economy as is cotton. all of these three pending trade agreements represent huge opportunities for texas agricultural producers. for example, according to the united states department of agriculture, the colombia agreement will eliminate the current 80% duty imposed on prime and choice cuts of beef, with all beef tariffs eliminated after 10 years. cotton, another important agricultural export from texas, will see colombian tariffs on cotton imports completely eliminated once the agreement is passed. . in panama, exports of 10% to 30% will be immediately lifted for prime and choice cuts of beef, with the rest eliminated within 15 years. the korean agreement has the opportunity to be a huge

windfall for agricultural exports. the united states department of agriculture estimates that the korean agreement will increase annual exports to korea by a minimum of $9.1 billion upon full implementation. for u.s. beef exports, korean tariffs will be fazed out in 15 years. cotton will become permanent guaranteeing cotton producers will compete in korea on a level playing field with other cotton-producing nations. there is no doubt that all three pending free-trade agreements are good for agricultural producers in texas and in the united states. these agreements are also good for the united states' service industry. i am proud to say that i serve on the house financial services committee. currently, u.s. financial

services providers face challenges to doing business in all three nations with which we have pending free-trade agreements. the services industry in each nation is growing and with passage of this agreement, american financial services firms will have better access and better ability to compete in a vibrant and growing market. these agreements are also important to the united states standing in the world. in particular the colombia agreement should be passed so colombia can serve as a counterweight to hugo chavez. these agreements are are about creating jobs here in the united states. every day that we fail to pass these agreements, we fail to give jobs and economic activity that would exist had we already

passed them. at a time we are seeing unemployment at its worst since the great depression, i'm happy that president obama has submitted them for final consideration. and i look forward to all the agreements receiving swift consideration in congress and quickly becoming law shortly thereafter. i yield back. mr. brady: thank you for your leadership on this important important jobs and trade issue. may i inquire as to how much time is remaining? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has approximately 18 minutes remaining. mr. brady: your next speaker is focused on jobs in arkansas and has made an impact coming in as a freshman lawmaker and understands the need to find new customers and i yield to the gentleman from arkansas, mr. griffin. mr. griffin: we will lose the

opportunity to create jobs on our shores. that was president obama, president obama in january of 2010, recognizing the importance of trade agreements to creating jobs in the united states. today, the president finally submitted to congress over a year and-a-half later, finally submitted to congress three critical trade agreements for our approval, because of what these trade agreements mean for job creators, this is welcome news. the fact that these three trade agreements, one of which had been signed for a decade ago cannot go uninnocenced. the korean trade agreement was signed on june 30, 2007. but that south korean agreement is not the only one. one with panama was signed in june of 2007 and one with

colombia, november of 2006. president obama even stated on july 8 of 2011 and during his august tour through the midwest that all three of the trade agreements would be law by now if it weren't for that obstructionist congress. he said, quote, something that congress can do right now, end quote. well, that's not true. wasn't true then. we couldn't pass the agreements because they were still on his desk waited -- waiting to be september to congress. we are glad they are here now and we will join the president in moving quickly on these agreements. while we have waited on president obama to act on these long, pending job-creating export agreements, our foreign competitors, europe and canada are increasing their market share and cultivating

relationships with trading partners in those countries while american businesses sit on the sidelines. make no mistake, more american exports means more american jobs. in my home state of arkansas and in the second congressional district, these trade agreements will be helpful for job creation. arkansas' unemployment is above 8% and we need pro-job creation policies to go even higher. we need to sell more of our products overseas so we can get the jobs and manufacturers and farmers get the business. the three pending export agreements with panama, colombia and south korea will increase u.s. exports and create over 250,000 new jobs. right now, more than 320,000 arkansas jobs depend on exports,

and these agreements will only increase that number. full implementation of the south korea agreement alone can generate 2,500 new jobs in arkansas. manufacturing exports are the strongest part of arkansas' economy. exports are 14% of arkansas manufacturing jobs and 66,000 total jobs in all sectors of the economy are supported by manufactured goods exports. since 2003, arkansas manufacturing exports rose twice as fast as the state's overall economy. 77% of arkansas exporters are small businesses. and in fact, arkansas export d over -- exported over $2 billion of manufactured goods to free trade partners in 2010. that is 45% of ar can saw' total

and that number will continue to grow. these agreements are critical, not only to the country at large, but to arkansas in particular. with 95% of the world's consumers outside of the united states, we now need to give american businesses to build stronger trade ties with countries seeking our goods and services. the best goods and services in the world. now that the president has finally sent the three pending export agreements to congress, we can pass them and help american companies compete and create jobs. i'm confident that congress will act quickly to approve these important bills. thank you very much, mr. chairman. i yield back. mr. brady: i appreciate the gentleman from arkansas laying out the economic impact that these agreements have on the arkansas community, on ranches,

businesses, small businesses and the economy as a whole. our next speaker is from pennsylvania. he is a freshman as well and one of the key leaders in our new freshman class and understands the importance of trade to his state and please to welcome the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. thompson. mr. thompson: i thank my good friend from texas for hosting and yielding. i'm proud to be here tonight, subcommittee chairman of the agriculture committee to speak to the tremendous benefits that these three free trade agreements yield for all of agriculture across the united states. today, america's farmers and ranchers are competing in a global market in face of stiff protectionism while their competitors are imagining access at the american people's expense. it has been a long time coming. while the delay was long and

will likely cost jobs, i'm pleased the obama administration has sent congress these portrayed agreements, free trade agreements with korea, colombia and panama. many agriculture products have had price fluctuations. these trade agreements will expand u.s. exports, create jobs and bring much needed income to communities across rural america. these exports are important to pennsylvania's agriculture and statewide economy. expanding these markets for our farmers, ranchers and small businesses across the country is a critical component of future economic growth. every sector of pennsylvania's agriculture environment stands to benefit. it benefits under u.s.-korea free trade agreements. it will create new jobs by opening new access important pennsylvania's goods and services in korea's $1 trillion economy and establishing a level

playing field for businesses to compete. one half of the chemical products and many other manufactured goods produced in pennsylvania will create duty-free immediately. products will be eliminated over the next few years. grape juice, wine and may dairy products will be eliminated. mushrooms will become duty-free in five years. custom procedures will enable pennsylvania businesses to reach korean bus businesses more quickly. full implementation could generate 283,000, including 993 in pennsylvania along. under the colombian free trade agreement, more than half of u.s. agricultural exports will become duty-free immediately. colombia will eliminate its

price ban system, including corn, wheat, dairy pork and poultry. tariffs in u.s. food products exports which are as high as 20% will be eliminated. colombia is implementing free trade agreements with a number of partners with every day we don't act on this, they take it away from america's farmers and ranchers. pennsylvania benefits under the u.s.-panama free trade agreement. 75% growth. panama is an important market for american farmers and ranchers. in 2010, united states exported $450 million in agricultural products to panama. more than half of the u.s. agricultural products to panama will become duty-free immediately and tariffs removed in 15 years. poultry tariffs will drop to

zero than others phased out. i'm pleased we are moving ahead with what will be great for agriculture and jobs in this country with these three trade agreements. mr. brady: i thank the gentleman from pennsylvania on this bipartisan jobs issue and the focus on creating jobs in pennsylvania by finding new customers, which is key to the growth of our economy in america. thank you very much. tom reed is a new member of the ways and members -- and means committee. it means jobs to america's wealth. earlier this year he helped lead a letter to the white house insisting that the president

send this to the congress. i'm proud to yield to a friend and fellow member of the ways and means committee, mr. reed of new york. reed reed thank you very much. i rise today, even though feeling under the weather with an obvious cold, to show my support for these free trade agreements. because we have worked hard from day one here in this congress to be a voice what i believe to be true, free and fair trade agreements that put us in america on an even playing field with our countries around the world. south korea, colombia and panama represent 250,000 jobs. it can't be any simpler than that. i listened to the president come up and present his jobs speech to us as we sat in this chamber and i heard my colleagues talk about the length of the delay it

took to get the agreements up to this house. but i'm not going to look to the past. i'm going to look to the future. and i'm going to look to the areas where we can find common ground to advance the cause of the great american economic recovery that can start and will start with the passage of these free trade agreements. i applaud the president for sending these agreements up here today. i'm very confident that after a thorough and loud debate on these issues, they will be passed. and we will move forward to a brighter day of an additional 250,000 jobs in america. . . back in the 29th congressional district that i am proud to represent, that is real money, those are real jobs and what

we're going to talk about are improvements in our agricultural industry, be it our grape growers, it be our wine producers, be it our apple growers, be it our dairy industry. but we're also proud in the 29th congressional district to represent some of the highest tech and manufacturing operations in the entire world. a little company in the city that i come from in corning, new york, has had a longstanding business relationship in south korea, producing l.c.d. glass and other high-tech materials and manufacturing components. to me these free trade agreements are fair agreements, they lead to job creation, that's what we are sent here to congress to do, is to put america in a better economic condition so that generations of tomorrow will have the prosperity to call this great nation home. for many generations to come. with that, mr. chairman, i yield

back the balance of my time. mr. brady: again, i appreciate you, mr. reid, for your leadership on -- mr. reed, for your leadership on this key jobs issue. so many americans out of work, the president standing in this chamber not too many days ago urging republicans, democrats to come together to create new jobs. can you imagine if there was an issue that the white house and congress both agreed on? that republicans an democrats across the spectrum supported? a bill that created jobs not by government spending, by allowing the free market to do its work, to granting economic freedom to americans to buy and sell and compete in key markets throughout the world? well, today we have that issue. it is the three pending sales agreements with korea, colombia and panama. as we've said tonight, almost $13 billion of new sales for american companies, because we know we have to seek and compete and win around the world for

these new customers. we know, too, that these agreements have been delayed far too long. colombia's an old and trusted friend who has been remarkable progress in the economy and labor rights and human rights, environmental issues. and today we're on the cusp, finally, of passing a free trade agreement that recognizes our security relationship and our economic relationship. today we have the opportunity and i thank the president for sending these agreements to us, as delayed as they were, the fact of the matter is he has made each of them better, has helped increase and improve bipartisan support for all three , but each day we delay, we lose jobs in america. each day we delay canada and europe and china and others move ahead of us, take our customers and our jobs. it's time for the delays to end, it's time for republicans, democrats to come together and pass these three trade agreements for america. mr. speaker, i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair lays before the house a message. the clerk: to the congress of the united states, pursuant to my constitutional authority and as contemplated by section 446 of the district of columbia, self-government and governmental reorganization act as amended in 1989, i am transmitting the district of columbia's 2012 budget request act. this does not represent an endorsement of the contents of the d.c. government's request. the proposed 2012 budget request act reflects the mainly pragmatic objectives of the mayor and the council of the district of columbia. for 2012 the district estimates total revenues and expenditures of $10.9 billion. signed, barack obama, the white house, october 3, 2011. the speaker pro tempore:

referred to the committee on oversight and government reform and ordered printed. under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the gentlewoman from the virgin islands, mrs. christensen, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. mrs. christensen: thank you, mr. speaker. and the congressional black caucus is pleased and we thank the democratic leadership for allowing us once again to come to the floor for the democratic hour. i would like to ask, first of all, general leave that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and add extraneous material on the subject under discussion this evening. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, permission granted. mrs. christensen: thank you. at this time i'm joined by two of my colleagues and i'd like to yield to the gentlelady from

ohio who had the responsibility in the last congress and who led us in these special orders for two years religiously and with a lot of conviction and great information to share with the american people, congresswoman marcia fudge of ohio. ms. fudge: thank you so much. mr. speaker, i'd like to thank representative christensen for anchoring today's timely c.b.c. special order on unemployment in the african-american community and job creation. it is no secret that the unemployment rate for african-americans is almost twice that of the national unemployment rate. studies show that 16.7% of all african-americans are unemployed. it's probably closer to 20% when you take into consideration those who have given up looking for jobs or who are severely underemployed. in some cities it is nearly

three times the national unemployment rate. and, mr. speaker, the people i represent, i'm not talking about budget cuts, and they're not talking about continuing resolutions, the people in my community are talking about being laid off, they're talking about losing their homes, while they're still trying to provide food to their families. we are in a crisis that will undoubtedly affect our children and our grandchildren. 11% of all american children have at least one parent that sun employed. what does that mean for them? it means fewer opportunities and it means fewer meals. as a nation we have always prided ourselves on defining success as providing a better future for our children. that's why my colleagues and i are speaking out today. that's why it is absolutely essential that we begin to make changes that will help our

people get back on their feet. we must do something to create jobs and we must do it now. i hope -- i held a telephone town hall on the economy a few weeks ago. 7,000 people from around my district joined the call to ask questions about resources for small businesses or how to find job training programs. these people, like so many others, are looking for a way out of this situation and it must come now. it's clear to me that we have settled for short-term solutions to a problem that demands a long-term, strategic resolution. we need to retrain workers for the jobs of today. surprisingly there are millions of positions that go unfilled in an economy where americans are unemployed. the bureau of labor statistics reported that there were three million job openings on the last

business day of may, 2011. yet unemployment -- yet the unemployment rate at that same time watt 9.2%. there were enough -- time -- time was 9.2%. there is an obvious disconnect. many people searching for work lack the job-specific skills they need to be competitive for many of the job vacancies. technology is outpacing the nation's current approach to job-related education and training. the difference between white color and blue color -- white collar and blue collar jobs are fading. as a solution i've introduced h.r. 2742, the hire, train, retain act of 2011. this bill will give employers tax incentives for hiring unemployed americans and providing job training to fill

job vacancies specific to that employer. employees will also receive a higher retention tax credit of up to $1,000 for each qualified employee retained for 52 weeks. another proven way to get americans working is through infrastructure projects. that is why i recently introduced the school athletic facility it's restoration act of -- facilities restoration act of 2011. this bill authorizes the allocation of grants to local educational agencies for the construction, renovation or repair of school facilities used for physical education. the funds will facilitate construction hiring while improving safe places for children to exercise and play. in closing i want to mention that every single member of the congressional black caucus has sponsored job creation legislation. the best way to reduce our deficit is to create jobs. that's why in august the c.b.c. took our message on the road and connected job seekers with

employers at job fairs across the country. and we lisped to the voices of our constituents -- listened to the voices of our constituents during town hall meetings. mr. speaker, i came to congress to be a voice. for struggling americans. my number one priority is job creation. and economic development. and i am working hard to create jobs. time is of the essence. this is not a time for political posturing and partisan bickering. the american people need help, they need our help and they need it now. i yield back. mrs. christensen: thank you, congresswoman fudge. and thank you for that legislation and for your leadership on so many issues that are important to the people of this country. i'd next like to yield such time as she might consume to the former chair of the congressional black caucus, again a leader on many, many issues, whether it's health care, global health, aids,

developing our agenda that we continue even to this congress, creating pathways out of poverty, congresswoman barbara lee of oakland. mr. lee: thank you very much. -- ms. lee: thank you very much. let me thank my colleague, congresswoman christensen, for those kind remarks and for leading this special order, once again to sound the alarm of the jobs crisis in our country. but also, congresswoman christensen, i want to thank you for your leadership on so many issues, especially health care. but also you remind us of the importance of health care reform, not only because people deserve affordable, accessible health care, but also you remind us that the many jobs that will be created as a result of the health care sector, as a result of these health care reforms, so thank you for continuing to remind us of that. because many, many jobs are going to be created as a result of the work that you did. well, under the leadership of our very brilliant and bold

chairman of the congressional black caucus, chairman emanuel cleaver, and our jobs task force chair, congresswoman maxine waters, the congressional black caucus has been hitting the street about jobs for some time now. we helped find for the people jobs initiatives around the country, in cleveland, miami, atlanta, detroit and los angeles, bringing together employers who have jobs with people who need jobs. the response was overwhelming. thousands of people showed up at each event, all wanting to share their stories, learn how to interview or network or just strictly to apply to get a job. as we know communities of color are feeling this great recession more than others. in fact, for communities of color, especially in the african-american community, the great recession has been more like a great depression. while the national average unemployment rate is 9.1%, the

unemployment rate for african-americans is 16.7% reported and for latinos it's 11.11% and that is for those who are reporting that they are out there looking for work. if we consider those who have essentially stopped looking or who have given up on getting the job, we can probably double these numbers. it's very, very tragic. for the peoples jobs initiative, this initiative highlighted what is taking place throughout the nation. people are desperately looking for jobs. people want to work. we must pass the american jobs act as a first step to address the job crisis that is sweeping the nation. the jobs crisis sadly moves hand in hand with poverty. the census released some staggering numbers last month. in its report, income, poverty

and health insurance coverage in the united states, 2010, for example, 2.6 million americans fell into poverty in 2010. that's about 7,100 people a day falling into poverty. let me put it another way. it's like a small town falling into poverty each and every day. the poverty rates in 2010 that the census revealed are as shocking and as staggering as the unemployment numbers. the poverty rate for whites, nonhispanics, was 9.9%, for african-americans the poverty rate was 27.4%, the poverty rate for latinos was 26.6% and for asian-pacific islanders, 12.1%. . 2010, 15.1% of americans were living in poverty, 46 million people, in the wealthiest country in the world. and 9.1% are unemployed.

creating jobs will improve our nation's economy and provide people pathways out of poverty. we need to target federal programs to communities most in need, and we can do this by using particularly the data sets, like those from the centers to target programs with the highest unemployment and poverty rates. we should extend the emergency unemployment program and the extended benefits program both of which expire in 2012. if we don't, millions of unemployed americans will no longer have a safety net. for every four unemployed worker seeking a job, only one job exists. that is a fact. we also need to pass h.r. 589, which i introduced with a fellow c.b.c. member, with bobby scott,

which gives an additional 14 weeks of unemployment benefits to those eligible people who have exhausted their benefits and no longer receive support. we have no idea today how these people are surviving in these devastating times, and we can and must continue to support them while we work to create jobs. speaker boehner will not move this bill to the floor for a vote and once again i encourage the republican leadership to bring h.r. 589 to the floor. we must restore the contingency fund and increase the amount of money going into this program which supports needy families with the basics and creates jobs. we should develop and implement courts similar of those similar to the work projects administration, the public land corps aimed at programs and services needed in communities across this country, including

health care corps, public safety corps, community corps and teacher corps. we should expand the investment act aimed at young people, 25% of teenagers and young people who are unemployed today in the african-american economy are losing hope hope for their futures. we should expand job training for unemployed workers, including those who are long-term unemployed and those exhausted benefits and ease their re-entry into the work force. we know these initiatives will put people back to work and that is what the congressional back -- black caucus continues to fight for. there is no jobs program. turning back the clock on many of the clean air and clean water

act will destroy jobs across the country, along with destroying our precious natural resources, while placing human health in danger. it is completely misguided. it is a terrible move by the republicans. they are furning a blind eye to the needs of americans. the most effective anti-poverty program is an effective jobs program and the c.b.c. has been working to create jobs in connecting people to jobs. we aren't going to back down and as the c.b.c. has done for 40 years, we will continue to fight for jobs, justice and equality. our voice is the conscience of the congress which is needed now more than ever. i thank our leaders and all of our c.b.c. members for bringing us together to conduct this jobs tour to speak out tonight, each and every day on this floor, in our communities on the critical

issue of jobs and to remind the congress that people do want to work and we should hurry pass the american jobs act as the first start. mrs. christensen: thank you, congresswoman lee. and you know, you were the chair of the congressional black caucus as we created and passed the affordable care act and without your determination, many of the important provisions that are so important to our communities and communities across the country would not have been there. the affordable care act is a jobs bill. it's reported it may produce as many as four million jobs. it's not only an act, a bill, a law, that would allow over 30 million people to finally become insured and provide quality

health care to people who never had it, but will also create jobs. health care is connected to so many of the things we are dealing with. and we have to create jobs and fix the foreclosure crisis. and there was an article in the "new york times" today that was entitled "foreclosures are killing us." a growing body of research shows that foreclosures harms the health of families and communities. in our 2008 survey of 250 people undergoing foreclosure in the philadelphia area, 32% reported missing doctor' appointments and some have left prescriptions go unfilled. a paper released last month from the bureau of economic research

found that people living in high foreclosure areas in new jersey, arizona, california and florida were more likely than in hard hit neighborhoods to be hospitalized. and more than one-third of homeowners in our study had symptoms of major depression and the study found more suicides. these issues and these problems that affect in large part minority, racial and ethnic and minority populations are talking about the disparities that we talk about. ms. lee: the human toll, physical and mental health impacts of these horrific public policies that either have taken place over the last eight years or not taking place that we should enact are seen every day in our communities and people

are desperate and they are suffering. and for the life of me, i don't understand -- especially tea party republicans don't get it, because their people are suffering also. mrs. christensen: absolutely. we have been joined by another former chair of the congressional black caucus and leader of our health care task force and it's congresswoman waters. ms. waters: thank you so much. i'm very pleased that you took this time out this evening to give us an opportunity to continue to focus on our top priorities in the congressional black caucus. we are absolutely focused on the fact that jobs are needed so desperately in all of these communities that we represent. we recognize that unemployment is unprecedented, at its highest

level since perhaps the 1980's, across this country, with 9.1% being that of the country. we recognize that in minority communities, it is so much higher. latino community, 11.3%. in the african-american community, 16.7%. we understand the pain that is going on. we understand the increasing desperation. we understand the growing hopelessness. and as public policy makers, we must do everything that we possibly can, not only to do actual job creation, but to help people out there understand that we know what's going on. we feel their pain. and we are prepared to do everything possible to come to their aid. so there are those who may get tired of us talking about. there are those who wonder why

we take our vacation time and traveled across this country in five cities with these job fairs and town halls that we did, but it's all because perhaps we understand better than others, this pain and desperation and this feeling of hopelessness and that's not good for this country. and so, you are absolutely correct. the congressional black caucus went to detroit, we went to cleveland, we went to miami, we went to atlanta, and we went to california, los angeles, and what did we see? as it has been said over and over again, thousands upon thousands of people in line, desperate to be able to talk with employers. i must extend a big thank you to employers. they heard our call. and they showed up. and they were at each of these meetings, these job nares that we had, and people were able to

fill out applications to learn what the process is with that particular employer, to be able to talk with someone. and i had job seekers in los angeles who said to me, ms. waters, you know, i may not get a job, but i appreciate the opportunity that the congressional black caucus is affording to me and others to be able to take a shot at it and talk with someone. in los angeles, in my own community, 10,000 people showed up. we organized it in ways they wouldn't have to stand in line for long periods of time and thanks to the crenshaw christian center that has a faith dome that holds 10,000 people that we were able to get people off the sidewalk, through that dome and to those employers where we sent up tents who came behind the dome and it worked very well.

congresswoman, i want you to know this past weekend, as i traveled throughout the area, people came up to me and said to me, ms. waters, i got a job. i can't tell you how great that made me feel. and of course, it was only a small number of people that i encountered, but just to have them say thank you, i received a job, was extremely impressive and inspiring and it made me feel so very, very good. we are going to follow up with the employers and have them feed us back the information about how many people they were able to hire so we can give a report on that. but in all of this, i'm so worried that the unemployment in the african-american community may reach as high as 20%. our communities have been hit hard. i heard you allude to the foreclosures that we are

experiencing in our communities. our communities were targeted. they were targeted by financial institutions because they saw that people were eager to have homes. they understood if you gave people the opportunity, that they would take advantage much it. but what they didn't say was, they were coming up with exotic products, products that literally got people into homes that could not be sustained because of the way these products were organized. you had people who were told, you don't have to pay anything down, you just have to pay a little down, don't worry about the resets, don't worry about what will happen two years from now and these exotic products were products that had the devil in the details. so people entered into mortgages that they certainly could not afford down the road. so our communities are overwhelmed with foreclosures.

the loss of wealth, the loss of the only wealth that many of our families certainly had -- could ever have for years to come. i just want to share with you, in addition to the joblessness and the foreclosures and the loss of homes, the median wealth of white house holds is 20 times that of black households and 18 times that of hispanic homes. according to a poll, these ratios are the largest since the government began publishing such data in 1984. and roughly twice the size of the ratios that had prevailed between these three groups for the two decades prior to the great recession that ended in 2009. the median wealth of united

states households in 2009 was $113,1149. compared to $5,77 for blacks and the percentage of african americans with no wealth has increaseed about 35% of black households and 31% of hispanic households have zero or negative net worth in 2009 compared to 15% of white house holds. just looking at the joblessness and the lack of wealth, the decreasing wealth tells the story, no communities can survive under these conditions. everybody must be concerned about unemployment in general, but specifically, these communities that are so bad off under the situation and the environment that we're living at this time.

so we support the jobs bill. we want to create jobs and our infrastructure. this country needs to repair its roads and bridges and water systems. and we believe that creating those jobs will help all of our communities, not only get jobs, but put money back into the economy. the economy needs stimulating. you stimulate the economy not by cuts, cuts, cuts but by investing in the economy, both the public and private sector. we have to stand up and resist any tea party efforts that say they came to congress to dismantle government and what want to cut, cut, cut and will not support anything that will raise revenues or maintain revenues. we have to push back on that. we have got to be strong. we have got to say to our colleagues, the facts are clear. they are in front of you. nobody can deny these facts and we are asking you to join with

us in making sure that not only we deal with the most vulnerable in our society, but we pay attention to all of those who are suffering and i want to tell you, i have witness that had some of our friends on the opposite side of the aisle who represent very poor communities don't seem to be able to rise to the occasion to offer them support. it seems to me that they can basically talk about and to inflame about issues that have nothing to do with the economic well-being of their constituents. and so we have to keep reminding them that this is for everybody. this is for your constituents that you aren't representing, those people in rural communities who don't have health care clinics, those people who don't have jobs or the education they should have. and so thank you for bringing us to the floor this evening to once again put the focus on

jobs, jobs, jobs. i yield back. is. . mrs. christensen: fau authorize -- thank you for the work that you've done to make surory financial agencies have women and minorities on their boards, for the work that you've done to help our homeowners stay in their homes, address the mortgage crisis and for all that you do. you know, even though many of the people who came to those fairs didn't get a job, they got hope. and many of them had given up. and so -- and i'm schauer that that re-energized them to go out and keep looking and if they didn't get a job then, they will get one. so thank you so much for your leadership on that. i'd like to yield now such time as he might consume to the gentleman from michigan, congressman clarke. thank you for joining the laidies this evening. mr. clarke: you're very welcome, representative christensen. what i wanted to do is on behalf of all metro detroiters, i

wanted to thank the congressional black caucus and in particular our chairperson, representative maxine waters, the head of our jobs task force, for coming to detroit, giving folks in detroit some chance at getting a job. and definitely some hope that they have a future for themselves. you know why this is so important for me, because years ago, back in the 1980's, when we had our last big recess, i was one of those guys that were unemployed. and what happened was i did give up hope for a moment there. and it was devastating to me. after i had lost my income and then my food stamps were cut off. when you give someone -- when you give someone the dignity that they realize that they have something to offer themselves, their family and their city, it doesn't matter if they don't get a job with that interview, they will have then the drive to fight for themselves. and not to give up. that's why our people are still here.

thriving. because we didn't give up. but that jobs session did show there are a lot of folks in detroit that still need a job. and i have introduced legislation to help provide those jobs opportunities to detroiters and if i could i wanted to share with you and then share with our public how that would work. when you visited detroit, representative waters, you may have noticed we had all this vacant land. these big parcels of land with just nothing on them or maybe some burntdown houses or buildings. those properties we could actually build plants on those properties. as we built plants back decades ago that in world war ii housed the arsenal of democracy that saved this world from fascism. and helped us win world war ii. the same plants that built those great american-made automobiles, that put detroiters to work, but also put millions of americans, mlings of americans back to work

-- millions of americans back to work. so in the same way we have the land to attract these new plants. we also have roads that have all these potholes in them that knee to be filled. we have bridge -- that need to be filled. we have bridges, we have water systems that need to be repaired. we have plan for a transit system that could connect detroit with the suburbs, help people get to jobs in the suburbs, help folks in the suburbs come to detroit and enjoy themselves. but we need matching money to be able to do that. what families have told me is that they moved out of detroit for a couple simple reasons. number one, they didn't feel safe in the city. so it didn't matter how many economic development incentives we provided businesses, few businesses would take those incentives if they felt that their office would be broken into or their employees would be robbed. similarly businesses who had to hire a large number of people,

folks that they didn't know, they were concerned that the detroit public schools really didn't graduate folks that had the ability to work on the job. that had the ability to read and write adequately to be able to do a good job if they were hired. and then finally because detroit had overspent a lot of its money and they had to finance that deficit with bonds and then pay off those bonds by raising the property tax, a lot of businesses said, look, for the services i'm getting, the taxes are too high. on top of it, many of their employees, even if they lived in the suburbs, had to pay a income tax. the residents had to do that. they said, look, the taxes are too high, the perception that the city is dangerous, i'm not sure if we're going to hire qualified people, they decided to leave the city. safe streets, good schools, low taxes. if we could have those pieces in place, we could attract all the

business. now, i'll tell you why we could. because in spite of all of our challenges in detroit, we still have the best manufacturing know-how in this country, in this world. we have the trained work force to put our state back to work and our country back to work. but we just need the money to hire the police officers, to hire the school teachers, to pay off our debt and cut our taxes. now, this congress says we don't have the money. but i say we do. it's in the very federal taxes that detroit individuals and detroit businesses pay every year. $2 billion a year detroiters pay to the federal government, to the i.r.s. and washington. my bill, house bill 2920, would ask this congress to say this, instead of sending detroit tax dollars to washington, d.c., let's redirect that money to

detroit, place it in a trust fund where it can't be touched, only to go to projects that will create jobs. to retire our debt. to hire police officers, to hire school teachers, to keep our school buildings open longer. high quality schools. and, yes, to cut taxes, to eliminate our city income tax and reduce our property taxes. that would attract jobs back. and then we'd have the money to fix up those roads, repair that deteriorating water system and train people for jobs and then possibly even create a job program like the job program that i got hired into. that saved me, that saved me from a life that my friends ened up into, in prison and incarcerated, on drugs or dead. those programs that this congress stood for 30 years ago helped save my life and it could help save this country. so i want to thank you for giving me this time to speak

before this body. detroit, we've got the money to put our people back to work, we pay it to the i.r.s. every year. i'm asking this congress to allow us to keep our money for five years, to put our people back to work as a pilot basis and to show this country what detroit can do for itself and for america. thank you so much. god bless you. mrs. christensen: thank you, congressman clarke, your passion is clear and detroit doesn't have a stronger advocate than you are and we're pleased to be a co-sponsor of your bill. thank you for joining us. as you've heard, the congressional black caucus is here this evening, we're still waiting for the first jobs bill to pass this congress. and as you've heard from my colleagues, we need to begin with the american jobs act, which was proposed by our president, barack obama. and just to be clear, while we're advocates for the african-american community, we're advocates for everyone.

and this bill is good for everyone. everyone who lives in this country, and it is a good bill for our country. we happen to feel that putting people back to work in this country now is more important than fighting over an election that is more than a year away. the american jobs act provides tax cuts that will help businesses grow and create jobs, it will help provide incentives to hire the long-term unemployed, it will keep teachers and other essential workers like police and firefighters and their -- in their jobs where we need them to be. and it will strengthen, repair and build needed and faulty infrastructure and in doing so will create even more jobs and it would give people a decent job which will allow them to take care of their families and to buy what we make here in america and it will stimulate economic growth. it would give every american worker and their family a tax cut through extending the payroll tax holiday and do more to fix the mortgage crisis that got us here in the first place by allowing more refinancing of

mortgages. it would help our fellow americans to take better care of their families, putting our children and better schools, supporting small businesses, building consumer confidence and spurring the spending that our economy needs to get back on track. this is what this congress ought to be doing, not focusing on the solitary goal of making president obama a one-term president. that is a losing proposition anyway. no one should be willing to let our fellow americans suffer, fall into and become mired in poverty, remain unemployed, lose homes and cause our economy to crumble further just because they have political and whatever other differences with our president. mr. speaker, the republican leadership led by the tea party extremists are taking this country in the absolute wrong direction. by insisting on cutting and cutting and cutting important programs and services, like the women, infants and children program, maternal and child

health and supplemental nutrition assistance programs at a time when there are more people and more children in poverty, by working to deny the opportunity for health care to over 30 million people who we work so hard to get ensured. including sick children and people who would otherwise go bankrupt because of catastrophic illnesses over which they had no control. people who are already getting care because of the affordable care act that is being so wrong lima lined. i agree with some of the posters i saw in a newspaper this weekend calling for jobs, not cuts, jobs, not cuts. that is what we have been saying all year, including here on the floor of the house every monday that we have been in session. if our leadership listened instead of talked, talked, talked, i believe that is what they will hear the american people at large saying. jobs, not cuts. and we have a golden opportunity to listen to them. for over the last two weeks there has been an occupation of

wall street, because while homeowners and pensioners and many people have suffered because of their meltdown, we have not seen the kind of remedies for the folks on main street, the side streets or the rural roads that would make them whole. they are speaking loudly and effectively on their and our behalf. and then right here in washington, d.c., today and for the next three days, the take back the american dream conference is here. they will be on the hill on wednesday, calling on us to end the nightmare that the dream is turning into for far too many people. and to restore the american dream to which access -- to which access to which has been the hallucinate mark and the pride of this country -- hall mark and the pride of this country -- hallmark and the pride of this country. what's happening in this country and new york is that people are saying enough is enough and they're fighting back against the cuts that are making it hard for far too many people in this country to survive. they're fighting back against the attempts to repeal health care reform, fighting back against proposals that would

weaken social security, medicare and medicaid and fighting back against voter suppression laws, they're fighting for jobs, for a future for our children and they're fighting for our democracy. it is so very interesting, this talk about president obama and democrats waging class warfare. all because we want everyone in this country to do their part to help this country recover from a deep recession. all because we want to let tax cuts that were only supposed to be around for 10 years, that have now been extended to 12 years, finally expire, like they were supposed to. come on, colleagues, they were never meant to be permanent. how many jobs have these tax cuts created? in 2001 at the opened of the clinton administration, he handed over this government with a $2 trillion surplus. now after those tax cuts enacted in 2001, after almost 12 years of them, we are in

record deficit and the worst recession since the great depression. president obama did not create that, he inherited it. the poverty rate is at the second high nest 45 years and is hitting african-american and latino americans hardest. the share of americans in deep poverty with incomes below half the poverty line is at the highest level ever recorded and african-americans are more likely to be in extreme poverty. we hear a lot about how much of a share of taxes, the richest 1% or richest 10% pay, let me remind everyone that white americans' wealth is 20 time, and you heard it earlier but it bears repeating, 20 times that of african-americans and 18 times that of latinos and that between 2000 and 2007, not 10%, not 20%, not 40%, but 100%, all

of -- all of the increase in wealth went to the top 10% of this country. all. the top 10%. the gap between rich aeropooned got wider. the rich got richer, the poor got poorer. that's a dangerous trend for the future of this country. then unemployment has reached record highs as well. you don't hear about it much. you hear from us but in far too many places, our rural and urban areas, unemployment remains in double digits. african-american unemployment nationally is at 16% but as you heard, we know it is higher than that in many parts of our country. if we want to talk honestly about class warfare, class warfare is what too many people in this country have been experiencing since 2001. and now that we have a president who wants to ent it, he is being accused of class warfare. if we realy want to end class

warfare, my colleagues, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle should be supporting rather than opposing him. in all our 40 year the congressional black caucus has been a caucus of action. we have pushed every congress and every president and so we resent anyone trying to put a wedge between us and our president to further their own agenda, one which is clearly not ours. we continue to be the conscience of the congress, as maxine waters coined when she was chair, the fairness of our nation -- the fairness cops of our nation, that is why when we could see none of the 40 jobs bills come to the floor under chairman emanuel cleaver under former c.b.c. chair maxine waters, we called on the private sector as well as government agencies to come with us across the country to get people working again. that's why we work so hard with our hispanic and asian

colleagues to get the affordable care act passed and work just as hard to see it gets implemented. we are not going to sit quietly to let a vital door just opening for many to be slammed shut in communities like ours that need it most. many collarly reports have shown that just eliminating health disparities could save $1.24 trillion in four years in direct and indirect costs, as well as saving lives. so if we want to achieve health equity, deficit reduction at its best. that's why we'll continue to work relentlessly as a caucus to save home, to build and equip better schools to support regulations that protect our families an all families from the effects of pollution. we have worked together on budgets and because we know our country can invest where needed in health care, education, green energy and job creation,

and reduce the deficit at the same time, we are preparing to send our recommendation to the joint committee on deficit reduction. it will likely be based on a propose 20d12 budget. it will end class warfare by allowing the high-end bush tax cuts to expire while strengthening the middle class, continuing to create pathways out of poverty for our fellow americans and protecting social security, medicare and medicaid. this country, mr. speaker, is fortunate to have a congressional black caucus fighting on its behalf and it is not only our duty, but it's our honor and privilege to do system of with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the chair will clarify that the president's mess abbling pertaining to the district of columbia's budget was referred to the committee on

appropriations and ordered printed. under the speaker's announced spoil of january 5, 2011, the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert, for 30 minutes. mr. gemert: thank you, mr. speaker. i know my friend from the virgin islands and i have differences on political issues, but she was very gracious to me, personally and i will always be grateful, very grateful. thank you. we do differ on some of the issues and hearing my friend across the aisle from michigan, mr. clarke, he wants what's best for his constituents. he wants them to have jobs. he wants them to have less taxes. wants them to be able to revitalize the city. and that is what people want on

both sides of the aisle. we just have a difference of opinion on the best way to go about it. my friend from california said the tea party doesn't want anything that will raise revenues and actually, i know she believes that, but the contrary is actually true. what we have seen historically is when you create jobs, even if the tax rate is lowered, you do something that creates jobs, then the tax rate increases. some people tried to vilify me because i advocating getting rid of a rather insidious, i think it's the most insidious tax we have, because it has convinced rank and file folks across america that they don't

have to pay this tax, some greedy, nasty corporation will pay the corporate tax. when the truth is the corporations are nothing but collection agents. if they don't collect the tax, by adding on price to the cost of their product, to the price of their services, they don't stay in business. they're a collection agent. so the fact is, if you were to drop that tariff that we lay on our own products, to 35% tax, it's really a tariff, you eliminate that, and jobs come rushing back into america. the number one reason you get when you travel around the world, whether it's africa, china, others tell me from south america, hey, we had to move because america as the highest corporate tax of any

country in the world. 35%. china, 17%. and so, you lower that tariff that corporations have to collect on their goods, jobs would come flooding back. and we could see detroit become the car capital that it once was and that it should be. we would see those jobs come back. i thought in first questioning c.o.'s overseas that the number one answer i'd get on why they moved was, you know, too much regulation. that was a problem. difficulty in dealing with unions. or too high wages compared to what people get around the world. that was a problem. it wasn't the number one problem. the number one problem was the 35% corporate tax, a tariff, we put on all american-made goods.

i've had people who apparently with degrees, educated beyond their abilities, say, but if you lowered or got rid of the corporate tax, where would all that tax money come from? because they don't understand how jobs are created. they think that money, it's a zero sum -- it just would go away. and there'd be no more tax. we'd lose that much tax. in fact, the liberal congress that existed in 1974, when they set up c.b.o. and set up their rules for scoring bills, does not allow the congressional budget office to score based on reality. they are forced to score under archaic, unrealistic rules that are not allowed to take into consideration past history in calculating future performance. huge mistake.

but the democrats in charge since 1974 knew what they were doing. so you drop that tax. and like i've said, the american jobs act is my bill. after the president beat up on us for six days and it became very obvious he was more concerned about making speeches about american jobs act than he was actually getting one filed and getting one pushed through, then i felt like he's going to criticize me and our friends here for not passing the american jobs act, by golly, there ought to be one. so i did file one. and that's what it does. and i'm negotiable, if the president would like to come up zero in corporate tax, i'm flexible, but the fact is, jobs would come rushing back into this country. if they -- if the manufacturers, if the companies knew no corporate tariff is put

on those products, they could compete around the world, we would retake the world. i know there are people in this country, good folks, smart folks that think we are better off as a service-oriented society in america, rather than a manufacturing society. the trouble with that is, and as i heard from people in west africa last year, we're their hope for prix dom. if we don't remain strong, as one elderly gentleman told me, they have no chance of enjoying freedom in this life. you can't be an international power and protect freedom, not here, not anywhere, unless you can produce the things that are needed in the event of war. that's why i'm an advocate for natural gas being used to power cars. we need to make sure it's safe.

but it's cleaner burning, it -- some people say, we've got to get cars that run on electricity. they don't apparently realize that electricity has to be generated somewhere and it's obvious that's solondra is not going to be producing it for us. if we give them several trillion, maybe they could come up with a product that would compete, but that hasn't happened. so mistakes have been made. mistakes get made on both sides of the aisle. republicans made mistake -- made mistakes in 2005 and 2006, my freshman term here. and i was -- i have to say that our friends across the aisle, rightfully, beat up on us back in 2006 for spending $160 billion more than we took in.

we shouldn't have done that. and they promised they would get spending down under control and would not run a deficit like that, if they were simply given the majority. they were for four years and the spending went through the roof. republicans made a mistake by spending more than was coming in by $160 billion and then our friends across the aisle made a mistake over the last four years as they got that spending up over $1 trillion, $1.5 trillion more than we were bringing in. major mistake. but i want to spend the remainder of my time tonight in talking about another problem they have here in the united states and with the federal government, been a lot of talk in the last few days about the death of anwr al alaki and it

is important to note the things that we were told in past years about mr. alaki, pajamas medium, that's a funny name, but patrick poole has done a good job on doing research on some of the old articles. back in november of 2001, the "washington post", let's see, i think they're going after our governor from texas right now, well, that same "washington post" had a wonderful blog back in november of 2001, and featured none other than imam anwr al alaki. and they -- he was allowed to use "the washington post" to

try to convince people of what a man of peace he was and you get the impression certainly "the washington post" said he was a good guy. you can look back, november, again, november 19, 2001, and i printed this off of the internet from "the washington post", understanding ramadan. the muslim month of fasting. . obviously, the "washington post" doesn't care much for the governor of texas, enthusiasm be had a great appreciation for the man who was killed recently, featuring him in their publication to explain things for us. and they featured him explaining about ramadan.

isn't that wonderful. the "washington post" reaches out to someone who wanted to destroy our way of life and thought it was a good idea to kill americans and believed that it would be a good thing to bring down america. good that "washington post" gives them that much time. they are so open-minded. they are honorable people, as shakespeare had mark anthony saying. all of those people at "washington post" are honorable people. why else would they give their paper, their moniker, to a man they judged to be a man of peace? "new york times", "new york times" had a good article,

october 19, 2001, and they mentioned and war al-awlaki. one of the nations largest mosques, said, quote, we were oblivious and we never cared much because we didn't care things to happen. things are different. what we doll rated in the past, we won't tolerate anymore. there were statements that were inflammatory and now we realize that talk can be acted upon in a violent, radical way, said, mr. al-awlaki, who is held up as a new generation leader capable of merging east and west, born to parents in new mexico.

so, they featured what they believed to be a man of peace and certainly the "new york times" is full of honorable people, so are they all at the "new york times," all honorable people, have nice things to say about the man who would destroy america. fox news published may 20 of 2011, had an article, said with the recent death, and this was may of this year, death of osama bin laden, another radical muslim cleric -- that seems hurtful of them to say, about someone that the "new york times" and "washington post" thought so highly of -- sorry that fox news was so mean to somebody that the new york city

-- "new york times" and "washington post" loved so much, but said documents obtained exclusively by fox news shed new light as a guest speaker at the pentagon after the september 11, terrorist attacks. al-awlaki, first american on the c.i.a.'s list -- seems a little mean. "new york times" and "washington post" thought he was ok back in 2001. but the article says, american cleric, al-awlaki considered a grave threat to u.s. national security. he now is hiding out in yemen where a u.s. missile tried to kill him and his followers. the scene was different when the

radical imam teapeded the pentagon event. documents obtained and email announced the event with al-awlaki laid out details including pork, which is prohibited by muslims. the email states the chef will create something special. the documents show more than 70 people were copied on the invitation. home to the pentagon's top lawyer. quote, i have reserved one of the executive dining rooms for february 5, which is the date that he, al-awlaki preferred, a defense department lawyer wrote in the email announcing the

event. al-awlaki will be leaving on february 11. email states that al-awlaki was the guest speaker on middle eastern politics and culture. the lawyer who vetted the imam wrote that she had the privilege of hearing one of mr. al-awlaki's presentations in november and was impressed by the extent of his knowledge and how he handled a hostile element in the audience. the article goes on and points on that al-awlaki, a national was interviewed by the f.b.i. because he had ties to the three hijackers involved. there were three of the five hijackers on american airlines flight 77, which was flown into the pentagon.

noven of the f.b.i.'s information about al-awlaki, his ties to the hijacker or histories of soliciting prostitutes was shared with the pentagon. in any event, in the articles, it was pointed out in a big piece, andrew blackbart present a piece, november 9 of 2010, points out that al-awlaki was involved in the training of defense department muslim chaplains and instructor at the islamic institute in america in the washington, d.c., area. controlled by the saudi embassy and operating under the kingdom's ministry of higher education the iiasa served as the branch campus of the imam

muhammad islamic university in rehad. it was served to train the pentagon until 2003. the members were held -- who held diplomatic passports had their via asrevoket in 2004 and raided by the f.b.i. and customs and i.r.s. the following july. al-awlaki's role in the program was reported by glenn simpson at the wall street jourm back in december of 2003, but hasn't been mentioned since writing about the iiasa about the program, al awlaki the former imam is alleged to have lectured at the institute. a report on september 11,

released this july said mr. al-awlaki counseled two of the hijackers while they stayed in san diego and stayed in a mosque in northern virginia shortly before the attacks. mr. al-awlaki has denied knowing of the hijackers' plans. more is now known about his relationship with the 9/11 terror plot. "time" magazine reported that he held closed-door meetings with two of the hijackers in san diego and followed al-awlaki to the d.c. area when he moved there in 2001. one who flue american flights 77 into the pentagon joined them there. three hijackers went to the mosque in falls church, virginia, where al-awlaki served

as imam. isn't that interesting. also, this report from -- this is a rewind. al-awlaki leads prayers inside the u.s. capitol for congressional muslim staffers. let's see. this is from a media report. al-awlaki's appearance leading friday afternoon prayers inside the u.s. capitol following the 9/11 attacks. fox news later reported that al-awlaki was not the only terror-tied leading cleric leading prayers. and then it goes on and points out, there's footage of al-awlaki leading prayers and

now convicted terror operative shot for a pbs documentary. interesting stuff. let's see. and of course, national public radio that seffs receives so much of the taxpayer money reported november 1 of 2001, that al-awlaki -- well, he was contrasted to osama bin laden as one of the, quote, moderates who wants to solve the problems and someone who can build bridges between islam and the west, unqueet. well, interesting stuff. it just doesn't seem that we seem to learn our lessons very well.

we also that -- know that this attorney general not only had the justice department involved which included a.t.f. involvement in selling guns to criminals, mexican drug cartels that killed at least one and there may be others, but this justice department dropped the charges against the individuals that were in the groups that were named co-con spiritors in the holy land foundation trial that was tried in dallas, texas. 11-1 verdict. one person held up the verdict and they tried it again. and the bush administration's justice department intended that if they got a conviction of the

five people charged with aiding terrorism, that they would then move forward. and in fact, the assist ant u.s. attorney involved filed pleadings in the federal court and also with the fifth circuit in new orleans in response to some of those groups that were named co-con spiritors to on supporting them with money. there is enough evidence to keep them in as named co-con expire ators. the -- co-con spiritors. five defendants. 105 counts, as i recall. and then rather than going

forward, as they should have based on the evidence, the stacks and stacks and boxes and boxes of evidence, this justice department decided to drop the matter. and it's understandable given some of the relationships -- some of the relationships that are involved. of course care mentioned in one of the articles was named as one to financing terrorism in the holy land foundation trial. and we know that there was a named company and the head and we find that the leader of a named co-defendant in sponsoring terrorism in the holy land foundation trial, which this

administration refused to pursue further, but the leader, a year ago was leading the white house in the -- in the celebration at the end of ramadan. we know that the deputy national security advisor, dennis mcdon noah, was invited and spoke and thanked the imam for the wonderful prayers at the white house and also for the wonderful introduction, they have a wonderful relationship. isn't that special. in the wake of mr. al-alaki being killed in yemen, for his role, having declared war on

the united states, i can't help but reflect back on something that set ours country apart, a new democracy visitted earlier this year, i had a leader there say, we're constantly worried about the military trying to take over because we never had a george washington who did what no one has ever done before or since. led the military in revolution, won the revolution, resigned and went home. nobody has done it before or since. what a man. washington and his resignation sent to the 13 governors and there's a painting of him tendering his resignation, at the end, included a prayer. and he says in the prayer, we have his own words, i won't read the whole thing, i now make it my earnest prayer that god would have you in the state

of which you preside in his holy protection, he goes, and finally that he would most graciously be be -- graciously be pleased to do justice and demean ourses with charity, humility and pacific temperament of mind, the characteristic -- characteristics of the divine author of our religion and whoutexozz example in these things we can never be happy as a nation. i have the honor to be your most obedient and humble service, george washington. i can't help but wonder if mr. al-alaki ever knew the divine author of our blessed religion, who george washington says without an humble imnation of whose example in these things we can never hope to have a happy nation. with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. does the gentleman have a

motion. mr. gohmert: i move that the house do now adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to adjourn. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is adopt. accordingly the house stands adjourned until 10:00 a.m.

>> president obama said today that he wants congress to vote to its jobs bills this month and announced plans to meet with congressional leaders. the president's remarks are next on c-span. republican presidential candidate, mitt romney, sat down and spoke with some of the newspaper staff of the new hampshire union leader. that's coming up in a few moments. and later, a discussion on grass-roots organizing and politics. we'll hear from maryland congresswoman, donna edwards and former labor secretary, robert reich, who served in the clinton administration. >> before the presidential election of 1916, charles evans hughes was a two-term governor of new york. though he lost his bid for the presidency, his impact on political history remained. serving as a post-war secretary of state and ultimately chief justice of the u.s. he's one of the 14 men featured in c-span's new weekly series,

"the contenders," live in the supreme court building in washington, d.c. friday at 8:00 p.m. eastern. for a preview about hughes, watch a number of videos about him at our special website for the series, c-span.org/thecontenders. >> now president obama talks about key elements of his economic agenda. the president is also asked about the status of pending trade agreements. this took place during a meeting with cabinet members at the white house. >> all right, good morning, everybody. i am pulling my cabinet together to talk about the one topic that's on everybody's minds, and that is how do we put america back to work. each of the secretaries and heads of agencies have been assigned to look at what we can do administratively to accelerate job growth over the next several months. and working with the jobs

council that we've set up, working with the private sector, we have been looking for a wide range of ideas and administrative actions we can take. a good example would be, for example, accelerating the payments to small businesses so they have better cash flow, trying to figure out ways that we can be working in the housing market without congressional action to provide some relief for homeowners. but ultimately we still have to have congressional action. it's been several weeks now since i set up the american jobs act, and as i've been saying on the road, i want it back. i'm ready to sign it. so my expectation is that now that we're in the month of october, that we will schedule a vote before the end of this month. i'll be talking to senator reid, mcconnell, as well as

speaker boehner and nancy pelosi and insisting that we have a vote on this bill. we've been hearing from republicans that there's some proposals that they're interested in. that is not surprising, since the contents of the american job is act includes proposals that in the past have been supported by democrats and republicans alike. and if there are aspects of the bill that they don't like, they should tell us what it is that they're not willing to go for. they should tell us what it is that they're prepared to see move forward. i have to tell you that i can't imagine any american that i've been talking to that's not interested in seeing construction workers back on the job of rebuilding roads, bridges, schools, airports, putting teachers back in the classroom to make sure that our kids are getting the very best education, making sure our vets get help when they come home, and that small businesses have further incentive to hire them. so i'm very much looking

forward to seeing congress debate this bill, pass it, get it to my desk so we can start putting hundreds of thousands and millions of americans back to work. and i will be continuing to put as much pressure as i can bring to bear on my administration and our agencies to do everything we can without congress's help, but ultimately, they've got to do the right thing for the american people. all right, thank you very much, everybody. >> thank you, guys. >> wl's have another comment in the next day or so. >> thank you, guys. >> after this cabinet meeting the white house sent those trade agreements to capitol hill, and house republican leaders have scheduled votes on them for next week. the trade pacts are with south

korea, colombia and panama. >> oral argument is actually the first time the justices talk about a case together. and so when justice scalia or justice ginsberg asks a question, i can figure out what's bothering them about a case and where they're leaning. >> by law, since 1916, the new supreme court term begins the first monday in october. each year, hearing almost 70 cases. this year cases already include g.p.s. tracking without a warrant, profanity on television and copyright protection. watch the justices from recent appearances around the country online at the c-span video library, all archived and searchable. it's washington your way. >> now former massachusetts governor and presidential candidate, mitt romney, is interviewed by the editor and publisher of the new hampshire union leader. founded in 1863, the new

hampshire union leader is one the largest newspapers in the state. the meeting was held in manchester, new hampshire. from c-span's road to the white house, this is about an hour and 10 minutes. >> governor romney, the reason the lights are on is because our friends from c-span are here. as a matter of fact, drew klein, our editorial writer, wrote a piece for tomorrow's paper about the new hampshire presidential primary, and how unlike the two-second sound bites you guys get on these so-called debates on tv, in new hampshire you get to sit down with people, either newspapers or people in a backyard, and answer questions at some length. we have been friends with c-span for several editions of the primary, and when they ask

to come in and it's ok with the candidate -- and you've graciously agreed -- then they tape the proceedings. and i'm going to let john do most of the heavy lifting, since he's the political reporter. >> so c-span is keeping john honest, is that the idea? >> yes, yes. >> there's a lot of people around here keeping me honest. >> the best he can. but i wanted to start out by saying since it's all about jobs and the economy, i want to ask you about military overseas questions. >> good. >> you say in your book, no apology that, the u.s. has total responsibilities, including the responsibility for worldwide humanitarian relief and preventing ethnic cleansing and genocide. why is it the u.s.' responsibility to provide those services? >> i think we'd have to look at

the book to get the words precisely, but i would say our military has missions in the whole series of areas. our military has a very broad set of missions, mostly obviously relating to protecting america's interests abroad and at home. defending those interests. but we're called on in humanitarian roles. people look to america, follow the tsunami, for instance, to do what virtually no one else in the world can do. but i don't believe it's our responsibility alone, nor is that a statutory responsibility. it's a responsibility we, from time to time, assume when we have the capacity to do so. >> the reason i ask, governor, is that you devote quite a bit of time in your book, which i'm happy to see two foreign policy in the military, and you argue that military spending should be at a minimum 4% of g.d.p. >> yes. >> and that obama is taking it in another direction.

you argue that we need, at a minimum, 100,000 more army and marine troops alone, as well as sprucing up our nuclear submarine fleet, etc., etc. >> yeah. >> my question is, in this economic time, how the heck are you going to pay for this? >> well, as you know, the federal government assumes right now or spends right now about 25% of the g.d.p. under more normal circumstances, if we're able to bring back federal spending to a balanced level, why it will consume about 20% of the g.d.p. and so to say national defense is going to take four points of that 20, or roughly 20% of 20, is, in my opinion, an appropriate investment for a nation that sees the world with a number of very threatening forces in it. we want to maintain a world where sovereign nations have independence, where there's representative forms of government wherever possible, where there's human rights, free trade and so forth,

because that's good for america, that's good for the world and good for the peace in the world. but china has a differing view. they would like to expand and do control in the south china sea. they have their eyes on taiwan. obviously they've already seized tibet. so what their objectives might be are uncertain at this point. you had the jihadists, who have very dramatic goals in terms of what they would like to take over. you have the russians now trying to, in some respects, rebuild parts of or elements of the old soviet union. they would like to and have taken part of georgia at this juncture. so you have a number of dimensions that are threatening the stability of the world and the peace of the world and america's interests. in that kind of setting, to say let's pull back our military capability strikes me as being a very strange approach. we have iran about to become nuclear. we have pakistan, which could easily become a failed state. i mean, you look around the world. it's not a more peaceful place.

and the trajectory is not even in the direction that's particularly comforting. so to say, hey, let's pull back our military doesn't make sense. our navy, in my opinion, our navy is smaller than it's been any time since 1917. the air force -- our fleet of aircraft is smaller and older than it's been since 1947, when the air force was established. our soldiers are on multiple rotations and are stretched extraordinary -- example treardnarily thin. we have extensive deployments that would have normally been considered for active duty personnel. so you need more troops, you need more ships, you need a more modern air force, and you have to give care to our veterans that come home from the conflicts in iraq and afghanistan and are continuing to endure in both places. that doesn't suggest, oh, there's an opportunity for us to shrink the size of our military. so i look and say it should remain at least 20% of our

federal budget, of our federal spending, which is roughly 4% of our g.d.p. >> you are in favor of a stimulus act going to pay fort military bill? >> i supported the concept of a stimulus early on. there was a bush stimulus, and then president obama came along and put in place a stimulus. i opposed his stimulus. every republican in congress voted for a republican version of the stimulus. today we're way beyond stimulus. stimulus was an effort to try and keep us from going over the waterfall economically. we already went over the waterfall. we're now looking for a dramatic restructuring of america's economy, to go from an anti-business to a pro business, pro-jobs approach. so i'm not in favor of a new stimulus. but i can say this -- when the last stimulus was crafted, $787

billion borrowed, the fact that we didn't use virtually any money to provide for armament and for our troops, for weapons systems for our troops who were in active combat i find incomprehensible. we have men and women in afghanistan and iraq being shot at and being exposeded to improvised explosive devices, and we spent virtually no money protecting them or rebuilding the armament that's been damaged and destroyed in many cases in these conflicts. i mean, you know the national guard has suffered the loss of equipment around the country. that struck me, and in my testimony before congress, before a republican group in congress, was that if there were to be a stimulus, a significant portion should have gone to replacing and modernizing military equipment, because that would have, one, stimulated the economy, and number two, it's something we're going to have to do anyway. so let's front load that. >> governor, you say in your book that the united states is

the only remaining super power. how do you define that, and what does it take for china to become the next super power, and what do you do with it? >> well, what we do with it, what american strength does is it keeps some very bad people in check. it keeps people, in some cases, those that are not delusional, it keeps them to say, all right, i better not go attack this person because the united states might step in. our nuclear umbrella, for instance, disswadse people from thinking that they might have to develop their own nuclear capability, or other bad people thinking about they might want to use their nuclear capability. so american strength, as ronald reagan used to say, not one of them began because america was too strong. america's strengths is america being a super power and helps try and preserve peace and stability in the world. can china become a super power? absolutely. is that their intent? absolutely.

the military buildup in china is at a very rapid rate, and it can only be seen in the context of wanting to become a major military power. certainly initially in the pacific and ultimately, who knows. there are for reighs into latin america, which might suggest that they have interests further afield than just the south china sea and the pacific generally. when you build aircraft carriers, you're looking to project power. you don't need aircraft carriers around china, you need them if you plan on being far from china. do they plan on being a military super power? absolutely. would russia like to re-assert itself as a military power? i believe so. modernizing their military, it fell badly into disrepair in the yeltsin years. putin said the collapse of russia is a tragedy. i think he's intent on reversing it. i don't know how far it would

go. i don't know whether they intend to annex other nations, but i think they want to become a military powerhouse. the new start treaty that they negotiated is a very one-sided document, in my opinion, which places russia in a position of supremacy relative to ourselves, particularly in tactical nuclear weapons. in strategic nuclear weapons we're on an even playing field. but tactically, they're way ahead. so there are other nations out there who will, in my view, attempt to equal or potentially even surpass our military capabilities down the road. and that's not something which would be acceptable. that's one reason why we have to modernize our navy. the numbers are really extraordinary. i'm sure you know them at least as well as i. we've gone from a 600-fleet navy down to -- well, we're down in the 280-plus range, 284, 285, something of that nature. the navy said we could fulfill our motions at 313. we're below that and we're

headed to go even further, down to the low 200's, and that just invites adventurism. american strength keeps some bad things from happening. not all, but some bad things from happening. >> so what do you do to try to steer this now to john and domestic stuff, but what do you do with the commission in washington which has a thanksgiving deadline to either agree to cuts across the board or there are going to be cuts across the board, including serious cuts for a defense department which you argue has to go the other way? >> i'm very disappointed with the decision to make defense cuts the penalty for the failure of the super committee to reach a conclusion, which could be acceptable. the defense of the nation -- the ability of america to protect ourselves, to keep ma leaf vent forces -- ma leaf

vent forces -- to say we're going to put that on the chopping block is, in my opinion, a grave mistake. leon pa net tarks the president's own secretary of defense said it would gut the u.s. military. and in a time of war, when we're bringing our troops out of afghanistan and iraq and as we should, but this is a time of fragility, as you know in the military world, the time you're at greatest risk is when you're entering in or leaving a theater of conflict. and so bringing our troops out, certainly in a setting where the taliban is still around, is a dangerous time. to say at this time we're going to start cutting our expenditures and we have equipment that's been shot up and destroyed in these conflict and photo immediately replace it would be, in my opinion, a serious error. >> i'll stay with the theme for

just a moment, taking our troops out of afghanistan. are you comfortable with the situation of us now start together withdraw from afghanistan? are you comfortable about the jihadists and that they are in check enough for us to be doing that, given your view that it is up to us to keep them in check? >> my view is that we have assumed a responsibility of pushing back the taliban and standing up the afghan military. and at some point they have to take the responsibility themselves to earn and to keep their independence from the taliban. it is time for the afghan troops to take that responsibility. we will not stay there earning and protecting their independence forever. the generals that are closest to the theater have indicated that we can pull back our search troops in december of 2012. the president pulled that up till september of 2012, which i think is a mistake.

i think it's based on politics. it puts our troops in greater danger. it should have been pushed back to december of 2012, as the general has indicated. and then the rest of our troops come out over a period of time through 2014 and the generals say at that point we think the afghan military is ready to assume responsibility. and do i look at that with 100% confidence that iting go swimmingly? no. of course there remains risk and will continue to be taliban forces in afghanistan. but at some point the afghans must take that battle themselves and our commanders believe that at that point they will be sufficiently prepared to be able to shoulder that burden. and i have hopes and confidence at 100%, but i have confidence that they will be able to shoulder that burden. >> on another, i guess, potential military front, governor perry says he would consider sending troops to mexico to deal with the drug

cartels in concert with the mexican government. your thoughts on that? >> well, let's build a fence first and let's have sufficient border patrol agents to protect it. and if the mexican government wants us to help them with logistics, intelligence, satellite images and so forth, i'm certain we can provide the kind of support we provided in colombia, where we use some of our technology to help the colombian government in their effort. mexico has their own military and i think it's a bad idea to send american troops into mexico. i think mexico is considered a bad idea and i consider it a bad idea. >> staying with foreign policy, iran. you said iran cannot be allowed to become a nuclear nation, and you cite tough -- really tough sanctions you would put in place against them. what are the sanctions, and is

it realistic that this is going to cause these guys to stop doing what they're doing? >> joe, about five years ago i spoke at the conference in tel aviv and laid out seven steps that i thought we needed to take to dissuade iran from going nuclear. unfortunately, i don't think any of those steps have been taken. let me tell you three of the most salient of those features. number one was indeed crippling sanctions. economic sanctions, indicting mahmoud ahmadinejad in the genocide convention. it's tough. really go after iran, hurt their economy in a major way. that, in some respects, could have been prevented by votes of russia and china at the security council. and -- but the president had an opportunity to get russia to blink on that. when the president gave russia

their number-one foreign policy objective, which was the withdrawal of our missile sites from eastern europe, he could have exacted a price from them. >> that wasn't five years ago. that wasn't president obama. >> i'm talking about president obama. president obama could have exacted that from the russians. did not. that was an opportunity for us to be able to put in crippling sanctions. and that did not occur. second area, we should have very substantial covert activity in iran to communicate -- by the way, both in a covert way and in a more public way, the peril of becoming a nuclear nation. there is pride on the part of the iranian people at becoming nuclear. on their currency there's a nuclear symbol, they have nuclear day. they're very excited. what people don't understand is if you develop fissile material

and it finds its way into the hands of terrorists, the response of america will not just be against the entity that used it, it will also be against the entity and the nation that supplied it. developing fissile material puts us in a circle of suspects you don't want to be in and the people of iran need to understand that. we have to push public opinion against this nuclear approach. and finally, to concentrate the minds of the leaders in iran, you have to have them legitimately believe that america is considering a military option and has military options, and that we would consider using them, that they're on the table, or even more, they're in our hand. the combination of sanctions, a concerned populace and a strong america, in my view, have the best prospects of getting iran to reconsider their course. >> where are we now? >> we're further down the road. the sanctions -- all three

ought to be pursued, but our prospect for success has been diminished by the length of time we've been delayed. . . >> i think finally establish ago clear and understandable -- establishing a clear and understandable military option is something which has to be carried out. . the palestinians acknowledging israel's right to exist. >> i am not going to tell them what to do. i think the president through the israelis under the bus. if you disagree with your eye

like, you do it in private. and public -- if you disagree with your ally, you do it in private. in public, you show support. there is no question about whether there will be a palestinian state. the real question is whether there will be a jewish state. a leader said, we have no problem with a palestinian state. the question is will they allow israel to exist, and they continue to say no, and in the absence of an agreement that does not just go one way, how in the world can you possibly have stability if there continues to be an ongoing effort on the part of palestinians and their allies to obliterate the right of israel to exist.

the idea of putting pressure on israel -- no one is saying, we are with you. we are your allies, we will be with you through thick and thin. never questioned the commitment of the united states to the defense of israel, and if we have suggestions, if we have negotiating strategies, make , but make sure commo the palestinians understand if they want to make progress dealing with boundaries or anything else, they should do so in speaking with israel, not going to the united nations to try to get around the party directly in front of them. >> whenever you want. >> you wrote a fascinating book,

and i actually read it. you acknowledge there is climate change. >> it is probably happening. >> you said in june and it is getting warmer and i believe people contribute to it. it is important to reduce greenhouse gas but maybe significant contributors. >> i believe it is getting warmer. we contribute to it, but i do not know by how much, so i am not willing to adopt multi trillion dollar programs to reduce greenhouse gases in america of. they do not call it america warming. they call it global warming, and i am post near -- i oppose cap and trade programs. i oppose the imposition of a carbon tax. what i look to do with energy policy is to develop american

sources of energy, and those have the byproduct of being less co2 admiting, so if we use natural gas, it is less co2 emiting. in north dakota, there is a huge asset of this country. my priority in energy policy is to get american energy secure and independent of cartels, so i would aggressively develop oil and gas as well as use our coal resources. ultimately common and nuclear as well, and i like renewable resources, but i am not in favor of sending checks to various solar companies. >> you have said you think we

should do these things. how old? how can the federal government do that as opposed to industry? >> the answer is the federal government should allow private industry to do so, so on day one i would direct the secretary to provide licenses to those enterprises of have already been approved to start getting oil and gas, and i would carry out a nationwide a valuation of our potential for exploration and and what are additional resources might be, and seek to take advantage of those, on shore, offshore, alaska. let's see what energy resources we have and employ those, but this is a private sector issue. letting the private sector have

its way with how to get the gas to the power sites better most amenable, -- that are most amenable, this is something the government should not stop. it will happen and now in a speedy way if the government does not stop it, and what is happening with the obama administration is they have stopped offshore drilling. they have put the brakes on coal. this is an administration that likes solar and wind. we all like solar and wind, but we have to have more, and we need carbon-based fuels, and we have them in this country. markethen the private take care of them and let the government do what it can to provide access to explore and develop these sites. >> do we have any role in

funding research, much of the federal government have of role? >> my view is the federal government's role is in basic science. it is not in taking companies that are going to be successful. why do we participate in the space program, in part because of the science we learn. the federal government participates in the science that the corporations tend not to want to do because they do not know if it will lead anywhere or not, but we as a nation pursues science because it leads to a host of different industries. as to the role of government saying we are believers and are going to build windfarms, that would be a mistake.

yousn't and not -- when allow them to find any research, how do you avoid taking winners or losers? >> it is how far you go upstream. when you get to the part of the stream where you are talking about individual corporations, you have shareholders and directors and managers who are winners and losers, and they get a billion dollar loan, and it is a bonus time, and it is a depressing feature to their competitors. in selecting winners, you are creating a losers as well. if you say, we are going to have a mission to mars to see what the planet is made of, it is hard to say which industry is going to benefit from that. we may learn something about new materials and a source of

energy we are not familiar with. i look at basic science and research and funding that at colleges and universities. at the air force base, many have military applications. that is where we should be funded, not with half a billion dollar loans to individual companies the president favors. >> you talk about how innovation is going to win today, but how does the united states uses global -- how does the united states compete with countries that have if not slave labor van federer -- done very low- paid labor, have no rules whatsoever. you have china hoping to put the american companies out of

business, but they are going to have to buy the chinese solar power's to adhere to mandates. you have now multinational companies that are no longer base in the united states. with a country of 260 million people who have good jobs and have seen them go offshore, how are you going to compete? how is innovation in tax policy going to help us compete? >> the good news is we are competing and we are a highly successful economy. we continue to lead the world in innovation. others are gaining on us.

>> you make the point that most of the students in america getting the patent are going home. >> we are the most productive nation in the world per person, so we have a lot going. we have the best universities, the best science. what we are doing is making ourselves and less competitive. what is happening is we are burdening the private economy so businesses and enterprises are saying, i am going to go elsewhere. it is not a they have a brilliant tax accountant. now they have their businesses out of the country. they have left america, and that is happening across this country.

i was speaking to the head of zero large chemical company. we build outside the u.s. more and more. he said, that is governmental costs. they put a huge burden on us. now i said, if those were gone, could we be competitive? absolutely. they have a facility in china and the united states. i said, can they keep up? we are more innovative and able to keep up with the chinese factory.

if we can get the government to stop being a burden to the private sector, america can compete that is part one. no. 2, stop people from cheating, and china is so smart they have been cheating for some time, and we sit there smiling insane and we like free trade, but as the it -- smiling and saying we like free trade, but if the other guy is she doing, -- is cheating, they cannot manipulate our currency. they hold our prices low the market price. >> you say we should be tough with them, but what does that do? >> by bringing in action against some, there is a provision you

cannot use policies to circumvent trade, so bringing an action in addition to saying they are currency manipulators, and applying tariffs to clients that have stolen intellectual property. we cannot keep talking about this. china has to recognize we will not continue to allow our manufacturing base to be hollowed out by people who are cheating. >> you said you do not have great faith in the world trade organization's ability, sir you present your case, and you lose. >> that is a multi-party case. no. 2 isn't new labeling them a currency manipulator, and -- #2 is labeling them a currency manipulator, which i would do,

and i would not wait for the wto, because whoever wrote the book is right. they did not deal as explicitly with currency manipulation as they should have to. look at what is happening in europe. when you thank nation region when you link a nation like that is with greasece, like china. china has lot of their currency with us. they are paying people 50 cents an hour. the price of goods are exceptionally low. now you have to let those prices low, and then we are more competitive. >> labeling them a currency manipulator, i do not care what you call them. ofay the terrorists's chance success -- chance oftarriff's

success -- >> i saw a letter saying, please label them a currency manipulator. we cannot continue to allow them to have free access to our market when they are officially pegged their prices sometimes 50% lower than they otherwise would be. i spent 25 years in the business world competing with businesses across the world. i know what it takes for businesses to succeed. the president is wrong. they are soft on him, but america is strong, capable, highly competitive, ready to be led, but i know what it takes to

get america competitive. you cannot have china sheeting and long-term have the kind of vitality in each of our sectors that we can. perhaps you have got him pretty good for allowing illegal immigrant kids in texas to get the in state college tuition rates. he has got you pretty good for your massachusetts health care. both of you say, what texas wants to do is up to texas. you say, what massachusetts wants to do is massachusetts business. on the mexican standoff, aren't

you both saying the same thing? >> out as a starting point, but you have to go to the merits, and states have the right to create their own plans, and in the case of obamacare, he violated the 10th amendment responsibility of states caring for their own accord. that is one slightly significant difference, but there is more. with regards to granting tuition to illegal immigrants, that is a mistake. we are not talking about a handful of people. there are 16,000 illegal immigrants getting in state tuition rates. >> it was cited as a fraction

of 1%. >> 16,000 people. we are talking about a substantial investment by taxpayers common and and people could decide whether they like it or not. the individual mandate for people who could afford did not go to me. i test our plan was quite different than what the president did. i joked his is a wolf in sheep's clothing and his most of not quite fit. we had 8% that were uninsured,

so we wanted to get them in sure. the president's plan is taking over 100% of health care, and that is the big difference between the two. rss some modest plan dealing with the other 82 -- ours is a modest plan dealing with the other. >> in texas, he said the policy is to let those kids have in- state tuition. in your book, you argue we have to educate the kids. if you were in texas, what would your policy the relative to the illegal immigrant kids in college classes in texas?

they should pay out of state tuition? they should be thrown out of the country? what should happen to them? >> the first round is if they want to go to college in texas, they could apply for a visa to be here illegally and go to college. we provide college visas for people around the world, and there is no reason they would not be able to obtain a visa. people come into college to get education visas, and if they are going to school, they should be treated like anyone else from a foreign country who comes here, and that is they pay the full tuition. and why it is taxpayers are going to give people a break to have been in the state illegally for three years strikes me as creating a magnet that draws people into the state. isn't it like amnesty.

we have learned you create an incentive for people to come in again. you have a lot of people saying, let's go to the united states and get that break. it is different from in massachusetts. there were a enough democrats to join with my 12% republicans. if we are going to give tuition breaks to kids, let's give it to our own kids and kids' in surrounding states. >> in the state of texas, the voters of legislation and government said something different. >> i am not sure it is the voters. >> it happened sometime ago, and they have not overturned it. >> i have no question whether a

state can do something i disagree with, but as to the merits, i took a different course. i am not arguing with the 10th amendment rights. to say people here illegally are going to get a break relative to u.s. students -- u.s. citizens is wrong. >> you said on hannity's program last week regarding the massachusetts mandate, people have responsibility of caring for themselves if they can. wouldn't that lend itself to government at the state level being able to say, you have to go to the dentist twice a year? you have to do other things to take care of yourself if you are financially able to. >> there is a federal law that requires hospitals and states to

care for people whether or not they have the ability to care for themselves, so you are required to provide this care for each other. we were spending hundreds of millions of dollars giving out care to people, many of whom were perfectly able to take care of themselves, and in a circumstance where we rely on the federal government to provide something for free when they have the ability to care for themselves, it would be what i am describing. there are people who say, i expect the government and to feed me. if you can feed yourself, you cannot expect the government to give you free food. what is unusual about health is

that an individual says, and i am well, but if i fall into a coma or get cancer or heart attack, the cost of the treatment is so much larger than my ability to pay, i cannot pay unless i have insurance to cover the debt burden. >> there is a lot of chatter going on in the mainstream media about some of the goings on with the debates, including questions with a soldier in afghanistan and iraq who happened to be gay. now did you hear the question and answer with this guy? >> i heard the question and answer. you are concentrating on the people and what they are going to say. >> it was audible to the home from people in the

audience, and i could not silence whether you could hear it, and if you did, what was your reaction? >> i will tell you there has been a lot of doing -- booing and applause, some of which i do not agree with. i have not made it my practice to school one person or say i disagree, because it throws a lot of directions. >> they did it as soon as he identified himself as gaiy. >> i do not know why, but i will tell you boos and applause do not always coincide with my own

views, but i have not stepped in to say this one is right and this one is wrong, but i focus on what i should say. >> herman cain was asked about it, and he said, he should have to criticize whoever was booing in the audience. >> i understand. there were people who cheered when the statement was made in the reagan library that to enter people have been executed in texas. i do not know if cheering for executions is something i would agree with. i have not needed my practice to listen to the cheers and boos and correct people on the expression of their views.

>> we discussed earlier presidential primary calendars. not that you or the other candidates could do anything about it like say anybody who goes before the republican committee calendar that was set out, we are not going to participate in anything in your state. if you have all the candidates doing that, i imagine it could do something to dissuade some of those states to maybe go a little bit later in the cycle. >> i do not know if i want to be involved in the entire calendar other than expressing my view and commitment to a process of has iowa as the first caucus and new hampshire as the first primary.

i want delegates from all 50 states. i will try and a friend -- and offend no state. that is a joke, for the record, but i will agree with the process and new moves to new hampshire's primary, and there may be other things that i would think are sacrosanct, but those two are important to me, and the reason is not a vicos everyone in iowa and new hampshire are special, but we have tested this overtime and found the people in both of those states to be highly attentive, to attend meetings, ask tough questions, and it is a tribute to these states but such attention is

paid to the process, and i think it makes sense to follow that course. price we were close to it for years ago, and it must frustrate you. your campaigns must take that into account. you get the message out differently? is there any suspension, or do you buy everyone i get? is your christmas card ready? >> by christmas card is not ready, but we picked the picture. now getting all 28 of us to look ok, the first thing is, how does maslow -- mom look.

my guess is whether you had the primary on january 2 or january 12 or january 15, the christmas and new year's are going to be busy times without much time off. if it all started in march, that might be different, but in january we will all be campaigning hard in the holiday season. >> when you came in, you noted the teddy roosevelt picture of there. we have 15 cabinet departments now, and you see any opportunities for savings or a efficiency's? >> it is not just the extra six or seven people are around the table. associated with them are tens of thousands of workers who find

things they need to do to improve america, and it becomes overwhelming to the private sector. that is why we are going to have to take some of these agencies and streamline them dramatically, maybe combine them, but just streamline them. i believe at least a 10% employment reduction in the government is something that is called for. i think that will result in savings of a budgetary nature but also savings to the economy, and there are a lot of candidates in the department of energy, department of education. the department of housing, the department of congress.

the department of energy was formed to get america independent. the agency is now tens of thousands of people. this does not make sense to me, so a lot of those agencies have become a lot smaller. will there be interest on the part of the federal government in energy? of course, but as an agency that is under the department of commerce, that is something i would undertake, of fulton re- evaluation of how we organize the federal government. i think bringing in the best minds to say, how do we stream line and reorganize for the 21st century, it makes sense. >> what would be your view of the new federal role for education?

i know you have said it should be on a state-by-state basis. what core areas are federal responsibility in k-12 public education? >> responsability would be providing information to the state, but the federal government being the founder of education is not a necessary response ability of the federal government. that is a choice we can make, but it does not strike me as necessarily a responsibility of the federal government to take on funding matters, but we have begun picking up some portion of education funding, and i am not proposing a eliminating that or shifting that, but it is

certainly not the federal government responsibility. i think the federal government was wise to stand up to the teachers' unions. we have national unions, and president bush said it is hard for states to stand and up to these national unions, and i am going to use these federal governments, and he insisted on testing of kids of the local level. i think that is something that needed to be done. not there, hey was ran from it. there is a lot of no child left behind that does not work and needs to be shifted, but the principle of insisting on testing in schools was a step that needed to be taken. at the current stage, if arnie duncan is going to encourage states to have more charter schools and to employ merit pay,

i would say it is a good thing. when democrats stand up to the teachers' unions, we have to say good. teachers' unions are trying to pretend this is a republican verses democrat issue. some of what army dunkin is doing i disagree with. he is also trying to promote a nationwide curriculum. i think that is a mistake. i think the states should craft their own curriculum, but when and if he does some things i agree with, i will point that out. by the way, the school choice options closing in washington, d.c., what a terrible decision by this administration, "a good, the bad, the ugly." >> last week the president

ordered an air strike in yemen, and he got to the new american citizens. what are your thoughts? was it appropriate? >> it is appropriate. when someone is engaged in treasonous behavior and has aligned with the force but has declared war with the united states of america and is an enemy combatants, then we have every right to fire upon them as they have fired upon us. >> i have a question. you are a fairly well off individual. why should it be that effectively warren buffett's secretary or your secretary pays more in taxes than warren buffet or yoon do?

>> i would like to do a test to see if that is the case. i am not worried about warren buffett says taxes or my taxes. what i am worried about is we do not now taxed job creators and engage in a brand of class warfare. this is a time that a lot of people are upset for a good reason. the president's failure has resulted in tens of thousands of people out of work and engaging in a class warfare is dangerous , and it is counterproductive. we need americans pulling together, not pointing fingers. if i become president of the united states, i will not agree to a program that reduces the tax burden paid by the top 1%.

i am not looking to lower the tax burden paid by the top 1% of taxpayers, but i am also not looking to single out success and try to tax it or somehow suggest that steve jobs or bill gates or warren buffett need to be punished in some way. >> often has not shown his tax returns -- buffett has not shown his tax returns, but if what he is saying is true, it is coming from capital gains, and the associated press has said that obama and a buffet are incorrect in saying the average millionaire is paying less than the average middle-class person.

>> the percentage. the highest quarter pays 20%. the next highest is about the same. the whole inquiry to say who is paying how much, and let's get some more from these people is seen by those that are job creators as being an attack on business, an attack on investment. this is not the time to be talking about raising taxes. this is a time to talk about investing in america. you have record levels of cash on corporate balance sheets in america. thanks with a lot of cash. corporations are not investing in america, and we can engage in talk of punishing them, or we can talk about how we can make it attractive to invest in

america and create more jobs. it's people's priority is finding someone to take from and give to someone else, they should vote for democrats. if their priority is having good jobs and investing in america, they should vote for me. i am not looking for someone to scapegoat. this president of's presidency so far has been about demonizing and scapegoating fellow americans, and that is not something i am going to subscribe to. >> would you also close the loopholes to corporations, as you did in massachusetts? >> the definition of loopholes is important, because people use that term loosely it is where someone has found a provision of the tax code, and they employ that in a way that is not intended by the legislation. it is an unintended advantage for an individual or a

corporation. they are calling something a real estate investment trust, which is not at all, and they say, you cannot continue to do that, and any time someone distorts the tax code for gain, i would say, i would try to close the loopholes. there are other advantages given to corporations or individuals. we give people the right to deduct their mortgage interest. that is not -- that is something given by congress. that is not a loophole. if we eliminated that, that would not be closing a loophole. that would be eliminating the deduction, so my answer is, i am not going to be increasing taxes, but i would love to see if people are taking advantage.

when i came in, the biggest loophole my commissioner of revenue found, and he was a former accountant -- he said, you have names that are putting some of their assets into these entities they are calling real estate trust, and they are pretending to be real estate trust, and they are not. i said, that does not make sense. a bank is a bank, so we close that loophole. i am sure there were others. that is the biggest one that was very different to provide a special opportunity to real estate in massachusetts. >> you attempted now an effort

were people who buy fuel- efficient cars have lower tax rates and people who bought less fuel-efficient cars. is that something you would support at the federal level? >> i have not thought about that at the federal level. that was a sales tax, so we basically reduced the sales tax. we did not add a tax to people who had fuel inefficient cars. we just added a break. we also have a break if it was an american-made car. some of those things you could do of the state level you would not be able to get away with at the federal level. it was encouraging people to be more fuel efficient. we do not charge a sales tax of the federal level. >> you can get subsidies if you

buy fuel-efficient cars and so forth. a is a similar goal. >> should i let you reload th? i will consider policy related to energy efficiency. i think right now we are using mandates to try and guide this. i would prefer a market- regulated approach. do we create incentives and not through market mechanisms hamas precisely how to do that, i do not have an -- create incentives not through market mechanisms? i do not know precisely how to do this.

>> i was ready to go. >> i saw a bmw and a renault like that, single white vehicles, but how to encourage more energy efficiency in a market way as opposed to government mandates is a question i will explore, but sales tax rebates would not work out a federal level. >> you have been consistently ahead of president obama in many polls, but they appear to be searching for someone else. right now it is a love affair with chris christie.

how you feel about that? how you feel that there appears to be some second thoughts about you? how you let the republicans know you are the real thing? >> that is nothing particularly unusual. four years ago, polls were all over the place. john mccain was third or fourth, and we have other people higher, so it is a natural part of the political process for it to be open for a few weeks. i think it is so critical to replace her rocker obama and return america to a posture of economic greatness and -- to replace barack obama and return america to ' of economic greatness, but the american people want to take a look of the candidates and to test them well. they want to look at a track

record. they want to look at what it is obama would use against them, so the fact that people want to take a careful look, i would say of course. this is really important common and and we have to have a candidate who can beat him, because rob obama is extraordinarily effective at rhetoric and -- barack obama is extraordinarily effective at rhetoric. what he says and what he does are different things, and we are going to have to have someone explain why it is that raising taxes on certain individuals or businesses is actually going to kill jobs, and this is a fight for the future of america. this is not just to is going to build a better school. it is who is going to preserve america, because this nation is under extraordinary threat, with

iran about to become nuclear. if iran becomes nuclear, saudi arabia and egypt, and others will, too. it has a way of finding a way into the hands of bad people. replacing this president is essential, and having a person that has the strength of character, a resume, and the capacity to remove this president and get the country back on track is so important i salute the american people giving this a zeroth look. >> gov. terry famously referred to social security as a ponzi scheme, and you criticized him for that, but in your policy you compared it to bank fraud. how is your idea more legitimate than his? >> i said congress taking money out of the social security trust

fund is like a criminal activity. that is a different thing. congress took money out of the trust fund and used it for spending. if that had been done in the private sector, you would be in trouble. that is very different from saying social security is a ponzi scheme. a ponzi scheme is created for someone to get richer at the expense of someone else. that is not what social security is. to the numbers not work, is it going to be technically a bankrupt? yes, so the foundation is severely in jeopardy, and it needs to be fixed and made sustainable, but that is very different from saying it is a ponzi scheme. i do not know who the great beneficiary of the ponzi scheme is, so who got rich from this

program? >> wouldn't you say the government got rich from skimming money off of program? >> the government has to replace the money, so is it a ponzi scheme by the government? that is very simple. the government could have just taken the money out of the treasury, so i do not think the government has gotten rich. the government has a responsibility to pay this down the road. it is more debt on the federal balance sheet. >> this guy has to write a story. >> can i help you with that? >> we thank you very much for your time. thanks for sticking up for new hampshire. >> good to see you again. thanks for having me. are you taking any notes?

good. h[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> there we go. >> good tuesday do. -- good to see you. congratulations. >> i want your endorsement. but i want your help. this is important. as you know. bogthis will be my 12th town meeting.

>> what more video of the candidates. see what political reporters are saying, and track the latest campaign contributions with cs? 's website. it helps you navigate the political landscape with twitter feeds and facebook updates, candidates buyers, and the latest polling data, all at c- span.org/campaign2012. >> up next, a discussion on grass-roots campaigning and politics. we will hear from robert reischauer, who served in the clinton administration. at a news conference, there was concern about reports that thousands of air missiles were missing in libya. that is later, and then president obama talked about his jobs plan with the economy.

federal reserve chairman ben bernanke will be on capitol hill tomorrow to talk about the u.s. economic outlook. the labor department will release its latest jobs report this week. mr. bernanke is testifying before the joint economic committee. live coverage at 10 eastern on cease stand3 -- on c-span 3. later the house wilson look ethnic a committee to fight organized crime -- look at a committee to fight organized crime. coming up, a discussion on grass roots organizing in the progressive movement. we will hear from maryland congresswoman donna edwards. this is about 50 minutes.

[applause] >> you got the feeling? there is energy. you are going to be 1500 people strong, and together, we are going to fight back and build this movement. it started in wisconsin. that with the fire. it spread across the midwest. 1500 people went to help forge the american dream this summer, and this july and august, in town meetings across the country, legislators suddenly found out people were angry. they thought they elected them to create jobs, not to cut medicare, and they heard from it. even the tea party legislators

came back a little more sober. the president demanded action. we are making a difference already. they have set an example of discipline, non-violence, building a democratic space in the heart of the belly of the beast, and now 60 cities across the country, taking this argument now to banks across the country, and we are going to keep the building. for the next three days, we are going to lay plans for the next 18 months, and we are going to keep building this movement, beginning on wednesday, when all of us will join together and

demand jobs. people are in motion, the motion to save the american dream, and what is that a dream? it is the dream franklin roosevelt spoke about when he put out his economic bill of rights. it is the dream of martin luther king him praise. it is basically a simple promise and opportunity. now work hard, you can raise a family, own a home, have affordable health care common and dignity in retirement, and have your kids go to the best public education in the world so they can do better than you do. roosevelt called fees in the essentials for a free society recall these essential for a free society. it took -- roosevelt called

these essential for a free society. for three decades after world war ii, we built a society where millions can have the dream within reach. widely shared prosperity. we all grew together, and a broad middle class was filled for the first time in the world. it is what made america exceptional, and now every element of the dream is in peril. i do not have to go through the specifics. 25 million people in need of work. talk about job creators. we have fewer private payroll jobs than we had in 2000 and 30 million more people. wages have been losing ground for years as a jobs get shift abroad. a record number of people are in poverty, including one in four children.

millions are an illness away from bankruptcy. millions of americans have lost their homes. one in four homes with mortgages under water, and 10 trillion dollars in savings and we thought we had in the value of our homes has disappeared. half the workers have no retirement plan at work. social security and medicare are targeted. teachers are being laid off. college debt is now higher than credit card debt, and yet more kids are getting price out of the education they need. the american dream is busted. crushed even before the great recession. they call it a dream, but you got to be a slave to believe in it. how did this happen -- you got to be asleep to believe in it.

how did this happen? it is like the weather. it is inevitable. it was not a choice. this was not major and -- not nature -- it was man-made, and it was not a failure. itit was not a failure. it was a defeat. the electoral says that a millionaire should not pay a lower tax rate that a secretary. the president -- eric cantor said that the president is trying to divide us. republican candidates took a dip in their debate. he is waging class warfare. class warfare? there is a real class warfare going on and warren buffett had

it right -- his class is winning. this economy work splendidly for the u.s. it grinds down the many. all the last decade the wealthy as you have captured virtually all of the rewards of growth. their income has soared even as most americans have lost ground. and we reached levels of the inequality we have not seen since the great depression. that one person at the top makes as much as 60 down below. he has the same about of wealth of 90 percent of americans. there is a term for what this is -- they called it platonic. an economy in which there are the rich and the rest, and the rest do not matter much. you remember the old song cover perhaps -- "this land is their land."

it is the plain truth. for over three decades, our politics had been dominated by conservative ideas, market fundamentals some -- and a crushed the right to organize. that froze the minimum wage. they gave ceo's compensation packages they gave them multimillion-dollar incentives to cut the books and to ship jobs abroad so that they could show quick profits and lined their own pockets. public policy has been given over to entrenched corporate interests. we are bahrain over a billion dollars a day from brought brigitte from abroad. we gave the health-care industry -- we pay as much as two times as much for any other

industrialized nation. we gave big oil and king called a death grip on our energy policy. with catastrophic results for the climate and relinquishing are lead in the green and pepper to green revolution that will sweep the were pared military- industrial complex that eisenhower warned us about as managed after the cold war to lift their budget higher than any war hike. and wall street, what you know about wall street, they talked about at this morning. they open the casino and went on a wild binge and drove the economy off a cliff. we fought back against this. this is not been without struggle. we build the movement to challenge bush in his war in iraq. we beat bush when he tried to privatize social security. we built the apologists -- the

apollo alliance to gourmand predicted demand green jobs in the green industrial revolution. we helped to take back the congress in 2006 and made nancy pelosi the most progressive speaker in the history of the country. [applause] and we came together in a movement, hope and change, to let barack obama with 54% of the popular vote and a mandate to clean up washington. listen, everyone in this crowd, i am certain, as had their disappointments in their frustrations with this white house. from rescuing the big banks without reforming them, to a failing to stales -- stand strong on the jobs come on the climate, and on many other issues, to extending wars and national security prerogatives that trample the constitution.

but our challenge is much greater than the shortcomings of this president. remember, when he came into office, obama put forth basic reforms in areas we have to address. energy, health care, financial reform, the recovery, and those reforms were too cautious in my mind, pre-compromised, if you will. but despite that crisis and the popular mandate, despite democratic majorities in both houses of congress, he had his head handed to him. and we know why. molly politics. the entrenched corporate interests that have been running this place were able to yoke republican obstruction with a sufficient number of democrats to defend their privileges and their subsidies. and now the supreme court rules is trying to make that even worse.

["money, money, money" playing] [applause] in times of this kind of inequality in corporate corruption, popular citizens movements a rise to challenge the debate and to forge a new a demand on the nation. the populace took on all robber barons. he will long, every man a king, that sounds and movements, and they challenged roosevelt and pushed him to do the new deal that gave the social security, the wagner act. but in the wake of democratic failure this time, the populist temper was expressed first on the far right. governments served only the few, they said. so get your money back. and are saps populism -- an

ersatz populism that did not have much to say about what they wanted. these clever tea party patrons or backed by big corporate money, the koch brothers. my friend van jones tells us to learn from the tea party, but it is mostly a cover for the gay- bashing, women-hating, science- challenge, wing extremism of the republican right. i am not surprised they call it extreme, that is what they said about the john birch society. and they want to double down on the policies that have crossed the middle class. that not only want to roll back health care reform, they want to dismantle medicare. if they not only want to reduce workers' wages, they wanted and the right to organize. if they not only want to roll

back financial reform an environmental regulations, they want to reverse the great society, the new deal, and much of the 20th-century. if they know that this is not popular. that is why you see efforts across the country to limit the right to vote and keep americans from the polls. and now they have a new cause. i'm serious. they realized that it was unfair and the problem is said, too many people are not paying income tax. and have an answer for it. the presidential candidates, romney, perry, bachmann, they have all embraced it. tax the poor. we know who they are. and now this fake populism is meeting the real thing and we are building a powerful movement to reclaim the dream. [applause]

that does not mean just taking on the tea party. that is not the future and is not even the past. it is simply a distraction. it does require taking on the conservative ideas and the entrenched corporate interests that have dominated our politics, rigged the rules, and corrupted both parties. and that is why we have to take back the american dream. this is a struggle about what kind of america we will be. will we build a new foundation for this economy, in power and workers and shackling wall street, or will we let crony capitalism continue to have its way? with mass unemployment, we put people to work, or will we accept unemployment has the new normal and something we have to live with? >> noaa! >> after wall street blue of the economy, do they pick to bill to clean up the mess or do they

dismantle medicare and set cut back social security and slash spending on education? when resources are scarce, do we go across the world and police the world in search of monsters to destroy? or do we build america's strong from the inside out and bottom- up? " big money and set -- control the vote? -- will big money succeed in controlling the vote? or will we throw out those standing in the way, expose money politics, and make this economy work for working people again? to autonomy or democracy, the nightmare or the dream? and we are on the move and it is time to turn up the heat. from this summer's mobilization on jobs, not cuts, we will escalate that a man for jobs. all we get action in october, netting in a national day of action.

november 17, we will put every legislator on notice, particularly the gang of 12 and the super committee. we want jobs, not cuts to medicare and social security. youdo you not -- and don't dare send the bill to those who were not invited to the party. that is not enough. we need to build a new foundation for growth and capture a green revolution. and we have to do education. we have to go back to teaching and doing the kind of public and creative education that they have gone on occupy wall street, so that people across the country at union halls, living rooms, and campuses can learn the alternatives and read the contracts for the american dream and start talks -- fighting for a new agenda. we will have that in grass-roots campaigns across the country. in ohio, a referendum will wipe

out the efforts to throw out the vote in ohio. we will defend the right to vote across the country we will take that this congress from the people to are not serving the people. but that is not enough. we have tapped our own candidates. american dream candidates, champions, that we will run. 2000 champions in 2012, up and down the ticket. to run and champion our cause and to take on those in both parties who stand in the way. when you think about the american dream is candidates, think about elizabeth warren running in massachusetts. [applause] the race in minnesota. running for the congress and illinois. there are dreams candidates out there that we have to identify,

recruit, and run. this is not going to get done in a year. it will not get done in a presidential term. we have to keep building and build from the bottom-up. we need of politics that is disruptive and expose his disorder, that challenges it, and the kids in occupy wall street gave as an example of that. we need to take on the task of saving the dream. dr. king taught us the art of injury -- the art of history as long and it tends toward justice. but he did not think it was inevitable. he thought that we had to fight to make sure that it been did the right way. he inspired the civil-rights movement and the poor people's campaign to expand the dream. and we're not going to let it be crushed without a fight. and when we wage that fight, if we join together, we can win it. take on big money

and big interest, but together, we can win. we will have great obstacles and it will take a long time and heavy lifting. but together, we can turn this country around. we are a majority, the vast majority of americans stand with us, and this economy is not working for most americans. if we leave, if we move, if ordinary people doing extraordinary things, we can win. we're on the move. it is time to keep building. let's get to it. [applause] so we have heard from wall street. now it is my pleasure to introduce a remarkable leader in the struggle in wisconsin. [applause] christine it is the founding executive director of the

largest latino membership organization in wisconsin. she has are in detention as a national leader on immigrant issues purdue a turnaround in the pr, "democracy now," and read her stuff in the "huffington post." she has mobilized tens of thousands in mass marches in wisconsin, winning many reforms, including passage of in-state tuition for undocumented students. rick perry, you are not alone. [applause] she understood immediately what was at stake when governor walker decided to revoke the right to organize in wisconsin. she rallied her committee to defend those workers. she opposed a cruel cuts in education and public services that was part of the governors' agenda. last month the center for community change awarded her their communities changed champion award for community organizing.

q better suited to a tell us the importance of building together. christine neumann-ortiz. [applause] >> it is a real honor to be with you today. i want to share my experience on events with wisconsin, what they organization there represents low-wage workers and their families. there's a worker center best known for its capacity to sustain may's -- mass or dissipation. every year since the national rolling wave of protests and strikes in 2006 against congressman sensenbrenner posset draconian bill, until this year, workers had consistently organized for the largest

marketers of workers in our state's histories since it was founded in 1848, ranging as high as 80,000. we were exhilarated and proud to see events unfold in wisconsin in which another group of workers rank-and-file union members were mobilizing on a similar scale of what we had only witnessed in the latino community in the fight for fair immigration reform. the wisconsin struggle was contagious and has broadened and reinvigorated the labor struggle beyond contract negotiations in the workplace. engage larger numbers of latino workers, and provided an opportunity to toward forces with a record workers who are already in motion. but the fight to defend public employees' rights collectively bargaining resulted in the occupation of the state capital and was critical in holding the line is elected officials, allies, and labor held -- to buy

time against efforts to pass the so-called budget repair bill. [applause] it was a powerful experience to march in the bitter winter of protesters at the state capital swelling from an initial 10,000 to 100,000 in mass marches and daily protests and escalated the walkout of teachers by teachers and other public-sector employees. during the initial protests and occupation of the state capital, workers mobilize their members for two weeks in a row and mobilized a larger scale, and hundreds of members to support collective bargaining rights at the national public. at each of these mass protests, later provided a platform for workers to share a message of solidarity and to elevate the plight of undocumented workers and students in the larger fight for our rights, and to reach

rank-and-file union members we would otherwise not engage. at the capitol, we represented a significant section of working people of color at the mass mobilization in our views were heavily represented. the battle in wisconsin has been a no holds barred war against labor, the middle class, the poor, and the immigrant community. walker, undermining his own argument that the repeal of rights had nothing to do with the budget, passed as a separate bill so quickly that not all democratic representatives even had the opportunity to cast their vote. this questionable victory was rubber stamp. in the wake of the battle, community labor table was organized to coordinate actions a protest against the state budget. one of the ash and this way was the march -- was a march where they organized the largest

margin the nation, with a labor president coming to speak at our annual rally appeared this represented a major shift from 2006, when at the milwaukee labor council, there were 30,000 latinos to march with unions. it resulted in some unions this affiliating themselves from the labor council. the commitment to work together over the years meant that in 2011, this joint march was possible, swelling up to 100,000 has a diverse cross-section of unions, and mobilized in an unprecedented -- unprecedented scale. latinos and immigrants turned out to deliver a message to governor walker that we do not want the arizona copycat bill in wisconsin. leading up to the recall

elections, the fight against the budget reflected some difference of opinions on tactics. some individuals believe that the taxes of civil disobedience should be used to stall the budget in the same with the anti-union bill had been stalled. others believe the main focus should be on symbolic protest and the recall election individual members and students and rank-and-file union members, community and religious leaders, committed civil disobedience during the joint finance committee hearings to die delay the budget from being pestered 77 people were carried out of the room, hundreds more were there to protest and sing and pray. other actions including the blocking off streets by farmers, firefighters, and others. by that time, the level of activity on the ground had waned and the university in schools were not in session. the budget vote was delayed but ultimately passed. it eliminated in-state tuition rights for undocumented students, the right for six days

that passed by referendum, elimination of police officers and firefighters right to bargain over health-care benefits, and severe cuts in health care and public education for low-income families. the budget cuts resulting in a continual stream of laos, public sector employees, teachers, teaching assistants, bus drivers among others. we're only now starting to feel the full impact of the severe cuts. none of these cuts were necessary, given that wisconsin did not have a significant debt and that the debt could of been solved by increasing the tax contributions for large corporations or the wealthy, which in fact got bigger in this budget. since then, other bills have passed, including a voter i.d. bill which is intended to disenfranchise low-income voters and the disabled.

the state senate involved an incredible number of volunteers and their the gap between the two parties in the senate to one vote. there is no doubt in my mind that the offense that we have seen, the scale of resistance, whether in the form of the mass protests or volunteers on the ground for the recall effort, are not a passing fancy. as the budget and other measures are implemented and felt by thousands of people, the need and desire to act is only going to increase. in retrospect, i believe that the on the ground fight and particularly the use of civil disobedience was ceded to sen. and not believe that though the say that recall elections were a waste because they did narrow the margin. but there is a conservative tendency that elections have on movement building. for example, but before the

elections of democratic senators who left instead -- let the state to -- left the state, postured before the election. they were undermining the solidarity that we were building on the ground between union makers -- union workers and immigrant workers, and reaffirmed the need to all the right people accountable for these problems. this kind of accountability is essential to moving forward in rebuilding a broader labor movement. community and labor partnerships that were forged were critical for events broke out in galvanizing progressive forces on the ground and continuing to raise solidarity between workers who had been radicalized by events. throughout the exit -- the

event, there was a high level of coordination and communication. that same level militancy and creativity must be part of the arsenal that we employ against layoffs, cuts, and attacks on our civil rights, also standing electoral strategy going into 2012. [applause] there is a culture of struggle that is spreading across the nation and pointing the finger to wall street and corporate greed. the recent protests of wall street were expression of that. nationally we are and the movement-building period to provide an opportunity to link our struggles and reached the average person. as an organization, we represent immigrant workers who risk their lives to come to the u.s.. they sought the american dream just as some any response force and generations that have fought to realize that dream for all, and we're proud to join with you in the fight to take back the american dream. thank you.

[applause] >> that was an extraordinary presentation to give you a sense of how tough this is going to be, how we have to walk on two legs, we have to come together, we have to work through differences, but we can build in we can win. and earlier i talked about running our own american dream candidates. let me give you a real live example of an american dream candidate. i present her to you. when i think about an american dream candidate, i think about representative donna edwards. [applause] she represents maryland's fourth

congressional district. she was a lifetime progressive activists, working on money and politics, on a range of civil liberties and civil rights issues. when the incumbent democrat, the incumbent democrat in her district kept voting for his contributors rather than for his constituents, donna decided to take him on. she challenged him and with the help of a strong grass-roots campaign, backed by many progressive groups, she won and took him out. [applause] and the result was we got a progressive champion in congress. not just a democratic representative, a leader -- someone who would stand up when it was still unpopular and save no cuts to medicare and social

security. someone willing to demand an end to the wars. someone who is helping to organize the push for jobs. she is a member of the progressive black caucus, a member of the congressional progressive caucus, and you as recently chosen to cochaired the red to blue task force to take back the covers. -- take back to congress. a graduate of wake forest, she is a proud member of a college graduate. ladies and gentlemen, donna edwards. [applause] o>> ok, so i agree -- it is time to take back america. time to take back the american dream. i was recently thinking about this american dream, and when i

look upon the walls and i see our screen and i think about the american dream that my parents thought about, if my parents who were both foreign in the depression. one who lived in the segregated south, the other lived in the worst part of west philadelphia. but even in that time, neither of my parents believed that their children would grow up worse off than they had. that is where we are today. recently i had a chance to join my mother -- we were going to the martin luther king jr. memorial. it is a wonderful memorial, a testament to both who we were and how far we have come in where we need to go. some people take the conventional route to the king memorial, by way of the lincoln memorial. i went by way of the fdr memorial. [applause]

when i passed by the fbi -- fdr more, i saw the statues of people standing in line, waiting for jobs. i sought fdr's remarks when he noted that the wealthiest in this country have a responsibility, because they have gained their wealth on the hard work of an average american citizens, of average worker is, and they have a responsibility. [applause] and so as i walked by with another, who was born at the tail in of the depression, who had grown up in the segregated south, to the mlk morrill, passing by the words in the statue's the reminded us of fdr, i thought that we must have in this country once again an fdr moment. [applause]

and i thought about that american dream, and it made me think about the 48 million people last year who did not work with one single day -- one single week. and i thought about the american dream, and i thought about the 16.4 million children in this country who live in poverty. and i thought about the american dream, and i thought about 46.2 million americans who live in poverty, the highest that it has been in my entire lifetime. i am 53 years old, the highest that it has been in 52 years. i thought about that american dream, and i thought, could i say the same thing for my son and for all of my children in this generation, that my

parents thought for me, even as they lived in segregation, even as they live through jim crow, even as they live through the voting rights act, even as they lived through the riots of the 1960's, even as they lived through the depression -- and i am not sure what the answer to that question is. but i know that here, when we are gathered, not just talk about it, but to organize how we take back that american dream -- [applause] what i know is that we must answer this question. we must answer the question about whether our children will be better off today in a way that are parents thought that we would be better off. we have to answer that question in the affirmative. we cannot do it by just talking. a weaker so ago, the president addressed a congressional black caucus.

he got a lot of flak telling people to take off their brethren shoes. but you know what? i say, take off your high heels. [applause] because we do have work to do. we have work to do to stand up to the banking interests that have reaped so much benefit in this country, and will not loan to small business owners who have been in business for years. who have done business with them for years. who have never missed a payment, never missed a month on their lease. but these big banks who walked away with everything will not loan the time. and i thought about all of those ceo's out there who seem to be doing ok, you know, they're the top 2% of income earners, they

have gotten tax breaks for more than a decade, hasn't trickled down to the rest of us because more of us, our incomes of the lowest median incomes that we have seen in decades. and i thought about whether or not we have some demands for them. i and in 2012, we have demands, and those demands are going to be answered by people who indeed take off their bedroom slippers, take off their high heels, put on their marching shoes, go door-to-door to door, turn out voters, and take back the american dream. [applause] and i'm getting a little excited appear. how -- up here. because what that means for me as an america that is working,

where people are working for more than just the minimum wage. [applause] what that means for me, when we draw a poverty line that is $22,000 a year, i do not know, i do simple math when i was in school, but that is a lot of minimum-wage jobs that earned $22,000 a year. so and i think about the american dream, i think about a dream where those 48 million americans are working not just one week but 52 weeks at a year. not even getting a couple of weeks of vacation. when i think about the american dream, i think of the seniors to live in my congressional district in all across this country who have not just taken from government, they contributed. they contributed to their social security, they contributed to medicare, out of their taxes they made sure that we have

medicaid for those who cannot afford it. and they deserve what they are entitled to. is an entitlement -- they worked for, they earned it, they deserve it, and we're going to make sure that part of that american dream is that they get to keep it. when i think about the american dream, i think about all of those young people who are doing every single thing that we told them to do, and for the first time in generations, those children who have gone to high school and have gone to college and had gone to a trade school and they cannot get a job. my american dream, our american dream, includes a job for those young people. [applause] and when i think of the american dream, i'd think of the 98% of us who deserve a tax break.

and that 2% that need to contribute just a little bit of revenue. [applause] when i think of the american dream, it includes words -- roads that are smooth that you can drive over, it includes bridges that are not falling apart, it includes transit systems that make sure that we can get out of our dependence on fossil fuels, and my american and dream includes all water and sewer system where water mains are not breaking in the middle of brooklyn. that is my american dream. [applause] so what do we have to do? first of all, we have to return the gavel to people who understand what to do with it. [applause]

and for me, that means returning the cattle to nancy pelosi -- gavel to nancy pelosi that means in every single congressional district where there is a tea party, throwing out the china, and bringing in just a little bit of regular old table where. -- tableware. my american dream includes a congress that is not afraid of a collective bargaining, of congress that respects the work and the right of working people. my american dream says that we are not going to let you put an end to health care reform. it may not have been perfect, but doggone if we're going to throw that baby out with the bathwater.

my american dream includes getting up in the morning and going to a job and not working 75 years, the longest that anyone would have to work in the industrialized world. it includes an american dream more people can actually enjoy their retirement and have the ability to collect their social security and add that to some other income security. so i get upset with those top 2%, because they are only 2% but they control, doggone it, 70% of the american congress. so we have to flip that script. [applause] what i am saying to you is that i am glad that we are all assembled here today, because i like to know where my friends

are. [laughter] right? but i want to know that our friends and our allies are spread all across this country. and that there is not a single congressional district in this country that will go untouched. on fought for. we know of the battlegrounds are very -- but the battle grounds are paired we know that there those that won a food fight among the progressives. we're not going to give it to them. this is not a cafeteria. [applause] we also know that there are some out there who want us to have a food fight with president. we are not going to give that to them, either, because this is not a cafeteria. but what we do know is that whether it is donna edwards of barack obama, we are going to demand accountability for

working people. [applause] and that accountability means standing up for all of those who have taken so much and given so little. and you know, i do not even want to hear that term shared sacrifice anymore. because to me, there is a lot of sacrifice on our in and very little sharing on their rent. -- on our end and very little sharing on their end. what is the plan? the plan is that we get to define what the american dream is. the plan is that in every state capital, we made that definition heard. the plan is that here in washington, d.c., we do not let these guys come back at the end of the era of liberating every single thing that we know of

the social safety net. the plan is that we go out and we work harder than we have ever worked before. because what is at stake is not just 2012. what is at stake, let's be clear, is a generation ahead of us. that is what is at stake. [applause] as some of you know, i have not always been happy democratic camper, ok? i am like you all. but i also know where our battle lines are drawn. and i know where we have to go. and i know that we can get there faster with sauerkraut then we can get their with their crowd. -- with our crowd then we can get there with their crowd. i'm gwen asked all of you to join together because we need our fdr moment and the american dream requires our fdr movement

-- moment, and the american people require our fdr moment, and let's move from fdr to the white house to make it known on every street across this country, that we are standing for the american dream, that we are standing for working people, and that while some may want to control the volume and others may want to control who is on the street and when they are on the street and why they're on the street, we're not going to let that happen. and we are not going to go silently while the top 2% walk away with the american dream. thank you very much. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011]

>> you notice these gray hairs. it proves i've gotten a little wisdom through the years. i am smart enough not to speak after donna edwards. [laughter] and i am smart enough not to speak after van jones. so we're going to take a 15- minute break. we want you to clear your minds, we want you to rebuild your energies, and you are about to hear one of the great leaders of our time. the man who is helped inspire this american dream movement, and the man who will help move this to a different state. so, and 15 minutes, and then get

ready to rumble. >> let is in german, please welcome to the stage -- ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage -- >> could morning. guys, i'm going to ask those of you who are not sitting down to please take your seats. i've been told that i have a two minutes, and this is like speed dating, so do not fall in love. since i only have two minutes, let me say, i will dispense with my greeting to this american

dream conference. this is the tonic that we needed in washington. we're sick and tired of being sick and tired. so the bottom line is that progressives are on the moon, we have a level of cohesion that we have not had in a long time, and the momentum is building. so i'm going to dispense with that. i will dispense with my shout out to be fair elections ohio. those of you who have not seen the new york times today, the lead story is about republican inspired voters suppression efforts to steal the election in 2012 by manipulating voter laws to ensure that progressives, african-americans, latinos, young people, and the elderly and people with disabilities do not bode. you take 10% of the vote from five states and the election is

over. their relations ohio had a big victory last week. they stop that dark shadow in its tracks and left give them some credit for having done that. they did a great job. all right. now it is my honor to introduce our next speaker of this morning. a young man who is become such a strong and influential presence on the progress of stage that he virtually needs no introduction. van jones is part of a breakthrough generation of young american leaders who are changing the face of the nation. van has already contributed much to the civil and human rights movement with his energy, his ideas, and his relentless pursuit of justice. as many of you know, van has

founded or co-founded three of the nation's newest and most effective civil and human rights groups. the elevator center for human rights, given up for the elevator center. -- ella baker center for human rights. dan also served as the green jobs adviser for the obama lighthouse, all too briefly. and finally, i am proud to say that in 2009, the leadership conference saw fit to honor him with a civil rights award for his dedication and visionary approach to social and economic justice. is complete -- continually working, so it was no surprise when van reached out to me as he did to several others in this room. he shared a new vision that he believed would galvanize

discouraged progressive, to stand up for the principles that have made our nation great. his idea was based in part on his study of the origins and rise of the tea party. it is only fitting, for as some new -- so what -- sun tsu wrote in the art of war, if you know your enemies and you know yourself, you can win 100 miles without a single loss. so now we may not win all the battles. build collaboration to the american dream movement are helping to connect and energize people all over the world. they know in their hearts and minds that collectively we can build a better future they will serve the many as opposed to the wealthy few. that is why we are all here

today. so without further ado, please join me in welcoming van jones to the podium. van is helping to build an america as good as his ideals. van. ["born in the usa"playing] [applause] >> first thing i do is break the rules. the sign says do not touch the microphone. first thing i do. [laughter] indeed some rule breakers every now and again. do we have some in the room, some rule breakers? [applause] so beautiful to see everybody.

thank you, brother. hey, look, first of wanted to thank wade henderson. give that man around of applause. he is one of our true leaders. [applause] not only does he lead the leadership conference so well, creating one of the true places of a clearing house were all of the forces fighting for civil rights and human rights can stand together, not only has he extended that to create the beautiful we are one movement which has gone father bringing organized labor together with some many of the civil and human rights fight, he did not blink an eye when some of the new our forces came and said we need your help, we think there may be some ways to get some new energy going. he has a wingspan this big and

he expanded it to the next generation. give him a round of applause. it does not happen and not that our movement. -- in not in our movement. i also want to thank bob bork doeosage. he put it down. i want to thank them all and the entire campaign for america's future staff. inse folks, back when we're the horrible dark era of the bush years, remember that? somebody started twitching. [laughter] they created this conference, take back america, and brought us together during those difficult days, and as a result of the leadership shown then, when we had nothing in this

town, the bad guys ran the white house, they ran the senate, their rent the house, and they ran america into the ground, this conference became the springboard by which we did just that, and we are going to do it again. lastly, i want to thank all of you. it has been a tough couple of years. i mean, we can i get up there and lie and pretend that everything has been cool. we went from hope the heartbreak and about a minute. once the opponents that we ran out of here realize they did not have anything to do but run their mouths, run down as president, and run down progresses. we have been on a one-sided offensive in this country, where the worst people in america with the worst ideas have dominated the discussion. and i am not mad at them.

i am not mad at the tea party. i am not mad at them for being so loud. i am mad at us for having been so quiet at the past two years. that comes to an end. that comes to an end right now. [applause] they are not wrong, standing up for what they believe in, silly as it is. [laughter] we have been wrong. we had the wrong theory of the president. some people of the president, some are mad at him, god bless you did -- you but perry we had to do wrong theory of the president's feet. we thought that by electing a single person, and individual who was inspiring, kind of like dr. king, we elected dr. king and put him in the white house,

then we could just sit back and much popcorn and watch him. it is going to be good. [laughter] we went from having a movement to a movie. as if the movement we were part of was based on a program called "if yes, he can." i believe it was "yes, we can." now we have to get back to the "we." that is what has been missing. lbj did not lead the civil- rights movement. he signed a bunch of laws, that is right, but he did not lead that movement. that was people like us in this room. we have to remember that even fdr, as great as it was, did i

get out there, god bless him, in his wheelchair and lead the labor strikes that led to the great deal. the labor movement to the work. abraham lincoln did not lead the abolitionists. i understand there was someone named frederick douglass and harriet tubman that got out and let that struggle and got him to do the right thing. and just as nobody thinks that i'm just talking about one party, even nixon --see how much i have grown? [laughter] i can even talk bipartisan. even nixon, famously, did not get out and leave the environmental movement. but he signed the epa, the clean air act, and the clean water act, why? because there was of movement how did that made him do it. you can have a crack team

president and have a strong movement and get things done. it is time for us to have a strong movement. let me tell you something. this conference is taking place in a moment. we will remember it for a long time. we have been depressed, ask me how i know. [laughter] we have been distressed. and yet some people say, well, i will never hope again. i am never going to get all hopeful. had to much experience now. i know better. [laughter] we went from hopey to mopey and forgot to build a movement in the middle.

let me tell you something, those of us in this room, we have too much experience not to believe in the power of the people. we have too much experience not to believe in the beauty and the wisdom and the genius of the american people. yes, you can get knocked down. that happens in politics. asked me how i know. [laughter] >> how you know? [laughter] >> but it is not how many times you get knocked down. it's how many times you get back up and how much smarter you are when you stand back up, and we are standing back up in this country. [applause] i want to show you some of the research i did to explain why we're here. before i do that, something just came across the newswire. it is an extraordinary thing. we know we have the young folks,

the struggling folks down there on wall street. give them a round of applause. they went down there to the scene of the crime against our future. they went down there. and they have been camping in the range, they have been beaten, and pepper spray, they had been falsely arrested, and they have never once broken their discipline. and when the police were driving them away, they said, we are out here, the 99%, fighting the 1%, and you officer, are part of the 99%. we are fighting for you to. we are fighting for your pensions to. and because of their courage and the character that they showed, today it was announced that in

their dress blues, marines are going to protect them and stand with them in their dress blues. the marines. the veterans. [applause] this is a movement moment. this is a movement moment. it is not -- something is happening in america. something is happening in america. this is your movement. they are going to stand out there with those young people in their dress uniforms, and one of them had a sign. the sign said, this is the second time i have fought for my country. no, no, no -- wait. don't be happy yet. the second time i have fought

for a country. it is the first time i have known who my enemy was. now that is a movement moment. something is happening. something is happening. this is where we are. you built this. don't you be surprised. look at it, shocked. this is your movement. people you don't know have more faith in it than you do. can i tell the truth about something? look, the movement for hope and change, the movement for hope and change was not invented nor

created by barack obama. he would tell you that. but we erase our own history. do you know why? low self-esteem. this is the movement you build with their own hands. i can go back to 2003 when bush launched his illegitimate, unjust war on the iraqi people. i remember that. i also remember you. we did not have one great leader. there was no messiah. there was no single super hero. all we had with each other, people right here in this room. the people you can get hold of in your blackberry or smart phone right now. but we put millions of people in

the streets and the new york times said weaver the second superpower -- said we were the second superpower the only thing that could challenge george bush was us. we had this amazing new technology called e-mail. remember that? in 2003, we were defeated. they invaded that country anyway. we could have quit then, but you didn't. we went right on to 2004 and built a massive movement to try to get bush out of the white house. we had a good candidate in john kerry, but he was not a messiah. we did not have a super hero. we had a super movement, and we came within 100,000 votes in ohio of getting rid of george bush back in 2004. that is how strong your movement was even then.

2005, what happened? we could have quit. some people said america is just full of stupid people, and i am moving to canada. [laughter] like they want you in canada. why do people say stuff like that? but we had a bad weekend, and then we got to work. 2005, you start innovating. look at everything we created in 2005. something called the blogosphere was created. huffington post was born in 2005. the apollo alliance, 2005. a man came out and said, would you please stop talking ignorant? that was 2005. look back at the big immigration

marches that began to happen. look back at the heartbreak of katrina. look at the democracy alliance being formed. look back at tremendous innovation in the wake of a defeat. no messiah. no one leader. no super hero. you determine that to country would not go down the drain. he determined that mean people and dump people not ruin the country you live in. that was you in 2003 and 2004, 2005. by 2006, we had this tremendous breakthrough, and we were able to humiliate call wrote. karl rove said in 2004 the republicans are going to run america up for 40 years. we held them to 24 months because of you. give yourselves a round of

applause for what you did. this is your movement. [applause] in that environment you created, we were so blessed that a young senator was willing to take a stand and to see that what you had built was going to be bigger than the democratic party, bigger than the republican party, bigger than the clinton bran, bigger than the mccain brand. you build this beautiful movement and the man and the movement and the moment met, and we inspired the world. as inspiring as then senator obama was and now obama can be, if you inspired him first. you inspired him first. that is the power of this movement. it was only when we sat down that things went back to where

they were. now it is time for us to stand back up. let me show you something. let me show you my slide. i worked in the white house for six months, the best six months of my life, followed by the worst two weeks. after that, i took some time off and taught at princeton. i got a chance to really think for the first time and was not having to run an organization. some of you all might want to try this, not having to run an organization or campaign or anything like that. i thought about what happened to our movement, and i read about it and i read about the tea party and i discovered something i wanted to share with you. i think we can take this holding back and do it bigger and better than we did in 2008. that is my promise to you. we can take this holding back and do it bigger and better,

with more resilience, than 2008. you know how or movements have been. we call these silos, everyone in their own little cause and camps. i did not include everybody. it is just representative slice up -- of our movement. then along came, under the right conditions, obama. he created what i call a met up brand --meta brand. he was not just a cute black back from chicago tried to be president in 2008. it was a brand, and when that brand hit, it was patriotic. he talked about the poor does unum --e pluribus unum.

this special effect of the $200. so you better appreciate this. and then when he put that meta- brandt up there, we all were affiliated to him. remember that? maybe you missed it. i will do it one more time. it cost me enough money. [laughter] we were all divided, here comes obama, and we all affiliated to him in 2008. i called it ameta-brand because you did not have to give up anything to affiliate.

you did not have to quit your lesbian and gay rights group to join. now you are part of something math. , but now you are part of something huge. as you are driving down a highway, you can see other people and just hauled the horn at them. remember that? and the whole time you thought, i am by myself, nobody loves you, and then you realize there are millions of us. remember how that felt? that was part of what happened, but we met a mistake. we thought that was just about one person. guess what? our opponents have their own organizations. they have their own causes. i did not list them all. but you get the basic idea. [laughter]

they came up with a meta-brand, the tea party. let me tell you something about the tea party. i studied them. for a while, i could say i read every book by, about, and against the tea party. let me tell you something about the tea party. there is no tea party. there is no tea party. you cannot land at the airport and get in a cab and say take me to the tea party headquarters. get out, but as the buzzer, go in and talk to the receptionist, steal a mint, and say i would like to speak to the president of the tea party.

there is no headquarters. there is no receptionist. there is no mint. there is no deep party. the tea party is an open source brand. most of these groups pre- existing the tea party. some of them go all the way back to the ross perot days. there is nothing new about the tea party. we have study the obama phenomenon and the civil rights movement, and we know how to do that. we will still your technology. keep your name, keep your website. keep everything you ever had, just put behind your name a comma, tea party affiliates. and then we are all going to

move at the same time. we are all going to affiliate at the same time, and boom, the whole world is going to have to pay attention. this is an upgrade of what we did. they branded not a person, but the network. they did not grant an individual. they branded a network, and they did not base it on a single party. they based it on principles. they built it on a starfish and not a spider. some of you know what i am talking about. this is an upgrade. this is an upgrade. we have to go back and reclaim our commitment to being the most innovative and cutting edge movement in the country. that is how we got here. it is time for us to innovate again and still this technology.

how do we do it? very simple. when our guys got to become head of state, he got promoted. good for him. here we are, and it is worse than before. it is one thing not to have a house. it is another thing to have had a mansion and not to have a house. our opponents were apart, and now they are together. that sucks. do you like how that feels? i think is good time for us to do something about it. quit just blogging about it. i blog, too, and i also tweet.

my thumbs are so tired from complaining. what if we actually did something? one of the actually acted on funding we know. what if we went back to being the kind of movement we were before we had a great victory? first of all, we would need to have some principles. i want to suggest something that at first not strike you as odd, but i think -- obama founded his movement on a patriotic principle of no red states, no blue states, we are all in this together, and it worked the tea party founded there's on a page right principle of liberty. that is what they say they are

about, notice not liberty and justice for all. we will get back to that. but liberty, and that worked. i think his, time for us to remember that the other side are not the only people who have a monopoly on loving this country. in fact, the people who love this country and everybody in it are deeper patriots than they could ever hope to be. they are not the patriots. [applause] so what if we had a principal? we need to be patriotic. we need to be portable. you cannot just have a principle andt you like in berkeley b say you are going to lead a national movement. you have to be able to take the principle into red states.

you have to be able to go in to the laundromat somewhere in a red state and start talking to people and have them understand exactly who you are and what you mean. you have to be positive. i don't want to be positive anymore. i am so outraged, i just don't know what to do. [laughter] i will never be aspirational again. collier grandmother. get some perspective -- call your grandmother. progressive movements have been for tougher times than this, and we never surrender at our principles, our aspirations. the think it was easy? in the great depression, to keep striving to make this country great, do you think it was easy? dr. king and the suffragettes --

they got some pepper spray. i think we have had harder times than this. and tougher in these, and we never surrendered our principles. so we have to be patriotic. it has to be portable, and it has to be positive. well, there is a principle like that. dr. king talked about. the first thing he said -- jay and i used to watch the speech is when we were young. he said i have a dream. it is dream deeply rooted in the american dream. the first thing he said. he was not talking about consumerism. he was not talking about commercialism or individualism. he was not talking about what the commercializes did to the american dream. he was not talking about the

american fantasy, that everybody is going to be rich. just buy a bunch of things and you are going to be happy. just get a big enough flat screen tv and you can cover up the holes in your life. that is the american fantasy which has led to an american nightmare. we are opposed to that. that was not what dr. king was talking about. he was talking about something much deeper and much more fundamental. he was talking about the idea that we are all supposed to count. we are all supposed to matter. in this one will country, the matter what your color or race or religion or sexuality or gender, you are supposed to be able to work hard and get somewhere. you are supposed to be able to have the dignity of work and opportunity so you can look at those children in your household and know that they might get further than you did if they work hard. that is supposed to be who we

are, and that promise brought people from all around the world. those of us whose family did not choose to come here, we chose to stay to make good on that promise, should not be drawn under the bus just so corporations don't have to pay their taxes. it should not be thrown under the bus. we said why don't we have an american dream movement, a movement to restore the american dream and bring all these different causes together. all of us are struggling, no matter what your cause is. your constituents don't have jobs and they are afraid of losing their homes. they are going to fight. the only question is, are we going to fight together, or are we going to continue fighting alone? we say if you are willing to take, we offer it up.

>> those young veterans were coming home to nothing. as long as they are overseas, we will spend any amount of money. halliburton can get a cut. then we dump them off at the airport with no jobs and no hope. 17 suicide attempts a day, and nobody said a word about it. let them be able to stand under a banner that says we are going to defend and take back the american dream. let the young people who are graduating off a cliff every spring into no jobs, praying to get an unpaid internships for two years. let them stand under common

manner and say i want to fight to make sure i get a chance to have my american dream come true. let our everyday american heroes, the cops, the teachers, the nurses, the postal workers, the librarians, the backbone of our communities, who these republicans want to grow under the bus. let them be able to stand under a banner that says no, these are everyday heroes, taught to respect them as children. we are not going to abandon them. they never abandon us. let them be able to stand under common banner. but those who have been foreclosed on, these banks that we saved, these banks that we bailed out, these bankers who would be homeless themselves if we had not stood up for them and stood with them. now they will not even return a phone call of a mother he is just trying to renegotiate the

mortgage, or a child with $100,000 of student loan and cannot find a job. don't let them fight by themselves. let them stand under common banner. let these long-term unemployed, often 55-year-old white men who expected to be in the pride years of their working lives, who now are not able to teach the young workers a trade and feel that pride, but have to sit on the couch every day, with all this work that needs to be done. but the farmers who are having their land torn away from them by the same banks, let us all stand together now under a common manner. let's do that. [applause]

planned parenthood and so many groups -- i can just go down all the groups. they said you are right, it is time. in june we launched something just as an experiment. we build little platform and we launched something. let me tell you what happened. when the tea party started, they had 800 house meetings across america to launch their movement. when we started, we did not have a hundred. we had 1597, just to start. we started almost prices bid. -- almost twice as big. the media did not say a word about it. it is thousand people created the contract for america for the

tea party. we did not have 50,000. with no fox tv, with no koch brothers, with just grassroots organizers, we did not have 50,000. we had 131,203, almost triple the tea party, when we started. something is happening in america. we did not accept the lie that progressives don't know how to work together. we did not accept the slander that we don't know how to work together. what is next? why are we here? we are here because when you have something with no media attention and no real money that launches an 600,000 people signed up in every congressional district, which is what happened, real change is

possible. we have been seeing what happens, not when we fight hard and they fight hard and we just get beat. we have not even stood up yet. in august, we beat the tea party. groups like many of the labor organizations who are here. shockd look, let's have a in august. in august, we beat the tea party 10-1. you like to ask a question, why is the white house talking different? the white house is talking different because we are walking different. we are walking different. we learn something. we learn something. [applause]

now we have the opportunity, and the great thing i learned from the tea party, they are very, very adults about charisma and leadership. you have to give them credit for this. who is the one leader of the tea party? who is the one leader? they used to have sarah palin. she was the queen of the tea party. she fell down the stairway a public opinion. the tea party is as strong as ever. they used to have my good friend glenn beck on tv. remember him? you have not heard much from glenn beck recently. he doesn't even have a show, but the tea party is as strong as ever. in fact, if michele bachmann,

sarah palin, glenn beck, all of them came here today and said the tea party is over, it would not be over. they use their charismatic leaders to build something bigger than any leader. this is our opportunity. the other thing about the tea party is, they talk rugged individualism, but they act collectively. you got a problem? you better solve it yourself. you don't need the government'. just be more rugged and more individual. that is how they talk. but they have enacted the most collective this strategy for taking power in the history of the republic. 50,000 people cooperating to come up with an agenda that nobody wrote. a top individual and act

collectively, and weak -- do i have to say it? we talk collective. we talked, we are all in this together. we talk solidarity forever, but we have enacted the most individualistic strategy in the republic. me, myself, my group, my calls, my brand, my thing, and why did she get that grant? if we can just be as warm and sharing and kind as the tea party --

[laughter] what one might suspect is a relatively low bar, we might be able to do something for our country. that is the invitation to you. [applause] so i have the distinct honor to do something -- it just hit me what is about to happen. we are about to bring up five leaders -- i am sorry, 25 leaders to take this stage and

to declare publicly that we are going to be a part of one movement. some could not come, and some are in the audience who will not be able to get up here, but it is our turn now. it is our turnout. we let the warmongers have a turn for eight years, and the ruined this country. ruined this country. we are still spending $3 million a week overseas on these wars. what if we had $3 billion just for detroit or new orleans or four of apalachicola, in just one week's worth. imagine what we could do. we let the warmongers have their

turn, and they've ruined america. we stood up, and then we sat back and let the washington, d.c crowd do the best they could without us. help is on the way. help is on the way. [applause] people say i am corny. just give me three minutes. i just want to take three minutes, because after this, i am not the sole voice of this thing anymore. i just want to tell you, it has been a tough road for me. i came to this town with high hopes, just like many of you. i stepped on some rakes and left broken hearted. but you have to ask yourself a question as a person, as a father, and as a movement.

what happens when you have a big dream and it gets crushed? what happens when you have a big dream and it gets destroyed? what happens when you have a big dream and somebody smashes it to bits? do you just lay there forever, or do you get back up with a bigger dream? we are back now with an even bigger dream. they should have left us alone. they should have let us have our little public option and we would have gone on home. they should have left us alone. [applause] they have messed up, now. we are coming back with a bigger

dream, more unity, wiser, smarter, stronger, braver, kidder graphics. we are bad. i want you to welcome to this stage the leadership of the american dream movement. on your feet. on your feet. it is not a one-man show. [cheers and applause] we got a movement now. we got a movement. the more that can get up here, there are more that cannot get up here. they should have left us alone. they should have left us alone.

[applause] let the word go forth. they got unity on wall street. they got unity in 50 cities, and we got unity right here in this room. >> how are we doing? my name is victor sanchez. we represent over 4 million students nationwide. everybody tells us we or the future, but i am here to tell you we are also the present, and we are committed to building this new american dream movement. >> good afternoon. i name is theresa. i am with jobs for justice, representing over 47 labor committee coalitions in 26 straight.

we are building the american dream movement through our campaign. >> i am the executive director of the generational alliance, an alliance of up over 16 youth organizations that represent low-income youth, use of color, and together we are taking back the american dream. >> i am -- give director of the league of young voters, and with more young people and people of color, we can win with this american dream movement. [applause] >> i am the executive director of the ella baker center for human rights and a leader in the american dream movement. >> i am with the national gay and lesbian task force, the oldest organization building the power, taking action, and creating change for lesbian,

gay, bisexual, and transit gender americans. >> i am the co-director of the new bottom line. we are representing one of thousand grassroots and faith based organizations all over the country, fighting for an economy that works for all of us, and we are allies of the american dream movement. >> i am campaign director at the center for community change. we are committed and ready and with you we will rebuild the american dream movement. >> i am with the opportunity agenda. we represent thousands of activists, artists, and cultural organizers who are helping to shape the american dream movement. >> i am with the engaged network, and we are proud to be co creating long-term global

engagement networks around the american dream. >> i am with the new organizing institute and candid process. we are working to recruit more than 2000 progressives to run for local office and we are building a generation of candidates in the american dream movement. >> i am co-director of the energy action coalition. we are creating a power shift, and we are the american dream movement. >> i am with the civil and human rights coalition and we are the american dream movement. >> hello out there. my name is barbara jackson. i am with the american federation of government employees. proud to represent over 600,000

federal workers across this country. let me tell you, we are proud to be a part of the american dream movement. [applause] >> i am with the sierra club. we have 1.4 million grass-roots at -- advocates who believe we need progress, not pollution. that is why we are part of the american dream movement. >> i am with campus progress. we work with young people across the country to work on the issues that can help representative -- bill the american dream movement. >> i am executive director of progressive majority. we run, train, and coach towson so progressives to run for office in every level of government. we are all proud to be part of the american dream movement.

>> i am marge baker with people for the american way, representing hundreds of thousands of activists across the country, dedicated to fighting the radical right in the corporate right. we are working every day to confirm federal judges to have a deep and abiding respect for the entire constitution, and we are proud partners in the american dream movement. >> i am charles young, representing the hip-hop culture. represent over 700,000 young people, celebrities, artists across the country who all believe in having safer and better communities. we want you to know that we are leaders in the american dream movement. >> i am the executive vice president of the afl-cio, the

12.5 million members who fight every day for up america to keep its promise to workers in all our communities, and we are proud to be a part of the american dream movement. [applause] >> i am here representing a change to win labor federation. our 5.5 million members know we need good jobs to restore it the greatest invention of this country, our vast middle class. they are ready to be leaders of the american dream movement. >> i am the executive director of democracy for america. with over a million members, we are happy to bring the fight to wisconsin and ohio and we will bring the fight in all 50 states to defend the american dream. [applause] >> i am with progress in. noworg.

we are proud and humbled and invigorated to be part of the american dream movement. >> i am here on behalf of u.s. actions with 390 ellison members. our message, create good jobs and cut wasteful pentagon spending. together we will build the american dream movement. >> i am a member of the national committee to preserve social security and medicare. [applause] with 3 million supporters and a vast amount of americans who say hands off, no cuts, and support social security, medicare, and medicaid, and i believe in the american dream movement. >> i am with netroots nation,

and each year we connecting gathered thousands of leaders in the american dream movement. >> i am with the working families party. we are fighting for good jobs, good schools, and go -- good government, and we will hold elected officials accountable to the american dream movement. >> i am the ceo of rebuild the dream. we want to see and action center for you, the american dream movement. >> i am a planter here in washington d.c., one of 2 million members of seiu, organizing and bargaining for the american dream fund. >> i am running for congress in illinois' 10th district to rebuild the middle class and fight for you as part of the american dream movement.

[applause] >> i am the executive director of progress of congress.org. i work with progressive members of the u.s. house of representatives and senators so began senate so they can be leaders in the american dream movement. >> i am the field director for peace action, 100,000 strong, and we are working to move the money from morris and weapons back to our communities. abitibi a part of the american dream movement. -- happy to be a part of the american dream movement. >> i am with move on.org. on behalf of our 5.5 million members across the country, i want to say how proud we are to help power the american dream movement.

>> my name is roger hickey, co- director of the campaign for america's future. we believe ideas have power, but people have even more power. we are proud to be foot soldiers in the american dream movement. [applause] >> i want you to take a seat, because we have one more leader you have not heard from yet, but i want you to take a seat. give one more round of applause for these incredible leaders, and all the rest of them. it is a victory. [applause] this is a historic day.

big deal. i left out the other word. [laughter] you cannot have something this powerful and seal it off with talk.cal we are going to bring one more leader to the stage and seal this the only way can be sealed. [applause] >> thank you so much. thank you for this invitation here tonight. and thank you for your wonderful, wonderful, inspiring

words. i am from a generation who has long decided it is not really worth it to believe in the american dream, and i have sat here today so inspired and overwhelmed, almost to the point of tears, to see so many people from so many different backgrounds so united. it did not really make a difference if everyone agreed on every single detail, but together, we know what we need. i want to applaud everyone here today for making that commitment to tolerate each other and to love each other for the greater good of our country. i want to set thank you to all the leaders here and thank you for everyone in the audience. [applause] i would like to offer something to you all who have so much faith and so much courage.

you are the one who feels of the year and keeps on fighting you have the strength and the courage of a lion and every one n saido, not i you raised your hand so high you have the most beautiful heart inside beautiful heart inside ♪ beautiful heart inside

and i've got to thank you because you believe, so the best in me, looked past my inadequacies showed did not know i could be. thank you, you set us free from the road we were headed down you are the one who did not mind the headache and frustration back home. we are trying to change lives, every direct the hurt inside never knowing if you helped or just wasted your time

i cannot speak for them don't know how much they received but when it comes to me, let me tell you what you achieved i've got to thank you because you believed saw the best in me looked past our inadequacies showed me who i didn't know i could be thank you, you set us free feet are on solid ground and we are freedom bound but don'to get tough, you ever give up never, never, never give up

it can get tough, but don't you give up never, never, never give up because we are the ones we've been waiting for wait no more ♪ [cheers and applause]

>> somebody is supposed to come up here. i am through. you all are amazing. give her another round of applause. [applause] i am going to bring to the stage, as they exit, these great leaders representing so many people, who have been waiting for this turning point. you knew it was coming, didn't you? we could not just a stop on stupak forever. you knew that at some point, it was going to turn, and it is turning today. it is turning on wall street, turning in hearts all around america. the tide is turning, and we want

to take you now to launch. you have some work to do, even as you are eating and talking. your mind is fired up. you are thinking about a million things. you are going to have some instructions for this lunch from ramona. give her round of applause. she is a quiet force behind this whole thing. [applause] how many of you all are the people who are behind the scenes, making everything work? raise your hand, don't be ashamed. the people who really make it worked. give her a round of applause. give this woman a round of applause. [applause] one of our great labor leaders and organizers, also a huge

civil rights background, also a new mom with a little baby. >> thank you, van. so, are we inspired? are we ready to get to work? all right, then, when you go off to lunch, here is what we need you to do. now is the time to step up and on this movement, the american dream movement, to have a discussion about how do we build a bigger, badder american dream movement? how do we take this to every corner of the country and make it embraced everybody who needs it so desperately? so when you go way to lunch, i want you to talk about this. get your lunch, come back to your table, sit with your friends, sit with strangers, make some new friends. and talk about how do we make

this american dream movement bigger and better? then i want you to tweet your answer. if you don't tweet, there has to be someone within two people of you who tweets. have them put the take back the american dream twitter-tag on it. put that hash tag on there so all the folks in the conference can see it on there and we can share it with the world. i want to thank you, van, and let's make this the biggest, baddest thing anyone has seen in the republic. [applause] >> all right, one question you may have in your mind, what is

the role of rebuild the dream, and what is the role of the american dream movement? let me clarify this, because there has been some confusion. rebuild the dream is just a support center for the american dream movement. just the way that freedom works is a support center for the tea party, but nobody owns the tea party. just as americans for prosperity is a support center for the tea party, but nobody owns the tea party. we are just a support center for your movement. our job is to help you on this movement. if we leave here and you are not owning this movement and you are not thinking this is my movement, we have not done our job. rebuildthedream.com is a

support center for you. movements have principles, fighters, momentum, and we finally have got our momentum back. now let's get some lunch. thank you very much. [applause] >> it is my distinct honor and pleasure to introduce a man who really needs no introduction. many of you probably remember robert b. rice from his prominent role as secretary of labor in the clinton administration. or, if you are really a washington insider, you may recall a service from the ford and carter administrations. however, i first real introduction to him was not true his government service or in one of his classrooms at brandeis or

harvard university. instead, my relationship with professor rice and his ideas began in the fall of 1993 when i arrived as a newly minted graduates student in purdue university's department of political science. one of my very first assignments was to read and critique professor rice's book, "the word of nations." i remember being taken by his analysis and assessments of the top of skilled workers that would be needed in this new economy. we were assigned to read his edited volume, "the power of public ideas." it opened up my own thoughts about the ways people seek to influence politics and policy. although i have never actually met professor rice and i have never sat in his class, i can proudly say that i consider

myself his student. a prolific writer, a deep thinker, and gifted analyst, professor rice's blogs, articles, and books, have done a lot not only to sound the alarm about what ails versus a -- our society, but to provide solutions about how to safeguard democracy. his latest book is a case in point. he discusses the structural reasons underlying the global financial crisis, illustrating how the american middle-class's standard of living has fallen as a result of wage stagnation and the concentration of wealth at the very top of the economic ladder. he also provides policy prescriptions, including higher tax rates for the wealthy. can we say higher tax rates for the wealthy? as a way to