Transcripts For CSPAN Celebrity Activists 2017 20171229

You want the right to an abortion, the right to die, anything that is good and true and beautiful is in there. Kutcher is the cofounder of an Organization Called thorn defenders of children. He testified before the Senate Foreign relations committee. Ashton it is an honor to be here. As a young man brought up in the Public School system. I pledged my allegiance to that flag every single day, and the honor, maybe one of the greatest honors of my life today, is to be here and leverage the work s that i have done as testimony that may in some way benefit this nation that i love. I would like to start by saying thank you to chairman corker for your leadership in this endeavor and to the senator. Your leadership has been extraordinary. I would like to say thank you to the rest of the committee that has supported this effort. This is a bipartisan effort, and in a country that is riddled with bipartisan separation on so many things, slavery seems to come up as one of these issues. Hat we can all agree upon i applaud you for your agreement, and i believe in you in your leadership and your ability to take us out of it. I am here today to defend the right to pursue happiness. It is a simple notion. The right to pursue happiness is bestowed upon all of us by our constitution. Every citizen of this country has the right to pursue it, and i believe that it is incumbent upon us as citizens of this nation, as americans, to bestow that right upon others, upon each other, and upon the rest of the world, but the right to happiness for so many is stripped away. Isis raped, it is abused, it taken by force, fraud, or coercion. It is sold for the momentary happiness of another. This is about the time when i Start Talking about politics that the internet trolls tell me to stick to my day job, so i would like to talk about my day job. My day job is as the chairman and cofounder of thorn. We build software to fight Human Trafficking and the sexual a Sexual Exploitation of children. That is our core mission. My other day job is that of a father of two. A twomonthold and a twoyearold. It is part of the job i take seriously. I believe it is my effort to ensure a society and government that defends it as well. As part of my antitrafficking work, i have met victims in russia. I have met victims in india. I have met victims that have been trafficked from mexico, new york, new jersey, and all across our country. I have been on fbi raids where i have seen things that no person should ever see. That defends it as well. I have seen video content of a child that is the same age as mine being raped by an american man that was a sex tourist, a sex tourist. This child was so conditioned by her environment she thought she play. Gaging in i have been on the other end of a phone call from my team asking for my help because we have received a call from the department of Homeland Security telling us a sevenyearold girl was being sexually abused and that content was being spread around the dark web, and she had been abused and they watched her for 3 years and could not find the perpetrator. Asking us for help. We were the last line of defense. And his organization was the last line of defense. That is my day job, and im sticking to it. I would like to tell you a story about a 16yearold girl in oakland. We will call her amy. Amy met a man online, started talking to him, and a short while later, they met in person. Within hours, amy was abused, raped, and forced into trafficking. She was sold for sex. This is not an isolated incident. There is not much that is unusual about it. The only unusual thing is that amy was found and returned to her family within three days using the software that we created, a tool called spotlight. In an effort to protect its capacity over time, i will not give much detail about what it does, but it is a tool that can be used by Law Enforcement to prioritize their caseload. It is a neural net. It gets smarter over time, better, more efficient as people use it. And it is working. In six months, with 25 of our users reporting, we have identified over 6000 trafficking victims, 2000 of which are minors. This tool is in the hands of 4000 Law Enforcement officials and 900 agencies, and we are reducing the investigation time by 60 . This tool is effective. Its efficient. Its simple. Its nimble. Its better. Its smarter. There is often a misconception about technology that in some way it is the generator of some evil, that it is creating job displacement, and it enables acts. Ce and malice as an entrepreneur and Venture Capitalist in the Technology Field i see technology is simply , a tool without will. The will is the user of that technology, and i think it is distinctive. An airplane is a piece of technology. Under the right hands, it is used for mass global transit. Under the wrong hands, it can be flown into buildings. Technology can be used to enable slavery, but it can also be used to disable slavery. That is what we are doing. I had a call from the department of Homeland Security about this girl who was being trafficked on the dark web. It is interesting to note that the dark web was created in the mid1990s. Tor, a tool with positive intention for sharing Intelligence Communications anonymously. It has also been used to help people who are being disenfranchised by their governments in political dissent within oppressive regimes. On the other side, it is used for trafficking, for drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and Human Trafficking. It is also the warehouse for some of the most offensive child abuse images in the world. When the department of Homeland Security calls us and asks for our help and if we had a tool, i had to say no. It devastated me. It haunted me. For the next 3 months, i had to go to sleep every night and think about that little girl that was still being abused. The fact that if i do the right if i built the right thing, we could save her. So that is what we did, and now, when i get that phone call, and greg, wherever you are at, the answer will be yes. We have taken these investigation times of dark web material from 3 years to what we believe can be three weeks. The tool iscalled solis. I will not go into much detail about the tool, but it is being used by 40 agencies across the world today in beta, and we believe it will yield extraordinary results. Just like spotlight it gets , smarter and more efficient and more Cost Effective over time. So where do we go for from here . We need money. We need financing in order to build these tools. Technology is expensive to build, but the beauty of technology is once you build the warehouse, it gets more efficient and more costeffective over time. I might be able to present to you a Government Initiative where next year, i come back and ask for less. That seems extraordinary. The technology we are building is efficient. It works. It is nimble, because traffickers change their modus andi, and we can change hours as well. Change ours as well. It is enduring. And it only gets smarter with time. We are collecting data. We understand that if we are delivering value, we can increase our efforts in that area. If we are not delivering value, we shut it down. And it is a quantifiable solution. One of my mentors told me dont go after this issue if you cant come up with a quantifiable solution. We can quantify it and we can make the work youre doing in the initiatives you put forward accountable. My second recommendation, is to continue to foster these private Public Partnerships. Spotlight was only enabled by the mccain institution, and the full support of cindy mccain, and a man that i find to not only be a war hero, but a hero to this issue, john mccain. It was not just created by them. There is extraordinary support from the private sector. The Company Digital reasoning out of tennessee stepped up to the plate and offersed us pro bono work. We had the support of companies that often times war with each other, google to microsoft to some of ourk, and other technology initiatives, including many other private charities. It is vital to our success. These private Public Partnerships are the key. The third thing i would like to highlight is the pipeline. You know, we sit at the intersection of discovery of these victims, but the pipeline in, and the pipeline out are just as vital and just as important in addressing, and addressing them are just as important. I would like to highlight one thing in particular. The foster care system. There are 500,000 kids in foster care today. I was astonished to find out that 70 of the inmates in the prison across the country have touched the foster care system. 80 of the people on death row were at some point in time exposed to the foster care system. 50 of the kids will not graduate high school. 95 of them will not get a college degree. The most staggering statistic i found was foster care children are 4 times more likely to be exposed to sexual abuse. That is a breeding ground for trafficking. I promise you, that is a breeding ground for trafficking. The reason i looked at foster care is it is a microcosm, a sample set that we have pretty extraordinary data around today , even though we cannot seem to fix it. A microcosm for what happens when displacement happens abroad, the unintended consequences of our actions or inactions in the rest of the world. When people are left out, when they are neglected, when they are not supported, and they are not given the love that they need to grow, it becomes an incubator for trafficking. This refugee crisis, if we want to be serious about ending slavery, we cannot ignore it. We cannot ignore our support for this issue in that space, because otherwise we are going to deal with it for years to come. The outbound pipeline. Theres just not enough beds. The bottom line is, once someone is exposed to this level of abuse, it is a Mental Health issue. There is not enough beds, theres not enough support. We have to have the resources on the other side, otherwise the recidivism rates are through the roof. It is astonishing, because what maslow hierarchy of needs are not being met, people, the only source of love they have in their life, that is what they go for. We have to address the pipeline out, and we have to create support systems on the other end. It is not an entitlement. It is a demand to end slavery. My fourth and final recommendationis the bifurcation of sex trafficking and labor trafficking. They are both aberrations, both awful, both slavery, and both punitive, in fact. But the solution sets are highly differentiated. When you look at sex trafficking, a victim is most often present at the incident of commerce. And this provides an opportunity for drastic intervention. Whereas in labor trafficking, the victims are being hidden by the manufacturers and the merchandisers, and it requires an entirely different set of legislation, and proactivity, and enforcement in order to shut it down. There is a lot of rhetoric going on in the world right now about job creation in the United States. If we want to create jobs in the United States, i would ask you to consider eliminating slavery from the pipelines of corporations. Because a lot of that slavery is happening abroad, and if we ask those corporations under extreme pressure that if you do not change it, you are going to be penalized, and if you dont clean up that pipeline, it is going to mean trouble. They are forced to two decisions. They can either clean up the pipeline abroad, or they can move the jobs to the United States of america where they can be regulated and supported. Bringing jobs to america can be the consequence of doing the right thing, or it can be the consequence of doing the wrong thing. But that choice is up to you. It is not lost on me that all of this disruption in our marketplace is going to have economic backlash. That is not lost on me at all. But i ask you, did you believe that Abraham Lincoln had to consider the economic backlash of shutting down the cotton fields in the south when he shut down slavery . Because im sure that wade on that weighed on his mind. Happiness can be given to no man. It must be earned through generosity and through purpose. But the right to pursue it, the right to pursue it is every mans right, and i beg of you that if you give people the right to pursue it, what you may find in return is happiness for yourself. Thank you. Earlier this year, Michael Phelps used his status as the most decorated olympian ever to call for improved antidoping measures in sports. Testifying before the house energy and, sub, commerce subcommittee, he described a system where some athletes are tested repeatedly, and others are never tested. You can watch this entire hearing on our website, www. Cspan. Org. Michael good morning. My name is Michael Phelps. A retired professional swimmer and olympian. I would like to thank the committee for the opportunity to appear before you today. A privilege to be here to share my thoughts on the perspective of the issue of clean sport, which is important to so many athletes and to sport in general. I competed internationally for over 15 years and have a tremendous honor to represent the United States in five Olympic Games and six world championships. Without question, many of my proudest moments have been representing my country in international competition. There is no greater feeling than standing on top of the podium, watching the stars and stripes rise as the National Anthem plays. The rio olympics were special to me because it gave me the opportunity to end my career on my terms and do it with my wife, nicole, and son boomer watching. I watched how this affected my teammates and fellow competitors. We all felt frustration. Looking back over my career and knowing how difficult it is to get to the highest levels of sport, i cannot help wonder if the next generation of athletes will be able to do it if there is uncertainty that continues. As a child i found school , difficult. I had adhd, which probably contributed to my restlessness. I will never forget being told by one of my teachers that i would never amount to anything. It was swimming that enabled me to see past those challenges and not be defined by them. My mom for my sisters and me in the pool so we would be water safe. At first, like many children, i was afraid to put my head under the water. By overcoming that fear, i got my first taste of selfconfidence. As it turned out, i was pretty good in the water, and i quickly realized that the harder i work, the quicker i improved. I found a focus and purpose i had never felt before. I would set goals for myself and work like crazy until i accomplished them. Dreams would pop into my head whenever i got into the pool. I would dream about becoming a recordholder, i wanted to be the best. I talked to my coach so we could come up with a plan, not just for what i was doing in the pool, but also how i could better myself away from the pool. I met up my mind to do everything i could to make my dream a reality. In school, i had friends, but it was not that social. I focused on swimming. At times, i was made fun of for what i was doing because it was different. I was in love with challenging myself to become the best athlete that i could be. I felt that every single day was an opportunity for me to do Something Special when i went to the pool. I always felt the kids who worked the hardest got the best results. Thats why i pushed myself as hard as i could. Over a fiveyear period, i trained every single day without a day off. I figured by training on holidays i would be able to get that extra edge. As my hard work and sacrifice began to pay off, my confidence grew. I began to feel that if i could dream something and gave everything i had, anything is possible. The strength of that belief drove me to set goals that others may have thought were unrealistic. That is one amazing thing about competitive sport. It demands you believe in yourself. This is not always easy. There is so many times i could have quit and walked away. Sticking with it requires me to dig deep, especially knowing that after all the work and sacrifice, success might be 100th of a by just 1 second. In those critical moments that you really test your commitment that can ultimately define your career. Youll need to believe that if you push on, you will get the opportunity to measure yourself, your preparation, your desire, your talent, against others who have prepared themselves in the same exact way. Throughout my career, i thought some athletes were cheating, and in some cases, those suspicions were confirmed. Given all the testing we have been through, i had a hard time understanding this. In addition to the test and competitions, i had to notify them as to where i was every day, so they would be able to conduct random testing out of competition. This whole process takes a toll, but it is absolutely worth it to keep the sport clean and fair. I cannot describe how frustrating it is to the other athletes breakthrough performance barriers in unrealistic time frames knowing what i had to do to go through that. I watch how this affected my teammates as well. Even the suspicion of doping is for athletes. To believe in yourself through sport, you need to be able to believe in the system that safeguards clean sport and fair play. All athletes must be held to the same standards, which need to be implemented and enforced with consistency and independence. For years now i worked closely , with kids, most of which are not swimmers, but are eager to sit down and talk with me and , always full of questions. It is when i talk about being a kid like them, and how this all started with a dream, you see their eyes like an up. Their eyes light up. They talk about how i did it and tell them they can do it too, and tell them if they do the work, they can succeed. The power to believe in yourself and inspire others sport depends upon fair play. Now that im retired, im frequently asked if i think anyone will ever win more medals than me in my lifetime. My answer to that question is i hope so. I would like to think there is some little boy or girl out there now with an even bigger dream, and Even Stronger drive, to do something never done before. But for that to happen, he or she must believe they will get a fair opportunity to compete. If we allow our confidence in fairplay to erode we will , undermine the power of sport, and the goals and dreams of future generations. The time to act is now. We must do what is necessary to ensure the system isfair and is fair and reliable so we can all believe in it. Thank you, mr. Chairman and members of the committee. Next, Actress Jennifer Garner spoke at the National Governors association on the issue of childhood education. She is on the board of trustees for the group save the children. it is exciting and thrilling to be in a room full of people who are giving their lives to the service of our country. I am grateful to be a part of this conversation. When i started working for this nine years ago the thought of being part of a National Conversation was off in the distance. First, to let you know how i got into this in the first place, my poor in up dirt depression oklahoma. She managed to get herself educated, the only member of her family to go to college. Charleston, West Virginia where we grew up middleclass surrounded by rural poverty. The kind where kids shoes are cut along the front to let their toes grow out. Some of my friends did not make it to second grade when i did, third grade, when i did, and to somehow disappeared off the face of the earth in my elementary mind. Awareness and gratitude are powerful motivators and have driven me to think about big things like how did my mom get out and how can i help other kids like the ones i grew up close to. I hunted down the organization that at the time, and i still believe, has the most efficacy of helping kids get out of ral poverty inu the United States. That was save the children. Intoyou are going someones trailer home surrounded by trash with plastic over a broken window with the oven door open to heat the space that is infested by cockroaches, int has not an ounce of joy the place, you do feel privileged to be allowed in peoples homes, accepted, and welcome into a place where they could just feel shame and not want you to look inside. Homes, walk into these you would be suffocated by the silence in the room. The children are not babbling. They are not talking. They are not crying. They are not making joyful sounds or anything else. That is because their senses are dulled. Their mothers and fathers are so overwhelmed by the stressors of living in poverty, food scarcity , not knowing where they will live, drug addiction, abuse. You all know the drill better than i. The mothers are so overwhelmed that they dont have the capacity to look outside themselves. Im sure they have not had the modeling that most of us have had with great parents. They do not have the capacity to look outside themselves and read seeing to their baby, speak to and love their babies. They sit their babies in front of a television. I have seen it over and over again across this country. And the child quietly goes to sleep inside their mind. If the brain grows between birth and 5, we are doing these children a great disservice because they have absolutely lost the chance to ever make it ahead in life. If you are growing up in poverty, by fouryearsold, you are a year and a half behind developmentally. You are a 2. 5yearold. How is it going to feel when you start kindergarten . 60 of kids in Rural America starts special ed in kindergarten. There is an answer, and the answer is starting earlier and earlier, and earlier. Believe and as i applaud all of you who are putting money and effort into helping kids at three years old and four years old i challenge , you to look at birth to three, and ask you to think about what you are doing for those newborns. Governor mcmasters, south programs where the are needed and the money was cut yesterday, im coming out after him. Governor bevans for kentucky. I am thrilled to tell you that there is so much optimism in getting to a mother and child early. I have a story that i love. I was visiting a family in a concrete home in the heat of central valley, california. There was a little boy, 11 months old. Walked into the house, i had a 10 month old little boy. He is turning five on monday. This little boy did not look up, smile, or react to me at all. He was sitting in front of an episode of oprah, and that was kind of where his focus was, and she is wonderful. I hope he got something from her. The mother looked depressed, overwhelmed, exhausted and i can , understand why. Her life did not look like anything i would want to lead. This little boy was stagnant. The save the children coordinator brought something for this child, along with a book back of books and a log for the mother to fill out for every time she was reading to her child. She brought a ball. This little boy had never seen a ball. Imagine your own children, imagine your son, with his first ball. This kid kind of looked at that ball and his mom, and she was putting up with us, frankly. The save the children coordinator said role that ro ll that ball to your son. She did. He rolled it back, and the mother kind of sat there. The coordinator said hes playing with you. Do it again. Do it again. [beep] is that my time . It is like the oscars. You guys are so scary. Can i tell you what happened with the mom and child . The baby made a noise. The baby made a noise. The coordinator said he is talking to you. She said he is not talking to me. He is, it is speech, connection, it is happening. Say the same thing back to him. The mother did, embarrassed. Back. Ild said it they were babbling back and forth. I saw a light switch go on. Theow, because we visited week after that, the light switch was turned on just enough that a connection was made here are the mother knew she could play with her child, speak with her child and expect a response. That chill that child had a chance to go to kindergarten ready to learn. Thank you and call on me if i can be a part of coming to your state and introducing you to our program. And governor mcmaster, i will speak to you soon. And awardwinning actor, screenwriter, and director spoke at the conservative Political Action conference in washington. He described the origins of his with President Trump and his support for the president s agenda. Robert good evening. I have to tell you, i got the invitation to come here. Said, i aint showing up. I have Something Else i have to do. Im thrilled to be here with all of you. I have to say how moved i am to see how many young people are engaged. You are the future of this country. To be engaged and understand how important this moment of your history is. This nation belongs to you. I want to ask a question and be honest. , on the dayyou donald trump came down the escalator, were Trump Supporters . Just raise your hand. How many are supporters today . Breitbart. I have done that since its inception. Was a goodtbart friend of mine. I met him on the uss Ronald Reagan. I also have a talk show. Bond villain goes talkshow host. Call part of my show after an. Talian fish stew part of politics can be very fishy at times. I want to read something i wrote for breitbart, the day donald trump made his entrance with melania down the escalator. Trump could be the president ial candidate who who finally provides america with the message grassroots conservatives have wanted to hear. The common sense populist message, while not as poetic as gutld reagan, goes to the of an American Population ripping it here out while watching the destruction of our republic from within. The compliance and lack of imagination from some of the , andlican party, the elite the aggressive takeover by progressives who are bent every imageg america into the of europe have brought us to the point we are in. In my lifetime, seen such a disparaging portrait of america. It will take a leader who understands how to build, not just govern. We have had years of the blood of political elites who have dismantled americas individualism. We dont need another politician at this time in our history. That was my Opening Statement in the breitbart article that i wrote the day our president was announced. These are all great political them all,nd i respect but i remember watching, and we love all of them, but there are benchmarks for me. The media is one of them. The culture is another. We will get to the media. About that for years. Being in hollywood since 1977, i did my first film with frank sinatra. I have seen holly wrote, i am seen Ronald Reagan in the 1980s ive seen hollywood. I have seen Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. Atalked with a friend of mine couple of times. We discussed this. When Ronald Reagan was president of the United States, mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall. The wall came down. Prosperity. Nte, was a8, his right hand guy named george bush. Bushes, wethe respect george bush, but there was a shift. That was a shift stunning. After being the right hand of Ronald Reagan for eight years, seeing the bold choices, the muchmoves that he made, like donald trump how the establishment on the left and have attacked donald trump through his whole thing, what does george bush run under in 1988 . That was 1992. In 19 88 he said a kinder, gentler nation. Right after he saw what Ronald Reagan did. George bush is a good man. Flag put inlobalist the ground. After reagan we had bush, obama. , bush 2, we needed a force of nature. We needed a force of nature to take the ship back, generated by you, the people. It is your campaign, as donald trump says over again. When mitt romney ran, we thought he could win. Another good man. Here he is doing a debate. Member the second debate . I am an actor. I am sitting at home. I watched the second debate. Talkingnt says about benghazi. Mitt romney was not able to go, media, ion cnn, the will tease you for a second about cnn. Who is the Parent Company of cnn . Who is it . Time warner . Parent warner the company . Remember that. Cnn she holds it up. Kennedy, get the paper. Instead of mitt romney looking at kenny crowley, he said you guys rehearsed this . The American People knew. They were misled about thing causing mr. President. We cannot mislead them any longer. That is the stance that should have been taken at that moment. For some reason the elites are afraid to rock the boat. The third debate, have them bring it up. Bring it up at the third debate. I also said, when Hurricane Sandy happened, have them go. He may not have ever heard it, but i said it to the campaign people. , whenurricane happens youre are going to be president of the United States, act like it. Donald trump did that when the hurricane happened in louisiana. He understands the media. He understands how to bring a message to the people. Remember the night he won the election . My 16yearold boy for four eight his talents like this. He was pierced off they did not call florida earlier. Finally, when it was called for him, he released. He did not give a concession speech because i know what happened backstage. You have to realize what happened. Everyones hair had to be on fire. In hollywood, they had to be calling him. Every hollywood elitist had to be calling. George soros, what happened . They probably called george soros. He was probably saying what happened . There is a book coming out about it. Here is what she said in her speech. To the millions of volunteers, community leaders, activists, knocked onizers who doors, posted on facebook, i want facebook sites, everyone coming out from behind that and making sure your voices are heard going forward. To the young people in particular, i hope you will hear spent my entire adult life fighting for what i believe in. I have had successes and setbacks. Sometimes painful ones. Many of you are the beginning of your careers. You will have setbacks too. Never stop believing that fighting for what is right is worth it. It is worth it. We need you to keep up these fights. Now, a couple of hours later was the first marches. That was the trigger. What is happening now in our country, from the elite in hollywood, the elite in hollywood can fly and work anywhere. I travel the world singing. Am a darn good singer. I can go anywhere, but the makeup artist, the key grip, the dry cleaner cannot get on that plane. They lost touch with the bluecollar america. They dont know. Now, a few things more. The Parent Company of cnn is time warner. We know the media, the fake reno, the very fake media, i have known for years. I have seen it being manipulated. I respect everyones point of view. I understand when i see the vitriol and the misrepresentation, continued misrepresentation of certain things. Exaggerations of certain things exaggerations of certain things carried to a point they shouldnt be, that is what we are seeing now. 100y media says the first days. He has been in office for 30 something days and look at what has been accomplished. Look what the future is going to be. I have to wrap up. I will finish this speech tomorrow. In honor of mike pence i would like to mention another son of indiana. How many of you know of red skelton . 1969 he talked about the pledge of allegiance. The remember that . I would like to read what he said, what his teacher said about the pledge of allegiance. The kids were not saying it with meaning behind it. The last message Ronald Reagan gave to the American People in his Farewell Speech was the american patriotism. Educate the youth with a new american patriotism. The article i wrote in breitbart in november read it. It is important. President trump in his inauguration address brought up patriotism. Immigrants that have not been assimilated have not been taught it. The pledge of allegiance, i, me, a committee of one, pledge all of my worldly goods to give without selfpity, allegiance, my love and devotion, to the glory, a standard, old symbol of freedom. There isshe waves respect because your loyalty gives dignity. I am sanctified by the blood of our most brave. We have comemeans altogether. States, individual communities that have united into 50 individual communities with pride, dignity, and purpose, divided with imaginary boundaries and unify to a common purpose. That is love of country. And to the republic, a state in which sovereign power is invested in representatives chosen by the people to govern. Government is the people, from the people to the leaders. Not the leaders to the people. For which it stands one nation under god, meaning so blessed by. Od indivisible, incapable of being divided, with liberty, the power to live ones own life without threat, fear of retaliation. Justice, the principle of quality of living fairly with others. For all, boys and girls, as much your country as it is mine. Lets standnd girls, for the pledge of allegiance. Lets hear it. 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. [applause] former california governor and Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke at a summit on Afterschool Programs, where he criticized spendingfederal cuts. He is the founder of afterschool allstars, a program in los angeles. He spoke about his activism with a cnn commentator. Let me ask you a couple of tough questions. Arent you spoiling these kids . Yourself,honest, you, come from a modest background. No one gave you a big Afterschool Program. Way. Igured out a you almost invented bodybuilding. You transformed the whole field. Just, i need a program. Arent you spoiling the kids . Shouldnt they just go do it like you did it . Arnold i know what your question is, but i have to tell you i was spoiled myself. Because today, today we have to organize Afterschool Programs because both of the parents are working in most households. Austria thatp in was very uncommon that both parents were working. I did not ever hear that. Very rarely. 5 maybe at the time did that. Most of the people, the mothers stayed home and cooked. My mother was a traditional house frau. A member of the home, and from morning to night, was all about providing food. She would be gardening, growing the vegetables, doing all those kind of things, and then cooking up a storm. In the afternoon, when we came home, she was there and made sure we did our homework. And she was tough. You know, i mean really tough. The ruler, the back of the hand, if you did not do your math. You cannot do that now, but this was the old days. She was there, she helped us. Ith homework she was well educated. She could help us with the homework all the time. Afternoon, my father was a police officer. He went to the sports field, the soccer field, and he coached us in soccer. In the winter they would go ice curling and iceskating with us. Literally from morning to night, between the coaches and the teachers and the parents, everyone, mentors, everyone was there 24 hours a day. This is why i am here today, because i had that kind of upbringing. This is why i became a fanatic when i was the chairman of the president s council on fitness, i went to all 50 states promoting health and fitness in the schools. I always saw hundreds of kids being sent outside, and they were just standing around. Ive would ask, who is picking them up . They would say no one. I feel sorry for the kids if they dont have someone there helping them with homework. I felt sorry for the kids because no one pick them up and took them to the sports field. There was no want help them with music, art, painting, something for them to do. That is where the idea came from. If i wanted to give anything back to this country, it is one thing i can do to give back. Starting the Afterschool Programs, the whole movement. Thats beautiful. My dad was born poor. He said the liberals and the conservatives get it wrong. He said the liberals think you can give someone money and stop them from being poor. If you are poor and your heart, skills, and selfesteem you may not be broke, but you will be broke tomorrow because you have to climb the ladder yourself. At the same time the conservatives get it wrong because even though every kid has to climb the ladder out of poverty on their own effort, the grownups have to make sure there is a ladder for them to climb. You are building ladders, and we appreciate that. Arnold thank you. We talked about that, how important it is we Pay Attention to our kids. They need the help. Imagine how many kids are falling behind in education, they cant keep up because everyone has different abilities. They dont have anyone to give them a little push. Would we do in our afterschool. Rograms, to give them tutoring if they come to the Afterschool Program and they are falling behind in math, they get tutoring in math. If they are falling behind in english skills because they are from a foreign country, germany, a latin country am a french country, if they fall behind they need help. Many doubt the kids all the time, that is the bottom line. We need to help the kids all the time, that is the bottom line. When you got into politics, i was jealous because i was in politics for a long time and i. Ever passed one bill your first ballot measure you move half a billion dollars, 60 of the vote, embarrass the professionals. It was not just that you did it, the way you did it. You had the civil Rights Groups and cops together and we have been fighting with each other throughout the 1980s and 1990s here you got us together. Republicans and democrats, young and old. How . It is not fair. The rest of us have been trying. How were you able to pull this off . How are you able to get republicans and democrats to work gather . Work together . Arnold there were a lot of people working on this. The way we did it was it was wasn that Law Enforcement adamant about getting the kids off the street and finding a way to get them to Community Centers to play basketball or do something educational. They talk about the danger zone between 3 00 and 6 00. The teachers union, i said, can you endorse this . They said that is fantastic as long issue dont create competition for our teachers. I said no, we want to hire the teachers. They said great. I went to organizations, democrats, republicans, and everyone started getting involved. I am a very inclusive person. I dont try to do anything thinking i can do it myself. I felt everyone that is interested in having kids get Afterschool Programs, i want them to endorse the initiator of we went up and down the state. I spent millions of dollars of tv andmoney to put on advertise, to promote, the initiative. We raised millions of dollars. That is how we pushed it over the top. I feel passionate about it. I come in for years, tried to get in touch with legislators in california. I told them, it is about Afterschool Programs. No one wanted to meet. Then i got in touch with the governor and he did not want to meet. No one had any interest because it was kids. They didnt give money to politicians. There is nothing in there. They so they did not understand the value. So i said to myself, i think the next best thing we can do when you have the great political system where you can go directly to the people through an initiative process, that is the route i am going to go. That is exactly what we did. When i saw the point numbers, they said we are going to endorse it. Everyone started endorsing it, and became part of it, which was great. I do not hold any grudges or anything like that. It was great. Everyone worked together. Almost 60 of the voters during a recession, may i remind you. Arnold that may have been the last great bipartisan moment in the states. Since then, things have gone in interesting directions. I know about you because i got a chance to read stuff and learn stuff about you. You seem to be a sponge. Wherever you go, it seems you are just learning and learning and learning. You have gotten a chance to meet a bunch of folks in this room. You met a bunch of the kids through news programs. What has this community taught you that you want to reflect back to them . Arnold i think every time you do something, it does not matter if it is i have been an International Code for special International Coach for Special Olympics, for instance, for the last 40 years. Most people do not know that. I just came from the Special Olympics in austria because we theed hosted International Special Olympic Games for winter sports. And people always say youre really pumping up these guys. The people in the Special Olympics are so pumped up when you come around. The fact of the matter is, when i watch them, i see the obstacles they have to overcome to perform, and unbelievable races and all that stuff, i , figure skaters, whatever the sport is, you know, you watch them. , with all thelar obstacles and that is really inspirational. They dont look at it as an obstacle. I get inspired by them through the same. When i go around in the community, and i see the way kids grow up, the lack of money there is a lot of times and opportunities, lack of opportunity, it inspires me, creates the fire in the belly where i got to go out and do something about it and help. I was very privileged because i got a lot of help from my parents early on and later on in this country. The publisher of muslim fitness magazines, the king of bodybuilding, he gave me all the opportunities. Producers like that gave me all the opportunities to do great movies and all the stuff. I want to do the same thing. I want all of those kids to have the same opportunities. This is why it is important, when you see the way they live and the lack of opportunities they have, it inspires me in turn to go out and to help and to do something about that because i am a person that does not like to sit in front of the Television Set and complain. Because i hate that. That is the national sport, dude. Arnold i know. I thought you liked sports. Arnold i have a lesson for people. Instead of complaining about something, it is better to go and have a solution and do something about it. Say, i sit there and cannot believe what is going on in washington. This is terrible. Every time we look at the news so theres another problem and they complain. And i say wait a minute, congress has a worse Approval Rating than her piece or herpes or colonoscopies, or any of those things. I say to myself, that 98 of them that got reelected in this last election. So, i say, you are the problem. Instead of complaining in front of the Television Set, do something about it. Listen more carefully to what they say. The whole political system is fixed in the first place. Nbc correspondent Maria Shriver is founder of a group called the Womens Alzheimers Movement. She testified earlier this year for the Senate Special committee on aging, calling on congress to roll back cuts on Alzheimers Research. You can watch this in its entirety on our website, www. Cspan. Org good afternoon. Be hereu for inviting today. It is an honor to be here with so many extraordinary people. Every Single Person behind me could actually be be testifying could actually be testifying and tell an incredible story. I am honored to be here. As chairman callin mentioned and as some of you may know, i have been here before, eight years ago to be exact. Until march of 2009 i sat here and testified about how alzheimers had taken up residence in what had been my fathers beautiful brain. My father was an idealistic, intelligent, and dedicated to dedicated public servant. His mind was as sharp as they come, a beautifully tuned instrument that left people in all and inspired. In all and inspired. He was an expert at sharing his passion with the general public, thought leaders, and people like yourself. He also often came here to the hill to increase funding for the war on are pretty programs that war on poverty programs that he created including headstart, vista, job corps, and Legal Services for the poor. He loved working in this building and he was really good at it. He knew every senator and congressmen by name and if he were here today, he would know every single thing about each and everyone of you, about your careers, your interest, your politics, your families, and yes, your soft spots. Imagine how painful it was to watch when this walking encyclopedia of a man went from knowing every fact about everything that had ever happened in the history of this country to not knowing what a spoon or a fork was, to not knowing what my name was or not knowing his own name. Two years after i testified, my father died of alzheimers disease and now im back. Back again to testify. Back again to sound a 911 alarm about the biggest biomedical crisis facing the world today and i say that it is a world crisis. Back to focus your brains on this killer ravaging brains and families across this great country of ours. Believe me, i wish i didnt have to come back here to testify. It was not on my calendar. When i learned that the funding for nih and Alzheimers Research might be in jeopardy, i practically ran here to say this cannot be. Wait a minute. There must be some mistake here. I know that this committee is well aware of this crisis unfolding in homes across the country. I know you know about it first hand and i know you note about it you know about it from the people you represent. Let me use this moment to remind the committee and the American Public just what the uptodate facts really are and these are real facts. Every 66 seconds another brain will develop alzheimers disease and two thirds of those brains belong to women. And no one knows why that is. A woman in her early 60s is twice as likely to get alzheimers in her lifetime than she is to get breast cancer. And the statistics are even more alarming for women of color. Africanamerican women are twice as likely to develop alzheimers as caucasian women, and latinas 1. 5 times more likely. On top of that, more than 15 million americans our caring for someone with alzheimers or other form of dementia while also holding down jobs. All of those reasons are why i founded the alzheimers womens movement. I believe the determining why women are more affected by alzheimers will help us unlock some of the mysteries of this disease. Instead of focusing only on the formation of plaques and tangles in the brain, lets also start focusing on womens brains and their bodies, on their chromosomes, on the way they process information. This could help us learn more progression. Ers i believe studying women and getting more women into cynical into Clinical Trials could possibly lead to the cure for all of us. I dont believe this is sexist. I believe it is just plain old smart. It is smart. Thank you. [applause] maria it is smart because alzheimers is the most complex, mysterious, and expensive disease in the United States. It is more expensive than Heart Disease and cancer. And its the only one of the top 10 diseases that a means to prevent, cure, or slow its progress. In fact, the death rum breast the death from breast disease, cancer, Heart Disease, are all down, but alzheimers disease deaths are up, up by a breathtaking 89 . It is bankrupting families and on its way to bankrupting this country. If you ask how much medicare and medicaid will be spending on alzheimers, the projected total is 259 billion dollars. If the government does nothing, the costs are projected to explode to 1. 1 trillion. I hope we can sit for a minute with those astounding figures. I want to take a moment to thank you, chairman collins, to make a bipartisan resolution to make a plan to effectively treat alzheimers disease by 2021 is an Urgent National priority. Right now, it is the most seriously underfunded disease in our country. This, at a time when every alzheimers scientist will tell you we are at a critical and potentially groundbreaking moment in the history of the research of this disease. So much progress has been made, but now it is stalled. The only thing many of them say keeping us from pressing on to find a cure is federal funding to move forward. My friend, the scientist fund, womens alzheimer is a top Alzheimers Researcher who discovered the first gene for the disease 35 hears ago. 35 years ago. His lab has found two dozen more in the last decade. He says we have learned from studying the genes important clues about what needs to be done to prevent alzheimers i a decade before any symptoms arrive. But he says laboratory Budget Constraints researchers like him face is only about 10 on the research and information available. The United States government is better than this. We are letting down the millions who have this disease, the millions that are carriers, and the millions were going to get Alzheimer Disease and other forms of dementia. Right now, 10,000 people are turning 65 every day. Remember that i said that brains develop alzheimers disease every 66 seconds . By 2060, someone will develop alzheimers every 33 seconds. We have to fund this disease at the level it deserves. [applause] maria we have to fund it at the level we funded aids and that we funded cancer, because this is an equal opportunity crisis, us in on me that can crash into any and all of us, republicans, democrats, independents. And make no mistake, without a federal amendment like you spoke about, we are going to lose this fight. Over the years, i have wracked my own brain wondering why alzheimers doesnt get funded at the level of these other diseases. I asked myself is it not being marketed properly . Is it not sexy enough . I wonder if it is because we think it is a normal part of aging, which it is not. Or is it because our country is so obsessed with youth and none of us want to grow old . Then, i thought maybe it is sexism, maybe because it affects that is why i cant tell you how many people have said to me, even doctors, isnt that just because women live longer . No. That is not why women are getting it. Are we also terrified of losing our own minds that we want to push this disease out of the field of vision to deny it exists . The truth is we cant deny it away anymore. Alzheimers is everywhere and it can develop in your brain for 20 years before a single symptom ever shows up telling you that you have it. And what does that mean . It means the chances are that several of us sitting in this room right here today have it right now and we dont even know it. Think about that for just a minute. Imagine one of you up there, imagine one day turning to someone you have served with and not knowing who they are. Imagine looking the person in looking at the person in your home you have loved for decades and you cant remember their name. Imagine your family being unable to care for you, physically, financially, emotionally, or spiritually. Imagine that scenario. Millions of americans do not have to imagine it. Probably most of the people in this room dont have to imagine it, because they are actually living it. To joinhem that i asked me here today in this room is 61yearold pam montana, she is sitting behind me. I wanted her to come here today because she was just diagnosed with alzheimers. Her diagnosis forced her to leave a successful career at intel and forced her husband to quit his career as well so he could care for her. They face an uncertain future and a scary one at that, but i wanted you to see pam, because she is the face of alzheimers. A woman in her prime, a woman, a wife, someone who had a successful career, who was earning money. This is the face of alzheimers. And she and her husband have come here to capitol hill from all over this country to use their voices, to advocate for increased funding, to tell you what its like to live like this every single day, 24 hours a day. You know, there are so many Brilliant Minds focused on this issue, so many advocates like those of you on this panel and the 13 hundred advocates fanning out across the hill today, so many like the ones in this room who can no longer accept when they are told we just dont know what causes this disease or what to do about it. For them, that is plain old unacceptable. And for me, as a child of alzheimers, it is also unacceptable. And for someone at pams age, it is terrifying. The statement we just dont know needs to be repealed and replaced. It needs to be repealed and replaced with this. We do know, and here is what you can do. Because it wasnt so long ago that hiv aids was a certain death sentence and cancer was pretty much incurable and now so. Many of them are curable. Science has turned all of that around, but nobody who has ever been diagnosed with alzheimers has ever survived it. We can and we will do better than that. When my uncle, john f. Kennedy was president , he challenged this country to put a man on the moon. It had never been done before. Today, i challenge you to do also do something that has never been done before, give us the first person who survives a diagnosis of alzheimers disease. [applause] maria im asking this congress to do what it takes to get our brilliant researchers back up and working at full capacity in their laboratories around this country, doing what they do best, which is a finding solutions, which is finding solutions, finding cures. Not only that, until we find a cure or have to do better jobs we have to do better jobs of educating the public on ways to live a healthier lifestyles. We now know that the brain never stops developing, that is new. We need to educate people on the difference between brain health and healthy diet, how they can expand their brainpower with Lifelong Learning and social connection. This is a priority for the Womens Alzheimers Movement which is why we have partnered ms all across this determined to get this message out to mainstream america that they can control their brain health, their genes are not their destiny. We also need to get the support of millions of caregivers. We have spoken about them today. The ongoing stress on these families is unimaginable. They need the resources to help them care for their loved ones while also working. And we must also ensure that there is a welltrained professional workforce ready to provide holiday care to the provide quality care to the increasing number of people alzheimerss and other dementia who will need facilities. I have never met anybody in of never met a woman who wasnt good at crossing off of her to do list. I strongly believe that this todo list is something we can actually do even in this current climate, and perhaps more so in this current climate. The American Public is desperate to see democrats and republicans working together. They are desperate to see success here in washington and this is a great place to start. I am asking all of you with the brains that you do have today, to come together, democrats and republicans, and make a commitment. Lets do what we need to do to stop the onslaught of this mind blowing disease, because america should be the leader in solving this Global Medical crisis. We are the greatest country on the planet and finding a cure for this disease will make us be the smartest one. Thank you very much. [applause] thank you so much. Maria thank you. [applause] thank you. Phillipe joined Elizabeth Dole on capitol hill earlier this year for a hearing on military caregivers. Mr. Philippe serves as an ambassador for a group called hidden heroes. He testified before the Senate Special committee on aging. Ryan my experience growing up in a military family helped me prepare for this moment. Both of my grandfathers fought in world war ii during my dad was in the navy during the war. My uncles were both seabees and infantrymen during the same period of time. All of the members of my family who served thankfully returned, but each were affected in one way or another. I have had the opportunity as well to work with countless veterans and those currently listed on the areas television and film projects and all of for adds to my deep respect our vets and understanding that they are our nations true heroes. These days, i have then working with the Elizabeth Dole foundation and thats how i learned about a different kind of hero, our military caregivers , hidden heroes. Family and friends that care for our Service Members that come home with physical and emotional scars. If you know anything about senator dole, she doesnt take no for an answer. She will hold you accountable. She will hold all of us accountable, because our nations military caregivers deserve it. Over a lifetime, caregivers face is tremendous challenges and right now there are very few resources to help them. It is up to all of us to fix this. Right now they are shouldering this alone. They dont expect our help, but we owe them purposeful action and lifelong support. Something struck me in senator doles remarks that i want to emphasize. The military caregivers play an essential role in improving the quality of life of our veterans. I quote the best chance for a Wounded Warrior to recover him recover and survive is to have a strong caregiver. This is an emotional and financial toll on our caregivers. And thats why i am here. For starters, im speaking specifically about the recently reintroduced caregivers improvement act. This bill strengthens and expands vital programs to support caregivers nationwide and ensures that caregivers get recognized for their service in tangible ways. For example, pre9 11 military caregivers would have the same support as we give to our post 9 11 military caregivers. Those caregivers not only need but deserve our assistant. Deserve our assistance. The v. A. Caregivers programs should be available to all caregivers. The bill also supports caregivers for veterans who have mental or physical wounds. It also provides assistance with child care, financial advice, legal counseling, and education, which are all top and currently unmet needs. By signing this bill, you will have a positive impact on the health of our nations veterans in military families for a long time to come. I have had the privilege of meeting with military families across the country. And as i talk about it now i cant help but to think about megan and her husband matt. Megan and matt are high school sweethearts. They have a long road of head of a long road ahead of them. As a result of injuries received, matt now suffers from traumatic brain injury. Megan helps him struggle with wounds we cannot see. Explained to me she never pictured herself as a caregiver, especially so soon into her marriage. Matt needs her. She is always on the lookout for things that might trigger his ptsd and all while raising three young boys. She is making the most of things but she needs our help. There were 5. 5 milling caregivers across america that can no longer go it alone. Hey need us and they need you i ask you again, members of the committee, and all of you are today to give your support to military caregivers serving our nation. Senators, please sign on to the act and each piece of the legislation outlined. To everyone here today and watching across the countrys cities and towns, seek out your caregivers and after how you can ask how you can help. Thank you. The final speaker in our celebrity activist program is law and order actress hartigay. She testified before a Bipartisan Task force about sexual violence. She is founder and president of the joyful heart foundation. Good morning. I just want to start by saying thank you for your heartfelt comment and your passion this work. Your passion for this work. I am speaking to you today as the president and founder of the joyful hearts foundation. I want to think the task force. Thank the task force by elevating this issue you are sending a powerful message to survivors of Sexual Assault of their cases matter. You are demonstrating to Law Enforcement and prosecutors that we must work to do everything we can to hold people accountable and keep us safe. I would like to focus my time on how far we have come in clearing the untested rape kits backlog. That cannot begin without thein 2014, the initiative was begun to provide jurisdictions to createrces multidisciplinary teams to investigate and prosecute related cases and address the need for victim notification and reengagement with the criminal justice system. The impact cannot be overstated. We have heard from Law Enforcement and prosecutors that the funds come as well as the requirement to create a team to undertake systemic forms are bringing communities together like never before. These focused resources are helping Law Enforcement get serial criminals off the states, easing the burden on personnel, facilitating community engagement, and making neighborhoods safer. We have heard the same feedback from victim advocates. Funds are helping agencies already stretched thin to implement reform and catalyze positive changes. I testified in congress about the rape kit accolade in may 2010, and the National Landscape today is very different. Then we had no idea how many untested rape kits were sitting on shelves in crime labs. Guest it was 400,000, advocate guessed it was 400,000. We cannot be sure of the total number. Through public records requests, journalism, advocacy, and state legislative reforms, we are beginning to understand the scope of the backlog nationwide. When i testified there were no laws on the books. Today that trend has shifted. Since january 1 2017, 71 rape kit reform bills have been introduced in 32 states. 10 states have laws. A National Campaign has been launched to pass rate kit legislation by 2020. Since 2010, 30 states have a neck in some kinds of reform, and last week texas became the first state in the nation to enact all six pillars of our National Best practices. Grants, we are also seeing a change in Law Enforcements understanding of the impact of trauma on survivors. Jurisdictions now understand this important perspective and are implementing victimcentered notification practices that seek to avoid victimization and further harm. Although we have seen progress, there is much more work to be done. Today, only eight states have lost requiring testing in both current or backlogged kits. The means in most states decision to send a kit for testing is left up to the discretion of an individual. We must reverse that trend to ensure that every kit connected to a reported case is tested. The numbers do not lie. Testing all kits solves crimes and saves lives. Legislatives district should not determine the outcome of their case or their right to information. Behalf thank you. On behalf of all survivors across the country, i thank you for your attention on this issue, and i look forward to continuing this dialogue. I know you join me in commending the jurisdictions that are taking responsibility for reform and together we are committed to raising awareness around those who have not. Thank you. Cspan,g up on president ial campaign pollsters on polling and Public Opinions in the 2016 campaign. Assad onpponent of issues facing his country and the middle east. Then efforts to fight online sex trafficking. Tonight at 8 00 eastern on cspan, two episodes of our series the communicators, anduring Walt Mossberg steve case. Here is some of what you will see tonight. In your book, you talk about scenario, saying google will not be the big Company Everybody talks about. Not nearly as important as it was at its peak, and that is the stories of the past few centuries. Cities rise and fall. There is this Natural Evolution of things. Exactly who the leaders of the years in 20, 30 but it brands but brands will exist that do not exist. Building entrepreneurs these companies every year. Almost a to present a Venture Capital last your went to three states. 47 states are over 20 of Venture Capital. We need to figure out ways to support entrepreneurs everywhere. We saw that in this recent election. A lot of people were saying i feel left behind by globalization. We need to make sure we have a more inclusive way innovation economy and our backing startups that are creating jobs everywhere, not just in a few places like silicon valley. When i read that statistic about 75 going to california, massachusetts, new york, two things, i was surprised Washington State was not included, and then you have another staff which is only 15 of Venture Capital went to the red states, the 30 states that voted for donald trump. What we are doing is we are backing entrepreneurs in places like San Francisco or new york or boston that are doing interesting, innovative, but also disruptive things, and some of that disruption is destroying jobs in other parts of the country. That will accelerate with Artificial Intelligence and robotics and driverless cars. Mr. Case and technology talkedWalt Mossberg about Business Trends in the technology world. The entire interview tonight at 8 00 eastern on cspan. Have been attacked by everybody, i the right wing, by the russians, by the trump campaign, by the sanders campaign, and now i can add to that list, the clinton campaign. Brazile talksna about her life in politics in her memoir, hacks. I was in washington. Hillary was very excited. She had met young state senator who had run. She has roots in illinois. Gnon,old my good friend, mi she said, she knew barack obama. I did not know barack obama. I knew a lot of other people, including harold washington, rahm emanuel, but i had never heard of barack obama. We met him in spring of 2003, and the rest is history. Q a sunday night at 8 00 p. M. On cspan. Now, Donald Trump Campaign pollster Michael Baselice talks about holding in the 2016 president ial election. He is joined by an analyst who was senator ted cruzs campaign manager. This is about an hour and 10 minutes. [applause] mr. Roe thank you so much for coming