Was in his hometown of scranton pennsylvania to talk about his economic proposals and other issues facing class families. [inaudible conversations] ima teacher and president of tha federation of teachers. [applause] i would like to say im on the executive board and Vice President of the aflcio said that sort of tells you who i am. [applause] im extremely proud i was asked to do this introduction. I am honored about this happenei to me. I told them that these things could happen but i didnt think that they were going to happen to me. I would like to say how much i am appreciative joe biden entered this race not just because they are friendly, but he absolutely appreciate education, public education. [cheering] my district is and what they inl Financial Recovery which means we are broke. If we were unique that would be all right, but we are not. You know how many times teachers throughout this country have had to fight to get the health care or salaries that they deserve. One of the things i amtu happy about his title i, funding. The. We have pre k. 3yearold and 4yearold education. We have been doing that for almost 50 years. Our children deserve that. [applause] this is something every parent and child in the United States deserves. Th[applause] how about the fact we have very needy children with special needs. How about if we correct and actually fund it and help our children i think it is time people Pay Attention to the fact that in education we are desperately in need of one psychologist. We need more doctors and nurses. [applause] we have 38 spoken languages. 38. We have to work with all of those familieses and children. We need help and lots of it in every School District across the country. The children in this country have been deprived. The latest thing from the president is to cut funding for breakfast and lunch. Shame on him. Its time to start learning to share a and that begins with threeyearoldyearold and 4yd son to Public School and getting the education that they deserve. Not just with Early Childhood education, but i spent most of my time is 10yearold and 11yearolds but i dont want to forget that it Goes Beyond High School and into the colleges and universities and Community Colleges and i would like to say maybe it is time that we invested some time and money and maybe well wor we work on puble and loan forgiveness and give people a new start. [applause] i dont want to steal too much fonder from the next president. [cheering] i do want to say representing the 900 members is one of my proudest accomplishments and as long as they keep me working, everything will be fine. When i was a student, they are not the only ones that are still winning. [cheering] i had a pain and it was around this time except start packing, the kennedys are coming. So i say today, melania, start packing. [applause] the next president of the United States, joe biden. [cheering] thank you. Please, have a seat. My name is joe biden. From 2446 northth washington av. And i am happy to be home. [applause] it really is good to be home. When you are a kid i exclaims io your heart and occupies you my mother from North Washington ave. St. Paul last ten years she was the wife of b. And after my dad passed, she moved in but it was a struggle to get her to move in with us because when i was growing up in delaware and our little home through most of my career and life, we always had a relative living with us. There was always someone the fact of the matter was those walls were pretty thin. After my dad passed away i tried to get mom to move in with me in a home that we had just built. I had put a squeeze for my mom and dad my mom wouldnt move in because she said she wasnt going to do that to me. Youre noyou are not doing thate were doing it for us. She said i dont want to be a burden. That is how my sister and brothers were raised with were taught that its all about family. Family is no burden. Even then she wouldnt move into her house she asked me to build a barn on the property, she wanted me to build her a house. At least i get to kiss her goodbye. She would say youve bee done wh your mother i can smell ice cream. [laughter]. Remember you are defined by your courage and be deemed by your loyalty. It was all about courage. Courage is the greatest virtue of all. Because about courage you cannot love without abandoned. Thats what i learned. I learned it here. I suspect most of you learned the same things here in scranton. My dad moved here when he was t a senior in high school and now is st. Thomas pratt and all my family is here as well. Some of my relatives are here today. Is the most important thing my father taught me was i was raised in the same tradition as everybody and stayed in contact with over my career. Everybody has the same notion. Every Single Person in a matter who they are is entitled to be treated with dignity. That is used more in scranton than anywhere else. No matter your station in life or your background, everybody is entitled. [applause] my dad is a real gentleman it was a joke, remember he would say the same thing to my sister only woman you have to be a man if you dont worry about your word youre not a man its about honor. [applause] its about honor and family. Learned that my grandpas Kitchen Table. He would say family is the beginning and the middle and the end. The older i got the more i learned to admire my dads courage and resilience. When scranton fell on hard times if you listen to barack he always talks about scranton joe biden. [laughter] people in delaware present that i have represented them over 40 years. [laughter] i was in a parade in a little town when my son passed away one of the favorite parades ehe kids would go to with me i would go down the parade route and thanking them three guys that i played ball with came running up what the hell is this about scranton . [laughter] if you listen to barack you think i would have crawled out of a coal mine with a lunch bucket. [laughter] my dad was a whitecollar salesperson but there wasnt a lot of work. I remember him making the longest walk that some of you had to make and your Family Members had to walk thats up to the childs bedroom to say you cannot play in the league you cannot go back to school because dad doesnt have a job. Everything will change. I remember dad doing that. As a matter of fact with my ancestral home it just brings back memories and said we have to move but its only 157 miles away. I will be home every weekend i remember thinking that was the moon. But he s did. But not until i got older i realize how that must have affected his pride to have to walk into the kitchen and i say can i leave the kids here with you i will be back i promise. It wasnt a Second Thought for my grandpa. It takes a lot of pride to do that to say take care of things. And although it was hard for him and my grandpa because again thats family. I had nothing but great memories about scranton and having apple flakes behind the wall they said the only key. [laughter] generation that teddy candy. Penny candy. And i would go down to the corner for the matinee. But nothing but good memories but what i remember most is the values instilled in me. The point is i look back this is what i learned about loyalty and patriotism and friendship and family. And face. Faith that helped me get through tough times in my life and you have had tougher times than i have faith sees best in the dark. We all go through dark times because of the faith instilled in me here we could traverse it when my dad made that walk up the stairs. He told me everything will be okay once we settle in delaware we will all be together. And it was my dad then believed it would be okay because the middle class had a fightingerla chance. It became okay we moved to a small town in delaware we rented an apartment and then got into a suburban neighborhood when those that were beingto developed those in a safe neighborhood but from reat time every time a relative or friend lost a job because of a recession or the company went under, my dad used to say, i give you my word, remember a job is a lot more than a paycheck. Is about your dignity and your place in the community. About who youmm are. Its about looking your child to say it will be okay. And mean it. That is how we were raised. My guess is thats how you were raised here in scranton. To treat everyone with dignity thats what we should do because a lot of us know what its like not to be treated with dignity those that thought we were not quite theree equals i used to stutter badly as a kid and mom said remember nobody is better than j you. But everybody is your equal. My dad would say the measure of success is not whether or not you get knocked down but how quickly you get up so get the hell up. [applause] as he got older my data be angry if i didnt call him to have a sportcoat he wanted to greet you manners to my dad were a big deal. One day he was at our house that i had built and looking out over this little pond i guess i was feeling sorry for myself talking about my deceased wife and he said joe we. Come on and went to the hallmark store its in my desk to this day you can get a little case and he gave me this cartoon and it sits on my desk over 25 years thats not true. Nineteen years. And im not a big funny paper guy but there used to be a cartoon called hagar the horrible. There are two frames in this picture and reminds me of the resilience of the people r of scranton. s viking ship has crashed the masters down and he shakes his fist to heaven and says why me god . The voice from heaven with a hand up and it says why not . Why not you . Why not you . A lot of people here in scranton and across america over the last decade and even now take that longest walk but today too many middleclass folks cannot look their kids in the eye and say will be okay. Thats why im running to rebuild the backbone of this country which is the middle class. This time we have to bring everybody along. Your gender or disability everybody has to come along. [applause] lets get something straight wall street did not build america. [applause]. Nvestment bankers did not build america hard work middleclass people the unions built the middle class the middle class built and all this to talk yesterday 60 minutes for 90 minutes. [laughter] unemployment is down three. 5 percent ask your old neighborhoods how they are doing used to be the basic bargain then you could share the benefits. Corporate america is doing incredibly well profits are coming out exponentially. Used to be a direct relationship between productivity and over 90 percent wages went up 95 percent since then productivity has gone up 69 percent. What happened . What happened to that bargain . Is not happening anymore. Studies show thats why families that their children will never be in that situation. If you work hard and you can be better off then your parents. But not today. They dont believe it. Study show if you have an unexpected expense 400 or more you cannot payy it you have to sell something. Ladies and gentlemen we have to rebuild. Let me explain what i mean by the middle class they will tell you thats 51800 thats to send your kid to a park knowing theyll come home safely and then to know that they can go beyond school to get a degree. Middleclass is being able to take your geriatric mom and dad and hope your children never have to take care of you. That is middleclass. Just a little bit of breathing room is hard for a family today to maintain their dignity if they dont have healthcare. I cannot imagine to say sorry. Theres nothing i can do for you i can help you. I cant imagine what its like for people family have lost someone to cancer or a class a close Family Member . I cant imagine when my son a decorated veteran a major United States army when he volunteered to go to iraq for a year bronze star comes home and then gets diagnosed with terminal cancer. I cant imagine lying in that bed may said im sorry you have run out of coverage how can a family maintain their dignity if they want to go beyond high school and then they cant get their . The first good job he could get after several years he became a manager of an automobile dealership the good thing is they can always get a new car for the prom. [laughter] i remember going down after a baseball game the dealership he ran this by the university we live 25 minutes from their i remember when down in my baseball uniform with the top with the seat covers i park it in the one spot and he said wheres dad . Because i was gonna get a car to go to the senior prom. She said hes out in the alley. My dad was pacing back and forth. He said im so sorry. I thought something happened this was before cell phones. He said i went to the bank to finance all the car loans and i spoke to charlie and he will not lend me the money to get you to college. Ashamed. County people sit at the Kitchen Table today and have that conversation to say you have to drive on those for tires we cannot set afford another set of tires who will tell her she can come back eycause we dont have the money . What do we do about that insurance . This administration has no idea the hard work that decent america is going through. And those throughout the first day of school preschooler first or second grade all around america they have to learn how to duck and cover the greatest concern the International Psychiatric Association the generation has the greatest degree of anxiety is america those between the ages of seven and 20 years old their greatest fear is to be shot in school. Not a joke. We saw all the pictures of going back to b school and the new schools we are building and thats because we dont have the nerve ton take on the damn nra. [applause] there is no need for this. Some of your hunters mean the geese if you hunt for geese you cannot have more than three shells in your shotgun. We protect the geese we have federal laws that protect geese. [laughter] think about it. Why should anybody have a clip that holds 100 rounds . The administration keeps doing the bidding of the gun manufacturers im not against the Second Amendment for go it says its not absolute my friends on the far right talk about the tree is littered with the blood of patriots. You need some hellfire missiles. But you cant have them you cannot have a bazooka or a machine gun there are certain weapons people cant own. Theres never been a history in the time of the Second Amendment to say anybody can own a weapon. How can a parent feel good about raising their child in a neighborhood where the groundwater is polluted or if the pipes are put in 1860 and are no longer safe . How many schools around the country with the water in the schools is not safe . Look. We all want the same thing. A fair shot and a piece of mind when someone gets sick and a shot for a Better Future and with all due respect i dont talk about the president like this i dont think the president is capable to understand he has no sense of empathy at all for people. [applause] i have not seen it if it exist unlike any other president i have worked with. Folks im not sure he has any idea when i talk about the longest walk. I think his was to drop off 100 million in his trust account. [laughter] [applause] i would have liked to have had that problem. But let me tell you why i am running. First thinking about healthcare nine years ago we fought like hell to get obama tocare past generations have tried to do that and we got it done healthcare is more than just a luxury to those that can afford it. It is a right dignity one of my proudest moments in those eight years standing along president obama getting it done. Generations of americans fought to make that promise real. It was a big deal. A really big deal. [applause] thank god my mother wasnt around but the law saved lives and kept families out of bankruptcy. We know it wasnt perfect when it was passed we wanted to do more but we put 20 Million People on the rolls 169 people had preexisting conditions covered. We had to make sure every single american was covered by the public option under my plan you can stick with the insurance and to give a pay raises to get coverage under my plan you can keep it but if you dont like it you can sign up for public option my plan reduces premiums increasing subsidies to buy in and for the first time and for private insurance to compete not just with each other but with a competitor to make a profit that is with the medicare option provides that the Health Care Plan to reduce cost for americans gave everybody Affordable Quality Health insuranc not five years or ten years but right now. [applause] we have to rebuild our education system. As stated in the beginning, my wife who taught her whole life it is teaching right now, thats why shes not appear with meho. She goes to iowa tomorrow but she is in the classroomto today teaching. Any country that out educates us will out compete us. It is basic. In the 21st century education is enough to get you to the middleno class i did a study for the president he asked me to do a study of jobs in the future six out of ten jobs in this moment require something beyond a High School Degree we should make sure every child has access to a good education regardless of the zips code thats why my plan triples title i funding and at risk schools. We can afford to do that. [applause] they will all have access to universal pre k and that exponentially increases the prospect that they will finish school and going through without getting in trouble means ill finally paid teachers the salary they deserve and then to graduate with a fouryear degree they get paid less than anybody else graduating the starting a finishing salary. What we do is of extreme national importance. We know the 21st century 12 years is not enough. Under my Plan Everyone who qualifies who goes to Community College can go forto free. [applause] so there goes that big spending democrat but guess what . It cost 6 billion per year to send every qualified person going high school or Community College to be trained or go back because they lost their job because of digitalization or artificiall intelligence 6 million is a lot of money those tax loopholes one. 6 trillion of loophole in the tax code not cuts the code you can get a deduction for resources. Is called the stepped up basis if you cash in Capital Gains if you get hit by a truck they dont pay a p cent is not the inheritance tax guess what that cost 17 billion per year one loophole every Single Person is qualified increasing productivity. [applause] young people are getting crushed under student debt and many parents are as well. If you pay back Student Loans with the income based repayment my plan is to cut your payments inme half when you get a school you make less than 25 a year no interest occurs you still owe it but if you make more than that you only pay 5 percent of disposable income after all of your bills arere paid and costofliving and if you commit to National Service teacher or paramedic or Police Officer domestic violence, anything involving public service, you get 10000 a year to work off your debt up to 50000 after ten years you have no debt at all. [applause] [applause]. Rt reflects our values and thats going to start by reversing the coump tax cuts. [applause] corporations have spent them on stock buybacks to give benefits more importantly to their ceos. They made 36 with 37 times what the average employee makes. My mother would say who died and left them lost. [laughter] no, im serious. I think they can do a lot of good things but its not reduced to 20 if should go back up we are raising billions of dollars to be able to put it on education, Climate Change and the rest. Doubling their Capital Gains right now you are a schoolteacher or work as a Police Officer or nurse you pay a higher tax rate than someone making 10 million a year. Higher tax rate. Why is that . Why should it be 21 . It will be treated like real income and 40 of the Capital Gains. Basic bargain. [applause] all those things you are able to take advantage of. Weve got to stop this awful gun violence. I know what it takes to get it done and i can do it again. Weve got to confront the existential threat of Climate Change accounts for about 15 of the Climate Change problems. We have to lead by example and ive laid out a plan where you get to the net of zero emission between now and 2030 makes a dramatic change. 85 comes from beyond our borders. We need a president to marshal those to come from the greatest threat that we ever seen in humanity. Its not hyperbole, its real. The other nations that are partd of this up the ante in what they promised they were going to do. [applause] the nations around the world by the way the president has acted. The only nation in the world confronted with real serious problems. The stations across america by 500,000 to 2020 and reducing carbon is an enormous amount. We have ambitious plans for the standards for buildings, cars, coworkers to savebu you money, save you opportunity and allow you to breathe cleaner. The stark investment of the research of Technology Investing 400 billion in the industries in the future so we become a net exporter of the Technology Creating literally millionswewef job. His union jobs making 40 an hour not 15. For real. [applause] these are really big challenges with no bigger than the capacity as americans, so we have to get started thinking big again about the future we can build. Americans are doing their part. They are out there working hard every day. They deserve the leaders to work as hard forbuar them. He dont deserve a department with corporate profits ahead of working people and corporations. They dont deserve a Foreign Policy based on lies, conspiracies. [applause] most of all, we dont deserve a president that goes out of his way to make life in america harder. He said he is working for the forgotten american. Amweve forgotten about the forgottenan american. The middle class brings dignity, integrity every day to work. They deserve the dignity and integrity reflected in the leaders and the challenge they face are serious. I stand here today more optimistic than i was when i got elected as a 29yearold kid in the senate. I wasnt old enough to be sworn in. I had to wait seven days to be eligible, really and i was characterized as the young idealistic guy who was optimistic. We have to restore our backbone of the nation. We have to remember who the hell we are. This is the United States of america. Theres never [applause] think about it as we move this administration out of the way we have the most productive workers in the world. Our workers are three times more productive as a matter of fact than they are in asia. We have more Great Research universities in pennsylvania and United States of america and all the rest of the world combined. The rest of thehe world combined every major lifechanging thing that has come out of the Research University modernize md has come out of the universities with those los alamos work whether it is any other place in the country. We are in a position the wealthiest country in the world, the wealthiest country in the history ofrl the world. Why in gods name are we Walking Around with our head down . Heads down . The most powerful military in the history of the world, and no hyperbole. And weve ledto the world not jt by good example of our power, the power ofol our example, and its being e. Routed. The embrace of dictators and thugs. Kim jong moon love letters [laughter] laughter sitting across the table his brother assassinated in an airport, putin who i know relatively well and spent a lot him, putin who has nothing in mind other than the brink of nato, reduce the influence around the world, breakdown. One thing he fears his democracy. At the end grace of the people he has encouraged and poking fingers in the eyes of our allies, trading nato like it is protection unless you pay more money we are not going to get our sacred commitment as an attack on one is an attack on all. I could go on. You saw what happened. Ive been through that part of the world. Iveta spent a lot of time in turkey, significant amount of time in iraq and the whole area in syria. What have we just dont have you found a single military person who doesnt feel like we have just discouraged americas reputation around the world . Ofof being reliable, 10,000 kurdish died defeating isis capturing 10,000 isis terrorists in prison. The president on a whim without the support of any of his military commanders decides shes going to make a deal to move hundreds of american troops who are traitors standing between the kurdish and Turkish Forces that want to wipe them out and he pulls them out. You see on television when sending their holding their children on tanks moving out into the military is so ashamed, throwing food at them saying youve abandoned us, we are going to die. What the hell is going on . Whos going to believe americas word when we give it . Thats what the president does. He speaks to america and keeps commitments and then when they said the prisoners are going to escapees that they are only going to go to europe, they are not good to come to the United States. Thats great, isnt it . With our allies sitting there what are they thinking . There isnt a thing we cant do. We are better positioned than any nation in the world in the 21st century. We can do it in a reasonable and quick way. We can unite the country because folks, im tired of people, democrats, republicans, opindependents Walking Around wh their heads down like whoa is me. Folks, this is the United States of america. [applause] [cheering] this is the United States of america. God bless you all. [cheering] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] next democratic president ial candidate Arianne Williamson talks about her proposal to create a u. S. Department of peace if elected in 2020. From the National Press club, this is one hour. Good afternoon. Welcome to the National Press club. My name is Alison Fitzgerald and i am the washington investigation editor of the associated press, and i am the 112 president of the national