on behalf of sanitation workers, public sanitation workers, in the city of memphis. he was in the middle of organizing the poor people's campaign. he really did not want to go to memphis because he thought it would interrupt what he thought was the most important campaign he was launching. he reminded us in thinking about poverty was to rethink how we think about poverty. he recounted for everyone this story of the road to jericho. he recounted that on the road to jericho, there was a man who had been robbed and left beside the road to die by the robbers. many leaders went by on the road and ignored this pour man who

had been beaten and robbed. the high priest went by. it was a samaritan, a stranger, a forerunner to the area, who dismantled -- dismounted to really sit there and care for him. many of us stop at that point. but dr. king reminded us that there was a reason why that road was the way it was. he had personally traveled that road with his wife. when you went down that road, he finally understood the parable. the road winds and twists and turns and it has lots of different little places where someone could ambush you. what dr. king explained to us was that that person who was mugged, just like today, we

could figure out stories and blame the person. the people who went by, maybe, or blaming that person. it is a dangerous road. if you were one of the high priests, as you are on a donkey. you have servants. you are traveling in a group. you get to travel in the daylight. you are traveling in safety. nobody is going to rob you. that does not make sense. if you are worker and you are on your way from jericho to go to the temple, you have to work during the day. when you travel the road, it will be dark. it will be night time. if you were a single men and you were going to jericho, you would be traveling with children, by yourself.

it is the design of the road. it is not the person. it is the situation that makes the privileged think that the road is ok. it makes those who are not privileged suffer the dangers. it is policy that makes the road dangerous. when you ask, what are we doing concretely, it is that we must respond to the dangers of the road. one of the things that we are doing is we have rethought the department of labour. the secretary has charged us with making a department that will concentrate on good jobs for everyone. we mean everyone. when dr. king was speaking to the sanitation workers, he could have said, you are sanitation

markers. if you have a ph.d., he would not be -- you would not be sanitation workers. that was not his speech. his speeches about the injustice to those workers. policy has to address those things. we need good jobs for everyone and we do not mean a job that is the need someone. we mean that there is -- good jobs for everyone does not mean that >> so, what is a good job? it narrows wage difference and inequality and provides a safe and healthy workplace. think of the dangers faced in the workplace where many diet for that was what dr. king was working on.

workers were being denied their fair over time and want to make sure that jobs are open for all. we must end of discrimination. we must get the necessary skills to prepare workers for success there that is a good job. when we mean everyone, we mean everyone. we mean that we have to reach into communities. we have to reach african- americans. we have to reach latinos. we have to reach women. we have to reach people with disabilities, veterans, people with limited english abilities and individuals in high unemployment areas. we have to reach older workers that are struggling to find retirement. we have to reach everyone. the charge that we have is to

provide good jobs for everyone. that is our charge. what are we doing specifically about that? let me quote some of what dr. king said. dr. king reminded us that it is all right to talk and preach about the roads over yonder ultimately, people want suits and dresses to wear down here. it is all right to talk about streets flowing with milk and honey, but god commanded us to be concerned about the slums down here. it is all right to talk about the new jerusalem, but one day, we must talk about the new york and the new philadelphia. and the new los angeles and the new memphis. we are improving our employment

opportunities over the past year. we have surfaced over 7.6 million african-americans through job training in our workforce programs for it that includes the many young people -- programs. that includes the many young people. we must get people job training to help them through mentoring and transitional service so that ex-offenders can integrate into our neighborhoods. we announced a pilot to get 300 veterans into our job corps program and into our employment and training administration that is making changes to our apprentice program. we have changed the advisory committee to make sure that we have people from the community,

not just those from business and not just those from labor. the new board includes james a brief from the national urban league, a former colleague of mine. -- james reid, from the national urban league, a former colleague of mine. we need to make sure that apprentice ship programs -- apprenticeship programs will be open and available to all available and eligible job- seekers. to make sure they are not left out of apprenticeship programs. we are working to protect workers' income spurted we recovered over $85 million for 117,000 american workers last year. our wage division hired 250 new investigators. a staff increase that is going to insure that we are going to be able to keep america's workers checks in their pockets.

in april of this year, we launched a national bilingual public awareness campaign that we call "we can help" to make sure we held all workers with their labor rights. we were reminded that we have this new racism that has put itself in america. we are not upset at all immigrants in this country. we are just upset about immigrants of certain color. we know where this goes. dr. king also reminded us, and this is important for us to understand about the current situation about where poverty comes from. this recession, this great recession, if you took all of the jobs that we lost in the

downturn of the 1960's, and all of the jobs that we lost in the downturn of the 1970's, and all of the jobs that we lost in the downturn of the 1980's. all of those recessions that took place in the 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's and stack them up, that is this recession. it is not one recession. it is not to dub recessions. it is not even three recessions. it is three decades of job loss that took place in one year. that was before president obama took office. that is what we fell into. when you understand that the labor market is like a game of musical chairs and someone takes 8 million shares out of the room, someone has got to be standing up.

dr. king reminded us of that. he said that we realize that this location of our economy and the prevalence of discrimination press people into idleness it binds them -- iona's. it binds them against their will. idleness.nes it binds them against their will. somebody has got to be standing. you can blame who you want. until we get 8 million shares back into the room, someone will be standing. -- shares back into the room, someone will be standing. -- chairs back into the room, someone will be standing. there was a case involving discrimination against an african-american male. we were able to get him a

$25,000 award in back pay. we conducted outreach events to negotiate contractors about their equal -- equal employment opportunity responsibilities and entered into 96 conciliation agreements resulting in back pay awards of more than $9 million. we got 2000 additional potential job offers for those facing discrimination. the department launched a website to highlight employment of people with disabilities and our veterans. we have a new portal to make sure that veterans have access to every job that we can find. dr. king reminded us in memphis that the problem faced by those sanitation workers was one of injustice. he said, "the issue is

injustice. the issue is the refusal of memphis to be fair and honest in its dealings with its public servants who happened to the sanitation workers." we are working to protect the safety of american workers. osha has strengthened programs to reach out to all vulnerable workers. workers that did not know that they even existed workers in construction suffered the most fatalities. we issued new regulations on cranes and derricks. finally, dr. king reminded us, because he was working to get workers into the right to

organize and getting that recognized, it was that our cause is identical to that of those who worked for the set were jews -- decent wages. conditions in which families can grow. we are working to make sure that workers have a voice. our office of labor management standards instituted a regulation on the notification of employees under their labor laws and those are part of an executive order that will require all government contractors to inform workers of their rights under federal labor laws. including the right to organize. we ensure that workers have affirmation critical to their participation in the workplace, providing more transparency about what arrangements their employers have made to persuade

them whether or not to join a union. this is a multimillion-dollar industry in which employers hire people to tell people that they do not want a right that other people fought for them to have. some workers would be astounded to know how much money the company was spending to deny them a right. if you have that much money to spend to keep me from having a right that other americans fought for me to have, why do you not just give me the money? [applause] [laughter] >> that will be up for public comment. [laughter] >> i cannot for the issue as to how to comment. -- i cannot pressure you as to how to comment. we are looking at those policies

that make the road from jerusalem to jericho a dangerous road. we are trying to smooth the path toward the are trying to make sure that no one -- no one gets mugged beside the road. -- nobody gets mugged beside the road. not just those that created the problem, but those that are the victims of that policy. we are putting in place as many policies as we can to make sure that that is a safe road. with your support of president obama and his policies, we will continue to fight that fight. we will continue to make that road safe. we will continue to make sure that there are good jobs for everyone. thank you. [applause]

>> thank you. as we come every year, give an award to one that has gone beyond the call of duty, it was an easy task this year. for the last several years, we have been engaged in a fight for education equality. we see a gap between the achievements of students of color and others is something that must be confronted and dealt with it all must be held accountable. in this accountability, there are some that try and demonize part of the process. the demonizing of teaching is not education reform, it is education deform. [applause]

yes, teachers must be held accountable, but so must everyone else, including those that want to cut funds to public education. including parents. including those of us that our stakeholders in the community. one that has weathered the storm and held their own profession accountable, but at the same time, took what i feel is unfair and unnecessary attacks to protect those that go to school everyday there is some areas that the talking heads would not drive through on their way to the airport. i know. this lady has not only fought for them, she has fought for us. whether it was for livable wages when she was head of the union in new york.

she, against the wishes of her own members marched with us against police misconduct. she has been a activist -- and activist and it is with great pride that we give her this award of service, the president of the american federation of .eachers [applause] in that spirit, and she will make remarks later because of our time. we are bringing our speaker on and i have to go to harlem and newark. i and the activist today. -- i in the activist today.

in the spirit of what we are trying to do in education, i remember when we started in this journey, president obama was senator obama. he was strong on this issue, then. he and the chancellor schools or arranged for me to meet with the head of schools in chicago. immediately, he and i began a bond and have worked together throughout the last several years when we had -- several years. when we had martin luther king day, martin luthin the student e has made change. he raced to the top and he put money out there to have incentives for people to change what is going on in the achievement gap.

there are those that have fought against change. but they slipped after the revolution. you cannot keep doing the same thing and expect different results. you cannot protect everyone in the system. president obama has challenged us. i remember we had a meeting about two. one of the first meetings in the oval office -- about two years ago. one of the first meetings in the oval office. newt gingrich and i met with the president and the president, without any forewarning, recommended that we do a five- city tour. that was extremely revolutionary to have newt gingrich and on the road together. [laughter] army duncan -- arne duncan somehow made it through.

it showed his leadership and passion to try to get all sides of america to deal with a critical mission to it is for that reason that we asked him to be our speaker this morning -- critical mission. it is for that reason that we ask him to be our speaker this morning. he is someone that i personally respect and admire and i am glad to have him with us today. the united states secretary of education, arne duncan. [applause] >> good morning. reverend sharpton, thank you for that kind introduction. congratulations on the award. i went back to my office after that meeting and told my staff that we will want to go on a five-city tour with reverend al

sharpton and the gingrich and a thought it was a bad idea. i said that it was not my idea. that was the president's idea. they said,"let's get to work." of all the jokes that we make, this is a great metaphor as to what the country has to do. we all have to move out of our copper zone. i actually didn't take much risk. the fact that he was outside his upper zone and that newt gingrich would with outside his comfort zone, it could not have gone better. i think that if we can continue to do those things and show that kind of courage and leadership is hopeful for where we are going. i am convinced that education is the civil rights issue of our generation and we have a lot of hard work ahead of us. if we want our young people to have a chance to enter

mainstream society and pursue the american dream, the can only do that through education. if we make an honest assessment of where we are today, everyone knows that we have a lot of hard work ahead of us. our black children today are three of times more likely to live in poverty than white children. half of the young people of color are dropping out of high school. how many good jobs are out there for high-school dropouts? none. 30 years ago, you could drop out and you could go work in the stockyards in the steel mills. we have to do some things differently. it cannot be just about graduating from high school. with a high-school diploma, how many good jobs are out there? very few. community colleges, trade, some form of higher education has to be the goal for every young person in our country for the

cannot rest of -- in our country. if you looked at where we are internationally, we are not anywhere near where we need to be. 1 million young people are hitting our streets every year it is economically unsustainable and it is morally unacceptable. if you look at the benchmarks, in science, our students are 25th. one generation ago, we let in college graduate and today we are ninth. other countries have passed us by. they have invested more for that they have been committed. they have done other things. this is our sputnik moment. we have to do things very

differently. we have to do it together. we all know the statistics. we do not have to go through those. i just want to talk about what i am hopeful. for all the challenges that we face, we have the solution here. the president has drawn the line in the sand. he said that by 2020, we need to lead in college graduates. there is no way to get that president's goal unless we change. the goal is to take what is working. we know how to get better. if you have children that are not being read to at night and not have enough food to each and may not be a will to see the blackboard, what we have to do? we have to increase school hours and crick communities around the schools to if they do not have

eyeglasses, we have to get them. -- schools. if they do not have my glasses, we have to get them. systemically, not just one child or charismatic teacher or a good school, systemically, a child after child, year after year, agreed after gray, a young people from very tough backgrounds are doing extraordinarily well . we have a huge outpouring of interest in the initiative. we have about 20 planning grants and we have about 200 outstanding applications. i just wish we had more resources to support that effort. we are moving forward and planning and working together. not just schools, but fate based institutions. -date based -- faith based

institutions. the school has to be open seven days a week after school. if your idea it is to engage, if you just show up, you have a problem. yet to be there on an ongoing basis. my wife and i have to the young children. we try to be good partners with our children's teachers. not just to be there one or twice a year, but to do a better job. we have to challenge young people. your job as a young person is to go to school and get an education. young people do not understand. if you drop out of 14 or 15 or 16, those doors shut on you very quickly turned out that there is a second chance -- is not a second chance, but you can do the right thing and go to school and graduate. with the president's leadership, there is a massive increase in pell grants for the next decade.

you do not have to be from a wealthy family to go to college now. the resources are there. you have to do the hard work to get ready. historically, in our country, particularly with the current law, it reduces standards. why? it was not good for the children, it was not good for education. it was good for the politicians. if you can tell the public that more students were meeting state standards, they could get reelected. now, we have 40 states with higher standard for every single child. for the first time in our country, a child in mississippi and a child in massachusetts will be held to the same standards. there will be competing for jobs

in a globally competitive economy. police said it was impossible. it could not be done. the unions helped to lead this charge and communities have been crying out for the spirited nonprofits -- out for this. nt the years, -- in three years, the touchdown was worth six points. a massive brick for is happening. we have to support that leadership. officials are saying that our children need to do something better. we need to stop lying to children and raise the bar. we will see state test scores go to 40 or 50%. for the first time, we will be

telling the truth and we will see where young people are in fourth and fifth and sixth grade. if we are lying to them, it does not help them improve. our young people need the hardest working and most committed teachers and principals. in education, tell what matters tremendously to rid -- talent matters to this occurred-talent matters tremendously. dr. -- talent matters tremendously. we love to talk about the achievement gap. i like to talk about the opportunity that. when we close the opportunity gap, we did an extraordinary opportunity and a can be successful. -- they can be successful.

schools are turning around. we are transforming the opportunity to be available for children. one school system has turned around 20 schools. i met with them and talked with one of the principles that was going to retire. he had a phenomenal track record and was going to retire and the superintendent asked him to take on the lowest performing schools and he said that this was the most moral and ethical work he had ever done in his career. he was glad he did not retire. we have to have them go into the inner-city and rural communities. if we close the opportunity gap, i am convinced we will close the achievement gap. we have to believe that every single child can be successful. reverend sharpton and i went to a school in philadelphia. three years ago, it was the second most violent school in

philadelphia when we -- philadelphia. when we went there, you could hear a pin drop. everyone was working hard. a young man said that we used to fight all the time. i asked what he used to fight about and he said that they thought about stupid things. he said that they were expected to fight. the expectation of the adults was that children with fight. new adults and a new team, the violence went to zero. we have to step up. we have what i call to battle this function. labor, management, not doing the right thing by children. constant turnover and no one is happy.

people aren't working together in different ways. -- people are working together in different ways. all around the country, folks are doing things very differently were the focus is not on the adults, but on student achievement. in baltimore, a contract just passed and the teachers voted for it. in new haven, 95% teachers voted for the contract. this is what great teachers are looking for. we are holding the conference next month in denver. we said that you could only come if you work a superintendent and you want to come together. if you are not serious, do not come. i was worried that we would have 30 applicants or for the applicants. we had about 250 applicants.

we had more applicants than white spots were available. -- what spots were available. we have a historical lack of opportunity. examples of success are out there. we know what works for it happens every single day in our country. as educators, parents, business leaders, faith based leaders, we cannot rest until every single child has the benefit of those opportunities for and i promise you that if we do that, you will see dropout rates drop dramatically. the classroom to prison pipeline, we can end that through education.

thank you so much and god bless. >> thank you, mr. duncan. at this time, reverend sharpton indicated that he was the leader. we have events taking place in three other cities, so he did have to catch his flight to new york. someone needs to call him that since he is the leader, do not stay in the work tonight. let's get our next speaker a hand as she comes third. >> so, i can say anything i want about how sharpton in you will not tell him? i want to thank the national action league. i want to thank the network.

i want to thank al sharpton. i have known the rev. for a long time. the first time i ever cursed in front of him was last week. i find that what the national action network has done in terms of new york and around the country has been remarkable. it has been -- it has taken all of us in terms of fighting the fight against injustice. for me, to receive an award from reverend sharpton, who i have worked with for years, to receive an award from the national action network is one that i received with tremendous

joy and humility and a push towards action. you have heard from a bunch of other labor leaders today. our sisters and brothers from 32bj, our sisters and brothers from baltimore, the baltimore folks can do their own shout out. [applause] i am so pleased to see nathan sanders and candy peterson with us today, the to the new leaders of the washington teachers union. [applause] as we heard, when dr. king died , he died fighting the fight for injustice on behalf of

sanitation workers in memphis. labor civil rights leaders have always fought the fight shoulder to shoulder. dr. king walked hand-in-hand with people from the movement. we at the aft are still fighting to regain all the members that we lost when we expelled segregated locals in the south. shoulder to shoulder, working to fight against injustice. dr. king recognized that solving problems created by any quality requires a collective effort. that is true of any issue.

secretary dunk it said it very eloquently children's education is not only not an exception, but a path to help create equality must mean the children must be front and center. while there is a lot of talk and activity about fixing our schools, too much of the dialogue has neglected the one has all no on the answers. we are often striving for more, but we often neglect the voices of parents and teachers, the

foot soldiers for kids. the people in this room recognize the importance of collaborating, working together to improve education. our union supported election, because of getting input from stakeholders -- i know about this understanding of you being a collaboration working together in order to change things. things that we must change. whether it is the disappearance of 8 million jobs and finding ways to put people back to work in jobs that help them create and have for their families or

whether it is changing our education system from an industrial economy system to one that helps all kids prepare for a knowledge economy. too often, the status quo is divisiveness, not collaboration and working together. as you all know, the conversation about education and our children's future has become a very divisive and very politicized. too often, the false choice is presented. either you or for students or you are for teachers. -- either you are for students or you are for teachers read what is good for teachers is good for students. -- for teachers. what is good for teachers is good for students. [applause] community groups have to be engaged in the part of a team

that works on improving our public schools. as an educator, we know a thing or two about what works and what does not work in classrooms. we know that we have to have a laser light focus on teacher quality. we do not believe that teachers can solve everything in the .orld pretty soon, we will hear that teachers were responsible for the iraqi war. i do not tease about that anymore because we have gotten too close to hearing that. this means all of us having to take more responsibility. for the school districts, it means that they have to be serious about developing a fair, accurate and transparent plan to evaluate teachers and for us, it means that we have to engage in that process in a real way.

not blaming managers to -- not blaming managers for failing to get rid of that teacher, but making sure that teachers are the best that they can be, the value waited in a real way. that is what joint, collective responsibility means about teacher quality. that is what walking the walk together means about teacher quality. that is what taking responsibility it means, not demonizing and scapegoating in order to avoid responsibility. [applause] when we have a variety of voices working together, we can solve

all the problems in public education for it weekend make a big difference. we need all hands on deck find ways to ensure for children that their dreams are not simply their dreams, but that there are ways and roads to achieve them. as a nation, we are still grieving over the tragedy in tucson and debating what caused it and how it could be prevented. there has been so much spoken about dr. king's quotes, so i will not repeat some of them. but reverend sharpton just wrote a piece this week on the devastating effects of gun violence on black youth and the importance of education in eradicating this tragic

phenomenon. we agree that schools and neighbors have to be linked by more than geography. they are, and must be linked by the fact that they are all part of the same community. to be successful, our schools have to be places that help eliminate the barriers to learning created by hunger, health care, tough family situations, a huge unemployment, a huge foreclosures, the stress associated with a lagging economy. all of that affects our kids every single day. the secretary just talked about what some schools do and what is done in new york. we see community schools within the public system in places like cincinnati and they are doing

that which we need to do, coming together to provide all kinds of education and health and social services that help kids and their families. what we are doing in these situations is not blaming poverty, not blaming adversity, not ignoring party, not ignoring the diversity, but pressing the system and all of us to trumpet by having these services so that we can deal with the wreckage and all the issues that in tv children's success. this is the great equalizer for our kids and their schools can be and should be the hub of

every community. labor is the great equalizer for workers. workers who all too often are feeling the ravages that dr. king so eloquently talk about the day that he was assassinated. when communities pull together, every school, every family, every community gets stronger. the fight is our fight. we want our fight to improve education. we won that fight to be your fight. we want our fight in your fight to improve amenities, to create jobs, to in foreclosures, to end

hunger. we want those fights to be our fights. we want to be the foot soldiers in the fight to make america a more equal, just place. thank you very much for this award. [applause] >> i apologize. thank you so much. reverend sharpton has a unique way of doing things. he said a staff member to do all this work by myself, but i am so happy that we had so many folks come together to assist us in the washington dc area and i would like to mention something this morning.

the president of the d.c. federation civic association. let's give him a hand toward. and the special assistant to harry thomas, who has worked around the clock to help us. thank you so much, monique. the hotel has received an emergency call for this bernese hawkins. please call home immediately. we do have to depart and head to new york, but we want rev. bill ell to come and bil give our closing prayer for the we think all of you on behalf of and our chairman of

the board. we hope to continue to work and we look forward to august 28. have a wonderful king day. come on dr. bell and give us our closing prayer. >> let us pray. father, thank you for this glorious day and this precious day that we pause to celebrate the life and legacy of dr. martin luther king, one of the greatest leaders to ever across the pages of history. we thank you for him got. we thank you for his courage. we thank you for his determination, his commitment to mankind. we pray as we leave this place that you would use us to liberate us wherever we are. we have come a long way, but there are many challenges that lie ahead of us.

we pray that your spirit will give us the tenacity and the determination we bless your name for everything that you're going to do. we thank you now for it as we leave this place, we know that your presence and your power will be with us in the name of jesus christ our lord we pray. everybody said a man. -- said amen. >> mr. andre johnson has done a marvelous job. thank you. thank you, all.

>> use the c-span video library. there are hundreds of programs on the life and legacy of the civil rights leader. find a program, watches, clip it, and sheriff's. >> in a moment on c-span, we will continue our look at the life of martin luther king jr. during a forum to examines how he may have approached policy issues being debated. after that, a look at the detroit auto show. then, the inauguration of maine's new governor. then house debate on the health care repealed. >> the chinese president arrives in the u.s. tomorrow for a four day visit.

with bilateral meetings at the white house and a joint press conference with president obama. he will also visit the state department with vice president biden and later attend a state dinner at the white house. president -- the president of china will spend thursday on capitol hill meeting with democratic and republican lawmakers. he will fly to chicago thursday night for a meeting with chinese business owners before heading home. full coverage of the trip on the c-span networks. >> more about the legacy of martin luther king jr.. next, a look at how dr. king might have approached public policy issues being debated. we will hear from the former marilyn the -- lieutenant governor. plus, members of the naacp and the faith and politics institute. americans for democratic action

host of this event last week. i have known cheryl for 30 years. she has done a lot in those 30 years she was an intern, wants. now, she is an extra? i don't know. she served eight years in the maryland legislature and they miss her now. she has worked on lots of different issues, important issues and she is used -- she has usually one. she is hard working and she is smart. she was head of the coral freeman foundation and she gave a lot of money to good people. i hope that they remember it.

she is very special, and for the last few months, she has been the executive director of the aba education fund. i think that she will do a good job with that. work hard. i am not going to be quite slow enthusiastic about michael j.. i have only known him about five years. it started when we did a roosevelt dinner in new york for joe hansen. michael j. was the political director and he was good. he was very good. i have known him the last to get yours very well.

i am going to say that the -- i have known him the last two years very well. think he could be as confusing as a fellow, but they are going to take the leadership right now and move on. [applause] >> thank you so much for being here today. we are delighted to present the annual wwmd, or "what would martin to" event. this is the oldest multi issue liberal lobbying group and the education fund does its best to get the word out to educate policymakers, the press, and activists around the country

today's events are especially important for us as we struggle for some of our recent challenges in our country, whether it was the election results for last week's shooting in tucson. before i start, i like to remind everyone to silence their phones or anything else that might make noise. while you are doing that, i will i want towho twittere, remind you that our hashed tag is -- this happens only in partnership with a lot of good people. i want to start by thanking the congresswoman's office and her staff and her leadership. she is the president of our group. our staff starts with michael j.

wilson who is also the secretary of the education fund. as well as others. many of them are here and many are outside working. we also want to thank our volunteers, our board members and our donors and supporters. thank you, all. i also want to recognize the ada director. before the discarded, i think we should take just a moment to remember all of those in tucson and in our history who have given their lives to try to make change because they cared about our country and care about civil rights and the important issues facing our country. if we could just take a moment, please.

thank you. in the final days of planning this event, one of the comments that michael j. wilson said was that it is one thing that he was certain of was that if dr. king were at this event, there would be music. if i called my friend who has been performing and teaching for decades in washington.

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>> we have to balance that against getting a fair return. but i think that the as soon as practical watch word is still ali alive. we still do have more shares than we want to. so we should be looking for a way to sell those shares. >> does g. phfpm.'s success in together the last few weeks make you more optimistic? >> we are forth day traders. the stock market has been strong

in the last while. that is good. people are more optimistic about the overall economy. i think the tax deals gave people a shot of optimism. but i won't look at two or three weeks of stock market performan performance. we will approach the world as we find it at that time. >> thank you. c-span local content vehicles are visiting cities and communities as we look at issues impacting the nation. for more information go to our web site at c-span.org/lcv. >> up next the inauguration of maine 74th governor. he was worn in before a joint session of the state legislature on january 5.

courtesy of the maine public broadcasting network, this is 40 minutes. ♪ >> the chair would ask and the lepage children to step forward.

will the governor-elect please step forward? raise your right hand and repeat after me. i, state your name, do swear. >> i paul richard lepage do swear. >> that i will support the constitution of the united states. >> that i will support the constitution of the united states. >> and of this state. >> and of this state. >> so long as i shall continue. >> so long as i shall continue. >> a citizen thereof. >> a citizen thereof. >> so help me good. >> so they me god. i paul richard lepage do swear. >> that i will faithfully discharge. >> to the best of my ability.

>> to the best of my abilities. >> the duties incumbent on me as governor. >> the duties incumbent on me as governor. >> of the state of maine. >> according to the constitution. >> and the laws of the state. >> and laws of the state. >> so help me god. >> so help me god. >> congratulations, governor. [cheers and applause]

[applause] >> the secretary of state-elect

charles summers will come forward and read the proclamation of the governor's election. >> mr. chairman, members of the legislature, distinguished guests, citizens of the state of maine, it is my distinct honor and high privilege to read the following proclamation. the votes given on the second day of november last in the cities, towns and plantations of the state of maine for governor, the returns of which have been made to the office of the secretary of state, having been examined and counted by the legislature, which is declares that a plurality was given to paul richard lepage. that he is duly elected and he in the presence of the two branches of the legislature in

convention assembled taken and subscribed the oath required by the constitution to qualify him to discharge the duties of that office. i therefore declare and make known to all persons who are in exercise of any public trust in this state and all good citizens thereof that paul r. lepage is governor and commander in chief of the state of maine and that due obedience shall be rendered to all his acts and conduct as such. god save the great state of maine. [applause]

>> it is my distinct honor to present to you the honorable governor of the great state of maine, paul richard lepage. [applause]

>> mr. president, mr. speaker, members of the 125th legislat e legislature, governor baldacci, former governors king, mckernan, brenn brennen, honored guests, i welcome you. and i thank you. mainers have a hroplong traditif being hard working and working togeth together. as i begin, i would like to thank john baldacci. john and karen and his entire administration did everything asked and more to make this transition a success.

[applause] >>anne and i are very grateful and we join all mainers in thanking the baldaccis for their service to city, to state and to the nation. [applause] >> this morning, when i was up and getting ready to come over,

my wife handed me a note from my daughter. and, i will tell you, it was very difficult for me to keep my composure. it was heartfelt, it was absolutely terrific, and i just can't say enough about how proud i am of my wife anne and my family for being there, for loving, for supporting me these past 16 months. this campaign started when they say you know the first week was "who in hell is this guy?" then about january they are saying this is that lepage fellow out there, you know. then about, oh, middle of may, they are saying there is a dark horse in the field.

then on june 9 they were calling me secretariat. [laughter] >> first and foremost, i am a busine businessman who served his community as a mayor and now as its governor. my pledge to maine people is very simple. it is going to be people ahead of politics. [applause] >> my concern as i enter this new challenge of life is for the parents trying to make a better life for their kids, the

retirees trying to survive and keep their homes on a fixed inco income, the college graduate trying to find a good paying job, the entrepreneurs, with the courage to take risks to create jo jobs. finally, and the most important, to the maine taxpayers who are tired of footing the bill for the bloated establishment in augusta. [applause]

>> it is time to make state government more accountable. it is time to deliver value to our taxpayers. it is time to put people ahead of politics. [applause] >> the word "people" appears in the maine constitution 49 times. you cannot find a single mention of the words politics, republican, democrat, green, independent in 37 pages of preamble, articles and sections of our constitution. the framers had it right,

"people." [applause] >> partisan affiliations, political leanings, the obsession with winning or losing have been getting in the way of solving our problems. we need a new approach. it starts here. it starts today. and i need all of your help. i'm willing to listen and work constructively with anyone committed to honest solutions that will benefit maine people. to ensure i get plenty of input i will be hosting monthly breaks, meetings with groups of

teachers, business people, environmental people, and oatmeal and solutions are going to be on the menu. [applause] >> the last two mornings the staff has made me oatmeal and it is piling up because i get up and run out of the house. so, be attentive, it is oatmeal. [laughter] >> i intend to reintroduce governor mckernan's capitol for a day. we are going to have town hall meetings on a monthly basis in all of our counties. [applause] >> it is my intention for myself and our commissioners to go

around and learn from maine people what they want their state to look like. i will host constituent service hours to meet directly with maine people, come in, share your concerns, provide some ideas. if we disagree, i assure you we will talk about areas of common ground so we can inch forward. because, folks, i'm not going backwards. [applause] >> while i will listen to anyone, my administration will be focused on making maine work for everyone. there are no favorites, no carveouts or favors for special

interests. good policy is public policy for everyone in maine. [applause] >> there is no greater example of serving the common good than sacrifi sacrifice, our service men and women make every day. the peaceful transfer of power, our rights and liberties are not free. they are earned each and every day by those who serve. [applause] >> 46 service members from maine have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our state and our nation in the last seven years.

i am honored by some of the families of our fallen heroes here today. [applause] >> dan and susan broshu and their daughter are here. they last their son in august of 2009.

starting tomorrow morning suzanne will be the receptionist in the office of the governor. [applause] >> the family of corporal andrew hutchins of new portland is also with us. corporal hutchins gave his life in service to maine and the nation last november in afghanistan. corporal hutchins' wife heather is due to give birth to their first child in march. all of maine shares the sorrow of families of our fallen heroes and we honor their service to protect our lives and our liberties. ladies and gentlemen, please join me in a moment of silence to honor the sacrifices of our fallen heroes and to reflect on the loss their families continue

to endure each day we continue to remain free. thank you. one area where we must put politics and special interests aside is our education system. students are the most important people in the class room. every decision we make and every dollar we spend must be focused on the individualized needs of each child. [applause] >> our standards must be higher, administrations must be leaner, the dollars must go to the

classroom. [applause] >> and, most of all, we have to find a solution to make maine the number one state that shows the standard for education in this country. [applause] >> i believe we must bring vocational education back as a priority in our schools. [applause] >> training our young people in a trade while they earn a diploma is a path to a better life.

[applause] >> in addition, and you are going to find me very passionate about this program, is, i believe we need to create a five-year high school program in maine where students can graduate with an associate's degree as a heads up it going into the workforce or as credit toward a four-year diploma degree at the university or college level. [applause] >> i believe this will do two very important things. it allows our youth to be in their support systems one extra year and it lowers the cost of educati education, the high cost of educati education, at the university level. i really hope that both sides of the aisle can come to grips with

educating the most important asset in this state, and it is our kids. [applause] >> approximately one in three mainers is on some form of state or local government assistance of food, shelter, income or healthcare. for the truly needy and impaired these programs are an important life line and we must maintain them. [applause] >> while we are very generous people, we do have not the

ability to pay for everyone and we do have limits on our resources. [applause] >> the programs in maine need to focus on maine residents. >> [applause] >> they must focus our efforts to move people from dependency to self-sufficiency, and we must -- [applause] >> and we must, must, implement a tiered system that rewards work and progress towards self-sufficiency. [applause]

>> we need to have a limit. it cannot be a lifetime career. it needs to have a start and an end. [applause] >> i recently met a single mother, four children and a full-time nursing student. like me, jennifer escaped some very tough times. jennifer works two and three jobs at any given time but has to rely on temporary assistance to needy families and food supplement programs to make ends

meet for her and her four children. seven years ago, she built a hoem home through the help of habitat for humanities. jennifer was determined to be a good example to her kids and other single moms. this coming may, she will be graduating from nursing school. [applause] >> nearly every day somebody asks her how she does it. she tells them all who will listen, that doesn't happen overnight. today, jennifer, all of maine is listening and i'm proud to share your story. in my administration, your example will be our goal and

eventually the norm. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, there are so many jenniferses -- jennifers in the state of maine who want to move ahead. we need to provide the leadership so that they can all move ahead and we can all applaud people like jennifer. my favorite subject, business. maine is the hardest place in the country to start and grow a business. consequently, mainers earn on average 80% of the per capita

income in this country. and we are failing desperately to make the investments needed to grow our tax base. folks, and my staff gets real nervous when i use two words -- quite frankly -- that means i'm going off on a tangent -- only the private sector can create the jobs and investment we need to move this state forward. [applause]

>> profit is not a dirty word with. [applause] >> in fact, it is a direct and indirect solution to our challenges. the for profit is -- the search for profit is what drives investment and innovation. without profit no one has an incentive to create jobs or build a tax base. profit is what keeps our youth from leaving maine in search of better opportunities. profit is what makes the public sector possible. without profit, we do not have economic activity and we do not have income to grow the tax b e base. therefore, profit pays the

bills. [applause] >> profit leads to more competiti competition, and through competition we -- we the people -- end up with more choice and greater value. [applause] >> every private or public sector job, every program, every nonprofit, every state service, every advancement in society started because someone took a nickel's worth of input and turned it into a dime's worth of output. it is a trend that has to continue, and here are four steps to make it happen.

one, simplicity. it needs to get a lot easier to do business in the state of maine. [applause] >> we are conducting a statewide red tape removal audit to identify the statutes, rules and roadblocks that prevent us from creating the jobs that we need. [applause] >> be mindful. i believe in vigorous regulations. i believe in strong protections. however, the safeguards need to be clear, decisions quick, and we need to have a cooperative relationship between regulators

and the private sector. [applause] >> second, savings. it needs to be less expensive to do business in maine. everything from licensing a business, healthcare, worker's compensation, utility costs, all need to go down. [applause] >> business is nothing but a math game. it is the same for everyone, whether you are an international player in the paper industry or a corner deli, you need to reach a break-even point. the costs that we can control

through public policy need to be addressed. our forests, fisheries and farmlands will never reach their economic potential in maine if it is cheaper elsewhere to operate factories that turn wood into paper, process fish into meals and potatoes into my wife's favorite chips. finally, skills. we need to train the next generation of workers in maine to prepare them for the industries that will offer the most potential. we have one of the world's best

science and math magnet schools in limestone, maine. [applause] >> it is run by motivated teachers, motivated students, and affordable access so it can be made to work. representative terry hayes, the assistant democratic leader in the maine house, is a proud magnet school mom. her son participated in a one week program and applied and enrolled in the magnet school because he had interest in math and science. ladies and gentlemen, today danny dean's list in the engineering school at the university of maine who aspires to live in maine. [applause]

>> we, the elected officials, need to work together to make sure danny hayes and others like him can stay close to him, earn a living, and raise their families. [applause] >> scale. we need to provide our industries with competitive advantages in cost, regulatory environment, and trained labor, for us to succeed. we are fighting for the future of maine every single day on a global basis. that is how we are going to achieve a competitive nature, we

need to have balance. we need to find the right balance between the environment, between education, and, most importantly, competitive workforce. if we do that, we can return the sta state of maine to a competitive contributor to the world economy and we will be in a position to attract the new industries of information technology, biotechnology, semiconductors, and all the new-world economies. we need to find balance in ma e maine, but we need to tdo it together. it can only be done if we do it togeth together. the senate, the house, the govern governor, and, most importantly, the people of the state of

maine. [applause] >> in closing, i would like to say i ran for governor because i know how to run a business and create jobs. in my experience, you build a team, you make decisions, and you stand accountable for your actions. i will spend every day of the next four years working to make maine a better place for all maine people. [applause] >> i will start by asking one simple question. can a governor do it alone? >> no. >> the answer is simply --

again? >> no. >> exactly. it is going to take hard work from everyone. and i'm ready to provide the leadership, the focus, to move the state of maine forward. i do not care about editorials, opinion polls -- [applause] >> or the next election. because, frankly, i have four years and a job to do. plus >> in four years, i will stand accountable for the jobs that we create, for the prosperity that

we bring to our state. being governor is not be me, it is not about my administration. it is not about the legislator, it is not about augusta bureaucrats. it is about maine people. [applaus [applause] >> and i'm tkpgoing to let main people judge how maine moves forward the next four years. thank you for being here, thank you for listening, and let's get to work. thank you. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011]

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> it is a new congress and new way to use c-span. congressional chronicle is a way to follow congress your way. research members, view session time lines and find video and text of all floor and committee appearances. that is at c-span.org/congress. >> later today the house will debate the repeal of the healthcare law. live house coverage begins at 2:00 p.m. eastern.

>> now we will bring you house debate on repealing the healthcare law. this is from the house floor a week and a half ago. members debated what procedures will be used for the healthcare repeal bill. the house will vote on the repeal wednesday. the senate has said it will not bring up the measure. honor for first time in four years to say that for the purpose of debate only i yield t customary 30 minutes to my very good friend and rules committee colleague, the the gentlelady from rochester, new york, ms. slaughter. pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. dreier: during consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to rise and extend which i have done. and i ask all members have five lemming days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection.

mr. dreier: madam speaker, house resolution 26 provides for a closed rule for consideration of h.r. 2 and self-executes an amendment by the majority leader which is required under the statutory pay-as-you-go act of 2010. this is routinely required and is similar to many provisions that have been self-executed since the enactment of statutory pay-go. the resolution provides for seven hour of debate on h.r. 2, equally and controlled by the chair and ranking member of six committees and the majority leader and minority leader. it also provides the minority a motion to recommit, h.r. 2, with or without instructions. house resolution 26 provides for consideration of h.res. 9, under a structured rule, that provides an hour of debate and makes in order an amendment if offered by representative matheson of utah. it also provides for one motion to recommit h.res. 9 without instructions. lastly, the rule provides for the consideration of a resolution if offered by the majority leader or his designee relating to the status of certain actions taken by

members-elect under a closed rule. madam speaker, it was just before midnight that my great new colleague, and i were here in this chamber and filed this rule following a lengthy 12-hour hearing upstairs in the rules committee. i have to say that there were many, many discussions that took place on a wide range of issues. i think it's very important for us to note that there were those who argued that we should not be taking up this issue because of the fact that we should be focusing on job creation and economic growth. madam speaker, we know that the overwhelming message that came from the american people is that we have to get our economy back onrack. we have to create jobs. we have to make sure that those people who are struggling to get under the first rung of the economic ladder are able to do just that.

and that's why when we look at a $2.7 trillion expansion of the federal government, $2.7 trillion in new spending, we recognize something that is common sense and tat is if you're going to expand the size and scope and reach of the federal government by that magnitude, it clearly is going to kill the effort to create jobs a get our economy back on track. so that's why today, madam speaker, we are taking the first step in fulfilling a key promise that we have made to the american pple. with this rule we are setting in motion an effort to repeal president obama's job-killing health care bill and replace it with real solutions. i underscore that again because all the attention is focused on the fact that we are going to be trying to kill good provisions that are out there.

madam speaker, we want to start with a clean slate. we are going to repeal president obama's job-killing health care bill and replace it with real solutions. this rule takes two important steps. the first is to allow for consideration of a bil to hit the reset button, so to speak, on the very damaging legislation that was passed last year under the guise of health care reform. the second is a resolution directing each of the committees of jurisdiction to craft responsible, effective, and economically viable health care solutions. madam speaker, the resolution lays out very clearly what real reform looks like. real reform will help not hinder in our goal towards creating jobs. real reform will lower health care premiums by enhancing competition and patient choice. it will preserve the right of patients to keep their existing

coverage. if they so choose. it will ensure access to quality care for those suffering from pre-existing conditions. it will implement meaningful lawsuit abuse reform s that resources can go to patients and doctors. and not to trial lawyers. in short, it will increase access to health care for all amerans without compromising quality or hurting the very important small business sector of ouration's economy. madam speaker, the underlying re place resolution which i have offered will begin a robust committee process to tackle the difficult but essential work of achieving these goals and crafting true reform for the american people. this will be a process in which each and every member, each and every member, democrat and republican alike, will have an opportunity to participate. madam speaker, as speaker

boehner said, the day before yesterday when he accepted the gavel, we are returning to regur order. once again our committees will be the laboratories, the centers of expertise, that they were intended to be. rank-and-file members of both parties will play anctive role in crafting legislation, scrutinizing proposals, offering amendments, participating in real debate. critical legislation is not going to be written behind closed doors by a select few. today's rule sets in motion a process that will be both transparen and collaborative. but we cannot get to that very important step without clearing the first hurdle. which is to undo the damage that has already been done. we will hear people say, why are you considering this under a closed rule? madam speaker, this was a clear promise that was made throughout last year leadg up to the very

important november 2 election. everyone acknowledges the elections have consequences. the commitment was made that we would have an up or down vote on repeal. and that's exactly what we are doing. we must repeal last year's bill before we proceed with replacement. just as prekicted -- predicted, the so-called reform bill is having very real negative consequences for our economy and our job market. it is putting enormous burdens on job creators, particularly small businesses, at a time that is already one of the most difficult we have faced. imposing significant new burdens andenalties, while our employment rate remains ove 9%. we got the news a few minutes ago it's at 9.3%. we are encouraged by that positive drop but only 105,000 jobs were created, not the

150,000 jobs necessary to be created to sustain the position we are in rit now. so we still are dealing with very, very serious economic challenges. and that's why we need to take a commonsense approach to first repeal this measure and then deal with solutions. above all, i will say that the onerous, unworkable mandates that have been imposed are adding greater uncertainty which are job creation's biggest enemy. anyone who has spent any time talking with small business owners knows this to be the case. while the economic impact is already quite apparent, the fiscal consequences are looming down the road. while the bill's authors used a host of accounting gimmicks, i'm going to get intohose further as i'm sure i will be challenged on this and i look forward to talking about th accounting gimmicks that have be utilized, by the authors used a host of accounting gimmicks, as

i said, to mask the true cost of this measure, and honest and realistic assessment of the impact on the deficit shows a much clearer and tragically a far worse picture. the budget committee has demonstrated the real cost of the health care bill, as i said, in my open, a staggering $2.7 trillion. once it is fully implemented. it will add over $700 billion to our deficit in the first 10 years. the words reckless and unsustainable hardly begin to cover it. this bill is an economic and fiscal disaster of unprecedented proportions. the time to undo it before anymore damage is done is quickly running out. republans promised the american people we would act swiftly and decisively, and that's exactly what we are doing. some of my friends on the other

side of the aisle have asked, why there will be no amendments to the repeal bill? frankly, there is nothing to amendment. there is nothing to amend, madam speaker, the repeal bill. either we are going to wipe the slate clean and start fresh or we are not. that's not to say there aren't some good provisions in this measure. that is so onerous, nearly 3,000 pages, that we believe that the best way to do this is to wipe the slate clean, have an open and transparent process, and do everything we can to ensure that every single american has access to quality health care and health care insurance. now, once that slate is completely wiped clean, we will be ready for this open and collaborative process to develop the real solutions that we have talked about. that's what we promised the

american people as we led up to last november 2, and that's exactly what we will deliver here today. madam speaker, first we undo the damage, then we work together to implement real reform and real solutions. i urge my colleagues to support this rule and then, after we have gone through the three-day layover requirement next week, which is in compliance with another promise that we made to the american people, i urge my colleagues to support the underlying legislation, h.r. 2, which our colleague, the new majority leader, mr. cantor has offered, and h.res. 9, which i have introduced, that calls for our committees to work in a bipartisan way to develop solutions to the challenges that we have out there in ensuring that every american has access to quality health care. with that i reserve the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman from california reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from new york. ms. slaughter: good morning, madam speaker. i appreciate my gentleman friend, mr. dreier, for yielding me time and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. slaughter: what a week it's been. since we've been sworn in, the republican broken promises have been dizzying. one summed up the week up nicely when he said, quote, i don't think it would be possible to fall from grace any faster than this end quote. in november, the republican leadership, led by speaker boehner, traveled to suburban virginia and made a pledge to america. their constituents, including tea party patriots, like mr. mecker, listened intently as the republican party pledged to be fiscally responsible and see the will of the american people. on page 6 of the republican pledge to america, the party states, and i quote, with

commonsense exceptions for seniors, veterans and our troops, we will roll back goverent spending to prestimulus, prebailout levels saving us ateast $100 billion in the first year alone d putting us on a path to balance the budget and pay down the debt, enquote. the pledge was solemnly made by republican leadership despite being largely panned as a political stunt. despite following through on their pledge, the republican majority said the pledge to cut $100 billion was hypothetical. today now we're moving forward to do the exact opposite of the actions that they pledged as they iroduce legislation to repeal the affordable care act. if successful, the republican legislation will add $230 billion to the deficit by 2021. this extra $230 billion won't be spent rebuilding our

crumbling infrastructure, teaching our children or providing for the millions without jobs. instead, the $230 billion will be added to our deficit in order to take health care benefits and protections from those who need them the most. for example, starting this year the affordable health care act will begin to close the doughnut hole for seniors. under the law medicare beneficiaries who fall in the doughnut hole will be eligible for a 50% discount on covered brand-name prescripti drugs. repeal this law and seniors receive no help and will be forced to pay their rising costs alone. those are the types of protections i fight for today. fiscally, members of congress pace a $300 billion choice. according to the congressional budget office, we have two options. one, do we keep the affordable health care act and save $130 billion by 2021 or, two, do we

repeal the affordable health care act and add $200 billion to our deficit by 2021? that may be trouble f some but for most of us it's easy. for me the answer is clear and i assume to most americans it's clear as well. because they can win by simply judging apples to apples, the republican leadership has takeno discrediting the congressional budget office. yet, a quit bit of research will reveal that republicans have long valued the nonpartisan and reliable work of the congressional budget office and have publicly supported the agency before. fact, 2009, speaker boehner repeatedly referred to the c.b.o. as nonpartisan institution and relied on their estimates to argue against the affordable care act at the me. but now that the c.b.o.'s estimates are detrimental to their political goals, they have taken to questioning the

work. republican senator john cornyn said it's inconvenient. two years ago he said, i quote, i believe the professionals at the c.b.o. are doing a difficult but unpopular work. they are speaking the truth to power here in washington, and making the folks who would pass these enormous unfunded bills that impose a huge debt on generations hereafter somewhat unhappy. but i think they're doing important service by telling us the facts. and last week, i commended the director of the c.b.o. for saying that the c.b.o. will never adjust our views to make people happy. thank you, doctor. god bless him for his integrity and commitment for telling the truth because we have to learn w to deal with the truth, not try to remake it or try to cover it up. now, i couldn't agree more with that. the deficit estimates provided by the c.b.o. are the singular