>> you are making their point. if they started paying women the same as men, they might get more diversity. >> thank you council. the case is submitted. >> next, the annual congressional correspondents dinner. after that, the weekly addresses by president obama and house speaker john boehner of ohio. . .

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guard, the united states navy band, and it missis shirli hughes. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, please enjoyed your dinner. ladies and gentlemen, peter slen called c-span. -- of c-span. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, good evening and welcome to the congressional correspondents dinner on this fine spring night. this is sponsored by the radio and television correspondents association. this is the 67th year that this annual awards dinner as been held. we are so pleased that you have taken the time out of your schedule and money out of your pocket to join us this evening. as many of you know, former

speaker, nancy pelosi, was scheduled to be with us this evening. she is currently in new york at the funeral of her friend and former colleague, geraldine ferraro. two others who have passed since we last gathered in this room i think we should make note of. that is senators byrd and stevens. we have a full program ahead for you this evening. we will be giving out two awards -- the joan s. barone award and the david bloom award. we will hear from several members of congress this evening. we will conclude our evening with larry wilmore of "the daily show with jon stewart." [applause] wait. there is more. please join us at the after party sponsored by our friends

at the national cable telecommunications association. many of us on the board are members of that association. it will be held outside in the atrium where we held the reception. that immediately follows the dinner tonight. by the way, i expect that some of you will be tweeting during the dinner tonight. use the hashtag use all on the screen tonight. that way, everyone will be able to access your tweets more readily. we have a non-washingtonian here with us this evening. i want to introduce everyone to miss america, teresa scanlon. there she is waiting. we appreciate it very much. [applause] mayor gray is with us this

evening. thank you for being here. there he is. [applause] we also want to thank shirli hughes for the wonderful music during the reception and dinner. you can catch her and her gospel choir in concert every sunday morning at 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. at the metropolitan community church here in washington, d.c. we want to let you know of who is sitting up here. i want to start on my far left to your right -- our friend, the director of the radio and television gallery. [applause] >> to mike, the communications director for harry reid. he is with us this evening. senior fought producer, chad.

thank you for being here tonight. sitting next to chad is the communications director for the democratic leader of the house, nancy pelosi. thank you. [applause] he is sitting with jeff from the al jazeera network. [applause] jeff headed up our committee for an award this year. we will get to that a little later. next to jack is congressman anthony weiner. you'll be hearing from him later tonight. [applause] his dinner partner, leigh ann caldwell of c-span. [applause] another one of our speakers this evening, senator rand paul of kentucky. now, ladies and gentlemen, if you have met him, you know him -- your car share of the radio

television correspondents association, the first photojournalist to be elected chairman of the radio television correspondents association, jay mcmichael. [applause] down on the left, mike wright, we are going to start with the democratic whip of the house of representatives -- steny hoyer is with us here tonight. he is sitting with a longtime board member and super producer, joe jackson of cbs. larry wilmore is tonight's entertainment. we will hear from him as well tonight. john wallace from fox news is with us tonight. congressman ben quayle, republican of arizona will also be speaking this evening. we are missing one guest, but he

will be here. that is cedric richmond. he is a freshman from louisiana. then we have someone from alaska public radio down there sitting with kevin smith from john boehner's office. thank you for being with us. down there at the end it is our good friend aldo, director of the house radio tv gallery. thank you. i want to make a special mention. we want to thank mike and olga for all of their work in dealing with the media and our multiple personalities. more importantly, we need to a knowledge of their staff. we will start with olga's staff. her right hand -- sometimes are left -- and the from the radio and tv gallery. olga works with several other

people. thank you house gallery. mike's staff we need to mention as well. we have a special shot out to ellen, the new deputy director of the senate radio and tv gallery. mike, a longtime staff member up there. thank you, mike, for all of your hard work this past year. if i could, i would like the current members of the board to rise and be acknowledged. if you just go ahead and rice. thank you for all of your work on behalf of the media and the congressional correspondents. [applause] wait, there is more. [laughter] this is washington. that means everyone needs a lawyer or as a lawyer. that includes the rtca.

i want to a knowledge our longtime legal adviser is sitting right down from here, bruce cowen. he has been the longtime adviser for rtca. he is pro bono. we love his advice, and we love his price. [applause] it is important that we also recognize some of the journalists that we have lost this past year. i think it is fair to say that we will all miss the game of the washington political press corps. [applause] but we also want to acknowledge the untimely death of a long time cnn video journalist. [applause]

pacmail was one of the longest serving journalist in washington, d.c. he covered the television industry for years. he passed away recently as well. finally, we want to acknowledge the passing of mike michaelson, former senior deputy vice president of c-span, longtime director of the house radio and tv gallery where he was known as the journalist's best friend. we appreciate your service as well. [applause] we have a special group of student journalist we want to introduce you to tonight. for that, let's bring leigh ann caldwell, treasurer of the radio television correspondents association to the table. >> thank you, peter. thank you for inviting radio

roots. it is a huge media education program that teaches underserved students radio and journalism and media, both in washington, d.c., and new york city. right now, we have five of the most outstanding students with us tonight. they have done a really important stories in their community. currently, they are working on a piece on the school dropout crisis with the pbs newshour. i am please -- please stand. give them a welcome. [applause] this as an organization very close to my heart. i am please -- please feel free to get to them and tell them about the trials and

tribulations of being a journalist. most importantly, enjoy all the wonderful things this profession brings. thank you. [applause] >> thank you for organizing this and bring the students to the dinner. i hope you get to talk to a lot of folks tonight. we have one more group of folks we want to single out tonight. to do that, we have invited the democratic whip, former majority leader of the house of representatives to join us, steny hoyer. [applause] >> thank you very much. good evening, ladies and gentlemen. such a sad phrase -- former majority leader. [laughter] that was a kroll cut, peter. nevertheless, i am glad to be here to join jilt for dinner.

jay, i want to congratulate you on the extraordinary accomplishments you have made on being the chair of this organization. [applause] i would be remiss if i did not thank all of you for being so very nice to three people on my staff. maybe you are nice to others as well, but these are the folks i have asked to make sure that we put a positive face forward with all of you. thank you for being so nice to my deputy chief of staff, take the grant, and dan riley -- katy grant and dan riley. they make me look good.

tonight, ladies and gentlemen, we are honored to join -- to be joined by several journalists from cairo. we also have egypt's ambassador to the united states. [applause] like so many of you in this room, many of the journalists that were in the square during the uprising in egypt, the folks i am about to introduce were there. they made a big deal about their experience in cairo featuring never before seen footage. here it is.

-- they made a video about their experience in cairo featuring never before seen footage. here it is. >> its only weapon was the media. it relied on social media and the broadcast media on its success. realizing the importance of these technologies in the 21st century, we set up a live satellite transmissions and internet services, countering get with state of the art technology. independent broadcast media agencies were the main constituent of the revolution. they played a crucial role in

bringing down the regime. state-owned media continue to spread lies and rumors and propaganda. before attempting to annihilate the rebels, mubarak had to take out his other enemies -- the media. >> i covered the war in afghanistan. >> mubarak's secret police attacked all buildings surrounding the square. but when after rooftop cameras and transmission equipment. the attack reporters, journalist, and camera crews. they attacked someone who is transmitting their crimes applied to the whole world. -- transmitting their crimes to the whole world. >> we did live broadcast from

here. [unintelligible] >> covering the breaking news of the revolution has a deep place for reporters. another cameraman suffered from a dislocated shoulder. anselm and suffer from a broken hand. secret police forces cut off live satellite transmissions and destroyed three cameras. later, a militia of armed thugs and try to set fire to the building. we had to smuggle reporters and equipment to the fire exit. we had to close down the offices and had to work out of hotel rooms to keep the coverage going. >> cnc and other agencies were determined not to let down the rebels. the backup plan was to use a system of small cameras to keep

the pictures on air 24 hours a day and using the media, facebook, and twitter to communicate outside of egypt. the chiefs played a critical role in communicating with the rebels outside the square. the egyptian revolution is the first peaceful popular revolution whose office soldiers where the young men and women armed with social media. >> the beginning came from twitter, facebook, and the internet. >> it was embraced by all egyptians that took to the streets. there unbuilding intent and the support of the army led to the success of the revolution. the egyptian will offers a mix of the traditional and new media that accomplished the

seemingly impossible. >> without them, we would not have been able to broadcast the images around the world. had it not been for cnc. [applause] >> before i ask our guest to stand, i had the great honor of being the chair of the helsinki commission. in that capacity, i traveled behind the soviet union on numerous occasions, indeed, almost every other month.

one of the things i learned from the dissidents that i and that is what they feared most is anonymity. what they feared most was being subjected to beatings and arrest anonymously. when i visited with other members of the commission and members of congress visited, they were happy to see yet knowing that the secret police and other security apparatus knew we were visiting them. the fact that they know you know who we are gives us a better safety. on behalf of all of those otherwise anonymous people who would have been subjected to a vicious attacks but for the fact that you made them with your courage and your focus non- anonymous people so the world

would know when violence is presented on some of our fellow citizens in the globe -- congratulations to all of you. now, a representative of all of you, cnc, i would ask our guest from cairo to rise and be recognized. they are to my right -- your left. [applause] [applause] the process that began with the heroic actions -- it is going to

be a long and difficult one. we are hopeful and optimistic that the end of that process -- -- 's people will have a responsive government to respect their rights and the egyptian people will know their struggle was worth it. if that happens and when it happens, they will vote, not only cnc, but many of you who had the courage and tenacity to cover the people's request for freedom. god bless you. godspeed. thank you barry much. -- thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you to our friends and colleagues from cairo. thank you for coming over today. we appreciate it. the radio television correspondents association each year at this dinner guests at

all two wards. one of them is for congressional coverage. the other one is for international coverage. the one for congressional coverage is named in honor of joan s. barone, a cbs news producer who passed away in 1985. for many years, her father, the late walter shorenstein, would be sitting at this table joining us at this annual dinner. we would like to acknowledge and thank the shorenstein family for their support but thof the rtcad the free press. [applause] here to introduce the award is longtime cbs correspondent and our friend, bill plante. [applause]

>> congratulations. good evening. the award i am about to present honors an extraordinary woman. we are probably the only people who knew joan. she started out as a researcher and became the executive producer for "face the nation." one of her early mentors was a seasoned political reporter who salt that she had the right stuff. his name was david. joan was tough. she was smart. she enjoyed life and love politics. she was someone who would be publicly at home and very entertaining at any one of your tables. she had the kind of standards that the critics say our business does not have any more -- it does not exist in the kind of work we do.

but the roster of winners of this honor over the years is proof positive that those standards still exist. here is what the judging committee had to say about this year's wenner. "what distinguished this year's award winner was a concise body of work. there was an essence of joan s. barone. the award was based on three pieces based on congressional spending and port projects." the entries embodied clean, solid reporting strong they beat reporter involved in the day-to- day draft of capitol hill. one of the things the committee found refreshing was the correspondent's focus on the subject of the story rather than on the role of the reporter. imagine that. eight report says the committee was prepared, whether

confronting lawmakers in an elevator or press conference or the all too familiar always. the emphasis was always on the answers and not the questions. on-camera interviews, the committee says, were substantive, relative, and enlightening. they enhanced rather than distracted from the job at hand. for the aforementioned reasons, the committee is pleased to award this year's joan s. barone award for excellence in washington-based reporting in congress to jonathan karl of abc news. [applause]

congratulations. >> thank you. just very quickly, it is an unbelievable honor. the credit all goes to my team. i am blessed to work with some of the very best people in journalism. they are unbelievable. thank you for working with me. zach wolf, gregory simmons -- and my wife who loves me so much. thank you, you all. >> here is a short video about

his award. >> job and, bill is being pushed by democrats. quite the bill is loaded up with pork projects. it is an outrage. >> many of these earmarked were rejected by republican senators. >> there are millions of dollars in earmarked from the two of you. had you have any credibility? >> we are going to vote against the bill. this is the wrong way to do business. >> this is not just about your marks. they are a waste of washington spending. the american people have said they want reform. >> was it wrong to put in the year marks in the first place. >> i try to answer to the best of my ability. >> you are the incoming appropriations chairman. >> he is the man republicans

have chosen to run the most powerful committee in congress, the one that controls the government's purse strings. it is an odd choice for the party that was to cut spending. he has been called the press support. >> have you changed your ways? >> the electorate told us the number one thing they want us to do. >> looked at his home town airport. he spent $17 million a year. no cars in the parking lot. no planes in the runway. no planes in the terminal. >> [unintelligible] [applause] >> jonathan, congratulations.

bill plante of cbs -- price for helping us out this evening at the congressional correspondents dinner. the board heads of the committee for the jolt barone award. -- for the joan s. barone award. thank you for your work this year. the david bloom award was started in 2004 at the urging of the late tim russert to honor the late in the sea anchor and newsman, david bloom, who died in the iraq war in 2003. we are honored to have his three daughters to present the david bloom war. here is christine, ava, and

[unintelligible] >> good evening. it is an honor to be here tonight. it is hard to believe in it has been eight years since we lost our dad, but we want to thank the rtca for creating this award in his memory and for tim russert for his part in creating the award. we have spent long periods of time away from family and friends to cover stories. i am amazed at the brave journalist who are willing to put themselves in dangerous situations in order to share

pressing news with the world. the winner of the david bloom award shows bravery and exemplifies a drive and commitment. we are honored to present this year pottery award to nbc news chief correspondent, richard engel. [applause] >> ball embedded with the soldiers of charlie company -- he offered compelling images that are rarely seen. he gave us a glimpse into the challenges that american soldiers face everyday. >> in afghanistan, this has been a tough nut so far for americans

on the front lines. 27 americans were killed in june. richard engel, who is embedded with the 82nd airborne, has a powerful first hand input. we need to caution you -- some of the footage may be disturbing for some viewers. >> soldiers from charlie company hike for an hour in the tough stronghold outside of kandahar. it is a mission to attend a memorial service for one of four soldiers killed. after the salutes and prayers, charlie company marches back home. the taliban are watching them. they attack as soon as the troops returned to their elbows. the soldiers rushed to the roof to return fire.

it is the most intense assault ever on the outpost. they launched mortars almost straight up because 20 taliban fighters are just 100 yards away. amid the chaos, they are just realizing how bad it is. in the guard tower on the roof, [unintelligible] now, three soldiers or where did. they are treated under fire. the troops keep firing. in minutes, the guard tower is back up.

the air support seems to stop the attack, at least for now. the soldiers stay on high alert in case there is another attack. after 30 and tense minutes, it is finally over. helicopters lift away the injured. as night falls, the troops stay by their weapons. they do not know how many taliban they killed, but expect more becoming. richard engel, nbc news. [applause] >> accepting the award tonight on richard's behalf is one of my dad's favorite producers. [applause] vice president and bureau chief of nbc washington --

congratulations, richard engel. [applause] >> i am here in libya covering the rebel's advance and gaddafi's attempts to stay in power. it is becoming one of the transported periods in the middle east in decades. this is important for me and everyone at nbc news because it carries david bloom's name. it incorporates his integrity and storytelling. i want to thank all of the troops and i have worked with. their hard work is made all this possible. thank you. [applause] >> young ladies, we appreciate your coming down every year and presenting this award in your dad's honor. [applause]

i also want to acknowledge john of reuters who headed up the committee for the bloom all war. serving with john, any from c- span, more from cnn, and joe from sirius xm. it you are tweeting, please use the hashtag condinner. ladies and gentlemen, this is the congressional correspondents dinner. we thought it appropriate to hear from members of congress tonight. consider this neck section of the program special ordered. ok. that did not work. you are right. [laughter] we wanted to get a freshman's perspective on washington.

we had two freshmen congressman. first we will hear from congressman cedric richmond from new orleans. the is a new orleans native, the son of a schoolteacher, and a tulane law school graduate. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome from the greatest city in america, congressman cedric richmond from new orleans. [applause] >> first of all, let me thank you all for having me. i have a few serious housekeeping notes first. first of all, to the many people who ask why i was late, i was participating in a basketball game that raises money for the washington legal clinic for the homeless. i do not know why it was so important for me to be on the

team this year. maybe it has something to do with the fact that i was the youngest member and the only african american and it looked like to play basketball. [laughter] i wanted to tell them that my goal was never to play in the nba. it was always to win a nobel peace prize, but i do not think they would have bought that. the second think of what to do is say, "hi, mom." she bought me a trumpet when i was very young. i would practice and practice. she would say, "the music coming out of your room does not sound anything like the music coming out of the neighbor's alice." it was my luck that i grew up next to the jordan family. the whole family art world renown musicians. i cannot play like wynton and

marlin, but i can play basketball. if i had one too many met juleps, you may consider c-span espn. [laughter] [applause] the other two bits of housekeeping -- there are wonderful legislators back in louisiana to are, as we speak, we drawling my district during redistricting. i want to tell them, "i miss you. i love you. we have been the best of france through these years. i know you are going to do right by me because you know i would do right by you." thank you to the louisiana legislature. i get to boast a little bit. my district told me to go to washington.

they expected great things from the very early. the president did a kit -- did a tv commercial during the campaign. i am pleased to inform the people of the second congressional district in louisiana that i came up here and i am making waves. my good friends selected me to beat the whip. that is steny hoyer. thank you for that. more importantly, i was elected president of the louisiana democratic caucus. i was also elected treasurer of the louisiana democratic caucus. [laughter] i was also elected secretary of the louisiana democratic caucus. [laughter] the election was close. it was hard to tally the votes. but, meet myself, voted for two

other people. i had to break the tie. i am the president of the louisiana democratic caucus and anything you need in louisiana, be sure to call me because i run the show in the louisiana democratic caucus. [applause] i want you to know, this is something you can do to help president obama. the unemployment rate is sky- high. for the rest of these one- liners, jokes, or what ever i have on this piece of paper -- i did not write them unless you think they are funny. each of my staff members who fought the jokes were funny -- i told them before i left, "you all convinced me to do this. this was over my objection. i am not funny. i do not like speaking in public. if the joke bonds, i will make a note. if you get my book on your desk

tomorrow, it means you are no longer employed." please laugh at the jokes or we will send people to the unemployment rolls starting tomorrow. [laughter] as they try to convince me, they said, "you can do this. you are funny. you'll have them rolling. you can have them in stitches per "i said i did not know anything about that. but i did note that i could have john boehner in tears. i want you to know one other thing -- my 11 years in the state legislature, i had three speakers of the house. i did not get along with any of them. i had three governors and i did not get along with any of them. i finally figured it out. my mother said, "it is probably you." i understand it is probably made. the first thing i did was set up a goal to meet with speaker john

bender. i told him i had learned from my ways. i want to be good friends with you. we really hit it off. i hope tonight after the one or two mines that my staff thought was appropriate to stick on speaker boehner, i hope we are still friends by the end of the night. even though i was nervous. my staff told peter and said i did not want to do it. they said i would embarrass me or less. "he does not want to do anything that will embarrass new orleans on national tv." peter said, "it is just c-span. nobody is watching." you are in trouble. [laughter] if you did not like that one, you not like the next one

either. for the last time, npr, it is good to see you here. next year, you might not be here. peter, you are in trouble. [laughter] i do not know how this is going, but i will tell you that there are a lot of [unintelligible] as a single member of congress, i usually thank my mother. forswearing in, i directed my niece and my nephew selected at a nice family picture. [laughter] i figured that was a lot better than going on cragsigslist to find a date. [laughter] zach, you are in trouble. seriously, a guy coming from louisiana -- we have interesting

names. we spell "go" differently from everybody else. getting e-mail's in congress is strange. i was just moving into my office and getting these welcome e- mails. the first e-mail was from a guy named winner. -- weiner. the next was from a guy named boner. i tell my mother i did not know about this place. this reminds me of bourbon street. [laughter] as i prepared to come to d.c., i worked really hard. we were just getting over hurricane katrina. i figured all the storms were

over, that we would not have any more floods, we would not have a more hurricanes -- we had turned the corner and were headed in the right direction. then november 2 came. we took a beating in the democratic caucus. i thought i was coming in the majority, but it did not work out that way. i hate to say it, but you are in trouble on that one. before i get serious for a minute, because what i think what you do is vitally important to the country and the things you offer are very important -- i will close on a serious note. i am using this as an audition for the news shows. wolr, i will be happy to come on. katie, if i could come on your show, i would be willing to.

even more than does, if you are auditioning for " two and half man," i am willing. i guess, rand, we may have a government shut down and you may get to go on vacation. but i tell you, in new orleans, in louisiana, in 11 parishes that were hit by the storm -- we are used to government shutdowns. all we have to do is say katrina or fema and the government will shut down. in closing, i will say -- no more closure. i will say one more. this was funny. i think it was funny. it is not funny, everybody's

head is going to roll tomorrow. i paid attention to the president's stated the union address. my date with the republican from louisiana. we serve in the legislature together. he said, "we just happen to cross each other in the north carolina airport. i said i wanted him to be my date." we went to the state of the union. i find myself at the end of the night standing and he is sitting. i said, "how does that work out?" he said, "we are in the majority and you are in the minority. we stand up, -- you stand up, we sit down." i heard the president say that the future of tomorrow -- we are going to help build. we are going to out innovate. we are going to help educate the rest of the world. we are going to win the future.

i started thinking to myself -- he must have let the vice president name that one because the initials are wtf. now that you have all added six people to the unemployment rolls and i have to go back and have the heart conversation with my staff and tell them we are going to make some changes and unfortunately there name is changed, i want to get serious for just a second. because of the work we do all across the country and all across the world, wherever i go, people will always ask the question, "al is new orleans doing? is it coming back?" you all exposed to the world what happened during hurricane katrina and rita. we are coming back strong. the history of new orleans is

one that is consistent with devastation and disaster, but it is always consistent with rebuilding and coming back stronger. it is almost like that old church song that says "god moves the mountain and gives us the ability to climb." if you look back in our history, when you or less was founded we have yet the fever and smallpox outbreaks. in the 1800's when we only had 1000 buildings in the city, 800 of them burned down. four years later, another 200 burned down, but we came back bigger and better. then we had a hurricane that destroyed more than half of the city. we came back bigger and better. then we had hurricane katrina and reject it. with the help of congress and with the light that you all put on what was going on, we came

back bigger and better. then we had the bp oil spill where 11 u.s. citizens lost their lives and millions of gallons of oil were spilled into the gulf of mexico. with the help of congress and the help of a president, we are coming back bigger and better. i am telling you that, here tonight as an ambassador for the state of louisiana and the city of new orleans, it is because of what you do, because of the energy and the risk that you take in coming and reporting from ground zero when some organizations to offer aid are afraid to come, but reporters and cameramen, because they have a duty and a sense of responsibility and moral commitment to this country to make short the story is told

accurately, we are coming back and we're coming back better. i just want to say thank you for not only what you did for the second congressional district, not only what you did for the state of louisiana and the city of new orleans and the constituents of our district and my family who lost all of our homes, the story you told was not only important, but it was accurate. it was heartfelt. thank you for what you did. thank you for having me. it is a joy being here. i am honored and humbled to be part of the one of the 12th congress. thank you. -- part of the 112th congress. thank you. [applause] >> now coming to the podium as someone with a familiar washington name. unfortunately many of us remember when he was born in

1976, the same year his father was first elected to congress. now elected to congress in his own right, and the great state of arizona, representative ben quayle. [applause] >> i want to thank you all for having me here. i am really honored. i have to tell you, it is a little weird for me to be speaking at an event sponsored by the media. although i come from a newspaper family, we seem to have the strained relationship with the press. strained is a polite term for troubled and the press is a generous terms for politico. [laughter] it took everything i had not to refer as politico as the worst

media outlet in history. it is not that i do not believe that assertion, but i do not want to get into hyperbole. it is nice to see you, congressman hoyer. i am surprised to see you here tonight, but not nearly as surprised when nancy pelosi announced her candidacy for minority leader. it is great to see congressmen richmond. we served at the department of haleh security together. i am concerned about protecting arizona's borders -- mainly from california. but not to worry, secretary napolitano just released a statement saying that the arizona-california border is more secure now than ever before. i look forward to hearing from senator paul.

get ready for five to 10 minutes on the skirts of low flow toilets. [laughter] congressman winner, it is great to see you. my republican colleagues -- i am sorry -- my insurance subsidiary ask me to give you a big hug on that health care waiver. . . you may be facing eliot spitzer in the upcoming new york mayoral election. spitzer returning to politics is great news. at least for d.c.-area hotels. but you know, campaigns are full of twists and turns. my campaign featured a mailer with a photo of me playing with my nieces. and i was immediately accused of renting aamily for political

gain. let me be clear. i am fiszically conservative. i don't rent. you i pay cash. i refuse to leave this country worsz off for our niece says and grand nieces. most of you know i lived in washington. but growing up in a political family was not easy. the roughest part was fighting for earmarks in mom's grocery budget. but those were very different times. back then, we faced banking scandals and bomb gsz in libya. it's hard to believe we'ren the same country. during my campaign, i said i was coming ear with the intention of knocking the hell out of washington. it's been a few months. this could take some time. but i do usually reach my goals. among my credits are having

passed the bar in california, moerk and arsz. new york and arizona. i've passed more bars than mtt romney stumping in vegas. geez, tough crowd. now we've got to look forward to another presidential election. newt gingrich said he wished he could be here tonight. he sent another message to say he doesn't want to be here at all. then i got another message saying the last two messages said the same thing. but he won't specify what that is. in the end, he said it's all obama's fault. but 2012 will be exciting. you know who might win some early primaries and go completely under the radar before people notice? tim pawlenty. he could win the genera

election and serve two consecutive terms before anyone would notice. but there are a lot of competent candidates testing the water. haley barbour. mitt romney, newt gingrich, donald trump. i guess dog the bounty hunter had other commitments. no matter who wins the job, my mission in washington remains clear. to establish a precedent for cutting government spending and proving to the american public bad spelling is not genetic. [ applause ] so he misspelled potato? in the worsds of another vice president, big effing deal. i know that today's media has matured.

gone are the days when a vice president can be harshl ridiculed for misspeaking or shooting a friend or xwrkidnapp a reporter and stuffing him in a closet. i want you all to know my family holds no grudges. we want to congratulate you on your spectacular work of late by spelli gadhafi. i'd like to close by saying you a few words about a great reporter ha we lost a few weeks ago, david brodr. i had the pleasure of getting to know david growing up. asll of you know, david was beloved because he never let his biline become bigger than the subject beneatit. when i was in my early 20s in the iowa straw poll, i saw him you trt local voters the same way he treated mydad, with respect and class. his example of gracious

business, firness and integrity is something that people from all professions, not just journalists should emulate. he will be greatly missed. i'd like to thank you all of you for the thankless work ul do for this country. many industries have gone through tough times. yours faced challenges well benefit receion took hold. many organizations were forcesed to make layos and cutbaxz. those that remained had to work that much harder. those of us in elected office probably complain about you more than we aise you, we appreciate and value the vittlez wo vital work you do for this country. thank you very much. [ applause ]

our next guest may want to be the next mayor of new york. ladies and gentlemen, the honorable anony wiener. [ applause ] >> thank you very much. thank you, steny. i will keep my remarks briefed. i'm double parked outside and the last thing i need is a ticket. this is really a huge thrill for me. this is all being broadcast on c-span 3. tens of americans will see this. down to the cnn table, they're saying, tens, what's their secret? % you know, this is a great opportunity for all of us to get to know each otherin a less formal setting. we work with each other a great deal. this is a chance for pea to answer a couple of the questions you might have about me.

ones i frequently get. there's really not a chance to talk about it. it is rtrue, it's difficult having this name. it's something that caused me a lot of ridicule and hard ship. it is in my neighbhood not easy to be named anthony. but in fairness, i did hear the last original wiener joke in the fifth grade. now i embrace it. much it's part of me and part of the campaign slogans. i use vote for wiener, he'll be frank. vote for wiener, he's on a roll. vote for wiener, he'll relish your votes. that's a very good one. in fact, some of you have done some real research, which probably means none of you have -- my family didn't always

have this name. my great grandfather when he came here from ellis island. his name, of course, was harold schmuck. i get asked about my recent marriage. by wife is here. she was the traveling chief of staff for secretary clint and now at the state department. she's lovelynd elegant and brilliant and widely reported throughout this town. obviously, opposites attract. i want to thank my colleagues, who have spoken before me and those who are going to be speaking. ben quayl we have a guy you in congress and a guy nad newt is attackingthe white house. republicans do recycle. it really is true. that's because there used to

be -- i'll tell you later. senator rand paul is here. i worked with his father. he brings even more diversity to an institution congress that is remarkably diverse, as many of you know. we have muslims and we have christians and now we have aqua buddhists. and cedric richmond, who did an excellent job. he is a very bright star in a tiny constellation of freshmen democrats. he is a terrific guy. he really unified new orleans around had his platform of better education and health care. but i think it was his pledge keep all his money at room temperature ha that won him the greatest support. i think the people of new orleans respected that. by the way, you i do ti do the jokes around here. who is boehner fooling?

i'm serious, brother. just embrace it. and i know nancy pelosi was supposed to be here. i'm sorry she's not. she'll forever be my speaker. she and i are sometimes lumped together when people describe the extreme wing of the democratic party. in fact, she and i hold many positions that represent the mainstream of heartland america. for example, both of us believe in mandatory gay marriage. michele bachmann, i don't know ifhe is here. she's probably not. she's campaigning if iowa and organizing in that important caucus state because she's running for president. that's really all i have for that joke. [ laughter ] this is the first dinner in a while that rahm emanuel isn't here. let's face it. we miss him. who kn that what it takes to be mayor of a big city is to be

a hot tempered, arrogant loud jew with 9 1/2 fingers. in other news, i've taken a job attarby's as the meat cutter. and hillary clinton, who i understand was originally invited to speak here today could not make it. she's got a lot going on. imagine spending all that time with petty tyrants. i'm glad she left the senate. this is the day we celebrate, of course, the media of tv and radio. as has been reminded several times, many of us are trying to embrace new media. i'm following twitter myself. and i know you might have seen recently that time magazine named me one of the 140 top twitterers ithe couny. i'm very proud of that. if you would use the hash tag

and asme as a follower. i'll put my profile up there. [ laughter ] what? tell me you've never seen a 1970s jew fro. wolf blitzer still wears one. i'm provide to say this. i have over 18,000 followers. i was feeling good until it became clear i was getting confused with other famous people on twitter. let me show you a couple of them. i think i was getting confused with this one. i don't know. that's rachel from "glee." i don't see it. but it could be this one. again, i'm to the really sure.

this one i kind of do understand. this it predates ben quayle. clearly who people think i look like. i'm getting a lot of followers because of it. what do i do now is? i don't want that up there telling the rest of my jokes? there you go. please follow me. i don't care who you think i am. but, you know, this is not about the newest high-tech thgs. this is still about radio and tv. i want to offer a lot advice to some colleagues who are here. i have a reputation in town for being something of a you master of the person-to-person interview. because of my calm, insightful and my poise, the way i've added. people want more civility in politics. they're talking about me. so i have some tips i want to offer to my colleagues as they're doing these interviews.

first is listen carefully to the interviewer. always want to communicate you care about what they say. you want toespect what they have to say, take a deep breath and then answer the question. here, let me show you what i mean. >> was she or was she not the solicitor general of the united stat? >> that was not what i was taking exception to if you let me finish my thought. i'm not really sure what goes on at fox that actually covers, but we'll get back to another conversation -- before we go -- >> let me ask the question -- >> i'm just curious -- >> when the men -- >> we are -- >> let me ask you this, what should be -- congressman, what should be the tax rate? >> you've characterized for me -- >> please -- >> now, let's face it, let's face it, that's somedynamite tv, you see what i'm saying? another tip that i would give to my colleagues is one that might sound intuitive, but you really

have to concentrate to make sure it happens, to maintain eye contact with the interviewer or the camera. for one it shows you're listening, again, but it also shows respect that they don't think you're a jerk when you're done. here, let me show you an example. >> the highest in the world. >> what about the other 12%? >> the irs gets them if they don't pay the taxes. ask wesley snipes. you can't tell me the irs isn't the enforcement arm here, it is. >> no, i'll ask the question. you're not answering. tell me, how is it fair? >> ready? you see, it's really n that hard. and the last tip i'd like to offer is a little bit of a signature thing of mine, so i'm letting my colleagues in on a little bit of a secret. the reporters and interviewers love a little positive reinrcement when you're done with your interview. they love a lite, you want to be acknowledged they have a very hard job, they want to know that the interview went well, and so

here's a little trick that i started. >> go ahead. >> what's the question? >> you clear -- >> i her the speech, what's the question? >> thank you for coming on, congssman. thank you so much. >> great interview, aces. >> now, i just want you to know great interview, aces, that's my trademark, so don't steal it, paul. i'm just saying. but in conclusion, let me express my gratitude to all of you, in all seriousness, as i said before, y are an important part of our lives, an important part of the organization that makes politics work, and i'm sure that all of us, ether we say it or not, are realizing that tonight around the world there are some real tests and we're particularly sympathetic and our heart goes out to the people of japan. and as richard engel steroid us in h showed us in his story, half a world away there are 160,000 men and women fighting for us in

iraq and afghanistan and now in libya. let's keep them in our thoughts and prayers. thank you very much. thank you very much. appreciate it. thank you. >> the honorable anthony weiner, everyone. and finally tonight from the other side of the capital, we're pleased to have join us freshman republican senator rand paul of kentucky. >> how to follow that, i don't know. i was told this was a serious speech. i've got a really long lincoln-esque two- or three-hour speech. well, if no one laughs, i guess that will be my excuse. some of you may have heard that i've come up to washington and i'm living with my dad. that's a little embarrassing to tell people, i guess. i called him up and i said, you know, you're waiting and

counting the days. i've got teenage sons. you're caughting t incounting t until they find a place of their own. i'm 47 years old, can i move back home? and my dad says, nothing, for about 30 seconds on the phone. and then, well, sure, sure, son, you're more than welcome. some of the pundits have thought this was a little bit funny. and one cartoonist did a little caption about us, and in it has me in the kitchen asking dad about, dad, do you have anything you want to add on to the grocery list? and he's like, son, we don't do central planning around here. the next frame has him or me going up to my dad, saying, well, dad, it's that time of the month to pay the rent. i'd like to write you a check for rent. my dad's response is, i only take gold and silver. now, some of you may have heard that one of the pauls might be

running for president. it's a tough decision, i mean, you talk to your wife, your minister, if you're a democratic, your spiritual adviser, you know, it's a tough decision. but i mean, it's gotten even tougher. i mean, sarah palin sort of paved a new path for all of us. now we got to decide if you want to be leader of the free world or have a reality tv show. i mean, it's a really tough decision. now, campaigning can have a certain amount of peril. and i don't hav to make up any campaign stories, because i lived them all. one of the low points or high points depending on your perspective was when a japanese cartoon film came out about me depicting me committing a carjacking. my kids were, like, was grand theft auto based on your college ars? other people have asked me, the have said, were you just really

wild as a kid? were you wild in college? i said nothing like ben quayle. i say, no, if you want to imagine me in college, you can imagine billy graham as a young man. okay, it wasn't quite that. you can imagine charlie sheen as a young man. i was neither of those. somewhere in the happy medium between those two might have been my youth. now, one of the low points in the campaign might have been when on a nationally -- in a nationally televised debate my opponent said or asked, do you now or have you ever worshipped the water deity your god that you call aqua buddha? and it's, like, we had practiced this debate over and over again, no one ever told me that i would have to answer that in a debate. but interesting the question, you know, i don't really remember the aqua buddha. i called my friend in europe,

and i said do you remember us doing something with aqua buddha? oh, no, were performance athletes, we would never put anything in our body that would damage our ability to perform athletics. i don't remember that either. i was in leitchfield, kentucky, one day, and a woman comes up to me and grabs me by the hair. and she said, i just wanted to know if it was a toupee. i said, lady, give me a break, i'm just having a bad hair day. but, you know, i became a little bit selfonscious about my hair. because i learned there was a website out there that wasn'ting to know and there was a big debate, there was a big blog line on this when it was a toupee or a trible. anybody watch "star trek"? you know what a tribble is from "star trek," it's a small furry animal that looks kind of like this. i really began to worry that, you know, when i had people compare my hair to jim

traficant's, that's a low blow. no o has compared my hair to donald trump, i'm doing okay there. in the sete my mentor is al franken. that's the best laugh i got all night. now, he's a comedian and also a senator, and, you know, i thought the guy's been a comedy writer. i'll pick him as my mentor, i'll get him to write jokes for me. so, he hasn't done crap. he won't write jokes for me. i only write jokes for people who are funny. look, you wrote for "saturday night live" for years, what's the deal here? that's sort of a slam, okay. i doant to thank speaker -- i mean, minority leader pelosi, for all her help in my campaign. i mean, i don't think i could have won without her. i mean, such consideration, such selfless sacrifice, i mean,

really, to let us all read that health care bill after she passed it. i mean, i don't thk i could have done it whout her. the president was also helpful to me, too. i ould thank the president as well. in fact, we had a big airplane ticket blown up that we carried around, i had a picture of my 4-year-old son with an airplane ticket, come on down to kentucky, campaign for my opponent. didn't show up. i don't think he'll need an opponent this year. with all his flip-flops against t with the war, i think he'll run against himself. i was happy to see that newt gingrich has staked out a position on the war, a position or two or maybe three. i don't know. he may have more war positions thane's had wives. all right,hat was a good one, right? now, i heard mitt romney might be running again for president.

and, you know, if he wins the primary, it could be pretty contentious. can you imagine the debate? this is romney impression, but i've never done an impression before, so i'll let you know the first one is the president. this is the president. mitt, thank you so much more doing romney care and giving us all those great ideas for our health care plan. thank you, mr. president, for using my ideas. no, thank you, mitt. no, thank you, barack. no, thank you, mitt. it's going to be a really contentious debate. it may even get to, mitt, do you want to play golf on turday? well, mr. president, i thought you were going to be starting a new war on saturday. well, hell, i can do that between holes. hell, i started the last one from brazil. that was just me. that really wasn't funny. you know, i'm trying. speaking of debates, you know, there's a big debate going on ov at fox news. it's really messed up. i mean, they don't know what to

do. they just really can't decide over at fox news. it's, like, what do they love more, bombing the middle east or bashing the president? it's like i was over there and there was an anchor going, they were pleading, they were pleading, one of the anchors, please, please, please, can't be do both? can't we bomb the middle east and bash the president? how are we going to make this work? over at msnbc it's a different story. no civil war there. completely placid. no compunction, i mean, i actually like some of the guys over there or women over there, they would say they hated preemptive war and imperial presidency, but do you know what, i think they just hated republican wars over there. now, people have asked me how's your relationship with rachel maddow. i get that question more than any. and tell you the truth, i'm hurt. she doesn't call. she doesn't write. she didn't ask me to be her date tonight. that could be kind of complicated probably.

but the thing is, i've said, you know, rachel, i would love to be on your show again. i'm thinking, let's see, hmm, maybe when she joins fox news or hell freezes over. and wife says, don't worry about being too funny, and i don't think i've had to worry too much about tt, there will be drinking out there, don't worry about being too funny. just don't be too long. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> and now to wrap up our evening, ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to have with us comedi comedian, author, actor, writer, producer, larry wilmore, senior black correspondent of t"the daily show" with jon stewart. >> thank you. thank you. thank you. it's nice to be here. first i'd like to acknowledge all the other speakers here tonight.

especially senator paul for just whipping everybody into a frenzy. i appreciate that. did all of my jokes, man, all of my jokes. just burn right through that "a" material. i appreciate that. oh, man. whoo! thanks, peter, for inviting me. i appreciate it. no, larry, no, no, no, the president's going to be there. it's going to be great. thanks. it's nice to be at the congressional correspondents dinner. formally known as the radio and television journalists dinner. nice. i like how you did that. it's nice. as a black man, i'm from a group that tends to change its name a lot. so, well done. well done. i thinke're african-americans now. i'm not sure. it's hard to keep -- we change our name so much.

we were -- okay, we were first, like, negro, then we were colored, right? then we were black. then we were afro afro, we were after a hairstyle, do you remeer that? white people never called themselves beehive americans, that's true. black again, right? then americans of african descent. that makes no sense at all. that's trying too hard, right? then black again. then people of color. that was kind of nice. although john boehner's a person of cor so -- that's a little too inclusive, right? and then black again, nappy-headed hos, just checking to see if you're awake. just checking. it's a horrible joke. but for me, i go by black. do you know what, i don't have any romantic connections to africa.

i wasn't born in africa like the president, i was born -- hey, he's not here. i can make that joke. not like he wasn't invited. not like i didn't tell my family and friends. he's got a lot on his plate, libya, right? i understand, you know? maybe he thought by coming to the congressional correspondents dinner, it might seem like he's consulting congress, i don't know. but, no, but i don't have that connection with -- africa just makes me think hot, right? hot. yeah. and things that might eat me. and brothers who speak french, which i don't think is in god's plan, seriously. i don't think so. right? i mean, and i'll be honest with you, if i want to be around brothers i can't understand in

an unbearably hot environment where my ancestors once roamed, i'll go to the check cashing place, there's already a place. no, you'll get some on the way home, too, that's all right. but we are fascinated with race, aren't we? we're so fascinated by it. race is such a fascinating topic. even personally, like, people always ask me what i'm mixed with, because i'm light skinned, they do, they go are you -- they always make that face, are you -- mixed with something? now i just tell people, look, if i was a beer, i'd be a negro light, okay? and i am a third less angry than the regular negro, so, yeah, just kind of -- but we're fascinated. race is so fascinating to people. you know, even within the race, you know?

when i was a kid, brothers would say i didn't talk black. i never understood that. i thought, well, i'm black. and i'm talking. right? ergo, i'm talking black. i mean. i know what they mean now like black slang, you know? like somehow black slang, you know, is the marker for true authenticity. i mean, i never heard martin luther king say yo yo, yo, i got a dream, bitches. he was black. sorry, kids, don't repeat that joke. don't do it. it won't be good. but the black guy said it was okay. no, no, no. in fact, a lot of people saidt was the election of obama shows that america's not racist anymore. i don't know if i agree with that. i mean, if we had elected flava flave, i mean, that would

show we're passed, you know -- no because obama that is a comftable level of black. be honest, people. be honest, white people, you are very comfortable with that level. that's the will smith, oprah level of black, right? be honest. be honest. but flava, that is a very unsettling level of black, i'll be honest with you. i amncomfortable. at that level of black. i would prefer he dial it down, i would. it's tough, man, being president, it'got to be tough, you know, everybody's on obama now. both sides. hurry up. fix the economy. the economy's the big issue, right? what's taking so long? you know. why can't it go faster. why can't you fix the economy faster? you know, fast is not obama's style, right? they're not known for their speed in kenya, right? they're long distance runners.

he's not here! all right? that joke doesn't go if he's here. then i make fun of ben quayle all night. that's how it goes. maybe when they said the senior black correspondent was going to be here, they thought they meant juan williams. i don't know what the reason is. is juan here tonight? oh, man. but, you know, let me address that issue about birthbirthers. do we have any birthers here tonight? come on, now. yeah, right. i actually have a theory aout conspiracy theorists or people like birthers, truthers, big foot, whatever, you know, i belie these people always, you know, demand evidence for the obvious but then they expect you to swallow the preposterous, right? it's true. think about that, like, with obama, you know, i think it's obvious that he was born in

hawaii, right? because he said so. i take him at his word, right? bush said he went to college. i took himt his rd, right? i did. but they need evidence, you know? what about his birth certificate, that's a certificate of live birth. it's not a birth certificate. what about the announcement in the paper? they called that in from kenya. wh? people say this. but then they expect us to swallow the prepostous, like he's a secret muslim. a secret muslim? first of all, it's impossible for obama to be a muslim with all the pork in the budget, that's impossible. let alone a secret muslim. how are you in the closet for allah? i don't under that. he's the president he's going to sneak praying five times a day? oop, dropped my contact lens. right?

i'll get it, mr.president. no, i got it. la la la la la. a little while, oop, dropped another one. la la la la la la. h la la la la. a secret muslim. it doesn't make sense, right? and even the left is upset with obama, you know, progressives are disappointed, matt mos disappointed. it's tough, man. right? it's their own fault. i think they projected so much on obama, because i don't think he's like that. i mean, they made himinto, like, a prophet, like he's a greek god, barack opapollo obam. he got a peace prize. even obama looked embarrassed before he accepted it, right?

that's like giving away the mvp award when they're in training. and then you are mad when they are only batting .220 at the all-star break. at least republicans waited until reagan wa long gone before they turned him into a messiah, right? nobody remembers the '80s. reagan was great. right? nobody remembers. i thought you hated him. no. huh-uh. i guess. he was great. then they try to get me on the train with him. larry, aren't you disappointed with obama? health care, larry. let me just clear something up. i voted for obama because he's black, okay? all right? i don't have disappointment issues. right? as long as he keeps being black.

he's doing a pretty good job! actually, no, i actually hav -- i actually haven't, but what the hell, let's do it anyway. i believe -- no, this is true. i believe when you're voting for the first, like the first black president, i think you should get a pass. you should. nobody was mad at the catholics when they voted for kennedy, you know, first catholic president, making history. nobody was mad at women, right, voting for hillary, could have been the first woman president, making history. i don't have to agree with all of obama's policies. i don't even know what they are! i don't. if it was colin powell, i would have voted for him. whatever brother got the nomination would have gotten my vote. except alan keyes, whew. even thinks he's crazy. that's crazy. i'm crazy. whoever's first should get a pass. i just think that.

now, the second brother to run, he's going to have to show me something. change i can believe in. you better be more specific, brother. what the hell is that? i don't know what you're talking about. and believe me, when we get the first hispanic nominee, i don't care what party, they're not going to have to go courting the latino vote, right? buckle up, white people, because that day is comi, right? oh, yeah. and good luck finding any of those birth certificates, i'm telling you. oh, yeah. oh, no. you're not going to. oh, no. oh, no. right? this is not even in english, i can't read this. oh, i'm going to get in so much trouble, boy. what the heck. but, i know, it's tough for the president, all the things happening in the middle east. who would have guessed all these revolutions, you know?

although i wonder what's going to happen to all these deposed dictators? where are they going to go? in my mind there's only one place where a bunch of narcis narcissistic exdictex-dictators go, cable, right? by july we'll see "the real dictators of the middle east" right? i clearly put my initis on the hummus. barak was the only one else home. now my hummus is gone. what up with dat? you know, gadhafi acts like he's the only dictator in the house. excuse me, colonel, the floor is not a hamper, okay? i'm not sure what accent i was doing there. i have no idea. i have no idea. you guys can figure it out.

i do get the press a lot of credit for deciphering things that politicians say. i have no idea what newt gingrich says, whether he's for or -- do you know what, he's either completely doesn't know what he wants or he's absolutely certain hates obama, right? it's got to be one of the two. but i give you guys a lot of credit just for figuring things out, you know? obama's not that tough. for me, my problem with obama -- besides not being here. my problem with obama -- i even brought my camera. uh-huh. to go to a cut-out at the mall. no, i wasthere, kids. i was there. but my problem with obama is that he just takes too long to get to the point, you know? like when he's speaking off the cuff, if you asked him what he wants for breakfast, uh, uh,

ahh, breakfast, uh, there was a, a, some sort of a decorativdeco , plate. finish your thought, man, i'm hungry! just tell me, you know? because bu would have said eggs, ha ha ha. pop-tarts. well, i know it's been a long night. i just wanted to say you guys have really been great, and i really admire the work that you do. and i'm honored to be here tonight to perform for you, and also i'm honored to be a fake one of you. so, thank you very much. and have a good evening. >> thank you.

>> larry wilmore, everyone, from "the daily show with jon stewart." but, wait, there's more. but not much more. it's just the after-party, and here to tell you about it is the chairman of the radio television correspondents association, the first photojournalist ever elected to that position, jay mcmichael. >> thank you. thank you. let's thank peter slim for a great dinner tonight. so, we would like everybody to join us at the after-party. rand paul will be leading the conga line into the room, so plse follow him. thank you for coming, and we'll see you next year.

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011]

♪ >> on tuesday, a memorial

service for "the washington post" reporter david broder who died on march 9. he was a junior political writer on the 1960 presidential election and won a prize for commentary about watergate. he was known as the dean of the washington press corps. our live coverage will include remarks from family members and eulogies from don graham, when eiffel -- gwen effel and vice president joe biden. begins wetuesday. next, senate tributes to ferraro.dine >> the c-span video library has just won a peabody award.

now you're old, you can watch every program that has aired -- now a year old. you can watch over 187 hours of video, all searchable. washinton your way. >> democrat and republican women senators took to the floor on tuesday to pay tribute to the first female vice presidential candidate, geraldine ferraro. mr. president? the presiding officer: the [precaps the ferraro appear at an appropriate place in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. mikulski: mr. president, i so ask that the following senators be permitted to speak for five minutes each:

senators -- on the subject of geraldine ferraro: senators boxer, hutchison, stabenow, shaheen. i don't know if the gentlelady from maine wishes to speak at this time or another time about -- would you like to speak at this time? let me reiterate the unanimous consent. the following senators be permitted to speak for five minutes each: boxer, hutchison, stabenow, shaheen, snowe. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. mikulski: thank you. mr. president, we come to the floor with a heavy heart and great sadness. geraldine ferraro, a former member of the united states house of representatives, a congresswoman from new york, who was the first woman to be nominated by a major party for vice president, has lost her gallant and persistent fight against cancer and has passed away. i really thank the leadership

for offering a resolution noting the many contributions that she made to america and express the condolences for her family. because, you see, mr. president, for we women before 10geri was a force of nature, a powerhouse. she changed the face of politics. she changed theay women thought of themselves and what we believed we could accomplish. on july 11, 1984, when mo walter mondale called geri ferraro and sctd her to be his vice-presidential running mate, an amazing thing happened: they took down the men-only sign on the white house. they took down the men-only sign on the white house. for geri and all american women, there was no turning back, only going forward. america knows ger implete as a

political phenomenon. i knew her as a dear friend and colleague. we served in the house together in the late-1970's and whenhe left in 1984 to run for vice president, i left in 1986 to run for the senate. we were among the early bird women in the house of representatives and as early birds, we weren't fraid to ruffle some feathers. we had some good times and passed some good legislation. it must be historically noted that when geri came not house in 1979, only 16 women were there. in 1984 when she left, my gosh, we'd moved to 23. but in 2011, on the day of her death, 74 women now serve in the house, 50dems, 24 republicans, and 26 of those women are women of color in the congress, geri was a

fighter, she was a fhter from new york. she fought for transit, she fought for tunnels, and she loved earmarks. earmarks that wouldelp move her community forward. she also fought for the little guy and gal. she was known for her attention to constituent services. the senior getting a social security check, e vet who needed his disability benefits, the kid from a blue-collar neighborhood like herself who wanted to go for college -- go to college, and she fought for women. she fought for our status and she gave us a new stature. when the campaign s over, she contued for all of her life to be a source of inspiration and empowerment for women. in those early days of the second wave of the american women's movement, the movement defined we women on what we did not have, what we did not have access to, what was it we didn't have? equal pay for equal work. it's hard to believe that we

were not included in the research protocols at n.i.h. and when it came to having access to credit, we could not get a loan or a mortgage in our own name in many circumstances. weengdzed a husband, a father, or a brother to sign for it. but when geri was chosen for vice president, she showed us what we could be what modern women in america had become. women felt if we could go for the white house, we could go for anything. geri inspired. and on the night of july 19, 1984, in san francisco, in the musconi center, geri gave her acceptance speech. she became the first woman to be nominated for vice president for a major party. what a night. i w there. the thrill, the excitement in theoom, the turbo energy that

was there. 10,000 people joined the -- jammed the musconi center. guy delegates ge their tickets away to either alter nationals, to their daughters, to people who helped out. she wanted to be there. people brought their children. they carried them. they put them on their shell doers to see -- on their shoulders to see what was go to occur. when geraldine ferraro walked on that stage, she electrified all of us. the convention gave her a 10-minute standing and resounding ovation. we just couldn't sit down because we knew a barrier had been broken and for the rest the as she made history, there would be more on the way. during that campaign, it was ha-fought. she traveled over 55,000 miles, visited 85 cities, campaigned her heart out. but it was not meant t be. the ticket lost to reagan-bush.

but thougshe lost the election, she did not lose her way. geri never gave up and never gave in. her storied career continued. a teacher at harvard, a u.n. ambassador on human rights -- alalways teaching, always inspiring, always empowering thousands of women here and around the world. then in 1998, she was diagnosed with blood cancer, and once again she was determined not to give up and not to give in. she began the greatest campaign of her life. she began the campaign for her own life. she fought her cancer, and she not only fought her cancer, she also fought for cancer victims. she forged a relationship with senator kay bailey hutchison, as we will as my friendship. you see, senator kay bailey will tell this story hself.

her brother alan -- alan bailey -- soferredz from the same disease as geri. they met through an advocacy group on multiple my len know ma. then they said, alan bailey and geraldine ferraro joined hands and joined together and kay bailey hutchison and i did, and we introduced the geri fraro research investment and education afnlgt i wanted it to be ferraro-bailey but alan very graciously said, geri is a marquee name. she will attract at love attention. we can hopefully get a lot of money for research and more interest in this dreaded disee. this legislation paled and it showed sometimes when we come together out of common adversity, we find common cause and we get things done. that bill passed, and it is changing lives. geri did various clinical drills and often we talked. this is what she said to me

during the last few weeks. she said, i'm glad i could be in those clinical trials. in manyays they helped me live. but we also knew the research would provide lessons so that others could live. once again her mentor was, never give up, never give in. she had toughness, persistence, ten n.a.s.cyty, and an un-- tenacity, an an unfailing optimism in the face of diversitadversity. it was her personal story that brought us together. you see, mr. president, we were both from european ethnic backgrounds. she italian, i of my proud polish heritage. we grew up in urban villages. her father own add dime store. my father owned a grocery store. very much involved with our customers and community. we had strong mothers who wanted to make sure we had good educations.

when ger i's dad died, geri's mother took a job in the gment industry. she sewed beads on wedding dresses to make sure her children had an education. geri went to marymount, she became a scholarship girl because she was so smart and had so much talent. she felt it was the nuns who played a big role in her life. they coached her to be srt and taught her to be a great debater. her faith was about the attitudes. the one that said hunger and thirst after justice. the other day when geri and i were talking, she reminded me that not only didhe go to marymount, but so did lady gaga. she said, i'm just sorry i can't live to go to more alumni associations. and then there was john, her beloved husband, a love story

for the ages. i was there at this church just over a year ago when they renewed their vows for their 50th anniversary. their vows were not just for a day or for a year, for a decade. you see, they believed that their vows are for eternity. and geri loved her husband and she loved her children donna, john, and laura. and she was so proud of them, one a doctor, one an accomplished businessman, another a tv producer and also had worked on wall street. and oh, my gosh, the grandchildren. there was always the pictures and the stories of many storied accomplishments. you see, geri ferraro led her family. she loved her extended family that went to her friends and her community, and she loved america because she believed, as she said to me, only in america, barbara, would somebody who startled out -- who started out

in a regular neighborhood, whose father passed away and her mother taught her great determination could go on to be the vice president of the united states, to be an ambassador on human rights and to make a difference in the lives of her family and her community. geri, we will miss you but your legacy will live forever. mr. president, that concludes my remarks, but i would now like to turn to senator barbara boxer and then to senator kay bailey hutchison. mrs. boxer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from california. mrs. boxer: i'm so proud to be here with my colleague, senator mikulski and kay bailey hutchison, because of a woman who brought us all togetr, despite any differences we might have. geraldine ferraro. and so i rise to pay tribute to geri and iant to thank senator mikulski because i felt that her

remarks just touched on every single point that i think needs to be made about our friend. geraldine was a trailblazer. we all remember the first female vice-presidential nominee of a major peat, the first in u.s. history. she cracked open that glass ceiling for women seeking higher office. and it was a long time ago, and i just looked at the associated press, mr. president, had a photo of when geri arrived in san francisco to prepare for her speech at the convention. and i was there waiting for her to arrive, a much version of myself, i might say. and i -- i don't remember what i said or did, but this picture tells a story.

you know that old sailing, a picture says 1,000 words. this one says "a million words." i've never seen anyone as excited as i appear to be and was in this picture. arms opened wide, body language just incredulous that we had reached this milestone, all the while knowing what a tough, tough, tough time it would be. a tough, tough time it would be for geri, as it is for all women, whether they run for u.s. senate, or they run for governor or they run for vice president. it is a tough road still. and especially all these many years ago, more than 20 years ago. geri was give an very hard time by the press. geri was give an very hard time by her 0 opponent. and shee here's what she proved.

she proved without question that women can stand up to the grilling, wen can stand up to the pressure, women can go toe to toe with anybody. you know, i often say, women are equal. we're not better or worse. we're equal. and geri proved it when her campaign took a tough turn and a lot of others would have just tried to contain the problem. she stood there in front of the press and said, here i am. you ask me anything you want. and i will stay here hour after hour, and you knew she meant it. she would have stayed there for days because that was geri. she was open-hearted, she was straight from the shoulder, she always said what was on her mind, and she did it in a way that was also very appealing because you knew this was a woman who was willing to look

you in the eye and not give you any song and dance. i mean, it was what it was. and for that she will be missed as a friend, as a colleague, and it is just difficult today to imagine what it was like then. is now, yonow, you know, we seen figures in the senate and in the president's cabinet and it's hard to imagine a day that women were not actively engaged in the highest of offices and, frankly, that is geraldine ferraro's abiding legacy, because, as senator mikulski so eloquently stated, she didn't win that race. it was a tough race. it was a very tough race. but she proved a woman can do this. and when geri spoke about

change, she felt in her heart the history-making moment. remember her in a white suit. it was as if it was yesterday. and i remember saying, in those years, tv people always said, don't wear white. geri wore white. she was magnificent. and that smile and her togetherness at this moment in history when not only was the whole country watching, the whole world was watching. it was an electric moment. and i want to read what she said -- quote -- "by choosing a woman to run for our nation's second highest office, you sent a powerful signal to all americans, there are no doors we cannot unlock. we will place no limits on our achiements. if we can do this, we can do anything." and those words resonated, not just to people who are interested in politics but to

women who were in the corporate world, to women who were going to law school, just a few in those years. now s many more. wome who just dreamed to go into health care, not as a nurse, although some chose that, and some men do as well, but as physicians. this was something that i truly believe changed. i would ask unanimous csent for five additional minutes and then turn it over to senator hutchison. the presiding officer: without objection. that's going to run up way past ourdjournment time. without objection. mrs. boxer: there was only one geri ferraro so i would go over for five minutes and turn it over to senator hutchison for as ng as she would want. after graduation from college, geri got a job as a school at a public -- teacher as a public school in queens. she applied to fordham law school the law school my sband went to. she was accepted into a night school. despite a warning from an admissions officer that she might be taking a man's place. sheot into law school.

she was one of two women in a class of 179. imagine, they said to her, you will be taking a man's place in law school. she persevered. one of just two women out of 179 students graduating in 1960. yes, she raised her family. she adored her family. there wasn't a second that went by water her saying to one of us anywhere in earshot, i've got to tell you about laura, i've got to tell you about john, i've got to tell you what about my kids are doing. did my colleague want to yield? mr. durbin: i would ask if the senator from california would just yield for a brief statement. mrs. boxer: yes. as long as it won't interrupt my -- mr. durbin: i would ask it be put in a separate place in the record and i will put a written statement in the record because i know senator hutchison is waiting. but i would like to make one or two comments about geraldine fur ar row. first, my image of geraldine ferraro is this young congresswoman from california with her arms outstretched as

she raced toward one another that iconic photograph of the two of you after she won the vice presidential nomination. i'll remember you and her in that context forever. second, it was my honor to serve with her in the house and to count her as a friend. and, third, in this long, long battle that she had, this medical battle, she never failed to remind all ofs that she was, indeed, one of the fortunate ones who had the resources to be able to fight this battle where many people didn't. and i'm going to miss area is dean ferraro. she was -- geraldine ferraro she was a grat woman. -- she was a greatwoman. i ask that my stament be put in the record after senator hutchison. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. boxer boxer: i'm glad you e that statement and i appreciate it very much. when geri worked as an assistant district attorney, she formed a special victim's bureau, investigated way, child and women abuse, abuse against the elderly at a time when no one was talking about it. she was elected to congress. senator mikulski h gone into,

that the work on the women's health equity act. i was proud to work with both senator mikulski and senator ferraro on that and senator snowe and others. i remember that senator mikulski, olympia snowe, geri ferraro and myself, we worked to open up the house gym to women. it was a battle. we had to resort to singing and everything else. we finally got into the house gym. we said, yes, women need to work out too. that was -- that's the way it was then. we only had 24 women in the house and senate. now we have 88 of us. now, i'll skip over her time as a broadcaster and all the things she did that senator mikulski talked about, her work in human rights. but i want to just conclude with her brave, brave, brave spirit as she faced multiple mil my my, the bone cancer that ultimately

took her life. and i want to do it in this context. i have a good friend now whose name is robin, and her mother is battling the same kind of cancer that geri was battling. and as we know, geri was given four or five years and went on, thank god, for much longer. this woman lives far away from her daughter, robin, and when geri passed, she called her and she said, i need to see you. will you come out and stay with me as i battle this cancer? and -- and robin said, wel what is it, mom, you're doing great? and she said, we just lost geri and she was the one who kept my heart and soul together and my spirits up and i knew she was there battling. and now that i've lost her, she said, i've lost her, i don't know, i feel a he, i'm empty. and that just is the most eloquent thing i could say about geri. now, this woman never met geraldine ferraro in person, but geri had that way about her,

that she could reach you as if she was touching you. and it's a tremendous loss, first and foremost for the family, who she adored beyond words, and, secondly, for all the rest of us who just need someone lik that outhere standing up and being brave and telling it like it is and never giving up. mr. president, i just am so honored that i could be here with my colleagues and i'm proud to yield to senator hutchison for as much time as she may consume. ms. mikulski: the time is allocated as five minutes but i know you want to speak. you were a very dear friend and, please, proceed. mrs. hutchison:thank you. thank you senator mulski. thank you, senator without sena. thank you, mr. president. i do want to talk about this remarkable woman because i think that, as has been mentioned before, her loss is being felt

throughout america for many different reasons. she was a trail blazer and she was one of the great female role models of her generatio i wrote a book in 2004 called "american heroines: the spirited women who shaped our country." and it was to profile the women who were the earliest trail blazers in different fields: education, sports, politics, journalism. mrs. hutchison: and then i interviewed contemporary women who were still breaking barriers in those fields. in the public service chapter, i profiled margaret chase smith because she was the longest-serving women elected to the senate in her own right at the time and she was a true trail blazer. i interviewed then sandra day coconnor, our first -- san driveway day o'connor, our first supreme court justice, and

geraldine ferraro, our first woman nominee for vice president of a major party. i asked geri ferraro in her -- in my interview with her, what was your most important trait for success? and she said, i think the ability to work hard and if something doesn't work, to learn from the mistake and move on. that's what's happened with my own life. it goes to the personal side, she said, "from watching my mother who moved on after becoming a widow with two kids to support. she was 39 years old. then i watched her move on and do whatever was necessary to get the job done of educating her children. i'm exactly the same way. i'll do whatever is necessary to get the job done, whatever it is. then if i do something that doesn't work, i go on to the next goal." i asked her what was her biggest obstacle. she almost laughed. she said, i'm 68. the obstacles in my life hav

changed with time. an obstacle when i was a kid was being in boarding school, away from my mother, because my father had died. i had no choice. it wasn't like the boarding schools or the prep schools of today. it was in a semi-cloistered convent. it was lonely and i had to work hard. i wanted to go to college but we didn't have the money for college so i knew i had to get top marks in order to get a scholarship. that was my obstacle then. money was always an obstacle, she said. i taught when i went to law school at night because i couldn't afford to go during the day. when she applied for law school, she said, "they would say things to her like, geri, are you serious? you're taking a man's place. you know?" and then after getting out of law school, as was mentioned rlier, she was only -- one of only two women in her class, she got out of law school and she

was faced with the challenge of trying to get a job. but she said, "i interviewed at five law firms. i was in the top 10% of my cla class." but she didn't get a job offer. well, i related to that because i graduated from law school after her in 1967 and law firms in texas didn't hire women then either. so i know how she felt as she went through obstacle and obstacles and obstacles. but she said, "you know, in the end, each thing was an obstacle that i had to get by at theime but i didn't have too many obstacles," because she just picked herself up and kept right on going. she truly was an inspiration and a trail blazer for women of our time. throughout her life, as a public school teacher, as an assistant

district attorney, as a congresswoman and candidate for vice president, geri ferraro fought for the causes that were important to her. and when she learned that she had multiple myeloma, a somewhat rare blood disease that is incurable, she drew upon that same fightinsame -- same fighting sp. as she waged the battle with her own disease, geri stepped into the spotlight because she knew that if she talked about it with her high profile, that she could bring help to others. her testimony before congress was instrumental in the passage of a bill that senator mikulski, who is on the floor leading this effort today, and i cosponsored together in 2001 and 2002. our legislation gave the research community the tools they need to discover what triggers these deadly blood diseases, to devise better

treatments and to work toward a cure. in our bill, barbara and i decided to name "the geraldine ferraro blood cancer education program" for geri ferraro, to raise the awareness and spread the lifesaving infortion about myeloma, leukemia and other forms of blood cancer. geri ferraro was on the floor of the house when her bill, our bill passed the house of representatives on april 30 of 2002. her daughter w in the gallery with my staffer and there was so much joy in her eyes and her demeanor. by then, geri ferraro went about the business of fashioning the education program. she consulted with the doctors at harvard, at dana farber, dr. ken anderson, her doctor,

consulted with him because she wanted an interactive web site because she knew that doctors all over the country were searching for information on treatment on this disease because they were so unaware at the time of what you could do to help patients. well, this is personal to me because my brother, allen, also has multiple myeloma, and i got involved in this because i watched him bravely fight like geri ferraro is doing -- was doing. and my brother is a great patient. he is --e's tough like geri, he's fighting like geri and he's doing really well. but we knew how hard it was because we watched allen fight this disease and take many of the same drugs and have the same doctor consultations as geri.

so geri and allen knew each other and traded information, and the patients in these blood diseases do that. they reach out, they help each other because they know that it's the person with the experience who knows how you feel when you just don't feel like you can get up in the morning. people like kathy justey, who was also a good friend of geri ferraro's, and ken anderson's. they traded information and it helped all of them to know that they had that kind of support. so she w annspiration and her dignity and great in fighting multiple myeloma will be one of her trademarks in her life, along with the other great trailblazing things that she has done. just last month, the women of the senate pulled together to return the encragement. we knew that geri was having a hard time and we took a picture of the women of the senate and

we all signed it around the edges and we sent it to her and we said, thanks for being our champion, thanks for all you do for the women of our country. and geri was not just a champion for women running for public office ssm she was a -- office. she was a champion for women to succeed in every sector. she took the first powerful swing at the glass ceiling. she won't be here to see the woman president who is sworn into office who will finish the breaking of that glass ceiling, but we will all be standing on the shoulders of bette geri fero and that first woman president will bas well. she took the first steps like so many of the early trail blazers in all of the different sectors. the first ones don't see their success, but what they do by

showing the dignity and crage and the tenacity and the grace does prepare the way for the next generation or the next woman to move to the next level. and that's what geri ferraro has done for all the women of our country. i will always remember her friendship. i will appreciate her leadership and we will all miss her on a personal level, but we will always remember in the bigger picture what she did for this country. thank you, mr. president. thank you, senator mikulski. and i yield the floor. ms. mikulski: i yield the floor to senator snowe. the priding officer: the senator from maine. ms. snowe: thank you. i want to thank our senior senator from the state of

maryland for organizing this tribute to our dear friend, geraldine ferraro and the eloquent comments from the senator from texas as well. i' pleased today to be able to join in this tribute with my good friends a colleagues. senator barbara mikulski and senator barbara boxer, as well, of california. and as i look back in our time ace began my service in the u.s. house of representatives, i can't help but think today we're standing here honoring a come paacompatriot at that time, a political torch bearer, geraldine ferraro after a brave battle with cancer. as many will hear in this senate many times over, geraldine was a pioneering champion and a

dynamic force for women's rights, a colleague of all three of us in the u.s. housof representatives, and always a dear frid through more than three decades. as america's first female vice presidential nominee for a major party, geraldine has forever secure a legendary position along the timeline of american political history as walter mondale selected her as his running mate in the 1984 presidential election. while america was learning about gelraldine on the national stag, as you will recall, senator mikulski and senator boxer knew her as a legislative sister in arms. as we served together in the u.s. house of representatives and geraldine and i were members of the same house freshman class that began service in january of 1979. at that time, unbelievably, brought the total number women

serving in the 96 congress to 16. and all four of us, as you'll recall, madam president, fought the myriad causes. most especiallyhose affecting america's women. looking back at that time, i take enormous pride, as i know both senators mikulski and boxer do, we spoke as women first, not as republicans or democrats. that women's issues transcended partisan lines for us. the fact was that we couldn't afford to draw partisan lines for women underrepresented in congress and that drove our agenda, the bipartisan congressional caucus for women's issues, which i happened to co-chair for more than 10 years in the house of representatives, along with the co-chair of thing on woman pat schroeder from colorado. our adherence to working together and the ideal of principle over politics became our foundation. we determined if we didn't act, who would. and we started to make a difference for women and not a

mome too soon. because there was a time in america where federal laws were systemically working against women, discriminating against women as women were assuming more of a role not only at home, but also in the workplace. and the federal laws did not reflect the dual responsibilities of those roles as women were assuming more and more obligations in the workplace. well, we weren't going to accept the status quo any longer. and certainly geld dean was not -- geraldine was not to count the notion, that's just the way it is. to the contrary, we began to confront those disparities, introduced a package of laws known as the women economic equity act that addressed a litany of issues that called for a study of government pay practices, sought to have equal credit for women in business ventures and battled with geraldine who led the effort to

end the war on pension, that discovered unbeknownst to them they were left with no pension benefits. they wouldn't be notified until thaifer husband's death -- after their husband's death that without their knowledge that it had been canceled prior to their death. a group of women legislators, not come priced -- no one pressed for remedys to right these wrongs with more skill than geraldine ferraro. she was a bulwark against injustice and a cherished champion for fairness in america where women were increasing their roles in american life and their presee in the u.s. workplace and the economy. on a personal note i can't help but think part of our mutual bond is that which i came from similar backgrounds much our families immigrated to this great land.

our heritages spoke to the american dream where anything is possible andhe only limiting out of those that u place on yourself. indeed "the new york times" mentions how geraldine's mother crocheted beads to send her to the best schools. my mother worked in the textile mills to sen sure that my sus -- to ensure that my cousins and i received a good education. we shared a determination to make a lasting difference for women and working families and a focushat surrounded politics and party be labels. more tn 30 years later geraldine's legacy lives on through the 74 women serving the other body today compared to the 16 when we first entered the u.s. house of representatives. -- u.s. house of representatives where the presiding officer was serving in

the u.s. house of representatives even before our time in 1978 as well as the 17 women who are now in the united states senate. in fact, back in 1979, there was only oneoman serving in the united states senate at that time. in closing, i can't help but recall the great lady aster who served in the british house of parliament. she took her seat in that distinguished body, a member of parliament turned to her and said, welcome to the most exclusive men's club in europe. demonstrating the poxy truly a hallmark of geraldine ferraro, she responded, it woun't be exclusive for long. when i came in, i left the door wide open. that's precisely what geraldine ferraro did. she articulated that it's not enough to break old barriers and chart a new course, you have tone sure that others are able to traverse it as well.

geraldine spent a lifetime making certain that the path she helped pave was available and accessible to every woman with the courage and will to travel. and so today it's a privilege for me to extol this remarkable woman whose indelible imprint on e public and policy arenas will be felt for generations to come. our thoughts and prayers remain with her husband of 50 years as ll as her chain and her eight -- children and eight grandchildren. i well recall our many conversation that's we had in our early service in the house of representatives and how she adored her husband and family. also a reminder that she was very much a woman ahead of her time having a legal profession, raising a family, and then entering the political arena and then making sure those doors were thrown open for all women in america fighting for the

discriminatory practices that were, you know, prevalent at the time in the workplace and certainly even in federal law. and i aays like to point out to younger generation of wom that it wasn't so long ago that there were so many federal laws in place that served as bearsiers and impediments to growth in the workplace, growth in education, and the ability to compete on an equal level. geraldine helped to serve to break those barriers without question and left a remarkable legacy that will resonate for generations. so, madam president, thank you, for offering us this opportunity to pay tribute and to honor this woman who always forever he a place in history, one with whom she shared fortunately a friendship and memorieshat will last a lifetime. madam president, i yield the floor. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the

senator from new hampshire. mrs. shaheen: madam president, i know we are about to close the senate, but i wanted to take a minute or two to add my voice to all of the women in the senate to have been here today and thank you for your leadership in encouraging us to honor geraldine pe ferraro. i remember being on the flo of the 1984 democratic convention when she gave her speech for vice president of the united states. and t -- it was electric, listening to her epitomized for me and i'm sure for every woman there the fact that women could do anything. and geraldine ferraro worked tirelessly on behalf of women's rights and human rights around the globe. she dedicated her ideals to respect and equality and she lived a career that called all

women to challenge the glass ceilings of the world. just because one woman breaks the glass ceiling, it doesn't mean that opportunities are open to every woman. and she understood that and continued to encourage all of the ceilings across the world be broken for women. her life was a powerful example for all of us here who are honoring her today and for our daughters and granddaughters. we thank her for leading the way. she will be >> in his weekly address, the president addressed energy policy.

john boehner give the response. >> hello, everybody. i'm speaking to you today from a ups customer center in landover, maryland, where i came to talk about an issue that's affecting families and businesses just like this one the rising price of gas, and what we can do as a country to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. this week, i released a blueprint for a secure energy future. it's a strategy to reduce the oil we import from around the world, and to make our economy stronger at home. part of this strategy involves increasing our oil exploration right here in america. in fact, our oil production last year reached its highest level since 2003, and we want to encourage more safe, responsible drilling where we can. but the truth is, drilling alone is not a real strategy to replace our dependence on foreign oil. and that's because even though america uses 25 percent of the world's oil, we currently have only about 2 percent of the world's oil reserves.

even if we used every last drop of all the oil we have, it wouldn't be enough to meet our long-term energy needs. so, real energy security can only come if we find ways to use less oil if we invest in cleaner fuels and greater efficiency. that's what we've been doing since i took office. for example, we secured an agreement from all the major auto companies to raise the fuel efficiency of their cars and trucks. so if you buy a new car, the better gas mileage is going to save you about $3,000. altogether, this will save us about 1.8 billion barrels of oil as a country. we need to build on this progress. as we make our cars and trucks more efficient, we've got to harness new technologies to fuel our vehicles with everything from biofuels to natural gas to advanced batteries. and the good news is, these technologies aren't science fiction anymore. they exist today. already, american car companies

are producing electric vehicles that use little or no gas. and innovators across america are testing new products that hold incredible promise not just for new vehicles, but for countless new jobs. to help jumpstart this market, the federal government has doubled the number of clean energy vehicles that we have in our fleet. in the next few years, we're going to switch the entire fleet over. and i'm here at ups because it's not just the government getting in on the action. companies like ups, fedex, at&t, verizon, and pepsico firms with some of the largest fleets in the country are switching to more efficient vehicles. and through our clean fleets partnership, driven not by government, but by business, more companies are going to be switching to electric and alternative vehicles, too not out of the goodness of their hearts, but because it's good for their bottom lines. the goal is simple. when i was elected to this office, america imported 11 million barrels of oil a day.

through these and other steps, by a little more than a decade from now, we will have cut that by one third. and by doing so, we're going to make our economy less vulnerable to wild swings in oil prices. we're going to use cleaner sources of energy that don't imperil our climate. and we're going to spark new products and businesses all over the country by tapping america's greatest renewable resource: our ingenuity. we know how important that is. this week, we learned that the economy added 230,000 private sector jobs last month. that makes 1.8 million private sector jobs created in the last thirteen months. that's a good sign. but we have to keep up the momentum, and transitioning to a clean energy economy will help us do that. it will ensure that the united states of america is home to the jobs and industries of tomorrow. that's how we'll win the future. and that's how we'll leave our children an america that is more secure and prosperous than

before. thanks, and have a great weekend. >> hello, i'm john boehner. before i had the honor of representing the people of ohio's 8th congressional district, i ran a small business back in west chester, ohio. small businesses are the engine of job creation in america: they actually create jobs, the government doesn't. that's why i ran for congress -- to do my part to get government out of the way of american prosperity. despite some recent signs of life, our economy still isn't creating enough jobs. and one of the reasons for that is the spending binge that's been going on in washington. washington's inability to get spending under control is creating uncertainty for our job creators. it's discouraging investment in small businesses, and eroding confidence in our economy. to put it simply, the spending binge in washington is holding our country back and keeping our economy from creating jobs.

last year, when the president tried to put forward another big-spending budget on top of his stimulus, americans rose up and demanded we stop the spending binge and start working together to create a better environment for job creation. they put a new majority in charge of the house with clear orders: crash the spending party in washington so our economy can get back to creating jobs. we've made some early progress. this year, the federal government will spend at least $51 billion less than it would have if the president had gotten his way. and because we've kept the pressure on, democrats in the white house and the senate are being forced to talk about a bill that would cut tens of billions more. over the next decade, the savings will be hundreds of billions of dollars. this is nowhere near enough, but it's a clear change in direction. now, you've heard democratic leaders claim an agreement has been reached on this issue, but let me be clear. there is no agreement. republicans continue to fight

for the largest spending cuts possible to help end washington's job-crushing spending binge. to support job creation in america, we need to keep the cuts coming, and we need to do much, much more. that's why it's important for congress to get moving and pass a final bill that resolves last year's budget mess while making real spending cuts, so we can tackle the bigger challenges facing job creation. one of those challenges is stopping the $1.5 trillion tax hike the president called for in his budget for next year. this tax hike will affect every family and small business in america, and it will destroy jobs. the president has also asked congress to increase the national debt limit -- without any commitment to stopping the runaway spending that got us into this mess in the first place. if the president gets his wish, it would send the signal that america has no plan to deal with her spending illness -- and that's going to have the effect, again, of destroying more american jobs. we also need to address all the red tape and regulations that

are making it harder to create jobs and driving up the cost of health care and energy. to put america on a path to prosperity, we need to remove regulatory obstacles to job growth, expand american energy production, end the threat of tax hikes, approve stalled trade agreements that would open new markets, and get government spending under control once and for all. these are the pillars of the republican plan to help get our economy back to creating jobs, and this is the focus of our new majority in the house. thanks for listening, and have a great weekend. >> and next, a discussion on the state of the u.s. economy, then the annual congressional correspondents dinner. after that, attributes to the late geraldine ferraro. >> one of the differences between a deputy mayor and a

mayor is that i could say pretty much whatever i wanted as a mayor and the only person who got in trouble was me. >> he spent eight years as mayor of indianapolis. today he has a boss, michael bloomberg, and a different job description. >> i need to make tax dollars go little farther and prove that great large cities still have a vibrant future. >> and united 8:00 on c-span. -- sunday night at 8:00 on c- span. >> now discussion on the state of the economy. st: gregory ip of the " economist" joins us. 8.8% is the unemployment figure. what does that mean for people who does understand it guest:

this is the rare month when all the numbers were good numbers. it is still picking up momentum. to give you some perspective, which created about 216,000 non- farm jobs, combined with february, is the most since 2006. the recession has been over for over a year-and-a-half and we're still struggling to create jobs. it is taken this long to pick up momentum but the memorandum is there. on the unemployment rate, it is a mystery on why it is falling as fast as it is. it is great news for president barack obama. it's been making great deal about that. but when you look into the numbers, it is to -- it is hard to see why it is fallen as fast as it has. host: there is the factor that those who are actually looking for jobs, and those toward given

up. guest: some said they did only job because those who were looking gave up the hunt. so they are no longer counted as unemployed. but that is the same what to be going on. discouraged workers is also going done. a lot of people who otherwise would have been working have dropped out of the altogether. perhaps they retire early or they have gone back to school. host: one of the questions we ask, how many jobs created are directed -- are part of the stimulus? guest: it is impossible to disentangle jobs created by stimulus with everything else going on. the neutral people have looked at this and said that the number could be from 1 million to 3 million. i think there's probably no doubt that if we did not have a stimulus program, unemployment would have been lower and the

fact that we did have that tax deal between the republicans in congress and the administration the december, which not only renewed the bush tax cuts, but also implemented several more, a reduction in the payroll tax, that did help maintain some momentum. host: for the jobs created private industry? guest: they were indeed. in fact, government employment declined. that is no surprise if you have been looking at the headlines you see how much stress their ban on state finances. very high-profile confrontation in wisconsin, over the cost of maintaining those large civil service payrolls. host: talk about the perspective of someone doing the hiring. why are they bringing more people into the fold? guest: one of the mysteries of this recovery -- not really a mystery, but one of the this -- difficult aspects is that we see things like profit and

investment growing in the last year-and-a-half. for corporate america, this is been a very strong v-shaped recovery. but for long, that kind of good news has not filtered down to the man on the street. companies want to be convinced that the recovery was for real. they've had so many setbacks, not just the extent of financial crisis in this country, there were problems in europe and rising oil prices. there's a natural caution on the part of businesses to go back hiring. and they have been able to meet their increased sales by higher productivity, taking the workers that they had in getting them to work harder and smarter. what we have seen is that we are overcoming that caution because employers believe that the recovery is for real. and they have tapped out all of the improvements that can make with their current technology in terms of raising the productivity of their current

work force. host: with the specifics and jobs, 78,000 were in the professional business category. guest: they could be accountants and lawyers. but lately they have been in temporary staffing services. these are people to cut the work on a contract basis for a few weeks. that is seen as an encouraging sign. employers come up with their feeling more optimistic but not quite ready to commit to a permanent hire, they will hire a temporary staffer. that is a leading indicator of more permanent job growth. host: sell 40,000 created in the hospitality field. how does this show how consumers are spending their money? guest: they would be working in the entertainment industry, hotels, restaurants, people feeling more confident about

going out to take the family out to dinner. to go to disney world, better this year than a year to ago, when people were trying to watch their pennies. host: gregory ip will be with us to talk about the economy and what it is doing with jobs. if you want to ask a question, the telephone numbers are below. there is also e-mail and twitter. greg how does that shade with the economy and do if the government does go into shutdown mode? guest: most of the people who watch this note that politics tends to be rough-and-tumble, a lot of rhetoric and posturing.

we have had shuts down before. it is not like in a country their runs out of money like greece and the government cannot pay people because no one will lend it money. it is one of the aspects of our political system. you don't expect there to be panic in the markets, but it is a big inconvenience for businesses that does business with the federal government, a big inconvenience for any business that relies on the customs service are anything related to the regulatory agency to get things done. it sends a negative message about how organized and coherent our politics are and whether they see congress and the administration deadlocked on how handle our budget. it erodes people's confidence in our government. host: some political perspective -- here is john boehner on what he talked about in the areas of job creation in spending. >> they claim an agreement has

been reached on this issue, but let me be clear -- there is no agreement. republicans continue to fight for the large spending cuts possible to help and washington's job crushing spending bids. we need to keep the cuts coming and we need to do much more. host: how that plays out in those doing the hiring and those making these kind of decisions? guest: an interesting debate in washington is cutting our way back to prosperity. we've heard that you need stimulus, lower taxes, more spending to spur demand and create jobs. the republican leadership is making the opposite point. you need to cut government spending to reassert businesses that they will not be hit with crippling taxes and they will give them confidence. this can go both ways. there are countries where we see

in your, they got into serious debt problems. in order to get out of them, if they actually submitted to a program of its pending cuts, it did help restore confidence. it brought down interest rates the economy to grow faster. however, is not necessarily clear that this lesson applies to the united states. in those countries, the debt levels were much higher, over one under% of the gdp. the united states is around 60% or 80%. interest rates was still high because people were nervous about the ability of the government to pay back its debt. has the government undertook austerity, interest rates came down and that boosted private demand and private investment. here in the united states, the interest rate is at 0%. it would be very difficult to get any boost from that side no matter how much spending cuts we did. and the other thing is that

those countries were able to export their way back to prosperity. as they cut spending, their exports boomed. it is hard for the united states to do that. we are just too big. the rest of the world cannot buy enough of our stuff. host: there is a story in the paper about inflation. that might drive up of a sharp increase as far as interest rates. guest: as you know, the federal reserve is made up of 17 policy makers, reserve bank presidents, governors, and there is a debate about inflation. this is made up of the hawkish wing of the fed. u.s. oil and food prices moving up, the overall rate of inflation will go over 2%, at time when not only is the short- term interest rate at 0% but they have spent trillions of dollars buying up government

bonds. they are afraid that that creates of future inflation problem. but you also have people like the president of the new york federal reserve bank to said yesterday that the economy, notwithstanding good news on jobs, is still a long way from either full employment or even having the inflation problem. if you strip out food and energy, underlying inflation is only around 1%. and even though jobs grew, the amount of paid the workers get did not rise at all. in fact it was flat. it is only around 1.5%, only half of what it was before the recession. host: michigan, david on the republican line. caller: i am thinking that is the same as it was last year, the jobs grew at the time because of the government mailing everybody at check for

tax returns, and how much stimulus that will provide for the short term. and then we will see in the summer time that the jobs will diminish again. they will fall back into this cycle. guest: it raises a good point. we have had so much stimulus and the last two years, we worry about that stimulus winding down, do we lose the incremental impulse that supports job demand in creation of a mother to let her come up those jobs petered out and it could have fallen back into recession. there were reasons for that saucepot. you had a crisis break out in europe over the debt problems, and the final stages of stimulus were winding down. what happened last december, they decided to wind it up

again. that might be one thing keeping the economy going in the current year. one of the notes of caution we have to sound is that you see in washington the whole fiscal apparatus moving from stimuluses to tightening. so we will not have that area of support again and we need to keep our eyes on january 1 next year were a lot of measures passed last year expire. i think that private economy will have another vigorou to it that we can withstand the withdrawal of stimulus. host: off of twitter -- guest: that is certainly po ssible. we have to remember that when castling shot over $4 a gallon in 2008, that was definitely a big hit to the economy.

i am not worried at this moment. one of the reasons the price of gasoline is going up is because of the turmoil in the middle east partly. but another reason is that the rest of world is growing healthily. india and china, countries that never had a recession to speak of, growing at 6% and 8%. we live in a global economy. commodities reflect global demand and that helps the u.s. as well. exports of very strong in this recovery. one of the reasons is because the rest of the world is strong. that adds a positive offset to the it to purchasing power we are experiencing because of the high gasoline prices. host: the president wants to double exports. is that feasible? guest: it is never happened in the past without artificial help

from the inflation. we are not exporting more stuff, the price was just going up. . >> first went to say, in 2008, we had a 13 trillion dollar debt. i do not understand how, even

understanding we are growing, and the unemployment rate has come down, i just do not understand why people are so critical. kind of interesting. people see high unemployment and record deficit and there's a lot of debate which caused which. the fact of the matter are both are the consequence of an extremely weak economy. when the recession hit it blew a big hole in our tax base. that's the reason we have such a large deficit. and part of the debate we were just talk about a minute ago is whether that deficit and the prospect of the tax that is may are to be raised is one of the factors holding the recovery back. certainly that's the argument the republicans in congress, and there's no sure answer about this. but if we had tried to balance the budget when this recession hit, it would have been devastating for the economy. what we essentially had is while the financial markets

froze up, the private sector couldn't or didn't want to borrow. and if everybody had stopped borrowing at once then demand would have collapsed. so the federal government had to step in and the be consumer of last resort. the question now is whether they can withdraw from that role at a sted demand. it depends on how it's done but the version that i've heard them talking about are so rigid that it would be very difficult to still give the economy the kind of necessary support that happens in a recession. if you think about what happens in the business cycle, as things are getting good, taxes increase and that naturally reduces the deficit. and when you go into a recession taxes decline and you spend more on unemployment insurance, medicaid and food

stamps adged these are helpful stabilize torse the economy. they take some of the edge off the weakness of the economy. if the government were forced at every time tax revenues if he will by $1, they would end up aggravating and the recession would be deeper. you see that happening at state levels right now. all the states have balanced budget requirements. and that has been one of the major dampeners on the economy as we were saying a minute ago. you see state and local employment declining for a while now. that's been a major drag on the economy. so what you want is the discipline that's needed to balance the budget over the full cycle. the problem we've been having is that it's not that we run deficits in recessions. it's that we run deficits during the expang that follow. is that our leaders just cannot seem to stir up the courage and discipline needed to say, all right, the emergency is passed. now is the time to cut spending or raise taxes.

host: next call is michigan on our independent line. daniel. caller: good morning, gentlemen. i just wanted to point out a phenomenon that happens every year at this time. and the unemployment goes down. history shows us that once the weather starts to warm landscapers, people that work at amusement parks, summer jobs are starting to be created because these places are gearing up for the u.s. so every year, -- summertime. so every year the unemployment goes down at this time. it's nothing unusual. it happens. i was in the business myself as a seasonal worker. so i think cheering on the president and the economy at this time for this reason is irresponsible. guest: so he's right that you do have a lot of parts of the economy pick up as the weather gets warmer. people can build more houses, there's more tourism related

business. however, the bureau of labor statistics are aware of this. so what they do is something called seasonal adjustment. they take the numbers and adjust them up or down depending on what are the normal patterns. so the number that we actually talk about, the 8.8% are stripped of those seasonal effects. so this is not some predictable calendar effect. there really is something good happening with our job market. host: as far as numbers are concerned, guest: i don't exactly know how they come wup that. i know we've been asking people about their work situation. there's quite a few definitions. to be considered unemployed by the government's deffsnigs, not only do you have to be out of work touf look for work in the two-week period when they phoned you up and asked you. so it is quite possible that you are unemployed but would like to work and took a few weeks off and therefore b