Could do to advance to us policy proposals. I also think it is an issue that members of this committee could well take up and ask the basic questions, what role do we want them to play is it strictly housing, is it liquidity. Are there other ways it can be constituted given the way that the whole world but thats not really my question. I do have a question. My question relates to the approved merger which i dont believe will be the last. I have communicated to you in correspondence deep concerns held by people in the region about the continued commitment of the merged bank to invest in housing. Also communicated to you concerns about govern nans. After all, this is a fivetime zone Federal Home Loan Bank region now. And weve repeatedly asked for the letter setting forth the terms and conditions. Weve been repeatedly told we cannot have it. I want you to know that as that relates to sensitive financial matters, i completely understand. But i do not know what the compelling public good what compelling Public Policy good is served by withholding information about how we will proceed with respect to the concerns that have been brought to you by many in the region. During the pendency of a merger, for us to be putting out information that is still in the process of being discussed and negotiated, i think as an independent regulator would be irresponsible. Im sure every one of these things will be addressed. But i mean we have a fiduciary responsibility. We have a trust responsibility as regulator here not to put out information that could jeopardize the discussions. And i hope you understand that. Well, i acknowledge and embrace your fiduciary responsibility issues relating to Housing Investment and operational issues that allow for access. I dont believe they fall within that realm. I can assure you that the merged Federal Home Loan Bank will be held to the same high standards on those issues that we have held the two independent banks to, right . So were not going to relax the standard just because the standards that we expect of them just because theyre a merged bank. Knowing as you you can be assured of that. Knowing you as i do, i would expect no less, sir and i thank you. One last quick question. Insofar as freddie mack and fannie mae are under conservatorship conservatorship, insofar as you are moving quickly toward a Common Security zags platform can you identify any compelling Public Benefit for these two entities, other than it is status quo to be separate as opposed to one . Well you know, thats a public debate that i think should be had. Theres a value to competition because it makes both enterprises better. We have aligned fannie and freddies practices on a number of issues that were important to the Public Policy objectives. But i think theres some value to allowing them to compete on things that dont have a Public Policy imperative to them. So i guess but we have aligned them on a number of issues i would think it that quality of service would be an example of that. Well if you talk to one of them as opposed to the other they will tell you that their quality of service is higher than the other one, depending on which one you talk to. But we its important for them to continue to compete on the quality of the service that they deliver. Thats one of the things that it is important for them to compete on. It seems arguable we dont want them competing on a race to the bottom to extend more and more irresponsible credit. You know, there are a whole range of things that we dont want them competing on. And there are some things that we continue to allow them to compete on. It seems arguable to me whether or not that benefit trumps the economy as a scale given that for all practical purposes we own them both. I yield back the time i do not have and thank the chair for his ill dull jens. The chair now recognizes theman from arkansas. Thank you mr. Chairman. Mr. Watt, nice to see you. Thank you for appearing to the committee for an extended period of time. I think back to one of my favorite engavings in the city of washington which is on the National Archives build which is whats past is prologued. Im having a terrible flashback from a terrible movie listening to this discussion today. In 1994 when i was on the Senate Banking committee staff, fannie and freddie had one in 4000 loans that had an ltd of 3 . Then when i came back to government in 1990 and was at the treasury, that had moved to one in ten. And then at the height of the crisis it moved to 1 and 2. 5 or 40 of the loans of their combined portfolios were at the low down payment. At the same time the same direction took place in the debt to income ratios as well. I want to be on the record with you that i share the concerns of many 0 on the committee 0 on the decision to lower down payment rates notwithstanding fico scores and mortgage insurance. I want to turn to a line of question that mr. Duffy had. On this subject of preferred stock arrangement with treasury. For you to accrue money for the Housing Trust fund, pay it out potentially in the Housing Trust fund did you seek a waiver from the preferred stock arrangement with treasury to do that . No, i did not. And so its purely on your judgment, from reading the statute, that youve taken that money out of the system and not swept it to treasury . There was no money to sweep unless theres a profit at the end of the year. And there wont be any swept if theres not a profit. Right. But youve taken the decision to sweep money if there is a profit . Well i mean, to the Housing Trust fund. You mean put it into yes. Yes. Unless doing that would put them into a deficit situation. Right. But did you seek approval from treasury to do that . No. And dont you think that sense they are the owner of that preferred stock on behalf of all of the taxpayers you should have checked with them first before taking money to the Housing Trust fund as opposed to sweeping all of the profit to the treasury . No. Tell me again i know youve covered some of this ground before. Tell me again why you believe thats the case. Why i shouldnt . Why you believe you dont have to why i shouldnt get treasurys approval in. Correct. Theres nothing in the preferred stock Purchase Agreement under which we operate that addresses the Housing Trust fund. Were not violating the terms of the preferred stock Purchase Agreement in doing this. Were simply complying with the law. And thats, you know so theres no reason for me to get treasurys approval for that. Seems like when we own the shares of that company as the taxpayers that we should want to have all of the proceeds, until theres a change, a truck churl change, made all of the earnings of the company outside the core Business Operations any profit thats left should be sent to the treasury. That is still the rule. Aeng but youve taken i keep reminding wu job i wasnt there when these preferred stock Purchase Agreements were negotiated. If they had put it into the agreement, then i would be obligated by it. But theres no provision in the agreement that requires my me to get approval to fund the Housing Trust fund or to comply with any other law that is in existence existence. I didnt get their approval. But you were there and took the decision to take money away from the sweep and put anytime the Housing Trust fund. That was your decision to do that. I made the decision to reverse the temporary termination of contributions to the Housing Trust fund, yes. I was there for that. Thank you very much. I yield back. Gentleman yields back. No other member is in the room to be recognized. So again, i wish to thank the director watt for coming to testify before us. Our former colleague and former and still current friend of this committee. Without objection all members will have five legislative days in which to submit questions and writings to the chair which will be submitted to the witness for written response ps. All members will have five legislative days to commit extraneous feral for conclusion in the record. This hearing stand adjourned. Tomorrow the house is scheduled to take up the Senate Version of a bill funding construction of the keystone xl pipeline. They come in at noon eastern time for legislative business. Watch the debate on cspan. The Political Landscape has changed with the 114th congress. Not only are there 43 new republicans and 15 new democrats in the house and 12 new republicans and one new democrat in the senate theres also 108 women in congress including the first African American republican in the house and the first woman veteran in the senate. Keep track of the members of congress using congressional chronicle. The page has lots of useful information there, including Voting Results and statistics about each session of congress. New congress, best access on cspan cspan 2, cspan radio and cspan. Org. With live coverage of the u. S. House on cspan and the senate on cspan 2, here on cspan 3 we compliment that coverage by showing you the most relevant cession nal hearings and Public Affairs events. On weekend cspan 3 is the home to American History tv with programs that tell our nations story including the civil wars 150th anniversary, visiting battlefields and key events, american art facts to discover what art facts we veal, history book shelf, the presidency looking at the policies and legacies of our nations commanders in chief, lectures in history with top college professors, and our new series real america featuring educational fimmentes from the 1930s through the 70s. Cspan 3 funded by your local cable or satellite provider. Watch us in hd, like us on facebook and follow us on twitter. Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner admounsed last monday his plan to raise the states minimum wage to 10. He laid out his economic plans at his first state of the state address. The states money mum age is 8. 25 and under the governors new plan it would include 25 cents annually. Governor rauner defeated pat quinn. [ applause ] [ applause ] [ applause ] [ applause ] mr. Governor please proceed. Good afternoon. President cullerton speaker madigan, leader ra doane yo, leader dir kin, Lieutenant Governor san gwinnetty, attorney general madigan, secretary white, comptroller munger treasurer fray rixs members of the General Assembly. Thank you all for your service. To our distinguished guests and to members of the media thank you for attending today. Its an honor to stand before you. Today marks a new beginning for illinois. And a new partnership between the General Assembly and the governor. [ applause ] last november voters made it clear they want bipartisan government. They want a government where people come together to solve problems and get things done. They dont want partisan bickering, political infighting or personal conflict to get in the way of serving the needs of the families of illinois. All of us were elected to do a job, to deliver real results. To serve the people of illinois to the best of our ability. [ applause ] thank you. [ applause ] all of us have a duty to serve all of the people of illinois, those who voted for using with as well as those who did not vote for us. The good lord didnt make us republicans or democrats. He made us in his image to do his work, to help each other, to make the world a better place. We all have a moral duty to serve the longterm interest of the people of illinois, to focus on the next generation, not the next election. Im personally committed to working closely with you. Each and every one of you. Meeting together, solving problems together, listening and learning from each other. Together we will do great things for the people of illinois. We will once again make illinois the greatest state in the greatest nation on earth. [ applause ] the task ahead of us is daunting. We have no time to waste. At the beginning of todays session each of you should have received a copy of our policy agenda. It is bold aggressive and comprehensive. It is both very necessary and very doable. In our agenda each of you will probably see some things you dont like. But each of you will certainly see many things that you like a lot. We should consider it as a whole, not as a list of individual initiatives. We must choose to see the big picture. An overall package that will lift up all of the people weve been chosen to represent. With that as our common goal there is no doubt that we can, together, as partners get big things done. Let us commit to doing the peoples work. Over the past dozen years 275,000 more people decided to leave illinois than chose to come here. Thats like the cities of springfield, decatur and champagne all completely disappearing. And over that same time period the states around us have been kicking our tails. The worst performer of our neighbors states have had 6. 5 times the job growth per 1,000 people has illinois has had. Iowa has had more than 15 times the job growth that weve had. Last summer i met the grip family michael, andrea and their children are some of the luckier ones. Michael lives in illinois and he wants to stay here. But after getting laid off he couldnt find a job near home. Now he must commute one hour and 20 minutes to his office in Williams Burg iowa. The grips family roots kept them in illinois but they wonder how much longer they can last and whether their children can find good careers here. And there are families like the grips in every community in illinois. Its time to give them hope. Its time to give them the opportunity to stay. Our top priority must be making illinois competitive again to grow more jobs here. To become more competitive we must look to the structure impediments to our Economic Growth. Our Workers Compensation unemployability insurance all rank against the worst in america. Those costs add up to far more than just number on an accountants balance sheet. They impact real people with real jobs and real families. Mrs. Gut tear rez is here in the galleria. Shes worked at the seely mattress factory. Recently he got a letter saying the plant is being moved to indiana and the plant in illinois is expected to close this spring. Its heartbreaking that whats happening to him is happening to countless others throughout our state. Two and a half years ago modern Forge Company a 100yearold family owned Manufacturing Business began moving its operations to indiana from blue island illinois. Modern forge employs 230 people. In illinois, it paid between 700,000 and 1. 5 million a year in workers comp premiums. In indiana, the same premium is 250,000. Modern forge is competing with manufacturers across the country that dont have illinoiss costs. Modern forge needed to move to stay competitive. Since then theyve hired 100 new indiana workers. And today almost half of its workforce lives in indiana. Leader in both political parties, including attorney general madigan have advocated for much needed reforms that address the shortcomings of the Workers Compensation law that was passed in 2011. Working together we can create a common sense system that protects and fairly compensates those who are injured on the job while also assuring that both public and private employers are not overburdened by an irrational system. [ applause ] too many people in our communities must overcome not only hurdles that State Government has put in place, but also decades of hidden barriers that have caused their communities to suffer. Approximately 80 of individuals in illinois apprenticeship programs are white even though caucasians make up fewer than 63 of our population. Whatever the reason for this disparity, it has gone on for too long. [ applause ] and we must take specific positive action to end this unfair situation. We should require unions that contract with the state to have their apprenticeship programs reflect the demographics of illinois communities. [ applause ] and to have their membership on public Construction Projects reflect the diversity in the surrounding area. [ applause ] and we should create a minority enterprise Small Business program to assess minority entrepreneurs in startups throughout illinois. [ applause ] we must also help those workers who are barely getting by by raising the minimum wage. [ applause ] our Economic Growth and jobs package increases the minimum wage to 10 an hour over the next seven years. Raising the minimum wage in conjunction with improving the overall jobs climate will make illinois more competitive and create a booming economy while increasing incomes for hardworking illinoisans. [ applause ] as we look to make illinois more competitive competitive, Property Tax Relief is one of our most pressing challenges. [ applause ] our property tax burden is one of the biggest impediments to growth. And it hurts both businesses and middle class families. The average homeowner in illinois pays more than three times the amount of property taxes as a homeowner in indiana. More than an additional 3000 paid out of the familys budget every single year. Take for instance christine dalgapol. Christine is in the gallery here with us today. She bought her home in 1978 at the time her taxes for 1,100. By 2013 her taxes were 4,797. Even after accounting for inflation, christines taxes have almost doubled. Even after getting a senior exemption and also yearly appeals, and shes not alone. Over the past decade the average property tax bill has increased nearly 33 . Meanwhile, real family incomes in illinois have gone down. Families have been left with less income and more taxes. Our property taxes are out of control. And are crushing middle class families. Illinoiss high property taxes have skyrocketed because state and local governments have been unable or unwilling to control their own spending. [ applause ] we must empower taxpayers to take control of the property tax bills by giving them greater ability to control local government spending. The time has come to give the people of illinois the ability to drive value for their tax dollars. Our agenda must be about empowerment. About empowering the people of illinois to control their futures. Empowerment means giving local voters the ability to control the collect ty bargaining issues in their local governments and take more responsibility for their employees benefits. Empowerment means giving local Government Employees the ability to decide for themselves whether they want to join a union. Empowerment means [ applause ] empowerment means giving governments the ability to lower costs by reforming project labor agreements and prevailing wage requirements that block true competitive bidding. [ applause ] these requirements can increase the cost of taxpayer funded Construction Projects by 20 or more. At the illinois tollway, uncompetitive bidding has cost toll payers over a billion dollars since 2005. At the department of transportation, uncompetitive bidding cost taxpayers more than 100 million per year. Reforming the revalg wage laws could save our schools nearly 160 million every year. We must restructure the bidding for Construction Projects at every level of government, because reforms will save taxpayers billions. And we can reinvest those billions in even more Capital Project to help our schools and our communities. Empowerment means giving taxpayers the ability to consolidate local governments to control costs. Illinois has the most governments in the country. Nearly 7,000 local units. And the taxpayers of illinois can no longer afford all of them. Dupag executive dan kro anyone is with us today in the gallery. [ applause ] he has already achieved significant government consolidation. Today his reforms have generated a projected 100 million in taxpayer savings through joint purchasing, shared Services Employee benefit reforms and modifications to procurement practices. Congratulations, dan. Youre a role model for all of us. [ applause ] empowerment means freeing local governments from Unfunded Mandates imposed by the state. [ applause ] we impose more than 280 Unfunded Mandates that cost local communities billions. In the days ahead i will be asking Lieutenant Governor evelyn san gwinnetty to work with leaders like dan kro nin on consolidation efforts as well as reduce costs imposed on local governments. We must also empower voter to decide for themselves whether they want their communities to become employeeemempowerment zones. These zones will give employees the freedom to choose whether or not they want to join a union. Local communities, local voters deserve this option so that they can compete with other states and other nations for new businesses and new investment. [ applause ] Employee Empowerment zones will increase jobs for residents, increase Economic Activity for local businesses and generate more tax dollars for local governments. Its a winwinwin proposal. By implementing these reforms we will give taxpayers and local governments the tools they need to freeze property taxes. It will allow us to begin reforming our outofdate tax code. We have an antiquated tax system whose base is too narrow and that makes us uncompetitive. Lets Work Together to enact competitive 21st century tax system for a 21st century economy. The best Voter Empowerment tool is term limits. Term limits overcome the power of encouple bancy. Bringing fresh thinking. Lets give the people the chance to fekt term limits by putting that constitutional amendment on the 2016 ballot and let the voters decides. [ applause ] at the start of this session you received a summary of certain past conflicts of interest. In illinois State Government. We must eliminate this sort of political dealing. Government unions should not be allowed to influence the Public Officials they are lobbying and sitting across the bargaining table from through Campaign Donations and expenditures. [ applause ] that, that has been federal law since 1947. Government must never force its employees to Fund Activities they do not support. President jimmy carter prohibited that at the federal level in 1978. While we currently ban contributions from many businesses with state contracts some of the largest recipients of taxpayer money, like hospitals that receive millions from medicaid are still able to funnel huge Campaign Donations to elected officials. Lets close the special interest loopholes by extending the prohibition on political contributions for businesses with state contracts to all organizations with a state collective Bargaining Agreement and organizations funded by entities receiving state medicaid funds. In time, we should also take another step towards trustworthy government by prohibiting trial lawyer donations to elected judges. We should move toward merit based judicial reform as supported by the american bar association. We will leave no stone unturned as we look to bring good government, Good Management practices here to springfield. Over the past year there has been discussion about reforming the Abraham Lincoln president ial library and museum. To ensure the museum and library are the world class institutions they should be our were working in collaboration with speaker madigan and we look to have a resolution during this spring session. And weve already spoken about the need to merge the Comptrollers Office with the treasures office. Doing so would save taxpayers 12 million per year. It would be a fitting tribute to judy bar topekas legacy. Lets make judys amendment a reality. [ applause ] our state employees deserve fair, competitive wages. Its time to revamp how compensation works in State Government. Lets emphasize quality of work instead of simply longevity of work. Lets pay great state employees more for their excellent performance performance. And those who find innovative ways to save taxpayers money deserve to earn bonuses. As we look for further government reform and to bring best Management Practices to our state, our criminal Justice System is one area we must focus on. [ applause ] we have to both prevent crime from occurring and reform the parole system and the reentry process so that the same people are not returning to prison over and over. [ applause ] the conditions in our prisons are unacceptable. Inmates and Corrections Officers alike find themselves in an unsafe environment. Its wrong. We will hire more Correctional Officers to improve safety in our prisons. [ applause ] we will also continue to invest in adult redeploy. [ applause ] since its implementation in 201, cult redeploy has diverted more than 1009 offenders into Community Based programming. Congratulation to all of you in the legislature who supported adult redeploy. Lets continue to build on these corrections reforms. Now lets talk about the most important thing we do together as a community. Education. I promise to increase Education Funding and i will keep that programs. We will increase k to 12 education support. [ applause ] this this increased support will particularly help our most Disadvantaged School districts and our budget will increase funding for Early Childhood education so that [ applause ] so that more atrisk children can enter kindergarten ready to succeed. From cradle to career, our childrens Education Needs to be our top priority. [ applause ] that means we must also invest in technical and vocational training. [ applause ] we used to emphasize these programs in our high schools and Community Colleges but those efforts have been fading. Lets end this era of cutting funding for Technical Training and Community Colleges. [ applause ] every child deserves access to excellent schools. But thats not what every child is getting in illinois. Too many students are trapped in Failing Schools, or schools that are not a good fit for them. We can give them better. We must give them better. Lucy reese is with us today in the gallery. Wave lucy. There she is. She lives in the roseland neighborhood in chicago and sends her children to public Charter Schools. She made that decision because they offer longer school days enhanced learning opportunities and varyiety for her kids. Her youngest daughter has struggled in english and language arts. She currently attends ralph ellieson Charter School which makes sure she gets more attention in these subjects. On the other hand, her son is a junior at Gary Comer College prep. That high school offers much more rigorous and disciplined curriculum. Perfect for his accelerated learning style. Its time we give every child and parent in illinois the same choices lucy has been able to make for her children. [ applause ] our student and career success package will lift the cap on public Charter Schools and give parents and students more options. [ applause ] next to being a parent teaching is the most important job in the world. We must support or many good teachers. [ applause ] that means putting more resources directly into classrooms, reforming the education bureaucracy and rolling back costly mandates. Our education bureaucracy stands between state resources and the classroom. We must find ways to reduce it. Our students and teachers today are overwhelmed by too many tests. We must ensure that the amount of time we test our students doesnt get in the way of high quality instruction. [ applause ] must of the reform agenda were outlining today has been implemented in other states. The reforms are working so well in those states that they are causing us to become even less competitive. We must avoid slipping further behind other states in the quality of our childrens education, the capacity of our economy to grow and our ability to care for our states most vulnerable. Its now or never for illinois. Its time to act. All of us in this chamber were elected to deliver results, make choices and cast votes that are in the best interest of the people of illinois. Choices about whats best for the next generation not the next election. The time is now for all of us republicans and democrats, to do big things. The right things for the people of our great state. Now is the time for bold and decisive action. It is make our break time for the land of lincoln. We can reclaim our proud history as a strong and vibrant state and fulfill our destiny as a beacon of the midwest. Illinois has a history of accomplishing big things. Yesterday we marked the 150th anniversary of the 13th amendment to the constitution which ended slavery. Illinois was the first state in the nation to ratify that amendment put forward by our greatest statesman Abraham Lincoln. When we believe in something, when we Work Together, we can change the course of history. The year 2018 will mark nmzs 200 birthday. In the countdown to our bicentennial, lets come together governor and legislators to make the tough decisions that everyone from chicago to kay ro, rockford to carbon dale knows we need to make. This is our last chance to get our house in order to restore good government. Lets approach our 200th year as the great state of illinois, as a proud people standing tall with eyes focused on the future. Competitiveness must become our watch word and opportunity and compassion ours goals so we can once again become the place people want to come to build a better life for themselves and their families. Today marks a new beginning. Im excited and honors to work closely with you. Together we will get great things done for the people of illinois. Thank you and god bless you. [ applause ] thank you. [ applause ] good bless you. Tomorrow the house is scheduled to take up the Senate Version of a bill funding construction to have keystone xl pipeline. They come in at noon eastern time for legislative business. Watch the debate on cspan. Hawaii governor david ige called for more Efficient Government in his state of the state address. He talked about his plans to modernize the states tax code, invest in education and mass transit projects. [ applause ] [ applause ] mr. Speaker, madame president , former governors distinguished justices of the courts representatives of our congressional delegation, members of the hawaii state legislature, other elected officials, honored guests, families and friends, aloha. Im honored to be here today to deliver my first state of the state address. It is of course a homecoming of sorts with so many familiar faces and friends. Yet, there is one major difference since i last sat amongst you. Im a year older with a few more gray hairs in my head. To say that the last month has been an eye opener would be an understatement. As all of the former governors here will understand. But its not so much about being overwhelmed, it is about being about being invigorated and challenged. And we have a mountain of challenges to climb. And so i hope we can climb it together. Because as i said in my inauguration alone it is a daunting and overwhelming task. But i have always been an optimist and a believer in people and the power they hold within them. That is why ive always looked to others for help with answers. And why ive always sought to harness the power of collaboration. When i met with my cabinet during a retreat recently i asked them what does hawaii mean to them. What drove them. What directed their actions. While there were many different answers and perspectives, one answer kept coming up over and over and over again home. As the sentiment i understand intimately. After i graduated from the university of hawaii i was fortunate enough to be offered a number of jobs. But only one was located here in hawaii. And that is the one i accepted. To this day i know it was the right choice. Because this is my home. For me that one word brings everything into focus and gives purpose and direction to everything we do. And what is it really that we do here at the capitol . Well its quite simple. We are building a home for our kapuna ourselves and our children. We build schools. Hospitals, Community Centers and places to work and play. And we safeguard the things that are important to us. Our families, our freedoms, our environment and our future. Because this is our home. As any carpenter knows, building a good home takes time money and skill. And he or she will also tell you no matter what kind of house you build, you begin at the beginning with a strong foundation. And that is what i find myself doing as your new governor building a Solid Foundation for this administration for the work ahead for the people of hawaii. In addition, home begins with sound and longterm financing. It means working both the income and spending sides of the ledger. I recently submitted a preliminary budget that maintains state programs at current spending levels based on two sobering realities. First, we have fully committed our current funds to existing programs and services. And second we are spending more than we take in. While we work to correct that imbalance we need to focus available resources on Strategic Investments that grow our economy and strengthen our social safety net. In other words we need to use funds we have more efficiently and leverage it whenever possible. For example, we can be more aggressive in seeking federal funds in a wide array of areas. Federal officials have told me there is significant money. About 940 million available to the state for the right projects proposed for the right reasons, at the right time. That is why im pleased to announce the employment of Elizabeth Kim as a special adviser to the governor. Elizabeth east impressive experience in washington d. C. Will help the state tremendously in securing more federal dollars. We all know elizabeths story. A bright and talented person from hawaii who wants to come home. But cant find the opportunity to do so. I am committed to creating more opportunities, not just for elizabeth but for all of our children to return home to fulfill their dreams and contribute to the future of hawaii. [ applause ] we also need to do a better job of collecting taxes already on the books. The Tax Department headed by maria zelinsky is preparing to implement a Tax Modernization Program this year. The outcome will better secure taxes and increases revenues. While the project is expected to take several years we should see a sizable increase in tax elections after the first two years. More over the effort is expected to pay for itself through increased revenues. Taxpayers will also benefit having able to file electronically, having access to online account information and fast ir faster payments and refunds. These are the projects we need to find. [ applause ] on the spending side we can do a number of things which center around a single mind set making government more efficient. I cannot stress how important i believe this one factor is. I recently met with mike buski, president of gamestop a multiMillion Dollar video game retailer. The Company Operates almost 6,500 stores throughout the world and is is a major player in the electronic sector. He says if the rate of change inside the company does not exceed the rate of change outside the company it will result in devastating losses to its shareholders. Even bankruptcy. It made me wonder about the number of people who would be affected if change within our State Government failed to exceed the rate of change in the world. That truly would be devastating, resulting in government unable to meet the needs of its people. But what about the opposite scenario . I remember when i was in the senate we committed to going paperless and eliminating millions of unnecessary sheets of paper and its related costs. It was not an easy transition. And it was tough to change the way we always did things, for decades and decades and decade. But we did. And as a result the senate generated more than 1. 2 million in savings over two years. And in the process we saved nearly 8 million sheets of paper, or the equivalent of 800 trees each year. Now [ applause ] now, can you imagine what we could coif all of State Government looked for these kind of opportunities . For example, im told that the state goes through one million pages a month for payroll alone. A little effort could go a long way to alter that. A change in mind set could take us much further. We must reduce the a amount of paper we use every day. Im committed to transforming the culture of government to embrace and accelerate change. [ applause ] we need the invest in our employees and ask them what changes can be made to improve service or reduce cost. And more importantly reneed to support them when we ask them to make those changes. Leveraging our dollars and maximizing our investments also go a long way in creating savings. I recently attended the Ground Breaking for kapule lot of sfts. This rental Housing Project will provide nearly 500 muchneeded homes on oahu for residents including 300 units that are remain affordable for the next 30 years. The state share provided a loan of 5 million and a good example of how low coast Government Investment tools can be used to create Affordable Homes for working families. While were talking about building homes, let me bring up a related subject. Honolulus rail system is often viewed as the response to the growth of our suburban neighborhoods. While that is true today, it doesnt have to be that way in the future. Rail can be the driver to help us build future communities on oahu. So sensibly direct growth. To protect open space and agriculture. To stimulate business. Reinvigorate older neighborhoods. And build Affordable Homes. In fact t state is the largest owner of parcels along the Transit Route. Consequently i specifically the build Affordable Homes. Because that is one of this administrations main goals. Nix were providing money to bailed longterm care facility for veterans. Those will be matched from the federal government. [ applause ] and we can also generate additional federal dollars by identify ing identifying interests along the Transit Route and see if our plans along with the military can combine to create a win win situation. In these ways federal funds can be tapped not just for Transportation Needs but Community Building as well. And let me make one thing clear. This governor wants rail to succeed. And im committed to it. Proximate cause [ applause ] including Cost Containment before we ask for anymore money. [ applause ] ask anyone who suffers from longterm illnesses. Nothing matters if you dont have your health. Fully enjoying home and family presupposes good health. Lucky you live hawaii for so many reasons, including one of the healthiest lifestyles and the longest Life Expectancy in the nation. Hawaiis prepaid healthcare act has had a lot to do with those outcomes. In addition, it has brought us closer to achieving universal healthcare amongst all the states across the nation. With the passage of the Affordable Care act and the launching of the Health Connecter we can close that gap but weve got work to do. I will not minimize the disappointment weve all felt with the Health Connecter. But i will not dwell on them either. That is why were working closely with all stakeholders to ensure we move towards a sustainable exchange, one that meets the requirements of the Affordable Care act without endangering hawaiis prepaid healthcare act. [ applause ] and despite the negative headlines we are not that far away. If we Work Together and focus on execution, i have every confidence we can achieve this. [ applause ] we enjoy many benefits of being an island state, krieldcradled in the middle of the pacific. But there are also disadvantages. Unlike other state, good healthcare is not easily distributed throughout the islands. Our families and doctors cannot simply drive to another hospital. If one is busy or does not have the services they need. We have some wonderful private hospitals. But not everyone has access to them. That is why our Public Hospitals play such an Important Role in hawaii. A greater one than in most states. That is especially true on our neighbor island, where they are often the only provider of acute care. Public private partnership offer Great Potential but only if they are shaped in the right way. And no matter what direction we take changing how we operate our hospitals to meet changing needs will be a key to longterm solutions. [ applause ] a home also needs a sustainable and Reliable Energy source. Importing fossil fuel remains one of our greatest weaknesses. And we simply must move to reduce our dependence on it. We have the locally generated resources that can allow us to be self sufficient. We just need to move in concert towards that goal. As our largest provider of Energy Hawaiian electric will have a lot to do with our success or failure. And that is why as discussions with nextera proceed im asking the new head of the Public Utilities commission to be actively involved in these talks. [ applause ] in addition with the help of the legislature we will be restructuring the staff restructuring and staffing the p. U. T. To give it the expertise and the resources needed to deal with this due diligence. [ applause ] i will also be assigning a special council to protect the Public Interest for the short and longterm of this deal. [ applause ] the home we build in hawaii needs a Strong Support Network in so many areas. We need to support business and industry so that they can grow our economy and create jobs. That includes our Visitor Industry which has had three straight recordsetting years in arrivals and spending. Totaling about 15 billion and supporting 175,000 jobs statewide. It also includes the thousands of Small Businesses that make up the core of our economic engine. Those mom and pop stores, whose predecessors include Success Stories like food land city mule and the abc stores. We need to nurture the economy in which entrepreneurs use technology to develop new processes and products from existing ones. Like smart phone makers who are taking their products far beyond the original concept of a mobile phone and created entire new markets. As the whole new economic paradigm which we need to support with modern infrastructure whether it is expanding our Broadband Network or building innovation parts. That is why we are providing 10 million for the Hawaii Growth Initiative to support and grow innovation and the entrepreneurship. [ applause ] we need to support agriculture and help our local farmers dramatically increase the amount of food we grow locally. Hawaii grows about 10 to 15 of the total food residents consume. If we are to become a Sustainable Society we must increase those numbers. The cost of importing food adds up to more than 3 3 billion leaving the state annually. If we replace just 10 of imports with locally grown food, it would generate 188 million in total sales, 94 million for farmers, 47 million in wages and 6 million in new taxes and 2,300 jobs. To do that we need to preserve farmlands, develop agricultureing aagricultural parts. Combat Invasive Species and recess where the areas where the local farmer can survive. [ applause ] we will be meeting with farmers from each island to hear what they need to make hawaii more selfsufficient. And ive asked agricultural director enright to spearhead this effort. In the meantime were adding 5 million to the Agricultural Loan Program and expanding use to include bio safety and food safety needs. These are the things to help you are farmers be successful. [ applause ] we also need to support our military whose courage and commitment to our nations security keeps hawaii and the rest of the country safe and strong. From our strategic location in the pacific comes a responsibility that we cannot cannot. Moreover, the military plays significant part in our economy spending more than 6. 5 billion annually with total Economic Impact of 14. 7 billion dollars. It is the second largest sector of our economy supporting more than 100,000 jobs. Even with the pentagons new focus on the pacific, there is no guarantee that we can protect the militarys presence in the island simply because of our geographic location. We will need to be proactive and aggressive in our efforts to support our troops here. And i am prepared to do just that. [ applause ] we need to fulfill our obligations to our host culture, whose sense of aloha influences everything we do. As we speak the hokulea and its sistership are sailing across the ocean to call for a more sustainable world. That are voyage banner means to care for our earth. Living on an island we know better than most that the limited resources of this planet must be protected if we are to thrive as the species. That is the lesson offered by our host culture. It is their gift to all of us. I am pleased that ninoa thompson is with us today. And would like to recognize him for his many contributions he has made to the Polynesian Voyaging Society and the people of hawaii. [ applause ] if you could rise to be recognized. [ applause ] we also need a strong University System to help educate our future leaders and citizens. And create a place where innovation, original thinking and technology flourishes. A University System not just engaged in the community but leading it into the future. In that regard its goals must be clear. Its planning must be precise. Its actions must be forthright. I challenge the University Leaders to focus on execution, accountability and delivery in all that they do. [ applause ] we all know that education is the key that opens the doors to success. It has the power to lift the family out of poverty and despair. It has the power to turn dreams into reality. And it has the potential to do so much more for our own children. But before education can transform them we must transform our school system. [ applause ] wipe out high school is a wonderful example of a High Performance school with strong leadership from the principal who seeks to empower students and teachers and the community. High expectations for students. And hardworking teachers and staff, committed to innovative and creative academies to help students learn. Together they have generated amazing results, including increasing reading and math performances, graduation rates, the number of students going to college and satisfaction level oss of all stakeholders. With us today is the principal of the high school. I would like him to stand to be recognized. [ applause ] we have many excellent high performing schools in our community. The question is how do we unleash them . I know that the best way to improve Student Learning is to empower schools and give those closest to our children the authority and resources to take action. As governor, i will appoint members of the board of education who embrace School Empowerment of our principles and teachers as the key to ensure students success. [ applause ] i challenge the leaders of Public Education to stop issuing mandates from the state office and focus on empowering schools and delivering resources and support to the school level. In the current budget, we are requesting an increase for the department of educations weighted student formula. This will allow principals to decide how to spend this portion of the d. O. E. Budget and how to best meet the needs of their students. [ applause ] most importantly it will give our children greater educational opportunities. You know, my mom grew up in kohuku at a time at that time schools there only went to 8th grade. And so her parents knew that if she was to have any kind of future she had to go away for high school. Somehow they scraped up enough money to send her to denver, colorado to continue her schooling. After graduation she went on to become a nurse. Eventually she came back home to work. And with my father raised six children including a future grateful governor. The point is my grandparents understood the value of education and were willing to sacrifice for it. So did my parents. When we became parents ourselves, my wife and i decided the same for our children. They are presently away at school pursuing their own hopes and dreams. But i know they want to to come home after college. If story is the same for so many families in hawaii. It is repeated over and over again. Generation after generation. I know what it is like to scrimp and save to buy a home and pay for tuition. I know what it is like to struggle to make ends meet. The sacrifices are the same because the dreams are the same. To build a better life and build it not anywhere else but here in the island. Because this is my home. And so again i ask all of you to remember why were here and what we have to do. Hoka ko home. This is our home. Let that be our focus and drive your actions and your determination. Let the end not just the means. But allow us to work through them. If we do that i think we will find ourselves in agreement more often than not. So i thank you, each and every one of you for the sacrifices that you will make during this session and throughout the year. And i look forward to working with all of you and collaborating with all of you. Mahalo and aloha [ applause ] tomorrow the house is scheduled to take up the Senate Version of the bill funding construction of the key stone pipeline. They come in at noon eastern for legislative business. Watch the debate on cspan. Last month Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant delivered his state of the state address and outlined his agenda for the upcoming kwleer year education investments and criminal Justice Reform. And also proposed tax cuts to working families. Mississippi public broadcasting providing the coverage from jackson. [ cheers and applause ] thank you. Oh good evening. [ applause ] good evening. Thank you so much. Thank you. 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. And isnt it wonderful to have the ladies up here . They make us look a lot better. [ applause ] i wish i could say that was my idea. Well maybe i will. I want to welcome to the platform president pro tem of the Mississippi Senate senator giles ward. [ applause ] i am mindful tonight of the absence of my friend terri brown. Each time we appeared here terry welcomed me with a strong shape and debra with a strong and enthusiastic hug. Well miss our friend. But as it is often said he is with us tonight. He only has a better seat. Three years ago i stood at this podium and delivered my inaugural address. The weather had forced us inside to gather in this Historic Chamber for the swearing in ceremony. I will always remember it was in this chamber i began my life in public service. 20 years later it is where debra and i began your journey as your governor and first lady. Now, i am fairly certain some in this chamber may not agree with all of my policies as governor. But i believe it is safe to say there is universal agreement that debra has been one of our states finest first ladies. [ applause ] from reading to children and classrooms in every county in the state, to being a First Responder at louisville. She has served this state and its people with dpras andgrace and commitment. And she asked me not to say this but i have to. I often think the good lord allowed me to become governor just so mississippians could have dpebebra as their first lady. In the three years that have passed we have achieved remarkable thing together. So lets look at the some of the positive facts about mississippi. We created one of the most job friendly states in america. According to Area Development magazine, mississippi ranks in the top ten states in the nation for Economic Development. Now, this is a ranking based on input from sightte selectors across the nation. When men wh women whos job it is to know the environment and productivity. For the third year in a row im proud to say weve been awarded a silver shovel. Representative of breaking ground on a number of new businesses across the state. Only 20 states each year receive this prestigious award. Now one of my personal favorites is a report that ranks mississippi number 5 in america for growth in womenowned business. This according to american express. The American Economic Development Institute also rank ours Mississippi Development thortd listen to this. As number nine in the nation among states Economic Development entities. And i want to thank brent christianson, director of m. D. A. And his team for a job well cone. Cone done. [ applause ] now it is great to have a national ranked Football Team or teams. But we need world class Economic Developers as well. And as i often say, Economic Development is a team sport. Let us look at some other positive indicators. Three years ago unemployment, the Unemployment Rate in mississippi was 9. 8 . Today it is around 7. 3. According to our state economists mississippi added 8,800 more jobs in 2014 than in 2013. Projected real personal Income Growth in mississippi during 2015 is expected to be 3. 9 . We also know that personal income in mississippi buys even more here than it would in other states because our low cost of living. The Tax Foundation is found income in mississippi goes 16 further than the national average. So for every hundred dollars in income a mississippian would make 116 compared to other states. So many new employees who move to mississippi actually get a raise. Now if they move here from washington d. C. , they can get around a 40 raise. Now obviously we would have to retrain most of them. There are other reliable indicators of the health of our economy. If we look at amount of individual income tax collected in mississippi from fiscal year 201114 we see a nearly 300 million increase. And it would appear working mississippians are making more money and revenues are rising. Weve also seen a decline in the number of people in our state who are receiving unemployment payments. From november of 2013 to november of 2014, there has ban reduction of 24 . And these facts may not be printed in a magazine or included in a study. But they prove positive momentum exists here. Now while we are discussing Economic Development let me take this time to assure you the standards for investing in Economic Development projects under this administration have been demanding. We thoroughly examine each investment for financial stability. Probability of success. And the companys history. Our qualifying standards are high and thorough. For your peace of mind we intend to keep them that way. Now, do not misunderstood my position. We are not yet where we need to be to move to that new level. But we are moving ahead and should not be timid about recognizing the good things in mississippi now mississippi. Now others will certainly revel in the bad but as for me i am proud of my mississippi. [ applause ] we know progress is never immediate. It is often made during the most difficult of times. The key to eventually obtaining lasting success is to stay the course, to never abandon your core believes 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 im 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. You see, 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 workforce training 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 laborers in the mississippi and a more centralized agency to manage Workforce Development to. Sum it up we will keep mississippi working by investing more in skills training at our Community Colleges and having faith in mississippi workers they can help build a future. [ applause ] ive also requested 3 million in my executive budget registration to begin the mississippi work scholarship fund. This would offer a student in my high school involved in a Career Readiness program who maintains a c average an opportunity to continue that course of study through a Community College on a full scholarship. Now, as a blue collar kid, i worked my way through junior college. But todays conditions are different. And tuition is more challenging. Our working class needs an even break to take to advance their skills. And let us give them a chance to be skilled craftsmen and women and find them a job. And i believe with these two programs we can focus on creating a world class workforce. With that accomplished our economic success can be unlimited. We will keep breaking ground cutting ribbons, across this entire state. And winning more silver shovels. One day i would like to have a gold one. [ applause ] now i will admit to being an Eternal Optimist who believes mississippis best days lie ahead and are 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 revenues have cumulatively grown almost 10 . Revenue in fiscal year 2016 is projected to grow by more than 166 managerillion. Our budget now uses little, if any, one time revenues of reoccurring expenses and our reign day Rainy Day Fund is filled to it statutory limit. [ applause ] thank you. Thank you mr. Speaker. Thank you Lieutenant Governor. Thank you leadership. The calls of states judicious 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 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. Healthcare continues to be an issue of debate in mississippi and across the nation. Even without expansion the Mississippi Division of medicaids General Fund Budget request this year is nearly a billion dollars. The woodwork effect and other provisions of the Affordable Care act have already resulted in an additional 71,000 medicaid recipient recipients, resulting in budget increases we can ill afford. To make matters more challenging, this number is projected to rise to 90,000 by july the 1st. Realistically the conditions surrounding healthcare are even more uncertain than before. Now 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. An Action Congress has attempted in whole or in part more than 40 different tiles. I do believe well see positive changes proposed. Such as portability. National tort reform and healthcare savings accounts. Another positive reform i am encouraging is the restoration of medicare and medicaid dish payments. Now these payments were originally designed to defray the cost 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 dish payments should be suspended. This would return revenues to hospitals which continue to provide uncompensated care even in states where expansion has occurred. Congress passed similar provisions restoring medicaid dish payments. And restoration of funding for dish payments were even a part of the president s budget. Now obviously, e limitation of the disproportionate share of hospital payments is a portion of the law that should have been read before it was past. Most every states success is largely judged by its education system. Admitted will i our Public Education system has been a challenge for as long as most of us can remember. In fact there is no recorded history of the mississippis Public Education system showing statewide success. However i believe the transformational changes brought about by the Mississippi Legislature in the past three years will begin to show progress. Charter schools for the first time in mississippis 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 yearly support doubling the funding for the pre k Collaborative Program with a total appropriation of 6 million. Because of our success Education Week ranks mississippi number nine in the nation in preschool enrollment. To put more funding in the classroom, you passed and i signed into law an historic two year 100 million teacher pay raise. Historic based pilot programs continue in 14 school districts. And over 1 million has gone to teachers who are reforming at the highest levels. We have also appropriated 65 million in the past three years for the National Board certified teacher program. National 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. [ applause ] we have offered complete scholarships to students with high marks on their tests and wanting to become teachers. And we have put into place a Dyslexia Training Program for teachers and funded scholarships to help with this training. And 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 o 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 service they need. [ applause ] and only 22. 5 of special Needs Children children. Something is terribly wrong. Id ask you do send this bill to my desk. Mississippis 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 percent of the states taxable resources. No Less Authority than the u. S. Department of education lists our state as number 12 in the nation for school expenditures as a percentage of the states Gross Domestic Product. My executive budget recommendation increases m. A. E. P. Funding by 53 million over the current year. Under my recommendation maep funding will reach nearly 2. 2 billion or a 2. 5 annual increase. Funding for k12 overall will reach 2. 5 billion. It includes 41 million this year for that second year hundred Million Dollar 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 and education that work and make sirncertain the money goes to the classroom. [ applause ] each year we Work Together to balance our budget. And this year will be certainly be no different. With one exception. This year i intend to take the bold and controversial decision 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 family tax cut that will provide an income tax credit to working mississippians earning up to 52,000 annually. It is non refundable and would be a tax dividend. Subject to Revenue Growth and filling our Rainy Day Fund. Now 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 cut that puts money in the pockets of working mississippians. In short 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 28th a recorded 23 tornados struck our state. Particularly hard hit were louisville and tupula. Of the 14 people who lost their lives that tragic day ten were the louisville area. President pro tems home was nearly destroyed. As so many others. The hospital and care facilities were badly damaged there in louisville. Some of the towns biggest em employer including Winston County Medical Center and na arksanatron Wood Products were closed. As with all disasters 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 began rebuilding in all of the effected areas. Within 21 days a modular hospital was opened. Femas first ever system of that success was in louisville, mississippi. [ applause ] i am proud to say that natron Wood Products will reopen as winston wood and veneer and will become one of the largest manufacturers of wood and veneer in north america. Now thats recovering mississippi style. [ applause ] joining us tonight is someone very important to that recovery. Curt lebeck ceo of the Parent Company winston wood resources. Please help me welcome curt to this meeting. Thank you very much. Thank you for believing in mississippi. [ applause ] on december 23, 2014 five tornados struck again. The hardest hit areas this time was marion and jones county. These storms to be the lives of five mississippians including the brother of the senator billy hudson. Homes were destroyed. And lives were forever changed. Once again we wept and prayed and thanked god more were not taken. And then we went back 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 1300 p volunteers worked more than 19,000 hours. And a quarter of a million for victims. And the gift of hope continues across the great state. In jones and clark and rengkin and other effects counties. We continue to be ever 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 season as we pass the most comprehensive round of the criminal Justice Reform in the 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 longneeded reforms to laws governing state contracts. [ applause ] including an over haul of our states contract review board. Now 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 now Marshall Fisher from his years as director of the Mississippi Bureau of narcotic. Please welcome him tonight as the commissioner of the Mississippi Department of corrections. Marshall, thank you. [ applause ] in state of the state coverage will continue. Were going to take you live to the white house now for comments from members of the congressional black cauxlk caucus. They have been meeting with president obama. Good evening. We just finished a 90 minute meeting with the president of the United States and the vice president. It was a very productive meeting. They were both very corgile to us. President obama at one time was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus so we take particular pride and honor every time we have an opportunity to meet with him. The meeting lasted for 90 minutes. We covered a variety of subjects. There was too many for me to go into detail for each one of those, but i will say that we talked about a centerpiece of our agenda. That is the question of targeted funding. We informed the president and he already knew that there are 500 counties in the United States of america that have persistent poverty rates. That means poverty rates of 20 or more for 30 years. We will hopefully do it legislatively. That is to target federal funding into those 480 or 490 counties that suffer from consistent poverty rates. He understood the charges that we face and he is willing to work with us and is looking to find creative ways. We were very pleased with his response. We spent considerable time talking about the criminal Justice Reform agenda that we have. And we need not remind him about the tragedies in cities where Police Misconduct went rampant. He knew those situations very well. And so we called on them and ms. Jackson lee also addressed the president. We had a very robust conversation about criminal Justice Reform. Not only about policemans conduct and prosecutorial misconduct and the need to reform the system and to try to find creative ways of reducing incarceration in the United States. The incarceration rate in our country far exceeds any other civilized country on the planet. We also had a pledge with him him that we will together address. He told us of the enormous admiration and support he has for loretta lynch. We hope for her speedy confirmation and he pledged that she will work with us on the subject of criminal Justice Reform. Education, and congress than in bobby scott is the ranking democrat on the education and workforce committee. Bobby had a very robust conversation with the hth about hbcus. We have 105 in the country and theyre all failing the challenges of the moment. We want them to be strong and vibrant. Theyre feeling the pinch because of the parent plus law. And to lift the load on these hbcus. We continue to talk with the president about economic recovery. We told the president that there is an economic recovery in the country, but unfortunately it is not reaching many africanamerican families in the u. S. The recovery is indisputable. There is no question about it. Were in a recovery. But for too Many Americans and for many of them they are people of color. The recovery has not reached their household, so we wanted to inform the president that black america continues to be in a state of emergency. All in all it was a productive meeting and we will meet again as time goes on. The president pledged to us that we can work with his senior staff, cabinet secretaries, and we look forward to the future. Thank you for covering us today. Are there any questions . Did you talk about netanyahu with the president and the speech in march . We did not. As you can imagine there is dozens of issues we would discuss, but we limited our conversations today to about five issues. We talked about trade, we could not leave the west wing without having that conversation. And i will yield to mr. Rangold in just a minute. The Congressional Black Congress believes a good trade treatment should provise jobs for american workers. Were looking to see if there are common ways to find common ground. If the president is given the authority that it will have some substantial Job Opportunities for the unemployed and the under employed. What about reform on criminal Justice Reform can you give more specifics on what was discussed . He is a lawyer by training. He lived in the real world he was a community organizer. He understands the abuses in the criminal Justice System. Have to make sure that police, ethically and legally as they administer their duties and we say all of the time that 98 of our Police Officers are wonderful individuals that devote their lives to their work. But there are a few bad actors. And we told the president that we need to have some form of police training, not just body cameras, they will not get the job done. But we have to have ways of Getting Better Police Officers on the street, and the way you do that is with Community Policing and training and sensitivity training. We also talked about the Voting Rights act. This is the 50th anniversary of selma, all of us know that. The president will be going to selma in a few weeks to celebrate the historic moment that we will all recognize and the president is looking forward to the trip, and many of us in this delegation will be going as well. I want to thank congresswoman terri suel, and long with congressman john lewis. Hopefully we can have some movement on the Voting Rights act. As all of you know the Supreme Court in june of 2013 said the formula being used in section five is outdated. And so we introduced a bill in the last congress that did not get an opportunity for an up or down vote. Hopefully we again can get an up or down vote so that section five can continue. That is the law that requires certain jurisdictions to get their laws precleared before they are enforced. Section five is critical to Voting Rights for africanamericans in this country. Did any staff receive any communication from the white house about the netanyahu visit . I have no knowledge of that im sorry. Do you feel misled by the president when he said he did not support gay marriage but he actually did. That didnt come up today and i didnt have a personal conversation with the president about that, im sorry. Is there an investigation into the Police Forces in ferguson. He said he wanted to yes, the d. O. J investigation is ongoing and we can draw our own conclusion from that report. Members can correct me if im wrong on that. I dont see here there, unless i cant see her in the background did she ask any questions . She knows that she is welcome to the cbc. She has come to our meeting and she was here today, and was seated in the room with us. She is part of the cbc and she is welcome. I hope that she will bring a constructive participation with our work. We want her not just to come to the meetings and sit but to constructively work with us in bipartisan legislation. Any concerns about Loretta Lynchs nomination being delayed or taking too long. That is Senate Business i will yield to mr. Booker if he is yes. I believe senateor booker has left, but were hopeful for a speedy confirmation. I support the chairman not only is he handsome, but he is very intelligent. Seriously senator. They want to know the prospects of mrs. Lynchs confirmation. Can you approach the microphones please . I think its good thank you. Can you talk about we discussed it but we didnt go into detail. Thank you sir. I think chairman buter field covered everything that we did. The president is looking for creative