Transcripts For CSPAN Convention Events Coverage 20160725

Ways to achieve these goals going forward. If the Congress Returns the bill having appropriately address these concerns, i will sign it. For now i must veto the bill. Signed, barack obama, the white house. July 22, 2016. The speaker pro tempore without objection, further consideration of the is righto message and the bill veto message and the bill h. R. 1777 is postponed until the legislative day of september 3, 2016. The chair announces the speakers appointment pursuant to section 409b of the puerto rico oversight management and economic stability act and the order of the house of january 6, 2015, of the following members to the Congressional Task force on Economic Growth in puerto rico. The clerk mr. Duffy of wisconsin. Mr. Mcarthur, new jersey. The speaker pro tempore the chair announces the speakers designation pursuant to section 409d of the puerto rico oversight and management and economic stability act and the order of the house of january 6, 2015, of the following member of the Congressional Task force on Economic Growth in puerto rico as its chair. The clerk mr. Hatch, utah. The speaker pro tempore without objection, pursuant to Senate Concurrent Resolution 50 , 114th congress, the house stands adjourned until 2 00 on your desk top, phone or tablet where youll find all of our Convention Coverage and the full convention schedule. Follow us on cspan on twitter and like us on facebook to see video of news worthy moments. The Democratic National Convention Live from philadelphia all this week on cspan, the cspan radio app and cspan. Org. Well, Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman schultz will not have a key speaking spot but she will open and close. She will resign and Al Gore Campaign manager donna is taking over. They will block the congresswoman from the d. N. C. Stage altogether. This morning she was booed when leaving the florida delegation breakfast. Heres a look. [cheers and applause] [inaudible] again, Debbie Wasserman schultz resigning as d. N. C. Chair after the Democratic Convention due to leaked emails. The f. B. I. Today saying its investigating how thousands of Democratic National committee email were hacked. A statement from the f. B. I. Confirmed that it is investigating a cyberintrusion involving the d. N. C. Adding that a compromise of this nature is something that we take very seriously. While Virginia Governor Terry Mcauliffe was the featured speaker this morning to the virginia delegation attending the 2016 Democratic National convention in philadelphia, he spoke about his policy achievements thus far as governor. He said hes looking forward to a good week for the convention. Good morning, everybody. Everybody could take a seat or stand back behind the wall, sit on the floor. We got an overflow of great virginia democrats here this morning. [applause] did everybody have a good time last night . [applause] , well, look, before i begin let me remind everybody that as we enjoy ourselves this week, there are thousands of people we novak in virginia who are full of despair, down and out facing a future without hope. But enough about republicans. [laughter] [applause] im thrilled to kick off our first day here at the Democratic National convention here in a city of brotherly love and strl afiction. Susan you know, mike pence thinks brotherly love is against gods law, but its great to be here today with the best state party in the country from the best commonwealth in the country. [cheers and applause] susan and the best governor, senators and congressmen that we could ask for. [cheers and applause] usan and virginias own tim cain. [cheers and applause] susan i knew something was up but tim the other day when i asked him his favorite tv show know, said veep, you tim has 99 senators who liked him which is 99 more than ted cruz. Just for fun, i sent an email to mike pence saying tim wants to debate him in spanish. Dont you think that would be great . And you know, i found out from my sources the secret service has already given out their code name. This year theyre using disney movies. That explains why donald trump is old yeller. But, you know, the truth is its easy to make fun of the g. O. P. But this week were going to be about celebrating democrats, showcasing our people, our rich diversity and tapestry of real america and our folks that speak out and policies that speak out for all americans. But more importantly, its about nominating a candidate who will win the white house in november and youre going to notice a lot of differences between our week here in philly and their week in cleveland. I want to thank our amazing delegation for taking a week away from their jobs and their families because it is quite a commitment to come up here. And by the way, i see more than del combates in this room. I see delegates in this room. I see 200 people who all think they should be appointed senator after tim cane wins vicepresidency. Think about it, our next Vice President is going to be a virginian. I did warn you yesterday, i wasnt going to stop talking bout it. Our chapter is the best chapter that Hillary Clinton and tim kaine will continue the progress of president obama. Thank you all for being here and lets go out and have one hell of a week. Now, our next speaker is brandon davis. We have several speakers today. We have just a great lineup all week. So but our next speaker is brandon davis. He is someone who, if you dont know him youre going to get to know him. Hes chief of staff of the Democratic National committee who has joined us this morning. Brandon. [applause] brandon thanks so much. Hello, virginia democrats. How you doing . Good to be first and everybodys full. Its exciting for me so i am the chief of staff at the d. N. C. I am here to drive the work around the general election and to think about the work looking forward and i have to tell you this is one of my Favorite Places to be. I was really excited to be able to be invited to virginia because i spent the last six years as the Service Employees International Unions National Political director. And that means two things. That means that i live just over the border in washington, d. C. , and it means that ive watched as this state has gone from one that people didnt think we could win as democrats to one that democrats dominate and being on the cutting edge of progressive politics and progressive policy so thank you all for the incredible work that youve done on that. And it is all due to the hard work that democrats in the state have done and your tremendous governor mcauliffe. Its amazing to me what has been possible with his leadership and the kind of policies that we all have been able to move in the state. Governor warren and all know that i have to say the clintonkaine ticket and that gets a big applause in the room. We are all excited [applause] brandon about whats possible here. I stopped by today because i know we will see a tremendous convention. We will see a big difference than what we saw last week in cleveland. A convention where we talk about whats possible in america, about what happens when were stronger together and we demonstrated that. We just come out a long primary and one that for all produced an incredible debate, an incredible debate that produced our most progressive platform ever and we are ready to go into this convention and deliver on that platform and deliver on it in the fall. So were incredibly excited about that. What i wanted to share with you is what were doing at the d. N. C. The work that we have to do when i took this job there were three things we were very clear about. One is that we have to win a president ial election. We have got to continue [applause] brandon to lead as democrats in this country and continue president obamas momentum. The second thing were clear about is we have to win at every level of the ticket and we got some tremendous opportunities congressionally in the state of virginia and were excited about those. Its not just the president ial, its not just the statewide elections, its all the way down to the state legislative elections and thats another place where you all have made tremendous gains in virginia. So all of that work has to happen, but what also has to happen is this Huge Investment thats going to happen in 2016. It cant just be about 2016. We have to build longterm infrastructure in the state. This has been a state he has been moving the right direction, the correct direction, i should say, for a long, long time now, for many years. We want to continue that momentum. And thats going to happen because of the work that we do in 2016 and how it extends beyond 2016. When we go out and when you all change the laws around voting, when you expand voting to make it possible for people to register online and to vote online absentee, when we lead into those things, thats how were going to create a permanent advantage in virginia and create a permanent advantage in the country. And so we are going to do those three things. We are going to get to 270 electoral votes and virginia is going to be key to that. We are going to win at every level of the ticket all the way down and we are going to set ourselves up for important races, including the ones that you all are going to have next year in o2017 in virginia. In 2017 in virginia. [applause] brandon so i stopped by to say thank you on behalf of the entire d. N. C. Staff. I stopped by to say thank you on behalf of all of us for the incredible unity that exists in this room and that were going to see at the convention. And i stop by to tell you that things are looking pretty good. We are in a really good place in this country right now to not only win a president ial election, to make huge gains in congress, take back a senate, make huge gains in the house and win at every level and thats how were going to create a permanent advantage. Thats how were going to permanently govern. Thats how well put progressive policy in play like you have in virginia all across the country. So thank you all. Ill see you on the Convention Floor and i cant wait to ride with you all throughout november. Thank you very much. [applause] susan thank you so much, brandon, for stopping by and we look forward to working with you. So anyway, our breakfast every morning are sponsored by different folks and this morning it is sponsored by altria. We have david silva who will say a few words. Everyone, give us a round of applause for helping us out. [applause] david thank you very much, for having me today. Were very excited to be here. As some of you may know, altria has had a long history in the state of virginia. Were very proud to be here this morning. I want to point out and thank representative scott for coming ere today. Id be remiss to point out to hear that senator kaine has been selected to be Hillary Clintons nominee. [applause] so i have been with the company a little over 17 years. Spent a little bit up in new york and previously the past 10 years down in richmond which was an eye opener for a connecticut yankee to move down to richmond, virginia. Ill tell you, over the last 12 years as me and my family have lived in virginia, it has been very welcoming to us and weve had a great time. We really enjoy it. [applause] our company has really evolved over the last few years. When i joined 17 years ago we were not only the Worlds Largest Tobacco Company but we own the Largest Food Company in kraft foods and the second largest brewer in miller beer. Things have evolved. What you will find in the state of virginia we have approximately 3,900 employees. A large number of those employees are hourly Union Workers in virginia. [cheers and applause] david whose average tenure is a little over 15 years. Its one of the things i am very proud about with our company is our willingness to develop and have a long career at the company. Today our company is made up of the leading tobacco companies, philip morris, u. S. A. , u. S. Smokeless tobacco can we also own a cigar company, john middleton. What people dont know is we own the u. S. s largest wine company in st. Michelle wine estates which has some of the best wines in washington state, oregon and california. Were especially proud of our wine seller. And were also the largest investor in s. A. B. Miller which is undergoing a merger. Were excited how our company has evolved and most importantly that virginia is home to us. Like i said, weve been in virginia since 1929 and we dont plan on going anywhere anytime soon. You know, a lot of people will ask me, hey, is the Tobacco Industry really a viable industry in this country today . So i just want to give you a couple of factoids about the impact it has on our state of virginia. Each year more than 2 billion related to our companies and the Tobacco Industry flow through the state through the form of taxes, Small Business revenue, charitable donations and salaries and incomes to all of those altria employees who are very proud to call virginia home. Were very proud, as i said, not only have virginia to be our home but to work with the delegation of elected officials throughout the state. I know oftentimes working with the Tobacco Company can be difficult. Were very excited about how all the delegation has worked with us throughout the year to solve not only key issues facing the company but the country also. So with that i just want to thank you, again, for coming this morning and welcoming me here and look forward to a great week in philadelphia. Thank you. [applause] susan thanks, again, david. We appreciate your sponsorship. Ok, everybody. We have a real treat with us this morning. Our next speaker listen up, everyone. Our next speaker is the youngest female secretary of state in the nation. And shes proof that a democratic woman can get elected in the south. And a real role model for women here in virginia because, remember, we have never elected ince Mary Sue Terry in 20, 30almost years ago, we have not elected a woman to statewide office. So please welcome Allison Grimes from kentucky. Cheers and applause] come over here. I just want to say shes a new generation of Democratic Leaders and if you believe my website, were the exact same age. Thanks so much for coming. Alison well, good morning. Thanks very much, virginia democrats. Getting up to the stage is the same trouble that youre going to see trump and pence having to get to the white house, folks. Are we ready to elect and send to the white house the clintonkaine ticket . [cheers and applause] alison its my privilege to join you all here this morning. I wanted to come be with the fellow commonwealth. One of four in the country. As i had a chance to mingle with some folks here this morning, a great friend said, alison, i just want you to know that you are the second largest check i have ever written in politics. I said, well, i hope the first was to a virginia democrat. She said, it sure as heck was. Im here this morning because my roots with your commonwealth run deep. Nearly 10,000 folks all across the commonwealth of virginia stepped up to help us raise over half a Million Dollars in that 100 million battle we faced against Mitch Mcconnell. Now, i dont know about you but i told senator kaine and senator warren that we may not have succeeded in 2014 but we did send your senator warner back to washington, d. C. Doing some great things. [applause] alison i told him. I said, Mitch Mcconnell, the doctors told him he had a kidney stone. He refused to pass it, folks. We elect the clintonkaine ticket. We will not only send the first female to be president of the United States but Mitch Mcconnell will no longer be majority leader. We will take back that senate. He will be limited to a twoyear term. Virginia gives the state of kentucky, the entire south hope that democrats can get elected. As you heard susan mention, im just one of a handful of remaining statewide elected women in the south. The youngest female secretary of state in the nation, but virginia, you have a history, governor after governor of electing great democratic governor. Kaine, warrener, mcauliffe. Warner, mcauliffe. And my question before you this morning, are your 12 electoral votes going to go to sending clintonkaine to the white house . Let me hear you say yes. [applause] the nation is watching. The nation is watching what will happen in virginia because they watch with baited breath what happened in 2014. Your governor is someone who i hold dear as a friend. I saw the first lady as we were coming in this morning. Im so proud, especially as the chief election official from the commonwealth of kentucky, of the work that he has done to stand up for Voting Rights for all americans. I told him i was going to bring him some pens that he could sign in blue each and every one of those 200,000 restoration of civil rights voting orders. [applause] and listen, he has grown the economy, the infrastructure in the commonwealth of virginia like never before. Were here this morning, though, because virginias has a vested interest in this election. You know senator tim kaine. I spoke with him this morning and i told susan. He is remarkably calm, cool and collected for someone that just got nominated to be the Vice President of the United States. I told him i was coming to see his delegation and he said, i will be there to see them. Give them my best. Tim kaine. Tim kaine, he is someone who unlike the nominee on the other side has a proven track record of success. Im preaching to a choir. Can you say amen . He has been one who has fought for comprehensive immigration reform. Early childhood education. Building of infrastructure and, yes, standing up for the men and women in labor who have helped to lift millions out of poverty. So [applause] i think he is an amazing addition to this ticket and, yes, i am with her but i think this morning and especially this week as we are gathered, i want us to be saying were here ecause theyre with us, folks. Theyre with us. Ive had the opportunity to know Hillary Rodham clinton for the majority of my life. Imagine a teenager with my four other teenager with my four other on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in the cold weather of january 1993, getting then to bring in a young southern foreign governor to be. Ur next president that sonever imagine many years later a woman would call, write, text, email, check out on my progress in law school, help me win my first race as kentucky secretary of state, and stand next to me as i endured millions upon millions. F attacks i thought mcconnell was bad, but he doesnt have anything on trump. The Hillary Clinton i know is ,ot only detailed and diligent penalizing her. She is curious, inquisitive. This u didnt know health hunters international. She is someone who can devour buffalo wings whether she is in a car, plane, or train. She is a woman who stands up and fights. Tim kaine stanza for the causes we all hold dear. They are with us. She, like senator tim kaine, was womene who made sure that gets equal pay for equal work. And we actually increase the minimum wage and grow our economy. We have a ticket that is with all of us, and importantly make an sure we bring all of america together. I woke up friday morning. I dont know about you but i had an anger hangover. What we will see this week who week what we will see this is contrast to the rhetoric and hateful speech you heard in cleveland. You are going to hear about an america that is already bright, an america that we build upon, an america where we bring people together. I believe we have a tickets that importantly represents our values. The me hear you say it, they are with us. Aboute a ticket that is growing our a economy, making sure we have to reach out for Early Childhood education. We grow our economy not just for the top 1 , but we lift everybody up together. Let me hear you say it. They are with us. Only Hillary Clinton, but i believe senator kaine when he says im ready. We have the ticket that has the temperament, the experience, the next qualifications to be with to be commander in chief. They are with us. I am so happy i started out with each and everyone of you. Lets bring them home and elect the next clinton came ticket ned elect the clintonkai ticket. [applause] thank you. Thank you. Thank you guys. This will be like church. And up and down. Susan will pass the collection plate. Gentleman throws one heck of a labor day celebration. Your congressmen, a man who has fought to make sure that we eliminate discrimination in the workplace, someone who has helped to build the economy of virginia. Please get on your feet and help welcome your congressman, bobby scott. [applause] representative scott with an introduction like that i cant wait to hear what i have to say. [laughter] i am proud to be a member of the virginia congressional delegation with Jared Connolly and the next Vice President of the United States, senator tim kaine. I thought i saw my new best friend Terry Mcauliffe come in. Good to see you, my new best friend. The vote restoring governor. Best governor in the United States. Tell you we have the best governor in the United States and he has done a great job. We are going to make a difference when we elect Hillary Clinton and tim kaine as president and Vice President of the United States. There is a difference between democrats and republicans. We have a working families agenda. Barriers forng people who want to form unions. Were making sure wages go up. We are making sure we can withce families and work medical leave, childcare care, the things that make things possible. And we are trying to eliminate discrimination so women are paid like men. Everybody is paid like everybody else based on the work you do, not who you are. Virginia can make a difference. We know we carry the arithmetic for the republicans gets impossible. Carry virginia. The arithmetic for the republicans gets impossible. Two minutes later they declare president obama the president elect of the United States of america. The senate,over take over the United States house of representatives. The best thing we can do is elect our own senator as Vice President of the United States. Leading the charge is one of hillarys best friends, our Governor Terry mcauliffe. Governor mcauliffe here we are, the greatest state and the greatest nation on earth. Down, every body, it is great to be with you. Highlight,e for the the greatest state party in the United States of america, the greatest chair, susan schwab current die. Question in my mind, the greatest congressman to walk these halls, bobby scott. While i have the greatest secretary of state in the commonwealth, thank you allison for coming by. We are going to make sure we actually elect democratic governors. I stood here before you four years ago. Was no secret i was interested in running for governor. Best kept secret out there. Want to recognize jim nolan from the Richmond Times dispatch is here. Today is his birthday. [applause] itave learned a trick, if goes to voicemail, i leave a nice message because i have heard that when i used to live a lets all sing a happy birth day to jim. Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear jim, happy birthday to you. If you think about it for years ago. Agenda with what we needed to do in the commonwealth of virginia. They had passed legislation, legislation had been signed in. I said if you help me get elected i will lean in on these issues. I think you are all well aware i relish a good fight. If you fight for the things you believe in, put everything aside. Have leaned in on those issues. They tried to shut our clinics down. They passed legislation for the safety of women. You knew exactly what it was. It had nothing to do with the health and safety of women. All this money what im proud of my new board appointees. Elected ant democratic governor we would have rolled back. Related toal issues the lgbt community. Virginia has to be welcoming to everyone. The firstroud as southern governor to perform a gay marriage in the United States of america. We have been fighting hard to make sure everybody has fair wages. I want to recognize the men and women. And im passionate about this issue because i remember the members of these Home Health Care workers, these women who get on three buses per day. They have to leave their children at home. That is not an america we want. We are fighting hard on the wage front. Restoration of rights was mentioned. C02 they put in a poll task poll task literacy task. I took four constitutional scholars, including the gentleman who wrote our constitution in 1971 and said you dont have the authority to do this. I took action and raised and he raised 113 years of racial prejudice. [applause]ion and thank you. And put it into perspective, 40 states had already done what i had done. Unfortunately mine was the largest ever done. Why should virginia always be at the end of the pack . We be the last . These folks had served their sentence. They are back in society, they are back in churches, going to grocery stores. You want them feeling good about themselves. And saidood with me governor, i hadnt voted in 60 years, 6070 years, grown men crying saying this matters. Thought on friday you you saw a 43 decision. It is clear in this constitution that i have the rights. At the and of the day you have to do what you have to do. 13,000 folks that have ever registered, by the end of this week i will have restored the rights of all 13,000 of those. [applause] and by two weeks all 2006000 will have their rights back. For the end of the day, i think more folks are going to register because they will not let this injustice stand by. You will see that 13,000 number go up dramatically. We are going to give you all the lists, go out registered voters. You go get them and you register them. If the Republican Leadership think this is their way to deny people ask to the polling booth, instead of criticizing these folks you should go out and earn their rights to vote. If that is the game you want to play, game on. Think big or go home. When i got elected our economy was hit the year before with sequestration cuts. Are losing jobs, we got to work and made virginia open and welcoming. Economict in 700 25 development projects, 12. 65 billion. Our economy is back and on friday i announced our Unemployment Rate had dropped to 3. 7 . If you dont remember it was 53 when i got elected. The steepest decline in 32 years. So when you get democrats you get jobs. And that is what is important. I am proud to stand here, i inherited a deficit. We worked to turn that into the biggest surplus. My budget included the largest investment in education history. We have fixed and transformed our transportation so no more political roads. We invest to move people around. All the way from Northern Virginia down to hampton roads. We now can have higher speed rail. All the way from richmond to north carolina. It is a new state today. Thing i have not been successful last, and it was not closing of trying, is the coverage gap and bringing our money back. We all understand the dynamics. Virginia we have 9 billion. Billion. That money has gone forever. Can you imagine all these economic numbers, if we have extra money running through our hospitals, have 17 four in critical care. We could have provided health care for 400,000. This is not a political issue. It is a moral issue. On friday hours in the ram clinic. As you know we cannot of the mountains early in the morning to get health care one day of the year. Im tired of going and shaking hands. If you get in your car and drive 40 miles west you are in kentucky. States have close the coverage gap. I struggle with the hhs for a very unique waiver. We could bring this money back were never touch the state for liability. It never would impact us financially. What is your argument at that point . Just partisan politics. I will continue that fight, it is the right thing to do. I thank you all for coming. We are going to have a great week and i will be proud when i am up there tomorrow and get to announce we have nominated the first woman in history to be the United States to be president of the United States. And we are going to nominate the greatest Vice President in the history of the United States. Lets take it, the road for this country all the way through virginia. Thank you very much. Terry mcauliffe leading the delegation meeting as day number one of the Democratic National convention gets under way. You can follow us this week on cspan. Sophie likes the delegation meetings we are covering, saying cspan is showing the delegation meetings and it is refreshing. We will show you pennsylvania in just a bit. Other meetings going on, looking at a tweet from david of the nation. Bernie sanders speaking before some hoarders before supporters today. Want to let you know about the speeches tonight on the first night of the convention. Hear two democratic senators, senator Elizabeth Warren, senator possible Vice President ial running mates. We will hear from Bernie Sanders in addition to the first lady. All coverage getting underway at 4 p. M. Eastern today. Our precoverage will start at three. Downloadable at google play and online, all of our coverage streamline and available on demand. And the the speeches delegate actions, but the sights and sounds of the city and philadelphia as well. Are in one of our future exhibitions called heading to the white house. Its really about celebrating the election and teaching about deep president ial election process and all parts of the constitution. First you are learning how to be you would be how joining the race if you are a candidate. Part of thethe process we are in right now. Theget to worry about primary possis, you get to go to the convention, you get to make your own Campaign Button for yourself. We have these polls that look like you are on the Convention Floor and how the primaries work. You can watch great footage from past conventions and to get the excitement and feeling of what happens on the floor of a convention. We also have great artifacts. We have artifacts from convention pasts. Funny badges, hats people would wear, Different Things you would get out of the convention. A tasty cake from the republican National Convention. Just really fun interactivity. It is about putting yourself in the shoes. At the end you go into the oval office and you can sit and take a photo as president. Great for kids and families of all ages. The announced resignation of dnc chair Debbie Wasserman , speaking to zika miller of time magazine, tweeting some of his comments saying her resignation opens up the possibility of new leadership coming up next, we are going to show you the comments of cory booker. Somemorning he spoke to neighbors in pennsylvania, the pennsylvania delegation breakfast meeting. Here it is. [applause] hello, everybody. I just came from louisiana and south carolina. I love those states. Be back standing with my neighbor here. Pennsylvania, thank you very much. You guys have extraordinary leadership on the stage. Your governor is a Great National leader. I just have to get this off my chest. You guys sent to the senate a man who is smart, a man who is handsome, a man who is skinny, a man who has more hair than me. I hate him for all those things. One of the great honors i have is to my first 2. 5 years have a colleague like your center like your senator. My only request is you give him a democratic partner in the senate speech. I want to be very brief. I was raised by my father kerry booker. My dad tellening to stories about his life and ive heard the same stories all over my 40 plus years. Wouldnt bother me he tell me the same stories because every time he would tell them it would get more dramatic and interesting. My father talked about his home that made me afraid to go to that state. Raining, then it went through hail, then baseball and hatchback. One day my father, i know the 10 but one day my dad started a story and said son, when the soon him he hit our town i said, you lived in the mountains of north carolina. There is no way a sunol me hit your town. All indignant with me. He said, its a long time ago, before the internet. You cant look it up but it happened. My father tells me this one that showed me he had a good sense of humor. Im not sure if it is true but i want to share it with you. He said he was sitting in the back of a classroom and a teacher comes in and stands before the classroom and says class, first day of school i want to teach you about selfesteem. Is there anybody in this classroom who thinks you are stupid . Stand up. My father said nobody moved and the woman stood there and patient me stood there impatiently. She said stand up. He pushed his chair back and stood a proudly. And the teacher look to my father and said, wrong with you, you think you are dumb . Well i dont said, think im stupid. But i didnt watch you to be the only one standing. My father says, shucks, maam. That i am stupid, but i did not want you to be the only one standing. [laughter] Booker Martin luther king had it right. Problem is not the words all the bad people. It is the in action and the silence of the good people. I listened i listened to the negativity, to the bile, to the vitriol, to the hate that was spewed during that republican convention. It did a disservice to the republican party. That is why 22 of our colleagues in the senate, republican colleagues, did not even show what. Because they knew the kind of vitriol the donald trump represents where he says a latino judge born in indiana cannot do his job, something that paul ryan called textbook racism, he knew a man who makes fun of a reporter because of their disability, they knew a man who says such demeaning things about women, they knew they did not want to be anywhere close to that. About what they said. It is about what they do. We are a party that always said we stand for something. This is a party with a purpose. We have a mission. Likee not here because we politics. We are here because the Democratic Party is the party of we, not the party of me. It is the party of inclusion, and not be party of exclusion. We are the party that wants to build this nation up, not tear some people down. We are the party [applause] rightsthe party of civil , of workers rights, of womens rights, of gay and lesbian, bisexual, transgender rights. We are the party of the environments. We are the party of infrastructure. We are the party of union. We are the party that knows the nation is stronger when we are together, and that is where i want to hit my last point. As my father said, stand up for what you believe in, but dont make the mistake it is all about you. My father said when you stand, you stand strongest when you stand with other people. He wanted me to understand that this nation, we are not called to stand alone. We are a nation that is called to stand together. To a singles born mom in segregated north carolina. He would tell me it was a conspiracy of love that brought him to where he is today. My father said when his mama could not take care of him, it was people who stood for him, brought them into their house, raised them, my father had no dreams of college. It was people that stood up, and they said, boy, you are going to go to college. We will take up a collection of church and make sure you have enough to pay your first semesters tuition. [applause] when my daddy was in college, he whited black folks and folks and latino folks and gay into thean folks pour south. When my father got to washington, d. C. Where he had luck and the fortune to meet my mama and my mama had the charity and mercy to marry him [laughter] senator booker look around this room it was a time in america whether you are irish or a woman or gay or black, Corporate America did not want to hire you. But i tell you right now. My father, because of the activism of others, was ibms first black salesman in the entire virginia area. Even when we moved into the iall town in new jersey where grew up, they would not show black families homes. Closing, aof the white couple did not show up at a house, my father did, and a volunteer lawyer, they walked into the Real Estate Agent pro office, and this volunteer gave up his time and energy, part of that conspiracy of love, and the Real Estate Agent punched my father for lawyer in the face and sick the dog on my dad. And every time my dad would tell that story, the dog would get bigger. Soon it was not a dog, it was a pack of wolves. But that is the story of my family, my father would say. You did not get here on your own, boy. Wells of deeply from freedom, liberty, an opportunity that you did not take. You ate lavishly from banquet tables prepared for you by your ancestors. You cannot sit back consuming your blessings, getting dumb, fat, and happy. Have a mission to pay forward your blessings. We are gathered here in this convention, in this great state, in this historic city because of these ideals, and our mission is to elevate into the highest office in the land two of the finest people i have ever met in politics, and that is tim kaine and Hillary Clinton. [applause] senator booker and i want to tell you we have to go into that convention and not show the kind of boos and hisses and negative, hateful chance we saw last week. We have to come in with our energy and our life and our darknessause hate and cannot drive out darkness. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only life and love can do those things. So, i call to you now i called to you now, let us be the people at this convention that shows america what we are and what we stand for. Let us go into that Convention Hall and wake up the echoes of our ancestors, lets wake up be moral imagination of this country. Lets together in a chorus of conviction called to the conscience of our country, get off of the sidelines, stand up for this country, stand up for our values, stand up for our ideals, stand up for Hillary Clinton. Lets unite this country and move Forward Together. Thank you. [applause] night number one ahead of the Democratic National convention in philadelphia, showing you some of the delegation meetings in pennsylvania and virginia this morning. Keeping our eye on the news as well that is developing, particularly around Debbie Wasserman schultz, the dnc chair is beingdown, and it reported might not gavel in the Convention Today. Every mitchell and others tweeting this john podesta mook, hillarys campaign manager, trying to talk every was of and scholz from gaveling in the Convention Today to quiet the email controversy. Later on you will hear from Bernie Sanders and so, too, will you hear first Lady Michelle obama. At convention is gaveling in 4 00. You can see it on cspan, the cspan radio app, and follow it am a too, on www. Cspan. Org. Bernie sanders has been speaking this afternoon. A tweet from mike Warren Bernie getting booed for saying we have got to elect Hillary Clinton and tim kaine. The problem with starting a revolution, as bernie is learning, is you just cant make it stop. And philadelphia is the cradle of liberty. We take a look at the signers hall next. Welcome to the National Constitution center. We are the first and all me museum in the country dedicated to the u. S. Constitution. We have three main missions. We are americas town hall which means you can find great programming online about current constitutional debates and discussions. We are also a Civic Education center and we are trying to get those out to teachers and students across the country. At im going to talk about our museum. We are in one of our signature exhibition spaces called signers all. This is depicting the moment that the constitution was signed , 1787. Ember 17 there are 22 statues representing those who were still are in at the end of a summer they spent in philadelphia, working to create this document. You can walk amongst the signers. You can touch them. They are works of art. They are lifesize bronze statues. We made them to be interactive. You can see this is ben franklin. He is by far one of our most popular and favorite signers. You can see how well loved he has been. You can also find not everybody at the Constitutional Convention was happy with how things ended up. There were 55 men who attended at different points. Some of them had other is noticed they needed to attend to. Some left out of protest. These men are our dissenters. They actually refused to sign the document because they felt it did not do enough to protect the interests that they had for the countrys future and their personal states. We have other famous people in this room you might recognize. We have alexander hamilton, who was left as the only delegate from new york as the other two delegates left in protest. We also have James Madison right here. He is the shortest delegate in the room. He is only about 54. These are all life sized. He is the father of the constitution. He came in with a plan that set the agenda for the rest of the summer and he was really super influential in what the final product was. He took the notes of the convention. He is the person who let us know what happened during the convention. Finally we have george washington. He is of course the father of our country, but he was elected president of the convention, and he really was that steady hand that was here all summer long overseeing proceedings and his gravitas and the respect for his fellow countrymen to the proceedings because they were going to have the case to the countrymen and get them to support this government. And you, too, can be part of the story and add your name to the constitution. This is about bringing the past to life and getting you to understand these events and this period of history better than you might otherwise just reading , something out of a textbook. Here on cspan, we mentioned this a couple moments ago. The orlandosun sentinel has confirmed this headline exclusive Wasserman Schultz will not open the Democratic National convention. She will not gavel in the order monday afternoon. In a brief conversation she said i have decided that in the interest of making sure we can start the Democratic Convention on a high note, i am not going to gavel in the convention. That is in an interview with the sun sentinel of florida. We will keep you posted on developments, whether it is Debbie Wasserman schultz or whoever gavels in the convention eastern here on cspan, our preconvention p. M. Age beginning at 330 eastern. Next up we will show you the first them accredit daily briefing. Keep in mind, this briefing before this news of Debbie Wasserman schultz. Good morning, good morning, good morning. My name is leah daughtry. Im the ceo for the 2016 Democratic National convention Democratic National committee welcoming you here to philadelphia, the city of brotherly love and sisterly affection. We are proud of what we will termsse to the nation in of our vision and our values and how we plan to move america forward. Our plans this week will convey a very stark contrast to what we saw last week in cleveland, and will give our country a clear vision of our plans, not just a lot of verbiage, but our plans to move america forward. We are excited about it and we look forward to welcome you our to what will be the most innovative and exciting convention in american history. With that, i am going to welcome and robby mook, the Campaign Chairman for Hillary Clinton for america. Mook i would like to thank reverend daughtry for her incredible leadership organizing this convention, and particularly the staff who have done a phenomenal job organizing this event. It has been the most professionally run, competent convention i have ever experienced myself. I also think this is going to be one of the most exciting, inspiring conventions democrats have ever held and it would not be possible without your leadership. So, thank you, reverend. This first today of the convention is really kicking off a broader theme for the isire week, and that secretary clinton has spent her entire life fighting for kids and families, fighting to provide opportunity to those who were given the least and breaking down barriers to opportunity. Would like to focus on tonight in particular is how to get the economy working again, not just for those at the top. We will have some of the brightest stars in the Democratic Party speaking. Senator elizabeth werent for massachusetts will be talking about the clear choice in this senatortween Elizabeth Warren from massachusetts will be talking up a clear choice in this election between Hillary Clinton who will give the economy working for everyone, and donald trump who has spent his entire career making himself more wealthy, more famous at the expense of others. Our featured speaker will be senator cory booker. He will be talking about how secretary clinton is uniquely positioned, both because of her motivations, the fight for others, and her tremendous experience and record of accomplishment, how she is uniquely qualified to bring our country together, which we desperately need to start getting things done, to get this working for everyone. Senator sanders is going to be closing us out tonight. He is going to be talking about how we are stronger together when we join forces as a party to take on the rig to system and get this economy working for rigged systemis and get this economy working for everyone. The first lady will be speaking. She will be talking about the familiess facing today, her unique perspective on that as first lady of the United States, and the type of leadership it is going to take in the white house to put families first. We will hear from other participants tonight. One i wanted to highlight a particular is a young woman named carla who is 11 years old. Video where seen a she was with secretary clinton. She approached secretary clinton and las vegas to talk about house how concerned she was in her parents will be deported. She will be talking about how secretary clinton will provide opportunity and break down barriers for her and her family. Week, you are the going to be hearing from president obama, Vice President biden, president clinton obviously, addressing this same issue of secretary clintons lifelong fight for working families, and to through this, we will crystallize for the voters the fight she has taken on and the things she has accomplished to help people. I just want to touch on one thing that i think the reverend already brought this up. This is going to be a big contrast to what we saw in cleveland last week. First of all, our convention is going to be optimistic. It is going to be hopeful. It is going to talk about specific plans the secretary has working forconomy everybody, not just the top, to bring our country together and keep us more secure. It is telling and you will see senator sanders has already endorsed secretary clinton. He has come to double down on that endorsement. That is not what we saw from senator ted cruz last week. I proud to say the governor of the state of pennsylvania supports to Hillary Clinton. He will be at the convention supporting her, and this comes as well from the delegates, where i am really proud that both campaigns worked together a platformo build and rules that reflects the both of the best of both campaigns. For that reason, there have been no minority reports filed in is becauses, and it of the hard work of both campaigns. I want to thank the senator Sanders Campaign for that. With that, i am going to turn it brian fallon. Thank you. We have a new app. Whereas the Obama Campaign app was to provide opportunities going doortodoor, but this will give people an opportunity to share content and take steps that will help our campaign organize in nontraditional ways, to setl not require you foot in a campaign office. It combines traditional apps in the itunes store. Some of the Software Engineers dreamworkslaces like and etsy. It is available starting last night. We will present a united Democratic Party that will give a big shot of momentum to our ticket. Be doing an event on friday in philadelphia with senatory clinton and kaine. There will be a bus tour that continues through pennsylvania into ohio. E will be doing larger events we will be going into columbus, ohio, really going after those rural, workingclass voters that we know are disaffected by the state of the economy. These are folks we know that donald trump is targeting. But we are convinced we have the plans that will speak to those lingering economic anxieties voters face, so we are leaving no voter untouched in his campaign. We will be embarking on a bus tour through those critical rust belt battlegrounds through sunday. With that, we are happy to take questions. Nancy. Please director question. Please direct your question. [indiscernible] mr. Mook r this was the chairwomans decision to step down. She reached out to secretary clinton and the secretary released a statement yesterday thanking her for her work. [inaudible] senator booker this was the chair mr. Mook this was the chairwomans decision. This is going to be a good question. Ok. [indiscernible] always know right now is what experts are telling us. I would refer everybody today to reporting in the new york times. Whenthe experts are saying they breach to be d c they believe it is russian state. Ctors which of these emails i refer you to be reporting on this. But further experts are saying because they possessed those emails, russian and state actors were feeding the emails ofhackers for the purpose. Elping donald trump [indiscernible] senator booker i think mr. Mook i think, you would have to ask the secretary that. We are reading the same reporting you all are seeing. We are reading what the experts are saying. [indiscernible] mr. Mook well, my understanding is reviewing the information. To recognizent there is a process in place to review this information and they action. E appropriate [indiscernible] mr. Mook they are doing that review now. [indiscernible] mr. Mook look, the chairwoman and that isatement what she plans to do. [indiscernible] mr. Mook the chairwomans statement yesterday speaks for itself. That is what she plans to do. , lastas i said earlier week we had speakers coming who barely talked about the candidate. You had one of his opponents from the primary that would not even endorsed him, and you had would not even endorse him, and you had all this outside the convention because you had governors, senators who would not even show up. Our party is coming here to unify to elect Hillary Clinton and beat donald trump. That is what you are going to see today. [inaudible] all, in first of contrast to senator ted cruz, for small, senator sanders already endorsed secretary clinton and gave an outstanding speech. I expect a similar speech tonight. I will leave it to senator theers to talk about process of drafting that speech. We are excited. We think it will be a great way to close out the evening. [indiscernible] brian. K i just work here. She will continue to take questions on the road, do interviews. On any been speaking number of issues. Gosh. [indiscernible] mr. Mook i think it is up to donald trump to decide what he thinks about it. I think voters need to take a look at this. It is troubling if it is true. [indiscernible] well, i would argue the lasting damage out of their convention is to donald trump because he failed to present a clear plan about what he is going to do to get this economy working for everyone, and boy, was it depressing. It was all doom and gloom and he failed to bring his party together. There is a clear trend and polling after your convention that you always get a bump. I would suspend any polling analysis until after our convention and then we can interpret once voters have had a chance to see both sides of the argument, and four days of convention and the communication that happens during that. [indiscernible] mr. Mook look, im not going there was a plan in place. She was clear about what she plans to do. I am much more excited about the incredible speakers, the talent that is going to be up there tonight making the case about the choice that voters face than i am concerned about with all due respect parliamentary procedure and gaveling in and all of that. What matters here is the message to the voters. [inaudible] mr. Mook i dont know the senators comments. Ist we are pointing to what the Cyber Security experts are saying. Thank you. You can applaud. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2016] some things have changed since this mornings news conference, but the lineup tonight has not. Warren,elizabeth senator cory booker among the speakers. They will also hear from former president ial candidate Bernie Sanders and from the first lady, michelle obama. Our live coverage getting underway at 3 30 p. M. , the convention gaveling in a 4 p. M. Eastern. Live coverage on cspan, the seized and radio app, and cspan radio the app, and cspan. Org. Not gaveling in will be Debbie Wasserman schultz. Announcing yesterday she is resigning as chair and today telling the florida sun that i am not going to gavel in the convention. That from Debbie Wasserman schultz, who this morning spoke to the florida delegation and had a rather rough start. Heres a look. [cheering] whoo [crowd chanting debbie] ok. Ok, we are going to have come back. Senator, would you like to come back . Listen. Let me tell you this. [raps gavel] sit down. Let me have everyone sit down for a second. A [crowd chanting bernie] [crowd cheering] all right, lets have everybody sit down for a second. All right. Let me introduce somebody who has been an unbelievable leader to our party, somebody who has been a great friend of mine overlapping voices] someone who will continue to a great leader for the state of florida and the United States. Debbie Wasserman Schultz cheers]oos and representative Wasserman Schultz thank you. Thank you so much. Ok. Thank you very much. Hank you if i could get everybody to settle down. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you so much. Good morning, florida. Here,so wonderful to be with my home state. All right, everybody now. Settle down. Down, please. Le all right. We have a big program we have a good program. Lets be respectful. Please be quiet so debbie can speak. Its ok. Everybody, lets hear from our speaker. We have other speakers as well. Representative Wasserman Schultz thank you all so much. First of all, i want to ask everybody to join me [crowd booing] representative Wasserman Schultz in acknowledging that a tragic shooting and ft. Myers yesterday, where there were children and harms way, and people lost their lives. [rapping gavel] we know something. We know something and florida. Inwe know something florida about making sure we can have the voices across our state heard. And standing with the people who were injured and were killed is so incredibly important. So i know that you and i together will continue to fight to make sure that people who should not have guns cannot get access to guns. And i will continue to fight every day with you to make sure that that doesnt happen. I say that there is interest in my being here and i appreciate that interest. And a little bit of interest from the press. But that really shows you that florida is the most significant battleground state that will ise sure Hillary Clinton elected president of the United States of america. [mixed cheers and boos] representative Wasserman Schultz we are the state that will deliver the white house. I am so proud to have been able to serve as the chair of the them aquatic national committee, and yesterday of the Democratic National committee, and yesterday, yesterday i have the honor of speaking to president obama and Hillary Clinton. I thanked president obama for the honor of serving as chair of the them aquatic national the Democratic National committee. Which we did on the shoulders of florida voters. Didnt we, florida, democrats . Yes, we did, and we will do it again. I also have the privilege of speaking to Hillary Clinton. And she thanked me for my service. We had a wonderful conversation. She asked me and i committed to that we will work throughout this campaign so we can build on the progress we have been able to make. We have a lot to do. We have so much to do. And we have to make sure we move Forward Together in a unified way. To make sure the voices in this room that are standing up and being disruptive, we know that is not the florida that we know. The florida that we know is united. The florida that we know is going to make sure we will continue to create jobs like the 14. 8 million jobs created under barack obama for leadership, the 20 Million People who now have health care who did not have it before. For me as a Breast Cancer survivor, and i know there are. Any survivors in this room we have three quarters of the deficit reduced under president obama. And we will make sure we continue to build our economy tingwd changing bernie] representative Wasserman Schultz i look forward to mytinuing to represent constituents in florida. Thank all of you thank all of you for your support. I am going to continue to make sure that florida has ace wrong voice. Has a strong voice. You will see me every day between now and november 8 on the campaign trail and we will lock arms and we will not stand down ofwill make sure the people florida have the priorities that we know we need to accomplish thank you very much and on to victory thank you [mixed cheers and boos] [crowd chanting bernie] gavel] all right, thank you. Everybody, get back in your seat. We have further speakers coming up. [raps gavel] Debbie Wasserman schultz, who yesterday announced her intention to step down as the Democratic National Committee Chair. News that shehe will not gavel in the convention tonight, the headline in the florida sun sentinel. She told that Media Organization in the interest of making sure that we kick off the convention on a high note, im not going to gavel in the convention this evening. At the 2016 Democratic National convention, Hillary Clinton becomes the first nominee of a major party to be a woman in the United States. Coverage begins at 3 p. M. , 4 p. M. By all the Convention Coverage. Speakers will be senator elizabeth one, senator corey booker, senator Bernie Sanders, and first Lady Michelle obama. Tuesday night fell speakers are president bill clinton. President obama and Vice President biden will speak on wednesday. Bys president ial nominee tim kaine will also address the convention. And then thursday, Chelsea Clinton introduces her mother as the democratic nomination for president of the United States. Coverage on cspan, the cspan radio app, and cspan. Org. Hillary clinton not yet in philadelphia, spending part of fw day speaking at the the National Convention in charlotte, north carolina. Please be seated. Our next guest is the first first lady ever elected to Public Office and the first new on theto ever serve Senate Armed Forces committee, seven yearsd for from the empire state. Ourre moving on to serve nation as secretary of state in the first obama administration, she was a candidate for president of the United States. I should also point out she is a former first lady, married to bill clinton. Sheinally from chicago, graduated from Wellesley College school, and is married, as i mentioned, to know clinton enough times . It is my pleasure to introduce to you the Presumptive Democratic nominee, former , hillary of state rodham clinton. Thank you. thank you so much. Thank you very much, commander for that very warm welcome. Thanks to your executive director bob wallace, and all of of minimum and at the vfw the auxiliary for your commitments, your service, and your action of americas veterans. 117th National Convention. That is quite a legacy. Vfw hashat time, the built a record to be proud of. You have been a moving force behind hallmark achievements like the creation of the v. A. , the passage of the g. I. Bill, the establishment of national those whodedicated to fought in world war ii, the korean war, the war in vietnam, women in military service, and veterans disabled for life. These monuments are sacred places. Been too many of them. Also to our cemeteries around the world. People come to sit quietly maybe a flower or a letter or oner memento to reflect the courage of those who fought for our nation and for our ideals. I dont think it is an saystatement for me to those memorials might not exist if it werent for you. So, thank you. And thank you for standing up today and every day for veterans health, for education, for the right of all dignity and security. And thank you for continuing to push our nation to live up to our obligations to those who serve. I have been a direct beneficiary. F your expertise some of my top advisers are members of the vfw. I am grateful to the veterans and retired military leaders who have shared their knowledge and counsel with me. I especially want to thank the vfw for the close consultation you provided as we worked to put forward our plan to reform the v. A. Today, i especially want to acknowledge and appreciate retired marine general john , former Deputy Commander of the u. S. Central command and commander of the International Assistance force, overseeing nato troops in afghanistan. Privilege ofeat working with general allen, i am deeply honored that he endorsed me this morning. His confidence in me and that of the other esteemed military leaders to support my campaign, means a great deal to me. But it also imposes a high responsibility on me as well. So, i thank you. I thank you for what you have done, behind the scenes as well sure thatic, to make america keeps our promises, honors our history, and gives our veterans the respect and the opportunities they have earned. A lot of the issues you have fought for our it stake in this election. America is grappling with the questions. How do we keep our country safe . Safer. We make the world sure we give our troops what they need to see their mission through, and when they come home that they have the support and access to to lead they need healthy, productive, successful lives . These challenges matter to me personally, not only as the proud daughter of a veteran enlisted in the navy shortly after the japanese attacked pearl harbor. He became a chief petty officer responsible for training thousands of young sailors before they shipped out to see, mostly to the Pacific Theater sea, mostly to the Pacific Theater. After my father died, i received the letters in old photos from men who served under him, talking about what a difference my dad made in their lives. My dad once told me how bad he lakeshen he left great naval base and accompanied his. Rainees to the west coast some of these bright, energetic young men would not survive. Probably thought it, too. But still they went to serve because their country needed them. That is the kind of courage our men and women in uniform demonstrate every single day. I thought a lot about my fathers experiences later when i became a senator from new york serving on the Senate Armed Services committee, and then as secretary of state. I have worked hard over the years on many of the issues you care about and work on every day. I am not a newcomer to these issues. Today i want to tell you a few of my core beliefs which will guide me if i have the great honor to be elected this fall. Because americans are not just choosing a president. We are also choosing a commander in chief, the person who decides questions of war and peace, life and death. There is no more solemn or serious responsibility than that. Know what weve to candidates believe about National Security and how we go callsmaking life or death because they will affect our men and women in uniform first and foremost, and they will affect our veterans. Lets start here. The United States of america is an exceptional nation with capabilities that no other country comes close to matching, and we have [applause] we have the worlds greatest military. Dont let anybody tell you otherwise. [applause] also have anwe economy that is larger, more durable, and more entrepreneurial than any other on the planet, and we are guided by values that have long inspired people across the world a commitment to freedom and , justice and diversity, that fundamental american idea that every Single Person deserves to be treated decently and with respect, no matter who they are. I believe in standing with our allies, because they are part of what makes us exceptional. Worlder country in the has relationships like we do. Generations of american troops fought, and yes, died, to secure those bonds, because they knew we were safer with more friends and partners and fewer adversaries and enemies. Our men and women in uniform carry that work forward today. My partner in this is a man from virginia named tim kaine. Governorenator, he was of virginia, mayor of richmond, virginia. If you are not familiar with him yet, i urge you to check them out. He is a great Public Servant and a terrific guy. His son is a marine. His son is actually deploying today to help defend our nato allies in europe. , andis how committed he is many others are, to our alliances, and we should be, too. After all, americas word has to mean something. I believe in being firm, but wise, with our rivals. Finding Common Ground where we can and standing our ground when we must. That is the balance that made it possible for me to work with all kinds of nations, to work to increase pressure on north korea, to work to stand up to the chinese in the south china to, to work with russia conclude the new start treaty that reduces nuclear stockpiles, while standing up to them because of their threats to our friends in eastern europe. One thing for certain you will not ever hear from me is praise for dictators and strongmen who have no love for america. And yes, i believe with all my heart in democracy. And i believe in diplomacy. It is often the only way to avoid conflict that can end up exacting a much greater cost. I believe the most sacred responsibility of the is to decidechief when to send men and women into battle. I have visited our troops in and tension. Ar i know how serious this is. Force must only be used as a last resort and only with a clear and well thought out strategy. Ur troops deserve nothing less america expects nothing less. Troops strive to comport themselves with honor. Ad they deserve commanderinchief who will never order them to commit war crimes. I believe in listening to our andrals and admirals theyre doing one of the most important jobs there is, commanding americas sons and daughters. As commander in chief, i will always show them respect and hear them out. Say you will not hear me say i only listen to myself on National Security. [applause] i believe in doing everything we can to meet threats at home and abroad. I know we live in a dangerous world. That is why we need real plans, to deal withes, terrorism, including homegrown terrorism. I have worked with experienced people from across different fields, and indeed across the political spectrum, to come up comprehensive strategies for these and other threats. I will be ready on day one. I believe in american leadership. I believe that who we are as a people, the values that we hold dear the history that we care about, matters a great deal. Im not interested in talking provocatively. Im not interested in insulting people, including our military. Im interested in bringing our country together. Im interested in healing the divisions. We have to protect ourselves against terrorists. To do that we need to lead other countries in stopping isis, al qaeda, and other radical jihadist groups. We shouldnt leave that to the rest of the world to figure out on their own. That wont keep us safe. We need a strong Global Economy because its good for american jobs and exports. That means we should lead in setting and enforcing the rules. If we retreat on either security or the economy behind some kind of imaginary wall, we will have lost our leadership, our purpose, our chance to prevail in the 21st century. And if america doesnt lead, we leave behind a vacuum. And that will either cause chaos or enable other countries to rush in to fill that void. Then they will be the ones making decisions about american lives, jobs, and safety. And the choices make no mistake about it might well not be to our benefit. Thats not an outcome we can live with. I have set forth plans and strategies for dealing with these threats. I know how challenging it will be to meet the difficulties that we face in the world today. But you seem, i have confidence you see, i have confidence. I have optimism. I dont understand people who trash talk about america. Who talk about us as being in decline. Who act as though we are not yet the greatest country that has ever been created on the face of the earth for all of history. [applause] if you want somebody who will scapegoat other people, peddle fear and smear, im not your candidate. Im interested in bringing everybody together. Rolling up our sleeves and getting to work to solve our problems. Thats why in the senate i worked closely with republicans. Now, as some of you might know, i have been the recipient of numerous political attacks for a very long time. I have learned to live with that. I have as Eleanor Roosevelt advised many years ago, if a woman wants to be in the public arena, you had better develop skin as thick as the hide of a rhinoceros. [applause] so when i got to the senate i didnt say, im only going to talk to democrats. Im not going to work with republicans. How silly would that be . I was elected to represent the great empire state. I wanted to do everything i could produce results for the people who honored me by electing me to be there senator. So i worked with republicans to increase the benefits played to family members of the fallen, to expand veterans access to military health insurance. To make sure that all members of the reserves and National Guard and their families had access to Tricare Military Health benefits even when they were not deployed. I introduced the heroes at a home act to establish new services for military members and veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries. I am ended the 2007 defense the 2007ght to amend defense appropriation act to establish a Training Program for family caregivers helping their loved ones with tbi. I did all of this because i had met so many wonderful people who were struggling because they lost a son or daughter, mother or father, wife or husband. Struggling because their loved one came home and didnt have the care that he or she needed. They deserved more support from all of us. And i fortunately was in a position to advocate for them. I joined forces with senator john mccain to personally raise money for the intrepid Fallen Heroes fund. Which helped build a stateoftheart Rehab Facility in san antonio to help our seriously wounded servicemembers coming home from iraq and afghanistan. [applause] and let me just say, it was a pleasure to work with senator mccain on that project and many others. I believe that he and all american prisoners of war are heroes and deserve the respect that that entails. [applause] as president , i will build on the work ive done. Were going to have a 21st Century Department of Veterans Affairs that delivers worldclass care. Like you, i was outraged by the v. A. Scandals. People waiting months, even years for things like wheelchairs and basic medication. Some even dying while languishing on a wait list for an appointment. Heartbreaking and absolutely unacceptable. Thats why i have put forth a detailed plan about what i would do as president to revamp the v. A. It will be one of my highest priorities. But i tell you this. We are not going to privatize the v. A. We are going to reform it and make it work for every single veteran in america. [applause] we will ensure access to timely quality care. Improve the coordination of care which is as you know a huge problem still. Improve care for Women Veterans who are often underserved. [applause] tackle and at long last end the epidemic of veteran suicides by expanding access to Mental Health care, erasing the stigma that still prevents too many from getting the help they need. I know this is a high priority for the vfw and other Veterans Service organizations. And i will do everything in my power to support you in this critical work. And we are going to help more veterans looking for jobs with expanded tax credits for businesses that hire veterans, more support to veterans who want to start their own businesses, better certification and credentialing programs. So, the work that veterans did on active duty will be understood and respected as they compete for jobs in the civilian sector that they deserve to be considered for and hired to perform. [applause] and im going to crack down on companies that prey on or discriminate against veterans. They should be ashamed of themselves. And we are going to hold them accountable. We will also follow the lead of cities like new orleans, houston, philadelphia, and las vegas, which have worked to end veteran homelessness. [applause] we have lessons to learn from them. Many more cities are making progress toward that same goal. We should support them and end the tragedy of veteran homelessness once and for all. And i will protect, preserve and defend the post9 11 g. I. Bill. It has opened doors of opportunity to more than one million veterans and family members. Unfortunately, there are some republicans in congress chipping away at it. Thats not just wrong. It is shortsighted. This Program Helps us recruit and retain the all volunteer force we need to protect our country. And its a way to invest in families and our shared future. We should protect and strengthen it. Not let anyone erode it. I have plans to do all this and more, including supporting military spouses as they seek to build careers. Including standing with women, standing with lgbt veterans to make sure they get the support they have earned. You can go to my website, and i hope you will. Hillaryclinton. Com and read all the details. I hope you will not only because i want you to know but, theres a lot of expertise in this room. And i want your ideas, too. I have this oldfashioned notion. You run for president , you should tell people what you want to do as specifically as possible so they can actually make up their minds. And then you should be held accountable as to whether or not you deliver results. So heres my bottom line. This is something that i care deeply about. But i know a lot of veterans still feel invisible, powerless. Like their country has forgotten them. That is just totally wrong. Its unacceptable and we have to Work Together to make sure we end that. Now we can disagree about the details. Im sure we will from time to time. You see, i actually believe as someone who has been in public life and public service, its better if we have honest candidate candid conversations. Thats the best way in a democracy for us to come up with the best solutions. But we should be guided by our values. We can all agree that our troops deserve serious strategic leadership. We can all agree we have to be serious and committed in addressing the complex challenges we face here at home and around the world. Beneath whatever disagreements we might have as a country about how to get where we need to go, surely we can start listening to one another again. Respecting one another. Our individual experiences that bring so much to the debate. My father made sure i understood that the freedoms and rights we enjoy as americans didnt come out of thin air. People sacrificed for them. Fought, bled, and died for them. People like you. And the generations of soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and coast guardsmen who have made our country strong, proud, and free. Every one of you deserve our thanks. And more importantly, our respect. And you deserve a country and a president and commander in chief who honor your service. Not just with words, but with deeds. Thats what the vfw has stood for. To make sure america lives up to that standard. And as president , i will be working alongside you as i did as senator to make sure that we produce results. I know this is the first time that one of our two major parties has ever nominated a woman. And i know [applause] that it takes a little getting used to, even for me. But heres what i want you to know. I will get up every single day in the white house, doing everything i possibly can to protect our country, to treat our men and women in uniform with the care and concern and respect they deserve, to make good on our nations promises to our veterans. Thats how i was raised. Thats what i have done. And i promise you thats what i will do. Thank you, vfw. God bless you and god bless the United States of america. Thank you all very much. [applause] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] good afternoon from philadelphia. It is 3 00 in the east. Philadelphia is a name that derives from the greek words love and brother. Hence the city of brotherly love. It is race city a city rich in american history. Meet here for the First Time Since 1948 prepared to nominate the first women on a major party ticket. You can watch every minute here on cspan, listen to it on cspan radio, and down