Transcripts For CSPAN Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20160424

Think of all the good we can do together. Think of all the good that we have yet to college. Theres not a challenge on this when it that our two countries dont take on together and as long as your generation nurtures that special relationship and learns from one another and then together, im confident that the teacher is brighter than the past and that our best days are still have us. So, with that, lets have a conversation. [laughter] heres what were going to do. Im going to go boy, girl, boy, girl to make sure it is fair. Introduce yourself. We have mics right there. Try to keep your question briefs so i can get as many as possible. Mr. President , im from Northern Island. America has played in of what an Important Role in our Peace Process. How will those who come after you foster that . Pres. Obama Northern Ireland a story of perseverance in the fact that your generation how old are you now . 21. Pres. Obama your story is different than your parents. We still have huge problems, some political, some economic. We had folks come from ireland on st. Patricks day, your first Prime Minister and deputy Prime Minister. Folks are working these issues through. Whats interesting is the degree to which peacemaking in Northern Island is now inspiring others. So, in columbia in latin america, they are trying to undergo a Peace Process and it actually brought people from Northern Island to describe how do you overcome years of hatred emnity and intolerance and try to shape a country that is not unified . You know this better than i do. One of the things you see in Northern Island that is most important is the very simple act of recognizing the humanity of those on the other side of the argument. Having empathy and a sense of connection to people who are not like you. That has taken time, but your announcing that. But now you are seeing that. I think among young people who are interacting more, you are seeing that. It requires also forging a new identity that is about being from Northern Island, as opposed sinn feinnionist or or just deciding the country as a whole is more important than any particular faction. This is a challenging time to do that. Because there is so much uncertainty in the world. Because things are changing so fast, theres a temptation to forge identities, tribal identity, they give you a and of a sense of certainty, a buffer against change. And that is something that our young people, we have to fight against. Whether youre talking about africa or the middle east, Northern Ireland or burma, the forces that lead to the most violence and injustice typically spring out of people saying i want to feel important by dividing the world into us and them. And them threatens me have to make sure my tribe strikes out first in fighting that mentality requires us to begin very young with our kids. One of the most encouraging things ive seen in Northern Irelands children going to School Together and having a sense that we are all in this together as opposed to its us against them. But it is going to take some time. It will depend on leaders like you to make it happen. No pressure, youre going to be fine. Youre going to do it. All right, good question. That gentleman right there. Yes, you. Theres nobody behind you. Go ahead and i will call him next. Hi, peter from london. If your successor comes to you and she says [laughter] [applause] it could be bernie. And she says prioritize education, health care and defense. We got a limited budget. What is your priority and what would you like to see as your priority . Pres. Obama for the next president . And yourself as well. Pres. Obama one of the things i have learned as president is i do not always have the luxury just choosing one or two things. It turns out how well we do in the united and how well the globe does depends on a lot of things. My First Priority is to keep the American People safe, just like im sure Prime Minister cameron would say keeping the u. K. Safe. Security is always going to be at the top of the list. The threats from isil and transnational terrorism are absolutely critical to address, but how we address them is important. Recognizing that security is not just a matter of security or military actions, but is a matter of the stooges we send and the opportunities we present to people. That is going to be important for the next president of united and any Global Leader to recognize. Im in awe of men and women in uniform who served our country and make its ordinary and make such extraordinary sacrifices. We do them a disservice if we think that the entire burden of keeping the world safe is just placed on those in uniform. That is where diplomacy comes in. You look at Something Like iran and the United States has had a terrible relationship with relationship since 1979. Involvedracy there is in dangerous behavior. And they were on the path to obtain a nuclear weapon. The hard diplomatic work that we did along with the u. K. And eu and members of the Security Council to forge an agreement where they are no longer on the path to get a nuclear weapon, we never engaged in a military strike to do it, but it resulted in a much safer world. The same is true when you think about development in subsaharan africa. An organization like a boko haram is ideologically driven. We have to fight against the we have to help countries like nigeria fight against the brutality and the rape in the pillage that they engage in. But if there are communities where children cannot read or be themselves, they are much more vulnerable to fostering these ideologies. So, i think it is not an either or question. It is important for young people a great many young people who i think instinctually are suspicious of military action because too often it is used as a kneejerk reaction as opposed to a broader set of solutions. But we have to do both. And we can do both. In terms of the United States right now, i would love to see a focus on Early Childhood education at the next step. Step in filling out our social safety net. We dont yet have institutions that are fully adapted. Adapted to the fact that, guess what . Women work and support families and they need things like paid family leave and highquality childcare. We know when we invest in children between the ages of 0 and 3, that the outcomes of them getting effective education and having Thriving Lives are enormous. We end up saving huge amounts of money and we have reduced crime and property if we just make that early investment. That is something some countries do better than others and we can learn from other countries along those lines. Across the board and developing world, i think we have to tend to issues of inequality. One of the places to start addressing these issues is making sure that every child is getting a decent education. A lot of our countries are not doing as well as they should on that front. All right, whos next . Young lady right there. You. Yes, you. Hi, my name is fatima. My question is do you think signing the tta p agreement will have an impact on the eu standards regulations in force . Pres. Obama for those of you who are not aware, the trade deal being negotiated between the United States and the European Union we have not gotten it done yet. The truth is that the United States and europe already have enormous amounts of trade. But theres still barriers that exist that prevent businesses and individuals that are providing services to each other to be able to do so seamlessly and if we are able to get the deal done, it is estimated that it will create millions of jobs and benefits on both sides of the atlantic. But getting trade deals done is tough. Because each country has its own parochial interests and factions and in order done, eachrade deal country has to get something done. It is a timeconsuming process and people right now are especially suspicious of trade deals because they feel they are accelerating some of these globalizing trends that have weakened labor unions and allowed for jobs to be shipped to lowwage countries and some of the criticisms in the past of trade deals are legitimate. Sometimes they have served the interests of large corporations and not necessarily of workers in the countries that participate in them. But weve just gone through this exercise between the United States and asia where we organized a large regional trade deal with 11 countries and part of the argument im making in the 90s they is the answer to in the United States is the answer to globalization and income inequality, lack of wage growth is not to try to pull up the draw bridge and shut off trade, but to make sure in the deals we are embedding standards and values that help lift workers rights, and help lift environmental standards, and help fight against things like child labor in human trafficking. And our values should be embedded in how countries trade with each other. For example, vietnam was one of the countries that was part of this pan pacific partnership. And we said to vietnam, if you want access to our markets, we understand you have a different but ifal system than us, workers have no rights and there is no possibility of organizing labor unions, we are not going to let you sell a bunch of sneakers and tshirts in our country because, by definition, you will be undercutting the standards of living of folks in our country. So for the first time, the government of vietnam has started to change its laws to recognize labor unions. Now, they are still suppressed. Those standards are not where they are in the United States and the u. K. , but it gives us a lover by which week a lever by which we can begin to lift the standards. The main thing between the United States and europe is someg to just break down of the regulatory differences. Plus, making sure those light sockets are matched up. [laughter] the light sockets are really irritating. [laughter] i promised i was going to call on this gentleman back here. No, right here. You keep passing by this poor guy. [laughter] i am from london. After eight years, what would you like your legacy to be . Pres. Obama i still have a few more months, so [laughter] [applause] pres. Obama no no actually, 8 months and 52 days . Not that im counting. [laughter] i just made that up, i actually dont know. Something like that. Its interesting. When youre in the job, you are not thinking on a daytoday business about your legacy. You are thinking about, how do i get done what im trying to get done right now . I dont think i will have a good sense of my legacy until 10 years from now and i can look back with some perspective, getting a sense of what worked and what didnt. There are things that i am proud of. The basic principle that in a country as wealthy as the u. S. , every person should have access to High Quality Health Care that they can afford. [applause] that is something that im proud of, that i believe in. Saving the World Economy from a great depression, that was pretty good. [laughter] [applause] the first time i came to london was april 2009. The World Economy was in a freefall. In part because of the reckless behavior of folks on wall street. But in part because of reckless behavior of a lot of Financial Institutions around the globe. For us to be able to mobilize the world community, to take rapid action, to stabilize the financial markets, and then in u. S. To pass wall street forms pass wall street reforms that make crises like that much less likely to happen again i am proud of that. I think on the international stage, the work that we have done to get the possible Nuclear Weapons that iran was developing out of iran. And doing so without going to war is something i am proud of. There are things that people dont pay a lot of attention to now. But the response to the ebola crisis, for about three weeks, everybody was sure that everyone was going to die. We are all going to get ebola, we are going to die there was a sort of hysteria about it. Then everybody forgot about it. The reason everybody forgot was because we mounted what was probably the most effective, if not the most Effective International Public Health responses in the history of the world. And we saved hundreds of thousands of lives. So i dont know, ill look at a scorecard at the end. [laughter] im proud about the fact that i think that i have been true to myself during this process. Sometimes i look back at what ive said when i was running for office, and what i am saying today, and they match up. I think there is a certain Core Integrity to what i have been trying to do. We have had failures. We occasionally have been blocked. This goes back to one of the themes of my opening statement. Its important for all the young people here to remember, change takes time. And oftentimes, what you start has to then be picked up by your successors, or the next generation. If you think about the gap well what im most familiar with, the American Civil Rights movement. In the abolitionists 1700s who were fighting against slavery for a hundred years. They built a movement that led to the civil war and the amendments to our constitution that ended slavery and fought for equal protection under the law. It then took another 100 years for those rights that have been enshrined in the constitution to be affirmed through the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights act of 1965. Then it has taken another 50 years to make sure that those rights are realized. They are still not fully realized. There is discrimination in aspects of american life. Even with a black president. And in fact, one of the dangers has been by electing a black president , people say, there must be no problems at all. Obviously, you see ferguson in the criminal Justice System, indicating a degree to which that was always false. So does that mean that all the work that was done along the way was worthless . No, of course not. But it means that if any of you begin to work on an issue that you care deeply about, dont be disappointed if a year out, things havent been completely solved. Dont give up and then succumb to cynicism if, after five years, poverty has not been eradicated and prejudice is still out there somewhere, and we havent resolved all of the steps we need to take to reverse Climate Change. Its okay. Dr. King said the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. It doesnt then on its own, it bends because we pull it in that direction. But it requires a series of generations working and building off of what the previous one has done. As president , i think about it in those ways. I consider myself a runner. And i run my leg of the race, but i have a baton and pass it onto the next person. Hopefully, they are running in the right direction as opposed to the wrong direction. Hopefully, they dont drop the baton. Then they pass it on to somebody else. That is how you have to think about change generally. Ok. Alright, it is a young womans turn. Yes, right here in the red. Yes, you. No no, thats you, youre wearing red, yes. [laughter] hi, i am a Climate Change campaigner. I would like to thank you for your ways to get people talking about the value of social movements. I was wondering which campaigns have made you change your mind while you have been in office . And inspired you to do things and where you think we need more pressure from campaigns to create meaningful change . Pres. Obama thats an interesting question. Are you talking about Climate Change in particular or just generally on a whole spectrum of issues . Its interesting because i started as a community organizer, trying to pressure politicians into getting things done. Then now im on the other side [laughter] so whats worked and what hasnt . In the United States, what has been remarkable is the rapidity with which the Marriage Equality movement changed the Political Landscape and hearts and minds, and resulted in actual changes in law. [applause] it has probably been the fastest its probably been the that, inenate changes terms of the social movement, that i have seen. On issues of lgbt rights generally, i do not have a lot of pressure. I came in working on ending a policy called dont ask dont tell, which was preventing lgbt citizens from serving in our military openly. We did that very systematically. Policies in terms of those who had hivaids being able to them to emigrate to our country, hospital visitation. So a whole host of things we were already doing. But on Marriage Equality, i was in favor of what was called civil unions. My notion was initially that labeling those partnerships as marriage wasnt necessary as long as people were getting the same rights. And it would disentangle them from the religious connotations that marriage had in the minds of a lot of americans. And thats where i think i have to confess, my children generally had an impact on the. On me. Love, who were in monogamous samesex relationships, explained to me what i should have understood earlier, which is its not simply about legal rights, but about a stigma. If youre calling it something different, it means that somehow it means less in the eyes of society. I believe that the manner in which the Lgbt Community described Marriage Equality as not some radical thing, but actually reached out to people who said they care about family values and said, if you care about everything that families provide stability and commitment and partnership, then this is actually a pretty conservative position to take. You should be in favor of this. I thought there was a lot of smarts in reaching out and building and framing the issue in a way that could bring in people who initially did not agree with them. Thatgeneral rule, i think what, for example, black lives matters is doing now to bring attention to the problem of the criminal Justice System that is sometimes not treating People Fairly based on race, or reacting to shootings of individuals by Police Officers. It has been effective in bringing attention to problems. One of the things i caution young people about though that i dont think is effective is, once youve highlighted an issue and brought it to peoples attention, and shine the spotlight, and elected officials are ready to sit down with you, then you cant just keep on yelling at them. And you cant refuse to meet because that might compromise the purity of your position. The value of social movements and activism is to get you at the table, get you in the room, then to start trying to figure out how this problem is going to be solved. You then have a responsibility to prepare an agenda that is achievable, that can institutionalize the changes you seek, and to engage the other side, and occasionally to take half a loaf that will advance the games that you seek gains gains that you seek, understanding there is more work to do. But this is what is achievable at this moment. Too often what i see is wonderful activism that highlights a problem, but then people feel so passionately and are so invested in the purity of their position that they never take the next step. And say okay, i have to sit down and get something done. The Paris Agreement that we just negotiated with a number of countries. Just signed yesterday on earth today. The agreement we shaped is not going to, by itself, solve Climate Change. The science argues that the world is going to need to do a lot more in order to prevent catastrophic Climate Change. But my strategy from the start has been, if i can get the chinese to agree with us as the two largest emitters, that we have to do something, and lock in china with us for the first time to take some serious steps around reducing carbon emissions, and if by getting the two largest emitters, i can now leverage the smaller countries also put in their own targets for emissions, and if we can set up an architecture that recognizes the need for carbon reduction and can allow people allow countries to hold each other accountable, then thats a start. We can start turning the dial as our science and understanding improves, as technology improves, so that poor countries dont feel they have to choose between development and carbon reductions. There are all kinds of compromises. But it is a start. Now there are some climate activists, who after the harris agreement was signed, who said this is not enough. But they are not in the conversation with the minister, with the Prime Minister modi of india, who thinks he has several Million People without electricity, and has some obligation to leave them of their poverty and suffering. So ive got to balance those equities against the imperatives of the planet as a whole. The good news is that most of the groups involved in this process have been sophisticated. But thats the general principle you should consider. Make noise and occasionally you can act a little crazy to get attention, to shine a spotlight on the issue, but once people who are in power and in a position to do something about it are prepared to meet with you, do your homework, be prepared. Present a plausible set of actions and negotiate and be prepared to move the ball down the field, even if it doesnt get all the way there. [indiscernible] pres. Obama no. You do, but it wouldnt be fair if you start yelling out the question. Because its a guys turn also. Alright, go ahead. Thank you president certainly for all you did for the world and for mankind. I think you made a good contribution and have inspired a lot of young people around the world. My question is slightly on east africa. Just last week, 400 young boys died in the mediterranean sea, trying to seek a better life. Most left in a somalia. Those young boys lost their livelihoods. Since there are International Ships coming in to these Somali International waters. They have been trying to protect the International Ships. There are cases in the city that children are dying with strange diseases coming to the coast, that came from the sea. Today, i had the opportunity to ask you, for the next 89 months you have, can you kindly user use your leverage within the International Arena to galvanize the International Community to look at this issue . [applause] pres. Obama i will be honest with you. Im not fully familiar with some of the issues you referred to. Im certainly familiar with the challenges that somalia has been going through. Weve been working aggressively to try and help mogadishu develop a functioning state that can protect its people and that can get an economy moving that gives young people opportunity. Im certainly familiar with the issues of piracy and the International Concerns that led to many of these ships patrolling these areas. Im less familiar with some of the issues that you discussed. So what i will do, after this meeting, as we are shaking hands, i will try to get some Additional Information from you. One thing that i learned as president is, although you can fake your way through an answer, sometimes its good just to say, you know what, i dont know all the answers on this one. So ill find out more about the specifics you are talking about. [applause] now since you raised your hand and you didnt continue that crazy, i will go ahead and call on you. My sincerest apologies. Pres. Obama thats okay, you got excited. You have been speaking a lot about how we have to become the change that we want to see. Youve spoken about progress, human rights and how we in the u. S. And the u. K. Need to lead in terms of Civil Rights Movement and lgbtq issues. Im about to do something terrifying, which is im coming out to you as a nonbinary person, which means im getting emotional, im so sorry. [applause] president obama thats ok. Im from a pakistani muslim background, which has cultural implications. I know that in North Carolina, the bathroom bill, people are being forced to produce first of birth certificates to use the toilet. In the u. K. , we dont recognize people under the equality act. There is no discriminate there is nothing we can do. Ive been working with the u. K. Civil service to do what i can. Even though im still at university, im running for local election in rockford. I managed to get them to respect pronouns. I managed to get them to commit to genderneutral toilets. These are things i done as a student. I really really wish that yourself and David Cameron would take us seriously and perhaps seriously as transgender people and perhaps you could elucidate as to what you can do to go beyond what is been accepted as the lgbtq rights movement, including people outside the social norms. [applause] pres. Obama first of all, that wasnt that crazy. I thought you were going to ask to come up here and, dance with me or something. [laughter] im incredibly proud of the steps it sounds like you have already taken to speak out about your own experience, and to try and create a social movement and change laws. It sounds to me like you are on the right track. I cant speak for David Cameron, although i will say that on lgbt issues, i think david has been ahead of the curve relative to a lot of other leaders around the world, even here in the u. K. I can say from my perspective, we are taking a lot of serious steps to address these issues within the federal government. The challenge we have had, the North Carolina law that comes up, that is a state law. Because of our system of government, i cant overturn on my own state laws unless a federal law is passed that prohibits states from doing these things. With the congress i currently have, thats not likely to happen. [laughter] we are doing a lot of work administratively. As i said, you should feel encouraged just by virtue of the fact that social attitudes have changed faster than i have seen on any other issue. It doesnt feel fast enough for you, or for those who are impacted. And thats good. You shouldnt feel satisfied. You should keep pushing. I think the trend lines are good on this. E are moving thin the right direction. In part because of courageous and active young people like yourself. So stick with it. [applause] gentlemen in the green here. I agree with what you said so far about compromise, but in an tohow do you get people fight for the Higher Ground . Pres. Obama it is something that i wrestle with. I would distinguish between compromising on principles and getting things done in the here and now. What i mean about that is, i am uncompromising on the notion that every person, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, has a dignity and worth and has to be treated equally. Im uncompromising in that basic principle. Im also of the belief that in order to realize that principle, every child has to have true opportunity. That every child is deserving of a decent education and Decent Health care. The ability to go to college so they can make of themselves what they will. That is a powerful principle in me. That drives my politics. But if im sitting with congress and i have the opportunity to get half a million more kids into an Early Childhood education program, even though i know that will leave 2 million that need it out of the program, but the alternative is none, ill take half a million. I can look at myself in the mirror and feel good about the 500,000 that im helping, no one got the next round knowing that the next round of budget negotiations, i will go for another half a million. And another half a million after that. I think it is important for everyone to understand that you would have to be principled, you have to have a northstar, a moral compass. There should be a reason for you getting involved in social issues other than vanity, or just trying to mix and mingle. Or to meet cute people that you are interested in. Although, that is not a bad reason. [laughter] but you have to recognize that , particularly in pluralistic socities and democratic governments like we have in the u. S. And the u. K. , there are people that disagree with us. They have different perspectives. They come from different points of view. And they are not bad people just because they disagree with us. They may assert they have similar principles, but disagree with us on the means to vindicate those principles. You are right that we are in this age, partly because of what has happened with our media in which people from different Political Parties can spend the bulk of their day only talking to and listening to and hearing the perspectives of those who already agree with them. I know less about the u. K. Media. But in the United States, it used to be we had 3 television stations. People might complain about the dominance of these 3 stations, but there was one virtue to them, which was everybody was watching the same thing and had the same understanding of what the facts were on any given issue. And today, you have 500 television stations and the internet will give you 1000 different sources of information. What is increasingly happening in the United States is, if you are a conservative, and youre watching fox news or reading a conservative blog post, if youre a liberal, you are reading the Huffington Post or the New York Times and there is this massive divergence taking place in terms of just what the agreedupon with facts and assumptions. That makes it harder to cover my and that does make it harder to compromise. And there have been studies where, if you spend time with people who just agree with you on any particular issue, you become even more extreme in your convictions because you are never contradicted. Everyone mutually reinforces their perspective. That is why i think it is important for all the young people here to seek out people who dont agree with you. That will teach you to compromise. It will also help you if you decided to get married. [applause] [laughter] the most important thing is understanding that compromise does not mean surrendering what you believe. It means that you are recognizing the fact that these other people who disagree with you or this other political , theyor this other nation have dignity, too. They have worth as well. And you have to hear them and see them. And sometimes we dont how much time do i have, by the way . One more question. Ill make it two. [laughter] all right. Lets see. Lets see. [laughter] right, this young lady right there, go ahead. Good morning, mr. President. I am losing my voice, so i apologize. My question for you is, what leadership skills have you found yourself relying on most in office, and why . Pres. Obama a thick skin is very helpful. [laughter] i was just talking about this with the ambassador last night. Where is he . Yeah, we were just talking about this. Two things im pretty good at. Let me say this, one of the things that happens as you get older is you are hopefully more aware of and honest about what your strengths and and weaknesses are. I could list my weaknesses. But you asked me about what things i found useful, so i will skip over that. [laughter] two things i am pretty good at. One is attracting talent. Anybody who wants to be a leader, i would advise you to spend a lot of time thinking about, how am i helping other people do great things . Because as president of the United States, im dealing with some issues, i cant be an expert on everything, and i cant be everywhere. The one thing i can do is assemble a team of people that are smart and committed and care about their mission and have integrity. And then give them the tools, or get rid of the barriers, or help coach them so that they can do a great job. I think leaders who think that their primary job is to make everybody do exactly what they want as opposed to helping to organize talented people to collectively go where we need to go, typically stumble. You should be predisposed to other peoples power. How can i make the people around me do great things . If they do, then by definition i will succeed, because that is my job. To get this team moving in the right direction. So thats one. Im pretty good at setting a course, a general direction. And being able to hopefully unify that team around that general direction. Often times, i have to rely on other people to implement and execute to get there. But setting a direction requires listening to what is important to people. And the third thing is synthesizing. I think its useful as a leader, particularly on complex issues, to sit around the table and hear a lot of different points of view and be able to get to the nub of the issue, the heart of the problem. Whats the essential conflict that we are trying to resolve and get everybody to see the see what the problem is. Because i see a lot of organizations that spend time doing a lot of work, but they are working on the wrong thing. Or they are distracted from the essential issue. Somebody once said, its more important to do the right thing than to do things right, what they meant was you can hack away and build this amazing path through the jungle, but if you are headed in the wrong direction, then its a waste of time. You have to make sure that people understand what we are trying to solve. Thats enough. Ive got time for one more. All right. The sikh gentlemen, yes. My question is about what minorities face in the usa. We many times see sikhs being discredited against as muslims. Even if we were muslims, that still doesnt get the right for anyone to be islamaphobic to us. Why isnt a firm stand being taken on issues such as airport security, with a lot of issues with the tsa. Your neighbors in canada, just Justin Trudeau said he would apologize for an issue that happened 102 years ago. He has recently become Prime Minister. Why is it he is taking a firm stand on an issue that happened so long ago, where is countries whereas a country such as the usa arent taking a stand against discrimination when it is 2016. [applause] pres. Obama before everybody starts applauding that question, lets make sure we are on the same wavelength in terms of the facts. I have taken an adamant stand against making sure we are not racially profiling in airports. It is explicit tsa policy not to racially profile. Now, does that mean that out of the hundreds of airports and thousands of tsa officials, that there has not been times where a sikh is going to the airport and somebody targets them for secondary screening because of what they look like . Of course that has happened. But thats not my administrations policy. I am happy to provide you with chapter and verse as to why we have taken explicit stand against this. It does raise a broader issue that you are mentioning, which is that in pluralistic societies , like the u. S. And the u. K. , in diverse societies one of our , Biggest Challenges is going to be how to approach keeping people safe and preventing terrorist acts. There was a time when terrorism in the u. K. Was largely emanating from the ira. So this is not a uniquely muslim problem. What is also true is that today there are tiny subsets of groups that have perverted islam and justified killing innocent people. How we do that in a way that is consistent with our values and consistent with pluralism and respect for religion is vitally important. I i about four months ago, i visited a mosque in the United States, precisely to send a message that our greatest ally in this process are the incredible Muslim Americans who are historically fully integrated into our society, that economically are doing better than the average american in many measures. That are fighting in our armed forces, that are defending our people in all sorts of ways. And that, if we engage in islamaphobia, we are not only betraying what is essential to us, but engaging in a selfdefeating behavior. So the language that we use, the tactics and approaches that we take, the respect that we show all people, those are security matters. Its not just feel good liberal Political Correctness. Its a matter of what is it that were fighting for and how are we going to win this fight against people who are so blocked off from the reality of others who they dont agree with that they would be willing to blow themselves up and kill hundreds of people . Its the extreme of what i was just talking to this gentleman about, about the inability to compromise and recognize difference and feel comfortable with that. So, look, this is going to be a challenging issue for some time to come. But im confident that this is an issue that we can succeed at as long as young people like ou are committed to not just believing the right thing and feeling the right ways, but fighting for them and so long as youre engaged and active and speaking out. And listening. And if you do that, i feel pretty good about our futures, i feel good about our chances. You guys inspire me. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. This years theme is road to the white house. And students were asked, what issues do you want president ial candidates to discuss . One of our second Prize Middle School winners is from clinton, ew jersey. Zachary wants president ial candidates to discuss cyber warfare. And his video title, cyber warfare, the next big problem. Ladies and gentlemen. Let me just talk about guns for a moment. The Affordable Care act. I am proud to announce. I am a candidate for president. Or of the United States. So im hitting the road. And we are going to earn your vote. To make our country great again. The 2016 election is coming up fast. Candidates are rising and falling quickly. Their pramples mainly concentrate on social and Economic Issues but none have mentioned what could be the iggest issue as our country. Everyone agrees computers have made our lives easier and we are more connected as a human race than ever before. Computers are organizing our lives, connecting the world and even saving lives. However, our dependence on technology is not without risk. The problem has gotten so bad theres a grown demand for specialists in the field of Cyber Protection and defense. There are many types of threats. They vary depending on the industry or type of business. Most have heard about cyber fraud. Through Identity Theft or invasion of private information including but not limited to bank accounts. Every computer connected to the internet is vulnerable. One of the most is called a denial of service. These attacks shut down an Individual Computers ability to access the internet or specific service or function. Distributed are more widespread and frequent. These can happen to anyone or anything at any time. E doss acts shut down an entire network or multiple computers ability to communicate. The range is huge. It could happen to your home, business, or banking system. Another is that the business or corporate level. Small businesses and other Companies Need to be concerned simply because you are a pizzeria or you are a wall mat, Technology Drives just everybody everything. In 1998 a 12yearold boy successfully hacked into Computer Systems that crooled the roosevelt controlled the roosevelt dam. Fortunately, he did not release it. This is one example of how vulnerable our Computer Systems are. Its a type of industrial control system. Theyre the core of many manufacturing processes. Its what you get that is controlling Industrial Systems or power plants. Thing that for various reasons need to be regulated. It could be a dam, a power plant, a machine in a factory. In october of 2013, researchers found 25 security vulnerabilities in these systems. The most alarming is which the fact that most data systems till use the default password. That was ey. The number of attacks doubled in 2014. The department of defense established the u. S. Cyber command. U. S. Cyber command and its elements have been given the responsibility to direct operate and secure the systems and net works. But which are fundamental. Funding is already under attack. Since 2014, their funding has dropped from about 550 million to about 460 million. The u. S. Cyber command and similar defense branches are becoming more and more technology. As Technology Evolves so does the possibility of attack. When we look at the problems of whats commonlly called Cyber Security and as we go forward and get more advanced, within countries like the u. S. I lived there for several years and saw what was going on there. But on to the world at large Cyber Security gets more complicated because a lot of things that challenge us arent just technical. A lot are bureaucratic. A lot are jurisdictional. The internet does not respect international boundries. A computer worm allegedly developed by izzralt and the United States as part of an attack on Irans Nuclear facilities showed that an International Cyber war is now a very real possibility. Its a virus that is targeted towards data. Again, think of the oil industry, the gas industries. All the different industry that is use automated control processes to operate. What the attack against iran brought to bear is the realization that our Critical Infrastructure needs to be better protected. So i think its critical for our president and for any candidates potential president s to be familiar with Cyber Security. I dont think that they need to be experts in the field. You want to be knowledgeable enough about the topic and identify if people know what theyre talking about. The American Public should know that our president ial candidates have a good and solid plan to defend our nation against these types of attacks. Imagine if the grid was shut down with no access to your technology. How would it disrupt your life . Cyber warfare is an effort to attack our way of life. On a personal, national, and even global level. The possibilities could be catastrophic. Cyber warfare has no geographic, cultural, or political boundries and no moral compass. If we do not prepare for a defense against Cyber Attacks the future of humanity is in jeopardy. This defense will require a comprehensive understanding from Tech Industry and World Leaders including our next american president. Technology companies introduced new products and platforms as the next big thing. But little attention is given to cyber warfare as the next big problem. President candidate ted cruz was speaking to high schoolers. Talking about economy, immigration, and combating terrorism. This is 35 minutes. [applause] sen. Cruz god bless the commonwealth of pennsylvania. [applause] let me Say Something that is profoundly painful for someone who grew up as a fan of the houston oilers [laughter] god bless the pittsburgh steelers. [applause] thank you for the terrific job youre doing leading our team in pennsylvania. If you look at the word politics, you have two roots. Ics, meaning many, and t meaning blood sucking parasite. [laughter] [applause] sen. Cruz and that is a fairly accurate description of washington, d. C. Morning forere this something a lot more important than politics. We are here because our country is in crisis. Because we are bankrupting our kids. Because our Constitutional Rights are under assault. Has recededamerica from leadership in the world. And i am here this morning with a word of hope and encouragement all across pennsylvania and all across this country, people are waking up and help is on the way. [applause] this next election is going to come down to 3 issues. Jobs, freedom, and security. Lets start with jobs. I want to take a minute to talk to all the single moms who are here, who are working 23 parttime jobs. Who have seen your hours forcibly reduced to 28 hours because obama kicked in at 30 hours a week. [boos] i want to talk to all the truck drivers, all the plumbers and mechanics, all the steelworkers hens union members, all the members with calluses on your hands who have seen wages stagnating year after year. The cost of living keeps going up. Yet somehow your paycheck doesnt seem to keep pace. I want to talk to all the young people who are coming out of school with Student Loans up to their eyeballs, scared. Can i get a job . Whats my future hold . And the mainstream media, they try to tell us this is the new normal, this is as good as it gets. Well is the people of pennsylvania know, that is in order an utter lie. [applause] its easy to talk about making America Great again. You could even print that on a baseball cap. But the real question is, do you understand the principles and values that made America Great in the first place . [applause] the heart of america is small business. If you want to unleash the economy, you lift the boot off the backs of the next of small businesses. [applause] reagan [applause] and jfk before him both understood that when you cut taxes and lift regulations on small businesses, the result is millions of new highpaying jobs. [applause] i intent to follow the very same path as jfk and reagan. [applause] if im elected president , we will repeal every word of obamacare. [applause] we are going to pass commonsense reform that makes Health Insurance affordable and portable and keeps government from getting in between us and our doctors. [applause] we are going to pass a simple attacks. Simple flat tax. [applause] every one of us can fill out our taxes on a postcard. [applause] and when we do that, we should abolish the irs. [applause] now apparently the irs not too popular in pittsburgh. [laughter] i have to say that is a bit of a hillary and both donald trump have come out for higher taxes. [boos] you know what, have we got into this mess to begin. We are going to rein in the epa. [applause] regulators who have descended like locusts on farmers and ranchers and small businesses, killing jobs all across this country. [applause] pennsylvania is an energy state. [applause] being a texan, i know a little bit about that. You look back to it years ago, when barack obama promised if he was president he would bankrupt every coalfired plant in america. [boos] its amazing that may be the only Campaign Promise obama has come close to beating. Coal from the Obama Administration is wrong. [applause] america is the saudi arabia of coal, we are the saudi arabia of natural gas. The federal government should not be working, trying to destroy the livelihood of millions of americans who depend on the energy sector. [applause] energy is key to bringing manufacturing back to america. Low cost energy means jobs. [applause] we are going to stop amnesty and end sanctuary cities and end welfare for those here illegally. [applause] let me tell you what that is going to produce. We will see millions and millions of new hiking jobs. We will see jobs coming back from mexico, coming back from china. We are going to see manufacturing jobs coming back to pennsylvania. Wages rising once again. Were going to see young people coming out of school with 2, 3, 4 job offers. [applause] well see morning and america again. [applause] the second thing this election is about his freedom. [applause] with the passing of justice scalia, it underscores the stakes of this election. Is not just one, but two branches of the federal government that hang in the balance. If you value religious liberty, the right to live according to our faith and worship god almighty without government giving it away. [applause] [chanting] [applause] sen. Cruz if you value the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms [applause] usa, usa. A, sen. Cruz we are just one justice away from having those fundamental rights stripped. Hewitt asko, hugh all of us about religious liberty, and donald trump said, ted, ive done a lot more politicians than you have. In that, he is clearly correct. Donald trump is a washington insider who has been supporting liberal democratic politicians for 40 years. [applause] i have no experience with that. [applause] sen. Cruz and when donald trump was writing checks to jimmy , i wasover Ronald Reagan still in grade school. [laughter] [applause] continues,but donald he said, ted, when it comes to religious liberty and the supreme court, you have to learn to compromise. He said you have to learn to cut deals with the democrats, to go along to get along. Be very clear with the men and women of pennsylvania. I will not compromise away your religious liberty. [applause] i will notand compromise away your Second Amendment right to keep and bear. Rms [applause] now let me ask you, is anyone here frustrated with politicians who keep lying . Promises,s who make then get an office and betray us . Hillary clinton is a great example. We have seen the pattern. Usually they talk good on the campaign trail, and then they get an office and betray us. Well, i have to get done of credit. He is betraying us before he gets elected. [applause] two days ago, donald trump went on the today show and agreed with Hillary Clinton and barack obama that grown men should be allowed to use a little girls restroom. Nuts. At is just is not a matter of republican or democrat or conservative or liberal. It is a matter of basic common sense. [applause] sen. Cruz as the father of two , i can tell you that it does not make any sense at all to allow adult grown men, strangers, to be alone in a bathroom with a little girl. [applause] sen. Cruz and that is just Political Correctness on steroids. Now, i couple of months ago, donald told us that he could be the most politically correct person on earth. Well, havent we had enough of this nonsense . How about common sense and telling the truth . [applause] sen. Cruz the third critical issue in this election is security. Seen ann years, we have administration that abandons our allies and shows weakness and appeasement to our enemies. Again, two debates ago, donald trump explained to all of us that if he were president , he would be neutral between israel and the palestinians. Well, let me be very clear. As president , i will not be neutral. [applause] sen. Cruz america will stand unapologetically with the nation of israel. [applause] sen. Cruz and you know, anyone who cannot tell the difference between our friends and enemies, anyone who cant tell the difference between israel and islamic terrorists who want to kill us, that raises real questions about their fitness and judgment to be commander and chief. [applause] sen. Cruz over the last seven years, we have seen our military weekend. We have seen readiness undermined. We have seen the morale of our troops plummet. And you know, as a nation, we have seen this before. We have seen another leftwing democratic president , jimmy undermine the and military, and then in january 1981, Ronald Reagan came into office. [applause] and what did reagan do . Reagan cut taxes, lifted regulations. The economy took off, millions and millions of new jobs that generated trillions in government revenue, and use that revenue to build our military, andrupting the soviet union winning the cold war. [applause] sen. Cruz i intend to do the exact same thing with radical islamic terrorism. [applause] sen. Cruz we are going to repeal obama care, pass a flat tax, rain in the regulators, stop amnesty. That is going to create millions and millions of new jobs, bring manufacturing jobs back to raise wages to generate revenue, and we will use that revenue to rebuild our military so that it remains the mightiest fighting force on the face of the planet. [applause] [chanting] usa, usa, usa. Qaedaruz to isis and al and al nusra, to every jihadist on the face of the earth who has declared war on the United States of america, who intends to murder innocent americans, a day of reckoning is coming. [applause] we are coming to get you, and we are not coming to negotiate. We are not coming to compromise. We are not coming to cut a deal, to arrest you, or read your rights. We are coming to kill you. [applause] [cheers] sen. Cruz you know, one of the saddest things we have seen over the last seven years has been this president sending our fighting men and women into combat with rules of engagement so strict that their arms are tied behind their back, they cannot fight, they cannot win, they cannot defeat the enemy. That is wrong. It is immoral. And mark my words, in january 2017, it will end. [applause] [cheers] sen. Cruz to every soldier and ,ailor and airmen and marine and for that matter, to every Police Officer and firefighter , the era ofsponder a president who mocks and ridicules your service is coming to an end. And you will once again have the thanks of a grateful nation and a commander in chief who has got your back. [applause] [cheers] [chanting] ted, ted, ted. Sen. Cruz so lets talk a little politics. [laughter] sen. Cruz you know, this past an interesting year. It hasnt been boring. We started last year with 17 republican candidates, and amazingly talented, diverse, young, dynamic field. What a contrast with the democrats. [laughter] [applause] you know, the democratic field consists of a wild eyed socialist with ideas that that are dangerous for america and the world, and Bernie Sanders. [laughter] [applause] [cheers] sen. Cruz and over the course of the last year, the primary did its job. It narrowed the field. Today, thereere are two, and only two, people who have a plausible path to winning the nomination, me and donald trump. [applause] sen. Cruz let me tell you what we are seeing happening all across the country. Republicans are coming together and uniting behind this campaign. [applause] sen. Cruz nationwide, 65 to 75 of republicans recognize that donald trump is not the best candidate to go head to head with Hillary Clinton. [applause] that donald trump loses to Hillary Clinton, and he loses by double digits. If i am the nominee, we beat Hillary Clinton. [applause] [cheers] you know, just a few weeks ago, there was a general election poll in utah that showed Hillary Clinton beating donald trump in utah. Now utah may well be the brightest red state in the entire union. If the republican candidate cant carry utah, we are headed to a walter mondalelevel bloodbath. , head to head between me and Hillary Clinton, we are beating Hillary Clinton in key swing states. [applause] sen. Cruz in the state of ohio, donald loses to Hillary Clinton. We beat Hillary Clinton. [applause] in the state of iowa, donald loses to Hillary Clinton. We beat Hillary Clinton. [applause] in the state of wisconsin, which hasnt gone republican in a president ial race since 1984, donald loses to Hillary Clinton by 10 points. Hillary and i are tied at 44 to 44 . [applause] and here in pennsylvania, another classic battleground, donald loses to Hillary Clinton. Hillary and i are tied in the state of pennsylvania. [applause] sen. Cruz and let me tell you right now, we are coming back here and october and november, and if we stand together, we are beating Hillary Clinton in pennsylvania. [applause] [cheers] sen. Cruz now you may have heard a couple of days ago that the state of new york voted. [boos] sen. Cruz and the media reported with breathless excitement that donald had won his home state. It was very exciting. [laughter] sen. Cruz and donald and the media immediately said, new york race is spoken, the decided. I think donald and the media think pennsylvania is a suburb of manhattan. I have a lot more faith in the men and women of pennsylvania. [applause] [cheers] sen. Cruz the eyes of the entire country are on pennsylvania right now. Pennsylvania has a platform, has a megaphone, to speak to the country, and we face a choice. Do we want to nominate a candidate who is a phony . Who is telling us he is lying to us . Or do we want to get behind a strong, positive, optimistic, forwardlooking, conservative campaign . [applause] [cheers] sen. Cruz with Real Solutions to the economic problems of this country. You know, if you have a car that is broke down in the driveway, do you want your neighbor to come over and start yelling and screaming and cursing at the car . Or do you actually want somebody to lift the hood and fix the engine . [applause] and we dont want to nominate a candidate who hands the general election to Hillary Clinton as a christmas gift. Donald trump may be the only person on the face of the plant that hillary can beat. Planet thathe hillary can be. Tuesday will be a pivotal day. I want to ask everyone of you to come out and vote for me, 10 times. [laughter] [applause] look, we are not democrats. [laughter] i am not suggesting voter fraud. But you know, if everyone here picks up the phone and calls nine other people and gets nine other people to come out and vote on tuesday, you will have voted 10 times. [applause] sen. Cruz that is how we win, from the grassroots, from the people. ,f we stand together and unite you know, its amazing the unity we are seeing in the Republican Party. We started with 17 republican candidates. Of those, five have endorsed this campaign. [applause] [cheers] sen. Cruz we have earned the support of terry and lindsey and jeb bush, scott walker, carly fiorina. [applause] sen. Cruz when you add to that mix, mike lee, then back ck, we have the entire spectrum of the Republican Party all coming together, united behind this campaign. [applause] and if we stand united as one, we will win the republican nomination. And if we stand united as one, we will win the general election and beat Hillary Clinton and turn this country around. [applause] [cheers] [applause] ted, ted, ted. Sen. Cruz you know, it took jimmy carter to get us ronald and i am convinced that the longlasting legacy of barack obama will be a new generation of leaders in the Republican Party who stand and fight for liberty, who stand and fight for the constitution, and who stand and fight for the judeochristian values that built this great nation. Thank you, and god bless you. [applause] [cheers] [applause] you can watch the event with governor kasich monday 2 00 p. M. Eastern. Next, another event, this from Bernie Sanders. He was in wilmington, delaware this weekend where he spoke to supporters for just over an our. Thank you, wilmington. Thank you. Thank you all. What a wonderful turnout. And thank you so much for being here this afternoon. T me thank adam wilson conrad, representative tim williams and rebecca faith howard. And let me thank rosario dawson. I think, as most of you know, rosario is a Great American actress, but she is more than a great actress. She has devoted a significant part of her life to making sure that we end racism, that we end all forms of discrimination in this country. And she stood up and fought for people who often dont have a voice. So i thank you rosario for all that she has done and for her role on this campaign. You begin by quoting to some words of a guy that many of you know of and some of you know personally. And that is the Vice President f the United States. Joe biden was just quoted the other day in the New York Times this is roughly what the quote says. He remains neutral in the battle between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton but not between their campaign styles. He will take mr. Sanders aspirational approach over mrs. Clintons caution any day. And this is what the Vice President continues. He says, i like the idea of saying we can do much more, because we can. And then he says, i dont think any democrats ever won saying we cant think that big. We ought to really downsize here because its not realistic. He said in a mocking tone. Come on, man, this is the democratic party. Im not part of the party that ays, well, we cant do it. What joe biden is saying is exactly what this campaign is about. It is asking the hard questions f why not. Why not . Now, if we were a poor country and there are many poor countries all over the world and somebody said, you know, we should have a great educational system for all of our kids. We should have health care for all of our people. We should have a great infrastructure. If we if people raised those questions in a poor nation, then people would say, well, you know thats a great idea but were poor. We cant do that. But let me be very clear. You are living today not in a poor country. Youre living in the wealthiest country in the history of the world. So we have a right to ask and a right to demand that this country and our government work for all of us and not just the . We have already won 16 states n this nominating process. And with your help on tuesday, were going to win here in elaware. Started this campaign at 3 in the polls 60 points behind secretary clinton in the last week or two of the National Polls having us in the lead. And if you look at the matchup, the matchup polls between donald trump and myself we are eating them in every instance. And almost always by larger margins than secretary clinton. In other words, we have confounded the experts. We are in this campaign to win. And with your help we will do hat. So pick up on joe bidens point, what this campaign is asking people is to think outside of the box, outside of the status quo. Dont accept what the media tells you in terms of the options that we have. We can think much bigger. We can create the kind of nation we know the United States can become. We think about half a loaf, we will get crumbs. If we think about small ideas, we will get small results. Now, this campaign is creating the energy and the excitement that it is because we are doing something very unusual in contemporary american pom ticks. E are telling the truth. The truth is not always pleasant and it is not always something we want to hear. But whether it is in our own personal lives or our political lives, our nations life, we have got to confront the reality not sweep it under the rug if we in fact want to go forward effectively. So what the truths . What are the truths that many would prefer to sweep under the rug . The former chairman of Senate Committee on veterans affairs. I have talked to veterans from way back when people who have put their lives on the line for our way of life, our democracy. And let me be very clear in telling you i worry very much today about the future of american democracy. I worry about a sits sngs United Supreme Court decision which allows billionaires to buy elections. Democracy is not a complicated concept. It is one person, one vote. Not people with extraordinary wealth buying elections. We will never effectively address the crisis that we face when we have a congress that is beholden to wealthy Campaign Contributors and we will never address that issue unless we overturn the disastrous citizens United Supreme Court ecision. When a handful of billionaires like the Koch Brothers and a few of their friends are prepared to spend 900 million in this campaign cycle, that is not democracy. That is oo oligarky and we will not allow that to proceed. I want this country to have a vibrant democracy. I want us to have one of the highest voter turnout rates in the world. Not one of the lowest. I want the people in this room in this state in this country who want to be involved in the political process whether youre progressive, conservative, moderate. I want you to be able to run for Office Without begging wellsdzy people for campaign contributions. And i want voting rules to be very simple. In america if youre 18 years of age and youre a sits soven this country you are registered to vote. End of discussion. So goal number one. We need a vibrant democracy where the voices of all of our people shape the future of this country. Not a an oligarkic form of society where billionaires buy elections. Sen. Sanders point number two, and again when we talk about the need to deal with the reality of american society, we have got to talk about what is going on in the economy, and the truth is that we have a rigged economy. We have a rigged economy. [booing] sen. Sanders think about it for a second. And by the way, you will not see this on television, read about it too often in the newspapers, but heres the truth. The truth is that today in america, the top 1 10 of 1 , not 1 , 1 10 of 1 , owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 . [booing] sen. Sanders the top 20 wealthiest people in this country today own more wealth than the bottom 150 million americans, half our nations population. [booing] sen. Sanders that is an economy which is based on unsustainable principles. That is an economy which is not moral, when so few have so much, and so many have so little. Th