>> this is the press club in washington were after gary sinise will be announcing a foundation aimed at helping veterans and first responders and their families. you also talk about his award winning documentary "the band."nant dan va >> good afternoon and welcome to the national press club. i'm a broadcast journalist with the associated press and the 104th president of the national press club. we are the world's leading organization for journalists and we're committed through our programming and events such as lists to foster free press worldwide. -- such as this to foster free

press worldwide. we welcome you to our website. on behalf of our members worldwide kollhoff i would like to -- worldwide, i would like to welcome our guests to be speaking today. if you hear applause in the audience today, we would like to note that members of the general public are attending today. it is not necessarily of a lack of journalistic objectivity. [laughter] i would also like to welcome our audience on c-span and public radio. we have weekly podcast available for free down -- download on itunes and you can also follow us on twitter. after our guests, we'll have q&a and we will ask as many questions as time permits. i would ask the guests to stand up briefly as your name is announced first, the vice

chairman of our and pc board of governors, a senior riegle -- writer with congressional quarterly. kendeigh vice president and assistant to the president of the uso. an editor with the washington post. the ceo of the disabled american veterans organization, the co-founder of the veterans like memorial foundation and is a guest speaker today. it reporter for usa today and also a past npc president. the president and ceo of people to people international, and the granddaughter of dwight eisenhower and guest of mr. denise. -- mr. sinise. or speaking -- speaker committee chair is doing a fabulous job today. she organized this event.

we will skip over our guest speaker for a moment. we have a news contributor from the daily beast. the research director for cnn. producer/director of "the lieutenant banvanzandt." -- the lieutenant dan band. now a round of applause. [applause] our guest speaker today is widely recognized for his humanitarian work on behalf of u.s. military troops and he is an award winning actor. he now plays a detective, the start of the -- star of a cbs series. he has been in a number of

collaborations with tom hanks. it is worth noting that he played a president in a television movie "truman," that particular president as a matter of fact. the former governor, george wallace as well. it was his academy award winning role in the movie "forest gump " " that has endeared him to many fans. he plays lieutenant dan and is still known to many as lt. dan. he is here to announce the launch of a national organization, the foundation to support military service members, veterans, offers responders and their families. and it is a culmination of years of support for u.s. service members and their families.

he has served as a host for national memorial day concert on the washington mall, and has made more than 40 uso tours and over 150 appearances to entertain our troops at military bases worldwide from iraq to afghanistan to guantanamo bay. most often, he travels with his group, which you have heard about. the cookies on the table are a tribute to that. they are the focus of a feature- length documentary that chronicles the band travels to entertain the troops. they have a website. they are doing a launch very soon where people can watch that. kfar the proceeds will benefit the gary sinise foundation. while dismissing the speculation that he is running for political office -- [laughter] but we might follow up on that today. our guest has been an outspoken critic of bureaucracy and red tape that often delays and prevents service members and veterans from getting care and benefits.

he has said the nation is not doing enough to help disabled veterans and u.s. troops wounded in iraq and afghanistan. he has called on the government to -- and the private sector to spend more on victims of posttraumatic stress disorder and get them some help. he is a star who moonlights as a soldier's advocate. our speaker has questioned his own industry at times while producing films our -- producing films that portray our troops- w in a negative light. in a film about soldiers on the front lines in iraq and among his many awards and honors, he is a recipient of the presidential award of freedom, one of only two actors to get that and 110 people in our nation's history. he also received the medal of honor bob hope excellence in

entertainment award and the harry s. truman good neighbor award. as co-founder of operation international children, he has provided school supplies to hundreds of thousands of children were u.s. troops are deployed. here today to discuss his plans to help veterans and fallen soldiers as well as their families, please welcome mr. gary sinise. [applause] >> thank you. i can cut my speech short out. [laughter] i would like to thank the members of the national press club to -- for the invitation to speak today. it is a great honor to return. having first have the opportunity as the national spokesperson for the disabled

veterans for life memorial foundation and again in support of the documentary "brothers at war." when i think of the people who have stood at the spot, our national heroes, great figures of history, prime ministers, presidents, an actor from "csi new york." friday night, 9:00 p.m. [laughter] it is my shameless plug for the show. not that there is anything wrong with being an actor, of course, but my being here today does demonstrate how those of you in our national press corps and brought attention to the world around us, eager to hear from all manner of people with differing points of view, and that is good for america. thank you again. i would like to of knowledge a few people here today. last night, the press club have the opportunity to screen a

documentary film about my band, our troops, first responders, and many wonderful people who support them. as of july 4, the award winning documentary will be available online at ltdanbandmovie.com for only $4 and generously, one out of work -- $1 out of every $4 and if will go to the foundation. [applause] i want to thank the director jonathan flora and his wife and producer, deborah. i[applause] un your team have worked very hard and i wish you all the best with the film. -- you and your team out of free hard and i wish you all the best with the film.

i am proud of it. congratulations with the july 4 launch. if what i need each are in the course for my new foundation, it takes all hands on deck to keep the engine running and the ship steaming ahead. this mission could not be accomplished without the support of a fantastic team. some of them are here today and i want to say thank you to stacey will, then robyn, eric matthews, and especially judy otter, and has worked round-the- clock to make the launch of the foundation for a success. thank you all. [applause] i am also thrilled to have one of the foundations founded to reader -- contributors here today, tony. he is a good friend and also executive producer of "lieutenant dan band: for the common good.

he has given us tremendous supporter of the years and he is here today. thank you, buddy. [applause] i would also like to acknowledge two friends, mary eisenhower and art wilson. i have had the privilege of working with both people international and disabled american veterans for many years and i am honored to have you both here today. thank you for coming. [applause] as i confess, i am an actor. i have been blessed to -- with good fortune that my career has been lifted to a level some recognition. i can gauge the interest and energy of a number of people. growing up in a working-class home in chicago, i have learned and have tried to live up to the common grief -- common virtues that my grandparents and parents based their lives on,

hard work, honesty in all things, fairness, generosity, and above all the love of this great america that have bless them with the freedom to say what they would and choose as they wished. and like so many of my generation for many years, i more or less to of the freedom for granted. until santa maria blevins, 2001. -- until 9/11, 2001. it was a bright, sunny morning and images from ground -- ground zero assaultive me. i suddenly understood how vulnerable our great and powerful country truly is. as i came to understand the dark forces loose in the world, i have a new appreciation for why my folks and their folks greeted every day in america as a new beginning. they did not take it for

granted. and now, nor could i. i wanted, needed, of role in helping to face this new national challenge. as i watched our military response and saw our young men and women able to bear the most extreme hardship, even to the most final personal sacrifice, my heart was with them. having veterans in my family and having worked with veterans groups on and off over the years, i knew they were where i wanted to put my efforts to employ such recognition has i had to devote much time and treasurer to their well-being. and so, i was called to greater action. and that journey has enriched my life beyond anything i ever could have imagined.

i had intended to give, but in i have received more than anything i've brought to this. like the actors my father and uncles admired during their military service, i volunteered for the uso, is anxious to help the military personnel and their families know that they would not receive the lack of support that awaited our veterans returning from vietnam. it began by visiting the war zone, offering moral support, shaking hands, autographs, taking pictures. but soon, i was visiting the wounded in our military hospitals and then entertain the military in both the u.s. and abroad. and over the years through this work, i have met extraordinary people. they have inspired me with their

courage and perseverance to get through, no matter what it takes, the worst of times. like my dear friend former marine and retired firefighter john viggiano, who on that terrible day lost his two sons when the towers fell. one of them, john jr., a firefighter, and the other, joe, a police officer. it was on my first trip to iraq in june of 2003 that john and i met the king -- and became fast friends. he introduced me to many of new york's bravest at the fdny who have inspired me with their selflessness, their brotherhood , and their willingness to help others. i am proud to have played a part in the building of the brooklyn wall of remembrances, which

honors all first responders killed at the world trade center on 9/11, and i am privileged to support their fire family transport foundation. there are some of my most special friends. in november, 2003, i made my second uso a trip to iraq, and while i was there i visited a school where u.s. troops interacted with the local children. the troops had completely refurbished the school and were so protective of the children there. this was an inspiration. as soon as i returned i reached -- as soon as i return, i went to my own children school and suggested we put supplies together for distribution to the iraqi schools. what started as a grass-roots effort became a permanent institution in 2004 when i co- founded operation iraqi children with the off -- with the author of "sea biscuit" and

most recently, "unbroken," lorez gillibrand. -- laura hillibrand and others. we have delivered more than half a million toys, school kids, backpacks, pairs of shoes, arab land -- arabic language books, and sets of sports equipment, all of which have been distributed by our troops to the children in the conflict areas of iraq, afghanistan, djibouti, and the philippines. [applause] after hurricane katrina hit the gulf coast, operation international children established the oic katrina

relief fund, sending school supplies to the affected area. and through our military, we are now reaching out to the children in need all over the world, most recently taking part in a military humanitarian relief effort in haiti. it is my hope that with the help of oic's who was partner, the newly established gary sinise foundation, if this effort can be expanded to support our troops wherever they need assistance in their humanitarian mission. during the early handshake stores to iraq, germany, and italy, i realized my next logical step. i persuaded the uso to let me take a group of musicians i played with on a tour, so i would not only been beading and visiting with the troops, but entertaining as well purify -- meeting and visiting with the troops, but entertain them as well. forever i meant fogh -- went on these early trips i would troops

that did not know me as gary sinise, but as lieutenant dan. [laughter] along with my fellow musician, kimo williams, i formed the lieutenant dan band. and we took our first concert tour to korea and singapore and diego. we have also done concert in alaska, germany, belgium, the u.k., the netherlands, italy, okinawa, guantanamo bay and afghanistan, as well as dozens of bases all over the u.s. over 40 concert tours in all. i have been on a handshake tours to iraq, kuwait, qatar, germany, italy and i have also had the privilege of the support of hundreds of organizations through appearances with and

without the band, all in support of our men and women in uniform and organizations that support them. but as i said, whenever i gave, i was more than amply repaid. i have been allowed to be a part of our amazing military community, to share in their camaraderie. -- in their camaraderie, and their daily lives, to see these people -- in so many ways the best of us -- a close and personal. as often as i can i visit the wounded here at home and overseas. at each of these visits i am struck by the humility of the young men and women receiving treatment, their courage and determination, their acceptance, and their dedication to our country and their fellow warriors. lending a hand to these brave men and women is truly one of the most rewarding things that anyone can do.

and for all they do and all they have sacrificed, they do not ask much in return. knowing that they are not forgotten and that their sacrifice is appreciated makes a world of difference. the first, and in some ways, hardest obstacle to being of use is coming to terms with the enormity of the need. for example, in partnership with the stephen siller tunnel towers foundation, the gary sinise foundation is helping to build specially designed homes for three severely wounded service members who have survived, losing both arms and both legs. the first surviving quadruple amputee is iraq war veteran brendan morocco. the fund-raising effort to build his home began last year with a lieutenant dan band concert in

s.i. and i am happy to say that all the money was eventually raised, and the first of these smart homes has been completed and brandon will be moving in soon. if [applause] i saw crandon at the house yesterday and his spirits are high. he is an amazing young man. funding for the second home began with a concert in st. louis on may 27. and we will begin raising money for the third home at a concert in illinois on july 16. these courageous individuals have given so much and it is a good feeling to know there is something we can give back to them.

they inspire me beyond words. often but as -- but as i said, the enormity of the need is great and there are many who need our help. i am also a privilege to support and now serve on the board of snow ball express, which creates hope and new memories for the children of military fallen heroes who have died while on active duty since 9/11. thousands of children have lost a dad or ahman in these wars. -- or a mom in these wars. i am proud that this year, along with the american airlines veterans initiatives, hundreds and hundreds of volunteers, our foundation will once again be part of this worthy effort to support our goldstar children. and there's hope for the

warriors. an organization founded by military wives to support wounded u.s. service members, their families, and families of the fallen, are foundation was a proud sponsor of their recent fund-raiser here in washington d.c. these are a few of the efforts that have kept me busy these many years. while the list of heroism is an liz, the needs of these heroes is just as long -- is and less, the needs of these heroes is just as long. and how we address this is a need -- major national issue. as calvin coolidge said, and "the nation which forgets its heroes will itself be forgotten ." the sad reality from vietnam is that we learned the hard way that turning our backs and ignoring our warriors weaken our nation. the hope is that we learn from this and will strive to do

better. in a recent speech to the young cadets at west point, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, admiral mike mullen, expressed his fear of a disconnect between the american people and its military. he said, "our work is appreciated, of that i am certain. there is not a town or a city board people do not conveyed to me they're great pride in what we do, even though house who do not support the war's -- in what we do. even those who do not support the worst support the troops. but i fear they do not know us. i fear they do not comprehend the burden of the full -- the full weight of the burden we carry or the price we pay when we return from battle of." as someone who can visit our troops in remote places around

the globe and has had a close-up look at their skill and dedication and sacrifice, i hope to address that this connection by sharing what i have experienced and expressing my belief in how fortunate we all are off to have such an exceptional military force in the dangerous and unpredictable world we live in. , you know thathma such a dark forces are loose in our day. it is our military that denies these enemies and preserve our freedom, often at the nearest possible cost. but it does not end with a battle. countless millions throughout the world know our military through the other face of america's power, bringing hope and humanitarian relief whenever and wherever it is needed, without favor, to a friend or foe alike. when there is a national

disaster -- a natural disaster, japan, indonesia, haiti, it is not china's aircraft carriers that rush to aid with their massive manpower. it is the united states military. it is critical that we do well if we can to care for the needs of our active duty and retired service members of the military and their families. surely, that is what we can do -- that is the least of all we can do for those who risk their lives every day to defend our freedom. and it cannot be temporary. that is why all my efforts have been pulled together through the formation of the garrison these foundation. our motto -- gary sinise foundation. our motto and its mission statement, to serve our nation by honoring its defenders, veterans, offers responders, their families and those in

need. we do this by creating and supporting unique programs designed to entertain, and you gave, inspire, strengthen -- educate, inspire, strengthen, and build communities. it is my hope that by beginning this fund raising and program generating entity, we will be able to do more to honor the men and women who surf by meeting their needs. -- serve by meeting their needs. i did not serve, but i have never been more reward them when i am with the military community and see a -- the smiles a little visit can bring. it is a way to give back so much. i will never again take for granted how our freedom must be protected on a daily basis, minute by minute. history teaches there have always been those that would rob us of our freedom in order to

empower themselves. what i have shared with you today are the feelings, believes, and aspirations that lie far outside the interests of my chosen profession. while my currency as a successful actor may have gotten here, i am first and foremost a citizen of this marvelous and remarkable united states of america. today, you gave me the use of your immensely valuable megaphone. i hope i used it to address issues of concern to all of us. because everything we are, especially journalists, you who employ the first amendment on all our behalf, everything is predicated on freedom. and i trust we all take great pride that we have so many

exceptional people serving out there to protect just that. as winston churchill reminded us during world war ii, "peace and tranquility will only be restored if everyone did their bit." he considered his it no more important than that of the elderly woman knitting socks for soldiers. that is my aspiration, to do my bit, no matter how large or small. and i know that in this, i am no different than any of you, were any americans. -- or any americans. if we are a great people. we can rise -- we are a great people. we can rise to this challenge and meet its and do as we have always done, master it. those marvelous people reserve -- who served for our freedom

and comfort deserve nothing less. ithank you. [applause] >> i don't want to dare stand in the way of an entertainer who could get for their applause, but i want to have an opportunity to get some questions answered. thank you for those prepared remarks and we will follow a of it. obviously, in an audience like this we have a journalist, working people, some people from the public and some people engaged in a similar kind of cause that you have been engaged

in. when we are talking about your foundation, i wonder if you could talk a little bit about how that is structured. tell us about your staff, where it is located, and what the specific mission of the foundation is involved in a. >> as i have said, have been very busy trying to support a lot of different organizations, going out and raising money by showing up. somebody like me can show off and draw attention to an organization. i can vote -- to donate my band and the kind of thing, but i can only be in so many places throughout the year. i got to a point where i said, i spend a weekend after weekend, month after month, year after year trying to support as many efforts as i can. if i'm either going to pull back or ramp up in some way. how can i ramp up if i am already committed all over? one of the natural things to do was to create an entity, a

foundation that can draw in additional resources, promote the programs that i am supporting, try to guide people who are looking for ways to support and organizations that are reputable that i have been supporting, guide them to those organizations. if people do not know which one to go to, we are in a fund- raising effort ourself with our foundation. we will guide that money to the right place. if you are looking for organizations that i have been supporting over the years, i stake my reputation on all of the organizations that are listed on our website. you can go directly to them. we want to ramp up our efforts and do good things. i have a great staff. we are located in los angeles. we are beginning this effort right now. >> one of our questioners ast if you could get congress and the administration's to do just one

thing for the vets, what with that one thing be? >> cut through the red tape and get down to business. it takes a lot to get your benefits. [applause] it a bit more micro then that, because there is an inherent inefficiency in our government, hence the suburbs of washington d.c. [laughter] not so much of a joke, but is actually true. when you see it needs been on that and is part of your ambition to manage resources with needs, whether it is the government for you, what are people missing out there? -- the government or you, what are people missing out there? >> there are a lot of disabled american veterans. we have 3 million living disabled american veterans. i believe 1.5 million are part

of the disabled american veterans organization. there are other people trying to get out there and fill the gap. the government can only do so much. i realize that. we want to encourage organizations to get out there and do more. but for example, you should not have to go through all of this red tape all of the time to get your benefits. i have a vietnam veteran brother-in-law who crashed his helicopter and never apply for his benefits because he got home from vietnam and it was bad to be a veteran at that time. he disappeared in the system. he had some problems. we brought him in and worked with him. it took four years for a guy who crashed his helicopter to cut through the red tape and get his benefits. i realize we are trying to look back and search through records 30 and 40 years ago. but what about some of the returning veterans from everything after vietnam? we want to make sure that we do

as much as we can. i am also going to say that looking back 40 years ago, compared to what is happening today with regard to our returning veterans, there is a big difference. there are a lot of wonderful organizations that have popped up and we did learn some hard lessons from vietnam of how not to treat our service members. but you know, we can never do enough and we can always try to do a little bit more. >> this is perhaps a variation of the same question. someone is asking what is the most troubling deficiency you have seen in the treatment of assistance given -- given to returning soldiers? >> you know, returning soldiers that are injured? >> that is just how they opposed it.

whether they are injured from their service or have come home kind of rapidly -- >> there are some good stories. i know some not so good stories. let's say, you are a returning veteran. your service is going to be over when you get back. you have been in a platoon in the mountains of afghanistan. you saw 10 or 15 of your brothers killed in front of your eyes, many more wounded. if you come back. there is a domestic problem at home. there's a problem there. you get out of the service. you are despondent. you disappear. we have a lot of homeless veterans who have just tried to get away from it all. if we have to reach out to them and do what we can for them. and then we will have our hospitals. walter reed, bethesda, launched will -- launsiool, balboa.

and if i was injured, i would want to be at walter reed. they have an exceptional staff there. i think they were overwhelmed at that time. it was good the "washington post" discovered some of those issues and brought them to life. the address them. -- they addressed them. we are taking very good care of our wounded veterans. but what happens when they go out? what happens to someone like brendan morocco who has lost both arms and both legs? what happens if the committee does not take care of them? i would encourage you to reach out to veterans. seek out their families. how can you help them? especially if they are wounded for life. that community is critical to how they are going to live the rest of their life.

>> someone asked that very question. if a person knows of an individual or a family in need, should they alert your foundation as to the interim -- individual? >> that happens all the time. people reach out to the foundations that have established themselves to be reliable. but also, those communities can take responsibility. you have somebody who goes and is in service to our country. they are disabled. they go back to a very small town somewhere in the united states, a very small community. they are disabled for life. they might not be able to get a job. the community should take care of them wounded warrior. find that wounded warrior a job. we need to find more of our wounded warriors and returning veterans of jobs out there. it is important that we give

back to them and help them. your service in service to our freedom mean something to us, so we're going to embrace you and take care of you. >> last year, the defense department reported more than 1100 suicides among returning service members. over the course of your, that was one every 36 hours. is the u.s. military doing enough to address the problem and what can people in the private sector do? >> this is a very serious problem. i am involved with some mental health issues. i worked very collaborative lee work with a health care alliance run by my friend gave mcintyre. -- dave mcintyre. he is very committed and actively involved with the military to address this problem of suicide. i am kind of in the stress

relief business. i am in the morale boosting business. we've teamed up and we spent a lot of time with medal of honor recipients, going to basis, talking to these service members, reaching out to their families, trying to communicate to them that there are alternatives to taking your life. sometimes they do not think there are. that is a very, very serious problem. it is important the message we send out to our military folks that we've is is always -- duprey visit is always to reach out to someone that you recognize is in need. those signs are clear and we need to try to do a lot more. it is a very, very serious problem. there are a lot of people dedicated to this. we have to do a lot more. >> than there are the people who

have passed away. just this week, it has been reported on a number of different fronts that the fbi is running an army investigation of alleged wrongdoing at arlington cemetery, some of that perhaps financial wrongdoing of the loss of -- and the loss of remains at the cemetery. what is your reaction when you hear stories like that? and is it true that it undermines morale in hostile territory? >> i do not know that much about that particular situation. but i would think it would, yes. i want to mention the tragedy assistance program for survivors. bonnie carroll is over here and she started this wonderful program to work with the families of our fallen heroes. tavis is an incredible organization -- taps is an

incredible organization that reaches out to a family as soon as they have been notified that their service member has been killed in action. they are doing wonderful work in making sure that those killed in action, their families are well taken care of and they get what they need. it is a difficult business that bonnie is in. but she has personal -- a personal relationship with that because she lost her husband. bonnie is right over here right now and i am privileged to have you here today. [applause] >> and by and large, in the work that is done in the private sectors, of course, is very useful and very good. there are occasionally some stories, like in the government, some stories that do not turn out so well.

if "rolling stone" magazine reported on some foundations that were started by musicians that have essentially had to be restructured or " -- or closed. you are on the road, how are you going to ensure that your foundation is operating as efficiently as possible and, indeed, it is a cause that people will find the on the lure of your personality, which is powerful, that they want to give to an organization like that? >> those screwy musicians -- [laughter] with their foundations, yes. i do not know how to address that, except by saying that personally, i will speak about my work. i have had my boots on the ground here for quite a long time and have dedicated every

spare moment to this work in the last 10 years, and prior to that with the vietnam veterans and disabled veterans. i am not somebody who is going to say -- i would stake my reputation and character on it. i would not tell you to donate to my foundation and then make a mess of it. i am not going to do that. that is not me. [applause] >> lieutenant dan band, the film, that all goes back to a story line that was involved in the vietnam war. you alluded in your speech to out essentially, vietnam veterans were not always welcome home. those who are alive can remember that. -- who were alive can remember that. is it heartwarming to see how the country has changed over

time, and leaving aside the politics of an individual engagement, the people seem to have a universal support for the u.s. military? >> as i said, we can never do enough for veterans, as far as i'm concerned. but we can always try to do a little bit more. what has been heartening is to see how many vietnam veterans have gotten involved with our active-duty service members. it is a partially healing thing for them, to be able to say, i'm going to take care of this soldier when he returns home and make sure that nothing happens to him. i want what happened to me never to happen again, so i will take an active part in that. if i have met hundreds of vietnam veterans that are doing just laughed, reaching out. we did learn -- i have met hundreds of vietnam veterans that are doing just.com, reaching out. we did learn our lesson as far as that goes.

as admiral mullen said, wherever he goes, he sees support. if your disconnected to the military, as he said, if you do not have a personal vision of with someone in the military or you do not have a family member or friend who is serving, life goes on. pizzas are being made, movies are coming, the gas prices are getting higher, and we are going about our lives. we do have some job problems in the country and all of that, but life goes on for a lot of folks. the military families are the ones that are feeling the sacrifice and a listing of this particular conflict right now. -- the sting of this particular conflict right now. you know, 0.05% are actually defending the country. that is a small percentage.

we owe them. it is heartening to be able to give something back. it is a good feeling to take care of these freedom fighters. they are our defenders. and i have been involved with veterans for many years through democrat presidents, republican presidents. it is not about that. it is about the fact that freedom is precious. we saw on 9/11 what 19 determined guys with box cutters could do. and god forbid they get a hold of something more serious, a backpack full of anthrax, something like that. you know, a suitcase nuclear bomb. all of that is not fantasy. it is real. and there are people that live 24/7, 365 days a year wondering how they can destroy the u.s. and thankfully, we have people

24/7, 365 days a year, every single day, every single minute trying to prevent bad things from happening to the united states of america. if we all saw what happened on september 11. we all felt that vulnerability and fear. to what is going to happen? and then we thought there was anthrax running through the mail and we thought, what is going on? what is going to happen to our country? and we thought, where is the military? what are they going to do? well, they are still doing it, and so we have to back them up. >> if you are one of a relatively small handful of prominent celebrities who have supported republican candidates and causes. my sense is that you do not wear your fault -- party politics on your sleeve. but is it hard to be republican operating in the entertainment industry? [laughter] >> hooted -- where did you come up with that? who's question is that?

[laughter] look, i do what i can. i am a citizen of the united states. i can vote for one. i grew up in chicago. you know, it is daley country out there. [laughter] i just try to pass the message that we live in a free country. we can say what we want. we can choose what we wish and we can stand up for what we believe in. >> have you tried to engage other entertainment people in the cause of our soldiers in the military? have you tried to engage some of your colleagues in the business? and how successful have you been if you have? >> yes, i have taken different people on different trips with me. michael t. williamson, he played bubba in forest gump. he went with me on my 2009 trip

to afghanistan. i have taken various people to various bases. i recently took david james elliott and clint howard to camp pendleton when i played down there. dana carvey has performed for the troops at fort hood. right after the terrible tragedy there, i set up a concert down there about a month later and we went down and did it gave a concert. i call dana and he came down and performed. are recently -- i recently did a concert at camp pendleton and data came down there. -- dana came down there. >> people are interested in the creative side of your work as well. you have played president truman and have been floated as a possible candidate for various offices. have you ever been involved -- interested in politics? >> i am an actor. >> so is ronald reagan.

[laughter] >> you know, we get paid to give our lines and hit our mark. about anyever thought of that. >> what american national political figure would you like to consider playing, given the fact that you have played politicians in the past? or have you ever thought about that? >> i have not thought about playing another political figure. i have done a few of those. it was fun. i would like to play jimmy doolittle, a great american hero, medal of honor recipient. there are so many great american stories. i have been privileged to be a part of the medal of honor society for a while. i am on one of their boards. i work with the medal of honor society since 2006. i have met some amazing, amazing american heroes in the

medal of honor society. i traveled with them on a regular basis to military bases around the country to deliver good messages to our troops. when i see the medal of honor recipients and i see the troops standing there listening to those guys, they can make an impact. and jimmy doolittle received the medal of honor -- a great american story. there are a lot of stories like that, great heroes that i would consider trying to play if i thought i could play them. >> and of course, you have the ongoing television series work. are you planning to be in the motion pictures in the near term? anything you are working on at the moment? >> sometimes that is not up to me. [laughter] but i am happy to sit scsi new york got picked up for another season -- csi new york got to

go for another season. we're coming into season 8. [applause] that will keep me busy as of july 20. one of the things that i do hope happens is that people go to this ltdanbandmovie.com website. it is an interesting thing that happened with the film. they will launch it on line to people all around the world who want to put $4 in there and watch it. it is not a download. it is a pay-per-view for about a month's time. 3-, you get to see some of the people that i interact with every year, every month. you see the entertainment side. it is an entertainment -- entertaining film, in moving film. you get to see some of the people i am supporting. it kept me in the movie came to actually participate in this film.

ltdanbandmovie.com, we hope people go to bed. it is a cause-driven movie. $1 out of every $4 will be donated to the gary sinise foundation and we will take that back to the troops and their families and first responders, and people who need it. >> one more question about lieutenant dan before last month -- ask my last question. it seems celebrities grow to resent the world that has become so related to them. you have obviously embraced it. was there ever a time you got irritated with that association? or have you been good with it all along? >> i had to get used to it. it is just something that happened. when you are in a movie like

that, you know that is so popular -- "forest gump" was so popular. but it was not just playing a character in a movie. i realized about a month after i did the film, i got a call from the disabled american veterans. that is how i got involved with the dav they wanted me to come to the national convention because i was playing a disabled vietnam veteran and they liked the way i did it. they asked me to come to their international convention. if it was a very moving experience, something i will never forget, standing there in a room of thousands of disabled veterans and having them applaud. those that could stand up for standing up. others were in wheelchairs' applauding me for playing a disabled veteran and they all wanted to call me lt. dan. if they all related me --

related to me as lt. dan. i started going overseas and troops and for the trut they all related to me as lt. dan. the story of lt. dan is a resilience story. he goes to the understandable anger of having his military career taken away from him, cut down. he goes through the understandable anger and threw the glove of a friend who reaches out and pulls him up, he stands up again -- through the love of a friend who reaches out and pulled him out, he stands up again. prior to "forest gump" we have not seen a vietnam veteran portrayed that way, as someone who can move on and do well. the story of that particular character resonates with the military community that i interact with every single day. how could i say, hey, do not call me that. -- do not call me that? [laughter]

no, no! [laughter] the character is alive for them. and that is ok with me. if you are lucky to play a character in a movie that resonates with people like that, it is not a bad thing. it is a good thing. >> thank you. we are almost out of time, but before i asked the last question from a couple of housekeeping items. tomorrow, we are in a sort of pre-4th of july feeling of patriotism. we'll have the nasa administrator, charles bolden, here to discuss the future of space flight and to discuss orbit.plans to we still have to give available for that. sis will bed leon say

here. he is quite accomplished in the high-technology realm. as you know, you have been here before, but there will be a twist. we typically like to present you with a true token of our appreciation, which is the npc coffee mug, but do not leave yet. [laughter] there is a coffee mug in case you might have broken the earlier one. but lieutenant dan band online, videos of you all over the world and i notice that -- [laughter] that is not what i planned. [laughter] as if on cue. it can stay on the floor. that is fine. i know this very often when you

are out there with the sunlight beating down on you, i thought, lieutenant dan needs a national press club had while he is performing. [applause] >> thank you. >> how about a round of applause for our guest speaker today? [applause] [applause] >> thank you for coming today. i'd like to thank the staff for organizing today's event. thank you, and we are adjourned. thank you.

>> an update on our coverage plans. the senate is holding a mock mark-up on free trade agreements. the democrats are planning for that, despite republican objections. the meeting is 3:00 pm. we will have it live for you. cq says max baucus says the committee will hold the mark-up

today and it is unclear if any republicans would attend. we will have live coverage. michael lind and other panelists discuss if the u.s. can be united. >> we are more divided. you look at partisan -- >> helen prejean talks about the nixonh penalty and isnidnsiders discuss his foreigh polic. -- foreign policy. for more, go to c-span.org. >> i have trust in the united states. i have read this over and over. and i have huge faith in democracy.

>> learn more about christine videoe t that the c-span library. you can watch this any time. watch what you want, when you want. you are watching c-span. bringing you politics and public affairs. every morning is "washington journal." weekdays, watch coverage of the house, and weeknights, -- and supreme court oral arguments. and you can see "the communicators," "q and a," and "prime inisters questions." this is all searchable in the c- span video library.

a public service by america's cable companies. >> obama awarded robert gates wtthe presidential medal of freedom. the first to serve a republican and democrat was honored this morning with remarks also including mike mullen.

>> ladies and gentleman, the vice president of the united states, with becky gates and mr. bradley gates. [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the official party and

remain standing as honors are rendered. ladies and gentlemen, the reviewing official, robert m. gates. secretary of defense, accompanied by michael mullen, and the host for today's tribute, barack obama.

>> please be seated. ♪

ladies and gentlemen, sec. gates was awarded the honor for civilian service. and the united states air force decoration for exceptional service. becky gates has the distinguished public service award, given by the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.

[applause]

>> sound off.

>> ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the national anthem. ♪

>> please be seated.

ladies and gentlemen, admiral mullen. >> mr. president, sec. gates, becky, distinguished guests, good morning. on behalf of our men and women in unufirm, -- uniform, let me thank you for being here as we honor robert yates. he has led the military in the time of world with impeccable integrity and a staunch commitment, no matter how difficult that things may be, no matter how high or how low in

the chain of command is needed to travel. in that regard, he showed the pragmatism and the grit of our soldiers. i think that this is why so many of them are drawn to him. there were no fancy words. now that he doesn't have a vocabulary or even a colorful vocabulary, he can throw a barber with the best of them, like the time he called washington the only place in the world where someone can walk down lover's lane holding their own hand. it is not just his wits. he is very honest. as one soldier put it, he couldn't play dead in a cowboy movie.

it is this honesty with which he has -- that has served him so well. in his four decades of public service, no fewer than eight american presidents have benefited from his advice. and i could add hundreds of generals and admirals, thousands of college students and millions of american soldiers around the world. i will take a wild guess, but i bet that he would say that it was a lot harder to get generals to watch -- to get soldiers to watch generals and admirals. he got through in a big way, making us think about things we had not considered, making us try a little bit harder and lead a little bit better. he drilled down for details, and

never stop asking us the uncomfortable questions. when you compared to pulling teeth the act of compelling change in the military, you are a setback. but you saw the change that was needed before any of us. you lead the transition to a new mission in iraq, and the transition we now strive for in afghanistan. you testify new efficiencies and business practices with taxpayer dollars. you forced the acquisition system to purchase a greater number of armored vehicles to a greater number of our soldiers could come home alive to their families. and you demanded that when they did come home, they were given all the respect and dignity and the care and support that they

needed to get on with their lives. that is the other reason are soldiers respect you so much. you are a fighter and the always knew that you were fighting for them, and that they had no better friend. there is not a single one of them that would not say that when the chips fall -- they fought for their friends the hardest. i am proud to count myself as one of your friends. i will miss your leadership and your counsel. i will miss coming home on a saturday afternoon and sitting on your front porch. i will not miss you blowing all of your dead leaves on to my lawn. we will miss you and the manner in which the quiet dignity with which you have served the

military and our country as a whole. to say that we are grateful is to vastly understate our motions on the stay. if there is a more distinguished legacy of public service by any to american citizens i did not know of this. i thank you, sir. it is my great honor to introduce to you a man who has devoted an extraordinary amount of time to the task of keeping america safe. he is a man who, along with his

spouse, has made the well-being of our soldiers and their families the highest of priorities that he will pursue. ladies and gentlemen, barack obama. >> thank you very much. admiral mollen, thank you for your eloquent words, and also for your extraordinary service as you near your well-deserved retirement. thank you for the decades of incredible service. members of congress, deputy secretary and members of the joint chiefs of staff.

secretaries and distinguished guests, men and women of the finest military in the world. secretary gates, and i want to abolish a daughter. by took office, he had served under seven presidents, during an illustrious career spanning four decades. he would have been forgiven if he had opted for a private life of comfort. he had learned this. when asked by a reporter if he would stay on to serve another president, he offered the answer, inconceivable.

why did he say? there are days when he will ask this himself and i am certain his wife asks this also. but believe i know the answer because i have seen this man in those moments of debate and decision, one person's character is revealed. in the oval office and the situation room, and the theaters of war. if you look past all of his flashiest, bravado, and his sharp attire, what you see is a man i know and respect. a man of common sense and

decency, one of the nation's finest public servants. today, you are not only one of the longest serving secretaries of defense, but one of the best. why did bob gates serve? our nation is at war. to know bob is to know his profound sense of duty. our country and our security, and our men and women who get up every day and put on america's uniforms, and put theri lives on the line. when the outcome of the war in iraq was in doubt, he presided over the extraordinary efforts.

over the last few years, we have removed 100,000 soldiers from iraq and ended the combat mission. we are responsibly ending the war. the fight against al qaeda -- when we needed to focus, he was helping us to devise this strategy that put al qaeda on the path of the feet and made -- made it so afghanistan was never in the source of attacks on the nation. bob gates launched a war on waste, challenging conventional wisdom with courage and conviction, speaking the hard truths and saving hundreds of billions of dollars that would be invested in the 21st century

military. it was his mission to make certain that there were serving the troops in the field as well as us. and today we see the lifesaving difference that he has made. the shorter medevac times in afghanistan. and the determination to give the wounded warriors the world class care that they deserve. this may be your greatest legacy. the confidence that you gave our men and women in battle. there was a secretary of defense who fought for them, and did everything in his power to bring them home safe. let me also thanked becky for her extraordinary work with our

extraordinary military families. i know they consider our soldiers to be like their own sons and daughters. this is a responsibility that we have shared as leaders, every day in a time of war. we send them into harm's way. and we know that this is the reason that they are there. we stood in solemn respect at dover when our heroes made their final journey home, and we watched them grieved bill of ones that they get to america.

mesoamerica shares obligations with all the serve. but today, we not only paid tribute to remarkable public servant, we celebrate the principles for which we have served. i believe the life of bob gates is a lesson, especially to young americans, a lesson that public service is an honorable calling. and that we can pass the country to those who follow. the next secretary of defense has described the same life of service. and he will lead this department with a clear vision and a steady hand. in his willingness to read this -- the first secretary of

defense to serve under both parties, his integrity is also a reminder, especially for the people in washington. civility and respect for this course, citizenship over partisanship, these are not relics of a bygone era. we need them now more than ever. whatever the differences are of party and ideology, which only keep america strong if we remember what keeps america great, the ability to work together as americans. for common purpose. finally, as we face difficult challenges across the world at the helm, but today be a reminder that the united states will meet the test of our times.

fewer americans are in harm's way and we will bring the war. responsible land. we will make difficult choices and do this responsibly. i am certain that the armed forces will always remain the best equipped fighting force in history. in an uncertain world that demands our leadership, this will remain the greatest force for freedom the world has ever known. this is the america, to which she has devoted his life. this is the america that we dedicate ourselves to. i can think of no better way to express my appreciation to someone i have come to admire,

and i can think of no better way to express the gratitude of the nation than with very special recognition. i would ask for you to please stand. as the president, the highest honor i can give you is the medal of freedom. it speaks to the values we cherish as a people, and ideals that we strive for. it is my purpose to present the presidential medal of freedom to the 22nd secretary of defense, robert gates. will you please read the citation? >> the presidential medal of

freedom, to robert gates. he has selflessly dedicated his life to making certain of the security of the american people. he has served eight presidents of both parties with unwavering patriotism. he has led the department of defense with courage and confidence during the wars in iraq and afghanistan, making certain that our forces are better prepared for the conflicts of today and tomorrow. we thank him for a lifetime of service and devotion to the nation. [applause]

>> thank you, mr. president, for those kind words. for honoring me and this department with your presence here today. i am deeply honored and moved by your presentation of this award, and this is a big surprise, but we should have known a couple of months ago that you are good that covert operations. mr. vice president, colleagues and friends, thank you for being here this morning. i would like to congratulate leon panetta. he suggested obama retained me

as secretary of defense. when obama asked about my successor i returned the favor. this department and country are fortunate that he has agreed to serve once again. at such an important time. my parting advice is to get his office just the way he likes it, because he may be here longer than he thinks. i would like to thank the members of congress who are with us today, and i appreciate the supportive treatment by citizens of both parties and even when there were disagreements, congress always came through for programs to take care of

soldiers and their families. as you may have noticed over the last few weeks, i have had my say on many topics. if this is the last top, i would like to spend a few minutes talking about the men and women i have been fortunate enough to work with at this job. i would like to talk about the people i have served with, serving as the secretary of defense has been the greatest honor of my life. first, to president bush for giving me this opportunity. and for the support that he provided in the early months on the job. and barack obama for his confidence in taking the historic step of asking someone he did not know to stay on, and

for his continued trust, ever since. the transition from the bush to obama administration was from one political party to another in a time of war in 40 years. the professionalism of the transition was a great benefit to the country and was attributed to the character of both of the president's. i have been fortunate that we both had -- they both gave me a great series of appointees. the first thing i did was to retain every single senior official i received from secretary donald rumsfeld. most of them have been with me through the state. and i have been fortunate enough to get another first-class roster from barack obama, providing with superb council on a range of issues and initiatives. these and other achievements and

anything of consequence achieved in this department required successful collaboration between the military and civilian leadership. i have received forthright and loyal council from the leadership of the joint chiefs of staff and i will always be grateful to them for their cooperation and their friendship. i want to thank the chairman of the joint chiefs when i arrived. and my battle body of four years. mike mullen. without his effective leadership the record of the last several years would have been different. he was never shy about disagreeing with me, but never failed to stay loyal to me and the president that he served.

he is the epitome of a leader and an officer, a man of supreme integrity and a good friend. the practice in the spirit of collaboration is important for those dealing with intelligence and diplomacy. the blow against al qaeda exemplifies a remarkable transformation with military operations in the 21st century. my views have evolved over the years. i started out as a staffer with president nixon and his national security council. the nixon white house was not exactly a hotbed of admiration for the foreign service. it was thought of as people with last names for first names who

took time to implement the president's foreign policy. for much of my professional life, the secretary of defense and the president were barely speaking. i have not only been on speaking terms with these formidable women, but we have also become colleagues and good friends. giving a speech for more money for the state department did not hurt, but we should never forget the development experts who are taking risks and making sacrifices in the least hospitable places on the planet. and i appreciate the sacrifices they are making for afghanistan and iraq and other places across the globe. as i were to support the soldiers on these missions i spent a great deal of time venting frustration with the bureaucracy. the people most often frustrated

in this building are the career civilian professionals whose drive every day to overcome the obstacles to get things done. i understand and i appreciate the challenges of these public servants and the sacrifices that the endara, and what they accomplish has not received the thanks that it deserves. i leave this post grateful for everything they have done for the military and national security. during a time of war, the top priority of everyone in this building must be to get those at the front what they need to succeed on the battlefield, and to be properly taken care of when they get home. i have spent much of the past few months with the soldiers, in number of forward operating bases in afghanistan. i was only help -- hopeful to lead a small sample of those

downrange, to look them in the eye and let them know how much i appreciate what they and their families do for our country. looking forward i knew that it would be very difficult for me to express my feelings for these young men and women, in a way that would allow me to get through this speech. a personal message from me to all of the servicemen and women across the world was published and distributed in the military channel. i will just say that here -- i will think of these young warriors, the ones who fought and keep on fighting, and those who never made it back until the end of my days. and as i was contemplating this moment i thought about something becky told me in january 2005 when i was as to the first director of national intelligence. i was wrestling with this decision and i told her she

could make it easier if she said she did not want to go back to washington. she said, you have to do what you have to do. this is what military spouses have said a million times since 9/11. this is to those considering another tour of service. just under five years ago i was approached by the same president to serve. and her response was the same. as much as she loved texas a and m and could do without another stint in this washington, she made it easy to say yes. what answer the call to serve when so much was at stake in america. we are really going home this time. your love and support at me grounded, since we first met on a blind date 45 years ago. i will lockout of my office for

the last time, as the defense secretary. it is empty of all my personal items, but i will still have over my desk the portraits of two of my heroes and role models. generals eisenhower and marshall. i take a closing thought that was given in the opening years of the cold war. hicks told what was needed from that generation. the development of a sense of pop -- possibility for world order, with the overwhelming importance of the country's actions and failures to act. and now, as he first uttered those words, the global responsibility and the importance of what we do or do not do remains an important part

of this new century. it is important for those of us who serve, and i have every confidence that he will fulfil this. thank you and god bless the military and the country that they so nobly surf. -- serve. [applause]

[applause]

[applause]

[applause] [applause]

[applause] ♪

♪

♪

♪

>> ladies and gentlemen, please stand and remain in position for the departure of the official party.

♪

[band continues playing] ♪

♪

>> ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's ceremony. please return to the boatibuildg through the mall entrance. thank you for attending and enjoy your day. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> the senate finance committee has scheduled a formal markup this afternoon. there have been several procedural moves to block action on the trade deals republic. and say i object to the market because it is getting underway -- republicans say they object to the markup because it is getting in the way.

about 20 minutes ago on the senate floor, majority leader harry reid asked for a waiver to allow the markup to begin, but republican leader mitch mcconnell objected. a little bit of background. the trade deals were negotiated by george w. bush's administration. president obama was successful in making some changes to the deal and is now pushing for their ratification. we heard from the president yesterday during a white house news briefing. >> >> that is pending before congress right now.

>> back here at the senate finance committee meeting, expecting a markup to happen shortly, the senate rule says no committee may hold a hearing except agreed to by both parties. senate leader harry reid -- just a short while ago, another waiver that reid requested it was objected to. we are going to hear more from a reporter about the issue. >> what is the purpose of this senate finance committee mock markup session? >> it is lawmakers a chance to sit down and discuss all three of the trade agreements with korea, colombia, and panama. >> how did senator -- why did

senator baucus decide to include the adjustment provision into the agreement? >> when the white house reached the point back in may with a said that all three trade agreements were pretty much ready to come up to the hill, they said that one of the parts of that agreement would have to be that this trade adjustment assistance would need to be a part of the deal and it would need to be passed along with this trade agreement so they decided to include it in the korea bill. it has had broad support even though republicans are not happy that it has been included. >> why are republicans opposed? >> democrats are saying that because of trade, people have lost jobs. so taa helps retrain workers who have lost their jobs because of trade.

they say is needed to help get these workers back into the workforce. but republicans have said they want to take up each of these trade agreements individually and deal with trade adjustment assistance separately. this is one way to get everything through in one larger package. each will be looked at separately, but all of them will be done in a close amount of time. >> they have languished in congress. why are they now a priority again for the white house? >> obviously, because of the economy, they believe it will spur job creation and pump some money back into the economy and create some growth. also, because other countries around the world are pushing their own agreements with colombia, panama, and latin america, and even korea.

they want to be sure we are not losing competitive advantage to other countries. there were some changes made in the past six to eight months that helped move the way for them to go through. >> is this session today and actual markup session? what is the next step? >> we will hear amendments being offered, so it will sound like a regular markup. when it is complete, everything is sent back to the white house and the white house will determine whether to accept or reject the amendments as they are a part of -- from today's markup. in the past, it has not been the case that minutes have been accepted. they may send them back up just as they are right now, and then the white house will send the trade agreement back up again

for a final vote. can read her articles at thehill.com. thank you for the updates. >> thank you very much. the >> we are scheduled to have live coverage right now of the senate finance committee on trade agreements with korea, colombia, and panama. shortly before 3:00 p.m. eastern, senate majority harry reid asked for a waiver for it to begin 3:00, but mitch mcconnell objected. republicans say they'd object to today's session because it is getting underway late in the day when there are 97 amendments to consider. we can see that some of the witnesses have arrived, waiting for members to sit in their chairs.

>> committee rules require a quorum which must include at least one member of each party. senator hatch in for me that no

republicans will attend today, and moments ago, republicans objected to the meeting today. i am very disappointed that my colleagues have chosen not to join us to consider this legislation. this choice is a strict departure from years of bipartisan work on this committee. senate rules require a 48-hour notice for official business. we provided that notice at 3:00 p.m. on tuesday, giving all members official notice of our meeting today. as always, we take our rules very seriously. but instead of participating in an open forum to discuss these agreements, members of this committee chose to block this scheduled markup. the bigger disappointment is this means the opportunity to pass important legislation is now delayed.

today's actions move us farther away from finalizing these trade agreements. these bills are so critical to our effort to open new markets, help displaced workers, and improve our economy. not meeting our commitment to date means someone who is without a job and struggling to pay the mortgage, car payments, or their child's tuition will have to wait. it means workers who have been laid off will have to wait to get the training that they need to get a new job. and the pride that comes with going to work every day. these agreements will boost our economy by billions of dollars. it represents the opportunities that laid off workers forthcoming. they are the jobs that unemployed americans need. in fact, these agreements will

create a remarkable 250,000 u.s. jobs and increase exports by $13 billion. that is just the growth of job creation that we need in these tough economic times. so many americans struggling with these needs -- so many americans struggling with this economy and need this package, need these jobs. every day we delay, we lose ground to our competitors. tomorrow, the trade agreement with the european union enters into the force. in august, colombia's agreement with canada enters into force. the majority of the committee has committed to support the taa legislation which means it would've cleared this committee to get one step closer to ratification. in these tough economic times, now is not the time to walk

away. instead, it is the time for members of both parties to come together. american workers and our economy cannot afford to wait any longer. it is why i am disappointed today's a boycott and the result to create the jobs that america needs is not diminished. we will continue that work in the weeks and months to come. that's it. >> we are waiting. my colleagues want to make a comment or two. >> on behalf of everyone of us here, mr. chairman, i want to wish you all the best. we know if you are getting married on saturday. we are happy for you. [applause]

>> mr. chairman, i am dumbfounded and really saddened by what is happening today. and look at my colleagues, thoughtful, committed, intelligent people that came here to do the nation's business. at a time when people are pleading with us to do the nation's business like adults and come together, crossing party lines to find common ground for our country, and i look over there and i see these empty chairs, on the very same day that the july 4 recess has been canceled because four

or five members on that side refused to allow the senate to recess supposedly because we have so much business. you know, what is happening here in this committee today tells the story of the broken politics of our country and the broken united states senate. and it is frustrating. i came here today prepared to vote for a package that puts americans to work, that creates jobs in our country, that is in our national security interest as well as our economic interest, and that would have paid the way for us to open up the pathway for american products and help american workers to be able to adjust to the impact of trade differences that occur. we all know that they occur. ironically, our colleagues who

are not here, the same ones who have been attacking the administration for an and imaginary delay and dawdling about getting this trade package passed, so i guess it was important for them until it's stopped becoming important for them because politics took over. there is something real at risk here. this is not a phony moment. every day that goes by, americans are wondering how they are going to go to work. how is america going to stay number one? here we have an opportunity to open up new products to be sold abroad, and yet they have taken this extraordinary step of walking away from their responsibilities, walking away from the american people, walking away from a meeting in the senate at this extraordinary

moment for a couple of reasons. one is maybe they do not like the trade adjustment assistance in the bill because of the chairman had the ability to strike a compromise, or because they do not want anything to pass here because they want to do everything possible to hurt the president and keep the economy where it is. election strategy 2012. mr. chairman, we used to have members of this committee, senator jack hynes commence senator john chafee who came from states, both of them who were impacted by trade and they believed that you needed to help workers to be able to transition. president bush in his lasted of the union address, may be one of the few times i have quoted him positively -- "trade brings better jobs, better choices, and

better prices, yet for some americans trade can mean losing a job." this is president bush saying this. i asked congress to help displaced workers learn new skills and find new jobs. governor chris christie, gov. barbara of mississippi -- they joined in that. "we must tincal less thickly about international trade -- we must think about international trade that impacts industries." the taa program is a critical program to move in tandem with free trade agreement in order to help american workers adapt to changes in the global marketplace." these governors have got to be scratching their heads, these republican governors who want their jobs in their states and want the trade adjustment assistance have got to be

wondering what is happening to the united states congress and to the united states senate. mr. chairman, i do not know how you justify this. it saddens me. it really makes you stop and wonder how we are going to get our business done if we cannot compromise or come together and to our business. i am deeply frustrated by it, and i think the american people have to be beyond themselves wondering what is going on down here in washington looking at this kind of a spectacle. we give up our fourth of july recess to be here to do business. they have been screaming about getting these agreements done, and we cannot do it. enough said. >> on last monday, for

the first time as the chairman of the commerce committee, a full hearing in charleston, west virginia, about manufacturing and exporting. the message was basically this. they knew the message. we have lost a third of our manufacturing jobs in the last number of years, but guess what, west virginia? exports from west virginia to other parts of the world have gone up by 50% in a couple of years. and the audience was riveted and galvanized, and subcommittees' were formed. business people out there and labor people and public citizen's, etc., government officials, federal, state, and

local started working on these problems. how can we increase exports from west virginia? which is not a rich state. we talked about the fact that if you have, in the case of some of these countries, if you do not have a trade agreement with them, they maintain anywhere between 15% to 50% tariff on any product that you try to sell in their country. if you have a trade agreement with them, those tariffs disappear, not all of them, but it shortly. that makes our products more competitive. those folks in west virginia were galvanized by that and into. they expect us to be doing that. i am not disturbed -- my wife

shares that feeling. we are being held here for a week. what disturbs me is we could be making progress on export promotion which is what the people of west virginia expect us to be doing because that is a ray of hope for west virginia, and we do not have a lot of them. >> mr. chairman, first of all, thank you for the extraordinary diligence that you have shown in bringing these agreements before us. that is a real accomplishment and it is absolutely in the national interest, and you should be commended for it. i know you have put an extraordinary effort into its. to have forged a compromise that you did with our colleagues on both sides, it represents a real achievement. i believe the actions of our colleagues on this committee are

inexplicable and indefensible. when unemployment is it too high and economic growth is it too low, and we have an opportunity here today to strengthen our economy, and our republican colleagues refused to show up for work, all across america, hundreds of people showed up to work today and they were expecting that we would do our jobs. they were expecting that we would show up to work to solve our country's problems. i tell you, the only explanation that i can see is i remember very well republican leader mr. mitch mcconnell saying early in this session that his number one priority was to defeat president obama. now, i thought our number-one priority here was to solve the country's problems. but i think we are beginning to see a pattern that some of our

colleagues at least on the other side -- their number one priority is political victory regardless of the consequences to the country. that is a very, very sad day. >> think you, mr. chairman, and again, congratulations on saturday. i am going to make sure there are some good -- mr. chairman, i have had the honor to be on the subcommittee. we have always tried to work in a bipartisan way. i think it is important that people understand what the bottom line here is today. that is the longer you delay the legislation that expands our exports, the slower economic recovery will be. that is the bottom line.

because what we have seen, and under your leadership we have explored this in hearings, expanded trade, it is about more jobs and the very jobs that we need most -- highly skilled, high-wage jobs, the jobs where we can grow things here in america and added value to them here in america and then ships them around the world. so, i just want to make it clear that i think your remarks are very much on point. this is going to be a tremendous bipartisan opportunity for our country. you look at the enforcement agenda that has been bipartisan -- the fact is, chinese companies are laundering merchandise to korea and other countries to avoid the trade

laws. we could have made progress today to combat this. on each of these issues, he pointed out trade adjustment assistance which has historically been bipartisan as well. we know that there will be changes in our economy as we expand trade. that is why we have the trade adjustment assistance program to make sure our workers can get assistance. i look forward to the date when we can get back to what has always been bipartisan business here on this committee. again, our congratulations on saturday. >> mr. chairman, congratulations on your wedding. is too bad you are going to have to cancel your honeymoon. [laughter] >> we will make it up. >> did you ever think you were going to have us on your

honeymoon with you? [laughter] mr. chairman -- >> i certainly did not. [laughter] >> next week, some of us are going to take the floor, and we are going to talk about a comprehensive settlement with real money about bringing down the deficit over the next decade. and we are going to talk about real money. it is not going to be smoke or mirrors or sleight of hand. it is going to bite. it is going to whack out $4 trillion out of the deficit over 10 years. and i can tell you this senator

from a state whose people want if this is a sign of things to come, then we're going to have a tough time as it gets closer and closer to august 2. because thers' not going to be any cooperation if this is the sign to come. if you do something real about the budget, $4 trillion real over 10 years, you have to have bipartisan cooperation. that is what the people sent us here to do, that is what is the tradition of this country, particularly when the country's back is against the wall in a crisis.

this is an awfully bad sign. >> i will be very brief, and my congratulations and much happiness and joy in your marriage. the apparent contradictions on the other side are just enormous. yesterday, 7 out of 10 of our republican colleagues stood up and said we must stay here next week. today, they do not show up. totally inconsistent within the span of 24 hours which leads you to one conclusion. they want the country to be in as bad shape as possible because that might help them electorally. they are always for tax breaks for employers, employees, but not now. they have always been for getting many of them for taa

attached to trade agreement, but not now. the list goes on and on and on. all of a sudden, a new fever has taken over the other side. it is just sad. obviously, all of us inside here are upset about it. it is just confounding. i have not experienced anything like it in the 37 years i have been involved in politics. >> thanks very much, mr. chairman. congratulations to you and mel. i want to add one thing to this discussion and that is the fact that part of what we are doing here is fulfilling a commitment on trade adjustment business for workers, small businesses, farmers, who are waiting for us. they have a sense of urgency in

their life. since february, with the blocking by the republicans of the extension of that assistance, we have people fighting themselves in a position where they are losing their jobs and they do not have the opportunity to get training to be able to get a loan to start a new business or do what is they need to do in order to compete in the global economy. yesterday, workers at a logistic company in michigan were denied help because they were service workers. we included than two years ago. these were folks that lost their jobs. with what you are proposing, mr. chairman, they would be able to get help. i want to thank you for that. i could go on and on. every month in michigan, there are owners of small businesses, workers, farmers that have been impacted adversely by trade and

the agreements that we have made. those who are affected negatively, we will help them be able to retool, to go back to school to get the help that they need. i want to say for the record that there are a whole lot of folks with urgency right now that her counting on us to be able to do something to help them to put their life back together and get back to work and care for their families. that is an important part of this discussion as well. i want to thank you for all of your work on the trade adjustment assistance. >> i think you all very much, and i am very proud of each of you. we have worked very well together. we are all together. it is like our national motto. we are separate but together here. this is a moment of truth, frankly, for our country.

that might sound dramatic, but i think it is true. it is a moment of truth for our competitiveness. how competitive is this country going to be for our kids and our grandkids? we have to look forward, passed the trade agreements that make sense. trade adjustment assistance that makes sense. i also think it is a moment of truth for us physically. -- fiscally. it is a moment of truth for america whether we can get our budget together and increase the debt limit. can this country function? perhaps the senate is dysfunctional. i would like to say that at least a few more than half of us want to show up to work and work things out to cast votes. that is why we are here, to move

forward. we are all optimistic on this business. we would not be here if we were not optimists. we are optimistic that we are going to be able to find solutions and we will keep moving forward, looking for the day, hopefully sooner rather than later, when the other side does show up so we can to the nation's business. my apologies to the witnesses and other people who have worked so hard to help us craft a solution here. we will prevail. because we have to. i thank everybody for their hard work and for showing up. next time, we will get the other side to show up. thank you very much. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011]

>> so, finance committee chairman max baucus leading the agreements will not happen. the top republican on the committee told it chairman max baucus that no republicans would attend today's session. a briefing was held a short time ago about this.

>> let me just make one statement right off of the bat that is related to everything. we believe that a conversation about the national debt [unintelligible] is certainly a conversation worth having. we wish the president would be willing to have that conversation rather than to listen to the message that he made last night. let me just go with this. the finance committee is set to begin a mock markup of free pending trade agreements with

korea, colombia, and panama. this mock markup is not going to be happening. we are not going to be attending the markup. i want to be clear. we have a great deal of respect for this institution and for our colleagues on the other side of the aisle. however, the progress leading up to this -- we cannot in good faith attend this as though everything is fine and dandy. we would be doing a disservice if we were to collaborate in this process. these trade agreements were made for an five years ago. the president urged the congress in his speech in january to pass the korea agreement during the state of the union address. all three have been ready for

months, and yet this week right before the fourth of july weekend, this markup is announced. hundreds of thousands of hours have been spent to consider these free trade agreements. then there is this rush job to jam them through the committee. the administration to appease its political allies is desperate to attach an extension of the trade adjustment assistance to the korean agreement. this would bring billions of dollars in economic growth overnight. [unintelligible] -- on the free trade agreements.

this is beyond irresponsible. if the president and his allies pass taa, let it stand on its own accord, on attach it to these agreements -- we give the administration a fair warning on this. we have made it clear that we will not stomach attaching a bill as big as this on to these agreements. the president knew where we stood. it is unfortunate that it does come to this. he is going to have to live with his choice. so you understand here, when i hardcourt this markup today two days ago, after the recess, he will have a lot of cooperation. he said no.

first of all, he said i will consider it. then he talked to the white house and he said no we are not going to do that. we are willing to waive the committee whorl's if you begin at 10:00 a.m. today. he said i will do it if you stop anybody on your side from envoking the two hour rule. so we went through the both to get a request last night for this mock markup. this is our way of being able to show the white house and the president what we would like to see in this treaty. and then all of a sudden i get here today and they said the

markup was going to begin at 3:00. that is not right. i do not blame max baucus. it is clear that they want to ram this through. there are 97 amendments now. i think we could've gone to very few amendments had they brought this of in a normal course. we are against the taa. you know, this is where we are. we have exercised our rights. i believe that hopefully the what house will wise up, sit down, get these agreements through. you can imagine what it would

mean to our friends in the southern half of the hemisphere to have us do this. we all want these agreements. >> thank you, senator hatch. let me in detail on two items to support what senator hatch said. in the past, the trade promotion of authority in the same legislation as the trade adjustment assistance, tpa and the taa. why is that important? republicans have generally supported free trade agreements in the process [no audio] first of all negotiated and then brought to congress. that is what the exhilarated provisions of the trade promotion of authority have been very helpful for us to get these agreements through.

democrats have wanted to add to these various agreements the trade adjustment assistance provisions which provided generally for some support for communities and workers who have lost their jobs as the result of a free-trade. now, republicans have never given much credence to that argument. our belief is as a general proposition free trade agreements create jobs. they do not kill jobs. some people in the ordinary course of the market working over years and years will lose a certain kind of job and will have to be retrained to do another kind of job. so we provide something like 47

different kinds of job training programs in this country. one of them is the taa, and it is over a billion dollars a year. " we have said is, first, do not add more expenses to that which the stimulus bill did come at 600 something million dollars in additional expenses. the underlying case still exist at least for another 18 months. we believe is too expensive and does not work. there is a lot of waste, fraud, and abuse in it. do not add the additional [no audio] expenses to it. consider taa in the context of tpa as we have done in the past. do not hold these agreements with korea, colombia, and panama

hostage in order to get them through. that is what at stake here. i think if the administration were to appreciate that the senate republicans are result almost unanimously to approach the position in this way. we can get these free trade agreement passed, we can take another look at taa to see where it can be reformed, and we can get trade promotion of authority if we negotiate future trade agreements. that is why it is so important to the republicans on the finance committee and why we want to have this done in the right way. >> in kansas, our farmers and ranchers depend on exports. we have to export one-third of

our wheat crop. we like to think of ourselves as the beef capital of the states. the trade agreements have been held up in columbia for 10 years. this has become an embarrassment, was an issue of national security as well. so it is with deep disappointment that we are at this point today. in the past, this has been a bipartisan effort. i think this is a dramatic change from that. i do not support the majority moved to jam the taa in the implementing bill despite all the calls i am getting [no audio] it is out of step with changes

that have been made. we have not done this before in this kind of a markup. in this economic environment, i think we have an obvious duty which is why we are here and is why we are going to be here next week. we are going to be here unfortunately not working on a deal because a deal does not exist. i remember when he talked to republicans before and all we got was a lecture. maybe if he could just take a valium and calm down to talk to us, it would be helpful. it is the situation [no audio] last congress, the majority congress favored a new entitlement program, the affordable care act or obamacare.

now they propose to take an additional $400 million for another entitlement program. this is shocking. that is the area where they are working to cut it out. they have already cut out a whole bunch. if you need any kind of replacement, you may not get an which you or your doctor. if you do, you will pay more for it. for what? when will they stop making draconian cuts to the medicare program wendy's dollars are not being used to reduce the tax paying burdens? and, it is one thing that as john has pointed out, to provide this in response to job loss to the trade pacts with the countries that are involved, but that is not the case.

they want to add the stimulus to this. it is under the banner of globalization. if you have been dislocated or suffering and hardship, it is due to [inaudible] [no audio] at any rate, they have questions to answer which will not happen now because taa is beyond the reach of congress. so, this is different from the committee process that has been standard before. it denies senators their ability to fully represent the views of their constituents. i had about six amendments. most of them involve health- care. so i do not support the process. i hope we can move ahead in the future. >> as you have heard now, one of

the big difficulties is having taa thrust into the treaty. the treaty is extremely critical this nation as are the other treaties. other countries are entering into the treaty and are going to get an advantage over us in trade because we wait around so long. when you throw in taa [no audio] this bill would be really easy to pass if that was taken out. again, it fits with the fast- tracked process. that is when we usually get the big compromise. they thought they could throw it in this korean treaty. that is the holdup for most of the bill. absolutely. as senator robert said, there is a huge benefit from doing that.

another one onfrom of the states. the korean treaty would provide for $1 billion. not only that, with talking with the chinese, they have had reasons for not using u.s. beef and it is always been tied to the same excuses that the korean s use. it would help in china as well. it is a huge market. we need to be doing this and have added time if they are going to leave taa in there to see if we can change it. it is a mock markup. it is our only opportunity to say something on the bill. we can say something to the president but he thinks it is not worth of the time to talk to us. i wish he would listen to us.

we spent eight hours at the blair house. every time the republicans shared an idea, he rebutted it. i promised to take a look at other ideas and discuss them in more detail. we are not doing that. >> it is unfortunate that these free trade agreements -- they are all trade agreements that would have the broad bipartisan support are being held hostage. you know, i look at it from the perspective of an agricultural state. we have lost a billion dollars in agricultural exports in columbia. the canadiens are finalizing a deal effective july 1 with

columbia. if they get that in place and we do not get hours in place, it is likely we will see our exports evaporate if the canadiens moved into fill that void. when it comes to korea, you have the european union signing an agreement july 1 which will give them a leg up and put us at a disadvantage when it comes to the export opportunities. so, you have a precedent that has existed for a long time trade tpa moves with mark adjustment assistance. and you have free trade agreements that have been around for four years. for a president and an administration and leaders in congress who say they are concerned about economic growth and the job creation, to leave something like this sitting

around for four years that could create jobs in this country and put people back to work to open up export opportunities for exporters and help grow the economy, it is inexcusable. this is another tactic being used where this process, these free trade agreement, are being hijacked in order to get spending that the administration wanstts, added on. we ought to be putting policies in place to not shrink the economy and cost us jobs. we need to pass these. we can have a debate about trade adjustment assistance in the context with the debate over trade promotion of authority. >> we are talking about $14 billion in trade. but thousands and thousands of jobs that would be created. it seems to me they want to play politics with this issue and

when we are willing to sit down and get it done. not on a late day when every member of the committee can show up and interfere. even then, -- this is really an important issue. we would be happy to take any questions. >> what can republicans do to separate taa from -- >> we will have to watch the house on this matter. i believe the house is likely to bring it up separately. the house has shown they can do this. why gum up the free trade agreements? the president has been saying it ever since he has been president. its target with his january speech. -- it started with his january speech. this is another way to pacify a

special interest group that does not belong in the equation at this point. if the taa is that essential, it ought to be able to stand on its own merits. we should not have to push like this at a time when they know we ought to be considering this seriously. this is important stuff. we cannot just do it at 3:00 in the afternoon on a day when a lot of people have left for july 4. >> will there be a separate vote? quirks of the house will have various votes and -- >> the house will have various boats. we are unified as the republicans. they are playing with our country's future. they are playing with our country's ability to deal straightforward in trade

agreements and [no audio] you know, we are willing to go through all that at an appropriate time, not being rushed and pushed into it at the last second. even this morning at 10:00, we would have done it. we went to that great extent to have a unanimous consent agreement. have a right to do. [inaudible] which is exactly what the chairman asked me to do. i am very disappointed that it has come to this. hopefully, -- it is our only way of telling the president about the agreement. it is still going to be up to

the administration on what they send up here. once it comes up, it cannot be amended. under the laws as we have them today. anybody else? >> senator, the democrats have agreed [inaudible] you were prepared to move forward. >> we were all prepared to move forward. the white house wanted to jam us. and we are not going to put up with being jammed. we have rights, too. all i can say is that we will not get shoved around like this when you have 97 under intense -- of incidents that people wanted to bring up.

-- 97 amendments that people want to bring up. we are not going to be jammed like this just because the white house does not want to deal straight up on these things. >> if the house could move it separately? >> i do not run the senate. they would be in a lot better position if they would deal straight up on it. none of us wants taa to model the three trade agreements. keep in mind, they said three months ago, he said, but we will get those agreements. there was no mention of taa. we go through all the things we

have to do get them ready. and then they said, we have to have taa. if they want to have it, bring it up. bring it up on its own merits. it may very well pass. to link it to the caribbean free-trade agreement -- to the caribbean trade agreement -- korean trade agreement, it is a bad precedent to start. these linked to the average domestic issue that we have. let's do it the right way. >> thank you very much. >> senate republicans did not attend a senate finance

committee this afternoon, saying efforts should be focused on job creation and cutting the national debt. ron kirk released a statement, here is part of it. the three pending trade agreements of south korea, panama, and columbia, will support -- colombia will supports thousands of jobs. the senate finance committee republicans were not. americans need their leaders at work in their seats, eyes on the ball, pushing every day to great policies that create jobs here at home. a statement from u.s. trade representative kirk. meanwhile, a senate democratic leaders have canceled the chamber's fourth of july recess, saying that they help progress can be made toward an agreement on increasing the debt limit and reducing the deficit. the senators spoke to reporters

about the ongoing negotiations. the senate voted this afternoon confirming general david petraeus as cia director. the vote was unanimous. the democrats on debt limit negotiations. >> we do not have any time to waste. the most important issue facing today is reaching an agreement about our deficit. we need to work out some arrangement quickly. before the market starts to react and american families suffer the consequences. he was john mccain's chief

economic adviser. he was an economist at moody's and has worked with democrats and republicans all over the country. he said, and we have to work something out soon. he talks about july. we cannot wait until august. july is here in just a few days. we have to hold a series of meetings, and we are going to do that. on tuesday, we'll have senator conrad, but they plan to move forward on a budget. on wednesday, we will have another caucus. it will be to have the administration focused -- we invited the president and vice president to come. we are confident that they will be able to be here. we also, on thursday, we will

have the president's economic team come. we need to stay on top of this. these big issues are resolved by people meeting and discussing things. the idea that a number of senators quietly say to me, and we really have to be here? we have to be here. otherwise, if one is not here -- we do not want one to think that what we are doing here -- the whole congress has to be involved. the main obstacle, and i want to be very clear, the republicans'

stubborn insistence on protecting giveaways that do not need the giveaways. how many of you are on the radio today -- in new york, somebody went to an atm machine, they left the receipt. the receipts said they withdrew $400. he still had in his account $100 million. these are the kind of people that should be paying their fair share. we are asking people who are struggling on a day-to-day basis to make their mortgage payment, their car payment, to determine if they will be able to send their kids back to school next year. and we have people who are making huge amounts of money. we democrats know we have to

work toward a balanced budget. we know that. we need some help. it should not be a burden on middle-class americans. the most pressing issue facing us is forging a bipartisan deal to cut spending while creating jobs and that is what we're going to do, we will focus on that all next week. we will focus on the economy. >> one of our senate republican colleagues came to was a short time ago and was critical of the present cost press conference yesterday. he used some very harsh language. he questioned what he had to say. what the president had to say is very important to all of us. this august 2 deadline on the deficit is serious. it is very serious. we are talking about the possibility that the united states would default for the

first time in history at a time when countries around the world are in default and crisis as a result of it. we are in the midst of a recovery in the recession. playing games with this deadline in dangers this recovery. if it looks like we may have -- not meet our responsibility, and just rates will go up. the worst thing that we could ask for in times of recovery. when the president expresses a sense of urgency that will parsley's and get to work and get this done, i think he is delivering a message to everybody ought to hear. the president said yesterday, revenue should be part of this conversation. he did not want to talk about revenue. he threw that hot potato over to john boehner. if we cannot bring revenue to

the table, we will not have a serious conversation. what we have identified in the last few days on the floor and off are ample opportunities for us to save money in our tax code. subsidies that are going to american businesses to ship jobs overseas should end immediately. the savings will encourage companies to state in america, employee american. the litany of subsidies that we have gone through, all of these things are special favors. protecting them is not protecting america. we have to step toward and break this deadline on the issue of revenue. i have been involved in this for a long time. this is a moment of truth. we have to get this done, and done quickly. otherwise, the economy will suffer.

>> thank you. it looks like we will be here in the capital for the fourth of july break, but it is time for serious negotiations. we do not need any extra fireworks going off here on capitol hill. a lot of us plan to be with our families back home next week. that is a small sacrifice compared to what is at stake if we do not reach an agreement to avoid a default. the clock is ticking on a deal, it is crunch time. we all know that raising the debt ceiling is not popular. no one side wants to own it by themselves. we will have to will dance and do this together. i told -- is saul senator mcconnell on the floor -- mitch mcconnell nose of the president's door has always been open. his availability has never been

in question. we do not need any more stunts. we need a willingness for both sides to give a little. we have given a lot. the vice president has said more than a billion dollars in cuts have already been identified. that would put as far down a road towards an agreement. the question is how to make up it seems like leader mcconnell is willing to take the economy for the sake of protecting tax breaks for oil companies, yacht, corporate jets. "i think the president's fiscal commission pointed out there is a lot of money using -- being used in tax expenditures. i think we need to get them out on the table. " senator alexander, "it is a good

time to take a hard look at unwarranted tax breaks." again, not one of us. another member of the republican leadership. it seems as senator mcconnell has ventured out on a lamp and many and his own caucus are socking it off. the center he joins the rest of his party, and abandons its rigid position on revenues, the sooner we can have a deal. >> i have been on the budget committee the entire time i had been in the senate. in all those years, i have to say i have never seen anything like what the republicans are willing to risk today in these negotiations and to they are willing to risk it all for. earlier this week, the bipartisan policy center put out a report that was authored by a

former bush treasury official about what would happen if republicans continue to play chicken. those scenarios were extremely gramm. at risk are the benefits in health care that we owe our veterans, that have served our nation honorably. so security checks for our seniors -- social security checks for our seniors. unemployment benefits. paid for are active-duty military. the question is, do they are willing to risk that for? it is for people who are making the most in this country. companies like exxon mobil, it is the owners of corporate jets

, large corporations who are shipping our jobs overseas, and it is the very wealthiest americans who are enjoying the most generous tax rates in over 60 years. they are not being asked to sacrifice. what we are asking for is that everybody participates. we do not want this budget balanced on the backs of our seniors, are working families, our veterans, and the hard- working americans who know that should be go to default because of their insistence on not shared sacrifice, it will hurt them the most. everybody be at the table, that is all we are asking. >> questions? >> biodiesels need to keep the senate here? is this just -- what do you need to keep the senate here?

is this just for show? >> we have to have the entire caucus involved. even though some of the negotiation takes place with some of us, the corvettes had a meeting with the president yesterday, we came back and each of us reported to the caucus. that caucus took more than two hours. they need to feel that they are in engaged in the debate around here. >> can you say with certainty that the votes are not there? what will be on the floor next week? >> we are not going to be [inaudible] on some piece of legislation that we do not have to vote on.

it takes both sides to get something done. neither one of us can do it alone. we are working on a number of different proposals. we struck four of them with the president yesterday. i do not know how many others have been discussed with other groups of people. we will spend some time next week on a very strong bipartisan measure. i talked to john mccain and john kerry both today. >> a lot of your colleagues [inaudible] what tax breaks -- are you forcing to -- are you forcing

republicans to vote on those? >> that is something that we are considering. as you know, the senate rules -- is not so easy to get things on the floor. one of the considerations, we might pick our favorite and go after that. that all takes time. everyone should accept this, why have we done this? why have we pointed out these individual tax breaks, standing alone, to have been together, they are worth tens of billions of dollars. i also appreciate my colleagues going down to the floor and laying out to the american public that we are talking about. somebody you has an atm account with $100 million should be paying their fair share.

>> how much it needs to be in revenues? >> there are all kinds of [inaudible] senator bourbon has feelings differently than others. we are not hear it -- senator durbin has feelings differently than others. it would be very unfair for the people who are struggling to bear the burden when the fat cats [inaudible] thank you, everybody. >> white house press secretary told reporters that president obama will not attend the meeting that mcconnell called for tomorrow on the debt

ceiling. he would negotiate with members of congress about next week. this briefing is about an hour. >> kind of a small crowd today bread -- today. today, i believe the white house announced that it will host its first ever twitter town hall on wednesday, july 6, at 2:00 in the east room of the white house. jack dorsey will moderate a conversation between president obama and americans across the economy about -- across the country about the economy and jobs.

more information can be found at the event home page. very exciting. i will take your questions. >> is the president going to accept the invitation to go to deal today? how does he justify going to philadelphia? >> the president has met repeatedly with leaders and with members. he had the entire senate republican caucus you're not too long ago. benny had the entire house republican caucus here not -- then he had the entire house republican caucus. what the senator invited the president to do was to hear senate republicans restate their position. we know what that position is. he also invited him to hear what would not pass.

that is not a conversation worth having. what we need to have is a conversation about what will pass. negotiations that build upon the success -- to move forward with a significant deficit reduction deal that is balanced and fair. the american people are demanding it. the american people are tired of the posturing. they just want us to work. they want washington to negotiate and reach an agreement. they want each side to move outside their comfort zone to accept the tough choices that they would not ordinarily want to accept, but which the demands of the time demands. we are in a situation where the parameters of what a deal would look like are very clear.

nobody believes that a comprehensive substantial budget deficit reduction deal does not have to be balanced. would not include cuts can not discussion airing and defense spending, savings in health-care spending as well as savings from the tax code. we believe that that that is what the american people want. a position at stating that we would rather have the united states default on its obligations, not maintain its full faith and credit, we would rather have that than eliminate tax subsidies for the oil and gas industry? we would rather have that happen

then eliminate a loophole for corporate jets owners? i do not think that is a tenable position. >> the president does not think it is worthwhile to converse with republicans until he sees but they have moved [inaudible] talkingnot sure who's points you are repeating with the question. he does not think it is worth -- that we are in a position now that we need to hear what the senator has said. their position is that they would walk away from talks, walk away from negotiations rather than accept as part of getting a big deficit reduction deal, we need to eliminate tax subsidies and loopholes for hedge fund managers. that does not mean that we cannot negotiate and talk. he wants that to happen, and it has been happening.

we believe that we can still get a significant deficit reduction deal. >> [inaudible] >> we can walk and chew gum at the same time, as the president said yesterday he has met this week with senator mcconnell. last week, twice with house speaker john painter. -- john boehner. those were listening sessions when the president listened to what they had to say. >> ok, can you state unequivocably that the august 2 deadline -- that it could be pushed back? >> would i can tell you is that treasury -- career people at the

treasury department evaluate the data and this is a bigger economy and a government that takes a lot of money and has an out -- a lot of obligations to meet. their assessment is that we already surpassed the debt ceiling. because of things that we can do, it is august 2. if they make changes and that, that is for them to do. we are talking about a narrow margin. whether it is august 1 or august 2 or august 3, we are up against a wall. it is not reasonable to play chicken with the full faith and credit of the united states government. you hear some folks saying that this is not a serious issue, this is not something to be alarmed by a comment that -- alarmed by, that it would be ok

to pay interest on the debt. but not paid social security checks. that is not acceptable. that is not a good alternative. there is no question, i think, but according to all outside economic analyst, that the markets would not review a decision to default charitably. again, it is always worth reminding those lawmakers on the hill if think somehow this is a game that president ronald reagan did not think so. he wrote to howard baker in 1983 about the need to vote to raise the debt ceiling so that the united states did not default on its obligations. "this country now possesses the

strongest credits in the world." the full consequences of a default or even the serious prospect of default are impossible to predict. denigration of the full faith and credit of the united states would have substantial effect on the domestic financial markets and the value of the dollar. the nation can ill afford to allow such a result. the senate must pass this legislation before the congress adjourns. that was president ronald reagan on the need for the united states to pay its bills. yes? >> has the president ruled out [inaudible] >> what i won't do is negotiate

the particular the agreement. the president made clear that we have the capacity. if we have the will, we have the capacity to achieve significant deficit reduction all decided that has been discussed in the past. that requires taking a balanced approach. the balanced approach that was supported by the bipartisan commission. . .

that in a different environment he would not want to make and the democrats would not want to

make. he believes that it's important. he believes that the american people expect us to do it. i think to the extent that people are paying attention to the details of debt, deficit, you know, and the different ways that we're going about this, what they want is for washington to work. and we live in a great country with a two-party system that things done. that's what we need to do now. >> is the senate having cancelled its july 4 recess, can you tell us what might now be on the schedule for the week? >> i don't have specific scheduling announcements to make, but obviously we will be engaged as we have been at all levels in negotiating with members of congress to try to achieve the kind of agreement we thought was possible, and

obviously that would include next week. >> can you explain what change the president's mood yesterday, a lot of people were mentioning he is toughening it up. why did he decide to do that? was it his level of frustration? could it make things worse? not to beat a dead horse, doesn't he open himself up to a lot of criticism to go to fundraisers at the very same time that there is a possibility of meeting? >> i would first of all say that he was just glad to see you guys yesterday, so that's why he was so expansive and he -- what he was trying to convey yesterday and i think he feels a great sense of urgency, that this is a rare moment as i was just saying that offers the opportunity to do something big , that has needed to be done

for some time, which is to achieve a significant comprehensive deficit reduction deal that demonstrates to the country and the world that we are getting our fiscal house in order and we can do it in a way that is balanced, that will not just allow our economy to continue to grow and allow our economy to continue to create jobs but give it a boost because of the confidence that it creates by the fact that washington can work and get things done and that lawmakers who are sent here to do the will of the people, to do the nation's business actually do that. and that leaders lead. leaders make tough decisions. nobody got elected to congress or the white house to make easy decisions. they were sent here as representatives of the people to make hard choices. and that's what the president hopes will happen and his -- he

expressed that i think quite clearly yesterday at the press conference. >> the thing about the fund racer? >> again, we can walk and chew gum at the same time. there are any number of elected officials who are raising money for their campaigns probably all week and all weekend. that is not the issue. the president has been deeply engaged in these negotiations. he has had again, senator mcconnell here this week, house speaker boehner here twice, here once last week and then met with him over the weekend the previous weekend. he has had the full senate-republican caucus, the full house republican caucus here. he looks forward to more engagements and conversations with leaders and members of both parties. i'm not going to make scheduling announcements. again, part of the fact that we're so serious about getting a deal done as opposed to engaging in political theater is that we are going to have meetings that i'm not going to tell you about.

and we do have meetings. we're trying to get a deal done here. >> what is the purpose for not telling us? >> i hope i didn't send some sort of mysterious signal here is that we don't read out every meeting that he has and we don't necessarily advertise every meeting that he has. let me be clear. i am not saying there are some meetings with leaders that i'm not telling you about. that is not the case. as has been the case in the past, he has had phone conversations with leaders of congress. he and the vice president and other members and with relevant members of congress who are engaged in these negotiations that we obviously don't run out here and tell you about as they happen or before they happen and why we didn't read out the day about-day details of the negotiations that the vice president led precisely because we want them to produce a positive result. we don't want to win points

we want to do what works to allow for an agreement to be reached. sorry, is the front row satisfied? always? i was coming down but, jim, you're kind of new here so, we have this sort of thing, it's your turn if you would like it take it? >> you're aware of the greek parliament moving with cuts there. does the white house view, has the storm passed and what kind of warning sign is the panic over a greek default in the american context as you approach the august 2 deadline? you saw how the markets reacted to that prospect. you're a month away from it. >> i don't think the analogy works here. what i will say is obviously we

said consistently that we believe that the i.n.m. and the e.u., the europeans and the greeks had it within their capacity to address that problem and we obviously think it's important that the greek government take the necessary measures to address the problem. but beyond that, i think obviously our circumstances are quite significantly different. having said that, i will only refer you to the comments i just made about how serious the prospect of default is for this country, for the united states of america, the most powerful and important economy on the globe and a place that investors around the world look to as a safe harbor because we pay our bills. >> i'm not equating the two. i'm saying if the markets react to the tiny greek economy, the prospect of default, what kind of warning signs as you approach that? >> again, it's a distinct situation and involving in

europe, but i would say as we have in the past that it is not a good idea to play chicken with hour obligations in the full face and credit of the united states and the prospect of default in the united states. i think as we said in the past that the markets would react badly as ronald reagan said in 1983 to the senate majority leader that even the prospect of default would be viewed very negatively by the markets. we expect that would be true here. chip. >> clarification. when the president was talking about tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, was he talking specifically about breaks for people, individuals making over $200,000 and couples making more than $250,000? >> he was talking about corporate jet owners, he was talking about -- he was not talking about individual tax rates. he was talking about some of the other provisions that we have set out in terms of hedge

fund managers who through a provision, a tax preference in the law are allowed to have their income which is designated income from their labor be taxed at a capital gains rate called carried interest. it is a loophole that should be eliminated. hedge fund managers by and large make a whole bunch of money. >> he said hedge fund and he said jets and then he said millionaires and billionaires. are you talking about provisions on individual tax deductions, denying deductions for people making more than $200,000? >> we are talking about the itemized deductions for people who make over $250,000, yes, the 28%. that is a proposal that the president has had on the table for quite a long time here. >> people making $200,000 a year is a millionaire? >> you want to have a little game exchange here.

the president -- >> he was talking about people making more than $200 and couples making more than $250,000 and he grouped them as millionaires and billionaires. >> no that is not what he is talking about. there are provisions called carried interest in which the hedge fund managers, carried interest, those are the millionaires and billionaires that we talked about. obviously, the millionaires and billionaires who are affected by the deduction, the itemized deduction is true, too. we have been very clear from the beginning, it's been a proposal from the beginning that we believe that we should change the law in terms of allowing for itemized deductions for those who make more than $200,000, $250,000. >> the package. >> the overall proposal includes all of these things including not renewing the bush tax cuts for the wealthiest americans. >> this package that you're talking about now -- >> there is no separate package. when we talk about what the republicans when they said they couldn't negotiate anymore

because of tax increases, let's just talk about where they were drawing a line. they're drawing a line not on everything. they're drawing a line on corporate private jets. they're drawing a line on hedge fund managers. they're drawing a line on subsidize for oil and gas companies, including not the dreekt subsidies, but the provisions which they benefit from disproportionately which allows them to mark their profits based on the last barrel of oil that they bought as opposed to what they purchased -- >> you're saying part of the deal that the president would like to do is eliminating some deductions for people who make more than $200,000. it's not just millionaires and billionaires. >> we said that is our overall proposal. what we have also said is that we are willing to make tough choices, but that the republicans have said they have drawn a line in the sand on

anything. they said that they will walk away from the deal over a provision that gets tax preference for the owners of corporate jets, a provision that gives oil and gas companies $40 billion in subsidies even as they are making record profits. >> speaking of corporate jets, it's been estimated, that would save $3 billion over 10 years. that is less than .1 of 1% of the amount of money we're the president said the american people are tired of political posturing. isn't that the essence? >> that's the line they were drawing. they would rather protect that loophole than come to an agreement, a balanced agreement that allows us to pay down the debt, reduce our deficits and continue to grow and create jobs. >> isn't that the loophole that -- >> i'm not negotiating particulars here. they have made it very clear that is unacceptable.

they made it unclear eliminating a subsidy for the oil and gas industry is not is acceptable. allowing for a provision that gives hedge fund managers the opportunity to have their income tax at significantly lower rates than you and i, that's unacceptable. that's a position that doesn't reflect what the american want and not tenable. if you're serious about getting a significant deal. >> senator schumer has said that he believes that the republicans are trying to tank the economy intentionally for political gains. does the white house agree with that? >> i haven't seen those remarks. i think everybody has their position and that we all believe that we need to grow the economy and create jobs and that we should do the things that help us get there. i think that's a position that we certainly believe is widely held in washington. >> you talk about senator

mcconnell's invitation. i understand senator reid has also invited the president and vice president next wednesday to the hill. have you guys accepted that? >> no, i don't believe i have any scheduling announcements to make or any acceptances to announce for next week. we will obviously be engaged in conversations at a variety of levels. in what form they will take, i don't have an announcement about it yet. >> there is some suggestion with the tougher tone with republicans is perhaps a sign that you guys are losing hope that they're going to agree to a deal at some point. have we gotten into that danger zone? >> we remain optimistic that it is still possible to get a significant deal, a balanced deal. it goes without saying and it was said explicitly by the president yesterday that we will not get everything we

want. we accept that. that is what the american people expect. we are willing to compromise. we are willing to get outside of our comfort zone. we are willing to accept cuts that we would traditionally not want to. we are willing to look at everything that is being put on the table by all parties. so obviously this is hard business and we are in a situation that is increasingly urgent, but we remain optimistic that we can get this done. >> by the president's own admission, it seems that at this point any deal will have to include a cut in defense spending. given this is a critical time to draw down troops in afghanistan, the uptick in violence in iraq, isn't he concerned that more cuts in defense spending will jeopardize the gains made?

>> as you know, he asked secretary gates and obviously his successor will pick up the baton here to identify further cuts that can be made in the defense budget. his framework called for $400 billion if i recall correctly in further defense cuts. he obviously said that his highest priority, the national security of the united states, the safety and security of the american people both here and abroad and asets abroad. it does not in anyway restrict our ability to protect our national security. i think it's important to remember how significantly the defense department's commitment has been increased over the past 10 years for obvious reasons. in the context of this, you mentioned iraq, we have withdrawn 100,000 u.s. troops plus in iraq. we, as you are beginning to

withdraw forces from iraq next month. >> are you getting pushback from commanders on the ground? >> from commanders, no. >> switching gears, a nigerian man had a boarding pass that was invalid. what is the president's reaction and is there any concern that there needs to be a review of the t.s.a.'s practices and procedures? >> i don't have a reaction from the president on this because obviously he is updated on security matters. i don't know specifically whether he has been updated on this, although i imagine he was. all i can say is this is an ongoing investigation. i need to refer you to the f.b.i. i say that every passenger that passes through security checkpoints is subject to many layers of security as we all know including thorough physical screening at the checkpoint as well as other measures. our security agencies take any

situation like this seriously and i can assure you they are investigating this situation thoroughly. beyond that, i refer you to the f.b.i. and the t.s.a. laura. >> hi. just this week, president obama was touting manufacturing in iowa and the manufacturers is one group that has a problem with the lipo proposal. the president is touting it as one of the revenue increases needed. would this hurt manufacturing and hurt jobs in this fragile time of the economy? >> we believe this is an appropriate proposal to make to get accounting basically in line with where practice is headed and this goes to the provision that by the way is 40% of this existing lipo provision, last in, first out, the benefits of that are enjoyed, 40% of them are enjoyed by the oil and gas industry that again allows if you're an oil company and you

can sell a barrel of oil today for let's say $100, that you bought two years ago for $40. instead of paying taxes on that $60 profit, you pay taxes on, say, a $2 profit if that's what you were able to buy a barrel for yesterday at $98. this is about fairness of it, companies across the board in the economy are treated the same way. the president believes that it will be implemented in a way that will not harm industry, but will, in fact, strengthen it because it simplifies the tax code. >> industry will benefit from this? >> i think in the long term, the simplification of the tax code would be a good thing, yes. >> is the point of insisting on revenues because you need the money to get to the target that you were trying to reach or because from a symbolic point of view it's important that it be balanced or both? >> i think both are important.

we're down here, we're beyond symbolism here. we are about finding a way to get to a significant agreement and a deficit ducks of a significant size. the only way to do that that is balanced, that is fair is to include reductions in spending through the tax code. otherwise you're faced with the choices that we saw in the house republican budget. and those choices are not only unbalanced and unfair because of the disproportionate burden those choices place on seniors who would have to because you basically end the medicare program as you know it and then seniors then pick up the tabs to the tune of $6,000 person per year, $6,000, that you also run a serious risk of harming the kind of growth in the economy that we need to see. only if we do this in a

balanced way -- if we do this in a balanced way, we dramatically increase the chances that what we do will be a net plus for the economy, that even as we're reducing government spending, which is an important goal, but done in the wrong way can have a negative impact on economic growth, if we do it in a balanced way, we believe create the best opportunity for actually increasing growth and increasing job creation. >> and finally, on the town hall meeting, will the president be giving his responses in 140 characters or less? >> let me see if i have the details on that. that's a good question. we'll have to get back to you on how that works. >> speaking or just tweeting? >> do we know the answer to that? >> no. >> we'll have to find out how this will work. it will be webcast, so it will

be live. he'll be speaking. questions will come and twitter oversees the process. there will be multiple ways the questions get to the president. twitter users will begin asking questions via the ask obama hash tag today. twitter is developing a number of ways to identify the most common and representative questions. >> he is not tweeting? >> he is just answering the questions. he is not answering in tweeting -- the questions are coming in. it is a twitter town hall meeting. the questions are coming in from twitter users. are you one? >> yes. my second or third time on twitter. >> you get to ask questions of the president yesterday, two weeks in a row if you get asked. >> going back to your previous characterization of political theater, who are the main actors on the political theater stage in your estimation? >> all of washington is a

stage, peter. the point i'm trying to make is that we understand what the absolutist positions are, the starting positions to put it in a neutral way that the positions that republicans have taken, the positions that democrats have taken and the position that this president has taken. what we have said is we are willing and have demonstrated our willingness to move off of our starting positions. hearing from one side to the other what their starting position is which is clear to everyone doesn't really advance the process. it doesn't advance the process. the president had the opportunity to hear directly, live in person, face-to-face, those views from senate republicans and house republicans when he invited and had them here at the white

house. obviously, political theater is engaged in all the time in washington by a variety of actors. my point is simply that the -- this is a situation that is serious enough and urgent enough that we need to negotiate. we need to roll up our sleeves, get to work. continue the work that has been done which it's important to knowledge that significant progress was made by participants, democrats, republicans, representatives of the administration and that we can continue that process and reach an agreement if we're willing to make some tough choices. >> yesterday when he was showing exasperation with congress, i was wondering if

how he has been involved in the crisis beyond briefings and staff conference calls. has he been calling leaders personally? can you give us details about his involvement? >> in addition to the regular briefings he has gotten from his senior advisors on this particular matter that he has obviously had conversations with leaders about, over these many weeks about the situation there. i don't have anything beyond that for you because it is a fact that we -- we're confident and continue to be confident that the europeans and the i.m.f. have the capacity to deal with this and have dealing with it. >> has it been mostly in a staying in touch with people capacity or was he advocating this is what we should do if >> no, the former. again, it's important to note

here that this is -- while the president and i and others have made the point that the turmoil created by that obviously created a headwind for the global economy and therefore the u.s. economy that the response and the actions that needed to be taken and have been taken were local, european and also with the i.m.f. and not actions that we took. >> a couple of things. in light of what we have been discussing, can you say to international loan holders that their investments in u.s. treasuries are fake? what is it based on? >> it's a question that i think would be most appropriately directed to the treasury department. i do want to state that we remain confident that congress will do the right thing, that the leaders who have said that we will because we have to make

the vote that insures that we meet our obligations and pay our bills, that that will happen. we remain confident that that will happen. and that's why i think it's the irresponsible talk out there about how it's not a big deal, it's not serious, or we could somehow pay some bills and not the others because that's, i think that's the kind of thing that could create some uncertainty that is not helpful. >> secondly, if i may, again, in the spirit of walking and chewing gum, you are preoccupied. by you, i mean the u.s. government leaders. you're occupied with domestic issues. for russians, for example, this year it involves both branches

of the u.s. government. my question is simple. will you have the time and the willingness to spend whatever is required to even concede the issue is here? >> we have talked about it quite a bit. i have answered questions about it from here. we certainly did discuss it in france at the recent meeting there where the president had a bilateral meeting with president medvedev. i think you're right that today and some days that we talk about principally domestic issues. since i took this podium, we have spent a significant amount of time discussing international issues. it's a demonstration of the fact that you don't -- both are incredibly high priorities and both are things that this president, this administration, and any president and any administration have to deal with in any congress. with in any congress. >> i'm saying