[applause] what a great iowa welcome. Two thousand six, Amy Klobuchar is the first woman representing 2006, Amy Klobuchar is the first woman representing minnesota. She desha in 2016 in 2016, and analysis ranked her first among all 100 senators in sponsoring or cosponsoring bills were enacted into law in the 114th congress. [applause] before serving senator klobuchar was elected to county attorney for the largest county in minnesota and to she knows how to drive in the snow. [laughter] join me again in welcoming senator Amy Klobuchar. [applause] sen. Klobuchar thank you for being here. One of the reporters sent a tweet this morning and it said i suppose Amy Klobuchars snowmobile is down. I drove down with my staff and we got here at 2 00 a. M. Just to see all of you. Minnesota started voting yesterday so we had a vote rally, but i wanted to be here and a ceeo. I knew you would be here despite the snow because as we know, you have to have strong Public Schools, you must have a strong isea. I want to thank mike, i went to thank mary jane, i want to thank all of the great leaders in this room. I want to thank you for your talent and dedication to the classroom. I also want to thank you for not just doing your work by the day, but for helping so many incredible candidates that are running for office. It is because of your work in that last election that cindy and abby went to the congress the house ofurned representatives back into the peoples house. I always tell people, if you think we cannot win in the midwest or you think that strong unions and a strong Union Message cannot win, i have four words for you former Governor Scott walker. [applause] some of you know me since i am your senator next door. Of the may not know all details about me and my strong union background. Unions made my student families story possible. My grandpa was a iron or minor ore miner. Oldest boy. He had to help raise his brothers and sisters. He had wanted to be in the navy, but instead he took that job at pulling a wagon and then in the mines. Every day he would go down in this cage with his lunch bucket that might grant my grandma would pack. The mines were really dangerous back then. My dad still remembers the caskets in the church because of many minors would die miners would die. Guess what happened . Unions happened. They made the mines a safe. That is what made lives better in northern minnesota. He saved money in a coffee can in the basement along with my grandma to send my dad to a community college. My dad graduated, became a newspaperman and a member of the Newspaper Guild union. My mom grew up in milwaukee. She wanted to be a teacher. She moved to minnesota because they had strong teachers unions. She ends up teaching second grade until she is 70 years old. A little more interesting than it sounds because you see my parents got my parents had put all of my mothers pension money on todding a back porch their house. Can you imagine what i grow up grow up hearing . Im 70 to work until because of this back porch. I hope you like sitting back there my favorite story about my mom was she taught that second grade class. She loved teaching the Monarch Butterfly unit. She would dress up as a Monarch Butterfly and when she released the butterflies in front of these adoring second graders with a sign that said, to mexico or bust. Up with heromes son, very disabled, and says this is my son. The mother is sobbing. Son. Ays, this is my your mother was my his second grade teacher. He loved that Monarch Butterfly unit. Grew up, he worked at groceryger at a local store. Every year when my mom did the Monarch Butterfly unit, she would know to that store in her Monarch Butterfly costume and give him a big hug. That is what the School System is about. Looking out for our kids. I stand here as the granddaughter of a union member, the daughter of a teacher and a union member, and as a candidate for president of the United States. That theot be here power of unions into the power of education. I am a proud product of the Public Schools. School,o suburban high middle school, down to elementary. I remember every single name of every teacher i had through from k6. You can ask me later because i our daughter went to Public School. She was in a very urban Public School. School thatent to a was 90 free or reduced lunch. And thats cool she attended with somalischool immigrants. That made her the incredible adult that she has. I also got to see the importance of our nutrition programs. I also got to see the challenges, what went on after school when some kids were trying to just get something out of the vending machines to bring home. I got to see what was going on in the lunchroom and i got to see what our school personnel, the love that they showed every day when they were dealing not just with being a teacher, not just with working in the counselor,r being a they were literally the guide for these kids. They were the heart and soul while they had them in that school. You can see it comes from my head, but also from my heart. My plan in my First One Hundred days, i have 137 things that a president can do herself that are legal. [laughter] sen. Klobuchar i will tell you this on my 102nd, i will fire betsy devos. I will put in place of secretary of educate a secretary of education who comes from a teaching background, one understands the challenges our teachers face, and i will get a bunch of stuff done in those first 100 days. I think it is so important that we make education a priority. Teacherissue for me pay and pay for our Public School employees. From 1996 to 2017, the average weekly wages of schoolteachers adjusted for inflation actually declined. That is not good. On average teachers receive 11 less in the compensation than their counterparts in other professions. The isea fornk leading the way. Two big ways i will increase teacher pay one is directly through federal money. The other is with something called progress partnerships, which will be matching funds with states to put pressure on more money to put in. If you do it both ways and you get a major investment to get pay up to where it should be. Secondly, infrastructure will be an important part for me. I was the first candidate in the race to come out within infrastructure plan that includes School Infrastructure. That is a very important part of what we need to do. The next thing is closing the opportunity gap. We have the same issue in minnesota like you have in iowa. The color of your skin should not determine the quality of your education. [applause] sen. Klobuchar so much of that is going to mean recruiting teachers of color, right . There has been study after study that students of color do better when you have teachers of color that are in the schools. I cannot stress how important that is. Next, idea grants for kids with disabilities. We all know what is going on there. Goodal mandate in place, idea, but then they left the honey behind as happens so often. I am committed to fully funding idea. [applause] thing uchar next Mental Health. I have really been struck by this issue in iowa. I had a meeting with people in the area and this woman came. She was a little late. She said she was a School Counselor and she just got off work. It was a school of about 650 kids. Just today, she said for kids came to her to talk about thoughts of suicide. Our kids out of a school of 650 and all of them were immigrant kids. They were afraid the Trump Administration were going to deport their parents, depart them, and then their lives would never be the same. That is a meanspirited policy that has not worked for our economy. That is the story of the need for Mental Health services. Not everyone in this room is qualified to be a psychiatrist or psychologist, yet so many of you are on the front lines having to do that work. That means to me getting the money out there for counselors, you only have 64 Mental Health beds in the state of iowa. That is outrageous. That is why in so many of your rural areas you have people waiting to get the help that they need. I came out fast with this policy addiction and Mental Health. My dad growing up struggled with alcoholism. The time my husband and i got married, he had three dwis. Back then the judge gave him a choice between jail in treatment and he chose a treatment. In his words, he was pursued by grace. His faith, his family, his friends got him through that. T age 91, he is still sober that would not have happened without that. Addiction,health and we should have the money out there for treatment. Last thing that i would mention is making sure that our kids are ready for the jobs of tomorrow. In an there are innovative things going on in iowa schools right now. I sat on the debate stage i said on the debate stage yesterday that i sometimes think we are not thinking big enough when it comes to education. If we need a Million Home Health care workers, then we better make sure that they get paid well enough. If we need more nursing assistants, we need to make sure we are encouraging people to get those degrees. As i noted, we are not going to have a shortage of mbas in our country, we are going to have a shortage of plumbers. Aching sure we are working with our economy in that way. Making sure we are working with our economy in that way. I am a big supporter of standing up for collective bargaining rights for publicsector sector employees. , support passing a federal law senator hironos Public Service freedom to negotiate act. As president , i will get it done. [applause] end withuchar let us this right now we know that victoryt need to eke by in the president ial race. Willstate that excess by not be iowa and i want to win will not bespy iowa. We want to get all of the by will not be iowa. Know my track record. I have one every race, every place, in the reddest rural districts, i have run with a huge voter turnout in our urban districts and in our state. That is what we need to win nationally. Remember, this is an election for our kids. This is an election for our economy, but it is also Something Else you know this as a educators, it is a values check. It is a patriotism check. It is having a president where if you wanted to teach about the presidency and you want your kids to listen to a president ial address, you do not have to turn down the volume or muted. So many parents do not know what that guy is going to say at his rally. [applause] my time had expired and we know how subtle you are about this. Violate theant to rules when the classes over, the bell rings and it is over. Thank you, everyone. Senator, you understand that everyone in this room knows that they have a responsibility to make sure that democracy indoors in this country. One of the things we are doing this year is honoring the 19th amendment. The hard work and activism and advocacy of women and how they fought to make sure that they had a voice in our country. We want to say thank you for coming to iowa. Sen. Klobuchar thank you. And good luck. Sen. Klobuchar thank you, guys. It was worth all the snow to come here. Thank you, everybody. Thank you, that is wonderful. Thank you, senator klobuchar. Next is senator Elizabeth Warren. [applause] warren is a former educator and in 2012 she became the first woman from massachusetts to be elected to the u. S. Senate. Formally a Law School Professor specializing in bankruptcy law. Anduse of her expertise advocacy, in 2010 president obama appointed her assistant to the president and special advisor to the secretary of treasury on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau where she advocated for working americans in the working class. Iowa welcomee in a bringing senator Elizabeth Warren to the stage. [applause] thank you for coming. You. Warren thank iowa educators. Hello, it is good to see you this morning. There is aeather out reminder that iowa educators are tough, right . A hardy band. It is so good to see all of you this morning. I am going to fail in just a fill init phil just a little bit. My daddy had a lot of different jobs. He sold carpet, he sold fencing, he sold paint. My mom worked a minimum wage job at sears. Whod three older brothers served in the military. That was there to get to the middle class. I have known what i wanted to be a sense second grade b since ince seconde be s grade an Elementary School teacher. When my teacher whispered in my know, miss betsy, you could be a schoolteacher too. That changed my life. That is what schoolteachers do every day. And reach that one child change their lives forever. Thank you to miss is leanne thank you to every public lee and thankrs. You to every public educator in america. I could tell a long story about how i went from being a special Education Teacher ultimately to a law professor, to senator, and now to president ial candidate for the United States. Heres the thing i think about the president the job of president of the United States as setting the course or how we build a stronger future for this country. It has a lot of parts to it. We have to think about national defense, climate change. For me, a huge and essential part of this is we build a strong future when we invest in the education of every single one of our children. [applause] sen. Warren every single one of them. Thatnk about the things you could do as president of the president of the United States. President of the United States. I think about things that a president could do all by herself. Here is the first one i make the next and that is secretary of education, my secretary of education, will be someone who has taught in Public School. [applause] betsy devos need not apply. I do believe this is important. At the Somebody Department of education who believes in Public Education. Let me say a second part to that that i think is important that is, publicschool School Dollars should stay in Public School. Period. [applause] no business we have sending this money off to forprofit charters. This is outrageous. The public should support Public Schools and that means the money stays in our Public Schools. Every bit of it. To me, a big part of this is think about how we fund Public Schools. You have to look at where we are doing it right now. One of the consequences of what we do right now, by relying so heavily on property taxes, is we perpetuate discrimination. Poor neighborhoods end up with less money for their schools. Years of housing discrimination based on race has implications and for generations of children who cannot get the same funding for their schools. I believe it is time in america to say the funding of our schools, support of our schools is no longer just an obligation of local government and state government. It is a national obligation. A national emergency. [applause] sen. Klobuchar and i got up sen. Warren and i got a plan for that. Here is my plan to fundamentally change how we think about funding Public Education. And as a consequence, fundamentally change what we can do in Public Education. Mina starts with it is time in america for a mine starts with it is time in america for a wealth tax. Your first 50 Million Dollars in assets is free and clear. On your 50lion irst dollar, you cents. Pay two it is like a property tax, but it is national. It is not just real estate. For this top 1 , it includes the diamonds, the rembrandt, and the yacht. That is the basic idea. What can we do with two cents . The answer is we can invest in an entire generation. You can invest in the education of every single young person in this country. An 800 where i start billion investment of new federal dollars on top of the state dollars and local dollars in public k12 in america. Think about what that would mean . Would let us a quadruple the funding for title i schools. I mean put real money into our title i schools. Set aside 50s billion for upgrading all of our physical facilities. No more Ceiling Tiles that are falling down into leaking pipes and heat that doesnt work. All of our buildings should be first rate buildings. You know how special a special Education Teacher approach is this . This would be full funding in the first time for the first time in history for ida so every child with a disability gets the idea so everyor child with a disability gets the education they need. We could do that for every class k12. Ate 12 we can build a fund that would let us give a grant to every single Public School in america of 1 million for that Public School to do what it needs to do to raise its excellence standards. Inc. About that. That 800ut billion dollars and the way it is set up is to encourage states and localities to make additional investments in their Public Schools. One if we want to build a strong future, we have to build strong Public Schools. Not to send wealth tax allows us not only to do that for Public Schools, but it allows us to provide universal Early Childhood education. [applause] the wholen daycare, business. Universal prek for every threeyearold and fouryearold in america. [applause] we can stop and exploiting the people who do this work. And lets us to raise the wages of every preschool teacher and a childcare worker in america. Wo cents we can do all of that for our babies. We can do all of that for k12 plus we can do provide tuition Free Technical School for anyone who wants an education. [applause] sen. Warren we can also help level the Playing Field in another way at the college level. Ouran invest 50 billion in historically black colleges and universities and minority serving institutions. [applause] these are places that disproportionately educate tomorrows teachers, and we can give them a boost. We can do all of that on a two cent wealth tax, plus, and i know this is something that matters to a lot of teachers, we can cancel Student Loan Debt for 43 million americans. [applause] sen. Warren this is the centerpiece of what i want to cs do as a country. Like i said, there are differences i can make on who is the secretary of education, where we spend the federal dollars that are already but we can make a bigger change than that. We can make a statement as a nation about how we build a future. For me, this is about money. It is about budgets. I am that kind of nerd. Respect. Bout this is about reminding nationes and our entire that the way we build a future is that we invest in every single one of our children. We invest in them without dollars and with our hearts. It is an honor to fight alongside you in this battle. This is how we will build an america that works for everyone. Thank you for having me here. Thank senator warren, as you know, we have a room full of folks who believe in democracy and we nobly you believe in democracy know that you believe in democracy as well. Sen. Warren we are in favor of that. Thank you for coming to iowa and keep up the good fight and continue to fight were women. Sen. Warren lets find a good way to celebrate the 19th amendment. [laughter] [applause] just waiting for my signal. Isnt this great, folks . Isnt this wonderful . About publicing education . They certainly are. Are they supporting our kids . They are. I think this is proving to be a good day for us in the state and for the iowa state education association. The just waiting to see signal for the Vice President. I will give you a few minutes to talk to yourselves until i see that we are ready to go. This might be a good time to post those photos you have been taking on facebook. Check iowast to dot to see what the roads are like. [laughter] i hear there are comments on the livestream. You can be checking out that as well. I might even look at my own cell phone while i am up here. [laughter] two minutes, i guess. He is in the building. It will be two minutes before he walks through that door. You know what else . This is an opportunity for you ando to education votes. Org o check out the comparisons between the speakers that we have had. The two we have had and the two that are coming. You can go to that site, click on the part where it says 2020 president ial and click on either one of the options that you have. To exploren the time that website and it is very interesting. The folks they have interviewed have provided very good answers to our questions. You know what else . [laughter] um, the men and women who have been traveling with the campaigns that are in the media have sacrificed a lot of their own lives. I think that we need to give them some applause to say thank you for coming here to iowa. [applause] and to thank them for committing themselves to spreading the truth. [applause] alrighty, folks. Next to join us is Vice President joe biden. [applause] he was elected the 47th u. S. Vice president , serving two full terms. Applause]d come on up, joe. Serving two full terms with president barack obama. At the close of the administration, obama presented Vice President biden with the president ial medal of freedom. When he was first elected to the u. S. Senate in 1972, Vice President biden became the fifth youngest u. S. Senator in history , as well as delawares longest serving senator, serving from 1973 until 2009. It is with great honor that the support personnel of i will welcome you to our forum and thank you for being here. [cheers and applause] thank you you, thank you, thank you. This is more like the iowa whether i am used to. [laughter] i am jill bidens husband, joe. Her flight is canceled in pennsylvania. She is not here. That she is upset. Please, bear with me. I will try my best without her. It is a great honor to be with you. You have folks you have already heard from and you will hear a lot more. If jill were here, i would have the privilege of being around my wife. I have been around educators my whole life. Myself for a number of years when i taught law school when i was a you state senator. I drove a school bus to get myself through law school and even substitute talk for a while. This helps me know what you have to grapple with. A child brings every problem they have to school. Everything, their hopes, their dreams. It is not just their talents and their aspirations. But their fears and their anxieties. You have to deal with them all. They play and you plate you play an incredibly vital role. It requires understanding on your part. I might add, an off a lot of patience and i would argue love. Sometimes, the most critical part of your job is the most subtle part of the job. It matters. It matters that the janitor can observe what is going on in the hallway and make sure that things stay safe and kids are not being bullied. It matters, the cafeteria worker who notices his student is not hungry or notr prepared to eat out all. It matters that the bus driver i remember i used to drive a bus in new york, i remember one kid i dropped off at a rural road and the parent was never around. We had to figure out what was going on because the kid was only in eighth grade. Who was home . What was going on . It takesthe passion to do these jobs. I dont think the public fully understands it. Even after the long hours and frustration you may feel in the classroom, you feel worse when you know you are not supported or afforded the simple respect you deserve. You know what matters and how much you are investing in the potential of a child. Have observed the teachers i know and a lot of our friends ou are teachers. You feel their anguish and you feel their struggle. And you share their pride when they succeed. Commitment that you all show is rare in any profession. It really is rare in any profession. ,t is an embarrassment, shame when it goes unrecognized and not understood. We have seen the courage of all of you and educators across the to hear,rom chicago to kentucky and other places where you had to fight for students by organizing strikes. I dont know anyone who wants to go on strike. I have found that for most of you, your job is your passion. You did not become teachers for the money. [laughter] you all know that. Think about it. I think you underestimate yourselves a lot of times. I really do. I know it is part of who your are and how different you are in terms of the commitment to what you do. The closest to you all are nurses. When you go out, you would much rather be in the classroom with your students. You know these walkouts are vital, not just to make sure you get paid or you get health care or school safety, although they are essential. Many times, you are walking out to make sure your students have greater resources. That they have the right books, classrooms, and things that will allow them to succeed. And all of the things, all of these things that become possible for our country when our children are given an even chance, and as jill says, all that out any country educates us will outcompete us. The children you work with, and this is not hyperbole, are the most valuable resource the nation has. I know we say that, we say it all the time. [no audio] [applause] we say it but i wonder how many people feel it. It difficult, especially some of our wealthier friends who live in wealthy districts, why they dont understand that it is overwhelmingly in their interest, their interest, that kids in title i schools do well. I really mean it. Think about it. [applause] it is sort of counterintuitive. Education is the key to everything. Again, that is not hyperbole. It is the key to everything that will happen in this country. America depends on you. Thatpends on you in ways no one is prepared to recognize. Believe it is critical that anyone is clear with what their plan is for making sure that education and educators are awarded. You, briefly, for in eight minutes and nine seconds [laughter] a clear plan for my education. , on protecting unions. [applause] there is a commitment jill and i are making to every educator, every professional and every School Across the country. First and foremost, if i am elected, i promise you will never have a better partner in the white house than jill and joe biden. I give you my word to that. We will fight. You are treated with the dignity that you deserve. Think about it. It is so critical. Understand it in every other endeavor in life and not understand why it matters so much to educators . We will start by tripling funding for title i schools. Education in equity, that is not a hard list. That is from 15 billion to 45 billion a year. Education in equity is iniquity is compounding the problem. We need to deal with the 23 billion gap between schools between majority white schools and nonwhite districts. [applause] we will never have true equity until the quality of education does not depend on your zip code. This goes against every single instinct of what constitutes being an american. Educationors have cut budgets and make it much harder the next generation to realize their potential. I remember the iowa test, i remember when you are number one in the country. What has happened . That is not how we will grow our country. These are not somebody elses children. They are our children. Sense, these are all of our children. The country depends on it. We need to invest in them. We need to invest more on the state and federal level. School districts have to use the additional money that i am talking about to raise teacher salaries. Making 23 start off any other College Graduate does when you start, american educators deserve a generous raise and i will make sure you get one. Secondly, we will get resources you need in school. Right now, we are 110,000 teachers short in america. By 2025, we will be 220,000 teachers short in america. That is nothing but trouble. Raises anduire respect but also resources too. We will double resources for School Counselors, School Nurses and social workers. For us to fully fund the ide a. I mean it. I guarantee that i am going to do that. I guarantee i am going to do that. In schools where social workers can help students and parents and make sure needs are met. Gotal health, i am sorry to so rapidly. I dont want the floor to fall out from under me. [laughter] anyway, Mental Health is especially critical. And too often overlooked. When trained professionals are helping, it frees up educators to deal with the things youre supposed to do, teaching, teaching, teaching. We will upgrade School Infrastructure to make sure that the Drinking Water is safe, science labs are uptodate, cutting edge learning and there is high Speed Internet and every Single School in america. Thirdly, we will start investing in our children from birth all the way through high school. Not just some children but every single child. That matters. The way to get there is universal prek for everybody. Everybody. This is also going to ensure that every student has an opportunity to graduate from high school or graduate from school with some College Credits in their pocket or industrial credits that will lead to good paying jobs. Fourth, we will stained strong for your ironclad right to organize and bargain. [cheers and applause] if it aint broke, dont fix it. What do they think they are fixing . You shouldnt have to be in that position. You should have leaders at every level who fight for you. I promise you, look at my record, i promise you i will. Fifth and most important, we will have someone in the white house you can trust. Somebody you can depend on to fight for educators and fight for unions. That is what i have been doing my entire life. If i did not do it, i would be sleeping in the lincoln bedroom. If you think i am kidding, im not. Because four years of betsy devos is enough. Its enough, its enough, its enough. I guarantee we will have a Public School teacher who will have taught in school. We will invest in leadership skills and Education Learning and pay teachers who help educate teachers. We will help educators wipe out the burden of student debt. You are doing a public good. You should have it written off. I dont have time to explain it but we do. We will get serious about gun violence. I have been the nra twice. The only one. Our kids go to school, you send them off to school and they teach them how to duck and cover. My god. What is the matter with us . None of this matters unless we beat donald trump. I will beat donald trump if i am your nominee. I will do one more thing. I am going to bring along senators and house members and people up and down the line. We need to have it all the way across our state legislature. We can do this. We will provide you the support you need and the respect you deserve. We will ensure that every child, regardless of family income, ethnicity or disability, is prepared for tomorrows economy. I am confident we can get there. Americans set it to mind, they have never failed to get it done. Thank you for everything you do. I want to thank you for everything you give. I want to thank you for all you do for our students. From the bottom of my heart, i mean it. Dont let anybody tell you anything other than you are the single most consequential cog in the wheel and see to it that we own the 21st century. God love you all and may god protect our troops. I have 33 seconds left. Thank you very much. I love you, thanks [cheers and applause] youice president biden, have certainly demonstrated to all of us in our country your understanding of the importance of democracy. We in iowa are working this year to celebrate the 19th amendment and what that meant to half of our population in the country. You know that we love ourselves some dr. Joe. We would like to present this to you dr. Jill. We would like to present this to you and dr. Jill. Thinks you have set her up. Or i really trouble want to tell her how much i love her for real, it is a yellow roast that i give her. Im not going to tell her that you guys gave me this. [laughter] thanks. [applause] i have to tell you a funny thing. This court came out here and i was like oh my god, im going to kill the Vice President. I was not prepared for that today. [laughter] all right. We have our last speaker, so lets stand up and give mayor iowabuttigieg a great welcome. [cheers and applause] as the 32nderved mayor of south bend, indiana, from 2012 through this month. When he was elected, he became the second youngest mayor in south bend history and the youngest mayor of a u. S. City with at least 100,000 residents. He was only 29 years old. Himwashington post called the most interesting mayor you have ever heard of, based on his youth, education and military background. Before running for office, mayor pete worked on the political campaigns of jill thompson, joe donnelly and john kerry. He joins the navy joined the navy reserve in 2009 and served in afghanistan. Thank you for your service. He was honorably discharged in 2017. Please join me in welcoming mayor pete buttigieg. [cheers and applause] good morning good morning i am so thrilled to be here. And so thankful. I am pete buddha bench, i come from about six hours pete buttigieg, i come from about six hours east. I am a retired mayor and i am a friend of Public Education and educators. Throughout the last year, when we first turned up in iowa, introducing ourselves on the strength of an Exploratory Committee with four people working out of an office the size of the stage, with not much of a mailing list or money, all the way to this point, one of the most consistent and important things about our encounter with iowans has been meeting educators who are so committed to your students and to your craft. And, whether it has been the folks who stood up to ask questions in town halls, people we met with or even finding myself next to chris byrd on the dark bus, on the way to the iowa state fair. [applause] talking about the problems with things like public funding for Charter Schools. I have found that education is on everybodys mind in iowa, and rightly so. It is one of the most important issues in the 2020 election. The people around the country know it. We have to get elected officials to respond. Share, in detail, how i envision the future of k12 Public Education, let me back up and say a little bit about what has me running in the first place. I want to invite you to form an image in your mind, in as much detail as possible. If you understand that image, you will understand my campaign. That is what it is going to be like the first time the sun comes up over iowa and donald trump is no longer the president of the United States. [cheers and applause] i am running partly because it is so important to bring that day about. This is our only chance to do this. We had better get it right. And, every time my party has claimed the presidency successfully in the last 50 years, certain things have been true about the nominee. It has been somebody, i know there are a lot of history teachers in the room. It has been somebody who was new to national politics. It has been somebody who was focused on values. It has been somebody who was not viewed as a creature of washington. Did not work there or had not been there very long. It has been somebody who was ushering in a new generation of leadership. [applause] that, and americans have a way of looking for the opposite of whatever we have just had in the white house. I would like to offer i have something in this regard as a matter of style. [laughter] i dont raise the prospect of that day to say what we have to do to bring about. This is about who will be present on that day and who will in thee country forward moment the trump era inns. It will require a president capable of unifying the american people. They will be more divided than we are now, if you think about it. And, doing it in a way that actually rises to meet the Biggest Challenges that our country faces. To be able to take big, bold steps and do it in a way that will galvanize, not polarize an american Majority Ready to get that done. I see that at stake in all of the values we hold dear as americans. From our love of country, but not the kind of love of country that is cartoonish we imitated in the chest thumping of a president. [applause] i mean the love of country that begins with the knowledge that our country is made of people and you cant love a country if you hate half the people in it. [applause] deep, moral with traditions, some of them thatious, that recognizes when food is being cut from hungry children or children being torn from parents at the borders, that flies in the face. F the idea of iowa we can lift up those values, while also honoring the fundament a principle that in this country, our constitution belongs to people of every religion and of no religion, equally. And god does not belong to a political party. [cheers and applause] i think about a country whose values include valuing work. And yet, we tax work at a higher rate than we tax some of the most profitable multinational corporations in the world. If we value work, lets show it by valuing workers. That is why organized labor is so important, including organized education. [applause] i am thinking about democracy. I know it is hard to look kids in the eye, teaching them about our country as a democracy when we have district drawn to where politicians pick out their voters. Decisions thatrt say political corporations have the same souls that you and i do. The good news is, as every teacher knows, we have a process for clearing that up called constitutional amendments. If that is what it takes to deal with citizens united, we should not be afraid to use it. [cheers and applause] i think a lot about the American Value of freedom because i think that can unite us. Freedom is not about cutting every rule and tax and program. That does not make us free. To become free is to Pay Attention to the means to the institutions that make us free. Sometimes we have to keep the government out of the way. I am for keeping government out of businesses and telling reproductiveeir choices ought to be. You are not free if you dont have health care. That is why we have to make sure there is no such thing as an uninsured american. [applause] part of how are mayors earned their paychecks is in the knowledge that you are not free if there is not a well paved allowed road to get you from point a to point b. That is where you come in. Freedom comes by way of education. The freedom to live a life of your choosing comes by way of being equipped by the tools that you make sure the next generation will have. That is why we, as a country, we as a species, invented education. Has as why every student fundamental right to equitable Public Education. So, how do we deliver on that in the error after donald trump era after donald trump, i will tell you step one. Appoint a secretary of education who believes in Public Education and supports our educators. It goes well beyond that. The promise we make in america is that every child will have access to that excellent education. We know that is not the reality. Most places, if you go to an area where more students are in need, there is more funding going there. We are one of the few countries where so often the reverse is the case. Access to education is so often predicted by income or zip code. The students performance is often determined by their health and their nutrition. And yet, teachers are expected to bear the responsibility for that too. This is a personal issue for me. Not just because my life was shaped by education. Because i am the son of educators. I married a classroom teacher who gives me an education about teaching every day. [applause] i have seen how devoted teachers are to their students. I have seen the late nights of grading papers. I have seen the phone calls to parents. I have seen the ways that teachers and educators have dipped into their own Bank Accounts in order to furnish and equip their classrooms. And now, they are being expected to be counselors, Mental Health professionals, test administrators, and, according to some, are supposed to snap into action and become highly trained armed guards. As if you dont have enough on your plate, practicing the craft of being a professional educator. I am offering a whole different approach that will allow teachers to be teachers. That will honor teachers a little more like we do our soldiers and pay our teachers a little more like our doctors, recognizing that will make this country better off. [applause] met starts at the beginning. We have to invest over 1 trillion in early education. Tok12 schools and Services Support students. A single parent would face 40 of their income going to childcare costs. It does not make any sense. Almost a quarter of iowans are considerin that is why we have to create over one million new childcare jobs and make sure they work at least 15 an hour. I have a triple funding for title i schools so that when they get into k12, we have the resources that are needed. And, i am proposing we create an Education Access core. Bring together the top programs for Teacher Education around the country, creating a certificate that can be used for teaching any title school title i school in the country. And, completely forgiving any College Costs of teachers who commit to do that for seven years or more. We will lift up this profession. [applause] and it is why we have to have a conversation about innovation and education. I think we all believe in innovation. We all believe in keeping up and getting ready for the next steps. That has to be done with educators, not to educators. That is one of many reasons why forprofit Charter Schools have no place in the future of american education. [cheers and applause] why public Charter Schools need to have the same accountability and a level Playing Field as traditional Public Schools so that we can make sure that whatever is developed there works to the benefit of traditional Public Schools. Your success should not depend on whether you won the lottery. We should make it available to every single student in every Single School. And, we have to make sure we are supporting the unions that stand up for educators and staff. And, as they do so, are standing up for teachers, but also for parents and for children. [applause] we have to make sure teachers reflect the diversity of our country. We know that students are more likely to succeed when they see more teachers who look like them. We have to invest in that and double the proportion of new teachers and new School Leaders who are people of color. We can do that in the next 10 years and we will be a better country when we do. To expand education in rural areas, investing in transportation to help with retainearning access and special Education Teachers in rural areas, where there help is needed. This begins with reinstating the obama era guidance to address disparities in how students are disciplined. And, we have got to expand Mental Health services in our school. S. [applause] i am meeting counselors who are strengthened and being reduced to test administration. Meanwhile, we have issues coming down on teachers have not been equipped with what they need in order to handle the issues. Yes, we need to get Mental Health first aid to every teacher and educator. What good does it do to be able machine if you dont have anywhere to refer a kid too. . While i passionately believe in building Stem Education for the future, a future that will be defined by more and more complex technology, lets recognize Something Else. The more repeatable tasks are done by a machine. The more it matters to have problem solving, critical thinking, social and emotional learning. Is not a luxury, it is a necessity. [cheers and applause] i noticed on your name badges, the words of fdr, the education is a safeguard of democracy. Let our education policy flecked the knowledge that we are not only educating workers, we are educating citizens. We are educating parents, we are educating neighbors. That is why these things matter. I know that you understand that too well. Been counseled that this is a tight ship and time limits are to be strict we respected. [laughter] in the remaining few seconds, i want to mention one other thing that might sound strange. I want to make the case for hope. I know. It went out of style in our politics. Reflecting on the fact that they took the word hopeful, made it into a noun and turned it into a synonym for candidate. , arearading for you described as the 2020 hopefuls. I think that is fitting because running for office is an act of hope. Organizing, caucusing, volunteering and voting, i know you are propelled by hope for a Better Future to do what you do for better schools and to do what we must to make this country better, beginning on the of a post trump america. Thank you. [applause] you set it in your speech. ,omens rights ame amendments, and democracy, those are the things we are celebrating. We are celebrate in the kickoff of the 19th amendment. Thank you for coming to iowa and we want to give you a yellow rose. Thank you very much. [cheers and applause] well, this could not have gone off better. This was fantastic. [cheers and applause] i know that i speak for all of us when i express our deep appreciation for everyones time this morning. It demonstrates how important our profession is, how important our schools are and most important lay, how important our students are. Took thecandidates who time to be here today. We will be moving on to our breakup session from 11 00 until noon. After that, you will have a buffet lunch out in front. You can bring your food into the room. I will start my presentation around 12 15. Thank you for being such a great audience. Thank you for showing them so much respect and i will see you after the break. [applause] sunday, 2020 democratic president ial candidates, including pete buttigieg, deval patrick, and senators Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren, speak on a form of money and politics. Money in politics. 2020 president ial candidate, senator Elizabeth Warren, continues to campaign in iowa ahead of the caucuses in february. She speaks with potential caucusgoers at a town hall. Live, monday at 4 30 p. M. Eastern on cspan. Campaign 2020. Watch our continuing coverage of the president ial candidates on the campaign trail and make up your own mind. As the voting begins next month, watch our live coverage of the iowa caucus on monday, february 3. Cspans campaign 2020. Your unfiltered view of politics. For the third time in history, a president is on trial in the u. S. Senate. Cspan2. E tuesday on the Senate Impeachment trial of President Trump, live, unfiltered coverage on cspan2, on at cspan. Org impeachment. Listen with the free cspan radio app. Earlier this week, President Trump signed phase one of the u. S. China trade agreement. Vice president pence, Steven Mnuchin and the chinese vice premier. Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States. Accompanied by the vice
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