phase from the public. guest: you're right. i did not want to dwell on that. i can give you a litany of what i think were bad moves and that steps. the time on this program is so valuable to me to be able to talk about whether what is the best thing going for. i do think is separation of commercial and non-banking interests served this country well. you've made those points. i do not know what it serves now to go back and say, this is a who caused the problem. this is who is to blame, one party versus the other. i could do that. i'm more concerned that we in up with a system of financing going forward that creates the greatest window of opportunity for families to become homeowners and to get responsible rental opportunities. rather than dwell on who caused

the problems and what mistakes they made. we're talking about the end of fannie and freddie, which will be very significant. the current proposals, everyone will witness a rise in the cost of mortgage finance. interest rates will go up. what brings in investors and brings money to wall street is that government guarantees it. it is less riskier than something guarantee but and assets -- by an asset. host: our guest has been john taylor, president and ceo of national community reinvestment coalition. ncrc.org if you want to find out more about their work.

guest: i would like to say happy valentine's day to my wife and my friend in florida. host: how could i stop you? john tell us, thank you. we appreciate your call. the white house rolls out the fiscal year 2012 budget. we'll have plenty of coverage throughout the day, including at c-span2 at 12:15 eastern time. there will be tons of reaction on the hill. also reaction from the leaders in congress. you can bet we'll take plenty of calls the rest of this week on the budget process. enjoy your day. we'll be back tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. with another edition of "washington journal."

>> it is budget day on capitol hill. the president's 2012 $3.70 trillion budget delivered to the house office building this morning. this morning, the president will be making remarks on the budget and education from part of the middle school just outside baltimore. he will be joined by a party duncan and austan goolsbee. later today, briefings from the pentagon budget calling for a $3 billion increase from last year,

from omb director check live. we will have updates throughout the day. -- jack lew. we will have his remarks starting at 12:15 eastern on c- span2. live coverage of that briefing starting at 12:15 eastern on c- span2. the defense department will offer their briefing on c-span 3. live coverage as secretary gates and others explains the budget, calling for $78 million in reductions, cutting a number .f weapons programs live coverage of that briefing at 2:00 eastern on c-span 3.

on this morning's "wash. journal" we spoke about the president's budget request. here is a look. host: more about the budget. merrill goozner is a senior correspondent for "the fiscal times." we sit here on this one day a year, the budget comes up to the hill. what happens next once we see the release, see the large numbers, what happens? guest: the budget is the president's proposal for fiscal year 2012. it actually does not begin until next october. under the theory of how our government operates, the proposal then goes to capitol hill and the various congressional committees evaluates that budget and eventually hold hearings and eventually passed the budget by october 1. which is when the fiscal year starts. what is interesting, of course, we still don't have a budget for this fiscal year, fiscal year 11, because the president made a proposal year ago and it never

really was considered can we continue operating with what we call continuing resolutions under the fiscal year 2010 budget. this budget is really almost like an administration talking points. and there will be lots of discussions about where the administration would like to see the budget going. and of course, there will be a lot of push back now that the republicans control the house. host: i and glad you brought the current year's budget because as you mentioned are not done yet and house will take up the spending package for fiscal year 2011 tomorrow and for much of the week. where are the battle lines drawn for this year's budget? guest: fiscal year 11 budget has been operating on continuing resolution and the government's continues to do this every point in time of where they set the next day. the next date is march 4.

that continuing resolution, which was passed i believe in december, will expire march 4 and the government will literally run out of authority to spend money. we will see a huge debate over what the spending court -- cuts ought to be in this year's budget leading up to that point in time. host: how does one connected the other? guest: whatever happens next year, there will be a continuing resolution. beyond that, sometime in april perhaps where we will have to raise the debt ceiling, which will be another break point. depending on what they do on the continuing resolution, there may be other votes on that. at some point we reach the end of the fiscal year and the current budget being proposed today will go into effect, depending on what congress does with it. host: our guest is merrill goozner, senior correspondent for "the fiscal times." he spent 25 years and the news business as a foreign

correspondent, economics right to an investigative reporter. a university of cincinnati, columbia graduate school of journalism. he will be here for about 40 minutes to take your calls. all numbers at the bottom of the screen. the budget officially comes out from the white house today. we may very well see some pictures. the actual pictures of the big budget stacks coming out for folks on the hill to see. before we go to calls, one of the story lines says the budget proposal doesn't really touched the big entitlements and big spending programs in any significant way. do you see it that way, and what does it all mean? guest: absolutely. we have about $3.70 trillion budget. the so-called domestic discretionary budget, which dominate the headlines day after day, is a small fraction, about 10% of that budget. the vast majority goes to three very large programs. four, if you include aid to the states in health care -- medicaid.

but the other three are deede in order of size -- the defense budget, social security, and medicare. these are the mainstays of the budget and are basically off the table for discussions up on capitol hill, either for political reasons -- the defense budget -- or just the law is called an entitlement. social security, depends on how many people are retired or are on disability. medicare is an entitlement we spend on cd -- senior citizens and disabled for health care. health care costs go up, and therefore the amount of money we pay for those budgets go up with them -- unless something is done to decrease that. there is debate with health care reform law to try to hold health care spending in check, as well as expanding coverage. but that right now -- and the discussions we have had so far in the last couple of weeks -- really none of those have been put on the table. and from what we are hearing

about what we will see from the president's budget tomorrow, none of those will be on the table again on his budget, either. host: 3 $4 trillion is the larger figure but another figure of what to throw your weight. here is a story, your story, pulling it off the web. $1.10 trillion of deficit cuts. 10-year figure. how significant is that number? guest: in the larger scheme, fairly small. we will probably add somewhere around close to $7 trillion in additional data sets of the next decade. the reason for that is we are primarily -- we are in a deep recession still as far as employment is concerned. a when you are at 9% unemployment, you are not generating the payroll taxes, you are not generating income taxes, that you need it in order to bring the budget into a more or less balanced situation. so, until unemployment becomes

-- begins to come down significantly, we will not see reductions in back. the president's budget is going to project a decline over the next three or four years in the budget deficit, down to around 500, or 600 billion or so, and that is largely because economic growth this year should be fairly healthy -- between 3% and 4%. if we begin at that -- continue at that rate the next four or five years, which is true generally would we, the recession, then the budget deficit of to be cut -- the trillion-plus deficit, actually is going to be $1.60 trillion is the project andion the current year -- it should come down to $600 billion. when you are out to about 2015. that is actually about 3% or so of total gdp, which is about the rate at which the economy is

growing. at that point you are adding that at the same level at which to the economy is growing -- some economists would say, well, that is a steady state situation. others, of course, would like to see the deficit come down so you would like to reduce it substantially below that. host: let us get to calls from our guest. tulsa, oklahoma. phil on the independent line. you are on with merrill goozner from "the fiscal times." caller: did not see military cuts or nasa cuts. after 30 years of the military establishment having a blank check, -- host: let me stop you for a quick second. what can you say over all about the military? guest: the military budget will actually continue to grow while domestic spending is going to be flat over the next 5-10 years under president obama's budget. there was a much ballyhooed

announcement they were cutting $70 billion over the next five years at the pentagon. but in fact, that was a reduction from a previous projections for growth. so, the total amount -- which is a famous budget tricky here in washington -- so the total amount will continue to increase. i think as we discussed earlier, the major programs are continuing on. some of them slightly scaled back but the budget is still projecting a second engine for the f-35 although the president opposes that. congress continues to spend on that. it should be noted the factory where it will be billed is next to john vander's district in ohio. and at other military programs. where there may be reductions in military spending may be supplemental authorization as we wind down the wars in iraq and afghanistan, presuming the political situation in those countries go well. the caller mentioned nasa. nasa was slated for cuts in the

house republican plans, along with a lot of science budget. we have not seen the president's budget yet, what he is projecting. i do know that he is saying he wants to do and investment budget, and he has made a huge emphasis on science. in fact, later this morning the will go out to baltimore, a middle school, where they are going to be talking about science education. i suspect the president will continue investing in science areas like nasa and the national institutes of health -- again, where that goes on capitol hill is a separate question. host: we will have live coverage of the president's remarks on c- span live. he will be in baltimore parkville school. pennsylvania. good morning. caller: i am calling for a solution rather than just a comment. it has to do with farm subsidies.

my thoughts is this -- instead of giving subsidies away and giving money away, why not start giving no interest loans? that could work for students going to college. i will leave you with this -- there is a enough for all as long as it is not wasted. thank you very much. guest: the idea that a no interest loan is not a subsidy is not exactly right if the federal government has to borrow money to make that loan and it pays any interest at all -- and of course, it does on treasury bills even if low -- that is not about -- that amounts to a subsidy. one of the proposals the president will make today in his budget, and he made it every year, is to remove the subsidies that are in the tax code that go to the oil and gas industry for drilling and oil depletion

allowances and the kinds of things that subsidize the very profitable industry -- especially when you see gas prices over $3 a gallon. yet every year in capital they continue in this budget to continue the subsidies. actually over a trillion dollars a year in what is called tax expenditures. if you levy the tax on all income, you would collect an extra trillion dollars a year but then we give out things out of the consumer side, home mortgage deduction, health care insurance, of the business side of an oil depletion allowance, not taxing overseas income. so, what we end up doing is enacted tax code and then punched huge loopholes in it that's really undercuts the ability of the federal government to run a balanced budget. host: over 200 programs trimmed or eliminated. any other biggies you have your eye on?

guest: from my vantage point, the fiscal commission back last year made a proposal in order to cut spending. they cut $2 in spending for every $1 tax increase. their proposal would reduce the deficit by about $4 trillion over the next 10 years. what was notable about the spending cuts is for every dollar of domestic discretionary spending, it was a dollar of defense cuts -- defense spending but was cut in their proposal. what we are seeing both from the the president and republicans on capitol hill and the house and even the democrats in the senate that control the senate, we are seeing no cuts in defense spending while there are some freeze is going on in domestic spending. on the taxing side -- one of the reasons why the deficit this year is going from $1.10 trillion to $1.60 trillion, is because we did a massive tax

break back in december in order to keep the economy going. if people look at their paychecks, they will notice the amount of money going out in payroll taxes for social security is reduced by two percentage points. would you do that, hundreds of billions of dollars of revenue did not come into the government and it means the budget deficit is that much larger. we are not seeing -- if the budget deficit reduction is the goal, we are not seeing, as paul krugman put it, not seen an adult conversation. host: the budget director at the white house talking about some of those biggies, he was on one of the sunday morning shows. >> i think if you look at the entitlements, we have some important policy in this budget. there is a provision that for the last couple of years, congress has passed on a bipartisan basis, to make sure that the payment to doctors under medicare don't get caught. the problem is, if the patientse

doctors' and is to treat medicare patients goes down. it could increase the deficit. >> this is the kind of thing they talked about on the debt commission. >> we have savings to deal with that provision in medicare over the next two years. $53 million is real money. but also be clear that social security is not contributing to the short-term debt. it is a separate issue. it is something where we have an obligation to the american people to make sure that social security is sound for this generation and the next. the president has said he wants to work on a bipartisan basis to deal with social security. host: the idea of that commission -- how much will we hear about that for the weeks and months ahead? guest: that is a good question. i wish i had a better crystal ball. the reality is that the

president's budget, when it goes up there, given the tenor of the debate with the house, with the republicans in control -- they refused to use the words "dead on arrival," but there are a few parts of the budget that are actually dead on arrival. if the republican party is intent on getting a lower budget deficit, the what the president is proposing -- lower budget deficit and what the president is proposing, they will have to talk about other things. social security does not really deal with the problem, but medicare is huge. proposed that they would do this so-called "doc-fix" -- they proposed that they would do this so-called "doc-fix." $52 billion is not a huge amount of money over three years in a

budget that is about $450 billion and growing by about 4% to 6% per year. but, it is a start, so there needs to be more discussion. i mentioned earlier, if there is going to be real discussion about reducing the budget deficit, we have to take on the defense department budget. historically, after wars, there are build-downs. one of the most rapid came after the end of the cold war and was initiated by president bush -- the first president bush. a continued throughout the clinton -- it continued throughout the clinton years. that was a time of peace and prosperity. at the end of that time, we had a balanced budget. there is no way we can balance the budget if we continue to grow the defense department budget. host: back to the calls. a democratic caller.

caller: good morning to you and your guest. i think the president is doing the best it can under the circumstances he was left with. why doesn't congress freeze their salaries? cut out some of their perks? cut back on the loopholes on the upper-2% of the income earners, and please do not mess with social security and medicare. thank you. host: not an uncommon set of concerns. guest: yes. i think the congress may well have voted and to reduce their salaries or at least hold and constant. to be honest, i do not pay too close attention because there is not much involved. you could probably in live in the congress and would not do much to the budget deficit or the -- eliminate congress and you would not do much to the budget the opposite or the debt. i put social security in another category.

it is a long-term problem. so security is content -- social security is continuing. it is generating surpluses for the overall budget deficit to this day. it is several years away before it goes into a deficit. the real biggie is medicare. until we get health care costs under control in this country -- that is really, along with the defense department are going to be the two areas that we need to focus on like a laser beam to get a long-term budget deficit under control. host: what are republicans angrily about those two programs as relative to the budget -- what are republicans currently saying about those two programs as relative to the budget? guest: they bilbies as cuts to

medicare. democrats like to call those -- they build those -- billed those as cuts to medicare. democrats like to call them something else. it could be a better health care system. the other side of the argument, if the republicans are calling them "cuts," we are not having the right discussion about where we're going to be in terms of getting a long-term budget deficit under control, especially with regard to health care spending. host: north carolina, ray, an independent. good morning. caller: good morning. i see healthy individuals. i work seven days a week. i see healthy individuals who get checks, government assistance, food stamps, rent reductions. they are healthier than me and they do not do anything.

number two -- illegal immigrants. i am not talking about just the ones who crossed the border, but those who come on visas. why did they not do programs like they do with juvenile or probation officers, so they cannot stay here? my biggest concern is my competition with illegal immigrants. i do my own s >> we are going to go live to president obama who is a park will middle school outside baltimore, md., to talk about the economy and budget. >> good morning, everybody. i am here eparch bill middle school and center of technology outside of baltimore with secretary arne duncan, budget director jack lew. i just came to parkville on a

data we are unveiling our budget, and i do that for a reason. before i do that, i want to thank principal buddy parker, as well as susan yoder, the eighth grade science teacher that we just visited with. over the last few weeks, i have traveled the country talking about what we need to do to win the future. talked about the need to invest in innovation so that the next big bet is discovered, here in the united states of america. i have talked about the need to invest in high-speed rail, high- speed internet, so that companies can move goods and information faster than ever. this week, i will talk about the need to invest in education, in places like brookeville, so that every american is equipped to compete with anybody else in the world. these investments are an essential part of my budget.

if we out build and out in debate, out educate, as well as out hostile the rest of the world, the jobs of our industry and time will take root, here in the u.s. our people will prosper and our country will succeed. but i am also convinced the only way we can make these investments in our future is if our board the start to live within its means. we start taking responsibility for our deficits. that is why, when i was sworn in as president, i pledged to cut the deficit in half by the end of my first term. if the budget i am proposing today meets that pledge and puts us on a path to pay for what we spend by the middle of the decade. we do this, in part, by eliminating waste and cutting what we can do without. as a start, i have called for a freeze on annual domestic spending over the next five years. this freeze would cut the

deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade, bringing this kind of domestic discretionary spending to its lowest share of our economy since dwight eisenhower was president. let me repeat that. because of our budget, this share of spending will be at its lowest level since dwight eisenhower was president. that level of spending was lower than it was under the last three administrations, and lower than it was under ronald reagan. some of the savings will come through less waste and more efficiencies. to take one example, getting rid of 14,000 office buildings, lots, government properties we no longer need. we can save taxpayers billions of dollars. when it comes to programs we do need, we are making them work better by demanding accountability. instead of spending first and

asking questions later, we are rewarding folks inside and out of government to folks to deliver results, to make sure that special interest is now largely of interest with special projects, i am proposing to veto any bill that has earmarked. still, as we cut waste and efficiency, this will require some tough choices. it will mean cutting things that i care deeply about. for example, community action programs, community development block grants that so many of our cities and states rely on. but we are going to walk the walk when it comes to fiscal discipline. these cuts will be necessary. i am also looking forward to working with members of both parties to take steps beyond this budget freeze. cutting annual domestic spending will not be enough to meet our long-term fiscal challenges.

as the bipartisan fiscal commission concluded, the only way to truly tackle our deficit is to cut excess of spending wherever we find it. in defense spending, health care spending, and spending through tax breaks and loopholes. so what we have done here is made a down payment. there will be more work that needs to be done, and it will require democrats and republicans coming together to make it happen. we have begun to do some of this with $78 billion in cuts from the defense department budget plan, by ending tax breaks for oil and gas companies, and threw billions of savings and wasteful health spending. savings that we can use to make sure doctors do not see their savings/, in order to see more patients. while it is absolutely essential to live within our means, while we are absolutely committed to working with democrats and

republicans to find further savings and to look at the whole range of budget issues, we cannot sacrifice our future in the process. even as we cut out things we can afford to do without, we have a responsibility to invest in those areas that will have the biggest impact in our future. that is especially true when it comes to education. right now, this school, parkville, is preparing our kids for the jobs of the 21st century. students in the magnet program here start out by taking courses in each of four subjects, from applied engineering to the environmental science, gradually focusing their studies on one subject over the next couple of years. i am told the most popular subject at this school is engineering. that is important because today

the most common educational background for america's top business leaders is not economics, finance, it is not even business. it is engineering. engineering and math, critical thinking, problem-solving. these are the kinds of subjects and skills our kids need to achieve for success in the 21st century. that is why we are preparing 10,000 new math and science teachers, and training hundreds of thousands of more teachers in those fields. it is why we are pushing forward on a race to the top in our schools that has led 40 states to raise their standard for teaching and learning for less than 1% of what we spend on education each year. that is why we are protecting the more than $800 increase that we added to the most widely used federal scholarships when making the tough choices to put them on

firm footing for years to come. that is why we are tracked to meet the goals i set when i took office. by 2020, america will once again have a high proportion of college graduates in the world. i know the american people understand why this is so important, and i think those of us who are in washington need to understand why these investments in the future are so important as well. i mentioned in my weekly radio address a letter that i recently got from a woman named brenda. she is a mom, special education teacher in missouri. her husband david lost his job when the local chrysler plant shutdown. money has been tight for the family and they have had to sacrifice. one thing that brenda knows she cannot afford to sacrifice is her daughter rachel's education. that is why she is looking, as we speak, for a second job, to put rachel through college and

ensure, as she told me, that the money is there to help rachel with her future. what is true for brenda's family is true for the larger american family. education is an investment that we need to win the future. just like innovation is an investment we need to win the future. just like infrastructure is an investment we need to win the future. and to make sure we can afford these investments, we have to get serious about cutting back on those things that would be nice to have but we can do without. that is what families across the country do every day. they live within their means and invest in their families futures. it is time we did the same thing as a country. that is how we are going to get our fiscal house in order, how we are going to get our economy back and attract jobs to our shores, and that is how we are going to win the 21st century.

thank you very much, everybody. >> president obama making his first remarks on the budget since it was sent to capitol hill this morning. the president picking out some of the highlights of his budget proposal, cutting $400 billion in 10 years. he also touched on the importance of education. the budget is the biggest story in washington. we will be carrying a number of briefings on the fy12 proposal to of the day. comments on the budget from budget director jack lew. that is at 12:15 eastern. since the house is expected to be in at 12 noon, you will be able to see that at c-span2.

defense secretary gates is looking for reductions in spending, $70 billion over the next decade. we will hear from leaders of the different branches of military at 2:00 eastern on c-span 3. mississippi governor haley barbour was a featured speaker at the annual conservative political annual conference. he criticized the president and his initiatives in the areas of health care, economic stimulus, taxes. david keene is the former chair of the american conservative union. about 35 minutes.

we do not have people to run a government, the conservative movement was new, we did not have experience, though adults that could take over and make the changes we want. that was 1964. today, conservatives in this country, number among them, some of the most profitable, intelligent, experienced political leaders this country has seen. look at the governorships around the country, the people that hold these jobs. somebody asked me the other day, all the people being talked about as potential presidential candidates -- some of them will run, some will not. is this a very good group? i said, i have been involved in politics 40 years and i have never seen a group of people more principled, confident,

experience, or able to take over the reins of this government and make the changes that the american people are insisting on than we have right now. [applause] one of those people is with us today. one of the best governors in the united states today. i've worked on a lot of different issues. i was talking with a liberal friend of mine not long ago and i said, of all the issues, who had done the best job? he looked at me, and said, no question, haley barbour of mississippi. on almost any question, this is a guy that solves problems based on principle. we heard from another governor like that last night. there are others on the conservative side that have that kind of experience, but haley barbour is a special guy to me because i knew him when he did not have any experience.

his wife is in the audience. she will remember when he got his first job in washington, we had to find him a place to live. then he came over and took control of the city. in 1976, when ronald reagan was running for president, we had some trouble in mississippi, you may recall. those of you who remember that race. the state chairmen decided he would switch from ronald reagan to gerald ford, and wanted to set up a press conference. his executive was haley barbour, but he could not be found because he had gone home to some of that conference. haley barbour has been a conservative from day one. he has been a friend of this organization, a friend of the conservative organization, of

every conservative person in the country since he ran for office. he is one of the best national republican chairman in the history of the party, one of the best governors in the country today, and from my perspective, one of my best friends in public life. it is an honor for me to present my friend haley barbour of mississippi. ♪ >> thank y'all. thank you. i appreciate our long french ship. it goes all the way back to ronald reagan in 1976. thank you for that warm welcome. speaking of warm, this global warming is about to freeze me to death.

[laughter] [applause] i have spoken here many times, and over the years, this congress usually focuses on what is wrong with the left. to deal with that subject today would take a month, not just a weekend. the policies of the left are why, since last time i spoke at sea-tac, our political forces have changed dramatically. seven new republican senators, 29 new republican governors, including nine out of 10 in key states. more than 600 new republican state legislatures. the largest republican majority in the house of representing this in 65 years. [laughter] 65 years.entatives in 1 you know what i call that in mississippi? a pretty good start. [laughter]

the 2010 elections were the greatest repudiation of american policies in history. it was a a crescendo of the stunning rejection of the leftist political philosophy that is at odds with america's founding principles and our history of democratic self- government and all entrepreneurial capitalism. for two years, the obama administration and democratic congress pursued an agenda for the liberals. when america needed a growth strategy to revive our recession-wracked economy, and the obama administration and pelosi-3 congress gave us a $1 trillion stimulus bill that only stimulated more government. as unemployment soared to 10%, america needed policies that would spur job creation, but

instead of focusing on jobs, the obama administration and democratic congress spend one year concocting a government-run health care system, one that stifle job creation, as well as drives up the cost of health care at a time when we desperately needed incentive to create new jobs, president obama and his allies tried to impose the biggest tax increase in american history on small business owners by letting the bush tax cuts expire. two years of their calling for these massive tax increases caused more uncertainty among employers, made them reluctant to hire new workers, or spend any money, until they could see how high their tax burden would be. along the way, the democratic congress pushed spending to 25% of gdp, sucking trillions of

dollars out of the productive, private economy. they forget every dollar taxed to borrow by the government is $1 and that cannot be invested by an opera nor or small business person in a job- creating product or facility. [applause] $1 that cannot be saved by a family hoping to send their children to college. in the liberal ideology, every dollar earned belongs to the government. they believe reducing taxes is some kind of government giveaway to the taxpayers. despite job creation being the top priority for our country, this obama's policies has been more hostile to job creation than any other i have ever seen. now, after his policies have contributed to unemployment

rates stuck at 9% plus for almost two years, suddenly president obama and the democrats are paying lip service to job creation, only this time they are calling their spending investments, rather than stimulus. half believe that conservatives in the house -- conservatives in the house believe that jobs are created by the private sector, not the government. [applause] never forget, a bigger government means a smaller economy. because of last year's election, we have extended push tax cuts for another two years, and republicans have taken their first that toward restoring in sanity to the federal budget. these are important accomplishments, but as i said, it is only a start. we won an important victory in

-- we won an important victory in november but we do not control the government. our house majority only gives us control of one half of one-third of our national government. our new majority can stop the worst the excesses of the exhausted liberalism. we stopped funding for bad policies. we can push for less spending. we can use the houses oversight authority to expose the damage being done by the blizzard of the obama administration's job crushing regulations. but we cannot today do what needs to be done for our country. so as we prepare for, starting today, for the next 21 months, i ask you to remember the words of my fellow mississippian, fred smith, the founder and ceo of fedex.

fred says, the main thing is to keep the main thing the main span. [laughter] [applause] -- main thing. and the main thing is your plot -- electing a republican president next year. [applause] we cannot put america on the right track until we elect a republican president in 2012 and a republican senate to join the republican house in enacting those crucial policies. we will not have the policies that lead to economic growth, job creation, smaller government, lower taxes, less spending, rational regulation, and a stronger american presence in the world in every dimension, until we have a republican president to lead for those who write policies, the one that

will achieve the right results for america, and the world. make no mistake, the reckless policies of the obama administration and left-wing congress have brought america to a crossroads. the congressional budget office informs us this year's budget deficit will hit a staggering record $1.50 trillion. for every dollar it spends, the federal government will have to borrow $0.40. much of it from the chinese government. and my generation's children and get grandchildren, that is many of you, will be handed the bill. a gargantuan that for you to pay. in fact, cbo reports the government this year will spend $3.70 trillion but will only take in $2.20 trillion.

friends, our problem is not that we tax too little, it is that we spend too much. [applause] for what washington needs to understand is the federal government cannot spend itself rich anymore than your family can spend itself rich. i remember how the liberals used to block my old boss ronald reagan and his belief that lower taxes would spur economic growth and improve the nation's balance sheet. they laughed and said, we cannot grow ourselves out of the deficit. let me tell you something, it is a lot easier to grow yourself out of a deficit than it is to spend yourself out of a deficit. [applause] let me give you an example. in my first four years as governor of mississippi, we got

rid of a budget shortfall because revenue went up by 40% without raising anybody's taxes. revenue went up because we had more taxpayers with more taxable income. that is the way to get your balance sheet where you want it. we have to be honest with each other. the failure to control federal spending occurred under republicans as well as democrats, though i have to say, it has gotten a whole lot worse in the last two years. consider this. it took about 220 years for the american government to accumulate $5 trillion in debt. under the obama administration, our debt will grow by $5 trillion in less than four

years. to me, that is breathtaking. that is my i pray and believe republicans in congress, republican legislators, governors, will be faithful to the will of the american people who spoke in november. as my experience as governor, i know congress can reduce spending. i watched mitch daniels give ind. its first balanced budget in eight years without raising taxes. [applause] i saw virginia gov. bob mcdonald come into office facing a deficit in excess of $2 billion. he canceled a big tax increase, got control of spending, and now has a surplus of more than $400 million. [applause] and chris christie has shown us that responsible spending cuts -- [applause]

spending cuts can be achieved and popular, even in a usually blue state, like new jersey. a lot of people think, while republican governors were attacking fiscal issues, we were ignored social issues. that is not right. in my first year as governor, my pro-life agenda was adopted by democrat majority legislature. americans united for life named mississippi the safest place in america for an unborn child. [applause] governors get elected to solve problems. that is why in recent years you see governors focused on economic problems and budgets and spending.

as i mentioned, that year that we passed a pro-life agenda, mississippi had a $700 million budget shortfall, 28% of the total general fund. it took us two years but we eliminated that deficit without raising anybody's taxes. more recently, when the recession hit our state, as i am a lot to do by law as governor, i cut spending 9.4%, about $500 million. [applause] we governors cut spending, including some democratic governors, like film gradison of tennessee. so i know congress can cut spending, too. and i know from my experience, there is plenty to cut. [applause] i cut spending by 10% in one

fiscal year. i said, i do not think most people in mississippi even noticed. of course, liberals and advocates wind and moaned, our media -- liberal media leaked, we had problems in medicaid. those savings have been very large. hundreds of millions of dollars. one way to make sure that everybody receives it -- one way to make sure that everyone receives medicaid is actually eligible. there is an idea. undermine democratic successor, medicaid had expanded from about 500,000 people to 750,000 in just four years. the good news is he was not there for the four years. the key reform we made when i got into office was to require

recipients who are not in nursing homes, in mobile because of their help, to reestablish their medicaid eligibility in person, annually. it is a funny how many people never even showed up. [applause] after my reforms -- and these were in good economic times -- the rolls fell from 750,000 to -- a reduction of about 20%. we also injured that our medicare error rate is now the fourth lowest in the country. less than half the national average. about half of the error rate for the federal medicare program. now why is that important? i will tell you why.

our state taxpayers save $50 million a year, just because of our low error rate. that would be tens of billions in savings for the federal government in medicaid and medicare, if the national error rate were simply the same as that of the mississippi medicaid program. we can save money on entitlements, you just got to have the willpower and courage to do it. [applause] governors deal with problems. voters have decided, from here on out, leaders should be judged not by their hopes or intentions. leaders must be judged by the results they achieved. [applause]

that fact is why president obama started to sound like robert reich in the last several weeks -- ronald reagan the last several weeks. i worked under president reagan. he would have recognized this ploy as just another player from the democrat playbook. fake up the middle and then run around left again. [laughter] [applause] spending becomes investments. non-defense discretionary spending should be capped. but a level 27% higher than a few years ago. the most jobs stifling regulatory regime in history, that of barack obama and carol browner, will be reviewed. the president even told bill o'reilly sunday that taxes did not go up his first two years.

what he failed to mention was the lack of the huge tax increase was solely because he could not get any republican senators to vote for his proposal for the largest tax increase in american history. and then he told us, in his own state of the union address, that he would push for that gigantic tax increase in this congress. you know, the gipper would have chuckled and shook his head. he had seen the left try this old movie many times before. americans have told us they what responsible government, one that respects the limits of government enshrined in our constitution. they want policy that enhance individual freedom, not expand government control. they believe in personal responsibility, not government dependency.

if republicans are not faithful to these principles, i tell you, we will be defeated as quickly as the democrats, and we will deserve to be. . [applause] the obama policies of raising taxes, explosive spending, skyrocketing debt, government- run health care are probably subjects that you are pretty familiar with. let's talk about another job growth killer you do not hear about as much. the obama energy policy. i am glad to hear my old friend speaker newt gingrich also talk to you about energy. just as obamacare will increase the cost of health care, the obama energy policy will drive up the cost of energy, and not by accident. and remember, while health care is 18% of the american economy, energy costs affect 100% of our

economy. you remember the cap and trade tax? in november -- in 2008, before the election in november, then- senator obama told "the san francisco chronicle" under my cap and trade system, taxes would skyrocket. if senate republicans did not kill the cap and trade tax, electric bills for working americans would have skyrocketed, except there would be even fewer americans working, if that happened. he did not give up. is a moratorium on oil drilling has become a crematorium -- permatorium. the fracturing that makes

possible the huge increase of natural gas production from shale formation is under attack. permits to mine coal are harder to get in america than in heart transplants. u.s. domestic oil production will fall 13% this year. that is part of obama's strategy. the obama administration is trying to achieve by regulation what it cannot pass through congress. [applause] in one sense, the obama energy policy is this -- increased the price of energy so americans will use less of it. are pursuing that policy to reduce pollution and to make extremely expensive on economic

alternative fuels cost competitive. this is not an energy policy. this is an environmental policy. so as gas blows by $3 a gallon on its way to $4 a gallon and more, remember when steven chu said in a 2008 speech. "we have to figure out how to lose the price of gasoline to the levels in europe." gasoline in europe is $8 or $9 a gallon. secretary chu may think we need that, but i doubt it will get many votes in congress. this is catastrophic for america's economy. we cannot compete in a global marketplace because of cost.

what we need is more american energy. [applause] the american worker can compete with anybody in the world if we do not tie a millstone around his neck. we are not going to allow the obama administration to do that through energy policy. [applause] fellow conservatives, 2012 will be the year of decision. lester, america cannot just gives america a mandate to govern. they gave us a chance, a chance to earn their trust and support. let's make the most of it. elect a republican senate

and the white house in 2012. let me remind you of what i said at this conference last year. i said that the 2010 campaigns were bought issues, republicans would win a huge victory. that is because the american people agree with us on the issues. the eight repudiated obama's policies last november. -- they repudiated obama's policies last november. a bunch of unsophisticated know- nothings. the leftist media said the tea party is a problem for republicans. this is a case of the left whistling past the graveyard. [laughter] [applause]

americans motivated to participate the tea party movement were upset by the very same policy is used as a republican volunteers and leaders. reckless spending, skyrocketing deficits and debt, and a health care system that drives up health care costs. these are the issues that unite us. the unitas as conservatives, republicans, and unite us as americans. the left -- [applause] no, psychiatrists say that it is bad to stifle the urge to applaud. [laughter] if it is not bad for you, it is bad for me. [laughter] i appreciate the perseverance.

what the left doesn't want to admit that what the news media does not want to write to or broadcasts is the average american agrees with us on policy and issues. that is what republican candidates last year won the votes of independence by 20 percentage points. [applause] and if -- as i promised you last year, if the 20's of camping is about issues, independents will join us, getting our country turned around and back on the right track, with a larger economy and a smaller government. lower taxes and more americans working. deficit as we have more taxpayers with more taxable income. more american energy. obamacare replaced by a system

where you and your doctor control your health care choices. [applause] we know prosperity results from an economy based on creating wealth, not redistributing it. if you care about helping the least among us at lifting people out of poverty, history proves you should savor a system of democratic capitalism over a centralized government-managed economy. [applause] i assure you if we offer this conservative vision next year, it will be embraced by mainstream business owners and walmart motors, by american workers, corporate executives,

and mama grizzlies. [applause] by tea party activists, rank- and-file republicans, and independent voters. our agenda is america's agenda. with your help, our team will be america's team, the winning team in 2012. let me close by remembering today would be the 202nd birthday of abraham or lincoln, father of our country and the first republican president. lincoln saved our country, one nation indivisible. he established our party as the party of freedom. and so we are today the party of freedom so that every american is free to work hard and make the most of his or her god-given talents, to stand equal before

the law, to pray to their own god, or no god, and to have a government that this by the people and for the people, rather than the people controlled by their government. these are the reasons lincoln said america is the last best hope on earth. and so shall she ever be. thank you. thank you. and god bless. [applause] [patriotic music plays] >> and from the same conference,

talking about fiscal policy and the portions of a constitutional government. this is about 30 minutes. ♪ >> thank you so much. thank you. ♪ [applause] if you keep standing up and singing, a month -- this is a great honor to be here. thank you so much. afore i get started, there's young man who was come up on the stage with me. his name is sergeant jason auburn from annandale, va..

he has served in iraq. he serves as the third infantry regiment of the old guard were here now trains those men and women who guard the tomb of the unknown soldier. [applause] so, before i say a word, i want to introduce to one of america's best, sgt jason all burneuburn. >> thank you. we don't have much time. i'm here because i have a busy -- a bigger fear for my future than i did back in baghdad. i'm here because i believe in the kernel. thank all of you and god bless america. -- i believe in the columonel.

[applause] >> to chairman keene, it's awesome to see another south florida in herian here. your hard work and efforts have paid off. things to your calls, your walks, and standing on street corners waving flags and signs. we have a gop house majority. [applause] [cheers] within that majority, we have the largest ever conservative conference and they have ever seen. we have 87 new freshmen, an historic achievement that has happened. [applause]

you also closed the gap in the u.s. senate. you made your voices heard and have reminded washington, d.c., that this is a representative democracy made up of the consent of the government. you endorse the relentless and high style attacks from the liberal left, such as being called racist and perhaps they should see who is standing here as your keynote speaker. [applause] thank you. thank you. [cheers] but the thing was, you stood by your principles. in the face of these perfect politics, you said that you

would not allow your country to be cast into a perpetual dusk, north remained silent while the sun set on the ideals of american exceptional was interred and i, too, have to endure the politics of up in this because the liberal progressive agenda offers no viable solution for our republic. countless name-calling. saying you're in a member of an all-white motorcycle gang. he got fired for it. [applause] having your personal friend said just a dear friend of mine, george kaufman, attack. there are attack ads against me and i was barely sworn in 35 days. the cook political report said i was one of the most votable

congressman even before i was sworn in. political put me out as one of the top most vulnerable representatives. i have to tell you something. standing here before each and every one of you, i don't feel so vulnerable, do i? [applause] but how it is it that we in this past year stood against such a vile onslaughts of it i go to isaiah, chapter 54, verse 17, no weapon formed against you shall prosper. every -- you shall condemn. this is the heritage of the servant of the lord. that is were faced comes into being so important. even more -- that is where faith comes into being

important. even more important is an oath that each and every one of us believe in. it is an oath i took for the first time in 1982 as a young second lieutenant back of the university of tennessee. go, rocky top. it is end of that i took in 2011. it is an oath that we pledge that we will laydown our lives for this great constitutional republic. last year on the stage, i gave the oath to be a guardian of the conservative principles and values that make america the greatest nation that the world has ever known. [applause] but today, as we have gathered here on this day, on this momentous occasion, i believe

that we're standing on the verge of the dawn of a new america. if we adhere to those fundamental, conservative principles and those constitutional ideals. the interaction between life, a society, and governments to promote these in advance of the individual by adhering to the basic constitutional republican principle of liberty. democracy seeks equality in their become socialism seeks equality in restraint of servitude. abraham lincoln once ask, what is conservatism? is it not the appearance to the old and tried against the new and untried? if president lincoln was standing here today, liberal

progressivism evolved after our constitution. it has been tried. it has repeatedly failed all over the world. why would we think that it could be successful here today in our united states of america? [applause] thank you. thank you. so here today, let us be reminded of the pillars of conservatism, which will lead us to the new dawn of a new america. the first is simple. it is effective and efficient constitutional government. thomas jefferson said, my reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government. [applause] therefore, let me ask you a

simple question. do you believe that america can survive as a bureaucratic many state? >> no. >> you are correct. i appreciate the emphasis over there. the framers of our constitution, they had one true intent, to put a restraining order on the government. fiscal conservatism is a derivative of constitutional government which understands its right and proper -- that is why next week we're going to cut $100 billion of spending off of the federal budget. [applause] [cheers] we cannot continue on with the record deficits that we have seen in the past three years,

$1.42 trillion, $1,.48 trillion. we cannot continue with public- sector outpacing the private sector. we're making more and more people waited to government by employment check, where we're creating more victims and making people more depended upon the government. that in this -- that has to end. the tough decisions begin right now. [applause] we cannot continue on with the policies of behavior modification through excessive taxation and over burdensome regulations. that is why we will be cutting from the epa. [applause] [cheers]

thank you. thank you. the wasteful spending, the federal bailout which leads to the nationalization of production. automobile industry, finance industry, health care. if health care is so great, can someone explains why over 200 democratic political groups are going and asking for waivers. i say to the president -- the good things and the patient protection affordable care act, closing the donut hole, making sure we take care of people with the pre-existing conditions, keeping people on -- young kids on our insurance. i can probably fit that in five to 10 pages. it is the other pages with 11

new tax cut 159 new government agencies, and 16,000 new irs agents that the united states of america does not want. [applause] thank you. we are tired of failed policies like cash for clunkers. we will have cash for plug-ins, or the government will hand out checks for people the plot electric cars. once again -- [boos] mr. president, did you hear the american people? 2008, why did we have a

financial meltdown? government gets into the mortgage industry. we create an agency like fannie mae and freddie mac, will be lower down the standards for lending, when we get rid of glass-steagall and we now start to securitized our mortgages and sell our bad mortgages. if government gets out of the way of the private sector, it would not have happened in 2008. [applause] as i sat at the state of the union address and i heard the president say, investment and innovation, those words are not part of the public sector lexicon. they are part of the private sector. they are part of our free enterprise. the most ingenuity. through the private sector is where we will have long-term sustainable growth and

viability, not from president obama's version of investment. it comes from your investment heard that is what we must set the conditions for. we must listen to the words of abraham lincoln once said you cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today. [applause] now is the time to reform our individual tax codes. now is the time to cut our corporate business tax rate down to 20%. now is the time to eliminate capital gains taxes and dividends taxes. now is the time to cap federal spending at 80% to 20%. 18% to 20%.

now is a time -- [applause] thank you. thank you. now is the time to eliminate redundant, failed federal government programs and agencies. make the hard decisions. we must implement fiscal responsibility upon the constitutional role of the federal government. and i say we start looking at every government program and agency that has been created in the last 10 years. let's start making some hard examinations. now is the time. [applause] the second important pillar in our conservative principles is peace through vigilance, through resolved and for strength. a new america --

[applause] a new america means that we must remember the words when it was said that all is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. [applause] we're told that to know your enemy and to know yourself and to know -- you have to be victorious. peace begins with courageous leaders who are willing to identify and define our enemy and their objectives. political correctness has no place in our national security strategy. [applause] [cheers] thank you.

thank you. thank you. i find it appalling that someone such as major malik nidal hasan can gunshot american soldiers and we treat that incident like workplace violence. let me be clear. truth is not subjective. and faxed do not lie -- and facts do not lie. a new america, a secure america means that we can ill afford to have the 21st century moment. [applause] yesterday, we witness the historic moment in egypt. i applaud the flames of freedom of finding its way into this arab nation. however, let us be reminded of

the lessons of the revolution in iran. let us also remember that there was a certain group that came into afghanistan after the soviet union departed. that country fell into civil war. that's a group promised to bring civil society and stability. they were recognized by the clinton administration and have the foreign minister brought here and posted in the white house. that group was to taliban. history has a way of teaching you a bad lesson if you don't pay attention. many cheered the departure of hosni mubarak. i would have much rather see the departure of mahmoud ahmadinejad out and the end of the rule of iran.heocrats in arou [applause] thank you.

a week of america has never proven good for the world. -- a weak american. we must ensure our men and women in combat have clear objectives. the rules of the engagement -- and yet, i do have a problem with granted american constitutional rights to terrorists while we attempt to have imprisoned our own warriors for killing terrorists. [applause] [cheers] thank you. thank you. the dawn of a new america means

this. secure our borders and enforce our laws. recognize the emerging threats on the korean peninsula. recognize the threats coming out of south and central america. confront the belligerents who transit freely across borders, killing and promoting an ideology that is anathema to the values of america and to western civilization. [applause] [cheers] thank you. a new dawn means never surrendering our nuclear deterrent capability. [applause] it means recognizing that our

economic strength is part of our national security and that china is still a communist country, which is using capitalism as a weapon against us. [applause] and never allow anyone to believe that our greatest ally in the middle east, israel, should not have this nation ready to stand with hers. it means, and i say this to my friends in the state of israel, i say this to mark and his family, i shall never is rolled down -- let israel down. [applause] thank you. thank you. thank you.

now, there is a third pillar. a third pillar in many ways. i believe this is the most important bill for thedawn of a numerical. that is to never abandon our values. this could be a hot topic here at cpac. but we're incomplete as an american people without this pillar. we must honor our language and realize that it is most important, most basic and common bond which makes us and america. [applause] [whistles] i believe that we should celebrate the diversity of the melting pot of all america, but

never allow multi-cultural listened to grow on steroids and define itself as making american culture subservient. there is a definitive american culture. [applause] thank you. thank you. thank you. we must respect and honor the unborn. [applause] and i want you to tell me this. thomas. what kind of person -- tell me this. an american child that survives in late term abortions procedure does not deserve to live? of never support the use of abortion as birth control because i did not believe that

having a baby is punishment. [applause] thank you. -- i do not believe that having a baby is punishment. thank you. we must hold sacred the privilege of the institution of marriage. as a bond between a man and woman, to promote promulgation of our society. because we cannot allow the destruction of the american family. senator daniel patrick moynihan talked about this. he said the folly of breakdown of the american family will once come and haunt the united states of america. if you break down the american

drama, that leads to the growth of government which leads and results in greater government spending. the strength of america is in the strength of the bonds of the american family. there were men and women with their children and western going across the mississippi river and spreading this great nation. don't ever forget the bond of this great nation. [applause] if we are to have a a new dawn in america, it remains holding forth our judaeo- christian faith. john adams said we have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. our constitution was made only

for a moral and religious people. it is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. this is not about a separation of church and state. it is about making sure that we cannot separate faith from the individual. the american motto is "in god we trust." [applause] we in america, we welcome the beliefs of other in america. our coexistence must be based on is simple premise. when tolars becomes a 1-way street, it leaves the -- it leads to cultural suicide. the values should never be subjugated to any other as long as i have air in my lungs.

[applause] intrigant to presidents' day, and black history month, let me share this closing thoughts. we are either a united people or we are not. if the former left us in all matter of general concern acts as a nation, which has natural object to promote and a national character to support, if we're not, let is no longer act a farce by pretending to it. george washington. america will never be destroyed from the outside if we falter and lose our freedoms. it will be because we destroy ourselves. abraham lincoln. we stand on the presence of greatness for this nation.

if we forget what brought us to where we are into one for 34 years, if we forget these three pillars, there will be no america to pass on to subsequent generations. i want to close with a simple story. on the seventh of february, 1961, hermann sr. and elizabeth thomas had a son. my parents were nicknamed buck and souz. their son corrupt walking the streets in the inner city of atlanta, georgia. he attended an elementary school that was located across from ebenezer baptist church per he would fish with his father and grandfather just south of randolph county. he would pick peaches to help out his grandparents and others who were selling peaches on this side way stores.

peach county, georgia. he climbed pecan trees. and i say "pecan" because that's how we were taught to say it. i don't know how you got this "pe-cahn." but i used to climb those pecan trees. my old mother wanted us to of fresh pecans so she could make a nice pecan pie. he grew up selling cokes while cheering on the atlanta braves. he learned all the tunes to the fcc fight songs. on sunday, he was an accolade. he sang in the church youth choir. he went off to serve his country justice same as his father had done in world war

ii, his nephew had done in afghanistan, and his brother-in- law has done iraq. and he stood on the wall to tell this country, sleep peacefully at night because this man stands ready to do the violence and do the things that are necessary to protect you. [applause] on this day, 50 years later, this son of america stands before you on this grand stage, committing himself to his country to its national heritage, to its fiscal and national security, to the preservation of the life, liberty, and pursuit of

happiness of every american. i do it for my wife. i do for my daughters and my relatives and my friends. i do it for the men and women in uniform. i do for the little boy and the little girl who are wary the high school junior rotc uniform just like i did. [applause] i do it for that on born american child. [applause] i do it for each and every one of you who hear my words. i do it by pledging sacred oath d to theawn of a new america -- to the dawn of a new america and to the liberal press who'll be attacking me starting today, tomorrow, and of course on monday. continue your attacks. because this is what abraham lincoln said. be sure you put your feet in the right place.

then stand for. as you depart here today from this great gavel of conservatives, this is the commission that i send you out with. stand firm, for this is the dawn of a new america. god bless you all. god bless america. steadfast. to live. -- thank you. [applause] [patriotic music plays] >> the budget is the story in washington said. president roh about his proposal for the coming fiscal year. he pledged dollars, when trillion -- $1.1 trillion in savings. we will be carried in number of briefings throughout the day. questar with comments from the

12:15 eastern.12 you'll be able to see that briefing on c-span2. secretary gates looking for reductions of spending up $70 billion in the next decade. we'll be hearing from him along with leaders from different branches of the military. that is today at 2:00 p.m. eastern on c-span3. the house is in an noon eastern today. the rules for debate was passed last week. we expect a general debate today. votes after 6:30. pitbull gavel and at noon eastern -- they will gavel in at noon eastern. now to "washington journal.". host: our guest now is andrew campanella, senior adviser for

the alliance for school choice. this is titled "hope for america's children." what were the main takeaways? guest: we talk about the success stories of america's 20 private school choice programs. they serve 200,000 children in 12 states, including the district of columbia. we're seeing a record number of students enrolled in school choice programs, school voucher and school taxredit programs, with an overwhelming success. higher graduation rates, higher student achievement, higher parental satisfaction, and taxpayer savings. school choice is working, but we need more of it. host: why iit working? what is special about the program? guest:hen the parents the opportunity to is choose the best school for their chiren -- when you give parents the opportunity to choose the best

school for their children, parents are empowered to make a difference in their children's education. they can send their child to a great school. frankly, when you look at so of the options out there, private schools -- you put a low-income tout in a private school and they are three more low-income child into a private school and their three-times more likely to get a college education. host: what is the message to policymakers? guest: when we drain $670 billion and our economy every year because of the achievement gap between -- otu of our economy -- out of our economy every year because of the achievement gap, that is a huge amount of money. that is not the america that we hope to be -- an america where we except failing schools? we should not have a failing schools. we should have schools that succeed. host: the message to policymakers is, enough of the

draining of the money. guest: enough of the millions of dropouts. it is time to give parents options or hope for their children. host: our guest is andrew campanella. the website is allianceforschoolchoice.org. we'll take calls from republicans, democrats, and independents on the topic of school choice and education- water programs -- education- voucher programs. guest: we are seeing president obama is recommending an additional $3 billion for domestic spending on education programs. at the same time, the president and head is a -- and his administration have tried to cut a certain program that has served as a lifeline to help lower-and some children go to better private schools in the

district -- lower-income children go to better private schools in the district. we hope that, within that $3 billion, the president could find a few million dollars to provide scholarships to the kids who need it most. host: have you heard rationed out on that? guest: robert gibbs tried to give a rationale, but we did not get much. we have heard from education secretary arne duncan now we cannot have school choice, because, if we do, it will not save every child. that is like saying if there are not enough lifeboats, nobody gets one. we need to try to save as many children as possible and school choice provides that option immediately. host: what exactly are we talking about? guest: school choice means a lot of things to a lot of pele. to those of us with the alliance for school choice, what we focus on is school vouchers and tax- credit programs. we also support charter schools,

viual schools, magnet schools, and improving public schools. host: let's hear from sarasota, fla., peter. caller: thank you for taking my call. mr. campanella, the state of florida had about your program under gov. jeb bush. i was wondering whether you woulde able to comment on your thoughts on how it went here in florida. i am a hungarian-american who is a prodt of both public and private schools. my mothers a retired schoolteacher from new jersey. i would also like to ask you one other point, then i will hang up and listen to your response, and that is in reference to a topic that was a thorny one with someone like myself, a simi retired educator and small- business owners -- semi-retired educator and small business owner. i would likeo possibly comment

a bit about stafford loan fra, which is relative to the budget issue that mr. goozner and our host discussed earlier. i think that is a topic that is a vital and that the american public is not aware of. there is a great deal of stafford loan fraud. we have a program which was attending to investigate as a journalist, where there was undue loan fraud perpetrated. i will let you respond. guest: thank you for your call. your mother was a former schoolteacher in new jersey. my mother is the current school teacher in new jersey. she is doing a great job, as are many of our public school teachers. we nd to salute them. in terms of florida school choice programs, we have two of them. there is the corporate-tax credit program and a scholarship program for students with disabilities. florida has provided a success

story for the nation. the scholarship tax-credit program has yielded student achievement increases that puts students in the program -- these are significantly-disadvantaged students -- on par with their peers nationally. they are doing a lot better than they would have had they stayed in many public schools. the other program has incentivized public schools to improve and providing innovation and healthy competition. people should look to florida as a success story for the nation. you talked about student loans. i am not sure about this dapper issue you are talking about. in the president's budget, he proposed billions of dollars for pell grants, which are nothing more than vouchers for higher education. they were on higher ed. why not catered well? -- why not k-12? host: santa cruz, california.

go ahead. caller: you did not mention home schooling at all. i think that is important because it gets children out of the indoctrination. who funds your alliance? we cannot do anything in the schools unless we get rid of the unions. it is counterproductive to the chilen. obama is just -- he is -- they are the reason they got rid of the doctors in d.c., which desperately needed them. host: who funds your organization? guest: thousands of people who make donations to support school choice. who funds the anti-out campaigns? i think -- anti-voucher campaigns? i think susanit on that.

it is the school -- it is the unions. the teachers' unio are on the wrong side of history. there are certain to get school chce programs eliminated. the people paying the bill are the hard-working teachers having money taken out in dues, in many cases without any choice, and they do support school choice. it is unfortunate. host: home schooling -- guest: homeschooling is a good option. i love that out when i was mentioning other options -- left that out when i was mentioning other options do we need to hav all options on the table for parents. to reach equality, we need quality. host: we have a separate line for educators and students. here are the first three.

the fourth line as well. we assume we can get those calls on any lines, but we wanted a separate one as well. andrew campanella. it is dan on the democrats' line. go ahead. caller: hello? host: where are you calling from? caller: orlando. the florida supreme court decided that vouchers were unconstitutional. the divert money from public scols -- they dead bird money from public schools. many of them can go to religious -- they divert money from public schools. many of them can go to religious schools. jeb bush was a partner with a group that opened the first charter school in miami. bush said he wanted to destroy

the department of edution. what better way than to divert money from our public schools into private schools? republicans want to privatize the entire government, and they want taxpayers to y for it. guest: i think it is interesting that we live in a country where we have millions of children trapped in failing inner-city schools and people are up in arms because we mht want to save a few of those children and put them into schools where -- when you tak a low-income to out and put them into private schools, they are -- low-income child and put them into private schools, they are three times more likely to go to college. people are so upset about the specter that these children might go to private schools, but yet i heard nothing about the children. look at the numbers.

there are 54,000 kids in florida's school choice programs. it is alive and well. it is a model for t nation. host: we have a republican caller for mr. campanella. caller: hi. how are you? host: we are good. you're on the air. caller: i lived in d.c. and i worked with the opportunity scholarship program. cannot tell you what benefit this program has. it is about saving as many kids as we can. i totally agree with everything mr. campanella has said about the positive affect about your programs have an educational program -- the voucher programs have on educational programs. i am a schoolteacher. when parents have options, education get better and better and better.

i want to say that i totally support the voucher program, school choice, and the scholarship program. host: let me ask you more about the district of columbia. we saw the story about speaker boehner, who endorsed a bill to expand the voucher program in the district. what kind of lift does this kind of endorsement give to your effort? guest: the d.c. opportunity scholarship program that. -- that harrieta called about has yielded a 21% increase in graduation rates over kids in the traditional sools. i have met many kids to participate in this program. their lives have truly been changed. one mother who sent her child to private school using the program recently wrote a letter to "the washington post."

she said that a voucher bought her so much more in terms of her child's future than $7,500. i do not know what could say it better. in our 50 biggest cities, 40% of our kids never make it out of school with diplomas. 91% graduation rate in washington, d.c. this program needs to be saved, restored, or expanded. host: how does therogram work? guest: the parent makes the decision on where they want to send their kid. they have accountability. there is strict accountability for school choice programs. the parent makes a decision. the government, in this case the federal or state, writes the check to the school. perron, as the taxpayer, as the czech and turns of -- the parent, as the taxpayer, is the check and turns it over to the

hool. the amount is far less than we pay per child. host: what about available spots for kids in voucher pgrams? guest: there are about 1 million and the seats in private schools across the country. what is a huge sin is that kids are confined to a failing schools. their families are told they have to wait five years for the district's plan to be implemented to get their child into a better situation. blocks away, there is a private school willing and able to take that student, it there was a tax-credit scholarship -- if there was a tax-credit score ship or other program. we have to help these kids right now. we cannot tell them five years from now. what kind of country does not make us? host: we have a calle on the line.

good morning. caller: i am amazed about the discussi about how poorly schools have been run. it i't the schools. it is the parenting. i have taught in schools around florida. you have students who are willing to work and study. the school does fine. where you have rents who do not get engaged in the education of the child, all schools fail -- i do not care if it is about your school or whatever kind of school. there must be printed before we are going to educate our children --arentage before we're gng to educate our children. host: what would you say about the role of parents? guest: we have to give parents an incentive to get involved in their children's education, which is through school choice. the failures in our education system are not because pple do not have money and cannot send their kids to better schools or their kids to better schools or because they do not care