Transcripts For CSPAN2 Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20140930

We need each other and you see the nextgeneration playing this out every day in terms of their choices, where they live, coming back to cities. The third emerging trends is this an oftentimes is emanating from cities and counties. In this case a senior Governors Office and its a new way of leadership. Its that new wave has been embraced by men and women who are solving problems in cities across american its not about ideology. Its about solving problems. Its not about bureaucracy. Its about doing the things that work. Its not about a chain of command, its about ever widening circles of collaboration, inviting more people to be a part of solving our problems together. Thats not only the New Hampshire way, thats the maryland way and thats the american way. We are the greatest problemsolving people ever brought forward on the face of our planet. So you have 38 days to govern until election day. Are you ready . Lets all join hands and contact the voting, shall we . The good news is that means we are 38 days away from reelecting governor Maggie Hassan. [applause] we are 38 days away from electing and reelecting congresswoman carol sheaporter. [applause] and 38 days away from another term for United States senator jean shaheen. [applause] it is true and you have heard it all across the country and you have demonstrated here in the great state of New Hampshire, when women succeed america succeeds, right senator . We succeed when New Hampshire resident, underline the word resident, when New Hampshire resident and New Hampshire senator jean shaheen shows a man from massachusetts what it means when they call it the granite state. [applause] and we succeed when our cando congresswoman carol sheaporte sheaporter trounces her donothing opponent. And we succeed by electing governor Maggie Hassan to continue her leadership. I have really enjoyed watching your governor work. She brings people together to get things done. A bipartisan budget, expansion of medicaid. Securing new transportation funding so New Hampshire has modern transportation infrastructure and under governor hassans leadership the people of New Hampshire have driven down on employment to its lowest level since 2008. [applause] i want to ask you all something in seriousness. I can understand why all of these outofstate men are attracted to the women of New Hampshire but dont you think they should be running for office in their own home state . [applause] let me ask you something. Democrats of New Hampshire do you think women should earn equal pay for equal work . Do you think we are ready to move America Forward again . Well look, i think it was dr. Martin luther king who said its important to preach to the choir, otherwise they might stop singing. [laughter] at the risk of preaching to the choir tonight i wanted to share with you and talk with you about the story of us, about the story of us. Baltimore and portsmouth, maryland and New Hampshire and america. Back in 1999 when i was elected mayor of baltimore my city had become the most violent and the most addicted and the most abandoned city in america. There was a big difference than in those days between the baltimore we carried in our hearts and the baltimore we saw on our streets and in our headlines. Our biggest enemy was and drug dealers for crackcocaine. It was the lack of belief, a culture of failure, countless excuses for why it was but couldnt do anything about anything and why none of us if we were smart should even try. We set out to make our city work again and we saw trash in our street so we picked it up. We saw a open air drug markets and we began relentlessly to close them down. We saw a neighbor suffering from addiction so we actually expanded drug treatment and got more of our people and to recovery. After a year of steady hardearned lifesaving progress, we then turned a bright light directly on the heart of the despair that had gripped her city for far too long. And they launched a campaign that we called one important and powerful word, simply believe. The first avenue that we ran private dollars encouraging local affiliates to encourage simultaneously the same night, the first set was a fourminute commercial and as the viewers you walk with the young 10 year old africanamerican boy through his life in our city and it begins with him warming his hands in the fire with a homeless man dodging drug dealers in their suburban buyers, stepping around hypodermic needles avoiding prostitutes. Ultimately in the dark of night wondering where his little sister has gone because she had left to go by candy at the corner store and he finds her. He finds her in the center of a crowd of griefstricken neighbors and First Responders. Another young victim killed in a driveby shooting. Her tightly braided hair, her lifeless eyes wide open lying in a pool of blood. The narrators said the people of baltimore are in a fight. The fight for their future. Its a fight that we have been losing, one life at a time. There are people who say its over, give up, we have lost. For the strong, for the brave, this fight is not over. What will it take to make us stand together and say enough . And then comes this stark white on black words, believe, believe in yourself, believe enough. Baltimore, believe. Now were three very difficult and painful weeks, weeks where we were not receiving many kudos from our booster Business Community, we ran those ads. Why did we run in . Because we have to be honest about our presence in order to change your future. We then ran ads calling on people to take action, mentor a child and to save a life call 1800believe. Join the police department. Believe in yourself and believe enough. If someone you love and drug treatment. It works and is widely available. Call 1800believe and do you know what . It did work. The people of baltimore rallied and of course as you might suspect it wasnt about the signs are the bumper stickers. It was about something deeper. The belief that there is no such thing inner cities as a spare america and over the next 10 years thanks to a lot of courageous First Responders many of whom gave their lives in the line of duty baltimore shes the biggest reduction of crime of any major city in america. [applause] why do i share that story with you this evening . Because belief is important. The leaf drives action and today like baltimore in 1999 we as americans are going through a time of disbelief, its time with more excuses than action, more ideology than cooperation, more fear and anger them progress and we seem to have lost havent weighed that shared conviction that we once had that we can actually come together to solve problems and make things better for her children and theirs. Theres a big difference today between the america that we carry in our hearts and the america that we see in our headlines. The america in our hearts is that land where those who work hard and play by the rules are able to get ahead. The america and our headlines is too often a place where wall street profits are higher than ever but that is the rich become richer but the paychecks of hardworking are becoming smaller and smaller. The america in our hearts remains that nation that created by choice the greatest middle class in the history of the world. This land of opportunity that is thought the world over but the america in our headlines as a nation were too many kids are being shortchanged by an inadequate education. Too many kids can afford to go to college and those that do often come out and take months and months or longer to find a job. All of this reminds me the story of the prizefighter who is getting beaten down in the ring by his opponent and finally his trainer has the opportunity to sit them down in the corner. He looks them in the int says to him you know the problem isnt what the other guy is doing to you. Its what you are not doing for yourself. [applause] in other words whether we think we can or we think we cant we are probably right. I dont know about you but i have had enough cynicism and i have had enough of the apathy and giving in to and Small Solutions and low expectations of one another. Tonight lets room for who we are. America is the greatest job generating opportunity expanding nation ever created in the history of the free world and we still are. [applause] for 235 years we have been the country that thrilled the world and let the world over and over again and we did it in large part by making one another stronger here at home. Dont you think its time that we did it again . [applause] the patriots, think about it. The patriots who made our country great. They didnt pray for their president to fail. They prayed for their president to succeed. [applause] and our founders didnt belittle science. They revered learning. They aspired to it and they didnt appeal to americas fears. They inspired american courage and they would never, ever a band of the war on poverty in order to declare war on women, a war on workers, a war on immigrants and a war of the sick or a war on hungry children. [applause] now of course even i know that it would be best for our country if our republican brothers and sisters, and they are our brothers and sisters, would return to the table of democracy to offer ideas to help us solve our problems. Our eagle flies better when both the left in the right ring are working but as democrats and as americans we have a responsibility right now and its a urgent and is today and its about jobs. Its about a stronger middle class and its about giving our children a Better Future by the choices we make now. The truth is after Hoover America needed roosevelt. After eisenhower were we needed kennedy. After reagan we needed clinton and after eight miserable years of george w. Bush america needed barack obama. [applause] no president inherited bigger deficit, more wars, bigger job losses or as large a deficit as president obama but thanks to his leadership, america is moving forward again. I think we are now at 54 months in a row of positive job creation. We still have more to do but 54 months in a row of positive job creation. [applause] that is 142,000 jobs. Urgent work remains to be done because there are still too many of her neighbors on them play. Those that handle the politics of fear have no intention of letting out votes and we are out there battling every day. Its a battle for the country we carry in our heart. Unlike th the republicans a bisn or stay partier publicans funded by their wealthy economic friends like the koch brothers, they see america as a small place, dont they . A tiny place. Limited capacity unlimited potential unlimited opportunity. Its sad. They actually see our country, our place is a place that only can afford serving the interests of the privileged few. So to those that prescribe this feature of last poor country i think all of us need to ask them the very serious and honest question, how much less do you believe would be good for our country . How much less education will make our children smarter . How many fewer College Graduates will make our economy more competitive . How many hungry American Children can we no longer afford to feed . Think for a second about your parents and grandparents. Picture their faces. They understood the essential truth of our american dream, that the stronger we make our country the more she gets back to us and the more she gives back to her children and grandchildren. We are not going to solve our problems by doing less. We must do more and we have to do it together. In maryland that is what we have done. More not less to create new jobs and new economies and industries to build a modern economy with the human purpose and we have done more and invested more to improve our childrens education more to rebuild their infrastructure, more to make College Opportunity more affordable for all and like you we believe the stronger middle class is actually the cause of economic growth. So we increased the earned income tax credit. We became the first date in the to pass a living wage law. [applause] and we increased the minimum wage to 10. 10 an hour. [applause] now why do we take these actions . Because it was the right thing to do . Well yes but it was also the smart thing to do in order to grow our economy. When workers earn more money businesses have more customers and our whole economy grows. Prosperity doesnt trickle down from the top. Never has, it never will. A stalk of corn does not grow from the castle down. A thriving economy and a growing economy is built from the middle out in the middle up in the stronger middle class is not the consequence of economic growth, not some sort of luxury byproduct. It is the center and the cause of all economic growth. [applause] but of course fortunate democrats that test is always results, rightclick does it work . Maryland is now creating jobs at one of the fastest rate in the region over the last four years. We have not only achieve the highest Median Income in the nation but we are also rated one of the top states for upward economic mobility at a time when many other states are wrestling in their country is wrestling with that issue. Just recently the u. S. Chamber of commerce which is hardly a mouthpiece for the Maryland Democratic party named as the number one state in america for innovation and entrepreneurship for the third year in a row. Progress is also about creating a more just, more inclusive and secure future for our children. So with the belief in dignity of work we expanded them protected collective bargaining rights. [applause] we dont attack and belittle teachers. We actually support them and value the work they have been doing. We were not of people that advocated turning away helpless refugee children seeking refuge from more and extreme poverty in central america. We are a good and a generous people. [applause] and with the belief in the dignity of every childs potential weak pass the d. R. E. A. M. Act in maryland and a belief in the dignity of every human being we passed Marriage Equality in maryland. [applause] [inaudible conversations] its madeleine, im sorry. Its married. The youngest is kerry. Thank you. You are very welcome. They told me i would need a lobster tide. I will get you one. Good luck to you. Thanks a lot. Thanks a lot. I didnt bring a guitar. I wondered what you think of fiscal policy and improving our budget in the longterm . We need to grow our economy. You will never retire the deficit unless youre making better investments that can make the economy grow and the president if you look at some of the trends of some of the reductions over the last few years, president obama average spending increases have been very small compared to any other president in modern times. What we are not doing are the things we have we have to do. Even in the reagan years the amount of Discretionary Investment in infrastructure and the research at nih and other things. We need to restore that balance. If we can do that and get real growth in wages moving in the right direction a lot of the bad math that appears so scary when you put it out on the horizon starts to come into balance. We wouldnt have been able, i guess another way to say it on a smaller scale in baltimore we would make a lot of cuts. We had to do a lot of difficult things but the most important thing we have to do is to stop shrinking and losing people because by making the city safer we finally started to grow the city of baltimore. In a sense i mean there are other nip and tuck things you can do. Immigration reform would actually help some of those longerterm bad trends. Its been a while since we first met. How about that . I was sitting across the table from you during the election in baltimore. Tell me your name. Carl gable. Carl gable, good to see you. I havent seen you for like 20 years. Are you living up here . I moved here 20 years ago. Its good to see you carl gable. Thank you. Thanks a lot. Its great seeing you again. Hes doing great. I wanted to introduce you to my mother, kitty. I want to see you in the white house. Pictures are free. Come on, billy. Perfect, thank you. Its a pleasure to meet you. Is he your only son . I have three sons. What does everybody do . Two firemen and one and not back. Turned out great. Can we get another picture . Absolutely. Did you press the right button . Thank you. My brother lives in fort washington. Hi. Whats your name . They called out your name. You have a nice tribe. They are great. They are really good. Thats the book that you got. Thank you. Thank you so much. I was sent to baltimore maryland to be trained and i have never ever experienced how you were describing it, i will never forget. Before they were discredited, you brought that up to the surface. It was the most unreal life experience. It was the beginning on the war on poverty so i got sent from there into west virginia. They were amazing. Baltimore is a place for potential. Decent hardworking people. Thank you very much. Thank you. You are a consistently decent person. You had just finished a new went to the lunchroom for a pizza and you are sitting there stuffing the pizza down and i came over and said can i get your picture . You put your pizza down and you got up. Then i was down on one knee. I was down on one knee and he came over and helped me get up. [laughter] another sign of old age. Dont forget my books. Absolutely. Hes got three chapters. There we go. Thank you very much. Good to see you again. How are you . Hi jesse, how are you . Terrific. How are you . Thanks very much for what you are doing to help us. We sent a few people to the campaign and jennifer is from maryland. She is working for governor hassan. A nice young woman. We saw her at a fundraiser. Correct told me to send more people. We have about 200 young people send in resumes sorer leadership was able to deploy them to a number of states. Full of hope and idealism and energy. Good luck to you. You have a part of this area portsmouth . My district starts literally just south of portsmouth in a castle just south of here all the way down to massachusetts. Maggie represented a part of the southern part and margaret have the northern part. Good luck to you. Thanks for letting him run. Its not easy to be a spouse. She has made the thirdhighest number of calls. For the state senator. Shes my ace in the hole. My wife did that for me until she became a judge. Have a safe trip back. We will see you again. Thanks for all your good work in for letting him do that. With governor rick perry stepping down at the end of ears and open seat in texas. State senator wendy davis the democratic nominee and republican Greg Abbott Texas attorney general and joining us from austin is wayne slater following the race as senior Political Writer for the dallas morning news. Thanks very much for being with us. Great to be with you. What did the polls tell you the raise . The polls are all over the place except that the republican is ahead. With the republican ahead as many as 15 or six points many internal polls indicate that. There are internal polls more recently the suggest the race may be in Single Digits but in every case the republican greg abbott is ahead, has held a durable leave and frankly in a state where every statewide official is a republican and where no democrat has run the race since ann richards in 1990. It would be a gargantuan and enormous. If the democrat wendy davis won this year. As. The strategy that she decided to push was a personal narrative. With the bootstraps woman living in a trailer with a child and earned her way through harvard law school. That would be the secret of her success. When the story raised questions not the legitimacy but questions if the facts were blurred a bit it took the shine off that campaign. Also chosen fundamentally to offer a message as a Political Insider that has been in power 50 years and they help themselves. They thought it sounded good bets in my conversations up in dallas and dash a dash it has resonated. Mr. Rabbit has been very open about his condition as said paraplegic dead tree fell on him when he was writing. He has used that is part of the theme. This is a case study. Here is a person to the extent in the space wonders if he has the physical ability, his stamina, i guess the ability to be the governor he has demonstrated absolutely he can and one of his ads showcases the fact he is in a wheelchair and he takes it up and up in a parking deride as the metaphor how he has overcome the odds and simply has not given up. One of the issues of the Campaign Like education and transportation, the overcrowding highways especially interstates and major highways. One of his most recent ads he is in a wheelchair in the gridlock section of highway going faster than the cars to make the promise if elected governor he will fix the gridlock and it is the brilliant way to do with his personal issue but also in the campaign. With that first debate what will we see on the final one . Two things will happen in the craigavon was very successful very likable and will try to ignore wendy davis as much as possible and will try to talk about let what he wants to do to continue the economic success. Wendy davis has no choice but to go after great at it hard for. Questions from campaign contributors. It is not the best route for wendy davis because when she does that she hurts electability quotient but she must appear to be above the fray. Treating us from austin senior Political Writer, thank you very much for joining us. Great to be with you. The u. S. Led air strikes is syria the National Press club event is one hour. [inaudible conversations] good morning welcome to the National Press club of roles leading professional organization for journalists. Of light to give a special welcome for you watching on cspan and i see other networks here as well. Before we begin now like to mention some ground rules. To open end of floor for the traditional q a session. If you are recognized please identify yourself and your organization before asking your question. No speeches please except for our speaker. National press club is proud to offer a forum for leaders to give their views a tradition that goes back to its founding 1908. Today with just 36 days to go House Democratic whip will offer his argument why democrats should take over the house to read gave the majority in the midterm elections. A member of the house since 1981 representing the fifth Congressional District in elected to the leadership since 20,031st as minority whip then the House Majority leader and then as a minority whip. The second Ranking Member of the leadership in charge with mobilizing the vote to shape the House Democrats priorities to deliver the message thanks for coming to the National Press club we are pleased to yield the floor and looking at you to yield back for q a after your remarks. [laughter] thanks i am very play is the please. Thanks for giving you the opportunity. To have to discuss this weekends activities when maryland plays ohio state from which she graduated he graduated. I am pleased to be here today. And in five short weeks to make the direction they want to go they will have to choose what kind of government they want to. Once characterized by gridlock or one that achieves progress. And you are your own. Congress deals with justification is not on their side anymore. Across the country their losing faith that congress can grow strong middleclass. Congress of course, is not always been this dysfunctional. The responsible majority with members coming together with the seriousness of purpose it can do a great deal of good. The 1950s democrats and republicans invented in the interstate highway system to spur an unprecedented economic growth. As part of Johnsons Great Society to pass the Higher Education act that parents and grandparents could only dream. Compromise and cooperation led to use Social Security and medicare and medicaid in 1965. Brought us the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights act. In 1990 congress came together to pass the ada to open the door to opportunity in 1997 working together to lay the groundwork of a balanced federal budget to create unprecedented surplus. Bipartisan compromise is no myth. It worked and it can work once more. The American People can have a congress to put protective policy making ahead of partisan politics. One that tells of middleclass were on your side. And they have a clear choice to maintain republican House Majority and partisanship is the policy or elected democratic majority to end the gridlock with the issues that matter in a bipartisan way. We have done that. We will do it again. We need to make progress. According to a gallup poll for of 10 americans believe it does not matter which party leads congress. But it matters a great deal. Others should be deeply concerned for two reasons. At least. Republicans have been ignored the will of the people to address the issues that Americans Care about. Second to have overseen the least productive and most closed congress in modern history. They have directly contradicted the pledges that they made. In their book young guns Eric Cantor Paul Ryan wrote we pledge to stand on principle, to feed as adults , most of all to serve as responsible stewards of the public trust by listening to the American People. And when Speaker Boehner assumed the gavel he declared again above all else we will welcomes the battles of ideas, encourage it and engage in it openly, honestly, and respectfully as the chamber closest to the people the house works best when it is allowed to work its will. How much better off we would be had the house been allowed to work its will . Under republican control the house has not lived up to his title. 71 percent of americans receiving wanted to increase the minimum wage and many support 10 and cents an hour according to a july poll. House republicans however will not allow it to come to the floor. More than seven added chan support comprehensive Immigration Reform but a poll in june shows the majority of Republican Voters want a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants if they meet certain conditions. Instead of listening to the American People, republicans as refuse to allow the house to even hold a vote. When women ask for legislation to ask for equal pay for equal work republican said you are on your own. One important issue after another, House Republicans refused to allow the peoples will to be considered on the house floor. Whatever 18 Speaker Boehner delivered the speech that said today reports to the peoples house is more open and transparent. You can even bring your ipad to the floor. That may be the case but you cannot bring of bill to raise the minimum wage . You cannot bring of bill from Unemployment Insurance continuation you cannot bring a bill to the floor for this insurance act. Dave camp cannot even bring his tax reform bill to the floor. But you can bring the ipads you can read about the bill but you simply cannot consider them on the floor of the house. As a result of the republican majority walking away again and again, congress is now less productive and more divided. Under the House Majority the 113th Congress Just 165, the fewest in modern history have been enacted and only 26 of those were major pieces of legislation. Compare that when george bush was president 460 bills were enacted to make america better to serve the American People. We are on target this year to be in session 107 days only. They are the do nothing congress. The American People deserve a do something congress. In fact, they deserve a do the right thing congress which is exactly what House Democrats are ready to do to work across the aisle to achieve results. And we know it is possible because we have done it. There will be moments of the past four years when speaker peter frustrated with the obstructionist and his confidence turns to democrats to pass key legislation. And to reopen after the shutdown. We push it to avoid defaulting on our debt. Devastated families and farms 179 republicans walked away from the victims and said you were on their own. The 192 democrats voted for the Disaster Relief package which is the only reason the past pad reform and the highway bill and the farm bill. From president bush was in Office Democrats worked across the aisle to pass the new gi bill to increase Energy Independence and to prevent another Great Depression it automatically imposes anything when obama presents even though the country needs action. Ellis shrugged the i. R. A. And novel that paul ryan suspects as inspiration for the ideology says this about congress again Atlas Shrugged. There are two sides to every issue. One is right to and one is wrong. But the middle is a with civil is always evil. Compromise is not evil. It is necessary in Noble Pursuit of those who govern responsibly in a democracy. Well listen to one another and come to an agreement are those of more partisan divisions what we see current leaders to make the tough choices. They want us to do it in a bipartisan way which demands a compromise. Not evil is hard to imagine the results of that was the case according to a stored blood dash steady by moodys and analytics if they work to pass the president s job planned the gdp would have grown by as much as 2 and 1. 9 million jobs would have been created. But sadly they did not and it was a missed opportunity. And a shame. Even without help from congress to achieve significant progress to tackle the challenges that face us. As he pointed out by nearly every indicator our country does better today than it does when obamacare took office. 10 million new jobs have been created in just over four years. 800 billion of medicare cost. The number of children in poverty drop by 1. 4 million representing the most significant to want decline since 1966 have much more progress could be made if congress was a partner and not an obstacle. Instead of a congress where the majority says you are on your own, and a congress led by democrats would reassure americans it is on their side. Or platform is centered on taking action to jumpstart the middleclass. To expand the middleclass. To restore faith in the promise that if you work hard and take responsibility to access opportunity like Home Ownership and Higher Education and a secure retirement. The way to achieve that is to have republicans promised but failed to deliver and that is there pledge i plan to create jobs and Economic Uncertainty and make america more competitive. Rather they have created more uncertainty. No certainty for doctors treating medicare patients they would be paid out of plan to see those patients. Democrats have proposed giving doctors and seniors that certainty. No certainty for states or localities to maintain bridges and highways while democrats have supported a longterm plan to invest in infrastructure. Certainty for Small Business looking to create jobs. Democrats want to provide that certainty was a longterm reauthorization of the export import bank. No certainty for businesses looking to innovate or hire workers coming up against a broken immigration system. Democrats want to fix that through comprehensive reform that wants to keep them here to enable employers to hire a permanent and temporary workers they need there is a consensus about the issue. The list goes on and of course,. House democrats support certainty in these ways by making our economy more competitive through our make it in america plan. Rework to jumpstart the middleclass their raising the minimum wage and expanding access to education, helping student loan borrowers refinance. Insuring with many receive equal pay for equal work and to make sure affordable child care is available to those you need it. It does not give americans that hands out but a lake of that is how we jumpstart a strong middleclass and build a stronger national economy. It is what our people want their congress to focus on not partisan games. Not obsession with repealing the Affordable Care act. Not massive tax breaks that explode deficits by hundreds of billions of dollars. Americans want a bipartisan effort to achieve results for the middleclass, not a congress that stance in the way. That is what democrats are campaigning for. That americans voices are heard. But they continue to ignore the need of job creation with our making an american bill to expand a manufacturing to increase in plan and open doors of opportunity. While republicans block Immigration Reform we believe it should be passed and signed into law. The aflcio would raise. Farm workers agree with that. The Faith Community agrees with that. Unfortunately it has not come to the floor. While keeping minorities seniors and students for an eclipse exercising their equal right to vote we will work to restore the Voting Rights and to facilitate the ability of every american to cast their vote and have it count. Was giving critical benefits we will protect Affordable Health care including every womens access to a full range of health care choices. While republicans add billions to the deficit with unpaid tax cuts we will work in a bipartisan way to achieve fiscal sustainability and restore certainty with no threats of shut down or default. We must make sure Social Security Medicare Medicaid and other critical programs will be there for our children and grandchildren when they need it. Bob republican spend 3 million of taxpayer dollars for the defense of very jacked we will work to prevent to stop discrimination based on gender identity. Republicans undermine clean air and water for future generations, we will support the development and deployment of clean energy and manufacturing technologies. We will, as we stood by in the past, stand by our veterans to maintain a Strong National defense that can meet the challenges we face like on al qaeda and isil to pursue Nuclear Weapons and then destabilize the actions of Vladimir Putin as russia. Americas it deserves the House Majority that believes in a government that works not one of the nepalese government could do no good and should simply disappear. And guido congress can affect positive change because it has been done before over the past four years it created of government that was missing in action it looks 187 democrats coming together to vote to end the shutdown last october 144 republicans voted to keep the government of the people shut down. I know what they thought about it it will take democrats independents and republicans who are tired of gridlock to come together in a vote five weeks from tomorrow to end the four year shutdown of their congress. Taken by a republican majority in the minority in the senate that uses the rules to obstruct the filibuster. The past four years are proof that elections matter. Americas stockholders surely no no they need new leadership on their board of directors which we call congress. Americas challenges demand a serious majority that dont tell the middleclass you are on your own that were on your side. One that reminds them of a Good Congress can do when it takes responsibility to translate the will of the people into meaningful progress. In young guns majority leader says they should hold his party accountable. Should we regain the American Peoples trust we will insist our feet are held to the firepower of given the opportunity to govern, we will deliver on that commitment. If we dont im confident the American People will send us packing. Demonstrably the republicans have not delivered on their commitment in a gallup tracking poll last month 59 percent of the American People polled said they disapproved of congress. Of their performance because it isnt working for those of represents. It is time to send them packing. On november 4th to American People will have an opportunity to heed mr. Mccarthys advice to take their congress back. In order for that to happen happen, the majority of americans who were silenced in this Congress Must speak loudly in the election. They misspeak with a multitude of their votes to elect a democratic majority in the house that will permit the house to work its will. The misuse of leadership they must choose a viewership that offers opportunities security and certainty certainty for our economy, middleclass and that the peoples house will always be on the peoples side. Thank you very much. Thank you. Just stay here and i will try to moderate. If i kid just use the president ial prerogative to ask me be one question every election watchers in washington and our dearly everyone expects democrats to lose house seats this november. Why do you think that is . With the context of this election is difficult to start with the sixth year of a president ial term and people start to say that democrats are on the downside of history but i have been to 83 districts in which we have contested elections. Id my view we have an extraordinarily able group of candidates. Our message is one the American People support. The irony is simple after poll the people respond largely in agreement with the democratic agenda that i have laid out. In that case, if i think bay and allies as i think they should they would vote to put democrats in charge. Identify yourself and your organization and keep your questions brief. I am from fox and news. Referring to isil what do you think is the parameters for possibly calling congress to act . As Speaker Boehner was clear about saying we might have to have american boots on the ground and with the president is that a possibility . What is that conflict inside said democrats to say yes or no . I think the fact is this matter will be considered in the lameduck but whether it is passed, i dont know. But it is incumbent upon the congress to reconsider based on present facts and challenges and threats the authorization to use military force. I do not believe it is necessary nor do i believe it will happen we will come back for though they induct but it is my expectation we will start debate given the circumstances that exist today. [inaudible] we had a thoughtful debate and the party was divided the Republican Party was divided i thought that was one of the more thoughtful debates we had over the last two years which the house did work its will and did listen to the American People to that extent it was unlike the balance of this session but the party of the divided divided, there was no acrimonious debate within our caucus. I think there is a large majority who believes we need to consider this carefully and thoughtfully and appropriately in a timely fashion. Have a club member. You made the point about jobs there is over 1 million jobs by yet on the Unemployment Rate the policy has stated for the last decade rich tax breaks as a way to create jobs. So why is that the case at that message has stock for the rich tax breaks . And what are their 50 million fewer voters in the offyear elections and arent those your voters . You asked two questions. Why do we pass tax breaks for the wealthiest in america . They do not necessarily grow jobs. Frankly we did not do that. In 2007 through 2011 when we were in charge. The republicans have done that all the time i have been in congress and i came in 1981. As a result was a dramatic in 2001 to 2013 that the large tax base would result in extraordinary growth of jobs. The stock market went down and ushered in the deepest recession that i have experienced in my lifetime for a buddy has experienced in this room in their lifetime. Our policy continues to be to have a fair tax policy in the tax reform. To offer a thoughtful bill to make those tough choices this is the republican chairman cannot even get his own bill to the floor to even be discussed. We need tax reform to make sure were more competitive. Second, in a recent poll a significant percentage of the American Public was not sure there was an election. They make a difference. We need people to come out to the polls. One of the reasons they try to make it more difficult his if everybody votes votes, democrats win. I would urge every american to set aside at time to come to the polls. In maryland they come seven days before november 4th. I would urge them to do so. If they want their voice heard if they want to make sure a Republican Leadership does not refuse to bring to the floor that which clearly bears the will of the American People that need to go to the polls and vote into celebrate next year we recognize the 50th anniversary of the john lewis march across of bridge simply to register to vote in montgomery. He was beaten and bloodied as brothers. Shortly thereafter we passed the Voting Rights act. But that simply says you have the opportunity. The you muncies the opportunity to make a difference. I am with the fiscal times. To talk about the need for the war on isis but there is little discussion about cost to the government or the taxpayers. What is your take of the likely impact of a longterm battle and what does that do to the democrats agenda . We have to look at that honestly unlike iraq for the administration projected less than 100 billion it is now over 1 trillion and the general sinn secchi pointed out we need to have careful hearings and realistic assessment to do what the president and the American People think needs to be done that is prohibiting teen it isil natalie terrorizing its own region but a National Security threat when needed on this assessment, and we have not done that at this point in time that i hope that we would. Not with rose, other glasses by realistically. Growing the economy to feed terrorism are not mutually exclusive. America can do both witty to be strong and create jobs. To feel confident america is the country they want to be. We ought to do both and also of the strongest if we have the will to accomplish the dual objectives. I am with the voice of america to be concerned about terrorism what role will form policy play and is that a game changer . I certainly think for a policy is more discussed today than it was six months ago in the takeover of crimea by putin in russia and the threat of a nuclear arms to iran and chaos in the middle east has all elevated for policy as a consideration but i believe the American People are still very focused on the economy and theyre future and they have more confidence today they and they had six years ago when president Obama Took Office but there is no doubt that Foreign Policy and the threat by isil by russia and the ukraine has raised of focus. But today with the new Prime Minister of india to have significant discussions the largest democracy in the end of world to play in the global picture. And that is occurring at this point in time that india has his own concern about terrorism. This points out the relevance of your question that for policy will be a significant concern the continuing economic concerns and the lack of effectiveness or willingness to bring to the floor to consider the agenda of the American People. That needs your consideration. National journal. I know you are not conceding with of midterms for the growth areas seem to be the swing states like new york and illinois or california. El republicans winning those seats change how congress operates . Mr. Bayer seems to be pretty optimistic but i am not sure those seats would change a very hardline of control with the Republican Party. It is not only the seats that that action in the polk brothers and others whose vast contributions of money have a real impact on the Republican Party not only those 60 hardliners as they walk away from the group as i pointed out on numerous occasions we passed significant Bipartisan Legislation so whether or not the majority of the caucus does not fall with that hardline segment of the group. Redford tax notes with is a ways and Means Committee question. With the challenges you have faced in the last year and have to focus on tax reform to the exclusion of other policy areas . With a new chairman coming in and that potential how you think your caucus could have more influence on tax policy in the house . I am not sure who the new chairman will be i quoted Atlas Shrugged one is right one is wrong and the middle is evil. If the Congress Acts that way we will continue to be confronted with gridlock after all the chairman of ways and means worked in a bipartisan fashion including democrats and republicans with discussions of the tax code with the bipartisan bill to your leader policy and i say it that he presented a bill that was honest. He made the trade offs. However the speakers response to a real bill making real tradeoffs was a blah, blah, blah in response to the question what will you do about that bill . What did they bring to the floor . Those that would create almost 1 trillion of additional deficit and not pay for any of it. We pointed out it would explode the deficit one more time for the tax cuts that you did not pay for. So we need tax reform is the answer there is a bipartisan consensus and in order to get that tax reform the only way you get it is in a bipartisan way where republicans and democrats and the president Work Together with significant help from others in the administration to achieve tax reform that is what i think we can do and have new leadership on the ways and Means Committee. On this side working together is what you need to do. Sometimes there is plans for the lameduck session. Is there any plans . I dont think so. I doubt that will come up. What prospect is it with the majority . We have the majority but the question is can we keep it . Yes. And i believe the Senate Democrats will hold that a majority there is an interesting race going on in kansas. I think democrats can win sufficient numbers of seats to have over 50 members of the United States senate and we will keep it. I have noticed that both parties are discussing the womens boat had you feel that will affect this election and how you view the republicans approach . I am not sure the womens vote historically goes to the republicans. Democrats. So how you view that . Republicans have been capitalizing to retract that they try to accomplish more but the problem is they have said to have record to oppose those issues to womens families and children and all those issues motivate women and men. But one in particular who are focused on their families or their children or how women are treated our how they get equal pay. Millions of women with the minimum wages lower today than 45 the a 1968. The last time we waged by dash raised minimum wages when the checkback that house. We need to provide for child care. So the women when they come out to vote will flow cap the records. It is not just talking but you have to vote to do that so there is no doubt in women voted certificates maturities and we urge them to express their voice to said the issues will be brought to the floor. Theyre right now they are shut out and shut down. I am with washington traded daily. I wanted to followup if you heard about that trade Promotional Authority or the u. S. Import export baker what is your strategy for next year . As you know, mr. Cantor and i worked three or four months in a bipartisan way with issues in the last congress. We brought that bill to the floor and every democrat voted for it. And 93 republicans voted it can stick. Republicans of this congress refused to bring it to the floor. I talked about a certainty but republicans said one of the things it wanted to bring. But mr. Henson laying is very much opposed we believe it is a positive effect on job creation and makes money for the treasury that irony is the president wants to balance the budget rejects the mechanism that makes money for the treasury. My expectations are, and i have urged the Business Community large medium and small who are affected and facilitated with the creation of jobs to engage with democrats and republicans on this issue my own view is if that bill was brought to the floor it is another instance where not bringing a vote to the floor makes them transparent which is what the young guns said they would do 41 said the air for a permanent reauthorization of the import export bank and never brought to the floor. Now we have the extension through june 30th as you know, and that is giving uncertainty to the vendors or borrowers from across the oceans if that assistance will be there in the future. So i will work hard to see that reauthorize as soon as possible to give certainty to those entities. It was said incorporate into your question i dont think right now there is the consensus to bring that forward historically i have been a strong supporter and continue to be. I and from then National Disability Rights Network i know the answer already but as people of color got the right those institutions also not being able to register to vote whether your plans . I mentioned to facilitate people voting. This democracy is better the more inclusive it is. The more people that speak in voting the better america will be. Search of a as a sponsor of the americanled with disabilities act i beauvais very strongly we need to adopt reasonable accommodations in the language that facilitates people with access to polls polls, other ways to communicate tauruses while maintaining the secrecy of the ballot. I will continue to work of that and we need to pass a Voting Rights act response of which the promise that is not true that somehow things have changed that we no longer need the protections passed in the food chain rights act that was signed by george bush. Spinning announcement you would be speaking generated a number of questions for members who dont live in washington. The crowning achievement that i thank you would agree is obamacare but what impact if any on the midterm elections . The Affordable Care act points out correctly it will be republicans calling it up until the time it works well will be called obamacare. Until then they will call its after that they will call it the Affordable Care act. Stories which indicate premiums are coming in. The competition is up and running out the marketplace. The irony is it was perceived as somehow a socialist system. These are all privatesector providers. All we have created is a market for which consumers can go and compare shopping. Thats what the free market is all about. So i think at worst the Affordable Care act is going to be neutral and in my opinion mostly a positive and certainly as the years go by it will become a more positive aspect of American Life because more and more and more americans will have access to Affordable Quality Health care, which they need, what they want and which i think increasingly they see the Affordable Care act as an accomplishment. This is your 33rd year in congress and i wonder from that perspective i would just like to ask another question that we received but this year has featured one government if you like to screw up after another from the va scandal to the irs scandal to the intelligence failures that made the growth of isis seem like a surprise. Given all that how much faith should the American People have in their federal government . Well i think as ive said we need to restore the faith that has been shaken by the unwillingness of the congress of the United States, Republican Leadership in the house of representatives in particular, to consider the issues the American People feel are important and by pulling data overwhelmingly support. I think if the congress were working the trust level would be substantially heightened. Now we have some real challeng challenges. When frankly things dont work correctly, democrats came out very strongly with reference to the va issues, with respect to the altering of statistics in terms of veterans waiting times. All of us were very angry about that and the president has put in a new leader who is making very substantial reforms to make it work as well as veterans deserve, which means making sure they have access to the Va Health Care system in a timely basis which provides them very good health service, which they agree on the irs, i think the hearings that have been held on that are pretty clearly indicating this is not the direction of the administration. It was corrected at some point in time but not timely enough and democrats have made it very clear that what happened or what appeared to have happened is unacceptable. No american, whatever their views, whatever their party, whatever status they find themselves and politically or otherwise should have their tax issues related to any of those taxes other than what they legitimately owe as taxes, period. I know you feel strongly and confident that the democrats will maintain control of the senate, nevertheless i would like to ask how would things change for the House Democrats if republicans were to gain control of the senate and how would things change for president obama if the republicans were to gain control of the senate . Well i think we would see exactly what the american publ public more gridlock, more confrontation and more partisanship. They all indicate they dont want any of that sell my urging to the American People would be elect people who are going to work with, cooperate with the president of the United States. You may not agree on every issue but we are separate and coequal branch of government in the United States that we need to reflect thoughtful consideration of the president s proposal. We are after all part of one branch of government that proposes policy. The executive carries out policy and thats the context in which we have to operate but having said that i think the American People ate it very clear they think the obstructionism is largely the responsibility of the Republican Party. Thomas mann and norm ornstein one with the Brookings Institution one with the American Enterprise institute wrote a book in a book and essentially the same of their book was there is gridlock, there is confrontation, there are certain refusal to compromise and while they say they criticize republicans in the past and democrats in the past at this point in time there only conclusion is the responsibility of the republicans both in the house and in the senate which have led to this confrontation, refusal to compromise. Remember alice shrugged, iran said compromises in the middle. If you believe in is simply my way or the highway or my way or no way then you will get the gridlock in competition the American People hate. My proposition to the American People people in his speech and when i go anyplace in country if you dont like whats going on elect a party that will work with the president to create a better economy and a more secure country. Congregants congressman hoyer i thought it would be too partisan if we were to exchange mementos representing our respective universities, ohio state in the university so i chose more of a neutral memento to present to you the traditional National Press club mug and we thank you. [applause] thanks a lot. Wish me good luck on saturday. [laughter] s and academic seminars. [applause] thank you. Its always a strange moment another 30 years ago i was one of you in the audience as an intern with Washington Center and i give credit to politics what came later. He thought it would be best to start the program before we introduced the panelists and their special guest with a video of what we are doing it no label so it will give you some context to the panel and questions. [videotape] important right now life is washington is broken. We cant attend to any of the major challenges facing the country. We have lost our ability to do anything to become professional partisans. Somehow we are feeling took advantage of a lot of in washington. Certainly thereve been fights and arguments since his agreements throughout our history that there resides a moment in time when someone step forward or a group of someone step forward and said leslie. The only way forward is by giving the machinery of policymaking to work with both sides focused. Everything that bill clinton and Newt Gingrich did in the 90s. They agree to the goal of the balanced budget. We need to begin laying a foundation of a common interest. There are for pickles but we want. Make america secure by 2024. Secure Social Security and medicare for the next 25 years. Balancing the budget. Those are for big goals. Frankly i think they are hard to argue with. We need a vital economy and a coherent policy. We need a sustainable social n net. Some look at new labels and they say you have some lofty ideas and kumbaya. I say they are missing the whole purpose. Of course you have to get people working in america but youve got to get them working together toward something important to all americans. That is where the National Strategic event plays a critical central role. Would do you are a republican or democrat, these are the transcendent issues of our time. By the time the president ial Campaign Starts kicking off in 2016 we want this to be. Talk to your neighbor about it. Just go the web site and educate yourself. You have to be involved to help you have an impact. One of my favorite process by civil rights leader, we have arrived on the shores of leadership that we are all in the same boat now. I want to put a plugin now. College students you are the engine behind this movement that we have. There are going to be people outside when you walk out the door. We would love you decide that give us your name, give us your email go to the web site, get involved. We are going to have an an active your head and im sure our governor huntsman will talk about it. I would like to call up our ambassador. He is really and truly one of the visionaries behind the Washington Center. I have known him, my goodness i cant even say how long ive known him but we have worked together in other campaigns. He is truly a model of a person that gets civically involved in was the ambassador of belgium during the clinton years and truly the visionary behind what goes on here. Governor huntsman is someone that i met maybe it was two years ago or so. I got introduced to him. I presented this idea of no labels and it took a little bit of time but he agreed to sign up as the chair. Really he has such a distinguished record. He was the ambassador to china. He was a twoterm governor for the state of utah with a popularity rating, 80 plus, ambassador to singapore and he ran for president. He truly is a leader of this next generation in someone you should all be watching in terms of the National Scene and is the chair of this organization. [applause] i like to call you ambassador. At a certain prejudice. The great thing about these highfalutin jobs are to titles like your excellency. Your holiness. I tried to get my kids to call me by that but they wouldnt for whatever reason. Everybody back home said hey you. Anyway seriously tell us the difference between being a governor and an executive position and being in ambassador where you are getting input from the secretary of state and the president. Its a pleasure to be with you and a pleasure to be with all who are part of Washington Center. I cant begin to tell you how valuable this time is for you individually and i hope when you walk out of the center when the semester is done there you go out and change the world and you make it a better place. You are getting tools and exposure to people and an education that is so rare in todays world. Dont let us down because they say every generation the baton passes and then its your turn to step up and take him problem solving and finding solutions. You are about there so tune in and take some of these issues seriously. I started out as a rock musicians of the fact that im called anything other than just a total failure is an amazing feat all by itself. Ive had two of the best jobs in the world. One of them is representing the country as the highest most senior accredited american in that country confirmed by the senate under the constitution, appointed by the president and then you are given the task of basically being the eyes and ears within a country for the United States which is to say we protect american citizens, report on things that are going on and help with business and economic expansion and then you manage all the other things that go on in a bilateral relationship between the United States and the country are hosting. In china and it was very exciting posting in europe, i think cant think of a relationship more interesting in the early part of the 21st century than this. For me there were always things going on in a relationship that i thought were so fascinating, so intellectually stimulating but heres what i love the most and then i will get onto the governor. You know we dont get a lot of good people running for office in the United States. That probably comes as a great revelation and surprise. You wonder where they go. I had the great privilege of arriving to work every morning and an embassy, this is the second largest in the world in china, couple thousand people and the young men and women who populate the embassy who are part of the foreign service, part of the military, part of any one of 40 different agencies, they were the best and the brightest. They were incredible Public Servants and if i could have bottled up what they did and the work ethic that they brought in a very patriotic way to serve their country it would have blown away every taxpayer in this country many of whom complained about expenditures overseas. It was just a great honor to work with such dedicated and competent people. The governor is a totally different deal. If you can imagine working in the highly compartmented atmosphere of an embassy which is what it was like in china, highly compartmented. You speak a different language literally and figuratively. You are working on issues that Many Americans will never hear about. Going from there to an open campaign where the most circus like undertaking in the world, that of running for Public Office where anything goes and its kind of a freeforall environment when she began. You have very little control of your surroundings. You are running based upon issues you believe them. You take your message out to the voters and to ask for their vote which is about the most humbling thing i think there is in the world. Standing on. Standing on a soapbox, staring down a bunch of people at a town hall meeting and saying will you vote for me . It is without question the most humbling experience of my lifetime because half of them are looking at you you. You can see it in their eyes, are you kidding . Vote for you and the other half are saying i like what you are saying. I could go to work for you. In fact i will dedicate my next year to your cause and we will go out and change the world. Because you are asking the voters, in any of you who are in this room may run for office at some point, you will get this exact same. You are asking the voter for the most valuable and precious commodity is that they have which is trust to be placing as a candidate. Its a pretty awesome thing and then you find if you work hard enough and you go out and work in the primaries you win the election. I only run for class office in high school but i won one junior class president and i lost too. I married somebody who lost her election too so we came together as losers. I never thought of the thousand years that i would run for Public Office and then you get to the point where you care enough about the issues that you will too. I dont care which country you come from you will care enough about the issues that you will want to go and do something about it. Then you are elected mandated by the people. The state constitution to govern and you wake up in the morning after the election. I remember so distinctly. Then you say now what do i do . Now ive got to take all of those things that just promised the people of my state and i have to turn it into action and turn it into plans and policies and pieces of legislation and lead and go out and get it done. If i dont do it, and heres the biggest difference between being ambassador and governor although much of it will be apparent just based on the conditions in which you work. You are a team player as ambassador. You are not the singular individual out there making it all happened in calling the shots. You are part of a broader team. You work with the interagency process and you work with the white house and the state department and the whole lot of others. You are just one piece of a broader tapestry that makes form policy work and as such you subordinate your ego sometimes. As governor is completely liberating in the sense that theres nowhere to hide. There is no place on capitol hill you can go to. You are it. You tell the state where you want to go and you try to get it done to the best of your ability and then you stand for reelection. You suffer the consequences or live the successes of what you have done. Theres nothing more bottomline focused or liberating in politics because you really are out there. Your ideas and your ability to bring people together, your ability to work the system and execute it and make it all happen. That is what governors in this country, those who have been elected to the senate on capitol hill. Let me ask you this. He served as the republican governor. He served as a democratic president. He came back to the United States. He ran as a republican candidate for the presidency of the United States, certainly a partisan position and get you are one of the chairman of no labels. What got you interested in the labels . First of all let me say i did serve as a republican and i would do it again. I was raised with the fundamental belief that you put your country before your political party. With two sons today in uniform both in the United States navy, they dont have the luxury, my sons before they are deployed of saying what party is my president and i think i will decide. They just do it. I was raised in an environment that in Public Service thats what you do whether republican or democrat. If you are asked to a job and a job in which maybe could help lead to better than he found it and maybe bring whatever background or set of skills to the work, you do it. I was happy to serve me do it again. But no labels came along. Nancy jacobson who is the genius and master mind behind no labe labels, nancy is what i would call a social political entrepreneur. Its almost an oxymoron at political entrepreneur. He you just sort of sit and spin and nothing ever gets done. Nancy has created a movement that is quite remarkable. I have to digest it when i first heard about it because i have been in politics are there wasnt quite sure and two things were readily apparent about this no labels grew. It was just kind of thing just getting off the ground. One, we no longer have the ability to bring people together regardless of their background for purposes of discussion, Building Trust and problem solving. If you didnt approach everything with a problemsolving ethos when you sit around the table i didnt ask what party people were around the table. If you want to talk about environmental tax reform or education have a seat at the table and lets talk and we will pat put our best ideas out there and move forward. Thats not the way it works so no labels is bringing this concept of reorienting the whole political construct, the ethos of politics from one of acrimony, anger and fingerpointing, which i think everybody is sick and tired of for the most part, and i hope we dont get to the point where we say thats thats just the way supposed to be. Thats not the way supposed to be. We are fundamentally broken. Going from that environment to what a problemsolving. People in the senate say you cant change the culture of washington. I say nonsense. The culture of washington is always changing. There are always new people coming in and things looking being looked at differently. I worry about the undercurrent of the divide in washington because they are almost intractable. Gerrymandering, the rise of the professional political class. Europe professional research person. That didnt exist before in politics. You he did it seasonally announced a professional industry. So how do you deal with that is a big challenge. Creating that change in culture is very effective to me because i saw that as something that needed desperately to be done. The other thing that ive found having lived in poor countries during my lifetime, only one of those four countries that i have lived and doesnt have a sense of extraction, has no Strategic Direction. This one. It struck me as a little bizarre that this great country of greater than 20 million people, it scientists teachers leaders you can ask anyone on capitol hill and ask where we are going and get an answer except for hot air. We thought we could at the Grassroots Level based on polling and based on collaborative efforts with local government and congress, come up with a transcendent Strategic Direction for the country. I dont care whether you are republican or democrat, there are just some issues that the American People want to see done. The fact that you can put together such an agenda over the next year and market it in iowa and New Hampshire in the grassroots of this country where people participate on what that agenda looks like i thought was about the most brilliant thing ive heard in a while. The interesting thing about being a political entrepreneur like nancy is theres no guarantee result of where no labels is going. Its totally based on ideas. Its based on grassroots enthusiasm. Its based on the next generation, people like you signing up and saying i like where this is going. I think i want to be part of it the solution as opposed to being a part of the problem. I think the energy is going to build for no labels and i think we are going to get someplace. I attended the meeting a week ago that you and senator manchin conducted in nancy put together with hundreds of people hearing about no labels and what its up to and how many members of the house and senate both democrats and republicans who put together almost 100 now trade at the end of the day there were sort of one unanswered question which im going to ask you. Its a tough one of and abide a mask i know know some of the students will certainly ask. 95 to 100 members of the house and senate get together on some strategic agenda and some piece of legislation that they would like jointly in a nonpartisan way to see go through and yet there were 50 members of the