vote:

the presiding officer: are there think senators wishing to vote or wishing to change their vote? if not, the ayes are 95, the nays are 0. and the nomination is confirmed. there will be now two minutes equally divided prior to the vote on the crawford nomination. mr. leahy: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: is this the crawford nomination? the presiding officer: the senator is correct. mr. leahy leahy: strongly suppoy both senators from vermont.

and i might say also by the people of vermont. and i yield back all time. the presiding officer: without objection, all time is yielded back. the question is on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. there is. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

the president pro tempore: on the vote of the confirmation of geoffrey crawford of vermont to be u.s. district judge, the vote is 95 yeas, zero nays. the nomination is agreed to. and under the previous order, with respect to the confirmed nominations, the motion to reconsider are considered made and laid upon the table, and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. there are now two minutes equally divided prior to a cloture vote on the rodriguez nomination. who yields time?

without objection all time is yielded back. the clerk will call the roll -- no, the clerk will report the motions to invoke cloture. cloture motion cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the nomination of leon rodriguez of maryland to be director of citizen i citizenship and immigration services, department of homeland security. the president pro tempore: by unanimous consent the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the yes is, is it the sense of the senate that the debate on the nomination of leon rodriguez to be director of the united states citizenship and immigration service, department of homeland security, shall be brought to a close? the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators wishing to vote or wishing to change their vote? if not, the ayes are 52, the nays are 44, and the motion is agreed to. mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i have seven unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during today's session. they have my approval and that of senator mcconnell. i can consent that these requests be agreed to and be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that when -- that following my statement here, the senate recess until 2:15 p.m. today, that when the senate reconvenes, the time until 4:30 be equally divided and controlled in the usual form. that at 4:30, all postcloture time be considered expired and the senate vote on confirmation of the rodriguez nomination. the presiding officer: without objection. the senate stands in recess the senate stands in recess

go to the polls today for primary election. one of the senate primaries income thad cochran facing chris mcdaniel in a runoff for thethi. republican nomination in november. more on that race from a reporter covering it. >> what's the latest on the polling on this race? is it any sense of the momentum at this point in this runoff between thad cochran and chris mcdaniel. >> guest: seems to be a close race at this point. there are a number of polls out on this and have been out on the road with the candidates the last several days, besides working hard at this point, a lot of uncertainty. >> host: could you talk about the money that going into

three-week sprint to the runoff? we showed a reporter earlier on $175,000 from the national republican senatorial committee. who are some of the outside groups that are playing in this race? >> guest: that's one of them, the is chamber of commerce has also spent some money on the health of thad cochran. called freedom works, the senate conservative fund and the tea party patriots citizens fund our spending money on behalf of chris mcdaniel. >> host: one of those groups that's also spending money in this race in favor of chris mcdaniel, the club for growth, club for growth action has a new and talking about senator thad cochran saying that he is not entitled to a lifetime seat on capitol hill. we will play that for our viewers and come back to you. >> it's sad what happened to thad cochran. he served well but after five decades he has lost touch. in washington he votes with the liberals on spending, on judges, even on funding obamacare. in mississippi he refuses to

debate, hides from voters and throws mud. fattah tarpon is entitled to respect. he's not entitled to a lifetime seat in the senate. >> host: experience versus entitlement to a lifetime seat seems to be a theme that we've seen played out not just into three-week sprint but also in the run up to the primary in the first place, correct? >> guest: it is absolutely a theme. yes, when chris mcdaniel announce his candidacy last fall, he said right up front that thad cochran has been in washington as long as he, chris mcdaniel, has been allies. and it's true, and it is a theme he is come back to repeatedly during the campaign. >> host: and the cochran camp has come back repeatedly to a theme in this campaign,

emphasizing his influence, his seniority on capitol hill. it's something that john mccain was talking about in that story. were you there for john mccain's speech and his endorsement of thad cochran? >> guest: my colleague attended that event yesterday because i was working the day before a 14 hour day down in gulfport t to cover the candidates. >> host: bad cochran has emphasized this and survive as. is one of those and then we'll come back to get your thoughts. >> i'm thad cochran. this election is about mississippi's tomorrow. as your united states senator i can d be more for mississippi. >> our aerospace industry, shipbuilding, military bases, research and development, agricultural breakthroughs, thad cochran's strong leadership makes it happen. he's a powerful voice for our state. let's keep him working for us. >> i'm thad cochran at i approved this message because mississippi is worth fighting

for. >> host: emily wagster pettus is was the associate press mississippi political reporter. do we know where thad cochran is going to be today and chris mcdaniel as well? >> guest: thad cochran after he voted on saturday, so does that have to do that today, he will be out among supporters but we know he will be in suburbs. chris mcdaniel is voting this morning down in his home, and after that he is making a number of appearances as well. >> host: and where are you going to be and what region of mississippi are you going to be watching, especially close today as the results come in? >> guest: i will be out during the day at precinct most likely in the jackson area, looking for what's going on among voters, particularly looking to see if there is a strong turnout in democratic areas. this evening i'll be either in

hattiesburg at the mcdaniel event or in jackson at the cochran event. >> host: emily wagster pettus, thanks to much for joining us this morning on "washington journal." hope it's not too late of an eye for you as you're watching this today. >> guest: thank you. >> you hear from both candidates tonight along with congressman charlie rangel as he seeks the 23rd term and oakland were gop voters are choosing a successor to senator tom coburn who is retiring. live coverage tonight on c-span2. earlier today on c-span through showed you the house homeland security hearing on unaccompanied immigrant children. you can see anytime on c-span.org. we also invite you to leave your comments on what the osha dude, with unaccompanied immigrant children. you can leave a thoughts on our facebook page or on twitter at #cspanchat. >> religion as a powerful identity forming mechanism.

it's part of human society is figure out who is us into his them, right? who was my group and who's the outgrew. religion answers that question pretty easily. if you pray like me, if you eat like me, if you go to the same church as i do, then you are us. and if you don't then you are them. you can see the easily how that kind of eyes, them, in group, outgroup mindset can very easily lead to extremism, to marginalize and. as i remind people religion may be the most powerful form of identity formation, but just as powerful is violence. how do you know who's as centers of them? if you're fighting alongside me, you are us. if you're fighting against me, you are them. so far from religion of violence being the two things that are at odds and should nothing to do with each other, they have added windows throughout history been much more aligned that we would like them to be.

>> religious scholar and dazzling author reza aslan is a bookie this july in depth guest. you'll take your calls and comments for three hours live starting at noon eastern sunday july 6. in the months ahead, august 3, republican presidential candidate ron paul, in september 7, former chair of the is commission on civil rights and children's rights advocate mary frances berry. this month on her online book we're discussing amity shlaes the forgotten man. start reading and join others to discuss the book in our chat room at booktv.org. booktv, television for serious readers. >> yesterday the white house held its first ever summit on working families. vice president joe biden urged corporate executives to create family-friendly policies saying the return is overwhelming. jill biden, white house senior advisor valerie jarrett and labor secretary thomas perez also take part.

>> please welcome senior advisor to the president, and chair of the white house council on women and girls, valerie jarrett, u.s. secretary of labor, thomas e. perez, and the president of the center for american progress, neera tanden. [cheers and applause] >> well, good morning. good morning, everybody. good morning. let us hear from you. wow, i can't believe you all showed up. i am delighted to be here with my cohosts tom and neera are you'll hear from shortly to welcome you to the first ever white house summit on working families. [applause]

>> so the president's goals are simple. he wants to make sure that every hard-working american gets a chance to get ahead. and he also wants to make sure that our 21st century workplace reflects the needs of those 21st century families. and as we know, the demographics have changed over the decades. now we know that women make up know the half of the workforce. 40 -- yes, indeed. you can clap whenever you want. [applause] 40% of moms are either single bread makers or the sole primary bread earner for the family. so that's a major change in her demographics. the majority of her children live in families where both parents work. so what we need to do is to make sure that our workplace changes both in policy and in culture to reflect those changes, isn't that right? [applause] >> and so over the course of the

last couple of months, we've traveled around the country from the president in orlando, florida, to san francisco to seattle to boston, new york, my hometown of chicago, virginia. we have talked to workers and business leaders and union leaders and academics and deans and stakeholders from around the country, all helping us figure out what we do to change that paradigm and reflected in this room and watching us online are all of you who have contributed to the agenda for today, and also the announcements that will be making. so thank you very much. [applause] >> we have listened to your stories, and everybody has stores. and so of course since i have the podium on going to tell you a couple of mind. i remember very vividly, i'm not going to tell you exactly how many years ago, maybe i will. 20 years ago, and some change, i was sitting around a conference table at 2:00 a.m., eight and a

half months pregnant. and i kept trying to slip my swollen feet up onto a chair where nobody would notice. and for the women in the audience have been pregnant, you will know that i could actually sit there for more than about half an hour when the getting up and taking a little departure. but i was too embarrassed to tell anybody i had to go to the basket. so i made of all kinds of excuses for why i was leaving them. i needed to get some papers, i need to make a phone call, i needed to do this, i needed to do that. i needed to pee. [laughter] i felt like i was alone and i was in a room full of men and ended -- i think anybody was going to what i was going to. so one of our big messages today is that you are not alone. that's another thing that today is all about. [applause] >> fast-forward a few years later in a different job, and my daughter is a toddler, and i had a point he was extremely demanding. and i love my client and she was

one of my first mentors. what i needed to get though because i would wake up in more and try to figure out what i did on my bedtime. you know what that's like. so i told her, i love to cook. why don't you come over to my house and i'll make dinner? i don't actually love to cook. she would come over every night and i would make dinner and then i get a chance to say goodnight to my daughter. all these years later i look back and i'm not so sure she actually thought i'd like to cook much like those meals and she was willing to accommodate my schedule so that i could be home by bedtime. a terrific mentor and a great client. in my final story that i will share with you is when i told very, very often, and this is about employers who did it. i was sitting in the conference are working for mayor daley, a little intimidating character for those who have ever met him. and i just been promoted and it was when my first meetings in his office and i was sitting across the table from susan, who used to be the first lady's chief of staff. susan and i both had children in second grade. we kept looking at each other

and looking at each other and looking at each other. finally, the mayor realized we weren't paying any attention. so he said what is it you need to go that's more important? and so in a moment of complete, i don't know, horror, terror, truth, i said to them, the hollowing parade starts in 20 minutes. [laughter] we are 25 minutes away. and he said, and this is really important, then what are you doing here? and i am telling you from that moment he had my loyalty, he had my work. i worked twice as hard. i was determined to be worthy of that. [applause] >> and so as we have heard from all of you, what we have heard is for hard-working folks who are trying to make ends meet, we need to raise the minimum wage, point number one. [applause] >> we have heard that everybody should get to go to the

hollowing parade, so workplace flexibility is important. [applause] >> paid leave is important one of the only countries that doesn't have paid leave. [applause] childcare is important. [applause] for a while now we've talked about the glass ceiling, but, you know, what? it is that sticky for that is the problem for so many minimum-wage workers who can't get that break to get ahead. [applause] these are the issues that we've heard from you. and so if you are that single mom who send your kid to school with a little bit of a fever because you don't have any childcare -- i've done that. if you are that bad who would love to stay home with her children and your company has a policy that allows you to stay home but nobody in the culture of a company takes advantage of that policy. if you're a parent who never has been able to attend a parent-teacher conference, let alone a concert or a play in your school because your

employer has rigid hours, if you're a company who wants to do the right things by your employees but someone doesn't know what to do, well then, let me tell you something. you are not alone and this day is for all of you. [applause] >> so we are excited to be here. we are going to learn, we will have announcements to make, we'll have a conversation with one another, but the most important thing i also want you to remember is that vist this in important moment but it's not just a moment. it's a movement. it's a movement and we are going forward from this day forward. [applause] >> so with that, i want you to welcome my partner in this, without him this conference would simply not have been possible, who is an advocate for workers around the country each and every single day you please join me in welcoming secretary tom perez. [applause] >> thank you. good morning. all right.

good morning. you know, on cue valerate announced that this was a movement, and genera general roa delauro walks in and takes her seat. did you notice that, y'all? hello, general. great to see you. it's our to be here, and i want to say thank you to valerate, to tina, to our partners in the white house, to a remarkable partners at the center for american progress, neera, and her wonderful teen. and i must take a moment to say thank you to our folks in the women's bureau. where are you? doing great work. right here. you know, these regional summits have been remarkably productive and constructive. and here's what we've learned. we learned two sets of things from these regional summits because we've been asking people the following thing. what's keeping you up at night? what are your biggest sources as a working family, as a working

parent, as a single parent? what are your biggest sources of fear and concern? the first thing we hear is that i'm working harder and falling further behind. what keeps me up at night is my second job. because i can't afford to make ends meet. what keeps me up at night is the sense that i want to put food on the table but i also want to be home to eat at the table with my family. because the most important family value is time spent with your family. [applause] >> and i don't enjoy that luxury. i don't enjoy that luxury because the minimum wage has decreased in value 20% from where it was 30 years ago. i don't enjoy that luxury because my wages have been flat, even though i'm working 50, 60 hours a week. i don't want to be in food stamps, i'm told, we are told with regularity, but i can't afford not to be on food stamps. and that is why the president is

so focused on wage fairness, making sure that a fair days work pays a fair day's wage, making sure that nobody in this country who works a full-time job should have to live in poverty. [applause] >> and that is why, in addition to fighting for harkin miller, the president is using his pen and his phone to make sure we use every regulatory tool in our arsenal to help working families, for instance, the president helped to make sure that 2 million home health workers have access to minimum-wage and overtime protection. [applause] as you know, 90% women, 50% people of color, 40-45% on some form of public assistance. these people are doing gods work, and they deserve a fair wage and overtime benefits. [applause]

and so we will continue to fight for wage fairness because we've heard of that throughout our six visits to the various regional summits. but we've also heard something else which is, we need to make sure, as valerie correctly pointed out, that we have the flexibility we need to make sure that i can do take my kid to the doctor, i can take my mother or my father to the doctor. you know, we have such a changing university. we see the nature of the family has changed, the nature of work has changed. we are living in the modern family society but we are still stuck with leave it to beaver rules. that's the world we're living in and we've got to change that. [applause] >> you know, too many people as valerie correctly points out have to choose between the job that they need and the family that they love. that's a choice that no one should have to make. i third neera say with great, you know, remarkable passion

that you shouldn't have to win the boss lottery to be able to take two hours off, to take your kid to the doctor. ..

>> to support the creation of state paid leave programs. [applause](c and by the way, seeking of the fmla, we deserve all families deserve its protections, and that's why we have proposed new rule changes just last week to

realize the promise of windsor and to give all our lgbt brothers and sisters in legal same-sex marriages the same rights that every family has. [applause] you know, i'm a labor lawyer, and i'm a civil rights lawyer, and you know what? as valerie said, roll does not roll in on wheels of inevitability. it takes everybody in this room and in this nation. it takes coalition building, civil rights act of 1964, we're celebrating the 50-year anniversary. that was first introduced in 1948. it was all about persistence. this workplace flexibility, we have the fmla, it has done well. we need to take the next frontier. we have a president who's committed to that, we have partners who are committed to that. i am confident that we will, indeed, build this movement because we've got generals like rosa delaura, valerie jarrett, we have the general in chief,

barack obama -- [laughter] and joe biden and everyone else. [applause] and we have my partner right here, the nonprofit leader, the president of the center for american progress and my friend, neera tanden. neera? [applause] >> that was great. so i have to say what great partners. we should be able to make a lot of change with this team. and i want to say on behalf of the center for american progress we've been really thrilled to have a fantastic partnership over months and months and months leading up to the conference. valerie at the white house and the entire white house team and the department of labor which has had a fantastic team. valerie's absolutely right, we all have stories, everyone in this room and the people you represent, thousands upon thousands of people have a story. i have my own story. which is that, you know, when i had two young children, i had a

son who was a year and a half, daughter was four and a half. i took a very high pressure job with a lot of time commitments to the job, and i had -- but i had a boss at that time who saw that i was struggling a little bit. and she rescheduled meetings around me, made sure she changed her schedule so i could have my responsibilities both as a parent and as a worker. she changed around the entire work culture to accommodate parents. and as secretary perez said, you know, i really felt like i won the boss lottery. but that's a real problem in this country. you shouldn't have to win the boss lottery. we should all have work situations where people recognize that when we are good workers and good parents, that's for the bottom line. [applause] and that's why -- andñb.ñ that'o much of what today is about and

the white house has a fantasticó report out today making the case for how improving our working conditions for families is best for the bottom line. we have fantastic partners there around the country. most importantly, we have women, parents here today who are struggling with the challenges of making those terrible choices. and we've heard these voices in our, in the events leading up to today. we've heard from parents who had to put sick children on a bus because it was that or making their rent. we've heard parents struggling with the decisions about going to work when they know they should be at home. parents talking about how they've anxiously waited until 5:00 and then dashed home because they knew their child didn't have childcare. and that's what's motivated today. again, today is not just about changing the conversation,

ultimately about changing the country. and -- [applause] we're going to do thatr with everyone here -- [applause] everybody here staying committed. and we have fantastic academics, advocates, people and business leaders who recognize how critical it is to have the workplace rules that will help them compete in the 21st century. i want to just say a few thanks to a few of our partners who have helped support c.a.p. in putting this summit together. the ford foundation, the sloan foundation, deloitte, bright horizons, all of these people are leaders -- [applause] all of these leaders, all of these people are leaders who bring together diverse viewpoints to insure that we can make change. and we have to learn from those models. we'll have a great day today.

but today is the beginning. we're going to have to roll up our sleeves and make change at the local, state and, ultimately, federal level to improve the quality of life for all our families and ultimately for our economy. and so it's my great honor and privilege to introduce jill biden and vice president biden, because these are two people who work every day to improve working families and who we are so thrilled to help start off the conference. [applause] [cheers and applause]

>> good morning, everyone. >> good morning! >> i think i need some of what tom perez was drinking. [laughter] i mean, he really had that energy, didn't he? it's wonderful to welcome you all here to this important discussion. and thank you, neera, if for that kind introduction. everyone here knows the challenges facing working families. i myself can vividly recall teaching full-time, getting a haaser's degree -- master's degree and raising three young children. even though i had a lot of support and resources, it was still a lot at once. and those kinds of challenges have only increased for today's working family. today in three-quarters of families, all parents work whether it's a single-parent family or both parents working.

women are nearly half of our work force, but too many women still earn less than men and often face barriers. and on top of an already complicated childcare schedules and community obligations, many working families are also caregivers for aging parents. more and more companies know that they need to find ways to address those challenges so that they can attract and retain talent. they also know that people now choose one job over another because it is in the best interests of their families. last month i was in seattle for a discussion with business leaders and employees to hear more about some of the creative ways that they are addressing these challenges and attracting and retaining top talent. what i heard there was pretty simple. employers need to take more than

just the eight hours a day an employee is sitting at his or her job. they should also think about the stresses that employers -- that employees face outside of work. commutes. creative ways to ease some of those stresses, employees can be more productive with the time that they are at work. what iñno heard from employeess also very clear. when they saw that their workplaces valued and appreciated them, they were upbeat and enthusiastic about their jobs. they were committed to their employers, and they saw that their job was not just a place where they went to work for eight hours a day, but a place where they were invested in the company's mission. one of the companies at the discussion was a software company that works hard to create a flexible culture that

recognizes the competing demands on its employees. jamie, a project manager at moes, told us that her days were filled with organizing meetings and making sure her team is getting everything done. but because of moes' no-meeting friday policy, she was able to enroll her twins into a four-day kindergarten next year and start friday fun days this summer. not only is jamie getting to spend time with her kids, she also has peace of mind that every monday she won't have to catch up on a day's worth of missed meetings. rei was another company that participated in the discussion. they allow for flexible commuting so employees can go in earlier and miss rush hour. i'm sure that's something everybody here can relate to

coming into washington. as an outdoors company, they also want their workplace culture to encourage employees to live healthy lives. what they refer to as nature nurtures. so they encourage employees to get outside, go for a hike and engage in activities that they enjoy outdoors. pretty nice, huh? the participants also discuss other ways to address many of the challenges every working family faces; offering on-site daycare, providing a set amount of paid leave and connecting workers welledder care programs. with elder care programs. underscoring all of these policies was another theme: employers should trust employees and trust that these solutions make workers happier and more productive. it's important that businesses adopt policies that recognize

that life is rarely simple and that the american family has changed. when we think of caregivers, we often think of a mother caring for her child, but that image simply does not reflect today's realities. particularly those in the sandwich generation; individuals who are caring for their children at the same time they are caring for their parents. like so many americans, both my husband joe and i have had firsthand experience of caring for our parents in the final years of their lives. i can vividly recall helping care for joe's parents, both of whom came to live with us in the last months of their lives. but the role of caregivers in today's society is expanding far beyond children caring for parents, a role that reminds me

of two brothers i met last fall, kyle and brett pletske. kyle is an army specialist who was injured in his first deployment to afghanistan in late 2012. during his recovery, brett's employer encouraged him to make the most of the company's leave policy. they kept his job open so that he could go and care for his brother. stories like theirs are why this convening so important. is so important. everyone participating in this important discussion can contribute innovative ideas to help make life a little better for our working families. whether it's resources and flexibility for employees who are acting as caregivers or mentoring for women or offering flexible working arrangements, all of us must continue to think

creatively about the workplace of the future so that we can insure that every working american has an equal opportunity to succeed and care for our children. that's what i know our next speaker wakes up every morning thinking about. [laughter] [applause] it is my great pleasure to introduce my husband, vice president joe biden. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, thank you. [cheers and applause] or. >> thank you. thank you. before jill leafs the stage, let me say i'm sure glad she took me to work today. [laughter]

tom, i think you have, i don't know, i was just out at starbucks' headquarters. i think you got the double jolt in the morning, i don't know, man. [laughter] and by the way, he's that way at midnight too, and that's why i love working with him on the work he and are -- he and i are doing on jobs for the future. valerie, thank you, kiddo. you've been a great, great friend to me personally, but you also, you and tina have never let up on this subject. you have from the moment we took

. >> you're the ones that know your way around. you know the existence of programs to help your elderly parents or your chirp. or your children. you're the ones in your communities who have -- we're not going to speak about it much today as i looked at the agenda. but, for example, there's a whole lot of things that are going on, and we've been working on for, in my case, for over 35 years to ameliorate the pressure on families x. that is, you know, everything from after school programs, they make a gigantic difference. that's a government program. [applause] but when mom and dad -- no. [applause] i mean, we have millions of turnkey children. going home after school, no one there. 3:00, 3:30. and circumstances sometimes that are not always -- i was raised in the grade school by theup ins, they say, you know -- by the nuns, you know, they say the

temptation. [laughter] well, you know -- [laughter] it's, i don't care how good your child is, but a 12-year-old going home and turning on the key to get in the house even in a safe neighborhood is still, it's still a concern. and so there's a whole lot of things where we are not going to be talking in detail about, but the vast majority of single moms -- and, i might add, dads -- don't have these opportunities. [applause] each one of you here, if you're honest and you all are honest, you know -- i mean this sincerely -- you know how difficult it is to do your job, advance in your job and be the parent or caregiver for your parents that you want to be. you've been raised, 99% of you, with the notion that your first and foremost obligation is to

your family. whether it's your parents in distress or your children. and it's really difficult. a lot has to do with personal choices that we make as to how we allocate our time versus relative to our careers. i don't think anyone participating here makes any moral judgments about any of the choices people make as long as they're conscious choices with opportunities. and our job, it seems to me, is to provide as many opportunities so that the choices that are always going to be difficult, the choices that have to be made are at least more rational, at least there are more options. but there are a lot of factors and a lot of players that can have a significant ameliorating impact on the difficult choices women primarily, but men also have to make in raising their

children. if you have, do you have an extended family that can help you? well, that's a big factor. can you afford safe and nurturing daycare? what organizations outside, including your school or outside your school, are available in your community from a ywca to boys' clubs and girls' clubs? [cheers and applause] by the way, we owe you. you do an incredible -- i spent the bulk of my career chairing the judiciary committee. there's an absolute direct correlation between children getting in trouble and having access to boys' and girls' clubs, ywcas, ymcas. it matters. you've got to give children choices. children, basically -- [applause] children basically want to do the right thing, but the peer pressure is overwhelming. sometimes they need an escape, they need an excuse. when mom or dad are not present.

but, look, you all know all of these things. but one of the factors we're talking about today is also that can be incredibly ameliorating is not just the policies, but how understanding is your employer. how understanding? you know, lastly, what, if anything, can the federal government do to help? i say lastly because all these other things are out there in the community. if they're woking really well -- working really well, including your employers, is less need for minimum wage, there's need for a whole range of things we've been working on our whole careers, but there's an awful lot that can be done just to change the atmosphere. the examples jill gave. you know, you're going to get to discuss all of these things today and more, but if you excuse us, as we used to say in the senate, a point of personal privilege, i can speak a little bit from my own experience.

the first thing you're going to say is look at biden, man. he's got a mildly expensive suit on. [laughter] he's vice president of the united states of america. he makes, notwithstanding he was the poorest man in congress, he still makes a lot of money as vice president of the united states -- and i do, by the way. i do. [laughter] don't hold it against me that i don't own a single stock or bond, don't hold it that i have no savings account, but i've got a great pension, and i've got a good salary. [applause] and -- for real. for real. sometimes we talk about this stuff about struggle. my struggle, my god, compared to where i grew up and the way people are trying to go through things. but here's the point i want to make, i've been really, really fortunate. and jill as a community college professor, she's seen the struggle of working parents trying to secure an education while earning a living and raising a family and many times being the victim of domestic violence in the process. and as a military mom and

through the great work she and the first lady have been doing in joining forces, she knows the stress on military families when they struggle through multiple deployments, caring for returning veterans, coping with financial and emotional pressures. these are real. these are real. and, you know, she knows what you know, that no family's alike, no struggle is the same, no opportunities are identical. but all families whether they're headed by two parents or a single mom or a single dad share the same basic dreams and same goals for themselves and for their children. we can't equalize it all, but we sure in heck can do a lot better. so i want to support -- look, they want to support their families, they want, they want to feel comfortable, they want to feel safe, they want to be in a secure home in a secure neighborhood, they want to send their kids to college. they want to care for their mom and dad if they have to. and put aside just a little bit,

and maybe they'll have enough for their own retirement. they want to achieve these goals without having to sacrifice all of the moments that really matter. my generation -- and, obviously, i'm a lot older than you, you can see that -- [laughter] but all kidding aside, my generation as i was getting in college, coming out of college in the late '60s, it was, you know, it's not quantity time, it's quality time. give me a break. [laughter] [applause] give me -- there's not one important thing my sons or daughter have said to me that came about when i said, no, we have quality time. let's go fishing. let's discuss this. [laughter] every -- as parents you know that to be true. the most incredible things your children say to you, ask of you reveal to you are in those

moments that you don't anticipate, moments that occur when you're reading them a story at night, when you get home and you climb in bed with them. even though they're already asleep and you pet them. no -- [laughter] one of the great memories of my daughter who's a grown woman and a social worker, as i'd stroke her hair, she says, daddy, you know what i miss most? how you used to smell coming home from work lying down in the bed with me. you know what i'm talking about. they're the things that matter, for god's sake. but not all of us have the kind of flexibility that i had. not all of us had the opportunity. not all of us had that outside help. you know, there's no substitute for being there. no amount of compensation can replace being physically, emotionally and mentally present when your child needs you, but

we all know there's going to be those times when we're not going to be there. it's just a fact of life. when i lost my wife and daughter this a car accident right after, shortly after i got elected before i was sworn into the united states senate, i had a whole heck of a lot of help. i've got an incredible family. my sister's the origin of a phrase in our family, if you have to ask, it's too late. and i mean that sincerely. if you have to ask, it's too late. so i came home from the hospital, and my sister had already moved into my home -- [laughter] no, with her husband. gave up his job. no, i'm serious. who has that? who has that kind of help? my mother was nearby. my brothers, they all helped me raise my children. but i was a single father for five years. and i want to tell you with all the help i had -- and i was making a good salary, i was a

u.s. senator. i was making $42,000 a year, and that was then. no, the average salary was closer to $19,000. so i was doing well, and i had all this help. and then the overwhelming goodwill of an entire state who wrapped their arms around me and my children. and i used to think to myself, i give you my word, i used to think to myself i have a secretary in delaware who had three children and is single. and her child's going to be held to the exact same standard mine is. the exact same standard under the law. and how in god's name could she do what i was able to do? and i was finding it hard, really hard. but i got lucky. i still, i still had to find my way to be there for my boys. my son hunter was 3, my son beau was 4, still in the a full body

cast, both arms, both legs all the way up to his neck. and when he'd leave for washington, every day i could almost hear the fear in their voices. are you going, daddy? they wanted to know if i was coming back, they wanted to know is everything going to be okay. so to demonstrate to them but not really because i needed them, i made a point to start -- i thought it was only going to be for six months -- start to commute back and forth every day. 8,000 round trips later -- not a joke -- [laughter] [applause] 8,000. no, no, no, no, no. [applause] no, really and truly, by the way, it was -- i needed to do that. i needed to do that just for me. they helped raise me as much as i helped raise them. but here's the point. you know what i found out, and employers can help in this, that it really matters that even if it's only like i'd get home at night and after five years no man deserves one great love, let alone two. five years later when jill came

along and basically saved all of our lives, what happened was i'd come home, and i'd usually get home late. not real late, i'd get home by usually 8:00. and she'd keep the boys up, and they'd have their dessert while i had my dinner. and i know that's not -- michelle would not like giving them dessert -- [laughter] but it was healthy dessert. [laughter] and, look, look, you do it. you go up, and you lie in bed with them. whatever your tradition is. in my case we'd say prayers like my grandpa did with me. and they would, you know, they're the things they remember. when we woke up in the morning, it was no ozzy and harriet, you know? all the family kind of stuff where we all sat and had breakfast together. but while i was shaving they'd

come in and have whatever was on their mind for that day. we'd go downstairs, and while i'm having a cup of coffee, they're eating their breakfast. because young kids can only hold an important idea for about 12 hours. [laughter] no, no, for real. you missed it. it's gone. [laughter] you miss it, it's gone. and it matters to them and to you. look, nothing more important to me than being able to be there, but i had this overwhelming luxury. i didn't have any one boss with, i had a million people in delaware who were my boss. and they were pretty understanding. no, i'm -- i sincerely mean it. i missed my first six years. i was one of the lowest percentages of people voting. i had an 87 -- i think that's what it was -- voting record. i never missed a vote that was a deciding vote, and most were procedural votes. so everybody said, they came up

with all these explanations. the other team was doing the right thing, they were attacking me on tv which made sense saying would you hire a man who only showed up 87% of the time, etc. and so i, over the advice of my -- and i tell you this to tell you what i think about how people think -- over the advice of the experts, i did one ad. i looked into the camera, and i said, look, true. i missed whatever it was, 13, 15% of the votes. and if you elect me again, i will do it again. [laughter] no, i'm serious. and i said because i will never miss a vote that makes a difference, but if i have a choice between a procedural vote and my child's parent/teacher meeting, i'm going to the meeting. [applause] no, no. but here's the point. it's not about me. [applause] look at the luxury i had. how many of you would like to be able to do that? [applause]

i'm no different than any one of you, for real. i'm not trying to say this is, oh, joe biden, he did the good -- no, i had the ability to do it. you all want to do it. and i could make a choice. and i was confident that people of my state would understand, because i was confident. and the reason i tell you the story is because i think that's how almost every american thinks. they think if they only could, if they only could, they would. so, folks, look, the fact of the matter is too many people where it comes down to making the choice between doing that parent/teacher meeting or going to that championship game or showing up at that debate or being there just when your child is sick, having to choose between doing that and their job not one time. but like many of you, my family's been an incredible

consumer of health care costs. my sons were critically injured, my daughter was in traction for a long time, both jill and i teaching. but we had the option. we could choose who could stay home. i could operate from my home, assuming there weren't a critical vote. but the point is those kind of choices most times it comes down to not losing your job or not, it comes down to the subtle things. it's about if i don't stay and help finish the project and not go to my daughter's parents' night, they're going to think i don't really want to work hard. they're going to think i really don't care about my job. so dammit. no, your employer's not demanding you do it, but if i don't stay -- look, i've had, i have some really incredible people working with me over the years. i forget one time we counted i've had something like 25 rhodes scholars, more marshall

scholars, people -- i had a law firm of 65 people as chairman of the judiciary committee, almost every one graduating in the top 5% of their class. really smart, smart, smart people, ambitious people. i remember during the really difficult hearing, a hearing having to do with -- that i was conducting on the supreme court, and a very controversial hearing, judge bork. and the young man who -- and i'm not going to mention his name, one of the young men who had done most of the research in the background on judge bork, and he was having difficulty at home. he was having difficulty because he was spending so little time at home for the previous six months in preparation. he was having difficulty in his marriage. and the day the hearing started, fortunately, i have a guy named ron kline who was my chief of staff came to me and said so and so has a problem. i said tell him if he comes into

work, he's fired. [laughter] not a joke. not a joke. i wasn't being noble. i wasn't being noble. it was the right thing to do, but beyond that he was important. he could do it from moment. he could be on the phone. he could let us know. and he had to be assured, though, that it would not affect his advancement. that's all employers have to do sometimes is let you know that these subtle choices -- they don't have to have some massive policy. particularly if they're smaller. look, no one -- and the other piece about what jill pointed out about trust. you know, folks, we make such a mistake, i think sometimes, because i don't know, i'm not quite sure why, but guess what? trust is usually returned. trust is really usually returned. i have a policy.

i just hired on three very high profile people. the first thing i sat with them when i hired them, i said, look, here's deal, if you ever have any problem at home no matter what it is, you don't have to tell me what it is because sometimes it's embarrassing. my child has a drug problem, i'm taking him to a counselor. vast majority of parents face that. i'm having difficulty, my wife is having, and i are having a problem. my father is -- you don't have to give me an explanation. just say, look, i need the time. i need the time. no explanation. you have no idea -- i guess you do have an idea -- how much not only is it the right thing to do, but how much loyalty that engenders. how much response you get -- [applause] and by the way, those of you who are employers and corporate

folks out there, you know when it's being abused. you don't need a road map. you know if that is really abuse. and so it's a lot easier to trust. people don't abuse trust. if you really trust them, by and large, these are the things that i think all employers can do. now, it's true that many times problems are much bigger. company-wide policies have to be made, decisions on flexible schedules, expanded leave policies, telecommuting and job training and education, on-the-job training and education. these are all points you're going to discuss in some detail today. i wish i could stay, i really do. i wish i could stay and be in this conference. so i point -- the point i want to make today is that all the corporate executive, business owners in this room, it's about creating policies that allow you to balance family and work, and it's never going to be an absolute balance.

but in a way that's better for them. if, if you give it a shot, i think you'll find the return is overwhelming. when i was chairman of the senate judiciary committee, a woman named -- i mention this because in the book "lean in" her name is mentioned, she's still a great friend of mine, and i know that valerie knows her well. cynthia hogan, a really first rate lawyer. she was my chief counsel. and she was with me a long time, and she's one of the reasons why we were able to successfully pass the violence against women act. and before she left in 1996 when her first child was born -- and then sheryl sandberg described in her book, "lean in," when i asked cynthia to return when i became vice president as my chief counsel at the white house, she was concerned that she wouldn't be able to continue to have time for her family. now, teenagers a little bit older.

so we worked it out. we found a way to give her time and flexibility she needed, benefiting from her experience and her talented which were badly needed. as her employer, i benefited just as much as she did. she left by a certain time so she could be home. it wasn't hard thing. there was no loss of productivity in my office. i mean, i would have taken cynthia for five hours a day. but the point is, she was able to do it from home. so when the kids walked through the door, which was important to her, important to her, that she was there. she was in connection with the office. and we made a rule no matter how important it was, she didn't get any text messages during dinner because it was an important time. important time. look, here's the deal, you all know it. study after study confirms my experience. family-friendly policies reduce turnover, they boost performance, and they boost

productivity. and speaking of cynthia and some of the other women in my shop with children, they're reason i was able to write the domestic violence law in the first place. and i can't leave -- [applause] the good news for you is i'm about to leave, but i can't leave without saying something about the violence against women act. you know, nearly one-third of the victims of domestic violence lose their jobs. because of the impacts on their employers. and they are real impacts on the employers. what happens in the workplace. an abuser coming to the workplace, disrupting, you know? breaking out the windows of the car in the parking lot, you know? flattening the tires, threatening coworkers. it happens. and so you can on one hand understand why employers, particularly in big operations, say we don't need this. we don't need this, it's

disruptive. but the total cost to the economy, or the cost to the economy according to the center for disease control and prevention, is about, they think, $8 billion. in lost productivity and health care. that's not the total to the whole economy which is much higher. and employers and many are, i was going to list them, but my staff says don't go listing the ones, because you'll leave something out. and you know i always listen to my staff -- [laughter] but all kidding aside, a number of major companies are making a big difference because they've developed policies to help the victims keep their jobs and stay safe. it takes effort on the part of the company. but i would urge you at another time, not this, not part of your discussion today, but i think you cannot talk about opportunity for women unless you talk about dealing with in the

work environment the violence against them that occurs, the domestic violence. but i hope you employers will take a look at some of your fellow companies who have done and provide a permissive environment for victims against domestic violence. you're going to hear a lot more today, and i know many of you are already putting these policies in place. so i want to close by thanking you all here, thanking you for everything you do for working families in your companies and your communities and your country. like i said, we may need broad policies, and i think we do. you'll talk about them. but an awful lot of them, an awful lot of this can be done just by subtle but nonetheless significant understanding of the sucker that single -- circumstance that single, particularly single moms and some single dads, have to deal with.

thank you for caring so much about our kids. thank you for caring so much about being able to make sure that particularly women have the opportunity to meet their potential and every one of their expectations. god bless y'all, and may god protect our troops. thank you. [applause] thanks, howard. thank you. [cheers and applause] >> more now from yesterday's white house working families summit and remarks of first lady michelle obama who discussed the challenges she faced as a working mother. abc's good morning america anchor robin roberts moderates the event. [applause] >> oh. this is a lively crew. >> are you ready?

are you ready for this? >> yeah. [cheers and applause] >> wow. we have, we've been listening backstage -- >> i know. what a panel. >> ooh. very dynamic. [cheers and applause] let's pick up. how are you? >> i'm great. >> good to see you. >> how are you? >> oh, doing well. >> doesn't robin look good? >> thank you. [cheers and applause] [laughter] you're just saying it because it's true. [laughter] it has been all day long here. and that lively group discussion that just preceded us talking about the role of women in the workplace -- >> yeah. >> -- and the fact that nearly half of the work force is made up of women, yet when you see the fortune 500 companies, only 24 women are ceos. >> yeah. >> that's less than 5%. and like everyone if you're involved in any type of work, you want to be in an environment where you can excel and you can grow. >> absolutely. >> so what do we need to do to change that environment? >> you know, i think you've heard it all day today.

we have to use our voices, particularly the young generation. because we have to realize now that the numbers are on our side, right? more and more people are realizing that this is an issue for everybody. and we have to use our voices, our power and our leverage to make demands, to feel like we can make the request, to make the ask to our employers. i mean, i had to find that voice within me myself, and it occurred during my -- after the birth of sasha. and barack, i think he mentioned this, even's like, what was he talking about? [laughter] well, this is what he was talking about. [laughter] this is what he was talking about. i had, you know, sort of dealt with the tug of how am i balancing things. barack was in springfield, then he was in washington, i was in

chicago trying to manage these two beautiful girls, trying to still hold to down a part-time job. the first thing i tried to do, which was a mistake, was that i tried the part-time thing. but what i realized was that i got gypped on that front. because when you are -- [applause] working a professional job, what happened was i got part-time salary but continued to work full time. [applause] so after that experience i said never again will i shortchange myself, because we were still paying for full-time baby sitting because when there was a meeting that needed to happen, they expected you to be there. so we had to have full-time baby sitting. so that was a net loss for us. then i had sasha, and we lost our babysitter which was probably the worst time of my, my motherhood. i was so devastated because that balance, that work/family balance so to fragile.

and you realize how fragile is the that with the blink of an eye, a broken toilet, a sick child, a sick parent, that that balance is thrown off. and after we lost that first babysitter, someone we developed trust with, you let them in your home, they were wonderful, they loved your kids, and then they left -- and she left for good reason, she left because she needed to make more money. but it was devastating. and i said then, i quit. i'm just -- forget it. i'm not doing it again. but i got a call from the university of chicago hospital. they wanted me to interview for a job. and by then i was ready to be done. but that empowered me. i said, you know, i don't even want this job. so i'm going to go to the interview, and i'm just going to be whoever i'm going to be. [laughter] and they're going to have to deal with it. and who i was at the time was a breast-feeding mother of a four-month-old -- [cheers and applause] so, and i didn't have a babysitter, so i promptly took

sasha to the interview with me, and i thought, look, this is, this is who i am. i've got a husband who's away, i've got two little babies. they are my priority. if you want me to do the job, you've got to pay me to do the job, and you've got to give me flexibility. and flexibility means that i will work my tail off for you, but you'd better pay me and value my family. and the guy said, of course. [laughter] and i thought, are you kidding? [laughter] and so i became a vice president at the university of chicago hospitals, and it was one of the best experiences that i had because they, because he put my family first. and i felt like i owed that hospital because they were supporting me. and that's what we have to have -- we have to get employers to understand that this is about their bottom line as well. >> so you, your approach -- [applause] your approach to your career changed as you became a mother and how you -- >> absolutely.

>> -- at first you learned not to ask for part time, so you were more direct in what you needed, and your employer responded. there are a lot of people, though, that are going to say, yeah, but i'm at risk if i do that that i might lose my job. you really need this job. >> that's true. that's why it's so important for women and men who are in the position to make these demands to do it. so this isn't just, you know, this fight isn't about me or barack. because things are different now, you know? we live in the white house. [laughter] grandma lives upstairs, thank god -- [laughter] and we have resources that we never could have imagined. so this isn't, the fight isn't about us, it's about every mother and father out there who doesn't have the leverage to make those demands. we're fighting there are them. because we know how bad it is. we know how tough it is. i knew back then when i was a vice president at a hospital. i understood the advantage that i had. if i were a teacher or a bus

driver or a nurse or a shift worker -- which my father was -- there is no room for that kind of negotiation. if you're an hourly worker. but the needs are even greater because the balance is even, it's even more delicate for many working families, folks on an hourly wage. childcare is beyond expensive. >> amen. >> i mean, we had, you know, the luxury of looking at nannies, right? we couldn't even afford to keep the one we had, but, you know, we weren't looking at the cost of childcare, bringing -- taking your baby, packing 'em up, putting them in the car seat, dropping them off, you know, at a childcare center, coming back. i mean, just that emotional tug on its own is powerful. and it is not lost on either me or barack, how tough it is. which is why we all have on in this fight. [applause] this is something we're doing for each other. [applause] >> you bring up so many excellent points. >> i know.

[laughter] >> and there's so many. >> there's so many. >> let me in, let me in, but, no. the fact that you're saying "working families," because the landscape is changing. women are going into the work force. there are more stay-at-home dads. is that part of the movement in letting everybody know that it is an issue for everyone in the family? >> absolutely. that's why i love the fact that this is a working families summit. i mean, you guys heard from barack. i mean, at least i heard you heard from him. but what i heard that he talked about was just how important those first months that he had with girls was -- with the girls was, you know? and men, you know, understand that you need that time too, you know? because that bonding time, that time that he spent getting up, taking the late night shift, not only did it save me, you know, gave me some sleep and some peace of mind, but he connected with our girls in a way that i

still see, you know? that connection is real. and we as mothers, you know, we don't take that for granted. but i think more and more men are understanding that you don't miss that time, because you don't get that time back. because let me tell you, now that malia and sasha are teenagers, they don't want to be bothered with us. [laughter] so it's that time that he spent rocking in the chairs and reading them stories, and he was able to do that because not only did he value it, but he was in a work situation that allowed him to do that. and that brought us closer, you know? so this is about strengthening the whole family. and i think more and more men are realizing -- [applause] that they can't just, thaw just can't -- they just can't pass off those responsibilities, and they have to fight for these changes for themselves. this isn't a woman's issue by any stretch of the imagination. [applause] >> no, and they realize that. and your husband, really, he was -- things that he was saying, and one thing that really touched a lot of people is when he said, yes, you are a

strong woman, a strong mother, a strong wife, but that early in the marriage to see you break down in tears -- >> uh-huh. >> -- because you were trying to juggle so much and how that after all this time has still stayed with him. >> right. >> did you? were you in tears -- >> oh, my goodness. i mean, the minute those kids come into the world, they just rip your heart out of your chest. [laughter] you know, that's why i tell young women, you know, and young families that we grow up as professionals, many of us, and we think we have it all figured out. we've got a plan. four years here at this university and then i'm going to go down this path, i'll earn this money, and i'll get this promotion. and i'm like just have a baby. [laughter] and that baby comes out and looks you in the face, and all the plans go out the window. you don't know how you're going to feel. and every child is different, you know? they add a whole new set of joy, a whole new set of worries to your life. there is nothing more important

to me than my girls. that's why when we first came in and people asked me what was my agenda when we first came in the white house, i said it's making sure that my kids are whole. i thought i was being honest. some people judged me for that -- [applause] but the truth of the matter is whether i'm first lady and he's the president, our first job is to make sure that our kids are on point. [applause] that is the most important legacy we will ever leave. [applause] so that's why this issue so important, because employers have to know that if family life isn't right, you know, if there's a worry, you know, if you don't think that you're leaving your child in good care, if they're not healthy and whole and happy, you're going to bring that worry to work. and it's going to eat away at what you're able -- i don't care what you do, you know? you wake -- as working families don't you wake up every morning just praying nobody's sick?

is. [laughter] my god. you know, we all pushed them out the door a little sniffly because it was like, okay, cough again. no, you're not really sick. [laughter] it's not 100. not 100. [laughter] we all sent 'em to school just a little -- [laughter] you're fine. try and get through lunch. [laughter] call me, tell me how you feel, you know? [laughter] but you send 'em off, and all you're doing is worrying that they're falling apart in school. so, you know, these are real emotional, emotionally-draining issues. but because there are employers who have figured how to do this, you know, how to give us families the space to be good workers but also to first and foremost be good families, if some can do it, they all can do it. >> some are doing it, not all are doing it, and in part why we're here in washington, people want to know the role of the

federal government and in some cases the state government. is that something that should be done? because there are a lot of people who are not certain of that. >> well, you know, there are two ways to focus this. you're going to see in this administration they're going to do everything in their power administratively to make changes and to lead by example. i think one of my young staffers said that she just got an e-mail from the chief of staff who said because of the summit, you know, this administration is going to start asking a set of different questions. so the first thing that the president can do is make sure that his administration is leading by example. now, what we need to do on the policy front requires congressional action at some point in time, and i know i just heard nancy say it, and i heard the president say it. so you've got to have, you know, elected officials who believe in this issue, in these issues and the changes that need to be made as passionately as we all do. and that's going to require us to help them understand just how

important these issues are. [applause] you know? is -- [applause] >> so you know there are some who feel, when we talk about minimum wage and equal pay but mainly minimum wage, and i think the first time we sat down and had an interview, you were passionate about it then and saying how important knowing the importance of that. when there are people that are there who are saying it's going to cause jobs to be lost, it's such a political debate. what can we do? be we lose that debate, what can be done to push that through? >> well, i think building momentum, you know in because again, most employers, private employers, they can make decisions based on what's most financially expedient for them. and studies are showing that having a fair wage, having decent family leave policies and

the like, creating a flexible environment, that that improves the bottom line for companies. and we have to start getting that information out so that every company looks at the bottom line for themselves. the question is, is everybody even looking at it? because if we've allowed this not to be an issue because we're sucking it up because -- and let me tell you, women, we suck it up. we're just going to figure it out. maybe it's me, the reason why i feel crazy. [laughter] it's not because i should be -- we tell ourselves i should be able to manage in this, right? i should be able to have a full-time job and pick my kids up from daycare and drop 'em off and cook 'em a meal, fry it up in a pan -- >> he's a man, i'm a woman. [laughter] remember that? yeah. [applause] i'm old school. >> yeah, yeah. but because we wind up taking these issues on and we're just

going to do it all, right? we're not focusing on the need to push for change. and the 21st century workplace, as you have pointed out, it's very different, you know? women are working more, men are understanding their value as caregivers, women are primary breadwinners. i mean, we could go on and on and on. things are different. so we can't keep operating like everything's the same. and that's what many of us have done. and i think it's up to us to change the conversation. and this ultimate, hopefully, is -- summit, hopefully, is the beginning of a shift in dialogue we can't just wait for politicians to do what they, what you think they should know you want to do. they have to feel the pressure. ask that's -- and that's the job of all of