on the communicators from vegas, also joining was galfe n nagesh, gentlemen, thank you for joining me. guest: thank you for having me. .

with the back of his role for lobbying congress for funding. we also speak on the recent article, but the real story of mitt romney's and olympic turnaround. >> and judy woodruff and glenn ifill at the national press club this week. they will speak at the democratic national convention. they talked about issues including the recent health-care decision. this is just under one hour.

>> is just about a month and now when republican conventions can being tw women will make journalism history, becoming the first all women's team to anger convention coverage picket given the caliber. ifill is a moderator. the longest-running public affairs program on television as well as senior correspondent and anger for the pbs news hour. she's also of the best-selling anchor of the break through. woodruff has covered news for a decade. -- co-larly:-anchors

anchors pbs news hour. woodruff knows politics inside and out. for 12 years she anchored the program inside politics and played a central role in the political coverage and other major news stories. at pbs she was the chief washington correspondent. she also encouraged the weekly documentary "frontline with judy woodruff." a documentary explore the views of 42,000,016-25 year old that yearsed -- 42,000 16-16-25

old [unintelligible] ifill has covered six presidential campaigns and moderated two vice-presidential debate. at the 2008 debate between joe biden and sarah palin. she began her career in newspapers. she is covered the white house for the "new york times" and has reported for the "baltimore evening sun." we're looking for their insight in the political elections. please try me giving them a warm welcome. -- please join me in giving them a warm welcome. [applause] >> thank you. it is an honor to be here at the

press club. and i are both honored by this invitation. thank you for being here to hear us talk about this extraordinary collection. i want to thank the members of the pbs and news our family who are here. you heard paulette is here, michael jones is here. seated right here, both jone jod linda winslow. we are all part of a family. that is what makes us go. i know a means a lot to us to have you here. thank you. i have covered so many press club event that bill strain

should be on the other side of the microphone. -- that it feels a little strange to be on the other side of the microphone. i want to talk about what the pbs news hour will be doing to cover it. if you're wondering why i am going first, i can let you in on a secret. like the perfect ladies that we are, we are wrestled over it. -- arm wrestled over it. [laughter] there is some tension between gwen and me over one issue, what color we are wearing. things got really tense yesterday when you both showed up at the office wearing bright yellow. -- when we both showed up at the office wearing bright yellow. she ended up going home. i and the luckiest person in television. gwen too worked wit work with

every day. she elevates all of our games. i am going to ask you again to honor my colleagues. [applause] this is my 10th presidential election. that is if you do not count speaking into the democratic convention in 1972 in miami without a past as a local reporter for the cbs/atlanta at affiliate's station. i was able to talk to some members of the georgia station.

they had a big fight over whether to support george mcgovern. there have been some seminal moments. one afternoon in the summer of 1976, i met my future husband in georgia on the high school softball fields as the staff of jimmy carter playing the press. we forget how competitive he was. he always got the secret service on the campaign staff team so they clobbered the reporters every gain. who knows what those agents might be up to later. we had a romantic dinner after that first game. he immediately drove to atlanta because he had a date with the

an airline attendant. [laughter] or those unforgettable moments in cnn, hanging chads. i wish i would have the presence of tim russert to transcend technology with a simple chalkboard. to look ateral ways this election. all of them lead to the conclusion that this will be a very close outcome. this is more stark this share then usual. the conditions versus the candidates. they decided majority of american voters believe the country is on the wrong track. most believe they're not better off than they were four years ago. that is bad news for a

incumbent. many republicans acknowledge that as of today obama is a much better political candidates than his opponent. mitt romney has the highest negative rating of eastoany rect challenger. what about demographics versus the economy? voter profiles become a bigger part of democrats. on the other hand, no president has ever been collected since world war ii with an unemployment rates over 8%. 8% on election day will be on the optimistic side. money versus mobilization.

what citizens united and the proliferation of political action committees, the republicans will have a money advantage of good 2012. people like karl rove will be in swing states. if the number of undecided voters is as small as some believe it will be, this election may be about delivering turnout or mobilizing supporters. in experience, at the obama is ahead of the opponents. 1984 versus 2004. is this a repeat of the reagan /carter election all they had to do was made pay minimum threshold?

if so, i checked romnecheck rom. if it was like a years ago, and they decided the challenger did not offer a compelling case for change. f that is the case, check obama. they are reminder of why they expect this election to be sold close. -- so close. i want to share a couple of things i have learned from decades of covering the elections. both of them will be perfectly obvious to you but it did me a while to get them. it is not about us in the news media. in 1976, jimmy carter came out of the iowa caucuses. i happen to be following him

into a five and dime store as he worked his way from the front to the back. i notice all the customers who had been hovering around carter were heading in another direction. i was curious. i went to check it out. who had come into the store? there we found none of her than the then iconic cbs anger walter cronkite who is trying to be a reporter and see for himself. as he told me a few years later, he said i cannot follow the candidates anymore. i distract from them. many of us are not walter cronkite. the second lesson i learned is that big moments to not always to not to be consequential. i was a moderator in 1988 when

two centers and faced off at the vice-presidential debate during an election. it became pretty personal. senate term quayle was facing a lot of heat for president. he compared himself to president kennedy. at which point senator bentsen paused and said "i served with jack kennedy. he was a friend of mine. you are no jack kennedy." the room exploded. that became the q uote from the debate. it was one of the most memorable lines that have absolutely no bearing on the election. why am i saying this? on what elections are about are the voters and the issues. fiscal challenges this year, taxes, health care, china,

iran, supreme court appointments. with the partnership at pbs, a front-line, we plan to cover both, and the voters and the issues online and on the air. we plan to cover through the perspective of real people like this gentleman and i interviewed in south florida. i ran across one gentleman. i later had to tweet about this. he said -- a lot of people have voted for president obama and they're not sure they will again. it was a really good window into what the challenges are. this young man said "i guess i will vote for him again.

if you have a choice between a sandwich with salami in a sandwich with no meat, you will go with the one with salami." i said "ok." our help is to talk to many more voters like this. talking to experts, at the candidates when we can hear it a long time ago robin macneil says we dare to be dull. he did not mean it. we looked take this seriously. we have an amazing team -- we will take this seriously. we have an amazing team. but on air and on line. b. t the two have become one.

i expect we're going to have a lot of fun in the process. i know that i am going to have a lot of fun covering this with a fabulous part american gwen ifi ll. [applause] >> i am interested to see what she said. if i did that i could not acknowledge my friend. the folks that keep us on the air. it is hard work every single day. thank you for being here today. we finish each other's words. it will be perfect that we are sitting next to each other, and not in matching the canary yellow. we finish each other's sentences.

we both come from the same type of background. we know what it is like to be on the dark side of commercial television. we know the latitude. tobbelieve there is a way have a discussion on gun- control. there is a smart way to have it, not just at the same fight over and over again. there is a more nuanced way to think about these issues than just having a fight. that is what people come to us for. we believe the architecture of democracy matters. that is why we are covering these conventions. c-span is great at pointing a camera. we will, too. we're going to bring in the smartest people we know. we're going to try to talk to voters about what they really want to hear. it is great to go inside the convention halls. i am a junkie.

i was a nerd child. in the end, the people inside are the most informed and engage. what we really want to do and what we have been doing is getting out and talking to as many people as possible. we have a project where we stick a microphone in someone's face and ask them about their concerns. continue doing this all year. it is another thing to hear their voices. conventions for us are a rare way to get inside. it is a handy way pierre and is people involved. get they are giving up their time to

get engaged in the world around them. we want to talk to them. we want to find out what is driving them. we want to know who the tea party are who are the most engage in shaping what this party is today. we want to talk to the people who are complete obama partisans and the ones were not so certain. we want to hear what the country is doing. conventions provide a handy way for us to do that. we can tell stories for days about the people we run into. the best part of working for pbs is if i go and stand in the middle of a fair or a festival, people will say i know you. you are from pbs our washington week. they will start to say smart things. i turn on the camera and let it roll. it makes my job so simple. our viewers are so smart.

it makes my life interesting. occasionally cannot hear what people are saying to you. in 2004 after i moderated the cheney/john edwards debate, i thought what questions which i asked today? [laughter] completely different. it was in ohio. we went in search of people to talk to. i remember walking into a pit we would lead -- piggly wiggly store and ran into a steel worker. he had been laid off for 11 months. i thought this is clear. he must be a kerry/edwards voter because he is the example of a democratic leanings, an

unemployed steelworker appeared when i asked him, he said i am voting for george w. bush. he said i trust him. a month later when americans cast their vote, i realize what had happened. people were voting based on that. even though it might not have seem obvious to us, and they were thinking about this in a more fundamental way. when you go and you talk to voters, they want to know that you are going to speak to and for them. we occasionally do a thing where we go around the country and do towns and we sit people down and asked them to talk to each other. we live in a world of silo politics where people watch one network or another. we get them all in one room. we were in the middle of a health-care debate. there were people arguing with

each other about their understanding of the health care bill. it turned out that the fight they were having where emblematic of what was going on around the country. we can still see those divisions are alive. we have discovered that character matters. we can spend a lot of time talking to candidates if you were a tree what would you be. when you come down to it, voters want to know who you are and what your values are. in the end, that also matters. our partners at from mine are doing a special called "the choice." you actually see who these people are in documentary fashion and what their background are. it tells you something on air, and death, with no commercial interruption.

policy matters. people want to know how it will affect their lives. they want to know if their kids will be able to repay their college loans. they want to know whether their kids should even go to college. they want to know what their kids will even survive high school, when they think about the batman movie. economic stress and to ever in this campaign finds a way to speak that in the most authentic way. this person has the upper hand. in the and, at the person becomes who speaks to me. this is why pbs is the place to find out the answers. we have the luxury of time. we can tell you at length what it is you should be thinking about. we make a point not to interrupt and to cut you off before you

finish the question. we have the luxury of analysis. when i sit around the table, i call it my sandbox. if it works the way i want it, you feel like you are eavesdropping on a dinner party with a very smart people. i can they learn something every week. -- and they learn something every week. i said to someone what, i do not get to drink during the show and he set me have a case of wine. i am not unhappy about this. it is important to reach outside the bubble. we won an award for taking the show on the road to 10 different cities. we not only had our panelists

and the audience with people around the country but did another half an hour on the web where we talked to them. we are getting out in engaging with the people who are usually just watching us passably. if we go to our web site, we have gone from tim but to san diego -- tampa to san diego. it is found a way to bring together.piri we're going to explain the law. we're going to explain the money. we're going to explain everything you need to know. the conventions are where it begins. i'm going to stop and take your questions. i have only request. please do not address us as

queen latifah. thank you very much. [laughter] [applause] >> i just cannot resist now. as you alluded to, queen latifah play you in a saturday night live skit. did she do a better job than sarah palin?han >> i walked up and said do you think you can ever play me again? and she said give me some material. then sarah palin came along and i was saved. i get to be a real hit on college campuses now. >> some say this campaign is more negative than previous

ones. what do you think? >> many campaigns is right. i think the country is as divided as i have ever seen it. washington is as dysfunctional as i have seen it. politics has always been ugly. if you read what the founding fathers said about one another, it was pretty personal and down and dirty. think about what lyndon johnson, and the ad he ran against barry goldwater, the little girl with the daisy. think about what happened to michael dukakis. today they're saying he is sending jobs offshore and he did not live up to his promises. i think it is pretty tame compared to what we have seen. the election is not over. america has seen some pretty tough politics throughout our lifetime.

>> she was finishing my sentence. >> why is it such a persistent charges that americans are apathetic about the political system? is that fly in the face of your experience with voters? >> not pbs viewers. i think there is a concern. people are not speaking to their concerns. we can point the finger back to ourselves. if we're only concerned about the real house lives, it is not the thing that is driving people's lives. we do speak to a self elected people. they had made an affirmative decision that in a crazy world of a million different channels when you can watch the news any way you what or information, at

that people can be turned off by what we delivered to them. i do not think it is hopeless at all. i find the most hopeful possibilities on college campuses and high schools. i am involved in a project. we are interested in making sure young people know what the news actually is. in addition to that, i find that people really are trying to be engaged. they come up to me and they say "i only watch jon stewart." i think that is supposed to be an insult but i also what jon stewart. i tell them that they need to watch the jon stewart and us. they will find out that the truth is and jon stewart watches me. that is true. in order to tell a joke that is funny, you have to know who

nancy pelosi is. you have to understand the meaning of the joke. in order to do that you have to have an understanding of the way the world works. i think he helps to drive people to better information. for that reason, i think all the comedians of the world. [laughter] >> how would you grade the media on its coverage of the candidates issues important to women? >> i was listening and then you said the last word. i think that has yet to unfold. it has certainly been an element of the campaign so far. the obama campaign would certainly like to take advantage of the president's position on some of these social issues they think will be more appealing to many women. the republicans and mr. romney is more appealing to married

women. that is the divide we see these days. it is also the married women versus single women. tend to don to ds better with single women. there is a lot of conversation about how the soccer moms have come back. vote were a chunk of the bo that barack obama was able to pull to this side -- to his side. i do not see a clearly articulated pitch to women voters perce. perhaps we will see that. >> know when defines it. no one says what it is about. -- no one defines it.

no one does what it is about. i have seen at over one in issues like abortion. i call them family issues. it is not only limited to women. i think both candidates are pitching very specifically to women voters this year. what we are able to do, not to boil it down too simplistic ideas about what a woman's issue is. latinos care about economies to, not just about immigration. we can explain in the larger way, we can do a service. >> given the attacks by republicans on government funding for radio and television, how secure is the future of programs like pbs? >> it is a tougher environment

than it has ever been. a lot has to do with the economy. some has to do with the political argument, government needs to be appalled and fewer things. it is a tougher environment. the value is as clear and as necessary as it has ever been. we have to work harder to find the funding. could we survive without government fund lockout? it to be tougher for us. -- without government funding? it would be tougher for us. could we do it? yes. for any kind of change there would be a change over several years. i do not see that happening. when we talk to members of congress i hear support of things about public broadcasting from members of both parties.

it is not something we can spend a lot of time worrying about. we come to work every day to do our job. it is up to others to spend more time thinking about this. my hope is that the work we do tells our story better than anyone else. that makes a case better than anybody else could. lovelyare wearing a l badge. we can make them available to you for a small price. [laughter] we can find ways for this to pay off for you. we also have lovely tote bags. [laughter] >> this questions as they have heard complaints for the public and their parents that presidential campaigns drive on too long and voters become numb.

do you think we have campaign fatigue? >> i am a junkie. i love talking to people bought their issues. i would be happy if they went on all the time. i think there is a case to be made. a day after the election me start speculating about who is going to run in four years. we probably overdue that to a fair amount. i do not know what we can do to stop it. there is a in natural tendency to think about what is next. it is the american way. i thrive on this. we go to sleep every night thinking about politics. >> so not, but ok. ok, fine, whatever. [laughter]

we think if you do it the right way that you can use elections as a way to tell us more about america. it is such a complex place. every time i leave the office and report a story, i always learn more about this nation. it is so interesting. the reason people get tired is we keep writing about in the same way. we do not explain the whys. if we do stay up, we think of ways to transcend. i like a horse race as much as anybody. i also want to know how it can tell me more about our country at this point in history but i get to be able witness. elections are fun. there are crazy. we chase shiny object that do not matter a week from now.

we end up finding out a lot more. it is worth doing. >> reporters love them. viewers eat them up. how do you get away from sound bites without losing your audience? >> we can arm wrestle. i would lose. you just do. with research in talking to various people to find the best people to tell the story. it requires native curiosity. if i said at a desk with a busted in question and i only ask them, that is a rare night. i also listened to the answers. there are sound bites but they

have to illustrate something. they have to take you someplace. they can be useful if they tell you something about what the speaker intended and what it means. i think we can do that. we have to stay curious and keep asking questions. >> what do you think of the talk about one of the presidential debate being devoted to national debt? >> sure. i think there probably will be. certainly devoted to the economy. i am sure all three well be about the economy. that is absolutely what is on the minds of american voters. people are concerned. they are anxious across the country. we see it when we go out.

it is not just numbers on a piece of paper. they are calling on the politicians to do something about the fiscal cliff that the country faces at the end of the year, the tax increases that will happen if the bush era tax cuts expire. all of those things are so central to what this election is about. in my view is to be part of the conversation. these candidates are not telling us with great specificity what they would do. we know the outline. we do not know specifics. it'll be tough to get the specifics. i am looking to the debate to try to pin both of them down on these and other questions. >> some outlets regret not

having covered more obama's track record in 2008. what do you think will be the big under cover story? >> do we ever know what they are until we uncover them? i always think i wish i had asked that question. i do not know until it is over. i really felt we did daig deep enough in the end. it may be that there was disillusionment after he was elected. certainly among some democrats or republicans who thought he was less liberal. i do not know what it was people thought they heard. i think in general we have to consume our news differently. i grew up watching the three

networks. do youyou read a couple papers. you knew a lot. in the end, we have a million places for information. when never going back to the way it was -- we are never going back to the way it was. if you think the debt is not being talked about, there are lots of places you can go to get more information. i think that we over cover some things. i would be curious to hear anyone is like to ask this year about poverty. i do not think in the end we can go very far where the candidates

will not go. they're disciplined about what they are there to talk about. >> has the advent of social media made a difference in your coverage of the presidential campaign this year and how? >> yes. you are looking at twitter queen gwen ifill. it absolutely has changed. some of us have had to be dragged kicking and screaming. we are not any more. we are still learning. the idea that we would be constantly whipping out the iphone and taking pictures, which is now what we do. technology has chilly transformed the coverage of

american politics. it is absolutely making a difference. we can all argue about how much time it takes. i hear reporters saying i wish i had a moment to breed. from the minute i get up i am filing for this program or that program. the good news is that it brings us in closer touch with the american people. for those folks who are interested in following the social media i think it is a special way of engaging those younger voters who have traditionally not voted. it is our job to keep thinking about them. keep filing. keep tweeting.

>> i find it to be a useful news gathering. you can start at wikipedia but you cannot and at wikipedia. same thing with twitter and facebook. we can do this at your farm. you can find more information on the ways we do not get to go around. i would say we have two dozen panelists on our regular broadcasts. the vast majority have twitter handles. i am @pbsgwen. >> i'm sensing competition that duty might need some followers. judy might need some followers. >> do you think election

spending is excessive? >> the supreme court has spoken. i do not think it is our place to say. clearly money is a wash in american politics. they're going to break records. if you go into the multiple billions. -- it will go into the multiple billions. at some point the voters will be looking at these ads. when there is nothing but political advertising, the question becomes what am i learning? am i really hearing something different? a couple of you said to me that you are already getting tired of some of these ads and it was only june and july.

the negative ad that they are running, the have to make a calculation. they are going to get hurt from the ads. is it going to be worth it? there is a lot of money out there. i do not see any way to turn it around. >> the supreme court says money equals speech. what is the money spending that's what are they spending on? what does it tell us about the choice we have to make i think it is just as interesting as how it is raise. i think this tells us about character interaction and about

who is pulling the strings. it is more information. >> we do not know where a lot of the money is coming from. that is why we have to keep reporting. >> what is your assessment of the voter suppression issue? >> what news hour tonight. our colleague has spent the past week or so in pennsylvania and doing a story about voter identification and oppression and a place you have not heard about, pennsylvania. i am looking forward to seeing it. i have been following it closely. it could be a key to pinpoint story. ipping point story. >> what do you do to candidates

who did not answer questions? >> i never interviewed a politician and never wanted to answer all my questions. [laughter] it is a fact of life. you want to get all the information mccann not to embarrass them -- you can not to embarrass them so the public has information. we're constantly trying to get information that is important, that helps the public make decisions about what is going on. it seems to me that politicians view their job to get reelected. i do not mean to be cynical. it is much more than that. they all want to tell the positive side of the story and not sure the rest of it. that is what we do. that is what our job is, to try

to coax as much information out of them and to other reporting that causes them to want to open up. >> i have great faith. in 2008 when all is moderating the joe biden/sarah palin debate, gov. palin said i do not have to answer the question is the moderator opposed. i had a couple of choices. i could have gone "what?" or i could do which was to let her make the case is making and leave the voters at home. i have from was summit is to answer a question, people pick up on it.

they know the person has been evasive. >> you apparently did not read the fine print. how do we pbs-ify this country that can make it more speaking unless yelling in this country? i think the american people like that. there are plenty of places to find the food fight. for those americans that care about learning of the issues, we care more about light than we do heat. that is what we are there to do. we just have to keep making the case for that. we keep showing that it works. that is going to make the case better than anything else.

they are throwing their shoot at each other. that is not what we do. it is not what we are about. i think there is a real interest in appetite for what we do. >> during the course of your careers, you have seen political reporters go to a much more prominence to women. how is that affected political reporting? >> we talk about issues more -- shoes more? [laughter] edit that out, c-span. i have not been very fortunate to be with a lot of great women. i spent my first campaign covering everybody. i was the lowest person at the totem pole. it got to the point the candidates wiwould look at me ad go, oh.

perhaps we're at the bottom, and that a lot of great women who cover politics. -- i met a lot of great woman who covered politics. as a result, i have not been an experience or i felt like there was an absence of women. we have been engaged. we have been smart. a lot of women got on the bus. when jesse jackson got on the bus, and lots of black voters got on the bus. there are great women out here doing work. i do not think it changes the work. it just changes the face is doing the work.

that changes the emphasis at the kinds of questions we ask. we are used to making our husbands and children follow up and that does not work either. >> we have come a long way. i did get into the business when they're not very many as there are today. i have been hired as a secretary in the newsroom. i kept pestering him to let me go out and report on some stories. he said we are have a woman reporter. -- already have a woman reporter. we have come a long way. >> what advice to you give journalism students about the future of journalism careers in? >> i tell them jump in. the water is fine. journalism is in the middle of a huge transformation. none of us know what it'll look like in another five years much less 10 or 20. we need smart, a curious young

people. there will always be questions that need answering. public officials need to be held accountable. there will be stories that need to be told -- that will need to be told. think about what a complicated world we live and. we need reporters to help tell those stories. we cannot individually go everywhere and learn everything ourselves. the salary may not be that great for the first few years or longer. you will be working hard. all of us do that. if you are curious, had a passion for reporting, a jump in. gwen has been doing a lot of college campuses. the past and is there. >> i tell them to jump again and

their parents say no. they're living in my basement, please. [laughter] >> i have a few things i want to remind you about. we have a few upcoming luncheons. we'll discuss the role of marines. on september 6, kathleen turner will discuss reproductive rights and the state of women's health. on october 2, arne duncan will be here to speak. i would like to present our guests with our traditional coffee mugs. >> thank you. [applause] finally, the last question for each of you, who will or should governor romney choose as his eyes president?

-- as his vice president? >> that is easy. [laughter] he want to let mid up a little bit. -- he want to lighten it up a little bit. >> that is all you're going to get out of us. sari. orry. >> i would also like to think the national press club staff and broadcast center for organizing today's event. here is a reminder that you can buy more information on our website. if you like to get a copy of today's program, check out the web sitesw atww.press.org. thank you. we are adjourned. c host[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

>> the political parties are holding their hearings in advance of their summer convention with democrats holding public hearings this weekend, followed with their final recommendations in detroit. in mid-august republicans start theirs. the coverage continues august 10 with reform party and philadelphia. the democratic national convention live from north carolina's starting monday september 3. >> we did not begin as a city in

kentucky. there is only a vague native american region and later a county in another state. we began in 1778 as virginians. >> kentucky senior center mitch mcconnell. and of their on rebuilding american politics. sunday at 5:00 p.m., three weeks in 1841 would be key in shaping abraham lincoln's views on slavery. tour the plantation today. the heyday of the steamboat on the ohio river. once a month, at c-span's local content vehicle to explore the

literary life of cities across america. >> c-span examines the work of mitt romney and the ceo of the 2002 olympics. leon panetta speaks at the retirement ceremony. mitt romney was president and ceo of the 2002 salt lake city olympic games from 1999 until 2002. we take a look back at the republican presidential candidate's role in lobbying congress for funding for the 2002 games. >> thank you fellow citizens of the united states and great citizens of washington, d.c.

we are thrilled to join together with the olympic torch arriving here and recognize what it represents, the different people it means different things. the porch and the flame has always stood for peace. it stands for the passion and fire that burns with olympians. it is the enthusiasm, the perseverance -- young the heroes that are represented by this claim and torch. it is also taking on a greater meaning. in some respects it is a place where we look to suggest that humanity and civilization go forward. we affirm the greatness of our land and of the nations that come together to support our land in a time of need. the theme of our games is written on this side of the torch itself. it says like the fire within. you will see a flame that will

come down the side of the mall. on the top of the torch you will see a big piece of glass. the flame will come from within the glass symbolizing lighting the fire with an. these young heroes across our country fighting for freedom today, these individuals are is epitomized by the flame of this torch and the symbolism of the light within. behind you you see the lincoln monument. it is our hope as a nation and as a community that as the torch goes across the great land it will candle within us the same passion, the same fire, the same love of country and civilization that it has kindled and people across the globe. thank you for being here and for the opportunity to be a part of this evening. we look forward to welcoming you in february of 2002.

>> the comments of mitt romney at the welcoming ceremony 10 years ago marking the start of the 2002 winter games. we wanted to take a look back at the 2002 games and the role mitt romney played in salt lake city. it is titled the real story of the olympic turnaround. thank you for being with us. >> first of all, let's take a step back and explain how he assumed the responsibility in 1999 to take on the role as ceo and president of the solid city organizing committee. >> mitt romney came in relatively late. in late 1998 a scandal broke out related to allegations of influence peddling that senior members of salt lake's organizing committee tried to woo the games into awarding them

the games by giving them an array of lavish gifts, the valley of which totaled over $1 million. senior executives launched a search to bring in a turnaround specialist who could prop up confidence in the games and restore the appearance of integrity and also sway -- use business acumen to sway those who might be poised to leave and make sure the games got off without a hitch. mitt romney was their choice. he joined the committee in february of 1999. he was at the home for three years. >> there was some competition for this position. jon huntsman was also being considered. >> speaking with some of the people who launched the search, they considered 8-10 candidates. mitt romney came to the top of the list fairly early on.

he had the business background by virtue of a peak -- experience at bain capital. even his critics to have misgivings about the performance, nobody says he did not do an excellent job in shepherding the games. >> there is a question you posed at the time magazine piece. how much credit should mitt romney receive for the success of the 2002 olympic games? >> even those who are critical of the comments about the games were acknowledging he did a good job. he inherited the game said a precarious moment when public confidence had cratered and sponsors were on the cusp of xing because they did not want their names to be tarnished with association. mitt romney did -- he had a

multi-party task. he had to overhaul the culture, he had to bring in a number of people and bring this balky apparatus to a conclusion and match -- managed the budget. by any measure he deserves a lot of credit. the criticism lodged by people who are not high on his performance is that he embellish the scale of problems and an effort to to frame himself as a savior. he has hogg credit for the games' success. this was an event utah had been preparing for for a long time. a lot of people including tens of thousands of volunteers were invested in the success. mitt romney has used this moment in his bid it now as the cornerstone of his case to be able to manage the presidency. >> he writes about this in his book "turnaround at."

>> it is a fascinating and a number of ways. it gives you an insight into the culture mitt romney valleys as a leader and the way he runs a large organization. he talks about bringing in the right people, the need to instill this culture of shared sacrifice, this culture of levity. he talks a lot about starting meetings with the jokes and having group retreats in order to build morale. turnaround is an interesting book in a number of ways. it talks about his efforts to go to washington and make sure the government has allocated enough funds for the games to come off well. >> mitt romney spoke at the national press club prior to the 2002 games and also debates that took place with the funding of the winter games coming shortly after the tragedy of 9/11. in your piece and as mitt romney

as talked-about, this is a pivotal point in his life, somebody that turn from politics back to business. >> the olympics -- we see it on the campaign trail, this was the origins of mitt romney's reputation as a turnaround artist. he had been successful in business. here in full public view at a moment of shared bipartisan suffering in the wake of a major national tragedy, he was charged with taking a national even then international diplomatic event during the conclusion. there's no question he presided over a complex organization. the restructuring was a major task and he did so well. he is certainly entitled to cite this as one of his -- it prepares and to lead the

country. whether or not there is a direct correlation, the skills that were involved at the olympics and whether there would translate to the white house is another matter. >> we are talking with alex altman. we will see mitt romney. give us a sense of what we can expect to how this will play out with his presidential campaign. >> it is sort of is a tricky balancing act. on the one hand, it is a victory lap of sorts. he will want to use the 10-year anniversary to draw attention to the success he achieved a decade ago. at the same time, a horse that and romney co on shall be competing in the games. they have used that as an avatar of the romney's wealth and used it to characterize them as out

of touch. he will probably want to minimize the degree he is lumped into those narratives. >> putting this story together, what did you learn about mitt romney, his role, and how he would govern if elected president? " i think what romney offers in his memoir about the games offers a revealing look into the way he manages his organization. he talks a lot about bringing in people he trusts. from that we can probably extrapolate to look at the type of people he would bring into an organization. i think it taught me a lot about the degree of scandal that has wracked the games and the preparations and what it is to put on an international show of the scale and scope. >> one of the responsibilities is funding for the olympics, most notably security. the lobbying effort to get the

funding shortly after the 9/11 tragedies. >> yes, you know, when romney came into the job, lots of money had been earmarked. there were hundreds of millions of dollars in direct funding. over $1 billion over all when you consider the federal outlet. mitt romney spent a considerable amount of time working with the democratic lobbyists to seek congressional appropriations. he was on his way to capitol hill on september 11 when the hijacked plane hit the pentagon. he had to ensure the proper outlays were allocated said the games be carried off. he did that job. it was a function to the criticism of the campaign trail when rick santorum and a couple of other ballets noted he had secured congressional earmarked to carry out the role. if you consider it in the prism of the job he had at the time,

that was part of the duty. >> thank you for giving us perspective to this story. the real story of the olympic me.comound at ti >> mitt romney addressing the national press club. >> thank you for the generous introduction. thank you for helping organize this meeting and getting me here. i appreciate the chance to speak with you. i am reminded of the now famous advice given by senator sam ervin to a friend of his to ask the senator if he had any advice about when appearing before a congressional committee. he is reputed to have said first, there are three rules. do not try to be funny. do not like. whatever you do, do not put out the truth.

i will anticipate i will try to violate the rule today. the truth is, the olympics is really not about what most people who try to win the games think it is about. my guess is when the mothers and fathers of solid city and the people of utah as well as people in the capital were thinking about getting the games to sell lake city the had visions of tax revenues, economic development, tourist attractions, corporate relocations that will come to the city. i am sure there is some element of truth to that. i am sure that motivates countries like sydney, australia who are spending in excess of $5 million to bring the dance to their country. most of that is spent by the federal government. they have to justify the investment on the basis of tourism, economic development, growth, and so forth.

there really are some economic development and they can be tally. there are physical sport legacy's which are left up to the games for the local population. in some cases an argument can be made that the growth trajectory that a city may have had prior to the games actually accelerates after the games in places like calgary. we think the olympics really got us going and stimulated our growth as an environment. i would indicate to you if the think the olympics is primarily about money, you are likely to be sorely disappointed. remember the fabulous the venue they built? it was the speed skating rink. i do not know if you know how big a speed skating rink is. would you see it on tv, you think it is happening on a small piece of ice but there are going so fast, it is a big piece of ice. you can put two hockey rinks

inside the oval plus stands to watch hockey. the building cost $300 million to construct. that was left after the games. i understand today the building is being used as a flea market. retailers and atlanta who anticipated when the atlanta games can to their city anticipated in the enormous skyrocket in their sales. sales of retailers declined during the olympics. in a soy convince the olympics does make sense long term for a committee, -- community, but i am also convinced that is not a community should consider hosting the olympic games. there is another reason that people think about it. to a certain extent it is about branding or defining a community. when i say brandy, what do i mean? when i was a kid i would occasionally get a sip of arce:and coca-cola. many can remember those two soft

drinks. they tasted different. i cannot tell you today which one tasted better. coca-cola made a massive investment to associate their brand and product with things people like me like -- athletes, sports, vitality, and even polar bears. more and more of us wanted to become a coke drinker. it was the real thing. the branding investment is something they placed close to billions of dollars behind over the years. when an individual thinks about, where should i buy a product from? they think about the people who make it. when they think about should i read this article on the internet that comes from this country or place, they think about the branding and integrity of that place. when they think about who they will do business with, who they will trust as they think about

world leadership, they think about the brand of the community and country and it infects everything they're doing. you can say, surely salt lake city, utah and the united states as well branded so we do not need to think about what the olympics does to our brand. i would note and the corporate world they have recognized to continue to invest in your brand and over time you want to make it stronger and stronger or it can the case. in the case of coca-cola, is there anyone in in the world who does not know where coca-cola is? and yet coca-cola is spending $50 million to become a sponsor of the winter olympic games that we are hosting to associate again their brand with the power of the athletes and the power of the olympians. that $50 million is just the sponsorship costs. does not account for all the

money was spent to publicize the sponsor ship. in a like we the people of america and utah and salt lake city will see their brand associated with the olympic movement here that is something the olympics does. i have to admit we have not gone off to a south -- a good start and building the positive image of our brand. we have some work to do there. money and branding are part of the olympics. in my view they are not at the heart of what the olympics is about. in my view the olympics is the most effective platform for celebrating character on the world stage. the olympians are real heroes in many cases. the olympics revealed their heroism to our kids in the population of the world. the olympic moments which are

memorialized forever and the psyche of the world population the, which affect how we think about ourselves and others, they inspire us. they left us as a nation. they lift us toward peace, and other of the endeavors. i remember reading about a young athlete, a speed skater who was promoted as a hopeful to win a medal. that was in 1984. fed he came in fourth. one place away from being on the podium. in the culture i grew up with, there was a sense that if at first you do not succeed, you do not move on with something else. he said i will try it again. four more years of training and he again went to the games. this time he was favored to win. he did not win. he did not win in part because on the day of his race, his

sister died of leukemia. that affected him that he was unable to fulfill his dream. four years later he went to the games again. practicing and making every effort possible. he came in fourth and 26. and then the next olympics he goes. his fourth olympic games he finally won his gold. i have met dan jansen now. he was in my office. we talked. he does not understand he is a hero. he does not understand what it is about him that makes people look at him with respect. in some respects i think when you look at competition and the spirit of competition and the passion to win, when you think about perseverance and the will that he represents, they are so intrinsic to him he does not

recognize them for what they are. to me, they are an inspiration. in my view to kids around the world to watch the olympics -- people like dan inspire him. the competitiveness they see is ignited in their hearts as well. have you ever seen that video of carry scrub it? she was a gymnast and atlanta. she took a bad landing and it tore her ankle. she believed in order for the u.s. to win the the team medal in gymnastics it was a central for her to vault again. you perhaps have seen the video. she runs down the vault as long -- as fast as she can and does this declining primarily on one leg because she is holding her right leg up a little bit. i have seen that time and again.

the other night i saw the video after those. she falls to the ground and roles and a ball of pain grasping her leg. i have also met carry. she said, when i landed that spike landing and ran down the track, i felt pain 100 times more severe than i had ever felt that any time in my life. i look at her as i think millions if not more of young people in the world look at her and see somebody who is a model of sacrifice, dedication, commitment to her sport and herself and to her teammates and to her country. these olympic moments, an olympic heroes left us as a nation, lift this as a world. i do not know if anyone is aware of what was going on during the time of hitler's games in munich

in the 1930's. you have seen the footage. jesse owens trying to qualify for the broad jump. both times his toe went over the star line and he was about to be disqualified. his german archrival went out and said, here is my towel. i will lay it down 1 foot behind the official jump line. when you see my towel, a job then. jesse jumped. later in the same competition he won the gold medal. he broke a world record. the first person to congratulate him was his german rival who became a lifelong friend. the message of those athletes give to the world is that racism has no place in the human family. we are brothers and sisters all. it is a message that would be lost upon the ears of at least the leaders of one of those countries. a message that is told time and time again in games after games

as we watch young olympians demonstrate to many of us who are leaders in some respects the real meaning of brotherhood, competition, peas, and so forth. i compare the contrast to the messages of the olympics to what my kids get as their usual diet. in virtually every medium they touch whether it is an internet game or tv, luck is celebrated above preparation. he is rises above hard work. gratification excels over sacrifice. violence is more interesting than charity. winning comes above the rules or respect for sportsmanship and money becomes above everything. to many people i think they are convinced the world of sport is about money. did they see honors and athletes competing for the billions of

dollars in broadcast and sponsor revenues that seem in some respects like spoils. i think the story of some of our premier athletes lives that could only be written with an adding machine. with very few exceptions, the currency of an olympian's career is character. it is integrity. it is hard work. it is ambition, a passion for the sport. it is faith, respect for others, a piece ability, even love. it is a spirit of pioneering. our ancestors pioneered by discovering new boundaries of physical space. we do that when we go to outer space. these olympians are outer -- pioneers as they discover new boundaries of the spirit and physical body. they are modern heroes. the fire of the character that

burns within them ignites a fire within each of us who watch the games. do you know how many people watch the games? it is something i have a hard time contemplating. i am told over 2.5 billion people watch the opening ceremonies at the atlanta summer games. we will have over 2 billion watch the ceremonies and solid city. a third to one-half of the population will watch the games. there will be 3500 officials, but the you know how many members of the media come to solid city to take the message to the world? 9000. there will be other thousands that we cannot give accreditation to that will be there. the key events and experiences shared throughout the world will have 700 heads of state that come to the games in salt lake city. this is the impact and was so many are touched by the fire of these olympic moments. i am also asked whether the

olympics are worth the massive investment that they cost and whether the federal government should be playing any role whatsoever in helping finance some part of the games. the federal government provides anti-terrorist and public safety funding, and of course the largest. that is providing transportation to make sure spectators and athletes alike can get home from the venues safety. i would note that we spend hundreds of billions of dollars to enforce peace in the world. i think it is appropriate that we also spend as necessary to demonstrate peace to the world. we do not get the games on a regular basis. we have not had the olympic winter games in 20 years in this country. i will be surprised if we get them sooner than in another 20 years. they are enormous and the impact they have on the future of this -- the children of this country

and world. at all i see at stake and what it means, you might ask how we are doing and i have already given you a note on that that we did not get off to a good start. we have taken full and complete corrective action. that is symbolic and substantive. our management team is knew as is our board. we went to a board of 54 people representing the broadest cross section of the community. we have taken every action to ensure compliance with the highest standards of ethical code conduct. we rode a code of conduct does each of our board members to review it carefully and sign off on an. each year a report is prepared by each employee and a board member above their conduct. we have an ethics board of the reviews each report if there are any variations from what seems to be appropriate. even though our meetings are open, the president attends all

of them. all of the documents are available to the public, simply submitted forms saying which documents you want. i want to see all the letters written by mr. romney. you will get them all. it takes about 20 days for people to get those things. we provide them to any citizen who wants to have them. i think we also face the truth by standing up and telling the community we were 350 -- almost $400 million in the whole from what the budget told us we should have reached by the. we said those words by march of 1999. in addition we acknowledged we have not been successful with our sponsors. last march we look back and said, how have we done in raising money? if we have $375 million to go, how much did we raise in the last year? the answer is $13 million in a year and signed one sponsor

appeared we were in a difficult position. the engine has been reignited. we signed new sponsors. as of today we signed 14 new sponsors. there will be two more announced before the end of this month. we have raised more than $100 million. to a certain extent the agent for some frugality. people speak about the olympics being subject to gigantism and becoming bigger and bigger and of offering more money. we decided to focus on what we think is key in the olympic games and to pare back on the things that are not keep. let me give you an example. i wish we had a building that gorgeous we could build a solid city and we had the money from someone to do that. we do not carry the olympics requires a measure of frugality. we have a building just as big. it has two hockey rinks on the

inside of it. after the games the building can be economically used as a sport facility. our building and set up costing $300 million will cost only $30 million. we will not have a single post with the telephone -- camera but it will cost one-tenth as much. we have decided to make sure ordinary citizens can attend a dance and have an olympic experience. one problem i see is it is so expensive that the only people who can afford the tickets for the very wealthy and the rest of us are forced to watch the event by tv. we have literally thousands of tickets that have been earmarked to use in utah to be able to attend the games. 50% -- let me come back. we have an interesting ticket pricing policy. we will charge what the market will bear for many seats. they will cost a lot of money. what people in the from rest to

pay as much money as possible just like if they were going to the super bowl. we will use that to allow us to have some seats at reasonable rates. 50% of all seats that will be sold will sell between $20.60 dollars a piece. for the once and for your even that is the super bowl of each of the sports that come there, it is a spectacular bargain. our venues are also spectacular. hour downhill occurs on a mountain just outside of utah called snowbank. it can look behind you at a swimming pool. also at the bottom of the mountain or in front of the very bottom of the course. within 30 meters from the top of the mountain they will be going 90 miles per hour. is a spectacular mountain and a spectacular venue. we have some of the most beautiful ski resorts in the wall coming together in a community called park city.

they all empty into a wonderful community nestled into a mountain. ice. dan jansen thomas something i cannot believe. he says he will bring all kinds of olympic records in salt lake city because your eyes is fast. he was not laughing. something about high elevation and low levels of humanity making fast ice. our cross-country track. almost one-third of the metals go to the place where cross country and the decathlon one occurs. most of the time when you look at by avalon or cross-country skiers take off and you see them zipping by in the woods. he said i do not know who that was or who is in front, and our kids because it is on the side of a mountain the spectators can watch the entire even from the beginning to the end it. as some. they look like there are ants going across the bottom.

the venues are spectacular. we have added some new sports. cross-country sprints. women's bob sled. told us bobsled was too dangerous for women. the american women have been wanting to win at bob's live for a long time and were happy to make a part of the olympics. we added something called skeleton. it is raised by taking a sled the size of a cookie sheet adding two small runners to the bottom of it, living on it with their head hanging out and going down the bobsled track at 70-80 miles per hour. jimmy wants to be a gold medalist as well. i hope he is successful in his endeavor and we can celebrate walmart champion. i am encouraged by the enthusiasm on the by corporate america in sponsoring our games but every day america. poll after poll shows the

olympics is the no. 1 viewed and number one fan support and america. a recent poll rigid i guess it came out today in time magazine and a kid's kids 7-17 considers the olympics the number one sporting event the one to view. we had a poll that was starting for the management team. do you have confidence in the management team running the salt lake olympic committee. 80% said yes. 80% of my side is always good. i would say we have come a long way. i would also acknowledge we have a long way to go. it is not something we have them by ourselves. it is not something we can accomplish by ourselves. everything we have accomplished has been by virtue of a collaboration of leaders throughout the country. i want to acknowledge the support of the utah delegation. many of the members of which in their offices have been here today and have been enormously helpful in providing funding for

security for housing, transportation, and so forth. mickey is a special assistant to president clinton for and government affairs and he is also vice chairman of the presidential task force in the olympic games. the clinton administration has been a friend to the olympics and has worked hard to make sure the olympics are successful. congress has been a friend to the olympics. weekend enormously on the support of government agencies to make sure we can be wonderful hosts to the world. i would note is my dream that in some way these olympians can help us as a country -- my kids in particular and me as well, recognize that we should judge people not for what they have but what they are. i am convinced the olympics is a primary showcase for demonstrating character in the

world and that will do everything in my power to make sure the games make us as a nation and community proud. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you. we have a lot of questions. a member of the audience ask, have you seen any major changes in the ioc? >> i was not around when the business -- i was not part of the decision. i lived in boston almost 30 years. i have to be honest, this does not conform with the convention of wisdom. the ioc has been very good for us. we went there and some, we have severe difficulties. our $375 billion in the hole. we need some cash help and so forth. it the royalties that exceed $25

million -- that is a contract our city signed with them. issa, we do not need to pay those until after the games are over. all of that money was put at the end appeared reluctant some of the expenditures we have for the ioc. they said no limousines. chevy blazers and tahoes, that is fine for us. our contract said that each member is supposed to have a private secretary during the games. we said, that is a lot of volunteers and cost. the sec, did not worry about that. we had opening session as part of the contract. we are supposed to have a concert and so forth, rent a concert hall and get people there. we said, that is a lot of expense. this it did not worry about that. they said anything that you find in your budget a cost money that is not absolutely essentials you can remove. so we have found them to be collaborative and helpful. i recognize that is that the

conventional wisdom. our relations with the ioc we have had full support. that is not to say like coming home to a family meeting where everybody comes some and hugs everybody. they consist of 120 representatives and only two of them are american. we have not gone along with to endorse ourselves to the member of the ioc and part of the failings of the city i represent. a shoulder a huge portion of the blame for what incurred. we have a long way to go to have the collaborative friendly relationship which i hope we all aspire for and which i actually feel from the top level of the ioc and to its leadership ranks. >> a member of the audience. south your games will be the first for the new president of the ioc. who would like to see in that position? >> i am really wise to stay away

from certain topics. there are two topics a stay as far away from as i can. one is telling the ioc how to run their business. they are the franchiser. they have the olympic games year after year after year. i probably will not get into the business of telling them how to run their enterprise any more than a mcdonald's franchisee says i think you should change the chief executive. that would be nuts. it is true that the president steps down at the end of the term following the sydney games and there will be a new president elected. it is a process carried out through a democratic election of the ioc delegates. there will be 120 of them. there are some great people. the people who work with us as solid city and are part of our coordination commission are fabulous. one of my heroes is one of them.

he was the first to win gold medals and all of the alpine skiing events. he is a terrific person. i do not think he is currently an executive but he is a qualified person. dick pound is somebody who works closely because he is a -- he is a terrific man. i could go on and on. other leaders are capable and could be the ioc very well. >> but you will not name them. is that your final answer? do you think it is ironic that utah was the side of the breakdown of ethical standards? >> there is no question but i think we all felt sickened by what happened. i think we as a nation was

second appeared when i heard about this scandal i was ill. i kept on reading and found out there were a problem is and other cities that have hosted the games and won the bid. i would have far rather read a story saying utah lost the bid again but acknowledged it would not participate in any gift- giving or inappropriate action. my guess is the overwhelming majority would have loved to see that story as well as the overwhelming number of americans would have loved to read that story. unfortunately, a few people whether it is one, two, three or more, a few people violated the good judgment. as a result, we suffer. i think it is one of the great sadness is and is a great pity and injustice in some respect that a community as dedicated to

american ideals is that community is would be tainted by the actions of a few. >> how about washington, d.c. as the side of the olympics? every got what it takes? >> the summer games? i will give you some advice. everybody wants the olympics. it has enormous benefits. it is more expensive than you think. our original budget called for $900 million. that sounds like a massive amount of money, and it is. included transportation and security contributions made by the federal government. it turns out the right number is $1.8 billion. we were off. we also estimate it would generate $859 million of the sponsor revenue. we calculated that without knowing what was raised before. the all-time record came from

atlanta -- $480 million. our numbers were a little off. sometimes when cities get together and get excited about how much money they will make, the numbers are not quite accurate. there is no generally accepted accounting for the olympics. countries report after the games how they did economically. for many countries that want to show the games are financially successful so they keep off the box all sorts of costs. and in japan the cost of construction of all the venues is not considered an olympic expenditure. in our case we do put that on the books. numbers are difficult to come by. the ultimate reason for the games in my view is an opportunity to serve. it is an opportunity to showcase 1's community but is i financial windfall unless you are lucky. >> how difficult is the security problems in the utah? we have had a lot of reports of

new threats of terrorism in this country. >> there is three branches of security that we consider. one is the security within the venue at self. we call it security and defense. we have tens of millions of dollars to bring in security people around the country as well as our own staff to provide that security. we are very careful in protecting the venue itself. then there is the security outside the fence. police on the streets directing traffic and making sure people are not going impresses they should not. that is also a budget item of tens of millions of dollars, which by the way we did not think about at first. finally and by far the greatest security investment and the greatest requirement is one provided by the federal government, which is not part of

the budget because we do not know what the number as. it is confidential to us. it will be a $200 million investment made by the fbi to make sure we provide absolute security against those types of terrorist acts in and around the olympic city. i am convinced under the direction of the fbi -- i want to make it clear. i have no -- i have no direction at the entire security effort. as directed by the fbi. i am convinced we will have six games. we have some things going for us. we are a long way away from anywhere in the middle of the mountains. i will give us the opportunity to make sure we have security for those who come to the games. >> he spoke movingly of dan jansen picking himself up and

getting back on the track three times. do you see yourself back and massachusetts running for the senate again? >> i did not just fall, i was crushed. it is hard to get back up afterwards. we were chatting about that before i began speaking. it was a great thrill. i cannot imagine -- i think people get into politics for different reasons. i grew up in a political family. my mom showed me the way to run for senate and lose. my dad ran and won three times and then was participating in what he called a mini campaign for president because it was short and revealing. during my campaign, he came back to boston and moved into our home for six months. i also have sons all in college or married and they all came

back to our home. we all live together for six months to eight year and campaigned day in and day out and it was one of the great family experiences i can remember. i love it. it is a long shot for a republican businessman who was born in detroit to be a kennedy democrat and massachusetts. i an not likely to bang my head against the wall. politics is great. i would love to run if i could win. i will have to wait for the senator to be 98 or something. >> or pick another state. new york or -- i think that has been taken. if i am not mistaken, today is the test run of the by avalon on that course. many of us who were cross country skiers find it frustrating that in the weeks of coverage in the olympics we get to see maybe 45 seconds of this

very unusual support. can you give us 90 seconds or 2.5 minutes next time? >> we do not decide what nbc decides to put on primetime, but i will tell you that this year there is a plot and hand it. and we want to make sure you do not think you can see it across the country so you can come out and see it and person perry will be able to seek tens of thousands of people in a way -- you can see the entire course and see the van. a lot of you do not know what biathalon is. europeans think it is fabulous and is the number-one sport viewed by television in europe. the reason is not just physical -- it is also a mental sport. these kids have to sprint like crazy on their cross-country skis and stop and pick up a rifle and should a target.

i believe there are 45 targets that have to hit. they have to get that and put down their guns and go. if they miss one bull's-eye you add a minute to your time. try to make up one minute. is an eternity. their heartbeat is up into the 180, 100 '90s. then they have to stop and pick up the rifle standing and they have to decide, when do i pull the trigger? my gun is going like this. do i wait a little longer? if i with a little longer my chances of hitting the target is better. but the longer i would i am seeing that person a takeoff out of the corner of my eye. that decision, the way, the shoe, how fast do you go, how fast do you bring your heart rate down -- that is what makes the sport so exciting. i was given a rifle with nothing but a laser guide at the end of it. i could chew the targets. on the scrim behind me my

entire staff watch top for a shot i was. i gained a great deal of respect with your hard brick -- heartbeat is beating fast. jack, come on out. we will save a place for you. >> how extensive is your involvement in the continuing investigation into the fbi and justice a investigations of the olympic scandal? >> that is an easy question. i have a virtually no involvement in the investigation of the scandal. you make a decision when you come into an organization on what things you will focus on. in my view the focus of our management team had to be exclusively in getting ready for the winter games of 2002 and the athletes of the world. would you think about these kids and the training they go through and the expectations they have for our games organization, it struck me as

being irresponsible for me and for the members of my team to carry out a romney report of what happened in the past. we had an ethics panel and solid city in investigate what had happened prior to the bid process. when i came on board this report was handed to me. anyone who is implicated by the report was asked to leave our organization or voluntarily move on to something else. if the cast a shadow of the games and on the experience of these athletes, it was appropriate for them to step aside. and they did so. currently, there is a larger investigation -- i should not say very large, i do not know how large. there is an ongoing investigation. it is the premier investigative agency in the world. it has asked us for documents from our files. we are only so willing to provide everything we can to help the a best edition.

i think our first data request calling for copies to copy machine bill was $250,000 just for the copies provided to the government. it has cost us into the millions of dollars to gather files, to collect files, to provide them and so forth. it is something we are willing to do. democracy -- if there has been wrongdoing, the price of that is to evaluate that. is there any other country in the world in the middle of the olympics would investigate itself and said, we have enough confidence not to try to hide this and burry it? we have enough confidence we will evaluate ourselves and let the chips fall where they live. i support that effort. i am not actually part of the investigation itself. instead i continue to focus exclusively on getting ready for the olympics of 2002. >> under the circumstances, was it -- what factored into your

decision to come on? >> that is pretty deep and a personal question. i was happily in a business i began 15 years ago called bain capital -- a venture capital business. if you have been watching the stock market, let you according you these have been very good times to be an investments. we manage money for other people and we got to keep a portion of the profit we made. these are very attractive times for me and my partners. i was sitting at my desk one lovely day and contemplating new investments and a robust explosive market with our internet companies going through the ceiling and other companies doing well. i got a call. this call was from a person i had a hard time saying no to. the idea was originated by a friend of mine in solid city.

he knew not to call me and ask me what i thought about the idea of coming out there because he knew i would immediately say that was ridiculous. it is one of the great ironies that somebody with no athletic ability like myself is involved in the olympics. my son's pointed out there is no conceivable circumstance under which they would have been able to predict the would appear on the front page of the sports section. but this friend called my wife and son, ann, would admit to consider coming out to the games? after that she called me and said, do not dismiss this out of hand. you have to listen to this. she made the pitch. you have made as much money as you need to make. do you want to spend the rest of your life making money? i am not the oldest guy in the world, but do you want to keep making no contribution other than raising money for companies

and so forth? she said, this is -- i think she is right -- this is the olympics. i said, you are nuts and hung up the phone. as i began thinking about it i went out to you talk to see by coincidence. the chairman of our board chatted with me. he made his cell for an hour or two. i went home and started thinking about the alembics and began thinking about the things you heard me speak about today. -- about the olympics and think about the things you heard me say about today. if the olympics was thinking about branding the community, that was not particularly high on my agenda. if the olympics as i saw it was about presenting young he rose to the world, that i recognize the games were in trouble and the olympics could be in trouble, that it would be a great life's efforts like it was with my family to come together

to work tirelessly to make the games successful. when or lose it would be a great struggle. i think most people in this room have either faced or will face this question. what am i going to do with my entire life and will i use all of it earning money? this came down to an opportunity to have a different experience in life. meeting the olympians and these athletes is a life changing experience. you love them. they are phenomenal. it is in part because they do not know they are phenomenal. they do not recognize how unusual they are. they do not the -- they do not see the seeds of character that sets them apart. it has been one of the great thrills of my life. there are some other thrills as being part of the olympics. i mentioned a sport called skeletal. with the cookie sheet that use light on the bobsled track in, the reason i mention that is i have begun trying this sport.

i started way down low at the bottom where there are only two or three turns left. wood mice lend up to 40 or 50 miles per hour, i was terrified. -- when my sled got up to 40 or 50 miles per hour, i was terrified. he said when you get out there, you put your sled low on the track and you lay on it and go down. he showed me how to steer. when i got to the end of the track i was petrified. my face is two inches off the ice. you're going 40 or 50 miles per hour. i found that i had dragged my toes into the eyes and there were big holes and in the front of his shoes. now i am going from the top of the course. it is truly terrifying. it is exhilarating. i am so slow, and bad, and chicken that i appreciate how

great these athletes are. >> your answer about the role of money raises an obvious question. would it not be better that all of these athletes be amateurs the way the games used to be? >> the great majority of the athletes are not in any way going to receive any compensation for their participation or even after the games. most sports disappear from a financial standpoint. i met the sister of one of the greatest olympians and our country's history -- bonnie blair. her sister was also a champion. for girls and one family, all national champions and a sport. her sister was a flight attendant. they do not make a living

the great majority have no financial incentive to speak of associated with the games. there are some sports where the line between amateur and professional is so different from one country to the next that it was difficult for the international olympic committee to create a dividing line so the competition between countries seem fair. there was never a greater moment in the history of sport as a when the demands winter hockey team won in 1980. our true amateurs beat their true professionals but generally, that does not happen. to have competition even and fair amount to different countries in some sports like basketball and hockey, that sometimes you need to integrate the professional along with the nonprofessional to make the team is more even than the competition world class. with the nonprofessional to make the team is more even than the competition world class. i think it would be great if the

lines were car in all countries but the rules are so blurry among different countries that there have been some exceptions and there is some money for those particular sports. >> before i asked the final question, i want to give you the national press club equivalent of a gold medal. are shared coffee cup -- our cherished coffee cup, a certificate of our appreciation and if you could let us kw if 2002 is la nina year. >> our mountains are so high and we have snowmaking capacity at every mountain that there is no issue. we got some practice for that this week. we did not have any snow and we have a world championship cross- country event in utah.

we got about 100 dump trucks and filled them with snell to see if we could create entire track -- with snow and to see if we could create an entire track. this no sticks to the side. so we got all of oil and spurred into the trucks and the slides right out. regardless of the weather patterns, we will have absolutely fabulous winter games in salt lake city in 2002. >> thank you for coming. i would also like to thank the national press club staff members for helping us with toy's lunch and also thanks to the national press club library for their research. we do appreciate it. we are adjourned. thank you. [applause]

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] but some one of the issues he talked about was security and additional funding for the 2002 winter games in salt lake city. he took over as the helm of -- as president and ceo. he asked congress for additional help. dam it king question that aid. this was september 19, 2000. >> this bill provides a staggering court team $0.8 million for communications infrastructure, including radios associated with law

enforcement responsibilities. this item is one example of the fiscal abuse surrounding the stage again of the olympic games in salt lake. this past year, we requested the general accounting office to conduct an audit into federal financial support for u.s. cities hosting the olympics. specifically, we asked them to answer to questions -- the amount of federal funding and supporprovided to 1984, 1986 summer olympics and the types of products and activities funded and supported and the federal polici authorizations and agency controls at the place for providing funds and support to the games. what they discover is the least 24 federal agencies rorted providing are planning to provide a combined total of

almost $2 billion for leavitt related projects and activities for the 1984 and 1996 summer olympic games and the 2002 winter olympic games. the number staggering but what is more shocking but not too surprising, once an egregious practice begins and goes unchecked, federal funds flowing to of the coast cities has accelerated. the gao county tax care provided about $75 million in funding for the 1984 los angeles games. by 1996, the bill escalated to $609 million. for the upcoming 2002 olympics, that bill to american taxpayers is estimated to be $1.3 billion . that is outrageous and it is a disgrace.

to put the projects on this appropriations bill. a think the senator from utah as on the floor now. another project that is not authorized, i will filibuster the bill until i am -- unt i fail to do so. i wrote a letter to the senator from utah in september 1997. i said i am writing about the recent efforts to add funds to appropriatns measures for the 2002 olympics. i went on to say, i recognize the proper preparations are vital. it seems the best course of action would be to require the committee in coordination with congress to prepare and submit a comprehensive plan detailing the funding anticipating from the

taxpayers. please call me so we could start work immediately to establish some rationality in the process of preparing for the olympics of that. in a surprising breech of senarial courtesy, the senator never responded. i wrote him another letter a year letter asking for the same and never got a response. the gao determines that $1.3 billion, $974,000 for thetah state. the agency network, $3 million to olympic regional development authority upgrades. $2 million for fall -- for bus facilities. $500,000 for salt lake city olympics transit bus. on and on.

$925,000 for public safety programs. $1 million for the security and training. to million dollars for the water conservation district. mr. president, but this has turned into, but the olympic games supposedly funded by salt lake city began -- which began in corruption and bribery has turned into an incredible product for salt lake city. the gao found there was no effective mechanism in place for tracking federal funding. one thing i try to do in a letter to the senator in 1997 harrietthe gao -- in 1997. determine federal

agencies generally did not attract funding in supporof the olympic games. six and $90 million was authorized -- $690 million was authored. most of which was done through objectionable legislative pork barreling. it is astounding that federal bureaucrats got $1.3 billion as a writ of the course of business. the sports act ned after my good friend and colleague, alaska sets out the process by which the olympic committee operates. and how in they go about selecting a u.s. bid this city. in this act is a uniquely american tenant establishing that the united states olympic movement, including the bid and host city process, is an entirely independent private

sector entity. however, as this report points out, the american taxpayer has now become by far the largest single underwriter of the cost of hosting the olympics. this is not about private voluntary giving to the olympic movement. nor is it about corporate sponsorsps. this is about a cocktail of fiscal irresponsibily made it congressiona pork barreling. as i outlined earlier, the taxpayer fding has increased dramatically in recent years. in the 1984 summer olympics, $75 million in federal support. most notable about this figure aside from how low it is a brother -- compared to atlanta and salt lake is what it

was used for. 91% was used to provide safety during the planned staging of the games. only $7 million were for naught security related services. providinsafety and security support is a proper role for the federal government. no one would dispute what the federal government should provide whatever support necessary to ensure the games are safe for everyone. however, the american taxpayer should not be burdened with the building up the basic infrastructure necessary to a city to be able to pull off hosting the olympic games. by the time it got to atlanta, says was not the case. other classic examples include $331,000 to purchase flowers and grasses for venues and park around atlanta, $3.5 million to do things like installing solar electric systems at the olympic swimming pool. it is stout -- as astounding as the numbers are, they pale in

comparison to salt lake city. almost $1.3 billion of federal funding and support is planned or has already been provided in the city of salt lake. $645 million, 51% is for construction of roads and highways. $353 million, up 28%, is for mass transit projects. approximately $107 million in miscellaneous activities like building temporary parking lots and $161 million for safety and security. as of april 2000, the federal government planned to spend some $7 milliono provide spectator transportation and venue enhancement to the salt lake games. this includes $47 million in congressional approved taxpayer funding for transportation systems. among other things, so that officials planned to ask the federal government for $91

million to pay for things like transporting borrowed buses to and from salt lake, additional bus drivers, maintenance and construction and operations. most of the money taken from taxpayers to pay the bill for the salt lake games is going to develop, build and complete major highway and transit improvement projects -- especially those critical to the success of the olympic games. this last phrase is of vital to understanding the game being played in salt lake city. it works this way -- the city decides they want to host an olympics to put their home town on theap. in order to manage, leaders know they will have to meet certain structure demands. they develop their plans than the pork barreling starts. the gao makes several recommendations, including the

selection of a big city, tracking for funds and more direct oversight. among other things, they also recommend a larger role for omb in exercising oversight in agency activities. i believe there are two fundental reforms that to take place -- budget reform. appropriations for a living activities should occur to the regular budget process, subject to the sunshine of public scrutiny and debate within congress. usoc -- should not continue the bid of cities that did not have the capacity to host the games. what has happened here is what happens to in congress, you start out with a little pork barrelling and it gets bigger and bigger. we saw that on the defense appropriations bill. $4illion to protect

[inaudible] i will filibuster and everything in my power to delay any more appropriations bills that have this spending for salt lake city. there is a process of authorization for this project. they are conducted by the authorizing committees. some of them may be worth while and necessary. some of them may deserve to be authorized but instead they are stuck into an appropriations bill without scrutiny. i do not understand how we republicans call ourselves conservatives and then treat the taxpayers' dollars in this fashion. mr. president, this is terribly objectionable. it is up to $1.3 billion. we still have another year at least to go. this has got to stop.

i am glad we got the gao study. it is a classic example of what happens with pork barrel spending and it contributes to the alienation of the american voter. these are my taxpayers' dollars as well as the citizens of utah. i have an obligation to my constituents and the state of arizona that pay their taxes. the spending should not be spent on this. i asked a list of objectives for provisions be part of the record. >> is there an objection? hearing none, -- >> the senator from arizona spoke about the report. i believe the senator from arizona has made a signet digging contribution and moved

-- is attempting to move the congress in a direction we should go with respect to the olympic games. he has raised appropriate concerns. i can be specific about some of them. i will not be specific about them all because they are quite lengthy. for example, the $14.8 million for communications and for structure to which he objects in the department of treasury rtion of the conference report. it was inserted at the request of the secret service who told us that -- told the appropriations committee that was the amount required. this was not something that was asked for by the salt lake organizing committee or by the senator from utah. it came from the departments themselves. that is true of some of the other items. rather than get bogged down in a

debate over the appropriateness this or that amount, everyone of which has had that debate in the process of getting to the report, i would like to address the issue of the gao report and the, that the senator from arizona made about -- he said that the federal role with respect to let the games has increased dramatically from the $75 million that was appropriated in 1984 for the olympics in los angeles to the amount that has not been appropriated and it's going to be appropriated for the olympics in salt lake city, showing the step up from los angeles to atlanta to salt lake city. the cost of putting on the olympics has been expanded by a significant percentage. i do not have the number currently available. by adding additional sports. the organizers in the salt lake

of the committee have told me that even though the-- their budget is close to the budget at lillehammer, their costs are substantially higher because of the additional sports that added. some lost track of what happens to all of this. the head of t committee, mitt romney, has told me that in the budget he was handed from the u.s. olympic committee implied more sponsorships r the winter olympics that atlanta had for the sumr olympics in 1996. he has to go out and sell those sponsorships now because the budget has built in the assumption that money will be there. he is still something like 40 or $50 llion shy of being able to cover his budget, even though he

has outsold the sponsorships that went into atlanta. so he has more sponsorship money coming from atlanta for the winter games, which are less popular than the summer games, and he is still short. that is what has happened as everybody reacts to what happened in 1984 who assumed that the olympics are part -- pot of gold. they are clearly not emir getting to the point where we may be back where we were pre- los angeles window city wants to hosted because they will end up with a major deficit. he said we will not have it doesn't -- deficit because it is absolutely necessary. we will cut back to whatever amount of money we have. we do not want to have america

host an olympics that seems to be second-class by comparison to the rest of the world but financially, we have no choice if we cannot close that gap. i believe mitt romney will be able to close that gap and bring it down so that we will have an exact meeting of expenses and revenues. in this picture comes to a question that has been raised by the senator from arizona -- what is a role of the federal government? increasingly, the federal government plays an important role in the olympics because as the olympics get bigger and bigger with more and more nations, more and more athletes and more and more opportunities for international terrorism, they become a bigger and bigger problem for the federal government. i think the whole question that

was raised by the senator from arizona and by the report has -- as to formalization of the federal role is a legitimate question. the proposal in the gao report endorsed by the settle -- by the senator, if formal process within congress to attract these appropriations is a right and proper proposal. we probably should have done it after the atlanta olympics when we had the first indications that ts is what was going to happen. we did not. i would be willing to join the senator from arizona and craft a way to do this once the salt lake olympics are over so that if another city if the olympics, this process will be in place. it is the responsible thing to do and i applaud the senator from arizona in helping us move

in that direction. as the gao report says with respect to the $2 billion figure used by the senator from arizona, according to federal officials, "most of these funds would have been awarded to these cities or states even if they had not hosted the olympic games. although the funds could have been provided later if the games were not held." let me talk specifically about the renovation of i-15, the interstate highway that runs through the salt lake valley.

both projects, properly authorized, properly funded, with respect to transportation activities. i-15 was 10 years beyond its designed life when construction began comment before renovation. -- began on it before renovation. the project was outlined for nine years under standard construction procedures. working with the highway administration, came up with a method of doing it which is called design build to. you design it while you are buildingt. you do it simultaneously. in the process, they cut the time from nine years to 4.5.

they also cut the cost by close zero billion dollars. yes, -- close to a billion dollars. yes, it will enhance the olympics. gao has included its total in its calculation of the cost of the olympics, but it had to be done, it was a logical expense of the highway trust fund, it was fundedn the normal fashion, and because of the pressure of the olympics put on it in terms of time, we now have a pilot project with design built that is coming in ahead of schedule and under budget. we're saving taxpayers mey by virtue of the pressure of the olympics but on this highway project. there is absolutely no question but that the money would have been spent even if the olympics had not come to salt lake city.

it may not have been spent as wisely or as prudently as it is being spent if we had not had the pressure of the olympics. the second issue is the mass transit system in salt lake ci. it stood with all the other mass transit systems being reviewed by the department of transportation. it was approved in the clinton administration as an appropriate trsit program for the metropolitan area that was experiencing tremendous growth and congeste andion. -- congestion.

the contractors insist that it will bevailable for the olympics, it will certainly help the olympics, but it was not approved as an olympic project. it was not examined as an olympic project. it was not evaluated by the department of transportation. its cost is included in the gao study because it occurred in the period it when things were being spent in utah. i must make a further footnote in respect to i-15. it is being funded largely by state funds. the federal dollars only became available after it was passed in

1998 and the state decided we cannot wait. had we not have the olympics and waited for a full federal participation, the state of utah would be paying less than it is now. the state of utah has put up a substantial sum of money by virtue of this for this and the structure. we do not complain about that because we will have its act of the games are over. we will have benefit after the games are over. i do want to make it clear that if you take the $2 billion figure to which the senator fm arizona referred, and break it down, you come up with a much smaller figure for the federal participation in -- olympics.

back to the earlier point, we must address the question of the federal role. let us look at what the olympics due to any country that gets them in today's world. my wife and i went to japan to see the olympics put on in japan. we read the japanese newspapers. we did not ce up with a firm figure. the japanese newspaper speculated that the total amount japan as the country spent in order to put on the olympics was a $13 billion. highest figure i read was $18 billion. given the kind of accounting sleight of hand that

accompanied the japanese olympics, i think the higher figure is the accurate one. even if we take a lower figure, japan decided they could not put on an olympics or the of world attention without making such infrastructure improvements as to spend ultimately $13 billion. i participated in the benefits of that. i rode the bullet train from downtown tokyo to were the olympics were held. they decided they could not put in the olympics without putting a bullet train. we viewed the olympics as basically a scoring event. the rest of the world use the olympics very differently and once a country is awarded the olympics to one of its host cities, the entire national government of that country becomes engaged.

we need to think this one through. if we ever want to hold the olympic games in the united states again, and have the games be presented to the world on anything like the level the world has come to expect, we're going to have to face the facts that the federal government must be involved in a formal kind of way. the gao comments about this growing upon us are correct. a formal examination of the american federal goverent participation in the olympics is overdue. the fact is now, no city in this country can but for, accept, and put on the olympic games without significant federal support.

the clinton admistration has recognized that. i have been a long critic of the clinton administration in a number of areas. in this area, the clinton administration has stepped up to the plate and supported absolutely everything that has to be done to see the olympics are put on inappropriate -- puts on an in -- in an appropriate way. the olympics games in salt lake city in 2002 are going to be fabulous. we have the best mountains, the best snow, the best facilities. it is going to be a fabulous experience for the entire world and all americans are going to be very proud of the job the salt lake olympics organizing

committee will do in putting that on. but the organizing committee could not do it without the kind of support that has been provided by all but federal agencies who have been called upon in the various appropriation bills that have gone through. a look to the future, and anticipate the possibility that at some point, some other american city will either gain the summer games or the winter games, we should put in place the recommendatis of the gao and recognize right up front that is a national effort. it is a federal responsibility as well as a city responsibili. perform as everyther country in the world performs with respect to this particular opportunity. if we decide as a congress that

we do not want federal participation in the games, -- in the let the games, and make that decision clear. no american city can never afford the kinds of things that are required. mr. president, i think the senator from arizona for raisi this issue. for bringing this to an understanding of the importance of the recommendations and for giving me the opportunity to give the specifics about the $2 billion figure. the federal government, in fact, will spend far less than that figure, far less than $1 billion, carl less than however many hundreds of millions of dollars. i did not know the number and i do not know anybody who does. it will be less than any other

federal government has spent to bring the olympics to their host country. it demonstrates to us that we have to have the kind of planning and i think we are all moved will receive this report -- the support of our friends. i was in shock following the events of september 11.

it was the support of our friends that touched dust most deeply. i did not know -- touched us most deeply. i did not know what to expect. it was overwhelming. it was positive. on behalf of the athletes, thousands of young people around the world, on behalf of them, i moved and greatly appreciative of the leadership of our country to do everything necessary to fulfill our obligation to host safe and secure games. i am confident that what has been put in place by the secret service, and others, is a plan which is complete, comprehensive, and robust. it will minimize every possible

risk to the extent humanly possible to assure the safety of the athletes and spectators. let me turn to any questions you may have. and then we will end this brief conference. >> we are not going to talk about the money involved. with regard to the way the games will be run, we might as well turn it over to mitt romney. i think he can answer all of these questions. >> should we take a moment?

thank you. the requests are being organized by the secret service, the fbi, and the utah public safety command. they will call for additional personnel. the state of utah is contributing 2000 personnel from their current law enforcement team. the federal government has even more substantial portion of those resources, which are protecting the games, that number will increase. exact number is not something we are prepared to give you today. we have not completed all of the planning. the speaker of the house made it very clear that he wanted to see a full briefing on all the plans prepared by the respective agencies. until we have all those plans completed, we cannot give you a final figure. there is a certain amount of

financial resources that will be requested. the numbers are very small relative to the amount, which has already been appropriated by the federal government. he additional resources this small relative to that which has already been appropriated. every action will be taken that is conceivable to secure aerospace, and to secure the safety of the people. there is no specific plan with regards to federal military personnel other than that which has been requested. they're props and a number of federal troops is about 15,000. -- the approximate number of federal troops is about 15,000. i think it is likely to be some increase. the number of federal officers

and federal troops will be substantially less, a small fraction compared to those that were employed in atlanta. >> some of the security procedures might cause some inconvenience is, but it might reassure folks in salt lake city. can you go into some detail? >> i do not think you will see a substantial difference before and after september 11. we're going to insist that people do not bring large backpacks. i do not think he will see a big

difference, but originally, we told people to plan to get to a venue two hours before. we will have more personnel at the checkpoints so we can search people very thoroughly and make sure nothing inappropriate is coming into a venue. >> has there been any word about whether the faa has cleared the olympic workers? >> that is an ongoing process. many of the plans continue to be worked out with the various agencies. what we came away with today was an absolute show of support from all the people in that room to do what is essential and necessary to secure the safety of the games. the specifics of that will be worked out by the appropriate agencies and i'm confident it will be supported by the state, federal, and local departments. i think we're probably finished.

one more question? if not, thank you very much. >> if you want to get more information on his role in the 2002 winter games, but to -- go to time.com. you can watch this and all of our programming at c-span.org. >> defense secretary leon panetta speaks at a retirement and change of command ceremony for the director of the defense intelligence agency. another chance to see the report on mitt romney as ceo of the 2002 olympics in utah. tomorrow, a political roundtable on the 2012 presidential campaign with a

democratic strategist and republican strategist. an executive director of the center for responsive politics has the latest fund-raising numbers from the campaigns and super pac. the future of iraq after u.s. troops are withdrawn. "washington journal is live at 7:00 eastern on c-span. " the political parties are holding their platform hearings in the advance of their summer conventions. in mid august, republican start their platform process at their convention site in tampa, florida. c-span's coverage continues august 10 with the reform party in philadelphia. live coverage beginning monday, august 27. the democratic national convention live from charlotte,

n.c., starting monday, september 3. >> on tuesday, the ronald burgess handover directorship of the defense intelligence agency to michael flynn. he will also assume command of the joint functional component command. this change of leadership ceremony took place at a joint base anacostia. following the leadership ceremony, he will retire from the army with 30 years of service. speakers include leon panetta, martin dempsey, james clapper. this is an hour and 30 minutes.

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>> left, left.

["national anthem"] ♪

>> ladies and gentlemen, the chaplain will now give the indication.

>> would you pray with me? our heavenly father, we thank you for the privilege of pausing in the shadows of our great heritage and in the midst of the leaders of our great nation and to pray to you. it is fitting that we began this ceremony in prayer because you have been our constant help in years past and you are our hope for the future. we ask for your presence here today and for your continued guidance and protection upon our nation and upon our military men and women who were stationed around the world. we are grateful for the opportunity to recognize and honor one of your choice leaders and faithful servants, general ronald burgess. we thank you for his commitment, his dedication, and his service to our country for over 38 years. he leaves a legacy of

patriotism and sacrifice that sets an example for all of us to follow. the impact he has made on many lives in the intelligence community is evident. we its knowledge your unseen hand to this point in his life. you have provided him with wisdom and you have provided him with courage for his decisions and you have rewarded his efforts with success. father, i think you also for the priority that the general has placed on his family, the love and support of his faithful wife and the respect of his children are evidence of a life well spent. we're grateful for the dedication and commitment of the entire family to each other, to their nation, and to their god. we pray for your continued blessings as they begin a new

chapter in their lives. as general plan assumes leadership, we pray for him -- general flynn assumes leadership, we pray for him and his family. give them a servant heart and guide him for the sake of our nation. amen. >> ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. remain seated during the remainder of the ceremony unless directed otherwise. on behalf of the secretary of defense, leon panetta, the director of national intelligence, the secretary of the army, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and the commander of the united states strategic command, welcome to

today's ceremony. this morning, he witnessed the change of command for the joint functional component command. as well as the defense intelligence agency change of directorship as ronald burgess passes the mantle of leadership to lieutenant general michael flan. -- flynn. the passing of the colors is significant in many ways. the history, accomplishments are embodied -- the colors record the glories of the past, they stand guard in the present, and inspire for the future. we are honored to have him with us today actor and required -- active and retired senior

military leaders. i would also like to acknowledge the united states army brass quintets for their musical contributions to this morning ceremony. at this time, mrs. burgess is being presented with a bouquet of red roses. [applause] mrs. flynn is being presented with a bouquet of yellow roses to welcome her into the family. [applause] floors are also being presented -- flowers are also being

presented to -- [applause] ladies and gentlemen, they will not join at center stage for the change of command. as a subordinate organization, it is responsible for recommending the allocation of capabilities to satisfy high priority combatant commands and

national operational intelligence -- intelligent requirements. the director serves as the commander. by direction of the commander, michael flynn is hereby appointed commander, a joint functional component command for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. ladies and gentlemen, the commander --

[applause] >> thank you and good morning. it is my pleasure to preside over the change of command ceremony. i must say i am honored to what be the most complicated ceremony on record. i am interested to see how it is going to turn out. since 2005, jfccisr has executed the responsibility to plan, integrate, and synchronized in support of strategic and global operations. this is a responsibility we perform on behalf of all the combatant commands. the men and women have worked tirelessly to develop strategies, assess results, and

provide recommendations on the employment of assets to the secretary of defense and the president. it was purpose built to reside with and take advantage of the tremendous capabilities of our teammates in the defense intelligence agency and the director was given a second had as its commander. the alignment makes good sense. we have leverage the power and capabilities of the ida, -- dia and operational focus of the combatant commands. the dia team has successfully navigated the never-ending balancing act of the filly had finished collecting with assets cetera always in short supply. in a complex operational environment, the likes of which we have never seen before. in large measure, because of their hard work, the dod gathers

the large amounts of data. ron, thank you for being such a great member and for leading the team in such an exemplary manner. the men and women of you a debt of gratitude. mike flynn, you just put on the first of a number of hats. having multiple baucis is never easy. -- bosses is never easy. we will depend on you and your team to meet our isr needs. it is a tough challenge, but i am confident you can count on the professionals to assemble the strategies and plans to get the jobs done. welcome to united states

strategic command. good luck and i look forward to working with you. thank you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, they will now join secretary panetta at center stage. by direction of the secretary of defense, ronald burgess will relinquish the directorship of the united states defense intelligence agency. michael flynn is hereby appointed director of defense intelligence agency effective 24 july, 2012.

>> ladies and gentlemen, the secretary of defense, the hon. leon panetta. [applause] >> thank you very much tamales and townsman, distinguished leaders of the department of the defense and leaders of the united states intelligence community. it is really an honor for me to

be able to participate in this ceremony paying tribute to ron burgess and acknowledging that we having a director here, mike flynn. today, we pay tribute to ron as he retires sector 38 years of service to our nation. i am a big believer in public service to this country. as the son of italian immigrants, my parents made very clear to me the responsibility that their children had to give something back to this country which had given so much to them. in his quiet italian way, i father said, you better give

something back to this country or i will kick your ass. [laughter] so i was inspired -- [laughter] 2 public-service. and throughout my almost 40 years, i have really believed that public service and those dedicated to giving something back to this country is what america is all about. it is what keeps our democracy strong. and that is what ron burgess is all about. he is a great public servant pi. beyond that, he is a great soldier. he is a great leader. he is a great intelligence and no better, a leader in that community. and he is also a very dear friend to me and to so many in this audience. ron, you have earned your

retirement, my friend. and, ticket from may, there is life after worked -- take it from me, there is life after word. there are many who want to take a vantage of your experience and your wife will appreciate the additional income. [laughter] that is what my wife said. but i hope that you will have much more success than i did in steam retired. [laughter] -- in studying retired people -- in staying retired. [laughter] we also have the opportunity to celebrate mike flynn as he takes on the leadership role. this ceremony is about

recognizing the impressive achievements of both of these extraordinary officers. but it is equally important to pay tribute to their families. the love and support of their families has been absolutely critical and instrumental to their success. in that spirit, i would like to express my personal de thank you 2 -- personal deep thanks to been ae margota who has faithful spouse and a great mother to their five children. there is no way we could do these jobs without the love and support of our families.

that is the reality. and it is true here. and i thank you for the support that you have provided throughout these years. i know how much ron is looking forward to being able to spend more time with you and with the rest of the family. as long as that family doesn't interfere with another love of his life, which is auburn football. [laughter] let me also recognize and thank the flynn family, including mike's wife laurie and their two sons picked these are tough jobs. they demand a lot of time and a lot of commitment. and it is because of the tolerance, the patients and the love of our families that these jobs are able to be done.

so, in many ways, the families that are here are part of the larger family that represents our community, our defense community and our intelligence community. i deeply appreciate all the support that you have given to mike and to ron and the support that you will continue to provide as ron knows into retirement and as mike assumes the leadership responsibilities here at the dia. i also want to extend my gratitude to the broader dia family. the dedicated men and women of the dia, who work every day, every day and every night

without fanfare to keep our nation safe. last fall, i had the chance to join ron here and the bia community in commemorating the 50th anniversary of the defense intelligence agency's founding. it took place during the kennedy it ministration. it was especially meaningful for me because, like ron, i began my career in public service as an army intelligence officer. i served for two years, became the second lieutenant and then got the hell out. [laughter] ron survey little longer, rose to much higher rank -- ron served a little longer, rose to much higher rank, and now it is

his turn to get the hell out. it was those couple of years that i spent in the army that i recall what intelligence was like then and what intelligence is like now. when i was in the army, it was pretty much a stovepipe operation. there was very little sharing of information among the military services. if i gave any information to another service, i was subject to court martial. the reality was that there was very little of the kind of joint operations, a joint-sharing that goes on today. and coming years later, personal experience and changes had taken place with my son. i have three sons.

one of my sons was activated in the navy. and he went in as an intelligence officer in the navy. and his first post that he reported was not a navy post. he reported to fort bragg for training. and then from fort bragg, he went to bottom -- to bagram in afghanistan where he was working with the cia in an intelligence unit, working together to share information and intelligence. the landscape has changed dramatically, but it has changed for the better. dia in particular has evolved into a global agency that operates where our forces are in gauged and every -- are engaged and every point in the chain of command. military intelligence is now far

more integrated, far more effective, and more vital than ever to our ability to defend this country. and ron burgess has been instrumental in that transformation, particularly over the last decade. ron has helped bring about that fusion of military and intelligence capabilities that has really been at the heart and soul of our intelligence effort in this country and throughout the world. it has been a game changer on the battlefield. as a former director of the cia, i can personally attest to how important that military

intelligence relationship has been, the ability of the military and intelligence communities to work together has been incredibly important to protecting this country. those are the mission that i had the cia could have been accomplished without that partnership, whether it was the raid on bin laden, whether going after terrorists in yemen or somalia or north africa or wherever they are wrapped. -- they are at. intelligence and military officers and agents, people working together has been absolutely essential to our ability to accomplish that mission. and ron has been an important part of that relationship. during the time i was director of the cia, he and i would go to graduation ceremonies at

intelligence areas where we were not only educating intelligence officers, but educating military officers in intelligence capabilities. and now, as secretary of defense, there is no way i could accomplish our defense mission without the support of intelligence. there is no way. whether i am dealing with what is happening in iran, whether what is happening in syria, dealing with what is happening with regards to the middle east in general, whether we're ,ealing with north korea le whether we're dealing with pakistan were cyber war, dealing with china -- whatever challenge we are facing in today's world, it could not be done without good intelligence. and the ability to know what

others are doing and what they intend to do. has someone who depends, as i said, every day on good intelligence and on the today -- on dia critical work, i have benefited from ron's service. and it is our good fortune that we have another extremely capable officer ready to assume the mantle of leadership. mike flynn brings into this position decades of experience in military intelligence. his knowledge of the 21st century battlefield is unsurpassed. i had the opportunity to see his impressive work up close as director of the cia, a chance to see it up close when he was in afghanistan doing tremendous work there, and i have full

confidence that he is the right man to lead the more than 16,000 dedicated professionals that are here at the dia. you have had a great leader in ron verger's -- ron burgess. and now you have another great leader in mike flynn. as secretary of defense and as an american, i am deeply grateful that our department has men and women of the caliber of these two who are willing to dedicate their lives to defending the values that we cherish and the freedom that we hold so dear to our hearts. we have a lot of new and

exciting technology in the defense business. i have some of the most sophisticated systems in the world in terms of weaponry and in terms of technology. even in the intelligence world, we now have some of the most exciting new technologies that are being developed. but let me tell you something. none of that would be worth a damn were not for the good people and the good leaders who understand not only how to use that technology, but are dedicated to defending this country. may god bless them. may god bless this agency. and may god bless the united states of america. thank you. [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, the director of the intelligence agency, lt. michael t. flynn. [applause] >> before i get going with some remarks, my irish mother always uses choice words as well. when she was reminded about how many hats i was supposed to be wearing in this job, she said, well they will keep his head warm. [laughter] to begin, i want to say welcome to everyone for attending this great ceremony. the men and women of d.o.a. are

an extraordinary group of intelligence professionals. as we recognize the accomplishments of a great leader in ron burgess's service , we think of the men and women currently deployed around the world. secretary panetta, director clapper, chairman of our joint chiefs, general dempsey, general taylor, distinguished members of congress, and other civilian and military leaders, fellow agency directors, flag officers and all the members representing your senior executive service. i also want to welcome our coalition partners fanned thank each of you for being steadfast in partnership together with the united states against germany shared challenges. "the will to win means nothing without the will to prepare." as our new strategy highlights

through developing new and innovative partnerships in the coming century, we can demonstrate that we have both. again, thanks to all of you for being here today. i want to extend my sincere congratulations to the burgess family. i would also like to recognize and welcome those from the flynn family. it is about two-thirds of this row back. [laughter] the flynns, the andrewses, and my mother who i recognize a little while ago, helen plan. thank you, mom. we absolutely love you dearly. [applause]

and thomas is doing ok with those cookies. [laughter] and to each member my family, we want to thank you for taking the time of your crazy schedules. it means more than you'll ever know. and finally, to all of our friends and guests. laurie and i want to say thank you for being here. in the bittersweet tradition of military changes of command, it is important to reflect on those things that matter to us in uniform and in command. as anyone who has ever served in command knows, it is always about balancing the mission while simultaneously taking care of the people in today's very uncertain environment. stands out is the premier military intelligence agency. we ranged from our great afghanistan and pakistan task force for many of our military and civilians remain fully employed in afghanistan appeared to our counterintelligence

specialists will be deployed. to those in our race supporting our nation's rebounds for the asia-pacific basin, a space that is not only by the to the united states and our allies, but as our defense strategy highlights, it represents an increasing need for all of us to engage. and to those making possible learn newly defense service, this will change the way defense supports our were fighters and our nation around the world. as we transition further into the second decade of the 21st century, we should constantly remind ourselves of our agency's history and legacy, one in which ron burgess took to the next stage of excellence and what makes us as good as we are. that is all about our values that we live by, such as teamwork and the principles with which we operate within, such as trust. and more importantly, what makes us the best of what we do and that is all about the people in india.

dia will stand unyielding in the times of crisis as it supports our military forces and were fighting commands. dia has always responded to rapidly changing global events. it has demonstrated a amazing level of resilience. the people of dia continue to stand firm in the commitment to our nation's defense. as we transition, it is more than just changing writers here it is about using opportunity to reflect on the organization and gain a clear understanding for the changes that lie ahead. , it is partly more closely with their commanders and law enforcement agencies and our coalition partners. it is about our entire analysis system.

and distill the line from our director of national intent -- intelligence, the speed that our environment changes, it is greater than ever in the past year and how we give the necessary tools to professionals and educate our work force and how we better analyze and balance risk of understanding the challenges and opportunities and the changing nature of the threat through smartly matching our people to our science and technology capabilities. dia and the people within it stand above all others around the world that are recognized both for their professionalism and their steadfast readiness to step up in support of our nation regardless of the adversity and challenges we face i will continue -- we face. dia remains a keystone with in

our defense department and is a vital member of our overall security structure. thank you to you for this terrific opportunity. it is an absolute honor to be standing here today parent thank you to the many leaders and members who made it possible for me to stand here as well. and, thank you to ron burgess and entire family. you leave a lasting legacy of devoted service. laurie and i are excited about the years and months ahead. thank you again for attending this morning's ceremony. thank you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the departure of the secretary of the department of

defense. ♪ >> please be seated. ladies and gentlemen, the director of national intelligence. [applause] >> as the secretary departs, so does his share. [laughter] this is a very difficult ceremony for me in many ways. giving up mike flynn and saying goodbye to ron burgess overlay the fact that, as a former director of the dia, this is a very -- this is very special to me.

so i am honored and privileged to be part of this. many recall the famous article mike flynn wrote called "a blueprint for making intelligence relevant" which is one of the reasons that brought mike odni to fix all of the intelligence issues he had been complaining about. [laughter] my dad served in the army for 28 years. you take the guy who complains about the challenge the mess hall and you make him the mess hall officer. i could not be more pleased with all that mike did atodni. our partners, alleys and -- our partners, allies and friends are well represented here today. those in the private sector and

in the academic circles are really the key to making intelligence integration really happen. there is no doubt in my mind that mike, who has been a legend in the army since his earliest days when you is known as the second lieutenant who went to grade on his own, would exceed all expectations -- went to granada on his own, would exceed all expectations. and he did. many congratulations to them and to this great agency. yesterday, ron burgess attended his last executive committee meeting with me and the 16 leaders of the intelligence community. so we shared some great stories about him and it got, as such occasions to, in a little emotional. i found out that the army finally gets to retire the polyester green uniforms now that ron is retiring. [laughter] [applause]

as you all know and as has been eloquently attested to already, ron has had a very, very distinguished career spanning almost four decades. but i like to fast forward him to the time when he was a brand new three-star general in the office of the director of national intelligence, standing about seven years ago. ron was offered the job of what was called the ddni for customer out comes parents requirements. how's bill that he said, "it sounded a bit thereforey -- it sounded a bit airforcey, but i decided to give it a try." i imagine that air forcey is a

compliment. [laughter] despite the strange title, he was basically the chief of staff for the office of director of national intelligence. already next four years, he also served about a year-and-a-half of the time as the acting principal deputy of the and i -- of dni. i am understand that dia had a town hall where a woman was signing for the hearing impaired. he proudly claims that was the only time necessary to sculpt a body that was "i can be -- "eye candy" like his. [laughter]

the woman who was signing made the hourglass symbol with your hands to represent "eye candy." the mayor may not know that mike was a general night -- a jedi knight. this is evidence that, behind his southern boy demeanor, there is a razor sharp intellect. and because of his interest in education, i really appreciated ron taking the lead in professional education for the entire intelligence community, transitioning what had been the national intelligence college to what is now the national intelligence university. that is especially impressive when you consider the advice to his own children going to college when he said, it is only a lot of reading if you do it." [laughter] more seriously, ron made a huge

difference at dia, as has already been characterized in some ways. yesterday, for example, we presented ron with a special award recognizing his leadership in fostering equal opportunity and diversity, not only at dia, but as the role model leadership for the entire community. and that is a richly deserved recognition and it is exemplary of ron's superb leadership. and yes, as secretary panetta pointed out, dia has been a significant supporter of operations and was also in the takedowns operation a year ago last may, something which i do thinkdia -- i don't think dia has appropriately gotten the credit it deserves. he is known for his many colorful phrasings. some from the army and some i believe from growing up in north

carolina and alabama. my favorite is "running naked down the street ringing a gong" is a picturesque image. another is "oy is rest is something that has been a dream about." she moved around the world with him with five amazing kids whom she home schooled and peugeot is convinced that -- and she always convinced that pcsing was -- i will finish with one last inspirational memorable thing you say. "first, get it right, then get it first." you and marta clearly did that.

you will be missed and i am glad you're anot going to far away. you will always be part of the family and we will undoubtedly be calling on you for something down the road. but make sure that when you do call on you is not on thanksgiving weekend. everyone in the intelligence community knows that the burgess family will be watching the football game. now, on behalf of the intelligence community, it is my great honor to bestow upon you the national intelligence distinguished medal of honor. if you will join me appear. >> ladies and gentlemen, presenting the distinguished medal to general british -- general burgess. he is hereby awarded the national intelligence

distinguished medal in extraordinary contributions from may 1974 to july 2012. during his distinguished 38-year career, lieutenant-general burgess was a driving force in the department of defense and the united states intelligence community, providing exceptional leadership and broad strategic vision that contributed to the safeguarding of our national security interests. and every position of increased trust and responsibility, lieutenant general burgess guided outcomes that strengthen our national and military intelligence capabilities during some of the most challenging periods in our nation's history. his unyielding dedication to duty, selfless devotion to our country, and unparalleled personal drive were instrumental in transforming defense intelligence into a cooperative enterprise to better serve national policymakers, combatant commanders and were fighters. lieutenant general burgess's

distinguished accomplishments reflect the highest credit upon himself, the defense intelligence agency, and the intelligence community appeared signed h.r. clapper jr., national intelligence. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the ceremony will now continue with the retirement of lieutenant general burgess, beginning with remarks by the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff general martin dempsey. . [applause] >> thank you very much. ron, there is no truth to the rumor that come if we can stretch this ceremony beyond noon, that your retirement percentage goes up. [laughter] this is the defense intelligence

agency, so i will pose to a profound question. what do a yellow school bus, a dinosaur, a helicopter, and a motorcycle have in common? you cannot answer that question, but thomas can because that is the array of toys that confronts me as i look over the podium. [laughter] and i will be fascinated later to find out how the combination of toys fixed together -- toys fit together. much has already been said to commander ron for his accomplishments, but i will echoed just a few of those comments. ron, in the defense and national intelligence community, you have clearly been something referred to as a leader of consequence and a champion to those who would be placed in harm's way around the globe. you chose a difficult path early in your career at a time of great transition for our nation. we're fellow members of york -- of your group 1974, so we

experienced that * particular challenges. the force we entered was exhausted by vietnam, budgets were in decline in the emerging threats for shattered what would be dramatically changed post- cold war security environment. much of your career has been hidden from the public's eyes, even sometimes from those of your family. you worked behind the scenes at every level of leadership across multiple agencies, commands, and crazies to give our nation's best the critical information that they needed with the speed, precision and accuracy that the required. instinctively, you understood that the main security environment full of challenges and surprises, adaptation and flexibility are the keys to success. you consistently led organizations in ways that have strengthened them and produce simply outstanding results. your insights from leading army and joint intelligence operations at south, and j.

soccer around the world paid dividends a decade later when it became central to our success in iraq and afghanistan. your leadership allow us to better join with allies and ultimately to keep americans safe at home and abroad. and more importantly, you never forgot, as secretary panetta reminds us, that intelligence is fundamentally about people. men and women, military and civilians, serving here and in harm's way. throughout your career, you set the example for your people and you inspired their confidence. you gave them the right tools, pushed them for, and then you got out of their way so they could do their best work and they certainly have. i know you leave here today confident that your successor, lt. general mike flynn, shares these same traits and he, too, will extend the momentum you have established here.

mike, uri gifted professional and leader. truly, there is no better choice for the director of this agency to take the mantle and carry it on with the extraordinary professionalism that has always been exhibited. it is good to see you again. mike, you have been set up for success and you and laurie will be fantastic command team for the men and women and the families of the defense intelligence agency. braun, beyond your remarkable leadership, we honor york 38 years as a truly great soldier and family man. will rogers once said that only men could ever really hope to do in life is leave the woodpile in little higher than he found it. you certainly let their profession both better and higher than you found it. marta, i want to extend as well my gratitude for your rock

steady support and especially for the family you have raised. everybody here has said something with connection with auburn university. i would like to highlight that there is a young auburn university army today. let's give them a round of applause. [applause] so, ron, your ability to connect with families across our force and even those with unique and special missions has truly been inspirational. we thank you. and i offer our special sacrifice for your -- special thank you for your sacrifice seven years. we're proud of your service, too. ron and the burgess family, on behalf of the entire joint force, thank you for 38 years of extraordinary service to our nation. while many will truly never know the details of your journey, the american people are grateful for all you have done.

good luck, godspeed, and importantly, god bless you and the great nation we serve. [applause] >> lieutenant general burgess will now join general dempsey at center stage. please remain seated as general dempsey presents the distinguished service medal to lieutenant-general burgess. the citation reads lieutenant- general ron burgess jr., distinguished by superior service while serving as the 17th director the set -- defense intelligence agency, from march 2009 to july 2012, drawing upon his exceptional leadership skills, and it changed and uncertainty, and lieutenant general burgess focus the agency on the greatest challenges confronting united states, including afghanistan and

pakistan, iraq, iran, national terrorism and surprise elsewhere around the globe appeared in doing so, lieutenant general burgers redefined the d i a possibility and demonstrated the agency's ability to serve and support contingency operations in crises pin he consistently guided outcomes that strengthen our national and military capabilities and his helpless devotion to duty and unparalleled personal drive have been instrumental in transforming defense intelligence into a cooperative enterprise. through his distinctive accomplishments, he culminates a distinguished 38-year career in the service of our nation and reflects great credit upon himself, the united states army, the defense intelligence agency and the department of defense. [applause]

>> bair order the secretary of the army, lieutenant general ronald phil burgess jr. is retired from the united states army effective september 1, 2012 after more than 38 years of faithful and honorable service. [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, general dempsey will now provide a certificate of appreciation which reads "the extent you my personal thank s for your contribution of honorable service to our country. you have helped maintain the security of our nation during a critical time in its history with a devotion to duty and a spirit of sacrifice in keeping with the proud tradition of military service. your commitment and dedication have been an inspiration for those who will follow in your footsteps and for all americans to join me today in saluting you for a job extremely well done. my best wishes to you for happiness and success in the future, signed barack obama, commander in chief." [applause]

>> general dempsey will now present the certificate of retirement to lieutenant general burgess. it reads -- [laughter] "to all who chelsea these prisons, greetings. this is to certify that lieutenant general ron l. burgess jr., having served faithfully and honorably has been retired from the in a states army on the first of september, 2012, general of united states army chief of staff." [laughter] [applause] >> can i sit down now? [laughter] >> ladies and gentlemen, the

secretary of the army, the hon. john mcewan. [applause] >> mrs. burgess will now join secretary q at center stage. >> server kerry mcewan will now award mrs. burgess the citation that reads as follows -- "the certificate is awarded to mrs. marta burgess for 38 years of distinguished service, taking care of united states military families and being the consummate advocate for numerous quality of life initiatives in the programs on behalf of our uniformed servicemembers in the department of the army and defense civilians. your care and compassion have

significantly enhanced families and a great credit on yourself and the department of the army." [applause] >> mrs. burgess will now receive the department of the army's certificate of appreciation. [applause]

ladies and gentlemen, lieutenant general ronald l. burgess jr. [applause] >> well, good morning. this morning, i was doing my normal routine in an earlier -- my normal routine. in an earlier ceremony, i was described as a gym rat. a lot of folks were coming by, kind of interrupting my normal routine. [laughter] but i didn't mind the fact that they were interrupting my normal routine. what i minded was that nobody was referring to me as "eye candy." [laughter] however, one of my female employees came up to me and kind

of hit it on the head. she said, "sir, you are in the year army career the way you began it, by doing pt." [laughter] it struck me that she was right and that i used to open my remarks everywhere all the time with "it is a great day to be in the army." secretary panetta, who has departed, director clapper, secretary mccue, general dempsey, general taylor, congressman rodgers, the hon. john negroponte, the hon. mi mcconnell, undersecretary vickers, general short, hon. stephanie o'sullivan, the general keith alexander who has thrown into the bus by not wearing this uniform -- [laughter] distinguished guests, fellow

flagon general officers, the dia advisory board, intelligence colleagues, friends, family members and most importantly, the men and women of dia, welcome and thank you for joining us here today. each and every one of you here today honor myself, my family, and the professionals of this agency. secretary panetta, who has departed, honored this with his presence and i remain grateful and honored for the opportunity to have worked with and for the secretary over the last few years. his lifetime of service truly reflects the very best of this nation's highest ideals and the american people are most fortunate that he is leading the department during this very challenging time in our history. as i told him earlier, he sets a very high bar for others to

emulate as they look at service , caring, and compassion. director clapper, the men and women of dia and the intelligence community recognize and greatly respect your unmatched lifetime in the intelligence profession. we also appreciate your intelligence experience and the expertise that you bring. thank you for your strong leadership, your loyal friendship, and your service to this nation. also, dia has been very fortunate to have your steadfast support over these many years. thank you, sir. secretary mccue, sir, you also honors with your presence today parent thank you for your stewardship and leadership of army during this particular moment in our nation's history. general dempsey, we are greatly honored by your presence here and your participation today. as a former joint chiefs of

staff, i have a firsthand appreciation of the demands on your time. supporting you in its budget -- and the joint chiefs of staff is one of the agency's most important missions and we greatly appreciate the very high standard that you have set for the high-quality intelligence that you need as a chairman. thank you, sir. general taylor, sir, as dark were fighting boss, thank you for taking time -- as our were fighting boss, thank you for taking the time to be here. you have provided the resources and guidance we needed to support this department in commanders in a time of unrelenting demand appeared thank you and i have appreciated your friendship over the years. there are far too many distinguished guests in this audience today for me to recognize everyone here. but there are a couple that i will mention. congressman rodgers, i saw you sitting out there. sir, thank you very much.

as the chairman of the house select committee on intelligence, i have very much appreciate the way that you have let your committee during your time as the chairman. you have a losing courage frank -- you have always encouraged frank and honest discourse. you always called it as you saw them. we have not always agreed. but that is the duty of our system. thank you for your support and your friendship. general shores, i told you i would call you out. -- john l. schwartz, i told you i would call you out. -- general schwarts, i told you i would call you out. i was able to work with you when we worked together on the joint chiefs of staff. you were the j three and i was the day to end wanted to know that it was an honor and pleasure to work with you and i

felt good every day when i can introduce myself as the j32. [laughter] sir, it has been a professional privilege to work with you over these years. i also want to thank the former directors of this intelligence agency who were with us today. i have been both guided and inspired by your service and remain deeply grateful for the advice and counsel that you have given me over the years. and i look forward to your collective wisdom as i take my position among white director clapper has affectionately referred to as the ranks of geezerdom. [laughter] a special thank you to my guys record. each of you brought special insight -- a special thank you to my advisory board. each of you brought special insight. i have been a better director because of your advice and counsel.

to the men and women of dia here and around the globe, thank you for your highly professional service to the nation. serving as director of this agency has been a great honor and a profound personal privilege. entrusted as your with some of the nation's most important and sensitive missions, you rise to the daily challenges and come in so doing, demonstrate the highest standards of selfless public service. to my family, my wife, marta, and my five children and their families, thank you each for being here today and extended members of the family that have joined us today. thank all of you for your support for the last 38 years. all that i have done or achieved since my commissioning

in 1974 i owe to you. [applause] fidefate you for that the spontaneous clapping moment. [laughter] i owe everything to your love coming to your patience, to your tireless support in your strength. like all military families the world over, you serve as well. and every step of the way, have been inspired by your faith in me and the value of our shared service. as you can tell, with the input

i am getting from the site over there -- [baby gaggling] just like all soldiers in their last day in uniform, even, yes, mary, as it goes off to the museum -- [laughter] i am proud to have more in this uniform in service to my nation. i remain deeply humbled by the trust placed in your the years by the army, the department of the defense, and the intelligence community. at the same time, however, i am amazed by time's passage, how quickly almost four decades have passed. for those of us of a certain age, time has a different quality. for my -- from my commissioning at auburn university to today is like a blink of an eye. since 1974, the army has provided me the opportunity of a

lifetime and a lifetime of opportunities. the army i leave today come as their chairman said, is not the same army that some of us joined in 1974. while those for decades have passed quickly, it has been a long journey for our army. severely challenged after vietnam, rebuilt during the latter half of the cold war, victorious in desert storm, and never has it shown more strength than during the long fight since the terrorist attacks of 2001. 1974 really was a good year. as has been mentioned, i am joined by others in the audience to join their career that year. the current chairman, director petraeus are 1974 grads. keith alexander has been mentioned to is a 19 senate for grad.

-- is a 1974 grad. we named ourselves the three amigos. we did that as we tried to work together to make intelligence for the army relevant. we tried to continue with several in this on it -- what several in this audience did. some former cia directors i have already mentioned, the thomases that are here today, lieutenant general retired new need, just to name a few. others will have to decide whether we were successful in advancing that. as an army officer, i have had the opportunity to serve exclusively in the joint world, at u.s. southern command, the joint special operations command, the joint staff, the officer director of national intelligence, and now here at dia. no matter the agency, the office

or command, i have been able to see the powerful affirmation in legacy of the goldwater nichols act of 1986. and then along came a irtpa. i soon found myself among a team of intelligence leaders, uniformed and civilian, charged with building a national-level intelligence organization based upon that law. it was an interesting time for a guy who went to the air war college just to be close to auburn football. i work -- i learned a lot about the capabilities and limitations of this entity that we call an ic, or an intelligence community. the outstanding leadership of negroponte, blair, and no clapper, more progress and reform have been made than many

thought possible. i especially zoey debt of gratitude to directors negroponte and mcconnell. i serve as their principal deputy director at the dni longer than some would care to remember. sirs, to both of you, thank you for allowing me to serve beer and thank you for giving me the freedom to do what we thought was right. and thank you for the example of selfless service that each of you exemplified over your many years of service to this great nation. you know, it always looks easy after the fact. but when you are up to your neck the day to day, often, all you see is the difficulty and the ambiguity. but we kept at it and we continue to make progress one day at a time, whether it is goldwater nichols or intelligence reform. it is a marathon, as we say, not a sprint.

that is the nature of public service. whether you wear a green uniform or whether you wear a business suit. and it puts a great premium of clarity -- premium on clarity, commitment and integrity. and that brings me to the final point in my talk. in the intelligence business, integrity is everything. it applies during peacetime and war. at all echelons, from the scott base to the oval office, good intelligence does make a difference. sometimes, it is the difference. the majority of us here today have seen that happen. but unfortunately, some have also seen where intelligence falls short. no matter the circumstances and no matter your rank and position, one valley matters most in the intelligence business -- one value matters most in the intelligence

business. we have to tell all leaders at every echelon what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. we have been non negotiable obligation to the american people to call it the way we see it. i think ronald reagan said it best in his words chiseled in stone outside the front of this building when he said, "it is not enough, of course, simply to collect information. thoughtful analysis is vital to sound decision making. the goal of our intelligence family can be nothing short of the truth, even when that truth is unpleasant or unpopular." it will always be easy, but it is the right thing to do. i believe the men and women of the defense and intelligence agency know that and it guides them in their service and in their decisions. what guides this agency and its professionals every day is the understanding that, while much of what we do is secret, our

work is and forever shall be public trust. and it is a trust that we must earn an new every day. i have seen that in every day for the last three years. that is why, on this day, there is no place that i would rather conclude my service then here at this agency. i could not be more proud than to have served here and contributed to this agencies critical worldwide mission. during our agency's 50th anniversary last october, which was a moment of self affection for the agency, not self congratulation, i was pleased to join another in recognizing this agency's performance since 9/11 as its finest hour. led by veteran intelligence professionals, we have seen a new generation of intelligence professionals make back-to-back declines to the war zone and conduct analysis.

never before has dia contributed that volume and caliber of intelligence to policy-makers said the defense and national levels. and it signals the agency's positive direction that even more can be done and will be done to take this agency to even greater heights. like any old soldier, i leave this agency thinking about its future. however, i take great comfort and find reassurance in handing the directorship over to lieutenant colonel mike flynn. mike has proven himself people to any challenge put before him, both in peace and in war. he and his wife lori are well- prepared based on their many years of service to lead this agency forward. marta and i wish both of you the very best as you embark on this latest endeavor and adventure together. godspeed.

over the past week or so, as i have gathered my thoughts about this agency and my own career, i focused on the things that mattered most to me over my 38- year career. service, friends, family, and my faith. and so, i and my career deeply humble than with some much to be grateful for. grateful for the friendship and support from some in this room today, grateful to have learned from some any great leaders that are represented here today, and to have had the opportunity to leave some of this -- lead some of this nation's greatest troops and intelligence professionals. grateful to have been granted the opportunity to wear the uniform of the united states army and to serve this great nation. but above all else, i remain grateful for a family and friends that have and will

continue to love me, pray for me, and support me in spite of myself. thank you reached for being here today. thank you for taking time out of your schedules and spending time with us. may god continue to bless our nation and continue to bless those who serve in harm's way. thank you. [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing as we sing "god bless america." and remain standing during the departure. ♪ ♪ god bless america, land that i

love ♪ stand beside her and guide her through the night with a light from above ♪ from the mountains to the prairies to the oceans white with foam , my homess america sweet home ♪ god bless america, my home sweet home ♪

♪ from the mountains to the prairies foamthe oceans white with america -- god bless america ♪ my home sweet home americaess home, sweet home ♪ ♪ america

[applause] ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing for a few moments we allow members and their families to proceed. the man -- proud to have served with lieutenant-general burgess and wishes his family got speed. this concludes today's ceremony. please join us in the conference center located to my right for refreshments as we welcome lieutenant general and mrs. flynn. for those who wish to bid farewell to lieutenant general burgess, he and mrs. burgess

will be located at the south entrance corridor to my left. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ [applause] >> let me repeat, please. please remain in place for a few moments to allow our

distinguished guests and family members to form the proceeding line. the men and women of the defense intelligence agency and the component command for intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance are proud to have served with lieutenant general burgess and wish him and his family got speed in their future endeavors in this concludes today's ceremony. please join us in the conference center located to my right for refreshments as we welcome lieutenant general and mrs. flynn. for those who wish to bid farewell to lieutenant-general burgess, he and mrs. burgess will be located at the south entrance corridor to my left. thank you. >> defense secretary leon panetta travels to the middle east next week. he plans to meet with the jets' new president and defense minister about their political transition. his first stop will be in tunisia and he is expected to travel to israel and jordan.

his final stop on his overseas trip is poland on tuesday. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> next, c-span examines the work of mitt romney as ceo of the 2002 olympics in utah. then another chance to see defense secretary leon panetta at the retirement and change of command ceremony for the director of the defense intelligence agency. after that, i house hearing on the sequesters impact on the defense department's civilian work force. >> it was clear that, when and that it amendment was ratified, the death penalty was not considered to be prohibited. indeed, the death penalty existed in all the states and was the only penalty for a felony. so for somebody today to say that somehow the american people have prohibited the

states by ratifying the constitution, they have to the states from applying the death penalty, i don't know where this comes from. the american people never voted for any such thing. >> antonin scalia reflects on over 25 years on the bench and interpreting legal documents in his latest "reading law" sunday at 8:00 p.m. on c-span "q&a." >> mitt romney was president and ceo of the 2002 salt lake city winter olympic games, from 1999 to 2002. as the 2012 olympic games get underway, we look back at the role in lobbying congress for funding for the 2002 games. this is an hour and 40 minutes. is an hour 40 minutes. [applause] [applause] >> thank you fellow citizens of the united states and great

citizens of washington, d.c. we are thrilled to join together with the olympic torch arriving here and recognize what it represents, the different people it means different things. recognizing what it represents a writ to different people it means different things. the torch and that claim have always been for peace. the also stand for the passion, the fire that burns within the hearts in -- of the olympians. it is the will of a young athlete and so forth. it is also this year taking on greater meeting. a more pround sense. it is a place where we look to suggest that humanity and civilization go forward. that we affirm the greatness of our land and of the nations that come together to support our land in a time of need. the theme of our games is written on the side of the court itself -- it says light the fire with an. -- the torch itself.

it says light the fire within. the flame will come from within the glass. these young athletes and heroes across our country that are fighting for freedom today, these individuals are epitomized by this torch and the symbolism of the light within. behind you, you can see the lincoln monument. it is our hope as a nation that as this porch goes across this great land, that it will kindle with enough the same passion, the same fire, the same love of country, the same affirmation of civilization that it has kindled in people across the globe. thank you for being here, thank you for this great opportunity to be part of this event this evening. salt lake city lookforward to welcoming you in 2002.

>> the comments of mitt romney at the -- at the olympic torch ceremony 10 years ago marking the start of the 2002 winter games. now as the summegames get underway later this week, we wanted to look back at the 2002 games and the role mitt romney played it in salt lake city. we have a story available online titled "the real story of romney's olympic turnaround." he joins uis on the phone. he assumed theow responsibility in 1999 to take on the role of ceo and president of the salt lake city organizing committee. >> mitt romney came in relative late in preparations r the olympics. in late 1998, a scandal broke out related to allegations of peddling that senior members of salt lake's organizing committee tried to woo the games into

awarding salt lake games by giving them lavish gifts. the value of which total over $1 million. senior executives launched a search to bring in a turnaround specialist who could prop up public confidence and restore the appearance of integrity and s business acumen to sway sponsors who might be poised to leave and rehabilitate the budget. romney was their choice. he joined the organizing committee in february of 1999. >> there was opposites -- competition in utah, jon huntsman who also ran for president this year, and was also being considered. >> speaking with some of the people will launch the that search, they considered about 10 candidates. jon huntsman was one of the names that surface. bonnie came to the top of the

list fairly early on. -- mitt romney came to the top of the list fairly early on. even his critics, the ones who have misgivings about certain elements of his performance, nobody said he did not do an excellent job in shepherding the games to a successful conclusion. >> there is a question you posed in the time magazine piece -- how much credit should mitt romney receive for the success of the 2002 winter games? how do you answer that? >> even those are critical of his comments about the games will it knowledge he did a very good job. he inherited the games at a precarious moment when public confidence had cratered and sponsors were on the cusp of exiting because they did no want their names to be tarnished by association with the games that have come to be tarnished by scandal. so romney had a multi part

task. he had to woo public opinion and bring in people and bring this apparatus to a successful conclusion. by any measure, he deserves quite a lot of credit. the criticism that is lost -- lodged by people who are not so hot on his performance as he embellish the scale of problems to make himself seem as a savior. this was an event that you saw had been preparing for and saw for a long time. a lot of people were invested in its success. people sit romney has used this moment as the cornerstone of his case to be able to manage the presidency. >> he writes about this in his

book which you attribute to your piece. >> it is a fascinating piece because it gives you a peek at the type of culture romney values as a leader in the way he runs a large organization. talked about the need to bring in the right people and and still this culture of shared sacrifice. this culture of levity. he talks about starting meetings with jokes and having group retreats to bud morales. so turnaround is an interesting book in a number of ways. talks about his efforts to go to washington and make sure the federal government has allocated enough funds for the games to come off well. >> we will hear from mitt romney you spoke of the national press club prior to the start of the 2002 winter games and some of the debates that took place here in washington with the funding of the winter games coming after the tragedy of 9/11.

in your piece, this is a pivotal time in his life. somebodyho turned from politics back to business after he lost a senate race in massachusetts and then back to politics after the games concluded. correct the olympics -- but the olympics, this was the origins of mitt romney's reputation as a turnaround artist. he had been extremely successful at that the business. and here in full public view in the wake of a majorational tragedy. he was charged with taking this national of that -- national event. he presided over a complex organization. restructuring was a major task and he did so well. he is certainly entitled to cite this as being one of this -- the elemen that prepares him to

lead the country. whether or not is it -- it is a direct correlation, the skills involved at the olympics, where they would translate to the white house is perhaps another matter. >> we are talking with alex altman. we will see mitt romney this week at the start of the summer games, a guest of the international olympic committee. give us a sense of what we can expect and how this will play out with his presidential campaign. >> it is a tricky balancing act. it is a victory lap of sorts. he will likely want to use the tenure anniversary to draw attention -- use the ten year anniversary to draw attention to his success a decade ago. and a horse that ann romney co- owns will be competing. they have been using the horse as an avatar of the romney

wealth. he will probably want to minimize the degree to which he is lumped into those types of narratives. >> what did you learn about mitt romney, his role in the winter games and how he would govern if elected president? >> i think what he offers in his memoir about the games offers a revealing look into the way he manages organization. he talks a lot about bringing in people he trusts. from that we can probably extrapolate and think about the types of people he would bring into an organization if you is able to win at the white house. and the degree of scandal that rocked the game in preparations and the complex task is to put on an international show. >> one of those responsibilities -- to get

funding shortly after the 9/11 tragedy's. >> when romney came to the job, lots of money had already been earmarked. there were hundreds of millions of dollars in direct funding. over $1 billion overall. romney himself spent a considerable amount of time working with a democratic lobbyist, his point person who was on his way to capitol hill the 9/11 when the plane hit the pentagon. in his role, he had to ensure that tngs were allocated to the games could be carried off. it was a function that drew criticism on the campaign trail when rick santorum and some other allies noted that romney secured congressional earmarks to carry out that role. if you consider it within the

prism of the job he had at the time, that was part of duty. >> thank you for giving us perspective into this story. it is available on-line. the real story of the turnaround at time.com. two years prioro the winter games in 2000, mitt romney was here in washington address in the national press conference. >> thank you for help in organizing this meeting and help in getting me here. i appreciate the banks -- opportunity to speak with you although i am intimidated by this group, i have to admit. i am reminded of the famous advice given to a senator who asked if he had any advice about what you should say when appearing before a congressional committee. the senator is repeated to have said there are three rules -- do not try to be funny, do not lie , and what ever you do, do not blurt out the truth.

i anticipate i will violate the rule today. the truth is, the olympics is really not about what most people who try and win the games think it is about. my guess is that when mothers and fathers of salt lake city with thinking about getting the games here, they had visions of economic development. incremental tax revenues, tourist attractions, corporate relocations and so forth that would come to the city. i am sure there is some element of truth to that and i am sure that motivates countries and cities like sydney, australia, who are spending in excess of $5 billion to bring the games to their country. a population of only 18 million in australia. most of that money being spent by the federal government. i have to justify that kind of investment on the basis of tourism, growth and so forth.

there really are some economic benefits and they can be tallied. there are incremeal revenues and foreign exchange and benefits, physical sport legacies and an argument can be made that the growth trajectory that a city may have had prior to the games accelerates after the games. place like calgary have been an analysis of that. they think it has stimulated their growth as an informant. but if you think the olympics is primarily about money, you are likely to be sorely disappointed. in the case of japan, remember that fabulous of venue they built? it was that speed skating rin i do not know if you know how big a speed skating rink is. when you see it on tv, you think it is happening on a relatively small piece of ice with are going so fast, it is a big piece of ice. you can put to hockey rinks

inside the oval plus stands. the building in japan costs $300 million to construct. that was left after the games but i understand today that builng is being used as a free-market. retailers in atlanta who anticipated that when the atlanta games came to their city and enormous skyrocket i their sales but actually sales declined during the olympics. i am convinced the olympics does make sense economically long term for a community but i am also convinced that is not what a community should consider hosting the olympic winter games or the summer games. there is another alternative, and another reason people think about. the olympics is about branding to a certain extent or defining a community. when iit branding, what do i mean? when i was a kid, occasionally i would get a sip of rc coca-cola

and coca-cola. they tasted different. i cannot tell you today which one tasted bette they tasted different. but coca-cola made a massive investment to associate their brand of product with things people like meike. athletes, sports,itality, even polar bears today. somehow by virtue of those associations, more of us wanted to become a code could trigger -- a coke drinker. that branding investment is something they have placed billions of dollars behind er those years. places are also branded. when an individual thinks about where should i buy a product from, they think about the place it is coming from and the people that make it. when they think about should read this article on the internet that comes from this country are this place, they think about the integrity of that place. when it think about who they

will do business doeth -- with, they think about the brand of that community and that country. that somehow infects everything they are doing. you can say surely so lake city, utah, and the united states is well blended that we do not need to think about what the olympics does to our brand. but in the corporate world, corporations have for some time recognized that you continue to invest in your brand and over time you want to make it stronger and stronger or it can be kay. in the case of a coca-cola, is there anyone in the world who was not tried coca-cola or does not know what it is? yet coca-cola is spending, like many other corporations, $50 million to become a sponsor of the winter olympic games that we are hosting. to associate their brand with it -- with the power of those athletes. that $50 million is just the sponsorship costs.

it does not begin to account for the money they will spend to spot -- to publicize that sponsorship. the people of america and utah and salt lake city will see their brand associated with the olympic movement and that is something the olympics does. we have not gotten off to a great start, have way, and terms of building the power of the positive image of our brand? by virtue of the scandal with the winning of the bid. money in branding are part of the olympics but in my view, they are not at the heart of what the olympics is about. the olympics is the most effective platform for celebrating character on the world stage. the libyans -- the olympians are real heroes in the reveal their

heroism to our kids and the world. when there are olympic moments memorialized in the psyche of the wod population which affect how we think about ourselves and others, they inspire us. the lift us as a nation, towards peace and other notable endeavors. i remember a meeting about a young athlete who was going to the olympics. he was promoted as a hopeful to win a medal. that was in 1984. he came in fourth, only one place away from being on the podium. in the culture and i grew up in in -in, there was a sense that if first you do not succeed, move on. but he went back and said i will try it again. four more years with massively grueling trailing -- training and he again went to the games. this time favorite to win. he did not win in part because

on the day of his first race, his sister died of leukemia and that so affected him that he was perhaps unable to fulfill his dream. four years later, heent to the games again, practicing, making every effort possible. again picked as an almost sure thing. he came in fourth and 26. then to the next olympics he goes. his fourth olympic games, he finally won his gold. i have met dan jansen now. he was in my office. we talked. i listened to speak to audiences and he does not understand that he is a hero. he does not understand what it is about him that makes people look at him with such respect. in some respects, i think when you think about competition and the spirit of competition, the passion to win, and when you think about perseverance and the will that he represents, they

are introduced to him that he does not even recognize them for what they are. -- so intrinsic to him that he did not even recognize them for what they are. people like dan inspire and lift. the fire and passion that they see in dan is ignited in our hearts. have you seen that video of kerri strug? that wonderful jim is in atlanta. on her first fault she took a d landing and tore her ankle perishable leave that for the u.s. to win the team dal in gymnastics, it was essential for her to vault again. she runs down the course to that vault, leaps up, goespside down and then does one of those stick landings, primarily on one leg. you have seen that, perhaps. i have seen it time and again.

that is with the video and typically. the other night, i saw the video after those frames. she falls to the ground and roles in a ball of pain, west in her leg. kerri said when i landed that landing and ran down that track, i felt pain 100 times more severe than i had ever felt at any time in my life. i look at kerri and i think millions of young people in the world look at her and see someone who is a model of sacrifice, of dedication, of commitment to restore, commitme to herself, a commitment to he teammates and to our country. these kinds of olympic moments lift as as a nation, let us as a world. i do not know if anyone in this room was aware of what was going on during the time of hitler's games in munich in the 1930's

but you have certainly seen the footage of jesse owens tried to qualify. both times his tell what over the start line and he was about to be disqualified on his last and final jump. his german archrival went out and said here is my towel, i will lay it down 1 foot behind the official dump line. when you see my towel, a jump again. he did that. jesse don't. later on, he won the gold medal. the first person to greet him a congratulate him withis german rival who became a lifelong friend. the message that those athletes give to the world is that racism has no place in the human family. that we are brothers and sisters, all. it messes which would be lost upon the years of the

the real meaning of competition and peace. i compare the message of the olympics with what my kids get in their diet. in every medium they touch, they say that look is celebrated above preparation. dacey that these rises above hard work. gratification excels and violence is more interesting than charity. winning comes above the rules or respect or sportsmanship and money comes about everything. to many people in our world, there convince the world of sport is primarily about money -- about money. dacey owners and athletes

competing for the billions in broadcast and sponsor revenues th seem like spoils. in some cases the story of some of our most premier athletes lives could be aropriate britain with an adding machine. the currency of an olympian's scored career is character. it is integrity, hard work, commitment, and sacrifice. it is ambition, passion for the sport, faith, respect for others, stability, peace abity, even love. it is a spirit of pioneering. our ancestors pioneered this country by discovering new boundaries of physical space. we do that as we go into outer space. these olympians are pioneers in that they discover on trees of the spirit. there modern pioneers.

and the fire that burns ignites in each of us. this is something i have a problem contemplating. over to 0.5 billion people watched the opening ceremonies of the atlanta summer games. we will have to a billion watch our games in zoelllick city. one-third to one-half of the world population will watch these games. there will be 3500 athletes and officials but how many media members come to sell like to report these games and take the message to the world? 9000. there will be other thousands that we cannot give accreditatn to who will be there. the event and the experiences shared will have 700 heads of state and diplomats who come to the games. this is the impact, why so many are touched by the fire of these

olympic moments. i am often asked whether the olympics are worth the massive investment and with the federal government. -- shoulde playing any role in helping finance some part of the games and the federal government provid anti-terrorist and public safety funding and mon. the largest area which is providing transportation. this was -- so they can get to the venues and we spendundreds of billions of dollars to enforce peace the world. it was appropriate to demonstrate piece of the world. we did not get the games on a regular basis. we have not had the olympic winter games in 20 years in this country. i would not be surprised if we get another witn 20 years. their enormous and the impact they have on the children of this country and the children of

the world. with all i see at stake, however doing and i have given you a note that we did not get off to a good start. we have taken full and complete corrective action and that action is symbolic and substantive. our managementeam is nil as is our board. we went through a small board to 54 people representing the broadest cross-section of our community. we have taken every imaginable action to ensure compliance with the highest standards. we sat down and wrote a code of conduct, asked each of our employeeand board members to review it carefully and sign off ont. each year a report is prepared by each employee and board member about their conduct relating to that ethical conduct policy. we have an ethics board which reviews each of those reports if there are any variations from what seems to be appropriate and our board meetings and community

meetings are open. the press attends all them. all the documents inside our organization are available. simply submit a form saying which you want. i want to see the letters written by mr. romney. you'll get them all. it takes 28 days to get those things. ethical conduct. we also face the truth by standing up and telling our community that we were 350 come almost $400 million in the whole from what our budg had told us we should have reached by the point that we said these words latch -- last march of 1999. we acknowledge we have not been successful with our sponsors. as of last march, how have we done in raising money? if we have $375 million to go, how much from last year? we've raised $30 million in a

year and signed 1 sponsor. we were in a difficult position. the engine has been reignited, however as jack mentioned. we signed new sponsors, 14 in the last eight months. two more that will be announced before the end of this month if not more. weave raised well over $100 million and necessity was the first -- the agent for some appropriate for reality. people speak about the olympics being subject to gigantism. we have decided to focus on what we think is key. and to pare back on the things that are not keep. but we give you an example. i mentioned that building, i wish we had a building that gorgeous we could build in salt lake city and we have the money from someone to do that. the olympics requires a measure of frugality. we have a building just as big that houses a trick -- a truck

just as big and it has -- a track just as big and it has two hockey rinks. our building will cost $30 million. it keeps us warm and will seek as well, we will not have a single post that will interfere with the television camera. weecided to decide -- the ordinary citizens can have an olympic experience. one of the problems i see is that it is so expensive that the only people who can afford the tickets are the very wealthy. and the rest of us are forced to of -- wants the ban by tv. we have thousands of tickets which have been earmarked to use in you talk to attenthe games. 50% -- let me come back. we have an interesting to get pricing policy. we will charge what we think the market will bear. it will cost a lot of money.

we like people want to sit in this frosst to pay as much money as they would if they were going to the super bowl or nba finals. we will have some seats that mu more reasonable rates. 50% of the seats that will be sold will sell between $20.60 dollars apiece. that is not cheap but for the once in for your event which is the super bowl of each of these sports that come there, it is a spectacular bargain. our venues are spectacular. our downhill occurs in a mountain outside of ogden, utah called snow basin. you can look behind you all the way at the bottom of the mountain and the city or you can look down at the bottom of the course. within 30 meters from the top, the skiers will be going 90 miles an hour. it is a spectacular mountain, spectacular venue. we have some othe most beautiful ski resorts in the world. park city not resort, deer

valley, our winter sports park that has a bobsled run as well as the ski jump facility, all empty to a wonderful community nestled in the mountain. dan jansen said it will break all sorts of the olympic records. i said why is that and he said because the ice is fast. he was not laughing. something about high elevations and low level of humidity makes fast ice. almost one-trd of the medals go -- 28 kilometers of trails. mostly the time -- most of the time, the skiers take off and you watch them take off and a long time later, they kept slipping by through the woods. the i did not know what that was or who is in front. because it is on the side of the mountain, spectators can watch the entire event. the beginning to the end. they look like there and it's

gonna cross the mountain but with binoculars, you can watch the event. the venues are spectacular. we have added some new sports, cross-country spreads. women's bobsled. they told us bobsled was too dangerous for women the american women have been wanting to win the world cupor a long time. we we happy to make it part of the olympics. we added something called skeleton. in some respects, appropriately named. it takes a slight about the size of a cookie sheet, adding two small runners, laying on it with your head hanging out, and going down the bobsled track and to a miles per hour. there is a person who was the world cup champion, jimmy shea. i hope he is successful in his endeavor and we can celebrate one more champion. i note i am encouraged by the enthusiasm not only of corporate america in sponsoring our games but everyday americans.

poll after poll shows the olympics is the number-one reviewed and number one transport -- fanned sport in america. a poll indicates kids 7 to 17 consider billupshe number one sporting event they want to . we had a recent poll that was very heartening for our management team. it asked people, do you have confidence in the management team running they sell like olympic committee? 80% said yes. having come from an election against senator kennedy, 80% on my side is always good. we have come a long way. i acknowledge we have a long way to go. it is not something which we have done by ourself. it is not something we can accomplish by ourself. everything we have accomplished has been by virtue of a collaboration of all sorts of leaders throughout our country. i want to acknowledge the support of the thai delegation. many of the members of which and their officers are here,

providing funding for security and housing. we also have mickey ybarra. he is also vice chairman of the presidential tas force. the administration has worked hard to make sure our olympics are successful. congress has been a friend of the olympics. we depend enormously on the support of government and its agencies to make sure we can be wonderful host to the world i would note is my dream that in some way, these olympians can help us as a country, my kids in particular and perhaps me as well recognize we should judge people and celebrate people not for wt they have but what they are. i am convinced the olympics is

the primary showcase for demonstrating character in the world and i will do everything mpower to make sure that this -- these games and this committee make us proud. thank you. [applause] >> thank you very much. we have a lot of questions. one of the members of our audience asked, are there any changes in the ioc since coming on board? i was not around. i was not part of the bid committee. i did not see what it was like before. i have to be honest and this does not conform with the conventional wisdom but the ioc has been good to us. we went and sa, we have some severe difficulties. we're through had som$5 million in the hole. we need some cash debt and we

both the royalties which exceeds $25 million. our city signed this contract. they said you do not have to pay into the games are over so all that money was put in the end. with that the expenditures we had. when they come to you talked, we thought they had to have the limousines. no limousines, they said. our contract said each ioc member is supposed to have a private secretary during the games. we said that as a lot of volunteers and costs. we had an opening session as part of our country. we were supposed to have a cultural program with concerts and getting our system of people there. we said that as a lot of expense and they said do not worry about it. anything that you find in our budget that costs money that is not essential, something that is for the ioc you can remove.

we have found them to be collaborative and helpful. i recognize that is not the conventional wisdom in our relationship with the ioc, we have had full support. that is not to say that it is like coming home to a family meeting where everyone gets together and hugs everybody. the ico consists of 102 americans -- of people. they recognize they shoulder a huge portion of the blame for what occurred. we have a long way to go to have that kind of collaborative from the relationship which i hope well aspire for and i feel from the top level of the ioc and its leadership ranks. >> your games are great to be the first for the new president of the ioc. who would you like to see in

that position? >> i am wise to stay away from certain topics. there two -- there are two topics i stay away from. they are the franchisor. i am not getting in the business of telling them how to run their enterprise any more than a mcdonald's franchisee goes in and says we should change the chief executive of mcdonald's corp. it is true that the president steps down at the end of his term following the city games and there will be a new president elected. it is one which is carried out through a democratic election of the ioc delegates. there are 120 of them and there are some great people. people who are part of our

record nation commission are fabulous. one of my heroes, jean-claude killy. he was one of the first to win gold medals. he is a deputy director and treasurer person. he is a qualifiederson. dick pound, he is director of the marketing efforts, he is a canadian. terrific man. i could go on and on. others are capable who could lead the ioc well. >> but you're not going to name them. is that your final answer? is it ironic that utah was the site of this breakdown of moral and ethical standard? >> there's no question. we all felt sickened by what

happened. we as a nation felt sickened. i was living in boston and what i heard about this scandal, i was just ill. i kept reading and find out there were problems and found there were problems in other cities that hosted the games. i would have rather read a story seeing that -- saying that utah lost the bid again. it did not take that step. my guess is the overwhelming majority would have loved to have seen that sry as well as the overlying -- overwhelming majority would like to have read that story. it is three or more. a few people violated that good judgment apparently. as a result way as an entire committee suffered and we as a country in the eyes of a world to a certain degree suffer. is one of the great sinuses and a great pity and injustice.

a committee as dedicated to american ideals has that committee would be tainted by the action of a few. it has ever been thus. >> how about washington, d.c.? we have what it takes? >> summer games, i will give you some advice. everybody wants the olympics. that is a great thing. every country wants the olympics. enormous benefits but is -- it is more expensive than you think. our original budget lled for $900 million. that is a massive amount of money. that included security and .ransportation we estimated we would generate $859 million as sponsor revenue. we calculated that -- the all-

time record came from atlanta. 480 million. sometimes cities get excited about how much there will make. the numbers are not accurate. there is no accepted accounting for the olympics. auditors look at the books. countries report after the games how they did economically. they want to show the games were successfulo they keep off the books all sorts of costs which were contributed by the government or other agencies. in japan, the cost of construction is not considered an olympic expenditure. we do put that on the books in ou case. the numbers are difficult to come by. the ultimate reason for the games in my view is an opportunity to serve. it is an opportunity to show one's committee but is not in national would fall unless you're lucky. >> how difficult is the security problem for the olympic games in

utah? we have had a lot of attention to new threats of terrorism. is this change in your calculation about what you have to do? >> there are three branches of security that we consider. one is the security within the venue itself or security within the fence. we have tens of millions of dollars in our dget. to bring in security people from around the country and around you talks well as some of our own staff to provide all the security from magnetometers and other devices to individuals. we're careful and -- in protecting the venue. there is security outside the fence. police on the streets directing traffic, making sure that people are not going in places they should not. that is also a budget item. which we did not think about when we put our budget togeth. and by far the greatest security investment and the greatest security requirement is one provided by the federal

government wch is not part of our budget because we do not know what the number is. it is confidential to us. the gao estimates it would be it would be a -- it would be a $200 million service to make sure we interdict any kind of an appropriate entry into this country and we provide absolute security against those types of acts, terrorist acts in and ound the olympic city. i am convinced under the direction of the fbi and want to make it clear, i have no direction for that anti- terrorist security efforts. that is directed by the fbi and the agencies that work together with them under their direction i am convinced we will have six games. we have some things going for us. we're a long way away from anywhere in the middle of the mountains and hopefully that will give us an opportunity to make sure we have absolute security for the people who come to this games, particularly our athletes and officials and elected officials. >> you spoke movingly of van

jansen picking himself up on the track. do you see yourself running for the senate? >> i did not just fall, i got crushed. it is hard to get ck up. we were chatting about that before i began speaking. it was a great thrill. i cannot imagine. people get into politics for different reasons. i grew up in a political family. my mom and dad both ran for office. my dad ran as governor and he won three times and was a participant in what he calle a mini campaign for president. it was short and revealing. during my campaign, he came back to boston and moved into our home for six months. i have five sons all of them in

college or married and they came back to our home. we lived together for six months to year and campaigned day in and day out. it was one of the great family experiences. i have to be honest. i recognize it is a long shot for a republican businessman who was born in detroit to be a kennedy democrat in massachusetts and i am not likely to keep banging my head against that wall but politics is great. i would love to run if i could win so i will have to wait for the center to get to be 98. and then we will reconsider it then. >> or pick another state. >> that has been taken. >> today is the test run of the if on on that new cross-country course. many of us find it frustrating in the weeks of coverage othe olympics, we get to see maybe 45

seconds of this unusual sport by califon. can you give us to a half minutes? >> we did not decide what ntc decides tput on prime time. there is a plot in hand. we want to make sure you do not think you can see by califon or cross-country so you have to come out and see it in person. we will see tens of thousands of people in a way that you can see the entire course d what's the event. a lot of you do not know what if one is. it is one of the great olympic sports. europeans, particularly from the northern part of europe think it is fabulous and it is the number-one sport by television. it is not just physical, it is a mental sport. it has the mental element. these kids have to spread like crazy on cross-country skis and

stop and take up the position and should a target. they have to hit the bull's-eye and they put down their gun and go. you add one minute to their time. try to make up a minute on 8 cross-country course is an eternity. their heartbeat is open to the 180, 190, who knows how fast it is going. they have to stop and pick up their rifle and decide when do i pick up the trigger? do i wait a little longer and by weight, chances are better of hitting the target but the longer i wait, i am seeing that person taking off. he or she is on their way. that decision, the way, how fast you go, how much you bring your heart rate down? that is what makes part of the sport so exciting. i was given a rifle was nothing but a laser guide at the end of it.

with this i could shoot those targets and on the screen behind me, my staff --y staff watched how poor shot i was. i gned great respect to do something after a while your heart is racing fast. it is a great sport. come on out, we will see -- save a place for you. >> how extensive is your involvement in the continuing investigation of the fbi and juste investigations of the olympic scandal? >> that is an easy question. i have virtually no involvement in the investigation. you make a decision when you come into an orgization that is in turn around as to what you will focus on. the focus of our management team had to be exclusively in getting ready for the winter games of 2002 and the athletes of the world. you think about the kids in the training they go through and the kind of expectations that have

for our organization, it struck me as being irresponsible for me and the members of my nagement team to carry out a romney report of what happened in the past. we had an ethics panel in salt lake city investigate what happened prior, during the bid process. this ethics report was handed t me. the report said anyone who is implicated by that report was asked to leave our organization or voluntarily moved on to something else, even though there were not convicted. even if the cast a shadow. the experience of these athletes, it was appropriate for them to step aside and they did so. currently, there is a very large investigation -- i did not know how large, an ongoing investigation by the justice department. it is the premier investigative agency. it has asked us for documents from our files.

where only so willing to provide everything we can to help that investigation. our first request called for copies. the copy machine bill was $250,000 just for those companies. it has cost us into the millions of dollars to gather files, to cat -- collect the files and copy them. that is something we're willing to do. in a democracy if there has been wrongdoing, the price is to evaluate it. is there any other country in the world that in the middle of the olympic would invtigate itself. answer we have enough confidence not to try to hide this and bury it. we have enough confidence in our democratic ways that we will evaluate ourselves and let the chips fall where they live. i support that effort. i am not part of the investigation itself and continue to focus>> under the cs it hard to get you to take this

job? what factors influence your decision to come on? >> that is a deep personal question. i was happily involved in a business i began 15 years ago called bain capital, a venture capitaand buy up business. these had been very good times to be in investment. we managed money for other people and got to keep a portion of the profit been made. financially, these were very attractive time for me and my partners. there are about 18 of us. i was sitting at my desk one day, contemplating new investments in a robust market with internet companies going through the ceiling and other mpanies doing extremely well. and i got a call from a person i had a hard time sayinno to. the idea for me to come to the

olympic games was originated by a friend in salt lake city. he knew to call me and asked me what i thought about the idea and knew i would immediately say at is ridiculous, i have no interest. it is e of the great ironies that someone of such little athletic ability is actually involved in the olympics. my son's pointed out there is still circumstance under which they would predict i would be on the front page of the sports section. [laughter] but this friend called my wife and said, would mitt consider coming out to the games? he and she had a long conversation. after that, she called me up office and said not dismiss this. she made the pitch. and said he made as much money as you need to make. you really want to spend the rest of your life making money i am not the oldest guy in the world but you you want to keep on doing the same thing and making no particular

contribution of the then raising money for companies and so forth? >> -- she said this is the olympics. think about it. as i began, i said no, you're nuts. i went out to you talk about a week later and the chairman of our board spoke with me and made himself an hour to. i went home and started thinking about the olympics and the things you have heard me speak about today. it the olympics were justbout getting money for the top is this committee -- for the utah community, i have no interest. branding the community was not high on my agendeither. if the olyics was about presenting young heroes of the world, i recognize that the games were in trouble in the olympics itsf could be in trouble, it would be a great effort but it wasn't until my

campaign with my family to come together as a family to work tirelessly to make the game successful. win or lose, and would have been a great struggle. most people in this room will face ts question -- what will i do with my life and will i use all of it jusearning money? for me and my wife, this came down to an opportunity to have a different experience in life. meeting the olympians, these athletes is a life changing experience. you love them theory they are phenomenal it is in part because they do not know they are phenomenal. they do not recognize how unusual they are. they do not see the seeds of character that s them apart. coming to respect them has been one of the great thrills of my life. there are other thrills being part of the olympics. i mentioned a sport called skeleton. the reason i mention that with the cookie sheet that you slide down the top sled trek -- the

bob sled track is because i began starting the sport. i began way down low at the bottom. but my sled got up to about 50 miles an hour, i was terrified. i borrowed some shoes to -- because he had spiked a the bottom of them. he said when you get out there, put your sle down and go down. he showed me how to steer. when i got to the end of the track, i was terrified. my face is 2 inches off the ice. you are right there gog 40 or 50 miles an hour. when i gave him back his shoes, i dragged my toes on the ice that there were big holes in the front of his shoes. i was a little embarrassed. now i'm going from the top of the course. last week i hit 66 les an hour, it is to the exhilarating. i'm so bad and so chicken, i

appreciate how great these athletes are. >> your answer about the role of money in raises the obvious question -- wouldn't it be better if these great athletes were pure amateurs the with the olympic games used to be? >> the great majority of the athletes in the olympics, summer and winter, are not in any way going to receive any compensation for their participation in or after the games. most of the sports disappear from a financial standpoint. i met the sister of one of the greatest the libyans, bonnie blair. her sister was a speed skating champion. there were three sisters of bonnie blair who were champions. for girls than to one family, on national champions in a sport. her sister was a flight attendant going into salt lake city. they do not make a limb -- a living being off -- being

athletes. the great majority have no financial incentive to speak of associated with the games. there are some sports ere the line between amate and professional is so different from one country to the next that it was difficult for the international olympic committee to create a dividing line so the competition between countries seem fair. there was never a greater moment than -- in the history of sport as a when the demands winter hockey team won in 1980. our true amateurs beat their true professionals but generally, that does not happen. to have competition even and fair amount to different countries in some sports like basketball and hockey, that sometimes you need to integrate the professional along with the nonprofessional to make the team is more even than the

competition world class. i think it would be great if the lines were clear in all countries but the rules are so blurry among different countries that there have been some exceptions and there is some money for those particular sports. >> before i asked the final question, i want to give you the national press club equivalent of a gold medal. are shared coffee cup -- our cherished coffee cup, a certificate of our appreciation and if you could let us know if 2002 is a la nina year. >> our mountains are so high and we have snowmaking capacity at every mountain that there is no issue. we got some practice for that this week. we did not have any snow and we have a world championship cross-

country event in utah. we got about 100 dump trucks and filled them with snell to see if we could create entire track -- with snow and to see if we could create an entire track. this no sticks to the side. so we got all of oil and spurred into the trucks and the slides right out. regardless of the weather patterns, we will have absolutely fabulous winter games in salt lake city in 2002. >> thank you for coming. i would also like to thank the national press club staff members for helping us with today's lunch and also thanks to the national press club library for their research. we do appreciate it. we are adjourned. thank you. [applause]

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] but some one of the issues he talked about was security and additional funding for the 2002 winter games in salt lake city. he took over as the helm of -- as president and ceo. he asked congress for additional help. dam it king question that aid. this was september 19, 2000. >> this bill provides a staggering court team $0.8 million for communications

infrastructure, including raos associated with law enforcement responsibilities. this item is one example of the fiscal abuse surrounding the ste again of the olympic games in salt lake. this past year, we requested the general accounting office to conduct an audit into federal financial support for u.s. cities hosting the olympics. specifically, we asked them to answer to questions -- the amount of federal funding and support provided to 1984, 1986 summer olympics and the types of products and activities funded and supported and the federal policies authorizations and agency controls at the place for providing funds and support to the games. what they discover is the least 24 federal agencies reported

providing are planning to provide a combined total of almost $2 billion for leavitt related projects and activities for the 1984 and 1996 summer olympic games and the 2002 winter olympic games. the number staggering but what is more shocking but not too surprising, once an egregious practice begins and goes unchecked, federal funds flowing to of the coast cities has accelerated. the gao county tax care provided about $75 million in funding for the 1984 los angeles games. by 1996, the bill escalated to $609 million. for the upcoming 2002 olympics, that bill to american taxpayers is estimated to be $1.3 billion . that is outrageous and it is a

disgrace. to put these projects on this appropriations bill. a think the senator from utah as on the floor now. another project that is not authorized, will filibuster the bill until i am -- until i fail to do so. i wrote a letter to the senator from utah in september 1997. i said i am writing about the recent efforts to add funds to appropriations measures for the 2002 olympics. i went on to say, i recognize the proper preparations are vital. it seems the best course of action would be to require the committee in coordination with congress to prepare and submit a comprehensive plan detailing the funding anticipating from the

taxpayers. please call me so we could start work immediately to establish some rationality in e process of preparing for the olympics of that. in a surprising breech of senatorial courtesy, the senator never responded. i wrote him another letter a year letter asking for the same and never got a response. the gao determines that $1.3 billion, $974,000 for the utah state. the agency network, $3 million to olympic regional development authority upgrades. $2 million for fall --or bus facilities. $500,000 for salt lake city olympics transit bus. on and on.

$925,000 for public safety programs. $1 million for the security and training. to million dollars for the water conservation district. mr. president, but this has turned into, but the olympic games supposedly funded by salt lake city began -- which began in corruption and bribery has turned into an incredible product for salt lake city. the gao found there was no effective mechanism in place for tracking federal funding. one thing i try to do in a letter to the senator in 1997 harrietthe gao -- in 1997. determine federal

agencies generally did not attract funding in support of the olympic games. six and $90 million was authorized -- $690 million was authorized. most of which was done through objectionable legislative pork barreling. it is astounding that federal bureaucrats got $1.3 billion as a writ of the course of business. the sports act named after my good friend and colleague, alaska sets out the process by which the olympic committee operates. and how in they go about selecting a u.s. bid this city. in this act is a uniquely american tenant establishing that the united stateslympic movement, including the bid and

host city process, is an entirely independent private sector entity. however, as this report points out, the american taxpayer has now become by far the largest single underwriter of the cost of hosting the olympics. this is not about private voluntary giving to the olympic movement. nor is it about corporate sponsorships. this is about a cocktail of fiscal irresponsibility made it congressional pork barreling. as i outlined earlier, the taxpayer funding has increased dramatically in recent years. in the 1984 summer olympics, $75 million in federal support. most notable about this figure aside from how low it is a brother -- compared to

atlanta and salt lake is what it was used for. 91% was used to provide safety during the planned staging of the games. only $7 million were for naught security related services. providing safety and security support is a proper role for the federal government. no one would dispute what the federal government should provide whatever support necessary to ensure the games are safe for everyone. however, the american taxpayer should not be burdened with the building up the basic infrastructure necessary to a city to be able to pull off hosting the olympic games. by the time it got to atlanta, says was not the case. other classic examples include $331,000 to purchase flowers and grasses for venues and parks around atlanta, $3.5 million to do things like installing solar electric systems at the olympic swimmi pool.

it is stout -- as astounding as the numbers are, they pale in comparison to salt lake city. almost $1.3 billion of federal funding and support is planned or has already been provided in the city of salt lake. $645 million, 51% is for construction of roads and highways. $353 million, up 28%, is for mass transit projects. approximately $107 million in miscellaneous activities like building temporary parking lots and $161 million for safety and security. as of april 2000, the federal government planned to spend some $7 million to provide spectator transportati and venue enhancement to the salt lake games. this includes $47 million in congressional approved taxpayer funding for transportation systems. among other things, so that officials planned to ask the

federal government for $91 million to pay for things like transporting borrowed buses to and from salt lak, additional bus drivers, maintenance and construction and operations. most of the money taken from taxpayers to pay the bill for the salt lake games is going to develop, build and complete major highway and transit improvement projects- especially those critical to the success of the olympic games. this last phrase is of vital to understanding the game being played in sa lake city. it works this way -- the city decides they want to host an olympics to put their home town on the map. in order to manage, leaders know they will have to meet certain structure demands. they develop their plans than the pork barreling starts. the gao makes several

recommendations, including the selection of a big city, tracking f funds and more direct oversight. among other things, they also recommend a larger role for omb in excising oversight in agency activities. i believe there are two fundamental reforms that to take place -- budget reform. appropriations for a living activities should occur to the regular budget process, subject to the sunshine of public scrutiny and debate within congress. usoc -- should not continue the d of cities that did not have the capacity to host the games. what has happened here is what happens to in congress, you start out with a little pork barrelling and it gets bigger and bigger. we saw that on the defense appropriations bill. $4 million to protect

[inaudible] i will filibuster and everything in my power to delay any more appropriations bills that have this spending for salt lake city. there is a process of authorization for this project. they are conducted by the authorizing committees. some of them may be worth while and necessary. some of them may deser to be authorized but instead they are stuck into an appropriations bill without scrutiny. i do not understand how we republicans call ourselves conservatives and then treat the taxpayers' dollars in this fashion. mr. president, this is terribly objectionable. it is up to $1.3 billion. we still have another year at least to go.

this has got to stop. i am glad we got the gao study. it is a classic example of what happenwith pork barrel spending and it contributes to the alienation of the american voter. these are my taxpayers' dollars as well as the citins of utah. i have an obligation to my constituents and the state of arizona that pay their taxes. the spendinghould not be spent on this. i asked a list oobjectives for provisions be part of the record. >> is there an objection? hearing none, -- >> the senator from arizona spoke about the report. i believe the senator from arizona has made a signet digging contribution and moved

-- is attempting to move the congress in a direction we should go with respect to the olympic games. he has raised appropriate concerns. i can be specific about some of them. i will not be specific about them all because they are quite lengthy. for example, the $14.8 million for communications and for structure to which he objects in the department of treasury portion of the conference report. it was inserted at the request of the secret service who told us that -- told the appropriations committee that was the amount required. this was not something that was asked for by the saltake organizing committee or by the senator from utah. it came from the departments themselves. that is true of some of the other items.

rather than get bogged down in a debate over the appropriateness of this or that amount, everyone of which has had that debate in the process of getting to the report, i would like to address the issue of the gao report and the, that the senator from arizona made about -- he said that the federal role with respect to let the games has increased dramatically from the $75 million that was appropriated in 1984 for the olympics in los angeles to the amount that has not been appropriated and it's going to be appropriated for the olympics in salt lake city, showing the step up from los angeles to atlanta to salt lake city. the cost of putting on the olympics has been exnded by a significant percentage. i do not have the number currently available. by adding additional sports.

the organizers in the salt lake of the committee have told me that even though the-- their budget is clo to the budget at lillehammer, their costs are substantially higher because of the additional sports that added. some lost track of what happens to all of this. the head of the committee, mitt romney, has told me that in the budget he was handed from the u.s. olympic committee implied more sponsorships for the winter olympics that atlanta had for the summer olympics in 1996. he has to go out and sell the sponsorships now because the budget has built in the assumption that money will be there. he is still something like 40 or

$50 million shy of being able to cover his budget, even though he has outsold the sponsorships that went into atlanta. so he has more sponsorsp money coming from atlanta for the winter games, which are less popular than the summer games, and he is still short. that is what has happened as everybody reacts to what happen in 1984 who assumed that the olympics are part -- pot of gold. they are clearly not emir getting to the point where we may be back where we were pre- los angeles window city wants to hosted because they will end up with a major deficit. he said we will not have it doesn't -- deficit because it is absolutely necessary. we will cut back to whatever

amount of money we have. we do not want to have america host an olympics that seems to be second-class by comparison to the rest of the world but financially, we have no choice if we cannot close that gap. i believe mitt romney will be able to close that gap and bring it down so that we will have an exact meeting of expenses and revenues. in this picture comes to a question that has been raised by the senator from arizona -- what is a role of the federal government? increasingly, the federal government plays an important role in the olympics because as the olympics get bigger and bigger with more and more nations, more and more athletes and more and more opportunities for international terrorism, they become a bigger and bigger problem for theederal government.

i think the whole question that was raised by the senator from arizona and by the report has -- as to formalization of the federal role is a legitimate question. thproposal in the gao report endorsed by the settle -- by the senator, if formal process within congress to attract these appropriations is a right and proper proposal. we probably should have done it after the atlanta olympics when we had the first indications th this is what was going to happen. we did not. i would be willing to join the senator from arizona and craft a way to do this once the salt lake olympics are over so that if another city if the olympics, this process will be in place. it is the responsible thing to do and i applaud the senator

from arizona in helping us move in thadirection. as the gao report says with respect to the $2 billion figure used by the senator from arizona, according to federal officials, "most of these funds would have been awarded to these cities or states even if they had not hosted the olympic games. although the funds could have been provided later if the games were not held." let me talk specifically about the renovation of i-15, the interstate highway that runs through the salt lake valley.

both projects, properly authorized, properly funded, with respect to transportation activities. i-15 was 10 years beyond its designed life when construction began comment before renovation. -- began on it before renovation. the project was outlined for nine years under standard construction procedures. working with the highway administration, came up with a method of doing it which is called design bud to. you design it while you are building it. you do it simultaneously. in the process, they cut the

time from nine years to 4.5. they also cut the cost by close to zero billion dollars. yes, -- closeo a billion dollars. yes, it will enhance the olympics. gao has included its total in its calculation of the cost of the olympics, but it had to be done, it was a logical expense of the highway trust fund, it was funded in the normal fashion, d because of the pressure of the olympics put on it in terms of time, we now have a pilot project with design built that is coming in ahead of schedule and under budget. we're saving taxpayers money by virtue of the pressure of the olympics but on this highway project. there is absolutely no question but that the money would have been spent even if the olympics

had not come to salt lake city. it may not have been spent as wisely or as prudently as it is being spent if we had not had the pressure of the olympics. the second issue is the mass transit system in salt lake city. it stood with all the other mass transit systems bei reviewed by the department of transportation. it was approved in the clinton administration as an appropriate transit program for the metropolitan area that was experiencing tremendous growth and congestendion. -- congestion.

>> with the full knowledge it might not be available for the olympics. the contractors said it will be available for the olympics, it will help the olympics, but it was not approved as an olympic project. it was examined as an olympic project, it was not evaluated by the department of education. it is an olympic project because it occurred in the period where things were being spent in utah. i must make a further footnote with respect to the highway. it is being funded largely by state funds. the federal dollars only became available after tea21 passed in

1998 and the state decided we couldn't wait. had we not had the olympics and waited for full federal participation in this portion of the interstate, the state of utah would be paying less than it is now. so the state of utah has put up a substantial sum of money for this infrastructure. we don't complain about that. because we will have it after the games are over. we will have benefit after the games are over. out of that infrastructure. but i do want to make it clear to any who are keeping score that if you take the $2 billion figure to which the senator from arizona referred that's part of the gao report and break it down, you come up with a much smaller figure for the federal participation in the olympic games that has nothing to do with anything else. that is you have a much smaller figure for federal expenditure

that is are solely olympic expenditures than anything like the $2 billion. now back to the earlier point that we must address the question of a federal roll. let us look what the olympics do to any country that gets them in today's world. my wife and i went to japan to see the olympics put on in japan. had we read the japanese newspapers, we didn't come up with a firm figure. but the japanese newspapers speculated that the total amount that the japan as a country spent in order to put on the olympics was lowest figure i read $13 billion. highest figure i read $18 billion. given the kind of accounting slight of hand that accompanied

the japanese olympics, i think the higher figure may very well be the accurate one. but even if we take the lower figure, japan decided that they could not put on an olympics worthy of world attention without making such infrastructure improvements as to spend ultimately $13 billion. i participated in the benefits of that. i rode the bullet train from downtown tokyo to where the olympics were held. they decided they couldn't put on the olympics without putting in a bullet train. we in the united states view the olympics as basically a sporting event. the rest of the world view the olympics very differently, and once a country in the rest of the world is awarded the olympics to one of its host cities, the entire national government of that country

becomes engageed. we need to think this one through as a nation. if we ever want to hold the olympic games in the united states again, and have the games be presented to the world on anything like the level that the world has come to expect for the olympics, we're going to have to face the fact that the federal government must be involved in a formal kind of way. gao comments about this just growing upon us are correct. and a formal examination of the american federal government participation in the olympics is overdue. the fact is now no city in this country can bid for, except, and put on the olympic games without significant maybe even in the view of the senator from

arizona, massive federal support. the clinton administration recognized that. i've been a long critic in the clinton administration in a number of areas. in this area, i must say that the clinton administration has stepped up to the plate and supported absolutely everything that has to be done to see that the olympics are put on in an appropriate way. and i salute the people in the omb with whom we have worked, the people in the white house staff with whom we have worked, in a collaborative way to bring this all together and see that we will have a responsible olympic games. the olympic games in salt lake city in 2002 are going to be fabulous. we have the best mountains, the best snow, the best facilities, it's going to be a fabulous experience for the entire world and all americans are going to be very proud of the job that

the salt lake olympic organizing committee will do in putting that on. but the salt lake organizing committee could not do it without the kind of support that has been provided by all of the federal agencies who have been called upon in the various appropriations bills that have gone through. as we look to the future, and anticipate the possibility that at some point some other american city will either gain the summer gains as atlanta did, or the winter games as salt lake city did, we should put in place the recommendations of the gao and recognize right up front that it is a national effort, it is a federal responsibility as well as a city responsibility. and perform as every other country in the world performs with respect to this particular opportunity. if we decide as a congress that

we do not want federal participation in the olympic games, make that decision clear then no american city will ever host the olympic games again. because no city can ever afford the kinds of things that are required. so, mr. president, i thank the senator from arizona for raising this issue, for bringing it to an understanding of the importance of the recommendations that the gao has made, and for giving me the opportunity to give these specifics about the $2 billion figure. the federal government, in fact, will spend far less than that figure, far less than $1 billion, far less than however many hundred millions of dollars. i do not know the number. i do not know anybody who does. i will try to find it out and bring it to the floor at some point. it will be less than any other

federal government has spent to bring the olympics to their host country. but it demonstrates to us that we have to have the kind of planning and coordination for which the senator from arizona calls. >> thank you, senator. and thank you to all that lead up to today to make sure it's a safe place for successful games. we are all moved most when we receive the support of our friends. i was in shock following the events of september 11th, as i'm sure you were when i saw the germans singing the national

anthem before the brandenberg gate, i broke down. it was the support of our friends that touched us most deeply. today i didn't know exactly what to expect as we game in to the speakers conference room and saw the heads of our federal agency, attorney general, members of congress, leadership, both sides of the aisle, and asked what their response would be. it was overwhelming. it was positive. and on behalf of the athletes, thousands of young people around the world, who look to these games and hope that this will be a place for them to show their courage and their strength and their sacrifice and commitment. on behalf of them i'm moved and touched and greatly appreciative of the leadership in our country to host secure games. i'm entirely confident that what have been put in place by the safety command and others is a plan which is complete, comprehensive, and robust. and that it will minimize every

possible risk to the extent humanly possible to assure the safety of the athletes and the the sec -- spectators. let me turn to any questions, then we'll end the brief conference. >> certainly. >> can e with be specific? what ways can the u.s. federal government help? combat troops? air? can you tell us what's going on? >> let me say this, we're going to talk about the money involved because of a variety of important reasons. with respect to the way the games will be run and the security, i just think we might as well turn it over to mitt romney. i think he can answer all of the questions. >> should we take a moment?

certainly. let's take a moment until the motorcade goes by. thank you. the specific requests are requests being organized by the secret service, fbi, and utah public safety command. they will call for tightening in air security, also call for additional personnel. the state of utah is already contributing some 2,000 personnel from the law enforcement team to the protecting the games. they have an even more substantial portion of the resources or a substantial number of resources which are protecting the games. and that number will increase not by a huge number, but by a significant amount. and that number is not something we're prepared to give you today. we have not completed all of the planning which have been called for. the speaker of the house made it clear that he wanted to see a full briefing on all of the plans prepared by the respective agencies for the games. until we have all of those plans completed, we can't give you a final figure. i would note there's also a certain amount of financial

resources that will be requested. again the numbers are very small relative to the amount which has already been appropriated by the federal government which is $it 00 million to secure the games. the additional resources both in terms of personnel and in terms of equipment and financial assets is small, very small. however, every action will be taken that is conceivable to secure airspace, to secure venues, and to secure the safety of the people in the community. >> federal troops? >> there's no specific plan with with regards to federal, federal military personnel, otherwise that which has been originally requested. in atlanta, the approximate number is 15,000. our original plan called for about 10% of the figure. e think it's likely there will be some increase in the support of the military nature. certainly with regards to airspace require manies and perhaps some of the other perimeter. but the number of federal

officers and federal troops in particular, the number of federal troops will be substantially less, a small fraction of that compared with those that were employed in atlanta. the plan -- the plan in salt lake is overwhelmingly based on local law enforcement, fbi, secret service, orr federal agents, and other contention. >> you mentioned some of the security features might cause inconvenience. it might reassure, especially folks in salt lake city, knowing they are in the name of security. can you go in to details? >> i don't think you are going to see a difference before and after september 11th. it called for searching and airspace restriction. we're going to insist that people don't bring large bags, backpacks, and q., so we don't have problems with people leaving bags around that might be potentially deemed to be a hazardous material of some

kind. i don't think you are going to see a big difference. originally, we said get there two hours. it's not going to be longer than two hours. we'll have more personnel at the check points so we can search people thoroughly and make sure nothing inappropriate is coming in. >> is there any word about whether the faa has cleared the olympic workers to meet athletes and the families at the gate? >> that's an ongoing process. many of the plans continue to be worked out with the various agencies. id tell you what we came away with today was a unanimous show of support from all of the people in the room to do what's essential and necessary to ensure the safety of the games. and the specifics are going to be worked out. i'm confident that which is essential and required will be supported by the state, federal, and local departments. with that, i think we're probably finished unless there's

something -- one more question. if not, thank you very much. >> thanks. >> good job, man. >> if you want to get more information on mitt romney's role in the 2002 winter games in salt lake city, we have the piece available online. it's titled the real story of romney's olympic turn around. watch this and all of the programming on the site for politics at c-span.org/campaign2012. >> next defense secretary leon panetta speaking at the retirement and change of command ceremony.

>> the political parties are holding the platform hearings in advance of the summer conventions. with democrats holding public hearings in minnesota, followed a few weeks later with the final platform recommendations in detroit. in mid august, republicans start their perform process at the convention site in tampa, florida. c-span's coverage continues august 10th with the reform party in philadelphia, followed by the republican national convention beginning monday august 27th from tampa, and the

democratic national convention live from charlotte, north carolina, starting monday september 3rd. >> on tuesday, army lieutenant arnold burgess handed over command to the michael flynn. he will also assume joint command. this change of leadership ceremony took place in washington, d.c. the headquarters of the defense intelligence agency. following the leadership ceremony, lieutenant will retire from the army with 38 years of service. speakers include leon panetta, martin dempsey, and james clabber. it's an hour and 30 minutes.