our dependence on foreign oil is an enormous threat to our national security. when you watch the iranians practice to close the straits of hormuz, they're saying -- it is in our interest to have an american energy program which would create american jobs, and dramatically improve our balance of trade, give us the national security reserves of knowing we can do it. i have a simple goal to have no american president ever again bow to a saudi king because we do not need the oil. [applause]

i will close with a brief commercial. i'm running for president. i would like to extend -- to every person of every background. we have a primary here on tuesday. i would love to have your support. go on youtube, facebook, tweet -- even talk to people face to face. i will try to lead all americans into a dramatically better future. thank you very much. [applause]

>> mitt romney also spoke at a conference in miami. the florida republican primary is next tuesday. this is 30 minutes. >> thank you. thank you. i brought some of my family today. as you know, i care about my family. i have one son here today. this is my youngest son, my baby. i do not think he likes that. he lived for a couple of years in chile so i asked him if he would speak to you in spanish tommy how well he does -- tell

me how well he does. [laughter] around on, he is barred by for the best. >> papa -- [applause] >> you're going to do better than that, right? >> [speaking spanish] [speaking spanish] [laughter] [applause] >> i got that one. >> come here and say something in spanish, too. >> ola!

[laughter] [applause] >> i have another friend want to say hello, my sweet are of 42 -- sweetheart fo 42 years, ann romney. >> it is good to see friends in the audience. i understood craig's last comment -- an excellent president reported [laughter] it is wonderful to have our son and grandson. when we ran four years ago, parker was a big hit on the campaign trail and he was only 1 years old. he loved this stage and the love the microphones and he loved the balloons. he had no idea what was going on body loved the lights and the excitement. it is interesting to see him back here four years later. four years ago, i was definite about one thing that i would never do this again [laughter] i can't tell you how much i meant that.

mitt laughed and said you say that after every pregnancy [laughter] all the women out there know what i'm talking about. a year ago, when we made the final decision about whether we were going to go forward, i obviously had a change of heart. no one will know who you will run against. i have no idea the other candidates will be. i don't with the issues will be by the time we come down to it. i only have one question to rescue -- if you can get through this whole process and you can finally be the president, can you answer me this one question? can you fix it? he said yes. that's all i needed to know. [applause]

i have to throw aside all those arguments i made about never running again and say it is worth it. this country is worth it. what needs to be done needs to be done by someone who knows how to do it. you cannot have someone turn something around if they have never turned around anything before. you cannot have someone run an organization if they have never run an organization before. we tried tha the last time. how's that working? [applause] i feel so strongly. i have seen him in every avenue be successful. to me, the most important success has been as a husband and father. [applause] he did tell me when i was raising - craig was not always does well behavior -- of the five, he was the best-behaved.

he was the baby and everyone thought it was fabulous. when they were relieved najee,-- really naughty, mitt would be traveling and he would hear an exasperated wife. he would say don't worry everything will be ok and we will get through this phase of life. remember, what you are doing, your job is more important than my job. what that meant to me was that we were equal partners, that our success was going to be measured by our children's success and our relationship, and now we have the reward of having that come true. the other great part is watching my grandchildren. we have 16 of them and watch them misbehave. you guys so deserve it. mitt has exhibited an ability his whole life to figure out the core of the problem and then figure out how to fix it.

it is not just having the answer. it is in implementing a which is the hard thing and i think that will be hard in the next phase, too. i have all the continents this guy will be a great president and the need everybody in this country to understand that as well as i do. i appreciate all of you being here. it will be an interesting day in florida on tuesday, we hope. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. i want to thank you in this organization for having helped sponsor the debate last night. i thought was a delightful debate. i loved it. you are an energetic and enthusiastic part of that debate and i want to thank you [applause] i also want to thank the many people in this room who helped me four years ago and are still helping me. i see remedios over there. i better not call out all the names. i thank you so very much for

your help in the many who are helping me in this campaign. means a great deal to me. i thought i would spend a moment talking about the president's failures as they relate to latin america and the nations of latin america and as they relate to our homeland with regards in particular to the immigration policies here and as they relate to the inability of our economy to help people find work, not only the people who have lived here all their lives that those who have come to this country and people who are suffering more than the population as a whole. this is more of a discussion than a lecture. with regard to immigration -- i like immigration. i like legal immigration. i think is important for america to recognize that immigration is an extraordinary source of the vitality for our nation and bring people of different cultures you're great

opportunity and growth for the entire economy. demographically, we need immigration. it is an advantage we have over the european nations. we have populations that want to come here and grow our economy. it is an extraordinarily important aspect of america's vitality. i also believe to protect legal immigration we need to stop illegal immigration i would in fact built a fence and i would in fact have in the border security agents to make sure that we're able to protect the border. and i will put in place a system that allows employers to know who is here legally and not so that people, if they want to hire someone, and identified immediately if their card is valid or counterfeit. if a person does not have a card or it is counterfeit, if the employer hires them, i will crack down aggressively on those employers like we do on companies that don't pay their taxes. on that basis, we will stop the flow of illegal immigration into this country, i am convinced of that. i am very concerned about those

who are already here illegally and how we deal with those 11 million or so that are here legally and my heart goes out to the record of people. my heart also goes out to the people who are being held by the so-called coyotes who are brought into this country and in many cases of abuse and victimized. my heart -- my thoughts and heart goes out to the millions of people in their home countries willing to come to this country legally who've been sponsored by people in this room. i care about all three groups. our primary responsibility as a government is to the last two groups. those that are waiting legally to come here, i want them to get here. i would love to see a transparent process and have them go on the internet and see where they stand and how many months or years it will take for them to get here rather than going through this labyrinth of loopholes and laws and a maze of regulations to get to this country legally.

i want to make that easier. i would also like to make sure that those being brought here illegally by the coyotes that are being abused, that that ends because there will not be the demand to come here illegally. with regards to those who are here illegally, those people who have come here illegally should be able to be given a temporary status, a temporary work permit but at the end of that time, they would apply for permanent residency after they return home. they need to get in line with everyone else that wants to come here. other people call that self- deportation but we will not go out and round people up in buses and ship them home. we'll let people make your own decisions based on their employment opportunities here or lack there of if they don't have a valid work authorization cards from this country. i want to protect illegal immigration. i would like to expand legal immigration. i would like to have a visa program that meets the needs of

our employment community. we should match visa's and the number of visas we give that in agriculture and hospitality and high-tech. we should measure those to conform with the needs of our employment community. policy expansile expansion of our visa program and clarification of our legal immigration program and a commitment and conviction across this country that we do not let the mainstream media confused. we're not anti-immigrant. we're not anti-immigration. where the pro-immigration, pro- citizenship nation and party and [applause] let me mention a second topic and that is latin america policy. on a regular basis, every four years, a candidate's stand up

and said that latin america is being ignored by their predecessors. and they will change that. and they don't. the question is, why? there is an answer to that. people who are leading a country, typically decide what is in their best interest. foreign-policy is typically guided by the best interest of the nation involved. the people who have been leading our country sometime have frankly thought is more in our best interest to be looking at china and to be trading with china and working with south korea and china and japan because of the high growth there. there have been others in the past to have said no, it is europe and we have devoted our time and attention to europe. taking a look of the world today, they are out of date. what is happening in latin america whether it is from mexico, the caribbean, through central america and south america is such extraordinary growth economically not to mention demographically. there is a huge economic, political, and military

opportunity and series of challenges and obligations right here in this hemisphere. while china is important and europe is important, right here is an enormously important aspect of american foreign policy. [applause] i think there has been the perception for way too long that economic ties with latin america are somehow charitable endeavors by american business. that is simply out of date. there are enormous opportunities for american enterprise to become involved in latin america and vice versa. palle as we know, trade between two nations where they each trade the products and services at which they excel, raises the standard of living of both nations. it is one of the remarkable aspects of free trade we have that opportunity right here in this hemisphere it is astonishing that more businesses have not become aware of that but some are. i have a long an unfortunate

history in the airline industry. i say on fortune because some years ago, a fellow named david nieleman asked if i would invest in his startup airline. i said i will never invest again. that was jet blue. [laughter] i make some mistakes now and then. i watched him. after being chief executive of jetblue and be successful, he went to brazil. he bought an airline they're called azul and brought american techniques to that airline and it is doing spectacularly well. you will find more and more people recognize the mass of opportunity for exchange and trade. if i am president of united states, one thing i will do my first 100 days is to begin an economic initiative of drawing a latin american businesses and american businesses closer together. this is a mass of opportunity, not a charity, but an opportunity. it will help lift both parts of the world.

[applause] besides that being in our mutual self-interest, there's something else which i think we have ignored too long. that is the geopolitical implications of what is happening in the world and how it relates to latin america. many of us in our country still have the holiday from history that has been spoken about by a number of folks that was that following the collapse of the soviet union, the idea that america was so far ahead of everyone else that we did not need to worry about the rest of the world. we were the model for the 21st century. that is how we felt. actually, there are now four competing models for leadership in the 21st century. ours is one based on freedom and free enterprise. china has proposed a different model. their model also encompasses

free enterprise, different than ours in some respects and they combine that not with freedom but with authoritarianism. that is a model they are selling around the world. it is doing pretty well. then you have russia resurgent given their energy resources and want to become a superpower again and you have the jihadists and their view is to cause the collapse of the others and be the last man standing grade these four forces are in competition today and they are not just playing in asia and europe or the middle east. they are playing here. our nation sit back looking into the left and to the right and not saying what is happening right here in this hemisphere. we have to compete here. we have to recognize that what bolivarian movement under way and castro and countries like ecuador and guatemala, this is an extraordinary threat to this region.

there's an opportunity for us to stand up and fight for what we believe and promote democracy. let me tell you how i will do that. we have ambassadors and all these different countries. cliff, is the former ambassador to brazil. they are doing the best they possibly can and reported to the state department with bureaucrats. it is not highly coordinated. the ambassador from brazil says it would be helpful if we could help the brazilians in developing medical technology for one of their new hospitals and the ghost of health and -- goes to the health and human services department of united states and says i would like to bring some people down here and build a wing of this hospital, good luck. on many committees he has to go through and how many bureaucrats, we would never get it done. i want to appoint one person as a presidential envoy responsible for democracy and freedom in latin america [applause]

this person would be given responsibility with budget and would be annually measured looking at each nation if we are making progress or are we falling behind? how we work with the various nations and have the capacity to draw on all the resources of america and stand behind those nations that are reaching toward freedom and to oppose those that are falling in line behind hugo chavez or castro. there is a battle going on very least to recognize that we're up against -- when we were up against the soviet union. we need to do that now and when he did do it in latin america. i am president, i will get that done. [applause] there is a time coming soon or -- where cuba will be free.

that will happen but we will have to get organized for it. we'll have to recognize that the people there want freedom as people do all over the world and america cannot setback. -- sit back. we walked across the world and iran had over 1 million people in their streets demonstrating for freedom. this president had nothing to say. can you imagine having ronald reagan having nothing to say? even bill clinton would have said something [laughter] i will not only say something when fidel castro finally leaves that are, i will do something. i will be behind the voice of freedom here and there. we will help cuba become free. [applause]

thank you. let me also noted in that regard that i'm looking for to appointing this person and finding a person who has extraordinary marketing skills. i come from the world of business. i spent 25 years in business. my first 10 years of my business career, i was hired by big companies to try to make them more successful. i was impressed by how well american companies can compete around the world and how effective we are at marketing our ideas. think about this -- we convince people around the world to buy a brown, caramel color water called coca-cola and pay half a day's wage for and will buy it. we are able to convince people of things where sometimes you scratch your head straight it is a great product but we sell around the world. and yet democracy, we don't sell that so well. we send billions of dollars around the world, giving out money, and we are despised by some people.

i don't understand why. in some respects, it is because we are not using the kind of marketing skills that we have in this country look at what fidel castro does with his miracle operation. that is the cataract operation. for a tiny amount of money, he can get the good will of people all over latin america. and us, for billions and billions of dollars, we get resentment. how can we be so short-sighted as to not bring into our government the scale of people in our business world, in our terrible world to say let's -- charitable world to say let's promote freedom and democracy and make a model for the entire world to see? [applause] part of that experience is to stand by your friends and to have been so successful that those around them look and say look what it is like if you

follow the freedom agenda. if you have free enterprise and free trade and people have elections, look what happens in wonderful places like columbia. how can the world did this president stand around for three years and all of our best friend fighting hugo chavez? i don't understand. we should have done this on day want. -- day one. colombia what a friend. one more trade. let's make an example for let's make the people in venezuela look over the border and say they got a better deal that averted disaster happened in panama. i am looking forward to the time or the people of puerto rico make a decision about becoming a state. [applause] wow, we've got some friends here. luis fortunio is there somewhereo,h, he is coming later. he is passionate about state and -- statehood.

i think you'll have a referendum in november? i expect the people of puerto rico will decide lecky feels -- like he feels that they want to become a state. i will work with him to make sure that if that vote comes out in favor of statehood, we will go to the process in washington to provide status to puerto rico and create a model in the caribbean of the benefits of having freedom. [applause] let me also just note that i think there are threats we face around this hemisphere that have to be addressed together. terrorism and drug trafficking and other forms of crime is one more of those areas of concern. one of the first -- one of the first things i will do is form a hemisphere taskforce, bringing nations together the willing to become together and deal with these issues.

there a number of places where drugs are being brought and puerto rico is one that is being used given the fact that there is more difficulty getting to the mexico border. people have looked at puerto rico as a way to bring drugs into the united states and from there into florida. we have to be far more vigilant to look at the cross-border implications of crime. this does not affect latin america so much in terms of putting pressure on latin american leaders as it does to put pressure on us -- we have got to do much better job communicating to our children in this country whether they are hispanic or non-hispanics, that drugs are causing death around the world. [applause] our young people have a great deal of concern they are a humanitarian people and are concerned about issues like global warming and things of that nature. they are concerned about humanity. how can they understand that if they take one of these drugs being smuggled into this country that they are partially

responsible for deaths. i want them to understand the tens of thousands of people who are being killed by virtue of drug use in this country. it is time for the united states of america to take responsibility for the pain and suffering and torture and murder that is going on throughout latin america. we're not a good example in this regard and that -- i will campaign in a very aggressive way to our young people if i become president, stopped taking drugs because you are killing people. [applause] i am very concerned about the fact that we have so many people out of work. i watch the president give a speech the other day and he talked about how swimmingly things are going [laughter] in the united] states. i am afraid he got it wrong. he is detached from the reality here. 9: 9% of floridians out of work

and 7% of latinos out of work. this is unacceptable. it was one thing or it to happen for a short period of time but now it is gone for 35 straight month. this is a failed presidency. he did not cause the recession. he made it worse. this recovery is the slowest and most tepid we have seen since herbert hoover agree we need to have a president who does not to spend his entire life in academics and in washington but instead has been in the real economy working in a real double -- job. who understands how to compete in how to get america to create jobs again. [applause] the was a great line that was spoken by mitch daniels the other night. he said america will have a choice. the choice is to follow the path barack obama is leading us down to become a european-style welfare state and if you believe in that, he said that as government trickle-down economy. i do not believe in trickle- down government.

that does not work. the $787 billion stimulus bill did not trickle-down to the private sector creating jobs. that is the long way to go. the right way to go is to believe in the principles that made america the economic powerhouses. it is those are the principles outlined in our declaration of independence. those who wrote it said that we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. in america, we are able to pursue happiness as we to. we are not prevented from pursuing our dreams by virtue of the place of our birth, by our circumstances of our birth, instead, we can pursue our greatest by virtue of hard work, education, a lot, dreaming. as you probably know, hispanic americans account for a disproportionate share of new enterprises in this country as

do immigrants generally. this is a great source of vitality for america. if you are republicans in this room, and i think your -- you are-- [laughter] people say i'm not sure i could vote republican. you hear that in your community. you remind people that the reason we are so anxious to be in america and we are so in love with america is not because of the check we get from governments. it is because of the opportunity that exists in america. ours is the party of opportunit devoted to the declaration of independence and the pursuit of happiness. [applause] i will fight to get more opportunities for americans and that is the way we will create jobs for latinos, hispanics, for our entire nation. thank you, guys, i love this country, i love your support, we will make a strong hemisphere, thank you. [applause]

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> you're very kind. >> we will see you tonight for sure. >> nice to meet you again. thank you so much. >> we take the life that can get it events in florida at through the weekend leading up to the gop primary on tuesday. >> by the end of my second term -- [cheers and applause] we will have the first permanent base on the man in it will be american. and by the end of 2020, we will have the first continuous

propulsion system in space capable of getting to mars in a remarkably short time because i am sick of being told we have to be timid and sick of being told we have to be limited to technologies that are 50 years of. >> when the founder said that the creator had in dallas with certain unalienable rights, among them life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness, they lay out out for america that was not temporary but in during. a path that says in america we can pursue happiness as we choose, if we do not need a government to tell us what kind of car to get, if we do not need a government to tell us what kind of a light bulb we can have, or what health care we will have. >> see what the candidates are posted on social media along with political reporters and viewers like you at c-span.org. >> in miami, rick santorum spoke to the latin builders

association, the largest hispanic construction association in the u.s. following his remarks, the group announced that they were endorsing santorum in his race for the nomination. this is about 20 minutes. [applause]

>> thank you. thank you very much. thank you for giving me the opportunity to be here with you this afternoon. it is always great to be down here. i am here today with my daughter, elisabeth. she is here today. you can say hi to elisabeth. we just went down to the ursine -- went down to the sales -- versailles and had a sandwich. i have been to miami, little havana and hanoi many interactions with the cuban community over the years -- havana, and had many interactions with the cuban community over the years. my grandfather was born in italy. he came right after world war i, when mussolini came into power. it is a very familiar tale. miscellany came into power, and after three -- mussolini came into power and after three years, he figured out what mussolini was about, and he was not about that. he left fascism. so he came here. he ended up working five years until he earned his citizenship and had the money to bring the rest of the family over. he worked a couple of years in the auto factories in detroit. after he lost his job there, he ended up in the coal fields in

pennsylvania. he worked in a company town. he was one of the guys who started the union because there were no miners' unions. he started a union so that they would not get paid with coupons. they would get paid with cash. they got paid with stamps. they had to shop in the stores the company town. they had to live in the house as the company provided. so, he was not a republican, he was a fighter. he was a fighter for working people. he worked in the coal mines until he was 72 years old. he worked actually digging coal in the minds until he was 72 years old. i always talk about my grandfather and what he meant. he was a very, very tough guy. he smoked everything, pipes, cigars, you name it. he smoked it. he was strong as an office until the day he died. -- and ox until the day he died.

the first person i ever saw the i was my grandfather. i remember going up to the casket and seeing the rosarian his folded hands and looking at his enormous hands. these big, thick, tough hands. and all i could think about as i looked at my spindly little fingers was that those were the hands that the freedom for me in america. -- dug freedom for me in america. [applause] it was that motivation, when i saw what was going on in washington, d.c., with the explosion of government, and someone taking the freedom away that my grandfather sacrifice so much, and my dad, who fought in world war ii and spent the rest of his life counseling veterans in the veterans

administration, those who were coming back from vietnam and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism and other ailments. how was around people through six -- i was around people who sacrificed for this country. my dad and my mother both worked with veterans. it was something that, when i saw our country on the brain, i decided i had to step forward and -- brink, i decided i had to step forward and continue to fight for my children and my grandchildren. i decided to enter this race, and i did so because i felt we needed someone who was a sharp contrast, someone who believed in the founding principles of this country and had a record to back that up. a vision that could pull us together. i know you had speaker gingrich here, and knew it is a good -- new is a good friend.

governor romney is a good man, and ron paul certainly brings a unique perspective to the equation. [laughter] i felt it was important to have someone who maybe had a little different approach. i do not come from a background of wealth. like i said, my mom and dad grew up on the va grounds. my other grandfather was a small businessman and had a restaurant in florida for many years. i did have small business knowledge through him, but i grew up in public housing. i grew up in apartment for the first 18 years of my life. was a wonderful thing. i had a mom and dad who loved me, and that was the most important thing. people say that when we come down here, we pander to every group. when i come down here, it feels like my home when i was growing up. it was a group of people who believed so strongly in faith

and family, and the love and support and connectedness of the community that i experienced when i was growing up as a kid in the ethnic community i grew up in. it is a wonderful blessing to our country, these little communities we have throughout america, like the cuban community here. i would argue is as special as any. this community is not only won the believe strongly in faith and family, this community probably as much -- there are others who are similar, but not as big -- this community as much as any understands freedom and the passion for freedom. [applause] not only do you pursued here in your work that you do in the united states and small business -- and i know what

this organization is all about. it is all about having the entrepreneurial spirit and freedom to go out and provide for yourself and your family and those who work for you and your community. it is not surprising that you see the small business atmosphere here in the cuban community. everybody going out and trying to exercise of freedom. it is a beautiful thing and something that as the united states senator and congressman, i always focused on. i came from a steel town, not an area of wealth or background. my feeling was, when i voted in the united states senate, that i was going to vote on behalf of making sure that every guy, the little guy, and i mean a little worker, if you will, who worked in the mines or the mills, too little of entrepreneur who was going out and trying to be better than the big guy, the big corporations. i was focusing my efforts on

trying to make sure we created a plainfield that little piece -- a playing field, where the little people, the little guy could compete. look in my economic proposal. one of the things i want to do is take the corporate tax and make it a net profit tax. very simple. no lawyers, no accountants. sorry for the accountants who may be in the room. take the corporate tax and cut in half. make it a net profit tax. if you're a small builder in you have someone you're competing against, one of the big mega guys, they're paying the same tax you are. right now, they're not. if they are a big corporation, like most big corporations, not only do they pay less taxes, but they have people from the irs and other agencies who actually live and work in their business. they're so big and so important that they have compliance

people who work with them all day every day who does work on complying with whatever the regulations are, whatever the taxes are. people have said republicans are the party of big business. that is false. republicans are the party of small business. barack obama loves big business because he can have people in his administration sitting in there telling him how to run their company. it is easier. if you want to micromanage everything from the top down, which this president wants to do, it is easier to do it if you have five major builders in this country than if you have a bunch of little guys you have to chase around and find out what they do. they do not like that. if they can create a way for big business and big government to work together -- like a dog- franc. dodd-franc is destroying -- look at dodd-frank. it is destroying small business -- small banks in america. it is destroying small banks.

it says specifically the big business gets in trouble, the government will bail them out. how much less competitive can you get? you have the same regulations that big banks do and now they've put it on every little bag that cannot do it. -- little banked that cannot do it. i was talking to one guy who is in the mortgage business. he said prior to dodd-frank he spent 30 minutes a week on compliance. he now spends three hours a day. so he is getting out. chalk one up for bankamerica. they want this to happen because they cannot control you. they cannot micromanage you like they can with the big guys, who are very happy to be controlled, because they know they can get rid of all the competition and make the money. that is what is going on here. this is the most important election in your lifetime. if we do not repeal obamacare and dodd-frank and all the ways the government is trying to

control you, then this room will be half its size in 10 years, and half again in 10 more. it cannot survive. that does not mean you will be -- you not be doing the same amount of work. though it just be less of you doing it. you'll just be working for the guy instead of owning the company. that is not america. that is not why you and your ancestors came to this country. [applause] you came to this country because he wanted a country that believed in you. not a country where you had to believe in someone else to take care of you. that is what is fundamentally at stake here in america today, and that is why i put together a

bold plan, not just on corporate taxes, but on regulation which of course is killing everything. i said i will repeal every single obama regulation that costs over $100 million a year, and that is several hundred. he has done more regulations that cost more than $100 million a year in three years than president bush did -- or president clinton did, for that matter -- in eight years. i will repeal every single one of those regulations on day one. [applause] and now we're down here in south florida. i know international trade is an important thing, it is everything. many of you saw the debate last night, and hopefully you got the sense that this is an issue i care deeply about and got involved in. when i left the united states

senate, i thought to myself, i'm going to go out and get in the private sector. at the time, we had six children. we had not had our seventh yet. i thought maybe i should be a little league coach and start doing what dads do instead of getting out of the house of 5:00 a.m. every morning and getting back at 8:00 p.m. every day. i thought, is there anything i need to stay involved with from a public policy point of view where if i do not, something might happen that i do not want to happen? the answer was yes. it was my concern -- and a series of speeches i gave back in 2006, at a time when the iraq war was incredibly unpopular. i went out and talked about how we had to win the iraq war and face threats. i called the speech the gathering storm of the 21st century. i talked about the threat of

radical islam, and militant marxism and socialism in central and south america and the partnership between the two. of the would not think that a secular leftist regime -- you would not think that a secular leftist regime in venezuela or cuba or bolivia would be a threat or a willing partner with radical islamists who are not secular at all but theocrats. why would a group of radical theocrats who want to impose their version of islam on the rest of the world partner with a bunch of secular rest to be eight religion -- secularists, who hate religion, try to destroy a religion, tried to destroy everything that is holy, why would they get together? one reason. they hate america. and they see america as a threat to their vision of the

world. they both want to a press. they want to control. they want to rule everything from the top down and they both seek power. absolute power. so they in fact have gotten together. they have gotten together and have coordinated, as you see, iran, specifically in a very heavy way involved in venezuela. we know what venezuela is. venezuela is cuba part be. rihanna about the secret police and their role in the event -- we all know about the secret police and their role in the venezuelan government. we all malware chaffetz gets his marching orders, gets his ideas. it makes cuba a more dangerous place for central and south america. why? oil. now they have resources. for a long time, the embargo

was about controlling castro and his ability to spread his them -- benham -- venom throughout the south american countries. but now with hugo chávez's oil, we have seen the combination be a deadly one. and it is increasing. it is increasing in an area of the world where we should be dominating. dominating, not in the sense of controlling, that in the sense of relationships, and growing the values that the people of that region want to have, trade and economic vitality. instead, we see the effects of socialism and marxism. and, because we have under two administrations, both bush and obama, systematically ignored that area of the world -- i can

give the past two some regard to the bush -- i can give up pass in some regard to the bush administration because he was distracted by the middle east, but there is no excuse for obama. not going down and paying attention to the central and south america until the very end of his term. i said it the other night. look, i have been working the past five years writing about islam and the problems in central and south america. i am not coming to miami and saying, look, i want your vote. nope. i want you to understand, this is a passionate issue for me. the united states needs to have friends all throughout this hemisphere. we need to be a free, growing, and prosperous hemisphere, from cuba to venezuela to honduras, to colombia, to brazil. they need to be our friends. they need to be open and free

in trading relations. they need to be democracies. they need to be close allies to the united states. this is our backyard. this is the people -- the people, they share the values of the people of this country, and we have an obligation for our own security, for our own economic benefit, much less the people in this region, to have a policy to make sure that all of the country's i mentioned are free and safe and prosperous. [applause] so i look forward to working with the people here, because this is obviously the capital of central and south america from an economic point of view. i look forward to working with people here in south florida to talk to you and work with you about how we can, in fact, create that opportunity. for me, as president, both economically and politically, to spread american free enterprise, to spread american

values, and be able to one day say that this entire hemisphere is free. it is free, and people can live their dreams consistent with their values. thank you all very much, and god bless you. [applause] >> we continue from floor tomorrow with the mitt romney campaign has rallied in panama city. we will also take you live to the republican presidential candidate at the palm beach lincoln dinner. that is all tomorrow here on c- span. next, our discussion with the miami herald reporter about the presidential campaign debate in jacksonville. host: on the phone is mike

caputo, the political reporter for "the miami herald." florida the about its history -- has throughout its history has had cycles of boom and bust. people capitalizing on real- estate and other ventures in the boom years and then the cycle turns around. we are in the middle of one of those times and florida. how is the whole issue playing, income inequality, among florida voters this year? guest: more of a concern to democrats than republicans. i suspect -- i have not told -- but i suspect independents, probably the majority -- a little more concerned. but that said, as you heard on the campaign trail, newt gingrich adopting populist message. strayed off the republican reservation a bit and mitt romney's sort of dressing down of him. there is a concern among people here. we have busted. our boom is gone and housing market is awful. the job picture is pretty awful. you look at the surveys and you talk to the average person on

the street, politicians being honest in a moment of candor, these are tough times and floridians are rather displeased. they have a right to be. host: the president has made a number of stops and the states. how is he planned issue of -- how is he playing this issue of florida's economy when he talks to the citizens? guest: the way he played it nationwide. i think the president's biggest problem is that when he was leaving congress -- or, better said, when he did have the majority on both houses, the democratically controlled senate, a wing to its rolls, did not accomplish a lot of the agenda. coupled with obamacare, as the call that in republican circles, could slow down his agenda. as a result of lot of people did not see the president has been very effective. the economy is showing some signs of unproven but people are

not necessarily feeling it. host: as we go to election day tuesday, handicap what happened last night and how it might change the equation. guest: what you saw -- actually the debate on monday night you saw a change in the kind of the narrative and dynamics of the race. mitt romney really had a good performance on monday night. then after that newt gingrich, as he did in iowa, kind of floundered -- campaigns are stories, things of messages. newt gingrich's messages from one place or another, he has had big, enthusiastic crowd, but you look at television, the way things are playing out -- msnbc, fox, cnn -- the coverage of gingrich has been largely negative, and that is in part because romney's campaign was driving the never to a wild brownie was taking on obama. last night, it really did not -- romney looked good, he had the crowd on his side for once. jacksonville, friendly, home territory.

i think what you will see on the news clips, i think most of the people are going to see the clips seem on the news and hearing the talking heads, i think that coverage of the debate itself rather than the debate is going to lead people to think more and more that romney is far more than necessarily dead. that is me saying i think romney will probably win. that is the safe bet. host: what is your projection for turnout on tuesday? guest: the expectation games between republicans and democrats. i would imagine probably around 2 million. host: what percentage of eligibles? guest: probably around 50%. closed primary means only republicans can vote. only 500,000 early absentee ballots have been requested. the number changes -- something like 260,000 ballots have

already been cast. host: candidates are treating it like make or break, analysis and the paper. and our own schedule of camera shots of around the state, they are crisscrossing the stage trying to reach every voter. thanks so much for giving us your leg of the land as the floridians listen to these last- minute messages and make up their minds, the republicans, on tuesday. guest: thank you very much, and have a good day. host: from "the miami herald." >> next, eric holder announces the beginning of the unit to investigate foreclosures. then vice-president biden and president obama at the house democrats and will retreat. -- an annual retreat. >> i believe that the west with all of its historical shortcomings, and i am scathing

in discussing the shortcomings because i have to be. for all these shortcomings, the west still today represents the most acceptable and workable universally workable political culture. >> in 1991, the united states was the only global superpower. today, how to restore status and the world from the former national security adviser. strategic vision at tenney -- 10:00 p.m. eastern. also on book tv, did fdr used world war ii as a cover to create a more powerful executive branch? saturday 11:00 p.m.. sunday night at 10:00, the new privacy is no privacy. how you're right sir been eroded by social networks. -- how your rights are being eroded by social networks. on tuesday it is stated the union address, president obama

announced that attorney general eric holder would create a special unit of federal prosecutors and leading states attorney general's to address the abuse of lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis. >> today, american consumers finally have a watchdog and richard portray with one job to look out for them. [applause] we'll we will also establish a financial crimes unit of highly trained investigators to crack down on large-scale fraud and protect people's investments. protect peoples' investments. some financial firms violate laws because there is no penalty for being a repeat offender. that is bad for consumers and bad for bankers and professionals who do the right

thing. so pass legislation that makes the penalties for fraud count. and tonight, i'm asking my attorney general to create a special unit, federal prosecutors and leading state attorneys general to expand our investigations into the abuse of lending and packaging that went to the housing crisis. this will hold accountable those who broke the law and help turn the page on an era of >> following on the president's announcement, attorney general eric holder announced a joint federal and state initiative to investigate mortgage-backed securities that triggered -- that were packaged and sold to investors that eventually triggered the housing market collapse. joining him more officials involved in the investigation, including housing secretary sean donovan and one of the cochairs, n.y. attorney general eric schneiderman. this is about 35 minutes.

>> good morning. with all of the people in law enforcement, this must be the safest place in the united states right now. today, we are joined by sean donovan, the attorney general for the strait of new york, eric schneiderman, the attorney for colorado, john walsh, the civil division, tony west, and other critical leaders, including the attorney generals from illinois, lisa madigan, and a u.s. attorney from georgia at and the financial enforcement task force. we are here today to announce an important step forward in investigating the financial misconduct and specifically misconduct in the market for mortgage-backed securities. that contributed to army nation's economic crisis. -- that contributed to our nation's economic crisis.

the team standing with me will be leading a new initiative. the residential mortgage-backed securities working group which will operate as part of the financial fraud enforcement task force. this working group brings together a variety of federal, state, and local partners, including hud, the fbi, the irs, the consumer protection bureau, the financial crimes enforcement network, and federal housing finance agency office of the inspector general perry these and many other task force members have been conducting investigations into the residential mortgage backed securities market, as well as related aspects of the housing market for some time. they have seen it firsthand how massive failures in the market or a driving force behind the nationwide housing collapse that has had a devastating effect for investors, consumers, and for entire communities

across the nation. beginning with its first full meeting, which will take place immediately after this press conference, the working group will streamline and strengthen current and future efforts to identify, to investigate, and to prosecute instances of wrongdoing in the packaging, selling, and the valuing of residential mortgage backed securities. effortfident this new will help victims, restore faith in the financial markets and institutions, and allow us to enter the call that president obama issued earlier this week in the state of the union address. tuesday night, the president referenced this initiative, asking us to, "hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners, and helped turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt some americans." that is precisely what we intend to do.

the good news is we will not be starting from scratch. over the past three years, we have been aggressively investigating the causes of the financial crisis. we have learned much of the conduct that led to the crisis was, as the president said, on ethical and in many instances extremely reckless. we have also learned that behavior that is not ethical or reckless may not be criminal. we find evidence of criminal wrongdoing, we bring criminal prosecutions. when we don't, we endeavor to use other tools available to us. such as civil sections to seek -- civil sanctions to seek justice. my number one commitment to the american people is we will continue to devote significant resources to combat in financial fraud and be as aggressive as creative as we can be in holding accountable those who in violating the law contributed to the financial crisis. for example, in just the last six months, the department has achieved prison sentences of

60, 45, 30, and 20 years in a variety of a to fraud cases charging securities fraud, bank fraud, and investment fraud. just last month, i announced the largest fair lending settlement in history, resolving allegations that countrywide financial corp. and its subsidiaries engaged in a widespread pattern of discrimination against minority borrowers from 2004 trhough 2008. with this new working group, we will marshall our criminal and civil capabilities to build on endeavors by focusing on abuses in the residential mortgage backed securities markets. i'm pleased to report this working group has considerable department resources behind it, and activities have been under way through the broader task force. currently, 15 attorneys, investigators, and analysts are supporting the investigative efforts of this working group

that it will be focusing on going forward. the fbi has assigned an agent and analyst to work with the group immediately. in the coming weeks, another 30 attorneys, investigators, and support staff from the u.s. attorney's offices will join the group's work. we're wasting no time and aggressively pursuing any and all leads. in fact, as part of our current investigations, the department of justice over the past couple days has issued civil subpoenas focusing on issues related to the market for residential mortgage-backed securities to 11 different financial institutions, and you can expect more to follow. i cannot go into detail about our existing investigations, but i can tell you that significant efforts are moving forward by but the federal and state authorities. i assure you that if we uncover evidence of fraud or other illegal conduct, we will have the appropriate civil or criminal charges. these teams will hit the ground

running. already, the working groups cochairs have met to discuss the structure are or investigative efforts, how teams should and will be organized, and how information to be shared more effectively. with this focus on collaboration and by bringing our government's full enforcement resources to bear, i have no doubt we will improve our ability to recover losses, prevent fraud, bring abuses to light, and hold those who violate the law accountable. that is the challenge before us, and that is what the american people deserve. i want to thank all of our working group members for their power dissipation and for their dedication to this effort. now i would like to turn things ever to one of the leaders of this important work. >> thank you, mr. attorney- general. mortgage products were, in many ways, ground zero in the

financial crisis. individual mortgages were pulled and sliced and diced in sophisticated securities that were a world away from the house, street, and town somewhere in america where a family had realized their dream, dream of buying a house they could call home. if you invested directly in the sophisticated securities mortgage products called residential mortgage-backed securities, or rmbs, but many had exposure to the performance of these investments even if they did not own them directly or had the performance of their other investments tied to these products. regardless of how they were connected, many share the belief that the investments were safe and secure, the right investment to protect their financial security, to fund their retirement, and to pay for their kids' educations. that turned out to be terribly wrong. these mortgage products suffered unprecedented losses, and the pain and loss that followed is well known to all of us.

the job of the sec and fellow law enforcement, exist to hold accountable those persons, those institutions who lied and cheated and him misled investors and the sales of these products. it not every failure was a failure of the law, and not every failed investment that the law was broken, but all of us here are committed to identifying the violations that did occur and prosecuting them fully. that is why i am so pleased to be part of this working group. each of this year may have a chip -- different jurisdictions, expertise, but the thing that unites us all is the drive to do what it takes to make sure our efforts leave no stone unturned, no dark corner unexposed to the light. at the sec, we have been very busy in this area. we're not starting from scratch in this effort. we have focused on misconduct by those at the highest corporate levels and by institutions with the greatest involvement in the products come transactions, and practices that

gave rise to the financial crisis. so far we have charged more than 90 individuals and entities, involving public companies that fail to disclose the increasing risks of their mortgage business, including countrywide, new century, and others. funds and investment advisers that made misleading disclosures when offering funds that helped mortgages, such as charles schwab and reserve fund. top executives at fannie mae and freddie mac for failing to accurately disclose their subprime investments. and banks with misleading disclosures about their subprime exposure and the structure of even more complex instruments, collateralized debt obligations, which involved goldman sachs, j.p. morgan, and wachovia. these actions we have named over 45 c.e.o.'s, c. f. bo's, or other corporate officials. the expertise we have gathered in this investigation will be greatly enhanced by participation in this working group.

we have a long history of successful collaboration with our law enforcement colleagues, including the department of justice, the fbi, the u.s. attorney's offices, state attorneys general, and other 40's across the country. many of us are on the phone weekly if not daily moving our investigations forward. through the leadership of the financial fraud enforcement task force, created in november of 2009, we have strengthened those ties, sharing knowledge, leveraging skills, and resources, and with that helps all of us hold violators accountable. today's announcement is another strong positive step in that direction. the working group will enhance coordination, efficiencies, and the sharing of expertise, it will ensure that we pulled the different capabilities, resources, and the legal theories and remedies that each of us bring to the team. information sharing and collaboration amongst the widest group of law-enforcement parties, including the state attorneys general that are part of this working group, is in

everyone's interests. to be clear, the investigation into the offerings have been ongoing at the sec for some time, along with experts across the agency, we have over 30 staffers who are dedicated with the structured products unit focused on the effort. we have issued scores of subpoenas, analyzed more than 25 million pages of documents, dozens and dozens of witnesses we have spoken to, and work with experts to analyze the terms of these deals and the accuracies of the disclosures. we're looking for evidence if a firm failed to disclose important for mission selling the securities, misleading disclosures about the credit quality, the underwriting diet -- underwriting guidelines, the underwriting property valuations, and the defects of the mortgages and the pools. these efforts will be greatly needed by the contributions -- greatly aided by contributions of my fellow group members and i am happy to be here today. thank you. now let me introduce the secretary of housing and urban development, sean donovan. >> thank you, rob. tuesday night, president obama

laid out his blueprint. he said this is a make or break a moment for the middle class and those try to reach it, and that what is at stake is the basic american promise that if you work hard, you can do well enough to raise a family, own a home, and put away a little bit for retirement. unfortunately, that did not subscribe to our economy in the years leading up to the crisis, and nowhere was that more clear than in the housing market. as president obama said, mortgages were sold to people who cannot afford or understand them, banks made huge bets and bonuses with other people's money, and we'll pay for the very steep price. housing prices sank for 30 straight months in a row, foreclosures climbed to record levels month after month, about the time the worst of it was over, our economy has lost 8 million jobs. since those dark days, we have made very real progress.

of foreclosure notices are down 45% since early 2009. more than 5.5 million families have received mortgage modifications with affordable monthly payments, and we will be announcing more relief for struggling homeowners later today. most important of all, we have created more than 3 million jobs in the last 22 months. at the same time, we need to move forward from this crisis and rebuild an economy where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded. we still have the unfinished business with those responsible for this crisis. to be clear, to insure crises like these never happen again, president obama signed wall street reform into law, but millions of american families who have been harmed, countless families who have lost everything, not just their homes but their reputations and livelihoods. these families deserve justice. they deserve relief. that is why this investigation

is so important. with the new residential mortgage-backed securities working group, led by attorney general holder and new york attorney general schneiderman, we will build on the work of the president financial fraud task force by investigating misconduct in the pooling and sale of residential mortgage- backed securities. misconduct that we know led directly to the financial crisis. i'm proud that the office of the hud inspector general, which has been central to uncovering wrongdoing with respect to faulty foreclosure servicing practices, will play a critical role in the mortgage origination component of this review. his office is expanding the number of lenders, has expanded the number of lenders for compliance with the underwriting requirements of the federal housing administration, part of hud. their charge is to quantify the extent to which these at the chair requirements were not adhered to and to assess the impact on home owners and taxpayers alike.

the goal of the investigation president obama announced is clear -- to hold accountable an institution that violated the law, to compensate victims, and help provide relief for homeowners struggling from the collapse of the housing market calls, in part, by this wrongdoing. and to get the bottom of the rigid and to get to the bottom of will really happen so we could turn the page. all of this is about building a nation where, as the president said, everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules. that is what this investigation is about, and that is why i am so proud to be part of it. with that, it is my privilege to introduce a tremendous partner and one of the fiercest advocates for holding banks accountable that i have ever had the privilege to work with. that is state attorney general and co-chair of this group, new york attorney general eric schneiderman. let me just say, having gotten to know him and work with him

closely, as we were building up to this day and the work of preparing this task force, it became clear very quickly to me that we shared a vision that it would be a grave injustice to hold these institutions accountable and to potentially have tens of billions, hundred of billions be paid to private investors, to law-enforcement agencies, to state agencies and pension funds, but not make sure that homeowners, who hold those loans, who depend on being able to get those loans fixed to be a to stay in their homes and to be applied for their families. it is that connection of bringing together all of the disparate pieces of this -- federal and state -- that i think gives the potential that this working group can set a

template, not just for accountability but also for a real relief to homeowners. i thank him for his vision in doing that, and i welcome him to the podium. thank you, eric. >> thank you, secretary donovan. thanks to the attorney-general holder for convening us here today and executing the order, creating are working group. to the director, my other colleagues here, mr. west. i also want to acknowledge that in a condition to the attorney general madigan, there are three other states attorneys general that signed up for this effort and are working with us -- from massachusetts, nevada, and delaware -- who i have been working with for quite some time on issues related to mortgage backed securities. what happened tuesday when the president and not this working group was essentially -- that

was the sign of approval that we were going to be able to go forward with the broadest, deepest investigation into the misconduct that broke the economy that has taken place. you need three things to address an issue this vast. you need resources, jurisdiction, and you need will. in the days and weeks to come, i think that you will see, as attorney general holder has already stated, we will have the resources to undertake this, the groups that are involved and have been designated to be part of this working group collectively have jurisdiction to go after every aspect of the artificial inflation of the housing bubble in the mortgage- backed securities bubble and the crash that brought down the economy. whether it is a pieces of the tax laws, securities fraud, issues that relate to the area

that attorney-general baden and i have been looking at, looking at the trust's which were the vehicle for every march biosecurity issue of the last decade, which were all new york or double or trusts. we have jurisdiction over everything, we have the resources, and we have the will. as the president said, people want real accountability. it want to know there is one set of rules for everybody in this country, that the quintessential idea of american justice under law is alive and well, and this administration and every member of this working group is committed to it. i'm honored to be part of it, but i'm even more excited about the fact that as soon as we get out of here, we're going into a meeting to continue our work in the investigation. i like to know, as has been mentioned, -- i would like to note, as has been mentioned, we started having conversations a few months ago about the possibility of joining forces to ensure we had the resources and collective jurisdiction to really pursue everything we

need to pursue. it did not take long to realize this was the only way we would restore the public's confidence in the financial-services industry, which has been badly shaken, and that we can take steps to get the economy moving again. but president is quicker than the rest of us. he heard about what we were doing, we talk to him, and he decided he would create a working group, direct us to go forward. that is what you heard tuesday night. i'm honored to be part of it. i'm confident that you will see actions in the weeks and days ahead that will demonstrate that this is going to be very aggressive effort. and with the will and jurisdiction and resources, and confident of our ultimate success. thank you very much. and i would like to bring back attorney-general holder, in case anyone has a question. >> in the press release, you talk about how this will

provide relief for homeowners. number one, how was this going to reach the individual homeowner? also and mortgage servicing? >> on the second part of your question, around servicing, to be clear, as i think you have heard, the focus here is really on securitization-related organization concept. i guess the way that i would describe it, if you think about the actions that really led to the devastating impact on homeowners out, on neighborhoods, on the entire world economy, in fact, it was really the origination and securitization of these products that created those devastating problems. the servicing problems that we have been investigating are contributed to that. they were sent to those problems, but frankly they did

not fundamentally create these problems. i would say those servicing problems which we have been looking at separately are a small part of the overall set of causes of this crisis, and really compounded it rather than creating it. so the focus here is on the original conduct that led to the inflation, the bubble, and the crash afterwards, not the servicing after that. but in terms of the way the connection between those can work, the fundamental problem, as i said earlier, is there is a risk here that tens of billions, even hundreds of billions of dollars are paid to private investors. we have many state attorneys general who have state pension funds that were hurt dramatically by purchasing these private-label securities. they have been harmed, the

people of those states have been harmed. they need to make recoveries. fundamentally speaking, as those recoveries are made, as payments are made to investors, to law enforcement agencies for accountability, we need to make sure that at the same time, if those payments are being made, that there is also a relief that happens for the homeowners within the securities, those loans that underlie the securities. it would be a tragedy if the investors were made whole, but homeowners who were wrong as well at the same time -- i believe, and we have begun significant discussions of this, that if we could provide a structure or simultaneously with those payments being made there are benefits provided to homeowners in the underlying structure, that is a goal that is very much achievable by this task force. obviously, we will have more to say about that as we go forward, but that is a fundamental principle in why not

only wearing my enforcement hat threw out fha but as the housing secretary i feel optimistic about this work going forward. >> we are three years away from the meltdown. there is some skepticism, what are you doing this now? has the quality of the evidence or what his recollection got in any better? ? people expect it will fix it this time, when we have not seen major cases? >> let's deal with that, you know, about defining major cases. there have been 2100 or so mortgage related matters we have brought to the u.s. department of justice. are state counterparts have done a variety of things. the notion there has been an activity over the last three weeks is belied by trouble some little thing called facts. beyond that, we are here today

to work together, figure out ways to streamline our efforts, work efficiently, effectively. i'm confident, as the attorney general said, that with the will and resources that we will come up with results that will deal with, hold people accountable, get resources to people who were harmed, and we will turn the page on this so we can get our economy focused on things that will provide jobs and growth for this nation. it is not as if we have not been doing anything. we have been doing a great deal. i'm confident with this new structure put in place today that our efforts will be enhanced. >> you are bringing in 10 fbi agents, there were thousands of agents investigating other at out cases. in 2009, they said the fbi was investigating 38 companies directly involved in financial crisis, and yesterday in reuters, the former head of the tarp program said he is puzzled

that here we are three years later -- >> i will let eric speak as well to this, but with all due respect to my former colleague and good friend, i think he has it wrong. the reality is we have done a substantial amount. we are looking now at a specific area in which we have found that great harm was done to the economy, and continues to do great harm to the economy and consumers in this nation. we are bound and determined and will hold people accountable in this sector, and we will as a result of that, as secretary donovan indicated, bring great relief to many people who were harmed. this is a new effort. we're coming up with ways -- we talked about some number of fbi agents. this effort we're talking about

not only involves new agents, new sources, but attorneys from the federal government, but we're also bringing in people from the states. it is very significant we will have the ability to tap resources from the state level as well as the federal level, use statutes that exist at the state level that perhaps we cannot have on the federal side, and come up with ways in which we decide where we can best handle these investigations. what we're doing today is extremely significant and i think it will ultimately be successful. >> yes, when i became new york's attorney general about a year ago, a few months into my tenure, i really learned about the depth of the harm and ongoing harm and how things are getting worse for not only regular americans but for the financial services institutes. the amount of negative equity out there is crushing, npr best efforts to move the economy. -- our best efforts to move the economy. you have to have accountability.

i think there's a recognition by the folks and financial-services to put it bluntly, we know what they did, they know we did, all they know that we know what they did. but having all this together and cables us to go places where we could not go. we have jurisdiction over the bricks and mortar of the entire structure. our securities fallen to the martin act, made famous by one of my predecessors. he is more flexible than securities laws. we have the irs on the team opening up the possibility of looking at tax issues. as far as resources and staff, these are people specifically deployed to this working group only to work on a working group. that is an assistance to the people in my office are working

or and hide or in civil justice are working on this. this is to create a vehicle for us to share resources and information and proceed in a more coordinated and effective way. >> a quick follow-up on that. we'll have access to work product and documents invested position -- over the past two years? federal infested gators are frequently said that they have been stymied by a group the truth which they must establish to bring cases. they do not even have to prevent tent. they just have to prove that fraud was committed. can you use documents that you have been reviewing for the past few years? >> we cannot talk about specifics of the investigation. there will be some areas in which one of us may proceed with a case.

it is not as if everybody is going to be named as a party in every case. there are instances in which one or another, the actors are doing it. we do have the ability to share information. >> just so we are clear. >> we are not -- we are looking to share everything we can chair. >> under rule 60, there are prohibitions on sharing a federal grand jury information. there are ways we can deal with the issues. there are ways we can structure the information so i do not think grand juries on the federal side will prevent us from sharing necessary information with the state partners. >> how does the creation of this group effecter thinking about what they're you can quit spending in the settlement -- can you say to did you are in? >> know, i am happy to be here

watching the investigation. i am happy to be working with my colleagues on that. this whole other area of subvert -- abuse that has to deal with -- >> how does it affect the settlement deal? >> first of all, let me go back to the comment i made earlier about how these issues really are separate in the sense that the origination said and securitization was the conduct that really led to the crash. the servicing of the mortgages compacted --, how did the hard but it did not create it. in essence, the issues we are looking at are really the longer issues. i would say we would not be standing here today if we were not absolutely confident that the releases that are being contemplated were quite narrow,

focused on the conduct of that was actually investigated, focused on the conduct that we have found a significant problems with. in fact going beyond that, those releases are narrow enough for us to go forward aggressively with what we are describing today. i would just say we would give some real credit not only to attorney general schneiderman but to others who are part of this group, others that are part of it for pushing to make sure the releases are narrow. that is a significant part of what has been accomplished in the work we have done. >> will it go forward? was as i said, it is the only consistent but this makes very clear that the focus that we have and the releases that are being contemplated are narrow

enough to allow us to go for it was still completing services. >> he talked about the accomplishments of the several agencies. this is a pretty significant announcement of the significant resources and collaborative information sharing from was going on before. it has been more than three years since the market crashed. looking back, d you wish you had done something like this sooner? >> i think we always want to make sure that we are -- as we do an investigation or we take on an effort like this, we want to do checks along the way. i think that what we are doing today makes sense given where we are in the work we have that. we do today builds upon the work has already been done by the test scores and by our colleagues in the state. we are doing this at the right

time. i do not think we would be in a position to do what we are doing today had we not done that other work. >> he said he had seen 25,000 pages of documents. he say he sent them to 11 firms. are you covering the same ground it has already been covered including some of the same firms? will this all the new things? >> i think it is a good example of the way in which the task force is going to work. sending out the subpoenas we consulted with the sec in making a determination of where they should go. we talk to them about things that they are looking at and we are not going to be looking at the same things they are examining. we're going to be working with them but looking at a separate group of institutions. >> one final quick question off topic.

i was wondering if you had seen a video released today by the u.s. attorney's office. was your reaction to that? > [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> the head of the national bankers association talked about the invest -- investigation into the industry. from washington journal this is 45 minutes.

>> many of your viewers are still feeling pain as a result of what has happened in this recessionary economy brought on in a significant way by the housing crisis. a 30 day and delinquencies are down over where there were one year ago. we still have a backlog of the delinquencies which is still not recovering. a lot of that is due to several things. there are five states in particular that hold about half of the loans and foreclosures in this country. we have significant concentrations, there are significant concentrations of judicial and nonjudicial states.

they are well past the that the day. a bill in question are working their way through the system. that is what we need to focus on. host: the many homes where people are under water. the distinction between what they mortgaged and how much the equity volume is. give us a sense of where that is right now. guest: there are a lot of proposals dealing with the administration announced harp. they called it harp 2.0. it allows for people with negative equity to refinance at a record low rates which certainly could add so weak -- released. that is really concentrated in a select number of states. nevada, for example, where roughly three-quarters of all homes are experiencing negative equity. other states do not have the same scenario.

the recovery, as it were, in the housing market, is uneven across the country. as we think about solutions to the problems, it is really coming up with the selected solutions in key markets and areas that will help the most. host: overall, i would imagine you would like to recover because it means more mortgages. what is your official policy on ways that it can and should be addressed? guest: i spent a couple of years in the administration. i was federal housing commissioner for the obama administration and i have been in the industry for about 30 years. our policy is that there is no single solution that will deal with this crisis we are going through. people who lost their jobs who find themselves unemployed. there are forbearance programs that can defer payments for a period of time. people have no equity, there is the harp program that allows you to refinance at a higher loan to value and it needed cash flow

back to your family. restructuring, short sales, other efforts permitted under the making home affordable program by the administration. so, it is not one single federal solution. we support, i support, and it is very important consumers have access to any program that can help them. this is a very personal situation, when you find yourself not able to make your mortgage payment. and the solution that best meets the needs of an individual will vary on the personal situation. host: let me tell you about his background. first of all, from colorado -- bachelor of arts from the university of colorado in boulder. started out as a mortgage banker and an progressed at -- to senior vp at freddie mac, senior vp of wells fargo, president and ceo of long and foster, the nation's largest private real-estate firm.

an assistant secretary of housing and federal housing commissioner at hud, housing and urban development, during the obama administration. we are going to play a clip from president obama about mortgages and housing in the state of the union tuesday night. >> while government can't fix the problem on its own, responsible homeowners should not have to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom to get some relief. that is why i am sending this congress a plan that gives every responsible homeowner a chance to save about $3,000 a year on their mortgage refinancing at historically low rates. no more red tape, no more runaround from the banks, a small fee on the largest financial destitution will insure it will not add to the deficit and it will give banks rescued by taxpayers a chance to repay the deficit of crust.

nevernever for -- let's forget, americans who work hard and play by the rules every day deserve a government and financial system that does the same. host: reaction to the president's proposal. small good -- sounds good, a small feed taking care of the deficit and refinancing may be easy without red tape. guest: i think it has been a tremendous asset to have the administration at least working to implement as many plans as possible helping consumers in need. interest rates, as we know, are at historic lows and the ability to refinance at these nearly 4% rates can put a lot of needed cash flow into family's hands as well as stimulate the economy. host: how would it work? guest: we have not seen his plan. there is a lot of speculation about how it could work but my sense is it would require legislation. perhaps the fha would be involved.

but it would have to be, in a way, and essence to give consumers the ability to refinance, if they are not harp eligible. and there are also existing refinance programs available for any borrower who could qualify. fha allows refinancing up to 97.75% of the property's value within the loan limits standards. i think this will probably be for non-harp eligible borrowers who cannot get in the program because they have a loans financed by freddie mac or fannie mae or faa which already streamlines. the question is who will provide the financing for it. if it is a government agency, it is likely to be the f h a. we look forward to seeing the program the president and the administration may present and we will support any reasonable effort to help consumers take advantage of the financing options available.

host: a note more on harp, but does it stand for? guest: hoh affordable refinance program. host: reporting i have done on it, the readings suggest that people are not accessing its at the levels anticipated. why is that? guest: a national -- natural resistance. talking about the trust deficit -- who do i call? how are they offered? in many cases, the borrower must call their servicer, and the servicer may be the only institution that can offer the program. but there are two ways you can access and find more information. one is to call your servicer directly and the other is to

call the hot line set up by the administration to help consumers in need and they can direct them to how to find out more about the harp refinance program. but it is restricted to fannie mae and freddie mac. the first question is, when you buy your home, get your mortgage, most of your viewers the not necessarily know who owns your loan. it could be private investors, the fha, freddie mac or fannie mae -- host: or bundled into derivative packages. guest: private label securities. but if it is freddie mac or fannie mae -- it is certainly available and i suggest any viewer or anybody wondering if they can qualify, make the call and find out if you are eligible. host: in a general sense, when people are under water, there is a big gap between the amount of money they owe and the current price their of the house. does somebody week that in the

process, or does -- do they still allow the same amount? guest: under the harp program, you get much lower rates. it varies depending on the need. the negative equity challenge for this country, if you are at 105% negative equity, that could be made up while taking advantage of low interest rates. it is more severe, 120%, which is less frequent, but definitely exists in certain markets, there needs to be other solutions potentially offered. the administration has to refinance program that provides for the opportunity for any homeowner to get a loan with a principal right down. there just needs to be more potential things offered. host: one more issue from the state of the union -- the president talking about people involved in criminal activity

related to mortgages. [video clip] >> i am asking my attorney general to expand our investigations into the lending and risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis, " dick -- holding accountable those who broke the law, speeding assistance to homeowners. host: david stevens, what is the industry reacted to that you knew you did? -- reaction to that new unit? guest: the vast majority of them are out of business. there are investigations that have gone on. some would argue not enough has been done, but anyone who has violated the law should be held accountable. the president of her -- up with

a state attorneys general, -- appointed a state attorneys general, that should be done, did we advocate getting it done as quickly as possible. america needs certainty going forward. as long as there is turmoil and unrest, it means fame is that what to buy homes and want access to credit, this will impact their ability to move forward. we support going after adding one that has committed wrongdoing. host: let's begin with dawdled, a democrat in texas. good morning. -- donald, eight democrat in texas. caller: i am under water in my home. i have been here for five full years, and not earned one drop of equity. i went through some of the

programs you spoke of and found no relief. are the biggest holding might de -- mortgage -- when are they going to put true inventory out there? thank you. guest: first of all, i really appreciate that question because there are so many people like you better city in negative equity at -- that are sitting here that negative equity. the challenges the bank that originated that mortgage might not even all the bad loan. that -- that load. we have a complicated international services market, where many people are involved, and where those mortgages said. i would suggest calling the hope hot line -- 1-88-955-hope.

there might be solutions available to you, and i wish the best to you. host: i am sure you understand the frustration. we're getting thomas to that effect. this from twitter from mike freeman -- guest: hi understand that frustration. i have hundreds of calls coming in when i was in the administration. i think the fault is in many places. banks are clearly one of those.

most of those banks and not in business. the problems do not go away. we have roughly two thousand, two hundred financial institutions in our membership, most of which are small community banks or credit unions, a handful of large institutions that dominate the market. lack of regulation, how investors doppler old -- boy got over it super 48 project -- doubt over exuberant for a project, but this can never happen again. it has destroyed the wealth of too many americans. it is something we have to work and to make sure there is a stable system going forward. host: mary -- guest: absolutely. the glut of foreclosed inventory is terrible. the most difficult aspect is if

you live on one of those streets where of their homes are vacant, and there is crime that happens in certain cases, or the homes it gutted or are not maintained, more often than not it is due to abandonment. once the home is foreclosed upon, it is the obligation of the servicer or the investor to maintain the property, but it between the foreclosure timeline when people have vacated the home, that will drive down the value of all the other family homes in the community. we need to address this inventory and get through this foreclosure process, trying to protect every family we can't let them stay in their homes. there are many solution -- and let them stay in their homes. there are many solutions. host: jim, south carolina, a republican.

caller: for the last three years obama as implemented a lot of these policies, and is irksome that these new policies are not any different. you want to believe him because he is charismatic i hope that a lot of these policies really have not worked. before he came to congress in the 1990's, he was an activist, and in many cases demanding home loans for people that could not afford or, put the money down. he is part of the problem. when did anyone hold a god to anyone's head to buy this realistic? it is irksome to hear how great realist it does, and then when goes down, everyone walks away. where is the personal responsibility? everyone is a victim and the banks are the sole prior of this

mess one mortgage brokers were sweet-talking people into this? for the people that did not know any better, there is an element of that, but there is an element of people thinking realist it would always go off, and then you have this bubble, and you have this housing leverage. that is the big problem. what a person walks into a big concerns here is 400 grand for a cd, and the next person says i want a mortgage for 400 grant, that is not the bank's money. your caller seems to think let's give this homeowner a break. there is no one that made that homeowner over-extend themselves. for people that walked into something that they did not know about, that is different, but it is not everybody who is just a victim as a homeowner.

would you not say so? guest: you point out, and this is something that is the real challenge -- it often becomes the reason why some of these programs are hard to implement. what the caller is highlighting is the moral hazard issue of who do you date out? who do you provide the programs to? for those that speculated in the market, or did not disclose income sources, perhaps that is their problem in terms of responsibility, but there are other people in a recession that are impacted. if you have a job loss because you work for an auto combat manufacturers in the midwest, -- auto manufacturing in the midwest, and you lost your job, and in a recession like this, other solutions you provide to those families?

that has been the challenge of many of these programs -- parsing the difference between the moral hazard concerns of not providing free money to those who made bad decisions, as opposed to those who have been infected through no fault of their own. that has made these programs much more difficult. under the making home affordable program, hamp, it is modified under 1 million families. in total, there have been 5 million modifications done since the beginning of this recession. it has been helpful, but it is not enough that is an important part of the debate. host: we posted a conversation with you on our facebook page, and the question is what is your prescription for the troubled housing market. here's one from william meredith who writes -- jobs, time, and population inflow --

guest: excellent point. i do not have anything to add other then it points to the many solutions that are needed based on the needs of the community and the individual. the issues are not evenly applied across the country. unemployment and-equity is more harsh in certain states. other markets are more on their

way to stabilization and recovery, and that points to those issues. host: here's another one -- guest: these kind of views are exactly what is great about this debate. it points out the positions. if you lost your job, you can bet for the payment in your home, the feeling of desperation and help needed is something where you will have a different view. it is very personal. on a broad scale, the government's role in housing is way too big. 90% of mortgages are financed by freddie mac or fannie mae. you have the government playing an extraordinary role in housing, not to mention the modification programs and

refinance programs, and the federal reserve's role in buying mortgage-backed securities. this is unprecedented, but we are in and unprecedented recession, something that has not happened since the great depression, and we have to be thoughtful to get through this recession, and not provide a bailout for everyone. if you have a home in foreclosure in your neighborhood, that home will sell at a discount, and drive down home values for neighbors around you. the first line of defense is trying to keep a family in their homes. the second step is if they cannot stay, transition that as quickly as possible to sell. host: marion. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. i called a while back when you had people on about three or

four months ago talking about the harp program. i began working on a harp in august. they just declined meet this month. so, for six months i have waited for help. i think it is important for people to understand thati thinr people to understand that not everybody did things wrong. i came from a poor family. i in the single mother with five children. i work every day. i saved and came up with a down payment. i was taught that when you went to the bank the man at the bank knew what was right and what was fair, and he would help you. i did that stuff, and put $15,000 on my home. in the first month they stole my loan. the first company that took it raised the payment $50 within the first year with no

explanation. i do not know what they're tree believe people are supposed to do. -- believe people are supposed to do. the biggest problem with the harp program, and i learned this from you, suzanne, all of all mortgages are insured by these banks, and it is not in their interest to cut interest rates or shave my mortgage. it is in their interest for me to declines of their insurance will pay them for their loss. here, id eleanor, and outside of chicago, -- in illinois, i am outside of chicago, we just had 110 houses torn down, foreclosed by the banks, and they gave this land back to our city.

so, it is again on our books with no people and nobody paid property tax. i think people should remember clearly george bush during his presidential debates promised to put 1 million new homeowners in homes, and he did. all of these things were fixed so that we would have a housing bubble, so people would make enormous profits, taking a vintage of poor people. -- advantage of poor people. host: lots of topics to follow up on. dig in with one of the issues the issue raised. -- that she raised. guest: first of all, that is the story that there needs to be focused on -- the single parent with children bought a home, put her down payment down, and finds herself in a situation where she cannot afford her home. the question i really would like to know was the purpose of

that definition, and i will reemphasize calling the hope hot line if she has not done so already. just to see if there is another opportunity. there are a lot of issues here that are being brought up. without question, one of the points i would assizes this pursuit of how will the ship was far too extensive -- homeownership was far too expensive. -- far too extensive. homeownership that all costs was a way to get rich quick. there was speculation involved. product offered with no down payments, no documentation in the markets and institutions no longer exist, exacerbated the bubble and it was policy makers as well that participated. host: from the policy-making aspect, it was cited debt holders have a greater

investment and stake in the community, so let's encourage home ownership. this caller believes it was -- let's make everybody rich. you have been on the policy side of this equation. guest: there has to be a balanced housing policy. secretary donna the end of -- donovan of hud has said there we need an extensive balance. between rental and homeownership. that has to be the case. there are people not prepared for ownership. we have learned that through this last cycle. sub-prime mortgages are a credit simple. there were typically fixed for two years and the theory was that the bar were compelled credit would improve and -- the bar were's credit would improve -- borrower, the credit would improve. they could refinance out of that mortgage. that only works if home values go up. there are studies that show that for the right committees 0 motorships in -- home ownership

can create better communities and stability. you can be part of a community. join the soccer team and raise your children in a stable environment. if you are qualified did have a good job, home and -- homeownership makes sense. for people where it is short- term, or wait to make interest -- instant money, that's an area has to be stopped. right now, we have moved credit to the other side, where access to credit is more conservative than i have seen in well over a decade, and we need to find a right balance. host: c-span junkie from twitter --

guest: i am not sure what he means by consented to the -- incentive to the housing industry. there is a glut of homes in certain markets. judicial states are a perfect example, whether foreclosure time and process takes a long time. the challenges, if a home is going to be foreclosed on, and it is abandoned, the servicer cannot access the home because they do not own it until it goes to foreclosure. it is a challenge for this process. we see high abandonment rates, has the foreclosure timeline extends, and that impacts the homes in the committee. there are maintenance concerns. this individual must be in one of those communities for this post. host: we're talking to david stevens, the head of the mortgage bankers association, and it comes to that job from beijing positions and public policy positions. -- banking positions in public policy positions. and i wanted to s to about your job at freddie mac.

there has been a lot of debate. from your inside view, what should be done about freddie mac? guest: well, freddie mac and fannie mae have cost taxpayers $175 billion so far. it was not their primary business for -- that was the reason for their default. their standard line of business is essentially still performing well. to the elected default rates are still around the -- cumulative default rates are still around 5%. which is lower than the national averages. the challenge is risking -- investing in risky assets, which participated in the derivative markets and subprime investments, which ultimately brought them these -- brought

down these institutions. the challenge for the taxpayer and for everyone is the government guaranteed the institution itself, which means we are paid for the bad behavior of their investment activities. how do we get a system that goes forward? i think we need to have a guarantee, at least some level, of mortgage-backed securities just to ensure continued availability of mortgage credit. it should never be a mortgage- backed institution, because that is how we pay the price. host: the next call comes from raleigh, north carolina. greg is a republican. caller: thank you for taking my call. thank you for this guest. i think the cry from our federal government for decades was that everyone is entitled to a house

without exception. it was the government's decision to put people in houses, whether or not they could pay for them, whether or not they could qualify for them, whether or not they could keep them, and when the chickens come home to roost, it was like a house of cards. it fell down. this fannie mae and freddie mac situation, where we are about $700 billion already, this is a mess. i'm not a ron paul fin, but he said last night we live in a free enterprise system, and if we let the free enterprise system work, this would not be a problem right now.

it would continue to be a problem. guest: it is an interesting point. without question, the role of government has been too big, and the over the exuberance promoted by all parties threat the last several decades was clearly to strong. i would say the housing bubble from the worst years of 2006, 2007, in 2008, which were the peak years, much of the products were from the private market. fannie and freddie invested in those to some degree, but they were really not alone. these took down companies like lehman brothers, and they were sub-prime mortgages, and these programs were financed by the

private markets. i go back to many decades and every member of the savings and loan crisis of a few decades ago, -- i remember the savings and loan crisis of a few decades ago when private institutions could not manage their interest rate risk on their balance sheet, invested aggressively in the mortgage market and that impact of the savings and loan market. i am a huge proponent of balance. extremes on any side can ultimately cause significant disruptions. this is the most severe any of us have experienced, but without question, going back to a fully privatized market does not remove the ills. host: wanted the dodd-frank reform due to address the concerns -- what did the dodd- frank reform due to address the concerns? guest: several things.

dodd-frank has 300 rulemakings. it created the consumer financial protection bureau, and richard cordray is now their director. a single regulator for consumer protection. more specifically, there are two rules -- one is called qm , the qualified mortgage, and then the qrm. the qualified residential mortgage. the qualified mortgage standards require that loans must be fully documented with a proven ability to repay. they need to be fully amortizing mortgages. standards have never existed before. under the qm rule, these loans -- these types of exploding loans that destroyed so many americans, because they did not understand what they were getting into, or made bad decisions themselves, those will not exist anymore under the qm guidelines and the qrm

guidelines. i think that as a very good thing. we have concerns of some of this might go too far and the limited complete access to ownership because of these roles. that is why we need balance -- safe, sound, sustainable, fully transparent mortgage programs and disclosures have to be the role of the land going forward, and we also have to make sure we do not eliminate excess simply because they do not have 20% down payment. host: free lancer tweets -- guest: they were not made for people with great credit, which is why they were rated sub prime. the point is clear. there is to much salesman ship,

as it were, in the markets, with programs in needed far greater explanation. -- that needed far greater explanation. many of which were not sustainable. most of those programs are prohibited in dodd-frank. host: also, people cashing in on their mortgages, and people are finding they were building the debt responsibilities -- has a practice banned regulated? guest: it has been curtailed because the institutions that events that credit are not available anymore today. from a regulatory standpoint, they will be controlled through this qualified mortgage standard requirement. yes, indeed exchanged -- in the extreme, you could buy a home that would appreciate 2%, or 3% a month, and that money gets

spent, but your mortgage payment stays there for 30 years. those practices have to be curtailed. you can not use real estate as a piggy bank. real estate is a shelter. whether you own or rent. for community stability and market stability, we have to have rules for the road. and most of these bad programs do not exist anymore. that speculative nature has created an expensive black eye. the trust lovell and those that have to remain have to have vigilant focus on responsibly going forward for their own institution will not survive. host: nancy sherman has a different proposal altogether.

guest: that is out of my area. i have seen, in effect, even in the occupied movement, one of the desires. stephen debt is a serious -- students and debt is a serious problem. debt in general is a serious problem. it is a big challenge this nation faces s and economy. it is expressed in that? -- has and the economy. it is expressed in that question. for consumers with student loan debt, for people who are over extended in their home dead, or a nation that has too much debt on its balance sheet. this is a nation as been a nation of borrowers and spenders for far too long, and we need to get to a protocol where we are savers and investors. that is a transition as think we will learn. host: robert, an independent in nashville. caller: i wanted to address this to c-span, and not necessarily david stevens, who

essentially it is a shill for the mortgage banking industry, ok? the entire crux of this is the biggest crock i have ever heard in my entire life. my wife and i played by the rules, paid our mortgage on time, did everything we could possibly do to keep our home without any problems. we paid on time every time. we realize the mortgage was under water, and we refinanced in 2006. we are not broken. we have one home. we do not have a home in florida. we have a home in tennessee. this mortgage bankers' association guys sitting there is nothing but a shill for barack obama.

we voted for barack obama. he did not do a thing for us. dodd-frank did not do a thing for us. they said tests of thing about forbearance, and they said -- sent us off thing about forbearance, and said if you pay $6,000, will extend your payment out. and you can continue to pay the same payment. if we had 6000 extra dollars, we would not have been in this position to begin with. this guy is nothing but a liar. host: robert, we will leave it at that point. guest: it expresses the anger. it is a challenge. when i left the administration i was deciding whether to stay in washington or go back to private industry. this outcry is not uncommon.

the reality is we need certainty and we need to get markets that are functioning going forward so families can have access to credit, something chairman bernanke talked about in his white paper a few weeks back. this a bear is a reflection of the overall concern of those seven -- a deere is a reflection of the overall concerns. those who found themselves in these positions. host: the fed plans to keep the same is a strict policy through 2014. -- the same interest rate policy through 2014. i'm wondering what that might do for people looking for holders of in the next five years? looking -- looking for homes in the next five years? guest: this is not a push for -- the affordability index has never been better for buying a home in history. i represent commercial mortgage members. this is not a push for one way or the other, but low interest

rates and the cost of real estate in this country, in my 30 years in this housing system, i've never seen both at such an opportune time for families that are qualified and can afford to buy a home. i think the fed chairman directing a long term message about interest rates sends column and certainty to markets about what they can expect. will it be that long? it depends on the trajectory of this economy, but as long as the economy remains soft, the ability to keep rates low provides capital flowing to the markets and families, and that helps the recovery. host: thank you for being here. >> tomorrow on the "washington journal," susan macmanus previews tuesday's gop presidential primary and looks at issues florida voters care about.

and of former training director cedric leighton discusses pentagon reductions announced by leon panetta and how they might impact policy, weapons, and counterterrorism. "washington journal" live every day it's 7:00 a.m. eastern on c- span. >> next vice-president biden and president obama's remarks at the house democrats' annual retreat. in speeches by newt gingrich, mitt romney, and rick santorum. >> april 15, 2010, i arrived in paris. i walked into the hotel lobby. i met him for the first time and he looked at me and said, so you're the rolling stone died. i do not care about the article. i just want to be on the cover. >> he wrote about the u.s. and nato forces in afghanistan in

the june 2010 edition of rolling stone. >> it is between you and lady gaga. it was just a joke, not knowing she would actually be on the cover. >> just put me and her in a heart-shaped tub. >> i thought this would be a different kind of general. >> as a result of the article, general mcchrystal had been fired. michael hastings continues the story and talks about his new book. sunday night on c-span. >> joe biden tells house democrats that he believes actions by congressional republicans will help democrats win back the house and president obama win reelection in 2012. he said the president's agenda is one that supports the middle class. he spoke at the house democrat'' annual retreat in cambridge, md.. it is about 50 minutes.

ladies and gentlemen, the vice president of the united states, joe biden. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, i know that our members from maryland, from our whip steny hoyer to each and every proud member of our delegation would like to extend a warm welcome to the vice president for once again joining us and our issues

conference. mr. vice president, i think you find yourself, not just friends, but we would say family here, because you have been very gracious to always accept our invitation to come and not just address the members of the house democratic caucus, but to listen in to work with us. in fact, most of us would say that, mr. vice president, every time we have asked, you have had our back. you have not only had our backs, but you have been gracious to invite us to join you not just at the white house, but in your home with mrs. biden, to talk not just policy, but about the things that make america tech, and -- tick, and for that week thank you. we thank you for your service. you're one of the longest serving senators in history.

still very young. i see lots of hair on their still. as well, it is important to note that the biden's have served. your son bo gave service to this country in iraq. he served us and he is back home. and we thank the lord for that. [applause] he is now the attorney general of your state of delaware, and so the biden's have served. and they continue to serve. and we're very fortunate to have as the vice president, the 47th vice-president of the united states, a man who has proven to be not just our friend, not just a member of our family, not just a man who has served in the u.s. senate and who make sure that his family serves his country with pride, but we have with the someone who has been a great leader in the history of the united states of

america, and so i would like to introduce to you again, the vice president, joe biden. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. xavier, thank you very much and happy birthday, by the way. i think i have told the speaker before that when i was elected with barack obama as vice president, i was also elected that year to the senate for the seventh time. i got sworn in the seventh time, because you may remember we had some votes early on in january, and so the day i had to -- and i apologize for my cold -- the day i had to make a choice -- which everybody

thought was easy, but it was not easy in one sense. i did not want to leave the senate. i loved the senate. the day i left the senate, the senate historian came in. he was trying to think of something to say nice about senator biden who was leaving to become vice president biden. he said the caucus should know, only 13 people in the history of the united states ever served as long as joe biden. all i could think of was my father saying that is the definition of a misspent adulthood. [laughter] but i love the congress, and i know a lot of you very well. i do not think you down for a second that i mean what i am about to say. the doubt for a second that i mean what i'm about to say. i admire you.

i admire the work you are doing in the circumstances under which you are doing it. i am one person who has not forgotten that there are three equal branches of government. quite frankly, i continued to think the congress is in a sense the most important one, because you're the ones who are there every day back home. he is a great honor to be back with nancy, who -- it is a great honor to be back with nancy, who i think is going to be remembered not just for being the first woman speaker. she is going to be remembered for being the second woman speaker. [applause] i sincerely mean this when i say it, and steny has heard me say it and every one of you who i have worked with in this capacity, i think nancy you are going to go down as one of the most significant speakers in the history of the united states of america. [applause]

your several years dent is going to extend, but the truth of the matter you are one of the most effective people i have ever known. there's not a single solitary thing on our agenda that would have gotten done without your leadership. i mean that sincerely. and by the way, all of you, and a lot of people that are not here today, -- a lot of people who are not here should be here. it was a tough year, because they took some tough votes. you know the old expression the proof of the pudding is in the eating. the proof of the pudding is being cleared to the american people. those decisions you made, the

risks you took, the losses we incurred, really did save this country, and the american people are beginning to figure out. the american people are focusing on a more and more. i have a great speech here for you. but because i am late and because you've just eaten, i'm going to shorten it. i'm just going to talk from a few notes here. if anybody wants a copy of the speech, the press wants a copy, i will be happy to give it to you. look, the front end of this is, to me, pretty simple. it is becoming absolutely clear that decisions that we made and you implement are actually working. the public is beginning to

understand that it is working. they are also understanding another thing. you know, god love john boehner -- and jon is a good guy. i sincerely like him personally. but john, when asked about compromise, said "i reject the word." well guess what? the american people are figuring amount that they reject the word, they reject the notion of compromise. i thought it was pretty stark and remarkable the different mood at the state of the union, not just the quality of the state of the union, but the mood on the floor. i think it is become pretty clear to every republican the folks have figured out that they reject the notion of compromise. i think the american public understands that we have never been able to move this heterogeneous country along without compromise. you can compromise and be true

to your principles. they're not inconsistent. leader cantor, when it came to the debt ceiling vote, called it -- and they meant it, because i was doing the negotiation, and steny and jim and others know, trying to deal with the debt ceiling -- he said, and he was honest about it, that this is a leverage moment. a leveraged moment. a leverage moment in which they were using may be the second most significant thing we inherited from our forefathers, which was an absolutely gold- plated reputation around the world, that there was never a doubt about america's commitment to honoring its debts, that was used as a leverage moment. and i think the public saw it. and mitch mcconnell, who worked with for years and still work with, mitch was straightforward. he said the single most

important thing we want to achieve is for president obama to be a one-term president. so the generic point i want to make here is i think a lot of things are becoming clear to the american people. that is not the way they want us to do business, and that is not the way we did business when it was reversed. we had our issues. for years, i was chair of the judiciary committee with reagan and both bush's. the truth of the matter is, we never took the position that our fundamental objective was to defeat the incumbent president. obviously, we wanted to win. tom davis, a retired tom davis, republican john davis -- tom davis said just this week that for democrats to take 25 seats,

they will need a wave. then he said, continued polarization can create that wave. that was not our tom davis. that was there tom davis. these guys know it, but i am afraid they cannot help themselves. and right now i do not see any change yet in this policy of political strategy of obstruction and division. i think the people may straighten this out for us. we are not going to straighten them out on this, but the american people may straighten them out between now and november, capitulating, but on actually cooperating in compromising -- not on capitulating, but on actually compromising and cooperating.

that is why by at 12. margarine -- by 12-point margin, the public trust you'll more than the republicans in congress. last september, that was a tie between republicans and congress and you. boehner, cantor, mcconnell, they made it clear. it is about obstructing the president's agenda. it is about defeating barack obama. but i think mitt romney and newt gingrich -- and i am not trying to be funny. in deadly earnest here. i think they are slightly different. i think it is more than about obstructionism. i think they actually believe what they're saying. when these guys are out there saying, let detroit go bankrupt -- that is the front and of the quote, and it gets worse. let foreclosures continue and the housing market hit rock bottom. poor people have no habit of working.

and nobody around them works. barack obama is the food stamp president. i think it is more than political theater and tactic. i think they believe it. i think they're committed to it. and the reason i say that is -- and i do not want to get going on these guys, i know that is not appropriate. i do not want to begin, but i know where events. -- where its ends. i think it ends on january 20th of next year. barack and i once again standing with the majority -- [applause] folks, i will talk about this a little later, but you are lucky to have steve is there doing the job he has.

as steve and i are meeting to get down to brass tacks next week, i really do think we're going to win back the house. i think you're going to win back the house. look, the president is always kidding me, and you're going to hear from him shortly. he gives me credit for this quote. it is not mine, it is kevin white's. he said, "do not compare me to the almighty. compare me to the alternative." i think, like every election, the comparison is to the alternative.

and these are not, in my view, and i mean this sincerely. these are not bad guys, but they really believe as strongly as we do the direction they want to take the country. i was talking to mike donovan, who i think is one of the smartest guys in politics. the big difference between us and them, i think, can be distilled to a phrase. the difference between us and them is we are strongly supportive of the private sector. they are strongly supportive of the privileged sector. i think that we will be able to show, and americans are beginning to figure out, that we are committed to bringing back the private sector because we know that is the engine. we do not create jobs. we create opportunities for people to create jobs.

they create jobs, the private sector, and we're committed to bring it back. and i think they are determined to preserve the privilege sector. because again, i think they really believe that what i would refer to as the privileged sector, wall street unabridged, the super wealthy who are not prepared to contribute, and i could go on with a whole range of other identifications, the you know, america is going to get an absolutely clear comparison this year. i have been doing this, as has been pointed out by others, and i guess i look it too, a long time. i have been in as many

elections as almost all of you except a few. i can honestly say, to my memory, this is the first election were the opposition is not trying to hide the ball. i mean it sincerely. think about it. i'm being deadly earnest. usually, every race i have run since getting elected as a kid in 1970 to a local office and the senate in 1972, every election -- and it was admittedly a different republican party than as well -- i remember riding up to the university of rochester in a small plane, and we were talking about the history of the social policies of this country related to social security etc. i remember them saying that the republican party since dewey has been me to, just not as much.

me too, just not as far. me too, does not as bold. and then they gave up on the me too, because they did not really mean me too anymore. then they were going to extend medicare, preserve social security, compassionate conservatives. well, they're dead thing about -- the good thing about this election is they are being unvarnished now. they are making no bones about it. they are not trying to hide the ball. they're not trying to pretend, not only in their rhetoric, but in their actions, how they vote, what they propose, what their budget is. it is a start, stark, a star, a stark contrast -- stark, stark,

stark, stark contrast. it is fundamentally different. i know there are some even among the republican leadership who still are the party of the 1970's -- or of the 1990's -- but they cannot control their party. the was asked at a function -- and i'm going to get criticized for saying this -- i was asked by a group of people what we can do to help and i said, give me a republican party. i'm not being facetious. nancy can tell you. a lot of people do not like cantor. i personally happen to like him. he has always been straight with me. when cantor walked out of those talks, he did not walk out. he said joe, i cannot get it

done, i cannot come back. whatever his motive, whatever is policy is, is fundamentally different from ours. the truth of the matter is, who do you make the deal with? who can you reach out and shake hands with and say we have a bargain? that is the way this country has always functioned. right now -- and the public saw our lead in the debate over the extension of the payroll tax. when the wall street journal had to come in and say to the republicans, basically, what you doing? so, the fact of the matter is, there are a number of things that are clear as well. the way i divide this up, i think of what is clear, what is new, and what is at stake. to me, what is clear, and it is

clear to the american people now, we inherited an awful lot. you know, the metaphor that was used, osama bin ladin is used and general motors is alive to sum up where we are. the metaphor is a lie. -- a metaphor for a lot. we inherited a world where we had 150,000 combat troops fighting in iraq, no political solution in sight and no way out. no clear path. what is clear is that we kept our commitment to the american people, and one of the greatest honors i had -- nancy and i -- and i called the president from baghdad. i got to stand there in one of those body palaces of saddam hussein with the president and prime minister of iraq, with the chief of staff of the iraqi army and the chief of staff -- chief of our armed forces, american, and i got to say, mr.

president, america is leaving. having kept our commitment, we're going home completely, and in the tradition of all american soldiers, we're leaving with nothing but our honor and our dignity. [applause] that was the most important cigna the moment in my career. -- significant moment in my career. what was clear was we were engaged in a war of afghanistan without having any idea what our objectives were. really? what was it? we stated our objective, and that was to decimate al qaeda, the single threat to the u.s.,

and that existed in the region. well, for the president's actions -- and we have all been in committees. we have all been in groups. we all -- when something goes well, we all deserve a little bit of the credit, but it is usually somebody. i tell you, this guy has a backbone like a ramrod. for four weeks, only four of us knew the possibility of where bin laden was. about a month later, the call came, and as you know, colonel, you end of making decisions based on the moon. will there be enough light? the president went around the table and said, i have to make a decision. what is your opinion? he started with the national

security adviser, the secretary of state, and ended with me. every single person in that room hedged their bets except for leon panetta. leon panetta said go. everyone else said 49 of this, 51 of that. he got to me and he said, joe, what do you think? i said, i did not know we had so many communists around the table. -- i did not know we had some many economists around the table. give the man a direct answer. i said, you should not go. we have to do two more things. to see if he is there. he said, i will give you my decision. the next day, he said go. he knew what was at stake. not just the lives of those great warriors, but literally,

the presidency. and he pulled the trigger. that is clear to the american people. that says less about bin laden than it does about character, about this guy leading from behind. this guy does not lead from behind. he just leaves. -- he just leads. that is clear. we inherited the world where we were not feared by our foes and not respected by our friends, literally. we're now the most respected nation in the world again -- [applause] leading not just by the example of our power, but by the power of our example.

the american people know it. it is clear that we inherited an economy that was in free fall. as the president pointed out and you know because you have lived it every single day for the last three years, we lost 8 million jobs before our first pass at the recovery act. we've now added jobs for 23 straight months. i have a chart. you do this in focus groups and they say, that is good. and then you hold up the chart showing all the jobs going down, and then what happened from the time we pass the recovery act and what happened on the stock market, and they go. they understand it now because they're beginning to feel it. aboute not talking reorganizing the auto industry.

we were talking about liquidating two pieces of it. it is clear now that with your help, and i know there was weeping and gnashing of teeth even among some of our democratic friends. we insisted on a reorganization. and instead of losing four hundred thousand jobs, we have now gained 176,000 jobs that pay people real wages. [applause] i could go on but i will not. the bottom line is, you have been educated. when i was here last, you had two messages for me to take back to the president. steny's message, make it in america, and nancy and everybody else's message to get tough with these guys.

enough is enough. let's lay down our cards and stay pat. well, the message was heard, folks. the message was heard. and i think we have delivered on our message since then with your help. the most interesting conference i have attended since i was vice-president was two weeks ago in the white house. it was a conference on a word that america had not heard very much, in sourcing. -- insourcing. there were ceo's or presidents from dupont, ford, master lock, rolls royce, chesapeake bay, candles, and you know what they wanted to talk about? they wanted to talk about why they're coming back home. is not because of the democrats. it is not because of barack obama and joe biden.

it is because of america's incredible underpinning of productivity of our workers. i'm going to send a copy of. some of you may have seen it. there is a study done by a boston group that these guys hired pointing out why people are coming back, why it is economically sound to bring manufacturing back to america. it ranges from everything from escalating wages and costs in china, vietnam and the rest. it literally makes more sense to come back. it is because nobody steals your ip here in this country. it is because your trademarks do not get stolen. it is because it makes no sense. they have figured it out, not to separate the factory floor

from innovation and research and development department, making them 10,000 miles away. the list goes on and on, but it is coming back. it really is. it is not a joke. it is not a joke. it is coming back. and we are in a position now, with your help and your leadership, stuff you have already done, to record -- reward companies that come back and not reward them for leaving. is there another country you can think of the rewards companies for coming to the united states? i am being deadly earnest. is there any other country you know? we pay your moving expenses to leave. we do not pay your moving expenses to come back. we let you deduct the corporate bond interest to build a new plant against your income back here because you do not have to bring your in come home from abroad. but the company that does it

here has to deducted against their profit here, which is less consequential. why do we do those things? there are a whole lot of things we can do. we are in a position of what is new is, we have gotten the message. your leadership in the house particularly, on being made in america -- you can make it in america without violating any, any international standards. [applause] you can make it in america now because it is economically more feasible to make it in america. and i will summarize this whole conference. if you're going to build a factory, the cost of building the factory has to be advertised and you have to look at it over 30 years. within five years, even the wage advantage is that exist in going to china will be less than 5%. by the way, the other thing we have to do -- and you guys have

been doing it all along -- we have to convince the american people out there of the truth, the facts. everybody thinks the chinese people the party even our lunch. i want the chinese to grow force -- have already eaten our lunch. i want the chinese people to grow, but the truth is, we are the most reliable nation in the world. they make of 19.6% of manufacturing value added worldwide. do you know what we make up in the middle of a recession? 19.4%, now, without any change. so this idea that we have to yield to the inevitable i find offensive and historically inaccurate. where is it written that we will not be the manufacturing capital of the world and the 21st century? where does this say that? i'm serious. how many lectures do you hear

from economists, even liberal economists, saying we have to be a service economy. we're never going to do that again. guess what? with all those jobs having gone abroad the last 30 years, outsourcing, now the they are coming back, now that it is making sense to be here, guess what? we are lacking skilled workers. we do not have enough tool and die makers. so what are we going to do? we're going to make a deal. a direct correlation between the help we give community colleges and partnering with major corporations. i will not start to name your districts, but seven of you are already doing and in their districts. creating jobs, providing the talent for the new investments that are occurring here in the united states of america because we have the most productive workers. we decided not to take mitt romney's advice and figure out

that you can help people who are in trouble with their housing, and there is a way to do that. ok, i know that people do not want to help a guy who took a mortgage out on his home and bought a boat and now he is under water, but guess what, there are 14 million americans out there -- they never missed a mortgage payment. and the mortgage rates are between 3.5% and the maximum 4%. they can save an average $3,000 year. in the neighborhood i grew, and that means whether or not you can keep your kid in a community college. it makes a big difference for people.

and guess what, we can do that without costing taxpayers money. when the president said in his speech that now the banks will have an opportunity to make a contribution to the trust deficit, what he was talking about is simple. if you take banks that have a minimum of $50 -- $50 billion in assets and charge them pennies on $100, you can come up with the funds that are $9 million -- $9 billion sitting over here that the experts tell us, if you took a chance on all 14 million homes being refinanced, the maximum prospekt, the possibility of foreclosure and exposure to the small banks, would be $9 billion. so we have a fund over there. so now we have to go to a bank

in wilmington, delaware court in wilmington, calif. and the bank says you can take a chance. even though you have not missed a payment, you're not underwater. yes, i am under water. help me out. well guess what. now they can do it. without a single penny to the taxpayer. what is new is a lot the we're proposing -- it is also common sense. not only have the american people figure out what we did, which is complicated. it is bearing fruit, which gives them more willingness to accept that what we are proposing may work, the things we're proposing are not ideological -- are non-is illogical. what is in a logical about the american people having bill that institutions with $50 billion more. they're not bad guys. i am not making demons. but what is the big deal for them to come along now for

pennies on $100 in assets and make sure that the very people that bail them out get above the water, have a chance? this is common sense to people. and so, as i said, these guys are helping us. they are hoping is by saying what they believe. last point i want to make is this. what is at stake here is literally about restoring the market. this is not a political slogan for us. what these guys do not get, in my opinion, i do not think they get it. it may be cheaper and make more sense long term for people to

rent rather than own. we're also told, you know what, maybe kids to qualify for college, it is not important for them to go to college because it costs a lot of money. the present will have a lot to say about our college initiative when he gets here. -- the president will have a lot to say about our college initiative when he gets here. but what they do not get is that it is about this connective tissue that holds this country together. but father used to have an expression. he said that a job is a lot more than about a paycheck. it is about your dignity. it is about to respect. it is about the place in your community.

and a home is a lot more than about whether it is cheaper or rational to own all or rent. when you own a home, it matters to you whether there is a little league team. when you own a home, it matters to you whether you show up to the fire department to volunteer. you want to make sure that the street looks really good. they psychologically aren't and suggesteinvested. i would argue two central elements of the middle-class dream. it is simple to me, the way i grew up and all the people around me, what are the two trains? you get to own a home and you get to send your kid to college. you take both of those pieces out and you put it on a purely flat economic scale and say that this is just more efficient to

do it otherwise. you take part of what we are about as a country. you take the piece of community and the sense that my kid can do something better than me. my dad was a decent man and he read an automobile agency and he never got it all of my palms, i got a new car. i would pull up in the lot and my dad would have the nicest car that had been simonized.

it would be a car on the used car lot. i remember my baseball game. some of you know this area. claremont delaware is read up on the border we had a baseball game where i went to school and i was still in my uniform and i took off my spikes and put on my speakers and i blew down to trade cars to take my girlfriend to her prom. they think it is only about college, the kid, whether he gets to college, it is more than about the kit. my dad was a graceful am proud man, he was pacing back and forth any had a look at his face. he said, i'm so sorry.

i thought, something happened to my mom or something for real. he said, i went to the farmers bank today and i asked if i could borrow some money to send you to school. they won't let me borrow the money, i'm so ashamed to. i'm so ashamed. how many mothers and fathers today, what is the most damaging thing that can happen, to look at the beautiful talented kid and know there's not a damn thing that they can do to help them. this is about more than the money this is about who we are.

this about whether or not we really mean what we say when we say we've value family, we value community, we value neighborhood, we value. the core of it is the middle class and those people are aspiring to get into it. you guys, that is what is at stake. and the president means it. that is not a political one in his bid of the union. i know this guy. i spent four hours to six hours a day with him when we are both in the country in washington. guys, these guns are not bad. they do not get that part of its. they do not get that part of it. the other thing i think, a simple judgment of whether or not we have met the test, at least barack and i and we talk about it, whether we have met the test of bringing this economy back. it is for me to test -- and i use all the time and he does not disagree -- it is us changing the economic environment so that ordinary people can turn and look at their kid and say, honey, it will be ok, whatever it is.

it will be ok. a lot of you guys came up -- i was a typically middle-class kid. when things got bad with my family, my dad looked at me and said, honey, it is going to be ok. he believed it would be. go back to your old neighborhoods. clearly, go back to your old neighborhood. go to your old friends. ask them if they are confident they can go to their kids and say, honey, it is going to be ok. that is the test. that is what this is about. it is not about 49,860 -- it is about, honey, it is going to be ok.

i am convinced it will be ok. the reason why is that i think the american people are tired of being tired. another is a bidenism. but i do not know any other way to express it. i think they are tired of being tired. i think they're like my dad would say -- just get up. that is all in need and we will give it to them. and we have given them more. the glimmer of the possibility. just get up. some of them will not hold them up. the summit will also not push them back down. [applause] -- somebody will not push them back down. [applause] look, we know what they will say, the opposition. they will say -- i met mitch daniels, who i do not know, but he seems like a good guy.

he talked about trickle-down government. i started thinking about that and how they talk about us and how we are big government and trickle-down government and they are free enterprise. and i started thinking. remember, nancy, when -- i do not know if it was you or a certain came up with the idea -- in a, -- you know what, we will pay banks to process loans to send kids to college. we thought that was free enterprise. it is the taxpayers' money, but that is free enterprise. that was the market. then we came along and said, well, why not use the tax measures -- the taxpayers' money even more directly. and george miller, george, if you're here, you did a hell of a deal. let's go ahead and give it directly. what is that?

that is trickle-down government, man. no, no, no, i am serious. try to be logical about their arguments. i recollection is that we did not get one republican vote. we may have, maybe one or two. i do not think we get a single republican vote because they are for free enterprise. they will spend 60 billion those of your money to help someone as long as it goes through a bank. banks are not bad. but if you can take and immediately spent $4 billion and send it to kids to go to school, that is free enterprise. the one you just did is the payroll tax. the first thing, when i raised that -- and i know that some of you were mad at me when i negotiated that peace two years ago, i remember that -- we all felt that we needed the payroll tax extended.

what is the first thing the opposition said? they said we're going to do it anyway. we have to pay for it. ok, we will pay for it. the way you pay for it is to take away the same things that those middle-class people need and that is how you will pay for. i will not mention the republican congressman i was talking to in the stocks. i said, let me get this straight. you want to extend the bush tax cuts that cost $800 billion. how will you pay for it? what you mean? no, no, tell me, charlie, how will you pay for it? we do not have to pay for that. these are job creators. what is one man's meat is another man's poison. the only thing we have to make clear to the american people is what is the meat and what is the poison. and you know what? they are helping us a great deal. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, i am

absolutely convinced that we will do fine this year. as i said last time, i have been meeting and i will meet a little bit with steve and i am going to do whatever you want me to do. i have been given five states as a focus. pennsylvania, ohio, michigan, iowa, new hampshire, and florida is where i will be spending most of my time. coincidentally, that is where a lot of your targeted seats are. as jimmy slen said to me in 1978 when i was running for reelection, he said -- he never called me senator or joe. he always called me young man. he said, young man, what would jim eastland do for you in delaware?

that was a tough election. i said, well, mr. chairman, in some places, you help and in some places you hurt. and he looked at me and said, well, i will come to delaware and campaign for you again or not, which ever will help the most. i will campaign to be against you if it helps you, our campaign to be for you if it helps you. [laughter] thank you very much. [applause] >> president obama also spoke at the retreat. he touched on some of the themes from his state of the union address, talking about the state of the economy, a democratic legislative accomplishments and

the need for wealthier americans to pay more in taxes. he is introduced by house democratic chairmen john larsen. >> mr. president, this has been an emotional and inspiring week, which was underscored by your embrace of our colleague gabrielle difference. [applause] it was carried on every newspaper. it epitomizes what is rich about public service. it means so much to all this year. we thank you for that, mr. president. you then gave an address that reignited and energized this caucus.

[applause] but more importantly, the american people. [applause] inspired, we came here to work! [applause] we came here to work on reigniting the american dream because we know that, if we reignite the american dream, if we build these ladders of opportunity -- is that not right, madam speaker? and in building those letters, we make sure that we're laser focus to on small business -- laser focused on small business. and we make sure that innovation is in the forefront and that the entrepreneurs, architects, and engineers to make a robust middle-class will make it so that we can make it here in america. [applause]

we know, when you make it in america, every american makes it. mr. president, we implore our colleagues on the other side of the aisle. you have made every attempt humanly possible to get them to bring your legislation that will put this country back to work on the floor. we stand committed. we stand with you to make that happen in this session of the congress. ladies and gentlemen, our leader, our champion, the can lander in chief -- the commander in chief of our forces, the 44th president of the united states, barack obama. [cheers and applause]

>> thank you! thank you, everybody. thank you so much. thank you. thank you, everybody. ok, everybody have a seat. let me begin by saying that i was told that, on a cd that i have just received -- [laughter] that all of you participate in a rendition of al green. what i did not realize was that you also had a reverend who can preach as good as l. green indrawn larsen -- as good as our grain in john larsen. i kept looking -- as good as al green in john larsen. i kept looking for the

collection plate. the leader of this body and the soon-to-be speaker of the house again, nancy pelosi. [applause] to the rest of the leadership team, steny hoyer, jim cliburn. we have an all-star team assembled and ready to get to work.

i know that you have been here quite a bit. you already had to suffer through a relatively long speech from me this week. so i will not be too long. what are wanted to do first of all was say thank you. so many of you have served this country, your districts for years. through good times and through bad times. let's face it. public-service does not always get the credit that it deserves. but knowing each and everyone of you personally, understanding the sacrifices that you and your family members, some are here today, make each and every day, understanding how much your

heart bleeds when you see constituents who are going through a tough time and how much you want to make sure that government serves as a force for good in their lives, i just want to say thank you for everything that you do. you are putting it all on the line. you believe in an america in which everybody gets a fair shot and everybody does their fair share and everybody plays by the same set of rules. that is what you have been about. that is with his caucus is about. and that is the vision that we are fighting for. this year and in the years to come. as i said at the state of the union, the critical debate in this country right now, the defining question that faces us all is whether we will all restore the sense of an

american promise where, if you work hard, if you are carrying out your responsibilities, if your taking care of your family, if you are participating in your community, you have a chance to get a job that allows you to support your family. you will now be bankrupt when you get sick. you'll send your children to college. you can retire with dignity. with respect. you can expect that the next generation, your children and grandchildren, will do better than you did. that american promise, that central driving force is what has created the greatest country with the largest economy and the broadest middle-class on

earth. that promise has been eroding for too many people and all of you know it. this is not a new trend. this is something that has been going on for years. wages and incomes stagnant at the same time that costs keep going up and up and up. outsourcing and jobs moving elsewhere. young people wondering, even if they invest in a college degree, will be able to find a job that supports an ever-increasing load of debt. and all of that was before the economic crisis hit in 2008- 2009 that put millions of people out 0 work. now here's the good news. the good news is that we are moving in the right direction thanks to your efforts, thanks to some tough votes that you took, thanks to nancy pelosi and the leadership the she has shown. we did not slip into a great depression.

the auto industry was saved. credit started flowing to small businesses again. over the last 22 months, we have seen 3 million jobs created, the most jobs last year since 2005, more jobs in manufacturing than we have seen since the 1990's. [applause] a lot of that has to do with tough decisions. there are very few states that have been harder hit with these longer-term trends than michigan. but you can puissance of new porpoise and renewed hope in that state.

-- of new purpose and renewed hope in that state. had the not happen, a million jobs would have been lost. had we not acted, the big three auto makers, the suppliers, the entire ecosystem of the economy in that state would have been decimated. and now they're thinking gm is no. 1 again. and chrysler is on the move again. and ford is investing in plants and equipment again. and you get a sense of movement, of restoration of hope and possibility. the people understand that the job is not done, not even close to being done yet. and they understand, if we will finish the job, then we have to first of all make sure that american manufacturing is strong. that means that we are out there creating a tax code that does not provide tax breaks for companies that shipping jobs overseas.

we're focusing on companies that are investing right here in the united states because we believe that come when you make it in america, everybody benefits. everybody does well. [applause] witness stand that we need american energy. part of my goal on -- we understand that we need american energy. part of my goal on tuesday was to say that we understand we

have not been on top of energy. the percentage of imports have been lower. we have been developing opening up millions of acres to development. but what we have also said is that oil is not enough. we have to think about the future, not just look backwards at the past. where to invest in solar and wind and biofuel. we have already doubled our proficiencies on cars and trucks. we have to make sure that we build on these incentives, which is good for our economy and create jobs and, by the way, is also good for our environment. that is important to the american people as well. [applause] i know the other side does not always believe in this agenda. they think that the only subsidies worth providing is for the oil companies. we have been providing subsidies for close to century. they have never been more profitable. let's take some of the money, take some of those tax breaks and make sure we are investing in a clean energy future that is just as promising.

skills for american workers, making sure that every young person in this country has the skills to succeed. i told the story at the state of the union, but i want to make sure that everybody here is this. we will have to work hard on this. companies are starting to say it makes economic sense to move back to the united states. [applause] wages in places like china are going up faster than productivity. american workers have never been more productive. energy costs increasingly are competitive here in the united states because of the developments taking place around natural gas. transportation costs are higher than other places. when you look at the whole package, a lot of companies are saying we want to be here, close to our market. but one of the biggest impediments is that we have to be able to find the skilled workers that will be managing these million-dollar pieces of

equipment. they do not all have to go to four-year colleges although we do need more engineers and scientists. we need to make sure that college is affordable and successful. we also need skilled workers going to community colleges or middle-aged workers who are allowed to retrain and have a commitment to work and have that work ethic but want to make sure the technology is not passing them by. so focusing on our community college and making sure that they are matched up with businesses that are hiring right now and making sure that they helped design the programs i will put them -- put -- the programs that will put people to work. we have an average of $24,000

worth of debt for every young person that is graduating right now. they are starting off in a hole that most of us did not have to start off with. it is brittle. there are ways we can solve it. -- it is brutal. there are ways we can solve it. there things we have to do right now, like make sure the interest rates do not double on student loans this year in july. [applause] we will require congress to act. we will also put pressure on states to make sure they are prioritizing higher education. we will make sure that colleges

and universities are held accountable and that they do what they need to do to hold down costs. but most of all, we have to restore our commitment to the american values of hard work and responsibility and shared responsibility. over the last three days, i have travelled around the country amplifying what we said on tuesday. one of the points i make and everybody understands this -- you know, if we are going to make the investments we need, if we're going to invest in science and research that leads to inventions like the internet that create entire industries, entire platforms for long-term economic growth, if we are going to invest in the skills of our workers, if we make sure that we have the best ever structure and the world and pay for this incredible military that just say this young woman -- [applause] out of somalia, if we're going to take care of veterans once they're finished serving so that we serve them as well as they serve us, all those things cost money. we have to pay for it. and if we're serious about paying for it, then, yes, we have to cut out programs to do not work.

this caucus has been ahead and willing to make some of the toughest cuts we have ever made. $2 trillion, over $2 trillion in deficit-reduction. but we have also said, at a certain point, you know what? everybody has to participate in this. and when we have more than a trillion dollars worth of tax breaks that were supposed to be temporary for the top 2% slated to continue, a tax coot full of loopholes for folks who do not need them -- a tax code full of loopholes for folks who do not need them and did not ask for them, we have to ask what is more important to us? is it more important for me to get a tax break or is it more important for that senior citizen to have that medicare or social security benefit? is it more important for that young person to get a college education? is it more important for me to get a tax break or is it more

important that we care for our veterans? this is one of the biggest things i will be pushing back against this year, this notion that somehow this is class warfare, that we are trying to stir up any the. -- envy. nobody in these rich people. everybody wants to be rich -- nobody envies rich people. every once to be rich. everybody aspires to be rich. everyone understands that you have to work hard you're going to be financially successful. that is the american way. but are we providing opportunity for everybody? that require some investment. the question is how do we pay for that? when you give me a tax break but i do not need and the country cannot afford, two things happen. either the deficit increases or, alternatively, somebody else has to pay the tax, that senior or that student or that family who is struggling to make ends meet. so we will push hard for the

buffet rule. we will push hard to make sure that millions, making over $1 million a year to enact a tax breaks or subsidies that they do not need. not out of envy, but out of a sense of commitment to this country's future. that is what we're fighting for. and the american people understand that. the same way that they understand we will have to keep in place smart regulations that ensure that a health care company cannot drop you off right when you get sick or charge women differently than men. these are the folks who want to roll back financial regulatory reform after all that we have been through? you want to water down and weaken the rules that make sure that big banks and financial institutions have to play by the same rules as everybody else?

that makes no sense. the american people understand that. you understand that. that is what you have been fighting for. obviously, we are in an election season. when the other side decides to it is that will be their standard bearer, then we will have a robust debate about whose vision is more promising when it comes to moving this country forward. it will be a tough election because a lot of people are still hurting out there. and a lot of people have lost faith generally about the capacity of washington to get anything done. the main thing i want to urge all of you is that, even as we are out there making our case, even as we pushed hard to persuade, not just the american

people, but hopefully some people on the other side about the brightness of our future if we work together. i think it is important during the course of this year not to forget that there is still work we can do right now. we can extend the payroll tax cuts right now without drama and without delay. we can work together right now to help start-ups and entrepreneurs get easier financing and use are in the more effectively. -- and use our&d -- and use r&d more effectively. wherever we have an opportunity, where ever there is the possibility that the other side is putting some politics

aside for just a nanosecond in order to get something done for the american people, we have to be right there ready to meet them. we have to be right there ready to meet them. on the other hand, where they obstruct, where they are unwilling to act, where they are more interested in party than their own country, more interested in the next election than the next generation, then we need to call them out on it. we have to call them out on it. we have to push it. we cannot wait. we cannot be held back. at the state of the union, obviously, i talked about our military. i had a chance to see some

folks out at buckley and in colorado as well. there you go. you know, obviously, the work that our military has done in this last decade has filled us with awe. as you saw in the state of the union, everybody stands up when you mention the military. appropriately so. that is something the should not be partisan. but the argument i tried to make that day and we hope that we all keep in mind, there is a reason that we admire them. it is not just because they do their job so well. it is not just because of their incredible capacity and training and skill. it is also because of an ethic that says that we're all in this together. i can only succeed if the guy next to me and the gal next to

me are successful as well. i can only succeed if somebody has my back. we do not succeed on our own. we all have to pull our weight. we all have to do our work. america is not about handouts or bailouts or cop out. we all have to focus on what our responsibilities are. we have to do our jobs. but we also understand that we are always more successful when we do it together. black, white, hispanic, asian, latino, native american, they, st., it does not matter. what matters -- gay, straight, it does not matter. what matters is that we have a common resolve. that will help ensure that this economy recovers. that is what will help insure that this country's future is

bright. that is at the core, i believe, not only of what it means to be a democrat, but i also think it is at the core of what it means to be an american. i believe in you guys. you guys have had my back to some very tough times. i will have your back as well. and together, we will move this country forward. god bless you. and god bless the united states of america. and thank you, democratic caucus for all of the great work that you do! let's go out there and change the country! thank you! [applause] ♪ ["stars and stripes forever" playing]

>> members, please understand that we have buses waiting out there. if everybody could be quick, and the president, understanding his time, and boarding some of these buses for some of you have planes. that would be most greatly appreciated. ♪

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♪ >> remember, members, buses will be boarding right away and. -- right away.

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>> members are doing an extraordinary job. ♪

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♪ >> next we continue in florida

with presidential candidate newt gingrich and mitt romney speaking at the hispanic leadership conference. and rick santorum speaking at the latin builders association. >> tomorrow, susan macmanus, a political science professor previews tuesday's gop presidential primary and looks at issues florida voters care about. and the retired colonel cedric leighton discusses pentagon reductions announced thursday by leon panetta and how they might impact policy, weapons, and counterterrorism. "washington journal" every morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. republican presidential candidate newt gingrich and mitt romney spoke at a hispanic leadership network, an advocacy

action group focused on engaging the hispanic community on conservative political issues. the four republican primary is next tuesday. we begin with former speaker gingrich. this is 20 minutes. >> thank you. thank you very, very much. we had a slightly more modest group downstairs who endorsed me. i thought i would call up to see if the rest of you decide you like to join us in launching a nationwide effort. people came in from california, louisiana, and texas. i'm thrilled. we helped develop the americano here in my sent -- here in miami about nine years ago and we have had a consistent effort to develop a nationwide approach to weight center right latino communications capability to talk about issues that matter to

all of us. this is something that has no boundaries. every ethnic group that comes to america has the right to pursue the american dream. it is very important -- i was thrilled when lionel and kathy came today. they get. they understand we want to be one people pursuing a better background. everybody in the latino community has aspirations that are precisely the heart of the american dream. they want to work and have independence. we're honored to be here and to be with you. i want to thank everybody who was put this together. it does matter a great deal. these are all first-rate people who've done the first rate job. i can promise you that with the help of many of you i become the nominee, we will work closely in every single state

and we recognize that working with the latino community is every single state because there are people everywhere who of the background who came from someplace either in spain or latin america. let me talk about some practical things. i would move mexico from the northern command to the southern command here in miami to create a capacity to deal with all of latin america. it makes no sense to divide mexico. [applause] i was treating the southern -- i was substantially strengthen the southern command and its personnel. we invest more in bahrain or japan -- think about the scale

of the media say. -- of the immediacy. we are neglecting this hemisphere. almost 50 years later, we continue to neglect this hemisphere and it is dangers and foolish and we should have different policies. our commitment to every person in latin america -- we want you to have the opportunity to live under the rule of law and we want america to be your closest friend in your closest ally in giving you a chance for your family to pursue a better future. and that message and a human level will be received by people across all latin america and could help us break out. i was deeply influenced in the 1980's and how you break through. i would like us to have that

kind of program that gives hope to everybody. hugo chavez says he is our enemy. i am prepared to accept that. [laughter] [applause] there have been a few occasions in an administration filled with embarrassments that when president obama met with hugo chavez and he smiled and handed him an anti american book as an active delivered contempt. we do understand that what we get together and they say they want to harm the united states, they mean it. we should take an aggressive strategy of replacing hugo chavez and giving the people of venice well the opportunity to live in freedom -- the people of venezuela.

[applause] i come to you as someone who helped pass the helms-burton act. i was -- i will not waive article 3 as president, which every president has waived. i think the important for us to implement that -- i think it is important for us to implement that. but we need to do more than that. it is amazing that president obama can look east and worry about freedom in tunisia, libya, egypt, were a little bit about freedom and syria and more about iran and all because that would be embarrassing.

he cannot bring themselves to look south. i would like a cuban south to help the people of cuba liberate themselves. [applause] if you look at the non-military strategies of president reagan and pope john paul to defeat the soviet empire, and we were serious about communicating to the next generation and the cuban hierarchy, there will not be a transition to a dictatorship but a transition to freedom. you get to decide which side you want to join. we will notice who does what and we will do accountable for every act of repression. i think he would find the morale collapsing.

we have the scene where one reagan talks about the evil empire. then we have a prisoner who says -- to answer rating, they have to use the word "evil." the morale of very guard inside. dropped and the morale of every prisoner when to up because a western leader had the courage to tell the truth about the soviet empire. the willingness to intimidate those who would be oppressors by saying to them, you'll be held accountable and those of you engaged in violence against the people of cuba will suffer the consequences of your behavior. in an age when people can take film -- one of my goals is to flood the

island with enough cell phones and video cameras in any act of repression gets filmed by 30 people. this person will be on the list after the revolution. watch the morale of the police force drop. the other part of land america -- of latin america -- we have to help the government of mexico win the war against the drug cartels. this is extraordinarily important. i helped pass the plan columbia as speaker. this was compounded by the drug cartels which was compounded by

the the power in rural colombia. we need to be prepared in a different situation with different complexities to help the government of mexico in every way we can defeat the drug cartels because it is a threat for everybody in the hemisphere to have a failed state in mexico and to have the drug dealers surviving. [applause] there is a broader pattern. the broader pattern is the question of how do we maximize our trade and how we maximize our ability to compete? i am bothered when i see the chinese gaining ground in latin america because their government cares, their government is engaged and wants

to maximize the opportunity to import and export from latin america. what changes in regulations and in tax laws -- what we need to do -- i will do everything i can to maximize our opportunities in latin america and to maximize the opportunity for miami to become the center of commerce, the center of education, the center of opportunity so that all of -- will overhaul the legal visa system. when we make it harder to get here, we should not be surprised when we have too few visitors. we have an obligation to reshape the entire visa program.

i say that on behalf of the cruise lines and on behalf of disney world and on behalf of universal. we're losing thousands of jobs because we have a visa program that is so complicated. one item that was not covered last night. i have had a firm position on the right of the puerto rican people to have a referendum. the people have to make that decision. i think they have every right to have the referendum to decide on stated or not. that is something i would support, their right to of the referendum.

and then to negotiate the right of a session -- if that is what they want to do. i do believe the people of puerto rico -- this was my position when i was a speaker. >> i have a question. the united states armed forces -- we have 4 million puerto ricans in the united states who are voters. the question is simple. you want our vote -- yes or no? i do not want you to make the decision.

we will be going to referendum. the believe that to be a state or not -- do you believe that to be a state? >> i believe the people of puerto rico should make the decision. the people should make the decision if they want to be a state. i will work with them. but the people have to decide their future. i would welcome them if they make the decision. i will not tell them what decision they should make. period. now, let me talk about one other controversial issue. this cannot last night -- this came up last night. i don't believe you can pass a comprehensive immigration bill.

any bill you write has too many enemies. you have to control the border. we propose to control the border writing a bill. there are 23,000 people in homeland security in the washington area and i would be willing to move up to half of them to texas and arizona and new mexico if that is what we have to do to have enough manpower. things could easier you have a different conversation when people take you seriously. i'm for english as the central language. english is the old language of maximum opportunity. every parent knows this.

this should not be controversial. i met with the president of miami-dade. they have 94 languages in their college alone. we want everybody to be able to talk with each other. that should not be controversial. we're inviting people to come to america to be americans. i think that people applying for citizenship should have a higher standard of knowledge of american history than we currently require. i think our own children should of a higher standard of american history that we currently require. [applause] this is a remarkably unique civilization which integrates people from every part of the planet with a skill that no other country has.

there's something unique and it is worth learning. i want to modernize the visa system. i like to modernize the deportation system. if you're not an american system, which should be able to review -- we should be able to get rid of you in two weeks. there are some people that we did not want here and the neighborhoods to not want them here. i think we have a guest worker program and it has to be economically driven. i would outsource it to american express, visa, or mastercard.

if you had any effective guest worker program and an effective card system, there is no excuse for any employer to hire somebody illegally and i would be far higher economic sanctions on employers who do that. would not come to the question of 11 million who are here. i had a deep disagreement with governor romney. i opted to worth exploring -- i think it is worth exploring. a number of migrants would go back home and apply for cards. i try to deal with an honest way with the complexity of what is going on.

you have people who've been here for 25 years. they have children, grandchildren, and a local church. some of you may remember this

from the debate in washington. i got attacked as though i had sold out on americans. they started yelling amnesty. for folks who have been there for a long time and are financially responsible, if they can have an american family sponsor them -- let local citizen panels. can prove that they have a family sponsor them and they should get a right of residence -- not citizenship. to get citizenship, they should go back home and a file like everybody else. there would take a trip and file. in some countries, it is a matter of years. it is not enough when you get to people with strong family ties to say deportation and letting go. they are not going to self- deport. in other passion the most

families have -- you know the passion that most families have. the idea that a grandmother will self-deport. this is a fantasy. this is not a solution. citizens should decide that you should have residency. come in under the law. it is a practical step. i hope you would support the idea that no one is in america illegally. those here without citizenship are here with the proper papers. this is an improper way to reunify the country -- this is an appropriate way. two last things. one, i don't think a lot about specific ethnic by ethnic, how we go round to capture people. i think about how we can create millions and millions of jobs so people will be better off and so everybody will be working. america works when americans are working. it is true or in some communities than others. there's a new study on the cost in the hispanic community of the president's decision to veto

the pipeline. it is a significant cost in higher prices of energy and in working in houston and working in the ports of houston and galveston. this is a bad decision to president has made. it has an impact specifically on hispanic people. we want every american to have a chance to get a first job, a better job, and someday to on the job by owning the business. i think the hispanic chamber of commerce told us there were 3 million hispanic-owned small businesses in the united states. this will do very well if we haven't of entrepreneurial tax code an entrepreneurial precatory system and a president who likes people who create jobs. i think we can start moving very

fast. [applause] the last thing i want to say affects every hispanic american and every american. gasoline last year was the highest price in american history, twice the price when obama entered office. our dependence on foreign oil is an enormous threat to our national security. when you watch the iranians practice to close the straits of hormuz, they're saying -- it is in our interest to have an american energy program which

would create american jobs, and dramatically improve our balance of trade, give us the national security reserves of knowing we can do it. i have a simple goal to have no american president ever again bow to a saudi king because we do not need the oil. [applause] i will close with a brief commercial. i'm running for president. i would like to extend -- to every person of every background. we have a primary here on tuesday. i would love to have your support. go on youtube, facebook, tweet -- even talk to people face to face. i will try to lead all americans into a dramatically better future.

thank you very much. [applause] >> mitt romney also spoke at the conference. the florida republican primary is next tuesday. this is 30 minutes. >> thank you. thank you so much. i appreciate your welcome. i brought some of my family with me today. as you probably know, i care about my family. i have one son here today this is my youngest son, my baby.

i don't think he likes being called the baby. i thought i would have him say hi to you. he lived for a couple of years in chile so i asked him if he would speak to you in spanish tommy how well he does [laughter] how could -- how good is the accent? around on, he is barred by for the best. he is by far the best. >> papa -- spanish]g

[speaking spanish] [laughter] [applause] >> i got that one. >> come here and say something in spanish, too. >> ola! [laughter] [applause] >> i have another friend want to say hello, my sweet are of 42 years, ann romney. >> it is good to see friends in the audience. i understood craig's last comment -- an excellent president reported [laughter] it is wonderful to have our son and grandson. when we ran four years ago, parker was a big hit on the campaign trail and he was only 1 years old. he loved this stage and the love the microphones and he loved the balloons. he had no idea what was going on body loved the lights and the excitement. it is interesting to see him

back here four years later. four years ago, i was definite about one thing that i would never do this again [laughter] i can't tell you how much ahmadabad. -- how much i really meant that. mitt laughed and said you say that after every pregnancy [laughter] all the women out there know what i'm talking about. a year ago, when we made the final decision about whether we were going to go forward, i obviously had a change of heart. . askmitt 1 think -- no one will know who you will run against. i have no idea the other candidates will be. i don't with the issues will be by the time we come down to it. i only have one question to rescue -- if you can get through this whole process and you can finally be the president, can you answer me this one question? can you fix it?

he said yes. that's all i needed to know. [applause] i have to throw aside all those arguments i made about never running again and say it is worth it. this country is worth it. what needs to be done needs to be done by someone who knows how to do it. you cannot have someone turn something around if they have never turned around anything before. you cannot have someone run an organization if they have never run an organization before. we tried tha the last time. how's that working? [applause] i feel so strongly. i have seen him in every avenue be successful. to me, the most important and where has been successful as it -- has been as a husband and father. [applause]

he did tell me when i was raising - craig was not always does well behavior -- of the five, he was the best-behaved. he was the baby and everyone thought it was fabulous. when they were relieved najee, -- when they were really naughty, mitt would be traveling and he would hear an exasperated wife. he would say don't worry everything will be ok and we will get through this phase of life. remember, what you are doing, your job is more important than my job. what that meant to me was that we were equal partners, that our success was going to be measured by our children's success and our relationship, and now we have the reward of having that come true. the other great part is watching my grandchildren. we have 16 of them and watch them ms. p a. -- miss b a. -- misbehave. parker was very well behaved

today. i look at my boys and think, that is great. you guys so deserve it. mitt has exhibited an ability his whole life to figure out the core of the problem and then figure out how to fix it. it is not just having the answer. it is in implementing a which is the hard thing and i think that will be hard in the next phase, too. i have all the continents this guy will be a great president and the need everybody in this country to understand that as well as i do. i appreciate all of you being here. it will be an interesting day in florida on tuesday, we hope. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. i want to thank you in this organization for having helped sponsor the debate last night. i thought was a delightful debate. i loved it. you are an energetic and enthusiastic part of that

debate and i want to thank you [applause] i also want to thank the many people in this room who helped me four years ago and are still helping me. i see remedios over there. i better not call out all the names. i thank you so very much for your help in the many who are helping me in this campaign. means a great deal to me. i thought i would spend a moment talking about the president's failures as they relate to latin america and the nations of latin america and as they relate to our homeland with regards in particular to the immigration policies here and as they relate to the inability of our economy to help people find work, not only the people who have lived here all their lives that those who have come to this country and people who are suffering more than the population as a whole. this is more of a discussion than a lecture.

with regard to immigration -- i like immigration. i like legal immigration. i think is important for america to recognize that immigration is an extraordinary source of the vitality for our nation and bring people of different cultures you're great opportunity and growth for the entire economy. demographically, we need immigration. it is an advantage we have over the european nations. we have populations that want to come here and grow our economy. it is an extraordinarily important aspect of america's vitality. i also believe to protect legal immigration we need to stop illegal immigration i would in fact built a fence and i would in fact have in the border security agents to make sure that we're able to protect the border. and i will put in place a system that allows employers to know who is here legally and not so that people, if they want to hire someone, and identified

immediately if their card is valid or counterfeit. if a person does not have a card or it is counterfeit, if the employer hires them, i will crack down aggressively on those employers like we do on companies that don't pay their taxes. on that basis, we will stop the flow of illegal immigration into this country, i am convinced of that. i am very concerned about those who are already here illegally and how we deal with those 11 million or so that are here legally and my heart goes out to the record of people. my heart also goes out to the people who are being held by the so-called coyotes who are brought into this country and in many cases of abuse and victimized. my heart -- my thoughts and heart goes out to the millions of people in their home countries willing to come to this country legally who've been sponsored by people in this room. i care about all three groups. our primary responsibility as a government is to the last two groups. those that are waiting legally to come here, i want them to get here. i would love to see a transparent process and have

them go on the internet and see where they stand and how many months or years it will take for them to get here rather than going through this labyrinth of loopholes and laws and a maze of regulations to get to this country legally. i want to make that easier. i would also like to make sure that those being brought here illegally by the coyotes that are being abused, that that ends because there will not be the demand to come here illegally. with regards to those who are here illegally, those people who have come here illegally should be able to be given a temporary status, a temporary work permit but at the end of that time, they would apply for permanent residency after they return home. they need to get in line with everyone else that wants to come here. other people call that self- deportation but we will not go out and round people up in buses and ship them home. we'll let people make your own

decisions based on their employment opportunities here or lack there of if they don't have a valid work authorization cards from this country. i want to protect illegal immigration. i would like to expand legal immigration. i would like to have a visa program that meets the needs of our employment community. thehould match visa's and number of visas we give that in agriculture and hospitality and high-tech. we should measure those to conform with the needs of our employment community. policy expansile expansion of our visa program and clarification of our legal immigration program and a commitment and conviction across this country that we do not let the mainstream media confused. we're not anti-immigrant. we're not anti-immigration. where the pro-immigration, pro- citizenship nation and party and [applause]

let me mention a second topic and that is latin america policy. on a regular basis, every four years, a candidate's stand up and said that latin america is being ignored by their predecessors. and they will change that. and they don't. the question is, why? there is an answer to that. people who are leading a country, typically decide what is in their best interest. foreign-policy is typically guided by the best interest of the nation involved. the people who have been leading our country sometime have frankly thought is more in our best interest to be looking at china and to be trading with china and working with south korea and china and japan because of the high growth there. there have been others in the past to have said no, it is europe and we have devoted our time and attention to europe. taking a look of the world today, they are out of date. what is happening in latin

america whether it is from mexico, the caribbean, through central america and south america is such extraordinary growth economically not to mention demographically. there is a huge economic, political, and military opportunity and series of challenges and obligations right here in this hemisphere. while china is important and europe is important, right here is an enormously important aspect of american foreign policy. [applause] i think there has been the perception for way too long that economic ties with latin america are somehow charitable endeavors by american business. that is simply out of date. there are enormous opportunities for american enterprise to become involved in latin america and vice versa. palle as we know, trade between two nations where they each trade the products and services at which they excel, raises the

standard of living of both nations. it is one of the remarkable aspects of free trade we have that opportunity right here in this hemisphere it is astonishing that more businesses have not become aware of that but some are. i have a long an unfortunate history in the airline industry. i say on fortune because some years ago, a fellow named david nieleman asked if i would invest in his startup airline. i said i will never invest again. i cannot a imagine it would be successful. that was jet blue. [laughter] i make some mistakes now and then. i watched him. after being chief executive of jetblue and be successful, he went to brazil. he bought an airline they're called azul and brought american techniques to that airline and it is doing spectacularly well. you will find more and more people recognize the mass of opportunity for exchange and trade.

if i am president of united states, one thing i will do my first 100 days is to begin an economic initiative of drawing a latin american businesses and american businesses closer together. this is a mass of opportunity, not a charity, but an opportunity. it will help lift both parts of the world. [applause] s something else whh i think we have igned too long. that is the geopolitical implications of what is happening in the world and how it relates to latin america. many of us in our country still have the holiday from history that has been spoken about by a number of folks that was that following the collapse of the soviet union, the idea that america was so far ahead of everyone else that we did not need to worry about the rest of the world. we were the model for the 21st

century. that is how we felt. actually, there are now four competing models for leadership in the 21st century. ours is one based on freedom and free enterprise. china has proposed a different model. their model also encompasses free enterprise, different than ours in some respects and they combine that not with freedom but with authoritarianism. that is a model they are selling around the world. it is doing pretty well. then you have russia resurgent given their energy resources and want to become a superpower again and you have the jihadists and their view is to cause the collapse of the others and be the last man standing grade these four forces are in competition today and they are not just playing in asia and europe or the middle east. they are playing here. our nation sit back looking into the left and to the right and not saying what is happening right here in this hemisphere. we have to compete here. we have to recognize that what

bolivarian movement under way and castro and countries like ecuador and guatemala, this is an extraordinary threat to this regi. there's an opportunity for us to stand up and fight for what weelieve and promote democracy. let me tell you how i will do that. we have ambassadors and all these different countries. cliff, is the former ambassador to brazil. they are doing the best they possibly can and reported to the state department with bureaucrats. it is not hily coordinated. the ambassador from brazil says it would be helpful if we could help the brazilians in developing medical technology for one of their new hospitals and the ghost of health and -- goes to the health and human

services department of united states and says i would like to bring some people down here and build a wing of this hospital, good luck. onany committees he has to go through and how many bureaucrats, we would never get it done. i want to appoint one person as a presidential envoy responsible for democracy and freedom in latin america [applause] this person would be given responsibility with dget and would be annually measured looking at each nation if we are making progress or are we falling behind? how we work with the various nations and have the capacity to draw on all the resources of america and stand behind those nations that are reaching toward freedom and to oppose those that are falling in line behind hugo chavez or castro. there is a battle going on very least to recognize that we're up against -- when we were up against the soviet union. we need to do that now and when he did do it in latin america. i am president, i will get that

done. [applause] there is a time coming soon or -- where cuba will be free. that will happen but we will have to get organized for it. we'll have to recognize that the people there want freedom as people do all over the world and america cannot setback. -- sit back. we walked across the world and iran had over 1 million people in their streets demonstrating for freedom. this president had nothing to say. can you imagine having ronald reagan having nothing to say? even bill clinn would have said something [laughter] i will not only say something when fidel castro finally leaves that are, i will do something. i will be behind the voice of freedom here and there. we will help cuba become fe. [applause]

thank you. let me also noted in that regard that i'm looking for to appointing this person a finding a person who has extraordinary marketing skills. i come from the worldf business. i spent 25 years in business. my first 10 years of my business career, i was hired by big companies to try to make them more successful. i was impressed by how well american companies can compete around the world and how effective we are at marketing our ideas. think about this -- we convince people around the world to buy a brown, caramel color water called coca-cola and pay half a day's wage for and will buy it. we are able to convince people

of things where sometimes you scratch your head straight it is a great product but we sell around the world. and yet democracy, we don't sell that so well. we send billions of dollars around the world, giving out money, and we are despised by some people. i don't understand why. in some respects, it is because we are not using the kind of marketing skills that we have in this country look at what fidel castro does with his miracle operation. that is the cataract operation. for a tiny amount of money, he can get the good will of people all over latin america. and us, for billions and billions of dollars, we get resentment. how can we be so short-sighted as to not bring into our government the scale of people in our business world, in our terrible world to say let's -- charitable world to say let's

promote freedom and mocracy and make a model for the entire world to see? [applause] part of that experience is to stand by your friends and to have been so successful that those around them look and say look what it is like if you follow the freedom agenda. if you have free enterprise and free trade and people have elections, look what happens in wonderful places like columbia. how can the world did this president stand around for three years and all of our best friend fighting hugo chavez? i don't understand. we should have done this on day want. -- day one. colombia what a friend. one more trade. let's make an ample for let's make the people in venezuela look over the border and say they got a better deal that averted disaster happened in pana. i am looking forward to the time or the people of puerto rico make a decision about becoming a state. [applause] wow, we've got some friends

here. luis fortunio is there somewhereo,h, he is coming later. he is passionate about state and -- statehood. i think you'll have a referendum in november? i expect the people of puerto rico will decide lecky feels -- like he feels that they want to become a state. i will work with him to make sure that if that vote comes out in favor of statehood, we will go to the process in washington to provide status to puerto rico and create a model in the caribbean of the benefits of having freedom. [applause] let me also just note that i think there are threats we face around this hemisphere that have to be addressed together. terrorism and drug trafficking

and other forms of crime is one more of those areas of concern. one of the first -- one of the first things i will do is form a hemisphere taskforce, bringing nations together the willing to become together and deal with these issues. there a number of places where drugs are being brought and puerto rico is one that is being used given the fact that there is more difficulty getting to t mexico border. people have looked at puerto rico as a way to bring drugs into the united states and from there into florida. we have to be far more vigilant to look at the cross-border implications of crime. this does not affect latin amera so much in terms of putting pressure on latin american leaders as it does to put pressure on us -- we have got to do much better job communicating to our children in ts country whether they are hispanic or non-hispanics, that drugs are causing death around the world. [applause] our young people have a great deal oconcern they are a

humatarian people and a concerned about issues like global warming and things of that nature. they are concerned about humanity. how can they understand that if they take one of these drugs being smuggled into this country that they are partially responsible for deaths. i want them to understand the tens of thousands of people who are being killed by virtue of drug use in this country. it is time for the united states of america to take sponsibility for the pain and suffering and torture and murder that is goinon throughout latin america. we're not a good example in this regard and that -- i will campaign in a very aggressive way to our young people if i become president, stopped taking drugs because you are killing people. [applause] i am very concerned about the fact that we have so many people out of work.

i watch the president give a speech the other day and he talked about how swiingly things are going [laughter] in the united] states. i am afraid he got it wrong. he is detached from the reality here. 9: 9% of floridians out of work and 7% of latinos out of work. this is unacceptable. it was one thing or it to happen for a short period of time but now it is gone for 35 straight month. this is a failed presidency. he did not cause the recession. he made it worse. this recovery is the slowest and most tepid we have seen since herbert hoover agree we need to have a president who does not to spend his entire life in academics and in washington but instead has been in the real economy working in a real double -- job. who understands how to compete in how to get america to create jobs again. [applause] the was a great line that was spoken by mitch daniels the other night.

he said america will have a choice. the choice is to follow the patharack obama is leading us down to become a european-style welfare state and if you believe in that, he said that as government trickle-down economy. i do not believe in trickle- down government. that does not work. the $787 billiontimulus bill did not trickle-down to the private sector creating jobs. that is the long way to go. the right way to go is t believe in the pnciples that made america the economic powerhouses. it is those are the principles outlined in our declaration of independence. those who wrote it said that we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. in america, we are able to pursue happiness as we to. we are not prevented from pursuing our dreams by virtue of the place of our birth, by our circumstances of our birth,

instead, we can pursue our greatest by virtue of hard work, education, a lot, dreaming. as you probably know, hispanic americans account for a disproportionate share of new enterprises in this country as do immigrants generally. this is a great source of vitality for america. if you are republicans in this room, and i think your -- you are-- [laughter] people say i'm not sure i could vote republican. you hear that in your community. you remind people that the reason we are so anxious to be in america and we are so in love with america is not because of the check we get from governments. it is because of the opportunity that exists in america. ours is the party of opportunit devoted to the declaration of independence and the pursuit of happiness. [applause] i will fight to get more opportunities for americans and that is the way we will create jobs for latinos, hispanics, for our entire nation.

thank you, guys, i love this country, i love your support, we will make a strong hemisphere, thank you. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> you're very kind. >> we will see you tonight for sure.

some of them will not hold them up. the summit will also not push them back down. [applause] -- somebody will not push them back down. [applause] look, we know what they will say, the opposition. they will say -- i met mitch daniels, who i do not know, but he seems like a good guy. he talked about trickle-down government. i started thinking about that and how they talk about us and

how we are big government and trickle-down government and they are free enterprise. and i started thinking. remember, nancy, when -- i do not know if it was you or a certain came up with the idea -- in a, -- you know what, we will pay banks to process loans to send kids to college. we thought that was free enterprise. it is the taxpayers' money, but that is free enterprise. that was the market. then we came along and said, well, why not use the tax measures -- the taxpayers' money even more directly. save. and george miller, george, if you're here, you did a hell of a deal. let's go ahead and give it directly. what is that? that is trickle-down government, man. no, no, no, i am serious. try to be logical about their arguments. i recollection is that we did not get one republican vote. we may have, maybe one or two.

i do not think we get a single republican vote because they are for free enterprise. they will spend 60 billion those of your money to help someone as long as it goes through a bank. banks are not bad. but if you can take and immediately spent $4 billion and send it to kids to go to school, that is free enterprise. we could think of 50 different examples of that. the one you just did is the payroll tax. the first thing, when i raised that -- and i know that some of you were mad at me when i negotiated that peace two years ago, i remember that -- we all felt that we needed the payroll tax extended. what is the first thing the opposition said? they said we're going to do it anyway. we have to pay for it. ok, we will pay for it. the way you pay for it is to take away the same things that those middle-class people need

and that is how you will pay for. i will not mention the republican congressman i was talking to in the stocks. i said, let me get this straight. you want to extend the bush tax cuts that cost $800 billion. how will you pay for it? what you mean? no, no, tell me, charlie, how will you pay for it? we do not have to pay for that. these are job creators. what is one man's meat is another man's poison. the only thing we have to make clear to the american people is what is the meat and what is the poison. and you know what? they are helping us a great deal. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, i am absolutely convinced that we will do fine this year. as i said last time, i have been meeting and i will meet a little bit with steve and i am going to do whatever you want me

to do. i have been given five states as a focus. pennsylvania, ohio, michigan, iowa, new hampshire, and florida is where i will be spending most of my time. coincidentally, that is where a lot of your targeted seats are. as jimmy slen said to me in 1978 when i was running for reelection, he said -- he never called me senator or joe. he always called me young man. he said, young man, what would jim eastland do for you in delaware? that was a tough election. i said, well, mr. chairman, in some places, you help and in some places you hurt. and he looked at me and said, well, i will come to delaware

and campaign for you again or not, which ever will help the most. i will campaign to be against you if it helps you, our campaign to be for you if it helps you. because we cannot succeed unless you'll come back. [laughter] thank you very much. >> president obama also spoke at the retreat in cambridge. he touched on some of the themes from his state of the union address earlier this week. talking about the state of the economy. democratic legislative accomplishments. the need for wealthier americans to pay more in taxes. he was introduced by john larson. this is about 35 minutes.

>> mr. president, this has been an emotional and inspiring we. eek, which was underscored by your embrace of our colleagues, gabrielle giffords. it was on the front page of the washington post. it epitomizes all that is rich about public service and means so much to all of us here. we thank you for that, mr. president. you then gave an address that reignited and energized this caucus. [applause] but more importantly, the american people. inspired -- we came here to work. we came here to work on

reigniting the american dream. because we know that if we reignite the american dream, they will be opportunities. is that not right, madam speaker? and in building those ladders, we make sure that we are laser focus -- laser focused on small business. small business. that we make sure that innovation is in the forefront and that the entrepreneurs, those architects and engineers who make a robust middle-class, will make it so that we can make it here in america. [applause] because we know when you make it in america, every american makes it. mr. president, we implore our

colleagues on the other side of the aisle -- you have made every attempt humanly possible to get them to bring your legislation that will put this country back to work to the floor. we stand committed, we stand with you to make that happen in this session of congress. ladies and gentleman, our leader, howard champion, the commander-in-chief of our forces, the 44th president of the united states, barack obama. [cheers and applause] >> thank you! thank you, everybody. thank you so much. thank you. thank you, everybody. ok, everybody have a seat.

let me begin by saying that i was told that, on a cd that i have just received -- [laughter] that all of you participate in a rendition of al green. what i did not realize was that you also had a reverend who can preach as good as l. green indrawn larsen -- as good as our grain in john larsen. i kept looking -- as good as al green in john larsen. [applause] i kept looking for the collection plate. [laughter] john, thank you for that rousing introduction. to the leader of this body and the soon-to-be speaker of the house again, nancy pelosi.

[applause] in ato the rest of the leadership team, steny hoyer, jim cliburn. -- jim clyburn. xavier baccera. and the best chairman we can have for the dnc, debbie wasserman schultz. we have an all-star team assembled and ready to get to work. i know that you have been here quite a bit. you already had to suffer through a relatively long speech from me this week. so i will not be too long. what are wanted to do first of all was say thank you.

so many of you have served this country, your districts for years. through good times and through bad times. let's face it. public-service does not always get the credit that it deserves. but knowing each and everyone of you personally, understanding the sacrifices that you and your family members, some are here today, make each and every day, understanding how much your heart bleeds when you see constituents who are going through a tough time and how much you want to make sure that government serves as a force for good in their lives, i just want to say thank you for everything that you do. you are putting it all on the line. you believe in an america in

which everybody gets a fair shot and everybody does their fair share and everybody plays by the same set of rules. that is what you have been about. that is with his caucus is about. and that is the vision that we are fighting for. this year and in the years to come. as i said at the state of the union, the critical debate in this country right now, the defining question that faces us all is whether we will all restore the sense of an american promise where, if you work hard, if you are carrying out your responsibilities, if your taking care of your family, if you are participating in your community, if you are doing what

you are supposed to be doing, you have a chance to get a job that allows you to support your family. you will now be bankrupt when -- you will not be bankrupt when you get sick. you'll send your children to college. you can retire with dignity. with respect. you can expect that the next generation, your children and grandchildren, will do better than you did. that american promise, that central driving force is what has created the greatest country with the largest economy and the broadest middle-class on earth. that promise has been eroding for too many people and all of you know it. this is not a new trend. this is something that has been going on for years. wages and incomes stagnant at the same time that costs keep going up and up and up. outsourcing and jobs moving elsewhere.

young people wondering, even if they invest in a college degree, will be able to find a job that supports an ever-increasing load of debt. and all of that was before the economic crisis hit in 2008- 2009 that put millions of people out 0 work. now here's the good news. the good news is that we are moving in the right direction thanks to your efforts, thanks to some tough votes that you took, thanks to nancy pelosi and the leadership the she has shown. we righted the ship. we did not slip into a great depression. the auto industry was saved. credit started flowing to small businesses again. over the last 22 months, we have seen 3 million jobs created, the most jobs last year

since 2005, more jobs in manufacturing than we have seen since the 1990's. [applause] a lot of that has to do with tough decisions. there are very few states that have been harder hit with these longer-term trends than michigan. but you can puissance of new porpoise and renewed hope in that state. -- of new purpose and renewed hope in that state. had the not happen, a million jobs would have been lost. had we not acted, the big three auto makers, the suppliers, the entire ecosystem of the economy in that state would have been decimated. and now they're thinking gm is no. 1 again. and chrysler is on the move again.

and ford is investing in plants and equipment again. and you get a sense of movement, of restoration of hope and possibility. the people understand that the job is not done, not even close to being done yet. and they understand, if we will finish the job, then we have to first of all make sure that american manufacturing is strong. that means that we are out there creating a tax code that does not provide tax breaks for companies that shipping jobs overseas. we're focusing on companies that are investing right here in the united states because we believe that come when you make it in america, everybody benefits. everybody does well. [applause] witness stand that we need

american energy. --part of my goal on -- we understand that we need american energy. part of my goal on tuesday was to say that we understand we have not been on top of energy. -- was to dispel this notion that we have not been on top of energy. the percentage of imports have been lower. we have been developing opening up millions of acres to development. but what we have also said is that oil is not enough. we have to think about the future, not just look backwards at the past. where to invest in solar and wind and biofuel. we have already doubled our proficiencies on cars and trucks. we have to make sure that we build on these incentives, which is good for our economy and create jobs and, by the way, is also good for our environment.

that is important to the american people as well. [applause] i know the other side does not always believe in this agenda. they think that the only subsidies worth providing is for the oil companies. we have been providing subsidies for close to century. they have never been more profitable. money,ake some of the take some of those tax breaks and make sure we are investing in a clean energy future that is just as promising. skills for american workers, making sure that every young person in this country has the skills to succeed. i told the story at the state of the union, but i want to make sure that everybody here is this. we will have to work hard on this. companies are starting to say it makes economic sense to move back to the united states.

[applause] wages in places like china are going up faster than productivity. american workers have never been more productive. energy costs increasingly are competitive here in the united states because of the developments taking place around natural gas. transportation costs are higher than other places. when you look at the whole package, a lot of companies are saying we want to be here, close to our market. but one of the biggest impediments is that we have to be able to find the skilled workers that will be managing these million-dollar pieces of equipment. they do not all have to go to four-year colleges although we do need more engineers and scientists. we need to make sure that college is affordable and successful. we also need skilled workers going to community colleges or middle-aged workers who are

allowed to retrain and have a commitment to work and have that work ethic but want to make sure the technology is not passing them by. so focusing on our community college and making sure that they are matched up with businesses that are hiring right now and making sure that they helped design the programs i will put them -- put -- the programs that will put people to work. we have an average of $24,000 worth of debt for every young person that is graduating right now. they are starting off in a hole that most of us did not have to start off with. it is brittle. there are ways we can solve it. -- it is brutal. there are ways we can solve it. there things we have to do right now, like make sure the interest rates do not double on student loans this year in july. [applause]

we will require congress to act. we will also put pressure on states to make sure they are prioritizing higher education. we will make sure that colleges and universities are held accountable and that they do what they need to do to hold down costs. but most of all, we have to restore our commitment to the american values of hard work and responsibility and shared responsibility. over the last three days, i have travelled around the country amplifying what we said on tuesday. one of the points i make and everybody understands this -- you know, if we are going to make the investments we need, if we're going to invest in science and research that leads to inventions like the internet

that create entire industries, entire platforms for long-term economic growth, if we are going to invest in the skills of our workers, if we make sure that we have the best ever structure and -- best infrastructure in the world and pay for this incredible military that just say this young woman -- saved at this young woman -- [applause] out of somalia, if we're going to take care of veterans once they're finished serving so that we serve them as well as they serve us, all those things cost money. we have to pay for it. and if we're serious about paying for it, then, yes, we have to cut out programs to do not work. this caucus has been ahead and willing to make some of the toughest cuts we have ever made. $2 trillion, over $2 trillion in deficit-reduction. but we have also said, at a certain point, you know what? everybody has to participate in

this. and when we have more than a trillion dollars worth of tax breaks that were supposed to be temporary for the top 2% slated to continue, a tax coot full of loopholes for folks who do not need them -- a tax code full of loopholes for folks who do not need them and did not ask for them, we have to ask what is more important to us? is it more important for me to get a tax break or is it more important for that senior citizen to have that medicare or social security benefit? is it more important for that young person to get a college education? is it more important for me to get a tax break or is it more important that we care for our veterans? this is one of the biggest things i will be pushing back against this year, this notion

that somehow this is class warfare, that we are trying to stir up any the. -- stir up envy. nobody in these rich people. everybody wants to be rich -- nobody envies rich people. every once to be rich. everybody aspires to be rich. but are we providing opportunity for everybody? the question is how do we pay for that? when you give me a tax break but i do not need and the country cannot afford, two things happen. either the deficit increases or, alternatively, somebody else has to pay the tax, that senior or that student or that family who is struggling to make ends meet. so we will push hard for the buffet rule. we will push hard to make sure that millions, making over $1 million a year to enact a tax breaks or subsidies that they do not need. not out of envy, but out of a

sense of commitment to this country's future. that is what we're fighting for. and the american people understand that. the same way that they understand we will have to keep in place smart regulations that ensure that a health care company cannot drop you off right when you get sick or charge women differently than men. these are the folks who want to roll back financial regulatory reform after all that we have been through? you want to water down and weaken the rules that make sure that big banks and financial institutions have to play by the same rules as everybody else? that makes no sense. the american people understand that. you understand that. that is what you have been fighting for. obviously, we are in an election season.

when the other side decides to it is that will be their standard bearer, then we will have a robust debate about whose vision is more promising when it comes to moving this country forward. it will be a tough election because a lot of people are still hurting out there. and a lot of people have lost faith generally about the capacity of washington to get anything done. the main thing i want to urge all of you is that, even as we are out there making our case, even as we pushed hard to persuade, not just the american people, but hopefully some people on the other side about the brightness of our future if we work together. i think it is important during the course of this year not to forget that there is still work we can do right now.

we can extend the payroll tax cuts right now without drama and without delay. we can work together right now to help start-ups and entrepreneurs get easier financing and use are in the more effectively. -- and use our&d -- and use r&d more effectively. wherever we have an opportunity, where ever there is the possibility that the other side is putting some politics aside for just a nanosecond in order to get something done for the american people, we have to be right there ready to meet them.

we have to be right there ready to meet them. on the other hand, where they obstruct, where they are unwilling to act, where they are more interested in party than their own country, more interested in the next election than the next generation, then we need to call them out on it. we have to call them out on it. we have to push it. we cannot wait. we cannot be held back. at the state of the union, obviously, i talked about our military. i had a chance to see some folks out at buckley and in colorado as well. there you go. you know, obviously, the work that our military has done in this last decade has filled us with awe. as you saw in the state of the

union, everybody stands up when you mention the military. appropriately so. that is something the should not be partisan. but the argument i tried to make that day and we hope that we all keep in mind, there is a reason that we admire them. it is not just because they do their job so well. it is not just because of their incredible capacity and training and skill. it is also because of an ethic that says that we're all in this together. i can only succeed if the guy next to me and the gal next to me are successful as well. i can only succeed if somebody has my back. we do not succeed on our own. we all have to pull our weight.