On the floor right now. She is given her one minutes. [laughter] welcome to the 2018 democratic issues conference. Theme is united for a better tomorrow. We are not where we expected to be, quite frankly. We expected to the in cambridge, maryland. Wavering in our commitment to a Progressive Agenda that will benefit all americans. This years theme reflects who we are, that we are united in our own vision for a better tomorrow for a better america. The American People want to know what democrats stand for. They want to know that we stand with them and buy them. And by them. Over the next few days we will discuss our vision for this great nation and the policies that will turn our policies concrete policies to improve life for all americans. Americans are working harder than ever, but they are not feeling the gains their families desperately need. Individuals struggle to find Financial Security while president ial and Republican Leaders focus on individuals benefiting special interests and special corporate interests. Democrats are here to propose a better tomorrow. We have already promised a better deal. Thebenefiting special interestsn supporting policy and programs that will take us there. Americans on all the path to Financial Security. It will enable students to get an education without amassing a lifetime of debt. It will empower American Workers to succeed in this new and modern economy. I am ready to get down to work. I look forward to being here on campus to do that. We are ready to get down to business. With that, let me turn to the vice chair of the democratic caucus, ms. Linda sanchez. Sanchez thank you, and good afternoon. Clearly we are a little disappointed we were not able to hold the issues conference as planned, but we are moving forward with the agenda as best we can. When life hands you lemons, you have to make lemonade. We are here because the republicans quite frankly show they cannot lead this country. Lurchd, we continue to from shortterm funding patch to shortterm funding patch. This is not a way to run a government. It is not a way to run anything, quite frankly. Democrats are presenting the American People with a clear contrast to the ineptitude republicans have shown. We are united for our vision for the country. We are offering a better deal for the United States america. Better wages, better jobs, and a Better Future for all workers. At our issues conference, we are going to continue to refine our plans for 2018 and beyond. I am looking forward to productive meetings with our caucus of the next day and a half. We have experts lined up to give us additional information. I believe coming out of this issues conference, we will be a better, stronger caucus, and we will have a plan that america truly needs and deserves. With that, i will turn my microphone to the chairman of the Democratic CongressionalCampaign Committee from the state of new mexico. First off, to chairman crowley, thank you for organizing this important issues conference. To the great work congresswoman Linda Sanchez has been doing as our vice chair as well. Our colleagues are getting together to have a conversation, and under the unity of our retreat, united for a better tomorrow. Looking at all those that are here today, to be able to share with the American People an important conversation taking place, we understand we all have unique experiences and hail from different places. We also are all growing up on a small farm in new mexico, we did not have much money growing up. We had food in the freezer. There were always crops to be picked and shared with neighbors and friends. Everyone chipped in. Everyone did their part. The importance of what i learned there, if you worked hard, if you played by the rules, then you got everything you needed. You had a chance to be successful and achieve the american dream. Canust ask if this economy deliver on that american promise. Make no mistake, democrats have an agenda centered on the middle class and geared towards a better tomorrow for working people across america. Through jobs and investing in Small Businesses and affordable college. Better wages instead of handouts to corporates. Better future by supporting skills and Career Training and apprenticeships. Combating the Opioid Epidemic with all that we have. A washingtonust centered message. This is an honest and robust conversation that democratic con candidates are having across the country. Of thoseen a part conversations from Orange County to the new york suburbs. Democrats are winning the debate. The data is clear that the Democratic Party is more trusted on health care, fighting for the middle class, and even unimportant programs that we depend on every day. And on the tax issue. These people who are stepping up to fill that battlefield, are people with records of service to their communities. Are women,y veterans, job creators, cia operatives or health care advocates. To servestepping up again, and other Democratic Leaders of tomorrow. Majority of the American People, tomorrow means knowing that health care will be more affordable, and is no longer under constant attack. Tomorrow means real middleclass tax cuts and tax reform that does not but the rich and famous first, but prior prioritizes hardworking families. Mean payings not for big corporate giveaways and an unnecessary border wall, or putting medicare and Social Security at risk. Isorrow means that Congress Seen by the American People as someone who listens to them. It means those in charge have a spine again. We are fighting for tomorrow. It has never been more important. We will take a few questions. Do you support the Senate Budget deal . Rep crowley we have to see the full deal. Majorityns control the in the house and senate, and if you havent noticed they control the presidency. They control all facets of government. They have the votes to pass this bill. If they are asking me to vote for it, it needs to be reflective of my priorities. I have not seen the full deal. They have yet to prove to me that they have the ideals i am concerned about. If you like the deal, will you vote for it . Rep crowley i think the issue just about and im glad you asked the question about immigration because i dont think this debate is solely about the daca recipients. There is a border issue about immigration. It is about the value of our nation. There is a moral aspect. A socioeconomic aspects to the issue of immigration. We continue to grow. We need more immigrants in our nation. It is a healthy, Legal Immigration process which is broken. But the president , his negotiations, he wants to and access to this country through legal programs. This is a bigger and broader issue. That is why this is important to me and to a majority of our caucus. This is a moral issue for many of us. The civil rights issue of our day. It is an incredibly important issue for all of us. The senate has come to an agreement with the minority that they will have the opportunity to have debate on the floor. We have not been given any insurance any assurance. When they had a deal in the senate, it never saw the light of day in the house of representatives. We are asking for them to bring a bill. The bill one to see the floor. That is what we are looking for. You are looking for a promise . Rep crowley we have to see what they have. Rep. Sanchez the sole impediment has been the house leadership. We have only asked for a vote. But the dream act on the floor. Guarantee that our values are closely is up closely aligned with the bipartisan bill, not the forced republican bills they try to jam down our throats. I cannot reiterate enough that there is support for a daca dreamer fix. Would merely step up and be the speaker of the house of representatives, and not just the speaker of his caucus. Are the tax cuts passed in december stimulating the economy . Rep crowley do we have a vetoproof majority . It is a big ask. It is a heavy lift. We would simply like to bring. Alance back to the governance we think it is critical that the American People elect a Democratic House of representatives. We think the American People of ourand the governance nation is out of balance. Republicans control everything, and they have given too much authority to this president. The congress has given too much of our power to this president. The American People want balance. That is why i think we will be successful in the fall elections. In terms of stimulating the economy, in some respects, i have been told it has, but we see the effects on the stock market. They are up, they are down. It has fluctuated to the reaction to that. What is missing is certainty for American Workers. Cuts, the tax cuts to the wealthiest corporations continue in opportunity. That is not balanced. Is not something you are not going to run to get rid of the entire tax cuts . Rep crowley democrats offer creating Economic Security for the American People, and for the struggling and hardworking people of this country. We are not in favor of putting the country further out of balance. What you have seen happen is an opportunity by the republicans were the control the house, the senate, and there presidency trillion in2. 3 giving the wealthiest in the history of the world a preponderance of the benefit from the tax code. It is the American Worker who gets what is left over. That is where we are most concerned. The difference between republicans and democrats, we celebrate republicans produce. They gave 83 of their tax package a way to the top 1 , and told the other 99 to share the other 13 . Democrats have been clear. Middleclass families need to be prior prioritized. The distinguished Ranking Member on the ways and Means Committee talks about prioritization for pension reform. Our republican colleagues make gains with that. Immigrants have been clear that middleclass them are our priority. Republicans pay them lip service and we saw who they put first. Word in this horrible tax package. We want to give them a reason to vote for us in the policy we represent. You said you are reserving for more promises on immigration. Nancy pelosi was on the floor this morning saying she is against this deal. What is the message being sent to your caucus . Will you instruct them to hold the line . See. Crowley we will there is more to the steel than the issue of immigration. There is the issue of puerto rico, the virgin islands, texas, and california, and their needs. Whether this bill is supplemental and will meet the needs of people who are puerto ricos still does not have access to power. There are american citizens who are suffering. Whether the government will meet their needs. It is very complex. There is much more to this. We have to at that in totality. Dople in our caucus will what they think is best for the constituency and the country. That is what they are elected to do. Many, if not all of us, i dont want to speak for every person, look at the issue of daca and immigration, and how we treat immigrants in this country is the civil rights issue of our day. That is how strong this is for all of us in our caucus. Issue, isimmigration the promise leader mcconnell , a neutral bill, nothing to with thatmigration, as an offer from speaker ryan, will democrats work with this . Rep crowley we dont even know what the direction will be. I doubt that is something speaker ryan would ever do. What we are looking for is a commitment. 40 individualsre or more on that public inside his support a bipartisan deal on the issue of daca. Let that bill come to the floor. Said let it come to the floor. Bills, and let the king of the hill be the determining factor. That is what we have been asking for for a long time. The deal in the senate is not applicable to the house of representatives. If speaker ryan offered you the same deal we have to look at that. The senate rules are different than in the house. We have to take a look at that. Looking forward to 2018, the Energy Around the victories is driven by black women. There is a similar concern they as democratseard democrats back former that ended up voting for donald trump. Can you assure those women in particular who are running for office that the Democratic Party has their interests at heart . Rep crowley they have always been our interest at heart. They have never been forgotten. Not just black women or black men or latino men or women, or irish americans who struggle every day to make ends meet. Whatever the ethnicities, we have consistently said we are for building up all americans in this country. The message we will have will speak to all americans and bring them all up. Rep. Sanchez a strong economic plan that creates opportunity for every worker, regardless of is a religion, ethnicity good agenda for america. If we stick to progrowth policies that help everybody, nobody is left behind. To harness we need the excitement we have in our base. Clearly there is a lot of enthusiasm and and engagement that we hope will continue into the 2018 midterms. We have to be a Big Tent Party and reach out to voters that we lost that are mistrustful. I dont think you have to choose between one or the other. The policies democrats have stood for have stood to benefit everybody. That is why i think coming out of this issues conference with a refined economic plan, we will have something to show the American People. We have a better deal for you here, for everybody, regardless of who you are. Everybody will prosper if we are given the opportunity to govern. Clearly, in this chaos, there is no leadership and there is no governance. As we look at the elections november and forward, it was incredible to see the organizing and the grassroots initiatives, and the leadership we saw from africanamerican women, especially in alabama and virginia. In every one of the small special elections across the country, we saw africanamerican women continue to organize their communities. We have a lot to learn from them. We have to make sure we are listening to them. What i have heard when i visit with them as i travel the country, and many of the organizers that were successful in every one of these communities, they talked to me about their children, the wellbeing of their neighborhoods. That is not just new. This is something that has been plaguing so many of our families for too long area a lot of those families were ignored and not heard. They want to be heard. They have ideas on how to solve big albums. We talked about only about economic policies we share, but as to the ballot box, people need to be treated with respect and dignity. That is what this is all about. Outonly will be be reaching and learning from organizers, especially africanamerican women, we will make sure we work with them. We are out and knocking on doors together. Aether we are knocking on front door or door of social media, we have to get this together. We will continue to see the strength of the organizing of these grass roots organizations that will make a difference. Rep crowley thank you all very much. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] sunday on cspans q and a. New york times staffer talker doug mills talks about the photos he took covering president trump. He enjoys having us around. Constant, despite his comments about fake news and the media, i really feel he enjoys having us around because it helps drive his message. It helps drive the news of the day which he can do every day. He is constantly driving the message. Having us around really allows him to do that. A sunday night on cspan. Cspan, where history unfolds daily. In 1979, cspan was created as a Public Service by americas Cable Television companies. It is brought to you today by your cable or satellite provider. Officials from agencies within the Homeland Security department talked about what they are doing to combat threats to the u. S. At a roundtable hosted by the senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee. The focus was interagency communio