To join us is Vice President joe biden. [applause] mr. Beranek he was elected the 47th u. S. Vice president , serving two full terms. [cheers and applause] mr. Beranek come on up, joe. Serving two full terms with president barack obama. [cheers and applause] in 2008. Ek in 2017, at the close of the administration, obama presented Vice President biden with the president ial medal of freedom. When he was first elected to the u. S. Senate in 1972, Vice President biden became the fifth youngest u. S. Senator in history, as well as delawares longest serving senator, serving from 1973 until 2009. It is with great honor that the Public Education teachers and support personnel that iowa welcomes you to our forum and thank you for being here. [cheers and applause] thank you, thank you, thank you. This is more like the iowa whether i am used to. [laughter] mr. Biden i am jill bidens husband, joe. Her flight is canceled in pennsylvania. She is not here. I know that many of you, particularly tammy, is upset. She is not here. Please, bear with me. I will try my best without her. Folks, it is a great honor to be with you today. You know, the fact is we have a lot of folks you have already heard from and you will hear a lot more. If jill were here, i would have the privilege of being around my wife. I have been around educators my whole life. Was anased wife educator. I taught myself for a number of years when i taught law school when i was a you state senator. I drove a school bus to get myself through law school and even substitute taught for a while. These glimpses helps me know that you have to grapple with what you have to grapple with. A child brings every problem they have to school. Everything, their hopes, their dreams. It is not just their talents and their aspirations. But their fears and their anxieties. You have to deal with them all. You play an incredibly vital role. It requires a considerable amount of empathy and understanding on your part. I might add, an awful lot of patience and i would argue love. Sometimes, the most critical part of your job is the most subtle part of the job. It matters. It matters that the janitor can observe what is going on in the hallway and make sure that things stay safe and kids are not being bullied. It matters, the cafeteria worker who notices a student is not looking well or hungry or not eat at all. It matters that the bus driver i remember i used to drive a bus in new york, i remember one kid i dropped off at a rural road and the parent was never around. We had to figure out what was going on because the kid was only in eighth grade. And, you know, who was home . What was going on . You know the passion it takes to do all of these jobs. I dont think the public fully understands it. And even after the long hours and frustration you may feel in the classroom, you feel worse when you know you are not supported or accorded the simple respect you deserve for what you do. You know what matters and how much you are investing in the potential of a child. You know, i have have observed the teachers i know and a lot of our friends are personal friends we have hung around with all our life are teachers. You feel their anguish and you feel their struggle. And you share their pride when they succeed. But the level of commitment that you all show is rare in any profession. I mean, it really is rare in any profession. Shame,n embarrassment, a when it goes unrecognized and and not understood. We have seen the courage of all of you and educators across the ee,ntry from chicago to her to kentucky and other places othere, to kentucky and places where you had to fight for students by organizing strikes. I dont know anyone who wants to go on strike. I have found that for most of you, your job is your passion. You did not become teachers for the money. [laughter] mr. Biden you all know that. Think about it. I think you underestimate yourselves a lot of times. I really do. I know it is part of who you are , but i think underestimate yourself, how different you are in terms of the commitment to what you do. The closest to you all are nurses, quite frankly. When you go out, you would much rather be in the classroom with your students. But you know these walkouts are vital, not just to make sure you get paid fairly or you get health care or school safety, although they are essential. Many times, you are walking out to make sure your students have greater resources, that they have the right books, classrooms, and things that will allow them to succeed in ways that most people and all of the things, all of these things that become possible for our country when our children are given an even chance, and as jill says, all the time, any country that out educates us is going to outcompete us. Any country that out educates us us is going to outcompete us. The children you work with, and this is not hyperbole, are the most valuable resource the nation has. I know we say that, we say it all the time. [applause] mr. Biden but really and truly, i mean, we say it, but i wonder how many people think about it, feel it. About whether we will succeed as a nation. I always find it difficult, especially some of our wealthier friends who live in wealthy districts, why they dont understand that it is overwhelmingly in their interest, their interest, that kids in title i schools do well. Overwhelmingly in their interest. I really mean it. Think about it. [applause] mr. Biden it is sort of counterintuitive almost. Education is the key to everything. Again, that is not hyperbole. It is the key to everything that is going to happen in this country, right here in the united states. America depends on you. It depends on you in ways that no one is prepared to recognize. You know, that is why i believe it is critical that anyone is running for president is clear with you about what they plan on doing, what their plan is for making sure that education and educators are rewarded. Im going to lay out for you very briefly, in eight minutes and nine seconds. [laughter] a clear plan, my clear plan for education. And, on protecting unions. [applause] unions. [applause] you know, there is a commitment jill and i are making to every educator, every professional and every School Across the country. First and foremost, if i am elected, i promise you will never have a better partner in the white house than jill and joe biden. And that is the gods truth. I give you my word to that. We will fight hammer and tong that you are treated with the dignity that you deserve. Think about it. It is so critical. Why do we understand it in every other endeavor in life and not understand why it matters so much, so much to educators . We will start by tripling funding for title i schools. [applause] education and equity, and by the way, thats not a hard lift. That is from 15 billion to 45 billion a year. Education iniquity is compounding the problem. It holds back our children, educators, and our communities from fulfilling the unlimited potential these kids have. We need to deal with the 23 billion gap between schools between majority white schools and nonwhite districts. [applause] mr. Biden and we are never going to have true equity in america until the quality of education does not depend on your zip code. This goes against every single instinct of what constitutes being an american. There are governors who have cut education budgets and make it much harder the next generation to realize their potential. I remember the iowa test, i remember when you are number one in the country. I remember that. What has happened . Look, that is not how we will grow our country. These are not somebody elses children. They are our children. They are the kite strings that lift our National Ambitions lost. Arehe literal sense, these all of our children. The country depends on it. We need to invest in them. We need to invest more on the state and federal level. School districts have to use the money that i am talking about to raise teacher salaries. Because you start off making 23 less than any other College Graduate does when you start, american educators deserve a and american educators deserve a generous raise, and i will make sure you get one. Secondly, we will get resources you need in school. You know, right now, we are 110,000 teachers short in america. By 2025, we will be 220,000 teachers short in america. That is nothing but trouble. And solving it will require not just raises and respect but also resources too. We will double resources for school psychologist, school counselors, School Nurses and social workers. And it is long past time for us to fully fund the idea. Long past time. I mean it. I guarantee that i am going to do that. I guarantee i am going to do that. We will invest in schools where social workers can help students and parents needs are met. And Mental Health, i am sorry to go so rapidly. I dont want the floor to fall out from under me. [laughter] mr. Biden anyway. Mental health is especially critical. And it is too often overlooked. When trained professionals are helping care for students, Mental Health, it frees up educators to deal with the things youre supposed to do, teaching, teaching, teaching. [applause] mr. Biden we will upgrade School Infrastructure to make sure that the Drinking Water is safe, science labs are uptodate, cutting edge learning and there is high Speed Internet in every Single School in america. [applause] mr. Biden thirdly, we will start investing in our children from birth all the way through high school. Not just some children but every single child, and that matters. The way to get there is universal prek for everybody. Everybody. It is also going to ensure that every student has an opportunity to graduate from high school or graduate from school with some College Credits in their pocket or industrial credits that will lead to good paying jobs. And fourthly, we are going to stand strong for your ironclad right to organize and bargain. [cheers and applause] iowaiden republicans in have undermined the collective bargaining system that worked so well for for over 40 years. If it aint broke, dont fix it. What do they think they are fixing . You shouldnt have to be in that position. You should have leaders at every level who fight for you. I promise you, look at my record, i promise you i will. And fifth most important, we will have someone in the white house you can trust, someone you can depend on to fight for educators and fight for unions. Because that is what i have been doing my entire life. If i did not do it, i would be sleeping in the lincoln bedroom. You all think i am kidding, im not. And because four years of betsy devos is enough. Its enough, its enough, its enough. I guarantee you the next secretary of education will have been a Public School teacher who will have taught in school. And we are going to invest in leadership skills and Education Learning and pay teachers who help educate teachers. And were going to help educators wipe out the burden of student debt. You are doing a public good. You should have it written off. I dont have time to explain it , but we do. And we are going to get serious about the tragedy of gun violence. I have been the nra twice. Im the only one who beat him nationally twice. Talk about moral depravity, our kids go to school, you send them off to school and they teach them how to duck and cover. My god. Think about it. What is the matter with us . Folks, look, none of this matters unless we beat donald trump. And im going to beat donald trump if i am your nominee. I am going to do one more thing. I am going to bring along senators and house members and people up and down the line. We need to have it all the way across our state legislature. We can do this. Folks, when that happens, we will provide you the support you need and the respect you deserve. In together, we will ensure that every child, regardless of family income, ethnicity or disability, is prepared for tomorrows economy. I am absolutely confident we can get there. When america sets it to mind, it has never, never, never failed to get it done. So thank you for everything you do. I want to thank you for everything you give. I want to thank you for all you do for our students. From the bottom of my heart, i mean it. Think about it again. Dont let anybody tell you anything other than you are the single most consequential cog in the wheel to see to it that we own the 21st century. God love you all and may god protect our troops. I have 33 seconds left. Thank you very much. I love you, thanks [cheers and applause] mr. Beranek Vice President biden coming you through your dedication over the years have certainly demonstrated to all of us in our country your understanding of the importance of democracy. And we hear in iowa are working this year to celebrate the 19th amendment and what that meant to half of our population in the country. And you know, we love ourselves some dr. Jill. So we would like to present this to you and dr. Jill. Lets keep up the good fight. Mr. Biden now shes going to think you set her up here. I shouldnt say this, but i will. When i am in trouble or really, really want to tell her how much i love her for real, it is a yellow rose that i give her. Yellow rose. Gods truth. Im not going to tell her you guys gave me this. [laughter] [applause] mr. Beranek thank you. [applause] mr. Beranek so i have to tell you something funny. There is a cord that came out back here and im like, oh my god, im going to kill the president. I wasnt prepared for that today. [laughter] righty,anek al folks, we have our last speaker, so lets stand up and give mayor Pete Buttigieg a great iowa welcome. [cheers and applause] mayor pete served as the 32nd mayor of south bend, indiana from 2012 through this month. When he was elected, he became the second youngest mayor in south bend history and the youngest mayor of a u. S. City with at least 100,000 residents. He was only 29 years old. The Washington Post called him the most interesting mayor you have ever heard of, based on his youth, education and military background. Before running for office, mayor pete worked on the political campaigns of jill thompson, joe donnelly and john kerry. He joined the navy reserve in 2009 and served in afghanistan. Thank you for your service. He was honorably discharged in 2017. Please join me in welcoming mayor Pete Buttigieg. [cheers and applause] mr. Beranek thanks for coming. Mayor buttigieg good morning. L good morning. Mayor buttigieg i am so thrilled to be here. And so thankful. I am Pete Buttigieg, i come from about six hours east. Which way is east . I am a retired mayor and i am a friend of Public Education and educators. [cheers and applause] mayor buttigieg throughout the last year, when we first turned up in iowa, introducing ourselves on the strength of an Exploratory Committee with four people working out of an office the size of this stage, with not much of a mailing list or money, all the way to this point, one of the most consistent and important things about our encounter with iowans has been meeting educators who are so committed to your students and to your craft. And, whether it has been the folks who stood up to ask questions in town halls, people we have met with isea, or even finding myself next to chris byrd on the bus, on the way to the iowa state fair. [applause] mayor buttigieg talking about the problems with things like public funding for Charter Schools. I have found that education is on everybodys mind in iowa, and rightly so. Because it is one of the most important issues in the 2020 election. In the people around the country know it. Now we have to get elected officials to respond. Just before i share in detail how i envision the future of k12 Public Education, let me back up and say a little bit about what has me running in the first place. And i want to invite you to form an image in your mind, in as much detail as possible, because if you understand that image, you will understand my campaign. And that is what it is going to be like the first time the sun comes up over iowa and donald trump is no longer the president of the united states. [cheers and applause] mr. Biden and mayor buttigieg and im running partly because it is so important to bring that day about. This is our only chance to do this. And we had better get it right. And, every time my party has claimed the presidency successfully in the last 50 years, certain things have been true about the nominee. It has been somebody i know there are a lot of history teachers in the room. It has been somebody who was new to national politics. It has been somebody who was focused on values. It has been somebody who was not viewed as a creature of washington, either did not work there or had not been there very long. And it has been somebody who was ushering in a new generation of leadership. [applause] Andr Buttigieg so, that, americans have a way of looking for the opposite of whatever we have just had in the white house. I would like to offer i have something in this regard as a matter of style. [laughter] mayor buttigieg but i actually just dont raise the prospects of that day to say what we have to do to bring about. Byis because this election definition is about who is going to be president on that day, who will lead our country forward in the era that begins the moment the trump right, its going to require a president capable of unifying the american people. Who will be even more divided than we are now. Just think about it for a minute. Doing it in a way that actually rises to meet the Biggest Challenges that our country faces. To be able to take bold steps and do it in a way that will galvanize and not polarize an american Majority Ready to get that done. Alle that at its stake in the values that we hold dear is americans, from our love of country, but not the kind of love of country that is cartoonishly imitated in the chest thumping of a president who thinks hes promilitary. [applause] the love ofieg country that begins with the knowledge that our country is made of people. You cant love a country if you hate half of the people in it. [cheers and applause] aof mayor buttigieg c