this forum is taking place today and we expect great things to happen. again, i can't help but mention the diversity of the interest gives me real heart that things are going to happen and i thank all of you for being here. thank you very much. [ applause ] >> thank you, congressman. as a midwesterner i have to note that congressman davis from illinois mentioned now senator portman from ohio and congressman sensenbrenner is here, as well. congressman sensenbrenner is from wisconsin as am i. and i think i have known him since he was in high school. and in the years that he served in congress in the judiciary committee and elsewhere he has been both tough on crime and sensitive to the need to improve and reform the criminal justice reform.

he is very sensitive and working in the area of mental health and crime. a few months ago someone observed that in every single state in this country there are more people who have been determined to be potentially dangerously mentally ill in our jails and prisons than in all private and public mental health facilities in those states. it's a real problem on the inside and outside and congressman sensenbrenner is working on that. and throw in a side issue i noted today that he has legislation on civil asset forfeiture which is a problem that one of my old heroes henry hyde also a midwesterner fought

to correct for many years when he was in congress. so jim. [ applause ] >> thank you. thank you very much for that very kind and generous introduction. yes, you have known me since i was in high school. at that time my hair was black. there was years that have gone by sense less here and more there. i guess that's the way it will be with all of us. you are younger than i am. you never did disclose to this group where you were when we first met. i will leave it at that. don't want that tmi here. i am the former chairman of the house judiciary committee. during my chairmanship the first second chance act was passed. we will have to re-authorize it. we tried in the last congress and it didn't make it across the goal line. in the last congress judiciary chairman created a task force on overcriminalization and made me the chairman of it.

overcriminalization is an affront to personal liberty and expensive and inefficient way to deal with a lot of problems. there are an estimated 4,500 federal crimes on the books. congress is adding about 500 new crimes in each of the past three decades. and still many more regulations and rules state that if not abided by can result in criminal penalties including incarceration. the united states now houses about 25% of the world's prisoners despite representing about 5% of the world's total population. overcrowded prisons are a costly burden to taxpayers. federal prisons cost taxpayers $7 billion a year and states now spend more than $50 billion a year up from about 9 billion in 1985 which was only 30 years ago. it's the second fastest growing area in state budgets trailing only medicaid.

there are smarter and more effective ways to deal with criminals. and i am about ready to introduce a series of bills that will address overcriminalization. i don't expect any of my colleagues to vote for all of them. i also don't expect any of my colleagues to vote against all of them. but i think the best way we can get some legislation and hopefully a lot of legislation passed is to split it up and then have different coalitions coalesce around different proposals. first, congress should begin by going through the entire body of federal criminal law starting with all statutes that carry jail time operating under the presumption that every statute should be eliminated unless it can be justified as essential. we need to focus on reducing resitivism among federal offenders reserving prison space

for violent and career criminals and insuring transparency and accountability. we should look at establishing earned credits for supervised offenders and incentivising inmate participation in programming or drug treatment by allowing them to earn additional time off of their sentence. and we need to use inexpensive evidence-based programs that defers low-risk offenders from prison and limit what prior drug felonies can trigger the double sentencing enhancements. federal prisoners should receive programming that helps improve their re-entry chances and

likelihood of success once they leave the prison. i will soon be re-introducing the second chance reauthorization act which does just this as congressman davis mentioned in his remarks a few minutes ago. and finally many states have led the way on passing reasonable legislation that protects public safety while reducing resitivism. it is time for washington to look to the states to explore how it can be smart on crime. now, in conclusion, let me say that one of the things that the overcriminalization task force came up with is we were asking specifically how many regulations -- those are bureaucrat passed rather than congress-passed laws carry prison time. and congressman bobby scott of virginia who is my ranking member and i sent a letter to the congressional research

service that asks them to tell us how many of these regulations carry prison time and which agencies promulgated these regulations. we got a letter back from crs saying they didn't have the staff to do this. there were so many of them and it was so complex. there in lies the problem. this is something that the judiciary committee and hopefully both houses of congress can address so that an 11 year old who found a humming bird who is injured and put it in a cage in her house for a few days to allow the bird to recover in order to survive in the wilderness does not have her mother get fined and threatened with prison for caging up a migratory bird. that shows how ridiculous some

of the laws are and that is why this congress is going to address it. i look forward to your support in helping us lead a way to put sense into sentencing and put sense into incarceration and make sure that the public is protected from people who want to do really bad things and helping a humming bird regain the bird's strength so that the bird is not killed when it goes back out into the wild is something that makes no sense. we ought to get rid of it. thank you. [ applause ] >> thank you. overcriminalization is one of the things that adds to the prison population as well as prison time and jail time for crimes that might better be handled in other ways. it is one of the things that not only the judiciary committee.

i want to recognize senator cory booker who i believe is here. he hasn't been in the senate long enough to know that he should filibuster. i recognize his presence rather than ask him to come up and talk because he indicated he wants to learn rather than lecture. so on to lectures. van jones who you know was in the obama administration and at cnn and has worked in and is interested in these problems, as interested as anyone. i would like to ask him because one of the things he has been doing is studying how we got to where we are. how did we end up with 25% of the world's prisoners in our prison system? and then move on to what can be done about it. if you don't know how you got there it is pretty hard to figure out how to get out. van? [ applause ]

>> you can do it there. [ applause ] >> first of all, i am sitting at the table, van jones, with my new good friend from koch institute. that should be a headline by itself, just the fact that -- just met you. anyway, this is an historic moment. it's funny but it really shouldn't be. i think we have been talking past each other for a long time. i think we have missed opportunity after opportunity for a long time and that's why you have 595% growth in the federal budget incarceration when probably both sides know there are better and smarter ways to get where we are going. i come before you because i had a show on tv with a guy named

newt gingrich. a show called cross fire. we fought every day and didn't agree on one thing except this issue. talking with newt gingrich i realized i made a terrible mistake in my judgment and my assessment of where libertarians were on this issue, where conservatives were on this issue. and when you make assumptions about where people are coming from you miss the opportunity to do good stuff for the country. it turns out that our liberal side -- people on the right were only concerned about being tough on crime and not being smart on crime and that there was not a sense that the christian values, religious values and every soul matters could be a part of this

conversation, that we shouldn't be wasting money. conservatives shouldn't be for that. so i say that to say that we have gotten into an insane posture but there is wisdom available. where is the wisdom coming from? three places. number one, the juvenile justice system quietly thanks to the casey foundation has achieved a 50% reduction in the number of young people who are locked up in our country with no increase in youth crime. nobody knows that. we already have in the juvenile system a 50% reduction bringing

-- 4% reduction in the incarceration rate at the state level while we have a 15% increase at the federal level. so in states like mississippi, red states, in states like texas, red states, governors are stepping forward with great courage and producing great results. and they are just getting started. there is wisdom at the state level. that should be reflected at the federal level. there is also great wisdom in the technology sector. you have from california i didn't get a chance to talk to tech leaders all the time. they say it is the stupidest way to waste money and make a problem worst. newt gingrich talks about the fact that now because of smart

phones we can actually do a much better job of helping people reinforcing people and monitoring people outside of confinement at a much lower cost. with much greater effectiveness because we have technology. we are using 16th century technology. every other system is radekally changing but this system is stuck not just a decade ago but centuries ago. we can make positive steps forward. since the main source of the problem has been a lack of communication, a lack of trust, a lack of honest discourse and dialogue about how we can have safer streets, better communities, more successful young people, the most important thing that can happen is what is happening right now.

i want to thank the constitution project for their leadership on this when it wasn't in the headlines. give a round of applause to this organization and what they have been doing laying the groundwork. quietly laying the groundwork getting leaders together to discuss this. big rhetoric very minuscule results. that is now the big danger because we now can see that we had a hearing and if you want to go on youtube and hear probably the best speech i have ever heard on criminal justice senator booker gave it thursday. he is one of the great leaders on this thing. he gave a speech that i can't

imagine how a single person in the country could say no to him and the rest of us in trying to get this thing done. this is a time for comprehensive change. it's very, very rare that we have a moment where the stars have aligned in this way. the crime is down. the system is clearly broken and not just conservatives and liberals but libertarians libertarians, all three have come together to say we can do better. now, in a moment like this where you already have multiple bills,

i want to make sure to name check the bills out there. you have multiple bills out there in motion on the senate side and now more on the house side. those of you who are here, you have the ears of your bosses. you have the ears of your chiefs of staff, your political directors, the members. they are going to get flooded with all kinds of stuff that we are going to disagree about. this is your opportunity to go back to your office and say boss, we can actually get something done. we can actually get a real result. there are going to be people in our communities who are going to actually have a safer, better community, better neighborhood, better outcomes because we can

actually get something done. i want to praise before i sit down those leaders who have come forward. senator booker and rand paul have legislation they put forward. that needs to be taken seriously and supported. durbin lee here in the senate supported in the house. they have the smarter sentencing act. the resitivism reduction act is brilliant and needs to be supported. and the public safety act federal reform act needs to be supported. and lastly, the record expungement designed to enhance employment, these need to be supported. the last thing i want to say is this. i love debating. i love ideas. i love theory. i love being right more than you

know. this is the time to put data above demagoguery and evidence above ideology. if there is ever an issue where we have to be data driven and evidence based when you are talking about spending public dollars to both take someone's individual liberty in the name of making communities safer, both of which are precious, liberty is precious, community safety is precious. all of that i want to say to you as a partner and to you as partners and to the great leader on this whole thing, you have this whole ball rolling a long time ago. you are not going to hear it from us. there is a racial dimension to this and we are going to talk about it respectfully.

there is a gender dimension to this we will talk about respectively. we will lay down all of the demagoguery tools that we have at our disposal in the name of getting something done and to arrive at a country that actually has liberty and justice for all. thank you very much. [ applause ] >> actually, van said what needs to be said. that's that pat was in the space before virtually anybody else. last year the conservative political action conference we had a panel on criminal justice reform and one of the panelists, jenny said all you have to do is take one of these guys and lock

them up for a few months so they get a look at things on the other side and come out changed. i thought there are a lot of people that ought to be locked up for that reason. people get locked up for all kinds of reasons and get abused and mistreated by the criminal justice system. pat was republican leader in california in the assembly years ago and did get roped in by the criminal justice system, learned what it was all about. when he had an opportunity he came out here to work with chuck holson and to do something about

a system that he saw that didn't work and dehumanize those in it. one of the problems we face is that the public hasn't cared much about this because once you are locked up you are sort of no longer part of the human community. they don't care or pay attention to how you are treated or worry about what happens when you get out or worry very much how you got in. pat has actually been there from the beginning putting together coalitions, the second chance act that congressman davis and congressman sensenbrenner talked about is in many ways a tribute to the work that pat nole nd has done over the years. van, you are absolutely right. if there is a real champion other than jenny, of course, it's pat noland. >> well, that's an introduction. my father would have enjoyed and my mother would have believed. but really i attribute it to chuck holson. he had the vision. he could have gone out and practiced law and instead dedicated the rest of his life to calling to attention to the fact of the injustice of our system and the dehumanization of inmates.

and he offered hope to inmates and established prison fellowship for that. i was blessed to work with him and prison fellowship for 15 years. through that my political contacts among conservatives helped build on usual support for issues. and it's interesting because most people assume that conservatives are motivated for reform by economics. my experience is not that. it's the moral issues that motivate us. and van hit on that. the first issue after i got out of prison we were involved in was harry reid was trying to strip prisoners of their religious liberty protection. it was ted kennedy and john ashcroft and dan coats that said no and beat back that effort. and then passed the religious act this past week the supreme

court used to protect a muslim's right to have a beard inside prison. that was this unusual left/right coalition. following that open society institute said what will we work on next. we thought second chance act that rob portman went to work on. john conniers has been involved in it for years. danny davis. it was, again, a left/right coalition. the essential message of the second chance act is that prisoners are people we should care about.

their future after they leave prison is something that matters to us. and human dignity is an important part of it whether you are religious or not. those of us who are religious know each of us is a child of god created in his image. it's that divine spark that gives us dignity. government should never strip anybody of that no matter what they have done. and yet piper has done such a good job humanizing prisoners. prisoners are continually debased. i was in prison a little over 29 months probably 1,000 times i was told you ain't got nothing coming. and said with disgust. it says you are nothing. you come from nothing. you will be nothing. now, i came from a good background. i had a great education. i have had leadership positions. even though those words hurt i

was able to take it. think of the young kid from an abusive household and got into drugs at 13 and ran away and lived on the street, never completed their education, how are they going to take something like that being told essentially that they are worthless and they have no future? one of the things the second chance act did was say we are going to invest in your future. we are going to put together programs to help you prepare to live a productive contributing life in your community. you can have a valuable life. this is not the end of your life. we worked on the prison rape elimination act, the dirty little secret nobody wanted to talk about. and yet thousands, literally tens of thousands of prisoners are raped each year. you think about it. one of the reasons conservatives are caring more about prisons is

there is no form of government domination greater than imprisonment. the government takes you from your home, from your family, from your community, from your job, strips you of your ability to choose where you sleep, who you associate with, what you eat, what you do with your time. the normal decisions we take to protect ourselves whether it is going with a buddy or going in lighted areas or arming ourselves to protect us from being beaten or raped we are not allowed to do inside prison. the government strips us of the ability to defend ourselves and leaves us helpless. so we are preyed upon by other inmates. one of the things that brought conservatives to the table, teddy kennedy had been fighting this fight for years but also brought frank wolf to the table and a whole array of conservatives was the idea that the government has a moral responsibility to take care.

if we are going to strip somebody of the ability to defend themselves the government has a moral responsibility to make sure they aren't preyed upon. jeff sessions said it well standing in the senate swamp, ted kennedy unlikely characters, co sponsors said i sent thousands to people to prison for terrible crimes but not one of the sentences involved being raped. it was that moral statement that was so powerful in helping us pass it. so i just want to establish there is a moral basis for this. the economics of it, the diversion of money that can go for schools, for roads, for hospitals that instead go into prisons, all of that is important. the hole that it puts inside our state budgets eating up so much is important. it really is -- that's the thing

that allows conservative legislators to explain why they are doing these moral things. why the impact on the budget is there. and i have to take my hat off to pugh. the data that pugh has provided not only the figures but putting it in context, their publication 1 in 100 showing 1 in 100 americans was in prison or jail. 1 in 41, those under government supervision, that's really something that opened the eyes of conservatives, 1 in 41 americans is under government supervision. it comes from overcriminalization. it comes from the government being in charge of so many aspects of our lives. i will leave you with this. an irs agent going through the capitol intimidating legislators

in california said to one of my colleagues, senator, we can carve our paddle to fit anybody's -- that is frightening if the government can say we will fit you to the crime. that's what barilla told stalin. he said you bring me the man, i will find the crime. conservatives and liberals need to care that the government has so much power they can create a crime from all of these available. i am so glad that mr. sensenbrenner, mr. davis, that mr. portman are dedicated to helping us stem the tide of this powerful government, making sure that our policies make sense and bringing together people left and right they care about liberty and freedom and public safety.

thank you. [ applause ] you know the problem that we face consists of putting too many people in prison, treating them badly when they are in prison and then not doing much to prepare them for their release and their going back into a civil society when they leave prison. those are big, big problems that have a lot of complications. and as i said earlier it really is in terms of the public that once someone is sentenced and goes away they are forgotten about. and in the institution they are as pat said ordinarily treated as if they are less than human, as if that is part of what it is all about when it isn't because what that does is prepare them not for the re-entry into civil

society as self-sustaining citizens and free citizens but turns them into something that will ultimately end up right back where they started. chuck holson and pat brought faith to the problem. i remember at chuck's funeral i told this story before i was sitting at the reception and a fellow came up to me and we introduced each other. he said i first met him when i was in prison. he came to me and he said god has a plan for you. and he said i looked at him and i said i have no doubt about that but it is a really terrible plan. but by having faith and respect for the dignity of individuals whether they are prisoners or not allows people to re-enter into society.

no system is perfect. not everybody who gets out is ever going to go straight as they put it. there are going to be problems. but we owe it to those who have their freedom taken away by the state to see to it that they are treated well, as pat said, and that they have a real opportunity. shining a light on the way people are treated once they go away is incredibly important to this. and our next speaker, piper kerman has done that through her memoir of the time she spent incarcerated and the television show orange is the new black which came from that. she has shown just what it is like and why we need to do something about it.

it's your turn. [ applause ] >> pat, your words really remind me that for every person who traverses our criminal justice system it is a cruseble that you have to survive and that changes you in ways that are indelible. thank you very much for your work and for your words. i also want to thank the members who made this day happen, all of them from both sides of the aisle. very grateful and all of you who came out today spent a good chunk of your valuable time here, fantastic. there are many members of congress who also have prioritized these issues in their own work and i am grateful to them, again, on both sides of the aisle. we know that so much of the prognosis made particularly over the last decade would not have happened without republican contribution and leadership. i want to tell you all i made my notes in one of my prison diaries to keep it real here. so in 2004 i was sent to federal prison. i was sent for a first-time, nonviolent one-time drug offense that i had committed in 1993.

about 50% of the people in the bureau of prisons are doing time for drug offenses. 25% of the people are folks like me, low level, nonviolent offenders. but unlike me, many of those men and women are doing serious time, shockingly long sentences cht those are prison terms that i think are a waste of taxpayer dollars. they are a waste of time, quite bluntly, having lived inside b.o.p. that is not time well spent on the staff side or prisoner side. and those prison sentences are a tremendous waste of human potential because there is so very little rehabilitation going on within the bureau of prisons and within many other prison systems. i was so very, very fortunate to do only 13 months of fed time. and when i say fortunate i don't mean lucky, i mean fortunate. i mean that i was able to hire a former u.s. attorney to represent me in court.

i mean that i had many, many privileges that most defendants do not have. 80% of people who are accused of a crime are too poor to afford to hire a lawyer to represent them in court. and our criminal justice system the data shows very clearly that our criminal justice system disproportionately pursues and punishes people of color. so i went to bed on that first night in prison and what i was saying over and over again in my head in that top bunk was i am so lucky.

i am so lucky. i am so lucky. and prison is by design a harsh and horrible place. so it might surprise you to hear that i was saying that. i was also saying i have no idea how i am going to survive this year. i was saying i'm so lucky. here is why. in prison the only acceptable ice breaker is to say how much time do you have? you don't want to ask a lot of personal questions right off the bat. during those first 12, 18 hours in prison dozens and dozens of women had approached me and said how are you doing? rough day. do you need anything? how much time do you have? and i would quaver out 15 months.

and they would immediately start doing math problems. they were calculating the good time that the bop gives, 87.2% of your sentence that you serve. they say keep your nose clean and you will be out of here in 13 months. and it seemed only polite to sort of squeak back to them how much time are you doing? and some of them were doing short time like me but a lot of them were not. a lot of them were doing much, much longer sentences than i was. five years, seven years, ten years. i went to bed that night and i was like i cannot imagine how i will make it through one year. i came to know the other women really, really well because of the bureau of prisons is very overcrowded. you'll get to know people really, really well. and, as i came to know those women well, i came to know their families well, those were lucky enough to have visits. i saw them in the visiting room

with their kids, their families, their own parents,and i came to know those women day-to-day so very, very well in a way that only prison can really do. it became impossible for me to believe that those women had committed crimes that were so much worse than my own offense. and the only conclusion that i could draw was that they had been treated very, very differently by the criminal justice system than i had. because of socioeconomics and because -- in some case -- because of the color of their skin. and so for me, this inequity is the most fundamental reason to reform the criminal justice system. that's for me, personally. so that some day, all americans will really be treated as equals. there are other less idealistic reasons to act right now. we know we are wasting a lot of taxpayer dollars. we know that long sentences have proven to be counter productive. not only not super valuable, but

counter productive. we know that many, many states have reduced their prison populations. and the ones that reduced the most have enjoyed the biggest refourms in crime. we know that reform is what the public wants. research shows us that americans want common sense criminal justice policies to be put in place to fix the current system that we have: i can tell you, i travel all over this country. and i am amazed, i have, like, thousands and thousands of people have come out all over this country, you know, midwest, southwest, you name it. i've been there. and they come out and they want

to learn more, and they want to discuss these issues. and they come to campuses and they come to libraries and they come to other public forums and they engage with me and engage with each other. and it is really, really exciting. and what i hear from them is overwhelming agreement about very obvious reforms. getting low-level offenders out of confinement in prisons and jails so that we stop misusing prisons and jails on those folks. i hear from folks total agreement about ceasing to put mentally ill and substance addicted people in prison and jail. because incarceration doesn't fix those public health problems. and, in fact, it often makes them worse. and finally, what i hear from them is a huge amount of agreement about focusing substantive and, you know to your point, this is already

happening. but more substantive rehabilitation resources for children in the system and for young people you know not 18 and up but still young so that we can get those folks out of the system. everyone understands that those investments in those young people will yield dividends for all of us. so we know that these things can be done because they're already being done. they're being done out in the states. we've seen so much innovation and seen state governments move legislation successfully so we know it can be done in congress. and we've seen them reap the rewards. we've seen them enjoy reductions in crime. we've seen them enjoy better more mindful spending of taxpayer dollars. it is time for the federal government and for congress to catch up and comprehensive reform is exactly what is needed because here's the thing about the criminal justice system. it's a system. if you go in there and noodling around with one part of it,

you're not going to get good results. you know sort of quote unquote fixing prisons if you don't fix sentencing. and if you don't fix access to counsel and sixth amendment rights, just for a couple of examples. you have to do multiple fixes to make the system work better for all americans and now is the time. so thank you very much for all coming out. [ applause ] >> thank you. indeed, preparing people for the outside is supposed to do it but it doesn't do it very well. i remember attending a graduation for. g.e.d., a junior college level in a federal prison and standing next to a couple who had driven 12 hours to be there when their

son was incars rait incarcerated was receiving his g.e.d. he was prouder than anyone i've seen on the outside. and they had to get back to work. they drove 12 hours, they stood there, they got back in their car and headed west back to their home and their job. >> at least that boy was going to have a chance because he took the opportunity to do what he could to prepare hems. i'm not sure the system itself made it that easy. but that's incredibly important and something that we need to be looking at. the senator from minnesota was coming by, just another midwesterner interested in fixing the system. so if he's here, we'd like to welcome in.

and then i'd like to introduce mark holden. back when conservatives were first stalking about doing something about these problems and, first, recognizing the seriousness of it, polk industries was already involved. and that's what they'd be working on. so it's really with a great deal of pleasure that we welcome you to the microphone. and i see that you and dan have survived over there? [ applause ]

>> thank you, everyone. i have the coveted speaking spot right before lunch. so i appreciate that. very glad to be here. it's achb honor to be here on behalf of coke industry. glad to be part of this forum. glad to be one of many voices. and there's many here. mr. nolan and others who have been here for years. we've only been doing it for the past 10 1/2, 11 years. this is a great cause. so important to us. many of you have had the same experiences. someone, you know someone in your family, family loved one, yourselves who has gotten caught up in the criminal justice system. this is a big issue. and this is one that's exciting. we can all work together on and put our differences aside and just focus on something that's

really going to help a lot of people. that's what we should really, really focus on. let me just focus on the u.s. justice system, is probably the best justice system in the world. we have a lot of dedicated public servants, defense lawyers, public defenders, you name it, they do a good job. but our system still needs a lot of work, obviously, as we're here today. we think it needs to be improved. it fulfills the bill of rights. that's what this is all about at the end of the day as americans. it needs to better protect americans. all and especially the most disadvantaged and help improve society. and as we've heard here and as you all know, who gets hurt the most in the criminal justice system are those who can least afford to endure it. and that's wrong.

and we need to fix that. over the past six months, we've had a lot of people come up to us and say why is coke involved on this? why are you involved in criminal justice? i thought i would answer that question here today for those of you who might have the same questions. and let me just start by saying, as i say, it goes back over ten years. and, first, we're drawn to these issues because of our belief and the rule of law and particularly, in the true genius of the bill of rights. we believe those rights must be a reality and have fulfilled a

promise for all americans. the bill of rights enacted over 220 years ago. it still remains the foundation at least it should of our free society. and provides a blueprint for a free and prosperous society that we think can still work for everyone, especially, again, the most disadvantaged among us. and the rights contained in the bill of rights. it's important, they cannot be taken from an individual by the government because these are our natural rights our unaillienable rights. it's an important point to remember. and we also believe in everything we're involved in at koch, be it business philanthropic, public policy. we must do, we must be engaged to help all people every one of us improve their lives. and this is particularly true in our criminal justice system. and the bill of rights in particular is focused on criminal justice issues.

particularly the fifth and sixth amendment. that that's why it says the fifth amendment, we've got to make sure before we take anyone's life, liberty or property. the sixth amendment guarantees the right to defense counsel for all those are important points. those are important things. the government's greatest overreach, the greatest curtailment, the greatest infringement will come through criminal law. they have systems in there to protect that. and we need to remember that as we try to fix the system that's not working now. i don't need to go into the overcriminalization issue. you heard it here today. you'll hear it more on the impact it has on everybody across the board. and i want to talk just briefly about why did we come to the table? why coke industries? here's the story. you had many years ago, what should have been an administrative proceeding became a federal case against our company and four of our employees, began in november of 1995. our employees met with the texas state environmental regulator,

disclosed that there had been an inaccurate report filed and that he we were out of compliance. our people also said that we were going to work diligently to get back in compliance and that we would conduct an investigation, fix the issues and report back how far and how long we had been out of compliance. pretty straight forwardforward. these meetings happen like this every day around the company. our employees did all they said they would do. got the issue fixed, reported back. yet the case spiralled out of control. it was due to innocent mistakes costly mistakes that they made. criminal law is without well defined standards of intent, overzealous prosecutors and curious activities during the grand jury process were a key piece of evidence the record of the initial meeting with a state regulator had been manipulated to create a false narrative. we were told by our outside

lawyers, and we were lucky, we could afford the best, to plead guilty, cut your employees loose, let them fend for themselves. we did not do that. we could not do that. because we did not believe they had done anything wrong. and so we stuck by them. ultimately, six years later, the government's case collapsed. they did not have enough evidence. our employees were exonerated. and a subsidiary pled guilty to the original issue they self-disclosed six years earlier. after that incident, we do what we always do at coke. we looked internally and externally. what could we improve internally in our processes to make the world a better place or make our company better? what could we do to try to make the world a better place externally? we fixed our compliance standards. and then we started to work on criminal justice reform. and we did that. i need a sip of water. i have a cold.

we did that because our view of the world as if we, a large company with many resources were treated this way in the system, we didn't feel we were treated properly, there was doctoring of evidence, what's happening to the average american? what's happening to their constitutional rights? so that's where we found our way to the nacdl and started working on these issues. we started because of our experience looking at the legislation, laws passed. once we were there once we got involved, we couldn't stop because to piper's point, every one of these -- every one of the touch points in the system from entry to exit they have a compounding impact on the next. so if your laws are overly broad, we could sit here for about two years. i bet we couldn't name 4500 crimes that should be prosecuted, but you have 4500 laws. then if you go to the next point with regard to how the laws are prosecuted, the grand jury

process, then to how cases are tried when someone is charged, then about what happens in sentencing and what happens upon re-entry, you have to fix them all. it needs to be comprehensive. it needs to be big. we need to do it. because this will have such a positive impact on so many people's lives. about a month ago there was an op-ed in politico by charles coke and me about our views on criminal justice reform. we have five buckets. i think there's some handouts here that look at the five different areas we think could be impacted. we think they all need to be addressed. since then, in that last month we have received so many letters, e-mails calls from people around the country, and it's across the spectrum. doctors, defense lawyers, public defenders, public officials, educators, hourly workers, law enforcement, inmates, prison officials, former prisoners phenomenaler prison officials, young, old urban, rural, all agreeing telling us some horror story about them and their family. my family experienced this. we all do.

everybody has a story here. everybody has a story about how the criminal justice system has failed them or impacted them. and this is something that we can all work on. that's what's such a great thing. so, we think we have a great opportunity here with all these groups, all of you in the room, we think we have a great opportunity to improve our criminal justice system and improve society for all americans. and we, you, me all of us here in this room, others out there, we need to try and seize it. thank you very much. >> thank you mark. i think that mark's observation at the beginning on the good job that prosecutors and police and law enforcement try to do within a flawed system is well worth noting. in talking about overcriminalization and the treatment in prison, pat likes to talk about the fact that we spend too much time punishing

people we're mad at when what we should be using the prison system for is to deal with people we're afraid of. and nothing we say here should be taken from the left or the right as an enforcement of being lenient on people who need to be separated from the civil society. but it should be taken as meaning we ought to look carefully at whether or not we're using too broad a brush and treating people badly. even the worst offenders. even if they need to be incarcerated. even if we need to keep them away from the general population. need to be treated and deserve to be treated with some dignity within the system. so, i think that was an important point that needs to be made. senator franken is here, so i'd like to invite him up to say a few words. i've already commented on the fact that it's midwesterners

that are really concerned about these issues. >> you, then i take, it are a midwesterner? >> oh, yeah. >> see how i figured that out? great. great crowd. thanks for warming them up. i want to thank the constitution project for hosting this important event. thank you, david, for that introduction. it's quite a feat to bring together a group of speakers with such a broad array of backgrounds and of perspectives and i think that speaks to the importance of this and the bipartisan aspect of this. which is simply about making our criminal justice system fair and less extensive. i also want to thank all of you

for just being here today and contributing to this critical conversation. as political diversity of today's speakers and crowd makes clear, the need for common sense criminal justice reform is not a partisan or particularly de divisive issue, or should not be. the fact that david introduced me just underscores that democrats and republicans law enforcement and advocates, can all agree the current state of overincarceration in the united states is damaging to the health of our communities and our economy and is a tragedy. for so many individual americans. i want to speak briefly about one important aspect of this problem. and that is the use of our criminal justice system as a substitute for a fully functioning mental health

system. the statistics speak volumes. in the nation's three biggest jail systems approximately 11,000 prisoners undergo mental health treatment on any given day. the three largest mental hospitals in the country, on the other hand, have a combined 4,000 beds. as rick staneck the hannepin county sheriff said, mental health jails are the largest in the state of minnesota. unfortunately, this holds across the nation. and the burden of the criminal justice system serving as a substitute mental health system goes beyond our prisons every day, our police are called upon to intervene in potentially life-threatening mental health crisises and our courts are

overwhelmed with cases of people with untreated mental illnesses. this doesn't make sense for public safety and it certainly doesn't make sense for taxpayers who are stuck with a difficult for overcrowded prisons. and the cost of addressing mental health needs within the criminal justice system, and just the incredible waste, including human -- the waste of human capital the waste of human beings, lives and time. in the face of these realities, we need -- we need to take a comprehensive approach. elected officials and stakeholders at the local, state and federal level must work together to address the unique needs of persons with mental health conditions in the justice system. we also remember -- should

remember that our actions must not stigmatize people with mental health issues as those people are a vibrant part of our communities. that's why i plan to reintroduce -- reintroduce -- the jmhca very soon. it would reauthorize myocra, that catchy acronym is the mentally ill offender treatment and crime reduction act. and it would make improvements to the existing miocra law. my legislation would support mental health courts. and crisis intervention, training and crisis intervention teams that are proven to save both lives and taxpayer dollars.

it would emphasize the use of evidence-based practices in mental health treatment and support programs that are proven to reduce recidivism. it would also provide investments in veterans' treatment courts, which are instrumental in addressing the needs -- >> we will leave the senate hearing at this point. can you see it in its entirety although our website c-span.org. check the c-span video library. live to capitol hill where the house and senate will honor members of the first special service force during world war ii. it was an american/canadian special operations unit formed in 1942. we expect to hear remarks from congressional leaders and two veterans. this is just getting under way. >> the honorable john boehner. >> ladies and gentlemen, good

afternoon and welcome to the united states capitol. it's good to see all of you here today. since the days of the revolution, congress has awarded gold medals to express the people's appreciation for distinguished achievements. the first recipient was general george washington himself in march of 1776. today pursuant to house resolution 324 we will present a gold medal in honor of the first special service force. the force was activated in 1942 as an elite unit of 1800 american and canadian commandos. just how elite? well, for every man they lost they killed 25. for every man they captured, they took 235. the force was so fierceless that the enemy dubbed them the devils

and so effective today that our special forces refer to them as pioneers. these men represent the finest of the finest. so, today we bestow them -- on them our highest honor. let me thank all of you for being here, especially ambassador dorr, secretary mccue and all of our army leaders. in addition to many family members, we're truly humbled to have with us some 42 veterans of the force. please join me now in welcoming these great men to our hall.

[ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the presentation of the colors by the united states army color guard. the singing of the canadian and united states national anthems and the retiring of the colors. ♪ ♪

♪ o canada our home and native land true patriot love in all thy sons command ♪ ♪ with glowing hearts we see thee rise the true north strong and free ♪

♪ from far and wide o canada we stand on guard for thee ♪ ♪ god keep our land glorious and free o canada we stand on guard for thee ♪ ♪ o canada we stand on guard for thee ♪ ♪ o say, can you see

by the dawn's early light ♪ ♪ what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? ♪ ♪ whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight ♪ ♪ o'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? ♪ ♪ and the rockets' red glare the bombs bursting in air ♪ ♪ gave proof through the night that our flag was still there ♪ ♪ oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave ♪

♪ o'er the land of the free ♪ ♪ and the home of the brave? ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ladies and gentlemen please remain standing as the chaplain of the united states senate dr. barry black, gives the invocation. >> let us pray. eternal god, the heavens tell stories of your glory and the skies display your marvelous craftsmanship. in the wisdom of your loving providence, you blessed the world with the 1st special service force, a joint world war ii american/canadian commando unit that made the freedoms we

enjoy today possible. lord, we praise you for the volunteers who comprise this 1,800-person force that contributed immeasurably to victory over tyranny. using their intensive training, these patriots in uniform were willing to give their all to ensure that liberty's bell would continue to ring. bless this opportunity you have given us to celebrate and honor their competence courage and commitment with the congressional gold medal. we pray in your great name, amen.

>> please be seated. ladies and gentlemen, united states representative from the first district of florida, the honorable jeff miller. >> with each passing day the legacy of the greatest generation is in more danger of becoming a distant memory. but we must not forget. that's why it's imperative for those of us who have the ability to help preserve the memory of your service and sacrifice do exactly that. although the medal we are presenting is a physical token of our gratitude for your heroism, the most important aspect of today's event is that it provides us an opportunity to strengthen the great legacy of

the 1st special service force. at a time when we desperately needed heroes to wage war against tyranny, our two nations banded together and successfully defeated evil. the 1st special service force is a shining example of what can be accomplished when america and canada stand together as one. your actions embody the enduring partnership between our two nations that president john f. kennedy referenced when he said, and i quote, geography has made us neighbors. history has made us friends. economics has made us partners. and necessity has made us allies. those whom nature hath join together let no man put us under, end quote. those words as appropriate today

as they were more than half a century ago when president kennedy uttered them before the canadian parliament. it took four years to make this day a reality. and when i look at this crowd and see the faces of all the 1st special force veterans in attendance, i know that it was worth it. god bless our nations and may god bless you, our veterans. >> ladies and gentlemen, united states senator from montana, the honorable jon tester. >> thank you. today is a very good day. today we honor a group of men who dedicated themselves to

ensuring that this great nation would remain free. and we honor the enduring friendship between the united states and canada. these men made up of patriots from two nations were assigned a mission that the world had never seen. they played an important role in defeating our enemies during world war ii. the men of the devil's brigade paved the way for the special forces units that we honor today. they organized and trained at ft. harrison in my home state of montana. today ft. harrison is the headquarters of the montana national guard. it is where montana's citizen soldiers still train and prepare to deploy. on the same grounds the devil's brigade did 73 years ago. the men we're honoring today trained in rugged conditions at top of mountain peaks in the

rockies, ski and rock climbing in frigid temperatures of the montana winters. little did they know their unbreakable spirit would not only help change the course of world war ii, but it would also change what it means to be an elite member of the military. today their legacy lives on in america's special force units who represent the best of the best, who serve our nation. i'm proud that these service members called montana home and am proud of those men and women who are willing to sacrifice and fight for the liberties that we hold so dear. on behalf of all montanans and americans, this medal is a small token but a powerful symbol of your bravery, commitment, sacrifice and dedication. thank you for your service to this great nation. god bless you all.

>> ladies and gentlemen, the united states army band and chorus. ♪ ♪ ♪ o beautiful for spacious skies for amber waves of grain ♪ ♪ for purple mountains majesty above the fruited plains ♪

♪ america america ♪ ♪ god shed his grace on thee ♪ ♪ and crown thy good with brotherhood ♪ ♪ from sea to shining sea ♪ ♪ ♪ o beautiful for patriot feet ♪

♪ who sees beyond the years ♪ ♪ america america ♪ ♪ god shed his grace on thee ♪ ♪ and crown thy good with brotherhood ♪ ♪ from sea to shining sea ♪

♪ america america ♪ ♪ america ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, the army song. ♪ ♪ march along sing our song with the army of the free ♪ ♪ count the brave count the true who have fought to victory ♪ we're the army nooul and proud of our name ♪ ♪ we're the army nooul and proudly proclaim ♪ ♪ first to fight for the right

and to build the nation's might ♪ ♪ and the army goes rolling along ♪ ♪ proud of all we have done fighting till the battle's won ♪ ♪ and the army goes rolling along ♪ ♪ then it's hi hi hey the army's on its way ♪ ♪ count off the cadence loud and strong ♪ ♪ for where we go you will always know ♪ ♪ that the army goes rolling along ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, the democratic leader of the united states house of representatives, the honorable nancy pelosi. >> good afternoon. speaker boehner, leader mcconnell, senator durbin,

minister o'toole, general votel, mr. ambassador mr. ambassador secretary mchugh, thank you, and all of our special guests. what a wonderful afternoon it is and made possible because congressman jeff miller, the chairman of our veterans affairs committee in the house and senator jon tester introduced legislation remembering our special forces, the 1st special service force. thank you. thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, senator. we can applaud them. that would be good. goen. again. and thank you, mr. speaker for bringing us all together. it is fitting that we are gathered here in emancipation hall because the heroes we honor today helped win the fight to free the world of tyranny. for generations our northern neighbor has been vital as a trusted ally and friend to our country. the 1st special service force

made up of men from both the united states and canada continue that tradition. canadians and u.s. citizens, men who made their living laboring as lumberjacks and trammers, mountain mountaineirs and miners, answered the call to serve and changed the course of the war. two great democracies came together to help defeat the axis. together they trained for stealth combat in arctic conditions. together they sacrificed personal safety to save the world. i take special pride in recognizing that the leader of this elite unit, a man of courage, conviction and character, was a proud son of san francisco who returned to his beloved california after the war, the late major general robert t. frederick. [ applause ] undaunted by the seemingly

impossible mission before him, frederick raised trained and led the unit and was awarded a record eight purple hearts. today it is our privilege to honor him and especially the people he led. those who are here, those that are not with us. we are honored that some of these legends are here today and we remember so many husbands and fathers, sons and brothers, who never returned. the 1st special service force was given the moniker black devils. for conducting missions with their faces obscured by black boot polish. under the cover of night they trudged through mountainous terrain, captured thousands of prisoners and eventually breached the gates of rome to help liberate the eternal city. today a plaque hangs on a sections of the walls in rome honoring their sacrifices. although the 1st special service

force was disbanded in 1944 the legacy of this indommenable force lifz on today in today's special forces, the u.s. army special forces known as the green berets and 1st special forces operational detachment delta known as the delta force. some are with us today. thank you for your service to our country. these heroes remind us that although victory is never certain, where there is courage where there is unity where people are willing to sacrifice their own comfort to help save the lives of others, victory is possible. it is our privilege to present the congressional gold medal to the world war ii veterans of the 1st special service force and to recognize the enduring partnership of canada and the united states. may god continue to bless both of our countries. thank you.

>> ladies and gentlemen, the assistant democratic leader of the united states senate the honorable dick durbin. >> welcome to all of you heroes from both canada and the united states who come here today for this great honor. you may have heard that we had a little snowstorm in chicago over the weekend. more than 19 inches of snow, more snow in 24 hours than we usually see in two or three months. and yesterday morning, while the snow was still falling the winds were blowing at 45 miles an hour, and someone asked do you think lewis knox and casey selsky are going to make it to washington? i said nothing -- not even an historic blizzard would stop the devil's brigade from being here today. i honor the sons of illinois as part of the group being honored.

lou is knox had a tough time getting into the service. he went down to the post office to volunteer to serve in the marines. he took a look at the young man and said, sorry, with that overbite, you'll never be able to serve. six months later he was in the army and became part of this elite fighting force. thank you for being here with us today. casey selski is here. he fought at the battle of anzio. they were among the first allied soldiers to enter rome and liberate it from the nazis. he's here today with one of his 11 children, the former mayor of alito, illinois, mayor lee celski. when casey came home from world war ii like a lot of the genuine heroes of war he didn't have much to say. he left the war on the battlefield. 40 years later his family coaxed

the stories out of him. and 50 years after his return from world war ii, casey and lee traveled back to europe, back to the places where he'd fought to visit the towns that the force had liberated. near the anzio beach head an italian man realized finally who they were. the man dropped to his knees crying and thanked casey celski. then he pointed to a plaque written in italian and english trying to explain what this was all about to his own son. this is one of the soldiers, he said, who saved our village. it was 50 years after the war had ended. casey celski turned to his son lee and said all these years i wondered what i was doing here. now i know why we fought. the 1st special service force -- yes. [ applause ] the 1st special service force were all volunteered.

the a-a stonishing fact is not how many didn't finish but how many survived. they operated undercover of darkness, deep behind enemy lines using unconventional warfare tactics and support of other units. every mission was a suicide mission. when a forceman went awol, it was from a hospital bed. that's true. more than one wounded ssfs man hearing his unit was heading out lept up from his bed and rejoined his unit, still stitched bandaged and many times dressed in a hospital robe. the unit suffered 2,300 casualties. more than 130% of their original combat strength, but it never lost a mission. not one. the 1st special service force -- [ applause ] the force existed for only two years but its spirit lives on in the green beret army rangers even the navy s.e.a.l.s and

marine recon units, and in all of today's special forces. for decades after the war ended the story of these canadian and american heroes and how they helped save the world was classified top secret. but now we know. and on behalf of the congress of the united states and freedom huf loving people around the world, we say thank you. [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, the majority leader of the united states senate, the honorable mitch mcconnell. >> sometimes truth can be more impressive than fiction. when it comes to the heroes we honor today, that's certainly the case.

members of the elite devil's brigade excelled in rock climbing and amphibious assault. they advanced on skis and through the air. they survived by stealth and trained in demolitions. some of their more daring mission plans would have made james bond blush. and through it all, they helped safe a continent in chaos. they helped defeat some of the greatest men asaces the world has known. but this isn't a hollywood script. it's a true story about a fearless group of young canadian canadians and americans including many kentuckians, who were willing to put their lives on the line in the truest sense of the term. some probably did it to protect neighbors and families. others to defend cherished democratic ideals. many likely fought for all these reasons.

and they volunteered for this danger. here's how the force's recruiting slogan read -- vigorous training hazardous duty, for those who measure up, get into the war quick. typical madison avenue spin, this was not. but it was honest. the fighting could be fierce, conditions could be awful, the missions seemingly impossible. yet dark masses of boot polish and young courage, fighting knives gripped tightly in hand elements purged consciously in fight, held strong against the forces of fascism. the devil's brigade heeding churchill's call for specially trained troops of the hunter class, who might unleash a rain of terror against the nazis

became a feared adversary. but these devils only rented space in the shadows. they moved within darkness in order to defeat it. and today here they are champions of freedoms, heroes in two nations saviors to many others, and to you we offer our most profound gratitude for distinguished service. to the families gathered today know your loved one made a difference. know that the veteran you've loved made a contribution to history that we as a people will not soon forget. as the son of a world war ii veteran, i'm particularly determined to ensure that we don't. that's why we will soon dedicate the highest civilian honor congress can bestow. it may only be a piece of medal but it carries the gratitude of a nation. may you always remember it. thank you.

[ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen the speaker of the united states house of representatives, the honorable john boehner. >> let me again thank all of you for being here today. listening to these stories one thing that strikes you is that it all happened so fast. the barracks at ft. harrison were essentially built overnight. trainees fell off as quickly as they came. all at the mercy of muscle mountain. some 200 weddings took place. i just think they were off. all told, the force was in combat for less than a year and a half before being disbanded. even general eisenhower couldn't explain to you how they did what they did.

widen the lens and you'll see there's even more marvel -- more to marvel over. consider how growing up all these men -- all they knew was depression and war. they came home there was a future to look forward to. they made sure to pass on the glory to others but not the stories or the struggle. these were remarkable acts of humility, but to them it's just what you did to protect the ones you love. for a time that was that. but now, thanks to all those brides and our children, we know who is who and what was what. we're here because from all that darkness came an outpouring of grace. from a small unit came a grateful generation a force in

its own right. and from a brief window in history, has come a lasting commitment to do one thing this force could not. for these men saved the free world. and now are free to savior the triumph and to share their stories for years to come. in that spirit the united states mint at the direction of the congress and the president of the united states struck a gold medal in honor of these 1st special service force. and we present it here on this day in our capitol on behalf of a proud and grateful nation. thank you. [ applause ]

we will now do the presentation of the medal right here in front. if i could have the stage participants. [ applause ]

>> ladies and gentlemen, canadian veteran of the 1st special service force, mr. charles w.mann. >> honorables sirs, madame, ladies and gentlemen of canada and the united states, i'll start off by saying i was at one time an amateur politician. it will probably show today. at any rate good afternoon

honorable members of the american and canadian government especially members of the senate and house of representatives. it is my sincere privilege to accept this award on behalf of the canadian 1st special service force, world war ii veterans, their family members and the force members who are no longer with us. i acknowledge the presidents of canadian and american military personnel. these are our historical modern special force members today. please give them all the support that you can. [ applause ] it is an honor to address this

audience especially the world war ii veterans and family members of the 1st special service force here today on this occasion for the presentation of the congressional gold medal to the veterans present and in memory of those who have gone on. in closeingclosing, i must say i'm most honored and humbled. i thank you all for allowing me to speak on behalf of the force members present and force men who have no longer with us. may they rest in peace. thank you. [ applause ]

>> ladies and gentlemen, american veteran of the 1st special service force mr. eugene gutierrez jr. >> it's great to be here. and it's great to be an american. honorable speaker -- [ applause ] honorable speaker of the house, mr. john boehner, distinguished members of congress, my esteemed brothers of the 1st special service force family members and guests, i would like to thank everyone who undertook this very important and noble assignment to honor and recognize the most versatile and effective world war ii fighting unit from the usa and canada.

the 1st special service force was activated july 1942 under the able command of lieutenant robert t. frederick who became a brigadier general at age 36 and the youngest major general at 37. under his command and profound leadership, the 1st special service force composed of 900 men from the usa, 900 men from canada, plus a service battalion of 800 members who provided support to the combat troops. the sff men captured between 30,000 and 35,000 prisoners of war and a remarkable kill ratio of 25 enemies to 1 forceman. since the first shot was fired on april 19 1775 the beginning

of our quest for independence and freedom, 1.3 million men and women have given their lives to safeguard america's freedom and to keep old glory waving high and proudly. one of the most important command components of the fss accomplishments on the battlefield was general frederick's profound leadership. he stressed the importance that line officers should lead from the front as he did in many battles. he commanded with an iron fist and a velvet glove. general frederick was wounded eight times in combat. the following newspaper co- quotation is from the helena

montana, never yield an inch of round nor left a battle with indecisive conclusion. the force won everything is fought for. i will now conclude by -- my presentation by reading a prayer written by a soldier at the anzio beach head on or about 1944 prior to the beginning of the offensive battle to liberate rome, italy. look, god, i have never spoken to you, but now i want to say, how do you do? you see, god they told me you did not exist. and like a fool, i believe all this. last night from a shell hole i saw your sky and figured then they had told me a lie. had i taken time to see things you make i'd have known they

weren't calling a spade a spade. i wonder, god, if you would shake my hand. somehow i feel you will understand. fun y iny funny, i had to come to see your face. well, i guess this isn't too much time to say but i'm sure glad, god, i met you today. i guess zero hour will soon be here, but i'm not afraid since i know you are near. there is a signal, i've got to go. i like you lots, i want you to know. look now, this will be a horrible fight. who knows, i may come to your house tonight. though i wasn't friendly to you before, i wonder god, if you'll wait at the door. look i'm crying, me, shedding tears. i wish i had known you this many years. well, i have to go now, god

good-bye. strange, since i met you i'm not afraid to die. this prayer was found on the body of an american soldier killed in action at the beach head at anzio. this prayer has brought me many of the conditions i experienced. when i enlisted in the army on august 5, 1941, and i was leaving home, my mother gave me a rosary, which i wore out during combat. plus three more additional ones. and guess what? they delivered. [ applause ] may god bless america and may the immortal souls of all men killed in battle rest in peace. amen. thank you.

[ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, the commander of the united states special operations command, general joseph votel. >> it's my pleasure to be here on such a mow men to us occasion where i am sounded by so many heroes from the greatest generation, the former members of the 1st special service force, better known as the devil's brigade. today i represent continuity. i represent those who came behind you. mr. speaker congressional leaders from the house and senate distinguished civilian and military guests from united states and canada, thank you for the opportunity to be here

today. it is a true honor. when i think of the devil's brigade, two ideas come to mind. pioneer and patriot. i believe it is important to note that these men before you laid the groundwork for both our country's modern day special forces. it was at anzio where they earned the nickname of the black devils because of the brigade members who smeared their face with black boot polish as they conducted night operations where they fought for 99 straight days without relief displaying their indommenable spirit of what it means to serve. that serve has carried on to the very decent ent of the devil's brigade. the u.s. army green berets and canadian special operations regiment. both organizations continue to carry the honors won by these highly -- by this highly successful multinational unit formed during the second world war. and like the brave men of the 1st special service force, our special forces today have many

distinct similarities. their members come from all walks of life. many were rangers lumberjacks, north woodsmen, hunters prospectors and explorers. they were intelligent, athletic disciplined and well trained. they received rigorous instruction in the use of stealth tactics, hand-to-hand combat parachuting, explosives demolition and amphibious and mountain warfare. moreover, their standards were extremely high. as was their espirit de corps. they were selected to tackle the war's toughest problems. they were, indeed, the elite forces of their time and, thus, the pioneers of our two nation's special operations forces. like our current warriors who have been fighting for these last 14 years the members of the devil's brigades were also patriots. they saw a higher calling during the time when their countries and the world needed them most. and many of them made the ultimate sacrifice.

and for this, each and every one of us here today should bestow upon them our sincere gratitude for their amazing contributions and accomplishments on the battlefields in italy italy and france, some 70 years ago today. and for showing the way for today's special operations forces. gentlemen, the living members of the first special force you should be proud of not only what you accomplished on the battlefield but also for the foundation and ground work that you laid in order to shape our modern day special operations forces and for the close and professional relationship that ties our two countryies together today. rest assured that your legacy lives on in your special pray operators. without your service and sacrifice, it is sure that some of us may not have the luxury and prosperity that we enjoy

today. thank you one against for this opportunity to be here and thank you again to the pioneers and pie tray yots of the first seshl service force. both of our countries and their citizens owe you a boundless debt of gratitude. thank you. ladies and gentlemen the canadian minister of foreign affairs, the honorable aaron o'toole. >> mr. speaker, congressional leaders, distinguished guests veterans of the first special service force and your families, it's my honor to be here on behalf of prime minister stephen harper and the canadian government today. and two of my parliamentary colleagues are here in washington with me. i'm also honored to be hire at

canada's veterans affairs minister and as someone who wore the canadian armed forces uniform because of inspiration from your generation. and i want to thank the united states congress for this prestigious honor extraordinary recognition for extraordinary efforts. 1800 americans and canadians came together to form the first special service force. they were united in training to become a commando force that would be disrupt tiff on the battlefields of europe. they were also united in the knowledge that their service and their unique style bore extreme risks. and their service was tremendous and legendary by now in italy and in france. in answer yo in particular where they fought for 99 days without relief. so we're fosht nate today that this special occasion allows us to bring some of them together. we get to hear from charlie and eugene.

and we get to remember those who are not with us, like thomas prince from manitoba, canada's most decorated veteran of the second world war. thank you please. [ applause ] mr. prince served as a reconnaissance scout. and our nation awarded him the military medal, and yours the silver star. in fact, mr. prince was one of 59 silver stars awarded by the u.s. government to canadians serving under command in the devils brigade. today we must also remember the 463 of your comrades who did not return from the war. in many ways the devils brigade symbolizes the ability of two of the greatest nations to work together to secure freedom far from your shores.

the devils brigade bought brought together bag pipes and bugles lieutenants and left ten nance. it bought together young men from toronto and young men from topeka. they served and trained together and they sacrificed together. the book of john says greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. in the first special service force they were neighbors who became allies who became friends and were willing to sacrifice for their friends and for the principles that the unit stood for. this shared sacrifice between our nations began before the devils brigade. i was on the hallowed grounds of arlington today to see the canadian cross of honor, erected in 1930 by our government in those ma guess tick fields to honor the 3,000 americans who died in world war i serving with

canadian units. and the heroics of the devils ba grades continue. our joint defense of north america through norad, korea where tommy prince served in the korean war. in afghanistan where the 40 americans who died serving alongside canadians in candle har are held as close to our chest as the 158 member and women we lost in that dangerous province. and today our royal canadian air force and our soldiers from the jtf 2, the successor unit to the devils brigade are serving in iraq in cause of freedom and alongside our allies and friends, like those in the united states. so it's my honor to represent canada here today to thank you for recognizing these special, special veterans and allowing us to remember the service and sacrifice their unit represents.

thank you very much. [ applause ] ladies and gentlemen, please stand as the chaplain of the united states house of representatives, father patrick con roy gives the benediction.roy gives the benediction. >> let us pray. lord may the hands and hearts of this nation be raised in prayer and praise for these heroic members of the first special service force an elite unit made up of american and canadian soldiers. this legendary special force was tasked with creating havoc behind enemy lines during world

war ii and lads the foundation for today's special forces units and the modern day special forces in canada. after extensive training in 1942 near helen that, montana, this special force was deployed to nearly all theaters of the war but emerged as a recognized unit in answer yo italy in 1944 where it earned the nickname the devil's brigade from their opposing german forces. may the breath of god uphold their noble and heroic story. we thank you, oh, god, that our two nations remain good neighbors and stand ready to assist one another in any time of danger. bless all women and men in military service, both in canada and here in our nation and

bless their families. god bless canada the true north, strong and free. and god bless america and grant us peace both in the present and with you forever. amen. [ applause ] ladies and gentlemen please remain standing for the departure of the official party. ♪

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