through elections, using intimidation to try to squelch the revolt that is taking place in the iranian people's call for freedom and democracy, and if you look beyond what happened this week, it was only the most recent demonstration of the brutality of that regime and its true authoritarian nature. . .

who have been robbed of the better future for 30 years by regime which offers nothing but more misery and malaise. we stand here today, with the iranian people, and their struggle for freedom. i am pleased that we have congressman mike pence's resolution before us today. i like to turn to him so he can begin the series of remarks. and eric, our beloved wept. eric cantor has been speaking on behalf of our -- he has been a strong voice for freedom and democracy. >> thank you for your leadership on these issues. we're here and a group unified as a house to salute the leadership of mike pence who

brought this resolution fort with howard berman. -- who brought this resolution forward with howard berman. and of course, the champion for human rights and freedom. we're here because when america here's the call for freedom, we ought answer. all of us believe that america has a moral responsibility to speak out on behalf of the iranian people. make no mistake about it. the regime in charge is the one that turns on and off the spigot of democracy and a lead to democracy. -- and allegedly democracy. make no mistake about who is in

charge. we have seen the brutality on our television screens over the last several days. it gives us all great cause for alarm. that is why we are calling on our allies across the world as well as urging president obama to speak out strongly on behalf of freedom. we can make a difference for the iranian people. with that, i want to turn it over to chairman mike pence who has been the primary sponsor of the resolution that just passed overwhelmingly on the house floor. >> i want to thank all my colleagues that are gathered here, but i also want to thank our republican whip erick kanter -- cantor to lead the fight to give the american people the opportunity to be heard on the question of freedom and iran.

i also want to commend the director of the foreign affairs committee. for leadership in bringing this resolution so expeditiously to the floor. and surrounded by a group of republicans, i am grateful for howard berman for his bipartisan spirit and the good faith manner in which he negotiated the resolution and assisted to bringing it to the floor. today, in the wake of so-called elections in iran, and on an overwhelming in a near unanimous bipartisan basis, the american people have spoken through this congress. they have spoken to condemn the violence and suppression of a free and independent press and iran, and as americans have

done throughout our history, this congress, on behalf of the american people, has spoken a word of heartfelt support to all iranian citizens who embrace the values of freedom, human rights, civil liberties, and the rule law -- rule of law. some say that america should remain silent in the wake of the violence and oppression that has dominated the airwaves of the world emanating from iran for the last week. but i say from my heart, the american cause is freedom. in this cause, the american people will never be silent. the iranian regime would do well to remember those words of the late ronald reagan. he said in his first inaugural address, no arsenal and no weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free

men and women. on behalf of the moral courage of men and women in iran who have taken to the streets in their country, risking their liberty and even their lives on behalf of freedom, this congress expresses our support. i am deeply humbled to have been a part of it. >> who's next? >> i guess i am. young people today are not going to appreciate what chairman howard berman and mike pence have done. but in bringing this resolution to the floor and saying in every way possible that this is no different than tianenmen square, this is no different than men and women trying to get over the berlin wall.

this is no different from the scenes of the last people trying to goad of freedom as vietnam -- south vietnam fell. this is, in fact, the aspirations of the people to have greater freedom. many people will call this, including the administration, will call this an internal affair. minority rights, whether it is one man standing in front of a tank or hundreds of thousands going to the streets to protest the lack of any rights for women, the lack of basic education that once was plentiful and iran being pulled back. that kind of minority demand is no different than when they went on strike in poland. even though we had no direct ability to affect it, we supported that. that is what america is about.

we look at the side whose rights are not being upheld, and we say to the majority, they must find a way to give the rights to those people. these aspirations are legitimate and consistent with american values. thank you. >> thank you so much. my name is tom price, i represent the sixth district in georgia. i stand with men and women who understand that liberty is enduring. and that tyranny is temporary. the united states is a beacon of freedom to the dark corners of the world. if you think about history, once they gained their freedom, they talked about the uplifting the fact of the words coming from the united states, defending their liberty and defending their freedom. now should be no different. we stand with the defenders of liberty and freedom in iran and

we will not allow them to be silenced. >> i am not in the leadership, but i am here because i was a speechwriter for president reagan. i have a very vivid memory of those people who attacked ronald reagan because he was strong in his rhetoric and was forcefully an advocate for freedom. he never hesitated to condemned oppression or oppressors throughout the world. i remember the pressure on him to tone down the rhetoric. it was coming inside his administration as well as outside. having been one of his speechwriters, i was there on the front line to back up the president's desire to make sure that americans stayed true to

what our founding fathers wanted us to be, a beacon of hope to the world. they did not want us to intervene everywhere in the world, but they wanted us to stand for the principles of liberty and justice that they were sacrificing so much for. there has been some sacrifice over the history of our country. -- so much sacrifice or the history of our country. and nowhere is that more true than in the struggles on the streets of iran. these people suffer under a dictatorship. we should unapologetically be on the side of those people in iran who want democracy and freedom because that will lead to peace between our peoples as well as freedom. this is what happened with reagan in the cold war. he ignored those who told him not to be belligerent.

we need to be belligerent to tyrants to speak positively and be on the side of those people that long for freedom. what happened? the cold war ended. we give that message to the tyrants and the people that were suffering behind the iron curtain. with a strong stand, we can encourage the people by letting them know the american people are on their side. maybe we can this may the dictatorship and it will also pass away just as common as an did. what a gift to the world that would be, simply for staying true to our principles as americans. >> sitting on the intelligence committee, recognize that this is a very complex world. foreign policy is very hard. how do we move, how we see

change in the world towards freedom? even though foreign policy is complex and hard, this decision to speak out on behalf of the oppressed people in iran should not be. this should be a very easy decision for the leadership of america for the public in america to stand alongside of the people in iran who are fighting for a larger voice for freedom and opportunity against a tyrannical regime. this is the natural place for the american people to be. this is the natural place for this congress to be. i applaud our leadership. i applaud the leadership on the democratic side and the aisle -- of the aisle. we want to firmly establish and plant itself and a complex and

difficult world. there squarely on the side of freedom and democracy. >> when ayatollah khamenei was the dictator in iran, he overstepped. this was a force a collection, and posing, once again -- the others who aspire to the presidency have said some division occurred in the dictatorship. the iranian people are utilizing this moment of division. they demonstrate for freedom against the dictatorship. but rather, the iranian people deserve to be free. the president of the united states has been silent and confused.

the congress of the united states, consistent with the traditions and values of the american people has been clear. today, it has spoken. we stand with the heroic people of iran. we stand against the dictatorship and the people will prevail. >> the initial resolution that you had written was toned down quite a bit on the house floor. is that a matter of compromise? [inaudible] >> i approached chairman berman on the floor the day that i filed my version of the

resolution and asked him to take a look at it. the centerpiece for me was, it was important for the people of the united states of america to have the opportunity to express support to the people of iran who are demonstrating on behalf of freedom. to that extent, this resolution was virtually unchanged. i was amenable in the course of our discussions about the factual elements, the so-called "whereas" causes -- clauses. we had no interest in that. our interest and our purpose on the outside was to give the american people an opportunity to condemn the violence and oppression of a free and independent press, and ultimately, to speak a word of

support to the brave men and women on the streets in iran. i am very pleased by the fact that that amendment -- >> what is next? the president pretty much brain lighted -- pretty much breen lighted -- green lighted -- >> senator mccain and senator lieberman have offered this identical resolution in the senate. given the nearly unanimous decision, we urge the colleagues -- our colleagues in the senate to take it up just as quickly as the house of representatives has done. the objective here was for the congress to give people an opportunity to be heard.

i would certainly renew my belief as eric has also stated that i respectfully disagree with the position the administration has taken. i do not believe that having the president of the united states six suppress a word of unqualified support for the brave men and women on the streets of iran would constitute meddling. when ronald reagan went before the brigade, he did not say, mr. gorbachev, that was none of our business. he said, mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. >> i think that we have been very clear. obviously, we do not support the decision of this administration to engage with a terrorist regime. obviously, when you have a regime that conducts itself the way it has over the last week on

display for the world to see, brutalizing and killing people because they're standing up for their rights, had it calls into question the ability for us as a country, as a civilized world leader to trust anything that this regime may represent. i believe we would come down on the side of trying to bring forward the refined petroleum sanctions act, to go ahead, and this administration is going to engage with a terrorist regime, let's at least go in and say, look, we want results out of those engagements. the results can only come if the regime itself feels the pressure of the world community. that its actions are unacceptable. >> thank you very much. [captioning performed by

national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> house republicans from earlier today. where going to take you live now to the washington d.c. convention center for the annual radio and television correspondents dinner. president obama will speak at the event. this is from the onion news network. we're watching it live here from washington on c-span. >> friends and colleagues, good evening. i am brandon armstrong of the onion news network, the world's leading televised news network, which is now broadcast in 100 to

three languages in 811 countries. i am sure your disappointed that i could not join you in person for this event. there are several women in the crowd i would rather avoid for personal reasons involving sex i had with them. i took the time to create this recorded message, because this annual dinner is also an incredibly important meeting of some of my most formidable adversaries. every other night of the year is a filthy fight for a few points of ratings. tonight, we grinned widely, leiter our teeth, and call each other friend. after all, it is rare that television personalities are able to take the time to congratulate themselves, much less see each other talking. this year is different. much has been made of the economic difficulties, and not just a mindless course, but for journalists as well. -- the mindless whores, but the

journalists as well. we will dance on their word covered gravestones in brilliance 1080p resolution . there were predictions that television would cease to exist. as progress and technology ground will halt, said the ticking clock of television's looming obsolescence. we should relax in the mess we have dug into the scalp of our great nation. this last year has seen a number of amazing accomplishments. we tripled the number of lcd monitors behind us, and now there is a map you can touch with your hand. your work is poetry, like a beautiful japanese haiku. you suggest so much in such little actual information. i'm also told the radio still exists, which is charming. we are not perfect.

sometimes the story slips through your fingers. it does for the and in news network comes in. these are for people who dine alone because we cannot taste food. only news. just today, an intrepid young reporter stumbled on what television news amounts to a scoop of watergate proportions. a treasury department press release. >> the white house announced an emergency see economic plan trading the bold reserves for cash their precious metal buyers cashforgold.com the rightness of this television commercial for the program last week. >> i got $583 for cash4gold.com. >> first, how much as the government expect to receive in exchange for all of the gold? thus our estimate is $200

billion. there is a possibility that we will get much more. >> lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressed concerns about the plan today. >> the fact is, they want to keep the gold for sentimental reasons or because they think is pretty. that is a luxury we can't afford right now. >> the president agrees this seems like a pretty good deal. >> is there a contingency plan if that proves not to be the case? >> we can get the gold back with the 12 day guarantee. it is certified by the jewelers vigilance committee. we need the cash now. we can't wait. >> you missed that one. we will leave the criticism for tomorrow. tonight, let us applaud ourselves. everyone of us deserves not just a dinner with the president, but a ride in his helicopter, which i have actually done a lot of times. and he let me drive it. a toast to you and to all of us.

without anchors, who could describe what we're looking at. without broadcasters, who could tell us precisely and with such grace and aplomb what the actual time is. we are all excellent reading. every single one of us. your and inspiration to every six year-old child in this great land. drink up and make a night of it. thank you and good night. [applause] >> ladies and gentleman, tonight's dinner chair. >> let's think the onion news network for producing a special report. tonight we have julie smith, william gramm, and sam west with us. please stand and give your round of applause. it thank you. tonight's program is made possible from the generous support of our plan and sponsor,

the telecommunications industry association, tia, and our silver sponsor, microsoft. i think each of them for making tonight possible for us. and now, we have a very special performance for you. sweet honey in the rock has been singing strong since 1973. this all woman of capella ensemble was founded right here in washington d.c. and is -- and has garnered international renown and multiple mandate -- multiple grammy nominations. please join me in welcoming sweet honey and the rocket to the dinner. [applause] >> ♪ we are the ones. we have been waiting we are the ones

we have been waiting. we are the ones we have been waiting we are the ones we are the ones we have been waiting we are the ones we have been waiting ♪ yes ♪ we who believe in freedom cannot rest we who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes we who believe in freedom cannot rest

we who believe in freedom cannot rest ♪ these words of the words of mass elevator. she believed that we had a lot of the nourishment into our young al of it -- our young people because it was the young people who would bring change into this world. this song says, we who believe in freedom cannot rest. ♪ that which touches me most is that i had the chance to work with people passing on to others that which was passed on to me ♪ ♪ to me, young people come first they have the courage where we failed they will carry us through the

day ♪ ♪ we to believe then -- we who believe in freedom cannot rest the older i get, the better i go in the hands of the young ♪ ♪ i need to be, to stand against tyranny we who believe in freedom can not rest we who believe in freedom can not rest

dn't d -- don't need a whole lot teaching others is the only way we'll survive and -- i'm a woman and a voice at times i cam be quite difficult ♪ we who believe in freedom can not rest we who believe in freedom can not rest we who believe in freedom can not rest ♪ ♪i believe i believe oh, i