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good to be with each and every one of you today with the presidential set and congressional primaries drawing to a close. the d triple c is hitting the ground running. with all the ingredient's in place with democratic victories we are making unprecedented early investment in nationwide campaign. it's a campaign with a simple message. donald trump is a bully, bigot, the most unqualified presidential nominee in our nation's history. and every house republican who failed to stand up to him bares responsibility for his rise. this week the democratic congressional campaign launched a seven-figure national advertising campaign cable and digital, our goal to define the

toxic republican brand before campaign is set sail. let's be clear, republicans have brought this upon themselves. over the last year and a half republicans have had the opportunity to stand up to donald trump when it mattered most but, instead they just fell in line. there's never been a shadow of a doubt that donald trump is dangerous and ill-fitted person to be commander in chief yet house republicans stood by as he marched towards the republican nomination. so now house republicans can hide when donald trump goes to visit them in their districts, but they can't cut and run away from the fact that his is the face of their party. it's worst than that, with standing with donald trump, republicans are aiding and abaiting his hate, bigotry and racism. house republicans are allowing

trump to embrace fear and divisiveness, when a leader in your party is dividing americans against each other and attacking women and minority and immigrant and veterans and people with disabilities, how you react is a test of your leadership and by falling in line with trump, house republicans failed that leadership test. they put their party over the good of our country just as they have over and over again since republicans took the majority in 2010 and we refuse today let them off the hook. now, you may have been surprised with some of the ads that you may have seen over the last week, indeed, this is an unconventional strategy but deploying is important. we are in a national eased election focused on one person

and one person only, donald trump. we are framing the debate to make sure that republican incumbents can escape the impact of their party's disastrous choice for president. democrats are prepare today take advantage of every opportunity in the national environment. the national republican campaign committee still may desperately grasp to the claim that they will add and expand their majority but it's laughable, there is not -- there's not been one notable rate in change in the democratic district that favors republicans this cycle.

expand our map and prepare for whatever opportunities come our way. today i want to share with you three key observations as we survey the house battlefield and our strategies ahead. fist demographics were already shifting in our direction. in 2015 the d triple c conducted an extensive analysis how the electorate is changing and growing over time. to identify where the house majority will come from, now and in the future the bottom line is that the natural trend and national environment work in democrats favor. the electorate is getting young and democrats moving to densely packed city into republican cities in the suburbs. overall changes will be for democrats for years to come. democrats will become increasingly competitive in districts with growing communities of color, near

universities, in suburbs and with large populations of moderate and independent voters. second, donald trump is accelerating that shift. y'all know that donald trump is under water with women, hispanics, asian americans, but what's important to remember when considering the house race is that donald trump is deeply unpopular with sub you aran voters, independents and those with college degrees. these are the very same voters that were already start to go come our way in years ahead but trump accelerates that. third, our map only gets better from here. listen, i will be honest with with all of you, democrats face a challenge this year, thanks in part to the 2010 republican gerrymandering, it's not an expanding battlefield. but the winnable districts are increasingly becoming much more competitive, districts that

would have been 50/50 tossups under presidential conventional year without donald trump like texas 23, illinois 10, florida 26 are now leaning in favor of democrats. our competitive battlefield pushes into republican leaning districts with strong candidates in place to challenge a weak republican incumbent. these races are now undeniably competitive. places like new jersey 5, utah 4 or california 25, and this also allow today recruit and compete in lean and likely republican districts where we have never mounted a credible challenge before. places like florida 7. we are now hearing and feeling the shift on the ground as we talk to voters in the districts and the data bares it out. from over 20 districts in our original core battle districts,

the d triple c has seen average 8-point shift for the democrat in the named head-to-head vote. that's really important point and data. average over 5 points against the generic republican. in assessment of presidential favorability in 2016, hillary clinton has a net advantage of nine points over donald trump on average. 40 swing states across the country. in other words, we have seen positive movement in competitive house races, that happened without paid communications purely as a result of national environment. we are optimistic for that growth to continue. just as it did today. the d triple c has added ten new candidates that we announced just this morning. this brings the number of races

in top tier category to 48 races total. it's another exciting step in the right direction. and let me just say this, donald trump may give democrats an extra boost this cycle but we have been preparing for this kind of aggressive campaign since before he opened up his mouth. once i became chairman i said to d triple c on an aggressive on year endeavor to prepare for whatever might come our way in 2016, for the first time the d triple c has brought data and analytics in-house. we put a premium for hiring diverse staff deployed months earlier than ever before to build a lasting democratic infrastructure and districts across the country that won't just help us in 2016 but in 2018 and beyond. we've established a targeted messaging operation so that campaigns can campaign with voters in the smartest way possible specially can millennials, people of color and

women, let me walk you through three strategic priorities moving forward. first, we will arm our campaign with smartest data and smart program in conjunction with hillary clinton's campaign and other allies the d triple c in-house data and infrastructure has allowed us to build the first trump model. live data in targeted states the model measure predict which voters are likely to have unfavorable view of donald trump typically independents or moderate republicans and often women. from the moment we -- donald trump launched his campaign, trump has been intent on driving out republicans who oppose him and tossing them right out of the party. we intent to welcome them into ours. once we find the voters, our teams and campaigns will reach to them with compelling message against the republican representative in donning. this will help at the door, on the phone, through campaign literature and in other

communications, what will those messages be? that leads me to the second element of our the strategy, dipping the tide between house republicans and the toxic trump through every time of communication with voters. in every campaign office in america republicans are struggling to deal with trump's devastating impact on the races. we intend to make their jobs even harder. this means aggressively getting house republicans on the record regarding the front runner. republicans take notice. you may try to claim there's a difference between supporting trump and endorsing them but it's time to throw away thesaurs and face the problem. you break it, you buy it it. house republicans will have to answer on a daily basis. beyond the day-to-day maddens of trump the connection that we draw for voters will also be one of substance and policy.

house republicans continue to take out hateful positions and take trump-like vote that is attack dreamers, allow discrimination of the lgbt community, limit a women to health care rights and even protect the confederate battle flag and while barbara may avoid using trump's name, she once recommended that immigrant be tracked like fedex packages. that's a policy similarity that voters in virginia tenth district will be cristal clear on. me try to change history books and highly diverse district and attacked districts and joined the birther movement to question whether president obama is an american. sadly that list goes on. the track record, we must make harder for house republicans in

swing districts. let me tell you what i mean by that, on election to get to 50% plus one, lee and paul or eric must widely appeal to republican base that choose trump over 16 other candidates and be able to attract independents people of color and even democrats. you see the policemen whether they are with him or against him they're alienaning. when more people vote, democrats seem to do better. d triple c will add one more x factor through intense gop program, d triple c will turn out democrat base voters and

moderate republican voters with a persuasion program. at the end of the day, this will be an unsolvable equation for house republicans in swing districts in november. now, house republicans have been in charge for six years. for six years they have failed to stand up to the koch brothers. so here is the question we will put to voters. if you can't trust house republicans to stand up to donald trump, can you really trust them to stand up for you and your family because for six years while house republicans have put party over country, the american people have been waiting for someone to put them first. that i have been waiting for house republicans to keep them safe and help them prosper. they've been waiting for house republicans to work in good

faith to solve problems, they've been waiting for meaningful action on student debt, climate change, immigration reform and so much more. we believe the american people shouldn't have to wait and we are not waiting either. that's why we are jumping into action earlier and more aggressively than ever before. that's why we are employing news strategies and talking to new voters. 2016 represents a unique opportunity for new direction in the house and the d triple c is ready to seize that opportunity. thanks for being here and i look forward the conversations. >> great, thank you very much. katie, why don't you take this? turn it onto warm it up. hope the battery doesn't die. okay. two other intersections david hoe, vice chair of committee and bill is in the back.

okay. so we'll go for the first question to tommy byrd from the salt lake tribune and national president of the press club. >> thank you, i've been introduced like four times, this is awesome. congressman thanks for being here. i wanted to follow up on your comments. if you break it you buy it. obviously you're trying to tie every republican to donald trump but in the opposite can't they tie every one of your candidates, incurvants to hillary clinton and how do you respond to saying, well, if they -- if they're republican like trump all democrats like hillary who is polarizing and unliked by half of americans. >> tommy f this comes back between a contrast between hillary clinton and donald trump it's going to be a strong year for us as democrats. our internal data shows what national polling is as well. hillary clinton has a 9-point bump over donald trump across swing districts across america. what we are seeing today is republicans trying to find every

way they can to have their cake and eat it too and house republicans suggested that they're going to support donald trump, stlai to defend against racist statements against posting antisystemmic symbols. it would have been a response in one-day story and now a week-long dilemma that leads us to general election in november asell. compare to go what donald trump is saying, the fingers with dilemma that he creates as well, it's endless. the damage has been done by donald trump and republicans are not able to walk away from it. again, they've been following in line day in and day out and at the top of that list sadly is

our very own speaker paul ryan who who days after endorsement had to defend racist statements and i would say that alist goes on. that's the difference between donald trump and hillary clinton. >> okay, so congressman is not going to support donald trump, do you just say, well, it's your party, you have to own it same with doug owens and hillary clinton in. >> in every congressional district across the country where donald trump has been able to find votes, there's a donald trump base of voters and those base voters are not happy with those republicans that are not getting behind donald trump. so you have a math problem. that's part of that math problem and that equation that i was describing that is to challenging for republicans to try to figure out and the x factor is donald trump.

he's the multiplier so if you have a problem within the republican base and oh there's a problem with donald trump and those pushing to democrats, plus that helps us and helps math for republicans. >> so the conventional wisdom is that it's going to take 30 to flip if the house changes party. is that the number that you agree with and also what would be the potential given everything you've discussed and if that were to be true, is there the potential of a waive or a bridge too far?

>> if we go back into 2014 and 2015, there was not a story that was written associated with the competitive nature of house districts across america, something magical happened at the end of 2015 going into 2016 that only got worst for house republicans, that change it had national narrative as we were looking at house races across the country. more and more headlines were suggested as political headline was, donald trump is helping democrats across america. it's only getting a little bit better for us. so as was said, right now house democrats are in the minority by 30 seats. we need to have a net win of 30 seats to get back in the majority. the leader when she appointed, ben, your role to play house, be smarter about data, make sure that we are able to understand historical trends with current trends and what's going to be

happening day in and day out so you can make smarter decisions out the door. be able to own the ground, get out there and do this earlier than ever before and launch an aggressive campaign. then we had donald trump. where i am today, while i have not made any predictionses of winning the house back but what i have clearly said that democrats are on offense, we will win seats up and down the battlefield that was put together in 2015 before we even knew about donald trump is getting more and more competitive. congressman ana was chased by the tea party. all the way to indiana with the great recruit. there are races that will be

winning across the country that were not otherwise on the map. as we get closer to election day, my strategy is one vote at a time and one district at a time and we are going to continue down the path. >> tommy said to. q. this question four times. let me take this another way, your not making a prediction, is it possible for a waive election? >> anything is possible. what i will say is this, republicans in 2015 jeri handerred their way into power. we are seeing republican districts across the country which shift it had battlefield from past years. with that being said, though, all the rating changes in race

after race that creates positive environment for us. i'm very optimistic to what is going to happen come election day in november of 2016. we are going to continue to workday in and day out. leader pelosi has been able to edge out. they have almost 100 more members than we do. there's no reason that that should be close. if that's an indication with numbers across the country namely internal polling that i was sharing with you, that leads to a very positive day for us on election day. we will let a few of our other friends make those predictions but i will continue to lean in, one district at a time and one

vote at a time and making sure we pick up seats all across country. >> katie, if you can bring the mic to the next person which will be who, and identify yourself and your organization. >> i'm niel with roll call. i noticed in your districts that you're saying you're now playing you mention the new york 22nd, that's an up state district that has had really never recovered from the manufacturing losses of a long time ago. it's a place where you would think that mr. trump's message about manufacture and you're saying that that's not something -- so house republicans in new york 22, the most right-wing tea party oriented came out of the

primary, not the person that the campaign was recruiting and hoped to come to that race, that creates a math problem for republicans in that race as well that has strongly supported a richard hana for some time. that's why it is so competitive. it's about the candidates on the ground as well. across the country you're not only seeing the difference between it's trump versus clinton and the environment that donald trump is creating, when you look at our districts cross the country and you're reminded by tip oh nile, all politics are local n this very race awhere we saw richard hanah pushed out by the tea party and now we are in a strong race with kim myers. >> identify yourself.

>> my question is, what is the d triple c's plans are for both conventions for the democratic convention where the fundraising candidate spotlights and plus for cleveland wanting to know about whether it would be any kind of antitrump events, perhaps? >> the reason we leaned into national advertising is to get lead and be able to set the stage across america but specially as republicans are deciding whether they're going to still support donald trump and vote for donald trump or vote for donald trump but not endorse donald trump and defend the racist things that donald says day in and day out. if house republicans are not willing to stand up to donald

trump and his message of hate and bigotry are they really willing to stand up for your and your families, we want people thinking about that question. you remember that there were some things similarly done in 1964. there was a conversation about confessions of a republican asking what happens if you're standard is endorsed by the kkk, is surrounded by hate and bigotry was the message back in '64? voters across the country listened to that and reflected and they thought about it. that's all that i'm asking voters to do this cycle as well. as we lean in the democratic convention, it's with a very positive approach. we are on offense, we have a contrast, not only do we have a plan to make sure that we are taking advantage of all of the negative environment that surrounds donald trump but we are going to highlight the

amazing recruits that we had and the success in 65 districts across the country where we have recruited announced candidates and a growing battlefield and rating changes that favor democrats. so very positive message that we will be sharing at the dnc as well. >> and also just a point of information, the press club hosted the executive director of the democratic national convention mayor of philadelphia and the president of local organizing committee about a week ago c-span covered it so it's live and discussed events and finances and all of that and options, so if you wanting to to that and click on the link you can see the hour-long event that goes into some of what you're asking also. tommy had a follow-up. >> thank you. so you keep saying pretty much how donald trump is really good for you this year.

are you like secretly paying him, first question. second question, that's a different strategy in many ways than campaigns do which is to localize elections, this is not about national parties this is about who this congressperson is or candidate is, so this cycle is your strategy is to nationalize every campaign and talk about donald trump and instead of localize and talk about your candidate? >> i would say tommy, that our strategy is to take advantage of every element that's out there in this cycle. it just turns out that there's a national strategy to this because donald trump keeps giving and there's -- it's no secret that when house republicans are asked by any one of you whether they support trump or not, you know how uncomfortable they look. the phones come out of the pocket, they have to take a phone call. they have to walk away. in some cases reported that people were running from journalists because they didn't want -- answer questions about

donald trump. that's the environment that's happening today. sadly as house republicans want to pretend to their voters and to their constituents that they're running from donald trump, they're following in line day in and day out. everywhere that we see this happening we are going to be talking about it but again this is about each congressional district across the country which is a unique professional district and it's about the contrast that we are seeing on the ground with our candidates compared to the republicans as well and we will make that case because the same ugly policies that has america horrified over donald trump's candidacy are the same policies that we've seen advocated for by a republican colleague specially since their takeover in 2010. i'm not certain who is. [laughter] >> we see -- it seems that donald trump's campaign is paying donald trump with all the hotels and steaks that he's been

buying. i don't know what to say about that. i wish i could come up with a better analogy about that. that's definitely that i should have parked out of the park. look, i don't know what to say about this guy. you know, several out there question about his rice. that's the problem. during the republican primary no one was standing up to this bully. and now he's the presumptive nominee for the gop. you have to stand up to a bully when you see this ugly rhetoric otherwise you get donald trump. sending signals to hate groups with his divisive rhetoric is not good for america. and so that's what i'm here to tell you today, i'm here and ready and willing to stand up to this bully and i'm asking america to get mind -- behind me. >> imentreeinged by tom my's

question because tommy, i think if i'm right it's all been local and put money in local races and put strategy in local races, what would you say -- what's the portion nationalization of the camp ape versus local issues, maybe you can address how it's dividing out, maybe it's moved 10 or 15 or 20 points but still probably both. let's see what your thoughts are. >> i guess i haven't thought about it in and call perspective to levy from one side to the other. the way to describe it is there's one narrative this cycle and it's all part of that story. when you see when you see donald

trump not disavowing david duke and everyone knows better, and then you see house republicans in the dark of night at 3:00 in the morning tuck an amendment to protect the display of the confederate battle flag. same thing. it's all come in coming from new mexico, a community that celebrates art it's been woofn now that will help us tell a story that people will be able to see the entire piece in front of them as oppose to the threads that haven't been put together to tell this amazing story. donald trump is helping us wave this tapestry to highlight lack of governing that we have seen on full display by house republicans.

tonight speaker ryan is doing a town hall on cnn. what we have seen over the last few weeks are a series of white papers that have been written and put together of what republicans will do if they're in charge. the worst keep secret is republicans are in charge now. they shouldn't be writing the white papers, they should be putting votes on the floor today. we are going into a recess where zika has yet to be fully addressed, funding for the opioid crisis has yet to be addressed. the flint, michigan crisis has yet to be addressed and while i also want to make sure that the employees are offered protections against the lead infected pipes as well, the people at flint-michigan should be as well. speaker ryan has pulled pieces of legislation off the table that he promised that would be

there during the fourth of july recess. it all comes together. the disavowing, pushing away, ignoring the responsibility of governing that we are seeing from house republicans reflects what donald trump has been saying day in and day out and donald trump has only put a spotlight to show the american people what's been happening locally across america. >> so that being the case, what there wasn't last time national ads, i remember clinton being critical, will that change now under you? >> it already has. so there's already two ads that's been airing starting monday, just yesterday. we unveiled those ads, i believe, on friday of last week. and we will be leaning in. it's only the beginning of making sure that we are part of this national conversation and that we are working together to

ask voters, again, if you can't trust donald trump can you trust those that have not stood up to him and following in line, it's a very simple question and we are going to be asking people all across the country to reflect on that, to think about that, if that is the case, come join us, let's make sure we have a stronger america day in and day out and stand up to the notion where things are unsafe, things are unaffordable or things are unfair. we can work together to make sure that we are securing our nation that we are securing our future and that we are securing our democracy. we can do this together. >> a whole host of hands. people who haven't yet asked, okay, and people who have. let's go to the back next to tommy. >> hi, kimberly with national journal, thanks for your time. i wanted to ask you about congressman bob dole in 2010,

he's been one of donald trump's most vocal and early critics and of a lot of republicans in congress he's definitely the most moderate so far. why are you confident that that's not going to be enough for him to survive this reelection? >> he's up on bob dole and the trends have been coming our way, what we have seen with internal polling is snieder continues to do better coming out of what was a very tough primary, a race where brad had to really lean in but that being said, brad reached out to voters and they were talking about brad, being reminded of the great service that brad has and that's the biggest difference here. as i said earlier whether you talk about gold, in the statements of donald trump, they didn't stand up to him early when it mattered most. that's point number one.

that coupled with schneider running a campaign and working hard, having the same financial support and many times better that we are even seeing with mr. dole has been putting together as we are leaning into this cycle into november and the polling is on brad's side with building momentum day by day. that's a positive environment for us as well. in illinois you're seeing circumstance and everyone else try to run away from this monster that's been created. you know, i was a fan of the monster books when i was growing up as well and if any one thought that it would come to fruition it's definitely the people of illinois and they're having to deal with that monster right now. it comes back to just local dynamics. schneider is doing well. the polling is on his side and continue to maintain and earn the trust of more voters, more voters are paying attention to this race and cycle because of

donald trump's rhetoric. we will see greater turnout and that's going to come our way and help brad get elected. >> hi, jonathan, i had a question, a lot of the impetus seems to be on donald trump's outrageous comments that are off the cuff and are there certainly policies, do you think it's tax and spending policies will be coming up? >> well, i think you all just covered the roll out of donald trump's economic policy with all the holes that it has and what it will cost the american people. once donald trump -- when he shoots from the hip, when he decides to tweet whatever is on his mind as he wakes from his slumber and the team around him has to defend and try to do the

hard work to put the numbers to it. many of the policies that donald trump oh have advocated will hurt people across the country. the only thing that donald trump has agreed with house republicans on is that they both agree that there should be tax cuts for the most wealthy of the country. this guy suggested that united states should default on our debt, restructure, well, that shouldn't surprise us. that's how donald trump made his money. if the way that he created his wealth is how he will run america, i don't want us going bankrupt in the united states of america. i don't want workers pension and all those 401k's being devastated because donald trump can put a buck of his pocket like someone was getting thrown out of their home. that's the staple of economic policy and why it's going to be devastating to the american people.

>> again, folks who haven't asked, that'd be good. >> dallas morning news. you know, in light of the events of last week in dallas and, you know, also in baton rouge and minnesota and everything that's been going on, how do you think that the gun debate and rake relations questions and, you know, the political climate in change, how does that affect somebody's race and if you could, as well, sort of specifically interested in the race, curious, your thoughts about the state of that race right now and gallego has been running clinton's trump ads directly on his website and curious about your thoughts too?

>> a week that was one of the toughest in our nation's history and that happened as there was finally a conversation taking place about violence in america and what needs to be done to have an open and honest conversation about that, there was a conversation on the house floor led by congressman john lewis bringing attention to the fact that that there's more that we could do as a nation to be able to combat some of this violence. closing the gun hole loophole, something that poll after poll shows whether it's in the mid

80's to mid 90's the american people are behind. people across the country want action. and if any of these bills will come to the floor, i'm confident that they will pass. why are house republicans cliegs putting party over country in this case, number one. after what we saw in orlando which we can attribute to terrorism and a hate crime, to baton rouge, louisiana and minnesota, these family deserve answers. and tragic lives that have been taken, the police officers who were attacked not just in dallas

but right before and right after, we need to come together as a country and have an honest conversation about this as well, provide more training, the importance of body cameras, the respect with officers as well but also the respect that it shows to people that come from communities of color. in this case young african-american men, young black men and we need to have our eyes wide open and thoughtful conversation and takes me back to the ugliness, rhetoric with the national election that we have today. that hate speak has no place in our -- in our public discourse. we are r-we are better than that. we are better than that. people shouldn't be speaking in code to show that they're unsighting one group or another. that's bad too. one of the most thoughtful

comments or conversations that i've heard that have been covered have been from the position in dallas, dr. williams , who tretted these officers to try to save their lives and the victims that came in after those terrific shootings in dallas as well and told a story how he raises his daughter and go buy ice cream in front of daughter to see that she's good people but he would be lying to the american if he didn't share how he was growing up and the fears that he had. we need to listen to our friends and family because when we have friends whether they're african american or they're from the lgbt community, hispanic, any et ethnicity or group that has been pushed around or marginalized

across the country, listen to them. it's real. and don't forget about those stories. i would say as we look at the congress at the national mood and when the responsibility that we have as leaders but as citizens, as individuals as well, we all have to come together, we all have to be as a family to move this to make sure that the atrocities never happen again not just many america but anywhere. that's our calling, that's our responsibility and it is changing the conversation across the country. now, as i pivot and talk about texas 23, texas 23 is an example of a state where a district within a state where we are seeing a voter surge during presidential cycle as well. so we get bumps in democratic competitive districts all across the state of texas up and down ballot and presidential years. that's going to be one of the

leading charges that brings gallego back to the congress and will hurt trying to run from donald trump. pete works hard and the heart that pete has in looking after people is what i admire most. and that resinates with voters. we are also seeing more latinos get engage in the state of texas as well as america, florida, texas have been leading the way with activism with the latino community. not only the involvement of latinos, millennials but the voter surge that you'll see in texas 23 and many competitive districts across the country which is why we will do well and why pete will win that particular race. >> okay, some more hands. any other questions? okay. >> congressman, you mentioned

speaker ryan before in town hall meeting tonight and that just prompted something that i hadn't been planning on asking, which is do you have any advice for democrats who might live in the first congressional district of wisconsin about what they should do in the upcoming primary there since it's wisconsin is an open primary state? [laughter] >> look, what i would say in ryan's district and districts across america is just vote. if we can get 100% of the population voting in america we'll all be better off and have a more representative government. i don't know what that means in that congressional districts but in districts that i'm working in it means more democrats will get elected across the country and that we will be in a stronger place because we have to question, you know, i know this isn't part of the question but i will respond this way, we have to question why republican colleagues whether it's in the house of representatives or in

other parts of leadership roles, whether it's nonprofit role or advocacy role. why is it getting hard to vote in america? why they make it harder to people to get to ballot box, why they change the rules? why can't everyone just vote? why can't we make sure that in america that in many states like colorado, oregon and washington state where you're a citizen, you get a ballot and you're encouraged to vote and we need more people voting. i think we are just better off. my message, just vote, get involved. pay attention who's happening across the country, question what's happening and demand better. that's what we need to be doing. good question. [laughter] >> i thank you for your time again. there's ap report this morning that came out that said that donald trump like if you were elected president he would be the only major world leader that

would not believe in climate change so i just wanted to ask, how that notion plus maybe the gop environmental agenda as a whole, how that's going to play out with house democrats and races across the country? >> that's a perfect example. maybe my republican colleagues don't believe in that either. all that donald trump is bringing attention to where house republicans are. you know, he probably is the only world leader that has twitchy twitter fingsers. donald trump is breaking the mold and not for the better. i don't know how to respond to all of things trump any longer, every day you're asked to respond to one more ridiculous thing that was said or a policy position that was taken and you begin to ask the journalists or the people around you, is that question for real. are you trying to stump us on this one? it's unbelievable around donald trump. on the case that was reported by

ap, it doesn't surprise, it's where house republicans are today. we talk about the impact of what's happening with climate change around the united states and around the world. drought conditions are making it harder for us to grow food, impacting and devastating entire industries in the united states, making it harder for people to earn a live to go get by. devastating forest wires across the west and so many parts of america that are uncontrollable and republicans response not only to say that drought conditions aren't real and that we are not going to -- republicans will not pull more funding forward to be able to combat forest fire and you look at conflict around the world that's causing the same place, why the department of defense has listed and put together their own document highlighting the challenges that come out and exist from climate change as well and what it means when the department of defense is being challenged by our house republican colleagues with investing in renewable resources, making such that our

troops should not be having to transport trucks of diesel fuel in areas of conflict where their lives are in jeopardy and we've lost so many people, the 720th out of new mexico, the transport group out of the army national guard where we have lost local leaders because of that. not basing this issue is showing a lot of ignorance and not listening to what's happening not only around the united states of america but around the world. >> okay, we will take one more question if someone wants it. okay, go ahead. we will come back to you. [laughter] >> thank you again for the time. as you talk more about expanding the house battlefield are you confident that democrats are going to have the resources they need to do that? >> so day in and day out i will tell you, i have learned so much

from leader pelosi, we have seen as we get closer to the general election, we have more supporters across the country that are willing to be supportive and helpful. also our democratic colleagues have been generous in supporting our efforts to be able to mount this strategy across the country and we are seeing candidates step up to the challenge as well namely starting with democratic incumbantidepressants, democratic incumbents we challenge them to win election in off year and build up infrastructure necessary so that way they would be able to hold republicans accountable with the challenges that would be mounted come november of 20 -- november 8th of 2016 and they set the stage and put us in a good place. while we will not outraise republicans across the country, the koch brothers, carl rove and all the others who committed endless resources, you go to my district it's had to talk to

people that i grew up with to suggest that a couple oh brothers have $900 billion lying around or $900 million lying around to throw around. we won't outraise them but we will outwork them. >> to what extent are you guys going to be promoting the positive, promoting your side and the democrats platform or focusing on clinton and sanders' policy? >> i would describe our approach for donald trump, we are being just being honest about donald trump. it so happens that it's negative with what he's been doing and saying. absolutely, you need -- it's critically important that there's a contrast where donald trump and house republicans are and where democrats are.

not only on character and policy and we will be leaning aggressively to be able to draw the contrast day in and day out. they'll be a roll out starting later this week by congressman israel as well with sharing with you the work that he has put together in conjunction with so many of our colleagues that will give you an idea of how we will be leaning in not only to recess but election as well. they'll be a very clear contrast as we get into this. [inaudible] >> so the house republicans better weigh in white papers that they're trying to disguise. this isn't necessarily a response to that but it is an answer to what we are seeing with republican policy which continues to suggest that the va, the veterans administration should be privatize in line with donald trump suggesting that

there should be more tax breaks for the wealthy in line with donald trump. we will be leaning in with our own programs to show where we should have a safer environment for people at home and abroad in the united states to keep people safe, tough and smart policies as we look to securing our future when it comes to student loan debt, how hard it is for people to get into home and stay in a home, put a little bit of food and safe money at the end of the month and specially when it comes to the one of the biggest driver that is we have with our house republicans when it comes to securing our democracy as well in our positions to citizens united, empowering people and voices again rather than secret outside money. so there will be a clear policy contrast as well that will be part of this rollout. >> all right, final question from me as listening to everything and some of the things people have asked.

there's extreme negatives this year, the american people have expressed something like 61% extreme concern about the election. both presidential candidates hillary less than donald trump but negatives on both sides. what will house democrats be doing about the negatives that the american people feel on their side of the equation? >> well, first off, donald trump has enjoyed week after week after being the republican nominee without any of the other candidates still in the race, with their supporters still seeing where they're going to go. secretary clinton and senator sanders come together today maybe as we were speaking here this morning to unit our party and unit around defeating donald trump and even with those -- with that happening today there

was -- there's still a 9% bump that secretary clinton has over in swing districts in america. as we go into republican convention where we don't -- we still don't know who is speaking. i don't know that we have a speaker's list yet. i don't know what they're waiting for. maybe that's part of fun tv is, you know, there may be a game, you spin it and that'll be the speaker of the republican convention. after the convention with the republicans and going to democratic convention where we will stand united, we will see the bump going into the election as well and that's something that i'm confident in as well. as we look to what we need to do as democrats, it comes back about how i was raised. my mom and dad raised all of us and family and friends is you respect everyone, you treat them

with respect and dignity, you earn their trust, you don't just get the trust of anybody, and it's our responsibility day in and day out to continue to earn the trust of the american people specially those who are already on our side and as long as we do that, while the republican standard is alienating every group across the country, we will be okay. only if we maintain trust of the american people and that's something that i try to do day in and day out myself. >> is there anything that you want to say in conclusion? >> thanks for doing what you do. thanks for listening in and paying attention and caring. to everyone that's watching from the outside as well, everyone that may be tuning in with c-span, just get involved in the election cycle. vote, that's what we need from you. challenge what's happening out there and look to see the differences between what's

happening with donald trump and secretary clinton, between house republicans and house democrats specially. if you feel that the gop is running out, donald trump has been disrespecting you and your family, we are asking you to come and join us. but more than anything, just ask the tough questions to each and every one of us, make sure that there's follow-ups as well, make sure that there's truth and transparency in everything that's being said and share that with the american people. thanks for letting me be here. it's really a big honor for the first time that i've been invited and participate with the national press club. this is an honor, thanks for having me. >> would you like to give a little present to the congressman? >> all right. >> tommy is good at this. [laughter] >> thank you, sir, this is a mug that we traditionally give to our speakers and news makers --

lunchon started with president roosevelt. we appreciate you for being here. >> thank you so much. >> and we are adjourn. [inaudible conversations]

>> in a speech described as powerful and deeply personal by "politico"'s lewis nelson, republican senator tim scott talked about police relations with african-americans on the senate floor yesterday. he recount times he felt he was targeted by police even as a u.s. senator. senator scott was followed by california senator barbara boxer, who talked about diversity, segregation, police training and history of race relations in this country. this is about 40 minutes. >> mr. president? >> the senator from south carolina. >> mr. president i rise today to

give my second speech this week discussing issues we are facing as a nation following last week's tragedies in dallas, minnesota, and baton rouge. this speech is perhaps the most difficult because it's the most personal. on monday i talked about you who the vast majority of our law enforcement officers have only two things in mind, protect and serve. but as i noted then, we do have serious issues that must be resolved. in many cities and towns across the nation there is a deep divide between the black community and law enforcement. a trust gap, a tension that has been growing for decker decades, and as a family one american family, we can not ignore these issues. because while so many officers do good and we should be thankful, as i said on monday, we should be very thankful in

support of all those officers that do good, some simply do not. i have experienced it myself. i want to speak on some of those issues, not with anger though i have been angry, not out of frustration, though at times i have been frustrated. i stand here before you today because i'm seeking for all of us, the entire american family, to work together so we all experience the lyrics of a song that we can hear but not see. peace, love, and understanding. because i shuddered when i heard eric garner saying, i can't breathe. move." i wept when i watched walter

scott turn and run away. and get shot and killed from the back. and i broke when i heard the four-year-old daughter of fill lan dough castile's girlfriend tell her mother, it's okay. i'm right here with you. these are people lost forever. fathers, brothers, sons. some will say even screamed, they have criminal records, they are criminals, they spent time in jail. t while having a record should not sentence you to death, i say okay, then, i will share with you some of my own experiences. or the experiences of good friends and other professionals.

i can certainly remember the very first time that i was pulled over by a police officer as just a youngster. i was driving a car that had an improper headlight. it didn't work right and the cop came up to my car, hand on his gun and said, boy, don't you know your headlight's not working properly? i felt embraer -- embarrassed, ashamed and scared, very scared. but instead of sharing experience after experience, i want to go to a time in my life when i was elected official and share just a couple of stories as an elected official. but bless remember that in the course of one year i have been stopped seven times by law enforcement officers. not four, not five, not six, but

seven times. in one year as an elected official. was i speeding sometimes? sure. but the vast majority of the time i was pulled over for nothing more than driving a new car in the wrong neighborhood, or, some other reason just as trivial. one of the times i remember i took a left out of the mall, as soon as i took a left a police officer pulled in right behind me. that i got to another traffic light. i took another left into a neighborhood. police followed behind me. i took a third left on to the street that lead or the at time led to my apartment complex. finally i took a fourth left, coming into my apartment complex and then the blue lights went on the officer approachedded the

car and said that did not use my turn signal on the fourth turn. keep in mind, as you might imagine, i was paying very close attention to the law enforcement officer who followed me on four turns. do you really think that somehow i forgot to use my turn signal t on that fourth turn? well, according to to him i did. another time, i was following a friend of mine, we were working out, heading out to grab a bite to eat at about 4:00 in the afternoon. he pulls out.te i pull out right behind him. we're driving down the road, blue lights come on. officer pulls me into the median. starts telling me thinks perhaps the car is stolen. well, i started to asking myself because i was smart enough not to ask him, asking myself, is

the license plate coming in as stolen? does the license plate match the car? i was looking for some rational reason that may have prompted him to stopping me on the side of the road. i also think about the experience with my brother, who became a command sergeant major in the united states army, the highest rank for an enlisted soldier. he was driving from texas, to charleston, pulled over, by law enforcement officer who wanted to know if he had stolen the car he was driving because it was a volvo? i do not know many african-american men who do not have a very similar story to tell, no matter the profession, no matter their income, no matter their disposition in

life. i also recall the story of one of my former staffers, great guy, about 30 years old, who drove a chrysler 300, a nice car, without any question, but not a ferrari, not a super nice car. he was pulled over so many times here in d.c. for absolutely non reason other than for driving as nice car. he sold that car, and bought a more obscure form of transportation. he was tired of being targeted. imagine the frustration, the irritation, of the loss of dignity that accompanies each of

those stops. even here on capitol hill where i have had the great privilege of serving the great people of south carolina as a united states congress member and as a united states senator for the last six years. for those who don't know, there are few ways to identify a member of congress or senate. well, typically when you have been here for a couple of years the law enforcement officers get to know your face and they just identify you by face, but if that doesn't happen, and you you can show them, show that you're a senator, or it is really cool pin. i often times say the house pin is larger because egos are bigger because we need a smaller pin. easy to identify a u.s. senator by our pin. i recall walking into an office

building just last year, after being here for five years on the capitol. with a little attitude said, the pin, i know you i don't. show me your i.d. i'll tell you, i was thinking to myself, either he thinks i'm committing a crime impercent nating a member of congress, or, or what? well, i'll tell you that later that evening i received a phone call from his supervisor apologizing for the behavior. mr. president, that is at least the third phone call that i have received from a supervisor, or the chief of police since i've been in the senate. so while i thank god i have not

endured bodily harm, i have however felt the pressure applied by the scales of justice when they are slanted. i have felt the anger, the frustration, the sadness, and the humiliation that comes with feeling like you're being targeted for nothing more than being just yourself. as a former staffer i mentioned earlier told me yesterday, there is absolutely nothing more frustrating, more damaging to your soul, then when you know you're following the rules and being treated like you are not but make no mistake. no matter this turmoil, these issues, should not lead anyone to any conclusion other than to abide by the laws.

i think reverend dr. martin luther king, jr. said it so well. returning violence with violence only leads to more violence and to even darker nights, nights to paraphrase, without stars. there is never, ever, an acceptable reason to harm a member of our law enforcement community, ever.i i don't want anyone to misinterpret the words that i'm saying. because even in the times of great darkness there is light. as i shared monday, there are hundreds, thousands of stories of officers who go beyond the call of duty, miss taylor, as i spoke about on monday night, as a dallas incident was covered, covered completely by at least three officers, who were willing

to lose their life to save hers. we have a real opportunity to be grateful and thankful for men i sha i shared another story on monday night as well, and while the one i want to tell you today does not involve a tragic loss of life, it does, it does show support that meant a lot to me at the time it occurred. prior to serving in the united states senate i was an elected official on the county level, the state level, and the member of united states congress., i believe it is my responsibility to hang out, toe be with my constituents as ofteg as possible, hear their concerns. my time as public servant ii traveled to an event i waswo invited to along with two staffers and two law enforcement officers. w all four were white and me. when we arrived at the event the

organizers seemed to have particular issue with me coming to the event. he allowed my two staffers to go into the event. seemed to be allowing two officers to go into the event who both said they weren't going in if i wasn't going in. so in order to avoid a real tense situation, i opted to leave because there is just no way of winning that kind of debate ever. but i was so proud and thankful for those two law enforcement officers who were enraged by this treatment. it was such a moment that i will never forget in a situation that i would love to forget. this now this situation that happens all across the country, this is a situation that happens allry across the country, whether we want to recognize it or not.

it may not happen 1,000 times a day but it happens too many times a day. and to see it as i have had the chance to see it helps me understand why this issue has wounds that have not healed in a generation. it helps me appreciate and understand and communicate why it is time for this american family to have a serious conversation about where we are, where we're going, and how to get there. we must find a way to fill these cracks in the very foundation of our country. tomorrow i will return with my final speech in this three-part series on solutions in how to

get to where we need to go by talking about the policies that get us there, and people solutions, because i, like you,h mr. president, i don't believe all answers are in government. n i don't think all the solutions we need starts in government. we need people doing things only individuals can do. today, however, i simply ask you this: , recognize that just because you do not feel the pain, the anguish of another, does not mean that it does not exist. their to ignore their struggles, our struggles, does not make them disappear. it simply leaves you blind and the american family very, very so vulnerable. some search so hard to explain away injustice, that they are

slowly wiping away who we are as a nation. but we must come together to fulfill what we all know is possible here in america: peace, love, and understanding. fairness. thank you, mr. president.icer: e >> senator from california. >> before senator scott leaves the floor may i say to my colleague how much i appreciate his frank discussion today. we are so blessed to have you and cory booker here. we don't have enough diversity here, let me just be clear and as much as all of us want to walk in each other's shoes because each of us has different experiences in our lives, it really matters who's in the room, who's at the microphone, who's sharing the truth and you

have shared the truth with us today and i want to say senator booker shared similar stories with us in our caucus and it is life-changing for us and i so appreciate everything you said and it makes us better to have you and cory booker here and having said that, i came to the floor to discuss a very similar topic, the status of race relations in america today. because i don't think you and cory booker should be ones to have to carry this forward. because, mr. president, when i was a little girl, i was 10, i came face-to-face with ugly, vial and stupid and dangerous discrimination. i cheered on jackie robinson with all my girl power to was countier act what my dad said

was hatred aimed at jackie because of color of his skin and how blessed was i when i worked hard with a republican colleague to make sure jackie robinson got the congressional medal of honor. when i was with my mother in florida, the same age, 10 years old, 1950, i saw african-americans forced to sit in the back of the bus. i got up to offer my seat to an elderly woman, she must haveve have been 55 at the time i was 10, she looked old to me. i stood up, she refused me. she said no, no. n and i was hurt and i said to my mother, what is happening here? why won't the woman take my seat? and my mother said segregation. well growing up in brooklyn this made no sense to me. my mother could have let it go.

instead she told me to follow her to the back of the bus, not that anyone noticed, but we knee exactly what we were doing and i felt part of her team, part of the team against this crazinesse where people have to go to the back of the bus simply because of the color of their skin. the civil rights movement has made enormous progress in our laws but the trouble remains in our hearts. there is too much hatred in our communities. but let's be clear, whether you are a police officer, regardless of the color of your skin, kissing his or her family good-bye in the morning or the parents of a young african-american teenager no one, mr. president, should ever have to fear that they will notr see their loved ones at night.

and yet that is the truth in america, a truth that has been witnessed by a couple of our senators. no one should have to fear that they wouldn't see their loved ones at night because of this type of hatred. now is not the time to paint whole groups of people with a broad brush because when you do that, that's the exact definition of prejudice. you can't broad brush a whole community because of color of their skin or their religion, or who they love, and you can't broad brush all the police in the police departments. what we need is a de-escalation of suspicion and an escalation of trust. a de-escalation of suspicion and an escalation of trust.

it is long past time that we stood together, united. it is long past time that we look inside of our own hearts, look inside our own souls, and banish the hatred. we must instead embrace each other as god's creation because we each of us are god's creation. dr. martin luther king wrote, quote, men often hate each other because they fear each other. they fear each other because they don't know each other. they don't know each other because they can not communicate.. they can not communicate because they are separated. that is what martin luther king said. a man who taught us love, a man who taught us compassion, a man who taught us non-viiv lens. a man who taught us listen to each other.

-- non-violence. a man who taught us to walk in each other's shoes. so we need that conversation and we start it by breaking down s barriers that separate us, bridging the gap between communities and law enforcement and establishing trust. healing will begin in the streets and it should. policing should be for the community, by the community and with the community. excuse me. when i was a county supervisor in the 1970s there were police versus community issues, so i recommended and my colleagues concured in a new system of community policing. what does it mean? it means that you get the police out of a central precinct, and you move them into the community. relationships developed. it seemed so right, it worked so

well, that i was shocked when i got out of local government, when i realizedded not enough communities were following that same community policing method. where it exists there is cooperation and true protection of the community and it is an obvious step that should be implemented widely. what can we do? we can't force people to love. we can suggest it. we can't force people to be tolerant. we can suggest it but i think there are certain things we can do. i have introduced legislation with senator cory booker. it is called the pride act, would start us off getting

statistics that we need. how many shootings are there in in our communities by the police to the community. how many shootings by the community toward the police are there? believe it or not, we don't really collect those numbers. we would provide funding to states for the use of force training, for law enforcement training and personnel includinr desescalation and bias training and funding for tip lines, hotlines and public awareness of announcements, gaining information regarding use of force against the police so it is a very balanced piece of legislation that looks at problems on both sides. secondly, we need to bert support law enforcement agencies who work to advance the practice of community policing. we can do that by increasingnity funding thoroughly for the justice department community policing development program. that provides law enforcement

agencies with funding to implement innovative community policing practices but guess what, mr. president, the funding for this critical program, whics may well be very important, eight million dollars a year, that's it, for the whole country. it is not enough. we need to do better. third, we should provide dedicated funding for justice department programs to initiate formal gatherers or summits to bring community members around police into one conversation. anyone who looked at dallas understands how hard they are trying, how much they have doneh and when i saw president obama with mrs. obama and president george w. bush and laura bush, i was so happy. they are starting that conversation. the building of that trust.

the tearing down of that suspicion. one of the founders of "black lives matter," alicia garth, has said, quote, we have so many different experiences that are rich and complex, we need to bring all these i experiences to the table in order to achieve the solutions we desire, and anyone listeningg to senator scott, or anyone who has heard the stories, read some of the words of senator booker, we have a lot to learn. a united states senator being stopped he said seven times? this is what, i'm the, i heard senator scott say, in one year? because of the color of his skin. what, it is just too much for these people to bear, and we need to help them change policies, that lead to thiscion.

suspicion. yes, we have so many different experiences that are rich and complex. and we need to bring those experiences to the table. my friend, the senator from alaska is here. she and i are, you know, we're only 20 women out of 100 and i think that our colleagues understand we have brought something to the body. we have brought our experiences to the body. and it transcends partisanship. when we are in the room, it is a little bit of a different conversation because not thatt we're any better but we have had different experiences, and when our african-american colleagues tell us, look at our lives, look at what we have been through, we have the same job as you. why are we pulled over seven times in a year? why have we been scared?

is something wrong? and we can't turn our back on io and can't leave it up to just those two colleagues to lead it. we need to help them and work together and have this conversation that alicia garth says we should have.ou four, we must formally recognize and encourage police department who epitomize what is means to be a keeper of the peace. a keeper of the peace. that's what they want to be. w those officers who attend community meetings after work, who spend their saturdays playing basketball with thene neighborhood kids, who attend church services so they can connect with the congregants. who take lower income children shopping for toys and gifts in christmas. who stop to check in on residents, just because theycar. care. that is happening all over the

country. that's why we can't paint people with a broad brush. it's wrong. in my state, in the community of aleo, in the bay area, san francisco bay area you should see what some of these officers do. they had a growing divide between the community and the police, and the police department knew something had to change. so they invitedded the public to participate in those changes. they held open door community meetings. they created a citizen advisory board to insure residents voices were heard. they invited residents to experience their training simulator and give them a newole perspective what policee' experience, they said, see it through our eyes and we'll see it through your eyes.trust let's de-escalate the tension and escalate the trust. they put high importance on

hiring officers who had a connection to vallejo and wanted to serve the public. they even start ad late-night a youth program at the local high school.m they started change from within that community. i think we should have aso community policing innovation fund at the justice department, which would rewardlaw enforcement agencies and localities who are doing the right thing. beg lags i want to bring that issue where everyone goes into their corners and i beg colleagues not to go into your corner. we have to address gun violence. we know we can't prevent every tragedy but we can do some smart things while protecting the second amendment. we don't need more carrying of weapons on the streets. they are weapons of war.

the family of the gentleman who developed these weapons said, his family, i didn't develop them for people on the streets. i developed them for the military and law enforcement. we can't have the people who are protecting us outgunned. we don't need those weapons on the streets. there is openly one purpose, kill as many people as you can, as fast as you can. without reloading. don't tell me hunters need this. that is a bunch of baloney. the people who want to keep these weapons on the streets are the ones who sell them. let's be clear. and the vast majority of people support this. we can expand background checks. how about 90% of the people support that. even majority of nra members. so we can keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the

mentally ill. o we should prohibit sale and possession of high capacity magazines and end the ban preventing centers for disease control from researching gun violence. have you talked to doctors who work in big city hospitals? i have. they say we're prepared to go tn any war zone. that's the kind of wounds they see.le they tremble at what they see. they mourn what they see. somebody goes out to a nightclub. they hide in the bathroom. they call their mother. and they never see their familyy again. my state of california hases created a new research center gun violence to understand the impact of firearm fatalities and injuries, and hopefully reduce them in the future.

which can happen at the federal level.30,000 of 30,000 of our people killed a year by gun violence. we lost 55,000 to 65,000 in the vietnam war in 10-year period and it tore the country apart. this is over 10 years, 300,000 of our people. so i'm going to close with this. there will always be pad people. i have lived long enough to know that. there will always be bad people. there will always be lot of people. there will always be mean people. but we can not and must not allow them to poison this nation, wherever they are. good people, and that's most of america, just join hands across every line that divides us. race, religion, color, creed, and yes politics.

we must call out the racists,e the prejudice, and the haters, whoever they are, wherever they are, even if they're in elected office. we have to support those who believe in community. who believe in community policing, and not support those who refuse to admit there is a problem with profiling. just reed what senator scott said about his life, about his fears, about what happened to him. ask cory booker, a rhodes scholar, what it's like. we have to support those activists who bring us together and support steps to improve our institutions, and reject those who inflame fears on any side which they're found. we must speak out, and support those who believed, this is the

united states of america, not the divided states of america, and we will not allow this nation to be divided by race, color, creed, religion, who you love. i know america, and i believe we will overcome. i want to quote john lewis as i close. he was beaten, bloodied, and jailed, fighting for civil rights, and he tells this story, and i quote: i saw those signs that said white men, colored men, white women, colored women, white waiting, colored waiting. i would come home and ask my mother, my father, my grandparents and great why? grandparents why? they would say, that's the way it is. don't get in the way, don't get in trouble, and he goes on. in 1957 he writes, i met rosa parks at the age of 17.

in 1958 at the age of 18 john lewis writes, i met martin luther king, jr. and these two individuals inspired me, he writes, to get in the way, to get in trouble. so he writes, i encourage you to find a way to get in the way. you must find a way to get in trouble. good trouble. necessary trouble. that's john lewis. we are blessed to have this lear row, john lewis, among us in the congress. we must listen to him. because he's right, it is our job to get in the way of prejudice and hate. we may do it each in his or her own way.is my way may not be your way. but our way is to fight against prejudice and hate wherever we see it. our job is to move forward with respect and understanding, with

tolerance and love. our founders knew we were not a perfect union. they told us we had to make a more perfect union. that's our job. i know we can do it. and, mr. president, we must do it and i yield the floor. >> president obama brought police, political leaders and civil rights activists to the white house wednesday writes gregory korte from "usa today." the president spoke to members of the media at the end of the four 1/2 hour meeting. >> in order for to us find constructive steps that we could take, that law enforcement and communities could get behind, in order to make sure that we're keeping our streets safe and we are protecting and supporting

the police officers who are doing a very difficult job, and, we can make sure that our communities are being treated fairly and people have confidence that the law applies to everybody equally. thanks to lorna robinson and charles ransom, the members of that task force, we came up with some recommendations and the good news is over the last several months since a report was issued, we have seen a lot of law enforcement officers, a lot of chiefs, a lot of departments begin to examine, make recommendations and figure out how they can -- [inaudible]. we've seen real progress with respect to data gathering. we've seen real progress with respect to training. we've seen progress with respect

to transparency and outreach to communities. the bad news is, as we saw so painfully this week, that this is really hard job. we're not there yet. we're not even close to being there yet, where we want to be. we're not at a point yet where communities of color feel confident that their police departments are serving them with dignity and respect and equality and we're not at a point yet where police departments feel adequately supported at all levels. so what we've done here is to build off the task force report and find out what's working, what's not. and what more do we have to do in order to bring the country and communities around the country together and make more progress on this front. i will characterize a couple of things that identifies this. and i want to emphasize in is

still diversity of views around this table and that is by design. we have police chiefs and representatives of rank-and-file law enforcement. we've got people who have been protesting just this week and we have sociologists, civil rights attorneys, governors, state legislatures. so as you might expect not everybody agrees on everything but here is the buckets of issues that everybody identified as worth think of more work, more study, and ultimately more action. number one, we're going to have to do more work together in thinking about how we can build confidence that after police officers have used force,

particularly deadly force, that there is confidence how the investigation takes place and that justices done. now that is complicated piece of work but it is going to involve engaging with police departments and state attorneys, as well as communities themselves and potentially shaping a set of best practices that insure when something happens that people feel like it's being investigated effectively and fairly, both for the police officer, but also for the families of those who have been affected. and, so one of our charges i think is to try to find effect of it ways to do that. second, is continuing work on working with police departments around training which we

emphasized in the initial task force but also hiring, recruitment, and one of the themes that came from a number of people is how do we support police officers, not just in terms of the eliminating bias but also dealing with the stresses and strains of the job so that they have the capacity to interact with communities and de-escalate more effectively? and are there ways for us to resource that. so that was bucket number two. third, is data, although we put forward the data initiative that is beginning to gather information about what's happening in police departments so they can do a better job managing their force and insure that what they're doing is effective, and so the communities can feel confident that they know what's happening with police forces, generally

speaking police departments, sheriffs departments, law enforcement offices around the country either don't have good data collection or it is just in a form people can't use. i don't necessarily fault all the departments on that because i know here in the federal government, with all the resources we have, it has been really hard to just get our data systems and i.t. and all that set up. so you may remember we had a little problem with my health care initiative when it came to data and computers and so forth. so imagine if you've got a small county, small budget, they have old computers, they don't know how to work systems but this is an area where we think we can actually make some real progress is to help the departments all

across the country to put their data in a way they can use but also creates greater systems of accountability. then so we understand what happens. this is one of the encouraging things for me is that this is an area when i was a state legislature i was able to work with fraternal order of police and the state police organizations as well as activists to create a racial profiling bill that gathered data. and allowed law enforcement to identify where do they think there's a problem? and because of that cooperation, we've seen improvement in illinois, around these areas. and that's something that i think we have all to study. next we're going to continue to examine how we as a federal government can work effect testifily with local communities

because we've got 1800, 18,000 different law enforcement entities and we're not going to be able to do for a sheriffs department, a police department, whatever -- [inaudible]. one of the best ways to help them do the right thing when they want to do the right thing, are there ways which we could support communities to lift up when problems that there are departments that are unwilling to adopt best practices out there. so we'll spend time looking on that. finally there was broad agreement this needs to be sustained. i didn't hear anybody around this table suggest this problem is going to be solved overnight because the roots of the problems we saw this week, date

back not just decadeses, date back centuries. there are cultural issues and there are issues of race in this country and poverty and a whole range of problems that will not be solved overnight but what we can do is to set up kinds of respectful conversations that we've had here not just in washington but around the country, so that we institution alize a process of con continually do better and holding ourselves accountable and holding ourselves responsible for getting better, and i think we've done that with the task force but what's been apparent is that it's not enough for us to just have a task force report and follow up through our partners. we have to push this out into

communities they feel ownership for some of the good ideas that have been floated around this table. i want to say how encouraged i am about the conversation. to the american people i want you to know that this is a pretty representative group of, of the folks who have been involved in the debate in this issue and have practical knowledge and are thinking each and every day about how we can prevent tragedies we saw in baton rouge and in minnesota and in dallas, of, and conversation that took place around this table is very different than one that you see he on day-to-day or hourly basis in the media, and one of the things i encouraged

everybody to do was try to be as thoughtful and as respectful outside of this room as folks were to each other during the course of this conversation because i think the american people would feel more encouraged. as i said yesterday i do not want to gloss over the fact that there are very real problems but that there are deep divisions how to still solve these problems. no doubt police departments feel embattled and unjustly accused and no doubt minority communities, communities of color still feel like it just takes too long to do what's right.

and the pace of change is going to feel too fast for some and too slow for others. and sadly because this is a huge country that is very diverse and we have a lot of police departments, i think it is fair to say that we will see more tension between police and communities this month, next month, next year, for quite some time. the one thing i think we all have to do though is not paper over those differences and paper over those problems but we do have to try to constructively solve them and not simply win talking point arguments and not

just give voice to what we're feeling at the moment. we have to, as a country sit down and just grind it out, solve these problems, and i think they, if we have that kind of sustained commitment, i'm confident we can do so. all right? so thank you all for participating in this terrific conversation. and they have all promised to take michelle's call if she is wondering why i was late for dinner. all right? [inaudible] if i start taking questions i think it is fair to say i'm going to not get out of here and we're already way late. thank you, guys. appreciate it. >> after the meeting public officials and civil rights leaders spoke to reporters. this is just over 30 minutes.

>> all right. i am mayor eric garcetti from the city of los angeles and joining with fellow elected officials, police officials, union officials, community activists, academics and others that joined the covers with the president today. i think this was extremely urgent and important conversation today and a space that was badly-needed, at a time in our country at that we're talking past each other. the president's convening allowed us to hear one another. not to agree on everything but find a place where we make sure our voices were heard and most importantly where some common humanity was established between us all. the president spoke about the work that remains, how we sustain this long beyond a conversation today and work that is preceded what happened here today as well. how we institutionalize that not just at national level but local communities where these incidents happen. where officers are grieving from

the tragedy of dallas and their families, feel pain and where families who lost their young ones at the hands of police officers feel that same pain. it was important for to us look at structural ways we can move forward not just to feel one another's feelings a space important for healing but also take those feelings forward to make sure we have police officers who feel safe and secure in communities but at same time the people in those communities feel close to those officers. so we talked a lot about best practice, whether it is in collecting data, programs in training and recruitment, finding right people to make sure they're keeping our people safe and protecting rights of protesters to be part of democracy and make their voices heard in a way doesn't escalate and make the problems worse by reaction we have. i won't speak from everybody here. i want to say from my perspective coming from los angeles, and a big city mayor, this work is as urgent we have. i held out los angeles a place

gotten better, certainly not perfect. went through pain years maybe decades earlier where we saw tragedies on video long before we had them on smartphones but we learned from those. we moved forward with them. we make sure there is agenda for justice, economic justice together with better policing and more accountability in terms of us finding common ground. i want to thank the president for establishing that. that is part of his legacy he continues to bring us together in painful moments. we're not judged in easy moments but the moments it is very difficult. i was asked to start things. reverend sharpton, you want to say something next? >> let me say, it was a very, to me very interesting meeting. that we, many of us don't agree on many things but agreed that it was important that we have this dialogue. tomorrow will be the funeral services in minnesota of one of

the victims of the week on friday. it will be the funeral in baton rouge. i will be speaking there and others of us will be joining in mourning with that family. saturday there will be a march commemorating the second anniversary of eric garner in staten island. and, in the, in the fact the president spoke yesterday in dallas, for a memorial of five policemen, and now we're going to two victims of police killings and commemorating the first of these last two years shows us the reason why law enforcement, elected officials, civil rights leaders, protesters, all of us needed to be in the room and talk bluntly to each other because this nation is at a very serious point and this is not a time to

have an amen choir in rehearsal. this is a time we need to talk frankly to each other, convened by the president of the united states. that's what happened, and i think that we were able to say to law enforcement what we felt. they said what they felt. protesters felt what they felt. those of us who have been through this before, those that have never been through it and the president giving some leadership and guidance and i think we learned a lot about each other's real feelings. i think we learned a lot about the shocking emotions that police have going to work every day and they felt our pain of having to tell our children, be careful of policemen and the pain of cornell brooks and i having to constantly be called by families, that my son was killed. we were called into baton rouge, called into these places as we were staten island and ferguson,

that kind of dialogue not being rushed. over 3 1/2 hours with the president of the united states. we leave here not in treatment agreement on every issue but in agreement the dialogue is important. it must lead to change. we can not keep having these things where we feel some will face the letter of the law and others will not. and we wanted to say that to policemen. with all of these cases, they can't be right every time and with all of these situations we can't see people just walk away unaccounted for, and they're saying we can't have a situation where police feel they are hated by the community. the community is not anti-police. they're anti-police misconduct and we needed that dialogue. i think cornell brooks. >> my name is cornell williams brooks. i'm president of the naacp which strikes me is about this meeting while it occurred at the white house, it occurs between

tragedy and grief. we as a nation grieved over the loss of five police officers in dallas. we also grief over the loss of 500 people at the hands of the police thus far this year. we as a country are reeling between those emotions and the fact at this precise moment the president convened this conversation, young activists, old activists, legacy organization, millenial organizations, police officers, police management, mayors, people from diverse walks of life, coming around a table of our common humanity. a conference table to talk about solutions, talk about what we can do in real time with a real sense of your again sy. mindful of the fact that there will be more protests, there will be more demonstrations, there will be more cries and pleas for reform and we're calling upon congress to do what they need to do but we're

calling upon all americans to come together and to reach for real solutions. i sat next, i should say representative, president of the fraternal order of police, across from the international chiefs of police, beside my brother and sister civil rights organizations and we're all committed to getting something done in real time. this is bigger than the presidential election. it is bigger than anyone's race or any kind of a office because it has everything to do, everything to do with people literally living and dying in the streets as they seek to improve this democracy. . .

>> whatever side you're on in politics, whether you agree with his policies or disagree with his policies, i spent over six hours person on this issue meeting face-to-face with the people will make a difference in this. from a law enforcement perspective, we hear it, we understand it. i think too often we comment about statistics. this is about specifics on wants it or the other. this is about people's lives, about fear in the community and it's our job to make sure people feel safe. as a police chief that's our number one commitment. i think he saw that example fight in dallas when you saw those five officers rushed to the shooter while the other officers stood at protected the protesters using their bodies as literally as human shields. you cannot question the commitment by the law

enforcement profession as well. we stand ready to make change, so thank you. >> and on college, a community organizer. -- don. i'm also a recently elected school board member, but i had to speak primarily in my capacity as a mother of a 19 year-old, a 20 year-old male children. well, grown men. and they came down to something one of my sons said. if nothing else if we could just figure out how to act humanely with each other. that would alleviate a whole lot of what we are expecting today. if we could operate and love and compassion, not so much rooted in fear, rooted in our differences, then that would solve a lot of the problems that we have today. and that's all i want to say.

>> i'm the ceo. today the president really coalesced years worth of work with the brought different community to solve real problems. we participate in the ritual task force by collating crowd sourcing suggested to our community to see what are the biggest issues. he underlined 86% of latinos deeply believe in law enforcement but strikingly so, 67% are afraid of racial profiling. this is epidemic. in the last six days sadly there've been five young men dead been killed by police in questionable circumstances have not been elevated in the media but it is something the latino community fears every single day. the president what he did was elevated these conversations in a tough environment but did so anyway we are looking for solutions. i believe he realizes as with all the there's an urgency of now because one lost life whether in law enforcement or

any other american is one too many. i appreciate the fact people were so thoughtful but more important appreciate the fact the president really gave us homework. he said it is up to a stretcher where find find solutions locally and having those conversations that we are coming together as americans to recognize that we need to turn down this temperature and to make sure this -- and we are standing together, thank you. >> good afternoon your or good evening. they are baraka, newark, new jersey. i just want to say i was privilege to be invited to this meeting. i think mayor garcetti laid out all the points that needed to be laid out earlier that the president was very courageous and calls altogether. demands made on the department justice, police unique and police officers, mayors, legislators and the president himself into any. i think was courageous to bring everybody together to every open

and transparent dialogue about which happened not just now but as we go forward. from your the most important step is not just we talked about in a meeting but what happens after the meeting and i think all of us in the meeting had been committed to making sure our voices are louder actions are bigger in terms of what we did after the meeting. i think the president is committed to making sure every american is treated as a human being, feels like a human being, and thinks the police department is there to protect them and not to be, or victimize them. this meeting was incredibly fruitful for me. i think it was fruitful for everybody that was there. i look forward to the continuing. thank you. >> thank you. my name is john carter, please of the chief the represent the california police chiefs association. there's lots of america that is an easy right now because of the emotions they get started because of events we've seen the last week.

law enforcement across this country is grieving along with the citizens of each community, and the value of a chance to get together from all across sections today at the white house with the president, no holds barred opportunity to really share the feelings and emotions but not just to leave it with that sense of loss and grief but what are we going to do about it. what can we do about it and what are the steps that are being taken? there's no question that policing in american is being questioned. there's no question that the police chiefs and the leadership around the country who are paying attention are taking steps to ensure that the 21st century policing recommendations are being implemented. in california i can speak for the fact they are standards in training issues that come up. that were talked about debate about how we can do things better, be more professional. the job as a police officer and policing profession debate is

very complex. i think we're going to narratives and sometimes were not always communicating with the right words. today was an important opportunity to have a dialogue, to understand what we can do to be more involved i in the community and what we can do to be more professional. proud of the work that's an everyday but there's always work to be done to make it a better place. so it's a great partnership and today was not the end. it wasn't just a conversation but it was truly look at what are the strategies, what are the things working, what are not, where do we need to put resources. today was a day of embarking on what next steps look like and not just to get caught up in the emotion. so thank you. >> good evening. i'm charlie beckett, police chief for the city of los angeles, second largest city in america with the huge history with police forces and, obviously, the 94 for the 92

civil unrest and 92 riots of the most costly right in american history. that had a lot to do with los angeles police department and its breakaway from the community. and its lack of trust by the community. we worked very hard to restore that trust. with a long way to go but we've made much progress and we do share some of that with the panel today. it was an incredible experience to the president of the united states spend all that time with 40, 45 people, and every one of them got to have their say. every one of them from youth organizers to activists, police chiefs, mayors, governors, everybody got their say. so all of us got to your positions that maybe we haven't heard before. all of us got to walk a little bit in each other's shoes. i think, and all of us agree that the pathway through this for america is empathy. it's understanding the fear of being stopped by a police

officer, when you see the things that have happened and the way they've been portrayed in the media, or the fear of a police officer, the uncertainty of the police officer walking up on a car in a dark street but these are the kinds of things we are from each other, the kind of discussions we have. the important thing is that we came together for this discussion, and the president of the united states deserves full credit for that. for the last, well, for too long this has been an issue that has been so polarized that there's been no discussion. there's only been a model law. there's only been people putting forth their position and not in the other position. that all ended today, and it will end in the continuing weeks following this and every one of the committees that was represent year. is one of the things the president passed as with was to take issue on the road and to make sure our communities had a chance to talk to this and to deal with the issues that are at

the root of mistrust of the police and that the root of violent epidemic that is america. so thank you all, and thank you for your attention. >> do want to say something in spanish? [speaking spanish] [speaking spanish] [speaking spanish]

[speaking spanish] >> could you tell me about the breakthrough in the meeting and what you feel the president's role is moving forward? >> one breakthrough i thought was both the comments made. will give you a full list of folks who were there. one individual started by common activist turning to the police and saying i'm sorry. i'm sorry for your loss. i feel the pain of those officers who died. and saying the power of us being able to actually say that to one another isn't a program, isn't a policy, doesn't mean the work stops but we have to start from the. to me that was a breakthrough moment. and when you spoke about your son, maybe you want to say something about that. could you talk about it?

to remind us this isn't just led by people with fancy title. this is being led by people on our streets. the rookie cop and that activist stepping up to lead a protest at the state capitol together, that america. not just those of the time but those were actually reaching out to try to cross those bridges, not burned them down. >> so with regard to my experience again as a mother, again, my sons are 19 and 20 years old. baton rouge, louisiana, i have southern heritage. you know, a lot of times we think about southern heritage and we think about white southern heritage but i come from southern heritage as well, okay? one of the things that's very prevalent in southern heritage especially that you teacher john bush to stand up for themselves on the playground or somebody messes with you, you put them into place because it's a matter of establishing respect for yourself, okay. because if you don't and you

don't have a respect for yourself, others will but have respect for you. but in in the black committee, there's something very tragic that happens once your sons reach adolescence. not cute and cuddly anymore and they are maturing and their bodies are literally perceive as a threat. you go from saying stand your ground to hold your peace. like to offer dignity because you want to live to see another day. that's very painful in the black community. so that was something, we began to share things on a very personal level. so, yeah. >> thanks everybody. appreciate it. take care. >> so we just had a productive in with president obama and senior administration officials.

the meeting was about four and half hours. in portland we talked about a host of issues ranging from policing and contracts to use of foreign policy, to also making sure there is real accountability with police departments. i will also say this is probably the most candid conversations i've heard police chiefs, rank-and-file members and union members talk about the need for change, but also talk about some of the challenges that they have. the last thing i will offer is president obama was actually incredibly solution oriented in this conversation and pushed and challenged people to think about the concrete things that both the decision could do and law enforcement and activists could do to make sure that we address the issue of police violence head-on. and also that our communities are safe and we had a more expansive understanding of safety than just policing. so i thought this meeting was incredibly productive. we were here. we were here for the meeting of civil rights leaders not too long ago we also had a candid

discussion. this one today i think really set a new bar for this administration's commitment to addressing criminal justice issues and issues of police violence. spent the first meeting i had your was december 1, 2014 by doctor ferguson in the oval office in the same room we're in today. i was over the last 22 months of the evolution has been absolutely reflected in deray statement. and also people really take the responsibility. union folks, police chiefs and administration, people all around the table recognizing that the issues of police violence in this country are deeply rooted in our history and what ought to take responsibility to move forward especially those folks were in elected and appointed positions of power and who are public servants. because when our public servants should be held to very high standards. i heard a lot of people recognizing that is extended and i don't have to hold themselves to but all the people that work for them too. so i was incredibly pleased to

continue to be a part of this work, as a member of the 21st century task force on policing also an activist. were hopeful that structure will continue because we recognize that a meeting is only a meeting if we do not continue to engage in sustained work that will create to change for people. >> i'm with color of change. i testified in front of the 21st century commission and members have been raising their voices over and over again all around the country as we see these killings of unarmed black folks and with the response. so i do believe that meetings like this are incredibly important in bringing people together from different walks of life to of constructive conversations. the president took a lot of time. one of the things that really resonated for me in terms of solutions that the president laid out was his openness to look at the levers of the federal government has in terms of funding. that is something color of change members are calling on. other folks are calling on.

unless we actually change the incentive structures ca, the moy that goes into law enforcement from federal government, start making real shifts in terms of how practices are done at the local level, we will be here five, 10, 15 years from now. so in terms of practical solutions, also data being another area of work that we need to look into. so those are key areas the president laid out i really am bored. i just want to suggest in terms of color of change do with this framework we were gone, that we can't mistake presents for power. this meeting was present. having these conversations. the government and the president and members of congress and others always been willing to listen his presence and that's important. but we also have to change the written and unwritten rules. it's about seeing black folks as important and being nervous, about disappointing them. that's what we've got to continue to need if we will ever

have the type of change our communities deserve. thank you. >> i'm with black lives matter minneapolis. today was extremely powerful. we just can also was the most difficult weeks we've seen in america in recent history. there have been hundreds of thousands of protesters all over the world that have been over 400 people arrested just in america, protesters arrested. and to see obama bring us all into the room and had a conversation shows that he is paying attention, that he wants to see something happen. that he is ready for some productive change. he spoke about having only six months left in office and how he wants to continue this work after release and make sure this continued at the white house. i think that's a great step forward for us in general. we need to keep pushing these things because change isn't going to happen overnight. we have a lot of work to do and a lot of conversation between

each other because it seems like the divide is so wide, but i believe this was a great step forward. i'm really grateful to have been here. >> did you see any breakthroughs in the meeting? and with one person who said there was an activist who reached out to a police chief and apologized and said i'm sorry for your loss, i'm sorry for your pain. does that sound familiar or accurate to any of you? did not involve any of you? >> i think there was, what was present in the meeting was this was a different, the composition of this meeting is unlike any meaning i've been to before. we been in a lot of meetings about police violence and a lot about what solutions look like but this was the first meeting that brought the academic committee, please chiefs, mayors, district attorneys, activists to one table with the

president leading to the president really pushed today. i've been in another meeting with president obama where they talk, gave feedback ask a couple questions in this meeting he wasn't challenging people to show up with solutions as they went around and does much more back and forth. he was pushing and prodding people in a way to get people to look at what solutions might look like. we've been in there for four and half hours and hours will important. lycra shots at, the conversations are the beginning of the work. that if we talk about it in these amazing conversation and outcomes to change in the conversation doesn't matter as much. i think the breakthrough moments that happen, today we are people that we have not heard before. people got to put a name and a face. i was just in baton rouge and i just had a less than pleasant experience with the baton rouge police department. it was interesting to the governor of -- reflect on what

just happened in baton rouge and what he said to move forward and again the composition of this room was incredibly powerful because the conversation like rashad and then one of our recent was so powerfully candid. >> a particular breakthrough for me was there was a lot of truth in this space and it actually felt hard. there was truth in all sides and often we have that conversation we speak or truths and yet we feel like the other side quote-unquote is not listening. we feel we are not heard and the things we are expecting evidence about thought to be imagined by other people. those things were acknowledge. people really took responsibility and that is a critical step in moving forward. because we can and it is based i think everyone came into that space with no predetermined ideas about how we can move forward, about what people might say. that allowed us to be in a space where we set equitably with one another. however, i think there is work that will continue to propel us

forward. i know we'll put us. a protest into that space as well. we've all been out on the streets injuries cities. i was in baton rouge, minnesota, new york and beyond. what's critical is we recognized this marriage a policy of protest. that is an american tradition. that was certainly a part of the conversation. >> and just, these conversations give us an opportunity to shine a light on the criminal justice as a whole. the president also and members of his staff continue to talk about the limitations of the federal government. i just want to say in the last meeting i brought up for a district attorneys and the work of color of change and other groups are doing till district attorneys accountable around the country. i talked about tha that that agh and into the mid-what it walked up and had some punches of the two is us to say about the work we are continuing. but that was also brought up. while this work that we have to do at the federal level, is work all around the country in the

communities and we can't leave local municipalities off the hook as we come to the white house and have conversations about these issues. >> the backdrop today -- [inaudible] with that being said, do you believe sitting at the table with people, police officers, that you will be viewed differently? that there would be a little more of an understanding, versus what we're hearing from some media putting out about black lives matter and others come to think it will be a difference to how you are approached when you march? when you march next week, the week after, what do you think? >> i certainly hope so. i've talked about a teenager i stood next to in baton rouge on airline highway on friday night when she said as she was going to she could look at a police officer is a why do you have a

gun? i only had a sign. so kerry those stores that on into the space with such a diverse group of people but also for the president to do that story, for that story to be told with the backdrop of the white house. i think it helps remind us of our humanity and to recognize that for so many young people, they are deciding to participate in their democracy and that is a powerful thing, whether they do in a voting booth or the protest line. we need to embrace it and we need to continue to empower them. >> there were decision-makers in the room today at probably will do a movement a bit different. but i enlarge we have a much bigger situation, an individual person doing the different the we have the power to balance. with the lack of power and the lack of ability to be able to hold institutions accountable the way we need all the accountable. we have a lack of loss and lack of lovers. if the folk in this room are able to get any type of

understanding into the ability to change that, to change the imbalance in power, and that's going to be a benefit to this meeting. but as protests continue, as rallying and lobbying and all the pushing that's necessary to change these rules happen, we to understand that no single meeting alone is going to change the way that people are living. it's not going to change the viral video as we continue to experience. it's not going to continue to change the rest of that black folks continue to receive from the police officers. what will change is when we change the power structure and the incentive structure and the accountability structure. and people believe that there will be a price to pay when you devalue black lives in the country. >> the protest don't think because we are productive meeting with the protest will end when the drama ends and when the stock should become more a credible and justifiably meetings like to they get us closer to that because we have a

candid conversation got edited what's different about it, it was heavily focus on solutions. it was not immediately help me understand what the problem is in a different way. it was talk about the problems in so much as it should think about what the solutions look like and put the solution on the table. president obama was thoughtful about things like potentially exploring different levers to hold a police department a candle, and it was a very solution oriented conversation today. as you know, we were both in the street in baton rouge. try to continue to be industry in new york city. the protest will end when the traumdrama ends. >> and will continue until the trauma and. i wore my stay wouk button. [inaudible]

>> i had a tense moment. spent in a meeting. >> thatcome in the meeting. >> reverend al sharpton talked about how we really need to get to my protests are happening. we had a lot of solutions on the table but we really have to get to what is the reason why people feel the need to be industries. and if we can't really discuss what that is, if we keep talking about the issue we're never going to find a solution for it. i think it's really easy for people to talk about commuting this trust because it's a nice way to have this conversation. but when we really get down to what we're talking about people dying and not being held accountable for who is doing it. that's what we need to make sure we have -- spent in regards to unique of all of us brought that particular issue up because of this issue of accountability and the ways in which we discovered

that often hidden partisan equation of justice or injustice rather, are all of the things hidden in place bill of rights and union contracts that often go under the radar. so preventing interrogation, ensuring that police did not have access to evidence before they are interrogated, the shadow justice system, shadow justice system that fits in those police union contracts that allows officers to engage witwith the justice is a differe in everyday citizens like ourselves. that was something we all brought up because of something we know has to be solved urgently in order for us to meet justice in these situations. >> certainly we all did agree on everything. we all brought different perspectives to the work, given our different vantage point but was as important was we listen. i think as brittany said, i think we also heard even by the people who are not our natural allies in this space, editing

president obama to his credit actually created a space for that to be because of not just like, it was a rumor everybody stood up. he made people get out of their this is my fear and this is what i think and i'm going to stay here but really push them to say like give that experience how to resolve the problem. that was different again we have the time to do it today because given the large number of people that was to our benefit but i think this is a different type of meeting and am hopeful this will be leading to some concrete action. >> four and a half -- >> we went into about 2:30, 2:45. thank you all. >> today u.s. senate session begins a shorter with 11:30 a.m. of votes. at 1:45 p.m. vote on the zika virus for prevention funding. the senate blocked the pentagon spending bill on july 8, it is a

the legislation in late june. these are the last major bills on the calendar for the senate. both house and the senate will begin seven-week summer recess is later this week returning after labor day. live coverage now of the senate on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. god of peace, help us to receive your peace today and become your instruments of reconciliation on

earth. forgive us for the times we have permitted acrimony to deface your image in humanity. use our lawmakers to communicate your peace, bringing hope and healing to our nation and world. lord, make our senators channels of your grace to transform discord into harmony and conflict into cooperation. help us to hear the drumbeat of your direction and march to the cadence of your guidance. and, lord, bless the illustrious summer 2016 senate page class

that prepares to leave capitol hill. thank you for the faithfulness of these outstanding young people. we pray in your wonderful name. amen. the president pro tempore: pleae join me in reciting the pledge f allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

the presiding officer: under the previous order, leadership time is reserved. under the previous order, the chair lays before the senate a message accompanying s. 2943. the clerk: resolve that the house insist upon its amendment to the bill s. 2943, for military activities of the department of defense and so forth and for other purposes and ask a conference with the senate on the disagreeing votes of the two houses thereon. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i move to disagree in the amendment of the house, agree to the request from the house for a conference and appoint the following conferees: senators mccain, inhofe, sessions, wicker, ayotte, fisher, cotton, rounds, ernst, tillis, sullivan, lee, graham, cruz, reed, nelson, mccaskill,

manchin, shaheen, hirono, kaine, king, and i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nothings disagree in the house amendment, agree to the request for a -- the house for a conference and the appointing of the following conferees: senators -- mr. mcconnell: i ask that the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the mandatory quorum call be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i understand there are four bills at the desk due a second reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title for the second time. the clerk: h.r. 10, an act to reauthorize the scholarships for opportunity and results act and for other purposes. h.r. 4465, an act to decrease

the deficit by consolidating and selling federal build ghtd adds other civilian real property an for other purposes. h.r. 4487, an act to reduce costs of federal real estate, improving building security, and for other purposes. h.r. 4901, an act to reauthorize the scholarships for opportunity and results act and for other purposes. mr. mcconnell: in order to place the bills on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i would object to further proceedings en bloc. the presiding officer: objection is heard. the bills will be placed on the calendar. mr. mcconnell: now, mr. president, it is hard to understand why our democratic friends continue to filibuster the funding needed to fight zika. we've already shown the reality behind various claims and half-truths about the compromise anti-zika conference report. the idea that it would underfund

zika, the idea that it would prohibit funding or deny access for birth control, the idea that it would actually weaken clean water protections, the idea that it's offsets don't have any bipartisan support, the thighed it would cut funding for veterans -- we've shown all of these claims just don't stand up to scrutiny. despite all this, democrats now say they'll accept a zika bill if it limits health care funding in the territories that need it most and drops critical funding for our veterans and even restricts the ability to kill mosquitoes. those apparently their position. my friend, the democratic leader, warns that these mosquitoes are vicious, awful, and ravaging. he's just not all that interested in killing them. so i'd like to echo the words of

the senior senator from texas, who said that our democratic colleagues seem to be operating in a logic-free zone. -- when it comes to zika. it's time to get back to reality. this is a serious crisis that demands serious solutions. it's time for our friends to start worrying less about pleasing outside political groups and start worrying more about actually helping the americans who are counting on all of us. we have a conference report. it's before us. it contains the exact level of funding to fight zika that democrats already agreed to, $1.1 billion. it includes more health care funding than the bill that originally passed the senate. it does not prohibit funding or deny access for birth control. it contains bipartisan offsets that move money from lower priorities to higher priorities. it contains temporary but

meaningful reforms that actually allow us to fight mosquitoes in an effective way. it also honors our veterans with record levels of funding. the compromise conference report offers the only way to get this done now. the only way to achieve the outcome is to pass this conference report now. we could pass it today. i'm urging our colleagues to please look within themselves and make the right decision. otherwise, what will they say to pregnant mothers this summer? what will they say to our veterans? -- the rest of the summer? so i hope our friends will think about what they'll say to our active duty troops as well.

as every colleague knows, there are two types of bills necessary to fund our military. first is the defense authorization bill, which authorizes the many things our military needs. the democrats voted with us to pass that important bill last month. second is the defense appropriations bill, which actually funds the things the defense authorization bill authorizes. that's the bill democrats have been filibustering since last week. in other words, democrats are happy to make promises to our men and women in uniform with the defense authorization bill, but they're not prepared to keep those promises by actually passing the defense appropriations bill. both the current and incoming democratic leaders essentially just made this point themselves. here's what the senior democrat from new york said just yesterday: "a bill without actual appropriations is like a hollywood movie set, something

that appears real on the surface but has in a substance and no life behind its false facade." sheer what my friend, the democratic leader said, "authorizing legislation is a start, but without resources it's very, very meaningless." very, very meaningless? a false facade? harsh words from democrats about their own actions on defense funding. in an attempt to make misleading political point about the cara bill, a point that doesn't hold water of course, these democratic leaders inadvertently stepped on their own party's message for opposing the funding bill our military needs. if they really believe what they said to be true, then why are senate democrats blocking the defense aeption pros bill when they talk about how important it is to actually provide -- quote -- "real funding?" this is a defense funding bill that the top democrat on the

defense subcommittee called a responsible approach to protecting our country. it's a bill that every single democrat and every single republican supported in the appropriations committee. it also respects the budget caps in place. it is the epitome of regular order. the epitome of regular order. senate democrats may try to spin their actions now, but it all boils down to one thing: this is just a partisan game. at a time when we face an array of daunting challenges around the globe, it's imperative that the senate take the next steps today to provide the resources and training our service members need. the quia director recently said he'd be surprised if isil isn't trying to carry out an attack in the u.s. like the one we saw recently in istanbul. and we're continuing to see

terrorism hit home in orlando and san bernardino and across the world in places like bangladesh and baghdad and in saudi arabia. these factors only underscore the importance of taking up and passing this defense funding bill as soon as possible. they also underscore the importance of our commander in chief finally leading a campaign to defeat isil, which is the only way to end isil-directed and isil-inspired terrorism once and for all. it is clear that preventing future attacks inside our borders requires defeating isil where it exists: beyond our borders. passing this defense funding bill is crucial to achieving that goal. just as it's crucial to fulfilling the commitment that the president obama made last week regarding the 8,400 troops that will remain in afghanistan through the end of his administration, the president's statement represents another glaring example why the senate must pass this defense

appropriations measure. it's what's needed to fund the training, to prepare forces for deployment to afghanistan, and the weapons they'll carry, and the spare parts and fuel consumed in training and operations. and the ammunition they'll need to execute their missions. it also includes resources to fund basic pay, deliver necessary medical services, and support quality-of-life programs that military families count on. the president has made a commitment to our allies, and we must meet our commitment to the force. our men and women in uniform courageously put themselves in harm's way to help keep our country safe. they do so willingly, they do so voluntarily, they don't ask for much in return, and they never,

ever forsake their commitment. senators shouldn't forsake their commitment either. today our democratic colleagues will have the opportunity to join us in meeting the first part of that commitment by voting to go to conference on the defense authorization bill. then they'll have the opportunity to join us in meeting the second part of that commitment by voting to end their filibuster of the defense funding bill so we can pass it. american men and women in uniform don't need -- quote -- "false facades" or -- quote -- "very, very meaningless gestures" interest our democratic colleagues. this need democrats to put politics aside and join news advancing a strong defense authorization bill and a strong defense appropriations bill, because our service members and our national security depend on

both these bills. so, mr. president, now, despite senate democrats' efforts to put partisan politics before pressing issues like national security and zika, the republican-led senate is working hard to advance solutions for the american people. one newspaper recently declared that the senate has settled into a new normal under republican leader. passing bills at a rate not seen in decades. and that is good news for the american people, and here's why. the new normal includes more than 225 bills that have been passed along with more than 140 bills that have become law. and i'm not just talking about bills from republicans, but bills from democrats as well. for instance, the senior senator from delaware who has seen four of his bills become law.

for instance, the senior senator from california, who's seen three become law. and for instance, the democratic colleagues from rhode island and minnesota who saw the cara bill they worked on with republican senators like portman, ayotte and grassley, pass just yesterday. cara is a comprehensive legislative response to prescription opioid and heroin epidemic that's ravaging our country. legislation to address this epidemic languished under previous judiciary chairman, but senator grassley worked to change that. he made it a priority and he moved swiftly. cara wouldn't have been possible without him just as it wouldn't have been possible without members like portman and ayotte who worked to drive this bill forward every step of the way. i'd also like to thank senator alexander for his work on the conference committee to secure a strong final bill.

the bill we passed will help protect more americans from addiction and overdose. we expect the president to sign it into law soon. here's another important bill we passed yesterday and also expect the president to sign into law soon. it's the most comprehensive aviation security reform legislation in a decade, and it contains significant consumer protections for airline passengers as well. this important bill will help protect americans at our airports and in our skies. it would not have been possible without the good work of senator thune who worked with senator nelson to guide it through to passage. in just the past week or so, we saw the crisis in puerto rico and we responded with responsible legislation designed to prevent a taxpayer bailout and at the same time help the puerto rican people. we saw the threat of rising food

prices for middle-class families and we responded with science-based legislation designed to prevent confusing and costly laws in one state from raising grocery bills in another. and while senate democrats are now trying to make it impossible to get the basic work of government accomplished with some filibuster summer sequel, we've been able to make progress there too. the full appropriations committee has approved all 12 funding bills at record early time and with broad bipartisan support. many of them with unanimous backing from both sides. the full senate has pressed -- has passed some on the floor. and if our democrat friends work with us, we could pass the others as well. the republican-led senate set out to give these appropriations bill ample amount of floor time for senators to debate the measures so more of the american people could be represented in the law-making process. and that's just what we've done.

the republican-led senate set out to give colleagues from both sides more of a voice allowing amendments and bills from both sides. because better process leads to better results for the american people. and that's just what we've done. we did so because this republican majority is following through on what we set out to do from the beginning. open up the legislative process, get committees up and running again, empower members from both sides, find areas of common ground, and advance legislation that can make a difference for people all across our country. and just because democrats are again reverting to their dysfunctional ways because they believe it suits them politically, it doesn't change the reality that we've made significant progress in restoring the senate to significantly better health. we've clearly put the senate back to work too.

there are so many other measures we passed besides these i've mentioned already. groundbreaking reforms in education and in transportation. permanent tax relief for families and small businesses. trading more of washington's annual patches and punts for real solutions. all of these good ideas and so many more are now law which benefits the people we represent. we've gotten so much done already, but there's much more we can do as long as our democratic colleagues aren't determined to obstruct for its own sake. i think many on the other side have much to ponder over this upcoming state work period. think about zika, my democratic colleagues. think about veterans over the summer. think about our men and women in

uniform. and then they'll have to decide do they want to continue with these partisan games on critical issues like zika and national defense? or do they want to work with us to keep making progress for our country? we'll certainly give them more opportunities to make progress on appropriations. we'll certainly give them opportunities to make progress on important issues like energy and defense. and even if democratic leaders might prefer dysfunction and partisan gains, members from both sides know that the republican-led senate has given them more of an opportunity to move legislation and their constituents more of a voice. let me say that again. this republican-led senate has given all senators more of an opportunity to move legislation, thereby giving their constituents more of a voice.

with continued hard work and cooperation from our friends across the aisle, we can continue to add to that record of achievement for the people, the american people, all across our country. and after all, isn't that what they sent us here for? mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. reid: i assume that my republican friend feels if you say just the opposite which is valid and true that some people will believe it. you talk about a logic-free

zone, as my friend mentioned, we've got one in the last half-hour here. we do have a new normal here, and it's not a good new normal. take, for example, defense. the republican leader, of course, resorts to name-calling. democrats weak on defense. he cites democrats voting against the appropriations bill before we have a budget deal. let me remind the american people, let me remind the republican leader, the result of democrats blocking the defense appropriations bill three times last year, we've had a better budget, much better budget. we had a budget agreement that increased spending for national security by $33.5 billion over the sequester. it was their sequester level. that is they want to cut it even

more. that's the truth. the further truth is that the defense of our country, the security of our country depends on the pentagon. we have every democrat is just as patriotic as any republican. we believe in the security of this nation just as much as they do. we look at it differently, though, in this sense. i repeat, the security of this nation is more than bombs and bullets. it's also making sure we have an f.b.i. that works, is adequately funded. it also means that the drug enforcement administration has the personnel to do their job. it also means that the department of homeland security created by a republican president is up and running and abling to do its job. we have tremendous responsibilities. the border security is their problem. they have to deal with that, and

it has to be adequately funded. we have issues that relate to the security of this nation. for example, the centers for disease control has to be adequately funded. they don't do bombs or bullets, but they do take care of this nation's security. the national institutes of health, one of the premier organizations in the history of the world, that helps us become a more secure nation. so we're going to continue -- we'll block today if he brings it up again, the defense appropriations bill. why? because he wants to do that. it's so obvious. he wants to do that and walk out of here and leave the other appropriations bills stirring in the breeze. and me want the craziness that we see out of the house of representatives as they relate to spending. so we want more resources for our troops. but if we get more resources for

our troops, we're going to get more resources for those entities that keep us safe and secure that aren't pentagon-related. mr. president, again, i assume my friend believes that if you keep talking about something that's absolutely untrue, that you will think it's true. let's take, for example, the zika situation we have in america today. no one disputes the fact that these mosquitoes are ravaging and horrendous. mosquitoes have been really very, very difficult and dangerous. they have been terrible since recorded history. they cause death and illness. it's hard to comprehend. but for the first time in the history of the world we have now kwaoets spreading a --

mosquitoes spreading a virus that causes women to have deformed babies, really, really badly deformed babies. so what we did on a bipartisan basis, the senior senator from washington, the senior senator from missouri, they got together and they came up with a zika funding measure. i felt it was inadequate dollar-wise. we agreed with the centers for disease control, national institutes of health, it should be $1.9 billion. but we said okay, we'll go along with this because its an emergency. it's like all emergencies whether it's flood, fire or wind, whatever it might be. this is an emergency and should be treated as such. $1.1 billion, no offsets. we passed that with 89 votes. every democrat voted for it and virtually every republican voted for it. it went to the house of representatives. now here's where my friends

logic free-zone really pops in hard. remember what we sent to the house of representatives. and here's what they sent back to us. there's no disputing this, even though he can say it a million times if he wants. under the bill we got back and the republicans in the senate approved what happened in the house, planned parenthood, an organization where hundreds and hundreds of thousands of women go for their care, do you think they're going to have a little rush in business now? because women in america today wasn't to make sure that they have the ability to not get pregnant. why? because the mosquitoes ravage pregnant women. under the logic of my friend, the republican leader, they

don't need to go to planned parenthood. they can go to their boutique doctor someplace in las vegas or chicago or lexington, kentucky. they can go to an emergency room and say i'm sorry, i didn't get birth control, can you help me? that isn't what emergency rooms are for? that is what planned parenthood is for. the srart majority of women who -- the vast majority of women who need help, that's where they go. planned parenthood. out of the legislation we got back from the house, there's no money to be provided for that. and, mr. president, we know that the republicans don't like people with the green eye shades, the so-called environmentalists. so what did they send to us? they had to do something. and one thing they can get out of the house of representatives, they have to do something to attack the environment, so they said here's what we'll do.

with spraying, we're going to eliminate the clean water act, which makes it extremely dangerous. that's why the e.p.a. looks at this so closely. all other federal agencies, the lean water act is the law of this land and has been for decades. they eliminate that. the republican leader gets up here and talks about, i hope they're happy -- 0 words to that effect. mr. president, the bill we got back as it relates to zika takes $500 million from veterans, from the veterans administration. that's what they did. can't make this stuff up. and what was that money to be used for? processing claims. the presiding officer has been out front on wanting a way to speed up veterans' claims. they need to be handled more expeditiously. there was a provision put in the original legislation to give them $500 million to