first asian-american to hold a presidential cabinet post. not only did he pierce through glass ceilings he dedicated much of his energies building the infrastructure needed for asian americans and pacific islanders to grow to what it is today. norm had a hand in strengthening so many of our key national organizations. these span from policy advocacy, coalitions like national council of asian-pacific americans, to voter engagement organizations like apia vote and organizations that develop the future leaders of our community, such as the asian-american pacific institute for american studies to the -- kpac is a caucus representing the interests of underserved asian americans and pacific islanders.

i'm proud to honor normmy net ta today through thisres. -- norm mineta today through this resolution. before i introduce congresswoman chu, i'd like to have a couple of personal notes, norm mineta had a great impact, as i said, on our communities and the way he's done that is through his delicate diplomacy in the area of san jose where ethnic groups are growing in political activity, oftentimes our communities would be in conflict with the police department. . and he has always shown us the way to resolution. and we can seek ways to make things happen in a positive way. that's one of the most important

things that norm has left many of us to pursue here today in congress, to seek partnerships across the aisle and with each other on issues of great importance of this country. i want to say to norm, as a fee friend, as a mentee, thanks for the patience and mentoring you have done. at times it was on purpose and it times it was just because that's the way you are. i would like to turn the microphone over to my colleague, congresswoman judy chu. ms. chu: thank you for convening this special order. i stand proud with chairman honda to commemorate the month of asian pacific american heritage month. it's been an honor and a

privilege to be a representative and work on behalf of asian americans and all americans on such critical issues affecting our nation like economic recovery, immigration and of course, the passage of health care reform. asian americans have been here in this country for 160 years, it was not until 1992 when the designation of may as asian pacific american heftage month was signed into law. it was because of leaders like secretary mineta, then a congresswoman and senators who introduced legislation. they designated this month of may the very month when japanese immigrants first set foot on u.s. soil and chinese immigrants worked tirelessly to work to complete the transcontinental railroad in this country. asian americans have not been at

the able where important decisions were being made. this is despite the fact that we were here for 160 years and yet, we were nearly invisible in state and federal government. but in recent years, we have broken the glass ceiling and ushered in an era of change. asian americans are at a historic high in leadership positions in so many different arenas, in politics, law firms and judicial arena. in home state of california, not only do we have three asian americans who are statewide elected elected officers, we have 11 in the state legislature. on the federal level, out of president obama's 19 cabinet members, three are asian americans, recently, four federal judges were appointed.

it is the greatest number of asian pacific islanders in state and federal office in history. and we have all stood on the shoulders of asian american leaders like former secretary, who was a leader and role model ahead of his time. it was because of secretary mineta that the invaluable contributions of asian americans were recognized this month. it was secretary mineta who spearheaded the long push to get final passage of the japanese americans republic arrations bill because his family along with other japanese americans were intered for two years during world war ii and it was secretary mineta who co-founded and once co-chaired the congressional asian pacific american caucus so today, our

caucus which is great in number, have a unified voice and advocate for issues that are unique to the asian american community. we feel so strongly about introducing legislation to honor the legacy of norman mineta who made history and still is an inspiration to many. we hope that our house colleagues will join us in honoring this veteran, public servant and great american. secretary mineta, we pay whomage to all of your service to asian americans. you are a pioneer, a visionary and leader who embodied the true meaning of service. of course, we still have much work to do. we must continue to advocate for greater diversity at all levels where important decisions are being made. and here in the halls of congress, we have seen what diverse coalitions are capable of accomplishing when we work together to advance our issues.

when the congressional asian, black and hispanic caucuses unite as one, we are no longer a minority, but a majority that can advocate for all americans. as the united coalition, we can make a difference on problems that impact us today. for instance, we can reform our broken immigration system, which has kept families apart for far too long. today, 12 million pele live in the shadows with no hope or path to legalization. today, people who are value dick torians are prevented from completing a college education. states like arizona can pass laws that are discriminatory, anti-immigrant and frankly un-americans when they want to be contributing citizens and provide for family and loved

ones. we know immigrants are indispensible to our nation's economy. in california alone, businesses owned by latinos and asians make up one quarter of all businesses and contribute $183 billion to the state. and that's accord toing the 2000 census figures, which is undercounted by now. we can foster the strength of minority-owned businesses. they still face great obstacles in getting lending and access to exabble. when minority-owned firms do receive financing, it is for less money and higher interest rate than nonminority-owned firms regardless of the size of the firm. despite the fact that asian pacific islanders are 5% of the u.s. population, they only account for 1.9% of total federal contracting dollars,

which was worth $535 billion. a.t.i. and other minority-owned businesses face discrimination in the federal government. leaving these businesses very little opportunity to compete for contracts. and this must change. and we can make sure that we are counted in the census so that the particular needs of the minority populations can be addressed. today, we still do not have the proper and disaggregated data to sufficiently address the specific needs of the a.p.i. and minority community. segments of our community continue to suffer from a model minority myth and those inner population with the greatest needs continue to go underserved and today we have problems with language accessibility and cultural sensitivity in the current census even though the language capability is out there

to assist in a very, very accurate census. these things, of course, have to change. i truly believe when the leadership of this country begins to look like the people who live in it, our country will replect the issues and concerns of all its people and we will see the change that we desire. as i reflect upon the journey and struggles of asian americans in this country, i'm reminded when i was sworn in. i thought about the fact that my grandfather came to this country with nothing and faced the hostile laws at the time, the chinese solution act which prohibited him from becoming a nationalized citizen and from owning land and from being hired in any corporation. but he decided to make something of his life anyway and worked night and day to make ends meet and now, two generations later, his granddaughter can be a

member of congress. that is what america is all about, the land of hopes, dreams and opportunity. thank you, mr. chair. and i yield back the balance of my time. mr. honda: thank you congresswoman judy chu. i just want to thank you very much for initiating the resolution honoring norm mineta. but i want to make it very clear to the audience and to norm that we're doing this not in anticipation of your demise. sounds like almost a memorial, but it is to acknowledge you and you're around to appreciate it. and we want to let you know that we appreciate all the work you have done. and so that is our way of doing

it. and i want to acknowledge judy for doing that. in terms of growth, the a.p.i. community is expanding. 16.6 million a.p.i.'s are living in the united states. there are approximately 45 distinct ethnic groups within our populations speaking various dialects, one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the united states. by 2050, the asian pacific islander community as it exists is expected to double and reach 40.6 million or 9% of our population. my own state of california has the largest asian population of 5.1 million. states of new york and texas followed by 5.1 million and close to one million in texas. the populations go in states beyond the hubs of new york and california. we are seeing growth in other areas such as virginia, nevada,

minnesota, louisiana, texas, pennsylvania and florida. i ask you to learn more about the a.p.i. populations in their district and become a member of this caucus. the stereotypes and lack of data around our community, there is astero types that all asians are healthy and wise. our community is extremely diverse in our languages, ethnicities, income, educational, payment, language exabtse capabilities. stereotypes make it difficult to understand the unique problems faced by individual communities and subgroups. data that is disaggregated is hard to come by, but critical to the understanding of where we must direct federal attention. as a country, we need to adjust the needs of the a.p.i. community and when we discuss

comprehensive immigration reform, health care, economic recovery and education. we are bearl visible in corporate america and must portray in our mainstream media. as our community expands, we must continue to educate our fellow citizens about the uniqueness about our experiences and so the whole concept of disaggregation of our data is critical to making sure that we target accurately the needs of our community. despite the daunting challenges we face, this is a time of great optimism and hope for the asian pacific american island communities. president obama and the administration and new members of congress are evidence of that. we are making this month, within close ties to asia.

president obama grew up in hawaii and indonesia. his sister is half indonesian and his brother law is canadian and has maintained close ties throughout his life. president obama has a deep understanding of our community and many milestones celebrated may be attributed to his commitment to our community. he has made significant outreach efforts to re-establishment of the white house initiative on asian pacific american islanders to coordinate multiagency efforts to ensure data collection and access to services for these communities. the president's cabinet includes three asian americans, as was mentioned by congresswoman chu. the energy secretary, the leader of the liver more labs in berkley. well suited for the job, well

trained. commerce secretary, governor gary locke of seattle, washington. and veterans affair secretary general eric shin secretariee, a man -- shinseke, and has earned awards and the president has nominated asian americans at all levels of the federal bench. . we are lacking much in the denew mexico nation of these folks are appreciated because it says a couple of things. one we need to be there on the bench, two, we have capable jurists that can administer and conduct a courthouse for the very mue -- from the municipal

courts to the highest, the supreme court. the ranks of asian american and pacific islander members of congress increased this term. kpac's newest member, representative chu from california's 32nd district. representative cao has the distinction of being the first vietnamese american elected to congress he also makes our caucus bipartisan, coming from the republican party. on top of that, our caucus is bicameral with representation from senators akaka and hi no, ia. -- hiroono. representative chu is the first chinese american woman elected

to congress. representative cao and chu are members of kpac's board. our newest members are joseph draw lee of new york, representative conyers of michigan tsms a testament to our evolving nation to have people coming from beyond our shores. at this time, i would like to share the microphone and podium with a gentleman who's been here in excess of 25 years, probably 30 years he claims that all the sumo champions of japan that are over 6'5" are his cousins. i don't deny that and i think his service to this country representing the island and american samoa has been long and distinguished.

he's articulate, an advocate for asian-american issues and through kpac, i believe he has a platform of bringing the issues of asian pacific islanders in that area to the public's aand to the last battle for comprehensive health reform, he has been an outspoken lead for the making sure that territories such as the virgin islands, samoa, guam, marianas, have a greater respect and attention paid to them so it gives me great pleasure to ask my colleague, the congressman from american samoa, eni faleomavaega. aloha. mr. faleomavaega: how much time do i have left?

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california has 37 minutes remaining. mr. faleomavaega: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i am very respectful of my dear friend here. mr. speaker, i thank my fellow members of congress who join us today in honoring asian pacific heritage month. i want to thank the gentleman from california, my dear colleague mr. honda, as -- for his leadership of the asian -pacific american caucus and for allowing members of this institution to pay tribute and recognize the contributions of the asian-pacific american community to our nation. founded in 1994 by then-congressman and my friend and 230r78er colleague congressman mineta, this caucus has been a strong advocate of the asian-pacific american community on critical issues such as housing, health care,

immigration, civil rights, economic development, education, just to name a few. so it is fitting that we are gathered here today to advocate. as advocates of our community to acknowledge the wide-ranging contributions that asian-pacific americans have made in the history of our great nation. it's been 18 years now that congress has given authorization that our nation pay special tribute in the month of may to the contributions of our asian-pacific american community. i will try to elaborate on the achievements and successes of these americans to highlight our rich legacy and diversity but more importantly to demonstrate that the greatness of our nation lies in diversity and the ability to accept people from all over the world as they pledge themselves to become fellow citizens of this great nation. americans of asian-pacific descent, over 16 million of us, make up about 8% or 9% of the

nation's population. in recent years, the asian-pacific american population has more than doubled and there are predictions -- it is now considered the most active and most rapid-growing group in our country. time will not permit to share with you the names and contributions of many of our prominent asian-pacific american leaders in the areas of law, business, finance, too many po to the mention. one only needs to read today's newspapers to know that asian-pacific american students both in secondary schools and universities are among the brightest minds our nation offers to the world. i fully expect that these students, now and in the future, will contribute their talents and expertise to solve major issues and problems confronting the nation and the world. many of our prominent business leaders and entrepreneurs of

asian-pacific descent, for example, of the popular brands and icons we know today were created from the brilliant minds of asian-pacific americans. it's currently headed by founder amar bose, steve chen, an asian american with a popular video-sharing website, vera wang, a chinese-american fashion model established herself as a model. she created one of the most fashionable clothing lines. asian-american -- asian-pacific americans have come to the forefront. of the five who competed on

team u.s.a. in the winter olympics. julie chu who helped lead the women's ice hockey team to a silver medal. she's the first asian-american to play for the women's ice hockey team. she was team captain at harvard university where she was the all-time ncaa leading scorer for women's ice hockey. and the first asian-pacific american to win the gold for the must 1912 games he went on to win two more golds and two silver medals for the united states.

he was inducted to the swimming hall of fame and the surfing hall of fame. other prominent olympians include kevin chen selected as captain of the u.s. men's gymnastics, high diver greg louganis, who won three gold medals in the 1980's. a high diver by the name of sammy lee, the first korean american to win the gold medal for the united states in the 1948 games. four years after his historic feat, dr. lee also won the second gold medal at age 32, becoming the oldest person to win the gold medal in diving and the first diver ever to win back-to-back gold medals. very interesting story about sandly lee -- sandy lee, at that time the u.s. diving team for the olympics would not allow dr. sandy lee to practice with him because he was a

korean american. he had to be somewhat innovative and creative, diving off cliffs and just try to get himself through practice to prepare for olympics. despite the difficulties he was confronted with he won the gold medals for uncle sam. i remember years ago, when i attended the 1988 olympics in korea, i ran into dr. lee and asked him why this samoan american gregg louganis was so good in high diving? he said look at his legs. he has strong legs because of the strength he gets from his legs he is able to jump higher than other divers to do more difficult tricks. i said that's an interesting thing to know. i've also mentioned that maybe of -- many of our young asian-pacific americans in the nfl. today, the 2010 nfl draft,

there were seven young men. four samoans, one hawaiian, they were selected to seven different teams across the nation. sometimes, mr. speaker, i usually have to give a lesson in geography. but when i say troy polamalu, they say, those guys. they're asian pacific americans. asian pacific americans excel in rugby. the world's most famous rugby players are of samoan descent. lie michael jones. also note, the history of discrimination in the time of

apartheid, when the south african team found out that maybe a samoan was included in the all blacks team, they refused to play them they didn't want to associate with the polynesians. we must also mention that the gentleman had alluded to earlier, asian-pacific americans also excelled in the sport of sumo. i can only mention that the gentleman who started it was a native hawaiian jamed jessie, who trained a samoan whose name became kiniski who weighed only 570 pounds after they trained him, he was able to bench 600

pounds. then we have native hawaiian chad bowen, 6'8" and weighed 500 pounds. another samoan sumo wrestler, yokozuma. mr. speaker, i want t.d. to mention in terms of the achievements of theseation pacific americans, in the field of martial art the late chi meeze american kung fu martial arts bruce lee captivated the movie audiences all over the world by destroying the common stereotype of the passive, quiet, asian pacific american male. the tradition continues today with jackie chan and jet li. mr. speaker, recently, i had the privilege of visiting with a congressional -- presenting

the congressional horizon awart to someone else of interesting making, the gentleman by the name of duane johnson, commonly known as the rock. he was featured in movies like "the corp.on king," "gridiron cage," "race to witch mountain" and was recently in the comedy fantasy film "tooth fairy." the unique thing about him is his father is part african-american, european and native american. his mother is pure samoan. now just about every samoan alive claims to be related to the rk, including myself. recently, i was able to present the horizon award to duane johnson for his contributions in volunteer work in enriching the lives of children worldwide. he's made numerous contributions especially to terminally ill children.

i think i may have been mentioned. they appointed dr. stephen chu to be secretary of energy. he has earned accolades and achievements throughout the world. most notably he won a nobel prize for his work in physics by developing methods to cool and trap atams in laser light. i don't know what that means, mr. speaker, but it must have been something very important. . concerning global warming, secretary chu has been a leading advocate for the research of finding alternatives sources of energy and straying away our dependence on fossil fuels. he is the first person ever

appointed to a presidential cabinet after reiving a nobel prize. another member, secretary of veterans affairs, former general eric shinseke, a graduate of west point and decorated veteran who fought in two tours of vietnam. wound frd his last tour in vietnam understands from personal experience the plight of veterans and the support those veterans and their families really need. he is the only japanese american and asian american to be promoted to the army's top position as chief of staff of the army. first four-star general of asian desent in the history of our our military. i can remember when he was asked how many soldiers would it take to take control of iraq and strictly from the purely professional opinion as a sold

year, not as a politician, he said something in the order of several hundred,000 soldiers. he was severely criticized by authorities, namely secretary rumsfeld and department secretary wolfowitz and saying this is outrageous and not true and guess what? everything that the general has said was absolutely true. and what did we do? we operated the war in iraq on the cheap. and that's the reason we ended up having to spend seven or eight years there because of mismanagement and not even taking more serious advice from people who know what it means to be in war. another cabinet member in the obama administration has exemplified hard work is former governor of the state of washington, my good friend gary

locke. he grew up in public housing, put himself through yale university with loans and scholarships and the money he earned working part-time jobs. after earnings his law degree, he broke many glass ceilings. in 1993, he was the first chinese american elected to to county executive in the city of seattle and he served two terms as governor of the state of washington. as a vietnam veteran, mr. speaker, i would be remiss if i do not say something to honor and respect the hundreds of thousands of asian-pacific americans who serve then ap a now in the armed services of our nation. as a former member, known today as the 100 battalion, i would be remiss if i did not share with you the contributions of the tens of thousands of

japanese-american soldiers who volunteered to fight our enemies in europe during world war ii. as you know, after the surprise attack on pearl harbor on december 7, 1941, there was outrage and outcry for an all-out war against japan and president roosevelt right here in this chamber and the congress formally declared war against japan. but out of this retaliation against japan, over 100,000 japanese americans were caught in the crossfire. our national government immediately implemented a policy whereby these japanese americans were forced to live in what we call relocation camps but they were actually concentration camps. lands, their homes, their properties were confiscated without any due process. my former colleague and former secretary of transportation, norman mineta and late

congressman bob matsui spent their lives in these prison camps. secretary mineta shared an interesting camps. and they had machine-gun nets. and everyone was told that these machine guns wereecessary to protect them against rioters or others who wanted to harm them. secretary mineta observed if these machine guns were posted to guard and protect, why is it they are all directed and aimed inside the prison camp compound and not outside? mr. speaker, i submit it was a time in our nation's history when there was so much hatred, bigotry and racism against our asian communities. despite all these, tens of thousands of japanese american men volunteered to join the army, leaving their wives, parents, brothers and sisters behind bashed-wire fences in

order to go and fight our enemies in europe. as a result of such volunteerism, two units were organized, the 100 battalion were created to fight in europe. in my opinion, mr. speaker, history speaks for itself. it is documenting that none have shed their blood more valiantly than the japanese-american sold years who fought enemy forces in europe. the military lords of the two units are without equal in suffering in my humble opinion. these japanese americans suffered an unprecedented casualty rate and received declarations, many awarded after they died for bravery and courage in the field of battle. for your information, mr.

speaker, 53 distinguished service crosses were awarded to these japanese soldiers, 560 silver stars. seven presidential citations and i find it unusual, mr. speaker, only one medal of honor was awarded at that time. nonetheless, it is noted that the 442nd infantry group was the most decorated ever in the history, military history of the united states. president truman was so moved by the bravery in the field of battle, not only japanese americans, but african americans during world war ii that he issued an executive order to finally desegregate all branches of the armed services and i'm proud to say the two senators were members of the original units of the 100 battalion 442nd

infantry. i was very happy that the house made a change re-invested and as a result of the investigation in 1999, 19 additional congressional medals of honor were given to these japanese americans who br members of these two combat groups. and i was privileged to witness this historical moment at this ceremony at the white house. looking back in history, mr. speaker, i submit to you today that the wholesale and arbitrary abolishments of these jap fleece americans should serve as a reminder this shouldn't be allowed to happen again. americans of german and italian ancestry were not jailed.

some declared the incident as an example of outright racism and bigotry in in its ugliest form. after visiting the holocaust museums in washington, d.c. and in jerusalem, i understand, mr. speaker, better why the genocide of six million jews has prompted the cry never again. never again. i sincerely hope that the mass internment on the basis of race will never darken the history of our great nation. i would realize the time is nearing, japanese americans were discharged as an officer in the marine corps and marine corps taunted this fellow, from hawaii with ethnic slurs and said we don't want your kind around. go back to your own country. the commandant of the marine corps who appeared on "60

minutes" said that marine officers who are minorities do not shoot, swim or use compasses as well as white officers. well, you know the general apologized but it was too late. after research and investigations, he was vindicated and commissioned as an officer in the marine corps. mr. speaker, i submit, when i envision america, i don't see a melting pot designed to remove racial differences. no. the america i see is a brilliant rainbow of ethnicities, cultures, different religions with each person contributing in his own unique way for a better america. they wish to find a just and equitable place in our society that would allow them like all americans to grow, to succeed, to achieve and to contribute to the advancement of this great nation. i would like to close my remarks

by asking all of us here, my colleagues and to the american people, what is america all about? i think it could not have been said better on the steps of the lincoln memorial in that summer of 1963 when an african americans minister by the name of martin luther king junior poured out his heart and soul to every american when he uttered these profound words, "i have a dream that my dream is that one day my four little children will be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the contents of their character." that is what i believe, mr. speaker, america is all about. and that is what i firmly believe that the 16 million asian pacific americans that are part and fabric of our great nation that will make us even a greater country by looking at the characters of the people and judge them accordingly and not

because of race. i sincerely hope and my colleagues will remember this day or this month of may has been dedicated. it has been my privilege to have visited several installations in the course of the 20 years i have been here, to share with the american people the contributions that asian pacific americans have made to our great nation. and with that, mr. speaker, i yield to my good friend and the gentleman from california. mr. honda: thank you, congressman. you've covered a lot of ground and to add a little bit to what you have indicated about the internment, during that process of studying the internment, the commission on wartime authority -- wartime internment in 1985,

they came to a conclusion based upon a study that internment was based upon racial prejudice, war hysteria and the failure, the failure of political leadership. and i believe that that's why these kinds of opportunities for us to be able to share our history, our involvement, our contributions and who we are as americans are critical. and i appreciate your help in this. it is also the episode of the filipino veterans who were asked by president roosevelt to serve in the u.s. army and also by general mcarthur who said that participating in the effort against the japanese imperial army would bring down the possibility of citizenship and

also the full veterans' benefits. six months after the war, six months after the war, two precisely written recision acts were written in the budgets in 1946, specifically eliminating that possibility and that promise to those who had fought side by side with our soldiers in the philippines. these filipino veterans fought side by side, protected them against the japanese atrocities in the baton death march and largest p.o.w. camps in the philippines and still today carry the pride and dignity of a veteran. and just recently, we were able to provide them so compensation, but did not match the promise that we had offered them as

congress, as a country and as a government. . i stand here as a member of congress, a congress that's an organic, living being, that should be working toward -- who should be reverent to its past and living future. >> will the -- will the gentleman yield? mr. honda: certainly. mr. faleomavaega: i forgot to ask annapolis consent that all of my remarks be made part of the record. i skipped part of the speech and i want to see if that would be ok. the speaker pro tempore: wok. mr. honda: o nation was founded by immigrants who valued freedom and liberty who sought to be free from persecution, from tyranny,

families fled from their home country because they, too, believed in life, liberty, and freedom from all. kpac supports legislation that shifts the debate from the anti-immigrant, enforcement only approach to one that confronts social and economic realities beyond immigration and honors all families and communs and honors the social and cultural contributions. those born in asian constitute over one quarter of the foreign born population. even with a relatively high naturalization rate, asian undocumented immigrants living, working, or studying in the u.s. represent the top 12% of

the undocumented immigrants. we must recognize that families give strength to americans -- american communities and are the bedrock of a vibrant and stable community. let's keep families together by strengthening the social fabric of our communities, ke we can get our economy back on track while reuniting american workers with their family. kpac is prepared to work with our colleagues to push through the long-deferred changes to have a fair immigration system. mr. faleomavaega: will the gentleman yield? mr. honda: certainly. mr. faleomavaega: i want to offer my commendation to the gentleman for his tireless service and leadership in moving so very many important issues affecting the needs of our asian-pacific american community in the course of the

number of years you have served as chairman. i speak, i'm sure, on behalf of our colleagues and members of our asian pacific american caucus in doing such a splendid job. i think monday the president is going to invite us to the white house to honor the -- this month, all the asian-pacific americans. as you said earlier, president obama is a hawaiian, pacific islander, the first president who at least knows where the pacific ocean is. mr. honda: i appreciate that information. that's wonderful news. we've been waiting for an invitation for this month. i preesh my colleague for that information and i'll get my suit pressed. mr. speaker, a common misperception of a.p.i.'s is that as a group we face fewer health problems than other racial and ethnic groups.

in fact, asians as a group, specific populations within the group, do experience disparities in health and health care. for example, asian pacific islanders have the highest hepatitis b rates of any group in the united states. we must bring attention to and educate communities about hepatitis b testing and vaccination. 12 million people have been infected at some time in their lives with hepatitis b virus and more than 5,000 americans die from complications of it every year. asian americans and pacific islanders account for more than half of the chronic hepatitis b cases and half the deaths resulting from chronic hepatitis b infections in the united states. in order to break the silence surrounding this deadly disease and bring awareness to the american people, congressman towns, congressman dent, congressman ungaw and i have

introduced the liver cancer control and prevention act. i hope my colleagues will join me to help prevent viral hepatitis. we invite them to join us. in education, immigration reform and health expansion is also expanding educational access for all americans. that's also a high priority for kpac. education is at the center of our democratic merit ockcy. it is important they be awarded a true opportunity to achieve their highest potential. we began the -- we have insights about how government

can improve education. we can eliminate disparities in the educational system. 9.1% of cambodian americans, 7.6 lau american -- lao americans and 16.5% of native hawaiians and pacific islanders who are 25 years and older have a bachelor degree or higher degree. we must do better. we must do a better job ofing a gating data and our communities to assess the needs of those hardworking americans who still falter behind.

we must support greater funding for asian american and pacific islanders serving in institutions. we must -- this program provides grants to colleges that is at least 10% a.p.i. on behalf of the con gregs asian-pacific american caucus, we will work to help those tond to the increase the availability of loan assistance and scholarships and programs of higher institution. under the no child left behind to support english language learners and support full funding of minority outreach programs for access to higher education such as the programs to expand services to serve

aapi students. as has been mentioned before by my colleagues, before i strike that, i want to mention that there was a gentleman by the name of baleet sink salud, who became the first asian-american zeek american to be in the halls of congress but he had to overcome some of the anti-asian legislation that was on our books. namely, there was one, the chinese exclusion act that particularly named asians as unfit americans. these studies among scholars say that the indo american folks on that peninsula are not

of the mongolian race. very wisely this person, an attorney in the courts, saying that people of his background are not part of the race, not part of the targeted group. was able to convince them to change that law to allow him to run for congress and become a representative to work in the halls of congress he broke the very first rib in the anti-asian law and then continued to do that. folks like norm mineta and others like myself and eni are able to serve here. i want to recognize him and a portrait hangs in the staircase going from this floor to the bottom floor, there's a portrait of congressman sink

that hangs there. i would like to point that autoto folks, when we come and visit our members go down the stairs they look up and recognize the person who had been first to break some of the glass ceilings and anti-asian legislation that kept her from participating. the first person to graduate from yale university, in 1847, and in 1863, william he think a chinese american was the first to enlist in the u.s. navy in the civil war. none of them were able to become citizens because of the anti--asian laws that disqualified them from being citizens. another became the first indian

born person to earn u.s. citizenship. anna may wong had her lead role in 1883. i'll submit the rest for the purposes of -- with your permission, we have about five minutes, i believe. one. i'd like to leave the rest of the time to my good friend congressman -- to say whatever, please say something on behalf of yourself and your accomplishments. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana rise? mr. cao: i ask annapolis consent to address the house for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. cao: thank you very much, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today to express my express my gratitude and appreciation for the asian pacific islanders heritage month which is this month. i say that on behalf of the many asian americans, especially vietnamese americans who are struggling in the city

of new orleans as well as in the other states because of the oil spill. many of the fishermen who are impacted by the oil spill are vietnamese americans living in texas, living in louisiana, mississippi, and alabama. even though they are struggling, even though they are having a hard time, but i know one thing for sure is that the -- they will survive and they will be able to overcome the difficulty and the sufferings that the oil spill is causing to them and their families. the reason why i'm so positive that they will overcome this problem, this disaster, is

because of the culture, is because of the family unity, is because of the strength that is inherent within the asian culture. and if you were to reflect on asian, at least for me, on the vietnamese history, we see that many asian communities, especially the vietnamese communities, have to start over and to begin many times in our recent history. i just want to use my family as an example. my father and mother were born in north vietnam. .

in 1954 when the communists took over, they lost everything. they left their family. they left their possessions to escape the communist north and migrated to south vietnam to start their life over. after many years of struggle and many years of hard work, they, again, lost everything that they possessed, even their children in the spring of 1975 when the communist forces took over south vietnam. my father spent seven years in the vietnamese refugee camps and

my mother had to care for my five sisters along with her husband who was in the camp and also a younger brother who was also in the re-education camp. and then they left everything again in 1991 to come over to the united states to start everything over again here. and in 2005, they lost everything again because of hurricane katrina. so just to tell you the history of my own family and the ability of the vietnamese americans who survived through all of the struggles and sufferings and my family's not unique. my family is only an example of the thousands of vietnamese

american families who have endured the same struggles, who have endured the same sufferings through the brief history that i just outlined. and it just tells you of the resiliencey of the strength that is inherent in the asian-american culture that allows the people, like my family, to survive, that allows the fishermen on the gulf coast to survive and excel and thrive. i'm here on behalf of the many asian americans in the united states to declare that i'm proud to be an yashe and american and vietnamese american representing my people in the u.s. congress. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? mr. honda: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in

which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the subject of my special order. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? mr. honda: i just want to thank the speaker for being with us this evening and the rest of the staff and i ask that we move to adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to adjourn. those in favor say aye. those those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes vit.

>> ladies and temperament, the president the united states and the president of mexico. >> good afternoon. i want to welcome president calderon to the white house. we're delighted to be hosting the president and first lady and the delegation for this state visit and we look forward to returning their wonderful hospitality that we received in mexico when we had our -- when we have our state dinner this evening. i have dalton said that, pinera and a connected world, the day i have often said that, in our inner connected world -- i have often said that, in our interest, a connected world, --

in our internet-connected world, the relationship between the streets jobs for both of our peoples. when earthquake strikes for the cartel frightens her people, it affects people on both sides of our border. our border. when he speaks before a joint session of congress tomorrow, the american people will see why see, a leader who is getting his country to very difficult times with vision and with courage.

he has been an outstanding partner to me and an outstanding partner to the united states. this marks another step forward in another era of cooperation and our partnership, one of mutual interest, mutual respect, and mitchell responsibility. -- and mutual responsibility. -- and mutual responsibility. we have reaffirmed in a border that is efficient and we have created an action plan to move in this direction. our shared border must be an engine, not a break, in our economic growth. we agreed to streamline

regulations and strengthen the protection of intellectual property. we agreed to continue working with r g-20 partners on global economic -- with our g-20 partners on global economic growth. as the united states works to increase our exports, we will be working closely with our partners in mexico, which is one of the largest markets for american exports. clean energy jobs and industry for the future, we're building on a partnership with new initiatives to promote regional renewable energy markets and smart-card technology. -- smart-breed technology -- smart-grid technology. the leader in cutting greenhouse gas emissions and helping other countries do the same, mexico's

leadership will be critical. we discussed the need for immigration that is orderly and state and with knowledge that both of our countries have responsibilities. the president is working hard to create jobs so that more mexicos will see a future of opportunity -- so that more mexicans will see a future of opportunity in their country. reform means accountability for everybody, a government that secures the border, business is being held accountable for exploiting workers, people who held accountableplie by paying taxes and working on their citizenship. there's a strong proposal in the senate. it can and should move forward.

we have discussed the arizona. -- we have discussed the new law in arizona. i want every american to note that this administration has implemented resources for securing your border. illegal immigration is bad and we will continue to do what is necessary to secure our shared border. i want everyone, american and mexican, to know that my administration is taking a close look at the arizona law. we are examining any applications, especially for civil rights. in the united states of america, no law betting person -- no law-abiding person should be subject to suspicion simply because of what they look like.

we have agreed to stand together against the drug cartel. mr. president, your people have shown great -- mr. president, you and your people have shown great resolve. as your partner, we will provide you the support that you need to prevail. we are putting unprecedented pressure on those who traffic in drugs, guns, and people. we're working to stem afloat of american guns and money. usinge first time, we're rail cargo and we are bringing new approaches. as regional partners, the president and i discussed the situation in honduras and the need for continued cooperation

in helping the people of haiti as they rebuild. as a global partners and mexico's seat on the security council, i am pleased that we have reached an agreement with our partners on a strong resolution that we now have shared with our security council partners. i am proud that we are expanding exchanges between our college and university students and will launch a new exchange program for high-school students. for high-school students. a mexican student who went on to be president stands next to me today. this is the progress that we made today. this recalls to mind a mexican proverb that says, "tell me who

you walk with and i will tell you who your." mr. president, the united states is proud to walk with mexico. we are to neighbors, to partners bound by common vision -- we are two neighbors, two partners down by a common vision. >> ladies and gentlemen, first of all, i would like to thank the kind invitation from the president of the united states. president of the united states. i would like to thank the words and the hospitality of president

barack obama. the united states and mexico have traded dialogue and complement each other economically and mutually. we are nations that have a political understanding of the highest level. we are also countries with they fruitful dynamic at ties between people, communities, public and private institutions. private institutions. as it has been stated by president obama, this morning, we had a fruitful and broad dialogue. we renewed our bilateral relationships and the many opportunities that we face. we analyzed the different proposals and visions for mexico

and the united states to strengthen north america as a region. we talked about the relevance of solving our differences and trade problems in the fastest possible way. we covered the border topics, such as security, migration, and we also examined initiatives to consolidate our cooperation and global scenarios and global interests. i can highlight that the areas where we agree are broader than our differences. there is a broad convergence of interests. this is not only given to the fact that we share a common goal, but there is a will from both of us to turn the fact of being neighbors into a partnership that will act as a leveller for our shared development. fortunately, this serious global economic crisis is giving up.

this opens up a window of opportunity is for the united states, canada, and mexico to reposition mexico and north america as a vigorous region, capable of generating more and better jobs, a region that will be ejected for investments, trade exchange, and tourism. together, we should increase our export capacity in competitiveness around different regions of the world. we talked about the different obstacles that are there. we talk about transportation obligations established by nafta and the amtrak's -- and the impacts of jobs and consumers in the united states and in mexico. as the president has stated, we

give special attention to the border matters. the border is not only a place of encounter for boris foundations, but an area of opportunity for our aspirations that we share regarding development. for this, we will allocate more resources for the border infrastructure in order that it will be at the height of the needs of our economies and communities and that it will benefit both sides of the border. we will strengthen the coronation between the governments on both sides to increase security. i want to make this clear. we both want to have a safe border for our people. we agreed upon the urgency of reinforcing actions to stop the flow of drugs, weapons, and cash. for this, we will work with full of biden's to the legislation's and jurisdictions of beach country -- with full abidance

to the legislations jurisdictions of each country. we talked openly of belt this and other issues. we identified -- we talked openly about this and other issues. when we integrate, this is a powerful tool to bring productivity and competitiveness up in the whole region. greater competitiveness in north america means more jobs and better living conditions for the people of the united states and for the people of mexico. in mexico, we are and will continue to be respectful of the internal policies of the united states in accordance to its

constitutions, whenever laws it approves. but we will retain their firm rejection to criminalize migration so that people who work and provide things to this nation will be treated as criminals. we oppose firmly the sb1070 arizona law. this and other issues were covered during this meeting, which i would say has been historic given the level of understanding and trust that we have reached. for the meantime, i would like to highlight this open and honest and constructive dialogue that we keep an old with the president -- with the government of president obama and these two countries that allow me to see the strength and friendship of the president of the united states. thank you, president obama, for your hospitality.

i also thank all of you for your kind attention. >> we have time for questions. urdes. >> thank you, mr. president. president calderon called the arizona law misdirected. do you agree with him? do you agree with him? what actions did you tell president calderon that he would followed in the next days and weeks? >> i think that the arizona law has the potential of being applied in a discriminatory fashion. after it was initially passed,

the arizona legislature amended it and said that this should not be carried out in a discriminatory way. but a fair reading of the language of the statute indicates that it gives the possibility of individuals who are deemed suspicious of being illegal immigrants from being harassed or arrested and the judgments that are going to be made in a playing the slot are troublesome. -- in applying this law are troublesome. we're looking very carefully at the language of the slot to see if it comports with our core values and existing legal standards. ultimately, it is the federal government that is charged with immigration policy. i expect to get a final report

back from the justice department soon. then we will make some decisions on how we will address that wall. i have also said it -- addresses law.la that i also said that the arizona law expresses the frustrations of americans have about not fixing the illegal immigration. frankly, the failures of the federal government is in getting this done. i share in those frustrations. from the time i was a u.s. senator to the time that i ran for president and until now, i have consistently said that i am supportive of comprehensive immigration reform. i think the majority of the american people are open to a comprehensive immigration reform approach. it would say the following things.

number one, the federal government takes its responsibilities for securing our borders seriously. as i just stated in my opening remarks, we have put more resources, more personnel on the borders and illegal immigration is down on the borders, not up. i know that is not the perception, but that is the fact. but we have not done enough. so we have the responsibility to create an orderly border and that is something that we have to do not unilaterally, but working with the mexican government. there are enormous flows of trade tourists and people the only border region. the economies are interdependent. we have to control the borders, but to do so anyway that does not -- but do so in a way that does not have an impact on the economies of those regions. the second thing we have to do is make sure that businesses are following the rules.

that they're not actively recruiting undocumented workers so that they do not have to abide by overtime laws or abide by minimum wage laws or abide by worker safety laws or there was undercut basic worker protections that exist. they have to be held accountable and responsible. the third thing we have to do is make sure that those who have come to this country illegally are held accountable. that means they have to pay fines, pay back taxes, i believe they should learn english, it is important for them to get to the back of the line and not in the front, but that we create a pathway so that they have an opportunity, if they are following the rules, following the law, to become legal residents and ultimately residents of this country. that kind of package in which everybody has responsibilities is one that can pass. it is one that i am fully

supportive of. i have said this again and again. if we get that done, you will be less likely to see the kinds of measures that we saw in arizona. here is the challenge that we have politically. have politically. the political challenges that i have confidence that i can get the majority of democrats both in the house and the senate to support a piece of legislation of the sort that i just described. but i do not have 60 votes in the senate. i have to have some support from republicans. when we made an effort of this sort if you years ago, it was under the leadership of john mccain and ted kennedy. because there was a bipartisan effort, we were able to generate a majority of votes in the senate. we just missed getting it done in the house. if we can retrieve that atmosphere -- i do not expect to

get every republican votes. but i need some help. there have been people who have expressed interest, but if they're willing to come forward and get a working group and getting this working, i am confident we can get this done. in the american people, including the people in arizona, will prefer that the federal government takes responsibility and does what it is supposed to do. i am willing to work with members of congress to make sure it happens. it is also my responsibility to work with the mexican government to make sure that it happens. president calderon realizes that he has responsibility on his side of the border is well. all of us recognize that some of the pressures with respect to immigration rise out of

economics. people in mexico are looking for opportunity and they feel that they can make more money here in the united states. what we also have to recognize -- and i also talked about this with president calderon -- every nation has the right to secure its borders and make orderly decisions about who comes in and who comes out. the key is for us to keep both principles in mind. people want to find a better life where they can. if they have opportunities in america, they will want to come here. we cannot just use force to prevent that. on the other hand, the united states has to be able to make determinations about who comes it and who comes out in an orderly fashion. if we are both a natioo of laws and the nation of immigrants, i think we will not only be true to our core values, but we will also be creating a more

prosperous future for everybody. >> [speaking spanish] >> israel has a question. >> president obama, not to detour from this topic, i would like to know if you have a strategy planned in regard to the arizona law. it is violating the fundamental rights of people. how're you going to turn around this trend, president obama, that has been shown in different states of the united states against migrants? this migratory reform that you

are talking about, when will it be taken to congress and what is the scope it will have? the secondary regarding security, president obama, how do you value the battle against organized crime that president calderon is having? has it been a success? what is it missing? we would like to know if you have seen the weapons that illegally cross from the united states to mexico, which anyone's that are used by the organized crime people in mexico. should there not be an initiative to regulate guns as they are sold? will there be a been? >> i had -- i did a very comprehensive in its earlier so i will take your second question. it is of a security. this is obviously a shared concern. this will require an effort on

both sides. i have said to president calderon and that i greatly admires his courage, his dedication, and his tenacity in trying to do with the drug traffickers and cartels that have created such a public safety crisis in many communities within mexico. as we pointed out, this is not just an issue of the drug trade. mrs. an issue of how this is a fact -- this is an issue of how this is affecting the day-to-day lives on both sides. he has spent up consist only because he recognizes -- he has stood up consistently because he recognizes that his foremost task is to keep his mexican people safe. we are fully in support of the

efforts he has been making. we have had extensive collaboration over the last several years in making sure of that, in the way that respects mexico's sovereignty, we support the request through his administration so that we can provide equipment, providing training, provide technologies that can help in these efforts. we have done so and we will continue to coordinate as effectively as we can with the calderon administration to make sure that we deal with this problem. as you point out, this is not just a problem in mexico. it is a problem that the united states has to address. the two things that we have to address is that it is absolutely true that the u.s. demand for drugs helps to drive this public

safety crisis within mexico. so we have an obligation not to drive the demand side of the equation. most recently, we put forth our new strategy that emphasizes natalie enforcement, but also prevention, treatment, so that we can drive down demand and weak in the grip that these drug cartels have -- emphasizes not only enforcement, but also prevention, treatment, so that we can drive down demand and weak in the grip that these drug cartels have. " i have directed -- what i have directed my department of homeland security, atf, all of our various agencies that have responsibilities in these areas to do is to ramp up our efforts

at interdicting these southern closed. i mentioned that we have is it -- southern flueows. as i mentioned, we are now searching 100% of rail cargo that those south. it is the right thing to do. we want to crack down on illegal gun dealers who were selling weapons and to mexico. all of those are steps that we are doing in coordination with the calderon their mid and we will continue to emphasize the importance not only to mexico, but also to the united states, in tackling this problem. ok. thank you very much, everybody. thank you very much, everybody.

in, is the toast. and so, we want to show you that now. >> the mexican president's visit continued with a state dinner at the white house. here are president obama said toasts.t calderon con's [applause] only >> -- >> is the microphone turned on? we host president calderon and

margarita so rjor zavala. we welcome them and the mexican delegation to our second state dinner here at the white house, tonight, la casa blanca. [laughter] >> [speaking spanish] >> anbar visit to mexico, the president and first lady -- in our visit to mexico, the president and the first lady treated us to visiting mexico's rich heritage. tonight, we celebrate the bonds we share as neighbors and as

friends. [speaking spanish] >> we celebrate all that mexico and its ancient civilizations have given us throughout history there were dances in astronomy and mathematics and some very good food -- throughout history. there are advances in astronomy and mathematics and some very good food, including the food of the gods, chocolate. >> [speaking spanish] >> as mexico marks the

bicentennial of its independence and the centennial of its revolution, we celebrate a proud people who have defined their own destiny. with pitcher it's like hidalgo and qantas -- with giants like hidalgo and juarez and many more, we celebrate the event their soccer team. [laughter] >> we celebrate all that mexican-americans have contributed to the united states, leaders in every segment of our society, including many of the guests who are here tonight. it is a culture that

cherishes family. america has been enriched by the sabor de mexico. >> [speaking spanish] >> and we celebrate the partnership between our two countries. mr. president, i must say it again. in the fight for your country's future, you have shown extraordinary courage, extraordinary bravery, and you end of the mexican people have a full and committed partner in the united states. >> = speaking spanish -- [ speaking spanish]

>> as we look to the future, i am reminded of all of the young people will become part of our visits. the children of mexico city way of american and mexican flags, children who share their dreams with michele, and some very excited kids that, along with michele and margarita, did some of exercised today. >> [] speaking spanish -- [speaking spanish] >> each of those children has a dream. we know that, and live, it is not enough to want your dream ife, isnow that, in liv not enough to want your dream.

you need to deserve your dream. >> [speaking spanish] >> and so, mr. president, by proposing a toast to the dreams of their children. >> [speaking spanish] >> together, may we deserve those dreams and may we fulfil them going for with partnership and respect. cheers. som salud. >> [speaking spanish]

>> good evening. >> [speaking spanish] >> your excellency, barack obama, president of the united states, mrs. michelle obama, ladies and gentlemen -- >> [speaking spanish] >> i thank president barack obama and michele and also to

the people from the united states of america for your invitation and the generous hospitality with which we have been welcomed during this visit. >> [speaking spanish] >> your courtesy, mr. president, as that that we have received from the first lady, honors the great friendship and partnership that brings our people together. >> [speaking spanish] today, i have once again seen

that we share the hope to turn this relationship between the people of the united states of america and the people from mexico into an example of how much can be achieved among neighbors when working together under the guidance of common ideals, such as peas, security, prosperity, freedom, and democracy. [speaking spanish] >> today, we promote the agreements and the actions of cooperation that our countries need in order to face the new challenges to benefit fully of the enormous advantages as a result of being neighbors and the long border line that unites us. >> [speaking spanish]

>> today, mexico and the united states are emerging into a new stage of cooperation and we based our efforts in the principles of shared responsibility, mutual respect, and trust. trust. >> [speaking spanish] >> we fully understand that our joint work has a direct impact in both populations, in its

well-being and happiness. we are neighbors. we are partners. we are allies. and we're also friends. >> [speaking spanish] i have said this -- and allow me to repeat it -- we work with a certainty of what is i have said this and allow me to repeat it. we work with a certainty that what is good for the united states is good for america. likewise, which is good for mexico is good for the united states. >> [speaking spanish]

[applause] >> i would like to congratulate the people of the united states of america for having a president like president barack obama -- [applause] is leadership is very positive and good for us. and also, i congratulate you, mr. president, for having a wife and a first lady like michelle obama. [applause] >> [speaking spanish]

> [applause] >> thank you for your hospitality and friendship. i am sorry. [laughter] shall i continue? >> i like the phrase of " have you -- of octavio paz. i do not know if you and me deserve our dreams, but we both have dreams. those trains are related with their people and we fight every

day in order to -- those dreams are related to our people and we fight every day in order to achieve their dreams and we will. [applause] [speaking spanish] >> i ask you now to raise your glasses for a toast for the happiness of both our great nations. >> cheers. [glasses tinkling] >> up next, tim kane looks at the elections.

rather today in the house, there was debate over the signs of -- the science and technology authorization bill. and ken salazar to announce a restructuring of the minerals management service following the mexico -- the gulf of mexico oil spill. tomorrow, mexican president felipe a. calderon will address a joint session of congress. we will have it beginning at 11:00 a.m. eastern time. >> so i offer a toast, a commitment on behalf of the american people of seriousness, a goodwill, and hope for the future. the general secretary and mrs. gorbachev, to your health. >> over 20 years of white house state dinners, from ronald reagan to barack obama, and every program since 1987 at the c-span video library. it is washington your way. watch what you want when you

want. >> c-span, our public affairs content is available on television, radio, and online. you can also connect with us on twitter, facebook, and youtube. schedule for our collective e- mails @ c-span.org. >> tim kane outlined his party strategy heading into the 2010 midterm elections. we also get reaction to yesterday's primary elections, which saw the defeat of several incumbent members of congress. from the national press club, this is one hour. >> good afternoon and welcome to the national press club. we are the world's leading professional organization for journalists and are committed to our future through our program and fostering a free press worldwide.

for more information, please visit our website at www.press.org. on behalf of their members worldwide, i would like to welcome our speaker and attendees. i would also like to welcome our c-span and public radio audiences. after the speech concludes, i will ask as many audience questions as time permits. i would like to introduce our head table guests. from your right, klioin sung, nathan hearst, may wiley, mark shields, anne holton, andrew schneider, rod kukrow, alistair

mond, shawano thomas, -- shana thomas, andgiles wydel. [applause] our guests may not have gotten a lot of sleep last night. senator blanche lincoln, who did not get 50% of the book faces a june runoff against the bill halter parent you have to wonder how our speaker field about upstart congressmen joe sestak. for the democrats that our speaker leads, these are indeed interesting times.

gov. tim kane took charge of the dnc and generate 21st, 2009, after four years as governor of virginia. during his time as governor, virginia was recognized as the best step for business in america. it was the state where "a child is most likely to have a successful life." as dnc chair, his mission is to promote the success of president obama and the democratic officeholders throughout america while building a grass-roots infrastructure to produce change in the nation's policies and politics. he leads a party that many political observers believe is headed for massive losses in the november congressional elections. there is the deficit and bailouts and two wars. today, we are interested in kaine plans governor cam

to prove those pundits wrong. please welcome to the national press club tim kaine. >> please have a seat. [applause] thank you for that warm welcome. i have looked forward to gracing this podium. it will be great to get a chance to talk and to answer your questions. i am happy to share the democratic party's commitment to working hand-in-hand with a wonderful present to move this nation out of economic stagnation -- a wonderful president to move this nation out of economic stagnation of. i want to recognize those who have joined me, particularly my

wife. she has been referred to as the former first lady. there is no "former" first lady in my house. [laughter] we have a number of dnc members and staff and volunteers in the audience. i appreciate you being here with us today. it was over three years ago that then senator barack obama announced he would launch a campaign to be president of the united states. he asked us to join him in making history. president obama said that the times are tough, but he knew and the time is demanded citizen leaders who were capable of doing hard work in the challenging time to push for fundamental change. millions of americans accepted be changed.

the president is calling on his supporters again to help them to continue to deliver on that promise. the democratic national committee is gearing up for an unprecedented midterm effort. our message to americans is permissible. in the face of near-united republican opposition, the president and democrats have taken bold action to turn around the economy, whitten on the foundation for long-term prosperity, and create opportunities for the american people. but there's a lot to be done and the president cannot do it alone. he needs allies who can stand with him in congress and in state capitals across america. he needs americans to help them select and reelect strong democratic allies.

at the dnc, knowing all the challenges, we're still confident. so let me talk a little bit about that. in january 2009, when president obama walked in the door, he found an economy in freefall and shedding jobs at an incredible rate. the stock market was plunging, along with the retirement dreams of millions of americans, and the future was uncertain. the surplus left by the clinton administration had been squandered and there was now a deficit. the republican party championed policies that created the conditions for the disaster and produce something we have never seen in this nation, a decade of lagging wages and zero job growth. today, americans are still paying the price for those misguided policies as we tried to dig out of the lost decade and the worst recession since

the great depression. thank you to the president and congress, we are in a different list today. instead of losing jobs, we gained jobs for each of the last four months, offering hope to millions of americans who are looking for work. in fact, there is strong reason to believe that america will create more jobs in 2010 than in the entire eight years of the bush administration. this did not happen by accident. when the president took office, there were many economists warning of an imminent collapse. he and the democrats did what had to be done, what the moment required. they met their responsibilities. the mid -- they made it tough and challenging choices. they put their country and our future first. and they had to do it alone. in a time of maximum peril, republicans in congress decided, as a bloc, to sit on the sidelines and leave it to the

president to clean up the mess that they created. they rooted for the president to fail. and they did it for all four regions. the president failed, they would prosper. .

president obama inherited a broken financial system, one corrupted by greed and enabled to regulators to turn a blind eye to risky behavior. democrats have enacted reforms that will give americans the information they need to choose the right credit card and the right mortgage for their family and business that will hold executives accountable for risky bets they take with others money. there have been more successes. a saved allo industry, more american kids with health insurance, credit card reform, great supreme court appointments, eradication of key taliban leadership in afghanistan and pakistan. a new global commitment to eradicating nuclear weapons. in short, president obama just 15 or 16 months ago inherited a government that simply was not working for everyday american citizens.

he has begun to restore our promise and to address america's biggest challenges at home and abroad. there is more work to be done to find clean and innovative energy solutions, to reform our nation's immigration laws, to restore america to number one again in higher education attainment. that's why it's so important that we elect democrats this fall. we have been doing the heavy lifting to get this nation's economy going again. we were in a ditch. we had to build a ladder. now we're climbing. we need to keep climbing rather than slip backward. while the president has made extraordinary efforts to reach across the aisle and find common sense solutions in a difficult time, the republican party is more interested in continuing business as usual in washington, partisanship obstruction and political gains even before the president was sworn in office, the republicans had set out a plan to destruct his agenda for political good.

they blocked the makes's most critical issues and made it clear who they represent, lobbyists and wall street firms. if republicans are put back in charge, they said what they will do. their priority will be to roll back the hard fought benefits that president obama has won for american families and businesses. they want to repeal health reofficial, cancel tax relief provisions. they want to put off hard decisions that have to be made to strengthen america's fiscal foundation. they put us right back in the ditch where we were when president obama was inaugurated in 2009. we know we got a tough battle ahead. americans continue to be very anxious about this economy. many are still feeling the bite of a deep recession from which we're only beginning to emerge and they're holding incumbents of both parties responsible in a tough time.

democrats and republicans alike face the prospect of competitive primaries and potential losses. in fact, both parties have already seen candidates elected officials suffer primary defeats. that's because voters have set a high standard. they're demanding leaders who are focused on addressing our nation's long-term challenges, individuals capable of putting aside business as usual to continue to do the heavy lifting to achieve progress. even in this difficult political climate, voters have rewarded and will continue to reward strong democrats who deliver results. specter fell short and he will not represent the democratic party in this fall's elections. the senate will be losing a talented and courageous public servant, joe has showed he is a great campaigner for us this fall. more telling is yesterday's special congressional election also in pennsylvania. that victory is just the latest in a string of special

elections in congress stretching back to the contest for the new york 23rd congressional district last november. it demonstrates that democrats can compete and win in conservative districts including ones like pennsylvania's 12th which was won by john mccain in 2008. it's a major blow to republicans who all about guaranteed a win in this race and actually declared that the pennsylvania 12th yesterday won yesterday was exactly the type of seat that republicans needed to win in order to be successful this fall. reviewing the republican message more 2010 in that race, the republican candidate ran against the president in the pennsylvania 12th. as much as his opponent and pledged to repeal health reform. the candidate lost by a significant margin. the party failure to take a seat also shows that while the conventional wisdom holds that this cycle will be tough for democrats, the final chapter on the year's elections is yet to be written. equally stunning was the result

of the g.o.p. primary in kentucky. in that race, mcmcconnell, a sthan republican leader and the most powerful politician in that state saw his hand-picked candidate defeated by the tea party candidate which was a crushing blow to republicans and senator mcconnell and additional evidence that there is a corrosive and divisive civil war occurring on the republican side. democrats in kentucky meanwhile nominated attorney general jack conway offering kentuckyans a clear choice between a candidate in the mainstream and a republican who represents most of the of the extreme elements in the republican party. he has vowed to abolish the department of education and the federal reserve and who vows to basically oppose, oppose, oppose at a time we need constructive solutions to challenges we face. they're now feeling the tea party bite. in utah, tea party candidates

defeated a very conservative long-serving u.s. senator, bob bennett. in florida, the tea party has split the electorate in two dividing the voters between the two candidates. in maine, the tea party hijacked the republican party convention and approved a far right platform full of conservative admittings and conspiracy theories. in arizona, senator john mccain, the man they picked as presidential nominee less than two years ago has to reverse course on lifelong political positions to defend off a primary challenger from a tea party candidate. in order to satisfy tea part activists, republicans are running to the right. as a result, the party is becoming narrower and less welcoming to moderate candidates. if this is eliminated, the party will being less appealing to independents and swing voters. as we move from the primary season to the general election,

i suspect things will continue to change. the economy will continue to improve. i expect employers will continue to add jobs. we'll see those job reports rolling in month after month. americans will be the democratic party, the party that took action to jump-start recovery more positively as a result. in fact, we have seen some significant poll movements suggesting a desire for a democratic congress that is working to solve problems rather than a republican congress committed solely to owe poe posing the -- opposing the president at every opportunity. we can turn the economy around, play a foundation for prosperity and empower americans with choices or they can choose republicans whose failed economic policies drove the american economy into a ditch whose obstructist tactics have made it more difficult for us to pull ourselves out of the ditch and who the nerve to now ask for the keys back after the democrats and the president have got the car up and running again. we're going to do everything we

can to make this choice very, very clear. we have developed a strong plan to do so. i'm sure that you have heard a few things about the vote 2010 plan of the d.n.c. it will commit an unprecedented level of resources to campaign, historic $50 million investment in house, senate, gubernatorial and local elections. it's not about money at the end of the day. it's about what you do with it. so over the past several months, we have been developing the most sophisticated midterm election plan in the d.n.c.'s history. now, we know the election is going to be tough. we are running against a significant headwind in terms of our history. if you look at the past 17 midterm elections, the president's party loses an average of 28 how seats, four senate seats and governor's races as well. the difficult economic times facing americans make that political headwind even stiffer. we're used to running into headwind. our number one priority is

getting first-time 2008 voters to vote again in this election in 2010. if we can enhance the turnout of the 15 million american first-time voters from 2008, we can make a significant difference in close races around the country. the first-timers were inspired by the president. some were attracted to focus on change and others to particular issues they advocated for. they were fed up with nearly a decade of republican rule that saw a decline of middle class success and special interests were first in line. our goal was to harness the forces that motivated them in 2008 to motivate them in 2010 for their local democratic candidates. we need to make the connections between the president's success and the success of his allies across the country whose help he needs to enact the change agenda he campaigned on. with our nationwide organizing for america movement composed of staff and volunteers all over the country, we can make that connection in a person to

person way. we believe if he can make a difference of 2 to 4% in the total votes cast in races all over the nation. it's a significant margin in a close race. it could be the difference between democratic victory and republican victory in many of the races that are marquee races these days. at the same time we are going to work harder than ever to encourage regular reliable voters who come out every year. they were critical to president obama's success in 2008 and they will be critical to our victories this november. in addition, the turnout to efforts, we're going to run one of the biggest ever voter registration campaigns. reregistered voters at a historic clip in 2008, we haven't registered all of them. we'll institute our most sweeping voting protection effort to ensure that every american who wants to cast a ballot can do it and is procked in that right. our nation is climbing out of a ditch. we can't afford to stop climbing. what's next? we got our work cut out for us.

we're going to work hard community by community to define the 2010 electoral choice for the american people. in 2008, voters turned out to cast their ballots for president obama because they understood what was at stake and they believed that their vote mattered. we'll make sure americans know this election will determine whether we continue to move forward or whether republicans will have the power to roll back the gains that we made. we'll make sure that americans know that their vote is as vital now as it was two years ago. thanks very much. [applause] >> and thank you very much for your time, governor kaine. there is no shortage of questions being asked. please keep them coming in. the first question -- what did you learn from last night's result and how will those lessons affect your strategy for november? >> we are big data freekeds at the d.n.c. we're digging through it and we

are going to be learning from sometime about the results last night. it is still the case that americans want change, the same change mandate that was a critical part of president obama's election continues to be felt. people are seeing and they're seeing improvement in the economy, but they want to continue to see change made. and so they're going to elect people who they think will be change makers when they come to washington or reward candidates who have been in elected office who haven't been afraid to do the lifting to get our autonomy going. that is critical. the second is one that i mentioned. the tea party challenge on the republican side that is creating a corrosive civil war is one that certainly we have to watch out for but the republican candidates have to be every bit adds wary about it as we are. i think those are the two most prominent lessons from last night. >> following up on the tea party, how do you feel about the statement you'll often hear at tea party rallies that there is a need to take the country back? >> it's confusing.

in a time of economic anxiety, there is going to be electoral volatility. people are going to be mad, angry, and confused. the right strategy is to try to get action and do the heavy lifts that get the nation going again there are things that happen at some of the tea party rallies and signs that are unfortunate. let's just attribute it to a challenging economic time. the solution is good policy, good results. the charts that you have on your table that show significant job loss now turning to job increases. the stock market in the 6,000 and 7,000, they're volatile around 11,000. g.d.p. shrinking to g.d.p. growing. as we continue to demonstrate that and further that trend, i think americans will feel like they are getting the kind of country they want back of long-term prosperity. >> you made reference earlier to democratic success in special elections going back to new york 23. why do democrats able to win special elections while

democratic governors and senators seem to lose? >> i wouldn't say always. we had an interesting 2009. we won six special elections in a row to congress including some extremely republican districts, we won that new york 23 seat that we hadn't since the 1870's. we had a through-month race, we lost two races, and the senate rate in massachusetts. like i answered to the previous question, it's a volatile time. when people are hurting, the electorate is volatile and people want to see change. and the same passion for change for president obama, they continue to look for that as they go to the booth. we got a much better message about being able to deliver change because we have been doing the heavy lifting to deliver it while the other guys are standing on the sidelines and throwing rocks. if you want to see change, you got to put people who will do heavy lifting to bring change

about. >> let's look at the most recent special election. the democratic winner opposed health care reform, is pro life and pro gun. what kind of a mandate does the election of that sort of candidate give the democrats given the change message that you're trying to communicate? >> one of the signature issues in the race was the issue of health reform. it is the case that mark might not have voted for the bill originally. there was a sharp difference on will you move to repeal health care reform. the republican said absolutely and ran on that as his platform. mark said no, it's been done. we need to move on to other issues. the republicans made that race from the n.r.c. standpoint, a referendum on the president but also on whether repeal of health care reform would be a signature issue that would drive this forward. that message didn't carry the day. that is a very helpful lesson

to learn coming into this november. >> you made reference earlier to the democrats being a group of staff geeks. apparently members of our audience are as well. we have several questions about poll numbers. when respected national polls reportedly show an enthusiasm intensity gap of 20 points between democrats and republicans in terms of voting in november, what do you do about that perceived or potentially real lack of enthusiasm from democratic voters this time around? >> let me offer some counter evidence to those polls. i have seen those polls. in pennsylvania last night, everybody thought that was going to be a dead heat. actually republicans were pretty sure that their guy was going to win. we didn't win by a point or five points. we won by nine points. in the kentucky primaries yesterday, so very interesting, paul, the winner of the republican primary got fewer

notes than the losing of the democratic primary. in virginia, we lost the governor's race in november, the democrats have won special elections in a row. we got to wrestle with the energy question. that's a challenge when the president is not on the ballot. the turnout is lower for both parties and in all communities than a presidential election. the results from last night in kentucky and pennsylvania and some of the trends we have seen in other states suggest that especially after the passage of health care reform and realizing, wow, we stood behind this president. he has done something historic and really important. that energy is coming back strong on the democratic side. >> given joe's enthusiasm among the democratic base and given the perceptions of anti-incumbent bias that you see among the electorate, does his victory last night in pennsylvania you think actually improve the chance of democrats winning that seat this fall? >> i haven't looked at polling about the relative merits of

specter against toomey. i don't know what the policies would say. democratic voters were voting for two presidents who supported the president on economic recovery, health care reform and financial reform. they had differences, but in terms of support for the change agenda that we need to get the nation moving, the candidates were in the same spot. they will be energized behind the congressman in november. we're going to do all we can to be helpful. >> gallop polls are showing a generic 5% democrat advantage over the reasons. could 2010 put conventional wisdom on its ear and show the democrats gaining in 2010? >> well, and that gallup poll and an a.p. poll, it may be the same one, there is a switch, there is a trend month to month

showing a favorability, five or six-point edge for people wanting a republican-controlled congress. that has switched now. we would rather have people who are fighting to get the people back than people who are saying no to everything. americans are can do people. we asking angry and mad but we don't stay that way. we want solutions and find the path forward. obstruction doesn't work too well with american voters. as voters see the economy continuing to improve, they're going to reward the democrats who have been willing to do tough lifts, even lifts at the time which may have seemed politically unpopular. i am not going to predict the number of seats we will gain or loads. we will continue strong margins for the president. beyond that, i will say no more. >> you have been in politics for a while. you say people don't stay mad? >> i really don't think they do. my experience in virginia where

i was in political for about 16 1/2 years and in the place you make people the maddest, i was a city councilman and mayor. i haven't broken into a sweat once since i was mayor of rick monday. you make people so mad in local office. there are very, very few one-issue type voters. you make them mad and here is why i did it and tomorrow we have another issue to work on. populism movements in the united states and focused on the anger, they peter out. while economic challenges can make us anxious and mad for a time, we're not fundamentally angry people. we're can do, optimistic people. that's what folks want to see in their elected officials. they want to see the positive spirit that through force of will will bend events in the right direction rather than through doom or gloom and anger and bend them in the wrong direction. i'm a glass half full guy after 17 years in this line of work.

>> one person who has made people mad is house speaker nancy pelosi. how do you plan to deploy speaker pelosi on the campaign trail given the strategy running against her? are there any specific districts or areas of the country you would plan to avoid? >> let me say this about the speaker. you would have to look quite a long time at speakers of the u.s. house of representatives to find somebody who has been as effective in working with her majority to do as much heavy lifting on tough issues than speaker pelosi. when you think about what the house did with respect to climate, aren't economic recovery and especially with respect to health care, that was legislative leadership in a very remarkable and memorable way. i have my own theories as to why republicans like to make the speaker a bogey woman. you might divine my theories by the way i phrased this. i know this -- she has done a very effective job, especially in a democratic caucus that is

extremely broad. we're not the litmus test party. we're the broad party. we're not narrowing ideologuecally, narrowing geographically, we're expanding. being a speaker of a very broad caucus in its diversity and its ideological opinions is a tough job. she has done a good one. i should have begin her praise for the special win last night. the house democrats have a track record going with winning special elections. she gets a lot of credit for it. >> what role should president obama play in the elections this fall? >> we love as much time as he has to devote. we're absolutely thrilled that the president has been willing to go out and go to bat for candidates. he and i have done events together for the dfpblg n.c. he has done events together with the candidates. once the primary season finishes, there is still a pretty good chunk of primaries in june and some as late as

september. you'll see the president significantly involved on behalf of candidates. i will say this about the president. rule number one, in his belief and this is the way he talked about to democratic candidates ever, the best politics is good policy. if in time of a national urgency because of a tough economy and international situation, if you do the right thing to get the nation going again, that's the best kind of politics there is. voters will reward those who do it and punish those who are on the sidelines and being against everything. >> one of the issues that came up in the arkansas primary race was organized labor's dissatisfaction with the positions. given that dynamic in that race and as it applies to races nationwide, what can the d.n.c. do to improve its relationship with organized labor? >> i feel good about the relationship with organized labor that i had in my earlier life in politics as an elected official at the d.n.c. i could say the same thing as

organized labor as any group that is passionate to the democratic party and been good supporters. because we don't throw people over the side for their views on taxes or choice, we have a breadth there. that will mean there might be candidates that some of our constituents agree with at higher percentage of times than others. we want to be a broad party. we want to be an inclusive party. it's the genius of our country and party to have the big tent. whether it's labor or environmental activists or others, there will be candidates that they might like better than others. all of us in the democratic family are very content with the notion that we're a big-tent party. if the other guys want to keep getting narrower, let them. we understand that politics is about addition, not subtraction. >> one of the frequent criticisms you hear from tea party activists is to take aspects of the agenda as

socialism. how does or should the democrats respond to such characterization? >> i think that people love to throw labels around. for most thinking americans, frankly, throwing that kind of label around really doesn't hurt us. it suggests an extremism and an ideological rigidity which isn't where most americans are. we're problem-solvers. a party that just relies on throwing labels around and refuses to cooperate, they might get a headline, but they ain't going to get support of people. in each of the policies, the way we need to do is just really lay out where we are. the policies that the president has been proposing on the stimulus, for example, mark sandy, one of the chief commists for senator mccain has praised the need for the stimulus and said one of the reasons we're growing again in the economy is because of the stimulus. you can look at folks who work on these issues and they'll point out that the policies that have been taken are really

kind of right in the mainstream of senator and innovative policy solutions on the health care side. the health care bill owes a lot to the bill from the early 1990's that senator dole was one of the key architects of until a massachusetts health care reform plan that was signed by a republican governor who has now apparently forgotten or disclaimed his involvement in it. we're going to promote smart solutions to these problems. if the other guys want to rely on labels rather than roll up their sleeves and actually help us govern a nation at a time when gavin nance is needed, it's an abdication of responsibility, but they're not going to help their case by doing it. >> how will the democratic party persuade doubters including those who voted for president obama in 2008 that he is not at heart addicted to big government? >> a couple ways. first, the president in february just a month after he was inaugurated, the president rolled out his first series of program cuts and eliminations

to try to deal with the issue that he said he would do in his convention speech in denver. i'm going to go through the federal budget line by line and wrestle with ways to deal with it. that was in february. the president working with secretary gates has waged a successful battle in congress to cancel a number of obsolete weapon systems that had some political appeal, but nevertheless needed to be cancelled. the president said in his state of the union speech let's join together on an idea that was a republican idea, a nonpartisan deficit commission to get ahold of the deficit and really wrestle with bringing it in control. republican sponsors of the bill bailed on the bill, voted against it and defeated it, but they did not defeat the president's will to defeat the issue. he has appointed a commission under the chairmanship of senator allen simpson and the white house and that commission is working hard on doing

deficit reduction. you will see them begin to implement proposals from that commission going forward. remember, in recent times, it's only been democrats. it's only been democrats who have ever effectively dealt with deficits and it's going to be democrats who are going to deal with deficit concerns of the american public today. >> that acknowledged, deficit cutting as a policy goal, cuts being made in practice, with those cuts, you're dealing with definite silt levels that by any historic standards that would owe bit rat previous records from previous administrations. given the calls for us staret and the potential enactment, how do democrats hold their coalition together when the fights are over a potentially smaller pie? >> that's a very challenging question, how do you accomplish what you want to accomplish in a time where you're having to do belt tightening for deficits. the president has advicors who worked on this in state gofts. every governor -- i had to do this as governor.

as a democratic governor take $9 billion over an $80 billion over a couple of years. i had those who care about the state. democratics do not mind we have to make things balance and work. they understand that. and the administration is filled with folks like governor is a bellus and governor in a pal tano and they had to do the same thing. they have issues that are important to them. they understand that overall fiscal health of the nation when it's strong can lead to sustained prosperity. the decisions are tough but not impossible. we can make hard decisions. the president has shown he is willing to make hard decisions. >> given these constraints, did president obama overpromise when he said he could change is done?business in washington and has the perception that business as usual in washington

two years in disillusioned obama voters? >> the president did promise that. he said not only would he do good things, but that he would do things differently. i think the president is converting on that promise, although he would be the first to acknowledge there is much more to be done. the president in his campaign ran a campaign and took a very unusual position, which was we will not accept dollars from p.a.c.s or federal lobbyists in a campaign. very unusual. we have continued that at the d.n.c. that was 10 to 15% of the budget before i walked in the door. we continue to break from that business at usual to show that the seats aren't all bought at the table before they get there. whether it's focusing on issues like that, being transparent about visitors to the white house, immediately posting who is visiting the white house. whether it's focusing on reforms before the senate soon with respect to campaign

finance reform and a whole series of other reforms, more transparenthesisy in financial transactions, this president is promoting transpatienty -- transparenthesisy. you can't do everything you want in the first 15 months. the president is true to his word and pursuing that aspect of the campaign. >> given the united or near united opposition republicans to most of president obama's legislative problem, should democrats put a greater focus on passing legislation they support on their own without compromising with republicans in hopes of attracting their votes? >> the reason that the president will continue and all democrats should continue to hold out a hand to republicans is because we're in a time of national emergency. that's what voters expect. they want to see us work together. it's like churchill when he was the national government in world war ii.

the sides had to come to together to solve problems. i have been in politics a while and i'm not naive, i'm stunned to the degree at which the republican party in the midst of the worst recession stands on the sidelines and say no to everything. i thought there would be a patriotic call to say let's get things going again. the president should do it. so should democrats. the strategy, to take the back half of your question, phrased it well. we shouldn't be chasing after republican votes and deluding what is the best thing to do and we should be listening to republicans. we should be listening to citizens of all stripes. we should be including the good ideas in whatever we do, whoever comes up with it. if it's a good idea, it should go in financial reform or as we wrestle with energy reform. the province of who thinks of

them doesn't matter that much. listen to good ideas and include them. we don't need to chase around people who are ultimately going to vote against us anyway. >> there is a narrative that you'll hear expressed about the 1994 elections in which, of course, the democrats lost control of both houses of congress after 40 years. it stated that president clinton actually became a more effective president after the democrats lost control, that he struggled actually with larger democratic majority and afterwards triangle late and move to a centrist and be a more effective leader. given the problems that president obama has, would there be benefits to reduced democratic majority or even republican control of the house in 2011? >> no, there would not. [applause] >> i'm sure that's an incredible newsworthy statement that i made. and the reason not, then i'll

pick up another aspect of the question, the reason not, we need to do heavy lifting. we're in a tough, tough time. who is going to do the heavy lifting among governors or members of congress? is it folks who have been doing it, who have turned the economy from freefall into climbing again? or is it the folks who put it in freefall and been against the policies and got it going again. the benefits of stopping climbing and going back in the ditch is not moving us forward. i do think there is anytime it's a loss or 94 or the loss in massachusetts early this year, anytime there is a loss, you darn sure should try to learn something out of it. if you're not getting better after a loss, you're doing something wrong. we all face losses. you ought to be length from those and try to get better. after the loss in the massachusetts senate race, there was a real critical time on health care where people who

were dear supporters of the president lined up in two camps. you need to shrink the ambition, make it smaller? no, you need to go and do those things you campaigned for. both were groups of people who want this president to succeed. the president kind of wrestled with what the message was and you know, i should do what i told people i would. you learn from situations where it doesn't go your way. we try to do that, too. the complete different positions that the two parties have been in, especially in washington, one party willing to do the heavy lifting and the unpopular things to get the economy out of the ditch and one party that says no demonstrates that the stakes are pretty high. we got to be successful this november. >> a long with many political questions which obviously you would expect at a luncheon like this. there are policy questions. draw on your experience as governor of virginia. first of all, noting both the anti-incumbent mood for this year's elections in the country, and your experience as a governor who was limited to

one term, what is your feeling about congressional term limits and candidates who pledge to serve only a set number of terms? >> i am not a congressional term limit proponent. i think the experience that i have seen, not that i'm a scholar in this area, but the experience that i have seen in state legislatures that have tight term limits is an absence of long-term vision and expertise will have states be run much more poorly than when you allow expertise and long-term vision ratified by the election rat in two or four-year cycles. the term let's would be a bad idea for congress, with people who pledge to serve a certain number of terms, that's a factor that voters should consider. if they pledge it up front and they violate their pledge, that is one thing that voters should wrestle with as they determine whether the individual is an effective member of congress or not. it is one that folks should

wrestle with. for term limits, i'm not in favor. >> what do you see as the magic issues that -- major issues that will be deciding elections this november? >> i think it will be, look, kind of the way i phrased it, we're climbing a ladder. when you think about a decade where there was essentially no job growth in this country, i mean, we have just not seen that decade that i know of since 1607 maybe? we have not seen a decade of stagnant job -- i guess i got to amend it probably for 1932 to 1940. it has been a very unusual decade. when you look at the news today, widening gaps between rich and poor, widening gaps between majority and minority families and household wealth, that was what the decade was. so what's at stake this

november is let's put that behind us. it's in the rear-view mirror. we're now not where we want to be yet, but we're moving forward. and the issue is do we want to move forward or do people want to move back? do you really want to go back? i guess if -- there may be a segment that wants to go back. i can't imagine that segment is that big after what we went through. that's going to determine it. a sense of momentum and promise and the willingness to do heavy lifts. i think that is going to be kind of the key issue that we'll wrestle with this november. >> what do you expect the democratic congress to accomplish between now and the elections? >> i think, first, certainly the wall street reform is going to be acted on by the senate soon, then it will go to the house, you'll see significant wall street reform done. this bill is one that is improving as it goes. the other ideas are coming in,

unclear what republicans might do on cloture votes or ultimate votes. there are ideas that are contributed that are improving the bill. you'll see that you'll see congress pick up campaign reform and the decision by the u.s. supreme court to try to curb the impact of corporate money into elections. the white house and congress are wrestling with two very important policy issues, both of which have a real torque to them, there is the need to find a sustainable climate and energy policy going forward and the need to reform the nation's immigration laws. those are the two significant domestic issues that are on the table. a climate bill has passed the house and is in the senate. that bill will expire when the new congress comes in. they're wrestling with that. the immigration reform issues are huge as well. what order would they be? those are decisions i'm not

making. those are decisions that the members of the white house and congress are making. they are huge issues that are occupying significant amounts of the president's time. you will continue to see congress wrestle with very important issues on the foreign policy front, continuing to work in both iraq and afghanistan, continuing to support the president's effort in anti-terrorism that has led to some really significant success in wiping out key layers of the taliban leadership. >> we have not received a single submitted question today dealing with foreign policy. are foreign policy issues not sale yent in the elections? >> not even greek debt has even come up. i hadn't thought about that until you asked it, but i do think in that time of significant economic anxiety, that's what's going to be front and center for people, is the economy growing again? i do think americans have reason to be proud of the accomplishments of this administration on the foreign

policy front. everything from the treating with russia to the great work that secretary clinton and others announced yesterday at the u.n. to get the other permanent security councilmembers to come together on a sanctions policy that will hopefully put iranian nuclear policies in check. the work that i talked about earlier with respect to the pakistani government has been willing to make key arrests of key leadership that they didn't before. good diplomacy can make your nation safer. that is what the president and second clinton and others on the national security team have done. so there are probably two reasons that that may not be a huge issue this november. first, because people are so focused on the economy, and second, i don't think the republicans have a valid critique on anything with regard to foreign policy or national security at this point. >> you made reference a couple questions ago to the supreme

court's campaign decision. how is that affecting your plans for the fall elections? >> two things that we're doing to try to counter the decision as was mentioned by the president was a significant rewriting of many decades of supreme court first amendment. first, congress is working on a way to reform consistent with the supreme court's opinion to reform laws with respect to contributions. the two most mentioned is to have corporation c.e.o.s or other officials appear in ads and say they funded the ads or to require shareholder votes for certain kinds of corporate contributions to ads. shareholder votes are required for other corporate actions, they could be required for these. from our side, what we're doing to deal with citizens united and also the fact that we're not taking p.a.c. and lobbyists money, we are increasing the number of individuals who contribute individually to the

d.n.c. i'm not going to give you my web page for the call. we have been able to dramatically increase our fundraising at the d.n.c. last year we had and we're on a strong path this year. it's individual money. we are convincing individuals, that it's not p.a.c.s and lobbyist funding us, it's you. hundreds of thousands of new contributors last year, small donors. they have enabled us to be successful. congressional reform plus a dramatic increase to the number of donors, those will help us counter what could be significant consequences. >> quick question about your employment and that role. why aren't democrats opposing opening of virginia's waters?

>> the policy was we were open to exploratory drilling, not production drilling, for natural gas 50 miles off the shelfment here was our thought. the federal moratorium was a cost benefit analysis. the costs exceeded the benefits. we felt that was done sometime ago. you ought to look at a cost benefit analysis and make a new calculation every once in a while. there is no real way to calculate benefits without having some sense of what is out there. so in kind of a limited way expressed a state policy for exploratory drilling to determine what the natural gas reserves were. we felt like with that information, we could then make the broader decision, taking environmental impacts into effect and taking concerns expressed by native navy and nasa. i'm fine with exploratory. you explore to find out what's

there. when you know what's there, then you do the hard weighing of the costs and benefits to decide what the right policy is. >> audience members want to know -- where is the 2012 democratic convention going to be held? >> as soon as i announce that, no one will be courting me or nice to me from the variety of cities. i'm trying to hold off on that as long as i can. the democratic practice on this is we're in very preliminary discussions with a number of cities. i do not believe that we will have an announced convention location until late this year or early 2011. we are deeply involved in discussions with a number of cities and so keep those cards and letters coming. >> we are almost out of time. before asking the last question, we have a couple important matters to make care of. let me remind our members and guests of future speakers. on friday, we have the owner of the washington capitals who

will be speaking on a luncheon on sports and technology. on may 26, year going to have barbara bush, the younger, the president of global health corps and the daughter of george w. bush who will be talking about the disparity in health care between the world's rich and poor. on june 7, we'll have brent scowcroft, security advisor who will be providing the ford journalism awards. then the traditional presentation to our guest of the national president club mug. >> thank you. [applause] >> and now our final question. yesterday certainly was an interesting day, a landmark day in what is the campaign of 2010. you mentioned being a stats geek and political science seems to becoming more and more

of a science. given all of your data and what you see and who you're in touch with, what still surprises you about what campaigns, how they play out? what surprised you about yesterday and how much sleep did you get? >> you know, i sleep pretty well knowing that unless i'm a voter in the state where the votes are being cast, there is not that much i can do about it. i slept fine. what surprised me? i think -- i didn't know this until my wife told me earlier today -- that the kentucky primary drew more votes for the democratic loser than for the republican winner. that would not have been my prediction about that primary, given how much it was hyped on the republican side. that tells me something about the democratic energy that is different from what some are saying. maybe to take it another way, too. here is what i find surprising

and heartening about politics these days and about being national co-chair of the obama campaign. we're a nation of 305 million right now. a lot of people feel in a nation that size, one person can't really have an effect. we were trying to organize our campaign and now the efforts at the d.n.c. so that we really take the 50-state model that howard dean put into place and really go community to community. you didn't have to be a campaign staffer for your effort to matter. you didn't have to be a p.h.d. for an idea to matter. you didn't have to be a maxout donor for your dollar to matter. we made that work with respect to elections. in a nation with 305 million with tv ads being really expensive. we can make the same thing work in terms of policies. we demonstrated that in health care reform by engaging 3 million americans in the hand to hand and personal.

for as big as we are and with all of the technologies, it's about the person to person connection. in we ever lose that, then i'll find another line of work to be in because it's the person to person connection that really makes this by, of, and for the people thing work. so i am continually surprised at how we can use new technologies to create the person to person connection and engage people who never thought, never thought that they would have had the power to be meaningfully engaged in policy decisions. >> thank you for your time. >> thank you very much. [applause] >> along with thanking our speaker, we would also like to thank the national press club staff include its library and broadcast operations center for organizing today's event. for more event -- information,

please go to our website adds www.press.org. thank you for coming and viewing today. this meeting is adjourned. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010]

>> u.s. house debate on the science and technology authorization bill. interior secretary ken salazar announces a restructuring of the minerals management service following the gulf of mexico oil spill. that's followed by today's house hearing on the oil spill. you're watching c-span. on tomorrow's "washington journal," former secretary of state madeleine albright, she chairs the nato's strategic concept expert group, which has made recommendations about the future of the nato alliance. also republican whip eric cantor and a look at the global economy with financial times columnist dan mccrum. "washington journal" begins live at 7:00 a.m. eastern time on c-span. >> in some ways, every senate class gives you a sense of what the country is thinking at that

moment. >> d.c. journalist terrence samuel looks behind the institution of the u.s. senate, the upper house, sunday on c-span's q & a. >> the house today voted on and failed to pass a science and technology authorization bill for the second time. for a background on what happened, we talked to a reporter. >> we're joined by edward epstein of congressional quarterly. house democrats were working again today to pass that science and technology bill. it got thwarted what happened? >> they brought it up under a consequence of the ruse means they needed 2/3 of the house votes. they fell 12 votes short of passing it. now they say they will bring it up again at an unspecified date under a rule, which means they need a majority, but it also means the republicans could offer another so-called motion to recommit, which is how they got into this trouble in the first place. >> take us back to that first

attempt. this next attempt would be the third. the first attempt, what changes did democrats make to try to get it passed again? >> the republicans said they had a list of five or six items that were in their motion. the democrats accepted what they thought were the two big ones which was to reduce the cost of the bilbe cutting it back from five years to three years. they cut it in about half. they also accepted language about fires or disciplining government employees who were caught viewing pornography, even though the democrats say that most of the employees involved in that were disciplined. there were other items that the republicans wanted and they still objected to the cost. now they're going to have to try again. >> on this third attempt, do you have any idea when it might come up? >> some future date soon. if they don't do it next week, it would be the second week in june earliest.

>> on another issue, there is some sort of move to talk about the republicans use cut program. tell us about this. >> there is a website where anyone, computer user can vote on a list of five selected proposed spending cuts that they would like the republicans to propose. the winner of that weekly competition the republicans say will be offered up on the floor. the first one will probably come to the floor tomorrow. this gets involved. it would be as a previous question on a rule, which means republicans, it wouldn't be an actual direct vote on a spending cut. the republicans would vote no on the previous question and hope enough democrats vote along with them to send the rule on a bill back to committee. >> aside from the technical calts, what is sort of behind the reasoning why the republicans are trying to force

these votes on these programs that they say citizens want to cut from the budget? >> they say the democrats are spend thrifts and spending is out of control. the public is telling congress that clearly so they have come up with this gimmick, method, or pressure tactic to make democrats vote on these items every week that congress is in session probably the rest of the election year. >> what should we watch for in the democratic reaction to these votes? >> democrats, the first one is on a welfare program that was expanded under the stimulus bill last year to help the poorest people make it through this recession. i'm sure some democrats will spending is vital. we want -- can't let these people go by the wayside. we have to watch how many democrats join democrats to

eliminate these programs. >> edward epstein, thanks for calling in. >> thanks for having me. >> here is part of today's debate on the science and technology bill. we'll hear first from science and technology committee chairman. this is 45 minutes. today, h.r. 5325, is similar to the bill the house considered last week, h.r. 5116, including all 52 amendments adopted during floor consideration last week. however, the bill differs in two respects. one, it includes language from the motion to recommit, barring money from going to agency employees who were disciplined for viewing pornography at work and, two, the authorization period for all programs in the bill has been changed from five years to three years. i understand the concerns of many of my colleagues about the overall size of a five-year authorization, and this reduction is my sincere attempt

to compromise on an issue that is very important to me and our country. the bill before us today includes an overall funding reduction of 50% from h.r. 5116 as introduced. i spoke at length about the background and need for this billast week, so m only going to give the highlights today. on october 12, 2005, in response to a bipartisan, bicameralequest by the science committee and our colleagues in the senate, the national acad -- academy's report painted a scary picture and told us without action the future was bleak for our children and grandchildren. the report was without question a call to arms. congress responded by turning the gathering storm recommendation into legislative language. the final result was enactment of the american competes act of 2007 with the bipartisan

support of 365 members. moreover, with the leadership of the senators alexanr and bingaman, 69 senate co-sponsors and the senate approved the conference report by unanimous consent. now, after three years, we're back to work on re-authorizing competes. since enactment of competes, the science and technology committee has held 48 hearings on areas addressed in the bill before us today. what we've heard from those hearings is that if we are to reverse the trend of the last 20 years where our country's technological age in the world has diminished we must make the necessary investments today. statistics speak for themselves. more than 50% of our economic growth since world war iican be directly attributed to investmt in research. he path is simple. research leads to innovation, innovation leads to economic development and good-paying jobs al