babies. if they are told they do not want to kill unborn children if they are told that they have no choice that they will have to perform or participate in the performance of an abortion procedure they will either be doing something that is very strongly and deeply offensive to them or they will leave the field which means we would have a lot of wonderful doctors and nurses that could be helping pregnant women and their children finding something else completely false to. so i think i would actually be a huge detriment to the medical community. >> and this bill with stripped-down conscience laws because they would impede or reduce access to abortion. ..

legislation designed to force a radical view of democrats in the senate that abortion should be universally available, common, without limit, and paid for by the taxpayer. that is an extreme and radical view. it is a view shared by a tiny percentage of americans, although a very high percentage of activists that the democratic party who find, provide manpower politically. and it is also a very real

manifestation of all war on women given the enormous health consequences that unlimited abortion has had damaging the health and sometimes even the lives of women. i have with me 317 statements from texas women who have been hurt by abortion along with letters from texans opposing this bill, along with letters from pro-life doctors, nurses, lawmakers across the united states. with the chairman's permission i would like to have it entered into the record. >> without objection. >> a number of the restrictions of this legislation would be invalidated, common-sense restrictions the vast majority of americans support. for example, restrictions on late-term abortions. the overwhelming majority of texans do not want to see

late-term abortions performed, except in circumstances when necessary to save the life of the mother. and yet the united states laws and the law that would be reflected in this bill is a stream by any measure. today the united states is one of seven countries in the world that permits abortion after 20 weeks. we are in such distinguished company as china, north korea, vietnam, those known perry gonds of human rights. if you look at some other countries across the world, and france abortion is prohibited after 12 weeks. in italy abortion is prohibited after 12 and a half weeks. in spain abortion is prohibited after the first trimester.

in portugal abortion is permitted it after ten weeks. this is the norm across the world, and get this legislation would say that that 23 states to have enacted limits on late-term abortion, their loss would be set aside. a question i would ask dr. parker. is it your view that these nations, france, italy, spain, portugal, that they are somehow extreme or manifest a hostility to the rights of women? >> thank you for your question. i am not an international human throat -- human relations expert. i can tell you that when abortion is legal and safe that the known mortality related to women taking desperate measures when abortion is illegal is greatly minimized, as

demonstrated by what happened in this country after 1973. i do know new that move internationally in a country like darnell where i have travelled where they have made great strides toward reducing their maternal death rate by having better access to maternal care, despite the fact that abortion is legal because it is so heavily stigmatized when women access that care, the major cause of internal 45 maternal mortality is related to unsafe abortion. if access to legal and safe services for -- were a reality, an unplanned pregnancy reflects human rights, values, then countries that restrict that, we would have to question their commitment to humanity and safety. >> well, thank you for your views, dr. parker. i would know that this suggestion that somehow france

or italy or spain or portugal, much of the civilized world is somehow in sensitive to the rights of women is rather extraordinary command the idea that america would rush up to embrace china and north korea for the standard on human rights is chilling. i would note that this law would also set aside state laws preventing the taxpayer-funded abortion. the state would also imperil state laws providing for parental notification if your child needs an abortion. in the minimum before that serious medical treatment that the parent has a right to be notified thirty-eight states have that law. yet this extreme bill in congress would imperil everyone of those laws. if i may have another 30 seconds finally to just share some stories from women in texas.

one this story, i was told i just had a blob of tissue by planned parenthood after they did my pregnancy test and referred me to a nearby abortion clinic. i was not given the option of having a sonogram. i was not given the option of hearing my baby's heartbeat. having been given the opportunity of seeing my baby and hearing a heartbeat i can assure you i would not have chosen abortion. i would have chosen life instead of death. how can anyone believe abortion should be illegal after seeing a baby living in the womb on a sonogram and hearing the heartbeat of that baby? i felt i was pressured by planned parenthood because they told me the best thing that could do would be to have an abortion since i was so young. i was 15 years old and still in high school. that abortion ruin any chance of me giving birth. as a result i have had five miscarriages, three of them have been tubal pregnancies requiring emergency services and work very near death experiences.

i have suffered from depression and attempted suicide, self mutilation. my experience of the emotional trauma after abortion is the same as millions of other women. i have 317 statements coming each as powerful as that in terms of the human consequences of what this legislation would produce. thank you, mr. chairman. >> ms. nancy northup, with this legislation prohibits the use of ultrasound when a patient requests? >> oh, no. not at all. this law, again, is focused on those underhanded type of restrictions that are treating abortion not like some of these -- similarly situated medical practices that do not advance health and safety and are harming access to services. >> in essence it would be irrelevant to the instances described? >> absolutely and also explicitly does not cover the question of insurance funding. would not invalidate those laws. it has nothing to do with minors

and specifically says it does not address issues about parental consent and edification loss. >> monique chireau, have you ever performed an abortion? >> no, i have not. >> dr. parker, how many abortions have you performed? >> i don't have that number right off the bat, but i can tell you that over 20 years of patient care, i have seen thousands of women, and some have been an abortion care. >> in your experience to over how many years? >> twenty. >> twenty years, has the wit of a hallway in those clinics where you have performed your medical services affected the quality or expert this of those medical services? >> no, senator. >> as the theme admitting privileges within that state affected the quality or effectiveness of your medical services? >> only to the extent that they prevented me from providing care to women.

>> admitting privileges are irrelevant to the quality and excellence of your medical services because anyone in need of a hospital will be admitted to the hospital. >> correct, senator. >> end the waiting, is that relevant the reality, senator, is that women are extremely powerful. most women that i need will, they have been thinking about what they will do about their pregnancy from the minute they found they were pregnant. i know women to be extremely lawful. won't. >> thank you. ms. nancy northrup, in response to a number of questions and you essentially said limits in bodied and incorporated in this bill were the constitutional

standard, is that correct? >> that is correct. >> misstates under the supreme court's constitutional ruling can ban abortion later in pregnancy and to as long as they have an exception for women's health and life. those laws are on the books now and would still be on the books. >> in effect this law basically enforces the constitution. >> absolutely in force is every woman's constitutional right to make the important decision for herself. >> finally, in those countries -- in reference was made to a number of them are abortion is made illegal, is it made safer? >> no. around the world many of the places where abortions happen and women are terminating pregnancies, it is illegal and unsafe. whether you see this country before roe v wade or places in latin america and sub-saharan africa today when women do not have access to safe and legal

abortion they are harmed. >> you made reference to the state of texas, women in texas going across the border to mexico so that they could buy on a free-market drugs necessary they thought for abortions. >> yes. the clinics have been shrinking in texas because of laws that -- and i commend the american medical association brief in the fifth circuit talking about the medically unnecessary laws that have been passed in texas. the a.m. a very mainstream medical opinion because it is taking clinics from three dozen cut by one-third down to less than ten if allowed to go into effect. women have been going over to the border in mexico. they have been buying medication on the black market and trying to sell full board. the situation will be worse. women are hurt when they cannot get the medical care that in

their decision to make decisions about their pregnancy that they need. >> has it made abortion sifter? >> no, mr. chairman, they have not. >> have they created confusion or discouraged women? >> absolutely. >> a few. we are voting. i apologize. i will have to close the hearing my colleagues are on their way there. i want to enter into the record without objection various statements including planned parenthood in southern new england become a statement submitted for the record. as it is our custom, the record will remain open for one we can face my colleagues have additional questions, and i, again, want to thank

everyone of our witnesses for participating in this very, very important hearing. thank you all for attending. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] minimum 111. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

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>> one of the most prevalent in many is where these -- local hotels. now, typically, you know, people are not paying attention who is coming and going. but those in the business of operating hotels, they are in a position to take notice of the behavioral characteristics consistent with this trafficking. for instance, many times the up-tempo come in with three, sometimes five young girls. they will be off to the corner. the plant will go in and make the arrangements for three to five rooms. typically cash. these girls will go up to the

room. they never leave the room. food will be delivered. no one sees him again until they leave. that is strange. what is going on? why is that and hanging around? why is he walking the hallways? something is going on that is inconsistent with their regular routine of the trade at that hotel. i am not just talking about a small, seedy hotel. i am talking about very well known, you know, reputable brands. >> it is every. what i invite people to do, and i say this with some degree of reluctance. if you want to see the scope of the problem in your own neighborhood go to the back page they promote ads in communities, and towns, not just cities, but

they break it down, you know, and the counties, burroughs, communities. if they are advertising your area in an adult escorts service , that means you have a problem. a child, if not multiple children being exploited in that area. >> a top priority. those ideas that you think we in should present. i did not think about inviting hotel owners to come to our roundtable. >> young girls, there are some boys, but mostly young girls being traffic from state to state. how hard they getting to and from? many times flying. then they get into cabs. we have had many reports, law enforcement gets reports have this same young girls over the course of a month, two months, through their area and go to this and motels, go back, you

know, at some point. there are a lot of eyes and years in different sectors. if they are properly educated, who should they call? typically it will be law enforcement. they can get to the bottom of this and do incredibly good work >> appreciate that. >> you can watch the rest of john ryan's testimony along with video of of the hearings recover on our website, c-span.org. >> tonight on c-span2 the senate judiciary committee considers a bill that would prevent state and local governments from restricting access to abortion. attorney general eric holder speaks at an event marking the 50th anniversary of the civil-rights act. congressman jeff tennant talks about the problem of children from south america and injuring the u.s. without their parents.

>> on that next washington journal we talk with democratic representative karen bass of california about a bill aimed at ensuring child welfare agencies are able to identify and served child victims of trafficking. >> now you can keep in touch with current events using any phone any time with c-span radio. simply call 202-626-8888 to your

congressional coverage, public affairs forms in today's washington journal program and every weekday listen to recap at 5:00 p.m. eastern. c-span radio on audio now. >> c-span2 providing live coverage of the u.s. senate floor proceedings and the public policy events and every weekend book tv now for 15 years the only television network devoted to nonfiction books and authors. c-span2 created by the cable-tv industry and brought to you as a public service by your local cable or satellite provider. watch as and hd, like us on facebook , and follow us on twitter . >> fifty years ago president lyndon johnson signed the civil rights act outlawing

discrimination based upon race, religion, sex, and national origin. to mark the anniversary attorney general eric holder talked about the laws historical impact at a commemoration at howard university in washington d.c. this is 15 minutes. >> please welcome the interim president of howard university, dr. wayne frederick. [applause] >> welcome. it is with great pride that i welcome our distinguished speakers, guests to howard university for their momentous celebration of the 50th anniversary of the civil-rights act of 1964. it is an honor for howard university to join the department of justice and

hosting the symposium which will explore the history and future of this groundbreaking legislation. it is my pleasure to acknowledge individuals and groups for their attendance and contribution to today's program. our esteemed program guests, cabinet members, including those whom we are honored to have on our program today, attorney general eric holder, secretary tom perez, and secretary arne duncan. white house officials, members of congress and other elected officials, leaders of the various federal agencies represented today, leaders and stakeholders from the civil-rights community, national archives for displaying the original civil-rights act and the distinguished members of the howard university community and faculty students, staff and alumni. the process of the civil-rights act of 1964 was paved with the footsteps of careless ordinary americans led freedom rides to

and segregation and discrimination. core for comprehensive civil-rights legislation gain momentum. civil-rights activists continued to organize peaceful demonstrations throughout the country's. after hundreds of nonviolent protesters were met with police violence and arrests and birmingham, alabama. president john f. kennedy delivered a nationally televised speech voicing his support for comprehensive civil-rights legislation. after president kennedy's assassination in november of 1963 president lyndon b. johnson made a commitment to pursue civil rights legislation. after the longest debate in senate history this civil-rights act was finally passed and signed into law becoming the first of many legislative victories over the next 50 years that have been critical tools for protecting civil rights.

through the past 50 years heart university has been grounded by the legacy rendered and outcomes of the dedicated commitment of countless locals as well as national civil rights activists. signed into law by president lyndon b. johnson on july 2nd 1964, the civil rights act outlawed discriminatory voting requirements and segregation in schools, employment, and places of public accommodation. today's keynote speaker, attorney general eric holder, has made protecting civil rights a tough priority of his administration of the department of justice. howard university awarded president lyndon johnson and honorary doctor of law degree at our june 5th 1965 commencement convocation. in his commencement address he offered the following insight on the future path of civil-rights and our country. it is not enough just to open the gates of opportunity.

all our citizens must have the ability to walk through those gates. this is the next and more profound stage of the battle for civil rights. we seek not just freedom but opportunity. we seek not just legal equity but human ability, not just equality as a right but as a fact and results. i believe that the presentations and discussions of today symposium highlight the critical discussions that must continue to guarantee justice and civil rights for all citizens. as we reflect on the 50th anniversary of the passage of the 1964 civil rights act we celebrate activists whose sacrifices pave the road toward equality. their unwavering commitment to strengthen our nation and inspires us to persist. let us rededicate our efforts to preserve the gains of the past

50 years in advance a robust agenda for the future. we must obsess about the journey and not any specific destination . the passage of the civil-rights act was the destination, an important one, but not the final one. like the virtue of love, this is a journey without an end. it is my distinct pleasure to introduce to you today the attorney general eric holder. eric holder was sworn in as the 802nd attorney general of the united states on february 3rd, 2009, by vice president joe biden. president barack obama announced his intention to nominate mr. mr. holder december 1st, 2008. in 97 he was named by president clinton did deputy attorney general, first african-american named to that post. prior he served as u.s. attorney for the district of columbia.

in 1988 he was nominated by president reagan to become an associate judge of the supreme court of the district of columbia. while in law school he clerk at the naacp civil defense fund and the department of justice criminal division. upon graduating he moved to a washington. he was assigned to the newly formed public integrity section in 1976 and was asked to investigate and prosecute official corruption and a local, state, and federal levels. as attorney general he has many protection of civil rights, the highest perris of the department of justice. it is my distinct pleasure to welcome to the podium the attorney general of the united states eric holder. thank you. [applause] >> thank you.

thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. well, thank-you for those kind words. thank you all for such a warm welcome. it is a pleasure to be here on the beautiful and historic campus of howard university, one of our nation's great historical black institutions of higher learning and how to generations of leaders in rome models. i would like to thank the howard university color guard for being a part of the celebration and bert cross ii for that exceptional rendition of the national anthem. i am glad that did not have to follow him. i also want to recognize ambassador young.

[applause] and i also want to thank every member of the game in scores who will share their talents with us later. i am also mindful, as we gather today, of the leader that we lost this past friday. twitter.com/booktv was a passionate journalist, a lifelong defender of the first amendment and a fierce civil rights advocate. he was a top aide to my predecessor as attorney general, robert f. kennedy and later served as pallbearers. he risked his life alongside the freedom riders and fought for civil rights protections at a time when most southern journalists turned a blind eye. he was a truly remarkable man and a singular voice for the cause of justice, a guiding light and an inspiration to many, including me. i count myself as extremely fortunate to have known john

seigenthaler and they stand my heartfelt condolences to his family. he will be dearly missed. his critical work goes on. it is a privilege to be among so many distinguished guests including fellow members of the cabinet and accomplished trailblazers in the fight for civil rights and young people, young people who will carry on the work that we commemorate and build on the singular achievement that we celebrate here today. half a century ago this month with doctor martin luther king jr. at his side president lyndon johnson marked an inflection point in a struggle that predated our republic when he signed the landmark civil rights act of 1964. it was a struggle that had begun more than three centuries earlier in 1619 with the arrival of roughly 20 captive africans in jamestown, virginia. and it continued through the

spending colonization of north america. by 1763 the colonial population included roughly 300,000 africans, the overwhelming majority of home where slaves. it was not until a century later that our greatest president issued an emancipation proclamation providing a legal framework for a that eventual release of many slaves and secured the 13th amendment, which finally struck this evil from our constitution. even then jim crow laws and other measures were engineered to keep millions of african americans effectively in bondage, slavery by another means for a century more and intimidation and violence were routinely employed to prevent them from becoming educated, to keep them -- to keep us from voting and to stop them, us from mixing with the white majority.

finally, 60 years ago this may when chief justice earl warren led a unanimous supreme court to declare in brown v. board of education that segregation was unconstitutional. our nation took an important step to reconcile not only two races but to histories, it to americans that had been intensely separate and profoundly unequal since long before the american revolution. ten long years after that as long simmering in justice gave way to activism and the civil rights act was adopted to forever enshrine equality into american law. this historic measure of our discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin as to two critical employment projections that outlawed discrimination and public accommodations including schools and workplaces and prohibited unequal application

of the requirements. in so doing it greatly expanded the mandate of the department's civil rights division which is to this date committed to enforcing civil rights acts and and -- up holding the civil and constitutional rights of all americans, particularly society's most tolerable members the new statute also created the plan and opportunity commission as well as the community relations service which assists vulnerable populations and promotes healing and times of disorder and distress. now, securing this law was an extraordinary undertaking born of a consensus brought by decades of hard work and profound sacrifice. it required to great presidents, john fitzgerald kennedy who called on us to confront a moral crisis and fill a national promise and lyndon baines johnson who took action after president kennedy's assassin -- assassination to make that

promise real. required a congress with the fortitude to stand up to those who defended a way of life founded on bigotry and oppression. it required leaders of conviction from medgar evers said dr. king, willing to risk and even give their lives and order that others might live free most of all, it required men, women, and even children, children have tremendous courage and unwavering faith to in toward the unendurable and advance the cause of justice. these are the heroes whose legacy we celebrate on this milestone anniversary. these are the pioneers on whose shoulders we now stand, and these are the trail blazers to a home we pay grateful tribute this morning. of course, like all who are old enough to remember those days

when northern cities erupted and when mississippi burned i will never forget the turmoil and the violence that characterized the civil rights era. i will never forget watching on a black-and-white television in my childhood home in queens in new york city as countless people rich and poor black and white, famous and unknown braved dogs and fire hoses, billy tubbs and baseball bats, bullets and bombs in order to secure the rights which every american is entitled. these extraordinary citizens streamed in the birmingham and marched on washington. they stood up in barack and sat in in greensboro. they faced -- they walked through a school house door. they dared to dream of a more equal society and risk everything -- they risked everything they had to make it

so. that was the fight that half a century ago brought nearly 1,000 students to mississippi for a voter registration campaign called freedom summer. as the battle for civil rights was waged in the halls of congress and thundered across the streets of america inch by inch the nation as a whole moved slowly toward equality. but mississippi and other states continued to a stand in stubborn , racist opposition. registrar offices instituted voting tests and other measures that made it almost impossible for black men and women to go to the polls and vote. citizens and even sworn police officers fought racial equality and threatened african americans who dared to stop and step into voting booths. newspapers, newspapers published the names of registered black voters so they could be targeted and terrorized by those who harbored hatred.

yet hundreds of young people can in defiance of these threats and in the face of deadly violence to help extend our democracy's most basic right to people of color. in ten weeks of freedom summer more than 65 buildings were bombed or burned. hundreds of civil rights workers were beaten and arrested, and three brave young man, andrew goodman, james chaney, and michael schwerner were brutally murdered. yet violence did not send the activists running as perpetrators had hoped. instead it galvanized them and galvanized our nation. more and more brave americans joined the cause. both residents of the communities and students of all races from across the country. when they saw that african-americans were being deprived of quality educational opportunities they established freedom schools to teach black

history, to facilitate discussion and encourage political activism. these young people devoted themselves to the hope, as the widow of michael schwerner once wrote, that they could pass on to the next generation a world containing more respect for the dignity and respect of all men and that world which was will to us. a senseless murders in a case that became known as mississippi burning captured headlines and sparked outrage across the country. it their tragic death moved public opinion, spurred cautious politicians to take long, -- long overdue action and intensify support. but their efforts also made possible the voting rights act of 1965, the fair housing act of 1968, and the americans with disabilities act of 1990, along

with countless other movements for progress. although michael and regions never had the chance to have children of their own, their work and the efforts of their friends have left a better world for me and my children and millions more. as we mark this anniversary i am especially mindful that without the civil rights act, the protections is codified, or the monumental progress that followed a few of us would be here this morning. without the sacrifices of countless activists and citizens i would not stand before you as attorney general of the united states proudly serving in the administration of our first african-american president. i am just as mindful that none of this progress, none of this progress was preordained. we know from our history that advances toward equality and inclusion have never been inevitable. every step forward has been

hard-1. the words of our founding documents were not automatically endued with the force of law, and our nation's future continues to be defined and its destiny determined by men and women of both character and conviction. courageous people who are unafraid to stand up to what they noted be right and by patriots who never shrink from their responsibility to draw this country's ever closer to its highest ideals. like? colleagues at every level of today's department of justice are determined to do everything in our power to further these efforts, to protect and expand the work of those who have gone before and to extend america's promise to new generations and populations that have been too long disenfranchised, overlooked demand depressed. half a century after the civil rights act was passed it continues to provide an arsenal of singularly useful tools and

waging a stroke. as we speak the justice department is using provisions of this law aggressively and innovatively. earlier this year we reached a $99 million employment discrimination settlement with the new york city fire department. protected by the best qualified among them. in 2012 the department used provisions of the act to address harassment against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered students and a minnesota school district establishing a model for other districts to follow. we are currently employing other provisions to fight for gender equality and education and finding that in a variety of cases and circumstances from

ensuring that schools provide safe and equal opportunities to all of our sons and daughters to guaranteeing access to state courts for those with limited english proficiency, the civil rights act offers powerful enforcement authorities to address contemporary challenges and save kurds vulnerable people beyond the act itself the justice department has worked with our partners throughout the administration most notably the department of education and the department of labor led by secretary tom perhaps who not long ago lead and helped to revise our own civil rights division ushering in what i am confident will be considered an era of historic achievement for that division. alongside these other agencies we have worked hard to build on the spirit of the law by winning new legislation and judicial rulings that extend the promise of equality to others. we have secure additional protection for women.

we have achieved historic progress in ensuring civil rights of lgbt individuals across the country so that they can finally receive equal opportunity, equal protection, and equal treatment that they deserved. all of this is important, like changing work. it speaks to the timelessness of the civil rights act itself, the continuing relevance of its core provisions and the need to keep expanding upon the safecard provides. but it also shows that our work is far from over. significant challenges remain before us, and each one of us, every american has a great deal more to do. although we can be proud of the progress made even within our own lifetimes, we cannot accept these advances as an indication that our work is complete, that hour-long journey has been successfully concluded. progress is not an end.

it is a measure and effort and commitment. as we speak in far too many neighborhoods, far too many people of, and far too many lgbt individuals are denied credit and housing and in the workplace far too many women are deprived of the opportunity to perform equal work for equal pay. for in our education system students of color are far more likely than white children to attend school spirit in the criminal justice system african american men are routinely subjected the sentence is averaging 20% longer than those served by a white man convicted of similar crimes. when it comes to our most treasured democratic institutions, many vulnerable populations, including young people, the elderly, and communities of color are now facing a range of new restrictions leveled under the

dubious skies of voter fraud prevention that creates significant barriers to the ballot box. if these and other conditions from lower social and economic ability to reduce educational opportunities to unequal justice on unfair outcomes were felt so acutely by the majority of americans, i believe our national dialogue and our response to these problems would be different. as it stands, our society is not yet colorblind, nor should it be given the disparities that still afflict and divide us. we must be color brave and must never forget that all are made better and more prosperous if all are given equal opportunities. that is why today together we must resolve once again to act not out of self-interest but out of national interest. we must take into account not only the considerable steps that we have seen over the last 50

years that the entirety of the experience that people of color have faced. and we must never hesitate to confront the fact that the undeniable truth that in too many places across this nation that i love and that i have served throughout my life, the echoes of injustice stretching back nearly four centuries continue to reverberate. these echoes from times past are still hurt by too many in addressing -- still hurt by too many in our nation today. in addressing these lingering effects their is a need for personal responsibility. to many individuals are negligent or counterproductive, but there is also a need for societal responsibility, collective engagement and common effort. we must be willing to acknowledge the problems that we face, to talk frankly about inequality and to examine its causes and impacts and most

importantly to ultimately eradicated and look at our great nation and reflect on its history with clarity and painful honesty with open eyes and deep understanding of who we have been, who we aspire to be and who we are today. this is the key to protecting our union and formulating policies that will lead to a better, brighter future for all of our citizens. this is what drives the obama administration's sweeping efforts to insure every american has a chance to succeed based on his or her skills, talent, potential and not by the circumstances of birth. this is something that we will never be able to do on our own. today i am calling to renew the spirit of the civil rights act by updating fair housing and lending laws to address discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender

identity, marital status. [applause] by strengthening workplace protections to private pay discrimination against women and to finally end -- [applause] and to finally end discrimination against lgbt citizens by ensuring -- [applause] by ensuring equal access to education and promoting nondiscriminatory learning environments and by passing an updated voting rights legislation that will enable every voter in every jurisdiction to exercise unencumbered the rights that so many have fought for and died to

defend. [applause] after all, the civil-rights act of 1964 was an attempt and a highly successful one to confront fundamental questions that had bedeviled this nation since its inception and that justifiably generate controversy even today. this morning we are reminded that carrying on this work advancing the cause of justice and ensuring the civil and human rights of every person no matter where they come, no matter who they are, no matter who they love continues to constitute our most solemn obligation. the true greatness of this country lies in our limitless capacity for innovation and invention, rebirth and renewal,

forging greater societies and reaching new frontiers. as a people we have never been content to tie ourselves to an unjust status quo no matter how many individuals may have found it acceptable. we challenge, question, struggled, quarrel, bind ourselves to the ongoing quest for a better future and ultimately move forward together as one nation indivisible driven by our pursuit of a more perfect union and determines to achieve it. that at its core is what defines us as americans, of people born of revolution and tested by civil war, a nation founded on the quality but built by those enchains, a country first imagined centuries ago by imperfect people driven by an near-perfect vision, a vision conceived by patriots who dared

to reach beyond themselves and defended later by activists who fought for equal justice and challenge us even today to make this promise real. to them has to generations yet to come we owe our best efforts and steepest resolve. we must take up this challenge and implement this vision and must build in their honor a world that is worthy of their passion, sacrifice, and humanity like you, i have no allusions that this task will be easy, but as i look round this crowd today , compassionate men and women dedicated to truth and devoted to service, i am confident in our ability to reach that promised land. i thank you for your commitment to progress and to the pursuit of justice, and i look forward to all that we must and will accomplish in the months and years ahead as an asian, has the

beloved community, as a united people we shall overcome. thank you. [applause] [applause] him. >> please welcome deputy attorney general of the united states department of justice. [applause] >> history is not just a series of events but the people who create those events, the impact of the stories told and untold

of the many trailblazers and on sung heroes whose tireless sacrifices and relentless dedication have resulted in justice, equality, opportunity, and freedom for all. looking back, we have seen that the defining moments in american history resulted from the strategic dedicated in tremendous hard worker for stickers, visionaries, leaders, leaders like president john f. kennedy and lyndon b. johnson who refuse to accept an unjust status quo, civil-rights pioneers like dr. martin luther king jr. mon-khmer reverence ralph abernathy, congressman john lewis car rosa parks, and many of today's program participants and guests. many of you in this auditorium as well as countless others who

in the face of bigotry and violence called upon our nation to live up to its fundamental ideals of liberty and equality. history is ambassador andrew jackson young jr., a living legend and an icon at the forefront of a watershed moment for america, one with enormous ramifications for our country and the world, the civil rights movement, and the ultimate passage of this or rights act of 1964. [applause] ambassador young met the challenges of segregation with truly remarkable sacrifice is open to transform america into a better, stronger, and fair nation. born in warns during the depths

of the great depression, ambassador rihanna accepted the responsibility of service at a young age. in 1960 after receiving his undergraduate degree right here in howard university and his divinity degree from hartford theological seminary, he joined the southern christian conference, the atlanta base so rights organization led by doctor king. he was soon named the director of sclc citizenship school program where he, like dr. king, employed the ghandi concept of nonviolent resistance as an organizing strategy and tactics for social change. later after becoming the executive director of the sclc ambassador young quickly became one of doctor king's most trusted advisers and confidants. he was one of the principal strategist send negotiators during the civil rights

campaigns in birmingham, selma, and atlanta to name just a few. it was those campaigns along with other critical events the lead to the passage of the civil-rights act of 1964 and the voting rights act of 1965. even after being beaten and jailed for his participation in civil rights demonstrations and after witnessing the devastating assassination of doctor king in 1968, the ambassadors devotion to public service, to social justice and to human rights never wavered. in 1972 he became the first african american from the deep south since reconstruction to be elected to the united states congress. in 1977 he became the first african-american to serve as our ambassador to the united nations in 1981 he was elected mayor of the great city of atlanta where he served for two terms.

in atlanta where he resides today ambassador young has continued his service to the civil-rights cause. he is also established the andrew young foundation and remained active in local, national, and global affairs. in recognition of his past contributions ambassador young was awarded the presidential medal of freedom, the highest civilian award that the united states has to the still, and he has received honorary degrees from more than 100 colleges and universities in the united states and abroad. just when you thought that his inventory of accomplishments could not extend any further, ambassador young has earned the title of film maker, a devoted husband, any of -- in the award winner, author, and proud father

and grandfather. ambassador young, on behalf of a grateful nation and everyone here today i want to thank you for your remarkable service not only to our country but the world. your work along with the historic efforts of others, laid the groundwork for what has become a significant part of the justice department's mission to expand opportunity for all people, to safeguard the fundamental infrastructure of our democracy and to protect the most vulnerable among us. ..

[applause] that was an extremely generous introduction. but i want to come back to my days at howard university and the days before howard university because it was in 1941 that my sixth grade teacher took me to a federal courthouse and i saw a tall skinny young lawyer by the name of thurgood marshall argued the case of the equalization of teacher salaries in louisiana, 1941.

already howard university had started through its law school laying the groundwork for what was to come. before that, one of our professors was asked to do the intelligence network to try to understand how america should relate to africa during the second world war. remember the south africans were supporting. and ralph bunch in 1937 to 19399 took a week of absence from howard university and spent two years trying to figure out the world. but in the process, he figured out the united nations, and i really think that ralph bunch probably has more to do with every word in the united nations charter and every institution of

the united nations that's ... today. i am saying without howard university -- [applause] without thurgood marshall, judge hastings and many others we wouldn't have had a basis for the margin. i got out of here 63 years ago. [applause] and i said if you give me one more chance -- [laughter] i promise i will do better but i didn't know what happened to me. i say i neglected my studies and math my teachers knew my name, but i got a hell of an education. [applause]

don't play yourselves cheap and let anyone else define you. let me go to december 171962. fred shuttlesworth's church was bombed for the third time in the last 18 months. there were 60 bombings in homes where nobody had ever been charged or investigated. fred came to see martin luther king the next day ends at -- first of all the home came completely down and everybody was sure he was dead but he walked out with his shirt and tie on and said if this didn't kill me i can do anything i want

to do. so he came to atlanta and got us to say we couldn't sit back and wait for desegregation. we couldn't continue to be passively nonviolent. there have to be an aggressive nonviolence movement much to my surprise because martin luther king was really known militant on this occasion, he said yes we must. i said a lower to. but we ended up going to birmingham a few months later, and we had a plan to confront segregation and you heard about the dogs and the jailing and the fire hoses. that was not it. the plan was 300,000 citizens of color wouldn't spend a nickel on anything but food or medicine

until the economy changed and so birmingham was an economic movement and when you pull 300,000 citizens out of the economy, everybody was underwater and my job was to try to negotiate with them to help them realize it wasn't going to get any better unless they took and allow people to work and they said we can't find anybody qualified and i said that isn't true. that means thathe needs that yog those white embarrassing suit no more than the ladies you have coming from alabama about your departments. go home and talk to your wives and see who they come to when they want to shop at your store and go where something is. they don't go to the clerks they go to the needs. they are running the business

anyway. so we ended up one by one helping them overcome the obstacles. there is no such thing as whitewater and blackwater. take the signs down. if people want to drink a drink and if they don't they won't. it was very simple but only because we refused to cooperate with injustice and we slowly but surely we fashioned a society and that is about the time that the community relations service was born. it wasn't called that then but it was bill marshall and others in the justice department that wire we were talking with businessmen on one side they were talking with businessmen on the other side. it wasn't a children's crusade.

the people that we organized to go to jail where juniors and seniors in high school who would have been going to vietnam in another year. you are not going to have a choice. the captain of the football team and leader of the band, the key group of leaders in each high school went to jail early in april to have an experience. they had a religious experience. they went to jail with the ministers and members of the civil rights movement. when they came out, they were changed and the purpose was to organize the high schools on m

may 5, 1963. may 5, 1963 every high school in birmingham and sounding counties closed down. they pushed the gates down. they walked some of them as many as 20 or 25 miles to get to the center of birmingham to get to jail. by that time everybody knew that it was all over and so the justice department is able in 1963 to get 100 businessmen to sign an agreement that the challenges that have been offered by fred shuttlesworth and the alabama christian movement for human rights. 100 businessmen signed it even though it was against the law but it worked. it changed. people suddenly acted different.

and we never even had any problems at the lunch counters. and the reason was that the south was basically very comfortable racially but for a few good funds and bonds the established citizens and folks reigned in, we were able to move forward with the help of the really courageous congress and the coming together of the churches, the business community, behind the congress and the president we were able to pass the 1964 civil rights act but don't forget the hundred businessmen agreed to it a year before the congress passed. so when i said that to henry

oppenheimer in south africa he said to you think that will work in south africa? i said sure. anytime 100 businessmen decide that they are going to change the society and they are far more vulnerable than congressmen and takes 51% to change a congressman. you hit a businessman in his pocketbook for 10% and you have his full. [applause] or at least his attention. so we took some of the same ideas into south africa and all around the world. i sa see that you are a part of changing history, but we did only two thirds of our promise. doctor king's's mandate was to redeem the soul of america from the triple equals racism, war and poverty. racism isn't gone that it's

illegal. the war isn't gone but you cannot say that there is a big difference between 66 million people killed in the second world war and the five to 6,000 president has been able to limit in afghanistan and we have a president that is following up as best he can some of the values we have a default out of this institution into this movement to help make the world a better place. the one thing we did not do and we do not yet understand is poverty. we were reading in the world thm the triple evils of racism and poverty but we didn't understand poverty because we don't understand economics, the economics you all are probably being taught is probably a

relevant to the future of the world in which we live. get mad if you want to, but think about it. [laughter] you're talking about the nationalist european economics in th a global economy they can transfer more wealth over a cell phone than existed at the time the textbooks were written. so take us to the next stage and i challenge you to let the leadership for a global vision of a global economy that feeds the hungry "-end-quotes the naked and heals the sick, but sitthatsets at liberty those the oppressed and i hope somehow from your mind and soul and spirit that kind of economy might emerge in our lifetime. god bless you. [applause]

we are at the henry a. wallace country life center 50 miles south and west of the morning and this is the birthplace of thomas henry a. wallace. they consist of three generations. but petri arc was known as uncle

henry and he was the founder of wallace farmer magazine. his son was the u.s. secretary of agriculture under woodrow wilson and his son was born on this for many teen eda and went on to become editor of the wallace farmer magazine and was then asked by franklin roosevelt to serve as the u.s. secretary of agriculture which he did from 1933 to 1941. 1941 to 1945 he was roosevelt's vice president. as u.s. secretary of agriculture he is known for the agricultural adjustment act which was the first time farmers were asked not to produce. at first people couldn't believe the things he was proposing regarding that, but then as prices went up, they started to listen to him and people still

refer to him today as the genius of secretary of agriculture. >> explore the history and literary life of the morning iowa saturday on c-span2 book tv and the sunday afternoon at 2:00 on american history tv on c-span three. >> the president asked for $3.7 billion of funding to handle an influx of thousands of miners arising from central america without their appearance. we talked about the issue with california congressman jeff denham. this is 45 minutes. >> fusco the first guest representative republican of california and attended district serves on the agriculture veteran affairs committee. good morning. could you give your own personal take being from the part of the country you are when it comes to immigration and parlay that into what is going on when it comes to the border?

>> guest: california is one of those border states that has a higher immigrant population. we are the largest agricultural states we have guest worker programs that worked in the past and larger immigrant population because of that as well but i'm also married to a first generation puerto rican mexican. it's personal for me. i helped my father become a citizen and it was one of my produced moments to see him take his citizenship test and go through the process. we know from a personal level but from a community and the state level that our immigration system is broken. i think the country is starting to feel that now with this surge of 160,000 unaccompanied minors coming through and now the whole nation into the whole world is looking at america as what are we going to do with this problem did was go to president asking for $4 billion to address that is going on in the southern border. what do you think of the figure

and do you support his? >> guest: is a figure that has grown quickly. initially was going to be a 2 billion-dollar number that i want to see what is in that number. i believe we need an appropriation. this is an emergency you manage it increases we have to resolve quickly. these retention centers that are popping up across the nation on the military bases and churches in different locations that kids arare being housed in gymnasiums is not a good approach so we need an appropriation that not only deals with this crisis in a humane way but we also actually secure the border in the same ground so i think we will see a bill that deals with both. >> host: do you support the sped up immigration hearings as it is being called for? >> guest: i do. the biggest thing should be the courts. right now that is the smallest amount of funding in this overall bill. i think it takes it to

65 million which would be enough for 35,000 by the administration numbers. if we have 160,000 coming and we obviously need to beef up the? much more than that so doing this catch and release program they are just sending people back to th to communities and ta police show up in the next couple of years doesn't work and i think the public is going to be outraged at this crisis continues. we have to resolve it quickly. >> host: where does the speaker said as far as the reform and to you agree with this agree on his positions? >> guest: he has been supportive. we've had a number of conversations and he knows this is something we have to get done what he's going to d to give ita respectful and mindful manner. i went to see top to bottom reform so i am pushing very hard not only on the first securing the border but second we have to have a guestworker program and e. verified and talk about the 11.5 million here today that have gone through the schools and have grown up in the community that consider themselves americans but do not

have a way to work and -- >> host: what should be done about the ones currently your? >> guest: i think there are multiple solutions. first the kids that have gone through the schools were brought here at no fault of their own i think that they should have an expedited path. i served my country proudly and always have immigrants in the military. why would it be that the best and brightest out of the system that can check a background of test and speaking of which include the criteria if they would like to take them into that helps bolster the national defense why wouldn't we allow them to serve? is no better way to show your faith and commitment t to county than tthecountry than to serve e military. >> host: where is this going? >> guest: right now we have a ton of cosponsors. both sides of the i/o. we araisle.we are hopeful that s debate with the border surge and protection that we get the act up at the same time.

that will be the first issue that deals with any type of pathway that we have 11.5 million growing that we need to resolve that have been here for decades. this is a multigenerational problem that has gone on for 30 years. >> host: you worked on this with kevin mccarthy at one time who is now the house majority leader so do those better the prospects for the act being heard now that he's the majority leader? >> guest: i think the biggest challenge is timing and the fact there is no deadline. this place operates with deadlines when there is a farm bill that came up, we always hear about the fiscal cliff and when the deadlines hit there is no deadline with immigration which is why this has been pushed out for three decades now both by republican and democrat administrations. we are starting the debate. people realize this is a crisis and there is now a date for resolving the problem and i think we can take up the act at

the same time and i think that helps break the wedge to talk about these other issues and engage the american public and talking about it as well. >> host: you mentioned those here that are not supposed to be here sometimes the term amnesty gets tagged to that effort. when you hear that term what do you think? >> guest: i think is a freebie, someone is going to give you a free pass. there is nothing like that in the bills that we are seeing now. we need to have something that is strong and follows the rule of law that has a process and procedure and even hr 15 which is widely debated or down the hill has a 13 year pathway that has several safeguards you have to jump through so you're still following up the back of the line and you have to come to the realization there isn't going to be a self deportation. there aren't going to be tons of buses that come to start picking people up so if we have a

situation that's been here for 30 years by not resulted? >> guest: even senator rubio saying it was the version of the immigration bill that would have stopped correctly at the border today. >> guest: this is why we have been in print on the senate bill by adding the border protection bill so we have to secure the border and have the measurements to ensure to the american public that it's secure before we move through the measures. the concern the president might implement different pieces of the law without addressing the border first. this is a president that said the border is absolutely secure and intact he chastised republicans durin having the els on how secure it was. obviously it isn't today and it will change in the law which the president supported on the human trafficking but it's going to take putting in the same type of

safeguards we have along the southern border in california where we have to consist and motion detectors. we have all of that between san diego but we don't have that in the rio grande. we also don't have a situation where the border patrol can control the entire southern border. just having the ability. in texas they've got millions of acres of interior and the department of forestry property that seems to be the easiest place to go through where you know the police or the border patrol aren't patrolling. >> host: the representative is with us until 830 to talk about issues going on the southern border. the numbers on the screen or 285380 for democrats, (202)585-3881 for republicans in 202-58-5382 for independence and if you live in the border state

your perspective is welcomed on a separate line, (202)585-3883. the first call was from alabama. this is pat on the republican line. go ahead you are on with the representative. >> we have a facility at guantánamo bay where we house to the haitian refugees a few years ago. why can't that be used to house the children? we could also help the president eliminated prisoners by training them as child care workers and let them earn some money to fly themselves out. the children could be released from guantánamo when the parents pay for airfare. >> guest: thank you for the question. first of all i don't know that i want all qaeda or the taliban that are in guantánamo as the best daycare for these kids that

are coming at us. i think we have to deal with this crisis in a very humane way. certainly housing them in the military bases may be a short-term military submission of 160,000 is such a huge number that guantánamo could only handle a small percentage of that and california we have a namespace that is holding 400 but they are doing between 400 a thousand of military installations and now trying to reach out beyond those installations because those are inadequate to protect churches or colleges that have a gymnasium where different situations. the fundamental responsibility of the government if the president needs to set a strong message quickly it should have happened already. dealing with the others stayed to say we are going to send your raise their hands back to you and we will work with you to handle this in a humane way that we can't just continue to have this coming across the border. the president should also be

working with mexico to make sure that the southern border is secure because in the past they have had a much stronger policies but in 2008 they changed their policies to get tivo coming across basically the two-week visa and they realized very quickly that over 80% of the people that were getting those were not coming back across the southern burger again. as our partner just like with canada and mexico should be working with us as well but we have an obligation to secure the border and appropriate the funds necessary and stop the surge once and for all. the immigration bills that we have seen would not stop this problem. so we have to have a separate bill that deals with not only the 2008 wall tha 2008 law thatt also making sure the border is secure. >> host: it is a lot of money. where do you see the request going legislatively? >> guest: it's hard to see where it goes up or down. how strong it is and whether we have the actual offsets for that

new expenditure i would expect the funding level to go down, but again, i think it depends on everything else that is in nashville. right now i think the court is far too low and we want to see the border patrol dollars that they are going to wear the border patrol is telling us they need to go. >> guest: >> host: hello, good morning. >> caller: i hear all the time secure the border yet no one comes up with a plan to secure the border. once in a while they do something. the only way you will secure the borders to build a mine field that is a mile wide along the whole border and maybe that will secure it but no one else. they don't have an idea to secure it. thank you. >> guest: i think a mine field is probably a little extreme, but we are seeing plenty of

plans. there is no short list of ideas and the bill has bipartisan support. it went out unanimously and has the safeguards in there that would make short the border patrol is measuring this using the tricks that would help over 90% efficiency catching everybody that is coming across. i mean right now while we are talking about 160,000 projected to come across in the next year it is only 25%. so we have another 75% we need to secure so yes it is different. it doesn't make sense to put up defenses. we have the two fences and the motion detectors we still have people that will jump one fence and cut through the other which

is why we have to have border patrol agents ready to go out there and not only secure the fence but make sure actually tracking and keeping those people coming across. >> host: good morning. >> guest: >> caller: i must say that i am the immigrant of an american sailor and we have also been foster kids for many years and i think that there is a couple of issues that we are overlooking. we have an immigration process not only to let people into the country but to make sure that the people we are letting in our people who are not going to be detrimental to the country. i have seen my mother's immigration papers. my father literally had to promise that she would never be a burden on the country and i think we've kind of gotten away from the process of what immigration is. now there is a second approach

to this people that come across the border undocumented tend to live in underground communities. the children are molested, the people are high you know, the wives are beaten but nobody calls the police because they are here illegally. so, by not containing the flow of undocumented immigrants, we are not only creating or adding to this underground society thing but it's also dangerous to the people on this side of the country. that's why we have an immigration process as far as the deadline for government made at the deadline when we threw the birds are declaring our independence. we just need to make sure now that we can do this and i think it needs more manpower. if we could simply hire mexican officials to guard the border on the other side to make sure that

they didn't get that close. >> host: thinks. >> guest: first of all let me start with where you finished. that has been proposed. i don't believe in defending in the government i think we ought to be working with the government so they actually find securing their side of the border. border. there's a lot of production in mexico that we should be concerned with and having challenges with the police force and military dealing with all of these drug cartels and so yes i do think they should be policing the north an north and south bor themselves but i don't think that would necessarily solve our problem in this goal we are talking about in the appropriation there would be more manpower tha and we are pug at the border but yes i agree we have to have a rule of law and a process that fits the american public so that we know how many are coming in and what countries they are coming from and what skills are they bringing to

create a greater america and those that are already here today yes there is not only in underground to say, but it is a real public safety issue. i talked to the sheriff in my home county all-tim of time aboe crimes that go on that are not reported. that's why we have to have a pathway before a registered professional status which would be the first six years within a secon, then asecond provisionald legal permanent residents. we need to have this process so not only have the back taxes and fines paid that are important to get rid of our debt but also having background checks making sure people are actually working on having jobs and not taking from its subsidies. it would help our economy and help the country and create safe communities. >> host: the breakdown of the white house request 8.1 billion to care for unaccompanied children were transportation detention is another 1 billion come at higher immigration

judges, 64 million what you've been talking about this morning to 434 million for the border agent pay is bad enough? >> guest: the court system 65 million is too low even by their numbers to case as they say they can go through on an annual basis is to load building how big of a surge that is. part of the challenges we have to triage and assess the situation immediately as it comes across so we can decide as somebody coming across as an id or birth certificate and we verify what country they are from can we verify whether this is a true asylum case where somebody that is fleeing the country because of a political persecution and really define the issue. if somebody is just coming here to be in the line we have to make decision decisions in thatl and somehow just releasing them not just to a parent leaves to take unaccompanied minors and the department of homeland security would go to the home, make sure it is a safe environment and it really is a

parent. now they are in such an emergency situation not only as a parent object to come but it can be an aunt or uncle or parent or even a friend is our policies have gotten very relaxed because of this crisis. >> host: sherry from florida for the representatives. >> caller: yes sir. first of all, the administration contracted for transportation for these children in january or july that we have many children would be here. second of all, this all goes back to an executive order signed by this administration. these three-year-olds are not traveling all this way by themselves to get to the border. it would cost a lot less to check the children out and return them to their country of origin.

we already give billions in humanitarian aid to these countries. we do not need more illegal aliens in this country. we have children and families in need here. we have veterans who come home and can't get the care they need. we do not need to spend 1 penny more on this mess. send them home. >> guest: thank you for the call. you can tell by the emotion and the voices is a very emotional issue but we are going to deal with this in a very humane way. obviously there are little kids that we need to make sure they are finding a safe place back in their home country or with relatives here but the majority of the problem with the unaccompanied minors i think it is 77% of them are between 14 to 18-years-old so the gimli have

to triage the situation. there will be different circumstances but it's gone on way too long already and should have been stopped very early. to continue to reserve commercial airlines and get people to different states around become tree is creating not only a backlog for the immigration policy but creating a situation for different states across the country. >> host: tony is on a border state of texas on the democrats line. good morning. >> caller: good morning. i have a question. you keep saying you need to secure the border before there is any immigration reform but you haven't said how you propose to secure the border. the things i've heard you say would take a bold time before we would get to th the integration reform package. and also, i don't think the

children of th are the immigratn problem is a refugee problem and that goes back to the wall president bush passed, give them asylum. i think the problem we are having in the country is that it stems from the bush administration with the iraq war into the refugee law passed and president obama is getting all the blame from this when it was the bush policy and nobody is addressing that. >> guest: i always find it entertaining after five years of the presidency everything still gets blamed on bush. don't forget this isn't a senator dianne feinstein bill but then senator obama is a vote on this bill, so this is certainly a bipartisan bill that nobody could have ever expected this type of surge or humanitarian effort but it is

here. a crisis has come up and they have unintended consequences. we have to make sure okay we have a problem now let's address it and the president should be getting that from an executive level dealing with other heads of state and south mexico and as congress we also need to make sure we pass this bill that has not only true metrics and measurements because the funding in place where we can put fences where we need fences and protection is the biggest issue relevant to border patrol to actually secure the border or patrol the border along the texas border where they have the department of interior where right now they can't go into that millions of acres where we have people coming up so we have a challenge ahead of us and it's going to take both parties to come together and find an american solution. >> host: against not only represent the tenth district of california becaus but this is er

family on an omen to farm and nursery county and operate plastics and agricultural supply for. as far as the agricultural world, as far as -- how dependent as for as the immigration policy is concerned? >> guest: from this perspective especially for california we have a large number of crops that do take a migrant workforce. some of the tree fruit is very seasonal and when that season hits if you don't have the leader we won't have those fresh fruits and vegetables, lettuce, strawberries -- very labor-intensive crops. we've always had guest worker programs. every industrialized nation has guest worker programs but along with that program we also need and he verify so we know who is taking the job s jobs of its ams first but when we have jobs americans won't take any to make sure those businesses don't leave the country for somewhere else where they have cheaper

labor but we bring the labor force in on a guestworker program so that somebody can come int in, work, send money he and go back when the job is do done. >> host: good morning. >> caller: thank you for taking my call. you're just in the very beginning mentioned something about the congress taking up an enlisting act to help these illegal become citizens. they could invest in the armed forces. i'm wondering how in good conscience can congress even think of doing something like this for the elite's when we have our soldiers fighting out in the battlefield and if they are receiving pink slips? these are men and women hoping to make the armed forces their career and of love and the world

one day they find out that they have been fired. thank you. i will take the answer off the line. >> guest: i am a veteran that was willing to put my life on the line served in desert storm and sally had followed a family tradition of other members that served even back before world war ii so it is a family tradition. our entire line of history serving in the military we have always had emigrant. my grandfather served with immigrants in world war ii where we were going over to europe and enlisting people in europe before they ever even stepped foot in the united states. when i served in desert storm i served with a great deal of filipinos gaining their citizenship through serving in the military so my question is if you've gone through the school system and if you have passed a background check and you've met all of the military criteria and if they say you are the best and brightest and we want you to come to the military to strengthen our national

defense way would we not encourage that? there is no greater act of patriotism and being willing to serve your country. i don't agree with the pink slips i know there are officers receiving them by now and as we are downsizing from some of war we need to make sure that we have jobs all of the veterans. i'm on the committee as well and we are dealing with some of these extreme veterans issues that shouldn't be happening. but as we move forward we will still be an enlisting men and women coming out of high school. i'd be the thosideally those the through the school system whether undocumented or not if they were brought here by no fault of their own pr for the two enlisted in the military. before 1860 over half of the military with immigrants and since then we've had over 660,000 immigrants serving side by side in every war we've ever

fought. >> host: one of those issues that was reported on yesterday was the status of the build and they say the current estimate was reduced by 30 billion per year. what would this do and talk about the costs involved. >> guest: it would allow the veterans that are not getting immediate care to actually be able to see the private physicians. by their own guideline is his 14 days a veteran has called us and did not seem to care within 14 days they ought to be able to go to a private practitioner. all we are saying is that shouldn't be -- it should be something they have a choice to do immediately. they shouldn't wait for approval. if they cannot become push their own mission later on measurements than they ought to be sending that out to get the care. with the cbo score i disagree with it.

they come up with different scores on with different things are going to cost and in this case they say if you give them the benefits they deserve it is going to cost more money. we appropriate more money every single year in fact it is one area of the budget that we always over appropriate suggest saying that the veterans are going to get the benefits they've been promised all these years should have a higher score doesn't make a lot of sense these are still veterans that if they are qualified for the va benefits it would also be called the fight for medicare as well so you are transferring them from one program to another and the score shouldn't matter. >> host: bill from pennsylvania on the republican line. good morning. >> caller: let me say thanks to the congressman because i'm from europe and i've been here 55 years and they work very hard and i want to explain to him what he's doing. he's playing games with everybody, democrats and republicans and east riding the

country. it took us three years to come over here. i had to get a green card or passport. i came here when i was 27. i had to wait five years and after i became an american citizen and i had to learn how to speak english. this is the way that you come in. you don't know what immigrants in this country are. you are using them so you can make money in your pocket. so i called ron paul [inaudible] and i am republican. not like you guys. you should be ashamed of yourself for destroying this country. you are not american. >> guest: i was willing to serve my country.

i think that makes the american enough. people are willing to bleed for this country and put their lives down for our freedom so i've never had my patriotism questioned in this process but let me answer the question directly to five years that was a long time for you to wait. i'm glad you went through that process the correct way. we can go ahead and have the amnesty for decades to come. we've had it for 30 years we have people coming across the border and we can continue to ignore the problem and to see our debt to go through the roof and wait until the economy collapses or we can do the american solution and fix and secure the border and take care of the people here today creating a greater america. we have 11.5 million people here today so we can make the choice to do nothing, de facto amnesty or actually address the problem in a way that makes sense. pay fines and back taxes, sign up for the provisional status

pass a background check, get a job and no government subsidies and if you can do that for six years on a provisional status on a tender a visa you can go back and applauding and make sure the government can verify that you paid your taxes, you paid your fines you've had a job that entire six years, you can still pass a background check and haven't had a need for broken any laws and that you still are not taking any type of government subsidies your reward is you get another four years if he sees a. so now you are twice the length of time that it took you to go through the legal process. we don't want to create an unfair system. after that after you pass to background checks and you've paid your taxes and fines for over a decade and you've had a job and have been fully employed for ten years and that can be verified and after you have made sure that you have been on the government subsidies and you

have broken no laws after ten years you can file for legal status. at a minimum it will take three more years and after tha after u can sign up to be a citizen. that is one bill right now that's talked about all the time as some of the provisions in the senate bill and is a democrat bill. the worst-case scenario of any bill we are talking about right now you not only have to go through all of those hoops and challenges but it takes you at a minimum 13 years. some may say that it's not long enougis not longenough maybe it5 or 20, but it's time to have that debate because people that are out there saying do nothing that is not an american solution. doing nothing is amnesty and we have to stop that. >> host: catherine from victoria texas you are next. >> caller: i think we have an

emergency situation which hasn't been heard of and border patrol doesn't stop people from crossing the river. you're going to have to get people to stop crossing the river because if they stepped 1 foot on this land then you have an immigrant problem to figure out and i don't think we have enough money to house all of the people, tens of thousands that's going to become hundreds of thousands. i know that sounds horrible but serious is an invading country. these are not invaded countries. these are countries where they need to stop what's going on in their country. about a problem i want to emphasize is that you have to stop them from coming out of the river and onto land. how do you want to do that? >> guest: i couldn't agree

more. that is a serious problem which is why they need to make sure that we are addressing it from the mexico border side and we are not only monitoring but we are measuring on the mexico side before they get into the river, before they get across the river and set foot on u.s. soil but i think it starts before that. again we have to work with mexico to secure the southern border. they had a secure border before 2008 candidate changed their policies. you have to have the president engaged in those issues to negotiate that type of system. second, we have to work with those three major countries sending a majority of the immigrants el salvador, guatemala and honduras and we are seeing this influx and we need to send the same message to their countries to let them know that this what they see right now i'm having a provision to come to the united states is not going to happen so we have to

put a stop to it from that standpoint as well. again, the president needs to have those heads of state discussions, we need to put the parameters in place and asked that the court system for those that do get across the border to have to expedite the system so that we can send them back. >> host: it's good to al in ohio. >> caller: [inaudible] >> host: you were on the line now so go ahead. >> caller: ahead a couple of comments. first a shout out to my friends out there and a question for you, pedro. c-span always advertises that they are provided as a service by the cable companies yet you can't get c-span on basic cable at all and i will just leave that work there. my question for the congressman.

aren't you a gentle man that was a comedian some years ago? [laughter] >> guest: though, slight misspelling of the name. >> host: this is a key from florida. republican line. are you there? [inaudible] let's move to oklahoma city. this is christian. hello. >> caller: ibb you said this gentleman is an allman farmer summit: is that correct? >> guest: correct. >> caller: have you ever taken subsidies for your farm and if so, why and if you are worth a million dollars why would you take subsidies? >> guest: i don't take subsidies. no, they are a good crop to have and it's been a great way to raise my kids, farming the way

that i grew up from a small family farm, no subsidies. and you for the question. >> host: the white house makes a push on the highway infrastructure. what do you think about this effort and how does it affect tn especially where you live? >> guest: right now we are dealing with a situation where the funding stops and many of the states that received transportation funding some of which have extreme weather conditions this is their building time so if you stop building for a month or two months it's completely shuts down the system and they have those ongoing projects for the next year so we have to get a short-term bill done what we are looking forward to having a long-term bill that not only has secure funding so we have a full five-year funding bill but certainly one from my state and we would like to be able to keep more of ou their own money and utilize it to fix but only the freeways that are falling apart

at the infrastructure we are one of those states that has a lot of ports and we are the largest agricultural states we have a love of goods that move from west to east and we need to make sure we are improving infrastructure. >> host: what is the best way to fund these efforts? are there other ways you think that could be a better way to fund the highway transportation? >> guest: already people are paying way too much and i think it is an unfair tax but i also think the gas tax with new technologies that isn't keeping up so right now it is a two-year bill which we need five years worth of funding so we have to look at new sources of revenue. we are going to become a nation that is energy independent we ought to do so by utilizing that

legal and natural gas and being able to help fulfill that cost. >> host: sandy from texas on the republican line. >> caller: can you hear me? >> host: go ahead. >> caller: i'm talking about the agricultural thing. i understand that australia has completely mechanized except for strawberries their agriculture and if some of the profits could be used for machines. i understand the only thing that can't be is strawberries so maybe we should use -- >> host: are you there? finish your thought. >> caller: i can hear other people. >> host: that's okay, finish. >> caller: every town in the united states as a mexican gang of over 100,000 people every single city and we have a

4-year-old girl killed by a mexican gang. we have 100,000 people just a small-town and we have a four year old girls weeping in her bed and was shocked by drive-by shooters that were mad at her brother that were mexican gang members. so we need to do something and that is all i have to say. >> guest: thank you. first on the farming standpoint, i'd grow wings and it's completely mechanized. we do everything from shake the trees to allow them to drop to vacuum them up and then put them into a truck. we are seeing more become mechanized as we move forward. let us, strawberries, there are quite a few that are still not that i think as we move forward in the future you will find more technologies and ability to be able to do that. we do leave the rest of the worlworld in technology especiay in agriculture as well so i would say we would be on the forefront of that but in the

process we still have to make sure that we are providing food to the rest of the nation and the rest of the world. milk is another example. in the dairy industry you can't not know cows any day of the week. they have to have a consistent leader for us to make sure that every single day they are getting milk so they don't get sick. from an agricultural perspective we will always need some type of labor but i agree, fixing this overall situation the games are getting worse and the challenges within the community where people are not reporting their crimes is getting worse which is why we need to solve the problem. again having people pass background checks and having legal status whether it is professional or having an extension of the 40% of the people that have come here that are a part of that 11 million came here on illegal visa so we need to take a look at the visa network and call those people back in and make sure that they are not only in a position theyn

they can be employed in a position they can be not afraid to come out of the shadows and report crimes. we have to have a safer community. by solving the immigration policy will do that. if you are a gang member you are hoping to get a provisional or legal status or pathway to citizenship. so, we have to be able to have those background checks, find out who is breaking the law, find out who is victimizing the community coming and then we either incarcerate them more we are able to deport the small amount that are actually praying on our community. >> host: what is the likelihood something will happen to be with the situation before congress goes on its summer break in a few weeks? >> guest: a thing we have to do something immediately. the break starts august 1. that's when we are back home in the district working for a month and then we come back in september to washington, d.c. ng. every day, that number not only grows but every day more people

search across because the word is spreading that our border is open. we've got to do something immediately both on the appropriations bill as well as securing the border. i think we will get that done this year. whether we can get it done the next two weeks will be a challenge. host: representative jeff 3spspan3 >> "washington journal" continues. >> we are here to talk about financial literacy in the united states. good morning. the financial literacy group, what is it >>