Transcripts For CSPAN Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20160527

Dealt with, but it must be dealt with intelligently. In my view, the best way to address that issue is to understand that Substance Abuse and addiction should not be treated as a criminal issued, it should be treated as a healthrelated issue. That means we need a revolution in this country on how we do Mental Health treatment. Right now there are people who are addicted, who are strung out, who would like to get help, but there is no treatment available for them that they can afford. And in addition to that, what is true, although it is very scary, is that walking the streets of america today, right now, youve got many thousands of people who are suicidal, and some are homicidal, and we all know about the terrible Mass Shootings that we have seen. In my view, what our approach should be is to say to anybody in america in Mental Health crisis you can get the treatment you need today, not six months from now. This campaign is what working people are telling me is they cant maybe it a 9, 10 or 11 an hour, which is why in my view were going to raise the minimum to a living wage, 15 an hour. S when we talk about equitable wages, i know that every man here will stand with the women in opposition to the fact that today women are making 79 cents on the dollar compared to men. Today we will fight and we will bring about pay equity for women, equal pay for equal work. This campaign is also listening to women who are hearing republicans all over this country. Donald trump and the others, who are touting family values. And you all know what they mean by family values. What they mean is that no woman in ventura, no woman in california, no woman in america should have the right to control her own body, we disagree. By the way, when republicans talk about family values, what they are also saying to our gay brothers and sisters, that they should not have the right to get married, we disagree. This campaign is not listening to wealthy Campaign Contributors and their needs. We are listening to young people and their needs. What young people are asking me, theyre asking me a very simp but very important question. That is, how is it that when they do exactly the right thing, when they go out and get the best education that they can, which is what we want all americans to be able to do, why is it that theyre ending up 20, 50, 70,000 in debt. I grew up in a family that didnt have a lot of money. My parents never went to college, but what i want to see in this country is that every child who studies hard, every child who takes school seriously and does well, i want to see that child be able to go to college, regardless of the income of his or her family. Now now heres the truth. 40, 50 years ago people went out and they got a High School Degree, and if you had a High School Degree 40 or 50 years ago, you know what . Good chance you would be able to go out and get a decent job and make it into the middle class. But the world, the economy, technology have changed over the last 40 years, and today in many respects, a College Degree is the equivalent to what a High School Degree was 40 years ago. That is why i believe that today, when we talk about public education, it is not good enough to be talking about first grade through 12th grade. We must be talking about making public colonels and universities, tuition free. Now, does anybody here honestly think that making public colleges and universities tuition free is a radical idea . It really is not. The world has changed, our educational system has got to change ago well. And by the way, as many of you know, in countries like germany and scandinavia, college today is free. They are smart enough to invest and smart enough to know that investing in their young people is investing in the future of their country. Its a lesson we should learn. How many people here are dealing with student debt . Raise your hand. Whoa. Well, welcome to the club. Were talking about millions of people. How much . 100 . 120,000 . Ok. All right. What im hearing is 100 thousand, 220,000, 80,000. Frankly think about it. What this campaign is trying to do is to get people to think outside of the box, to think outside of the options, the corporate mediaus. Ask yourself a simple question. We are living in a competitive global economy. We need the best educated work force in the world. Why in gods name are we punishing people for getting an education . [cheers and applause] we should be rewarded them, not punishing them. [cheers and applause] and that is why i believe that with regard to student debt anybody who is holding that debt should be able to refinance their loans at the lowest Interest Rates they can find. [cheers and applause] and this will mean a very significant reduction in student debt in this country. Now, my opponents and the establishment, they say, well, you know, bernie, hes like santa claus, hes got white hair, hes giving away all of this stuff, free tuition, reducing student debt. How are you going to pay for it, bernie . Let me tell you exactly how we will pay for it. [cheers and applause] eight years ago after the greed, the recklessness and illegal behavior on wall street helped bring this country into the worst economic recession since the 1930s congress against my vote bailed out wall street. [boos]well, today wall street is doing just fine. And i believe it is exactly appropriate to place a tax on wall street speculation. [cheers and applause] this country bailed out wall street, now its wall streets time to help the middleclass of this country. [cheers and applause] and that tax would more than pay to make public colleges and universities tuition free and substantially lower student debt. This campaign is listening to people and communities whose voices and pain are not often heard. We are listening to the latino community. [cheers and applause] there are 11 million undocumented people in this country. Many of them are living in the shadows and in fear. Many of them who are at work right now are being exploited because when you have no legal rights, you cant stand up to a boss who exploits you and cheats you on the job. And that is why in my view the time is long overdue for this country and for congress to pass comprehensive Immigration Reform and a path towards citizenship. [cheers and applause] our immigration policy must be to unite families, not divide them. [cheers and applause] and if elected president , i will end the current deportation policies. [cheers and applause] and if congress does not do its job, i will use all of the executive powers of the white house to do everything that i can. [cheers and applause] this campaign is listening to the Africanamerican Community. [cheers and applause] and what the Africanamerican Community is asking me absolutely correctly how does it happen that we could spend trillions of dollars on a war in iraq that we never should have gotten into and yet supposedly we dont have the money to rebuild our crumbling inner cities throughout this country. Brothers and sister, i have been all over this country in the last year. I was in flint, michigan, where children were poisoned because of lead in the water in a water system which was, to say the least, totally inadequate. I was in detroit, michigan, where the school system, the Public School system is on the verge of fiscal collapse. I was in baltimore, maryland, where tens of thousands of people are addicted to heroine and cant get the treatment that they need to get off of heroine. In my view, instead of rebuilding communities in afghanistan, we should be rebuilding communities in the United States of america. [cheers and applause] this campaign is listening to a people who are in real pain, but that pain is almost never heard. And this is the nayty american community. [cheers and applause] all of us know that the native American People were lied to, they were cheated and treaties they negotiated throughout our history have been broken. The native American People have given us so much that we have a debt owed to them that we can never repay. And maybe the most important lesson that they have taught us, an incredibly profound lesson, is that as human beings, we are part of nature. We must live with nature. [cheers and applause] and if we continue to destroy nature, what we are doing is ultimately destroying ourselves. [cheers and applause] but despite all that the native American People have given us, in native American Communities throughout this country, poverty and unemployment are sky high, health care and education is not of the quality it should be. If elected president we will fundamentally change our relationship to the native American People. [cheers and applause] i am a member of is u. S. Senate committee on the environment and let me tell you i have that listened and talked to scientists all over our country and all over the world and they are virtually unanimous in telling us what people like donald trump and other republicans refuse to acknowledge and this is Climate Change is real, it is caused by human activity and as the people of california already know it is causing devastating problems in our country and around the world. And what do scientists also tell us . If we do not get our act together now, a bad situation will become much worse, more drought, more floods, more extreme weather disturbances, more acidification of the ocean, more rising sea levels. We have a moral obligation as custodians of this planet. That is what we are. This is our planet, wur custodians of it. We must leave this planet in a way that is healthy and habitable to our children and future generations. [cheers and applause] what this campaign is about is getting people to think outside of the box, outside of the status quo and to ask some questions that you dont hear asked in congress and you dont hear discussed much in the corporate media. And one important question is how does it happen that in our great country, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, how does it happen that we are the only major country on earth not to guarantee health care to all people . Let me ask you all a question. How many people here today have no Health Insurance . Raise your hands how many people here are is high deductibles and high copayments in their insurance policy. What you are seeing is a failed health care system. The Affordable Care act has done some good things but it has not done enough. So let me be very honest with you and tell you what i have said many times and it gets me criticized many times, but ill say it again. And this is in my View Health Care is a right of all people, not a privilege. [cheers and applause] i want every american to be able to go to the doctor when they need to go to the doctor [cheers and applause] we are losing thousands of people every single year who by the time they get into a Doctors Office their situation has become terminal. That is unacceptable. First more not only today do we have so many people uninsured, 29 million, every one of us is getting ripped off by the unconscionable greed of the pharmaceutical industry [boos]. There are people in america dying and there are people getting much sicker than they should because they can not afford the astronomical high prices that the drug industry is charging us today. It is crazy that one out of five americans cannot afford the medicine they need and it is equally crazy that the top five Drug Companies last year made 50 billion in profit. [boos]if elected president , the Drug Companies will not continue ripping off the people of this country. [cheers and applause] brothers and sisters, everyone here knows that real change in america has never taken place from the top on down, but always from the bottom on up. [cheers and applause] you know, its never about some guy up there saying, oh, you know, i think it would be a good idea to do this or that. It always occurs throughout our history when people by the millions stand up and fight back and demand dig any tie. [cheers and applause] you all know that 100 plus years ago many workers in america were working seven days a week, 12 hours a day, kids of 12 years of age were working in factories, losing their fingers because they were around machinery they should not have been around. And what working people said 100 plus years ago, they said were not animals, were not beasts of burden, were human beings, we want dignity, we peerre going to form trade unions and negotiate fair contracts. [cheers and applause] 150 years ago amidst the abomination of slavery and racism, africanamericans and their allies looked at the future and they stood up and they fight back to end racism in america and well never know, we will never know how many of these heroes and heroines were killed in that struggle, how many went to jail, how many were beaten, how many lost their jobs, but they had the courage to stand up and to demand a country which rid itself of racism and bigotry. People dont know this or have forgotten. 100 years ago, not a long time in human history. Women in america did not have the right to vote or the get the jobs or education they wanted. [boos] what the establishment said to women your job is to stay home and have babies. Thats what youre supposed to do. But women said you will not define us, we will define ourselves. [cheers and applause] and women and their male allies stood up, fought back, and said women in america will not be second class citizens. [cheers and applause] if you think not 100 years ago, think back 10 years ago. If i were to tell you or you were to tell me ten years ago, somebody jumps up and says you know, bernie, i think gay marriage will be legal in every state in this country by the year 2015. The person next to her would have said youre crazy. There is too much bigotry, too much homophobia, it will not happen. But the Gay Community and their straight allies stood up, fought back. [cheers and applause] and said loudly and proudly noo that in america people should have the right to love whoever they wanted regardless their gender. [cheers and applause] if we were here five years ago, no time at all and somebody were to jump up and say bernie, this 7. 25 federal minimum wage is ridiculous, weve got to raise it to 15 bucks an hour, the person next to him would have said 15 bucks an hour . Youre crazy, youre dreaming, youre too radical, youre an extremist, cant happen, youre canning for too much but three years ago workers in the fast Food Industry in mcdonalds, in burger king, in windyies, they went out on strike and they stood up and they told america they can not make it on starvation wages, they need 15 an hour. [cheers and applause] and few years ago in seattle 15 bucks an hour. In san francisco, in los angeles, 15 bucks an hour. [cheers and applause] in california, new york state, 15 bucks an hour. What is my point . My point is that the establishment always wants you to believe that real change is impossible that your dreams are so radical they can not be achieved and youve got to accept minor changes at best. And what this campaign is about is rejecting that entire approach. [cheers and applause] no, my republican friends think we have to cut Social Security and benefits for veterans [boos]no, were not going to do that, were going increase Social Security and benefits for veterans. And what i am seeing all over this country, literally from coast to coast, from maine to california is people are beginning to understand that something is fundamentally wrong. They are asking themselves why is it that i am working longer hours for lower wages and almost all new income and wealth is going to the top 1 . Why is it that were seeing a proliferation of billionaires and yet half of the children in america arein Public Schools are on free and reduced lunches. Why is it that kids are graduating school 90,000 or more in debt . Why is it that women are making 79 cents on the dollar compared to men . Why is it that we are the only major country on earth that doesnt gar tee paid family and medical leave . Why are we the only country, major country not to guarantee health care for all . Why is our infrastructure our roads and our bridges collapsing at the same time as millions of people desperately need jobs. Why are we firing teachers when we need more teachers to better educate our children . [cheers and applause] why havent we been more aggressive in taking on the fossil fuel industry and transforming our Energy System . [cheers and applause] why do we pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs . Why does wall street continue to rip off the American People every single day . Those are the questions that the American People are beginning to ask answer the answer is that when people come together by the millions, when people stand up and say that our government has got to represent all of us, not just a few [cheers and applause] when this country brings about a Political Revolution so that real power rests in the hands of working families not wealthy Campaign Contributors, thats when we bring real change to this country. [cheers and applause] on june 7 there will be in california the most important primary in the whole nominating process. [cheers and applause] there are 475 delegates at stake here in california. What i have learned throughout this campaign is when voter turnout is high, when working people and young people come out in large numbers, we win. [cheers and applause] and if we can win here in california and win in the other five states that have primaries on june 7, were going go marching into the Democratic Convention with enormous momentum [cheers and applause] and that i believe well be marching out of that convention as the democratic nominee. [cheers and applause] and if i am the democratic nominee, donald trump is toast. [cheers and applause] [crowd chanting bernie] so on june 7 here in california, let us see the largest voter turnout in democratic primary history. Let this great state, one of the most progressive states in america go on record in saying yes to the Political Revolution. Thank you all. [cheers and applause] }bowie starman announcer how far will gurney joe . The reporting of Phillip Elliott for time magazine, he joins us on the phone now. How do you answer the question . Phillip that is a question only Bernie Sanders can answer. It is really his choice alone. Hethe moment it seems like is leading to was continuing the fight on the way through their convention in philadelphia. He is not ready to pack up and go home. To hiss he owes it supporters and donors and himself to keep this going. This has been in investment of a lot of time and effort, a lot of enthusiasm and sacrifice for everybody involved. He is not ready to say it is over. We spent some time with him in california watching him campaign , talked to his supporters. Sincerity to his belief that he really thinks the system has conspired against him and that everyone is not giving him the sufficient respect that he commands. To talk to continue about what he sees as in in justice for the political system itself toward an idealist like himself. Keep in mind that the political system, he only just recently became part of. For years in the past, he caucused with the democrats but he was nine member of the party, he only became a democrat to run for their nomination. It is really he has not built up the reservoir of goodwill and loyalty that the clintons have over their decades of politics. Host it is obvious that not only does he have a passion but his supporters and the question is whether or not the supporters can unite the Democratic Party if Hillary Clinton is the nominee once the convention gathers in philadelphia . Phillip that is a question that senator sanders is going to have to wrestle with. Eight years ago, we saw this when Hillary Clinton had strong supporters, initially said that they were not going to go with barack obama. Affectionately, we called them the less. Pumas. Fromok a lot of work senator clinton to convince them to come around, that she did have a Campaign Events for him, advertisements. Lost andpot of, yes i it was his appointing we cannot let john mccain be in the white house and in the end, 84 of clinton supporters through their support to Barack Obamas campaign. It was not easy and it required a lot of a lot of humility on the part of clinton. Bernie sanders doesnt seem to be heading in that direction and if he cannot drag his supporters with him into the clinton camp, it is going to be a tough road for secretary clintons campaign. For his part, senator sanders has said he will do everything he can to defeat donald trump but that is a far cry from saying that will do everything i can to elect Hillary Clinton. It is negative and it is going to take his supporters are going to follow his lead even then, not all of them will. Host physique miller is in california covering the race, can it is very possible if not probable at this point. Senator sanders is out there campaigning, there is talk of him having a oneonone debate with donald trump which would just wing him all sorts of exposure in california. Of audiences lot to cover ground. In many ways that is the way you win in california, through television. Hillary clinton is out there today doing a lot of events really putting in the elbow grease out there trying to stem this win or lose california, centered secretary clinton is the undeniable nominate this point but an embarrassing loss a loss in california would just be embarrassing to her in a way that if she can avoid it she would rather do that. The other takeaway noted in his piece which really allies the evolution of the relationship or lack thereof between senator sanders and Hillary Clinton, it began if you want to call it is gotten nasty and personal . It has. I talked with when i was senator sanders longtime top advisers and even at the start of their race, they actually like each other, he wasnt going to run her, he was never going to go negative, he was not going to at hisack ads, he keeps paper is a photograph of the two of them from 1993 that she had signed for him thanking him for his work on health care reform. They had a Mutual Respect for each other. Ixhy are both kind of wonk comest wonkish when it to health care. We talked and that he is that they run into each other in the same train waiting station back in june last year and clinton shattered out, bernie, and they greeted each other warmly, did a aide that held an knew he shouldnt have said it but he likes her. That is no longer the case. The relationship has soured in a way that perhaps it would be beyond repair. And used to call each other congratulate one another on their victories, they do not make those phone calls anymore. Their staff is at open warfare. The donors for both there is very little prospect for overlap. You throw into the next the volatile Democratic National committee that an Bernie Sanders might has had a thumb on the scale from the start. It is going to be a very difficult road ahead for both to imagine the two of them sitting down in breaking bread. Bernies evolution now sen. Sanders singh a choice and a test, their reporting of Phillip Elliott, and Available Online at time. Com, thank you for being with us. In addition to their graduating classes all over the you to graduate into a world of peace, light, and love, but that is not the case. We do not live in a fairytale. The uess the 1 of watch commencement speeches in their entirety offering advice and encouragement to the graduating class of 2016 from Business Leaders like michael towel at pepperdine, founder of oracle very allison at usc and atia contreras sweet whittier college. You can count on yourself, what makes you special . What distinguishes you from others . In dizziness recalling your unique value proposition. Ure it out yours is politicians, senator Jeff Sessions of the university of alabama in huntsville, Barbara Boxer that ucla university of california berkeley. To be strumming to be courageous, and to learn to stand for who you are and what you believe is a way that you have changed here. Balance carry into the of your life and white house officials, Vice President joe biden at the university of notre dame, attorney general l and john spelman college, and president barack obama at Rutgers University is it any wonder that i am optimistic . History, a new generation of americans has reached up and at the arc of history and direction of more freedom and opportunity and more justice. And class of 2016, it is your shape our nations destiny as well as yearround, so get to work. Commencement speeches this memorial day at noon eastern on cspan. This we can come as a Libertarian Party opposes National Convention in orlando. We will have live coverage saturday when the candidates faced with another in a debate. And sunday, when the party chooses his president ial and Vice President ial nominees. Eastern,turday, 8 00 and sunday, 9 45 a. M. Here on cspan. Madam secretary, we proudly votes tof our delicate the next president of the United States [cheering] donald trump has officially won enough delegates to be named to the republican nominee. Thursday he had a News Conference in bismarck, north dakota to discuss a range of issues including his democratic challengers. This is 35 minutes. Mr. Trump thank you very much, everybody. The folks behind me got us right over the top from north dakota system of north dakota made a big statement and i just really appreciate it. We will not forget it. Thank you very much. I want to thank a very good friend of mine, harold hamm. I guess we can consider harold the king of energy. Theres nobody like him. He knows more about it than anybody that i know. So harold, i want to thank you for your support. Youve been amazing right from the beginning. My friend for a long time. Been on the cover of every magazine, i think hes had as many covers as i have, maybe more, harold. Congratulations and thank you for your support. Ok, folks. Yes, john. President obama today at the g7 summit ignored the timehonored tradition that politics ends at the waters edge [inaudible] mr. Trump is that right . He used a bad word because he knows nothing about business. When you rattle someone thats good. Many of the world, as you know, many of the countries in our world, beautiful world, have been absolutely abusing us and taking advantage of us. So if theyre rattled in a friendly way, were going to have great relationships with these countries. If theyre rattled in a friendly way, thats a good thing, john, not a bad thing. He went on to say youre more interested in headlines than thinking whats required to keep america safe. Im wondering if youd like to respond to that . Mr. Trump hes a president who has done a horrible job, everybody understands that. Hes a president who allowed many of those countries to take advantage of him and us unfortunately. Hes got to Say Something. Its unusual that every time he has a press conference hes talking about me. 10 you know, its just one of those things. I will say this. He is a man who shouldnt be really, you know, airing his difficulties. Shouldnt be airing what hes airing where he is right now and i think that youre going to see it stop pretty soon. He has not done a good job. Today were giving a big speech on energy. Were going to see some Amazing Things happen with our country on energy. And i look forward to doing it. But president obama, you know you see whats happened, you see where were going, were a divided country. We have tremendous difficulty, tremendous problems. Were going to solve those problems, going to solve them fast. Your Campaign Chairman said as you were building your v. P. List its unlikely there would be a woman or a minority in that mix. Can you confirm . Mr. Trump we dont do it for any specific reason. Were looking for absolute competence. I fully expect that we will have mp women involved with not only i mean, ive had it with the campaign but were going to have many women involved. I think youre going to see that and see that very strongly. So i look forward to it. And i know he was misquoted a couple of times. Hes been misquoted a lot. Were going to have women involved at the absolute highest levels. During the republican primary, you repeatedly attacked your opponent for being funded by big donors. Started now fundraising with a big ticket fundraiser. How do you convince your supporters that youre not going to become the pickup truck you accuse your opponent of being . Mr. Trump im no pickup truck. Were raising money largely for the party. Were raising it for senators, congressmen, congresswomen, for a lot of people running. We want to go in and have majorities. Its very important. We have a tremendous staff of people, last night we raised in los angeles, we raised a lot of money for the party. And this is money thats going into the r. N. C. We are going to have, i think, a tremendous, were getting thanked all over by the republican senators, by congressmen. And hopefully were going to raise a lot of money. This is money being raised for the party. I think were going to have a tremendous success. Im also continuing to fund big portions of my campaign. He was also quoted as saying if you released your taxes, you seem to sound as if youre not going to release your taxes. Mr. Trump im release, when were finished with the audit, the i. R. S. Has been very professional and continue to be very professional. When they finish, ive been audited for 15 years and i dont know of very many people that have been audited for 15 years. Im audited all the time. I dont know what thats all about. The i. R. S. Has been very professional. As we move along, as soon as thats finished, whenever that may be, hopefully it will be before the election. Im fine with that. You do pay some federal taxes. Mr. Trump i do. Yes. David. Mr. Trump, in the wake of yesterdays inspector genre port about Hillary Clintons emails, you said you have doubts about it. Are you prepared to call on her to get out of the race so americans have more confidence in the integrity. Mr. Trump i like her in the race. I want to run against her. She has bad judgment. This was all bad judgment. Probably illegal, well have to find out what the f. B. I. Says about it. Certainly it was bad judgment. I just read the report. Its devastating, the report. Its devastating. Theres no reason for it. Its just, you know, skirting on the edge all the time. And you look back at her history and this is her history. Its a very, very harsh report. Done really by democrats. Appointed by obama, and done by democrats. So its shocking to see it. Shocking to see what she did. Really more than anything else its bad judgment. But thats up to her whether or not she wants to continue running. [inaudible] mr. Trump i havent yet. I think i will. I havent had the support of the govern i dont have of new mexico. She was on somebody elses side. I imagine shell come over to my side. If you look at whats happened, tremendous support from all over the country. Senators, conmen, governors all over the place. Vast majorities, i think the approval is up to over 90 . Thats tremendous from where it started. Little while ago it was like 62 . But i won the elections in landslides. Very important to say. You look at these elections, we go to new york, win almost 62 of the vote with three people running. We then go to pennsylvania. Which is going to be, i think, a state were going to do amazingly well. Hillary clinton wants to put the coal miners out of business, want to put the steel mills out of business. I think ill win pennsylvania easily. We have tremendous support there. Maryland, connecticut, we win delaware, rhode island. And then we win, as you know, we had a tremendous, tremendous success where we went to indiana. That was incredible. Bobby knight helped, but were going to win indiana big. Were going to have tremendous successes. But you know, the thing i think im most proud of, not the fact that im watching hillary instead of hillary watching me. We were supposed to be going into july and a lot of people said it wouldnt be solved during the convention. Theres going to be a new convention in august. Here i am watching hilly fight and she cant close the deal. An that should be such an easy deal to close. But shes unable to close the teal. So im watching her. And well see what happens. [inaudible] [inaudible] mr. Trump im going to have to look at it individually and i will be doing that. A number of people asked me, i will be doing that. Ok. Thank you. Do you have something to say about that . Mr. Trump my message is weve had tremendous support from almost everybody. Even if you look at congress, the support has been incredible. And i spoke with paul ryan last night. We had a very good conversation thats moving along. Hes a good man. Well see how that all works out. Just, we had a very good talk. I dont read huffington post. Was there an article . Im sure he was misquoted but it is i didnt think they covered politics, do they cover politics . All right. They look at a lot of different things. We have a big problem. We have a radical islamic terrorism problem. Its a worldwide problem. Not just this country. And we have to find a solution. And we have to be vigilant. We have to be tough and smart. Well see what happens. Id love to debate bernie. Hes a dream. I said, i said last night on jimmys show, it was a question that was posed. I said id love to debate him but i want a lot of money to be put up for charity. If we can raise for maybe Womens Health issues or something. If we can raids 10 million or 15 million for charity, which would be an appropriate amount. I understand the Television Business really well. It would be get high ratings. It should be in a big arena. We could have a lot of fun with it. The problem with debating bernie, hes going to lose. His system is rigged just like our system is rigged. If i didnt win by massive majorities, i wouldnt be standing here talking to you today. You know, i knocked out every opponent. You have to knock out. And bernie, unfortunately, hasnt been able to knock out. But the super delegates for the democrats, so unfair. So the problem, the biggest problem i have is that bernie is not going to win. But id debate him anyway if they wanted to put up money for charity. Well see. Weve had a couple of calls from the networks already. And well see. Hes the one that suggested, lets debate. Mr. Trump its true. Id love to debate bernie. But they have to pay a lot of money for it. Look, im in first place. Ive won, id Say Something over 10 million. Mr. Trump i would love. I love debating. I know you people on every poll, every single debate, in the online polls after every single debate, i won every single debate. Ive never debated professionally. I ran against all these people that debated professionally. But according to every Single Online poll after the debates, i won every single debate, by every single poll. I dont mind debating. I like to debate. The one thing was, i said to myself, i wonder how well ill debate . Guys like this great gentleman right here, one of the great oilmen of the world, were not debaters, were people that put people to work and do things, and a lot of good things. How many people do you have working for you . Tens of thousands. Thats what he does. Now id rather debate harold but i will tell you, he may surprise you. He may do very well. But we dont do that. But somehow it worked out well for me. It worked out well for me. I love the debating process. A lot of fun. I was on center stage for every single debate and the only time i was upset with some networks was when we had even numbers, like eight, so you had two in the middle. I insisted on having odd numbers. I think the federal government should get out of the way. The federal government is in the way. We have so much potential energy that people wouldnt even believe it. My speech today is on energy. Thats exactly what it was, and is. The government, the regulations that they have, they put the coal miners out of business. The coal mines are shut. What theyve done to the coal what Hillary Clinton, shes worse than obama. She openly said, i want to put the coal miners out of business. Want to put the coal mines out of business. Shes saying i want to put the steel mills out of business. Were not going to have any businesses left system of hillary is, i think, i cant imagine how she could possibly do well in a place like pennsylvania. She certainly didnt do very well in west virginia. And you know, i think she made a big mistake. Shes catering to certain people but i think ultimately jobs and these incredible people people, the miners, theyre incredible people. I asked a couple of them, why dont you go into a different profession . Because we love going after coal. Ill never forget the answer. You know, you think its dangerous and youre going deep down into these incredible crevices, i say, wow. But they love doing what they do. Thats what they do. Its like me, you know, i grew up, my father was in real estate, im in real estate, now im in politics. Hes looking down saying what happened . But coal miners love doing what theyre doing. Hillary and its such an important product. Hillary clinton shouldnt be putting them out of business. Mr. Trump i want to be Energy Independent, yes. I want to be Energy Independent. And i havent spoken to harold about that, but i would say Energy Independence is what we all want. We also want to sell our energy to other places that dont have the great Natural Resources that we have. Dont forget, through modern day technology, we found out that were sitting on energy, im going to be talking about it in a minute. Were sitting on energy like nobody would believe. I want to be Energy Independent and the answer is yes to your question. Paul ryan hasnt endorsed you. What will you do to get his endorsement . Mr. Trump well see what happens. You still want to ban all foreign muslims from the United States on a temporary basis. Mr. Trump at this moment im very unhappy, when i look at the world of radical islam. Were going to find the problem and come up with a solution. Obama could never come up with a solution. Number one, hes incompetent and number two, the solution just is never going to be out there for him. He wont even mention, he wont even mention the words radical islamic terrorism. I have many muslim friends, they said to me, thank you. Thank you. This is a problem. Its a problem that has to get solved. And we have to have turnins. When you see looking to do tremendous destruction, like in california with 14 people killed, they lived in a house where they had bombs all over the floor. Everybody knew they were up to bad stuff. Nobody reported them. People have to report when they see. Go ahead. [inaudible] mr. Trump i know, i see it. By far. I was impressed. Mr. Trump and by government. [inaudible] mr. Trump i do, because i think ultimately coal will be very inexpensive. Youve got to get rid of some of the regulations. I spoke to some of the mine owners. They were surrounded by some of their miners. And they were showing me some of the regulations where its on a daily basis going in, checking, checking, checking. They have people that do nothing but deal with regulators. Its gotten out of control. The Market Forces will be whatever they are. All i can do is free up the coal which im going to totally do. Get the Companies Back to work. Market forces, thats something i dont want to get involved with. Thats beautiful to me a market force is a beautiful force. [inaudible] mr. Trump yes, i would. It should be approved. Im not saying it wouldnt be a better deal. Obama would approval it or not approve it. Hillary is probably not going to approve it from what i understand. But i look at it differently. I will absolutely approve it 100 , but i want a better deal. Heres the difference between harold hamm and myself and you, or lets say obama, who doesnt know what the hell hes doing. Heres the difference. Im going to say, folks, were going to let you build the pipeline but give us a piece. Were going to have to use imminent domain. Remember when conservatives said, imminent domain, imminent domain. Their favorite project is the Keystone Pipeline. If you read the documentation on Keystone Pipeline, a whole big part is Eminent Domain. I want the Keystone Pipeline but the people of the United States should be given a piece, a significant piece of the profits. Right now obama would have said yes or no. And most politicians would say yes, well approve it or no we wouldnt. I will say yes, we absolutely will approve it, i want it built, but i want a piece of the profits because were making it possible for it to happen through Eminent Domain and other things. I want a piece of the profits to the United States. Thats how well make our country rich again. Just one way out of thousands. Thats how well make our country rich again and its how were going to make America Great again. You understand what im saying . [inaudible] mr. Trump this is a different pipeline . Do you like the idea . Do you like the idea as a reporter . Youre not supposed to say this, but thats ok. Do you like the idea . We would look at it. Im going to look at anything. A lot of times pipelines are so much better. Instead of going on trains and having all the problems caused by that, its underground and environmentally theyre better in many cases. But were going to take a look at it. Im not aware of that one but wed take a look at it. My basic bias would be to approve. I want to approve for jobs and the concept of pipelines is ok if theyre going from the right place to the right place. So well take a look at it. Main street Small Businesses across america, what are the keys to Economic Vitality . Mr. Trump two of them that are very, very important are lowest taxes. Were the highest taxed nation in the world by far. Lower taxes and the other one is were overregulating. I will tell you, i made a speech last night in front of a group. I said regulation, this surprised me, ive seen it ever since ive been doing this for like 10 months or so. And regulation is even more of a problem for people than the taxes, which surprised me. But theyre both problems. Were going to under my plan, were lowering taxes substantially for businesses, for middle income, for everybody. Taxes are going way down. Were going to allow trillions of dollars to pour into the country that are right now outside of this country where people and Companies Want to bring it in, they can. Were going to get rid of the tremendous numbers of rules, regulations, probably 75 of which are absolutely terrible for our country. Ok. [indiscernible] mr. Trump who, pocahontas . Is it offensive . You tell me. Im sorry about that is that what you said . Elizabeth warren. She tweets a lot about me. Every once in a while i tweet. When i tweet, not that many people are watching our tweets. When i tweet, they watch. I will say this. Shes a senator thats highly overrated. Shes passed very little legislation. She has been a real disaster for a lot of people including the democrats who frankly cant stand her, many of the democrats. Just ask Hillary Clinton how she likes her. I would say this, ill debate anybody. Id debate her. But shes done very little for massachusetts. And the beautiful thing is, when i won massachusetts with many people running against me, i got up to almost 50 . And she was fighting me. So i really think if her record was exposed, and the fact that she was a native american she said she was native american but she wasnt able to document it, she said, i have high cheekbones, i have high cheekbones, im a native american. She then, i dont know if youd call it a fraud or not, she was able to get into various schools because of the fact, she applied as a native american and probably able to get other things. I think shes as native american as i am, ok. That i will tell you. But shes a woman thats been very ineffective. Other than shes got a big mouth. Ok. Yeah, go ahead, in the back. Womens health issues, im wondering is that a particular charity youd like it to go to . Mr. Trump on tuesday well be releasing a tremendous list of all the money weve given. With the debate, when i decided i want to do this instead of go to a particular debate with a Cable Network that actually has been unbelievably fair over the last few months, i have to say. But i felt i wasnt treated right. I did a speech and during the speech i said, lets see if we can raise money for the vets. We raised a lot of money. On tuesday, i think well have a press conference in trump tower, tuesday at probably 10 00 or 11 00. And were going to release a full list of all the people, almost 6 million of money was raised. I started it, we werent going to raise anything, it was just an idea that came to me. I said, lets raise some money for at the vets. One of my friends who was there, very substantial person, phil ruffin, offered a million dollars. Karl icahn gave half a million. Another good friend gave a million. All of a sudden we started getting a lot of money. I love seeing it. On tuesday, were going to release a list of all the different veterans groups that got the money. Close to, pretty close to 6 million worth of money. That was great. What i do this debate, id like to do something similar where theyll pay, in this case, just a payment, why should the networks have a debate by this make a fortune, sell it to sponsors, put the money in their coffers. I would much rather give and probably in this case to various groups involved with Womens Health issues. I think its appropriate. Now that youve hit the magic number mr. Trump im so honored to be in north dakota. So honored by these people, they have such great sense. Right . Now you can focus on being president , what do you do in the first 100 days . Mr. Trump well have many things to do. Ill be unwinding various executive orders, particularly those deals with the border where people are pouring into our country that arent supposed to be here. Well be unwinding that. Well have a lot of things to do. Well start rebuilding the military. We have no choice. Its not like, oh, gee, do you want to do it . Were going to make our military bigger, better, stronger than ever before. I saw the other day, on cnn, where the jet fighters were using parts from museums and grave yards, plane grave yards, where theyre taking old parts off our fighters, and they were interviewing some of the pilots, great people. They were saying theyre so embarrassed and ashamed of whats going on. This shouldnt be the United States. So were going to rebuild our military. Were going to have the finest equipment in the world again. And nobody is going to mess with us. Very simple. By the way, im the last person in terms of the draw, i wont have to worry about the draw. Im the last person. I didnt want to go into iraq, unlike hillary and other people. We shouldnt have gone into iraq. It was a mistake. The way obama got us out was a tremendous mistake. Were going to have a lot of fun that first 100 days. Were going to start the process of making America Great again. How about a couple more. [inaudible] mr. Trump one of the reasons i made a deal with the r. N. C. Which to me, i think theyve done a good job. But theyve built over years and years staffs in every state. You cant do that if youre doing it all over the next few months. So now i just learned i got the nomination and again this was something that was going to happen, according to some people in august and some people were saying, because of the Second Convention which would have been ridiculous and many people said it was going to go into the july. And then we had that massive victory in indiana. Wont forget the people of indiana, that was a massive, massive victory. And you know, so here im sitting. Im watching. I love watching hillary and bernie go at it. Bernie has given me some great lines, which im use, believe me. But i will say that as far as building the infrastructure of a campaign, the r. N. C. Has been doing it for many years. All over the country they have very good people. Part of the benefit is we get to use those people. While im raising a lot of money for them, theyre going to use that not only for me but for other people running for office, its been an honor because ive met some of the people in different states. I met a big group of people last night from different states that work essentially for the r. N. C. And you cant do that over a period of just a short while. You know, we have, november is coming up very rapidly. Going to be very soon. They are set up with some really great infrastructure. Ok. How about one or two more . They called your comments cruel, irresponsible or wrong. Mr. Trump a question was asked about vince forrester. I havent known anything about it. And somebody asked me the question the other day. And i said that a lot of people are skeptical as to what happened and how he died. I know nothing about it. I dont think its something unless theres evidence contrary what ive seen i dont think it should be part of the campaign. If you people reveal something to me, ill answer it the appropriate way. Ok. One more. Yeah . Here in north dakota, fracking is on the forefront mr. Trump right. How would you feel mr. Trump bernie is going to ban fracking, hillary is going to ban fracking, hillary is going to abolish the second amendment. Hes going to abolish your right to own guns. Shes going to abolish the second amendment. Im exactly the opposite. I got the endorsement from the n. R. A. Because theyre great, amazing people. Im a member of the n. R. A. My sons are members of the n. R. A. But they want to absolutely knockout fracking. You do that, youre going to be back into the middle east and were going to be begging for oil again. Its not going to happen. Not with me. Were going to open it up. Were going to be Energy Independent. Were going to have all sorts of energy including solar. And i know a lot about solar. The problem with solar, its very expensive. When you a 30year payback thats not the best in the world. Ive gone solar but its a very, very expensive thing. Wind is very expensive. Wind without subsidy, wind doesnt work. And there are places maybe for wind. But if you go to various places in california, wind is killing all of the eagles. If you shoot an eagle they want to put you in jail for five years. And yet the windmills are killing hundreds and hundreds of eagles, one of the most beautiful, treasured birds and theyre killing them by the hundreds and nothing happens. Wind is a problem. Its very, very expensive and it doesnt work with our subsidy. Despite that, i am into all types of energy. While were in north dakota, i have to say this, i love the farmers. And the farmers are incredible. We have to remember this was largely a farm state. They produce tremendous crops of tremendous different goods of which i eat a lot of them. And i just want to pay my respects to the farmers of north dakota because they have done a great job. All right. One more. Go ahead. Were going to look at that and were going to meet with the governor of iowa whos a tremendous guy and a friend of mine. And were going to talk about it. A lot of people want that to happen. We will be making a decision fairly soon. Ok . Given the low volume of crude oil and regulations were lifted by the federal government. What would you do to increase and stimulate growth . Mr. Trump im going to open it up so they can sell. But that wont be up to people like harold. Nobody can sell like him. Now, i would open it up and keep it open. Get rid of the regulations. And people like harold hamm and people that i know are superconfident, believe me, we will make so much money with energy because were blessed with something. We will make so much money that we will start to pay down our 19 trillion in debt. And well start to lower taxes and well start to take care of our Social Security and medicare. Go ahead, david. He wrote a couple of good stories about me. So i have to let him go. [laughter] mr. Trump he wrote a couple of bad ones too. Women that taken issue with the way they were portrayed im so honored by that. Do you think youre done mr. Trump i was so honored because the New York Times did this massive story on the front page. They quoted three women and another woman. Many of the women have come forward who said we have Great Respect for donald trump. We really like donald trump. Thats not what was said. This is not how it was portrayed. The New York Times has been totally discredited and the construction person i just presented many, many emails and i think i sent them to you abed david. Many, many emails where shes asking for her job back because after she was gone, i never took her back. She wanted her job back. She wrote a book in which she says the nicest thing about me. He said youre the least sexist person. I dont even know why she mentioned that. She writes me a letter. But shes been totally discredited. So the New York Times story has been totally discredited. The New York Times i can tell you from personal knowledge is very, very embarrassed. It was a total hit job on donald trump. And to put a story like that above the fold with a massive picture of myself standing with Miss Universe contest at that particular times or maybe miss u. S. A. Contestants which i sold to i. M. G. , good deal, by the way. But for them to put a story like that above the fold, the New York Times i can tell you theyre very ashamed by of that story. And for the women to come out, rohan to be brave and said who would do that . I did not speak to her when she did this. I spoke to her more recently and i thanked her because it took courage to do that. And for her and others to come out and go forward and say, you really, really mistreated us by writing this story the way you wrote it. And we have Great Respect for donald trump and like donald trump very much. The New York Times was totally discredited and honestly, they should be ashamed of themselves. I hated reading the story even though this was not major allegations of very much stuff. One of them accused me of saying dont eat that candy. A friend of mine said its not too serious. They made it like it was such a big violation. Dont eat that candy. I appreciated the story you wrote about it because the New York Times has been totally discredit and i will tell you they are very embarrassed by that story. So ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. Just a talented person. Hes been there for a long time. Come here. Get over here. Get over here. There right from the beginning, right . [applause] youve changed my life. I guess if youre one of the first seven or eight members of congress to endorse somebody, your life gets changed. Mines been changed. Im glad youre here. I appreciate harolds invitation. I appreciate your comments on energy. Im looking forward to hearing the rest of it. I missed vote for the energy and water appropriations that failed miserably. So i didnt miss a thing. Mr. Trump thank you, everybody. Speaker ryan suggested mr. Trump lets see what happens. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2016] we will bring you this campaign of friday live here on cspan. Icad to this line from the facility in maryland at 11 30 a. M. Eastern here on cspan. Nicolas is the chair of the Libertarian Party or the Convention Get underway this weekend, thank you for being with us. Walked us of the schedule saturday and sunday. Theyre currently 18 candidates seeking the nomination. They need to get signature tokens from the thousands of delegates that will be present. In order to be in that debate saturday night, the candidates will need 10 or more of the signature tokens from the delegates at conventions. What is happening behind the scenes . It is all very retail. Libertarian party has delegates elected by the state affiliate parties that are sent to the convention. Those delegates no delegates are bound in our party. All thousand will be free to vote for whatever they like. Candidates have been sending out mailers, emails, personal phone calls to the delegates, handwritten notes, and a walking to the Convention Hall even as the day before we start i have seen candidates pressing to dread to arnie delegates vote. To former governors right now forming the ticket of johnson and weld. Theyre getting a lot of attention, but as you indicated theyre not the only candidates vying for your partys nomination. They are not, this is been a very vigorous race for the nomination. There between three and five, depending on how you count were been going around to state Party Convention over the last few months trying to earn the support of the delegates. You have governor johnson, john a security expert, and Austin Peterson a tv producer,. Ational Committee Member those gentlemen of all been vigorously contesting the nomination. What does the Libertarian Party stand for . What is your basic mission statement, as a party . For us come our core principles, the idea that every person has a right to live their life and pursue happiness in any way they choose as long as they dont hurt other people and dont take their stuff. Governmente the business a razor family, run your business, choose to relax on the weekends, those are decisions for you. I dont know how to live my life, necessarily, and i dont know how to live someone elses life. We believe politicians of no Greater Knowledge of how your life off to be lived. As the chair and member of the party, why did you join . Why are you leading this party . Outage due to the part of another 12 years old, my father took me to a meeting, ive never been anything other than a libertarian. It just seems right to me, there is a humility do it. I dont know what to do with him and elses life, and at the two politicians. I saw the National Cherry 2014 because i felt we were at a point where were been doing this groundwork for 35 years now, and we needed to break out. Sure that wemake became a force in american politics and were in a position to actually shifted the debate and move our agenda forward. Do you think your nominee has a chance in the general election . What is the golden 2016, how do you break through between the democratic nominee, and the republican nominee . The golden 2016 is that i have to go to an inauguration party. If you look at the american electorate, the largest chunk of the electorate of people who dont vote because they are disgusted with the system, the next largest of people that choose not to affiliate with either of the two parties. Only then do you get into registered republicans and democrats, and with the nominees being the most hated people in modern politics, this is a historic election for us. We have an opportunity to break through and really present something for people to vote for, rather than arguing over who is the bigger bully, or who they are more afraid of. A you think youll be taking limo republican votes, more donald trump boats, versus democratic votes . Where is your appeal . Across theal is spectrum, historically our members have come approximately a third from former republicans, a third from former democrats, and a third from evil independent or politically uninvolved. What we have seen it in the two parties, there is a block of voters who are dissatisfied and beenlike they have cheated. The more mainstream republicans feel like they were cheated out of the nomination that ended up being given to a reality show star, and the more progressive democrats feel like they are about to be cheated out of a nomination with Hillary Clinton boxing out Bernie Sanders for there are a lot of dissatisfied people, we will leftnue to not move on the right spectrum but more do you want more individual freedom, or more government control . Cspan will be the one number providing full coverage of the Libertarian Party convention both saturday and sunday for the nomination process. What do you think people will learn as they watch this unfold . Isthey will see there another way to do politics in this country. If you want to control other peoples lives, if you want to argue who gets to take taxpayer money and give it out in special favors, there are two parties for you already in this country. But if you want to live your all life the way you see fit, to raise your family the way you see fit, we are the only Political Party that stands for all of your freedoms all of the time. I think people will see that kind of politics, and be excited about it. He is the chair of the Libertarian Party joining us from orlando where the Convention Gets underway this weekend. Thank you for being with us. Thank you so much. Secretary, we give 72 of our delegates to the next president of the United States [cheering and applause] coming up, the household and Security Committee on tsa screening delays. After that, cdc director tom friedman on the efforts to fight the zika virus. Later, u. S. House debate on remarks by Hillary Clinton in san jose, california. Cspans washington journals live everyday with the news and policy issues that impact you. Coming up friday morning, the criminal Justice Policy director for the center of American Progress will join us, with efforts to reform the system. The sentencing reform and corrections act. An author and George Mason School of law professor Frank Buckley will be on to talk but his new book which he details how americans ability to move up the economic ladder has been hampered over the last several years and what can be done to reverse that trend. Mature to watch cspans washington journal getting live at 7 00 eastern friday morning. Join the discussion. This memorial day weekend on American History tv, saturday evening at sequoia eastern on the civil war, chairman cannot have agreed more. Many captured atlanta, his thoughts on the matter had fully matured. Army hadn, a rebel been defeated and another major city had fallen and still the confederate would not give up. So, rather than continue the futile war against people, he would wage war against property. Georgia Historical Society president on Union General william sherman, arguing his march to this he was hard war, rather than total war. Some evening at 6 00, on american artifacts, take a tour with Mitch Mcconnell viewing some of the oldest rooms in the capital, likely Republican Leaders of sweet, conference room, and private office. Fortune to beood here on august 20, 1963 when Martin Luther king maybe i have a dream speech. I confess, i couldnt hear a word because i was at this end of the mall and he was at a lincoln memorial. Looking out at throngs, thousands and thousands of people. But you knew you were in the presence of something really significant. 8 00, former aides to Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon talk about the role of the president during the vietnam era. Lbj vanquished anguished about that war every single day. That is not an overstatement. Callsily body counts, the , to our from the situation room , often at 2 00 or 3 00 in the morning to see if the pilot had returned. Aide tom by former lbj johnson and former nixon aide Alexander Butterfield to explore the policies during the conflict at 1 00 eastern on railamerica our fivepart series on the 1970 five Church Committee hearings convened to investigate the intelligence activities the say i come fbi, irs, and nsa. Andtestimony by ca director james adams, and as a director general lew allen, fbi informant and others. Here to review the major findings of our investigation of the domestic intelligence, including the program, and other programs aimed at domestic targets. Fbi surveillance of lawabiding citizens and groups, political abuses of fbi intelligence, and several specific cases of unjustified intelligence operations. For the complete American History tv schedule, go to cspan. Org. Next, another hearing on security screening delays at tsa airport checkpoints. And recommendations for repairing the system. A House Homeland Security subcommittee heard from representatives of airports most severely impacted, including tucson, arizona, syracuse, new york, and chicago. This hearing is one hour and 20 minutes. Mr. Katko the committee on homeland security, subcommittee on transportation security, will come to order. I ask unanimous consent that the gentlewoman from arizona, ms. Mcsally, be allowed to sit on the dais and participate in this hearing. Without objection, so ordered. The subcommittee is meeting today to better understand the root causes of increased passenger wait times and gain local perspectives on this important issue. I now recognize myself for an opening statement. In the Summer Holiday season approaching, we are in the midst of a crisis a our airports. American families are planning to enjoy their time off traveling to points near and far. Businessmen and women are doing the same, that they do all year round, the added crush of the travel season, leisure season, is causing particular problems. They will arrive at airports around the country only to be confronted with longer and longer lines at many airports, at t. S. A. Checkpoints, causing some to return home after missing their flights and stranding others to take up temporary residence at the airport on a cot. Like we saw in chicago a few weeks ago. Unfortunately this is not an isolated incident and this committee continues to receive reports from around the country describing delays at t. S. A. Checkpoints in excess of two hours. On good friday, march 25, 600 passengers missed their flights at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport due to an apparent lack of t. S. A. Man power and checkpoint inefficiencies. In fact, that airport was nearly forced to affect a ground stoppage, a literal stand still of air traffic, due to delays at the checkpoints. This is wholly unacceptable. And i, along with the american taxpayer, expect the security of americas airports to be streamlined, effective and efficient. This committee has worked tirelessly with t. S. A. To ensure that the man power and technology they need to operate checkpoints at optimum levels is there. While t. S. A. Realized there would be an issue and communicated to the American Public that increased wait times should be expected at our nations airports, as we enter the high travel seasons, they did not have a clear picture of the resources they would need to tackle this problem and clearly were not prepared for it. The t. S. A. Fiscal year 2017 budget request did not account for any of the increases in overtime or staffing that they are now requesting to meet their basic screening functions. It wasnt until widespread media reports of passengers on cots, which is completely unacceptable, and excessive wait times that t. S. A. Made the decision to request reallocate assets to combat the issue. I and my colleagues on this committee and ms. Mcsally are growing increasingly frustrated that t. S. A. Needs constant prodding to affect positive changes at the agency. This committee has passed several pieces of Bipartisan Legislation that would go a long way of improving checkpoint optimization, but the senate refuses to expedite passage of these bills, standing on principle or some esoteric theory about how the agency should be run. In short, theyre trying to polish the brass while the fire bell is ringing. For example, my t. S. A. Precheck bill would require t. S. A. To expand and aggressively market the program. Thereby, increasing the number of trusted travelers into the system. Diverting them into precheck checkpoints and alleviating the stress on the general public checkpoints. However, due to typical washington antics this bill, amongst others, remains stalled. When i came to congress, i made a commitment to my constituents to tackle problems headon and just get things done. Last week the subcommittee convened representatives from airports and airlines from across this country to discuss this wait time crisis. It was a very productive meeting and it gave me faith that the process in congress can and does work sometimes. The message was consistent. T. S. A. Needs to collaborate with individual airlines and airport authorities to coordinate sufficient Staffing Levels on a local basis. I have heard your message and later today i will introduce a checkpoint optimization and efficiency act of 2016 which will require t. S. A. To maximize all of their available resources and give airports and airlines a seat at the table to ensure those resources are being utilized and allocated in the most effective and efficient manner. Make no mistake, security is first and foremost. Those that wish to do us harm continue to plot against the Aviation Community and we must be ready to confront them at every turn. But t. S. A. Has to find a way to maintain security while fulfilling its duties to keep passengers safely moving through the system. Those that wish to do us harm they have the capability to do it. T. S. A. Has to be forward leaning and creative to address obstacles as they present themselves. Just like all of us do in our daily jobs. I would like to thank our witnesses for taking time out of their busy schedules and making multiple trips on short notice to washington to aid us in solving this problem. Im lucky, honored and fortunate to have the syracuse International Airport which i fly in and out of each week as a welloiled machine that it is compared to the Horror Stories we heard last week. I have one of the witnesses here to thank for that. I would like to thank all of you for being here today and i look forward to hearing your perspective on the best and most effective way forward. With that, i now recognize the Ranking Member of the subcommittee, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. Payne, for his opening statement. And i like those glasses. [laughter] mr. Payne thank you, mr. Chairman. I wore them just for you. Mr. Katko go orange. Mr. Payne yeah right. Id also like to thank you for holding this hearing. It is good that were having this hearing immediately following the full Committee Hearing with the administrator yesterday. Recently wait times have been a major cause of concern within our nations airports. Last week, for example, due to extreme wait times, the Transportation Security Administration reallocated resources to chicagomid way International Airport and Newark Liberty airport to decrease the length of screening lines. While im pleased that t. S. O. s are being given the opportunity to be converted to full time and the administration has taken steps to address the problem in the interim, we need to find a viable longterm solution to this problem. Reallocating or taking one airports resources and giving it to another will only fix the problem temporarily. For the Summer Travel period, t. S. A. Predicted that nearly 740 million individuals will use commercial aviation to travel, which happens to be the most air travelers this country has ever seen. In contrast, t. S. O. s who are responsible for screening passengers and baggage are at some of the lowest numbers we have seen in years. This is due in large part to limited resources. Under the former administrator, the agency pivoted to riskbased security, a frame of mind that we focus our resources on individuals who we know less about and rightfully so. However, this methodology also came with programs that were not sustainable due to security risks, such as manage inclusion two, which has since ceased. Although they are still using a riskbased approach, it does not take away from the fact that the amount of travelers when compared to the number of people traveling is insufficient. Last week the transportation security subcommittee held a round table discussion with airports, and many important things were discussed. There were general agreements that b. D. O. s could be used in other roles throughout the screener model. Yesterday we learned t. S. A. Agrees and supports the federal security directors having the flexibility to use b. D. O. s in different ways. We also heard concern on whether or not federal security directors had enough flexibility to operate necessary checkpoints with staffing. The administrator testified yesterday that he believed that they always had such flexibility and that he worked to ensure that they knew that they had this flexibility. Now we get to hear more perspectives from stakeholders who are intimately involved with the commercial aviation and airlines and airports themselves. Today i look forward to hearing what your experiences throughout this issue have been, as well as how you view the steps that are being taken. I would also like to thank president cox from afge for being here to serve as a voice of the work force. T. S. O. s represent the front line in our efforts to secure the commercial aviation sector. They do an outstanding job screening passengers and their belongings and often unfairly receive the majority of the blame for this issue. Their perspective is absolutely vital in this conversation. With that, mr. Chairman, i want to thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. Mr. Katko thank you, mr. Payne. Other members of the committee, are reminded that Opening Statements may be submitted for the record. Were pleased to have a very distinguished panel here to testify before us today on this very important topic. Ms. Callahan serves as executive director for Syracuse Hancock International Airport in syracuse, new york. Ms. Allin is president and c. E. O. Of the tucson airport in tucson, arizona. Ms. Beairsto serves as managing Deputy Commissioner for security in the department of aviation for the city of chicago. Ms. Philipovitch, senior Vice President for Customer Service at American Airlines, and mr. David cox, National President of the American Federation of government employees. Thank you all for being here today. I now recognize ms. Callahan for an opening statement. Ms. Callahan Security Committee. Thank you. Thank you for inviting us to todays hearing on an issue that requires both immediate attention and longterm sustainable solutions. How to handle growing lines at t. S. A. Checkpoints at airports across the country, while maintaining the high standards for passenger and baggage screening we need in order to keep the flying public safe. Syracuse International Airport is a small commercial hub serving two million passengers annually, providing cargo and general Aviation Services to central new york. It employs hundreds of people and is a vital component of our economy. As an origination and destination airport, we serve 17 direct markets and we are the departure point for one million outbound passengers every year. While syracuse has not experienced the recent increased long security checkpoint times, we are part of a National Transportation system that links our passengers to the airports represented here today and working towards a solution as we enter one of the busiest travel seasons in the year is as important to syracuse as it is to my fellow airports. What i hope to offer today, in addition to echoing my fellow airports concerns, are examples of the steps we have taken to address our issues at home. Ensuring the security and safety of the flying public, employees and other airport users is the top priority for airports. Above all else, we are entrusted by the traveling public to provide safe and secure air transportation. Checkpoint wait times that exceed an hour or longer at some of our nations busiest airports have negative impacts on all elements of the air transportation system. Passengers are frustrated, taking their frustrations out on t. S. A. , airport and airline employees. The anxiety caused by concern over missing a flight or, even worse, missing that flight creates an environment that is already challenged and difficult. Several factors have been identified that have contributed to the checkpoint wait time issues. They include no increase in the number of transportation Security Officers between fiscal years 2015 and 2016, the high rate of t. S. O. Attrition, followed by the lengthy process to hire new t. S. O. s. Record growth in passenger traffic, and lagging numbers in precheck enrollment. Combined, they have created a perfect storm that have led to recent events. Working together the airports, t. S. A. , airlines and industry advocates have identified short and longterm recommendations that focus on key areas, including the need for sufficient t. S. A. Staffing, increased precheck enrollment and participation, and the continued need to modernize airport infrastructure. We do not, however, support the imposition of any new passenger fees, rather we believe that the portion of the 9 11 passenger security fees that are currently being used to pay for other Government Programs should be used to fund t. S. A. Let me talk about precheck for just a moment. Chairman katko was at the airport last november when we unveiled the t. S. A. Enrollment center in syracuse. Precheck has proven to be very successful at our airports. Currently almost 40 of the flying public is enrolled in precheck. While we believe that this is the result of having an Enrollment Center in the terminal, our efforts to educate the public on the benefits of precheck have been very important. And while seemingly insignificant, the airports role in incentivizing people to enroll in precheck by giving them free parking has resulted in the increased numbers of people enrolling. And while not all airports are in a position to offer incentives, weve found that it has encouraged enough people to come out and spend an hour and enroll in precheck. I would be remiss if i did not bring up the need to modernize airport infrastructure. We have spent time and money improving our airport, consolidating our checkpoint into one central checkpoint, to introduce efficiencies at every level. A central checkpoint was designed to bring the physical screening of passengers and baggage in alignment, it improved passenger and baggage screening at several levels, it allowed for the introduction of new screening equipment, consolidated t. S. A. Resources into one, and it has allowed us to implement new security requirements such as the screening of all concession employees. Weve also been on the cutting edge of security by installing automated exit portals. These automated exit portals allow passengers and employees to exit the concourses safely and securely without preventing reentry. It also eliminates the need to staff the exit lanes, thus saving the airport money and reducing the human error element. Let me stress that this project would not have been possible without the use of the airports passenger facility charges. To place the blame solely on t. S. A. Is unfair. And not a solution to the problem. Rather, we must Work Together to address the major underlying issues before you today. In closing, i would like to offer my gratitude to chairman katko and to the other members of the subcommittee for taking the time to listen to our concerns. Thank you for inviting us and for your continued commitment to the safety and security of airports and the people who use them every day. Mr. Katko thank you. Syracuse is indeed very fortunate to have you at the helm at the airport. And i can tell from you personal experience that its a generally very pleasurable experience. The only thing thats difficult is when youre trying to get a flight to kennedy and it always seems to be delayed. Other than that, i really appreciate your efforts and your forward thinking on getting a kiosk at the airport, youre forward thinking by giving free parking to t. S. A. Is like a marketing thing, thinking outside the box, thats all good stuff. Thank you very much. Id like to have ms. Mcsally introduce her friend from the tucson airport. Ms. Mcsally thank you. I want to say i really appreciate you being my wingman on this issue and many issues. Im also grateful for you inviting ms. Allin to testify this morning. Bonnie is the president and c. E. O. Of the tucson airport authority, responsible for promoting Aviation Services and related Economic Development for southern arizona. Including operations and maintenance of the tucson International Airport and ryan air field, where she has firsthand experience on the challenges related to t. S. A. Staffing. Bonnie began her career in aviation in 1976 with the tucson airport authority, then moved to texas where she worked for Corpus Christi international, ending her tenure as director of aviation. She holds the designation of accredited airport executive and is the past chairman of the International Association of airport executives. Glad to have her with us today and yield back. Ms. Allin thank you, representative mcsally, for the introduction. Good morning, chairman katko, Ranking Member payne, honorable members of the committee. Representative mcsally. It is a privilege to appear before you this morning to discuss tucsons challenges with passenger screening wait times. Mr. Chairman and members, thank you for your leadership on Airport Security and the protection of our passengers. Representative mcsally, thank you for your leadership and protecting tucson International Airport in southern arizona. I was fortunate to participate in last weeks round table, which you mentioned, mr. Chairman, and the discussion, and truly appreciative of the time and attention youre devoting to understanding the causes of checkpoint processing delays and your efforts to seek both short and longterm solutions. Safety and security of our people, property and aircraft are the highest priority. For those of you unfamiliar with tucson International Airport, we are an origination and destination airport. Therefore less than 5 of our passengers connect through, instead all are screened by local t. S. A. Historical wait times average 10 to 15 minutes with our peak times rarely exceeding 20, 25 minutes maximum, even when we had passenger levels 25 higher than we do today. Tucsons high season, as opposed to many other airports, is november through march, with a very strong peak season mid january through march. Mr. Katko i have to interject. I can assure you, thats not the high season in syracuse. [laughter] thats the high season for snow. Sorry to interrupt you. I couldnt resist. Ms. Allin wed love to have you visit tucson in february, sir. [laughter] this year, our visitors, many visitors from the northern part of the country, and our tucson customers, experienced wait times 45 and sometimes in excess of 60 minutes. Theres an exhibit to my written testimony with a photo of the passengers lined up all across the front of our terminal. We have a very dedicated and loyal t. S. A. Staff who are committed to the safety, along with the efficient screening of our passengers. Unfortunately they lack the planning, coordination and Staffing Resources needed to be able to efficiently process the passengers in our peak times. In may of 2015, tucson t. S. A. Lost between 10 and 13 of the work force. It was a full year before replacements were trained and released to fully screen and have their duties. Combined with increased passenger levels, adding a. I. T. Equipment and having limited authority due to inflexible staffing and processing models prescribed to them, they did not allow them to respond to the changing conditions and as a result we experienced very long lines. I respectfully offer some recommended solutions for your consideration. Its recommended that the local t. S. A. Have the ability to openly communicate with their airport and Airline Partners in order to better plan and allocate their resources. That flexibility, autonomy and authority be delegated to local t. S. A. Within parameters to adjust for changing conditions, especially spoke airports such as tucson. That regular and consistent staffing at precheck lines be allocated so that they can be opened. Tucsons two checkpoints combined are precheck lanes are open less than five hours a day. Usually between 3 00 and 4 00. The staffing allocation model be updated, it is inflexible and doesnt allow for changing conditions. That better utilization of existing resources and personnel be made, especially behavioral detection officers. That effective outreach and marketing of precheck and global entry, as we are close to the border, and its a very high use there, be done to increase enrollment. That development of technology to help provide solutions be given a priority. And that optimization of checkpoints be customized to best fit each airport and the information shared. Airports are willing to invest in effective solutions. Tucson will begin a 10 millionplus project in june to relocate and expand our checkpoints to improve through put. If theyre not properly equipped and staffed, all of that resources will be lost. Mr. Chairman and members, while none of these recommends alone are a perfect fix, by stakeholders working together, we have the opportunity to enhance the safety of our Aviation System. We commend you on the proposed legislation, checkpoint optimization and efficiency act of 2016. If enacted it will go a very long way towards providing solutions to the checkpoint wait issues. Thank you for this opportunity to share my views. Mr. Katko thank you for your testimony. We appreciate you being here today. Its interesting to juxtapose your experience at your airport with what we experience in syracuse. It seems like the larger the airport, the more acute the problems. Now were going to talk to ms. Beairsto about that. I appreciate your testimony today. You have five minutes. Thank you. Ms. Beairsto thank you, chairman katko, Ranking Member payne, and members of the subcommittee, for inviting me to testify today on this important issue, providing efficient and safe passenger screening at our airports. My name is lydia beairsto. I serve as Deputy Commissioner for Public Safety and security for Chicago Department of aviation, overseeing the ohare and midway International Airports. Chicago manages two of the nations busiest airports, ohare and midway, and is the only single city system that serves as a hub for three major airlines, united, american and southwest airlines. In 2015, 98 million passengers passed through our airports combined. In 2016 and beyond, those numbers are projected to grow. Our airports serve as an economic engine, contributing 45 billion in annual economic activity, creating 540,000 jobs. We are a major part of the air ecosystem. When ohare sneezes, the rest of the country catches a cold. Passenger safety and security is our top priority and certainly mine. In march, suicide bombings at Brussels Airport killed 16 people in the airport checkin areas and 16 others in the city metro station. Long security lines, large crowds of passengers in queues are not just an inconvenience, they themselves expose vulnerability and security risk. By more efficiently moving passengers into the screened and secure areas, we are increasing safety and security. This year there has been a 7 growth in passenger activity while t. S. A. Staffing levels declined nearly 17 . Airports and airlines began raising concerns about Security Staffing for the Summer Travel season as early as last summer. By early may of this year, as our peak travel season started, we started experiencing a total breakdown. Passenger wait times were consistently 60 minutes or more. Airline passengers have reported wait times as high as 120 minutes. With thousands of passengers missing their flights. The delays we experienced were knowable and preventable. Staff resources went down as security operating procedures changed. Moving forward to address these issues, t. S. A. Resources are needed to increase and meet passengers demand. T. S. A. Needs to manage existing resources better, they need flexibility, t. S. A. Needs flexibility and local authority to respond to situations on the ground. May 13, a traveler at Midway Airport posted a Youtube Video documenting significant checkpoint lines. Six out of 17 lanes were staffed by t. S. A. At ohare the situation reached crisis point on sunday, may 15, where without adequate staffing, American Airlines reported 543 passengers were impacted by long lines. United airlines experienced 37 flight delays and rebooked over 4,300 passengers, many of which, as you noted, stayed overnight at the airport sleeping on cots. Mayor rahm emanuel worked with key officials from d. H. S. , t. S. A. And members of chicagos congressional delegation to secure immediate resources for the city. T. S. A. Sent in optimization teams, they committed to add 58 officers to ohare. Converted over 160 part timers to a fulltime duty, increased overtime, and provided eight additional k9 teams to ohare from around the country. We greatly appreciate the administrators responsiveness and that resources arrived so quickly for ohare. We are working to ensure similar prompt responses to the needs and concerns at Midway Airport. This response was possible because Congress Approved t. S. A. s reprogramming request and we are grateful to you for taking that quick action. To ensure transparency, we will be releasing a biweekly scorecard showing average and maximum wait times, staffing and resource levels provided by t. S. A. In the short term, in order to manage the spring and Summer Travel season ahead, there are a few Critical Resources and management steps that we need to ensure are happening. Reallocate passenger screening k9 teams based on the Aviation System priorities. Ensure t. S. A. Is transparent about its staffing allocation models and levels. Information transparency helps us better predict potential staffing strategies. Provide federal security directors the ability to make local decisions about man power, allocation and overtime. Ensure checkpoints are open on time or risk playing catchup all day. Streamline t. S. A. Precheck enrollment process. And in the long term, we need to be looking at ramping up resources, including passenger screening k9s, to prepare for future growth, we need to start now as training k9s can take approximately up to eight months. We need to invest in our security infrastructure and checkpoint expansion projects, and invest in Technology Solutions that enhance security and achieve operational efficiencies. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss these important and timely issues with you today. We are eager to work with you and secure needed resources to address shortterm and longterm Airport Security challenges. Thank you, ms. Baeirsto, much of what you described in your testimony is embodied in the bill well present to congress and its borne out of our discussion with some of the folks in the audience today, last week and some of you and appreciate that. Its important. One side thing you said that caught me was the opening opening the gates on time. Because i understand and perhaps you can comment on this later, sometimes they open the gate at 5 30 in the morning but dont start screening passengers because they have to calibrate the machines and stuff and once the backup starts you cant catch up. Thats poor planning. I now recognize ms