on day one. i take nothing more seriously than our security. most of all, i believe in american leadership. i believe that who we are as a people -- >> to the convention, please welcome this next guest. our next guest is an american businessman, and television personality, an author and now politician. he was born in queens, new york, and attended fordham university in the bronx before entering the wharton school of finance and commerce at the university of pennsylvania where he would earn a bachelor's degree in economics. comrades, i present to you the republican party nominee to become the next president of the

united states, mr. donald j. trump. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> thank you very much everybody. wow. thank you. thank you very much. [applause] what a privilege to be here with

the incredible, and i mean incredible men and women of the veterans of foreign wars. [applause] and we set today and all time registration record. that's pretty good, right? congratulations to you. spending time with our veterans has been the greatest honor of this campaign. i want to thank commander-in-chief, big john. and really for the welcome. he has been so fantastic from the time we walked in. he has been so fantastic. also many thanks to bob wallace, auxiliary resident, francesca, and for your incoming leadership. you have ryan duffy and call it a bishop, two terrific people. two terrific people.

before going any further today i would like to bring up onto the stage my good friend, governor mike pence. [applause] and by the way, mike is the son of a soldier, and the father of a marine. mike. [applause] >> thank you, mr. trump. thank you to the commander. it's an honor to greet you all at the 117th vfw where no one does more for veterans. thanks for all you do you. [applause] >> it is an honor to stand with donald trump today. it is even a greater honor for me to stand with those of you who have worn the uniform of the united states. as mr. trump just said, i am, i was not a soldier but i am the son of a combat veteran who served in korea.

[applause] and i am the proud father of a united states marine and i feel a great indebtedness to all of you who serve, and i'm proud of the record we had in the state of indiana. you'll be glad to know in indiana where more than 500,000 veterans call home, we have made extraordinary commitments. we've more than doubled the funding for the department of veterans affairs. we increased the number of counties veterans service officers 10 fold from seven to 72 counties into privacy the hoosier state has the second lowest unemployment rate for veterans in the united states of america. [applause] when i entered this call, when donald trump called i answered this call for a few very simple reasons. number one, i answered it because in these challenging times i believe we need renewed and strong american leadership

at home and abroad. and donald trump will bring that leadership for this nation. [applause] our military is too small, and he will rebuild it. [applause] our va is broken, and this builder will fix it. [applause] and it is extraordinary to think that yesterday in philadelphia, 61 speakers came to the podium, and not one of them named isis by name. this man will name our enemy is without apology, and he will defeat them. [applause] thank you to the vfw. i say thank you. i say thank you to my new boss, a man who's given me the

privilege to run and serve as vice president of the united states of america. and i pledge to you, each of you, that if we had the privilege to serve, i know this man's heart. i hear the way he speaks when the cameras are off about those who serve and those who have served. and we will ensure that our soldiers have the resources they need to complete their mission and come home safe. and we will stand as the vfw does am with him and her who have borne the battle on their shoulders. we will stand with our veterans and we shall see our way forward as a nation. thank you very much and god bless you, and god bless the united states of america. [applause] >> thank you, mike. and thanks again to everyone for inviting me to address you today. the veterans -- i love you, too.

the veterans of foreign wars represent the very, very best of america. when i'm president i pledge to work closely with your organization and your members to accomplish our shared goal. our veterans are the bravest and finest people on earth. [applause] the members of your organization have fought for the american flag, and boy, have you fought come on distant battlefields all across the world. your members have shed their blood and poured out their hearts for this nation, like nobody else your our debt to you is eternal. [applause]

yet our politicians have totally failed you. our most basic commitment to provide health and medical care to those who fought for us so bravely has been violated completely. the va scandal that have occurred are widespread and totally inexcusable. as we know, many have died waiting for care that never came. a permanent stain on our government. can you imagine the waste and corruption, and i will tell you we will find it and we will find it big league when i become president in january 2017. [applause] i recently released a detailed

10 step veterans reform plan, and we've worked on the plan with the chairman of the veterans' affairs committee in the house, and he really good god who loves the vets, jeff miller. he is a good man. we are going to take care of our veterans like they have never been taken care of before. [applause] the other candidate in this race, you know her name, crooked hillary clinton, and believe me, folks, she is crooked, has a much different view. she recently said of the va scandal that it's not as widespread as it's been purported to be.

it's like she's trying to sweep it under the rugged. which by the way, politicians have done for years and years and years. it's going to be four more years of the same issue ever got in, but that's not going to happen. [applause] make america great again, you're right, thank you. we know how she takes care of the veterans. just look at her invasion of libya and her handling of benghazi. i disaster. or look at her e-mails which put america's entire national security at risk. [shouting] >> and to think she was there yesterday. i guess she didn't do very well. [applause]

we are going to bring honesty back to government, and that starts with fixing the veterans administration. we will fix it. here is my 10 step plan for veterans reform. one, i will appoint a secretary of veterans affairs it will make it their personal mission to clean out the va. and this person, man or woman, will be outstanding with an outstanding track record. [applause] in other words, a person that can get it done. number two, i'm going to use every lawful authority to remove and discipline federal employees or managers who breach their public trust. [applause]

three, i will ask congress to pass a bill giving the va secretary full authority to remove or discipline any employee the risks for health, safety, or well being of a veteran. [applause] i will appoint the commission to investigate all of the wrongdoing at the va, of which there is plenty. and then present those findings to congress as the basis for reforming the entire system. five, i'm going to make sure were that the honest and dedicated people of the va, of which we have many, have their jobs protected and are put in line for promotion when they do a good job. we are going to get them promoted like they deserve.

[applause] i will create a private white house hotline. this could keep me very busy at night, folks. this will take the place of twitter. a lot of truth to that. that is answered by a real person 24 hours a day, to make sure that no valid complaint about the va ever falls through the cracks. [applause] now, this is the tough part. this is the tough part. i will instruct my staff that is a valid complaint is not acted upon, and issuer who brought it directly to me, and i want to have it, will bring it directly to me and i will pick up the phone personally and get it

completed and get it taken care of. that's a lot of work. we better do a good job because that's the lot of work. but i want to have somebody, a real person and a really competent person in the white house without hotline going. and if that person is not doing the job, i'm going to find out about it and that's the best way to find out about it. that's called real life. that's called business. instead of giving bonuses to employees for wasting money, we are going to create a new incentive program that rewards employees for saving money, and improving the quality of care. [applause] our visa programs will be reformed to ensure that the veterans are put in the front of the line for jobs. in this country, they fought and to protect us.

now we are going to fight them. they're going to be put right in the front line, and these are our great people. and by the way, governor pence is right at the top of the nation in employment for vets. when he took over he was number 32 or 38. now he is right at the top. he has done an incredible job with respect to employment for vets. so mike, good going and keep it going. [applause] we are going to increase the number of mental health care professions, and increase mental health outreach to veterans outside of the system. so important. we are going to ensure every veteran in america gets timely access to top quality care, including the best care in the world for our female veterans.

[applause] the veterans health system will remain a public system, because it is a public trust your but never again will we allow any veteran to suffer or die waiting for care. that means veterans will have the right to go to a va facility or the right to see a private doctor or clinic of their choice. whatever is fastest and best for the veteran. there will be no more five day waits in line. if you're waiting in line, you go to a private doctor across the street from a private or public hospital across the street or nearby and you will be taken care of quickly and efficiently. people are waiting in line five days, six days, seven days, and many are dying with a simple procedure they would live, and they are dying because they

can't even get to see their doctor. so there's not going to be anymore of that and we will pick up the bill. it will cost us less money and the kid will be amazing, okay? you have my word on that. [applause] come january 20, if i'm elected president, and you are going to notice a change in the va, and the whole entire government system, which is a mess. [applause] all you have to do is try to get on an airplane and you will see what a mess it is. a change in attitude and a change in results will absolutely take place so fast right at the beginning. government is going to start working for the people again. especial -- a special interest opposing our reform, and they do propose it for their own reasons, and reform for america,

the same people who have led us to one economic and foreign policy disaster after another. the global corporations and immediate executives who oppose our plan, and they are opposing them strongly, we need plans for change and want to keep the system in place, except for the sections that the rig. and that's a lot of it. we're getting rid of our great system. i started using that term a year and a half ago, and now everybody is using it. this morning i was watching one of the democrats who i've been talking about as a rigged system. he used the word rigged system. i will have to come up with another word, very sad. but the system is rigged, so badly and it is weighed against the veterans, too. that's why their message is that

things can change, can change. with these people they can't change. these are the same special interests who have driven the economy into the ground and who have created one calamity after another overseas. horrible, horrible thought process. these washington interests are telling americans to stay the course. they are telling us that we can't fix our trade deals, or we can't fix our va. or we can't fix our broken tax system, or we can't fix immigration. because they are benefiting from the status quo. they don't want to change. we need change. they don't want to change. my message is the opposite. things have to change, and have to change right now. [applause]

here is just some of the change we need. we need to change our tax energy and regulatory policies to produce millions of new jobs, and trillions in new wealth, and invest in our country, and in our infrastructure which is falling apart all over this country. our roads, our tunnels, our bridges, our airports, our infrastructure is that of a third world country. not anymore. and i'm very good at building, remember that. and i build under time and under budget. very important. you don't hear that from government very often. those who seek to raise taxes and expand regulation will only weaken our country, hamstring our economy, and so many millions more out of work. and as you know, hillary clinton

wants to institute a massive tax increase. massive tax increase. we all already just about the highest taxed nation in the world. our immigration system most also be fixed so it lists of people out of poverty instead of throwing them into poverty, which is what it is doing right now your our terrible trade deals must be renegotiated completely, nafta is a disaster. to keep jobs and wealth in america. we are sending our jobs away your we will keep our jobs in america and we will bring new jobs back. [applause] we need to change our foreign policy to focus on defeating and destroying isis. a word you didn't hear last night at the democrat

convention. you didn't do it. they didn't want to talk about it because in a very true way they really established isis because of weakness. the people in this room know better than anybody else or any other audience what i mean by weakness. but because of weakness, isis has been established. it's also essential that we suspend the refugee flows from syria and other dangerous countries so we don't bring into the united states the same terrorism that our american soldiers are fighting overseas. we have to be smart. [cheers and applause] thank you. hillary clinton wants to bring

and, if you can believe this, 550% more than the president obama. more. and tim kaine wrote a letter very recently asking for more than even hillary wants. what are we doing? what are we doing? we have to be a smart country again or we are in big, big trouble. our depleted military must be completely rebuilt, then from a position of strength and respect, america needs to extend our hand in friendship to foreign nations who want to be our friend, and we can't be speeded we will leave donald trump for just a couple of moments to go live to the senate for a brief pro forma session. we will be back with live coverage after the gavel.

the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., tuesday, july 26, 2016. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable john barrasso, a senator from the state of wyoming, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: orrin g. hatch, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands adjourned until 10:00 a.m. on friday, july 29, 2016. july 29, 2016.

if we do this, we will truly, absolutely, 100% make america great again, greater than ever ever before you thank you very much for your god bless you work thank you. thank you, everyone. ♪