Please welcome our guests to the stage. Please welcome our guests. Ladies and gentlemen, founder of freedom and faith coalition. [applause] have you had a fun conference . [applause] hasnt this been fun . [applause] we arent done yet. We are about to have the Vice President of the United States close out the conference. [applause] before we do that, can i ask everyone to stand and i want to him to lead our invocation. Now listen people pay heed to the call of prayer. Lift up your minds to the most high, your hearts to be lower lord of hosts. Praise the wonders of the lord. Thank him for all he provides. God to you we oh offer our petitions. Like a mustard seed increase our faith that we may stand firm in the truth. Give us strength against our foes and eloquence to persuade them. For license to do wrong but for freedom to do what is right. Tyranny of from the desperates. Release us from the shackles of oppression. You have poured your blessings upon america. May we be a light to the nations. Lowlymise to defend the while not neglecting our own. Bless the coalition and its works. Bestow graces upon its benefactors and guests. Be present to us at this gala. Be with us as we ponder your will. Graciously bless the food that we eat and those serve our needs. In health to serve you oh lord. We ask all this in your holy name. You live in glory everlasting. Your praises are sung forever and ever. Amen. [applause] please remain standing for the pledge of allegiance. It will be led by madison hex from the president s home state of indiana. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and to the republic for which it stands one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice or all. You may be seated. On wednesday, we opened our conference with a wonderful speech by the president of the United States. [applause] we have heard from senators and congressmen, radio and television host, grassroots leaders, activists in the hispanic and africanamerican communities and from cabinet officials. At a certain point, we had a quorum to hold a Cabinet Meeting in the green room if we could have just hyped the president in from air force one. [laughter] tonight, our keynote speaker is one of our closest friends. Our champion. Community,he faith Vice President mike pence. [applause] he is no stranger to this organization or this stage. He first addressed the faith and freedom audience in 2012. This is the third year in a net in a wrote that he has keynoted. He earned a welldeserved principledas a commonsense conservative who was respected by his colleagues and was viewed as a rising star in was headed forho bigger and greater things. I will never forget where i was on the day in july of 2016 when donald trump announced that he had selected mike pence to be his running mate. For millions of members of the Faith Community, it was a moment of joy, genuine gratitude, and celebration. We knew mike pence. He was our friend. He was a champion of the family and a defender of innocent human life and we trusted him. We were thrilled the donald trump saw in him what we had seen for years. A great leader. Since then, he has only risen higher in our eyes and in the eyes of this president. He is decent, humble, principled, courageous, discrete , and loyal. Loyal not just to the president but to his principles. To the American People who elected him and to the lord he serves. We have had more policy victories and more personnel advances in this administration than all previous combined and this man is one of the reasons why. [applause] we are truly fortunate and blessed to have a man shares our values and shares our faith in jesus christ not only trusted but his advice and counsel relied upon by the president of the United States. We thank god that he has raised this man up so please welcome the Vice President of the United States, mike pence. [applause] [applause] vice pres. Pence thank you all. [applause] thank you allce for that very warm welcome. [applause] [no audio] [applause] [applause] vice pres. Pence thank you all. It is wonderful to be back. Wonderful to be back with the men and women of the faith and Freedom Coalition. By thepecially honored words that just preceded me. His onlyincoln said ambition in life was to be esteemed by people he esteemed. Would you join me in thanking ralph reed for his extraordinary leadership of this Great Coalition and this Movement Across america. [applause] vice pres. Pence ralph and i have known each other a long time. All the way back when we both had dark hair. [laughter] ralph knows me well enough to know that i am humbled by his words and the introduction i prefer is a little shorter. I am a christian, a conservative, and a republican in that order. It is my great honor to be with you. [applause] vice pres. Pence to be among so many people who make such a difference in pulpits around the land and in Public Service. I am also honored to be joined tonight by some of my real heroes. Lankfordtor james [applause] and to Eugene Scalia who was with us and the hundreds of members of faith who have come from near and far and to those looking on it is a joy for me to be with you tonight. I understand that later tonight the faith and Freedom Coalition is going to recognize another american who i have admired throughout my adult life. He is someone who has carried forth the conservative message as an educator, historian, a voice on the public airwaves like very few americans. He was secretary of education and he has been educating americans about the strength of our values and our foundation and liberty. Allow me to offer an early congratulations tonight to the recipient of this years Winston Churchill Lifetime Achievement award, bill bennett. [applause] vice pres. Pence congratulations. Speaking of friends of mine, let me begin tonight by bringing greetings from another friend of mine. [laughter] he is on the other side of the world that i know his heart is here with all of you and i know he kicked off your week of gathering for the faith and Freedom Coalition. Greetings fromng the 45th president of the United States america, President Donald Trump. [applause] vice pres. Pence starting you off this week, the president in godericans believe has forged a character of our country. And it our nation a light unto the world. He added our administration is fighting for all americans and we are embracing the Faith Community as never before. Thanks to your support, and thanks to the leadership of this president , i am pleased to report to you that faith and freedom are on the rise. All across america. [laughter] [applause] [laughter] [applause] the greatest honor is my life is to serve Vice President to a president who gets up every day to keep the masses he made to the American People. He stands without apology for faith and freedom everyday. I have seen it when the cameras are off. He is a man of action. President donald trump is a man of his word. He has kept his word in the community of faith all across america. [applause] i thinks. Pence theres only one way you can describe the last two years. It has been two years of action. Two and a half years of results. Twoandahalf years of promises made and promises kept. We are just getting started. [applause] president pence trump promised to revive the american economy. Bypassing largest tax cuts and tax reform in American History and that is exactly what we have done. The results are remarkable. [applause] dont need me to tell you but i will tell you anyway. [laughter] vice pres. Pence 5. 8 million new jobs since election day 2016 and the Unemployment Rate is at a 50 year low. [applause] vice pres. Pence wages are rising at the fastest pace in more than a decade and most meaningful to the president and me, wages are rising at their fastest pace for working and bluecollar americans area that the forgotten men and women of america are forgotten no more. The American Dream is working again. For every american. Womenemployment rate for is at a 60 year low and it is the lowest Unemployment Rate ever recorded for African Americans and hispanic americans. [applause] i can tell youe in this room, confidence is back. Jobs are back. America is back. [applause] as we all pence the president has been busy with security as well. After years where we saw a reckless cutbacks in our military at a time when we took office, there were American Military aircraft grounded so they could be used as spare parts or other aircraft to keep them in the air. Thanks to this president s leadership and our strong allies in the congress, President Trump signed the largest increase in our National Defense since the days of Ronald Reagan. [applause] vice pres. Pence we are rebuilding our military. Democracy andng once again giving our soldiers sailors and airmen marines and coast guard the resources and training they deserve. [applause] with that pence renewed american strength, we have a president who once again is embracing his role as leader of the free world. We are standing strong with our allies. We are having our allies do more than they have ever done before. As i stand before you today, our nato allies arc exhibiting more to our common defense than they have been for decades. This president has stood. He stood with our allies especially our most child cherished ally like when he kept the promise that had been made by four previous administrations only to be set aside but this president cap it when he moved the United States embassy to jerusalem. The capital of the state of israel. [applause] thats what wee call promises made and promises kept. With that renewed american strength, we have also stood up to our adversaries. Those that would challenge americas interests around the world. This president iran on notice. We will no longer tolerate their spread of terrorism in the world. We brought north korea to the negotiating table. The president is on the Korean Peninsula as we speak and will dmz maybeto the before this dinner is out. We have taken the fight to radical islamic terrorists on our terms on their soil and thanks to the courage of our men and women of the United States armed forces and this commander in chief, the last inch of territory controlled by isis has been captured. Caliphateflag of the flies no more over the territory they once controlled. [applause] vice pres. Pence i am proud to thatt in the wake of military victory, the United States has also under this president s readership helping to rebuild communities across the plane that were devastated when did brutality of isis. I am proud to report with the strong support of our partners in congress, the United States has already committed more than 300 million in aid to rebuild Christian Communities torn asunder by war. The United States is also standing strong in calling out religious persecution wherever it takes place. Whether it be in nicaragua, russia, iran, or the peoples republic of china. I want to promise you this illustration is going to continue to speak out and stand up for the freedom of conscience and of the freedom of religion for people all over the world. We will hold of that deal. [applause] vice pres. Pence men and women and persecuted christians around the world deserve our prayers and i promise you they will always have the support of the United States of america. This administration has worked tirelessly to secure the release of americans facing persecution and captivity. From egypt to venezuela, to wherekorea and to turkey after two years of captivity, thanks to the tenacious demand of this president pastor Andrew Branson is home. [applause] vice pres. Pence we have stood up for people of faith but our most cherished values on the world stage. We have also been standing for those values here at home since the first day of this administration. This president has reaffirmed our commitment to the rule of law. The foundation of constitutional principles upon which our nation was built. This president has appointed more judges to our federal court of appeals in the last two years than any president in American History. They are all principled conservatives. [applause] will uphold the godgiven liberties enshrined in our constitution. [applause] religion,reedom of the freedom of speech, and the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. [applause] vice pres. Pence i have met many of these judges on the bench. They are incredible. 114 federal judges confirmed so far. How about a round of applause for senator langford and leader mcconnell and the great republicans in the United States senate have confirmed these including Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Brett kavanaugh. [applause] vice pres. Pence our administration has also taken action to promote our first freedom. The religious liberty of every american. I probably dont need to tell of you that we live in a time when it has become fashionable to mock religious belief. We see it among the media elites. Andvision commentators liberal politicians. Usk in 2016 they called deplorable. [laughter] recently, our former Vice President actually said that americans who stand for traditional moral values are in his words forces of intolerance. Dregs of society. One senator has National Aspirations that our administrations budget director who happens to be a bible believing christian is not as he said someone this country is supposed to be about. Simply because he was a christian. You, the American People cherish the religious freedom and the freedom of conscience of every one of our citizens and these attacks on people of the Christian Faith must stop. [applause] vice pres. Pence its not what we are about as americans area americans cherish the faith and freedom of every person to believe or not believe it. According to the dictates of their conscience and traditions. Commend you for upholding that principle. I will make you a promise under this president , we will always stand with people of faith. We will always defend the freedom of religion of every american of every faith so help us god. [applause] vice pres. Pence in 2016 the president promised he would defend your religious liberties and youre right to practice their religion as individuals, is as owners and institutions and that is what he has done. We have taken actions to protect the conscience rights of doctors and health care providers. We have restored enteral enforcement of our nations conscience laws and we ended the last administrations assault on the Little Sisters of the core. As the president said a few days ago, we believe the freedom of speech should not end at the front door of our churches and places of worship. That is why we ended enforcement of the Johnson Amendment and we will continue to work to repeal the Johnson Amendment once and for all. [applause] vice pres. Pence you think about the freedom of speech in the pulpits of this nation. Maybe when bill bennett takes to this podium having written some of the most important histories of the founding of this country he can tell you how important those pulpits were. When i first claimed our freedom in 1776. We have gone to court to protect the right of religious expect expression in the public square. Decades ago a 40 foot cross was built in maryland to commemorate men who died fighting for our freedom in world war i and or stood as a cross symbol of our nations gratitude to those heroes. Recently leftwing activists threatened to tear it down. Administration, we stood for the peace cross in maryland. 72 vote, the Supreme Court said the cross of maryland can stay. [applause] vice pres. Pence we have stood for liberty. For the rule of law, the foundation of our constitutional liberties. From the bottom of my heart, i could not be more proud to serve as Vice President to a president who stands without apology for the sanctity of human life. [applause] President Donald Trump is the most prolife president in American History. [applause] vice pres. Pence one of his very first act, he reinstated the mexico city policy to make sure that taxpayer dollars would not be used to promote abortion overseas. Promote or provide abortion overseas or around the world. I was honored to cast the tiebreaking vote and to watch the president signed legislation that allowed the states across the country to defund planned parenthood. [applause] vice pres. Pence speaking of the nations largest Abortion Provider, we all remember back in 2015 when those chilling undercover videos were on the airwaves of the nation. They showed horrific conversations about the sale and transfer of parts of aborted babies. Know, juste sure you a few weeks ago, President Donald Trump ended Fetal Tissue Research at the National Institute [indiscernible] [applause] vice pres. Pence it is remarkable to think that at a time when more and more americans especially younger americans are embracing the sanctity of life, the party that once said abortion should be now and legal and rare supports abortion on demand. Even lateterm abortion. In state legislatures across the country, democrats are endorsing lateterm abortion. They also were the governor of virginia supported infanticide. You should also know that democrats in the senate including every democrat running for president voted against the bill that would prevent newborn babies who survived failed abortions from being killed. Aliveknown as the born infants protection act. There is even a litmus test in the Democratic Campaign for president that taxpayer funding must be provided for abortion throughout pregnancy. Long ago that we had a bipartisan consensus in congress and across the country that we shouldnt take the taxpayer dollars of millions of prolife americans and use it to fund a procedure that they find morally objectionable. It was the genius that was enshrined decades ago in the after thement named prolife congressman from illinois. Today, things are different. Even some leading democrats who supported the Hyde Amendment for decades are now embracing taxpayer funding of abortion at any stage of pregnancy with no exceptions. I have long believed that a society can be judged with how it deals with its most most vulnerable. And youngest. Firm i promise you, this president this party and this movement will always stand for the inalienable right to life. [applause] vice pres. Pence we have been growing our economy, fighting for National Defense, we have been standing up for our values and home and abroad. Men and women of faith and freedom, we know there are still challenges that we face as a nation. And most poignantly in the hearts and minds of americans today, there is now a Broad National realization that what the president and i have saying for more than a year, we have a crisis at our southern border. It is like we have never seen before. We are on track this year for nearly one Million People to come across our southern border to take advantage of loopholes in our laws. For the first time in history, the majority of them are icedlies who are being ent by human traffickers. They are enticed to pay cash to be taken on the long and dangerous journey north to our border. And it is a dangerous journey, fraught with unspeakable violence. Oncef Illegal Immigrants, they present at the border, report being victims of violence along the way. According to doctors without borders, nearly one third of young women traveling to our southern border from Central America are sexually assaulted on the journey. And this week the heart, of our nation broke when we saw the oscar photograph of Alberto Martinez and his 23 month old daughter. Drowned in the rio grande. Shocked the conscience of the nation. But the truth is, what we saw then, on the front page of every newspaper in america, is what has been happening for months. Violence, sexual abuse, and worse, being brought up by people who have no regard for human life, enticing them for their profit to make the dangerous journey north. I saw it first hand when i was visiting the border. I went to the detention facility. Families, these literally in numbers that have been overwhelming our system, was heartbreaking to me. To think of how these vulnerable families have been taken advantage of by these cartels and human traffickers was heartbreaking to see. But the American People are realizing we have a crisis on our southern border. That is why President Trump declared a National Emergency in january. I am proud to report we have already started to build that wall. We will have 400 miles [applause] s whyres. Pence that President Trump took a strong stand and demanded mexico do more to secure the border. Now Homeland Security projects that largely owing to mexicos action, illegal crossings at our southern border are already down by 25 in the last month. [applause] vice pres. Pence and thats why after six months, where democrats denied there was a crisis of the border. They denied funding for Additional Resources to care for the vulnerable families flowing across the border. They denied Additional Resources for beds and facilities. President trump stood strong. This week our president negotiated a bipartisan bill that when he signs it on monday will speed 4. 6 billion in humanitarian aid to support the compassionate work of health and Human Services in our customs and border protection. [applause] vice pres. Pence finally, help is on the way. [applause] men and women,e weve still got more work to do. At a time when migrants south of our border are facing violence, sexual assault, and worse. It really is astonishing that many of the leading democrats for president continue to advocate open borders and policies that would make it easier for human traffickers to entice vulnerable families to take the long endangers journey not. And dangerous journey north. Despite the fact that 10 years ago president obama promised obamacare, in his words, would not apply to those here illegally. This week, every major democrat candidate for president honest free taxpayerfunded health care to Illegal Immigrants. Many promised to decriminalize immigration altogether. After spending the last six months denying there was a crisis at our southern border, and doing nothing while our courageous and compassionate border personnel were overwhelmed by the crisis, now some democrats want to lecture us about their moral concern for the people caught up in this crisis. Point,be clear on this there is nothing compassionate about open borders. There is nothing compassionate about refusing to change the laws that human traffickers used to take advantage of poor families. Those who would advocate Free Health Care for Illegal Immigrants and making illegal immigration legal are making it easier for human traffickers to the streets to mistreat poor and vulnerable families. And thatorally wrong has got to stop. [applause] vice pres. Pence the moral thing to do, and i believe in my heart of hearts the compassionate thing to do is to secure our border, provide humanitarian support to families who are being exploited by these criminal syndicates, reform our asylum laws and send a deafening message south of the border that if you want to come to the United States of america, you or not atlegally, all. [applause] vice pres. Pence and i will make you a promise. Whatever democrats want to do to continue to obstruct our efforts to secure our border and reform our laws, we are going to keep working. We are going to keep telling the story. We are going to keep finding allies in congress and around this country. We will fix this broken immigration system once and for all. [applause] men and women,e it is amazing to think that been of thisn two years president on the world stage and at home, freedom is winning again. To keep winning, we have to keep fighting. [applause] [chanting four more years] vice pres. Pence weve got to keep on fighting. We have to keep fighting for the values that make this country great and the people willing to champion them. Chief among them is freedom. Was founded on a very simple principle, and that idea was liberating. Was liberty. Enshrined on libertyville itself are words from leviticus, pr oclaim liberty unto all of the land and the inhabitants thereof. It is amazing to think over our lifetimes, the support for liberty, the defense of liberty, of free market economics, of unalienable rights, it principally has fallen to our party and our movement. Today democrats advocate an Economic System that has impoverished millions around the bed the liberties of generations. That system is socialism. Earlier this week, we heard leading Democratic Candidates for president defend socialism. I think all of you know it was freedom, not socialism that gave us the strongest and most prosperous nation in the history of the world. [applause] vice pres. Pence it was freedom, not socialism, that ended slavery, won two world wars and stands today as a beacon of hope for the rest of the world. [applause] thispres. Pence so as debate begins in the next 18 months, we must resolve to say, as the president said in his state of union address, america will never be a socialist country. [applause] vice pres. Pence men and women, the choice in this upcoming election has never been clearer. The stakes have never been higher. We make great progress in the last two and a half years. Now is the time for us to redouble our efforts. Now is the time to come alongside the men and women standing up for the values we cherish, whether that be in state houses or the congress, or making sure President Trump gets four more years. [applause] vice pres. Pence americas got a choice to make. When i gather in front of you all tonight and see this Incredible Group and think of the work we have done together over the last several decades to renew and strengthen the foundations of this great nation, when i see you have lifted up a generation of men and women from this president on down that have been standing strong and without apology on all of those great and timeless american ideals, im confident. We willident that continue to build on the progress we have made. I encourage all of you to have faith. You are going to have a great evening tonight, and i want to get out of your way. [laughter] vice pres. Pence because you will hear from some wonderful people and share some great moments. I just want to encourage all of you as we go into this next 18 months, have faith. Have faith in the American People that progress that we have made as a result of the fact that when we take the timeless ideals of this country to our nation, when we say america can be strong again, we can build it all on the foundation of faith and freedom, upon which our forbearers stood, i truly believe that history shows that every time the American People are given a choice between more freedom and more government, they choose more freedom every single time. So have faith in the American People. [applause] vice pres. Pence and have faith in this president that they elected. One of the most amusing words i hear are when people stop me at an airport or a diner and tell me, tell the president to keep going. [applause] vice pres. Pence i tell them, theres something you never need to say. [laughter] vice pres. Pence there is no Rearview Mirror for President Donald Trump. It is all going forward. This president is going to keep fighting for the values and ideals that are making this country great. [applause] vice pres. Pence am i right . Im right. Lastly, as i close, let me encourage you finally to have faith in the American People and this president and the principled men and women who have rallied to this cause. Lastly, have that other kind of faith. Yourself. To avail the sweetest words to president and i ever hear, and we hear it a lot when people reach across the line and grab your hand, we are praying for you. [applause] vice pres. Pence and i can tell you it moves us deeply. So i want to encourage you to avail yourself, to just know as the bible says, the prayer reaches heaven. These dividedk in times in this country about how we heal the decision that seems the division that seems so evident in many issues, i think you in this room know the wellspring of our National Unity has been in our ideals, and it has been in our faith, and that if his people who are called by his name will humble themselves and pray, he will do like he has always done throughout the history of this country, he will heal this land. It is one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. So pray for america. Pray for all of the American People. Applause]d will make aence it difference. So thank you for the honor of addressing you tonight. Thank you for the encouragement that you have given us. And while i have your attention, on behalf of my wife, who is about one third of a world away right now, let me say thank you for the great privilege of being your Vice President. [applause] vice pres. Pence i just know with your continued support and menrts and prayers, with and women of integrity, elected and reelected at every level, statehouse to capitol hill, with President Trump in the white wese, and with gods help, will make america more prosperous than ever before. We will make america safer than ever before. And to borrow a phrase, we will make America Great again. Thank you all very much. [applause] vice pres. Pence god bless america. [applause] [applause] wow. Hope that wasi all right. [laughter] was that alright . [cheers] are you not glad that man is Vice President of the United States . Praise the lord. We are going to get the Program Going in just a minute, and the spotlight will shift to our honoree tonight, dr. William j bennett, who we are honored to have tonight. As the go ahead as soon secret service will let the waiters serve the meal and we will get the Program Underway shortly. You just heard Vice President mike pence speaking at the faith and Freedom Coalition gathering in washington dc. Toights gala is being held honor former education secretary william bennett. While we wait for that portion of the program to begin, we will hear from those who spoke over the past days at the group convention. Thursday, we begin with tennessee senator Marsha Blackburn. Hello again. Welcome to the town hall portion of our afternoon. We are excited to be able to be joined by a handful of folks who are truly making a difference here in this very building on the values that animate the faith and Freedom Coalition and our membership. So thank you. As folks are working through security out there, we will get started, because things are moving fast and furious here in the building. Businesswrapping up for the legislative break they are about to take. Opportunity,t because our first visitor for accumulatedon has quite a reputation and a resume on these issues in the u. S. House of representatives. Senator Marsha Blackburn has become immediately a stalwart in the u. S. Senate on all of these issues. You may have noticed in this new legislative session, she was given an important position on the Senate Judiciary committee, which we were thrilled with, not to see all the legislative work, but she will be one of the significant voices as not only Circuit Court judges, but one of the high judges that may come about. I think this will be a real highlight of the weekend you guys. Would you welcome to the stage senator Marsha Blackburn from tennessee . [applause] well, greetings. How wonderful to see you all here instead of offcampus, as we say, which is where we usually are when i join you. I first of all want to say thank andto you for your interest for your willingness to pay your own way here and attended the conference that is going to shore you up and give you the information you need to talk to your friends and neighbors. I was talking to a reporter outside the room. Said, why is an is a conference like this important . I said, fewer and fewer people believe what they hear on the evening news. They listen to it with skepticism and down, but and doubt, but you know who they do believe . They believe their neighbors and friends. Hands,k from a show of how many of you get an email, hear from a friend, and somebody says, look at what i read on the internet, is this true . What do you know about this . The most important name in news now is not abc, which i still call the all about clinton news cnn, it isor nbc or it is you in you and your circle of friends. That is who they are listening to, they are listening to you. I applaud you for being here. I thank you so much for your heartfelt interest. I encourage you in getting the education that you need to help individuals know what is a constitutional, truthful vote. What is a constitutional, truthful position . And having them understand elections have consequences, and who is in charge matters. And who you are listening to makes a difference. If i want to know something about israel, i know who to call. These are the people you rely on, because they are your friends. Thank you for that. I thought when i would do today a little the difference from what i have talked about little bit different from what i have talked about in past years. You will hear from seniors plowing away at these issues in the senate. I want to tell you the top 10 most important items i have worked on since coming to the senate, then i will yield the floor to some of these other guys. It is great to hear from a good solid conservative woman first, right . [applause] sen. Blackburn i tell my family all the time im the chief mama in charge. The way im spending my time, the title 10 Abortion Provider prohibition act. When i chaired the investigative selection panel, looking at what was happened what was happening with planned parenthood. We figured they were selling baby bodyguards. Parts. Baby body we got up the president s executive order. Title x funding will go to its statutory purpose, which is to clinics that provide Womens Health care. If you provide abortions services, you are not going to get that. [applause] sen. Blackburn the title x prohibition and protecting life and taxpayers act, these two pieces of legislation, two of the first things i did in coming into the senate. Stating we are indeed here to protect life and liberty. Oh yeah, what was that first thing . Life. Those are the first two things we have worked on. Third, i filed the campus free speech resolution of 2019. [applause] you are sourn welcome. I talked with a lot of college students. It is inconceivable to us that in this day and age that having diversity of thought would be considered to be harmful and that students and professors are arguing about encouraging people to hear about different points of view. Acts upthis, and it many of our conservative backs up many of our conservative groups. In judiciary hearing, we are addressing social media bias. I am going to a chair a group in the Judiciary Committee that will look at issues of privacy security, and online censorship. [applause] sen. Blackburn it is important that we hold these Online Platforms accountable, and that they move away from subjectively manipulating those algorithms that boot out conservative speech. Number five, judicial confirmations. How do you like these new federal judges . Isnt that great . [applause] sen. Blackburn so far we have confirmed 123 federal judges. In Judiciary Committee today, we moved four more out to go to the floor. President trump has set quite a record. We really do support what he is doing. Number six, defending israel. [applause] one Blackburn Senate bill passed early this year. Item number seven on my list, fighting bds. Senate resolution 120. Number eight, defending christians in sri lanka. Important that we weighed in on that. Number nine is something we are continuing to work on even today, keeping maximum pressure on iran and making certain that we support the president when he put these sanctions in place. Irans economy is beginning to crumble. Dont tell me this is a new problem, this has been going on since the 1970s. We know iran is the latest the largest state sponsor of terrorism. The Washington Post even reported that hezbollah was complaining iran cut off some of their money flow. Hezbollah couldnt carry out their bad ddeeeds. We will keep the pressure on. Number 10 is one we just did today, the National Defense authorization act, making sure our men and women in uniform have what they need to carry out do. Job they are supposed to thank you all so much for letting me be with you. [applause] hello everyone, i am director of legislative affairs for the faith and Freedom Coalition. It is my distinct pleasure to introduce your next speaker. Let me say a few words, u. S. Senator michael he was elected to the senate in 2010. Since then, he has been a leader on all of the issues we care about. He was an occultist turning in private practice, Supreme Court litigator, so it is no surprise he landed on the Senate Judiciary committee, for you may have seen him on made for tv specials like the kavanaugh and gorsuch hearings. He has been a leader on a number of issues, prolife issues, religious liberty issues. Excited to work with him on a lot of criminal justice issues, which President Trump spoke about yesterday and Matthew Charles also spoke to you about the first step act. That act would not have been possible without senator lees leadership on the committee, both his commitment to the issue in fixing disproportionality the prison system. His commitment to that has been steadfast since he has been elected. Not just his commitment, but his smart approach. He made sure it was a bipartisan bill, able to head to the senate floor and ultimately to President Trumps desk. Please join me in welcoming senator mike lee. [applause] sen. Lee thank you. I never get people standing for me when i enter a room in this town. I think they must be applauding for someone else. It is so great to be back with you. I love this organization. I love each of you. I love even the name of the organization, faith and Freedom Coalition. These are two concepts that define america. They cannot exist one without the other. You cannot truly be free without faith and you cannot exercise faith without freedom. [applause] so in that respect, your organization does what we as americans do so well, balancing freedom and faith so that either can exist. These things are easy to take for granted. Sometimes people do take them for granted. We have to remember for most of human history, prior to americas founding, a free conscienceas not was not seen as a mitigated good, it was seen as a threat. Empires,es to great to subject god to the state of man. It decided the acceptable religion and plunged what was not. And punished what was not. Fortunately our founders saw a better way. Our founders envisioned the kind of america we would later become. The kind of america i hope always will be. We are great not because of who we are, but because of what we do. Both faith and freedom are the consequence of a choice. We must choose every day of our must choosefree, we every day of our lives to have faith. [applause] sen. Lee our fathers set up a system that would protect both. It was one of the things they did that was so bold and brave two and a half centuries ago. I have written extensively about our constitution. There is another document that sometimes is not appreciated as much as it should be, the declaration of independence. Yes, thank you. [applause] sen. Lee it asked sometimes been said the constitution provides the frame for our freedom, as in around a picture, the structure. The picture itself is painted by the declaration of independence. That is why i wrote a book about the declaration of independence. All 12 people who have read most declaration lost declaration absolutely love it. What they did when they signed their name to the document was treason. It was an act of open resistance ng andly against their ki country, but the worlds greatest superpower. They plunged their sacred honor. Why did they do it . Was it worth it . Course, because of their love of their fellow beings. They recognized what i hope we will all recognize, that is the eternal worth and immeasurable importance of every human soul, that having been created in the image of god, we are entitled to be respected with dignity and must treat each other that way every single day. [applause] favorite one of my frenchman of alltime understood our religion, our belief in the god of abraham, the lord jesus christ, was the source of our strength. And trieded america to explain why the revolution stuck here, why it was we were able to be free and equally treated under a fair, just system of laws. Freedom regards religion as the companion in all its battles and all its triumphs, as the cradle of its infancy and source of all its claims. Religion alone is the safeguard of morality, and morality is the surest pledge for the survival of freedom. [applause] we managed as a country to hold onto these emblems, these reminders of the fact that what makes us great is the choice we make every day to follow our god. It has been sent by Winston Churchill, we shape our buildings, then our buildings shape us. Tours of constituents the screen building, i am this great building, i am drawn to pieces of artwork that often go unnoticed. Both were made by an italian immigrants hired as artists for the decoration of the capital. One made this great sculpture that often goes unnoticed. It stands in statuary hall. Liberty and the eagle consists of a figure, i believe representing liberty, with her arm outstretched holding a scroll, likely representing the constitution. To her right is an eagle representing farseeing vision and strength. To her left is a bundle of sticks representing e pluribus unum, that we are stronger than the sum of our parts. Heldis instance, it is together by a snake. I was alarmed when i first got here by this sculpture, until someone explained to me the hypothesis that maybe this is channeling the words of jesus from matthew chapter 10, first 16 verse 16, admonishing jesuss followers to be like serpents but harmless as doves. Could it be that the founders of our great country, including those who adorn its public buildings, understood this great truth that any form of government that recognizes freedom and professes the right to believe in almighty god as each person deems appropriate is wonderful and very fragile, i at onces the source of our strength and our biggest potential vulnerability. Another one of these sculptures representing the same thing can be found on the opposite end of the senate when. The artist senate wing. Cherub,st displays a with a snake on one side and the other with a dove. We have to remember the important choice to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves every single day. [applause] sen. Lee so i hope we can choose every day to maintain the strength of our public, to do so by choosing virtual, choosing virtue, by interacting with each other in a way that properly reflects all of jesuss teachings, including two love one another. [applause] i bear testimony that god lives and he loves each and every one of us, that jesus is the christ, that he died for everyone of us, that he suffered for all humanity that we might be free and return to live with him once again. Either that testimony in the name of jesus christ. I bear that testimony in the name of jesus christ. Amen. [applause] another day we will have senator lee, the constitutional expert, explain why someone like that is legally allowed to Say Something like that in a building like this. This is encouraging to you. It is informational, it is current. Literally off of the senate floor. [applause] alludedator blackburn to earlier, large crowd, big stage, but i really love having this element. Think not only does it allow us to come into our capital, but it allows elected officials like you just heard to lay it out here in front of everybody, this is who we are, this is what we believe, and we are not checking out at the door. [applause] timothy speaking of not checking anything at the door, any oklahomans, Family Friends of oklahomans . That is gods country. This is hard for me as a native texan to say this, but it is easier for me to say, because he is married to a former baylor bear. Of the clarion voices in american politics on these issues is our next speaker. Ground as a minister backgr ound as a minister. He has truly influenced the lives of a generation of oklahomans, throughout the midwest for that matter. He worked in Youth Ministry for years and years. After interacting with thousands of high school and college students, senator langford realized that the time is now and the calling is here to come to washington several years ago as a member of the house of representatives. The last couple of years, he has taken that voice across capitol hill and into the senate. In welcoming our friend senator James Lankford of oklahoma. [applause] sen. Lankford no need to stand and clap, unless you need to stretch. Oklahoma, wey, in have more barbecue restaurants than any other state in america per capita. Lots of other folks say they have great barbecue, and ok, fine. Come eat ours and you will know the difference. I joke with folks all the time, the Old Testament talks about the sweet aroma of the sacrifice coming up. I say even god likes the smell of barbecue. In ministry. Was i was 22 years in ministry, and served in Youth Ministry. Depending on your personal background, to know that a youth pastor is a senator encourages you or terrifies you depending on your relationship with your youth pastor. I never expected to be in congress. This is what my wife calls lifes greatest interruption. I 2008, my wife and separately called us to run for congress. We spent months telling god what an insane idea that was. That is not rational, that is not possible. I was a voter. I was passionate about what was happening in our country, but i spent all my time working with students. Some of you may have heard of the false creek youth camp, the largest the falls creek youth camp. I was the director of the falls creek youth camp. When you have the opportunity to work with 51,000 students in the summer, you do that. That was my joy to do that god was clear09, with us that he wanted us to gods doin us to start doing something different. The end, there is the ram, you dont have to end. It, you have to do something different. Old man will not be an one day telling my kids i did not follow god. It is not about us, but what god has done. I tell people that im convinced over time that say, my family has no backward in politics, i there ise any money, no way i can never get involved in that, but god. [applause] sen. Lankford so my simple statement to some of you, some of you are here because you are grassroots activists and you are excited about helping someone else. What you are doing is disobeying god because he is telling you to do it and you are shortcircuiting what he is calling you to do. Complete what he is calling you to do. I cant call you. That is not my responsibility. Some of you are not supposed to be helping, you are supposed to be doing. You are supposed to be on the city council, you are supposed to be engaged on these issues. I will encourage you cannot be afraid where god leads you. Dont be afraid to go there. I have folks all the time that say they are grateful there are good people in washington dc, because they will change the country. I typically smile at them and say politely, washington doesnt change the country, the country changes russian to. Changes washington. The grassroots activists, the people changing the culture in the church, in the nonprofits, in the communities, that slowly to d. C. And it moves slowly out of d. C. The transitions we need to see an d. C. 10 years from now will happen because churches and communities are engaging now. What is happening in the sea culturally in d. C. Culturally is a result of 10 years ago. What would you like to see d. C. Like 10 years from now . Engage your communities, activate real dialogue and conversation, and that is what d. C. Will be like 10 years from now. There are a lot of of Critical Issues we are working on right now that are important to us, those that believe in basic freedom. Not everyone of us does. One of my colleagues two weeks ago made a statement to say people that are prolife are like racists and antisemites, there is no place for them in america. When she made a statement that prolife individuals, that there is no place for them in america, say,aid down a gauntlet to this is what we believe. We will do whatever we can to silence those who believe in the value of children. I cant imagine anything worse in america than racism, antisemitism, and children. Can you . It is a really odd list to be in. For those of you who love the life of a child to be considered as a group that there is no place for in america. That does not turn around a vote. That is the engagement we will have to do culturally, right now on University Campuses and this fall, there will be students screaming in the face of people they disagree with. They will work to silence their voice to make sure they cannot speak. Thats a cultural issue. That is an engagement about what is right and what is wrong. We turn that around not with a vote, we turn that around with individual engagement. There are things like judges we can work on. We need judges who read the law and follow the law. I know it out as a radical concept to some. The senate reached a point a few months ago, we reached the boiling point to say we will change the rules of the senate. I had the joy to lead the effort in changing the rules in the senate. We shifted the rules of the senate to say it doesnt matter who this judge is, if they are qualified, we have to move them through. We doubled the number of judges we are doing to be able to accelerate that. [applause] sen. Lankford that is exceptionally important for us to do. We are not looking for judges with a certain opinion other than their ability to follow the law. We are not looking for certain preference to our point of view, just follow the law and we will try to do the same. It is the most basic aspect we can do in culture. We can provide religious liberty, but there is no substitute for us engaging with our neighbors. Let me say this to you, thank you for coming here and for encouraging members of congress and our staff. Seeing you is an encouragement to us to keep going, knowing there are people in my state of oklahoma, gods country as you are, that are passionate about doing things the right way. There is no substitute for having the dialogue at home, with family, with friends, with neighbors, and not having the expectation that if i select somebody, they will do my job. Lets follow god together and see where this takes us in the days ahead. Lets go do it together. Thanks for engaging. [applause] now if you ever, for even a second, think what you do to pray and work to see god glorified in the civic arena, if you dont think it makes a difference, i want to think about what you just heard. It makes a difference. When i came here to washington and worked in the senate, im not going to say how many years ago it was 37 there wasnt anybody in the senate like him. I think it would be fair to say there are a good number. We are fortunate to have a man like this in the u. S. Senate fighting for us every day. [applause] ralph it is a bit of a cliche work, doing the lords but this applies. He is sticking around to take any questions. If anyone has a question for senator lankford, i think we have mics here. This is my moment i get to as a pastor say, i see that hand. Talked in hisrump inaugural address about taking power out of washington and giving it back to the people. What are some of your ideas about how we can take power out of washington permanently and give it back to the people . Sen. Lankford it is a challenge, because the executive branch has been given authority by congress, and the accident print only gives that up if it chooses to. The executive branch only gives that up if it chooses to. You need the signature of a president to take it away. Here is what President Trump is actively doing. He made a commitment to say for every one new regulation that goes and, two will come out. He is trying to say we are over managed as a country. There is a federal bureaucrat looking over our shoulder on everything. One reg in, two out was the way he wanted to take it seriously. He failed that in the first year. It was not one in, two out, it was 22 out. [applause] sen. Lankford you will hear people say the regulatory state is going down and there is more active authority to allow citizens to make decisions. It is not trying to create chaos, it is trying to say we should trust each other as neighbors. Trust is important as the Community Like ours. Thank you for standing for the lord and being here. One of the questions i wanted to ask was what are the top things we can pray for you, your family, and colleagues . It is important we stand with you in prayer and surround you in prayer. Bless you for that. [applause] let me give you a couple of quick things. My wife and i, 27 years, we have 2 daughters. This is a place that grinds up families, because im on the road. I leave my wife that sounds horrible i fly away on monday mornings from home. Home is where your wife is,i fly away on monday morning, im here all week, i fly home on thursday or friday each week. Home on the weekend, we travel around the state, then i get back. Everyone that does that, they know that is tough. Pray for the families here. Second aspect, did you like that video . [applause] when the president came out on wednesday to speak to you, he said it was a great video, can you get me a copy . [laughter] you may see it again. We have some testimonials for our Winston Churchill on a re for some very special people who could not be here tonight. Enjoy these testimonials as you eat your meal. Afterwards, we will have a testimonial from the folks here. [applause] bennetts life has been marked by a deep love for learning. An uncommon understanding about the priority of character, and how it strengthens society and the nation. In 1943, bill was born in brooklyn to nancy walsh and robert bennett. His lifelong appreciation for the power of knowledge began to take shape while a student in washington, d. C. From there, his educational path will lead him to williams massachusetts. The university of texas austin, where he earned his phd in philosophy. Eventually, harvard university, where he earned his law degree. Bill began to invest in the education of the next generation through teaching positions at the university of southern mississippi and boston university. He then joined the National Humanities center, where he championed philosophy, history, and the arts. He became the executive director of the institution in 1979. It was there he met elaine glover, the woman who would become his best friend and wife. In 1980 five, after he served four years as the National Endowment for the humanities, president Ronald Reagan appointed him secretary of education. This calling to Public Service resonated with his deep desire to ensure americas children had access to the highest quality education. Bills educational philosophy revolved around what he called the three cs. Choice. Character, and while secretary, he could see the challenges on the horizon, and began to fight against the rising costs and crumbling rigor of higher education. He recognized the immense threat posed by abandoning the study of western civilization and neglecting the humanities. In 1989, president george h. W. Bush called on bill to be the nations first drug tsar, as director of the National Drug control policy, he established the first drug control strategy, that brought a historic decline in drug use throughout the country. After his Public Service, theyll went on to become a leading voice in the conservative movement by cofounding empower america along with jack kemp and jean kirkpatrick. He also began to host a National Syndicated radio show. Among the more than 25 books he has authored, his political autobiography, and the book of birches. This 1993 bestseller aimed at inspiring and empowering teachers to help students understand and apply character traits like honesty, compassion, and courage. Bill has spent his career emphasizing the need for moral character and uprightness in our country. Over the course of his life, bill has received more than 50 awards for his work. His influence and impact have shaped many of todays great leaders. America will forever be indebted to his call to rise to a higher standard of moral living. Hey, everybody. It is a true pleasure for me to join all of you in honoring my friend bill bennett. He is getting the Winston Churchill award for Lifetime Achievement from all of our friends at the safe and Freedom Coalition. I have to say, i came to washington, i did not know what to expect. I graduated from college, came. To work for bill in the education department. That was during the glory days of the reagan administration. From the very beginning, bill was all of the things i like. Really smart, rough, impatient no. He was such a great boss. An Incredible Group of people. Most of us are very friendly to this day. That was all because of the leadership at the top from bill. All these years later, he comes on radio shows, podcasts, on fox with us. He is always a delight. He is a true genius of history, writing, politics, and so much else. The one thing i do need to share with you is a photo i have in my first floor bathroom. To is that guy standing next reagan in air force one . It is bill bennett. What a Handsome Devil he was. Anyway, i signed for them at the white house when i worked there. It was such a great picture of two of my heroes. Everybody have a wonderful time tonight. Bill, congratulations. Keep the good fight up. What will we do without you . Lifetime achievement award, not bad at all . Good evening. Im secretary of state mike pompeo. The privilege to join you, my friends at the Freedom Coalition, to honor one of the best friends i have ever had, from president reagan, now to President Trump. I wish i can be there with you tonight to celebrate. For nearly 40 years, millions of good, decent americans who work hard, salute the flag, and say their prayers, have heard bill them. T speak for they cheered his work to reform our schools, keep drugs away from kids, and teach American Values through his many books and radio show. It has all blessed our nation. In thes a young man army, i used to see you on tv when you were the secretary of education. I was a young lieutenant. I thought he is kind of smart. Now as secretary of state, i still hear your commonsense wisdom of keeping the greatest country in the world safe, prosperous, and free. Folks havee how many ever called you a diplomat, but take it from me, you are in the club. You have always been a champion for the american way of life. You have spoken that clearly to the world. Thank you for that. You also lift your mark on america through those who have worked for you. Capitalist built, with men and women of principal, who are member the lessons you talk them. Some even work for me now. Finally, for those of you who dont know, bill is a regular guy. He is just as comfortable at a College Photo game as a meeting with a bunch of power players. Im sure he would rather be at the ballgame. The reason he speaks so clearly for Everyday Americans is because he is at heart one of them. Bill, from both my wife and me, congratulations on receiving the churchill Lifetime Achievement award. Thanks for all you and your wife have done for faith and freedom in our great nation. God bless you. Congratulations on receiving the 2019 Lifetime Achievement award from the faith and Freedom Coalition. You talk about somebody who richly deserves this honor, it is you. I vulnerable remember years ago, i met bennett i met bill bennett in los angeles. I was relatively new at my Radio Program. I took bill aside and asked him to tell me what an intellectual was. Meetew that i didnt quite the definition as conventionally held. He looked at me and said you deal in ideas, dont you . As far as im concerned, it makes you every bit the intellectual as anybody elses. Bill bennett took me in under his wing, made me feel like i was one of the gang. It was a moment i will never forget. His book came out, it became a huge seller. It was great. A great have been seller on its own if i had not even promoted to the extent i did. As an author, conservative thought leader, cabinet secretary, you have never flinched. You have never failed in your advocacy of conservative rentals. You have never let anyone down. Eloquence, fearless, sophisticated, you have defended the values that make this country great everywhere. College campuses, the halls of congress, television and radio, and on the campaign trail. In reagans word, you raised a banner. I have long treasured your books, your writing, and anytime i get a chance to listen to you speak as the raw material of a philosophically sound conservatism. You are not only my friend, you are a hero to millions of people. You are without question a national treasure. President ed to join trump, Vice President pence, and all of the people at faith and freedom in celebrating your life of Public Service as the 2019 recipient of the Winston Churchill award. Bill, congratulations. If anybody deserves it, it is you. [applause] i dont think bill knew that one was coming. Bill, you have been lotted this week by the president , the Vice President , the secretary of state, and rush limbaugh. 2 people with us tonight, great friends of bill and our movement, who are here with us in person to say a few words on his behalf. The first i want to welcome is jean scalia. A speechwriter for bill bennett in the department of education under Ronald Reagan. He is a wellknown attorney and at a prominent washington law firm. Hes the oldest son of the late Justice Antonin Scalia of. Welcome jean scalia. [applause] it is a privilege to be here. I had the Great Fortune to work for bill in my first job out of college. We have all had the good fortune of his being a leading figure in this country in the many years since. Let me say a few words about my good luck, then i will talk about yours. No person that i know outside of my family meant more to my formation as an adult then bill bennett. Working for him was a second me. Ation for in my two years as a speechwriter for him, i learned more than i ever had in four years at college. Speeches tremendous about what allamerican students should learn. He said we should want every student to know how mountains are made. For most actions, there is an equal and opposite reaction. They should know who said i am the state. They should know about subjects, predicates, about isosceles triangles and they should know where the amazon was. This was beautiful stuff. I have to tell you, i didnt know a lot of it. I have not been taught this stuff. I was telling americans they needed to know these things. Working for you, i would go home and set about leaning learning all of these things that American Children had not been taught in schools. Something i gained from bill was his admiration for the hope and courage of the civil rights movement. Bill recognized that movement as the fulfillment of the american from hisa direct line hero, abraham lincoln, and to the american founding. I will be forever grateful to bill for showing me the americaness of Martin Luther king, who was a hero of his. [applause] from bill, i learned how to be a good boss. I learned how to be a mentor. I learned the rewards of befriending and gathering talented people around you, like the folks you heard from, and those who he hired, including bill armstead. Bill also confirmed in me things that had been taught by my mother and father, being frank, direct, and honest. All churchillian qualities, as well. And gruff. Be blunt, he could be particularly hard on american universities, institutions of higher education. I really want to hear this. [applause] please keep it down. This is not what he said to me before. I really want to hear this. Blunt,ld you the man is and he wants you to keep quiet. Bill said some tough things about american universities. I had been working for about one in theen my father was Supreme Court and was invited to go down to the university of virginia. We had dinner with the president of the university of virginia. Bill had been critical of colleges. The president said you graduated from the university of virginia yourself what are you doing now . Said im working for william bennett, the secretary of education. It floored the man. Not done she did not care for the things bill said. He finally pulled himself together and said you work for bill bennett, tell me one thing, tell me you dont write the mans speeches. [laughter] bill gave me Something Else. He gave me hope for my own future when i saw that such a rumpled guy can marry such a dazzling woman as elaine. [laughter] [applause] gave me life advice, including what i should value in a wife. That was what i thought and was so fortunate to find in my wife. Let me talk about what bill has given all of us. Like churchill, it has been the defense ofan our civilization. His insistence that we should think on those things that are true and virtuous. As he would say, that we should study the facts are in. The value ofnd us keeping our religious values. They should remain in the public square. For decades, he led that fight and supplied some of the material with wonderful projects, such as the book of virtues, k12, and his radio show and podcast. Today, there are those who would have you believe that when conservatives came to washington with Ronald Reagan, all americans were invested in fighting and winning the cold war. And that only democrats cared deeply about the poor and equal opportunity. They were wrong on both counts. I know no one who reflected that better than bill bennett. Is of his great discoveries what lessonhe line does that teach our children . Events ind be some national and international events, and he would say what did that event teach our children . In that way, he can proceed to give a speech about the event that did not have a lot to do with the business of the u. S. Department of education. In that vein, he used to give a speech about the berlin wall. You can judge the superiority of this nation by answering this, if you open the gates that divide 2 nations, which way would the people go . His point was the communist world trapped behind that wall wanted to come our way because of the freedom and ideas that we had. He gave that speech back in the 80s because it had to be given. Came on the bill national stage, many of our leaders not our political system, ideas, and cultural traditions, were no better than any other. They thought our religious traditions were liabilities. They believed we offered nothing special, and that we had nothing particularly worth defending. Bill knew otherwise. While this country is far from perfect, many of the true americans that would hold several selfevident today are truths that bill bennett spent decades vindicating. We are all in his debt. Thank you, congratulations. [applause] thank you so much. Let me say on behalf of all of the members and supporters of faith and Freedom Coalition how deeply grateful we are for the service that not only your father, but your entire family have rendered to this great nation. [applause] now, our next testimonial is from a man who was at our town hall meeting on capitol hill a couple of days ago. Take questions from all of you. He is one of our absolute favorite in congress today. Senator James Lankford was the director of Student Ministry for the Oklahoma Baptist Convention for approximately 15 years. In that capacity, he ran the largest single student summer camp in the nation and had 56,000 students that went through this camp learning the bible, learning their Christian Faith. Ran for and was elected to the u. S. Senate for the first time in 2014. Many of you know him as the lead sponsor, and our championship on the repeal in the u. S. Senate. We are honored to have him here tonight with his lovely wife, please welcome senator James Lankford. [applause] its good to see you again. Many i got a chance to say hello to. Ais is not about q and tonight. It is about bill bennett. Let me set some things in context. When i was in high school, bill bennett was my secretary of education. [laughter] [laughter] [laughter] it just was when i was in college, bill bennett was the drug tzar. You were successful, i never used drugs. [applause] i would attribute that more to a great mom than a great drug czar. She was great to have your back on that. My wife and i got married in 1992. Book came out called the book of virtues. My wife and i one year in did not have any children. We waited a little while. That wemined in 1993 were going to buy a book of virtues so that when our first child was born, we would have it. Our first child did not come until 1996. Interestingly enough, i was talking about this speech, she saw this book out and smiled and. Id i know that book i used to sit with her on the couch and open it. We would talk about virtues. Bill bennett did not teach my child virtues, bill bennett encouraged my wife and i that virtues are something that can be specifically passed on. To go back to the biblical foundation, teach through your children. When you walk along the road, when you sit down, pass it down to the next generation. He gave a generation of parents a specific way to be able to pass on virtues in a remarkable way and, making virtues cool again. We may need a version 2. [applause] last year, i was in a conversation with the Vice President. In that conversation, i happened to say to him what are you reading right now . The Vice President responded im in the process of finishing the last book in bill bennetts series america, the last best hope. I thought what an interesting statement from a sitting Vice President. Depth to grasp again the of our responsibility as america, and Vice President of the United States is reading bill bennetts book to make sure he soaks it in. People acrossf our country and across my state that complain about our coach or shop,ture at Coffee Sunday School classes, they talk about the direction they are going. A lot of folks say kids dont know our heritage, or they arent living our values. They complain a lot about it. Then i look to bill bennett, who has those same complaints, those same concerns, but he actually did something about it. He moved from complaining about the fact that our kids dont know about history, to writing a series of books about our history to make sure kids know. He wrote about the values and of our culture to make sure to encourage parents so we can teach our kids courage and responsibility, honesty, and perseverance again. You did not gripe about it, you did something about it. In a generation of parents and leaders, they are exceptionally grateful for that. He is a role model for a generation. If you have heard his Radio Program or have interacted with him, the number that respect him from will understand proverbs 16 seven, when you ourse the lord, even enemies make friends with us. [applause] i honestly could not think of a better way to be able to end a speech about you then reading back what you wrote to us. From the book of virtue, on page , you pass on this. This was the question you gave to my kids and me. I stated back to you, you wrote to us were the whole world good as you, not an atom better, justice. And truth, justice strong and faith in works, just as free from crafty quirks, all distortion all deceit, schemes its neighbors to defeat, schemes its neighbors to defraud, schemes some covert to applaud, called great to applaud, would this be better . Following to the letter, would from annoble world altogether malice selfishness beneath balance from the crest, covering hearts from view, tell me, if it followed you would the world be better . Yes, sir, it would. Thank you. [applause] like so many in this room, i have followed and was inspired by bill bennett from the time i first became aware of him. I remember when Ronald Reagan named him as the head of the National Endowment for the humanities and the liberals screamed bloody murder and tried to find his confirmation. I remember when he served as secretary of education, and he talked about making sure not only children knew how to read and write, but the children understood right from wrong. I remember when he was drugs are drug czar, and he had the courage and clarity to say what we need more people in America Today to say, especially against the backdrop of the systematic legalization of marijuana. Andaid drugs were wrong, destructive, and they were destroying our young people and communities, and we needed to fight them. I was grateful for that when you did that. [applause] later, when i was at the christian coalition, i remember one of our first meetings in the early 90s, much like this one, i invited bill to come and speak. I was escorting bill from the green room, where he was going to keynote our luncheon that day. We were walking down the hall, and there was this very prominent mainstream reporter and they said arent you a catholic . He said yeah. Then what are you doing here . As if a catholic could not hang with evangelicals. I would say one of the things bill made a difference on was in bringing catholics and evangelicals together who believe in biblical truth, stronger family, and [applause] the sanctity of human life. I really appreciated what you shared about his commitment to equal it an opportunity for every american, and his belief in the civil rights struggle. I spent many times early in my career having those conversations with bill. They made a big difference in my life and in my ministry. I remember i thank you for that. He showed me a way to make a difference. He showed me the importance of standing in the arena for what you believed, and not bending to the whims or political correctness. There is Something Else i learned from bill bennett. Sometimes, there is no. Ubstitute for a good fight for the right reasons, and for the right things. As a former collegiate offensive line in, hes a man who never shied away from more runs with contact. Hes always been willing to engage opponents. He did so with civility and intellectual honesty, but he fought for what he believed in. Theres Something Else he taught us. Important now, particularly in a moment of division in our country, and so much polarization. Bill wasnt just a fighter, he was a happy warrior. He was somebody who enjoyed the fray for all of the right reasons. He enjoyed the context of ideas. Eternal optimism that i believe is born of his faith. Ultimately, he believes as we do. Fateful, faithful, but the outcome is in gods hands. We can trust him. At the end of the day, he will be sovereign. Thats what really inspired bill bennetts political career. Him so much, because he married above himself. [laughter] [laughter] [laughter] [laughter] [laughter] [laughter] [laughter] [laughter] [laughter] [laughter] [laughter] [laughter] up so wife, elaine, stand we can honor you tonight. [applause] im kind of partial to her, because i also married a carolina girl. [applause] partner, as the mother of his children, but also as a woman of tremendous accomplishment in her own right, with best friends and other things she has done, she has been a pillar of strength for him. This is a man who has written 24 books and 8 New York Times best sellers. He is a man in writing the book of virtues, has written one of the most important books, in terms of moving the needle of our culture in the last halfcentury. It wasnt really bill until we started getting ready for this iced tonight that i really just that i realized how many lives you impacted, and how many careers you have shaped. Listen to the things you have heard tonight. The Vice President having one of his books at the top of his reading list. A United States senator saying that a bill bennett written book affected how he and his wife raised their children. There are literally tens of millions of stories like this because yourica, have been faithful to what you believed, and you are faithful in fighting for it. Before i call you to the podium to receive our award, i want to read our quote from Winston Churchill that appears on this plaque. You may think it is odd to have a british Prime Minister be the namesake of our award. His mother was an american. Winston churchill loved this country. He knew what was great about america. This quote sums up not only american greatness, but bill bennetts greatness. This this is no time for ease and comfort, it is a time to dare and to fight and to endure. That is our motto. It has been bill bennetts motto. It is my great privilege and honor to welcome to the podium our 2019 Lifetime Achievement on honoree, bill bennett. [applause] id rather not say anything so i dont dissipate what has happened before. Remarks, i amn my awaiting knee surgery and cannot stand very long. Long. , i asked how he said five minutes and less than five would be fine. Let me Say Something about ralph reed. He didnt say anything about teaching political organizing . Exactly right. He has taught many things. My only complaint is when he goes back 30 or 40 years, you some pictures of what i looked like. He looks exactly the same. [laughter] [applause] gun. N of a on this fight thing, i better live up to this fighter reputation. I guess that is right. Said to me mine once, you remind me of that story about the irishman who walks down a street, sees a fight going on, and says is a private, or can anybody get in on it . [laughter] i have been guilty of that. Very quickly, when i was secretary of education, we cut our budget by a lot. We started some programs that did not cost anything. One of them was for the secretary of education to take his favorite teacher. I have had a lot of teachers, elementary school, secondary school, college, graduate school, law school. I picked my High School Football coach. He taught me my most important lesson i needed to hear as a big 16yearold boy. I thought toughness meant callousness. Throwing around your weight, being a macho guy. He taught me toughness was resilience, perseverance. He believed to persist. He was a great guy. He was a marine. My first son is here. [applause] i talked to him and learn from him every day. He is teaching me about business. He said stop calling investors donors. [laughter] right. Our other son is in new york. A United States marine. Now in business. [applause] reached above my grasp for this lovely lady. Did you write some of these talks . You deserve every bit of it. This wonderful woman, my wife. And my family. Home, myheart, my source of strength. This football coach not only taught me that, he taught me Something Else. He would gather us in the summer by Georgetown University and make us work out three times a day. He said remember, the three most important things in life, faith, family, and football. [laughter] and not necessarily in that order. He was a real coach. Comes, you might think i have reversed the priorities if you come to our house. Faith is the greatest of those. Im grateful for the faith i have. I think im even more grateful for my wifes faith, which sustains us all. Ralph, im grateful to this group because of what you translate of that faith into your actions every day. You have become a great force in this country. I will come back to that in a second. Spoke a little faith, i have spoken a little family. I was so moved by what was said by friends here, and friends in the surprise video. He talks pretty good, that guy. I taught him a lot. [laughter] all these people i have talked. Thank you, ralph. Thank you senator lankford. Realize you were thinking of yourself as my student, but thank you. One of the greatest lines in one of my favorite plays, thomas said to richard rich wanted to teacher,don, be a because he would be a good one. A rich says if i were, who would know it . Thomas says you, your students, their parents, and god. Not a bad public, that. Thank you very much. Is last thing i want to say to the faith and Freedom Coalition. As i am sustained by my family, my faith, my friends, i am also sustained by this country. This life would not have happened, this career would not have happened without this country. Ralph and all of you in this room for what you have done. That you talked about on wednesday, and you are working 17 . E other and be sure to be there in this next election. I am truly grateful for your efforts to keep this country what it is. Quoting another statesman, americanstatesman, may be our greatest statesman, abraham lincoln. He talked about the work that has to be done in 1863 when it was touch and go whether this republic would survive. Adams told jefferson he hoped once we established this country, it would last for 150 years. Further. One with lincoln, he was worried in 1863 as the division of our country. I will end with these words, because this company, the company of you folks, reminds me of them. He said in 1863 in his address to congress we go to our task, and our task is this. We shall nobly save or meaning we lose this last best hope of our. Thank you for remembering this last best hope of our earth, and your efforts to nobly save it for our children and grandchildren. Thank you all very much. [applause] it is a profound thing, simple but profound to think, ford ator link lankford just alluded, dr. Bennett, you have made the same maybe they were not unique, but you really weighed in. You chose not just to comment, but actually to lean in, exert, to risk, and truly through that labor was born a blessing of so many. Even just when we watch a baseball game, we all can see in , godutfield by home plate so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. How interesting to me that he didnt love the world so much water, gave oxygen, gave truly of a person, theve incarnation, not the idea, but a life. Hopefully as we culminate these conference, we recognize that all of us have resourcey the ourselves, our lives. Year at the close of the conference, we recognize one particular person who has stepped into that gap and heard his own way in the previous year. I will ask our friend from North Carolina, jason williams, to join us at the podium. [applause] jason williams, in my mind, really is another wonderful example of just that. He has made the same observations many of us have made. He cares about this country, his community, his family. But he didnt just complain about it. Jason chose to lean in, exert himself, chose to risk. Jason officially joined faith and Freedom Coalition six or seven months ago. The truth of the matter is he has been laboring for faith and for freedom for a long time now. 2 election cycles ago, jason headed out a North Carolina effort that resulted in about 160,000 doors being knocked across North Carolina. And his network were responsible for over 190,000 doors being knocked across the state in the last election cycle. Im not going to tell you two years from now, i will tell you 2020. Ason knocked on in i love the jason i love that jason truly has given of himself in known and unknown ways. He has risked, sacrificed. In the face of that risk and sacrifice, it is appropriate for you to be recognized this year as the faith and Freedom Coalition state leader of the year. Jason williams, president of faith and Freedom Coalition. [applause] wow. This, ild have known would have gone back to the hotel and gotten a suit on. I think everybody here knows that you dont do this alone. Adont think it has been secret to anybody here at this conference that at North Carolina, we have a great support group. [applause] name to live up to in 2020. We are ready to do it. [applause] im very grateful. Whothankful to my wife, allows me to travel the state as she stays and allows me to do that with the six kids at home. We have a great family. Mackenzie, megan, peyton, lucy, and jace are going to watch this. I wanted to name every one of them. I think about why we do this. Why are we doing this . Why did bill do what he did . Why did he give his life to this . Israelite armyhe being afraid of this time. David comes in, his motives were questioned, he just went back and said is there not a cause . When we look around and we see freedom, of religious the calls of protecting the unborn, the calls of defining marriage between a man and woman,i want to make sure that it is protected and defended and fought for for my six kids that i just mentioned. [applause] you Better Believe that is a cause worth fighting for. I want you to know that i am thrilled to be a part of an leader inon and a ralph reed, who stands for those principles and values. Thank you for what you have done. [applause] forward, the commitment to you is i will do my best to try and rebrand the organization as faith, freedom, and football coalition. [laughter] [applause] thank you so much. [applause] we have come to the end of row to majority. It is hard to believe. What an incredible week this has been. I hope you have been inspired by what has happened here. [applause] i know i have. I can tell you that the weerlatives and the praise received from virtually every speaker that was here. I wish you could have heard everything they said about you, and how much you encouraged them, and inspired them, and how much knowing you have their back gives them the courage to keep fighting for what they believe in. These eternal principles of inth in god, and hard work individual self initiative, the centrality of marriage and family as the essential Building Blocks of a free society. And are things worth fighting for. These are things worth dying for. These are things worth living for. I want to thank you for rearranging your lives at great time away from your businesses, hobbies, your families, to po your lives your lives outr and say this great nation for another generation. There are a few people i want to thank. I have to thank my carolina girl, the first lady of faith and freedom, joann. Thank you so much for letting me do what i do. [applause] our sponsorsthank and exhibitors. I want to thank the members of the inner circle. Some of you have asked with this pin is, it is an inner circle pin. These are our best supporters and donors. We recognize not everybody can join the inner circle, but we have a table outside. Margaret will be guarding the table and blocking you like the offensive lineman that bill bennett once was to make sure that you sign up. We have benefits that come with that, regular Conference Calls where we provide insight information on what we are doing , our strategy, and we also do regular policy meetings here in washington. There is another debt that i have to pay. I have to thank some people who have worked tirelessly for months to help make sure this conference was the success that it was. I cant possibly name everybody, but i want to thank joe a cleese and, our conference director. [applause] i dont see her. Backstage doing her job. Anaddition to doing extraordinary job as conference director, doesnt she have one of the most beautiful voices you have heard . Thank you. For theant to thank you great job you do as executive director. [applause] thank you. I want to thank you for being such a support to him. You are an extraordinary woman of god. [applause] the entire staff of faith and freedom. Thanks to all of them, thanks to you. I now want to do what i think would be appropriate. , think we should all stand join hands, and close this week in prayer. I will ask pastor richard lee to join us in prayer. Lets pray together. Heavenly father, what a great time it has been since we have rejoiced and found hope. We went many years in our nation without hope. Lord, you have supplied that. Now it is up to us to continue that, to make sure the hope given to us is multiplied throughout this land and the world. That is the hope of becoming the nation that we know and we love. As we go home and take our bags, we unpack them and go to our various places of work, and wherever we go, we may not forget. This was a celebration of hard work, it has been fruitful for you in the nation. Help us be those workers once again so that next year, we can gather in this place together, we can rejoice in your brace and mercy, and also the fruit of the labors of so many men and women, boys and girls, even. Young people, senior citizens, all of us, as we knock on the and told others about the faith and freedom found not only ofyou, but also the power going and standing for that which is right, voting for that which is right, and living for that which is right. We love you, send us out now safely. Willay, lord, that you prosper as faith and freedom greater than it has ever been this year. We will tell our neighbors and friends that they need to become part of us, the family of faith and freedom. Son theforth, that your lord jesus, the only savior, can be uplifted not only now, but in the future in generations to come from a and we pray in jesus mighty name. Amen. [applause] god bless you. We will see you next year. [applause] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2019] cspans washington journal, and every day with news policy issues that impact you. Coming up, carl holtz discussing his new book confirmation bias. War in theingtons Supreme Court. And then the 50th anniversary of the cuyahoga river. Be sure to watch washington eastern. Live at 7 00 join the discussion. I am proud to represent the 19th strict of california. Ueller report made it clear our country suffered russia tofforts from interfere in the elections. Individualsgeted and entities. Victims included to state and local entities. Individuals who worked for those entities. We know all 50 states were targeted in this attack. In illinois, it confirmed the board of Elections Network was hacked. Wasrizona, malware installed at the state elections website. Elections deleting votes and switching them to other candidates. To protect our democracy sense of urgency. Nothing less than our National Security is at stake. Irst is why democrats f act and the majority was to help secure our elections. House democrats are building on that with the secure americas federal elections safe act. Which takes Decisive Action to secure our elections from outside interference. Meaningful actions updating elections across the country. Voting machines, and acting strong requirements and more. The act represents an urgent, critical step securing our election infrastructure and protecting the integrity of the ballot. Yet the