>> c-span takes you on the road to the white house. best access to the candidates, at town hall meetings, speeches, rallies and meet and greet. we are take your comments on twitter, facebook and by phone, and always every campaign event we cover is available on our website c-span.org. >> democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton received endorsements from 13 female democratic senators. the each spoke before introducing the former secretary of state. senator tillis with lord of massachusetts was the only female democratic senator who did not attend. >> almost over two years ago we all signed a letter and the letter said run hillary, run. we promised hillary that if she took up this challenge when we know that there's a lot of other

things you could be doing with her time, but if she picked up this mantle we would be with her, we would be behind her, we would do everything we could to make sure hillary clinton is the first woman president of the united states of america. [cheers and applause] and am going to make my comments very brief because i have just one thing to say. it is without a doubt that the single most qualified, by far, of any person in this race for president is secretary of state hillary rodham clinton. [cheers and applause] and so we just need to always remember that. because there's a lot of people who will be talking about how women are just supporting women because are women. what a bunch of bull, right? we are supporting hillary clinton because she is going to be one of the greatest

presidents of the united states of america that we have ever seen. [cheers and applause] so with that i'm going to deduce a great friend of mine. we used to do this on the circuit when we were both running and it was so much fun because i simply do she did someone, that i said introducer because i'm quite honest with so much in common. mazie hirono is from hawaii. i'm from north dakota. she's buddhist and i'm catholic. and she is japanese american and i'm german-american. but i will tell you, mazie hirono, and she's a little to the left of me, you might know, but i will tell you this. mazie hirono is my old honda in which in hawaiian means my family, my friend and a great senator from the great state of hawaii, mazie hirono. [cheers and applause]

>> thank you. aloha. thank you, my sister. yes, we did campaign together and she usually ended up introducing me as you can see we have a lot in common, but we are all here because we are ready for hillary. [applause] there's only one person who could have brought this awesome crowd together and got all of my colleagues come so many of my colleagues together tonight and that is hillary clinton. you know, aside from the fact that she is as far as we're concerned the smartest person in the most experience, the most committed, those are her obvious qualifications. i am supporting hillary because of who she is and who she draws inspiration from. and that is her mother, dorothy. some of you know that i would not be standing here were it not

for my courageous mother who fled an abusive marriage in japan to bring me and my two brothers to this country so we could have a chance at a better life. i was almost eight years old. it was really tough. she had no job security, no health insurance. she persevered, and that is what hillary's mother, dorothy did she was abandoned at a young age, we deliver the grandparents. she began working for other people in other homes at age 14. she persevered and that is what hillary learned from her mom. dorothy's battle is hillary's battle. for middle-class families and for all those who want to get into the middle class. many of us senators, women senators, we are the first women to get elected to the united states senate from our respective states. that was the case -- [applause] that wasn't the case for id.

that's the case for me and when hillary clinton becomes our first female president, it will signal to all the girls in this country that they can do and be anything. [applause] and, of course, when hillary becomes our president that will be a first to the nth degree. and so now i have the privilege of introducing one of my other sisters, we all campaign together in 2012, and that is my sister tammy baldwin from wisconsin. [cheers and applause] tammy is the first openly gay person to be elected to the united states senate. [cheers and applause] and when she was asked about

this historic first, and he said, i'm not running to make history. i'm running to make a difference. [applause] so my friend tammy baldwin, give it up for her. [applause] >> thank you. wow what a great crowd but everyone here ready for hillary. [cheers and applause] well, i just wanted to share for a couple of seconds the reasons why i am so proud to support hillary clinton. and most of them are substantive, work and her earliest days as an attorney with the children's defense fund fighting to make sure that children with disabilities have equal access to education, to her days as first lady and secretary of state putting both women's rights and lgbt rights on the global stage.

[applause] to laying the foundation for the passage of the child health insurance program that we know as chip, and on and on and on. but i want to say something, and that is that we focus a lot on the substance, but the symbolism is important also. and i want every young woman, every young girl to be able to look at the president of the united states and see someone who looks a little bit like yourself. [applause] we have an extraordinary opportunity in front of us to elect hillary clinton as our next president. and i want to introduce you to a colleague who, into political world, has coined the phrase for women office sidelined.

because politics is not a spectator sport. please welcome to the stage my friend and colleague, kirsten gillibrand. [cheers and applause] >> thank you. thank you, senator baldwin, for your amazing leadership and friendship. it's about to be here with all of my senate female colleagues, and it's an honor to be with all of you. thank you so -- thank you for supporting hillary. all of us are you because women in our state support us. women do so much for our campaigns from nokia on dorsey stuffing envelopes to raising money to voting. it's important women speak out and use their voices to vote for candidates that represent their values. it's also important for us to elect more women in this country from governors mansions to congress to the senate and, of course, to the white house. [applause] ballots think about it. it with more women serving in government we would have more

women lady on issues that we care about, whether it's paid leave, equal pay for equal work, affordable day care. if women make up half of congress i promise you we would never debate whether women should have equal pay for equal work or whether we would have access to basic contraception. [applause] just imagine what would have if we had a woman president of the united states. i think we all know how amazing it will be when hillary is the next president of the united states. [applause] and it's not just the women are going to benefit. you know that the more women empower, the more women to make decisions without stronger businesses, a growing economy and better communities when women are better off, our country is better off. but the only way we're going to get there is if every person in this room does their part, works day and night to make sure we have the resources to win this election and to make sure we did

every single vote out. because when women vote, women when tom and hillary will be our next president of the united states. [applause] now, it's my pleasure to introduce an amazing leader, just amazing leader senator jeanne shaheen. she is the only, only woman has been a senator and together in our nation's history. she is an expert on foreign policy. she is an expert on clean energy and she's an amazing friend. jeanne shaheen. [cheers and applause] >> thank you, kirsten. what an amazing crowd. [applause] well, i bring you frontline greetings from the front lines of the presidential campaign, the new hampshire primaries. [applause] where last night we had our jefferson jackson dinner.

we have 1200 people, which is a lot for new hampshire. and we had all of the presidential, democratic presidential candidates there, so we have bernie, martin o'malley and we had hillary. and i'm here to tell you that hillary rocked the house last night. [applause] everybody had their thunder sticks, and my favorite line was when hillary said, i'm not running to make a point. i'm running to make a differen difference, and that's what her campaign is about, making a difference for america. and i can tell you that hillary is going to win the new hampshire primary. [applause] i know that because even though the polls say it's close, the people who are running her campaign are the people who help me beat scott brown. [cheers and applause]

we sent him packing, and i can tell you we're going to send the other candidates for president pack in new hampshire, and hillary is going to win the first primary state. now, we could use a little help though from all of you who want to be out on the trip making a difference. we have nice winter travel packages available in new hampshire, so come out, knock on doors, do a little skiing and help hillary become a madam president, the next president of the united states. [applause] i'm excited that i not only did tribute to talk about hillary tonight, but also get to introduce one of my best friends in the senate, one of the, you think of reagan is the fight is never of the senate but actually the senior senator from minnesota, amy klobuchar, who is the funniest member of the senate. [applause] but she's also the hardest

working person for families who has been working so hard to improve the economy of her state and this country. and she's been traveling all over the country working for hillary. and let me tell you when amy go someplace the democrat wins. she was in louisiana for their dinner at the democratic won the governorship. [applause] so hillary is going to win. amy klobuchar are. [cheers and applause] >> well, thank you so much, jeanne. and, jeanne, you may be from the great granite state of new hampshire but i'm just across the border from iowa. in fact, i can see iowa from my porch last night and i can tell you this. hillary clinton is going to win iowa. [cheers and applause] and let me tell you why. foresaw this is my first season,

so excited about hillary's campaign, and that is for me it is personal. and when i first got to the senate i remember reading all the for agriculture papers. because there were not many women that were in states that had major ag areas of her statement she had one and i memorized those papers. and now she's putting this into action with the work in iowa. the other reason is personal for me is that my mom is the longer with us, but she was when hillary started running for president and she had one goal, and that was that hillary clinton was going to be president. and i've a picture of my mom and hillary up in my office, where going to make that come true. [cheers and applause] the second reason is a recent of substance. hillary clinton has put out plans for this country, not for the short term, but for the long-term. thank you, cheering for the long-term. [laughter] what of my favorite things to shoot favorite things to she's

done issues to take on the issue of substance abuse, of drug addiction, a something that affects 56% of americans know someone in a family or the friends who have a severe addiction problem. she has taken this on and if anyone has questions of substance, you read that speech he gave to the council on foreign relations last week about what to do ices, what to do about the mideast. if you need some talking points for the holidays with her brother-in-law, you read that. okay, the third and the last reason is her incredible "true grit." hillary has been so resilient if you look at what she did in that benghazi hearing, right click did anyone watch about? [applause] that is the definition of "true grit." you look at her appearances lately where america whether it's stephen colbert, jimmy fallon, people have been able to get to know hillary clinton xo many of us nowhere. i think using an amazing shift in the way the american people

start to understand where she's coming from. coming from a state that is a state of paul wellstone understands grassroots campaign, this is a grassroots campaign. coming from the state of walter van dale -- walter mondale who no one will forget the moment when he put geraldine farah wrote on the ticket with a red dress and her white pearls, and come from the state of hubert humphrey who once said that if we don't write our own history, someone else will write it for us. well my friends, we are not going to let those guys on the other side of the aisle write our history for us. our history is here. it is hillary clinton, and she will be our next president. [cheers and applause] so speaking of "true grit," i had the great privilege to introduce a woman and a little bit about "true grit," and that is my great friend, claire mccaskill of missouri.

[applause] now, i think you all know claire is one tough cookie, and she has one too tough races. and if you don't believe me that she is tough, you just talked to a guy named todd akin. [laughter] but clarke has also fought for military families. she's taken a government accountability issues -- claire -- and could add she used to tout overbooked in this, she is plenty ladylike. my friend claire mccaskill. [cheers and applause] >> that was the senator next door. one pitch deserves another. it is great fun to be here with all of my colleagues. you know, every morning i get up and i have a cup of coffee

early, and i look at the day's news. and it seems like almost every morning i read about the leading candidates for president and the republican party, and i say out loud, he said what? [laughter] he said what? are you kidding me? and then compare and contrast. our leading candidate, stable, strong, smart, substantive. there's no irresponsible rhetoric. there's no playing to the cheap seats. but there's a lot of hard work, and we have so much hard work in front of us. because this is a woman who understands she's got to earn

the trust of the american people. and so when you think you haven't done enough for hillary clinton, when you think you've gone to enough events for your golf enough friends, or you've made in a phone calls, by then and will be on netflix or itunes come and watch suffer date again. the sacrifices that women have made to come to this moment. now, she's going to work to earn this. and we are going to proud of her while she does. but tonight i think we should treat ourselves and just try something out and say it out loud for the first time. so i want you to say, on account of three come what we're going to call hillary clinton in january of 2015. one, two, three --

>> madam president. >> all right. [cheers and applause] speaking of substance, speaking of smart, there is a woman in the senate who never lbos anyone out of the rain -- out of the way for camera. who never once the attention that is always doing the hard work. that's why we all respect her so much. that's what i am so proud to be her friend. please welcome the very special maria cantwell from washington. [cheers and applause] >> hello, washington. i hear that are over 1000 people here to support hillary clinton for president. thank you all very much. and as claire said that are new kind of centers in washington. those when the tv cameras show up go to fix their hair and

makeup, and then there are the women. [laughter] and we are here, we are here to support one of our own. and you know why? you know why? because as president, hillary clinton knows we need to retrain laid-off workers and returning veterans so they came have a job in the economy of the 21st century. she knows that we need to grow the economy from the middle out and that is why we need to increase the minimum wage, and she knows as president of the united states she will sign the first bill that will say equal pay for equal work. [applause] that's what we will get with hillary clinton, and that's why we have to work hard. last time when hillary ran, my mom literally the day before the caucus had her appendix taken out, but showed up for the caucus. to support hillary. so i just want us to all know,

whatever the circumstances, appendix or not, we are going to be there for hillary. we're going to get the vote out and we're going to make sure that equal pay does become the law the land. now, if i can just say a great word about my tremendous colleague from michigan. you know, hillary has fought for health care her entire life, and when senator stabenow was on health care committee, i think it said it all. the republicans i should say, the republicans tried to take out basically the provision for women's health care for preventive care. even one of my colleagues on other side of the aisle said, why do you need preventative care? we don't even need to take care of this. and debbie starred in and said no, but your mom did and that's why we're keeping preventive care in the dilbert and please welcome senator debbie stabenow.

[cheers and applause] >> all right. hello, hillary land. we are ready to rock 'n roll. you know, it's a wonderful being here with all of my colleagues come at a think about picture january 2017 when the door opens, you know, when you walk down the stairs and hillary clinton walks down and puts her hand up and takes the oath. that's when our children and grandchildren, the girls in our lives, will know they can really be anything they want to be. [applause] anything they want to be. you know, i've had the great pleasure and honor of knowing hillary clinton for almost 30 years. we were both five when we started.

[laughter] we met on a panel, on a come at a national convention in detroit on protecting children. and i heard this wonderful woman who was there representing the children's defense fund, also first lady at the time, speak about how critical it was to protect our children from child abuse and neglect. and i said, who is that woman? this is a very smart woman. i'm pretty impressed with this woman. and i have been depressed ever since. we've had the opportunity to campaign together for her other half, who did pretty well, too, as president as i recall. and had the great honor of being in beijing in 1995 when our hillary clinton, despite great controversy, in a huge room, huge, much bigger than this, people whispering, when she

really going to get up and say what they thought she was going to say? we have seen women from combat who were out marching in protests essentially would disappear. we saw all kinds of things happening around beijing at the time --.net. when hillary clinton representing the united states and represent all of us stood up and said, women's rights are human rights. it changed, to change the world, and she's been doing that ever since. and then it was an honor to come in with her in 2000, to the united states and. we had the opportunity to come in, and once again as a colleague, i saw somebody willing to work across the aisle when it made sense, win to keep them in the rare when it made sense, fighting for working

families, our choice, for health care, including mental health and substance abuse services. i'm so proud of her efforts on that. for equal pay, all of that. we know what she did. now, i want each of the women here to take a moment and think about something that we all can identify with on this stage. and that is, i bet in your life you've been told you are to this, you are to that. you're too tall, you are too short. your hair is to this, your makeup, you smile too much, you don't smile enough, right? anybody have that? we've all had that. we've all been told, wait, it's not your time. weight, there will be another time. well, today we are here to say it is our time. [applause] and president hillary clinton is just right.

[applause] i now want to introduce another woman who is just right. she was told when she started by state politician she couldn't make a difference as a parent advocate concerned about saving or local preschool programs that were targeted for budget cuts but she organized 13,000 parents and save the program. and then she put her tennis shoes on and she went to work to become paid tremendous leader and advocate from washington state. she has made a huge difference, first female senator from washington, the first female chair of the senate veterans committee where she fights everyday for our veterans. the first female chair of the senate budget committee where she got a major bipartisan budget initiative done a couple of years ago. she fights for education and

transportation and budget and health and women's issues and veterans issues. the senior senator from washington state, patty murray. [applause] >> thank you so much for that introduction. it is so great to be here with all of you. executives, professionals, teachers, mothers, daughters, sisters, the bedrock of this campaign, that you are. for years offer and hillary clinton has inspired women and girls everywhere to punch through glass ceilings. she's made a career out of stand up for our families and kids. she's demonstrated america's leadership from one side of the globe to the other. and just like all of us, she still puts her pantsuits on one leg at a time. [applause] you know, more to with many of the women here behind me on ways

to make our country work for all of our families, not just the wealthiest few. and i recently heard a woman named sandy from seattle. to put herself through college, sandy got a job in retail. per paycheck was next to nothing, and the benefits actually were nothing. but she did what all women do, she just worked harder. she earned her degree. she got a job. but after a couple of months she was chatting with a male colleague and found out he was offered 20% more for doing the exact same job. well, sandy was mad but she kept working harder. she went back to school and then she got back into the workforce again. and now today she needs to make sure she has flexible hours to take care of her kids, and she keeps working harder and harder, to keep up and keep her family's

head above water. sandy and millions of women just like her in this country are looking for a president who is going to work just as hard for them as they do for themselves and their families. a president who listened to their stories and shares their priorities, who understands their challenges are real and that we can work together to tackle them. i have seen hillary in the senator cardin over four years, and i know she is the woman for this job. [applause] ..

>> i am so pleased to introduce the woman who's been a champion for women's health, a strong middle class, the environment, so much more that all of you care about. she is a senator who will be so missed next year here in the senate but whose work will absolutely continue. please join me in welcoming my great friend forever, senator barbara boxer. [cheers and applause] >> wow! this is so exciting. now, it takes something

extraordinary to overcome all the logistical hurdles involved in getting 13 of us here -- [laughter] at the same time. and that's something extraordinary -- and that something extraordinary is hillary clinton. that's why we are here. [applause] and i was a little late getting here tonight because i've been negotiating the final provisions of a major five-year transportation bill -- [cheers and applause] yeah. and everybody here has been working with me on it, for which i'm very grateful. and i look forward to seeing it passed. but i want to say, we have 60,000 bridges that are structurally deficient, and 50% of our roads are not in good condition. and i was so happy to hear hillary say that one of her priorities is rebuilding

america. [applause] moving america forward. fixing those bridges and those highways. and while she's at rebuilding america, she is, in fact, rebuilding our spirits right now, isn't she? and don't we say, hillary, thank you for running? because sometimes we forget, we know what it takes. all of us up here know what it takes. we know what comes at us running for the united states senate let alone running for the highest office in the land. and so we say thank you. now, when hillary announced she was going to run, i was over the moon, i was ecstatic, as barbra streisand once said, i was -- [speaking in native tongue] [laughter] why? because i knew we had the chance to elect a woman who's brilliant, yes? compassionate, yes. progressive, yes. pragmatic -- >> yes.

>> and someone with a great depth of knowledge. [cheers and applause] she has gravitas, and shes has maturity -- she has maturity to lead our country and the world. no one else but hillary can do that. but, you know, now the stakes are so much higher. i believe this presidential election is about saving our country, and i don't say that lightly. [applause] when we hear republican candidates deny the science of climate change, it is time to elect hillary clinton. [cheers and applause] they say they're not scientists. well, that is a fact in evidence. [laughter] that's why they should listen to the scientists. when we hear republican candidates say that they'd shut down the government in order to defund planned parenthood and when one republican candidate

calls us pro-choice americans barbarians, it is time to elect hillary clinton as president. [cheers and applause] when we hear republican candidates oppose raising the minimum wage with some even calling for the repeal, the abolishment of any federal be minimum wage -- federal minimum wage, it is time to elect hillary clinton. [cheers and applause] and when we hear donald trump -- [laughter] you are paying attention to me, i'm so -- [laughter] when we hear donald trump say he wouldn't rule out a special id card for muslims, and ben carson compares syrian refugees to rabid dogs, it is time to elect hillary clinton. [cheers and applause] we need someone who knows what makes our country great, our diversity, someone who actually

understands foreign policy. she has lived it. she understands soft power and hard power. she stands up for women's rights, for gay rights, for civil rights, for our environment, for our children, and we know that's hillary clinton. and i'll finish with this before i turn to my incredible senior senator. i'm so old, and i have a senior senator, it's something. [laughter] i guess it's food at my age -- it's good at my age to be called junior. [laughter] but imagine, i want you to imagine what it would be like in the year 2020, that's just four years away, as our country celebrates the 100th anniversary of women getting the right to vote, who will be presiding over those celebrations? president hillary clinton! [cheers and applause] there used to be, to tell you

how far i go back, i remember bumper stickers that said "imagine peace." that's when we were in the war in vietnam. some of you remember that. we need to imagine, we need to imagine hillary presiding over that occasion. now, many of us have made history in our own states. when dianne and i ran for the senate in '92, there were only two women senators. and look at this beautiful stage tonight. [cheers and applause] and there's two more great ones coming. when we ran, people would say to dianne and me, are you kidding? how could two women be elected to the senate from the same state? and then they'd add, and you're both jewish, to boot. yeah! [laughter] [applause] it was really annoying. and i would respond, well, did you ever ask how it is that two white male protestants could get elected to the senate from the

same state? and that would usually cause a bit of reflection on their part. [laughter] and then i would add, and besides which the senate needs a good dotes of chicken soup -- dose of chicken soup. [laughter] so that joined dianne and i together forever in history. and more than 20 years later, we are still very strong partners. throughout all these years i cannot imagine a better partner than senator diane dianne feins. so it is such a pleasure to introduce to you a woman who is one of the great national leaders on intelligence, she's a great national leader on protecting our rights from her perch on the judiciary committee, and she is certainly not afraid to stand up to ted cruz on sensing gun law -- sensible gun laws. ladies and gentlemen, the great senator dianne feinstein. [cheers and applause]

>> am i lucky to have barbara as a part her? i think so -- partner? i think so. and i want to thank everybody for coming. i want to thank you for really looking deeply into this race. it isn't just that hillary's a woman. if that were just the case, you could make a negative argument too. but in this case, hillary rodham clinton is clearly the most qualified candidate. [applause] what i spend a lot of my time doing is in the intelligence world right now. and what i see increasingly is how dangerous a place this world is, how knowledgeable and sensitive and qualified you really have to be to deal with

people who lead different countries when you want them to do something that you want them to do. can anyone imagine donald trump in that position? [laughter] and i think that if you look at someone that has had eight years as first lady, who has traveled this land on her own and with her husband, then the president, if you look at somebody who has been a united states senator from the great state of new york for eight full years -- [applause] and if you look at someone who has been a most distinguished secretary of state with literally millions of miles under her belt, you come to the conclusion that this is really the only candidate out there that has an opportunity because of the knowledge that's in her

brain to solve some of the problems that we face as the most indispensable nation on earth and the need to use that power that it gives us in a proper way. this race, ladies and gentlemen, is so important. matter of fact, i think as i watch the republican debates and i see what's coming down the pathway, it's really important that we get out there and that we work for hillary. sure, it's nice that she understands what we go through as a woman. she -- it's wonderful that she knows how the world is for women. but most importantly for all of us, it's the specific talent that she brings, it's her mind, it's her knowledge of world leaders, it's her knowledge of possible solutions to big problems. and so we have that opportunity

now. i think in this race we can make a real change within the united states of america. not only a more compassionate nation, not only a nation that cares more about people who need a step up in life, not only a nation that wants to further education, but a nation that has to lead in the world with some of the problems that are out there that you see in paris, that we see in the middle east, you know? it's often said that we have a big problem with terrorist groups and that isis is being contained. well, it's now in 12 other countries. it's establishing provinces in other countries. hillary rodham clinton knows these things. she's educated in them. she has the ability to know where to go and who to talk to. this doesn't sound like much when you listen to it up here, but it really is important.

and as you can see on this stage are 13 women who are knockdown, drag-out supporters for this woman not only to become the first woman president of the united states, but to bring the kind of expertise and energy and staying power. you saw her, you saw donald trump. well, the next debate shouldn't be three hours, maybe just an hour. three hours is too long. [laughter] anyone that's been in one of those hearing rooms knows what sitting there for 11 hours and going through a grilling -- [cheers and applause] so we know that she has the compassion. we know that she has the staying power. we know that she has the drive. we know that she has the motivation. sometimes i don't understand how she can do it, but she does it day after day and year after

year. we have one great candidate. we should be so proud, and we should work as hard as we can, because i deeply believe she will be a great american president. [cheers and applause] and now, i get to introduce a great american united states senator. i first talked to barbra mikulski when i -- barbara mikulski when i was running for office -- [cheers and applause] and the phone rang, and i said, hello, and i said, who is this? and she said, oh, this is barb mikulski. how are you doing, dianne? and i didn't know her. i said, fine be, thank you very much and went on. and then i had the opportunity to actually meet her. she's 5-2 and just incredible. you should see her run.

many of us here serve on the appropriations committee of the senate. barbara has been the chair of the appropriations committee until the senate changed this past year. and she runs it with a strong hand, and she gets it done. and so the women up here really value this united states senator. and i think you do too. she's not only been great for maryland, but she's been great for our country. and the president just recognized this by giving her the presidential freedom award. [applause] and it's a huge -- [cheers and applause] it's a huge, it's the biggest civilian honor that can be bestowed on an american. so it is with great pride and great love that all of us up here today introduce you to the one and only senator barbara

mikulski! [cheers and applause] >> hi, everybody! [cheers and applause] hi! how are ya? are you ready for hillary? >> yes! >> say it again: we are ready for hillary! when? now! it's so great to see all of you here, and we want to thank you for coming to support the hillary for president campaign. we want to thank you from the bottom of our heart and the bottom of your pocketbook. [laughter] we had many wonderful people -- we have many wonderful people here this evening, but i want to

recognize dorothy mcauliffe, the first lady of virginia. [applause] and also let's give a shoutout for people who are not orphan this stage, but -- not on this stage, but are on the front lines; the women in the house of representatives, those democratic women who stand up to those right-wing republicans. let's have a shoutout for them. [cheers and applause] now, tonight we are here for hillary, and i know you're here for hillary, and we are ready for hillary. we need to be there for her in every day and in every way. she's out there campaigning, and we're out there campaigning for her. now, you might have heard that i'm going to leave the senate at the end of this term. ah, but though i'm ready to turn a new page be, i'm not ready to write the final chapter. [laughter] in my next 12 months, i will be working with my colleagues for

our democratic agenda, and i will be working my earrings off to elect hillary! how about you? [cheers and applause] and why do we want to do that? because we know she's got the right stuff, and it's her time to be president. 95 years ago women got the right to vote. don't you think after 95 years we should have a woman president? [cheers and applause] and when hillary gets elected to the presidency -- and she will -- she will make history, and she will change history. she will be fantastic. but we have to work for her. we love hillary, and why do we love hillary? well, first of all, we know that she -- we know her. but most of all, she knows us. she knows our hopes, our dreams,

the needs of the people. she's been crisscrossing the country having meetings, round tables, listening, listening, listening. she knows that all great leaders have to listen and learn from the people they're going to represent. she knows that the best ideas will come from the people. and when she dose -- she goes into that oval office, she will take our hopes and our dreams with her. hillary will be quite a fighter. she is already quite a fighter. we know her as a champion, we know her as a champion for the underdog. we know her as a champion for the little guy -- and the little gal. [laughter] we know that she has the whole thoughts about what we need to be able to do as a nation. for hillary, yes, she will be our first woman president. but for hillary it's not only about gender, it's about an

agenda. an agenda that will get us back on the right track started by president barack obama. [cheers and applause] we want to continue the momentum from president obama. we know that hillary will continue to fight for jobs, keep the ones we've got and try to create new ones. we know she's going to stand up for our families. affordable and accessible childcare, to make sure public schools that we can count on and the quality of an education for a child should never depend on the zip code that they live in. [applause] and she believes that higher education should be part of the american dream, not a football nightmare -- financial nightmare and will make college affordable for the majority of our young people. that's the kind of president we need. [cheers and applause] she wants to close that income equality gap. yes, she believes we've got to raise that minimum wage. in the united states of america, a full-time job should not mean

full-time poverty. and, yes, let's finish the job we started with lilley lid better -- lily ledbetter! [cheers and applause] let's pass that paycheck fairness bill and have it signed by hillary rodham clinton. no woman should bees hassled or harassed simply because she asks what does the guy next to her earn? no woman should ever be fired because of her asking about the pay she thinks she deserves. she shouldn't be fire bed, we should be fire bed up to pass the paycheck fairness act. [cheers and applause] and she'll look out for our seniors and vetnds and make -- veterans. we don't want to privatize social security, we don't want to outsource social security, we want to keep social security, we want to keep medicare, we want to keep our values that made america great.

we want hillary rodham clinton in the white house leading the fight more us. [cheers and applause] fight for us. so, friends, we've got to be fired up, we've got to be ready for hillary. i think america's ready for hillary. i want you now to turn your attention to a video to see about all these wonderful young people who feel as well, feel exactly the same way we do. >> dear mrs. clinton -- >> dear, secretary clinton -- >> dear, mrs. clinton, my name is scout, and i'm 9 years old. >> i'm so excited about you having the chance to become the first woman president -- >> because from george washington to barack obama, it is ridiculous there has never been a female president before. >> [inaudible] it will be hard work to be a grandma and president. i know you can do it.

>> i hope you can -- [inaudible] and fight for world peace. i would like to see an end to killing by guns. >> you inspire me so that -- [inaudible] >> [inaudible] ♪ ♪ >> sincerely, scout. [cheers and applause] >> if you would like -- [inaudible] i would work for candy. [laughter] >> so, everybody, are we ready? >> yes! >> let's suit up, let's most of

us put our lipstick on -- [laughter] and let's be ready for hillary, and here she comes! [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [applause] ♪

[cheers and applause] >> well, if you're ready for me, i'm ready for you! [cheers and applause] i am so excited to be here and to have this chance to stand on the same stage with my friends and former colleagues. aren't they an amazing group? [cheers and applause] i was excited when barbara mikulski got that presidential medal, that freedom -- the medal of freedom, well deserved. i'm so grateful to her for her leadership. you know, she is the senator who made it possible for somebody like me to wear pants on the senate floor. [laughter] [cheers and applause] and among her many, many accomplishments, she says she's retiring, but that's never been a word that's applied to barbara

mikulski. another person to whom the word "retiring" really doesn't fit is barbara boxer who has also announced -- [applause] that she is retiring. these two are an amazing example of fortitude and leadership on so many important issues. the senate's going to miss them, but i'm sure -- as i heard senator mikulski say -- they're going to turn pages and have new chapters that they will write. i think we should show our appreciation to them for their years of service on behalf of our country! [cheers and applause] i literally could keep you here for many hours talking about these amazing women. i won't do that, but i want to thank each one of them.

i want to thank tammy and maria, dianne, kirsten, heidi, mazie, amy, claire, patty, jeanne and debbie. and also somewhere out there is my former colleague mary landrieu and dorothy mcauliffe. [cheers and applause] so all in all, this is an amazingly distinguished group. literally, they have so much courage and smarts, a combination of grit and grace that applies to each and every one of them. it was really the honor and privilege of my life to serve with them and to learn so much from them. now, the senate will be in good hands when, unfortunately, the two barbaras leave because we have these extraordinary senators still serving. and i, for one, will really be counting on them because we're going to do everything we can

to -- [applause] put our country on the right track. and i am hoping that because of the election next year in this time we'll be able to celebrate more democratic senators and maybe even have taken the majority of the senate back! [cheers and applause] now, i'm so excited to see all of you here because i need your support, i need your generosity, but more than that, i need your hours of volunteering and con vassing and -- canvassing and reaching out to everybody you can possibly touch. because this election is so consequential. i think about it, and there could not be two more different views, visions and set of values

between what we hear from the republican candidates and what i'm trying to lay out as the agenda for the future, the kind of future that will get our economy working for everybody -- [applause] enable more people to fulfill their potential, continue america's leadership in the world. we hear a lot of negativity and ideology coming from the candidates on the other side, but i think it's important to try to pierce that with some good old-fashioned facts. [laughter] [applause] like, for example -- and i know my republican friends really hate it when i say this -- [laughter] our economy does better when we have a democrat t in the white house! [cheers and applause] you know, the evidence is pretty overwhelming. unemployment is lower, incomes

are higher, and you are four times more likely to have a recession when we have a republican in the white house. you don't have to go all the way back in our history to prove that, just go back the last 35 years. we've had five presidents. three republicans and two democrats. i happen to know both of the democrats. [laughter] and each of them inherited economic problems from their republican predecessors. you know, in my husband's case it was a recession, and the fact that our national debt had been quadrupled in the prior 12 years. i remember him saying to me shortly after the election, you know, it is so much worth than they told us. [laughter] and then he was asked by somebody be, well, what is it you're bringing to washington? and he thought for a minute and he said, well, probably arithmetic. [laughter] so he got to work, and after eight years we had 23 million new jobs, incomes went up for

everybody not just at the top, in the middle, working people, poor people. more people lifted out of poverty than at any time in recent history, and we ended up with a balanced budget and a surplus. [applause] now, you would think the evidence was pretty clear that that was an economic policy that actually worked for everybody. but back came the republicans with their ideology, trickle down economics, and they began to just dismantle it brick by brick. cut taxes on the wealthy, then they took their eyes off of corporations and the financial markets, the mortgage markets, and you know what happened. now shortly after the '08 election, president-elect obama called me, asked me to come see him in chicago. i didn't know why. it turned out he wanted me to be secretary of state, but i didn't know that at the time. [cheers and applause] so it's just -- he and i were sitting there, and he looks at

me, and he says it is so much worse than they told us. [laughter] i said, you know, president-elect, i've heard that before. [laughter] but it was terrible. i mean, we were losing 800,000 jobs a month. before it was over, nine million americans lost their jobs. five million lost their homes $13 trillion in family wealth was wiped out. now i don't think president obama gets the credit he deserves for digging us out of that big ditch that he inherited from the bush administration! [cheers and applause] it could have been a great depression. and the american people worked so hard. you know the sacrifice that a lot of folks made. so we are standing again, we've recovered 13 million jobs, but we're not yet running the way

america should. we need to make sure the economy is producing more good-paying jobs, and we need to make sure that incomes are rising again. the american people haven't really had a raise in a long time. now, folks at the top are doing just fine, but most people, you know, they're still struggling. the cost of childcare or college or prescription drugs, they're going up faster than wages. so we've got to get the economy back working for everybody to create broad-based prosperity again. and i've been laying out plans. i'm determined i'm just going to keep telling people what i will do as president. and so i've been laying out plans about how we can create more good-paying jobs. i rolled out my plan for building and maintaining our

infrastructure, you know, our roads, our bridges, our tunnels, our ports, our airports, our rail systems. [applause] and don't forget our virtual infrastructure. by 2020 everybody in america should have access to high quality, affordable broadband that connects them to the rest of the world no matter where you live! [cheers and applause] i also think we can create millions of new jobs if we get serious about combating climate change, and i give the president great credit for being over in paris -- [cheers and applause] leading on this issue. but you know what the republicans say when they're asked about climate change. they say, well, i'm not a scientist. [laughter] my response is, go talk to one. [laughter] there are lots of them around. we know some, don't we? we could introduce you. it's maddening, this denial of

science. and it's not only terrible for the environment and our children and our grandchildren, it's bad for the economy. i want to set some big goals. by the end of my first term, i want us to have installed a half a billion more solar panels, and by the end of my second enough clean energy to power every home in america! [cheers and applause] i'm also really focused on doing more for small business. i want to be the small business president because 60% of our new jobs will come from small business, and right now we're not seeing the growth that we need. did you know it's now easier to start a small business in canada or france than it is in the united states? well, we've got some great champions of small business on this stage. i want to work with them and with others to clear out the

brush to get the credit flowing again, to get more people with those good ideas a chance to be able to start and grow a business. my dad was a small businessman, and i deeply respect that entrepreneurial spirit. we're also going to have to tackle the tax code with all of its inefficiencies and all of its unfairness. i know what a big undertaking that is, but right now it's really stacked in favor of the wealthy. all of the loopholes, the deductions, whatever it is that enables somebody to escape paying their fair share. wealthy pay too little, and the middle class pays too much. and i have said -- [applause] i think the middle class deserved a raise, not a tax increase, and i will not raise taxes on middle class families, because they have to get back to where they were before they fell into that ditch of the great recession. [applause]

but, you know, if you're thinking about raising incomes, you know the fastest, surest way of doing that? it's to make sure women get equal pay for equal work. [cheers and applause] i heard barb mikulski talk about the paycheck fairness act. we're going to move heaven and earth to get that passed, because this is still a real problem. now, it's not if you listen to the republicans, but i actually meet real people. [laughter] i've actually had real conversations. i'll tell you just one of them. a young man in new hampshire said to me i want to tell you why i'm for you. i said, why? he said because my first real job, he called it my first real job, i went to work as a cashier in the store where my mother had been working for four years. he said, i was really excited, because this was it, you know? it was like an adult thing i was doing.

he said i worked there, then i got my first paycheck, and i took it home, and i showed my mom, and i watched her face fall. and i asked her what the problem was. she said, you've been there for two weeks, you're making more than i make. i've been there for four years. and i said, what could have caused that? folks said, well, you know, people keep their eye out for young, promising men that they might put into management programs. that's what they do, they pay them more to try to keep them. and his mom, who'd been working to support him all those years, was being short changed. but it's not enough just to have equal pay. we have to bin to provide more support -- begin to provide more support so families can balance work and their family responsibilities. [cheers and applause] paid family leave, paid sick days, care-giving credit for people who deserve it to take

care of a loved one. we've got to start looking at what people are are living like today. it is not 1955, it's 2015, and we need to do more to lift up the opportunity ladders that have been knocked down or broken up. and i believe so strongly that if we give women an equal chance to compete be, it's not only good for them and their families, it's good for our economy. it's a great strategy. and something else that's part of the strategy is education. i want to do everything i can -- [applause] to make sure k-12 education is the best we can offer to our kids. [applause] and i believe the place to start is in early childhood education. [cheers and applause] you know, 80% of your brain is physically formed by the age of 3. it really matters what happens

in those early years. and we've got to pay attention because i think talent is universal, but opportunity isn't. and there are too many young people who are behind the first day they walk into kindergarten. and then we have to make college affordable again, and i have rolled out my new college compact be to do just that -- compact to do just that so that you do not have to borrow a time to pay tuition if you go to a public four-year college or university, and community college will be free because we've got to start thinking of those two additional years as the extension of what high school used to be. [applause] and we're going to work to make sure we help people pay down their student debt. right now $1.2 trillion in student debt. it's just crippling dreams and aspirations. it's preventing young people from getting the jobs they want

or even getting married. and everywhere i go i ask how many of you have or ever have had student debt? hands always go up. we can save thousands of dollars, and i do not believe that the federal government should be making money off of lending money to our students to get their education. [cheers and applause] i will also defend the affordable care act -- [cheers and applause] we need to improve it, which i will do my best to do working with the congress, but the republicans have tried to repeal it more than 50 times. they want to throw us back into that terrible, contentious debate. we've been working since harry truman to have a foundation to provide quality affordable health care. we have to get the out-of-pocket costs down, we have to begin to get the prescription drug costs down. but that is built on the base of having the affordable care act.

and, you know, the prescription drug costs went up 12% last year. this is just unsustainable. and i know it's hard because i've got the scars to prove it. we have got to get those costs in some way controlled, otherwise it will be impossible for people whether they're in medicare or medicaid or private insurance or one of the exchanges to be able to afford the drugs and treatments they deserve. and we're going the fight like crazy to give medicare the authority to negotiate with the drug companies, something the drug companies do with governments around the world. [applause] on health, number one, we do need to deal with the care-giving crisis. i mean, people everywhere who are having so many challenges. and there's two ways of doing

it. i want to give a tax credit to people who are taking care of someone with alzheimer's or some other condition that is debilitating but the family wants to be able to care for their loved one. [applause] i also think we have to pay more attention to untreated mental health problems, something that -- [cheers and applause] you know, there's an incredible part of this experience of running for president, maybe it's just me, but i think probably all my friends could tell you similar stories maybe because we're women, i don't know. people tell you the most intimate and personal things. i mean, it may only be a handshake of 30 seconds or a minute, and they'll look at you and they'll say, my son has a drug problem, and we can't find any help. is there anything you know to do? or my brother has been suffering

from schizophrenia, and we can't afford any help. is there anything you can do? if you listen to enough stories like that particularly about mental health and substance abuse, you know we have to do more. and it's going to be a high priority to try to get the resources in balance with the problems. so that we have treatment, recovery programs, prevention, intervention. and, again, it's something that i've been talking about and talking through policies to make sure that we get the right mix. because i don't want to just be the president to deal with the big problems and the headlines -- although, obviously, that's a huge part of the job. i want to also figure out if there are ways we can help with those problems that keep you up at night. the worries that families -- [applause] sit around the kitchen table and try to puzzle through. [applause] so we have a lot of work to do, but i'll tell you, we also have

to defend the progress we have made in making sure that our country is moving forward and protecting and recognizing the rights of all of our citizens. and i have learned in my years in politics to listen to what people say when they run for office, because they may actually try to do it. [laughter] so when you listen to the attacks on human rights and civil rights and women's rights and gay rights and immigrant rights and workers' rights, pay attention. and i will tell you right now, i will defend a woman's right to choose, i will defend planned parent had! [cheers and applause] parenthood! [cheers and applause] you know, what we saw in colorado springs the other night was just horrific.

and we have to stand up for the rights of women to the get the health care that they need. and we have strong, strong soldiers and fighters in pursuit of that behind me. i will also defend marriage equality and work against continuing discrimination against the lgbt community -- [cheers and applause] it makes no sense. you can get married on saturday and fired on monday in a lot of places in america. we have to change that. i are also defend -- i will also defend voting rights. who knew we'd still have to be defending voting rights in the 21st century? [applause] but because of the supreme court's rejection of the congress' reauthorization and george w. bush's signing of that reauthorization, so many states across our country are trying to

undermine voting rights, trying to suppress the right to vote. well, not only will we defend those who are put into that difficult position, i want to make it possible for every 18-year-old to be absolutely registered upon turning 18 and to make that the law of the land unless they opt out so young people start getting involved in the electoral process. [applause] and i will do everything i can to overturn citizens united which is corrupting our politics! [cheers and applause] it's likely the next president will have 1-3 supreme court justice appointments, and i will appoint people who care more about an individual's right to vote than a corporation's right to buy an election. [cheers and applause]

i also defend -- i will also defend social security against privatization, defend medicare against voucherrization and defend the v.a. yes, we have to reform it and change the problem, but we're not going to let republicans privatize the v.a. and move away from providing those services for our vets. [applause] i will keep working for comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship. [applause] i will work in promoting criminal justice reform and corrections reform, and i'm hopeful that we can get some bipartisan solutions even before the end of this term. and i will continue to fight against the gun lobby on behalf of gun safety measures in america. [applause] now, you know, when you have 90

people a day dying from gun violence, homicides, suicides, tragic, avoidable accidents, 33,000 people a year. if something else were killing 33,000 americans, we'd say, hey, we need to do something. and what we need to do are comprehensive background checks, closing the gun show loophole, the online loophole, what's now called the charleston loophole, ending the immunity for gunmakers and sellers -- [applause] but we know, we know how hard this is. i mean, look at what's happening right now. there's a bill that's bottled up that would prohibit individuals on the no-fly list from buying a weapon. republicans won't let it come for a vote. you would think if someone is

too dangerous to fly, they're too dangerous to buy a gun. [applause] and at the very least, we should try to restrain that from happening. so we have work to do. and we need to continue to lead around the world. i am very committed to leading with our values, advancing our interests, furthering our security. and i intend to do it in a way that leads with both strength and smarts. because we do have some real challenges and threats out there that we can't ignore. obviously, lots of attention being paid to isis. it needs to be defeated. it has to be wiped out. that will take time, and it will take american leadership. but it's something that we cannot ignore. that doesn't mean that we put american troops in either syria or iraq. i'm against that, and the republicans who are promoting it

are not serious about what we need to do and how best to try to limit the spread of this radical jihadist, violent extremism. so there's a lot to do, my friends. [laughter] and i can only hope that you will work hard with me through the primaries and the caucuses, into the general election because it's going to be a hard, it's going to be a hard journey. there's no doubt about that because so much is at stake. you know, it's sort of perversely flattering that i get so much attention from the other side. [laughter] you know, i was listening to their debates, and it seemed like they had a lot to say about me being secretary of state. none of it good. [laughter] so i sent them all a copy of my book, "hard choices," and i said -- [laughter] you know, if you want to know how to put together an international coalition including china and russia to

impose crippling sanctions on iran, you can read about it. [laughter] or maybe you want to negotiate a ceasefire between israel and hamas with the muslim brotherhood president morsi in cairo, that's in there too. [laughter] i even suggested there was so many of them that they could form a book club and read it together. [cheers and applause] and it probably won't surprise you to hear i didn't get one thank you note. [laughter] but finally, this election is really, for me, about our children, and now i can say grandchild. [applause] and the reason i say that is because i want to be sure that the promise of our country that i was raised to believe in will be there for generations to come. i'm the granddaughter of a factory worker from scranton,

pennsylvania, who went to work every single day in the scranton lace mills. he worked really hard, and he did it to support his family, but he also did it because he wanted his three sons to have a better life. and they did. they all went to college. and then my dad graduated in the middle of the depression, heard there was a job in chicago, hopped a freight train, got there, got the job, became a salesman, went into the navy, came out, started a small business. always believed that his hard work would be rewarded, and his freedom would be guaranteed. my mom had a very different life. you know, she was rejected and abandoned by her parents, sent to live with grandparents who didn't want her, and then by the anal of 14 was working as a house maid. i didn't know any of this until i was older, and i was pretty shocked, because it was so different from the really solid life that she gave me.

and i asked her, how did you do it? she said, you know, along the way people were kind to me. not my family, but a teacher, even the woman whose house i worked in. and she, too, always believed in that promise of our country. so now i have this amazing grandchild, and i'm going to do everything i can -- as will my husband -- to make sure she has every opportunity she could possibly take advantage of. but you know what? that is not enough. it really matters what kind of country she becomes an adult in and what kind of world is out there waiting for her. and i don't think you should have to be the granddaughter of a former president to have the promise of america made real for you. i think you should be the granddaughter of a factory worker or the grand son of a truck driver and all other children across this land -- [cheers and applause] so let's make it possible once

again for every child -- [cheers and applause] to live up to their god given potential. join me in that, it will be my mission as your president. thank you all very much! [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ [applause] ♪ ♪

>> c-span takes you on the road to the white house. best access to the candidates at town hall meetings, speeches, rallies and meet and greets. we're taking your comments on twitter, facebook and by phone. and always, every campaign event we cover is available on our web site, c-span.org. >> abigail fillmore was the first first lady to work outside the home, teaching in a private school. she successfully lobbied congress for funds to create the first white house library. mamie eisenhower's hair style created fashion sensations, and stores sold clip hon bangs to women eager to replicate her style. and nancy reagan, as a young

actress, saw her name mistakenly on the blacklist of suspected communist sympathizers in the late 1940s, she appealed to the screen actors' guild head ronald reagan for help. she later became his wife. these stories and more are featured in c-span's first ladies. the book makes a great gift for the holidays, giving readers a look into the personal lives of every first lady in american history. stories of fascinating women and how their legacies resonate today. the book is based on original interviews from c-span's first ladies series and has received numerous reviews including this one from a presidential historian and author who said, quote: c-span is a national treasure, and its path-breaking series on america's first ladies is another reason why. judy woodruff, co-anchor and managing editor of the cbs "newshour", says:

>> and jane hampton cooke, first ladies' historian and biographer, noted that: >> share the stories of america's t ladies for the holidays. c-span's book "first ladies" is available as a hard cover or e-book from your favorite bookstore or online bookseller. be sure to order your copy today. >> the hill reporting this afternoon about a hearing c-span covered today, defense secretary ashton carter said today that the pentagon is deploying a special operations force that will, quote, over time conduct raids in iraq and syria to, quote, put even more pressure on the islamic state in iraq and syria. quote, these special operators will, over time, be able to

conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence and capture isil leaders. defense secretary carter told the armed service committee it will focus on enforcing iraq's borders and building iraqi force's capability. here's some of that hearing we covered first with secretary carter. >> in early november we deployed additional strike aircraft in turkey. these and other aircraft in the region combined with improved intelligence allowed us in november to significantly increase our airstrikes against isil to the highest level since the start of operations in august of 2014. to build on that momentum, we're sending -- on president obama's orders and the chairman's and my advice -- special operations forces personnel to syria to sport the fight against isil.

american special operators bring a unique swiss of capabilities that make them -- suite of capabilities that make them force multipliers. they will further enhance our air campaign, and above all, enable local forces that can regain and then hold territory occupied by isil. where we find further opportunity to leverage such capability, we are prepared to expand it. next, in south of syria we're also taking advantage of opportunities to open a southern front on isil by enabling fighters trained and equipped by us and other coalition partners to conduct strikes inside syria. we're also enhancing the border control and defenses of a key ally, jordan, with additional military assets and assistance. in northern iraq peshmerga units, with the help of u.s. air power and advisers, have retaken the town of sinjar, cutting the

main line of communication between raqqa and mosul, the two largest cities under isil's control. to move people and supplies, isil must now rely on back roads or relocate and destroy them. elsewhere in iraq we have about 3500 troops at six locations in iraq in support of iraqi security forces, the isf. there we've been providing increased lethal fire and augmenting the existing training, advising and assisting program. and we're prepared to do more as iraq shows capability and motivation in the counter-isil fight and in resolving its political divisions. now, the progress in the sunni portions of iraq, as mentioned by mr. smith, is the campaign to recapture -- as the campaign to recapture ramadi shows has been slow, much to our and prime minister abadi's frustration.

despite his efforts, sectarian politics and iranian influence have made building a multi-sectarian iraqi security force difficult. with some notable exceptions such as the effective u.s.-trained counterterrorism forces. we continue to offer additional u.s. support of all kinds and urge baghdad to enroll, train, arm and pay sunni-arab fighters. as well as local sunni-arab police be forces to hold territory recaptured from isil. all these efforts from northern syria through iraq have shrunk the isil-controlled territory in both. importantly, we now have an opportunity to divide isil's presence in iraq from that in syria. this could be important because while both countries are plagued by isil, each -- as i said earlier -- has different political pathologies that provide the opportunity for extremism. and they ultimately require

different kinds of political progress to insure lasting victory. next, in full coordination with the government of iraq, we're deploying a specialized expeditionary targeting force to assist iraqi and kurdish peshmerga forces and put even more pressure on isil. these special operators will, over time, be able to conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence and capture isil leaders. this force will also be in a condition to conduct unilateral operations in syria. that creates a virtual -- virtuous cycle of better intelligence which yen -- which generates more targets, more raids, more momentum. the raids in iraq will be done at the invitation of the iraqi government and focused on defending its borders and building the isf's capability. next, we're also significantly expanding u.s. attacks on isil's

infrastructure and sources of revenue, particularly its oil revenue. over the past several weeks, because of improved intelligence and understanding of isil's financial operations, we've intensified the air campaign against isis's-sustaining oil enterprise, a critical pillar of isil's financial infrastructure. in addition to destroying fixed facilities like wells and processing facilities, we've destroyed nearly 400 of isil's oil tanker trucks, reducing a major source of its daily revenues. there's more to come too. and we're improving our capability to eliminate isil's leadership by conducting raids using the expeditionary target force i discussed a moment ago and also targeted airstrikes. since i last appeared before this committee in june, we have removed some key isil figures from the battlefield; isil's

second in command, a key external operative actively plotting against our service members, jihadi john, an isil executioner, and isil's leader in libya. like previous actions, these strikes serve notice to isil that no target is beyond our reach. >> you heard the secretary of defense today say both in writing and verbal wily that we are at war -- verbally that we are at war. who declared that war? >> chairman -- representative forbes, i think what the secretary was saying because we've discussed this is we view the fight be against isil as a threat to the united states, and we are mobilizing all of the military capabilities that are necessary -- >> who would have actually made that declaration? is that something you would make? the secretary would make? >> there was a technical declamation of war, it would be the congress. >> but has that declaration been

made? >> no, it has not. >> then why does the secretary -- >> why doesn't the secretary say for himself? >> i only have five minutes. >> well, i'm just going to tell you -- >> if he wants to elaborate, he can do it in writing. >> general dunford, can you tell me as the chairman of joint chiefs if you know? >> we are technically not at war, representative forbes. >> okay. so if we're -- >> declared war. >> let me ask you, have we currently contained isil? >> every not contained isil. >> have they been contained at any time since 2010? >> tactically, in areas they have been. strategically, they have spread since 2010. >> can you ask me if our current strategy in your best personal and professional military judgment that we have currently implemented, do we have a strategy that will defeat and troy isil? >> -- destroy isil? >> i think the right components are in place, representative forbes. >> is that the strategy that was recommended by the joint chiefs? >> the current strategy and

particularly the military dimension of the strategy is the strategy that was recommended by the joint chiefs. >> do you have any knowledge of whether your predecessor was ever consulted from 2010 until he left office regarding the appropriate strategy for dealing with isil in his best personal and professional military judgment or the best personal military judgment of the joint chiefs? >> i'm confident that he was routinely consulted. >> do you have any knowledge as to whether he was consulted? >> i do. i was a member of the joint chiefs at the same time. >> was the strategies implemented since 2010 the strategies that were recommended by the joint chiefs? >> i can't, i can't speak to all the way back to 2010, congressman forbes. >> how long were you on the joint chiefs? >> eleven months before assuming my current position. >> during that 11 months, were the strategies implemented at that time the strategies that were recommended by the joint chiefs? >> we didn't make a recommendation on a strategy during those 11 months. the only recommendations we made happened subsequent to that time, which is when i was a

chairman. >> and, general, in your best personal, professional military judgment do you believe our strategies since 2010 were the appropriate military strategies to defeat and destroy isil? >> congressman forbes, i think we have the right elements of the strategy in place today. >> did we have them since 2010? >> i don't believe the campaign was fully resourced since 2010. >> good. mr. chairman, with that i yield back. thank you, general. and feel free to elaborate on any of that you want to in writing. >> mr. secretary, if there's something you want to say about the comments -- >> no, i just want to be candid. i'm not using this in some technical sense, but this is serious business. >> and, mr. secretary -- >> that's what i mean by "war." it feels like that to our people who are engaged in it, and it has that kind of gravity. it's knotts a technical -- it's not a technical thing, it's a descriptive -- >> mr. chairman, since i have 60 seconds left, and all due respect to the secretary, the word "war" is not just some like

term. when we use "war," it is a technical word, and it needs to be used very, very carefully. i think whether we use it in this committee or we use it elsewhere, and with that i yield back. >> looking live at the u.s. capitol where in just over five minutes the u.s. senate will return from their party lunches, about 2:15 eastern. majority leader mitch mcconnell said yesterday that he hopes to begin work this afternoon or tomorrow on a measure that would repeal the 2010 health care law. more on that now from a reporter covering the issue. >> host: and the senate going to starlet its reconciliation process with provisions to repeal parts of the health care law. we're joined by burr jess everett, congressional reporter with politico. burr jess -- burgess, let's start with what is reconciliation, and why are senate republicans using this to repeal parts of the health care law? >> guest: so it's a process that the senate can use to overcome democratic filibusters.

the democrats can't filibuster it, they only need 51 votes, the republicans do, to pass this, so it's basically a way of using this fast track method to get this repeal to the president's desk. otherwise the democrats can filibuster any attempts to mess with the health care law. that's what they've done when it's come up in the senate before, so it's basically a procedural maneuver by republicans to use the exact same way the democrats passed the health care law in the senate back in 2010. >> host: and a little bit about reconciliation. what happens in reconciliation? >> guest: yeah. so, essentially, it's a way of -- essentially, gaming the budgetary process -- [laughter] to send instructions, and it needs to change the budgetary levels to use this process. and the way that the republicans are using it is to, essentially, take out the individual and employer mandates of obamacare, also defund planned parenthood. they are also going the take on

the medicaid expansion, do a two-year transition period there and also take away some of the obama care taxes so that it all evens up on the ledger, basically. >> host: right, and -- >> guest: they can't do a full repeal, but they're getting most of it with this legislation. >> host: now, senate republicans met last night, they're really trying to stick together on what their plan is going to be. senate be majority leader mitch mcconnell tweeted -- actually, you tweeted about what he was saying. confident mcconnell says president obama will have immediate veto decision on obamacare. and from minority leader harry reid you heard: mcconnell has an obsession with obamacare. he can't give up with this obsession. what are we going to see on the floor in terms of debate time, in terms of amendments that are allowed? you mentioned, essentially, this vote-a-rama? >> guest: yeah. they're hoping today for an agreement on the parameters of

the reconciliation debate, and i think you would probably see at the end of the week passage of reconciliation which, again, you only need 51 votes to do just a majority. in between you can get into this vote-a-rama. republican leaders are trying to avoid this. they don't want to go all night, they already had it before which is when you can propose any amendment you want to, and you can do that on the reconciliation again. so you can get a lot of politically-charged votes from the democrats and the are republicans, but there's a little bit of a sense that we did this already, try not to stay up overnight until four in the morning again. [laughter] so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out. that's definitely kind of the wildcard that'll determine when they can finish and how arduous it is. >> host: and some republicans actually don't support attaching the, this to the reconciliation, the obamacare partial -- because they want the entire obamacare repealed. ted cruz, marco rubio, mike lee.

will, through this process will things change enough to get their support, and if not, what happens then? >> guest: so the big thing that happened, the biggest development in the last 24 hours was senate republicans used, added the medicaid repeal. they wanted to go further, that is cruz, lee and rubio wanted to go further than the house bill which which didn't speak to medicaid. so the senate republicans are adding that in, pushing it more conservative. mike lee had very good things to say about this last night. we don't know where rubio is at. my colleague just asked cruz how he would vote, he does not seem to have an answer yet. he referred her to the press office. so it's a little bit of a wildcard here, but clearly mcconnell is trying to get those more conservative votes versus somebody like mark kirk who's from a blue state, he's more moderate, he's concerned about the planned parenthood funding, so it's not playing to the moderates in the conference, it's playing to the conservatives. >> host: and you mentioned the planned parenthood measure passed in the house with

provisions to defund it for a year. are all republicans onboard with this being part of the reconciliation? >> guest: i -- we don't have an exact whip count right now because the process was just explained to the republicans. my guess is you're not going to get mark kirk, susan collins or lisa murkowski. i'm guessing you're not going to get all senate republicans, but the key is 51 republicans, took the house in 2010 and the senate in 2014. this is the closest they've ever been to getting it on the president's desk. mcconnell says there's some drama in what the president will do, there isn't. he's going to veto this. and that gives some republicans cover because they know it's not going to become law. >> host: and then down the road if president obama does veto it, what about attaching it to the omnibus spending bill? >> guest: well, unless you want a government shutdown, i don't think you're going to do that. but i've seen crazier things happen. [laughter] >> host: we're going to keep following you, burgess, at

twitter, and the web site, politico.com. thanks so much. >> guest: thanks for having me. >> u.s. senate about to gavel back in. reporters hearing from leaders just before they come in. fox tweeting about that reconciliation effort, says that mcconnell expects to finish budget reconciliation package to repeal obamacare, defund planned parenthood on thursday. general speeches allowed til 3:00 eastern, and meanwhile over in the house they're working their way through a number of bills including one today. they, by a voice vote, passed the intelligence authorization for 2016. now we take you live to the floor of the u.s. senate here on c-span2. mr.