to meet or. thanks for inspiring us to be humble, to always give just a little more than an honest days work, to have courage and deliver a life of faith. we love you, mom. [applause] margery sullivan is sitting at home in florida a little too thrilled to be with us here today, but she's been unwavering champion and safety net envoy than one occasion for our family throughout our country. we love you, too. i have a big family. been and what i said about protocol, earning their a. kind and loving aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, in-laws and outlaws, far too many to single out. though i haven't seen much of you through the years, it's pretty darn remarkable how little we've changed. thanks for all of the support. i said i would reminisce but i'm going to make one exception.

at about this time in septembe september 1974, i reported as a second lieutenant to the armor school at fort knox, kentucky. in preparing my remarks today i was struck by how much my emotions today remind me of my emotions have been. in september 1974, just like today, i was a little nervous, i was humbled to wear the uniform as an army officer i was eager to get started on a new career, and i was in love -- pardon me -- and i was in love with a girl named deanie. [applause] i fell in love with deanie when she was 15. it took her a few years to come around to the idea. by i was sure that whatever life brought my way, i wanted to experience it with her. here's the thing about deanie.

she's only one more passion than me about the military and their families. she's a better view than i am. she has for more energy than einstein predicted could be packed into a five-foot two-inch body come and she has shown an amazing patience during the trials that the company a military wife. in every way she has made me a better person. because of this has been her career, just as much as mine, it's fitting and proper to say that we are both retiring today. congratulations, deanie sullivan dempsey. [applause] so i'm almost out of water to choke back the emotion, which

means i must be near the end. what we are really doing today is transferring our passion for the standard u.s. army nine infantry squad to our own squad of nine adorable, talented and exceptional grandchildren. they are in order to enjoy kayla, mckinney, luke, alexander, hunter, emily, braden, samuel and david. now, if you want to know what our principal goal in retirement will become it's to be the best graybeards we can be. now lest they think we forgot them, i should note that would let our own children and their spouses. they had served our country, too. deanie and i have made 20 moves, most of them with the kids and they have encouraged us, adaptive come resilient and willing to share their parents with a larger military family. it's been a joy watching them grow up. althougalthough to be so we dide some difficulty convincing them

that the mayflower wasn't a moving van. i'm very happy that the g3 about my son christos gave to attend the military. and as i said, megan and caitlin have also served as did shane go along with julie and cory formed the best trio of in-laws we could ever imagine. i know although the leadership and you have it all as many as other extraordinary causes that make you great couples, great parents and great patriots. we very much enjoy your company. we look forward to seeing more of you, and we hope the feeling is mutual. who stands for read him goes with joyful tread. joyce kilmer. it has been my honor to walk with joyful tread alongside airmen and marines army for the last for just regard to invest in the world at what they do. they are our nation's most precious treasure. they and their families inspire

us to. today we trust that your new chairman. you may know the hours are somewhat stingy in complex and packages. when irishman truly respect someone they say simply, you're a good man. well, you're a good man, joe dunford. as i depart i know that you and ellyn are in the right place at the right time and the right time for our nation. thank you both for taking on yet another challenging task for our nation. speaking of challenges, there's a sense today that america's future is fraught with uncertainty and that the fabric that binds us is being mightily tested. however, i leave with tremendous optimism and absolute confidence in who we are and what we stand for. our nation and its armed forces remain the world's foremost symbols of strength, of hope and of freedom. the generation that is now blessed to serve will do its duty and will ensure that our nation remains strong.

i thank god for sustaining before the 41 years, and i pray that he keeps us all stronger it has been my privilege to wear the cloth of our nation. to all who will continue to serve after me, i ask only this in parting. make it matter. [applause] ♪

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♪ ♪ [applause] ♪ ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. at this time would ask that you please remain seated while the president departs [inaudible

conversations] [inaudible conversations]

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[applause] >> general dempsey and deanie just celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary. in their honor we perform their wedding song, close to you. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [applause]

>> it has been a journey of four decades for the general and deanie, a family first. then again, if you've served with them, you are part of the family. is irish ballad titled the voyage puts it all into perspective. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [applause] >> it just wouldn't be a musical tribute to the blue-eyed 18th

chairman without his favorite song. from the chairman of the board, old blue eyes himself, the great frank sinatra. we now perform new york, new york. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, as we bid farewell to the dempsey is, we ask the chairman to assist us in singing the parting glass. >> you know, anybody can sing that song with all those people standing behind you las. [laughter] all right, we will get you out of the rain and the second. last song. ♪ of all the money -- ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪. ..

♪ that i should ride and you should not, i'll gently rise and softly call, good-bye and joy thee to you all. ♪

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ good-bye and joy thee to you all ♪ [cheers and applause]

♪ in my mind i'm going to carolina. ♪ can't you see the sunshine, can't you just feel the moon shine? ♪ ain't it just like a friend of mine hit me from behind -- ♪ 'cuz i'm going to carolina in my mind. [applause] ♪ ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, please remain in place for the

departure of the official party. ♪ in my mind i'm going to carolina. ♪ can't you see the sunshine, can't you just feel the moon shine? ♪ ain't it just like a friend of mine hit me from behind -- ♪ 'cuz i'm going to carolina in my mind. ♪ yes, i'm going to carolina in my mind ♪ [applause] >> when you look at the role that the supreme court is playing in our society now, our history series had to have

relevance. and so as we thought about what can we do to get relevance to our current programming, a series on the court made all the sense in the world. >> the court is an equal branch of government, it's the third branch of government. it still has fundamental impact on america. >> inside this elegant building is a courtroom where cases are heard and decisions are made that impact all of our lives. there's so many incredibly interesting cases in the court's history. we've all heard about roe v. wade, we've heard about brown v. board of education, but for so many people they're just names in a textbook. and what we want to do is really talk about not only the legal side of the cases, but the people involved in these cases. they are human beings who felt so passionately that their rights were being abridged that they brought their cases to the court. >> i think what people will find most fascinating about these

cases are the personal stories. one of my personal favorites is mapp v. ohio and the story of dahl v. lamb. i think when the people hear the personal story of this woman and this situation, that they will fall in love with these cases, that they will feel passionate about what happens in the courts and why they matter and why you should care. >> picking the 12 cases was a really difficult and arduous task. it was a fun task, because we learned a lot. but those 12 cases represent really our evolving understanding of rights in america when you take a look from dred scott to the koramatsu case, you learn about the history of is the country and the evolving america. >> historic supreme court cases produced in cooperation with the national constitution center, delving into 12 supreme court cases that significantly innuanced our nation's story -- influenced our nation's story.

live monday nights at 9 p.m. eastern beginning october 5th on c-span and c-span3. and as a companion to our new series, landmark cases, the book. it features the 12 cases we've selected for the series with a brief introduction into the background, highlights and impact of each case written by veteran supreme court journalist tony morrow, published by c-span in cooperation with congressional quarterly press, an imprint of sage publications incorporated. landmark cases is available for $8.95 plus shipping and handling. get your copy at c-span.org/landmarkcases. >> the family research council recently held its annual values voters summit here in washington which included speeches by several presidential candidates. here's part of the event with senator john mccain and presidential candidates marco rubio and ted cruz. senator cruz won the event's

presidential straw poll. this is an hour and 20 minutes. [applause] >> good morning. thank you very much. welcome to the tenth annual values voter summit. and i want to thank you for being here. i know many of you went through a lot of trouble to get here, especially with the commun communist leaders staying in the hotel across the street. yeah. we're getting a little taste of what it's like to live in china. nonetheless are, we are grateful that you are here because your voice is will be heard across america. we gather at a time when the threats to our faith, our family and our freedoms have are probably never been greater since the founding of our nation. we face enemies within and enemies without. in fact, our enemies within are aiding our enemies without. but there is good news. our founders were inspired to create for us a government under

which by using our freedoms we could preserve our freedoms. and what you are doing here this weekend is preserving those freedoms that are is so dear and precious to us as americans and essential to the future of this great country. in short, the way we keep our freedoms as we -- is that we use those freedoms. and i want to use one of the freedoms that i believe is under the greatest assault of any freedom that we have today in america under president barack obama and his administration, and that is our religious freedom. and i want to start this morning and open this summit by reading a portion of scripture. it is america, and i refuse to give up my right to practice my religious freedom in public. [cheers and applause] i will give up my life before i

give up that freedom. psalm 146 says, "praise the lord, praise the lord, o my soul, while i live i will praise the lord. i will sing praises to my god while i have my being. do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man in whom there is no health. his spirit departs, he returns to the earth. in that very day his plans perish. happy, happy is he who has the god of jacob for his help, whose hope is in the lord, his god, who made heaven and the earth." given the crisis that our nation is facing, the time for being a spectator, my friends, is over. it is time for all god-fearing, all values voters to take a stand for our faith and for our freedom, and i ask you will you join me in standing for our freedom? [cheers and applause]

now is the time for every american to come to the aid of their country. [applause] there is a grave misconception that has been foisted upon this country that religious liberty is simply the freedom to pick the church that you want to attend or the ability to believe as you wish as long as you keep those beliefs between your two ears. my friends, nothing could be further from the truth. now is not the time to shrink back into silence, nor is it the time to be intimidated by the intolerant voices of the left. now is the time to stand boldly and courageously for the truth, for it is the truth that makes us free. [applause]

as we begin this summit this morning, i want to remind you of what have become, i believe, prophetic words that were spoken by president ronald reagan in august of 1984. he said this. he said "without god there is no virtue, because there is no prompting of the conscience." "without god, we're mired in the material, that flat world that tells us only what the senses perceive." "without god there is a coarsening of the society, and without god democracy will not and cannot long endure." "if we ever forget that we're one nation under god, then we will be a nation gone under." my friends, fellow values voters, social conservatives, patriots, americans, we must not let that happen on our watch. [applause]

it is now my privilege to introduce our first speaker, senator john mccain. a 22-year career naval pilot, a decorated war hero, he is the chairman of the senate armed services committee where he has worked tirelessly to defend religious liberty. and i will say this, i know it, because i have worked with him. and he has made religious liberty a top priority as he is chairman of the senate armed services committee. he was the republican nominee for president in 2008, and i will tell you as i've told him, he and i do not agree on everything. but then again, i'm a baptist, and i don't agree with myself on everything. [laughter] but this i can say with confidence, without hesitation, unequivocally: had he won the 2008 presidential election, we would not be arming our enemies

with nuclear weapons, nor would our military have become a laboratory for social experimentation. and americans who simply are seeking to live out their lives according to their orthodox religious beliefs would not be considered enemies of the state. elections have consequences, my friends, and we must not repeat the mistake that america made in 2008. [applause] i want to ask you to do me a favor. i want to ask you to join me in giving a warm values voter welcome to my friend, senator john mccain of arizona. [applause] ♪ ♪

>> thank you, thank you to my friends and your stalwarter servant leaders, tony perkins and general point kin. i'd also like to thank kathy her rod that she and the center for arizona policy do for promoting our shared values. indeed, thank you all, thank you all for the opportunity to speak with you about some of our shared concerns in the world. i know you've got a lot going on today, you're going to hear from many important speakers including a number of candidates for president of the united states. i'm the warm-up act for marco rubio -- [laughter] and lindsey graham. so listening to a former unsuccessful candidate from two presidential elections ago, which is practically a century in washington years, probably isn't your first priority. [laughter] by the way, after i lost i slept like a baby. [laughter] sleep two hours, wake up and cry, sleep two hours, wake up and cry -- [laughter]

so i mean pit sincerely -- it sincerely when i say thank you for the privilege of addressing you on a subject close to my heart and yours, the cause of human dignity in a world plagued with too much tyranny, too much injustice, too much violence, too much suffering with too much evil. that's a rather dark introduction to my remarks, and i don't want you to think i'm disheartened or resigned to a world where suffering and evil are always on the ascent. on the contrary, it's in the american character to see the good in things, to see the glass half full, to face adversity with hope and optimism. we must see plainly and fully the threats to our value ares in order to defeat them -- values in order to defeat them. but considering the remarkable global advances our values have made in our lifetime alone, we should have confidence in their continuing power and progress. i have always believed no matter how long it takes, how many

setbacks are suffered, how resilient the forces of tyranny are are, the righteous will prevail. those who terrorize and persecute and destroy can be overcome with moral and physical courage. we are on the right side of history, and we have been since our founding fathers forged a government that existed not to preserve the privileges of a regime or a class, but to protect people's god given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. it's also important to remember that our founding belief in in inherent human dignity is not limited to our own society, to the experiences of americans alone. we believe our political values to be universal. we believe that the dignity of all human life should be recognized and supported through shared respect and responsibilities. my friends, i've had differences of opinion over the years with

former president jimmy carter who is in our prayers as he suffers ill health with grace and courage. but he was never more right or wiser than when he observed that america didn't invent human rights. human rights invented america. and our allegiance to our country can't be separated from allegiance to our founding ideals and our conviction that they are the birthright of all mankind. we can manage to retain our freedoms while other populations are denied them, but not the sense of virtue that we refer to as american exceptionalism. and that made our revolution a moral as well as a political and military crusade. accepting the degradation in other countries of values we believe are are god given and universal is to relinquish some of our own humanity.

the older we get, the more we realize that the pursuit of genuine happiness is so much more than the experience of pleasure. it requires us to serve causes greater than self-interest, causes that might encompass us but are not defined by our existence alone. i believe the same holds true for the conduct of nations as well as individuals. and no cause is greater than defending human dignity wherever it is threatened, at home or abroad. we are morally obliged to confront evil. that might seem obvious when it comes to terrorists who behead their innocent victims in front of cameras and murder us in our own country. but what is less obvious, in fact, what doesn't necessarily ring true to many americans, is that confronting evil is a much broader responsibility than

killing terrorists who are trying to kill us. it includes the responsibility not to turn a blind eye to threats to the peace and security of our friends and allies and even to threats to people with whom we share nothing other than our own humanity. it includes, it includes opposing assaults on human dignity wherever they occur and whenever they occur. our opposition cannot always be military, obviously. but it should always be clear in the conduct of our policies and our public and private diplomacy, in the material and rhetorical support we give the victims of tyranny and in our relations and communications with their oppressors. there is no more fundamental right in a free society than the free practice of religion. no society that denies religious freedom can rightly claim to be good in some other way, and no person can be true to any faith

that believes in the dignity of human life if they do not act to support those whose dignity is under assault because of their faith. yet in countries around the world human beings are imprisoned and worse for the crime of worshiping god in their own way. in some places that's happening at the direction of government or with government's acquiescence. the united states should be first among all nations to denounce religious persecution in all its forms and locations even when it takes place in nations with whom we have important and complicated relations such as china and saudi arabia, for example. [applause] of course, of course nowhere has religious persecution been more extreme, more brutal than the

persecution of christians in the middle east and north africa at the hands of isis and other terrorist organizations. whole christian communities are being brutalized, murdered, driven from their ancestral homes and destroyed in a land where the faith was born and first took root in the hearts of humanity. as yet, neither the administration, the government of europe or other allies have shown seriousness of purpose in devising effective responses to these atrocities. promoting religious freedom should be in the forefront of our counterterrorism efforts. it should be central to our development programs in the region and in our efforts to build alliances with local and region alleyeders who will oppose -- regional leaders who will are advocate tolerance and pluralism. tony perkins and i wrote an op-ed on the subject earlier this summer, and i ask your indulgence for being one of the

things politicians -- for doing one of the things politicians most love to do, quote ourselves. [laughter] we wrote: america's support for religious liberty sends a potent and unmistakeable message to threatened communities around the world. america is your friend. such support builds enduring goodwill toward our country among those who would be leading their nations in the years ahead. and it reminds all observers, whether friendly or hostile, that the u.s. remains committed to a world where justice and human dignity are central to legitimate governance. the trium frat of rights we proclaim in the declaration of independence encompass all other human rights. of course, the right to life is the most sacred of all. [applause]

no other right exists without it, obviously. naturally, then, our greatest moral obligation is to oppose the taking of innocent life. it is that paramount obligation that instructs our op is decision to abortion -- opposition to abortion. i know many americans believe a child is not a human life until it's born. they are wrong. and we have a moral obligation to say so and defend the right to life of the most innocent. [applause] contrary to conventional washington wisdom, public support is growing for our position and will continue as more americans are exposed to the cruelest realities of abortion and the apparent indifferences to suffering and loss of life exhibited by some

leading abortion advocates. opportunities to restrict abortion should improve. not as quickly as we want or as much, but i have to believe that americans' sense of justice and humanity will prevail eventually. senator lupped say graham, one of -- who i'm the warm-up act for along with senator rubio and others -- [laughter] senator graham introduced a ban on abortions beyond the time a child in the womb can feel pain, which i strongly support. i know restricting abortions isn't enough, but it's a start. senate democrats blocked it from coming to a vote the other day. that's frustrating, but it won't be the final word. [applause] we'll be back again for as long as it takes until this

compassionate measure deserves the vote it deserves. hopefully, we'll have a pro-life white house to work with soon. [cheers and applause] defending innocent life should be a high priority in the conduct of foreign policy too. yet time and again the free world has been slow or inadequate in our responses to attempted genocides in the unfree world. we were slow in cambodia, rwanda, kosovo, sudan and elsewhere. we've been woefully ineffective to date in efforts to stop the horrors occurring in syria which include mass murder on the scale of genocide, the use of chemical weapons, millions of displaced, starving, innocent be people and the most brutal dehumanized form of terror arism we've yet -- terrorism we've yet witnessed. all because of a feckless foreign policy by the president of the united states. [applause]

in response to all this violence and suffering and the dangers it poses to our own security, the u.s. government has managed to periodically bomb isis targets, train about a half a dozen moderate syrian resistance fighters. meanwhile, isis and other terrorist organizations as well as russia and iran continue to strengthen their position in that wretched, utterly destroyed country. the instability this is causing is in the always-dangerous middle east is enormous and worsening. add to that the fact that we have concluded an agreement with iran that won't prevent it from eventually acquiring nuclear weapons, but will flow billions of dollars in revenues to a regime that is bent on dominating the middle east and sworn to the destruction of the state of israel, a regime that has killed hundreds of americans, remains an implacable

enemy of the united states and is also the biggest sponsor of terrorism in the world. [applause] in pursuit of regional hegemony while under the full pressure of international sanctions, iran has expanded its intervention in lebanon, syria, iraq, yemen, gaza, bahrain and elsewhere. imagine, imagine what the revolutionary guard and quds force who will be further entrenched in power by this agreement will do with a windfall sanctions relief. iran will provide more arms and more supplies to their terrorist proxies in the region and more support for tyrants like bashar assad whose ruthlessness in clinging to power has destroyed his nation and provided opportunities for expansion to isis and other terrorist forces. despite repeated assurances to the contrary, administration

officials did not restrict their negotiations with iran to its nuclear program. they made major concessions on iran's conventional weapons and ballistic missile programs. they agreed to lift of the international arms embargo against iran in five years. russia and china and others eager to provide tehran with the advanced conventional capabilities it desires will likely ignore any american concerns or protests as they routinely do today on many other issues. in eight years the ban on ballistic missiles will be lifted allowing iran to obtain systems whose purpose is to deliver nuclear weapons while under the terms of agreement it is permitted to remain a threshold nuclear state with an industrial enrichment capacity. we are allowing the middle east to become drastically more dangerous while squandering our influence there which was already at a hoe ebb thank --

low ebb thanks to the administration's policies and failures to act in response to other crises in the region. israel and other friends will face an imminent existential threat, and iran's power and influence in the middle east will be greater than any be other regional -- any other regional player should it acquire ballistic missiles and suddenly abrogate the agreement and race to develop nuclear warheads. other powers in the region, my friends, aren't going to stand by for the next few years and watch this threat develop. they'll do what they have to do, irrespective of u.s. wishes. a nuclear arms race will likely ensue in the most volatile, terrorist-ridden region on earth. we have put the lives of american soldiers at greater risk by allowing iran to develop an advanced military arsenal. our con -- concessions have greatly increased a military

response to the violation of the agreement. many pundits have hailed the agreement, and the democrats' obstruction of a vote in congress on a resolution disapproving it as a great accomplishment for the president. this might sound funny coming from me, but i sincerely hope they're right. i hope this agreement proves to be a great success in the judgment of history. that would mean our worst fears aren't realized. i'm worried they will be, and the situation in the middle east will make exponentially worse as a nuclear arms race is added to the usual violence and instability there. terrorist networks become stronger, better funded and more effective. and one of our best and most important allies, israel, confronts an existential threat that compels it to make a very hard, dangerous decision without the reliable support of the united states. i'm pretty sure considering the nature and past behavior of the iranian regime that history will

judge this agreement and current u.s. policy toward iran as a catastrophe. i would be thrilled and relieved to be proved wrong. there are times when the natural optimism of americans is challenged by exposure to inhumanity we can barely comprehend. for most of us, slavery is something we ought to -- we thought was eradicated in the 19th century. but human trafficking, slavery by another name, is thriving in the world today and not just in the dark corners of asia or other parts of the third world. it's happening in europe and the united states. each year hundreds of thousands of victims, mainly -- mostly destitute women and children -- are sold into bondage and transported across international borders to places where they are cruelly, wickedly abused. my friends, human trafficking is an issue that should touch the hearts of all of us.

i hope that you who are best placed and best positioned to address this terrible issue which is growing, when you see the pick hurs of -- pictures of the refugee camps and the young children that are having to be sold by their families in order to live, i remember being in a refugee are camp in jordan where there was 175,000 people. and a teacher was taking me around. and she said, senator mccain, do you see all these children here? i said, yes. she said, they believe you americans have abandoned them, and when they grow up, they're going to take revenge on you. thanks to this feckless foreign policy, we are sowing the wind, and we will reap the whirlwind and, my friends, american young men and women are going to have to be put in harm's way. most of all a, we need a new president of the united states who will lead not from behind, but from in front. [cheers and applause]

i end by telling you a very brief story that some of you have heard before. many years ago when i was a guest of the vietnamese in their hanoi hilton as we loved to describe it as playing volleyball and enjoying their company, we were once spent many years in conditions of solitary confinement or two or three to a cell. for some reason after a couple, about four years, the vietnamese changed our treatment and put us into cells of 25 or 30 prisoners in each cell. it was a wonderful change, as you could imagine. i'd spent at that time three years living by myself. and one of the men who moved in

the cell with us was a young man named mike christian. mike christian came from a small town near selma, alabama. he came from an incredibly poor family. he joined the navy when he was 17, later took advantage of a program, became an officer and was the co-pilot in the a-6 aircraft that was shot down and captured sometime before i was. mike christian had a keen appreciation, a keen appreciation for the benefits of serving a country in uniform. and as part of the change in treatment that took place, the vietnamese allowed some of us some packages from home which contained some of, some articles maybe of food and some small articles of clothing. the uniform that we wore in prison was a blue short-sleeved shirt and trousers that looked like pajama trowz arers and

sandals made out of rubber tires. i recommend them highly. one pair lasted me five and a half years. [laughter] and mike christian got a piece of white cloth, a piece of red cloth from these packages and fashioned himself a bamboo needle. and he sewed on the inside of his shirt the american flag. every evening before we would have our bowl of soup of undetermined content, we would put mike's shirt on the ball of the cell and say the pledge of allegiance. saying the the pledge of allegiance is, obviously, not the most important part of our day, although we certainly are privileged to do so. but in that prison cell playing, saying the pledge of allegiance to our flag and our country was really the most important part of our day. vietnamese routinely searched our cell. they came in one day and searched our cell and found mike

christian's shirt with the flag sewn inside of it. that evening they returned, called for him to come outside the cell, closed the door of the cell and beat him very badly for about 45 minutes right outside the cell and then threw him inside. and, obviously he was, obviously, beaten rather badly. the cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in which we slept and lightbulb in each four corners of the room. we cleaned up mike as well as we could. i lie down to go to sleep, and i happened to look over in the corner of the cell, and underneath the lightbulb was, obviously, with his eyes almost shut from the beating that he had received with a piece of white cloth and a piece of red cloth and his bamboo needle, mike christian was sewing another american flag. he didn't do that because it made mike christian feel better.

he knew how important it was to pledge our allegiance to our flag and country. so here in washington from time to time when i get a little disspiritted and down and disillusioned, i think of mike christian, and i think of all the wonderful people who have served our country and sacrificed for so many years, and i'm filled with gratitude and love. thank you. [applause] ♪ ♪ >> thank you, senator mccain. i am grateful for his leadership on capitol hill and his friendship as well. i failed to do something, my

actual official duty when i was up here morning, so i'm back momentarily to actually gavel open the 2015 values voter summit. [laughter] [applause] let me tell you, this is going to be a huge event. [laughter] so i now, under the authority invested in me as the president of the family research council, i gavel in the 2015 values voter summit. [cheers and applause] and i'm going to take this with me, lest one of the speakers wants to use it. [laughter] >> all right. thank you, tony. for you pastors out there, can we all agree that you can forget the gavel, you can forget an announcement, but we must never, ever forget the offering. amen? [laughter] all right. well, our first presidential

candidate is a cuban-american native of miami, florida. a graduate from the university of florida, so he's a very proud gator. he was elected to the florida house of representatives in 2000. in 2009 he ran for the u.s. senate against sitting governor, governor charlie crist and overcame a double-digit lead to win his senate seat. [applause] he is, he is the true american success story, a tea party favorite and a champion for values voters all over america, and now he seeks your vote to be the next president of the united states. ladies and gentlemen, would you please welcome senator marco rubio. [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ >> thank you very much. thank you. thank you very much. thank you.

well, thank you for having me. four bottles of water here, isn't that a bit much? [laughter] thank you. i'm really honored to be with you, thank you very much. it's an honor and a pleasure to be with you here today and exciting times for us in terms of the future of our country. we face extraordinary challenges but also some real opportunities, and that's what i wanted to talk about today. in fact, i wanted to announce a couple of policy initiatives today i haven't discussed before, so i actually put it in writing, and the good news is i finally was able to retrieve them from my e-mail system. [laughter] the bad -- so that's the good news. anyway, thank you so much. i'm really honored to be here today with all of you who are motivated to participate in the public square because of our values. and this is important, because we've always had this debate about, well, what role should faith play in your life, and what role should faith play in politics. that's a silly debate. for starters, our country was started on the idea that every human being has rights that are given to you by god.

not by your government, not by the king, it was a revolutionary idea. [applause] and second, as a christian i am taught from the earliest days of my life that i'm supposed to model jesus christ, god made man. and that means i'm supposed to care for the less fortunate. i'm supposed to try to be humble. that there's strength in weakness. that my job is to care and love for my human man because there's never been a person that god didn't love. so people better hope that my faith influences the way we govern, because these are important values, and unfortunately, they're eroding in our country. i'm honored to be able to run for president. it's an extraordinary opportunity and one that i'm grateful. it's been over five months now since we started this campaign. at virtually every event that we do i'll meet someone or i'll see something that reminds me of my parents. my father worked as a ban quest

bartender in -- banquet bartender in rooms just like this. many of you probably know this by now, but both of my parents were born on the island of cuba to poor families. and they were born into a society like most, if not every place outside of america, where there future largely depended on what their parents did. my mother was one of seven sisters who was born to a father who, because he was disabled by polio as a child, he struggled his whole life to find and keep jobs that allowed him to provide for his children. my father actually had it even tougher. his mother died when he was only 9, and the day after her funeral at 9 years of age, he had to go work in the streets of havana with his father. he had to leave school. he would never go back to school, and he would work for the next 70 years of his life. after my parents were married in cuba, they wanted something better for themselves and their own children. and so in 1956 they came to america. to the one place on earth where

people like them could have a chance. and their early years in america were not easy either, but you know that in time they found good jobs. my father worked, as i said, as a bartender. my mother was a cashier, she was a maid, she was a stock clerk at kmart. they earned enough money to buy a home and raise a family and retire with security. and even though their jobs often required them to leave home before dawn and come back after bedtime, they were able to be there in the most important moments of their children's lives, to provide for our needs and to teach us the values that we needed to be successful. when i tell that story, i'm often reminded by people that i don't come from privilege, and the truth is if by privilege they mean wealth and power, that's true. i didn't inherit any money from my parents. but i nonetheless believe that i actually do come from extraordinary privilege. because i'm the citizen, i'm a citizen of the single greatest nation in all of human history. [applause]

a nation, a nation founded on the fundamental belief that every person has a god-given right to go as far as their talent and their work will take them. a nation founded, a nation who says to us that even the son of a bartender and a maid could have the same dreams and the same opportunities as someone who was born into wealth and into power. but i was also privileged because i was raised with something that's become increasingly rare. i was raised in a stable home by a mother and a father, man and a woman who were married. [cheers and applause] who loved each other, who loved their children, who were an act irv presence in our life -- active presence in our life and raised us to belief that if we lived with the right values and with a faith in almighty god,

there was nothing that we could not accomplish. today that american dream that my family achieved is slipping out of reach for far too many. our economy has fundamentally transformed since my parents' time. in fact, it's very different than the one i grew up in. rapid advances in technology have replaced old jobs with new ones, and globalization has forced us into competition with dozens of other nations for jobs and innovation. and yet while our economy is transforming, our government policies are not. we have, unfortunately, a political class in this country that refuses to toss out its old and outdated ways of thinking when it comes to our economy. the way of thinking that says we need guardians in government to protect us from ourselves. but to help someone climb up the economic ladder, we have to pull someone else down. and that government, not the family, is the most important institution in society. our outdated leaders fail to recognize the changes that it will take to seize the promise

of this new economy, and as a result that promise is passing us by. today businesses are dying faster than they are forming. the cost of everyday life is soaring while wages remain the same. and too many parents feel as if the longer and harder they work, the further they and their children are falling behind. i want to be clear about something. even with our many challenges america is still the best equipped nation on the planet to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities of this new century. ask yourself this, is there any country on earth you would rather be? is there any country you would trade places with? or here's another way to think about it. when was the last time that you read about a boatload of american refugees arriving on the shores of another country? [laughter] so america is still special. but recent years have proven that our exceptionalism is not self-sustaining. that we didn't become special by

accident, and we aren't going to stay that way without effort. we're not going to stay that way by looking to the same leaders and the same ideas that have led us to this point. i believe the american people are looking for at this moment in our history is clear, they are looking for leaders who understand the changes that have occurred in our economy, who understand the unique challenges that are facing our families in this century, who will come here to this city and fight the status quo that is holding us back and in its place offer clear alternatives for the future. now, the political class sees this sentiment, and they try to make sense of it all, but they can't because never before, certainly in my lifetime, has the political class of our country or mainstream media that covers them for that matter been more out of touch with the american people than they are right now. [applause] look, look at the deal with

iran. look at the deal with iran which is basically just a series of concessions to an enemy of the united states. the american people realize how bad the deal is. they oppose it by an overwhelming two to one margin. and yet washington still can't and won't stop it. and the issues like this are numerous. they're so big, they're so consequential, these issues are so generational that people cannot help but ask how can it be, how can it be that we sent a republican majority to congress and yet they're still not able to stop our country from slide anything the wrong direction? -- sliding in the wrong direction? [applause] and we'll see how things progress. just a few minutes ago speaker boehner announced that he will be resigning. [cheers and applause]

and with all due respect to the people that serve in government, it is important at this moment with respect to him and service that he's provided to our country, it's not about him or anybody else, and i'm not here today to bash anyone. but the time has come to turn the page. [laughter] the time has come to turn the page and allow a new generation of leadership in this country. [applause] and that extends to the white house and the presidency as well. [cheers and applause] and that's why, that's why after just four and a half years in the senate i decided that i would run for president. because i realized that none of

the problems i got elected to solve are going to be solved if we keep promoting the same people to higher and higher ranks within our government. here's the simple truth, here's the simple truth. to set a new precedent in washington, we need a new president in washington. [applause] we need, we need a president who understands that economic transformation we've undergone is a perfect chance to reinvigorate the free enterprise economy, not to abandon it. a president who will fight washington's special interests in both parties, not be co-opted by them. who will take clear and even unpopular positions to confront the greatest threats to our nation. and most of all, what we need is a president who on their first day in office will put the left hand on the bible and their right hand in the air and promise to uphold the entire constitution, including the right of religious liberty. [cheers and applause]

to uphold the entire constitution, including the right to religious liberty, including the right to bear arms and including the right to the god-given and inalienable right to life. [cheers and applause] sadly, it's been almost eight years since we had a president like that. but if i have the opportunity to serve in the highest office in the land, i promise you that i will live by that creed, and i will believe by that pledge. because when i'm president, i will empower our people rather than our government. and i will do that by recognizing that you cannot have a strong people without strong families. [applause] the truth is, the truth is that

what happens in our house, in your house, what happens in my house is more often than not just as important for the future of our country if not more so than what happens in the white house. but too often, too often -- especially in recent years -- washington has tried to compete with the family rather than support it. in fact, it's tried to redefine the family. it's possessor -- persecuted and now even prosecuted those who do not agree with the new direction those seek the take us. it has punished marriage, the foundation of family life, by taxing married couples more than singles. it has made it harder for parents to keep what they earn, and it has challenged the values of the faith organizations that have provided the centuries of empowerment to our people. i have a plan to reform our government in a way that empowers families to thrive in the modern economy, and a major component of this will be reforms to family leave policy that i'd like to introduce for the first time here today.

now, i said a moment ago that one of the reasons why i'm so privileged is that i was born to two parents who were married and who were able to be a coffin instant presence in -- a constant presence in our lives. this was an extraordinary, an enormous advantage for me growing up. and that's why now as a parent i struggle with the demands of public life, the public life that i've chosen. it pains me. every time that i have to miss a volleyball game or a football game or a field trip. even though i know that i'm doing this for them. and this struggle is not unique to me. it's a problem that almost every parent in america faces today. and the reason this hurts is because we know that the greatest gift parents can give their children is the time we spending to -- spend together, the values only a parent can teach, the love only a parent can provide, the encouragement only parents can offer, and they cannot come via text and cell phone calls sometimes. at least not completely. it has to come from time spent together. and that's why one of the

greatest threats to family today is there are too many americans who have to choose between being there for their children in times of great need or meeting the basic financial needs of their family. and like so many fundamental problems, this one can be traced back in part to the outdated policies from washington d.c. our current law mandates that employers offer 12 weeks of unpaid leave to workers with certain family or medical issues like a newborn child in need of care, an elderly parent with declining health or a personal health crisis. but this has proven insufficient, because taking unpaid leave is simply not a viable financial option for many americans. now, most of our current leaders, including hillary clinton, stick to this outdated way of thinking. they say that the only way to solve this problem is the way they think we can solve every problem; raise taxes and place crippling requirements on private companies. i don't need to tell anyone here why that wouldn't work. it's the same reason obamacare hasn't worked.

our policies should help workers, not cost them their jobs. and i believe we can fix this problem by creatively applying ourç free enterprise principles in a way that encourages businesses to chooseç to offer more family paid leave. to do this, we should provide a limited 25% nonrefundable tax credit to any business that offers between 4-12 weeks of paid leave. for instance, if you're offered $1600 in paid leave for four weeks while you take care of your newborn child, which would be the equivalent of about $10 an hour, your employer could claim a tax credit of $400. this won't solve every scheduling conflict between work and family life. no policy can do that. but it will help insure that our people don't have to sit behind a desk while the most profound moments of their life pass them by. by allowing them to keep more of their money rather than send it to be wasted here in washington. conservatives are already

fighting hard on this issue. senator deb fischer has been a leader, and i'm glad to join her in her efforts as one way to address the problem. unfortunately, our current president prefers not to sign legislation that's common sense. so these efforts will likely be something that we will need to take up if, god willing, i'm president. doing so will be a step towards reclaiming the american dream in this century, but it will only be one step. of course, people cannot be concerned about family leave if they don't have a good paying job to take leave from. so we need our next president to recognize an important fact that no one in washington today seems to understand. politicians don't create jobs, the american people create jobs. [applause] we need a president and we need leaders at every level of government who stop placing our people's faith in our government and start placing our government's faith in our people.

so one way we'll know i've done the right thing as president is by the end of my term we won't be talking that much about washington. we'll be too busy discussing the extraordinary are achievements of everyday americans. by the year 2020, this is what i hope we will be able to say: that we made our business tax code globally competitive, that we repealed and replaced obamacare, that we -- [cheers and applause] that we have placed a cap on regulations and that we made our country the best place in the world to create jobs. and that as a result our people are creating thousands of businesses, millions of new high-paying jobs, and their innovations are once again driving the progress of the world. in the year 2020, we want to be able to say that we reformed our higher education system, we made it more affordable and more accessible to every american. and as a result, our people are earning degrees that empower them the move from jobs that pay $10 an hour to jobs that pay $70,000 a year. that millions are beginning to

emerge from the shadow of student loan debt and that high schoolers are graduating with certifications to immediately enter good-paying career ares. in the year 2020, i want to be able to say that we've secured our borders first, that we've reformed our legal immigration system -- [applause] so that people come to this country based on what they can contribute to our economy, on the basis of whether they want to become an american, not simply live in america. and that we've done what we needed to do to save social security and medicare without having to the make any changes for people currently on it. and that as a result of these changes, our people are growing our economy at a historic rate. our deficits are finally beginning to dwindle, and the national debt is being brought under control so that it no longer is threatening to take away everything that makes our country so special. in the year 2020, i want to be able to say we have defended

religious liberty, that we have supported -- [applause] that we have worked hard to support the right of our people not just to hold traditional views, but to exercise them. to express them. [applause] that we've reformed the tax code to encourage marriage rather than punishing it. [applause] and that we made it easier for parents to afford the cost of raising their children and that a as a result, our families have found financial security, that they're raise aring strong children with strong values and that they're instilling in their kids all the hope in the future of america that our parents instilled in us. ..

where people are summarily dispersed, america must enter believe that all life is worthy of protection and that all life comes from god. [applause] so by the year 2020 i hope we will be able to say that abortions after 20 weeks are illegal, that no taxpayer money

is used to fund abortions here or abroad and plan. it doesn't received a penny from the federal government. [cheers and applause] so let me just close, my time is up, so let me just close by saying this. for many of us, for me, for most of you that were born and raised in this country, it's sometimes easy to forget how special america is because it's all we've ever known. i had one more blessing. i was raised by people who knew how special america was. they knew what it was like to lose a country. they knew what life was like outside of the country. because they understood how different america was from the rest of the world. my parents, my grandfather taught me by word and by deed that what makes america great is

not that we have more rich people than anybody else. every country has rich people. what makes america great is the dreams that are impossible everywhere else are possible here. and why is that? it's because of the choice of the people before us made. almost every other country in the world chose to have a government run their economy. and those countries people who can influence the government are the ones who keep winning. everybody else stays the same. the employee never becomes the employer. the small business can never compete with big business and no matter how hard your parents were coming sacrifices they made, if you were not born into the right family and those countries, there is only so far you can go. but the americans before us does something very different. they chose individual liberty. they chose limited government that takes us to protect our rights, not to decide to vote to grant them. and yet there still people in

american politics, sadly in both parties, who cling to the belief that america's better off without being economic policies of the countries that people come here to get away from. now look, this is a free society. people have a right to believe whatever they want. what i don't have that option. you see, just a generation removed from a very different life. my parents came up with virtually nothing, no knowledge of english at the time, no money, no friends. the only thing they had was the strong determination to provide their children all the opportunities they themselves never had. in america they were never rich, wealthy or influential. but their hard work opened doors for their children that were close for the. everything that i've accomplished, everything i will ever accomplish i am to god. my parents sacrifices ended united states of america. [applause]

for me, for me my parents story is the essence of the american dream. it's a story that is rare in the world that is so common here. because of the truth is the to all our stories. here in this nation we are all a generation or two removed from someone who made our future the purpose of their lives. and now it is our turn. this election is a generational choice about what kind of country, what kind of america we're going to be for our children of what kind of country we will be in the 21st century. the final verdict in our generation is going to be written by americans who have not yet been born. let us make sure they make the right choice. in the early years of this entry faced with a troubling and uncertain times are with those who believed the great american story had run its course.

but we did not agree. fear did not lead us to abandon our liberty. we fought for and held onto those things that made us successful. and because we did, there was still one place on earth where the individual was more important than the more important than the state. there was the one place on earth where will you come from does not determine how far you get to go. because we made the right choices, because we did, we didn't just restore the american dream. we expanded it and extend its reach more films and more people than ever before. and because we did, for at least one generation more, the american miracle lived on. so thank you for the chance to speak with you today. god bless all of you. thank you. [applause] ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ >> wow. [cheers and applause] god bless the values voter summit. [applause] so i gotta ask, what are these things? [laughter] is barack obama coming? let me say thank you to my friend jim bridenstine. what an incredible, powerful, fighting conservative. [applause]

there's an ancient chinese curse, may you live in interesting times. these are interesting times. yesterday, pope francis was in washington. wonderful to welcome him here. i have to say, the press conference was a little awkward because every time the reporters addressed a question to your holiness, barack obama answered. [laughter] and then today, the president of china, president xi is in town. media all across the world are reporting on this historic meeting of the world's most powerful communist, and the president of china.

[laughter] how many of y'all have watched the republican debates? [applause] how fantastic is it that we have such an array of young, charismatic, talented, principled leaders stepping forward to lead this party and this country? [applause] and what a contrast with the democrats. i'm pretty sure the first democratic debate is going to consist of hillary clinton and the chipotle clerk. it is amazing to watch the democrats as they keep moving their debates. first it was going to be august. then it was going to be september, then it was october.

they may move it to 2017. in a few months, we may see the first presidential debate in leavenworth. [applause] if they can project a rainbow on the white house, maybe they can put bars on the windows. i'll tell you, it did actually plan come it's not widely known, but they had planned to have an earlier democratic debate. the problem was the debate invitation was emailed to hillary. [laughter] i am so honored to be back with so many friends today.

[applause] i want to say, my friend tony perkins, the family research council, does incredible work in this country. [applause] you want to talk about a strong, principled conservative, who scares the living daylights out of washington, but i have to tell you, tony doesn't scare washington nearly as much as the men and women gathered in this ballroom. [applause] you want to know how much each of you terrify washington? yesterday, john boehner was speaker of the house. [applause] y'all come to town, and somehow

that changes. [applause] my only request, is can you come more often? tony, we need to schedule these weekly. once a week. listen, every one of us, we know our country is in crisis. we know that this isn't a typical time in politics. we're bankrupting our kids and grandkids. our constitutional rights are under assault, each and every day from washington. as america has receded from leadership in the world, it is making the world a much more dangerous place, but i want to come to you this morning with a word of hope and encouragement and exhortation, all across this

country, the american people are waking up, and i'll tell you today, help is on the way. [applause] i want to ask everyone here to look forward, look forward to january 2017. if i am elected president, let me tell you what i'll do on the first day in office. the first thing i intend to do is rescind every single illegal and unconstitutional executive action. [applause]

the president tells us he has a phone and he has a pen, well you live by the pen, you die by the pen. my pen has got an eraser. sadly, the corruption's not been limited to the white house. it has extended across every agency of the federal government, and the second thing i intend to do on my first day in office is to instruct the department of justice to open an investigation into planned parenthood and these horribl videos. [applause] and to prosecute any and all criminal conduct by that organization. [applause]

the administration of justice should be blind to party or ideology. the only fidelity of the department of justice should be to the laws and the constitution of the united states of america. [applause] the third thing i intend to do on the first day in office is to instruct the department of justice and the irs, and every other federal agency that the persecution of religious liberty ends today. [applause]

that means that every service man and woman can worship the lord god almighty, with all of his heart, mind and soul, and his commanding officer has nothing to say about it. [applause] that means the little sisters of the poor, who pope francis visited this week, will find that the case against them has been dismissed. [applause] you know, kim davis is here. just a couple of weeks ago i had the opportunity to visit kim in a kentucky jailhouse. now six months, a year ago, if i had come and said that a christian woman was going to be

thrown in jail, locked up in jail for living her faith, the media would have dismissed me as a nutcase. that's where we are today. kim and i embraced, and i told her, i said kim, thank you. [applause] you are inspiring millions across this country by standing for your faith. the book of acts tells us that when paul and cyrus were in jail that god brought an earthquake and broke open the jail cell. what i told kim is that you are being lifted up in prayer by millions of believers across america, and across the world.

[applause] you may have thought you were alone in that jail cell, but you didn't understand how crowded it was. and i'll tell you kim's very simple response. she smiled and pointed up and said to god be the glory. [applause] the fourth thing i intend to do on the first day in office, is to rip to shreds this catastrophic iranian nuclear deal. [applause] the single greatest national security threat facing america is the threat of a nuclear iran.

i gotta tell you, i can't wait to stand on a debate stage next to hillary clinton. [applause] and make very clear to the american people if you vote for hillary, you're voting for iran to acquire nuclear weapons. if you vote for me, under no circumstances will a nation led by a theocratic ayatollah, who chants death to america, under no circumstances will iran be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. [applause] if the ayatollah doesn't understand that, we may have to introduce him to his seventy-two virgins.

[applause] the fifth thing i intend to do on the first day of office is begin the process of moving the american embassy in israel to jerusalem, the eternal capital of israel. [applause] that's day one. [laughter] there are 365 days in a year. four years in a presidential term. four years in a second term. by the end of eight years, this

ballroom is going to be a whole lot bigger. [applause] by the end of eight years there's going to be a whole lot of reporters and journalists who check themselves into therapy. in the days that follow, i will go to congress and we will repeal every word of obamacare. [applause] in the days that follow i will instruct the federal department of education, which should b

abolished, i will instruct the federal department of education that common core ends today. [applause] in the days that follow, we will honor our military. we will honor the commitments made to our soldiers and sailors, and airmen and marines, and we will protect our servic men and women's constitutional right to keep and bear arms and to defend themselves. [applause] that means, the next time a

jihadist walks into a recruiting center in chattanooga, tennessee, he's going to encounter the business end of firearms wielded by a dozen marines. [applause] in the days that follow, we finally, finally, finally secure the borders and end sanctuary cities. [applause] we will stop the indefensible practice of releasing violent criminal illegal aliens. we will pass kate's law. [applause]

in the days that follow, we will take on the epa and the cfpb, and the alphabet soup of government agencies that strangle small businesses, and we will unleash booming economic growth. [applause] in the days that follow, i will go to congress and we will pass fundamental tax reform and we will pass a simple fla tax. [applause] where every american can fill out his or her taxes on a postcard. when we do that, we should

abolish the irs. [applause] some of you may be thinking all of that make sense to me, basic common sense. live within your means. don't bankrupt our kids and grandkids. follow the constitution. but can we do it? can it be done? scripture tells us there is nothing new under the sun. i think where we are today is very, very much like the late 1970s. same failed economic policies. same misery. stagnation and malaise. the same feckless and naive foreign policies. in fact, the exact same

countries, russia and iran, openly laughing at, and mocking, the president of the united states. why is it that analogy gives me so much hope and optimism? because we know how that story ended. [applause] all across this country, millions of men and women rose up and became the reagan revolution. [applause] it didn't come from washington. washington despised ronald reagan. by the way, if you see a candidate who washington embraces, run and hide. it turned this country around, and i'm here to tell you the same thing is happening again.

[applause] all over this country, millions of men and women are waking up. do you know that since this campaign has started, out of seventeen republican candidates, you know which campaign raised the most hard money? we did. [applause] to date, over 300,000 contributions. people all over the country coming to tedcruz.org. tedcruz.org. tedcruz.org. [laughter] the people are waking up. let me tell you what washington wants. washington wants us divided. washington wants conservatives split, a chunk of evangelicals here, a chunk of conservatives over here, a chunk of libertarians over here, a chunk of tea party folks over here.

that's how, if we are splintered that a moderate establishment candidate runs up the middle with 23% of the vote, steals the nomination and then loses to hillary clinton in the general election. you know what, we've seen that movie before. i'm not interested in going to see rocky 19. we have a simple task before us. if conservatives unit, we win. [applause] i'm here to ask each and every one of you to stand. stand in your faith, stand in your principles. come together. how do we turn this country around? just like in 1980, we rise up as we the people, and we say we

will defend this last, best hope for mankind, this shining city on a hill, that is the united states of america. [applause] thank you. god bless you. ♪ ♪ >> all campaign law, c-span picture on the road to the white house. unfiltered access to the candidates at town hall meetings, news conferences, speeches. we're taking your comments on twitter, facebook and my phone. and always every campaign event we cover is available on our website at c-span.org. >> ascended continued debate today on a bill to fund federal agencies through december 11. at a time runs out shortly past

midnight eastern time tonight. about his possible anytime after that unless they agree to vote earlier. live coverage from the senate floor here on c-span2. senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, who calls us to a life rooted in faith, immerse our lawmakers in the wisdom of your spirit. guide them with your insights, enabling them to be salt in the world, living with humility and integrity. as they strive to be a force for