q&a. >> in the annual christmas tree lighting ceremony took place on tuesday. a 65year's evergreen is foot sierra white fur from a stannous loss national forest in california. the-- stanilaus national forest in california. it is about 20 minutes. >> good evening and welcome to the christmas tree lighting ceremony. i am the architect of the capital and i am honored to be your master of ceremonies as we carry out this wonderful tradition which began right here in 1964. i asked you remain in your seats

until the conclusion of the ceremony. each year, i look forward to this event to kickoff a holiday season on capitol hill. nothing says christmas more than the playing of festive holiday karos. i would like to expand and thank you to the army band under the direction of caption richards for being here and helping us create such a festive mood on a rainy evening. [applause] >> behind me stands the united states capitol christmas tree. a wonderful, 65 foot sierra from the national forest in the great state of california. [applause]

in keeping with tradition, the speaker of the house, john boehner, will extend his greetings to you and officially like this tree in just a few moments. before we get to that moment, i would like to extend a welcome to members of congress, and guests, our neighbors, and those of you here visiting the nation's capital. thank you for joining us this evening. i would like to acknowledge the members from the california delegation joining us, including dianne feinstein, [applause] ingest them. this incredible tree has been decorated with more than 3000 ornaments by golden state

residents which reflects the theme, calif. shines. it is quite fitting that this comes from the great state of california. for more than 40 years the forest service and the architect of the capital has partnered to bring a christmas tree to the capital from one of the nation's national forests. they compromised forcing grassland in the united states. let's take a moment to thank the dedicated for service here in washington ending california for helping make this event possible. joining us tonight is the chief of the u.s. forest service. he has a holiday message to

share with all of you. [applause] >> thank you. i will take credit for the rain letting up and the gang -- and the folks from california for sending us this nice weather. this is a tremendous honor to be part of this every year. as was mentioned, all the effort that goes into this, this is a collaborative effort. working with the community to come together to put to the time and effort into this. it is not just the tree or the ornaments their decorating. it is the message that history is a model for. it is a message about people working together in a

collaborative effort to do something larger than a tree. if you think about the thousands of hours of volunteer time mystery represents. the effort folks put into the fund raising and also the food drive. that is part of this overall offered. i want to thank everyone from california, the forest service said this part of the service. it is an honor to be part of it. thank you for letting us be part of your christmas. thank you. >> thank you, tom. this tree has been on a tremendous journey. it has traveled to nearly 4,500 miles from california. nine days ago it arrived here in

our dedicated grounds crew went to work decorating it. they did a fantastic job. let's give them a round of applause. our ground superintendent who have the task of fixing -- picking mystery out of the many beautiful trees available for him in the forest. next, it is my honor to introduce diane feinstein. she has been serving the people of california since 1992. i have had the pleasure of working with her in 2009 as she served up a chair of the joint congressional committee. [applause]

>> thank you. john boehner, members of congress, ladies and gentlemen, it is great to be here to see this tree. i would call it slim and narrow. however, i must tell you that when it was harvested it was 118 years old and 108 feet tall. it is now 65 feet tall and weighs, believe it or not, at 8,300 pounds. it has come across the united states through a number of communities and it comes from the great national forest. this is a 900,000 acre, in northern california. three hours north of san francisco. it is the home of the bald eagle. today, we have students from that area. i want to recognize johnny

crawford, who is a student from sonora. it is minder standing he will be joining you in quieting the tree. that is very special. we also have the somerville high school choir from california who will play some holiday music for us. i want to say this is a bit of california here and i hope everybody understands it. mr. speaker, i am and appropriators. the other day -- the staff director on our side told me he proposed to his wife at this tree at the tree lighting ceremony. it has special significance. thank you and welcome.

♪ joy to the world ♪ let every heart prepare him room ♪ and heaven and angels sing joy to the world let man his song employ peat the sounding joy

repeat, repeat the sounding joy he rules the world ♪ ♪ it's the most wonderful time of the year ♪

it's the happ, happiest season of all there'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of christmases long, long ago time of most wonderful the year there be much miseltoeing and hearts will be glowing it's the most wonderful time of

the year ♪ [applause] rock around the christmas tree ♪ sentimentalet a feeling deck the halls, with boughs of holly dancing merrily

in a new old fashioned way ♪ around tehe christmas tree have a happy holiday merrily's dancing in a new old fashioned way ♪ [applause]

>> under the direction of madeline young, another round of applause. [applause] now it is my pleasure to introduce daniel from the third congressional district of california. >> i love this place. i think if you do not get a chill when you come to this fine it is time to leave. every time i go home bioassay that true americana is one we are home and see the folks back home. today is the best of all possible worlds. we have home with us here, those great students doing a great job. there are three from our home

state of california which i might remind you, those of you from the east, our state is owned 45% by the federal government. it is nice to bring part of a government back with you. i represent one county that is 96% owned by the federal government with three national forests. we are proud of that part of our state of california and the fact that this street took a 4,200 mile trip to be here representing us and the nation as this -- at this christmas tree. god bless all of you and let's have a great celebration here at our nation's capital. >> next, from the 19th and district of california, jeff.

>> it is an honor to have the tree come from the congressional district in california and sherry part of california with the rest of the nation and the world. this was made possible by a partnership with the indians who helped us bring the tree here also celebrating across the nation. we did sioux tribes, and then again throughout the nation. having acquired here and being able to raise money within our community to pay for the expense of having them come, welcome. we appreciate you being here. it has been an exciting prospect

-- process to be part of the planning of this. natalie the festivities but it hit home on the tree arrived. we had press from around the world. the significance of being able to celebrate the religious holiday because of our freedoms was overwhelming. i want to thank you, mr. speaker, for having it come from california. >> thank you. now, it is my privilege to introduce the speaker of the house, john boehner. he has served the people of ohio since 1990 and has held numerous leadership positions. he became the 53rd speaker of the house. the honorable john boehner.

>> let me say thank you. i'm going to thank all of my colleagues and all of the year who have come out here on this evening to help celebrate the lighting of the christmas tree. it makes a worthy addition to this tradition of hours. the christmas tree forces as a symbol of everlasting life. that life is christ. whose birth promises joy and salvation. the angels broke the silence by singing glory to god in the highest and peace, goodwill toward men. we have -- we serve this story by serving one another. it is better to give than receive when so many of our

fellow citizens are without jobs and are in need. christmas is not a distant historical event. it is a spirit that brings us closer to each other and closer to the peace of which the angels saying. on behalf of our family, i want to wish all of you a merry christmas. >> now we're going to do what we came here to do, light the tree. to help in the honors this is a 7-year-old from california. he is a cub scout. if something goes wrong, he will figure this out. he is here with his parents, lisa and richard. his older brother and a little

sister. how about a round of applause. [applause] >> this is the big switch. how about a countdown. yet. push it 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 -- [applause] ] ♪ristmas tree

>> doesn't the tree look wonderful? thank you, once again, for coming this evening for joining the california delegation, the forest service, the army band to light of the united states capitol christmas tree. good night and mayor christmas to everyone. -- merry christmas to everyone. [applause] >> obama criticizes republicans for blocking the nomination of richard corps during -- cordrey. he also renewed to extend the

payroll tax cut for americans. john boehner talks about that keystone oil pipeline that is part of the gop jobs bill that members will take up next week. today, america faces a make or break moment for the middle- class. some want to return to the same policies that got us into this mess and the same policies that have stacked the deck for way too long. a philosophy this says we're better off when everyone is left to fend for themselves. i have a different vision. i believe we are greater together than on our own. i believe this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot. everyone engages in fair play. to ensure fair play, last year we passed the toughest financial

reform in generations. for too long the rules warn not the same on wall street as a main street. risky bets were made with other people's money. some folks made a lot of money taking advantage of consumers. it was wrong. this behavior contributed to the worst financial crisis since the great depression. this refocuses the financial sector on what is important, getting capital to entrepot near -- entrepreneurs. a key part was the first-ever consumer watchdog, someone whose job it is to protect american families from being taken the advantage of by tax collectors. tens of millions of americans use the services, protecting them from unscrupulous practices as an important job. that is why i nominated richard

to serve as head of this agency. he helped to recover billions of dollars on behalf of retirees and stood up to dishonest lending practices. he has the support of most attorney general's, democrats and republicans. members of congress from both parties say he is more than qualified for the job. yet, republicans blocked the nomination. they refused it to come up for a vote. that does not make any sense. do they think the crisis was caused by too much oversight? of course not. everyday america has to wait for a new watchdog is another david dishonest businesses can take advantage of students, seniors, and a service members. i refuse to take no for an answer. there are plenty of lawyers and lobbyists looking out for them.

it is time consumers have someone on their side. republicans should extend the payroll tax cuts for working americans. if not, nearly 160 million americans will see their taxes go up at the end of this month. congress cannot and the year by taking money out of the pockets of working americans. now was the time to do what is right for the american people. no one should go home for the holidays until we get this done. tell your members of congress, don't be a great. do the right thing for you and the economy. >> there is no more urgent task in getting our economy back on getting jobs. millions of americans are looking for work or they have stopped looking altogether. that is unacceptable.

republicans have focused removing government barriers to job creation. 27 jobs bills are waiting for a vote in the democrat said. one of them was an act passed a few days ago. it would require congress to review any new regulation that has an impact on the economy. president obama promised a stimulus pan -- plan with a promise it would keep unemployment below 8%. it did not work. because of policies, he has asked congress to pass legislation to expand -- extend unemployment benefits. next week the house is going to do that. to help americans who are struggling, we will enact a jobs bill that extends and reforms unemployment benefits and cut government spending. there will be no tax hikes on america's job creators.

it includes several bipartisan initiatives including a provision to continue an incentive allowing employers, small or large, to invest in numerous training -- new machinery. we also supports the keystone energy project. it would create tens of thousands of american jobs and reduce our dependence on oil from the middle east. this project has bipartisan support. it is backed by a coalition of small businesses and organized labor. president obama said the american people cannot wait to take action on jobs. well, the keystone energy project is the definition of an idea the american people cannot wait for washington to take action on. even the prime minister of canada has warned the debt we do

not approve this project, canada will move forward with other customers, potentially china. we cannot allow that to happen. those jobs are too important. the president wants to put off a decision until after the election. he now says he will reject the jobs bill if it includes support for this project. this is no time for the my way or the highway. the democrats and republicans often disagree about the best way to create jobs. we cannot let those disagreements prevent us from acting when we do agree. there is bipartisan support. there is bipartisan support for that tax incentive that allows employers to invest. we should get these things done.

the american people cannot wait for action on jobs. the keystone energy project is a bipartisan proposal that the president should support. next week we remain ready to work with the president and find common ground which is what the american people expect and deserve. merry christmas, and thank you for listening. >> c-span, an award ceremony honoring -- honoring excellence in the leadership. then discussing labor policies during the nixon did ministration. then a white house hanukkah celebration with the president and first lady. later, the lighting ceremony for the christmas tree. educators, journalists, and politicians were honored at the washington post's