTY, WHICH WAS ALSO ELIMINATED IN THE FIRST ROUND. THE PRINCIPAL COMMUNIST CANDIDATE, M FISZBIN, TOPPED THE LIST IN THE NINETEENTH ARRONDISSEMENT OF WHICH HE IS ALREADY THE DEPUTY. HE HAS BEEN RE-ELECTED WITHOUT ANY DIFFICULTY. THE RESULTS IN PARIS HAVE SHAPED UP AS FOLLOWS...GAULLISTS 45 SEATS; LEFTIST COALITION 47 SEATS; AND SUPPORTERS OF GISCARD D'ESTAING 17 SEATS. AS THINGS STAND, M. CHIRAC, WHO WAS ELECTED IN THE FIFTH ARRONDISSEMENT, IS LIKELY TO BE THE NEW MAYOR OF PARIS BY 23 MARCH THIS YEAR.

LOST EXPRESS, THE

ISSUE_NO = 2286 NO_OF_ITEMS = 5 COMMENTATOR = Leslie Mitchell ITEM_NO = 3 Racing drivers compete in the Formula One Race of Champions won by outsider Peter Gewthin in a Chevron-Chevrolet. CARD_FILE = 98952 CARD_TITLE : CONSUL RACE AND RACE OF CHAMPIONS SHOT_LIST : RACE OF CHAMPIONS - SV Formula 1 cars zoom out to front of No 66 Brabham driver Graham Hill: SV Hill putting fireproof scarf on: SV Emerson Fittipaldi talking: SV cars in pits, mechanic tightening wheel nuts up in fore ground: CU Hill sitting in his "Shadow Ford DNI": SV start of race of Champions pan with cars as they up front straight: LS No 6 Hill's car in ditch alongside front straight Hill being helped out by two officials: LS car coming out of bottom: SV fire attendants and officials wtching: SV piece of track with sign opposite "Daily Mail" whilst cars go by: SV pan car No 65 Ronnie Peterson coming out of bottom band and down straight: SV 2 female timekeepers: CU pan 2 cars No 60 leading followed by No 65 coming out of bottom bend and down bottom straight: SV spectators watching: SV John Player Special No 65 in lead coming round bottom straight: LV 2 cars coming round bend and along bottom straight: LV 2 cars coming roung Paddock Hill bend and up Pilgrims Rise: LS 2 cars racing round Paddock Hill bend and up Pilgrims Rise and under Dunlop Bridge: SV winner being flagged in pan with winning car down front straight: SV 2nd car being flagged in, 2rd, 4th, 5th zoom out to 6th coming over line: LV placing board giving 1st No 32 Peter Gethin driving Chevron Chevrolet B 24, 2nd No 57 Denis Hulme driving Yadeley McLaren Ford M 23, 3rd No 56 James Hunt driving Surtees Ford T 58B: 4th No 67: SV Gethin waving arm and receiving cup. [ 77 Seconds] CONSUL RACE - LS massed parked cars and spectators with large sign about cars "Daily Mail Leads" zoom into race track: SV Reg Harris (cycling) signs autographs, looks up and smiles into camera & walks away, Henry Cooper in back ground: SV Cooper and David Hemery standing by cars: SV Colin Cowdrey and Jimmy Greaves standing by cars talking: SV Hemery signing autograph: CU name on overalls Richard Mead zoom out to him talking: SV Harris sitting in car ready to start: SV No 15 Geoff Lewis on car door pan up zoom out to Lewis sitting in car ready to start: SV Clement Freud sitting in car pan down and out to car doors No 8 Freud: SV No 2 Chay Blyth car door pan up and zoom out Blyth putting crash helmet on: LS start of Evening News Consul Race pan with cars from grid to first bend: LS consuls coming round bottom bend: SV ditto out of bottom bend: SV ditto out of bottom end, pan with cars along bottom straight: SV crowds watching: LV 4 consuls racing over grid pan with No 21 last car down front straight: SV No 2 Blyth coming out of bend after bottom straight: SV ditto No 4 Henry Cooper: SV man and woman spectators both wearing fur coats: LS consuls crossing line and being flagged in, winners 1st No 2 Blyth (sailing), 2nd Tom Percival (Power Boating), 3rd Richard Mead (Equestrian), N0 4 Ivan Mauger (Speedway): SV winner Blyth getting out of car being given handshake by Graham Hill. [ 95 Seconds] INDEX : Buildings, Ceremonies & Celebrations, Equestrian Sport, Personalities, Photography, Sport and Games, Towns and Cities, Vehicles MATERIAL : RACE OF CHAMPIONS ONLY COLOUR CUT NEG IN G.R. CAN DATE_SUBD = 00/00/0000

BEACH FUN - PART ONE

BLACK PANTHER PARTY - PART ONE

TAPE: EF03/0934 IN_TIME: 23:40:00 DURATION: 3:13 SOURCES: ICTY/APTN RESTRICTIONS: DATELINE: Hague - 17 Oct 2003/File SHOTLIST: ICTY 1. Exterior of Hague 2. UN flag 3. Interior of court 5. SOUNDBITE (English) Judge Florence Mumba, Zambia "The accused Doctor Blagoje Simic would you please stand up." 6. Simic stands 7. SOUNDBITE (English) Judge Florence Mumba, Zambia "With respect to you Doctor Blagoje Simic, a conviction is entered for Count One, crimes against humanity, for persecutions based on unlawful arrests and detention of Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian-Croat civilians, cruel and inhumane treatment including beatings, torture, forcible assignments, and confinement in inhumane conditions and deportation and forcible transfer." 8. SOUNDBITE (English) Judge Florence Mumba, Zambia (overlaid with close up of Simic listening) "Doctor Blagoje Simic you are sentenced to a term of 17 years imprisonment. You may sit down." 9. SOUNDBITE (English) Judge Florence Mumba, Zambia "Mr Miroslav Tadic, please stand up. With respect to you Miroslav Tadic, the trial chamber enters a conviction for Count One, crimes against humanity for persecutions based upon deportation and forcible transfer." 10. Tadic standing listening 11. SOUNDBITE (English) Judge Florence Mumba, Zambia (overlaid with close up of Tadic listening) "You, Miroslav Tadic, are sentenced to a term of imprisonment for eight years." 12. Tadic sits down 13. Judge asks Simo Zaric to stand up 14. Zaric stands up SOUNDBITE (English) Judge Florence Mumba, Zambia "With respect to you Mr Simo Zaric chamber enters a conviction for Count One, crimes against humanity for persecutions based upon cruel and inhumane treatment including beatings, torture and confinement in inhumane conditions. The chamber acquits you of Count Two." 15. Judge speaking 16. SOUNDBITE (English) Judge Florence Mumba, Zambia (overlaid with Zaric listening) "Mr Simo Zaric, you are sentenced to a term of imprisonment for six years." 17. Zaric sits down 18. Courtroom 19. Judges stand and exit APTN FILE Bosanki Samac, N.Bosnia - February 14 1998 20. Miroslav Tadic comes out of building as he gives himself up to UN peacekeeping troops 21. Various of Tadic saying farewell to his family 22. Soldiers 23. Woman crying APTN FILE Bosanki Samac, N.Bosnia - February 24 1998 24. Crowd in Bosanka Samac 25. People surrounding Simo Zaric to say goodbye 26. Zaric saying goodbye to his wife and son 27. Zaric departing in car past troops STORYLINE: Judges at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal at The Hague convicted three Bosnian Serbs of persecuting non-Serbs during the Bosnian war and rendered sentences ranging from six to 17 years. In several cases the persecution included pulling out the teeth of prisoners. The toughest sentence was given to doctor Blagoje Simic, 43, for participating in a "joint criminal enterprise" that displaced thousands of Bosnian Muslims and Croats from the northern Bosnian municipality of Bosanski Samac. Miroslav Tadic, 66, and Simo Zaric, 54, were also convicted of one count of crimes against humanity, and received sentences of eight and six years. Two additional counts against the three defendants were dropped due to insufficient evidence or technical errors by prosecutors. Zaric will most likely be set free after Friday's ruling after having served more than four years in United Nations (UN) custody. Sentences are generally reduced by one-third. Simic was the highest-ranking local political leader and president of the wartime crisis staff in Bosanski Samac. The judges found that, as such, he bore a greater responsibility for beatings, cruel treatment, illegal detention, torture and deportation of prisoners at several detention units during the 1992-1995 war. According to prosecutors, the systematic attack on the non-Serb civilian population led to the forced departure of more than 16-thousand Bosnian Croats and Muslims from the region. Only 300 non-Serbs remained out of an overall population of 33-thousand. Starting in the spring of 1992, non-Serb civilians were rounded up and herded into camps run by Serb police. Many were killed, tortured or sexually assaulted. The rest of the non-Serb population fled or was transferred to other villages, where they were forced into slave labour.

[WASHINGTON, DC USA] FOX NEWS SUNDAY FOR SUNDAY, MAY 13, 2007 GUESTS: former NYC mayor and presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani Fox News Sunday with Republican Presidential Candidate, Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani 09:02:17 WALLACE: Abortion: Where you stand. Its ok if the supreme court overturned Rove vs Wade? Why are you so indifferent to such a deeply held issue? 09:02:43 GIULIANI: I'm very passionate about abortion. I oppose it. It's a principle I will hold forever. In a society like ours, its best for us to respect each other's differences. and allow for choice. In regard to Rowe against Wade, it seems to me the best position is to leave it to them to decide it. The country can handle it. States will make own decisions. 09:04:01 WALLACE: personally be disappointed? 09:04:06 GIULIANI: it's a question not wanting to make this a witness test to judges. Judge comes to decision they think is correct interpretation of constitution. Court should be allowed to decide this. 09:04:46 WALLACE: any president. look at record of anybody he will name as judge. Will you name someone who's record shows he opposed the issue? could you nominate someone who had indicated an opposition to a woman's right to chose? 09:05:05 GIULIANI: in the context to their overall record? I might be able to. Sure. I would consider the following about a judge: someone who can interpret the constitution and respect it. I might not agree on every decision they make. 09:06:31 WALLACE: you say you personally hate abortion and wish people didn't have it. why? 09:06:42 GIULIANI: my advise shouldn't have abortion. Better to have child. Ill help you. Ill support you. Because I think having the child is a better moral decision. Adoption is better option than abortion. I help adoption in NY by 66%. 8 years while I was mayor adoption went up 130%. Very strong view about this. Equally strong view that society like ours respect the right of other people to make this choice themselves. 09:07:49 WALLACE: embryonic stem cell research you said you can support it except when it's a matter of taking a life to make a life. 09:08:05 GIULIANI: I don't look at it that way. I can't decide when life begins. I can only decide the const and legal issues. I believe abortion is wrong. My personal choice and advice, abortion is wrong chose another option. Make those options available. However, if you tell me as a woman I support limitations on abortion. 09:09:10 WALLACE: limitations, lets talk about it. Naral/NY. Since then you have moved in the direction of restricting abortion in all these areas. Why? 09:09:51 GIULIANI: parental notification. I looked at the laws. Partial birth abortion, I was concerned there would be exceptions of life of mother and her health, I supported it then and I support the decision. And I am open to seeking ways of limiting abortion. I am open and continue to be open to ways of limiting abortion, but I am not open to limiting the right. I oppose it, but I think it's the choice someone else gets to make. 09:10:55 WALLACE: if you become nominee of republican party, would you try to change the rep. party platform that has been pro life since 1976. 09:11:14 GIULIANI: I will not deal with the platform. Any candidate of the party has 9 out of 10 things that they agree with and one or two things they don't agree with. My attempt is to broaden the base of the rep. party to bring in people that can agree and disagree with it. Biggest outreach possible. 09:11:55 WALLACE: war on terror. More troops? 09:12:02 GIULIANI: the commitment we have to make is to emerge from Iraq with a stable situation that help us with effort against terrorism. Not make sense to retreat or schedule our retreat. Very irresponsible. 09:12:25 WALLACE: if surge was to fail, would you say we are going to stay in Iraq until we get stable situation. Is failure an option? 09:12:41 GIULIANI: failure is not an option. War should be about victory and success. God forbid failure happens it happens, you don't predict it. If you predict that you predict failure. Should the adm. have a plan? Of course it should, but you shouldn't put it out there because it creates failure. 09:13:36 WALLACE: why haven't you been to Iraq? 09:13:46 GIULIANI: we were going to be at one time, it was delayed for a reason I cant describe. Maybe before this year is over we'll get there. I would like to go. And you have to work that out quietly and carefully. I don't want publicity. But I have talked to a lot of the troops that were there. I have a great deal of contact with the people there. I would like to go there before end of year. 09:14:37 WALLACE:. what would you say to members of your own party that are saying it might be approaching time to jump ship? 09:15:13 GIULIANIGIULIANI: going on defense against terrorism isn't only about Iraq. I detect in the dem. A kind of attempt to go back to a pre sept 11 mentality in which were not anticipating. They would not have made a mistake to tell enemies a timetable of the retreat. -anybody proposing, giving enemy timetable is irresponsible and unheard of in the history of war. It comes about from a fundamental misunderstanding of terrorist threat that we face. We have to be in offense against them. 09:19:42 WALLACE: domestic issues. Staring with economy. On campaign trail u described yourself as fiscal conservative. But independent budget reviews say spending went up. Question .fiscal conservative? 09:20:12 GIULIANI: I was the only gov that was able to accomplish that. Lowered taxes. Lowered growth of spending compared to other states and other gov. and reduction of welfare. You have to see it in the context of which I did it. I had to teach nyc how to use principles of fiscal conservatives. Never before had any cut taxes and spending. Took a deficit and turned it into a surplus. 09:21:15 WALLACE: when you were mayor, you opposed medicade spending. 09:21:47 GIULIANI: the line item veto has to be done by unconstitutional amendment. Its in the interest of my city to advocate for it, it was my job to protect the people of nyc. And we were people in our interpretation of the const. 09:22:23 WALLACE: as mayor you did things that pleased your city but not necessarily good for the nation. For ex. Gun control. you supported nationwide federal licensing, and joined law suit to make gun manufactures liable. 09:22:52 GIULIANI: I did anything possible to reduce crime. I was critiqued of being to aggressive in enforcement of laws. I began with a city that was crime capital of America when I left it was the safest city in America. The things u do in NY can be diff. than Texas. 09:23:39 WALLACE: weak gun laws in other states might actually bring guns to NY.? You said that. 09:23:54 GIULIANI: as mayor I looked to do all the things to protect the people of my city. As pres. My interest is going to be how to protect the people of the USA. Line item veto im a strict constructionist. Individual right to bare arms: I agree with it. Any restrictions have to be reasonable. State by state level, those are the guidelines ill use. 09:24:51 WALLACE: immigration. As mayor you welcomed illegal immigrants into the city and opposed law that senate was about to pass that would crack down on illegal immigrants. 09:25:12 GIULIANI: the way I look illegal immigrants. We need an id card, we need to know who's in the US. And separate ones who are dangerous and ones who aren't. We need border control, fence. Fingerprints, photographs and then focus on people who cant come forward. 09:25:51 WALLACE: it seems that one position as mayor and one now as candidate for president. 09:26:03 GIULIANI: my interest as mayor of nyc was to focus as criminals that were here. At the same time there were illegal immigrants in NY, the question was should their children go to school? Should they be able to report crimes? Should they get treatment in hospitals? I had real responsibilities that I had to deal with, this was effective way. I always have been a supporter of strong protected border and opposed to illegal immigration. But I had to deal with real problems. 09:27:15 WALLACE: 9/11. Command center in twin towers? 09:27:35 GIULIANI: recommended it as the site that would make more sense. The reason was because it was also the location of custom service, secret service and other agencies we had to be in contact with. We also had backup centers in police dept in Brooklyn and virtual command center. When that command center was inoperable we were able to move immediately to another command center. 09:29:04 WALLACE: how do you respond to people opposed to you. 09:29:33 GIULIANI: people have to vote however they want to vote. Were all striving the best we can to improve ourselves to be better. Made mistakes. You can judge me on my public record. Have a long one, intense one. I can perform under pressure and irrespective of the fact that I do make mistakes in my personal life. Nobody is perfect.

CAMPAIGN 2012 / INT BROLL PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA DENVER COLO (COLORADO) REMARKS / HEAD ON Wednesday, August 08, 2012 President Barack Obama campaign speech at Aurairia Event Center in Denver, Colorado Slug: 1420 WH CO PATH1 RS33 83 AR: 16x9 Disc #229 NYRS: 5114 14:58:37 Sandra Fluke takes the stage to introduce Obama 15:05:36 Obama enters (Cheers, applause.) PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Hello, Denver. 15:06:20 (Cheers, applause.) Oh, it is good to be back in Denver. (Cheers, applause.) I have -- AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! 15:06:49 PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you! Well, I tell you what, we win Colorado, I'll get four more years. (Cheers, applause.) A couple of -- couple of people I just want to acknowledge. First of all, I just want to say thank you to Sandra for that wonderful introduction. (Cheers, applause.) She is one tough and poised young lady. (Cheers, applause.) She was generous to stand up for her friend, she was brave to stand up for herself, and an eloquent advocate for women's health and I suspect she's going to be doing some even greater things as time goes on. So give her a big round of applause. (Cheers, applause.) Couple other people I want to acknowledge -- your own mayor, Michael Hancock, is in the house. (Cheers, applause.) One of the best senators in the country, Michael Bennet, is in the house. (Cheers, applause.) A passionate advocate for working families, Ed Perlmutter, is here. (Cheers, applause.) My dear friend, campaign co-chair, former mayor, former secretary of transportation and energy -- I'm getting tired just listing his resume -- Federico Pena -- (cheers, applause) -- is in the house. He's here somewhere. Where'd Federico go? (Cheers, applause.) And finally, I also want to acknowledge an -- our -- another campaign co-chair, John Register, a veteran and Paralympian. We are very proud of him. John Register. (Cheers, applause.) 15:08:55 Now, it's been two and a half weeks since I was last here in Colorado. And, well, I -- you know, I -- as -- as many of you know, I was in Aurora to meet those who lost loved ones during that terrible shooting, and I just had a chance to see some of the first responders who helped to save lives and comfort families during that terrible, terrible day. (Cheers, applause.) You know, unfortunately, since that time we've had another tragedy in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, where six members of our community were killed as they entered into a house of worship. And -- and so I think we can all acknowledge we've got to put an end to this kind of senseless violence -- (cheers, applause) -- whether it's in Aurora, whether it's in Oak Creek, whether it's in Tucson, whether it's in cities all across America where too many lives are cut short because of senseless violence. This is going to have to stop. And as an American family, as one American family, we're going to have to come together -- (cheers, applause) -- and look at all the approaches that we can take to try to bring an end to it. 15:10:17 And -- and I want you to all know that the thoughts and prayers of the entire nation remain with those in Aurora. And even though the perpetrators of these acts have received a lot of attention, attention on them will fade, and what'll be replaced are the stories of heroism and hope that we've seen here in Colorado and in Wisconsin and across the -- across the nation. That's what we'll remember. That's what's going to matter. (Applause.) That's what we will value, the strength and the resilience and the care and the love of the American people. 15:10:57 Now, unless you've managed to completely avoid your television set -- (laughter) -- or your cable is broken -- (laughter) -- you are aware that there is a pretty intense campaign going on right now. (Cheers, applause.) And the reason it's intense is because the choice that we face in November could not be bigger. It's not just a choice between two candidates. It's not even just a choice between two parties. More than any election in recent memory, this is a choice between two fundamentally different paths for our country's future. And the -- the direction that you choose, the direction you choose when you walk into that voting booth three months from now will have a direct impact, not just on your lives but on the lives of your children and the lives of your grandchildren. And that -- (cheers, applause) -- that's true for everybody. 15:12:15 But it's especially true for the women in this country -- (cheers, applause) -- from working moms to college students to seniors, because when it comes to the economy, it's bad enough that our opponents want to take us back to the same policies of the last decade, the same policies that got us into this mess in the first place, the same policies that saw jobs going overseas and ended up seeing people's wages and incomes going down even as the costs of everything from health care to college were going up, policies that culminated in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and that we've spent now three and a half years trying to recover from. (Cheers, applause.) That's bad enough. 15:13:15 But when it comes to a woman's right to make her own health care choices -- (cheers) -- they want to take us back to the policies more suited to the 1950s than the 21st century. (Cheers, applause.) And Colorado, you've got to make sure it does not happen. (Cheers, applause.) The decisions that affect a woman's health -- they're not up to politicians. They're not up to insurance companies. AUDIENCE MEMBERS: No! PRESIDENT OBAMA: They're up to you. (Cheers, applause.) And you deserve a president who will fight to keep it that way. (Cheers, applause.) That's the president I've been. That's the president I will be if I get a second term as president of the United States, to keep moving this country forward. (Cheers, applause.) You know, on the issues that matter, you don't have to take my word for it. You can take me at my record. Four years ago I delivered on my promise to pass health reform before the end of my first term. (Cheers, applause.) That's what we did -- the Affordable Health -- the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare." (Cheers, applause.) I actually like the name -- (laughter) -- because I -- (laughter) -- because I do care. (Cheers.) That's why we fought so hard to make it happen. The Affordable Care Act helps make sure you don't have to worry about going broke just because one of your loved ones gets sick. Insurance companies can no longer place lifetime limits on your care. They can no longer jack up your premiums without reason. They can no longer drop your coverage when you need it most. They can no longer discriminate against children with pre-existing conditions. (Cheers, applause.) And pretty soon they'll no longer be able to deny you coverage based on a pre-existing condition like breast cancer or cervical cancer or charge you more for care just because you're a woman. They can't do that anymore. Those days are over. (Cheers, applause.) 15:15:35 This is the law that allows young adults under the age of 26 to stay on their parents' health care plans -- (cheers, applause) -- and that's already -- that's already helped 6.6 million young Americans. (Cheers, applause.) If you're a little bit over 26, it gets seniors a discount on their prescription drugs -- (cheers, applause) -- a discount that's already saved millions of seniors on Medicare hundreds of dollars each. (Cheers, applause.) Right now nearly 13 million Americans are getting a rebate from insurance companies. That's right; they're sending you a check -- (cheers, applause) -- because -- because under the law, we capped the amount of money that they can spend on administrative costs and CEO bonuses instead of your health care. (Cheers, applause.) And when they -- when they violate that rule, they've got to send you a check. (Cheers, applause.) 15:16:42 Last year "Obamacare" secured new access to preventive care like mammograms and cancer screenings with no copay, no deductible, no out- of-pocket costs for more than 20 million women. (Cheers, applause.) Last week insurance companies began covering even more services. And now most health plans are going to begin covering the cost of contraceptive care. (Cheers, applause.) Now, understand, this is crucial for women's health. Doctors prescribe contraception not just for family planning but as a way to reduce the risk of ovarian and other cancers. And it's good for our health care system in general because we know the overall cost of care is lower when women have access to contraceptive services. And -- and -- and listen. We -- we recognize that many people have strongly held religious views on contraception, which is why we made sure churches and other houses of worship, they don't have to provide it, they don't have to pay for it. We worked with the Catholic hospitals and universities to find a solution that protects both religious liberty and a woman's health. (Cheers, applause.) 15:18:09 So -- (cheers, applause) -- the fact is nearly 99 percent of women have relied on contraception at some point, and more than half of all women between the ages of 18 and 34 have struggled to afford it. AUDIENCE MEMBER: Thank you. PRESIDENT OBAMA: And we're changing that. (Cheers, applause.) You know, before health care reform -- before health care reform, many health care plans charged high deductibles or copays for all these preventive services, or they just didn't cover them at all. And according to one study, more than half of all women put off the care they needed because of that. (Applause.) 15:19:00 How many of you have gone without care that you needed or a checkup because you knew that you might not be able to afford the insurance copays -- (cheers, applause) -- and you had to choose between gas or groceries or your kid's new soccer uniform or -- I don't think I a working mom in Denver should have to wait to get a mammogram just because money is tight. (Cheers, applause.) I don't think a college student in Colorado Springs should have to choose between textbooks or the preventive care that she needs. That's why we've passed this law. It was the right thing to do. Now, my opponent has a different view. (Laughter, boos.) As -- as Sandra says, he said he would take the Affordable Care Act and kill it dead -- (boos) -- on the first day of his presidency, kill it dead -- (boos) -- which -- I mean, just understand what this means. This means 26-year-olds -- 6 1/2 million don't have health insurance; the preventive care, gone; seniors paying more for prescription drugs; pre-existing conditions, you're out of luck. Then he said he'd get rid of Planned Parenthood. (Jeers.) Then he said he would -- has supported an extreme measure in Mississippi that could have outlawed some forms of contraception. (Scattered jeers.) Then he joined the far right of his party to support a bill that would allow any employer to deny contraceptive coverage to their employees, so it would be up to the employer to decide -- (boos) -- your -- your -- your boss telling you what's best for your health and your safety. Now, let me tell you something, Denver. I don't think your boss should get to control the health care that you get. (Cheers, applause.) I don't think insurance companies should control the care that you get. (Applause.) I don't think politicians should control the care that you get. (Cheers, applause.) I think there's one person to make these decisions on health care, and that is you. (Cheers, applause.) You should make that decision. (Cheers, applause.) I mean, you know, Mr. Romney's running as the candidate of conservative values. There's nothing conservative about a government that prevents a woman from making her own health care decisions. He says he's the candidate of freedom. But -- but freedom's the -- the chance, the opportunity to determine for yourself the care that you need when you need it. (Cheers.) It's the ability to change jobs or start your own business without fear of losing your health insurance. (Cheers, applause.) We're not going to go back to the days when it was acceptable to charge women more than men for health care, and we're not going back to the days when women with pre-existing conditions, like being a -- a cancer survivor, were denied affordable care. 15:22:08 (Cheers, applause.) We're not going to kick more than a million young women off their parents' plan. We are not going backwards, Denver. We're moving forward. (Cheers, applause.) That's why I'm running for president again. (Cheers, applause.) 15:22:27 And understand -- understand this, at a time when women make up nearly half the workforce, an increasing share of family breadwinners, these aren't just health issues and they're not just women's issues. These are economic issues. They affect every family in America. (Cheers, applause.) Think about it. Think about what it means when a -- when a women is the main breadwinner for her family, but she's taking less pay home doing the same work as a man, just because she's a woman. That's not right. AUDIENCE MEMBERS: No! PRESIDENT OBAMA: When my opponent's campaign was asked if he'd fight to guarantee an equal days pay for an equal day's work, you know what the campaign said? They said, we'll get back to you on that. (Boos.) That's not a good answer. We'll get back to you on that? He won't say what he'd do about it. You've got my answer. Upholding the principle of equal pay for equal work was the first bill I signed into law -- (cheers, applause) -- the Lily Ledbetter Act. First bill I signed. (Cheers, applause.) 15:23:47 And one other thing. You know, today's the three-year anniversary of Sandra Sotomayor taking her seat on the Supreme Court. (Cheers, applause.) Yesterday was the two-year anniversary of Elena Kagan taking her seat -- (cheers, applause) -- on the Supreme Court. 15:24:14 So let's -- let's -- let's -- let's be very clear. The next president could tip the balance of the court in a way that turns back the clock for women and families for decades to come. (Jeers.) The choice between going backward and moving forward -- (cheers, applause) -- has never been so clear. 15:24:40 And -- and -- and let me say this. You know, when I -- when I talk about -- when I talk about women's issues, I'm talking about experiences that I've seen in my own life. I -- everybody knows Michelle, and -- (cheers, applause) -- you know, the fact that -- that we are partners in this process of -- this journey of life has been my source of strength. And -- and I want to make sure that she has control over her health care choices. I want to make sure that when she's working, she's getting paid the same as men. I got to say, first ladies right now don't -- (laughter) -- even though that's a tough job. You know, my -- my own mom would have been 70 years old this year. And my sister and I lost her to cancer when she was just 52 years old. And she got to meet Michelle, but she never got a chance to meet her granddaughters or watch them grow up. And -- and I often think about what might have happened if a doctor had caught her cancer sooner, or if she'd been able to spend less time focusing on how she was going to pay her bills and more time on getting well. AUDIENCE MEMBER: She's still with us! PRESIDENT OBAMA: You know, she is still with us. (Cheers, applause.) She's in a better place. 15:26:09 You know, I think about -- I think about Malia and Sasha, and I think to myself, well, you know, we're not going to have a -- an America where they have fewer opportunities than somebody's sons. (Cheers.) I don't want to them having fewer choices than -- than anybody's boys do. (Cheers.) And then four years ago, as I had the privilege to travel all across this country and meet Americans from all walks of life, I heard so many stories like mine. And I decided nobody else should have to endure the heartbreak of a broken health care system. No one in the wealthiest nation on earth should go broke because they get sick. Nobody should be able to tell their daughters or sons that the decisions they can and cannot make for themselves are constrained because of some politicians in Washington. And thanks to you, we've made a difference in people's lives. (Cheers, applause.) Thanks to you, there are folks that I meet today who have gotten care and their cancer has been caught, and they've got treatment, and they are living full lives. And it happened because of you, because of your efforts four years ago. And Denver, we've come too far to turn back now. (Cheers, applause.) We've got too much work to do to implement health care. (Cheers, applause.) We've got too much work to do to create good jobs. (Cheers, applause.) We've got too many teachers that we've got to hire. (Cheers, applause.) We've got too many schools we've got to rebuild. (Cheers, applause.) We've got too many students who still need affordable higher education. (Cheers, applause.) There is more homegrown energy to generate. (Cheers, applause.) There are more troops that we've got bring home. (Cheers, applause.) There are more doors of opportunity that we've got to open to anybody who's willing to work hard and walk through those doors. (Cheers, applause.) We've got to keep building an economy where no matter what you look like or where you come from, you can make it here if you try -- (cheers, applause) -- and you can leave something behind for the next generation. That's what (sic) at stake right now, Colorado. 15:28:20 That's why I'm running for president of the United States of America. (Cheers, applause.) That's why I'm asking for your vote. I still believe in you, and if you still believe in me -- (cheers, applause) -- and if you're willing to stand with me and knock on some doors with me and make some phone calls with me and talk to your neighbors and friends about what's at stake, we will win Colorado. (Cheers, applause.) And if we win Colorado, we will win this election. (Cheers, applause.) We will finish what we started, and we'll remind the world why America is the greatest nation on earth. 15:28:58 God bless you, and God bless the United States of America. (Cheers, applause.) 15:29:58 Obama glad hands audience

08:17:51 INTRODUCTIONS, THANKS, PRAYERS, NATIONAL ANTHEM 08:45:10 CANDIDATES WALKING OUT / PHOTO OP / MIC CHECK 09:00:24 BEGINNING OF DEBATE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES PARTICIPATE IN A CANDIDATES FORUM HOSTED BY ABC NEWS / THIS WEEK AUGUST 5, 2007 SPEAKERS: SEN. SAM BROWNBACK, R-KAN. REP. DUNCAN HUNTER, R-CALIF. FORMER GOV. MITT ROMNEY, R-MASS. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, R-ARIZ. REP. TOM TANCREDO, R-COLO. FORMER MAYOR RUDOLPH W. GIULIANI, R-NEW YORK CITY REP. RON PAUL, R-TEXAS FORMER GOV. TOMMY G. THOMPSON, R-WIS FORMER GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE, R-ARK. GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, MODERATOR DAVID YEPSEN, DES MOINES REGISTER [*] STEPHANOPOULOS: Our goal today is to get a real debate going among all of you, to find out where you stand on the issues, but also to figure out the real differences that separate you. And in that spirit, here in Iowa you've already been going at each other, somewhat beneath the radar screen, on the issue of abortion. Senator Brownback, your campaign has been making phone calls to Iowa voters about Mitt Romney, and I want to show it for our viewers. It's called an urgent action alert. (BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) ANNOUNCER: Mitt Romney is telling Iowans that he is firmly pro- life. Nothing could be further from the truth. As late as 2005, Mitt Romney pledged to support and uphold pro- abortion policies and pass taxpayer funding of abortions in Massachusetts. His wife, Ann, has contributed money to Planned Parenthood. Mitt told the National Abortion Rights Action League that, "You need someone like me in Washington." (END AUDIO CLIP) STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Brownback, do you stand by that attack? BROWNBACK: I certainly do. There's one word that describes that ad, and it's "truthful." That's a truthful ad. And that's what campaigns are about, too, George, is for as far as getting the truth out, expressing the differences between candidates. These are good people that are up on this stage. That's a truthful ad. I am pro-life. I think this is a core issue for our party. I think it's a big issue for our country. I'm pro-life and I'm whole life. I think that all life at all stages is sacred and it's beautiful. I think it's something we ought to fight for, it's what this party has stood for, it's what we should stand for. STEPHANOPOULOS: Governor Romney, everything in that ad true? ROMNEY: Virtually nothing in that ad is true. STEPHANOPOULOS: What's wrong with it? ROMNEY: The single word I'd use would be "desperate" or perhaps "negative." Frankly... STEPHANOPOULOS: But before we move on, you said it's not true. We have it up on the screen. What is untrue? ROMNEY: I am pro-life. That's the truth. And several years ago, when we faced the issue of cloning of embryos in our state, I wrote an op-ed piece in the Boston Globe and said I'm pro-life. ROMNEY: And every action I've taken as governor of Massachusetts has been pro-life. This is a very difficult decision. We're involved in the lives of two people: a mom and an unborn child. And yet I've come down on the side of saying I'm in favor of life. STEPHANOPOULOS: But are any of the specific -- any of the specific charges there untrue? ROMNEY: The Massachusetts Citizens for Life just several months ago brought me in and gave me an award for my public leadership on the basis of being pro-life. So the best way you can learn about someone is not by asking their opponent, but ask them, "What do you believe, and what's your view?" And I am pro-life. And virtually every part of that ad is inaccurate. I'm pro-life. My positions are pro-life. The idea that, for instance, I've been in favor of taxpayer funding of abortion; that's wrong. I oppose taxpayer funding of abortion. In our state we passed a medical plan that reduces the number of people who received state funding for abortion. So the ad is just completely wrong. BROWNBACK: George, if I could, there's -- you can go up on YouTube and see the governor himself and speaking himself... ROMNEY: Ah, that's the -- consider the source. BROWNBACK: ... about where he is on this position, and in 1994 say, "I'm governor..." (CROSSTALK) ROMNEY: Look, look. I was pro-choice. I am pro-life. And I'm tired of a... BROWNBACK: And it is a truthful position. Every piece of that is truthful. You can got to YouTube and look for the governor, what he says himself. STEPHANOPOULOS: Governor Romney -- Governor Romney... ROMNEY: You can go back to YouTube and look at what I said in 1994. I never said I was pro-choice, but my position was effectively pro-choice. I've said that time and time again. I changed my position. When I was governor and when I faced an issue of a life or death, when the first time a bill came to my desk that related to the life of an unborn child, I came down on the side of life. ROMNEY: And I put that in The Boston Globe and explained why. And I get tired of people that are holier than thou because they've been pro-life longer than I have. STEPHANOPOULOS: Governor Romney, you've also been drawing... ROMNEY: But I'm proud of the fact. (APPLAUSE) STEPHANOPOULOS: You have also been drawing contrasts with Mayor Giuliani during this campaign. I want to show our viewers something you said about Mayor Giuliani on the Christian Broadcasting Network this spring. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ROMNEY: He is pro-choice and pro-gay marriage and anti-gun, and that's a tough combination in a Republican primary. (END VIDEO CLIP) STEPHANOPOULOS: Do you stand by that? And what is it that you fear a President Giuliani would do on those issues? ROMNEY: I think Rudy Giuliani is a terrific American and a wonderful mayor. That was very early in the process. I think I've got a better view... STEPHANOPOULOS: In March. ROMNEY: Yes, it was in March. He wasn't a candidate yet. I think I have a better perspective on his views now -- not entirely, but a pretty good view on his positions. And I'd rather let him speak for him, his own positions, than me speak for them. And I've done by best to let other candidates speak about their own positions. So I'm not going to try and elaborate on his positions. I can tell you that I am pro-life and that I'm opposed to same- sex marriage, and I support the Second Amendment. Those are my views. Why don't we let each of us describe our own views, as opposed to taking time to describe those of our colleagues? STEPHANOPOULOS: Was that accurate what Governor Romney said? GIULIANI: Somehow, I knew you were going to ask me the question about this. (LAUGHTER) The reality is that I support the Second Amendment, as Governor Romney says. I clearly believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, although I did support domestic partnerships and still do, a contractual relationship. And I believe the best way we can have common ground in this debate that you're hearing is if we put our emphasis on reducing abortions and increasing the number of adoptions, which is something that I did as mayor of New York City. GIULIANI: But I think ultimately that decision that has to be made is one that government shouldn't make. Ultimately, a woman should make that with her conscience and ultimately with her doctor. (APPLAUSE) STEPHANOPOULOS: Governor Thompson, let me bring you in here, because Michael Gerson, President Bush's former speechwriter, now a columnist for The Washington Post, wrote a column about Mayor Giuliani a few weeks ago, where he said one of the consequences -- because of the mayor's pro-life position -- of a Giuliani victory would be to place the Republican nominee in direct conflict with the Roman Catholic Church. How big a problem is that? THOMPSON: I think it's a problem. I think it's a problem not only for the Roman Catholic Church, but it's a problem with the Constitution and the platform of the Republican Party. Every year the Republican Party, both at the state level in Iowa, nationally, are parties that come out very avidly and passionately on being pro-life. And I think any candidate that's pro-choice is going to have a difficulty with the party faithful and those individuals that have come to this district and the state and national meetings and have avowed time and time again that this party, the Republican Party, is a party of pro-life. So anybody that's not pro-life is going to have difficulties. That's the question. Beyond that, however, I think you've got to look beyond just one issue. And the issue that really concerns me, of course, is the health issues of America. And we get tied up in one particular issue and we really don't go to some of the major issues that are affecting America -- not that pro-life isn't -- but we have to get down -- and this debate should be about the major issues affecting the voters of Iowa and nationally, instead of trying to choose one person against another on this campaign. THOMPSON: Every single one of us up here have got issues, positions, and every single one of us believe very strongly of those. And I think that speaks highly of the Republican Party. STEPHANOPOULOS: You bring up an important point, and let me bring this to Senator McCain. Because some people have made the argument... (APPLAUSE) STEPHANOPOULOS: ... some people have made the argument that in this election especially, that Mayor Giuliani would be absolutely the strongest candidate, in part because of his pro-choice positions, but even more than that, in the general election, the most important issue is going to be national security, and an issue like abortion should be de-emphasized. Do you agree with that? MCCAIN: I think the respect and commitment to the rights of the unborn is something I've fought for, and it has a lot to do with national security. Because it depends on -- it says very much what kind of a country we are and our respect for human life, whether it be here in the United States or whether it be in China or Bangladesh or the Congo or anyplace else in the world. So I think it is connected. But I also firmly believe that the challenge of the 21st century is the struggle against radical Islamic extremism. It is a transcendent issue. It is hydra-headed. It will be with us for the rest of the century. I have served my nation and my country and the people of this country for all of my adult life. I am the most prepared. I have been involved in these issues. I have served this nation in the military and in the Congress, and I'm the best prepared and equipped and need no on-the-job training to meet that challenge. STEPHANOPOULOS: You have also addressed the issue of Iraq, probably more -- as much as, if not more than any other candidate. STEPHANOPOULOS: And I want to turn to that as well. Because we did a poll of Iowa voters, as you saw. And we asked the voters there for questions. We got more questions on Iraq and the war than any other single subject. Here was one of them. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) QUESTION: Hi. I'm Jill Husker (ph) from Grinnell, Iowa. My question is, if you were president, what would be your strategy for ending the war in Iraq? (END VIDEO CLIP) STEPHANOPOULOS: Congressman Paul, what would it be? PAUL: Just come home. We just marched in. We can just come back. (APPLAUSE) We went in there illegally. We did not declare war. It's lasting way too long. We didn't declare war in Korea or Vietnam. The wars were never really ended. We lose those wars. We're losing this one. We shouldn't be there. We ought to just come home. (APPLAUSE) The number one reason it's in our national self-interest and for our national security, think of our defenses now, how rundown they are. What is the morale of our military today when they're sent over there for 12 months and then they're kept for another three months? They come home and, with less than a year's rest, they're sent back again. Congress is currently trying to change the rules so we give these men an adequate rest. This war is not going well because the foreign policy is defective. STEPHANOPOULOS: Congressman Hunter? (APPLAUSE) HUNTER: Yes, George, I've been here before. I was here when we stood up to the Russians in Central Europe when they were ringing our allies with SS-20 missiles. We stood up them and we finally brought that wall down. I was here when we did Central America, when the liberals were raging that we had to get out of Salvador. Today, Salvadoran troops are standing side-by-side with Americans in Iraq. And let me tell you something I'm tired of. I watched the Democrat debate. I watched them say, as my colleague has said, "Just bring them home. Come home." And it was a race to see who could stampede for the exit the quickest. And you know something? The Marines in Anbar province, which is almost half of Iraq, have turned that situation around. They brought the communities there on our side, fighting back against Al Qaida. Not a single Democrat... (APPLAUSE) Not a single Democrat candidate paused in their rush for the exit to say to our Marines, "Good job. You guys are fighting and achieving, with blood, sweat and tears, what this country needs." We've got our best military leadership in Iraq right now. We are standing up the Iraq military, the 129 battalions. When they are stood up, when they're reliable, battle-ready, they rotate onto the battlefield, they displace American heavy combat forces. That's the right way to leave, not a stampede for the exit. STEPHANOPOULOS: Congressman Hunter, thank you. So we've got the poles of this debate Governor Huckabee... (APPLAUSE) I'll come back to you in a second. We've got the poles of this debate. Congressman Paul says, "Come home." Congressman Hunter says, "We've got to stay." Is there a middle ground in this debate? HUCKABEE: Certainly there's a middle ground, George. And the middle ground is that we win this war and we do it with honor. We don't just stay indefinitely. We put some pressure -- just like we have been the last week, with Secretary Rice and Secretary Gates -- on the Saudis. HUCKABEE: Look, we've made them rich. Every time somebody in this room goes to the gas pump, you've helped make the Saudi royal family a little wealthier. And the money that has been used against us in terrorism has largely come from the Middle East. There's two things we've got to do. Number one, we've got to insist that the people in that neighborhood take a far greater role militarily and financially in solving the problem. It's their neighborhood. But the second thing we'd do, for our own national security, is end our dependence on foreign oil. And let's not play around and say "30 years," let's get it done. Let's get it done now. And let's make sure that we don't have to depend upon their oil for our future energy needs. BROWNBACK (?): George? George? HUCKABEE: If we can feed ourselves, if we can fuel ourselves, if we can manufacture the weapons to fight for ourselves, we're a free people. If we can't do those three things, we're not free. (APPLAUSE) STEPHANOPOULOS: I'm going to bring everyone in on this. Senator Brownback, go ahead. BROWNBACK: There's another piece to this as well. And that is, is that you've got the military performing, I think, very well, doing an outstanding job, but the political situation continues to deteriorate on the ground in Iraq. You've got the Iraqi politicians not even meeting now. You've got a weak leadership that's taking place there. I think the key missing element here is political resolve on the ground. We need a political surge, like Thomas Friedman has written about. We need to put a three-state solution in place, like was in Iraq prior to World War I, where you have a north that's Kurdish, which is right now; a west that's Sunni, which is right now; and a Shia south, with Baghdad as the federal city. A weak, soft partition: that's the piece missing... (CROSSTALK) STEPHANOPOULOS: And that is -- that is your plan. (APPLAUSE) STEPHANOPOULOS: Let me bring Senator McCain in on this. Senator Brownback -- Senator McCain, Senator Brownback talked about the lack of political progress. It's actually written into the law right now benchmarks that the Iraqi government has to meet. It is also very, very clear that they are not going to meet those benchmarks by the time General Petraeus reports in September. If they fail to meet these benchmarks which are written into the law, will you still continue to support the surge? MCCAIN: Of course. They are making progress, and we are winning on the ground. And there are political solutions being arrived at all over Iraq today, not at the national level. I'm disappointed, of course, that the Maliki government has not done what they need to do. But I'll tell you, it's not only in the national interest of the Iraqis, it's an American national interest. We are winning. We must win. If we lose, there'll be catastrophic consequences and genocide, and we will be back. This is a seminal moment in American history. We must succeed. There will be a big debate coming up in September on the floor of the Senate. We will win that debate because the American people understand the consequences of failure. STEPHANOPOULOS: Mayor Giuliani... MCCAIN: Morale is good. Morale is good amongst our military. I can tell you that. A three-state solution -- we just saw it when the Iraqi people joined together with Iraqi flags celebrating a victory in a soccer match. We are winning. We must win. And we will not set a date for surrender, as the Democrats want us to do. STEPHANOPOULOS: Mayor Giuliani, is there any difference... (APPLAUSE) Is there any difference between you and Senator McCain on this issue? Would you also continue to... GIULIANI: I just noticed the question before, Senator McCain said something -- in four Democratic debates, not a single Democratic candidate said the word "Islamic terrorism." Now, that is taking political correctness to extremes. GIULIANI: It really is. (APPLAUSE) The reality is that you do not achieve peace through weakness and appeasement. Weakness and appeasement should not be a policy of the American government. We should seek a victory in Iraq and in Baghdad, and we should define the victory. And I thought the piece by O'Hanlon and Pollack last week in the New York Times, which, I have to frankly tell you, when I read it in the morning, I read it twice, and I checked -- New York Times? But it was the New York Times. It was. (LAUGHTER) And it said, "We just might win in Iraq." Now, why we would want to retreat in the face of at least some empirical evidence that General Petraeus and... STEPHANOPOULOS: But that's military -- that's military progress. No political progress. You'd continue to support the surge even if there's no political progress. GIULIANI: The reality is that if we can bring stability to Iraq, and we can give them a chance to develop stability, that's what we should be trying to accomplish. This is part of an overall terrorist war against the United States. And that's why I noted Senator McCain's statement about Islamic extreme terrorism. This is part of an overall war against us by the terrorists. It's a battle in that war. America should win that battle. And winning that battle is to have an Iraq that helps us against the Islamic terrorists. STEPHANOPOULOS: Governor Romney, are you, Mayor Giuliani and Senator McCain all in the same place right now on Iraq? ROMNEY: I think we're pretty much in the same place. It is critical for us to win this conflict. It is essential, and that's why we're going to continue to pursue this effort. And we're going to get a report from General Petraeus on the success. And I agree the Brookings Institution report over the weekend was a very encouraging indication that we're making progress. That's great news. At the same time, you look at that Democratic debate, I had to laugh at what I saw Barack Obama do. I mean, in one week he went from saying he's going to sit down, you know, for tea, with our enemies, but then he's going to bomb our allies. I mean, he's gone from Jane Fonda to Dr. Strangelove in one week. (LAUGHTER) STEPHANOPOULOS: We're going to get to that. We're going to get to that in a little bit. (APPLAUSE) ROMNEY: Let me continue. Hold on. I had more time, let me continue. I want to make one other point. ROMNEY: And that is, while we are waking up here in the United States and thinking about our barbecue in the afternoon and what's on TV, what baseball game is on, there are lot of families in this country, hundreds of thousands of people, who are waking up wondering whether their loved one is still alive. We have families who made a huge surge of sacrifice to support this surge. And it's time, in my view, for the people of America to show a surge of support, including our leaders in Washington, for these families and for the troops. Let's get behind them and give them everything we have: our prayers, our encouragement, our funds, anything to make sure this surge is successful because it counts for America. (APPLAUSE) (CROSSTALK) STEPHANOPOULOS: I'm looking at you right now. Do you differ at all from Mayor Giuliani, Governor Romney or Senator McCain? Then Senator Thompson and Ron Paul get the last word on this round. Go ahead, Congressman Tancredo. TANCREDO: There are a number of things, of course, with regard to Iraq that I think we have found some common ground on, but the reality is this: that it is absolutely true I think that we are in a war with radical Islam. That is the war. A battle is being fought in Iraq. Now, can we win the military battle on the ground? Yes, we can. Our guys are the best in the world, and the people that are serving there cannot be faulted in any way. One of the things, however, that I must say I am concerned about are the rules of engagement, that apparently are restricting the ability of our people to do their job and to protect themselves. No one should ever go into harm's way, no president should ever send anyone in this military into harm's way and keep one arm tied behind them. These rules of engagement have got to be reviewed, and no president should ever pursue them in this wan, or let people go into battle and be actually at risk. TANCREDO: I unveiled a statue for a guy by the name of Danny Dietz in my district, a Navy SEAL. Danny Dietz is dead because the rules of engagement did not allow them to do what they needed to do over there. That is unacceptable. In the broader picture, of course, you are absolutely right. We have to do something about the fact that there is no political or economic solution being developed by the Iraqis. And you have to push them into it. America cannot be the police force in Iraq. It cannot remove itself entirely from Iraq, but Iraq has got to take control of Iraq. STEPHANOPOULOS: Governor Thompson, and then Congressman Paul, you get the last word. (APPLAUSE) THOMPSON: Thank you very much. I've laid out a whole plan to really win the peace in Iraq. I've laid out a plan that we have to defend and give all our resources and every single tool possible to our fighting men and women. I have been with them, like a lot of the people up here have, and they're the finest young men and women we'll ever have in our military. But beyond that, it is not fair to America and to Americans to shoulder all of the burden. To pay for a war that's costing us $10 billion a month -- and we're not funding, we're just passing on to our children and grandchildren -- not requiring the Iraqi government to stand up and vote, that's a failure of Congress and the president of the United States. Because they do need to demand that that government makes a political statement, and help pay for that war, and help fight to win that war. Secondly, I differ with Senator Brownback. They can't even decide in parliament in Iraq whether or not they're going to be able to take a month or six weeks off for summer. THOMPSON: How will they ever decide three particular divisions? They've already got that country divided into 18 states that have been there since 1921. And if, in fact, you're going to elect people, why don't you a elect state leader, like you do in Iowa, like we do in Wisconsin, all over America? And those individual governments will be Shiite, Sunnis and Kurds. And it will stop the civil war. And split the oil revenue between the federal government, the state governments, and every man and woman and child, like we do in Alaska, and give those individuals the opportunity to build their country. That will make a stable Iraq. (inaudible) (APPLAUSE) STEPHANOPOULOS: Congressman Paul, you get the last word on this round. PAUL: I, of course, opposed the war a long time before it started. The neoconservatives promoted this war many, many years before it was started. It had nothing to do with Al Qaida. There was no Al Qaida in Iraq. There were no weapons of mass destruction. Just think of the weapons the Soviets had in the '60s and the '70s. And we did not have to go to nuclear war with them. There's no reason to go to war against these men in these Third World nations. At the same time, those individuals who have predicted these disastrous things to happen if we leave Iraq are the same ones who said, "As soon as we go in, it will just be duck soup, it'll be over in three months and it won't cost us anything because the oil will pay for it." (APPLAUSE) MCCAIN (?): Have you forgotten about 9/11? PAUL: And at the same time... MCCAIN (?): Have you forgotten about... PAUL: Just a moment -- at the same time, the individuals who predicted the disaster, of course, the domino theory, in Vietnam -- I was called to duty. I accepted that duty in the '60s. I served five years in the military. When we left there, it was tough, yes. But now we trade with Vietnam. We talk to them. The president's come to this country. We go back and forth. We invest in that country. We can achieve much more in peace than we can ever achieve in these needless, unconstitutional, undeclared wars. (APPLAUSE) STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator McCain? MCCAIN: Let me just say, George, all of us feel frustration, sometimes anger and sorrow over what's happened in this war. MCCAIN: It was very badly mismanaged for nearly the first four years. I was one of the greatest critics. We do now have a strategy that is succeeding. We do have a military whose morale is up because they see this success. This has consequences far beyond Iraq, throughout the entire region. Look at the behavior of the Iranians, the Syria, the uneasiness of our so-called allies of the region. This is an historic moment in history. And I'm going to be judged by history, not by public opinion polls. And I believe that we can and must prevail, and we've got the strategy and the general that can do it. Give us some time for it to succeed. (APPLAUSE) STEPHANOPOULOS: I want to move on now to domestic issues. Health care, one of the number-one domestic issues we heard about in our poll. You hear about it every day out on the campaign trail. This week, the Senate debating whether or not to expand health insurance to children in the United States. And for this, I'm want to turn to the question from David Yepsen. YEPSEN: Governor Huckabee, Senator Grassley helped fashion a compromise plan to cover 3.2 million more children by raising the cigarette tax -- poor children. President Bush has threatened to veto. Who do you side with, President Bush or Senator Grassley? HUCKABEE: I think I'd like to side with the people of America who really are looking for a lot better action than they're getting out of their president or Congress. You know, if you want to know how to fix it, I've got a solution. Either give every American the same kind of health care that Congress has, or make Congress have the same kind of health care that every American has. (APPLAUSE) They'll get it fixed. And the issue in this country is that we really have an incredible problem because our system is upside-down. It focuses on intervention at the catastrophic level of disease rather than really focusing on prevention. So we've got a system that, no matter how much money we pour into it, we're not going to fix it. HUCKABEE: We're not going to fix it until we begin to address the fact that this country has put its focus not on wellness, not on prevention, not on health, but on sickness. And that's the single most important and urgent thing that has to be done. And if we don't do that, then we're going to continue just pouring money -- and it's almost like having a boat that's taking on water, and rather than plugging the hole, we want to get a bigger bucket to take the water out of the boat. YEPSEN: Governor Thompson, same question to you. Who do you side with in that dispute, the president or Iowa's senior senator? THOMPSON: David, I want you to know that health care is one of my major dominant fields. I was secretary of health. Neither one of them are right. The problem is, is Governor Huckabee is absolutely correct. We've got a sickness, illness and disease society. We spend 90 percent of $2 trillion, ladies and gentlemen -- that's 16 percent of the gross national product -- on getting people well after they get sick. Less than 10 percent of the money keeping you out of the hospital, out of the nursing home. Does anybody in America think that's a smart idea? I think it's dumb. Let's go to wellness and prevention. Number two, let's start managing diseases in America. Let's make sure that individuals that are chronically ill and physically disabled are able to get the quality of health and therefore get the quality of life. They take up 66 percent of the cost. You could reduce that down to 50 percent. YEPSEN: Congressman Tancredo... THOMPSON: Number three -- I just would like to say -- on the uninsured, you could get one form, like we do on the 1040 for taxes, one form for the employment system, and you could save $137 billion. That would cover all of the uninsured in America without raising taxes, ladies and gentlemen. YEPSEN: Congressman Tancredo, how do you cover this (ph)? (APPLAUSE) TANCREDO: Let me suggest -- let me suggest we think about something in the area of health care that perhaps is unique, different and scary to some people, but that is this: The government -- it's not the responsibility of the federal government to provide womb-to- tomb health care for America. (APPLAUSE) And so, we constantly debate on exactly what way we want to push government control of this issue, but in every way we're doing it, it's unhealthy. It is unhealthy to have a government health-care plan in America. There are some things we can do, absolutely. The expansion of health savings accounts that increases individual responsibly. The allowing for people to actually take -- the reimportation of prescription drugs. And not only that, but let's do something about the 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens in this country that are taking a large part of our health-care dollars. (APPLAUSE) STEPHANOPOULOS: Gentlemen, I want to give this back to David Yepsen in a second, but I just want to clear something up first. Congressman Tancredo, I know you voted against the expansion of the children's health insurance this week. TANCREDO: You bet I did. STEPHANOPOULOS: This is just yes or no, Governor Thompson: Are you for the expansion or with President Bush on the veto? THOMPSON: I am for expanding SCHIP, but not the way Congress has done it. STEPHANOPOULOS: OK, so that's a no. And the same thing for you, Governor Huckabee. HUCKABEE: The problem with it, it actually would bring cuts to the Medicare alternative, which is the worst thing we could do, because it then takes money away from seniors. STEPHANOPOULOS: Now, I also... HUCKABEE: So, again, it's just not a good solution... (CROSSTALK) STEPHANOPOULOS: Now, again, I also know that, Congressman Paul and Congressman Hunter and Senator Brownback and Senator McCain, you all voted against expansion, as well. So the only two gentlemen left here are Governor Romney and Mayor Giuliani. Are either one of you for the expansion of children's health insurance, as outlined by Senator Grassley? ROMNEY: Look, it's critical to insure more people in this country. It doesn't make sense to have 45 million people without insurance. It's not good for them because they don't get good preventative care and disease management, just as these folks have spoken about. But it's not good for the rest of the citizens either, because if people aren't insured, they go to the emergency room for their care when they get very sick. That's expensive. They don't have any insurance to cover it. ROMNEY: So guess who pays? Everybody else. So it's not good for the people that aren't insured. It's not good for everybody else. STEPHANOPOULOS: So you're against... ROMNEY: We have to -- no, no, let me finish. Green light's on. STEPHANOPOULOS: OK. (LAUGHTER) ROMNEY: We have to get -- no, they just turned it off. Leave it on. (LAUGHTER) STEPHANOPOULOS: I control it. ROMNEY: We have to have our citizens insured, and we're not going to do that by tax exemptions, because the people that don't have insurance aren't paying taxes. What you have to do is what we did in Massachusetts. Is it perfect? No. But we say, let's rely on personal responsibility, help people buy their own private insurance, get our citizens insured, not with a government takeover, not with new taxes needed, but instead with a free-market based system that gets all of our citizens in the system. No more free rides. It works. STEPHANOPOULOS: But a no on the Grassley bill. Mayor Giuliani, go ahead. GIULIANI: The bill had two very unfortunate parts to it. One, it would reduce Medicaid Advantage, which is a very, very successful program that actually does bring about some form of a free- market solution. And second, it would have the really odd effect of moving children who presently have private insurance to becoming wards of the state, basically having them move in the direction of -- and I know the Democrats get all upset when you say this, but they're taking us toward socialized medicine. If we want the kind of results they have in England or France or Canada or Cuba, like Michael Moore wants us to do, then we should go in that direction. But that would be a terrible thing to do. What we should do is increase the number of people who have private insurance. In order to do that, we should give them a major tax deduction, $15,000, let them have a health savings account as part of that. They'll have an incentive to own their own health insurance. That's the thing that's wrong with the market here. It is not really good to move this thing in terms of more government control of health care. (APPLAUSE) STEPHANOPOULOS: But just for the record, everyone is against the expansion as Grassley outlined. Go ahead. YEPSEN: Congressman Hunter? HUNTER: Yeah. Let's get back to freedom. One thing you can't do right now, if you're an American who has a health insurance plan is you can't buy health insurance across state lines. Now, we've seen studies that have shown that the same coverage that costs 750 bucks a month in Massachusetts, you can buy in Missouri for 170 bucks a month. HUNTER: But you can't buy your health insurance across state lines like Americans buy lots of stuff across state lines. George, you know, I had a senior citizen come into my office one day. She had a $10 wrist brace on. And she said, "I was told not to complain about this, because government is paying for it." She gave me the bill. It was $525. That -- you're going to see a lot of $525 wrist braces if we pass -- if we continue to pass this SCHIP which really is the first extension of socialized medicine. This is socialized medicine. It's going to go to families that make $60,000 a year. Those aren't poor children. (APPLAUSE) YEPSEN: Senator Brownback, the bill would raise tobacco tax, as you know. How do we pay for health care in this country without raising some additional revenues? BROWNBACK: Well, that's why I voted against the bill. But it wasn't just that. The piece of it that I think you have to recognize is that you've got a fundamental decision to make here on health care, which is 16 percent of the economy, going north fast, probably headed to 20 percent of our total economy. Do you think the solution to providing more and better health care is, one, that we should have more government solutions involved, or should there be more market-based solutions involved? And I think clearly the answer here is you need more market forces in health care. That's what we need to do. (APPLAUSE) Instead, you've got the Democrats doing a step-by-step march toward a socialized one government-pay system. And they're very happy to do it that way. But we can get better health care going this way. And we can hold the price of it down and not bust the federal treasury at the same time. We can get (inaudible). STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, we didn't get a debate among all of you, but maybe we'll get one with Senator Grassley later, after the debate. (UNKNOWN): Maybe he won't endorse anybody after this. STEPHANOPOULOS: After this, that's right. I want to move on to something... THOMPSON: But, George... STEPHANOPOULOS: Excuse me, Governor Thompson, I want to move on now to something that Governor Romney brought up just a little while ago, and that was the comments earlier this week of Senator Obama, where he talked about going into Pakistan even if President Musharraf didn't agree. Here's what he said. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. BARACK OBAMA, D-ILL.: It was a terrible mistake to fail to act when we had a chance to take out an Al Qaida leadership meeting in 2005. If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets, and President Musharraf will not act, we will. (END VIDEO CLIP) STEPHANOPOULOS: Governor Romney, you said you didn't agree with Obama's plan and you called it "ill-timed and ill-considered." Mayor Giuliani, on "Charlie Rose" the other night, you said, "I would take that option." Why don't you guys take two minutes and debate this issue out? GIULIANI: Well, I believe that is an option that should remain open. I believe the senator didn't express it the right way. I think the senator, if he could just say it over again, might want to say that we would encourage Musharraf to allow us to do it if we thought he couldn't accomplish it. But the reality is, America cannot take... STEPHANOPOULOS: But if he said no, you'd go in. GIULIANI: I didn't say I would go in. I said I wouldn't take the option off the table. STEPHANOPOULOS: No, well, you actually said, "I would take that option." GIULIANI: I said I would keep that option open. In any event... STEPHANOPOULOS: No, you said, "If we have a chance to catch bin Laden and we've got to do it ourselves because we're not sure if somebody is going to do it correctly, yeah, I think I would take that option." GIULIANI: Well, I would take that action if I thought there was no other way to crush Al Qaida, no other way to crush the Taliban, and no other way to be able to capture bin Laden. I think Pakistan has, unfortunately, not been making the efforts that they should be making. I think we should encourage them to do it, we should put the pressure on them to do it, and we should seek their permission of we ever had to take action there as we were able to get their permission -- Undersecretary or Deputy Secretary Armitage was very effective in getting Musharraf's permission for us to act in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2001 and 2002. STEPHANOPOULOS: Governor Romney? ROMNEY: Yes, I think Barack Obama is confused as to who are our friends and who are our enemies. 09:36:55 END OF TAPE

Senate Armed Services committee hearing with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen and General Carter Ham on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" 10:00:00 SECRETARY ROBERT GATES: WELL, AS I SAY, I AM VERY WORRIED ABOUT THE COURTS AND, 10:00:07 FRANKLY, I DO THINK IT NEEDS TO BE DELIBERATE. 10:00:14 THE REALITY IS I HAD EXPRESSED THE HOPE IN FEBRUARY THAT THERE 10:00:21 WOULD BE NO LEGISLATION UNTIL AFTER THE REVIEW WAS DONE, SO 10:00:26 THAT THE REVIEW AND WHAT WE LEARNED COULD INFORM THE 10:00:31 LEGISLATIVE PROCESS. NOW, I THINK THE REPORT IS 10:00:35 PRETTY STARK, IT'S PRETTY CLEAR, AND ITS CONCLUSIONS, AGREE OR 10:00:43 NOT WITH THEM, IT'S -- I THINK IT'S PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD AND, 10:00:48 THEREFORE, I THINK THAT ABSORBING THE LESSONS LEARNED 10:00:57 AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE ANALYSIS OF THE REPORT IS DOABLE 10:01:02 WITHIN THE TIME FRAME THAT YOU HAVE BEFORE THE CONGRESS 10:01:08 ADJOURNS. SO I BELIEVE THAT, AT LEAST 10:01:12 BASED ON THE INFORMATION IN THE REPORT, THAT THE CONGRESS IS IN 10:01:17 A POSITION TO ACT BECAUSE IT NOW HAS THIS INFORMATION IN HAND 10:01:21 AND, FRANKLY, I DON'T THINK IT'S ALL THAT COMPLICATED TO ABSORB. 10:01:25 I THINK THE KEY ISSUES, FRANKLY, HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED QUITE 10:01:31 CLEARLY IN YOUR OPENING STATEMENT AND SENATOR McCAIN'S 10:01:34 OPENING STATEMENT AND IN THE OPENING STATEMENT THAT THE FOUR 10:01:37 STATEMENTS THAT THE FOUR OF US HAVE MADE. 10:01:39 THOSE ARE THE CRITICAL ISSUES. SENATOR McCAIN, THANK YOU. 10:01:47 GENERAL HAM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK ON THE ISSUE. 10:01:52 IS IT YOUR PERSONAL OPINION THAT THIS LAW SHOULD BE REPEALED? 10:01:59 SENATOR McCAIN, I'VE GIVEN THIS A LOT OF THOUGHT. 10:02:03 WE CERTAINLY CAN. IT IS MY PERSONAL VIEW THAT I'M 10:02:07 VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE TIMING OF THE COURTS AND SO IT IS MY -- 10:02:13 PERSONALLY I THINK IT IS TIME TO MOVE FROM DEBATE INTO DISCUSSION 10:02:15 TO DECISION AND IMPLEMENTATION. YES, SIR, I THINK IT IS TIME TO 10:02:18 CHANGE. SECRETARY GATES, THE SURVEY 10:02:26 SAYS NEARLY 60% OF RESPONDENTS IN THE MARINE CORPS AND ARMY 10:02:30 COMBAT ARMS SAY THEY BELIEVE THERE WOULD BE A NEGATIVE IMPACT 10:02:34 ON THEIR UNIT'S EFFECTIVENESS IN THIS CONTEXT AMONG MARINE COMBAT 10:02:39 ARMS THE NUMBER WAS 67%. NEARLY 60% OF THE ARMY COMBAT 10:02:44 ARMED SOLDIERS AND 66.5, TWO-THIRDS OF THE MARINE CORPS 10:02:50 COMBAT ARM TROOPS, VOICED THESE CONCERNS ABOUT REPEAL AND YOU 10:02:54 HAVE SAID THAT YOU CONCLUDED THAT THOSE CONCERNS OF NUMBERS 10:03:00 OF SERVICE MEMBERS ABOUT DETERIORATION IN THE MILITARY 10:03:04 UNIT AND COHESION ARE, QUOTE, EXAGGERATED. 10:03:06 HOW ARE THEY IT EXAGGERATED? WELL, I DON'T REMEMBER USING 10:03:13 THE WORD EXAGGERATED BECAUSE I TAKE THOSE CONCERNS VERY 10:03:16 SERIOUSLY AND, FRANKLY, SHARE THE VIEW OF THE CHIEFS THAT THE 10:03:25 REPORT'S EVALUATION OF RISK AND PARTICULARLY IN THE COMBAT ARMS 10:03:29 IS PERHAPS TOO SAN QUINN. WHAT I BELIEVE IS THAT WITH THE 10:03:37 AMOUNT WITH PROPER TIME FOR PREPARATION, FOR TRAINING, 10:03:41 WHETHER IT'S BEFORE DEPLOYMENTS OR AFTER DEPLOYMENTS, HOWEVER IT 10:03:45 WORKS OUT, IF WE ARE ALLOWED TO DO THIS ON OUR TERMS, I BELIEVE 10:03:50 THAT THOSE CONCERNS CAN BE MITIGATED AND I THINK TO REPEAT 10:03:53 ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ADMIRAL MULLEN SAID IN HIS OPENING 10:03:57 STATEMENT, THE EXPERIENCE OF THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED WITH 10:04:00 SOMEONE THEY BELIEVE TO BE GAY OR LESBIAN WAS VERY DIFFERENT, 10:04:04 EVEN IN COMBAT ARMS, THAN THOSE WHO HAD NEVER DONE SO. 10:04:08 I WOULD POINT OUT THAT FOR AN EXAMPLE WITH THE MARINE CORPS, 10:04:13 YOU ALSO HAVE AND MOST OF THE -- MOST OF THE MARINES ARE IN 10:04:17 COMBAT ARE 18 TO 24, 25 YEARS OLD. 10:04:21 MOST OF THEM HAVE NEVER SERVED WITH WOMEN EITHER. 10:04:25 AND SO THEY'VE HAD A VERY FOCUSED, VERY LIMITED EXPERIENCE 10:04:29 IN THE MILITARY AND IT'S BEEN A TOUGH ONE. 10:04:32 BUT I THINK THAT WITH TIME AND ADEQUATE PREPARATION, WE CAN 10:04:36 MITIGATE THEIR CONCERNS. WELL, I COULDN'T DISAGREE 10:04:41 MORE. WE SEND THESE YOUNG PEOPLE INTO 10:04:43 COMBAT, WE THINK THEY'RE MATURE ENOUGH TO FIGHT AND DIE, I THINK 10:04:46 THEY'RE MATURE ENOUGH TO MAKE A JUDGMENT ON WHO THEY WANT TO 10:04:49 SERVE WITH AND THE IMPACT ON THEIR BATTLE EFFECTIVENESS. 10:04:54 MR. SECRETARY, I SPEAK FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. 10:04:59 WITHIN THE COMBAT UNITS, THE ARMY AND MARINE CORPS, THE 10:05:03 NUMBERS ARE ALARMING. 12.6% OF THE OVERALL MILITARY 10:05:06 FORCE RESPONDED TO THE SURVEY SAY THEY'LL LEAVE THE MILITARY 10:05:11 SOONER THAN THEY HAD PLANNED. 21% OF ARMY COMBAT TROOPS 10:05:17 INDICATE THEY WILL LEAVE THE FORCE EARLIER. 10:05:19 THE MARINE CORPS THAT NUMBER JUMPS TO 32%, NEARLY A THIRD OF 10:05:27 ALL MARINE CORPS COMBAT ARMS FORCE WHICH IS PROBABLY WHY THE 10:05:29 SERVICE CHIEFS, THE COMDANT AND MARINE CORPS, QUOTE, IN YOUR 10:05:35 WORDS LESS SANGWIN THAN YOU ARE ABOUT THIS ISSUE. 10:05:39 IF THEY LEFT -- THIS 12.6% OF THE MILITARY LEFT EARLIER, THAT 10:05:42 TRANSLATES INTO 264,600 MEMBER AND WOMEN WHO WOULD LEAVE THE 10:05:47 MILITARY EARLIER THAN THEY HAD PLANNED. 10:05:51 DO YOU THINK THAT'S A GOOD IDEA TO REPLACE 265,000 TROOPS ACROSS 10:05:56 THE FORCE IN TIME OF WAR THAT WE SHOULD BE UNDERTAKING THAT 10:06:00 CHALLENGE AT THIS TIME? FIRST OF ALL, THE EXPERIENCE 10:06:06 OF THE BRITISH, THE CANADIANS AND SOME OF THE OTHERS, HAS BEEN 10:06:12 THAT IN THEIR SURVEYS PRIOR TO ENACTING A CHANGE IN THEIR LAWS 10:06:19 AND RULES, THERE WERE SUBSTANTIAL NUMBERS WHO SAID 10:06:23 THAT THEY WOULD LEAVE AND IN THE EVENT THOSE NUMBERS WERE FAR 10:06:30 SMALLER THAN THE SURVEYS HAD INDICATED. 10:06:34 I THINK IF WE -- I THINK ONCE AGAIN, I GO BACK TO THE POINT 10:06:39 THAT PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD EXPERIENCE HAVE A DIFFERENT -- 10:06:43 SERVING WITH GAYS OR LESBIANS HAVE HAD A DIFFERENT VIEW OF 10:06:47 THESE THINGS AND I THINK THAT WILL BE TRUE OF A LOT OF OUR 10:06:51 FORCE. AGAIN, I THINK THAT THE TRAINING 10:06:53 AND SO ON WILL HELP MITIGATE THESE CONSEQUENCES AND FRANKLY I 10:06:59 THINK THAT WHILE THERE ARE SOME CONCERNS THAT YOU WILL PROBABLY 10:07:04 HEAR TOMORROW ABOUT SOME OF OUR SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES WHERE 10:07:07 THERE ARE LIMITED NUMBERS OF PEOPLE AND WHERE ANY LOSS IS 10:07:14 POTENTIALLY OF CONCERN FOR THE FORCE AS A WHOLE, I DON'T THINK 10:07:19 ANY OF US EXPECT THAT THE NUMBERS WOULD BE ANYTHING LIKE 10:07:25 WHAT THE SURVEY SUGGESTS JUST BASED ON EXPERIENCE. 10:07:28 ALSO YOU HAVE THE REALITY, THEY CAN'T JUST UP AND LEAVE. 10:07:34 THEY HAVE ENLISTMENT CONTRACTS, THE OFFICERS HAVE CONTRACTS IN 10:07:37 TERMS OF THE AMOUNT OF TIME THEY HAVE TO SERVE, AND SO IT ISN'T 10:07:41 LIKE THEY CAN JUST SAY, WELL, I'M OUT OF HERE. 10:07:45 THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE TO COMPLETE THEIR OBLIGATION AND I 10:07:49 BELIEVE THAT DURING THAT PERIOD, THEIR CONCERNS CAN BE MITIGATED. 10:07:51 I THINK ONE OF THE ENCOURAGING ASPECTS OF THIS HAS BEEN THE 10:07:56 RELATIVE, THE FAIRLY POSITIVE RESPONSES OF SPOUSES BECAUSE, AS 10:08:02 THE SAYING GOES, YOU ENLIST THE SOLDIER, YOU RE-ENLIST THE 10:08:05 FAMILY, AND SO THE POSITIVE RESPONSES OF THE SPOUSES I THINK 10:08:09 HAS BEEN IMPORTANT. MR. SECRETARY, FINALLY, WE 10:08:15 ARE VERY DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT WIKILEAKS, THE IMPACT THAT IT 10:08:18 HAS HAD ON IDENTIFYING PEOPLE WHO WERE COOPERATING WITH US IN 10:08:23 AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ AND SOME LEADERS HAVE SAID THEY HAVE 10:08:28 BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS. SO FAR ALL WE KNOW IS THAT ONE 10:08:33 PRIVATE FIRST CLASS WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS. 10:08:36 HAVE YOU HELD -- AND YOU BEGAN AN INVESTIGATION SINCE JULY. 10:08:39 HAVE YOU HELD ANY INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WIKILEAKS 10:08:43 AND PUNISHED ANYONE, PUT ANYONE ON LEAVE, HAD ANY -- TAKEN ANY 10:08:49 DISCIPLINARY ACTION WHATSOEVER FOR THIS INCREDIBLE BREACH OF 10:08:51 NATIONAL SECURITY? WELL, I WOULD ANSWER IN TWO 10:08:56 WAYS, SENATOR. FIRST, TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, OUR 10:09:03 ABILITY TO GO DOWN THAT PATH IS LIMITED BY THE FACT THAT WE HAVE 10:09:07 CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS UNDER WAY, THAT LIMIT OUR ABILITY TO 10:09:11 CONDUCT AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION WHILE THAT 10:09:14 CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION IS GOING ON. 10:09:16 BY THE SAME TOKEN, BEGINNING IN AUGUST, WE DIRECTED A NUMBER OF 10:09:23 STEPS TO TAKE EVERY POSSIBLE -- TIME IS EXPIRED. 10:09:26 I ASKED IF YOU HELD ANYONE RESPONSIBLE, WAS MY QUESTION? 10:09:28 NOT YET. THANK YOU. 10:09:29 THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SENATOR McCAIN. 10:09:33 SENATOR ELEMENT. 10:10:05 THE QUESTION OF WHETHER THE LAW SHOULD BE REPEALED IS FOR 10:10:07 CONGRESS AND I WANT TO VERY BRIEFLY SAY THAT TO ME, IN 10:10:11 REACHING A JUDGMENT IN THAT QUESTION, WHERE ON THE FRONT 10:10:17 LINES OF A TURNING POINT IN AMERICAN HISTORY, AND WE HAVE 10:10:19 THESE IN EVERY GENERATION, THIS COUNTRY FROM THE BEGINNING WAS 10:10:24 DEFINED NOT BY ITS BORDERS, BUT BY OUR VALUES, THE DECLARATION 10:10:29 OF INDEPENDENCE SAYS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL ENDOWED BY GOD WITH 10:10:35 THOSE EQUAL RIGHTS TO LIFE, LIBERTY AND PURSUIT OF 10:10:37 HAPPINESS. AND EVERY GENERATION HAS 10:10:39 REALIZED THOSE RIGHTS BETTER. OF COURSE, THEY WEREN'T REALIZED 10:10:42 AT THE BEGINNING IN 1776 FOR WOMEN, FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR, ET 10:10:47 CETERA, ET CETERA. IN OUR TIME ONE OF THE GREAT 10:10:50 TRANSITIONS OCCURRING IS THE GROWING READINESS AND 10:10:56 UNDERSTANDING AMONG THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THAT YOU SIMPLY -- IT'S 10:11:00 JUST WRONG AND UN-AMERICAN TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST PEOPLE 10:11:03 BASED ON THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION. 10:11:09 ONE OF THE GREAT EXAMPLES, I THINK A HEROIC EXAMPLE OF THIS 10:11:12 CHANGE OF PUBLIC OPINION, IS THE GREAT MAN WHOSE CHAIR I AM 10:11:17 OCCUPYING TODAY, WHO SERVED ON THIS COMMITTEE UNTIL HIS DEATH, 10:11:23 SENATOR ROBERT C. BYRD, WHO STRONGLY SUPPORTED "DON'T ASK, 10:11:26 DON'T TELL" IN 1993 AND THEN IN OUR DELIBERATIONS THIS YEAR, 10:11:32 PLAYED A CRITICAL ROLE OFFERED LEGISLATION TO GUARANTEE REAL 10:11:38 DUE PROCESS AND A DELIBERATIVE PROCESS IN REMOVING THIS LAW, 10:11:42 AND BASICALLY SAID IN VOTING FOR THE CHANGE, THAT IT WAS WRONG. 10:11:46 IT WAS NOT CONSISTENT WITH OUR VALUES AND IT WASN'T GOOD FOR 10:11:50 THE MILITARY. THE MILITARY, U.S. MILITARY, HAS 10:11:54 A PROUD TRADITION OF LEADING IN REFLECTING THE BEST VALUES OF 10:12:00 AMERICA. IN THIS CASE, I THINK THE U.S. 10:12:03 MILITARY IS BEHIND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND BEHIND THE PRIVATE 10:12:07 SECTOR, AND IT IS BECAUSE THE LAW CONSTRAINS YOU FROM 10:12:13 REFLECTING OUR BEST VALUES. THE 1993 LAW SAYS THE COMMANDER 10:12:18 IN CHIEF, THE MILITARY, DON'T HAVE THE LATITUDE TO END THIS 10:12:23 DISCRIMINATORY POLICY, AND THAT'S WHY I THINK IT'S SO 10:12:26 CRITICALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE DO THIS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, AND 10:12:31 IF WE DO IT IN THIS LAME-DUCK SESSION, THE DELIBERATIVE 10:12:35 PROCESS THAT THE AMENDMENT AND OUR LAW PROVIDES IS REALLY FULL 10:12:39 OF DUE PROCESS. IN FACT, THERE IS NO TIME LIMIT 10:12:43 ON THE CERTIFICATION REQUIRED FROM THE PRESIDENT, SECRETARY OF 10:12:46 DEFENSE AND CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF. 10:12:50 THAT'S UP TO THOSE THREE HONORED INDIVIDUALS. 10:12:54 SO I THINK THAT ADMIRAL MULLEN SAID IT WELL AND TO ME IT'S 10:12:59 SUCCESS IN THE MILITARY IS BASED NOT ON WHO YOU ARE, BUT WHAT YOU 10:13:03 DO. THAT'S TRUE OF AMERICAN LIFE 10:13:05 GENERALLY AND THIS IS OUR OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE THAT. 10:13:08 I WANT TO ASK JUST A COUPLE QUESTIONS. 10:13:10 THE FIRST IS THIS, WHY DO I SAY THIS POLICY HAS BEEN BAD FOR THE 10:13:15 MILITARY? BECAUSE THE RECORD SHOWS THAT 10:13:17 ALMOST 14,000 SERVICE MEMBERS HAVE BEEN TOSSED OUT OF THE 10:13:22 MILITARY OVER THE LAST 17 YEARS, NOT BECAUSE THEY WERE BAD 10:13:26 SOLDIERS, NOT BECAUSE THEY VIOLATED THE CODE OF CONDUCT, 10:13:30 BUT BECAUSE THEY WERE GAY, WHO THEY WERE. 10:13:35 ADMIRAL MULLEN, IN THAT SENSE DO YOU THINK WE'VE LOST SOME 10:13:39 CRITICAL MILITARY PERSONNEL AND, IN FACT, SOME WHO ARE GAY AND 10:13:43 LESBIAN MAY HAVE NOT ENLISTED IN THE MILITARY BECAUSE OF FEAR OF 10:13:46 WHAT THAT WOULD MEAN TO THEM PERSONALLY? 10:13:48 I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY QUESTION ABOUT THAT, AND TO THE 10:13:51 WHOLE ISSUE OF BOTH RECRUITING AND RETENTION AND THE REPORT 10:13:55 ITSELF LOOKS VERY SPECIFICALLY AT THE RISK LEVEL WITH RESPECT 10:13:59 TO THAT, AND BE IT ALSO FLAGS AREAS THAT SHOULD THIS CHANGE, 10:14:04 WE NEED TO FOCUS ON AS LEADERS, AND ONE OF THE THINGS I STRUGGLE 10:14:07 WITH IS THAT WE HAVE LOST UPWARDS OF 13,000 TO 14,000 10:14:13 INDIVIDUALS CLEARLY BY IMPLICATION ALONE THERE ARE 10:14:15 THOSE THAT WOULD CHOOSE NOT TO COME IN TO HAVE TO GO THROUGH 10:14:18 THAT, AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, AND THEN THIS IS VERY 10:14:21 FUNDAMENTAL TO ME, WHICH HAS BEEN THIS WHOLE ISSUE OF 10:14:24 INTEGRITY. WE'RE AN INSTITUTION THAT VALUES 10:14:28 INTEGRITY AND THEN ASKS OTHER PEOPLE TO JOIN US, WORK WITH US, 10:14:31 FIGHT WITH US, DIE WITH US, AND LIE ABOUT WHO THEY ARE THE WHOLE 10:14:34 TIME THEY'RE IN THE MILITARY. THAT'S WHAT JUST DOESN'T MAKE 10:14:37 ANY SENSE TO ME. WHILE THEY'RE HERE AND ABLE TO 10:14:39 DO THAT, EVEN IN THE POLICY THAT WE HAVE, THEY ARE ACTUALLY 10:14:44 INDIVIDUALS WHO GO THROUGH EXTRAORDINARY PAIN TO SUSTAIN 10:14:50 THAT LIE. LET ME READ YOU ONE OF THE 10:14:52 MORE -- TO ME ONE OF THE MORE INTERESTING AND IMPORTANT 10:14:55 STATISTICS IN THE SURVEY. ONLY 15% OF GAY AND LESBIAN 10:15:01 SERVICE MEMBERS CURRENTLY WHO RESPONDED TO THE RAND SURVEY 10:15:05 SAID THEY WOULD WANT THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION TO BE KNOWN 10:15:08 IN THEIR UNIT. ONLY 15%. 10:15:12 HERE'S A QUOTE FROM ONE OF THOSE. 10:15:15 TO THE INTERVIEWER. I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK 10:15:17 THERE'S GOING TO BE THIS BIG OUTING AND PEOPLE FLAUNTING 10:15:21 THEIR GAYNESS, BUT THEY FORGET THAT WE'RE IN THE MILITARY. 10:15:26 THAT STUFF ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE DONE DURING DUTY HOURS, 10:15:30 REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU'RE GAY OR STRAIGHT, END OF QUOTE, FROM 10:15:34 A SERVICE MEMBERS. JUST TO MAKE CLEAR, ADMIRAL, IF 10:15:38 "DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL" IS REPEALED, THE MILITARY CODE OF 10:15:42 CONDUCT WILL APPLY TO GAY MEMBERS OF THE MILITARY AS WELL 10:15:45 AS STRAIGHT MEMBERS, AND JUST AS A STRAIGHT MEMBER WHO -- A MAN 10:15:51 WHO MAY SEXUALLY HARASS A WOMAN IS SUBJECT TO DISCIPLINE, SO, 10:15:56 TOO, WOULD A GAY MEMBER OF THE MILITARY WHO SUBJECTS ANOTHER 10:15:59 PERSON OF THE SAME GENDER BE SUBJECT TO DISCIPLINARY ACTION. 10:16:03 STANDARDS OF CONDUCT WILL NOT CHANGE ONE BIT. 10:16:07 LEADERSHIP REQUIREMENTS TO ENFORCE THOSE WON'T CHANGE AT 10:16:11 ALL. SO I FULLY AGREE WITH YOU. 10:16:14 JUST FINALLY IN YOUR COMMENT ABOUT THE INTEGRITY OF THE 10:16:17 MILITARY, WE'RE GOING THROUGH A TOUGH TIME IN AMERICAN LIFE NOW, 10:16:20 AND IT'S A TIME IN WHICH THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE LOST 10:16:23 CONFIDENCE IN SOME OF THE GREAT INSTITUTIONS OF OUR SOCIETY, THE 10:16:27 GOVERNMENT, RIGHT HERE, WHAT WE'RE A PART OF, THE BUSINESS 10:16:32 COMMUNITY, PROBABLY THE ONE INSTITUTION, CENTRAL INSTITUTION 10:16:34 N OUR COUNTRY THAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE STILL HAVE TRUST IN IS 10:16:37 THE AMERICAN MILITARY BECAUSE IT'S COMMITTED TO A CAUSE LARGER 10:16:41 THAN INDIVIDUALS, BECAUSE THEY'RE COMMITTED TO ONE 10:16:46 ANOTHER, AND THEIR MISSION FOCUSED. 10:16:48 IT'S NOT WHO YOU ARE, BUT WHAT YOU DO. 10:16:51 AND I THINK "DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL" IS A STAIN ON THE HONOR OF 10:16:53 THE U.S. MILITARY THAT WE HAVE THE CAPACITY TO REMOVE IN THIS 10:16:57 SESSION OF CONGRESS AND I HOPE THAT WE WILL. 10:16:59 THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. THANK YOU, SENATOR LIEBERMAN. 10:17:04 SENATOR ENHOFF. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 10:17:06 LET ME STAY THIS. BACK IN 1993 AND 1994, UNDER THE 10:17:11 CLINTON ADMINISTRATION, WHEN "DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL" WAS 10:17:14 INSTALLED, I WAS CRITICAL OF THAT. 10:17:15 I DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD WORK. AND NOW THAT TIME HAS GONE BY 10:17:18 AND WE'VE GONE WHAT, 16 OR 17 YEARS, IT'S SOMETHING THAT 10:17:22 HAS -- THERE'S NO SAYING NOW THAT I'VE USED IN THE PAST, IF 10:17:27 IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT. IT HAS WORKED. 10:17:29 I REALLY BELIEVE IT HAS WORKED. LET ME JUST GET INTO IT, JUST 10:17:32 ASK THE SAME QUESTION THAT SENATOR McCAIN ASKED, AND 10:17:36 PERHAPS A LITTLE DIFFERENT WAY. RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE THE BEST -- 10:17:41 PROBABLY THE BEST RETENTION AND RECRUITMENT PERCENTAGES OVER 10:17:48 100% EVERYWHERE EXCEPT I THINK THE ARMY GUARD AND THERE'S SOME 10:17:50 OTHER REASONS FOR THAT. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HAS 10:17:53 CONCERNED ME AS TO HOW THIS WOULD AFFECT THAT. 10:17:55 WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE REPORT UNDER QUESTION 71 B, AND YOU 10:18:01 TAKE THE POSITIVE AND THE VERY POSITIVE AND THE NEGATIVE AND 10:18:03 VERY NEGATIVES AND THE QUESTION IS, WOULD IT AFFECT YOUR 10:18:07 IMMEDIATE UNIT EFFECTIVENESS AT COMPLETING ITS MISSION, IT'S TWO 10:18:12 AND A HALF TO ONE. TWO AND A HALF THAT THEY'RE 10:18:14 SAYING THIS WOULD HAVE A NEGATIVE EFFECT. 10:18:17 AND THEN WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE OTHER FIGURES, YOU HAVE TO SAY, 10:18:23 YOU HAVE TO ASK THE QUESTION, HOW IS THIS GOING TO NEGATIVELY 10:18:28 IMPACT THE RECRUITMENT OR RETENTION? 10:18:30 AND I THINK THAT THERE'S ANOTHER FIGURE TO BE USED. 10:18:34 THE 27.3% WOULD LEAVE OR THINK ABOUT LEAVING, ADMIRAL MULLEN, 10:18:39 THE SERVICE. THIS IS FROM THE REPORT. 10:18:41 AND ALSO, 27% OF THE MILITARY MEMBERS SURVEYED SAID THAT 10:18:46 REPEAL WOULD NOT BE -- THE REPEAL WOULD NOT BE WILLING TO 10:18:51 RECOMMEND MILITARY SERVICE TO SOMEONE ELSE. 10:18:53 I KNOW THERE HAVE BEEN STUDIES MADE. 10:18:56 AS I RECALL IT'S ABOUT 50% OF THE PEOPLE WHO GO INTO THE 10:18:59 MILITARY DO SO AT THE RECOMMENDATION OF SOMEONE THAT'S 10:19:01 ALREADY IN. LET'S ASSUME THAT'S RIGHT. 10:19:04 ARE YOU CONCERNED AT ALL ABOUT WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO OUR 10:19:07 RETENTION AND RECRUITMENT, ADMIRAL MULLEN? 10:19:09 SENATOR, THE REPORT PROPERLY FLAGGED THESE ISSUES AND I THINK 10:19:12 THAT'S IMPORTANT. SO IT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING, IF 10:19:15 IMPLEMENTED, WE HAVE TO FOCUS ON. 10:19:18 I HAVE NOT A SOLDIER, SAILOR, MARINE, COAST GUARDSMAN IN MY 10:19:22 WHOLE LIFE, MAN OR WOMAN, WHO DIDN'T THINK AT ONE POINT OR 10:19:24 ANOTHER ABOUT WHETHER THEY WERE GOING TO STAY OR GO. 10:19:28 AND THEN FROM MY POINT OF VIEW, THAT FOCUSES ON EXPOSURE AND 10:19:34 UNDERSTANDING AND SURVEY OR THE REPORT WHICH INDICATES HOW MANY 10:19:38 ONCE EXPOSED, IT DID NOT AFFECT AT THE 90% LEVEL, INCLUDING THE 10:19:44 COMBAT ARMS, THE MARINES, AS WELL, THAT IT DID NOT AFFECT 10:19:50 UNIT READINESS. NOW THAT'S A REALITY OF EXPOSURE 10:19:54 AND THERE ARE CLEARLY THOSE, AS SECRETARY OF DEFENSE SAID, WHO 10:19:57 HAVE NOT BEEN EXPOSED. I UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION, 10:20:00 BUT IT'S TAKING UP ALL MY TIME, YOUR ANSWER. 10:20:03 LET ME ASK YOU THIS ONE FURTHER QUESTION. 10:20:06 DO YOU BELIEVE THAT -- WHY DO YOU THINK ONLY TWO-THIRDS OF THE 10:20:09 PEOPLE RESPONDED TO THIS SURVEY? ACTUALLY, BY EVERY INDICATION 10:20:13 AND YOU WOULD HAVE TO GET SOMEBODY THAT DOES THIS FOR A 10:20:15 LIVING, IT WAS AN EXTRAORDINARILY POSITIVE 10:20:18 RESPONSE WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT 28% OF THE 400,000 SURVEYS THAT WERE 10:20:23 SENT OUT TO THE MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM AND THE 150,000 TO OUR 10:20:30 FAMILIES. MORE THAN STATISTICALLY 10:20:31 SIGNIFICANT IN ALL THE KEY CATEGORIES. 10:20:33 I CERTAINLY DISAGREE WITH THAT AND I HAVE TALKED TO PEOPLE 10:20:35 IN THE FIELD WHO HAVE SAID THAT WE DIDN'T RESPOND BECAUSE THE 10:20:38 DECISION WAS ALREADY MADE. I THINK SENATOR McCAIN ALREADY 10:20:41 COVERED THAT. I WON'T REPEAT THAT. 10:20:42 LET ME QUICKLY GET THIS IN BECAUSE I KNOW TOMORROW IS THE 10:20:45 HEARING WHERE WE'LL HAVE THE SERVICE CHIEFS. 10:20:47 BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO GET IT IN THE RECORD HERE. 10:20:50 GENERAL SCHWARTZ OF THE AIR FORCE, I BELIEVE IT IS IMPORTANT 10:20:53 A MATTER OF KEEPING FAITH WITH THOSE CURRENTLY SERVING IN THE 10:20:55 ARMED FORCES THAT THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE COMMISSION REVIEW BE 10:21:00 COMPLETED BEFORE THERE'S ANY LEGISLATION TO REPEAL. 10:21:03 OBVIOUSLY THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN BECAUSE THIS LEGISLATION CAME 10:21:07 THROUGH IN THE FORM OF AMENDMENT BACK IN MARCH 27th. 10:21:11 ADMIRAL ROUGHHEAD, MY CONCERN IS THAT LEGISLATIVE CHANGES AT THIS 10:21:16 POINT LEADING SAILORS TO QUESTION WHETHER THEIR INPUT 10:21:19 MATTERS. THAT'S WHAT I'VE HEARD IN THE 10:21:20 FIELD. DOESN'T MATTER, WHY RESPOND TO 10:21:24 IT. GENERAL CASEY, I REMAIN 10:21:26 CONVINCED THAT IT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TO GET A BETTER 10:21:29 UNDERSTANDING OF WHERE OUR SOLDIERS AND FAMILY ARES ON THE 10:21:31 ISSUE AND I ALSO BELIEVE THAT REPEALING THE LAW BEFORE THE 10:21:34 COMPLETION OF THE REVIEW WILL BE SEEN BY MEN AND WOMEN OF THE 10:21:37 ARMY AS A REVERSAL OF OUR COMMITMENT TO HEAR THEIR VIEWS 10:21:41 MOVING FORWARD. CLEARLY, THEY BELIEVE, LAST 10:21:44 JANUARY, THAT BEFORE ANY DECISION WAS MADE, THAT WE WOULD 10:21:46 HEAR THEIR REVIEWS. THEN HALFWAY THROUGH THIS, THE 10:21:50 LEGISLATION AMENDMENTS CAME. I MIGHT SAY RIGHT DOWN PARTY 10:21:54 LINES, TO GO AHEAD AND DO THAT. AND THIS IS WHAT WE HEAR IN THE 10:21:57 FIELD. GENERAL AMOS OF THE MARINE 10:21:59 CORPS, NOW IS THE WRONG TIME TO OVERTURN "DON'T ASK, DON'T 10:22:03 TELL." AS U.S. TROOPS REMAIN IN THE 10:22:04 THICK OF WAR IN AFGHANISTAN, THERE IS RISK INVOLVED. 10:22:07 I'M TRYING TO DETERMINE HOW TO MEASURE THAT RISK. 10:22:10 THIS IS NOT A SOCIAL THING. THIS IS A COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS 10:22:15 THAT IS WHAT THE COUNTRY PAYS MARINES IT TO DO. 10:22:17 I KNOW THEY'RE COMING UP TOMORROW, WE'LL HAVE A CHANCE TO 10:22:20 ASK THEM. LET ME ASK YOU FOR A BRIEF 10:22:22 ANSWER. DO YOU THINK THAT THEY'RE RIGHT 10:22:23 OR WRONG? I THINK THERE'S AN 10:22:25 OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR THEM BEFORE LEGISLATION PASSES, AS THEY HAVE 10:22:29 ASKED IN THE PAST. SECRETARY GATES? 10:22:34 WELL, I WOULD JUST SAY THERE IS ANOTHER PERSON THAT SAID 10:22:37 SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES IN TERMS OF THE REVIEW AND THAT WAS 10:22:40 ME BEFORE THIS COMMITTEE IN FEBRUARY WHEN I URGED THAT THERE 10:22:44 BE NO LEGISLATION UNTIL THE REVIEW HAD BEEN COMPLETED. 10:22:50 ALL RIGHT. NOW LASTLY, I'VE HEARD SEVERAL 10:22:54 TIMES THAT THAT'S ALL RIGHT, WHATEVER HAPPENS HERE NOW IS -- 10:22:59 NOT ALL THAT SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE THERE IS A FINAL STEP AND THE 10:23:01 FINAL STEP IS THAT THE REPEAL PROVISION CONTAINED WITHIN BOTH 10:23:05 THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE 10:23:09 VERSIONS WOULD WORK AS FOLLOWS -- ONCE THE LAW IS 10:23:12 ENACTED REPEALED AND SO FORTH AND THE PRESIDENT AND THE 10:23:15 CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS AND THE SECRETARY DELIVERED TO 10:23:21 CONGRESS THEIR RECOMMENDATION BASED ON THESE ASSUMPTIONS THAT 10:23:24 COME OUT OF THIS REPORT, AND THAT ISN'T GOING TO HAPPEN UNTIL 10:23:30 THAT TAKES PLACE, AND YET HALFWAY THROUGH THIS PROCESS, 10:23:34 SECRETARY GATES AND CHAIRMAN MULLEN, AND, OF COURSE THE 10:23:38 PRESIDENT HAS MADE IT VERY CLEAR, YOU'VE ALREADY MADE UP 10:23:40 YOUR MIND. HAVE YOU ALREADY MADE UP YOUR 10:23:42 MIND SO THIS STEP IS NOT GOING TO BE NECESSARY? 10:23:44 ABSOLUTELY NOT. THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS, I 10:23:48 THINK, IS A CRITICAL PIECE OF THE LEGISLATION, AND SPEAKING 10:23:53 FOR MYSELF, I WOULD NOT SIGN ANY CERTIFICATION UNTIL I WAS 10:23:57 SATISFIED WITH THE ADVICE OF THE SERVICE CHIEFS THAT WE HAD, IN 10:24:01 FACT, MITIGATED, IF NOT ELIMINATED, TO THE EXTENT 10:24:06 POSSIBLE, RISKS TO COMBAT READINESS, TO UNIT COHESION AND 10:24:11 EFFECTIVENESS. EVEN THOUGH YOU STATED I 10:24:12 FULLY SUPPORT THE PRESIDENT'S DECISION, THE QUESTION BEFORE US 10:24:15 IS NOT WHETHER THE MILITARY PREPARES TO MAKE THE CHANGE BUT 10:24:17 HOW WE PREPARE FOR IT? THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT. 10:24:19 THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 10:24:26 SENATOR ENHOFF. AND NOW SENATOR REID. 10:24:29 THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. CHAIRMAN. 10:24:31 ADMIRAL MULLEN, I THINK A QUESTION AND COMMENTS GOING BACK 10:24:35 AND FORTH, LET ME PUT IT IN A QUESTION THIS WAY. 10:24:41 YOU SEEM TO BE SAYING THAT THERE IS A HIGH CORRELATION BETWEEN 10:24:47 THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED WITH GAY INDIVIDUALS AND WHO BELIEVE THAT 10:24:51 UNIT COHESION WILL NOT BE EFFECTIVE AND THAT THERE'S A -- 10:24:55 TRUE. A VERY LOW CORRELATION, WITH 10:25:00 THOSE WHO NEVER SERVED WITH THEM AND THE QUESTION OF COHESION. 10:25:03 THEY FEEL IT WOULD BE IRREPARABLY HARMED. 10:25:07 WHICH LEADS TO THE CONCLUSION YOU'RE GETTING AT, THAT THIS, 10:25:11 THE RESULTS ARE, IF YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE WITH 10:25:16 INDIVIDUALS WHO YOU KNOW OR SUSPECT TO BE GAY, THAT YOU 10:25:20 DON'T HAVE SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS ABOUT OVERALL COHESION, IS THAT 10:25:27 YOUR CONCLUSION? YES, SIR. 10:25:28 THAT IS THE CONCLUSION OF THE STUDY, TOO, AS YOU LOOK AT THE 10:25:32 CORRELATION NUMBERS? YES, SIR. 10:25:33 THE STUDY LAID THAT OUT. ADDITIONALLY, THE STUDY ALSO 10:25:37 FOUND THAT SHOULD THE LAW CHANGE, THOSE WHO -- THE 10:25:42 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE WHO ARE ACTUALLY DEPLOYED AND IN COMBAT, 10:25:48 THEIR CONCERNS WERE LOWER THAN THOSE WHO WERE IN COMBAT ARMS 10:25:53 BUT NOT DEPLOYED, BECAUSE THEY'RE VERY SPECIFICALLY 10:25:55 FOCUSED ON THE MISSION IN COMBAT AT THE TIME. 10:25:58 I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO EMPHASIZE AGAIN. 10:26:02 LET ME UNDERSTAND YOU FULLY. THOSE UNITS THAT WERE SURVEYED 10:26:07 THAT WERE DEPLOYED IN COMBAT, THEIR RESPONSES WERE LESS 10:26:12 CONCERNED ABOUT UNIT COHESION WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF GAY 10:26:15 PERSONNEL? WHAT THE WORKING -- WHAT THE 10:26:20 REPORT SHOWED SPECIFICALLY WERE THOSE WHO WERE IN COMBAT 10:26:24 SITUATIONS OR HAD BEEN IN COMBAT SITUATIONS ON THIS ISSUE, FOUND 10:26:27 THEMSELVES MUCH MORE FOCUSED ON COMBAT AND EXPRESSED LESS 10:26:34 CONCERN ABOUT THE POLICIES THAN THOSE WHO WERE COMBAT ARMS WHO 10:26:38 WERE NOT DEPLOYED AT THE TIME. IT'S VERY CLEAR THEY WERE 10:26:41 FOCUSED ON SUCCEEDING IN COMBAT AND SUCCEEDING IN THEIR MISSION. 10:26:47 I THINK THIS SURVEY DATA COMPLEMENTS WHAT THE BEST PROXY 10:26:52 WE HAVE FOR THIS QUESTION, WHICH IS EXPERIENCE OF OUR CLOSEST 10:26:55 ALLIES AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO COMMENT OR SECRETARY 10:26:58 GATES WANT TO COMMENT ON WHAT YOU'VE HEARD FROM THE BRITISH 10:27:00 CHIEFS OF SERVICE IN TERMS OF THEIR COMBAT ARMS, THEIR ROYAL 10:27:06 MARINES, THEIR SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES WHO ARE 10:27:09 OPERATING SIDE BY SIDE WITH OUR FORCES. 10:27:11 I DON'T APPROACH THIS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF, YOU KNOW, 10:27:15 ONE TO ONE COMPARISON BECAUSE WE ARE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES AND I 10:27:20 UNDERSTAND. WHEN I TALK TO MY COUNTERPARTS 10:27:22 IN THE UK AND IN AUSTRALIA, SPECIFICALLY, THE THEME FROM 10:27:31 BOTH CHIEFS WAS AN AWFUL LOT OF RESISTANCE UP FRONT, AN AWFUL 10:27:35 LOT OF HUBBUB BEFORE IT CHANGED, AND THEN IT VIRTUALLY WAS 10:27:40 IMPLEMENTED WITHOUT AN ISSUE ONCE THE LAW CHANGED IN THEIR 10:27:42 OWN COUNTRY. AND YOU HAVE HAD NO COMMENTS 10:27:46 FROM THE FIELD OF OUR COMMANDERS WHO ARE WORKING WITH THESE UNITS 10:27:50 QUESTIONING THEIR COMBAT EFFICIENCY. 10:27:53 IN FACT, MY IMPRESSION IS WHEN I GO INTO AFGHANISTAN, IS THAT 10:27:58 THEY -- THEY'RE EAGER FOR THE HELP AND SUPPORT AND QUITE 10:28:03 IMPRESSED WITH THEIR PERFORMANCE, IS THAT FAIR? 10:28:05 THEY'RE FOCUSED ON -- THEIR PRIORITIES ARE JUST NOT FOCUSED 10:28:10 ON THIS ISSUE VERY SPECIFICALLY. GENERAL HAM, YOU HAVE 10:28:17 CONDUCTED 95 FORUMS, 51 BASES, YOU'VE CONDUCTED 140 SMALLER 10:28:22 FOCUS GROUP SESSIONS, YOU'VE HANDED OUT 400,000 10:28:28 QUESTIONNAIRES, RECEIVED A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER BACK, BUT 10:28:33 ULTIMATELY, THERE'S A JUDGMENT ABOUT WHETHER YOU FEEL THAT 10:28:36 THERE IS -- THAT THE VOICE OF THE TROOPS, THE YOUNG MEN AND 10:28:39 WOMEN AND THE FAMILIES, HAVE BEEN HEARD AND I THINK YOU'RE 10:28:44 IDEALLY SUITED TO MAKE THAT JUDGMENT. 10:28:45 IS THAT YOUR JUDGMENT? SENATOR, IT IS. 10:28:51 THROUGH THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE SURVEY, THAT PROVIDED US 10:28:55 STATISTICALLY SOUND AND ANALYTICALLY RIGOROUS 10:28:58 INFORMATION ACROSS A WIDE SPECTRUM OF CATEGORIES, BUT IT 10:29:03 WAS THE PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT, FACE-TO-FACE, THAT MR. JOHNSON 10:29:07 AND I AND OTHER MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM CONDUCTED, THE ON-LINE 10:29:10 INBOX AND OTHER MECHANISMS THAT ALLOWED SERVICE MEMBERS AND 10:29:13 THEIR FAMILIES TO VOICE THEIR VIEWS THAT GAVE US GREAT CONTEXT 10:29:19 AND GAVE US, FRANKLY, SOME OF THE THEMES THAT WE ADDRESSED IN 10:29:22 THE SURVEY. THANK YOU. 10:29:25 AND MR. JOHNSON, AGAIN, YOU STRESS THE IMPACT, THE PENDING 10:29:31 IMPACT, OF COURT CASES WHICH ARE UNPREDICTABLE AND -- BUT IT 10:29:37 SEEMS THAT A GROWING WILLINGNESS OF COURTS TO STEP IN AND MAKE 10:29:41 DECISIONS BASED ON A CONSTITUTIONAL THEORIES ABOUT 10:29:45 THE INADEQUACY OF "DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL" AND THAT, AS YOU 10:29:49 SAID IN YOUR REMARKS, JUST WE CONFIRM AGAIN, ADD TO ANOTHER 10:29:53 DIMENSION THAT FRANKLY DIDN'T EXIST REALLY LAST FEBRUARY WHEN 10:29:56 WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT HOW DO WE DO THIS DO WE DO IT 10:30:04 LEGISLATIVELY, DO WE DO IT THE SURVEY, ET CETERA. 10:30:07 THAT'S ANOTHER FACTOR WE HAVE TO CONSIDER. 10:30:09 YES, ABSOLUTELY, SENATOR. ALL THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT 10:30:11 ARE VERY ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THIS ISSUE RIGHT NOW. 10:30:15 FINAL QUESTION, MR. SECRETARY. 10:30:18 YOU MENTIONED IN YOUR OPENING REMARKS YOU HAD THE EXPERIENCE 10:30:20 IN 1992 IN CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY AND MY PERCEPTION WOULD 10:30:25 BE, YOU FACED SOME OF THE SAME ISSUES, WHICH WERE INITIALLY 10:30:30 OPPOSITION WITHIN THE RANKS, WITHIN THE PUBLIC, BUT YOU 10:30:35 ENSURE THAT POLICY WAS CARRIED OUT AND THAT WITHIN THE AGENCY, 10:30:41 THAT THERE ARE ANALYSTS WHO ARE REMOVED FROM SMALL UNIT 10:30:48 ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD AND THE FIELD OPERATIONS. 10:30:51 DID YOU NOTICE, AS WE HAD THIS POLICY IN PLACE NOW FOR OVER A 10:30:55 DECADE, ANY SIGNIFICANT DIFFICULTIES IN GETTING FIELD 10:30:59 OPERATORS TO ACCEPT IT? I MEAN THE COUNTERPART IF YOU 10:31:03 WILL TO THE COMBAT FORCES OF OUR MILITARY? 10:31:06 NO. IN FACT, THE POLICY HAS 10:31:10 DIRECTION THAT I MADE IN 1992, HAS NOW BEEN IN PLACE A YEAR 10:31:16 LONGER THAN "DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL," AND IN TALKING TO MY 10:31:21 SUCCESSORS, IT HAS NOT PRESENTED A PROBLEM. 10:31:23 BUT I WOULD SAY, JUST TO BE CLEAR, AS I SAID IN MY OPENING 10:31:28 STATEMENT, THE CIRCUMSTANCES AND THE INTIMACY PARTICULARLY OF 10:31:33 THOSE IN COMBAT, COMPARED WITH THOSE WORKING FOR CIA IS VERY 10:31:36 DIFFERENT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. 10:31:41 SECRETARY. THANK YOU, SENATOR REED. 10:31:43 SENATOR BROWN? THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 10:31:48 MR. SECRETARY, I KNOW WE SPOKE PRIVATELY. 10:31:50 I APPRECIATE THAT TIME IN ORDER TO SPEED THE PROCESS AND GET 10:31:53 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. I DO JUST HAVE A COUPLE FOLLOW 10:31:57 UPS TO YOU AND POTENTIALLY THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE PANEL. 10:32:03 IN MIRRORING WHAT SENATOR IMHOFR SAID ABOUT THE PARTICIPATION, I 10:32:10 CAN TELL YOU FIRSTHAND CONVERSATIONS WHEN I VISITED 10:32:12 AFGHANISTAN SPEAKING TO MEMBERS OF THE GUARD AND RESERVE, 10:32:14 HALFWAY THROUGH THE PROCESS WHEN THE COMMITTEE TOOK CERTAIN 10:32:17 ACTIONS, THEY FELT IT WAS A DONE DEAL AND AS A RESULT, THEY 10:32:21 DIDN'T PARTICIPATE IN THE SURVEY. 10:32:25 28% DOES NOT SEEM LIKE A HIGH NUMBER OF PARTICIPATION, 10:32:30 REGARDLESS OF THE TOTAL NUMBER AS IT REFLECTS TO THE NATURE AND 10:32:33 TOTAL AMOUNT OF SURVEYS THAT HAVE GONE FORTH. 10:32:36 IS THERE ANYTHING ADDITIONALLY YOU CAN SHED TO -- IN TERMS OF 10:32:40 YOUR UNDERSTANDING, WHETHER IT'S GENERAL HAM OR ADMIRAL MULLEN AS 10:32:45 WELL, AS TO WHY THE PARTICIPATION STILL WAS ONLY AT 10:32:49 28% AND NOT HIGHER? LET ME ASK GENERAL HAM OR MR. 10:32:57 JOHNSON TO ADDRESS SORT OF THE STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE 10:33:00 NUMBERS. SENATOR, THE 28% OVERALL 10:33:07 RESPONSE RATE IS WELL WITHIN THE NORMAL RANGE, THE HISTORICAL 10:33:11 RANGE, OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SURVEYS OF MILITARY 10:33:16 PERSONNEL. WHEN WE WORKED WITH THE COMPANY 10:33:17 WHICH ADMINISTERED THE SURVEY, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE 10:33:23 PROPORTIONAL NUMBER OF SURVEYS WERE DISTRIBUTED BASED ON 10:33:26 HISTORICAL RESPONSE RATES BY COMMITTEES, SERVICE AND, IN 10:33:30 FACT, EACH COMMUNITY WITHIN SERVICES HAVE HISTORICAL 10:33:34 RESPONSE RATES AND WE TRIED TO ACCOUNT FOR THAT IN THE 10:33:37 DISTRIBUTION OF THE SURVEYS. HAVING SAID THAT, THERE WERE 10:33:41 SOME -- THERE WAS SOME CONCERN ABOUT THE SLOWNESS, IF YOU WILL, 10:33:46 OF THE RESPONSE RATES FOR THE SERVICE CHIEFS, SENIOR ENLISTED 10:33:49 LEADERS OF THE SERVICES, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, AND 10:33:53 OTHERS, WOULD SEND OUT REMINDERS ENCOURAGING SERVICE MEMBERS AND 10:33:58 FAMILIES TO RESPOND. SO I'M COMFORTABLE THAT THE 10:34:00 RESPONSE RATE OVERALL WAS WITHIN NORMS AND PROBABLY MORE 10:34:06 IMPORTANTLY, SENATOR, THAT EACH CATEGORY THAT WE ANALYZED HAD A 10:34:12 STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF RESPONSES. 10:34:15 MR. SECRETARY, JUST FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PEOPLE LISTENING 10:34:20 AND ALSO FOR THE COMMITTEE, LET'S ASSUME FOR ARGUMENT SAKE 10:34:23 THAT WE MOVE FORWARD AND WE SAY OKAY, WE'RE GOING TO ACCEPT THE 10:34:27 REPORT AND WE'RE READY TO MOVE ON AND TAKE THAT NEXT STEP AND 10:34:33 REPEAL "DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL." COULD YOU EXPLAIN WHAT THE 10:34:35 PROCESS WOULD BE IN YOUR MIND, BECAUSE A LOT OF WHAT CONCERNS 10:34:39 THAT I PERSONALLY HAVE IS SOMEONE WHO'S STILL SERVING IN 10:34:41 THE MILITARY AND OTHERS THAT HAVE CONFIDED IN ME PRIVATELY IS 10:34:45 THAT, THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT BATTLE READINESS AND 10:34:49 MILITARY EFFECTIVENESS OF OUR TROOPS, MEN AND WOMEN SERVING, 10:34:52 IS NOT AFFECTED. DO YOU ENVISION SOMETHING LIKE 10:34:54 STARTING WITH THE NONCOMBAT UNITS, THE GUARD AND RESERVE, 10:34:58 MOVING UP THAT WAY AND IMPLEMENTING DOWN THE ROAD? 10:35:01 HOW WILL THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS WORK? 10:35:03 WHAT'S YOUR THOUGHT PROCESS IN ACTUALLY MOVING FORWARD WITH 10:35:08 THAT, WHILE NOT JEOPARDIZING RETENTION, BATTLE READINESS AND 10:35:11 EFFECTIVENESS? FIRST OF ALL, I THINK THAT 10:35:16 THE KEY AS THE REPORT MAKES CLEAR, IS TRAINING BOTH 10:35:22 LEADERSHIP TRAINING AND TRAINING OF THE ENTIRE FORCE. 10:35:26 THAT'S BETTER THAN 2 MILLION PEOPLE. 10:35:30 WHETHER WE WOULD BEGIN WITH ONE SEGMENT OR NOT, I THINK WE 10:35:35 HAVEN'T ADDRESSED THAT ISSUE YET. 10:35:38 BUT I WOULD TELL YOU THAT MY PERSONAL APPROACH TO THIS WOULD 10:35:43 BE, THAT UNTIL ALL THE TRAINING HAS BEEN COMPLETED, UNTIL THE 10:35:49 SERVICE CHIEFS ARE COMFORTABLE THAT THE RISKS TO UNIT COHESION 10:35:53 AND TO COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS OF A CHANGE HAD BEEN ADDRESSED TO 10:36:00 THEIR SATISFACTION, AND TO MY SATISFACTION, I WOULD NOT SIGN 10:36:04 THE CERTIFICATION. IN OTHER WORDS, MY VIEW IS, 10:36:07 BEFORE THE CERTIFICATION IS SIGNED, EVERYTHING HAS TO BE 10:36:11 DONE TO GET READY. IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT I WOULD 10:36:15 START, THAT I WOULD CERTIFY WHILE IT WAS STILL IN PROCESS AS 10:36:20 IT WERE. THAT COULD BE FOUR MONTHS OR 10:36:24 FOUR YEARS. YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE AT 10:36:26 THAT POINT WHERE YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE THOSE ISSUES WILL BE 10:36:28 ADDRESSED? THAT IS EXACTLY WHY I HAVE 10:36:31 BEEN VERY CAREFUL TO NOT TALK ABOUT HOW LONG I THINK THIS WILL 10:36:34 TAKE TO IMPLEMENT. I THINK PEOPLE WILL BE WATCHING 10:36:36 TO MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT SLOW ROLLING THE PROCESS, BUT BY THE 10:36:40 SAME TOKEN I'VE SAID SINCE FEBRUARY, THIS PROCESS NEEDS TO 10:36:43 BE THOROUGH AND IT NEED TO BE VERY CAREFUL AND IT NEEDS TO BE 10:36:48 COMPLETED BEFORE THE CERTIFICATION IS SIGNED IN MY 10:36:51 VIEW. IS IT YOUR TESTIMONY HERE 10:36:52 TODAY THAT YOU WILL NOT CERTIFY UNTIL YOU FEEL THAT THE PROCESS 10:37:02 CAN MOVE FORWARD WITHOUT ANY DAMAGE TO THE SAFETY AND 10:37:05 SECURITY OF OUR MEN AND WOMEN THAT ARE SERVING, NUMBER ONE, 10:37:08 AND THAT OUR BATTLE EFFECTIVENESS WILL NOT BE 10:37:11 JEOPARDIZED, NUMBER TWO? ABSOLUTELY. 10:37:13 THANK YOU. I HAVE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS. 10:37:19 SENATOR BROWN, SENATOR BEN NELSON. 10:37:21 THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN, AND THANK YOU GENTLEMEN FOR BEING 10:37:24 HERE TODAY. TO ME, THE ISSUE SEEMS TO BE NOT 10:37:29 WHETHER TO ALLOW GAYS TO SERVE IN THE MILITARY, BUT WHETHER TO 10:37:34 ALLOW THEM TO SERVE OPENLY. BUT PERMITTING THEM TO SERVE, 10:37:40 BUT NOT OPENLY, UNDERMINES THE BASIC VALUES OF THE MILITARY -- 10:37:46 HONESTY, INTEGRITY AND TRUST -- AND WHEN THAT'S UNDERMINED 10:37:51 ANYWHERE, IT'S UNDERMINED EVERYWHERE. 10:37:54 IT ALSO SEEMS THAT OUR MILITARY IS EXPECTED TO SAY, I DON'T WANT 10:38:01 TO LIE, BUT YOU WON'T LET ME TELL THE TRUTH. 10:38:05 HOW DO WE SQUARE THIS CIRCLE? I THINK THERE ARE THOSE WHO 10:38:10 LEGITIMATELY ARE CONCERNED THAT THIS WILL ADVERSELY EFFECT 10:38:15 READINESS AND NATIONAL SECURITY, AND YET, WE HAVE THE REPORT THAT 10:38:21 SEEMS TO BE SOMEWHAT OVERWHELMING IN CERTAIN AREAS, 10:38:24 SAYING IT'S TIME TO CHANGE THE LAW. 10:38:28 CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND HOW WE MOVE TO SOMETHING WHERE IT IS 10:38:37 NOW POSSIBLE TO TELL THE TRUTH? I SAY THAT BECAUSE I HEAR 10:38:42 EVERYONE SAYING TO ONE DEGREE OR ANOTHER, YOU'VE SERVED WITH 10:38:47 PEOPLE WHO ARE GAY, BUT IF YOU KNEW THEY WERE GAY, AND YOU 10:38:50 DIDN'T IT TURN THEM IN, WERE YOU LYING OR WAS HONESTY SORT OF A 10:38:57 MOBILE COMMODITY? ADMIRAL? 10:39:04 I THINK SENATOR NELSON, I MEAN YOU'VE HIT AT THE CORE, 10:39:07 FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, YOU'VE HIT AT THE CORE ISSUE AND I CAN'T 10:39:11 SQUARE THE CIRCLE. AND CERTAINLY HISTORICALLY HAVE 10:39:16 NOT BEEN ABLE TO. AND I THINK IT IS -- YOUR 10:39:19 COMMENT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IF IT EXISTS ANYWHERE IT EXISTS 10:39:24 EVERYWHERE AND THAT'S BEEN THE CASE WITH RESPECT TO GAY AND 10:39:29 LESBIAN SERVICE FOR MY WHOLE CAREER, INCLUDING UNDER THIS 10:39:34 LAW. AND I THINK IT DOES 10:39:35 FUNDAMENTALLY UNDERMINE WHO WE ARE BECAUSE WE'RE AN INSTITUTION 10:39:40 THAT IS SO SIGNIFICANTLY FOUNDED AND BASED ON INTEGRITY. 10:39:44 SO I CAN'T SQUARE IT. SECRETARY GATES, I THINK 10:39:49 YOU'VE ALREADY SAID AND I'VE SEEN YOUR PUBLIC COMMENTS ABOUT 10:39:53 THE CORE VALUES OF THE MILITARY, WHERE HONESTY AND INTEGRITY AND 10:39:58 HONOR NEED TO PREVAIL. DOESN'T THE CURRENT SYSTEM 10:40:02 UNDERMINE THOSE VALUES? YES, SIR, IT DOES. 10:40:10 THOSE ARE THE ONLY QUESTIONS I HAVE, MR. CHAIRMAN. 10:40:14 I YIELD BACK THE IT TIME. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, SENATOR 10:40:16 NELSON. WHO IS NEXT? 10:40:19 I THINK -- SENATOR BURRES? AFTER SENATOR BURRES, SENATOR 10:40:27 COLLINS IS NEXT? THANK YOU. 10:40:30 THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. I APOLOGIZE FOR MY BRIEF 10:40:34 ABSENCE. I'M TRYING TO DO A HOMELAND 10:40:37 SECURITY HEARING AT THE SAME TIME. 10:40:40 BUT THIS IS SUCH A CRITICAL ISSUE AND I WANT TO BEGIN MY 10:40:46 REMARKS BY THANKING GENERAL HAM AND MR. JOHNSON FOR DOING AN 10:40:51 EXCELLENT JOB ON THIS REPORT AND I WANT TO THANK YOU, SECRETARY 10:40:56 GATES, FOR A THOUGHTFUL STATEMENT AND YOU, ADMIRAL 10:41:00 MULLEN, FOR YOUR VERY HEARTFELT AND STRONG STATEMENTS THIS 10:41:03 MORNING. I WANT TO GO THROUGH SOME OF THE 10:41:09 OBJECTIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN HEARING FROM THOSE WHO ARGUE 10:41:15 THAT WE SHOULD LEAVE THE CURRENT LAW IN PLACE. 10:41:20 CRITICS OF THIS REPORT STATE THAT OUR TROOPS WERE NOT ASKED 10:41:26 WHETHER THEY BELIEVED THAT "DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL" SHOULD 10:41:30 BE REPEALED. I WOULD POINT OUT THAT OUR 10:41:33 TROOPS AREN'T ASKED WHETHER THEY SHOULD BE DEPLOYED TO 10:41:36 AFGHANISTAN, THEY'RE NOT ASKED WHETHER WE SHOULD HAVE A WAR IN 10:41:41 IRAQ. THEY'RE GENERALLY NOT ASKED 10:41:44 ABOUT POLICY DECISIONS. HOWEVER, THE FACT IS, GIVEN THE 10:41:53 EXTENSIVE FEEDBACK THAT THE AUTHORS OF THE REPORT AND THE 10:41:57 TASK FORCE DID AND THAT THEY RECEIVED FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS 10:42:02 OF SERVICE MEMBERS IN THE FORMS OF SURVEY RESPONSES, E-MAILS AND 10:42:10 TOWN HALL MEETINGS, THE REPORT, IN FACT, DOES CONVEY A SENSE OF 10:42:17 WHAT SERVICE MEMBERS THINK ABOUT REPEALING THE LAWS, EVEN IF A 10:42:24 DIRECT QUESTION WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE SURVEY. 10:42:28 I WAS STRUCK BY ONE OBSERVATION BY A SPECIAL OPS OPERATOR WHO 10:42:33 SAID, AT A TOWN HALL MEETING, QUOTE, WE HAVE A GAY GUY IN THE 10:42:38 UNIT. HE'S BIG, HE'S MEAN, AND HE 10:42:40 KILLS LOTS OF BAD GUYS AND NO ONE CARED THAT WE HUZ GAY. 10:42:49 MR. JOHNSON AND GENERAL HAM, IS IT FAIR TO CONCLUDE THAT YOUR 10:42:56 REPORT DOES INCORPORATE AND FAIRLY REPRESENTS THE VIEWS OF 10:43:02 OUR FORCES? SENATOR COLLINS, I BELIEVE IT 10:43:05 DOES. WE WERE ASKED NOT TO -- WE WERE 10:43:11 NOT SUPPOSED TO ASK THE REFERENDUM QUESTION. 10:43:13 RIGHT. HOWEVER, WE DID PUT OUT A 10:43:18 103-QUESTION SURVEY TO 400,000 SERVICE MEMBERS. 10:43:21 WE GOT BACK 115,000 RESPONSES. THE SURVEY WAS QUITE 10:43:27 COMPREHENSIVE IN ASKING IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PLACES FOR 10:43:29 SERVICE MEMBERS TO PREDICT THE CONSEQUENCES OF REPEAL IN A 10:43:33 VARIETY OF CONTEXTS. I WOULD ADD TO THAT IN THE 10:43:39 72,000 E-MAILS AND IN THE 24,000 FACE-TO-FACE INTERACTIONS THAT 10:43:45 WE HAD, INVARIABLY, THE DISCUSSION AND THE INPUT WE GOT 10:43:51 WAS WHETHER TO REPEAL THE CURRENT LAW OR NOT. 10:43:54 THAT WAS ALWAYS THE TOPIC OF DISCUSSION. 10:43:59 A LOT OF THAT IS REFLECTED IN THE REPORT, WHAT WE HEARD 10:44:03 SECTION, AND SO WE BELIEVE THAT THROUGH THIS VERY COMPREHENSIVE 10:44:07 EXERCISE WE WENT THROUGH, WE DID HEAR THE FORCE ON THE QUESTION 10:44:10 OF WHETHER WE CAN DO THIS. AND OUR CONCLUSION IS AS YOU SEE 10:44:15 IT. AND PRESUMABLY, IF THERE HAD 10:44:20 BEEN WIDESPREAD AND LARGE PERCENTAGES OF SERVICE MEMBERS 10:44:26 EXPRESSING NEGATIVE VIEWS, YOU WOULD HAVE REPORTED THAT IN THE 10:44:29 REPORT, CORRECT? AS I STATED, AS WE STATED IN 10:44:35 THE REPORT, IF THE ANSWER WE GOT BACK FROM THIS EXERCISE WAS, IN 10:44:40 EFFECT, NO, WE CAN'T DO THAT, I WOULD HAVE HAD A PROFESSIONAL 10:44:44 AND FA DUSH AREARY OBLIGATION TO MY CLIENT TO REPORT THAT AND I 10:44:49 KNOW GENERAL HAM FEELS EQUALLY AS STRONG ABOUT THAT. 10:44:52 ADMIRAL MULLEN, THE SECOND OBJECTION THAT WE HEAR OVER AND 10:44:56 OVER AND OVER, IS THAT WE CANNOT IMPLEMENT THIS KIND OF CHANGE IN 10:45:02 THE MIDST OF A WAR, AND I THOUGHT YOU MADE AN EXCELLENT 10:45:07 POINT THAT THE OPPOSITE MAY BE TRUE, THAT WAR TIME FACILITATES 10:45:13 CHANGE IN SOME WAYS. AND, IN FACT, WASN'T PRESIDENT 10:45:20 TRUMAN'S 1948 ORDER TO INTEGRATE OUR FORCES ACTUALLY FULLY 10:45:28 IMPLEMENTED DURING THE KOREAN WAR? 10:45:30 IT WAS. ACTUALLY, IT WAS IMPLEMENTED 10:45:32 THROUGHOUT THAT. I DON'T THINK FULLY UNTIL 1953. 10:45:37 AND, IN FACT, ON PAGE 83 OF THE REPORT, IT SAYS, THAT WHEN 10:45:42 THE PERSONNEL SHORTAGES OF THE KOREAN WAR NECESSITATED 10:45:49 INTEGRATED UNITS, ARMY FIELD OFFICERS PLACED WHITE AND BLACK 10:45:54 SOLDIERS SIDE BY SIDE. RIGHT. 10:45:56 SO -- SENATOR COLLINS, IF I COULD, 10:45:59 I THINK I FIND IT, IN MY STUDY OF THIS, SOMEWHAT IRONIC THAT IN 10:46:04 THE YEAR THAT THIS WAS PASSED, AND IF YOU READ THE LAW IN 10:46:08 DETAIL, THERE'S A GREAT DEAL OF DISCUSSION IN THE LAW ABOUT 10:46:12 COMBAT, COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS, AT A TIME WHERE WE WERE NOT AT WAR. 10:46:16 WE HAVE BEEN AT WAR, WE'RE IN OUR TENTH YEAR RIGHT NOW, AND WE 10:46:21 UNDERSTAND WHAT IT TAKES IN COMBAT AND WHAT COMBAT 10:46:25 EFFECTIVENESS IS, BETTER THAN WE DID BACK THEN, JUST BY VIRTUE OF 10:46:29 THAT EXPERIENCE. WE HAVE CHANGED DRAMATICALLY AS 10:46:34 A MILITARY SINCE 2001, WHICH I WOULD ARGUE PUTS NOUS A GOOD 10:46:39 POSITION TO FACILITATE ADDITIONAL CHANGE. 10:46:42 THERE WOULDN'T BE A BETTER TIME TO DO IT. 10:46:45 WE ARE BETTER LED IN MY EXPERIENCE AT EVERY LEVEL THAN 10:46:48 WE HAVE EVER BEEN LED. SO LEADERS CAN DO THIS. 10:46:52 WE ARE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR ABILITY TO CHANGE AND 10:46:58 SUSTAIN THAT COMBAT READINESS AND I BELIEVE MAKING A CHANGE 10:47:02 LIKE THIS MAKES US BETTER. IT DOESN'T MAKE US WORSE. 10:47:05 THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SENATOR COLLINS. 10:47:12 SENATOR WEBB? THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 10:47:14 SECRETARY GATES I WOULD LIKE TO BEGIN BY CLARIFYING AN EXCHANGE 10:47:18 THAT YOU HAD WITH SENATOR INHOFF ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS 10:47:24 STUDY IN TERMS OF MOVING FORWARD INTO THE LAW. 10:47:26 I RECALL AN EXCHANGE THAT YOU AND I HAD ON FEBRUARY THE 2nd OF 10:47:30 THIS YEAR, WHEN YOU CAME IN -- YOU AND ADMIRAL MULLEN CAME IN 10:47:34 TO TESTIFY ON THIS AND I MADE IT VERY CLEAR AT THAT TIME, THAT 10:47:38 THIS SURVEY WAS GOING TO BE VITAL IN TERMS OF EVALUATING 10:47:43 THE -- WHETHER WE SHOULD MOVE FORWARD ON THIS LAW. 10:47:47 I HAVE HELD FIRM ON THAT POSITION. 10:47:49 IN FACT, SENATOR INHOFF IS NOT CORRECT, THIS WAS NOT A FULL 10:47:53 COMMITTEE VOTE THAT WAS DISTRICTLY ALONG PARTY -- 10:47:57 STRICTLY ALONG PARTY LINES WHEN WE HAD THE VOTE WHETHER TO MOVE 10:47:59 FORWARD BEFORE THIS SURVEY CAME IN. 10:48:01 I VOTED AGAINST MOVING FORWARD ON THIS LEGISLATION. 10:48:08 BEFORE WE GOT THE RESULTS OF THIS SURVEY, BECAUSE I BELIEVE 10:48:11 VERY STRONGLY THAT IT IS IMPORTANT TO LISTEN TO THE 10:48:15 PEOPLE WHO ARE SERVING AND IT TO CONSIDER THEIR VIEWS AND I -- AS 10:48:20 I MENTIONED, GENERAL HAM, WHEN HE CAME FORWARD IN HIS 10:48:25 CONFIRMATION HEARING NOT LONG AGO, THIS IS REALLY, IN MY VIEW, 10:48:28 AN INCREDIBLE PIECE OF WORK. I WAS PRIVILEGED TO BE ABLE TO 10:48:33 SIT DOWN WITH GENERAL HAM AND MR. JOHNSON ON A COUPLE OF 10:48:37 OCCASIONS TO GIVE MY VIEWS ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO LISTEN TO 10:48:42 NOT ONLY ALL DIFFERENT SERVICES, BUT THE RANK STRUCTURE, THE 10:48:46 OCCUPATIONAL STRUCTURE, AND I BELIEVE YOU HAVE REALLY DONE THE 10:48:49 JOB HERE. IT'S A 343-PAGE REPORT, 160,000 10:48:56 RESPONDENTS, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THIS WAS DONE 10:49:00 WITHOUT POLITICIZING THE MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM, WHICH IS 10:49:03 VITALLY IMPORTANT IN OUR SOCIETY. 10:49:05 SO I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT THIS REPORT IS PROBABLY THE MOST 10:49:14 CRUCIAL PIECE OF INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE IN TERMS OF REALLY 10:49:19 OBJECTIVELY MOVING FORWARD IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THE LAW. 10:49:24 I WOULD LIKE TO ASK FIRST OF ALL, GENERAL HAM, I WOULD LIKE 10:49:27 TO ASK A QUESTION. DO YOU -- OF YOU, TO BEGIN WITH. 10:49:34 DO WE HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE UNITED STATES 10:49:39 MILITARY TODAY IS GAY OR LESBIAN? 10:49:42 SENATOR, WE DO. OBVIOUSLY IT'S IMPRECISE BECAUSE 10:49:48 WE CANNOT ASK THAT QUESTION UNDER THE CURRENT LAW. 10:49:50 BUT IN ITS -- IN RAND'S UPDATE OF THEIR 1993 STUDY, THEY DID 10:49:55 SOME WORK IN THIS REGARD AND ADMITTEDLY AN ESTIMATE, BUT THE 10:49:59 ESTIMATE IS THAT THE MILITARY POPULATION AS A WHOLE IS ABOUT 10:50:03 THE SAME AS THE GENERAL POPULATION, SOMEWHERE IN THE 2% 10:50:10 TO 3%. IT IS RAND'S ASSESSMENT THAT GAY 10:50:14 MEN ARE PROBABLY A LOWER PERCENTAGE IN THE MILITARY AND 10:50:18 LESBIANS ARE PROBABLY A HIGHER PERCENTAGE IN THE MILITARY THAN 10:50:21 IN THE GENERAL POPULATION. THANK YOU. 10:50:24 SECRETARY GATES, I WOULD LIKE TO FOLLOW ON TO A QUESTION A QUESTS 10:50:32 ASKED EARLIER ABOUT THE DECISION YOU MADE IN 1992 AT THE CIA, IN 10:50:38 ORDER TO SORT OF ELIMINATE THIS ISSUE IN RECRUITMENT AND 10:50:42 ADVANCEMENT IN THE CIA. THERE ARE ELEMENTS IN THE CIA 10:50:49 WHO PERFORM FUNCTIONS THAT ARE PRETTY SIMILAR TO MILITARY 10:50:53 FUNCTIONS, ARE THERE NOT? YES, THERE ARE SOME. 10:50:58 HAVE YOU HEARD OF ANY UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES BASED 10:51:04 ON YOUR DECISION IN THOSE UNITS, TAKING PLACE IN THOSE UNITS? 10:51:07 NOT ONE. OKAY. 10:51:12 ADMIRAL MULLEN, A QUESTION THAT OCCURS TO ME WHEN WE LOOK AT THE 10:51:16 DISPARITY IN THE PERCENTAGES WITH RESPECT TO GROUND COMBAT 10:51:21 UNITS, ARMY AND MARINE CORPS. I TAKE YOUR POINT, OR THE POINT 10:51:26 IN THE STUDY, ABOUT THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE 10:51:30 SERVED ALONGSIDE GAY MEMBERS AND HAVING A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF 10:51:35 COMFORT -- HIGHER COMFORT LEVEL, BUT DO YOU HAVE A DIFFERENT 10:51:42 LEADERSHIP APPROACH? YOU KNOW, WHAT WOULD BE THE 10:51:45 LEADERSHIP APPROACH THAT YOU'RE CONTEMPLATING IN TERMS OF THOSE 10:51:48 TYPES OF UNITS? WELL, I THINK THAT, AGAIN, 10:51:54 THE REPORT ITSELF DID A TERRIFIC JOB IN FLAGGING THOSE AREAS THAT 10:51:58 WE REALLY WOULD NEED TO FOCUS ON, AND IT GOES BACK TO WHAT THE 10:52:02 SECRETARY OF DEFENSE SAID, AND I AGREE COMPLETELY. 10:52:05 UNTIL WE'VE MITIGATED THAT TO AN ACCEPTABLE LEVEL, UNTIL WE'VE 10:52:09 DONE THE TRAINING, AND AS IN MY REMARKS, THAT THE MARINE WHO 10:52:15 SAID IF THIS CHANGES, YOU KNOW, WE'LL DO IT BETTER THAN ANYBODY 10:52:19 ELSE. SO, THIS HAS TO BE, MORE THAN 10:52:20 ANYTHING ELSE, SHOULD IT CHANGE, IT'S GOT TO BE WELL LED. 10:52:24 WE UNDERSTAND WHERE THAT LEADERSHIP NEEDS TO BE APPLIED, 10:52:27 AND I WOULD NOT CERTIFY UNTIL WE HAD MITIGATED TO A POINT WHERE 10:52:32 IT WAS -- WHERE WE HAD -- WHERE WE WERE SATISFIED THAT WE COULD 10:52:36 MOVE AHEAD. SO, WE WOULD FOCUS ON THOSE 10:52:40 ALL-MALE COMBAT UNITS WHO DIDN'T HAVE EXPOSURE AND CERTAINLY DO 10:52:43 IT IN A WAY FROM A TRAINING STANDPOINT, FROM A LEADERSHIP 10:52:47 STANDPOINT, THAT WAS INTENSE ENOUGH TO ACHIEVE THE OUTCOME 10:52:49 THAT WE WANTED THERE. THANK YOU. 10:52:53 I'D JUST LIKE TO, AGAIN, CONCLUDE BY EXPRESSING MY 10:53:00 RESPECT AND APPRECIATION FOR THE WORK THAT GENERAL HAM AND MR. 10:53:04 JOHNSON, YOU DID ON THIS SURVEY. IT'S REALLY A LANDMARK PIECE OF 10:53:07 WORK, IN MY VIEW. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. 10:53:09 THANK YOU, SENATOR WEBB. WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A 10:53:11 FIVE-MINUTE RECESS.

TVU 25 ELIZABETH WARREN LAS VEGAS OTR ABC UNI 021520 2020 Elizabeth Warren headed to Broad Acres Market, a hub for the Vegas Latino community, this morning as one of her first stops in Vegas. Warren walked around the food stalls, ordered jugo de sandia ("It's really sweet!" she said of the watermelon drink 14:05:15) and talked to a lot of patrons (many of whom had no idea who she was) about getting out to vote early (14:03:33, 14:08:11). More people crowded around her to take pictures and talk to her as she stayed longer -- word of her arrival seemed to spread (14:34:30). She had an emotional conversation with the owner of a Mexican panbazos stand, who teared up asking Warren to help her mixed-status family. Warren reached across the counter and they held hands. (14:21:00) As she walked by another stand, a man shouted out to her to ask about the border wall, which she told him she thought was "just terrible" and wouldn't improve the safety of the country (14:23:45) Earlier, Warren kicked off the day with a "Women for Warren" event hosted by Yvette Nicole Brown, an actress who starred in Community and Drake and Josh. Good moment when Warren jumped up and down and blew kisses to Brown to thank her for coming out to Vegas. (13:21:08) Warren arrived at this event, the first of the day, with a raspy voice that wore off about halfway through the event. (13:02:18) She told the crowd she thought it was great to start off at a Women for Warren event and that it makes her think about "what would happen if we had more women in elected office. Things we're fighting for that we've been fighting for 40 years would already be the law," Warren said. (13:01:59) She took a bunch of questions from the crowd. One young woman told her she's "drowning in six-figures of student loan debt" and has been homeless because of it (13:07:42). Another woman told Warren her company is seeing more and more elderly people coming out and looking for jobs, which is a reflection of a bigger problem of impoverished elderly communities. A third woman asked Warren how to reel in the greed of health insurance companies. The crowd cheered loudly when Warren joked that some billionaires have gone on TV and cried about her wealth tax (a joke about Leon Cooperman crying on CNBC <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnbc.com%2F2019%2F11%2F04%2Fleon-cooperman-tears-up-talking-about-america-elizabeth-warren.html&data=02%7C01%7CMegan.X.Farrell.-ND%40abc.com%7C7d9180f5758e4e65295508d7b263c8f5%7C56b731a8a2ac4c32bf6b616810e913c6%7C1%7C0%7C637174013981398157&sdata=%2FfxkbTTyWIPIvjs%2B%2BOr7c0GuQrJArE9Mold193ah60w%3D&reserved=0>) while other billionaires have just run for president themselves because they figured it's cheaper than paying a wealth tax. (13:14:25) TVU 25 ELIZABETH WARREN LAS VEGAS OTR ABC UNI 021520 2020 144848 WARR>> So...when -- Have I told you this story about Deval Patrick? Q: About the -- about staying hydrating? WARR>> Two things? That's right. And it was such a touching moment, you know. Always fight from the heart, people can tell, and stay hydrated. [laughs] Q: Two very important parts. WARR>> That's right. The heart of what it's all about. So [coughs] excuse me, we're headed to a town hall? Good. Okay. Good. Are you all having fun? Did you have fun at the market? Q: Yes, we're super glad to not be in cold weather. WARR>> Yes Q: I'll speak for the bus. 144919 WARR>> Yes -- Q: It reminds me of home, I'm from McAllen. WARR>> Oh yeah! Q: I'm born and raised and when to college in MacAllan. WARR>> You did! So I don't know, have you ever seen the picture -- we use it in our [car honks] some of our video stuff, shows up in some places. And it's a picture -- 144938 I'm the little hot number in the -- in the sunglasses, two brothers. The third brother is in uniform and my mother. We're in this weird combination of clothes. That was taking in McAllen, Texas. >> Wow WARR>> When Donna Reid was stationed in McAllen. So it's the first time we'd ever been, all the way down to McAllen. >> Doing border control? Or anything related to the border? WARR>> No. He was in the Air Force. And I think they were -- I think it was training, but they were down there.I don't know. I was a kid, six months, something like that but we went down to see him. And so that was the first time I got to see McAllen and just how lush, McAllen is compared to a place like Oklahoma because Oklahoma is so much drier. 145028 And yeah, but I like McAllen. And then of course, you know, I was back in McAllen to go to the center whenever walking up the children and separating from their parents. I remember one of the things about that trip. >> We actually come from Nevada. WARR>> Hmm? >> We came from Nevada. WARR>> We came from Nevada. That's exactly right. We were in Nevada and it was -- you may remember it was when the first, just kind of the first word was leaking out that we were -- that this country was separating children from their families. And I went down to McAllen to the big center processing center down here. 145116 And that's the first time I saw the cages of -- cages women, cages of men. And these freestanding cages of little girls, little girls, little girls, little boys, the nursing mothers back in the corner. The -- I said one of these children. These children have been separated from their families. And I remember the CBP agent said oh no, these children are not separated from their families because they have other family members, locked up somewhere in the facility and it's well, do they get to communicate with them or meet with them? 145154 And they said no, we can't do that. So, they were -- It makes me think about this numbers, about how many children were separated and you know what happened. Every single time ee got more information. More children have been separated, more children had been lost somehow the system and hadn't been able to be reunited with their families. But that was the first time I started thinking about how wrong those numbers probably are because they were treating it as not separated If their record showed that a child and a family member was -- were both somewhere in this giant facility. 145235 Although they were locked up and separated from each other and neither had knowledge about where the other was. Q: Senator, because of things like that. Why do you think you haven't come out and just said that we should abolish ICE altogether? Just because that -- that word. Even if we reform it, it is associated with so much trauma. With so many people and always will be. 145255 WARR>> No, It's a fair point. But it's also the point of -- I think about our government agencies, and really howa president has to take responsibility for what happens. And, not -- not an easy path of just saying "Oh, I changed the name." It's that a person has to take ownership of what happens, up and down the organization. 145327 That's where there's been a huge failure in the Trump administration, but a lot of backing off and hand waving for decades. It's interesting. I've been thinking a lot lately about the question of accountability. Now, obviously, sitting in the impeachment hearings gives me a chance -- it gave me a chance to think about, How do you hold a president accountable? 145400 But that's the -- you know that's the most visible but the really big one -- it's how to make government accountable every single day, how to -- how to make sure the things that a president said she cared about as a candidate are things she's working on every single day? And that that President, in turn, is holding her own administration accountable. 145434 Our federal government's big. There's no doubt about that. It's huge. But it has such capacity to do good, or to do harm. And that means it's a president's responsibility to stay after the people who are put in charge of those agencies and their immediate deputies, and make sure there are organized ways to get feedback on what's working and what's not working. 145512 Actually, I'll give you an example around this. I started doing the selfie lines partly just because I didn't want anyone to leave an event wanting a picture and didn't get a picture, because they couldn't grab the front of a rope line. You know, if you run -- if you run a rope line that way, then people with disabilities can't get to the front, seniors can't get in front, people with children --- Q: We feel the same way about gaggles. 145539 WARR>> Yeah, exactly. There you go. And, but what I came to understand over time is the selfie line has kept me deeply rooted in what this campaign is about. It means I don't spend all my time talking to advisors in the media, and people who are already on the team and who are experts -- I spend my time with people who come through and say, "This is what matters to me" or, "this is what I'm counting on." Q: Has it been tough for you lately because you're not able to do them quite as much, you're not able to stay --- ? 145622 WARR>> It's hard, and it's hard because I feel like I disappoint people. People show up wanting to do selfie lines, and I want to do the selfie line. It's just, it's the 24 hours in a day problem, and needing to get to a lot of places, and people have been very generous about it. But it's hard not to do them. To me, they are the heart and soul of a town hall. In the same way, I can't imagine filtering the questions in advance. I mean, I just -- I just can't imagine that. 145654 Anybody who wants to ask a question, we do. And you notice, I do it randomly. And there's a reason for that. It should not be the most aggressive person in the room. You notice a lot of times, or I don't know if you notice it, if you can see it from where you are -- I'm kind of seeing it from the other end. But let's just say, 10 tickets are drawn in the space of a -- of a town hall. Now, some people are like "Yes!", you know, "I'm ready! I have it." 145721 And others are like, "that's mine. Do I really want to ask a question? Do I want to stand up in front of all these people?". That's someone who never would have crowded to the front. But because they've got the ticket and the ticket was drawn, they make it to the front and they ask really important questions . Q: Senator, I just want to go back to -- I overheard some of the Latinx voters that you were talking in spanish say, "I don't know who she is. I didn't know she was running for president." [FEED CUTS OUT] Yeah, when they're behind us they saw us without the cameras, what do you think that means about their operation to reach out to Latinx voters who don't even really know people are especially nice this is like one of the first times we've seen you've come to one of these, like very productive. So, we just have to be out there and keep doing more do you think you should come sooner I mean, you don't want to be everywhere all the time, but it's just not possible to do that. I have been to Nevada multiple times I'm glad to come to Nevada I want to come back. But I want to, I also want to be everywhere instantly it's hard to do think your operation is working well enough here is if you haven't been here in 66 days. I think we're on the ground organizers for depression. They include people were born and raised here. dreamers, people who are in mixed status families. People who have never been part of the campaign before, but who believe in what I'm fighting for my be part of that. Seven, I support everything they're doing. We also were putting more money into making sure we reach out through paid advertising and asking more service to come to this day. But, you know, I'm under the same constraints, every other candidate is and that is it's a 24. There are only 24 hours in the day and I can't solve that. So do you got any other candidate. No, I don't know that because I'm you know I'm not with him, you do, you do daily gas but that's what you think. Do you think that they should be dabbling more considering, you know, I heard that Joe Biden to do something doesn't happen once a month. It's mostly confined or Bernie Sanders had gone to lunch without talking to the press is one way that presidential candidates and President are held accountable. It's a big part of why we have a free press and the role it plays in our democracy. One of the reasons I've been so outspoken about Donald Trump's efforts to undermine a free press is that it truly undermines our democracy. It's. It is the press. That helps hold candidates and elected officials accountable between election days. It's the press that exposes the issues and forces candidates to face it, it can be uncomfortable, sometimes, but it's the right thing to do. And I think everything. And make themselves available to the press, same kind of unfiltered questions you guys don't get used to filter questions, or your fundraising email recently, and asking money from your supporters because you can try the recognition that there are media outlets, who are not interested in giving not balanced coverage. And that means we have to use paid media and paid organizers in order to counter. Can you talk about your decision to not be here in Nevada. On Saturday, so I won't be here, I'll be here in the morning. I'll be here when the caucuses speak and I'll be doing a rally to get out the phone. But remember, Washington is also starting to that. We're getting voting in lots of places around the state so I'm gonna be here. But by nighttime. I'll be in in Washington for a rally they're with us they're starting to come, and it is definitely a balance but do you think those voters here in Nevada who already feel kind of slighted by Iowa New Hampshire, do you think they'll be disappointed to not have a rally with you that night. I will be disappointed. Not to be with voters here. But I'm disappointed. Every time I don't get the Get up and talk to people and shake hands or do selfie lines, it's. It truly is a question of just trying to figure out how to manage the time center you have spent a lot of TVU 25 ELIZABETH WARREN LAS VEGAS OTR ABC UNI 021520 2020 P2 150316 Q: -- Also being a time where some people were thinking we might need influence of money to beat Trump. 150322 WARR>> I just disagree with the premise. I don't think we have a better chance of beating Donald Trump by putting up a billionaire against him. We have a better chance of beating Donald Trump when we pull our party together and when we fight for hard working families, fight for core democratic principles that can unite our party and pull in independents and Republicans. But in a general election, there's going to be plenty of money for people to get their ads done. 150358 The fundamental question is going to be, what is a set of issues we run on and how hard we run from the heart? So, I just think it's -- Q: Are those people like, talking about making a deal with the devil kind of -- WARR>> No, I just I -- just think it's -- I don't even think it's a deal with the devil. To deal with the devil implies that you're actually getting something for it. We're not better off putting up a billionaire. That does not increase the odds that we win here. We win when we pull our party together and when we fight from the heart for the values we believe in. 150435 Q: Senator, we've been following your campaign for a long time. WARR>> Yes, you have! Q: All of the ups and the downs and we've seen you come back from polling lower than at other times higher. I know you don't polls. WARR>> No. Q>> What's something that you wish you'd done differently? You wish you would have done differently or something that you learned that you would tell yourself in the beginning all of this? I mean, what have been some of the lowest points and the highest points? 150501 WARR>> Wow. Boy, I need more time to think about this. I really do love doing this. I mean, it's a hard question, I'm not trying to duck your question. I'm just saying. You know, It's hard when I got a bad cold and you know, felt like I'd really rather stay in bed for a couple more hours in and sleep instead of get out of bed, get in the car and drive somewhere. But every time I walk into a town hall, it's like a jolt, 150549 It's -- It's this enormous feeling of optimism that washes over me . It's -- it's -- it's this intense reminder that our country has so many problems, but we can fix it through democracy. That's who we are. And all these people show up to spend two or three hours because they wait in line and then they get in and then there's the music plays for a long time. And then there's the pitch for field organization and somebody does an introduction and then there's another pause. 150627 And they've made this commitment to spend a whole evening because they care about our country. Because they want to see us build a better nation and I -- I can not think of a single time I walked into a town hall that I wasn't delighted to be there. And that's true. Little ones and big ones and giant ones and mega giant ones. It's true. When the selfie lines have lots of people in them, only a few -- I really do. 150707 It's == it's -- actually, can I say it this way? Maybe because -- maybe these unite. Maybe this will make sense to you. You know, I taught school for years and I loved it. And. When I became a senator I realized how much I missed it. I missed being in a room full of people who were asking hard questions and who were -- who were engaged and cared about what was going to happen and it. I used to have.teaching dreams. 150757 I would dream at night about being back in the classroom after-- after I'd gone to the Senate. And now with town halls for a year, it's a chance to be back with people. It's a chance. It's a chance for people to wear on their sleeve the most important thing to them and a chance for me to hear it and -- and engage them. 150829 And think about how together we're going to build something moving forward and I love it. 150836 Q: You saw the rise of your campaign when you were getting (?) crowds and how theres a lot of talk between crowds that Amy Klobuchar is pulling. Do you feel like you might know that you're really up against a challenge because you saw your campaign rise the same way? 150851 You know, We have 4000 people in Virginia on what day was that? Tuesday? Thursday night? Thursday night? Wednesday night? Right. Everyone was there and nobody knows. We had an overflow crowd in an overflow crowd to the overflow crowd. And they were all in the fight and It felt good. It felt good because people recognize how important 2020 is and that we've heard from two states, but we still got 98 percent of Americans left to go and it looks like a lot of them still want to have a voice in what happens next. 150942 Senator, the debates coming up. There's a chance that Michael Bloomberg might be on the debate stage. We know he's your favorite candidate to punch, Possibly the only candidate you punch at. What can we expect to see on the debate stage? 150957 I've been pretty clear about this. I don't think billionaires ought to be able to buy their way onto the debate stage. Period. Q: Does Tom Steyer get a pass on that? WARR>> No he doesn't get a pass on that. I said it on the day that Kamala got forced out of the race. I thought. It said something really terrible about our Democratic Party and our democracy. That on the very same day that Kamala Harris announced that she would leave the race because of money. 151027 That a billionaire bought his way onto the debate stage. I just think that's wrong. And look. It's not a question of does Tom Steyer bring good ideas to the debate or Michael Bloomberg? We can talk to them. The point is it changes fundamentally our democracy If someone can reach in their own pocket and fund 100 million dollars in ads and suddenly push themselves up in the polls without having to meet a single voter. 151103 Without having to take a single unfiltered question, without having to do press avails. If we are in America, if we become an America where you've either got to be a billionaire or suck up to the billionaires to get the Democratic nomination. Then this democracy will work better and better for billionaires and worse and worse for everyone else. 151132 Q: I know you have a strong fighting point for you, i mean the past couple days in Virginia particularly and here today we've heard you kind of return to some of the rhetoric that got you really popular and really big in the first place. Basically, I have a plan for that. You always say it but you've been saying it a lot more recently. 151147 WARR>> I don't know. I hadn't really noticed that there was a difference Q: And you've been hitting Michael Bloomberg again. I mean, we saw, you know, these comments on redlining and you talked on that in Arlington as well. Do you feel like those are strong points>. Are those points that you think that people connect with? 151201 WARR> I think people do connect with them. The notion that Michael Bloomberg blames the 2008 financial crisis on restrictions on banks so they couldn't discriminate more against black and brown communities is truly outrageous. And anyone who thinks that should not be the head of our party. 151230 Q: Your campaign has been rearranging how it's spending its ad money, is that a sign that you guys are struggling? 151240 WARR>> No. No, they're just figuring out where they want to spend the money to reach people in the most effective ways. In fact, I think they're increasing overall ad buy. Q: But you have actually been e-mailing supporters asking them to help... WARR>> Of course. Q: [inaud] WARR>> You know, but that's what it's about. We've got two billionaires in this race. And what is it? Three more people on the debate stage who, immediately after New Hampshire, headed off to suck up more money from millionaires and billionaires. 151319 Wall Street money is pouring into the Democratic Primary. So, yeah, I -- I tell my supporters we're doing this grassroots and we need to -- we need everybody to see what we're up against. It's not -- it's not that people haven't been helpful. They've been enormously helpful. We've raised six million dollars after Iowa. 151348 We ask people to set a $7 million goal going forward before Nevada and raised a million dollars on the first day. And I'm very, very grateful for that. We had a lot of new donors who jumped in. But it's important to be realistic about what it means that other candidates for the Democratic nomination are still out there bringing in more and more money from the billionaires. Q: There are eight candidates still in the race. 151425 WARR>> Is that right? Q: ...Do you think that this hurts Democrats' chances of beating Trump because there are so many people for voters to choose from? Do you think it will have a negative impact? 151442 WARR>> I don't know. I mean, I really don't. I get out and talk about my campaign. We don't have 8 people on the debate stage. But I really don't -- I would give you an answer if I had one. But I don't think of it in those terms. There's not -- look, I can't control what seven other people are doing. I can only control what I'm doing. So I actually don't spend a lot of time thinking about that. Q: And do you think your message kind of gets lost amongst all of the various messages? 151514 WARR>> You know, my job is to get out and fight the fight I believe in, and for me, It's never been about a bunch of consultants. I didn't need somebody to tell me what I believed because it polled well. I've known what I believe since long before I got into politics. My job is to get out and fight that fight. 151543 I think it's the right fight. I think it's the right fight for this moment. And I am deeply optimistic that we have this opportunity to -- to put our country on a better path. Q: Only recently, Bernie Sanders said that he denounced folks who are his supporters who have been criticizing Culinary Union workers or going after other folks who are boo-ing former presidential candidate. It took him this long to say, you know, I don't want those people as part of my campaign. 151626 WARR>> Is that what he said? I didn't actually see the comment. Q: He said those people don't speak for my campaign. What's your reaction to that and do you think that that's enough? 151635 WARR>> I didn't see the comment, so it's hard for me to say whether I think that's enough because you've actually characterized two sort of different comments there. I feel really proud of the people who work on my campaign and the people who support us. We talked early on when we were first building this campaign that we were not going to fight with other campaigns and try to play dirty tricks on other campaigns and attack other campaigns online. 151712 And one of the consequences of that Is that when other people dropped out of the race, they felt welcome in our campaign. They felt welcome to volunteer, they felt welcome to become part of the team so that we have people now in our campaign who work -- goodness, from Kirsten's campaign, Kamala's, from -- you know the lists. It's just -- it's a whole bunch of people and this goes back to the question I was talking about earlier. 151750 I think that's how we build a stronger Democra-- [FEED FREEZES] 151806 ---2016, with Democrats firing at Democrats, and Democrats still angry with Democrats. We need to be a Democratic Party that's -- that's ready, strong and ready to go for it (?) against Trump. [consults with aide about schedule] 151850 Q: Just on that question about Bernie, you've taken responsibility before when things far below you happen in your campaign... And you've apologized. Should he be doing that? 151901 WARR>> Look, I think that's what leadership is. Leadership is about taking responsibility for what's gone wrong and taking responsibility for making real change. Q: And this is a case where he should do that? WARR>> I -- Look, this is-- I think this is about leaders. That's the kind of leader I am and that's kind of president I will be. Q: What do you think about the fact that he is your longtime friend and he is leading the nomination? 151930 WARR>> You know, we've heard from two states and nobody's running away with this race. No one has gotten above a quarter of the votes. It's still a very fluid situation. I think we're gonna hear from more of the 98 percent of voters who still haven't had a chance to weigh in before this settles down. We good? Q: Sure. WARR>> We're always good. You guys are -- you guys are insatiable. You would -- you would always eat more (?). 152035 Q: What are you saying or what are you referring to when you make your pinky proimises? WARR>> So, most of the time -- Q: I've heard of pinky swears and -- WARR>> No, most of the time it's "my name is Elizabeth. I'm running for president because that's what girls do." And then we pinky promise to remember. Sometimes a little girl will already have her own statement. And we do pinky promises to remember that. But that's what it's usually around. I -- I want you to be the first president and I will be the second. 152104 I've heard that from 6 year olds and "I want you to be the first woman president and I'll be the second." And we do pinky promises to remember. Q: Can I ask you --- WARR>> Did a pinky promise today with a dog [laughter] He was totally into it. That was it. Q: We had already left the room. WARR>> oh, okay. You missed it, during the brunch. Uh-huh? Q: Were there any stories that you heard at that last stop that really pulled at your heart? I know you had a moment with a few women behind the counter. Can you maybe talk about one or two? 152136 WARR>> It's about what it means to live here in the US -- to build a life here, to work hard, to build a business, to employ people and to know that you could be rounded up and forced out of his country in the middle of the night with no warning. That's hard on people. That's a lot of -- 152205 A lot of people are afraid. Some are protected, themselves but mixed status families. It means that, for so many people, it's -- even if they are citizens or hold a green card, they have a dad, a grandma, two younger brothers, a beloved uncle who are not. And they talk about what that means. 152245 To come home and call out, and for that split second, not to know if your husband will still be there. The woman in a wheelchair said her husband has been here working and is undocumented, 35 years. And she said "I'm more free today than any time before, in our lives. Please help us find a way." 152318 And scooping people up, terrorizing families and breaking families apart -- that doesn't make our nation stronger. It makes our nation weaker. We have to do better than that, and we can. We can. Q: You've said that you would consider a moratorium on deportations? Would you do that or is it just on the table? 152348 WARR>> No, no. It's what we need to do. I -- I'm committed to, in the first hundred days, to stop all deportations until we get a chance to review them again. And if this is -- if these deportations that are on the table, the proposed ones, are not consistent with my policies, which means we don't scoop up family members, people who pose no threat, people who are part of our communities. Then they're not deported. 152427 They won't be deported. I want to -- I want to put a complete hold until we can get that completely sorted through. Q: There used to be a policy or kind of still is called Mont of Doura (?), Jeff Sessions was a really big proponent of that in that criminals from these countries who were on track to come in to the U.S. were then deported back, but those countries, like El Salvador, for example, their criminal justice system don't keep those people. And that has led to gang violence or things like that. I know you've talked about supporting these countries economically, but how do you dig deeper and help mitigate crime? 152507 WARR>> Well, when I talk about supporting them economically, it's also about supporting them so they actually have rule of law, so they have the capacity to have a criminal justice system that actually functions. So, it's not just about how you can get more stores. And -- okay. We'll talk about this later, I promise. 152534 But it is about more -- it's not just about more stores. It's about more. It's about a justice system that functions. [EXITS BUS FOR NEXT EVENT] ####

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE HOLDS A HEARING ON THE NOMINATION OF WILLIAM BARR TO BE U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL. THIS TOP PORTION IS MISSING DUE TO THE TAPE CHANGE ...that you will relate the law to the basic values we have embraced as a nation, and that you will serve as a lawyer for the people as well as for the President. 00:50:26 SEN. KOHL Consequently, there are some areas in which I have questions. I want to know about your general philosophy and approach as the nation's chief law enforcement officer and I want to know your views in such areas as juvenile justice, state and local cooperation, and the competing loyalties of VIDEO BEGINS HERE: the Attorney General. 00:50:50 SEN. KOHL I enjoyed meeting with you last month and I was encouraged by what you said. The root of the crime problem, the cause and not merely a symptom, is found throughout our society. It is in the workplace, in our schools and in our homes, not just in the criminal element. 00:51:09 SEN. KOHL To overcome this violence, we must take a more comprehensive approach, an approach that empowers our communities, educates our youth, reestablishes a strong family structure, and keeps guns out of the hands of criminals and drug traffickers, as well as one that emphasizes crime control. Without doubt, the nation will be looking to you as Attorney General to provide leadership in this area. 00:51:38 SEN. KOHL Mr. Barr, inside the Beltway, people frequently are more interested in what constitutes a good sound bite than what is constitutionally sound. I believe that if you are confirmed, you will find that approach unacceptable, that you will work towards real achievements and not just political wins. Our earlier talks have led me to believe that you will seek goals and solutions, and not merely the political advantage of the moment. To this end, I look forward to learning more of your thoughts and views, and I wish you and your family well. Thank you. 00:52:19 SEN. KOHL And thank you, Mr. Chairman. 00:52:21 SEN. BIDEN Thank you very much. 00:52:22 SEN. BIDEN General, would you stand to be sworn? 00:52:25 SEN. BIDEN (Oath is administered to the witness.) 00:52:28 SEN. BIDEN Would you please introduce that fine family to us, those young women who are wondering why they have to sit there all this time? 00:52:38 WILLIAM P. BARR Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to introduce my wife, Christine (sp), and my daughter, Margaret, we call Meg, Patricia, and Mary. 00:52:47 SEN. BIDEN Well, one thing for certain, you'd never be able to deny any of them. (Laughter.) 00:52:52 SEN. BIDEN Welcome, ladies. As I tell most of the children of people who have to come here to go through this process, number one, it will be painless, although it'll be boring. And number two, you're entitled to ask your dad and your mom for something special for having to sit through this hearing and put on your best dresses. So, if you need any legal representation on that matter, I promise I'd be willing to help, and we'll not confirm your father until you get a commitment from him as to something special. Anyway, thank you very much for coming, ladies. 00:53:32 SEN. BIDEN Well, first of all, it's a pleasure to have a nominee before us in this administration that didn't graduate from Yale Law School. (Laughter.) It's the first one in a hundred, I think. Not that there's anything wrong with Yale Law School, but we like to try other law schools occasionally, particularly George Washington University. But I'd like to invite you, if you have a statement, General, to make the statement, and then we'll go to questions. 00:54:03 WILLIAM P. BARR Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's a distinct privilege to appear before this committee this afternoon. And I'd like to thank you for moving so quickly on this nomination. 00:54:16 WILLIAM P. BARR I'm honored that the President has selected me for the position of Attorney General. It's not a position that I pursued. I never thought I would be named attorney general or nominated to be attorney general. And, in fact, I never thought I would serve as Deputy Attorney General. But the way circumstances have unfolded, I believe I am in a good position to provide leadership to the Department of Justice. 00:54:45 WILLIAM P. BARR As you know from my background, I am committed to public service. And I also revere the law. It is my life and my profession. And as attorney general, I believe I can serve my fellow citizens by upholding the rule of law. 00:55:01 WILLIAM P. BARR The attorney general has very special obligations, unique obligations. He holds in trust the fair and impartial administration of justice. It's the attorney general's responsbility to enforce the law evenhandedly and with integrity. The attorney general must ensure that the administration of justice, the enforcement of the law is above and away from politics. 00:55:29 WILLIAM P. BARR Nothing could be more destructive of our system of government, of the rule of law, or the Department of Justice as an institution than any toleration of political interference with the enforcement of the law. 00:55:44 WILLIAM P. BARR When I met with the President about this nomination, I observed that there were others who had greater stature. And he said that the most important thing, as far as he was concerned, was to have a Department of Justice that was run with professionalism and integrity. And that has been his only charge to me. And I am accountable to him, accountable to you and I'm ultimately accountable to the American people for carrying out that charge. 00:56:17 WILLIAM P. BARR I believe that the essence of leadership is ultimately service. I've been at the Department of Justice for almost three years, and I have grown to love the institution and the dedicated men and women who serve in it. And I am proud to be associated with them. 00:56:36 WILLIAM P. BARR I want to serve the Department. I believe I can serve the rule of law in the Department of Justice by protecting and fostering the professionalism and the integrity of the Department of Justice as an institution. AGs come and go, and so the character of the Department of Justice as an ongoing institution has much to do with the course and the fair administration of justice in this country. 00:57:05 WILLIAM P. BARR And if you confirm me, I would like at the conclusion of my tenure to have it said that I upheld the law and that I left the Department of Justice a more effective, stronger and a better institution. Thank you. 00:57:20 SEN. BIDEN Thank you very much. 00:57:21 SEN. BIDEN As you know, this BCCI matter is engulfing and touching it seems everything in sight from the United States to God knows how many other countries. but I -- although I have other questions later on, I want to begin with one to clear the air, if it's possible to clear it -- and I hope it is -- that on November the 12th -- excuse me, on -- (aside) When did this air? 00:57:46 STAFF November 11th. 00:57:47 SEN. BIDEN On November 11th, last night -- (aside) -- on NBC, correct? 00:57:51 STAFF Yes. 00:57:51 SEN. BIDEN (Returning) NBC, the following news report was broadcast. And I am quoting, it says, "The BCCI banker Nazir Chenoy (ph)" -- I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly -- "now in federal custody in Florida facing drug money-laundering charges. Chenoy's (ph) lawyers say federal prosecutors seemed to want Chenoy's (ph) cooperation, until Chenoy (ph) made a startling disclosure: that BCCI had financed, was right in the middle of, covert American arms shipments to Iran. If true, what this member of the BCCI's inner circle says means that BCCI was deeply involved in the CIA's most secret operations, playing a much greater role than the CIA has yet admitted." 00:58:38 SEN. BIDEN Then skipping four or five paragraphs, it concludes -- the second-to-last paragraph, it says, "But two top Justice Department sources say under Thornburgh and his designated successor, William Barr, agents and prosecutors have been blocked or delayed again and again in going after BCCI." 00:58:59 SEN. BIDEN Would you comment on that? 00:59:01 WILLIAM P. BARR The Chenoy (ph) report from last night was the first I heard about this episode. 00:59:07 SEN. BIDEN What do mean by "this episode"? 00:59:10 WILLIAM P. BARR This discussion with Chenoy (ph). He was an original -- this is what my understanding of the situation is, as far as I've been able to tell: Chenoy (ph) is a BCCI official. He was one of the original indictees in the first Tampa money-laundering case. We were not able to get custody of him because he was fighting extradition. We worked for two years to get custody of Chenoy (sp). Meanwhile, the first Tampa case was prosecuted for the defendants that we were able to get into custody. 00:59:44 WILLIAM P. BARR We finally then got Chenoy (ph) in custody. We successfully extradited him. He is scheduled for trial on those original money- laundering charges for January 1992. There were plea negotiations with his lawyer. I am told that in these plea negotiations he made a proffer to agents that the agents considered to be incomplete. I don't know the full content of what this proffer was. But Chenoy (sp) and counsel were seeking a plea agreement, and one of the elements that they were asking for is something called a 5(k) motion, which is to depart from the sentencing guidelines based solely on the proffer without any evaluation of subsequent performance and ultimate truthful cooperation in the future. 01:00:35 WILLIAM P. BARR This is something that I'm told we never do. It is akin to buying a pig in a poke to let someone off on a plea bargain, cut a sweetheart deal for somebody, based solely on a proffer, one that the professionals involved believed was incomplete. If we were in the business -- I mean, at any one time there are literally thousands of criminal defendants scheduled for trial on serious crimes. And if everytime one of them wafts the word Iran under our nose and insists upon a sweetheart deal without any commitment of follow-through, we wouldn't be in the criminal justice business. That is my understanding of the Chenoy (sp) episode. 01:01:21 SEN. BIDEN Did you learn this from the news broadcast last night? 01:01:25 WILLIAM P. BARR The first that the Chenoy (sp) thing ever came onto my radar scope was last night on the NBC report. Now, you have to understand there are about five to six linear feet of documents that come into my office every day. 01:01:41 SEN. BIDEN I'm not being critical. I just want to know when -- 01:01:44 WILLIAM P. BARR No, I'm just saying that, you know, it could be in some report somewhere, it could have been on a summary of events or developments that I never focused on. But the first it penetrated my consciousness was last night. 01:02:00 SEN. BIDEN The reason I ask -- and I don't doubt you for a moment. You've never been anything but truthful with me. It does, at least in my mind, raise the question of how top a priority the BCCI investigation is receiving under the Justice Department if this -- unless it's not that significant an event in the minds of the Justice Department, that you, as Acting Attorney General, would not be aware of Chenoy's (sp) proffer. 01:02:30 WILLIAM P. BARR It would not be -- it would be quite unusual for either the Deputy Attorney General or the Attorney General to be monitoring plea negotiations closely, even in a case of this magnitude. And, in fact, I think that if I responded to media pressure or political pressure to get the job done in BCCI and reached down and interfered with the professional judgments early on in this kind of case I think I would be legitimately criticized. The process in the Justice Department is for these things to move up step by step, and if it requires a review or if it's escalated to my level, then I can deal with it, but I'm not going to monitor plea negotiations that are going on across the country, in any case, but this maybe gives me an opportunity to talk more broadly about BCCI, which I would be glad to do, or if you would like to pursue -- 01:03:30 SEN. BIDEN Sure. I'd be glad to (if you're comfortable with it ?). 01:03:33 WILLIAM P. BARR BCCI, I think I would like to look at it from a prospective and then a retrospective standpoint, really using the summertime as the pivot point. I personally did not get involved in any appreciable way in BCCI until the summer, when all the articles started appearing about alleged foot dragging by the Department, and at that point -- 01:03:58 SEN. BIDEN Summer of '91. 01:03:59 WILLIAM P. BARR Yes, just this past summer. And Dick Thornburgh at that point designated Bob Mueller, who is a career prosecutor, who is the head of the Criminal Division, to take charge and to coordinate this effort and make sure that the job gets done in the future, and also to find out what has happened in the past. 01:04:21 SEN. BIDEN Who was in charge up to that point? 01:04:23 WILLIAM P. BARR There were separate investigations going with very little coordination in various districts. 01:04:31 WILLIAM P. BARR Since that time, as Bob Mueller has written to -- 01:04:34 SEN. BIDEN Of course, you know, that's been one of the criticisms. 01:04:38 WILLIAM P. BARR Sure. I'll get to the retrospective in a moment. 01:04:42 SEN. BIDEN Okay. 01:04:43 WILLIAM P. BARR But first, looking from the time that I've been involved forward initially, and as Bob Mueller said in his letter to Congressman Schumer, he has received since that time very clear, straightforward instructions. One, that -- spare no resources, whatever resources are necessary. Two, pursue the investigation as aggressively as possible and follow the evidence anywhere and everywhere it leads. Third, that there's going to be coordination and a consolidated effort. And finally, that jurisdictional turf fights are not going to be tolerated that impede this investigation. And that has been the consistent direction he has received. 01:05:30 WILLIAM P. BARR The investigation now is going forward in five different districts, US Attorney's districts. 01:05:37 SEN. BIDEN Are you now directing Mueller? 01:05:39 WILLIAM P. BARR Yes. 01:05:40 WILLIAM P. BARR And in the District of Columbia, in addition to those five districts, we have a consolidated task force between the US Attorney's Office here and the Criminal Division. That task force has three different teams. Two are conducting investigations. One is providing coordinating and other kinds of support to the overall investigation, and in addition, we have the Office of International Affairs in the Criminal Division assisting all the offices with the international dimensions of this. We have right now 37 prosecutors nationwide and dozens of agents, obviously, supporting those prosecutors on this case. As far as I am aware, all allegations that have surfaced are now being pursued aggressively. And starting from the time that I have been involved, I'll accept personal responsibility for performance in this case. And I'll be held accountable for it. And Mr. Chairman, if you want to hold hearings in several months or whatever timeframe to determine what progress has made, I'd welcome that. But I will take personal responsibility for the performance of the Justice Department on this investigation. 01:07:02 WILLIAM P. BARR But I want to make something clear, and that is that this is a complex case. Most -- we cannot -- we have a standard at the Department of Justice, an indictment standard. We feel we need to have evidence sufficient to support an indictment in hand that we can prove our case in court. And a lot has been said about not wanting to have a political Justice Department. And I agree with that. 01:07:30 WILLIAM P. BARR And there's a lot of different ways politics can come into play in a case. It can be on the one hand -- and I think many of you are thinking of this -- you shouldn't sweep anything under the rug. Don't cut anyone a special break. Don't show favoritism. Don't withhold an indictment that should be laid down because of political influence. 01:07:54 WILLIAM P. BARR But there's another side to the coin, and that is don't hand down an indictment because of political pressure. Don't lower the standard of indictment just because it's politically convenient. That standard, if I become Attorney General, is going to be one standard and it's not going to be changed for anybody in this country. And I don't care how much political pressure is brought to bear. I don't care what the Op-Eds say; I don't care what the journalists say if it's not fast enough for them. And I don't care what the political pressures are; that standard is staying where it is. 01:08:36 WILLIAM P. BARR And right now the career prosecutors in the Department -- and believe me, I've been pressing them -- have explained to me very coherently what evidence is lacking that prevents us from laying down an indictment today. And I insisted on explanations and I've gotten them and they're coherent and I think they're right and they're coming from the career professional prosecutors. And nothing -- you know, from a personal standpoint, it would be great if I could just throw an indictment on the table and say, you know, see guys, but I'm not going to do that. Until that standard is met, there's not going to be an indictment in the BCCI case. As it's met there will be indictments. So that's talking prospectively. 01:09:27 WILLIAM P. BARR And let me just say we have to support the indictments with evidence, and that means people and documents, and most of this activity occurred overseas and it was carefully carried out to avoid regulatory scrutiny. Much of this activity was conducted in countries where there are bank secrecy laws. It's very difficult for us to get access to the records and people we need, but we are working to do that. 01:09:56 WILLIAM P. BARR I am not going to take the Price Waterhouse reports, staple an indictment to it and throw it into the bin. We are going to get the evidence before any indictment comes down. 01:10:09 WILLIAM P. BARR Now, looking retrospectively. I have asked that a thorough review of pre-July activity be conducted -- 01:10:17 SEN. BIDEN Before you do that, I apologize for interrupting, there will be two other things that will be raised and I just want to raise them now so you can throw them in the bin. 01:10:29 SEN. BIDEN It is my understanding, and I do not know this for a fact, that your former law firm, Shaw and Pittman, now represent the President of BCCI. Is that true to the best of your knowledge? 01:10:42 WILLIAM P. BARR I learned yesterday that they are representing Naqvi. 01:10:46 SEN. BIDEN Naqvi. And what is his position? 01:10:49 WILLIAM P. BARR I think he is one of the very senior people. 01:10:52 SEN. BIDEN Now was there any work done by that law firm when you were with the law firm as a partner or as an associate with regard to BCCI? 01:11:01 WILLIAM P. BARR Let me make it clear, this is my understanding. The law firm, I am told, represented people who owned Financial General back in '78 when it was being purchased by others, one of whom was Frank Saul (sp), and apparently it says in the paper that Frank Saul suggested that this was a move by BCCI to take control. That was the first year I was at the firm, I was an associate. I don't believe I had any contact with that matter. That was, as I say, the people representing a person who was a shareholder and whose interest was ultimately bought out. 01:11:40 WILLIAM P. BARR My understanding is that Naqvi became a client of the firm well after I left and I have been gone for amost three years. 01:11:49 SEN. BIDEN Well after you left as a partner. 01:11:51 WILLIAM P. BARR Yes. I left the -- 01:11:53 SEN. BIDEN You were there as an associate in the early '70s? 01:11:56 WILLIAM P. BARR Correct. Then -- let me -- I'll give you the chronology. I was at the law firm from '78 to '82 as an associate. I then returned to the firm from the White House and was there from partner from '85 to '89, when I came into the administration as the head of OLC. So, I've been away from the firm for almost three years. 01:12:17 SEN. BIDEN So, when you say you left the firm, when -- in your last statement, you say when you left the firm, you're referring to 1989 -- 01:12:25 WILLIAM P. BARR '89, yeah. 01:12:26 SEN. BIDEN -- when you left as a partner? 01:12:28 WILLIAM P. BARR Yes. My understanding is Naqvi has become a recent client of one of the partners there. I have no -- 01:12:35 SEN. BIDEN To the best of your -- 01:12:37 WILLIAM P. BARR Let me just say, I have no financial interest in the firm. I liquidated that completely when I left in '89. I have no arrangements with the firm. 01:12:47 SEN. BIDEN But when you were at the firm as a partner, not as an associate, the period when you were a partner, '85 to '89, were you -- I assume had more access to information relative to what the firm was doing than when you were an associate. Can you tell us whether or not the firm at the time you were there as a partner from BCCI or any of the principals in BCCI? 01:13:11 WILLIAM P. BARR Not to my knowledge. 01:13:13 SEN. BIDEN Not to your knowledge. That's good enough for me. Now, I'll come back with some other questions. My time is up -- 01:13:21 WILLIAM P. BARR Let me say -- but let me just say -- 01:13:23 SEN. BIDEN -- you can say anything you'd like. 01:13:26 WILLIAM P. BARR Let me just say on that that the firm has some international bank clients. I was never involved in that practice, and I never became aware of them representing BCCI. 01:13:38 SEN. BIDEN For the record, how big is the firm? 01:13:40 WILLIAM P. BARR Right now, it's 240 or [2]50 lawyers. 01:13:42 SEN. BIDEN Two hundred forty or -- and how many partners roughly? 01:13:46 WILLIAM P. BARR Probably around 70 or 80. 01:13:48 SEN. BIDEN Now, if you'd like to -- I'm not asking you to, but if you want to finish your answer with regard to BCCI, not prospectively, but as you started, or if you want to wait till later, it's up to you. Because otherwise I'll yield to my colleague, Senator Thurmond. 01:14:06 WILLIAM P. BARR Well -- 01:14:07 SEN. BIDEN I don't want to cut you off. I just wanted to get that in so it didn't linger. 01:14:12 WILLIAM P. BARR Okay. Maybe we can -- I was going to give an overview of what's happened in the past and largely defend the Department's record. But I'll hold off on that until someone else raises the BCCI issue. 01:14:26 SEN. PAUL SIMON (D-IL): I think it would be helpful, as long as you're having this, to get that retrospective look right now. 01:14:35 WILLIAM P. BARR Okay. I've asked for a retrospective look. I think it's important that if there were mistakes made that we can learn from our mistakes and make sure these kinds of slipups don't happen again. So, that's one reason. And the reason is because there's sort of lurking in the background here some suggestion that somehow there's some wrongdoing or mischief involved. And to the extent there are any allegations like that, I want those all pursued and run to ground. But based -- and let me also say that I am frankly not immersing myself in all the details of what happened prior to July. I will have people working on that. I learn a little as it goes on, but my priority is what happens from now on in and making sure the job is done. 01:15:27 WILLIAM P. BARR But from what I do know, I think that much of the -- I think the record is fairly good and I think much of the criticism is unfair. The major criticism is that the Department didn't act quickly enough. There are basically four categories of offenses that BCCI is alleged to have committed that touch upon the United States. First is money laundering. Second is regulatory offenses -- the secret acquisition of financial institutions in the United States. The third is a wide- scale fraud, a Ponzi scheme where depositors' money was taken worldwide. And the fourth is general allegations about public corruption, that there's somehow a pad somewhere and bribes being paid to public officials. 01:16:18 WILLIAM P. BARR Starting with money laundering, most of the money laundering allegations centered on Florida, which the major area of drug activity and money laundering. And the Department of Justice has prosecuted a major money-laundering case against BCCI, the only one so far brought to fruition. It was a Customs Department undercover investigation, it was a complex investigation, and ultimately we were able to prosecute five, I think, of the BCCI officials, but also then had a plea agreement with the Bank where we got the largest payout forfeiture in the history of financial institutions. 01:17:01 WILLIAM P. BARR And then there's been a second phase of this, a follow-up, in Tampa where in September '91 we brought a follow-on indictment against other individuals. 01:17:12 WILLIAM P. BARR The money laundering, by and large, the big picture is that the money-laundering allgations were detected and have been prosecuted. Now there is an allegation in the Washington Post -- I believe it's the Washington Post -- editorial page today that there were 125 DEA cases in DEA's -- relating to BCCI in DEA's files and that somehow we didn't get the picture and didn't focus on this 125 cases. I am informed that the 125 figure is the number of current reports in the DEA files, most of which relate to the investigation and the activity that was carried on from '86 through '90 in that money-laundering case. 01:17:55 WILLIAM P. BARR The second area of allegations are regulatory offenses. And as I said, that is the notion that there were secret acquisitions of financial institutions. The basic allegation there is that the law enforcement people, both Justice and Treasury because there were two Treasury agencies involved -- Customs and IRS -- that while they were covering the money-laundering part of the case, they acquired some evidence about the secret -- the alleged secret acquisition of First American and that they never passed that on, or that somehow that slowed down the investigation. 01:18:37 WILLIAM P. BARR I think -- again, I'm talking here the big picture and my preliminary assessment because I haven't immersed myself in all the facts -- but the general pattern it seems to me was that this evidence was passed along to the Fed, maybe not as promptly and tidily as it should have been, but basically the information was transmitted to the Fed after the takedown of the undercover operation. And the evidence that was transmitted to the Fed, which had primary jurisdiction here -- these were regulatory violations and the Fed, in the first instance, is the regulatory agency that should be investigating -- that they were of limited utility to the Fed because they were of sort of a general nature, hearsay, gossip, and that the Fed was really focusing on trying to get more tangible evidence. 01:19:34 WILLIAM P. BARR And my understanding of the Fed's position is that it was the Price Waterhouse study that came out in December of 1990 that was the big breakthrough for the Fed -- and remember, the Fed has a lower standard of proof, they're operating in a civil environment, not a criminal environment -- so it was in December '90 that the big piece of evidence, as far as the Fed was concerned, on the regulatory offenses came out of the UK. And my general sense is that the hearsay, and the gossip, and the rumor, and the general corporate knowledge kind of evidence that was transmitted to the Fed from the money-laundering investigations, I think sheer speculation and quite unlikely that that would have materially advanced the Fed's ultimate investigation. 01:20:28 WILLIAM P. BARR In any event, the Fed did refer the regulatory case to us in January of this year, so we have had -- the process has worked. The Fed, as the regulatory agency, has made a criminal referral that came to the Department in January '91, and the Department is pursuing those regulatory offenses -- potential offenses. But as I say, the issue for us is getting the evidence from overseas. 01:20:55 WILLIAM P. BARR I think that the allegations of the Ponzi scheme, the worldwide fraud likewise arose after the Price Waterhouse report, and the allegations of corruption are of relatively recent vintage and of quite a general nature, and those are now being pursued. And these issues arose in 1991. 01:21:16 WILLIAM P. BARR I've already discussed the fact that it is very hard for us -- a tedious process to gain the evidence that we need as a predicate for an indictment. And I think it's unfair generally to be conducting an autopsy on a live body. This is an investigation in mid-stream, and ordinarily, the Department of Justice is not and should not be driven by a political timetable. I don't know why the people feel we should be handing down indictments immediately here, we will handle -- we will hand down indictments when the evidence is there to support it. There's a saying, I think all of us know it, that the wheels of justice grind slow but exceedingly fine. And most people appreciate that because we have to go through a process. And the reason we're ultimately able to do justice and get that find grinding at the end where all the allegations are handled in a coherent way is because we go through a process. 01:22:21 WILLIAM P. BARR No one at the CIA, the State Department, or the White House, or anybody outside the Department of Justice as far as I am aware, has ever attempted to influence the course of this case. And no political influence whatsoever has been brought to bear on this investigation. 01:22:41 SEN. BIDEN Have you been asked to update the White House on the state of the investigation of BCCI? 01:22:48 WILLIAM P. BARR When? 01:22:48 SEN. BIDEN Since you've taken over primary responsibility for it? 01:22:53 WILLIAM P. BARR There were two instances where -- there are only two communications I'm aware of with the White House on the BCCI case -- on the investigation. One was a lunch I was having with Boyden Gray we were going over a number of issues that were going to be coming up in the fall and discussing that the Department would be having a transition at that point. And I said that the BCCI matter was, you know, an important priority area. And he asked me to explain all the adverse press that the Department had been getting over the summer. 01:23:31 WILLIAM P. BARR And the only other instance I'm aware of is where we, basically following up on that, went to brief the Counsel's office -- I didn't do it, someone else did -- on the allegations that had been made and the progress of the investigation. But no one in the White House has ever attempted to influence this in any way. 01:23:53 SEN. BIDEN Thank you. Senator Thurmond. 01:23:55 SEN. THURMOND Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 01:23:57 SEN. THURMOND Mr. BArr, when a person goes into a new position they generally set up goals. What are your goals during your tenure as Attorney General? 01:24:07 WILLIAM P. BARR I think talking about specific goals and priorities, and I think I've said this to a number of you on courtesy calls, is a little bit misleading in the Department of Justice because we're called upon to administer the law across the board and make sure that all programs and all areas of enforcement are covered. And as Senator Kennedy said, it's a very difficult job to do in a period of scarce resources. And in a way, I hate to suggest that by giving emphasis on one program that we may be giving short shrift to another. I don't mean to suggest that. And so one of my priorities is to try the best I can to cover the whole waterfront so that the end of my tenure it cannot be said of me that I let the ball drop in a particular area. And that's an important priority, I think, for any Attorney General to have. It doesn't necessarily get headlines, but that's the business of the Department of Justice. 01:25:12 WILLIAM P. BARR The second priority is also sort of a cross-cutting nature, and that is -- before getting into specific areas of emphasis -- and that is something I said in my opening statement, which is to try to foster and build upon the professionalism and the integrity of the institution itself so that when I leave people will say it's a better institution, it's a more professional institution, and I think that the way I can do that as Attorney General is both by personal example, by being professional in my decisions and my dealings, but also to insist upon it from top to bottom in the work that's done in the Department. 01:25:57 WILLIAM P. BARR Beyond that, there are several areas of emphasis. Obviously drugs has to continue as a top priority. In my view, it is a long- term struggle. We're talking here about the Cold War; we're not talking about Desert Storm. This problem took decades to come about, it's going to take decades to cure. But part of my responsibility and my priority will be to keep the pressure on so we continue to make progress. 01:26:26 WILLIAM P. BARR Beyond that, I want to give increasing emphasis to the problem of violent crime. Violent crime is intolerable in the United States. And while it is largely a local concern -- 95 percent of it or more is really state and local jurisdiction -- and should be, I do think there are some areas where the federal government can provide greater support and make a real difference in the violent crime problem. And later on, I'll be glad to discuss the details of what I'm talking about. 01:27:00 WILLIAM P. BARR Next, I would say that civil rights would be one of my areas of emphasis. I think there's broad area of agreement -- sometimes we focus on the areas of policy disagreement, but there's even a broader area of agreement in the civil rights area, and that is that discrimination is abhorrent and strikes at the very nature and fiber of what this country stands for. 01:27:26 WILLIAM P. BARR I believe that there is still -- although progress has been made in this country, that there is still discrimination in this country. And enforcing the civil rights laws would be a high priority of mine. I intend to be vigilant in watching for discrimination, and I intend to be aggressive in rooting it out and enforcing the laws against it wherever it's detected. 01:27:53 WILLIAM P. BARR The first experience I had as Acting Attorney General with this was the -- in the area of fair housing that Senator Hatch alluded to. Shortly after I took the position of Acting Attorney General, I saw that there were -- a report came out of HUD about discrimination in housing, followed by a report from the Fed concerning discrimination in mortgages. And I recognize there's been a lot of talk about how those -- that data has to be massaged and sifted and studied and analyzed. But in the meantime, I told John Dunne that that didn't mean we should sit on our haunches, and I asked him to put together a stepped-up enforcement program. And he talked about Senator Hatch's bill to start using testers, and I thought that was a good idea, but I found or concluded that we didn't really need new legislation; we could do it. And I asked that we reprogram money into the program -- $1.4 million over two years -- and that we embark on a testers program. This would be the first time the Department of Justice has used testers directly. We're relied on the evidence before, but now they'll be working for us directly. 01:29:13 WILLIAM P. BARR And also, I asked John to set up a group of regulatory agencies that are involved in the mortgage area so that we can have a coordinated enforcement program. And I believe that group is meeting and setting out an enforcement program in the mortgage area. So I intend to be proactive. And, as I said, civil rights will be a priority. 01:29:37 WILLIAM P. BARR And finally, I would say white collar crime. And there the challenge is to keep up the momentum in the areas where we have been making progress. I think we've been making a lot of progress on financial institution fraud, in large part because of the infusion of resources we got in the Crime Control Act of 1990. And we've been making progress in government contracting and in HUD fraud and in affirmative civil litigation. 01:30:08 WILLIAM P. BARR But the other part of the white collar challenge is to anticipate the slumbering giants before they become problems like the S&L problem and try to get ahead of the power curve, get the resources in place and get the program in place. And I've been chairing the Economic Crime Council, where we have designated areas of insurance fraud, pension fraud, computer crime, and health care fraud as new areas of emphasis and starting to put in place a program to deal with them. But as Senator Kennedy said, I have these -- while these are priorities, and while I will be trying to give them emphasis, we are in an area of -- an era of scarce resources. 01:30:54 WILLIAM P. BARR The President has asked for a 60 percent increase in the budget over three years, and his past increase for the '92 fiscal year was 15 percent. I have to say the Senate, in their appropriations, basically gave the President what he wanted on the Justice Department, but unfortunately in conference committee we lost $472 million. That is a tremendous blow to the Department. It means a lot of the initiatives we were hoping to carry out cannot be carried out, so another cross- cutting priority of the Department of any Attorney General -- and it's become increasingly a role that the Attorney General has to play -- is as a manager, to make sure that we are effectively investing the money and the resources. 01:31:45 WILLIAM P. BARR So, Senator, that's -- those are my goals as Attorney General. 01:31:49 SEN. THURMOND And what about filling these judgeship vacancies? In fact, two weeks ago I had checked up; we had 125 vacancies. It seems to me it's taken too long. Now, is that the White House or is that the Justice Department? 01:32:04 WILLIAM P. BARR It is a long process, Senator. I think we had a total of 150 vacancies, and my figures show that we have 41 nominations pending; we have tentatively selected 66 candidates who are now undergoing either FBI background checks or ABA reviews. And we are in the process of interviewing for 18 additional judgeships, and that we have not received recommendations on, 25. 01:32:30 WILLIAM P. BARR Now, I agree that it's a slow process, but it's an important one. We did have a big backlog and because of this creation of the new judgeships, and it's a long process, because we have to make sure that we're putting people who have the proper character and integrity and competence on the bench, and that requires the FBI background. It requires the ABA screening process, and that takes a lot of time. But I think the big picture is that we have 41 nominations pending and 66 already in the pipeline with only 18 interviewing and 25 no action on yet isn't that bad a position to be in, but I agree with you we have to do better. And it may require putting more FBI resources into it. 01:33:18 SEN. THURMOND Would it be possible to employ more FBI agents to get this thing done? I'm getting complaints all the time about filling these vacancies. The judges are complaining. And they say they're overworked and can't get the job done. We've created the vacancies and now they're not being filled. Can't you employ about 50 extra FBI agents and get this work done? 01:33:44 WILLIAM P. BARR I don't know if I can employ them, but obviously we can shift FBI agents from other areas to do the backgrounds. But this is a pipeline we're talking about. It has a number of different points along the line. And even if we were to push through the 66 who are going through the process now, either bacground or ABA, this Committee also has limitations on its capacity to process these people quickly. I'm not suggesting there's been delay at all, I'm just saying that right now there are 41 pending. We are just -- 01:34:20 SEN. THURMOND Where is Senator Biden? I want him to hear that. (Laughter.) 01:34:24 WILLIAM P. BARR We have 66 more coming down the pipe. It's a -- I think there's back -- 01:34:29 SEN. THURMOND It's taking two or three months for the FBI to investigate. It's taken several months for the ABA to investigate. I think that's ridiculous, to be frank with you. 01:34:41 WILLIAM P. BARR Well, I think we have to expedite those investigations and get more nominations up to the Committee. But the Committee also has to investigate these -- 01:34:52 SEN. THURMOND These positions ought to be filled. Now, if it's the Justice Department's fault or the White House, they ought to correct it. If it's the fault of this Committee, it ought to be corrected. These positions ought to be filled. 01:35:08 SEN. THURMOND Now, I'm sure you realize the importance of a good working relationship with the Congress. So, how would you hope to accomplish that? 01:35:18 WILLIAM P. BARR I think that I've been able to establish a good working relationship with the Congress both on the Senate side and the House side. I've been willing to work closely with committees and with individual members to accomplish legislative objectives. I played a role in getting the Debt Collection Act through, and, as Senator Simon mentioned, came up and spent an all-nighter here on the Crime Control Act. I worked closely with Senator Biden on this year's crime bill, which passed the Senate. And I think the key to it is mutual respect and open communication. 01:35:59 SEN. THURMOND Now, do you feel there are sufficient resources at both the state and federal levels to effectively fight organized and white collar crime, and would you hesitate to ask for more funds if you need them? 01:36:14 WILLIAM P. BARR Well, as Dick Thornburgh said, we could always use more resources in law enforcement. We only spend a little over 1 percent of our budget on law enforcement in this country on a federal level and about, I think, 3 percent on the state level. And my impression is that any law enforcement officer in the country, state or federal, can always use more. So, it's a question of prioritizing and doing the best you can with limited resources. 01:36:45 WILLIAM P. BARR On the organized crime front, I think we have a good program in place. We have recently changed our strategy, as you know. Whereas before we were focusing exclusively on the La Cosa Nostra and certain other organized crime entities, we've now expanded the definition of organized crime so that we could go after other groups, emerging groups, and non-traditional organized crime groups. And we are deploying those resources now. 01:37:17 WILLIAM P. BARR On the state level, that's really a matter for the state and local authorities to determine how much is enough resources. I myself would not like to see a scaling back of what is being invested in law enforcement on the local and state level. 01:37:35 SEN. THURMOND The Office of Professional Responsibility has made fine contributions. I presume you expect to continue to provide support for that office. 01:37:46 WILLIAM P. BARR Yes, I do support the Office of Professional Responsibility. The -- as you know, we have a new IG that was created, and there has been some issue as to the respective jurisdiction of the IG and the Office of Professional Responsibility. 01:38:03 WILLIAM P. BARR On the one hand, I think part of the statute suggests that the Attorney -- or maybe it's the legislative history, that the Attorney General may consider subsuming in the IG's office OPR, merging the two. On the other hand, I believe there is also language either in the statute or legislative history suggesting that another consideration might be given to shifting investigative slots from the IG to OPR, basically creating a larger -- far bigger organization of OPR, while, at the same time, having the IG. And those offices have given me their views on the allocation of responsibility. 01:38:46 WILLIAM P. BARR And I decided, when I became Deputy, to basically get a year of experience -- or a year or more of experience under our belt with these two offices in operation before making any decisions, because I wanted to see where the pressure points were and how the relationships were and what roles they were playing. And while I haven't come to a final conclusion about all the details, I think that we should continue to have OPR as a separate entity, enforcing the -- particularly the professional responsibility of the lawyers in the Department and assisting the Attorney General in ensuring the highest standards in the Department. 01:39:32 SEN. THURMOND I believe my time is up. Thank you very much. 01:39:35 SEN. THURMOND Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 01:39:37 WILLIAM P. BARR Thank you, sir. 01:39:38 SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D-MA): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 01:39:42 SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D-MA) And I want to say that it's difficult to differ with your orders of priorities. I think the order that you represent them pretty much would certainly express my own kind of priorities in the Justice Department. And I think you pointed out whether you're going to be -- and the new initiatives, I think you ought to be commended for. And the fact of the matter is, there's been more action over in HUD than there has in the Justice Department in recent times in the areas of enforcement of civil rights. And as I understand, even though it's in a preliminary stage, what you're attempting to do there, I think, is noteworthy and commendable. 01:40:28 SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D-MA) Let me go into some other areas that have not been touched. One of them has been mentioned, but I'd like to, if I could, direct your attention to the Brady waiting period for handguns. The Brady handgun waiting period is an important proposal your predecessors supported on the condition that it be included as part of a comprehensive crime package, including habeas corpus, death penalty, and other reforms. 01:40:58 SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D-MA) The proliferation of assault weapons, though, continues to be a problem for law enforcement and every law-abiding citizen, and the success of waiting periods and background checks at the state level is compelling. They provide a cooling-off period and the only opportunity to determine whether a prospective firearm purchaser is not entitled to make that purchase because of a criminal record or a history of mental illness or other disqualifying factor. 01:41:33 SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D-MA) Now the Brady waiting period the administration is willing to accept as part of the crime package applies only to handguns. The assault weapons, obviously, are at least as lethal. Why shouldn't we expand the scope of the Brady Bill to encompass assault weapons as well? 01:41:52 WILLIAM P. BARR On the assault weapon front, the proposal before us is the DeConcini amendment. And I think -- I don't know if this is a new statement or not, but I would support both the Brady Bill waiting period and the DeConcini amendment, provided they were parts of a broader and more comprehensive crime bill that included tough enforcement provisions, including very tough provisions on the use of firearms in crimes and illegal purchase and trading in firearms, which are part of the package that passed the Senate. 01:42:30 WILLIAM P. BARR Now, to be candid on the waiting period, I would prefer an approach that was directed toward point-of-sale, and I know that we're not at that point yet technologically. It's going to require more investment, and I've been involved in fusing those resources here to upgrade the records. But the important thing, I think, ultimately will be a system that's based on state records, a state system. And so I think the House approach is preferable frankly to the Senate approach. 01:43:04 WILLIAM P. BARR On the DeConcini amendment, I would prefer a limitation on the clip size. But ultimately, I would recommend the President sign a bill that had the Brady waiting period and the DeConcini assault weapons provisions in it as long as we had other tough crime measures in it that dealt with the other problems. And I have not considered before whether the waiting period should apply to assault weapons, but -- and I want to think about that, but off the top of my head, I don't think there should be an objection to that. 01:43:42 SEN. KENNEDY Well I think that's -- as you know, the DeConcini on the assault weapons does not provide for the waiting period for the assault weapons. And, although it includes a number, I believe it's eleven sets of assault weapons that are clearly -- there are clearly others that have been -- that result in the same kind of destruction and havoc and threat to law enforcement personnel. 01:44:09 SEN. KENNEDY I think the fact that you are forthcoming in terms of the waiting period for assault weapons is very constructive. We have -- 01:44:18 SEN. BIDEN And unusual for an Attorney General nominee. 01:44:22 SEN. KENNEDY We have here just the application for the purchase of weapons, and, as you're familiar, prior to 1968, they didn't even ask the six or seven questions, which are about the most rudimentay questions that there are. And, of course, without having the opportunity to give local law enforcement the opportunity to check those, the significance and the importance of them are significantly compromised. So, it's been to try and give that period of time to law -- local enforcement that the waiting period has been supported, and there have been some important successes. In New Jersey over a period of time, some 10,000 convicted felons trying to buy guns have been identified -- and I'm not going to take the time of the committee to go through those. 01:45:15 SEN. KENNEDY But the fact that you'd be willing to consider it -- it seems to me to be logical -- if it's important in terms of dealing with violence on the handguns and on the kinds of weapons that have been used, that have brought such destruction and violence to our fellow citizens, would certainly be justified as well and that are threatening many of those in the law enforcement community. 01:45:43 SEN. KENNEDY So let me just ask you on one other related area, and that is on the -- reviewing the licensing requirements for the sale of assault weapons. As you probably know -- and I won't go through in great deal -- but it's virtually four or five or the same kinds of questions and you can get a license to sell these assault weapons and sell them to virtually anyone. And it seems to me that if we -- if it's good enough in terms of the purchase of the handguns, in terms of checking out the background, and good enough in terms of trying to deal with the assault weapons, having some kind of idea about who is going to be selling those and who is going to be the licensee, given some of the recent information about who is selling assault weapons is worthwhile as well. 01:46:37 SEN. KENNEDY Would you be at least willing to visit and talk about that particular issue and see what suggestions you might have on that? 01:46:46 WILLIAM P. BARR Sure, Senator. I'm always willing to consider that. 01:46:50 WILLIAM P. BARR In considering restrictions on the lawful sale of guns, I do start out with the threshold considerations that the most effective way ultimately of dealing with violent crime is to deal with violent criminals and that anything that focuses exclusively on lawful sale is somewhat of a feckless exercise. But as part of a comprehensive approach, I think it's legitimate to take a look at reasonable steps, recognizing that there is a tradition of private gun ownership in this country and a legitimate interest in that, but nevertheless, looking at reasonable steps as part of a broader approach to controlling the deadly use of firearms that is becoming an increasing part of the plague of violence, the crime that we have in our streets. 01:47:45 SEN. KENNEDY I liked your earlier answer better, but I'm glad to hear this one, too. (Laughter.) 01:47:51 SEN. KENNEDY And I'd say to my good friend from South Carolina, if you need any recommendations on those vacancies up in Massachusetts, to fill those, I'd be glad to help. 01:48:02 SEN. KENNEDY Let me go to another area and that's an area that we talked about at the time that we had our visit, which I very much appreciated, and that is with regard to the Wichita Operation Rescue case and the decision to file a brief in the Wichita Operation Rescue case, the Women's Health Care Services v. Operation Rescue. 01:48:25 SEN. KENNEDY As we understand, historically the federal government has protected the individual rights, and when protestors attempted to prevent the black Americans from attending newly integrated schools by blocking the students' access, the federal government stepped in to ensure the students' safe entry. And that was done at a time when there were many that were really, out of a sincere belief, believed that the law was wrong during that time. It wasn't really a question whether they believed it was right or wrong, still the Justice Department acted. 01:49:06 SEN. KENNEDY But in this case the United States Justice Department reached out to the District Court in Kansas and entered the dispute on the side of the lawbreakers. It weighed in with those who would forcibly deny a woman a federal constitutional right to abortion. And it, as far as I'm concerned, poured gasoline on an already volatile situation by making it appear that the government supported the clearly unlawful acts of Operation Rescue. The government had alredy stated its position in a brief before the Supreme Court, defended in both cases the same entity, Operation Rescue, was even represented by the same attorneys, so there's no reason to believe the judge in Kansas would not be apprised of the pending Supreme Court case. 01:50:00 SEN. KENNEDY Why did the government feel it necessary to sort of fan the flames in Wichita and to argue that Operation Rescue should be freed from the court's order prohibiting its illegal activities? 01:50:14 WILLIAM P. BARR Well, thank you, Senator. This gives me the opportunity to describe what happened, because I think it has been mischaracterized, largely, and people drew the wrong conclusions from the way it was publicly presented. And in describing it, I would like to emphasize three points. First, this was not viewed as an abortion issue in the Department. It was viewed as an issue of jurisdiction and the reach of the so-called "Ku Klux Klan Act" of 1871. Show Less Text 01:50:46 WILLIAM P. BARR Second is that the Department did not side with the demonstrators. On the contrary, we condemn those who break the law and who violate other people's legal rights. And third, that this was not a gratuitous action by the Department where we reached out and tried to stir up an issue. On the contrary, we felt that circumstances came about that really drew us into it, and we tried in good faith to deal with it in a lawful way as we understood it. 01:51:18 WILLIAM P. BARR The first point that I think bears emphasis is that Operation Rescue demonstrators who block abortion clinics are law breakers. They are treading on other people's legal rights. I do not support or endorse or sympathize with those tactics. As the President said, everybody has an obligation to obey the law, and as a government official, my responsibility is to enforce the law and to protect people's rights. 01:51:49 WILLIAM P. BARR The issue in Wichita was not whether those demonstrators should be dealt with. The issue in Wichita was which statute should be used to deal with them, which law enforcement agency should be used, and what court system should be used to deal with the demonstrators. And we believe that the applicable statutes were local and that the local police should be the law enforcement agency and that the local courts could deal with it. And this has been, in fact, the -- in city after city around the country, that is how it has been handled, locally. 01:52:29 WILLIAM P. BARR In Wichita, there was an attempt to federalize the issue.

TVU 25 ELIZABETH WARREN LAS VEGAS OTR ABC UNI 021520 2020 P2 (please note this is all on the record despite the slug!) Warren did a long interview with the network embeds on her press bus this afternoon in Las Vegas. Among the highlights, Warren talked about Sanders' campaign and said that she believes it's important to take responsibility for your supporters. She said she does not believe Bloomberg's money gives him an advantage against Trump and shared frustration about other candidates, including Bloomberg, who don't take unfiltered questions from the crowd or hold media avails. When asked about Klobuchar's rising crowds, Warren touted her own 4,000 crowd in Virginia. And at a few different moments, Warren got personal about what her time on the trail has been like. She said she used to dream about going back to teaching once she was elected to the Senate, but she loves campaigning because it reminds her of her days in the classroom. She also said that the selfie line has "rooted" her in the message of her campaign and that she gets a new "jolt" of energy and motivation every time she walks into one of her town halls. + SANDERS SUPPORTERS Sanders condemned bullying and harassment from his supporters after the Culinary Union said its members were facing "vicious" attacks from Sanders supporters. Asked about this, Warren said she's "very proud" of everyone who works for her and that, from the beginning, she has taken responsibility for her whole campaign. 151635 WARR>> I didn't see the comment, so it's hard for me to say whether I think that's enough because you've actually characterized two sort of different comments there. I feel really proud of the people who work on my campaign and the people who support us. We talked early on when we were first building this campaign that we were not going to fight with other campaigns and try to play dirty tricks on other campaigns and attack other campaigns online. 151712 And one of the consequences of that Is that when other people dropped out of the race, they felt welcome in our campaign. They felt welcome to volunteer, they felt welcome to become part of the team so that we have people now in our campaign who work -- goodness, from Kirsten's campaign, Kamala's, from -- you know the lists. It's just -- it's a whole bunch of people and this goes back to the question I was talking about earlier. 151850 Q: Just on that question about Bernie, you've taken responsibility before when things far below you happen in your campaign... And you've apologized. Should he be doing that? 151901 WARR>> Look, I think that's what leadership is. Leadership is about taking responsibility for what's gone wrong and taking responsibility for making real change. + BLOOMBERG 151103 The point is it changes fundamentally our democracy If someone can reach in their own pocket and fund 100 million dollars in ads and suddenly push themselves up in the polls without having to meet a single voter. Without having to take a single unfiltered question, without having to do press avails. If we are in America, if we become an America where you've either got to be a billionaire or suck up to the billionaires to get the Democratic nomination. Then this democracy will work better and better for billionaires and worse and worse for everyone else. Q: -- Also being a time where some people were thinking we might need influence of money to beat Trump. 150322 WARR>> I just disagree with the premise. I don't think we have a better chance of beating Donald Trump by putting up a billionaire against him. We have a better chance of beating Donald Trump when we pull our party together and when we fight for hard working families, fight for core democratic principles that can unite our party and pull in independents and Republicans. But in a general election, there's going to be plenty of money for people to get their ads done. 150358 The fundamental question is going to be, what is a set of issues we run on and how hard we run from the heart? So, I just think it's -- Q: Are those people like, talking about making a deal with the devil kind of -- WARR>> No, I just I -- just think it's -- I don't even think it's a deal with the devil. To deal with the devil implies that you're actually getting something for it. We're not better off putting up a billionaire. That does not increase the odds that we win here. We win when we pull our party together and when we fight from the heart for the values we believe in. + KLOBUCHAR'S CROWDS 150836 Q: There's a lot of talk between crowds that Amy Klobuchar is pulling. Do you feel like you might know that you're really up against a challenge because you saw your campaign rise the same way? 150851 You know, We have 4000 people in Virginia on what day was that? Tuesday? Thursday night? Thursday night? Wednesday night? Right. Everyone was there and nobody knows. We had an overflow crowd in an overflow crowd to the overflow crowd. And they were all in the fight and It felt good. It felt good because people recognize how important 2020 is and that we've heard from two states, but we still got 98 percent of Americans left to go and it looks like a lot of them still want to have a voice in what happens next. + HER PERSONAL FEELINGS ON CAMPAIGNING FOR PRESIDENT 150707 You know, I taught school for years and I loved it. And. When I became a senator I realized how much I missed it. I missed being in a room full of people who were asking hard questions and who were -- who were engaged and cared about what was going to happen and it. I used to have teaching dreams. 150757 I would dream at night about being back in the classroom after-- after I'd gone to the Senate. And now with town halls for a year, it's a chance to be back with people. It's a chance. It's a chance for people to wear on their sleeve the most important thing to them and a chance for me to hear it and -- and engage them. 145539 WARR>> What I came to understand over time is the selfie line has kept me deeply rooted in what this campaign is about. It means I don't spend all my time talking to advisors in the media, and people who are already on the team and who are experts -- I spend my time with people who come through and say, "This is what matters to me" or, "this is what I'm counting on." On the pinky promises she does every time she meets a little girl. WARR>> Most of the time it's "my name is Elizabeth. I'm running for president because that's what girls do." And then we pinky promise to remember. Sometimes a little girl will already have her own statement. And we do pinky promises to remember that. But that's what it's usually around. I -- I want you to be the first president and I will be the second. 152104 I've heard that from 6 year olds and "I want you to be the first woman president and I'll be the second." And we do pinky promises to remember. Q: Can I ask you --- WARR>> Did a pinky promise today with a dog [laughter] He was totally into it. That was it. 151348 We've raised six million dollars after Iowa. We ask people to set a $7 million goal going forward before Nevada and raised a million dollars on the first day. And I'm very, very grateful for that. We had a lot of new donors who jumped in. But it's important to be realistic about what it means that other candidates for the Democratic nomination are still out there bringing in more and more money from the billionaires. TVU 25 ELIZABETH WARREN LAS VEGAS OTR ABC UNI 021520 2020 144848 WARR>> So...when -- Have I told you this story about Deval Patrick? Q: About the -- about staying hydrating? WARR>> Two things? That's right. And it was such a touching moment, you know. Always fight from the heart, people can tell, and stay hydrated. [laughs] Q: Two very important parts. WARR>> That's right. The heart of what it's all about. So [coughs] excuse me, we're headed to a town hall? Good. Okay. Good. Are you all having fun? Did you have fun at the market? Q: Yes, we're super glad to not be in cold weather. WARR>> Yes Q: I'll speak for the bus. 144919 WARR>> Yes -- Q: It reminds me of home, I'm from McAllen. WARR>> Oh yeah! Q: I'm born and raised and when to college in MacAllan. WARR>> You did! So I don't know, have you ever seen the picture -- we use it in our [car honks] some of our video stuff, shows up in some places. And it's a picture -- 144938 I'm the little hot number in the -- in the sunglasses, two brothers. The third brother is in uniform and my mother. We're in this weird combination of clothes. That was taking in McAllen, Texas. >> Wow WARR>> When Donna Reid was stationed in McAllen. So it's the first time we'd ever been, all the way down to McAllen. >> Doing border control? Or anything related to the border? WARR>> No. He was in the Air Force. And I think they were -- I think it was training, but they were down there.I don't know. I was a kid, six months, something like that but we went down to see him. And so that was the first time I got to see McAllen and just how lush, McAllen is compared to a place like Oklahoma because Oklahoma is so much drier. 145028 And yeah, but I like McAllen. And then of course, you know, I was back in McAllen to go to the center whenever walking up the children and separating from their parents. I remember one of the things about that trip. >> We actually come from Nevada. WARR>> Hmm? >> We came from Nevada. WARR>> We came from Nevada. That's exactly right. We were in Nevada and it was -- you may remember it was when the first, just kind of the first word was leaking out that we were -- that this country was separating children from their families. And I went down to McAllen to the big center processing center down here. 145116 And that's the first time I saw the cages of -- cages women, cages of men. And these freestanding cages of little girls, little girls, little girls, little boys, the nursing mothers back in the corner. The -- I said one of these children. These children have been separated from their families. And I remember the CBP agent said oh no, these children are not separated from their families because they have other family members, locked up somewhere in the facility and it's well, do they get to communicate with them or meet with them? 145154 And they said no, we can't do that. So, they were -- It makes me think about this numbers, about how many children were separated and you know what happened. Every single time ee got more information. More children have been separated, more children had been lost somehow the system and hadn't been able to be reunited with their families. But that was the first time I started thinking about how wrong those numbers probably are because they were treating it as not separated If their record showed that a child and a family member was -- were both somewhere in this giant facility. 145235 Although they were locked up and separated from each other and neither had knowledge about where the other was. Q: Senator, because of things like that. Why do you think you haven't come out and just said that we should abolish ICE altogether? Just because that -- that word. Even if we reform it, it is associated with so much trauma. With so many people and always will be. 145255 WARR>> No, It's a fair point. But it's also the point of -- I think about our government agencies, and really howa president has to take responsibility for what happens. And, not -- not an easy path of just saying "Oh, I changed the name." It's that a person has to take ownership of what happens, up and down the organization. 145327 That's where there's been a huge failure in the Trump administration, but a lot of backing off and hand waving for decades. It's interesting. I've been thinking a lot lately about the question of accountability. Now, obviously, sitting in the impeachment hearings gives me a chance -- it gave me a chance to think about, How do you hold a president accountable? 145400 But that's the -- you know that's the most visible but the really big one -- it's how to make government accountable every single day, how to -- how to make sure the things that a president said she cared about as a candidate are things she's working on every single day? And that that President, in turn, is holding her own administration accountable. 145434 Our federal government's big. There's no doubt about that. It's huge. But it has such capacity to do good, or to do harm. And that means it's a president's responsibility to stay after the people who are put in charge of those agencies and their immediate deputies, and make sure there are organized ways to get feedback on what's working and what's not working. 145512 Actually, I'll give you an example around this. I started doing the selfie lines partly just because I didn't want anyone to leave an event wanting a picture and didn't get a picture, because they couldn't grab the front of a rope line. You know, if you run -- if you run a rope line that way, then people with disabilities can't get to the front, seniors can't get in front, people with children --- Q: We feel the same way about gaggles. 145539 WARR>> Yeah, exactly. There you go. And, but what I came to understand over time is the selfie line has kept me deeply rooted in what this campaign is about. It means I don't spend all my time talking to advisors in the media, and people who are already on the team and who are experts -- I spend my time with people who come through and say, "This is what matters to me" or, "this is what I'm counting on." Q: Has it been tough for you lately because you're not able to do them quite as much, you're not able to stay --- ? 145622 WARR>> It's hard, and it's hard because I feel like I disappoint people. People show up wanting to do selfie lines, and I want to do the selfie line. It's just, it's the 24 hours in a day problem, and needing to get to a lot of places, and people have been very generous about it. But it's hard not to do them. To me, they are the heart and soul of a town hall. In the same way, I can't imagine filtering the questions in advance. I mean, I just -- I just can't imagine that. 145654 Anybody who wants to ask a question, we do. And you notice, I do it randomly. And there's a reason for that. It should not be the most aggressive person in the room. You notice a lot of times, or I don't know if you notice it, if you can see it from where you are -- I'm kind of seeing it from the other end. But let's just say, 10 tickets are drawn in the space of a -- of a town hall. Now, some people are like "Yes!", you know, "I'm ready! I have it." 145721 And others are like, "that's mine. Do I really want to ask a question? Do I want to stand up in front of all these people?". That's someone who never would have crowded to the front. But because they've got the ticket and the ticket was drawn, they make it to the front and they ask really important questions . Q: Senator, I just want to go back to -- I overheard some of the Latinx voters that you were talking in spanish say, "I don't know who she is. I didn't know she was running for president." [FEED CUTS OUT] Yeah, when they're behind us they saw us without the cameras, what do you think that means about their operation to reach out to Latinx voters who don't even really know people are especially nice this is like one of the first times we've seen you've come to one of these, like very productive. So, we just have to be out there and keep doing more do you think you should come sooner I mean, you don't want to be everywhere all the time, but it's just not possible to do that. I have been to Nevada multiple times I'm glad to come to Nevada I want to come back. But I want to, I also want to be everywhere instantly it's hard to do think your operation is working well enough here is if you haven't been here in 66 days. I think we're on the ground organizers for depression. They include people were born and raised here. dreamers, people who are in mixed status families. People who have never been part of the campaign before, but who believe in what I'm fighting for my be part of that. Seven, I support everything they're doing. We also were putting more money into making sure we reach out through paid advertising and asking more service to come to this day. But, you know, I'm under the same constraints, every other candidate is and that is it's a 24. There are only 24 hours in the day and I can't solve that. So do you got any other candidate. No, I don't know that because I'm you know I'm not with him, you do, you do daily gas but that's what you think. Do you think that they should be dabbling more considering, you know, I heard that Joe Biden to do something doesn't happen once a month. It's mostly confined or Bernie Sanders had gone to lunch without talking to the press is one way that presidential candidates and President are held accountable. It's a big part of why we have a free press and the role it plays in our democracy. One of the reasons I've been so outspoken about Donald Trump's efforts to undermine a free press is that it truly undermines our democracy. It's. It is the press. That helps hold candidates and elected officials accountable between election days. It's the press that exposes the issues and forces candidates to face it, it can be uncomfortable, sometimes, but it's the right thing to do. And I think everything. And make themselves available to the press, same kind of unfiltered questions you guys don't get used to filter questions, or your fundraising email recently, and asking money from your supporters because you can try the recognition that there are media outlets, who are not interested in giving not balanced coverage. And that means we have to use paid media and paid organizers in order to counter. Can you talk about your decision to not be here in Nevada. On Saturday, so I won't be here, I'll be here in the morning. I'll be here when the caucuses speak and I'll be doing a rally to get out the phone. But remember, Washington is also starting to that. We're getting voting in lots of places around the state so I'm gonna be here. But by nighttime. I'll be in in Washington for a rally they're with us they're starting to come, and it is definitely a balance but do you think those voters here in Nevada who already feel kind of slighted by Iowa New Hampshire, do you think they'll be disappointed to not have a rally with you that night. I will be disappointed. Not to be with voters here. But I'm disappointed. Every time I don't get the Get up and talk to people and shake hands or do selfie lines, it's. It truly is a question of just trying to figure out how to manage the time center you have spent a lot of TVU 25 ELIZABETH WARREN LAS VEGAS OTR ABC UNI 021520 2020 P2 150316 Q: -- Also being a time where some people were thinking we might need influence of money to beat Trump. 150322 WARR>> I just disagree with the premise. I don't think we have a better chance of beating Donald Trump by putting up a billionaire against him. We have a better chance of beating Donald Trump when we pull our party together and when we fight for hard working families, fight for core democratic principles that can unite our party and pull in independents and Republicans. But in a general election, there's going to be plenty of money for people to get their ads done. 150358 The fundamental question is going to be, what is a set of issues we run on and how hard we run from the heart? So, I just think it's -- Q: Are those people like, talking about making a deal with the devil kind of -- WARR>> No, I just I -- just think it's -- I don't even think it's a deal with the devil. To deal with the devil implies that you're actually getting something for it. We're not better off putting up a billionaire. That does not increase the odds that we win here. We win when we pull our party together and when we fight from the heart for the values we believe in. 150435 Q: Senator, we've been following your campaign for a long time. WARR>> Yes, you have! Q: All of the ups and the downs and we've seen you come back from polling lower than at other times higher. I know you don't polls. WARR>> No. Q>> What's something that you wish you'd done differently? You wish you would have done differently or something that you learned that you would tell yourself in the beginning all of this? I mean, what have been some of the lowest points and the highest points? 150501 WARR>> Wow. Boy, I need more time to think about this. I really do love doing this. I mean, it's a hard question, I'm not trying to duck your question. I'm just saying. You know, It's hard when I got a bad cold and you know, felt like I'd really rather stay in bed for a couple more hours in and sleep instead of get out of bed, get in the car and drive somewhere. But every time I walk into a town hall, it's like a jolt, 150549 It's -- It's this enormous feeling of optimism that washes over me . It's -- it's -- it's this intense reminder that our country has so many problems, but we can fix it through democracy. That's who we are. And all these people show up to spend two or three hours because they wait in line and then they get in and then there's the music plays for a long time. And then there's the pitch for field organization and somebody does an introduction and then there's another pause. 150627 And they've made this commitment to spend a whole evening because they care about our country. Because they want to see us build a better nation and I -- I can not think of a single time I walked into a town hall that I wasn't delighted to be there. And that's true. Little ones and big ones and giant ones and mega giant ones. It's true. When the selfie lines have lots of people in them, only a few -- I really do. 150707 It's == it's -- actually, can I say it this way? Maybe because -- maybe these unite. Maybe this will make sense to you. You know, I taught school for years and I loved it. And. When I became a senator I realized how much I missed it. I missed being in a room full of people who were asking hard questions and who were -- who were engaged and cared about what was going to happen and it. I used to have.teaching dreams. 150757 I would dream at night about being back in the classroom after-- after I'd gone to the Senate. And now with town halls for a year, it's a chance to be back with people. It's a chance. It's a chance for people to wear on their sleeve the most important thing to them and a chance for me to hear it and -- and engage them. 150829 And think about how together we're going to build something moving forward and I love it. 150836 Q: You saw the rise of your campaign when you were getting (?) crowds and how theres a lot of talk between crowds that Amy Klobuchar is pulling. Do you feel like you might know that you're really up against a challenge because you saw your campaign rise the same way? 150851 You know, We have 4000 people in Virginia on what day was that? Tuesday? Thursday night? Thursday night? Wednesday night? Right. Everyone was there and nobody knows. We had an overflow crowd in an overflow crowd to the overflow crowd. And they were all in the fight and It felt good. It felt good because people recognize how important 2020 is and that we've heard from two states, but we still got 98 percent of Americans left to go and it looks like a lot of them still want to have a voice in what happens next. 150942 Senator, the debates coming up. There's a chance that Michael Bloomberg might be on the debate stage. We know he's your favorite candidate to punch, Possibly the only candidate you punch at. What can we expect to see on the debate stage? 150957 I've been pretty clear about this. I don't think billionaires ought to be able to buy their way onto the debate stage. Period. Q: Does Tom Steyer get a pass on that? WARR>> No he doesn't get a pass on that. I said it on the day that Kamala got forced out of the race. I thought. It said something really terrible about our Democratic Party and our democracy. That on the very same day that Kamala Harris announced that she would leave the race because of money. 151027 That a billionaire bought his way onto the debate stage. I just think that's wrong. And look. It's not a question of does Tom Steyer bring good ideas to the debate or Michael Bloomberg? We can talk to them. The point is it changes fundamentally our democracy If someone can reach in their own pocket and fund 100 million dollars in ads and suddenly push themselves up in the polls without having to meet a single voter. 151103 Without having to take a single unfiltered question, without having to do press avails. If we are in America, if we become an America where you've either got to be a billionaire or suck up to the billionaires to get the Democratic nomination. Then this democracy will work better and better for billionaires and worse and worse for everyone else. 151132 Q: I know you have a strong fighting point for you, i mean the past couple days in Virginia particularly and here today we've heard you kind of return to some of the rhetoric that got you really popular and really big in the first place. Basically, I have a plan for that. You always say it but you've been saying it a lot more recently. 151147 WARR>> I don't know. I hadn't really noticed that there was a difference Q: And you've been hitting Michael Bloomberg again. I mean, we saw, you know, these comments on redlining and you talked on that in Arlington as well. Do you feel like those are strong points>. Are those points that you think that people connect with? 151201 WARR> I think people do connect with them. The notion that Michael Bloomberg blames the 2008 financial crisis on restrictions on banks so they couldn't discriminate more against black and brown communities is truly outrageous. And anyone who thinks that should not be the head of our party. 151230 Q: Your campaign has been rearranging how it's spending its ad money, is that a sign that you guys are struggling? 151240 WARR>> No. No, they're just figuring out where they want to spend the money to reach people in the most effective ways. In fact, I think they're increasing overall ad buy. Q: But you have actually been e-mailing supporters asking them to help... WARR>> Of course. Q: [inaud] WARR>> You know, but that's what it's about. We've got two billionaires in this race. And what is it? Three more people on the debate stage who, immediately after New Hampshire, headed off to suck up more money from millionaires and billionaires. 151319 Wall Street money is pouring into the Democratic Primary. So, yeah, I -- I tell my supporters we're doing this grassroots and we need to -- we need everybody to see what we're up against. It's not -- it's not that people haven't been helpful. They've been enormously helpful. We've raised six million dollars after Iowa. 151348 We ask people to set a $7 million goal going forward before Nevada and raised a million dollars on the first day. And I'm very, very grateful for that. We had a lot of new donors who jumped in. But it's important to be realistic about what it means that other candidates for the Democratic nomination are still out there bringing in more and more money from the billionaires. Q: There are eight candidates still in the race. 151425 WARR>> Is that right? Q: ...Do you think that this hurts Democrats' chances of beating Trump because there are so many people for voters to choose from? Do you think it will have a negative impact? 151442 WARR>> I don't know. I mean, I really don't. I get out and talk about my campaign. We don't have 8 people on the debate stage. But I really don't -- I would give you an answer if I had one. But I don't think of it in those terms. There's not -- look, I can't control what seven other people are doing. I can only control what I'm doing. So I actually don't spend a lot of time thinking about that. Q: And do you think your message kind of gets lost amongst all of the various messages? 151514 WARR>> You know, my job is to get out and fight the fight I believe in, and for me, It's never been about a bunch of consultants. I didn't need somebody to tell me what I believed because it polled well. I've known what I believe since long before I got into politics. My job is to get out and fight that fight. 151543 I think it's the right fight. I think it's the right fight for this moment. And I am deeply optimistic that we have this opportunity to -- to put our country on a better path. Q: Only recently, Bernie Sanders said that he denounced folks who are his supporters who have been criticizing Culinary Union workers or going after other folks who are boo-ing former presidential candidate. It took him this long to say, you know, I don't want those people as part of my campaign. 151626 WARR>> Is that what he said? I didn't actually see the comment. Q: He said those people don't speak for my campaign. What's your reaction to that and do you think that that's enough? 151635 WARR>> I didn't see the comment, so it's hard for me to say whether I think that's enough because you've actually characterized two sort of different comments there. I feel really proud of the people who work on my campaign and the people who support us. We talked early on when we were first building this campaign that we were not going to fight with other campaigns and try to play dirty tricks on other campaigns and attack other campaigns online. 151712 And one of the consequences of that Is that when other people dropped out of the race, they felt welcome in our campaign. They felt welcome to volunteer, they felt welcome to become part of the team so that we have people now in our campaign who work -- goodness, from Kirsten's campaign, Kamala's, from -- you know the lists. It's just -- it's a whole bunch of people and this goes back to the question I was talking about earlier. 151750 I think that's how we build a stronger Democra-- [FEED FREEZES] 151806 ---2016, with Democrats firing at Democrats, and Democrats still angry with Democrats. We need to be a Democratic Party that's -- that's ready, strong and ready to go for it (?) against Trump. [consults with aide about schedule] 151850 Q: Just on that question about Bernie, you've taken responsibility before when things far below you happen in your campaign... And you've apologized. Should he be doing that? 151901 WARR>> Look, I think that's what leadership is. Leadership is about taking responsibility for what's gone wrong and taking responsibility for making real change. Q: And this is a case where he should do that? WARR>> I -- Look, this is-- I think this is about leaders. That's the kind of leader I am and that's kind of president I will be. Q: What do you think about the fact that he is your longtime friend and he is leading the nomination? 151930 WARR>> You know, we've heard from two states and nobody's running away with this race. No one has gotten above a quarter of the votes. It's still a very fluid situation. I think we're gonna hear from more of the 98 percent of voters who still haven't had a chance to weigh in before this settles down. We good? Q: Sure. WARR>> We're always good. You guys are -- you guys are insatiable. You would -- you would always eat more (?). 152035 Q: What are you saying or what are you referring to when you make your pinky proimises? WARR>> So, most of the time -- Q: I've heard of pinky swears and -- WARR>> No, most of the time it's "my name is Elizabeth. I'm running for president because that's what girls do." And then we pinky promise to remember. Sometimes a little girl will already have her own statement. And we do pinky promises to remember that. But that's what it's usually around. I -- I want you to be the first president and I will be the second. 152104 I've heard that from 6 year olds and "I want you to be the first woman president and I'll be the second." And we do pinky promises to remember. Q: Can I ask you --- WARR>> Did a pinky promise today with a dog [laughter] He was totally into it. That was it. Q: We had already left the room. WARR>> oh, okay. You missed it, during the brunch. Uh-huh? Q: Were there any stories that you heard at that last stop that really pulled at your heart? I know you had a moment with a few women behind the counter. Can you maybe talk about one or two? 152136 WARR>> It's about what it means to live here in the US -- to build a life here, to work hard, to build a business, to employ people and to know that you could be rounded up and forced out of his country in the middle of the night with no warning. That's hard on people. That's a lot of -- 152205 A lot of people are afraid. Some are protected, themselves but mixed status families. It means that, for so many people, it's -- even if they are citizens or hold a green card, they have a dad, a grandma, two younger brothers, a beloved uncle who are not. And they talk about what that means. 152245 To come home and call out, and for that split second, not to know if your husband will still be there. The woman in a wheelchair said her husband has been here working and is undocumented, 35 years. And she said "I'm more free today than any time before, in our lives. Please help us find a way." 152318 And scooping people up, terrorizing families and breaking families apart -- that doesn't make our nation stronger. It makes our nation weaker. We have to do better than that, and we can. We can. Q: You've said that you would consider a moratorium on deportations? Would you do that or is it just on the table? 152348 WARR>> No, no. It's what we need to do. I -- I'm committed to, in the first hundred days, to stop all deportations until we get a chance to review them again. And if this is -- if these deportations that are on the table, the proposed ones, are not consistent with my policies, which means we don't scoop up family members, people who pose no threat, people who are part of our communities. Then they're not deported. 152427 They won't be deported. I want to -- I want to put a complete hold until we can get that completely sorted through. Q: There used to be a policy or kind of still is called Mont of Doura (?), Jeff Sessions was a really big proponent of that in that criminals from these countries who were on track to come in to the U.S. were then deported back, but those countries, like El Salvador, for example, their criminal justice system don't keep those people. And that has led to gang violence or things like that. I know you've talked about supporting these countries economically, but how do you dig deeper and help mitigate crime? 152507 WARR>> Well, when I talk about supporting them economically, it's also about supporting them so they actually have rule of law, so they have the capacity to have a criminal justice system that actually functions. So, it's not just about how you can get more stores. And -- okay. We'll talk about this later, I promise. 152534 But it is about more -- it's not just about more stores. It's about more. It's about a justice system that functions. [EXITS BUS FOR NEXT EVENT] ####

AP-APTN-1830 North America Prime News -Final Thursday, 15 April 2010 North America Prime News ++Iceland Ash 2 02:55 No Access Germany/Iceland NEW Aerials of plume of ash spewing from volcano +World Ash 05:25 AP Clients Only WRAP Airports close due to Iceland volcano ash, airports, ash, aerials, reax ADDS NYC airports China Quake 8 03:14 Pt No Access China WRAP Quake survivors; rescues; official comment; premier Europe Abuse 05:23 AP Clients Only REPLAY Pope urges repentance; reax to Bertone on homosexuality; German Minister Afghanistan Violence 02:44 AP Clients Only WRAP A'math of car bomb at hotel, 4 German troops killed +UK Debate Preview 3 03:40 Pt No Access UK/RTE/CNNi/Al Jazeera English WRAP Debate preps, leaders; fmr US moderator; UK moderator ADDS analyst B-u-l-l-e-t-i-n begins at 1830 GMT. APEX 04-15-10 1456EDT -----------End of rundown----------- AP-APTN-1830: ++Iceland Ash 2 Thursday, 15 April 2010 STORY:++Iceland Ash 2- NEW Aerials of plume of ash spewing from volcano LENGTH: 02:55 FIRST RUN: 1830 RESTRICTIONS: No Access Germany/Iceland TYPE: Natsound SOURCE: AP TELEVISION STORY NUMBER: 643132 DATELINE: Near Eyjafjallajokull, 14 April 2010 LENGTH: 02:55 AP TELEVISION - No Access Germany/Iceland SHOTLIST ++AUDIO AS INCOMING++ 1. Thick long cloud of ash over Eyjafjallajokull volcano 2. Pull out from mid to wide of ash cloud 3. Aerial view of the ground below, tilt up to cloud of ash 4. Pull out from close to wide of cloud 5. Aerial view of the ground below, tilt up to ash cloud 6. Wide pan of cloud of ash 7. Pull out and pan across cloud 8. Wide of cloud of ash, pan to sun over clouds STORYLINE An ash-spewing volcano in Iceland emptied the skies of aircraft across much of northern Europe on Thursday, grounding planes on a scale unseen since the US September 11 attacks. British air space shut down, silencing the trans-Atlantic hub of Heathrow and stranding tens of thousands of passengers around the world. Aviation officials said it was not clear when it would be safe enough to fly again and said it was the first time in living memory that an ash cloud had brought one of the world's most congested airspaces to a standstill. A scientist in Iceland said the erupting volcano could eject tons of ash into the air for days or even weeks, while meteorologists from the AccuWeather forecasting service in Pennsylvania said the current ash plume will threaten Europe through Sunday at the least. Britain's air traffic service banned all but emergency flights until at least 0600 GMT Friday. The abrasive, microscopic ash was drifting between 20-thousand feet and 36-thousand feet (6,000 metres and 11,000 metres) high over the Atlantic Ocean, close to the flight paths for most routes from the US east coast to Europe. A spokesperson for Britain's National Air Traffic Service said the closure of UK air space was unprecedented. A volcano beneath Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull (ay-yah-FYAH'-plah-yer-kuh-duhl) glacier began erupting Wednesday for the second time in less than a month, triggering flash floods and sending smoke and steam up to five miles (eight kilometres) into the air. Video showed spectacular images of hot gases melting the thick ice, sending cascades of water thundering down the steep slopes of the volcano. Rivers swelled 10 feet (3 metres) in hours. As the ash cloud drifted south and east toward northern Europe - including Britain, about 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometres) away - authorities in Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Belgium also closed their air spaces. The volcanic ash poses a threat to aircraft because it can affect visibility and can get sucked into airplane engines, causing them to shut down. In Iceland, hundreds of people have fled rising floodwaters since the volcano erupted. The eruption was at least 10 times as powerful as the one last month, scientists said. The volcano still spewed ash and steam on Thursday, but the flooding had subsided, leaving new channels carved through the Icelandic landscape. Some ash was falling on uninhabited areas, but most was being blown by westerly winds toward northern Europe, including Britain, about 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometres) away. Last month's eruption at the same volcano occurred in an area where there was no glacial ice - lessening the overall risk. Iceland, a nation of 320-thousand people, sits on a large volcanic hot spot in the Atlantic's mid-oceanic ridge, and has a history of devastating eruptions. The worst was the 1783 eruption of the Laki volcano, which spewed a toxic cloud over Europe with devastating consequences. At least 9,000 people, a quarter of the population of Iceland, died, many from the famine caused by the eruption. Clients are reminded: (i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: infoaparchive.com (ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service (iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory. APTN APEX 04-15-10 1510EDT ------------------- END -- OF -- ITEM ------------------- AP-APTN-1830: +World Ash Thursday, 15 April 2010 STORY:+World Ash- WRAP Airports close due to Iceland volcano ash, airports, ash, aerials, reax ADDS NYC airports LENGTH: 05:25 FIRST RUN: 1830 RESTRICTIONS: AP Clients Only TYPE: English/Nat SOURCE: AP TELEVISION STORY NUMBER: 643118 DATELINE: Various - 15 April 2010 LENGTH: 05:25 AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY SHOTLIST (FIRST RUN 1630 EUROPE PRIME NEWS - 15 APRIL 2010) Frankfurt, Germany 1. Exterior of Frankfurt airport 2. Various of people queuing inside terminal 3. Mid of information board showing cancelled flights 4. Pan of people queuing 5. Wide of deserted check in desks 6. Board showing cancelled flights 7. People inside terminal 8. Pan of information board 9. Planes on tarmac (FIRST RUN 1630 EUROPE PRIME NEWS - 15 APRIL 2010) Brussels, Belgium 10. Wide top pan of airport exterior, planes 11. Brussels airport sign 12. Stranded passengers inside terminal 13. Tilt up of information board showing cancelled flights 14. Pan of passengers waiting 15. Low angle shot of passengers looking at departures board 16. People inside terminal hall (FIRST RUN 1630 EUROPE PRIME NEWS - 15 APRIL 2010) Amsterdam, Netherlands 17. Exterior of Schiphol Airport, main entrance 18. Passengers lying on the ground 19. Group of passengers passing by with their luggage 20. Wide of people looking at departure board, zoom in on cancelled flights 21. Various of people buying train tickets 22. SOUNDBITE (English) Marianne De Biie, Schiphol Airport spokesperson: "Nobody has any idea at this moment, we know that a lot of airspaces in Europe are closed, England, Belgium is already closed, Denmark, Scandinavia and traffic in Holland will stop as of seven o'clock this evening, and we just hope that the ashes cloud will blow over very soon." 23. Pan from empty observation deck to tarmac with planes (FIRST RUN 1630 EUROPE PRIME NEWS - 15 APRIL 2010) Paris, France 24. Exterior of Gare du Nord train station 25. Interior of Gare du Nord train station 26. Eurostar train at station 27. Passengers carrying bags arriving at Eurostar departure area 28. SOUNDBITE (English) Elizabeth Wright, American tourist: "They told me there were no flights at the airport so they sent us here to Gare du Nord but now there are no trains. There are no trains until the twentieth (20 April 2010) I hear, possibly Saturday we can get a train if we're lucky. If we wait in the long line we might be able to get a train on Saturday. Wait is today Thursday? I'm all confused. That's two days from now and so I've also heard that now all of the hotels near Gare du Nord are getting filled up so I don't know what I'm going to do for two days." 29. Passengers waiting to purchase tickets for Eurostar train to London 30. Top shot of Eurostar (FIRST RUN 1630 EUROPE PRIME NEWS - 15 APRIL 2010) Newark, New Jersey, US 31. Wide of Newark Airport terminal B 32. Woman looking at flight schedule boards 33. Various of flight schedule board 34. SOUNDBITE (English) Soren Biuhn, stranded passenger: "I've talked to my assistant and she has cleared my schedule for tomorrow just in case. Yeah, I'm looking forward to spending the weekend here in New York actually." 35. People waiting in coffee shop at airport ++NEW (FIRST RUN 1830 NORTH AMERICA PRIME NEWS - 15 APRIL 2010) New York City, NY, US 36. Wide of British Airways (BA) sign at JFK International Airport 37. Pan of BA plane 38. Various exteriors of JFK International Airport Hotel 39. SOUNDBITE (English) Grace Schofield, 23, of Yorkshire, England: "I want to go home. I just want to go home now. I'm fed up and we have no money to stay out here and I need to rest." 40. Wide of Schofield and her friend Kirsten Broad 41. SOUNDBITE (English) Kirsten Broad, 22, of Perth, Scotland: "Well we've got no money we are all spent up. Because we were only here for a week and on our last day we went a bit crazy shopping. So I think we are going to have to head back to the city. We've been in touch with both our parents, trying to scrounge some money together. I think we'll be going through the guidebooks, trying to find free things to do." 42. Schofield and Broad sitting on bench 43. SOUNDBITE (English) Grace Schofield, 23, of Yorkshire, England: "I'm all right, it's on the mend (after surgery for appendicitis). It is very stiff and soft, while it is healing, but I'd just feel better just being able to go home. I am well enough to fly now and I've passed all of my medical things. I just want to relax and rest a bit more but at home." 44. Pull out from Schofield's hands to mid of the two friends sitting on bench STORYLINE An ash-spewing volcano in remote Iceland has emptied the skies of aircraft across much of northern Europe, grounding planes on a scale unseen since the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York. An aviation expert said it was the first time in living memory that an ash cloud had affected some of the most congested airspace in the world, while a scientist in Iceland said the ejection of volcanic ash - and therefore disruptions in air travel - could continue for days or even weeks. The ash plume, which rose to between 20-thousand feet and 36-thousand feet (6,000 metres and 11,000 metres), lies above the Atlantic Ocean close to the flight paths for most routes from the US east coast to Europe. With the cloud drifting south and east across Britain, the country's air traffic service banned all non-emergency flights until at least 7 a.m. (0600GMT) Friday. The move shut down London's five major airports including Heathrow, a major trans-Atlantic hub that handles over 1,200 flights and 180-thousand passengers per day. Irish authorities closed their air space for at least eight hours, and aviation authorities in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Belgium took similar precautions. Airport shutdowns and flight cancellations spread eastward across Europe - to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Finland and Switzerland - and the effects reverberated worldwide. In Paris, passengers at the Gare du Nord train station were queueing to buy Eurostar train tickets as they sought ways out of France. The European Commission said that travellers grounded in European nations were entitled to reimbursements and other benefits under EU-wide passenger rights rules established in 2004. EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said that while the ash cloud was exceptional, it does not void air passengers rights under EU rules. He said passengers are entitled to information about their rights, cancellations and the length of delays. Airlines must also provide "refreshments, meals (and) accommodation, as appropriate" and let passengers "chose between reimbursement of fares or be rerouted to final destination." Airlines in the United States have also cancelled some flights to Europe and delayed others. At least 100 US flights had been cancelled by early Thursday afternoon Eastern Daylight Time, according to a spokesman for the Air Transportation Association, which represents most major US carriers. Most of the cancelled US flights were to the United Kingdom or from there, he said. The route between New York and London is the second busiest in the world, behind the route between Hong Kong and Taiwan. Some airlines were also cancelling flights scheduled for Friday, he said. In Washington, the Federal Aviation Administration said it was working with airlines to try to reroute some flights around the massive ash cloud. Some flights en route were also returned to the US late Wednesday and early Thursday or diverted from their intended destination to other Europe airports as closures mounted. Many passengers were stranded at the Newark Airport, New Jersey, and the JFK Airport in New York. Two British friends staying at the International JFK Airport Hotel in New York said they had been originally scheduled to fly out on Tuesday after spending more than a week on vacation. But their airline refused to allow them to board because one of them had undergone emergency surgery for appendicitis in New York while staying there. They were told to get on a Thursday flight, but that one, too, was cancelled due to the volcanic ash cloud. "I just want to go home now. I'm fed up and we have no money to stay out here and I need to rest," said 23-year-old Grace Schofield of Yorkshire, England, who had undergone the surgery. Her friend, 22-year-old Kirsten Broad of Perth, Scotland, said they had only planned to be in the city for a week. "We went a bit crazy shopping," she said. "We've been in touch with both our parents, trying to scrounge some money together. I think we'll be going through the guidebooks, finding free things to do." The two said they were checking out of the hotel after getting a free night's stay, courtesy of Virgin airlines, but had no idea where they might stay in the city. Meanwhile, flights from Asia, Africa and the Middle East to Heathrow and other top European hubs were also put on hold. The highly abrasive, microscopic particles that make up volcanic ash pose a threat to aircraft because they can affect visibility and get sucked into airplane engines, causing them to shut down. It was not the first time air traffic has been halted by a volcano, but such widespread disruption has not been seen the September 11, 2001 attacks. In Iceland, hundreds of people have fled rising floodwaters since the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull (ay-yah-FYAH'-plah-yer-kuh-duhl) glacier erupted Wednesday for the second time in less than a month. The eruption was at least 10 times as powerful as the one last month, scientists said. The volcano still spewed ash and steam Thursday, but the flooding had subsided, leaving new channels carved through the Icelandic landscape. Some ash was falling on uninhabited areas, but most was being blown by westerly winds toward northern Europe, including Britain, about 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometres) away. Last month's eruption at the same volcano occurred in an area where there was no glacial ice - lessening the overall risk. Iceland, a nation of 320-thousand people, sits on a large volcanic hot spot in the Atlantic's mid-oceanic ridge, and has a history of devastating eruptions. The worst was the 1783 eruption of the Laki volcano, which spewed a toxic cloud over Europe with devastating consequences. At least 9,000 people, a quarter of the population of Iceland, died, many from the famine caused by the eruption. Clients are reminded: (i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: infoaparchive.com (ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service (iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory. APTN APEX 04-15-10 1525EDT ------------------- END -- OF -- ITEM ------------------- AP-APTN-1830: China Quake 8 Thursday, 15 April 2010 STORY:China Quake 8- WRAP Quake survivors; rescues; official comment; premier LENGTH: 03:14 FIRST RUN: 1830 RESTRICTIONS: Pt No Access China TYPE: Natsound/Mandarin SOURCE: CCTV/AP Television/Qinghai TV STORY NUMBER: 643120 DATELINE: Various - 15 Apr 2010 LENGTH: 03:14 CCTV - NO ACCESS CHINA AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY QINGHAI TV - NO ACCESS CHINA SHOTLIST: (FIRST RUN 1230 NEWS UPDATE - 15 APRIL 2010) CCTV - NO ACCESS CHINA Yushu county, Qinghai province 1. Various of rescuers pulling man out of rubble (FIRST RUN 1230 NEWS UPDATE - 15 APRIL 2010) QINGHAI TV - NO ACCESS CHINA Yushu county, Qinghai province 2. Wide of destroyed monastery 3. Aerial of Yushu city 4. Mid of man showing photograph of his family 5. Mid of woman with injury on face 6. Wide of Tibetan family gathered by tent and fire 7. Mid of reporter talking to toddler, zoom in, UPSOUND: "I feel cold. I'm hungry", later hides his face with his hat (FIRST RUN 1230 NEWS UPDATE - 15 APRIL 2010) CCTV - NO ACCESS CHINA Yushu county, Qinghai province 8. Pan of rescue workers ++QUALITY AS INCOMING++ 9. Mid of rescue workers digging through rubble 10. Pull out of woman standing next to other onlookers at quake zone (FIRST RUN 1230 NEWS UPDATE - 15 APRIL 2010) AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY Beijing 11. Wide of Zou Ming, director of disaster relief with the Ministry of Civil Affairs at news conference 12. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) Zou Ming, Director of disaster relief with the Ministry of Civil Affairs: "At the moment in the disaster area, mainly we're experiencing shortage of tents, short of clothes and bedding because of the cold weather, and short of immediate food. We have been transporting those things to the disaster area since the earthquake happened." (FIRST RUN 1230 NEWS UPDATE - 15 APRIL 2010) CCTV - NO ACCESS CHINA Yushu county, Qinghai province 13. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao getting off plane and shaking hands with officials 14. Wide exterior of Yushu airport 15. Wen greeting officials 16. Wide of Yushu airport sign (FIRST RUN 1630 EUROPE PRIME NEWS - 15 APRIL 2010) Jiegu Town, Yushu County, Qinghai Province, 17. Wide pan of King Ghesar plaza with refugee camp 18. Mid of statue of King Ghesar 19. Wide of refugees in tent 20. Wide of people sleeping on ground 21. Mi d of people sleeping 22. Wide of people boiling water on fire 23. Close up of woman holding bowl 24. Close up of person boiling water 25. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) Cai Huangwu , Migrant worker from another part of Qinghai: "I am a migrant worker, so when the earthquake destroyed our dorms we had no place to live, so I came here to stay." 26. Mid pan of medical tents 27. Various of soldiers unloading medical equipment 28. Mid pan up of rescuers with search dogs 29. Wide of search team walking past Tibetans 30. Wide of Tibetans waiting 31. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) Zhangyangkesi, Tibetan monk: "I felt so sad. Some people were still alive but buried under their houses. But we couldn't pull them out." 32. Wide of Tibetan monks loading personal effects of five dead monks into truck 33. Mid of Tibetans loading body of middle aged monk into truck 34. Mid of truck driving away STORYLINE: Earthquake survivors shivered through a second night outdoors in a remote Tibetan corner of western China on Thursday. The death toll from the quake rose to 760 as rescuers fought altitude sickness and dealt with a lack of supplies. People with broken arms or legs cried in pain as medical teams could offer little more than injections. A doctor at the Qinghai provincial hospital, where the severely injured were being flown, said she had no idea how many were being treated because there was no time to count them all. Stunned survivors wandered the dusty streets of Jiegu, where relief workers estimated 70 to 90 percent of the low-slung town of wood-and-mud housing had collapsed. Hundreds gathered to sleep in a plaza around a 50-foot (15-metre) tall statue of the mythical Tibetan King Gesar, wrapped in blankets taken from homes shattered by Wednesday morning's quakes. The official Xinhua News Agency said 760 people had died, 243 people were missing, and 11,477 were injured, 1,174 severely. The worst of the quakes measured magnitude 6.9 by the US Geological Survey and 7.1 by China's earthquake administration. Rescue vehicles snaked along the 12-hour drive from the provincial capital into the mountainous region, which still trembled with aftershocks. The altitude averages about 13,000 feet (4,000 metres), leaving some rescuers breathless and ill. Even the sniffer dogs were affected, Miao Chonggang, deputy director for emergency response under the China Earthquake Administration, told reporters in Beijing. To reinforce official concern for a Tibetan area that saw anti-government protests two years ago, Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Yushu county on Thursday evening to meet survivors. Chinese President Hu Jintao, in Brazil after visiting Washington, cancelled scheduled stops in Venezuela and Peru to come home. More than 10,000 soldiers, police, firefighters and medical workers were already in Yushu as of Thursday, Zou Ming, disaster relief director with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, told reporters in Beijing. "At the moment in the disaster area, mainly we're experiencing shortage of tents, short of clothes and bedding because of the cold weather, and short of immediate food. We have been transporting those things to the disaster area since the earthquake happened," he said. Nearly 8,400 tents had arrived by Thursday afternoon, with plans underway to send about 40-thousand tents, enough for 100-thousand people. That equals nearly the entire population of Yushu The crush of relief efforts left the town's roads at a standstill. Officials said they welcomed offers of help from other countries and organisations, but they indicated they didn't need foreign rescue teams and warned volunteers against going to the region because of limited access and resources there. Just after dusk, about 20 Buddhist monks gathered near where the Jieji temple used to be. Next to them lay the body of a middle-aged monk, covered in a blanket wrapped by an elastic cord. Four other bodies were in a nearby truck. One monk said, "I felt so sad. Some people were still alive but buried under their houses. But we couldn't pull them out." He was with a group of monks that planned to take the five bodies and their personal effects back home to Tibet. Xinhua reported about 550 injured people would be flown to larger cities for treatment. Most shops in Jiegu remained shut, and some people scavenged food and other belongings from the rubble. The Ministry of Civil Affairs said about 15,000 houses in Yushu had collapsed. Local Buddhist monasteries handed out food, but the quake hit them hard as well. Dozens of monks were either dead or missing at the Thrangu monastery, about 6 miles (10 kilometres) outside Jiegu, after all but its main hall collapsed, said Danzeng Qiujiang, a senior cleric at the Xiuma monastery. But a larger focus in the destruction was collapsed schools, an eerie echo of the massive Sichuan quake in 2008, in which thousands of students died when their poorly built schools collapsed. But unlike in Sichuan - where schools toppled as other buildings stood - everything fell over in Yushu. Xinhua quoted a local education official as saying 66 children and 10 teachers had died, mostly in three schools. Rescue crews focused on recovering children buried underneath the rubble at the Yushu No. 3 Primary School, said a spokesman for the Qinghai-based educational NGO Gesanghua. Wednesday morning's quakes were the worst to hit the region since the massive Sichuan earthquake two years ago left 90-thousand dead or missing. Clients are reminded: (i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: infoaparchive.com (ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service (iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory. APTN APEX 04-15-10 1443EDT ------------------- END -- OF -- ITEM ------------------- AP-APTN-1830: Europe Abuse Thursday, 15 April 2010 STORY:Europe Abuse- REPLAY Pope urges repentance; reax to Bertone on homosexuality; German Minister LENGTH: 05:23 FIRST RUN: 1630 RESTRICTIONS: AP Clients Only TYPE: Ital/Eng/Ger/Natsound SOURCE: AP TELEVISION/CTV STORY NUMBER: 643089 DATELINE: Various, 15 April 2010 LENGTH: 05:23 CTV - AP CLIENTS ONLY AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY SHOTLIST CTV - AP CLIENTS ONLY Vatican - 15 April 2010 1. Pan right of Pope Benedict XVI pope walking in church 2. Clerics reciting prayer 3. SOUNDBITE (Italian) Pope Benedict XVI: "Let's choose a second word, where St. Peter says that God has raised Christ to his right as leader and saviour." 4. Pan left of clerics attending mass AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY Rome, Italy - 15 April 2010 5. Panoramic view of Rome with St Peter's Basilica in the background 6. SOUNDBITE (Italian) Franco Grillini, president of Arcigay, Italian's main gay rights group: (Speaking about linking homosexuality and paedophilia) "The Church wants to literally throw the cross over somebody else's shoulders without taking its own responsibility." 7. Wide of St Peter's Basilica 8. SOUNDBITE (English) Marco Politi, Vatican analyst and correspondent for Il Fatto Quotidiano: (Speaking about Vatican spokesperson Reverend Federico Lombardi's statement from Wednesday April 14 related to homosexuality and paedophilia) "They say that the files and the cases which came to the Congregation of Faith show that paedophilia can be everybody, heterosexuals and homosexuals as it is in reality, but in the church milieux two thirds of the cases are of the same sex, so they are homosexual paedophiles, and only one third is heterosexuals who are abusing children." 9. Pan up from chair to Professor Giuseppe Crea 10. SOUNDBITE (Italian) Professor Giuseppe Crea, priest and psychologist treating religious people with sexual disorders: (Speaking about the relationship between paedophilia and homosexuality) "In the religious environment, from my experience, I have seen some instances, but I've found that many times such problems are not linked to the specific sexual act in itself, to their sexuality, but rather to a distorted way in which such individuals live their relationships." 11. Wide shot Conciliazione road leading into St Peter's Square AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY Berlin, Germany - 15 April 2010 12. Various of protest 13. Tilt down of protester wearing shirt reading (in German) "No celibacy" 14. SOUNDBITE (German) Marlis Weinholdt, brought up in a children's home: "That is an impertinence and an outrage, and all this coming from the church, which should set a good example. One can not push that under the carpet, one can not go into the church and pray, and then do disgraceful things like this afterwards. That is simply not in line with the Pope and everything." 15. Close-up of protesters' signs 16. Wide of German Minister of Justice arriving to make statement to press 17. Close-up of camera 18. SOUNDBITE (German) Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, German Minister of Justice: "I can only conclude there is a lot of movement within the Catholic Church, and that the work is being done within the Catholic Church to change the policies." AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY Paris, France - 15 April 2010 19. Wide-shot of Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe speaking on podium at Ben Gurion promenade 20. Mid-shot of Delanoe walking through crowd at end of event 21. SOUNDBITE (French) Bertrand Delanoe, Mayor of Paris: "I am very shocked that in the 21st century, there are still intelligent people who make a connection between homosexuality and paedophilia. It's a crime against the intelligence of human beings and their ability to live equally in their differences. It's even more misplaced as I think the Vatican should at present worry about issues that concern them." 22. Delanoe speaking to people in crowd CANAL 13 - NO ACCESS CHILE/INTERNET Santiago, Chile - 12 April 2010 23. Various of Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, arriving at news conference 24. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State: "Many psychologists, many psychiatrists have demonstrated that there is no relation between celibacy and paedophilia but many others have demonstrated, I was told recently, that there is a relation between homosexuality and paedophilia. That is true. I have the documents of the psychologists. That is the problem." 25. Various shots of Cardinal Bertone leaving building and getting into his vehicle STORYLINE: Pope Benedict XVI broke his recent silence on the clerical abuse scandal on Thursday, noting recent attacks on the church and the need for "we Christians" to repent for sins and recognise mistakes. Benedict made the comments during an off-the-cuff homily at a Mass inside the Vatican for members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission. Victims of clerical abuse have long demanded that Benedict take more personal responsibility for clerical abuse, charging that the Vatican orchestrated a culture of cover-up and secrecy that allowed priests to rape and molest children for decades unchecked. Those demands have intensified in recent weeks as the Vatican and Benedict himself have been accused of negligence in handling some cases in Europe and the United States. It was Benedict's fullest allusion to the scandal since he sent a letter to the Irish faithful March 20 concerning what Irish government inquiries have concluded was decades of abuse and church-mandated cover-up in the country. In his letter, Benedict chastised Irish bishops for failures in leadership and judgment. But he took no responsibility himself or for the Vatican, which many victims have blamed for being more concerned about protecting the church than children. On Monday, the Vatican posted on its Web site what it claimed had been a long-standing church policy telling bishops that they should report abuse crimes to police, where civil laws require it. But critics have said the guidelines were merely a deceptive attempt by Rome to rewrite history, designed to shield the Vatican from blame by shifting responsibility of dealing with abusive priests onto bishops. The Reverend Thomas P. Doyle, a canon lawyer who has been the main expert witness for victims in hundreds of lawsuits, called the guidelines a "failed attempt at damage control through revision of history." He noted that senior Vatican officials, including the current Vatican No. 2, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, in 2002 were quoted as saying the church shouldn't require bishops to report abusive priests to police because it would violate the trust the two shared. Meanwhile, the Vatican was trying to defuse growing anger over remarks by Bertone that the problem behind the paedophile priest scandals is homosexuality and not the church's celibacy requirement. Bertone, the Holy See's secretary of state, outraged gay advocacy groups, politicians and even the French government with his remarks Monday in Chile linking paedophilia to homosexuality. "Many psychologists, many psychiatrists have demonstrated that there is no relation between celibacy and paedophilia but many others have demonstrated, I was told recently, that there is a relation between homosexuality and paedophilia," Bertone said during a visit to Santiago. Franco Grillini, president of the main Italian gay rights group Arcigay said the Church was trying to cast the blame elsewhere instead of taking responsibility for what happened, stressing it was insulting and slanderous to link paedophilia to homosexuality. Bertone's remarks were denounced also by Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, on Thursday. "I am very shocked that in the 21st century, there are still intelligent people who make a connection between homosexuality and paedophilia," said Delanoe, who is openly gay. The mayor urged the church leadership, the scientific community and the international community to distance themselves from the comments. The French government also bristled at what it saw as an offence to human rights efforts. "This is an unacceptable association that we condemn," French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said in an online briefing. "France reiterates its resolute commitment to the fight against discrimination and prejudice linked to sexual orientation and gender identity," Vatican spokesman the Reverend Federico Lombardi contended that Bertone was not talking about paedophilia in society at large, nor making any medical or psychological assertions. Rather, Bertone was "evidently" referring to statistics, recently supplied by the Holy See's own prosecutor handling sex abuse allegations against clergy, Lombardi said in a written statement. Lombardi, cited some of the statistics, from a March interview in a Catholic newspaper with Monsignor Charles Scicluna, the Vatican's abuse prosecutor. The spokesman noted that Scicluna said the allegations involving "paedophilia in the strict sense" accounted for 10 percent of the cases, 60 percent of cases involved adolescents in homosexual relations, while the other 30 percent of cases involved adolescents in heterosexual relations. In all, Scicluna told the publication of the Italian bishops conference, 300 of some 3,000 cases that his office handled from 2001 to this year involved "acts of true and actual paedophilia." Professor Giuseppe Crea, a psychologist who treats religious people with sexual disorders, explained that in his experience there were cases of paedophile priests who are also homosexuals. "But I've found that many times such problems are not linked to the specific sexual act in itself, to their sexuality, but rather to a distorted way in which such individuals live their relationships," Crea added. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church in Pope Benedict's German homeland has been rocked in recent times by the widening abuse scandal as hundreds of self described victims of physical or sexual abuse came forward. In Berlin on Thursday, dozens of members of the association of the former children brought up in the children's homes protested on against abuse scandal which shook German Catholic Church. Protesters, who marched to Berlin's landmark Brandenburg Gate, carried banners demanding the punishment of those responsible for covering the abuse cases. At least one case of a paedophile priest who was reassigned to parish work after being accused of abusing minors has occurred in the Munich archdiocese where Benedict, then Joseph Ratzinger, served as archbishop from 1977-82. The pontiff has not commented on the cases in his native country. Germany's justice minister, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, met Thursday with the head of the German Bishops Conference, Robert Zollitsch. The meeting came two months after she had irked him by saying she believed the church was not truly interested in clearing up all sexual abuse cases. The justice minister has spoken of a "wall of silence" surrounding the church. "I can only conclude there is a lot of movement within the Catholic Church, and that the work is being done within the Catholic Church to change the policies," she said on Thursday. Some German dioceses have reported big increases this year in the number of people leaving the church. Zollitsch's Freiburg archdiocese said 2,711 left the church in the southwestern region in March - compared with 1,058 a year earlier. The Wuerzburg diocese in Bavaria said 1,233 left the church there in March - three times the 407 recorded a year earlier. The Munich archdiocese, where Benedict once served as archbishop, said it did not yet have figures for March. The Vatican has been increasingly on the defensive from unrelenting contentions that both church hierarchy, by trying to cover up rape and molestation, and that church policy, by making celibacy a requirement for the priesthood, are major factors behind decades of often systematic sex abuse in parishes, orphanages, schools and other Catholic institutions around the world. Clients are reminded: (i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: infoaparchive.com (ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service (iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory. APTN APEX 04-15-10 1459EDT ------------------- END -- OF -- ITEM ------------------- AP-APTN-1830: Afghanistan Violence Thursday, 15 April 2010 STORY:Afghanistan Violence- WRAP A'math of car bomb at hotel, 4 German troops killed LENGTH: 02:44 FIRST RUN: 1630 RESTRICTIONS: AP Clients Only TYPE: Eng/Natsound SOURCE: AP TELEVISION STORY NUMBER: 643109 DATELINE: Various, 15 April 2010 LENGTH: 02:44 AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY SHOTLIST ++NEW (FIRST RUN 1630 EUROPE PRIME NEWS - 15 APRIL 2010) Baghlan Province 1. Afghan soldier shooting heavy machine gun (fighting taking place in same area where German troops were killed) 2. Wide of smoke rising from distant plain 3. Pull out to wide of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) soldiers in trench, opening fire with rifle 4. Close of Afghan army soldier shooting rifle 5. Wide of plain AUDIO: sustained gunfire 6. Mid of Afghan soldier on walkie-talkie 7. Wide of Afghan soldier manning heavy machine gun on top of vehicle 8. Wide of plain AUDIO: Gunfire, explosion, soldiers communicating on walkie talkies 9. Mid of Afghan soldier opening fire 10. Close of ISAF troops in ditch 11. Wide of plain 12. Mid of ISAF troops 13. Wide of fighter plane overhead 14. Pull out of troops in trench 15. Wide of two Afghan army vehicles 16. Wide of arrested man - suspected Taliban - with hands tied behind his back 17. Wide of ISAF vehicles passing 18. Mid of mortar launcher 19. Afghan soldier with mortar (FIRST RUN 1530 NEWS UPDATE - 15 APRIL 2010) Kandahar 20. Wide shot of street and damaged cars, site of blast where at least eight people were injured 21. Various of damaged civilian vehicles 22. Mid of US military vehicles at the scene 23. Various of US soldiers at the site 24. SOUNDBITE (English) Asif Khan, Kandahar city resident: "I am living in this hotel and there was a big explosion, when I came down several people were walking here and there and several people were also injured." 25. Exterior of damaged Noor Jehan Hotel, with broken windows, torn banner 26. Close of broken windows 27. Various of Afghan firemen hosing down attack site STORYLINE A car bomb exploded outside a hotel in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar Thursday, injuring at least eight people, while fighting in the north of the country left four German troops dead, officials said. In a sign of how the insurgency has also spread to the once-stable north, four German soldiers were killed and five wounded in fighting on Thursday in Baghlan province, according to the Defence Ministry in Berlin. It said fighting broke out after a German Eagle armoured vehicle was struck by what was believed to be a rocket around noon (0730 GMT). AP Television filmed ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) and Afghan forces engaged in heavy fighting with suspected militants in the area shortly before the German soldiers were killed. A provincial police spokesman said three Afghan policemen were also killed in the fighting. German Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, who was due to end a visit to Afghanistan on Thursday, was extending his stay in the country, the ministry said. It was the largest loss of live in a single day for the German contingent in Afghanistan since four soldiers were killed and 29 injured in June 2003 when their convoy was attacked en route to the airport in Kabul. Meanwhile in Kandahar, Thursday's explosion in front of the Noor Jehan Hotel shattered windows in the four-storey structure, destroyed five vehicles and damaged a number of shops in the area. At least two of those injured were in serious condition, a local official said. The hotel, located in a busy downtown commercial district, is home to a number of foreign news organisations and has little security. International forces present in the city rarely patrol through the area. The news organisations are largely staffed by Afghans, and there was no immediate indication foreigners were among those hurt. An eye witness said two men pulled up in the car, parked it, and walked away. Five minutes later the white sedan exploded, he said. Following the afternoon blast, US and Afghan military convoys arrived, blocking off the street and jamming cell phone signals, apparently to prevent insurgents detonating any remote controlled bombs that might be in the area. Police set up roadblocks blocking traffic from in front of the hotel. Kandahar is the main city of Afghanistan's volatile south from which the hardline Taliban Islamic militant movement emerged as a political and military force in the early 1990s. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) forces are expected to launch a major operation in and around the city this summer in a bid to root out insurgents and turn around the nearly nine-year war. The Taliban has reasserted its presence in large parts of the country from which it had faded following the 2001 US invasion that toppled its regime. Clients are reminded: (i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: infoaparchive.com (ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service (iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory. APTN APEX 04-15-10 1431EDT ------------------- END -- OF -- ITEM ------------------- AP-APTN-1830: +UK Debate Preview 3 Thursday, 15 April 2010 STORY:+UK Debate Preview 3- WRAP Debate preps, leaders; fmr US moderator; UK moderator ADDS analyst LENGTH: 03:40 FIRST RUN: 1830 RESTRICTIONS: Pt No Access UK/RTE/CNNi/Al Jazeera English TYPE: English/Natsound SOURCE: SKY/ITN POOL/UK POOL STORY NUMBER: 643119 DATELINE: Various, 15 April 2010 LENGTH: 03:40 ITN POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY UK POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY SKY NEWS - NO ACCESS UK/RTE/CNNi/AL JAZEERA ENGLISH SHOTLIST (FIRST RUN 1630 EUROPE PRIME NEWS - 15 APRIL 2010) ITN POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY Manchester, Recent 1. Various of rehearsals of televised debate (FIRST RUN 1630 EUROPE PRIME NEWS - 15 APRIL 2010) UK POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY Manchester, 15 April 2010 2. Various of UK Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Gordon Brown, with his wife, Sarah (in blue) at nursery 3. SOUNDBITE (English) Gordon Brown, UK Prime Minister and Labour Party Leader: "I think we should have the debate outdoors actually, because the weather is so good, there is a great audience I've got here today, and I'm looking forward to the debate this evening." (FIRST RUN 1630 EUROPE PRIME NEWS - 15 APRIL 2010) UK POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY Halifax, 15 April 2010 4. Conservative Party leader David Cameron with wife Samantha walking downstairs UPSOUND (English) Reporter "David, how are you preparing today?" David Cameron, Conservative Party leader :"Just taking it easy." Reporter: "Relaxed?" David Cameron, Conservative Party leader : "What do you think?" 5. Cameron walks in carrying tea, Samantha follows 6. SOUNDBITE (English) David Cameron, Conservative Party leader: "It's a good thing for our democracy and hopefully it can help restore some of the lost trust in politics and it gives all of us a chance to explain to the public what we care about, what we want to do, how we can make a difference, and that I think is really important." (FIRST RUN 1630 EUROPE PRIME NEWS - 15 APRIL 2010) UK POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY Manchester, 15 April 2010 7. Liberal Democrats leader Nick Clegg walking with party members 8. SOUNDBITE (English) Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrats leader: "I just want to be myself, answer the questions and probably most difficult of all, given the whole hype about it, just enjoy it. I just want to enjoy it." (FIRST RUN 1630 EUROPE PRIME NEWS - 15 APRIL 2010) ITN POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY Manchester, Recent 9. Various of rehearsals of televised debate (FIRST RUN 1730 NEWS UPDATE - 15 APRIL 2010) SKY NEWS - NO ACCESS UK/RTE/CNNi/AL JAZEERA ENGLISH Washington, 15 April 2010 10. SOUNDBITE (English) Bob Schieffer, Former US Presidential Debate Moderator: "My sense of it is is that all three of the candidates, they're in more normal, natural territory because of the question period that you have in your parliament. We don't have anything to compare with that in the American system of government. The closest we have to it is a news conference. So all three of your candidates will be at home with this. I expect it will be a wonderful, not only informative, but I find these things very entertaining." (FIRST RUN 1630 EUROPE PRIME NEWS - 15 APRIL 2010) ITN POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY Manchester, Recent 11. Mid of studio floor ++NEW (FIRST RUN 1830 NORTH AMERICAN PRIME NEWS - 15 APRIL 2010) SKY NEWS - NO ACCESS UK/RTE/CNNi/AL JAZEERA ENGLISH Massachusetts, 15 April 2010 12. SOUNDBITE (English) David Gergen, Professor of Public Service at Harvard University: "The most important things is to be yourself. Audiences are so now accustomed to television they can see right through falsity, they can cut, they have a very good filter for people who are lying to them, so you have to be very authentic, you have to talk to people, don't talk down to them, talk up to them, keep your answers clipped, and remember humour makes a big difference." ITN POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY Manchester, Recent 13. Various of rehearsals SKY NEWS - NO ACCESS UK/RTE/CNNi/AL JAZEERA ENGLISH Manchester, 15 April 2010 14. SOUNDBITE (English) Alistair Stewart, news presenter and debate moderator: "The best analogy that I've come up with so far is a kind of conductor of an orchestra. And some of the greatest conductors you see very little of, they're almost self-effacing. And we were just chatting before this conversation, you know, great exchanges between Jack Kennedy and Richard Nixon, who was the moderator? I'm not quite sure? Everyone knows Jim Lehrer, you had him on your programme on Sunday, and he's a great. But this is about them. So if I can be absolutely minimalist in this, but just make sure that there is equity, then I shall be very, very happy to go away quietly." ITN POOL - AP CLIENTS ONLY Manchester, Recent ++MUTE++ 15. Mid of stand-ins for party leaders at rehearsals 16. Tracking shot to sign reading "The First Election Debate." STORYLINE Britain will make history on Thursday by holding its first ever televised political debate for top candidates, a risky endeavour in this wildly unpredictable national election. The debate will focus on domestic issues, while televised debates on April 22 and April 29 will focus on foreign policy and the economy, the most significant of all issues in the May 6 election. The Labour Party, which has been in power for 13 years, only agreed to the debates after a bruising media campaign. Candidates are painfully aware of the famous blunders that litter US-presidential debate history, Richard Nixon's sweaty brow during his face-off with John F. Kennedy in 1960, Gerald Ford's mistake of saying Poland was not under Soviet control and Dan Quayle naively comparing himself to Kennedy. Pollsters say half of the British electorate, some 20 (m) million people, plan to watch Labour's Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Conservative leader David Cameron and Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats square off. Brown told reporters on Thursday that he was "looking forward" to the debate, Clegg said he was hoping to enjoy the occasion while Cameron said "it gives all of us a chance to explain to the public what we care about, what we want to do, how we can make a difference." Each candidate has their own image problems, but they will be expected to come across as confident, knowledgeable, relaxed and sincere. Some six (m) million swing votes are at stake. Both Brown and Cameron have consulted experts from President Barack Obama's election campaign. Brown is advised by media guru Michael Sheehan and polling expert Joel Benenson. Cameron has tapped Obama's ex-communications director Anita Dunn, as well as two former presidents of the Oxford Union debating society. The 59-year-old Brown will need to convince the public that he is relaxed, authoritative and has more experience than his rivals and overcome his often clumsy, dishevelled appearance on screen. But because expectations are low for him, even a moderate performance could be seen as a win. The 43-year-old Cameron needs to overcome his image as a posh politician disconnected from the working class and back up his ideas with substance and detail. Articulate, privileged and married to an aristocrat's daughter, Cameron has tried to seduce voters with the idea that the party once led by Margaret Thatcher is more compassionate today. Often compared to the charismatic Tony Blair, who brought the Labour Party back to power 13 years ago, Cameron is often seen cycling or doing Web cams of his family life. But it's unclear whether his folksy "Just call me Dave" campaign or his pregnant wife's visits to soup kitchens have convinced a dubious electorate. For the 43-year-old Clegg, the debate has automatically boosted his third-place Liberal Democrats. Advisers say Clegg will need to rein in his temper and convince the electorate that he has what it takes to be prime minister. The election is the closest Britain has seen in years. Political parties are barred from paid television ads in Britain, which makes the debates even more resonant. Any mistakes and glories will be repeatedly broadcast on YouTube and over the Internet. Some 76 guidelines govern the live 90-minute debates, a painstaking format to which all three parties finally agreed. Speaking to British broadcaster Sky News, debate moderator Alistair Stewart said that he hoped to be "absolutely minimalist" during the event. "This is about them. So if I can be absolutely minimalist in this, but just make sure that there is equity, then I shall be very, very happy to go away quietly," he said. Veteran former US moderator Bob Schieffer said he expected the three leaders to be in "normal, natural territory" because they were used to thinking on their feet during Prime Minister's Question Time in parliament. "We don't have anything to compare with that in the American system of government," he added. Professor of Public Service David Gergen at Harvard University told Sky, that to do well in such a debate, the speaker had to be "authentic." "Don't talk down to them, talk up to them, keep your answers clipped, and remember humour makes a big difference," Gergen advised. A panel of journalists chose questions for the leaders that will be asked directly by members of a 200-strong studio audience selected by pollster ICM. The audience must remain quiet. Leaders won't know the questions in advance and won't be able to confront one another directly. A ComRes poll found 31 percent of respondents said they wouldn't watch the debate, and of those that will tune in, only half believed it would have any influence on their ballot. The survey of 1,001 adults April 12-13 had a margin or error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. A Populus poll for the Times newspaper showed the Labour Party closing in on the Conservatives. The poll gave the Conservatives 36 percent, a drop of 3 percentage points, to Labour's 33 percent. The Liberal Democrats had 21 percent. The margin of error was 2.5 percentage points. Clients are reminded: (i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: infoaparchive.com (ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service (iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory. APTN APEX 04-15-10 1541EDT ------------------- END -- OF -- ITEM -------------------

The Senate continues work on appropriations bills. 10:00:21.4 10:00:54.6 the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. dr. barry black, the chaplain of the united states senate, will lead us in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal lord god, our helper and friend, set up your throne in our hearts today and rule our 10:01:13.0 spirits. banish every evil emotion and desire. direct our minds and thoughts to those things that are true, noble, just, pure, and a 10:01:29.6 praiseworthy. guide our lawmakers today with your might. govern their actions so that they will live with integrity. control their speech so that they will speak the truth with 10:01:45.3 civility and humility. and moderation. help us all to so live that we may not be ashamed at your appearance. 10:02:01.3 and, lord, we also ask you to be near dr. richard smalley, a nobel laureate, who is very ill. all this we ask for your love's sake. amen. the president pro tempore: 10:02:19.6 please join me in pledging allegiance to our flag of. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the leadership time is reserved. 10:02:43.3 under the previous order, there will be a period for the transaction of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes. the majority leader is recognized. mr. frist: mr. president, this morning we will have a period of morpg business which will allow senators to come to the floor to make statements. 10:02:58.6 i announced last night that there will be no votes today, and i don't expect a lengthy session. we expect to consider some executive nominations over the course of the morning and we will also be able to consider any other cleared legislative items before closing. on monday under our order from 10:03:15.5 last night, we will begin consideration of the deficit-reduction bill. i'll have a few comments on that bill here shortly. that bill does have a statutory 20-hour time limit, and we now have an order which divides that time over the course of monday. 10:03:33.0 also, we have set out a time course for tuesday and twens day nesday of this coming week. we will not have any votes on monday but senators should 10:03:48.5 expect a lot of debate on that deficit package. we'll outline the voting schedule as we know it later this morning. i also want to congratulate once again chairman specter and senator harkin for completing the work on the labor-h.h.s. appropriations bill last night. 10:04:06.1 that was the 12th of our appropriations bills. the final of our 12 appropriations bills to be considered by the senate. senator cochran has done a tremendous job throughout this appropriations process, and we thank him for all of his efforts 10:04:22.0 and his committee members for sheep hearing these bills-- --for shepherding these bills through. on monday, we do beginning consideration of the deficit-reduction bill, a bill that goes by the title of a 10:04:38.7 reconciliation bill, and indeed it's been eight years since we have addressed spending on a reconciliation bill, a critically important bill, may well be the most important piece of fiscal legislation that we 10:04:55.0 will debate, and i fully expect will be enacted this year. for those who may watch this debate, i should be clear that the bill we will debate is focused on one piece of the 10:05:09.9 federal budget, not the entire federal budget. it is, however, a major piece of the budget. mandatory spending -- and that word "mandatory" is sometimes 10:05:23.4 referred to as entitlement spending -- represents about $1.4 trillion, or just 56% of overall federal spending this year. and it will continue to grow in the future, particularly as that 10:05:40.8 demographic shift occurs, as the population occurs, as the baby boom begins to travel through our system in 2008. mandatory spending, this entitlement spending, encompasses a whole range of 10:05:55.4 programs familiar to my colleagues on the floor -- social security, medicare, medicaid, federal civilian and military retirement, student loans, tricare, foster care, child nutrition, s.s.i., unemployment insurance, farm price support programs, 10:06:11.4 veterans' disability, and the list goes on. if federal spending is to be controlled, and it absolutely must be controlled over time, these programs are going to have to be addressed. 10:06:26.0 they are going to have to be reformed. over the last five years, mandatory programs -- entitlement program spending has grown at an annual rate of over 7.1% -- 7.1%. that's three times faster than 10:06:44.0 the overall growth in our economy. it just simply cannot be sustained. the result, a greater and greater share of our national economy's productive capacity -- that proportion of our productive capacity -- is being 10:07:01.8 shifted all towards those programs, and we've got to find a balance. we have to find a balance, and it is incumbent upon us to do so. under the procedures laid out by the budget act for considering 10:07:20.7 this deficit-reduction legislation that we'll begin having on monday, tuesday, wednesday and thursday of next week, social security, which is the largest of these mandatory programs, is set aside. 10:07:31.4 it cannot nor should it be considered in this legislation. it cannot be. so realistically, the universe of federal spending that we'll be dealing with, that we'll be focusing on over the next week is limited to 33%, or about a third of all federal spending. 10:07:48.9 that's where the focus will be. now, the deficit-reduction legislation we'll be considering over the week is the culmination of a process that began not just in the last several months but way back in february when the president of the united states 10:08:04.1 gave us his budget. the president's budget included proposals to reduce the federal deficit over the next five years by slowing the growth in federal spending by over $26 billion. in this area of the federal budget. 10:08:20.9 again, we're talking of the overall federal budget, we're talking about a third of it we'll be addressing and the president's budget that came over said we're going to slow it down. 10:08:36.1 now, our budget, the congressional budget resolution that we adopted back in april, similarly agreed that slowing that growth, slowing the growth -- there's still going to be growth but slowing that growth in mandatory spending -- was an essential part of achieving not only deficit reduction but, not 10:08:56.5 unrelated, being able to sustain economic growth. you want to achieve deficit reduction, but you want to be able to sustain that economic growth. so to accomplish that goal, our 2006 budget laid out a process 10:09:09.4 that, as i mentioned earlier, has not been used in about eight years. i believe it was in 1997 that we last had a spending deficit-reduction package, a reconciliation process used on the spending side of the equation. 10:09:23.5 so it's been eight years since we've used this process. the budget we adopted directed eight authorizing committees in the united states senate and in the house to make changes in laws within their jurisdiction to achieve a total of $34.7 10:09:43.1 billion in savings over the next five years. that's what the budget told those eight authorizing committees to come up with. subsequent to the passage of our budget in the spring, we've had big, unanticipated spending 10:10:00.4 demands that resulted, as we all know, from the worst hurricane season in this nation's history. all of that placed added attention on spending and on government spending. now, we responded to that vee 10:10:15.2 ppropriately in a bipartisan way by agreeing to delay consideration of the 10:10:22.1 reconciliation process in early september so that we could focus on the hurricane response and on the demands and on what the people who have been so directly affected by those hurricanes deserved. those needs of the gulf coast families affected by the storms, 10:10:37.5 we've addressed. we continue to address them. we did indeed in legislation last night and will continue to do so in the future. indeed, within this reconciliation legislation, while at the same time meeting 10:10:52.2 the goal of deficit reduction -- we'll be talking about that next week -- we do so while also providing the needed medical attention, the education attention, and other government benefits to the victims of those hurricanes, of those storms. we also recognize that because 10:11:12.4 of the additional spending demands being placed on the federal government, we needed to do more in terms of the deficit reduction itself. the deficit reduction, as we defined even pre-katrina, that 10:11:26.2 we did need to do more. so in late-september, i along with the chairman of the budget committee wrote to the chairman -- wrote to the chairmen and ranking members of all the 10:11:44.5 committees asking them each to consider how they could come up with increased savings. now, i'm very proud of the effort that was put forth by each of these eight committees, each of these eight reconciled 10:12:01.5 committees. they've come forth with specific recommendations and now that is what we're bringing to the floor of the senate. they increased the deficit reduction by nearly 13%. so rather than $35 billion, as required by our initial budget 10:12:18.6 proposal from the early part of last year -- of this year, instead of being $35 billion, the legislation approaches about $40 billion, just under it, but almost $40 billion in savings. and i -- again, i thank and 10:12:33.7 applaud members of the various authorizing committees who've come forth with those crowed savings. -- --who've come forth with those increased savings. i would be remiss if i did not point out that in many instances the additional savings were 10:12:49.0 accomplished on a bipartisan basis in many of the committees. now, $40 billion in savings over the next five years is less than 2% -- is less than 2% -- of the $2.6 trillion in mandatory spending that will occur over 10:13:05.1 the next five years. so $40 billion in savings, it is tough to accomplish that and we'll be debating that over the course of the week reg but in truth it's only-- --over the course of the week, but in truth it's only 2% of the mandatory spending that will be 10:13:23.8 occurring in the next five years. there will be some who think this legislation does not go far enough to reduce spending and i personally would not disagree. both proponents -- both 10:13:45.8 proponents will have an opportunity over the course of the next week to amend the legislation to achieve whatever their objectives might be. and we'll -- i'll be laying out that schedule a little bit later today. but regardless of that debate, 10:13:58.6 no one will deny that this is the first real effort, the first real effort in eight years, to slow down, to slow down, that growth in mandatory spending. pentagon chairman of the budget committee, senator gregg, and 10:14:16.4 the eight -- and the rank members and the eight committees are to be congratulated on making some tough decisions that they had to make in bringing this bill to the senate floor. finally, let me say that in 10:14:33.0 balancing deficit reduction with all of the other demands that come to this body, the committees were careful not to place the burden of deficit reduction on the most vulnerable in our society. 10:14:46.9 as a member of the "help" committee, i personally want to thank chairman enzi and chairman -- and ranking member kennedy, senator kennedy, for meeting that deficit-reduction requirement while at the same time providing a 10% increase in average grants to low-income 10:15:04.6 students with additional assistance for those students who are working toward a degree in math and in science and in engineering and technology. while that committee achieved over $16 billion in deficit reduction by eliminating bankers 10:15:20.6 and lenders' windfalls and special payments, it redirected some of those savings towards those needy students. similarly, the finance committee in meeting its instruction to achieve $10 billion in deficit reduction was able to redirect 10:15:36.7 additional savings toward providing such things as $1.9 billion to medicaid recipients in the gulf coast states, nearly $1 billion to expand medicaid benefits to severely disabled children through the family 10:15:50.6 opportunity act, nearly $100 million for the s-chip program, and extension of exexpiring provisions that will provide over $200 million to rural hospitals and sole-community hospitals. 10:16:06.2 another committee -- the commerce committee -- was able to direct a portion of its deficit reduction savings toward implementing e-911 emergency services as well as directing $2 million towards coastal assistance disaster assistance.x mr. president, all of this is a 10:16:26.6 first, good, positive step toward real mandatory spending reduction. additional steps are being taken and will be taken to control the growth in the nonsecurity appropriations as we bring the 10:16:41.8 2006 appropriations process to a conclusion over the next couple of weeks as well. we will apply fiscal discipline through the actions we take these coming weeks, and we will continue to promote those 10:16:56.5 policies that protect the needy while at the same time create jobs and ensure a growing economy. mr. president, let us work together to keep america moving forward. i look forward to the debate next week and doing just that, 10:17:12.5 working together to keep this country moving in a positive direction. mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. reid: mr. president? the president pro tempore: the democratic leader is recognized. mr. reid: mr. president, it's not often that you see a spotlight shine on the 10:17:27.2 differences between the two parties, between the democrats and republicans. this debate is that spotlight. this budget that is attempting 10:17:44.7 to be reconciled is, as i've said on a number of occasions, an immoral budget. it hurts the poor and middle class, and makes all the rewards 10:17:59.6 to those people who are already fat as a result of our system. the republican budget is fiscally irresponsible. 10:18:16.2 it sets forth the wrong values and misplaced priorities. president bush has the worst fiscal record in the nation's history. taking a surplus when he was 10:18:32.6 elected president from, some say as much as $10 trillion over seven years, to have squandered it in five years to where now we have a $8 trillion deficit. that's a pretty big turn-around. 10:18:50.9 record surpluses that we had have been turned into historic deficits. and this immoral budget that is attempting to be reconciled will 10:19:04.6 increase the deficits by $30 billion more. following the budget choices made by the republicans in this budget, in five years the deficit will increase to over 10:19:21.7 $11 trillion to its now $8 trillion. simply the wrong choices have been made with this budget. this senate reconciliation 10:19:38.2 spending bill makes the wrong choices. it increases the burdens on seniors in a number of ways, but not the least of which is increasing medicare part-b premiums. 10:19:52.7 it cuts health care generally by $27 billion in medicare and medicaid cuts. it cuts agriculture. it cuts support by -- that's direct. tpaerplts get hit by $3 billion -- farms get hit by $3 billion. 10:20:11.1 in my little town of searchlight, nevada, then something called the farmer's home administration came in and 10:20:19.8 helped build 28 units of senior housing for the poor. they are, frankly, the nicest homes in town. we don't have these programs anymore, but those 28 units in searchlight only become vacant 10:20:35.6 when someone dies. they are so -- once someone gets in there, qualifies to get in there, they are there until they die. there's a waiting list even in the little community of 10:20:51.2 searchlight, so long the people no longer get on the list. but this budget that the republicans are pushing down the throats of the american people reduces availability of affordable housing. there will be no more places like searchlight. 10:21:09.0 they're cutting that. but they're going to drill in alaska. remember, mr. president, we cannot produce our way out of the problems we have with energy america has, counting anwr, less 10:21:24.5 than 3% -- less than 3% of the oil reserves in the world. less than 3%. but they finally have been able to accomplish, under this reconciliation, drilling in 10:21:40.0 alaska, in this pristine wilderness. now, i would think the president would be better off looking at alternative energy, giving incentives for people to develop energy with the sun, the wind, geothermal, biomass. 10:21:58.3 but, no, that's not in this budget. more efficient automobiles, maybe. natural gas during the last five years, the production is maintained. 10:22:13.9 it's been stable. the -- right now our reserves are the same as they have been for five years. but the people controlling oil, these oil and gas companies, they're doing real well. someone heating their home with 10:22:31.2 natural gas -- and that's almost 50% of the american people -- costs will go up 48% this year. now maybe the president should spend a little time on that. this budget provides tax breaks for multimillionaires and 10:22:47.3 special interests. reconciliation paves the way for budget-pwufgt tax breaks, including capital gains and dividend tax breaks that will benefit special interests and the wealthy. tax breaks exceed spending cuts 10:23:04.0 by more than $30 billion in this immoral budget. well over the majority, some 55% of the benefits of capital gains and dividends go to those with 10:23:20.4 incomes of more than $1 million. the average benefit of these tax breaks for those with incomes of more than $1 million will be -- approximately $36,000. 10:23:37.4 those people making between $50,000 and $200,000 get $112. those with incomes under $50,000 will get $6. $6 compared to millionaires getting $36,000. 10:23:52.4 it doesn't seem quite fair to me. is this the reason the protestant leadership, the churches in this country have called this an immoral budget? it could be one strong reason. but the house, they haven't been 10:24:09.8 working much lately because they have been trying to figure out a way to cut even $15 billion more. they can't quite get the votes together, but they're going to try again next week. the house plan, cutting another $15 billion, we're told would 10:24:27.0 include more in student loan cuts, more in food stamp cuts, cuts in child support enforcement, foster care cuts, deeper, more problematic cuts in health care. other priorities in this country 10:24:43.0 should come first. rather than harming the vulnerable while providing special tax breaks to the rich, increasing the deficit, we should address the nation's most urgent problems. 10:24:57.6 i've talked about natural gas. that's only one way to heat your home. gasoline for your car, that's what we should be focusing on. 10:25:18.2 oil companies this year will make $100 billion in profits. $100 billion in profits. i say that's too much. 10:25:32.8 i say it's time this congress, rather than pushing forward on this immoral budget, should take a look at the immoral, obscene profits these companies are making, maybe take a look at -- maybe take a look at a windfall 10:25:48.2 profit tax or maybe take a hraog at allowing the -- look at allowing the fdic do something about this price gouging. these rising energy costs are pwurgd families -- burdening families, businesses and 10:26:10.6 farmers. we have said, mr. president, that there are programs that we need to take a look at. the katrina victims are still 10:26:21.4 victims. we as a congress have not provided them the help they need. and i haven't even mentioned the war in iraq, that we should be 10:26:38.8 spending some time here on the senate floor talking about. can we do better? yes, america can do better. have we done better? yes, america has done better. during the clinton years -- during the last three years he 10:26:56.9 was president, we were paying down the debt. we paid down the debt by $500 billion. we were spending less money than we were taking in. yes, it can be done. and, yes, we're going to spend 10:27:15.1 this week on this budget that is fiscally irresponsible, giving the congress direction in values that's wrong, and all across 10:27:33.2 this reconciliation, misplaced priorities. we can do much better. we have done better. and again, the spotlight shines on the difference between the two parties here as not often seen, but here we will see it 10:27:49.7 this week. the difference between the two parties. a senator: mr. president? the president pro tempore: the 10:28:04.4 senator is recognized. a senator: i yield back to the leader, mr. president. the president pro tempore: the majority leader is recognized. mr. frist: mr. president, very briefly, i ask unanimous consent 10:28:20.3 the senate immediately proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations on today's executive calendar: calendar 391, 392, 393, 393, 394,395, 396, 398,399, 40 orbgs 10:28:43.4 401, 402, 403, 404, 404, 405, 406, 407, 408, 409, 410, 411, 10:28:57.5 412, 413. and all nominations on the secretary of state's desk. i further ask that the senate return to legislative session. 10:29:09.6 the president pro tempore: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. isakson: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. mr. isakson: i rise in morning business to pay tribute to a 10:29:27.1 great georgian, a personal friend of mine and a citizen of cobb county. in about 11 days our county will come together to pay tribute to this individual. i wanted today on the senate floor to memorialize for a mome the contributions of earl smith. for me it is a particular point 10:29:43.6 of personal pride, and it is because earl smith has been a role model to me my entire adult life. and, quite frankly, mr. president, i don't know i would be privileged to serve in the united states senate had it not been for his example, his support over 35 years. 10:30:00.6 i met earl smith when he founded the cobb county lion's club in the 1960's and led it to be the best club in georgia. i knew him as a businessman because i was in real estate and he was in the heating and air 10:30:15.1 conditioning business, and he installed new units in houses that i sold, serviced them and built a business to be one of the best in the united states of america. i know him, mr. president, because when our community was in need of facilities for our young people, earl smith took 10:30:31.0 his time from his business, raised money and supported the construction of the east cobb ymca, today a shining gem in georgia. i know him, mr. president, because when our county was in a significant political disaster, 10:30:47.5 with an absence of leadership and faced with unparalleled growth but unparalleled difficulty, earth smith volunteered and went and -- earl smith went and volunteered and qualified for office, and took a 10:31:06.1 county that had grown from 197,000 to 400,000 and now is almost a million, and met the needs of its waste water treatment, met the needs of its electric power generation, met the needs of its roads and its transportation system and even 10:31:20.6 brought about public transportation to this growing and burgeoning community.n today, mr. chairman, a man who's 10:31:37.7 done all those things, built a great business, served in civic clubs, worked in his chunks built ymca's, a man in the autumn of his life could do many things on beaches or on mountains but man thought he 10:32:00.5 could do other things. so he took the lead to raise money to build the c.b.o. energy performing arts center in c.b.o. county near the gallon reia center. a facility upon which ground was just recently broken and in less 10:32:14.2 than two years will be completed to be the finest urban performing arts center in the united states of america. so today on the senate floor i rise for this brief moment to pay tribute to a man who has given countless hours, countless 10:32:31.8 dollars, countless effort, and all of his being to make his community better. and when on november 7 the community comes together to honor him, if i can't be there in spirit, these words will be 10:32:47.0 there so that he knows not only does his community recognize him but on this day on the floor of the united states senate, we pay tribute to earl smith of c.b.o. county, georgia. 10:33:01.4 and i yield back. the president pro tempore: the senator from south dakota is recognized. mr. dorgan: mr. president, would the senator from south dakota yield? a senator: yes, i will. mr. dorgan: i ask that i be recognized following the statement by the senator from south dakota for as much time as 10:33:17.8 i may consume. the president pro tempore: there currently is a limitation for ten minutes, senator. mr. dorgan: mr. president, i'm ask that i be recognize the for as much time as i may consume. the president pro tempore: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. johnson: mr. president, i 10:33:33.2 rise today to discuss an issue over which i am outraged. the continued delay of mandatory country of origin labeling and the manner in which this has continually been addressed. mandatory country-of-origin 10:33:49.8 labeling was authorized in the 2002 farm bill and signed into law by this president. this program is widely supported not only by about 85% of our nation's consumers but also overwhelmingly by our nation's 10:34:06.1 producers. this program is not only a consumer right-to-know issue, it is a valuable marketing tool for ranchers and farmers. during consideration of the fiscal year 2004 ag appropriations measure, the 10:34:20.5 senate passed a sense-of-the-senate supporting mandatory country-of-origin labeling -- or cool. a house version included a one-year delay for meat and meat products. during closed-door consideration 10:34:36.1 of the omnibus spending measure, the republican house leadership was successful in inserting a two-year delay for all commodities covered under the mandatory "cool" program with the exception of fish and 10:34:53.3 shellfish. mr. president, this secretive, closed-door process was outrageous at that time. the omnibus package was assembled behind closed doors and with no input from "cool" supporters. 10:35:08.6 then in fiscal year 2006 agricultural appropriations 10:35:13.7 bill, the house version included once again a one-year delay for meat and meat products covered under mandatory "cool." the senate speak in support of a mandatory program included $2.1 million for an audit program to 10:35:30.7 cover implementation costs. a $3.1 million appropriation for complementation. this small spending level, which was requested by the bush administration for program implementation, only shows how 10:35:48.7 grossly the dment of agriculture overestimated the costs for "cool." on tuesday evening, the house republican chairman convened a conference committee on which i serve meeting on the most recent 10:36:04.3 agricultural spending measure. for those of us that expected an open discussion on outstanding items, we were sorely and entirely mistaken. the chairman recessed that meeting subject to the call of 10:36:19.1 the chair without ever discussing "cool" or indicating when we would reconvene. instead of an open discussion on this outstanding item, instead of any up-or-down public vote, the chairman simply modified single handedly language on the 10:36:36.3 final report to include a two-year delay behind closed doors, yet again pushing back mandatory implementation this time until september 30 of 2008. let me repeat, the senate ag appropriations bill contained no 10:36:55.9 delay in country-of-origin labeling, in fact included funding for implementation. the house ag aeption pros bill called for a one manufacture year-- --the house ag appropriations bill called for a one-year 10:37:10.8 delay. what happened behind closed doors without the benefit of a debate, without the benefit of a vote? the chairman actually inserted language calling for a two-year delay, kicking this program over into the next farm bill, essentially a do-over on the last farm bill, the 2002 farm 10:37:27.9 bill, in which we initially made the law of the land country-of-origin labeling for meat and meat products. mr. president, this is truly outrageous. it is the purpose of a conference committee to discuss outstanding items in an open 10:37:42.6 manner, not change policy in back-room deals and closed-door discussions in the dead of night. what happened on wednesday was an incredibly corrupt process. it fails the american public and 10:37:57.9 fails the political process of our nation. the chairman chose not to address "cool" simply because he knew he would lose. it was easier to address this item behind closed doors and avoid any vote because of the broad bipartisan support in the 10:38:14.0 u.s. senate that this program enjoys. it's because of the two-year delay and the appalling process by which this open item was considered that i refused -- i refused to sign the conference 10:38:30.3 committee. it is because of this wrongdoing that i'll also vote against the conference report when it is considered by the full united states senate. not only was the process by which this outstanding issue considered absolutely corrupt, 10:38:45.8 this delay yet again takes another stab at rewriting our farm bill. the farm bill, when signed into law, did not indicate an implementation date of september 30, 2008, for mandatory "cool." it specifically stated september 10:39:00.7 30, 2004. in order to change this implementation date and rewrite farm bill policy, the majority leadership has had to hold two closed-door conferences to achieve its back-room goals. the farm bill is a contract with 10:39:17.5 rural america that needs to be honored, not modified, not changed, not destroyed in closed backdoor dealings in the middle of the night. the most recent debacle with 10:39:36.3 "cool" is another illustration of how the administration is failing middle america. they advocate stripping in excess of $3 billion during the rescaleiation process weakening 10:39:47.6 the essential safety net that we need, that our nation needs to foster economic development in rural america. especially in a time of weak commodity prices, the president advocated reducing commodity payments and leaving producers in the cold. 10:40:02.9 the president insisted last year that $3 billion be cannibalized from the conservation security program to fund the 2003-2004 10:40:14.0 either- or ag assistance package. i find this is wrong considering the pending doha round of w.t.o. negotiations and this administration's platform on gutting support programs. all of these reductions are supported by the president 10:40:26.7 despite the fact that the farm bill has come in at $14 billion -- $14 billion under projected costs. agriculture has already paid enough. the administration advocated closing over 700 farm 10:40:43.0 service agency offices nationwide, including 24% of the offices in my home state of south dakota. i know that other states also were subject to even larger percentage cuts of offices. not only would the 10:40:58.5 administration bill crap programs, the plan is that it would make it more difficult for the producer to obtain information about the farm programs that are available leaving producers too often to fend for themselves. the administration has yet to issue disaster payments from over one year ago. 10:41:14.4 the producers in my home state of south dakota are still waiting for livestock assistance program payments and the american indian livestock feed program payments. interest was not calculated properly, prompt ago redo on 10:41:31.2 parts of some payments. families have made financial decisions around this financial obligation. congress did its part in passing the disaster package last year. the u.s. department of agriculture's computer software glitch excuse quite frankly wore 10:41:48.3 thin many, many months ago. these delayed payments are especially unacceptable considering that usda already had a process for getting money to producers. the usda selected a package to 10:42:05.4 use frankly as a guinea pig for a new, untested computer software program. usda and president bush, even after opening our markets to canadian beef, opening the markets to a tidalwave of 10:42:19.7 canadian beef and cattle, would propose to open our borders to japanese beef, even before we can secure that export market. the senate overwhelmingly passed an amendment to the ag spending measure that sent a strong 10:42:33.7 message to this administration. the department of ag should not allow japanese beef into the united states until japan allows beef into that nation. a group of 21 senators in bipartisan fashion also 10:42:48.7 introduced a bill this week that would impose economic sanctions on japanese beef unless japan opens their borders to american beef. american producers continue to lose $3.14 billion a year while the japan market stays closed 10:43:08.0 and the administration has yet to open japan's borders to american beef. this is another example of a flawed trade agenda that fails to work for the domestic u.s. agricultural producer. i continually hear from ranchers 10:43:22.1 and farmers in south dakota who are tired of seeing unrealized promises in these trade dealings. we buy the japanese cars, we buy the japanese electronics, japan has yet to comply with w.t.o., japan has yet to comply with 10:43:41.2 scientific standards in accepting the safest and highest quality leave in the world and the united states. the department of agriculture is not making certain our farmers can stay in the fold. the administration is 10:43:55.2 undermining our family farmers at too many turns. the most recent action on mandatory country-of-origin labeling and the closed-door consideration that prompted this move is utterly unacceptable. usda worked with a majority of members in congress to delay 10:44:12.7 mandatory "cool" behind closed doors. usda's actions are just simply strong examples of how wrong the administration has been on too many agricultural issues. 10:44:27.3 the department of ag, it seems to be responsive primarily to the packing and processing industry instead of the family farmer and the family rancher. i simply believe that our rural 10:44:42.5 communities and ag producers can do better. i believe that america can do better than this backward, behind closed doors, in the dead of night, undemocratic process that has taken over this year's 10:44:58.1 ag appropriations conference report. mr. president, i yield the floor. yes? mr. dorgan: mr. president, i was a member of the conference the senator from south dakota 10:45:10.1 just described. i, too, refused to sign the conference report just this week. i think when senator johnson uses the term "outrage" it is a very appropriate word to describe quhapd in that conference. that conference recessed at the call of the chair. 10:45:25.2 we never reconvened. and closed doors, the majority party decided to hear the siren call of the big packing houses and others and they extended by two years the effective date of the time when the american 10:45:40.8 people would finally figured out by labels where the meat they were eating would come frvment the reasoning i think this is important, meat labeling, we label everything. we label t-shirts, shoes, you name it. we label it. go to the grocery store, see what's labeled. everything on the shelf is 10:45:57.0 labeled. but then pick up a piece of meat and see if you know where it came from. i might just say i held up a piece of steak on the floor of the senate and then i read the report of an inspector who went to the plant in mexico -- this 10:46:12.6 is a plant shipping meat to this country -- he said there were carcasses hanging in unrefrigerated rooms with feces on it, ready to be cut up and the meat to be sent to american consumers. that's what he found. one inspection, one inspection 10:46:30.1 -- by the way, they closed that plant. then it changed its name, changes its ownership. reopens, has never again been inspected. that's why when you ask the question, how do you like your steak? the answer ought to be, i like my steak from places where 10:46:47.8 there's healthy meat. we don't know where it's from unless we see a label. that's why the senator from south dakota and i and others have fought so aggressively to get this meat labeling law in place. 10:46:59.1 it is now the law of the land and we've got people making secret deals behind closed doors to try to shut it down, to prevent it from ever being implemented and that's what happened this week. that's why i refused to sign the conference report as well.p i appreciate the effort of the 10:47:15.5 senator from south dakota on this. there are about a half a dozen of us that wouldn't sign the conference report because this is an arrogant approach to make a secret deal behind closed doors that injures the consumers of this country and we shouldn't put up with it. 10:47:30.2 mr. smith: if i may add a question to my colleague and friend from north dakota. does it not seem to you that part of the reason we have lost essentially entirely our export market for beef in america is in part because even countries that want to buy american beef, who understand that we have the safest, highest-quality beef in 10:47:47.2 the world are not confident that we are in fact selling them american beef? their fear is that this may be canadian, it may be mexican, it may be arch teen. who knows where this beef comes from from the united states because we are one 10:48:01.9 of the few industrialized democracies in the world that does not have country-of-origin labeling in place for meat? and that undermines the integrity of our sales abroad and further complicates our recapture of these lost export markets. 10:48:18.6 does the gentleman see that as one of the contributing factors to our loss of export market? mr. dorgan: i don't think there's any question but that's the case. we don't have labeling of this meat. other countries do. so we have a whom phopblg tphaoeuzation of meat that comes 10:48:39.8 in this country and goes here and there and everywhere. our farmers and ranchers in this country raise beef, meat, and we raise healthy supply of meat. we inspect it. we have, i think, the healthiest supply of meat anywhere in the 10:48:54.3 world. and i think the lack of having labeling of the country-of-origin labeling on the meat that is sold in this country hurts all of us. it hurts our consumers as they consume. it also hurts us in our ability to get into foreign markets, as my colleague has just described. 10:49:10.8 once again, the big interests get the attention around here. behind closed doors, outside of the view of the public. and so we come out with a piece of legislation now that says, well, not only is there a law that requires country-of-origin labeling, we will not -- we 10:49:26.7 won't allow that law to take effect. it's been in place for some while. we'll extend for two years the excuse to allow the department of agriculture not to put it in effect. i mean, it really is, as the senator has used the term, an outrage. 10:49:41.6 it is the wrong way for this congress to legislate. i thank the senator from south dakota for yielding. mr. johnson: kwrefplt i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator yields back. the senator from north dakota. mr. dorgan: mr. president? 10:50:07.7 today in the newspaper, "the 10:50:10.1 washington post", the question in the business section is: how big is $9.9 billion?" "how big is $9.9 billion?" that happens to be the single 10:50:26.2 quarter profit for exxonmobil oil company. pretty fortunate for this company to have a $9.9 billion quarterly profit. mr. president, that profit comes from people who are driving up 10:50:45.3 to the gas pump, putting gasoline in their car, from people who are going to be heating their homes with home heating fuel, natural gas, propane this winter. 10:51:02.1 and so we have this spectacle of one industry with record profits, the highest in the history of the world. this is the largest profit of any corporation ever. the gain is here, and the pain is elsewhere. 10:51:17.0 what does all this mean? well, i come from a state that is a state that's ten times the size of massachusetts in, land mass. we have 642,000 people spread out. 10:51:32.2 we are a northern state, so it gets cold from time to time in the winter. we use home heating fuel and natural gas thaoet our homes. and heating our homes is not a luxury. it's a necessity. when we drive, we drive a fairly long ways. in fact, there is only one other 10:51:49.9 state in which the per capita use of gasoline is higher than the state of north dakota. it's wyoming. we are fourth among all the states in all energy consumption. 10:52:03.2 second in gasoline per capita. you know, i'm told in new york city that if someone decides to take a vacation to go see some distant relative in bayonne, new jersey, 50 miles away, they plan it for some months. 10:52:20.3 they put an emergency kit in their trunk. they put plan kets in their car. they -- blankets in their car, probably get their car serviced. they get all ready to go 50 miles to new jersey to see their relatives. why is it such a big deal? because they don't travel very 10:52:36.2 much, that's why. in our part of the country, we travel a lot. we drive a lot. it is not unusual to drive 100 or 200 miles to get a part for a combine or tractor and drive 100 or 200 miles back. that's not a big tkaoefplt so in terms of pain, the pain in 10:52:54.5 states like north dakota and, yes, wyoming and other states, in our area of the country is very significant relateed to these prices. i mean, this isn't a pain that's spread evenly. we have the highest prices in history in the corporate 10:53:09.2 treasuries of the oil companies. and then we have huge pain for american consumers that are paying at the gas pump and are going to pay for home heating fuel. i'd like to just put up a couple of charts to show you what's happening. oil company profits. let me make a point. i come from a state that produces oil. 10:53:26.2 i don't wish the oil industry bad news. i support a number of things the oil industry does. i support an $18 floor on marginal wells in using tax credits to bring the price of 10:53:42.6 oil up to $18 when necessary. i support opening up lease 181 in the gulf of mexico for additional production. i support a number of things that the energy industry and the oil industry wants. but when i see what is happening with the oil industry at the moment, i know that a year ago 10:53:59.4 last january the price of a barrel of oil was $34.50 a barrel. now it's almost $30 above that. and at $34.50 a barrel, they were making the highest profits they ever made. 10:54:13.8 the highest profits they ever made at $34.50 a barrel. now it's $30 a barrel above that. and what are the consequences of those increased prices? the consequences are enormous for american consumers. b.p., one of the world's largest 10:54:33.5 companies, 34% profit in the third quarter. conoco phillips, 89% profit increase in the quarter. exxon mobile, 75% profit increase in the quarter, $9.9 10:54:50.2 billion. just for the one corporation. mr. president, the question might be asked: what is happening to this profit? well, this is "businessweek." this is hardly some silly liberal rag out thr-fplt this is 10:55:09.2 "businessweek." they say why isn't big oil drilling more? it says rather than developing new fields, they would rather find new rivals, drilling for oil on wall street. 10:55:21.1 you want to know where the extra profits are going? buying back stock, hoarding cash and drilling for oil on wall street. well, i got news for them. there's no oil on wall street. you're going to drill a dry hole on wall street. the point of the "businessweek" 10:55:37.8 article is to point out that much of these profits are used to go buy others, to merge with others. we've now seen these huge blockbuster mergers. we now have bigger oil companies than we've ever seen. 10:55:52.7 and there are three things that affect the price of oil. i know we have a lot of free market advocates here in congress. i think the free market is wonderful. i don't think it's perfect. i don't think it's perfect. a 7' 2 eufrpblgs basketball player gets paid the same as a 10:56:16.1 schoolteacher. judge judy, that woman, on television -- i don't watch her much. once in a great while i tune in cruising the channels, and she seems a little crab by to me. but judge judy makes ten times, 10:56:29.5 20 times, or 30 times the amount of money that the u.s. supreme court justice makes. i believe in the free market system. it makes a lot of sense. there is no free market in oil. you've got three things 10:56:43.4 happening with oil. one, you've got opec ministers sitting around the table because they were fortunate to find that on this planet of ours, a substantial amount of oil exists under the sands of the middle east. opec ministers sit around the table and decide quantity and price to the extent they can, 10:57:00.0 especially quantity. then the major oil companies made larger, more muscular by blockbuster mergers, decide to use their raw muscle in the marketplace. and third and finally, the futures market, which is designed to provide liquidity for trade, has become a grand 10:57:17.6 bazaar for speculation, an orgy of speculation. those are the three markets that give us the price of oil over $60 a barrel. 66 million u.s. homes heat mainly with natural gas, and their heating bills this winter 10:57:32.0 are going to be up 48% on average. 60% in my part of the country. 600% increase to heat your home this winter at a time when the largest enterprises that sell the oil are filling their bank accounts and drilling for oil on wall street. sound fair to you? 10:57:47.1 doesn't to me. now, mr. president, i have proposed a windfall profits tax, the proceeds of which would be rebated back to the consumers. this is not your mother or father's windfall profits tax. we had one once before. 10:58:02.4 it didn't work very well. that was to bring money into the federal government. i don't propose that. i propose that last year the average cost of a barrel of oil was $40. on january it was $34.50. the average cost the entire year was $40 and the energy industry, 10:58:19.9 the oil companies had the highest profits in their history. i propose above that level of $40 represent windfall or exercise profits. i propose further that the oil companies have two choices. if they decide to use all of that excess or windfall profit to invest back into the ground to explore for more oil or to 10:58:36.8 build refineries above ground. then they wouldn't pay a windfall profits tax. if they choose not to do that, if they choose to drill for oil on wall street, if they choose to buy back their stock and hoard cash, then they would pay a 50% excise tax on those windfall profits, the entire 10:58:54.2 proceeds of which would be sent back to the american consumers. now, mr. president, some say, well, if that would happen, the oil companies would simply drill less or explore for oil much less aggressively. 10:59:09.7 no. in fact, the most significant incentive to get them to explore for more energy would be to avoid paying a 50% excise tax called the windfall profits tax that i have proposed. it would be the single-most aggressive incentive to say sink 10:59:25.0 that money back into the ground. expand america's supply of energy. you know, it's interesting that we use one-fourth of the oil that's produced every day here in this country. we produce 84 million barrels of 10:59:42.0 oil a day. 84 million barrels a day in the world. we use 21 million barrels of oil a day in our country. this little spot on this globe called the united states of america uses one-fourth of all the oil that's produced every 10:59:59.0 day. 60% of that which we produce comes in from other countries. we are hopelessly addicted to

UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FLOOR DEBATE 2300-0000 23:00:13we have to stop it. that's the reason i support the pence amendment and i hope all my colleagues and the american public will demand a stopping of the public funding of abortions through planned parenthood by supporting the pence amendment. 23:00:29i yield back. the chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from wisconsin rise? Moore, G. (D-WI):i would like to strike the last word. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized for pi five minutes. . 23:00:50Moore, G. (D-WI):i would ask you to not defund planned parenthood. and i mean that as a double ditandra. 23:01:06i know of what the previous speaker referred, to all those well-meaning people who want to speak about the value of life and not to funding 23:01:22contraception and not wanting to make an abortion which is the law of the land available if people would choose that. i am really touched by the passion of the opposite to want to save black babies. 23:01:41i can tell you i know a lot 23:01:44about having black babies. i've had three of them. and i had my first one when i was 18 years old. at the ripe old age of 18. the chair members take their 23:02:03conversations off the floor. the gentlewoman may resume. Moore, G. (D-WI):i thank for you that courtesy, madam chair. i had my first baby at the ripe old age of 18, an unplanned pregnancy. 23:02:18and let me tell you, i went into labor, unfortunately, on new year's eve, had not even one dime, phone calls cost a dime at that time. i didn't have a phone in my home. i didn't have a dime to go to the phone booth to call an ambulance, an ambulance which 23:02:35is a waste of money using medicaid dollars, but i didn't have a car and didn't have cab fare. i just want to tell you a little bit about what it's like to not have planned parenthood. you have to add water to the formula to make it stretch, you 23:02:54have to give your kids ramen noodles at the enof -- end of the month to fill up their little bellies so they don't cry. you have to give them main ace -- mayon ace sandwiches -- 23:03:15mayonnaise sandwiches. one of the biggest problems school districts have in educating some of these poor, black children who are unplanned is that they're mobile, they're constantly 23:03:29moving because they can't pay the rent. and yes, i heard many of you talk about sexual predators, it subjects them to sexual predators, as when you try to go out and do a little work. you have to leave your kids with just anybody because you 23:03:44don't have $800 to $1,200 a month for childcare. and let me tell you, you know, the public policy p has treated poor children and women who 23:04:00have not had the benefit of planned parenthood with utter contempt. these same children, it's been very difficult to help get them health insurance through chips. when you go to the grocery 23:04:16store to buy you birthday cake with your food stamps, everyone stared at you in contempt. and yes, on a bipartisan basis, democrats and republicans ended the entitlement for aid to families with dependent 23:04:31children so like when we have a recession like we have now, women who are alone typically, poor, of color with these poor black children have no money, go months and months and months with little or nothing to sustain themselves. 23:04:46and you know, you know, i recall that the first item on the you-cut website was to cut temporary assistance to needy families. and let me tell you what it does to women who cannot plan 23:05:04their parenthood, it derails their ability to complete education and training so that they can get a job. the tanis law is harsh and won't let women complete high school diplomas and sends them 23:05:20into workfare programs and low-wage industries, often jobs with no unemployment benefits. and of course they're treated with contempt and disdain when they apply for any aid. they're humiliated. and so i would beg my 23:05:36colleagues, i would beg them to not defund planned parenthood. planned parenthood is healthy for women, it's healthy for children, and it's healthy for our society. and i would yield back the 23:05:50balance of my time. the chair for what purpose does the gentlewoman from tennessee rise? 23:06:05Black, D. (R-TN):mr. speaker, i move to strike the last word. the chair: the the gentlelady is recognized for five minutes. Black, D. (R-TN):thank you. planned parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the united states receives millions of dollars in government aid, yet 23:06:23they are still classified as a nonprofit organization. from 2008 to 2009, planned parenthood received $363 million which is 1/3 of their billion dollar income 23:06:38from grants and contracts from federal and state governments. 23:06:42and during that time, the number of abortions that they performed increased to a record number of 324,000. that's almost 25,000 from 2006-2007. 23:06:56and each fiscal year since 2000, the government has increased its funding an average of $22 million per year while the number of abortions they performed steadily increased. this occurred while the overall abortion rate in the united 23:07:14states declined. and despite all of this, we continue to give this organization money, millions, despite reports planned parenthood clinics have failed to comply with state statutory rape reporting laws, often 23:07:31ignoring parental consent laws, and most recently, a few have refused to report instances of sex trafficking of meanors. -- of minors. simple fact, funding planned parenthood and its affiliates 23:07:47does not decrease abortion, it increases it. when i think of planned parenthood, i'm immediately reminded of a night 20 years ago when i was working in the emergency room at hendersonville hospital. a 22-year-old girl presented after receiving an incomplete 23:08:04abortion from a planned parenthood clinic. she had no follow-up number and she didn't know where to go to receive the care that she needed. unfortunately, she waited at home bleeding for hours before coming to the emergency room, 23:08:20but it was too late. and due to the excessive bleeding loss in her body, responded by an uncontrollable clotting condition known as c.i.c., and at this point, there was nothing we could do. 23:08:36we watched in crung girl die. -- we watched this young girl die. that young girl with her whole life ahead of her died that night. 23:08:49stories like these are the everyday tragedies that go untold. that is why i stand here this hour to show my support for this amendment and for all of the continuing efforts to defund planned parenthood. i thank the gentleman from indiana for introducing this vital amendment. 23:09:05mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the chair for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee rise? Cohen (D-TN):mr. speaker, to strike the last word. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. Cohen (D-TN):this has been an interesting 23:09:25debate as we look at the 150 years back in history and look at the civil war and some people reacting it like it was a good event and kind of look at it like we're treating history here tonight. Cohen (D-TN):it was 1965 when griswold v connecticut said it 23:09:44was planned parenthood could not be prohibited by the government from giving contraceptive advice to married people and we've come a long way since then in terms of liberties. i'm kind of surprised as we get here in 2011, and we look at this house and part of this 23:10:01house which claims to be so concerned about liberties and individual freedoms and individual rights is more hung up on the 10th amendment and something to do with states and federals rather than ninth amendment and the right that 23:10:16gives women and individuals the right to make certain decisions. and we've got a group over here that's really concerned about earmarks, and yet what this is, i would submit it's not a bill of attainder, it's a reverse earmark, because you're saying who we can't give money to. and the logic that i've heard 23:10:34from my friend from georgia was that because even though we have the hyde amendment which says planned parenthood can't use federal funds for abortion because they use -- they do other planned parenthood 23:10:50activities, helping with h.i.v. aids screening, helping with cervical and breast cancer exams and treatments and other birth control type activities because of abortion, because they do abortion, too, it helps 23:11:05contribute in the milieu of their overall fundings. with that logic we wouldn't fund any hospital, any health clinic or any doctor that any part of their practice or operation has anything to do with abortion because the funds get commingled. 23:11:20and it helps contribute to their ability to provide abortion. so the bottom line is this isn't about planned parenthood. it's not the reverse earmarks that picks out only planned parenthood, including planned parenthood of memphis, 23:11:36tennessee, that provides health care to over 5,000 women a year, low-income women who need 23:11:41information about how to plan their families other than just abstinence that we know from alaska to florida has failed, this is an effort to take away from people an individual 23:11:56choice and to require and make the government -- this government, this congress, big government, the decider of individuals' lives instead of giving them choice. we have limited amount of time. i have five minutes and little time left. mr. pallone, if you'd like to 23:12:12take the remainder of my time, i'd like to yield the remainder of my time to mr. pallone so he can have an opportunity to speak. thank you. Pallone (D-NJ):i thank the 23:12:28gentleman. i'm just amazed by the extortion that i heard on the other side of the aisle tonight. basically what the republicans said is that if we -- if planned parenthood agreed not to perform abortions, then they can continue to perform their 23:12:45other functions, but if they insist on performing abortions, then we're going to starve them for money and they won't be able to provide contraceptives and family planning and all the other health care services for women that are so important here. to me, that is just an 23:13:02incredible statement because essentially what you're saying is we'll extort this. we don't really care about all these other services that they're providing. what we really care about is abortion. and if you sign on the dotted line, then you can continue to 23:13:17perform the other health care services, as long as you don't perform the service that is allowed under the law of the land. now, i cannot believe that was actually stated here this evening, because i know and we all know all these other 23:13:33services, reproductive services and health care services are so important for women, so important for families, for me to hear a member on the other side suggest that somehow they're going to extort that and threaten that and hold that over everyone in order to accomplish this goal of saying 23:13:50you can't perform abortions, i think is outrageous. and i now understand what the purpose of this amendment is. it's to close down planned parenthood and all the good things that many of you admit they're actually doing just in order to accomplish this 23:14:08ideological goal related to abortion. i just think that is incredible. to me it's a -- to me, for the first time, i understand what it's all about. let's not be hypocritings about 23:14:23this. if that's what you're about, admit it. one person did. the rest of you are going on and on about all the terrible things planned parenthood has done. and frankly, most of the men and women who perform the services at planned parenthood are very well-meaning people and they shouldn't be attacked 23:14:39because of a few that haven't done the right thing. i yield back. the chair for what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana rise? Fleming (R-LA):mr. chairman, i move to strike the last word. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. Fleming (R-LA):thank you, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, i've been a 23:14:55practicing physician for over 35 years. i've lived hundreds of babies. our president once asked, when 23:15:11does life begin? that's above my pay grade. i can tell you, mr. chairman, it's not above my pay grade. Fleming (R-LA):and as a scientist and a physician, i can tell you life begins at conception, and that's often forgotten in this chamber right here. 23:15:25. abortion violates the central tenets of our culture and that is the killing of innocent life. and here is something you don't hear much in this chamber today. how is it that human beings, 23:15:45americans, can decide to kill an innocent human life? and the way we do it is through dehumanization. we think of that unborn baby to be something to be a part of the 23:16:02body. more people get upset about a dying pet than giving up their pregnancy for abortion. i say to you here today that i rise in support of the pence 23:16:15amendment. yes, of course, money is fungible, money goes in one account and then on elsewhere. anything that taxpayers do in terms of giving money to planned 23:16:31parent hood is subsidizing abortion. and we know that the american people by a small margin and 23:16:39growing marn oppose abortion but a wide margin of americans oppose taxpayer funding of abortion. and i would like to yield to the gentleman from iowa. 23:16:53King, S. (R-IA):all of those who have spoken on this issue, i recall back here on this floor in the early part when the mexico city vote came up and i remember that debate here on this floor. i remember watching the vote go 23:17:10up on the board, the language that would compel american taxpayers to fund abortion in foreign lands. first time in years, democrats lost the debate, but won the vote. and i saw members over on this side of the floor jumping up and 23:17:28down, cheering, cheering, what? because you had taken a step to compel americans to fund abortions in foreign lands. how can anyone cheer something 23:17:42like that. what was the moral standard that brought about such elation. it is confusion for me to think that we can't even describe what this is. i brought some possible ters to the floor of the house judiciary last week which showed what 23:18:01evacuation is. i don't know if there is anybody in this chamber could witness a abortion and lend their hand to such a thing. i remember buying the movie "silent scream" and watching 23:18:19eight minutes of parts of babies being put in a sustainless steel pan, a little leg, little arm, crushed skull all they added it up and sucked out the places 23:18:36that were missed. we are asking americans fund this through planned parenthood. here's where i would agree with mr. cohen. he made the point and i know he wouldn't agree, no funds should go to any entity that could perform a gasly, ghoul issue 23:18:55procedure and this house cannot compel american taxpayers to do so and we will put an end to the federal funding of planned parenthood and we'll shut off the funding to those entities that do that to unborn children 23:19:11in this country. thank you, and i yield back. Fleming (R-LA):mr. chairman, i would like to say in conclusion to my remarks and i thank the gentleman from iowa that tonight, we're all getting 23:19:27tired, we have debated for three days and three nights. but in that same period of time, think about the number of babies who have been killed through abortion, through a sterile area where a doctor goes in and we have the usual instruments and 23:19:44so forth and the fetus sucked out of the womb and the mom on with her life but we know statistics tell us that these mothers just don't go with their lives as suggested by the other side. the rate of depression, the rate 23:20:00of suicide, the rate of problems with future pregnancies. they increase dramatically after abortion. tonight should be the beginning of the ending of this horrible practice. with that, i yield back to the chair. 23:20:15the chair for what purpose does gentlelady from florida rise. Castor (D-FL):strike the last word. the chair: the gentlelady is recognized for five minutes. Castor (D-FL):we were hired by our neighbors to come up to washington and fight for jobs and help get the country back on 23:20:32the road to recovery, but instead, this republican congress is taking an extreme right turn right back into the dark ages because they are targeting a very important initiative that has provided 23:20:48fundamental health services to women since 1970. to say no more will women depend on family planning in the united states of america have that lifeline any longer. that lifeline for breast cancer screening, cervical cancer 23:21:07screening, the annual pap smear for ar contraceptive. we can't go back to the dark ages and we aren't going to let you. as often has been misstated on this floor tonight, none of the money for family planning goes 23:21:23to pay for abortion. this is the false battle cry. in effect what they're doing is they want to cut off the lifeline for mothers and daughters, aunts, your friends, 23:21:38neighbors, who sometimes don't have a place to go to afford that important doctor's visit. there seems to be little, if any empathy for these women from the republican side of the aisle as they propose no alternative for 23:21:53providing this care and they don't seem to realize or frankly care that unintended pregnancies will rise if this program is abottle issued. cutting off these funds and eliminating care for women will not stop abortion, which is 23:22:09their claim. only family planning will stop abortion. the major consequence of wiping out title 10, which really means that all important trip to the doctors office for a woman who doesn't have any place to go for 23:22:27their breast cancer screening, annual exam, the only consequence, major consequence will be eliminating health care for millions of women while increasing the bill for taxpayers. 23:22:41for every dollar invested, taxpayers saved $4. so attacking reproductive health for women doesn't create jobs or improve the economic situations 23:23:00of our hometowns and that's what we should be debating for hours and hours tonight. i yield back. the chair for what purpose does 23:23:16the gentleman from colorado rise? Lamborn (R-CO):move to strike the last word. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. Lamborn (R-CO):i rise to remove funding for planned parenthood. in colorado, the voters passed an initiative 30 years ago and 23:23:31said no taxpayer dollars will go to abortion whether directly or indirectly. we decided in colorado that because money is fungible, giving taxpayer dollars to an organization that provides abortion, even if they say it 23:23:46doesn't go directly to abortion, does indeed fund it. this is because that taxpayer money frees up that organization's resources to be moved around on its books. money is fungible. taxpayer dollars enable planned 23:24:04parenthood to perform abortions and the sentiment in colorado is the same in the rest of america. americans don't want to use taxpayer dollars for abortions. until the day that planned parenthood stops performing 23:24:19abortions, it shouldn't get another taxpayer dollar. i urge my colleagues to support the pence amendment. i urge the balance of my time to mr. submit. Smith, C. (R-NJ):the media and law 23:24:35enforcement take a second and critical look at planned parenthood. not only does planned parent hood lobby against parental consent laws thus enabling secret abortions for very young 23:24:49girls to be procured in their clinics, but we have learned from recent investigations at several of its clinics that planned parenthood employees were found to be more than eager to assist people posing as sex traffickers to procure abortions 23:25:08for underaged girls. as the prime responser of the protection act of 2000, i found it appalling to watch planned parenthood personnel again and again and again offer to provide and facilitate abortions for 23:25:24hypothetical sex trafficking victims as young as 13. in light of a recent comprehensive study suggesting that 100,000 american girls, mostly runawaist are forced into pros titution each year average 23:25:40age of 13, the n.g.o. headed by lila rose that did the undercover work is a grave invitation for serious investigation by the attorney general of the united states and 23:25:54law enforcement everywhere and further begs the question, why are taxpayers giving hundreds of millions of dollars each and every year to planned parenthood? despite the best and slickest market branding money could buy, the stubborn fact remains that 23:26:13planned parenthood clinics are among the most dangerous places on earth for a child and its own personnel are taking a second look and thanks to ultrasound are clearly seeing what is being 23:26:28down done to millions of children in the womb that the babies exterminated in planned 23:26:38parenthood abortion clinics in 2009 alone. one of those abortion providers who took a second look and walked away is abby johnson, a former planned parenthood abortion clinic director. in her book "unplanned," abby 23:26:55johnson exposes the cruelty of what really goes on behind closed doors at a planned parenthood clinic and writes how she witnessed and assisted in an abortion of a 13-week-old baby i 23:27:09by holding the ultrasound probe and it was the first ultrasound-guided abortion at that facility and writes, the details startled me. at 13 weeks, you could clearly see the profile of the head, 23:27:25both arms, legs and even tiny fingers and toes. with my eyes glued to the image of this perfectly formed baby, i watched as a new image emerged on the video screen, a 23:27:43straw-shaped instrument attached to the end of the tube had been incertificated into the uterus and nearing the baby's side and looked like an invader on the screen. it just looked wrong. she goes, my heart speed up and 23:28:00time slowed. i didn't want to look but didn't want to stop looking either. the baby didn't seem aware. it probed the baby's side and for a quick second i felt relief but i couldn't shake it as i 23:28:18watched the screen. this is an abortion clinic director saying this. the next movement was a sudden jerk of a tiny foot of the baby as he started kicking as they are trying to move from the probing invader. 23:28:32move to strike the last word. the chair for what purpose does new jersey rise? Smith, C. (R-NJ):move to strike the last word. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. Smith, C. (R-NJ):the baby began struggling to turn and twist away and seemed that the baby 23:28:51could feel it and did not like the feeling and the doctor's voice broke through, beam me up scotty, the abortionist said lighthardly and he was turning 23:29:07on the suction and it isn't on until he feels he has the instrument in the right place. the clinic director went on to right, i had a sudden urge to yell stop, to shake the woman and say look at what is 23:29:23happening to your baby. wake up, hurry. stop them. but even as i was thinking those words, i thought of my own hands and saw my own hands holding the probe. i was one of them performing this act of abortion. 23:29:39my eyes shot back to the screen. the instrument was already being rotated by the doctor and i could see the tiny body violently twisting with it. but for the briefest moment, looks like the baby was being 23:29:56running like a dish cloth, sweezed and the baby disappeared into the instrument before my very eyes. last thing i saw was the tiny, perfectly formed backbone sucked 23:30:11into the tube and then everything was gone. the image of that tiny, dead baby, mangled and sucked away kept replaying in my mind. what was this this woman's womb 23:30:28was alive, wasn't tissue or cells, but a human baby fighting for life. a battle was lost in the blimping of an eye. what i have told people for years, eight years as a clinic 23:30:45director at a planned parenthood clinic, what i believe, taught and defended is a lie. i ask members to read this book "unplanned" and realize the 23:30:59scandal of the killing of children and calling it choice. . there is nothing compassionate or just or nurturing about 23:31:15abortion. earlier one of our colleagues called abortion healthy for the child. abortion dismembers children piece to piece. planned parenthood's own fact sheet talks about d.n.e. abortions, done during the 23:31:36second trimester are period. have you seen what a d.n.e. is. the doctor goes in with forceps , this device, and literally hacks that baby to death. planned parenthood itself says it takes 10-20 minutes to 23:31:51literally dismember that child. then there's the shots in the heart, there's a group called late-term abortion and a doctor right here in this area who gives them cardiac sticks with 23:32:11a burst of air which kills the unborn child. we know it's not healthy for children or women either. mr. speaker, mr. pence's amendment simply seeks to end u.s. taxpayer complicit with 23:32:26this massive violence against children. who we back, who we subsidize does matter, not just what but who. planned parenthood does 330,000 -- more than 300,000 abortions each and every year. 23:32:42each and every year. they are the largest provider, about 1/4 of all abortions in the united states. it is child abuse and time to take a second look at child abuse incorporated. support the pence amendment. i yield back. p 23:32:59the chair for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? Speier (D-CA):move to strike the last word. the chair: the gentlelady is recognized for five minutes. Speier (D-CA):i had planned to speak of something else but the 23:33:15gentleman from new jersey has just put my stomach in knots because i'm one of those women he spoke about just now. i had a procedure at 17 weeks, pregnant with a child that had moved from the vagina into the 23:33:33cervix. and that procedure that you just talked about was a procedure that i endured. i lost a baby. 23:33:50but for you to stand on this floor and to suggest, as you have, that somehow this is a procedure that is either welcomed or done cavalierly or 23:34:07done without any thought is preposterous. to think that we are here tonight debating this issue when the american people, if they are listening, are scratching their heads and 23:34:23wondering what does this have to do with me getting a job? what does this have to do with reducing the deficit? and the answer is nothing at all. 23:34:40there is a vendetta against planned parenthood, and it was played out in this room tonight. planned parenthood has a right to operate. planned parenthood has a right to provide services for family 23:34:55planning. planned parenthood has a right to offer abortions. last time i checked, abortions were legal in this country. you may not like planned parenthood, so be it. there's many on our side of the 23:35:10aisle that don't like halliburton. and halliburton is responsible for extortion, for bribery, for 10 cases of misconduct in the federal database, for a $7 23:35:27billion sole source contract. but do you see us over here filing amendments to wipe out funding for halliburton? no, because frankly that would be irresponsible. 23:35:51i would suggest to you it would serve us all very well if we moved on with this process and started focusing on creating 23:35:58jobs for the americans who desperately want them. i yield back. the chair for what purpose 23:36:15does the distinguished majority leader rise? Cantor (R-VA):i rise in support of the amendment. the chair: the gentleman is recognized 5. 23:36:37Cantor (R-VA):this is not about federal funding of abortion which the hyde amendment prohibits. we all know, however, money is fungible. 23:36:48taxpayer dollars are going to keep the lights on and the doors open and to pay for things which freezes up money for abortion. recently, planned parenthood has been caught red-handed. in several different clinics, including one in my hometown of 23:37:06richmond, aiding and abetting sex trafficking and prostitution of minors. now, the other side continues to say that planned parenthood has a right to operate. they don't have a right to do that. you cannot argue that an 23:37:22organization that engages in patterns of conduct such as those revealed in the videos even in clinics such as that in my hometown, you cannot argue that an organization like that cares about the rights of women 23:37:38and girls she purports to serve. so, mr. speaker, i ask you, why on earth are we given $363 million in taxpayer funds every year to planned parenthood? it is time to say no more. 23:37:55the time has come to respect the wishes of a vast majority of americans who admitly opposed giving taxpayer dollars for abortion. that is why i support this amendment, mr. speaker, and 23:38:08that is why i urge my colleagues to do the same, and i yield back. the chair for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island rise Cicilline (D-RI):i rise to strike the last 23:38:28word. the chair the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. Cicilline (D-RI):what i heard in the course of my campaign was the urgency to get people back to work, to strengthen the middle class, to create jobs and deal with the deficit. and we just spent the last 23:38:43three hours under the cloak of deficit reduction. my friends on the other side of the aisle have pushed this very extreme amendment, which is targeting women's health care and women's health care providers. 23:39:00this ideological attack comes at the expense of our nation's women. it's an attack on planned parenthood health centers and will put the lives of million of women at risk. millions of women who seek and receive health care at planned 23:39:18parenthood centers all around this country. every year planned parenthood doctors and nurses carry out nearly one million life-saving screenings for cervical cancer and 830,000 breast exams. 23:39:34its health centers provide contraception to nearly 2.5 million patients and nearly four million patients are treated for sexually transmitted infections, including h.i.v. planned parenthood provides 23:39:49preventative health care and that represents 90% of its work. we already have a federal prohibition against using federal funds for abortion. not a single penny intended or targeted by this amendment is used to terminate a pregnancy. 23:40:05what we should be talking about is getting the american people back to work, creating jobs, responsibly dealing with our deficit, and doing everything we can to strengthen the middle class. that's what we were sent here 23:40:20to do. that's what we should be doing. and i urge my colleagues to reject this amendment so we can get back to the important business of putting americans back to work. i yield my time to susan davis. the chair the gentleman yields 23:40:37back. Cicilline (D-RI):no, i yield the balance of my time to ms. davis. the chair: the gentlewoman from california is recognized. Davis, S. (D-CA):thank you, thank you, mr. speaker. i bet the american people are really surprised tonight because we are debating a 23:40:55continuing resolution when they are facing tremendous challenges. and we should be thinking about them and the challenges that they face. we should be talking, as my colleague has said, about how to save money and how to create jobs. 23:41:11but instead, we're debating an amendment that will do neither. it will do neither. and it will undermine women's health. this amendment denies women access to reproductive care and it attacks the health providers that they rely on in their 23:41:31communities. these are health providers that are serving the underserved, and we are spending the evening attacking them. planned parenthood plays a critical role in our nation's health care system. 23:41:44we know that. these clinics have over three million americans every year, and over 90% of the care they provide is preventative. preventative. what does that mean? we have many physicians here. what does that mean, preventative care? 23:42:01preventative care means that men and women do not have to go through more costly procedures and even that their lives can be saved. one in five american women have been through a planned parenthood health center for 23:42:17services like breast cancer screening, cervical cancer screening. we talked about all that this evening. i cannot let san diego families lose these valuable services. i will not let that happen. because i know that when women 23:42:34have better access to these services, it leads to healthier outcomes for both the women and their children. but this amendment proposes to cut these services under the guise somehow of being fiscally 23:42:50responsible. that's not true. what i know about my state of california is that title 10 supported centers save $581 ,900,000 in public funds in 23:43:072008 alone. so let's talk about saving money. let's talk about creating jobs. let's not talk about constricting women's access to health care. vote no on the pence amendment. the chair the gentleman from 23:43:28rhode island. Cicilline (D-RI):i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlelady from tennessee rise? the gentlelady is recognized for five minutes. Blackburn, M. (R-TN):thank you, mr. speaker. 23:43:42this has been a good debate this evening. and i want to thank the speaker and mr. chairman, i thank you, also, for the time that you have allowed for this body to stand and have this debate. and there's been a lot said. a couple of things i think do need to be corrected. 23:44:01we are thinking about the american taxpayer. and we are thinking about our responsibility to the taxpayer. this is not a debate about a vendetta. it is not a debate about planned parenthood. 23:44:17it is not a debate about something that is extreme. what this is tonight is a debate about our stewardship and our responsibility to the american people. our discussion tonight, and i 23:44:36thank mr. pence for his leadership in this, is how we fund this government in a responsible manner, how we get this government back on track. and the taxpayers are weighing in, and they are reminding us that we, the members of the 23:44:52house, are the keepers of the purse of this great nation. and that it is important that we have these discussions, and they want us to do it respectfully, they want us to do it responsibly, and they 23:45:07want us to make wise decisions. and quite frankly, mr. speaker, to give $363 million in funds to an organization that has conducted itself -- mr. speaker, the house is not 23:45:22in order. . the chair the gentlelady is right, the committee is not in order. the committee will come to order. the gentlelady may continue. Blackburn, M. (R-TN):mr. speaker to give $363 million in taxpayer 23:45:42funds, taxpayer funds, to an organization that has not conducted itself in a manner that suggests they deserve those funds is not respectful of the taxpayer. 23:45:55i want to go back to what mr. pence said at the beginning of the debate. this is a debate about who pays. no one is saying that planned parenthood has to stop operating or has to stop being an advocate for abortion. 23:46:13what we are seeing is that the american taxpayer should not have to foot the bill. especially for an organization that is facing criminal charges, that has admitted wrongdoing, that is accused of endangering 23:46:30the safety of minors. the american taxpayer should not have to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on this. i encourage my colleagues to stand for appropriate stewardship of the taxpayer 23:46:45dollars and to support and vote yes on the pence amendment. i yield back. the chair the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. Garamendi (D-CA):i had not 23:47:04intended to get into this particular debate -- this would end the debate and i would hope that that agreement could be agreed to. the chair the gentleman from 23:47:24california yields back. who seeks recognition? the question is on the amendment 23:47:40offered by the gentleman from indiana. those in favor say aye. those in favor say aye. . those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the noes have it. 23:47:57the gentleman from indiana. Pence (R-IN):i request the yeas and nays. the chair: does the gentleman ask for a recorded vote? Pence (R-IN):request a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6, rule 18, further proceedings on 23:48:11the amendment offered by the gentleman from indiana will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from rise? Rogers, H. (R-KY):i move that the committee do now rise. the chair: the question is on 23:48:29the motion to rise. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it. the committee will now rise. the chair the committee of the 23:49:05whole house having had under consideration h.r. 1 directs me to report that it has come to no resolution thereon. THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE:the chairman of the committee of the whole house on the state of the union reports that the committee has come -- has had under 23:49:21consideration h.r. 1 and has come to no resolution thereon. for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky rise? Rogers, H. (R-KY):i ask unanimous consent to proceed for one minute out of order. THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE:without 23:49:38objection. Rogers, H. (R-KY):mr. speaker, we have had a very elevated week of debate about the entire government. this is one of those very rare occasions where the congress for 23:49:54a single span of time debates practically every element in the federal budget. that is a very, very rare occurrence and i think we have had an elevated debate on both sides of the aisle. 23:50:10i want to commend democrats and republicans for a good debate on a whole host of issues. we are making progress, but we have a ways yet to go. i want to thank mr. dicks, the ranking member, for being very helpful in moving this process 23:50:30along. and i have to pause, mr. speaker and remind us all of how important staff is to what we do. this staff has been fantastic. we have been working with mr. 23:50:52dicks and leadership on both sides to try to find a way to make the debate concise and reasonable in time. and we have reached an agreement 23:51:07that we want to pro pound to the body now which we think is fair and give e -- everyone the opportunity. 23:51:22i ask unanimous consent during further consideration of h.r. 1, pursuant to house resolution 92, 23:51:28no further amendment to the bill may be offered except pro forma amendments offered at any point in the reading by the chair or ranking minority member on the committee of appropriations for the purpose of debate and except 23:51:44-- and these amendments. number 8, 13, 19, 23, 38, 42, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 54, 55, 79, 80, 83, 88, 89, 94, 99, 101, 23:52:06109, 117, 120, 126, 127, 137, 141, 144, 145, 146, 149, 151 -- do i hear 154? 23:52:27159, 164, 166, 172, 174, 177, 185, 199, 200, 207, 216, 217, 233, 241, 2346, 251, 261, 263, 23:52:46266, 267, 268, 274, 280, 281, 296, 323, 329, 330, 331, 333, 336, 342, 344, 345, 348, 367, 23:53:05369, 377, 392, 400, 401, 405, 408, 419, 424, 429, 430, 439, 448, 463, 464, 465, 467, 471, 23:53:26480, 481, 482, 496, 497, 504, 5 15, 119, 525, 526, 533, 534, 23:53:42536, 54 , 48, 55 , 560, 563, 66, 567, 569, 570, 577, 578 and 583. 23:53:58amendments 27, 278, 466 and 545, each of which shall be debatable for 20 minutes. amendments 104 and 540, each of which shall be debatable for 30 minutes and amendments 273, 23:54:16which shall be debatable for 40 minutes. amendment 575, which shall be debatable for 60 minutes and each such printed amendment may be offered only by the member who caused it to be printed in the record or a designee shall 23:54:32not be subject to amendment except that the chair and ranking minority member each may offer one pro forma amendment for the purpose of debate and shall not be subject forp demand of the question in the house or 23:54:47in the committee of the whole and that except as otherwise in this order, each printed amendment shall be debatable for 10 minutes and all specified periods of debate shall be equally divided and controlled by the proponent and opponent. 23:55:04mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent. and i yield to the gentleman. Dicks, N. (D-WA):reserving the right to object. and mr. frank -- i just want want to join the chairman in 23:55:20congratulating the staff. this is the hardest working staff i have ever seen in my career. the effort that's put in on a bipartisan basis. this is the most cohesive and professional staff i have seen. i have been up here on the hill 23:55:36for over 40 years and i just want to say that jennifer miller and david worked hard to put this agreement together. we asked for some additional time. our members wanted a chance to express themselves on some of 23:55:51these very important and sensitive issues that are in this legislation, but it is my judgment that we should not object and accept this agreement and proceed forward and finish this legislation. 23:56:08THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE:is there objection? the gentleman is recognized. Frank, B. (D-MA):mr. speaker, i am a dissenter in this orgy of self 23:56:28congratulations and if i can't explain, i have to object. i either explain or object. i object not to the u.c. at this point but to the 23:56:42self-congratlation that the majority is engaging in because they had such an open process, the reputation was stated by the gentleman from kentucky and said we debated the whole government. yes, we have and very 23:56:57inappropriately. to debate the whole government and to debate fundamental policy issues under the guise of a budget, under the constraints of a budget debate and not a whole week, two and-a-half days so 23:57:13far, maybe we'll get a third day, we have dealt with the most fundamental questions, issues came up under great constraint. the reform bill of last year has been damaged by what was done here, fortunately it will never 23:57:29become law and we were constrained because we had to choose between the s.e.c. and the i.r.s. this is not an open process. yes, you could offer amendments. you could offer amendments in a very narrow compass or according to the jurisdiction of 23:57:47subcommittees. that is accidental. it doesn't determine public policy and yes, we talk about it now. we are boasting about debating the whole government. did my colleagues listen to the u.c. you will get to debate whole aspects of the government for 10 23:58:05minutes. the next thing you know, they will be rioting in parts of the world so they can have 10 minutes to debate. this is a travesty. i very much objected to this procedure. 23:58:21my leadership for which i have great respect, had asked me if they could go forward. i am prepared to allow that because of some conditions. one is that i am confident that this awful, distorted ill-thought-out process has 23:58:44produced a bill that will never see the light of day and no one should be surprised. we are now going to recess after we finish with all these other parts of the government in 10 minutes per issue or up to an hour, 20 minutes for moderately 23:59:02important ones. the senate will get this with four days left before it expires and no one thinks this is going to happen. so perhaps some of thes were nullified. 23:59:16this is an awful procedure. we have debated the government and gone beyond budgetary issues in 3 1/2 days. this is openness? this is a travesty of the democratic process. 23:59:31so, mr. speaker, because i have been given a chance to explain why i think this is a terrible process, why i am going to say now, i don't expect the senate to accept this. we will have to come back and do it again and there will be a 23:59:47short-term extension. i want to give notice to all parties, i will object stricken youously to any effort to -- strenuously to repeat this travesty.

Saturday, May 7, 2016 Obama Howard University commencement DC Slugs: 1000 OBAMA HOWARD COMMENCEMENT FS33 73 & 1200 OBAMA HOWARD COMMENCEMENT FS33 83 AR: 16x9 NYFS: WASH3 (4523/5593) 11:47:24 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you! Hello, Howard! (Applause.) H-U! AUDIENCE: You know! THE PRESIDENT: H-U! AUDIENCE: You know! THE PRESIDENT: (Laughter.) Thank you so much, everybody. Please, please, have a seat. Oh, I feel important now. Got a degree from Howard. Cicely Tyson said something nice about me. (Laughter.) AUDIENCE MEMBER: I love you, President! THE PRESIDENT: I love you back. To President Frederick, the Board of Trustees, faculty and staff, fellow recipients of honorary degrees, thank you for the honor of spending this day with you. And congratulations to the Class of 2016! (Applause.) Four years ago, back when you were just freshmen, I understand many of you came by my house the night I was reelected. (Laughter.) So I decided to return the favor and come by yours. To the parents, the grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, all the family and friends who stood by this class, cheered them on, helped them get here today -- this is your day, as well. Let's give them a big round of applause, as well. (Applause.) 11:49:11 I'm not trying to stir up any rivalries here; I just want to see who's in the house. We got Quad? (Applause.) Annex. (Applause.) Drew. Carver. Slow. Towers. And Meridian. (Applause.) Rest in peace, Meridian. (Laughter.) Rest in peace. I know you're all excited today. You might be a little tired, as well. Some of you were up all night making sure your credits were in order. (Laughter.) Some of you stayed up too late, ended up at HoChi at 2:00 a.m. (Laughter.) Got some mambo sauce on your fingers. (Laughter.) But you got here. And you've all worked hard to reach this day. You've shuttled between challenging classes and Greek life. You've led clubs, played an instrument or a sport. You volunteered, you interned. You held down one, two, maybe three jobs. You've made lifelong friends and discovered exactly what you're made of. The "Howard Hustle" has strengthened your sense of purpose and ambition. Which means you're part of a long line of Howard graduates. Some are on this stage today. Some are in the audience. That spirit of achievement and special responsibility has defined this campus ever since the Freedman's Bureau established Howard just four years after the Emancipation Proclamation; just two years after the Civil War came to an end. They created this university with a vision -- a vision of uplift; a vision for an America where our fates would be determined not by our race, gender, religion or creed, but where we would be free -- in every sense -- to pursue our individual and collective dreams. 11:51:30 It is that spirit that's made Howard a centerpiece of African-American intellectual life and a central part of our larger American story. This institution has been the home of many firsts: The first black Nobel Peace Prize winner. The first black Supreme Court justice. But its mission has been to ensure those firsts were not the last. Countless scholars, professionals, artists, and leaders from every field received their training here. The generations of men and women who walked through this yard helped reform our government, cure disease, grow a black middle class, advance civil rights, shape our culture. The seeds of change -- for all Americans -- were sown here. And that's what I want to talk about today. 11:52:45 As I was preparing these remarks, I realized that when I was first elected President, most of you -- the Class of 2016 -- were just starting high school. Today, you're graduating college. I used to joke about being old. Now I realize I'm old. (Laughter.) It's not a joke anymore. (Laughter.) But seeing all of you here gives me some perspective. It makes me reflect on the changes that I've seen over my own lifetime. So let me begin with what may sound like a controversial statement -- a hot take. 11:53:44 Given the current state of our political rhetoric and debate, let me say something that may be controversial, and that is this: America is a better place today than it was when I graduated from college. (Applause.) Let me repeat: America is by almost every measure better than it was when I graduated from college. It also happens to be better off than when I took office -- (laughter) -- but that's a longer story. (Applause.) That's a different discussion for another speech. But think about it. I graduated in 1983. New York City, America's largest city, where I lived at the time, had endured a decade marked by crime and deterioration and near bankruptcy. And many cities were in similar shape. Our nation had gone through years of economic stagnation, the stranglehold of foreign oil, a recession where unemployment nearly scraped 11 percent. The auto industry was getting its clock cleaned by foreign competition. And don't even get me started on the clothes and the hairstyles. I've tried to eliminate all photos of me from this period. I thought I looked good. (Laughter.) I was wrong. Since that year -- since the year I graduated -- the poverty rate is down. Americans with college degrees, that rate is up. Crime rates are down. America's cities have undergone a renaissance. There are more women in the workforce. They're earning more money. We've cut teen pregnancy in half. We've slashed the African American dropout rate by almost 60 percent, and all of you have a computer in your pocket that gives you the world at the touch of a button. In 1983, I was part of fewer than 10 percent of African Americans who graduated with a bachelor's degree. Today, you're part of the more than 20 percent who will. 11:56:16 And more than half of blacks say we're better off than our parents were at our age -- and that our kids will be better off, too. So America is better. And the world is better, too. A wall came down in Berlin. An Iron Curtain was torn asunder. The obscenity of apartheid came to an end. A young generation in Belfast and London have grown up without ever having to think about IRA bombings. In just the past 16 years, we've come from a world without marriage equality to one where it's a reality in nearly two dozen countries. Around the world, more people live in democracies. We've lifted more than 1 billion people from extreme poverty. We've cut the child mortality rate worldwide by more than half. America is better. The world is better. And stay with me now -- race relations are better since I graduated. That's the truth. 11:57:29 No, my election did not create a post-racial society. I don't know who was propagating that notion. That was not mine. But the election itself -- and the subsequent one -- because the first one, folks might have made a mistake. (Laughter.) The second one, they knew what they were getting. The election itself was just one indicator of how attitudes had changed. In my inaugural address, I remarked that just 60 years earlier, my father might not have been served in a D.C. restaurant -- at least not certain of them. There were no black CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. Very few black judges. 11:58:21 Shoot, as Larry Wilmore pointed out last week, a lot of folks didn't even think blacks had the tools to be a quarterback. Today, former Bull Michael Jordan isn't just the greatest basketball player of all time -- he owns the team. (Laughter.) When I was graduating, the main black hero on TV was Mr. T. (Laughter.) Rap and hip hop were counterculture, underground. Now, Shonda Rhimes owns Thursday night, and Beyoncé runs the world. (Laughter.) We're no longer only entertainers, we're producers, studio executives. No longer small business owners -- we're CEOs, we're mayors, representatives, Presidents of the United States. (Applause.) I am not saying gaps do not persist. Obviously, they do. Racism persists. Inequality persists. Don't worry -- I'm going to get to that. But I wanted to start, Class of 2016, by opening your eyes to the moment that you are in. If you had to choose one moment in history in which you could be born, and you didn't know ahead of time who you were going to be -- what nationality, what gender, what race, whether you'd be rich or poor, gay or straight, what faith you'd be born into -- you wouldn't choose 100 years ago. You wouldn't choose the fifties, or the sixties, or the seventies. You'd choose right now. If you had to choose a time to be, in the words of Lorraine Hansberry, "young, gifted, and black" in America, you would choose right now. (Applause.) I tell you all this because it's important to note progress. Because to deny how far we've come would do a disservice to the cause of justice, to the legions of foot soldiers; to not only the incredibly accomplished individuals who have already been mentioned, but your mothers and your dads, and grandparents and great grandparents, who marched and toiled and suffered and overcame to make this day possible. I tell you this not to lull you into complacency, but to spur you into action -- because there's still so much more work to do, so many more miles to travel. And America needs you to gladly, happily take up that work. You all have some work to do. So enjoy the party, because you're going to be busy. (Laughter.) 12:02:05 Yes, our economy has recovered from crisis stronger than almost any other in the world. But there are folks of all races who are still hurting -- who still can't find work that pays enough to keep the lights on, who still can't save for retirement. We've still got a big racial gap in economic opportunity. The overall unemployment rate is 5 percent, but the black unemployment rate is almost nine. We've still got an achievement gap when black boys and girls graduate high school and college at lower rates than white boys and white girls. 12:02:48 Harriet Tubman may be going on the twenty, but we've still got a gender gap when a black woman working full-time still earns just 66 percent of what a white man gets paid. (Applause.) We've got a justice gap when too many black boys and girls pass through a pipeline from underfunded schools to overcrowded jails. This is one area where things have gotten worse. When I was in college, about half a million people in America were behind bars. Today, there are about 2.2 million. Black men are about six times likelier to be in prison right now than white men. Around the world, we've still got challenges to solve that threaten everybody in the 21st century -- old scourges like disease and conflict, but also new challenges, from terrorism and climate change. So make no mistake, Class of 2016 -- you've got plenty of work to do. But as complicated and sometimes intractable as these challenges may seem, the truth is that your generation is better positioned than any before you to meet those challenges, to flip the script. Now, how you do that, how you meet these challenges, how you bring about change will ultimately be up to you. 12:04:30 My generation, like all generations, is too confined by our own experience, too invested in our own biases, too stuck in our ways to provide much of the new thinking that will be required. But us old-heads have learned a few things that might be useful in your journey. So with the rest of my time, I'd like to offer some suggestions for how young leaders like you can fulfill your destiny and shape our collective future -- bend it in the direction of justice and equality and freedom. First of all -- and this should not be a problem for this group -- be confident in your heritage. (Applause.) 12:05:26 Be confident in your blackness. One of the great changes that's occurred in our country since I was your age is the realization there's no one way to be black. Take it from somebody who's seen both sides of debate about whether I'm black enough. (Laughter.) In the past couple months, I've had lunch with the Queen of England and hosted Kendrick Lamar in the Oval Office. There's no straitjacket, there's no constraints, there's no litmus test for authenticity. Look at Howard. One thing most folks don't know about Howard is how diverse it is. When you arrived here, some of you were like, oh, they've got black people in Iowa? (Laughter.) But it's true -- this class comes from big cities and rural communities, and some of you crossed oceans to study here. You shatter stereotypes. Some of you come from a long line of Bison. Some of you are the first in your family to graduate from college. (Applause.) You all talk different, you all dress different. You're Lakers fans, Celtics fans, maybe even some hockey fans. (Laughter.) And because of those who've come before you, you have models to follow. You can work for a company, or start your own. You can go into politics, or run an organization that holds politicians accountable. You can write a book that wins the National Book Award, or you can write the new run of "Black Panther." Or, like one of your alumni, Ta-Nehisi Coates, you can go ahead and just do both. You can create your own style, set your own standard of beauty, embrace your own sexuality. Think about an icon we just lost -- Prince. He blew up categories. People didn't know what Prince was doing. (Laughter.) And folks loved him for it. 12:08:20 You need to have the same confidence. Or as my daughters tell me all the time, "You be you, Daddy." (Laughter.) Sometimes Sasha puts a variation on it -- "You do you, Daddy." (Laughter.) And because you're a black person doing whatever it is that you're doing, that makes it a black thing. Feel confident. Second, even as we each embrace our own beautiful, unique, and valid versions of our blackness, remember the tie that does bind us as African Americans -- and that is our particular awareness of injustice and unfairness and struggle. That means we cannot sleepwalk through life. We cannot be ignorant of history. (Applause.) We can't meet the world with a sense of entitlement. We can't walk by a homeless man without asking why a society as wealthy as ours allows that state of affairs to occur. We can't just lock up a low-level dealer without asking why this boy, barely out of childhood, felt he had no other options. We have cousins and uncles and brothers and sisters who we remember were just as smart and just as talented as we were, but somehow got ground down by structures that are unfair and unjust. And that means we have to not only question the world as it is, and stand up for those African Americans who haven't been so lucky -- because, yes, you've worked hard, but you've also been lucky. That's a pet peeve of mine: People who have been successful and don't realize they've been lucky. That God may have blessed them; it wasn't nothing you did. So don't have an attitude. 12:10:57 But we must expand our moral imaginations to understand and empathize with all people who are struggling, not just black folks who are struggling -- the refugee, the immigrant, the rural poor, the transgender person, and yes, the middle-aged white guy who you may think has all the advantages, but over the last several decades has seen his world upended by economic and cultural and technological change, and feels powerless to stop it. You got to get in his head, too. Number three: You have to go through life with more than just passion for change; you need a strategy. I'll repeat that. I want you to have passion, but you have to have a strategy. Not just awareness, but action. Not just hashtags, but votes. 12:12:23 You see, change requires more than righteous anger. It requires a program, and it requires organizing. At the 1964 Democratic Convention, Fannie Lou Hamer -- all five-feet-four-inches tall -- gave a fiery speech on the national stage. But then she went back home to Mississippi and organized cotton pickers. And she didn't have the tools and technology where you can whip up a movement in minutes. She had to go door to door. And I'm so proud of the new guard of black civil rights leaders who understand this. It's thanks in large part to the activism of young people like many of you, from Black Twitter to Black Lives Matter, that America's eyes have been opened -- white, black, Democrat, Republican -- to the real problems, for example, in our criminal justice system. But to bring about structural change, lasting change, awareness is not enough. It requires changes in law, changes in custom. 12:13:42 If you care about mass incarceration, let me ask you: How are you pressuring members of Congress to pass the criminal justice reform bill now pending before them? (Applause.) If you care about better policing, do you know who your district attorney is? Do you know who your state's attorney general is? Do you know the difference? Do you know who appoints the police chief and who writes the police training manual? Find out who they are, what their responsibilities are. Mobilize the community, present them with a plan, work with them to bring about change, hold them accountable if they do not deliver. Passion is vital, but you've got to have a strategy. And your plan better include voting -- not just some of the time, but all the time. (Applause.) It is absolutely true that 50 years after the Voting Rights Act, there are still too many barriers in this country to vote. There are too many people trying to erect new barriers to voting. This is the only advanced democracy on Earth that goes out of its way to make it difficult for people to vote. And there's a reason for that. There's a legacy to that. But let me say this: Even if we dismantled every barrier to voting, that alone would not change the fact that America has some of the lowest voting rates in the free world. In 2014, only 36 percent of Americans turned out to vote in the midterms -- the secondlowest participation rate on record. Youth turnout -- that would be you -- was less than 20 percent. Less than 20 percent. Four out of five did not vote. In 2012, nearly two in three African Americans turned out. And then, in 2014, only two in five turned out. You don't think that made a difference in terms of the Congress I've got to deal with? And then people are wondering, well, how come Obama hasn't gotten this done? How come he didn't get that done? You don't think that made a difference? What would have happened if you had turned out at 50, 60, 70 percent, all across this country? People try to make this political thing really complicated. Like, what kind of reforms do we need? And how do we need to do that? You know what, just vote. It's math. If you have more votes than the other guy, you get to do what you want. (Laughter.) It's not that complicated. And you don't have excuses. You don't have to guess the number of jellybeans in a jar or bubbles on a bar of soap to register to vote. You don't have to risk your life to cast a ballot. Other people already did that for you. (Applause.) Your grandparents, your great grandparents might be here today if they were working on it. What's your excuse? 12:17:19 When we don't vote, we give away our power, disenfranchise ourselves -- right when we need to use the power that we have; right when we need your power to stop others from taking away the vote and rights of those more vulnerable than you are -- the elderly and the poor, the formerly incarcerated trying to earn their second chance. So you got to vote all the time, not just when it's cool, not just when it's time to elect a President, not just when you're inspired. It's your duty. When it's time to elect a member of Congress or a city councilman, or a school board member, or a sheriff. That's how we change our politics -- by electing people at every level who are representative of and accountable to us. It is not that complicated. Don't make it complicated. And finally, change requires more than just speaking out -- it requires listening, as well. In particular, it requires listening to those with whom you disagree, and being prepared to compromise. When I was a state senator, I helped pass Illinois's first racial profiling law, and one of the first laws in the nation requiring the videotaping of confessions in capital cases. And we were successful because, early on, I engaged law enforcement. I didn't say to them, oh, you guys are so racist, you need to do something. I understood, as many of you do, that the overwhelming majority of police officers are good, and honest, and courageous, and fair, and love the communities they serve. And we knew there were some bad apples, and that even the good cops with the best of intentions -- including, by the way, African American police officers -- might have unconscious biases, as we all do. So we engaged and we listened, and we kept working until we built consensus. And because we took the time to listen, we crafted legislation that was good for the police -- because it improved the trust and cooperation of the community -- and it was good for the communities, who were less likely to be treated unfairly. 12:20:04 And I can say this unequivocally: Without at least the acceptance of the police organizations in Illinois, I could never have gotten those bills passed. Very simple. They would have blocked them. The point is, you need allies in a democracy. That's just the way it is. It can be frustrating and it can be slow. But history teaches us that the alternative to democracy is always worse. That's not just true in this country. It's not a black or white thing. Go to any country where the give and take of democracy has been repealed by one-party rule, and I will show you a country that does not work. And democracy requires compromise, even when you are 100 percent right. This is hard to explain sometimes. You can be completely right, and you still are going to have to engage folks who disagree with you. If you think that the only way forward is to be as uncompromising as possible, you will feel good about yourself, you will enjoy a certain moral purity, but you're not going to get what you want. And if you don't get what you want long enough, you will eventually think the whole system is rigged. And that will lead to more cynicism, and less participation, and a downward spiral of more injustice and more anger and more despair. And that's never been the source of our progress. That's how we cheat ourselves of progress. We remember Dr. King's soaring oratory, the power of his letter from a Birmingham jail, the marches he led. But he also sat down with President Johnson in the Oval Office to try and get a Civil Rights Act and a Voting Rights Act passed. And those two seminal bills were not perfect -- just like the Emancipation Proclamation was a war document as much as it was some clarion call for freedom. Those mileposts of our progress were not perfect. They did not make up for centuries of slavery or Jim Crow or eliminate racism or provide for 40 acres and a mule. But they made things better. And you know what, I will take better every time. I always tell my staff -- better is good, because you consolidate your gains and then you move on to the next fight from a stronger position. Brittany Packnett, a member of the Black Lives Matter movement and Campaign Zero, one of the Ferguson protest organizers, she joined our Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Some of her fellow activists questioned whether she should participate. She rolled up her sleeves and sat at the same table with big city police chiefs and prosecutors. And because she did, she ended up shaping many of the recommendations of that task force. And those recommendations are now being adopted across the country -- changes that many of the protesters called for. If young activists like Brittany had refused to participate out of some sense of ideological purity, then those great ideas would have just remained ideas. But she did participate. And that's how change happens. 12:24:07 America is big and it is boisterous and it is more diverse than ever. The president told me that we've got a significant Nepalese contingent here at Howard. I would not have guessed that. Right on. But it just tells you how interconnected we're becoming. And with so many folks from so many places, converging, we are not always going to agree with each other. Another Howard alum, Zora Neale Hurston, once said -- this is a good quote here: "Nothing that God ever made is the same thing to more than one person." Think about that. That's why our democracy gives us a process designed for us to settle our disputes with argument and ideas and votes instead of violence and simple majority rule. So don't try to shut folks out, don't try to shut them down, no matter how much you might disagree with them. There's been a trend around the country of trying to get colleges to disinvite speakers with a different point of view, or disrupt a politician's rally. Don't do that -- no matter how ridiculous or offensive you might find the things that come out of their mouths. Because as my grandmother used to tell me, every time a fool speaks, they are just advertising their own ignorance. Let them talk. Let them talk. If you don't, you just make them a victim, and then they can avoid accountability. That doesn't mean you shouldn't challenge them. Have the confidence to challenge them, the confidence in the rightness of your position. There will be times when you shouldn't compromise your core values, your integrity, and you will have the responsibility to speak up in the face of injustice. But listen. Engage. If the other side has a point, learn from them. If they're wrong, rebut them. Teach them. Beat them on the battlefield of ideas. And you might as well start practicing now, because one thing I can guarantee you -- you will have to deal with ignorance, hatred, racism, foolishness, trifling folks. (Laughter.) I promise you, you will have to deal with all that at every stage of your life. That may not seem fair, but life has never been completely fair. Nobody promised you a crystal stair. And if you want to make life fair, then you've got to start with the world as it is. So that's my advice. That's how you change things. Change isn't something that happens every four years or eight years; change is not placing your faith in any particular politician and then just putting your feet up and saying, okay, go. Change is the effort of committed citizens who hitch their wagons to something bigger than themselves and fight for it every single day. That's what Thurgood Marshall understood -- a man who once walked this year, graduated from Howard Law; went home to Baltimore, started his own law practice. He and his mentor, Charles Hamilton Houston, rolled up their sleeves and they set out to overturn segregation. They worked through the NAACP. 12:28:24 Filed dozens of lawsuits, fought dozens of cases. And after nearly 20 years of effort -- 20 years -- Thurgood Marshall ultimately succeeded in bringing his righteous cause before the Supreme Court, and securing the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education that separate could never be equal. (Applause.) Twenty years. Marshall, Houston -- they knew it would not be easy. They knew it would not be quick. They knew all sorts of obstacles would stand in their way. They knew that even if they won, that would just be the beginning of a longer march to equality. But they had discipline. They had persistence. They had faith -- and a sense of humor. And they made life better for all Americans. And I know you graduates share those qualities. I know it because I've learned about some of the young people graduating here today. There's a young woman named Ciearra Jefferson, who's graduating with you. And I'm just going to use her as an example. I hope you don't mind, Ciearra. Ciearra grew up in Detroit and was raised by a poor single mom who worked seven days a week in an auto plant. And for a time, her family found themselves without a place to call home. They bounced around between friends and family who might take them in. By her senior year, Ciearra was up at 5:00 am every day, juggling homework, extracurricular activities, volunteering, all while taking care of her little sister. But she knew that education was her ticket to a better life. So she never gave up. Pushed herself to excel. This daughter of a single mom who works on the assembly line turned down a full scholarship to Harvard to come to Howard. (Applause.) And today, like many of you, Ciearra is the first in her family to graduate from college. And then, she says, she's going to go back to her hometown, just like Thurgood Marshall did, to make sure all the working folks she grew up with have access to the health care they need and deserve. As she puts it, she's going to be a "change agent." She's going to reach back and help folks like her succeed. And people like Ciearra are why I remain optimistic about America. (Applause.) Young people like you are why I never give in to despair. 12:31:22 James Baldwin once wrote, "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." Graduates, each of us is only here because someone else faced down challenges for us. We are only who we are because someone else struggled and sacrificed for us. That's not just Thurgood Marshall's story, or Ciearra's story, or my story, or your story -- that is the story of America. A story whispered by slaves in the cotton fields, the song of marchers in Selma, the dream of a King in the shadow of Lincoln. The prayer of immigrants who set out for a new world. The roar of women demanding the vote. The rallying cry of workers who built America. And the GIs who bled overseas for our freedom. Now it's your turn. And the good news is, you're ready. And when your journey seems too hard, and when you run into a chorus of cynics who tell you that you're being foolish to keep believing or that you can't do something, or that you should just give up, or you should just settle -- you might say to yourself a little phrase that I've found handy these last eight years: Yes, we can. 12:32:46 Congratulations, Class of 2016! (Applause.) Good luck! God bless you. God bless the United States of America. I'm proud of you. END

Saturday, May 7, 2016 Obama Howard University commencement DC Slugs: 1000 OBAMA HOWARD COMMENCEMENT FS33 73 & 1200 OBAMA HOWARD COMMENCEMENT FS33 83 AR: 16x9 NYFS: WASH3 (4523/5593) 11:47:24 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you! Hello, Howard! (Applause.) H-U! AUDIENCE: You know! THE PRESIDENT: H-U! AUDIENCE: You know! THE PRESIDENT: (Laughter.) Thank you so much, everybody. Please, please, have a seat. Oh, I feel important now. Got a degree from Howard. Cicely Tyson said something nice about me. (Laughter.) AUDIENCE MEMBER: I love you, President! THE PRESIDENT: I love you back. To President Frederick, the Board of Trustees, faculty and staff, fellow recipients of honorary degrees, thank you for the honor of spending this day with you. And congratulations to the Class of 2016! (Applause.) Four years ago, back when you were just freshmen, I understand many of you came by my house the night I was reelected. (Laughter.) So I decided to return the favor and come by yours. To the parents, the grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, all the family and friends who stood by this class, cheered them on, helped them get here today -- this is your day, as well. Let's give them a big round of applause, as well. (Applause.) 11:49:11 I'm not trying to stir up any rivalries here; I just want to see who's in the house. We got Quad? (Applause.) Annex. (Applause.) Drew. Carver. Slow. Towers. And Meridian. (Applause.) Rest in peace, Meridian. (Laughter.) Rest in peace. I know you're all excited today. You might be a little tired, as well. Some of you were up all night making sure your credits were in order. (Laughter.) Some of you stayed up too late, ended up at HoChi at 2:00 a.m. (Laughter.) Got some mambo sauce on your fingers. (Laughter.) But you got here. And you've all worked hard to reach this day. You've shuttled between challenging classes and Greek life. You've led clubs, played an instrument or a sport. You volunteered, you interned. You held down one, two, maybe three jobs. You've made lifelong friends and discovered exactly what you're made of. The "Howard Hustle" has strengthened your sense of purpose and ambition. Which means you're part of a long line of Howard graduates. Some are on this stage today. Some are in the audience. That spirit of achievement and special responsibility has defined this campus ever since the Freedman's Bureau established Howard just four years after the Emancipation Proclamation; just two years after the Civil War came to an end. They created this university with a vision -- a vision of uplift; a vision for an America where our fates would be determined not by our race, gender, religion or creed, but where we would be free -- in every sense -- to pursue our individual and collective dreams. 11:51:30 It is that spirit that's made Howard a centerpiece of African-American intellectual life and a central part of our larger American story. This institution has been the home of many firsts: The first black Nobel Peace Prize winner. The first black Supreme Court justice. But its mission has been to ensure those firsts were not the last. Countless scholars, professionals, artists, and leaders from every field received their training here. The generations of men and women who walked through this yard helped reform our government, cure disease, grow a black middle class, advance civil rights, shape our culture. The seeds of change -- for all Americans -- were sown here. And that's what I want to talk about today. 11:52:45 As I was preparing these remarks, I realized that when I was first elected President, most of you -- the Class of 2016 -- were just starting high school. Today, you're graduating college. I used to joke about being old. Now I realize I'm old. (Laughter.) It's not a joke anymore. (Laughter.) But seeing all of you here gives me some perspective. It makes me reflect on the changes that I've seen over my own lifetime. So let me begin with what may sound like a controversial statement -- a hot take. 11:53:44 Given the current state of our political rhetoric and debate, let me say something that may be controversial, and that is this: America is a better place today than it was when I graduated from college. (Applause.) Let me repeat: America is by almost every measure better than it was when I graduated from college. It also happens to be better off than when I took office -- (laughter) -- but that's a longer story. (Applause.) That's a different discussion for another speech. But think about it. I graduated in 1983. New York City, America's largest city, where I lived at the time, had endured a decade marked by crime and deterioration and near bankruptcy. And many cities were in similar shape. Our nation had gone through years of economic stagnation, the stranglehold of foreign oil, a recession where unemployment nearly scraped 11 percent. The auto industry was getting its clock cleaned by foreign competition. And don't even get me started on the clothes and the hairstyles. I've tried to eliminate all photos of me from this period. I thought I looked good. (Laughter.) I was wrong. Since that year -- since the year I graduated -- the poverty rate is down. Americans with college degrees, that rate is up. Crime rates are down. America's cities have undergone a renaissance. There are more women in the workforce. They're earning more money. We've cut teen pregnancy in half. We've slashed the African American dropout rate by almost 60 percent, and all of you have a computer in your pocket that gives you the world at the touch of a button. In 1983, I was part of fewer than 10 percent of African Americans who graduated with a bachelor's degree. Today, you're part of the more than 20 percent who will. 11:56:16 And more than half of blacks say we're better off than our parents were at our age -- and that our kids will be better off, too. So America is better. And the world is better, too. A wall came down in Berlin. An Iron Curtain was torn asunder. The obscenity of apartheid came to an end. A young generation in Belfast and London have grown up without ever having to think about IRA bombings. In just the past 16 years, we've come from a world without marriage equality to one where it's a reality in nearly two dozen countries. Around the world, more people live in democracies. We've lifted more than 1 billion people from extreme poverty. We've cut the child mortality rate worldwide by more than half. America is better. The world is better. And stay with me now -- race relations are better since I graduated. That's the truth. 11:57:29 No, my election did not create a post-racial society. I don't know who was propagating that notion. That was not mine. But the election itself -- and the subsequent one -- because the first one, folks might have made a mistake. (Laughter.) The second one, they knew what they were getting. The election itself was just one indicator of how attitudes had changed. In my inaugural address, I remarked that just 60 years earlier, my father might not have been served in a D.C. restaurant -- at least not certain of them. There were no black CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. Very few black judges. 11:58:21 Shoot, as Larry Wilmore pointed out last week, a lot of folks didn't even think blacks had the tools to be a quarterback. Today, former Bull Michael Jordan isn't just the greatest basketball player of all time -- he owns the team. (Laughter.) When I was graduating, the main black hero on TV was Mr. T. (Laughter.) Rap and hip hop were counterculture, underground. Now, Shonda Rhimes owns Thursday night, and Beyoncé runs the world. (Laughter.) We're no longer only entertainers, we're producers, studio executives. No longer small business owners -- we're CEOs, we're mayors, representatives, Presidents of the United States. (Applause.) I am not saying gaps do not persist. Obviously, they do. Racism persists. Inequality persists. Don't worry -- I'm going to get to that. But I wanted to start, Class of 2016, by opening your eyes to the moment that you are in. If you had to choose one moment in history in which you could be born, and you didn't know ahead of time who you were going to be -- what nationality, what gender, what race, whether you'd be rich or poor, gay or straight, what faith you'd be born into -- you wouldn't choose 100 years ago. You wouldn't choose the fifties, or the sixties, or the seventies. You'd choose right now. If you had to choose a time to be, in the words of Lorraine Hansberry, "young, gifted, and black" in America, you would choose right now. (Applause.) I tell you all this because it's important to note progress. Because to deny how far we've come would do a disservice to the cause of justice, to the legions of foot soldiers; to not only the incredibly accomplished individuals who have already been mentioned, but your mothers and your dads, and grandparents and great grandparents, who marched and toiled and suffered and overcame to make this day possible. I tell you this not to lull you into complacency, but to spur you into action -- because there's still so much more work to do, so many more miles to travel. And America needs you to gladly, happily take up that work. You all have some work to do. So enjoy the party, because you're going to be busy. (Laughter.) 12:02:05 Yes, our economy has recovered from crisis stronger than almost any other in the world. But there are folks of all races who are still hurting -- who still can't find work that pays enough to keep the lights on, who still can't save for retirement. We've still got a big racial gap in economic opportunity. The overall unemployment rate is 5 percent, but the black unemployment rate is almost nine. We've still got an achievement gap when black boys and girls graduate high school and college at lower rates than white boys and white girls. 12:02:48 Harriet Tubman may be going on the twenty, but we've still got a gender gap when a black woman working full-time still earns just 66 percent of what a white man gets paid. (Applause.) We've got a justice gap when too many black boys and girls pass through a pipeline from underfunded schools to overcrowded jails. This is one area where things have gotten worse. When I was in college, about half a million people in America were behind bars. Today, there are about 2.2 million. Black men are about six times likelier to be in prison right now than white men. Around the world, we've still got challenges to solve that threaten everybody in the 21st century -- old scourges like disease and conflict, but also new challenges, from terrorism and climate change. So make no mistake, Class of 2016 -- you've got plenty of work to do. But as complicated and sometimes intractable as these challenges may seem, the truth is that your generation is better positioned than any before you to meet those challenges, to flip the script. Now, how you do that, how you meet these challenges, how you bring about change will ultimately be up to you. 12:04:30 My generation, like all generations, is too confined by our own experience, too invested in our own biases, too stuck in our ways to provide much of the new thinking that will be required. But us old-heads have learned a few things that might be useful in your journey. So with the rest of my time, I'd like to offer some suggestions for how young leaders like you can fulfill your destiny and shape our collective future -- bend it in the direction of justice and equality and freedom. First of all -- and this should not be a problem for this group -- be confident in your heritage. (Applause.) 12:05:26 Be confident in your blackness. One of the great changes that's occurred in our country since I was your age is the realization there's no one way to be black. Take it from somebody who's seen both sides of debate about whether I'm black enough. (Laughter.) In the past couple months, I've had lunch with the Queen of England and hosted Kendrick Lamar in the Oval Office. There's no straitjacket, there's no constraints, there's no litmus test for authenticity. Look at Howard. One thing most folks don't know about Howard is how diverse it is. When you arrived here, some of you were like, oh, they've got black people in Iowa? (Laughter.) But it's true -- this class comes from big cities and rural communities, and some of you crossed oceans to study here. You shatter stereotypes. Some of you come from a long line of Bison. Some of you are the first in your family to graduate from college. (Applause.) You all talk different, you all dress different. You're Lakers fans, Celtics fans, maybe even some hockey fans. (Laughter.) And because of those who've come before you, you have models to follow. You can work for a company, or start your own. You can go into politics, or run an organization that holds politicians accountable. You can write a book that wins the National Book Award, or you can write the new run of "Black Panther." Or, like one of your alumni, Ta-Nehisi Coates, you can go ahead and just do both. You can create your own style, set your own standard of beauty, embrace your own sexuality. Think about an icon we just lost -- Prince. He blew up categories. People didn't know what Prince was doing. (Laughter.) And folks loved him for it. 12:08:20 You need to have the same confidence. Or as my daughters tell me all the time, "You be you, Daddy." (Laughter.) Sometimes Sasha puts a variation on it -- "You do you, Daddy." (Laughter.) And because you're a black person doing whatever it is that you're doing, that makes it a black thing. Feel confident. Second, even as we each embrace our own beautiful, unique, and valid versions of our blackness, remember the tie that does bind us as African Americans -- and that is our particular awareness of injustice and unfairness and struggle. That means we cannot sleepwalk through life. We cannot be ignorant of history. (Applause.) We can't meet the world with a sense of entitlement. We can't walk by a homeless man without asking why a society as wealthy as ours allows that state of affairs to occur. We can't just lock up a low-level dealer without asking why this boy, barely out of childhood, felt he had no other options. We have cousins and uncles and brothers and sisters who we remember were just as smart and just as talented as we were, but somehow got ground down by structures that are unfair and unjust. And that means we have to not only question the world as it is, and stand up for those African Americans who haven't been so lucky -- because, yes, you've worked hard, but you've also been lucky. That's a pet peeve of mine: People who have been successful and don't realize they've been lucky. That God may have blessed them; it wasn't nothing you did. So don't have an attitude. 12:10:57 But we must expand our moral imaginations to understand and empathize with all people who are struggling, not just black folks who are struggling -- the refugee, the immigrant, the rural poor, the transgender person, and yes, the middle-aged white guy who you may think has all the advantages, but over the last several decades has seen his world upended by economic and cultural and technological change, and feels powerless to stop it. You got to get in his head, too. Number three: You have to go through life with more than just passion for change; you need a strategy. I'll repeat that. I want you to have passion, but you have to have a strategy. Not just awareness, but action. Not just hashtags, but votes. 12:12:23 You see, change requires more than righteous anger. It requires a program, and it requires organizing. At the 1964 Democratic Convention, Fannie Lou Hamer -- all five-feet-four-inches tall -- gave a fiery speech on the national stage. But then she went back home to Mississippi and organized cotton pickers. And she didn't have the tools and technology where you can whip up a movement in minutes. She had to go door to door. And I'm so proud of the new guard of black civil rights leaders who understand this. It's thanks in large part to the activism of young people like many of you, from Black Twitter to Black Lives Matter, that America's eyes have been opened -- white, black, Democrat, Republican -- to the real problems, for example, in our criminal justice system. But to bring about structural change, lasting change, awareness is not enough. It requires changes in law, changes in custom. 12:13:42 If you care about mass incarceration, let me ask you: How are you pressuring members of Congress to pass the criminal justice reform bill now pending before them? (Applause.) If you care about better policing, do you know who your district attorney is? Do you know who your state's attorney general is? Do you know the difference? Do you know who appoints the police chief and who writes the police training manual? Find out who they are, what their responsibilities are. Mobilize the community, present them with a plan, work with them to bring about change, hold them accountable if they do not deliver. Passion is vital, but you've got to have a strategy. And your plan better include voting -- not just some of the time, but all the time. (Applause.) It is absolutely true that 50 years after the Voting Rights Act, there are still too many barriers in this country to vote. There are too many people trying to erect new barriers to voting. This is the only advanced democracy on Earth that goes out of its way to make it difficult for people to vote. And there's a reason for that. There's a legacy to that. But let me say this: Even if we dismantled every barrier to voting, that alone would not change the fact that America has some of the lowest voting rates in the free world. In 2014, only 36 percent of Americans turned out to vote in the midterms -- the secondlowest participation rate on record. Youth turnout -- that would be you -- was less than 20 percent. Less than 20 percent. Four out of five did not vote. In 2012, nearly two in three African Americans turned out. And then, in 2014, only two in five turned out. You don't think that made a difference in terms of the Congress I've got to deal with? And then people are wondering, well, how come Obama hasn't gotten this done? How come he didn't get that done? You don't think that made a difference? What would have happened if you had turned out at 50, 60, 70 percent, all across this country? People try to make this political thing really complicated. Like, what kind of reforms do we need? And how do we need to do that? You know what, just vote. It's math. If you have more votes than the other guy, you get to do what you want. (Laughter.) It's not that complicated. And you don't have excuses. You don't have to guess the number of jellybeans in a jar or bubbles on a bar of soap to register to vote. You don't have to risk your life to cast a ballot. Other people already did that for you. (Applause.) Your grandparents, your great grandparents might be here today if they were working on it. What's your excuse? 12:17:19 When we don't vote, we give away our power, disenfranchise ourselves -- right when we need to use the power that we have; right when we need your power to stop others from taking away the vote and rights of those more vulnerable than you are -- the elderly and the poor, the formerly incarcerated trying to earn their second chance. So you got to vote all the time, not just when it's cool, not just when it's time to elect a President, not just when you're inspired. It's your duty. When it's time to elect a member of Congress or a city councilman, or a school board member, or a sheriff. That's how we change our politics -- by electing people at every level who are representative of and accountable to us. It is not that complicated. Don't make it complicated. And finally, change requires more than just speaking out -- it requires listening, as well. In particular, it requires listening to those with whom you disagree, and being prepared to compromise. When I was a state senator, I helped pass Illinois's first racial profiling law, and one of the first laws in the nation requiring the videotaping of confessions in capital cases. And we were successful because, early on, I engaged law enforcement. I didn't say to them, oh, you guys are so racist, you need to do something. I understood, as many of you do, that the overwhelming majority of police officers are good, and honest, and courageous, and fair, and love the communities they serve. And we knew there were some bad apples, and that even the good cops with the best of intentions -- including, by the way, African American police officers -- might have unconscious biases, as we all do. So we engaged and we listened, and we kept working until we built consensus. And because we took the time to listen, we crafted legislation that was good for the police -- because it improved the trust and cooperation of the community -- and it was good for the communities, who were less likely to be treated unfairly. 12:20:04 And I can say this unequivocally: Without at least the acceptance of the police organizations in Illinois, I could never have gotten those bills passed. Very simple. They would have blocked them. The point is, you need allies in a democracy. That's just the way it is. It can be frustrating and it can be slow. But history teaches us that the alternative to democracy is always worse. That's not just true in this country. It's not a black or white thing. Go to any country where the give and take of democracy has been repealed by one-party rule, and I will show you a country that does not work. And democracy requires compromise, even when you are 100 percent right. This is hard to explain sometimes. You can be completely right, and you still are going to have to engage folks who disagree with you. If you think that the only way forward is to be as uncompromising as possible, you will feel good about yourself, you will enjoy a certain moral purity, but you're not going to get what you want. And if you don't get what you want long enough, you will eventually think the whole system is rigged. And that will lead to more cynicism, and less participation, and a downward spiral of more injustice and more anger and more despair. And that's never been the source of our progress. That's how we cheat ourselves of progress. We remember Dr. King's soaring oratory, the power of his letter from a Birmingham jail, the marches he led. But he also sat down with President Johnson in the Oval Office to try and get a Civil Rights Act and a Voting Rights Act passed. And those two seminal bills were not perfect -- just like the Emancipation Proclamation was a war document as much as it was some clarion call for freedom. Those mileposts of our progress were not perfect. They did not make up for centuries of slavery or Jim Crow or eliminate racism or provide for 40 acres and a mule. But they made things better. And you know what, I will take better every time. I always tell my staff -- better is good, because you consolidate your gains and then you move on to the next fight from a stronger position. Brittany Packnett, a member of the Black Lives Matter movement and Campaign Zero, one of the Ferguson protest organizers, she joined our Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Some of her fellow activists questioned whether she should participate. She rolled up her sleeves and sat at the same table with big city police chiefs and prosecutors. And because she did, she ended up shaping many of the recommendations of that task force. And those recommendations are now being adopted across the country -- changes that many of the protesters called for. If young activists like Brittany had refused to participate out of some sense of ideological purity, then those great ideas would have just remained ideas. But she did participate. And that's how change happens. 12:24:07 America is big and it is boisterous and it is more diverse than ever. The president told me that we've got a significant Nepalese contingent here at Howard. I would not have guessed that. Right on. But it just tells you how interconnected we're becoming. And with so many folks from so many places, converging, we are not always going to agree with each other. Another Howard alum, Zora Neale Hurston, once said -- this is a good quote here: "Nothing that God ever made is the same thing to more than one person." Think about that. That's why our democracy gives us a process designed for us to settle our disputes with argument and ideas and votes instead of violence and simple majority rule. So don't try to shut folks out, don't try to shut them down, no matter how much you might disagree with them. There's been a trend around the country of trying to get colleges to disinvite speakers with a different point of view, or disrupt a politician's rally. Don't do that -- no matter how ridiculous or offensive you might find the things that come out of their mouths. Because as my grandmother used to tell me, every time a fool speaks, they are just advertising their own ignorance. Let them talk. Let them talk. If you don't, you just make them a victim, and then they can avoid accountability. That doesn't mean you shouldn't challenge them. Have the confidence to challenge them, the confidence in the rightness of your position. There will be times when you shouldn't compromise your core values, your integrity, and you will have the responsibility to speak up in the face of injustice. But listen. Engage. If the other side has a point, learn from them. If they're wrong, rebut them. Teach them. Beat them on the battlefield of ideas. And you might as well start practicing now, because one thing I can guarantee you -- you will have to deal with ignorance, hatred, racism, foolishness, trifling folks. (Laughter.) I promise you, you will have to deal with all that at every stage of your life. That may not seem fair, but life has never been completely fair. Nobody promised you a crystal stair. And if you want to make life fair, then you've got to start with the world as it is. So that's my advice. That's how you change things. Change isn't something that happens every four years or eight years; change is not placing your faith in any particular politician and then just putting your feet up and saying, okay, go. Change is the effort of committed citizens who hitch their wagons to something bigger than themselves and fight for it every single day. That's what Thurgood Marshall understood -- a man who once walked this year, graduated from Howard Law; went home to Baltimore, started his own law practice. He and his mentor, Charles Hamilton Houston, rolled up their sleeves and they set out to overturn segregation. They worked through the NAACP. 12:28:24 Filed dozens of lawsuits, fought dozens of cases. And after nearly 20 years of effort -- 20 years -- Thurgood Marshall ultimately succeeded in bringing his righteous cause before the Supreme Court, and securing the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education that separate could never be equal. (Applause.) Twenty years. Marshall, Houston -- they knew it would not be easy. They knew it would not be quick. They knew all sorts of obstacles would stand in their way. They knew that even if they won, that would just be the beginning of a longer march to equality. But they had discipline. They had persistence. They had faith -- and a sense of humor. And they made life better for all Americans. And I know you graduates share those qualities. I know it because I've learned about some of the young people graduating here today. There's a young woman named Ciearra Jefferson, who's graduating with you. And I'm just going to use her as an example. I hope you don't mind, Ciearra. Ciearra grew up in Detroit and was raised by a poor single mom who worked seven days a week in an auto plant. And for a time, her family found themselves without a place to call home. They bounced around between friends and family who might take them in. By her senior year, Ciearra was up at 5:00 am every day, juggling homework, extracurricular activities, volunteering, all while taking care of her little sister. But she knew that education was her ticket to a better life. So she never gave up. Pushed herself to excel. This daughter of a single mom who works on the assembly line turned down a full scholarship to Harvard to come to Howard. (Applause.) And today, like many of you, Ciearra is the first in her family to graduate from college. And then, she says, she's going to go back to her hometown, just like Thurgood Marshall did, to make sure all the working folks she grew up with have access to the health care they need and deserve. As she puts it, she's going to be a "change agent." She's going to reach back and help folks like her succeed. And people like Ciearra are why I remain optimistic about America. (Applause.) Young people like you are why I never give in to despair. 12:31:22 James Baldwin once wrote, "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." Graduates, each of us is only here because someone else faced down challenges for us. We are only who we are because someone else struggled and sacrificed for us. That's not just Thurgood Marshall's story, or Ciearra's story, or my story, or your story -- that is the story of America. A story whispered by slaves in the cotton fields, the song of marchers in Selma, the dream of a King in the shadow of Lincoln. The prayer of immigrants who set out for a new world. The roar of women demanding the vote. The rallying cry of workers who built America. And the GIs who bled overseas for our freedom. Now it's your turn. And the good news is, you're ready. And when your journey seems too hard, and when you run into a chorus of cynics who tell you that you're being foolish to keep believing or that you can't do something, or that you should just give up, or you should just settle -- you might say to yourself a little phrase that I've found handy these last eight years: Yes, we can. 12:32:46 Congratulations, Class of 2016! (Applause.) Good luck! God bless you. God bless the United States of America. I'm proud of you. END

1230 WH TRUMP MEETS RECOVERED COVID19 PATIENTS FS23 73 CBS POOL President Trump meets with recovered COVID19 patients in cabinet room WASH 3 PRESIDENT TRUMP MEETS WITH COVID 19 PATIENTS 125238 Well thank you very much everybody, this is a group of people who in many cases became quite famous because they went through alot having to do with the coronavirus, a tremendous amount. And a lot of them were covered, and we know from the media they've all got very interesting and very different stories to tell. 125259 And I thought what I'd do is go around the room, it's an honor to have them at the White House. And they really are -- they've very brave. Some were right on the edge, they thought it was over. This is a rough, a rough plague. Icall it the plague, I call it the scourge, I call it whatever you want to call it, it's rough. It's bad. And a woman that I've really found fascinating and she's from a state that's a great state, and a city that's been hit very hard, really, very very hard, Detroit. 125330 Highly respected, she's a political person. She doesn't happen to be a Republican, and that's okay. When things aren't going good, and you get a little help from a Republican, we'll take that too. But your story was just a fantastic story, and we're gonna go around the room. This man was a NFL football player for 10 years, a friend of tom Brady. And he was hit hard. >> Yes, sir. TRUMP>> And you weren't so strong when you got hit, by that, that little -- >> No, I didn't feel strong at all at that point, yeah. TRUMP>> You were not -- you were saying, you were not -- you didn't feel too powerful. 125401 So, if we could, we'll go around the room and, if we could start with you, Representative, and congratulations. It's an incredible story. Thank you. WHITSETT>> Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. Vice president. It is such an honor to be here, and it's such an honor to be here amongst all of you survivors. I just can't say how wonderful it is to see your faces, and thank you for everything you have done. TRUMP>> Thank you. WHITSETT>> I did not know that saying "thank you" had a political line. I didn't know that. I thought just saying "thank you" meant thank you. And I do, I sincerely appreciate that. 125434 Because had you not brought this to the forefront of the HQ, of being able to put this out there, I wouldn't be able to have this conversation with you, and to be able to talk about the needs of Detroit and talk about the people who really need this. And they need help. And you are here to address that. And I sincerely appreciate that, from the both of you, from the bottom of my heart, and from the people of my city. TRUMP>> Well, you were so incredible as a representative, both in terms of how you got better and what you went through. 125505 And your husband sounds like a great gentleman. He went down there and he took care of things, right? He took care of it. WHITSETT>> Yes, he did. >> Yes, I did. Yes, I did. TRUMP>> That means he loves you. "Cause some husbands would say, "Eh, let's not bother." WHITSETT>> Ah, he's got a great insurance policy. TRUMP>> He'll do whatever he has to do, right? WHITSETT>> Yes, he did. TRUMP>> And that was later that evening you did that, right? >> Late in the evening. TRUMP>> And we had the drug store stocked with the -- with the medicine, and that's fantastic. Why don't you -- why don't you say what got you to go late at night to the drugstore? 125533 >> What got me to go late at night, we were trying to do everything we could. She's real slick, so we were kind of -- kind of in a panic. And she's making -- she's making phone calls, and once we got to the doctor to put in the 'scrip -- WHITSETT>> Dr. [inaud] TRUMP>> Oh, I see. >> That's when we [inaud] get it around. TRUMP>> The doctor did a good job? WHITSETT>> Dr. Asawala (?) is amazing. He is a well renowned doctor in the state of Michigan. And if it wasn't -- TRUMP>> Is he a doctor from a hospital, or a local doctor or? 125605 WHITSETT>> He's a doctor -- local doctor TRUMP>> Great. WHITSETT>> but he is in charge of the AMA in Michigan. And he has nine urgent care clinics, and he has been on FOX with me as well TRUMP>> That's fantastic. WHITSETT>> But Dr. Asawala is amazing. TRUMP>> That's fantastic. WHITSETT>> And he has taken care of my family, as well. And I've lost several family members to Covid, all -- TRUMP>> No kidding. WHITSETT>> All in one household. My cousin, Cheryl Fowler, was in the icu. She lost her husband. He was turned away from numerous hospitals, as was she. Over four times. 125637 And within six hours, she lost her father-in-law, who was turned away numerous times. Her whole family had to be tested which are 7 family members. TRUMP>> Right. WHITSETT>> and those -- of those seven family members, she's had three of those test positive. And that is her children that have tested positive. TRUMP>> How are they doing? How are they doing? WHITSETT>> Thanks to Dr. Asawala and what you have done, they are doing great. But it can't be just -- TRUMP>> So they took the hydroxy, then? WHITSETT>> Yes, they did. But it can't just be based on my name and your name. TRUMP>> Right, that's right. WHITSETT>> It needs to be something that's readily available to everyone in the city of Detroit. 125709 TRUMP>> Well, I hear that the governor has gone all out for it -- from being totally opposed to it. Now she's all out forit, so that's what I'm hearing. So that's a good thing. I think it's a good thing. WHITSETT>> It's a great thing. TRUMP>> So you might have said when you started that walk or run, "What the hell do I have to lose?" Right? You know, my expression, "What do I have to lose?" >> I thought about that -- TRUMP>> 'cause she was in bad shape. And I understand. Congratulations, it's incredible story. >> Thank you, thank you, thank you. TRUMP>> And I like Democrats. I especially like this Democrat, though, for just the reason you have a beautiful -- you have a beautiful presence and you are a beautiful couple. And thank you for coming. 125746 WHITSETT>> Thank you. Thank you. for having us. TRUMP>> I have a feeling she's going to go very much up. She's a good representative right now, but I have a feeling, politically -- do you have any further political ambitions, do you think? WHITSETT>> I actually didn't even aspire to be a state representative, to be perfectly honest, so. TRUMP>> I don't know, I may have to cross party lines. [laughter] I may have to work with her across party lines. Thank you very much. WHITSETT>> Thank you, sir. TRUMP>> Great honor to have you. Please, tell us your story. 125815 >> My story is we were on the Diamond Princess, so ground zero, and -- and I didn't get the virus they are. Although I tested positive there, I didn't learn about it until later. We were flown back, thanks to you. We were flown back by the State department to, first -- TRUMP>> That was a bad one. Nobody would take the Diamond Princess. >> Yeah. TRUMP>> No other country would take it, nobody wanted it. It was like -- you know, they call it a ghost ship. Not good. So we took it. >> We were stuck there, it was like we were on the floating petri dish. TRUMP>> Yeah. 125847 >> We were watching the bodies get off daily, off into ambulances, taken out one by one. A total of 750 of us, over time, were taken out. We were more than double the amount of outbreak, if you added everyone in the world at the time, other than China. And China wasn't giving us any information. If you added all that up, we doubled the amount of people who had the virus. TRUMP>> How many people died, ultimately, on the ship? >> The ship was -- 11 people have died from the Diamond Princess. 125921 And so we -- on the plane ride back, on the 747 military plane, I woke up with a high fever. Over 103. They put me in a quarantine area, next to about eight other people. We landed in Sacramento, at Travis air force base, and then they saw me and saw I had a condition, a precondition of Guillain-Barre Syndrome, 67 years of --. 125947 TRUMP>> You did have a precondition? >> I had a precondition. TRUMP>> And that's a big one. >> So they flew me -- they had three of us in quarantine. And then, my wife and two others who didn't have the virus, and my wife never had the virus. She should be the one studied right now. I was flown to -- 130004 TRUMP>> So you were together, no six-foot thing or nothing, and you were together. You didn't catch it? Wow. >> They just started taking yesterday, Providence health and service on the west coast just started to do a study -- TRUMP>> A study of you? >> Well, both -- TRUMP>> We don't need him, we need you. >> (inaud.) .. create a vaccination. TRUMP>> That's incredible. Do you think maybe you had it before and there's immunity without knowing it? >> I don't think so, but we'll find out. 130031 TRUMP>> Yeah, so you didn't see it at all. Wow, that's fantastic. HUSBAND>> I don't think she had it. TRUMP>> Strong, you know they call that a strong woman, right? HUSBAND>> Oh, believe me, I know that. TRUMP>> No, it's amazing to be together like that and not catch it. 130039 HUSBAND>> Not only that, we have two friends. So we were going back and forth in each of our cabins. They got exposed, they got the virus. We were stuck on -- TRUMP>> How did they do? How did they do? HUSBAND>> They are great. They came out great. We were stuck on a bus for 6.5 hours with people with the virus. On the plane, people had the virus. She sat next to a husband of a couple who got married on the diamond princess. They were in their 40s. And the wife was next to me in the special quarantined area on the plane. The husband was next to her, coughing away. And we ended up -- 130118 TRUMP>> Did you feel comfortable? [Laughter] WIFE>> I put a blanket over my head. >> Did you cover your head or something? WIFE>> I put a blanket over my head because we were so cold. And the smell from the toilet, the two portable toilets on the plane, were so bad. TRUMP>> And that was on a plane? WIFE>> That was on the cargo plane that you guys had sent for us. TRUMP>> And then you had the bus. WIFE>> Well, the bus was first. So that was a very long process getting off the bus. TRUMP>> So that was no pleasure either. And these people had it, a lot of these people. It's amazing that you survived. 130149 WIFE>> Our friend from St. George did not have it on the boat but tested four days later at Fort Travis. So he either got it on the plane or on the bus. TRUMP>> Do you think it brought you, you to, together, closer? WIFE>> Absolutely. HUSBAND>> Absolutely. TRUMP>> I can see it. WIFE>> Absolutely. TRUMP>> It brings you together. Does that make any sense? WIFE>> We were separated for five weeks. HUSBAND>> In Omaha, yeah, five weeks. Because I was in the bio containment area in Omaha and then to a lower level of containment. 130218 TRUMP>> Because you were very sick at one point, correct? HUSBAND>> Just the first day on the plane, I had the 103 fever. By the time I got to Omaha, I was okay. I still had symptoms, I still had a cough that stayed with me for about two and a half weeks. I had shortness of breath for about four to five days. TRUMP>> How bad was that shortness of breath? Was it noticeable? HUSBAND>> It was not noticeable when I was lying in bed. But if I got up and walked around the room, if I walked around the room and talked on the phone at the same time, trying to multitask, that was impossible to do. 130251 TRUMP>> Really? How about you? You had shortness of breath, too, I read. WIFE>> Yes. TRUMP>> So how bad was that, the shortness? >> The shortening of breath is what really got me afraid. Because I do have Lyme disease. Thank you for always mentioning about Lyme disease. TRUMP>> Yeah, no, Lyme disease is a big deal. >> Thank you for always bringing it to the forefront. TRUMP>> Do you think you still have Lymes disease? >> I do. I have chronic Lyme disease because I was not treated in time. 130312 TRUMP>> Can that be -- can you get rid of it? >> I'm hoping that we talk about that -- TRUMP>> Lyme disease is a thing that people don't talk about. It's brutal -- >> It is a brutal -- TRUMP>> And if you have a certain type of blood, you have no chance. >> It's brutal. It's brutal. And then on top of having covid-19 with it, is a nightmare. But the breathing is what scared me the most. And it came, I went from 0 to 100. It was from getting tested that day, on March 31st, to trying to do a few things around the house, to just all all of a sudden my breathing became labored. 130344 TRUMP>> So you actually had a hard time breathing? >> Oh, yeah. I was afraid for my life. And until anyone has been in that person's shoes, until you have walked that walk, and sitting there and knowing that the hospitals near you are full, the very two hospitals near you that you have access to, that you cannot get into. TRUMP>> Do you think, in retrospect, you are better staying home? >> I was better. TRUMP>> You know, because those hospitals can be crowded. >> And I didn't know what my status was. So can you imagine? You don't know what your status is, and if you could get into a hospital, and the way I was filling up with fluid, my lungs, my breathing being labored, I felt -- if I didn't get that medication, it was either the medication or die. TRUMP>> So you thought you were going to die? 130434 >> I honestly thought I was going to die. And like I tell people, I'm telling my story, I'm telling my truth. I'm not telling anyone else's story, I'm not telling anyone else what to do. I'm telling my story and my truth. And this is how I feel, and these are my words. TRUMP>> Well, I'm not going to speak for her, but I don't see her voting for sleepy Joe Biden. [Laughter] I'm not going to ask her that question.but if she votes for sleepy Joe, I'd be surprised.Okay? Anyway, incredible story. Such a great story. Thank you. But your wife -- I think we are going to keep your wife around, right? We'll going to keep her around and figure out -- >> She is unbelievable. TRUMP>> -- what's in the veins, right?That's fantastic. Great stories, thank you both very much. Please. Go ahead. 130519 MAN>> Yeah, so I mean, I consider myself a relatively healthy individual. Probably get sick once every couple of few years. TRUMP>> That's good. MAN>> And to think that I had something like this was very kind of surprising. And I think that, to think you have a virus after being such a healthy individual -- TRUMP>> Do you know where you caught it? 130537 MAN>> So I travel a lot and I had the flu a little bit. And so I think my immune system was compromised while I was traveling and it could've been kind of community transfer. So it's been -- just accepting that I had it I think was the very hardest part. But then, for something like that to take me down, for almost 8 days of fever and then 3 days of shortness of breath -- TRUMP>> How bad was it? MAN>>I've never felt this bad in my most recent recollection. I think that -- 130602 TRUMP>> So, the -- compared -- you said you've had the flu a number of times. How did you compare this to the flu? MAN >> Never felt these symptoms before for this long. TRUMP>> So, a bigger, better, much worse event for you? 130618 MAN>> Yep. And I only took Tylenol the entire time. I took a lot of it. I think the most frustrating part, honestly, was trying to get a test. I think that going to numerous places and being turned away by a sign on the door that says "don't come in here if you have these symptoms" -- I think that was a little -- 130634 TRUMP>> When was it? When was it? >> This was early March, so I think part of the challenge was there was a lot of people seeing a lot of different things and kind of knowing what to believe, where to go. You kind of go in circles a lot, you kinda -- TRUMP>> When did you find out officially that you had it? >> I think on March -- probably about 7 or 8 days into my fever I found out, so I got the test eventually. And it's kind of interesting there's like certain keywords that when you say those at an ER, they automatically treat you differently. 130703 And so, for me, it was more of like an education for a lot of my friends and family. TRUMP>> So, okay, so what were the words? >> For me, it was more of a fever, and I had been in San Francisco. And those two -- TRUMP>> Did that make them treat you better or worse? Or did it -- or did they treat you like you had the Covid? >> Um, they treated me like I had COVID. So they sent me outside of the ER to make sure that I don't kind of become contagious and infect other people, and I waited out for a little bit, and then they came in and they swab me and stuff like that. 130735 So they did kind of take me a lot seriously, and they got me a test. They got me an influenza test. So I think it's one of those things that it's -- there's a lot of unknowns, there's a lot of questions as to who to test, who not to test, and I think at that time, there was a lot of -- a lot of people providing recommendations and some of them were conflicting. TRUMP>> Did you ever think you were gonna die? >> The -- So when I got the news that I had COVID, I think I have anxiety because there was so much going on. And I think that kind of exhausted my shortness of breath symptoms. And the second day I kind of felt that, you know, something was wrong. 130806 I need to go to the hospital. I didn't necessarily think I was gonna die, but I've never felt this bad before, and I think I needed medical attention. TRUMP>> So if it got worse, you would have been in deep trouble. Did you have a problem with your breathing. >> I did. I got a pulse oximeter, and just having one of those and knowing that your oxygen levels are normal -- It's like a kind of confidence builder that you know you're not going downhill, but it's -- TRUMP>> What -- what was it showing, the meter? >> Mine was always above 95%. TRUMP>> So you, you looked okay yeah but you still felt a shortness of breath. >>Yeah. 130837 TRUMP>> And so, when did you get better? >> Probably around day 11, I had gotten better. TRUMP>> That's a long time, isn't it? They last a long time. But you get better quickly -- WHITSETT>> After the medication, though. TRUMP>> After the medication. WHITSETT>> It was a long time -- it was a long road. >> I think just letting people know -- TRUMP>> It's amazing we can't get people to officially -- you know, if somebody else endorsed that medication, it would be great. WHITSETT>> I think it would have a lot of endorsements if we get a lot done in Detroit. 130904 TRUMP>> Yeah, no -- if -- by the way, we have tremendous endorsements, but if it was somebody else other than President Trump that put it forward -- if some other person put it forward, they'd say, "Oh, let's go with it." [shrugs] You know, what do you have to lose? They've been taking it for 40 years for malaria which, by the way, it's an unbelievable. Malaria pill, unbelievable lupus pill. Unbelievable. In fact, the problem we had is people with Lupus -- WHITSETT>> And with Lyme disease. TRUMP>> huh? WHITSETT>> And with Lyme Disease. TRUMP>> And with -- I heard! With Lyme Disease, too. WHITSETT>> Yes. TRUMP>> No, it's another -- it's very powerful. 130936 But it's incredible 'cause there's so many stories like yours. It's not just -- I actually haven't heard a bad story if you want to know the truth. You know, normally, you'd hear some good ones, some bad ones. And you'd still give it a shot. I haven't heard a bad story. So it's, it's pretty amazing actually but that's okay. The word is out. You know, the people get it. These people don't get it. The media, but the people get it. Anyway, well that's a -- that's a great story. So, you're feeling good now?? >> Yeah. TRUMP>> You're gonna go conquer the world as a young, handsome guy. Huh? How old are you? 131007 >> 34. TRUMP>>That's great. You have a great life ahead of you. Congratulations. Great job. So? I've seen this man. >> My, my story is unlike a lot of these people here. My wife is with me. We both were in Colorado, came back to Arkansas, and on the following Monday we had our -- mostly her -- flu-like symptoms. I felt a little bad -- fatigued, but my symptoms were not bad. 131038 I was diagnosed because I took her to the doctor on Tuesday. And he -- the doctor had enough intuition to look at me and could tell them something -- TRUMP Was this your doctor? Your doctor you --? >> My local, primary care doctor. Or hers, and I was in the room with her. TRUMP To me, they look like a very wealthy couple. Do you agree? [laughter] >> Sure do. TRUMP I think they're loaded. Like they got their own doctor deal going, but that's [inaud]. That's good. They took their little ski trip, you know? That didn't work out too well. 131107 >> So, I think the -- the scary thing about me because I -- he tested me, and I was positive. She also was positive, but I didn't -- I never had fever. I never had respiratory issues. I did have the body aches, the chills. I felt, overall, bad but in general, I would have gotten up that Monday morning, if she had not been sick, even though I felt that -- I would have gone to work, I would have continued on my daily routine. 131137 And I'm fearful that maybe -- TRUMP What do you do? >> I work in sales for a pharmaceutical company. TRUMP Good, good. >> So, my fear is that people are not exhibiting symptoms but they -- TRUMP>> Your wife showed much worse -- had much harder time. >> Yeah. Yeah, She was bad. TRUMP How bad did you get? >> Well, not as bad as some of these, but definitely with that shortness of breath, which actually came later which is another thing that's interesting. TRUMP And that's scary, right? >> It is, and the first few days I just had a really bad headache and fever, low fever -- hundred point four, enough to make you feel bad. 131214 And then the chills and the aches, and then that lasted about five, six days and then I thought I was, I was telling people I'm fine. You know, it was just kind of like a bad flu. It was not a big deal. And -- you know, still in quarantine and everything. But it was the second week that, then the respiratory hit. TRUMP [inaud] back. So you almost felt you were better and then it came back? 131234 >> Oh yeah, I told people "I'm 100%." I mean, not released but felt -- felt strong enough. And then I was hit hard. I think it was like that next Wednesday. And then the shortness of breath, and I also got a pulse-ox which did make me feel better. But just -- It came in waves. I mean, I had three, probably, different waves and tested positive again after a month. And I am negative now, but -- you know, it's -- TRUMP How long did it take altogether? >> Over a month. We were -- we were -- TRUMP Over a month? >> We were positive on the -- the 12th. >> The first symptoms were March, the 18th. >> Yes, first symptoms were the ninth. And I didn't test negative until five days ago. TRUMP That's incredible. How are you now? >> I'm great. 131321 TRUMP>> Would you say 100%? >> I would say 85. TRUMP Stay away from me, please [laughter] Stay away. Keep her away. >> But the people that we were with in Colorado, every -- ever adult was positive with Covid-19. And when he returned, we visited friends -- they TRUMP How did they all do? How did they -- ? >> So far everybody is fine, no one has gone in to the hospital. And I think they are working with us, doing the things we're doing. We are donating blood when necessary. I've done convalescent plasma as well. 131356 TRUMP It seems to be very important. A lot of people, when they recover, they want to donate blood because, you know, your blood is very good for this. >> Absolutely. TRUMP According to every study we have, it's good. And the only question is: is it for one year or is it for a lifetime? It could be -- you know, the measles and things where it's for a lifetime, they say. So it's going to be interesting. We just don't know because it has been there long enough. It could be for a lifetime. Well, that's great. So you donated blood? >> I actually did convalescent plasma. TRUMP>> That's good. That's good. That's fantastic. >> And hopefully that will be very promising. 131430 TRUMP Yeah, congratulations. And you'll will be 100% soon, I imagine? >> Absolutely. I think -- I'm almost scared to say 100% because I think I said that before and then took a dive. So I'm -- I'm good. TRUMP>> Well, that's a great story. Thank you very much, both. That's great. Great that it worked out so well. Has anybody -- you are okay. You are as good as -- Do you feel you're as good as you were before this happened? >> Yes. 131456 TRUMP>> So that's good. And I think you do too? I think you are better. >> I think just had -- (laughs) TRUMP She's a hot political property now. >> Just, you do have, and I think just because of my underlying condition I do have the tiredness that comes in. The tiredness does kick up. And it would come out of nowhere and I just kind of hit -- I just kind of plummet. 131516 TRUMP>> I'm a little surprised they can't do something with your Lyme disease. Lyme disease is really -- >> That's because it's federal. I need you. TRUMP>> Yeah, no. 131524 >> I need you one that. TRUMP>> Because I could even have you see the doctor over here. Because the white house doctor, ask the White House doctor to come here. Seriously. Because Lyme disease can be very, very bad. >> I don't have a doctor any longer. TRUMP>> It can also -- Can -- Is it legal for me to allow her to use the white house doctor? You know what, if it's not, I will suffer the repercussions. I don't care. The Democrats might not like that, you know. 131546 >> Well, there are a lot of people in Michigan, and I do have 8 Lyme bills that I am putting forward -- TRUMP>> Good, good. >> -- because you cannot get treated in Michigan as a doctor sees fit for Lyme disease. TRUMP>> People don't know about Lyme disease. It's a very bad -- >> It's horrible. TRUMP>> -- very bad thing. >> So it is something I'm working on. 131600 TRUMP>> But it is something over a period of time you could treat generally. It also can kill you, Lyme disease -- >> Yes. TRUMP>> If you have a certain type blood, you get Lyme disease, it's over. >> I'm glad you know that. TRUMP>> It's literally over. I think Type O, Type O blood is not too good. If you have type O blood, stay out of the woods. Right? >> It's not even the woods, I got this at home at five years old. 131622 TRUMP>> You got it at home? >> In Detroit. TRUMP>> But usually it's from a deer tick, right? >> It is a deer tick. TRUMP>> So where did the deer tick come from? >> Well, the tick does not discriminate. It'll get on anything. TRUMP>> So it comes somehow, right? 131634 >> Yes. Squirrels, a bug, a bird, anything. It doesn't discriminate. TRUMP>> Well, it's like when I hit a ball into the rough in golf. You know what I say? "Enjoy yourself, I'm not going in there." [Laughter] That Lyme disease is pretty tough. >> It is. TRUMP> It's a bad one. I would like you to see her doctor before you leave, okay? >> Thank you. 131652 TRUMP>> Alright, I'm just gonna see, okay, because sometimes they do have a very powerful antibiotic. And you know, we will see if we can help you out. Okay? >> Thank you. TRUMP>> so, this man, as you can possibly tell by look, was a great athlete and a great football player. And I didn't know Mark, but he said Tom Brady says hello to you. Tom Brady is a friend of mine and a great guy. And just signed a nice, new, big contract, right? CAMPBELL>> Sure did. 131715 TRUMP>> With a team that is supposed to have a lot of potential, Tampa bay. I figured he picked a team -- I'm sure he only picked a team with a lot of potential. And it's gonna be -- how do you think Tom Brady is going to do? 131728 CAMPBELL>> I think he'll do great. Coach Arians is a guy that, I've worked with him before with the Cleveland browns. And he is going to love (?). They will work great together. 131739 TRUMP>> So Mark spent ten years in the NFL and I guess he played with Tom Brady at Michigan, right? MARK CAMPBELL>> Yup, sure did. TRUMP>> And did you notice -- Could see at Michigan, because he was picked a little bit late, right? Could you see the greatness and Tom Brady at Michigan, or not necessarily? CAMPBELL>> Absolutely not. [Laughter] TRUMP>> Is that true? CAMPBELL>> No, well, he was a great college player. I mean, look, they're saying he's the greatest of all time now. TRUMP>> That's hard to see. But you thought he was really a great player in college? 131806 CAMPBELL>> Of course. You know, as a quarterback, the most important thing about being the quarterback of the United States is leadership. That's the most important thing. He has always had that and work ethic. TRUMP>> So you had a guy, Drew Henson was first string, right? CAMPBELL>> Yeah. TRUMP>> See, I have a good memory. They are always testing my memory. Nobody has a better memory than Trump. Unless I don't want to remember certain things, which happens a lot, too. But you had a quarterback, Drew Henson, who was the starter. And he signed with the Yankees, because he wanted to play baseball. The problem is he couldn't hit the curveball. Right? Couldn't hit a major league curveball. But he was a great football player. But he got hurt, Tom Brady took over, and the team became much better. Right? 131845 CAMPBELL>> That correct. TRUMP>> That's been Tom Brady's thing, right? Both Drews. They had a Drew, right? They had a Drew in the Patriots. CAMPBELL>> Yeah, a crisis becomes opportunity. TRUMP>> Well, that's what happened. And that's exactly what happened. Well, let's say hello to Tom when you see him. CAMPBELL>> Absolutely. TRUMP>> He's a great guy. So you are a big, strong guy. Ten years in the NFL what position did you play? 131906 CAMPBELL>> I played tight end. TRUMP>> Tight end, okay, wow. You are a big guy for tight end. That's very CAMPBELL>> Well, I didn't say I was a fast tight end, I said I played tight end. TRUMP>> Were you a good catcher, you could hold it? CAMPBELL>> Yeah, I could catch the ball. TRUMP>> Were you a blocker, more or less, or a receiver? CAMPBELL>> I would tell you I probably was more of a blocker. 131923 TRUMP>> More of a blocker, that's great. And how big are you, what are you, 6'6"? CAMPBELL>> Yeah, just under 6'6". Right now I'm about 252. I had the coronavirus diet. But I played at about, you know, 260, 265. TRUMP>> You look fantastic. So tell us, you are a big, powerful guy, and this little bug knocked the hell out of you, right? CAMPBELL>> Yeah, well, Mr. President, if I may, from everybody at this table, I don't think they'll mind if I speak for them, we just want to applaud you and thank you both for all your efforts the past three weeks. It's been outstanding and we certainly appreciate it. 131957 TRUMP>> Well, I appreciate you being here, Mark. And the American people are watching this. And I'm finding it fascinating, from football players to state reps to all of the things that you people do. From a rich couple that wants to go skiing. You say what the hell (laughs) >> Of course. 132013 TRUMP>> You're going to sue the ski place, don't bother. But, no, you know, it's so fascinating to see all different people, different types, different jobs, different everything. All different parts of the country. So tell us what happened, mark. 132024 CAMPBELL>> So, you know, I'm 44, like you mentioned. An ex-athlete, still work out, you know, as much as I can. Not as hard as I used to, but still I work out. In shape. It, essentially, I was driving with my family in northern Michigan. I have three kids, Caden, Evan and Case, and a wife, Michelle. Stopped -- The only thing I can think of that I did out of the ordinary -- because none of them had -- thank god, never have symptoms. Still don't have symptoms. I quarantined from them, is I touched a gasoline pump handle. I mena, that's literally the only thing I can think of. I don't exactly know how, to be completely frank with you, how I got it. But -- 132102 TRUMP So that's the only thing? Cause you must go back and torture yourself. CAMPBELL>> Yeah, trying to figure it out. Lots of times. I mean, when it's all said and done, I've had roughly 30 days of quarantine. You know, that's 30 days without being able to kiss your kids and wife, and you know, do those things you normally do. TRUMP>> Why so long, by the way? The 30 days? CAMPBELL>> Because right at, basically at 12 days I went into the hospital. I spent another five days in the hospital. And when I got out of the hospital, I asked the physician, you know, how I -- "How long does a quarantine last?" And I think the safe and easy answer was 14 days. 132138 TRUMP>>Right. CAMPBELL>> Right? Now, I'll tell you, I went to (?) to the hospital in Rochester, Michigan. They were fantastic. The physicians, especially the nurses. God bless the nurses and everything they do. My sister, Diane, is one of them. They were fantastic. They were absolutely fantastic. AND for a place where -- you know, the one thing I think we've all kind of touched upon is, look, when you're in the hospital, when you're in that position, quite honestly, it's lonely. 132203 I don't know if that sounds weak or what, but you're by yourself. right/ ANd so when those nurses -- TRUMP>> (inuad.) .. come in and see you, and. CAMPBELL>> Not allowed. Not allowed. TRUMP>> Yeah. CAMPBELL>> Right? So when the nurses come in to check your vitals once every 3 or 4 hours, it's like, alright, I've got somebody to talk to. Right? So, especially when you start to feel better. TRUMP>. Very good guy, gregarious, I guess they'd call him. He wants people. He wants people. That's good. Go ahead. 132227 CAMPBELL>> Yeah, so, you know, I went through that process -- well, technically, I guess, if I back up, if I may, just for a bit. So I got it and thought, there's no way, okay. I should check my temperature, I don't feel right. But I thought to myself, there's no way. ANd in fact, I made the joke to my wife, Michelle, that I think I got Coronavirus, just totally kidding. I took my temperature, it was like 102.6, so I did like any guy ot at least my buddies would do, I said, Ill go watch a movie and see if it kind of backs off. 132255 Well, it didn't. so I went through the drive through, for screening and basically I was sent home and said, well, go quarantine for 14 days and see, you know, you'll get through this, chances are you probably have it. So the athlete in me, I will tell you this: the athlete in me is, that's the tough guy that just pushes, right? Grinding. ANd just getting things done. It kind of worked against me here, because truthfully if I could have recognized hey, stop trying to beat this thing when it's only getting worse, I probably would have went to the hospital sooner. 132329 I do not -- and I was very aware of not overwhelming hospitals. But I -- my point here, for bringing that up here is, I probably would have gotten out of the hospital much quicker. So instead of a 5 day stay, possibly a 2 day stay, especially if they would have prescribed you know, HTQ. TRUMP>> so you took the hydroxie? CAMPBELL>> I did. 132350 TRUMP>> And that made a big difference? CAMPBELL>. I would say within 12 hours, I already saw improvement. And when I went into the hospital, I was -- TRUMP>> You were pretty bad for a while. CAMPBELL>> Yeah, my pulse-ox was 86. You know, so I did not get put on a ventilator or something like that, certainly I was provided oxygen support, went on the Z-pac. 132410 TRUMP>> So you had the azithromycin -- CAMPBELL>> Correct. TRUMP>> And the zinc too? Zinc. CAMPBELL>> They added zinc as well, yeah. That's all through the IV drip, right? TRUMP>> Yeah, yeah. CAMPBELL>> So, you're just sitting there, hanging out. But that period of driving to you know, the hospital, and my wife's driving me, just seeing her concern-- I mean, that's part of it, right, you see how much they are concerned. You know, I would much rather me have it, than her have it or the kids. TRUMP>> So she never got it? 132435 CAMPBELL>> She never got it or the ids. TRUMP>> So she was with you, next to you, you were driving together. She never got it? CAMPBELL>> yeah, I wa sin the backseat, limo style. TRUMP>> Maybe she's tougher than you, Mark, you ever think of that? CAMPBELL>> There is no doubt that she is tougher. Right? There is no doubt about it. 132446 TRUMP>> That's pretty amazing. So the end result, as you think you are as good as new, right? CAMPBELL>> Yeah, I'll tell you, probably about 95%. The only thing is, my lung capacity isn't quite where it was. TRUMP>> Oh, really? CAMPBELL>> Yeah, so if I went for a jog, -- TRUMP>> So it was starting to work on your lungs? 132501 CAMPBELL>> Correct. TRUMP>> It was there? CAMPBELL>> Yes, absolutely. TRUMP>> Cause once it gets too far advanced, it tough. That's where the Zika(?) happens. CAMPBELL>> I had some pneumonia things showing up. Or as they say, what, is it, "brown glass appearance.' TRUMP>> well, that's where the ZPAC comes in, I think. You know, that's where the -- CAMPBELL>> Well at that point, I'm like, hey, prescribe whatever you got to prescribe, let me get out of here. 132521 TRUMP>> Why did you take hydroxy -- why did you do that? You saw it on television? CAMPBELL>> Yeah, I asked them about it, and I didn't know what it was called at the time, I just said the malaria drug. And they said okay, and they ran through some different thoughts about it. TRUMP>> And they had it? They had it? CAMPBELL>> They had it, they sure did. TRUMP>> Because we've stocked up the hospitals. We've got 29 million doses. CAMPBELL>> Yeah. TRUMP>> We stocked up a lot. I think almost all of the hospitals. That's great. So you saw it somewhere and you said you'll take anything right now. 132551 CAMPBELL>> Actually, my business partner, Troy Evans, he's the one who sent me a text and said "hey, ask if you can get that." TRUMP>> That's great. CAMPBELL>> Yeah, so between him and doctor Lance Benedect (?) -- So I run some small businesses, you know having those, and thanks to all of them, as well. So you know, 46 employees and all that, in order to do that -- in order for me to do that and to be away, you have to have good people. And thank goodness, I did. TRUMP>> Well, I want to thank you. That's great. That's really a great story. 132623 To see somebody like you not go by the invisible enemy. Right? That was tougher than any football player you ever played, right? CAMPELL>> That's actually correct. TRUMP>> And you've played against some tough ones, I know you did. CAMPBELL>> Yeah, there were some battles that weren't so good for me, but I always kept fighting. 132640 TRUMP>> You did a great job, great job. Anybody can be in the NFL for ten years, that's a big tribute. That's not easy, you know how hard that is, right? CAMPBELL>> Yeah it's ingrained. TRUMP>> Everybody, every year the new ones come along and you just stayed. Tten years is a long time in the NFL. That's a great tribute to you as a fighter. I want to thank everybody, this has been incredible. I thought this would be al five minute meeting, but I found each one of your stories is so interesting. Hopefully the media can play some of the stories, because they're just -- you know, we're going through something, the likes of which, I guess we've never seen, maybe you go back to 1917, 1918. 132717 That was -- that was the big plague. That was the big one. Anywhere from, Mike, I guess 75 to 100 million people died. It started here. It started in a certain location that I don't want to say because I love that location, so I'm not going to say it. It started in this country, and actually got brought to Europe, Europe is where it did its -- you know, thousands of people died here. Large numbers of people. But in Europe, tens of millions of people died. 132745 So we did them no favor when whoever it is went over to Europe, right? No favor. But not since then have we seen anything like this. We're winning our battle, we're winning our war, we're going to be doing -- announcing some very good things in the near future. The American public has been great, far greater than anybody would've thought. They had minimum numbers of 100,00 and I think we're going to beat that, 100,000 deaths, can you believe that, that was the minimum. And if we didn't practice what we practiced and if we did it a different way, because we had a maximum of 2.2 million people, who knows, even if that's right, but the way I look at it if you cut it in half, any credit in half again, five or 600,000. 132828 That's what we lost in the civil war, it's not acceptable. So we couldn't have done it, you know, to bull through. As we call it, to bull through it, just treat it like the flu, if we did that. So we made the right moves. Now we have to get our country open again, you all know that. But this was great.I thought -- I was talking to Mike yesterday, I said this will take 5 minutes and It's taken a lot longer than 5 minutes. That's because I found it so interesting. Really great. Mike, do you have something to say? 132854 PENCE>> I just want to thank all of these courageous Americans, thank you all for being willing to be here and sharing your story. It is a tribute to your resilience, it is a tribute to those health care workers, Mark, that you were talking about, that were there for you. And I just, the president and I wanted to have a chance to see all of you and let the country hear your story because while we rightly as a nation reflect on the more than 23,000 Americans who have succumbed to the coronavirus, as a tribute to our health care workers, we also do well to reflect on the more than 44,000 Americans were fully recovered and you're among them. 132938 So I wanted to thank you for sharing your story. It truly gives hope to families who are looking on who have a loved one who is struggling with coronavirus today. I just want to promise you that this president and this vice president, our entire white house coronavirus task force are going to continue to work every day, have more stories like yours across this nation, until we put the coronavirus in the past. And eventually, someday, have a vaccine that ends the once and for all. 133014 TRUMP>> I think so, and I think we're making a lot of progress on vaccines and we're making a lot of progress on maybe a cure, meaning a pill. Because I think, right now, I would like to have more than a vaccine, the vaccine takes a little longer because they have to test it for a period of a year or more. So it's -- it's something we're gonna come -- come with, and I really think we're making -- therapeutically we're making tremendous -- I think tremendous progress. Tremendous progress, and we're going to see whether or not, Mark, what you did, and whether or not what Karen did, whether or not that's a big part of the answer. 133049 But I think it's -- could be a big part of the answer, let's see. You know, as one alternative. But we're going to have numerous alternatives. Another one just came, you know, the gilead drug -- Remdisivir just came out. It didn't come out, it's a highly sophisticated -- very, very sophisticated treatment that seems to show good promise, also. Well, I want to thank you all. Jeff, could I ask you a question? You're a great reporter and a nice man. Look at you with that mask. That's good. You look very good. You actually look much better, I think. But what do I know? JEFF>> [inaud] 133123 Am I allowed to take -- to take Karen over to see the White House doctor? See if we can help her out a little bit with Lyme disease? Because Lyme Disease is a problem. There are some answers. What do you think? Are you guys going to report me for being a horrible human being for doing something illegal? That I did something illegal? JEFF>> [inaud] TRUMP>> And then impeach me? Then you'll impeach me because I tried to help her out with her Lyme disease? Do you think, maybe? Because I like to do that. What do you think? Should I do it? JEFF>> I can't advise on that sir, but I think -- TRUMP>> Good. See, they never like to take chances, but I do. 133154 So we'll take a chance on it, okay? Thank you very much. We're going to have a news conference a little bit later. We're going announce the groups that are going to be talking to us. We've made a lot of progress today. You see what's been happening with our -- our big bump in the road, and our big bump is a lot less than a lot of people thought it would be because of the American people, they've been incredible. So I just want to thank everybody. We will have a news conference in a little while. We're going to announce the people we'll be talking to. And I'm going to be making a decision pretty quickly. 133226 And It's being done in conjunction with governors. We have tremendous support from governors. And what I do is going to be done in conjunction with Governors. But we'll be doing that in a little while. Especially in terms of the people, we have a lot of great people in this country who know the different fields, and we have a lot -- a lot of skill is going to have to be used to get our country back to where it was, and we want to do it quickly -- whether it's restaurants, or whether it's airplane business, or whether it's a lot of other things. 133256 We have a lot of businesses, and we have the best people in every -- every profession, including medical, and including political. We have a political group too -- a lot of great politicians. So -- well, some are great, some aren't so great, but I put them on anyway. We want to have a sampling of everybody. So we have a lot of talent. I want to thank you all. You folks are fantastic, and just get better. Get that -- your job finished up. You're going to be hundred percent, you look great. 133325 And thank you very much, Karen. You and your husband are going to come with me, and I'm going to have you sent over to the white house doctor. They have really great doctors. They just wait for me. You know, they say they're there for me. But Mike, too, I think. Are they there for you too? 133341 And If anything should happen, you know, it's very interesting, I was with somebody, not so long ago and he fainted. He had a bad -- something happened to him. And it was at a certain location, and within like a minute and a half, there seven doctors standing over them, they had oxygen. I said I've never seen anything like it. So they are prepared and they are great and we're going to take you over, maybe we can find something for you, okay? We will knock out two of them. Thank you all very much, we will see you in a little while, thank you. ##

DONALD TRUMP RALLY IN LAS VEGAS NEVADA 22:44:19 This is really beautiful, fantastic. What a crowd. What a crowd. Well, I want to thank everybody. You know, we have a big night tomorrow night. Has anybody, like, thinking about it? It's going be good. We've had so many good things happen over the last five-month period, it's been actually amazing. The people of this country are absolutely incredible people and I am honored to be with you tonight. It's like this all over the place. We're going to take our country back, folks. We're going to take it back. We're taking our country back. 22:45:06 We can't put up with it any longer. You see what happens. The Iran deal, incompetent. Annoy I hear Bergdahl, no jail time for Bergdahl. No jail time. We have a man there who left. He's a traitor. He left. Five people killed looking for him. And what happens? Like, for years, he's been under the same thing and I hear there's not going to be jail time. It's incredible. You know, 350 years ago, what would have happened? Boom. 25 years ago, probably the same thing, but it would have taken longer. 10 years ago, jail time. 22:45:56 Five years ago, a couple of years. Now he's going to get nothing. He's going to get nothing. Well, I'll tell you what, I'm just thinking of it now for the first time, if I get in, we will review his case, I promise you. And you know what? Statute of limitations will be reviewing Hillary Clinton's case, too. I can tell you. We will review that. You know, before I go too far, I've made some great friends and, you know, I announced and I talked about illegal immigration. There was a huge firestorm, everyone went crazy, oh, illegal immigration, it wasn't even something that people were going to talk about. And then all of a sudden they started saying, you know, maybe trump is right. But I went through two weeks, it was unbelievable. I mean, it was really incredible. I didn't mind it. It's like, quote, life, because I'm telling the truth. I don't mind when you're saying something that's correct and this country needs to get away from political correctness. It's killing us. It's killing us. It is absolutely killing us. And I announced all about -- we talked about what's happening at the border, we talked about the illegals pouring in. And all of a sudden people started seeing lots of crime and and they started really seeing it lose focus because it was like a magnifying glass. We had beautiful Kate in San Francisco who was killed and shot five times and then we had so many others. We had the woman a few weeks ago in California raped, sodomized, a 6/6-year-old Vern raped, sodomized and killed by an illegal immigrant. We have much, much crime, so much all over the place. And a friend of mine, I see him backstage with a group from 10:48:13 PM remembrance families. These are people whose families have been devastated by people who weren't supposed to be in our country. People that came here, were forced here by countries that are smarter and I want to just bring the friends of mine and in particular somebody I've really gotten to know well and he's a special man. Could the remembered families come up? And this is jail. Jamil, sure, come on up and get the families up. Come on up. Come on up. I saw him back said stage and I said, come on up. We're going to say a few words. These are incredible people. What they've gone through is unimaginable, and Jamil, I've known now for quite a while and his son was this unbelievable young man and I'll just ask you to saw a few words. Tell us exactly what happened. [Jamil speaks] These are amazing people. They're amazing families. What they're going through, you cannot imagine. For no reason whatsoever, just incompetent Pete people, they allow these people to come into our country. It's a disgrace. It's a disgrace. Okay. 10:54:00 PM So today we had a lot of news and it was all good. It never gets reported properly by these people back here. Look at all those press. You know, I've learned two things. More than anything else, how smart the people are and how bad and dishonest the press is because it is really dishonest. It is really, really dishonest. So we had a lot of polls coming out today. And they were really good. That's right. My man. That's right. So we had a monmouth poll, highly respected. Trump, 41. 10:55:03 PM Cruz, 14. And everyone else much lower. So I heard today when they announced the poll, 41-14. And I like Cruz. Good guy. But I heard -- here is how they announced. Cruz surging. So when I heard -- Cruz surging. So I said, oh, I don't know, that sounds bad to me. Coming up, Cruz surging. Then they say the monmouth poll was just done, Cruz is surging. Trump 41, Cruz 14 been I said, wait a minute, what's going on? They are the most most dishonest people. And then, you know about CNN. CNN came out recently, 36-16. Poll, highly respected, 42-162012 to 11. So then, today, it was very 10:56:04 PM interesting because I had one poll in Iowa which I had never expected to get. I can't stand the paper. It's a horrible paper. "Des Moines register" is terrible. Of course I would never say they do this, but they have a very small sample. They take about ten votes and put them in their pocket, you understand that. Soda money register was 21-31. All of a sudden, it was like the biggest story I've ever seen. That was just Iowa. Don't worry about it. I think we're doing great in Iowa, and I expect to win in Iowa. We think we're going to do great in Iowa. I get by far the biggest crowds. So then we had a CNN poll. So CNN today was talking about a poll that wasn't theirs. And I kept saying, why don't they talk about a poll that's theirs? 22:56:40 They just did this poll. CNN and Iowa, trump 33, Cruz 20 and then everyone else much lower. So we sent a couple of emails, started to tweet a little bit. The Twitter is great when you have between 5 and 10 and 13 -- we have so many people. We have millions. So we started to tweet. We said why is CNN not playing their poll? Their poll. So if anybody has an idea, please let you know before the evening ends. Then we had a Fox News poll, which was a pretty good poll. It was pretty much tied. And then we have Quinnipiac, 28, trump 27, in other words, we won. They say it was tie. Okay. You know the bottom line? I think we're going to win Iowa. I think we're going to win new Hampshire big. 22:57:37 I think that, frankly -- if we win Iowa we run the table. I think frankly if we win New Hampshire, which we're way, way up and South Carolina has been unbelievable and by the way in Nevada, we're winning BIG! (applause) We're winning in Florida, we're winning everywhere, so I just wanna let you know this is not going to be a waste of anyone's time. This is going to be something special. Do I hear some noise over there, yes I do. [protestor] Trump: Bye, bye (loud audience applause) 22:58:32 Look at all those cameras turned over there. They only turn when there's a protester. They never. they are the worst. They only turn when there's a protester. They never ever turn unless there's a protester. Get em out of here please. Thank you (applause, Trump chants) What is our country coming to. It's unbelievable. You know the truth though. I'll be honest, we should have been doing that for the last seven years. I give them credit. I dont know why we don't. We have a silent majority, and it's actually a noisy majority, but we should have been doing that for the last seven years because what's happening to our country is a disgrace. 22:59:32 Alright thank you. We love you Trump! I love you too. That's why I'm doing this. I had such an easy life. Give me a break. WE're gonna make America great again, we're gonna make America great. With me there's no super pacs, no phony money all over the place. I'm funding my campaign. You gotta see this. These people, 105 million dollar super pac, I guarantee you whoever it is you know who it is but there are many of them they have all this money in superpacs they totally control the candidate. if they want something they get something and if it's not your benefit they couldn't care less. Believe me. And that's what 's sick about the system. Frankly, six months ago I was on the other side. I was like the fair-haired boy. I gave 350,000 to the Republican governors association. I was on the other side. I was like, establishment. 11:01:05 PM Can you believe it? Now I'm a politician. I hate the term. I'm a politician. I'll never be a politician. I don't want to be. Don't want to be a politician. They had one case where a super pac, for a nice guys, I'm not going to mention his name, but a super pac raised $6 million. By the time everybody took their slice and their cut, they were left with $140,000 for the campaign. Think of it. Now, that's a pretty good business, you guys ought to try it sometime. Pretty good. And you wonder how come they're losing money, how come they're out of money? They leave the campaign. Why? Because you have to see the money that's being made. You have to see the money that's being made by people raising money. It's insane. It's better than being a real estate broker, I want to tell you that, folks. You can do this and you can retire after one campaign. It is a disgrace what's happening with money. 11:02:06 PM It is a disgrace what's happening with influence. And we're going to end it, folks. We're going to end it. We're going to end it. So when I started the KWEN quest, remember the famous escalator ride, right? Coming down. We're waving. But I made a decision. I said, look, you know, it takes guts to run for president. It really does. I never did this stuff before and it takes guts. But I know what can happen. And by the way, not just because I'm doing well, more importantly, because I've gotten to know so many people. We have such incredible people in this country, it's amazing. It's amazing. And I said to my wife, I said, you know, look at that. It was -- in trump tower in new York, you have never seen -- look at all the press back there now. But you have never seen so many reporters and cameras and you couldn't breathe in the building. And I said, you know what? 11:03:06 PM We've got to do it. Just too many mistakes. Let's do it. And I took a deep breath at the top of that escalator. In fact, if you see it he -- they have tapes, don't want to show that. Too nice. They only want to show bad stuff. But you know what? I took a deep breath. I said let's go. And we went down and I talked about illegal immigration and I brought out a lot of things that would have never been discussed and we're going to have a border. We're going to build a wall and Mexico is going to pay for the wall. They're going to pay for the wall. Now, a lot of the people that are running against me, they say, oh, well, Mexico will never do that. Why would they do that? Because they're politicians. They have no idea. They don't know business. They don't know business. Look, Mexico -- I love Mexico, just to you know. I he love the Mexican people. I have thousands that have worked for me over to years. They're fantastic people. But their leaders, right? 11:04:08 PM Do we love Mexico? We love Mexico. I agree. But their leaders are too smart for our leaders because our leaders, not so -- not so good, folks, okay? They're too smart, they're too sharp, they're too cunning. What's happening at the borders is horrible, but what's happening with trade -- we have four building plants in Mexico. We have nabisco moving from Chicago. Their big factory into Mexico. They'll make oreos. Think of it. In more oreo for us, right? Somebody served me oreos the other day, first time in my life. I said I'm not eating oreos any more. But they left Chicago and they're going to move a big plant into Mexico. Tennessee, a great state. They thought they had it made with this car company. All of a sudden at the last moment, the car company announced they're going to Mexico. It's out of control. It's out of control. 11:05:09 PM So Mexico is beating us at the border. They're beating us at trade. Now, here is the story. Mexico is making -- we have a trade imbalance. We ever an imbalance with Mexico of over $40 billion a year. And that doesn't include drugs. The drugs, you can probably -- you can probably double it. Who the hell knows. That's free of drugs. But the drugs P pour across. We have no wall and when we do have a wall, it's a little toy built by barren, barren strump. It's a toy. Did you ever see the picture, a pretty famous picture where they have the wall and they built a ramp and they drive trucks loaded one drugs, they drive it right over the ramp. That's not a trump wall, folks. This is a big building. You see that ceiling? That ceiling is much lower than my wall. Believe me, this is -- we have a real wall. We have a real wall. 11:06:10 PM And I know how to build it. And I know how to get them to pay for it. It's very simple. Folks, you're killing us. You're making too much money. Now, the wall is going to cost $9 billion, okay? A lot of money. The great wall of China is 13,000 miles long. That was built 2,000 years ago, right? We say we can't build a wall. A lot of the people that are opposed to the wall now wanted to build it 13, 14, 15 years ago. And you know one of the reasons they couldn't build it? They couldn't get an improved environmental income -- they couldn't get environmental impact statements approved. They couldn't get them. There was a snake in the way, there was a turtle in the way, there was a toad in the way. There was a snail in the way. No, no, they couldn't get it. Just like when I said knock out the oil, right? Knock out -- I've been saying that. Knock out the oil. One of the reasons they didn't want to knock out the oil, take it away from ISIS, take away their money, a big part of it, although they get a lot of money 11:07:12 PM from a lot of other big things like banking. But one of the reasons they didn't want to knock out the oil, they didn't want to hurt the environment. This is serious. They didn't want the fumes going into the atmosphere. And then we're supposed to win -- what do you think general Patton would say? I mean, he was a brutal guy that liked one word. Was called winning. So what do you think general George Patton would have said if the president said, listen, don't hurt anybody. Nice and easy. We don't want to put any pollutant in the air. Don't forget. He'd say, you're fired. That's right. Now, can you imagine? Now, we have -- you know, we have the general Patton's and we have general Macarthur. We have great generals. Potentially, in our midst. I mean, they go to Annapolis, they go to west point, they go to air force academy. These are great people. We have great people. But probably the best ones are 11:08:12 PM kept out -- we lost a good general two years ago because he was foul mouthed. He spoke with bad language. He was great. You know who I'm talking about. He's a good general. Everybody loved him. His men loved him. Everybody loved him and look at what happens to him. Then we lost another one, Petraeus, yet helly did 20 times more and she's fine, right? She's just fine. So we're going to find the right people. And I will tell you this. For five months, I did nothing but speak about how China is ripping us off, about how Japan is ripping us off. With the cars. Thousands and thousands of cars pouring in. I was in Los Angeles. These boats are massive. The ships, they're massive. Cars pouring in. It looks like the Long Island expressway, the carries coming off the -- we give them practically nothing. You look at the imbalance. 11:09:12 PM Happens to be about $70 billion a year. You say what's happening? We have all the power. We have all the strength. Mexico is going to become the car capital of the world soon the way they're doing. They're taking our business. In addition, they kill us -- that's going to end. It's all going to end. Believe me. And I'll tell you, I'll tell you something, it's going to end and they're going to like us better than they like us now. They don't have any respect for us. China, it's going to end and yet they're building this incredible fortress in the middle of the -- I mean, can you believe it? We could never do that because it wouldn't pass environmental standards. Can you believe this? We are so lost. We are so lost as a country. Today win read -- I mean, maybe it's not true, but I think it's a legitimate publication. These guys, I don't consider too many of them very good, but it 11:10:13 PM was amazing. Look at that camera. Those cameras never moved. They won't show this crowd of people. But -- it's true. It's true. They never move. Don't worry, they won't move. But did you see when you said that protester over there, boom, those cameras they were bent like a Brits pretzel moving trying to find database they are the worst. They are the worst. So when I -- thank you. I -- that's very nice. You're the best, also. You know what? We're all the best. Together we're going to be the best. We're going to be the best. Look. We're going to make our military so strong, so powerful, so incredible, we are never going to have to use it. It's going to be brought back up to date. It's in such bad shape. A general left two months ago. A very nice guy. He said we're the most unprepared -- I actually think he said from the beginning, but 11:11:14 PM let's not because there's so many cameras on there the he said for many, many decades. We're the most unprepared that he's ever seen us or heard about it. Can you imagine? And this is a time when we have to be the most prepared. So we're going to -- number one, we're going to make our military so strong, so powerful, so great, we're going to take care of our veterans. Our veterans are being decimated. Decimated. [ Cheers and applause] >> Thank you.. [ ]. >> Thank you. [ ]. >> Thank you.[ ]. >> Thank you.[ ]. >> Thank you. ]. >> Thank you.]. >> Thank you.]. >> Thank you. ]. >> Thank you. >> You know, somebody wrote recently and they said the one problem he has, he speaks right through the applause. 11:12:15 PM And you know why I'm doing that? Because I'm so excited. I love what we're going to do together. I can't wait. No, it's true. No, no, I love what we're going to do together. We have so many great people, so many smart people. They get it. How the hell do I get 41% and 42% against -- this is against 15 people, by the way. This isn't against two people. By the way, you know, 42% and the big one, monmouth came out at 41%. Let me tell you, if that were against three people, I'd be happy because that would mean I won pretty much, right? But this is 15 people we have that. A couple of left. A lot are going to start leaving, which is nice. Would be nice to have some more time to talk, so many people. There's so many people. And many of them don't have a chance. You say what are you doing? Just go home and relax. Go home and relax. So -- and by the way, some 11:13:16 PM really good people. I have to tell you, on the stage, you really have some great people. I've gotten friendly with some of them and they really are outstanding. I won't tell you the names of the ones I think are good because I want you to not even think about it. But you have some people that are excellent. Some really good people. This guy -- okay. This guy screams out, low energy, Mr. Trump, they're low energy. No. Well, a couple of them are low nrg. By the way, Hillary is low energy, okay? In all fairness. I've said about Hillary, she doesn't have the strength and she doesn't have the stamina to be president. She doesn't. And the last person she wants to run against -- you know, the fox poll had me winning. 11:14:18 PM They never report it. They hardly report it at fox. But the fox poll has me beating Hillary pretty easily. But, you know, it's interesting. Do you ever notice? She'll go out. Everything is so scripted, even her words. Donald Trump has a harsh tone. And I'm saying to myself, you turn on the in us and you see they're cutting people's heads off in Syria because they're Christians and frankly any other thing they want. They're drowning people in steel cages and she's saying, Donald Trump has a harsh tone. Well, I don't like his temperament. Oh, that's fine. Look, we've got to get smart. We're not going to have a country left. But did you ever notice with Hillary, it's sort of an amazing thing. She puts on her pant suit in the morning. She gets up -- no, nothing wrong with that. 23:15:03 Nothing wrong. There is nothing -- you like my hair. I like that guy. He said I love your hair, trump. It's mine. It's the nicest thing he could have told me. It's actually mine. It's sort of interesting, it's mine. People now all believe it. I mean, through this, it would be awful tough to get away with phony hair, right? But, you know, so Hillary, she gets up and she goes and does a meeting and does a meeting and she's going like three or four people. First of all, she can't draw crowds like this. She'll get 200 or 300 people. I won't mention names, but a couple of the candidates last night, one had 51 people, they counted it. One had 153. We have, what, 4,000 or 5,000 people here. It's packed. 23:16:08 And you know I have some beautiful stuff to do in Las Vegas so when you come out, and we can't even get you seats because there's too many people. SOrry about that folks. There's too many. But. Think of Hillary, because we do need strong, we need stamina, and smart. I've known a lot of people over the years. They're smart but they're stupid. That's no good, but Hillary goes out and does an event and then you don't see her, five or six days go by. then she does another scripted event and she'll take questions from like three people."Uhh, we would like to ask you, don't you like your family." You know every question is scripted, where she sits around the little table and they vet all the people that go in with here. It's ridiculous. 23:17:06 And then she'll get up and she'll read a teleprompter and she'll go "ladies and gentleman thank you.." Could you imagine how easy that would be. I have two pieces of glass, I read for half hour. Instead I speak for an hour and a half, no notes, no nothing. 23:17:31 The good thing about doing it this way. You need a great memory, which I do have, but the good thing is we can talk about current events. For instance we can talk about something that happened 14 minutes. If you have a speech writer, they charge these people a fortune. They write Jeb Bush's speeches. very inspiring. But think of it.. if something happens, they can't talk about it because they have to get their writer to do it and put it in front of them so they could read it. SO today I just read a story on migration. We got enough problems in this country and I've been saying.. I have a big heart, I wanna help, but we gotta get the Gulf states, they have so much money. Saudi Arabia is making a billion dollars a day. 23:18:36 SO much money.. we need to do a safe zone in Syria and how Merkel could have done what she's done to Germany which is incredible. it's a mess witht the crimes and the problems, we should have had a safe zone in Syria and you do the tens and the food and basically they'd rather stay there in my opinion and go back when this is all straightened out. But I've been saying. about the Trojan horse, and I've been saying well I watch these mess of lines of people and there are so many strong young men. I say where are the women and children. They're all men it looks like an army, and the first thing you say is why aren't they back there fighting for their country, 23:19:34 It's true.. but then you say where all the women and children. I am trying to keep an open mind but I am looking at these lines and there's a lot of people that look very young, strong, and they happen to be men. A report came out today, did anyone see the cell phone report, where they have cell phones with the ISIS flags on them. Thousands. Let me change that because when I say thousands of people are dancing in the street and then I see reports all over the place. who knows. But they found a lot, and did I win my point on that one 23:20:30 Let me tell you people they were dancing in the streets and that's disgusting and on rooftops and elsewhere all over the world, so now the migration comes and they find cell phones on many people and on them .. [protester escorted out] 23:21:11 Ya know, I just wanna say. I staged that. I actually put that person there because that was the only way I was gonna get the cameras turned to see how many people are here [applause] They turn so fast, so they found many with the flag with beheadings, with pictures on them. First I say isn't that terrible, and then I say how come people in a huge migration line, how come they have cell phones. What is going on. 23:21:51 Why do the have cell phones. You wouldn't think they are number one priorities. We're not gonna take them into our country and if we do, they're going back if I win. They're going back, they have to. (applause) . We are a country that soon will owe 21 trillion dollars. it's 19 right now. We just signed a totally ridiculous budget that was done in 24 hours. it's unbelievable and the democrats we get that, we know where they're coming from, but the Republicans have let us down, and you can say what you want, when they sign budgets like that, they were supposed to start right after the last budget and knock the hell out of everything, but nobody does it and I tell the story. They get in, they fight, we're gonna do all these things.. and then they get to Washington and they say darling. look at the ceilings, look how beautiful 23:23:19 And then they say how do you vote.. I vote anyway you tell me to vote. They totally change their tune.. and I promise you this, I swear to you, President Trump will never change his tune. Nobody has me (applause) . So, {we love you trump chants].. I love you too. 23:24:02 So when I started we were talking about all these things, and we will repeal Obamacare, it's dying anyway. In 17 it's dead, it's all the wrong people joining the wrong. it's a mess.. we're losing our doctors. The insurance companies are making a fortune, they're taking care of Obama, we're gonna get rid of the artificial borders, we're gonna have real bidding. We're gonna have great insurance, and it's gonna be good. Your premiums are going up right now 25-35-45 and 55 percent. Your deductibles are through the roof, you're never even gonna get to use them unless you're dead, and it's a disgrace that it was ever approved in the first place. 23:25:05 So when I began I talked about the veterans, building the military, and the border, and then what happened in Paris. it was horrible. These people are animals, and I tell the press who was saying the mastermind behind the attack.I call him the guy with dirty hat. They build him up so big, and then they wonder why the internet is taking our youth, they're going out and fighting for ISIS. They build these people up like their robin hood, they use the word mastermind, and every speech I say don't call him that and now they're not. Which is great. They say he's brilliant. What they dropped a few people into the rooms in France and they start shooting everybody and by the way the guy that was talking about gun control over there just so you understand had. You talk about gun control, Paris has the toughest gun control in the entire world. France has the toughest gun control in the entire world 23:26:20 If a few of those people that are now dead had guns strapped to their ankles or to their waists you wouldn't have the problem (applause) . If I were there and I am licensed to carry, if we had some firepower in the opposite direction, those people would have been gone, but they talked about this guy.. the guy is a stupid person. He was a man with a very low IQ, I can guarantee that and that's what they should say. They lost 130 people and many more are going to die based on the fact that I hear they are so badly wounded and hurt and so that was a big thing, and then California, you have these two people, and she should have never been allowed to come into the country 23:27:29 The system broke down. She came in on a fiancée visa. So romantic, isn't that wonderful. Nobody ever even heard of a fiancée visa. She was probably radicalized before, who knows. And tonight I heard the bodies are there, and they're having a hard time because they wanna send his or her body back to where they came from. Can you believe it. They wanna send the body back on an airplane. How crazy and it's' very expensive. I won't say where she came from. Why are we doing this. Who would even think of this, the two bodies are sitting there, they wanna get her body back. These people we have as leaders don't know what they're doing. 23:28:50 So. then we have California where these two terrible people walk in and supposedly they were friends with a lot of the people they killed. They walk in and they start shooting and they killed 14 and others are going to die, and they should have never been in the country and we have to get smart, we have to get sharp, and did you hear about the woman who wouldn't say anything because she didn't wanna racially profile them? They thought it was a little strange, there were bombs all over the floor. they thought things were going on that was unusual but they didn't wanna call the police because they didn't want to racially profile them. That sounds to me like a lawyer giving them. say racially profiling. What's going on with us. 23:30:00 And you have thousands of people out there that are looking to do the same damage. We have to get smart, tough, we have to be vigilant, we have no choice, and every once in a while you have a protester screaming and I say to myself, I wonder if I took that person and sat down for a half hour. We're all looking for the same thing whether you're democrat, conservative, liberal republican. but we all want what is overall good for the country. We want to get rid of our debt, we don't want to have China rip us off which they are doing bigly.. I love China, they pay me millions and tens of millions for apartments, who's nicer than China, I have the largest banker in the world, is a tenant in one of my buildings. 23:30:50 But they're too smart for our leaders. They devalued their currency, the biggest devaluation they have had in 20 years. They never thought they would be able to do it but because we have so many other problems they went and did it. they're killing us. Japan has done a great devaluation and my friend is an excavator, he always buying caterpillar tractors. because they so cut their currency that he went and bought Kamacho tractors. He said I owe it to my company and wife and family. i owe it to myself. You couldn't compete with the deal. I said which is better, he said I owed it to my family and my company. I said you're right. DO what you have to do. 23:31:56 But he was sad. You look at what's happening and it's happening all over. I don't know if you know what corporate aversion. Companies that used to leave from Florida to New York, or Nevada from someplace because taxes were better, but they moved. now they're moving from New York and here outside of the United States and we have 2 and a half trillion at a minimum that they can't get their money back. Every single politician I know on both sides wanna let them bring their money back. they can't make a deal. because it's gridlock in Washington. Here's a case where everybody thinks it's a good idea for all that money to come pouring back into the country. These companies are leaving to get their money and they're leaving for other reasons, including taxes. 23:32:51 Under my plan we take care of the middle class, we cut it way down. We simplify we cut and we're gonna take care of the companies, and corporations, and small businesses. Right now we're the highest tax nation in the world. As soon as my plan goes into effect, we're at the lower end of it. Not quite the lowest, and the plan has gotten great credit. It's simplification, major reduction for middle class, and reduction for business but including small business because our company was built with small business and you're gonna see great things happen and in so many different ways . for example, what a disaster common core is for education. We have in terms of students, we have the highest per pupil, we spend more money by far than anybody else and yet we are ranked 28 in the world. We have 3rd world countries that are better than us in education.. and then you'll have Jeb Bush and others saying we love common core. They want your children to be educated by some bureaucrat in Washington. who understands this. 23:34:19 SO we're gonna take care of the second amendment and then common core. that's gonna be gone. So we have a situation in this country.. radical extremists, something is happening, radical Islamic extremists we have a lot of them her we have to be careful. and i have so many great relationships with Muslim people. Its hurting them. They want it. But you have a president who won't even issue the term radical Islamic terrorist he won't even say it he won't use the term and no one understands why and Hillary Clinton won't use it. If you have Hillary Clinton you have 4 more years of this stuff and you're never gonna solve the problem. You're never gonna solve the problem. And we will get it solved we will work with everyone and we will get it solved because everyone wants it to be solved except the bad ones. and the bad ones were gonna get them. 23:36:18 SO what happened when the polls came out they said who's best on security? Trump Who's best on the border? Trump. They go who's best on the economy trump by a mile but because I've been so strong on the border we want them to come i but they have to come in legally. as an overthrow people said the border its trump by a lot i don't mean a little i mean many times. and what happens because of the border and the fact of hey look if we don't have a border we don't have a country we don't have it. so all of a sudden the polls are coming out who is the best on terrorism? trump. The only thing i' don't do as well on is some people don't like me as much as others. Who cares? I think I'm a nice person honestly I think I'm a nice person i think if they got to know me they'd like me. (Cheers: we love you Trump). You know, a woman, a really nice woman at one of the rallies because everywhere I go we have crowds like this massive crowds we go to Iowa I mean the biggest crowds thousands bigger than anyone else and that includes Bernie Sanders Hillary I don't even put she is beating him but doesn't get crowds. 23:38:12 I meet at one of the rallies I meet this wonderful woman She said I'm voting for you i love you you're so good but are you nice enough to be president? I said to her and I meant it I said first of all I'm really a nice person i love helping people that's why I'm doing this but ill be honest with you this time niceness isn't going to matter. They want competence they want smarts they want toughness they want somebody that's not going to make a deal where we give Iran 150 billion dollars (shouts: we want trump 23:39:08 People are tired of it, I'll be honest. We're fed up . We're really fed up. And you know its the story its the song we play are we gonan just continue to take it? We're not gonna take it anymore. And I think what's going to happen it was reported on one of the big newspapers if Donald Trump gets the nomination and runs against HRC it will be the biggest election of all time in this country and I think that's true, which is a good thing because a lot of people don't vote. Look I backed McCain he let us down although honestly that was a tough thing because the economy was cratering.. we backed McCain and it didn't work out. We backed Mitt Romney he should have won he lost. I don't know what happened to him that final month he lost something happen. So I backed McCain didnt win i backed Romney he didn't win. I said this time I'm doing it myself. I'm doing it myself. 23:40:21 But it was reported it will be HUGE (crowd: yuuuuge) he goes it will be huge it will be but it will be the largest in terms of voter turnout the largest electionw we've ever had in the country i believe it. And they said in this article about a week ago Trump will get that additional vote. The people coming out many haven't voted before some aren't in parties some didn't care to vote but we have brought out a spirit thats unbelievable that's why someone last night will have a crowd of 150 and we have thousands of people. and a lot of people are gonna go hopefully a lot of the people that should have voted for Romney voted he would have won the election for some reason he didn't inspire them and that's ok he just didn't work out. He tried, he tried it didn't work out. They weren't inspired to go out and vote. And when you have your primary in 7 or 8 weeks go out and vote please. (Cheers) 23:41:39 You know when we did the debates, so we did the debates the first debate on Fox normally not a lot of people watch it historically TV networks don't even want to put them on they put them on for licensing reasons put them on put them on nobody watches them. 24 million people, the largest in cable history (cheers). Then they do CNN a little whle later. Think of this in the history of CNN 23 million people its the largest audience they've ever had. I mean we have ot be honest we don't have to be politically correct right? Is it ok? Every Hollywood mag reported it so it has to be true..it was totally because of me. It's true. And the other candidates should be thankful because I am giving them a chance to make total fools of themselves in front of millions of people. But honestly I'm doing a good job for the Republican party people are able to get their votes out and people may like this one or that one that's ok with me. so they had 23 million 24 million i'll be honest i think tomorrow night its gonna be big. And they're all coming after me. Who's going to attack Trump first? Will it be this one? You know he's taken down everyone so far. So far everyone that's attacked me has gone right down the tube so that's good. 23:43:38 No but they're all saying - my son is here, Eric Trump, where's Eric? (Cheers). This is Eric he's a great boy. Eric: I am so proud of this man. look at this crowd. We've had amazing rallies. And I looked him in the eye a couple weeks ago and I said you know what you are going to win this thing. And he is going to win. And we are going to win. And we are going to make this country great. 23:44:15 Good boy. So we're watching television and all these announcers are saying who's gonna take on Trump tonight and i would say who cares but I would say this will not be like an evening in paradise for me will you agree? Look you have a lot of smart guys they have their view we have our view and for the most part think of it it's common sense/ I mean really there's so little common sense that our country has and our leaders have and even the candidates they don't have any common sense. now a lot of them its because they've gotten so much money from so many different people. They're controlled like puppets. They're controlled like puppets folks believe me I'm not controlled by anybody. I'm actually controlled by you. I built a great business an amazing business some of the most amazing assets in the world I have a beautiful building right down the road and by the way they all said he's not gonna run and I ran and then they said oh he's not gonna sign form A basically a form where you sign your life away. And I signed form A. Then they said well he'll never sign financials they'll never put them in and if he does he'll wait a year (Protesters? Soung slightly inaud..unclear...) 23:46:06 You know when these 4 guys started jumping up and down I said they look like rough protesters. But they were on my side. I want those guys on my side. SO anyway thanks fellas. So what happen is I filed and the press ugh. And then I filed and I didn't ask for extensions I had almost 100 pages and I didn't ask for extensions. Some people with 1 page asked for extensions can you believe it? But I wanted to get it in so I got it in early. Then they checked they said wow they figured maybe I'd never run, maybe I'm not as rich as I said. Well it turns out I'm much richer, much stronger very little debt...and here's the thing I am not saying it in a braggadocios way I am saying that because that is the kind of thinking we now need in the White House, we're going down the tubes. 23:47:01 SO I ran I'm really happy I ran, I think amazing things are going to happen, we have a lot of expressions in this country, we talk about the American dream and IS ay and it's sad the American dream is dead but we're gonna make it bigger and better and stronger before. And we are going to make America great again and I love you all. We're going to do it. Thank you everybody.

SENATE FLOOR DEBATE: The Senate will convene and proceed to consideration of the Conference Report to accompany H.R.4297, the Tax Relief Extension Reconciliation Act. 12:00:06.8 provisions that were in the earlier bill should stay in there, personally, but we're going to work through that. but i just want to go over some questions here and some details of what's in the bill. i just wonder, do the democrats oppose the centerpiece of the bill, which is a $34 billion 12:00:23.2 provision to ensure that the alternative minimum tax doesn't hit more than 15 million middle-income families this year? i thought this was something that they felt passionately about. you know, we've got to take action to stop the unintended 12:00:39.1 consequences of the alternative minimum tax, a.m.t. -- $34 billion. this is only a $70 billion bill, well over half of it -- or about half of it would go clearly to these middle-income people. do they really oppose exempting 12:00:54.3 americans with fwhk up to $62-- --with income up to $62,500 from the onerous a.m.t.? do they oppose quadrupling small business expensing, which allow small businesses to right off up to $100,000 a year in the cost 12:01:11.3 of new equipment? there's two provisions right there that combine to make up over half of the bill. they clearly help middle-income 12:01:20.8 taxpayers, avoid the a.m.t., and to help small businesses which really keep creating the jobs and moving the economy. it prevents a tax increase for small businesses of over $7 billion from being foisted on this very important part of our 12:01:35.8 economy. so what do they oppose? do they oppose the progrowth policy of tax and capital gains-- --of taxing capital gains and dividends at 15% or a -- get this now -- or 5% for individuals? 12:01:57.5 if we don't stop these tax increases, you're going to see a significant increase for individuals in the 10% and 15% tax brackets. and contrary to the democratic man trashings these tax cuts 12:02:09.5 affect individuals at every income level. nobody accuses my state, devastated by hurricane katrina, of being a wealthy state. we're trying to join the union, move up in our economic status, and yet in my home state, over 150,000 taxpayers will see a tax 12:02:25.9 increase if we don't extend the 15% tax rate on dividends, nearly 120,000 taxpayers will face a tax increase if we don't extend the rate on capital gains.n that's i.r.s. data. 12:02:42.6 that's not just something i put together workplace pencil and piece of paper. the average tax increase would be nearly $200 per person per year. in a's significant. i was explaining this to -- that's significant. i was explaining this to my own very daughter this morning about how this bill is important to her. she doesn't have a lot of capital gains. 12:02:58.6 she has some dividends; not much. but she's in that category that would be negatively impacted by the a.m.t. if we don't pass this bill. so beyond this. i guess it's just the political season and positions. i believe the democrats really 12:03:14.5 oppose anything in this bill. in fact, the senator from new york just said, well, yes, many, you know, people, i guess in new york are concerned about the impact of tax increase on cap gains and dividends. it's just he doesn't like this one. well, if not this, what? 12:03:31.1 if not now, when? this needs to be done. and we need -- what has been the impact of these tax cuts? the economy has continued to grow astronomically in spite of all the measured cataclysmic 12:03:48.2 events we've been dealing with. creating jobs. the american dream has been the highest it's ever been of the number of people that own their homes. almost 70% of people own their own homes. yet, we clearly will show from the nonpartisan congressional 12:04:03.6 budget office that we've had a greatly higher unanticipated increase in revenue from capital gains than we would have had otherwise. do we want to kill the goose that laid the golden egg? i don't understand why the american people still are not 12:04:21.0 aware that there are so many good things happening in the economy. unemployment is 4.7%, which is, you know, been caused by five million new jobs being created since 2003. the gross domestic product is 12:04:37.1 4.8%. i was astounded by that growth in the last kwoeurt -- quarter. overall household wealth is an all-time high. income is rising. inflation remains in khefpblgt 12:04:50.5 and last, but perhaps most critically the federal revenues grew by 14% in 2005, reaching a record $2.51 trillion. the problem with the deficit is not insufficient revenue. it's coming in and it's coming in because presidents and 12:05:09.2 members of congress, presidents such as kennedy and reagan knew that if you cut taxes in the right way, you get more revenue. there are those that still want to deny that, but the history and the statistics speak for themselves. 12:05:23.7 so i think this is a good bill. it's a relatively narrow bill in terms of, you know, portions included in it. we've only got about five major things and a few little smaller points. 12:05:38.7 and we're not through, we're going to have the follow-on bill. i want to keep the economy growing. i want to do the right thing here, and this is the right thing to do. and i'm delighted to be here to speak in behalf of this legislation to explain what's really in it and to question, you know, some of the 12:05:55.1 allegations that are being made about what is in it or what is not in it. this is good for the american people because it will be good for the american economy. i don't understand this class warfare stuff that is always going on. you know, if you cut taxes for people that actually pay taxes, 12:06:12.6 that's bad. and if you cut taxes, you automatically get less. when are we ever going to grow 12:06:20.4 up and get over that? i think it's good legislation. i'm pleased to be here and to support it. i urge my colleagues to vote for it. it will pass, and it will go on to the follow-on bill which will have a number of other very important provisions, and perhaps even will be a part of 12:06:35.3 what we do with regard to guarantee people's security and their pensions for the future also. mr. president, i don't know if i have any time remaining, but if i don't, i yield the floor at this time. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: thank you, mr. 12:06:50.4 president. before he leaves the floor, i just want to say to the distinguished senator from mississippi that i'm certainly not interested in class warfare. but what i am interested is giving all americans a fair chance to accumulate wealth. 12:07:08.1 this legislation doesn't do that, and that's why i'm opposed to it. my sense is -- it's certainly something i feel strongly about -- is that everybody in our 12:07:22.8 country wants to do well. everybody aspires to be well off. everybody wants to be able to get ahead. and yet, that's not possible in many respects because of our tax code. the american people just 12:07:38.6 finished their taxes, mr. president. this spring warren buffet, the second-wealthiest person in the united states, paid a lower tax rate than his receptionist. but under this bill, that receptionist isn't going to get 12:07:56.5 much of anything. now senator lott made a point with respect to the next bill. we're going to have another bill, senator lott said. but the bottom line, mr. president and colleagues, is that the oil companies get their 12:08:13.5 boost right now in this bill today. and what senator lott and others have said is, well, maybe sometime down the road we'll start talking about middle-class folks. 12:08:27.8 i just think we've got to give everybody in this country the chance to accumulate wealth; that we've got to do more than just sort of hand out gusher giveaways. and that's why i've introduced the fair flat tax act, mr. president, that gives everybody 12:08:47.1 -- everybody in our country -- the opportunity to accumulate wealth. and just so we're clear on this oil issue, i want the senate to understand some of the history 12:09:01.7 of it. on november 9 of 2005, the c.e.o.'s of the major oil companies came to a joint senate hearing. i asked them then -- it had never been asked in a public forum -- whether they agreed with the president's statement 12:09:19.0 that with $55 oil, we don't need incentives for oil and gas companies to explore. the c.e.o.'s of exxonmobil, chevron, conocophillips, b.p. and shell for the first time 12:09:33.2 agreed that the tax breaks that had been provided in the energy bill weren't necessary. so having heard that statement, mr. president, i said, i want to begin on a bipartisan basis to start working with colleagues in 12:09:50.2 the finance committee to scale back these tax breaks that, to his credit, the president of the united states said aren't even necessary. so i began to work with the distinguished senator from montana, senator baucus, the 12:10:07.0 chair of our committee, senator grassley, to try to start rolling back those tax breaks. it was a very modest step that was taken. it was one that dealt with what are called geological and gee 12:10:23.6 physical -- geophysical drilling expenses. but we got it passed, mr. president, and it was the first time in the senate finance committee -- i think senator lott even was there that day. it was the first time in the 12:10:38.4 senate finance committee when a tax break that the oil companies had gotten was taken away in the last 20 years. it would have saved about $1 billion. certainly not everything that is needed to deal with these 12:10:55.7 exploding deficits, but a solid step in the right direction. so you then have a conference between the senate and the house. and at a time of record profits, at a time of record costs, this 12:11:14.0 bipartisan -- bipartisan -- amendment to make a modest reduction in the kind of tax 12:11:19.7 breaks that the president said aren't needed when oil is over $55 a barrel, it pretty much disappeared. it was cut by more than 50%. so what i would say to my good friend from mississippi is that i just can't accept a double 12:11:38.7 standard where the oil companies get their tax breaks today, they get them right now; and yet the senate will come back and maybe sometime down the road start talking about relief for the 12:11:53.6 middle class. i want to work with the senator from mississippi. he and i have worked together on many occasions. that was why i felt that the bipartisan amendment that i got in the original senate bill was so important. but what i can't accept is a double standard where you have 12:12:09.8 the gusher giveaways today on the oil side and then we hear, as we've heard on the floor of the senate, we'll come back with another bill, another time, and maybe at that point we can talk about tax relief for 12:12:28.7 middle-class folks. now another comment was made that i wanted to highlight about former president ronald reagan who of course is revered and respected by all. 12:12:42.9 the last thing that president reagan did, to his credit, in the tax area is he worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle -- the former senator from new jersey, bill bradley, dan 12:13:04.5 rostenkowski -- on overhauling the tax code. and one of the steps that they took is they said we're thought going to hit the cop who walks the beat with a higher tax rate than somebody who's out 12:13:17.1 investing, say, in google stock. you had a bipartisan agreement back in 1986 that we weren't going to discriminate against wages. we weren't in this country going to say that the people who work 12:13:32.1 hard and play by the rules and make their money from wages are going to get hammered. so i found it very interesting what the senator from mississippi said with respect to ronald reagan, because what ronald reagan embraced in 1986 is exactly what i am calling 12:13:50.4 for, mr. president, in my fair flat tax act. that's something that really does say we're in it together. we're all going to be able to accumulate wealth. everybody's going to have a chance to get ahead. 12:14:05.2 everybody who aspires for a better life for themselves and their families, they'd have an opportunity to do it under the fair flat tax act. they sure don't under this bill. while those oil companies get their gusher giveaways right 12:14:22.3 now, what we've been told is middle-class folks can come back, and we'll have a discussion about their needs and what they hope for their families sometime in the future. and there's one other area where, again, i'd have a little bit of a difference of opinion with my friend from mississippi. 12:14:37.9 he has talked about the fact that corporate profits are up and revenue is coming in. and of course we're glad to see all of that. but the reality is today, mr. president, this is the first time in decades when corporate 12:14:54.4 profits are up, productivity is up, both trends we like to see, but middle-class people are seeing their wages stagnant. the middle-class folks are not 12:15:09.7 enjoying the fruits of these benefits of additional revenue. and again, i want our corporations to do well. i want to see the incredible improvements in productivity. what i think every member of the 12:15:24.5 united states senate ought to be troubled about is that not all americans are in a position to enjoy these developments. that's why any time we go home, have a community meeting, almost all the issues have the second word as "bill." 12:15:43.1 the first word may be gas bill or medical bill or mortgage bill or tax bill. and it is why, senator lott, i want to work with you on a bipartisan basis so that when we have an expansion of corporate profits, when we see an increase in productivity, the 12:15:59.9 middle-class person can get ahead as well. we're not seeing that. tph-fbg, the -- in fact, the federal reserve said the other day that for all practical purposes, over the last five years the net worth of middle-class folks has hardly 12:16:14.1 moved in the last five years. so what i want to do is what 12:16:18.5 ronald reagan and bill bradley and others did back in 1986, and that's have changes in the tax code so that everybody has the opportunity to accumulate wealth. i wrote a bill, the fair flat tax, that does that. 12:16:33.0 in fact, i took, senator lott -- and i'm saying this because i'd really love the chance to work with you. i took the same brackets that ronald reagan did. i chose the exact same tax brackets that ronald reagan did for my fair flat tax act. 12:16:49.8 didn't even know it at the time; learned about it, you know, later on. but i think it's an indication that if we can have a bipartisan effort the way we saw several decades ago before those 14,000 changes in the tax code, we 12:17:06.1 could see once again democrats and republicans coming together so that of course we could continue the trend towards expanded corporate profits and corporate productivity, but we wouldn't be leaving the middle-class person behind. 12:17:20.8 that's what i think is so unfortunate about what has happened. my proposal would allow us to save over the next five years. you can go to wyden.senate.gov. 12:17:41.5 the people in "money" magazine were able to complete the fair tax form in 15 minutes. but what we saw is americans spent more trying to comply with tax forms than the government 12:17:52.4 spent on higher education. is that really what we want to see? is that our vision of tax reform?n i don't think so. i think what we want to do is build on the kind of effort that was bipartisan. you had a revered republican 12:18:09.1 president, ronald reagan, who's been cited on the floor here today, come together with democrats in both the senate and the house. we were able to do something that allowed us to grow the economy and also let middle-class folks get ahead. 12:18:26.4 what is right about the fact that the cops who guard this wonderful institution pay a higher tax rate on their wages than warren buffet does as the second-wealthiest person in our country? i don't want to soak anybody. i want everybody to be able to 12:18:44.1 get ahead. i want everybody to be able to accumulate wealth. but the reality is under this tax bill, what we've been told is that the oil companies, they get theirs today, we'll hear about some other day, some other time, some other opportunity to 12:19:00.3 talk about the interests of the middle class. that's not how we've done our best by the people of this country. we've said we're all in it together. we're not dpg to have a double -- we're not going to have a double standard while the 12:19:15.6 powerful get their today and working families have to come back another time. that's not right. and suffice it to say that in other areas that have been discussed, while we're, for example, putting a little patch on the alternative minimum tax in this legislation -- i'm glad to see that, mr. president -- 12:19:33.9 the crushing costs of this really aren't being addressed. my fair flat tax legislation abolishes the alternative minimum tax altogether. that's what we ought to do before we see this thing ramp up and up and up and engulf 12:19:50.7 millions of middle-class folks who end up having to pay their taxes twice. so i will wrap up with one last point. in this legislation -- again as 12:20:05.7 we look at the tax cuts that are being offered in the bill to a fortunate few -- we're seeing in the legislation that those who have crafted the bill are taking the very money that senator 12:20:22.8 baucus and i have sought in order to keep rural schools open, something that senator lott and a number of colleagues on the other side have been with us again on a bipartisan basis. senator baucus and i said, are we really going to sell off 12:20:38.4 hundreds of thousands of acres of our public lands in order to pay for the rural schools? we didn't think that made any sense. so we said we're going to go to the drawing board. we're going to come up, you know, with an alternative. we did that. 12:20:53.6 we said we were going to keep money from going to, you know, tax dodgers, make sure that they paid what was owed, and then we could honor our commitments to rural schools, rural schools in oregon and mississippi and all 12:21:10.6 aes cross the country. so -- and all across the country. so, mr. president, it is 12:21:16.5 possible, as ronald reagan and democrats did in 1986, to make the tax code simpler and flatter and fairer and allow us to grow our economy and do right by the middle class. the legislation i've introduced -- the fair flat tax act -- i 12:21:35.7 think is just a starting point for the debate and i think we all understand, certainly on the finance committee where i have the honor to serve with senator lott, that there is a lot of give-and-take in a tax debate. what i do know is the bill that the senate will be voting on 12:21:51.3 before too long doesn't give all americans the opportunity to accumulate wealth. that's why i must oppose it. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator's time has expired. mr. lott: mr. president, we had an order lined up, but i believe senator enzi is not 12:22:06.9 going to be able to be here at this time and it's been agreed that we'll go ahead and go to senator boxer, who is here, and i think she is ready to proceed at this time. and then we do have some other speakers that will be here momentarily and we'll try to get an order lined up. i yield the floor. 12:22:23.2 mrs. boxer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from california. mrs. boxer: mr. president, thank you very much. and i believe -- do i have a specific time associated with my remarks? mr. lott: mr. president, we locked in five minutes. mrs. boxer: thank you. 12:22:36.5 could i just make it eight minutes, by unanimous consent? mr. lott: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senator from california be allowed to have eight minutes. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the senator has eight minutes. without objection. mrs. boxer: thank you very much. when i look at the distribution chart showing who benefits from 12:22:53.6 the bill that's before us, my question is whose side are we on anyway? i would hope that the answer to that question is, the majority of the american people. at least that. but when you look at this chart, what you really find is, we're 12:23:10.5 on the side of not even 1%, not even 1% of the american people. we're on the side of those earning over $1 million a year, over $1 million a year. 12:23:25.7 that's who gets the benefit. -- that's who gets the benefit of this bill. according to the urban institute tax policy center, we see that the average tax cuts of those 12:23:41.9 over $1 million is $41,977 a year -- a year. so the benefit of this tax break is essentially more than what 12:23:58.2 some in the middle-class earn all year, they will be getting back in taxes. and then we got an additional number -- and what's the source of this one? the center for public and budget priorities. their chart shows that if you 12:24:15.4 earn over $1.6 million, this republican tax bill will get you back $82,000 each and every year. well, you might say, what is someone who earns, say, $40,000 12:24:32.9 get back? $46, not even new in some cases to fill up a gas-- --$46, not even enough, in some cases, to fill up a gas tank. whose side is this republican 12:24:47.4 senate on? and, you know, if this was a time with wh we didn't have-- --when we didn't have deficits and we didn't have debts, i'd still oppose it because i would rather giver the benefits for those-- --i would rather give the 12:25:04.1 benefits for those who are struggling, and i would rather give the benefits to those who are struggling with tuition. the college tuition deduction 12:25:21.3 that is so popular with middle-class families was not taken care of. they took it out in order to help these wealthy people and, by the way, big oil. big oil gets big tax breaks in this bill -- $5 billion strong. 12:25:39.6 so here we have a circumstance where the millionaires and the oil companies win and middle-class america and working-class america -- 99% plus -- lose. 12:25:55.0 no withinderes there is change in the air. people are-- --no wonder there is change in the air. people are saying enough is enough. and, congress, we can say enough is enough today by voting down this ill-advisedes, unfair bill that punishes america, except for big oil and the very top 12:26:13.3 people. yes, there is a fix to the 12:26:18.0 alternative minimum tax in here, and for that i am grateful. that's good. but yet and still that good fix is far outweighed when you look at the distribution tables. you can see who gets the 12:26:34.7 benefit. $20 for regular working and middle-class american families. that's the average tax cut. $20 a year. while people over $1 million get up to $82,000 a year. this is america. 12:26:49.6 this is a country that is so great because we believe in our middle class and we know that our working people are the engine of our economy and the pride of our nation. and yet we have a table here that shows you -- and these are 12:27:06.7 the facts -- that the middle complas is not only fore-- --that the middle class is not only forgotten, they're made fools of in this bill. so, yes, there's a fix to the 12:27:22.7 a.m.t. good. outside of that, we have a situation where those who have get more; those who have a lot get even more; and the oil companies that have been manipulating supply and hurting 12:27:37.7 our american people get a tremendous amount. this is how that part works. see if you can follow me here. the way they did the rules governing oil company profits is, if the oil companies buy a lot of oil, have bought a lot of 12:27:54.7 oil at lower prices -- say, $40 a barrel -- and then they sell that oil at $70 a barrel, you would think the difference between $40 and $70 would be their profit. 12:28:11.0 but under this bill, no, no, no. their cost basis is what it is the dhai they sell the oil. so if they sell-- --what it is the day that they sell the oivment so if they sell it the day they bought the oil, 12:28:29.4 then they are khost is viewed as $70. it is a give away to big oil who are having the most unbelievable record profits, who we believe are manipulating supply and who give their c.e.o.'s $400 million in a bonus package. 12:28:47.6 this is what this republican bill does. how they can even bring it to the floor with a straight face is beyond me. but they have brought it to the floor, and i would ask those republicans to join us and send 12:29:02.8 a message that it's time to change, it's time to look at our middle-class families in california and all across this country and stand on their side, those struggling with the gas 12:29:18.6 prices, those struggling with health care, those struggling all across the board with college tuition. and this is a day when you ask that question, whose side are we on? 12:29:33.1 and i hope the answer is, we're not on the side of the winners in this bill. the winners are the very wealthiest among us and the oil companies. now again, if informs a different time -- if in was a different time, if we didn't 12:29:51.5 have raging deficits, which we have since this president took office, if we didn't have a debt that is so high that the senate has to vote in the dead of night to raise the debt ceiling, if we weren't in a terrible war that's killing our people, with no end in sight and no plan in sight, maybe that would be a different 12:30:10.0 story and we could say, you know, a rising tide lifts all boat pz and we'll give everybody a break. but those are not the times in which we live. and at the end of the day, the gimmicks that are used to pay for these tax breaks are just so many gimmicks. 12:30:28.5 because we know that by putting the wealthiest in the roth ira's, yes, you have an initial flush of money coming in but at the end of the day, the earnings in those roth accounts are not 12:30:42.1 taxable, so this bill will drive up debt and deficits. in closing, i would say this: a recent nbc/"wall street journal" poll asked americans for their top concerns. do you think americans said, i 12:30:55.8 want to give tax breaks to the oil companies, i would to give tax breaks to those earning $1.6 billion and up? no, they didn't say that. they said that their top concerns were rising gas prices, iran's nuclear ambitions, immigration, civil disorder in 12:31:12.5 iraq, the bush administration 12:31:15.3 leaking national security information, and enron-style corruption. so what do we give them today, the american people? we give them everything they don't want, rewarding big oil, rewarding those who frankly haven't even asked to be helped. 12:31:32.7 they're doing just fine, the people earning over $1.6 billion a year. they're doing just fine. we are not helping middle-class families solve the problems of 12:31:46.0 the raging costs of college tuition and gas prices. thank you very much. i hope we vote "no" on this bill. it is a bad bill. mr. lott: mr. president? .the presiding officer: the senator from mississippi. 12:32:04.4 mr. lott: let me go ahead and give some agreement on times. i ask unanimous consent that the following senators be able to speak in this order.n senator gregg for 15 minutes, senator feinstein to follow 12:32:19.7 senator gregg for 15 minutes, senator thomas next for 15 minutes, and senator reid for 15 minutes. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. lott: mr. president, i apologize for not having my 12:32:35.6 microphone earlier. we're trying to lock in the next three speakers. senator gregg will have the next 15 minutes to be followed by the senator from california. a senator: i thank you. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the senator from new hampshire is recognized for 15 minutes. mr. gregg: i appreciate the senator from mississippi granting me this time on this very important piece of 12:32:51.2 legislation. and i want to pick occupy the statement made by the senator from california -- up on the statement made by the senator from cal cacialg the junior senator from california. what are we giving the american people? we're giving them jobs. we're giving them the opportunity to get good jobs in a thriving, growing economy as a result of good policy in the area of tax law. 12:33:08.8 we came out of an extraordinarily serious recession, the largest bubble in the history of the world, the internet bubble, bigger than the tulip bubble, the cellulous bubble that occurred at the 12:33:24.8 beginning of 2000. and it collapsed. which should have thrown us into a deep recession. we followed that bubble with a huge disruption of our lives, a lot of human life which was unbelievable and horrific as a result of 9/11 but also a 12:33:41.8 dramatic impact on our economy. those two factors alone should have led to a fairly significant, deep and painful recession. why didn't they? they didn't because this president and this republican 12:33:57.9 congress put in place tax policy which allowed americans who wanted to be entrepreneurial to go out and invest, take risks, which is the american way, and as a result create jobs. 12:34:14.0 and the facts are uncontrovertible, and this chart shows it. this is the period during which we had the internet bubble, the 9/11 attacks. in 2003, we reduced the taxes on productivity in this country and 12:34:33.0 gave people an incentive to go out and earn more, take risks and create jobs, and as a result we are seeing a dramatic increase in economic activity and in jobs. 5.3 million jobs have been 12:34:47.3 created since this tax -- these tax cuts were put in place. 5.3 million jobs in those 32 months. look at this, the green line. those are all new jobs coming into the economy as a result of the tax cuts. 12:35:02.8 massive explosion in economic activity as a result of these tax cuts. now, the other side of the aisle will have you believe that the only people who benefitted from these tax cuts were the wealthy. well, all these people got jobs benefited from these tax cuts. 12:35:20.1 and more importantly, the american government benefited from these tax cuts because our revenues have climbed dramatically as a result of these tax cuts. and the reason that has happened is because assets which had been locked up for years are now 12:35:36.0 being used to create better investments and more productivity. in fact, income taxes have gone up, have grown by 10% in the last income revenues -- revenues 12:35:52.6 from income taxes have gone up and grown by 10% in -- just in the last six months. and revenues from corporate activity have gone up by 26%. and this is all a function of putting in place tax rates which certainlily said to americans, 12:36:09.1 you go out and invest, you go -- essentially said to americans, you go out and invest, you go 12:36:14.4 out and create jobs and we'll say we'll benefit your efforts by giving you an incentive to do that. now, the essence of this whole effort is embedded in this tax bill and that's the setting of a reasonable tax rate on capital 12:36:31.8 gains and dividends. there is a psychology which is out there which is human nature. if you say to a person, we're going to take 70% of your income, they're not going to 12:36:46.4 have a lot of reason to go out and make an extra dollar because the government's taking their money. but if you say to someone, we're going to take 30 percent of your income -- 30% of your income, then that person has a bigger incentive to go out and work. the same is true with capital investment if you say to somebody, if you stheal asset 12:37:04.0 you have -- sell that asset you have, we're going to tax you at 30%, that person has very little incentive to go out and sell that asset. but if you say to that person, if you sell that asset, we're going to tax you at 15%, then that person has a reason to go out and sell that asset and take 12:37:20.8 that money and do two things. first, they reinvest it so that it's being used more productively and generates more economic activity and probably creates more jobs, but secondly, by selling that asset, they 12:37:36.5 actually end up paying taxes, taxes which they didn't otherwise and would not otherwise have paid. if you own a -- some stock or a piece of land or a farm or any asset which is a capital asset, you don't have to sell it. you don't have to generate tax 12:37:52.5 revenue to the federal government, and that's what was happening. a will the of people were just sitting on those assets. but by cutting the capital gains rate, we essentially created an atmosphere out there where people started to turn over those assets and as a result of turning over those assets, they 12:38:09.5 created more productivity in our economy and, in fact, we are now at the highest level of productivity that our economy has experienced in the post-world war ii period. that additional productivity has created more jobs so that more 12:38:24.0 americans are working. 5.3 million more americans are working than were working back in 2003 when these tax cuts began. and equally important, the revenues to the federal government have jumped dramatically. in fact, they've jumped so 12:38:41.1 dramatically in capital gains that they've out approximatestripped the -- outstripped the estimates by borz $30 billion -- by $30 billion each year over the last two years. the c.b.o. had originally estimated that we'd have about $49 billion of capital gains 12:38:58.3 income in 2005. well, we got $75 billion. they had estimated in 2006 we'd have about $54 billion. we've gotten about $81 billion. that's $60 billion of new revenue that was generated by cutting the capital gains rate 12:39:13.5 to something that was reasonable and caused people to go out and convert capital assets, whether it's stocks or land or businesses, convert those assets, sell them, pay taxes and reinvest in a way which would 12:39:32.6 actually create more jobs and more economic activity in the economy. so this -- this concept that cutting capital gains rate somehow benefits the rich is just a -- just can't be defended on the facts. 12:39:47.3 what a benefit is the american treasury, the government's treasury, what it benefits are the people who have gotten all these jobs, these five million new jobs. now, another chart over there 12:40:00.9 that was used by the other side said, well, the tax benefit flows to the -- to the top 10% of the income brackets. well, that's because the top 10% of the income brackets pay most of the taxes. in fact, if you've got income over $185,000, that's where 75% 12:40:23.6 of the taxes come from. those are the folks with the highest income, those are the folks paying most of the taxes. that's the way it should be. and now they're actually paying a lot more taxes than they were before this tax cut. because they're generating 12:40:35.9 activity which is taxable. before the tax cut, capital gains was so high they just sat on it. but now because there's an incentive for them to go out and convert those assets, they're actually paying more in taxes 12:40:51.9 than they were paying before. so the argument that the high-end taxpayer, the high-end income individual is benefiting disproportionately from this simply flies in the face of the facts. they're paying more in taxes, more revenues coming in from those people than ever before and a higher percentage, in 12:41:08.7 fact, of federal revenues now comes from those individuals than ever before. 12:41:14.2 and they are most importantly -- and this is the point that the other side just seems to miss completely because they subscribe to the 1930's old left theory of economic policy -- these people create jobs and the bottom line is good jobs. 12:41:31.7 but that's what they're -- and that's what they're creating in our economy, by going out and taking assets which were locked down, which were of a less productive atmosphere and moving them over to assets which are more productive and create more opportunity for people to 12:41:46.3 generate jobs. this -- it always amazes me that this concept completely escapes our friends on the other side of the aisle. 12:42:01.2 but this all transfer -- translates into investment growth. it's ironic that both of these two charts show the exact same thing. and business investment has expanded dramatically. when did it begin to expand? 2003 when we made these tax 12:42:19.0 cuts. job creation has expanded dramatically. when did it begin to expand? 2003, when we made these tax cuts. these are not chance events. these increases in jobs, in business activity are a direct 12:42:38.2 function of the fact that we have created a fairer tax climate where people are willing to be more aggressive, take more risk, be more entrepreneurial and as a result create more jobs. 12:42:53.1 and to at this point take the position that we should go back to the old tax crates raits, which are essentially double -- double -- we're not talking about a little bit here. we're talking about doubling -- the position of the other side of the aisle is they want double the tax rate on capital investment organization risk 12:43:10.0 takers, on entrepreneurs, the people who create the jobs in our society, to take that position now in the middle of this recovery which is -- has been historic in nature and that we are now at the historic levels of productivity, we've had 32 months of expansion. 12:43:28.0 we've got a job -- we've got more people work today in america than at any time our history. to take the position that you would put this huge damp cloth on top of this economic expansion in the name of populous tax policy, which has been proved wrong over and over 12:43:44.6 again ever since it was conceived in the 1930's as the way to generate revenues. you know, back in the 1930's and 1940's, the policy of the left is that you generate more 12:43:59.6 revenue by raising taxes dramatically and we had a 90% tax rate at one point in this country. then we had a 70% tack rate in this country. and then along came a gentleman who ironically understood this didn't work but also ironically came from the other side. his name is john f. kennedy. 12:44:17.0 and he as president cut thetax rates because he believed that tax -- the high tax rates were disen activizing the american -- disincentivizing the american spirit to be productive. and he cut rates. and what happened? 12:44:30.7 revenues went up. and all the people from the left said, oh, my god, this can't be happening. this must be an aberration. it wasn't an aberration. it sure put a stake through the policies of the -- should have put a stake through the policies of the oaft leld buffet it 12:44:47.3 didn't. so along came ronald reagan. and he said hey, it worked for john kennedy, i'll try it. and he cut rates. and what happened? revenues didn't go down, they went up. and then along came president bush and he said john kennedy and ronald reagan were right, 12:45:06.9 the way you create revenues is you create an incentive for economic activity, you create an inscene tef for more people to go out and invest, you create more jobs, more jobs translates into more taxpayers. and as a result, you generate more revenues to the federal government. 12:45:22.7 and so he put in place his tax cuts until 2003. and so the facts are uncontrovertible. the numbers are coming in. at a dramatic rate. we are seeing a 14% increase in revenues to the federal treasury 12:45:39.5 last year, the largest single increase in our history. in dollar terms, 11% for the first six months of this year. it's probably even going to be higher before we finish the year. and the practical effect of this is that these new revenues, these additional revenues have 12:45:54.9 been generated by a lower tax rate, a fairer tax rate and they are assisting us in reduce the deficit. in fact, the deficit's coming down precipitously as a result of these additional revenues. and people are getting more jobs because this economy is vibrant 12:46:12.6 and strong as a result of these tax rates. and you would think that after this approach to tax policy has been proven by three major initiatives, by three presidents 12:46:26.7 of both -- being from both parties in three different decades, that the other side of the aisle would look at the merer in the morning and say, listen, you know, the policies of the 1930's and the 1940's, which were taught to us as a result of the outgrowth of the 12:46:43.0 theory that if you constantly raise taxes you generate more revenues, those policies have been proven wrong. they've been proven wrong by ted kennedy -- not ted kennedy but president john kennedy. they were proven wrong by ronald reagan and they've been proven wrong by george w. bush. 12:46:58.7 and human nature tells you they're wrong. human nature tells you that if you give a person a reason to go out and be productive by putting a lower tax burden on them, a fair tax burden -- we're not saying no taxes, we're talking about a fair tax burden. it's obviously a -- it's obvioun 12:47:15.9 that's at zero or anything because we actually have our high-income individuals in this country actually paying more in taxes today than they did prior to the time cuts.n significantly more in taxes, and also bearing a larger percentage 12:47:29.5 of the burden of taxes in this country today than they did before the tax cuts. so it's just a fairer way to approach tax policy. and as a result of that fair way, you generate more income, more economic growth. 12:47:45.7 and that leads to more jobs, which is the purpose of our efforts here. so this bill is a critical piece of legislation. the presiding officer: the senator has -- mr. gregg: thank you, madam president. 12:48:00.7 is a critical piece of legislation that we should clearly endorse, embrace, and recognize that by its passage it will continue to give american people, the american people the opportunity to be in a vibrant, growing economy where jobs will be created, not lost. i yield the floor. mrs. feinstein: madam 12:48:22.5 president? the presiding officer: the senator from california. mrs. feinstein: thank you, madam president. i believe i'm recognized for 15 minutes. the presiding officer: the senator is corrected. mrs. feinstein: i thank the president. madam president, i don't think any single bill or issue more delineates the difference between the democratic and 12:48:38.6 republican party today than this bill and the issues it contains do. and i'd like to respond to the senator from new hampshire. she talked about how good this was for job production. well, under the clinton 12:48:56.8 administration, 20 -- let me get this right. 23 million new jobs were created. so far, 2.6 million jobs have been created under president bush. take a look at the difference between the two, in jobs and 12:49:14.7 also in debt. these are the early years of clinton, up to 1997. look at the blue. this is all surplus. $69 billion, $126 billion, $236 billion, $128 billion. 12:49:32.1 these are the years under george bush. deficit, $158 billion, $378 billion, $412 billion, $318 billion, and $350 billion. so far the tax cuts have cost 12:49:57.3 $1.9 trillion. i believe this conference report reflects misplaced priorities. it exacerbates an already serious deficit. it certainly exacerbates the 12:50:09.2 national debt. and most importantly, it is certainly not equitable. at a time when most american families are struggling to meet the rising cost of living, we should be taking constructive steps to provide targeted tax relief to those who need it 12:50:25.2 most. and we're not doing that. you would think this package of tax cuts might take steps to alleviate some of the financial strain. instead, the bill offers before us no benefit to middle-class and low-income households. 12:50:43.7 these provisions have been removed in favor of billions of dollars of additional tax cuts for the wealthiest americans. unfortunately, this conference report does not resemble the 12:50:57.4 bill that left the senate earlier. today americans deal with record gas prices. it's $3.40 a gallon in some areas in california. 12:51:11.7 the conference committee chose not to require more from big oil companies, even as corporate profits hit a record $1.35 trillion last year. now accounting for the largest 12:51:27.9 share for national income in 40 years, the conferees decided not to do anything to effect the oil companies. the special incentives and tax breaks they get. 12:51:43.5 instead, middle-class families were left to bear the brunt of these decisions. rather than providing millions of americans with the necessary extended relief, the lion's share of this bill, $50 billion over the next ten years, is 12:52:00.7 devoted to extending reduced rates for capital gains and dividend tax breaks. i have never, madam president, had anyone in the business community come up to me and say, "you have to lower capital 12:52:14.4 gains." what they've said to me is it doesn't make much difference. and certainly not dividend tax breaks. under the a.m.t. fix, these rates were not scheduled to expire this year or even the 12:52:29.6 next. why are we doing it now? we're doing it now only to make the future bleaker. more than 75% of the capital gains and dividend tax breaks have served americans earning more than $200,000 a year. 12:52:47.5 the senator from new hampshire says how great these are for the average person. no, they aren't. they're good for the very wealthy, for the individual who makes more than $200,000 a year. that's 70% -- excuse me -- 75% 12:53:02.0 of the benefit. and the average millionaire will receive a $42,000 tax cut from capital gains and dividends alone in 2005. meanwhile, the average taxpayer 12:53:17.1 earning less than $75,000 -- that's three-quarters of the taxpayers -- receives only $13. so three-quarters of the tax-paying population of america receives only $13 while the 12:53:35.8 individual over $200,000 has a huge, huge tax break. this is unfair. it's irresponsible, and it's not without consequences. the federal budget deficit will 12:53:48.0 be at least $300 billion this year. the national debt is soaring, and we have fewer resources available for critical domestic priorities. under president clinton, we had four years of budget surplus. and when he left office, we had 12:54:05.7 a projected ten-year surplus of $5.6 trillion. what's interesting to me is that two parties have switched. the republicans are not the deficit hawks. the democrats have become the deficit hawks. 12:54:21.2 the republicans have become the big spenders, and this bill clearly identifies that. the economic policies of the last five years have produced a cats tprofbg turn -- catastrophic turnaround. 12:54:39.9 record-profit surpluses have given way to record deficits projected at $1.6 trillion over the next decade. the full impact of this administration's fiscal policies remains clouded. this president has broken with his predecessors by smith only 12:54:56.5 five -- by submitting only five-year budgets. why? why is he doing that? think about it. especially after we were prevented with the traditional ten-year numbers during this president's first year in 12:55:11.5 office. i'll tell you why i think he's doing it, and that's to hide the fact that these tax cuts explode in the out years. they create enormous problems for the future. and the result is a wall of debt. 12:55:26.4 over the next ten years, the debt is projected to reach $12 trillion. in this year alone, our national debt is slated to increase by $654 billion. more startling is the fact that 12:55:43.4 the national debt is currently at 66% of our gross domestic product. i heard someone make a speech the other day and say it was 2% of g.d.p. don't worry about it. 12:55:58.1 so we went and got the c.b.o. figures. it's 66% of g.d.p., and worry about it. the total debt equates to 12:56:11.4 roughly $30,000 owned by every man, woman, and child in america. now this is really troubling to anyone who runs a household, who runs a business. you'd have your house repossessed if you ran your 12:56:25.5 books this way. you'd lose your business if you ran your books this way. when all costs are included, the tax breaks for the wealthiest americans will cost almost $2 trillion over the next decade. 12:56:42.8 and when you combine the cost of the tax cuts with spending on the war in iraq, currently totaling $370 billion, the inevitable result is the programs that matter most are squeezed. 12:56:59.0 now let me try and explain that. this chart takes two years, 2005 and 2015. it looks at everything the federal government spends. 12:57:14.8 it is deceptive to look just at the budget. the budget does not reflect what we spend in entirety. the fact of the matter is that entitlements -- social security, medicare, medicaid, veterans benefits -- are 53.5% of what 12:57:36.0 the federal government spent in 2005. interest on the debt alone was $184 billion. that's 7.4%. so 60.4% of everything the 12:57:50.7 federal government spent in 2005 is not budgeted, cannot be controlled. what's left? 40%. 20.1% defense, not likely to be cut much in view of the 12:58:06.9 circumstances of the war on terror. and nondiscretionary spending, everything else, is 18.9% of what the federal government spent in 2005. 12:58:22.9 that's a fact. so what these tax policies do, because the only thing you can cut is discretionary defense and other discretionary spending, the only thing you can do is cut 12:58:41.4 every program that matters to the american people. cops on the street, down 15,000. every nutrition and supplemental aid to seniors cut. 12:58:55.2 that's highways, that's interior, that's agriculture, that what you have to cut with. that's it. and that's what these tax cuts, when they explode exponentially at the end of the ten-year 12:59:10.7 period will do. they will create an enormous problem for the future. if you add interest on the debt and go to the year 2015 and 12:59:28.4 project this out, 70%. it will increase 10% from 2005 to 70% in 2015. 12:59:44.9 everything the federal government spends, 70% of it will not be controllable. defense discretionary will be reduced to 15%, and nondefense discretionary to 13.7%.

TVU 23 CORY BOOKER NASHUA NH MEET AND GREET AND GAGGLE ABC UNI 010320 2020 WHAT: Cory Booker, Congresswoman Annie Kuster Meet & Greet with Immigrant-Led Small Businesses WHERE: Zco Corporation, 58 Technology Way #2W10, Nashua WHEN: 12:45PM The event itself was billed as a conversation to talk about immigrant led small businesses. However immigration wasn't much of a topic that came up today and Sen. Cory Booker largely stuck to his stump speech. In the gaggle he talked about the death of Qasem Suleimani and his Q4 fundraising numbers. I asked if he thought Suleimani's death was an act of war. 141617 Booker: We still have a lot of information to come out right now. And again, there has to be standards for the use of military force. And the question is, here is a president that I believe has violated, acted without an authorization for the use of military force in places like Syria. And the question is, was this, did this meet those standards. Now, we're gonna get intelligence information and we'll be able to get to the bottom of all this. And this will be one of the questions that I am asking. Booker was asked about the killing of Suleimani and if he thought President Donald Trump had the authority and what the ramifications will be. 141335 Q>> On the killing of Suleimani, your thoughts? Do you think the president had the authority? What will the ramifications be? 141351 Booker: So, first and foremost, Suleimani is a person that has been involved in horrific acts of violence, killing Americans, wounding Americans, as well as other awful actions in that whole region and beyond. We are not at war with Iran, though. And in order to do this strike, you have to have a justifiable authorization for the use of military force. Now, the president has made lots of claims about intelligence information, you've seen presidents lie or have faulty information in the past that got us into the war in Iraq. 141423 And so, we -- as senator on the foreign relations committee, I have an obligation to do everything I can to make sure that they had the authorization to use military force. I believe this president has violated authorization to use -- had no authorization to use of military force, for example, to strike at the Assad regime, who we're not at war with. So we're -- a lot of information has to still come out, but this is what I do know: is that this president has had no Iran strategy. And that his pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, the Iran anti-nuclear deal, by him having no larger strategy, the region's gotten less secure and more dangerous. 141457 Iran has more influence than it did at the beginning of this presidency. And his so called maximum enforce efforts have proven to be really a failure. Q>> Potential ramifications? Booker: The Israeli's probably could have struck Suleimani before, so could -- I'm sure we've had other chances to do so as well, but we didn't do it. And I imagine that a lot of that had to do with because of the strategic implication of doing that and what the fallout might be. Well now you see everybody from Israel on higher alerts to embassies all across the world for us, going on high alert because we've seen Suleimani's reach before, plotting terrorist attacks all around the globe. 141540 So this is something that we should, need to ask. Did this president do this like he's done before which are his foreign policy by impulse and tweet without a larger strategy, or did they understand and think out the possible ramifications? Did they warn the Israelis? Did they warn the Iranians? Did they, did they consult with folks who are gonna also have to bare that challenges that might come from this moment? 141604 So there's a lot of information that has to come out. But I know we're dealing with a president that has no strategy who's made the region less safe. During the event itself Booker, who I haven't covered since September, largely stuck to his stump speech but did jab the president saying Trump on foreign policy. 134620 Well, this is what frustrates me as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, because we have a president right now, who can't articulate a strategy on China. In fact, his strategy for China and you talked about football is started in China as it came to me. We've learned to play South Bend, Indiana a couple times. Of Us flying to South Bend, Indiana, the defense's out there Notre Dame defense and I tell the rest of my offensive players you guys stay on the sideline. I'm going to take this on alone, because I say it's akin to that because this president right now, taking on China in this trade war. He's also declared trade war on a whole bunch of other of our allies as well. He used a national security waiver to put y'all know this up here to put tariffs on Canada now. Trudeau is beautiful hair so medicine to me personally. But they are not a national security threat that he's articulate no strategy. What are we seeing in the Middle East right now? A president comes off America first. Well really is America first policies America alone in America isolated because he could tell her allies guy was better relation with Putin than he does with McCrone and Merkel. He pulls away from our allies on Iran betrays a commitment our country maybe we're a nation that stood by so many of our commitments we've made in the modern era. And again unfund plunges that region into more instability. Iran under his leadership has grown more lethal more dangerous. With now a highway from Syria to arm has a lot of more sophisticated weapons or allies. Let's see what was going on in Yemen what's going on with with with with iraq right now. So Sir, I'm telling you right now as a guy who's been working on these issues, as United States senators, where I we have had bipartisan reduce have a president who does this foreign policy by tweet. And by impulse, where's generals often find out about the policy that way. I'm telling you right now, what you articulate makes me very happy. And you will see that kind of strategic thinking as well, because we want the hard way in this country. But this president does not seem to have learned that the way to deal with conflicts you cannot solve them. Booker announced he had a hit a record breaking fundraising total for his campaign $6.6 million. 141035 Booker: I just want to announce that this has been the period of momentum that we've seen the most incredible momentum and growth in our campaign, by marked by many things. In this state, and Iowa, we are now risen to the top of all the campaigns in the top 2 or 3 in endorsements from local elected leaders and others. We've risen in Iowa to the top in the 3 campaigns -- top 3 of the campaigns for net favorabilities, three of one of the most popular people in this race. 141101 We're seeing energy and crowds and enthusiasms. But one of the measures of our growth and our success has been our online contributions. And so I'm, I'm excited to announce right here that our, our total for the last quarter, we had a record breaking quarter for us, raised the most we've ever raised, at 6.6 million dollars. The majority of that money, to show you momentum, the majority of that money was from first time contributors to our campaign. 141127 And I think well over 90 -- I think 98, 99% of it was from contributors giving 200 dollars or less. So we're seeing amazing surge of online donations of people that want me in this race and at a time that we're seeing the kind of voices that represent the diversity of our party, that represent the lived experiences of our party beginning to fall out, this is a time that people are realizing my voice is essential in the campaign itself and the best as a candidate to pull out the fullness of the Obama coalition. 141158 So as we go till about a month before the Iowa caucuses, we hope that that momentum will continue to surge as it is now and want to invite everybody to please continue to contribute to our campaign at CoryBooker.com. GAGGLE 141035 BOOKER>> I just want to announce that this has been the period of momentum that we've seen the most incredible momentum and growth in our campaign, by marked by many things. In this state, and Iowa, we are now risen to the top of all the campaigns in the top 2 or 3 in endorsements from local elected leaders and others. We've risen in Iowa to the top in the 3 campaigns -- top 3 of the campaigns for net favorabilities, three of one of the most popular people in this race. 141101 We're seeing energy and crowds and enthusiasms. But one of the measures of our growth and our success has been our online contributions. And so I'm, I'm excited to announce right here that our, our total for the last quarter, we had a record breaking quarter for us, raised the most we;ve ever raised, at 6.6 million dollars. The majority of that money, to show you momentum, the majority of that money was from first time contributors to our campaign. 141127 And I think well over 90 -- I think 98, 99% of it was from contributors giving 200 dollars or less. So we're seeing amazing surge of online donations of people that want me in this race and at a time that we're seeing the kind of voices that represent the diversity of our party, that represent the lived experiences of our party beginning to fall out, this is a time that people are realizing my voice is essential in the campaign itself and the best as a candidate to pull out the fullness of the Obama coalition. 141158 So as we go till about a month before the Iowa caucuses, we hope that that momentum will continue to surge as it is now and want to invite everybody to please continue to contribute to our campaign at CoryBooker.com. Q>> Where does NH fit into the mix of the way to the nomination? 141222 BOOKER>> Well, the granite state is at the center of our strategy, that's why I've been here 12 times. It's why we have a big campaign up and running here. That's why we've been courting endorsements and getting them here. So we know ---- (141234, FEED FREEZES) 141246 . but you're right, that was a particular thing he said in the memo. Why did he only mention Iowa and South Carolina? Well, it all has to do with these artificial things called the, the rules for the debate. Which are about, often about, early state polling. Now there hasn't been an early state poll since early November. 141302 Two debates ago, many people have dropped out, we just don't know what's going on in these states. And so we just took a guess that Iowa, because we are, it's the first, and we've been putting a lot of energy in there, that's gonna be one of the places we're confident we're gonna poll a lot higher. And in South Carolina, because of the diverse population, and knowing that I'm a person that appeals also to black and brown voters, we decided to invest there. But that's why he mentioned those two. But this is a state that is number 2 in terms of just the order of the early state contest, but this is the number 1 primary in the nation and we plan on being here competing and we're in it to win it. 141335 Q>> On the killing of Suleimani, your thoughts? Do you think the president had the authority? What will the ramifications be? 141351 BOOKER>> So, first and foremost, Suleimani is a person that has been involved in horrific acts of violence, killing Americans, wounding Americans, as well as other awful actions in that whole region and beyond. We are not at war with Iran, though. And os, in order to do this strike, you have to have a justifiable authorization for the use of military force. Now, the president has made lots of claims about intelligence information, you've seen presidents lie or have faulty information in the past that got us into the war in Iraq. 141423 And so, we -- as senator on the foreing relations committee, I have an obligation to do everythingI can to make sure that they had the authorization to use military force. I believe this president has violated authorization to use -- had no authorization to use of military force, for example, to strike at the Assaad regime, who we're not at war with. So we're -- a lot of information has to still come out, but this is what I do know: is that this president has had no Iran strategy. And that his pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, the Iran anti-nuclear deal, by him having no larger strategy, the region's gotten less secure and more dangerous. 141457 Iran has more influence than it did at the beginning of this presidency. And his so called maxim(?) enforce efforts have proven to be really a failure. Q>> Potential ramifications? BOOKER>> The Israeli's probably could have struck Suleimani before, so could -- I'm sure we've had other chances to do so as well, but we didn't do it. And I imagine that a lot of that had to do with because of the strategic implication of doing that and what the fallout might be. Well now you see everybody from Israel on higher alerts to embassies all across the world for us, going on high alert because we've seen Suleimani's reach before, plotting terrorist attacks all around the globe. 141540 So this is something that we should, need to ask. Did this president do this like he's done before which are his foreign policy by impulse and tweet without a larger strategy, or did they understand and think out the possible ramifications? Did they warn the Israelis? Did they warn the Iranians? Did they, did they consult with folks who are gonna also have to bare that challenges that might come from this moment? 141604 So there's a lot of information that has to come out. But I know we're dealing with a president that has no strategy who's made the region less safe. Q: Representative Tulsi Gabbard earlier today said that the killing of Suleimani was an act of war. Do you feel that it is an act of war? Or how would you describe the killing? 141617 BOOKER>> We still have a lot of information to come out right now. And again, there has to be standards for the use of military force. And the question is, here is a president that I believe has violated, acted without an authorization for the use of military force in places like Syria. And the question is, was this, did this meet those standards. Now, we're gonna get intelligence information and we'll be able to get to the bottom of all this. And this will be one of the questions that I am asking. Q: On your fundraising numbers, it's your best quarter yet. You are actively trying to get on the debate stage in January. It's your best quarter but it's not up to where some of the other candidates are. How do you compete with the type of resources that are being pooled in by Sanders's grassroots donors and Buttigieg's bundlers, things like that? 141709 BOOKER>> Well clearly we are competing, because in the first caucus of the country, we're at number three in that favorabilities. We have, according to the Des Moines Register one of the top teams on the ground organizers. We are leading at the top of the ticket -- the top of the field in endorsements from local leaders. We -- [feed freezes] 141738 . grassroots campaign, going people to people, and we're building momentum with a fraction of the dollars of the other people in this race. Q: Do you see this primary as a referendum on if retail politics can still secure a victory? 141750 BOOKER>> I've never been asked that question. I think there's gonna be a lot of post-mortem after this, especially with a democratic party that set this new artificial debate stage qualifications on criteria that could easily be hacked by billionaires. So I think there's gonna be a lot of questions we should be asking as a party that is against big money in politics for designing a system that makes, it's so easy to exploit that way. So we'll see what happens. ##### REMARKS [13:14:17] Yes. [13:14:19] Well, this is great, right? I saw Nancy Pelosi clap before, and I'm so happy. Yes. Yes. Thank you very much. First off, I want to thank all the people who spoke for me. Give it up for John and Zico. Thank you very much. Russ. [13:14:36] Our minds are ready. You are such an extraordinary friend. One of my early endorsers and one of the best chefs I've ever experienced here in his state for this reason. You make me very happy. Thank you very much. [13:14:50] And I just want to say something really quick about Costar. [13:14:54] Are you guys have no idea how lucky you are? Thank you. No, but I watch her. We work in Congress together and she is incredible because of her, something I'm calling for in this election that we have a more courageous empathy for each other. [13:15:10] I people. Please, before you tell me about your religion for show it to me and how you treat other people and what I what I really admire. I watch people and I'm not a judgmental guy, but I have this one standard that someone who is nice to you but not nice to the waiter is not a nice person. And you're a congresswoman. She lives her values even in her private moments. [13:15:32] You see that Republicans would be even more excited as you see it in the legislation she brings to bear. You see, we have a history of all this draconian legislation like people. So let's take Pell Grants away from people in prison. And it sounds like here. But no, that action is more expensive. For every dollar you get in educating people, you seem about seven dollars and the recidivism cause can be lower recidivism so much. [13:15:58] And she came to me, I sort of see myself as the criminal justice guy. But she broke. And I said to me, because again, by being false about Matthew 25 or with you when I was in prison, you visited me. She came to me and educated me on something about Medicare availability for people that were in prison. And so she and I working across the capital now have this incredible legislation. Let me tell you something about her, please. [13:16:24] I want you to vote for me, but make sure she stays in Congress as long as she wants to. [13:16:29] All right, so I want to talk really quickly about why I'm running and then I want to answer as many questions as we can before I start. Tell me you got to stop or you won't have time for something. And if you are a senator, there's a fierce competition going on to see who the Senate is going to win the 2020 selfie competition. I'm in fierce competition with Chuck Grassley. No joking. [13:16:57] So here goes. I'm running for president because I believe in some core values that drive me every day. And let me start by evidencing those core values, by telling you this field of candidates that we have is incredible. They are my friends. [13:17:15] They are people who work side by side where they are. They are folks that I've gotten to know. I was texting with Andrew Gangs the other morning. He's my friend. Joe Biden is one of the great statesman of our party. [13:17:28] The guy swore me into office on that auspicious day. I was a special election guy, more than a suspicious day on Halloween. And he played it straight because he and I are the best dad joke tellers in all of this presidential race. [13:17:42] On Halloween, he pronounced my name boring Boone. No, he did not. [13:17:47] So I'm not running because I think my ideas are better. And by the way, there are some policy ideas I'm really proud of. But others have been taken off that we can talk about. I hope you ask me. But I'll tell you right now, the policy differences between us are small compared to the policy differences between us and the president's office right now. It's why I get so upset when I think of candidates. [13:18:08] We can't attack each other's character or picking at each other. Come on. I mean, the reality is you're all good people and Democrats are attacking Democrats in a way that we can our eventual nominee. And shame on us. I saw that script in a previous election. I don't want to see it now is too much at stake. I think acquiring and Hollywood drives me every day is because I think this election is about something deeper than just the policy, just the head. It's about the heart and the spirit and the gut of the nation. Who are we going to be? Because this election is not a referendum on one guy in one office. [13:18:47] It's a referendum on who we are and who we must be to each other. [13:18:52] And what these two women represent and the reason why I'm proud that they're my friends, is this understanding that the way you get policy change, the way you do the big things, is when you strengthen the ties between people. Would you show us the true strength is when I started my work as a tenants rights lawyer in Newark, New Jersey. We were going up against powerful, wealthy, corrupt slumlords. [13:19:17] But I learned from folks I would say got my B.A. from Stanford, but I beat you on the streets of Newark because I learned from Senate organizers that the way you beat them is by strengthening the bonds between people. You organize, you activate, you engage. And we won big battles. We got one of those sophomores eventually convicted in federal court. We are going to win as a nation, not a party. We're going to win as a nation. And we affirm that the ties that bind us are stronger than the lines that divide us when we work as generations past have to put more indivisible back into this one nation under God. [13:19:54] Look, I am a competitor, but I'm a former bowler at Stanford. And I'll tell you right now, we're going to beat Donald Trump. That's important. Let's talk about the break great Mitch McConnell back into the back benches. [13:20:13] How we do this, how we show our strength is not by trying to be more choppy than Trump. It's not by using his tactics. You guys know, King said this darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. He can't drive out hate. [13:20:31] Only love can do that. I was running for a town hall in Iowa about to jump up on the stage. I'm a big guy. It was rambling towards it. I don't know if I told you I played football. I was an all-American football player. Play for Stanford. The older I get, the better I was. [13:20:47] And I'm about to jump on the stage and this big guy sees me, puts his arm around me, goes, do I want you to punch Donald Trump in the face? And I look at my I go, dude. [13:20:56] That's a felony. That. [13:21:02] God, we are not going to win this election by showing the worst of who we are. People who have to be a former mayor and say we need to fight fire with fire. [13:21:11] And I'm like, I read a fire department. That's not a good strategy to put out fires. We cannot make this election first and foremost about what we're against. We need to stop being a party that talks about what we're for and who we're for. And inspiring people to come out because that's how we win. Look, we did it Big Bull Connor in Birmingham because we brought bigger dogs and bigger fire hoses that he brought. We won because we had artists of activism called the conscience of our country to understand what was at stake. [13:21:44] There was a moral moment that all of us had to give Bob. And people of different backgrounds came together, stood together. That's how change was made. Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner. Black, white, Christian, Jewish died together in Mississippi for rights. Do you think we got over the biggest filibuster, longest filibuster in Senate history was Strom Thurmond? Do you think one day this is how he did it? We passed. I think legislation is one day he came to the Senate floor and said, I've seen the light, those Negro people's rights. Oh, really? Think we got suffrage laws passed because a bunch of men in 1920 on the Senate floor got together. Hey, fellas, let's give women the right to vote. All right. Ready? Break. No. [13:22:25] It came from people, activists. Alice Paul first ever protest in front of the White House activists to see a cartoon. James bubble in Birmingham getting children march in front of those doors. Activists who expanded the moral imagination of this country and got the first coalition together to get it done. I love the principles of rugged individualism and self-reliance, but rugged individualism didn't get us to the moon. [13:22:52] It didn't beat the Nazis. We did that by calling our country together. When the Russians put up Sputnik, we didn't fall at each other's throats in policy and partisan lines. We brought together hidden figures, white astronauts, bigger coalitions. That's how we were passed Sputnik. I went to the moon. This is a moral moment in our country again. It's not right or left, it's right or wrong. People are hurting right now. You. [13:23:30] Our country has never been bereft of pain and hurt, tragedy and wretchedness. But in the face of that, those were times that we motivated the best of who we are and came together, overcome it. My parents told me how laws were changed. My grandparents, too, would four girls died in the bombing in Birmingham. It exploded this country's consciousness. People from this state got involved. We're marching in the south. [13:23:53] When we change laws, we we overcame that filibuster when women were throwing themselves out windows at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York, time on the pavement below it motivate us to get active and engaged. And we changed laws, workers rights that we now take for granted. But in our generation, what's breaking my heart? Is the fact that we now have seen our fellow countrymen and women getting slaughtered in a concert in Las Vegas in a nightclub in Orlando. [13:24:23] And nothing changes. We've seen people at their houses of worship from a synagogue in Pittsburgh, two to a church in South Carolina. And nothing changes. And our children. I came out in the morning a few days ago and 14 year old shot and killed our kids are being slaughtered under their desks from Newtown to Parkland in the strongest nation in the world. [13:24:51] Strong not because of the size of our military, but strong because of our history of connections to one another. The strongest nation on the planet Earth sends our children to school with the implicit message that we can't protect you. [13:25:04] So we're send you to school to teach you how to hide. [13:25:07] We now are a nation at. Safety that can protect us. [13:25:24] Candidate We need the leaders plural, we need are those that can help us get more point where we have a revival of civic grace. Well, we begin to have that more courageous empathy for each other, we're our civic spaces begin to better. [13:25:51] Unless you love your fellow countrymen and women, but love is not sentimentality, it's not weak. Love is what has people storming beaches, Normandy side by side for their country. [13:26:03] Love is what the school teachers I've met on this race who tell me they don't know how they're gonna pay their rent and their student loans. But when their kids come to school. Without things, they need to reach in their own pockets and pay for it. Love is a woman named Tiffany. I mean, it was a county chair of a rural county in Iowa who they cut the funding for her job. [13:26:26] That was to go around and help people with mental illness, the cost of transportation funding. But she still got in her car to pay for road gas. She still went out there because she loved her neighbors. Look, this election, I'm telling you right now, don't make it about one guy in one office, make it about something bigger, because I hear the pundits, they say to me, well, the number one thing that people want from their Democratic candidate is someone who could just be Donald Trump. And my response is, dear God, can't we have bigger aspirations? And just that's what. [13:26:58] And also because it's not on the ceiling, it's a sign of a valley. But it doesn't get us to the mountaintop. Let's have more courage and get the candidates plural who can best help us to get to the mountaintop. And the biggest challenge we have. King said it so eloquently stop the vitriolic words and violent actions of the bad people. [13:27:19] It's the appalling silence, inaction of the good people whom we'd better have a candidate that can call to the entire coalition of our country. Because I know what happens when people don't vote in 2016. Heck, I saw in 2009, in New Jersey 2008, we had a historic election. And I miss Obama and I miss her husband, too. [13:27:43] And I want to go vote for her husband. And there was a line around the polling place in New Jersey at the end of the line in Newark. We keep it real. I was the mayor of the city person then alive. Looks happy it goes. [13:27:54] I don't think you cut in line. [13:27:56] I don't care who you are. Wait. Like the rest of us. I'm the mayor of the city and police officers around me, I go, yes. [13:28:02] Well, one year later, I go to vote. It's a governor's race. Nobody's at the polls. We had a Democratic incumbent lost narrowly. [13:28:16] And then people wanted to complain and blame the Republicans. Let me tell you some newsflash. You have 60 million people who voted for Donald Trump. They're not our enemies. They're our fellow countrymen and women in our party. We will inspire not just Democrats, but even them if we make this election, not about the short term goal, just beating Republicans. But the larger goal of our nation, of uniting Americans. [13:28:39] And I worry because I watch. This is why Julian Castro dropping out makes me upset that we didn't get to vote. Come on, Harris. We didn't get to vote. You know why? Because we. A black and brown voters. [13:28:52] Hillary Clinton would be president right now in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Milwaukee. We lost a three in Wisconsin. We lost those three states by 77000 votes. If African-Americans in those three states alone had come out to vote at the same level in 16, she'd be president right now. [13:29:09] In fact, in the Milwaukee area alone, seventy two thousand less blacks came out to vote. [13:29:16] I'm running because I know we can inspire again that we don't have to play just it safe right now. This is the time to aspire not to get out of a valley, but go to the mountaintop. And I know the only way we rise there is to do it together. If you elect me your president, I'm warning you right now, it's a warning that if you let me your president, I'm going to ask more from you than any president ever asked from you for you in your lifetime. [13:29:42] I'm not going to ask you to pay more taxes. Heck, like my doubling the earned income tax credit, I can take a lot of other policy is going to raise the salaries of over 150 million Americans. My rental tax credit. Why do we just have an income tax deduction for homeowners and not our rental tax? Rental deduction for renters were paid more than a third of their income in rent. That policy alone will help 80000 gallons the stuff. No, I'm not asking you to play ball park. Heck, I'm going to drive down your prescription drug costs. No, I'm not asking you to suffer more. We're not going to be a president's go. Let you know that these big changes that we need to make. We can't make them alone. It's not about me. It's about we. My grandmother brags on the day she died about how she helped to beat the Nazis. And let me tell you this. [13:30:28] Fourth with 11, the one girl, she she never served on the front line, but she bragged about the sacrifices her family made, her victory card. A working class woman bought war bonds. We wanted to do big things in this country. We had leaders that mobilized everyone to action in the same way we mobilized to beat the Nazis. That's how we're gonna have to mobilize this country to do the big things. And to call them the conscience of our country and to recognize we need do American coalitions, not just partisan majorities. [13:30:58] And so I want to end with that a challenging you because what you said was true. God, we have so much more in common. We may look different prey different come from different backgrounds, but we have a shared American story. My personal story, you can connect with it. [13:31:18] Look, 50 years ago, my family was trying to move to this incredible place, this Mecca and review or heard of it. It's called New Jersey. But when they showed up in areas with great public schools, they were usually white communities. And my parents were told the same thing. They were seen as a black family. They would be told, oh, I'm sorry, this house had sold. It was taken off the market. My parents were distressed. They didn't know what to do. [13:31:42] Who? What did they find kind of Americans that didn't preach the values they lived there? What could the stranger. Love your neighbor? Patriotism. What is it really? [13:31:54] And so they said, hey, we're going to help you with this set up a sting operation. I call it a conspiracy of love. When they sent my parents to go look at the house and they were told it was sold, they would leave. And a volunteer couple from that group. Why couple would go right by them to see thousands still for sale at high end of the house that I grew up in. My parents were told it was for the white couple came out. I was still for sale. They were then turned off. They didn't actually put a bid on the House. The white couples bid was accepted. The papers were drawn up, a closing was set. And on the day of the closing. The white couple didn't show up. My father did it from that. [13:32:39] Punches by that waters is. Eventually, it's like I had a five pack all you this house. [13:32:59] Well, let me tell you this. As I was growing up, my parents taught me what I'm sure your family taught you. One way or the other. I can't be like you drew deeply from wells of freedom and liberty. Not to me. You do that, did you? You can't pay it back. You've got to pay it forward. And so I was I mean, the most was an earnest kid. I went off to Stanford University. I got in on a course at a 4.0 and sixteen hundred 4.0 yards per carry. Sixteen, obviously, in the army of God. [13:33:28] But I still got my masters. We all received and studied. You know, Oxford came back to Yale Law School. My dad was not a draft boy. You got more degrees in the month of July, but you got it because life is not about the degrees you get. It's about the service you get. [13:33:44] It's a why why did it move to the suburbs, to the inner city of Newark, New Jersey, I still live in that community today below the poverty line where we don't confuse wealth with worse. Why was my first job to be a tense rights activist lawyer? It's because people fought for my housing rights, can't pay it back. I was going to pay it forward. And I we ran at the top of the problems we black community together. He took down slumlords, turned around the whole city. [13:34:16] Because we found ways to create uncommon coalitions to uncommon results. When I got down to Washington, I could see that too. The Republicans were on their side. I might disagree with them. They're not my enemies. Rouse is hard to heat up close. So pull people in. Well, you know what I did? I asked over all the overbooking cause I could out to dinner to meet with them one on one. I even went out to Ted Cruz a dinner. [13:34:38] It was hard to find a restaurant because I'm a delegate from Texas right now. [13:34:46] But he passed pass legislation together to help communities recover after disasters. A Bible study is true in half right wing Republicans office. We study Bible together. And you know what? When I was there in his offices in one of his hideaways intimate space, I noticed a picture of a little black girl prominently placed on a shelf. I was curious to be. I asked, who was he? This is his granddaughter. She's adopted. You know what he and I did? [13:35:13] We passed legislation together to help foster kids and homeless kids. The only major bipartisan bill under this president was a bill that I helped write and led from the Senate side, the Democratic side of the Senate for criminal justice reform. By working with people across the aisle. But this is the end. Because this is not politics, it's people. And when I was the Senate being the people, I decided to win, a lot of other senators do that, have a high sense of self-regard. I just try to write a book and I decide for the book. [13:35:48] I had to go back and find those people that help my family move in. Fifty years ago, when I found the head of that group, she she's 93 years old, that she was easy to find. Why? Because she's still head of the fair housing house. We'll still have that group in northern New Jersey. She doesn't represent black families anymore. She represents same sex couples, Americans with disabilities, Muslim families. She knows what we all know, that justice has no color to race the orientation. [13:36:14] It's one justice, one nation, one love. And she goes to me, you've got to talk for this chapter. [13:36:21] You've got to talk to the lawyer who organized everything. So I call this up, a retired New Jersey judge. And he tells me the whole story. I finally find out how big the dog was. [13:36:31] And then he tells me why he made the decision. [13:36:37] Because I want to know. Which was a time of year of white flight. Fears of real estate prices going down. He was busy just like a lot of entrepreneurs here. He started the business. But yet he took time out. All this time I felt like that was why he said while I was still at home watching TV. I'm OK. OK. OK. OK. We were just talking from the water, you know. He was sitting down watching TV and he was watching. [13:37:02] I don't know if you all remember these his hardship in America. We used to have we only had three channels and you had to get up to change them. I mean, also, people remember that turned to the younger people and explain to them how difficult it was. I think my dad had me and my brother Justin so we could turn the channels for him, but he was watching a movie. [13:37:20] So you are my age or older who finished his title? Call judgment at the right. And and watch something happened that was rare. [13:37:32] They pulled away from an ongoing TV movie to show a bridge in Alabama. The Edmund Pettus Bridge. These marchers started in Selma. We're trying to march to Montgomery and they can stopped on a bridge by Alabama state troopers who would not let them pass. And then those marchers were tear gassed. And then these Alabama state troopers stormed into the building, got strong, sort of beating them vicious person at the front of the line with a skull fracture. [13:38:01] The guy I hope we will all pray for right now is John Lewis has pancreatic cancer. Definitely. What is? [13:38:12] Here's the question, because this is our history, this is who we are. What did this guy do? What did the guy on a couch in New Jersey a thousand miles away, do? Do you treat democracy to treat our country like a spectator sport? Just sit there and do nothing. No. He stood up and said, I got to go to Alabama. But then he laughed. It was obvious he couldn't close his business. He couldn't could afford a plane ticket. But then he decides to do what is our great tradition. [13:38:37] He said, You know what? I am still an American. This is a moral moment. So you know what? I'm going to do the best I can with what I have, where I am. And he decides he can spend one hour a week to give a little bit more for the cause of his country. One hour a week. He calls around even his health. He finds this young woman, now 93 years old, who's like, hallelujah. Thank you all. I need some help. [13:38:57] And the two of them start working in 65 to 67. They got a sting operation out to get other neighbors involved. Turns in 1969, he gets this case file this family who do their healthy. What's it up? Got in housing court. You know the name I can. I don't know, sir. I don't even know. [13:39:12] The name of that case file was Carrie and Carolyn Booker, your parents. I'm literally standing before you right now. Only the fourth black person ever popularly elected in the United States said. [13:39:27] I'm running for the highest office in the land here in historical fact, where you might win. I'll be the first descendant of slaves ever to go to the White House, which was built by slaves before I read it. This happened because one guy on the couch in New Jersey decided to stand up for his country. He didn't have has two people involved were Republicans or Democrats. It was a moral woman. He stood up and joined the fight. [13:39:56] There are a lot of us in this race, but I am running because of that. That's our story. I'm running to. [13:40:03] Yes, beat Donald Trump. I'm running cause I know I'm the best candidate to help us win everywhere from North Carolina to Arizona. The whole Obama coalition. We're going to need to put Mitch McConnell back to the backbench. [13:40:14] But that is about every election. I'm not into the larger campaign for our country. And the larger campaign for our country is to heal. [13:40:24] The several several belonging that we have in this nation is to bring this nation back together because we are blessed and we stand together and work together. [13:40:35] That's not just how we can out of the gully. That's how together to the mountaintop we will rise. Thank you, everybody. [13:41:03] Before we drop that question, I want to ask how many of you are registered to vote? Raise your hands. How many are willing to register if you can register to vote? And even being the first in the nation, we have the civic responsibility of electing the leader to go on. How many of you can make a commitment to make sure that Senator. That's the hardest vote. [13:41:42] I would love for you to. I know and not only sign up to commit, but also to get out the vote. And I will make a pledge right now right here, and I will open up our pool to cameras for them. It's a Booker Prize for 2020. Got it. [13:42:03] Weekend to sign up. And I made people are signing out of support for good people with their fuel support that you can go. [13:42:15] Jeremy here. I thought I was to see it, which is a great conversation in a diner. And I love with Steve. Right. Forgive me for forgetting that Ryan proprietary has been something that was a very emotional question that I've always worried about. Look, you're right. Go ahead. [13:42:33] Remember what Shirley Chisholm said, when you get to the tables, you'll see. Bring a folding chair. So I need to ask you if you could commit to be the board and chair. For when it comes to bail reform, criminal justice reform. If you could be there for the cheer for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault to make sure they are at the table when it comes to things like that. [13:42:59] So, Brian, this guy I like, I really just love this man. [13:43:04] I've not even met him now twice because he because he is one of those folks that I despise. Two questions reveals who he is to me. The question earlier, the diner in question now. So, look, I was talking talking about things are shaping your style conversation with your laptop policy that we were talking about. It just given to the candidates six or seven cases on it. And I was talking about working on a crisis hotline in college. I end up running the crisis hotline for the leaders. And it was one of these hotlines where suicide calls, body image calls where we had. I'm sorry. OK, so sorry. Thank you. Thank you. Bless you. And thank you for it. Super interesting. It's so exciting. Thank you. Suicide calls and more. [13:43:50] And how it was moments in my life where I learned that all of us are struggling with issues that we often don't present. That's why we should be a lot more gentle with each other. We're all we're all fighting a battle that we're not aware of. And so I just want you to know that this has been my life. I make decisions of my life that I got into public life to fight for folks that were not in the center of people's attention and focus to be marginalized. And that's why I moved to live where I was to fight for communities who often looked down upon a left behind. [13:44:20] And that's why I'm the only United States senator that lives in a community like that, where the person one the president. So I promise you, sir, I would make you a. And I don't want to promise prospectively. I just want to tell you, respectively, that these are the legislation I fought for. It's one of the reasons why love and customer, because I see you're in Congress where she fights for she brings that folding chair for communities that don't often have a voice. And so everything I've been fighting for my whole career has been about doing that. And I will continue to do it. Ryan, you and I have a commitment, right, about about the White House. Yes, we do. OK. You can tell people what is. Go to Brian and give him a hug, too. He's actually kind of his great help. Yes, sir. [13:44:59] People are concerned about the tension in the South China Sea, where China keeps taking over islands that arguably belong to other concerns about taking over lives. [13:45:08] They're creating islands out of nowhere to end, but also keep going. [13:45:13] Islands overlapping territorial claims, a switch that's left the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is for. Yes. [13:45:22] Let me see. This is one of most sophisticated foreign policy questions I've ever asked. I'm grateful for. [13:45:26] I that I'm I'm telling you, he's going to tell you something. You want to lead by example and show the Chinese how these things should be. So. By example. It is incredibly convenient that you will have an island in stock ready to go much higher. SEAL Island is claimed by the United States and Canada. It's between Maine and Nova Scotia. You file a case there and like a football player, give it everything you've got. The Canadians will give it everything they got. And whichever side loses will tell the Chinese. This is the way we do these things. Why don't you do these things that other countries will see that example and they'll put the Chinese. What? Why don't you follow that example? Anything that makes one world 3 1 percent less likely is worth my suggesting to you for two minutes, sir. [13:46:14] First of all, it was great. It was less than two minutes. And I'm going to say this, which you just articulated to me, is having something pretty profound. You articulated a strategy for how to deal with China in a conflicted area. The key word being you just talked about a strategy. Well, this is what frustrates me as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is we have a president right now who can't articulate a strategy on China. In fact, his strategy for China. You talk about football. It's true that China is akin to me. We flew in to play South Bend, Indiana, a couple of times of us flying into South Bend, Indiana. [13:46:48] The defense is out there, Notre Dame defense. And I tell the rest of my offensive players, you guys stay on the sideline. I want to take this on alone because I say it's akin to that, because this president right now taking on China in this trade war. He's also declared a trade war on a whole bunch of other of our allies as well. He used a national security waiver to put you on. Gold is up here to put tariffs on Canada. Now, Trudeau's beautiful hair. So Bennison to me personally. But they are not a national security threat. [13:47:18] He's articulated no strategy. What do we see in the Middle East right now? A president comes off America first. What really is America first policy? Is America alone and America isolated? Because he can tell our allies. Guy was better relation with Putin than he does with Macron and Merkel. He pulls away from our allies on Iran, betrays a commitment our country made. We were a nation that stood by so many of our commitments we made in the modern era and and clutches that region into more instability. Iran, under his leadership, has grown more lethal, more dangerous, with now a highway throughout Syria to arm Hezbollah with more sophisticated weapons, our allies safe. [13:48:04] What was going on in Yemen? What's going on with with. With with Iraq right now. And so, sir, I'm telling you right now is a guy who's been working on these issues is a United States senator. Right. We have had bipartisan rebukes of a president who does his foreign policy by tweet and by impulse, whereas generals often find out about the policy that way. I'm telling you right now, what you articulated makes me very happy. And you will see that kind of strategic thinking as well, because we have learned the hard way in this country. [13:48:37] But this president does not seem to have learned to do that. The way to to deal with conflicts and cannot solve them. I've sat I've gone to Iraq. I've gone to to Baghdad. I've gone to up to the border, Syria. And add to this conflict conflict zones. Everywhere I go, I meet with military officials to say this is the solution here in Afghanistan. It's not going to be a military one. It has to be a diplomatic one. And this president has not proven to be a diplomat. Not proven to figure out how ways to build, get the kind of coalitions to make change. I'm grateful for your question. So much so. [13:49:10] Last question. I think Aaron is trying to control my life. She's my state director. [13:49:17] And when you're running for office, you know, you're always told what to do. [13:49:21] But this is going to be what I call it, defiant love. You're not the boss of me. [13:49:26] I'm going to answer two questions. Number one, I'm going to go with God. It's been so male heavy, though, fellas. So if I go here, I'm going to come back and go over here in the red. [13:49:37] OK. So, yes, I'm not changed by that. [13:49:40] He can't eat for this question anyway. My name is David Saxon. I'm an immigrant from South Africa. [13:49:47] I thought that was a Jersey accent. Further south in Connecticut. I didn't see outside. Please take your time to me. [13:49:54] I've been an immigrant a few times, actually. To Israel, to England, to the USA. I proudly voted for both Democrat and Republican presidential candidates in the fall elections, which I've been able to participate. I'm a classic independent. I'm also the president of terrible behavior here. It's a Jewish house of worship here in Nashua. And you've been here a few times. I support self-determination for both Jews and Arabs. And I believe in a peaceful resolution to Israel, Palestinian conflict. I'm really troubled by the rising anti-Semitism. Nobody in my humble opinion, the main difference between now and the 1920s and 1930s that led to the Holocaust in Europe is the existence of Israel. How do you as president, ensure safe and viable Israel? That depends upon the USA to defend itself. [13:50:43] The one in the toughest neighborhoods in the law suit. So, sir, I don't know how much you know about my history. But, you know, I've been taking trips Israel far before. I was a United States senator. [13:50:54] And. [13:50:58] What you said about you believing in self-determination of peoples is this very Jewish values guide to study Torah a lot in his life. What if he lets say, if I am not for myself, who will be for me if I am only for myself? What am I not now? When? That's the sort of Jewish idea. Judaism is one is in fact, of all the three Abrahamic faiths that want to convert anybody, this once could no longer rule the world and end the very song you sang during the holidays. Keep it up to me. Keep a theme. Exactly. Exactly. Thank you for helping my Hebrew. It. He makes it a little hole for me and may my house be a house of prayer for many nations. And so this is a very Jewish idea. I believe in the self-determination, Israel's right to defend itself. [13:51:40] This is what I believe. I also believe in the self-determination of Palestinian people. I believe in a two state solution. I believe. I believe Israel is less safe when they're not committed to that two state solution. And I believe right now is really has growing threats under this president. I talked about Hezbollah and their more sophisticated weapons. Last trip I took the region was to Lebanon. And so I think our country has to get back to having a firm, unequivocal, unshakable commitment to the defense of Israel and to everything we can. [13:52:09] We also we also do everything we can to make sure that we are supporting a two state solution as we go forward. Because I've been to the West Bank, as have many of my Israeli friends, many members were going to do a humanitarian work in the West Bank and showed me to be on and show me around about the lack of access to clean water, the poverty that exists there. Here's an entrepreneurial a lot of doors here. I went to a joint funded Palestinian and Israeli business incubator in the West Bank. [13:52:43] We've got to be committed to the dignity of all peoples. We've got to do it. This is my this is my concern. If I'm I gonna finish that. We'll go. The last question. A lot of people want to take shortcuts to to to somehow appease interest groups or politics overall. [13:53:01] What I love about Judaism is this. Peterson insists his. It's also strange faith that comes out of the four having faiths. Where? What? When? When the Jews were worshiping a golden calf. [13:53:14] God said a concept of Moses. Excuse me. Okay. I'll just draw these people, give you some when people leave. What did he say? Martin, need not be surprised if you just read these people erasing from your book. I want no part of God. Think about this. That's like hooks. But I think if you put this to me is what is needed right now. Those values, those firm adherence where they had the Muslim ban in this country. I went out to be at Dulles Airport with a court federal court order to tell the customs of Border Patrol they had to give detained Muslim families of other countries. [13:53:46] They had to give them access to attorneys. But I get there before he even talked to the customs, worked to stopped in my tracks because there's the whole concourse is full of hundreds of Americans protesting. And every time a Muslim family would come out of the gate and be released, the crowd erupted, singing like Abraham, welcoming strangers in the desert. But in that crowd, I will never forget getting chills. I saw guys with keep eyes on and sits us dancing around, welcoming Muslim families coming from other countries into our midst. [13:54:21] That was one of my all time favorite moments as an American watching that happen, because that's where we are. And by the way, Joe Donnelly, when I told him about it, he tells me, well, Corey, I went to the Annapolis airport, crowded as can be. And people coming off planes, we were hugging them and dancing and singing several, Corey. There were no international flights. [13:54:39] It was just us. How many people from Detroit? Other. [13:54:44] So I tell you about the values of our country that don't stop at our border. They go. People surrender their human rights when they come to our country where we separate families, put pregnant women on concrete floors, because the way you affirm your values and your security are tied together to abandon your you're to abandon your sense of safety, to better your values, to support security. When you lose both your values and your security, that's true for America at our border. It's true for America with his Muslim ban and these rallies, I know guys from the side that I know they get this as well, that their destiny is intrinsically tied to the well-being and human rights of Palestinians as well. So thank you. All right. [13:55:32] Please take me home, please. I'm not alone. I'm hopeful. [13:55:38] I'm a gun violence prevention and I've been working with a lot of the women around here as well. My question is there more than 30000 people killed there every two years? I have to say it was a foodborne illness. If there was the flu, we would have all hands on deck. We would be doing everything to save lives. [13:56:06] We continue to see that Congress will pass bills sitting on the Senate steps. Nothing. What can you do as a candidate to keep that message out there talking about it so that it's at the forefront? Because it's to me, it is far too many. It devastates families, communities and economically as well. What do you think of grassroots activism? [13:56:37] You asked me if I was practicing. I'm not waiting for you cause I'm doing a lot myself and I'm organizing around these issues. And you got somebody behind you has your back. One of my favorite T-shirts. And this campaign sponsored it, actually. [13:56:49] OK, so look, I can only keep talking about these issues even in my stump speech. Now I talk about half of the people dying in all these places and we're doing nothing to change the laws. You've got to keep talking about these issues and elevating them. I put out what some people called the boldest plan on gun violence in the whole race. I'm really proud of my plan. But I wished I was still willing to begin my remarks right by the person with the best to have on your website. On issue is not the best person to get it done. [13:57:14] And so I couldn't. I will do everything we can no matter what title I have. Don't have title. There's too much carnage in my lifetime. More people have died of gun violence in this country than in every one of our wars combined. [13:57:25] From the Revolutionary War to today, it's happening everywhere. It's happening every day. And there is violence. We don't talk about we don't talk about suicides in this country. We don't talk about the violence, again, targeted towards black trans women who've been murdered last year at rates. No, we haven't. I don't think I've ever seen before. So the one thing I want to communicate to you, why this is about values to me and why this election, because that's my point, right. It's that who is just going to awake the consciousness of our country? Now, I'm this guy. When I was mayor, I that was my struggle as a senator. [13:57:54] I got there. I didn't talk to the media for the first year. My job is not to get necessarily attention. My job is to humble myself, go out to dinner with people, try to get legislation done. But when I was mayor, when people were talking down to my city, overlooking my city, my job was to get as much attention as I can as a city council person. I did a 10 day hunger strike. I was going to eat. People cared about one community. Thousands of people turned up. Suburban police officers came down when I was mayor. I did anything I could to try to find creative ways to call attention to problems. Some of you might have heard of me well before I was a senator when I was on food stamps and tried to live on food stamps. [13:58:27] Let me tell you, I did a very bad job of trying to live on food stamps and went to bed hungry many nights because we're trying to make Americans live on two dollars and 14 cents a day. So. So that's what my career has been. Finding creative ways to draw more attention for Newark. God, we got hundreds of millions of dollars in new philanthropy to our city. People that wanted to rush and help a city that needs to be ignored or looked down upon. Helped us to create transformative change. If I'm your president, that's my job. To try to awaken the moral imagination of this country, get them to see each other, for us to care about each other, to understand that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. That it may be passed tomorrow, but it could be my kid today. [13:59:09] And this is the thing, when you run a campaign on values and virtues and morals, you're apt to be criticized for not living up to them. And I have it. [13:59:22] I got to ask one stunning question in an interview, what sorts of what stunning questions, just it just surprise because it was a very formal body about about when was your heart broken? And you know how the right answer. The honest answer is the first thing that comes to your mind and not always the one that might make you sound good in an interview court. What's your biggest flaw? I know my flaws, but God, I care too much. [13:59:49] No, I'm not going to end with one of my biggest mistakes and my biggest heartbreaks of my entire life and involves election time in my community. [13:59:59] I used to live up the hill from where I live now in high rise projects, and they are they were the toughest physical place I've ever lived. [14:00:07] But like Ryan, did you leave? There he is. I'm telling you, I learned more about you, about human goodness, because these women in that building, mostly women guys, too, but mostly women, were they just took care of me when they were like freezes in the city's temperature goes down and the heat is off of the building. Everybody took care of each other. I still remember I'm using my oven by my apartment by oven. Dangerous to not do that. But this is how people tried to cope. And the ladies came in almost like an intervention. Corey, you're very ashy and it's too dry in here. You need to put a pot of water on top of your stove so that humidity gets in the air. I can tell you survival tactics. I text at least for these women, for the children in those buildings were wonderful as well. [14:00:50] A group of them hung out in the lobby of the building in which I which I lived. Young kids, I watched them grow up and had one of them. His name is Hassan and Hassan Washington, who was exactly my dad's funny, charismatic. He was the leader of the crew. Like my dad. He was born poor to a single mother like my dad. His mom couldn't take care of him like my dad. At this point, he was being raised about three, four floors below where I lived by his grandmother. My dad was raised with his grandmother a little while until the community took him in house, took him in the kindness of strangers. Right. And so these kids, every time I come home a song and the crew would greet me and. [14:01:30] And one night I came home and I smelled something. [14:01:34] I hadn't felt so pungent since I was at Stanford Pot. And I'm not talking a pot of my stove, marijuana. And you know what? It's funny. But you know what? [14:01:46] Kids in inner cities do not have the same margins to experiment drugs as the kids at Stanford and Yale, where there was a lot of drugs use going on. And I do know problems with my friends smoking pot. I think breaking the law is wrong, but I'm leading on a bill to legalize marijuana and expunge records and let people with past marijuana charges get licenses to do business. A lot of things on my Marijuana Justice Act. But but thank you. [14:02:14] But here's the rub. I knew it was a crisis for inner city black kids to be getting mixed up in drugs. And I intervened and I asked to do the movies with me and just to try to get to know him better, pull me out of the environment. I let them choose the movie mistake. The worst thing I've ever seen, I thought was about home improvement is cold sore, too. Oh, my gosh. [14:02:37] I took him out to dinner to when one of my favorite diners, Andrew's Diner for other people together. I made commitments to that, that I was get mentor programs. All this play didn't follow through because I got really busy suddenly because I was in a campaign, I was run for mayor and I knew I was going eventually follow through. [14:02:54] But I did. [14:02:56] And and yet I still come home at night. And they would also be in the lobby. They would celebrate. They were going to vote for you, man. They make me laugh. I go long days of campaigning. And when they said they voted for me. I was so happy to hear it. It's over. They were not 18, but I got elected. [14:03:13] I have death threats all my life. [14:03:15] And and so they put police officers in the project's safest we've ever had them. But if you're a teenager and nobody here is going to hang out with the cops, always. I didn't see these kids, but I'm running on a mission. [14:03:25] But the birds were spiking the security before I got elected and I was running to every shooting I could. And and in about a month into my office of a newly minted mayor, there's a shooting down the street for me. Body cover up, another one being put in the ambulance. I barely affirm the humanity there. I administer to the living. And then I go back home that night because a couple hours sleep, I look at my BlackBerry for the police report and I search and see the police report. And then suddenly I see the name of the murdered person down the hill. And it was a song watching. [14:03:55] God had put him right in front of me. On my doorstep. [14:04:02] He was my father. [14:04:05] My father's community, they were there for I told you when his grandmother came to here, people took him in. He is who he is because his church insisted he goes to college, could afford it. Took the question down the hill before Hassan. [14:04:18] You want to talk about someone who knows this issue? [14:04:22] Other members of that crew have since died the same way. Gunshot wounds. When we buried his son, I was a newly minted mayor. People leaning on me. But I couldn't stay in that funeral home. I literally with shame in my heart left. And I remember coming back to my mayor's office and crying because I realized we were all there for his death, crowded in a room, packed together. [14:04:44] We were all there for his death. But where was I? Where were we for his life? [14:04:49] So this is our national question, White House. [14:04:52] We agree on these issues, but where are we going to be every day that we wait and we don't get something done? People are dying every single day. Suicides, murders, mass shootings. And so the question is, is that just me? What will we do? Because this problem will persist until we have people with the passion to have the ability to wake up everybody else. Because today, if not for myself, who will be for me, but about only for myself. What am I? Well, you know what? What we are we are a nation that leaves the planet. [14:05:24] Earth is in all countries that are at war and the killing of their own citizens and the death of their own citizens and the slaughter of those citizens will not on my watch. If I am your president every single day, I will never listen. And I'll make sure there's not more of them in cities around this country. Because I'm going to do what's necessary to get the legislation passed by awaiting the leadership and the commitment and the compassion and the love of our nation. We will not be torn down by hate. We will not be torn down by violence. Promise you. I promise you, I'm your president. We will rise. Thank. [14:06:11] Those attending the whole campaign have talked more, and I got to go to the press gaggle next. [14:06:15] I can't stay here and take SD, so I'm gonna let other camp.