Good evening and welcome to smithnual alfred e. Dinner, Virtual Event this year. I am the cardinal archbishop of new york. I am talking to you what has been the home of the archbishops of new york for 170 years. Given this difficult moment we are living through with the pandemic, many of you are in your homes as well. Regrettably, we are not able to gather as we normally do for our formal dinner to raise funds for the most vulnerable numbers of our beloved community, our children and their families. We do have a wonderful evening planned. Daise we do not have a to introduce, lets go next door to st. Patricks cathedral where as is tradition, our national anthem. Anthem. Oh say can you see by the dawnt early light hailed proudly we at the twilights last gleaming brightroad stripes and stars terrible fight oer the ramparts we watched streamingllantly glaree rockets red the bombs bursting in air nightroof through the thereur flag was still starspangledat banner still wave . The freeland of brave ome of the welcome again. Your company and your interest in your support. Let us pray. Father, theof the sun, the holy spirit, amen. We stand before you as one nation under god. We profess in god we trust, admitting that at times, we we have confidence in passing features of this life rather than you alone. Never do we betray the faith of our fathers. Asking your blessing upon our country, our two president ial candidates here this evening, upon those who lead, defend, heal, and protect us. And on this foundation, an. Nstrument in compassion especially to women and children in need. Blessing of unity, joy, recommitment to the foundation which depends upon the generous benefactors of this annual event. From the pandemic, civil unrest, hurricanes, fires, and those who serve, heal, and protect are high in our prayers as well. Ournite those prayers with jewish neighbors during their holy days. Amen. In the name of the father, the sun, and the holy spirit, amen. For those of you just joining us , welcome to the dinner. Here this evening is bold enough to remember the 1928 president ial election. The immensely popular governor of new york, now smith, became the first catholic nominee for the highpresident office of president. He lost big time. Lose his hope,e his dreams, his compassion for those he called the little ones. Even during this tough year, with all of us united. We still come together. Honored to host our two candidates, President Donald Trump and Vice President joseph biden. Both of whom will address us. And our splendid board and legion of benefactors who have come through when the needs are so towering. , a charitable, vehicle for a handout for the most needy of all faiths or no faith at all. During this pandemic, i have become accustomed speaking to a large room of empty seats and a camera. It is with you in spirit. Our priests have had to get creative on sunday mornings. Passing the collection plate or meeting that one person who might say prayers too fast. Or the preacher who goes on too long. It has not owe been easy. Notconnection to god does determine our connection to the internet. I am not talking about the holy spirit. I am talking about the wifi. You are joining us tonight and we are glad you are here. Honored to have Vice President joe biden and President Donald Trump with us. I want to thank them both for keeping alive the tradition that they will both attend this dinner. And for standing in solidarity with the most vulnerable members of our community. All, we haveter had our nasal cavities tested and our faith as well. So many lives lost to this deadly virus. Alone here in00 this great city we love. The heart of the country became the eye of the storm. But we persevere to the best we could. We stayed home, wore masks, checked in on our neighbors. We prayed and stood on our balconies. Every night. In so many ways, the distance has brought us sir. For that, i thank god. The virus has shown us how vulnerable we are. But also how connected we are. We are here tonight to help make us whole. We have lost a lot, given up a lot, but we have held onto our faith. Tonight, we pay tribute to those who helped us through. They have earned our trust. And they are deeply deserving of our gratitude. New york citys frontline workers. The unthinkable happened. The world came to a sudden halt. The coronavirus reached our shores and new york became the epicenter of the worst of the pandemic and over a century. The world watched as infection rates escalated. Suffering, and the lossoflife that followed was something we could not imagine. Cuomo cleared a state of emergency. All nonessential businesses were asked to close. The city came to a stop. Except for those dedicated frontline workers who kept going. To keep us safe. Sacrificing their lives and their families well being. While the work is far from over, the city crossed a critical threshold this summer when infection rates fell to less than 1 . Women who the men and were committed to keeping us safe. Our essential workers and First Responders worked tirelessly. Their lives for their fellow new yorkers. Us, if we did it once, we can do it again. But only together. The Alfred E SmithMemorial Foundation gave covid relief. As soonest the pandemic broke out. The foundation realized that they needed it most. Workers, our essential our gratitude to you and your family is unending. History will honor your sacrifice. At this critical moment of crisis. In our city in the world. Us, thank you. Jesus promised wherever two or three are gathered in my name, i go with them. Tonight, i am relieved to say that we have that minimum. Im joined by a good friend. The ceo of jp morgan. They all dedicate their time and some efforts to great works in the community. Including the archdiocese of new york. We are so fortunate to have her as chair of the alfred he smith foundation. She will speak of the legacy of this dinner. It has brought together leaders regardless of political affiliation. They provide a common ground, might i even say sacred ground. That is a tradition we cherish. It is my pleasure to welcome you. Thank you very much for your leadership. Eminence. Ou, your it is so special to be here. Onto so many of the archbishops of new york city. Such a historic place. Really an honor and a privilege. New york city was one of the hardest hit cities in our nation. The cardinal, the priest, the deacons, the dedicated ladies, they kept working to get the church going. This is such a special place. Everyone who visits this great city. The doors were shut. For weeks on end. You all worked tirelessly to find a way to build community. Even when the unrest in the city this summer resulted in degrading graffiti at the entrance to the special place, you lead by example. You sought to build bridges. One of my Cherished Memories was when you asked them to join you in reminding the people of new york city how to come together across not just religious but also racial lines. Peace, nonviolence, as the ball to ease her pain. Balm to ease our pain. For that in some the other things, other half of all of us watching, i want to thank you. You are welcome. We have come a long way. For understanding all religions in all backgrounds. 1928, alfred smith was the first catholic ever nominated to run for president. At that time, he was new yorks beloved governor. Terms, in fact. But the rest of the country had backlash against his Roman Catholic faith. Many thought the pope would in the white house. They were crazy fabricated stories that the holland tunnel was being built as a secret passageway to bring the pope from room. Rome. There was enough fake news to keep them from winning. We started this tradition of a lighthearted political blacktie dinner. Without regard to religion, even or other factors did more special is that every four years, the president ial candidates are invited to come speak at the dinner. They come and offer us a roast. They are usually humble. Laughter in the face of what is a super stressful time. Tradition. This in my opinion, that is prespecial. Lets take a look at some of the highlights from some of those memorable moments of those very special evening. Being held this evening of the grand ballroom of the waldorfastoria hotel. This gathering has purpose. We warmly sympathize with the needs, hopes, aspirations of. Umanity , theound 4 00 this morning ghost of al smith appeared at my bedside and he said, mr. President , i have seen the guest list. I cant sleep either. As we marvel at how far we how, let us also remember far we have yet to go. I have traveled the banquet circuit for many years. Never really understood the logistics of dinners like this. Americas best days are truly at the calm. Know some people will keep accusing me of exaggeration, so let me be clear, those people seek nothing less than the destruction of the american way of life. I am glad to be here with the Vice President this evening. We have been promising to get more the details right. I hope he follows through. He said, i look forward to seeing you with a dinner in new york. You are right, a campaign can bring our a lot of wardrobe changes. Blue jeans in the morning, suits after a lunch fundraiser, a sport coat for dinner. It is nice to finally relax and wear what i wear around the house. In less than three weeks, voters in states like ohio, virginia, florida, will decides important election. What are we doing here . That makes this dinner important. Not the jokes we tell but the legacy we carry forward. It is often easy to forget how hard this how far this country has come. One thing we can all agree on is the need to support the great work that comes out of the dinner. Millions of dollars have been raised to support disadvantaged children. I applaud the many people who have worked to make this wonderful event a critical lifeline for children in need. With that as to history, we were not going to give up during these extra unusual times and pass up the chance to get together. Tonight turned out to be different than what we have been planning. In many ways, it has been more impactful. Many more of you can enjoy this from across the country. Board of thethe foundation, we cannot thank you donors, for not asking for your money back. You kept giving more. Is 100 underwritten by the board of directors. Raised goes to new york citys neediest. These past several months, and one of the hardest hit cities around our nation and world, your generosity allowed us to grant over 8 million to 16 different charities to feed, educate, and continue Health Services for millions of people across new york city. You help the hospital to add 100 beds. Catholic charities to give out over one million meals. A pediatricided center to add more frontline workers to hold the hands of the terminally ill children who were not allowed to be with their parents. Remotely, joining ceos, elected officials, essential workers, constituents, donors, those of you who accidentally turned on cspan, all of you are in for a very special treat. Another shot at the tuesday night debate. But this time, with the power of divine intervention. Given theal has been power to mute the speakers when necessary. We will begin with Vice President joseph biden. If elected, he would make al smith proud. Becoming our nations second catholic president. Biden thank you for that introduction. To everyone at the sight of the Memorial Foundation, thank you for having me. And for supporting the charities that care for new york citys children and families in need. Know al smith by what he did. Disappointment that the event could not continue as normal. These are difficult times for our country. Recession, a, a reckoning on race. With each crisis, our faith is tested. So our institutions. We have to guard ourselves from rationalizing that this is normal. Too many people woke up this morning, went to their kitchen table, and there was an antichair. Just days ago her weeks ago a loved one set their, talking, laughing, sharing their dreams. Now they are gone. Thanks to an unforgiving virus. My catholic faith has helped me through the darkness. I have had to bury pieces of my soul deep in the earth. Ahave found purpose to live life worthy of those i lost. I have been guided by the tenets ets of catholic guidance. Have an obligation to one another. We cannot serve ourselves at the expense of others. We have a responsibility to future generations. That is the charge before us today. I know it is hard to see right now. Our problems are so systemic. The losses are so catastrophic. At times it feels easy to say we are down, it is over, what is the point. There is no quit in america. Words, one day we will look back in all, not at how far we fell but how fiercely we fought back as a country. That sense of hope and possibility reminds me of the first time i met pope francis in 2013 when i had the privilege of attending his inauguration at the vatican. He said, you are always welcome here. He was really sending a message to the world. To put out a welcome sign at the front door of our church. Obamaars later, president and i welcome Timothy White house. Moment, we shared a sense of possibility. It was a very personal moment. Our son had just died a few months earlier. Time toncis took the meet with our entire family. I live in amazing country. We all live in an amazing country. Catholic kid like me from scranton, pennsylvania, would one day befriend a jesuit pope. That is who we are as a country. Everything is possible when we care for one another. We look out for one another. When we keep the faith. God bless you all. And god bless america. And god protect our troops. Thank you so much, mr. Vice president. Thank you for making the time. I know it is a very busy week and very special to hear from you. Now we will turn to our next speaker. It feels like a lifetime ago that the cardinal and i sat between President Trump and secretary clinton. Four years ago. It was the iciest place on the planet. This year, President Trump said he wants to toast, not roast. Lets hope for that. He might not publicly discuss his faith very often, but i have heard it said that he alone has gotten more liberals to pray to god than any other president or cardinal in recent history. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the president of the United States of america, donald trump. Trump this is a profound honor. This wonderful event has been a revered institution in new york life. Withdly remember attending my father a long time ago. I was a young man but never forgot it. The incredible tradition of. Atholic charity i want to thank the cardinal, a very special man. I want to thank him for all of the help he has given me in so many things in so many different ways. Thank you very much. We very much appreciate it. Thank the Memorial Foundation. Tonights dinner is unlike any other, sadly. Our country and the entire world have been struck in a onceinalifetime global pandemic. China should not have let it happen, but it did. Saw the virus came in, we new yorkers responded with the selflessness that has always defined the city that we love so much. Doctors and nurses worked aroundtheclock. The heroes of the new york pd, we love them. They are great. New yorks finest. The fdny, the bravest. I know them all very well. Other First Responders risked their lives to save others. The many women of the new york archdiocese answered the call and answered it like nobody else could. Schools, hospitals shelters, food pantries, he served with the extreme devotion to your fellow citizens. The foundation made an 8 milliondollar gift to support children and families of new york. Hank you. You showed the world the essence of the catholic faith. I lives right next to a magnificent Catholic Church. As jesus christ said in the gospel, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another. Catholic thank the community for the magnificent generosity you showed in americas hour. We mourn for all of those who lost a loved one. We will defeat the virus. We have reduced that the tally rate by 85 since april. We are on track to distribute a vaccine before the end of the year. I want to say that the end of the pandemic is insight. Next year will be one of the greatest years in the history of our country. Catholics have uplifted and enriched our nation beyond measure. Helpeds fast catholics secure american independence. Thatfounded a movement helped create thousands of schools. And lifted children out of poverty. In the great al smith, the original happy warrior. I consider myself to be a happy warrior. It is not so easy at this time. He was a happy warrior of american politics. He spent his life fighting for hardworking americans. And battling anticatholic prejudice that you see even today coming out of the democrat party. This amazing croup continues the tradition. Your work reminds us of an essential group in this country, our religious institutions. They are an essential foundation of american freedom. A nation is strong because of catholics. And people of all faith. That is why as president one of my Top Priorities is defend religious liberty and cherish the role of faith in a faceplate faithbased organizations. To protect your godgiven rights. I was honored to nominate one of our most brilliant illegal minds, judge amy coney barrett, to the u. S. Supreme court. That was an honor. She is a proud graduate of the university of notre dame law school, where her professor said she was the single greatest student he has ever had. We will not stand for any attacks against her faith. Hascatholic bigotry absolutely no place in the u. S. To predominates in the democrat party. We must do something immediately about it. Win. Make it a really big ofsupport the Noble Mission catholic schools, my administration is working to Advance School choice. To helpy great honor the Catholic Church with its schools. They needed hundreds of millions of dollars nationwide and i got it within. Nobody else. I hope you will remember that on november 3. It was an honor. I did it at the request of Cardinal Dolan and other leaders. They really needed it. We took care of that situation. Very important. We are once again standing with Catholic Charities and Health Care Providers such as the Little Sisters of the poor. We have been with them all the way of his long i. We are fighting for catholic adoption agencies. We are defending the sacred right to life. A member that when you vote. That is so important. , born and unborn, is made in the holy image of god. Few institutions in history have done more for new york and america or people of the world than the Catholic Church. From the parishes of the city came the soldiers who ought to end slavery. The workers who raised the skyline of manhattan. The chaplaincy landed on the beaches of guadalcanal. The nuns who marched for civil rights. The firefighters we love so much you ran into the world trade center. Ever, our nation needs a renewal of the values this organization promotes. And that the catholic faith will live out each and every day in peace. We love the catholic people. We love the catholic religion. We respected greatly. As president , i will always support you and your efforts to serve our fellow citizens and lift up humanity. I will protect the Catholic Church and defend the rights of religious believers of every race, religion, other, and creed. Thank you again to the foundation. God bless you and god bless new york and god bless america. Thank you. That was extraordinarily gracious. Just see a rather peaceful transition . The transition of the microphone. It wasnt so bad. I am grateful to President Trump and Vice President biden for joining us this evening. To remind us that al smith was a happy warrior. He was never a sore loser. We are also great will dust grateful for our grateful for our donors. This eveninga lot and we thank you. This dinner has spanned three quarters of a century. Our democracy and our church a lot longer than that. These institutions have persevered through war, famine, pandemic, and strife because of people like you, people willing to set aside their differences to achieve a common goal, a higher goal, even dare we say the ultimate goal of salvation. If you dont mind me sharing two such people, one was my beloved predecessor Cardinal Oconnor, who served from 1984 until the year 2000. Many of you will remember him fondly as a man of deep faith and strong convictions, always willing to fiercely defend the church and her teachings. You also might remember that the mayor at the time was the colorful ed koch, proud of his jewish heritage, a man of equally strong can convictions. Thatuld be fair to say Cardinal Oconnor and ed koch would find themselves on opposite ends of the political spectrum. Battle occasions doing on the delicate issues of the day. Even going to court to settle to some of their disputes. But you know what . They were also the best of friends. It was Cardinal Oconnor that mayor koch turned to during a particularly difficult time in his leadership. And as he was battling depression. The cardinal relished his meals and visits with the mayor, even long after ed koch had left office. On the night that ed koch lost mostid for reelection, people flocked to congratulate the victor. The cardinal said, i want to go see my friend ed koch to be with him on this difficult night. Theirs was a friendship based in dignity, joy, and mutual respect, recognizing there is more that unites us than divides us. We have seen lives lost, jobs lost, homes destroyed, families disheartened. We sacrificed so much and we continue to sacrifice so much for as long as this pandemic lasts. However, let our hearts not be hardened, let them be opened, let us leave your changed and resolved to go forth with respect and dignity for all. That is the nature of this al smith dinner. Shall we end as we began, in prayer . In the name of the father and the sun and the holy spirit, let us pray. God bless america, land that we love. God bless our two candidates, keeping them safe and vigorous these important weeks of democracy in action. The sickness, the tensions, the continued challenges to justice, peace, unity, protection of life and international reconciliation. God bless the al smith foundation, board, benefactors, and the people in need, especially women and children we are so honored to serve. We seek the guests to gift of everlasting life for our past benefactors and leaders, especially al smith iv, dennis kelleher, all of whom passed away this year. As well as Vice President bidens son beau and President Trumps brother robert. We make our prayer through christ our lord, amen. Well, good night and god bless. See you in person i hope next year. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] the competition is on. Be a part of this years cspan video competition. Middle and high schools students, be the start of a National Conversation by making a documentary exploring the issues you want the president and congress to address. So supporting and opposing points of view and include cspan video. There is 100,000 in total cash prizes including a grand prize of 5,000. The deadline is january 20, 2021. You will find rules, tips and more information on how to get started at our website. Studentcam. Org. On friday, the houses back at 9 00 a. M. Eastern to consider to nonbinding resolutions, one that condemns conspiracy theories and another that condemns medical procedures on ice detainees and others without the full consent of the patient. At 9 00 a. M. Eastern on cspan2 the health and Human Services secretary testifies before the house subcommittee on the coronavirus. 10 00, sunday, at noon eastern on ourdepth, are alive, to conversation with a Harvard University professor whose most recent book is if then. Other titles include the secret these of wonder woman, truths. Join in the conversation. At noonndepth, sunday eastern on book tv on cspan2. You are watching cspan, your unfiltered view of government. Created by americas Cable Television company as a Public Service and brought to you today by your television provider. To 207, the of 214 house approved another coronavirus a bill that provides 2. 2 trillion in Economic Relief for state and local governments, schools, Small Businesses and the airline industry. It also includes another round of direct payments for contact tracing. House democrats move forward after negotiations with the white house failed to produce a compromise. Floor debate before the final vote. Lowey, is recognized. Mrs. Lowey im pleased to yield five minutes to the distinguished gentleman from massachusetts, from my class, the chair of the committee on ways and means, mr. Neal. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from massachusetts, chairman neal is recognized. Ms. Neal thank you, madam chairwoman. I stand in support of the updated heroes act. The previous gentleman was dismissive of the idea that there is some import to this moment in terms of getting a package done. So that means expanding unemployment insurance, thats not important . Unemployment insurance that we might conser