mary todd lincoln is our first lady we will investigate. sundays at 8 p.m. eastern on american history tv on c-span3. coming up an update on the gop race. we will hear from several potential candidates starting with chris christie. and then bobby jindal and after that jeb bush who announces his presidential intention next week. later it is senator ted cruz who announced his run back in march. >> here are some of our featured programs this weekend on the c-span network. fox news contributor says

liberals are against tolerance and free speech. and former deputy director of the cia on the successes and failures against the war on tv. and on american history tv kevin mcman on the strategy behind president nixon's supreme court appointment and the impact he had on the court and american politics. and sunday night at 6:00 on american artifacts we vised the national museum of history depicting the slave revolte and the after ppmath. get our complete schedule at cspan.org. >> next chris christie talks from new hampshire.

the governor hasn't officially announced he is running for the gop presidential nomination. this event called politics and eggs was held at st. anselm college college. he was in iowa this week as well. [applause] >> good morning. thank you all very much. i really appreciate you coming this morning. thank you for the introduction very much, fred, thank you for starting this. appreciate it and i look forward to taking your questions. there is lots of things i could talk about this morning and this is my 9th trip to new hampshire since january. and i have talked about a lot of things and given major policy address said here on issues like entitlement reform, tax and economic policy and on america's role in the world. but i think given the times we in and some of the events of the

last couple weeks i want to spend a few minutes off the top before questions talking to you about our nation's security. the fact is as noted in the introduction, my forming years as a public servant began with president george w. bush nomimated be to be the attorney general for the state of new jersey. i took the next day off from work and contemplated the next steps of my life thinking the jobs as united states attorney in new jersey would be one of fighting organized crime, violent crime in the street and fighting political corruption. the next day september 11th 2011 my wife, who is with me at 6:15 left our house drove to

the train took the train to her job in lower manhattan two blocks from the world trade center. she came across my younger brother who made the same commute every day to his job on the floor of the new york stock exchange. i took our kids to school and then came home and what you all will probably remember was an absolutely flawless day and went out for a walk and think about how my life and career were going to change. my life did change. i came back into my house after the walk and the first building was on fire. and i called my wife to check in on her. and as you might recall she said there was a plane that must have gone off course and flew in the trade center. she said she could see the trade

center. she said it seems like a lot of fire. while we were on the phone the second plane hit the building and she was evacuated to the basement of her building and i didn't hear from her -- that was 9:00 -- until 2:30 that afternoon. i can tell you it was the longest five and a half hours of my life. we had three young children. seven, and five and one. i had to spend that next five and a half hours thinking about the worst. how would i explain to my children our children if they no longer have their mother? i think that in this country, unfortunately, over the last 13 years of relative tranquility on the homeland some people in

america have begun to have amnesia, amnesia about how we felt that day and the days after september 11th. if i had told you don't worry we are going over 13 years without an attack on the homeland. you would never believe me. we are anticipated the next attack was coming and coming soon, right? but because of the efforts of the president, the justice department, the department of homeland and our intelligence community and our military, over the course of the last 13 years we haven't had another attack on the homeland. and i remember two weekends later when we started kids soccer we stood in the open field in our small suburban down

of new jersey and every time a plane came overhead the parents on the sidelines' heads would jerk into the air. never happened before. but we were frightened something might happen again. when you think about that when you think about where we were as a country, when you think about the fact that mary pat and i lost a good friend in our perish and home town who was in the world train center that our oldest son andrew his best friend lost his dad that day. when you think about the personal cost in my state. we lost more citizens on september 11th than any state in america other than the state of new york. we attended the funerals. we more importantly watch the loss that continues to today. that young man, my son's best

friend in high school, still to this day post on september 11th on his facebook a picture of his page saying dad, i haven't forgotten you. unfortunately i fear some of our leaders in washington have forgotten forgotten. you cannot explain the conduct of the congress in the last couple weeks any other way. to weaken the patriot act, weaken our intelligence community's ability to be able to intervene as plots are being hatched and devised around the world by people who are still as intent today to kill americans because we are americans as they were 13 years ago is mind-boggling to me. now of all of the people who will come to politics who were thinking about running for president of the united states all of them, you are looking at the only one who actually used these tools.

the only one who ever had a review application of the patriot act and signed off on them. the only one that has prosecuted terrorist and sent them to prison. we did the first terrorism case post-9/11 in new jersey. an indian born who was attempting to sell shoulder fire missiles on the black market to a terrorist whose stated purpose was to shoot airliners from the sky adjacent to newark airport. he was prosecuted given the tools given to us through the patriot act and sentenced to prison 50 years. given he was in his 60's i don't think we will have to worry about him. and used the tools again to intervene in a plot named by the press 666. six, self-radicalized muslims in

new jersey who plotted to attack fort dicks and kill american service men and women. using the tools available to us post-september 11th we intervened in the plot, captured these six men, tried them, convicted them and sent them to prison as well. the moves by the congress this week, led my members of our own party, to weaken america to me was a national disgrace. and be assured from someone who has done this work america today is weaker and more vul vulnerable than it was three weeks ago. there is a nasty dirty world out

there and we have taken tools away from the people helping. we have made their job more dangerous and difficult. we should have this national conversation on it and have it robustly. you can be guaranteed of the fact i will. giving stem winding speeches on the floor of the united states senate is not leadership. raising money of those speeches is not leadership. the men and women of our intelligence community have been degraded by partisan democrat senate report at the end of last year.

did you believe we are suffering from a real case of amnesia? 13 and a half years now is a gift that has been earned by the blood and sweat of death and the efforts of our military and men and women in law enforcement and our intelligence community. if congress is concerned, con vene committees and conduct oversight over the intelligence community and law enforcement community and hold them to toughening -- task. i want them to comply with the law. you know with everybody, some of the folks on capital hill took away the tools and if god forbid

there is another attack on the homeland they would be the first to convene a hearing on capital hill and bring the fbi and cia director up and make them swear on oath and tear them apart in front of american people for not connecting to dots to score more political points without acknowledging for a moment they made the job of connecting those dots harded for the political exex expedeancy -- harder -- they chose to take today. i am as much a beneficiary and defender of civil liberties of anybody in this room but i will tell you if you can do these things you can keep the homeland safe. and we must. and you can protect civil liberties at the same timeism i will end with just one thing. this nsa dagering information

they have now prohibited they would have you believe if you listen to them they were not just daggering phone numbers and comparing numbers to see if that phone number spoke to any phone number of a known terrorist, which is what the program is doing, they would have you believe the nsa was sitting and listening to your conversations. it is a lie. it is a lie repeated over and over again. and who they rely upon for their information -- edward snowden? edward snowden? a criminal. a treasonist criminal. who is now lecturing us through the new york editoral page under

that great libertarian vladimer putin. imagine the irony; "the new york times" giving a forum to a trader who lectures us from russia about civil liberties. if it wasn't so dangerous it would be hysterical. if this were a movie you would shake your head but american leaders are responding to a trader who turned tail and ran from this country and the only people who would september him were the dictorial regime in russia who regular repress their own people for civil liberties. that is who we are taking advice

from? that is who is glide -- guiding our homeland security? those inspired by leadership need to speak out. not just minor platitudes like i want civil liberties protected and the homeland as well. sound like 14 of our candidates? make them take a stand. what do you believe about what was done the last two weeks in washington, d.c.? believe, this is a conversation that won't end and shouldn't end. the first and most important part responsibility of the president of the united states is to protect the lives of the american people. and unfortunately i believe our national leaders have made that more difficult over the last two weeks.

all of the things i can talk about, all of those issues were secondary on september 11th 2011. you were not complaining about your taxes at that point. you were not complaining about the economy at the moment even though you wish it may have been more robust. not complaining about research education or development or the other issues that are important. fema's support mission is safety to the lives of american people. we need to make sure we have a president who understand that and who is strong enough not to yield, not only to the threats from the outside, but from the

political threats within. so while this is certainly not the most upbeat or humorous remarks i could have given, maybe we will be able to laugh during the q&a. but the fact is we need to think about this everybody. in a live free or die free state, the collection of veterans who put their lives on the line to protect this country, new hampshire should lead on this issue. i have happy to sign more eggs and more than happy to take questions about anything you might like to ask me about.

we have a few minutes to ask questions. the only thing we ask is you identify yourself so the governor knows who the ring leaders are. i know you did a lot of work on entitlement reform and we have people here from aarp. i believe berry has our first question. >> governor, i hope you don't mind me coming back again. >> welcome back. >> thanks for your platform and statements. i feel a little belittled to ask this question following your speech, but in a follow up to entitlement reform and social security which you set forth a couple weeks ago, three questions. number one is: is social security a top level priority of yours?

number two: your plan of raising the retirement age and other things is great for the future. it seems to be playing the numbers. but that may not last more than you know, 20-30 years. what would you think would be necessary for something like 50-75 years out? and number three: since you can't be a real lone wolf in this what steakholders would you convene to help your vision come to fruition. -- stakeholders -- >> it was the first one that was ready. i chose to talk about entitlement reform because entitle entitlements take up 71% of the budget now. if you aspire to national leadership you better deal with

something you spend 71% of your tax dollars and your debt on. so it is an enormous pro priority we make social security sol solevant. second, the social security administration has a life expectancy that is undersold and oversold fertility. bad combination, right? we need to get realistic about that and make sure everything we do is about reacting to the human condition that we find. we are living longer lives. the average life expectancy of a woman is now 83. the average live expectancy of a

many is 79. i see a bunch of women smiling out there. ten years ago you had a six year lead on us. so we are gaining, ladies, we are gaining. the last piece is with any type of major changes to programs this important to the sit -- citizens of our country you have to convene stakeholders all over. i am a republican from new jersey and i know i will not get the last word or everything i want. my proposal is putting forward the best idea and starting the conversation. seniors who are beneficiaries today and investors need to be convened. young people at the beginning of their career need to be convened. they want to know if the program

we are investigating today will exist when we reach the retirement gauge. and folks in the middle taxpayers need to be convened because they are investing a huge amounting social security and medicaid and medicare. we need to make sure across age barriers people get the chance to speak their mind. here is what i think is absolutely unacceptable. it is absolutery unacceptable not to deal with and that is what we are doing. simpson bowls raised this issue in a stark and direct way. other leaders across our country have done it. tp has been talking about it for years. people who care about our country and future are talking about this. it is now time for the leaders starting with the president of the united states to deal with it so there is solvency over the long term. i think i answered all three. >> yes, sir?

>> thank you. my name is steve. thank you for your comments on national security. i have a question about personal security. i think you are aware of carol brown, a woman who was killed in her driveway by her psychotic ex-boyfriend. she filled for a gun ownership permit april 21st and there is a 30-day state law she is supposed to get a response from the town. it never came through and she was killed. i think there should be reform in new jersey on the gun ownership policies. i would your thoughts on that. >> yeah so do i. but unfortunately, and i say this with all sincerity unfortunately new jersey is not yet a dictatorship and the fact is our legislature is moving the exact direction. we have some of the strictest

gun laws in america depending on the way you look at it second or third most strict. and almost every one of those laws was signed into eaffect before i was governor. i signed a few bills with public safety but for the most part i have been vetoing bills that would knackmake the gun laws mor restrictive. i am dealing a democratic legislature, that is what the new jersey is given me, they have a different view of the second amendment like i do and sounds like you do. they will have to answer for these things. there was apparently a protest in front of a senator's home for folks regarding this issue. i issued a pardon yesterday to a young man who was an armored car driver who legally owned a gun and put the gun in his glove box

and got distracted and forgot to take it out and got pulled over for a registration violation and told the police officers he had a gun he legally owned in his gun box and was arrested and had to plead guilty to a felony under our gun laws. i pardoned him yesterday because i think that, you know no matter what law they pass, the governor does have the right to look at the administration of justice and if i think an injustice has been committed, i have under the constitution the power to do that. that is the third person i have pardoned under new jersey's gun laws that and thought was inappropriately charged and convicted of a felony. so, you know this is going to be a constant conversation we need to have. i think this situation will bring about more conversation but i am not confidant it will

bring about change. >> i am representing joe peachtree, district 2 farmington. last week you spoke at town powell about congress' role of forcing ethanol in the renewable standards. i have seen first hand, and that was yesterday, the damage of the effects of ethanol on anything. actually it was a weed eater yesterday. in light of the epa's recent proposal to roll back the amount of ethanol blended into the gasoline supply would you support reforming this policy to protect consumers from the cost of this broken policy? >> well listen what i said before about this is that congress has to decide what they want to do here. they have renewable standards on the book they are not enforcing

and haven't enforced. if they want to change them, and that is the president's problem he hasn't enforced them and put them into effective, congress put them on the books. so the president needs to do one of two things. either take them off the books and do what you are suggesting. or enforce the law as it is now. the way now we live in a nether netherland of in between. let the president state where he is at, let the congress do or not do what they are saying is their position before we weigh in. whether it is ethanol, or another alternative, need to be evaluated with a price of the overall advantage. we need to do things like further exploration for oil and

natural gas. we should use every tool we could to exploit the oil under the ground in the safest way. we need to be lifting the oil export ban in the country so we can use what we have to help ourselves help our neighbors and go-politically. in new jersey, 53% of our electricity is generated by nuclear power. in new jersey, another thing you would not assume we create the third most solar power in america behind california and arizona. again, because we invested in those things as a government and a private sector. brought thing

do is the market ethanol has to be prioritized. i would set out a national policy and we would make those decisions based on cost and effectiveness of programthe program. not above anything. that is where i would make that judgment >> congressman michael harrington. [ >> i would like to get your thoughts on a number of i suppose, components that go into this; minimum wage a range of other productivity.

what are you thoughts of dealing with that issue that is able to be measured over a couple generations? how would you address it and what is the role of government given there is an inference about a difference of opinion on what the role of the government should be? one can say it is provocotive the pay of ceo's and the average working today which is a hazard when giving poplar understanding of this. >> sure. first off, you know let's deal initially with the role of government. i think that has been stark in the last nearly seven years. this president believes government's role is to pick the winners and losers in our society. he does it all of the time in terms of what he supports or is

unwilling to support. he believes the government should be deciding these things. i don't. i believe that the best way to determine economic success or failure is for that to be determined by your work ethnic innovation, and that is what makes america great. this president doesn't believe in growth. he believes in redistribution. and it is obvious everywhere because when they talk about income-inequality the first thing they talk about is minimum wage. are there any families sitting around the kitchen table saying if our daughter could make a higher minimum wage all of our dreams for her would be realized? if you listen to the democrats that is what they would have you believe. a higher minimum will not bring anyone into the middle class

even even. it is driven by an opportunity inequality problem. when you have an economy growing at no greater than 2% every year since the end of the secession and last quarter contracted we need to take a whole difrn approach to the way the government is trying to manage the economy -- different -- my view is we should stop trying to manage the economy. what we should do is lower our tax rate i talked about this in our speech, the highest rate shouldn't be higher than 28%, which is where it was when reagan did tax reform and the lowest rate should be single digits. we should get rid of most of the deduction deductions because charitable contributions and mortgages. on the corporate side we need to do the same thing. we have the highest corporate

tax rate in the world at 35% and we are one of the few countries in the world including north korea, that taxes the money twice. an american county that makes overseas and if they want to bring it home we tax again. and we wonder why there is $2 trillion made by american companies overseas that is staying overseas. what does that do to the tax base? people want the high rate of 35% for corporations. 35% of 0 is 0. raise to 60% and it would still be zero. we need to encourage those folk do is repatriot the number and tax it at 8 and three quarter percent.

you make the requirement that you invest it in this country. that money comes back and begins to narrow the income inequality. this president spent more time talking about income quality than anybody on the national scene. his administration, the income gap you referenced, has gotten worse than any other president in our history. why? a lot has to do with his own policies, right? we have unlimited borrowing that is going on. he has layered more debt on the nation than any president in history and he the easy money policies of the fed -- we have -- that benefits the investor class. the stock market is over $17,000. the investor class where i am from is doing really well. i am a republican. so i don't feel a genetically

necessary to criticize everybody who is successful. that is what democrats do. i am happy for the investor class if they are doing well. that is great. we don't need to protect them anymore, though. we need to focus policies to get to 4% of economic growth and that will narrow that gap, that will raise more people up with the middle class, and people who haven't gotten gaps in 15 years will see them again. we have seen this and have economic groat in the country in the '80s and '90s. and so those are the kind of things i think the government needs to be doing. lastly, investing in research and development and innovation because the great next generation of jobs will be in an industry, if we are going to be successful, that we don't even know about. it is because of american innovation we have been able do

that always. think about this i remember i don't know how many years ago it was now, when these things first came out. i didn't want one. i didn't need one. i had my flip phone. it was great. i opened it up it was small, i called whoever i wanted and could hear them. who needed this? guess what the american people decided. now everyone has one of these. take my word for it. i cannot go anywhere without getting a picture taken. there used to be relief because not everybody carried a camera. now everybody has a camera. doesn't matter if they are nine or 90. and 30% of them know how to do selfies. the market determines things and american innovation brought this to the market and it created a domino affect of jobs created off of this. we need to invest in those

things and continue to partner with the private sector to do that. if i am in the national debate i am not arguing about the minimum wage. it is not that big of an issue in terms of doing what you are talking about doing which is to address that yawning gap that exist in our country to raise middle class wages which is what we really need to do in the country. that is how i think we should approach it. >> thank you. you mentioned opportunity. my name is lauren collins. i am honored to be part of the conversation in the state about the opportunity gap not necessarily related to income but the notion children born into a certain station in life don't have access to the american dream for a variety of factors. i am curious what you see is key

to insure the child has the same access to the american dream regardless of where they are born. >> we are having this conversation in new jersey for this reason. we have one of the most expensive k-12 systems in the country and in the urban areas with economically disadvantage children we are failing at a startling rate. i think the opportunity gap problem that you refer to is exclusively driven by education. you know edgeicationucation is the great equalizer for this. in the public schools and urban areas they are failing. it is because we are trying to teach those children the same we we teach other children under different economic circumstances. if you live in an area where your parents are working two,

three or four jobs to keep a roof over your head or food on the table they are not home at 3:00 when you get home from school to say have you done your math homework let me sit down and read with you, let me review your book report. lots of people say it is because parents don't care. there are some that don't. but what is happening in society because the question the congressman asked is the president talks about creating jobs but the beginning of the recession in early 2008 there is four million more people doing part-time jobs and 3.2 million fewer people doing full-time jobs. americans are working two or three jobs to try to make ends meet. we need to approach education different in different areas. it can not be a one-size-fits-all. how are we teaching everybody

the same way we did in the 1800s. looking at the black board with one person standing in the front of the room from 8:30-2:30 eight months a year. if we don't change that we will not be competitive in the next few years with other countries. we know having the whole summer off doesn't seem to help kids. in new jersey, kids are not leaving school to go till the fields. it is not happening. we are signing them up for summer camps and doing thing do is keep them busy over the summer, right? the kids in the urban areas are missing out on opportunity. they need more instructional time. they need a longer school day and stay there until 6:00 at night so they can go home when

their parents go home. and they need that time in school for people to help them with their homework and move them along. we need a longer school year. there is no reason k-12 education is a eighth enterprises. we pay teacher salaries year round for eighth month jobs. who wouldn't sign up for that? we need to adjust the model. why aren't we? one reason and one reason only: the teachers union. that is it. when you watch this presidential race coming up and you look at hillary clinton, please make sure you look to the extend she discloses this as where she is getting her money from. i am willing to bet you today, that single biggest group is the

national association of the american federation of teachers. guaranteed. take it to the bank. and if she becomes president, she will be a complete defender of an education system that puts the comfort of adults as its first priority not the potential of children. and so if we want an honest conversation about the opportunity gap we better have that. and it will make you unpopular. take my word for it. i have had tens of millions spent against me. there is commercials on the air from the teachers union attacking me right now in new jersey web ads, tv ads, radio ads. in my first term they spent $20 million. during my temp not the campaign. if you dare to speak out and say we need to reform the tenure system so that after three years of work you don't get a job for life regardless of your

performance. if you dare to say things like you need to work a longer day and year for the full-time salary and benefits and pension we are giving you. if you want to have this conversation that is one we need to have and that will make some people uncomfortable. we all like teachers but i believe they deserve a union as good as they and they don't have it. that is how with we will approach fixing the gap and that is what the silver bullet is. those kids get a great education, there is no limit on where they can go if they don't, they will not be able to fulfill the gap you are talking about. that is the conversation we need to have i think. >> thank you, governor. first of all, a quick comment from a lifetime long person who lived in new jersey my mother in law said if you see the governor thank him for not raising my taxes. so i want to pass that on as a

good son-in-law. that means i married a good jersey person of course. seriously, question i have is there is a lot of things in the news about the transpacific partnership and it has been buzzing back and fort. what are you thoughts on this? and you know can you tell us a little more from your perspective if you think this is a good or bad deal. >> i believe in the work ethic of the american people and i believe we can compete when given a fair chance to complete anywhere. i am generally a favor of free trade. i am not a huge truster of this president's ability to negotiate on behalf of american interest. i believe in trade promotion authority but i don't know if i

would give this president that power. this as a guy that is negotiating a deal and making iran a nuclear power. trade deals are important to expand america's markets, to bring our products to other people and theirs to us, and to allow american competition to continue to be what drives us to be the number one economy in the world, but i want to make sure that the deals we negotiate are fail deals for american people and workers. so if we had a president who i thought we could trust, put american interest first at the table, and remember who you are representing i would be for trade promotion authority and i am sure when you get someone like ttp in the shape it needs to be a force for good in the world not only for us but other countries we engage in the partnership with. i have concerns about the president's ability to negotiate anything that represents a great deal for america and i think the record is repeat with examples.

i think that is a factual comment. but in general, i favor trade yes. >> pass it on. [inaudible question] >> it seems like a lot of candidates whenever you ask about immigration the first thing they say is we have to have a fence on the border and the candidates don't talk about the rest of the policy. we have 11 million undocumented persons living in the united states. what would you do to deport them either or create a path to citizenship? >> well, first off, i don't agree with the end of your question which presents only two

alternative alternatives, neither are preferable so let's start there and work our way backwards. we have a lot of undocumented folks in new jersey and i meet them working around the state. i have never had an undocumented person saying the reason i came to america is because i wanted to vote. not one. what they say is i came to america because i wanted to work. now there should be a couple facts we can all agree on this discussion. fact number one is people are not going to self-deport. self-deportation is not going to happen in general. a few might decide they want to leave but for the most part it isn't going to happen. fact two, as a former law enforcement officer i can tell you there is not enough law enforcement officers in the country today at the federal, state and local level combined

to deport 11-13 million people. we can say whether we like it or not, agree how we got there, whether you are outraged we are in the situation, but that aside -- if you agree people are not going to self-deport and we don't have enough law enforcement in the country to deport the people you start to narrow the problem. the question is would you forcible deport them? i don't believe we have the resources to do that at the numbers there. but i don't believe we should reward people who engage in illegal activity by giving them citizenship to the united states of america. as far as a fence or wall -- there may be particular parts of the bord whereer where a fence or wall is helpful but i am not a

against or wall guy. i have never seen a fence or wall that someone couldn't find a way over under or around if determined enough to do it. there maybe sections where that is appropriate given the terrain buchlt the -- but the idea of building a fence around the whole border is something to said to pander people. we need to use human power to secure the border. but the last piece is employeers are part of the problem because folks come here illegally to work, not to vote to work. if we don't employ people who are undocumented they would start coming. there should be significant penalties for employers going forward when hire undocumented

workers. you want to secure our border? stop encouraging people by the they will be employed once they come. you want immigration the americans will support and changes to address the 13 million we are talking about. they need to be sure we have a president will inenforce the laws on the books now before allowing for changes to the people here. that is a political reality. we have a split congress a republican now, finally everybody, those are our only three options. we haven't succeeded. this tells you something about the political will of the american people on this issue.

i hope i debunk the idea that everybody up here stands with the border. that is not where you need to start. you need to start by acknowledging concern facts on the ground today. and i don't believe in a pact to citizenship because i don't believe we should be rewarding illegal conduct with citizenship in the united states. there are lots of other options to deal with these folks for the 11-13 million folks who are here and we should have a conversation about that. but we should acknowledge the things that are absolutely true. they are not going to leave on their own and we do not have the resources or the will to deport 11-13 million forcible. >> maybe i can ask the last question. the congress is going to be debating the xm bank. as it looks now it will go out

of business this summer. it has been in existence 80 years and a lot of exporters in new england have had positive experience from the bank. your thoughts on if the congress should renew it? >> no they shouldn't. and the reason for that is when you look at overall the priorities of our country, the way we should be spending resources, how we should be dealing with the economy, i don't believe the export/import bank should be a priority and i think we should rely on the private markers and i am not a supporter of the export-import banks. i would not urge congress to renew it. i know people disagree with that. but the fact is i don't believe it is an appropriate expenditure of limited resources in our country. there are other ways that will serve the economy and country better than doing it that way. >> with that, the governor has a

busy day but he has been gracious with his time and meeting with all of us. he is willing to stay a couple minutes to talk individually. i want to say the governor he's made himself approachable and available and he is direct with his answers and it is refreshing to find someone who doesn't look at the polls to give an answer he is comfortable in his own skin to say the least and we want to thank you for all of that you do. [applause] >> on c-span's road to the whitehouse more presidential hopefuls announce their road to the whitehouse.

former secretary clinton kicks off or campaign live from the fdr freedom park at 11 a.m. eastern. on monday morning we are live at dayton college where jeb bush announces his running and on tuesday donald trump announces whether he will make a bid tr the presidency at 11 a.m. eastern. c-span's road to the whitehouse 2016. >> now a conversation with potential presidential candidate governor bobby jindal of louisiana. we stat down with the wmur to talk about the surveillance program, health care law and gun violence. this is 25 minutes. >> good evening, i am josh

mcelveen and your guest is louisiana governor bobby jindal. i will ask questions and let the audience get questions in a town hall format. bobby jindal was born in baton rouge, louisiana, and graduated before going to attend oxford university as a road scholar. he worked as a consultant then appoint appointed as the president of louisiana system and then called on by president george bush to serve for the health and human services where he advised to dhs secretary. in 2004 bobby jindal was

elected to the congress and in 2007 elected as governor of louisiana. he believes in reforming entitle systems and offering more forms of education. he is married with three children. >> that is quite a resume. when did you decide i will take a hard look at the presidency? >> that is a great question. for me it is the same reason i ran for office the first time. i never thought i was going to be in politics. sabrina and my wife had three great childrenment we had our first child and were worried if we didn't change the state or children couldn't grow up in louisiana and now i have that worry for american. i want my grandchildren and all of the children to inherit the

same american dream we in hibited from our grandparents which is the idea that the circumstances of your birth don't determine your outcome. >> it wasn't long ago you were deemed the if not one of the rising stars in the republican party, but now we are looking at a huge field. how do you get momentum when you have bigger names that need to raise money? >> two things. one thing i did differently, we are the only one that spent the last year and a half with detailed information on health care education, foreign policy. as an example, a lot of republicans wanted to get rid of obamacare and we are the only one who offered a detailed plan on how to do that. we need the next president who wants to do something, not just be something. how do we get to energy independence and invest military and reverse decline on the

international stage. we are the only one offering detailed, specific plans. secondally we have the make the size of the federal government before it overcomes our private sector economy. i think it is one of the biggest threat of the american dream. i reduced the size of your budget 26%. we have over 30,000 fewer government employees and the private sector is growing three times as fast over the economy, top ten state for job creation. after 25 years of out migration seven years in a row people are moving into the state. so offer detailed plans and we have a proven track record. >> national security is a huge issue. where do you stand when it comes to gathering record in the interest of national security? >> our agencies have to have the tools that protect us from

terrorist and that is not only the threat abroad but here in the homeland. we must have the tools to go after the radical islamic terrorist. i know the president doesn't like to say that but that is the enemy we are confronting today. we can give the agencies the tools to protect us what violating the rights of every day americans. the agencies shouldn't be able to sweep up and collect the records of innocent americans without a court order or any sense there is a connection of radical islamic or terrorist groups. let's give them the tools but not violate the rights of every day american. when the actual author of the patriot act is saying this has been used in ways we didn't intend. i think our elected leaders can come up with a balance and give the agencies to tools but let's not give mass collection. >> a reason is necessary? >> absolutely.

and supervision and oversight. they can do it under a court order. give them the tools to prevent the attacks and hunt down and capture the terrorist. we need to do a lot more to go after the terrorist here and broad. >> it is interesting to point out you come from a state that dealt with hurricane katrina and the oil spill off the coast of louisiana recently which was devastating. from the standpoint of the presidency what did you learn from those disasters that would apply to the president? >> i think one reason i am bias toward governors is we have today in office a one-term senator who never ran anything. one of the things governors have to do is work with the legislature, balance our budgets and respond to unexpected disasters. i was in congress when hurricane

katrina came but governors for two hurricane and the oil spill. you learn you have to do deal with the unexpected. you have to learn to cut the red tape in burrocracy. during the oil spill, the federal government too often got in the way. it was clear we were dealing with an administration that had never ran anything and too often believed the best case scenario. during hurricane season in louisiana, as we are now in another hurricane season hope for the best and prepare for the worst. this administration didn't do it. they believe the best forecast from bp is and others instead of saying what if the oil spill last longer? what if there is more oil in the water? they were not will to listen to people on the front lines. they don't have noble prizes but they live on the water and came up with the best idea to protect

the homes and way of life. so the bottom line is i think when you have governors, let's be honest there is no job that prepares you for the president of the united states but when you have governors running the private sector they know when not to trust the burr. >> let's take a quick break and get to the studio audience. >> sounds great. >> all right. stay with us. >> now conversation with the candidate continues. >> welcome back. louisiana governor, bobby jindal, republican is our guest. time for questions. first coming from bennett chandler. >> welcome to new hampshire.

>> thank you. >> a simple but probably not easy to answer question is what would you do to protect us from isis or isil or whatever we call it. >> i think we have to fight it military diplomatically and culturally. the president's failure to have a strategy -- we created vacuums in iraq and syria. isis is unique and they have to hold on to territory for them to have the caliphate. if we destroy their ability to hold land, it doesn't mean we will destroy the radical terrorist, but we can destroy their ability to continue the propaganda and recruit folks. in syria, you may have seen the fight in kobani you saw alliance between allied airstrikes and kurdish groups on the ground and we were

successful. that partnership works if the allies believe america is committed to the fight. he drew a red line and didn't enforce it. a lot of sunnis want to help but they don't want to prop up an iranian satellite. they are worried fighting isis could strengthen iran and syria. similarly in iraq you had the president withdraw the troops due to political deadline and created a vacuum isis exploited. so the president gets the authorization of military force with a three-year deadline and ban on ground troops. he is the first commander in chief to tell our enemy what we will not do. we should say we are not putting handcuffs on the military advisors and fighting the fight

to win. that would mean more arms to protect the kurd. being clear that assad has to go which would encourage our sunni allies. and i think we can win that. we need to do what it takes to hunt down and will the military. that is not enough. i mentioned military diplomatically and culturally. we have a president who doesn't want to say islam. he is busy criticizing medieval christians talk about the crusades at the national prayer breakfast. i would like to have more honestly and clarity from the commander in chief. he needs to call on muslim leaders to condemn them by names. the individuals terrorist are not martyrs and enjoying a reward in the afterlife but are

going straight to hell. he needs to call on muslim leaders to say they support the rights for people of different religious beliefs in their home. then it shows we are serious about fighting the enemy culturally. and we need to make sure people coming here are coming for freedom and not to undermine people. take the political handcuffs off our political advisors and work with our allies and we can beat them. we will not win the war against radical islam on less we do it on all three fronts. >> next question from dan. >> appreciate your time. the afford care act provides coverage for my wife daughter and my college sophomore gets to enjoy the plan for seven more

years. my question is what would your administration look like for people enjoying the affordable care act and people benefiting from the medicare standards? >> i would like to repeal and replace the affordable care act. that does mean i want to go back to the way american health care was before the president passed his health care bill. i think the president was right about the problems with health care. he talked about affordability and then senator clinton and senator mccain said he need a tax he opposed both. he was right we need to make it more affordable. we have a specific plan on american next. it has 16 policies organized around three principles. one, affordability. let's lower the cost and do it by changes -- changing the tax

accounts and help with saving accounts. secondally we need to help the vulnerable who are priced out because of pre-existing conditions and otherthi -- other things. we provide $10 billion a year to help the states. we do things like not requiring people to exhaust their coverage the cobra coverage who moving to the individual market. we require states to access that money to help people with pre-existing conditions the high risk pools and other guarantees they can get affordable hillary clinton. we need to reform medicaid as well. you may have seen the studying

oregon that showed after two years there was no improvement in physical health care outcomes. we have a program spending a lot not very aefficiently. there are better ways to expand to those who need help. and third we can provide consumer choice and afford affordability. i do want to get rid of obamacare. i don't think it did what it was intended and put people between doctors and patients. but going back to the status quo before this was passed isn't acceptable. we need to keep the best health care in america. when you get sick anywhere in the world this is where you want to be. our middle child needed open heart surgery before three months old and we wanted to stay here and get the surgery. this is the best place with the best doctors and the best health care. but far too many americans cannot afford that health care.

we have a detailed plan to get that done and involves helping folks that need it but doesn't involve taking over the medicare system. >> next question from mary lou beaver. >> according to a study published by the center for integrity, 28,000 children and teens were killed by guns between 2002-2011. your state, louisiana, had one of the highest number of gun deaths due to homicide. if you are our next president what will you to do protect america's childrens from gun violence? >> a couple things. there is a bill this year that would encourage better education for our children. there are various good programs in our schools about gun safety and i think that is certainly a very good and responsible thing. parents should be doing that independent of whether the schools do it or not.

my wife and i for example, we have guns in our home, i have taken my boys hunting, they have used guns and we have taught them they are very responsible and they understand every gun is loaded, these are not toys, not to point them at anybody. when my middle child first went hunting his friend's father said if you are going to point a gun at something, you will shoot it and if you shoot it you will kill it and if you kill it you will eat it. he wanted to shoot all of the squirrels and we said you will eat them all. it is important in louisiana in general we have a culture of hunting and outdoor activities. we want our children to understand and respect guns and understand these are some things that should be handled with a responsibility and not treated as toys. broadly speaking i think nationally there are policies

we can put in place. in my state, we worked hard to make sure records of those with mental health issues or other reasons, that information was being made available to the database, so folks who should not be getting guns were not getting guns. there are things to make sure the system of checks and balances work better. i am not in favor of taking away law-abiding citizens rights to have guns. it is an important part of the second amendment rights and i don't think it makes us safer. there are things that start in the home. i mentioned our boys. we taught our girl as well. all three kids have gone to a range with instructors and understand how to do it safely. we are considering legislation to do gun education in our schools for the kids that want it. and we made reform to make sure

mental health records are accessible in the background system and i would encourage that all over. >> thank you for the question. let's do a social media one. this is coming from john, big issue, how would you clean up the immigration mess along the southern border? >> let's understand what the problems are today. number one, we don't need a comprehensive bill from the senate, house or washington, d.c. we need the president, and the congress to secure the border. period. they keep talking about it but they need to do it. >> first step is seal it? >> that is right. and let's just do that. our overall immigration system is exactly backwards. we have a low wall and a narrow gate. that is the opposite of what we need. we need a high wall and a broad gate. we need a broader gate in that we need to make it i think,

ease for those who want to come legally. i think we make it too hard. right now our immigration policy is making us weaker. we educate people and then kick them out. if people want to learn english, assimilate and come here to work and get an education or get a job and contribute the economy that can be good for us. my mom was pregnant with me and i think our country is better off having folks who want to work and con trucontribute to the economy. we allow people to come get

education in our schools and kick them out. i will say one thing that is not talked about enough in the immigration debate. republicans talk about securing the border and we need to do that. but we need to talk about assimilation as well. we used to be proud to be the great melting pot. that is a great strength. one of the things i love about the country is doesn't matter if you have been here five minutes or 80 years you are an american. there are some on the left saying we are not a melting pot we are a salad bowl. some would be saying it is culturally arrogant to say it is better to be an american. anybody wanting here should want to be an american. i think one of the things week do that would be an improvement is stop calling our several hyphenated americans. we are not african-americans or

indian-americans. we are all americans. >> gale taylor. >> regarding the citizens united decision what specific reforms would you advance to end the corrupting influence of money in the political system >> great question. i am not for limiting speech but i am for disclosure. i think it is important to know where the dollars are coming from. we should have a level playing field so people can participate in the process. you mention the corrupting influence of money in politics. i was in congress for three years before leaving in the middle of my secretary term to be governor. what i saw concerned me. it isn't a republican or democratic issue. we need structural reforms if we are going to try to get rid of the corruption. i would like to see an end to the revolving doors where

members go to be lobbyist. i would like to see a part time term limited congress that abides to the same rules that apply to the both of us. the founding fathers did not intend this to be a life long profession. they intended farmers and family members put down instruments and went to washington, d.c. temporarily and came home and lived under the laws they were passing for everybody. i would like to see reform to balance the budget reforms where they can't grow the spending faster than the economy without a super majority vote or raise the taxes. we may our legislatures a per diem. instead of doing that i would like to pay congress a per diem for every day they stay outside of washington because mark twain once said your wallet is safest when the legislature is out of town. we have seen too much power and

influence aggregate in washington, d.c. you may have seen the "washington post" series doing the top ten counties are in the boom area. that is not helpful. that is not the real world. that is not the real economy. at a time when you don't see middle class rages rising you see a record low participation in the workforce, you see the gdp barely growing at all. i think it is good the congress got rid of ear marks and they instead of doing appropriation bills they are doing it in the tax code. it is easy for the republicans to say they don't like this. it doesn't make it better when republicans do it for our friends either. so a flatter, simple tax code protects from those abuses. some of the changes may require changes to the constitution and requires a radical change of the

culture in washington, d.c. >> thank you for the question. time is flying. almost out of tv time. what when are you going to make a decision on getting into this thing and what are the bench marks? >> we will make the decision after june 11t. i want to feel like i can make a contribution and difference. we all say the next election is the most important one. no politician gets up here saying don't worry about this election stay home. but it really is true this time. if we don't want to mortgage our children's future -- i think our best days are ahead of this but we have to put a republican in the white house. this president is bankrupting the country here at home and abroad. we don't want to be the last generation enjoying the american

dream. cephal >> best of luck moving forward. that is all of the time we have. once again while we sign off this conversation with bobby jindal continues online as well as our mobile app and you will find a full 30 more minutes of commercial free program with questions from the audience. have a great night and thanks for watching everyone. >> now a conversation with jeb bush who is expected to a announce on monday he is officially eptering the gop presidential race. the former governor sat down with the wmur to talk about the race. [applause] >> good evening, and welcome to the conversation with the candidate series i am josh mcelveen . our guest this evening is former florida governor republican jeb bush. i will be asking some of the question at the start and after a quick break we will have our

studio audience jump in with questions in what is a town hall time format. let's look at the potential candidate's biography. >> jeb bush graduated from the university of texas with a batch bachelor of art before moving to miami to help a former real estate country. he served as the florida secretary of commerce and established one of the state's first charter schools was elected as the governor in 1998 and reelected in 2002. recently bush launched the right to rise pac saying to support candidates that embrace strong education for all. he lives in miami, he is married

with three children and three grandchildren. >> four grandchildren! >> you have an insider's perfect on how difficult being president might be. why do you consider you might want the gig? >> i think we are at an intersection if you fix big complex things that are not easy to fix there is a lot of gridlock. if we don't, it is safe to say we are in decline. this is a moment in time where leadership matters and i believe i have the skills to convince people, i can fix things and i ask cross the aisle and deal with the broken systems around us. >> you are asked about your dad and brother everywhere you go. how difficult is that to answer a question when asked about how you feel when when you are asked

to second guess what they did? >> i am going to have to get better at it. i am loyal to my family. i love my dad. i love my mom. i love all of my brothers and sisters. it is part of who i am. my brother doesn't care if i am critical of the decisions he made. but i am. it is something that is important to me. i don't feel comfortable about doing it but i will get over that because i want to talk about the future more than anything else. i think the key is the last two republican presidents happen to be in my family, but it is important to learn from all of the former presidents so we don't make similar mistakes and learn lessons so the country moves forward. >> when it comes to the iraq war in hindsight what do you think? >> we could have said maybe roosevelt should have engaged in the european part of world war

ii more. if we knew six million jews were being murdered we should have came in sooner. but the not focus on security were mistakes. that doesn't mean we would not have had to dealt with hussein and i think the world is better off without him in power. the current president departed too earlier and created a void that has been filled. the isis army took over ramadi where a lot of blood and treasure was shed to create stability in iraq. >> let's fast forward to january 2017 you are president of the

united states. who is your first phone call? >> both republicans are the only ones who do the right thing -- how do we reweave the web that is important and rebuild trust so we can figure out ways when we do agree we don't have to fight? we can pause and have thoughts on deeply held reviews and solve problems. i think that is one of the essential elements of our democracy. it doesn't work if is always about a winner and looser. governors know how to do this because they have to balance the budget and get agenda through are bipartisan support. >> let's talk about immigration. very decisive and different

opinions. how do you take your idea and come together? >> you have to have a president people trust will adhere to the law. this president signed executive orders that are unconstitutional. he is using this as a political wedge issue. there is no confidence that in this administration there is a serious effort to enforce the border or enforce the rule of law. so i think you have make a solid commitment the laws existing should be adhered to and make the case shifting from a broken legal system to one that is a catalyst where all benefit i think that is important. democrats and republicans support that idea. >> what model of immigration reform do you find to be the most successful? >> the canadian model. half a million people come with

a broad we are the only one with adult siblings and papers in this situation and chain migration is crowding out economic immigrants. if you narrow the people coming from family and expanded the number of people coming for economic purposes i think people would like that. create a guest worker program, allow people to graduate from our great universities with a stem degree stay. and dealing with the 11 million people here illegally the practical solution is to give people a path to earn legal status. they don't commit crimes pay a fine, learn english, don't receive federal government assistance and they work. and that is the solution i think, to deal with a huge problem, which is what do you do with 11 million people in our

country? you cannot deport them all. but we can create a path where they can earn legal status in recognition of the fact they came here illegally. >> we will take a break and get to the audience questions. >> looking forward to it. >> we will take a quick break and be right back. stay with us. >> now conversation with the candidate continues. >> welcome back to conversation with the candidate. tonight's guest is former florida governor jeb bush. time to get the questions. ...

nothing gets done because there isn't the leadership to forge

consensus. in my post gov.'s life i've stayed actively involved. we created a foundation to deal with education reform. that works in 40 states. we work here to help the effort to pass a scholarship program in new hampshire. i've been actively engaged in all sorts of causes and involved in business and i've been a successful governor. >> let's go to the next question from brenda mcdermitt. >> if president what would you do differently regarding land? what would you do to harbor the development of nuclear weapons? >> either we won't have a deal by the end of june or we will. most people believe the people really want a deal so bad that he'll just get one. it creates a real problem i1.

it creates a real problem i think because depending on what the deal says as it relates to verification, we are at least excepting iran as a nuclear threshold nation. other countries in the region that feel cut threatened by them for good reason, because they are making efforts to destabilize destabilize the reason region as we speak. imagine a world with persian gulf countries and iran both having nuclear capabilities. it is one of the biggest challenges of our time. i hope i hope this deal gets scuttled. i hope if it is done it's verifiable. i hope the congress asked to have a voice in this industry proven if necessary. i'm afraid all the stuff leads me to believe that we will eliminate sections, the iranians are going to have missile defense capability that the russians and

the ability to have a military deterrent or use sanctions to get iran to join the community of nations is going to be minimized. it's hard to tell what the options are but i think we i think we need to be vigilant in the region and vigilant as it relates to the intentions of iran. while we are negotiating with them they are sponsored in hezbollah and shiite groups. they are participating through sponsorship in yemen of a complete unsustainable situation there. they are helping fund support for hamas and of course they are involved in trying to destabilize the persian gulf country. this is not the kind of country you can actually think will be someone who will fulfill their agreements on any agreement that is forthcoming. >> thank you very much for the

question. >> governor bush you have been quoted as saying, i think the best way to repeal obama care is to have an alternative. could you please tell me what that alternative would look like and how you would ensure that low-income children and their parents here new hampshire do not lose access to the care they currently receive? >> great question, i think politically just being against something, you something, you run out of gas at some point. i think people generally know that republicans are against obama care for a lot of good reasons. we have to be for things if we are going to be successful and govern and lead. my believe is, first of all it relates to protecting those near or at the poverty level. we have existing programs that have nothing to do with obama care. we've protected those programs and they are important for low income families. in a medicaid program could be a

catalyst for improved healthcare as well. unfortunately obama care doesn't reform medicaid. i medicaid. i think we should be shifting these programs back to the state, creating some criteria around them and then allowing them to innovate and create better outcomes and more focus. in florida we did this within powered care, it was called for medicaid. we gave choices for low income families and we gave them counseling and allowed them to pick the plan that best met the needs of their families. we actually created a families. we actually created a higher premium for those who had acute info illnesses and a lower premium for those were who were healthy. the result was we lowered costs and got better costing got better care. as it relates to the broader obama care issue, i think the exchanges without all the mandates is not a bad thing. in fact it was a conservative entity that propose this a long time ago.

we shouldn't have employer mandates and employee mandates and all the mandates that it create these extraordinary costs. people should have costs. people should have choices. i think ultimately we should move to a consumer directed model for healthcare where you have low premiums, high deductibles for businesses and government wherever appropriate they provide premium support. where you have catastrophic coverage. what you're saying as a society as if someone has a life-changing illness, their family won't be devastated for a long long while. give people that peace of mind and give them choices and focus on preventing disease more than just reacting to disease. it is so extraordinarily

expensive what we have now. i think we can do that. the other thing i say is embrace the technology and our mists. i'm so proud of my little iwatch. i haven't been able to figure out how to use it yet but i know for a fact, five years from now, these devices can be used to now, these devices can be used to monitor your health, send wireless messages to make sure if you're not taking your medicine right your healthcare provider knows or your caregiver knows. making life allowing people to take in control of their own control of their own life. i think we can lower cost and improve quality of carefully do that. >> let's take one from social media. are you on facebook governor? >> oh yeah. >> we follow twitter but i don't necessarily read i don't necessarily read all the nice things that people say to me. >> i noticed that anonymous is kinda scary. people can be really ugly. >> were back to foreign policy

now, what will you do to stop isis from committing terrorist acts in the us? >> first of all we should approve the patriot act for crying out loud. this is so troubling to me that as time goes on our memories fade. in the passage of the patriot act, a decade ago one of the tools that has kept us safe and kept us free. people just repeat the belief that somehow our sibyl lever civil liberties are being violated. there's no evidence of that. people just keep repeating something as though it will be accurate. there are safeguards in these programs to protect our civil liberties. there is evidence that these programs has helped us be safe. the first thing safe. the first thing i think of is to protect our shores and protect the homeland. to keep us safe and the patriot act is one element of that. i would say first and foremost right here in the next few weeks, we need to pass the patriot act. second i act. second i would say we need to reengage in the region in the world. as we pulled back and as we lead from behind, this new language

that is so uncommon for american leaders to talk about, we've created voids. those voids are filled by islamic terrorism and by aggressive nationstates. the united states is not a case of war or holding back. there is a middle ground that has been the night bipartisan ground. we lessen the chance of putting boots on the ground and men and women in harm's way if we are engaged and develop relationships with our allies that they know we have their backs, starting with israel. including the other tr nations. that is how we regain our footing in syria and iraq. it doesn't mean we are going to have a hundred thousand troops on the ground. it does mean people need to know we are serious and we are engaged in this. we need to create a coalition to narrow isis influence and take them out. that can be done. it shouldn't be done for

political reasons. i find it troubling based on watching history unfold from my perch that everything seems to be political eyes now. you have to make sure that you are marrying the sentiments of the here and now. the minute there's a terrorist attack or now. the minute there's a terrorist attack or beheading, americans say why are we in an environment that is not secure. presidents need to lead and have a strategy. this this president doesn't have a strategy as it relates to isis. >> the next question. >> i've already spoke about energy on the campaign trail. perhaps trail. perhaps you saw a poll that said 80% of republican voters in new hampshire think energy is a priority. >> energy is kind of the life

blood. to get it right will allow us to have a commitment to conservation and reduce carbon emissions but also allow us to re- industrialize the country to give consumers the first good deal they've gotten in six or seven years. when you think about lower energy prices which is occurring in most places as it occurs to our utility bill and gas prices this has happened because of the energy revolution that's taking place in our country. i find it interesting and i repeat this a lot because it does show the difference between people who believe in freedom and free market and people pursuing their dreams as they see fit compared to the progressives that think they are smarter than the rest of us and craft these proposals and ivory towers or in rooms where bureaucrats hangout in washington d.c.'s. so compare the revolution that has created this explosion of increase of natural gas that has

brought lower prices for consumers and now investments to reinvest the country. the stimulus was provided smart people from great universities in the northeast were put in the room and said we are going to pick the winners. this company that company turns out that the free society where people are pursuing their dreams creates more innovation and better results than the smart central planners. i think we should apply that lesson as it applies to energy overall. they're all sorts of sanctuaries and we've created this industrial policy as it relates to energy. i think we should faze all of those things out in a a thoughtful way and let the interaction amongst us and the desire to progress in conservation be the two principal means by which we balance our economic interests which we need to grow far faster

in our environmental interest which arm important as well. >> thank you for the question we only have a few minutes left. let's go to our next question. >> governor bush welcome. you supported a ballot initiative in 2002 that a ballot initiative in 2002 that required florida to provide access to pre-k for all state four -year-olds. is that a goal that all states should set and if so what role would you play as president in encouraging more access to early education question mark. >> i think states should decide that. in the florida case this universal pre-k or voluntary pre-k was a great idea because we had a real strategy to ensure that more children were functionally literate by the end of third grade. we were lagging behind for sure. florida has 57% of its school-age kids are free and reduced lunch qualified. there's a lot of qualified. there's a lot of family strong

leg in my beloved state. we thought if we moved to a literacy ace for-year-old program and combine it with any social promotion in third grade, if you're functionally illiterate you don't go to fourth grade in florida. we would change the system. with system. with robust accountability to get these four -year-olds in environments that were safe and healthy as well as focusing on literacy. training teachers how to teach reading and all of that together created the greatest gain in reading in any state in the country. we have 70% of our four -year-olds participating with government support in for-year-old programs. it's the largest voucher program in the country by the way for those who thinks this isn't a conservative idea. 80 or 90% of the kids are in private providers. and it works. we have had gains in learning that would defy your imagination. i do think in the case of florida is the right thing to

do. i don't think washington should be dictating anything. educating our children has to be in national priority. one third of our kids or maybe 40% of our kids are college or career ready. i know we have 80% graduation rate in high school but that's not relevant if you can't get into college and start taking college-level courses. starting early and having accountability and empowering parents with choices, all of that is part of an effective strategy. >> thank you very much for the question. we only have about question. we only have about a minute to go. a lot of people are probably wind wondering when you can expect you to make a decision. >> a decision. >> while the decision is coming soon. i've been all over the place and listening and learning a lot and were getting to the point where i need to say yay or nay. i'm excited about getting to that point so if i can get going on this i can be more direct about the ideas i have about the future of our country. >> have you learned anything on the campaign trail?

hillary clinton said she was surprised to learn substance abuse was such a problem. >> i've always known that. as governor we dealt that. as governor we dealt with a huge tragedy that people talk about. i've learned about heroin addiction in new hampshire with this high-grade heroin that is now imported. it's a serious problem. you go to other places and you see methamphetamine. we do have a soft underbelly in our country with domestic violence and a lot of challenges that people come up and talk to me about because they know we were involved in it when i was governor. >> were i was governor. >> were going to continue this discussion but this will and the tv portion of our interview. we have ted cruz coming up next. why we are signing off from television tonight don't forget this conversation continues online as well as our mobile mobile app. the be more questions and commercial free. thanks very much for watching have a great night.

jeb bush will make his official announcement on monday in miami. there will be live coverage starting on c-span three. >> in march senator ted cruz became the first republican to enter the 2016 presidential race. he sat down in manchester new hampshire last month to talk about education, isis, and healthcare. >> good evening everyone and welcome to our conversation with the candidate. our guest this evening is ted

cruz. we'll be getting to know him and where he stands on a lot of the key issues. to start the show i'll be asking him some questions and after break will bring in the studio audience to ask questions in what is a town hall style format. before we get to any of that let's take a look at his biography. >> ted cruz was born in elk canada but grew up in texas. he graduated from princeton university and harvard law school. he served as the director of the office of policy training at the department of justice. he is also the solicitor general of texas and an attorney at a private firm. he taught litigation at an adjunct of instructor. he argued 43 oral arguments including nine before the u.s.

supreme court. he was elected to the u.s. senate in 2012 and considered himself a passionate fighter for limited government increased growth and constitutional rights. rights. he and his wife live in houston with their two young daughters. with that, senator cruz, good to see you. >> crate to be here. >> let me start here by asking a question. you are warning canada. any questions surrounding eligibility there. >> there are no serious questions. my mother was a u.s. citizen. u.s. law has defined the child of the u.s. citizen born abroad as a natural born citizen. a citizen by birth which is what the constitution requires. it's actually, but number of times. john mccann kane was born in panama. mitts romney's dad was born out of country. barry goldwater was born in arizona before arizona was just a territory. the legal question comes up multiple times but it's clear that a child born abroad is a natural born citizen. >> a natural born citizen. >> you spent a lot of time in new hampshire but for those who

don't know you the national persona of ted cruz way far to the right guy who's convicted in his belief but won't reach across the line. is that accurate? >> know it's silly but i don't think anyone is surprised that the national media doesn't always present a fair picture, especially of republicans. i'll tell you what i set a compromise announced this is what i said i'm compromise announced this is what i said the day i was elected. i'm happy to compromise with anybody. i've joked that i will compromise with martians if they are willing to shrink the size and power of the federal government and willing to pull back on the debt and deficit that is hammering the future of our country. what i have tried to do in washington and what i was focus on are some common sense principle. don't bankrupt our kids and grandkids, follow the constitution, it's only in

washington d.c. or in the national media that those are viewed as radical orix dream propositions. if you get a hundred americans together at any state in the union and ask do you agree with those propositions, those propositions, those are basic common sense values. that's what we need to do to turn the country around. national security and isis is a huge concern in this country. they're talking about arming the sunnis. what is your take and what will be approach. >> i think we've seen for six years that the obama clinton foreign-policy is a manifested disaster. it doesn't work. leading from behind what that has resulted in today our friends and enemies don't trust us. one of the first things president obama did was he took the bus to winston church hill

and returned it to the u.k. as an opening statement that this is the kind of administration you are going to see. if you look at the relationship of the nation of israel. we've never seen a president more antagonistic to the nation than this one. including just a few months ago when president obama boycotted the prime minister's address. on the flipside our enemies do not fear us. every region of the world has gotten worse. all across the globe. right now we see isis not long after the president dismissed them as the junior varsity. isis is the face of evil. they are beheading children and journalists. >> so what we do question mark. >> we need a president who will stand up for u.s. national security interest, who will confront the evil we face. you cannot win a war on radical islamic terrorism with a president unwilling to utter the words radical islamic terrorism.

were looking at this bizarre doublespeak coming out of the white house where those words are never uttered by the president, he will not define the evil we are facing. what we need to do is have a president who will stand up and say we will defeat radical islamic terrorism. we need a military strategy to take out isis. what that should entail is overwhelming airpower directed at taking out and destroying isis. number two we should be arming the kurds. the kurds are longtime allies of us and they're fighting us right now. isis has american military ice weapon tree that they have seized from iraq. the kurds are fighting without class weaponry and this administration refuses to arm the kurds and they send the weapons to baghdad. the kurds are at a very real sense our boots on the ground but the problem fundamentally, is that we haven't set the

objective of destroying isis and we don't have a commander-in-chief who pursues it seriously. >> you have been a very soft-spoken critic of the president but in your estimation has he done anything right? >> osher. when he was elected, there wasn't a person in america who wasn't hopeful that this president could be a transformational figure. that this president could bring us together and unify us. he had and inspire inspiring personal story. he was the first african-american president. he had the potential to become. he campaigned saying there weren't red states and blue states but we were the united states. we hoped that states. we hoped that was what we would see. part of the reason it was so disappointing is it there was promise there and yet he has proven to be the most partisan

president we have ever seen. he has govern like a hard-core left just jamming through policies that have hurt millions of americans. you ask if he's done anything good. we've all been very glad that we have finally captured and killed osama bin laden. those of very good thing and we salute the brave field team members who took out bin laden. that took far too long to happen. but i'll tell you right here in washington, pres. obama doesn't you, right here in washington, president obama doesn't talk to members of congress. he doesn't talk to republicans or democrats. you want to have an interesting conversation, get a democratic senator or member of chris when the tv isn't on over a beer and talk to them about how the white house doesn't have any conversations with them and just doesn't alone with an imperious this. that's why almost everything he's done has been through an executive order and dick ties to

against the constitution welcome back to our conversation with the candidate. ted cruz with texas is here let's get right with the audience questions. >> let's get it started with angela. take away. >> when it comes to the discussion about immigration republicans are often wrongly labeled with immigration. i believe our current system is prohibited. would you create support a streamlined policy that would be similar to a modern-day ellis island? >> absolutely. i think you are exactly right. when it comes to immigration i am short-term pessimistic and long-term optimistic. the reason i'm long-term

optimistic is because i believe there's a lot of bipartisan agreement on immigration outside a washington. we have to get serious securing the border and finally stopping the problem of illegal immigration. i think there is also considerable bipartisan agreement on what you just asked that we need to improve and streamline legal immigration. we immigration. we need to remain a nation that doesn't just welcome but celebrates legal immigrants. i am the son of an immigrant who came 58 years ago legally from cuba. when my dad came from cuba he was 18. he couldn't speak english. he had $100 in his underwear. he had been imprisoned and tortured in cuba but he came

here to wash dishes making $.50 an hour to go to school and go on and have a business. today he is a pastor just outside of dallas. we are all the children of immigrants. we are all the children of those who risk everything for freedom. i think the way to resolve immigration right now, the reason i am short-term pessimistic is because administration is not seeking to solve this problem but they are focusing on amnesty and a path pathway for those here in the country are ready. you need to focus on common area of bipartisan ground. if i'm elected that's exactly bipartisan ground. if i'm elected that's exactly what i hope to do is bring people together on common ground to pass commonsense immigration laws. >> thank you very much for the question let's get the next one. good evening senator. >> speaking on behalf of senior americans, is social security with the current funding plan it schedule it to go out a money

with that in 17 or 18 years from now. what things do you have planned for making sure that doesn't happen and securing social security for today's seniors and future generations? >> it's in an incredibly important question. i think what washington is doing is reckless. as you noted it is letting them go toward insolvency and bankruptcy. we need leadership to step in and save and preserve and strengthen certain social security. the way to do so, those are fundamental bulwarks of our country. for those seniors who are on country. for those seniors who are on social security or near retired, there should be no changes whatsoever. we made promises and they have counted on those promises and we need to honor the commitment. for younger workers, i'm 44 if you talk to people my generation, it is hard to find someone in their 20s or 30s or 40s who believe social security will be there for us.

that gives an opportunity for reform. if you have a couple generations who understand this thing isn't working and we need to reform it with leadership we can do that. how would we do it? three simple reforms would improve social security for the younger generations. number one gradually re- raise the retirement age. when they sign social security into law the retirement age was 65. average life expectancy was 62. now we are living just north of 78 years on average. we need to gradually raise the retirement age and give them time to plan on it. we need to change the rate of growth of social security benefits. it needs to match inflation rather than exceeding inflation. but third and this is the piece that i think is most important, for younger workers, we need to give younger