if you do have any last minute questions over the weekend, we have alumni helping students answer questions. we hope you're able to use that. >> i am so proud of the students and the questions. it is so easy to hear the news about the negative stories on kids and how they abuse technology. these are the technologies that are linking a new generation of students toward government. i am excited because this test is the first deck in a lifestyle -- first step in a lifestyle. host: thank you for your time. coming up >> coming up tomorrow, a couple of round tables.

we will also be joined by rhodes cook. we will take a look at defense spending. we will also speak with bernard finel. you can watch the dinner live tonight starting at 8:00. we thank you for your time. we will see you tomorrow. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] ♪ next, house speaker nancy pelosi and the luncheon marking

the 20th anniversary of emily first. after that president obama at the university of michigan. and the homeland security department budget. now the 20th anniversary of the political group emily's list. nancy pelosi and others will be speaking. it was founded in 1985 with the mission of electing democratic women candidates who favor abortion rights. this is about one hour and 25 minutes.

>> she has come a mighty long way. it has taken her hours and days to reach the 25 year milestone we are here to celebrate this afternoon. good afternoon, everyone. once again, my name is cherelle parker. it is my honor to welcome you officially to emily's list 25th anniversary celebration. before we conclude, i need you to know that you all look wonderful. i must say that the energy radiating from the dominance of

estrogens in this room, it feels good. and i love it. [applause] let me also state for the record that i represent the hundreds of candidates who have the benefit from emily's list training across the nation that your support helps to let. on behalf of us all, thank you, thank you, thank you. today, we are going to be graced with the presence of some very inspiring women. women i have admired from afar for some years. i am speaking of none other than speaker of the house, nancy pelosi. [applause]

we thank you for the motivation and inspiration you have given to women and girls across the world. one more round of applause for speaker policy. [applause] what about that incredible senator from the great state of maryland? she is the dean of the women of the senate's. do not forget the dynamic senator, who has boldly represented the great citizens of new york. some of you are saying, that is a powerhouse. now i am speaking as a local representative from pennsylvania. that is what emily's list is all about. it is about what she does. she brings women together from all walks of life and all corners of the country, so that we can pool our resources and

our know how to make a difference in the lives of others. while we kick off this celebration of emily's list, 25 years of changing the face of power in this nation. we must salute the incredible leadership. while we do that, i want us to think about what changing the face of power in our nation really means. to me, changing the face of power in our nation means having an honest conversation and implementing strategic plans to address issues associated with the gender and race and class and sexual orientation and the many other obstacles that historically have prevented politics from having a level playing field. first and foremost, thank you

for not giving up on your vision. [applause] for understanding the need to build relationships with like- minded men and women in regions across this nation to teach, mentor, and train progress of women about the political structure which governs our society. i was thinking on my way here from pennsylvania that did you think that when you were in your basement with the 25 women that you were building a nationwide network and institution that would raise over $78 million creating a pipeline that would elect federal, state, and local officials across the nation? did she know that? the reason why it is so awesome to me is that i didn't know that

those 25 women would be impacting my life. this is how dynamic she is. because she had the foresight to connect with like-minded men and women in my backyard, mainly by sarah get mother -- surrogate mother, my jewish mother who is here, and african-american woman with a jewish mother. they were able to jump-start the career of people we now love and respect. state senator who was a representative and an educator and senior counsel staff. that is what i call a perfect family list. give that training a round of

applause. [applause] i want to thank you and the trail blazing women in this room. some of you are elected and some are not. because of you, it is possible for young women like myself to get engaged and involved. when we think about emily's list as powerful as she is, she does not work and is not affective if she cannot connect from where she is located to cities and towns and locales across this nation. that is what she has perfected that many organizations have not been able to do. before we conclude, i want to say to ellen, there is no going back now. you have created this monster. there is no going back.

to the new president, we are going to make sure that we are on the right path. we will stay connected in neighborhoods across this great country. that is where we are going to do the work on the ground to create the pipeline that eventually becomes our federal officials. it would be remiss of me today to not think personally 15 dynamic people who have traveled with me. i will just say their names so that you will love. they are a part of the pipeline in philadelphia. frances, robin, and t others, thanks for traveling with me. please give emily's list a huge

round of applause as we go through the history and look back on the first 25 years and how she has helped to change the face of politics in this nation. thank you so very much for your time. thank you. [applause] >> we had high hopes that we could make a difference. there are no expectations. >> there were not a lot of women running. there were not campaign managers. >> this has fundamentally changed the electoral politics.

they may have taken down the principle. that existed. it was the money. >> i belong to the most powerful advisor in the world. i represent my constituency. emily's list. ♪ [people are talking ♪ ] ♪ [applause] >> she did everything that he

did just in high heels. [applause] >> last october, something happened that may have changed american politics forever. >> why were not there more women? there are only a couple of us. emily's list went out and found extraordinary people. ♪ >> for all of you reporters who s california voters some democratic, liberal, jewish leaders, the answer is a hell yes. [applause] ♪ >> try to support someone who is

a progressive candidate, a pro- choice candidate, to speak and represented the voices in the community. ♪ >> when it comes to the health and the environmental heritage of our children, we will never back down. never. [applause] ♪ >> i'll let pradesh choice people. -- pro-choice people. ♪ >> we are very impressed with you. excellent work he diyou did. >> emily's list. [applause]

>> that was the first time we had a woman on every committee in the united states senate. [applause] a woman's voice and values and perspectives. that would not have happened without emily's list. ♪ >> i, give your full name. >> i will support the constitution. [applause] >> so help me god. [applause] ♪ >> there is a sisterhood that emily's list and staffers and alumni all across the country -- >> we train more than anyone else in the country. we met them when they were starting their political careers and made a big difference.

♪ [applause] ♪ >> today we have broken the ceiling. we have done it for our daughters and our granddaughters. the sky is the limit. >> thank you for everything you have done throughout this campaign. [applause] ♪ [applause] >> although we were not able to shatter that highest glass ceiling, thanks to you, it has about 18 million tracks in it. [applause]

>> we can see the difference that women have made by looking at the health-care debate. >> we have crafted this legislation and had a hand in it. it is about access to health care, and to be focused on the needs that women have had all along that has left them out of the system. ♪ >> the nays are 215. the bill is passed. [applause] ♪ [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi. [applause] ♪ >> thank you all very much. thank you very much. let us all think emily's list for 25 years remarkable -- for 25 remarkable years. [applause] wasn't that a fabulous deal of history and progress.

-- video of history in progress? i come here today to say thank- you to emily's list. you have changed the face of power and in doing so, you have changed the course of history. [applause] in 1985, 24 people were gathered in her basement with the idea to empower more democratic women to become leaders in our country. those family list founders had a vision. they had a rolodex. do you remember those? most of all, they had ellen in the lead. she had a plan. for the past 25 years, she has been on a mission to elect more democratic women across our country.

through her tenacity and political know how, she has made emily's list the first stop for democratic women on the road to public office. [applause] just as some have helped women reached the ballot box, they have helped us reach new heights of power in our time in america. our thoughts today are with in other tenacious advocate for women, dorothy height. we celebrated her home coming this morning. we had a moment of silence for her earlier. we are not content to just blaze trails for ourselves. like her, she always elevated the next generation of leaders. when allen began emily's list, the landscape was " -- elle,

began emily's list, the landscape was quite different. there were no democratic women in the senate. there were only 12, 12 out of 435 members. nun serving as committee chairs. to date -- none serving as committee chairs. today, we have 13 democratic women serving in the united states senate. [applause] and we have more to come. 59 democratic women serving in the house, and we want more. [applause] many of them were introduced to you earlier. because of these strong women in the house and strong house democratic majority, i have the honor of standing before you as the first woman speaker of the house of representatives. [applause] because of the women.

on behalf of our members, i want to acknowledge and salute a member of our house, a former executive director of analysts list. she is chair of the steering committee, a champion for women and children. thank you. [applause] how proud we are that we have a woman chair of the small business committee. she is from new york. we have been proud to appoint leaders in the house to be chairwoman of the powerful house rules committee. [applause] one woman is chairwoman of the ethics committee. [applause] the list goes on and on. women at the table of power. women at the head of the table. i am also honored to serve alongside many extraordinary

members of the united states senate, a couple of them are here today. the great center of maryland. [applause] with emily's list, barbara became the first democratic woman elected to the net is states senate in her own right. [applause] we went to the same high school in baltimore. we are very proud of her. and the most recent democratic female senator and a strong voice in york that is seeking election in her own right. -- in new york that is seeking election in her own right. she falls in big footsteps.

-- follows in but footsteps. -- big footsteps. one of which is secretary of state hillary clinton. [applause] she joins other women in the cabinet supported by employees list earlier in their careers. they are now serving in the cabinet of president obama. we have a college in the house of representatives who is with us today. we have a couple of former governors, secretary janet napolitano of arizona, and secretary of hamas security and former governor and secretary of health and human -- secretary of homeland security and former governor and secretary of health and human services, kathleen sebelius. [applause]

we went to the same college. i was a long gone before she got there. nonetheless, our college is very proud of her. when the bill was signed, there were a couple of women standing with president obama. kathleen sebelius and nancy pelosi -- you can just imagine how trinity college felt about that. we made sure that the photo was just right. let's look back in recent history. in 20008, with your help, we build stronger -- 2008, with your help, we built strong majorities. president obama puts women and

children first. [applause] now working with president obama, congress is taking america in a new direction, where health care is a right not a privilege. we are proud of that. in doing so, we ran inspired by millions of americans who voted to was in shared their stories of struggle to afford health care for their families. we made history by passing health care reform and in doing so, we are making progress in the lives of the american people. their stories made a difference in our fight. people were moved. we made a difference for children after hearing about those stories. we heard from a family with an 8 year old boy who had a stroke, throne of his parents' insurance plan. he was declared to have a pre-

existing medical condition for the rest of his life. it would be almost impossible for him to get coverage and afford the care he needed. until now. until now. starting this year, he will no longer have to be worried, because children cannot be denied coverage because of a pre-existing medical condition, starting this year. [applause] we made a difference for young people. i read this letter for my colleagues from a mother who said i lost my beautiful daughter in january. last year she graduated from college. when that happens, she was put off of her father's insurance policy. the parents were split. she said, i am a single mother of a five.

our finances were limited. she tried to get a job with health care insurance. she could not. because she was an insulin- dependent diabetic, her medical need for expensive. she had no health insurance. she tried to help her daughter all she could, but not enough. the daughter started dropping doses. in january, she skipped a dosage. that will not happen now. starting this year, young americans can stay on their parents' insurance plans until age 26. until they get their start -- when they get their start. we have made a difference in the lives of young people and seniors.

seniors have been concerned about affording health care and keeping their homes. i have seen grown men cry. as i mentioned michigan whose wife had been bedridden for 16 years. he told me he did not know how he was going to be able to pay his medical bills and pay for prescription drugs. he worried that he might lose his home, their home. he says he was too embarrassed to tell his children of their plight. you have heard that story over and over again. they have their own challenges raising their families. they cannot really help them. with this legislation, help will come. we kept out of pocket expenses. there is a limit to what you patient. -- cap out of pocket expenses. there is a limit to what you can spend. [applause]

it is just remarkable. the stories go on and on about how this bill makes a difference in the lives of people. others before us passed social security and the difference it has made. medicare, and now, thanks to all of you, and i hope you take a great deal of satisfaction from the fact that banks to emily's list, we establish health care for all-american as a right not as a privilege. thank you, emily's list. [applause] this is indeed cause for celebration. hopefully that is part of what we are celebrating here. think of this, with this legislation, we have insured 32 million more americans. we have ended insurance company discrimination because of pre-

existing conditions. we will with this legislation create 4 million jobs to reinvigorate our economy and inject the entrepreneurialis spirit. nothing can be self-employed, starting a business, change jobs without fearing they are risking their health and well- being of their families. this bill is fully paid for. it saves the taxpayer $1.30 trillion. [applause] this brings the end of the days for children can be denied

health coverage because of an illness. we have done away with pre- existing medical conditions. that is no longer an issue. [applause] we know that much more needs to be done for families struggling in these difficult times. we must create jobs, not only for those that have lost them, but for those that have never had the chance to be in the job market before. that is why the president has investments in education, clean energy jobs for the future, and health care. we have fought for fairness and the quality -- equality for america's communities. [applause] there is some unfinished business. one piece of that is the missing

link for women that all income levels to succeed in their jobs is the availability of quality, affordable child care. [applause] we must live in an economy and society that supports the mottoes families earning, children learning. we must create opportunities for our daughters to become innovators. it is not just about jobs. it is about ownership of women with their businesses. we must encourage the next generation of women leaders. we must protect a woman's right to choose. [applause] has to move ahead in this fight, we look forward to working with the news -- new president of

emily's list, a shining star in our midst. congratulations, stephanie on the opportunity that you will have. good luck to you. we wish you much success. your success is the success of america's women. when women vote, women win. women will decide the outcome of this year's election. the stakes are high, the choice is clear. democrats are running in the big health insurance companies -- reining in the big health insurance companies. republicans want to protect them. republicans are protecting special interests on wall street. democrats are protecting our environment and creating millions of cream -- clean energy jobs and trying to

improve the climate change. republicans are obstructing the path to a clean-energy future. democrats are taking our country in a new direction. republicans want to take this back to the failed policies of president george w. bush. we cannot go back to the bush policies. with emily's list sustaining our fight, we will not go back. not now, not ever. [applause] on behalf of my democratic colleagues in the house, thank you, emily's list. thank you for 25 remarkable years. god bless you all and yellow bless the united states of america -- god bless the united states of america. [applause]

thank you all. under the leadership of ellen, analyst list has changed the face of politics. thank you for being a catalyst for change in our country. thank you for placing a new trail for democratic women leaders. thank you for in powering democratic women to take their seats at the head of the table of power. thank you. let us take a closer look at her extraordinary achievements with then emily's list. ♪

-- within families lisemily's l. ♪ >> she was an icon. we all met in a basement with our rolodex ies. >> we had a camaraderie with each other. it was politics, but it was also a french ship. >> we thought we could make a difference. >> we had a women's network. ellen had the right priority i. >> it goes to the foundation of respect for women. that is what' ellen and the

list is all about. >> she is contagious. her power is something that people want. >> she is a force to be reckoned with on the national stage. >> if any man did what she has done in her career -- [applause] [unintelligible] >> she wanted to take emily's list and make it something big. it was bigger than what anybody could envision. >> she has carved out a new world for herself in american political history. >> she created a social movement. >> she is an important part of american history that people will be talking about her for a very long time.

>> she puts together politics and the strategy to be able to move those forward. >> she asks the questions such as why not or how. >> in the 36 years i have been an elected official, she is smart, and effective, and grade to work with. there is no one like her. >> she is a marketing genius. >> she is very hands-on. >> passionate and inspiring. >> really brilliant. >> amazing. >> very pragmatic. >> she is a good time kind of girl. >> quash the organizer.

-- quite the organizer. >> she wears marvelous and jackets. -- marvelous jackets. [laughter] >> she is the founder, creator, instigator. >> i have been very grateful for the support and kindness that emily's list has given me. >> she made history starting with her idea that we are all here and that is thanks to her. >> she is a power and is changing the face of power in this country. >> i hope they will put more women into office. when i come back in 25 years, half of congress will be women. [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the chair and a board of directors, ellen. [applause] ♪ >> thank you very much. thank you, nancy pelosi, for your very kind introduction. i am so glad you are here today. thank you for watching on the internet and on c-span. we are celebrating the historic success of emily's list over the past 25 years. we begin in 1985 and nobody took women in politics seriously.

our voices were seldom heard in the halls of power. in 12 elections, we have literally changed the face of power in america. [applause] we have finally begun the historic transition that will make women truly equally represented in our representative democracies. i enjoyed the video the staff put together to introduce me. it did occur to me that as i think about the changing face of power, the video looks at the changing styles eyewear and the changing color of my here over the past 25 years -- styles that i wear and the changing color of my hair over the past 25 years. what was i thinking? [laughter]

i am happy about our new president and leader, stephanie. she is a fantastic. i know you will enjoy working with her. here i am, at changing hair color, job titles. i will tell you what has not changed in me. i believe in the power of women to turn our country into the best place on earth. i know emily's list can make that happen. [applause] time and again, you and i and emily's list have taken on the most difficult challenges in politics, electing women and newcomers to office. time and again, we have one. we have stood up to the naysayers, the daughters, the cynics that claim that women cannot win. we said, watch us when.

-- win. we have taken on conservatives that want to control our bodies and our lives. we have taken on those that want us to go back to the kitchen. we have said, not on our watch, not in this time, not with emily's list. we have watched pradesh choice democratic women take office -- pro-choice democratic women take office. they have used their political power to help stop domestic violence and try to find a cure for breast cancer. they have fought for peace and for jobs. they had taken on the special interests to protect our environment and our health. the women have governed with a strong and progress of hand. the savaging kindergartens and invest -- working with

kindergartners and investing in some many different projects to better our communities. [applause] perhaps no one has been -- done more to improve the lives of women then nancy pelosi. [applause] you are a marvel. the speaker is one of the best listeners i know. she is compassionate, a brilliant political strategist, and she is tough. a reporter once asked her if her political foes gave her a hard time, and she said she would give her grandmother's staire. i have seen it. i stood up straight in said yes ma'am.

nancy has held democrats together. over the past year, she has brought together the conservatives, liberals, and moderates in our party to work with president obama to protect the environment and create a green jobs. she has done what no speaker has been able to do in my lifetime -- reform our health-care system. [applause] nancy pelosi is a shining example to the country of what we should have more women in public office. thank you for showing the country that a woman be launched in the house, but she belongs in charge of the house. [applause] the speaker will be the first to

tell you that she is able to succeed because of the many women we have helped along the way. i want to give special thanks to all of our elected women, but especially those in the house and senate did just survived that health care fight. i am inspired by your personal courage and commitment to our country. he worked long hours, and you never get enough time with their families. whether it is on the campaign trail or in office, you have received harsh criticism from the left, angry insulls from the right, and silence from the middle -- angry insults from the right, and silence from the middle. health care reform is your reward as well as ours. millions of americans will live healthier and longer lives because of what you have accomplished. millions of parents will sleep

better at night because they have the ability to care for their children. millions of young girls who will never know your name will benefit from a leadership. some of those girls will walk through the doors the chief forced open and become our future leaders -- doors that you forced open and become our future leaders. [applause] for your historic triumph in health care reform and your victories did you create all of the time, we are very grateful. you have made a tremendous difference for your country. we are very proud of you. you remind us why we are a part of emily's list. thank you very much. [applause] virtually everyone and we had helped elect has had a tough campaign to get there. our candidates rely on contributions to build campaigns. the also rely on the hard work

and commitment of the emily's list staff. i've been fortunate to work with smart, strategic executive directors. they led the staff, shaped our political strategies, and have been wonderful partners in this glorious adventure. [applause] to all of our former and current staffers, i extend my deepest thanks to enlist list in your part of changing the face of power in america. thanks to all of you for working with emily's list. [applause] earlier i mentioned to be began the historic transition that would make women more at the forefront of democracy.

it amazes me that we are only 70% of the congress. it is wrong, and we will continue -- 17% of the congress. it is wrong, and we will continue to fix it. for the 95% of members of congress that run for re- election are reelected. the power of incumbency is still the greatest barrier for women. we look for every opportunity to add a newcomer to office. we tried to use all of the tools in our campaign war chest to win. we mobilize women voters to help give them a margin of victory. when i started looking for a new president, of wanted to choose someone who understood challenges and could find solutions in the context of the

21st century politics. i was thrilled when we found stephanie to be a new leader. [applause] she understands 21st century fund raising and has revolutionized political fund- raising through the internet. she knows how to win and she has the victories to prove it. she has created back-to-back democratic victories. after a slight delay, another. [applause] stephanie views of our mission through the eyes of a generation x woman believing that women can be anything they want to be. she knows that sooner or later those gender barriers emerge. after working on capitol hill, she appreciates that she can

help government work better with more women. she has the strategic skills to create more victories for our candidates. she speaks in the voice of her generation in will bring -- and will bring more to make sure that emily's list is more powerful to come. she has been on the job three months. she has emerged as the new leader i was hoping for. emily's list is in good hands with her as our president. [applause] for 25 years, you and i have joined together because we believe in women and we believe in the empowering promise of american democracy. analysts list is part of the enduring progressive force -- emily's list is part of the

enduring, progressive force in our country. we hold the rebellious spirit and the democratic principles of our country's founders. we fight for equality and share the values of those that build the underground belair road, ended slavery, and fought for civil rights. -- underground railroad, ended slavery, and fought for civil rights. our political courage has taken on the special interest to make sure of food is safe and the madison is effective. with the thought of our values by extending decency and respect to gays and lesbians, immigrants, and those without wealth. our moral outrage motivates us to work for peace. emily's list has made women powerful players in this progressive movement. we have taken the baton and

said women will be more than helpmates. women will have the political power to make progressive change [applause] ] when i began family's list, i knew we would succeed, because i knew you were always there. we would use our talents and my experiences to enrich our efforts. you have always been there, determined, committed, and a generous. i am so grateful for your partnership. you have inspired me. you have lifted me up in difficult times. you have excited me with the possibilities to have created. you have impressed me with your intelligence and touched me with

your caring affection. we have taken on some of the most difficult challenges in our country. we have triumphed. [applause] you and i created emily's list, and together, we have changed the face of power in america and the country is better for it. [applause] for 25 years, i served as president for emily's list. it was the joy of my life and my deepest honor. thank you. [applause]

thank you very much. [applause] thank you. you all should feel very proud of what we have done together. thank you. thank you very much. thank you. i know you are going to enjoy seen our next couple of speakers. our first is barbara mikulski and houston chill brakirsten gi. she was a tireless campaigner, a fund raiser, and after she took the republican house seat, a hard-working member of the house. she kept in close contact with the constituents, becoming the

first ever to pose her daily schedule on the website so voters could see how she was spending her time. we were delighted when she was chosen to fill senator clinton's seat, because she will continue the work of hillary. she now has to run in november. she has been traveling the state listening and learning about her new constituency in building a strong campaign. emily's list is at her side, eager to celebrate her victory as the second elected senator from new york. recently, there was a public- relations campaign to inform women about heart disease and the symptoms of heart attacks in women. every time i heard a public- service announcement for read a story generated by the campaign, i smiled and thought about cover first emily's list whene'er, senator barbara mikulski. here is why. -- winner, senator barbara

mikulski. here is why. our pesky hormones unfounded research, or it can founded -- confounded, or at least it can founded the male researchers. she created the office of women's health at nih to make sure that women's health issues were addressed. that office launched a large- scale women's health initiative clinical trial in 2002. that trial went on to discover that the use of hormone therapy to treat symptoms of menopause increased the risk of breast cancer. a unique characteristics of heart disease in women. we are receiving information through the public-relations campaign. she did would be called for when we elect our women candidates.

she pointed out an issue that had been left on the back burner. she used political talents to turn of the heat in make certain women's concerns were addressed. as a result, millions of women will lead safer, healthier lives. that is a woman making a difference. [applause] please welcome the dean of democratic women in the senate, barbara mikulski, and our newest woman senator, kirsten gillibrand. [applause] ♪ [applause] ♪

[laughter] >> there i go again. thanks to the support of analysts list and under the leadership theellen of ellen, s the >> i am hoping that, like another outstanding emily's list candidate, our grit secretary of state, i will continue to represent the great state of new york as its center. >> as you can see, we have some slight differences. i was a social worker. >> i was an attorney. >> when i entered the senate,

dionne warwick's song, alcoa and that is what friends are for" was no. 1 on the chart. >> have you ever heard of a lady got god? >> -- lady gaga? >> i was selected from one of the most urban democratic district. >> i was selected from one of the most republican districts in upstate new york. >> we're both incredibly grateful to this organization. in the early years, when i was making my own way in the community organizing, in politics, in the senate, it was pretty lonely. we did not even have a ladies' room in the senate. thanks to alan, and emily's list, -- allen, and emily's list, with a long way.

we have been standing up for people that were too often left out of left behind. if in that very first campaign, i did not have a family standing up for me. [applause] >> you might be surprised to learn the social workers did not have a rolodex full of context of wealthy and powerful people what i did have was a direct connection to challenges of the ordinary family. i will never forget their faces. i wanted to bring ideas to make their lives better. with family standing behind me, -- with family standing behind me, i have had the privilege to bring my commitment -- commitment to serve in the united states senate. >> because the family's list

stood with trail blazing leaders like barbara, i believed i could run for congress and win. thanks to their early support, and that is exactly what i did. there was one day a few months ago and i was in the woman's room. in walks the justice sonia sotomayor. this before she was confirmed as a justice. i was excited to meet her. . she said i have been so interested to meet you. she said look at us, the power meetings are now having reaching happening in the lady's room. [applause] >> thank you to barbara, hillary, all of the one that come before me, and things to -- and thanks to family's list,

this is only one of the power meetings that are happening among women. we are leading the charge to make sure that we have economic access for all women in america. we have delivered a healthcare bill that will put a family doctor for every family in america. we are sending a clear message to everyone in america that it is women that are going to lead this nation forward. i admire barbara for all that she had found in her career, and for all but we will do together. she is not only a mentor, but she is also a very dear friend. [applause] >> i so admire and appreciate all the women who come to the senate emily's list list made possible. i admire kirsten kg for all but she is done, and all that she will do.

we are two different people, but we have one thing in common. we are both family. >> now, it is my great pleasure to introduce to you the woman who will lead this great organization into the new decade. she has fast become one of our party most successful strategist and tactician. we're still throw the she is bringing her experience to this great organization. just as she led so many candidates to victory, i know she will do the same for a family's list. thank you to you all, antiwhite to emily. we are off of our scripted part. when alan was talking, i got choked up. >> i was crying. >> today, you make us misty.

our heart is filled with joy about the future, but we do have a few tears for this device. thank you very much. [applause] >> her name came up every single time. emily's list is the best organization out there. >> i think it this time to have a leader that can speak in a young girl voice about the problems that women face. i was the lighted when we met stephanie. she has the political savvy and the real passion to leave this organization forward. ♪

>> the leader is someone that understands the president, understands how to raise money, and as the fourth three major campaigns. stephanie of the best quality, and there are so many good qualities, and she is a natural- born manager. she commands authority. >> one of the things that was evident in the campaign is the the people around her respecter. they appreciate what she does. -- respect her. they appreciate what she does. >> it is her good humor. now, there are too many of very good qualities. >> i grew up with the parents ahead, and i believed that i could do anything.

many women worked side by side to get the jump done. quirks she had those values of independence, and police and family. she is also very inspired by politics -- and belief in family. she is also very inspired by politics. a lot of women before made fought to break down that door. >> she is going to do great things for the organization. >> our future today is limitless. women can run for office. women can succeed. women are serious candidates. >> is our turn to lead, to make

sure what people know it makes a difference to have women serving in office and why we will help make that future area of it. >> right now is a time for women candidates to realize they can do it. >> together, we can change our government works, by adding more women to the mix. >> i want the membership to know that i am here to make sure the organization not only just continues to be as successful and powerful as she has been for 25 years, but we are like to double in size, and we're going to win more races. ♪ [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome emily's list co- president, stephanie --

president, stephanie. [applause] >> 25 years, $78 million raised, nine governors, 15 senators, 80 congresswomen, hundreds of state legislatures, 100,000 members, and countless doors thrown open for women across the country. you did this. emily's list did this. thank you for writing checks and getting women of elected for 25 years. your work, your dedication, your commitment have changed our

country forever. i am here to tell you, we had just begun. [applause] >> speaker nancy pelosi, i cannot say better than one of our emily's list facebook members. nancy, we have your back. senator gillibrand, we have a tough campaign ahead. we will be your army. we have your back, too. [applause] >> senator barbara mikulski, you have always been one of my heroes. in your campaign this year, we will be there for you because you have always been there for us. [applause] >> ellen malcolm.

you have given me the opportunity of a lifetime. politics in this country changed for the better the day you invited 25 friends over for a gathering that was not bring your own beer, it was bring in your own a rolodex. alan, we share the same ambition. we share the same passion. we share the same mission of change in this country and the world for the better by empowering women. thank you so much for all you have done. [applause] >> i cannot say it any other way -- i am so fired up to be leading this organization into the next 25 years. [applause] >> now, i grew up in montana.

for those of you that have not been there, it is a mining town. that meant that growing up, i was used to seeing men in charge. my mom and dad raised me to believe that i could do anything i wanted to do, and it did not matter that i was a girl. i had to roll up my sleeves and work hard. i never doubted that women could win an election, i just had not seen many of them actually do it. then, one day, nancy team in came to speak at my high school. she was from anaconda. she had just been elected statewide as superintendent of public instruction. she was awesome. she was tough, smart, one of us, a hard-working montano woman -- i thought that was the coolest

thing. i decided to run for office, too. high school student body president. i had been issued. let us wear shorts. i had a media strategy -- posters, buttons, and lollipop'' with my name on them. i have a targeting strategy. i reached out to the freshmen and sophomores. most importantly, it was a multi-candidate field, and i was the only woman. in what i now see him in training for this job, i got the sister for one of my opponents to endorse me, and that is what really cleared my path to victory. [applause] >> i did learn early on, women make the difference between winning and losing. women have to work hard just to get that chance to make a

difference. when i was raising money for the democratic senatorial campaign committee, i will never forget the day that i watched a woman marched down the highway -- the hallway and tell the director not to cut off for funding because she was going to win, and she did. here she was, putting her own party to defeat a republican incumbent. i've had the opportunity to help other candidates to overcome the daughters. no one believed that howard dean could compete. nobody thought that john chester, a state senator with little name recognition, could beat and 18-year incumbent. no one thought that al franken, a professional comedian, or is he will correct to, a satirist, could win a senate seat in

minnesota. [applause] >> i have run some of the most intense campaigns in recent history for some amazing candidates, really amazing people. i built campaigns from nothing but a few devoted volunteers and a half-decent internet connection. i have gotten beat up and beat down, and from these races, i have learned a key lesson. when we are tough, when we are united, when we are well- funded, democrats can win everywhere and anywhere. [applause] >> every morning, i walked into the office -- i walked into the office. i cannot get to my desk without passing a wall of women. it is a wall covered with

photos terraced it is stunning to see how far we have come in 25 years. it is equally stunning how much work we still have left to do. women make up more than half of the american population, half of the work force, 54% of voters in the not -- in the last provincial election. democrats, in particular, depend on the woman's vote. yet, men still make up 83% of congress, 44 of the 50 governors, 76% of our state legislators, 90 of the mayors in our 100 biggest cities. the u.s. race -- ranks 61st in the political representation of women.

61st. even the iraq and afghanistan require that their parliaments be at least 25% women. i do not know about you, but i do not think america should be 61st at anything. [applause] >> at emily's list, we subscribe to a radical notion that a representative democracy should be representative. women experience life, whether it is family life or work, health care or energy, war or peace, differently from men. for example, when senator john kyl said that insurance companies should not have to cover maternity care because he did not need it, senator debbie was there to remind him that his mother probably did. [applause]

>> if you want to change the way we manage health care, or the economy, or war, or energy, or peace, you elect more women. [applause] >> women have a novel approach to getting things done. we just get them done. when hundreds were wining and moaning and saying that health- care reform " never happen, nancy pelosi just got it done. [applause] >> for so long, we fought for a progressive majority, but the flight did not end there rigidify it did not end there, because nothing galvanizes republicans with -- by the prospect of democrats getting things done. they lie about our agenda, and

one that fails, they lie down in front of it. that is what makes this november 1 of the most difficult political environments we have seen in a long time. our incumbents are under attack like they have never been before. i am not just talking about hundreds of millions of dollars of advertising. i am talking about the brick thrown through the window of a district office. i'm talking about a local ohio republican publication actually saying is let's take bette sutton out of the house and put her back in the kitchen. never before have we seen a right wing that is so motivated, angry, energetic, and so deeply misinformed, which makes emily's list more important than ever before. 25 years ago, the founding mothers of emily's list had an

idea -- an idea for a network where women across the nation could learn about and support pro-choice democratic women running for office. that network forever changed the face of power. my goal is to double our network, and doubled it again. i want to see our network become a powerful community -- a community of women and men, young and old, people with the diverse experiences, and diverse passions, but one shared goal -- to elect women and make our country truly a representative democracy. [applause] >> we are quick to engage women and men in the very place that they're communicating, online. from facebook conversations to twitter feeds, to our new and

developing website and grass- roots organizing, emily's list is the place for women and men across the country to come together, talk about the issues, and support and women candidates. i spoke earlier about our a wall of women. it is not nearly enough. this is where you come in. not many of us have rolodex is any more. but, we do have blackberries and i phones, and pda hotel and i want you to take those out right now and scroll through your contacts and find someone that is not a member of emily's list and text that person and say that you're not going to leave this room until they become a member, too.

doubling our organization, and double it again, that is the only way we're going to gaining ground. we will double our size by showing a new generation of supporters of the magic of making a emily's list donation. last month, and that a member of emily's list who told me that it was both wonderful and ought to send a contribution to someone she had never met, and it clear she never visited. i told her that it is even more amazing to be on a campaign and received that check from someone you have never met, in a place you never visited. that contribution, it tells you something. yes, it is the donation, and yes, maybe, you can hire one more field organizer, print one more door hanger, or beat back

one more attack ed, but that contribution is so much more. it says to a woman, you may have never run for office before, or maybe you are just a mom in tennis shoes, but we have faith in you. we need you. this may be a tough campaign, but you have an army behind you. that contribution convinces a candidate that she can win, and when we do what we do best, that woman, that candidate, that leader, she will win. how do we know? because she has won, over, over, and over again in the last 25 years. these remarkable women have made

a change. these remarkable women are change. these remarkable women are just the beginning. thank you. thank you. [applause] >> and now, i would like to welcome back to the stage with me for one moment, our fonder and chair, ellen malcolm. [applause] >> thank you. wow. what do you say? [applause] ♪ [applause] ♪

[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> tonight, almost 3000 journalists, politicians and celebrities will gather at the

washington health of -- helton. c-span2 coverage includes remarks by president obama and nbc tonight show host joe witte -- jay leno. >> what i think is light on now is that the americans agree to talk to the taliban leaders. >> in 2000, he wrote about the rise of the taliban and osama bin laden. he looks at what is next on sunday night on c-span. >> we are alive now at the university of michigan in ann arbor. president obama is to address the graduating class at the university of michigan. the president of the university, mary sue coleman , is speaking now before the introduction of president obama. you're watching live coverage, here on c-span.

[applause] >> it is taken the lessons learned here, again at our beck, to the most challenged school different -- school districts in the country. if this is a class as work to rebuild haiti, support military veterans, collect surplus supplies for those without, and safeguard our natural environment. four of the five graduates have taken part in community service. some of you today are wearing red cords that recognize the depth of your engagement. michigan students have stepped forward to give more than 35,000 days of service in one year. [applause] >> mr. president, this has placed the university of

michigan on the president's higher education on a roll with distinction, but we can, and we will do more and we pledge to increase our numbers. graduates, your community service is praise-worthy and important, and it should also be unrelenting. civic engagement is the foundation of a vibrant, prosperous society. more than ever, as our neighborhoods and communities work through this economic downturn, your contributions matter. it was once said that "i am only one, but i am one. i cannot do everything, but i can do something. i will not let what i cannot do, interfere with what i can do. i can do something." and earlier had graduate of this university toiled in the dark

days of world war two to rescue jews from the death camps. he was only one, and he saved thousands. another graduate, and gerald ford, thought his greatest impact would come through public service. for 24 years, he represented the people of michigan in congress, and then, as president, led our country out a constitutional crisis with integrity. he was only one, but or country persevered. i can do something. they left an arbor to teach young people, create bike paths , advance economic justice, and turn blight into duty. one semester brought many changes. as often happens after a semester in detroit, these new graduates are staying on to contribute more.

i can do something. our 44th president knows firsthand the challenges and rewards of working in neighborhoods and striving to build communities. as he told us, service is how we will meet the challenges of our time and there are many. answering this call to serve makes us stronger, more productive, and more compassionate. 18 months ago, many of you voted in your first presidential election. [applause] >> and, you worked hard for your candidate. we expect nothing less from a campus that gave birth to both the college republicans, and the students for a democratic society. [applause] >> mr. president, you should know, that on election night, thousands of michigan students

flooded the campus to celebrate your election. [applause] >> it was a spontaneous, spirited outpouring, on mike we have -- on like anything we have seen in a long time. graduates remember that emotion, remember the joy of running to the streets, remember being part of something bigger than yourself -- that is the feeling of making a difference. take it with you. share it freely. transform our world with your ideas, your actions, and your service to others. like your predecessors, you will make us proud, and let your predecessors, you will serve to inspire the next generation of michigan graduates. for today, goodbye. for tomorrow, good luck, and forever, go blue.

[applause] [applause] >> it is now my pleasure to introduce the governor of the great state of michigan. please give her a warm welcome. >> great. thank you, mary sue coleman . mr. president, aren't they magnificent. he is stating that you would come to michigan, for these are

the leaders, and the best. [applause] >> and beyond them, even, michigan citizens are the real victors because you are now the president of the united states. as a result of that, some quick thank yous are in order. on behalf of our 10 million citizens, mr. president, thank you for supporting our auto industry. general motors, ford, chrysler -- [applause] >> they all have bright futures now, we're of one year ago, much darker clouds than these loomed overhead. thank you, mr. president, for supporting our economy. last august, a vice president

joe biden came to michigan to announce 1.3 $5 billion in federal grants to spur our advanced battery and electric vehicles sector, insuring that the electric car would be researched, designed, and built in america, in michigan -- no other state. [applause] >> no other state received a larger number of grants, and as a result, mr. president, in just the past nine months, 17 advanced battery companies and projects have located in michigan, including one your with in the rose garden yesterday, and with the possibility here of creating 60,000 jobs over the next few years. we hope many for wolverines.

because we know that our wolverines want to contribute to making america independent of foreign oil. we could not transform michigan from being the rust belt to the greenbelt without your support, mr. president. while i am at it, i want to thank you for fighting as well for a clean energy jobs built in the months to come. [applause] thank you, mr. president, for delivering on health-care reform. [applause] >> thank you, mr. president, for

delivering for these young people and those who follow them, increased access to college, by expanding the tell grant and reforming our student loan system. [applause] >> thank you, mr. president, for delivering the recovery act, and on behalf of the 90,000 people who are working directly or indirectly as a result, mich. thanks you, because those jobs are here. i left out -- [applause] >> is one important thing, which is, and i know you would like to give a uniquely michigan show of gratitude for this one, see why for coming here, instead of that school to the south. [applause]

>> and, so, on behalf of the state of michigan, mr. president, welcome to a grateful state and a grateful university. thank you for being here today for the class of 2010. let's go blue. [applause] >> we will now began with conferring of the honorary degree. by the authority of the state of michigan, a vested in the board of regents, we should now deferred degrees which has been recommended by the faculty. members of the board of regents will present the honorary degree recipients. our board chair. [applause]

>> madam president, on behalf of the board of regents, should i try the other a microphone? [laughter] [applause] >> i have the honor to present president barack obama to receive an honorary degree. [applause] [applause] >> president obama, you have shown that america is a place --

>> microphone is out? [laughter] >> through your achievements, -- [laughter] [applause] >> through your achievements and your words, you have inspired and encouraged our nation to become a more perfect union. in these difficult times, you have challenged us to open our minds, and work together to reach common ground. your life exemplifies the power of education to create new opportunities and to offer significant contributions to our society. for all you have accomplished, and for your readership, the

unit -- and for your leadership of this great nation, the university of michigan is deeply honored to present you with the honorary degree, doctor of laws. congratulations. [applause] >> and by the authority of the state of michigan, invested in the board of regents, and by them delegated to me, i now confirm upon you, barack h. obama doctor of law, and its rights and privileges. [applause] [applause] >> thank you. [applause]

>> thank you. [applause] >> thank you, very much. thank you. [applause] >> thank you so much. [applause] >> thank you, everybody. thank you, everybody. please be seated. >> i love you. >> i love you back. [applause] >> it is great to be here, in the big house. [applause] >> so, may i say, go blue? [applause] >> i thought i would go for the cheap applause to start things off. [laughter]

>> good afternoon, president mary sue coleman , the board of trustees, the faculty, parents, family and friends of the class of 2010. congratulations on your graduation, and thank you for allowing me the honor of being a part of it. [applause] >> let me acknowledge your wonderful governor. [applause] >> your mayor and all of the members of congress who are here today. it is a privilege to be with you on this happy occasion, and, you know, it is nice to spend a little time outside of washington. [applause] >> now, do not get me wrong, washington is a beautiful city.

it is very nice living above the storm region of the store. you cannot beat the commute. [applause] [laughter] >> it is just sometimes, all you hear in washington is the clamor of politics, and all that noise can drown out the voices of the people that sent you there. when i took office, i decided that each night i would read 10 letters out of the tens of thousands that are sent to us by ordinary americans every day. this was my modest effort to remind myself of why i ran in the first place. some of these letters tell stories of heartache and struggle. some expressed gratitude. some expressed anger. i would say a good solid third

call me an idiot, which is how i know i am getting a good representative sample. [laughter] [applause] >> some of the letters make you think, like the one i received last month from a kindergarten class in virginia. the teacher of this class instructed the students to ask me any question they wanted. when asked, how do you do your job? [laughter] >> another asked, do you work a lot? [laughter] >> somebody wanted to know if i wear a black jacket, or if i have a beard. [laughter] >> so, clearly, they weren't getting me mixed up with the --

they weren't getting me mixed up with the other tall guy from illinois. [laughter] >> one of my favorites was from a kid that wanted to know if i lived next to a volcano. i'm still trying to piece the thought process on this one. [laughter] >> loved this letter. it was a last question, from the last student in the letter that gave me pause. the student asked, are people being nice? our people be nice? -- are people being nice? >> well, if you turn on the news today, or yesterday, or a week ago, or a month ago,

particularly one of the cable channels, you can see why even a kindergartener would ask this question. [laughter] >> we have politicians calling each other all sorts of unflattering names. london's and talking heads shout at each other -- condensate and talking heads shout at each other. the media plays up every hint of conflict. anyone interested in getting coverage, feels compelled to make their arguments as outrageous and incendiary as possible. now, some of this contentiousness can be attributed to the incredible -- be incredibly difficult moment that we found ourselves as a nation. the fact is, when you leave here today, you will search for work in economy that is still emerging from the the greatest crisis since the great depression. he lived in a century where the speed at which jobs and

industries move across the globe is force in america to compete like never before. you will raise children at a time where threats like terrorism and climate change are not confined to the borders of any one country. as our world grows smaller and more connected, you will work and live with people that do not look like you, think like you, or come from where you do. i really enjoyed alex's remarks. that is a lot of change. all of these changes, all of these challenges, inevitably cause some tension. they make people worry about the future. sometimes, they get people riled up. i think it is important that we maintain some historic perspective. since the days of our founding, american politics has never been

a particularly nice business. it has always been a little less genteel during times of great change. a newspaper of the opposing party once editorialized that thomas jefferson were collected, murder, robbery, rape and incest would be openly taught and practiced. [laughter] >> and not subtle. opponents of andrew jackson often referred to his mother as a common prostitute, which seems a little over-the-top. [laughter] >> presidents from teddy roosevelt to lyndon johnson have been accused of promoting socialism, or worse. we have that arguments between politicians that have been settled with actual ghouls. there was even a caning once on the floor of the united states

senate, which did not happen when i was there, i'm happy to say. it was a few years before. [laughter] >> the point is, politics has never been for the thin-skinned or the faint of heart. if you enter the arena, you should expect to get roughed up. moreover, democracy, in a nation of over 300 million people, is inherently difficult. it has always been noisy and messy, contentious, complicated -- we have been flooded about -- fighting about proper size and role of government since the days the framers gathered in philadelphia. we have battled over the meaning of individual freedom and equality since the bill of rights was drafted. as our economy has shifted emphasis from agriculture to information, technology, we have

argued that each and every juncture over the best way to ensure that all our citizens have an equal opportunity. before we get depressed over the current state of our politics, let's remember our history. the great debates of the past all stirred great passion. they all made somebody very angry. at least once, the lead to a terrible war. what is amazing, is that despite all of the conflict, despite all of its flaws and its frustration, our experiment in democracy has worked better than any form of government on our earth. [applause] >> on the last day of the constitutional convention, benjamin franklin was famously asked, doctor, what have we got?

a republic or a minor -- or a minor key? >> he gave an answer that has been courted for ages. a republic, if you can keep it, if you can keep. >> for more than 20 years, we have kept it. revolution and civil war, our democracy has survived. depression and world war, it has prevailed. 3. is of great social and economic unrest, from civil rights to women's rights, it is slowly moved towards a more perfect union. now, the class of 2010, the question for your generation is this -- how will you keep our democracy going? at a moment when our challenges seemed so big, and our politics seem so small, how will you

keep our democracy alive, and thriving -- how will you keep the it well? >> i am not here to offer a grand theory or a detailed policy description. let me offer a few brief reflections based on my own experience, and the experience of our country over the past few centuries. first of all, american democracy has thrived because we have recognized the need for a government that, while limited, can still help us adapt to a changing world. on the fourth panel of the jefferson memorial is a " i remember reading to my daughters during my first visit there. it's as i am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but with a change of circumstances, institutions must be changed to keep pace with the times.

the democracy designed by jefferson and other founders, was never intended to solve every problem with a new law or a new program. the first americans were understandably skeptical of government. ever since, we have held fast to the belief that government does not have all of the answers. we have cherished and fiercely defend our individual freedom. that is a strand of pollination's dna. the other strand is the belief that there are some things that we can only do together. our government must keep pace with the times. when america expanded from a few colonies to an entire continent, our government helped build the railroads. when we transition from an economy based on farms, to one based on factories, and workers needed new skills and training, our nations set up a system of public high schools.

when the market crashed during the depression, and people lost their life savings, our government put in place a set of rules and safeguards to make sure that such a crisis would never happen again, and then, a safety net to make sure that our elders will never be impoverished the way that they have been. because of our markets and financial system's evolution since then, we're not putting in new rules to protect the american people. now, this notion -- [applause] >> this notion has not always been partisan. it was the first republican president, abraham lincoln, who said their role of government is to do for the people what they cannot do better for themselves. he would go on to begin that first intercontinental railroad and set up the first land-grant

colleges. it was another republican, teddy roosevelt who said the object of government is the welfare of the people. he is remembered for using the power of government to break up monopolies, establish our national parks system -- [applause] >> democrat lyndon johnson announced the great society during a commencement here at michigan, but it was the republican president before him, dwight eisenhower, who launched a massive government undertaking known as the interstate highway system. of course, there have been those that oppose such efforts. the argument that government intervention is usually inefficient, it dampens individual initiative and freedom, and in certain instances, that has been true. for many years, we have a welfare system that too often discouraged people from taking

responsibility for the upward mobility. at times, we've taken the role of parents, rather than government, and cultivating a child and adult education. sometimes regulations fail. sometimes, their benefits do not justify their costs. what troubles me is when i hear people say that all of the government is inherently bad. when my favorite signs during the health-care rebate during the -- debate was cocoa keep your government hands out of my -- "keep your government hands out of medicare." [laughter] >> which is essentially saying, keep government out of my government-run health care plan. when government is spoken of as a threatening entity, it ignores

the fact that in a democracy government is us. we, the people hold our -- [applause] >> we, the people, hold the power to change our leaders, shape our laws, and changed our destiny. government is the police officers that are protecting our community and the servicemen and women that are defending us abroad. [applause] >> the government is the road you drove yen on and the speed limits that kept you safe. the government's -- a government is what ensures that oil spills are cleaned up by the companies that caused them. [applause] >> government is this extraordinary public university, a place that is to lifesaving

research, and graduating students that will change the world around them in ways big and small. [applause] >> the truth is, the debate that we have had for decades now, between more government and less government, it does not really fit the times in which we live. we know that too much government can stifle competition and deprive us of choice, and burden us with debts. we have also seen the danger of too little government, like when the lack of accountability on wall street nearly leads to the collapse of our entire economy. [applause] >> so, class of 2010, what we should be asking is not what we need a big government, or a small government, but how we can create a smarter and better government.

because in an era of high tides and -- ipods and tivo, even though i cannot really work a lot of these things but i have a 23-year-olds that can do it for me -- [laughter] >> the government should not dictate your lives, but it should give you the tools to succeed. he could guarantee an opportunity for every american that is willing to work hard. -- it should guarantee an opportunity for every american that is willing to work hard. [applause] >> so, yes, we can and should debate the government role in our lives. if you are asked to meet the challenges of our time, remember that the ability to adapt our government to the needs of the age, has had -- has helped make

our the marker see healthy since its inception. the second way to keep our democracy healthy has been public debate. [applause] >> these arguments we're having over government, health care, war, and taxes, these are serious arguments. bishop arouse people's passion. it is important for everyone to join in the debate with all of the bigger that it require -- of the vigor that it requires. we cannot expect to solve our problems if all we do is tear each other down. you can question somebody's views without questioning their motives for their patriotism. throwing around phrases like socialist, soviet-style

takeover, fascist, right-wing and not -- that might grab headlines, but it also has the effect of comparing our government, our political opponents, too authoritarian, regimes. we've seen these kind of politics in the past. it has been practiced by both fringes of the ideological spectrum, by the left and the right since our nation's birth. it is starting to creep into the center of our discourse. the problem is not the hurt feelings with a bruised egos of the public officials. remember, they signed up for. michele always reminds me of that. . .

actively seek out information that challenges to our assumptions and our beliefs, perhaps we will be able to see where the people who disagree with us are coming from. that is why we need a vibrant and a thriving news business that is separate from the opinion makers and talking heads. [applause] that is why we need an educated citizenry that values hard evidence and not just assertions. as senator daniel moynihan once famously said, "everyone is entitled to his own opinions,

but not his own a fax." -- not his own facts." if you are a fan of glenn becker or rush limbaugh, try reading a few articles on at the huffington opposed or another website. it may make your blood boil, but listening to opposing views is essential for good citizenship. it is essential for our democracy. [applause] so too, is the practice of engaging with different experiences with a different in kind of people -- with different kinds of people. you have been exposed to the thinkers and scholars, professors and students. do not limit that broad exposure

just because you are leaving here. if you grew up in a big city, spend some time with someone who grew up in a rural area. if you find yourself only hanging out with people of your own of race, ethnicity or religion. , include people in your circle who have different life experiences. you will learn what it is like to work -- to walk in and someone else's shoes, and in the process, you will make this democracy work. [applause] which brings me to the last ingredient of a functioning democracy, one that is perhaps most basic and has already been mentioned, and that is participation. class of 2010, i understand that one effect of today's poisonous political climate is to push people away from participation in public life. if all you see when you turn on the television is name-calling,

if all you hear about is how special interest lobbying and partisanship prevented washington from getting anything done, then you might think to yourself, what is the point of getting involved? here is the point. when we do not pay close attention to the decisions made by our leaders, when we fail to educate ourselves about the major issues of the day, when we choose not to make our voices and opinions heard, that is when democracy breaks down. that is when power is abused. that is when the most extreme voices of society fill the void that we lead. that is when people are able to buy access and influence in the corridors of power, because no one is there to stop them. participation in public life does not mean that you all have to run for office. though, we could certainly use some fresh faces in washington. [laughter] [applause] it does mean that you should pay

attention, and contribute in any way that you can. stay informed. write letters or make phone calls and on behalf of an issue that you care about. continued the tradition so many of you started here, find a way to serve their community and your country. that will help you stay connected to your fellow citizens and improve the lives of those around you. it was 50 years ago that a young candidate for president came here to michigan and delivered a speech that inspired one of the most successful service projects in america. as john f. kennedy described the ideals behind what would become the peace corps, he issued a challenge to the students who had assembled in ann arbor on that october night. your willingness to contribute part of your life to this

country will determine the answer as to whether this society can be free. i think it can. this is democracy we have is a precious thing. for all of the cynicism that is out there today, we should never forget that as americans we are more and more freedom and opportunity then citizens in any other nation on earth. we are free to speak our mind and worship as we please. we are free to choose our leaders and criticize them if they let us down. [applause] we have the chance to get an education and work hard and give our children a better life. none of this came easy. none of this was pre-ordained. men and women who sat in your chair is 10 years ago and 50 years ago and 100 years ago, they made america possible

through their endurance, their imaginations, and their faith. their success and america's success was never a given. there is no guarantee that the graduates who will sit entities same seat 10 years from now, or 50 years from now, or 100 years from now will enjoy it the same freedoms and opportunities that you do. you too will have to strive. is it too will have to push the boundaries of what seems possible. the truth is, our nation's destiny has never been certain. what is certain, what has always been a certain, is the ability to shape the destiny. that is what makes us different. that is what sets us apart. that is what makes us americans, our ability, at the end of the

day, to look past all of our differences and disagreements and forge a future together. that destiny is now in your hands, as is the question that was posed to this university over half a century ago, as to whether a free society can still compete. if you are willing, as past generations were willing, to contribute part of your life to this country, then i, as president kennedy did, believe we can, because i believed in you. congratulations on your graduation class of 2010. may god bless you, and may god bless america. thank you. [applause] [applause] [applause]

>> again, but the authority of the state of michigan, we will continue with the conferring of decrees which have been recommended by the faculty and authorized by the regions of the university. >> we just watched president barack obama delivering the commencement address at the university of michigan. mr. obama returned to washington

this afternoon at 4 tonight's white house correspondent's dinner. we will have live coverage tonight starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span. tomorrow, the president visits the gulf coast region to see firsthand the areas affected by the bp oil rig explosion and the resulting oil spill. we will bring you coverage of that visit as it becomes available. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> sunday, pat buchanan on the conservative ideologies and today's political climate. he will take your calls, e- mails, and tweets. that will be alive on c-span2. >> homeland security secretary

janet napolitano took questions about border security and immigration. this is the two and a half hours. >> good morning everyone. i know we have several senators in the back coming in. i appreciate this. i welcome the secretary napolitano back to the judiciary committee. i am delighted to see you here. last year ended with an attempted terrorist bombing on a commercial aircraft bound for detroit, michigan. the attempt to coordinate information with other countries as a result of that incident,

congress and the administration took steps to understand the weaknesses in our system and how best to correct them. this committee heard testimony from officials at the department of homeland security, fbi and the state department. we all recognized the need to do better. i am encouraged by the department's recent passenger screening policies. it moves away from a country- specific screening policy in favor of a smarter, more flexible approach. i hope that today we will hear more about efforts to improve security in coordination with the state department. along our southern border, we are experiencing historic levels of drug-related violence that must be brought under control. families are being murdered. law enforcement is being murdered. officials are being murdered in

a brazen shootouts. the department is centrally involved in crossed the border cash, weapons and human smuggling. we saw the brutal murders of two state employees in mexico, and in arizona, americans are already concerned about what implications are happening here at home. we also saw in response to the devastating earthquake in ap -- in haiti. the reconstruction effort will take years, but we have allowed haitians to work and send money home to their families and to be secure in the meantime. i also want to recognize the department of immigration act for granting temporary humanitarian relief to

haitians, and two haitian orphans. also, people are allowed to return for a limited time to their home country to provide assistance. we encourage haitian nationals living in the united states to go back to haiti without suffering adverse consequences regarding the timing of their u.s. citizenship. there is a committee to assist refugees who wish to serve our government or military overseas. i worked with secretary -- i worked with senator lugar to advance the refugee act that would enable refugees to serve our nation overseas without losing time toward a green card. i hope we can enact this legislation. this is the 30th anniversary of the 1980 refugee act offered by

senator kennedy. i recently introduced the refugee protection act. it seeks to improve the law where it falls short in meeting our obligations under the refugee convention. several areas are within a department's jurisdiction. the so-called 287-g program engages state and local law enforcement in the execution of immigration laws continues to be a source of concern. president barack obama said we should not undermine notions of fairness and that we cherish as a nation. i agree. madam secretary, you and i both

have the privilege of serving in lot -- but had the privilege of serving in a law-enforcement in the past. we know things breakdown if citizens do not see law enforcement as protectors and friends and are willing to cooperate with them. we have to stop racial profiling. our police officers have a tough enough job as it is, but if they are seen as a "bust of versus of them" -- "us verses them," they will not get the support that they need. border issues to take on particular important to those of us from border states. what we normally think of border state as being our southern

states and california, i hear from many people about effort needed to order our policy in places like vermont which borders canada. i hear about freeway checkpoint, about federal use of private land. i think you will find that a vermont farmers are as sensitive to their property rights as texas ranchers are. federal cooperation at a local level can go a long way toward achieving mutual understanding. the citizens of border states share a great board -- a great burden. thank you for your steadfast commitment to immigration reform. i share that commitment. i worked with george w. bush on that. i shared his commitment to that.

i hope we get a bill enacted this year. senator sessions. >> thank you. thank you, madam secretary, we are delighted to have you with us. you lead, next to the defense department, the largest agency. you have a host of departments and agencies with different heritages and you have the challenge of melding them together. that takes years of determined leadership. i know you are focused on that, and you have to be, because it is essential. you need to gain better cooperation, better cohesion, better effectiveness. issues are sure a lot of people do not realize how many decisions you have -- you -- i am sure a lot of people do not realize how many decisions you have to make to keep your department running well. there remain concerned about a

number of issues. i will just mention two that i will be asking you about. one deals with what your agent'' understanding is with regard to the potential a rest of the terrorist somewhere within the united states. are they going to be treated as civilian criminals, and will they be provided upon napoli of rights such as -- provided the panopoly of rights such as memoranda and other things. -- such as miranda and other things. i think it will be a mistake if we treat these criminals as a normal criminals entitled to an appointment of a lawyer. they should be taken into military custody if they meet

those standards. i would work on that. i remain concerned about our border. the violence, as you know, is increasing, and is a serious threat to law-abiding people in arizona and other places along our southern border. the power of these drug cartels is very real. the power of the coyotes who bring people in the illegally is very real. it has to be confronted in a very serious way. i would note that a lot of people might not recognize how much progress has been made in the last, say, 10 years. in 2000, 1.6 million people were arrested at the border. last year, i understand a little over half a million or arrested at the border. in any case, i believe that the flow is down. it may not be perfect proof of that, but i believe it does indicate that a number of people

attempting to enter the country illegally is down to a degree. the question to me is, how do we follow up on that and create a lawful immigration flow into our country that serves our national interest, that is consistent with the rule of law, and that allows people who want to enter a proper process to enter, and if they do not qualify, they do not qualify. they do not get to come in illegally if they do not qualify legally. i understand that in february of this year the director of detention and removal offered a memo that encouraged the administration to step up their deportations. it started by noting that immigration had removed 56,000 criminals from united states as

of february, 2010. it said this level of removal was insufficient to meet that agency's goal of four hundred thousand deportations. the chicken number of steps to achieve that goal, including -- they took a number of steps to achieve that goal, including increasing detention space, and an increased effort to a identify aliens for removal, and lance who had been dishonest on immigration forms or -- aliens who had been a dishonest on immigration forms or had illegally entered the united states. i think he should be commended for making a recommendation for progress. instead, it appears that when it

put the memo was reported, the administration released a statement saying it had no intention to do so. you indicated earlier that you are not favorable to suites of the businesses to have people in large numbers working illegally. we have approximately 8 million people who are illegal in the country working today, and we have a substantial amount of unemployment in our country. these are matters that i do believe need clear leadership from you. i was glad to see in your testimony that you submitted a, that you expect increased support for state and local law enforcement.

we will speak about precisely what you disagree with in that, but that is certainly one thing that we need to be doing. i was disappointed to hear that this is administration oppose the plan is to make it tougher for state and local law enforcement -- this administration's plan is to make it tougher for state and local law enforcement to enforce immigration law. they are now forbidden to ask someone about their legal status, because this administration does not want to fill up detention space with minor offenders. we have a real challenge. i have always believed that state and local law enforcement, in the normal course of their duties, who apprehend people who are not lawfully in the country, it should turn those people over

to federal officials and those people should be processed. i have not felt, have not advocated, that they should take the primary role in immigration enforcement, but i do believe that it indicates a lack of commitment to enforcing our immigration laws when we basically tell local law enforcement, even if you know you have apprehended someone here illegally, nothing will be done about it. those and other questions will be important for our discussion today. you have a big challenge. i would say with regard to immigration, the decline in numbers put us on a path to make dramatic improvements, contingent dramatic improvements in immigration reform. we have to complete the fencing that we are required to do, make sure that we have enough people at the border to enforce the

law. i think if we do that, people would be surprised how much continued progress we could make. it is only in doing that the we will then be able to have a decent, good discussion about what to do about people who have been in our country for a long time, and how to handle them. thank you, mr. chairman. >> secretary napolitano, it is all yours. >> thank you. thank you for the opportunity to testify. i would like to focus my opening statement on the southwest border security. i look forward to addressing some of the other issues that the two of you raised in your own opening statement. let me begin by reiterating that anyone who has worked directly on the the border knows the enormous challenges presented there.

we have of the murders of the personnel connected with the u.s. consulate in juarez, as well as the recent murder of a rancher in southern arizona. all of those things are tragic reminders of the need to support mexico's fight against the cartels in mexico, but also the need, as senator sessions recognized, to keep up our efforts on the southern border. we now have more manpower and technology at that border than at any time before. the challenge, however, is deep and complicated. we are responding with a partnership between the department of homeland security, department of justice, department of state with an initiative.

this is the department focused on assisting mexico in their fight against the cartels on their side of the border. in addition, we have expanded partnerships between the department of homeland security and the department of justice, because for every up prevention -- for every apprehension that dhs makes, doj is responsible for prosecution. we need to prevent the cartels from proliferating. we must also assist local law enforcement responding to problems emanating from the border. as a result of what i believe to be focused, strategic and consistent pressure along the southwest border over the past month, we have shut down more and more ki trafficking routes used by the cartels.

that is what i hope we can review today, the significant steps taken in the past 15 months as part of our assault west border initiatives, the results of those measures, and what more can be done. first, over the past 15 months, as i mentioned, we have mobilized an unprecedented level of resources at the southwest border. this is due in no small part to congress's own a small actions to dedicate resources to the border. there is more staff than any point in history, more than 20,000 personnel. since 2004, the number of boots on the ground in the southwest border has increased by 80%. u.s. immigration and customs enforcement has a dedicated over a quarter of all of its personnel to the southwest border region, the most ever. we also have more personal than ever strategically dedicated to

efforts like softbound inspection, intelligent, and interest-agency anti-smuggling task forces. we have more k-9 teams searching for illegal cash and weapons, and for the first time ever we are scanning 100% of a southbound rail traffic. we have security task forces known as the best teams. we have border liaison officers assigned to the southwest border. we have a more proven and affected technology deployed there than ever before. this includes a record numbers of scanners, mobile x-ray unit, mobile surveillance systems, and non-intrusive inspection equipment. these are all at our point of entry, and some between our point of entry. we have increased other resources, such as aerial resources. we have more fixed wing

helicopters and creditor -- creditor -- predator planes a than ever before. we can now buy a-medically -- bio-metrically identify people crossing the border. we have more physical infrastructure there than ever before. we continue to make a critical improvements to the point of entry and to the checkpoint between. we have finished all of the vehicle fencing that was provided for by congress. we have fewer than 6 mi. of pedestrian and fencing to complete, for a total of 662 mi.. i have also asked for the budget to be reexamined to prioritize the fencing that needs to be built or repaired.

let me speak for a moment about partnerships with mexico. they are unprecedented in the history of our country, and i say that as someone who was a former u.s. attorney, attorney general, and governor of a border state, and has been working on border issues for a long, long time. i have never seen this kind of robust partnership with mexico and west -- and with its federal government and government agencies. historic agreement have been assigned in just the past month. these are agreements on sharing cartel-related information and sharing the criminal history of individuals who are being deported back to mexico from the united states. in addition, our partnership with state, local and tribal law enforcement are key, and we continue to help them, that border crime. one of the primary tools we have used for that is operation stone

garden, which received $9 million from congress and funding last year. that was -- received $90 million from congress but in the funding of last year. we have broadened the kind of uses to which they could be put so that they can be more flexibly used by local law enforcement. we can look at some of the numbers, because we are producing results. we have seized 14% more in illicit cash along the southwest border this year than last year. we have increased by 39% the seizures of illicit cash boeing itself bound this year over last

year. we have increased -- illicit cash going southbound this year over last year. but we have increased the seizure of illegal firearms going out. apprehensions are down 23% between 2009 and 2008, indicating that your people are trying to cross the border illegally. just a few weeks ago, ice agents conducted a largest operation of its kind, breaking up a smuggling operation that had transported 80,000 people into the united states illegally. much of this is the result of actions taken by this congress and the congress immediately before it, but there is much work still to be done.

we will continue our efforts to make the most of the resources that we have. we look forward to looking -- we look forward to working with the congress to strengthen the border in the weeks and months ahead. i look forward to addressing other concerns you may have, not just along the southwest border, but along the northern border, and in terms of interior enforcement and worksite enforcement as well. i thought i would use my introductory time to review all of the things that have happened along that critical part of our self west border. thank you very much for this opportunity to appear before you. >> thank you, madam secretary. i know we are going to have a lot of questions about the southern border. let me go to the northern border.

i live 845-15 minute drive from the canadian border -- a 45-50 minute drive up from the canadian border. i know you are familiar with the line in a vermont that is a small, a traditional crossing where people are used to going back and forth, visiting relatives, shopping, and so on. the federal government believes it needs to acquire 5 a. of land on this farm to create a port of entry in the vermont. i understand and appreciate the did they have scaled back the size from the initial design. i question whether some resolution can be done using the

current footprint that is already there, in other words, not expanding it between -- beyond the present area that they already have. i know this is an important part of our border, but this is a family's private farmland. we have a concern about preserving farms and preserving the integrity of our own state in vermont. i asked if you could arrange a meeting about this. i have heard since then from many concerned community members. can you commit to arranging a public meeting with the local community on this issue into the very near future. ?

a public meeting in or along the border of canada? >> absolutely. this is one of those things where we are trying to work with the owners to get down to the footprint. i believe it has actually been reduced to 1.5 acres. we have determined that what we actually need to do to do the kind of port improvement there, there is a certain amount that if you do not do, you might as well not do it it up all. we have been working to try to minimize the amount of acreage involved. >> thought -- in a stand that there are pent-up concerns -- i understand that there are pent up concerns.

when i was a youngster, you would just drive up to canada for the day and back. many of us have family members in canada. i realize it is not quite as easy going back and forth, but this is a friendly country. there may be some unfriendly people that come into the country, but it is a balancing act that we have to do. i know that the new border and customs protection commissioner has been there to see things firsthand. i will be having more and more questions of view. i wanted to mitigate concerns where people get stopped miles away from the border along our interstate, get stock and have to prove their citizenship. people have been driving back and forth along that road for

decades. it is creating an animosity between our residents and the federal government that we do not need to have. i know that the men and women who work there are dedicated and professional, and i want to find ways to lower the tension that is going on between the residents of a vermont, who are themselves professional and lot of fighting -- blog-abiding -- law-abiding. >> as i said, we would be happy to conduct another meeting or have another meeting with the community. >> let me move across the country to the new lot in arizona. it makes it a crime to fail to carry immigration papers. requires police to demand papers from any person they have

reasonable suspicion to believe is undocumented. i believe that states can pass whatever laws they choose, provided they are consistent with the constitution. this law will be challenged on constitutional grounds. the president called a lot misguided. it violates the basic notion of fairness that we cherish as americans. when you were governor of arizona, you twice vetoed a bill of this type. what do you do it now -- what do you do now? >> first of all, the justice department is reviewing the arizona law. it does not actually take effect until 90 days after the close of the arizona legislative session. it is not, in fact, in effect in arizona. there will be time for the

justice department to look at whether that law meets constitutional safeguards or not. from an immigration standpoint and a department of homeland security standpoint, we have some deep concerns with the law from a law enforcement perspective. we believe it will detract from the type of resources that we need to focus on the the people in the country illegally who are committing the most serious crimes, in addition to violating our immigration laws. we have focused on of felons, felony fugitives, a gang members, that is where we have focused our task forces and the like. we have concerned that at some point we will be responsible to enforce or use our immigration

resources against anyone that would get picked up in arizona pursuant to this law. >> this goes to the obvious question of comprehensive immigration reform. many of us work with former president bush on this in a bipartisan way. there is a strong feeling that we need comprehensive immigration legislation just because it would reflect the reality of where we are today. can we move forward on such legislation with the problems that are along the border, the murders, the killings, the drug cartels in mexico especially, and i realize a lot of other immigration issues involve a whole lot of other countries besides mexico, but can we do both things? >> yes.

>> secure our border and have comprehensive immigration legislation? >> yes, and this in a way to get to something that senator sessions' opening statement have some implications of. what is at the relationship between securing the border and comprehensive immigration reform? in my judgment, we need to continue to put strong resources at the border and sustain them at the border. they need to be done in a strategic way. it is a combination of infrastructure, technology, and boots on the ground. the plain fact of the matter is, from a numbers perspective, the numbers at the border have never been better. there have been some outrageous crimes. but the overall numbers, border wide, have never been better.

we need to continue sustaining those efforts, but at the same senator sessions. >> i do believe that what we do and say here, often what we do is more important than what we say, but it sends a message around the world. i am confident that for too long the message has been that as long as there was a willing worker and eight willing employer, we did not care if people came into the country illegally. this kind of confused message gets us into a very real problem. this is why we have the problem today. what we have to do first and foremost, and what you must do, in my opinion, to be the kind of homeland security secretary i would like to see, and for president obama to lead effectively on this issue, is to

make sure the world knows that the order is no longer open. it is not open. if you come here, even if you get by, and it is going to be very difficult to get by, but if you succeed in getting by, you will not be able to be employed, and if you are apprehended you will be deported. it is a lose-lose a game. the way to come to america is to apply and come legally. this is so fundamental to me. with regard to the comprehensive phrase, that means amnesty or some form or fashion of it. that cannot be done until the american people feel, and those of us in congress really feel that we have really made a the kind of progress party -- a kind of progress we need on a parn te

border. people are saying that they need a border security first, and i think that is true. there is a heartfelt belief that we can do better. you can make the border a lawful order, but you have to continue to improve on the progress that has been made, and continue to drive the numbers down. if the numbers go down, you will have more officers and can do an even more affective job. as we do, we will see more violence also. you have to be prepared for that. but you have an opportunity to make some real progress on this. tell me about operation to streamline, that was begun before your tenure. it seems to have resulted in a substantial reduction in recidivism and reentry. it is a situation which involves

at least some prosecution and conviction, and a short detention before deportation. do you believe that has proven to be effective, and what have you not expanded it? >> operation streamline, for those who are not familiar, does provide for a short time of detention and incarceration prior to deportation, removal from the country. we have continued it where it was. the plain fact of the matter, however, is that even a short time of detention, now your implicating the court system, the marshals for the transportation of individuals, the detention system in facilities along the border. so, it has to be a coordination between the department of homeland security and the department of justice. it is-understanding that the department of justice is looking

at streamline from their resources to see if it can be expanded. >> those concerns were raised initially, and the number of a reentrant and -- the number of reentrant went down significantly. i do not think that is a particularly good solution. are you working to expand it? would you like to see it at all border point? do you believe it has been an effective policy? >> in the sectors where it is, it has been in addition to other areas. we could have a debate about whether it is a streamlined that is responsible, or border patrol officers, or other things that have been deployed. let me just say this, senator sessions. i believe that a streamlined should be part of our toolbox of things that we use at the

border. there needs to be a variety of things that we use at the border to get the most effective enforcement strategy. really, it is a resource issue more than anything else. >> it is a policy decision. if you make a decision to expand it, you would ask for the resources necessary to expand it. in the long run, the data tends to show that this type of coordinated effort results in a substantial reduction of illegal reentry. if you can spread that across the entire border, i think we would have another major, a progressive step. i hope that you will work on that. >> senator, if i might just interject, it is not just spreading it along the border, it is being able to do more in the the sectors in which we have already deployed it. we cannot cover, the department

of justice, the court system in that country -- in that part of the country, cannot already handle the amount of cases that we have. it is looking at the burden on the court system and the marshall system in those southern district courts. >> i do not doubt that, but in areas where it is working it has had good results, and i believe they justify the effort to figure out what it takes. i hope you will ask for the resources necessary. tell me about local law enforcement. it seems to me that a local law enforcement officer has the authority, and the court cases have established this, that if they identify a person here illegally in the country, they

have the power to detain them, even though the ultimate deportation and prosecution would be in federal court. do you agree with that? >> actually, that is something that is being reviewed by the justice department now, whether there is inherent authority by any local law enforcement officer to detain. let me just say that in my judgment, what we need to be doing is working with local law- enforcement so that you have combined and leveraged federal resources with local, and then you do not -- that question is moot, because you always have a law-enforcement officer involved. >> the problem is that there are not enough federal law enforcement officers. if a policeman in a small town

in texas or alabama or in new york apprehends somebody that they find to be illegally here, you do not have a federal officer with them. we have three or four federal officers for the entire state of alabama, and we have thousands of citizens to violate city ordinances. >> i was going to make a comment there, but in any event, in some of those areas, this is where, for example, 287-g can be useful. if i might provide an example, we recently had a situation in southern missouri where that very issue arose involving a construction worker site. the individuals were picked up by police who did not have a

287-g, but as we reminded them after the fact, the missouri state police do have it, and because they have it, and have the appropriate coordination and oversight, they can deal with some of those situations. so, while i know the 287-g has come under criticism by many, there are some appropriate uses for it to leverage federal authority with local law enforcement. >> i believed it provides a great opportunity. i do not think it has been aggressively and effectively used. that is my concern. i hope you will reconsider it. thank you. >> thank you very much. mr. chairman, madam secretary, i

have ben and jotting down your statistics while this discussion has been going on. what i find is an amazing display of increased efforts at the border when you look at them. to raise the border patrol agent by 10,000 to 20,000 in 10 years is pretty amazing. things are tripled. things are doubled. it is very impressive. where i look at this is in the criminal aspects of what is happening along the border. i wanted to ask you to comment about this. the number of arrests, the number of drugs and guns seized, the quintupling of border liaison officers -- yesterday i sent some time with the drug

enforcement agency talking with them about this. what appears to me is that you have really increasing drugs, increasing smuggling is still along the borders, despite the fact that a lot of the statistics have moved into the right direction. there is almost a disconnect. you have all of these agents, and yet increased criminality. the signing of the bill in your state is very perplexing. i come from the state with the largest number of immigrants. i do not support let me, your question goes to the whole issue of the drug

cartels in mexico. the critical importance to the country of our continued efforts with mexico to break them up because -- it is resulting in an environment in mexico that is more violent. there is a concern of young people who live just north of that -- well that spill over? -- will that spill over? generally, across that border, we have not seen a wave of spillover of violence. what we want to do is prevent cartel violence in that fashion from spilling over into the

united states. the problem in arizona is that they have -- they are an exception to that rule. in phoenix, there have been, over the last years, a record number of stash houses for illegal immigration and drugs and the like and battles between the ended distributors for these different cartels in phoenix. even though statistics playing arizona it is better than it was, nonetheless, it is a place where there is a perception that there is spillover violence. >> let me ask you a question. smuggling boats have become more

common off the coast of southern california. these boats small both people and narcotics across the border and onto public beaches in san diego and orange county. according to your department, the san diego maritime unified command sell a more than a sixfold increase in the maritime drug and addictions in the pacific waters extending from the southwest border in fiscal year 09 compared to the amount seized in fiscal year 08 . only 25% of these vessels are being discovered by our authorities. it is understanding that more maritime patrol aircraft with sensors able to detect these vessels may be helpful. what do you know about this and what are you doing about it?

>> we are -- as efforts on land are successful, you see the expansion into maritime both in the pacific and in the ad lentic. -- and the atlantic, with the coast guard, we are looking at what our strategy should be. how do we intercept these both on sea and with aerial surveillance? we are seeing an increase in the submersibles to transport drugs into the continental united states. those are difficult. we're also seeing the use of the ultralight which are these very small aircraft. all of those are resulting in a constantly looking at, do we have the right deployment, the right resources? emphasizes are needed for absolute flexibility to move resources very quickly.

it is evidence that statistics are one thing, but are we having an operational impact? >> i want to go to one other thing. this is an area where i have a grievance and i hate to bring it up here, but i wrote a letter about a month ago and did not get an answer. so i am going to bring it up here. in two dozen 5, fema -- in 2005 and 2006, fema ordered grants to the university of burk -- california berkeley. this is a potential of all tile catastrophic effort. despite the urgency of this project, a theme that has taken 58 months to reach the relatively simple conclusion that it required an environmental review. i met with the people, the university has come in, i think

it is just dreadful that you cannot remove a small grant to the university in five years. what do you know about it? what is the problem? >> i am very unhappy that this has taken that long. i have vast fema to work with berkeley to resolve this. at the issue is the environmental issue, but this involves, i suspect, how to handle those large eucalyptus trees. the fires that occurred in the hills around there. i have asked fema to light a fire under itself, get together with the folks at berkeley and see what we can do. >> would you follow up on it because it just falls between the cracks? >> got it. >> i appreciate that. i will not let you off the hook. >> got it. >> thank you.

>> i appreciate the work that you're trying to do and are doing. we have people coming in and out of there all the time and we appreciate the extra help that you provided. as the talk about the 12-20 million immigrants in the united states, i think of the immigrant community in my home state of utah. those to follow the law, waited their turn, got in line, sometimes even up to 20 years in order to legally come to the united states. it seems to me that their efforts would be completely discounted by amnesty or so- called pathway to citizenship. as a former u.s. attorney, do you believe this is the only way we can solve our illegal immigration problem? does this not go against the very principles of our legal

system? >> senator, i do not believe that amnesty is part of the solution. however, i do believe that what is being looked at and reviewed for those already illegally in the country in terms of how they get right with the law is not amnesty. it is a series of sanctions that they would have to go through. i also believe that what is being examined would not leapfrog them ahead of those who are already in line to get their citizenship. >> you feel that they would have to get in line like everybody else and have to comply with the loss. would they have to go back to their own country? >> in my view, no. in my view, that would be a huge administrative task to have people go back to their countries, reregister with

embassies, and cross legally. in my view, what we need is a system where individuals pay a fine, registered. we want to know who they are and increase that capacity. we want them to learn english, have paid their taxes, perhaps pay a sanction in addition. as a fine for breaking the law. >> if the system is finally arrived at, would you search to ask whether they want to be citizens? there is a significant number who is not -- could not want to be citizens. they want a job. they want to be able to support their families. would you ask them whether or

not they want citizenship? >> that is something that is part of the dialogue we need to have with the congress. from an enforcement perspective, in my judgment, the goal is to have some mechanism by which those illegally in the country are required to come out of the shadows to register, to give us their biometrics, and to have a clean criminal and tax record, to pay a pop -- fine for breaking laws. i could see different paths taken by those which -- who wish to simply remain versus those who seek citizenship. that is something that the congress needs to debate. >> you have been governor of arizona and you have seen the

recent legislation that the current governor has signed. as i view that legislation, it says that they have to have a reasonable reason to detain anybody. not only that, it should not be based upon ethnicity or gender. what is your opinion concerning the law there in arizona and what would you like to see done about it? >> kallaugher is not take effect until 90 days after the close of the legislative session. -- that law does not take effect until 90 days after the close of the legislative session. under the laws governing pre-

emption. that is the first thing that needs to be done. is it constitutional or not? >> do you want to enter your personal opinion on whether it is or is not? >> not at this hearing, sir. >> ok. it is my understanding that $761 million has been offered for this program. the virtual fence was such a failure that it no longer deserved continued funding. the program's failure is that the taxpayers' expense. has yielded any benefit to the taxpayer? >> there are too -- two blocks

that are at the phase of operational testing. i am told that that initial testing now looks promising. i have had, however, for the amount of money spent and given alternative technologies that are almost off-the-shelf available, i have really put this thing a serious analysis as to whether we should build out the rest of it or whether those technology dollars should be deployed for other kinds of technologies. >> when combined with the pedestrian fence, how effective our functional portions of the virtual fence in stopping the flow of illegal immigrants from entering the united states? do you think we should build

more reinforced physical fencing? >> you mean like double, triple fencing? i have asked the cbp to look at that very question. they have promised to give back to me soon with their look at that. >> thank you, madame secretary. i appreciate your testimony here today. >> thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. chairman for this very important hearing. thank you, madame secretary. i am going to turn to minnesota for a second. four years ago, they carried out actions in meatpacking plant in minnesota and in five other states. one second grader in worthington, minn., came home

that night to find his two-year old brother alone and his mother and father missing. for the next week, the boy, a u.s. citizen, stayed at home caring for his brother while his grandmother traveled to worthington by bus to care for them. current guidelines allow state social service agencies to interview new detainees to help identify if there are abandoned children. this is important because many detainees are afraid to tell officials that they have children at home, afraid that they might be detained as well. these guidelines only cover enforcement at work sites and targets 25 or more individuals.

do you have any plans of expanding these guidelines to other smaller enforcement actions? >> let me check with you, but i believe that that is the principle on which we act, to make sure that any child -- as you know, we have changed how we do worksite enforcement. that will probably be the subject of some other questions. we it changed how we do enforcement actions. >> but that has not occurred formally, has it? >> let me see if it has. >> get back to me on that. as mentioned, your state of arizona passed a new law requiring law enforcement officers -- no matter what their

status will be checked. you've spoken about the constitutionality -- i want to ask you a separate question. can you tell me what impact you think this will have on the relationship between a law enforcement and the communities that they serve? >> nd, senator. let me be very clear. -- indeed, senator. let me be very clear. the constitutional analysis is a separate analysis about whether the law is misguided or not. the constitutional allow it -- analysis is being done at the justice department. i think these kinds of laws are not valued added to law enforcement. there is a reason why most law

enforcement groups oppose them. your question relates to one of those reasons. the onto barrier it puts between a crime victim's -- crime victims and law enforcement. constitutional or not, there are some real law enforcement reasons why laws like that or misguided. >> thank you. i notice in both your written testimony and your testimony here today, you are using more k-9 teams along the border to detect both currency and weapons. when i was at the minneapolis st. paul airport a couple of months ago, it was actually not

long after the christmas incident, the issue in the public discussion was these full body scanners. i talked to the director of the airport to there and passed it dogs might be more effective in detecting explosives. the director of the airport said that, in fact, he is very excited about the fact that they were getting some dogs. he was very happy before the reason that i had indicated. could you speak for a moment to the effectiveness of dogs in homeland security, both at airports and along borders and whether we are going to scaling up their use? >> senator, i love dogs. dogs can be trained to sniff

narcotics, cash, arms, explosives. in airports and ports of entry along the land. the president's budget and our internal deployment of resources is increasing the number of dogs as fast as we can. >> good. you mentioned human trafficking. a recent article found that many undocumented victims of trafficking are being deported before they are screened for trafficking. i find this disturbing. these people are victims of horrible crimes. we're not even taking the time to figure that out. to prosecute people that traffic them. how are you making sure that

potential trafficking victims are identified before undocumented individuals are deported? overall, how does the department of homeland security promote cooperation between the fbi, the doj, and the community organizations to build trust and promote successful prosecutions of human traffickers? >> we have embarked on a very significant anti human trafficking campaign. a signal part of it is training law enforcement and providing law enforcement trading -- training on how to distinguish or detect the symptoms of trafficking, find the victims, and deal with victims. i just taped part of a law enforcement training video this week that will be used -- danny more -- demi moore will also be

in the video. >that is part of our program. that program will be offered also where we track -- train federal law enforcement officers. they will be being trained on some of these issues about human trafficking. we're going to embark over the course of the year on a public campaign on how to tell the difference. also, how human trafficking victims can get access to law enforcement. t thank you, madame secretary. mr. chairman, to live. >> welcome, madam secretary. let me just begin -- i want to focus on the southwest border. i thought senator feinstein made an important point earlier when she noted that over the last five years, we have devoted a significant amount of resources

to try to control the border and enforce the law. yet, that progress seems to be on even. we've made significant progress over all. part of that is due to deep recession. we get back to a need for more employment, what will happen? everybody is concerned about that. i suggest that the employment of the various things that you have mentioned here do work. the question is, have we done enough of it yet? i think we know what works and what i would like to do is focus on the three key elements of what i think works. it is a combination of things. it is having adequate resources, some degree of fencing, and attention of violators operations streamline. i think we can conclude this by a tale of two sectors. the tucson sector is larger by

some number of miles. they both have proximity to interstate highways. one of them has the in this sector -- they have reduced illegal immigration to virtually nothing. the tucson sector represents about half of all of the illegal immigration in the entire united states. there are some concern that because they are sure to other sectors, some of them might be transferred. i hope that you can commit that they will not be. now that we have it under control, we will keep it that way. operation streamline, over the course of time, meant that anybody that crosses the border will go to jail. a fair number, at least 15%, are

criminals. for those who want work, they cannot make money, they are in jail. they tend not to want to cross at those areas where they will go to jail. that is exactly what they know will happen. the combination of those three things has worked to bring immigration down from 118,000 apprehensions to 5000. tremendous progress. in the tucson sector, we still have about 241,000 apprehensions a share. that is down from what used to be, but far too many. i know that your agents would like to replace the old fencing that they can see through because it is dangerous for them right now. we need additional personnel and

the operation stream line is virtually nonexistent in the tucson sector. madam secretary, you are right that resources are a key issue. they are a matter of court resources. judges, clerks, u.s. marshals, and so on. senator sessions was right. it is not just a matter of resources, but of our will to make it work. we have requested details what would be necessary in the way of resources. i've got three basic questions here. in the 2011 budget, there was going to be a cut of 187. you have been since ask them to amend that so that there will be no cut.

but no increase either. in the two dozen 10 conference report, there is a requirement that the no. border increased the number of agents. how can you increase the number on the northern border, keep the number on the southern border the same with a budget that does not increase any agents? >> going to your list of three, i would add a fourth. that is technology. >> by fencing, i include technology in that with all of the cameras, the sensors, the radars. >> there is the mobile system. they're somewhat different. the answer is, and we can provide your staff at the briefing that is set for next week, is moving people who are

in non on the line positions to on the line positions. it is in reducing travel costs, so that we can deploy those costs to personnel. it is in looking at how we move folks around. let me just suggest, however, it is very difficult in the end when there are mandates that we have to have x here and why hery here. >> d.h. as help to write the law that requires the additional troops on the northern border. i think we need our border patrol. congress will provide them if you ask for them. the budget has enough fencing for 1 mile of physical fence. that is inadequate. isn't it?

>> didn't close the budget to complete what congress had originally before it. we can and should look at what other areas could require fence, but i also think that we should be looking at what areas need new kind of fence. >> of course. you testified that there would at least be 30 miles of fencing yet to be concluded under the original congressional intent. >> the original congressional intent was to match up with the dhs operational plan, which was 700 miles. fencing has gone in with other technology. the 700 miles has become 653.3 we are just about at that number. >> we know we need more fencing in the tucson sector. let me mention -- the whole

point here -- our policy should be to expand it. we have asked you to tell us what resources are necessary. please do that. if you do, i suspect that congress will provide that. until that is done, we will have numbers like we have in the tucson sector. we are not doing everything that we could do to stem illegal immigration. >> i appreciate that. as you know, streamline is an important and part of a tool box of things that need to be done. i am not sure that i would equate stream line with the arizona law. i think there are a lot of reasons for that. i will certainly get with the attorney general to report back to you. >> just to recap -- senator

schumer will be next. after that, senator grassley has the right. if he is not available, senator gramm. >> thank you. i want to thank you, mr. chairman. you've done an excellent job so far. x -- as usual. i want to thank you, secretary the peloton no -- secretary janet napolitano. my first question relates to something that is bothering me. that is the securing the city's program. securing the cities is a federally funded effort to protect new york city from the threat of a makeshift nuclear

device. every time new yorkers hear about the threat of a potential terrorist attack, it sends chills down our spines. everyone remembers 9/11. i think about the guy who played bass at -- who i played basketball with two died. or a firefighter who lived in my neighborhood. this is really important. new york has taken extraordinary efforts on its own. to make sure that we are never attacked again. that is mostly a federal responsibility, but one of the things that we have done is set up this securing the city's program. it provides new yorkers with the reassurance that their government is working hard to protect them from eight radiological or dirty bomb. it uses the available technology at all the bridges and tunnels and major highways to prevent the for bring brought into the country.

it is expensive. we already shoulder far too much, and on fair amount of the burden. for instance, i live in brooklyn. we have to station police officers 24/7 on the brooklyn bridge. it is mentioned as a target for terrorist attacks. i was truly upset win, for the second year in a row, the president eliminated funding for the securing the cities in his fiscal 11 budget. it would be a tragedy. the program has reached a critical operational stage. new york police department is -- has developed a program and completed eight substantial amount of work toward putting in place the radiological defense of rang. -- defensive rang. without continued investment,

this work will go down the drain. this is obviously important. i did not understand why omb zeroed this out. i recently requested $30 million in appropriations for it. i would like to get your support for this program. it your head of homeland security. new york is the number-one target. we have to plan. this year to year existence does not allow long-term planning. it does not allow investing in things that cost more in the second year that in the third year. i thought we had been through this fight last year. it took a lot of work. what is going on here? what can we do to get the program restored? can we have your support? >> yes, senator. if i could get myself into the head of omb.

i believe their reasoning is because there had been $50 million appropriated in fyi nine and 30 -- fy09. >> i had long talks with peter roraback. when you do -- the money is all accounted for. you cannot say that you have to get it down to zero before you get more money as your negotiating contracts and figuring out what to do with it. that is the stupidity of what they are saying. they know that is not good budgeting. they know that you should not let something go to zero and then start all over again. >> i will be happy to really engage with omb on this. there is another point that your question has ended that is very

important for the department as a whole. that is being able to look at how grants are down -- down in a way that is your to your to your. really look at them structurally in terms of how cities and states really operate. that is something that i have asked our folks to begin to look at. the current methodology may not be the best kind of methodology, but i will be happy to read engage omb. >> can you help us? >> i will be happy to read engage omb. >> i consider that good enough to say you will help us. so thank you. i am not asking you to do it publicly, although i just did. >> what else do you need? >> i have a few other items here. northern border strategy.

my friend was talking about the southern border. we're sitting on the northern border. we think that the southern border is getting most of the resources and attention. i understand the problem of drug across the southern border israel. the numbers for canada are going way up. -- southern border as well. the numbers for canada are going up. i do not remember the numbers. we have set up the high intensity drug trafficking areas and we have several counties in upstate new york better part of this. what do you think of the program? what can we do to further prevent drugs on the northern border?

>> i would add methamphetamine to that. i used to be chair of the arizona program. i believe that it can be effective -- and effective way of leveraging resources and leveraging money. the answer is, what do i think of -- i think they are very effective. >> there is a cut. >> let me take a look at it. >> thank you very much, madame secretary. one thing i wanted to say and then i want to read a statement about a bill i have introduced and not ask you to comment on my statements. i just came back from the spring break with 24 town meetings and one of the strong messages that

came through was people irritated, they feel that the immigration laws are not being adequately enforced. i want to bring that message back to you. the second point i would make in regard to the christmas day bomber, it highlighted the need to review our be set -- visa policies. you have the authority to revoke a visa to any individual who is a threat to this country. if a foreign national makes it to our u.s. soil, there is concern about that person assessing -- accessing our court system and challenging revocation. i introduced a bill that would treat revocation said similar to denial's because the right of that person to be in the united states would no longer be valid. my bill applies to the same

standard for a individual on u.s. soil should not have been granted a visa. the christmas day bomber reminded us that despite our best efforts, for a terrorist can obtain a visa. given this vulnerability, i hope that you would look at and view judicial review for revocations for known terrorist on u.s. soil that they should not have been here in the first place. they should not have access to our courts. to change the law if it is needed and you cannot do it on your own, the revocations would not be reviewable in the court and that people who wish to be -- wish to harm americans could be deported immediately. >> i would like to offer to give

you and your staff the most current numbers on immigration enforcement. i think there is a difference between perception and reality. enforcement's numbers have never been more robust in terms of our nation's immigration laws. i think that would be helpful when you have town meetings to actually provide the actual numbers. i would be happy to look at your proposed legislation. >> thank you. i am grateful that there has been a lot more attention to the problems of visa programs. i applaud your program for working to eliminate abuses by employers. our success in highlighting the problem has led some to seek other avenues to remain in the united states. i see companies now resorting to a program that allows workers from one company to work in their branches and affiliates in

the united states. it is understandable why companies would go around this and use this program. there is no annual numerical limits, if your obligations, and much fewer protections for american workers. the inspector general found problems in 2006 with the l-visa program. dhh agents would agree with the inspector general. i give you a few examples. one case showed that an individual petition for himself came in on the program and created a program that did not exist and thanks to a visit, he was obviously not doing business at the claimed address. a petitioner never worked at the foreign affiliate, forged documents, the office he claimed to be working in in the united states never existed. another case showed that

managerial experience, what required, was not a prerequisite for visa issuance. i am pretty sure that people would not qualify for a -- pizza would not qualify for a l- visa. they're working on a report on the abuse. could you tell me if that has been finished? can you share that information with me? let me stop there. >> can i do not know the answers to those questions. i will get that to you. i will say that the director and his group have really been working on making sure those visa programs are really run well and that we're really looking at the whole issue of

fraud. i would also say that on the visa that you mentioned earlier, but the number of applications is down substantially this share. that allows us to focus more on making sure that these programs are scrupulously run. >> i think you just answered the other two questions. the extent to which i say there are problems, i describe the problems, you might disagree. if you would agree with me that there are problems, would you consider administrative action to fix the program? >> yes. the report was 2006 and we often have this issue where there reports -- changes we have already made are in advance of when the reports come out. there is a disconnect. let me commit that we will look

at that and get back to u.s. and as possible. >> ok. i have several questions on e- verify. i recently sent a letter about my concern is that economic stimulus dollars were going to foreign companies. the purpose of the recovery act was to stimulate the u.s. economy and bolster our employment. we should also be making sure that recipients of these dollars are hiring workers that are legally authorized to work within the united states. the executive order requires a contractor used e-verify. could you confirm that recipients of stimulus dollars are using the system? >> yes. i can confirm that the number of companies using the program is growing by great multiples every

week. the accuracy of the system itself is much better than when it was originally started. a lot of the reports of air raids and the like are in fact erroneous. -- error rates, and the like, are in fact erroneous. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. secretary, is a pleasure to have before the committee. thank you for your service on this very important area of our homeland security. i want to go into cyber security. we had a very interesting hearing in which we heard from the government witnesses and private sector witnesses in

regards to cyber attacks. we all know about the criminal element that are using cyber attacks to steal money from people of this nation. there is more money stolen from banks through cyber that then there was during the bank robbery days. we also know that there are cyber terrorist out there. they want to compromise our country in many different ways. if they could disrupt our air traffic for just a short period of time, bringing our cyber down for a few days would have -- or getting into our banking system or getting into our utility grid. we also know that there are foreign states that are trying to attack our country through cyber. this is of an interest to the department of defense on national-security issues. all of this is involved.

are hearing showed that there has been a longtime neglect of the coordinated efforts between all the agencies of government and that we are not as safe as we need to be. we do have the best technology in the world, but we still are vulnerable. the number used at that time is that we only stop about 80% of the attacks on cyber issues. with the development of a cyber person in deep white hat -- in the white house, with the president moving forward with a cyber command, can you tell us how your role in your department will be in the cyber security issue? this is not just a military issue. this is an issue that affects our homeland security. i am interested as to what type of priority this has on your agenda. i am interested in what you are doing in relationship to what the president has announced for

a cyber head in the white house. >> yes, senator. first of all, it in our homeland security review, which was the first ever 48 yes, we actually identified -- dhs. we identified the area as one of our five areas. we did so because of the things that you laid out. within our department, it is primarily located in nppd. we view ourselves in the president's review puts us as primarily responsible for the civilian side of government in terms of protection and the intersection with the private sector, which is where 85 percent side of the critical infrastructure of the country is. we have lined up there.

the secret service has a very effective and longstanding cyber crimes and cyber forensic capacity within the secret service. that remains there. virtually, everything else is within the nppd. >> i urge you to give this the highest priority. we have the technology to do a lot better than we are doing today. we just need to make sure that we have a common objective on cyber security. you're absolutely correct. the private sector vulnerability is clear. government is in better shape, but we're still vulnerable. we're vulnerable to what happens in the private sector. this is all very much and to relate to. i want to go back to one of the principal recommendations of the 9/11 commission. this has yet to be implemented.

the 9/11 commission concluded that choice between security and liberty is a false choice. it recommended that the privacy and civil liberties oversight board be reconstituted to ensure that liberty concerns are appropriately considered in the implementation of laws, regulations and executive-branch policies related to efforts to protect the nation against terrorism. i have been in the senate long enough to know that when we deal with the tools necessary that agencies need to protect us against terrorist attacks, we still have a fight going on here. it has been difficult for us to move legislation because of the concern as to whether these tools will be used properly and whether civil liberties to be protected. having this put in place would help us with dealing with legitimate concerns raised by the civil liberties issues so

that we do not have this continuous fight every time we try to extend a sunset provision or to deal with this issue generally. the administration has requested $2 million for salaries and expenses. however, which not have the nominees for the board. can you update us as to the status of reconstitution of this board that was recommended by the 9/11 commission? >> senator, that is probably a question better directed at the white house. it is a false dichotomy between security and civil liberties. we build privacy and privacy protections into the outset as to how we're looking at technologies. we have suggested to the white house some appropriate names for possible nominations. but i think the actual status of the nominees should be directed at the white house. >> i am understand that the responsibility is with the white house to make these appointments.

i know that you have the opportunity to weigh in on this. i would just urge you that if you want our cooperation on budget support, it is a lot easier if we have nominees to consider. it may take some time for that process to go forward. i would urge you to use your position and voice within the cabinet to get this issue moving forward. >> indeed. >> to it, mr. chairman. madam secretary, welcome. you have one of the toughest jobs in america. i would argue that there is no more challenging issue facing america that immigration reform. >> i would say it is among one of the top issues. >> having been involved in trying to find a solution in the past, i can assure you that it is difficult politics. here is where i come down this issue. i think 70% of americans are in

the camp that illegal immigrants need to be fairly and firmly dealt with and fairly and firmly does not mean mass arrest. do believe that we can put 12 million people in jail? >> no. >> nor do i. i don't think that is the required solution. do you believe that we're going to deport 12 million people? >> no. >> i do not believe that will happen either. all of us look the other way as long as the labor needs are being met. after 9/11, a legal immigration takes on a different flavor. it is not about people helping our economy. it is about broken systems that could lead to attacks on the country. isn't it true that all of the hijackers overstated their

visas? one hijacker had up to 18 or 19 multiple driver's license that were fake. >> i would have to double check. >> i know i am right down that way. >just go along with me for a little while. the point of the matter is that there are two problems in america. and unsecured southern border and a visa system that is completely broken. did you agree with me that the worst thing we do agree with me that the worst thing that we could do is bring immigration reform and that it crash and burn completely? >> as you and i have discussed, the administration looks forward into taking immigration comprehensively and dealing with the issues, the enforcement

issues. >> i look forward to it. do we have 60 votes to bring up comprehensive immigration reform between now and november? are there 60 united states senators ready to deal with this issue between now and november? >> senator, i am not going to presume to put myself of counting -- >> we need to know because it is important. somebody needs to talk to republicans. some of these people voted no in 2007. i am not saying they were wrong to vote no. i am saying that the 2007 bill would not pass. you agree with that? >> as you state the question, i would give you a tentative yes. >> i would bet everything i own that the answer is that this

2007 bill would not pass. >> i will bet you everything i own that congress needs to take immigration reform because it is not going to go away. >> i bet you everything i own -- immigration is absolutely devastating to the future of this issue. the southern border is not secure. there is a war in mexico that is bleeding over into america. the mayor has moved out of his city and is living in the united states. most americans things will have lost our minds if we move forward without securing the border. the biggest change between 2007 and now is that there is a war in mexico threatening the mexican government that also

threatens people who live along the border. your state of arizona is made up of a lot of good people. look what good people will do when they are under siege. what happened in arizona is a good people are so afraid of an out of control border did they had to resort to a law that i think it is unconstitutional. it does not represent the best way forward. it is impossible for me and any other serious democrat to get this body to move forward until we prove to the american people that we can secure our borders. we have a long way to go. once we get there, comprehensive reform should come up, will come up, and i believe we can do it by 2012. if we're smart and we address

the big elephant in the room and that is that our borders are broken and there is a war going on that will affect the future of this issue until we get that salt. >> their response to that? >> please. -- may i respond to that? >> please. i have walked that a border. i have driven that border. i know that border as well as anyone. >> do you think it is secure? >> it is as secure it now as it has ever been. every marker, every mile post that has been laid down by the congress in terms of number of agents, deployment of technology, construction of fencing, has already been completed or is within a hairsbreadth of being completed. one