themselves, i think you saw in the crisis there was advice given by all levels of government about what should be done to protect yourself against the emergency, in terms of getting additional supplies. battery, food, water. the government said that they had mandatory evacuation. but the mayor of new york said this is a mandatory evacuation of but we are not going to charge anyone with a crime who does not respond. so it is mandatory in some sense, but not completely. the public has a responsibility of listening to the first responders and taking advice about evacuating areas that may be in harm's way. it is true, there is sort of a kick back against major bloomberg because he evacuate people from nursing homes and hospitals which were not affected. the subway system was shut down.

some people were arguing that that was an overreaction. it is impossible to predict in these situations who and where is going to be hurt. it is better to be safe than sorry. as many governors and mayors have said, we are preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. host: that will have to be the final word. michael greenberger, thank you for helping us kick in that -- kickoff of the week. thank you for watching. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011]

>> president obama this morning departing from the white house on his way to minneapolis, minnesota, where he will deliver remarks at the american legion convention. is expected to talk about his plans to help veterans of iraq and afghanistan find jobs and employme -- unemployment among the veterans is almost double the national average. we will have coverage at noon eastern. at 1:00 eastern, labor secretary hilda solis speaks at the national press club in washington. she will speak about unemployment rates and job creation, plan next week -- as president obama plans to unveil his jobs plan next week. a little later, the atlantic

council has a discussion on the challenges facing the u.s. military in training afghanistan's security forces as a u.s. and international troops draw down levels.

with the unveiling of a memorial honoring martin luther king jr. on the national mall in washington last week, the afl- cio and king center posted a symposium friday focusing on jobs, social justice and dr. king's division of the american dream. next, a panel discussion on the state of the u.s. economy could speakers include rev. jesse jackson and the exhibit director of jobs with justice -- executive director of jobs with justice. this is about 55 minutes. >> second time i have had to come to a microphone after john lewis has spoken. [laughter]

that was powerful. first, we have a member of the painters' union in new york, who is currently, along with the so many others in the country, looking for work. if you would come up. welcome, thank you so much for being here. appreciate it. [applause] right over here. i am also delighted to introduce kathleen hofman, a teacher in the cincinnati public school system where, as in so many other places, teachers are foremost among the public employees being viciously attacked. katie thank you so much for coming. [applause] sarita gupta is the director of jobs with justice, an organization seeking to build a global movement around the fight for decent employment. let's welcome sarita to the

panel. [applause] delighted to welcome a sociology professor at harvard was focused on the decline of unions as one of the most important contributors to growing wage inequality in this country. welcome, prof. [applause] you know, we are here to honor a man who stood for the best in america, but we've not lived up to his incandescent vision. our tendency, as richard trumka pointed out, has been to celebrate dr. king but not to hear him, not to heed the lessons he offered us in such abundance. the result is that we have lost our way. america has become a country that board shiploads of cash into one futile war after another while at the same time

demolishing school budgets, laying off teachers, firefighters and police officers, and generally letting the bottom falls out of our quality of life here at home. an army of the long-term unemployed counted in the many millions is spread across the land. the human fallout from the great recession, at many long years of misguided economic policies. the fewer jobs being created too often pay a pittance -- the minimum wage or just above -- not nearly enough to pry open the doors to a middle-class standard of living. poverty is once again on the march, moving like pat and's third like patton's division for communities that were never able to secure more than at tenuous hold on the american dream in the first place. 4 million americans are living in poverty, more than a 14% of

the population. more than 15 million children are poor, one out of every five children in the united states. that is a disgrace. 17 million people are living in extreme poverty. a family of four in that category would have an annual income below $11,000. try raising a family and $11,000 a year. it is not a recession that those folks are facing. they are in a full-blown depression. what are our leaders doing about this? less than nothing. they are actually cutting at the center programs, trying to outdo one another in washington's latest mac political fat, austerity -- mad political fad, austerity. communities of color have been the hardest hit at its downturn, and government policies are only making matters worse off from them.

african-americans and latinos were clobbered by the great recession and are now being disproportionately hurt by draconian cuts to medicaid, layoffs at the state and local level, the unconscionable coordinated and profoundly destructive attacks on public employees. all this needs to cease. that won't happen until people organize and fight back, and fight back hard, as dr. king and so many others organized and fought back so many years ago. enough is enough. if there is but one message i would try to get through to the nation's leadership, it is that we cannot begin to put the united states back on track until we begin to put our people back to work. people might be associate of race "i have a dream" with dr. king -- the phrase "i have a

dream" with dr. king, but not so many note that the march on washington in 1963 was a march for jobs and freedom. dr. king and many others understood in those days that it made no sense to speak for freedom for men and women if they were going to remain trapped in the shackles of poverty and unemployment. he pointedly warned us not to overlook what he called "the circumstances of economic injustice." we are here today to heed that warning, to make sure that we at least not overlook the circumstances of economic injustice. i have always found dr. king's dream and the american dream to be interchangeable. i don't see it whispers worth of difference between the two. what saddens me is that because of our folly and our neglect, both of those dreams are on life-support, gasping, straining

to survive. it is up to us to change this tragic scenario, to do all we can to make sure that dr. king's dream and the american dream survive. thank you very much. [applause] so i'm going to have to put on my old military sergeants hat and start moving things pretty quickly here. we are going to go to questions, if i confine my introduction here. -- if i can find my introduction here. which i can't. the first question is for you. you have the honor. you or a painter who works and construction in new york city. i want to get a sense -- construction work has been particularly hard hit in this economic environment.

i want to get a sense of what the past two threor three years have been like for you personally. >> let me go back to 2005, when i started as an apprentice and there was an abundance of work. i was actually turning down work, that's how much their wives. as soon as the recession hit, i stayed home for about four months, which was pretty good compared to the men and women who have been home for over a year, year-and-a-half. all the unemployment benefits were expired, and they cannot pay their mortgages, they have a hard time trying to figure out how to send their kids to school. it is hard out there for them. >> if i have it correct, you are a member of district council 9 of the painters' union. how does it work? how do you get there? >> we go to our call and talk with business reps, and business trips speak to contractors who

give us the work. if the contractors are not getting any work, then they cannot send us to work. what it is is there is about 10, 15 major buildings that have either been stalled or stopped completely because the banks are not getting the contractors -- they are not giving the loans. that keeps 1000, 2000, at 3000 workers home, and they could go back of the buildings were active. >> you mentioned one who had fallen on particularly hard times. what happened with him? >> well, yeah, he lost his house, and at that time he was going through a divorce. it was hard on him at. one of the business reps actually seen him panhandling in the subways, and he had to bring the man and talk to him. he found him a job, but the fact that he was out there panhandling says all lot.

>> this is the kind of thing that is happening in this country in the united states of america, in 2011. this is not 1950, folks. it is starting to look a lot like the 1930's. katie, you are a teacher in cincinnati. get us started by telling us what you teach and how all your students are. >> i teach music, a kindergarten to sixth grade students. >> you are among those targeted by republican efforts to eliminate collective bargaining rights in ohio. can you tell us a little bit about that struggle and how you guys have responded? >> when john kasich was running for governor, he made very clear that he was going to break the back of the teacher unions in which. -- in ohio. he said it all through his campaign. people did not believe he was going to do it. well, he did they managed, through very devious methods, to get senate bill 5 passed through

the house and senate. when we had an opportunity to go to the statehouse, testify, if amendments, they locked us out. locked the doors of the statehouse, did not allow us to come in. now, wisconsin -- go wisconsin -- has done a lot of work and at fought and shown what the people are speaking about. he is getting scared, realizing that the referendum we have on the ballot in november is probably going to go down. no on issue 2 is going to win in ohio because 1.3 million people signed a petition to get it on the ballot. these were not just union folks. these were all the people in ohio who are outraged at this draconian methods of beating up workers in ohio. >> i got to tell you, i was out in columbus, it just happened to

be there the day those provisions were delivered. that was some scene. it was like a holiday in columbus, ohio. people were really pumped up. >> one of the teachers in cincinnati ran the 100 miles from cincinnati out there with petitions on his back and then met up occur as the whole parade came to the statehouse. it was just really awesome to see that real ohio is up and fighting, coming together, a grass-roots, coordinated effort. behind that, we had this on the ballot in november. they passed house bill 94, voter suppression. by september 30, we've got to get 231,000 signatures on petitions to get that on the ballot, or that voter suppression goes into effect 2012. we cannot have that for the 2012 election. we have to have people have the right to vote.

we have 1.3 million signatures. 231,000 is nothing. if we come together and fight. [applause] >> you know, we just heard from john lewis and reverend jackson is here in the front row. it is 2011, and we're talking about voter suppression? please, please. one more question about your experience out there. in addition to what is happening with the collective bargaining rights, there has been substantial budget cuts in ohio. can you give us a little sense of how extensive they have been and how they it really affected the school system in other aspects of community life in ohio. >> we are scrambling in ohio.

in cleveland, 700 teachers were let go in the spring. , three days before school started, 200 more were that got rid class sizes of the 50 and above. combat -- 200 more were let go. class sizes of 50 and above. that does not help our children. we have more and more children who are homeless. that affects what they are able to do in the school. day-by-day struggles are tremendous for small children. it is just amazing that we have had to create community learning centers where children go after school because parents are doing whatever they can to put food on the table for their children. all across ohio, a health-care workers, child care workers, everybody is being affected by what is going on. cleveland is a mayorial- controlled school district, so he is relishing senate bill 5

and putting it together already. most people you should have by the end of april 41 that go from your job but he just let 200 more teachers go. i don't know how we are going to survive. >> sarita, you seem to be doing exactly the kind of work that dr. king urged so many of us to do. tell us a little bit about jobs with justice. >> sure. so jobs for justice -- we are a national network. 47 collisions in 26 states that bring together labor unions, community-based organizations, faith based groups and student organizations. our main mission is to support, expand, protect the right to organize and collectively bargain. and work on a range of issues we know are important for workers and communities, whether it be health care, immigration, trade issues, the whole gamut. >> can you give us a sense of what you are seeing out there?

describe the employment landscape you and your colleagues are seeing when you are fanning out and talking to workers and their families who, in many cases, the unemployed. >> davon and kathleen gave a beautiful picture of what is happening. people are struggling. when we are out there talking to workers and community members, like our coalition in chicago, for example, has been organizing and unemployment council that meets every single week. people -- these are folks who have gone to school, they and educational backgrounds, and they cannot find a job, let alone people who have grown up and are in poverty and continue to be put further into poverty. the way in which people are struggling is profound. it certainly inspired us at jobs for justice to say this is a moment, and i'm really so pleased to hear congressman lewis talk about the need to

build unity, and president from got -- president trumka talked about this. we need to bring public sector workers, private-sector workers, immigrants, excluded workers now more than ever and we need to be defending and attacking what we have, but more importantly, we need to be -- protecting what we have, but more importantly, we need to be creating what we need. >> one of the things i am often asked as i travel around the country is what can ordinary people do to help? to a great extent, people feel like they are separate and apart from the government, that they and not really represented by their elected officials, and they feel their voices are not hurt. they have a tendency to give out. are there things that ordinary people can do, and if so, what would you recommend? >> i think ordinary people are

the engine behind the movement. frankly, it is ordinary people's vision for what they want in the future, the hope that they garry, the love that they can carry for humanity, for one another, that, frankly, will make a difference in the kind of movement we build and the kind of long-lasting change that we make. its ordinary workers, whether it is one of the 45,000 verizon workers who decides to go on strike last week and say enough is enough, or one of the students who stood up and said we are going to do a sit-down strike in africa and say enough is enough, those are ordinary -- to a sit-down strike in our factory and say enough is enough, those are ordinary people. we have to understand each other's struggles and understand that there is a collective struggle here. i am inspired every single day by people like davon and kathleen and many workers we have seen to have taken risks.

people are taking risks. those verizon workers who went on strike took major risks to be on strike at a time when the economy is so bad, when he is so easy for employers and major private sector corporations like verizon to say, "well, forget it, there are plenty of other people who want jobs here." it is important for ordinary people to see that it is not just about fighting for what we have, but it is about trying to hold the line, we are trying to move the line. we are trying to move society, and we have to have people define what the society is. add jobs with justice, we are doing a lot of campaigns and hopefully we will be able to share some of that. one of the most profound once -- we are looking at the demographics in this country. everyone knows that in years to come we will become majority

people of color nation. there is also a huge shift in the age that is happening. we have our growing aging population. there is an opportunity for us to step in front of those demographic shifts and really think about what kind of society we are building. we are launching at tearing across generations campaign that looks at how we transform the long-term care industry in the country and put front and center the question and the value of care. what does that mean for people who need care? what does that mean for the workers who are actually about good quality jobs, don't have bargaining rights in many arenas, and many immigrants, frankly, or doing these jobs and don't have the pathway to citizenship and the labor protections they need. >> these very serious problems that american workers are

facing began long before the so- called great recession. in fact, they go all the way back to the 1970's. is there a way to summarize in this setting what happened to american workers during that period? >> yes. >> thank god he said yes guest: [laughter] >> i thought -- thank god he said yes. [laughter] >> i thought that's what you are going to ask. we can look at the history of the last 30 or 40 years as a steady erosion power of the american worker. we go back to the 1960's, the early 1970's, the law also economic inequality, much lower rates of unionization --

economic inequality, much lower. rates of demonization, much higher. now we find ourselves in an -- hisrates of unionization, much higher. now we find ourselves in a recession, the largest since the great depression. it coincides with a low point in at the bargaining power of the american worker . i think it is tempting to view the recession as a natural event that has just overwhelmed the labor market. there was a catastrophe in the financial sector, the home mortgage sector, and that precipitated this enormous

recession. but i think we have to see the depth of the recession and the slowness of the recovery has also related to this weakened bargaining power of the american worker. management is shedding jobs more zealously in economic downturn than it did in the past, part because the institutional conditions on the shop floor and also in washington have become so much more adverse. there are simply a very few strong organized voice is now speaking out for the poor and working people. this is the context in which we are having the political conversation we're having now in washington, which seems utterly detached from the social and

economic reality out in the labor market. >> you mention inequality, an important issue, but it does not get much traction in our society. it is like infrastructure, one of those words were people's eyes glaze over. can you explain a little bit about why aordinary americans should care about inequality, and why the extreme inequality we are seeing now is bad for a society as a whole? >> as inequality has grown, and over the last 15 years, it lot of the growth in inequality has been driven by the very, very rapid rise of incomes at the very top of the distribution.

there is an extraordinarily wealthy class of people now who are completely separate from the rest of american society. it is this top is tradition that is having an outsized influence on the political process -- this top is tradition that is having an outsized influence on the political process. that is one reason we should care about inequality. it is distorting and undermining the quality of american democracy. >> they have more clout, more say, more access. >> exactly, exactly. the other part of it is, as inequality has increased, economic insecurity has also increased. things like the risk of job loss, if we think about the household as an economic unit, risks of divorce and separation,

because under-insurance and on insurance is increasing -- and uninsurance is increasing, people are more exposed to the rest of the catastrophic health events. virtually all of this increase in securi -- increased insecurity is concentrated in the bottom third of the population. that is the other piece of the rise in inequality. people's lives have become much more insecure, because their lives are much more insecure. it is harder for them to imagine a future for themselves and their children, hard for them to make investments in themselves and their children. >> thank you. sarita, if i could get back to you for a moment, you are a big believer in what i think are two important progns\/ solution, when his

organization, the other is massive job creation. talk about job creation in a little bit. we have many millions of people out of work, and that is before we get to the under-employed. forget for a moment the sort of stalemated political process. if we really had an opportunity to do something substantial, what would you like to see done in terms of job creation? >> if we could set aside the political climate we are in, we should all be pushing for a massive federal jobs bill. that is the vision, that is what we need right now. we need to make sure that we are not only pushing for jobs, but we are pushing what we like to justice. with we need to make sure that right

now we are, again, paying attention to where we think in the economy real job growth is possible. i know in our organization we have been digging deep and saying, well, we know retail continues to be growing, for example. these are jobs that are in the community, and major retailers like wal-mart expanding into urban centers and college campuses and promising the creation of jobs, we need to be pushing not only for a federal jobs bill, but looking at segments of the economy like retail, direct air, and others, and pushing for the actual creation of jobs in those segments of the economy where there is that kind of growth potential. i feel like we are at a moment in history where we cannot just the general about it. we cannot just say we need a federal jobs bill, but we need to get specific.

what kinds of jobs, which jobs, how do we ensure we have a robust public sector in this country. in addition to a robust public sector, we cannot forget the growing private sector either. we need to balance operation looking for both of those lenses. -- balance job creation looking through both of those lenses. >> davon, it seems to me it -- not "seems to me," it is a fact -- with infrastructure in this country, the estimates are $2-4 trillion over improvements we need this is the time that the construction industry has taken it on the chin, and we have all kinds of manufacturing workers unemployed. it seems to me that somebody ought to be able to put to to to get a bit you take these construction workers, engineers who need jobs, with jobs waiting

for them. from your perspective, is that feasible? can you imagine a situation where there is tremendous work being done in infrastructure and your folks go work? obviously, you like to see that happen, what do you think is feasible? -- but do you think is feasible? >> in new york city, bloomberg signed a $5 billion worth of work, so that helps us a lot. >> he paid for that out of his private checking account. [laughter] >> but even with that, there is still 15% unemployment in the building trade, and for painters, that is higher. i don't know if anyone here can imagine being out of work for a year. no more unemployment. health care coverage is gone.

guys just want to go to work. >> tell me a bit about painting. what do you paint? i can imagine folks painting houses, buildings, bridges. in manhattan, where i live, you are way up in the sky. some of the stuff is like this person who ran 100 miles. we get carried away here, but tell me about what the men and women in your union, what do they paint. >> my union specifically is not just painters. we are painters, a bridge painters, drywall finisher is, we even have hotel employees. our printers program would be a good start for someone who has been unemployed. our an apprentice program c, training program, trains even older adults to join the building trades and have a future bid it propels you directly into the center of the middle-class. attacks on the unions isn't

helping. >> the attacks on the union's bring me back to katie, with what has been going on in ohio, but many other places as well. we have the attacks on the unions. this coincides with the budget cuts you have been talking about and that sort of thing. if you could wave a magic wand and begin to turn some of these things are around, what are some specific things you would like to see happen? is there, or are there alternatives to these budget cuts? we already know how you are fighting back against the attacks on unions, but got a little bit about alternatives to these cuts. >> it is off the table of a collective bargaining. i was a collective bargaining share for the most recent contract in cincinnati. six months into the negotiations, all of a sudden they do not think we were going far enough. we got this thing and we found

out that this was our contract, basically, in senate bill 5. oh, we realize the attorney who did this it was riding the senate bill 5. we fought this in cincinnati, we were not going to give up. we were able to negotiate and our workers are paying double what they paid for in health care. this the fifth year we have a pay freeze. we've been able to negotiate growth initiative into our evaluation system -- growth and achieving into our evaluation system. we were able to do things at the table, talking through collective bargaining, to make a difference. we understand the work we are doing, but we also are not willing to do what needs to be

done to keep things going --. -- also are willing to do what needs to be done to keep things going. collective bargaining is the key to keeping things going. >> do you think it would have an effect on the budget cutting fight? what is your response to folks who say, look, we are just out of money, there has got to be pain somewhere, this is where it is going to be but i happen to be a believer in shared sacrifice if there has to be pain, but when you have 1% at the top, they decide that the pain should be shared by the 99% at the bottom. >> if you could get rid of, basically, taking all public workers in ohio and state go away, it is not going to solve the budget crisis in ohio. breaking the backs of people is not going to solve it. putting people to work is the solution. >> paying taxes, pumping up -- >> everybody paying taxes, everybody paying their fair share. [applause]

be >> will you be entering the presidential primary? [laughter] >> to all tha -- too old for that. >> if i may call you bruce -- i'm calling everybody by the first time, but i'm calling you professor -- by the first name, but i am calling you professor. old habits die hard. i want to hear your thoughts, on a couple of things, but first- time job creation. -- first on job creation. what would you like to see done, and what do you think is feasible if those two things don't go inside? maybe they do. -- if those two things don't coincide. maybe they do. >> what i would love to see done

is federal job creation, largely through investment in infrastructure. the need is so pressing. it will reap large economic rewards from that down the road. that is what i would love to see done. i actually think that among economists, the economics staff, both in the congress and in the treasury and the white house, there is a lot of consensus about the utility of that. and the real obstacle is political. what can easily be done -- be done?t can feasibly

at the moment there are enormous obstacles to any new spending, despite the fact that the need for it is so profound at the moment. the kinds of things that are on the table that can make a difference are things like tax credits for job creation, payroll tax holiday, passing on a plan to benefit extensions beyond at 99 weeks -- passing unemployment benefit extensions beyond 99 weeks, although politically that may be a bridge too far. i go quite pessimistic -- i feel quite pessimistic, unfortunately, because the things we really need to do are a long way from what seems

politically feasible. i think what really needs to be done -- i think this whole panel has been talking about that if the politicization of unemployment is a problem, and right now the problem of unemployment, it is not politicized within the congress or, it seems, within the administration. it seems at the moment it is only important to the extent that it is significant for 2012 for the election, which is completely dispiriting. >> i sadly agree with you. i am pessimistic as well, given what has been going on both in washington and the state legislatures around the country. it seems to me that a couple of

things seem so obvious. i agree with you about direct job creation, but when people are talking about we have no money, which is just not true -- this is a fabulous the wealthy country -- first, let those damn bush tax cuts expire. [applause] and then bring the troops home. stop spending all this money -- [applause] on warfare and begin to invest in rebuilding this country. this would be a good place to start in terms of nation building. katie, i will ask you a question similar to what i asked sarita . you guys have had experience in ohio with ordinary people plunging into the fight. tell us what ordinary people to do -- can do in a pretty

specific sense. what are some things that might be helpful, given the problems we are facing? >> i think we have to communicate with each other, number 1. there are still people in this police across ohio that this is actually taking place. -- there are still people in disbelief across ohio that it is actually taking place. take addition, take it around your neighborhood -- take a petition, to get around your neighborhood get it signed so that everybody has the right to vote. simple things that people can do. ice teachers stepping up every single day, buying lunches for it -- i see teachers stepping up every single day, buying allegis for kids. -- buying lunches for kids. every day people can do whatever it takes to get through, because we are one nation together and we have to fight for each and every person. [applause]

>> are you surprised that the extent and virulence of the attack against teachers in this country? are you surprised, or did you see it coming? >> i was shocked by that. they don't think teachers are doing well. well, they're often challenges over the years in education. we have been testing kids to death instead of teaching kids. [applause] we have to make sure what they are tested on is really up operate. i am pleased we have a national campaign for standards that we will be held to a height, regress, relevant standards for all jordan to bill -- to high, rigorous, relevant standards for all children. attacking teachers you give your children to day by day -- they think the solution is to get rid

of teachers and bring in teach for america people, who want to teach for a year or two and then leave -- [applause] that is not the way we want kids to be ready for the future, ready for the 21st century. thwe have to give them the tools on the teachers that can guid them there. >> thank you. you guys have been amazing. [applause] keep myknow whether to moderator hat on or go to my journalist hat and pull out my notebook. [applause] -- [laughter] i am going to go to the question and answer period. we are going to start this assignment by having him speak

to an area were he is one of the experts in this country, the effects of these economic problems, the downturn, the recession, unemployment, on communities of color in the united states. >> well, it is a great panel and i am honored to be here. certainly, everyone is suffering tremendously by the great recession. that goes without saying. we should also remember that there continues to be significant racial disparities. this year, the unemployment rate for whites is quite high, averaging 8.2%. but in 2007, before the recession started, the last unemployment rate averaged 8.2%. -- 8.3%.

economic times,e black america was in recession. it has gotten significantly worse, 16%. one, we need everything that analyst recommended. -- that the panelists recommended. we needed job creation, serious infrastructure investment, aid to state and local governments that teachers are not being laid off. we need to shore up our safety net, because people need it now more than ever. we need a massive programs to put 11 million american workers back to work. even those jobs will get us back to where we were in 2007. even then, the black unemployment rate was twice the white and employment right -- the white unemployment rate.

the unemployment rate for native americans was close to where the black unemployment rate was. even after we did a massive job creation, we need at targeted programs double reed to these communities that will reach a persistently high -- that will reach these communities that reach persistently high unemployment. jobs that reach deep with an african-american communities, latino communities, native american communities, to make sure every american wants to work and work -- who wants to work can work. the call from the 1963 march is still completely relevant today. the 1963 flier for march. "america faces a crisis. millions of citizens, black and white, are unemployed. thus, we call on all americans

to join us in washington to demand a federal work and training program that puts all unemployed workers, black and white, back to work." this applies today 100%. the only thing you change is that you would include a latinos, asian americans, native americans. but it is 100% relevant today. >> thank you so much. really appreciate that. [applause] and now, if we have any questions from the floor. >> one of the things -- [unintelligible] to organize a jobs summit --

[unintelligible] second, time for another major march on washington. third one is our present government policies, in the sense that -- [unintelligible] c-

[applause] >> we also solicited some questions online. we will not be able to get to many of them, but here is one for my fellow who said, "how can we keep exploiting our skilled and educated jobs and only keep low-paying jobs and expect to survive as a nation?" i thought that was a pretty good

question. bruce, would you like to take a crack at that? most of the jobs being created now are low-wage jobs. what happens if that trend it just grabs hold and becomes what we see for the foreseeable future? >> so, behind the question i think is the right and compelling observation that we have seen the polarization of the american job market, a real hollowing out -- there has been a lot of employment growth in very low-skilled, low-paid jobs. there has been growth at the very top as well. normally, i think when we talk about that sort of challenge, the answer to it is more

education, more skills, more training. that is fundamentally important, and we need to expand investment there. i worry thaif that is our only focus for workers who are already in the labor market, particularly older workers, or being laid off as they -- who are being laid off as they were n't in the past and not able to look to long-term employment with one employer any more -- i worry if those sorts of workers are left out of the policy discussion, if we are only talking about education and training. and so i think we need a broader policy discussion that includes those people. i think organized labor has to be part of that discussion, and

how to reinvigorate the institutional climate for organizing, intimidation in the face of organizing campaigns is commonplace now i think that has to be -- addressing that has to be a part of protecting our skilled workforce, in addition to all the things we need to do for education and training. >> thank you. i am going to keep things on schedule here, which means that it is time to wrap it up. it has been a really great. one of the things i hope everyone will take away from our proceedings is the need, as you have heard from some many people, including the initial speakers and especially john lewis, is the need for all of us to fight back on behalf of america's working men and women.

we need to organize concerned americans to turn up the heat on such crucial issues as job creation, improved wages and benefits, and a stronger safety net, which we did not spend a lot of time talking about it but we will at another time. this is the great and noble struggle of our time. to win this fight on behalf of working people will take a tremendous effort, which is why i was asking that question about what can ordinary people do, because it is ordinary people who are going to have to come in and help make this fight. as dr. king said, human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. every step towards the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering and struggle. the tireless exertions and passionate concerns of dedicated individuals. i urge each and everyone of you to step up and make that fight. thank you so much for coming today did wonderful panel.

-- thank you so much for coming today. wonderful panel. [applause] >> as they are stepping down, we are going to have a 15-minute break. there is water and coffee in the lobby. 15 minutes. >> sometime after labor day, president obama is expected to deliver a major speech on jobs. we know that within an hour or so, he is going to be in minneapolis, speaking to the american legion convention specifically about his plan to help the veterans of iraq and afghanistan find work. unemployment among working service members is that 23%.

the speech at about 11:55-noon eastern on c-span. next, we take you live to the house of lords they come in for a short pro forma session. no legislative work.

[captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order.

the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's room, washington, d.c., august 30, 2011, i hereby apoint the honorable stevesider to act as speaker pro tempore on this day, signed, john boehner, house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: the prayer will be offered by the guest chaplain, reverend william george. the chaplain: let us bow our heads and pray for god's blessing. eternal god, source of every person, thank you for these best of times. may we members of the united states house of representatives serve your people under you deeply appreciate that we are all your sons and daughters. may we come together as family in this house to share the joy of politics in serving your people. we ask you to guide us, you

whose laws rule forever and aver. -- and ever. amen. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 375, the journal of the last day's proceedings is approved. the chair will lead the house in the pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. pursuant to section 4 of house resolution 375, no legislative business will be conducted this day. purr sune to sections 3 and 4 of section 3

plan to help veterans of iraq and afghanistan find jobs. that at 1:00, the labor secretary is speaking at the national press club about employment rates and job creation. this comes as president obama plans to unveil his new jobs plan after labor day next week. that plan expected to propose money for infrastructure and renovation, as well as tax breaks for businesses. secretary solis at 1:00 p.m. here on c-span. later, the atlantic council has a discussion on the challenges the u.s. military bases in training afghanistan's security forces. this as u.s. and international troops begin their drawdown of troop levels. that discussion at 3:00 p.m.

eastern. watch more video of the candidates. see what political reporters are saying, and track the latest campaign contributions with c- span's web site for campaign 2012. easy to use, it helps you navigate the political landscape what twitter feeds and facebook updates from the campaigns, and biographies, and the latest polling data, plus links to c-span media partners in the early primary and caucus states. all that c- span.org/campaign2012. >> we're going to return to the afl-cio symposia and on jobs, social justice, and martin luther king, jr.'s, a vision of the american dream. next, remarks from richard trumka, martin luther king, iii, and congressman john lewis of georgia. this is planned in accordance of last week's unveiling of the memorial on the national mall honoring dr. king. this part of that is about 40 minutes.

>> i am so happy everybody is here. you evidently got york tweeted e-mail. good morning. i am arlene holt-baker, vice president here at the afl-cio. on behalf of richard trumka, he will hear from later, and the secretary-treasurer here, we want to welcome all of you to the house of labor this morning. [applause] of course, we're so excited for those of you better in the room. as you know, this is also on the webcast. we're on c-span, so we absolutely thank all of those or participating by way of webcast. this has been an historic week

in washington, d.c., in many ways. as we all know, the unveiling of the martin luther king memorial had been postponed as the eastern seaboard is in the path of hurricane irene. natural disasters, brothers and sisters, we cannot control. but it is the man-made disasters, ones we will talk about today, that we have the power to change their direction if we so choose. we are reminded on this day of that march on washington 48 years ago, when dr. martin luther king, jr., moved our people and our nation to embrace his dream of america, a dream that he and the march's originator, the legendary african-american labor leader a. philip randolph shared. [applause]

when martin luther king, iii, an afl-cio began talking about posting a job and just this symposium during this historical week, we knew that we wanted to highlight the needs of america's struggling families, the families that dr. king devoted his life to fighting for. we wanted to hear from those who were unemployed but want to work, hear from academics who study the effects of economic and social injustice on all of our communities, and hear from students who dare to dream. hear from workers who want justice and a voice at work. and here from civil rights legends who have devoted their lives in a search of the american dream. for months now, the lives of millions of americans have been shaken up by the economic uncertainty, just as our nation's capital literally shook this week. we hope that the discussions,

like the one that we will have today, will shake our elected officials to move with boldness and a fierce urgency of now. we call on our leaders to respond to the desperate cries of the people for jobs and justice. today, many wonder, where will we go from here? jesse, they asked us, will the unveiling of the king memorial at rekindle in all who truly loved justice and freedom a renewed sense of movement unity? blacks and whites, immigrants, young and old, workers and the unemployed, gay and straight -- it is up to us, sisters and brothers, whether we choose chaos or community. i would like to now welcome martin luther king, iii, the

executive director of the king center and a co-host of today's symposium. martin luther king, iii, has taken the torch lit by his father, and he has gone around the nation and the world with a message of hope and civility as an advocate for equality and justice for all people. and one who believes we must choose a the beloved community over chaos. martin luther king, iii. [applause] >> good morning, and let me first thank god for the wonderful opportunity to be back at the afl-cio national headquarters. and first, to the president, mr. richard trumka, to our executive

vice president, and thank you for your warm introduction, arlene holt-baker, and to secretary-treasurer elizabeth schuler. s boblso to moderator' herbert and maria elena salinas, to reverend jackson, to bill lucy. i am sure i will miss somebody, but attribute that to my head and not my heart, but also to my dear wife andrea king, to our king center staff that is here, and friends. it is a great pleasure to join you this morning in this symposium on jobs, justice, and the american dream.

you might remember that at the time of my father's passing, that he and his team, reverend jackson and many others, were mobilizing for the poor people's campaign, to bring together poor blacks, whites, and native americans, americans from all walks of life, to say to our nation's policy makers that we demand the right to decent jobs with decent pay. in 1968 and 1967 as there were mobilizing, he was talking about a living wage. we are still trying to get the minimum wage adjusted properly. just shows how far we still have to go. and it is also providential that this is perhaps the last official act that i certainly am going to be involved in before the dedication that was to have taken place on sunday. because the memorial, some would say is an idol, we idolize dr.

king, but it really is about working to not idolize him but to embrace his ideals. and this is the work that we are talking about today. so i do not see it as negative that the dedication is postponed. i see it as we are here to do the work that still must be done to continue what martin luther king, jr., represented. [applause] so i must thank first president richard trumka and the afl-cio for hosting and cosponsoring this symposium, and i also thank you at all of the other unions, laborers, who are supporting the king center in an effort for fund-raising later today.

but most importantly, for the dedicated leadership you provide for american workers. i must express my heartfelt gratitude to executive vice president arlene holt-baker, in particular, for her creative division and energetic leadership in putting this symposium together. [applause] for it is certainly one of the most substantive and relevant programs leading up -- or i should say -- i was going to say leading up to the dedication and the moral, but that is going to happen. until recently, i thought that the king holiday would always be the highest honor commemorating my father's leadership. but having a major memorial honoring him on the national mall will underscore his place in history and amplify his influence on the coming generations.

because technically and theoretically, congress may one day choose to change the king politics and human rights day. we do not know. but as long as this civilization exists, as long as our nation's capital exists, as long as we are a democratic society, there will be a martin luther king, jr., a memorial on the mall here in washington, d.c., our nation's capital. [applause] my father is widely remembered for his "i have a dream" speech and his leadership and the american civil rights movement. the theme of the great march on washington, all that he let on that day was jobs and freedom, to the priorities that remain absolutely critical for our hope for fulfilling that dream. i want everyone to know that martin luther king, jr., was also a champion of the american labor movement. this memorial honors an american leader who lost his life in a

labor union struggle and who strongly supported unions as a central part of the quest. when he addressed the illinois afl-cio convention in 1965, he said the labor movement was the principal force that transformed the misery and despair into hope and progress, and everywhere he went during the civil rights movement, he welcomed the support of afraid unions, because he knew they were essential for winning the war on poverty. he often spoke about the importance of job training and job security unions provided, and he was deeply concerned about job loss through automation and the effort of american jobs to nations where workers had subsistence wages and few rights. my father challenged but organized labor and civil rights movement to work together to bring about a full employment

society in which working people of all races could prosper. as he said in the speech, i noted earlier, the two most dynamic movement to restate the nation during the past three decades are the labor and civil rights movements. our combined strength is potentially enormous. if our two movement unita, their social pioneering initiative, 30 years from now, people will look back on this day and honor those who had the vision to see the full possibilities of modern society and the courage to fight for their realization. on that day, the brotherhood of man, undergirded by economic security, would be a thrilling and create a reality, he said. after he was assassinated, my mother, coretta scott king, picked up the storage it -- picked up the torch of workers'

rights in memphis, and help lead the campaign to organize hospital workers in charleston, south carolina. she marched with cesar chavez in the united farm workers and supported dozens of union organizing campaigns. she also served as the active national co-chair of the full employment action council, meeting with every united states senate and nearly all members of congress in support of job cessation. and so calling for full employment and economic justice for the family tradition that i intend to keep for the rest of my days. [applause] economic injustice is even more of a concern today, for we're witnessing a widening gap between the rich and poor. making matters worse, the political guardians of the rich are not only refusing even

modest tax increases on the wealthiest few. they are demanding even more tax benefits for the top earners, subsidized by the poor and working people. president trumka, if we have to fill the streets with nonviolent protesters, like our sisters and brothers have done forever, i assure you that we will do that. [applause] we have suffered great setbacks in recent years, but the uprising of worker and women and men in wisconsin, indiana, and heigl signals a rebirth of the great coalition that still provides our best hope for real and lasting change. i believe that we can adapt the great traditions that animated the union and civil rights movements in the 20th-century to forge a vibrant new spirit of

militancy and a culture of organizing, and powered by the latest communications technology. so let us linked arms as brothers and sisters, united and determined to put an end to the war against workers and the and just harassment of latino workers and their families. let's join forces with an unshakable spirit of solidarity for jobs and economic justice. let's reach out to one another and build a great multi- cultured coalition on a scale never before seen in this nation. let serve notice that we're not going to be discouraged by political obstructionists. we're not going to be deterred by the citizens united decision, and we're not going to be turned around by any detractors. but with our faith in each other, with our shared vision of hope and opportunity, and with our irreversible commitment to solidarity, together we will

launch a new era of progressive change in which martin luther king, jr.'s, dream of a beloved community can become a loehmann's reality. thank you, and god bless you -- can become a luminesce reality. thank you, and god bless you. [applause] it is now my pleasure to introduce, actually present, he does not need an introduction, a man who i am proud to call my ally in one of our partners in this movement, a man who has and never backed away from the fight for workers' rights, human rights, or civil rights. you can count on him to be in the front lines marching and calling us to action around jobs and justice and the american dream. the president of the afl-cio, mr. richard trumka.

[applause] >> thank you, martin, for the very kind introduction, but more importantly, thank you for what he do every day and with the king family does every day. we all owe you and your family tremendous debt of gratitude. i just want to say thank you on behalf of all of us. let me say good morning to everybody. on behalf of the afl and cio unions, in our 12 million members, i want to welcome you all here today. i want to take just one moment to give a special welcome to reverend jackson, who has probably stood on as many picket lines with me as anybody else around. when it came to defending justice and standing up for workers' rights, jesse, you have always been there, and i want is a thank you for all of the things you have done.

[applause] 48 years ago this weekend, literally hundreds of thousands of people gathered here in washington to march for jobs and march for freedom. they came at the call of a philip randolph, who was the president of the brotherhood of sleeping car porters and the vice-president of the afl-cio. and a truly historic figure in the history of the american labor movement. the buses, the sign, the food were all paid for by working men and women of america and their unions. the distributed union. the packinghouse workers, the united steelworkers, and most of all, united auto workers. now, there is always this

temptation at the moment like this to sugarcoat the past. to pretend that everyone was on the right side. that all of us did exactly what we should have done and the way it should have been done. well, the truth this that that day, the afl-cio building was closed, on the day of the march on washington in 1963. the historic fact is that although the afl-cio endorsed the principles behind the march, the federation had not endorsed the march itself. even though major unions of the afl-cio were making the very march possible. martin luther king, jr., often said that it was not just african-americans who needed to be freed from the burdens of racism.

the labor movement is rightfully proud of all that working people did to help the civil rights movement. but we do not often enough to acknowledge what the civil rights movement did to free the american labor movement. because -- [applause] as we learned and i learned particularly in in the united mine workers, long before i was born, if workers let racism divide us, we will always be weak. so today, our doors are wide open, and it is both with humility and pride that we welcome all of you to the house of labor. we have assembled this morning extraordinary panels to address the continuing struggle to make real in america the vision and the values of dr. king. you see, as we gather to

dedicate the king the memorial, far too many of us lack jobs and freedom. unemployment is still over 9%, twice what it was in 1963. in state after state, powerful political forces are organizing to revive the poll tax and literacy tests under other names, to place obstacles in the way of americans from participating in democracy. today, the toll brothers and the american legislative exchange -- the koc brotherh is in the american legislative exchange council are working to end to do voting rights act, the actually made america and democracy in all 50 states. in 1965, when john lewis crossed the bridge in selma, alabama, seeking the right to vote for all americans, those same koch

brother dollars for funding the john birch society's opposition to the voting rights act. we have a saying in the labor movement. which side are you on? well, too many who have the funds and the power to influence america's leaders -- in fact, some of those leaders themselves have taken the wrong side in american history, the side of slavery, the side of segregation, the side of denying justice, the side of the economic dictatorship. in the decade since dr. king was taken from us, our nation's made enormous strides in the direction of racial justice. today, as we meet, barack obama is our president. and it is not just that barack

obama is our nation's first african-american president. is that his vision for our country owes so much of its moral power and its language to dr. king. vision was not simply an end to racism. he saw ending racism as a part of a larger struggle for human dignity. a larger struggle centered on economic justice. the tragedy of american history in our lifetime is that today, while we have defeated legal segregation and driven open racism away from our public lives, we live in a country less economically equal than in dr. king's time. jobs are more scarce. it is harder to go to college. the right to a voice on the job

has largely been taken away from america's workers. so we become a country less and less able to hear dr. king's fool message of economic justice and of nonviolence -- dr. king's message of economic justice and of nonviolence. it is a barrier to hearing dr. king's message of economic justice. a foreign policy based on war, not on diplomacy, makes it impossible to even talk about dr. king's vision of nonviolence. and dr. king was assassinated in memphis as he prepared to march in a potential violation of a court order. with public employees, with the sanitation workers who were seeking the right to form a union. i still vision that sign with

the simple message, "i am amanda." think about that, a country that had to be reminded -- "i am a man." think about that, a country that had to be reminded that they were men. when i listen to wisconsin governor scott walker speak of his admiration for dr. king, i cannot believe anyone could be quite so cynical. it must be that he simply cannot message.king's you see, dr. king gave his "i have a dream" speech against a background of the magnus it -- among the assistant to president lincoln, the moral that bears president lincoln's name. now reverend dr. martin luther king, jr.'s, image will join president abraham lincoln in perpetuity. on our national mall.

and while we have memorials to great leaders on the mall from george washington to franklin roosevelt, i believe that president lincoln and dr. king were something more than it leaders. i think they were prophets who walked among us, man who gave their lives to defeat our great national evil of slavery and racism. so we gather this morning to demand that dr. king be remembered and that his prophecy may live in our time, his message of justice for all, his message of the american dream is for all of us, each and every one of us, and his absolute conviction that the american dream begins with a good job and the right to vote. see, i believe that we need to carry his dream for word, and

the dream of the time when all men and all women, not only here, dr. king's word, but to hear his message and then act on it. thank you. [applause] and now it is my privilege and honor to introduce the moderator of our panel on jobs and the american dream, bob herbert. bob, of course, is a noted former "new york times" colorado is to never shied away from speaking truth to power -- columnist and never shied away from speaking truth to power. he is an incredible voice for the message of dr. king. bobbitt -- -- bobb -- >> i have the great pleasure

this morning to introduce one of my heroes, one of my real heroes, a congressman john lewis, who is one of the most courageous person find a civil rights movement. john was the national secretary to student nonviolent coordinating committee, a big deal when i was a young man, snc. he came to the march in 1963 from mississippi, where the group was trying to register african-americans to vote. i mean, just think about it. black people without the right to vote in this country. it seems bizarre, but it did not seem bizarre in those days. john lewis literally laid his body on the line for social justice, from beatings to freedom rides to sit in so at lunch counters and beyond. he is, and i just realized this today and was shocked to learn it, he is the last living

speaker from the 1963 march on washington. if it is my honor and a great privilege to introduce congressman john lewis, a genuine american hero. [applause] >> thank you for those kind words of introduction. mr. president, madam secretary treasurer, madam vice-president of this great organization, this great institution, it is good to be in the house of labor one more time, one more time. [applause] i am pleased to be here. jesse jackson, with you, martin

luther king, iii, and so many others of you who have labored long and hard. good to see you. [applause] now, i must be very brief. as a group of students will be arriving at union station, coming from the coretta scott king academy, and i am as opposed to greet them at the philip randolph. in 1963, i had all of my hair. ha [laughter] and i was a few pounds lighter. 23 years old. just been elected in national chair of the student nonviolent coordinating committee, better known as snic.

in early june, 1963, we had a meeting with president kennedy right across the way in the big house, in the white house it was in at this meeting that a. philip randolph spoke up and said, mr. president, the march must arrest us, and we're going to march on washington. use of president kennedy moving around in his rocking chair. it did not like the idea of hundreds of thousands of people coming to washington. and he said something like, when we have the disorder, chaos, it will never get us through the ranks in congress. mr. randolph responded and said, mr. president, this will be an orderly, peaceful, non-violent protest.

we left our meeting with president kennedy. we came up on the lawn at the white house. martin luther king, jr., roy wilson, james farmer, with neon -- whitney young, and a. philip randolph. said we had a productive meeting with the president of the united states. we told him we needed jobs. we needed a civil rights bill, but we also needed jobs. a few days later, on july 2, 1963, the six of us met at the old commodore hotel in new york city. it was in that meeting that we invited all major white religious and labor leaders to join us. labor leaders. walter reuther, uaw -- they

issued the call for the march on washington. we met here, right down the street here at the capitol hill hotel. over and over again, but we planned, we organized the we just did not wake up one morning and had a dream that we would march on washington. we organized and planned. if it had not been for organized labor, we never made it. so i have come here to say thank you 48 years later, thank you for all that you did and all that you continue to do. organized labor and the civil rights movement was like a glove on the hand. we go together. we learn from you, and you learn from us. thank you. thank you. [applause] there are people, their forces

that want to take us back. mr. president, you are right into the want to take us back, but we're not going back. we have come too far now to chop, we have come to far to turn around. a few days ago in atlanta, georgia, just a week ago, we had a job fair. we thought maybe 500 or 600 people would show up. but between 5006 thousand people showed up. our people want to work. they want dignity. the want to work, and that must be put to work. we must create jobs. we must get our president and this congress to spend millions and billions of dollars to put people back to work. we must demand that. [applause] i think at this period of the civil-rights movement and the labor movement, maybe it is time for places like wisconsin, ohio,

and a few other places -- i think they are too quiet. we need to make some noise. when i was growing up in alabama, i saw the sign is that white men, colored men, white women, colored women, white ladies, color ladies. i ask my mother and my father, got my grandparents, my great grandparents, why racial discrimination? is that, that is the way it is. do not get in the way, did not get in trouble. but one day i heard the words of martin luther king, jr., on the radio, and i was inspired to get in the way, to get in trouble. it is time for the civil rights movement and organized labor to get in trouble again. good trouble. could trouble. [cheers and applause] do not, do not, do not, do not be afraid. do not be afraid. [applause]

when dr. king came back from receiving the nobel peace prize -- jesse, you remember this, he had a meeting at the white house where president johnson -- until the president, we needed voting rights act. president johnson said in so many words, dr. king, we do not have the votes in the congress to get the voting rights act. he said, do it. dr. king came to selma. you know what happened capito we created a climate. we created the environment to get the president to say, yes, maybe when he headed designed to say no. a few days ago, i had an opportunity to go up to the memorial, to the monument.

i have been there three times -- well, four times. when the scaffolds were still up, they invited me to go up in the scaffolds. and i was able to touch the head, representative the face of dr. king. it is amazing to me that after this man stood on the steps of the lincoln memorial 48 years ago and said "i have a dream," in keeping with the american dream, that we could come back and see his likeness standing between jefferson and lincoln. it says something about the man, but it also says something about the movement that he led. the movement that he died for. those of us in organized labor and the civil rights movement

and american politics, we have to do our part. we have an obligation, a mandate, and a mission to speak up, to speak out, move our feet . we cannot be quiet. people are hurting. people are suffering. mr. president, we need to end the wars. we need to stop the violence abroad and here at home, dr. king would say. we have to do it. if we fail to act, the civil- rights movement and organized labor failed to act, dr. king would say, history will not be kind to us. we have to act. i plead with you, get out there and push, lead, the way, and i will be there with you all the way.

thank you very much. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> the president will be speaking about jobs in minneapolis today, about his plan to help veterans of iraq and afghanistan find jobs. the white house saying that the president will also pay special tribute to the 9/11 generation of troops and their families who have served in a decade of wars in iraq or afghanistan. the ap reports that among those who joined the military after these the timber 11 attacks, the unemployment rate was 13.3% in june. we will have the president's comments coming up by about 15 minutes here on c-span, around noon eastern. a couple other like events to tell you about. labor secretary hilda solis ahead of labor day will be speaking at the national press club about employment rates and job creation. this is the head of president obama's plan to announce his new

job plan next week in a speech expected after labor day. we will hear from the labor secretary at 1:00 p.m. eastern. later, the atlantic council posting a discussion about the challenges that the u.s. military is facing in training afghanistan's security forces. this is the u.s. and international troops begin their drawdown. that is at 3:00 p.m. eastern. again, president obama coming up at noon eastern. we will have it live for you here on c-span. the president yesterday nominated princeton professor alan krueger to become the administration's chief economic adviser. we got reaction this morning from "washington journal" of the worst. the obama economic -- and yours. ashington post," they say this -- host: if you look at his resume, here is what it says.

host: yesterday in the rose garden, president obama introduced his pick. here is what he has to say. >> he is one of the nation's leading economists. for more than two decades he developed policies inside and outside of government. in the first two years of this administration as we dealt with a complex crisis that threatened a second depression, his counsel as chief economist at the treasury department proved invaluable. host: the white house yesterday put out this statement by the president yesterday saying --

host: back to "the washington post," about that rose garden address they say this -- host: that is our question for all of you this morning. confidence in the obama economic team, what do you see? what do you want to see? harvey, go ahead. caller: my comment has to do

with thaddeus carter, the program that was on just before this one. he spoke about redistribution of wealth. the thing is that the united states of america is distributing its wealth to the world and the republicans were behind it. i do not see why he should be so upset about redistributing the wealth of the rich republicans who do not want to go away with the bush tax savings that he put in. host: back on track here, confidence in the economic team bamut -- team? caller: if the republicans would allow the president to do his job in terms of putting money into the economy to create jobs,

they are just trying to keep him to create -- from creating jobs. host: this comment this morning --

host:, matthew iglesias wrote in his blog -- host: that is a little bit about the background of alan krueger this morning from "the new york times." what do you think, ted?

caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. we are three years into obama's term. one year away from the end of it. i would be very surprised to see obama come out with a magic economic plan that is going to get the people back to work right away. that is going to get real estate back to where it was a 10 years ago and basically stop the wave of inflation that will be rolling in. honestly, the plan is coming. it is a political stunt for reelection. i honestly do not think that he or the use by v leaders -- ivy leaguers have it in them.

i know that this is a recession and he inherited this, but it has been three years. host: from the white house, according to the administration officials and others familiar with the matter, obama is considering a tax cut for new workers, new spending for environmental construction, and he is developing programs to target long-term unemployment, potentially including something similar to a georgia unemployment program that provides funding for training. at the same time, obama may announce new refinancing initiatives that could pump tens of billions of dollars into the economy. he is also likely to bring potentially expanded ongoing efforts into the payroll tax. what do you think, ted? caller: i agree >> president obama coming early

to the american legion convention in minneapolis. we will take you there live now, here on c-span. ♪ >> thank you. thank you so much. hello, legionnaires. it is wonderful to see all of you. let me first of all thank commander foster for your introduction and for your lifetime of service, to your fellow marines, soldiers, and veterans, on behalf of us all. and i want to thank but jimmy, and i want to thank your entire leadership team for welcoming me here today. thank you very much. [applause] dan wheeler, your executive

director, your voice in washington, peter, who does an extraordinary job, and the president of the american legion auxiliary lee -- auxiliary, carlene ashworth, thank you for your extraordinary service. [applause] to rita foster and all these houses, daughters, and sisters of the auxiliary and the sons of the american legion, as military families, you also serve, and we salute all of you as well. there are some special guests here on to acknowledge. they may have already been in knowledge, but they're great friends, to make sure that a point them out. first of all, the wonderful governor of minnesota, mark dayton, is here. [applause] two senators oregon -- working on behalf of veterans every

single day, a meko guitar and al franken. [applause] congressman keith ellison, this is his district. [applause] minneapolis mayor, a great friend. [applause] to all the other members of congress and minnesota-elected officials who are here, welcome. it is wonderful to be back with the american legion. you know, back in illinois, my home state -- [cheers and applause] hey, illinois is in the house. [laughter] we worked together to assure veterans across the state were getting the benefits that they earned. when i was in the u.s. senate, we worked together to spotlight

the tragedy of homelessness among veterans and the need to end it. as president, i welcome that jimmy and your leadership to the oval office, to hear directly from you. [applause] and i have been honored to have you by my side when i signed advanced the preparations to protect veterans health care from the budget battles in washington. [applause] when i signed legislation to give new support to veterans and their care givers. most recently when i propose new initiatives to make sure the private sector is hiring our talented veterans. so the american legion, i thank you for your partnership. i appreciate the opportunity to talk with you today about what we need to do to make sure america is taking care of our veterans, as well as you taking care of us. i am grateful to be with you for

another reason. a lot of our fellow citizens are still reeling from hurricane irene and its aftermath. folks are surveying the damage, some are dealing with tremendous flooding. as a government, we are going to make sure that states and communities have the support they need so there folks can recover. [applause] and across the nation, we're still digging out from the worst economic crisis since the great depression. it has taken longer and has been more difficult than any of us imagine. even though we have taken some steps in the direct -- right direction, we have a lot more to do. our economy has to work faster. we have to create more jobs. we have to do it faster. most of all, we have got to break the gridlock in washington that has been preventing us from taking the action we need to get

this country move ing. [applause] that is why next week i will be speaking to the nation about a plan to create jobs and reduce our deficit, a plan that want to see passed by congress. we have got to get this done. here's what else i know, we, americans, have been tough times before, much tougher than these. and we did not just get through them. we emerged stronger than before. uck, not by chance, but because in hard times, americans do not quit. we do not give up. [applause] we summoned that spirit that says, when we come together, when we choose to move forward

together as one people, there is nothing we cannot achieve. and legionnaires, you know this story, because it is the story of your lives. in times like these, all americans can draw strength from your example. when hitler controlled and fascism appeared unstoppable, when our harbor was bombed in our pacific fleet crippled, there were those that declared that the united states had been reduced to a third class power, but you, our veterans of world war ii, fought the russians and stormed the beaches and freed the millions, liberated the camps, and showed the united states of america is the greatest force for freedom that the world has ever known. [applause]

when north korea invaded the south, pushing the allied forces into a tiny sliver of territory, the perimeter, it seemed like the war could be lost, but you, our korean veterans, pushed back, fought off, year after bloody year. this past veteran state i went to seoul for the 60th anniversary of that war, and we marched that milestone in a free and prosperous republic of korea, one of our greatest allies. when communist forces in vietnam and leash the offense -- unleashed the offense, it fueled the debate here at home that wage the war. you are vietnam veterans and did not always received the respect you deserve, which is a national

shame, but let it be remembered you want every single major battle of that war, every single one. [applause] as president, i have been honored to welcome our vietnam veterans to the white house and finally present them with the metals and recognition they have earned. it has been a chance to convey on behalf of the american people those simple words with which our vietnam veterans greet each other, welcome home. [applause] legionnaires', in the decades that followed, your spirit of service was carried forth by the troops in the sands of the debate -- of desert storm and hills of the balkans, and now it is carried on by a new generation. next weekend will mark the 10th

anniversary of those awful attacks on our nation. in the days ahead we will honor the lives we lost and the families that loved them. first responders to rushed to save others. we will honor all those who have served to keep us save -- state these tend difficult years, especially the men and women of our armed forces. today as we neared the solemn anniversary, we salute the extraordinary decade of service rendered by 9/11 generation, the more than 5 million americans who have worn the uniform over the past 10 years. they were there on duty that september morning, having enlisted in a time of peace, but they instantly transition to a war footing. they are the millions of recruits who have set forward seeing their nation at war and

said send me. they are every single soldier, sailor, airman, rain, and coastguardsman today who has volunteered to serve in a time of war. -- marine, and coastguardsman today was volunteered to serve in a time of war. they come from big cities, small towns. they come from every background and every creed. they are sons and daughters to carry on the family's tradition of service and new immigrants who have become the newest citizens. they are our national guardsmen and reservists who have served an unprecedented deployments. they are the record number of women in our military proving themselves in combat like never before. every day for the past 10 years

these men and women have succeeded together as one american team. [applause] they are a generation of innovators, and they have changed the way america fights and wins in wars. raised in the age of the internet, they are harvested new technologies on the battlefield. they have when the traditions, cultures, and languages of the places they have served. they are trained to fight and have taken on the role of diplomats and mayor's and development experts from negotiating with tribal shakes, working with the allegis, partnering with communities. -- working with villages, partnering with communities. they have resumed

responsibilities once reserved for more senior commanders, and remind us in an era when so many other institutions have shirked their obligations, the men and women of the united states military welcome responsibility. in [applause] in a decade of war they have borne an extraordinary burden. more than 2 million of our servicemen and women deployed to service loans. hundreds of thousands have deployed again and again, year after year. never before has our nation asked so much of our all- volunteer force, the 1% of americans who wears a uniform. we see the scope of their sacrifice in the tens of thousands ann who now carry the scars of war, both seen and

unseen. a remarkable one the warriors. we see it in the extraordinary military families who serve here at home. a military spouse is to hold their families together. the millions of military children, many of whom have lived most of their young lives with our nation at war and mom or dad deployed. most profoundly we see the wages of war in those patriots who never came home. they gave their all. their last full measure of devotion. khandar the battle for baghdad andalusand fallujah. now they lay at rest in the quiet corners of america. they live on in the families that love them and the nation that a service -- is safer because of their service.

today we pay humble tribute to the more than 6000 americans who have given their lives in this hard decade of war. we honor them all. we are grateful for them. service, through their sacrifice, through their astonishing record of achievement, our forces have earned their place among the greatest of generations. toppling the taliban in just weeks. driving all data from the training camps were they plotted 9/11. al qaeda from the training camps where they plotted 9/11. our troops from -- removed a dictator in less than a month. iranmilitiaman's plunged

into war, they gave iraqis afford -- a chance to forge their own future. when a researcher at taliban friend to give them more space to plot against us, the additional forces i order to help guinness and went on the offensive, taking the fight to the taliban and forcing them out of their havens and allowing them to reclaim communities and retrain forces. in a few months -- a few months ago the troops achieve the greatest victory yet, delivering justice to osama bin laden in one of the greatest intelligence and military operations in american history. [applause] credit for these successes, credit for this process belongs to all who have worn the uniform in these wars. [applause]

today we are honored to be joined by some of them, and i would ask those who have served this past decade, the members of the 9/11 generation, to stand and except the thinanks from a great rograteful nation. [applause] thanks to these americans, we're moving forward from a position of strength. having ended the combat mission and moving -- and removing more than 1000 troops over, we will end about war. -- we will end that war. [applause]

having put al qaeda on the path to defeat, we will not relent until the job is done. having started to drop on our forces in afghanistan, we will bring home 30,000 troops by next summer and bring home more troops in the coming years. in [applause] [applause] as our mission transitions from combat to support, the afghans will take responsibility for their own security in the long this war in american history will come to are responsible end. for our troops and military families to have sacrifice so much this means relief from an unrelenting decade of operations. today fewer of our sons and daughters are serving in harm's way. for so many troops have already done their duty, we put an end to the stop-loss. our soldiers can now look forward to shorter deployments.

that means more time at home between deployments and more time training for the full range of missions that they will face. indeed, despite 10 years of continuous war, it must be said america's military is the best that it has ever been. [applause] we saw that most recently in the skill and provision -- precision of our skilled forces that helped the libyan people break free of the grip of muammar gaddafi, and as we meet the test that the future will surely -- surely bring, including hard fiscal choices here at home there should be no doubt that the united states of america will keep our military the best trained, best lead, vice -- best equipped fighting force in history.

it will continue to be the best. [applause] now as today's war ends and troops come home we are reminded once more of our responsibility to all who have served. the bond between our forces and citizens must be a sacred trust. for me and my administration upholding that trust is not just a matter of policy, it is not about politics, it is a moral obligation. that is why my very first budget included the largest percentage increase to the va budget in the past 30 years. [applause] so far we are on track to of increased funding for veterans affairs by 30%. and because we passed advance appropriations when washington politics threatened to shut down

the government, as it did last spring, the veterans' medical care you count on was safe. let me say something else about bonding that you depend on. as a nation we are facing tough tauruses as we put our fiscal house in order, but i want to be absolutely clear, we cannot, we must not, we will not balance the budget on the backs of our veterans. as commander in chief, i will not allow it. [applause] with these historic investments, we are making dramatic improvements to veterans' health care. in we are improving facilities to better serve our women veterans.

we are expanding our reach and care for our rural veterans like those that i met in my recent visit to cannonball. including paul newman and hugo and joseph kit. are they here right now? they are out there somewhere. [applause] it was a good lunch by the way. [laughter] 4 are vietnam veterans because we declared that three diseases are now presumed to be related to your extortion -- exposure to agent orange, we began paying the disability benefits that you need. [applause] for our veterans of the gulf war, we're moving forward to address a nine infectious disease since that we presumed to be related to your service in

desert storm. [applause] at the same time our outstanding va secretary is working every day to build a 21st century be va. many are already submitting their agent orange claims electronically. hundreds of you are requesting your benefits online thanks to the blue button on the website. you can now share your personal health information with your doctor outside of the va. we're making progress in sharing medical records between dod and va. we're not there yet. we're going to stay on it. we're going to keep at it until the troops and veterans have a lifetime electronic medical record that you can keep for your life [applause] . [applause]

of course we still have work to do. we have to break the backlog of disability claims. i know over the past year the backlog has grown to to the new claims from agent orange. let me say this, and i know the secretary agrees -- when the veterans who fought for our country have to fight to get the benefits that you have already earned, that is unacceptable. this will remain a key priority for us. [applause] we're going to keep hiring new claims processors and keep investing in new paperless systems and keep moving ahead with innovation competition in which are dedicated employees are developing new ways to process your claims faster. we want your claims to be processed not in months, but in days. and the bottom line is this -- it your claims me to be processed quickly and accurately the first time. we're not going to rest until we

get that done. we will not rest. [applause] the same is true for our mission to end homelessness and -- homelessness among our veterans. already we have helped to bring tens of thousands of veterans off the street. for the first time ever we have made to veterans and military families a priority, not just to the va but across the federal government. that includes making sure federal agencies are working together so that every veteran who fought for america has a home in america. [applause] we're working to fulfill our obligations or 9/11 generation veterans, especially our wounded warriors. hasconstant threat of ied's meant a new generation of service members with multiple

traumatic injuries, including dramatic brain injury. thanks to a dance armor and medical technologies our troops are surviving injuries that would have been fatal in previous wars. we're saving more lives, but more american veterans live with severe wounds for a lifetime. that is why we need to be with them for a lifetime. we're giving unprecedented support were wounded warriors, especially those with traumatic brain injury. thanks to the veterans and care givers legislation i signed into law, we have started training care givers so they can receive skills that they need to care for their loved ones. [applause] we are working aggressively to address another signature wound of this war, which is led to too many find veterans to take their

lives, and that is posttraumatic stress disorder. we're continuing to make major investments including suicide prevention, hiring and training more mental health counselors, and treating more veterans than ever before. the days when depression was stigmatized, those days must end. that is why i made decisions to start sending condolence letters who take their lives while deployed in a combat zone. these americans did not die because they were weak. they were warriors. they deserve our respect. every man and woman in uniform, every veteran needs to know that your nation will be there to help you stay strong. it is right thing to do. [applause] -- it is the right thing to do. in recent months i have read reports of veterans not getting the mental health care they need. that is unacceptable.

if a veteran has the courage to seek help, we need to do everything in our power to deserve it -- to deserve the care they need. the secretary and the va are going to stay on this, and we will continue to make it easier for veterans with posttraumatic stress to qualify for benefits, regardless of the war you serve in. if you serve in combat war and the doctor confirms the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress, that is enough. that brings me to the final area where america must meet its obligations to our veterans. this is a place where we need each other, and that is the task of renewing our nation's economic strength. after a decade of war, it is time to focus on nation-building here at home. our veterans, especially 9/11 veterans, have the skills and dedication to help lead the way.

that is why we're funding to post 9/11 g.i. bill, which is helping more than 5000 veterans go to college, get their degree, and play their part in moving america forward. [applause] it is why this fall we will start including vocational training and apprenticeship as well so veterans can develop the skills to develop -- to succeed in today's economy. that is why i have directed the federal government to hire more veterans, including more than 100,000 veterans in the past year and a half alone. in this tough economy far too many of our veterans are unemployed. and that is why i proposed a comprehensive initiative to make sure we're tapping the incredible talents of our veterans. it has two main parts. first, we will do more to help our newest veterans find and get

the private sector job. we're calling to offer -- going to offer more help with career development and job search. i have directed them to create what we're calling a reverse boot camp. this will translate their exceptional military skills into industry. into industry accepted licenses and credentials. today i am calling on every state to pass legislation that makes it easier for veterans to get the credentials and jobs for which there so clearly qualified. this needs to happen. it needs to happen now. [applause] second, we are encouraging the private sector to do its part. i have challenge countries across america to hire or trained 100,000 unemployed veterans or their spouse. this builds on the commitment

that many companies have already made as part of the joining forces campaigned trade and by the first lady and vice- president spouse, joe biden. 100,000 jobs for veterans and spouse. to get this done i propose are returning heroes tax credit for companies that hire unemployed veterans and wounded warrior tax credit for companies that hire unemployed veterans with a disability. [applause] when congress returns from recess this needs to be at the top of their agenda. for the sake of our veterans, for the sake of our economy, we need these veterans working and contributing the new jobs in industry that will keep america competitive in the 21st century. these are the obligations we have to reach other.

our forces, our veterans, are citizens -- our citizens. these are the responsibilities we must fulfill. not just when it is easy. not just when we're flush with cash. not just when it is convenient, but always. that is a lesson we learned again this year and the life and in the passing of frank buffett's, our last veteran from the first world war. he passed away at the age of 110. think about it. frank lived of the american century. an ambulance driver of the western front, she bore witness to the carnage of the trenches in europe. then during the second world war he survived more than three

years in japanese prisoner of war camps. then, like so many veterans, he came home, went to school, pursued a career, started a family, lived a good life on his farm and west virginia. and even in his later years after turning 100, he still did back to his country. -- still gave back to his country. he would speak to school children about his extraordinary life. he would meet and inspire other veterans. for 80 years he served as a proud member of the american legion. [applause] the day he was laid to rest i ordered the flag to be flown at half staff at the white house, government buildings across the nation, and their embassies

across the world. as he lay in honor at arlington memorial chapter, hundreds passed by his casket in quiet procession. most were strangers who'd never knew him, but they knew the story of his service, and they felt compelled to offer their thanks to this american soldier. that afternoon i had the privilege of going over to arlington in spending a few moments with frank's daughter who cared for her father till the very end, and it was a chance for me to convey the gratitude of an entire nation and pay my respects to an american who reflected the best of who we are as a people. it legionnaires, it was a reminder not just to the family and friends of the corporal, but

the family and friends of every generation, no matter when you serve, no matter how many years ago that you took off your uniform, no matter how long you live as a proud veteran of this country we love, america will never leave your side. america will never forget. we will always be grateful to you. god bless you. god bless all of our veterans, and god bless the united states of america. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011]

♪ ♪

>> president obama of the american legion convention in minneapolis. it is the largest gathering of veterans and their families. you want to let you know we will be covering a large number of speeches to borrow in annapolis, including the veteran secretary, nancy pelosi, and the veterans of fair share mission -- chairman. coverage of those speeches tomorrow. you will see them later this

week in our programming schedules here on the c-span networks. while the president was speaking, news out of washington today. there has been a change at the bureau of alcohol and tobacco. the justice department says that u.s. attorney in minnesota will replace the bureau's acting director, kenneth nilsson. we covered a number of those hearings. you will find them in our video library at c-span.org. coming up in 15 minutes, at 1:00 eastern, the national press club. labor secretary hill this the least talking about employment and job creation. this coming ahead of president obama's plan next week. -- labor secretary hilda solis.

we will hear from the labor secretary at 1:00 eastern. a little later, the atlantic council as a discussion about the challenges facing u.s. military and training afghanistan security forces as the u.s. and nato forces began their drawdowns. that is coming up this up and and at 3:00 eastern. coming up next, republican presidential candidates rick perry said that president obama may have inherited a bad economy, but "he made it worse." this came saturday at a fund raising picnic at iowa state fair grounds in the morning. his comments about 15 minutes.

>> good afternoon your not want to turn me loose just yet. >> i know this is unusual, but i have to do something. i made a promise to one of our veterans, and i intend to keep it. his name is will gomley. he tells me he is a servant of god. he is also a craftsman, hand- making done letter. something he has also done for the hollywood elite like russell crowe and brad pitt for movies we have all heard. he wrote to me and told me he wanted to attend today, but he does not get out very much these days, but this is what he said.

gov. rick perry has got my attention with some of his heat- seeking comments. [laughter] by the way, i need to warn you this is iowa. he goes on to say i do not know if i will support him yet, but i wanted to give him encouragement as he goes on the campaign trail. please give him this 1911 hand- carved holster for me. which i am about to do, by the way. [applause] for those of you do not know, he was a very famous lawman, the most famous trip to lawmen and united states history. so governor, from one great veteran to another, that is for you from him. [applause]

>> thank you very much. for those of you that do not know about 1911, this is the year it was made. i appreciate that, especially coming from an individual who served our country. i just want to take a moment. a-earned to drive on ann model john deere. made right here in iowa. god bless john deere. they have helped feed the world. we just need a little rain down in texas so we can do our part. the farmers in iowa are doing theirs. god bless them. it is good to be here. jalapeno peach. it does not make a difference whether you're talking about

jalapeno or habaneros, i feel right at home when talking about peppers. it is an honor to be back here. i think it was 12 days ago we were here. and when we drove in i said where did all the people go? but there was wide open and 100,000 people in here. it was awesome to be in here. then we came around the corner and i said everything is alright. there are still lots of folks here. i love this state. it makes me feel at home it does in one way because of the agricultural basis and a production that goes on here. you all leave the nation in the production of corn, soybean, eggs, hogs. you are an impressive number two in wind energy production. the reason we're number one, we have more space than you have. [laughter] i was with terry branstad and and talking about it. i said i am not bragging but we produce more wind energy per

capita, so there. i said yes, sir, i get it. growing up on a dry land carton -- cotton farm, i know the value of hard work. that is what is reflected here in this state by your citizens. i do not think anyone demonstrates it any better than the popes of iowa -- folks of iowa. i want to share with you as a cripple governor of the state to was going through a very hard drought, just as you all were devastated by floods in years past. the outpouring of support from this tiny little town called one louanna. they have really touched a lot of parts in texas. farmers and church leaders organized the transportation of hay down to texas to give to

some texas cattle ranchers that are about to lose their herds. did not take a government bureaucrat to make that happen. it was just some generous hearts of people who by the grace of god could have been turned around the other way. i want to say thank-you to iowa for the help you sent to are texans. thank you for that. [applause] just because you have a good crop going common does not mean there are not some iowans better struggling. -- that are struggling. you have lost 12,100 jobs since the current resident of the white house took office, since the stimulus package was passed. 5600 in manufacturing. 5200 and construction. today one in eight i a winds are on food stamps. -- iowans are on food stamps.

that is a testament to the widespread misery is started by this administration. that the state known for feeding the world has some residents dependent on government just to pay for their food. and shockingly, and the obama administration officials, former governor of iowa, tom boesak, she recently referred to food stamps as an economic stimulus. not thetamps are solution. they are a symptom of the problem that too many people are without work. [applause] food stamps did not stimulate the economy, they stimulate government dependents. most americans do not yearn to be dependent on government subsidies. they want economic freedom. economic freedom comes from work and wages, not welfare.

since the time i was old enough to drive the tractor i knew the american way was not about empowering government, it was about empowering people. that is the american way. [applause] leaders see it differently though. to be fair, president obama did inherit a bad economy, but to his faults, he made it worse. he delivered trickle-down of bureaucracy, spending close to $800 million of stimulus that went down, trickle down through the bureaucracy to hand-pick industry to create temporary jobs. instead of eliminating our economic crisis, he were sent it. instead of addressing the debt, he exploded it.

he promised to work employment at this -- unemployment at this point in his presidency, today one in six work-eligible americans cannot find a full- time job. that is not the economic recovery, that is an economic disaster. and [applause] it is time for change. i am not talking about the rhetoric of change. i am talking about the rhetoric -- record of change. and i have the record. if you look at the state of texas, we are where we are by keeping our taxes low, but cutting spending, making sure regulations are fair and predictable and stopping frivolous lawsuits. we just passed a loser pays program in the state of texas to add to our substantial tort reform. our economy is responsible for 40% of all the jobs created in

america since june of 2009. think about that. 40 percent of all the jobs created were in one state. some have said but texas has been creating jobs for 20 years. you know what, that is true, but as paul harvey might say, let's get to the rest of the story. the rest of the story is this -- under the two governors before me, texas did create jobs. 10 percent of what the country gained, because the entire nation was creating jobs in the 1990's. since i have become governor, texas has created more than 1 million jobs while the rest of the country lost 2.5 million. the difference is we were not writing an american wave of prosperity, we were swimming against the current. -- not riding an if american

wave of prosperity, we were swimming against the current period as a nation we can, we must do better. when i am president, we will. [applause] listen, it is up to us, it is up to this generation of americans to stand for freedom. to send a message to washington, d.c., that we are taking our future back from the grips of the central planners who are controlling our health care, spending our treasure, downgrading our future in micromanaging our lives, we have had enough. [applause] it is time to limit and simplify taxes. we have to stop spending money we do not have a. we have to repeal this president's misguided, one size fits all health care plan. [applause] we will create jobs. we will build wealth. we will truly educate and

innovate in science and technology and engineering and map to create the jobs in progress that is needed to get america working again i promise you this, i will work every day to make washington, d.c., as in scott -- in concert -- into quanta control in your life as i can. inconsequential as i can. i believe our best days are still in front of us. i believe our children are still yet to write the great stories of our country. with your help in the courage of the american people we will give our country working again. god bless you, and thank you for coming out and being with us today. [applause]

man]ing "hard working' >> next we take you to the national press club. labor secretary hilda solis will

speak about job creation ahead of president obama announcing his new jobs plan next week. he will be speaking with the club president. it looks like it is just about to get under way. we are live here on c-span. >> could everyone make sure your cell phones are turned to the silent position before we start on the air so we do not interrupt the presentation. thank you.

>> it looks like it will be a minute or two before the labor secretary begins. we want to tell you administration news. a new acting director taking over the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, and explosives. the associated press reports that following congressional hearings into the fog enforcement operation aimed at major gun trafficking networks and the southwest, the change was made today. we're covering this event live for you. coming up at 2:00 on the companion network we will be covering any vents with fema's chief counsel and fire department officials from los angeles and virginia talking about the increased use of time -- use of mobile technology and social media and how that impacts community repaired nets.

that is coming up at 2:00 eastern on c-span2. back here on c-span, at 3:00 eastern we will take you to a discussion with the atlantic council, a discussion of the challenges facing the u.s. military and training afghanistan forces as the drawdown begins in afghanistan. that is coming up at 3:00 eastern. eastern.