Period of time, but addressing Climate Change is also pushing us to take advantage of one of the single biggest Economic Opportunities the world has ever seen. This is an economic about a bonanza. The Fastest Growing jobs in massachusetts right now are the Environment Clean Energy sector. And thats true in many parts of the world. Were creating more jobs there than we are in the old sectors of energy production. And by 2035, Energy Investment is going to reach close to 50 trillion. Much of that money is going to go towards clean energy development. Were now 20 times where we were before president obama became president in the deployment of solar, three times in the deployment of wind. Our economy is going to be further bolstered when Congress Approves a trade agreement that includes 40 of the global economy, the t. P. P. , and that is another priority for this coming year. In 2015, after seven years of negotiations, the United States joined 11 other nations along the pacific rim in completing negotiations on the transpacific partnership. The t. P. P. Includes the highest labor and Environmental Standards of any trade agreement in history. It represents 40 of global g. D. P. It. Will support american prosperity by lowering barriers to our exports and creating more jobs that pay higher wages. As the president said last night, 18,000 different taxes will be taken off of items that the United States tries to export. And it will help shape trade in the asiapacific for years to come. That builds security. The t. P. P. Is a critical component of the United States rebalance toward the region. Advancing American Leadership in the largest emerging market in the world. The fact is that the work that we have done over the past few years has set the course, i believe, for progress in every corner of the globe. In africa, we are working with local partners to train the leaders of tomorrow, to increase access to electricity, to improve food security, to deal with debilitating conflicts. We have special envoys to the great lakes area, to sudan, working in somalia, elsewhere, all of these we are engaged in, pushing back against boko haram, pushing back against alshabab, and might i say, making progress. Ensuring our success. An example of that is what we did with the ebola crisis. A Million People were predicted to die by christmas of a year ago. But they didnt. We stepped in and thanks to the courageous efforts of our United States military and the president s decision to send several thousand of them there, we built the platform from which we were able to build the response. And so we were able to knock ebola down to a nuisance level. If not gone. We also made enormous progress in slowing the spread of hivaids. And we are on the brink now suddenly of perhaps seeing the first generation that will be born aids had been free in aidfree in africa. In latin america weve aidsfree in africa. In latin america weve resolved diplomatic relations with cuba. Were also supporting colombia with another special envoy engaged on our behalf to help colombia as it seeks to negotiate an end to its decades long struggle with the rebel group, farc. The longest running conflict, i think about 50 years, on the planet. In central asia, were working closely with afghan president and with chief executive officer to address the security challenges of their country and to continue to move afghanistan towards the better, safer future that its people deserve. Thats been going on for 14 years, folks. And gheas . The day began in 2001 and guess what . The day began in 2001, there were less than a million kids in school and almost none of them were girls. Now there are upwards of eight million in school and 40 plus are girls. And when that goes on for 10 easy, kids who were 10 years old are 20 today. Theyre going make a difference in a country. They have a different set of possibilities. In europe, were Standing Firm with our allies in support of a democratic and sovereign ukraine. And in sending a strong message of reassurance that natos promise of collective defense will be upheld. So this is going to be a busy year. But the United States of america, we recognize, has a Critical Role to play on the world stavenlgt a leading role. A role which is, as i said at the very beginning might have comments, we welcome. And that is not going to change. So in many ways we dont have the luxury of slowing down. And this last year will not see us slow down. Sometimes we forget, we do certainly, in america, that history isnt actually broken up into fouryear or eightyear increments. The rest of the world does not pause for the United States election cycle. And president obama has directed all of us across this administration to keep our eyes on the future. Ultimately, we need to ensure that the next president can continue to build on the successes that we have seen over the past seven years. To pick up on the efforts still under way. And benefit from the hardfought progress that our nation has made on so many different fronts. This is not a new concept. As the man for whom this hall was named, abraham lincoln, said in his first state of the Union Message to congress back in 1861, the struggle of today is not altogether for today. It is for a vast future also. In spite of the many uncertainties that we face, i have to tell you, and i say this after many years in public service, as the general said earlier, i am optimistic. I have a sense of confidence about the future. Because i know there is one constant. We are a nation of doers. Conceived in a revolution against the worlds then leading empire. We have survived the burning of our capital, the disgrace of slavery, a devastating civil war, a great depression, two global conflicts, prolonged military confrontations in korea, vietnam and the gulf, a superpower rivalry, four president ial assassinations, terrorist attacks in new york, washington, boston, california and, unfortunately, elsewhere. Weve endured a hole lot more. Now obviously no nation is perfect. We are not. No country on earth is or ever will be. But we are resilient and we are strong. And i believe we are as strong as we have ever been. If we remain engaged, if we will believe in diplomacy, and in the effort to dialogue and to work, to try to avoid conflict, if we will continue to mobilize, to help and support allies and friends across the globe, if we will make the most of every single Foreign Policy tool at our disposal, if we think not just about getting through next year, but about building new foundations for generations to come, then im telling you, we can and will live up to the magnificent legacy that we have inherited, and we will enable those that follow us to do the same. Thats why youre here. Its thats why you wear those uniforms. Thats what we must accept is our responsibility. And i am confident we will. And we will be successful. Thank you very, very much. [applause] the next washington journal Robert Woodson will discuss the conservative approach to adjusting poverty in the United States. Then, Travis Smiley discusses his book, the covenant with black america. You can join the conversation by twitter. Cebook, or featured this week and on American History tv on cspan 3. Saturday night at 8 00 eastern on lectures in history, on the president s wartime role, including war is waged without formal congressional declaration. You could argue that it is the presence job to educate. The president will say, i know you do not understand this, there is no reason you should in a understood this place, far, far away where people seek a different language , i will explain to you what letican interests are, and opinion makers respond to that. I will educate you and you can make a decision. I will ask you to do this. I will explain to you why this is a course of action to pursue. Sunday morning at 10 00, on road to the white house rewind, the campaign of Lamar Alexander and his walk across New Hampshire to greet voters. America a 1963 interview with Martin Luther king junior. What i first studied gandhi and a method of nonviolent resistance, i came to the conclusion that it was the most potent weapon available to open rest people in their struggle for freedom and human dignity. I would say that this overall direct Action Movement with citizens and standins and marshes and mass marches and pilgrimage, added a great deal. For the complete we can schedule, go to cspan. Org. Weekend schedule, go to cspan. Org. House and Senate Republicans house they retreat. Senator thune and representative Mcmorris Rodgers briefed spoke and reacted to nikki haleys state of the union response. Mrs. Mcmorris rodgers good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us in baltimore. This is our Second Annual housesenate retreat and we are here as the peoples representative to engage in a competition of ideas as we think about the future of 2016 and beyond. So on tuesday, in the state of the union, we heard one future based upon president obamas legacy, based upon a topdown government knows best approach and we are here to put together a different choice for america as we head into this year and beyond. A future that is built upon solutions really from the bottom up, that trusts people to make the best decisions for themselves, families, students, small businesses, seniors, having the ability to pursue their own dreams and people are not defined by where they come from but empowered by what they can become. We would like to think of the house and the senate and this time being a think tank of conservative policy and this retreat has been set up to foster that discussion among the peoples representatives. Through the day, members will be in thoughtprovoking discussion s on policy initiatives, whether it is jobs in the economy, national security, health care, rethinking out poverty programs and our constitutional role within article 1. Our opportunity to rally around a common vision for america and the best way to move that forward. Thank you. Senator thune thanks, kathy, and i welcome you to baltimore. Were very excited to be here with our house colleagues. When we met here last year, we had a new majority and were in the process of trying to get the senate functioning again to work with our house colleagues to get things done for the American People. I think we have at least, if you year,t the record of last have done that. First balanced budget, first meaningful reform and Social Security reforms since 1983 and first multiyear highway bill since 2005, not to mention cybersecurity and a number of other things we were able to get through the senate, Keystone Pipeline which ultimately was vetoed, and repeal of obamacare , and things that the senate got done this year. We think we have restored the senate where it is functioning again and we will build upon that success and lead to more accomplishments. This session this week is really about getting our members together talking about our ideas. As kathy mentioned, it is a competition of ideas. We are the party of ideas and the party of innovation and the party of Economic Growth and opportunity and party of compassion and so the sessions today are focused on that. We have a panel of people that will talk about Economic Growth and innovation. We have a panel that is going to talk about the future of health care. We have a panel that is going to talk about how to keep the country safe and fight terrorism. And we have a panel thats going to talk about how to update outdated poverty programs. So thats what the session is all about today. Very much focused on policy and focused on the agenda for this next year. Its an Election Year, which makes it more challenging because people tend to go into respective corners and there is a president ial Campaign Going on at the same time. But as a congress, as republican majority, we want to be driving forward, putting ideas out there, creating an agenda that we think is good for the American People that will lead to greater prosperity and greater security for our country. Thats what we are here to do these couple of days and pleased we have a good representation of the members in the senate to join our colleagues in the u. S. House of representatives. Questions, comments, accusations . Reporter nikki haley got a lot of attention this week, dements clearly comments directed at donald trump, she said to avoid the temptation to follow the siren call of the angry voices and some people think you have to be the loudest voice in the room. Thats not true. Do you agree with what shes saying . Senator thune i think she did a really good job and was impressive and her remarks impressive in her remarks and delivered very, very well and presented a voice and face for our party that is what we are all about and that is growing our majority and reaching out to more people, presenting ideas that are compelling and attract people to join our vision. And we have different people with different ideas and different ways of communicating , and different style and tone, but i thought she did a nice job at least of reflecting what many of us here are talking about this week and that is progrowth agenda for the American People, one that reaches out and tries to attract more people to our cause. Reporter she is talking about her concerns about what we are hearing on the campaign trail. Do you share those concerns that the rhetoric on the campaign trail and will that impact her ability to keep the majority and win back the white house . Senator thune in a president ial campaign, the rhetoric gets high. That is just inevitable and we cant control what president ial candidates are going to say and do. We can control what we do. And what we do as individual is we wantcongress to make sure both house members and senators are well positioned going into this Election Year to talk about a positive agenda and talk about record of accomplishment, which i think is pretty selfevident from last year, and run their own campaigns. What happens on the president ial ballot, we dont control. You try to control what you can control. We want to articulate a clear, for thevision, agenda future of this country and the president ial campaign when we have a nominee will be able to sync up with them and their agenda, but we want to make sure our members have things to talk about to encourage their voters to give them another opportunity to represent them. Mrs. Mcmorris rodgers there is a lot of frustration across the country and that is reflected among the members, too. And part of the reason we have dedicated time while we are together to look at the question of article 1, the power of the purse, how we restore the rightful role of elected representatives of the people and the Decision Making processes is on the forefront of our minds, and goes to the fears and frustration from people when more and more decisions are being made the president , the executive branch or Judicial Branch that dont reflect the will of the people or are not voted on by the people. We want to be focused on that and it is fundamental to who we are as representatives and as a reflection of the people through representative government. Reporter follow up on your point, you said hopefully we will be able to sync with their agenda, whoever the nominee is, is there concern with the front runner that republicans might not be able to sync if it is donald trump. A number of people including the speaker have repudiated what he has said. If that doesnt sync up, isnt that a problem for the g. O. P. . Senator thune we are a big and diverse party. Lots of ideas out there and people are different in terms of the style and tone in which they convey their message. I assume at some point, i dont know how soon its going to happen, but people are going to start voting in the next three weeks and the primaries are going to start ticking off. The debate is going to engage and be joined anymore the joint even more. En more. Ined evfe and people are going to start looking very seriously at these candidates and i think the candidate that is going to be successful is going to have to into, as kathy said, the frustration being experienced by the American People. People want those who they want to appeal to their hopes and articulating a hopeful vision, a clear agenda is going to be critically important. Whoever the nominee is has an agenda they want to talk about, there will be areas where we will find common ground. But what we want to be prepared to do is see our members both house and senate are positioned well going into this Election Year to make their case to their voters about why we need to retain a republican majority in congress. The record of this last year, the things we want to do this next year, the ideas we want to put forward, i hope are going to provide the necessary wherewithal for our candidates to do that irrespective of whats happening on top. I agree and thats part of why we are here today is because we are a broad Diverse Group of people. We welcome the competition of ideas and it is important as we head into 2016 that we are articulating as representatives in the house and the senate what are those specific policy solutions so people in this country know what we as republicans believe are the specific policy solutions that will help grow our economy and get people back to work. And skills and training to get this economy growing at a faster pace. What is the future of health care . The republicans believe there is a Better Future than what is currently offered to america that has resulted in less choices and higher costs. We want to present that as a choice to the country. We believe it is very important that the safety and security of this country is first and foremost. That will be a focus today and moving forward. Rethinking these poverty programs. We think bags as members of congress, we think it is important to present the choice into this election so people can know what we would like to accomplish. Do you anticipate any kind of change in the senate rules . Well you pursue a change in the filibuster rules so you can pass any of these things on your agenda . I have my own personal views but as a conference we have people who have been studying, giving a great deal of attention to how we might make the senate work more efficiently. And theeader says senate, florida time is the coin of the round and there is a limited amount and how do we build more capacity to get more things done to move bills. We have folks looking at some of the rules, procedures we use in the senate and how can we get appropriation bills . This year democrats block every bill because they wanted more money. Then we cannot debated and amended. Amended it. If there were any recommendations that came out of this from the rules committee and this is basically, we had people study it and report to the rules committee and the most committee would put something forward. The question is, can we get 67 votes the traditional way to do it the traditional way. You would have to have something that a big majority of our members would support and a number of democrats. I do not want to handicap that process at this point because it is preliminary. One of our goals is instead of at the end of the year doing these massive on the bus bills that everybody hates omnibus bills that everybody hates, it is much more cleaner and we need to get back to that. Have you facilitate and make that happen within the parameters we have to deal with . Our rules and procedures are limited. Things andthose seeing how we can find additional capacity to do more is one of the issues we are interested in. I am open to that. Does not reflect the views of the conference but i think if on a motion to proceed, there is a lot of limitedcy builtin, and circumstances, particularly appropriations bills. There are no decisions have been made and no recommendations. Very preliminary. Reporter [indiscernible] senator thune i am personally offended to because the establishment. To be called the establishment. We understand politics is politics and it is popular right now. A good amount of the electric the electorate that is frustrated with washington and that has fueled the rise of some of our president ial candidates on our side and the democrat side. You look at bernie sanders, there are people genuinely frustrated. Many of us who served in the beste, you get do your to reflect the will of the people you represent and in my first run i was running as the outsider. The person that was the antiestablishment candidate. I understand that. It is part of the political process and when we have a nominee and we are trying to figure out how to win that general election electorate, that will be a campaign where i hope we can bring our Team Together and focus in a unified way on the goal. Positivee a clear, vision for the future of this country with Clear Solutions that present a contrast to what has been offered by the president for the last seven years and what has been offered up i democrats in congress which i think is more of the same. More expanded government. Our vision is an expansion of liberty. Thanks everyone, we will be back. Next remarks from paul ryan at thech mcconnell republican retreat in baltimore, they talked about the gop agenda and were asked about the president ial race, everything ran 10 minutes. There briefing and 10 minutes. Ran 10 minutes. Mr. Ryan welcome, everybody. I want to speak on behalf of myself and the leader how pleased we are, first of all, that the House Republican conference and House Senate Conference are here together talking about ideas. What were here today is come together as republican conferences to talk about how do we take our principles and apply them to the problems of the day and offer solutions to the American People. The challenge we have in this particular government is barack obama is president. So the kind of agenda were discuss, the kind of agenda were talking about forming is what could we do if we had a republican president . What does 2017 look like if the election goes the way we hope it goes . That is why we think its important for us to offer a positive solutionsoriented approach and agenda to the American People so they can choose, they can choose in 2016 what kind of country they want to have. We think the couldnt are is on we think the country is on the wrong track. We think were headed in the wrong direction. Economic growth, upward mobility, Economic Growth, national security. Thats why were here today to talk among ourselves about how we go forward. Whats the better way, whats our agenda . Thats why were having a fantastic retreat. Mr. Mcconnell let me echo what the speaker said. Our president ial candidates are out there beating each other up at the moment. Thats going to solve itself at some point in the process. What paul has laid out is something i agree with totally , which is that were going to do issue development to try to get ready for 2017. There have been examples of that in the past in which newly nominated republican candidates have picked up ideas that were developed in congress and made them the centerpiece of their fall campaigns. In in the meantime, let me make the point that we werent sent here to do nothing. And were going to be looking for opportunities to make some progress for the American People this year even though the guy in the white house is not somebody we can do the kind of broad reforms that wed like to achieve. There are steps in the right direction we can take. One obvious step i would mention is not going to titillate the public but one obvious step would be for the First Time Since 1994, do all the appropriation bills. And the democrats in the senate who blocked that possibility this year are at least saying the right things. Were going to give them an opportunity to step up and help us do that. niki haley in her response, for both of you, said that the party should resist the siren call of the angriest of voices, clarified that was about donald trump. Did you agree with that statement . From Governor Haley . Mr. Ryan we thought she did a great job, both of us had a hand in selecting her. I did the speech myself in 2011, wrote it myself. She wrote her speech, we think she gave a great speech. What shes ultimately trying to do is talk about how do we have a message thats inspiring, inclusive, hopeful, optimistic and unites the country . We dont want to have another president like this one that divides the country, we want to unite that means listening to all voices, those who are frustrated, those who are inspiring, all of the above. Mr. Mcconnell what people remember about Ronald Reagan is not that he was a solid conservative, but he was cheerful, optimist, and upbeat about the future of america. And believed in the future of this country. He expressed that better than anyone ever has. That needs to be our message going into the fall. Reporter on possibly reforming filibuster, you said you got good comments from the democrats here. But as you know, and i asked your other colleagues earlier, theres always some snake in the grass that comes up on appropriation bills, we had the Confederate Flag last year. Speaker ryan wants an open amendment process, thats going to take a lot of time. I know what you want to do. You said it isnt going to titillate the public but its a Herculean Task to get these bills done. Mr. Mcconnell it is. Nothing is done easily in the senate. As you all recall, i said in the beginning of my time at majority leader, that open amendment process is going to be the rule rather than the exception. We have done that. When you have the bill open for amendment, it presents the opportunity for troublesome proposals from both sides. But we saw what the senate looked like when nothing happened. 15 roll call votes in all of 2014. No budget four of the last five years. Were not going to have that kind of senate this year. Well just take our chances. Were big men and women. Were prepared to vote on proposals offered from both sides. Mr. Ryan instead of shouting questions out, let us call on you. We are doing a budget early in the house, at least a month early so we can get the appropriations process moving. Halfe conventions we lose of july. Weve got some compression in the schedule were dealing with. But were going to have an open rule system. Votes will be all over the place because the rule is going to be open. Thats how the system ought to be. Especially in the house. So that i think is what the founders intended. Like i said at the First Press Conference i had, were not going to predetermine the outcome of everything. I dont know where the appropriation bills ultimately go on the floor because were going to let members have their amendments. Have the votes. Thats ok. Thats the system we think we ought to have. Reporter what kind of a contrast is going to be drawn between the parties given the unanimous Republican Opposition to it . Mr. Mcconnell let me just say , as far as the senate is concerned, there are a number of democrats who are scrambling to try to convince their constituents that they really werent for this deal. And so ive said with regard to iran proposals, any proposal that looks like it can get 6 or 67 or more votes, im open to. In other words, were not going to run the senate floor to allow democrats to get well from a bad mistake they made on iran. If, on the other hand, they want to make law, bring me 67 votes, and well get the floor time. Reporter down in south carolina, at the winter g. O. P. Meeting, theres been chatter about a brokered convention. Can you say with 100 certainty that there will not be a brokered convention . Mr. Ryan no. I think its ridiculous to talk about it. Reporter you talk about an open amendment process. They said that he would like a vote on Donald Trumps proposals to bar muslims from entering the country. Is that something youd allow . Senator mcconnell generally speaking, ive tried to avoid turning the senate into a studio for the president ial campaign. But its worth noting that whats good for the goose is good for the gander. And so you could expect amendments that they might not like related to the sanders or clinton campaigns. As a general rule, what i tried to ask the senate to do is let the president ial candidates run their race, and lets try to do the peoples business. Reporter if donald trump or ted cruz turn out to be the nominee of the party, are you confident that you and your colleagues and the republican apparatus will get behind mr. Ryan were going to support whoever the nominee is. Because its the republican primary voters who make that decision. That is who we respect. Its what were working on here today and what well be working on all year is putting together an agenda so the country can choose what direction we had. We head. We believe that the country is heading in the wrong direction , so we believe we have a duty to offer another way forward. So thats what were going to do. Take our conservative principles, present the country with solutions so they can make a choice and whoever our nominee is going to be, we think can help carry that forward. Reporter yesterday you told the meeting you intended to pass a budget this year, but spoke to chairman enzi on wednesday he, hasnt committed to moving a budget yet. Is that set in stone theres going to be a budget . Mr. Mcconnell were committed to try to pass a budget. Four of the last five years under the democratic majority they didnt do that. The only time they did do it was when the house said, no budget, no pay. Its pretty clear they dont think thats an important exercise even though its required by law system of were going to make a midge effort to pass a budget. Mr. Ryan thanks, everybody. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2016] we have college aged kids covered in alabama but it is really the kids in the Elementary School who are suffering, the africanamerican kids are getting poor educations, horrible buildings, there is not anything separate and not equal. Like sunday night on q a, a documentary film maker talks about her latest film, about Julius Rosenwald and his partnership with booker t. Washington and the africanamerican communities in the south to build schools and bring Elementary Education to children in rural america. Said, puts together these houses. The best thing booker washington to say i want the communities to build it, so the six schools were built and that was amazing, from then it morphed into 5000 schools all over the south including maryland appeared sunday night at 8 00 eastern on to monday on q and a. Eastern, a discussion about escalating tensions between iran and saudi arabia. After an execution of a shiite cleric. A live coverage of the has to and institute hudson institute. In an hour, Robert Woodson on the center for neighborhood enterprise will discuss the conservatives approach to reducing poverty in the United States. Then we talk to radio host and author tavis smiley about his book the covenant with black america 10 years later. Join the conversation on facebook and twitter. Host donald trump, ted cruz and the others, the headlines from last nights gop debate in charleston, s. C. If you watched it, we want to hear from you on the washington journal, who do you think w on . 2027488000, democrats. 2027488001, republicans. 2027488002, independents. You can join the conversation on twitter or facebook and vote on