his relationship to government regulation is very different than mine. he will tell you horror stories when you're trying to do those things. >> we can put a lot of good social aspect. >> you're going to have the last word. >> it's hard to add much to the good recommendations that you just heard. i guess the one dimension i might bring to the list, though, would be the temporal one. i think most of our leaders in government today and certainly our companies and our citizens, understand very clearly that the global economic environment, that we live in, is quite different than the one that we all grew up in. and many of our international competitors, although i think

fundamentally have less sustain able and less humane forms of public sector organization in government, do make decisions faster. the essential genius of the founders of our country was to build in that checks and balances and the separation of powers that create the need for compromise. and over a couple hundred years our country most of the time has been pretty good at coming up with smart and reasonable compromises. we've got to do that faster, i think these days. we can't keep kicking the can down the road to some future congress to solve some of these fundamental problems that you heard about from us because the pace of technology development

and economic growth around the world is much faster now than it was even a decade or two ago. so, in addition to those recommendations i would hope that we would see the kind of political leadership we need from both parties, from both ends of pennsylvania avenue, to make the tough deals that the country needs and to make them a lot sooner than later. >> thank you very much. my understanding is we'll have a brief break while we set up for president clinton. let's join me in thanking our panelists. a tremendous discussion. full of insight. thank you very much. [ applause ]

>> a quick break now in the exim bank conference. coming up, former president bill clinton will deliver the key note address. according to an on line business

week article about the bank, the bank is using the conference here to make a full-court press for renewal of its charter set to expire on may 31st, it's drawn opposition. critics including the club for growth which supports smaller government say the bank meddles in private enterprise, supporters of reauthorization include the national association of manufacturers and congress. republicans defeat add bipartisan measure on march 20 to reauthorize the bank and increase its lending limit to $140 billion. as part of the bill rolling back securities and exchange commission rules. we have more live events coming up on the c-span networks, 12:35 eastern on our c-span 2, an aviation summit. presenttives of the aviationtry. live at 2:30 on c-span, afghanistan's defense and interior ministers will speak at the center for strategic and

international studies about partnership with the u.s. starting at 2:30 eastern. later tonight here on c-span3, american history tv looks back at the battle of hampton roads, that conflict known as the battle was the first between ironclad ships. again, waiting for former president bill clinton, he will be delivering the keynote address at the ex-im bank conference. foreign ministers from the g-8 countries are meeting this week. secretary of state hillary clinton opened the meeting yesterday at blair house across from the white house. top items include iran, syria and north korea.

>> once again welcome to the historic blair house here in washington. i greatly appreciate this opportunity to discuss in person the many global issues that require joint leadership from the g-8 nations. the events of this past year, even of just this past week, affirm the continued need for comprehensive international cooperation and the g-8 is essential forum for. that we are alarmed for the ongoing violence in syria and we are concerned about the problems facing special envoy kofi annan

as he attempts to bring about a cease-fire and the end to violence. we are very watchful of this. this will be on our agenda later this afternoon. we will look for ways that we can together try to bring about a peaceful resolution of the current situation and a political transition for the sake of the syrian people. we also look forward to the beginning of the next round of p-5 plus one talks in turkey. these talks are an opportunity for iran to address seriously the international community's concerns about its nuclear program. and we believe there is still time for diplomacy but it is

urgent that the iranians come to the table to establish an environment conducive to achieving concrete results through a sustained process. and further to the east, north korea is readying a long range ballistic missile launch over the east china sea. it comes just weeks after north korea agreed to a moratorium on missile testing, it violates multiple u.n. security council resolutions. i think we all share a strong interest instability on the korean peninsula and we will be discussing how best to achieve that as well. earlier today our quartet colleagues which includes the united nations, represented by

ban ki-moon, the european union represented by high representative kathy ashton, the russian federation represented by the foreign minister survey lovrov and the united states represented by myself and our special envoys, met to review the situation in the middle east. jordanian foreign minister naser juda briefed on jordan's recent engagement, the quartet underscored its support for jordan's positive efforts. we remain committed to the goals that we outlined in new york last september. we agreed on the importance of continued financial international support for the palestinian authority including the need for $1.1 billion in immediate assistance. finally, we have begun discussing some of the transnational issues, piracy,

food security, that affect so many millions of people throughout the world. we are also going to be discussing our shared framework to support the democratic transitions and promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth through the doville partnership in the middle east and north africa. so there is a lot for us to discuss and we have a full agenda ahead of us. in preparation for the leaders meeting at camp david next month. so again, i welcome my colleagues and look forward to our work together. thank you all. >> and the g-8 foreign ministers meeting concludes today bat

12:45 eastern this afternoon, secretary clinton is scheduled to speak to reporters. we expect live coverage of that on our companion network c-span also online at c-span.org at 12:45 eastern today. live again at the export-import bank conference this morning, a chance for companies around the world to meet with exporters, participants are gathering with ex-im bank staff to find out theb the products and programs, about 1200 u.s. businesses, financial institutions, morn trade partners and government officials are attending. up next remarks from former president bill clinton, giving the key note address this morning. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the chairman and ceo of

honeywell international, mr. david cody. [ applause ] >> while president william jefferson clinton doesn't need an introduction i get to give him one anyway. i'm very pleased to do so because the president has always been a steadfast supporter of business and the ex-im bank. he recognizes that american business and trade is the source of our nation's productivity, and the source of our standard of living. that while it's important for government to be a regulator of business, it's just as important for government to be an enabler of business. one of the best ways to build peaceful and prosperous relationships between nations is through commercial ties.

that we live in a global interconnected economy, that our nation's ability to do good things domestically and internationally is derived from the strength of our economy. as president this wasn't just an intellectual exercise but rather an understanding that manifested itself indeeds. the 1993 economic package that brought us from deficits to surpluses in economic expansion. providing financial loans to mexico during their 1994 economic crisis. help that the american public did not support by a 5-1 margin and put the president at significant political risk, especially if it didn't work. it saved mexico and the loans were paid ahead of time. completing nearly 300 trade agreements including nafta, gat and securing pntr with china. passage of the jobs through

trade expansion act in 1994 that supported the overseas private investment corporation and strengthened protection of intellectual property. support of small business through the small business job protection act, the small business guaranteed credit enhancement act, and the small business lending enforcement act. and of great significance to the audience, support for numerous bills supporting the ex-im bank, notably the export-import bank reauthorization act of 1997. not a bad run there, mr. president. and president clinton's impact on the world hasn't stopped. as examples establishment of the william j. clinton foundation with the intent to convert good intentions to good results. by fostering partnerships between governments, businesses, ngos and private citizens. the clinton global initiative convincing global leaders to address the world's toughest issues. the climate initiative working with 40 of the world's largest

cities to reduce green house gases. and raising money for disaster relief efforts around the world partnering with president george h.w. bush ond several and president george bush on haiti. in small ways as a company we have been able to support president clinton by mentoring 80 teachers in mexico by the clinton global initiative and distributing science kits to middle schools there. strongly supporting the clinton climate initiative with focus on energy efficiency. and rebuilding a 40,000 square foot school in haiti. we're very proud of our association with you, mr. president. so, when you have a president who demonstrated support for american business throughout his presidency, who has stayed hugely impactful on the world stage after his presidency, and who wants to continue helping american business and the american economy, what's a good way to make that happen?

the answer, of course, is to give the keynote speech at the ex-im bank annual conference. so please join me in welcoming our keynote speaker, president william j. clinton. [ applause ] >> thank you very much. thank you very, very much. first, i want to thank dave for the introduction. we have become an unlikely group of friends, i guess, he and i, small group, big guys. but honeywell has been a terrific partner with clinton

climate nirtive, with our global initiative because of what they have done on technology training in mexico and china. i really appreciate his services on the bipartisan budget committee, the president appointed him to the what's become known as the simpson bowles commission. their report seems to have been forgotten. i hope after the election will be dusted off. i think it's about the best framework for beginning our efforts in dealing with our long term debt problem that i've seen. that's a free ad for allen simpson and erskine bowles. i want to thank members of the diplomatic corps and the business people who are here, i understand vice president sambo of nigeria is here. i love the country, i do a lot of work there.

i want to thank my friend fred hawkberg i think has been a great president of the ex-im bank. [ applause ] vice chair rhonda felton, larry walters, shawn mull vainy, thank you very much. this audience is full of people who once worked for me and i hate to start mentioning them but i can't -- i want to thank kevin varney who is marshalling the ex-im people through the photo line in the back. he will always have a special place in my heart. he and his sister in my administration because he was so kind to my late stepfather who passed away a couple years ago at 92. thank you, tom mcdonald, tom o'donnell, tim keating, thank you very, very much for everything you did. phil caplin, all of the others who are here who worked in the

white house or in the administration. i'm saying this because support for the ex-im bank used to abbipartisan deal. and i hope it will be again. and i'd like to talk a little about this in the context of where the american economy is, not just where the reauthorization bill is. the president set a goal of doubling u.s. exports in five years. that can clearly be done. in the eight years i was president we more than doubled the exports of 168% increase. so that's almost 100% in five years. this can be done. but it has to be done with a strategy that includes a lot of things.

and i want to kind of set this in some context. first of all, ever since the landmark study by the two economistsnyu economists a couple years ago, more and more people have noted that america's income stagnation problem may have a multiplicity of cures, but one of them is to have a higher percentage of our employment in the tradable sector of the chi. and i remember when i was pushing nafta and all those trade agreements and the creation of the world trade organization when i was president, it was obvious to me that we had to do that because export-related jobs then, i'm sorry i don't have the current figures, export-related jobs then on average paid 35% more than nonexport-related jobs in

the united states. i'm sure the numbers are more or less still the same. since president obama took office, beginning with nyu study, there have been a whole raft of studies that show ma american who is work in the tradable sector of the economy are likely to not only get jobs with higher starting pay but pay that increases with the growth of the companies. people who work in the nontradable sector are much more likely to get jobs with not only lower starting pay but without pay raises that keep up with inflation and economic growth. and i say that because most of the discussion here in washington, and i've participated in it and i'm a democrat so you know what side i'm on on this, but a lot of this has been about tax fairness and income inequality and the extraordinary gains of the last decade, in fact, the last 40 years, accruing to those of us who are in the top 1% or top

0.1% of earners. i think that's an important debate. but wherever you come down on that, the most important thing is to keep growing the economy. if you don't grow the economy, it doesn't matter how you divide the shrinking pie. in the end, our hopes to build a country and, in fact, a world of shared prosperity will fail. so we should begin with that premise. and if america once again wants to lead the world towards shared prosperity, we have to be able to change the internal dynamics of growth in this country. and one key component of that must be to increase employment in the tradable sector. which means increase exports.

in more common language that would be well appreciated in my native state of arkansas, if you got 4% of the world's people and you want 20% of the world's income, you better sell something to somebody else. let me put the issue at hand for the 3m bank, what should it be doing in some sort of larger context. if we want this to work, we want to double exports in five years and then keep growing as a trading country and doing it in a way that is fair to our trading partners and helps them to grow their economies and to generate employment for their people -- because if you really look all over the world, the thing that people are crying for everywhere in the world is a decent job with a reliable income that allows people to support their families -- we

have to start here with an economic policy that deals with our long-term fiscal challenges and still makes the necessary investments for a productive future. we have to produce competitive interest rates. they've been zero now, but when economic growth resumes vigorously, not just in america but everywhere, interest rates will not stay as low as they are and won't remain competitive if we don't have a long-term plan to reduce our debt. we need enough regulation to reduce financial crises, which include adequate capitalization requirements without choking off people's willingness to take risks. what happened in the last decade, and one of the reasons we didn't have much job growth and we had stagnant incomes in

the united states, is we had both way too much debt accumulation and too little investment in the areas where the jobs would grow, and we had insufficient oversight which had so much uncertainty in the economy that the thing collapsed on us. so we need some balance there. the second thing we have to do is to have, as i said, adequate investment, including from the public sector, in the things that are important to our competitiveness. research and development, education, and training. and we have to have investment in a modern infrastructure not only in our upgraded ports and airports and roads and water systems but in the infrastructure of the 21st century and a modern sustainable energy structure and in information technology. these things are critical to our

future. we also have to be prepared to reform our systems. let me just back up and say if you believe, as i do, that the major challenges of the world are basically subject to three categorizations, where there's too much inequality in income and access to employment and capital to start businesses in health care and education, all over the world, between rich and poor countries and within countries, there's too much instability for people to be willing to take risks with a reasonably predictable result, and the way we produce and consume energy and other resources locally has made our growth system unsustainable in the 21st century. we have to change that. the challenges of doing that are very different in rich and poor countries. i spend most of my time in

places with very low incomes. we have aids operations where we either sell aids medicine or malaria medicine or tuberculosis medicine for people who also have aids or work on water-borne diseases -- cholera, dysentery, diarrhea -- or build health systems and train people to do it in 70 countries. i do a lot of work in haiti, as do some of you here, and help me, for which i'm grateful. in poor countries, they don't have the systems we take for granted in richer countries. just think of all the stuff we're sitting here taking for granted. you'd be shocked if the microphone failed, if the lights went out, if the screens went dark for those of you like me who don't have 20/20 vision anymore. you know you can drink the water. if you get bored with my speech,

you can get up and go the restroom. i spend a lot of my life in place where is people can't take i any of that for granted. we were in malawi looking at our reforstation and agricultural development projects a couple years ago. it took us an hour and a half to go 18 kilometers on a road. now it takes you an hour and a half to go 18 kilometers in d.c. today. but for very different reasons. the point is, those places you have to build systems. systems give predictable, positive consequences to good behavior. in all the old rich countries, which is basically the u.s., europe, and japan, we have systems. that's how we got rich. we have to reform them now, because if you go all the way back to the old civilizations, you see that all societies get

long in the tooth and the people running all great organizations, public and private, become more interested in holding onto present gains and this creating future opportunities, more interested in maintaining present positions of power than advancing the purposes for which the institutions were established in the first place. so we in america are in the process of trying to figure out how to reform our health care systems, our k through 12 education system, our system of financing and accessing higher education for people and our energy systems. we need to be -- our financial systems and our government budgeting systems. we need to be reforming our immigration system, too, and i'll say a little bit more about that in the future. but the point is you either -- when you're a wealthy country that runs up against the limitations of the way you're doing business, you either reform and get back in the