there's still a lot more to go out for recoupments. regarding, we send the letter to the last known address, and when that letter comes back, what do we do? i've asked staff, and i'll provide this in writing. we have a process to try to track down any additional financial records to try to locate that person. one of the conditionses i know was raised is when would penalties and interests kick in, and that's the area where i don't have an exact timeline because i don't know what we do as far as how long it takes for us to go through the due diligence this trying to locate them. it's generally either because they're not responsive or we have exhausted our ways of locating them that they would get referred to treasury to see if they can recoup there. when you send the letter, the first step is to see if they're going to appeal that. or they comply for forgiveness because they don't have a financial ability. but i ask staff, we do use third party to try to track folks

down. what i don't know is what is that time frame that we go before we would say we're unable to serve this letter, or we're not getting a response. it would go to treasury and start accruing interest and penalties. >> thank you. i appreciate it. >> i don't want every story to be 1800 words. >> last month jill abramson became the first woman to hold the post of executive editor at "the new york times." she believes the times is more irreplaceable than ever, but also envisions a few changes. >> there is a certain lack of discipline sometimes a point is repeated too many times in a story, or there are three quotes making the same point where one would do, and i'd like to see a variety of storylines. >> she'll discuss her career, her new book and the future of the times sunday night on c-span's "q&a." >> every weekend on american

history tv the people and events that document the american story. this weekend picketing, protests, arrests. occupy wall street? no. the national woman's party and the woman's right to vote. a panel discussion on the advocates for women's suffrage, and archival film from abc and the army signal corps. also, a look at the young harry truman and the 12 years he spent working on the family farm. look for the complete schedule at c-span.org/history or click the c-span alert button. >> tonight, vice president joe biden was the keynote speaker at the 2011 democratic party convention in orlando. both he and debbie wasserman-schultz talked about the 201 elections and the -- 201 elections and the candidates. this is abouten hour. >> thank you so much. good evening, democrats! are you fired up? are you ready to go?

we're ready to keep this state blue for barack obama and joe biden, aren't we? i am so proud to be here tonight in my home state of florida, and thank you so much, rob smith, for your introduction, for your leadership, for your commitment to our party and to our values. you are doing an incredible job. just look at this turnout tonight. this is the largest turnout we've had at a dinner like that in years -- like this in years, and that is thanks to rob smith, and we can't thank him enough for him committing to make sure we can move florida forward and move the democratic party into the win column once again. so thank you so much. let's hear it for rod smith. [applause] since becoming dnc chair, i've traveled to 23 states in a little over five months. but, friends, let me tell you, there is no place like home, and it is great to be here at home in the sunshine state with friends and supporters and with all of you.

tonight is so special. it's truly an honor to have vice president biden here with us. he has been a full partner alongside presidents barack obama helping move our nation forward, passing historic reforms to help the middle class and small businesses and getting our country back on track. [cheers and applause] vice president biden is no johnny come lately in his quest to make this country and the world a better place. throughout his 40-plus years of extraordinary public service, he has been and continues to be a problem solver, a decision maker and a tireless fighter for middle class families in the united states of america. so we are just so thrilled to have him here tonight. and let me just share with you how particularly thrilled i am because i was a young girl at the university of florida in 1988 when i signed up for joe biden for president campaign and worked the university of florida campus, and i am so proud to be

able to work here working the united states of america to make sure that barack obama and joe biden go back to the white house to help move this country in the direction that we know it needs to go. [cheers and applause] so, vice president biden, on behalf of all of us here this evening, thank you for your inspiring leadership and your public service on behalf of the president and all americans. my fellow florida democrats, i'm here because we have got some important work to do in florida over the next 12 months, don't we? in 2012, first and foremost, we need to send president obama and vice president biden back to the white house for a second term to insure that we continue to move america forward. [applause] we must also make sure to reelect bill nelson to the united states senate. [cheers and applause] senator nelson is a proven leelder for working families here in florida and a critical voice for our state's many seniors from everglades protection to consumer protection, senator nelson has been there for us, and we need to be there for him.

and we will be. are you with me, florida democrats? [cheers and applause] and with the passage of fair districts florida, we need to make sure that we take control back from our state from rick scott and his cronies by electing democrats from pensacola to key west in our state legislature, in congress and up and down the ballot. [applause] we can do it, and we will do it with your hard work. there is no other option. my fellow floridians, the contrast between who democrats are fighting for and who republicans are fighting for has been made very clear in creent weeks. republicans in the u.s. senate have now twice voted in unison to block twice or all of the american jobs act, the president's plan to put american back to work immediately and put more money in the pockets of those already working. these are ideas that have previously received bipartisan support. of i know that seems foreign these days.

ideas like tax relief for middle class families, keeping teachers in the classroom and police and firefighters on the job and helping to rebuild our bridges and roads. oh, and one other thing that should make it easy to pass, the president's plan is fully paid for. fully paid for. [applause] unlike what the republicans used to do which is just spend our economy into oblivion without regard whether we were paying for what we were fighting for. john mccain's former economic adviser have concluded that president obama's jobs plan would include 1.9 million jobs. for starters, the jobs act cuts taxes, something president obama has done 17 times before for small businesses. 17 times. [applause] we need to shout that from the rooftops. in addition to vital middle class tax relief in the form of a payroll tax holiday that we passed last year. here in florida the american

jobs act would create tens of thousands of jobs rebuilding the state's highway and transit systems and modernizing schools throughout our state. president obama's jobs plan would extend unemployment insurance for out-of-work americans as they work to rebuild their lives and get back on their feet as well as give companies tax breaks if they hire the long-term unemployed and our veterans. but republicans have blocked all of this. they propose a so-called alternative plan, but analysts agree the republican plan would do nothing provide immediate relief to the middle class or create jobs. in fact, according to moody's it would actually worsen, actually worsen the economic outlook. but nothing has exemplified the contrast between democrats and republicans more than mitt romney during the last two republican debates. at the new hampshire debate, romney called an extension of tax cuts to the middle class little band-aids that he would allow to expire. do you remember that?

these tax cuts mean a typical florida family would keep an average of $1430 in their pocket. $1430. does that sound like a little band-aid to you? you see, a multimillionaire like mitt romney doesn't think that that money is important for working americans. he is so out of touch that he doesn't understand that $1,430 is four months of groceries or seven months of gasoline. so in his own economic proposal mitt romney would cut taxes for the wealthiest americans and for corporations but do nothing for middle class americans. of as if that wasn't enough, romney also said just this month in nevada that allowing foreclosures to run their course by cutting off help for americans facing the loss of their homes and allow the inventory of troubled mortgages to be reduced faster which would allow investors to buy the properties and rent them out. romney's reckless approach treats the homes of honest, hard working americans like nothing more than monopoly pieces that

bankers can use to get more wealthy. mitt romney wants to repeal wall street reform and let bankers write their own rules again. do you hear that, florida democrats? is that what we want? and he wallets to provide -- he wants to provide the wealthiest americans more generous tax breaks. to put it simply, this is unacceptable. i'm counting on you, florida democrats, to tell your friends and neighbors the truth about these outrageous and harmful proposals. as the president emphasized earlier this week when he announced new executive actions his administration is taking to help our economy grow now, we can't wait. we can't wait for republicans in congress to get off the dime, who keep obstructing efforts to create jobs now. we have a responsibility to the american people to help them get back to work now and get back on their feet. they simply can no wait. and let me -- cannot wait. and president obama is fighting to create jobs and grow our

economy. he has accomplished so much in his time in office, and we need to sing that from the rooftops. we need to tell every floridian, every american about this president's incredible record of accomplishment. [cheers and applause] the best record of legislative accomplishment in decades. [applause] he prevented the economy from going over a cliff. because of the president's leadership, we've added 2.6 million jobs in the private sector over the last 19 months. [applause] he signed into law historic health care reformer eliminating insurers' abilities to exclude people with pre-existing conditions from coverage and closing the prescription drug doughnut hole for seniors on medicare. [applause] pretty important here in florida, wouldn't you say? he's brought nearly 100,000 troops home from iraq -- [applause] thank you. thank him. and as the president recently announced, this year all of our servicemen and women in iraq will be home with their families for the holidays, and the war in

iraq will finally end! [cheers and applause] finally! this is a vote that i was very proud to cast. he's put an end to the discriminatory policy known as don't ask, don't tell. [cheers and applause] that is on the dust cover of history thanks to barack obama. he fought hard to insure that we keep our promise to america's veterans and military spouses so that we provide for our troops not just in the battlefield, but also after they've returned home. and, ladies? he's enacted the lily ledbetter fair pay act to help women get the equal pay we deserve and put some teeth behind it so we can make sure we hold employers who don't treat us fairly feet to the fire. now, i'm not saying that republican don't have a jobs agenda. it's just that theirs focuses on just one job: barack obama's. democrats care about american jobs. over the last three years, we've

seen smear campaign after smear campaign, haven't we? we've seen millions of dollars in secret money used to sport false attacks on democrats. president obama's sort of taken the easy road and maybe avoided some of these attacks, but that's not what leaders do. he made the decisions that were hard but right. if there are some folks who want to play politics, they'd rather wait until the 2012 elections and ignore the millions of americans who are struggling now to make ends meet. well, as the president has said, the next election is a year away. and if you're living week to week, paycheck to paycheck, you don't have a year to wait. we can't wait, can we? >> no! >> i say to the republicans here in florida n washington and on the campaign trail, take down the road blocks. come to the negotiating table and stop playing partisan politics so that we can get this done right now and get this economy back on track and do it together! [cheers and applause] but if you don't, we'll do it without you! [applause] florida democrats, we did our

job in 2008. we delivered florida. and it was a great victory. but our job is not complete. the challenges that we face weren't created overnight, and they won't be solved oversight. in president obama's second term -- now, doesn't that sound good? [applause] sounds good to me. we need to keep building an economy where every american can find a good job that pays the bills and lets them get ahead. we need to end our dependence on foreign oil and take bigger steps to fight climate change and global warming. we need to keep rebuilding our infrastructure, improving our public schools and implementing health care reform. but that's the question before us today. will we do these things? will we? >> yeah! >> of course we will. but we need to fight hard all the way to november 6th of 2012. over the next year, we're going to have a debate between competing political parties. but more than that, we're going to have a debate between competing priorities.

so let me take a moment to tell you as an american and a floridian what my priorities are. as a mother, i believe a child needs an education more than a millionaire needs a tax break. [cheers and applause] as a representative for many retired americans living here in the beautiful sunshine state, i believe that protecting medicare for seniors is more important than protecting subsidies for corporate jets. [applause] as a wife, a their and a friend, i believe that our government's message to the middle class should be, we're on your side. and not, you're on your own. thank you. these are my priorities, these are the president's priorities, they're vice president biden's pyreties, they're senator knell soften's priorities, and i know they're yours too. they have everything to do with who we are as people. now, every day you hear republicans arguing that in tough times we simply can't

afford to invest in these priorities. but we're here because we know the truth: we can't afford not to. [applause] we're democrats because we believe in the face of adversity it's america's job to lead the way. and to those who say we can't afford to be optimistic, to those who say that it's our job to settle for second place, we say this: americans don't settle. floridians don't settle. [applause] americans don't quit, and floridians don't quit. and as long as president obama is in the white house, their government won't quit on them. [applause] [cheers and applause] now, i don't know about you, but these seem like common sense principles to me. nothing radical here. my fellow democrats, over the next year there will be ups and there will be downs. there are going to be days when it feels like we can't do anything wrong and days when it feels like we can't do anything right.

but here is my promise to you. no one is going to outwork us. no one. [applause] now, i can't keep that promise by myself. i need you to help me to keep it. i need you to work harder than you've ever worked before. now is the time to roll up your sleeves, make those phone calls, dig deeper into your pockets than you ever thought you could. make sure that you hoist floridians on your shoulders and carry them through the streets. go door to door, neighbor to neighbor, talk about the difference that we have in america, the direction that we could go if we continue down the path that barack obama and joe biden have taken us, the path to prosperity, the path that fights for the middle class and gives them a chance to succeed. or we could go backwards to the days when corporate america was allowed to write their own rules, to the days when it was the priority of the government to keep the wind at the backs of the most fortunate americans. do you want to go back there?

>> no! >> well, i sure don't. folks, do you remember 2008 on election night? i remember the incredible peopling that i had. it was a historic, hi to havic election. historic election. well, 2008 was historic. we'll finish what we started in 2008, and we will take florida and america in a new and better direction. florida democrats, we need you. the president and the vice president need you. bill nelson needs you, and i need you to help deliver florida in 2012 and keep us blue once again. [applause] and it won't be democrats that we lead to victory because every american will win. so like i said, 2008, that election night was historic. but if you don't want to go back warld, if you want to make sure that we can move forward and give everyone a fair chance and make sure that the next generation, that my children and your children have a fair shot at the american dream, remember 2008 is historic, but let's make 2012 personal. it's personal.

on, on, on to victory in november of 2012! thank you, florida democrats! [cheers and applause] [applause] [inaudible conversations] >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome senator bill nelson, dr. jill bide season and the vice president of the united states, joe biden. ♪ [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ ♪

>> good evening, democrats! you remember that election is like driving a car; you want to go forward, you put it in d. if you want to go backwards, you put it in r. [cheers and applause] we're ready for the main event. everybody sit down, enjoy yourself. we have the distinguished guest here, and i just want to thank all of you for the great prim that you've given -- privilege that you've given to grace and me of years of public service. and, ladies and gentlemen, i'm ready for the fight again. [applause] [cheers and applause] and, of course, we've got lots to fight about. all you have to look at what the state of florida is trying to do to restrict our ability to vote,

to register to vote and to have our vote counted as intended. and you'd think in a state like ours with what we went through in the 2000 presidential election and what the legislature did after that in making it easier to vote and easier to register to vote and to have your vote counted that instead in america in the year 2011 that we'd be going the other way. and it's happened not here, but 13 other states as well. florida's the worst in restricting voters -- in putting out voter suppression. all right. i'm here because of these two great people. now, dr. jill biden was going to introduce her husband, but she has laryngitis. [laughter] so let me just tell you about

dr. jill biden. she was in delaware today kicking off her campaign for awareness of women's breast cancer. [cheers and applause] she and the first lady have been at the point of the spear helping out families of those deployed to iraq and afghanistan. the boots on the ground. [applause] and listen to this. when joe's mom and dad were living with them, she was helping take care of the vice president's elderly parents at the same time of raising three boys and at the same time getting two master's degrees and a ph.d.. [cheers and applause] i'd say the vice president and i

definitely have something in common, we married above ourselves. [laughter] all right. since jill cannot introduce her husband, all i have to say is one of the best senators to ever come out of the united states senate, one of the true, great american patriots. i think arguably the best vice president of the united states. [cheers and applause] ladies and gentlemen, joe biden, the vice president of the united states! [cheers and applause] >> thank you, buddy. >> bless you. >> bill, thank you very much. thank you all very, very much. [cheers and applause] folks, please v a seat. have a seat. you have no idea how disappointed i am jill department introduce me. it's the only time she's require today say something nice about me. [laughter]

every husband likes to have that said. ladies and gentlemen, i am are truly delighted to be here tonight. y'all are going to be seeing an awful lot of me because the states i'm going to be concentrating on are pennsylvania, ohio, florida, new hampshire and iowa, and i'm going to be here a lot. so i'm looking forward to working with y'all. we plan on winning, florida. [cheers and applause] we can't win without florida, and we can't win without bill nelson in florida! [cheers and applause] but you can't mention bill without mentioning grace. literally. and, ladies and gentlemen, they've become two of the best friends for jill and me in our career in the senate and now. 40 one worked -- to one worked harder for us this last time around than bill and grace. and as old jim east of the mississippi told me once when i

was running for re-election in 1978, he said, joe, what would old jim'son do for you in delaware? mr. chairman, some places you helped, true story, and some places you hurt. and he caid, well, i'll come to delaware and campaign for you or against you, whatever will help the most. that's what i'll do for bill and any of the democrat on this ticket. ladies and gentlemen, debbie is doing an an amazing job, by the way. [cheers and applause] she's doing an amazing job. it won't surprise you that i've loved her for a long time ever since she thought i was good enough to be president back in those days, and i tell you what, she has been not only in 23 states, she has raised money, raised awareness, raised volunteers and raised our prospects in every one of those states. so thank you for letting us, debbie wasserman-schultz. [applause] look, folks, the fact of the

matter is that i don't need to remind you of the catastrophe we inherited, that america inherited after eight years of the last administration. when barack and i were sworn this on that bitterly cold day in january and looked out at literally a million people standing on the national mall, you could sense their sense of hope and faith and expectation. it was an incredible sight. but there was something else. something else on the faces of those million people. there was concern, uncertainty, and in some case even fear. practically before i lowered my hand on january the 20th, by that time at that moment, that month we had already lost

740,000 jobs just that month. that quarter our economy shrunk to almost historic lows, 6.4% loss in our gdp. and before barack and i sat down at our desks, we already inherited a bill for $ $1,300,000,000,000 for that year and a projected deficit of $8 trillion over the next ten. middle class americans lost $16 trillion in household wealth. it vanished without a trace. as you know, better than almost any state here in florida the equity in people's houses evaporated before their eyes. the retirement funds as the market was talked about going below 600, that also evaporated. and with it all the wealth that

they had. and with it, their hopes and expectations for how they would and could retire, their ability to send their children to school, their security. that's why i find it absolutely bizarre republicans moralizing about deficits. [laughter] that's a little like an an arsonist moralizing about fire safety. these guys have zero credibility. [applause] zero credibility. their vision of economic policy and their plan for prosperity lay in creative financial instruments, credit default swaps, collateralized debt obligation, subprime mortgages. they gave us a bubble, and they called it an economy. ladies and gentlemen, in addition we inherited a foreign

policy that was in disarray. we had lost the respect of our allies and the fear of our enemies. we were nearly a decade into two wars, 180,000 americans deployed in if harm's way -- in harm's way. 150,000 alone in iraq. osama bin laden remained at large and continued to plot new attacks on america. in short, we were a nation isolated in the world and on the verge, literally, of depression. america was in trouble, and the folks we represent needed help. and they didn't understand. my dad, who bill and grace met, used to have an expression. he'd say, joey, i never expect the government to solve my problems, but at least i expect my government to understand my problems. [applause]

and as the son of a proud man, a proud man who knew what it was like to be denied a loan to be able to send his child to college a son of a proud man who had to leave his family and move to a different city to find work with the hope that he'd be able to bring his family together later, you know, the longest walk any parent can make is up a short flight of stairs to their child's bedroom to say, honey, i'm sorry, but dad's got to leave or mom has to leave. my dad made that walk in scranton, pennsylvania, when i was going into fourth grade. he said, joey, there's no jobs here. you're going to have to stay with your grandpop, you and mom. jimmy and val. eve got to move to -- i've got to move to wilmington with uncle

frank, and i'll try to come home every weekend. it's only 156 miles, joey. i thought it was a thousand. could have been for all i knew. he said, but i promise you when i get a job and get enough money, i'm going to get a nice place and bring you and mom and the kids down to wilmington. it wasn't until i got to be probably in if my late 20s -- in my late 20s that i understood that proud, graceful man had even a longer walk to make into my grandfather ambrose's pantry to say, ambrose, i need a favor. can you keep jean and the kids? i promise i'll make it up. i promise it'll be okay. that's a hard thing for any man or woman to have to say. think of how many floridians you

know who have had to make that walk. think of how many have lost their homes, lost their jobs and lost their self-respect. my dad used to say, joey, a job's about a lot more than the pick. which -- paycheck. it's about your dignity. it's about your respect. your respect in the community. and barack barack and i when wen '08, we knew the our job not only to restore the economy, but even more importantly, to restore people's dignity and regain their respect. [applause] these republicans talk about job losses like a statistic. lame, an awful -- ladies and

gentlemen, an awful lot of our friends have been knocked down as a consequence of the failed policies that are being peddled again. barack and i knew in order to avoid literally, not figuratively, another depression we had to stabilize the financial markets, unfreeze credit, get banks lending again to businesses so they could meet payrolls and give people a fighting chance to begin to refinance. we knew that if auto industry collapsed as it was on the verge of doing -- not reorganizing, but liquidating -- we knew in spite of what romney and others said at the time that we would permanently lose a million jobs related to the industry. so we told the industry, shape

up. reorganize. and if you do, we will help you. not popular. we also knew that we needed to restore wall street to its proper and critically important role of allocating capital to business and industries that could be used most efficiently. we knew we had to get the deficit under control and deal with the single biggest driver of the deficit, health care costs. and ladies and gentlemen -- [applause] we knew we had to restore protections for workers and unions. yes, unions -- [cheers and applause] they built the middle class. [cheers and applause] so we sent in the nlrb. we made them take off their

black shirt is the and put on striped shirts and be referees again as they were supposed to be. and, folks, the results are clear. instead of hemorrhaging 6.5 million jobs in the year before we got our program in place as debbie pointed out, we've created 2,600,000 jobs, 19 consecutive months of private sector growth. [applause] not enough. instead of losing one million jobs permanently, we have added in the last year 111,000 auto jobs. general motors and chrysler are healthy, they're paying off the government loans, and the american people for the first time in 23 years according to j.b. powers think that americans make better cars than foreign cars. [cheers and applause] and instead of being able to continue to repackage toxic debt

and selling it to unsuspecting investors, wall street is now required to be transparent. ladies and gentlemen, i love these guys who talk about capitalism as if they're for it and we're against it. the entirety of the capitalist system is based upon transparency and sunlight, especially when it comes to wall street is the best disinfectant and the best cure for what ails us. [applause] and, ladies and gentlemen, instead of long-term debt increasing as predicted by $100 billion over the next ten years because of health care costs and $1 trillion in the second decade, we passed health care reform and literally bent the cost curve and in the process provided 30 million americans that department -- that didn't have access to health care, health care.

[applause] folks -- and as debbie said, in the process with the leadership of bill nelson and debbie we eliminated don't ask, don't tell. we passed the lily ledbetter act for equal pay for equal work. [applause] we cut private banks out as the middleman saving taxpayers $60 billion in student loans. that's some of what we did at home. [applause] but beyond our borders, as president obama said last year -- last week with, i should say, the tide of war is receding. instead of having 150,000 combat troops tied down in iraq, when we got elected president obama assigned me iraq literally, not figuratively as bill will tell you. and, folks, he said get us home by this christmas 150,000 americans will be out of iraq and will have ended this war in

iraq! [cheers and applause] and in the process left behind a democratic government with a chance of serving those people. and maybe the most important thing president obama did was refocus our eyes and our power on the prize: osama bin laden. [cheers and applause] instead of being a war that the last administration ignored and led adrift, we're now focused on succeeding. we have literally eviscerated al-qaeda. osama bin laden is dead, 34 of the top al-qaeda leaders are gone including number two and including, including anwar al-awlaki, the american cleric who was planning these attacks.

instead of going it alone in libya, we had a president finally who was strong enough to confront our enemy and wise enough to consult and engage our allies. [applause] as a consequence, gadhafi is dead, libya is free and not one american soldier lost their life. [cheers and applause] in short, we've literally restored america's image around the world and put our path, our country, our economy on the path to recovery. but, folks, the only way i can describe what happened next is republican obstructionism. i have served in the senate a long time, as bill will tell you. over my career i had as many friends in the republican party as the democratic party. i can say without fear of

contradiction no republican in the senate ever doubted my word, and there was no one i was unable to work with. but, ladies and gentlemen, this ain't your father's republican party. [applause] this is a different deal. just as we're turning the corner on the economy, these guys started playing roulette with the national debt, playing brinksmanship. they took charge of the house. they didn't want to just stop what we were doing, they wanted to undo everything that we had donement -- done. some people think this republican obstructionism is about ideology. other people think it's just about politics. i'll leave that for the american people to decide. but i know up one thing, it doet matter which it is, they're standing in the way of progress. [applause]

folks, as a student of history like many of you, back in the 1940s when fdr was facing a time of economic crisis with the specter of war on the horizon, he found that almost every one of his legislative efforts including the entire new deal were being stopped by a republican congress. led by bruce barton from new york, joseph martin from massachusetts and hamilton frisch from new york. so when roosevelt talked about everything he tried to do, everything that was stopped, he would list what he called, and i quote, a beautiful rhythm of opposition: martin, barton and frisch. today i can say the remains of beautiful rhythm of opposition boehner, cantor and mitch. [applause] folks, they have a different theory of the case. they actually assert, and i suspect they believe, that the

reason banks respect lending and they are flush and businesses aren't expanding notwithstanding the fact corporate america has almost $2 trillion in assets, capital that they could spend, they think it's because they're not spending and lending, they say, because of regulations, because of taxes on the wealthy and because of uncertainty of health care reform. so their answer shouldn't surprise you. they think we should once again deregulate wall street, put the cowboys back in the -- no, literally. you'd think if you didn't know better, they're counting on america having collective amnesia. [laughter] if you didn't know better, you'd think i was making this up. [laughter] they not only think we should actually keep the bush tax cuts that were designed to expire for the top 1%, but they believe we should increase the tax cuts for the wealthiest. they believe the answer to the

deficit is to repeal health care. without realizing or acknowledging that will increase the debt by over $100 billion by 2022, 2021 and another trillion after that. and in the process, in process eliminate insurance for 30 million people who need it. boehner, cantor and mitch. listen to what they say. literally, this is important. speaker boehner's a friend of mine. i personally like him, literally. i get on with him as most of my colleagues here can tell you. he said our efforts to relate the financial industry and hold wall street accountable was, quote, like using a nuclear weapon to kill an ant. i pointed out to him that that

ant took eight million jobs. speaker boehner -- [applause] speaking to the economic club of washington, d.c. in an extensive and well-ordered speech said, and i quote, we need to liberate our economy from the shackles government has placed upon it. folks, the last time we liberated the economy we put the middle class in chains. leader cantor, he said we can't respond to major disasters like hurricane irene or floods or fires unless we, quote, make sure there are savings el where. elsewhere. and guess where they find the savings? health care for the middle class. college affordability. renewable energy. and my friend the republican leader, mitch mcconnell, said, quote. the single most important thing we want to achieve is for

president obama to be a one-term president. folks, it's not just -- this is serious stuff. it's not just boehner, cantor and mitch, it's ryan, romney and rick. [laughter] they're all singing from the same hymnals, they say this southern delaware. social security, quote, a ponzi scheme, a monstrous lie to this generation, end of quote. i might be repeating that 6,000 times in florida. [laughter] medicare, quote: the equivalent of getting taken for a ride. voucherrize it. foreclosures. you just heard romney. he said, quote: don't try to stop the foreclosure process, let it run its course and hit the bottom. he wasn't raised in my neighborhood. he didn't -- i'm serious.

i think they just don't know the people i grew up with. i think they just don't know what the american people are going through. and the guy you know well, governor scott -- >> boo! >> deep cuts in education, voter suppression, arizona-style immigration law, to to $2.4 for high-speed rail. the list goes on and be on. and what your governor is doing here is exactly what republicans want to do with the entire nation. and that's not hyperbole. not a joke. and on foreign policy they want to stay in the iraq. suspect that kind of fascinating -- isn't that kind of fascinating? listen to them now, by the way. they're so-called foreign policy experts. they want to stay in iraq. and one of them, governor of

texas, seems willing based on what he said to send american military troops across the mexican border into sovereign state of mexico to deal with their problem. folks, i know this election's not going to be about foreign policy, but let me remind you there is a minimum threshold any man or woman has to cross on their mastery of national security and foreign policy. for the american people to think they're even remotely eligible to be president. and these guys got a long way to go to pass that threshold. [applause] and, you know, my father always used to say that, joey, it never hurts to be a big man. it doesn't take much. yet every republican candidate for president after gadhafi was

killed congratulated nato and didn't mention the u.s. commitment or u.s. forces. folks, even though this mission could not have been possible without the american aircraft, american coordination, american intelligence, many folks -- including your junior senator -- took the time to con graph late the french and british forces while he criticized the president of the united states of america. this is not your father's republican party. [applause] this is a different place, folks. folks, this next election is not a referendum, it's a choice. and we're going the make that choice clear. when i got elected as a 29-year-old kid to the united states senate, shortly after i was elected in '73, sworn in

'73, my great friend and he did become, as bill will tell you, one of my closest friends and can my cants teddy kennedy invited me as a 31-year-old kid to address the massachusetts legislature in boston. i was in the copely hotel getting ready and nervous about speaking in front of senator kennedy and the first big major dinner as a senator. and i was putting on my tie, and i was watching the television, the evening news, the 6 or 6:30 news in boston. and there was a mayor named kevin waite who was a phenom who got elected in 1970 as sort of the john linld day of new york. heft having a -- he was having a little trouble, and as he walked out of his essence a gaggle of press and, in essence, said, okay, wise guy, what's going on? the he put his hand up -- and i didn't know him. he put his hand out and said,

look, don't compare me to the almighty, compare me to the alternative. [laughter] ladies and gentlemen, they're going to have to compare us to the alternative. [applause] so, folks, in the face of this republican obstructionism, i actually have serious reporters saying why don't you sit down with the republicans? we sat down with them for two and a half years! they can't deliver their own party! [applause] so we've decided we cannot wait! the american people cannot wait! they cannot continue to be subjected. [applause] to what they're doing. so what do we do? we introduced the jobs bill. but almost every independent validater acknowledges would create close to two million jobs, generate economic growth by 2%, keep 400,000 teachers,

cops, firefighters on the job this year. [applause] as debbie said, it would cut taxes for 94% of american workers by roughly $1500. as she said, that's four months of groceries and six months of gas. in the neighborhood i was raised in, that matters. [applause] but the president and i have reached a conclusion about their obstructionism. we've got to try to go over their heads. we've got to go to the people. we can't wait. [applause] the american people can't wait. we can't wait to address foreclosures. so the president issued an executive order to give more than a million folks a chance to refinance their homes from 6% to 4% saving a minimum of $2,000 a year. in my neighborhood that's real must be. money.

[applause] we can't wait. to address the affordability of college. the president announced he's going to let college graduates cap their loan payments at 10% of their income. [applause] that's going to help a lot of people who are being crushed right now by the weight of their student loan debt. we can't wait to innovate. new companies and ip cue bait them. that's why we announced today that we're speeding up the process of getting r&d out into federal labs into the hands of businesses that can commercialize them. we can't wait, and we aren't waiting. [applause] because at the end of the day it's about dignity and respect. ladies and gentlemen, it's about restoring the middle class. they've been clobbered. [applause] it's about putting mothers and fathers in the neighborhoods we all grow up in once again in the

position of being able to look into their child's eye and believe what they say when they say, honey, if you work hard, if you play by the rules, if you get a good education, there's nothing, nothing you can't do. they doubt it now. it's simple. it's simple. the test we apply, we will measure eight years of our effort in terms of whether or not american moms and dads can turn to their kids and say with some certainty, honey, it's going to be okay. that's why we're not going to relent. that's why we're not going to relent. that's why we believe the american people are going to return us to office in 2012. [applause] [cheers and applause] folks, when i began this speech, i talked about the longest walk.

we're determined to replace that walk with a different kind of journey, a journey that restores a father's dignity by allowing him to send his talented daughter to college knowing she won't have to spend the rest of her life paying for her education. a journey -- [applause] that allows a woman to take a new job where she will be paid the same salary as a man for the same work. [cheers and applause] and a salary that will allow her to support her family. [applause] folks, we've set america on a different path, a new journey, one that our friends on the other team are trying to obstruct. one that allows us to lead the world in the 21st century as we did in the 20th, where we are once again a nation of innovators, educators and builders. the policies of the last administration and the

obstruction of this republican congress have knocked a lot of people off their feet. folks, it's long past time we get back up, that we stand up, that we reclaim what every american thought was their birthright, the american dream that the you give them a chance -- that if you give them a chance, there's nothing that they're incapable of accomplishing. there's only one way we can do that; together and to make sure that we win. because, folks, the choice is stark and clear. i am not exaggerating when i say, and i've said this, and i was accused of bringing up bush. i respect president bush as a man. i thought his policies were terrible. but, ladies and gentlemen, name me one major initiative on

taxes, on jobs, on wall street, on foreclosures, on promoting innovation, on infrastructure the republicans offered that is any different at all from what was done the eight years when they controlled the presidency? i cannot find one. so, folks, when i got elected in '72 as a kid, i was described as an optimist, each an idealist. but i was neither. i was a realistic young man as i am an older man now. because my be optimism then and now isn't based on naivete, it's literally and think about it, remind yourselves, it's based on my knowledge and your knowledge of the history of the journey of the american people. we americans know we do not have

to accept a situation we cannot bear. we literally have it within ourselves to determine our own fate. we always have. we've done it in the depression, we did it after the civil war, we did it, we've done it throughout our life as a nation. so, folks, today i look at all of you and say i am more on optimistic today, i am more certain about america's future than i have ever been in my life. we are better positioned as a nation relative to the world to capture the 21st century. i just spent ten days in the far east. president hu and president barack obama asked the new incoming president to get to know one another. we spent four days traveling their country. people thought when i went in august i was going to explain america's situation. i didn't want go to explain -- i

didn't go to explain a thing. i pointed out how we hope they continue to succeed because stability in that part of the world is important. but i reminded them their economy is one-third as large as ours. they own less than 1% of the financial instruments of the united states of america. ladies and gentlemen, it took them 20 years to get -- 30 years to get 20% of their population out of abject poverty. they have no safety net because of the abhorrent policy of one child. they have one person working for every four that needs to be supported. ladies and gentlemen, remember who we are. we were then, we are now, and we are better positioned than any nation in the world to dominate the 21st century economically. there's a reason why in the

midst of all these crisis every nation continues to invest in u.s. treasuries. why? we're the most secure, the most certain and the most capable nation in the world. so, folks, it's time to stand up, it's time to fight back! [cheers and applause] it's time to reclaim our heritage, and it's time, and we are ready! we are looking for this fight. the future of our country depends on it. so, folks, join us! join us, and we will deliver! [cheers and applause] thank you all and god bless you. [cheers and applause] and most of all, may god protect our troops. thank you. [cheers and applause] stand up! ♪ ♪ ♪