but stay involved. one of the ways you can stay more involved is to adopt the most bold economic growth and job plan the planet -- 9-9- make it yours. make it your plan. here is how the adoption plan works. go to your representatives or your senate candidates before they get elected. ask them to adopt 9-9-9. if they say they don't know anything about it and have to study it, that is a cop out. if you go to cainconnections.com we have

9-9-9 the movie. five minutes. now they can spend five minutes watching a movie, right? they will understand what it is. get your representative to adopt 9-9-9 before they get elected. the 9-9-9 adoption plan is leading this revolution. we are go to get congress and the president to basically embrace this solution that the american people want. we are tired of kicking the can down the road. the american people won't -- want stuff fixed. let's fix something for a change. we already gotten many representatives running for congress and many senators running for office who adopted the 9-9-9 plan. step two is that we are

drafting the legislation. and after the legislation is completely drafted we are go to ask them to do something that many of them do not normally do, read it. after they read it we are going to ask for a firm commitment. i need your help to get them to adopt the 9-9-9 plan. and i am happy that one of the people that is running for united states congress in the state of ohio in a very challenges district has adopted 9-9-9, and i am endorsing his can dassy. stand up, joe.

>> you see some of us choose to get off at the sidelines. i admire joe for doing that. yes, he will be attacked. yes, they will try to do the same things to him as they did to me. but folks, more of us have to take that challenge. i don't regret making the moves that i made. there is more way to skin a cat. stay informed. stay involved. thirdly, stay inspired. you see the liberals want you to believe that we can't do this. they want you to believe that obama's billion dollars, if he gets that much money in campaign money, is go to make it a shoe-in. no it is not. that is what they want you to believe. stay inspired. remember those founding fathers

that i talked about? they started the american revolution. there were a lot of people that told them they could not win the american revolution, but they did because they believed that they could. a lot of people thought that after the character assassination that was launched against me that herman would shut up and sit down and go away. ain't go to happen. let me tell what you inspires me. i have a long list of things that inspired me to run for president, that inspired me to be a voice for the conservative movement, that inspired me to want to change the direction of this country because we on the

wrong track. we need to take it back. there is more than one way to take it back. let me tell what you inspired me. you heard me talk about my granddaughter. when i first saw that little face, she was born in 1999. when i looked in her little face, the first thought that occurred to me is what do i do to make it a better nation and a better world. she was born long before i ever thought about getting involved in changing the direction of this country. in the year 1999. that is 1-9-9-9. you see, i think god was in it back then, but he didn't tell me yet. she was born in the year

1-9-9-9. and on january 1st, 2012, this year, my fourth grandchild was born on new year's day. number four. and before the doctor spanked his little butt and made him cry, he already owed $48,000 and he had not done anything yet. we cannot leave that to our children and grandchildren. there is a really clear message, folks. that you and i are sending to washington, d.c., we the people are coming. we want our power back.

we the people are coming. and we want our power back. it was an irirish philosopher that once wrote the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men and women to do nothing. i will not die doing nothing. and i don't believe you will die doing nothing. to give our children and our grandchildren the kind of nation that we were able to enjoy. the preamble to the constitution says we the people

of the united states, in order to form a more perfect union. the union is in trouble. and it is up to you and me to get it back on track. we hold these truths to be self-evident. we still hold these truths to be self-evident and we, the people, are still in charge of this nation. let's take our country back. [applause]

>> thank you ladies and gentlemen. i am here today to introduce someone that stands out among many others. there are many who surround themselves in the rhetoric of liberty only to undermine it when the first opportunity presents itself. too many on the left are tempted to take money away from individuals and too many on the right are regulated to regulate personal lives. but senator rand paul has been "the voice" of reason and freedom. senator paul was one of the only opponents to extending the patriots' act. he challenged president obama's unconstitutional use of the military in libya and is fighting t.s.a. abuse every day. what is more, senator paul returned a record $500,000 of his senate operating budget this year. he does not just say he stands for fiscal responsibility, he

leads by example. it is my pleasure and honor to introduce one of the only true advocates of liberty in politics today, senator rand paul. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. thank you very much. thank you. i have a question. a question for the president, do you hate all rich people? or just those that are not campaign contributors? the president sure seems to like george kaiser, the 20th richest man in america. president obama likes him so much that he gave kaiser's company $1 billion, a half billion which you may have heard got flushed down the drain.

to get mr. kaiser this money the president came up with a brilliant plan. let's appoint people to approve the loans that are relate to the people that will get the loans. so their attorneys simply called up her husband who works for the department of energy to secure a half billion loan. great way to encourage campaign contributions. give away enormous taxpayer loans to campaign contributors. the president does not hate all rich people, just those that do not contribute to his campaign. they say it is not easy to be rich if you inherit the money. it is hard laying by the pool playing polo. when i heard robert kennedy jr. was starting up his own company, i thought good for him. i hope he will find the satisfaction of good old work. but my feelings soured when i heard his idea of work involves

$1.6 billion of taxpayer money. while the president roams the country moaning about millionaires and billionaires not paying their fair share, his aides are in the white house making sure that millionaires and billionaires are getingly their fair share of your money. how did robert kennedy come to get this $1.6 billion? same way george kaiser got his. he got one of his employees a job at the department of energy. the former employee approved the loan. where is the taxpayer? left holding the bag. where is the country? left with a $15 trillion debt. the president does not really hate all rich people. if you are a crony or a buddy of barack obama, stop by the white house. they have a deal for you. i have another question. another question for the president. do you hate poor people? or do you just hate poor people

with jobs? >> your chinese made energy efficient light bulbs cost $4. if they break and the mercury spills out of them you need a hazmat team to clean up. don't you realize if you pile this debt as you are piling this debt on the backs of working people that gas prices have doubled. food prices are rising at double digits. 11 million people are out of work. when you forbid the mining of cheap energy sources and ban the new oil pipelines, senior citizens and working families are forced to pay higher electric bills. i really want to know mr. president, does your ideology and yen for windmills trump your concern for the poor?

does it bother you that americans live paycheck-to-paycheck in order to pay for mr. kaiser's loan. in order to pay for mr. kennedy's loan. do you mr. president ever reflect that a country that borrows $40,000 a second is heading for a cliff. and you are at the wheel. you are stepping on the gas. spending is accelerating. we now spend nearly 25% of our g.d.p. in washington and half of that is borrowed. entitlements and interests on the debt will consume all tax revenue in the near future. it is not a question of will debt prices occur in america, it is only a question of when. in all seriousness, because someone will take it literally, i don't think the president hates rich people. i don't think he hates poor people. no bad intentions at all. a misguided philosophy, yes.

but not bad intentions. the president continues to roam the country claiming millionaires and billionaires for not paying their fair share this . is objectively false. millionaires on average pay about 29% of their income and nonmillionaires, the rest of us, we pay less than 29%. the top 10% of earners pay over 70% of the income tax. if you make over $200,000 in this country you pay 70% of the income tax. he will have to reduce the taxes on the rich. the rich and upper middle class pay all of the income tax. the bottom 47% of earners pay no income tax. to put it kindly -- is anybody

tired of hearing about warren buffet? we are encouraged to mourn for his poor secretary who some estimated probably makes more than $200,000 per year. i just realized this recently, this is designed for over a year. this is purposely designed to attack any republican candidate who happens to be successful. the truth is that warren buffet pays tens of millions in taxes and his secretary pays thousands of dollars in taxes. buffet pays 1,000 times more in taxes than his secretary. i believe this election will be about the american dream. whether we still believe in the greatness of our founding documents. do we believe in an america where we the people interact voluntarily to determine who the winners are or do we want a

president to dictate who the winners and losers are? do we really want a fairness czar to force equality on us? it is not we have seen these attempts before. the soviets tried it and so did the chinese. a recent n.p.r. story described the chinese experiment with fairness. several farmers gathered in secret and signed a compact. this compact was extraordinary and very dangerous. they immediately hid it inside a piece of bamboo in the roof of a hut. it called for illegal action. it called for dividing the collective farm, dividing it into families and let each family keep the profit. profit and capitalism were illegal and could command a death sentence in china.

the result was phenomenal. it was the largest harvest in recent memory, so large that it did not escape the notice of one of the officials. one of the farmers was hauled in. as the interrogation was proceeding to a possibly violent end the word came that communism was being lifted. as china awakens to capitalism the president is heading the other way embracing more government and more debt. this election may be the last, best hope of saving the american dream. as we gather to make the choice of what will lead conservatives, i am reminded of a story. it it was a brisk evening in dixon, illinois in 1922 returning home from a basketball game at the ymca, an 11-year-old boy is stunned by his father sprawled out on the front porch. he was drunk, dead to the

world, crucified. his dad's hair was matted and soaked with snow and his face was red. the boy stood over his father for a minute or two. he was embarrassed. he wanted to simply let himself in the door and pretend he is not there. he grabbed a fist full of overcoat, dragged his dad in. he did not retreat or admit defeat. it did not lead him to say the world is against me. i can't succeed. when his family moved 30 times when he was growing up he was not deterred. this young boy became the man ronald reagan who does sunny optimism and charisma shined so brightly that it cured the malaise of the late 1970's. it pulled us through a serious recession and optimism that tugged so mightily at the heart that a generation of democrats became republicans. who will be that next ronald

reagan? who will be our heroes? who will become the next generation of the great leaders? america is great because we have always embraced individual liberty. this belief in the individual is the american dream. to lead us away from the looming debt crisis, it will take someone who believes in america's greatness, who believes in and can articulate the american dream. if the american dream dies, so does our country. our prosperity comes from the freedom that is enshrined and protected by the constitution. washington today is ruled by a different sword. you have special interests on the right and on the left who clamor for more of your money. they come to my office. they have their hands out looking for something. there is nothing left to give. we are borrowing 40 cents on every dollar. there is nothing left to give

them. even our party has yet to grasp the significance and the imminence of this coming debt crisis. it is coming. it will take bold leadership. the republican party is an empty vessel unless we imbue it with values. we have to believe in something. it will take someone able to transform it into the warm, vibrant embrace of prosperity. we near the process of discovering who that leader will be. my hope is in the search for that leader we rediscover the passion for individual liberty that made america great. thank and you god bless america.

>> hello. hey. i just got here. you can't leave. they just introduced me, sit down. you have to be kidding me. i come to my first cpac, the only conservative comedian in the united states and you walk out on me. sit down, we got a show to do. another round of applause for rand paul. what do you think about rand paul. what do you think about cpac 2012? that is what i want to know. i said what do you think about cpac 2012?

that is what i want to know. i am excited to be here. this is the big day i have been waiting for. i smell my people out here. my god. i am looking at conservative americans 3,000 sitting in d.c. let me tell you why i love conservatives. you believe in the values that our founding fathers stood on to make this great nation. let me tell what else i love about you. you think this is the greatest nation the world ever known. let me tell you why else, you hunt and fish and don't apologize for it. that is why i love conservative people. oh! i am so sick of this politically correct don't shoot the animals. they might get their feelings hurt. you are a conservative. you don't even pretend to be animal rights activists. you are like see the bunny, shoot it, eat it and make a hat. that is a cute bunny. yeah. that was a cute bunny.

is that a snake? no that is a boot right there that. is america. shoot it, eat it. got a head left over, hang it on your wall. why? because the founding fathers believed in personal responsibility. if you are hungry, go find some stinking food. that is how it used to be. that is what kills me. when people try to redefine the founding fathers. if they were around they would be giving tax breaks to everybody. the founding fathers were ruthless. these guys were as conservative as can be. they did not give you subsidies, they gave you an axe. hey, see them woods over there. that is your new duplex. better get going. i think the snow is coming. why? the founding fathers knew this great nation could not get

anywhere if people didn't accept personal responsibility and accept the idea that if you are go to make it here we will provide you an opportunity. but you will have to do the work. the founding fathers were men, not wusssies. it is the wusssification of america that is killing us. it has made us begin to crumble. i spend every monday on fox and friends trying to destroy. political correctness.

it is called courage my friends and speaking the truth at all times. i know that because i am a christian and i am a conservative and i believe the united states is the greatest country on earth. because of those three belief systems when i die i will be stuffed and mounted and put into the smithsonian. to stand up for what i believe in and what you believe in costs you something in a liberal media that does not have the courage to see their dysfunction. i believe in the first amendment. in a political correctness, it kills me. it creates a counterfeit reality and demands that you worship it. there is a school in washington that wants to have a halloween celebration.

they told the kids they can dress up. they said but you can't dress up like a witch. you know why? there was a woman from the local wika chapter that was offended by the stereo type. if i offend you because you are a witch who cares? are you serious? since when did defending witches become problematic in the united states of america. fioffend you and you are a witch, isn't there a position for that? may bat wings? i am thinking if you can infect

the world with incantations i would think you have bigger fish to fry. you dork. put a helmet on. what in the sworled happening to us? this is why i come to conservative places. conservatives need to do something different than liberals. they make strong women but also do not take their men down in the process. they allow men to be men, be powerful and strong and stand up for those principles. to take the power and the strength that man has that wants to use. i remember in the 1970's. you know what they told me? gender does not matter. it is not even real. give boys dolls, they will play with them. give boys dolls. they will play with them. you know what we play?

pulls it head off. that is what we play. we play how many m-80's will it take to blow the crud out of barbie? we are guys. we are different. that is how it has always been. men have different ways. they tried to say find your feminine side. talk about sexist. have you ever heard a woman saying find your masculine side. if you do, i am not interested. thank you so much. let me explain something. i found my feminine side. i married her. i am good. thank you so much. i have feminine side 24 hours per day. you have got to be kidding me. why do we do those things and lose those ideas? we need to know that there are specific ways things work in this country. our founding fathers believed that.

we believed in differences. it was ok. we celebrated them. when i was growing up they had a boys' bike and a girls' bike. they had a thing called a boy and a girl. i know. who thought that was go to get complicated? a girls bike was regular. it had a slot in the middle so you can slide in. your gender. you knew you were a boy. we have kids here who do not know what we are talking about. how are you -- how old are you? 70. you are at the right place, here

to learn something about life. you know nothing at 17. you know nothing. that is why you are here. conservatives treasure the value system that made this country. we came on boats and it was hard, and if you think you had to be a tough human being in 1500, that was tough, they brought pigs. they did not complain. we got the entire eastern seaboard -- we want to go west to see if we can make a free democracy. if we can allow everyone to come in and nomelt. guess what -- they did not have a game boys, computers, radios, downloads, and the kids were

going, are we there yet? there was no there yet. we are going to find a there. that is the television culture we have created. 17, get your money. i am right here. he does not go away. what is happening? 17 years old, we created eight greatest nation, and endicott cars, which are -- and we got cars. the problem with cars is there too fast, and that is what was so great about the old days, when the place was hard to get to, you appreciate it when you get there. we need to make it dangerous to

drive again. we have to get these air bags out of the cars. 17 does not know what i am talking about. dashboards were made at of metal. wreck, you paidkagein a for it. 17 does not know what i am talking about. he does not know what i am talking about. we "wussified" you, son. you know what protected me? mom's arm. 17 does not know. he spent the first five years in the back, with a five-point

harness, and you probably learned to ride a bike by wearing a helmet, you big baby. if i had worn a helmet, my friends would have beat me up. and they should have. it is once again but publicly or cracked -- the politically correct world. we will create a world where pain is an aberration. it is never your call. it is always somebody else's fault, four preferably somebody with assets. you do not understand this, and you are never going to come out but we are willing to go to this place with one idea, if you are willing to work hard enough, if you are willing to predict be --

willing to be provided the opportunity, and if you are willing to take whatever comes your way, you can be anything you want to be. now you have warning signs that says coffee is hot. if he did not know coffey was hot come up with a helmet on. you do not know what you are talking about, because at one time in this country, jefferson said we will use the bible and god's word to know who we are. we had to get rid of him, so we had to replace it with self esteem. you have to worship somebody, .our state, yourself johnny cannot play on the monkey bars.

you know what they put monkey bars over? asphalt. johnny cannot tie his shoe. struts on children's shoes. the antibacterial wipes -- how can we survive as a species without the antibacterial? god forbid you get a germ. no wonder we have a multimillion-dollar industry. if you love that kick, the next time he drops a sucker in the dirt, shove it backed in your mouth the way we had to do. that was america. at 17.

mom spit in a kleenex and white our face, and look how we turned out. this is how we turned out. if there is a missing link in the conservative movement, it is the, the factor. john stewart, -- jon stewart has affected more people than theologians. president obama is marching on. i'm out. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

>> you will see a number of these speeches later on our schedule.

you can find them online at c- span.org. tomorrow our coverage continues. speakers friday will include rick santorum, mitt romney, and newt gingrich, and also the virginia governor bob mcdonnell. we will have live coverage after 10:00 a.m. eastern on c- span. >> i thought this must be an american story, about a country that worships self-reliance, but it turns out we are laggards. it is much more common in european nations and in japan. >> in going solo, a look at thhe trend of american adults who live alone.

also this weekend, sunday at , and itndolenie rice 8:15,bonnie morris. "book tv," every weekend on c- span2. >> japan will lower its corporate rate to 38%. that will leave the united states with the highest corporate tax rate in the world. that make it more challenging to attract investors at home. >> seeing tax made is like seeing sausage made. >> it is time to put aside our

wish lists and work to support a coherent and equitable tax policy and structure perry >> this week house ways and means took up how to encourage grit by lowering tax rates. all the discussion online at the c-span.org video library c- span.org/videolibrary. >> nancy pelosi with budget committee ranking member chris van hollen a reims the rate introduction of the disclose act which would limit secret contributions to political campaigns. they addressed the administration's contraception decision. this is 30 minutes. >> good afternoon. i am honored to stand here this

afternoon with three leaders in the congress, chris van hollen, congressman israel, and mr. ellison from the status -- from minnesota. we're here to talk about the disclose act. we believe that can only happen for them where they have fairness and opportunity in our society and our economy, if there is fairness and our political system. the disclose act, spot to by congressman dan hollen once again, will go a long way in saying to same disclose means just that. we want to know where the secret

money is coming from that is going into campaigns. it is part of the image that we have to disclose, and when the election, when we reform decision, and at the same time amend the constitution, so that the role of money is greatly diminished. we believe that is an important contribution we have to make to the future of our country and the strength of our democracy. i believe that to reform the system, to diminish the role of money in the system, if we reduce the power of money in the political system, we will increase the number of women and minorities who will be elected to public office. my experience as one who has tried to encourage more participation is that people say, how would i raise the money? that should not be the reason why people want or do not run

for public office. nothing is more wholesome to the political system and our system of government and the increased participation of women and minorities in our system. again, we're here. we think the first step is to disclose act is to put it out there, and while we may not have the votes to pass it in the house, i hope we do. we pass it before and chris van hollen's edition. -- leadership. if we speak about this to the public and mr. allison will address that, we believe pressure will be on coz shareholders and employees to know what the political contributions are. now it is my honor to yield the floor to the distinguished gentleman from maryland, the

ranking democrat on the budget committee, he has served on the conference, the payroll tax cut, and he is the author of the disclosed at in the previous congress and has reintroduced it today, mr. van hollen. >> thank you for your leadership on the disclose act, as well as making for the american people get a fair shake, and i am pleased to be here with my colleagues, mr. israel and mr. ellison. in announcing to disclose act today, the american people deserve a political system that is fair, transparent, and accountable. if the political system is fair, transparent, and a campbell, we believe that will result and policies that are fair, and as the president said in his state of the union address, the american people deserve a fair shake. every body deserves the same

fair shake, the same shot and opportunity in this country, and to do that we should have a political system that responds to their needs, not to who is bankrolling various campaigns. what this says is let's get rid of secret money in american politics. let's make sure that when people contribute to these outside groups, whether they are contributors or corporations or other entities, whoever they may be, they have to disclose who they are. they have to report who the contributors are. the american people a right to know who is bankrolling east television ads they are watching. that is one think. another think it does is a part the people stand by their ads. people are from a year when congress members run tv ads, they say i approve this ad. requires outside groups to take

responsibility for the ads they are running and it requires court them to identify in writing the top five contributors to those ads -- who is paying the costs for those ads that are being run. it requires that corporations inform shareholders of the investments they are making in political campaigns. if there corporations are spending money to rot -- -- if their corporations are spending money to run ads, it requires lobbyists and registered lobbyists to report their campaign contributions, because these days secret contributions, and we believe those folks being paid to try to influence the lawmaking process should have to disclose their efforts to pay for campaign ads to help elect a very it's people that may turn

around and try to lobby. the focuses on making sure the american people know who is funding these campaign ads with the purpose being to create a legislative process where people have a fair shake. and we are going to be asking our members to sign a discharge petition. we think we should bring this bill to the floor. well over 80% of the american people, probably higher, believe the citizens united decision was a bad decision for our democracy, and people overwhelmingly support the idea of getting rid of the secret money in politics. at the very least, asking people to disclose who is financing these campaigns, who is financing these political advertisements. is what the bill does.

the message is as simple as the title -- disclosed. if he should have nothing to fear unless you have something to hide. and we are saying a simple message that we want people to disclose the source of the contributions behind these tv ads that are seeking to influence the political process. let me introduce my friend and colleague steve israel who has worked on many different reform issues since he has been here, and i am pleased to have him supporting this effort. >> thank you very much. this is a hostage exchange program that we have done. peter pelosi -- leader pelosi and mr. ellison. in 2010 a large number of

contributions came from secret groups. they were based on profit motive. they were secret, unfair, they were an assault on the middle- class. you can run for office, but you cannot hide behind your secret donors. it is that simple. the middle class has taken an absolute pd, -- beating, and part of that is because special groups have been assaulting the middle class to protect their right to price gouge and protect their right to profit. we believe in profits. we also believe that there should be honesty and transparency in our elections, and that is what the disclosed act is about. democracy requires accountability, accountability requires transparency, and transparency requires to disclose act. we are going to hold accountable every single

republican who ran for office, promising to reform the system, and then when it comes time, standing up with their constituents for accountability, and instead it stands up for secrecy, and slash the nation's, we will hold them accountable for that. -- this one of the -- this will be one of the hallmark moments who believe in transparency and those who will continue to protect the powerful in order to advance their own special interests. we will hold them accountable. i cannot think of many of our colleagues who have been fighting as relentlessly as keith ellison to represent the interests of working families and the middle class, and i am pleased deal to him. >> whether you're talking about the occupied movement or the tea party or anybody in between, there's one thing that americans are solid on, and that is they should have

transparency in government. secret money, manipulating outcomes for special interests is a paulson to americans. it does not matter what part of the political spectrum they come from. because they have called for transparency, we need to engage in a true partnership with them to pass the disclosed act as a first step. we need citizen sponsors. they can sign up and say we want to co-sponsored this bill. put my name down there for transparency, but we want to call on friends who are municipal leaders. city councils across the country are calling on countries -- on congress to make sure there is disclosures. many cities across the city -- the country say we need disclosure, we need to get corporate money out. the call on citizens, and people

ask us, what can i do? what we can have people do is sign up and place their name on the side of disclosure, and we will be organizing all across this country, working with people in local communities, for in ever believes an transparency, so we will embark on a massive organizing effort that will push this boat of disclosure down the road. thank you very much. >> thank you very much, keith. any questions? [unintelligible] absolutely. the president made a decision, which it was a wise one that he was not going to unilaterally disarm to decide who was

president and who would control the congress, and his commitment was full disclosure. that is why we were scheduled to do this this week, and the timing could not be better because it affords us the opportunity to say that the democrats their fundraising will be fully disclosing. by the way, we're asking people to contribute to us if they want to elect or were forced the congress so we can do away with super pacs, do away with secret contributions, we can reform the system, amend the constitution to overturn the citizens united decision. any comments on that? yes, man. [unintelligible] yes. we are limited as to what we can do for super pac.

it can say it is something we would support, i can raise $1,000 from a donor for it. but that is not a big effort we will move us. yes, i will, and the house majority pac, president's pac, both have full disclosure. as i said, our pitch is support us if you want to collect performers to do away with these pacs. before we go to another issue, because this is a full-fledged effort on our part, one that we have been working on for a long time, one we think it's fundamental to our democracy. i wanted to see if there are any other questions on this subject or any comments my comments as my colleagues would like to make. >> one comment. over many years there have been debates on campaign finance

reform, and the answer republicans used to always give when it came to campaign reform was we need disclosure. we need transparency. we do not need limits. we do not need to put any restrictions on giving, because disclosure will take care of the problem. i am hoping they will sign on to this bill, because what happened just two years ago, as we pass it out of the house, we got more than a majority of votes. we got 59 votes in the senate. every democrat and independence boating foreclosure. 59 votes was not enough. if it had not been for the passing of senator kennedy, to disclose act would be the law of the land. we had 60 votes. now we are in its aggression where republicans, having said for years and years that have

disclosure, they want secrecy. they'd want to hide the ball. they do want -- they do not want to know the people to know who is funding these out side groups who is supporting their efforts. everybody should disclose, whether you are -- regardless of what issued you are supporting, candidate you are supporting, the people have the right to know, and that is a simple idea, but also a very powerful idea, and as keith ellison said, we think the american people respond very strongly to that call, and we hope our republican colleagues will listen. >> is there a reason to believe that this might go to a vote [unintelligible] >> the public facility of the issue -- president lincoln said press -- said public sentiment is ever think, and to the extent

mr. allison said the responding to the need for this and the urgency that people out there seat for a, reaching out to others to build a drumbeat across america, that it can be better, that we can at this disclosure, you never know what actions this congress might take. i am not overwhelmingly optimistic because the lack of transparency and accountability has served them well. but we have to make sure they know the public is aware of what is happening here, the lack of transparency and accountability that exists here is counter to the well-being of the american people. most people think that one place they center on is the tax code, and they say the reason the code is not fair, what the wealthiest people get the biggest tax breaks and the middle-class pays the price, is because special interests way in in washington, d.c., on that tax code, and

we're saying, ok, let's see where the company is coming from and why. now let's address and supply and make more fair our tax code. this is one example of how this issue is related to fairness in our society and the well-being of the american people. are you still on this? thank you. [unintelligible] >> how much has obama campaign -- damaged his credibility in endorsing super pacs? >> i do not think at all. i have never been to a baseball game where one side was told you do not get bats. he is going to compete fairly and effectively, and as the leader said, nobody should expect this president to cede the election to karl rover and the koch brothers.

believe in transparency and honesty and we will compete on based on those standards. this is the moment of truth for the truth in campaigns. >> i agree. i am glad the president took a courageous stand he did, because the fact is you never know what is next with these guys. they will come up with another way to channel hundreds of millions of dollars, a small price for them to take -- to pay at of their massive fortunes for the price of doing business with them to reap the b benefits. ok, thank you for your interest in the disclose act. [unintelligible]

i support the president's decision. for a little history, as you may know, during the affordable care act, the bay -- the debate and the decisions that were made there, a waiver was given the catholic churches, not to have to include coverage for contraceptives for their employees directly and those working for catholic churches. now there is a move for some to expand that, to universities and hospitals, and they have even said they want this to apply to all employers, not just caplet employers come to all employers. this is about women's health. one of the things that is a priority for all the women in congress, and many of the catholic women in congress, is the health of american women. this is about privacy and rights of families to determine whether they want to use contraception

to determine the size and the timing of their having children, the size and timing of their families. this is an issue, 98% at catholics tell us they use contraception. overwhelming numbers of people support the president's decision, and you tell us the majority of catholics. i support it. if it comes to the floor, we will use a welcome debate to talk about the importance of women's health. it is not just about the women, but it is also about the children and the health of their families as they make a serious decision and use contraception to determine the size and timing of their families. so that will be a debate that we welcome. it is a sad one. we should not have to be at a place where people are saying where the overwhelming practice is going in favor of women's

health, we want to pull that back. and use the excuse of religious freedom, -- next. [unintelligible] yes, i think -- >> the speaker said there is not senate and house [unintelligible] still 70% of americans support [unintelligible] >> since mr. van hollen is one of our conferees, i will let him begin. >> let me start with a fundamental inconsistency in the position the republicans have. they have a double standard. the first thing they did when it became the majority party in the

house of representatives was to pass a rule saying when it comes to providing tax cuts for millionaires and the wealthiest, you do not have to pay for them. you will put that on the national credit card, put it on the deficit. that was their position. they put that in their rule. that will amount to about $1 trillion over the next 10 years. now they are saying when it comes to a temporary 10-month extension of a payroll tax cut that benefits not the very wealthy, the benefits 160 million working americans, that we have to offset that by making cuts in other areas that will hurt the middle class. you have heard them. they have talked about increasing medicare premiums. our view is if we are on to talk about offsetting the costs, and that is fine, you need to look at areas that do not hurt the

middle class, and that what is what we have proposed a surcharge on millionaires. that was a proposal put forward by the democrats in the senate. it is supported overwhelmingly by the american people as he indicated. if republicans are going to change the rules of the game and say for a payroll tax cut 460 million you have that offsets, and we did not play for the same rules for the very wealthy, our position is let's not take it out of the middle class. if they wanted to get out of other proposals, like ending subsidies on will and gas industries, special interest tax breaks, as revenue sources, that is fine, but we have had a proposal out there, and we think it is the right to go. [unintelligible]

what we are trying to do is move this process forward. i want for my everybody that the president was before the congress last september proposing an extension of apparel tax cut, an extension of unemployment insurance, a way to deal with seniors who are on medicare to make sure that their doctors and providers are paid. that was last september. we should have done this a long time ago. first we have all the extraneous issues that republicans attended december.emberd now they have all these new regulations. we have to stop that is if you want us to support a payroll tax cut.

that makes no sense. let's deal with these things on the merits. with respect to ui, put forward and offer that was a continuation of the existing ui. we are doing everything we can to move this process forward. we would like a little reciprocity. you look at the public record, and you have a lot of republican house members who are on record opposing a payroll tax cuts for 160 million americans. the attitude they have taken, if you want to extend this for 10 months, you have to pay a price for that. i do not think the american people think that we should have to block clean air regulations in order to provide tax cuts for 160 million americans. that is not right.

>> this whole debate about the extension of the payroll tax deduction and taxui and the speaker's position that there is no support for it, it is exactly why the disclose act is necessary now. people believe that the reason their government will not respond to the overwhelming majority of them is because of the excessive influence of money in politics. i am hoping we can use -- this is exhibit a as to why we have to disclose and what we need to get corporate money out of politics. add, this is why they're plummeting in every single poll of house republicans. they are so disconnected. there is a sense in the country that the only thing about the

tax cut that the republicans do not like is the middle class. the first time in the history of republicans that they have become frugal when it comes to tax cuts. that they have found one condition after another, one exchange after another to hold up this cut for the middle class. we need to pass the disclosed at, but the republicans are disclosing themselves as hostile to the middle class, and this explains why they are where they are in every single national poll. but if this congress were a reflection of the will of the american people, which would have an extension of the payroll tax cut for 160 million americans, and it would be paid for by a surcharge. they know what is right. they know we should do this because it is good for the economy as well as good for families. they know if it has to be paid for that it should come from a place that does not harm the middle class. they know we should not grant

with one hand a tax cut and take away what what -- with the other hand. the american people are very wise. if we are to be very relevant in meeting their needs and representative of their values and their knowledge and their lives, we would pass the payroll tax cut and we would do so with a surcharge, if it has to be paid for at all. there is fairness and symmetry in desperate we did not pay for tax cuts for the wealthy. why should we pay for them with the middle-class? 72 percent of the american people have the wisdom to know something has intervened between the wisdom of the american people and the decisions of the republicans in conagra's. that is the conversation -- in congress. that is the conversation we will be having. a couple weeks before the

deadline, and in january nobody was around kept calling for the republicans to do the work so we're not pressed against a deadline. we come back next week and then after that, right up against the deadline. there is no reason why we should not get this done by february 17 hit the conclusion you could draw is that the republicans do not support it pyrrole tax cut for middle-income people. we're here to represent the people to be a reflection of their values and parties. they want a tax cut and they want to pay for it by a surge charge. thank you for coming by this afternoon.

>> tomorrow, live coverage of the cpac. you hear from rick santorum, mitt romney, and newt gingrich, and also virginia and governor bob mcdonnell. live coverage under way after 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> when i started the book i thought this must be an american story. this is about a country that portion of the religious self- reliance. this is a legacy of thoreau and emerson. it turns out we are laggards when it comes to living alone. it is much more common in european nations, and is more common in japan. >> a look at the growing trend of adults to live alone and what

that means for the country. also at this weekend, second cousin of condoleezza rice, condi rice, on her work to reduce gang violence in los angeles. at 8:15, bonnie morris. book tv," every weekend on c-span2. >> american history tv documents a process of removing a replica coat and putting lincoln's original coat on display. on "americant

artifacts." >> the president announced the 10 states getting approval to opt out of the no child left behind law. increased flexibility is an effort to allow states to avoid some of the mandates in allow all. the 10 states are colorado, florida, georgia, indiana, kentucky, new jersey, oklahoma, and tennessee. this is from the white house career to date. -- earlier today.

thank you very much. welcome to the white house. i want to welcome you to the white house. i want to recognize someone who is doing a good job here in washington, and that is arne duncan. love arne. we have outstanding members of congress who have always been on the front lines when it comes to education reform. but above all i want to thank all the teachers here today. where are the teachers? there you go. we got some teachers here. earlier this week we toasted our second white house science fair. a chance to shoot a marshmallow

out of an air cannon, which i do not usually get to do. i met these incredibly talented young people, kids who were working on everything from portable housing for disaster victims to technology that can detect smuggled uranium before it became a threat. this young man built a prototype. i asked him how he came up with this, and he said he had been interested in nuclear materials. he said his mom was not that happy about it. it is -- unbelievable young people. i gave them some homework. i said go find a teacher who helped them make it here and say thank you. every single one of us can point to a teacher who in some way changed the course of our lives.

the impact of a much bigger than we realize. a study found a single good teacher could increase the lifetime earnings of a classroom by $250,000. a single teacher. a great teacher can help a young person escape poverty, allow them to dream beyond their circumstances. teachers matter, and in an economy where employers are looking for the most skilled and educated workers, fewer people will have an in than the people in our classrooms, and that is why we're here today, it is about our classrooms. in september after waiting for too long for congress act, i announce my administration would take steps to reform no child left behind on our island. this is not the first and biggest we cannot wait announcement we have made because our kids in our schools

cannot be held back by inaction. i want to point out that members of congress are ready to act, but we have not been able to get the entire house and senate to move on this. i said back then the goals of no child left behind where the right ones -- standards and accountability, those are the right goals, closing the achievement gaps, that is the right goal. we have to stay focused on those goals, but we have to do it in a way that does not force teachers to teach to the test or encourage schools to lower their standards to avoid being labeled as failures but that does not help anybody. it does not help our children in the classroom. we determined we need a different approach, and i have always believed each of us has a role to play when it comes to our children's education. as parents we have responsibility to make sure all work gets done, but also to

instill a love of learning from the very start. as a nation, we have tourists pressed we have a responsibility to give students resources they need, from the highest quality schools to the latest text books to science labs that actually work. in return, we should demand better performance. we should demand reform, and that was the idea behind race to the top. for less than 1% of what our nation spends on education each year, we have almost every state in the nation to raise their standards for teaching and learning, and that is the first time that has happened in a generation. when it comes to fixing what is wrong with no child left behind we have offered every state the same deal. we said if you are willing to set higher, more honest standards than the ones that are set by no child left behind, we will give you the flexibility to meet those standards.

we want bystander its and we will -- we want high standards, and we will get you more flexibility. what might work in minnesota it may not work in kentucky, but every state will have the same opportunity to reach their potential. over the last five months, 39 states have told us they were interested. some have already applied, and today i am pleased to announce that we are getting 10 states the green light to continue making reforms that are best for them. each of these states has set higher benchmark for student achievement. they have come up with ways to evaluate and support teachers fairly based on more than just a set of tests. along with promoting best practices for all of our children, they will be focusing on low-income students and english language learners and

students with disabilities. not just to make sure those children cannot fall but the cracks, and make sure they have every opportunity the ghost at -- to go as far as their talents will take. massachusetts has set a goal to cut the number of underperforming since in half over the next six years. i like that goal. colorado has launched a website that will allow teachers and parents to see how much progress since are making and how different schools are measuring up. nothing creates more accountability than when parents are either taking a look and see what is going on. new jersey is developing an early warning system to reduce the number of dropouts. tennessee is creating a state- wide school district to aggressively tackle its lowest- performing schools. florida has set a goal to have their test scores rank in the top five states in the country and the top 10 countries in the world. i like that in addition.

this is good news for our kids and our country. i am confident we will see more states come forward in the months ahead, because if we are serious about helping our children reach their full potential, the best ideas are not want to come from here in washington. if they will come from cities and towns from all across america. the uncovered teachers and principals and parents -- they will come from teachers and professors and parents and from you, who have a sense of what works and what does not. our job is to harness those ideas, to lift up best practices, hold states and schools accountable for making them work. that is how we will make sure every child has the skill and education they need to compete with the jobs in the future and to be great citizens. that is how we will build an economy that lasts. to all the educators in the room, thank you for what you do every day. we are very proud of your

efforts. we know it is not easy. we are proud of you. and working together i am confident that year after year we will see steady improvement. i told the superintendent i met backstage before i cannot hear this is not a one-year project. this is not a two-year project. this will take some time. but we can get it done. with the kind of determination and the kind of commitment that so many of you have shown. i am proud of you, i am proud of arne duncan. let's make this happen. thank you very much, everybody. >> is and settlement, please remain in your seats -- ladies and gentlemen, please remain in your seats until the president

has the pardon. -- has departed to. -- has departed. ♪

>> our coverage of the actionvative political pack

conference continues tomorrow. it is live starting just after 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> i started the book i thought this must be an american story. this is about a country that worships the religion of self- reliance. this is the legacy of thoreau and emerson. it turns out we are laggards when the comes to living alone. it is much more common in europe and japan. >> a look at the growing trend of american adults choosing to live alone. saturday night at 10:00 p.m. eastern. sunday at 3:00, connie rice her work is reduce gang violence in l.a.

at 8:15, bonnie morris. "book tv," every weekend on c- span2. >> that will leave the united states with the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world. this distinction will make it that much more challenging to attract businesses at home. but somebody said seeing tax law may is like seeing sausage made. >> it is time for businesses to put aside our wish lists and to work collectively to support a more coherent and equitable tax policy and corporate taxation structure. >> follow the discussion online

at disease and video library at c-span.org/videolibrary. today the u.s. house pass the stock back, similar to a measure pass last week in the senate. it would bar members from using nonpublic information while trading stocks. it pass the house 417-2. here is the debate from earlier today. as i may consume. the spker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. smith: madam speaker, every member of this house has sworn a solemn oath to support and defend the constitution and to faithfully execute the office to which they have been entrusted by their constituents. the stop trading on congressional knowledge, or

stock act, goes to the heart of what it means to faithfully execute public office. the government exis to promote the public good, not to enrich government officials and employees. those who are entrusted with public office are called public servants because their work should always serve the public rather than themselves. no one should violate the sacred trust of government office by turning public service into self-service. the risk of government self-dealing is heightened by the huge growth in recent years of the federal government and its increasing entanglement with the private economy. the risk of self-dealing increases when the government undertakes to spend nearly $1 trillion in stimulus money on private companies like solyndra. . or when the government inserts itself into the 1/5 of our economy represented by health care and dictates the terms of

private insurance policies. the decisionsade by big government can have big money consequences. big government can move markets. that's why we need strong rules to reassure the public the decisionmakers are not enriching themselves by investing based on insider knowledge of government policies. this is the goal of the stock act. in the house version of the stock act achieves this goal. it strengthens the senate proposal by expanding the scope of the bill to require more disclosure and prevent all office holders from profiting from insider information. the house bill expands the legislation so that the ban on insider trading applies to all legislative, executive, and judicial branch officials and their staffs. the american people deserve to know that no one in any branch of government can profit from their office. all three branches should be

held the same standard because all three branches must be worthy of the public's trust. and the bill ensures that members of congress who commit a crime do not receive a taxpayer funded pension. the stock act clarifies that members of congress and other government insiders havto play by the same rules against insider trading that have applied to the private sector for nearly 80 years. under the house bill, no federal government official may use nonpublic information which they learn by virtue of their oice for the purpose of making a profit in the commodities or stock market. the bill strengthens financial disclosure rules for public officials. financial disclosure forms will be made publicly available in searchable, downloadable data bases on government websites. the bill requires prompt reporting of siificant securities transactions by key legislative and executive branch officials. this will bring the financial

dealings of public servants into the light of day. the stock act also strengthens disclosure of officials' mortgages so public servants do not receive special rates and offers by virtue of their office. the bill expands the list of crimes that sult in a forfeiture of government pension ghts and it prevents fannie mae and freddie mac from paying lucrative bonuses to the executives who bear so much responsibility for the housing crisis. the house bill adds a provision to prevent government officials from receiving special early access to the initial public official of stock, which can result in measured profits for the well connected. thbill requires executive branch officials to disclose their negotiations for private sector jobs just like legislative branch officials do under current law. the bill makes it a crime for executive branch officials to pressure private businesses to hire employees of a certain

political party, a government law that currently only applies to congress. the stock act increases disclosure and accountability for every branch of the federal government, and ensures that public servants don't breach the trust of the american people. madam speaker, for all of the above reasons i support this legislation and encourage my colleagues to support it as well. madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from michigan. mr. conyers: thank you, madam speaker. members of the house, we come here this morning as the leaders of the judiciary committee and i have to assume that the chairman of the judiciary committee, mr. smith, like myself, are deeply disappointed that we are

bringing a bill that we never had a hearing on before the committee for -- before the congress for a disposition. here is a bill referred to six committees -- financial services, agriculture, judiciary, house administration, ethics, and the rules committee. only one hearing was held in one of these committees on this measure. it's never been before judiciary or any other committee. and so i want to begin by complimenting the author of this measure, the ranking member, former chairman of rules committee, the gentlelady from new york, luis slaughter, for -- louise slaughter, for a serious

and important amendment that has never been treated fairly. now, don't know what the explanation is. maybe we can get to it during this proceeding, but i think that this is not the way that we want to move forward with a bil that was supposed tget to insider trading b that everybody wanted, because there's no reporting requirement in this bill. and so i'll reserve the balance of my time and look forward to the discussion. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from texas. mr. smith: madaspeaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from florida, mr. ross, who is an active member of the judiciary committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized for two minutes. mr. ross: thank you, madam

speaker. mr. chairman, i rise in support of the stock act today and in support of extending its reach to the executive branch. all of us who have been honored by our fellow citizens with the enormous responsibility of protecting the liberties of this republic have a duty to hold ourselves to the highest of standards. you know it's ironic that in 2012 we are here debating a bill th would prevent public officials from enriching themselves through our positions. it's ironic because one of the great causes that impels the separation from great britain was the common practice of public officials using their office to increase their personal wealth. madam speaker,36 years ago those patriots said enough. that spirit is in america's d.n.a. and we would do a disservice to all who came before us if we failed to act. i know that a vast majority of my friends on the other side of the aisle shar this belief as

well. a calling to service noes -- knows no party label. madam speaker, i urge a yes vote on the bill and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan. mr. conyers: madam speaker, i am pleased now to recogne the original author of this bill, and because of her deep concern about this matter i'm going to yield her as much time as she may coume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york is recognized for as much time as she may consume. ms. slaughter: good morning, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman for his generosity. try as i may the majority leader cantor and the house republican leadership were unable to move forward with the stock act without keeping at least some of the reforms that we included in its bill six years ago. however when it comes to k street it appears that republican leadership couldn't stomach the pressure from the

political intelligence community. after working behind closed doors the majority removed the major provision that would have held political intelligence operatives to the same sands as lobbyists who come before the congress. i need to put into the record that political intelligence is worth $400 million a year. it is unregulated, unseen, and operates in the dark. fortunately democrats, republicans alike are fighting to keep political intelligence as part of the final bill. senator grassley shares my outrage that mr. cantor would let the political intelligence community off the hook. together with the supermajority of democrats and republicans in the senate, senator grassley foowed my lead and included political intelligence requirement in the senate version of this bill. i think his statement yesterday tells you-all you need to know about his desire to see this language inserted backnto the stock act before it reaches the

president's desk. i would like to read that into the record if i may. it is astonishing and extremely disappointing, senator grassley said, that the house would fulfill wall street's wishes by killing this provision. the senate clearly voted to try to shed light on an industry that's behi the scenes. if the senate language is too broad, why not propose a solution instead of scrapping the provision altogether? i hope to see a vehicle for meaningful transparency through a house-senate conference or other means. if congress delays action, the political intelligence industry will stay in the shadows just the way wall street likes it. it's hard, the stock act is a statement of how we in congress view ourselves and our relationship with those who sent us here. no matter how powerful our position may be or we believe it is, no matter how halo the walls

we walk -- hallow the walls we walk, none of us is above the law. with the passage of the stop act we can move one step closer to the faith and trust bestowed upon us by the america people, the citizens whom we serve. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. smith: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from illinois, mr. dold, who is also a member of the financial services committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognized for two minutes. mr. dold: thank you, madam speaker. i certainly want to thank the chairman for yielding. i thank you for your leadership. i also want to thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, ms. slaughter, mr. walz for your leadership with regard to the stock act. madam speaker, the american public believed that congress s the ability to profit from their position. and while this is illegal today in insider trading laws, i think that we've got an obligation to make it even stronger and even clearer to the american public and to everyone that we here in the united states congress hold

ourselves up to a higher standard. i think this is expected of us as public servants. i am pleased to say that in the stock act, in this legislation, moving forward, this language from my bill, h.r. 2162, the no pensions for felons bill. this language will strengthen and expand the existing law to require that federal lawmakers convicted of a public corruption felony forfeit their taxpayer funded congressional pension. i know this sounds like common sense, but actually today there are those that are collecting taxpayer funded pensions that have been convicted of a public corruption charge. while serving in public office. this provision adds 21 new public corruption offenses to the current law, including violations for insider trading and others. additionally this will prohibit the formerembers of congress

from receiving a congressional pension if they are convicted of a covered offense that occurred while they are subsequently serving in any other publicly elected office. sadly we have seen this bere where former members of this chamber like one from my state, former governor rob blagojevich, convicted of a felony, corruption charges, and yet at age 62 he'll be eligible for taxpayer funded pension. not only is this wrong, this is an insult to the american taxpayers. and this provisi will address such violations of the public trust in the future. i want to thank the chairman for your leadership -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. dold: i want to urge my colleagues, not just on my side of the aisle, but across the aisle, to support this important legislation. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan. mr. conyers: madam speaker, i'm pleased now to recognize the

distinguished gentleman from minnesota, who joined with the ranking member of the rules committee, in introducing the original bill, tim walz. i yield to him as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: th gentleman from minnesota is recognized for as much time as he may consume. mr. walz: i thank the gentleman from michigan. i'd also like to thank the chairman for his support of this bill and eloquent response on it. it's been a long six-year jury to pass this reform. it's taken hard work and bipartisan effort. the ameran people expects and deserves that. when i first came to congress in 2006 after spending a lifetime of teaching social studies in the public school classroom, i was approached by the the gentlewoman from new york, ms. slaughter, and brian baird, a former member from washington state, he said you were st here to make a difference and do things differently. if you believe in reform look at this bil i got involved right after that and representative slaughter i can say has been a stalwart supporter of this bill.

she understood this is far more than just about clarifying insider trading. this is about restoring faith to the institution. she's done this not -- ethics seems to be in vogue right now. it's been in vogue her whole lifetime. she has lived that sermon of ethics and living by the rules instead of just giving it. that i appreciate. understanding the integrity of this institution stands above all else. we must as the sacred holders of the privilege, honor, and responbility given to us by our neighbors to self-govern ourselves, make sure that this institution is never tarnished. and this bill goes a long ways to doing that. the perception is that members of congress are enriching themselves. that's not only affront to our neighbors we are not playing by the rules, it is a cancer that can destroy the democracy. each member of congress has a responsibility to hold themselves not just equal to their neighbors but to a higher standard. the public wants us to come here and debate how we educate our children. .

that's what makes us strong. to come to a compromise and move forward. if there is a perception that someone is enriching themselves, it undermines our ability to do those things. we are not here today to get a pat on our back. we're here to say, this is a victory not for us. it is one tiny step on a journey which is about restoring the faith of the american people and th institution. they can believe with all their heart that we are wrong. they cannot believe that we are corrupt. they will have us and we will pass and we will bedust and this building, this podium right here will still stand and that's what we're doing here today. so i implore folks, let's come together in a bipartisan manner. every -- and i agree with the gentlelady. i'm disappointed the political intelligence piece isn't in

here, but as i said, i believe this is a first step. we can't wait for the perfect in order to move forward. i feel it's a bipartisan compromise. i ask my colleagues, give this win to the american public and then let's get back in here, start working on jobs. let's get back in here and start working on the national debt. let's get back in here and figure out how we're going to protect this nation and educate our children into the future. this lets us do that. i think shing the american public we can come together, let's get thisassed and have the president sign it and let's get on to real business. with that i thank the gentleman for the time. again, i thank the ranking member and members of this and i would be remiss not to mention a person who was one of the original seven folks on this bill, walter jones has been our republican colleague, has been a stalwart supporter of this. this is truly a bipartisan piece. ethics crosses the aisle. our folks in here are good people coming together for the good of their citizens and for that i'm grateful for today. with that, madam speaker, i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas. mr. smh: madam speaker, i yield two minutes to my texas colleague, mr. canseco, who is a member of the financial services committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for two minutes. mr. canseco: thank you, madam speaker. i thank my colleague, chairman smith. madam speaker, too often the american people feel that members of congress live by a benefit personally -- live from a different set of rules and -- than which ordinary americans live. to me that is unacceptable. it is imperative we rebuild the trust of the american people in their elected representatives. the stock act will help do just that. it explicitly bans members of congressand congressional staff from using information obtained on the job and using it to profit from secities trading and gives the securities and exchange commission the ability to investigate and prosecute them

just like any other american. the american people expect that those whoerve in government to do so with integrity. the stock act will help ensure that those in government meet thisxpectation. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from michigan. mr. conyers: madam speaker, i'm pleased to recognize bobby scott, the chairman of the ranking member of the subcommittee which thimeasure would have gone had we been able to hold hearings, i yield to him as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for as much time as he may consume. mr. scott: i thank the gentleman for yielding. madam speaker, t bill we're asking today, the stock act, would pro-- prohibit members of congress and other brancheof government to use information derived from an individual's

position or gained from an individual's duty for personal benefit. today we're amending the senate-passed bill with a substitute which makes changes to the senate tax which is regrettably, requiring political intelligence activities be disclosed under the lobbying disclosure act. they sell that information to investment firms and the public should be informed about these types of contacts. with this bill our goal is to hold members of congress as well as other government officials to the same standard as those in corporations who have the duty not to trade on information that is not available to the general public. now, most members of congress believe that this type of activity was wrong. whether explicitly prohibited by criminal law or at least subject to the ethics committee sanctions. and most of us assume that a

federal -- a food and drug administration official could not call a stockbroker shortly before a blockbuster drug is approved and profit off of that insider knowledge we just assume that was wrong. but this bill codifies what most of us thought was already th law. this is not a complicated issue. this is the same standard that applies to those in the corporate context. it is wrong to trade on nonpublic information for our benefit and to the detriment of the public. the public has the right to expect that public interest comes first and that people should not have to worry about what would be motivating our actions as we make decisions that impact them. i acknowledge the work of my colleagues, the gentlelady from new york, ms. slaughter, and the gentleman from minnesota, mr. walz, for drafting and introducing the house version of the stock act. this legislation represents an

appropriate acknowledgment of what most of us thought already was the law, that the national government officials of all branches should not benefit financially from nonpublic information they learn by virtue of their positions and so i urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the legislation. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas. mr. smith: madam speaker, i will yield two minutes to the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. duffy, who is a member of the financial services committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized for two minutes. mr. duffy: i appreciate the ntleman for yielding. i think we are all aware that this issue came out when peter wrote a book called "throw them all out." after that "60 minutes" did a special story of how members of congress were benefiting by using whether it was insider information or information that the rest of the public wasn't privy to. and i think that story and the succeeding several months has created a deficit of trust between meers of congress and the american constituents. what i did is i introduced a version that would deal with

this issue i think very simply. i thought what we should do is mandate that members put their assets into a blind trust so there is a bright line between information that they have as members and their trading portfolio. if they choseot to do that they would have to aggressively disclose every trade within three days. now, my bill is not on the floor today, but the version we have here today i think is much improved from the original version that came out. we have an improved reporting requirement that goes from 90 days, not to three, but it goes to 30 days, which is much improved from the original legislation. we've included the executive branch, which i think is imperative, a we have language that uses the blind trust as a potential opt out if you are not actually managing your funds. now, as we gather out and vote on this bill, vote on this bill, i think this is important

that this is the first step, a step in the right direction, but as we come together and re-evaluate what we have done here, i think there's many more steps to take to ensure that members of congress don't profit from the information they come across as a member of this institution. with that i'd yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from michigan. mr. conyers: madam speaker, i'm pleased now to recognize a member of the judiciary committee that's worked on this matter even though we couldn't hold hearings, the gentleman from tennessee, steve cohen, and i recognize him for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized for two minutes. mr. cohen: thank you, mr. chairman, and thank you, madam speaker. this is a very important bill, and i appreciate the efforts put in it by ms. slaughter and mr. walz who have championed this for many, many, many years, and i appreciate the republicans for coming in with a bipartisan effort. the bill has indeed been improved by the senate, and it was improved through the honest

services statute that was added to it which our committee debated and passed i believe in a goodly fashion. i don't know if it's unanimous or not, but that was the most important aspects, in my opinion, of this bill. there are public officials thhout this untry who have abused their position of trust and that has hurt all of government by using the position for personal gain. the honest services statute used to be a vehicle by which u.s. attorneys could go after them. the supreme court ruled there was a defectn that law. it has been corrted in this bill. it means we got more effective ways to clean up folks who are using public service for their own benefit and restore public trust in public officials from the courthouse to congress. further, it makes clear that nobody can be using their inside information here to be making money in the stock market and other places. all of which destroys the public trust which we hold. this congress is so, so, so

much better than the ratings the public gives it. some of us because of a few bad apples and some of us a misunderstanding of what we do. this bill will go a long way to cleaning up congress and the impurities of impropriety which is important as impropriety. we need to be like caesar's wife, beyond reproach, and this bill will do a lot towards it. i take my hat, again, to ms. slaughter and mr. walz, and i'm proud to be one of the original nine. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas. mr. smith: madam speaker, i'm pleased to yield one minute to the gentleman from virginia, the majority leader, mr. cantor. the speaker pro tempore: the majority leader is recognized for one minute. mr. cantor: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman from texas. madam speaker, our government was founded on a promise. this promise was built on the trust between the people and its elected officials. we all have a duty to honor the

trust of the american people and to work faithfully on the behalf. madam speaker, it is unacceptable for anyone, any elected official or their staff to profit from information that is not available to the public. people in this country have a right to know and trust that officials at all levels of government are living under the same rules they are. if there is en the slightest appearance of impropriety we ought to go ahead and prevent that from taking place. it is incumbent upon each of us to start restoring the trust between the people and their elected representatives. that's what the stock act is all about. madam speaker, members on both sides of the aisle have worked hard on this issue. i'd especially like to express my appreciation to representatives tim walz and louise sughter for the years

of work on this effort. congressman walz has been a leader on the stock act since he took office at the start of the 110th congress, and i particularly want to recognize his willingns to reach across the aisle and keep the lines of communications open as we work to make clear that elected officials abide by the same rules as the american people. this bill we are bringing to the floor today puts in place measures that both strengthen and expand the senate's work on the stock act as well as remove provisions that would have made the bill unworkable or raised far more questions than it would have answered. we expanded the bill to ensure that executive branch officials and their employees are subject to the same reporting and disclosure requirements as those in congress. we must all live under the same rules. we also included a provision

championed by representative robert dolled to ensure that members of -- robert dold to ensure that members of congress who are convicted of a crime do not receive a taxpayer-funded pension after the fact. and finally madam speaker, we added a provision that prohibits members of congress, executive branch officials and their staff from receiving special access to initial public offerings due to their positions. madam speaker, we intend to act quickly to send the president a strengthened workable bill that delivers on our promise to uphold the trust of the american people. and i urge all my colleagues to support the stock act and i yield back the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from michigan. mr. conyers: i yield myself briefly. may i ask the distinguished majority leader one question why he took political intelligence out of this provision and i yield to the gentleman. mrcantor: sure. i respond to the gentleman.

i think that is a provision that raises an awfulot of questions. i think there's a lot of discussion and debate about who and what would qualify and fall under the suggested language that came from the senate. and that is why in the stock act we're calling for a study of that issue to ensure that the integrity of this process is maintained. but i'd remind the gentleman the thrust of this bill is about making sure that none of us in elected office or those in the executive branch are able tprofit from nonpublic information. the political intelligence piece is outside of this body and we are talking about us and the perception that has gathered around our conduct and i yield back to the gentleman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. conyers: well, i thank the gentleman, because there are some members on the gentleman's

side of the aisle that says if congress delays action on the polical intelligence industry , we will stay in the shadows just the way wall street likes it. . i think we ought to thi about that and i'm hoping that the leader will continue the examination of the political intelligence industry piece. i am now pleased to yield to the distinguished leader on our side of the aisle, the gentlelady from california, nancy peli, one minute. ms. pelosi: i thank the gentleman for yielding and thank him for giving us this opportunity to discuss an important matter, the integrity of congress on the floor of the house. i, toowant to join the distinguished majority leader, mr. cantor, in praising the leadership of congresswoman louise slaughter, our ranking member on the rules committee, and congressman tim walz, for

theiextraordinary leadership over time, their persistence, the approach they have taken to this to remove all doubt in the public's mind if that is possible. that we are here to do the people's busins and not to benefit personally from it. i listened intentatively to the distinguishedajority leader, mr. cantor's, remarks about the stock act and its importance, and it does raise a question to me if it is so important, and it certainly is, why we could not have worked in a more bipartisan fashion either to accept the senate bill, which was developed in a bipartisan fashion and passed the senate 94 shall 6, it's hard to get a result -- 94-6, it's hard to get a result like that in congress these days. they were able to get the result because they worked together to develop their legislation. we had two good options. one was to accept the senate bill or to take up the

slaughter-walz legislation which has nearly 300 co-sponsors, almost 100 republican co-sponsors on the original stock act, the discharge petition has been called upon the leadership to bring that bill to the floor. what's important about that is when we pass that bill we could go to conference and take the best and strongest of both bills to get the job done. instead secretly the republicans brought a much diminished bill to the floor. it has some good features so i urge ourolleagues to vote for it to bring the process along. what's wrong about it is, though, it makes serious omissions. i want to associate myself with remarks that have been made earlier, i think they bear repetition in any event. senator grassley's remarks are stunning. a stunning indictment of the

house republicans in terms of their action on this bill. he said, and i know my colleagues have read this into the record already. senator grassley said, it's astonishing and extremely disappointing that the house would fulfill wall street's wishes by killing this provision. that would be the provision on political intelligence. the senate clearly voted to try to shed light on an industry that's behind the scenes. if the senate language is too broad as opponents say, why not propose a solution instead of scrapping the provision altogether? i hope to see senator grassley said, a vehicle for meaningful transparency through a house-senate conference and other means. if congress delays action, as mr. conyers has said, if congress delays action, said senator grassley, the political intelligence industry will stay in the shadows just the way wall street likes it. well, the senator's statement is

very widely covered. "the hill" today has a big front page. grassley republicans ced. iowa senator says, house doing wall street bidding. i think it's important to note that on the senate side there was interest in doing this study that is now in the house bill, and it was rejected by the senate by a 60-39 vote to include the intelligence -- political intelligence provision in the bill, rejecting the study. now that that's already been rejected in the senate, it's resurrected on theouse side in weakening of the bill. whether it's the political intelligence piece proposed by senator grassley or senator leahy's piece about corruption, i think it's really important that those two elements included in the bill. a good way to do that, to find a path to bipartisanship in the

strongest possible bill is to pass the bill today despite its serious shortcomings, and it's hard to understand why we are -- why these shortcomings are there, but nertheless they are, pass the bill today, and go to conference. two paths earlier were taccept the senate bill or take the original stock act, strong stock act, to the floor. both of those were rejected. pass this bill, go to conference. it's very important that the house and the senate meet to discuss these very important issues. with all due respect to a study on political intelligence, that's really just a dodge. that just is a way to say we're not going to do the political intelligence piece. so, again, th serious reservations about the bill but thinking it's the better cours of action is to pass it and i don't want anybody to interpret the strong vote for it to be a

seal of approval for what it is. but just a way of pushing the process down the line so that we can move expeditiously to go to conference for the strongest possible bill. i want to close again by saluting congresswom louise slaughter and congressman m walz for their relentless persistence, dedication to this issue. had they not had this discharge petition and the 300 -- nearly 300 co-sponsors, bipartisan, nearly 100 of them republicans, i doubt we would even be taking up this bill today. so congratulations and thank you. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from texas. mr. smith: one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. lungren, who is a seor member of the judiciary committee and also chairman of the house administration committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. mr. lungren: i thank the gentleman. madam speaker, let me just point out a couple of things in response to what has been said on the floor about the bill before us.

had we adopted, had we accepted the senate bill, we would have had 16 drafting errors not corrected. 16 mistakes in the senate bill that drafted the wrong provisions of the ethics laws that already exists and would have ensured that what was said on the senate floor and is being said here would not be enforced in law, number one. number two, if we had taken the senate bill, the absolute prohibition about members participating in i.p.o.'s would not be before us. that is an addition we have in the house bill. that is an additional prohibition. that makes that an illegal act. it has not been in the past. the senate bill did not even talk about it. third, with respect to the question of political intelligence, i respect the senator from iowa very much. but i doubt he has ever prosecuted anybody and put them in prisofor conflict of interest during a public service.

i have. i understand that when you -- could i have 30 seconds more? mr. smith: an additional minute. mr. lungren: i understand when you do that you have to deal with the very careful constitutional questions of people dealing with their right to apply before the government their grievances. that has become known now as lobbying. it is a actually protected activity. and the idea that we have a congress committed to transparency means that we give out as much information as we possibly can. those are difficult, conflicting interests that have to be carefully determined if we are going to deal with the question of political intelligence. it does us no good to pass a bill that will be rendered unconstitutional. and it does us no good to not carefully consider this. as a matter fact on the senate floor it was senator

lieberman who asked his fellow colleagues to give them time on the senate side to study the issue so that precisely they would not render the bill unconstitutional. i might add that senator lieberman also served as attorney general of his state and knows whereof he speaks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. conyers: thank you, madam speaker. we know that -- i yield myself 30 seconds. i'd just ke to compliment the distinguished gentleman from california who was an attorney general himself and is very sharp on these matters. could you make available to us these 16 draft errors of the senate? i would be delighted to get them from you. mr. lungren: i the gentleman would send somebody over here you can make a copy of it right now. mr. conyers: thank you very much. i am pleased now to yield to the distinguished gentleman from

maryland, the ranking member of oversight and government reform, elijah cummings, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized forwo minutes. mr. cummings: thank you, madam speaker. i want to thank the gentleman for yielding. i want to thank ms. slaughter and mr. walz for your tremendous work. i stand here and urge our members to support this bill, but certainly i have my concerns. the house republicans stripped out of a bipartisan bill th passed the senate erwhelmingly key provision that is were supported by democrats and republicans alike. senator grassley and senator from iowa who i worked with quite a bit as ranking member was among the first who criticized their actions. and after they stripped out his provisions to require greater transparency over so-called political intelligence, consultant senator grassley said and has been said again and

again and i think it needs to be plated in the d.n.a. of every cell of our brains it's astonishing, these are his words, and extremely disappointing the house would fulfill wall street's wishes by killing this provision. that is an incrible indictment and i share his disappointment this bill does not go far enough to require the transparency that we need. will the me be clear, no members of congress should be able to benefit peonally from information they gained by virtue of their service in the congress. however, house republicans have rushed to the floor a weakened legislation that members have not had a chance to read the wa they should have had. perhaps as a result of the bush this bill also appears to have drafting problems that need to be corrected. for example, the office of government and ethics has indicated that the current bill could be interpreted as requiring the confidential financial disclosure forms filed by low-level employees such as staff assistance in the executive branch must be posted

online. mr. speaker, while i support the purpose of this legislation, while i will vote for this legislation, i have my deep concerns, but as mr. cantor said, hopefully we'l be able to address these issues in the future and comout with a better bill w that i yield back and thank the gentleman for yielding. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from yields back. the gentleman from texas. mr. smith: how much time remains on each side? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas has 6/2 minutes remaining. the gentleman from michigan has 2 1/2 minutes remaining. mr. smith: madam speaker, we are prepared to close. so i yield to the gentleman from michigan. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. mr. conyers: madam speaker, i am prepared to close and i would do so by yielding to the distinguished gentlelady from texas, sheila jackson lee, the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: t gentlelady from texas is recognized.

for 2 1/2 minutes. ms. jackson lee: let me thank the members of the judiciary committee on both the chairman and the ranking member, and as all have applauded congresswoman slaughter, mr. walz for their continued leadership, and i'm very pleased to have been one of the long, as they say, suffering co-sponsors since i believe the 110th congress. it's important for our colleagues to understand that i think we all come here with the intent to serve this country and to serve it well. and i believe that when we self-regulate we only enhance this institutional body that has such enormous history because of the changing times. i don't believe that members of congress are spending their time

dwelling on information that they have and using it for self-purpose. but we now stand here united saying that members of congress, employees of congress, and all federal employees, are prevented from using any nonpublic information derived from the individual's position as a member of congress or employee of congress or gained from performance of the individual's duties for person benefit. that is waving a flag to all of our constituents, to the nation, that says that we are here to stand united for you. i hope that helps us as we move forward on payroll tax relief and unemployment, but there is a challenge that i think we have missed and i think senator grassley has carefully analyzed why he is, in essence, offended, even with 16, if you will, drafting errors, which i hope as we move to conference tt we must do will be corrected. .

mr. conyers: will the gentlelady yield to me just briefly? we have 16 from our distinguished judiciary colleague, mr. lungren, and these are merely technical errors that are corrected by the enrolling resolution that surely you must have heard about. these aren't errors that would have gone not bill. and i thank the gentlelady for yielding. ms. jackson e: and i thank the ntleman for clarifying. i still think we should rush quickly to conference. what is missing from this, and we can't say it more often than over and over again,rom the abramoff matters that people knew years ago, and information that is potentially market moving is nonpublic or not easily accessible to the public is gathered and analyzed and therefore we are missing a large gap, madam speaker, by leaving out the provision on political intelligence $100 million industry.

yes, we are going to support this legislation but we can't get to conference soon enough to make this bill comparable and ready for the american people. we must regulate ourselves because they entrusted us to lead this nation. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. smith: madam speaker, i yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from california, mr. lungren, chairman of the house administration committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is yielded 6 1/2 minutes. mr. len gren: i thank the gentleman from texas for yielding. -- mr. lungren: i thank the gentleman from texas for yielding. madam speaker, i'd like to particularly point to staff who have worked over this last weekend, including four attorneys on my house administration committee who ent a good portion of this last weekend going through the senate bill and trying to come up with what webelieve is a responsible bill, a tough bill that could pass this house and

frankly did not claim- did not include the errors that we found in the bill on the senate side. several months before the stock act debate in the senate, questions were raised publicly about the application of existing laws related to insider trading. specifically, there were questions as to whether or not the current laws applied to members of congress or their staff. as chairman of the committee on house administration, i and my staff carefully reviewed current law and we concluded that the prohibition on insider trading and the criminal penalties associated with it are very much applicable and not just to members of congress and staff of the legislative branch. so let me be clear. let us disabuse any of the notion that somehow they could engage in insider trading between now and a bill gets on the president's desk and he signs it.

it is already illegal. it is already illegal. that's the advice i've given members when i've been asked. that's the advice i've been given to the press when they've asked. it's the advice that's been given by the ethics committee to members of congress and to staff. no one within the house of representatives or the senate or the executive branch or even the judicial branch, regardless of responsibility, title or salary, should be under the false impression that they are somehow exempt under these laws. they are not. i'd be happy to yield. mr. conyers: thank you, sir. why are we passing this law if the conduct we're prohibiting already illegal? mr. lungren: i'll be very much happy to respond to at and i will a little bit later in my statement. sometimes when congress is dedicated to redundancy, there is a question of clarification. and the fact that we've had questions asked of us over the

last several hours as house administration chairman, as the ethics chairman has done, gives rise to the question that some have asked and we have tried to disabuse them of that notion all along. although we create and uphold the laws of the land we are not above them. as elected representatives we owe our constituents to assure them that the decisions we make are for the people, not ourselves. and this assurance, mad speaker, must be governmentwide. america not only needs to know that all of their government officials are subject to insider trading laws but also need to know and need proof that they're adhering to them which is exactly what the amended version of senate 2038 accomplishes. in 2010 the u.s. supreme court issued a decision in skin vs. united states that set out several specific questions that said must be answered in criminal statutes.

they failed to answer the questions it set out. the amendment does more that eliminate the senate's defective provisions and numerous drafting errors. our bill before us also strengthens the previous state and house and senate proposals by first clarifying the broad application of insider trading laws, making sure no one questions it. although, as i say, it is already against the law and no member ought to rush out now and attempt to use his insider trading -- information for insider trading, thinking he or she is not covered. they are already covered. it expands the financial transaction disclosure requirements. we're going to be required now in terms of actual transactions, financial transactions to report within a 30-day period as opposed to doing it quarter. we are also gog to be required to disclose our mortgages which are not required right now. so we are expanding the disclosure ruirements.

we extend the postemployment numbers. and this is an additional point, i would say to my friend from michigan, the former chairman of judiciary committee, we end the preferencial treatnt of government officials by ohibiting them from accting exclusive access to i.p.o.'s. that has not been against the law. there's been some suggeion that mightave been carried on by some members. i have no evidence whether it s or has not. but that is an additional prohibition placed in this by i believe is not in the senate bill, is not in current law but it makes it explicit. members of congress cannot participate in accepting exclusive accesso i.p.o.'s. mr. conyers: if the gentleman will yield? mr. lungren: certainly. mr. conyers: i will take back to everybody on this side of the aisle, don't rush out and trto do any last-minute deals because it's already illegal.

if you do the same with the members on your side. mr. lungren:'d be happy to if they don't know that already. but when you read the newspapers, you would think that somehow it is proper and appropriate. and i want to make it clear not only to our colleagues but to the american public, it is against the law now. it has been against the law, and if anybody has evidence of this, they should report it to proper authorities because it is against the law. mr. speaker, the amendment before us, when applied to the underlying bill, creates the clarity and accountability necessary to ensurthat government officials, elected, appointed and otherwise adhere to federal insider trading laws. it prohibits members, officials and employees of every branch of government from using nonpublic privileged information for personal gain, and it creates a disclosure mechanism for finding out when they do so. additionally, the bill denies pensns for members convicted of crimes. that is an addition to current law. eliminates bonuses for senior executives at fannie mae and

freddie mac. that is addition to current law. and directs the g.a.o. to analyze. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. lungren: a this is a legacy of thoreau and emerson, but it turns out we are laggards when it comes to living alone. it is much more common in european nations, and it is much more common in japan.

m looking at the growing trend of american adults choosing to live alone and what that means for the country. saturday night at 10:00 eastern. sunday at 3:00, the second cousin of former secretary of state connolly's a rise on his -- her work to reduce gang violence in l.a., and it 8:15, georgetown university's bonnie morris. >> shouldn't your president have the highest moral and ethical standards and be an example to our children and young people in this country? ask yourself that question, please. shouldn't his life make him a role model for your children? should anyone you elect to this office always keep his promises? >> we look back at 14 men who

ran for the office and lost. go to our website to see video of the contenders who had a lasting impact on american politics. >> do they not have the right to protest and revolt against a government that they feel does not serve their interests? who appointed us to sacrifice the lives of young americans trying to weigh in on this side of a government that represents perhaps 15% of the people of lebanon and has little or no apparent support from the other 85%? >> in fewer than 60 days, effective april 1, 2012, japan will lower its combined corporate rate to 38%. that leaves the united states with the highest corporate tax rate in the entire industrialized world. giving this distinction will make it that much more

challenging to get investors here at home where we need jobs. >> seeing tax law made is like seeing sausage made. you just do not want to see it. >> it is time for american businesses to put aside our industry-specific wish lists and to work collectively to support a more coherent and equitable tax policy. >> this week, house ways and means took up the future of corporate tax policies for publicly traded companies and how it occurred investments and jobless by lowering tax rates and eliminating special tax breaks. follow the discussion online at the c-span video library, archived and searchable. the american conservative union's annual conference started today. speakers included texas governor rick berry, former presidential candidate herman cain, and house speaker boehner.

next, a portion of the event. this is half an hour. >> we are not turning our back on them today. we are here to get refueled. what is happening to our liberty? i look around here as i was thinking ahead to what i might say today. i recall that under nancy pelosi's speakership, they came up with this idea that they would make us take these curlicue levels and may put them in our laps in the capital, and i insisted on having a light in there, and at night, the janitors would come through and screw out those that assembles and give me every once in a while curlicue balls, i would screw them out and send the entrance at to get me some of those good edison light bulbs.

[applause] those interests would come back sometimes empty handed in tears because they could not come up with a regular at is a light bulb. i thought it was a little cruel and inhuman of me to put the insurance through that, so i went down to the hardware store, walked through there, and here was the mother lode of black market levels sitting on the shelf, so i grabbed a bunch of them, set them on the counter and now i have it made. they said they would bring up these light bulbs and would i like to buy a green recycle bag for $1? and i said no, i would pay the nickel fined for having a plastic one. and then they said, "but we give you a 10% discount on your purchase if you buy the $1 a bag. so did the calculation in my head. it would save me $3.40, so i get

this green bag right here. [applause] and i filled it up with black market edison light bulbs and brought it back to my office in the capital, and whenever i need to put a light bulb in the lab, i reach into this green bag and screw it in there and smile. i want to challenge you to do the same thing. bring back some of the freedom. last year i said i got tired of standing in the shower for 12 minutes while they issued water saver shower heads and a dribble down on me. i drove it out. now much from a shower is a three minute shower. i have nine minutes every day to beat up on the liberals. how many of you have drilled out

your shower head? you have a 1.6 gallon flush toilets. now we are a nation of double flashers with designer plungers because the regulating government has taking away another piece of our liberty and regulated that the water supply in tucson is the equivalent where my well as 6 feet deep and has never gone dry. have the short, the fact, the tall and skinny. i do not know anybody that is not one of those four things.

i am short and fat is what i am. i am safe in san francisco. he cannot despaired conservatives there. i good to the committee. i went into one that was providing educational benefits for our wounded war years. it is a great thing. you set aside as educational benefits for combat wounded veterans. i read their it. it's a combat one did veterans and women and minorities. urging wounded veterans and minorities. did they need our special honor. -- they need our special honor. i brought an amendment to strike

that women and minorities out of there. i realized i would use the boat. i wrote the amendment to strike the language. i replaced it with the language of anybody but white men. that is what it says. it hurts them when you make them say the truth. make them say the truth. they cringe at that. they say we say it is the truth you did not have to say it that way. it is not the saying it that way that hurts, it is the truth. california band led -- banned sinkers for fishing. michelle obama is leading the effort to cut calories out because it is a national

security concern that 32% of our youth are to overweight to me the military requirements. just extend basic training a while. you are here doing pushups until you make weight. why is that so hard? with this $1.50 trying calories they want to take out of the diets, -- 11 $5 trillion calories they want to take out of the diet, it take a couple chips out of the bags and somehow they will not reach for a second bag of chips. you cannot call them by cutting calories out of the candy bar. we have the secretary of agriculture figuring out how to do economic development by food

stamps. did the increases since 46%. now have 46.3 million americans on food stamps. it is the highest number ever. forever tiny hand out a dollar worth of food stamps, you get -- for every dollar you hand out worth of food stamps, you get $1.83 or the economic recovery. they had a witness to tell us we needed to put more food stamps out. the president testified. there's also evidence that the overweight obesity trends in the united states are due in part to high levels of ehufood insecurity. people have anxiety of their future meals a day tended to over eat today. if they have more food they would eat less and we would not have this problem. see what i am up against?

just yesterday the news came out that california has gone even further. they have a band throwing footballs and frisbee is on the beach. it is up to $1,000 fine. if he persists, it is six months in jail. they would give you a football in jail but you cannot throw it in the beach. if you want to dig a sand castle, it is ok if the mode is not deeper than 18 inches. -- moat is a lot deeper than 18 inches. what happened to our liberty? how did a nation born to freedom and liberty lose its freedom and liberty? how does a nation that is blessed by an extraordinary supply of conceptualism submit inch by inch to the tatto a

salarstate? how do we submit to something like obamacare? it is the worst of all. i want to paint this image for you. the number one plank in the president's platform it needs to remain the 100 cermet full repeal of obamacare -- 100% full repeal of obamacare. i want to see the next president of the united states stands on the podium at the capital january 22, it take that oath of office with pen in hand, and because we can put the repeal on the podium by then, to protect and defend the constitution

helpmeet got. sign -- so help mem god. sign the repeal. thank you very much. god help you all. >> ladies and gentlemen, the honorable michele bachmann. [applause] >> house suite it is. thank you. -- how sweet it is. thank you.

what a warm welcome. we're going to have a phenomenal successful year this november, won't we? i thought you would be interested in knowing that running for president of the united states is one series of humiliations after another. it was also educational. i learned three things about is running for president. i learned where john wayne was born. that is very important. second, i learned the day that elvis presley was born. these are vital issues. a third i learned never forgets the three things you learn. it is very important when you're running for president. president obama will be pointing

to his foreign policy successes in order to make the case for his successful reelection. he will be pointing to osama bin laden. he will be pointing to the overthrow of gaddafi. he will be pointing to the arab springs and his foreign policy success stories. without a shadow of a doubt the world is better off without osama bin laden and without gaddafi, that these are tactical successes that did not begin to compare with a message that barack obama has made of the middle east and the strategic blunders he has committed. you see, a president's foreign policy changes the course of history. look at jimmy carter. his era iin iran change

the course of history. when bill clinton failed to take out osama bin laden despite knowing his whereabouts, that change the course of history. when ronald reagan initiated peace through strength and won the cold war, that changed the course of history. when barack obama shows is lubbock outreach over israel's, he changed -- shows islamic outrage over israel, he changed the course of history. only president obama. the president took his firstborn trip to cairo. he invited the radical muslim brotherhood to hear his speech when mubarak's policy wanted to keep it at arm's length.

the mission is the spread of global she had -- jihad. the muslim brotherhood spiritual leader has called for the killing of united states troops both in iraq and afghanistan. that is why it is unthinkable that the muslim brotherhood spiritual leader is not acting today as the mediator between the united states and our enemy, the talent thiban. i can understand why mubarak would all want to empower the brotherhood. what i do not understand is why barack obama would give the brotherhood a seat of honor at his first foreign policy speech in cairo. during an interview a year ago

with bill riley before the super bowl, president obama said do not worry. the brotherhood is not a threat. they did not have majority support in egypt. obama failed to stand by mubarak. that helped fuel the revolution in egypt. its lead to a regime that was based on law with 72% a seat in the lower house in egypt now occupied by the brotherhood and the even more radical party. in the last year, what has happened? because of the persecution, over 100,000 christians have had to flee egypt. the israeli embassy was overrun. they are called out for ending the peace treaty between egypt and israel. the rise of political is a lot has brought sharia law to

egypt. this is that exactly your ronald reagan foreign policy success story. obama's miscalculations are changing history. we are in the verge of a nuclear iran. iran is committed to the destruction of israel and the united states. they are the epicenter of global seajihad. they are developing nuclear weapons as an expression of imposing their will on the world. failing to appreciate their nuclear goals, obama has chosen the wrong side once again. he has ignored the true democracy movement. that is our best hope of defeating an iran, with deadly genocidal intentions. we credit our brave troops for winning the war in iraq at a tremendous cost.

the president recently chose and his only to lose the peace. -- to lose the peace. they will likely lose the peace in afghanistan. it is unthinkable. after a decade of effort to defeat the global jihad, obama for the sake of his election has chosen to hand iraq to the iranian. only obama could snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and called it success. >> before obama was elected, was a stable partner. after the elections, they took over. they called the elections and inspiration and said he was deeply encouraged by the progress. before obama was elected, the

leadership in yemen and leadership were flawed but at least counted on as u.s. partners. before obama was elected, israel could count on america's on wavering support. -- unwavering. they have rarely experience they support. he said that israel should retreat to their 1967 borders. make no mistake about it. need,ael's hour of dire the united states must stand .ith israel in

obama thinks israel building apartment buildings on her own land is worse than iran getting a nuclear bomb. a week ago today, the supreme leader of iran said that israel is a cancer that must be cut out. at the same time last week, iran launched a new satellite. they threatened any nation that tried to stop iran's ambitions with 10 times the violence in return. they mean business. we need to pay attention. the state department designated jerusalem as an international city. our state department will not even acknowledge that jerusalem belongs to israel. jerusalem doesn't belong to israel. -- does pilon to israel. -- belong to israel.

before obama, and no one had ever heard of a united states president saying to the world that the united states is not a judeo-christian nation. i am here to say that we are. before president obama was elected, and no one had ever heard a united states president say to the world that we are anything other than an exceptional nation. we are. before president obama was elected, no president had gone around apologizing for the world. we will not. [applause]

it president's foreign policy does change the history of the world. that is why barack obama cannot have a second term as president. we have to stand. we have to fight for our beliefs. we have to stand. we have to fight for our country. we have to stand. we have to fight for our freedom. we need to do this to honor the brave men and women who gave their last full measure of devotion for us. they are watching us. we owe it to them. we owe it to our posterity. we owe it to our god to keep our republic free. this was purchased at such a

great prize. it is our obligation to stand with them and make it free. god bless you. god bless the united states of america. may we remember to bless god. god bless you all. thank you for allowing me to be here with you today. the executive director of the house republican committee. >> hello. your next speaker is a man of faith, a loving husband, and one of the best man i've ever had the pleasure of working for. more importantly, he is a

wrestler. he is a four times state champion at in high school. a two-time n.c.a.a. national champion. his high school record was 150- one. it was with this spirit that he led the fight against raising the national debt ceiling. he more than anyone else made cut pat and balance the rallying cry for americans who are asking washington to do less and spend less. maybe we need your lawyers in congress and more wrestlers. he is your leader of the conservative movement in the u.s. house. last night he was named to the conservative legislature of the year. please welcome chairman of the republican study committee, congressman jim george. >> we've got some folks from

ohio right there. it is good to be with you all. let me thank cpac. it is good to be with you this afternoon. michele talked about the state of israel. i had the opportunity to be there in november. one thing we heard loud and clear whether it was meeting with business leaders are people in the government, they all said the best way americans can help israel is for america to stay strong. this is what the left always misses. the world is a dangerous place. it is a better place and safer place when the united states leads. you cannot lead militarily or it diplomatically if you do not lead economically. this administration is making it difficult for us to remain the economic superpower. that is why this election is so important. two different visions for america. more power in washington or more power for individual liberty.

that is what is at stake. i want to thank you for two things. thank you for taking the risk associated with getting involved in making a difference. i learned a long time ago good things do not just happen. if you want to accomplish anything of meaning or significance or lasting value, it takes work. it takes effort. it takes sacrifice. it takes most importantly to get off the sideline and make a difference. there is the rescue will be ridiculed. we know we would get that from the press. the give the folks that set for it on this religious liberty -- take a look at the folks that stepped forth on the religious liberty. there is a great line about the way normal folks see things and the way the national media sees things. he said i get up every morning and read my bible and the new

york times so i can see what each side is up to. a lot of truth. thank you for taking the risk. i have yet to find a better picture of for this idea that you have to be willing to get in the game. how many of you have seen the movie "chariots of fire?" we may all of our children what it. five athletes in great britain as they train and prepare to compete in the 1924 olympic games. you focused on two of them ever together. they are amazing athlete spirit they are the individuals you want young people to emulate. the most compelling scene takes place prior to the olympic games. both are sprinters. both are college age. both are undefeated. they had to know if there is a

race, who is the fastest? they invited the best sprinters. everyone was in the stands. they were anticipating this free competition. to is the fastest? they had the race. it is eric and harold seconds. -- eric first and herald a second. a young lady was sitting beside him. he is looking down at the track. he is replaying this. every time it is the same. it is little first and abraham'' second. crazy -- him secon crazy. she says, what is the problem? so you lost. why the long face? he turned back to her and said "and do not run to lose. i run to win."

he was going to quit. it was too much. there is another pause and she said "harold, if you do not run you cannot win." that mindset has always characterized the people of this great nation. it is to get out of the game and step into the arina and put it on the line. we are at one of those moments were be have to do that. thank you for be willing to do that and take the risk associated and to make a difference in this election year. thank you for being positive. i learned a long time ago that i was an assistant coach helping them. i loved it. been positive, no one likes to

hang out with people that are negative. you notice how the left always has a scowl on their face and? we are positive. the of the truth on our site. -- you notice how the left always has a scowl on their face? we are positive. we have the truth on our side. david said he is so big a cannot miss. that is the american attitude. that is the spirit we need. a couple weeks ago the heritage foundation had a retreat for the republican study members of the congress. the retreat was in philadelphia. it started in independence hall. when you're in that hall and you think about what these individuals did when they signed that document in 1776, and

declaring to the world wide this nation would be different and why the experiment would be something special. they signed their names. they committed treason. it was amazing to be there. think of them. if they were not willing to take the risk and positive and go against wisdom, if there would be no united states. we always had to be willing to do that. last summer if we would have listened to the wisdom, we never would have made the head way we did. it is important to keep this in mind. my favorite scripture, second timothy said i fought the good fight. it characterizes all of you. it is a scripture that captures this attitude, this history of

our country where we have always been willing to fight to keep and finish the race. that is our charge. every so often there is a generation called on this country to step forward and save the nation. we're at one of those moments. bob bless you. god bless america. -- god bless you. god bless america. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> our coverage continues tomorrow morning with the virginia govno