thousands of dollars on tuition and we need to make that permanent. >> keeping interest rates low, all that's going to help. millions of students across the country have benefitted from that. that's why i have asked states and colleges to -- we're putting colleges and universities on notice. you can't just keep on raising tuition and expect -- tuition inflation has gone up even faster than health care. that's hard to do.

so what we're saying to states, colleges and universities, then the funding -- higher education cannot be a luxury. it's an economic imperative that every american family should be able to afford. so that's what beneed to do for americans to get jobs of the future. i talked about this in the state of the union. there are millions of jobs open right now and there are millions of people that are unemployed. how do we watch up workers to those jobs, what about the companies that are looking to hire right now? i hear from business leaders all the time who want to hire in the

united states, but at the moment, they cannot always find workers with the right skills. at a time when millions of americans are looking for work, we should haven't any jobs out there. they should all be getting filled up. >> there's no reason we can't connect the two. this institution proves we know how to do it. let's say you are a single parent or a returning veteran or somebody who just wants a shot at a better paying job, you're a hard worker, you're a fast learner, you're motivated.

u you know there are companies looking to hire. you just need to find out how to acquire the specific skills, the specialized skills that the companies need and you need to find that out as quickly as possible. everybody in america should be able to get those skills at a community college like nova. and companies looking to hire should count on these schools to provides them with a steady dream of workers qualified to fill those specific jobs. as mike mentioned, he worked in the real he's goes a knack for computers so he thought he would

try a career in cyber security. lucky for mike, nova is home to a program called cyber watch. so he's working while going 20 school. but in december, mike earned two certifica certificates, and by the way finished with a 4.0. now he's working towards his associate's degree and when he graduates, mike will have access to a network of over 40 companies and government agent sirs to help him find a job so we need more stories like mike's and that's why my administration is helping community collegesal

redesign programs so stoounts can learn the skills that are most in demand. that's why we're making a national commitment to train 2 million americansa they need to get a job right now that they need to start their own businesses right now, or they have lined up more companies that want to help. we have already got model partnerships between major businesses like siemens and community colleges in places like charlotte and orlando and louisville, they're already up and running, we know how they work, and that's why i asked senator biden and secretary solis to take a bus tour.

we have got to make these examples a model for the entire nation. and we also need to give more kminlt colleges to resources they need to become community career centers. a place where we can earn the skills that ---this should be an engine of job growth all across the country, these community colleges and that's why we have got to support them, that's why it's such a big priority. >> the economy demands that we teach the skills that businesses are looking for. it means we need to -- we have

got to double down on the clean energy that's creating jobs. but it also means we have got to renew the american values of shared play and responsibility. the budget that we're releasing today the shared responsibility. if we're serious about investing in our future and investing in community colleges and investing in new energy technology, investing in basic research. right now, we're scheduled to spent nearly $1 trillion more on what was intended to be a temporary tax cut for the wealthiest 2% of americans. we have already spent about that much.

a quarter of all millionaires pay lower tax rates than millions of middle class households. you have heard me say it, warren buffett plays a lower tax rate than his secretary. i don't need a tax break, we don't need to provide additional tax cuts for negotiation who are doing real, really well. do we want to keep these tax cuts for the wealthiest americans or do we want clean air, education, care for our military.

asking a billionaire -- warren buffett's doing fine, i'm doing fine, we don't need to tax breaks, you need them. you're the ones who see your wages stall. the ones who -- we don't begrudge success in america, we aspire to it. i want everybody here to go out in and do great. i want you to make loads of money if you k that's wonderful.

---and given where our deficit is, it's just a matter of math that folks like me are going to have to do a little bit more. because americans understand if i get a tax break i don't need and the country can't afford. one of two things is going to happen, either that means we have to add tour deficit or it means that you've got to pay for it. it means the seniors got to pay for it. in terms of suddenly their medicare benefits are costing more. it means a student suddenly sees their interest rates go up higher at a time they can't afford it. it means a family that's struggling to get by is having to do more because i'm doing

less. that's not right. that's not who we are. each of us is here only because somebody somewhere felt a responsibility to each other and to our country's future thapd's why they made investments in place us like nova. here in america, the story has never been about what we can go just by ourselves, it's about -- some of you are balancing a job at the same time you're going to school. you're scrimping and scratching to make sure that you can pay tuition here. you know that doing big things isn't easy. but you haven't given up. to's the spirit we have got to have right now. we don't give up in this

country, we look out for each other, we pull together, we work hard, we reach for new opportunities, we pull each other up, that's who we are, and if we work together in common purpose, we will build an economy that lasts and remind people around the world why america's the greetest country on earth, thank you very much, and god bless the united states of america.

president obama announced his

new budget of 1.3 trillion this year and about 900 billion next year. you can read the budget proposal and we posted a question on cspan's facebook page for you to weigh in on what you think of the president's proposal, join the conversation at facebook.com/cspan. included within the president's budget proposal was a request for $51.6 billion for the state department and the u.s. agency for international development. the deputy secretary spoke about the break you know of the defense department's budget and here is a portion of his remarks. >> known as the function 150 account for all of you budget folks out there, totals $56.4

billion. this includes state and usaid. but the account included the millennium challenge corporation t peace corps, among others, so within the 1150 account, you'll find the state department and to the usaid's request which totals $51.6 billion. we have limited our request to what is absolutely necessary to achieve our mission, even as our needs and responsibilities grow, our budget increases by less than the rate of inflation. this money goes to four principal areas. let me show you the basic breakdown in the budget by the percentages. 23% of the budget is spent on the front line states, iraq, afghanistan and pakistan. 28% of our budget goes to

support our allies and partners contributions among other things. another 28% is also spent on human and economic security. and the remaining 20% -- 21% supports our people, embassies and global presence. now, the specific numbers. first, the 23% or 11.9 billion of a request goes to defending our national security interests in the front line states, iraq, afghanistan and pakistan. our civilian overseas contingency operations budget better known for oco funds the external costs associated with these missions. using the same methodology from last year's request, we've asked for $8.2 in oco and $3.7 billion in our base budget for a total

of $11.9 billion for the front line states. let me break it down to you specifically. in iraq, we're requesting $4.8 billion for next year which is about 10% less than last year. the transition is already saving american taxpayers a great deal of money, with now with state in the lead and the troops no long on the ground, the government is spending $40 billion less this year than last. as discussed during last week's press briefing, question ear continuing to be thoughtful about the right sizing of our staff, hiring more local staff, procuring more goods locally which should further reduce our spending. in afghanistan, requesting $4.6 billion. civilians are vital to our efforts. they are curing our gains against the taliban.

they're helping us take afghan's lead, responsibility for their own security. they're laying the groundwork for what comes less. sustainable economic growth. national reconciliation and the long-term civilian partnership, all of which helps us ensure afghanistan never again becomes the safe haven for terrorists. in pakistan, our 2013 request is $2.4 billion. our relationship with pakistan is challenging, but make no mistake, effective cooperation with pakistan is critical to afghan's future and to america's national security. our request includes funds to strength then democratic, supporting efforts and protecting civilians on the ground. you can watch the entire briefing along with other budget coverage from today on c-span beginning at 8:00 p.m. eastern.

of course you can watch all our coverage online as well as read the president's proposal at c-span.org. tonight on the communicators, the fourth in a series from this year's consumer electronics show. this week a look at the impact of mobile networks on society and improving spectrum use with hans vest berg, president and ceo of ericsson, the world's largest provider of mobile networks. also, what's an ultrabook and the latest in smart phones with intel's brian diener tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span2. there's been honest contention, spirited disagreement and i believe considerable hot arguments. but don't let anybody be misled by that. you have given here in this hall a moving and dramatic proof of

how americans who honestly differ close ranks and move forward for the nation's well-being shoulder to shoulder. >> as candidates campaign for president this year, we look back at 14 men who ran for the office and lost. go to our website, c-span.org/thecontenders to see video of the contenders who had a lasting impact on american politics. >> what about you? are you now out of debt? do you have a comfortable backlog in the bank? are you paying less for the things that you buy or more. do you really think things can't be better? of course they can. working together, we can and will make them better. >> c-span.org/thecontenders. general electric ceo and chair of the white house's council on jobs, jeffrey immelt urged congress and the white house today to adopt a budget plan along the lines of the simpson-bowles definite reduction package.

he spoke at the start of a week-long conference hoefted by ge on u.s. manufacturing and competitiveness. following his remarks, mr. i'm meant joins a panel of corporate executives for a discussion of the role of the government on the economy. this is an hour and 15 minutes. >> describing ideas and really talking about ways to create jobs and i think it's going to be a great week and a lot to be shared. if you would have read last month's harvard business review, roughly 75% ofhe surveyed think that america's competitiveness is going to decline over the next three years. i'd have to say that is in contrast to what we see, to what i see. i would go beyond that to say i think on a relevant basis i think american competitiveness is as strong today as i've seen in a generation. what i'm going to go through is

just frame some of the things that are working and we've got a series of workshops and panels over the next few days to discuss again the best practices and what's working. if you look at the -- if you go to the next slide, please, if you look at just the major headlines and the things that we think are important, i think it's about confidential. like i said, if you look inside a lot of the big american companies, boeing, caterpillar, dow, ge, people have confidence to compete on a global basis. there's a lot of best practices. i would say many and most of american business came through the crisis in better shape. a lot of the growth is outside the united states. so you've got to have the confidence to take your game into every corner of the world. i think another thing you'll see as you go through this week is the fact that business works together. that small business and big

business works together and various companies work together in what i would call an extended enterprise. so i think these are some of the hallmarks and some of the things again we'll talk about as the week goes by. if you go to the next slide, the day is really split into -- the week is split into four segments. today we're going to talk about american competitiveness. tomorrow is a discussion on innovation. the next day is on global competitiveness and we'll talk a lot about what are the fast growth regions around the world and what do you have to do in order to export. on thursday we'll talk about the workforce, vet rans and reservists and what it takes to create jobs and what are some of the big segments of job creation on a global basis. what i'm going to do today is talk about ten ideas on things we've seen work and things we've learned about how to drive competitiveness inside our

company. the first three are what i would call just business strategy. it's about innovation, american manufacturing and a focus on exports. the next two i think are just about systems of competitiveness, the importance of energy and health care to making every company competitive on a global basis. the next two are about how to work with customers, both large and small, a way to focus on mid market customers and the value of taking some of the tools that have come from social media and data and analytics and helping our customers be more productive. and lastly talk about skills, talk about empowering workforces and really a public-private partnership as ways to drive competitiveness. these are just our ideas. you're going to hear a lot more about it as the week goes on. i think one of the best parts about business is we have the opportunity to learn from each other and to share best practices. so take with that spirit.

first on innovation technology. this is what the u.s. has always stood for, is technology and innovation. i would say most companies today are spending more in research and development than the previous generations. in the u.s. r&d spending has stagnated between 2% and 3%. we think that needs to go up. various research groups have said that investments in technology and innovation have about a 30% return. so the case for technology and the case for innovation is without dispute. one of the questions that i ask when i travel around the world is how many engineers graduate in a country each year. this is the biggest symbol of the long-term competitiveness of those countries, more than just about anything else you can