we made the turn down the street and an entire community swung into view. i was parked there when i was hired to be an assistant teacher. besides the hard work of taking care of kids, bj was trying to manage or business and juggling a blizzard of part-time schedules and the cash that flowed out. tuition was based on an hourly rate, unwritten and unclear that was fully formed each day from the head of bj. my first pay day was a marvel. she pulled her bag and emerged with a handful of crumpled up $20s and said see if that is all right. i said sure. bj's kids had a row of easels, a

cozy readi readinger, corner, a brief cases, hand bags, hats of all kinds, and milk carton filled with items to create make-believe hospitals, bakery, fire house and more. it was homelike and place to explore and experiment. and there was clay and other art materials tell set up. and it was a treasure cove of treasury and surprise. it was with a place to feast and fatten. the joy started in the morning with blocks. build, build, build. and they moved from horizontal

hundred runways to vertical bridges to entire worlds had complete with action. we had a large juice and smack table near the sink that was sto stocked and available from the time they arrived and left. there were juices that kids could pour whenever they like. and paper plates and napkins. and large serving dishes with vegetables, fruit, and cheese and crackers replenished by the staff. they said you will have roaches and mice everywhere. this is bad practice. they will eat all day and never learn the importance of meal time. none of this occurred or made

immediate sense. but woe then a neighbor who practiced on eating disorders argued to persevere argues everyone needed to learn self-regulation and the question should be are you hungry? it fit with the idea that guided bj's kid. kids need to be free to develop from the inside out. not the other way around. [ applause ] so one of the things and part of this book is called talking to the tea party and the other is being canceled by university after university and when i am

picket by the tea party i can out and talk to them. and i want to read one piece where i was canceled from the university of wyoming. i had been booked there for several months but they canceled be a week before the talk because the tea party went nuts and threatened to burn the university down. but a week later i got a phone call from a young woman named meg who returned from military service and she was furious i was canceled. she said i am going into federal court and i will sue them. but because i care about your

free speech, but might know has been violating. i am the victim of the canc cancelation. i showed up, the president of the university showed up and when the president was on the stand, he said to the federjudg doesn't security trump free speech? and the judge went furious and issued a written opinion and two weeks letter i went to give my talk. [ applause ] my family thought for me to travel alone across wyoming was a bad idea. my son became by body guard and

flew into denver and drove with me to wyoming. we had a lovely drive together, but i am not sure he added much muscle. we toured the campus with meg. sat on benches drinking coffee in the beautiful dick chaney plaza and knocked on the president's door but he had gone home so i left him the bill of rights to read it later. i was realistic to know i had an audience of 50 without all of the drama. no pickets, no protest, lots of media and a lovely surprise.

my friend curt, my sister-in-law's father, and a minister at the church where was confirmed before, drove hours to stand with me. he was dressed in a dark suit with a coller and a cross. what a griet great surprise. what are you doing? if any of the crazy christians show up and get out of hand, lord wants me to introduce them. when i was introduced i felt the l let down. who is that old professor and where is the scary terrorist? >> please come to the mike to

ask questions. >> or comment or criticize me or hold up a picket sign. >> thank you for your service. >> thank you for yours. >> i think you are a brave guy and i appreciate that. [ applause ] >> the theme of much of the political discussions have been about polarization. so i am interested if you were to sit across from a tea party buddy, what issue or in what way would you reach out to the other side on maybe a key issue such as education? >> thank you very much. i think that is a central question not just for me but all of us. i actually believe the essence

of democracy is talking to strangers and not pre-certifying who you talk to. billy said i wonder how he gets through security. i am in the airport 2-3 times a week. and today a young african-american guy was looking at my id and said are you that bill ayers? and i said i am. and he said thank you. and he is in the tsa. why should i assume we don't agree? i would like to answer with just a couple things. fist of all, i mentioned that talking to the tea party is something i believe in. but i was speaking at fresno state university and at a church in 2009 and there was a picketing line outside and i had 15 minutes before i had to speak. and i wnt up to the first guy

and i said why are you picketing me and he said i don't know about you but you're a friend of obama and i hate obama. and then a guy came up with a ron paul t-shirt and i said i bet we agree with a lot of things. and he said like what? and i said full gay, lesbian, bi-sexual rights. and i said full rights including the right to marriage. and he said no, i think that is matter for your church or religious group or neighborhood or pals. you can go out in the field and do that. government shouldn't be involved in that. i said you have convinced me. full gay rights, we all get up married immediately. and he said right. and the woman next to him said

you believe that? and i said you talk to each other. i am going in to give my talk. but it is amazing how often that happens. i give this talk at georgia southern university and as i was getting up to speak this hells angel filled in. and the tea party guys sat in the front row. and i was like, i swallowed hard and gave my talk, and at the end, the hells angel stood up and said i am surprised, but i agree with a lot of what you said. but i am worried you are a big government nigh guy. and i said i am not. and he said i am worried you are. and he said i am a small guy. and i said let's agree we will shut the pentagon and he said

not the pentagon. and i said see you are the big time government guy. i am identified with the left and with revolutionary politics, but i have believed i am in the majority of this country. i think most people want peace. i don't think most people like the incarceration state. if i could frame that properly, i am in the majority. >> hi. in 1967, i marched against the pentagon. >> we have not changed a bit. >> i am just curious why you

opted for the violence route? >> you know, in "fugitive days" i do an explanation of what happened to us. i was arrested opposing the war in 1965. 15 percent of americans opposed the war. three years later the majority a opposed the war. about three years is what it takes to turn against that. we worked feverishly to educate ourselves and the world. more importantly than that the black freedom movement came out against the war. if you read the april 4th, 1967 speech and he says the greatest

prevailing of hurt is the war. and ali said i will not fight in the white man's army. and he became world figure for refusing to fight. so the black freedom movement and i could say more about that. the third thing that happened is vets came back and told the truth. john kerry's finest moment was going before the senate and saying we commit war crimes every day as a matter of policy. i thought the war would end. and i was in ann harbor and we had a huge rally when johnson stepped aside. we were on the president of michigan's steps and he said to

the kids, congrats to your. you have won a huge victory. now the war will end. i believe he meant it that night. i know i believed it that flight. five days later king was killed. two months later bobby kennedy was dead. and two months after that it was clear that the war would not end. but it would escalate and exp d expand. 6,000 people were murdered every week it went on. 6,000 people a week we were responsible for. that wasn't just a crisis for deird democra democracy, but a crisis for the anti-war movement. one of my brothers led a peace movement, one deserted the army, one went to the commons of the northeast and i did what i did.

none of us can claim much. but we didn't know how to end the war. but we did decide after the accident with three comerads were killed we decide we would never injure anyone. calling it war violence seems extravagent. we were extreme vandals to me. the weather name comes from we wrote this impossible to read m m manefesto called you don't need a weather man to know which way the wind blows. we might have gone down to say the pump doesn't work because we took the handles.

thank you all so much. [ applause ] >> bill will be signing? >> and yes, the author is signing on this same floor on the other side of the elevator. thank you so much again. [inaudible conversation] of th past coverage of the miami book fair. >> today, all around the world, we will put 90 million tons of global warming pollution into the that thin shell of atmosphere surrounding the planet. and all of that global warming pollution is trapping a lot more heat in the earth's atmosphere.

25 million of those tons going into the ocean every single day. and hethey are making the ocean more acidic and interrupting the forming of coral reefs and everything that has a shell has an osteoperosis now. and the co2, along with methane, black carbon and noxide traps te heat and raises the temperatures. the planet has a fever. if you have a young child and the child starts running the fever, you may think it is a 24-hour bug, usually and often it is. but if it keeps going up, will

you go to the doctor? if the doctor says, well we have done the test here. the bad news is it isn't a passing bug. we are going to take action, but we can fix this. you don't say doctor i was listening to talk riadio and i think you are full of hot air. you may want to get a second opinion. and we have done that. 20 years ago, the united nations set up a body of the 3,000 finest scientist in the world specializing in the disciplines that have to be brought to bear to understand this crisis. and now over the last 40 years they have issued four unanimous reports. and the last one was unequivocal

and they are shouting from the roof tops saying we have to take action. because the temperatures continue to rise. and the build-up of this global warming pollution threatens in the future catastrophic damage that threatens human civilization itself. it has been difficult for all of us to really get our arms around how big this crisis is. partly because as human beings we naturally sometimes confuse the unprecedented with the improbably. if something hasn't happen before, we are safe to assume it will not happen in the future. but the exceptions can kill you. and this is one of them. it is unprecedented because what happened in the last hundred

years or so it is there has been a radical change in the relationship between humanity and the eco system of the planet. we have quadrupled the population in hundred years. in 1900 it was 1.5 billion and now it is 6.8 billion. and that is a new relationship between our species and the surprising

surprisingly. the combination going above is multiplied by technology give us a bigger impact than before. ...

we've also been a national security crisis that links to her over dependence on foreign oil, which is a dependent it keeps rising year by year by year. >> al gore from 2009. coverage of the miami book fair. that is a live picture the c-span bus in 2013 part of the street out in front of chapman hall at miami-dade college north side of downtown miami. just a minute, representative debbie wasserman schultz will be live in chad are talking about her new book for the "for the next generation." -- created our world followed via chris mathews at 5:00 p.m. in between those two panelists will have to call and opportunities. you'll be able to talk to jeremy

scahill of "dirty wars" and representative debbie wasserman shultz. that is what coming up in our coverage. if you'd like to see this casual, go to book tv.org. you can also get updates from miami are twitter feed at time but tv is are twitter handle. you can also go to face the.com/booktv. blake is there to get the updates all week long for but tv. well, we are going to go to the room. debbie wasserman schultz should be there in just a minute. she will be introduced. this is live coverage from the miami book fair. [inaudible conversations] >> nocturne, everyone. these teachers to.

we're about to begin. good afternoon and welcome. my name is mel malou harrison. happy anniversary to miami book fair international. 30 years in this community. a round of applause indeed. [applause] are thanks to miami dade college for all of its leadership and efforts. all of the volunteers to students, faculty and staff who come together every single year and for the past 30 years. we can expect that to continue to bring this cultural enrichment to our community. i'd also like to thank our sponsor as well as american airlines and all of the friends of the fair. many of whom are seated here in the first couple of rows. thank you so much for your

support. those who do are not yet run at the opportunity to also join us as friends of miami book fair international. please come on in and teachers aides quickly as you can. thank you very much. this year we're at it to vitter making a special donation to the fair. you may have already heard that earlier today. we're asking you to take out years annular phone antitax mbsi to knock 41444. if you are inclined, would greatly appreciate it. thank you and for your support. without further ado, let me tell you that after our featured speakers beat camille have the opportunity to ask questions. if you have stuck to the mike in the middle of the room, ask your questions as to think we have

possible and then step away from the mic and have a deep and your questions will be answered. if you'd like to book autographed, we will be autographing on this floor on the other side of the elevators immediately following. so without further ado, i'd like to welcome an individual who will be introduced in our speaker. he is a former aide to senator and later in the democratic party. his name is mr. dan gelber. mr. calvert. [applause] >> i'm going to raise the microphone and in a few minutes it will be lowered santilli. thank you good listen, i've really had a great honor to introduce wonderful beakers over the last almost decade. vice president al gore, caroline kennedy, chris hayes. they asked me to introduce

george mcgovern. i'm glad to be here to introduce another right wing crazy. [laughter] the truth is though someone came to me this morning and said, you know, i love your introduction. i smiled. i sit thank you for that generous comment. she said they're always so short and they never distract from the beaker. i can't remember a thing you've ever said. i promise you i will be short. i will not disappoint you. it is very hard for me to speak about debbie wasserman shultz and a forgettable way. i met debbie in the late 90s. i matter at a place where i think she did almost all of it is as. it was the superstore baby loud in broward county. debbie spent a lot of her time they are in a few years that followed because she was having a little kid, as was i. i joined her in the legislature must immediately and became

close friends with her because frankly, she led a battle against so many things that are wrong headed in the day. for me, having her around was an incredible opportunity. i've always viewed debbie as both a younger sister and i molders history. what i mean by that is the yonkers sister or little to her because she's younger and littler. but i viewed her as a big sister because of early the kind of role model she's been to me in any public servant who wants to fight for progressive causes in the country. this is a person of incredible passion and principles. that's why it always looked up to her. i can tell you a watch during so many battles. i watched her fight jeb bush over the terry schiavo case. i watched her through her struggle with breast cancer. the thing that is the finder is in each of those radishes had

not great clarity and great passion, but she had a vision that has been very unique. i was very fortunate to be with her in the legislature and washed her and her career going from the florida house of the florida senate to the u.s. congress to the chairman of the democratic national committee. it's a pretty incredible story for somebody who started as an aid in the florida legislature. she is our debbie wasserman schultz. for very fortunate to have her coming from this community. let me just say this before every her up here. i also ask you to buy this book. that's why she's here. as for the next generation. either way, it cost $25.99. unless you're canadian, it is $20.99. zero that's in canada. she will be signing your copies. i urge you to do that because she's chatty and she will talk with you about hunger and anybody who is with her once or

two. she can't help talking to people because she has a lot to talk about. let me end with this. i watched debbie wasserman schultz and almost every one of her battles. the thing i love about her and why i think you probably love her is that she never picks a fight with a week or so. she always picks a fight with somebody who's stronger, well-financed, who's fighting for some other cause. if you read this book, you'll quickly understand. debbie is about fighting for principles and with passion. my dad and i, a lot of you know my dad come to see more gelber. he said your friend debbie has got moxie. my dad is 94. i'm not sure the word moxie has an used in last 90 years. but i said to him, i think that's a little bit pejorative. moxie is a word he used to describe a woman who's got a lot of passion and principles. but the truth of the model is it doesn't matter whether woman or

man. debbie wasserman schultz represents fairfax the greatest kind of principle she should have in public service. she stands up and believes it's her job to stand up for people who cannot stand for themselves, to speak for people who do not have a voice inside for principles that she believes represent the best angels in america. that's why i'm proud to present to you today. to speak about her book, "for the next generation," which you should buy. debbie wasserman schultz. [applause] >> thank you. thank you so much. thank you. it's great to be home. i have to say that it is a little surreal to be doing that in front of a hometown crowd and incredibly special. , thank you so much for that really touching, incredibly warm

introduction. it is for me like having my brother introduced me. we have five side-by-side for so many years and i actually met dan's father, seymour, before i met dan. to have any praise from either one of them, but it is surely a public servant and a leader like you more gelber, as dan said, probably many of you know him is really remarkable and means that maybe i'm doing something right. dan has in a great dad in great leader is someone who has chosen a path of public service in spite of the fact in our generation when we grew up, a lot of our friends in the 80s, which was to meet generation, chose the path of making it much money as humanly possible.

there's nothing wrong with that. but dan and i both chose a path that allowed us to go to bat making the world a better place for others every single day. that's what this book was all about. thank you very much for that special introduction. this book, people have said, he didn't have enough to do? you had to cram a book in, to? the answer is yes, i did because i realize, especially in november 2010, when this project came to fruition, that after the tea party swept far too many elections in that year, that they began hurriedly met or manufactured crisis to manufactured this. every issue, every significant issue, whether with the economy, education, health care, civil rights and civil liberties, gun safety, you name it.

infrastructure investment. all of those have come to a screeching halt because of the unbelievable gridlock that their poison has caused. for me as a mom, i am a mom with twin 14-year-old and a 10-year-old. i have a lot of in the air. you know, so often we hear politicians, and i'm one of them come and talk about the importance of any issue being critical because we have to do what's right for the next generation. only i realized that concept is not an abstract one for me. i have the next generation the backseat of my car every single day. as a mom that makes sense. but when you think about it and you i'm sure don't realize this, i count it. i'm one of eight women in congress to children younger than 10. when we ask ourselves why the issues that are important to the next generation don't reach the top of legislative agenda, there

aren't enough moms with young kids just might have something to do with it. so i wrote this book so i could sound an alarm bell, so i could make sure that regular people had an opportunity to read this book and find the issues that they are the most passionate about, even if they don't realize it now, and give them a roadmap to have to make a difference in the lives of others on that issue. and because i am a busy working mom and we all have a lot in the air and i recognize our most precious resources what? time. yes. so many people perceive that the most precious resources money. now when you are trying to balance work and family, when you are trying to make sure that you can make ends meet. time is the most precious resource. what i did here is in each chapter we lay out the problem. i lay out my version of what i think the best solution is and

they give you some guidance on how to get involved in that issue and make a difference. an ineffective way because too often people end up wasting whatever little time they do have found a way that isn't going to have enough reach and make a difference. of course at the end, i made sure and it was really important to make sure there was a list of organizations sweettalk about and how to contact them. what will happen if someone hope you will feel motivated and excited after they read this book and take something away they want to do themselves and they close the book and get it either very busy lives. so there is a list right there for you to go back to you, to follow-ups or you can get involved and make a difference on the issue that's most important to you. i want to read a few excerpts from the book and then i'm really excited and looking forward to take your questions. i think having spent three years writing it, i really want to

share how i shaped my advocacy that this book represents. so i want to start and usually with the conclusion because the conclusion at the beginning as a good way to show you what this book meant to mean what is important for me to write it. conclusion is called change what happened next is up to us. over the course of our lives, each of us has moments of clarity when we know exactly what matters above all else. that insight gives us a sense of purpose and in that moment we have the capacity to reorganize their lives to virtually every decision that we make from that point forward circe overarching purpose. in my own life, there's been two such moments. giving birth to my children and being diagnosed with breast cancer. one was exhilarating. the other was that his dating. both of these events made me realize i absolutely must realize i must make the most to what matters me on this earth

creature in whatever knowledge and skills they have for making it a better place if that had always been a mission in life. when i had children, this came into sharper focus, becoming more urgent than ever before. the house and i brought into this row 3 babies too dependent on us completely and we cannot imagine living without. meaning we were dependent on them as well. caring for the children became the most important thing in our lives and with that came his vulnerability. this is what my breast cancer diagnosis can be such a dreadful jolt. even though my doctors are confident the disease could be defeated through aggressive treatment, i knew how pernicious cancer could be. there was no guarantee it would survive the no guarantee he wouldn't come back if i beat it. all the experiences i imagined having the children, all you wish to teach and do for them is in jeopardy. at the same time, i learned i was not alone. there is this assertive women whose lives have been interrupted that might not come to vote the same fear about the

future. names daughter was three or so at that time. with her breast cancer at age two, she didn't know whether she would live long enough to see her daughter go to kindergarten, much less graduate from half own college. the mr. big ruling chemotherapy regimen, she promised god if she was given the strength she needed to outlast the disease she would devote her life to helping other young women at a breast cancer. she won her battle and make good on her promise they create in the tigerlily foundation. before my diagnosis, i'd always been a proponent of breast cancer research and awareness. when i developed breast cancer, the work he team even more important to me. in 2009 after he shared my own experience publicly, i teamed up with her and her foundation to craft what is a nation that directed the centers for disease control and prevention to launch a national education campaign designed to raise awareness. that bill called the early act was incorporated within the affordable care act, obamacare that passed into law in march

march 2010 is a large part to a diverse coalition of more than 40 organizations who rallied in support of the bill. today to appropriations passed as part of the the early to act of order grants to organizations that help you when you do with unique challenges they face in diagnosed with breast cancer. the task force will be creating an awareness campaign targeted at young women said they are more likely to catch breast cancer early and survive. taking these actions come in knowing i had a role in helping future growth and women prevent breast cancer was empowering. with help of other act or this convoy managed to turn personal at first he into universal good. every person has the capacity to empathize with others and be their champion. for didn't come in all of us at children, but all of us were children up on time, so we understand the consequences of decisions made at those responsible children's well-being. we must recognize their obligation to make decisions in a way that will improve children's welfare.

similarly, malice will receive a cancer diagnosis, but we'll have to come to terms with their own mortality. rufus the question of whether we did enough and i like to make a difference in the lives of others. i can say there is no room for doubts or regrets. each of us must be able to answer the universal question by saying he or she absolutely is a positive impact on the world. we cannot fool ourselves. we must really believe this but we cannot afford to postpone the purpose that defines our lives because we do not know how long we have. for the sake of our children, fellow human beings and tranquility of ours will, we must again to take action right now. that really crystallized as i hope, why i thought it was important to insert a little more work into my own life and try to motivate people to part with a lot of their precious resource and make a difference in the lives of others because the way we are going to make sure that this country can

thrive is by making sure that we measure our nation's success by how well their children are doing. i think if you took a step back and thought about how children are doing on a host of issues, all the issues i've run through in the last few minutes, were not doing that well. whether it's education, health care, energy and the end, environment, and destinations in structure, protecting children from god and other harmful weapons, civil rights and civil liberties. we have a lot of work to do them is got to stop my way or highway politics. that is a big part of what the tea party has dragged us backwards. align the tail to wag the dog, allowing the agenda be controlled or the power people will want to washington rather than doing the right thing. i really hope this book will motivate real people, regular

people to go down to your elected officials town hall meeting spend a few minutes after the meeting is over talking with the elected official at the podium, giving them a sense of what is important to you. get involved in an organization that focuses on an issue that really matters. most of all, communicate to the people that represent you that you want the gridlock to stop. i can say that even a feature of the day. i support my party's agenda and i represent a very progressive congressional district. it is clear to me where mike tishman far enough where i am also. is also clear to me that it's critical we reach across the aisle, work together to find common ground, that we stopped again in an insisting on everything be in her way. so in that spirit, i wrote a chapter on civil liberties, but i also read a chapter on making sure that we could focus more on

civility. the chapter is called discourse, not discord and i want to read a brief excerpt from that for you now. as we consider consequences of the deterioration in political discourse and how we reverse that course, taught to ask ourselves, how did we get here? i'm attending a professional colleagues on weathers and moment in washington, this is especially vicious. i find a variety of opinions for why that is. some blame the media for carrying the 21st of a new cycle. others in the millions spent by pacs over the course of campaigns to last longer than i ever have before. one of the more interesting theories came from a senior member of congress who noted a seemingly innocuous shift in a lifestyle congressional members. used to be when a representative is elected, he or she would move to d.c. with their families, but in their half the year. it wasn't uncommon for a democratic member church on the same team as a republican

member. they were more likely to run into one another. this past generations of congressional members were more civil in congress because they had a sense of being part of the same community commissioner in at least a master view, even if they disagreed about every political question. arrival in name on the congressional floor would make it up were to encounter the stands. in more recent years, most of the action has been commenced with the house about three and a half days a week, alternating between monday night through thursday or tuesday night through friday, meaning members need spend only three evenings in washington before flying home for a four day weekend. the 112th in 113th congress is a republican majority also seen a light schedule of congress in recess more data than in recent history, making them are difficult for members to spend time getting to know each other and build trust. consider the members of congress swept into office in 2010 on a wave of tea party support.

this has been using language in the course of debating issues and many of these numbers are reclusive when they come to washington. in january 2011 found that the new republic astronaut class in a congressional office rather than rent a home in washington. joe walsh, republican of illinois told a news station it's important we don't live here. we are not creatures of this town. maybe if representative walsh or more of a social creature and washington can make when it accused his opponents of the 2012 election of exploiting service record as a way to get votes. the opponent flew 120 commodores in iraq before her black hawk helicopter was hit by a rocket launcher and 2004, blowing up portions of both her legs. duckworth had the poise to help her copilot at the helicopter safety before passing out from her injuries. she narrowly survived a nice is to prostatic legs. today, tammy duckworth is a member of congress, democrat from illinois and she beat joe

walsh. [applause] this excerpt goes on to talk about enough for that i've engaged in the number of my colleagues. a republican from orlando is one of them. to try and make sure that we can go the relationships across the aisle. when i was in the legislature with dan and other colleagues in tallahassee, we did have opportunities to sit next to each other in committee hearing and spend time together on the house floor. you notice how to connect business on the housework today. we really are just engage in a series of timed speeches and we take turns back and forth, republican and democrat. but we are not hearing each other. it's an opportunity. no offense to seize and. they project your message to the

hundreds of thousands of people watching at that moment. years ago, they can see kerry would actually pass the bill into law. the idea was that members would gather and build relationships and trust to work together and reach across the aisle with give and take and eventually the product that came out of that process would be one that went into the top of the tunnel and came out the very narrow and with the diversity of opinion that represent america. unfortunately, our process has deteriorated to such an extent that we are really not even doing anything that comes once particularly in the last couple of cycles. so dan webster and i decided to start a bipartisan dinner, ate dinner that would have no agenda. we just got five republicans and five democrats initially together and we went to dinner and started to get to know each

other is little bit better. with every subsequent dinner, the requirement is the previous attendee has to bring a guest in the opposite party. where up to about 30 or 40 members now and we've gotten to know each other. in fact, i've been able to cosponsor legislation with a couple republicans whom i would never have spoken to otherwise it not for the tenants at that dinner. it really is targeted to make sure we could find a way to find common ground not necessarily on the big issues, but the longest distance starts with the first steps. so i'm trying to do my part. some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are as well, but we have a ways to go. another thing that's been fun and also has no collegiality in the congress is after a shared man breast cancer experience publicly, i started the bipartisan women's congressional softball team. that may seem trivial, but when the numbers came together.

there's been a baseball game for 50 years that the republicans and democrats play against each other. it's mostly all the men. a couple women play from time to time. the women decided, you know what will we be better off playing on the same team. fighting the common enemy, the press corps. we played the female press corps. it's easy to rally around a single cause. we raise money for the coalition and the young women's cancer organization. we've been playing this for five years. the congressional and team is only 11. the quest for that trophy continues. but it's given us a chance to be out there at 7:00 in the morning for three months in the spring every year, practicing being women, just mean girls and getting to know each other as moms and girlfriends and we don't talk about politics. in fact, i consciously don't bring up my democratic teachers just to make sure we keep everything neutral on the field.

it's given us a chance to work together. but we all set during the last shutdown was that they just blocked a few women in the house and senate in the room, left us alone for a few hours, but of a lot of these problems just like that. [applause] so before i get to questions, i am sure the affordable character. i look forward to talking about it. but i want to share an excerpt from the health care chapter, which give you an idea why fully implementing the affordable care act in making sure everybody in america has access to quality affordable health care is so. in october 2009, during -- with so many provisions of obama obamacare yet to take effect -- still not on the right page. here we go. in the introduction i shared with you that before i began my

career as a legislature, is encouraged to sit down with the policies that mattered most. near the top is making health care affordable. in this sense, voting for obamacare less about playing them a deeply held beliefs about the role of government and the growth for positive change in peoples lives. before congress passed the medicare part b drug benefit in 2003 in the traditional medicare did not provide coverage for prescription drugs. many seniors face a difficult choice between medicine and meals and congress passed party, the republican majority left a gap in coverage known as the doughnut hole. when a senior in medicare's hands approximate $2600 on prescription medication cometh onto the into the doughnut hole coverage gap in how to pay for their drugs and hunt up some other pocket until they make $5600 in prescription drug spending. some seniors never reach that amount of the calendar year, is they pay for the rest of the year until the next year. many seniors living on fixed incomes can afford to pay their way through that gap in

coverage. the affordable character faces at the doughnut hole, closing it for 2020 and saving up to $3000 during drug costs. about a year after president obama sang the affordable care act into law, i spoke at the democratic lock on one of the largest in florida whose membership is largely made up of senior citizens who live in my congressional district. when i finished to begin taking questions, a woman i'd known who i'd never thought of is strictly jamaican roots to make a statement. she said debbie, thanks to obamacare, i don't have to ask the pharmacist for my pills anymore. i used to do that so they would last longer. because the dog was closing i can get my prescription. i use the story generally as an example in arguing for the affordable care act passage. it is that in mind to seniors at the pharmacy you can afford to pay for their positions them as if they had to decide which to fill in what should leave. he was a woman i knew well who benefited from the closure of the medicare prescription drug coverage gap. this more clear than ever before

that obamacare and safety net programs like medicare are essential to maintaining a minimum quality of life for seniors. reforms and improve the lives of americans. my friends and constituents who worry about health care coverage for sons and daughters who after graduation i know hard to find a job at an event. in years past from insurance companies work for you in coverage who were enrolled in their parent played at the age of 19 thanks to obamacare, insurance companies must let young people to remain a plan for to the age of 26. the most significant provision of health care reform life protects americans for the preexisting health condition. asserts the children are protected from denial of coverage as of september 23rd, 2010. that same protection takes effect in january 2014 because that is an individual mandate takes effect. the addition of those enrolled healthy beneficiary payments for balance the cost of covering the higher the patient to have been excluded on the basis of pre-testing conditions. under the old system, being

female is treated by insurers as a preexisting condition, many women were charged premiums as a gender. this is a reprehensible practice and since my bout with breast cancer at a double whammy. i heard so many stories from women diagnosed with breast cancer at a time they didn't have health insurance. they needed chemotherapy, but under the old system had to choose only one because they couldn't afford the co-pay and tucked the ball for both. i can imagine how terrifying it must be to make that choice. it is absolutely critical that be make sure that no one has to choose a tremendous and meals, that no one has to worry about whether or not the other shoe is going to drop when facing a serious illness. as someone who at 41 years old after a clean just two months before was the picture of health on one day i was diagnosed as a breast cancer patient the next day, knowing i was one job loss away from being uninsured or uninsurable, on january errs,

the 129 million americans who like me that in this country with a preexisting condition will have the peace of mind that we don't have to worry about the other shoe dropping his god for big illness ever recur. what's going on right now in washington and what republicans who have sent years trying to repeal or delay or unwind the affordable character trying to do is take away that peace of mind. i am here to tell you until my last breath, i will take to make sure we will not go backward. [cheers and applause] thank you. [applause] i'll conclude an thank you so much. that's why i love living in south florida. i'll conclude they telling you that in spite of the fact that i just shared with you my views of the world and what i think we need to do to get back on track,

i know that it can be done alone. i know that it can't be done just exactly the way debbie wasserman schultz prescribed. the only way for us to solve these problems, huge challenges, immigration reform and significant challenge, why are we not able to take up the legislation that the senate has passed, that clearly a majority of the house of representatives had said they support through cosponsorship if he was glad to come to the floor. why can we make sure we make our economy more robust come and make sure we have a humane and just follows you for people who are here, you simply want to make a better life for themselves. why can't we work together to sovereign nations problems? if we don't make a commitment to doing that, if we don't get folks like europe the sidelines and each of us commit to spending a little bit of time, making our impact on the world,

we are really going to set ourselves backwards and in a competitive, global economy, like the one, we will lose the competitive rate on too many issues. i know how proud i am as an american that we are and should continue to strive to be the best nation on earth in every indicator that we care about. we can do that if we bond together, work together, stop the my way or highway politics and stop the finger-pointing. if we simply work together to solve our nation's problems instead of spending endless hours of pointless finger-pointing that sensors backwards. thank you so much. i hope you enjoy the book. [applause]

be back thank you. >> my question is for health care plan was passed in is called the obamacare plan now. is that the plan the republicans are posed in 93 basically them yet now that it was passed, they posted? and what you do, and on that. >> the individual mandate concept that is the underpinning of the affordable care act, obamacare was actually can eat by the heritage foundation, which is obvious the conservative think tank. one embraced by republicans in the early 90s and for some reason now that it was embraced by president obama, suddenly it is a government takeover of health care by their definition and that's about the worst you can do. look, the affordable care is not perfect. i could not name a piece of legislation that would never pass in 200 years that's