Transcripts For CSPAN2 Senate Session Part 2 20150209

Agree more. We hope the congress will enact a new authorization based upon the principles that we are outlining here today. I want to thank you mr. President , and i hope that our colleagues will take this seriously and hopefully we can turn this mess around. With that, i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Hatch mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from utah. Mr. Hatch i suggest the quorum call be suspended. The presiding officer without objection. Morning business is closed. Under the previous order the senate will proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination which the clerk will report. The clerk nomination. Executive office of the president , michael p. Botticelli of the District Of Columbia to be director of the National Drug control policy. The presiding officer under the previous order, there will be 30 minutes of debate equally divided. Mr. Hatch i notice the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Leahy mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from vermont. Mr. Leahy mr. President i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Leahy mr. President what is the parliament situation . The presiding officer the senate is considering the botticelli nomination. Mr. Leahy mr. President i ask to continue for a few minutes as though in morning business. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Leahy mr. President millions of American Families are struggling with an unrelenting addiction to controlled substances. Thats really nothing new and thats the unfortunate part about it. But after decades of taking the wrong path toward treating drubs, it appears were finally in the midst of a fundamental shift in the way were going to focus and approach this issue. For years we simply considered drug abuse as a crime to be dealt with by police, prosecutors and prisons. There is now however near consensus that addiction has to be viewed as a Public Health issue. This requires coordinated investments in prevention and treatment. Law enforcement agencies would rather not arrest the same offender over and over without dealing with the underlying addiction. Treating that addiction more than just punishing the addict, is often the more effective and more humane and certainly the less costly approach. Much of the country is now confronting a rising challenge. Addiction to heroin and powerful painkillers. My home state of vermont has not been spared. It attracted much attention for its struggles with opiate abuse. In fact, the film the hungry heart provides a powerful portrayal of the damage this addiction has inflicted to vermont families. I was honored to host a screening of this moving film with Michael Botticelli last may. But in many ways, vermonts ahead of the nation. We in vermont long ago recognized the problem began to develop new approaches to address it. Dedicated vermonters, working in the traditional roles of prevention treatment and Law Enforcement came together around common goals and shared strategies. Community partnerships produce very successful programs, innovative programs such as a Rapid Intervention Community Court in burlington. Project vision in rutland. I have held hearings of the Judiciary Committee in a number of places in vermont. Mr. President , as a lifelong vermonter, what really hits me is everybody came together for those hearings, republicans democrats, independents, Law Enforcement, defense counsels, clergy teachers, medical professionals, parents and often those who have been abusers. They realize there is no single answer but we can do it better than we have for decades. First responders, for example save the lives of addicts throughout the state by hagan meloxone. This will save their life instead of some who would die of an overdose. Evidencebased Prevention Treatment Services have been extended in all corners of vermont. But the barriers to recovery have been significantly reduced. Thats the most important part. Now, these are all strategies mr. Botticelli understands that success requires an increased commitment the majority leadery intervening and education treatment and smart criminal justice policies. With the scope of the challenge is immense mr. Botticelli has us going in the right direction. Having listened to him talked with him im really hopeful hell get ahead of addiction and how it afflicts individuals and families in our community. I urge my fellow senators to vote for his immediate confirmation. Mr. President , i ask consent my whole statement be made part of the record. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Leahy i would remove my earlier request that this be in morning business. I realize we are on confirmation at this point and i ask the whole statement be ahead of mr. Botticellis vote. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Leahy i thank the chair. I see nobody else seeking recognition foe i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Enzi id ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Under the previous order the question occurs on the botticelli nomination. The yeas and nays have been requested. Is there a sufficient second . There appears to be a sufficient second. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote vote the presiding officer anyone wishing to vote or change their vote . If not on this vote the yeas are 92. The nays are zero. The nomination is confirmed. Under the previous order the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table. The president will be immediately notified of the senates action and the senate will resume legislative session. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that not withstanding the resolution of the senate of january 24, 1901, the traditional reading of washingtons farewell address take place on monday, february 23 following the prayer and pledge. Further that senator hoeven be recognized to deliver the address. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Mcconnell now mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its Business Today it adjourn until 10 00 a. M. Tuesday, february 10. That following the prayer andning hour deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders are reserved for their use later in the day. Following leader remarks the senate be in a period of morning business until 12 30 p. M. With senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each and the first hour be equally divided with the democrats controlling the first half the republicans controlling the final half. I further ask that the Senate Recess from 12 30 until 2 15 to allow for the Weekly Conference meetings. The presiding officer is there objection . A senator reserving the right to object. May i have one the presiding officer the senator from rhode island. Mr. Whitehouse there appears as yet to be no republican plan whatsoever to answer the energy chairmans question on Climate Change what do we do . With that noted i do not object. The presiding officer without objection, so ordered. Mr. Mcconnell i would just say to my friend from rhode island as the senator knows we just finished a lengthy Floor Consideration of the keystone bill an open amendment process on this and other Energy Related topics. The senate voted on several amendments on Climate Change including two from the senator from rhode island, which is more opportunities to vote on these amendments than during the entire 114th congress. Mr. Whitehouse mr. President may i say how much i appreciate the open amendment process. Mr. Mcconnell if there is no further business to come before the senate i ask it stand adjourned under the previous order following the remarks of senator brown. The presiding officer without objection. The clerk will call the roll. Quorum call the presiding officer the senator from ohio. Mr. Brown i ask unanimous consent to dispense with the quorum call. The presiding officer without objection. The chair on behalf of the Vice President pursuant to the order of the senate of january 24, 190 1, as modified by the order of february 9 2015 appoints the senator from north dakota senator hoeven to read washingtons farewell address on monday february 23, 2015. The presiding officer the senator from ohio is recognized. Mr. Brown this week we honor those in uniform and their families who sacrificed for their country. This week is a particularly appropriate time for us to reflect on the importance of fulfilling our commitment to all veterans. Just as we invest in, just as we train our men and women during their military service we must make the same investments when they return to our communities hang up their uniforms and embark on the next phase of their lives. This institution seems always to be willing to vote money to send people to war. Its a bit less generous sometimes in taking care of those veterans when they return. That should stop. This morning i visited Eastern Gateway Community college in youngstown and met with local veterans including Community College graduate lisa thomas. She graduated last may. She is now pursuing a fouryear degree after getting a twoyear degree pursuing a fouryear degree at Franklin University using her g. I. Benefits. Community college is like eastern gateway. An important way that we provide our veterans with the necessary stills to find decentpaying jobs. They serve as pipelines for veterans in many cases as pipelines for veterans for fouryear to fouryear universities. The g. I. Bills education benefits are critical to investing in returning Service Members. They help veterans return from war to learn new skills. As a result, these men and women help build our middle class and led to our nations dominance in the second half of the 20th century and into this century. But veterans, as some find out unwittingly, have a limited amount of time before their g. I. Benefits expire. At crowded colleges, general education requirements and prerequisites often fill up quickly and it can take several semesters for that veteran to secure a spot. Waiting for a spot in a required course is a luxury many veterans dont have because those Veterans Benefits could expire. If student veterans are unable to finish their degrees before these benefits expire, they may end up being forced to pay thousands of dollars in outofpocket tuition and fees. The veterans who served our nation without delay should not face delays in getting their education. Many colleges and universities, including youngstown state the same place where the eastern gateway campus in youngstown is located, a place where many eastern gateway students complete their degrees offer veterans priority registration so that he can get the coarses they need before their benefits run out. All of our colleges and universities twoyear, fouryear, public and private need to follow youngstown states lead. If student athletes have priority registration, we can surely extend that privilege to those who have served our nation. Thats why in the coming months, i am introducing legislation to ensure that all veterans, all Service Members and their qualifying dependents can use their g. I. Benefits to their full potential and be guaranteed priority registration. Our veterans have earned these benefits. We must ensure that all of our veterans all of our veterans like lisa thomas are able to take full advantage of them for themselves and for their families. Its our duty to ensure that when veterans return home, they have the education and training and access to jobs they need to fulfill that potential. We have a duty to ensure that those returning from service to our nation get the care they need when they come home. As the first ohio indiana to serve full term on the Senate Veterans affairs committee, i have worked to ease the v. A. Backlog and put in place a better system. The shortage of care providers has been especially pressing for veterans struggling with a brain injury the socalled invisible injuries. We know that when our country a decade a dozen years ago went into iraq and our leaders said this will be a short war our country, our government, our administration our congress failed to scale up veterans hospitals and veterans care and increase the capacity that we now find is too small. Thats the importance of making sure we do this right. Nearly 300,000 veterans in this country struggle with posttraumatic stress. Out of an estimated 300,000 traumatic brain injuries, there are 25,000 cases of mild traumatic brain injuries. These cases are hard to diagnose and document since there is often a lack of visible evidence. Without proper care, some 8,000 veterans each year take their own lives. 154 a week, 22 veterans a day commit suicide. What a tragedy. Last week, i was proud to stand with my colleagues in this body in support of the clay hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans act. I look forward to president obama signing that bill later this week. Its our duty to take an active role in increasing veterans access to Quality Mental Health care and clay hunt will help ensure that those who put their lives on the line for us have a lifetime of their own upon returning home. We have a sacred trust between our government and those who protect us all. Mr. President , i yield the floor. The presiding officer under the previous order the Senate Stands adjourned until 10 00 a. M. So we are going to do our best to set up an infrastructure that we will protect consumers, preserve and open internet which is the greatest driver of Economic Development, freespeech innovation. Tonight at 8 00 oclock eastern on the communicators on cspan2. Louisiana governor told a group of reporters this morning he is in favor of the us army. He spoke at an event earlier today. [inaudible conversations] thank you for coming. I am dave cook from the monitor. I guess this mornings louisiana governor bobby louisiana governor bobby gentle, been our guest twice before. Glad you agreed to come back got off to a fast start in life, graduated from Brown University at age 20 and then studied at oxford as a Rhodes Scholar having turned down acceptances to Harvard Medical School and year law. I guess became head of louisiana is 13,000 Employee Department health and hospitals and at 27 he became executive director of the National Bipartisan commission on the future of medicare and then came at twoyear tour as president of the university of louisiana system which led to president bush nominating him at age 30 as assistant secretary of health and human services. Next he ran and lost the race for governor in 2,003 but in 2,004 was elected to the house. He was elected governor of louisiana in 2,007. At 36, the youngest the youngest in the nation at that time and was reelected with 66 percent of the vote in 2,013. The parents of three young children. Thus ended the biographical portion of the program. As always we, we are on the record. No live blogging or tweeting there is no embargo when the session is over. We will email several pictures of the session to reporters here as soon as the represents we we will start by offering her guess the opportunity to make some opening comments on the move to questions. With that, thank you for doing this. The floor is yours. Thank you. I will just say, it is a changing sign of the times. No cell phones allowed, no pictures. Take us healthy. Anyway. Anyway. I was here previously. We released other paper and more conservative approach to healthcare. Today i am here with our 4th paper talking about k12 education reform. There are many reasons we should be worried. The status of education. If america were to close the gap between where we are today in canada we can literally add trillions of dollars to our economy. There is the report from Stanford University talking about the fact that if we had better teachers in our classrooms a more effective teacher can literally improve the average earning power of the student in the classroom by thousands of dollars over their lifetimes better teachers can do things like not only increase average earnings but reduce teenage pregnancy rates and increase the odds that those children will later go on to college. Are many reasons we should all be worried about this. I wont belabor the many statistics. There was a time when our educational system was the envy of the world just as there was a time when making model ts on an Assembly Line was the envy of the world. This world. This as our Manufacturing Sector and other sectors of our economy change, so to our educational system has changed. No changed. No longer makes sense for us to approach it from a topdown onesizefitsall factory based approach. It is not fair to all students our economy our country. I also have argued it is not just economic reasons. There is a lot of talk about what this can do for our economy. For a selfgoverning republic it is important we teach the next generation to be informed and educated citizens which means the ability to make decisions for themselves and when they vote for the rest of us. So it is not Just Economics but there is a moral imperative of why we should care about the quality of education. We offer three main themes in terms of how we improve education in america. I will say this it is fashionable to say that we have the equality of opportunity. It sounds good command we would like to believe the circumstances of your birth dont determine your outcomes as an adult. It sounds great. The. The problem is its not true. If youre wealthy you are likely to move to a neighborhood with Great Schools or have the ability to save the dollars you need. It need. It is disproportionately low income families that are trapped in Failing Schools that do not have those opportunities to get a greater education. That is absolutely critical that we we will be an aspirational society. It is absolutely critical we change that. One of the biggest obstacles to changing that is the democratic party. They say they care about education. The reality is, they are standing at the schoolhouse door stopping children from getting access to the great education largely because they have been bought and paid for by teachers unions, unions opposed to basic concepts like School Choice allowing the dollars to follow the student. Three main things we argue for not more. Choice where parents have more options. We dont argue there is one silver bullet. It may be that a child will benefit from a Charter School private school, public school. Our. Is every child is different. Different. Lets allow the parents to make the best decisions the union leader and louisiana that said i find this offensive in the exact opposite of the approach we need if we we will change and improve education. We say that we need to empower teachers. One of the most important determinants is the quality. High barriers to entry, low barriers for attention. That is the exact opposite of what we need to be doing. We need lower barriers to entry, higher barriers to retention. The union dominated scales that are basically rewarding teachers based upon how long they are reading. What a great teacher can do to improve the prospects for a student. We all remember that great teacher that made a great difference in our lives. Recruit the best professionals, teachers, and keep them in our childrens classrooms. Third and finally, we need to take power away from the federal government, restore these decisionmaking authorities to the local and state government. There are a variety of ways we can do that. The current debate about reauthorization of no child left behind block granting the lecture of the dollars chilly benefit the students instead of building brickandmortar programs. Programs. Education should be about the students not the adults. I will close with this final observation obviously a debate about common core. It makes no sense we have a topdown approach the curriculum standard. It seems that it makes no sense to believe the folks in dc no better than parents teachers, local leaders. At the beginning it was fashionable to dismiss the opponents as crazy, conservative rightwing critics. You saw more and more teachers criticize common core. A 3rd group, the parents. I would not bet against a mom. More than people are being exposed to the math or this idea that for the 1st on the federal government will be making curriculum decisions that should be made at the local level. More and more people are demanding that it be taken out of our classrooms, the federal government stop violating the 10th amendment. Stop trying to force it down the shorts of local teachers and students. It is not just about repealing common core. Guarding against this next version of federal takeover of curriculum and content. I am all for high standards. Many people that try to advocate argued that if you are against common core you must be against standards. I think that is ridiculous. You can be for high standards, Parent Choice these are the prescriptions, this is what we need to do to improve education in our economy. More importantly it is important for the quality of our republic. A selfgoverning citizenry that is able and willing. We we go through a lot of data. The new orleans experience. I know that my time is up. I will leave that for the questions, but i encourage you to look through the report. There are several statistics and studies showing the benefits of choice and what they can do to improve the quality of a childs education. Kathy hunt, susan page mark shields, Jeremy Diamond let me ask you about education. Isnt it a bit ironic ironic for you to be in washington talking about education given the way you have cut education and spending in louisiana . There are two quite tough budget pieces by political and politico and the New York Times talking about a variety of budget issues. The center on budget and policy priorities the deepest of any state over the past eight years on a per student basis. There there are they say a thousand fewer fulltime faculty members. Sure. K12 Education Funding has gone up since i have i have been elected from about 3. 1 billion my 1st year. 3. 6 billion this year. We have not cut k12 education. It has gone up, as you have seen, not only on the total basis, on a per, on a per student basis as well. Higher education budget including total means of finance is a little bit slightly higher and has not increased nearly as much. During the great recession, we faced an issue of what to do. We also cut taxes, the largest income tax cut in my states history. We made the decision we would cut state spending, not raise taxes and shift the burden to our people. As a result the budget is 9 billion small and. 36,000 fewer state employees than we have had in decades. We have also seen eight credit upgrades. The strongest Credit Rating in decades and more importantly our private sector economy is stronger than it has been in a generation. Job growth is three times the National Average Economic Growth is two times the National Average. We have over have over 60 billion or 90000 jobs in the pipeline. So we made a conscious decision to cut Government Spending but also to grow our private sector economy. You talk about higher education. We have seen increases in retention and Graduation Rates highest we have ever seen. Some very good things happen. We increased higher Education Funding last year to this year. Over 40 Million Investment in part to help meet the growing need for skilled workers in our economy. We made a conscious decision to cut spending and taxes and grow the private sector economy. Let me ask you one other education question. Talked to jeb bush after a speech in detroit and one of the topics was education. The governor said 13,174 government run School Systems is not the appropriate model of governance for this incredibly Diverse Group of kids who comprise the next generation of americans. So i know you dont want the government controlling curriculum. Do you think there is any need for some consistency about academic expectations and standards of the United States . A couple of things. And this is a a great segue into testing. An important topic. I do talk about the fact that the pendulum has swung too far. We are now so obsessed with texting. You hear from teachers and parents and students alike to what you see is a crowding out of social studies, music, art, and other subjects. Lets remember subjects. Lets remember and understand this testing arose for a legitimate reason legitimate concerns that you had many poor students and others of being left behind and not getting access to a great education and rightfully concerned about social promotion. I think the pendulum has swung too far the other way and would suggest two things. We still call for it. Weather and private School Choice programs for Public Schools were other options, we do say that we understand the need for testing so that there is transparency. You can have have accountability. Two things that could and should be changed. We call for benchmarking it can measure and know how the student does without having the exact same test in every classroom. Many private schools are accustomed to using other tests instead of insisting that everyone use the same identical test benchmarking and other types of methods allow for more variety of tests. Tests. We also call for more aggressive waivers and flexibility. If you have a school showing that they have done well. Other measures to show students are learning instead of just this onesizefitsall approach. There needs to to be accountability, but im calling for much more diversity. The ultimate accountability measure is giving parents good information. In our state we give letter grades to schools. Right now too many accountability systems are so complicated that parents cannot meaningfully understand how well the schools are doing or how well their childs classroom is doing with a a through f letter grades it is much simpler. If so yes, i accountability but more choice diversity competition. From the help. My question is, if a republican president ial candidate should conservative voters view that as a disqualifier to those seeking the nomination . It would be a good debate to have. I have. I dont think the dc insiders should pick our candidates. Of Republican Voters want to vote for a candidate that supports common core, i suspect they we will have that option. I also suspect if a voter wants to vote for somebody against common core they we will have that option. What is what is the proper role of federal government . And also the amount and type of funding like rented, affordable. We talk about a backpack model. The dollars intended to benefit students with special educational needs, truly follows the student into the classroom. That is not happening because of complicated formulas or seniority based ethics. The disproportionally teach kids, or factors that are supposed to result in more funding and dont always get extra dollars. They get to vote for candidates that they want and not against. They get to vote for candidates that they want and not against. I come down on the side of trusting local parents, teachers, officials, not thinking it is a a group of bureaucrats in dc making these decisions for us. High. Forgive me. The twopart question. Electable in our republican primary. And my question meeting today at the white house with the president im wondering if you think the United States should arm the ukrainians. Whether someone is electable or not is up to the voters. I was polling pulling at 2 percent within the margin of error. It was i dont worry about polling. It is not up to the experts, the Political Consultants for fundraisers to decide who gets to run. If governor bush were to decide to become a candidate i am sure he would be happy to make the case for his views, the electorate. As for me, if if i were to run one of the issues i am all for the repeal. But repeal. But also making sure there is not another iteration of more federal involvement. Not only getting rid of common core of the same block grant dollars, let them follow the students. This is a bigger issue. In our state we did. Choice. The federal Department Federal department of justice came and tried to stop this program. Over 90 percent of the kids are minority, low income and happy with the results of the program. Whether someone is electable or not we will be up to the voters, not anyone sitting in this room. Its a good debate to be had. Do we trust bureaucrats or parents . In terms of the ukraine situation, i am glad to see the chancellor and president our meeting today. I do say theyre are folks that favor the United States providing arms, more assistance to our allies. I am for that. We need to change the president s calculation, change the way that he is looking. We know he went to crimea because he did not fear consequences. We know that many of his actions are based on what he views as a white house that has itself said it will lead from behind which is not leading at all. They need to to be serious consequences. It is good that the german and french leaders are talking about the possibility of tougher sanctions. Even if they are successful the reality is that has not been respected by the separatists, the russians. The last agreements were supposed to buy space. Anything that we can do to change the internal calculus is a good thing. There can be more sanctions increased assistance to the ukrainian government. Falling oil prices have also had an impact. The objections of the europeans. Absolutely we should work with our allies. We should be arming the ukrainian government. It is longtime passed to do that. They are allies, committed to stronger relationships with the west, europe, a democracy that is blurring its territorial lines. I see no reason we should not be arming them and working with them. At the same time. It is good that our president is talking to the german chancellor today. His prearranged meeting. I. I think we need to change the calculations. The reality is enemies today do not fear us allies dont trust us. And his original decision, i would argue from 2009 this president back in 2,911 early withdrew the missile interceptors in the czech republic. Pres. Obama deny georgia theyre request for rapid ascent into nato. This president and then secretary famously try to reset that obviously did not work. Work. What he read was weakness. What he saw was united fear nor respected the in the west. As a result i think he felt like it was a good move for him to go into crimea. He see further encroachment which we will continue until we change his internal calculations by providing assistance to the ukrainian government. Thank you so much for meeting with us. I am wondering there is a debate in the Republican Party but whether the primary process makes it harder for republicans to win the general election. Mccain, romney. Bush says he has to be prepared to lose the primary. Do you think there is a tension between winning the nomination and being able to compete . I know there is a lot of concern amongst Republican Party leaders. There is this ideal believe that if we could just have fewer debates gentler, kinder nominating nominating process it would be good for the party and the nominee. Democracy is messy. The donors political political leaders, establishments dont get to pick our nominee. They might not like the fact that we have a deep bench. I am partial to governors who have run something. I dont think we can afford more onthejob training. It is messy and tough but better to have voters make the choice for better to have an open and honest debate and discussion. By the way by the way a longer nominating process did not seem to hurt then sen. Obama when he was running against sen. Clinton. A lot of people think she should have dropped out of the campaign earlier. The president of the United States is an incredibly important job. We want these candidates to be asked tough questions and make sure they have the policy depth expertise, experience character to do what is a difficult but important job. I think in a republican the upcoming republican primary i hope there is a fierce a fierce and open contest of ideas. I encourage them to add tax. I dont think it has to become nasty or personal. Voters will reward that in the primary end in the general election. I think voters are concerned about the direction of our country, looking for big change, specific change, specific ideas for the restoration of the american dream. We cant just be the party of no. Some of those are wringing their hands. What they really mean is we just need less conservative voters, voters, less conservative candidates which is nonsense. The reality is america does not need to liberal parties. There is nothing wrong with having a principal, conservative candidate who shows the American People that he can solve problems and move our country forward. A lot of those folks are complaining that they dont want somebody who is too conservative. And so i am glad that it is not the political process but the voters who get to decide. Last week a little out of. Last week there was a controversy concerning your office about a portrait. Your chief of staff claimed that a blogger was raised beading. I was wondering if you agree also, how do you feel about the portrait . Im not white . [laughter] i will give you permission you have my permission to put a a disclaimer to put a note that im not white. The whole thing is silly. I think that the reality is one of the dumbest ways we divide people is by skin color. And i wrote an oped about this to commemorate Martin Luther kings famous i have a dream speech. The end of race. The dumbest thing we can do is try to divide people by the color of there skin. Skin. The left is devoid of ideas. Namecalling, attacking. This is nonsense. One of the great aspects of our country is that we have been a melting pot. It should not matter what you came hear five minutes ago were a hundred years ago. We are all americans. Sometimes people accuse me of being naive. Any country any society comprised of fallible human beings will be imperfect. Dividing people by the color of their skin is one of the dumbest ways. It is time to move beyond all this. I know theyre were comments, comments, someone made a silly comment about me and race. Its all nonsense. It is time we move beyond this. Looking at people by the color of their skin is just so. I have a question. You did not answer my question about your chief of staff. Do staff. Do you agree that the blogger was race baiting . I have know idea. I did not read the tweet. I have a state to run a day job, three kids at home that i help raise. Folks who insist on trying to divide us by the color of our skin is silly. I i dont think ive even met the artist. This idea is just silly. If it helps you you are more than welcome to put in every article you write that i am not white. Five. The last time i saw you was in charlotte right after the 2012 election. I would love to get a followup. A couple of things. I said about nine other things. My little my little boy who is now ten was so concerned. I saw you say a bad word. We teacher kids kids that they are not allowed to say those words. I finally had to tell them. It showing again again and again. Our party has made progress. The solutions. Solutions. Its not enough just to criticize the president or to say know. Its not enough to say that we just want to repeal obama care. We care. We need to talk about how we we will replace it. Our Scholarship Program always gone since under different but rather say how we improve it. I am against common core. Alternatives. When it comes to energy it is not enough to say we have to drill more. We certainly do, but theyre are other things we need to do to Harness Energy at home its not its not enough to criticize what this president hasnt done. Doing more to defeat ices we isis, we have to be offering Real Solutions about how we do that. There there is more work to be done. I would like to see more of our candidates giving serious thought to policies and positions. People asked me whether im thinking about running for president. I am thinking about how this country should respond to the major challenges we face. Im talking about education. We have done talks on energy, and i would hope anybody thinking about running for office would be giving serious thought to the challenges our country faces. We are making progress but have work to do. The important thing is we give serious thought to the big challenges facing our country. The challenges faced by the middle class. Its more than slogans. Its slogans. Its offering detailed alternative ideas and conservative ideas. The middle class. Talk about your interest in running for president thinking about it, and being partial to the governor being a nominee. Since most governors say they would like to do for the country but they do for the state why would taking a state that had 1 billion surplus to being a state with 1. 6 billion in projected deficit qualify you to run for president . Two things. Simply saying it is really talking about the view of the role of government. When you look at the most successful president s on our side would like to. To ronald reagan. These are governors with executive branch experience. They have made have made real priorities as opposed to just giving good speeches. If people want to look at my record and i hope they would, just a few facts. I will stop myself. If you look at our state, we have actually reduced the size of the state budget, 9 billion, 26 percent. We we balanced the budget every single year without raising taxes. That is that is something we needed. Secondly, the private sector economy it has grown twice as fast. Private sector job duration, 51 months in a row a row of yearoveryear job creation in our state, and incredibly strong private sector economy high strength every business friendly. We have gone to our highest the ranking. Federal ranking. There are many other metrics. Education reform, statewide School Choice. We have double the percentage of kids who have been reading on grade level. The percentage of kids come over 65 before, now is down to Something Like 4 percent. Record high graduation and retention rates as well as our higher ad system. Fourth and healthcare. Goes all the way back. Publicprivate partnerships. For example, that used to take ten days to get a prescription. Now it takes takes ten minutes. We have over a thousand babies no longer needing to spend time in a queue and can go home. Home. We provided over a thousand babies having to spend time in the neck you. And we can go on and on. On. Ethics rankings, bottom five for legislative disclosure. Across the board you see a state that was when i took office after katrina a state with a stagnant economy, and equality in educational opportunities, 25 years years in a row people moving out rather than in. Today we have more people moving into louisiana before, working there than ever before, earning a higher income than ever before. I think we have made big changes. We took on generational challenges. Folks in dc are looking for leaders who we will be honest even if it means they get attacked by the media and the left. They are not looking for incremental change. There looking for someone to make big changes. Our stay was headed in the wrong direction. I direction. I would argue this country is headed in the wrong direction. Foreign policy, energy policy, economic policy. Governor thank you for being with us. Putting on your statesmen have for a 2nd, tell us what change you admire. I spent a lot of time criticizing you on education. There have been things that have been done that i do support. I think this administration and arnie duncan and barack obama have been supportive of Charter Schools. I have been supportive at least on par of the way in changing how we reward and higher teachers and have been supportive of accountability. There have been times they have gone against what the unions have wanted. I would argue that they have not gone far enough. They do deserve credit for being for Charter Schools for at least starting the conversation about how you changed it teacher compensation. Starting those approaches. And i will come back. I want to commend the pres. And first lady. My biggest complaint is that they dont go far enough. They are fine with Charter Schools but not with full School Choice. Charter schools are great command we have done a lot of things to lift the cap on Charter Schools allow people that have been successful, multiple Charter Schools collect in the contracts and to close down ineffective Charter Schools. That is not enough. You have to go further on teacher certification reform, empowering reform empowering parents and repeal common core. Their strong support. I think they deserve credit and i have said this before, their support for Charter Schools and the reforms they have done in teacher evaluations. Another area one of the priorities i know that they have made is to help returning troops transition into private sector jobs. Jobs. They have led the effort called attention to the need to reduce excessive state regulations and barriers that prevent veterans from transitioning to good, paying jobs. Arguing and a very specific example, someone that had experience driving larger vehicles, making it easier for them to get a cdl when they come back home. That is something i is something i know we have enacted several laws of the state level, but that should be something that should not be partisan. They will write to recognize the problem. They were facing state obstacles. I know that is something the president has talked about. Go further, not just for veterans but for others who face unnecessary obstacles to private Sector Employment they should be applauded for that. Our veterans face enough obstacles when they come home. We have acted. A lot of other states enacted and done a good job encouraging states to act. They will pass that scorecard around reminding states which ones have acted in which ones are not. They talked about the role of the federal government as well as this larger debate over common core and you are not attacking jeb bush directly but you are kind of reeling against the common core supporters. You know overall does it start a larger conversation within the Republican Party . Was a kind of a starting. . Absolutely. It absolutely should serve as an opportunity to reexamine the proper role of the federal department of education. And now with the longdelayed reauthorization is a great time to do that. We have a chance to reverse some of the things that happened. You look at the outcomes. Since 1970, you look at the amount of spending it has gone up dramatically even as outcomes have been largely flat. You look at at non classroom employment. It has also doubled, going back to 1970. We have seen a massive expansion of federal involvement, spending, more hiring. I think i think the department of Education Needs to be restructured. It needs to focus on civil rights, transparency focus on deregulation and in so many dollars need to either be cut or block granted so that it does not have the resources to get into micromanagement. It should not be incentivizing punishing or rewarding states. They should not be conditioning race to the top waivers funding. Part of the problem is they waived the accountability in return for states adopting this president s approach to education reform and that is an improper exercise of federalwhat should be local decisions. They recognized they dont have the power to do it in the using the coercion to for states to do what they want. I hope you we will have a bigger conversation about the proper role. The fundamental question is do we trust parents families . The president himself so we cant trust states. We cant trust parents command i think thats wrong. The better approach is to trust those parents, empower them. They know the needs better. They they are not just one of many stakeholders. Absolutely i hope common core we will be one more reason for us to have this bigger debate about the proper role of the federal government. Should it be one of the benchmarks . Look, that is a debate and decision for voters. It is an important issue and an example of where folks stand not only on common core but the role of the federal government and education. I would object to any idea that someone in dc gets to decide what qualifies or disqualifies. We have debates this messy lawn nominating process. I suspect and hope voters will get to vote for a candidate. I dont suspect most ever find someone who agrees with them 100 of the time. They will have to prioritize what is important and figure out what issues they want a candidate to agree with them on. I think that repealing common core is important and limiting the role of the federal government and education is important. There is a bigger issue here. I gave a speech last week about common core. We are in a debate right now where someone the left think americans are not smart enough to pick there own health insurance, have religious liberty rights, have their 2nd Amendment Gun rights not smart enough to know when not to drink too many big goals. There are some that think americans are not smart enough to live their own lives and have there own freedom. I think that is wrong. Within the context of what is the role of government and should we trust the American People to make there own decisions and live their own lives. Thank you. Governor, just a few weeks ago senator rubio was asked a question about governors as opposed to senators being president ial candidates. I suspect he had a different answer. He made an interesting. His own perspective on foreignpolicy he would match against any governor and this is always a question with governors not having foreignpolicy experience. Who do you turn to for advice . Clearly we have many qualified people in congress. My preference continues to be for governor. When it comes to foreignpolicy many people i talk to and many people i read. The most important i have talked to ambassador bolton and read widely over the years talked to former sec. Rice secretary rice and read many of the writings of secretary kissinger. There are many others. I dont want to. To one person. My. Is this, there has been a bipartisan consensus in democratic and republican administrations that a stronger America Needs to a safer world. Our enemies need to fear us, our friends need to trust us and we need to have the military might not just to win but to be dominant and deter threats to america. That consensus seems to be fraying. I would argue that we have made to deep cuts in the pentagons budget. You go back to sec. Gates analysis, the last time within the department their was a a bottomup approach to what the department really needed. And unfortunately it is becoming more partisan as opposed to bipartisan. I think a return to that traditional foreignpolicy of strength, piece through strength is what we need is a country. It is true. We are currently projecting to too many people unpredictability. You see the the world becoming a more chaotic and unpredictable less safe place. We are facing more and more asymmetrical threats, whether its Cyber Attacks or other large companies, the threat of bioterrorism, the threat one day of loose nukes. It is not just state actors but these asymmetrical threats. I would argue for an Even Stronger and more robust ability for us to defend ourselves against these multitude of factors. We have not seen that in recent years. We have had a weak foreignpolicy that does not emphasize protecting our strength returning our enemies. What worries me the most is what happens with iran Nuclear Armed iran. It poses an existential threat to the free world. Make no mistake about it. You will have countries like egypt, saudis turkey the will quickly want and be able to obtain nuclear weapons. It will be hard for america to stop the. I suspect some of those countries already have agreements with pakistan. I suspect i suspect they have the ability to buy the technology if they need to do some. A very unstable region which is very dangerous to all of us, and i worry what message they are taking from americas response to our failed cavour and consistent policy when we talk about the red line in syria and other hotspots around the world. When it comes to foreignpolicy i spent some Time Offering a detailed paper about where i think we need to go. In addition to investing in our military is the need for us to remember the best way to avoid war is to prepare for it. The it. The best way to turn our enemies is to have the strength not only to win but to dominate any potential conflict. This visit to asia. This idea that theyre are many countries in asia that are very interested in working with the United States, some of those our traditional allies. There are others that have not been traditionally our allies. I thought it was significant that the president went there at an important moment after the election of the knew government. There are many countries that want to work with america, especially because of the rising influence of china. There is a bipartisan opportunity when you look at these transatlantic transpacific trade deals. I think there is an opportunity for us to engage and strengthen relationships with allies. I do think it is good to talk about those deals areas that he can work with a republican congress. The details are important. That can be a very good thing. It can help with our Foreign Relations as well. You dont have your own kissinger. We have a number of people we talk to and consult with, but there is no one person. I prefer to talk to a wide array of people and make my own decisions. Governor, last time you were hear you mentioned. How do you see them . A couple of things. In terms of my timeline process it we will be the next few months. As we were saying earlier, anyone that is thinking about this who is the next president is not as important as what he does. We face serious challenges. Not just about who can tell the best jokes or deliver the best speech. This is a consequential election about the future direction of our country. Im not just thinking about the election but the issues and giving serious thought to where our country needs to go energy education, foreignpolicy and the number of other areas. I dont no how you get into a race, and election is important without giving serious thought to these issues. That is part of what im doing. I will be happy. When. When i do make a decision it we will not be a secret. I i am more than happy to tell you and everyone else. And i will say this it wont be about fundraising or polling or Political Consultants. I have been blessed. My parents came over 40 years ago in search of an opportunity. I feel like my brother and i have been able to live the american dream. In terms of louisiana governors race to those of you who dont know, we have an open primary. I am timelimited. Everyone runs against everybody. The top two candidates, if theyre if there is not a winner we go to a runoff. We have always had a runoff with one exception, 2007. I think it is likely we we will have a runoff. On the republican side we have a number of candidates. It is early but i think there is a chance for the 1st time in state history that we could end up with two republicans. It is not inevitable, but there is a real chance that could happen. Happen. There are a number of credible candidates. A number of candidates have raised significant funds. I would encourage these people to make known the positions. I want to here where these candidates stand to make sure they do not reverse hardfought gains. I think they we will have a a number of choices. We could have two republicans. The reason we have this open primary system goes back to the 70s. Very close hardfought race edwin had to face the republican nominee. He thought this was completely unfair. You have to remember at the time the republicans were maybe 2 percent of the registered voters. He thought that was unfair that the republican did not have to compete as well. He decided to do an open primary figuring you would end up with to democrats two democrats or at least a democrat and republican. The reality is in a shortterm and allow the Republican Party to grow. When my parents came it was pretty common you were told there is no. You wont get to vote. I dont think he intended this. The open primary system might produce two republicans which would be historical. I dont think there is a good chance i dont think there is a good chance that a democrat would win. That does not mean a democrat cant. I think it is interesting to my rant for my 1st term only one statewide. Now all of them are. A democratic majority in the house and senate. Today we are majority. Now we have we have not had a republican majority in the house or senate in modern political times. To be two republicans. I i think that we will do it. A number of colleagues want to question but we are out of time. I encourage you to read the paper. I know your off. Pres. Obama spoke of a Prime Minister and upcoming address to congress. Here is what he had to say. We have a a practice of not meeting with leaders right before there elections, two weeks before their elections. As much as i love if she was two weeks away from an election she probably would not have received an invitation. And i suspect she would not have asked for one. [laughter] so this is just some of it has to do with how we do business. I think it is important for us to maintain these protocols because the us israeli relationship is not about a particular party. This is not a relationship founded on affinity between the labor party and the democratic party. The us israeli relationship which extends beyond parties. It has to do with that unbreakable bond that we feel and our commitment to israels security. The way to preserve that is to make sure that it does not get clouded with what could be perceived as partisan politics, whether it is accurate or not. It is a potential perception potential perception and something that we have to guard against. I dont want to be calling. The Prime Minister and i have a real difference. I have been clear. It does not make sense to sour the negotiations a month or two before they we will be completed, and we should play that out if we can get a deal. If we cant get a deal will have to make a set of decisions. As i have said to congress i will be the 1st one to work with them to apply Even Stronger measures. What is the rush . Unless you view is that it is not possible to get a deal and it should not be tested. That i cannot agree with because i am looking at what the options are if we dont get a diplomatic resolution. Those options options are narrow and not attractive. From the perspective of us interest and from the perspective of israel, although i cannot speak obviously for the israeli government, it is far better if we can get a diplomatic solution. There are real substantive differences, but differences, but that is separate and apart from the whole issue. If you missed any of todays joint white house News Conference you can see it in its entirety tonight at 8 00 oclock eastern on our companion network. Keep track of the Republicanled Congress and follow its new members to the 1st session. Now to jackson mississippi. He talks about state education investments, tax cuts and criminal Justice System reform. This morning minute 40 minute event comes courtesy of mississippi public broadcasting. [applause] good evening. Evening. Good evening. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so very much. Thank you, lieutenant governor, mr. Speaker mr. Speaker pro tem. It is my high honor to be with all of you at this joint session. Isnt it wonderful to have the ladies appear . [applause] they make us look a lot better. I wish i could say that was my idea. Maybe i will. I want to welcome to the platform president pro tem of the mississippi senate. [applause] i am mindful of the absence of my friend. Each time we have appeared here he welcomed me with a strong handshake and never with a prolonged and enthusiastic hug. We will miss her friend. But as it is often said, he is with us tonight. He only has a better seat. Three years ago i i stood at this podium and delivered my inaugural address. The weather the weather had forced us inside together in this Historic Chamber for the swearingin ceremonies. I will always remember, it was in this chamber i began my life and Public Service. 20 years later it is where we began our journey as your governor and 1st lady. I am fairly certain sum in this chamber may not agree with all of my policies as governor. I believe it is safe to say there is universal agreement that deborah has been one of our states finest 1st ladies. [applause] from reading to children in classroom in every county in the state to being a 1st responder to Serve Service date and his people with grace and commitment and allow me to become governor to some mississippians could have deborah as the 1st lady. [applause] in the three years that have passed we have achieved remarkable things together. Let us look at some of the positive facts about mississippi. We have created one of the most job friendly states of america. According to Area Development magazine mississippi ranked in the front top ten state in the nation for Economic Development. The ranking faison influence from Site Selectors across the nation. This profession is to no each States Economic environment and the potential productivity. For the 30 year in a row i am proud to say we have been awarded the silver shovel representatives of breaking ground on a number of new businesses across the state. Only 20 states each year received this prestigious award. One of my personal favorites is a report that rates mississippi number five in america for growth and womenowned businesses. The American Economic Development Institute also ranks the Mississippi Development authority has number nine in the nation. I want to thank the director of mda and his team for a job well done. [applause] now, it is great to have a nationally ranked Football Team or teams but we need worldclass Economic Developers as well. Economic development is a team sport. Let us look at other positive indicators. Three years ago the Unemployment Rate was 9. 8 . According 9. 8 percent. According to our state economists mississippi added 8800 more jobs in more jobs and 2,014 than in 2,013. Expected to be 3. 9 percent. We also no that personal income buys even more hear than it would in other states because of low cost of living. The Tax Foundation is found income goes 16 percent further than the National Average. For every hundred dollars in income a mississippi and would make a hundred and 16 compared to other states. Many new employees who moved to mississippi actually get a raise. If they move hear from washington dc they could get around the 40 raise. Obviously we would have to retrain most of them. Abcaseven there them. [laughter] there are other reliable indicators of the health of our economy. If we look at the amount of individual income tax collected and mississippi from fiscal year 2011 to 2011 to fiscal year 2014 we see a nearly 300 million increase. It would appear working mississippians are making more money in revenues rising. Weve also seen a decline in the number of people and our state who are receiving unemployment payments from november of 2013 to november of 2014. 2014. There has been a reduction of 44 percent. Natanz. Others will revel in the bad, but as for me i am proud of my mississippi. [applause] now we know progress is never immediate, and it is often made during the most difficult of times. The key to eventually obtaining lasting success is to stay the course and to never abandon your core beliefs and historic principles. For example, we realize that finding a job can and has changed lives for the better. So we must do all in our power to put people to work. Tonight, i am announcing the keep mississippi working fund, a program that will move nearly 50 million over the next two years into workforce training efforts without putting a demand on the general fund. Mississippi has one of the healthiest Unemployment Trust funds in the nation. Due to the decreased demand on the unemployment fund, we will be allocating those dollars for training purposes. These workforcetraining dollars will be managed by the state workforce Investment Board and committed to Training Programs at our Community Colleges. The Mississippi Economic Councils blueprint competitiveness study identified the need for more Skilled Labor in mississippi and a centralized agency to manage workforce development. Summed up, we will keep mississippi working by investing more in skills training at our Community Colleges and having faith in mississippi workers that they can help build the future. I have also requested 3 million [applause] in my executive budget recommendation to begin the mississippi works scholarship fund. This would offer a student in any high school involved in a Career Readiness curriculum who maintains a c average an opportunity to continue that course of study through a Community College on a full scholarship. As a bluecollar kid, i worked my way through junior college, but todays conditions are different and tuition is more challenging. Our working class kids need an even break to advance their skills. Let us give them a chance to be skilled craftsmen and women and find them a job. I believe with these two programs, we can focus on creating a worldclass workforce. With that accomplished, our economic success can be unlimited. We will keep breaking ground and cutting ribbons across the entire state and winning more silver shovels. I will admit to being an Eternal Optimist who believes mississippis best days lie ahead and within our grasp. [applause] tonight i can report the state of mississippi is in the best Financial Condition in recent history. Our hard work has begun to make measured progress. Mississippis Gross Domestic Product exceeded 100 billion in 2012 for the first time in history and has continued to do so each year since. In the last three years, our states revenue has cumulatively grown almost 10 percent. Revenue for fiscal year 2016 is projected to grow by 166 million. Our budget now uses little, if any, one time revenues for recurring expenses, and our Rainy Day Fund is filled to its statutory limit. Because of our states judicious thank you mr. Speaker, thank you, leadership. Thank you, mr. Speaker, thank you, leadership. Thank you, mr. Speaker, thank you, leadership. Borrowing and refinancing when Interest Rates are advantageous, our states Credit Rating remains a strong double a. In fact, we have retired as much debt as we have issued with the exception of Economic Development financing which has shown an 11 return for every 1 invested over the last three years. In short, we pay our bills, save our money and invest wisely. Health care continues to be an issue of debate in mississippi. Even without expansion, the Mississippi Division of medicaids General Fund Budget request this year is nearly 1 billion. The woodwork effect and other provisions of the Affordable Care act have already resulted in an additional 71,000 medicaid recipients, causing budget increases we can ill afford. To make matters more challenging, this number is projected to rise to 90,000 by july 1. Realistically, the conditions surrounding health care are even more uncertain than before. I fully expect dramatic changes in the Affordable Care act with republicans in charge of both houses of congress. A number of the new majority were sent to washington promising to repeal the Affordable Care act an Action Congress has attempted in whole or in part more than forty different times. I do believe we will see some positive changes proposed, such as portability, national tort reform and Health Care Savings accounts. Another positive reform i am encouraging is the restoration of medicare and medicaid dsh payments. These payments were originally designed to defray the costs of uncompensated care. In an effort to assist our hospitals, i have reached out to our congressional delegation to suggest the portion of the Affordable Care act that ends medicaid and medicare dsh payments be suspended. This would return revenue to hospitals, which continue to provide uncompensated care even in states where expansion has occurred. Congress passed similar provisions restoring the medicaid dsh payments, and restoration of funding for dsh payments was even a part of the president s budget. Obviously, elimination of disproportionate Share Hospital payments is a portion of the law that should have been read before it was passed. Most every states success is largely judged by its education system. Admittedly, our Public Education system has been a challenge for as long as any of us can remember. In fact, there is no recorded history of mississippis Public Education system that shows statewide success. However, i believe the transformational changes brought about by the Mississippi Legislature in the past three years will finally begin to show progress. A brief review can begin with the Literacy Program that will end social promotion at the critical point of entering the fourth grade. Charter schools for the first time in mississippi history will offer hope to those children trapped in Failing School districts. Funding Early Childhood learning programs began in our first legislative session together, and this year i will support doubling the funding for the prek Collaborative Program with a total appropriation of 6 million. Because of our success, Education Week ranks mississippi number nine in the nation in preschool enrollments. To put more funding in the classroom, i signed into law a historic twoyear 100 million teacher pay raise. Performance based pilot programs continue in 14 School Districts and over 1 million has gone to teachers who are performing at the highest levels. We have also appropriated 65 million in the last three years for the National Board certified teacher program. Nationally certified teachers can receive a 6,000 annual salary increase. Your commitment to this program has resulted in mississippi becoming number seven in the nation for Board Certified teachers. As i have said many times, we must find the best teachers possible and pay them well. You and i together have offered complete scholarships to students achieving high marks on their act and who want to become teachers. We have, working with the institutions of higher learning, increased the demands on students who major in education in our universities. And we have put into place a Dyslexia Training Program for teachers and funded scholarships to help with this training. I can assure you from personal experience, this response to dyslexia will result in direct benefits. This reading disorder is the number one reason children drop out of school. If we confront it aggressively, we can see a dramatic decrease in our states dropout rate and help turn around our reading scores for thousands of mississippi children. This year, we must also do all in our power to help children with special needs. The equal opportunity for students with special needs act will empower parents with educational choice to get their children the services they need. When only 22. 5 percent of special Needs Children graduate from high school, something is terribly wrong. I call on you to send this bill to my desk. Mississippi children with special needs, and their parents, deserve nothing less. Now lets spend a moment on the reality of Education Funding. The Education Week Research Center ranks mississippi as 19th in the nation for state expenditures on k12 education as a percentage of state taxable resources. No Less Authority than the u. S. Department of education lists our state as number twelve in the nation for school expenditures as a percentage of the states Gross Domestic Product. My executive budget recommendation increases maep funding by 53 million over the current year. Under my recommendation maep funding will reach nearly 2. 2 billion or a 2. 5 percent annual increase. Funding for k12 overall will reach 2. 5 billion. It includes 41 million for the second year of a 100 million teacher pay raise and 15 million for more reading coaches to assist in the Literacy Program within the third grade gate. I believe most of us want to fund reforms in education that work and make certain the money goes to the classroom. Each year we have worked together to balance our budget and this year will certainly be no different, with one exception. This year i intend to take the bold and controversial position that when times are good, we shouldnt spend all the money. In fact, i will ask you to give a raise to the people who need it most the working people of mississippi. [applause] i have proposed a working families tax cut that would provide an income tax credit to working mississippians earning up to 52,000 annually. It is nonrefundable and would be a tax dividend subject to Revenue Growth and filling the Rainy Day Fund. I realize the legislative process will generate additional ideas to provide tax relief to mississippi families. The good news is i am open to any number of tax cuts that put money in the pockets of working mississippians. [applause] in short, put a tax cut on my desk, and i will sign it. 2014 had its challenges just as every year does. Nothing is ever perfect or controllable. On april 28, a record 23 tornadoes struck our state. Particularly hard hit were louisville and tupelo. Of the 14 people who lost their lives that tragic day, ten were in the louisville area. President protem giles wards home was totally destroyed, as were so many others. The hospital and an extended care facility were badly damaged. Some of the towns biggest employers, including the Winston County Medical Center and natron Wood Products, were closed. As always in times of disaster, mississippians pulled together and got to work. The city, county and state responders set about saving lives and comforting victims. The officials joined the private sector, our Mississippi National guard and faithbased organizations to begin rebuilding in all the affected areas. Within 21 days, a modular hospital was opened femas first ever success with such a system. And i am proud to say that natron Wood Products will reopen as winston plywood and veneer and will become one of the largest plywood manufacturers in north america. Now thats recovery mississippi style. [applause] joining us tonight is someone who is very important to that recovery kurt liebich, ceo of winston plywoods parent company, new wood resources. Please help me welcome kurt. Thank you very much, curt. Thank you for believing in mississippi. [applause] please help me welcome kurt . On december 23, 2014, five tornadoes struck again with the hardest hit areas in marion and jones counties. These storms took the lives of five mississippians, including the brother of senator billy hudson. Homes were destroyed, and lives were forever changed. Once again we wept and prayed and thanked god more were not taken. Then we went to work. On christmas eve, i toured the damage and witnessed how the joys of the Christmas Season were shattered for so many. But once again we became mississippi strong. Since that time, more than 3,200 volunteers have worked more than 19,000 hours. Private donations have exceeded a quarter of a Million Dollars for tornado victims. The gift of hope continues across this great state in winston, leake, lamar, jones, clarke, rankin and other affected counties. We continue to be thankful while expressing mans unending prayer for peace on earth and good will towards men. Last year also brought us man made challenges such as those at the department of corrections. This even as we passed the most comprehensive corrections and criminal Justice Reform in this states history. But, as with all challenges, there exist opportunities. With a stellar independent task force to review all contracts within the department, we will make changes to add accountability to the department of corrections and beyond. With your help, we will bring long needed reform to laws governing state contracts, including an overhaul of our states contract review board. This reform also included the appointment of a new commissioner for the Mississippi Department of corrections. I have selected a tough former federal and state Law Enforcement officer who will get control both outside and inside the walls. Most of you know Marshall Fisher from his years as director of the Mississippi Bureau of narcotics. Please welcome him tonight as the commissioner of the Mississippi Department of corrections. [applause] based on recommendations from the Mississippi Department of Corrections Task force, i will also ask for your help with several reforms to narrow the use of emergency and Single Source contracts across state government. We will ask to transfer control of all corrections farming land to the authority of the secretary of state and place the corrections inmate welfare account at the Treasurers Office to separate controls of income and expenditures. [applause] with your support and the leadership of Marshall Fisher, we will reform the department of corrections and make it a system of efficiency, accountability and outcomes. Mississippi will not tolerate a 19th century correctional system. Rest assured change is on the way. Last year was historic in so [applause] many ways some challenging, others positively transformational. It was the year of the creative economy, and more than 22 million visitors came to our state. The potential to increase this number and the 390 million it brings with it is obvious. Thats why ill be asking you this year to invest an additional 5. 1 million into tourism. Help us bring the world to mississippi one visitor at a time, and i will return your investment six fold. Let us share mississippi with everyone. To help us promote this and other tourism opportunities is mississippi ambassador for the creative economy, mississippis own marty stuart. Like many supporters of our Childrens Hospital, i am also working with the university of mississippi Medical Center to bring a 150 million addition to blair e. Batson, 120 million of which will be raised privately. The work of Childrens Hospital is a phenomenal Success Story that has saved the lives of so many. These efforts and many more would never become a reality without the man who has dedicated much of his life to the university of mississippi Medical Center. Ladies and gentleman, please help me thank vice chancellor of the university of mississippi Medical Center, dr. Medical center, dr. Jimmy keeton. Jimmy, thank you for your service. Thank you, sir. You all stand up. Work continues on a new medical school at ummc. This will allow us to reach our goal of adding 1,000 new physicians by 2025. It is also notable that the William Carey University College of osteopathic medicine has graduated its first class of over 90 primary care physicians. Our rural physicians Scholarship Programs and our office of Physician Workforce development will help keep these doctors here in mississippi where they are needed most. We also remind these students that physician practice magazine has named mississippi as the best state in america to Practice Medicine for the second year in a row. Mississippi has also achieved high acclaim for excellence in telemedicine. In fact, we are one of only 7 states to earn an a rating from the american telemedicine association. I want to thank the Mississippi Telehealth Association for their hard work in bringing Cutting Edge Health care to more mississippians. I also want to thank this legislature for its commitment to defending mississippians Second Amendment rights. Your work has been so successful, i have received the nra defender of freedom award. Thank you very much. Mississippis Automotive Industry remains strong. Nissan has expanded its canton facility by 1,300 jobs and rolled off the new murano one of eight different vehicles made in canton. In february, toyota in blue springs will reach the half million mark for the corolla. This has outpaced all other toyota plans in the world. Other important projects include a baseball stadium in biloxi, a mississippi history and Civil Rights Museum in jackson and yokohamas tire factory in west point. Nineteen movies were made in mississippi last year while the Grammy Museum in cleveland and the arts and Entertainment Center in meridian are being planned or constructed. As the football world watched the sec, a few other things occurred in our state that demand recognition. Alcorn state universitys Football Team won the swac championship and east mississippi Community College became National Champions for the third time in four years, making football history. [applause] legendary university of southern mississippi punter ray guy was enshrined in the pro football hall of fame in 2014, joining eight other mississippians. Congratulations, ray. [applause] this is a new year for mississippi and for all of us, filled with promise and challenges. Being an optimist, i always look for greater possibilities. I believe mississippi can and will improve its Public Education system, build a stronger economy, become a healthier place to live and put our people to work. As National Chairman of jobs for americas graduates, i believe we must offer every child a pathway to success. I am more determined than ever to see that happen. I believe mississippi can rise to a new level. But if we are to do so, we must set aside our petty, political differences and seek Real Solutions in both our economic and social environments. Last year, i asked you to make a simple but profound change to our state seal. Some said it was a waste of time, but we knew better. You see by simply adding our National Motto to the great seal of the state of mississippi, we professed our understanding of a higher power over the affairs of men. We expressed a faith that this wonderful state will continue to be blessed. Let us now and forever boldly and without apology affirm, in god we trust. Thank you all for your attendance and attention here tonight. Let us go to work. [applause] coming up, the communicators features gigi sohn. And then we talk about the visit to iran and Nuclear Negotiation negotiations. And then john scott from South Carolina talks. Cspan created by americas Cable Companies 35 years ago and brought to you as a Public Service by your local cable or satellite provider. Host fcc chair