this is the same chart. so the proposal is being made by the study committee, instead of having the graph of the discretionary spending going this way, nondefense, they're going to try to flat line that at about 400. there are a lot of things going on, we realize we have to get efficient in government and we have to basically go back to where we started, because the government was to be the servant of the people, not the master. we didn't expect the government to pay for everything for us and keep us as little dependents. we wanted it to get out of the way. . we wanted to defend the right to life, pursuit of happiness and beyond that leave us alone, don't bury us with red tape and government regulations and taxes and uncertainties which we have seen which have created you will the unemployment. i appreciate the two great

patriots joining me on the floor today kicking around where we are. i am very encouraged by our first week or two. first week or two we started by cutting congressional budgets. we read the constitution on the floor. we put together a rule that says every single bill has to be proven to be constitutional or else it doesn't even get out of the hopper. and then of course we took a look at one of the biggest jumps in entitlement spending that america could ever take which was obamacare. and we voted just yesterday to repeal the whole thing. i'll tell you, gentlemen, i know that you are involved back in your own state because you were worried about the fact that if the federal government can't manage medicare and medicaid without it breaking the budget, what's going to happen if they take over all of health care? i think what people understand in america is the fact that you look at american health care the front end is good. if you get sick, where do you want to get sick? in america if you have to. the trouble with health care is

how do we pay for it? that part's broken. the point is scrap the whole thing and turn it over to the government which is what obamacare did, and instead we are going to fix the things that are broken but leave the free enterprise up front which gives us the best health care in the world. you guys were here voting for that and for those of us that were fighting that for the last two years, i'll tell you it felt so good to stick your little credit card in the machine and push that you wanted to repeal it, something we were all really looking forward to. you were part of that historic event. that's just in the first couple weeks. i'm looking forward to both of you gentlemen in the months ahead really charting that course back to the american dream. if you like to add, i think we are pretty close on time, if you would like to conclude a couple months. either one? a i'll sum up with this because i think you have hit the nail on the head. we can cure this disease. it's called stopping the out-of-control spending. mr. johnson: and at every

opportunity we should seek ways to allow american families and american businesses to keep more of their hard-earned money. that's going to result in economic confidence. that's going to result in investment. that's going to result in increased consumer confidence. we are going to see americans -- it's going to increase and create jobs. and we know that. i urge my colleagues, i thank you for this time, and i urge my colleagues to join with me in supporting the legislation and those policies that are going to accomplish those goals. cutting the spending, letting americans keep more of their hard-earned money, and ultimately creating jobs and putting america back to work. i want to thank you for the opportunity today. mr. akin: that's a fantastic straightforward approach to where we have to go. you take a look at it. it's unfortunately the gentleman who was here from utah before, those of us who were in the over 60 category, recognize when it comes to

weight, there's two problems, either what you eat or how much exercise you get. you can't change that very much. the federal budget problem is the same way. it's either how much you're going to spend or how much you can tax. what's happened is we just can't tax anymore and we are going to have to deal with the spending. these are some of the items in the proposal that's being made in the press conference today. $80 billion. this is nonsecurity, that means the defense, discretionary spending, we'll cut that back to the 2008 level. that's just going back a couple years to knock that back. that saves $80 billion. $45 billion that's the repeal of unspent stimulus funds. that stimulus bill that created all the unemployment that did not work. there's some of that money still left. we take 45 there. two points, almost $3 trillion. that's the nondefense discretionary spending to 2006 levels. and also to eliminate the automatic inflation increases

for the next 10 years. so that saves a whole lot of money there. $16 billion, and that's return the medicaid fmap spending to 2008 levels. and $30 billion end the federal control of freddie and fannie, we have not dealt with that. that created the economic crisis we are in. we have not dealt with the cause of the problem. you put this all together you are at about a $2.46 trillion for 10 years which the result of that comes out as flatlining some of the nondefense discretionary. does that solve the problem? no. it doesn't. it helps. but it's still the bottom line is we are going to to deal with those entitlements that are totally out of control. you guys have got a lot of -- on your plate. it's going to be an exciting couple years. and i would -- i recognize congressman yolder if you'd like to -- yoder if you'd like to make a couple of comments.

mr. yoder: i thank the gentleman. i thank what the congressman from missouri is discussing the specific point of how we can reduce spending and how we can bring the federal budget back toward the balance budget which is what americans want us to do. we have all seen across this country, americans have, what happens in washington. they spend as much as they want regardless of how much money they have. that has to stop. this is an opportunity this year with a new congress and new energy and new enthusiasm on behalf of the american people, it's a chance to stand up and say, we are tired of the overspending. we are tired of trillions of dollars being spent on programs for which some of which we can't find real tangible results. we are tired of duplication of programs. we are fired of endlets bureaucracy and red tape. they want to see bold proposals such as you are outlining to show we can truly cut spending. we heard folks on this floor say we can't cut spending. it will hurt too much. what hurts is this $14 trillion debt.

this legacy we are living -- leaving to our children and our grandchildren. this is an immoral legacy that we are passing along to the next generation. i think what the gentleman from ohio is standing up for and the gentleman from missouri is that this is a time to say enough is enough. it's time to stand up and start cutting spending and reining in this out-of-control government. mr. akin: the thing that's exciting to me and encouraging to me, it's not just you gentlemen but that you came here because america was waking up. america is saying it's time to take back america. we are tired of being bullied by our own government and we are tired of the idea that what you should do is to be paid for not doing something and that existence of america sitting around and not having a job. what we want is we want americans to be able to follow the dreams that are in their hearts. and the mentality of the fact that anybody who looks like they are having fun, we want to tax them, that doesn't make sense at all. sometimes it seems like it's

such a gloomy perspective to think of america as a country which is nothing but the government going to take care of you. the soviet union years and years ago, they had this basic idea, the government's going to provide you with a home, going to provide you with food, going to provide you with medical care, it's going to provide you with an education, the government's going to provide you with a job. that was their formula. it don't work worth a hoot and the soviet union collapsed. it's in the dust bin of history. here what we are doing, we are trying to look at the government to buy you food, and a home, and an education, the government's going to provide you health care, and the government's going to provide you a job, if you don't have a job they'll pay you anyway, that's a formula that didn't work. there is no point in going down that blind alley again. so what we are coming back to is the thing that's so exciting about our country, it's a country of exceptionalism. it's a country that's led the world, it's a country that is the source of hope for people all around the world as they take a look at our country.

and it was interesting during the days of ronald reagan that he got a message out of the -- some of the concentration camps up in siberia and gulag and different places that were really rough, and the people were thirsty for news of what was happening with america and they were praying for us. they realized we were a source of hope and inspiration to the rest of the world. there was a group of our founders came over on a boat, it was called the lion, it was a 1630, it was some of the puritans under winthrop. and they wrote something called the model of christian charity. it was a long sort of puritan-type document but it said something about, we must consider that we should be a city on a hill, a light to the people around the world, and that was where reagan picked that up in his speeches. of course it came out of the bible, but we should be a sit i on the hill, a light to the people of the world, a good example. and an inspiration so that they would think of also being free

from the influence of excessive government. so that's the challenge that you as freshmen and all of us, all americans are facing. i think people are starting to understand this is going to mean some changes. it's going to be changes in our behavioral pattern and the fact we just got to start cutting back on government. we just can't continue to let the thing run the way we have. the bottom line is we get back to, i want to restate the problem, the problem is this. when you put those entitlement programs with the debt service together, we are spending almost the same amount of money as what we take in in revenue and that's not a penny for defense or discretionary spending at all. that's where we are. that's pretty sobering. so that's why the challenge is significant. we are not going to get there overnight. we are not going to be able to balance the budget in one year. i don't even think the most conservative guy in congress would think that we could do that. there's any probability that

america could adjust that rapidly. but we can balance the budget and we must. the fact is we have to take steady steps. one at a time. and move forward with this because of the fact that we are protecting that most precious idea that america has been, that hope and that bright light on a hill for people all around the world. the aspect of america and the american dream, is something i talked about sometimes, when i was doing some campaigning and i like to throw into the mix there the concept that in following the dream that's in your heart, it takes a certain amount of courage. those people like thomas ed sop, the people that came by the statue of liberty, little change in their pocket, that took guts to do that. it's going to take guts to go where we have to go. with courage and god's blessing we can do it, gentlemen. mr. speaker, thank you so much for your indulgence. god bless you-all.

the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the chair recognizes the gentleman from iowa, mr. king, for 30 minutes. mr. king: thank you, mr. speaker. i appreciate the honor to be recognized here on the floor of the house of representatives. and listening to my colleagues in the previous hour has been very interesting to me and i think informative to the american people at the same time. we are here now today, the first day after the house has voted to repeal obamacare. and i noted yesterday although not into this congressional record, mr. speaker, that yesterday, the day of the big vote that came up, that did pass the repeal of obamacare here in the house, was the one-year anniversary of the

election of scott brown from massachusetts to the united states senate. i'd like to take you back if i could, mr. speaker, to that time. where we were a year ago today, 13, 14, 15 months ago, in fact i'd like to dial us all the way back to, let's say the beginning of august, 2009, that was the time that the town hall meetings lit up all across this country. and as we watched the intensity of the issue of health care policy unfold before us here in the house of representatives, the national debate, the media debate, the talk in the coffee shops and across the backyard fences and our courages and daily lives, was focusing on health insurance and health care policy in america. and i would remind you, mr. speaker, and those listening in to this conversation we are having, that the president of the united states had

consistently said that we were in an economic downward spiral. we are in a bad economic fix. if you remember henry paulsen coming to this capital on september 19 of 2008, and telling us that he needed $700 billion right now without any strings attached to solve what he predicted could likely be the collapse of credit and currency globally, and this congress, over my objections, most vociferous, did send that money to henry paulsen and some of it got spent the way he intended to. but the fear of this economy brought about to some degree an increase in the number of democrat seats in the house of representatives, and it contributed to the election of barack obama as president, and he has said he inherited some of the worst economic times ever. and the president of the united states told this country over and over again, we are in an economic problem, and a downward spiral.

he said we couldn't fix the economy unless we first fixed health care in america. . he made that an issue that went into the middle of the economic calamity conditions we had. i didn't accept that analysis. he also said the problem with health care was we spend too much money in relation to other countries in the world in relation to the overall size of our economy in relation to the individual dollars that are spent on individual patients. there's some degree of truth to that. in fact, i think a significant degree but in areas the president didn't want to address. so he said we have to fix our economy and we can't fix it unless we first fix the problem with health care. that includes when they use that term, that means health insurance and health care altogether, they've conflated the two terms so his solution to spending too much money on health care was spend a lot more money on health care. now we have an obamacare piece of legislation that has been

pushed through this house, we had to vote to repeal yesterday, that spends a lot more money. mr. speaker, you don't solve the problem of spending too much money by spending a lot more money. that would be the health care equivalent of keynesian economics, wouldn't it, mr. speaker. keynesian economics being that philosophy of john maynard keynes who was an economist, an influential one in that period of time when franklin delano roosevelt was elected to be our president of the united states and a similar economic time of downward spiral. their belief was that you could borrow money and send that money out and get people to spend that money and if you do that, it would stimulate the economy. john maynard keynes, perhaps facetiously, i believe it was facetiously, but i think it's worthy to tell the story he told. he said, i can solve the economic problems in the united states, i can solve all the

unemployment in america by doing this, go out to an abandoned coal mine, drill a whole bunch of holes in the abandoned coal mine, fill those full of cash, u.s. greenback, then fill the abandoned coal mine full of garbage. think of that image, mr. speaker. an abandoned coal mine with holes drilled in a random pattern all across the face of the abandoned coal mine, deep holes, shallow holes, big holes, small holes, fill them full of cash and then fill the holes, fill the abandoned coal mine with garbage, then he said, turn the entrepreneurs loose. the entrepreneurs will go in, i have to fill in the blanks, that's the only part of the quote i know, the entrepreneurs would go in and start to dig the garbage out to come up with ways to dig up the cash. somebody has to support the industry of people hauling the

garbage out, somebody has to exchange the garbage-covered cash for clean cash. it's an industry that would begin in a similar way that a gold-mining town might begin if somebody discovers gold in colorado, california, or maybe even iowa one day. but the idea was if you can get money into people's hands, they would spend it a did work, that it was working but in the second half of the 1930's, president roosevelt lost his nerve, he got too concerned about spending too much money and he pulled back and in pulling back, that brought about, according to our current president, a recession within a

depression. unemployment numbers went up in the second half of the 1930's because they should have borrowed and given away and spent more money at the federal government level. he convinced me on that day that this president would not make that mistake. we're talking, mr. speaker, all within the confines of keynesian economics, which i want to make it very clear i disagree with that philosophy. the president does not and he did not, by his view, make the mistake that f.d.r. did, he has continued to push for more borrowing and more spending and growth in the debt and deficit and we continue to see unemployment numbers that push at double digits, 98%, excuse me, 9.8%, then down to 9.4%, it looks like that may be a permanent condition until we get free enterprise to kick back in again. this is the approach, economically. the president sees us in a downward spiral when he takes the oath of office and goes out and pushing to spend more and

more and more money. yes, mr. speaker, there will be those who are sitting at home, perhaps in the gallery, who are thinking, but some of this started under george w. bush's presidency. and it did, mr. speaker. but it was all supported by barack obama. it was significantly accelerated on the other -- after the election and the inauguration of barack obama. so his approach to solving the economic problem was, borrow more money, spend more money, drive this nation into debt, and believe -- believing that he could stimulate an economy that somehow would come back and pay the taxes to offset the interest and the overhead that this government now has. that's the keynesian approach. he used the same approach when it comes to health care. the keynesian approach to health care. which is, this thought, we spend too much money on health care. we can't afford it. we have too many people uninsured, so let's go out here

and impose a health insurance policy on another 32 or 47 million americans and send the i.r.s. in to enforce the law so that they compel every american to buy a health insurance policy that is either produced or approved by the federal government. remember the president wanted the public option. the president is on record in previous years of being for a complete takeover of the health insurance industry which implies a complete takeover of the health care industry in america. they had the debate during the nomination process between barack obama and hillary clinton. hillary clinton carried the best credentials of her proposals on health care into that campaign. barack obama had to offset her strong, liberal health care credentials with some of his own. that's what ginned this up. this is what convinced america that we were in an health care crisis. he went into the economic cry,

using the rahm emanuel belief, never let a crisis go to waste, and sought to bring about socialized medicine in the united states. that's the foundation and back drop for what we have. that brought about town hall meetings in august of 2007 and early september, i would add, that were jam packed across this country. my town hall meetings have never been so full. i had some that were standing room only. senator grass lee had to take one of his meetings outdoors because there wasn't room for people inside the huge building they had set aside for the town hall meeting. that's just a part of iowa but that's a snapshot of the broader picture of the entire united states. there was intensity. we saw it. we saw it in youtubes, we saw it on the news, we saw senator specter, i'll say, getting a message delivered to him utterly clearly in his town hall meetings. we saw members of congress that were to some degree disrespected

in their town hall meetings, which i regret. we also saw many, many members of the house and the senate that did jam-packed town hall meetings and listened to constituents for hours on end and did teletown halls on the phone so those that couldn't or didn't come out had an opportunity to weigh. in we read the mail, took the phone calls, took the email the snail mail, all the messages we could. wherever i want, the subject of health care was brought to me, starting intensively in august of 2009, carrying through in the -- throughout the fall of 2009 and as the subject came to this floor, and was voted on on november 7, of 2009, that was a saturday night, when this house passed the house version of obamacare over the strongest of objections, the fifth of november, 2009, tens of thousands of people poured into this capital city, mr. speaker,

to peacefully petition the government for redress of grievances in a very constitutional fashion. they were out there in red, white, and blue, all the colors of the rainbow, so to speak, making their own signs, here on their own dime they came from every single state. we know they came from every single state. i've talked to people from most of those states and the states that had a gap, for example, i didn't talk to anybody from hawaii. i met people from alaska. people from hawaii went to michele bachmann's office as she was out working against the obamacare bill and presented, laid on her desk a lei they brought from hawaii. they came from every state. to peacefully petition the government for redress of grievances, exactly in a constitutional fashion. 5th of november, 2009, on a thursday, we did a huge press conference out on the west lawn of the capitol with numbers of people that ranged in the 30,000

to 40,000 people small side up to about 50,000 to 60,000 people outside calling for this congress to listen to them to keep this congress' hands off their health care. still their hearts were hardened and we had another press conference the following saturday, just three days later that had thousands of people at it, and still on that saturday night they brought a vote to the floor that moved the obamacare legislation, out of the house of representatives down the hallway all the way through the end of the capitol into the united states senate. that was november 7 a saturday night of 2009. and the senate took it up, they were looking for a way to, i'll say majority leader harry reid and others, were looking for a way to pass obamacare in the senate. as the maneuvering unfolded, it came to christmas eve, mr. speaker.

christmas eve, most of the procedural maneuvers that the republicans had in the senate were exhausted. christmas eve day. they had 12 more hours that they could have used to delay the vote and 12 more hours of debate that could have been extended but they decided to shake hands with harry reid and allow it to come to a vote, obamacare to come to a vote, on december 24, about 9:00 a.m. that let everybody get a plane ticket to go home. i wanted them to use every single minute to delay it as long as they possibly could until 9:00 on christmas eve night, we know there aren't planes flying out of this town anymore out of -- after that. i would have thought that if anybody wanted to impose that version of socialized medicine on the american people, if they wanted, believed in it that strongly that they had to do it christmas eve morning, they could have done it christmas eve night at 9:00 and spent their

christmas here in washington, d.c. after putting that great big lump of coal in our stockings, the stockings of the american people. that was a tactic that energized me more. and i asked one of the well established and very respected republican senator what do we do now? where's our next line of defense? we had 12 more hours we could have fought this. his answer was, pray, and pray for a victory in the special election in massachusetts. that was my email back on the morning of december 24 from that exchange. and i thought, i don't think i have the audacity to pray for an intervention in a senate election in massachusetts, how could there possibly be a republican victory in massachusetts? we know the politics of massachusetts and it's 100% democrats, was, and each of their eight congressional seats and in their two senate seats, had been for a long time.

i thought about that and deliberated on it and i thought, that's the only real choice i have, and i found myself in massachusetts the last three days of the scott brown election. i found a lot of patriots in massachusetts, residents of massachusetts, tea party groups, constitutional conservatives, 912 project people, independents that are constitutionalists with a cause, discerning democrats that have come over from the other side. i met a cup that will had always walked the streets for democrats, union couple, husband and wife, and they tole me they were done, they were working for the republican side and they would always stay on the republican side. i met people there with the deepest amount of patriotism and went to look at plymouth rock and there in boston harbor was the real boston tea party and why would i have thought that the state that could launch the revolution and have an actual real tea party, why would i have thought that the bay state

couldn't deliver us a measure of defense and relief from obamacare. so yesterday, i do the fast forward point now, mr. speaker, but yesterday here on the floor of the house of representatives, was the one-year anniversary from the election of scott brown and i don't think anybody said it into the record but this congress, having gone through all of that, and seen 87 freshmen republicans elected, the majority turn over and the american people rise up and send their message in the fashion that was imagined by the founding fathers themselves, that this would be the quick reaction body here in the house of representatives, voted on the anniversary of the lech of scott broun, which we thought saved us from obamacare, it ultimately did not, but voted to repeal obamacare, lock, stock, and barrel with no vestige of it left behind to remove that malignant tumor before it could metastasize and consume the

liberty of the american people. . that vote yesterday on repeal, i mentioned to my family and people around, that i should have been euphoric. i should have been ready to dance the jig. truthfully it was satisfying, it was pleasing, i had a good feeling about what we had accomplished, but it may be similar to climbing a mountain and when you get up there into the altitude and you have reached a place along the way to the summit, and the altitude gets a little thin and the effort to get to that point is so great, that effort, that energy that it drains off also drains off some of the euphoria. and if you look up at the balance of that peak and you say you got to scale some pretty steep cliffs to get there, even though you can see the path and you know you have the ability to do it, you don't feel that euphoria as you go up. the same way you -- as you imagine the climb in the first place. that's where it was here

yesterday. you didn't hear a noise come up out of the republicans on this side. respectful of people on the other side of the aisle. we have a legitimate disagreement and a difference of opinion. but the american people have spoken. they filled up this side of the aisle and every republican, every freshman i know of ran on the repeal of obamacare was a big vote for them yesterday and it's keeping faith with the american people. but the better way to describe this vote yesterday to repeal obamacare i think was described by winston churchill at the beginning of the battle of britain. i think this is actually, i should check the history book, but it was in the early part of the world war ii, winceston church hill speaking to brace up the british people and war against the nazis said this. this is not the end. it is not even the beginning of the end. it is perhaps the end of the beginning. i think that's where we are in

the repeal of obamacare, mr. speaker. it is perhaps the end of the beginning that we accomplished yesterday and now we have a long hard slog to quote a previous secretary of defense whom i greatly respect, and that long hard slog amounts to this. the resolution that passed today directs the committees to begin the project of writing replacement language, shaping bills and legislation for replacement language so that we can apply free market ideals, constitutional ideals, protect the doctor-patient relationship so we can address the abusive lawsuits that is driving up the costs of health care both in two forms, the cost of the litigation and money that goes to the trial lawyers as well as the cost of the defensive medicine and unnecessary tests so that doctors try to avoid and minimize the potentials for lawsuits. there was a hearing going on in the judiciary committee that i left to come over here to

deliver this message, mr. speaker. we'll do all those things. and the work had started here in the house. and on top of that, though, we must as the appropriations process unfolds, we must unfund obamacare. it's a constitutional method to put a stop to the development of authorized legislation. it would freeze in place the development of obamacare until such time as we can complete the repeal. so, mr. speaker, i am for and will work to put language in every appropriations bill that prohibits the use of those funds for the purposes of implementing or enforcing obamacare. and to do that on every appropriations bill, especially the bill that will come through here before the end of february, near the end of february, that is necessary to keep our government functioning beyond the expiration of the

continuing resolution which is march 4 coming up in a month and a half or a little better. put language in that continuing resolution that we likely will have to extend this funding. it doesn't have to be for the duration of the fiscal year. if it's for a month or two months or the balance of the fiscal year until september 30, that's fine. but every appropriations bill must have the language in it that shuts off the implementation or the enforcement of obamacare and prohibits any funds that were heretofore appropriated from being used for the same. that's the language we need in each appropriations bill. if we do this then the president of the united states will at a certain point need to sign an appropriations bill to keep the government funding. he'll have to agree with the people of america and the voice of the house of representatives. i also think he has to agree with what i believe is the majority in the united states senate, mr. speaker.

the majority leader in the senate said the bill's not coming up. the repeal of obamacare bill is not coming up in the senate. he will block it. he won't bring it up. i think his job is to bring out the will of the senate to reflect the will of the senate because the people in the senate are the representatives of the people of united states of america. and every senator over there would agree with me in this. their constituents deserve every bit as much representation as harry reid's constituents do. when one senator holds the rest of the chamber up for his own personal will or his own political agenda, and doesn't allow the will of the senate to be reflected, that happens in certain leverage positions over in the senate. the nuances of that are not something i want to comment on. i just comment on this tonight, mr. speaker. that i will challenge the majority leader in the senate this, put the repeal of

obamacare up on the floor of the senate for a vote. give the american people a vote in the united states senate. let them hear where every one of the 100 senators are. put them on record. if they like obamacare so much, vote against the repeal. if you stand where i do, vote to repeal it. i predict the majority votes are in the senate today to pass the repeal of obamacare. mr. speaker, i believe the american people will put their request over to the united states senate, over and over and over again, until that they hot potato, very large hot potato gets larger and hotter as it sits in the lap of the majority leader, harry reid, until such time as the american people get a vote in the united states senate. yes, i recognize that the president would veto such legislation. but we would then know, would already know, every member in the house of representatives stands, we would then know where every member in the united states senate stands, and we would be able to see how much resolve the president has

to protect his signature legislation and whether he cares more about his signature piece of legislation that the american people have rejected than he does about the government of the united states and the broader world being the people and security even of the united states, the functioning of government. so i'll go back again, mr. speaker, and say and reiterate, the strategy now is this. that this is not the end of our efforts to repeal obamacare. it is not even the beginning of the end of our efforts. it's not the beginning of the end of obamacare. but it is perhaps the end of the beginning. we launched this off yesterday and the day before. we had the vote that went up last night. now we know that republicans stand unified 100% in opposition to obamacare, and anybody that will vote to repeal obamacare also should be on good solid ground to vote to block any funding that would implement or enforce obamacare.

that's a stand we need to take in every appropriations bill while the authorization committees work on the replacement policies as is reflected by the resolution that passed here in the house of representatives today. we have a large task in front of us. i am not daunted by the difficulty of it. i realize it will take a lot of energy and a lot of effort and commitment over the next couple years to finally accomplish the end of obamacare. as we, mr. speaker, elect a president in 2012 whom i hope and trust and believe will run on the ticket of number one on the platform, sign the repeal of obamacare. i look forward to that day, mr. speaker, when we see the effect of the resistance to the will of the people in the united states senate. i believe that will put more

obamacare opponents in the united states senate during the 2012 election. i believe it will strengthen the ranks of obamacare opponents here in the house of representatives in the 2012 election. and i think that it will also elect a president of the united states who will be taking the oath of office on the west portico of the capitol january 20 in 2013. mr. speaker, here's the image i have in mind. first earlier in january of 2013, the house will have to repass the final repeal of obamacare. the senate then i believe will take it up and pass that repeal of obamacare. and send it where -- message where? i hope a message out to the podium on the west portico of the capitol on january 20, 2013, where i hope to be at a good vantage point where i can see the next president of the united states and i ask him, take the oath of office with pen in hand. take the oath this way, mr. speaker.

i do solemnly swear to the best of my ability to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the united states so help me god. and before that new president shakes hands with the chief justice of the supreme court, i'd like to see him take his hand down with pen in it and sign the repeal of obamacare right there on -- during the swearing-in ceremonies. next president of the united states to set the tone for the new era we'll be working towards throughout 2011 and 2012 so when the sun comes up on the morning of january 21, 2013, we'll be free at last from the burden of socialized medicine and the freest people in the world will have rejected dependency and stood up for independence and stood up for the vitality of the american people. that, mr. speaker, is the vision i have in mind and i'll work on that every day until that's accomplished. that's my pledge to you, mr. speaker, and the american people. it's my privilege to address you here on the floor. and i thank you.

and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia, mr. wolf, for 30 minutes. mr. wolf: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. on a blistering evening in phoenix recently, a prominent group of civic leaders met to talk about america. it didn't take long for the conversation to get around to the fall of the ottoman empire. that's what happens when smart americans get to talking about politics these days. topic a is the growing sense that our best days as a nation are behind us, that our kids won't live as well as we did, that china is in the driver's seat. those were the opening words of an october 2010 "time" magazine piece authored by veteran reporter joe kleine who canvased the country during the height of the campaign season.

klein's assessment of the national mood was underscored by "new york times" columnist david brooks who recently wrote, i quote, the current sour mood is not just caused by high unemployment, emergence from the fear that america's best days are behind it. i believe this foreboding national anxiety is born of certain realities. exploiting debt and deficits, shuttered factories, rising unemployment, and an acrimonious tenor to our national discourse. people fear that america's influence is waning and our quote shining city on the hill is dimming. i must admit to sharing these same anxieties as the father of five and the grandfather of 15. i have never been more concerned about my country's future. yet i do not believe that the realization of these fears is inevitable. we can walk back from the precipice. we have options. sober minded people believe that we must dramatically

change course, especially as it relates to our ballooning national debt and deficit, and i agree. yet is america and her leaders willing to make the tough decision that is are necessary? -- decisions that are necessary? the lyrics in the simon and garfunkel song in the "the boxer" says, man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest, aptly describes the mood in washington when it comes to addressing federal spending. within day's of the president's fiscal commission report on the dire consequences of failure to address growing mandatory spending, it was business as usual with the congress passing and the obama administration supporting a tax and spending bill with $857 price tag that included a -- $857 billion price tag that included a tax holiday, raiding the social security trust fund at a cost of $112 billion and it's not

paid for. thereby increasing the national debt. so the question before us is, will washington summon the courage and the fortitude to make the tough decisions to govern based on principle and not politics,? to lead the country toward a brighter tomorrow even if it means sacrificing in the short term? historically americans are willing to sacrifice, many of our countrymen have made the ultimate sacrifice on our own shores that in distant land and places like antietam, normandy, saigon, kandahar, and baghdad. it is on their shoulders we stand wobbly at times but stand nonetheless. the nation's future now falls to us. will we step up to the plate or will we fail to act? for too long routinely increasing the amount of money the government can borrow without taking any action to

stem the country's growing debt has been standard operating procedure. but the storm warning signs have been posted and i am heeding their ominous call. when congress is asked to increase the statutory debt limit, which will likely happen in the next few months, i will vote no unless, let me be completely clear here, there is a firm commitment to deal with the larger issue where the vote itself is tied to a plan to put america on a path to financial responsibility. 7. i have come to this decision based on a multitude of factors i will explore in the remaining time. consider these game realities, our nation is more than $14 trillion in debt, we accumulate a terror dollar -- a trillion dollar debt every year.

standard and moore's said the a.a.a. credit rating is at risk if the problem isn't corrected. the practical implications of a downgraded credit rating are severe. the cost to borrow money will rise. everything from a home loan to a car loan to a student loan will increase. interest on the debt was $202 billion in 2010. that's nearly $4 billion a week. in 2021, interest on the debt is projected to be $1 trillion a year or roughly $2.7 billion a day. unsustainable debt in europe and the resulting economic woes and austerity measures led to riots in the street. is it just a matter of time before we see that at -- it is just a matter of time before we see that at home. if we are on the same trajectory

as these country, the unemployment numbers should give us pause. spain was at a whopping 19.8% in december. noted historian kneel ferguson authored a piece in the april, 2010, "foreign affairs" exploring the theory that great empires decline swiftly from rome, to the ming dynasty to the british empire, history is rife with store roifs seemingly invincible war powers that collapse in a short period of time. ferguson adds while there's a variety of theories of why they decline, he said most imperial falls are associated with fiscal crisis. if paying $202 billion a year in interest alone isn't a fiscal crisis, i don't know what is. is america heading off a cliff? consider that last year, a

report from the congressional budget office revealed that for the first time in 25 years, social security was taking in less in taxes than it was spending in benefits. in addition, a recent report found that as of 2011, as it open the first of the baby boomers will turn 65 at the rate of 10,000 a day for the next 19 years. 10,000 a day for the next 19 years. or consider that just over the past decade, foreign ownership of u.s. debt has increased significantly from 5% to 40% to 46% today. if the u.s. does not begin to rein in spending, every penny of the federal budget will go to interest on the debt and entitlement spend big 2028. this has grave implications for a host of national priorities. ferguson is not alone in his warnings.

in 2007, then-u.s. comptroller general david walker warned of striking similarities between america's current situation and the fall of the roman empire. respective -- respected business leader norm augustine who chaired a national academies committee on -- captured well the situation in which america now finds itself when he said, quote, in the technology-driven economy in which we live, americans have come to accept leadership as the natural and enduring state of affairs but leadership is highly perishable. it must be constantly reearned. he went on to say, unless we do things dramatically different, including strengthening our investments in research and education, the 21st century will belong to china or india. as america sinks deeper into

debt, we seem satisfied utterly to live in the moment with no concern for the future. as our own investments in the future lag, china is forging ahead, making critical gains in education while our children are left in the wake. one woman in arizona who spoke decline -- who spoke to him in his heartland travels said, poignantly, we seem to be mired in mediocrity while china is steaming ahead. do we really want the 21st century this century, to be the chinese century? do we really want to leave our children a country mired in mediocrity? last year, a five-year followup report titled "rising above the gathering storm revisited" noted that almost a third of u.s. manufacturing companies say they're suffering from the same levels of skill shortages.

this failure to train the next generation of engineers and scientists has a direct bearing on our economy. the u.s. graduates only -- graduates only half the number of physicists today that we did in 1956. the gathering storm report determined that for the first time in our nation's history, the younger generation of americans is less well educated than its parents and warned that, quote, the united states appears to be on a course that will lead to a declining standard of living for our children and our grandchildren. against this back drop, roughly half of america's outstanding publicly held debt is now foreign owned with china and saudi arabia among the largest holders. saudi arabia was home to many of the 9/11 terrorists. saudi arabia's radical wahabism is taught in some of thee most

extreme mosques and ma drasass. their text -- and madrasas. their textbooks are filled with hate for christians and jews. a recent "new york times" report -- arlington reported, saudi donors remain the chief finance years of groups like al qaeda, end of quote. is this a country we want to be beholden to financially? or what about communist china? it is well documented by the u.s. intelligence community that china's attempt to spy on u.s. agencies and business are the most aggressive of all foreign intelligence organizations. according to the f.b.i., quote, pose a significant threat to the national security and to the compromise of u.s. critical national assets, end of quote. china also routinely violates the basic human rights of its own people. even this week, as chinese

president hu jintao is afforded the pomp and circumstance of a white house state dinner, catholic bishops, protestant pastors,ity bet tan monks are in chinese jails for practicing their faith. i've seen how china plunderedity bet. china abuses -- china's abuses do not stop at home. they are significant arms suppliers to the genocidal regime in khartoum, sudan. do we really want china to be our banker? all these realities must prompt some soul searching on the part of our nation's leadership. almost five years ago, during the last republican majority, i came to the floor of the house proposing an independent, bipartisan commission to address unsustainable federal spending. it would put everything on the table, entitlements, all of the spending and tax policies. the safe commission, short for

securing america's future economy, would operate in a transparent way. holding public meetings across the country to hear from the american people and give them a vested interest in the outcome. further it would require congress to vote on its recommendations. i reintroduced this legislation with congressman jim cooper in the 110th and 11th congresses. senator conrad and gregg introduced legislation that became the blueprint for the simpson bowles commission. i give credit to the deficit commission. i certainly didn't agree with every part of its report, but the commission's work was an important step in moving the national conversation forward. it put forth serious ideas rather than just kicking the can down the road and had i been

appointed to the commission while supporting some changes, i would have voted for his final report. i commend its members who voted yes, such as senator come co--- tom coburn, republican of oklahoma a champion of low taxes, for having the courage to do so. the plan set forth by the simpson-bowles commission, supported by a jore of the commission's 18 members, makes it clear that addressing the debt and deficit isn't just a simple exercise in rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse. it is all well and good to eliminate earmarks, fraud, waste, and abuse and rein in discretionary spending, but these things alone do not come close to solving the debt and the deficit. the infamous bank robber willie sutton reported he robbed banks, quote, because that's where the money was. in our government, the money is

in entitlements, medicare, medicaid, and social security. let me say it again. if we do not deal with medicare, medicaid, and social security, we cannot solve this problem. we need to do it in a way that really fixes the problem for us and for the next generation. we need to do it in a way that strengthens america, creating economic growth and jobs. this will be difficult and at times controversial but the longer we wait, we can be certain it will become more difficult and more controversial. the commission's forth right assessment about what is necessary to put us in a good fiscal standing was a step in the right direction. the success of any endeavor, however, is predicated on actively involving the american people and must require an up or down vote in congress.

the president's commission came up short in that regard. we have divided government, which necessitates a bipartisan solution. something that can be passed and be enacted into law and the sooner the better. if we neglect to do this, america will decline and it will decline on our watch. we will have failed our children and grandchildren. we will have broken faith with the family -- founding fathers and past generations who have sacrificed greatly to make this nation our -- make this nation, our nation, a shining city on a hill. we can no longer ignore the albatross of debt around our collective necks. that's why, unless there's a firm commitment to deal with the larger financial crisis or the vote itself is tied to a possible debt solution, i'll vote against the debt limit increase.

and again, i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to consider doing the same. i don't say this lightly. i am fully aware of the implications. in a recent letter to congressional leadership, treasury secretary timothy geithner spoke in near apocalyptic terms about the consequences of default. if even a fraction of his analysis is accurate, it is clear that this is a -- this isn't a decision to be made casually. it is paresisly because the stakes are so high that i believe that debt -- the debt limit vote can serve as a trigger to force congressional action, action that otherwise will not be taken. the country does not currently have a credit card limit and we need one in order to stop the mortgaging of our country's future. failure to act now on fiscal problems will ensure that in the future, there will be a tax increase and drastic entitlement

reductions and no money for important discretionary spending as infrastructure, national security, medical research and education. the longer it takes to address this issue, the more draconian the options will be when the nation is forced to change course as it most assuredly will be. if you were on social security and method care, you should insist that the congress and the administration act. if you are a young adult, you should be worried that your generation will be significantly less well off than your parents' generation. if you care about america's global leadership if you yearn for our country to have the resources to combat global scourges if you hope for the day when there's a cure for cancer and alzheimer's, you should press congress and the administration to step up to the plate now. we must all ask ourselves do, we want to make a point or do we want to make a difference? if the answer is the latter, it is clear this is a conference --

a conversation we need to be having today. we must not put it off. at his 1996 fairwell address, -- farewell address, george washington admonished his fellow countrymen, we should avoid throwing upon future generations what we ought to bear. a brief word to america's faith community who should be intimately concerned with the moral component of this crisis. if we say we care about the poor, we must speak up, for they will be the hardest hit if we fail to act. . if we say we are passionate about justice, we must not be consistent with committing a national generational injustice. not only is our current course immoral it is un-american. generations past have always passed the torch of the american dream to their children and grandchildren. presently we are poised to hand

off the struggling flicker of a flame. the implications of america on decline also has ripple effects the world over. in a december 5 "washington post" outlook piece, author robert cap lynn writes, quote, america's ability to bring a modicum of order to the world is fading in slow motion. a look at the daily headlines we are reminded that the world is a much more dangerous place when our nation is perceived as weak or worse yet when that perception becomes a reality. surely we can agree on the emormity of what is at stake. the precise blueprint for how to move forward may seem blurry at times, but the implications of doing nothing mustpropel us onward. do we summon the courage to act? i believe we can see a birth in america marked by grand innovations in science and technology that are the wonders of the world. advances in medical research that save millions of lives.

and further exploration into the remaining frontier of space and much more. a columnist wrote recently, america has become a great nation because we have an an optimistic people who insist on both success and liberty. america's can-do spirit has been raised us up from a handful of farmers to the could he losscies of the planet. if we can regain that spirit, there is not a reason in the world that the 21st century will not be the american century. just as the 20th century was. i was reminded once again of that unique american spirit on election day when i stopped by the snow white grill in winchester, virginia, when i was there one man said to me, we are ready. we are prepared to sacrifice. we are ready to do what's right. and several others at the lunch counter echoed the same. but the question remains, are america's leaders prepared to

sacrifice? are america's leaders prepared to do it right? battle lines have been drawn on both sides. the moveon.org is on the left and the americans for tax reform on the right have wielded their political influence with remarkable effect. only to paralyze, to paralyze the congress and the bam -- obama administration on arguably the most important issue of our time. i'm not prepared to continue to let that happen. in 1787 on the final day of the constitutional convention, benjamin franklin is said to have wept when he signed the document. james madison wrote in a letter to thomas jefferson, quote, while it's the last members were signing it, he said dr. franklin looking towards the president's chair at the back of which a rising sun happened to be painted, observed to a few members near him, the

painters have found it difficult to distinguish in their art a rising sun from a setting sun. and then dr. franklin remarked, that during the course of the session, quote, i have often looked at the picture without being able to tell whether it was a rising sun or a setting sun. and then franklin continues, now i ever the happiness to know that it is -- i have the happiness to know that it is indeed a rising not a is thing sun. every politician loves to say that the sun has barely begun to rise on america and that america's best days are yet ahead. if we steal ourselves with tough decisions and commit to doing the right thing, if we work for economic and moral rebirth, we will honestly be able to join the chorus of voices reaching back to our nation's founding and echoing across the ages which enjoin us

to believe that the sun has indeed barely begun to rise on a country and that america's best days are yet to come. this is a call to action. we are americans and we can prevail. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain a motion from the gentleman from virginia. mr. wolf: thank you, mr. speaker. i now make a motion that the house do now adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to adjourn. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it.

the motion is agreed to. accordingly, the house stands adjourned until noon on monday next for morning hour debate and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business. >> members approved resolutions for members to come up with new health care proposals. committees were instructed to come up with a new formula to fix the pay it back for doctors who treat medicare patients. morehouse coverage next week when the gavel comes down here on c-span. john boehner held a press conference today. he was asked about economic issues and the chinese president's visit to the united states. this is about 10 minutes.

[random conversations] >> good morning, everyone. our new majority has pledged to listen and focus on the will of the american people. we have begun to carry out this commitment by cutting our own budget and repealing the job- destroying health-care law. we are here to talk about another promise we are keeping, that is ensuring tax dollars will never be used to fund elective abortions. it banned on -- a ban on taxpayer funded abortions is the will of the people and should be the will of the land. the current law has been forced by this administration does not

reflect the will of the american people. last year, we listen to the american people through america speaking out. it focused on this issue loudly and clearly. we have included it in our place and we are making good on that commitment. congressman chris smith has introduced legislation that codifies an amendment and similar policies by permanently applying a band on taxpayer funding of abortions across all federal programs. this common-sense legislation reflects the will of the american people and deserves the support of the house. it is one of our highest legislative priorities. as such, i have directed that it receive the designation of hr-3. i appreciate congressman smith's steadfast leadership on this critical issue. with that, i will turn it over to him. >> speaker, thank you for your

leadership. i have worked with speaker banner for many years and he has defended the unborn child is a court conviction as well as for majority leader eric cantor. this reflects his and our profound commitment to respect the sanctity of human life and to get rid of and make permanent tax pair funding for abortion the district of columbia. and to make permanent the policies of the haight amendment. there are other programs to ensure that the taxpayers who use -- whose huge majorities show they do not want taxpayer funding to kill unborn children

and warned the mothers. president obama has said he wants abortion to be rare. the research arm of planned parenthood has said plainly that when there is no public subsidy for abortion, the number of abortions dropped by 25%. hr-3 will also deal with conscience protection. there was a woman in new york who was forced into an abortion done late firm -- late term against her will. she was trying to sue in federal court. our legislation includes contras protection to empower the court to ensure -- conscious support to a power courts so

that hospitals are not forced to participate in the taking of human life. >> mr. speaker, you say this is one of your highest legislative priorities. first the repeal of health care and now this. why this now? what about jobs? i thought jobs were the highest priority. >> when you look at the repeal of health care yesterday, one of the significant issues was that it is destroying jobs in america. our members feel strongly about the sanctity of human life. we listened to the american people. we made a commitment to the american people in our pledge to america. we are continuing to fulfill our commitment. >> when will you have the jobs package on the floor? >> if you look at a lot of the policies that have been enacted

over the last two years, it has led to uncertainty for small business. whether it is health care law or what some of the agencies are doing, all of this has a tremendous impact on jobs in our country. we will deal with these one at a time. >> how would this change policy within the health-care law now with respect to abortion and restrictions on abortion funding? >> it will make clear that taxpayer funding on delectable abortions will not be the policy f this -- -electable abortions will not be the policy of this government. >> declined is in there now. >> there was a debate that did not occur.

it is an awful lot of doubt as to with the administration really is on this issue. i think the will of the people is that we enact this clearcut prohibition on the use of taxpayer funds for electable abortions. >> you put out an amendment to defund planned parenthood. how would this effect -- affect that? >> this would not affect funding for planned parenthood. we do support the pence bill. planned parenthood performs over 320,000 abortions per year. they are the largest abortion network in the world. they drive up to $1 billion each

year from these and governments including the federal government, local, county, and state. a huge amount of money comes from the united states government. the abortion at does not deal with the issue of planned parenthood. >> it be repealed as not pass the senate or does not get the present's signature, how do you intend to attack the -- president's signature, how you intend to repeal healthcare? >> our goal is to stop the job- destroying health care bill. we are going to use all the legislative tools we have available to us so that we can stop it. if you believe, as i do, that in to hear it with employers' ability to hire new people, if

you believe as i do that the health care law will ruin the best health delivery system in the world, if you believe it will bankrupt the federal government, you can understand that doing everything we can do to make sure it is never implemented is our goal. >> another issue. i understand you pressed the president of china this morning on cracking down on intellectual property violations. were you satisfied with his answer and what did the meeting accomplished? >> we had a good meeting with the president of china today. we did discuss our economic relationship. i expressed my concern about religious liberty. i expressed my concern about intellectual property and the issue of north korea. the president responded. i would hope that the dialogue on all of these issues will continue. >> during the meeting with the

chinese president, the new talk about chinese currency concerns? if so, what was discussed? >> i do not believe the chinese currency was discussed in the meeting. >> you said before that the debt limit could not be raised without spending cuts. how much would you raise the debt ceiling by and was that discussed? >> it was not. >> you were referring to the bill as a job-destroying bill. we had references to nazi general's and so forth. -- generals and so forth. >> there is a way to disagree without being disagreeable.

>> ohio congressman jim jordan talks about the new majority postal agenda for the 112th congress. this is hosted by the heritage foundation in washington. it is 20 minutes. >> good morning, everybody. welcome to the heritage foundation. i am mike frank. we are going to start a little early because of some pending votes on the floor. i will be short in my introduction of the congressman.

he may actually have to truncates some of his remarks. congressman jim jordan's legislative style bear some relationship to the fact that he was a four-time state wrestling champion. he only had one loss. i would like to meet that individual. he graduated from the university of wisconsin in 1986. he has a degree in economics and a master's degree in education from ohio university. he serves on the committees of budget and judiciary. he is the newly minted chairman of the republican study commission. he has been ranked by the american conservative union as among america's most conservative elected officials.

he is the author of a new budget proposal he toured in op ed pages that takes a big slice of the size and scope of the federal government. he is here to share his thoughts with you. please give him a warm welcome. [applause] >> i tell everyone, do not clap. you have not heard me speak yet. let me thank the heritage foundation. i get the privilege of having a wonderful organization. rsp is really the heritage foundation. this organization is the gold standard when it comes to helping us make america a better place. i was given a book called " document house."

i just read last night a great piece. someone just added that the united states of america is no longer with the number 13 its country in the world. it is still the greatest country in the world. i will talk about that. we are now nine when you look at indicators of economic freedom. that needs to change. one thing i believe as sure as i am standing here. the world is a safe and better place when america leads. you cannot lead militarily if you are not the leading economy. it goes to get it. i do not know if the left always gets that point. you have to be the number one economy if you are going to be the military superpower. when you are both of those, that is a good thing for the rest of the planet. that is something that heritage understands and we appreciate that. i think i have votes coming up

quickly. i do not think any of you are stuck with me as your representative. you pay my salary. you are allowed to ask any question you want. we are the greatest nation in history. mike mentioned my background in wrestling. through the great sport of wrestling -- i was going to play middle linebacker for the steelers. the lord had better designs. through that sport, i had the opportunity to travel to some unique places. i was in what was the soviet union in 1987. people in those places are great people. their systems are so bad. i was in moscow in february. it is 400 below zero. the food was terrible.

you go to places like that and you thank the good lord you live here. i was in cuba in 1988 and 1990. i tell people that cuba is a warm soviet union. the food was not better there. you thank the good lord you live in this country, the greatest nation in the country -- in the world where liberty and freedom means something. we look at the situation we face today. i have been hearing this. tony blankley's column was titled, "the american medical." it captures something the political class needs to understand about -- in my time in politics, i have never seen the american people more receptive, more ready, for the tough love measures that need to be implemented to fix our

nation, to put our country back on a sustainable system. -- he talksey's about the american spirit. "we are in the midst of an american meltdown. our homes are shockingly reduced in value. many of us have lost out our jobs. general motors has gone bankrupt. all three banks were moving toward insolvency. during the early weeks of february, the newly inaugurated president talked about our economic collapse been a catastrophe we may never recover from. he applied the typical remedy, spreading the wing of the state to protect the helpless people. then the american miracle occurred. not in washington. in the hearts and heads of the

american people. the american people wanted washington to do less, not more. they did not want to be sheltered under the wing of the state. the american people feared the permanent loss of liberty where that they feared the temporary loss of their income and property. no other people in the world would have responded to economic danger by seeking more liberty and less protection. nobody would have thought, if i have to suffer economically, so be it. the american people have set the standard. the question is, will the political class rise to the standard the american people displayed over the last year- and-a-half." the house of representatives voted to repeal obamacare. from one year ago, august 2009, the town hall meetings were started. i was back home in my district

on a resource. cap and trade had just passed the house of representatives. we go through july and we are energy about obama's plan. we had the election of last fall where we saw this 63 net gain in the house for republican members. then we saw the george hudson decision last month but it to individual mandates. then a repeal of health care in the house of representatives. the key is, will the political class continue to live up to this standard we have seen demonstrated by the american people. i think the answer is yes. a big part of that is the republican study committee. i have used the dick armey quote many times. he says, when we act like us, we

win. when we act like them, we lose. our job is to make sure we act like us. i think our leadership gets it. rnc is there to give them that friendly persuasion. friendly persuasion from your father is not always friendly. that is out with job, to make sure we give that nudge that is needed to make sure we act like us. when we act like us, it is not all the good for republicans. it is good for the country. with that in mind, we have introduced a couple of things. one is a spending reduction act, which we will introduce today. it does what the title indicates. it cut spending. you know the numbers. i would get to gdp ratios are quickly approaching the countries we have been reading about 40 last year and a half. we are not far behind ireland

and greece and point to go and spain. we have got to get this moving in the right direction. we have to ultimately get to a balanced budget so we can pay down the $14 trillion that is going to move to $20 trillion in the next 10 years. we are going to go back to the house and a levels. we are going to get $100 billion in savings. we are going to go back to 2006 spending levels. we look at program averages. we went to members about our team and we said, bring us your ideas. bring us things that are redundant, which will, ridiculous. they brought us their ideas and we put them in the bill. most of them are going to agree on those specific items. over 10 years, it will save us $2.50 trillion.

it does not fix everything, but it's a good third step. as we move forward, everything needs to be on the table. you have got to be willing to say, we need to do the right thing to fix and state social security and medicare and look at things that will make those entitlements systems work better for the american people and protect them. as a conservative, we have to look at the department of defense. it is not always easy for us to do. on the left, the first thing they want to cut its defense. that is what we are supposed to spend tax dollars on. that is critical. we have to protect the country. we have to look at that area as well. there are inefficiencies that do not jeopardize our men and women in uniform. we think this bill is a good first step. the and the thing we are working on -- so much of what we do is

directly related to ideas from heritage. we think it makes sense. it is a basic concept that says, we are going to stop doing what we have always done. when there are tough economic times and social spending picks up, when we get out of tough economic times, the social spending stays there. when we get down to a normal and manageable level, we will freeze all social welfare spending to 2007 levels and we will hold it there. we are going to have an aggregate number. we are going to keep that number there. we think that will go a long way in helping us with our financial situation. i will finish their after this and take your questions. -- i will finish and take your questions. one thing is that i never

intended to run for office. i was going to be a wrestler. you get married and you have kids and you look at the world differently. i got tired of the government taking my money and insulting my values. the reason i ran was to look for ways to help the institution that, in my judgment, determines the strength of our entire culture, that institution is the family. the way the web -- the way the left likes to structure is so anti-family. said toid 1990's, they single mothers, cannot get married, do not get a job, have more children and we will give you money. that is not the message we want to send to people when you are trying to promote that institution that is going to make our country strong. we are going to help families

and help the country and help our fine at the situation. i know i went to that long. the votes are going to start any minute. the shortest political speech you have ever heard. >> i am an intern in a congressman's office. i am also a citizen of australia. he talked about the nature of medicare and social security. in australia, we faced a monumental political battle over reforming student benefits. how can you began to make any changes to a system that is so firmly rooted in such a large part of your national constituency? the problem will never be solved. >> it will not be easy.

to accomplish anything of meaning or significance is never easy. that is just the way the good lord made life. it will not be easy. back to what blankley said about the american people. you do not see americans writing in the streets like you saw when they raise the cost of education. you cannot see that in this country. there is something unique about this great nation. while it will be tough, while older americans may not want certain things to happen -- there are all sorts of programs we do not want to cut but need to be -- it will not be easy. the american people are ready for it. that is what they voted on last november. we have to have the courage to do the right. i said this to someone last

week. in high school, our wrestling coach passed away a year-and-a- half ago. he was the toughest teacher in our school. he taught chemistry. he was the toughest wrestling coach in the state of ohio. every day, he talked about discipline. chemistry is not an easy class. you have to be disciplined. you have to be disciplined about coming to class and doing the reading. wrestling is self discipline. i thought, with that guy shut up? he is driving me crazy. but he had a great definition. discipline is doing what you do not want to do when you not want to do it. basically, that meant doing it his way. doing things the right way when you would rather do it be convenient way. we are in a position in this country where we can no longer

afford to do things decamping way. especially in washington. it is the most convenient thing to do it our way. we have to do it the tough way. example has been set by the american people. the question is, are we going to have the courage to do what they have been willing to accept. >> i am from "the hill" newspaper. what is your strategy on this spending bill? are you going to insist it be part of raising the nation's debt ceiling. why not go for a balanced budget amendment? >> we think it is important to lay down a marker on what we think should be done on discretionary spending. we started a discussion on discretionary spending in our state. we have not concluded where we

think we need to be a relative to debt ceiling votes. on the cr, that is going to be the first fight. we need $400 billion cuts there. we have circulated a letter asking for signatures saying we want to be $400 billion not prorated. we have not reached a decision on the debt ceiling. last one. i had better get to the vote. thank you all very much. [applause] >> one of the shortest events in the history of the heritage foundation. thank you again for coming. we look for to seeing you at our next he bent.

event.next >> today on c-span 2, a town hall looking at u.s.-canada relations. the discussion will cover topics like continental security, trade, immigration, and sovereignty. see it live at 7:00 p.m. eastern. on friday, former british prime minister tony blair testifies about the iraq war. this is mr. blair's second time in front of the group talking about his role in the lead up to the war, military preparedness, and his relationship with president george w. bush. it starts at 4:30 a.m. eastern on c-span 2.

>> i have to practice staying alive and preparing to die at the same time. >> sunday, our guest is of author christopher hitchens. >> it is a tantalizing time to have cancer. there are treatments that i can see that are just out of reach that are both encouraging and unknowing. a sunday of an c-span's "q & ." gabrielle giffords is scheduled to travel to houston to continue her rehabilitation. her husband spoke with reporters today. this is 25 minutes.

>> what we are going to do with this press conference is i will turn this over to michael. we are also going to have congresswoman giffords' husband, mark kelly, give a statement followed by a few minutes of questions and answers. congresswoman giffords continues to do well. we are pleased with her progression. we are seeing improvements every day. that is in lightning for us. improvement in the first couple of weeks after injury is significant and shows how she will do in the future. we are still doing the usual

routine things with her, which includes speech therapy and aggressive physical therapy. she continues to participate and cooperate and is making improvements and we are happy. >> as dr. rhee said, the congresswoman continues to do well neurologically. she is beginning to stand with assistance. she is scrolling through an ipad. they indicate higher, but the function. i want to caution everyone. she has a long road ahead of her. rehabilitation will be important. we have started that process and we hope to continue that process in the next facility. we have done some minor procedures this week. one of them included revision of one of her wounds. much of this is housekeeping. it is getting her to a position

where she can graduate from this hospital. with that, i will pass it on to her husband. >> secret notes. good morning, everybody. the last 12 days have been extraordinarily difficult for myself, my family, but not only us. i think it has been difficult for the city of tucson, southern arizona, and our country. i do not think we will fully understand the why and the how and the reason for what happened on the eighth of january. it is a loss of innocent life, the injury of one dozen people and the death of a nine-year old

girl, a federal judge, and the serious, dramatic injury of my wife gabrielle. to fully understand that emotionally, this has been a challenge for all of us. what this has done, it has shown me and our country and the entire world what tucson is all about. it showed them a different side of tucson. i think all americans are proud of what they have seen. i know my wife, gabrielle, would be proud of how this community responded to this tragic situation. outside his hospital, in front of the state way -- in

front of the safeway has been -- have been a testimony to what this city is all about. it has been overwhelming. it's a bit difficult to keep up with. we are appreciative. i want to apologize to all those folks who have done so much for us that we have not recognized yet. one of the first things that the is going to want to do as soon as she is able is to start writing thank-you notes. i have already reminded her of that. as can be moved into the next phase of her recovery, -- as gabby move into the next phase of her recovery, she is going to need to be strong. she will need the support of our

community. this is her home, the place she loves, the people she represents. we look at a lot of places to move far too. we considered we have facilities in new york and arizona, in chicago, in new jersey, washington, d.c. and also in houston. one of the best we have -- best rehab hospitals in the nation is in the city of houston. it took a while to decide where to send her. there were many factors that went into that. some of those other places could certainly provide her with excellent care. we did consider them all. this hospital has been one of the top rank rehabilitation hospitals in the country for

over 21 years. it has an outstanding world- class reputation. the doctors and nurses there are the best at treating penetrating head industries -- head and did -- head injuries like my wife has. i want my wife to have the best care and deals with the best she can get to that at this facility. what is a critical factor in this decision is the fact that it will let me be there by her side as much as possible every single day. i do not know how long this process is going to take. if i want to address a situation with our children, who are teenage girls going to school every day, and also be able to consider the possibility

of returning to work, it makes the most sense that she is in memorial harman in houston, texas. i am extremely hopeful that gabby will make a full recovery. i have told her that in she recognizes it. she is a strong person and a fighter. she is a fighter like nobody else i know. i am extremely confident that she is going to be back here and back at work soon. i have been telling the hospital staff that they can expect to see her walking into these calls within a couple of months. i am sure of that. she will be back. one of the reasons she is going to be back is because of the excellent care she has received here from dr. peter rhee, the other trauma surgeons, the

neurosurgeon, all the way up and down the chain here at umc. she has received nothing less than perfect care. that is the reason she is in the situation she is in now. the fact that within two weeks of this serious injury, she is able to move onto the next phase. i want to thank the nurses that attended to her around the clock. tracey, amanda, joshua,. they have been by her side every step of the way. i also have strong feelings about the support we received from the pima county sheriff's department north dakota police department. -- sheriff's department and the

police department. the capitol hill police have been with our round the clock as well. i also want to thank the ceo of umc, the mayor, the university of arizona president. i know they are deeply committed to this community. the kindness and generosity from them and their teams has been phenomenal. the bottom line is that i want to thank the people up to sign. the support they provided for me, my wife's is that in our family over the last few weeks staff over the last

few weeks is something i am deeply grateful for. i would like to take a few questions if anyone has them. right in front. >> can you talk about the logistics of moving her and if that is likely to marla? >> we are going to move for tomorrow. we are going to be planning process of how we are going to do that. we are in the first cases of cooking that into place. by the time we moved our, we will have a good -- first phases of putting that into place. by the time we move her, we will have a good plan. >> had she spoken yet? >> she had a tracheotomy. in my mind, she has made some

attempts. [unintelligible] >> this whole thing concerns me. from the time i got the first call until she makes a couple recovery, i have a lot of concerns. >> do you know who will be leading the team in houston in terms of her doctors? >> the trauma -- the neurosurgeon will be dr. bride and -- dr. brian ho. [unintelligible] >> she will smile at me. she will do a couple of things that she will only do around me a pat me on the face. she is well aware of who is around her.

very aware of the situation. >> can you tell me the moment when you experience that she was able to stand up and take a few steps alone and look out of the window? >> i think standing and steps -- what the general public would think that means and what physical therapists with the clinical definition of those two things -- they are a few different -- they are a little different. she can bear her own weight. speaking for the doctors, she has made a remarkable recovery at this point. [unintelligible]

>> many every day. every time i interact with turn there is something quite inspiring. it is stuff like that that she does over and over again. i imagine the next step is she will be walking in talking. in two months, you will see her walking through the front door of this building. thank you. >> can you talk a little bit

about what is typically she is going to do paid it is certainly a long road ahead. >> she has already started rehabilitation. occupational therapists and speech therapists are with her every day. it will be more of the same. as she becomes more able to do the more complex sequence is, they will graduate her there at that facility. that is going to be on an as needed basis. >> can you talk about speech therapy? >> speech therapy is more than just their before a speech. it assesses swallow when and the gag reflex and to execute repeatable communications. that is going on long as it can given her neurological status. [unintelligible] >> they are able to assess how

the muscles work in her throat. [unintelligible] >> to the best of our knowledge, she is performing well in that regard. we do not challenge her with complex things until we know she is ready to graduate. >> will she be transported in some sort of special airplane or ambulance airplane? >> what was your question again? >> will she be transported to houston in a special air ambulance? is it a regular plane? >> it will be an air ambulance airplane. we will go from here to houston by air and we will probably go by air to the hospital. [unintelligible] >> she should be pretty easy. we will do all of the lifting. [laughter] >> you will go along?

>> we have not come to the final conclusions of who is going to go. >> can you walk us through the logistical steps? she will be flourish by helicopter -- she will be blown -- flown by helicopter -- >> she will be taken in a helicopter from the hospital. [unintelligible] >> we were able to have her pick several out dick's. there is evidence that she can see not only the location of the object, but also the color. [unintelligible] >> not at this stage. [unintelligible] >> we have seen her moving her lips. her husband thinks she is

communicating at that level. >> why did you choose to put in a tracheotomy tube? >> usually, when we do it we do it to protect the air way. when you put in one of the tubes you cannot speak with, the air goes back and forth from the mouth and settles in the lungs. in the beginning, you want to make sure saliva does not get into the lungs. you get new money from the bacteria in your mouth. [unintelligible] >> it will definitely be tomorrow. >> yesterday you talked about the fact that she stood on her lawn with assistance. -- on her own with assistance. has she done anything else that struck you as impressive? >> we are planning on giving her some sunshine today.

the physical therapy here is pretty aggressive. we were doing things which she was on the breathing machine and we were active in getting her mobile at that time. the physical therapy is going to be continual. what she is going to do it in houston is capable of being done here. we have had people with head injuries here all the time. we do physical therapy here in our hospital and at other hospitals in town. it is going to take a long time. personally, this is my personal opinion. i would love to see mark be able to go back to his life. he is going to make a hard decision as to whether he can go up in flight or not. that is going to involve many levels of the distance. i would love to see him go back into flight. that means he will be able to be at work and see his wife regularly without flying around.

that is important for the entire healing phase. the rehabilitation will function -- will focus on getting her functionality back and on daily living. she will go from an inpatient rehabilitation facility to outpatients. [unintelligible] >> the first step was getting her into a chair. we got her to the window and she was able to look at the mountains. the next step is getting her out to a deck where there is open exposure to sunlight. when people start seeing the day in and day out, it starts to reorient them to the lifestyle they had before. >> can talk about how you know she is aware of her surroundings from a medical point of view? how do you know she knows what is going on around her? >> we can tell simple things. she will scroll through ipad and

look at pictures. she will pick out stuffed animals and interact with mark. that is the best way we can tell. there is no quantifiable way we can say that she has registered the message of what happens to her. we think a lot of that is getting through. >> will you change the ballot on her tracheotomy tube so she has the ability to speak? --on her tracheotomy tube so that she has the ability to speak? >> we have contemplated it. but it is better to leave it. [unintelligible] >> it will be a tad. they will do it over there in houston. >> when do you plan to reattach it? >> there are many options, including putting our original bought back in place or having a press that it made. the family is considering all of those options. we would

>> meanwhile, she will be able. and absolutely. can you put area perspective how long the road is had cracks i caution everyone -- months. it is not uncommon for people to initially improve and plateau for a little while and improve again. they have to your expectations as to what she is willing to show for us. >> [inaudible] >> very possibly?

>> what is the best case scenario at the end here? >> as i have always said, it is the full range of functional recovery and anything in between. >> is a possible for her to really come back? she might be able to walk? >> that is possible. >> can you talk about the importance of getting her into rehabilitation? i know you started the rehabilitation program, but how does that help her long term? >> we believe that it helps. however quantify that is hard to say, but once she no longer needs and acute care hospital, then there is no need to just maintain her in the hospital, and that is why we have the rehabilitation hospitals that will take over that phase. again, when she is here, we start the rehabilitation phase right away. when we no longer need the hospitalization, we will let that be the primary issue, which is the rehabilitation.

>> [inaudible] >> has the congresswoman been made aware of what happened that day? >> i cannot say that someone has set down and explain the details of what happened that day, but she has been told that she is injured and where she is. we are trying to orient her from that aspect. >> will you be involved in her care at all? if so, what is the next thing you might be looking for? >> dr. holcomb is a longtime friend of mine. we retired about the same stage, and he went over to houston. the system is fairly similar, but he does have a fantastic rehabilitation capability there. his surgical team is fantastic. they are taught in the country.

but we will let them do it. i think the type of procedures that she will require are fairly minor at this phase. there's anything that needs to be done, we will probably contemplate bringing her back, because this is her home. between the city -- two of us, i think she will be just fine. >> the important thing is we maintain that open line of communication. the doctor there and i have already corresponded several times, and the dialogue will continue going forward. >> we had a btc this morning, and we have had several of these, multiple phone calls, so they know exactly what her situation is here, and the media has been great about giving them information the last 10 or 12 days as well, so it should be fairly seamless at this point. thank you, everybody. >> thank you.

>> this new law is a fiscal house of cards, and it is a health care house of cards. >> has anybody, any family in america, any single mother, and the spouse, a child, any grandparent mad a more bureaucratic system than the american health insurance system? >> watch this week's health care debate from the house floor any time on line with c-span's "congressional chronicle." see what your representatives said. c-span.org/congress. >> today, a town hall looking at u.s.-canada relations, live from the newseum in washington.

the discussion is hosted on topics like continental security, trade, immigration, and sovereignty. see it live and 7:00 p.m. eastern on c-span2. on friday, former british prime minister tony blair testifies before the british inquiry into the iraq war. this is mr. blair's second time before the group, talking about his role in the lead up to the war, military preparedness, and his relationship with president george w. bush. see that live starting at 4:30 a.m. eastern, also on c-span2. tuesday, president obama delivered the state of the union address to a joint session of congress. c-span live coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. eastern with our preview program, followed by the president's speech at 9:00, and then the republican response and your phone calls. you can also watch the president's address on c-span2,

followed by reaction from members of congress from statuary hall. and a congressional leaders held a ceremony today marking the 50th anniversary of president john f. kennedy's inaugural address. it is the speech where the president ask americans to ask themselves what they could do for their country. this is about 90 minutes. [applause] >> ladies gentlemen, the whole world watched with excitement and expectation in 1961 when senator john and jacqueline kennedy moved into the white house with a young family.

however, no one noticed when i first came to washington that same year. [laughter] i was a law student, a new father, and to make ends meet, 8 capitol policeman. i can still vividly remember seeing caroline call me macaroni from the south end of the white house. 50 years later, it is a great privilege to be with caroline as well as the vice-president, speaker boehner, leader pelosi, and all of you to remember the history and the hope of caroline's father's presidency. we also remember and honor president kennedy's brother-in- law, who was -- led an exemplary life of public service and who did so much for so many who had so little. [applause]

i came east after graduating from utah state university, where i had found its first young democrats club to help elect president kennedy. he was inaugurated just outside this rotunda on a blustery but bright friday half a century ago today. the previous friday, january 13, 1961, the president-elect said me a personal letter of thanks for the work that we did out west on his campaign. the letter was short, but it overflowed with optimism. he knew the new frontier he was about to lead would allow us to make our country and even better place for its citizens to live as well as strengthen our country's position of leadership in the world. that letter meant an awful lot to me. as a 21-year-old, and it still

does. today, it hangs on the doorway of my office, just down the hall from here, and just paces from the chamber where three youngest kennedy brothers served in the united states senate. it is the first thing you see when you visit my office and the last thing you see before you leave my office. one week after john kennedy signed that letter, the new president asked all of us to ask ourselves what we can do for our country. that sense of service, the simple selflessness inspired every american, and it is with that spirit we celebrate the at -- this afternoon. although his request of his fellow americans has come to define his inaugural address, president kennedy's audience that day was not just his countrymen. looking over the east front of the capital, the new president spoke to the entire world. he forecasted great things

allies can accomplish in cooperation, and he forewarned that there is little we can do if we are divided. he reminded us that our time is better spent addressing the problems the united us, and he asked us to remember that civility is not a sign of weakness. president kennedy's warnings war -- were words the world needed to hear. today, they are just as valuable for us to hear your home. we cannot fully articulate the lessons of president kennedy's legacy in a single speech. no single ceremony can count for all he did to make our country a better place to live, as he wrote me 50 years ago, or to strengthen america's position of leadership in the world, but he implored of us, january 20, 1961. let us begin. let us begin. [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the presentation of the colors, followed by the national anthem, the retiring of the colors, and the invocation. ♪ ["the star-spangled banner"

plays] ♪ ♪

>> let us pray. gracious god, the giver of every good and perfect gift, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of president john fitzgerald kennedy's inaugural address, we praise you for the season of hope you provided our nation with his presidency. our world experienced that whole as the word went forth to friend and foe alike that a new generation of americans carry

freedom's torch. the energy of his optimistic presidency despatched young people as ambassadors of peace throughout the world, confronted totalitarian threats, and planted the american flag on the lunar surface. as our memory of his inaugural address from its us to ask again what we can do for our country -- prompts us to ask again what we can do for our country, help us to remember your admonition to humble the seat you in prayer and turn from evil so that you will hear our prayers, forgive our sins, and he'll our land -- heal our land.

may president kennedy's lyrical words continue to reverberate down the corridors of the decades, motivating us to be willing, to pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe in order to ensure the survival and success of liberty. give us this day a conscience void of offense toward you or humanity as you keep us from for getting that here on earth, your work must truly be our own. we pray in your sovereign name.

amen. >> ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. be seated. and that it is so fitting and appropriate that congress was resolved to pause and remember that 50 years ago today, this our, this nation inaugurated one of the greatest presidents of the 20th century, john

fitzgerald kennedy. someone said that a great leader is one who leads others to see greatness in themselves. somehow, in the handsome face of this brilliant young president, we could see the best in us all. his election ushered in an age of great hope and great expectations in this country and around the world. he told us we should face our problems together, as one people, in the struggle against common enemies of humankind -- oppression, politics, disease, and war. he told us that a nation dedicated to liberty had a mandate to work for the freedom

of all humanity. he sound the trumpet that day, and we responded -- some of us joined the peace corps. [applause] others decided to teach in underserved communities. some traveled south to participate in the civil rights movement, and others went into public service. john fitzgerald kennedy was the first american president to say that the question of race, the question of civil rights was a moral one. he made it clear to state officials that he would use the power of the federal government

to desegregate the university of mississippi in 1962. and he did it again when the governor of alabama stood in the door of the university of alabama in june of 1963. the very last time that i sought and had an opportunity to visit with president kennedy, he had invited all of the speakers of the march on washington to the white house on august 28, 1963. he was standing in a door of the oval office. he shook our hands, and he said to each of us, "you did a good job. you did a good job to dr. king, he said, you have a dream. to us, in that time, john f.

kennedy was the embodiment of our dream. he symbolized what we believed this country stood for -- its youth and ideals, its energy, and forward thinking. those of us who met him and were inspired by his leadership were more than lucky. we were blessed. thank you. [applause] [applause] >> mr. vice-president, mr. speaker, majority leader, secretary, distinguished colleagues, members of the

kennedy family, ladies and gentlemen. i was about to turn 17 as a high-school junior when i gave my first political speech. eight rousing endorsement at morning assembly at school of candidate kennedy against vice president nixon. so rousing that in our schools mock election that followed, jack kennedy lost in a landslide. [laughter] at my overwhelmingly republican by birthright campus, there was no need for a recount, but somehow, despite this local verdict, on november 8 in the real election, as a matter of history, we know john kennedy became our nation's 35th

president. so 50 years ago today, i found myself deeply invested in watching the inauguration on a tiny, grainy, black-and-white television set, and i still remember the sparkling son on the snow, the slippery streets, and the wintry wonder of the nation's capital that day. i was touched by the spontaneous gesture of the newly minted vice president johnson, who rose from his seat and will that his top had to shave the pages on election so robert frost could read aloud the words of the give out right. but the real magic was yet to come. it took president kennedy just 1355 words to summon a new generation and to set in motion generations of service and sacrifice to reignite the fires

of idealism and patriotism in millions of americans. some with answer the call of fighting in a war, while some would protest the war, and some would do both. thousands would follow congressman john lewis, whom you just heard, in the march for civil rights in alabama and mississippi. still others would follow an american idealist named sergeant shriver as ambassadors of peace and diligence across the hemisphere are on the air, and that lives on today with the same magic. in the 14 minutes that it took president kennedy to deliver his inaugural address, he also reshaped american foreign policy for the nuclear age, a time of which he rightly said that the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of

peace. this was a vision of the president himself, tempered by war, who saw the nuclear age for what it was -- an era in which cooperation to those who would make themselves our adversary was essential not only to the security of this country, but to the survival of our planet. so he offered a challenge and a pledge to all of us, never negotiate out of fear, but even more importantly, never fear to negotiate. john kennedy came to the presidency with the harder and conviction that leadership required resolve and strength, hard thinking, and hard bargaining. he bent history in the direction of peace with the first major arms control agreement of the post-war world. on the path he said, we have

moved forward for half a century because of his leadership, to reduce the number and danger of nuclear arms on our planet, all through, as he said, the long twilight struggle year in and year out, and then from the stalled negotiations to the start treaty that we just ratified a few weeks ago. today, in a little moment when you hear his words i knew, listen for more even than a call to service, more than a call to peace. hear the echo of a president speaking to us in this bitter time of partisan division. despite the span of years and the heartbreak of so many losses, with the power of poetry matched to the appeal of reason, john fitzgerald kennedy's summons all of us, even today, to overcome the

cacophony of ideology and infighting that now so pervasively masquerades as political debate. we need to take wisdom and heart from his timeless advice on where to go from here, so we do well to remember his words. an election is not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom. not an end, but a beginning, signifying renewal as well as change. as he said, united, there is little we cannot do, but divided, there is little we can do, for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder. so 50 years to the day, 50 years to the very minute fast approaching, his words still command us a new to march forward and with good conscience, let history be the final judge of what we do so

that together now in 2011, as it was in 1961, as he said, all of us can go forth lead the land we love, asking his blessing and his help, but knowing that here on earth, god's earth must truly be our own. [applause] is my land and this is your land

from california to the new york island from the redwood forest to the gulf stream waters this land was made for you and me this land is your land this land is my land from california to the new york island from the redwood forest to the gulf stream waters this land was made for you and me as i was walking that ribbon of highway

i saw above me that analyst sky way -- endless sky way i saw below me that golden valley that golden valley this land was made for you and me this land is your land this land is my land from california to the new york island from the redwood forest to the gulf stream waters this land was made for you and this land was made for you and me this land was made for you and this land was made for you and me

♪ this land is your land this land is my land from california to the new york island from the redwood forest to the gulf stream waters this land was made for you and me

this land was made from the redwood forest to the gulf stream waters this land was made for you and me this land was made for you and this land was made for you and me ♪ [applause] [applause] >> caroline kennedy, members of

the kennedy family, welcome to the capitol. thank you for the privilege of joining my colleagues, joining senator reid and speaker boehner, senator kerry, john lewis, so many of you here to observe the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of president john f. kennedy. it is my officials privilege to join them. it is my deeply personal honor. i have listened very carefully to their remarks. i am first and proud to be the only to say i was there. it was about this time 50 years ago. i was able to be there because

my father, the mayor of baltimore, the great supporter of jfk, and would be part of the administration. my brother who later became mayor was there too. many of you work. i know at least one other member of congress was. he was a member of congress at the time. any others want to raise their hands? [laughter] i thought not. at any event, i was a young college student at the time. i was at georgetown. we were enormously proud that we were going to have a catholic president. i was a young student listening to a young president call to the energy, the faith, and the devotion. he said that will lead our country and all who serve it, and the glow from that fire can truly light the world, and so it

was for three years of crisis that tested our character and our national will, and leadership that advanced america's dream and arguably save the world in a moment of maximum danger. it was president kennedy's leadership that dared us to believe we could do the seemingly impossible, reach into the heavens, sen and then to the moon and back safely within 10 years. it was his leadership that at great political risk refused to deny conscience and history itself. a president for the first time ever to say that the quality was of of all a moral issue. that it was time, long past time to keep the promise of freedom. it was his leadership that america moving again after a decade of recession by defying

the conventional wisdom and demanding that our power be committed to stimulating and sustaining the prosperity of america. it was john f. kennedy's leadership, a rare combination of resolve and restraint, the guided america and the plant to the greatest 13 days of the nuclear age, and afterwards, in the last summer of his life, he signed the treaty, the beginning of the long end of the cold war. president kennedy's leadership was not without frustrations and setbacks. no president or any leaders are ever without that, but it was in hand it persistence of principle to fight on. there was a willingness to think and act anew.

there was a capacity to inspire any quality of irony. he made us laugh. at the center of his values, of his ringing challenge to the american people, was a summons to serve, to uphold our obligation to a fellow american and our fellow citizens of the world, and in doing so, to strengthen our great country. he made the idea real with peace corps, a group of americans serving as ambassadors of goodwill worldwide, an initiative led by that beautiful man, a sargent shriver, a great man his passing we mourn this week. we take special pride, don't we,

steny? to this day, each peace corps volunteer is a tribute to president kennedy and all who stepped forward to strengthen america and the world, bring life to his ideals of service. 50 years after that january day, president kennedy still holds a high place in our hearts. on that day, he demonstrated the power of words. many of us again were privileged to be there, seeing our new, inspiring president, but in places far and away, people across the nation and the world watched. for them as well, it was a moment that refine our -- defined our time, and our that would be heard in times to come. there was a sense not only that

the torch had been passed, but that each of us could carry it forward in our own way. the leadership of president john f. kennedy is not just a memory, but a living act, a living force that still asks every citizen to lead, and perhaps, citizen to lead, and perhaps, that is the most precious gift of all, and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. thanks. [applause] [applause] >> mr. vice-president, mr. speaker, leader reid, minority

leader's, members of congress, distinguished friends and guests, let me begin by noting that as we mark this anniversary, we are thrilled to be joined by caroline kennedy and her family. caroline, you carry the memory of your parents with dignity and compassion. [applause] on the night before his inaugural speech was to be delivered, the president-elect was driving through the snowy streets of washington on his way to one of the many inaugural balls that he would attend that night, when he asked the driver to turn on a light inside the

car. he wanted the well-wishers outside to be able to see his wife. then, with the light on, he began to read jefferson's first inaugural, which was printed in the program of the concert that he and mrs. kennedy had just attended. after he had finished, he put it aside, shook his head, and issued the following three-word judgment. better than mine. [laughter] while the rest of the country would think differently. his inaugural address would be an instant sensation, and it was easy to see why. its opening words, his first as president, were a reminder to the world that on inauguration day, americans do not celebrate

the victory of one political party over another. they celebrate freedom. in the minutes that followed, he aimed to give purpose and direction to that freedom. he sought to define the age in which he found himself and to enlist the nation in what he called a long, twilight struggle against the common enemies of man. he did not say what he would do to arrest these common enemies, nor would he lay out what sacrifices he expected, but the applause of the crowd that they suggested that americans were willing to do what was necessary. the first president born in the 20th century had clearly struck a chord, especially with the young. many of them are with us here today.

my own family came to america that fateful year, full of hope and optimism about our new country, and just four years after that, we listened attentively as then director of the new peace corps gave the commencement address at my father's graduation from st. john's university in new york. some days later, my father, who is here with me today, would once again filled with immigrants cried when his daughter was asked to lead the peace corps that president kennedy had created and the sarge shriver had guided and love. we know the great passing of the great american sarge shriver, who was such a guiding force for the peace corps, and we extend our sympathies to the kennedy family, the shriver family, and especially to maria and her

brothers. when i was director, peace corps expanded its program for the very first time to countries behind the iron curtain, turning into reality what president kennedy predicted what happened when you talk about the establishment of the peace corps. even in those days of dreams and optimism, he clearly had no illusions about how hard it would be and how long it would take to see results in the efforts to ensure the success of liberty. he knew the tasks ahead would be the work of many heads and many mines and many hands, and 50 years later, we honor his memory and the memory of his inspiring words by renewing our shared commitment to finish that work, to defeat the common enemies of man. not in weeks, not in months.

not perhaps even in our own lifetime, but determined, nevertheless, to begin once more. thank you. [applause] [applause] >> before i talk about president kennedy's tremendous legacy, i'm told that astronaut buzz aldrin is here. is that so?

. [applause] [applause] we acknowledge your presence. when he and neil armstrong became the first americans to touch the moon, our nation rejoiced not just because we were launching a new era of exploration and technology. we cheered for more than just the stunning success for science. when man first set foot on another world, we celebrated the fact that these first men were americans. as armstrong the of that latter, i remember hearing walter cronkite take care to note that the astronauts was a 38-year-old american. because he was an american, voice, from ohio, and a pilot in

our navy, we all took pride. america was moving mankind forward. we were leaders. the story of that journey did not begin with the eagle landed. it began years before in the imaginations of americans everywhere, and in laboratories and hangers in florida and texas, but it took flight -- lavatories and hangars in florida and texas, but it took like in this building. kennedy told the world we were accepting the challenge precisely because it was daunting and difficult, because it was an opportunity we could not afford to put off until tomorrow, and he was right. it would be hard -- not just the technology, but also the politics. opponents call his vision a boondoggle, a science-fiction stunt, but president kennedy knew from the start what was waiting for americans in the stars. on his first day as president,

he invited the crowd gathered here at the capitol and the millions who were watching and listening to join him in exploring the world beyond ours and seizing the wonders of science. throughout the brief time he was our nation's leader, he insisted that our nation lead the spread to call for space, that we finish that race first. on his last day as president, as he dedicated a medical space research center in san antonio, texas, president kennedy reaffirmed his commitment to corralling the full promise of the universe, and he said, "i think the united states should be a leader. america, he demanded, should be second to none. the first words of his inaugural address we celebrate today. president kennedy recalled the nation's founding nearly two centuries earlier and observed, "the world is very different now." half a century later, the world

is again very different. solar energy is a reality in states like nevada and across the country because of the science that started in space. the water we drink is cleaner. we diagnose cancer center. all because of discoveries our space program has made possible. our wanted war is war stronger artificial limbs. citizens of the world were safer than months. firefighters can better track fighters, and are safer when they fly them. airplanes fly smarter, and even golf balls fly farther. golf balls fly farther. that is true. [laughter] it is because of what they learned in space. learned in space. we all have seen the picture of

armstrong was a captain small step for man, the imprint of his american food in the rest of the moon, but you do not need to scale the heavens to know the meaning or feel the force of space in science. look around you. that is president john ,itzgerald kennedy's footprint and it is a big one. thank you. [applause] >> mr. vice president, leader pelosi , leaderreid, -- senator reid, secretary chao, thank you for being here today. we're honored to be joined by the kennedy family. we welcome you as well. i want to thank all my colleagues and our guests for being here today. sadly, this is the first

congress to convene without a kennedy since the truman administration. caroline, there is still time. [laughter] [laughter] along these walls right here in our rotunda, we relive the american story, to be are once again by the greatness of our nation, and the values upon which it was built. economic freedom, individual liberty, and civic responsibility. it was to these values president kennedy looked win in his inaugural address, he began by reminding his fellow countrymen that our rights are not derived from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of god. welcoming that awesome responsibility to serve, president kennedy summoned each

of us to do our part to defend freedom, no matter the cost, and no matter the burden. he did so, mindful of the burdens that have been passed on to his generation, which he described as tempered by war and proud of our ancient heritage. these were the words of a sailor who had served. a man who lost his brother in the second great war. president kennedy embrace america's destiny to not simply be part of the free world, but to lead it. and to serve as a shining beacon of freedom and liberty for all to see. on the strength of a free economy rests the hope of all three nations, president kennedy declared, on december 14, 1962.

speaking at the economic club of new york, he called for reducing deterrence to private initiatives, by which he meant cutting taxes and encouraging new risk taking in our country. for just as freedom had built this country, it also sustains our e economy. and instill in us the drive to take what we have been given and make the most of the to do better for ourselves and for our children. that is, of course, the american story, which john f. kennedy continues to play a critical part in. his inaugural address called us to honor our past and commit to our future. just an example of service for every american, young and old, to follow. thank you. [applause]

>> let me begin on this day in this moment by acknowledging, as already has been said, the passing of a great american. whether he was leading the peace corps or waging a war on poverty, or advocating with his dear wife, eunice, for the rights of individuals with disabilities, sarge shriver lead a life that was full and magnanimous, a life spent enthusiastically in the service of others. he once said, "it is well to be prepared for life as it is, but it is better to be prepared to make life better than it is. -- then it is." sarge, more than anyone i personally knew, was prepared to

make life better than it was for millions of people the world over. he was a national treasure. i consider him my friend. he campaigned for me. it was a great honor. may he rest in peace. let me say to the whole kennedy family, particularly the sisters, this must be kind of bittersweet for you today. i'm sure you are grateful for the celebration of your brother, but to be brought back 50 years later is hard. it is almost unbelievable to me that it has been 50 years. it is even more unbelievable, caroline, that you would ask me to be here. this is a singular honor, and i mean that sincerely. 50 years ago, i was an irish catholic kid in a small catholic high school, and i felt no great notion, except overwhelming

pride. i felt a sense of pride that was difficult to explain. it was like somehow a validation. validation of everything that my mother and father had talked about. 50 years ago today, after a heavy snowstorm in the capital, hundreds of workers and volunteers used shovels. some actually use hand blowtorches to clear away the snow and ice in the streets, making it possible for everyone to attend the inauguration. one person described the efforts afterwards in the press as the ultimate embodiment of ask what you can do for your country. [laughter] as we have been reminded here today, president kennedy's inaugural speech was filled with

so many memorable lines. so many memorable lines. "we shall pay any price," "let us never negotiate out of fear," as john already pointed out, but maybe the "asked not" line, the one most americans, i suspect, remember, most defines in my view -- we all have different perspectives -- in my view, president kennedy's inaugural, and i would argue, his presidency. simply put, half a century ago, those 17 words set a new era of service to our country in motion. they laid out a challenge for all of us to make america a greater. but beyond that, they also represented a call to serve our fellowman and lift up those who

have been brought low, provide a ray of hope for those who have but mayor flickers in their life. as i think about his call to serve, though, i think about a forerunner of the january 20, 1961 speech. a priest in my school named father riley told us about. away from the fanfare, away from the catholic steps, away from the hunt -- away from robert frost reading and away from the beautifully crafted address, i go back to 2:00 a.m. on october 14, 1960, 25 days before the election at the university of michigan. there was a crowd, i was told, of the year students, patiently waiting to hear from our road weary, unscripted young senator,

who was candidate for the president of the united states of america. i hasten to add sometimes the unscripted moments are the best. [laughter] [laughter] [applause] as the story goes, totally unplanned, literally in the middle of the night, the young senator looked out at those bright young faces and asked the question that would soon become the seedbed of a generational calls the service. he asked, and i'm told it was spontaneous, "how many of you are going to be doctors? how many of you who are going to be doctors are willing to spend your days in gonna -- ghana? technicians or engineers, how

many of you are willing to work in the foreign services and spend your lives traveling the world?" he said that your willingness to contribute part of your life to this country, i think, will depend the answer whether a free society can compete. the story goes, his aides were surprised, as was the press. they were told they had never heard him pose that question before in the whole campaign. but beyond the question, they were even more surprised by the answer they got. after 2:00 in the morning on that campus, the vast majority of those students at 2:00 a.m. in the morning, answer him with a rousing affirmative yes they were prepared. when others heard of the speech

in the press the next day and the days after, literally thousands of others said in letters expressing their desire to serve, to serve in the way that senator john f. kennedy described. described. this time, he asked the entire nation the same thing. he got the same response. president kennedy was fond of reciting, all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

from my perspective, and i certainly do not know, his whole life was about doing something and asking other good men and women to just do something. not everything, but just do something. as a kid in high school, this is the lesson that i took away from your father's inaugural. quite frankly, i took away from his presidency. the lesson of ann arbor, the lesson of ann arbor, washington, a lesson for solana law -- for so long, long after he was killed by an assassin's bullet. bullet. in my view, it is a lesson that

everyone should use to define our work. you are all good men and women. you are all good men and women. the task is a very difficult and to overcome extremely difficult obstacles for the good of our country. it seems to me that your task and mind to do something to bring america back to its place in the world where it belongs, at a greater sense of civility than it has. president kennedy knew that it could be and that it should. robert frost had written an

introductory poland for the inauguration. -- an introductory poem for the inauguration. he could not see is no answer -- his notes. he recited his own poem from memory. i did not know that he was not reading what he had written. it describes our freedom from colonial rule and the gift that was this new plan that we inherited. frost describe that land america in the following way. the vaguely realizing westward, but still on enhanced, such as she was, such as she would become.

caroline, before me, your father was all about what she would become. it seemed to me that it drove him, it defined him, and it's defined all of us, republicans and democrats, who decided that we should get engaged. he -- he knew that america had an unmatched capacity. everything he did was done with that vision in mind. in my review, the best way to commemorate this day, his legacy, is for those of us who

are given the responsibility to guide this nation to renew his vision. to inspire new generations -- to inspire a new and generations, and two are eager to enter the same call, new generations prepared to help america realized potential. to ask them to ask themselves what they can do for their country. john f. kennedy's presidency lasted a mere 1000 days. lasted a mere 1000 days. his call to service still resounds from generation to generation. what an incredible contribution

one man could make to this country. -- makefather's memory your father's memory continued to inspire us and all inhabit the world. i thank you for the honor. i thank you for the honor. god bless the kennedy clan. god bless america. may god protect our troops. [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] >> thank you so much.

thank you, all. thank you, all. thank you for this wonderful tribute to my family. it really means so very much to all of us to be here. i want to thank vice-president biden for those beautiful words in for being here today. special thanks to senator john kerry and congressman lewis for conceiving of this wonderful tribute. thank you to the armored corps and a navy band for performing music that my father would have loved.

as others have done this morning, i want to pay tribute to my uncle sargent shriver. he played a critical role in her family's life and in my father's administration. father's administration. he embodied the ideal public service that we celebrate today and made it real every day of his life in the peace corps, head start, legal services, the special olympics. special olympics. and most of all, his five wonderful children. he was 11 devout man -- he was a loving and devout man. we know that he has found even greater joy, reunited with the love of his life. i would also like to salute my answer -- aunts, for a part of everything that we celebrate today.

i want to salute might and vicki.- my aunt i want to thank my cousins for being here. today we marked the anniversary of my father's inauguration and the endurance of an ideal. all my life, people have told me that my father changed their lives. they tell me they decided to run for office, to join the peace corps, or the civil-rights movement and serve their community. for the first time, someone asked him to and made them feel that they had something special to get back to this country. for me, but that is the timeless gift of this speech. every defined what it meant to be an american. it inspired a generation that transformed this country and has passed that inspiration on to

their children and grandchildren. now we must answer the call to service for our own time. the words and deeds that follow, the exploration of the heavens, preservation of the natural and historic environment, the celebration of arts and culture, the inclusion of those left out and left behind, awakened the highest aspirations of citizenship and lifted our national life for decades to come. today, when too many young people feel disconnected from public life, disillusioned by the divisive debate, get a volunteer in record numbers in community, hospitals, homeless shelters. i hope that they will see that the political process is part of the way to solve our problems. my father's words will remind them that public service is a

noble endeavor. we each have a responsibility to make this world a better place. half a century ago, my father walked across the inaugural platform. his time was short, but his sentiments still at those. -- still at those -- echos. and it always will. [applause] [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the inaugural address.

>> vice president johnson, mr. speaker, mr. chief justice, president eisenhower, the vice- president nixon, president truman, clergy, solicitous sense. we are here today as a celebration of freedom. signifiant renewal. the power to abolish all forms

of human poverty and all forms of human life. the same revolutionary believe for which our forbearers fought are still an issue around the globe. the belief that the rights of man from the hand of god. we dare not forget to date that we are the heirs of that revolution. but the word go forth from this time and place that the torch has been passed to a new generation of americans.

we shall not always expect to find them. we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom. those who foolishly saw power by riding the back of the tiger. [applause] to those people in the house -- hot and villages across the globe, struggling to break the

bonds of, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves. not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. if a free society cannot help corp. for comment they cannot -- help our poor. to our sister republic, we offer a special pledged. in a new alliance for progress, to assist free men and free government in passing off the chains of poverty. this peaceful revolution of holds cannot become the prey of hostile -- hostility.

what our neighbors know that we what our neighbors know that we should -- like every other power in note that this hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.

we dare not tempt them with weakness. only can we be certain that they will never be employed. neither can we take comfort in our present course. our present course. both of raising to order that stays the hand of mankind. let us begin anew. civility is not to -- sincerity

is on subject of proof. what both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science. let us explore -- eradicate let us explore -- eradicate disease and encourage the arts

and commerce. and commerce. what both sides unite -- let's both sides unite. let the oppressed go free. let the oppressed go free. let's both sides join in creating a new endeavor, and not a new balance of power. all this will not be finished in the first 100 days. nor will it be finished in the first 1000 days. nor in the life of this administration. let us began. [applause]

in your hands, my fellow citizens, it will rest the final success or failure of our course. since this country was founded, each generation of americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. young americans who answered the call to service surround the glove. -- globe. now the trumpet summons us again. not as a call to battle. a call to bear the burden of a long struggle year in and year out. tribulation, in struggle against the common enemies of man, a tyranny, poverty, disease.

can we force against these enemies? north and south, east on last -- east and west. will you join in that? [applause]

[applause] my fellow citizens of the world, ask not what america will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. citizens of america or citizens citizens of america or citizens of the world's, the same high standards of grace and sacrifice. with a good conscience, are only reward, but history the final

judge of our deeds, let us go for it to lead the land that we love, asking his blessings and his help, but knowing that god's work must truly be our own. [applause] [applause] >> we were reminded that robert

frost could not read the column that he had written for the occasion. he said when from memory. praise god and blessed him that his words have been preserved. i have selected lines as our final blessing. final blessing. summoning artist to participate in the occasion of the state saying something artist ought to celebrate. today it is, for my cause, at a day of days. his beat poetry of old-fashioned praised who was first to think of such a thing. this goes back to the beginning of the end of what had been for centuries the trend

a new order of the age, they say, if it looks nonsuit orderly today the confusion was hours to start to in it, you have to take courage is all part of honest feeling would approve a ruling pretended not to love a turbulence he had better of courage is in the air better than all the statesmen there was the book of profile declaring for the embolden the politician daring to break with followers when in the wrong a help the independence of the

throng a democratic form of right divine to rule first answerable to hide design -- high design there is a call to life a little braver before the kerner, lerner, your inner -- yearner it takes the profit in all -- prophet in us all of a power leading from its strength and pride of beyond ambition eager to be tried firm in our beliefs without dismay in any game the nation's

one to play -- want to play a golden age of poetry in power which this day the beginning ohour age such a, an blessing, lord, we praise you and bless you. now and for ever, amen. >> ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. be seated. remain in your seats for the departure of the official party. departure of the official party. ♪ ♪ ♪

>> join us later to date for a town hall meeting on u.s. relations with canada. the cable public affairs channel host the discussion on issues like continental security, trade, and immigration. that is at 7:00 on c-span2. >> madam speaker, at the president of the united states. >> the president outlined his legislative agenda for the next year. he reflects on the previous in the annual state of the union. watch every address since 1984 online. we provide coverage of

politics, public affairs, non- fiction books, and american history. it is all available to you on television, radio, and on social media networking site. find our content through c-span video library. we take c-span on the road with their digital bus and local content vehicle. it is washington, it your way. created by cable, provided as a public service. the local content vehicles are traveling the country visiting cities and communities are to look at issues impacting the nation. we take him out to detroit for the north american international auto show where we caught up with california republican congressman john campbell. before being elected to congress, mr. campbell worked in

the automotive industry. >> over 25 years. >> you have a fourth term coming. >> i am starting my fourth term. i tell people that the car business was a good background for being a politician. it gave me -- in this last election. there is now six of us that either work or are currently car dealers. >> they have a good family

business. you have responsibilities to a lot of employees. >> running a dealership -- you have a sales business, and maintenance, a body shop, at a parts distribution business. you have all these different businesses. we bought or sold any form of insurance that there is create -- that there is. >> we have a lot of leadership coming into congress. the feel there is a big benefit coming here? >> in the crash and a crisis, one of the things about the american economy is that there are two huge businesses, cars and houses.

we have never gone into a recession without both of those and we will never come out with those leading us out. it is a great indicator all the way around. they are just too big. they are too big and employment and in terms of the total effect on the economy. that is not a big enough company. they will not lead everyone else out. we need jobs in america right now. we need economic growth and we will not get it without this industry and the housing industry both coming out. >> people did not realize the jobs that come out in directly from this. it is all interrelated. >> it is not just building and selling cars.

tires, maintenance, insurance, and gasoline, and all kinds of other things. it supports the individual transportation that we enjoy in this country. at one time, one of seven people in the united states was employed in one way or another with something to do with cars. that is a big chunk of the economy. there are so many things that are used when it comes to valued to me and in congress. justpeople said, we're raising taxes. come with me sometime. said across the table from a customer -- sit across the table from a customer with me. they will not just leave it on the table and walked away. when you have decades of experience with people, you

understand a little better than some of my colleagues about the average american family works hard and clings on to that money. >> you see a lot of the alternative fuel vehicles. there is a little bit of -- in california, as you hear about that all the time. how are things in california? where do you see things going? >> california's economy is tough right now. we have deep -- michigan is coming back now. california is not.

we have huge budget problems. california has got some issues these days. as far as some of the alternative vehicles coming out, that is great that we are exploring some of these areas. in the end, if these are ever going to be something more than a delicate mix, we will need some breakthroughs. those are unlikely to be practical until there is a battery breakthrough. it is not there yet. volt s like the chevy im has more potential.

right now, there is a $7,500 government subsidy on those. that cannot last forever. when that goes away, and a full price of the car becomes available, up will people still buy it? will the manufacturers be able to get the price down? we will see. there is a lot of vibrancy out there, at a lot of new ideas, a lot of things happening. in the end, these technologies need to compete. in government, we should not be picking a winner. let them compete and worked out. >> i agree with that. we're finding that -- everyone has to pick and roll the dice. there are so many new choices out there. there are so many variables that go into it. you have to let it develop.

it is good that we're looking into the research and technology. >> it has to be a good balance. if we got too much use of ethanol, right now, there is about seven or 8 million cars on the road that can be fueled with it. in southern california, there are 20 million people. that is dead. you can have these cars, but if you cannot find any place to put ethanol end them, what good is it? that is a chicken or egg. manufacturers do not want to build a car that people cannot fuel.

>> local content of vehicles are traveling the country visiting cities and communities as look at issues impacting the nation. for more information, but to our website. -- go to our website. >> at today's white house briefing, robert gibbs is answered questions about the chinese president u.s. visit. he also talked about the health care repeal efforts in congress and the recovery of congresswoman gabrielle giffords. this is about an hour. >> what is that? how? >> [inaudible] >> i do not think there were any translation errors. if you guys have questions, i am happy to answer them.

[laughter] we had always planned on doing consecutive translation for the answers. it does slow things down and makes it more cumbersome. he did give a fairly long first answer to the consecutive translation. yes. >> [inaudible] >> a better question. i think the answer that he gave , in all seriousness, i think he would have to strain your recent memory to find a leader from china traveling outside of this country after meeting with the president making such a frank

admission of the improvement that needed to happen in the area of human rights. the process of translation was not the news yesterday. the news was just that. the president realizes that and told the world that china has to do better. -- the unitedinly a states will walk to the actions -- watch the actions of the chinese government's to make sure that they meet the words that were spoken in the white house yesterday. >> [inaudible] [laughter] >> you have been waiting to use that for a good part -- if i

ignore it, hans will come in behind me. >> [inaudible] can you say from the podium that the president is officially running for reelection? >> it is likely that that will happen, obviously. i will say this, i think, as the article says, it would officially make him a candidate. -- we safe to say that t have started and and we have made some progress in getting our economy back in order. i think the president wants to continue to do that. >> [inaudible] >> i do not know that the

campaign is that part down the road. >> [inaudible] who will be the main political voice? >> the article says that the political office closes here and it is a matter of duplication to have an operation over at the democratic national committee. >> the estate of the union comes out pretty quickly here. can you give us something where that speech is? to address the broad themes? >> this is a speech that will center around the great majority -- the majority of the speech will be on the steps that the president believes that our

country has to take to continue the economic recovery. steps that we need to take in the short term that relates to jobs. step that we need to take in the medium and long-term to put our fiscal house in order and to increase our competitiveness and our innovation that allows us to create the jobs of tomorrow. i think you have heard the president talk about the notions of competitiveness and innovation a lot recently. he has spoken about it in speeches. one that comes to mind is in december in north carolina, many of the things that you heard in that and other speeches on the economy, you will hear again next tuesday. >> [inaudible]

>> that is an important step forward. some of that comes as a result of yesterday's meeting here that for the first time, there was an acknowledgement by the chinese about the north korean -- i think following that, the republic of korea agreeing to enter talks with the north koreans clearly conditions were created yesterday that showed the republic of korea that china and the united states were lined in dealing with the aggressions of the north koreans. i think it was clearly a positive step.

>> [inaudible] >> without getting into a lot of detail, what we have to do to get our fiscal house in order is certainly going to be a topic that you will hear the president discussed on tuesday. i do not want to get ahead of the president on his speech. >> [inaudible] where does president obama [inaudible] >> well, i do not know that he is spending a lot of time

separating the state of the country and where he is in his presidency. his task -- a task that he has before him and the task he will bring to the next two years is helping our economy continued to recover after the massive job loss and what happened as a result of the financial climate. i do not think the president -- i do not be president spend a whole lot of time thinking through and worrying about where he is in his presidency. there is a lot on his plate and a lot that has to be done to continue that recovery, to put the pieces in place to see us be

able to compete with the rest of the world, to attract the type of jobs that we know are necessary to continue our important economic growth. that is what the president focuses on each and every day. >> the poll numbers have improved slightly. the standing of the president among independent voters is still not where you wanted to be. i do not mean for this to sound like a purely political question. he needs to when those independent votes back. what does he want to do? >> if you look at the series of public polling that we have all come through in the last week or so, i think the message that we saw come through and what you heard us say a lot during the lame duck, i think it has

manifested itself in some of the recent numbers. the american people would like to see democrats and republicans sit down at a table, be it here or be it to there, and work through important solutions to the problems that face the american people. that is what we did in large measure during the lame duck. with strong bipartisan votes, we were able to see an agreement that did not raise taxes on middle-class families, protect our country from deploying nuclear weapons, a whole host of things that were tremendously important. that is what the president wants to continue to do. look, it is that old adage -- the president will not be worried about his political standing.

he wants to make good decisions on behalf of the american people. >> [inaudible] it is a shift, but there is still work. is there indicate -- any indication that the president will be taking any actions regarding tibet? >> that is why you heard me say at the beginning of this that is an that admission test important one, the president will continue to press the case for tangible action on human rights. pretty forwardwas

leaning when it came to the awarding of the nobel prize and what happened when china would not release him in order to get that nobel prize. >> [inaudible] >> the president talked directly to president hu about that. >> what did he say? >> i was not in the meeting. i know that the topic was brought up. >> [inaudible] >> i believe -- i will double check. i believe that it was in some of the private meetings yesterday. >> the comments made by a president hu about human-rights were the biggest breakthrough in the meeting? >> i think we had issues that we discussed in walking you guys do

the important aspects of what we hope to get out of this visit. security, economics, and human rights -- i think we saw progress in each of those three areas. in the security rom, the chinese acknowledgement in the statements of the north korea enrichment program setting forth a series of conditions that made the republic of korea competent enough -- confident enough to go into talks with the north koreans is one. in the economic basket, you had a series of important commercial agreements to the tune of about $45 billion which directly supports several hundred thousand american jobs right here. progress on intellectual property rights, more has to be

done, obviously. the progress on indigenous innovation and intellectual property rights were important steps to move us forward. lastly, the ignition on human rights -- the admission on human rights was another set of issues that you heard the president discussed yesterday. he had this -- he had spent a lot of time with the chinese president discussing it over the last couple of days. i think we see some tangible progress on all three of those fronts. it is important. there is clearly more work that has to be done. there is still progress that has to be made on that in order to

-- you heard the president said yesterday, rebalance the currency. >> was that a complete surprise to the administration? >> i am not a chinese historian, but if you go back to recent memory, it is hard to see where a leader of china has said that recently on a trip outside of the country. >> on another issue, what reaction as the president given to comments about he being a one-term president? how does he react to those comments? >> i do not think he spent a lot of time thinking about that. >> following up -- you had the president standing there looking embarrassed and awkward.

something as important as a press conference with the chinese and american leaders and have the president looking like a deer in the headlights, it isn't that a pretty big fall pas?ylvanux he looked angry. >> i do not necessarily agree with many of the phrases that you used in the question. weekender lost act -- we can get lost art picking out a series of trees in the forest. most people around the world are focused on the answer. that is why i thought you guys would ask those questions. >> [inaudible] >> i think the president -- he

was not upset. the point that he made and the progress that we made -- we can spend time worrying about the process or spend time worrying about the results. the president spends his time worrying about results. >> last week, you are a bit noncommittal on the question whether the president would deliver a big speech on help reform. -- health reform. the think there is a need for him to get out there? -- do you think there is a need for him to get out there? >> i do not think the president has any plans to give a big speech on health care. do i think that a lot of the

coverage last year was on politics? yes. do i think 3.3 million seniors have gotten checks to cover the don't colt expense and their prescription drugs? -- donut hole oin their prescription drugs? they do understand that today are seeing their children not having to fight with their insurance companies. i think they understand that insurance companies are not in charge of making all the decisions anymore. that is a good thing for our medical system. >> will be defended that in the state of the union address? >> i do not know what degree of that will be in --

>> he wants ideas that will get him excited. >> i have not fully read that. >> he said that he wants ideas that get them excited for creative -- for creating jobs. >> two and then around 9:00 on tuesday. -- tune in our runs 9:00 on tuesday. do you have a question? >> what is the reaction to the house votes on health care? >> i have gotten this question several times before. i do not think my answer changes. i do not think it was a serious