i believe roosevelt, there is always been discussion about whether roosevelt did this purposefully or not because nobody wanted war. i think they woke up that sleeping giant and look what happened. now the silent majority has been woken up. i am telling all politicians, especially the incumbents, and the pollsters, maybe you did not talk to the right people. i find there is a lot of double talk. there is some truth of what you say, but i like to have -- i think this program is great because we can speak our minds. i hope they do not cut my not because i

i'm sorry i do not know the woman's name there, but i just caught yours because i was listening to other people's opinion. i agree with a lot of what is being said. >> thank you. let me emphasize one aspect of what you are saying. leadership. you mentioned fdr. we are lacking leaders now, people who are able to unite the country around common principles. if it is not so much that necessarily life was better in the -- better 50 course 60 years ago, but there was a sense of common national purpose, a sense that once we got to the nation's edge or water's edge, that we were all americans. sadly, it is much more difficult to achieve that kind of census today. if anything comes of this election, if we are able to is in some way revisit and redouble our commitment to be americans

and trying to have some goals that are common to democrats, republicans, and independence, we will be advantaged. >> looking at your decades of experience and i'm -- decades of experience in politics, what you think about pennsylvania being a must win about rick santorum? let's talk about the gop in general. >> i think mitt romney will win. he has moved ahead in pennsylvania. i think it is likely come on april 24, people to feed rick santorum effectively. -- he will defeat rick santorum effectively. what we will be greeted with is the specter of full-time .egative ads, and full-time

rick santorum put the state and out yesterday. they are canceling events so he can be with his family. his daughter is ill. the entire family says they are grateful for prayer and support. >> and i think this is one of the other issues i would say about politics. whether you agree or disagree with bricks santorum, when a 3- year-old child has a serious illness like his daughter does, your heart has to go out to him and to his family, and ultimately, if politics is politics, but this is a serious situation. i would hope everybody, republicans, democrats, independents, liberals, and conservatives, would understand in this moment that we would all have present form in our

prayers. our caller is from pennsylvania. good morning, bill. caller: i continuously hear about how unions are funded the democratic party and they are taking union dues. these moneys are voluntary moneys. contributed by members because it is a contribution, it is not the dues money. we support candidates, and we also support the middle class and we are probably the only organized body that can support -- at this time.

>> we have two callers undersides of the question. one caller saying, money is deducted from my compensation to pay for and provide for both union and political activities. another caller is saying that does not happen, it is all voluntary contributions. clearly, both are true. there are some circumstances where money goes into politics without explicit approval of union members and there are other circumstances where union members support those activities. regardless, unions have become the most powerful force on the democratic left and to make for, arguably, the most powerful, certainly the most organized, interest group supporting democrats. >> two, put out like you to address. -- two comments i would like you

to address. >> i cannot say i disagree. there are more and more resources -- radio, tv -- so yes, in theory, i agree with the caller. but when you have saturation levels of expenditure, and as we have seen from mitt romney -- from mitt romney, an illinois and ohio, was the super pak geared up, opinions changed. yes, you can do individual research. but if there's that much money in politics running his tough, negative ads, it is hard to minimize its impact.

>> could media literacy be taught in schools? >> absolutely. i was taught me literacy in school. i think the key is to use the media to understand what is there, but to avoid all costs anything that approaches indoctrination or even skewing people to think one side or the other side is right. >> monica, independent florida -- independent caller. go ahead. caller: hello. i am an independent voter. and african-american from mississippi, now living in miami, florida. i am a firm believer of having those independence included in the process of open primaries. i think it would heal some of the divide between republicans and democrats. right now, they do not seem to

be very responsive, and i think it is because of the power on each side, and they do not want to share that power. we are just voters that can vote either way. democrat one year, republican another. i think it is very important for them to know that. we are driving forces for election. they need to pay more attention to us in the primaries. >> i completely agree with the caller. i think open primaries, the ability of third-party or independent candidates running his healthy, and the fact that, if you have an open primary, independents can make it their own judgment, is all good. i completely associate myself with the fuse the caller expressed. >> go right ahead.

caller: pleasure to talk to you. i see you all the time on fox. you are fair and you always give your honest opinion and do not do the talking points. i really appreciate that, doctor. oug. two things. what it costs for the federal government to finance all of the elections on a federal level? how many billions of dollars would that be? that would be one way to get the lobbyists' money out of washington. i understand, under the constitution, all people have the right to lobby their senators. another problem i see, if we have a third or fourth candidate, there is no runoff. nobody gets a majority, if somebody loses in the election

-- majority, somebody loses in the election. if nobody gets a clear >> let's get a response. >> two things, it would be very expensive to do public financing. i think it is a good idea, expensive, but worth considering. in some states, there are runoffs in the presidential election. i do not think we will change how we elect our presidents anytime soon, but i would remind you that ross got 20%. he did not draw a disproportionately from either side. >>, water, -- comment on

twitter, orion asks -- >> i think they have done important work in trying to get budgets passed and told legislators accountable if they do not get budgets passed. i think it is an important idea and i think every group is out there trying to develop -- trying to promote a bipartisan isn't portend. they aren't doing -- they are doing important work. >> he is a democrat he is widels one of the coinventors --

>> thank you for having me. >> wall street financial recorder costs about the costs of the federally based disability program. washington girl, live at 7:00 p.m. eastern, on c-span. next, douglas shulman. \ >> there is a number in the facts sheet, he 1990, the average member of congress had a net worth of $250,000, excluding their home.

by 2010, the average member of, has tripledcongress in wealth. in a 20-year period. meanwhile, for the rest of us, the average person has about $20,000, including their home, in 1990, and 2010. everybody else a state level. i am not hating and members of congress or help -- or wealth. here is what i am saying, people who have that kind of wealth do not understand somebody needs an extra $40 in their check to take the bus. [applause] >> you can watch the whole of and monday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern. >> he spoke at the national press club about the agency

modernization effort. he is at server in the last year of the five year term. he will not seek a second term. this is an hour. >> good afternoon, and welcome to the national press club. i am the 105th president depict. we are committed to our future through programs such as these. for more information about the national press club, please visit our website? . to donate to our program offered to the public through our national press club journalism insisted, please visit that web site r on.

i would like to welcome our speaker, and those of you attending this event. if you hear applause from our audience, please note that members of the general attending, so it is not a general lack of objectivity. you can also follow the action on twitter. after our guest speech concludes, we will have a question and answer segment. i will ask as many questions as time permits. i would ask each of you here to send a briefly as your name is announced. jim, washington editor.

reporter. editor. scott, senior producer, cnn. tass correspondent. father of irs commissioner. [laughter] sr. business editor, and puerto rico. i wilnpr. i will skip our speaker. [applause]de today's is bigger and prides himself on leading in nonpolitical, nonprofit organization.

in recent days, he has been publicly involved in discussions at the highest levels of government about health care reform to tea party politics. words are closely followed by lawmakers and by many of us in this room today. doug chelan oversees nearly 100,000 employees and a budget of almost $12 billion. he has managed a $300 million budget cut and challenges that have raised questions about the irs's ability to inform tax compliance, conduct audits, and provide quality customer service. just a few weeks ago, he requested an 8% budget increase from congress to make up for those losses. i'm sure we will hear more about that today. commissioner showman came to the irs from the financial regulatory authority.

the private sector regulator of security firms doing business in the united states. he also served as vice chairman of the national association of securities dealers where he played an integral role in restructuring the organization. he led negotiations of the sale of nasdaq stock market and the american stock exchange, oversaw the launch of industrywide market transparency and modernize technology operations. earlier in his career, commissioner shulman co-founded teach for america and was integral and several start-ups organizations. he will day -- as degree from williams and mary college, a master's from harvard john f. kennedy school of government and he holds a degree from georgetown university law center. please give a warm welcome to douglas shulman. [applause] >> thank you, theresa. it is good to be back at the national press club. i have done this in the last couple of years. right as we round up filing season at the end, as we approach april 15, april 17 this year, spring is a great time in washington. the flowers are blooming, the trees are blooming, lots of kids are here on spring break. anyone who visits washington also is always impressed by the permanence and the timelessness

of the buildings, the statues, the colonnades. it really speaks to the legacy of this great nation. and in my job, as someone responsible for an important institution in government, it

reminds me of the people who have come before me trying to make this government a little bit better and the country better. and it reminds me of the enormous progress that men and women have made over the years trying to move the nation forward. i am always impressed by the creativity and innovation that ec institutions, both private sector and -- that you see in institutions, both private sector and public. many of the statues that you see when you walk around washington are of men and women who were not a part -- not afraid to embrace new ideas, not afraid to challenge the past way of doing things and to come up with new ideas and move them forward. i am also a fan of continuous improvement. that is what we try to do at the irs. there are a number of great quotations about improvement, one is from ibm's thomas watson. he says that whenever an individual or a business decides that success has been attained,

progress stops. i am a big believer that when your response before an institution like the irs -- responsible for an institution like arar's, the job is to build on the successes of the past and then try to push the agency forward to the next level. that is what i've tried to do with me and my senior team at the irs. if you look back at the irs, there is a lot of press coverage of the irs in the mid- 1990s, and it was not all positive. since that time, there has been a major reorganization of the irs, and we have had a sustained arc of progress, very different from the beginning in the 1990's. if you look in the rearview mirror, there was a time the irs was thought of as an organization mired in the past, one that had not kept pace with

advances in technology, one that was slow to adapt and embrace emerging best practices in things like analytics and compliance, and also in customer service, and one that was slow to recognize any vaulting taxpayer base, including increasing the fact that many of the taxpayers were operating in a much more global economy. but i would argue that standing before you today, standing on the shoulders of predecessors and others who moved the institution forward, we have made a lot of lasting progress at the irs that will serve the nation and the tax system well for the years to come. as irs commissioner, as teresa mentioned, it is a big institution. i have 100,000 employees.

we view ourselves as a financial services institution. most of those employees are interacting, trying to get refunds back to taxpayers, in directing with businesses, nonprofits, moving vast amounts of money for over 235 million customers. people often ask me how you get an institution that big to move forward. i would argue that there are two key prerequisites. there are many pieces of that answer. first, you've got to set the right strategy, and make sure it is one that people inside and outside the institute -- institution can believe in and understand. and second, you have to stay very focused. i am a believer in a relentless and myopic focus on priorities, and not getting distracted by too many crises or incoming demands. and making sure that you communicate your priorities in a very clear manner. this is much easier said than done, especially in a large government agency where there are a lot of things coming at you. but say -- staying focused and consistent for multiple years is a key to success.

today, what i want to do is share with you some of the results of four years of relentless focus on an handful of key strategic priorities that we set for the irs. these priorities were creating new capabilities and efficiencies through technologies, rethinking henry imagining our relationship with the paid -- rethinking and re imagining our leisure with the

paetec prepare, leveraging debt to improve our operation, enhancing our service capabilities, transforming the agency to confront a global economy, and positioning the irs work force to make sure we are prepared for tomorrow's challenges. let me take them each in turn, and begin with our efforts to modernize our technology. and specifically focus on one critical program that we call the customer account data engine portlock or cade 2. many people have seen the footage from the 1960's. we're very earnest looking people who load huge tapes into mainframe computers. it is the first time we started using technology to perform than magical feat of automated data processing. if you fast forward 40 years, although the tapes are a lot smaller and there are no longer people moving the tapes but robotic arms, the irs is still actually operating with some of the core systems and basic technologies that were built in the 1960's. you might ask yourself why.

that is a complicated question. there are at least three things. first, because it works. the irs was one of the first institutions to deploy data processing on a large scale. and some of our original technologies, ones that hold hundreds of millions of taxpayer accounts and billions and trillions of pieces of data on taxpayers, were truly engineering marvels of their time. the problem is, now there are not a lot of people who remember how to keep running those systems and those people are dwindling. it is hard to keep them up and running. the second reason our systems are so old is because we have actually built an elaborate set of your systems on top of those older systems. -- newer systems on top of those older systems. some of the things like running calls or exams elections are being run on top of the old systems. but we also have a complicated, in a related set of systems that when you try to unbundle those, it makes the job even harder. the third reason we have been operating on old technology is because there has been a

reluctance to fund our technology in a way commensurate with our mission. we spend less than 3% of our budget on long-term enhancements to our information technology infrastructure. if you compare this to other private sector financial institutions, none of which come close to matching the number of customers that we need to support, that percentage is shockingly low. i would argue we have been underfunded for many years in the technology space. president obama has proposed a

much-needed substantial increase in irs technology, really, reflecting in large part our critical mission. with all of these factors in mind, when i arrived at the irs, we initiated a broad review of our technology portfolio. and we pruned that portfolio. we shut down a bunch of projects -- back to focus. and we started focusing projects on the most visible and complex issue that had been holding us back for decades. since the 1960's, we have been conducting our core account processing on a weekly basis, weekly batch cycles. this process includes the basic tax information in your account, how much your balance is outstanding, whether you have made any recent payments. to put it into perspective, in the past when you sent in your tax return, we would receive it. it would be a week before we would process it and maybe another week before another piece of technology process it. if you called to check on it, we might say, call back in a couple of weeks when it is posted. i'm very pleased to report that this year, the irs successfully migrated from a weekly processing cycle to a daily processing cycle. this was a multi-year, incredibly complex undertaking, that went to the heart of our systems that process trillions of dollars in tax revenue. it is an incredibly important

milestone for the irs, and one that we first embarked on in the late 1980's. the payoff from this improvement -- put your tax return processing for all taxpayers, up-to-date information at the fingertips of our account representatives, and a platform for much more real time data analytics and compliant. it is already benefiting taxpayers this year, and this upgrade in our technology is going to produce major benefits for the nation's tax system for years to come.

our next long-term priority was looking at how we interact with paid a tax return preparers. let me tell you why we took this on. right now, many people in this room and across the country in the viewing audience are wrestling with and tackling one of the biggest financial transactions every year, that is, filing and paying your taxes, or hopefully getting a refund from the federal government. however, in the past 20 or 30

years, the way the taxpayers go about finding their taxes has dramatically changed. today, nine out of 10 taxpayers use either a paid tax return preparer, or software that they have purchased to file their taxes. despite the fact that this is a huge financial transaction and now there is a set of intermediaries that actually facilitate the transaction, when i arrived at the irs, there were no basic competency requirements for tax return preparers. in most states, you need a license to cut somebody's hair. but just a few years ago, you did not need any sort of certification, testing, etc., or basic level of competency to file someone's taxes. i am the irs commissioner, bias that taxes are more important than how your hair looks. [laughter]

other people view that differently. and i'm always looking for a point of leverage with the irs. where are we going to spend our limited resources? our return preparer initiative is just that. one way to look at it is that we shifted from a retail approach where we dealt with one taxpayer at a time into a wholesale approach, where we are starting to focus more on preparers, so we can deal with 100 or 1000 at a time. that is what i mean by leverage. to give you a sense of scale, 95 million individual and business income tax returns were prepared by paid preparers in 2011, and that does not include people who use do-it-yourself software. $5.70 trillion of income was reported through paid preparers. given the importance of the paid preparers to the tax community, we are now well on our way to ensuring that there

is a basic level of competency in the tax preparer community. we have registered 840,000 tax preparers in the last year-and- a-half, and we have begun administering a competent to test and requiring continuing education for all prepares to are not cpa's, lawyers, or enrolled agents. our next priority is leveraging data analytics in order to continually improve our operations. we are very information intensive as an enterprise. and a key to our success is taking in the information, organizing it, and then analyzing it in a way that is intelligent, figuring out where to deploy resources and how we are going to act on the information. during the last couple of years, we have built a team of people with analytic expertise,

and connected them very closely with our business units in an effort to continually improve operations. they're working on multiple fronts and have had a lot of impressive results for the nation's tax system. let me give you one example of how we are leveraging data analytics and how it connects into the last two things i talked about. using better data that we now have on return preparers that we have gotten from registering return preparers as well as faster processing cycles, so we can get that data more in real time tax returns because we have cade 2 plaze, we have applied advanced data analytics that show potentially serious compliance issues with the individual preparer who prepares them. what we identify -- once we

identify these returns, we quickly have gone out to preparers can use a variety of compliance treatments -- and used a variety of compliance treatments to stop fraudulent payment, or if there are just mistakes being made, to alert people to the mistakes and get things fixed early in the filing season. but we are testing different techniques in a much more real time and based on those results, we will continue to feed that into our operations and leave of our programs. the results are still early. it is early in the process in the piece that we are doing this year. but as we have a continuous

feedback loop of data analytics moving into places where we see noncompliance, we will drive that kind of learning into our operations. in addition to finding and stopping more fraud this year, by combining our data analytics team from our audits teams, are preparer teams, our technology teams cannot or ordaz we are building a lot of intelligence and -- technology teams, we are building a lot of ability to detect noncompliance and in act compliant earlier. the irs is not just about compliance. while popular culture links the three letters irs with compliance and enforcement, the truth is that the irs into racks with the overwhelming majority of the violations to agree on a customer service basis. and providing customer service is every bit as important to our mission as enforcing the tax laws. we provided numerous options for assisting taxpayers, from our publications to our website, to our toll-free line, to in person options. the list goes on. every year, the customer service at a section index measures customer service and

satisfaction across a variety of industries and sectors of the economy. and it also does work with government agencies. we have a lot of madrak at the irs, but the main one that our senior management team, our oversight board tracks tuesday, how we are doing -- to see how we are doing generally is the customer's satisfaction index. in 1998, we hit rock bottom. on the index that goes to 100, we have 32. it showed deep dissatisfaction with the general interactions with the irs. but over time, we have moved forward and i'm very pleased that last year, 2011, we had an historic high of 73. that gives us a piece of feedback that across all of our programs, we continue to make significant progress in the customer service are we now. -- customer service arena. however, as leaders of a big organization, i remind our folks that we will never be satisfied.

we cannot rest on our laurels. we have an ever-increasing job. we have been handed new responsibilities. the tax code is getting more complex. and the budget has recently been cut. we're going to need to stay on top of our game innovating if we're going to keep those scores going. that me mention a couple of innovations, the kinds of things you ought to keep doing at the irs. one is e-filing. it is one of the most successful programs in government. 15 years ago, 16% of taxpayers of electronically filed their returns. last year, 77% of individual taxpayers file their returns.

this has great benefits for taxpayers. you get your refunds faster. all of the data comes in electronically, which -- rather than sending in a piece of paper that we code, that could have a coding error and cause a problem down the line. but it also is greater efficiency for government. it costs about 15 cents to process an electronically filed returns. it costs about $3.50 to process a paper return. this has been a huge success and we will keep pushing that. another example of where we have innovated is our use of new media. i always talk about that as an agency that serves every american, we need to meet people on their own terms where they want to be met. that is why we still have walk- in centers in some places because people still want to see face-to-face interaction. but last year, week unveiled the iphone or android app called

"irs to go." you can now track your refunds on your smart phone and a variety of other information on -- from the irs. you can expect to see us continue to internet -- to innovate because we will need to do that to serve taxpayers well. let me shift and talk about how the irs is managing its responsibilities in an increasingly global world. we live in a world where products are produced routinely where intellectual property is developed in one country, logistics and engineering than happens in another country -- one or more countries -- risks are managed in a variety of other countries, and components are sourced from yet other countries.

when you actually take the product to market, it can be quite a challenge to figure out what the proper u.s. corporate income tax is. not only are corporations operating in a -- in a global world, but individuals are, too. people with modest income with retirement savings usually have something global exposure through their 401k. this shift to a more global world produces challenges to the irs. -- for the irs. we put a big dent in offshore tax evasion as a major priority. we cannot have a tax system where wealthy people are hiding assets offshore and not paying their taxes, and schoolteachers and firemen and ordinary americans are getting paid through a paycheck, having their taxes withheld and sent

right to the irs, and footing the bill for people who are invading tax as offshore. over the last four years, we have significantly increased our resources and our focus on offshore tax evasion. the results have been very substantial. we upped the ante in a meaningful way with work on swiss financial institutions, where for the first time in history, the bank secrecy jurisdiction turned over thousands of names and account numbers to the irs. as we have increased our enforcement efforts, we also created a new voluntary disclosure program. we have had the program for many years, and usually about 100 people come in and say, i want to disclose something i've done wrong. i will pay a serious penalty, but avoid going to jail. when we broke -- open this program up a couple of years ago we thought we would get maybe a

thousand people. we have gotten 33,000 people so far and disclose offshore bank accounts. today, we brought in just through the voluntary disclosure more than $4.4 billion, and that number continues to grow. we have also brought in a lot of information about intermediaries, bankers, banks, and taxpayers through that. that will allow us to continue pressing in this area. collecting all of this money for past misdeeds and punishing people who broke the law is only part of the story. perhaps, the more important part of the story is the deterrence story. i think we are well on our way

to stopping the next generation of people from even thinking about hiding assets overseas. we have fundamentally changed the risk out keyless for advisers who would potentially facilitate offshore evasion, for banks that would potentially take assets from americans, and from -- and for americans to essentially try to send their money overseas. we are also upping our game in the large business arena, particularly in the international arena. we have shifted out strategy. we have also increased coordination with our counterparts, globally. i am the chairman of a group from many nations have moved to some real coordinated action on offshore tax evasion, but also doing things like joining audits with major corporations, so there is real coordinated action. let me conclude with a couple of the last pieces with which we were quite proud of. one is people. i am a big believer as a leader of an institution, you want to service well or wherever it is

your mission is, you need to make sure people show up every day, ready to do their job. as leaders, you need to make sure people feel respected, they are engaged, they are accountable. we have put a big focus on people. we have done everything from working on culture to working on manager burdens, to making sure our people on the field have the right technology to get their job done. we are quite pleased at the results of trying to move 100,000-person organization forward on the people front. from 2008 to 2011, we have jumped from eighth place to third place among the 15 large agencies with over 20,000 employees in the best place to work in government survey. while we have had a lot of work to do going forward, we continue to focus on our people and make sure we have the best group of employees in the federal

government for the next generation of the tax system. that is our pro-active the agenda. on top of this, in recent years, we have also been called on to execute some of the key policy priorities of this country. i call this final category of work that we have done "incoming priorities." we are now recognized as an efficient and affective government agency to carry out high-profile initiatives. a couple examples. when the nation was really have questions about, was this recession going to become a depression, and the government had to step in in a serious way. $300 billion or about 1/3 of the recovery act was pushed out through the taxes. 95% of americans got -- were part of the making work pay credit, so they got money, via the irs in their bank accounts, and we did things like, through the expanded net operating loss, where people could ask for a

longer time to get in this year's tax return operating losses. we put tens of billions of dollars into businesses right at the time the credit markets were frozen. we have also recently been asked to play a significant role in the affordable care act. much of the money flows in that piece of legislation are effectuated through the tax system. the lesson here for us is that we need to be nimble and agile

what we are called on to do something to support the country. four years ago, we set out with a clear strategy and a very intense focus on six strategic priorities. technology modernization, tax return prepairs, data analytics, taxpayer service, offshore tax evasion, and our people. the economic downturn and new policy directions added two other major initiatives to our agenda. by staying focused and explaining our strategy consistently to our employees and stake holders of the irs, we have made significant headway in all of these areas and have made lasting, positive change in our nation's tax system, which will position it well to serve the american people for the years to come. with that, i want to thank you for listening and i would be happy to answer some questions. [applause]

>> how big of a problem is fraud on part of paid tax prepairs? >> the vast majority of tax preparers are honest, ethical, hard-working, and provide a great service to both the tax system and the country. the problem is, there are unscrupulous preparers out there who bring down the reputation of all the great preparers that are out there, but also, the real problem is it is the taxpayer who holds the bag at the end of the day. they jack up the refund, tell you you deserve it, which you don't, you get $3,000, you spend it, we then figure that out. the preparers pack up shop and you are left holding the bag.

it is a small number of people that are unscrupulous, but those are people we need to make sure we are focused on so that taxpayers get good treatment. >> why do you feel it is in the taxpayers' best interest to place regulations on tax payers rather than simplifying the tax code? >> when we pursued our tax return prepare initiative, which is what we call -- we did it in a very deliberate and public way, which is the way i think any big institution like ours that affects a lot of people should operate. so first, without having any preconceived notion about, should we do something or

shouldn't we do something, and if so, what should we do? we went and held public hearings across the country, most of which i attended, and got feedback. overwhelmingly, taxpayers, public interest groups, preparers themselves, said it is ridiculous that there is no basic level of competency in the preparer community and you should do something. through that dialogue and the input we got, we put out a blueprint, and said here is what we think should be done. we gotlots of feedback from that. from that, we then moved to put out regulations. each time we put out our set of regulations, we had public comment on those regulations, so we have adjusted those as we have gone. the result, we think, is a very balanced set of both service

and compliance initiatives. a basic competency test to make sure they have a basic understanding of the law. by the way, you can have three years to pass that. you can take it as many times as you want. people should be able to pass that test. we also, through the process, got a lot of feedback on things we should change, places we should tweak, and most of that feedback, we took. the other part of the question, which is, should the tax code be simplified? the answer is absolutely, yes. but in the meantime, we have a tax code that is very complex, and we want to make sure that as people wrestle through it, if they're going to pay a professional to do so, that that professional is competent and ethical. >> what is your response to the lawsuit challenging your power to regulate tax prepayers? >> i am a huge fan of democracy and a big believer in three branches of government. anyone can use the courts who wants to use the courts. as i just said, we went through an extensive process to land

where we did, and i am very confident not only is everything we are doing is going to be seen as legal, but more importantly, everything we're doing, i think, is going to benefit the american people. >> you said nine out of ten people use either a paid tax preparer or a tax software. what percentage used the tax software and is that increasing? >> the percentage is increasing. the latest numbers are at 60, 65% using paid preparers. the rest for using software. that moves back and forth. it is a moving target. >> with gasoline prices on an upward spiral, will the irs increase the standard mileage rate? >> that is a very specific question. we have a formula that looks at what the standard mileage rate should be.

we look at changes in fluctuation and we do it once a year. occasionally, when there has been a big change, we will do it mid-year. >> what is the agency doing to combat identity theft? >> that is a great question. most people know that the fastest growing financial crime in this country is identity theft. it is someone stealing a purse or wallet and getting a hold of the social security number and using that for mischief. unfortunately, some people who do that, sometimes they try to use that id to get a refund. we have a very aggressive

program around that. last year, we stopped $14 billion of refunds from going out the door that had some indication of fraud. we have continually learned to and change our filters to stop fraudulent refunds. last year, we put in place a new program where if you have been a victim of identity theft, this is outside of the tax system. you can call us and we will give you a pin. if you use that 6-digit pin, your refund will fly through.

because we saw this as an escalating problem, in coordination with the justice department, in january, we did a nationwide criminal sweep of people who had used identity theft in the tax system. we had 100 people subject to arrest, search warrants in a one-week period. it sent a very strong message to folks. if they commit identity theft, they cannot try to use the tax system to do so. we have also tripled the number of people just dedicated to general identity theft issues. this includes victim assistance. when someone comes in and someone has stolen their identity and they're having a problem getting their refunds, we have more people dedicated

to help unravel the problem for them. >> there are many tax cuts that expire at the end of the year. next year could be a major headache for tax payers if congress does not act soon. how big of a problem will this be? >> one of our jobs we take very seriously is to make sure that as americans wrestle with a complex tax code, it is as seamless as possible for them. we speak for the american people. unfortunately, congress has gotten into the habit of passing tax legislation very late. a lot of that is legislation that has already expired. to give you an example, there are three different things happening. tax cuts from 2001 and 2003 are

set to expire at the end of this year. the payroll tax cuts set to expire at the end of this year. the most important and complicated issue is there is a whole bunch of tax cuts that expired several months ago which include the amt and things like extenders, those have already expired. if congress does not act until late in the year, next year, after the election, we will have real risk in the system. we may have to do what we had to do two years ago, which is delay the opening of filing season for a whole number of people. if congress cannot act by the end of the year, and even starts

to think about the retroactive legislation, you could have a disaster in the filing season where there is total confusion. it is an issue we are tracking very closely. we are quite concerned about it. we are hopeful that these pieces of legislation will pass sooner rather them later. >> do you think we could ever expect to see a simpler tax code? >> yes. [laughter] the statistics are going in the wrong direction now. but i am an optimist. there have been 3000 changes to the tax code since 2000. we have a very complex tax code. there is broad political consensus, both parties, the administration and congress, all would like to see a simpler tax code.

when i took this job, i had a friend who said, the problem with taxes is that it is real money. every change to the tax code can mean that some people might pay less and some people might pay more. it is hard to do. we are hitting a critical mass of sentiment around the country that something needs to be done about the tax code.

about 45 minus. >> good evening, everyone. it will come to the celebration of the longest serving woman in the u.s. congress, but the great leadership of senator barbara mikulski. [applaus 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 th evening? [applause] on saturday it -- 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 was -- 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 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 and 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 hored by a woman so spectacular, a woman that a room in the capital is named for our -- former congresswoman lindy boggs. [applause] i should say ambassador, because just the other day, earlier this month, sheelebrated 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 would want to be acknowledged, so our great whip steny hoyer. the judge was here earlier. don edwards is here with u. [applause] -- donna edwards is here with us. [applause] and the other maryland -- ok, therthey are. it lies a cummings -- the logic cummings, congressman john sarbanes.

[applause] beverly. [applause] appla forent, let's 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 the 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 fire 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 ind ring to the swring-in. we take great pride in that i did it. it isn't this something? on the floor of the senate today we heard about her upbringing of a proud polish erican family, about her father's grocery store opening early so that steel workers could buy their launches before the early shift. barbara made her career first as a social worker come and as she kes to say, she is not 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 one 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 the life of the 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] rst 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, a teacher, leader, mentor, friend, she is all of this to so many of us and many of us gathered here. by the way, i have notes from all of the people who cannot come, and i will share that later. here today is one of senator mikulski's best friends, colleagues from her time in the house, congresswoman barbara

kennelly. we went to the same college, at trinity college. so did kathleen sebelius. this is sister heyday. ind, trinity college. where are you kathleen? trinity college. this is girl's 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, but 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 to salute her. you know, barbara has been incredible for women in this country. she has been an inspiration to some any women because she fights for what she believes in, and they know that she is fighting for them. you know, everyone might think that barber was just on a path to be where she is today, but i have heard a story that she really wanted to be the second madame curie. she wanted to make aiscovery, not make millions of people's lives better, but thank god she decided she wanted to stay and baltimore.

you know, being a tilblazer is not easy. really is not easy, especially when you are trying to get int the political world, where barbara tried to getnto it. especily when you are trying to get into a body like the house, which is built on tradition, and that traditi does not have a lot of women's thought and a. but, you know, barbara to not 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 released. 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 toay 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 port, the disabled. barbour has lived by that. she has made sure thos people are always taking care of. we hear a lot about politicians. i don't even think of her as a politician. i just think of h as barbara, who works for the people of maryland and this country. [applause] you know, barbara lives by one thing at -- honor thy mother and father. honor thy mother and father. that is a commandment she grew up with, uh commanded she has lived by. it is good public policy to live

by. barbara has woven that police and robert 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 rently, 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 wednesday, 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 a 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. barber 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, onef 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 a top those senator on the fund. she wod tell me that she had talked to barbara and barbara told her all about what was going on in the senate and she felt partf it. all i can say is, brilliant, good friend, wonderful center, an art we lucky -- wonderful aren't we lucky?t we luck >> 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 shot up to the members who have turned out. first, senator pryor, caylee hutchins, om the senate, -- kb lee hutchins, from the senate. amy, tom harkin, chuck schumer. any others? oh, the most senior of the mam all! we are getting there, we are getting there. ok, i want all of our colleagues from t house to raise their hands so they can be acknowledged.

[applause] wave to barbara. annow for our surprise guest. barbour kept saying to me, why can't we start the program? people have to get to the food and refreshments and the desert. i said, just a few more minutes. who are we waiting for? she is never in patient, you know that. [laughter] it is a trendous honor for all of us at a real sign of the respect and regard with which senator barbara mikulski has been held for decades, and now passing this great record,his one best serving woman, most accomplished woman and the congress of the united states ever. for us to have with us a person whhas been a champiofor the american people, a person who has been a chaion for america's women.

a bill that is coming up soon, the violence against women act, has no greater champion that are vice president, joe biden -- than out vice-president, joe biden. [applause] >> barbara kennelly said we catholic girl stick together. let me tell you, we catholic boys have been falling catholic girls all our lives. [laughter] nancy, thank you so much for giving me the oortunity to be here. i really mean it. i invited myself. no. t. s. lewis 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 want to be here because of my enormous respect for you, and you know i mean it. you possess all of the qualities that a national leader should possess. yopossess all the qualities and national leader should possess. first of all, you never say anything you don't mean. [laughter] and by the way -- by the way, it matters. it matters. people are so used to hearing things that people don't mean. secondly, barbarathat 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. and also, the principal has been the driving force in your life. you reserve your ambition for the people who need your help. your ambition has always been to see toyour ambition has always n for them. literally, not figuratively. there is a lot of hyperbole goes -- that es on, but i mean this sincerely and you l 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 about was -- what was within their reach and capacity. i held or 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 live, 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 realized 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 ve 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 of had many long car -- conversations. i have learned a lot from you. i am not being solicitous. you paid me the highest

compliment anye 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. you are not the only e, 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 barba 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 ve worked together. we are honored to have governor o'malley here. he paid 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.

exandro 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 degation have come. let's give shout out to these great guys. my frids 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 wisho 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 yrs 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 kenney, 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 iendship 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 keelly, 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 pty we were from, it matters that we wanted to save the children. it was when the dobbs. was olympia snowe. it was pat schrader. it was barbara mikulski. off we went. weent to the refugee camps and we saw starvation and we sawhe effects of genocide. then when we were in a camp, wendy was there with me. we wanted to e 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 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 wo 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 congressiol 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]

.

>> he spoke a little too long. howard said, well, how did i do? he said, howard. perhaps you should learn to occasionally be guilty of an unexpressed thought. [laughter] from then, he learned delicate in listening -- delicate listening. no one was more surprised of him. [laughter] howard went to see the senator. he said, i will never learn the

rules of the senate as well as you know them. he said, i will not surprise you if you will not surprise me. the senator said, let me think about that. [laughter] he called in the next morning. he said, yes. and it worked beautifully together for the next four years. 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 each other a little story. that ought to be a lot of stories. it always made me feel a lot better about our countries -- our country. to know we had a president and chief of staff who were so secure they could sit down at the beginning of each day and tell each other a story.

that was one of his secret weapons. his other secret weapon was he remembered the advice. people start getting into trouble when they stop sounding like where they grew up. howard baker has never stopped sounding like where he grew up because he never stopped living where he grew up, a little town in huntsville, tenn.. this week, a student asked me, what is the best way for me to get into politics. i said, i can tell you exactly how to do it. look at the person you admire the most. volunteer to go to work for them without any paid. carry their back. drive them wherever they want to go. babies of their children. rights their speeches for them even if they do not give their speeches. -- write their speeches for them even if they do not give your speeches. i know that works because that is what i did.

i worked for howard baker and i am in the same office today. [applause] i agree with senator dan quayle, who once said, there is howard baker. and then there are the rest of us senators. [applause] >> i will tell you. i increasingly believe that the essence of leadership, the essence of good service is the ability to be -- to hear and understand what your colleagues have to say. what the country has to say. the ability follows them to try

to translate into policy. >> there was a quietness there that was a part of his demeanor of the absorbing what was going on. i have come to really realize how much she absorbs sometimes. >> his dad had been a congressman. my dad took me to the court house to meet congressman baker, senior. i always thought he was the most respected man i was likely to meet other than a preacher and my father. and then a young baker was a good looking young guy try to get ahead in politics. when he went to washington, i came with him. >> i never really thought i would be there. >> the very idea that he would run-and try to be the first republican ever elected in tennessee in the united states that was a huge leap of faith. >> and when i got there, i got

the impression that i was accepted as a colleague as the member of the senate. >> i was his legislative assistant. i read his speeches. i thought my speeches were pretty good. after a while, i want to hear him deliver my speeches. the first one i went to, he did not say one word of it. so, i worked harder the next one and gave it to him. he did not say a word. he never complained. i said, senator. i think we have a problem here. i'm working hard and the speeches. i give them to you. i have gone to hear you and you cannot say one word of them. he leaned back and said, we have a perfect relationship. you write what i want to write and i will say what i want to say. >> i was introduced to senator baker. i was an assistant attorney. i was 29 years old, i guess, at

the time. and i said, ok. how much is that pay? he said, nothing. i said, i will take it. [laughter] ♪ we got acquainted during that period of time. when watergate happened, right after the campaign was over with, he asked about be interested in coming out there. he was going to be the ranking member of the vice chairman of the committee and he would select a minority counsel to represent the three republicans. both >> i served with him on watergate. -- >> i served with him on watergate.

tons of political consequences. he was reasonable. rational about it. >> i had friends. we realized we had a real mess on our hands. >> senator baker had the most difficult job of all because he had to balance all of the interests involved. you don't have to worry about democrats and they are investigating at nixon. the question is, what to the republicans do? the pressure on a senator baker during the watergate days was unbelievable. it was not only pressure from the white house, but from tennessee, from republicans, from the press who is watching everything, is howard baker going to participate in a cover-

up? i am sure, inside the senate itself, inside his own caucus, there was a lot of concern. the patients and analysis and coolness that he developed a personal relationship. they're both country lawyers. they were able to navigate those waters together. that was probably the last committee that we had a bipartisan investigation. that was because of senator baker and his leadership. as it usually is, when you get down to it. >> what we did, though, really,

to collaborate and find out what the president knew about this. >> what did the president now and when did he know it? >> it was like ringing a bell on a cold winter morning. it was a common sense question. that is what everybody wanted to know. >> the panama canal is 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 is what ronald reagan said. what senator baker said was, let's give it back to panama and we will keep the right to use it. >> he decided it had to be done in the interests orderliness in that part of the world and fair play. >> people of tennessee said, no

way. you have to be kidding. to give up control of this tremendous global resources. >> that was a difficult time for me. it was difficult politically, it was an intellectual decision. it had difficult consequences. but when i went into it, it was clear that it could not stay the way it was. panama was a sovereign nation. they still owned the property. it was also important to understand that the canal was fundamentally important to us. >> you had every veterans' organization not motley opposed. there were in the streets. -- day or in the streets. you had pressure groups united in opposition to this treaty.

>> here you are, an unpopular president. republicans wanted to get into office. howard baker running for reelection. ronald reagan going about the country. you're taking a risk of throwing away your political future by going against your party on such a big issue. he not only went against it, if he corralled of other republicans to get 67 votes. >> i remember senator byrd one night when we're discussing courage, almost out of a complete -- out of the blue, he said, you wanted occurred? courage is howard baker. courage is the panama canal and howard baker. courage is doing what he did against incredible odds and pressure. that is pressure. that is courage.

♪ >> it took a long time for him. conservatives were part of robert reagan's team, to get over the baker vote. interesting, they got over it. to the extent that when he needed somebody to take over the white house when things were troublesome, he picked howard baker. >> reagan was in big trouble over the problems. the president called down to miami to talk to howard. he got a joy baker on the phone. he said, joy, i would like to talk to power. she said, he is at the zoo with the grandchildren. and president reagan said, wait until he hears about the zoo i have for him. that is when he asked him to come out to be his chief of staff. it took him out of any chance of running for the presidency in 1988 which he probably wanted to

do. >> rehere was a person who can deal with members of congress -- democrat or republican. they all trusted him. >> howard baker has the right stuff. it is called courage, it is called empathy, it is called organization. and it is called leadership. it is your basic instincts. >> right or wrong. your political position will dictate how you handle it. the can't just do the right

thing all the time. you have to take account of what the position of the country and the people that you are representing and the industry. otherwise, there is no point of having members of government. >> he always told me the importance of being a citizen legislature. i did not know exactly what that meant. now i have a pretty good feeling for what it meant. it means listening. it means taking counsel. it means having strong convictions and a strong principles, but listening to different views and taking those into consideration. the real essence of senate leadership is the ability to be an eloquent listener. there's a difference between hearing and understanding what people say.

the door have to agree, but you have to hear what they have to say. if you do, the chances are much better that you'll be able to translate that into a position. that is leadership. [applause] bobb >> from the state of kansas,

senator pat roberts periods. [applause] >> bob, elizabeth, howard, nancy. somebody took away my teleprompter spirit -- teleprompter. [laughter] i have a cold, so please forgive me. it is called grandchildren. [laughter]

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

i have toted buckets in all shapes and sizes here, there, and everywhere. i ran through the brambles and the bushes through places that a rabid democrat would not go. bob, i did spill something. but you, sir, truly carry the water for kansas and our country. it has been quite a ride. thank you. [applause] -- tagging along your side with my bucket gave me inside. i was somebody, you know. [laughter] i witnessed firsthand the change, the coming, the shining from bob dole partisan man to bob dole bipartisan man. [laughter]

i know the song. you know the song. i am going to need a little help from the audience here. maybe a lot of help from the audience here with apologies to neil diamond. this is coming from a monotone. where it began, he cannot even begin to know. but he knew it was going strong. it was in the house and the house became the said. who would believe the democrats would come along. hands, touching hands. [laughter] ♪ touching you. this next part will be hard. ♪ touching me. [laughter] ♪ sweet robert dole. ♪ bob, bob, bob. [laughter]

that was but that it. try again. ♪ sweet robert dole. bob, bob, bob. you know the song, good. ♪ i've been in climbed. >> ♪ bop, bop, bop. >> searching from page 5. ladies and gentleman, the movie. the tributes and movie starring elizabeth "stand by your man" dull. -- dole.

what is his mood? what do you think? [laughter] the cecil b. demille of robert dole extravaganzas. still the most humorous man in the senate, house and sen. the former majority leader who you heard from. substituting for the secretary of agriculture and a man for all seasons. star of stage, screen, the senate, law and order, and reverse mortgages -- [laughter] senator fred thompson. majority leader of the senate and singing bass in the hit song elvira 257 times. and, of course, the man himself. bob dole.

again, sam.ay it roll it. [applause] >> june 11, 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 did not grow up in a rich family. but we were taught the work

ethic from our parents. we did a lot of things like mowing lawns for people and shoveling snow. it instills a new research and responsibility. i think it made me a better public servant. >> they moved into the basement of their home and rented the upper portion for a period of time. i think it brought to him a keen appreciation for the role the government place and the role that individuals play. >> the experience of going without, the experience of peddling your bike to the head of an oncoming dust storm, these are defining experiences. i think it gave him a very real empathy. >> he and i were infantry.

he was wounded on april 14, 19405 in northern italy. -- april 14, 1945 in northern italy. we ended up in the same hospital. >> when he was on the battlefield, as i understand it, he was there about eight hours. he said he had in egypt he said his hands were above his head and was not sure if he had arms. >> he felt a burning of shrapnel hit in the back of his right shoulder. with that, he had a 39, almost 40 months of rehabilitation. to me, as a doctor, that meant something. >> lying in a hospital bed after world war ii, you probably reach a point where you are just rely on yourself and you have to have the will and the strength to

make the comeback. >> he should have complained but he never did. i asked him when i was ready to leave the place, i said, bob, i am going to be leaving. what are your plans? he says, i'm going to be the attorney in the state legislature. that is where i am going. f. first opening in congress, that is where i will go. and also to the senate after that. he had his plant made right then. -- plan make right then. -- he had his plan made right then. >> the bob dole who came to washington in 1961 was a

faithful representative of his parts of kansas. he arrived in washington a classic partisan. he outgrew the limitations of partisanship. >> i was a consensus builder. i had as many friends and the democratic side as i had on the republican side. it is not because i was some kind of a genius. it is is just about was willing to listen. >> i have to tell you that one day i dropped in bob's office. i walked in and here was a for meetings going on in four rooms within his capitol office. and bob was presiding over all four. >> everyone in my conference room or in his office wanted out in the reception area. he would go through and his common phrase was, it worked it

out. >> maybe you are not coming out, so work it out. >> he would say, got it all settled. he would just come in and do that cool approach. glad you got it all done, guys. he would say, well, get it done. he had a patient's with kindness. -- patience with kindness. >> he was one of the seven lawmakers appointed to the council on social security reform. they hit a flag. >> its evolved decisions on raising taxes for social security off and reducing benefits. it involved changing eligibility. >> i remember my mother telling me, do not vote against social security. that is all i have. there were millions like my mother who had to live month to

month on social security. >> the challenge was, was there a solution that democrats and republicans could agree on. >> a democrat, a wonderful senator, and i got together. we almost said at the same time, we cannot 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. >> the classic case of what our framers had in mind, getting people to work together and reach a common solution to a very difficult problem -- problem. >> one of the things that i think was dearest to him and a constant reminder was a cigar box that he kept in his? -- in his desk.

it was the box that people collected money for him for surgery after the war. a lot of his disability was, how did you give people the tools to allow them to give back to the workplace? allow them to gain the confidence and 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 would talk about it. every april 14 hour to 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 were not going to let it go. we thought it was time for passage. >> the disabled community is not

powerless. but compared to any other constituency i can think of, they do not have the resources. they did not have the people to articulate their positions. did not have much going for them, but they had bob dole. ♪ >> keep a sense of humor. that is what is missing now. there is no humor. >> bowl was a guy of rare good humor. he just was. he could defame people. >> with perfect timing. he could cut through almost anything with it, or a look if he was in the mood to do that. he would disarm you. >> it comes, he says, from working in a drug store in kansas.

the two brothers would throw these one-liners back and forth all day. >> i picked up a lot of wisecracks at the drugstore. there are many people who said if he could have shown how quick witted and humorous he was in the campaign trail, he would have been president in 1996. he has a wonderful line that he said. he's the have bumper stickers that said dole in '96 and he said most people thought dole was 96. >> i appreciate the resolution just passed. what to be in big letters, or neon? [laughter] i know it can have any political advertising on a. [laughter] just have the name out there in

lights in the next few months. [laughter] >> 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. that he felt he should give full time to the campaign and give it his best effort. >> i remember thinking, sitting in the well at that point, next to him, how remarkable of an institution it was and the extraordinary respect that members held. the fact that they all came to the floor. the fact that it was an emotional transition for all of them. it was as hard to imagine with the next up was going to be. >> this is somebody who fundamentally believes so deeply in public service. this plays out in a variety of

ways. >> he has been very active in raising the funds with fred smith, the ceo of a fed ex. $185 million to build a world war ii memorial. >> that is something that would not be there today were it not for the fact that bob dole almost single-handedly continued to press to get that accomplished, despite of extraordinary odds to the contrary. >> he led the process. the rule says you cannot do it. to hell with that rule. >> he was very much of a generation who believes that at the end of the day you're judged

by what you delivered. that meant what you got done. it meant what bills you wrote, what programs you created. >> you do what is right. if you fail, you fail. but you have to have your heart into it. you cannot have a half-hearted approach. put it all on the table. the stakes are high sometimes. you better be good at counting votes or you lose. i did not like to lose. ♪ [applause]

>> ladies and gentleman, i stand before you with the welcome opportunity. in the last tribute this evening. i will share a few thoughts. the third is that the bars in the room are paid for until 2:00

this morning. stick around. [laughter] like so many of you in this room, i am very proud of my association with senators baker and dull. i am very grateful to them for all they have done in the bipartisan center for the last five years. off from the early days of designing and launching its to the advice that they continue to offer on projects to the simple epstein -- to the simple esteem and grace they bring. more than any tangible gift, it has really simply been the opportunity to know bob dole and howard baker. it has been great for us. being around the two of them makes you want to try harder. it forces you to listen a little closer. it reminds you of the great opportunity we all have to work with colleagues we all 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 a compromise, but to dig into the issue so that you can find what reflects the best ideas of both parties. no matter what else is happening, senator baker always asks how we are doing. it is not a simple throwaway line. he has helped us understand the of portents of s -- the importance of good humor. that is 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 conceded to this event, each senator had two reservations. fortunately, there were the same. did not want too much attention. the second was they did not want to just 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 and the future. in addition to his work with the bipartisan center, senator dole represents a wide variety of clients at his firm. he is also a forceful recorder of new clients. as some of you are probably aware, he is a hard guy to say no to. he is a tireless advocate for veterans. a terrific program that brings thousands of veterans all over to washington to see the world war ii memorial. he has made 100 or more visits to these delegations to share the generation we have for those services. he also continues work on pro bono cases for individuals with disabilities. finally, he remains deeply engaged in politics. he is a sought out advisor on the issues that affect the inner workings of washington. he plays an active role at the adult center where he tries to

restore the notion that politics is a noble profession. he is notoriously active in the republican primary. i think that is because he cares deeply about the party. i think he recognizes that if they have a brokered convention he may be perfectly positioned to lead the country once again. [laughter] senator baker is a senior partner. he is presently cochairing with our energy team abandon a project on nuclear fusion. when he find nuclear fusions to be the best, he moves to other products on supercomputing. he is cochairing with senator bennett johnson in a panel on the national parks second century commission. i resent their gratuitous efforts to out century us but i believe it is good nonetheless. senator baker is a longstanding

ally of the nation of japan. he's to work with them on the u.s.-japan round table for nuclear power. he is the driving force of the baker center. and finally, something i did not know. he is an artist. he photographs everything. i am told he takes great pleasure in showing friends and strangers tough around his studio in tennessee. no matter what the task or challenges or opportunities, senators of baker and dole bring forward a charisma and leadership that has been unique to this country. as we think about the problems facing this country and we think of who will be the future leaders. the people who will bring the unique ability around a common purpose. one thing we are sure of is it will have to be baker-of dole's good. baker-dole good.

we are proud today to announce dole fellowship program. this will allow people to work with us on issues of importance to the senators, themselves, and the nation. it will also provide them for a terrific chance with these leaders to wrestle with the opportunities to 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. i'm sure that more information is available on our web site. now, it is truly my great pleasure and honor to recognize the honorees tonight we have all come to see. senators of baker and adults for their century of services to this country. senators, thank you. [applause]

>> bob dole, to offer the opportunity to share this center with you. i am pleased to be here today with you. there are enormous events that have occurred. talking about national issues and local issues, but you have never, to my knowledge, failed to put things in perspective. as you set the terms of their

real relevance and importance. lamar alexander remember the remarks that were said to me by a joint. the occasional luxury. [laughter] i remembered that to say too much is to say too little. what i want particularly to say is [unintelligible] that run several pages. [laughter] he pointed out that the attention span of a senator is measured by the willingness of

him to listen. in the best traditions of the senate and the highest regard for bob dole and for those who participated today and to this organization, may i say, you make a great contribution to the future, to the quality of debate, and to future directions. but to spare you the details of these remarks, and having enjoyed all of them so far is the best traditions of the senate. if the vice president is still here, i asked his consent that my remarks be included in the record. [laughter] [applause]

>> next. [laughter] jason, thank you very much. you have done an outstanding job in the past five years. howard and that are very proud. nancy and elizabeth are all very proud to have some association with to and you're wonderful staff and all of the good things you are doing. howard and i come from a school where we believed 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. i think that is the bottom line. if you not trust her counterpart, you're not going to be very successful. what i want to say about howard baker, i came to congress. my parents were not involved in politics. and it was, you know, my dad was a working man. wore his overalls to work every day and was proud of it. once i got a taste of it and ran for the state legislature, and then county attorney, and then congress, and then in that 1968, the senate. it has been a great experience. i learned a great deal about

people and i learned a lot about america and what is good about america. i do not believe there is any problem that cannot be solved if you have willing the men and women come together. it may not be easy. it may not be possible, but in some cases, it is necessary. it was mentioned about social security. had we not acted, and pat was the driving force. i was just currying his favors. had we not been able to bring the committee back together, i am not certain what shape social

security would be in today. we predicted that social security would last until -- i think well into this century. that means a 30 some odd million americans will get their check on time. as my mother used to say, that maybe all the people have to live on. they want it to continue and want it on time. you know, we have had so many possibilities. howard was a great leader. he was sort of my mentor. i was a bit surprised that he left the senate after four years. but he did so for a good reason.

he wanted to go to tennessee and make a little money. [laughter] and i said i would leave to try to make a little money. but one thing that was said tonight is true. once you leave politics, your approval rating goes straight up. people write you letters, i never liked you you so-and-so when you were in the senate, but now i think you're a pretty good guy. [laughter] please send me an autographed picture. [laughter] of elisabeth. [laughter]

[applause] we have a lot of photos. there are not many left of elisabeth. [applause] so if you need any or wantonly or would just like to have one lying around, just call my office. [laughter] so, i speak for my colleague, nancy. we thought we had a good thing going in our relationship in the senate. we believe that most issues could be resolved. and i learned from her and i learned from elizabeth who was like a bulldog when she gets hold of an issue. she works night and day. she did in the cabinet post she held.

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

please stick around everybody. thank you for coming. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> next, "q&a" with high school students talking about the program. and then later your comments on "washington journal." today, a look at race in america. followed by a discussion on racial factors in politics. moderated -- moderated by ron williams from fox news. that is on c-spanto. live coverage continues on c- span with a focus on the latino vote in the presidential

campaign. immigration and what it means to be an american. education. and news coverage in politics. >> this week on "q & a" a talk with the united states youth program held at the mayflower hotel in washington, d.c. >> this week on "q & a" a talk with the united states youth program held at the mayflower hotel in washington, d.c. [applause] >> good morning. i want somebody in the room to please tell me what this program is all about. we have some viewers out there in c-span that want to know. who wants to do that? >> this is the united states senate youth program. two delegates were chosen from each state to represent, it

shows our leadership and an interest in public service. >> i need to know your name and where you're from. >> i am callie porter from oregon. >> who would like to add to that? what did you do? >> number one, we met the president. >> the big deal. where did you meet him? >> at the white house. he got off the helicopter. he met us. we took a picture with him. he talked to was a little bit and answered questions. >> were you nervous at? >> oh yeah. >> you can fill the blanks of who you were able to meet?

>> we met some alumni. chief justice roberts and henry. >> what did you learn from being in the supreme court? >> we learned about how our justice system works at a more personal level, how they have to separate their own believes from what is in the constitution in order to ensure proper proceedings. >> who can tell me how you get to be one of these delegates over here? where are you from? >> i am from new mexico. >> how did you get here? >> it was a complicated application process. we applied and wrote an essay about why the program was

important. semifinalists were selected. from there we had a personal interview, debate over personals skills and current leaders. >> why did you get picked? >> i know because i'm a future leader of america. we will see. >> how many want to run for political office at some point in the future? >> all my goodness. i asked everyone in the room who watched c-span, and every hand went up. who saw somebody they wanted to talk about this week? >> i am from mississippi. >> where? >> ocean springs. >> who did you hear from?

leon panetta. he is an interesting person. >> why was he interesting? >> he is very knowledgeable. he had a lot of information. >> who can tell me who pays for this week? who pays for this week? this is not a government program. it is not. >> the foundation covers the cost like they have for the past 50 years. this is the 50th anniversary. >> i am from wisconsin. >> i want you to think about something you learned this week that maybe surprised you or you did not anticipate learning. it could be a positive or a negative. you're not going to have another week like this, i don't matter how old you are.

this is the most magnificent week unless you become president. i suspect a couple of you might want to be. >> i am here from washington. it is embodied in one of the quotes about the secretary of defense. she said to surround yourself by the smartest people you know. although we've learned from the speakers, a lot of people we take out just from each other. we are each from different states and backgrounds. we debate a challenge each other. >> someone this week that meant the most to you when you heard them? >> delegates, i would say everyone. speaker, i would say the chief

justice. >> he is from where? >> oklahoma, sir. >> you do not have to call me sir. >> last night we got to speak with a nasa administrator. he taught us to do what ever you do with something that you're passionate about and you never have to work a day in your life. find something you are passionate about and you will always enjoy it. >> where are you going to college? h