[applause] trent lott introduced me and i appreciate that very much. trent was as conservative as anyone has ever been. he came to washington, mississippi. but i admire trent so much because he was conservative but pragmatic. he worked to get things done. he's right. we would have lots of amendments. he would ask me what i dowd to get rid of some of them. daschlele told me to get rid of sop of them. so between the two of them, we got a lot of amendments we disposed of quickly and finish our legislation. thank you very much for the introduction. i have great respect for you. i was happy to see bill frist.

bill frist and i had extremely difficult times, not personally because there isn't a nicer person in the world than bill frist. i remember a lot of dr. frist. i say dr. frist because he did everything he could to make the senat run as smoothly as we could. and as we all know, it's sometimes not very smoothly. whenever a problem that came up that related to medicine, he had a glimmer in his eye from a mile away. he loved medicine. bill, thank you very much for your friendship and all you've done for tennessee and our country. [applause] enjoyed senator biden's remarks.

he of course was always a senat guy and we all understand that. mitch mcconnell. i know that people talk about mitch mcconnell and harry reid. they're always fighting with each other. but mitch and i have a very warm relationship. we are friends. we do things for each other as much as we can and as more often than people think. i've had so many people come to me and say, you know, the senat is dysfunctional. it's just not working. it's the worst it's ever been. and i have time, i tell them the following. that the senat is the way it is not because of mcconnell and reid it's because of the founding fathers. that's the way they set up this country. you know the great compromise in july of 1787 came about because the founding fathers had tried the articles of confederation.

they were a flop. they didn't work. they couldn't get it done. one of the delegates from connecticut came to philadelphia and he said, i have an idea. it was a revolutionary idea for some revolutionaries. he said, here's how we should handle the problems of rhode island and new york which were the big stumbling blocks. very small area and no people. and new york, huge in area, lots and lots of people. he's the one that came up with the idea of the legislature. doing that was a real radical move. because who ever heard of a legislature composed of two separate bodies? you had separate but equal branches of government and that's true. but remember this equality comes pretty hard. you know things weren't always

pleasant with us. that's the way things are. the house is always viing to have more power than the senat. the senat's always viing to have more power than the house. when we have two bodies one run by republicans and democrats, it gets more difficult. you look over the history of this country because of the way the constitution is set up, we have had some difficult times. henry clay the great compromiser he worked for 30 years to try to solve the problems of slavery. he had a number of compromises. they worked. but ultimately it didn't work anymore. prior to that a congressman came over, a southern congressman. he didn't like what the congressman of massachusetts said. he came over with the cain and nearly beat him to death. he was permanently disabled as a result of that beating that he took. so we no the battles during world war i. we know the battles that took

place trying to get our military together for world war ii. we had the civil rights difficulties. so mitch mcconnell and i are working in a situation that the founding fathers set up for us. times are difficult now. the glass is really half full. we're going to work our way through all these issues. that's all we know. we need more bipartisan cooperation and less partisan competition and we're working on that in our own way. i've had the good fortune of serving with both senator dole's wife and senator baker's wife. when i came to the senat, there

were two women in the senat. senator nancy castle balm and barbara, who by the way today we honored her on the senat floor by noting that he has served in history in this done are tri as a woman. [applause] -- in this country as a woman. she came, she beat a record of massachusetts who came here in 1925 and left in 1960. and no one has broken that record. and i of course, served with bob dole also. i heard very closely what senator biden said. -- about bob dole. i was a relative newcomer during most of the days of senator dole because you're always a newcomer unless you've been there 25 years.

but senator dole just like senator biden said never ever try to do anything to embarrass the new member. in fact, he went out of his way. if there was a problem, he saw that he could alleviate, he would take care of that. i have such admiration for him not the least of which that is the friendship that is unsurpass between he and dan hanaway. both these men were badly injured in northern italy. they spent years together at a hospital together in minnesota or michigan or some place like that. they both start with m, i'll tell you that. they're such fine men. i'm sure they were always wonderful human beings but the battles of war brought them close together and allowed them to be the distinguished, important people they are for our country. bob dole only asked me for one

thing that i can remember in all the time that he was our leader. he asked me, as some may know, the doctor that took care of him in the veterans hospital was an armenian. and he had learned from somebody that i was a lawyer before i came to washington. he said could you arrange a meeting. i was happy to do that. kirk was happy to have that meeting. and it led to a lot of good things. kirk was very, very generous with the other senator dole when she was head of the red cross. and so i was happy to have done that one small thing for bob dole. senator baker, most of the things i know about him had come from people from nevada. paul axle. paul axle cared a great deal about howard baker. they had the same really kind of personalities. they were very soft-spoken.

they were very good at what they did. they were not bullies. and so alan bible, howard cannon, ken axle speak very highly of howard baker. the purpose of this is to do whatever we can do to establish more bipartisan in the senat. and i'm going to do something i can to establish that. thank you very much. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, former senate majority leader and bipartisan senior fellow bill frist. [applause] >> on behalf of the bpc i am

happy to be here tonight having been away for about four years, formerly from the united states senate but working every week here at the bpc. as a co-leader of the b.p.c. health project with senator tom daschle, we strive, we work hard to fulfill that principle, to fulfill that example of what senator baker and senator dole were hoping to achieve when setting up -- when they first envisioned this organization of the b.p.c.. first i want to tell you my howard baker story. the year's 1993. the place, the beloved tennessee. cold wintery night. i've driven four hours from nashville to huntsville.

, his beloved home. a doctor to seek advice from the dean of public service in tennessee. senator baker, i'm considering running for the united states senate and i'm a doctor. senator baker, you're not a politician? senator baker, i have to be honest, i've never really put out very many yard signs. senator baker, you've not paid your political dues? i was shrinking each time. senator baker, i never run for political office. i clearly never served in political office. senator baker, you're a doctor with no political experience? senator baker, i understand and i really just wanted to come

over and ask your advice. i understand. i'll come back in four years. i'll earn my strips. senator baker, no, bill frist, come back here! you are going to run for the united states senate. and i said, senator baker, but why? because the senat should be the seat of citizen of legislators. i tell that story because it had a great impact on me personally. but senator baker is the epitome of the citizen legislator. the public servant of a humble back ground coming back from tennessee. hearing the call in many different fields but going to japan as ambassador and coming back home on a trip envisioning the b.p.c. with senator daschle, with george mitchell,

the embodiment of what makes this country great. thank you for the embodiment of what makes this country great. [applause] it is my honor to introduce my very close friend and confidant in many ways in the four years i served in the united states senator as majority leader, my closest friend, the longest serving senator in kentucky, the second kentuckian to lead his party in the united states senate my friend and your friend republican leader mitch mcconnell. [applause]

>> good evening. and bob and howard what a wonderful honor for both of you tonight. i'm happy to be a part of it. the presence of so many distinguished guests from across the political spectrum testifies not only to the highest esteem we all haveer for bob and howard but as for the growing reputation and influence of the bipartisan policy center, which of course he helped create. it is alsos a powerful validation of the center's mission. it's a genuine honor and a humbling one to be abe to participate in the tradition of two truly remarkable men. to reflect on the century of service between them and to draw lessons from that service

as we inch toward the bipartisan solutions that we know will be needed if we're ever to address the looming crisis that cast a longer and longer shadow over all the other work we do in congress these days. at some point, we have to come together, we all know that. and bob and howard have helped show us the way. but let me just add this. congress always appears to be broken right up to the moment it isn't. what matters is that we all acknowledge the problems we face which we all do and that we keep talking and listening to each other which we are. it might surprise some people to hear it but harry and i actually get along very well. we've got a good working relationship and i dare say the strength of that relationship is one reason i believe that a bipartisan solution to some of

our most pressing problems is within reach. a sense of surgency is there. -- urgency is there, the relationships are there. the desire is there. but as bob and howard will tell you, timing is everything. -- in this job. so we'll keep at it. and as i say we'll have much to learn as we do so from the example and leadership of bob dole and howard baker. now, it's fitting that we're marking this year, a century of service of senators dole and baker. next year marks the 100th anniversary of the formal creation of the office of senate majority leader. for the trivia buffs in the rupe, the minority leader would

have to wait four years. i have to say you can't appreciate the unique challenges of the job until you've had it yourself. but i'll take a shot at it anyway. one way to think about the job of party leader in the senate is to imagine that by some mysterious process you've been chosen to lead this group. they're all class present types. we all have big egos an sharp el -- and sharp elbows. and they all think they can do the job better than you. imagine that leadership challenge. it's a challenge of leading a body who's animating principle is individuality where everyone has equal power and where none of the people who belong to it are accustom to or eager to be led. bob dole once put it this way. if you're hanging around with nothing to do and the zoo is

closed, come on over to the senate. you'll get the same kind of feeling and you won't even have to pay. howard described the senate as polite an arcy. it was from him that we got the hurting cat which is his book. the same way from people with big families talk about each other. it might look like dysfunction from the outside but it's our dysfunction. by history and design of human nature, it not only works but it's the glory of the republic. and none of us would change a thing about it. but i do think we have an obligation to explain it a little better.

so let me make just a couple of observations. first of all, as trent likes to talk about, there's no rule for leading the senate. this means every leader has to interpret the job on his own. and in slightly different ways. some of you, the role of being the president's enforcer and they focused all of their energies on ramming his agenda through congress as quickly as possible. joe robinson perfected this role so well. in the early days of the new deal will rogers could say congress doesn't pass legislation anymore, it just waves to the bills as they go by. others have been a little more judiciously. alvin barkley started in the mold of robinson. but seven years in, he was so enraged by roos velt's veto of bill, that he urged his colleagues to override the

president's veto. and they didn't. after which barkley resigned as majority leader. they re-elected him unanimously the same day. and so from that point on, barkley was seen as speaking not to the snats or the president but the other way around. howard baker is sh -- as the vice president indicated was known for getting the panama treaty approved. bob's entire life has been one of continuous act of courage. but there were many. and let me just add in don connection that one of the

lasting legacies of them is that politics is indeed an honorable profession. different leaders have brought different personalities to the job. it's something that the times have sometimes call for. and in every case it's something the institution has accommodated. if joe robinson ruled by fear then joe mcnarry was the pragmatist, a friend who rarely spoke on the senate floor. mikemanson didn't speak. to him every senator was equal. and they loved him for him. alvin barkley, never shut up. one offer his contemporaries put it more lightly. he said barkley had no terminal faculties. eric dirkson didn't just have a magnificent voice, he had a genius of bringing people together, a trade that his son-in-law clearly picked up. one journalist said howard

baker could bring together a bow we'll and a cotton -- bow weavle and a cotton bow. bob dole for his timing and his matchless wit. and l.b.j. transcends cat gorization. he was every personality rolled into one. here's my point. every one of the men who's they would job has been very different just as their times have been. what unites the great ones including men we honor tonight isn't power, or charm or ability, it's a devotion to the institution. an ability to listen, the character to defer to others and share the credit a and ability to see opportunities where others only see chaos and

confusion. and when the moment requires it, the willingness to put the country interest ahead of party interest alone. humor didn't hurt either. if you look back over the writings of the great leaders of the past something else stands out. they all marry very well. and that's certainly true of howard and bob. if the founders had wanted an efficient government they certainly would never have created the senate. they would have shuttered at the thought ofer efficiency. they never had given a senator as much power on the day he or she has sworn in as it takes house members decades to acquire and america would not be america. the genious of the senate was that it was designed to be slow and painful so legislation would reflect a national

consensus and thus have the durability to last. the men we honor tonight understood that. it's not an easy job. but as bob has learned before, the good news is once you're out of office, people start to like you again. and after a few years go by, they entirely forget why they were mad at you. in bob and howard's case it didn't require a cooling off period. they've always had the public's respect are. and all of ours. and as we search for solutions in the years ahead, we would all do very well to look at every step along the way to the extraordinary example of prin pull leadership that both of them have set. thank you very much. [laughter] -- [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen,

bipartisan policy center president jason rumet. >> well, good evening, everybody. as i'm sure you can probably imagine, promoting bipartisan solutions can at times be a lonely pursuit. so it is incredibly gratifying to be surrounded tonight by several hundred national leaders, public servants and proud pragmatic partisans. it's now my privilege to introduce a brief video from a special guest who couldn't be with us this evening. >> good evening. sorry i can't be with you tonight. i'm very grateful for the opportunity -- senators bob dole and howard baker. their vision and establishment

of the bipartisan center is a vision we need today more than ever. it's been a real honor to know and to work with both bob and howard over the years. i'm always impressed by their leadership and their dedication to getting things done even when we disagreed, i never once doubted our common desire to make america stronger, to make progress across a whole range of issues. the baker dole leadership fellows program will honor their service and ensure more people in leadership roles are willing to work together to build a stronger america. i also want to thank my friend sam and mary madeline for inviting me to this event, of course, for demonstrating in the best possible way that two people of very different political minds can commit to a

common future. thanks to all of you. congratulations to howard and to bob. and enjoy the evening. [applause] >> good evening. my job tonight is to introduce a short film about howard baker but i want to do it in a way that he would do it with a story. i was thinking that i believe the very last time i appeared anywhere with both senator baker, senator dole was almost exactly 16 years ago. it was just before the tennessee republican primary. bob had run me clean out of the presidential race. i was trying to do the only graceful thing which is to support him. howard held a press conference and i thought what i thought was a good thing to do, i

presented bob dole as one of my red and black played shirts in my endorsement. he said for everybody in the news media would hear him, i hope that's the last red and black played shirt. howard baker loves good stories. he especially loved the story about his address. he spoke a little too long. his father-in-law, the late senator dirkson walked over to congratulate him. he said how did i do? he looked down and said howard, perhaps you should learn to occasionally be guilty of an unexpressed thought. from that he learned an el quantity listening skill. my favorite story of his was when he found himself the majority leader after the reagan sweep in 1980. no one was more surprised than bob byrd who found himself as

the minority leader. he said senator byrd, i'll never learn the rules of the senate as well as you know them. so i'll make a deal with you. i won't surprise you if you won't surprise me. senator byrd said, let me think about it. but he called me the next morning and he said yes and they worked beautifully together for four years effectively with the senate. senator baker, when he was the chief of staff to president reagan, every single morning so he tells me would begin his day with the president sitting down just the two of them, each of them telling the other one a little story. that got to be a lot of stories. but it always made me feel a lot better about our country to know we had a president and his chief of staff who were so secure in their own skin that they could sit down in the

beginning of each day and tell a story. that was one of howard baker's secret weapon. the other secret weapon is that he remembers roy blunt's advice. people start getting into trouble when they stop sounding like where they grew up. howard baker has never stopped sounding like he grew up because never stopped living where he grew up, the little town of huntsville, tennessee. earlier this week, a student asked me what's the best way for me to get into politics. i said i can tell you exactly how to do it. pick out the person you admire the most. volunteer to go to work for them without any pay. carry their bag. drive them wherever they want to go. baby sit their children, write their speeches for them even if they don't give your speeches. i snow they works because that's what i did. i did it for the very best. and 45 years ago, i went to

work in the united states senate for howard baker in the very same office that i occupy today. so i agree with dan -- [applause] i agree -- i agree with senator dan quayle who once said, there's howard baker and then there is the rest of us senators. [applause] >> i'll tell you, it got me. i believe that the essence of leadership, the essence of good senate service is the ability to be a good listener, to hear

and what your party has to say, what the country has to say. the ability follows to try to translate into policy. >> there was a quietness that was part of his demeanor of absorbing with what was going on. i come to realize how much he absorbs. >> my dad took me to the courthouse to meet congressman bakerer senior. i just met the most respected man other than the preacher and my father. young baker was a good-looking young guy. when i came to washington, i came with him. >> i really never thought that i'd be there. >> the very idea that he would run and try to be the first republican ever elected in tennessee of the united states

senate was a huge leap of faith . and when i got there, i got the impression that i was accepted as a colleague as a member of the senate. >> when i came here, i was his legislative assistant and i wrote his speeches. and of course, like most young aids, i thought my speeches were pretty good -- young aides, i thought my speeches were pretty good. he didn't say mine. he never said a word about it. i asked to see him. i said senator, i think we have a real problem here. i'm working hard on these speeches. i give them to you and i've gone to hear you and you don't say one word of my speeches. he leans back and laughs. we have a perfect relationship. you write what you want to write and i'll say what i want to say. >> lamar alexander introduced

me to senator baker. i'm 29 years old, i guess at the time. and he said senator baker wanted to talk to me about being his little tennessee campaign manager for his re-election. i said ok. how much does that pay? he said nothing. i said i'll take it. >> he got appointed during that period of time. when water-gate happened right after the campaign was over with, he asked me if i was interested in coming up. he was going to be the vice chairman of the committee and he would select the minority council to represent the three republicans on the committee. >> i had the privilege of serving with him on water-gate.

you would think this type of union had tons of political consequences, that he would be the vindictive fighting type. no, he was reasonable and rational about it. >> well, i had no intentions of being that. i had been a friend and political supporter of richard nixon. it wasn't long that we had a real mess on our hands. there was a lot of smoke and fire there. >> senator baker had the most difficult job of all because he had to balance all the interests. you don't have to worry about the democrats when their investigating nixon having an investigation. the question is what are the republicans going to do. the pressure on senator baker during water-gate was unbelievable. there was not only pressure from the white house but from tennessee, from republicans,

from the press, watching everything. is howard baker going to participate in a coverup? is he going to be soft on the white house? i'm sure inside the senate himself, inside his own caucus there was a lot of concern. he had to live with the equinimity that he was known for. he developed a relationship with sam irving. they were both country lawyers. and they were able to navigate those waters together. that was probably the last committee that really had a bipartisan investigation. and that was because of senator baker and his leadership. the lone star was a simple one. as he usually is when you get right down to it. >> i said to fred, i said this testimony's is wandering all over the lot. but what we need to know really is the president's involvement.

i think i'll ask him to collaborate on what he feels about this. the president knew about this. >> what did the president know and when did he know it? >> it was kind of like ringing a bell on a cold winter morning. there was clarity there and it was a common sense question because that's what everybody wanted to know. >> the panama canal, it's a big deal in american history. teddy roosevelt built it and connected the two oceans. we paid for it. we built it. we owned it. that's what ronald reagan said. senator baker and senator byrd was saying let's give it back to panama and we'll keep the right to use it. >> he decided that it had to be done in the interest of

orderlyness in that part of the world and fair play. and that was a tough vote. >> the people of tennessee said no way. you've got to be kidding to give up control of this tremendous global resource. >> that was a difficult time for me. it was difficult politically. it was a difficult intellectual decision and it had difficult consequences. but as i went into it, it was clear that it couldn't stay the way it was. panama was a sovereign nation. and they still owed the property. and the canal was fundamentally important to us as we. >> you know, you had every veterans organization not mildly opposed. they were in the streets. you had pressure groups unlike

you'd see very often politically united in opposition to this treaty. >> takes 67 votes to confirm a treaty. so here you are, unpopular president. the republicans wanting to get in office. howard baker running for re-election. ronald reagan going about the country. what you're really doing is taking a risk of throwing away your political future by going against your party on such a big issue. and he not only went against it, he coraled enough republicans to get to 67 votes. >> i remember senator byrd one night as we were discussing great moments of political courage, had nothing to do with the panama canal. but almost out of the blue, senator byrd said, you want to know courage? courage is howard baker. courage is the panama canal and howard baker. courage is what he did against

great odds and pressure. that's courage. >> it took a long time for conservatives who were part of ronald reagan's team to get over the baker vote. but it's interesting that he got over it to the extent that when he needed somebody to take over the white house when things were troublesome and he picked howard baker. >> reagan was in big trouble over the iran-contra problems. and the president called down to miami to talk to howard and got joy baker on the phone. and he said, joy, i'd like to talk to howard. she said, he's at the zoo with the grandchildren. and president reagan said wait until he hears about the zoo i got for him. and that's when he asked him to be his chief of staff,

president regan did. which took him out of any chance to run for the presidency in 1988 which he probably wanted to do. >> i thought president regan was brilliant hiring howard baker as his man. because he could deal with members of congress, democrat or republicans. and they all trusted him. >> howard baker has the right stuff and it's called courage, emp think, it's called organization and it's called leadership. >> i guess your basic instincts if it's right or wrong. your political position will dictate how you handle it.

but it's important to take care of both things. you can't just do the right thing "all of the time." you to know what the position of the country is, the people that you're representing and the industry. otherwise there's no point of having a representative government. >> he always told me about the importance when i was considering for running for the united states senate of being a citizen's legislator. i didn't know exactly what that meant. but now i have a pretty good feeling of what it meant. it means listening. it means taking council. yes, having strong convictions and strong principles but listening to differing views and dissident views an taking them into consideration. >> the real essence of senate leadership is the ability to be an eloquent listener. and that's an interesting

phrase because there's a difference between hearing and understanding what people say. you don't have to agree but you have to hear what people say. and if you do, the chances are much better. you have to translate that into a useful position and even as leaders. [applause]

[applause] >> from the state of kansas, senator pat roberts. >> bob, elizabeth, howard, nancy, somebody took away my teleprompters. [laughter] i have a cold. so please forgive me.

it's called grandchildren. little petry dishes running around my house. ladies and gentlemen and distinguished guests, all, my name is lamar alexander. [laughter] i think i've got the wrong script. wait a minute, i've got it. it's down here. it says here i am pat roberts, senator senior from kansas. did bob leave? did that brown bag guy leave? well, nancy, what do you know? why am i introducing the movie about the great man? unknown to most and before tonight, this was classified, i have been bob dole's bucket

toter. i tote buckets. first as a staffer, then as a member of the house now serving in the senate. i have toted buckets of all shapes and sizes here, there and everywhere. i ran through the briars and brammles where rabbits won't go. i did spill some. i commit to that. but you sir, truly carried the water for kansas and our country. it has been quite a ride. thank you. [applause] and tag along your side with the bucket gave me insight. i was somebody, you know? i went as firsthand to change, the coming, the shining, from

bob dole partisan man to bob dole partisan man. i know the song. you know the song and i'm going to need a little help from the audience here. i'm going to need a lot of help from the audience here. my apologies from neil diamond. this is coming from a mono tone. where it began, he can't even begin to know, but he knew it was going strong. was in the house and the house became the senate. who believe the democrats would come along? ♪ hands touching hands reaching out touching you ¤ this next part's going to be hard. ♪ touching me and here comes the next verse.

sweet robert dole bob, bob, bob ♪ that was pathetic. you've got your lines. b.o.b., b.o.b., b.o.b. ♪ good times never seem so good so good so good so good ♪ >> you know the song. very good. ♪ i've been inclined bob bob bob bob ♪ and the country was better for it. searching for page five. [laughter] ladies and gentlemen, the movie future view, the tribute, a movie senatoring elizabeth stand by your man dole. senator danny, his right and

left arm sheila burke. sheila, what's his move? what do you think? still the most humorous and missed man in the senat al simpson. the former majority leader tom daschlele whom we've heard from most eloquent. substituting from penny youngman former congressman, secretary of culture dan glickman. star of "law & order" and reverse mortgages senator fred thompson. the former whip of the house, majority leader of the senate and singing base and the hit song "elvira" 257 times, trent

lott. and of course, the man himself, bob dole. so let's play it again, sam. roll it! [applause] >> june 11th, 1996 was one of the most emotional days of my life and one of the most beautiful days of our lives because of all the tributes and the warmth and the love that was in that room for bob dole. it was quite an event because he was not only stepping down from his role as majority leader of the senate, he was giving up his senate seat. and he loved the senate.

>> we didn't grow up in a rich family or a family interested in politics. we were taught the worth ethic of our parents and we did a lot of things like mowing the lawn for people and shoveling snow. there was a certain responsibility. i think it made me a better public servant. >> they moved into the basement of their home and rented the upper portion of their home for a period of time. i think brought to him a keen appreciation between the balance between the role government plays and the role that individuals play. >> experience of going without, the experience of peddling your bike just ahead of an oncoming dust storm, you know, those are defining experiences. and i think it gave him a very real impathy with have nots.

>> he and i were infantry platoon leaders. he was wounded on april 14, 1945 in northern italy. and just about two miles away from where i got wounded on april 21st,, 1945. and we ended up in the same hospital. >> when he was on the battlele fields, i understand it, he was there about eight hours. he said his hands were above his head and he wasn't sure he had arms. >> senator dole felt a burning scrap nell hit in the back of his right shoulder. and with that, he had 39, almost 40 months of rehabilitation. to me as a doctor, that meant something. . >> for 40 days lying in a hospital bed after world war

ii, you probably reach a point that you're relying on yourself and you've got do have thely and the strength to make the comeback. >> he should have complained. never did. i asked him when i was ready to leaf the place. i said well, bob, i'm going to be leaving. but what are your plans? he was all banged up. he says i'm going to be first opening in congress, that's where i'll go. and off to the senate after that. he had his plan made right then.

>> the bob dole who came to washington in 1961 was a faithful representative of his part of kansas. he rifed in washington a classic partisan. he outgrew the limitations of partisanship. >> i was a consensus builder. i had as many friends on the democratic side as i had on the republican side. and it's not because i was some kind of a genius. it's just that i was willing to listen. >> i have to tell you that one day i dropped in bob's office and i walked in and here were four meetings going on in four rooms within his capital office and bob was presiding over all four. >> there would be one in my conference room. possible one in his office, one out in the reception area.

and he'd go through, and you know, his common phrase was work it out. >> and maybe you're not coming out until you work it out. >> he would come in and say, you've got it all settled. settled my ass. and he would come in and do that cool phrase, glad you got it all done, guys. get out of here. he had an impatience but also tinged with kindness. he was strong. >> he was one of the seven lawmakers who was pinted on the social security reform. they had hit a snag. >> it involved decisions involving raises taxes on social security. it involved reducing benefits. it involved changing eligibility. >> it's not just politics. i remember my mother telling me, don't vote against social

security. that's all i have. and there were millions like my mother who kind of loved from month to month on social security. >> so the challenge was, was there a solution that democrats and republicans could agree upon? >> senator moynahan, a democrat, a wonderful senator and i got together. and we almost said at the same time, we can't fail because there are 30 million seniors counting on us to produce. one by one we were able to build a consensus for a compromise on social security. >> and so it's a classic case of what our framers had in mind of getting people together to work together to reach a common solution to a very difficult problem. >> one of things that i thought was dearest to him and a

constant reminder was a cigar box that he kept on his desk. and it was the box that the people of russell, kansas collected money for him when he was about to have surgery, after the war. >> i mean, a lot of his work on disability is how did you get the people to have the tools to get back to the workplace. it allowed them to gain the confidence and the self-respect. >> the one particular legislative project that we will talk about a century from now is the americans with disabilities act. everybody thought it was an impossible mission. >> every year we had talked about it. in fact, every april 14th, i would make a speech on the senate floor about people with disabilities. >> at the time, it was very controversial. it was very strongly opposed. >> we were like bulldogs.

we weren't going to let it go. and we felt it was time for passage. >> the disability community is not powerless but compared to any other constituency i can think of, they don't have the resources. they didn't have the -- the people to articulate their positions. they didn't have much going for them. but they had bob dole. >> sense of humor. that's what's missing now. good humor. dole was a guy with rare good humor. he could defame people. >> he could cut through anything with a comment or a look if he was in the mood to do that. there that would just bow you over and totally disarm you.

>> he says from working in dollson's drugstore in russell, kansas. the two brothers would sort of throw these one liners back and forth all day. >> i picked up a lot of wising off and wisecracks in the drugstore. >> there many people who said if he could have shown how quick witted and how humorous he was on the campaign trail, he would have been president in 1996. he has a wonderful line that he said. he used to have bumper stickers that used to have dole in 1996. most of the people thought that dole was 96. >> the able majority leader of kansas is recognized. >> i appreciate the resolution just passed. will it be in big letters or neon? i know it can't have any political advertising on it but

-- [laughter] just have the name out there and lights the next few lights, might be helpful. >> i never will forget the day that he left the senate, it was very emotional for all of the senate. >> those of us on the staff at the time were surprised but not surprised that he made the decision. >> but he felt he ought to give full-time to the campaign and just give it his very best efforts. >> i remember thinking sitting at the well at that point next to him how remarkable an institution it was and the extraordinary respect the members had, the fact that they came to the floor, this is somebody who fundamentally believed so deeply in public service, and that plays out in a variety of

ways. >> he has been of course very active in raising the funds with fred smith, the c.e.o. of fedex. $185 million to build the world war ii memorial. >> he put in his heart and soul into the world war ii memorial. it simply wouldn't be there today if it were not for bob dole almost single handedly continued to press to get that accomplished in spite of extraordinary odds to the contrary. >> he lit the process and the time came to put ut a plaque and the rule says you can't do it. well, the hell with that rule. >> he was very much of a generation who believed that at

the end of the day you were judged by what you delivered and that meant what you got done and that was what bills you wrote, what programs you created. >> you do what is right and if you fail, you fail. but you've got to have your heart into it. you can't just be half-hearted approach. you've got to put it all on the table and the stakes are high sometimes and you've better be good at counting votes or you'll lose. i didn't like to lose. [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, i stand before you with the welcomed opportunity to impart three magnificent facts. the first is i am the last tribute this evening. the second is that after i share a few thoughts we will have the opportunity to hear from our honorees. and the third is that the bar stand in the room are paid for

until 2:00 in the morning. and so we hope some of you will stick around. like so many of you in this room, i am very proud of my association with senators baker and dole. and deeply grate. for them for everything they have done for the bipartisan policy center from the last five years from the early days of designing the institution and launching it with senators mitchell and dashle and what they continue to add and to the simple esteem and grace. we could not have created this institution without you. but more than i think any tangible gift, it is really simply been the opportunity to know bob dole and howard bake thear has been the greatest for us. being around the two of them simply wants to make you try harder. it forces you to listen a little closer and reminds you of the great opportunity we all have to work with colleagues we care about on issues that are important to us. senator dole has taught us to embrace the value of a good

argument, not to settle for the thin compromise or simple solution or but to dig into the meat and find the lasting solutions that reflects the best ideas of both parties. no matter what else is happening, senator baker always asks how we are doing. and it's not a simple throw away line. he has helped us understand the importance of approaching every day and any problem with both resolve and optimism. and the insight that good humor is always the key to a good result. they have set the bar high for us and we are much the better for it. when we first conceived of this event, each senator had two reservations. fortunately, they were the same. the first was they didn't want too much attention. the second was they didn't want to just focus opt past. so senatorses, i apologize for the attention. there was simply no way around it. but i am happy to say a few words about the work that we

are doing together and the future. in addition to his work with the bipartisan policy center senator dole represent as wide variety of clients. he is also a forceful recruiter of new clients. as some of you imagine are aware he is still a really hard guy to say no to. he is a tireless advocate for veterans and a stal wart supporter of the honor flight network which is a terrific program which brings thousands of veterans from all over the country to washington to see the memorial. he has also made 100 or more visits to greet these delegations and to share the admiration we all share for their service. senator dole is continuing to work on pro bono cases for individuals with disabilities and finally he remains deeply engaged in politics. he is a sought out advisor on the issues that affect the inner workings of washington. he has an active role at the dole center where he has the

courageous task that politics is still a noble profession and he is notoriously active in the republican primary. i think that is because he cares deeply about the party and i think he also recognizes that if we have a convention they may look to experience and he could be perfectly positioned to lead the country once again. snfment laughter] . senator baker is the senior partner at baker donalson presently cochairing on our energy team along with the oak ridge national laboratory. when he finds nuclear fusion to be the pedestrian he moves over to the otsdz project which is on super executing. he is cochairing with senator johnson a panel on the national parks second century commission. i resent their efforts to outcentury us buzz it is a good

effort. he is a long standing ally on the nation of japan. he continues to work on w them on nuclear power. he is the driving force at the baker center. and he is an artist. he photographs everything. and i am told that he takes great pleasure in showing friends and some strangers around his studio in tennessee. no matter what the tasks or challenges or opportunities, senators baker and dole bring forward a charisma and a characteristic and a leadership that has been unique to this country. as we think about the problems facing this country we think about who may be the future leaders, the people that may bring that unique aket to unite the country. and one thing is these are going to have to be baker-dole good. so with the support of our friends the majority leaders senators baker, dole, darble,

frist, and lot we are proud to announce the baker-dole fellowship program. for individuals around the country to work work with us for a year on issues of importance to the senators, to themselves and to the nation. it also we provide a chance for the leaders to test their own abilities and serve the public. more information about this fellowship is probably hanging around here somewhere. if any of you are personally interested in applying or eager to help out a future leader the application deadline is in september and i am sure more information is available on our website. now, it is truly my great pleasure and my honor to recognize the honorees tonight who we have all come to see. senators baker and dole, for their century of service to this country. senators, thank you. [applause]

>> thank you for giving me the opportunity to share this honor with you. i have long admired you, i continue to, and i am pleased to be here tonight with you. there are enormous events and national issues and political issues but you've never, ever, to my knowledge, failed to consider the perspective and consider them in terms of their real relevance and importance.

i am pleased with lamar alexander remembered the remarks made to me might enjoy the occasional luxury of an unexpressed thought. i remember the caution to say too much than to say too little. but i admire your achievements. i have memorialized the remarks here that run several pages. but i was also mindful of other remarks that dirkson made and he pointed out that the attention span of a senator is measured by the willingness of

his group to listen. my friends, in the best traditions of the senate and the highest regards for bob dole and for those who participated tonight, and to this organization, may i say you make a great contribution to the quality of debate and thus to the teacher future course of the direction of the country. but to spare you the details of these remarks, having enjoyed all of them so far, in the best traditions of the center, if the vice president is still here, i ask unanimous consent that my remarks be included in the record as if read. [cheers and applause]

[applause] >> next. >> thank you very much. thank you for your efforts and the efforts of your staff. you've done an outstanding job in the past five years. and we are very proud of nancy and elizabeth, we're aul very proud to have some association with you and with your wonderful staff and all the good things you are doing. howard and i come from the school where we believe and still believe that some of the tough issues can be resolved if you can find people that you can trust on both side of the

aisle. and i think that is the bottom line. if you don't trust your counterpart, you're probably not going to be very successful. but i want to say about howard baker, you know, i came to congress and my parents weren't involved in politics. and it was my dad was a working man, wore his overalways to work every day and was proud of it. but once i got a taste of it, and ran for the state legislature, and county attorney, and then congress, and then 68 the senate, it's been a great experience. i learned a great deal about

people. and i've leshed -- learned a lot about america and about what is good about america. i don't believe there's any problem that cannot be solved if you have willing men and women come together. it may not be easy. it may not be possible. but in some cases it's necessary. it was mentioned about social security. had we not acted and actually pat moynihan was the driving force, i was just his -- carried his papers. and had we not been able to bring the committee back together, i'm not certain what

shape social security would be in today. but we predicted social security would last until 20 -- i think 20 -- well, i had better not say but well into this century and it means that 30-some million americans will get their check on time and as my mother used to say, that may be all the millions of people have to live on and they want to continue and they want it on time. so we've had so many possibilities. howard was a great leader and he was sort of my mentor and i was a bit surprised that he left the senate after four years but he did so for a good

reason. that he wanted to go to tennessee and make a little money. and i stayed in the the senate and then time to leave to make lail money. but one thing that was said tonight is true. once you leave politics, your approval rating goes straight up. people write you letters saying i never liked you, you so and so, while you were in the senate. but now i think you're a pretty good guy. and please send me an autographed picture. of elizabeth. [cheers and applause]

we have a lot of photos, i've got a lot of mine but there's not many left of elizabeth's. so if you need any or want any or would just like to have one lying around, call my office. so i speak for my colleague nancy. we thought we had a pretty good thing going in our relationship in the senate. we believed that most issues could be resolved and i learned from her and i learned from elizabeth, like a bull dog when she gets hold of an issue. i mean, she works night and day. and did in the cabinet post she held and did an outstanding

job. to my time is not up. i still have about 45 minutes. but howard keeps saying stop. so i'm going to stop and thank you all for coming. and i want to particularly thank -- i know he's not here -- joe biden for speaking. and speaking at a fairly limited time. thank you. and good night. >> ok. are we done? [cheers and applause]

please stick around, everybody. thanks for coming. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> the topic of your video was on the right to bear arms. how did you choose the second amendment as the topic for your documentary? >> my group wanted to choose a topic that affect add lot of people in america and we

figured that the right to bear arms was part of the constitution that affects everyone in the united states. because if you don't own a gun, then most likely somebody near you owns guns. there's people all around that owns guns for protection and hunters and gun collectors. you figure that this was a topic that affect add lot of people and were probably important to a lot. >> in your video you asked, is the second amendment a necessary right? what did you mean by that? >> we're wondering if the original intent is still applicable to our society today. and asking if we live in a society that needs guns at all. if guns are necessary in any way or maybe just the right to have guns is necessary. consider explain -- >> can you explain the difference? >> in our research, we read a lot about the constitution and the right to bear arms in

particular. we learned that the founding fathers when they were making the constitution they were very thorough in writing for good reason. and the right to bear arms, the reason that was there, was because they wanted the citizens to have the chance in case the government that they put in place, after they were gone, became too oppressive or corrupt, they wanted citizens to have a chance to be able to overthrow a corrupt or oppressive government. it's not that without guns we would still probably be a colony of england and never be able to defeat the british army and gain our own freedom. >> and you interviewed two of the virginia tech students. how did they help you understand? >> it's one thing reading about shootings and things like that on the internet and on the news. but actually talking to two people that are directly

affected by a shooting, it feels a lot close tore the issue. they told us that they had to -- there were the shootings and they were locked in the cafeteria and they weren't allowed to come out until the campus was determined to be safe. so they're really close to an issue that has to do a lot with the second amendment and the right to bear arms. >> did your research affect your decision? >> any decision i make and any opinion i form should be well informed and educated, and backed up with facts. >> what was your favorite part about creating this video? >> getting a lot of the different opinions from all over the internet of course and from the two virginia tech students that we super viewed. and still trying to figure out

my own opinion and just seeing what my partners thought about it and what we all, you know, thought about the second amendment. >> thanks for talking with us this morning and congratulations on your win. >> thank you. >> now here is a portion of noaa's video, the right to bear arms. >> i ask, sir, what is the measure? to disarm the people is the best way to enslave them. the best we can hope for concerning the people at large. is that they be properly armed. firearms, next in importance to the constitution itself. they are the american people's liberty. in armed men, disarmed men subject. >> you can watch this video in its entirety on our website student cam.org and continue the conversation on our facebook and twitter pages. >> next, a white house forum on

women and the economy with remarks by president obama. after that, reporters and photographs talk about what it's like to dover a war. then maryland senator barbara mick you will ski is honored for her years of congressional service. >> saturday night on c-span from cardoza law school in new york a debate on sil liberties including the head of the aclu. >> here though in those cases you're talking about the most critical exertion of government power. the number of individuals directly affected may be several hundred, 150 in guantanamo. but when you have the highest rank of government decide to hold individuals without charges of trial, to ship them

off to black sites, to authorize tortor which was hitser to illegal, and then endeavor to obfuse kate that from the entire public, the press, lawyers, the public, you're talking about a high stakes game that can literally change the course of american history. so you are now thinking about the civil rights of this individual who is preparing and anthony says well maybe the moment before the missile strikes he's having a which version but maybe he's killed lotsdz of americans already. and he's equipped other individuals to kill lots of americans and you can't stop that. that's already under way. that's going on. now you have the rights of that individual to something that anthony calls judicial process. which you cannot possibly bring about. >> is this the argument that this should be decided by the

generals? >> well, i'm getting to the dilemma. i mean, it's not an easy thing to answer. and you put that, those civil rights against the people that you are sworn to protect from acts of despicable terrorism, and you don't have a choice to do it the way everybody would like, which is to bring someone in the court, have all the witnesses miranda rights, brady rights, all those kinds of things. you don't have that choice. so you allow that to happen until you can do the thing that you can't do, which is to bring about this judicial process or use a drone or some other method of killing that individual. >> you can see the whole discussion saturday night starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> now, a white house forum focusing on women and the

economy. the discussion is moderated by msnbc's minka and includes the head of the small business administration karen mills and the c.e.o. of deloite. first from the council on women and girls chair. this is just over an hour. >> thank you. that's a good way to start the morning. well, welcome to the white house. my name is tina. i'm the executive director of the white house council on women and girls and it is really my pleasure to start the morning off here on the women and economy forum and to welcome you all for being here. my job first thing in the morning here is one that gives me great great pleasure. and that is to introduce to you

someone who has been a dear friend of mine, someone who is a business woman, a single mom, a lawyer, and now is senior advisor to the president of the united states and chair of the council of women and girls and has really been leading the effort for the last three years that brings us to all the accomplishments that we will talk about today and to our wonderful partnership working with all of you. my good friend valerie. [applause] >> thank you, tina. and good morning, everyone. welcome to the white house. it is such a pleasure to welcome you to the white house forum on women and the economy. i am delighted to look around the room and see so many familiar faces in the audience. we have an extraordinary array of accomplished women and a few good and pretty brave men.

you represent a wide range of stake holders from all across the country. you are the trail blazers and the innovators that drive our country and you have the insights and the vision that we need to create an economy that's built to last sms a number of you have worked closely with us throughout the last three years and deserve a lot of the credit for many of our accomplishments. i also like to thank the members of the cabinet who are joining us today for your presence and also for your exceptional service to your country. and finally welcome to all of those who are watching on line. we will be streaming today including the breakout sessions on line. i am so proud on women and girls and to join tina in leading this very important initiative.

he set a very high bar. as executive order and it is he ensured that the council would include representatives from every single agency in the federal government. the first president i would add to do so. i would like to add all the members of the council here to please stand and be recognized. come on. [applause] by creating the council on women and girls, the president set a tone from the top. ensuring that the advancement of women and girls is a top priority for his administration. at the same time, president obama has taken historic steps to appoint more women to the highest levels of public service reflecting the diversity of our country. not only has he appointed women

to key positions but also empowered them to drive critical policy, promoting the interests of women and girls you will hear how these have significantly improved the lives of women and girls. now, we all understand that these amendments issues to not only affect women. the success of women is critical to the success of our community is, our national committee. challenges still remain. for example, women earn 70 cents

on the dollar compared to men. for women of color, it is even a large discrepancy. today, we will be releasing our report that illustrates the obama administration's commitment to tearing down barriers that women face in the workplace, in the marketplace in order to drive america forward. those of you watching, you can find the report at the white house website. the obama administration has helped to create more security and opportunity for women in america every stage of their lives and career beginning with our girls and i am delighted to see that we have a few girls with us today. the president's innovative race to the top competition rewards schools that take steps to close the gaps between girls and boys in classes and prepare them for

careers in science come to elegy, engineering, math. it was such a pleasure for me to visit the council on women and girls of then held at an asset and see local high school girls exposed to the magic of space exploration and to be with president obama when he welcomed into the oval office the three winners of the international google science fair competition, all american girls, i might add. [applause] we are determined to help girls discover and develop their passions for careers. because the president obama's leadership, millions more female students can afford to go to college thanks to the increase in funding for pell grants. the commitment to funding community colleges has helped so many women secure the training that they need for the high skilled jobs of the future. women in their early 20s

including my own daughter are able to receive coverage under their parents' health insurance because of the affordable that care act. -- because of the affordable care act. president obama has taken critical steps to help working women, whether they are fighting for equal pay or flexibility in the workforce, starting a new business, staying healthy, which includes preventive care and contraception. [applause] and for seniors, helping with the cost of prescription drugs and strengthening medicare and social security in ways large and small, we see the impact of the obama administration's historic efforts to help women. for the first time, for example, a lesbian service

member and her partner were recognized when they attended a white house dinner in honor of the veterans who served in the iraqi war. [applause] for the first time, there are now three women sitting on the supreme court including the first latina. for the first time, there is a four-star general in the u.s. air force who is a female. for the first time, there is a woman directing the national atmospheric and oceanic administration and in charge of the u.s. geological survey. for the first time, there are women serving aboard our u.s. submarines. i would rather there are women that have the skills to man and a submarine, because you don't want me doing it.

i look forward to the first we will continue to have. i will close by sharing a story. i met jackie when the first lady invited her to the state of the union address. jackie is a single mom like me and she was laid off from her job a year ago. because of her ambition and determination, she enrolled in a community college and mastered new skills like robotics. she successfully landed a job as a machine operator. after attending the president's speech, she said "i am just a girl who had a really big dream. the work for the most amazing company on the planet. i am living that dream every day and i cannot explain how much it means to me." this story reminds us of why this work is so important. we know there is a lot of hard work to do and women will be a

critical part of driving the country forward. this morning, we will highlight how the obama administration has improved the economic security for women and their families and we will chart our course for the very hard work that we know remains ahead. now, it is my pleasure to first introduce our moderator of this morning's panel. i am sure that everyone knows mika brzezinski. she is the co-host of "morning joe." [applause] not only issue my dear friend but she keeps me calm each morning when joe tries to raise my blood pressure. her recent book, knowing your value, is a must read for women in the workplace. she is an outstanding role model helping women stand up for

themselves and recognize their own contributions and also, she is a terrific mom and we are delighted to have her two daughters here as well. can you please come up and take your seat? [applause] joining her are some of the most impassioned advocate for american working women. we have this ceo of one of the corporate leaders in creating women friendly workplaces. joe echevarria. we are joined by the president 's small business administrator who is celebrating her third anniversary with the administration today. [applause] also, we have gene sperling, the president of the national economic council, who helped to launch the 10,000 amends'

initiative at goldman sachs -- wins initiative that goldman omen's initiative that goldman sachs. thank you for joining us this morning. with that, i have the pleasure of turning it over to mika. >> thank you so much. no gender gap here. not even close. it is really great to be here. my thanks to valerie. this is a tremendous honor to be here today. i would like to point out, valerie mentioned my two special guests. brought along a mealy and

carly -- amelia and carly. we will be looking at this white house as it pertains to women and the economy. we have a lot of work to do and many challenges before us. the key is to talk about them, i trust them, and overcome them as soon as possible, and also to elevate what has been done by this administration. i want to give you some background on our panel so we understand who is taking part in this conversation. gene sperling is director of the national economic council and an extremely patient guest on "morning joe." he left his job as the economic

center and he co-authored the book, "what works in girls' education, lessons from the developing world." he is married to a very busy woman. gene considers his mother to be one of his heroes as she was a pioneer for educational reform and equity. it is she worked as a teacher at a teaching assessment specialist. she was a founder of the family learning institute in ann gan.r, michi he will be given as details on where women stand in this economy. i will be ample to ask him about the jobs numbers. -- i will be able to ask him about the job numbers.

we look forward to that. we also have the administrator at the small business administration. karen leads a team of 3000 employees whose mission is to halt on to the north and small- business owners grow and create jobs. 3000 employees and three sons. which is harder? three sons. i figured. she grew up in a mom and pop business where literally her pop and mom ran the business. to this day, her mother is her business role model as well as that effort three sisters. she started one of the first women-owned private equity firms in the world and throughout her career she has owned, managed, and invested in small and growing businesses across the country.

she did not just crack the glass ceiling, she is not even shatter 8, she will not be happy until it is ground to dust. -- she does not even shatter it. there will not be won by the time she is done. joe echevarria has been with his company since 1978. this is a great company as it pertains to women and getting the best productivity out of them and letting them have the flexibility they need to run lives, families, businesses. he grew up in the south bronx, he is the son of a single mother who worked two jobs to get the family by, so he knows why we're here today. joe has lived it. and, he continues to live it because joe is the proud father of three teenage daughters. you are in such trouble. [applause] i have some interesting facts about joe that were sent to me.

he is accused of being a tad bit overprotective, yet he denies this. the you deny this? -- do you deny this? apparently, you track your daughters driving habits through gps and to the guise of safety. you are concerned about speeding but what troubles you is what it shows excessive idling. [applause] [laughter] i need that gps. will you clue me on on that? his wife is an accomplished i.t. consultant. joe has 38 framed pictures of

his family in his office and he picked them out and find them himself. he would like to let you know that he has 1100 female partners and directors at deloitte. joe will be making an announcement which we shared with the world this morning about yet another commitment that his company is making. this is really incredible. so, we are really glad to have you on the panel. finally we have, cecilia rouse. she is a professor of economics and public affairs at princeton. her research and teaching focuses on labor economics and education, which makes her expertise perfect for our panel discussion today.

she served on the national economic council and recently served in the president's council of economic advisers and everyone was hugging her, so she is popular, not that that matters, but they love her. like me, she agrees that quality time is any time that you can make it happen, especially when you have two daughters. like mine,ers, nin arwe here. this is really perfect and the reports are incredible. i expect you to jump in and interrupt me. i'm not comfortable unless that is happening. we will conduct this panel "morning joe" style. gene sperling, the big picture. what are the most important

accomplishments by this administration to lift up women in the economy? >> well, i think the entire focus that when we are doing public policy, we are being very conscious of where things we do have a very significant impact for women. you have to not just remove the barriers that exist, you have to be conscious when you are doing public policy. where things that are cut can disproportionately hurt women, hurt women with children. when you look at what we have done on the affordable care act, the 20 million women who are getting preventative health care, of course that is an overall issue that that is a women's issue. when you look at one of the most important budget issues that you probably don't hear much about right now which is medicaid, 68% of medicaid recipients are women 50% of every woman with a

disability is on medicaid. 40%-50% of every birth takes place under the medicaid program. so, when we go out, and of course we're in a season where there will be budget fights back and forth, it is important for people to understand the numbers that are behind that. when this president is out there fighting for things like this, this is not an abstract budget fight, this is about the people behind the numbers. if you allow, as the house republican proposal does, to cut by 30%, something like medicaid, that would have a very disproportionate impact on women, on the 70% of women in nursing homes. when you talk about retirement security, we all know that women

live longer. that the poverty rate for women is significantly higher than any other portion of the senior poverty level. secondly, you have to look at what we are trying to do that is removing the barriers, the obstacles for women that are important to our economy as a whole. the one point i want to make is that looking at this from the economics, i know that president obama feels very strongly this way which is the things that are good for tearing down barriers for women and the economy are good for everyone. you were kind enough to talk about both my mother and my wife, let me mention my sister. my sisters from chicago, she is the only person i know who routes for the same sports teams that the president does. she is a professor of immunology

at the university of chicago. if you look at what is maybe the most significant skill gap we face in our economy right now, it is the shortage and a projected shortage of people in science, technology, engineering, mathematics. that is an overall problem for our economy. even though more women are graduate from college, even though more women are often, girls are better at math when they are very young. when you get to our work force, only 25% are being filled. that is about flexibility, flexibility in tenure programs, getting a ph.d.'s. all of these things deny opportunity to women. this keeps us from having our team at full strength. when the president invests in stem and opportunity, young

girls moving up to get education, you are providing higher paying jobs and your strength in the work force as a whole. >> i want to get into some specifics. >> there is a huge value in this effort. there is a reason for it. it goes way beyond a vanity project or some kind of favor he is doing for society. this has to do with our country's economic future, does it not? >> it absolutely does. we always talk about small business as a driver of the economy. gene has long been a proponent of small business. one of the fastest-growing segments are women entrepreneurs. they are growing faster than

other entrepreneurs. they are starting all kinds of businesses. they are starting main street businesses but they are also running defense contracting businesses and high-tech businesses. one of the problems is that they reach a barrier when they try to grow their business. they don't have enough access to capital, they get locked out of venture capital markets, and they don't have the mentoring and the advice and the networks that others do and that is something that we focused on. we put about $5 billion into the recovery act out to women entrepreneurs and small-business owners, making sure they do not get boxed out in the credit markets rose. >> i will ask you why this works for deloitte. deguerin told me an incredible fact. 70% of last year's ballot

victorians were women. women are more educated than ever before, the numbers are leaning in our direction in terms of what we bring to the table in the workplace. it has to do with education and a desire to be part of society on a professional level. >> if you look at the changes in our labor force, we know that women have been increasing the participation in the labor market. they are more likely to be looking for a job and have a job. women have been joining the ranks, the long-term trend, we have seen declines in their participation in the labor force which means that today women are about 50% of the labor force and they are an increasingly important part of the family. that means that we are participating in the labor work force and this is very important for the growth of our families. meanwhile, in the early 70's,

women, if you think about education, women were applying to medical school and many of them were turned away and told there is not a place for you here. that was in our lifetime. that was not very long ago. now, we see that women are going to college at greater rates than men. they are graduating at greater rates than men and they are outstripping men in the educational arena. not only are be participating now, but going forward is when they will have the skills. >> we still need men. a few of them around. >> on the point, i would love to us the news,ll the latest investment your company is making and the concept behind it. why does this work for deloitte? why should this be a business model that is echoed around the world?

>> [inaudible] we're going to hire up to 18,000 people. 18,000. more than half of that would be women, they are almost all college-educated. that is interested. -- that is interesting. [applause] the brave good man is going to set up a little bit. this, in the end, is really what karadzic talking about, a business imperative. you will not be able to do this

without a set of outcomes but the more than half of the people have graduated from colleges, where than half of the people that have advanced degrees are women. we had a ceo who started something called the women's initiatives. let me tell you what the result was. today was today in our firm, we had 5000 partners, we have a firm of over 50,000 people. the principal director, it takes 12-14 years to become one of those. we started the initiative, it was 7%, now is 25%. we just had a minority in ceo.

now we have a minority ceo, and a minority chair. our board is 35% women. [applause] if you include minorities, it is 50%, women and minorities. that is the end of it. that is a lot of demographics. when we started this journey, we were the smallest of the professional services firms. now, we're on the largest by a considerable margin. this is part of that journey. that is what it is about. >> i remember this. i remember the ceo coming forward and deloitte stepping out. what happened was that they attracted the best and the brightest women who saw that

they could have a career path there and have family and have great success because the environment was supportive and other firms. when you talk about having an inclusive economy, this is really the same thing, it is about the economic results. we need access and opportunity for all of our terrific people in this country and all of our entrepreneurs because that is how we make the foundation stone for this economy to last. >> we have more women breadwinner's than ever before, is that fair to say? we are five minutes away from the jobs numbers. i am watching the clock. what would you consider to be the greatest challenge is still ahead for women that want to own small businesses or jump into the economy in some way, shape,

or form who feel that it is a world that they cannot be part of? >> i want to come back to this excess of capital issues which really is a substantive topic. we have 8 million women who own small businesses. it's about 30%. so women are becoming entrepreneurs but we need make sure they have access and opportunity. and at the s.p.a. we give loan guarantees. it won't surprise you that we are three to five times more likely to give lones to a woman more than a conventional lender. that is wear government can have a role. we make loan guarantees and the

loans perform really quite well. there's not a lot of cost. we need to make sure mainstream women -- and as i say these high growth companies have the tools that these entrepreneur woman need. i was talking to a woman who does parts and she now exports. she's been on a trade mission and she's about to sell helicopter parts in korea. and that's the kind of company we're talking about who's going to create employment. she's in philadelphia. those are real jobs here in this country. >> well, i think one of the things that women need understand and i think there's also got be a transformation in the workplace is that it is possible to work and to take care of family.

if you look at the gender gap, it's much smaller than once family starts. many people believe it's a trade-off. women believe either i'm going to work or i appear going to take care of my children. but a growing number of workplaces recognize that building in flexibility not just for women but for men too. men are doing more at home as well that they can do that. we did report for this forum two years ago. that was a great endeavor. it was an interesting endeavor for me as a member of the c.e.a. but the research suggested that it could be profitable for them to have more flexibility. because of that work actually i sparked an economist who did an experiment in china where that implemented workplace

flexibility. the numbers are through the roof. the workers are are more productive, they work more hours and they're more accurate. with flexibility you get the best workers. they're more productive and we can actually have a win-win. >> let me echo the logic. if i went time-out this room. i said i want to hire and help promote the 20 best people here, not just on the job but i want you to rise to high levels. however, if you are a very, very committed parent please go to the side. 30 or 40% of you are not going to be really a candidate to be an executive here. of course, you would say you just weakened your potential management field. you just weakened your potential p.h.d. deal. that just makes common sense. for exaver reasons if we ask

people to move to the side, it would be a larger number of women. but it also seems a shame that whether it's women or men that that would be bad for them in terms of their opportunities but obviously, from an example i gave, it's going weaken -- it's going weaken the potential labor force a country has or a company has. and i think it is a good point that people who are parents the ability to still be a good parent, to have that flexibility, is more likely to have you stay longer in the place you're at not think you have to leave, half the trade-off. so i think that's just another example just in trying the president's efforts to get women in stem fields. get more girls interested in science, technology and workplace flexibility. this will be things that will disproportion natly help women overall. but they are good for the economy and they will benefit

men and women because they just make economic sense. >> i'm look agent the numbers. it is 9:30. the job report released. overall unemployment has dropped a fraction to 8.2%. slight dip mostly because americans stopped looking for work. 120,000 jobs. the economy added far short of 200,000 that was expected. what do you think is behind this slowdown? are you concerned about this slowdown or is this good news? >> well, i think the general summary of most of what we're seing in the economy right now is that we are making progress but we still have a long way to go because we're coming back from the deepest recession in, downturn in our economy in 80, 90 years. but i think that, you know, you can -- we always try to make sure that we don't overcelebrate a month when the numbers are better than expected or overemphasize when

they're a little bit worse than exnted. the bottom line though is that our economy in the first three months of this year has created over 600,000 jobs. it's well ahead of the projection in our estimates, our budget of two million jobs. the unemployment rate was 9.8% in november of 2010 just to remember 9.8%. it is now 8.2%. actually the unemployment rate actually came down for women from 8.2% to 8.1%. i think that overall this first quarter of 2012 shows significant progress for our labor market. 600,000 more jobs created. unemployment rate falling. but it's just not good enough for this president because he's not going to be happy. we're not going to be satisfied

until we get tall way back to where we were before this terrible economic crisis we fell into, took place. >> karen wants to jump in but let me ask you both because the numbers are what they are. also long-term unemployment is not good. i believe since december, it's at 40% which is an extremely high rate. if you look at 1981, 1982, back in those days, it doesn't surpass 20% so there's a bigger picture that creates a big challenge for this administration. >> you are absolutely right. if you went back to when the president put his americans job act, he had four categories and one of them was addressing not just unemployed workers but long-term unimployed workers. he has focused on getting infrastructure, construction jobs back. that may help more men than women jobs. but it deals with those in

unemployment -- >> can those numbers be turned snarned >> the thing i want to remind people, there is much that is in our control. let me just mention two things that the president proposed in the american jobs act that were not passed. things that were passed that were very helpful were the payroll tax cut, $1,000 per family, the benefits extended, helped millions of women, the veterans tax credit. but let me tell you two things that were not passed, a simple provision to spend $30 billion to prevent teacher layoff. we have lost since the end of the recession over 230,000 teacher and education jobs. they are almost 70% female jobs but even more importantly, they affect the quality of education of our young people. that is not about some big

global technology globalization trend. that is just a simple issue of priorities. have we passed the president's initiative there? we would be adding more teacher jobs as opposed to still losing state and local government jobs. secondly the infrastructure initiatives, the thing that was always bipartisan was infrastructure, that we need modernize our roads, etc. that's totally under our control. so just those two common sense provisions would have -- be bringing the unemployment rate down and those are totally in our control. those are things the president promoted, pushed for, fought for and were rejected and our labor force is not as strong. our economy is not as strong because those things were -- were not passed and again as i said, the proposal for teacher

layoffs was one that larly hurt. >> so you're saying the republicans are getting in the way of job creation? >> i'm saying that the partisanship that we perceive particularly from the house of representatives i think has blocked us from having a stronger job market and again, i didn't go through the whole list. i mentioned two common sense things that were in our controlle that this president proposed in september that would make things stronger. that said, we still saw the unemployment rate go to 8.2%. we're still seeing 600,000 jobs created the first three months of this year. and we still are going to have a long way to go because again the deep hole the president, the economic thole president inherited was very deep and he wants to see progress but he's nowhere close to satisfied. >> karen? >> he knows there are lots of

women in construction firms out there and those numbers are growing. and we've done a women's controlling role to give them more access and opportunity to federal contracting projects that are out there. but i want to talk about the manufacturing jobs. this is something that gene and the president have really put a focus on. and we've created 400,000 manufacturing jobs. yesterday, i was out in green bay, wisconsin on the factory floor of a woodworking company with the owner and, you know, it was a family business. so the son, the daughter, the wife, everybody's on the factory floor. and they are telling me about more and more orders that are coming in. we are really seing in my travels and in our small business world that these manufactures who are part of american supply chains have capacity and are growing and

are adding people and as they do, maybe it is a slower track but it is a more stable foundation. one of the things we're seeing is that big companies who have these small manufactures in their supply chain are noticing this. and they are bringing products and services and production back to the united states because they see they can have a supply chain of the same cost, better quality, faster turnaround that's a trend that's very positive. >> cici? >> just one number very quickly? we have created 466,000 our economy has manufacturing jobs in the last 25 months. that's the strongest 25-month period since 1995, 17 years. so if you want one area of real hope, progress in our economy, that turnaround in manufacturing jobs is very significant.

>> cici? >> i just wanted to add in terms of the labor market for which is many people think that men disproportion natly lost jobs the downturn but men's employment has recovered much faster than women. there are many factors but two that we can point out in particular. one is that while men are leaving unemployment, women have been slower to leave unemployment. and the second is what gene was mentioning is that women have less jobs because they're disproportion natly employed in the public sector but even given that they are disproportion natly employed in the public sector. that's sort of hampering the opportunities for women. i think that's going to slow down the recovery for women as a whole. >> we were talking about flexibility in the workplace and that applies not just for women but for men in your

company. is there a way to track whether that has increased productivity, profit. is there proof behind the philosophies you put in place? >> absolutely so. first of all, we started as an accounting firm. we've got accounting and metrics for anything you like. that's not a problem for us. analysis. you would be in heaven in our firm. analysis is what we're really good at. to me there's a couple of things to pivot back, as someone who's on the hiring side of all that data. not on the policy side of the data. you know, job creation is a good thing, period. as long as there's job creation you should feel good about the country. two, back to you on stem. part of the 18,000 heavily weighted in technology and engineer as accountants. there's a part of that program that you're talking about

that's flexibility and accountability. it sounds as strength of conviction. first, you have to believe. once you believe in what you're doing, you believe it's a right thing to do because it's a business imperative. i think the best example of flexibility, there is two people who work for me, jennifer and my chief of staff in communications. the three of us have not been standing in the same room, the same building or the same city to do any preparation for this meeting. it was all done in three different cities, different time zones using electronics. i don't know if they're home, if they're at the office, if i'm at home. it doesn't matter. what matters is you're productive. that's what matters. and so the ability -- [applause] and so the ability to create an environment where exeem be productive is to give them a

choice. i'm married to a person who has a career in technology. and the first thing we do every sunday evening is plan our schedules. who's going to be out of town. we synchronize outlook. who's got this child covered. >> thank you so much for this. now we know my girls know we're not the only crazy house. it's a lot of negotiation. >> flexibility is state of mind. you have to believe it can work. because if you start with the premise that it won't work, it won't work. it just won't work. a testament to the brave men back in the early 1990's, we're skeptical because part of what we do is professional skepticals as auditors. it worked. and it worked because it worked with the women who wanted to take the risk and it worked with the men who were willing to take the risk. the fact that we have moved our

percentage of people on those arrangements. we don't even call them arrangements anymore. we don't worry about how and where you are. it's a virtual model. so for us that's what starts. at the macro level and at the earlier level which is the program you're talking about. you have to make commitments. so we do all that great resources and tracking. we give back. so we announced that we made our commitment $60 million services we'll be providing pro bono to not for profit organizations. and the focus of that -- [applause] that takes our commitment back to $1010 million -- $110 million.

that's going to low income school districts and getting the children into the school believing that not only should they go to high school but they should go to college. and when you're in high school, 60% are girls. i'll never forget this story and really this is about putting a face. i went to my old neighborhood in the south bronx in the poorest district. this young lady looked at me. i was dressed like this. she didn't think i had anything in common because i was dressed like this. so we opened up the yearbook from 1974. it was quite a stylish period. my god, what i look like. it was frightening. not to mention the mustache with the chain and the flare pants and the bad hair. oh, my goodness. but anyway. i said that's me.

>> she said, you're kidding. that can't be you. she goes well how did you get from that picture to here. >> i have a request, though. that we -- you've made so many changes in terms of flexibility. except have you guys notice like when a guy goes to his baseball match and leaves works early you say, you're so amazing! it's so great. and then if a woman leaves, they're just a mom. can they be dads? >> we don't want to change that. >> it's unbelievable, isn't it? god. >> our next program we got. i just made a mental note of that. >> ok. so cici and karen especially,

i'd love insight from all of you. in my verge i found that women are are not so good in negotiating. there are some good ones out there. but overall, not good. i squst wanted to know from your own experience, from your own personal outlooks where you think women can do better? terms of inserting themselves into this economy, stepping up and closing the gap when it comes to leadership positions and salaries. ? >> you look ready to go. >> first of all, a round of applause for mika's book. [applause] >> because it's about stepping up and saying it's ok to go in and ask for a raise. it's ok to be powerful. it's ok to be the boss. and it's ok to run a business, to own a business. it's ok to do all these things. we do them. this is our space. and if we own this space, we don't think somehow we've wandered into a bad place.

when we know what we're worth and we know what it is that we need get paid. so thank you for writing the book. >> i'll just say, the advice there is not to worry when you're talking to people, negotiating, trying to accomplish something. don't worry whether or not that they like you. worry that they respect you and command that in every way that you communicate, whether it's how you sit, hold yourself, the words you choose. it's not for them to be comfortable. awkward moments are fantastic when you're negotiating, by the way. fantastic. let the moment breathe and expect something back and it will come. do you agree? >> absolutely. when i first started negotiating for buying businesses, i got very, very tired, i had been up all night with the kifments i dime the negotiating table. and they say we want this. i said no.

well, i was use today no, you can't have more cookies. no, you can't stay up late at night. and i realized, you know, the benefit of what we call the irrational no. somebody said well when did men learn that? women learned it from their kids, men apparently, are born knowing. >> that's right. >> we need to take all these lessons we are learning from every part of our lives an let them be with us in the workplace and as we go forward and to be all the things we need to be. >> cici? >> so i completely agree with what you just said. one is the people i admire most in terms of how they live their lives are those who have when given an opportunity or a choice they have followed what they just wanted to do. they didn't worry about as you were saying what are others thinking about it or is it in my life trajectory because youle control your future but

they follow what you want to do at the time? the second thing is don't be afraid to ask. if you don't ask, you won't get it. you to be willing to ask. that goes in terms of organizing the workplace. i have a friend who was a flaur a high paid firm and she had a child. and she wanted to spend more time with her child but still wanted to be a full-time lawyer. she worked out an arrangement with her firm. she was the first to do so. she negotiated it. it worked well for the firm. she was working part-time and 60 hours a week. but it allowed her more time with her family. >> i will that moment speak as a man and say that -- >> ok. >> if there's one place that do i see just living life

continuing sexism is the labeling by incredibly ambitious men labeling other women as too ambitious, too aggression. >> there's another word, i think. [laughter] >> i think that is extremely un fortunate. i mean, for women have to not obviously let -- not let that get in their way. i never hear a guy being called he's too ambitious. but that's something that men have to be careful about, you know, unconscious or sub conscious biases. i want to make a bet about something. forgive me cici.

i have no analysis for it. it's just a hunch. i think women in competitive sports in the last 20, 30 years is going to change the culture. i see it in the young women in my life. i think that that may have a positive impact on the degree of women who feel more comfortable -- >> getting in the game. >> being competitive and not thinking there's anything wrong with that. >> two athletes in the room, listen up. you make a good point. i also think the fear of being that word whether it's male in the rooms imposing it on the woman or the women thinking that's the word. you worry about looking like this. you have to learn to be lie guys and reset. you want to know why they're so

good about it? because they don't remember anything. you can have a bad moment with someone and get in there and get your money. just reset. unclutter the brain. those are great for personal relationships but the advice i give you about respect is great advice for life. from your advantage point on this very issue, do you see women coming to the table and negotiating differently than men and in ways that they could improve? >> i see them certainly the behavior's changed. it doesn't happen over night. i get yelled at every day by somebody on my staff. it used to be the men would yell but now they yell equally. we did a few things. we have trainings like men and women as colleagues.

men and women as buyers and you sort of learn a little bit about the d.n.a. of each other. you have to learn what the signals mean. what's the relevance of certain things? there was a conversation once and i apply it with my wife but i didn't think about it. i remember forgetting at this training and we're all there. we're all learning about each other. it's not women just learning about men. we're in the same room, learning about each other. one of the big debates are men prioritize things and women maximize things. i had thought about that before. they gave me this great example. when you're sitting at home and i'm getting gas. and my wife would say, why don't you stop at the drugstore? no, i'm just coming back. i can't go to the drugstore because it's not on my list. women have figured out, no, but the drugstore is right next to the gas station.

and that's a really productive way to look at things. that was just this ah-ha moment that came out of this conversation. things like that have changed the conversation, created a sense of awareness of the two groups. basically i think we're well on our way to where, a place that's far better than 20 years ago. >> some of the things that have happened in the administration and i would like to end with some final thoughts from each of you on where we are today and what still needs to be done. and by the way, why this very conversation is fornt this country's economic future, perhaps even vital. gene i'll start with you and go right down the line. >> i think -- as i've said, i think that you want whether it's a sports team or an economic or a company, you want to be at full strength. if you're are not at full strength you will not perform

as well. i think one of the advantages the united states has for all of our problems is i think compared to japan and other competitors we do have more women in the workforce. and i think that's one of our great competitive advantages and there are still barriers to overcome and that policy matters. karen runs the s.p.a. for example reasons and i don't understand it. if it were not for s.p.a. so many women would not get loans. why? such a higher percentage of woman get loans from s.p.a. run businesses. do returns but they're turned down in disproportioned numbers. i don't know. but i think that's a smart policy thing for us to be doing. it tears down barriers for women and great for job creation. it is about being a nation at full strength and being conscience of what the barriers

on. we are tearing down the discriminatory barriers, tearing down the barriers that are just that just exist at our wear. and when we're doing policy be aware where something has a disproportion nat impact. if you're cutting programs, remember that when you're looking at something like the earned income tax creditor child refundable tax credit that's going to disproportion natly hurt women who are working and struggling to stay out of poverty and to be conscious of that as you're thinking at every step line by line of the budget, where are your values, what's best for economy and in a lot of those cases you have to be very, very conscious on the impact of young and older women. >> karen? >> mika said and gina just said, i want the women out there particularly the women

entrepreneurs to know one thing which is we are there for you across this administration. you'll hear from the president in a minute but his exitment to an inclues commitment around access and opportunity, it's very clear. and we know that that is foundational for making a competitive america. but if you're a woman and you have a small business or you're thinking about being an entrepreneur or you're a young person and you're thinking what am i going to do, this path to being able to own and grow your own business is a place that you can own and we will be there to help you whether it's advice, counseling access to credit and just that encouragement to say, you know, you can be powerful. you be the boss and you can be successful. >> joe? >> sure, and i wanted to tell

you that i was in davos representing our firm. america is still the envy of the world. kind of pause when you make that statement. because you dwell on all the things that you can do better. there are lots of them. we're still the envy of the world in virtually every dimension. this searchly be marked in my opinion those of my partners by the countries whose laws and economic institutions not only create growth but distribute the fruits of that growth in a way that all of its citizens think it's just. and given the percentage of woman, that makes a difference. and to me, i believe america will be that country. >> cici, finally? >> i'm an internal optimism. we've seen dramatic changes in the last 30, 40 years in our

labor force. i think we've come a long way. we still have a long way to go. but i think we've come a long way. i'm an optimism because the economic reality in order for us to be competitive we need all hands on deck and we need to be using every citizen that economic reality will get more firms to be don'ting flexibility workplaces, more women being more assertive and seeing that they have more opportunities. so while we have a long way to go, i'm optimistic that we will get there. >> we'll leave it there. thank you very much. thank you, everybody. [applause] >> president obama spoke on women and the economy signing the latest on the unemployment figure and said it is clear that there is more work to be done. his remarks are about 20

minutes. >> thank you. everybody please have a seat. thank you! thank you very much. thank you. everybody sit down. sit down. you know, i was going to head over here earlier. and they said, no, no, this place of full of women and they're still settling down. i said what do you mean "settling down"? what are they doing over there? just creating havoc. welcome to the white house, everybody. it is a pleasure to be surrounded by so many talented accomplished women. it makes me feel right at home. although usually i have my wingman bow with me. i want to thank everybody who's made this forum on women and the economy possible. i think mika for helping moderate today and proving that on your show every morning that women really are the better half. [applause]

joe's not denying it. he's not denying it. i want to thank the members of my cabinet and administration who are participating today. and i want to thank all of you who have come today lending your type and your energy to the critical cause of broadening opportunity for america's women. now, right now, no issue is more important than restoring economic security for all our families in the wake of the greatest economic crisis since the great depression. that begins with making sure everyone who wants a job has one. and so we welcome today's news -- [applause] >> we welcome today's news that our businesses created another 121,000 jobs last month in the unemployment tick down. our economy's created more than four million private sector jobs over the past two years,

more than 600,000 in the past three months alone. but, it's clear to every american that there will still be ups and downs along the way and that we have more work to do and that includes addressing challenges that are unique to women's economic security, challenges that have been around since long before the recession hit. that's why one of the first things i did after taking office was to create white house council on women and girls. i wanted to make sure that every agency across my administration considers the needs of women and girls in every decision we make. and today we're releasing a report on women and the economy that looks at women's economic security through all stages of life from young women furthering their education and beginning their careers to working women who create jobs and provide for their families to seniors in retirement or

getting ready for retirement. there's been a lot of talk about women and women's issues lately as there should be. but i do think that the conversation's been over-simply fide. women are not some monolithic block. women are not an interest group . you shouldn't be treated that way. [applause] women are over half this country and its workforce. not to mention 80% of my household if you count my mother-in-law and i always count my mother-in-law. [laughter] every decision made by those of us in public life impacts women just as much as men. and this report, you all have, explains some of what we've done to try to lift up the lives of women and girls in this country.

but i'd like to spend some time talking about why we've done what we've done. for me, at least, it begins with the women who shaped my life. i grew up the son of a singlele mom who struggled to put herself through school and make ends meet. had to rely on food stamps at one point to get us by. but she earned our education. she made it through with scholarships and hard work and my sister and i earned our degrees because of her motivation and her support and her impact. i've told this story before. she used to wake me up before dawn when i was living overseas, making sure that i was keeping up with my american education. and when i'd complain she would let loose with, this is no picnic for me either, buster.

and that's part of the reason that my sister chose toe be a sister. when my mom needed up, hi grandmother stepped up. my grandmother had a high school education. my grandfather got go to college on the g.i. bill. my grandmother wasn't afforded those opportuntieses even though she worked on an assembly line, a bomber assembly line in world war ii. nevertheless she got a job at a local bank and she was smart and tough and disciplined and she worked hard and eventually she rose from being a secretary to being vice president that bank. and i'm convinced she would have been the best president that bank had ever seen if she had gotten the chance. but at some point she hit the glass ceiling and for a big chunk of her career she watched

other men that she had trained, younger men that she had trained pass her up that ladder. and then there's the woman who once adviced me at the law firm in chicago where we met. [laughter] once -- she gave me very good advice. that's why i decided to marry her. and once michelle and i had our girls, she gave it her all to balance raising a family and pursuing a career. and something that could be very difficult on her because i was gone a lot. once i was in the state legislature, i was teaching. i was practicing law. i'd be traveling. and we didn't have the luxury for her not to work. and i know when she was with

the girls, she'd feel guilty that she wasn't giving enough time to her work and when she was at work she was feeling guilty she wasn't giving enough time to the girls. and like many of you, we both wish that there were a machine that could let us be at two places at once. and so she had to constantly juggle it and carried an extraordinary burden for a long period of time. and then finally as a father, one of my highlights of every day is asking my dures about their day. -- my daughters about their day, their hopes, their future. that's what drives me every day, thinking about them. every decision i make is all about making sure they and all our daughters and all our sons grow up in a country that gives them the chance to be anything they set their minds to, a country where more doors are

open to them than were open to us. so when i think about these efforts, when we put together this council on women and girls this is personal. that's what is at the heart of all our efforts. these are the experiences the prison. through which i view these efforts. and that's what we mean when we say that these issues are more than just a matter of policy. when we talk about these issues that primarily impact women, we've got to realize they are not just women's issues, they are family issue, they are economic issues, growth issue, issues about american competitiveness. they are issues that impact all of us. when women make less than men for the same work, that hurts

families who have to get by with less and companies who have customers with leds to spend. when a family has to have a sick leave to care for a hurting family, that burden's is met as well. that puts a strain on emergency rooms drives up cost and care for everybody. when any of our citizens can't fulfill the potential that they have because of factors that have nothing to do with talent or character or work ethic, that diminishes us all. it holds all of us back. it says something about who we are as americans. right now women are a growing number of breadwinners in the house hole. but they're earning just .77

cents for every dollar a man does. even less if you're an african-american woman or latino woman. a woman will earn hundreds of thousands of dollars less. ending pay discrimination is about far more than simplele fairness when more women are bringing home the bacon by bringing homeless of it than men, that weakness families, communities. it's -- it's tough on our kids. it weakness our entire economy. [applause] which is why the first bill i signed into law is the lily ledbetter act. the fair pay act. to make it easier for women to make it easier for women to

demand fairness. equal pay for equal work. we're pushing for legislation to give women more tools to pay -- to fight pay discrimination. and we've encouraged companies to make work pay more flexibility so that women don't have to choose between being a good employee or a good mom. more women are choosing to strike out on their own. 30% of small business owners are women. businesses generate $1.2 trillion last year. but they are less likely to get the loans they need to start up or expand or to hire which means they often have to depend on credit cards and the mounting debt that comes with it. and that's why through some outstanding work by karen mills of the s.p.a., we've extended more than 16,000 new loan worth

$14.5 billion to women who own businesses. [applause] not to mention cut taxes for small businesses 17 times so that more women have the power to create jobs and more opportunity. we're also focusing on making sure more women are prepared to fill the good jobs of today and tomorrow. over the past decade, women have earned well over half of all the higher education degrees awarred in america. but once they get out of college, we still have a lot of ground to cover. just three percent of fortune 500 businesses are women. is it possible that congress will get more done if there were more women in congress? is that fair to say, y'all?

i think it's fair to say. [applause] that is almost guaranteed. and while women account for four and five degrees in areas like education which is terrific because obviously there's no profession that's more important than teaching. we also have to recognize that only two and five business degrees go to women. furrer than 1-4 computer science degrees go to women. they make up just 25% of the workforce in the science and technical fields. no unspoken bias or outdated barrier should ever prevent a girl from considering careers in these fields.

when ingenuity is discouraged, it denies all of us. we've got to do more to encourage women to join these fields as well. make it easier to enjoy the education that's required to make it, send a clear message to our daughters which i'm doing every night, math, science, nothing wrong with it. a lot right with it. we need you to focus. we've put a priority on science, math and engineering. we took specific steps to make sure that all students especially underrespected groups like girls have the opportunity to get excited about these fields at an early age and we've helped women to pursue higher education with our increases in the pell grants. that's good news. [applause]

another example, health reform, it's been in the news lately. because of the health reform law that we passed women finally have more power to make their choices about their health care. [applause] last year -- last year more than 20 million women received expanded access to preventive services like mammogram and cervical cancer screenings at no additional costs. [applause] nearly two million women enrolled in medicare received a 50% discount on the medicine they need. over 1 million more young women are insured because they can now stay on their parent's plan. late they're year they will receive domestic violence

screenings and contraceptive at no additional costs. [cheers and applause] and soon insurance companys will no longer be able to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions like breast cancer or charge women more just because they're women. [applause] we don't know -- we haven't gotten on the dry cleaning thing yet, though. i know that that's still -- that's still frustrating, i'm sure. on behalf of women and girls, i'm proud of the accomplishments. there's no doubt we've made progress. the policies we put in place over the past three years have

started to take hold and what we can't do now is go back to the policys that got us into so many of the problems that we've been dealing with in the first place. that's what's at stake. but when people talk about re peeling hale -- repealing health care reform, they're not just talking about rejecting women with pre-existing conditions, they're also saying that we should kick women off their parent's health plan. they're not just talking about restricting women, they're talking about denying the preventive care like mammograms that millions of women rely on. when folks talk about doing away with things like student aids, they're not thinking about the cost of their future. when millions of women will

have trouble affording to go to college. and when something like the violence against women act, a bill joe biden authored a bill that once passed by wide bipartisan margins is suddenly called to question? that makes no sense. [applause] i don't need to -- that's not something we should still be arguing about. i don't need to tell anybody here that progress is hard. change can come slow. opportunity and equality don't come without a fight. sometimes you've got to keep fighting even after you've won some victories. things don't always move forward. sometimes they move backward if you're not fighting for them. but we do know these things are

possible. and all of you are proof to that. this incredible collection of accomplished women, you're proof of change. so is the fact that for the first time in history, young girls across the country can see three women sitting on the bench of the highest court of the land. [applause] or they can read about the extraordinary leadership who went by the title madam speaker or they can turn on the news and see that one of the most formidable presidential candidates and senators we ever had is now doing as much as anybody to improve america standing abroad as one of the best secretaries of state that we've ever known. and they can see that every single day another 500 women

just like yourselves take the helm of their own company right here in america and do their part to grab those doors of opportunity that they walk through and open them just a little bit wider for the next generation. as long as i've got the privilege of being your president, we're going to keep working every single day to make sure those doors forever stay open and wyden the circle of opportunity for all our kids. thank you for what you do. keep it up. god bless you. god bless the united states of america. thank you. [applause] thank you, guys. >> next, reporters and

photographers talk about what it's like to report from a war zone. then barbara mikulski is honored for her service. then a tribute to former senator robert dole and howard baker. tomorrow on "washington journal," bloomberg news reporter timothy hoeman discusses the numbers for march. then kevin mccormally and certified public accountant robert baldassari will take your income tax questions. now reporters and photographers who have covered conflicts in syria, afghanistan and libya talk about their experiences at

the american society of news editors. we'll hear from c.j. shivers and tyler hicks. this is an hour and 10 minutes. >> hi, everybody. welcome to our next session. i think it's going to be one of the most profound sessions. -- that we'll have at this conference. i would like to thank reuters for putting together a wonderful tribute to the journalist who is have fallen in the past year, our foreign correspondents who have died in the past year, it was wonderful. i'm sorry to say that lara logan can't be with us today. alreadya had a sudden illness in her family and we wish them well. susan bennett, our moderator for lives on the line started her reporting career with

u.p.i. in memphis where she covered the death of elvis. that's hard to beat actually. as a reporter for "night rider" she covered the collapse of communism, the persian gulf war in the middle he's. she became a writer for "u.s. today" and then worked at the museum where she was senior vice president and is now a senior consultant. she edited "running toward danger" the museum's book about reporters who covered 911. three weeks ago, a heartbreaking photo of a young syrian boy in anguish after his father was shot by a sniper dominated the "new york times," "the washington post," and other papers around the world. a few days later, the a.p. photographer who shot that photo wrote a gripping account of escaping from syria. explosions illuminated the

night as we ran, hoping to escape syria after three weeks of covering a conflict that the government seems to keep the world from seeing. snipers bullets whized by our heads. we're all going to get killed, a terrified syrian activists told me collapsing into tears. a native of argentina, he worked for a.p. since 2003 covering the war in afghanistan, the earthquake in haiti, and continuing conflicts in the middle east and around the globe. christopher shivers is one of the outstanding reporters and writers of our time. a marine infantry officer in the mershan gulf work. his work has been cited in two pulitzer prize works he has a national magazine award and the michael kelly award for the fear pursuit and expression of

war. his national magazine was for a school, a description of the worst terrorist attack against school children, their teacher and parents in the russian town of beslan. esquire listed that story as one of the seven greatest stories ever published. he also covered september 1th, spend twog weeks at ground zero virtually without sleep. his dispatches from iraq and afghanistan in 2010 were selected by new york universities as being among the decades top 10 works of journalism. tyler hicks was also part of the times team along with chris shivers that won the 2009 pulitzer and was named one of top 10 works of journalism. he's been named newspaper photographer of the year in the international pictures of the year contest.

he discovers problems in somalia, libya, syria. he was with anthony shadid when they were taken captive in libya last year by forces loyal to muammar gaddafi. the 21-year-old driver was killed. he was with anthony again when he died in syria. he wrote about what happened in the newspaper, anthony felt it was essential that juremmists go into syria. that essential mission is what we'rehere to talk about today.

i now present the editor of the new york times. >> thank you so much. this panel includes two of my most esteemed colleagues, here to discuss the fundamental questions. is indeed a calling for them and others. tyler was with anthony when he

died trying to cross the border from syria. he was with two other of our colleagues when they were taken captivity in libya. he tried to save anthony and brought him across the border. they wrote a terrific piece about their trip to syria. for those of you who knew anthony, he always covered the

most important stories. he described his pure joy when he finally got to terrier square -- tahrir square. what made him special was his fluency in arabic, his eye for detail. instead of telling the stories of war through the eyes of political leaders, if wikipedia

had an entry for foreign correspondent it would have his name. he won two pulitzers for his coverage of iraq. his father told me a distinct memory of his when i was chatting with him in beirut after the tragedy. his new book, house of stone, is a gorgeous meditation on more.

he says it is a big sprawling plant. the journalists on this panel use words that apply to journalism broadly as well. thank you. >> these three journalists have had amazing careers. if you would like to ask a question, please feel free to do so.

i hope that everybody in this room readier incredibly poignant story about your time in syria. you talk about how you spent months planning this trip. can you talk a little bit about that. >> the especially in the wake of what we have seen happen to our colleagues just in the past year, with people killed in syria, some people we have been close to, it seems there has been a lot of luck, considering that america has been involved in two wars for a decade, it

made us focused differently, especially in our case, having been just a year before planning this trip, the fbi and the new york times took extra steps. aside from our own coverage and the contacts anthony had inside syria, we made sure we were working with people we could trust. you have a feeling that you have to be your first, you have to get there, but we knew this was going to be a long war, this was going to drag on, this was only going to get worse.

there were a lot of precautions about which border do we cross, who are weak crossing with. a lot of things about these people and who they are. our life is in their hands. . >> a lot of things about these people and who they really are, your life is in their hands. really, the local contact you were working with and make sure that you have the time line, which carry an emergency response to begin that tells the paper where we are at any given time, you push a button. we carry medical kits. unfortunately, at the very end of the trip, it was very unexpected in a lot of ways. >> all of you are veterans of

covering conflict, but chris, what advice do you give to editors sending somebody into a conflict for the first time? is there something they can do to prepare the reporter or the photographer for this kind of action? >> as part of your normal supervision, make sure that whoever you send has excellent judgment and someone that is in touch with you regularly. we were off satellite phones and sometimes only through e- mail. communication back and forth with the best means to be really rich and as constant as you can make it. i don't think you send someone who you don't think their judgment was solid, but there is a practical skill that everyone should have and far too few people have. he should not send someone who has not had the basic trauma care training. it is essential.

when you're traveling with the american military, most everyone around you have that training. it is likely there will be tourniquets and basic skills and knowledge available. in libya or syria, you'll be astonished at the number of people out there that don't have any skills. you have just minutes to save someone's life. the show can come in and you may have to work on them. that doesn't mean that you do vascular surgery, but you have to treat for shock, to a basic riyadh. it is very important that journalists have this fundamental set of skills. a friend of ours by the of the lead loaned -- a leg wound. the friends were holding their hand, providing comfort but not first day. -- first aid. people were taken from that

scene that were wounded less seriously than them by the only available,. -- available car. he did not to the tree janusz -- they did not do the triage for the first day. -- first aid. i am not saying this gentleman would have survived his wounds, they were severe. we know that the aid was not administered and the tree of wasn't followed. -- triage wasn't followed. it would be nice to know that they have that very basic skill set. you can give them an emt cours. i think that is essential. >> b-picture that george mentioned on the front page of the new york times, the washington post, and others was

syria and rebel soldiers grieving over some of their dead comrades. you wrote about your dangerous trip into syria, and he said it may not have been your best photography, but it told people a lot about what was going on in syria. is it important to take those kind of pictures as well as the ones that you think might be a prize winner? >> yes, when we were, we are working and trying to do our best. never thinking that far. that picture is of a boy crying. [inaudible] that picture is more emotional. i would picture what is going on, also with the civilians.

i think the risk is to show that, not only to show the fierce fighting. people are in the middle of that. they are suffering every day. [inaudible] he was living his normal life. i think it is important to show the daily life of the syrians right now. it means a lot of amazing pictures, more dramatic. it was so dangerous sometimes, i was risking my life like every minute.

we try to tell the story without being in the middle of the bombs. they were bombing from far away. if you are in that place, you are there. we had a camera guy with a lot of experience. i am trying to do my best in those places. here now. it's too dangerous. and here people that really know the weapons -- [inaudible] i have no idea what these weapons are.

>> for the non-photographers, you also confronts major chaos. riots, a mass funeral, how do you focus on that one image whether it is in grieving or something that you think it tells the story. are you looking for that in particular? >> is one of the things i have observed through the years, watching other photographers that i have always admired. being in the scene, whether it is a funeral or a protest, whatever it is. i would be shooting everything in every direction. i looked at the picture, and they completely -- they got this amazing shot. i got all this garbage, these busy pictures.

i think that this still isn't so much just going and photograph everything, but knowing what your looking for when you go into that situation and having the ability to focus and tune out. it is like hunting for birds. you have to aim at one, not a flock. >> rodrigo? >> for me, it's really important to be calm in that situation. when the situation is really a chaotic, you can start running everywhere without taking a picture. because you know what you're doing.

you're trying to find a picture it is difficult. [inaudible] than my pictures. you're calm, you have experience, you can deal with the emotions without drama, people crying, people running. it is difficult, but we try to live through >> and some members of the military have trouble with adjustments when they come home. they have come from an area where driving down the block can be an imminent explosion, everybody carrying a backpack can be a suicide bomber.

how do you go between the world wife is here. i come back to a pretty busy life that is my real life. it is not my job. in a strange way, some of these places have been horrible weather is ground zero or the day to day in libya and afghanistan or iraq. it makes you appreciate your ownyou come to a place where you don't have to worry about your community. i don't resent that, i appreciate it. you try to get some perspective that you don't always succeed at it, because when you come

back, your in your regular life. you can't really tried to superimpose one over the other and you have to leave the other one for your work situation. these guys were talking a minute ago that i would add, it might have to deal with the personality that does this year in and year out. close at the dark, five the tourniquets. they shared something that is very similar and i will air them out. some of these guys, you might be the same type, you may have a little bit of perverse personality. when things are really good,

they can be unmanageable. [laughter] and when things are really bad, you can be calm. i'm not saying that they don't feel fear, they do. if they tell you they don't, they are lying. but they manage it, they channel it, they concentrated and arethey are bouncing around the inside of the tent because it's calm. when they are out there in the middle of that, i work side-by- side with photographers, i work from the field. it can be so busy and intense that is very self-organizing. you are not in those sorts of situations when your home. when you get stuck in traffic, you are just a guy stuck in traffic. it is not so bad. >> i agree.

i agree with chris a lot, you have to be able to separate as best you can what you do in the field that what you have at home. people manage that in different ways, they have different ways of coping with the stress being in the field. i heard about this with journalists at with veterans. you can see it in the field, the stress, the anchor, the fighting, all of these things that can happen. i think chris and i both have very good ways of managing those two things. what has happened to me in the last year, this past year has been the worst year of my entire life.

captured in libya, lost a very good friend in syria, i had to witness his death. and worse than that, seeing how badly it affected so many people, his family, friends, a widow, his son, his daughter. it is one thing to see something in the field, but there were these long-lasting things that really need attention. whether it is a correspondent for photographer, they think you need to be very sensitive to the level that they are coping with. it very well may not be on the surface, i know that the paper

is always offering help. somebody to talk to, and the thing. you don't even always think to ask for it yourself. people, even if they don't think important. families. mine a few years ago. how is he doing, is he going to make it? there is sort of this expanding and blossom in conversation. -- and blossoming conversation. he was 2 years old in the back

seat of my pickup truck, i took the additional call. he can only hear one side but he consents by distress. what did your friend is that bonn -- step on? there were times that i was coming home, and he'd look at me and say, how come you're not hurt? what my wife goes through and my kids go through when i am away, it makes you feel like you have to worry about your universe. room. -- in the newsroom. you can get your way around the

pain of that. a little bit. but take a good look at the families, this is a real burden. it is like what the soldiers go through or the victims that are caught up. seeing it, but they are living it. they can sense things we are not saying when we come home. >> you have a different circumstance that you don't cover conflict all the time. you might be taking pictures with a box camera that you found in afghanistan one day. how do you deal with covering

peaceful topics and then going back to war? >> i live in central america, i cover haiti, mexico. they are not easy countries, but it is not open war like libya. but i think that i don't know if i can go and do this like six months a year or nine months a year covering wars. early, i am more fresh going to these places. coming back, i am doing a project about by and women -- mayan women. i don't know any other story. when i go to pakistan, it's in a different way.

not always the world. so i am not tired. i am never tired of going because i spent the early part of the year doing trips, and a normal life. other stories. that is good. my mother says all the time, why are you not going to the olympics? why haiti? talking about family, they don't really understand why you go to afghanistan. i think it is important to do it.

you are not just working for one newspaper, you are working for all of them. sometimes our pitchers are published everywhere. it is important to do it, to do mixed stories. if i work hard and latin america, nobody cares. >> chris, you are a bit of a hybrid. before you were a journalist, you were a marine. as you cover the marines as a journalist, but you find that they help or a hindrance --do you find that a help or a hindrance? do you tell people up front that you were in the marines, or do you wait and see what the situation is? >> i don't have a choice with that anymore, before you show up, they know a lot about you and they have read what you have done. at this point, there is no lowballing that. mostly it helps. helps a lot.

there are things that got drilled in the by dna what i was young that you can't get rid of -- into my dna what i was young that you can't get rid of. but what i am walking patrol, i am hyper vigilant. i usually set of the patrol order beforehand, i can sometimes anticipate things that are happening before they happen. it puts you in the right place and keep you safe, and it helps me make a good risk assessment about whether i wanted to this particular patrol. i will shoulder risk for readers, but i will just go out there and what the patrol because i want to. there has to be a reason or a pursuit. you have to come back inside the wire, as they say. but sometimes, it hurts. i will give you an example.

it has happened a few times, high. you come to a point where the patrol is not behaving the way they you think it should be. in one case, a patrol was taking the left just short of the canal and i thought that they should scoot over the bridge. i thought there was a building over there that was dangerous. i wanted to be on their side of the canals of that you can sweep the building. there was a boat in the canal, i knew it was he. if we end up in the canal, we will drown today. but i did not say anything, it is not my job. you're not there to take over

the patrol. if someone gets hurt, from that minute forward, you own that casualties. you have to be quiet on patrol. the tyler and i were a lot of patrol a couple weeks ago, and they were bunched up. these kids have never been shot at. you know when you are moving with a group that has had a lot of combat, of this particular day, i decided not to say anything. i almost said, you might want to scoot over to that side of the bridge. we got shot at from the building, got shot through the spine. not like i was withholding information from the patrol, i just had a hunch. every time you have a hunch, you can't interfere with the patrol. but this is where it hurts. i think about the patrol, i will say every day, but every week. -- won't say every day, but every week.

>> the navy is conducting a study in the military troops that they sometimes get a sixth sense or spidey sense for danger that's imminent. does this come from experience? >> i think that comes from experience in the sense that specifically, if you talk about control and afghanistan, you can feel when something is going to happen. that often comes from experience. when you send people out, they are going with trained soldiers and marines, they watch them. they do what they do and follow their movements.

that is something that i have always tried to keep in mind. if something happens unexpectedly, the most unusual and unexpected thing usually happens. because, as chris was saying, you are attached to that. if you suddenly go running off in the other direction, they will have to go and get you. you have to go where they go, sometimes it is not where you want to go. sometimes they want to go right into the fight. there are certain courses offering training for these kind of things. the real field experience, that is why is important.

about to jump into the big and complex right away, to start off with lower level complex and at least get some of that experience and awareness about how these things work. >> a lower level conflict that i covered was a vote of rest. i was with -- was civil unrest. i smelled something, it was embers in my hair. i said to the photographer, they pay you to get close, they paid me to get the story. so i went to talk to the fire fighters. how much is too much? when does a good picture take over from saving your hide?

>> reporters, we need to be there. very near, sometimes. that is more risky. but you're asking when we feel it's really dangerous. in syria, days before the army launched a big attack. they were very concerned about not showing their face, they want to cover their faces. it was dangerous, but calm. they forgot about you. i took all the pictures.

you feel the danger there because they were quiet and running. you can feel at that moment, things are really getting closer. sometimes you understand the danger when you see faces of people that you're trying to photograph. in their terms, you can see it in their face. >> is it hard to stop shooting at times? >> it is. but with experience, you learn to stop. i have done incredibly stupid things in my life, and i have been lucky. there is something to be said for this element of competition in the field.

it can be very dangerous. and you have a certain number of people that want to go back. when jim and chris were killed, chris was a very old friend of mine. we'd known him for years. he was done for the day. they got hard-core pictures of fighting that day. he talked to his fiancee on the phone, we might just wandered out to the port. -- wander down to the port. other photographers wanted to go back and wanted to get a picture. this group mentality takes over. what if they go and they get something? he jumps in the truck and get killed in our later. -- gets killed an hour later. not having the pressure from

your editors, so and so got this picture and you didn't. anyone in those places, it is really dangerous and sometimes it is not as clear from the home base. if you see a picture of a guy firing a gun, getting to that place was probably 10 times more dangerous. you never know where rock is going to hit. the arabs spring continues to go on. it is important to not have the pressure to have that picture or story because somebody else has it.

the stakes are too high right now. >> chris, what are your thoughts about risk assessment of your choosing whether or not to go into an area to get a particular story. >> you think you can understand the readers with your day, you pursue your day that way. i will give you an example. trusting your people in the field. i will give you a really good example. we were rolling all day, a classic afghan fire fight with his platoon was pushing to miles beyond where they were normally going. there were probably five or six working a platoon. they would shoot at them, everyone would scatter into buildings and collar around.

-- crawl around. kids would come out and beat the sheep out of the way and the firefight would start again. a guy got shot. it was an important time in may of 2010. there were 20,000 marines in this province, it was going to be about fighting season. -- a bad fighting season. we knew some of these guys, we had been in firefights earlier in the year. there were usual questions like timing, and i have been killed,

we wanted to take pictures of -- a guy had been killed and we wanted to take pictures of his memorial. if we walk into the wire, there was another patrol out. there is a tree-line, we both felt the urge to be out there on the patrol. look at the pictures on the disk. we are looking at this thing like it is our job to be here. we haven't even violent what we

got. i think there is a value going down there. if we are going to get her, the guy who doesn't get hurt needs to be able to tell the families why. if we go out on the patrol, what do we tell the paper? what do i tell bill? that is a really important

matrix. there is journalism at other things going into it. the photographers are out there working the dotted line. you have to trust them to know when to back out. it would also have been a distract them. -- a been a distraction. we are going through this calculus every day out there. i don't need to go up to that intersection of because i know what is up there and i may not come back. >> sometimes, i am the kind of guy that says, we need to go. dodge that is what we were going through that night, we were sitting there. it is like a light show at sunset, only a few field the way, a quick walk.

we say we are out a lot, we are. when you run a good marine unit or a good army units, those guys have been living in a year at a time. they are very relaxed about it. you can fall into that state of mind. and you have constant checks and balances to pull themselves back. it becomes more manageable. you have the managers of even more intensely. -- you have to manage yourself even more intensely. >> from the news room, with the competition, now there's the internet. from photographing, sometimes

you have to wait to blog. does it make you a better photographer to have that constant pressure to produce, or does it get in the way of doing a more in-depth job? >> a tweet, facebook post or blog is as good as the content. if this is good, it makes you better, if it is garbage, it is a waste of time. only sundays does that sparkle. i think that we obsess of little too much of the tools make you better or not. we have the tools, but if we are going to do with, it needs to be good. nobody wants to be the boring newspaper like nobody wants to read a boring tweet. good.ot to be >> multimedia content is more not getting bogged

down. four still photographers to shoot a video, write something, it gets too much. you have to know your limits. i don't do a lot of that kind of stuff. you can kind of keep your bare drop -- to your bare job. if some people can split up their skills more, i am not great at standing out. >> the moment, you have seconds to take a picture. you don't have 10 or 20 different moments. you have two or three moments in a day. [inaudible] you take the picture or you take the video, and that is it.

not in a perfect way, but the best way possible. when you talk about when to stop, it is difficult. for me, i never received any pressure. the pressure is at least mine. i want to show the story in the best way. i want to go again and again. and sometimes these guys stop you. tyler, you were once interviewed by chris. he asked you how it has changed you personally, smoking, drinking, exercise? >> chris exposed a lot of my history on that one.

the probably took it easy on me. if you are going out into place, you have to be healthy. you have to be able to stay up with -- i am 42 years old, you go out on patrol with these guys that are between 18 and 25 years old. you have to be able to keep up with these guys. sometimes it is straight of about 10 or having to run 300 meters. -- straight up a mountain or having to run 300 meters. there are no -- chris and i both run, go to the gym. for me personally, this has helped me a lot. we try to take as good care of ourselves as possible.

we hope that the young guys around us smoke a lot and have slowed themselves out as much as possible. it has changed me a lot, and not just the physical stuff. but the way that you value life, friends get hurt, get killed, you learn to value life more. every time i go home, i spent time with my parents, my friends. you really appreciate what you have, especially how people are living. libya and syria this year, the way that people live there are atrocious. i think, i am really lucky. your physical mental health are

the of important things that you have. >> you just debunked the myth of the hard drinking, hard smoking war correspondent. >> i had my sleeping bag, soldiers were helping me. now i have becomed more disciplined. i have the correct box, and i'm not bothering anybody. i can work myself. also, i have to be fit. if you have to walk of 40 degrees, and you can't do it, are you killed in syria or the

soldiers in afghanistan? they say, "who is this guy bothering us?" you have a no-losing perspective. [inaudible] when you go back to a normal city, and there is a normal problem, like traffic -- some stupid thing -- i'm thinking that things can be really worse. this is not so bad. >> i think you said that it was important not just for your well-being but the people that you are with that you are fit. so that you don't put anyone else in danger. >> if someone has to divert their resources, time, and attention to help you, and something happens on that control, you are accountable for that.

you represent the industry, your newspaper, your wire service, magazine, a network. you have to make the impression of being a serious human being. whether it is libya and rebels or syria rebels or chechnyan gunmen, you had better be able to make it. you better not slow them down or need help. if you get hurt, you are part of it and you will get the hell, but you better not need attention because you can't keep up. i wondered whether i would get out of this beat. i often think, the first patrol i lag on will be the day that i stopped, or if i get hurt.

face't think i could myself if i knew that i slowed a patrol down. if you go out there like tyler said, you have to have life habits. you can't say i'm going on a six-hour patrol today. you don't know when you're coming back. things are going on and on. we've gone out on two hour patrols and come back sometime the next day. or someone went missing and they had to find them. you don't know when you're coming back. you have to be a bill tohang -- be able to hang. >> like a few days, one week. we're sitting in syria, we went through 40 meters. we have to be very quicky.

-- quick. if you're not fit, you're risking yourself and the group. it can be danger not only for your life, but for all of it. you need to think about that as important. >> i know that there must be some questions. do we have a microphone here? >> i guess this is a question of rod fourrigo mo -- of rodrigo mostly. some newspapers ran the name of the boy and his father's name, some did not. just describing it in general terms. i wonder if you can speak to those kinds of specifics and whether you think they are important, and whether they are important in humanizing the situation. and whether that matters.

>> each situation is completely different. because you write the name of the person whose picture is going to risk their lives, you don't do it. there were examples and syria, it was there phase at their names. -- they were hiding faces and names. you have to respect that. you always have to respect that. if somebody reads my name, they are going to kill me. if someone looks at my picture, they will kill my relatives. you have to respect people you're taking pictures of. that's not only a professional thing, it is a human thing.

to cross those lines. in terms of that picture, i don't think there were any problems riding the name of the little boy -- writing the name of the little boy. i don't think it was a problem. >> [inaudible] i thought it was a very good thing for you. >> there are cases where if you do it, even if you think it is correct, you are really putting into real danger the life of that person. >> we withhold names all the time if we think that lives are in jeopardy. it is not every day, but it is not uncommon. there was an informant in forming against the president of chechnya. we waited until they got their family members out of chechnya and out of russia.

a lot of times, you have to look to your conscience, not just that your -- at your scoop. we hold things back when lives are at risk. >> yes, sir. >> i'm the former editor of the austin american statesman. you talk about battle coverage very appropriately. i want to thank you for the great job. my question is more toward the broad, overarching story of what this means, how and why of the story. it seems to me that you do that much more, summing up the pathway of a nation and its battle. cultural shifts, strategic issues that are pretty hard to pin down. you are doing that story amid

chaos. you only have one or two or three sets of ties rather than vast platoons of reporters or photographers. your resources can be good sources, but they can be bad, too. how different is it coming up with the howl and why story -- how and why story? compared to an investment story here in d.c., when do you know that you have it? when you come to grips with that? >> when you talk about the pathway of the nation, do you talk about the nation's in which we are working or this nation? >> [inaudible] the one you cover -- lybia o-- libya or syria.

>> i would like to pop the balloon here. we talk about what we do as if it is fascinating and important. it is a smaller part of a much larger enterprise. we cover field hospitals, rebels, front lines, or live back from the front, how it is affected. that is a small part of a larger body of coverage. the way that you cover a war is not just to go to the frontline. you have to go to the cemetery, the mosque, the church, the congress, tracking what candidates are saying. you have to have reporters on both sides of that point to the extent it is possible. it's not really possible with the taliban at this point. everything we do fits into a larger conversation. i don't think that i have to

write a story that defied the decade of war. i don't take that as possible. i don't take that as possible. i think i would look back on it and laugh at. everybody's work fits in with everybody else's. you make this great big mosaic. some days i have to back up and provide some of the more broader views. sometimes the editors asked for it, sometimes i feel it in my bones. you get a point of view. about a lot of things. sometimes it finds its way into my copy. sometimes it is a magazine piece. but i try to keep in perspective. i don't think that at the end of my career, my body of work is going to tell you that much. i hope it will answer the

question you said. you can't swing for the fences every day. >> [inaudible] >> it tells a big story, thank you. but it doesn't tell the entire story. i rely on those that do things differently. i am really glad that there are people that do it well. i remember in the marine corps, i was committed to it. how does eric schmidt know things about the marine corps that i don't know. it was really good, it was really true. i was in that culture, and he was adding to my understanding of it. if you have a good picture or a good story, you can increase the reader's understanding a notch, that's great. three notches is incredible.

re-order the world with one story, i can't do that. >> bill with usa today. the lead story in the times this morning is the u.s. joint effort to equip and pay rebels in syria. based on your time and experience, what is the nature and capability of this opposition that america is now supporting? >> having spent a good amount of time in libya at the beginning of that conflict, something i can say about the abilities, something that i touched dodd and the article that i wrote for the paper -- touched on in the article that i wrote for the paper. you have defectors from the syrian army.

they are small in number, but they are skilled, military people. it may not look different from a bunch of guys with weapons running around the field. when you were there, the organization and skills that is much higher -- and skill set is much higher. when they get money and weapons, which is what i have heard that they are about to get, it is not going to make their ability a lot higher, but it will cause a much bigger flood of defections. i think that they will have an impact. and reflecting what anthony said, the hour before he died, i was standing next to him when

the people that were helping us did a little interview, you are about to head to the borders with sunset. this is actually the last question that anyone asked him. do you think that we will be successful? do you think we will win this war? he said, i do. i think you will be successful, but it will take a very long time. >> i think it is fitting that we and with anthony's last words. i appreciate the service that you do, i value the work that you do, and i thank you for your generous donation of time today. [applause]

>> next, senator barbara mikulski is honored for her years of service. then a tribute to former senators dole and baker. finally, women and the economy. >> this saturday at noon. when our live call-in program with a distinguished former navy seal and offered chris tile as he talks about his life from professional rodeo rider to becoming the most lethal sniper in u.s. military history. >> if you think of yourself as a family and a team, she said, when i get a raise at work, she

is so proud of me and it is like our family has got a raise. it was redefining providing to include what her husband does. >> liza mundy on the changing roles of women and how it impacts their lives carry it and then ben carson compares the decline of empire's past with america and shares his thoughts on what should be done to avoid a similar fate. every weekend on c-span to. senator barbara mikulski has been recognized for her years of service in the u.s. congress. when sworn into her fifth term last year, senator mikulski became the longest serving woman in u.s. senate history. senator mikulski was elected to the u.s. house in 1976 and was first elected to the u.s. senate in 1986. during this tribute, we hear

from minority leader nancy pelosi, a connecticut representative, and vice president joe biden. this is about 45 minutes. >> good evening, everyone. welcome to the celebration of the longest serving woman in the u.s. congress, the great leadership of senator barbara mikulski. [applause] it is not just about the length of time. it is about the quality of service and leadership. it is about the personality that she is. it is about the history she has made. it is about the progress she is making for the american people. are we all honored to be with her this evening? [applause] on saturday -- right, saturday?

on saturday, the great moment occurred. we thought all of you would be here if we had a celebration then, but we thought we would do it when congress was in session. we particularly wanted to do it here in the house. they had a day of tributes in the senate. i don't know if you had a chance to see it, but when they replay it, please watch it. it is so edifying to see the appreciation expressed by her colleagues in the u.s. senate. every time somebody said something, i would think, "that is just what i would have said," and i am sure you would say the same thing. so here we are, gathered during women's history month. how better to observe it than to honor senator mikulski. and i want to acknowledge the presence of some great women leaders in our country. three members of the president's cabinet, secretary kathleen sebelius -- where are you kathleen? [applause] secretary janet napolitano.

[applause] administrator lisa jackson. [applause] we are also very honored by a woman so spectacular, a woman that a room in the capital is named for, former congresswoman lindy boggs. [applause] i should say ambassador, because just the other day, earlier this month, she celebrated her 96th birthday. [applause] and this is a day of firsts. i want you to acknowledge the first woman secretary of state, madeleine albright. [applause] acknowledging the women, but i know the marylanders want to be

acknowledged, so our great whip steny hoyer. the judge was here earlier. donna edwards is here with us. [applause] and the other maryland -- ok, there they are. elijah cummings, congressman john sarbanes. [applause] beverly. [applause] in any event, let's applaud for all of us, because this is a roomful of celebrities. [applause] another former member, helen

bentley. there she is. [applause] the room is full of members of the house and of the senate. and as i say, we take special pride because for her first 10 years of this record-breaking history in the congress, those first 10 years were spent here in the house of representatives. [applause] we have the whole baltimore contingent here. and i start with myself. [applause] and we have the friar from the institute of notre dame, where barbara and i both went to high school. when i was sworn in as speaker, barbara wore her i.n.d. ring to the swearing-in. we take great pride in that. isn't this something?

on the floor of the senate today, we heard about her upbringing in a proud polish- american family, about her father's grocery store opening early so that steelworkers could buy their lunches before the early shift. barbara made her career first as a social worker, and as she likes to say, she is now a social worker with power. >> yes. [applause] >> we all take pride in barbara's success. i remember being in maryland the day she won the primary in 1976, and paul sarbanes won the senate race that day. and we had that transfer of power. ever since that day, guess how many -- 12,858 of them -- she has worked on behalf of our constituents, all americans. she works on behalf of the day- to-day needs of marylanders and the long-term needs of the

nation. we are proud of her long, distinguished career that began in the house of representatives. we not only celebrate her life and leadership, but the quality of it. how appropriate she became the longest serving woman in congressional history during women's history month, and she has been making history and progress her entire career. first woman elected to the senate in her own right. [applause] remember that? first woman on the senate appropriations committee. [applause] first woman elected assistant senate floor leader, and the only woman to have held that position. [applause]

this i cannot believe, but the first woman elected to statewide office in maryland. a real pioneer. [applause] the women of the senate call senator mikulski "dean." dean, teacher, leader, mentor, friend -- she is all of these to so many of us, many of us gathered here. by the way, i have notes from all of the people who couldn't come, and i will share that later. here today is one of senator mikulski's best friends, a colleague from her time in the house, congresswoman barbara kennelly. we went to the same college, trinity college. so did kathleen sebelius. this is sisterhood day. i.n.d., trinity college. where are you kathleen? trinity college. this is girls' school day. and girl leadership.

barbara kennelly is now a distinguished professor of political science at trinity college. like senator mikulski, barbara kennelly has taught all of us how to lead justly, the champion for some of the most vulnerable in our society, especially women. and now i am pleased to present a great leader in the house when she served here, a great friend to barbara mikulski and many of us here, our friend, congresswoman barbara kennelly. [applause] >> oh, first of all, may i say -- you know, i never say the speaker is not absolutely right, but barbara has a lot of best friends in this room. i look around and i see a lot of barbara's best friends, and i am just so proud and so happy to be part of this marvelous occasion. we are all barbara's friends, and she has so many more everywhere who salute her. you know, barbara has been

incredible for women in this country. she has been an inspiration to so many women because she fights for what she believes in, and they know that she is fighting for them. you know, everyone might think that barbara was just on a path to be where she is today, but i have heard a story that she really wanted to be the next madame curie. she wanted to make discoveries, make millions of people's lives better, but thank god she decided she wanted to stay in baltimore. you know, being a trailblazer is not easy. really, it's not easy, especially when you are trying to get into the political world, where barbara tried to get into. especially when you are trying to get into a body like the house, which is built on tradition, and that tradition does not have a lot of women's thought in it. but, you know, barbara didn't

care, she never complained, she just did her work and she was a leader right from the very beginning. nancy, i agree, i hated to have her leave. barbara and i, all of us worked to make sure that she could go to the senate. i'm just thankful that she has continued to work as hard as she has worked and dedicated herself to people. i'm going to say something about hubert humphrey, what he used to say. i used to say it for years, and i did not have to say it anymore because government was going along so well and everything was pretty good, but i have to say it again. a test of a country, a test of democracy is those who take care of the children at the dawn of their life, take care of people at the twilight of their life, older citizens, and take care of people in the shadows of their life, the poor, the disabled. barbara has lived by that. she has made sure those people

are always taken care of. we hear a lot about politicians. i don't even think of her as a politician. i just think of her as barbara, who works for the people of maryland and this country. [applause] you know, barbara lives by one thing -- honor thy mother and father. honor thy mother and father. that is a commandment she grew up with, a commandment she has lived by. it is good public policy to live by. barbara has woven that belief into her legislative priorities. one of the things she is most proud of, strengthening the safety net for seniors. i have given my life for seniors. and you don't know how glad i am when the senator supports the issues that i have given my life for. just recently, we always have trouble with social security,

and she was busy as could be, but she came to a press conference for us and she just wowed them. it was unbelievable. just a personal note -- and i look at wendy, because she has been with us. i had just come to congress. i went on my first international trip with barbara mikulski and geraldine ferraro. and they were awesome. they were absolutely awesome. and they would go into these meetings, and at the beginning i said, there is not a vote in the room, but that did not matter to them. they were representing the united states of america and made everybody feel important, and they made everybody understand how strong and good this country is because they looked at these two women. and they taught me so much. and i have to say one last thing. most of you know, but the whole world does not know -- she is

brilliant. [laughter] she is absolutely brilliant. and i want to tell you a little secret that i don't think i have even told barbara. barbara was so good to me when i first came. i used to talk to her on the phone. we catholic girls, we all stick together. i used to talk to her on the phone and i would bring up an issue and she would talk about it and i would take notes. i would take notes because i knew that she knew exactly what she was talking about. she has been a tenacious good friend. we lost a very good friend this year, geraldine ferraro, one of our best friends. when we found out she had a serious health problem, let me tell you, i cried. i cried. she was much more productive. she did all the research on what gerry had. she said, we traveled for her when she was going to be vice president, we were with her through the good times, and now we will be with her through this

illness. and we were. and you don't know what it meant for her to be able to talk to the senator on the phone. she would tell me that she had talked to barbara, and barbara told her all about what was going on in the senate and she felt part of it. all i can say is, a brilliant, good friend, wonderful senator, and aren't we lucky? >> and steny and i want to add, great politician. senator paul sarbanes is here. from the maryland contingent. now, we have action on the floor, some members are coming and going, but i think we have to have a shout out to the members who have turned out. first, senator pryor, kay bailey hutchison from the senate.

amy, tom harkin, chuck schumer. any others? oh, the most senior of them all! we are getting there, we are getting there. ok, i want all of our colleagues from the house to raise their hands so they can be acknowledged. [applause] wave to barbara. and now for our surprise guest. barbara kept saying to me, "why can't we start the program? people have to get to the food and refreshments and the dessert." i said, "just a few more minutes." "who are we waiting for?"

she is never impatient, you know that. [laughter] it is a tremendous honor for all of us and a real sign of the respect and regard with which senator barbara mikulski has been held for decades, and now passing this great record, the longest serving woman, most accomplished woman in the congress of the united states ever, for us to have with us a person who has been a champion for the american people, a person who has been a champion for america's women. a bill that is coming up soon, the violence against women act, has no greater champion than our vice-president, joe biden. [applause]

>> barbara kennelly said, "we catholic girl stick together." let me tell you, we catholic boys have been following catholic girls all our lives. [laughter] nancy, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to be here. i really mean it. i invited myself. no. t.s. eliot once said, "what draws people to be friends is they see the same truth and they share it." you know, i look around this room, to the men and women in this room, and that is probably the best definition we could have. we see the same truth. but there is one person was been hollering the truth the loudest and longest, to make sure everybody hears it. barbara, i wanted to be here because of my enormous respect for you, and you know i mean it.

you possess all of the qualities that any national leader should possess. i am not being solicitous when i say that. you have all the qualities a national leader should possess. first of all, you never say anything you do not mean. by the way, it matters. it matters. people are so used to hearing things that people do not mean. secondly, barbara, you never ever ever break your word. not one single time. whatever you say you are going to do, you do and you have done. also, the principle has been the driving force in your life. you have reserved your ambition for the people who need your help. your ambition has always been for them.

literally, not figuratively. there is a lot of hyperbole that goes on, but i mean this sincerely and you all know it. her ambition has always been for the people who need someone to believe in them. most of all, the people the barber described. it is amazing the impact you have had on the attitudes of women about women. the attitude of women -- that is strange to say, but the attitude about women was -- what was within their reach and capacity. i held over 1000 hearings on the violence against women legislation. one of the things i've learned, i learned that women were empowered by other women who

sought power and achieve it. you are going to hear a lot and you heard a lot today about how the women of america "you. the truth of the matter is, the men of america owe you a lot. one of the efforts you lead, barbara, was you freed men of the stereotypical notion that they were raised to believe. when they saw their daughters accomplish, when they saw their wives and their mothers take on new roles, when they saw the people they loved the most take on responsibilities that they had not seen before in their lives, it liberated them, too. this sounds stupid, but think about it. think about what you did on your incredible, unrelenting efforts on or women's issues. you saved the lives of people

that men rely on, need, and look to. you made men realize what they did not even know -- that there was a two-tiered standard. most men being raised in the 1940's, 1950's, and 1960's were unaware until you took the band-aid off how different the circumstances were. some men did not care. most men, when you showed them, cared. i remember the fight. you want to get some old male jock who of things this is a bad idea. i have a daughter in college. [laughter]

i am serious. think about it. think about how much it has changed in the attitude of men about themselves, not only about women. barbara, you know, you eliminated are a lot of men at the sari stereotypes they cling to. we have had many long conversations. i have learned a lot from you. i am not being solicitous. you paid me the highest compliment anyone has ever paid me. it meant more to me than you will ever know. but the truth is that i asked to be here for selfish reasons. i wanted to have the privilege of standing with you so that i am able to tell, and i mean

sincerely, tell my four granddaughters that i was there to celebrate a woman who has changed in many ways the way people think about one another. changed the way we think in this country. anged the way we think in this country. you are not the only one, barbara, but let me tell you, a lot of us have served in the senate. you may remember when i left the senate, they thought there were be nice to meet -- the senate historian pointed out that only 13 people in history have ever served longer than i have. i found it debilitating. [laughter] but many people have served. a few people will be remembered. few people we remember our having made outstanding contributions to change the way

we view ourselves. you played a gigantic part in that, barbara. it is an honor and privilege to be with you. as i said, it was totally selfish. i wanted to be here because you have been my friend. thank you. [applause] >> and you wanted to be here to present a barber with this -- barbara with a this from the department of labor, signed by secretary solis. >> i did not know i was presenting this, barbara, but congratulations. >> we celebrate the history making a woman, barbara mikulski, the longest serving female member in all of congress. [applause]

>> thank you. i should acknowledge senator inouye and the great governor of maryland, martin o'malley. [applause] >> do you want to make a toast? it is very hard when the governor is in the house and not to have them make a toast. do you want to make a toast, governor? a toast? >> [unintelligible] [applause] >> ok. hip-hip-hooray for senator barbara mikulski. [applause]

>> mr. vice president, before you go, many many thanks far one, honoring me and helping celebrate this great occasion. we want to thank you for all of their public service and your great life in the united states senate. you are known for your work in foreign relations or you worked so hard to bring about world peace and being an advocate there, for your work on the judiciary committee and creating legislation to put more cops on the beat. as the architect of the violence against women legislation -- many things came out of that, including a hot line that if you felt that you were in danger,

you knew the government was on your side and at your fingertips. since we passed the legislation, sponsored and created by the vice-president, 1 million women have used the hot line. [applause] thank you very, very much. the hour is getting late. my feet are starting to work. it is warm in here. boy, do i love being back in the house of representatives. [applause] i am honored that so many people have come, members of the cabinet, members of the house of representatives, serving now, serving in the past, my members from the united states senate who have come over. i could go through every name.

i know just about every single one of you by name. in some way or another, we have worked together. we are honored to have governor o'malley here. he paid a three-hour tribute to me on the house floor. [applause] the sought unanimous consent to be recognized. you know the senate. you cannot get unanimous consent for everything. i want to thank nancy pelosi, my friend, my pal from baltimore. alexandro is legendary. nancy's dad was mayor. nancy's brother was a mayor. what you do not know is nancy's mother was a force unto herself.

nancy also had five brothers and she learned not only constituent service watching her mother and father, watching her brother, but negotiating with five italian dies at the family table. she can handle bhoener any day. [applause] it was a wonderful family. we both went to a catholic girls' school called the institute of notre dame. let's hear it. [applause] we not only had a great education in the basics, barbara kennelly said i was brilliant. they thought i was brash, and they were right. but it was also leadership and development, speaking up and

speaking out. there was also at that time a great movement called "the christopher movement." it occurred to us better to write one little hand -- like one little candle than to curse the darkness. we all belong to one another in this world and we have to fight for economic justice, feed the hungry, care for the six. at that school, it did not matter if you're the mayor's daughter or a grocer's daughter -- what matters is what you're going to do and we did so much. but that nancy. moved to california. the rest is history. became the first woman in the history of the united states to become the speaker of the house. [applause]

nancy, we could have not passed the bill in the house unless you started it here. we could not have passed health care reform unless you add started it in the house. everything you do in every way, from your enduring friendship to your leadership, i want to give you a round of applause. [applause] i am grateful that the men of the maryland delegation have come. let's give a shout out to these great guys. my friends and my supporters and, also, a special tribute to the maryland women. we have a long history of sending women to congress. wow. just listen to this. marjorie holt, helen bentley, a lattice for men, and now our own

rising star, donna edwards. [applause] do you not wish to you drank the water in maryland? [laughter] when you get a policy, and mikulski, a bentley -- we are girls who do not say no. when we talk about this history that is happening, 12,858 days, all commuting from baltimore, i have a lot of pot holes and speed bumps, but here i am. i have two records. one, when i was sworn in in january. on saturday, i passed the record of a wonderful congressman from massachusetts. she was known by serving 18

terms. she took her husband's seat when he passed away in the mid 1920's. she served until 1960. she passed away three days before her primary in which she would have been elected for a 19th term. she was known for her devotion to constituent service and her record. she was the author of the g.i. bill. she created the wavs and the wacs. when i look at martha j. smith, what incredible people. they were party, resilience, both republican, but we had a lot in common. they were known for their devotion to constituent service, which i hope i always have. they were known for their

unabashed patriotism, which is one of my motivations. they were known for their strong independence, and i would like to be down for that as well. i want to congratulate them and honor them as i joined them on the history books. i came to the house in 1976. it was only 56 years after women got the right to vote. there were 19 women serving at the time -- 13 democrats, five republicans, just five women of color. now there are 74 women in the house and 17 women in the senate. hard to believe. we are making progress. here we can look at the numbers and statistics, but when i came to the house, barbara had just left. but there were names like barbara jordan. then others came after that. barbara kennelly, olympia snowe,

barbara boxer -- all on the honor roll here. we had a congresswoman's caucus. we focused on ending discrimination, whether the insurance companies or social security. we wanted to change the federal law book in the federal checkbook. our issues were quite controversial. remember the era? [applause] we ought fought for women to be included and respected in the military. we wanted to end discrimination in social security and medicare. then there were our good friends, the insurance companies. they again discriminated. we fought them on the issues and we fought hard. for me, the time in the house

was working about friendships. it was a time for friendship and came changing and life changing. when i came to the house as one of the marylanders, i committed every day. tip o'neill was the speaker and he would have us work late on wednesday night. i struck up a friendship with geraldine ferraro. i would stay for dinner. i would spend wednesday night at 0 per apartment. we became pals, and her daughter laura is with us today. [applause] geri, barbara kennelly, and i became great friends and great pals. we were the same age, no matter what she tells you now. [laughter] we both went to the same kind of catholic girls' schools and we both wanted to work together. that friendship to get -- the

french ship continued when geri -- friendship continued when geri nominated for vice president. that friendship has continued. i hope it will continue for ever. there was another game changing time. that game changing was the congresswoman's caucus. we all got together in the late 1970's. there was starvation in cambodia. their refugee camps and people were dying. someone said, do you think we could go and say the children? the congresswomen at that time got an air force plane and we got on, and it did not matter what party we were from, it matters that we wanted to save the children. it was when the dobbs. it was olympia snowe. it was pat schrader. it was barbara mikulski.

off we went. we went to the refugee camps and we saw starvation and we saw the effects of genocide. then when we were in a camp, wendy was there with me. we wanted to see what they were doing. we sat in a circle and the little girls and boys sitting around and a little girl sat next to me. i turned to her and her her story. she had been taken out upper mother's arms, put in a truck, they get to a forced labor camp, and managed to escape. i turned to her and said, "what can i do for you?" she said take me with you. i said i cannot do that for you today, but i will help you find your mother. the un called and said they cannot find her mother. are you ready to be her mother? i said, yes.

i thought i could not do this to this little girl. [laughter] she has already been through enough. [laughter] so i reached out to the cambodian heritage society and we found her a real home and a real mother and father. i am happy to say she is here in the united states, married to a man in the building trade, has four children. she takes her birthday from the day she landed at baltimore/washington airport. wendy sherman at work for me and my chief of staff then. i said we'd be, i think i am going to be a mother. [laughter] she said, oh, god. [laughter] there are many stories i could

tell about my time, but i will always be grateful that a congresswoman and a group called the congresswoman's akaka spot on an airplane to save the children. it did not matter what party you were. it mattered that you wanted to save the children. now let me conclude with when i began. this is a great country. i cannot thank everyone enough for their tributes today. i thank god for helping me be born in the united states of america. my great-grandmother came to this country. she did not have the right to vote. she had little money in her pocket, but a big dream in our hearts. she wanted that american dream. you could own a home, own property in your own right, and make a reply for yourself. to my mother and father who worked in the neighborhood grocery store so my sisters and i could have an education. my father started his grocery

store in the new deal. i said why did you do that? he said because i believe in roosevelt and roosevelt believed in me. that is the late nancy and i was raised. a fair deal, a new deal, a better deal. i could go through issue by issue, but i also want to thank all of those who made it possible. this great country, my parents, my wonderful staff because all of us who hold political office know you are only as good as the staff you have that helps us to help our constituents. to all my volunteers who work so hard, and most of all, to the people of the fourth congressional district. to the state of maryland who gave me a shot when people were unsure and i was unknown. let me conclude by saying this

-- deep in my heart, i am still the congresswoman from the third congressional district. i am still a fighter and i am still a reformer. i am still that young girl in that blue jumper. i am still that person who will light one little candle and curse the darkness. i will continue to work with all of you in this room. you are here because you make a difference. let's continue to work together to make change and may the force be with us. [applause]

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[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] no matter what else is happening, senator baker always asks how we're doing and it is not a simple throwway align. he has helped us understand approaching every day and any problem with both resolve and optimism and the insight that good humor is always a key to a good result. they have set the bar high for us and we are much the better for it. when we first conceived of this event, each senator had two reservations. fortunately they were the same. the first was they didn't want too much attention.

the second was they didn't just want to focus on the past. so senators, i apologize for the attention. there was simply no way around it, but i am happy to say a few words about the work we are doing together. senator dole represents a wide variety of clients at his firm and he is also a forceful recruitor of new clients and some of you are aware he is still a really hey hard guy to say no to. he is a tireless supporter of veterans. he brings veterans to washington to see the world war ii memorial. he has pa made 100 or more visits to greet these delegations. senator dole is also continuing to work on pro bono cases for individuals with disabilities

and finally, he remains deeply engaged in politics. he is a sought out advisor for issues that affect washington. he is active at the dole center where he has the cragets task to instill the nation politics is a noble profession and he is active in the republican primary. i think that is because he cares deeply about the party and i think he also recognizes that if we a v a convention, they may leek look to experience and he could be perfectly positioned to lead the country once again. senator baker is a senior partner at u.s. baker donaldson. when he finds nuclear fusion to be a bit pedestrian, he moves on to the other projects he is working on at oak ridge. he is co-chair with johnson.

i event their efforts to outcentury us but i believe it is a good cause. senator baker is a longstanding ally of the nation of japan and continues to work with them on the u.s./japan round table and nuclear power. he is the driving force at the baker center. finally something i did not know. he is an artist. he photographs everything. i'm told he takes great pleasure in showing friends and strangers around his studio in tennessee. no matter what the task or challenges or opportunities, senators baker and dole bring forward a charisma and a characteristic and leadership that has really been unique to this country. was ea think about the problems facing this country, we start thinking about who may be those future leaders to bring that unique ability to unite a country around common purpose.

one thing is these folks from going to have to be baker/dole good. with the active support of our majority leaders, baker, dole, frist and lott, we are proud to announce the baker-dole program. it is to provide opportunity for talented individuals to come work with us for a year at the bipartisan policy center. it is a terrific chance for these leaders to test their opportunities and serve the public. more information ought this fellowship is probably hanging around here somewhere. if any of you are personally interested in applying or eager to help out a future leader, the application deadline is in september and i'm sure that more information is available on our website. and now it is truly my great pleasure and my honor to recognize the honorees tonight

whom we have all come to see. senators baker and dole for nair century of service to this country. senators, thank you. [applause] >> bob dole thanks you for the opportunity to share this honor with you. i have long admired you and i have continued to and i'm pleased to be here tonight with you. there are enormous events. we had to talk about national issues and political issues but

you have never ever to my knowledge failed to consider the perspective as you -- in terms of their relevance and importance. lamar alexander -- the remarks -- might enjoy the occasional luxury of unexpressed thought. to say too much is to say too little but i want particularly to say that i acknowledge your achievement. it runs several pages. [laughter] but i was also -- he pointed

out that the attention span of a senator is -- the willingness to listen. my friends, in the best traditions of the senate and the highest records for bob dole and for those who participated tonight and to this organization, may i say you make a great contribution to the future and the calling of -- but to spare you the details of these remarks, having enjoyed all of them so far, in the best traditions of the senate, if the the vice president is still here, i ask -- the remarks be included in

the record. [applause] >> next. [laughter] >> jason, thank you very much. thanks for your efforts and your staff. you done an outstanding job in the past five years. and we're all very proud to have some association with you and your wonderful staff and all the good things you're doing.

howard and i come from a school where we believe and still believe that some of the tough issues can be resolved if you can find people that you can trust on both sides of the aisle. 3 and i think that is the bottom line. if you don't trust your counterpart, you are probably not going to be very successful. i want to say about howard baker, you know, i came to congress and my parents weren't involved in politics and it was , you know, my dad was a working man who wore his overalls to work every day and was proud of. i once i got a taste oifert and ran to the state legislature, then the county attorney and

then congress, and in 19668, the senate, it has been a great experience. i've learned a great deal and i have learned a lot about america and about what's good about america. i don't believe there is any problem that cannot be solved if you have willing me and women come together. it may not be easy. it may not be possible. but in some cases, it's necessary. it was mentioned about social security. had we not acted and actually moynihan was the driving force.

i was just -- carried his papers. had patrick not been able to bring the committee back together, i'm not certain -- but we predicted social security would last until 20 -- this century and 30-ming million americans will get their check on top and as my mother used to say that's all the millions of people have to live on and they want to continue and they want it on time. so you know, we have had so many possibilities.

howard was a great leader. he was sorts of my mentor. and i was a bit surprised that he left the senate after four years that he did so for a good reason. he wanted to go toen the and make to tennessee and make a little money. [laughter] i would stay in the senate a little while and leave and try to make a little money. one thing that was said tonight is true. once you leave politics, your approval rating goes straight up. [laughter] people write you're you letters saying i never liked you, you so and so, while you were in the senate. but now i think you're a pretty good guy. [laughter]

and please sent me an autographed picture. [laughter] of elizabeth. [laughter] [applause] i've got lots of mine but there is not many left of elizabeth, so if you need any or want any or would just like to have one lying around, you can always call my office. so i speak for my colleague, nancy, we thought we had a pretty good thing going in our relationship in the senate. we believed that most issues could be resolved and i learned from her and i learned from

elizabeth, who is like a bulldog when she gets hold of an issue. i mean, she works night and day. and did in the cabinet. she has done an outstanding job. my time is not up. i still have about 45 minutes. [laughter] but howard keeps saying stop. [laughter] so i'm going to stop and thank you all for coming. i wanted to particularly thank, i know he is not here, joe biden for speaking and speaking at a fairly limited time. [laughter] [applause] thank you and good night. [applause]

>> thanks for coming. >> this year's student cam competition asked students across the country what was the most important with them and why.

>> this comes from the second amendment, to the right to bear arms. in case the government became too powerful, the government would have an opportunity to strike down an impressive government. that was ratified in 1791. it was included in first 10 amendments in the constitution. >> it was part as a marker of the possibility of what has to be admitted is the violent overthrow of an oppressive government. lies hundreds of years of complex arguments. how do you define word arms? how many guns should you be able to have? how difficult should it be to get a gun? is the second amendment a necessary right?

>> the majority of our fashions consist of mostly conservatives. the n.r.a., the national rifle association. >> when the authorities can't protect you, they have got no business and no authority trying to deny you the right to protect yourself. [applause] in defense of progun advocates, they had much to say. i ask, sir, what is the mill it sha? -- military? the best we can hope for concerning the people at slarge that they be properly armed. firearms stand next in importance to the constitution

itself. they are the american people's liberty. an armed man is a citizen. a disarmed man is a subject. >> despite all the shootings that have occurred worldwide such it is a juan at virginia tech university which killed 32 innocent students, some people still hold fast to their beliefs. here is the opinion of a virginia tech student himself. >> yes. i do believe it is an individual right. the second amendment states that people have the right to bear arms, which basically means that any human being or citizen of the united states is allowed to have a firearm. no, they have not. i was actually there for the second shooting that recently

took place. no, it hasn't altered my opinion at all. in fact, it might have made my opinion stronger on the fact that i think people should have firearms. i think it is a good idea to own a firearm and also i think that many colleges should look into allowing concealed weapons on campus. basically i think that if people are allowed to have concealed weapons on campuses, those people who are following law most likely are doing it for protection so i think that will enter into the minds of people who are going to be hostile so if they are entering a classroom or a building thinking i want to bring in a gun and shoot someone in here, they may think twice about it because they may know someone else in here may have a gun for protection. >> pro gun advocate groups are

diverse. made up of huntsers, conservatives and even some liberals. there is a whole other side to this argument. that is the anti-gun rights movement. december 6, 1989 in canada, a man wanting to exact revenge on feminists killed 14 young women at a college in montreal and then committed suicide. march 13, 1996 in britain, 16 children and their teacher were gunned down in scots land. the killer committed suicide. april 28, 1986, in australia, a gunman killed 36 at port arthur on the island of tasmania. in the united states two high school students go on a rampage at columbine high school in colorado. april 3, 2009, in the united states, a man runs amok at a welcome center for immigrants in binghamton, new york, killing 16.

a student originally from korea kills 32 people at virginia tech university. shootings like these and many vorse served a huge role in the ongoing gun control debate. anti-gun organizations point out these shootings as acts of violence that occurred strictly because guns are easily accessible. paul helm is the president of one of the largest anti-guns in america a. the brady campaign to prevent gun violence. we are devoted to creating an america free from gun violence where all americans are safe at home, at school, at work and in our communities. in the film "bowling for columbine" he searches for the truth behind the columbine shootings. in it, he asks why not use

gandhi's way? he didn't have guns and he beat the british empire. we showed you one virginia tech student who was pro gun before the shootings and after the shootings. here is another student from the same school with a different opinion entirely. >> no, i don't think that the second amendment is necessary. i feel like back when it was created in the bill of rights, the state militias were needed to fight off the government if they needed and to protect themselves personally. nowadays there is no need for that. except for hunting, there is no real reason. if guns were illegal, no one would need to protect themselves from guns. yes, i would say before the tech shootings i was wavering kind of.

i didn't really have too strong an opinion, but after seeing the possibility of harming 70 people, it just makes more sense to make it illegal for citizens to have their own weapon, but i think if the criminal was unable to obtain a hand gun or any kind of weapon, there would be no reason for anybody else to have one. >> we have shown you the varying viewpoints about gun control. it is now time for you to decide. to bear arms or not to bear arms. that is the question. luckily, we live in a nation where we are entitled to our own opinion. >> to get educated, pick a side and get out there and express yourself. >> thanks for watching. >> go to studentcam.org to watch all the winning videos. consider the conversation about the documentary on our facebook

and twitter page. next, a white house forum on women and the economy with remarks by president obama and live at 7:00 a.m., your calls and comments on "washington journal." now a white house forum focusing on women and the economy. the discussion moderated by msmbc's mika brzezinski and includes karen gordon mills. we'll hear from valerie jarrett. this is just over an hour. >> thank you. that's a good way to start the morning. well, welcome to the white

house. my name is tina. i'm the executive director of the white house council on women and girls and it is really my pleasure to start the morning off here on the women and economy forum and to welcome you all for being here. my job first thing in the morning here is one that gives me great great pleasure. and that is to introduce to you someone who has been a dear friend of mine, someone who is a business woman, a single mom, a lawyer, and now is senior advisor to the president of the united states and chair of the council of women and girls and has really been leading the effort for the last three years that brings us to all the accomplishments that we will talk about today and to our wonderful partnership working with all of you. my good friend valerie. [applause] >> thank you, tina. and good morning, everyone.