and that's what's happening right here at master lock. because of you. over the last few years, it's become more expensive to do business in countries like china. meanwhile, american workers, we've become even more productive. so when john hepner was at the white house in january, he told me how it makes more business sense for master lock to bring jobs back home here to milwaukee. and today for the first time in 15 years, this plant is running at full capacity. and that's an example of what happens when unions and employers work together to create good jobs.

today you're selling products directly to customers in china stamped with those words, made in america. and the good news is, this is starting to happen around the country. for the first time since 1990, american manufacturers are creating new jobs. that's good for the companies. but it's also good up and down the supply chain because if you are making this stuff here, that means that there are producers and suppliers in and around the area who have a better chance of selling stuff here. it means the restaurant close by suddenly has more customers. everybody benefits when manufacturing is going strong. so you all have heard enough about outsourcing. more and more companies like master lock are now insourcing. deciding that if the costs of

doing business here isn't too much different than the cost of doing businesses in places like china, then why wouldn't you rather do it right here in the united states of america? right now. why not put some americans to work? companies would rather bet on the country with the best colleges and universities to train workers, with new skills and produce cutting-edge research. they'd rather place their bet on the nation with the greatest array of talent and ingenuity. the country with the greatest capacity for innovation that the world has ever known. and during the state of the union, i issued a challenge to america's business leaders. folks like john. i said, ask yourself what you can do to bring jobs back to your country. and your country will do everything we can to help you succeed.

and since then, a number of companies, large and small, domestic, but also even some foreign companies have said they now plan to open new facilities and create new jobs right here in america. which is still the largest market on earth. these include wisconsin companies like diamond precision, which is a machine manufacturer that is going to be adding dozens of jobs here in milwaukee. a company that's growing because its customers are choosing to buy american-made products instead of supplies from china. there's a company called collaborative consulting, an information technology company that wants to open a new call center here in wausau. and across the nation, there are well-known companies like caterpillar that are planning to bring jobs back home.

last month we decided to hold a summit. that's where john was at. a summit at the white house so we could hear from companies like these who have decided to insource jobs. we want to learn how can we accelerate this trend? and this last fall for the first time we'll be bringing companies from around the world together with governors and mayors and other leaders to discuss the benefits of invest and creating more jobs here in the united states. so our job as a nation is to do everything we can to make the decision to insource more attractive for more companies. that's our top priority. that's our top priority. we've got to seize this moment of opportunity. we can't there slip away. we have an opportunity to create new american jobs and american manufacturing, put that back where it needs to be. now one place to start is with

our tax code. i talked about this a little bit in the state of the union. right now companies get tax breaks for moving jobs and profits overseas. they are taking deductions for the expenses of moving out of the united states. meanwhile, companies that are doing the right thing and choosing to stay here, they get hit with one of the highest tax rates in the world. that doesn't make sense. everybody knows it doesn't make sense. politicians of both parties have been talking about changing it for years. so my message to congress is, don't wait. get it done. do it now. let's get it done. as congress thinks about tax reform principles, there's some basic things they can do. first if you are a business that wants to outsource jobs, you have that right. but you shouldn't get a tax

deduction for doing it. that money should be used to cover moving expenses for companies like master lock that decided to bring jobs home. give them the tax break. second of all, no american company should be able to avoid paying its fair share of taxes by moving jobs and profits overseas. so we've said from now on, every multinational company should have to pay a basic minimum tax. and every penny should go towards lowering taxes for companies that choose to stay and hire here in the united states of america. give them a bigger tax break. third if you are an american manufacturer, you should get a bigger tax cut. if you are a high-tech manufacturer, we should double the tax deduction you get for

making products here in america. if you want to relocate in a community like this one that's been hard hit when factories left town, you should get help financing a new plant. financing new equipment. training new workers. it is time to stop rewarding companies that ship jobs overseas and start rewarding companies that are creating jobs right here in the united states of america. and this congress should send me these tax reforms right now. i will sign them right away. right now. right now.

now, another thing we're doing to support american jobs is to make it easier for businesses like master lock to sell their products all over the world. everybody knows master lock makes the best lock. so two years ago, i set a goal of doubling u.s. exports over five years with the bipartisan trade agreements i signed into law, we're on track to meeting that goal ahead of schedule. pretty soon, there will be millions of new customers for american goods. i want new cars on the streets of seoul, south korea, imported from detroit and toledo and milwaukee. there's nothing wrong with them being able to sell cars here. i just want to be able to sell cars there.

even playing field is what we want. i'm going anywhere in the world to open up new markets for american products. and i'm not going to stand by when our competitors don't play by the same rules. it's not fair when foreign manufacturers have a leg up on ours just because they're getting heavy subsidies from their government. so i directed my administration to create a trade enforcement unit. and it's only got one job. investigating unfair trade practices in countries like an playing field because when we've got an even playing field, i promise you, nobody is going to outcompete america. we've got the most productive workers on earth. ve us a level playing field. we will not lose.

now part of creating that level playing field is also making sure that american workers have the skills that today's jobs require. and deandre talked about how, even though he's working, he's still going back to school. i know that master lock's decision toreateven more jobs here in milwaukee in part is going to depend and this is something that john raised when we were at our meeting. it's going to depend on with th chance to meet one of your co-workers, eric. is eric here? there he is right there. so eric and i were talking. been a diemaker for a long time. he's older than he looks. although we were comparing the gray in his beard to the gray on my head. but he was pointing out able t

make the machinery that he works on more efficient, which is making the company able to do more, because it's not lying idle when certain orders aren't coming in. but that's an accumulation of experience that he's had over a couple of now not everybody is going to have all that experience but the question is, can we make sure if they haven't already been working in this job, can they get that kind of training even before they are hired here at master lock so that they can provide that same value add across the board. that's what's goi that succeed the companies that don't. it's how skilled and talented the workers are and whether management is listening to the workers. because that's important. part of what allowed eric to be successful was somebody, his

supervisor said, hey, this guy has pretty good ideas. so that's why it's so for the companies investing in training programs and partnering with nearby community colleges to help design courses and curriculum so that when workers show up, they are already ready to hit the ground running. that's why i've asked congress to join me in a national commitment to train 2 american workers with skills that will lead directly to a job. we need to give more community colleges the resources to become community career centers, places that teach people the skills that businesses like master lock are looking for right now. right now. their jobs from data management to high-tech manufacturing that right now are open. and we've got a lot of lkot to

up the folks out of work with the jobs. and sometimes the businesses may not be able to afford to train that person on the job so let's have the community college help get the training. at a time when so many americans are out of work, there should not be any job openings bebe op comes up, somebody should be able to say, i want that job. and i'm prepared and skilled to get it. we're still rve of the worst economic crises in three generations. and i'm not going to lie to you guys. you know it. we've still got a long way to go before everyone who wants a job can find it. i'm sure that if we traveled all around here, there are a lot of folks who want work and can't find it. you know, when you are out of work, that wears on you. it's not just the income. it has to do with your sense of

place and your sense of dignity and your ability to support your family and the pride you take in that's part of what america has always been about is what our work means to us. the values we put behind our work. we don't just do it for a paycheck. and so this has been hard on folks. it's been hard on our country. and it's going to take some time before middle class americans regain the sense of security that's been slipping away way before this recession hit. a lot of these factories were moving out before this recession hit. there's a lot of outsourcing going on over the last 20 years. so we've got a long way to go. but here's what i want everybody to remember. over the last 23 months, businesses have added nearly 3.7 million new jobs.

manufacturing is coming back. companies are starting to bring jobs back. the economy is getting stronger. the recovery is speeding up. we're moving in the right direction. and now we have to do everything in our power to keep our foot on the gas. and the last thing we can afford to do is go back to the same policies that got us into this mess. milwaukee, we are not going back to an economy that's weakened by outsourcing and bad debt and phony financial profits. we need an economy that is built to last, that is built on american manufacturing and american know-how and american-made energy and skills for american workers. and the renewal of american values of hard work and fair play and shared responsibility. that's what we're about.

that's what we're about. and let me say -- let me say this. these are not democratic values or republican values. these are american values. they have seen us throughe chal through war and depressions and civil strife. but we've always come out on the other side stronger than we were before. we don't give up. this country does not give up. and we make sure that everybody is brought along. we don't leave people behind. we look out for one another. we reach out to one another. we are going for new opportunities, but we pull each other u we are. if we work together with common purpose, if we pull together i'

doubt we will rebuild this economy so it lasts. we're going to create more success stories like master lock and we will remind the world just why it is the united states is the greatest nation on earth. thank you, everybody. god bless you. god bless america. ♪ ♪ ♪

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♪ >> president obama finishing up here on the first of a three-day trip to the west this afternoon. he'll head to political fund-raisers in los angeles, san francisco and seattle. the house homeland security committee is going to meet in just a couple of moments. house members will hear from homeland security secretary janet napolitano about the president's 2013 budget

proposal. consolidating the u.s. visit program into one department instead of two and cut spending for the program. we'll hear from secretary napolitano in just a couple of moments at 2:30 eastern live here on c-span3. also only two of the four major republican presidential candidates are campaigning in public today. mitt romney is in michigan where he'll be meet with workers at an office furnituremaker in grand rapids followed by a rally there. rick santorum is in north dakota holding a rally in fargo this evening. newt gingrich is in california today. he has no public events and ron paul has no public appearances today. arizona and michigan hold their primaries in less than two weeks. super tuesday is on march 6th. territories hold primaries or caucuses through the rest of march. you can follow coverage of

political events as well as results on the c-span networks and online at .org. there's been honest contention, spirited disagreement and i believe considerable hot argume let any by that. you have given here in this hall a moving and dramatic proof os 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. >> and 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. starting shortly, we'll bring you testimony from homeland security secretary janet napolitano on the budget for the homeland security budget for 2013. right now, though, a discussion on funding for community colleges.ntinues. >> chief washington reporter with the chronicle of higher education. good morning. >> good morning. >> i wanted to talk about president obama's community ng. college to career fund initiative. what would it do? >> essentially it would provide $8 billion to states and colleges to train displaced, unemployed workers in high needd fields. iatechnology, i.t., manufacturing, health care, those sorts of things. >> have these initiatives been tried before along the lines that the president is actually looking at? >> the president has provide

someday line item for community. thiseges in the past. this would be a major expansiony of that.o dire he's also tried to direct more money to community colleges in s prior bills. h he called for $12 billion for community colleges but that gott whittled down to $2le billion i the health care bill. >> if it got whittled down thatt much, is there a perception on a capitol hill that this is a at realistic ask that the president's idea oicf putting a lot more money into this vision could actually make its way through congress? >> i think it's probably pretty unlikely he'll get as much as he's asking for. given the current budget situation with deficits and, you know, they are talking about --r they are going to be having to cut a trillion dollars across the board in the coming budget. it's pretty unlikely they'll be able to coming up with that kine of money. >> kelly field is chief r with washington reporter with the chronicle of higher education. if you'd like to join the conversation about president t obama's $8 billion community college to career fund here are the numbers to call. republicans 202-737-0002.

democrats 202-737-0001. independent callers st: we 202-628-0205. and we have a line for college students. 202-628-0184. college students, 202-628-0184'i let's take a listen to comments that president obama made monday at the northern virginia community college. >> that's why my administrationt is helping community colleges sn redesign training programs so students can learn the skills that are most in demand in industries like health care sciences and advanced why manufacturing. and that's why we're making a national commitment to train 2 million americans with skills to they need t go get a job right w or start their own business use] right now. compa we wind up with more companies that want to help.o bu

we've already got model partnerships between major losinesses like siemens and community colleges. they are already up and runningr we know how they work and we also need to give more community colleges the resources they need to become community career centers, places where folks can learn the skills that local businesses are looking for right now from data management to high-tech manufacturing.hi this should be an engine of job growth all across the country.r, these community colleges.nd and that's why we've got to support them. that's why it's such a big priority.em why it >> president obama speaking on monday. kelly field why the focus on community colleges? what does the president believee that they can do? what is their niche? >> well, community colleges are able to respond to local workforce needs pretty quickly. and so he sees them as central to his jobs agenda. he's also seeing community unity

a big player in the effort to become more competitive. a couple of years ago, he calleg for community colleges to graduate 5 million more graduates than -- by 2020. that's part of his goal to lead the world in college completion. he sees them as central to his n goals of both competing and improving the u.s. economy. >> let's hear from ed who is calling from kansas city,s can can on the democrats line. hi there. >> caller: good morning. how are you? >> good. >> caller: well, what i'd like to say is i understand everybodl you talk to, their son, their daughter, their grandson, ter, granddaughter is in college at the present time. and i would like to know when people are going to wake up to the fact that there's going to be nobody out there to actually do the work. i mean, like the guy that runs n the dozer on a construction site. that runs the tractor. g there's going to be no people w. that's going to be able to do the work. who is going to do the work when they get -- we get all these college degrees going.

don't get me wrong. i have nothing against having as college degree but i feel like we should have some good apprentice programs to go with these junior college -- the t t junior college education system that the president is wanting. thank you very much. >> ed, before you go, can you tell us about your educational experience and what you do now? ca caller: well, i am retired. i worked for transwormd airlines for 38 years until they went bankrupt and american airlines bought them out. i worked for them for three years. >> doing trade work?de physical labor? >> caller: i worked in the plant in kansas city. worked onka everything from 747 to golf carts. and, you know -- >> ed, what kind of training did that take to prepare you for that job? how did you learn about it? >> caller: well, i got part of my training when i was in the y military. but i also i went to school to t an airplane mechanics