Information act or they are heavily redacted. This lack of cooperation undermines congresss constitution. This it ministration seems to be saying trust us. There is nothing to see here. But as president reagan said in another context, we should trust but verify. Thats what we are trying to do with our oversight. To our responsibilities, the Natural Resources committee has found troubling examples of this administrations decisions being based on politics rather than law. This includes how conflicts of interest are handled, how the lack of sound science is used in endangered species listings and the mismanagement of the process to rewrite coal regulation. I understand that issuing a subpoena is never the preferred option. And it is unfortunate that i have had to do so in my committee on several occasions. Fully understand that to hold lois lerner in contempt is not one to be taken lightly. But mr. Chairman, it must be taken gven her ongoing refusal to operate with this committees investigation and Congress Constitutional obligations toen sure that the laws are being faithfully executed. I yield back the balance of my time. The gentleman yields back. Does anyone else seek recognition . Mr. Chairman . The gentleman seeks recognition. You recognize for five minutes. I yield my five minutes. I want to thank the gentleman for yielding. I have a unanimous consent request. Preserving the right. Thank you. I have a request that hope every member of this committee can support. I will just take a moment to describe it. Can we please have the staff bring in the documents i want to discuss . Clearly, we do not support the resolution. Based on the assessment from more than 30 experts, we believe they federal court will dismiss this case is legally insufficient. We do not we do support transparency. We want the American People to have the whole truth and nothing but the truth. These are the full transcripts from all of the interviews, our committee has conducted during this investigation. We have witnesses called by the majority. We have interviewed irs employees in cincinnati, and Treasury Department employees. Last year on june 9 i sent a letter requesting that you lease the transcripts of all interviews committed by the staff. This month you stated on National Television, and i quote, these transcripts will be made public. It is now more than nine months. It is time to make these ranscripts public. In the past, youve said making transcripts public would give witnesses a road map to our investigation. You have already crossed that bridge many times. Release the quotes from the transcripts and reports, press releases, memos, and letters on more than a dozen occasions. You also lead reporters to come into the Committee Offices to read full copies of select transcripts that you chose to make available. The full transcripts in their entirety, it is how the exactly how the employees in the cincinnati first first developed the criteria, and they also show how lois lerner failed to do it for more than a year. It certainly shows mismanagement of the irs, but no white house involvement in a political motivation, contrary to the claims of the republicans. It is time to put the whole story out there so the public can see everything, not cherry picked pieces. I ask unanimous consent of the committee release publicly all copies of all of these Interview Transcripts no later than may 1. I want to emphasize this. Along with any specific rejections, mr. Chairman issa, before i yield back today, it is important day. And story day. I know other members want to be rid of them. Want to be heard on that. If the gentleman would yield. Yes. I cannot support releasing the documents in their entirety. There are two reasons. The gentleman has the right to select documents and use it in reports and appropriate material. I encourage you to do so. As i have said previously, it is ill advised. I would ask you to restrain themselves from releasing these documents in their entirety. It does provide a roadmap as to questions and answers. However, it is my intention to release redacted versions of these interviews once we have completed all interviews, and after the discovery process has been delivered to us. I might note that just a few days ago, the commissioner told us it might take two years to get us documents. It should give us less time to get all of lois lerners emails. Once we have substantially received those documents, which i expect to be in a matter of weeks, i am certain to work with the Ranking Member to put together properly redacted entire transcripts. I want these records to be public. I think you would agree, as someone who has done transcribed interviews, that if everyone is able to see what were asking everybody else, it it has an adverse affect. I would hope that you would take in good faith that i am making a commitment here that releasing the entire tea, i welcome you to go in and find selected information you believe is appropriate to make any case you want to make, either in the preceding here today, or and others. The refrain from putting these in their entirety until the concluded interviews, which i hope to be soon, and, of course, discovery of such information as simple requests we have for lois lerner, and i yield back. I understand everything you said. As a matter of fact, i have often talked about the release of documents harming prosecutions and other proceedings. That is why i made part of my unanimous consent request that the chairman be allowed to redact whatever you wanted to redact. The reason why i make the request is because i think the public needs to have the information. It sounds like you agree the public needs to have the information. I think the members need to have it beyond us. I just want to, i guess we could go on and on. But, can we have some kind of timeline for that . I think the gentleman. I certainly, once we have concluded our transcribed interviews, we have received the key documents, i am prepared to work with you on this release. I would say that if your unanimous consent would that all members of congress have incamera access to all these documents, i certainly could support that at this time so that every member of congress would have full access to see all of these documents, including an in camera review, including bringing key staff in to help explain it. Mr. Chairman. I object. The gentleman objects. We go to the gentleman from michigan. Thank you. Documents and testimony received by the Committee Show that mrs. Lerner appears to have had a bias against conservative and tea party roups. We have a slide. According to one witness nterview by the committee, mrs. Lerner thought the term tea party was too pejorative. What is pejorative . Only her personal negative opinion about the tea party movement. Slide two. According to one email, she called the tea party cases very dangerous. What is dangerous about taxexempt applications . What is dangerous about Tea Party Groups . Nothing . Other than they do not correspond to mrs. Lerners beliefs. Slide three, please. Notice email says she hopes the f. C. C. Will save the day from anonymous donors giving to Republican Senate candidates. Why would the fcc save the day from lawful donors giving to candidates for office . I support the resolution to hold mrs. Lerner in contempt of congress for her refusal to testify before this committee. As an institution, and as the representative of the American People, we must hold her to account and continue to insist that she provide all information about the irs targeting. The committees extensive investigation shows mrs. Lerner was a central figure in the i. R. S. Targeting, as we have heard her directed the tea Party Application to be put through a multitier review and delay. She specifically asked by name r the tax exempt file by a prominent conservative 401 c4 applicant, and the ways and Means Committee released documentation showing how she subjected conservative groups to extraordinary scrutiny. Beyond these facts, we must hear from ms. Lerner. She viewed Tea Party Groups as fundamentally different from other nonprofit, saying they are itching for a constitutional challenge, not part of exempt organizations. The apparent bias likely played a large role in the irs scrutiny and delay of conservative leaning taxexempt applicants. The committee needs testimony to understand fully how and why the irs targeted conservative roups. A vote no is to abandon what i thought were liberal values to protect the progressive cause. I urge my colleagues to support the resolution. Winky. Will be gentleman yield . Yes. Thank you. As a prosecutor, anytime i was prosecuting a case, i would wonder if he was going to testify are not. When they take the stand, i know im going to get my crack a crossexamination. Never in my life have i seen a defendant get to take the stand, make 17 different factual assertions proclaiming their innocence, and then go sit down without us being able to ask questions. That is essentially out of a criminal context, that would be the run that would have the most protection. What lois lerner was trying to do, they are trying to have it both ways. When you take the fifth, it is not going to be used against you. There is reputational cost that is associated with that. If youre neighbor learns you took the fifth amendment, most people would say why dont you just testify what you did. What are you trying to hide . Whether thats fair or unfair, thats just the reality. Here is lois lerner. A high government official. She has a sixfigure salary. She thought she may have had a good job security, but she wanted to come in here, address the harm that would come to her in terms of her professional reputation and personal reputation by proclaiming her innocence, making 17 different factual assertions, and then taking the fifth amendment so she could not be held accountable on her actions in this position, thereby protecting her sixfigure salary, her position with the government. You cant have it both ways and she clearly waived her fifth amendment right. This idea that somehow she is a victim, shes a sophisticated party. Shes directing a lot of questionable activity. For me, the victims are the people who were targeted for simply trying to exercise their godgiven, constitutionally protected rights to engage in political speech and petition the gift for the redress of their grievances. I yield back. I thank the gentleman. The gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Thank you. I would like to yield two minutes to my friend, mr. Lynch. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I would like to speak in support of the Ranking Member requests. The investigation has been characterized by politicized statements by the chairman and some of his colleagues on the other side of the aisle, followed by leaks of cherry picked transcript excerpts to support their partisan agenda. On june 2, chairman issa released excerpts of these and your views with irs employees. It was on cnn, the state of the union. In response to the partial release of these excerpts, the host stated chairman issa, why dont you put the whole thing out, because our problem really is here, your critics say that republicans and your particular cherry picked information that goes to your foregone conclusions. What worries us, to put this stuff out. Can you not put the whole body of transcripts out. During the interview, chairman issa promised these transcripts will be made public. Despite the chairmans promise and the subsequent nine months, e has not released the transcripts. Instead, time and time again, he has continued to take portions of transcripts and flooded documents out of context and link them to support his inaccurate narrative. At least a dozen times in the past year the chairman has released cherry picked portions of these transcripts. That is on top of the denying the Ranking Member from speaking. That includes shutting off the microphone of any other point of view that varies with his own. It is time to live up to the promises we have made to deliver the fax. Deliver all of the facts to the American People. It is time for transparency and releasing all of the transcripts. This is an extraordinary step for our committee to take. We need to take it. Releasing the transcripts will decrease the transparency. Almost one full year after we began investigating the irs, it is time the American Public receives the truth. I yield. Let me reclaim my time. Time to remaining mr. Cartwright. Thank you. I want to add my voice to those in support of the motion to release the transcripts. I want to add the chairman of the committee has given handpicked reporters an opportunity to read entire transcripts. Last june, usa today reported they allowed reporters to read he whole transcript. The Associated Press review transcripts from three nterviews with agents. The chairman has relied extensively on the Interview Transcripts and various reports that he has published since this investigation has begun. The report cited in the contempt resolution sites from select transcripts of irs personnel. The chairman has already crossed this bridge. We simply submit that what is good for the goose is good for the gander. Youre going to release part of them, you ought to release all of them. If youre going release all of them some people, you should release all of them to all people. I yield back to mrs. Cooper. Will be gentleman yield . Yes. I appreciate it. Im not sure the gentleman from that something you heard me when i reiterated that we would welcome all members of Congress Read these documents. The minority has every right to select documents and use it in producing their positions. We encourage that. Hopefully, people would understand the goose and gander in this case. Go ahead and use these documents. Provide a roadmap and a time which the irs has refused to give us the documents as simple s ms. Lerners email. We only learned yesterday that ms. Lerners emails included the kind of communications where she helped target others. These are new discoveries. These are discoveries in some places redaction are the very reason we cannot conclude this hearing. He gentleman yield back. Gentleman yields back. At this time we go to the gentleman from texas. Thank you, mr. Chairman, and ill be brief. It is important we get to the bottom of this. I do not believe that this stops with ms. Lerner. How we get there through contempt, we just need to get there. Im one to go forward with this contempt proceeding because i think its one of the tools in our tool box to get there. He ways and Means Committee is referring this to the department of justice. I dont believe for a second that eric holder, who is in contempt for this body for failing to comply with this on fast and furious is going to prosecute that. We do need to move forward with what we have in our toolbox to fulfill our constitutional duty to get to the bottom of this. The American People deserve to know. Im going to support this. Yield back. Just to be clear, for the record, want to explain my bjecting to this motion. I have no problem. The chairman stated my position. We can release these documents. Having been on this committee longer than anybody else, each side does use this information. I remember very well when mrs. Cummings, when we interviewed one or two witnesses, mr. Cummings went on National Television and said theres no evidence, we need to close this down. Each side does use that. We are finished. We have additional witnesses that we want to get the rest of the information. We have about a half a dozen major people we havent gotten emails from. We want to do this in a proper way. Let me say, this chairman opens every meeting. He cites something every time consistently. We have a responsibility as the chief investigative body of congress. There is no other Committee Like this. There is no other issue ive seen in my 20 years that has riveted the American People. Its all of us, whether its a member of congress or the lowest citizen out there, lowest paid individual, have to deal with the i. R. S. This is shaking the core of fairness and understanding. Then it deals with trying to manipulate an election. The evidence we have so far is clear. We just wanted to hear from some of those again. The rest of the people we cant hear from. This lernerk shes being held accountable by this committee. But we have that responsibility to the American People. They are out there working like dogs today. They sent us to find out whats going on in these agencies and that their elections that they hold in the highest level, thats the whole basis and foundation of this government, are not skewed, are not manipulated. We have a responsibility to keep that. Please do not demagogue the chairman. He has done a good job. You know, in logic, college hominem, when ad you attack the man, not the argument, and all these other diversions. I know you have a job to do on the other side. We have a job to do for the American People. I yield back. Will be gentleman further yield . I will yield. I want to be brief. I dont expect this to go much longer. One thing i want to make sure is in the record is refusal to testify and be held in contempt can be resolved by an agreement o testify. If ms. Lerner wants to proffer my inbox is open for her lawyers. If ms. Lerner has testified before the Justice Department without immunity, and given information, if the Ranking Member would like to join me in requesting again that the Justice Department provide that to us, it might, in fact, negate the need to have her come before us. It may have asked the very same questions. Until questions which we believe are on point to testimony she gave well represented by counsel, we believe we have little hoice. I want to make sure everyone understands, all we want is the truth. She has statements she could give us. She has made half of a statement available. I would like to know the other half of the story. I ask all members to consider that is the goal of this committee. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Does anyone else seek recognition . The gentleman from nevada is recognized. I speak in support of the Ranking Member. After 10 months of cherry picked quotes and baseless accusations, it is time to make good on his promise to publicly release the full transcript in his investigation. For the past year, his central accusation has been theyre in political collusion directed by or on behalf of the white house. In fact, before the Committee Received a single document or interviewed one witness, chairman issa went on National Television and stated, this was the targeting of the president s political enemies. That claim has been debunked soundly and repeated by the facts. Releasing these transcripts will not harm the criminal investigation of ms. Lerner. Ms. Lerner has already met with federal prosecutors. On march 5, ms. Lerners attorney told reporters that within the last six months, ms. Lerners sat for a long, uncouple q a with prosecutors and members of the inspector generals staff. If anything, the release of this Committee Interview transcript could actually aid the department of justice in its investigation by providing the agency with more complete and detailed picture of the underlying conduct at the irs. That is ultimately what my colleagues on the other side say they want. If you want the facts, then why not release the transcript . Mr. Chairman, if theres nothing to hide, why not release the transcripts . Not just to us individual members, but to the public. This is about transparency. If there is something in those transcripts, that you believe, o not support your position, if so, let the public see it. That is what they expect. Not one of the 39 witnesses that have appeared before the committee indicated that the white house directed or was any way involved in i. R. S. Employees handling of applications from Tea Party Groups. Et chairman issa has continued to leak selected excerpts and hold portions which contradict his public accusations. For example, in june of last year, chairman issa leaked portions of an i. R. S. Tax specialist interview to support his Conspiracy Theory of political targeting. What the chairman chose not to make public was the portion of her transcript where she dismissed his chief allegation. When asked if she saw any evidence of a plot to as the chairman target the president success political enemies, this republican i. R. S. Employee said no, not at all. Thats kind of laughable that people think that. No, not at all. This is purely cases that unfortunately cincinnati didnt have enough guidance on. That c4 area is very, very difficult area, and theres not much guidance. So the lingering length of time, unfortunately, was just trying to apply the law to the specific facts of each case. Let me repeat, she said, its kind of laughable that people think that. Perhaps the chairman is more concerned at the release of these transcript will give the public a roadmap to the truth behind this partisan rhetoric. Lets end the partisan bickering. Lets provide the facts. Are you afraid of transparency . Is there something in those transcript that is the public doesnt deserve to know . It will not hurt the criminal investigation. It may actually help the department of justice. I would like to yield my time. I thank my friend from nevada for yielding. I want to speak in favor of the motion. The American Public deserves transparency. In an investigation, chairman issa has marred with partisan attacks and released Interview Transcripts. Im incredulous that my friend from florida talk about Election Integrity and protecting, and stopping the where was that resolve for rotecting integrity of elections after the 2,000 hijacking of a national election. It certainly was not in this room. It wasnt on this committee. The gentleman from nevadas time is expired. Ll time. No further members seek if recognition. A sufficient quorum being resent, the question is, oofer are offer favorable reporting, contempt report to the house, all those in favor, signify by saying aye. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The clerk will call the roll. Mr. Chairmam. R. Turner votes aye. Mr. Duncan. Mr. Mchenry votes aye. R. Langford. Mr. Gosar. Mr. Gosar votes aye. Mr. Ferranthal votes aye. Mr. Hastings. Mr. Hastings votes aye. Mr. Woodall. Mr. Massey votes aye. Mr. Massey votes aye. Mr. Desantos votes aye. Mr. Cummings votes no. Mr. Cummings votes no. Mrs. Maloney votes no. Ms. Norton. Mr. Tierney. Mr. Clay votes no. Mr. Lynch votes no. Mr. Cooper votes no. Mr. Connolly votes no. Mr. Cartwright votes no. Ms. Duckworth votes no. Ms. Kelly . Mr. Davis . Mr. Welch votes no. S. Grisham votes no. Ou are not recorded. Does anyone else seek to be reported . The clerk will report. On that vote, 21 yeas, 12 nays. The ayes have it. The report is ordered to the house. The staff shall be authorized to make necessary technical conforming changes to the report. Mr. Chairman, i asked a number of days. So ordered. Without objection. We stand adjourned. Today on cspan, the Freedom Summit from manchester, New Hampshire. Including appearances by senators rand paul and ted cruz, Mike Huckabee and donald trump. Well have live conversation all day so you can join in the conversation on facebook and twitter. It begins at 10 00 a. M. Eastern here on cspan. I think what we need is something akin to the Grace Commission during the Reagan Administration or the brack commission, the base realignment and Closing Commission during i think the clinton administration. An outside group with integrity. Former members of congress. No current elected politicians, to come in and do a complete audit of government from top to bottom. They have a piece of legislation or a charter that created it. It has a purpose. If it is not fulfilling that purpose or doing it within a reasonable budget, it should be cut or eliminated. Lets just take head start. This came in with the highest motivation. There are now three. There is early head start. Enhanced head start and regular head start. Why do we have the other two . Because the first one wasnt working. Why do we have the third one . Because the second one wasnt working. Veteran columnice cal thomas on fixing a broken washington. Immediately following after words, a book party for mr. Thomas as he signs his book and chats with guests. This weekend on book tv this black writers conference. Sunday at 2 00, strengthening communities. Plus a panel on publishing. Book tv every weekend on cspan 2. For over 35 years, cspan brings Public Affairs events from washington directly to you, putting you in the room at congressional hearings and offering complete gaveltogavel coverage of the u. S. House, all as a Public Service of private industry. Cspan created by the cable industry 35 years ago. Watch us in h. D. , like us on facebook and follow us on twitter. After the resignation of sebseb, sebellyuss, president obama named burwell to be her successor. Good morning, everybody. [applause] [applause] everybody, have a seat. Have a seat. Ell, good morning. Office, six years in im grateful for having wonderful aids and staff. After five years of Extraordinary Service to our country, and 7. 5 million americans who have signed up for h coverage [applause] i will miss her advice. I will miss her friendship. I will miss her wit stnch. Im proud to nominate someone o holds her same traits in abundance. Sylvia mathews burwell. [applause] just a couple of things about kathleen. When i nominated kathleen more than five years ago, i had got on the know kathleen when she i governor of kansas and knew she was up for what was a tough job. I mentioned to her one of her many sporbletes would be to make sure our country is prepared for a pandemic flu outbreak. I didnt know at the time that would be her first task. It gives you a sense of the sorts of daily challenges that kathleen has handled, often without fanfare. Often unacknowledged, but that have been critical to the health and welfare of the american eople. She has expanded maternal healthcare, reduced racial and ethnic disparities. She has been a tireless advocate for womens health. Of course what kathleen will go wn in history for as serving health and Human Services when the United States of america finally declared that Quality Affordable Health Care is not a privilege, but it is a right for every single citizen of these United States of america. [applause] kathleen has been here through the long fight pass the Affordable Care act. She has bumps. Ive got bumps. Bruises. But we did it because we knew of all the people that we have met, all across the country, who had lost a home, had put off care, had decided to stay with a job instead of start a business because they were uncertain about their healthcare situation. We had met families who had seen their children suffer because of the uncertainty of healthcare. And we were committed to get this done and that is what we have done. That is what kathleen has done. Yes, he lost the First Quarter problemsnrollment with with healthcare. Gov and there were problems, but under kathleens leadership, her team the corner, got it fixed, got the job done and the final score speaks for itself. There are 7. 5 Million People across the country that have the security of Health Insurance, most of them for the very first time and that is because of the woman standing next to me here today and we are proud of her or that. Thats right. [applause] by the way, in the meantime, alongside 7. 5 Million People being enrolled, healthcare costs under leans leadership are growing at their slowest rate in 15 years. I keep reading oh, they are not doing anything about costs except they are growing at the slowest rate in 15 years. What does that mean . That is in part to kathleens extraordinary leadership. They are moving from dog eared paper to hightech systems. Progressively pursuing Healthcare Fraud and returning billion s of dollars, record sums to the medicare fund. Her work over the past five years will benefit our families and this country for decades to come. So we want to thank kathleens husband, the first dude of kansas. [laughter] two outstandings, ned and john. So kathleen, we want to thank you once again for your service to our country. [applause] all right. Now we know there is still more work to do at hhs. There is more work to do to implement the Affordable Care ct, theres another Enrollment Period coming up in about six months from now. There is a whole array of responsibilities to meet over at this large and very important agency. I could choose no manager as experienced and confident as my current director of the office of management and budget, Sylvia Mathews burwell. [applause] sylvia is from a small town in west virginia. She brings the common sense that you see in small towns. She brings the values of caring about your neighbor and ordinary folks to some of the biggest and most complex challenges of her time. He is a proven manager who has demonstrated her ability to field great teams, forge strong relationships, and deliver results at the highest level in the public and private sectors. As c. O. O. And later president of Global Development at the Gates Foundation, she worked on the cutting edge of the worlds most pressing Health Challenges. As head of the Walmart Foundation and a member of the board at met life, she gained firsthand experience into how Insurance Markets work and how they can work better for businesses and families. Here as my budget director at the white house, she has already delivered results. After all, in the years since she arrived, the deficit has plunged by more than 400 billion. Im just saying. [laughter] that happened during that time. When the government was forced to shut down last october and even as most of her own team was barred from reporting the work, sylvia was a rock, a steady hand on the wheel who helped navigate the country through very challenging time. Once the government was allowed to reopen, sylvia was vital to winning the twoyear budget agreement that put an end to these manufactured crises we have seen in washington so we can keep our full focus on growing the economy and creating new jobs and expanding opportunity for everybody who is seeking opportunity. All the while, she has helped advance important initiatives to bring the government into the 21st century, including efforts to speed up job creation by dramatically speeding up the permitting process for big infrastructure projects. Sylvia is a proven manager, and she knows how to deliver results. And she will need to be a proven manager, because these are tough tasks. Big challenges. From covering more families with Economic Security that Health Insurance provides to ensuring the safety of our food and drug supply to protecting the country from outbreaks or bioterror attacks, to keeping america at the forefront of job creating medical research, all of us rely on the dedicated servants and scientists, the researchers at hhs and the fda and cdc and nnih. All of them are in next ordinary team, and sometimes the American People take them for granted, the incredible network of outstanding Public Service that we have that is helping to keep us healthy and improve our lives every single day. I want to thank stephen. Sylvias husband, and matthew, and helene, for sharing wife and mom with us a little bit onger. We will miss seeing you around the white house, but i know you will do an outstanding job as americas secretary of health and Human Services. I hope the Senate Confirms sylvia without delay. Shes going to do great. Last time she was confirmed unanimously. Im assuming not that much has changed since that time. [laughter] with that, i want to give them both an opportunity to say a few words, starting with kathleen. [applause] thank you. I want to start by thanking you, mr. President and mr. Vice president , for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime to serve in this cabinet. I want to thank my hhs family, many of whom are here, at least the Health Leaders are here, for their incredible work. And my personal family, represented today by our oldest son ned. My wonderful daughter in law lisa, my husband gary is on the bench in kansas today, doing multiple hearings, which he does each and every day. Our youngest son is in ecuador ut they are with us in spirit. Hhs is an amazing department, full of bright and talented and hardworking people who believe strongly in our important mission, providing health care and essential Human Services to all americans. Inscribed on the walls of the Humphrey Building where your office will be are the words of the namesake. Hubert humphrey said, the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life the children those are who in the twilight of life the elderly and those who are in the shadow of life. That describes what we do at hhs. From our work on birth to kindergarten initiatives to provide for the elderly and disabled, our employees help their friends and neighbors every day. The researcher is in nih labs and scientists working to improve new drugs and devices are helping change the face of humanity by advancing new cures, research, and innovation. We are advancing Public Health in the u. S. And around the globe, with antismoking efforts and promoting maternal and child health. Finally, Behavioral Health and physical Health Issues will be considered both part of essential treatment, and thats big step forward. Our workers, as the president said, look out for a safe and secure food and drug supply in a global market. Our smart diplomacy, sharing Health Expertise and advances, win the hearts and minds of nations across the globe. We have done transformational work in communities across this country. That will never be the same again. At any point in our history, that mission would be highly rewarding and some of the most important work anybody could do. But i have had an additional amazing opportunity. No one has had this before. I got to be a leader of hhs during these most historic times. We are in the front lines of a long overdue national change, fixing a broken health system. This is the most meaningful work i have ever been a part of. It has been the cause of my life. Theres a reason that no earlier president was successful in passing health reform, despite decades of attempts. Throughout the legislative battles, the Supreme Court challenge, contentious reelection and years of votes to turn back the clock, we are making progress, tremendous progress. Critics and supporters alike are benefiting from this law. My professional work as a legislator and insurance commissioner and governor have been tremendously helpful in navigating the policy and politics of this historic change. At the end of the day, health is personal. Its personal to all of us. Family illnesses and personal Health Challenges touch us to our core. I spent time as a daughter, navigating care for ill parents. As a mother and now grandmother, i have experienced and worried about prenatal care and healthy babies. We have had family Health Challenges, as all of us have, and finding the right care can be difficult even with the best contacts and the right resources. The personal reward for me at the end of the day are the folks who approach me, the strangers who approach me at a meeting or pass me a note on a plane or hand me a phone with someone on the other end saying thank you. Their stories are so heartening about finally feeling secure in knowing they can take care of themselves and their amilies. Unfortunately, a page is missing. [laughter] so im just grateful for having had this wonderful opportunity. The president was in austin yesterday at the lbj library, commemorating 50 years in the civil rights efforts led by lyndon johnson. 50 years ago, my father was part of that historic congress. He served in the congress with the passage of medicare and medicaid, with head start. Those programs are now in the agency i have had the honor to lead. It seems like a wonderful passing of the baton. The Affordable Care act is the most significant social change in this country in that 50 year period of time. Im so grateful to have had this opportunity. I appreciate all of the effort and support. I think my cabinet colleagues who are here on the front row, and not only are they here today, but they have been part of an all hands on deck effort making sure that seven and a half Million People were able to sign up for Affordable Health care. Thank you, mr. President. Know that sylvia is a trusted and valued friend, a great partner. I know she will be a terrific leader for hhs. So ill turn it over to you. [applause] first, i would like to thank you, mr. President and mr. Vice president for the trust you placed in me in my role at omb and your confidence in nominating me for this new role. Second, as we all honor kathleens accomplishments today, i also want to personally thank her for her support and friendship through this year. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to the team at the office of management and budget and to our congressional counterparts with whom ive had the privilege to work closely throughout this year. Omb is an extraordinary institution. Its a credit to the professionalism and commitment of ombs people that we have been able to meaningfully mprove our nations fiscal policy and government management over the past year. I want to thank my family, especially my husband, stephen. It is their support that allows me to serve. Im humbled and honored and excited for the opportunity to build on the achievement that kathleen, the president , and so many others have put in place. If confirmed by the senate, i look forward to carrying on the important work of ensuring that children, families, and seniors have the Building Blocks of healthy and productive lives, whether its through implementing the Affordable Care act, supporting affordable childcare, or finding new frontiers to prevent and treat disease. Thank you, mr. President. [applause] give these extraordinary women one more round of applause. Thank you, kathleen, for your service. Thank you, sylvia, for your great work. [applause] ry Jennifer Haberkorn from politico. President obama nominating sylvia burwell. She comes into the hhs job if she can get through Senate Confirmation process after one year serving in the obama administration. Before that, she worked at the Walmart Foundation and the Gates Foundation and before at, she comes to this job with a big Economic Management background. Clearly healthcare is a big management of the economy is more her thing. That might be what they need right now. They need to continue to right the ship on health there healthcare. Gov. You mentioned if she gets through the senate. You talked about that in your politico article. What do you expect . The nomination will have to go through the Senate Finance and ready. She got through the confirmation a year ago. She got three unanimously. This is a very different process. Republicans will use this hearing to relitigate the health care law. One thing that will come up is that there is a lot of authority over how gets implemented. She will come into a job that has a lot of power. Republicans will draw problems with the laws through her confirmation. She only needs 50 votes to get through the senate. She can really afford to lose some Senate Democratic votes and get through the process. When you expect these hearings will get underway . It will happen over the next two weeks. It is something that will happen shortly. The further we go to the november election, the harder this process will be. It will be pretty early. What key senators do you assume will be involved . The chairman of the Senate Finance committee will stop he put out a statement praising her as an excellent choice. The Top Republican on that panel is orrin hatch. He stressed that she would have to prove willing to work with for publicans on the law. I think the moderate democrats who are facing tough reelection. Although senators be . Mary landrieu in louisiana. They will not be anxious to vote for anyone who will be the chief implementer of obamacare. Like i said, she can lose five senate democrats. They will be the ones to watch. What do you think her chances are . Will she win approval in the senate . I think it is too early to say. If i have to put money on it, i say she will get through. The democrats will align behind her. They will face pressure at home. Republicans will use this vote against him if they vote for her. Jennifer haberkorn, we appreciate your time as always. Thank you. On the next washington journal, we will talk about the gender pay gap. And a look at the tax prep industry and proposals to license tax preparers. It begins live at 7 00 eastern. Today on cspan, the Freedom Summit from New Hampshire, including appearances by rand paul and ted cruz, Mike Huckabee, and donald trump. We will have live coverage all day. You can share your comments on facebook and twitter. That begins at 10 00 eastern. I think what we need is something akin to the Grace Commission during the Reagan Administration or the Brac Commission during the clinton administration. An outside group with integrity. Former members of Congress Come in and do a complete audit from top to bottom. Has a piece of legislation or a charter that created it. It has a purpose. If it does not the filled up purpose or do it within a reasonable budget, it should be cut or eliminated. Take head start. This came in with the highest motivation. Do you know, there are now three had starts . Why do we have the other two . The first one was not working. Afterwards, cal thomas on fixing a broken washington. Amediately following, Heritage Foundation book party as he signs his book. National blacks writers conference. Panels on race, power, politics, literature, and shifting identities in africa. Plus, a panel on publishing. Book tv on cspan 2. Congressman and former Vice President ial candidate paul ryan was the keynote speaker at this years Iowa RepublicanParty Lincoln dinner. They traditionally hold the first president ial caucuses. After his prepared speech, he talked with many attendees and reporters covering the event. This is 50 minutes. Wow. Thanks everybody, that is great. I fight youre going to go through my cub scout patches next. Somebody said go packers. No bears, right . It is great to see all of this national media. It is just like our wisconsin days. Being on the 2012 ticket, a got a chance to come to iowa. Being on a ticket like that is a bitter loss. You feel it deep in your gut. You know the stakes of the country. Having gone through that, i have also had a lot of benefits. I have had a lot of folks recognize me. My name is going up. I was getting on a plane in no walkie, and this lady was looking at me. Of felt like the polar bear at the zoo. I said would you like to take a picture . She said yes, we found a passerby and took a camera. Is so nice to finally meet you. I have alwaysr wanted to meet you. I said i hope i can count on your support in 2014. It gets better. A few weeks later, i was back in the milwaukee airport. I go back and forth between d. C. And no walkie. I get on my typical air tran flight and the flight attendants are talking to each other. They are pointing and talking. One of them comes up to me and says you are somebody famous trip are you Anthony Weiner . No, i am scott walker. This is a true story. Thing that this has given me , having had the opportunity to represent my party on a National Ticket is i have gotten to tour this country and see people from all walks of life. I am kind of a walking focus group. You, people are frightened about the future of this country. Everybody knows deep in their gut that we are on the wrong track. The central challenge of our country, if i could summarize it anefly, is that we face uncontrolled government that threatens to overwhelm us. You see, one of the challenges that mitt and i had in 2012 is thead to shadowbox against government theory. We kept trying to say, this is what obamacare is going to do. This is what dodd frank by the way, if you do not know what dodd frank is, it is a sickly obamacare for banks. Basically obamacare for banks. It was our word against theirs, because they had not put their programs in practice yet. The president had full control of congress, nancy pelosi. They passed all of these bills. It was our word against theirs. Guess what . Now we have Big Government in practice and the theory is a whole lot different from what it looks like in practice. Remember if you like your dr. , you can keep it . If you like your health care plan, you can keep it . This is what is different now. People realize the results have nothing to do with the rhetoric used to sell this program. Take a look at where we are headed with the debt now. Yesterday House Republicans put our boats on the line and we passed for the fourth year in a row a budget that balances the budget and pays off our debt. [applause] if there is one prediction you are really secure in making, it is going to go nowhere in the United States senate. Take a look at what the president did with the United States military. It is a bitter irony that the week Vladimir Putin invades ukraine, the president sends a bill that brings our air force to the lowest level we have ever seen. The only thing he wants to cut optimization for our soldiers . Our readiness . Our military . Not deficit reduction. I would respect it if it were for that. But to fuel more deficit spending. We have this big avalanche of debt in front of us. We see this hollowing out of our military. We see this huge government in practice, and we know our country is in the wrong track. The easier story to tell, the teachable moment we are in right now, is that this stuff has nothing to do with the promises they made to sell it. I asked the Congressional Budget Office a little while ago. As the Budget Committee chairman, i get to have the Budget Office when all of these numbers. I am a numbers guy. I said, im just curious. If we do not reform these entitlement programs, go after this corporate welfare, what will the tax rates have to be on my kids when i have grandkids . When i have grandkids running around the age of my kids question mark what will the tax rate have to be . A said they will try to figure this out and get back to. They sent me this letter. The low income tax rate that americans pay that is right now 10 , that will between five percent. The middle income tax will go to 66 . The top tax rate, the one although successful Small Businesses pay that will have to go to 88 . And they said in the next sentence this could have some negative effects on the economy at that time. [laughter] you see, we know this is the path we are on. This is a huge threat to our selfgoverning future. This is not just economic. Take a look at the for the poor. You have the federal government telling a group of nuns in colorado they cannot practice their faith a way they want. You have the federal government violating our First Amendment rights of conscience of religious freedom. We are constantly being ruled by bureaucrats without our consent and a president who does not feel bound by the rule of law. Now, i can go on and on about the list of complaints and we can air out our grievances. This white is not about just balancing be but this fight is not just about balancing the budget or protecting the military or our rights. This fight is about one big idea. What we call the american idea. It is a really simple concept. We are the only country founded on idea. Our founders knew this well. For most of our history, the central idea was some were born to rule and the rest were destined to obey. Our forebears rebelled against this belief. And from that was born in the american idea. I have heard of it in speech after speech. That is what gives me solace. We are reintroducing ourselves to it. The american idea is really clear. Each person is fundamentally equal and capable of governing themselves. The condition of your birth does not determine the outcome of your life in this country. This is a system of natural rights. Our rights, they are automatic, they are natural. They come before government. That is what is unique about our country. It is the idea we are dedicated to. It is the truth that launched this nation, determined to make this truth real. Take a look at the examples of what this has done. You know, i got a chance to see your congressional delegation, to see terri and kim and a lot of iowans. And just a couple weeks ago, you dedicated a new staff and me capitol rotunda. In the capitol rotunda. Each state gets two monuments. Everybody runs through Everybody Needs to do this. You reach this phenomenal statue of norman were logged standing with a clipboard in a field of weeds. This means a lot to my family. My motherinlaw is from clinton. We got to see the petersons and talk about family and shared memories. This is a guy born a farm boy in iowa. Grew up on a farm. Had a train. Had a great education. Came up with amazing ideas. Came up with the green revolution and saved 2 billion lives. Only in america. When i go by that statue, which i pass it probably eight times a day. It is right where we go to vote. It makes me think of other iowa leaders and their potential. Imagine what Chuck Grassley would have done with his life if only he had a law degree. [laughter] [applause] the question is this. We know where we are at this moment in our history. We know what we believe in. We know what made this country great. We know what we need to do to get back on track. We have to get the consensus and the majority in the country to do it. So, what do we do . How do we do this . How do we put this thing back together before it is too late . You can tell by my name ryan, i am an irish person. I get to go to this lunch with the prime minister. He goes by the tea shop taoiseich. That is gaelic for prime minister. Our brothers have done a lot for us in afghanistan and iraq. It is kind of one of those saving private ryan stories. They wont let the whole family go. They drove them all down to go. The youngest said i am going to have a height of guinness in your name a pint of guinness in your name as though the three of us were together every day. Every day this young man would go to the pub. He would have three guinnesses lined up. This is ireland by the way. He would drink them simultaneously. He did this for two or three weeks. The pub owner thought this was a little strange. Usually people order them one after another. He asked someone what are you doing . He said, my brothers are off fighting in the war. I committed to having a fight with each of them until they returned safely. A couple weeks go by. He comes into the pub. He orders two pint of guinness. Everybody is whispering. The pub owner comes over. He says, im really, really sorry about your brother. He said, what do you mean . I just gave up beer for lent. [laughter] [applause] so [applause] there is a moral to the story. I am not just this irish guy that likes to tell irish jokes. This is the lenten season. Im also cap it. You have to give up something during lent. Im also catholic. Here is what i want to give up. Lets give up the infighting. Lets give up the tunnel vision. Lets give up the acrimony. The left loves to say that our party is in this big civil war, that we are tearing each other apart. I dont see it that way. Great candidates, all of these people. They talk about the same ideals. Talk about the same principles and policies. Pick the person you like the best. Fight really hard for that candidate. At the end, afterwards or primary is june 2, june 3. Unify. Unify. [applause] you know, to flip over to scotland, to borrow a phrase mel gibson made famous in braveheart we need to unite the clans. This is not going to be easy. Getting this country rights, getting it back on track there is not a silver bullet. There is not just one bill we can pass. We cant just muster or twist arms and force it through. It is going to take a lot of work. The answer lies in the hard work of politics. Better arguments. Better alternatives. Better outreach. More focus on persuading. Less focus on hurting. Here is the key. Those of us who seek your support, who seek these positions of leadership, who want to lead owe you, our employers, a very specific vision. Sometimes in politics it is hard to tell who is here for a career and two is here for a cause. The way to distinguish those who are simply collectors for the welfare state, the beers versus the doers, the doer say what they will do and then they will do it. We take from the declaration this great operating manual, the constitution. How we get this country back on track. Here is a clear set of principles. Here is a clear operating manual. Here is a plan. This is the arise and we are shooting for. Here is how we how i choose to do it. Some days we take small steps in that direction. Other days we take big leaps. Good sailors do not curse the winds. They use it to their it managed to get to their destination. When we look back at this moment, we have got to make sure we send men and women who have conviction, who have principles, and who actually have a plan so that we can hold them accountable to it. That is really important. But we have to remember at the end of the day, this is about winning congress. This is about persuading. I think we have a really good opportunity. Do you know why question mark go to the barrios do you know why . 02 the barrios, innercity chicago, role oklahoma, rural was constant. Rural oklahoma, rural wisconsin. Everybody says the same thing. It is not working. These principles that made this country great are timeless. Liberal progressives have overplayed their hand. They want us to delegate our power and authority to some nameless bureaucrat that can better harmonize our lives for it. We now know, because we have the government in practice, it does not work. We have to go back and say, here is our plan to balance the budget. Ears are our plan to pay off the debt. Here is how we modify the tax code and you keep more of your hardearned money. We get the government out of the way and stop the government from stopping this Great Energy Boom from happening. Here is how you have a strong military. Here is how you have an america in the world that has respect. Here is how you successfully fight poverty, not simply by managing poverty. Getting people out of poverty in the first place. We do not believe in throwing more money at the problem. We cant just be the good opposition party. We have to be a great alternative party. We have to show these ideas and these principles, which made us so great in the first place, are as relevant and important today as they ever were before. That is a day that i think is coming. Because Everybody Knows we are on the wrong track. When i am sitting on my front porch, old and gray with my granddaughter on my knee, i dont want to tell her, yeah, the country went down the tubes, america is a has been. It was a great nation. I just want you to know, i voted against it every step of the way. That is not good enough. This is why we have to unite at the end of the day. This is why the current tension in our party is more about tactics them policies. If there is anything i want to leave you with, focus on the big picture. On the big idea. We know where we are. We know what made our country great. We know what will restore this country. We will disagree from time to time on tactics. But this party is a Big Tent Party and the tallest pole holding up that tends is selfdetermination. Economic liberty. Free enterprise. Selfdetermination. That is who we are. That is why our veterans fought for in the first place. If we get that done, we will save the country. And i once, you have a unique and disproportionate influence in all of this iowans, you have a unique and disproportionate influence in all this. Thank you for what youre doing. Thank you for the unification that will come after these primaries. Thank you, everybody. Appreciate it. [applause] thank you, congressman ryan. On behalf of of the chairman of these central committee, you are dismissed. Thank you. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] yeah, dave i know him very well. He is a doctor he sends me a daily devotional. How do you know dave . [indiscernible] you are . Really . Hey, andy. This is your adopted grandfather. He is a good friend of dave. They go to church together. Nice to meet you. Marci, nice to meet you. A pleasure. [indiscernible] is that the one going to aerospace scool and huntsville . That is a very sharp kid. I know him a little bit better. [indiscernible] yeah, sure. Im sorry. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it. Great volunteer. I know. Here. [laughter] [indiscernible] [cheering] thing. S a filipino she has been with me since day one. Yeah. I know her family very well. [laughter] she is her cousin. Oh, ok. Is that what you are friends . [laughter] turnaround. Look this way. [indiscernible] oh, here you go. Nice is seeing him. Nice seeing you. Thank you. Thanks for coming. Things are coming out. Appreciate it. It is my pleasure. [indiscernible] yeah. I wanted to be last time around. I got invited to one of your events. And a lady was actually there at the district convention. I did not get where are you from . Now i am in dallas county. A little west of town. I do a lot of events here. This was by de soto, out and where the fields. You know what, it was. It was in an enclosure. I showed up. I was all dressed up, which i never do. I show up here, and it is like tumbleweeds. [laughter] but it was great. Glad you came out. Thank you for working for us. Awesome. Awesome. [indiscernible] absolutely. Who is taking it . Thank you very much. Thanks. Appreciate it. Can i get a picture . Yeah. Did you speak at Columbia College . [indiscernible] you did great. [laughter] yeah, you bet. [indiscernible] selfies inaken two my life. What you teach . Economics. Macro, micro . Both. Great. Josh. [indiscernible] oh, good grief. [laughter] come on, dave. All right. Thank you. Professor at aa republuican event. There are a few. They are very good friends. Perfect. Madison . That is out of my district, but pretty close by. [indiscernible] thank you. Keep crunching those numbers. Thank you. I will. [indiscernible] there you are. Thank you so much. [laughter] do you ever take pictures just to make my friends matt mad . [indiscernible] thanks. Good to have you. Thank you. [indiscernible] oh, you do . You are such an inspiration. [indiscernible] hi. What is your name . Britney. Im in high school. [indiscernible] yeah, yeah, yeah. Thank you so much. So much. Thank you. [indiscernible] could we take one more . Do what . You have got to flip it around. I am a lengthy person. I think we got three of them. We got it. Thank you so much. What is your name . Josiah. Yeah, i will tell you we just we just got a win. You have two years left of his administration. We just need to win the white house. [indiscernible] congressman mike moore. I am writing for state senate. State senate . Where . [indiscernible] thank you so much for coming. Yeah. Good to be here. Oh, you dont have it . Oh. Got it. You get it . Depreciated. Good luck. Good luck to you guys. Appreciate it. [indiscernible] i was going to ask you, what do you practice . Psychology. [indiscernible] [laughter] he is reading your emails right now. I am just going to blink. Thank you. Nice to see you. Nice to meet you. We really appreciate it. What is your name . Stephen. Stephen, nice to meet you. [indiscernible] i am graduated. University of iowa. [indiscernible] thanks a lot, man. [indiscernible] great. You mind doing the honors of a selfie . Yeah. There you go. Thank you very much. [indiscernible] i am a junior delegate. Oh, is that what youre doing . Cool. [indiscernible] make sure you get a good sense of it before you commit. I always tell people, it is not exactly what you think it is. To be a delegate, it is a great way to get a sense of it. [indiscernible] all, you have a feel for it. [indiscernible] do you want to do a pic . [laughter] i know. [indiscernible] [laughter] yeah, but it worked though. Thank you. Very cool. [indiscernible] i am half. I am half german, half irish. Youve got a new job. Thank you. What county are you from . My dad was in world war ii what county, county in ireland . Limerick. Oh, my family is from kilkenny. That is where my family is from. What side . [indiscernible] 1970, 1978. They came down from kilkenny. If you go back again, it is completely different. It has changed a lot. [indiscernible] if you run for president , we will support you. Thank you very much. It would be great to get a photo with you our son is in wisconsin. [indiscernible] come in here. Who has a good camera . Ok. 1, 2, 3. [laughter] that one looks like a good one. It used to be oh, i know. Yeah, yeah. Are you in these state senate here . Yeah, i am in northeast iowa. Where a bit whereabouts . Northeast of your. [laughter] that is not too far. Do you know where valley is . I used to do a lot of hunting over there. It is on the is constant side. The wisconsin side. [indiscernible] could i get your signature and a photo . You are really an inspiration. Thanks, nigel. Are we going over there . This young lady. Ok. Pushed the button, push the button, hon. That is awesome. Takeover for me. Have a good day. Great. Good evening. I am a state senator. Where . [indiscernible] [indiscernible] i saw you a couple weeks ago. Did you really . That was some spot. My wife could not come out. Thanks for what you have done. Yeah. Thank you. [indiscernible] what is your name . Billboard bob. Billboard bob. Oh. [indiscernible] babcock do remember the babcock signs . We had a privilege of having a house party in 06. Where was this . Here in cedar rapids. We met one time, we had a great dinner with all of them. This is the first time i have been able to be part of the campaign again. I was not 100 on board. But, yeah, we are still friends [indiscernible] that is the shame of it all. People did not get a chance to see who he really is. Did that give you a sense of what he is really like . The other thing i do, the last 12 years [indiscernible] everybody in town is trying to get him to come back. He came back and share the gospel. Where do you work . Hyvee. We have Stephen Baldwin coming in next friday. Stephen baldwin, yeah. [indiscernible] well, he is in phoenix. [indiscernible] you know these ok, ready . 1, 2, 3. Good. [indiscernible] i just want to make sure i get it good. All, i yeah yeah, i do have. Appreciate it. Yeah. That will be nice. Appreciate it. [indiscernible] oh, yeah. I just did a quick yeah, and now i am interning. Ok, yeah. Glad to meet you. Got it. Awesome. Awesome. Thank you. [indiscernible] i was the u. S. Attorney for bush. Oh, you were . [indiscernible] yeah, i had some of my folks to his fundraising, too. [indiscernible] are you . And what is your firm . [indiscernible] nice to meet you. Appreciate it. [indiscernible] hi. The just signed this . Yeah. [laughter] awesome. Thank you. [laughter] yeah. Yeah, you bet. Awesome. [indiscernible] got to meet you. Want to do a pic . Here we go. Oh, in iowa . Yeah, i went to high school there was. I shook your hand. Yeah, i remember you now. Things are coming out. Yay yeah. [indiscernible] nice to meet you. [indiscernible] oh, really . [indiscernible] oh, i did . [indiscernible] very cool. Running for state house. [indiscernible] you want to jump in the middle . Even though i am a vikings fan. What is that . A super bowl ring. [laughter] hey, nice to see you. Where are you from . I live in northwestern iowa. Nice to meet you, too. Awesome. Thank you very much. [indiscernible] i have heard about it. You have to pull it up on youtube. It has been really good. It has gone very well. [indiscernible] i do. We are tag teaming it. [indiscernible] i know. Thank you for your time. I am sorry. I get caught in the moment. [laughter] thank you. Thank you for coming. He is the president of iowa college republicans. Where do you go to school . University of iowa. Thank you, mr. Congressman. Thank you. Thank you for coming. [laughter] nice to meet you. Did you get some points . Hey, everybody. [indiscernible] i would not use of those words because they have been way overused. Yeah, these principles are universal and would take our message everywhere and to every corner. And we can win this country essay this election. I think we can win the big election in 2016. And save this country from what i think is a dangerous path. Is there a problem in the iowa gop . I think it is important to talk about these things and the open. We have differences of opinion in the party and we should talk about the fact that we have the same objections and we may disagree, put it all in perspective and come together unified. Iowa can do a lot of good for america in this coming election. A commitment i made a year ago. Aj asked me about a year ago. A commitment and i keep my commitments. Would preempt any decisions i am not about to get in any of that stuff. I am focus on doing my job and help with my party and getting us to win elections. What did you think of the video . Actually, i did not see the video, i read about it. I think it speaks for itself. In that case, is the calls for unified to get people to rally around the budget agreement . Oh, no it is what i said. Getting republicans to unify at the end of the day. Get behind our candidate and whoever we see as the best possible candidates. At the end of the day, we are fighting for the same objective and we believe in the same principles and we have to unify. It is very, very important. Look at the budget we passed we passed yesterday. That is very important. We cannot just oppose, we have to propose and show what we are in favor of. Now, i have passed four years in a row. They did a really good step. It shows unification. When youre doing a big thing like a budget, not everybody is going to be happy with everything. We are unified, we are bringing people together. [indiscernible] were not going to make empty promises. We are not going to make empty promises. We fully fund it for a decade which is very different from the empty promise of the obama administration. Theyre proposing increases while not showing how they are going to pay for it. We do not think government should be making empty promises to people. We have to look at the fact that we are feeding tuition and inflation. A lot of good work has been done. A lot of this is showing that we have to go is the root cause. Returning to unification with republicans. The lessons of 2012, how critical is that . I am a i am not focused on the candidates here. My understanding is we have some of the best. I heard that we have a fantastic crop coming up in 2014. I think we have 12 seats that are seriously in play. [indiscernible] with abegan speeches lament about 2012. When does that sour taste go away . We are stuck in the same path and people say all this bigger government, the results are completely different than the rhetoric. People are losing Health Insurance and the cost is going up. We have a debt crisis in the future. I can go on and on and on. I wish it would have been different, but it is not. Time for one more. Saying goodbye to kathleen sebelius. What is her legacy . A good one. Not a good one. I did not know where to begin. I have had kathleen come in and testify quite a bit over the years. We do not think obamacare was going to work in the first place. When you have the foundation of the law that was so fundamentally flawed but worse than what we anticipated. This web failure and design flaw. This law is a complete fiasco. I can understand why she is leaving. I do not wish her any ill will. I think it has been a complete fiasco. She was given an Impossible Task to implement a law that just will not work. Thank you, everybody. How are you doing . [indiscernible] oh, yeah. Good to see you. That is right. You have the tall socks, too. Free to do another one. Nice seeing video. [indiscernible] thank you. Know him well. He used to work for us. Nice seeing you. Take care. Guest today on cspan, washington journalist next. Live with your phone calls. Then republicans gathering at the Freedom Summit in manchester, New Hampshire. Our allday coverage will includes beaches by rand paul, ted cruz, Mike Huckabee and others. In about 45 minutes, we will be discussing the gender pay gap a from the Institute Look at the tax prep industry. Host its the washington journal for april 12, 2014 14. A3hour program for you today. Several stories looking at 2016 politics. Rand paul as a potential contender. He and other senators like ted cruz and mike lee, Newt Gingrich , Mike Huckabee will be in New Hampshire today for a freedom it event in New Hampshire. 2016 the topic. You can watch that live on cspan at 10 00