korea and pursuing a regional agreement through the trans pacific partnership to help create new opportunities for american companies and support new jobs here at home. those goals will be front and center when we host the asia- pacific economic cooperation forum in hawaii later this year. we have also worked to strengthen regional architecture in the asia-pacific, including signing deossie on treaty of amity and cooperation. and attending the east asia summit for the first time and increasing basement in the pacific island 4 am. a more . . region benefits all of the spirit it in shows that -- it ensures that every nation and point of view is heard. it reinforces the rules and responsibilities from protecting intellectual property to freedom of navigation, to form the basis of a just international order.

in these multilateral settings, we can work together to hold accountable those who take counterproductive actions to peace, stability, and prosrity. our regional engagement places this relationship in the proper context. the second element of our strategy is to focus on building bilateral trust with china. we need to form habits of cooperation and respect that help us work together more effectively and whether disagreements when they do arrive. the most notable example of our efforts is the strategic and economic dialogue which brings together hundreds of experts from dozens of agencies across both of our governments, not only to discuss an unprecedented range of subjects, but to inculcate that ethic or habit of cooperation across our two

governments. secretary geithner and i are looking forward to hosting your counterparts this spring for the third round of the sned. this is a good start, but i will be the first to admit that distrust lingers on both sides. the united states and the international committee have watched china's efforts to modernize and expand its military. we have sought clarity as to its intentions. as secretary gates stressed in beijing this week, both sides would benefit from sustained and substantive military-to-military engagement that increases transparency. need more high-level visits, more joint exercises, more changes from our professional military organizations and other steps to build that trust, understanding of intention, and the military. this will require china to overcome -- and familiarity. this will require china to overcome its hesitation to build a military relationship. but we think it is so much in

both of our interests and we will continue to raise it and work on it with our chinese friends. but building trust is not just the project for our govnment. our people must concede to forge deeper bonds as well. in classrooms and laboratories -- our people must continue to forge deeper bonds as well. in classrooms and laboratories and more. we have lost a bilateral dialogue and people-to-people initiatives. one program is sending more american students to china. those students are on the front line ocharting the future of our relationship. i saw this for myself at the shanghai expo, where we were delighted to have 7 million chinese visitors come to our expo and they were all treated by american students speaking chinese. it came as quite a surprise to our visitors that we had so many

american stunts who had studied chinese and were excited about being a part of such an incredible effort as th expo. global recession, nuclea proliferation, terrorism, private -- paris on the high seas, these are threats that afct all of us -- piracy on the high seas -- these are threats that affect all of us. we continue to encourage china to help us to even more together, to work more actively with us to solve these problems. we have a wide-ranging agenda, a number of areas where we will ultimately be able to judge whether our relationship is producing real benefits. on the economic front, as secretary geithner discussed earlier this week, the united states and china need to work together to orit our economies to assure strong, sustained, ballast future global growth.

in the aftermath of the -- balanced future global growth. in the aftermath of the recession, can you imagine where we would be economically it either china or the united states had failed to work together so constructively? it is almost a frightening prospect to imagine. we must build on that cooperation. in his speech, secretary geithner noted that chinese firms want to be able to buy more high-tech product from the united states, make more investments here, be accorded the same terms of access that market economies enjoy. at the same time, u.s. firms want to ensure that the $50 billion of american capital invested in china creates a strong foundation for new market and investment opportunities that will support global competitiveness. we can work together on these objectives. but china still needs to take important steps toward reform. in particular, we look to china

in unfair discrimination against u.s. or foreign companies and measure that -- and any measures a disadvantage of foreign intellectual property. we need to open up more opportunities for american- manufactured goods, farm and ranch products, services, and allowing the currency to appreciate more rapidly. we believe these reforms would not only benefit both our countries, but contribute to global economic balances, predictability, and broader prosperity. and we also need to work on some of the global strategic issues that confront us. take climate change for example. china and the united states are the world steel largest emitter of greenhouse gases. our cooperation at the u.n. climate conference in mexico was cleared -- was critical to the conclusion of the cann agreement. now we must build on that

promise by implementing the agreements on transparency, funding, and clean energy technology. there is no time to delay. the united states and china, working with other partners, including the eu, japan, and india, will set the pace and direction for the world to move rapidly toward a clean energy future. on international development, we could make a significant impact by aligning our investments and coordinating project. we would ask that china embrace internationally recognized standards and policies that ensure transparency and sustainability. i often come in my discussions with china's leaders, hear them say that their country speaks to the developing world because of their extraordinary progress. but their development practices in africa it and elsewhere have raised serious concerns. we welcome the commitment to development, but we would like to work more closely together to

have common standards and approaches. on security issues, there is also room to work more closely and constructively. on iran, for example, we have made proess, but now we have to follow through. as a permanent member of the united nations security council, ina helped enact tough sanctions and now we're working together to implement them. and we look to china to help the international committee send a clear message to iran's leaders to cease its illicit nuclear activities. let me go on to a problem that has vexed us over the last two years, particularly in the last several months, namely north korea. the united states and china both understand the urgent need to maintain peace and stability on the korean peninsula and to achieve the complete denuclearization of north korea. for our part, america will continue to stand with our allies, south korea and japan,

as they ctend with their belligerent neighbor. as secretary gates said last week, north korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs are becoming a direct threat to the united states itself. this is not just about peace and stability in northeast asia nuristani with our allies. this is becoming, unfornately, more of aational security challenge to our own shores. from the early months of the id ministration, the united states and china, long with our partners south korea and russia and japan, they have condemned north korea's nuclear tests. with china's support, last year, we can produce efforts that will achieve unequivocal

message to north korea. china, as a country, with unique ties to north korea and chair of the six-party talks, has a special role to play in helping to shape north korea cost behavior. -- north korea's behavior. we fear that failure to respond clearly to the sinking of a south korean military vessel might and bold and north korea to continue on in dangerous course. the attack on yon peon soon followed. -- on yeonpyeong soon followed. we have begun to work together to restrain north korea's provocative actions. we're building momentum in

support of north-south dialogue that respects the legitimate concerns of our south korean allies and it can set the stage for meaningful talks on implementing north korea's 2005 commitment to irreversibly and its nuclear program. it is vital that we work together with china. we need to make it clear to north korea that its recent provocation, including the announced uranium enrichment program, are unacceptable and in violation of not only security council resolution, but north korea's own commitments in the 2005 joint statement. until north korea demonstrates in conete ways its intention to keep its commitments, china, along with the international community, must vigorously enforce the sanctions adopted by the security council last year. on taiwan, we are encouraged by

the greater dialogue and economic cooperation between the mainland and taiwan. as witnessed by theistoc completion of the cross-strait economic cooperation framework agreement. our approach continues to be guided by our one china policy, based on the communiques and the taiwan relations act. ahead, we seek to encourage and see more dialogue and exchanges between the two sides as well as reduced military tensions and deploynts. finally it and crucially on the issue of human rights, a matter that remains of the heart of american diplomacy, america will continue to speak out and to press china when it senses bloggers and imprisoned activists, when religious believers, particularly those in unregistered groups, are denied full freedom of worship, when lawyers and legal advocates are sent to prison simply for representing clients who

challenged the government's position, and when some are rsecuted even after they are released. i know that many in china, not just in the government, but in the population at large reason or reject our advocacy for human rights as an intrusion on sovereignty. but as a founding memr of the united nations, china has committed to respecting the rights of all its citizens. these are universal rights recognized by the international community. so in our discussions with chinese officials, we reiterate our call for the release of riosa about and many other political prisoners in china, including those under house arrest and those enduring enforced disappeances we urge chin to protect the rights of minorities in tibet and the right of all people to express themselves and worship

freely and the rights of civil society and religious organizations to advocate their positions within a framework of the rule of law. and we strongly believe that those who advocate peacefully for reform within the constitution, such as the charter 2008 signatories, should not be harassed or persecuted. we also believe that,hen china lives up to these obligations of respecting and protecting universal human rights, it will not only benefit more than 1 billioneople, but will also benefit the long-term peace, stability, and prosperity of china. for example, an independent, impartial, judicial system and respect for the rule of law would protect citizens' property and guarantee that inventors can profit from their ideas. freedom of expression for everyone, from polical activists to academics and journalists and loggers, would help foster the open exchange of ideas that is essential to

innovation and create economy, a vibrant civil society to address me of china's most pressing issues, from food safety to education, to pollution, to health care. the lumber chinaepresses freedom, the longer it will miss at -- the longer china represses from, the longer it will miss opportunities. i know that china's leaders believe that political reforms could shake the stability of their country and get in the way of the continuing essential economic growth. but we have seen nation after nation, from south korea to indonesia to many parts of the world, where, once they realize that the nine people the right to express their discontent

leads to more unrest and unleashed new potential for development. it is clear that we cannot paper over our differences nor should we do so. but the future of our relationship can be strong if we each need our responsibilities as great nations. the world is looking to china and there is a lot of excitement about this. we think that there are ways that china can be the unique leader in the 21st century. embracing the obligations that come with being a 21st century power will help to realize a future that will give the chinese people even more, i fact, unimagined opportunity. at means accepting a share of -- that excepting a share the burden of solving common problems. the united states first emerged

as a true world power nearly a century ago. and there were times when, frankly, we resisted taking on new obligations beyond our borders. there is a strong internal position that goes back in our history, where we just want to tend to ourselves and let everybody else worry about the future. but whenever the americans turned inward, attempting to avoid accepting that responsibility, even as intervened and we were summoned back to reality. oureadership in the world and our commitment to tackle its greatest challenges have not drain their strengths or sapped our resolve. on the contrary, it has made us who we are today, a force for peace, prosperity, and progress across the globe. this is a critical juncture, yes, but i would say to my fellow americans that this is not a time to fear for the future.

the world has never been in greater need of the qualities that distinguish us, our openness and innovation, our determinion, our devotion to universal values. the world looks to the united states for leadership to manage to the changing times and to ensure that this juncture leads to greater stability, peace, progress, and prosperity. that is what we have always done. that is what we will always do. that is what america is all about. an we have a tradition of moving beyond past problems and conflicts. it is sometimes hard to imagine that, in the lifetime of my mother, the united states was involved in two world wars, a terrible depression where we sent many of our best young people off to war in far places, and yet we hav forged

close relationships with former adversaries. today, we have a positive relationship with china and the chance for a very positive future. the united states welcomes china as a rising power. we welcome china's efforts, not only to lift their own people out of poverty, but to export prosperity and opportunity. and we look to china to join us in meeting the challenges of today and tomorrow. we look for two-time when our future generations can lk back and say of us that they did not just talk about a positive, cooperative, and comprehensive relationship. theyade the right choices. they worked together. they delivered results. and they did leave us a better world. that is our vision and that is our commitment for this most important relationship. than you all very much. [applause]

>> thank you again to everybody -- >> the latest on the condition of arizona rep gabrielle deferreds. this is almost 10 minutes. -- get real difference -- gabrielle giffords. this is almost 10 minutes. >> nothing is an expected at this time. barry betty seems to be making

progress -- everybody seems to be making progress. with that, we have one particular patient of interest to is making significant strides. i also wanted to state that we would like to have a few minutes of your time for a statement read by the douglas family, which will be followed with a few questions regarding them. >> as regards congresswomen we are confident that she is making progress now. her eyes are open. that kind of occurrence is more frequent at this time. we can even think that she is beginning to carry out more complex sequences, even, more complex sequences of activity in response to our commands or even spontaneously. we are very encouraged that she is continuing to make all the right moves and in the right direction.

obviously, we are very conscious that she makes them natural pace. again, we could not have hoped for any better improvement then we are seeing now considering the severity of her injury initially. >> if i could the v the douglas family coming up. we have jenny and chris ayey here, who is going to make a brief statement. my name i s ug i am barber's daughter. standing behind me is my sister chris d. blake. our dad asked us to read a statement on his behalf as he is being discharged from the hospital today. here is the message from my dad. i want to thank the staff at university medical center for the incredible care and treatment they have given to me since i was brought to the emergency room last saturday. but first, do not believe i would have made it to the emergency room had not been for the aid rendered to me at the scene by end of ellis who

applied pressure to my blood wound. there are so many people who have given me and my family every time the support we have needed over these days and it would be impossible to name them all. but every one of them has had a profound impact on my recovery and the well-being of my family. ♪ ♪ staying alive [laughter] i would like to particularly acknowledge a few. dr. hughes and his vascular team, critical care services director jane wilson, the nurses technicians and all the staff in icu, case management, and social work staff and my therapy team. i have never met two more compassionate skilled health care professionals as tracy covert and but marcello. they feel like family to me now.

they have all contributed greatly. their help has made it possible for me to attend the funeral services for chief judge john role and return home. we are extremely fortunate to have such an upstanding medical facility in our community. and now the whole world knows about the high level of expertise and professionalism that is found here. i also want to thank from the bottom of my heart the people of tucson who brought their words of encouragement to the front of the hospital. i saw their tribute, candles, and photographs for the first time yesterday. i was deeply moved and uplifted. my healing process is well under way and so is the healing of this wonderful community we call home. i ask everyone to continue their careers for congresswoman giffords's and all the survivors of the tragic event last saturday. i have sent my condolences to

the families of the good people we lost and wished them spiritual solace and emotional recovery. we will take a few questions. >> -- >> he has been. he was asked to make a personal statement and he could not physically be in two places at the same time. it was very important that he be at the funeral and yes my sister and i to make it on his behalf. i was with him when he left the hospital. it was both joyous and sad at the same time. we have really created quite a family on the icu. we will miss them greatly. we definitely will come back and visit. it was quite a moment. >> did he walk outside? >> he really wanted to see what was going on. my dad is a hands-on kind of guy. being in a hospital bed does not

suit him. so he insisted that we take him out there. he wanted to see the entire thing. we walked the entire memorial. what he said in his statement is right. he was both, you know, sad but it was uplifting to see this community that the love so much come together in this way. >> he works so hard. that is something he taught my sister and i. he has always worked in service for his community. they have said he is the first to get to work in the last to leave. that is how we grew up. he loves his family.

areay's in our family family day. it is something he insisted on. he holds his family close to him and he works hard. >> [inaudible] >> people had been asking us that. it is hard to say right now. it has been such an emotional roller coaster for us. i think we will see the changes take time. >> is the walking? >> he is taking a few steps on his own with eight walker. class will he be back in the office on monday? >> we will keep them from doing that. he was in his bed with all of the staff and his co-workers around him. that was hard working -- or want to see.

that is that. i believe my husband has given permission to "the star" to release some photographs of this morning. >> [inaudible] >> he does not need any further surgeries. we do not expect any complications. he is doing well. he will have physical therapy and nursing care provided to him until he feels well enough to do things on his own. >> [inaudible] >> it will be quite a celebration. it will be mixed because we will be attending a funeral that day, but we will be celebrating. >> this will be the last time we meet regularly like this. at this time, all other information that we have will be given out on our hospital website or our public affairs

office. if something was to happen and we need to >> lawmakers gathered on the house floor to pay tribute to gabrielle giffords. follow the comments. follow

the ceremony was held in washington, d.c. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [inaudible crowd noise]

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[applause] >> well, i'm david rubinstein, the chairman of the kennedy center. on behalf of the kennedy center, i'd like to welcome everybody here for a memorial service for a extraordinary man who was often against so many odds. some of you maybe wonders why at a memorial service we have a palm tree. the answer is that south pacific is playing here now. we were going to move the palm tree, but kofi said "south pacific" was his favorite show. he was the asia and pacific

affairs. let's keep it here. i wanted to say thank you. behind me president obama, secondary clinton, president clinton, and a couple of foreign visitors who have come quite a way to be here. including president of georgia, the president of pakistan, president somewhere -- zardari, i'd like to recognize minister that's come here to acknowledge the president of afghanistan, and the chief of diplomatic corps that's here as well as all of the ambassadors that are here. thank you much for coming. dick was a friend of mine for 35

years. i first met him in a political campaign. it was clear to me then he is extraordinary different than anybody else that i'd met. in this campaign, nobody had their own office, telephone, secretary, until dick came. when dick came, all of the sudden he managed to get a secretary, several secretaries of staff to staff him, he managed to get the office, he has the office with windows. after a while, became apparent that the campaign revolved around him. [laughter] >> that's the way it should be. he did extraordinary things. sometimes dick might have been thought by others to have a large ego. but in truth as the famous american baseball pitcher, dizzy dean said, if you can really do it, it's not bragging. in dick's case, he really could do it. the intelligence, perseverance, patriotism, and commitment to make the world a better place. a service like this could be

held on dozens of cities around the world and attracted a similarly impressive group of people, a dozen venues in this city or new york, and attracted a similar group of people. i think the kennedy center is appropriate place for a number of reasons. it was president kennedy's who's inaugural address seven 50 years ago inspired dick to go into public service. @ president kennedy that created the peace corps, and that was where dick spent so many of the early years. it was president kennedy that had the diplomatic achievement, the cuban missile crisis, and during his period of government that dick had his time and dates and accords. president kennedy and nick had another combination, that's true as well. both of them were taken from us much too soon. while dick did live about 25 years longer on this earth than president kennedy, and it's not

therefore fair to say, dick, we hardly knew you. we did know dick. we knew him well, admired him, respected him, loved him, feared him at times, we always knew he had the interest of the american people and the interest the humanity at heart. therefore, everybody really respected what he had done and his commitment to public service. as with president kennedy, as with all of us, you never know when god is going to take you back. you never can know what the reason is. we'll never know why dick left us so suddenly. my own theory, somewhere in the heavens, there's a need for a negotiator, and intergalactic dispute only dick would solve. right now he's like you can make a better speech, how come so and so didn't come, but nobody would be more appreciative than dick.

dick said i can negotiate up here even better than down there if you gave me certain powers. for example, if only i had the power of thunder and lightning. [laughter] >> just think what i could do. think what i could do on earth, and now solving the disputes. no doubt, god is saying, dick, i don't need to hear anymore. i agree with you. you got what you want. the bible tells us blessed are the peacemakers, they are the children of god. on the 69 years, i don't think there were very many children of god that were better than dick. he devoted his life to peace and making the world a better place. all of us who knew him, we know that. those of you who didn't know him, i wish you would have. he was a unique individual. i was proud to call him a friend. i'm sad he's not here. i'm sad the missions in which he worked are not yet completed. when the missions are completed,

people remember that he started the efforts and some of what his great legacy will be will be finished in a few years. his legacy will include things that he already did with some of the things they are now being worked on when they are resolved with no doubt bear dick's fingerprints as well. dick, godspeed, i'm glad to have known you and called you a friend. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, david, for hosting the remarkable memorial for richard. mr. president, mr. president, mr. secretary general, admiral mullen, vice president biden, beloved friends of richard, good afternoon to you. here's one fact about my husband that none of the thousands of remarkable tributes from the corners of the world have mentioned, richard was a very good husband.

from the time we came together 17 years ago, we were full partners. with richard, that moment no boundaries between our personal and public lives. we gave each other courage, great courage, knowing that the other was always there. not a single day passed wherefore he was without a phone call. we married during the fateful year of 1995. the deadiest year of the balkan wars. on route to our wedding, he was on the phone urging strobe talbot to start the bombing. that was my initiation into life with richard would be like. on the way to our honeymoon in france, he addressed the council of europe. from the podium, he produced me, his new bride, a local girl. as we were making our escape, a group of very determined bulgarian ladies came up to him. am bad door, they called to richard, we did not know you

were looking for a bride in the region. we have so many beautiful ladies in bull -- bulgaria. but it was too late. a few weeks later, he returned to washington with the coffins of his three comrades. following their funeral, richard headed back to the balkans and did not quit until he brought the warring parties to the air force in dayton. his breath-taking performance, corralling, outmaneuvering, and finally breaking the murderous will of some of europe's to havest autocrats was something to behold. if i wouldn't have been in love with him before, i would have then. when necessary, he deployed me. on the night of the peace conference, he seated me between two foes. make them talk to each other, richard instructed me.

thrilled to play my small part for richard and for history, i succeeded. by evening's end they were talking to each other. at the u.n., too, we were full partners, traveling to 11 african countries which opened both of our eyes to the full ravages of aids. those trips led richard to persuade the security council to aids on it's agenda for the first time. richard made me feel whatever i was working on, book, ngo, was as important as he was working on. i think he did that for a lot of people. in recent days, i've had thousands of letters from people's who's lives he touched, who's problems he tried to solve, from cyprus to tibet and better known places, i've heard from people he helped in some ways the small private acts of

kindness that did not make headlines. i tried to domesticate him. good luck with that as the kids would say. instead, he thought me the most valuable lessons. those who hold grudges are diminished by them. richard thought me that elegance is not about dressing well. lord knowing it was a rare day when his socks matched. elegance was about the spirit and the mind. oh he was an elegant man. always first to call a friend who's stumbled or been brought low by rumors. he taught me about patriotism. there was no job he would turn down if the president of the united states called.

the toughest job, of course, was the final one. i have never admired richard more than observing him during the final two years, facing layers of breath-taking adversity, he just kept on moving. in t . . final mission was mission impossible. i never urged him to come home, because i knew him too well. from richard, i learned that a life of meaning is worth more than a life of ease. and perhaps even more than a long life. we had many plans for our next chapter. none of those plans involved

anything other than a life of full engagement. here's a consoling thought for all of us. richard was not looking to the last mission for his place in history. as something of a historian himself, he knew he had earned that place already. he was just going to give this last task as he had the others everything that he had. i look around this beautiful hall at the hundreds of young people that he mentored and inspired, including my own daughter, and in their eyes, i see my husband. richard is right here with us, very much alive. i will miss him forever. [applause] [applause]

>> dear dad, i'm writing this letter now because you are so far away. i imagine that you are busy enjoying the company of governor harriman and other v.i.p.s in great beyond, probably guzzling diet soda around the snack bowl. we had so many times and trips together. like when i was just 10 when you took me to china. i remember how the people all rode bikes, wore mouth suits, and stared at the foreigners in the square. when you are ambassador to germany, and you brought david and me to see the official departures to see the russian

troops, we watch you had in disbelieve as mr. nelson jumped on stage and did a impromptu dance. or where he stayed with the . . ove, it was my mom that i learned to play catch with. or the day that i scored three touchdowns against our rivals. i wish you could have been there. i may not have realized it then, but i did come to understand that you weren't there because you were working. working hard to find safety and shelter for tens of thousands of refugees fleeing cambodia or

laos, or finding a way in the balkans to end the blood baths. you were saving thousands of lives. the day when my son cyrus holbrook was born just six months ago, you were off in the mountains in afghanistan and pakistan. but the day i'll remember most is the magical day at the state department just a short while ago. it was our last day together. watching you race down the hallway, holding cyrus like a football. with cyrus' mother agap, me and 20 staff members following in your wake as you carried cyrus right into the press briefing room. dad, while you didn't always have a perfect attendance record, what pride, deep pride, i take in being your son. i wouldn't want any other father in the entire world. afterall, how many sons can say

their father saved lives and made the world a better place? the pride i take in being your son will have no end. i love you, dad. and, yes, it is your suit. [applause] [applause] >> this past summer, a friend came to our home in brooklyn for the first time. after looking around the living room and seeing family photos with his holiness, the dalai lama, bill and hillary clinton, president obama, my friend said this is not a normal home. [laughter] >> it's not a normal home because i did not have a normal father. my father was an extraordinary man. but as anthony mentioned, he was not a natural parent. internal and external pressures prevented him from being there as much as he wanted to be.

but when he was, i saw the world from a remarkable vantage point. he went to game on the subway series, he sat in george steinbrenner's box. when we went to dinner in new york, we ate with hillary clinton joe dinero, pleasing my wife greatly. we stood with my father in the white house after president clinton named him ambassador to the u.n.. it was the only time i ever remember seeing him get choked up. my favorite place to be with him was in telluride, where he loved to ski with his grandchildren. of course, i always had to make sure they skied behind him. because he had an unfortunate history of barreling into people. [laughter] >> but it was even more fun, and a lot safer, simply hanging out

with him at our home there. his shirt untucked, lose and relaxed, playing ping-pong and explaining to the kids why "blazing saddles" was such an essential film. i wanted so much more for my children. their grandfather was not a normal grandfather. now tragically we have all lost him. but as painful as this loss may be, my family is enormously proud of his legacy, and i know it will inspire each of us and each of you to contribute to the world in our own way. his way -- now that was something. my father was described as a human title wave. diane sawyer said being with him was like being in the eye of the hurricane. this week, i encountered another extreme type of weather. on monday, four days ago win think, on monday we were in the heart of the floods in australia.

when it seems certained we'd be stranded in queensland and miss this occasion, i thought about my father. what would he do? how would he get out of here? i decided that he would call anyone, i mean anyone, who might be able to find a helicopter. which is exactly what sara and i did. here we are. by the way if anyone from hertz is watching us on c-span, we're really sorry about your toyota. it is on high ground on a town called gimpy in queensland. judy has the keys. thank you. as screwy as it was, i'm certain my father would have relished our australian adventure. he would have brought as much relief to the people suffering there as he could. like i said, he was not a normal father. the kids and i recently read the book, "danny champion of the world." which ends with this epilogue.

when you grow up and have children of your own, remember something important. a stood dwi parent is no fun at all. what a child wants and deserves is a child that is sparky. my brother and i certainly got that. we miss you so much, pops. [applause] [applause] >> richard and i had a rocky start. when he first came into my life, i did everything in my 14-year-old power to ignore him. i thought i didn't need him. i was wrong and completely outmatched. richard barged through the wall that i set up and planted himself in my life. our relationship became one of support and complicity, shared interest, movies, food, any kind of food, a passion for texting,

the u.n., traveled to places most people can't locate on a map, and a mutual love for really bad tv and all nighters. over the years together, we plotted my future, looking for ways that i can make a difference. we talked boys as many of the women here can attest, he had a knack for relationship wisdom, and the advise often in a form of a text came at all hours and usually when he was in the middle of a meeting. [laughter] >> he became my greatest advocate, both personally and professionally. we don't get to choose our family, but richard and i chose each other. at the center of all of this was the implied but never stated recognition that we gave each other another chance. for him to be a father one more time, and for me to have one again. within of the last times that we were together walking on the beach at thanksgiving, he insisted that we talk about the

parallels between his work in afghanistan, and mine in haiti, no matter how new i was to the country or to the issues and how much i had to learn about a world that he had been navigating mastfully long before i was born. he treated me in a partner in understanding and making our work count. richard supported and taught so many of us, pushing, dragging, leading, or standing beside us, allowing us to shine when the time came. but nemertea -- no matter our proximity, both of us never came close to catching up to him. we are forever transformed by, in his wake. on the night the richard died, i came back to the arena. it's not the critic that caughts, the credit belongs to the man who was actually in the arena who's face is marred by dust and sweat and blood. reading this today, i hope seals

a pact between nerve -- between everyone in this room to continue to challenge and elevate, to fight our for appeals and people who do not have a voice. it will take all of us. richard expects it. thank you. [applause] [applause] >> to kofi, anthony, david, and elizabeth. to all of the friends and admirers of richard, we come together to celebrate an stood life. in 1999, at the height of the

crisis in kosovo, richard gave an interview in which he addressed the question of why the united states was engaged in bringing peace to that war-torn corner of the world. why bother? his answer was simple. because we could make a difference. because we could make a difference. that is the story of american leadership in the world. and that is also the story of richard holbrook. he made a difference. in 1962, when he was just 22 years old, he set out from vietnam as a foreign service officer. he could not have known the

twists and turns that lay ahead of him and his country in that war. or the road that he would travel over nearly five decades of service to his country. but it's no consequence that his life story so closely parallelled the major events of his times. the list of places that he served, the things he did reads as a chronicle of american foreign policy. speaking truth to power from the delta to the paris peace talks. paving the way to our normalization of relations with china, serving as ambassador in a newly unified germany, bringing peace to the balkans, strengthening our relationship

with the united nations, and working to advance peace and progress in afghanistan and pakistan. richard came of an age looking up to the men who had helped shape the post world war. dean atkin atkinson, mr. harold, clark gifford, and in many ways he was the leading light of a generation of american diplomats who came of age in vietnam. there's a generation that came to know both the tragic limits and awesome possibilities of american power. born of a time of triumph and world war ii, steeped in the painful lessons of southeast asia, participates in the twilight struggle that led ultimately to freedom's triumph

during the cold war. after the shadow of communism, richard understand the we could not retreat from the world. he recognized our prosperity is tied to that of others. that our security is endangered by instability abroad. most importantly that our moral leadership is at stake when innocent men, women, and children are slaughtered through senseless violence, whether it's islamabad. richard possessed a hard-headed, clear-eyed realism about how the world works. he was not naive. he also believed that america has a unique responsibility in

the course of human events. he understood american power and all of it's complexities and believed that when it is applied with purpose and principal it can tip the scales of history. and that coupling of realism and idealism which is always represented what is best in american foreign policy, that was at the heart of his work in bosnia where he negotiated and congealed and threatened all at once, until peace was the only outcome possible. by the time i came to know richard, his place in history was assured. his options in the private sector were so many of his peers had settled were too numerous to mention. but for my first conversation with him in chicago, in my

transition office, a conversation in which he teared up when he began to talk about the importance of restoring america's place in the world. it was clear that richard was not comfortable on the sidelines. he belonged in the arena. to his wonderful family, i am personally grateful. i know that every hour he spend with me in the situation room or spent traveling to southeast asia, south asia, was time spent away from you. you shared in the sacrifice. and that sacrifice was made greater because he loved you so. he served this country until the final moments. those who take the measure of

his last mission will see his foresight. he understood that the future of afghanistan and pakistan are tied together and afghanistan he cultivated areas like agriculture and governance to feed stability. with pakistan, he created new habits of cooperation to over come decades of mistrust. and globally, he helped align the approaches of 49 nations. were he here with us, i know richard would credit the extraordinary team that he assembled. today i'd like to make a personal appeal to the s-wrap team. particularly the young people, stay in public service. serve your country. seek the peace that your mentor

so hardly sought. i also know that richard would want us to lift up the next generation of public service, particularly our diplomats who so rarely receive credit. i'm proud to announce the creation of an annual richard c. holbrook award to honor excellence in american diplomacy as we look to the next generation, it is fitting as david mentioned that this memorial will take place at the kennedy center. named for the president who called richard's generation to serve. it's also fitting that this memorial takes place at a time when our nation is recently received a tragic reminder that we must never take our public servants for granted. we must always honor their work. america's not defined by ethnicity, it's not defined by

geography, we are a nation born of an idea. a commitment to human freedom. over the last five decades, there have been countless times when people made the mistake of counting on america's decline or disengagement. time and again, those voices have been proven wrong. but only because of the service and sacrifice of exceptional men and women. those who answered the call of history and made america's cause their own. like the country served, richard contained complexities, so full of life, he was a man both confident in himself, and curious about others. alive to the world around him. with a character that is

captured in the words of matthew arnold poem that he admired. but often in the den of strike, their arises an unspeakable desire. after the knowledge of the buried life. the thirst to spend our fire and restless force in tracking our true original course. belonging to inquire into the mystery of this heart which beats so wild, so deep in us, to know once our lives come and where they go. richard is gone now, but we carry with him -- with us, his thirst to know, to grasp, and to heal the world around him. his legacy is seen in the children of bosnia who lived to

raise families of their own. and a europe that's peaceful and united and free. and young boys and girls from the tribal region of pakistan to whom he pledged our country's friendship, and in the role that america continues to play. there's a light to all who inspire to live in freedom, and in dignity. five decades after a young president called him to serve, we can confidently say that richard bore the burden to ensure the survival and success of liberty. he made a difference. we must now carry that work forward in our time. may god bless the memory of richard holbrook and may god bless the united states of america. [applause]

[applause] >> exactly five weeks ago, as the news spread, many of us gathered here today and found ourselves trading phone calls and e-mails, we were activating the intercontinental holbrook network. during the three day vigil that followed, a lot of us gathered in the lobby of the george washington university hospital just four blocks from here. we spent sometime grasping at straws on a subject that few of

us knew much about: cardiology. but there was much more talk about richard's heart in another sense. it was a big heart. and it was a young heart. and it was young throughout his life. what a life it was. it wasn't just a career. it was a saga. and it had a plot that underscored his sheer talent, his energy, his versatility, what's been called his audacity of determination. there he is at 24, in the white house, helping wage the vietnam war. at 27, in paris, helping forge

the vietnam peace. at 29 in morocco, directing the peace corps. at 36, presiding over the state department bureau responsible for east asia and as david reminded us, the south pacific. and that job, his office was on the sixth floor of the department of state which on those premises is considered close to heaven since it's just below the office of the secretary of state. so flash ahead 30 years. there he is again. back in foggy bottom. but this time on the first floor. close to the cafeteria. he took pleasure in showing off what he called his huddle.

it gave him a chance to laugh at the ironies that attended the drama and occasionally the melodrama of his life. so richard had a playful heart too. but it was still a proud heart. and there was plenty of room in it for pride in his colleagues. especially as coti and president obama have stressed, his younger colleagues. mentoring often meant pushing proteges to higher positions, on higher floors. his was a generous heart as well, but most of all, his was a brave heart. he showed current of many kinds,

intellectual, political, diplomatic, moral courage, but physical courage too. most recently during the past two years in the bad lands along the doran line where he was a prize target on al qaeda's hit list, but where he was also revered by the destitute, the displace, and the disenfranchised. starting sometime around last summer, richard began thinking seriously about writing a book. reflecting what he had experienced and what he had learned going back over a half a century to vietnam. he joked that the title of that book might be to end all those wars. but that project would have to wait. because he still had a job to do.

helping president obama and secretary clinton find the right way to end the war at hand. that brings us back to friday five weeks ago. there he is, in the secretary of state's office on the 7th floor, close to heaven, doing his life's work, the life that he loved, doing it bravely and proudly to the end. [applause] [applause] >> for 41 years, richard holbrook and i were collaborators, protectors, allies, business partners, and most importantly friends. we met in 1969 at princeton university when he was a mid

career fellow and i was a graduate student. he arrived that fall with his distinctive sound and furry and a rare degree of wisdom having already done some heavy lifting in saigon and paris and the state department and white house. richard was just 29 years old. from day one, it was apparent that he was a person of stunning intelligence, a laser focus, and a profound sense of history. he was a geyser of energy who was 24/7 before the phrase was even minted. he rarely slept, his appetite for books, the media, people dead or alive, sports, movies, theater, travel, work, and yes, friendship was almost unlimited. i had the privilege of working shoulder to shoulder with him in

the carter administration of spending 18 years as a business partner in three different firms, sharing endless personal and family experienctes, lking e would say sometimes after a month and sometimes after just a few days, we really need to get caught up. to put it mildly, richard wasn't always easy. i toll him -- i told him many times how much i valued his friendship. i told him when i signed up to be his friend, i didn't anticipate it was a full-time job. [laughter] >> over four decades, i watch's richard compassion deepen, and capacity for the significant contribution expand. he was relentless, and occasionally exhausting. he was enduring, larger than

life, amusing, and easily amused, and indisputably committed to the cause of peace. he was a true patriot. richard holbrook was one of a kind. if you ever hear someone say that guy is just like holbrook, it's not true. his loyalty and dedication to his friends was never in doubt. he always knew what it meant to stand up and bare witness. there was no fair weather dimension to him. finally, our family so appreciated richard's turn to washington. the late afternoon calls asking where's dinner. the great conversations, the memories and walks and endless review of the challenges that we face. the only downside of these last two years is that i know now 200 times more about the power grid of kandahar than i want to know.

[laughter] >> in closing, i want to pay tribute to kofi. plain and simply, richard adore ed you and everything about you. to david and anthony, your father treasured you beyond your imagination. and to lizy and christopher, richard was so proud of who you are. and i can see why. all of you so enriched his life. richard loved history, and he made it. he loved his con irresistible, ire repressible, and irreplaceable. [applause] [applause]

>> picture our friend, at a donkey kong arcade game throwing in quarters and splashing all each time to achieve the bonus of that game, the epic win. cursing at the machine, banging it, accusing the donkey kong company of war crimes, never stopping, never giving up. dick holbrook was like the rest of us. only much more so.

we mourn him today because we expected even more of him. and he expected more of himself. he finally got that epic win at dayton. but we wanted more and he wanted more. and we mourn him today for the next dayton to promise lost. others here today have remembered him well, his accomplishments formidable, him formidable. i want to give you -- i want to remember the dick holbrook that i knew. and miss so very much.

what a -- what a handful of a guy. [laughter] >> what a gem. what a character. what a whole friend. whatever job i had, he took whatever time was necessary to tell me how to do it. [laughter] >> in the middle of one of his knockdowns with melosvich, he said i got the son of a b here to promise you a box of cuban cigars. but this guy, he lies all the time. don't you, slobo?

don't count on those cigars. [laughter] >> consistency was not a goblin of the holbrook mind. [laughter] >> you know, but it was just too high of a price to pay for pointing it out. [laughter] >> whatever i did, he could come back and point out all of my inconsistencies. and then each of us would proclaim we never contradicted ourselves. ever. we started yelling at each other, and it was great fun. life was easier when he was around.

you know, you didn't have to read a book. you didn't have to go to a movie. you didn't have to see a play. he would tell you all about it in the greatest detail with full analysis, and if you were lucky, he did not add the historical context. [laughter] >> depressingly, really depressingly, he actually knew what he was talking about. never, never forget dick's fragility, his vulnerability. he was talking to one of his dearest friends from vietnam days, peter turnoff not so long ago. dick blurted out to him, you know, everything was easy for you and for the others. for me i had to fight for

everything. : bobby deniro knows everything about the united nations. he studied the charter. he could tell you anything about it.

and dickens pulled away and i embarrassed in a manner, deniro looking down at his shoes and he finally raises its head, into my eyes and says, what's all this u.n. shit? [laughter] he said it. dick was a leader of men and women and interns. [laughter] widely prone to endless troubles, never paralyzed by self-doubt [laughter] endlessly searching for legendary feat, seemingly

immortal. you know, i think everybody in this room felt it was a feat to get through any meal without talking about dick hol rooke. we talked to him all the time. for many years to come, we'll still be talking about him. because it was like the rest of us, dick was, only much, much more. [applause] >> .holbrooke, that holbrooke

was the way my mother referred to richard. she was a discerning women. she recognized early in the 1960s his pores, his intelligence and his charm. that whole holbrooke she declared is my fifth child and so in a stroke, my friend from saigon days he came my brother. polly fritchey did another thing. she helped introduce richard to the washington he aspired to enter, the city of statesmanship of power, of ambition and he took to it with enthusiasm and confidence, meeting those he admired, dean acheson, russ cabot lodge, and david bruce, chip folland, george cannon am appalled that the, april herriman, clerk clippard, those

great men of our past who shaped america's international role in soccer fortunes to the coldwater richard studied their style and their record and one time he parted company with their consensus over vietnam he had set his sights on joining their ranks. and so, over time he did. richard also concentrated in those theaters on the great figures that for press and broadcast, journalism, forging friendships with them, earning their admiration and later even practicing their trade, recognizing the huge power of media in shaping national policy and in realizing his own ambition. from the beginning, richard was

a determined man. he saw his star and he followed it. i was privileged to be with him on his journey, sharing friends, adventures, ideas, his love of history and almost intimate secrets. through his intermec at times and are bad ones, through moments of triumph and those of disappointment, he was at constant in his attention to me as he was predict the bullet in his demands on our friendship. for our richard did nothing but half measure. richard was a man of many dimensions in contradiction. his passion for work, new ideas, experiences, excitement for legendary, just as was his appetite for competition, cool

and confrontation. he was restless, insatiable, ever questing. but his will to succeed in his will to leave his mark, they were driven by more than simple ambition. at first i felt close to him, did not recognize to richard's humanitarian humanity in his determination to act on it. only over time did i come to realize that as much as he believed in himself and his ideas, he believed passionately in this country and in america's power and obligation to help those in need. no site moved richard more than the spectacle of injustice and suffering. i thought richard time and again

set-aside calculation, reject caution and engage himself in this country to find haven for indochina both people come to those utilized in bosnia, distribute relief goods to flood the dems in pakistan, drive humanitarian intervention in sudan and congo and plead the cause of victims of hiv/aids. all of us, all of us will remember richard service, his service in shaping this nation's policies towards china, vietnam, korea, the united nations, the balkans, afghanistan and pakistan. but i will treasure particularly my memories of richard's humanity and, those virtues of his pitch and above and his compassion, which i witnessed at the same time i experienced the

intensity of his friendship. the holbrooke occupied a huge space in my life. i admit to being devastated by his passing, but then, i share that loss with all of you, especially to you, connie, david and nate, chris and lizzie. [applause] >> early on, not long after the administration started, i spotted richard talking to somebody just inside the west wing of the white house. forgetting where i was for a minute, i charged up to him very spontaneously to embrace him shouting, dick!

i was like a catcher embracing the! in the world series. no longer had a pin myself to his chest that i realized he wasn't returning the hug. indeed he seemed to be pretending as though you'd never seen me before. as i peeled myself off of his torso and trudged away, i noticed that the person he was talking to was dick. i learned this is the first substantive conversation about afghanistan they've ever had. yamaichi relegation pass quickly because minutes later richard came charging out of the west wing, chase me down, give me a mighty hug and twirl and exclaimed, i bet that it's never happened before in the history of the white house. people don't hug in washington, samantha. [laughter] just another holbrooke tutorial.

holbrooke mentees had been teased, interrogated, lectured, exaggerated about and above all taught. we were each completely incredulous when he soon gained, why the is richard holbrooke making time for me? he taught us back sanitized history, but he also taught us that play in mischief for the saving grace of serious work. although he had infinite time for us, we didn't have infinite time to get to the point. what do you think this is you'd ask? the council on foreign relations? [laughter] as an editor, he decimated our prose, saying if it takes you this many words, you don't know what you're saying. when i complained that he was repeating himself, he'd say there is no indication you've retained what i told you, so i'm trying again. [laughter] for all of the historical and

bureaucratic wisdom that he doled out and for all of the stories in which he figured, we actually never appreciated the scope of richard's achievement for a very simple and counterintuitive reason. he was not in fact the hero of a known stories. richard titus when you build a personal authority in the world of you should sprinkle it like dust on others. you just said something truly significant event expectedly. he would try to remain the tapes in his head to figure what it would have been. not since the long telegram have a seen a more important memo he would tally stunned number of this aspect team. he was holbrooke, r., h. he had built the branding from scratch. he knew it came to mean something and he doled out his anointing liberally, knowing the attention he could generate further people. when i wrote about, he ordered 65 hardcover copies and send

them to friends insisting they read all 600 pages about genocide before their next meeting. bragging about his aspect teamcoming was like a 10-year-old running to the glories of each yankee in its lineup. he especially admired those on his team up with qualities that he knew were recessive in him. finally, richard taught us that love and loyalty are the foundation of all else. love and loyalty to america, his president, his principal, his team and above all his family. as he wrote to the hospital, he kept saying over and over again, there's so many people i love. there's so many people i love. all of you, david, anthony, sir, lizzie, christopher and katie.

you are perfect under his arm. you are a bulldozer and untrammeled pull. on our last double date, i asked him if he had taken off his bluetooth long enough to notice how hot you look. he got that goofy grin, looked over at you again and i'm pretty sure blushed. [applause] [inaudible] [inaudible]

>> -- and for the powerful man who also showed basic compassion. pray for him the injustice and beneath equal destiny for us pray for us always at the hour of our death. ♪ ♪ ♪

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [applause] [applause] >> kb, mr. president, my memories of richard do not stress as far back as those of so many of you and yet i feel i've known him all my life.

every hour with him was crowded. every outing and adventure. every conversation turned into a debate the more you fight back, the deeper you god. richard was the quintessential washington know it all. or was he? for what i loved most about him was his natural curiosity the man was monumentally, if not exasperatingly, interested in everything. art, music, culture, religion, politics, how he'd love to talk politics. i'm happy to say that i've never challenged him in that either. i just nodded till he was

finished and then slid him the check. [laughter] but the sheer breadth of his knowledge and his thirst for more with staggering. some people's minds were like steel traps. richards was like electronic -- a lint trap. our first meeting to discuss a trip you're taking together had the feel of an interview or more accurately a final exam. with me playing the part of pupil. it made my confirmation hearing look like in appearance and are you smarter than a fifth grader? [laughter] frankly at the end he declared me fit to travel. after all, i had the airplane. [laughter]

the trip proved to be wonderful, classic holbrooke trip. he ranged with us to meet for people across afghan and pakistani society, parliamentarians and farmers, students and scholars. the most intriguing was the hellenic council we attended in kabul, a gathering of clerics. it came out in the discussion of one of their number had been a taliban leader in his former life. that was all richard needed to hear. he latched onto that part i like like a terrier on a t-bone. [laughter] assailing him with questions about taliban life until the man probably wish he had stayed a part of the insurgency. [laughter] i like about that time was which one of them i would be more afraid that if, the taliban or richard.

not an easy color. but richard has always had a rate. these were questions that need answering. and far better for those questions to come from a statesman than from a sailor. we were there together in that room, but he was rightly and delete. richard and i were seared by her experiences in the vietnam war. we no doubt learned different lessons from that war, but the one we know shared with about the need for strong, civil, military relations, with the emphasis on civilian leadership. he even asked me to co-author a book with him about it. i can just see the chapter titles. how to win friends and ticked off everybody else. [laughter] everything i know i learned by listening, now shut up, it is my turn.

[laughter] and media relations for dummies, how to write their headlines for them. i think it would've been a bestseller no doubt with his mouth on the cover. but it was just like richard to want to search himself that way, just like him to want to explore a new subject and challenge his own. he understood better than i do very wisdom of seeking wisdom. as one poet put it, each and every man is a discoverer. he begins by discovering bitterness, saltiness, the seven colors of the rainbow in the 20 some letters of the alphabet. he goes on to visages, masks, animals and stars. he ends with out or with faith and the almost certainty of his own ignorance. richard was never afraid of that

ignorance and yet he was never so arrogant as to think he had mastered. he was the ultimate discoverer. and now falls to us to keep asking the questions he posed, to keep discovering the things he wanted to know and to keep making the difference he so clearly made. because i guarantee you when we meet up with them again, there's going to be a pop quiz. [laughter] [applause] >> dear kati, dear friends, i begin today by extending my very deepest sympathies to you, kati,

to the people of the united states on the loss of a great american. richard is remembered for his historic contributions to america's national security of nearly 50 years. but richard was in the truest how most general sense of the term a citizen of the world. and so a deep loss has been felt far from this city and this country. it is perhaps difficult for many of his fellow americans to appreciate just how much richard met two people beyond the shores, to foreign diplomats, aid workers, presidents, prime ministers and u.n. officers.

even more to the terms of distant war-torn countries. for him, as we've had the suffering of innocents be in bosnia, the democratic public of congo, sudan, all of afghanistan and the suffering of his own fellow citizens for a martyr as equal. i never knew another diplomat or a statesman that i could say this about. richard was the american who came in peace, however well disguised. to him to reunite and to rebuild and though the sounds of water. he said his country was skilled and passionate and by serving

his country he served the world. at the united nations where he had the privilege of working closely with richard, this translated into a fierce commitment to my continent of africa into the struggle against one of his greatest enemies, hiv/aids. almost exactly 10 years ago today on the 19th of january, 2001, richard attended his last meeting of the united nations security council as ambassador for his country. it was a transformative meeting, convened to discuss the threat of hiv/aids to international security and role of the security council and conference, something richard quite literally invented from scratch. i have told them it's not going

to work. he said we will have to discuss it. it's killing people, decimated security policies. it is of course an issue of international security for richard, the personal and professional were never equally divided. he simply cared too much about people to think of foreign-policy as mere distractions about great power ships were grand strategy. and so during richard's tenure as ambassador at the u.n., the security council became merely another center for richard's dinner parties and the person he set about was improving the guest list. for richard said the security

council meeting of the millennium on hiv/aids. vice president gore was quartered into coming to newark to preside over the counselor. for a meeting on peacemaking and central africa, nothing on the president of nelson mandela and see the plane would do. and so richard convinced him to make a trip from south africa and preside over the meeting. and then, he invited jesse helme to the security council. he was determined to get the u.s. to take over a billion dollars. but i did not realize that was part of the deal or that i should go to speak at jesse helme on the monitor with

colleagues. [laughter] he invited me after the event. he said my step pio is looking at it is extremely portend. so anyway, we went in to my amazement at one point i thought i saw the senator and they shook my head and i said i don't think man and i did that. as part of the job, richard did argue. but the beauty and the power of richard's unique brand of diplomacy was that if a course was important to him, it had to be the most important cause for anyone anywhere and then of course how could one say no? over the years of our professional relationship, richard and i developed a keen

friendship that had both kati and i just called. a strong and special bond was made even more so by kati's book. by the way, venus sisters sends you her deepest sympathies. but over the years i came to admire about richard, perhaps more than anything else was the sheer courage and drive, physical, intellectual, political, even though i often found myself biting him richard, pace yourself. my friend, wherever you may be and whatever you're doing, and i offered that advice once again.

pace yourself, knowing full well that if there is a war in need of mending or suffering in need of healing, you'll dressed only when the work is done. [applause] >> i know this program has been somewhat lengthy, but honestly, it takes this many talkers to do train to justice, to keep up with holbrooke. he hasn't said a word here and i think were still behind. i will say that hillary and i were asked to end the program and we are.

according to holbrooke protocol, the one with the real power speaks last. mr. president, kati, all of you, it might real relationship with richard began almost 20 years ago when sandy berger got and i together one night for a drink so that he could interview me to determine whether i could suitably run for the democratic nomination for president. and somehow or another i passed the test. by the end of the night, he was so aggressive i thought he was going to finish with his hands on my throw. but i like that. a lot of people haven't talked about this tonight, but if you're a professional relationship with holbrooke as i was, as was being friendly, they're basically were three

kinds of meetings you could have with other people looking. they were the meetings where you were arguing about policies. those are the ones were e-mailed to enemies. people don't talk here tonight, this afternoon, where he would scream and claw and scratch and make you feel like you had a double-digit i.q. if you didn't agree with him. but he did that because he knew the purpose of diplomacy with japan's wars or avoid them or minimize conflict or save lives. it's worth wrestling a few feathers for diplomacy to save lives. then there were the meetings where the policy had been adopted and he didn't exactly agree with all of it, but there was any either had to leave our wave the flag. he was good at that. you would've thought it was his idea.

[laughter] then there were the policies that he was charged with implementing that he keep he agreed with. then he was a hurricane of eloquence and energy and force. he was a great diplomat because he was smart and he could learn and he could think, he could write, he could speak and most importantly, he could do. he never was any meeting in his life when he wasn't taking about okay, what are we going to do? and he loved the doers. one of the saddest days of my presidency was august 19, 1995, when we have begun negotiations to end the bosnian war, or at

least to end the siege about the need for and the shelling in sarajevo. and dick called me with wes clark to tell me that they had a terrible accident on one of my road. we have lost the vehicle and bob frazier, joe crusoe and nelson had all been killed, three of the best public servants we've ever worked with, part of our team. because melissa would not let them fly, knowing that those were unsafe. so we had a memorial service. we tried to promise to remember them. i still have three christmas ornaments that hillary and i put my treat for those three men.

but holbrooke was determined to honor them by ending the violence. by the end of august, the seeds have been listed, the talks began at detained in november. three weeks later we had an agreement. dick holbrooke did many things in his life and he would be the first to say he did not do that allowed. attending the worst killing in europe since world war ii and giving you the chance to be united and free was a very big deal. he could do. and he could do in matters big and small now. some people will say that president obama and hillary gave him a much harder job working in afghanistan and pakistan. i agree with that.

but i give them a harder one still. i made in the united states ambassador to the united nations when kobe was secretary-general and need to talk jesse helme and he did that, too. how would a living daylight he got jesse helme to do that i'll never know. but he did. there's a lot lot to laugh about, a lot to be grateful for. after i left the white house, i learned that holbrooke's an airing shows for protocol had begun and he realized he no longer worked for me and maybe on occasion i would work for him. and the one thing he was no good at. there was only one thing he was no good at. he would over to all this flattery when you knew he basically didn't mean a word of

it. [laughter] so, i remember two things in particular. he called me one time and wanted me to give a speech to the asian society. and he kept saying what a great thing would be for them and what he was really also saying is you know, you want to do this. you need to keep your hand in the game where people will think you don't know anything anymore. when i said i do what he proceeded to tell me exactly what i should talk about and how i should say it. [laughter] to many had of this business group to fight aids around the world, which was a really noble thing. and when we started there was nowhere near as much money going into it is now. and we still have them torso have no 8% of the people in the world who are hiv-positive who didn't know their status. within a month. i've been working on for years. when the month he knew as much about all this stuff as i did. and he relentlessly, relentlessly drove this agenda.

and he got me to appear at all these things, always sandisk or for that business person or the other would help me, but it was always basically a work for you. i did all this stuff. now you work for me, to go do this. so i did it. i loved the guy because he could do. doing a diplomacy saves lives. everything everybody said about him here is true. then the end, what matters is there are a lot of people walking around on the face of the earth for their children or grandchildren because of the way he lived his life. and i never did understand how people would buy it a little rough edges, which to me was so obvious what he was doing. it was so obvious why he felt

the way he did. i could never understand people who didn't appreciate him. most of the people who didn't were not nearly as good at doing. sometime in my second term, kati and dick started hosting a holiday dinner in hillary's honor. and they asked me to come, which made me know i was kind of a lame duck. and what holbrooke and i would talk about all the stuff we've done together when we were having a drink and is interviewing me for my suitability to become president. and it was after hillary was running for the senate. i don't know she'd been elected or not. he said you know, she's better than you are.

[laughter] and i said yeah, i knew that before you did. and i said, i know one other thing. you're still my ambassador and you have to keep that a secret for one more year. [laughter] if you knew him, you have to love him. and if you understand the business of diplomacy is saving lives. you have to appreciate every single strategy he deployed to try to do it, including when he said or did things that exhausted the rest of us. the great thing about 10 was even when he lost his last battle, he was fighting in the fight kept him forever young. and for that, i will be forever

grateful. [applause] [applause] >> well, i am last because my office is on the seventh floor, which is as close to heaven as you can get. so i end the program by beating and bringing you with me to be as close to richard as we can be. i'm very, very moved by the outpouring of love and admiration and respect that has been sent to me on behalf of our country, from so many places across the world. and in this audience this

afternoon are so many who have worked with richard in the past and are working with him today. if we had time, each and every one of you would have your own story. i want to start with richard on an airplane. those of us who flew with richard never forgot the experience. imagine being confined in a small space for many hours with richard determined to make his point and convince you to agree with it. it was a combination of a big personality and a small space that led everyone who traveled with him to be able to say, at the end of our flight, i too now have a story about richard

holbrooke. richard would begin by assessing every seat, to find the one key deemed most comfortable. and then he would use every one of his diplomatic skills to persuade a person who had the seat to give it up to him. he would roam the cabin and search himself in to conversations, tell stories and provoke arguments. sometimes those arguments snowballed. on one flight years ago, when richard was a younger diplomat, he and a staffer from the white house ended up in a mutual headlock over who got to see transcripts of a conversation with deng xiaoping. that presaged the kind of

headlock experiences richard would have with white house is through the years. and so, even more people have their story. but what was most memorable is that on many flights he would disappear into the restroom and then emerged, having changed out of his sober business suit into what he called his sleeping suit. it was bright yellow. he would brief the press and it and the rest of us would shrug and say, that's richard dean richard. there was simply no one like him anywhere else in the world. for 20 years, i had a front row seat to richard dean richard.

he was my trusted colleague. occasionally he was my biggest headache. often he was an inspiration and always he was my friend. and richard was a genius for friendship. as bill has said, we were so delighted to attend annual holiday parties that richard and kati would throw. and apparently one year, some months before i had said something complementary about the work done by the salvation army. it was a completely offhand comment. anyone else would have forgotten it. not richard. so in the middle of dinner, he gave a signal, the doors swung open and in march the salvation

army band. [laughter] trumpets blaring, carols being sung and richard beaming from ear to ear. once again, richard being richard. richard was brilliant, blunt and he did site until the final bells for what he believed in. not richard upon hearing winston churchill's famous motto never, never, never, never give up, said that churchill was halfhearted. [laughter] there are many of us in this audience who've had the experience of richard calling 10 times a day if he had to say something urgent. and of course he believes everything he had to say was

urgent. and if he couldn't reach you, he would call your staff. he prayed outside your office. he'd walk into meetings to which he was not invited, act like he was meant to be there and just start talking. i personally received the richard holbrooke treatment many times. he would give me homework. he would declare that i had to take one more meeting, make one more stop. there was no escaping him. he would follow me onto a stage as i was about to give a speech or into my hotel room or on at least one occasion into a ladies room. [laughter] in pakistan. [laughter] when he had an idea, he would

pitch it to me. if i said now, richard, no. he would wait a few days and then try again. finally, i would say richard, i've said no. why do you keep asking me? and he would look at me so innocently and he would reply, i just assumed at some point you would recognize that you were wrong and i was right. [laughter] and you know, sometimes that could have been. richard and i were 18. starting in bosnia, when i was first lady, through his years at the u.n., his work on aids and global health and our work together on afghanistan and pakistan. it was not always deemed easy on

richard's team. we went through a lot of tough times in those years. but we went through them together. he stood by me through my battles and i stood by him through his. so i feel his absence keenly and i know so many people here do as well. this is a loss personally and it is a loss for our country. we face huge tasks ahead of us and it would be better if richard were here, driving us all crazy about what we needed to be doing. he had, as we've heard from others, secured his place in history. i am confident that the work he has done and was doing in afghanistan and pakistan will also stand the test of time. and i greatly appreciate

president zardari coming all the way to be with us today. [applause] he was -- [applause] he was, as mike mullen said, passionate about restoring the balance between our military and civilian operations. he was determined to bring that balance back through sheer force of will if necessary. shortly after richard was named to be the special envoy for afghanistan and pakistan, i decided that i needed to bring richard and general petraeus together. so i invited them both over to our home here in washington. and i set up two chairs, with a third and i just watched them

interact. and those are two men with a lot of energy. i was exhausted by the time they had finished going through every thing that they were thinking and what needed to be done in the years ahead. and as they were leaving, the post said let's do this again tomorrow night. [laughter] per richard got results. the high peace council that he helped launch in afghanistan is working and just sent a delegation to pakistan. his work on water, energy, agriculture and trade is paying off in significant improvements to people's lives. he had a vision where we needed to be going and despite all the challenges, which he knew very well, he remained optimistic and positive about what we could do

together. richard did this work with the help of a phenomenal team that he assembled with great gusto and pride over the past two years. they represent some of the best minds in biggest talents from inside and outside government and many of them are here today. so let me say to richard's team, you meant the world to richard and all of us at the state department are proud of your work. he also created an international contact group, with now more than 40 countries represented and increasing numbers of majority countries as part of that international contact group. i met with some of them who traveled so far to come here for this celebration of richard's

life and u2 spent a great deal to richard because he thought that we must have a political solution and that we must work to build regional and international support. many of richard staffers are young. then he was young when he started. and he wanted to give young people a chance to learn and serve and work on behalf of the country that he felt such a commitment to. there are few people in any time, but certainly our time who can say, i stopped a war. i made peace. i saved lives. i helped country heal. richard holbrooke did these

things. he believed that great men and women could change history and he did. she wanted to be a great man so he could change history. he was and he did. his time with us ended far too soon. and yet, he lived enough for timelines. so while we mourn, we have reason for joy, joy for the life that richard lived, joy that we were able to be part of it, that we went along for the ride. and his partners in that endeavor where his family. his son, david anthony and their families. lizzie and chris, his grandchildren and most of all,

kati, a friend to us all and someone who understood and loved richard so well. the families they built together cast light on so many people. there is a book of early jewish wisdom, the book against iran, which includes this passage. with three things i am delighted, for they are pleasing to the lord and two men. harmony among brethren, friendship among neighbors and the mutual love of husband and wife. with his life and legacy, richard holbrooke was three for three. god bless you, my friends.

[applause] [applause] ♪ america, america, god shed his grace on me.

♪ for beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of great, for purple mountains majesty, above the return land. america, america, ♪ god shed his grace on it the. ♪ and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining

sea. these mac these mac ..

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

>> and he had one today. and i know there are so many friends and colleagues sitting out there who have their great holbrook stories that this could go on for another couple of hours. the people from "south pacific" want to put on their show tonight. i ask you for just a moment to remain seated while the family leaves the auditorium, and our distinguished speakers make their exit. and as you exit, we'll remember richard again with the photographs of his life. thank you so much. [applause]

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in washington, d.c., this is all little less than an hour. >> i want to welcome you all here and senator leahy. he has been here a number of times, i think because we have the biggest first amendment sinon the world. right out there with all 45 words of the first amendment. senator leahy is such a champion of the first amendment. he cannot go by pennsylvania aven without looking at it. we appreciate you coming back here today, senator leahy. in this very room, president obama held a town meeting.

the week after next, the supreme court justice breyer is going to come here to talk about matters of the judiciary and public issues. it is a delight at the newsuem to serve as a place where the members of the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judiciary branch in come here and hold civilized discourse about public affairs, about the media, about the things that abydos, and the things that bring us together. it is in that light that the newseum is delighted to welcome senator leahy tay. i am going to turn the program over to the dean of the georgetown university law center, welcome, bill. [applause]

>> it is a pleasure be here. our speaker comet it become a tradition to begin each new congress with a report on the upcoming priorities of the senate judiciary committee which he chairs. the georgetown university law center has been proud to play a partner in role and chairman leahy's others and we are especially place and see is one of our most distinguished alumni not only did he earned a law degree in 1954, but 30 years later, we were pleased to recognize his service with an honorary degree. in the united states senate, patrick leahy offers a unique combination of experience, expertise, and currency in some of the most significant issues of our day. he is a blend of old school and new school. now the second most senior member of the senate, he also

continues to lead on cutting edge technology issues. as the "new york times" have dubbed him, for is enthusiasm of the internet. he has that passion for civil liberties, the devotion to the rule of law of a former prosecutor, and the enthusiasm forechnology of a 16-year-old. [laughter] he is often held congress bridge the gap between security and privacy, taking the lead in writing checks and balances into such laws as the communication assistance for law enforcement act and the first and second patriot act. if patrick leahy was elected to the united states senate in 1974. he remains the only democrat ever elected to this office from vermont. at 34, he was the young this united stes senator ever to be elected from the green mountai state. a graduate of st. michael's

college in vermont, he received his j.d. fro georgetown university and served for eight years as state's attorney in a can county where he gained a national reputation, and in 1974, he was selected as one of three outstanding prosecutors in the united states. he has been a champion of an independent judiciary and open government and the public's right to know. the son of a month per earlier printing family, in 1996 he was installed as of freedom act hall of fame, and the is one of only two politicians ever offered an award. he has partnered with republican senator john corn and to offer several improvements, including their open government act, of 2007. he was also the lead sponsor of

the protectn act which addresses flaws in the capital punishment, and in 2004, he offered provisions of law to require dna testing and better access to competent legal counsel to ensure that innocent people are not executed. long known for his work on congressional oversight, he led the judiciary committee's 2007 investigation into the massive firings of u.s. attorneys and the political influence over a decision making. he is voted on the nomination all current supreme court justices and he oversaw and chaired the hearings of the last three confirmations to the court, justice sotomayor, and justice kagan. he is also a member of this agriculture committee andis long cochaired in energize the work of the senate national guard office in its efforts to modernize and adequately equip the modern national guard of today.

he has three children and five grandchildren. his home is in middlesex, vt., where they live in the 19th century farmhouse in the midst of their farm. senator leahy. [applause] >> dean, thank you ve much for the introduction. it's hard being away from the farmhouse, but charles, i thank you in your superb staff. hosting this discussion means a lot. you and i have worked together on these issues over the years. i must admit, when i started preparing this speech, press: and others in my office, we were talking about it, things change. over the weekend. we can talk about the tragic

events of these past week and for a moment. they call us to reflect on the parlance of our democracy, and our responsibilities as beneficiaries and stewards. as we enter this beautiful program today, many of us passed by these magnificent words of the first amendment. charleses' carve them into marble on the facade. their 74 feet high. congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or their right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances. parents used to say that everything we needed in a democracy is in there. it promises diversity, practice

any religion or nine if you want, to speed can be protected by your government in your speech. that guarantees diversity. you guarantee diversity, you guarantee a democracy. the day before she was in the attack, congresswoman giffords, a member of the house of representatives, whose role was to recit these words on the house floor. in a free society, the society that we americans must always want our country to become a government should not and must not restrain free expression. but we learned this children, with freedom comes responsibility. couple flowering of democracy relies on the self restraint of each citizen, organization, and group of citizens.

the blog post and the twitter feed all have the power to inspire, to motivate, and to inform. but they also have the power to inflame and in sighcite. the seating rhetoric has gone too far. the demonizing of opponents, of government, of public servants, has gone too far. our politics have become incendiary. we all share the responsibility the temperature. that is a responsibility to keep our democracy thriving. the 535 members of the house and the senate have been at elected to represent more than 300 million americans from all walks of life. we have responsibilities within

our borde, but we also have responsibilities outside our borders. as our nation charts its way into complex and often very dangerous world. it is time to stop polarizing and to work together on the substance of the many challenges we face as a nation. otherwise, our country, a blessed, bountiful, expansive nation, which survived a revolutionary war, a civil i cant accept that. neither should anybody in this room. you know, i am the only democr elected to the senate in vermont htory.

i was introduced that way once shortly after i was elected. he carried every state except maine and vermont. shortly after that, franklin roosevelt came to vermont. my father told me the story. across the street from us was the national life insurance company. president roosevelt went by in an open car and my father was standing next to the president of the national and evebody wore hats. the president went by and the

head of the company took his hat off and held it direct my father turned the women said, i never thought i would see your -- you take your hat off for president roosevelt. he said, i tip my hat off to the president. think about that. we should show respect. the sheriff was in every man for this tragic moment. we need to work together for the good of the country and the american people. after oklahoma city, after the horrendous a tax of 9/11, we came together. we need to come together again. thtragedy is -- on common ground. it is easy to appeal to

resentments, distressed, and selfishness and hate. leaders should appeal to or better angels. one common ground remains elusive, we must respect the rights of others to express their own views and beliefs. one more thing -- we must not allow any assault on representatives of democracy to succeed in thwarting or meeting people's access to the elected representatives. i am committed to work with the new chairman as well as the president and the attorneys general as we face the problem confronting our nation. i look forward to working with the new ranking republican. we served together since he came to the senate in 1981. we know the value of

bipartisanship and civility. i began meeting with the senator last month. i will make sure they include those that are important to both of us. we have taken a keen interest in -- the first bill we considered last congress and one of the bills we signed into law by president obama was the recovery act. working together, we also strengthened and we made sure that taxpayers would be protected from fraud. in the new congress, we need to build on that progress. i will focus the first hearing of this congress on fighting fraud.

on our january 6 -- 26 tiering, we plan to learn more about the recovery of more than $3 billion of taxpayer dollars in fraud actions by the department of justice in the past fiscal year alone. that is our taxpayer -- tax dollars coming back into the treasury. the administration has been a partner and our crime-fighting effort we want to make sure that the new provisions are having the intended effect. i can tell you that these kind of investments will pay taxpayers back many times over. americans are worried about their budgets at home. we need to protect their investment. fighting fraud and protecting taxpayer dollars -- these difficult economic times, we

need to continue that. of bipartisanship. we also have to talk about focusing on american jobs. last year, the senate judiciary committee unanimously supported bipartisan efforts to stop online criminals from stealing our nation's intellectual property. it cost the economy billions of dollars every year. barring -- our intellectual property based businesses are one of the most productive in our economy. they are part of our best sources of export dollars. we cannostand by and see them ravaged. we cannot have americans consumers subjected. we will renew our effortsn this this year. among our top priorities is the

patent reform act. this bipartisan initiative to modernize our patent system has reived considerable attention in the last several congresses. there are days i feel that i hold schedule revolves around that. we have been updating our antiquated pat and system will keep america -- patent system will keep america the forefront of innovation. it protects jobs. it does it without adding a sense -- a cent to our nation's deficit. he agrees that patent reform is sorely needed. again, this is something more democrats and republicans can work together, can help the country, and help lower the tension. we work together over the years

in confronting anti-competitive business concept, especially in agriculture. the last two years, the justice department has become more aggressive in protecting competition. competition -- this is a very interesting thing. we will build on that as we talk about the concentration and agricultural businesses. i hope congress will finally repealed the health insurance industry's exemption from antitrust laws. there was bipartisan support for that in the last congress. there is no place in our market for anti-competitive abuses. repealing this antitrust is a good way to start.

it is in the health-insurance market. there are many ways in which the committee can help our economic recovery. we can strengtn programs. it encourages foreign investment, spur is job creation. i would like to see foreign money come in here to create jobs ithe united states more than american money going abroad and creating jobs in other countries. we will look at how we can move forward toward immigration proposals spurted ways to approve of the subprograms. -- ways to improve visa programs. ere are some good economic science finally. democrats and republicans should be working together on these measures.

the american people expect us to work together. the american people expect us to make the country better. -- we have also seen the last decade encroach on america is privacy. there is no other decade inur history imperative of security, the proliferation databases the spawning of interactive social media combined with earlier expectations about having the choice to be left alone. i will tell you a story. one of the few things i have kept -- is friend of my wall. -- it is sprayed on my wall. it is a short piece on that

profiled me. we live on a dirt road. the family has known me since i was a teenager. it is saturday morning, and at a state car drives uand sees the old farmer. he says, the senator live up this road? the farmer says, are you a relative of his? he said, no, i am not. are you a friend of this? not really. is he expecting you? never heard of him. [laughter] we believe in our privacy. in the digital age, aime darkened by the threat of terrorism, we face a difficult challenge of protecting the nation's.

we encourage american innovation and we respect privacy rights. the jury committee will continue to work to of state electronic communications privacy act. i want security agencies to have the tools needed to keep us safe from cyber threats. i also want to have federal privacy laws to keep pace with advancing technology. this is not an easy balance. i think it can be don we will examine several emerging privacy issues and a growing concern to me and many americans. including the invasive full body screening and our airports. the tracking of americans activities online. i want to work with the obama administration with senators on both sides of the aisle to revisit the communications assistance to law enforcement act. it bridges law enforcement needs with citizens' privacy rights.

i remember writing that law in their early 1990's. we cannot even have imagined that it has changed. we have to update the law. we have to have the same consideration we had in the 1990's. balancing privacy rights as well as a legitimate need for law enforcement community to gather valuable court ordered surveillance information to keep the nation safe. the aftermath of 9/11, we passed the patriot act. i am pleased that attorney general walter agreed to implement the civil liberties oversight and reporting improvement i suggested. it is a good solid step forward. we have to take the next step

and extend certain provisions of that act that are slated to expire next month. there is another area in this annual reports. chief justice roberts recently wrote about the urgent need to fill the federal decency -- federal judiciary vacancies. they have reached historically high levels. that resulted overburdened courts. litigants' are unable to have their cases heard. i will try to work with the senator and the senate leadership of both parties to lower those vacancies. unfortunately, this is another instance where private -- partisanship has been a destructive influence. we need good and capable women and men to be willing to serve as judges. to protect the rights of all americans and appalled blog --

and uphold a rule of law. we cannot to ask people to take on the public servants -- service of judge ben expose them to accumulating delays in the process. we can protect our national security and our constitutional liberties, but it takes care and foresight. this is not an area where we can use symbolism. we go to substance. do we want to be saved? do we want to proct ourselves? of course we do. let's be honest. it is going to take work to have that balance. at a time -- we need care and foreght. we continue to face the threat of terrorism and violence. the american people expect us to do no less. the government of the people, by

the people, for the people must be accountable to the people. we need a commitment to vigorous oversight and government transparency. when we can join together, republicans and democrats, -- a conservative republican from tes, he is joined with me over and over again to strengthen and expand the freedom of information act. we sha the view that open government is not very democratic issue or a republican issue. it is an american value. we will continue ourroductive partnerships. i will reintroduce the act, a bill to establish a bipartisan commission and improve the implementation of. we will do that later this year. you also have to do it by

example. i will pledge that the proceedings of the committee will continue to be web cast, available to all americans in real time. like internet access to hearings and business meetings. i know it works. i get back to my office and there will be a call, what did you mean by that? the important thing is that it is open. it is a special honored to be at newseum on pennsylvania avenue. i am the son of this paper publishers. we drove down today and i thought how my parents would have loved the idea and the reality of this great museum. i'd been mom and dad would have

embraced the incidents -- indispensable work of free speech and a free press. do not ever stop. it is so easy to argue for censorship for just this one issue or just this one issue. no. open, free debate. i think the constitution project for their interest. review in the judiciary committee's priorities is becoming a tradition. i like this kind of traditions. just last week, members of the congress were sworn in, pledging to uphold the constitution.

th its new term comes a responsibility of governing. as john f. kennedy said, to govern is to choose. i served in the majority and minority. three democratic president and four republican presidents. i know that we can be productive. i worked with republican house chairman. i worked with the republican senate majority and republican president to extend the voting rights act. to enact the innocence protection act, which provides dna testing for those wrongfully convicte i look forward to continuing this tradition. this is a new year. this is a new congress.

the year started in a very tragic and troubling way. every year is a year of promise for america. in our committee, we have a challenging agda. we have the challenge with some of the most capable members. we pursue the goals and make good artist a more perfect union. i thank you for listening to me very sad -- to me. [applause] >> he will be glad to take some questions as time permits. he will take questions from the audience. many of you may have asked questions -- past questions to the aisle. ok.

questions from the press? >> thank you, senator. in the wake of the shooting at fort hood, there was a push by the president and others to withhold judgment about the man'sotas and intentions until more was known. however, in the wake of the most recent shooting, there was no shortage of accusations that the two-party or talk-radio was behind motivating the individual. why is there the lack of caution on this particular incident? >> the president withheld judgment in the first situation. it implied that heid not in this instance. the president has taken the same

position on both. he has withheld judgment, as he should. i prosecuted lot of murder cases. i have arrested murderers. i withhold judgment until the evidence is in. the president has done this in both cases. president obama is right in doing that. it is a heinous crime, terrible crime. i want members of congress to be able to meet anywhere in this country with their constituents. this is part of our open government. the ability to petition congress, to speak to congress. i do not want that to change. let's find out what happens. let's not get a tragedy mixed up in politics. the president has not and i have not. i am more interested in finding out what was the motivation of the person who has been

arrested. my heart goes out to the families of those who love lost members, a nine-year-old girl, a husband who died protecting his wife, a super qualified member, a highly respected member of congress fighting for life. those are the things we should be concerned about. >> the first question from the audience, do you believe cyber security legislation will move ahead this session? >> thank you. i think cyber security legislation has to move ahead. we are losing billions of

dollars because of the fraud on the internet. a lot of it is from overseas. we pay -- are real questions of our security. so much of what we do is done via computers and internet. thk about the heating systems when it is five below zero in the northeast or other parts of the country. think of the devastating consequences of a cyber attack. think of the billions and billions of dollars counterfeit goods are sold and many of them coming from overseas. pele have lost life savings. people have had their bank accounts and their credit relent. -- relent. -- ruined.

my guess is that if we can -- i am working with governments and with industry, with users, consumers. i am trying to bring them all end to make sure that everybody is that the table. i can guarantee that ife read the most perfect bill this year and pass it, it a couple of years, we will have to revisit it. i want to write a bill that can be updated. the types of problems that we are seeing and the types of attacks is amazing. >> we have two more questions from the audience. the first concerns patent reform. you're a minute to the pop reform act was seen as a strong and widely acceptable compromise on a complicated issue. you mentioned your conversations with their hou colleagues.

police star with a blank slate? >> -- will you start with a blank slate? >> when i began working on padded reform, i hadair. [laughter] i do not want to go back to a blank slate. we have done an enormous amount of work. we have brought an end -- we have brought in every state culture. -- stakeholder. we have had countless meetings with all the stakeholders. we have worked with the patent office and others. i think the bipartisan legislation we put together is a good step and it is a good place toegin. i will not start with a blank slate. i will work with both republicans and democrats in both the hse and senate to try to have a good solid bill or we

can begin. if it comes to the floor of the senate, it will pass. i would like to do it now before we get tangled up next year with presidential elections and everything else. >> a few more questions. what do you anticipate the senate will do in reaction to disclosures by wikileaks? >> i wish i knew the answer. i know the justice department has alrdy had subpoenas' out. we have been revealing what the law is. -- revealing what the law is. -- reviewing what the law is. i believe in an open government, but i do not believe in putting good men and women in danger.

we have had to bring people out of other countries where they were serving at great risk to their own lives, serving to protect your safety, my safety. th were very valuable in doing that and we have had to remove them from those countries because they had been exposed. we have seen people in some countri who have faced the death or have been killed because of that. that is not responsible. i will also ask the obvious question. i had lasted so many times in my office. what in heck do we have all this material or a private to first- onto could download it

cds? who made that can -- and of made that decision? -- who made that decision? >> what are the specific plans they considered to strengthen eb5? >> it is a program where investors are able to me from overseas, invest in businesses in the united states and they move forward in the immigration process doing it. that is the shorthand to it. it is being used in many places. it has been used very effectively in my state.

there been some questions whether it has been misused and other places. in most places, it has been used well. i think it should be made a permanent program, but with some very specific oversight. government and congressional oversight to make sure that it does best -- money comes in the uned states, creates jobs, americans are being hired for those jobs. frankly, as an american, i would wrapped -- much rather see money coming from outside this country coming in and creating jobs. >> we have three questions on the nomination process. the first is -- what did you schedule for nomination hearings? when will mr. -- when will the

atf nominee will likely have a hearing? >> especially those who went through the committee unanimously last year. they should not have to go through it again. i do not know how you ask someone. you put them through a humiliating to lead. i am urging all of us to back away from that. the president has gone across party lines. he has saw the advice of republican senators and democratic senators. we have to get away from that. i ll put on the agenda very quickly tho two of already been confirmed.

the president sent most of those names back to us. we senators are dependent on our staff. they do the work. we will get them through. there are so many vacancies. we had 85 district courts with vacancies. 16 circuit courts. first president bush's two years in office, the democrats were in charge for a year-and-a-half. in a year-and-a-half, we went through 100 of its judges. i just happen to have these numbers here. [laughter]

we were able to put through only about half of that, just over half of that. we have to get away from that. you have good men and women who are willing to serve. let them do that. be a judge is a prestigious office. it is a very hard working office. it does not come without risk. as we saw this weekend. >> the final to qutions also concerned delays in the process. what can be done differently to speed up the confirmation process for judges? the delays in confirming federal judges to a tragic toll. meetttended congresswoman's

and greet. what will the senate judiciary committee to do -- due to honor his memory? >> that was a leading question. [laughter] i am going to both democratic and republican leadership and say, this is a new congress. what's that back. let's do something similar to what i did in my first two years. let's move judges through quickly. we will have been heard in in committee and they will be

confirmed their rry it if you have somebody who has been confirmed unanimously, the tradition has always been -- you take 10 minutes of debate equally divided and to roll call them. they go through unanimously. i want to get back to them. let's have a debate on them. and then vote. but vote yes, vote no, do not vote may be. >> we have time for two more questions from the press. >> you were the target of an attack in 2001. i am wondering if you could talk about whether that attack or this one will change how you interact with constituents or other senators.

>> i had an attack on myself shortly after 911. i received one of the deadly anthrax letters. people died because of letters addressed to me. i still wonder who sent it and why they sent it. i will wonder that for the rest of my life. for a period of time, the capitol police were superb, proving security. felt i really did not need it. i felt totally safe in my state of vermont. it is this a this state in the nation. i know our local d state police in vermont have procedures for public meetings. i am very satisfied with what

they are. i will not go into the details for security reasons. the capital itself is very, very secure. when i think about what it was like at law school, all the doors were open. it is a little bit different today. i did not feel any worry being there. i would not want to see every member of congress walking around with security. we have the obvious ones. i have no problem with that. i would not want to see members of congress walking route with security. ad it is not the kind of untry we are. i've been -- it is not the kind of country we are. i have been to a totalitarian countries. some of these countries, to visit and they are surised

that i drive to -- in my own car. i want to keep it that way. it would be a mistake if we put any more barriers. the one place we can be ourselves is that home. i want that to continue. the country is better off if we can. i would urge, i really would urge -- i urge this for the right and left. everytime you disagree with somebody in public office, stop attacking their motives and describing some sort of nefarious motive. we have good men and women across the political spectrum who represent people in this country acrosthe political spectrum. there are no easy answers to the problems facing america. there never have been.

there were not any easy answers during the great depression. we had men and women who came together to stop the best interests possible to make this a better country. don't we owe that to our children and grandchildren? step back from the rhetoric. go to substance. start working together. this is a great and wonderful country. we are a beacon to the rest of the world. let's make sure that this began as a little broader than it has been. r than it has been. >> should there be more talk about gun control? >> there wille, but i do not know if it will change. that is an easanswer. vermont has the lowest crime

rates in the country. it doesn't have gun control. but i would not want those laws -- vmont laws to be in an urban area. we have to figure out what works best. thank you. i really appreciate you being here. [applause]

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and wisconsin public in -- we began with reports to the committee. the event is being held at the national harbour in maryland. national harbour and maryland. >> as you all can remember, we had a singular goal which was to fire pelosi, and thank business we did that. i wanted to just touch a little bit on some of the efforts that you all did, some of the victory staff in your states did and then talk a little bit about what the rnc has been doing since the election to prepare for 2011. we were able to work with the state parties to be able to implement over 360 victory arses throughout the country along with 360 victory staffers staffing those offices and helping manage over 200,000

volunteers throughout the country, making or 45 million volunteer contacts. the results of all that work was 63 congressional seats picked up, six senate picked up and 12 governor picked up. we had over 693 elected republican state legislators throughout the country. it was a very exciting year and it it was my pleasure and honor to be able to serve during this exciting time. since the election, some key things we have been working on at the rnc to get prepared for the next cycle, we have done an extensive review and after action reports for every department at the rnc to be able to make sure we are able to learn the lessons learned from 2010, so that we can move forward in a more efficient and more productive way. we learned some very good things that we did that were new and we learned some lessons that we can

carry forward. we have also started preliminary preparations for the 2011 election cycle. i know is often easy to forget that we have off-year elections, but there are numerous gubernatorial elections that we are starting to prepare for, putting together victory plans and preparing for that. norm had mentioned we have dramatically upticks our efforts in the redistricting effort, led are our legal department -- led by our legal department. we will be in a very good position but we cannot allow that to slip away, so we have to increase our efforts there and we have begun to do so. we have put together an extensive review of our finance projects an average going forward.

the finance director and her team have put together a review from top to bottom of various different events and programs that we are anxiously prepared to move forward, starting next week. i appreciate the time and i just want to wrap up this report by saying thank you very much for allowing me to serve as your chief of staff and for working with all the members of the 168 and the wonderful staff at the rnc. they did phenomena work this cycle and it was an honor to be part of this committee during a historic time. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you, very much, michael. at this time, we are very pleased to receive a report from our co-chair, jan larimer a, who

has been out there like so many of us planning seeds and working very hard to have those seeds grow, and they did. we are really grateful for her leadership and i am particularly group -- grindle for her partnership and the opportunity to serve together for the last two years. it gives me great pleasure to present to you our national co- chair, the honorable jan larimer , from wyoming. >> good morning. the political conversation in this country is driven by numbers, polling numbers, fund- raising numbers, voter totals, and who is up and who is down in the country. you have all received a copy that i sent of a final report from the co-chairman of this. i want to give you a synopsis of everything that we accomplished. 18 million are the number of voters reached by our get-out-

the-vote advertising campaign. 1.2 million phone calls generated by the rnc women's program, 128, the number of gop women who ran for the u.s. house in 2010. that is a record. [applause] 24, the number of republican women who won u.s. house seats in 2010. that is a record. 9, the number of new women who were elected to the u.s. house. that is a record. 17, the number of women who ran for the u.s. senate. 3, the number of new republican women who are governors. 5, the number of new women who are lieutenant governors in their state. 100 is the increase in gop women in legislative seats. there are over 40 states that i

visited as co-chairman and i logged 300,000 miles. 2568 weeks have been transmitted, 86,000 or the number of voters connected live to our women's program phone calls, 3946 members are on rnc women, 60,000 is the number of e-mail addresses that we maintain and visit with each and every week and sometimes multiple times during the week, and we have passed out over 8000 training manuals which you have all used in your states to attract new candidates, new campaigns, and to get people elected. i want to recognize three people this morning because none of this would have happened in my office without elizabeth pierce

, amy, and katie. are the three of you in here? you all know them. they have done an incredible job. has been fun working with them and all of you. you have seen some snapshots of many of you and what we did these last two years. you are all winners. we are all winners. the republican party did an amazing job because you are all in the trenches each and every day and you broadbent the kind of totals that two years ago, nobody thought were possible. so thanks for all that you have done. thanks for all you are about to do for 2012. let's keep on and let's just keep this train rolling. i am proud to be a member to serve with all of you. thank you. [applause] >> thank you very much.

i appreciate that. at this time we will have the chairman's report. over the last month or so we have had a chance to digest the opportunities, the successes, the ups and downs of the past two years. most especially, the past year. when i began my chairmanship, i thank you for the opportunity to serve. as we come to this particular crossroads and elections lie ahead for what happens next, i want to thank you so much for the chance to serve, at a time when our party was changing, struggling to grow, regain its footing, find its voice, reconnect with people, and to

stand proud again. the one thing i have learned in this role, this job, this responsibility, is that it does not get done without you. our state chairman, our national committee men and women, the numbers you just heard from our co-chair are not just numbers on a piece of paper. they are not. there is real effort behind those numbers. there are real men and women behind those numbers, and their everyday struggles that were put into action by you. so i am grateful as chairman to have served with one of the best rnc committees in a long, long time. because you did not shrink from

the challenge, you did not walk away from the opportunity, and for the first time in over a generation, we looked at america and we saw us, and we talked to us, each other, andrew n. mike -- and wheat drew in moms and dads, teenagers, college students, african- americans, women, hispanics. we drew in america. they responded to your voice and your efforts. those numbers are not just numbers. they don't get tossed around