we need 51 votes and we can can do that. we can do that. and then, we need a president who will sign it. and i think we can do that. we can have a president who is convinced to do the right thing on this legislation and sign this. so look, there is hope. we can beat this thing could we are not -- we can beat this thing. we are not saying it is over. the american people are with us. they are with you and me. how many of you called and e-mails and wrote your members of congress? almost all of you. we lost in congress. we won with the american people. and we're winning today. we have to make sure we keep on doing it. thank you for coming out here. today is another day closer to victory. and when we stand in the shadow of the senators, we're sending a message they need to hear. we have allies in this effort. we have a group called

concerned women of america. don't you love them? we have traveled the country together. they are great allies. i think i saw jenny at the to fillet -- at the chick-fil-a yesterday. isn't it great to stand for freedom and also eat the best chicken in the world? please welcome our good friend penny. >> thank you. good morning. thank you for coming out. you know, president reagan said to os freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. we did not pass it to our kids in the bloodstream. it must be fought for, protected and handed for them to do the same. one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was like to be

free. do you believe that? we are at a crucial moment in this nation's history. as a matter of fact, we are at a tipping point. i don't know, if we don't change the direction of this nation, if we will be the same, strong constitutionally sound freedom-loving government that we have always been. i don't know, if we don't change the direction we're going, if we will be able to stand on all the work that our founding fathers fought for and died for on the bloody battlefield of lexington and concord and yorktown and boston. we have to change things. and a clear indication -- and there are so many, i could go on and on, but i will not. a clear indication of the differences of where we're

going versus where we should be is this health care law. we were promised that we would have lower premiums. yet $2,400 per person on average increase. we were promised that we would not have to violate our consciousness -- our conscience and have to pay for abortion drugs. but we do, as of august 1, because of what the hhs mandate has done. we were promised that we could choose their doctors and there wouldn't be a problem. it is not what we were promised. and it is not too late. we can repeal and we can ask for a change. so ladies in the audience, let me have your attention for a moment. this is what we call an ester moment. it is a moment where you have to think about leadership. you have to think about, even though all the things you have been given, will you take the stand -- because, perhaps you were born for such a time as this.

do you believe that? so do i.. i believe that all of the things we have enjoyed in our lives, the blessings we have been giving, our freedom and families and the pier wealth has led up to this moment. so i am asking you to be the esters of your generation, to take a stand with concerned women for america right now, right here. concerned women for america. i am climbing on a bus on monday morning. we will be oliver north carolina, virginia, montana, all over the country. and we will register conservative women all across the country. if you have heard something called the war on women, let me tell you something.

it is a war for women. it is a war for your hearts and minds and your families and your future. and i need you to stand with us. so stand with us. register women to vote. register conservative women. did you know that in our churches today, half of the folks use it with on sunday morning are not registered to vote. and they will not show up on election day. that is a shame. we cannot complain if we don't do something about it, right? so join with me, together, we can register thousands of people to vote, right? together, we can stand for our families and our future and our freedom. so say it with me coming together, c vote. see votes! see votes! see votes see votes! thank you and god bless america. >> thank you, a penny. i wanted you to hear from one of the leading up-and-coming talk-show hosts in the country. he is based out of

tennessee. i met him years ago. we were doing an anti-cap and trade rally event in tennessee called the cost of hot air. where is al gore when you need money daylight this, right? come on. but want you to hear from him because talk radio is a crucial part of our alliance. please welcome rid of talk-show host phil valentine. [applause] >> absolutely. i think i missed the kiss-in at chick-fil-a for this. remember when nancy pelosi told us about all of these poor folks that we had to take care of?

40 million, 50 million, whatever the number happened to be on any given day. all of a sudden, the supreme court affirms obamacare and they are all the seven deadbeats. isn't that amazing? they went from being uninsured to being did be scared the number is not 40 million and it is not 50 million. the last study was that there were 3 million to 4 million people who are chronically uninsured and something needs to be done about that. but we don't change the entire system for a vast minority of people in this country. but i think our side has been missing the boat a little bit on this. it is not about the individual mandate. it is about the employer mandate. most of us get our insurance through the employer. the mandate is not that much of

a problem, although i think it is unconstitutional. it is a golden parachute. it is a ski pass that they give employers now that obamacare budget it is an escape past that they give employers -- it is now an escape pass they give employers now that obamacare pass. how many businesses do you think are not going to do that? so it's not going to be 40% of us, 50%, it's going to be 90%s of us in obamacare and the government will run all of the insurance. do we really want the same people that run the post of us to run your insurance? it will also be a huge burden on small business. i read a figure today. $87 billion in the first in years it will cost small business when we're trying to create jobs, not kill jobs. this is a job-killing bill.

they call it the affordable care act. it is the unaffordable care act, folks. we don't need it today. we don't need it tomorrow, next week -- we don't need it ever. thank you so much for having me and enjoy the day. >> how many of you are a little tired of aarp? these guys whipped out the pompons and did some of the fastest endorsing of this health care disaster of any other group. in effect, selling out their own members for political gain is what they did. but i have good news for you. we have a seniors' group that stands for economic freedom. it is called safety plus. they are great allies in this effort. we have been all over the country together. he is 103 years old or something like that.

i still cannot beat him at basketball. it is very frustrating. i want you to give a warm welcome to jim martin. [cheers and applause] >> i appreciate that. thank you very much. thank you for that introduction. it is great to be here with all your good friends. i am recruiting for the 60 + association. i don't see anybody out there old enough to join 60 + yet. but i will wait for you, ok? look, just so you know, 60 plus -- aarp is not for me, we used to carry around a bumper sticker, but it is too big to carry around. i'm a fan -- aarp is not for me. let me point out a couple of differences. the aarp makes millions of dollars on the backs of seniors.

we don't. we depend on voluntary donations from you folks. they sell a lot of insurance. they are a nonprofit. let me ask you this. they make $600 million last year in profits. how does a nonprofit make $600 million in profits. they make on insurance. they make it on the backs of seniors. let me give another huge difference between the aarp and the 60 plus association. they tout as other men of the year harry belafonte he is a great entertainer, but he is so far to the left that he makes president obama a moderate. legendary singer pat boone is another legendary singer. pat boone, of course, likes to

tout his friendship with his old buddy ronald reagan. those are some major differences. let me point out another one. just recently, on this particular bill, obamacare, and this is why i am recruiting 60 plus members. it was found out that an e-mail from a r.p. to the white house, senior citizen voting is hard to believe. they were voting 14-1 against obamacare. against it. well, the aarp is now on a listening tour. they said we're listening to you. hey, they must have not been listening before because those seniors were telling them no. what they did quite frankly is they ignored what they were hearing from their own members. that is almost criminal. the fact is, if you are representing seniors and they are voting 14-1 against you, look the aarp is the reason we

had this bill because all we had to do is hold a press conference publicly and say that seniors are against this bill. you know what they sent instead? they sent an e-mail saying that we must change our messaging. that is almost criminal. i want to thank you seniors in this crowd for what you did in 2009-2010. i remember when seniors were the only ones who read the bill before the one that the former speaker said we had to pass it so we can find out what is in it. back then, she called the men and women, you senior citizens at a rally, she called you an american. -- she called you unamerican. and i'm wearing a marine corps hat and i guarantee you there are men and women who fought for right -- they fought for right to allow her to say that. i won't name her.

we're not supposed to name politicians but her initials are nancy pelosi. so we have been out there regarding your since then, bringing the message out to seniors. the supreme court of the land passed the bill. guess what. we will not take it to a higher court -- we will now take it to a higher court. it is called the people's court. and we will repeal in november. thank you so much for your time. god bless. thank you. >> thank you, jim. the house wrapped up early and paul ryan did the right thing. he went home to see his family with young kids. but we have a special guest. does anybody here watch fox news at all? anyone?

you may see him on fox news. would you please one of his books. they're the best ones out there. he is quiet. he is shy. he is unassuming. but we have coaxed him into talking today. please welcome dick bourse. [cheers and applause] >> this is my backup group. this is a non-political rally. it is designed for public education. so there are some folks back there and on the other end of pennsylvania avenue that need some education. and we will make sure they get that education when the

semester ends later this year and that education will serve them all very well in their retirement. because they are headed for retirement. believe me. i am not as predicting that. i am telling you that. >> after 30 years, i know how to read those polls. the issue we're talking about today is health care and it is not life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. this is not pursuit of happiness. this is not about liberty even. this is about life. some of you may be pro-life, others may not be, but can we not all agree that we're pro-life to keep somebody alive when they are alive, what ever a federal bureaucrat says?

can we not all agree that we live until the medical profession cannot keep us alive and god says it is time to die without asking barack obama? this is truly the most fundamental issue. when obamacare was first introduced, i worked on a speech and an ad that we ran around the country that says how can you treat 30 million more people without any more doctors? the real question is how can you treat 30 million more people with fewer doctors? because of retirements and cuts in the reimbursement rate and the increasing enslavement of american doctors, how can you do it? and the answer is that the only way you can do it is by dumbing down the quality of medical

care until it is so low that it is not recognizable anymore for anybody, for any amount of money, in any situation. and that is not acceptable in the united states. i mean, there is a word here -- it is the most heinous, of seen four-letter word in our language. oddly enough, it is one they don't fire me at fox for using. it is called qulys. quality life years. what they do is, the federal government now has all of your personal medical records. it knows for each one of us what medications we have ever taken, what hospitalizations, any prescriptions we have ever had in our entire lifetime, any

hospitalizations, any diagnosis of any thing, our current weight, our current blood pressure, our current height, all of that stuff is now in the computers in washington. not in violation of the law required by this law. and what they will do is, when one person in this audience -- actually, when i look over this audience, none of the people here are or 65, so this probably has no applicability to any of you. but when somebody comes in here and says i need a heart bypass so the doctor says she needs a heart bypass, they look at the medical history and they figure, without ever meeting you, without ever talking to, without ever talking to your doctor, how many qlys does this woman have?

well, she is 83. she doesn't work. she is retired. she has high blood pressure. she used to smoke. and whatever. she has -- she might live for six years, but and our judgment only four of them are quality years. she only has four qly years left. and you can only spend $4,000 per quality year. that is $70,000 or $80,000 a year. denied. it does not matter if you're talking about someone who has paid taxes into social security and medicare their entire life. it doesn't matter if they are an american citizen. it doesn't matter if they fought for their country. none of that matters. all that matters is what the statistical tables say. if you get cancer, you probably want to be treated with the

drug of choice. in canada, they don't allow people to take it. not because of health reasons, but because it is too expensive. it costs $75,000 a year. and if you are 80 years old, you're not worth $75,000 a year. the federal bureaucracy has decided that your life is not worth that. obama disingenuously says that there is a red pill and there is a green pill and they can it do the same thing. let's give them the red pill that costs half as much as the green pill. that is an absolute total lie. it is not what this is about. what this is about is making judgments as to who is entitled to what life-saving surgery, who is entitled to a hip replacement, who is entitled to a knee replacement. i am sorry you will be in a wheelchair for the rest of your life. i am sorry that that will cost you three or four years of life.

but it is too damn bad. you gave us that power and we are exercising it under the terms of the affordable care act. and if you're a young persons, as so many of you are, then the issue is a little bit more immediate. if you want to give away one month's income in taxes to pay for obamacare? one month's income. either that you have to pay for health insurance before any subsidy kicks in or as a tax that you have to pay for not having health insurance. oh, my god. i am so sorry. tim will come down on me like a ton of bricks. i used the word "tax." we all know it's not a tax.

we all know that it is a penalty. it is a fine. it is an in cents -- an incentive pay is an inducement but it sure as hell is not a tax. you know how i know? because president obama promised not to raise taxes on anody making less than $250,000 a year. so obviously it's not a tax because he wouldn't break his word. sand when "the wall street journal" says that the cost of obamacare would be borne by those making less than $120,000 a year joint family income, then -- they misunderstand it. they think that is a tax. but if it walks like a tax and talks like a tax and justice roberts says it quacks like a tax, he's a pretty good quack

himself, then it is a tax. those young people may need health insurance, not because they're sick. they are in the best of health could not because their children could they are all -- they are in the best of health. the c-h-i-p that bill clinton and i helped develop. but because they might be hit by a bus or run over on their way to a tea party rally. in that case, they need catastrophic health insurance. which is very cheap, not expensive, $1,000 to two thousand dollars a year. and if you want, just give it to them. don't ruin our whole health care system over that. don't make them by the soup-to-nuts policy that a person my age would need good when they don't want it, don't need it and cannot afford to

-- and don't force them to buy it. then there is the worst tax of all. this is a tax on sick people, literally. the sicker you are, the higher your tax level goes. this is called progressive taxation, new style. right now, you can deduct on your income tax all medical expenses beyond 7.5% of your income. he has raised it to 10%. so that means if you have somebody that is so sick, one out of pretax income, one out of after tax income goes for their medical expenses or more, they can't use that. they lose that benefit. you've got a pacemaker, it's taxed under this law. you need a hearing aid, tax. you need a prosthetic limb

because you served in iraq and you gave your arm or leg for your country, we're going to tax that prosthetic limb. that's our way of saying the thank you very much. justice roberts upheld the individual mandate. but that imposes that individual mandate on each and every one of us and then individual mandate is to work like crazy to educate the american people to the dangers of obamacare and to let them figure out on their own, because this is a non-political rally, how the hell we get rid of it. thank you. [cheers and applause]

>> thank you, dick morris. you know, we have to have dick morrises run for office one day. what do you think about that? >> you can't. it's unconstitutional. haven't you read the constitution. the 13th amendment prohibits slavery. >> thanks, dick. ok. you have survived the warmest most humid -- almost the most humid rally in history. tonight, remember scott walk er? this afternoon, we will kick off the general session. so head back in, get some water, get refuel, and we will see you in a few minutes back over the hill. thank you very much. [cheers and applause] ♪ >> now a discussion on the accomplishments of this session of congress and how it compares

to previous sessions. this is from "washington journal." host: the phrase seems to be kicking the can down the road. can you tell us a little bit about -- well, first of all, how this congress might be farring with the amount of legislative work it's doing and the whole issue of compromise to move legislation forward vs. tax? >> it's not unusual when congress is controlled by one party and the other house the controlled by the other party that it's not particularly productive. individually the house and the senate have passed a lot of bills. the only trouble is that this constitution has to be passed by both houses in exactly the same form. the parets disagree with each other so strongly on these

issues that there has not been any consensus or compromise. when we have had productive congresses, one party controls both houses and the past presidency at the same time. the only exception to that is when there is a real crisis and then you get consensus born of extreme necessity, a good example of that is 2001 when the democrats controlled the senate the republicans controlled the house and they came together after september 11th to pass legislation to support the president at that point. host: is there any chances that in historians' office you find popular met forces an trace the force? can you remember when this term "kicking the can" has been popular? >> it's not surprising that congress over time has held a number of lame duck sessions to

deal with the things that they didn't want to deal with before the election one way or the other. i don't know when that particular expression began but certainly in the when that particular expression began, but in the last generation, it was a popular one. punting is how they talk about some of these issues. we talk about any possible way in which it is bottled up. our system was never designed to be efficient. they have very much reflected whatever the current thinking is. the office of the constitution is afraid to have wide swings back and forth, so they cushion the senate so that only 1/3 of the senators run. today, 2/3 of the set was elected in 2006 and 2008, the

rest in 2010. you always have resistance to sudden changes coming out from the house representatives. >> as for the lame duck session, the you have any from the modern era? >> people have said no more. when tip o'neill was the speaker, it was a very unproductive lame-duck session in 1982. he said as long as i am speaker, there will never be another one. sometimes they are not very productive and sometimes they are. in 1980, they come together on the alaskan land fill. it was passed during a lame-duck session in part because the election suggested -- sometimes,

alexians forced one side to adjust its positions. >> last question for you. some critics of the senate point to what has become an automatic filibuster and the 60 vote threshold needed for any legislation to move forward. there has been some discussion about filibuster reform. >> it was 1975 that the filibuster was changed from 2/3 two 3/5, to make easier to stop a filibuster. what it did was make it more likely that majority leaders would file cloture motions and minority leaders would look for the votes to stop them. the tactic has been increasing steadily in the 1980's. it has increased to the point where there is a cloture vote on everything.

it has become seen as an obstruction. it is a majority party position. the fact is, both parties have argued on both sides of this issue. the majority of course is very frustrating. or it doesn't actually get anything into effect. this is the opportunity to stop us from being steamrollers and to make sure that our voices heard in this process as well. the question is whether or not they will be able to reach a consensus or common ground on many reforms about that as well. >> adding a little historical perspective about congress and kicking the can down the road legislatively.

>> a discussion about the future of energy production in the gulf of mexico. after that, republican governors talk about the issues they face with bipartisanship. then, president obama and that romney on july unemployment figures. on newsmakers, texas senator john horne and on the senatorial committee outlines the republican strategy to win a senate majority in this year's election. newsmakers on c-span. >> in the weeks ahead, the political parties are holding their platform hearing in advance of the summer conventions with democrats voting on their final platform recommendations in detroit followed by mid august as republicans start their platform process. party's coverage of the

conventions began with the reform party in philadelphia with gavel-to-gavel coverage of the republican national convention beginning august 27 from tampa and the democratic national convention starting monday, september 3. >> of the country's former chief offshore drilling regulator says that recent production increases and the gulf of mexico and elsewhere could end quickly in the event of another oil spill. he criticized congress for failing to pass any drilling safety legislation since the 2010 oil spill. he spoke on the future of energy development in the gulf of mexico. this is just over one hour. >> will get started. thanks for coming today. i am a member of the national press club newsmaker committee. i am a founding partner at the

policy group at guiliani. i am pleased to be here, because i have lots of good friends on the panel. we have worked together on offshore drilling issues for a few years, because they have been in the news a little bit. i am going to introduce everybody really quickly. we are going to hear from each panelist individually. then, we'll take your questions after, and i will get to that when we get to the question and answer. we are live on c-span today, so welcome, those who are watching. we thank you for being here. with us today to talk about offshore drilling and the politics of it -- this is going to focus more on the future. we are also going to look back on where we have been. we have a great panel, and i am excited to have them. to my immediate right is

michael bromwich, the former director of the bureau of ocean and energy management and regulatory enforcement. did i get that right? he took over after the mid condo spill -- mikando spill and reorganize the agency. he now is with the bromwich group, which is a consulting firm. to his right is our favorite energy reporter. sorry, all you guys out here. jennifer dlouhy, of "the houston chronicle." she really does get the story and has been great, and covered these issues very aggressively for the last two years, especially when we have had such a spotlight on it. welcome. to her right is doug wine steen -- -- weinstein, a longtime analyst on these issues and expert on many issues, from oil

and gas development to master limited partnerships for renewals, which is a recent study of his, two things on call and utility issues. -- to things on coal and utility issues. finally, my good friend steve lavigne -- levine, who writes about the geopolitics of oil. he will focus more on some of the global impacts of what the gulf means. i am pleased to have everybody here. i will turn it over to director bromwich to get it started. >> we will go from there. >> thank you for inviting me and for assembling this panel. let me talk about the recent

past, present, and future of offshore drilling with the focus on the gulf of mexico. we begin with deepwater horizon, the fire and the spill and the 11 deaths at the 4.9 million barrels of oil. that popped the bubble of complacency on drilling for many years. it led to a comprehensive review of the accident itself and of the structure and the content of the regulation of offshore drilling. it led to examination of ways, overhaul, the agency structure and it caused an intensive look at what new regulations were needed to regulate offshore and development. that led to the development of a number of reforms which we

implemented while i was there. we enhanced prescriptive regulations through the drilling a safety rule which addressed casing issues and the certification of drilling programs and so forth. at the same time in 2010, the first performance-based set of regulations were implemented. that required the development of comprehensive programs to minimize the risks in offshore operations. we did our best to enhance and foremost protections by eliminating categorical

exclusions and more intensive analysis through site specific analysis. those were the reforms and we spent a tremendous amount of time for organizational reforms. we eliminated the structure of the former mmp and created a new structure that would eliminate the longstanding conflicts among the different missions of the old agency. we provided through the reorganization a new structure that allowed them to focus in a more single-minded way on their missions. one was balanced development of offshore resources. and the regulation and enforcement function which had been starved of resources over the years. we did that and the new

structure and the bureau of safety and environmental enforcement have accomplished what we have set out to do. one part was blown off with it a few months of my getting there. let's talk about the present. there was a slowing of the pace of permitting in terms of improving plans and permits. the chief cause in the leg was there were new rules that needed to be applied. there was some legitimate confusion in the industry and the agency on how those requirements it should apply.

and third, there was a lack of containment capabilities that existed. as we all remember, bp and others and the government struggled with the way to cap the well. it took 87 days to do it. there were not other resources available. an industry formed to consortium, but that equipment was not ready until many, months later. arguments suggesting the moratorium is extended beyond october of 2010 and it moved in to ignore the fact that until february 2011, there were no adequate containment capabilities. if we had started permitting applications to drill without the containment capability being ready, i think there would

have been a case for impeaching me. the pace picked up as soon as those contained capabilities were available in the spring of 2011. industry became more familiar with the regulatory rules and how they should be applied. and because the process started to move again. the pace has picked up substantially. look at the current data on the website and there is a small current backlog and a low number of permit applications in the return category. and at this time, deep water permits are being granted roughly at the pace of eight to

nine a month. i think everyone has to acknowledge that there has been remarkable progress. the number of deep water rigs is at or near those levels. the pace of permitting is at or near those levels. if you take the period before maconda, 67 new wells deepwater permits were approved. the take a similar period and 61 new permits were approved. the ability of the ad agency to continue processing the permits is dependent on a mainstream and that will be up to congress to maintain and continue.

let's talk about the future. i think based on the recent fails and the data on rigs that i've talked about, i think no one can deny the future looks bright. a successful sale in december, $338 million in high bids. 56 companies submitted almost 600 bids on for 450-plus tracks. let me close with a sobering note.

i think this could come crashing down in the event of another accident. how do we avoid that? there has to be continuing investments in safety and environment protection and they must keep pace with advanced technology and the ambition to move into frontier areas. those advances needed a place in prevention, containment, and in the spill response. innovations in safety and environmental protection with each other and with the government. there needs to be research on the challenges posed by frontier environments.

industry and government, again. there needs to be creative steps to bolster the technical expertise of government through exchange programs with other countries and with industry. that is something that needs to be looked at very carefully. there needs to be continued focus on recruitment of engineers with an adequate level of expertise and efforts to retain them in the government. if you don't have regulators with appropriate training, things will slow down. the needs to be a focus on insuring adequate funding for the regulatory agency. additional substantial funding has been forthcoming. if that stops or slows, we are all in trouble. we do have a greater global

cooperation on prevention, containment, and spill response issues. the advances that i talked about have all been done internally by the department of the interior. frequently it gets less credit than it deserves. it is noteworthy and extraordinary that two years after the spill there has been zero congressional action in response to the spill. thank you. >> thank you, frank. good morning. we have seen an increase in domestic oil production despite the moratorium two years ago and the drop of production in the gulf of mexico. domestic oil production last year reached its highest level

since 2003. i think there is more that we can do and i want to talk about that with specific reference to the gulf of mexico. overall crude oil output increased last year. output in the gulf of mexico has declined, down 230,000 barrels a day. that is about a 13% decline. the number of annual leases has declined. as of july 1, according to baker-hughes, there were 19 active drilling rigs in the gulf of mexico.

that is still short of pre- moratorium numbers. the gulf of mexico is an important energy source. there are tremendous reserves yet to be tapped. can reverse the trend of falling production, the better in terms of economic security and energy security. in today's markets with growing demand despite the recession in europe and slowdowns in other parts of the world, growing demand for oil.

why aren't more rigs currently operating in the gulf of mexico and offshore? one reason is the current regulatory regime. we have a new set of regulations. there's a learning curve and we need to understand these new regulations. piper's is not to criticize but to suggest there is room for improvements in the way we administer our offshore operations. the industry is committed to safety and reliability in their offshore operations, i believe. macondo was a public-relations disaster. the containment facilities are available if there is another

blowout and we hope that does not happen. i would also argue that president obama's energy strategy is critical link to what happens in the output of the gulf of mexico and other areas. you may have seen the study that we did examine the status of permitting and drilling activity in the gulf of mexico. the purpose of the study was not to be critical but to suggest there are some areas of improvement. when an operator submits a plan to drill, the regulators must determine if it meets the initial criteria to be ready for review. first you have to review the

plan and the plan has to reach a certain threshold. the next that this application for a permit to drill. the average number of days for a plan to move to final approval has risen from 50 days to 207 days at present. the amount of time to go through the seven phase has ballooned. another area that needs improving has to do with the way that permits to drill are issued. currently there approved on a just-in-time basis. the problem is it hinders a

company's ability to plan ahead. these rigs cost anywhere from half a billion dollars to $1 billion. the industry standard is the backlog of at least three approved drilling permits for each active rig. we kick it back there, that would help drillers get long- term contracts. if we have 19 active deep water rigs, inventories of approved permits should ideally be 57. but there were only six approved permits. that is an area that needs attention so the drilling companies can line up business in advance and maintain their cash flow. i agree that we have made a lot of progress since macondo.

the productivity of the gulf of mexico could be improved under a more transparent and predictable regulatory environment. >> i thought maybe steve could touch on the role of the gulf of mexico and its impact on the global markets. >> thank you for having me today, frank. i wanted to put the gulf of mexico into a global context and comment on what the previous speakers have said. one thing going on that many of

you have read about is that we are undergoing a very different narrative, global narrative involving gas. we were heading into an era of a scarcity. we were running out of oil and natural gas and have to develop alternatives in order to compensate for that. we have had a number of reports from wall street and think tanks and from consultants of a contrary nature and that is that we're headed into a flood, a global flood of oil supply for two or three decades, not just in the united states but around the world. just starting in north america, the projections here is that by the year 2020, the united states -- north america

including canada is not only self-sufficient in its oil and natural gas needs but has a surplus supply of 3 million barrels a day that either sits in the united states as spare capacity or gets exported. this surplus in the oil patch goes all the way down into south america. there is a boon in brazil and in french guiana and more drilling in that region. both coasts of africa are undergoing deep water drill boons. and then up north in the east

mediterranean. israel and cyprus are finding themselves suddenly petrol states. how does the gulf of mexico fit into this? citibank released projections for 2020. it is the most bullish of the investment banks, the one that projects the united states is producing 3 million barrels a day surplus that can be exported. gulf of mexico production triples from 1.25 million barrels a day of to 3.75 million barrels a day. the gulf of mexico accounts for almost all of that surplus.

what i see is a very different narrative from one that i am hearing -- that i have heard on the panel and that i hear on the outside. it is not that oil companies are standing on the sidelines or nervously biting their nails, "what are going to drill next?" oil companies have their hands full in what the world drill around the world. the challenge for all oil companies is how they are going to drill next. it includes political temperaments that bud alluded to and a belief in part of the population that we should be

shifting from fossil fuels and more towards renewalables. there's been an assessment that 22,000 skilled geo scientists and engineers on the oil patch will retire in the next three years. the number of college graduates and of pregnant employees in the oil services industry and in the oil companies to replace them or not there. there is a current and impending skills crisis.

the question of oil rigs was raised. there was a talk this year of a threat of a shortage of deepwater oil rigs, and there is and one. but there's also not a big surplus. it is sort of teetering. just to close out, if the federal government opened up every single possible acre in the gulf of mexico up and down the atlantic east coast today, the scene would see would not be a big rush into those areas in order to explore them, if there is oil to drill there, would see a scene of long-term planning down the road down the road and also a big question

mark, how will we drove those fields? >> thank you, steve. next i turned to our umpire calling balls and strikes. she is a reporter. there is a link to alaska. a lot of the drilling is in the gulf of mexico and alaska and hope you bring that into the discussion. >> offshore drilling is a hot- button issue before the oil spill and two years later there is just as much heated discussion surrounding the issue. the politics of the issue can make it tough for anyone to get a good read on were things

really stand. there have been policy decisions made during and after the spill that hurts the bottom line. smaller operators bear the brunt of regulatory risk. it exacerbated some of the financial problems of existing companies. there is the recent argument that's the moratorium was necessary, especially while oil was flowing into the gulf of mexico. so much of what you're hearing today boils down to a balancing

act between present and future production. there was uncertainty injected into the mix and it has taken some time for that to shakeout. in the aftermath of the spill and on some of these calculations, i have heard from some operators who said they were engaging with a real back- and-forth with the regulators. i don't think any of these folks relished the process. they wanted to get back drilling. these folks acknowledge and there was a real attempt to get

this right and an effort to help them figure out how they could satisfy what started out as vague requirements and benchmarks. they are figuring it out. they feel like they have a good sense of how to apply for permits and how to get their plans in order and to get an application submitted and the time to submit one has been shortened. that feeling of certainty along with the oil prices earlier this year is one reason why you do see rigs approaching pre- macondo levels. there are new rigs coming into the gulf. one challenge for reporters is affecting how much of the changes since the 2010 spill

are not just window dressing and meaningful. regulators are no longer doing categorical exclusions, exploration plans. there are those that will probably right way questions whether those analyses are more robust than what was done before and more than a check the box analysis. companies can contain deep water run away well. there was a successful test of one of those systems. before that, the only fair test was done by people sitting

around a table top. we have seen in history make changes to improve safety including metrics for process safety. that's a strong industry industry is blinded by their hubris. i will remind you about a refrain we have heard over the past two years. there have been 50,000 wells in the gulf of mexico with one major accidents. deepwater drilling is far more riskier than shallow drilling. deepwater drilling means dealing with incense pressure and combating incensed temperatures.

that involves complex well designs. we should be considering there were 43 wells as complex as macondo that have been drilled without an accident. >> thank you. if none of you asked about alaska, i will. we will do questions. we will take questions from reporters first. if we run out -- i doubt that we will -- we will give others a chance. state your name and try to speak loudly.

c-span wants to capture the questions. i will start with the first question because i am the moderator. jen and mike, the talked-about new regulators and the people that are coming in. well-trained regulators are an important part of that. there has been an industry for many years which has been attacked by others but has been seen as a benefit by others. how was that going in terms of making sure that there is expertise but it is not a bias

or anything like that? >> the line in the wake of macondo is that there was a day too-cozy relationship and that probably overstated it. the benefit of the criticism is in reminded everybody of the need for there to be a business like but arm's length relationship between the regulators and the regulated. the regulators have a serious job to do, make sure all the jobs submitted meet the regulatory requirements. if they do not, they should not be approved. it is important that all regulators recognize the relationship that the need to have and maintain with the regulated entities. it does mean there needs to be an arms-length relationship.

there is a growing level of sophistication in the wells that are being drilled and the wells that industry wants to drill. that will require a higher level of sophistication to scrutinize the applications that are submitted. there have been problems recruiting senior engineers with the skills to give those applications a close look. there are efforts on going

including a pay increase for engineers which moves the ball forward, but more needs to be done. we need to think about those from other industries and other countries which would help regulators do their job in reviewing the applications they have to deal with. that is not a criticism. if there is a rush of new deepwater applications, i think it would be in no one's interest for the backlog to stack up. >> address some of the things that steve mentioned with programs aimed at that. >> absolutely. >> anybody else want to contribute to that? >> there is a brain drain or

worry about technical expertise in the industry to satisfy the demand of energy and that makes the problem that much more difficult. >> the market to do work. you find at smu and other universities, there is a big uptick in the number of students that want to major in petroleum engineering and related fields. >> some questions from our reporter friends. andrew? >> you mentioned your frustration with the lack of action in congress. they appear to be laser focused on this report on the gulf moratorium. they held several hearings on this. if you could weigh in on what the house has been doing. >> we are in a political season

which means we're are in the silly season. house committees are engaged in passing legislation and focusing on issues that they know full well are not going anywhere because they will die in the senate or would be vetoed by the white house. it is unfortunate when there is such an unfinished save the agenda in terms of responding to the oil spill including ratifying the reorganization that we did at interior. it is a shame that they are focusing on the drilling moratorium and the editing of a document that had no meaningful impact on the decisions that were made. that decision was made by secretary salazar because he thought a moratorium was

necessary and appropriate. three days after a started at interior, the original drilling moratorium was overturned by a federal judge. one of my first tasks was to focus on what we should do. we concluded after a couple of weeks of intense review of the options that were available that reimposing the deepwater drilling moratorium was the right thing to do. there was no reliance on engineers' recommendations. we thought it was the right thing to do. the problem is that people are not through the recent scrutiny given by the house looking at the logic and the meaning of

the moratorium and why we thought it was necessary. it is bizarre they rejected secretary salazar's offer to testify about that and instead focusing on how a report may have been edited and maybe some of them supported a pause. take a step back and it is ridiculous that that was the focus rather than on substantive problems that this country should care about. >> you are finding that in other sectors. i do think the shallow water drillers that have operated safely have felt caught in the net. maybe there was a logical explanation because they were

caught in the net. how we could have avoided that or avoid it next time if something like this happens again? >> shallow water drilling was not affected by the moratorium. there were certain requirements that were imposed in june of 2010 that shallow water drillers had to observe. there was maybe the same uncertainty in the short term and that slowed things down. everybody in interior tried to provide the clearest guidance that they could. when you're dealing with the aftermath of an event like deepwater horizon, nobody is ever going to get it right exactly the first time. i don't think anybody can suggest there was a deliberate attempt to slow things down. i have heard that there was a

grand plan to shut down the fossil fuel industry in this country. people realized that was preposterous but it got said over and over again. the reaction of the administration was to try as responsibly as possible impose new requirements and to work with industry so that they understood those. let's talk about permit approvals. that has improved recently because of genuine confusion and uncertainty in the industry and also and the government. in terms for greater transparency, we did everything possible to increase that transparency. record meetings and workshops

on plans and permits to enter the multitude of questions that existed on the part of operators about the new plan approval process. i think the slowdown is that we sought and some of the friction we saw was inevitable. >> i do need to disagreed with might shallow water drillers who were seriously affected after macondo. it was difficult for them to operate. it was all those committees of the texas-louisiana gulf coast who service the offshore industry. they were hurt badly and many of these communities still have not recovered. >> i do not deny that for a moment.

there were additional rules that have to be observed by shallow water colors. i know full well the devastating impact. >> go ahead, ray. >> you mentioned that this new deepwater drilling, there are 43 at the moment. the thing that has anything to do with that kind of skill set or technology? is there a link between those skills -- he said there was a shortage of skills there. is there any connection between the two? >> for some time, cnpc, the

other big chinese overseas oil company, had been attempting to sweep up oil and natural gas around the world, but where are the most important of these plays, the ones that have the biggest prospects, and they are in north america. the play -- you mentioned skills -- is to obtain skills in shale gas and in deep water drilling. it does obtain both with this play. shale. shale.

why is that? china has potentially the largest shale oil and shale gas supplies in the world, but they need to know how to get at it. they need the biggest expertise in drilling. the biggest plays of shale oil gas are in the united states. >> trying to tackle more complex wells. the mexican oil company has focused on shallow water and now they want to do more deepwater exploration. some companies want to get a hold of new technology and expertise and move into new frontiers. >> we have all kind of interest in cuba and now it is going

down. >> we were concerned a year ago -- we were interested in what was happening down there. wells drilled earlier this year were a bit of a bust. >> we do not know what will happen next. are the next set of wells going to be drilled? >> go ahead, david. >> we are three months away from the presidential elections. what kind of role will the memory of macondo play in the election? we had delegates chanting, "drill, baby, drill."

>> i do not know. i do not think anybody can know for sure. i have been surprised and troubled how quickly the memories of macondo have faded. all the discussions i hear on and off capitol hill are all about the pace of deepwater drilling and speeding up the drilling application approval process. very little discussion about safety and the need to advance safety and the importance of companies investing in safety and sharing learnings about safety. that is all very disturbing. i wish there was more of a public outcry pushing for that. in our culture today, i think we generally have short

memories and i think for getting about macondo sooner than one would think is a symptom of the. >> if i can broaden your question. what energy itself be an issue in the presidential campaign? three months ago, gasoline was over $4. the my aunt of the politicians and public was focused on energy. the candidates and members of congress were talking about energy. now nobody is talking about energy and i think that is unfortunate. we do not have what i would consider a comprehensive energy policy in this country and we need one. >> just to differ on that one point.

i think energy has been identified by a certain sector of the campaign and it is the american chamber of commerce but also the oil and gas industry in swing states, a number of the swing states there is a jobs push and it is identifying the development and the enhanced development of shale gas and shale oil in pennsylvania, ohio, and other states. i see energy as being front and center in the campaign in the most important places, the swing states. >> i was down in the gulf region in 2010 just as much as

anyone. a member of lsu said the gulf of mexico is a vibrant place and it can take a number of punches. he said there will not be much environmental impact because of the natural leakage and stuff like that. one reason people have forgotten is because we're seeing ads from bp about how great the tourism season is and we're eating shrimp and having what we want down there, fishing trips and things like that. you lose what happened in 2010 in that sense because we have pushed around it. >> the administration is getting flak from a hill by not opening the atlantic to new leasing.

was your input to the secretary of the five-year new leasing on the atlantic and what lessons did you draw from the gulf that makes the atlantic not appropriate to open up for the next five years? >> most of the development occurred after i left. i know that people including the secretary had not forgotten about deepwater horizon and i think that shaped their decision about wanted to move carefully and prudently. there was a proven history of being able to extract the oil and gas that existed. i think that is the logic and reasoning that was used. reasonable people can differ. the bill that the house passed, they expanded lease sales to

include parts of the country that had weighed in that they do not want them, including the northeast in new jersey and california. california does not want drilling off their shores again. and ataman did not want to live off their shores again. i found that to be oz. >> i think what the long-term trend is that there is a deep water place the begins all the way in the south, the southern tip of south america and africa and goes all the way up to canada. the belief is that there is a lot of -- in different places,

some of the biggest oilfield in the world are along this plate. over the medium and long term, these will be explored and developed. >> in response to that, that may well be true. seismic work will be done in this next five-year plan in the atlantic. >> i would add to that as well, you have a lot of democrats in virginia who are interested in trying to get jelling -- drilling. it is not a partisan issue when it comes to that. >> if i could follow up, jim said he would not allow drilling off the virginia coast as long as it is a member of congress. is it unsafe to drill in the atlantic anytime soon from your

expert point of view? >> to give you a well informed opinion, i would have to be a geologist and i am not. i do think it is wise and prudent to do the seismic work so we have a better idea of what the future resources might be that can be explored. >> i hope it is not too unsafe because i want to burn some wind turbines power is out there. we will have to drill to do that too. >> one of the senators from alaska has said that the window is getting shorter and the department chicken sitter making it longer because -- the department suggested making it longer. everyone said we do not know much about the arctic and things are ironed -- things are always changing their. should the department be open to

extending it at all? >> my sense is that the outer boundary of the period they established were done with the knowledge of the historical conditions there. everybody understands the very substantial dangers caused by a potential oil spill. i would think the interior would be very cautious, prudent and somewhat reluctant to expand that window. i believe it was based on reason and facts at the outset and the fact that there have been a host of things that have created delays in the process, some of them by mother nature, some because there have been delays in getting things ready to be certified. i am nor -- i am not sure that is sufficient reason to expand the window.

>> shell -- they still potentially have the opportunity to do topsoil drilling, start a well, come back a year later and finish it. they are interested in pursuing this and they have already gone back to the case history and looked at wells drilled in the 1990's. that is also a possibility for exploratory work that we could see later this year. >> what else was your impressions of being up there? as a person who has covered this issue for so long, do you -- did you get a sense they were ready to go? >> i think it is fair to say that there is a determination on the part of shell and certain

folks in the administration to get this going. but there have been quite a few recent setbacks as michael noted, including some problems getting a key piece of their spill response plan certified by the coast guard. apparently seed drills are expected later this week and. -- this weekend. there have been some significant delays and there are still questions remaining about quickly they will get up there even if mother nature cooperates. >> we have time for about two more questions. in the back. >> i am a political analyst with tv out of tehran. a lot of folks in florida have not been paid out by bp.

about $1 million of lost revenue. i wanted to have the panel weigh in on people not being compensated for their businesses. the other issue was around the solar industry, it is wildly successful in germany. i will let the panel to weigh in on why we are wasting money in failed companies, half a billion dollars coming out of government and the businesses in the united states. >> it sounds like another newsmaker which i would love to do. since i worked on some of those products. but talk about the compensation issues and whether you think people have been -- anyone? >> i do not know that anyone on this panel has the tell knowledge -- has detailed knowledge. the court has taken it over. i do not have any insight into that. >> i think i have not seen a lot

of people really upset with a lot of the heartfelt efforts that have been made by companies to reinvigorate the region. we know that they -- people were hurt by it. and there are lots of other issues that are at play here but in both the government and bp and the effort to jointly have been targeted on trying to get people back to that region and get the economy moving again. anyone else have a question before i go back to ray? >> dimensions -- you mentioned the importance of continuing the applications. the energy information administration has predicted a substantial increase in production in the next 10 years.

can you comment on whether flat funding in this time of austerity is enough to keep up with the expected pace of applications? maybe you can comment on whether the impending sequestration cuts, how that would impact the drilling agencies. >> i think flat funding is insufficient. we are making up slowly but finally making progress on a 28 year deficit when there was an adequate funding for the full range of responsibilities that the mms had. i think flat funding would be insufficient and i think they need to continue to ramp up the funding, as congress has done, in the last couple of years. i have not looked at what the impact of sequestration would be specifically on the agencies that we created through the reorganization but i suspect it cannot be good.

>> anyone else want to talk about that at all? >> one of the things republicans did early on with a fully funded a lot of those new specters and things like that which was quiet opposite from some of the other things they were doing. i found that to be interesting. >> i know they are not earmarked by considering the billions of dollars that the oil and gas industry pays in taxes, you would think some of that revenue could enhance the regulatory oversight programs. >> i did not think the interior cares where the money comes from. it does need the money. -- it just needs the money. >> how the law of the sea treaty might affect the arctic law and whether it has affected u.s. thinking on that law? >> the latest on law of the sea

treaty is that it will come back in september after the recess. i think there will be some interesting discussions on that. >> i am not familiar with the law of the sea debate but just to comment on -- i would be interesting to know the time when there but russia is going to aggressively into the arctic. there are three big contracts that have been met over the past eight months with the big players -- exxon mobil, et.c at an aggressive pace in an environment where there are not the type of regulations we have here, the most optimistic projection of first oil -- 2013. >> here is the last question for the panel -- five years from

now, we are reconvening this panel to have a discussion of the next five-year plan. what has happened in the past five years that -- give me your predictions. what happens in that time? >> i think that production in the gulf of mexico will be much higher than today. and that the oil industry will be complaining that it does not have enough access. [laughter] >> that is a shocking prediction. >> i would hope that five years from now, the oil and gas industry will have created another 700,000 jobs as they have in the past five years. it is important to keep in mind that if we look a the economy today in terms of total employment, it is not back to where it was before the great recession. if you look at the oil and gas

industry, net employment increase has been 700,000 since 2008. no other industry has come close in terms of god -- job creation. >> i think five years from now, there will be an increase in domestic oil and gas production, largely on shore, due to what we're seeing in terms of shale. i think we will still hear plenty of arguments about whether drilling off the virginia coast should be allowed. >> i think it is most likely that this is the discussion we will be having. i fear that unless people continue to focus on safety, we will be having a very different discussion. >> i want to thank the panel for being here. we will answer additional questions afterwards. we hope to enjoy this and feel free to ask questions individually.

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> republican governors talk about the issues they face and the partisanship. then president obama and republican presidential candidate mitt romney on july's unemployment figures. >> this weekend on american history tv, the turning point of the sitting be did the civil war, was it gettysburg or the seven days' battles for richmond? >> his ileana and robert e. lee emergence as a successful field commander marked a decisive moment in the eastern theater that profoundly shaped a larger direction of the conflict. >> university of virginia professor gary gallagher on the week long 1862 battle that drove the union army away from the federal capital.

sunday, more from the contenders. key political figures who ran for president and lost that change political history. >> i would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty has no -- is no vice. >> senator barry goldwater, the 1964 republican candidate who lost to lbj at 7:30 eastern. this weekend on c-span3. >> we have to be really clear about the very many ways that we own ourselves and our history. and that we make decisions that our history is phenomenal, vital, and special. correct the former president of bennett college, politics, education and african american economic history. this sunday, your questions, calls, e-mails for the author of "365 facts in black economic

history." in depth live at noon eastern on c-span2's book tv. >> a group of republican governors recently gathered in aspen, colorado, for a discussion on a number of issues including education, gun- control, and the shootings in rock, colorado. chris christie and a jersey, a bobby jindal of louisiana, bob mcdonnell of mention it -- of virginia and nikki haley of south carolina have been mentioned as a possible vice presidential running mate for mitt romney. the forum was moderated by the group's president and ceo walter isaacson. >> welcome, everyone. please take your seats. it is good to have the republican governors paddle back again. i want to thank those who have pulled this together.

this is part of our speakers series. thank you. thank you to are near aspen residents. good to see you. we have carl. he has been a friend of the aspen institute and louisiana right after the storm. i will start with bobby jindal. i have been barred him for so long. -- i have admired for so long. thank you for being here. you have been a leader in education reform. yet not all it reformed education, but it has been a revolution -- you have not only reform education, but it has been a revolution. you created a new type of system with competition and choice. explaine why you are doing that.

>> first of all, thank you for your leadership. many of you may not realize that he was very involved in louisiana and trying to help it get back on its feet. [applause] i want to talk briefly about education reform in the orleans and across the state. new orleans pre-katrina -- katrina did not cause all the problems. it is tempting to say everything was fine and the tremendous for the school system. the school system was one of the worst public school systems in the entire country. we had dozens and dozens of employees down to be paid at companies that did not exist. that people get paid in new orleans as well.

what was horrific was the lack of education. there were no supplies. it was terrible. katrina comes through and the stories the buildings. -- and destroys the buildings. the state comes in. interestingly, charter schools. the state was not in position to directly operate all of those schools. it is one of the most chartered cities in america. 80% of kids in new orleans go to charter schools. in the last five years, the

percentage of kids are reading and doing math and great love in new orleans has doubled. the percentage of kids has doubled. for anyone says who you can do this quickly, new orleans shows you can do it quickly. this does not mean you need a charter school everywhere. we have shut down charter schools that were bad. we have had great charter schools. several different groups of come in and help us do this. paul did a phenomenal job. we now have a new guy from new york state doing a great job. we are doing this state wide. we have done several things of the state level. here are three very important state reforms. one, we gave a letter grade on all public schools. the letter grade is based on quantifiable data.

how will i students during on standardized -- are students doing on standardized tests? are my kids learning? are they reading? are they doing math? how are they comparing to other kids in other states? it turns out there were not doing as well as others. one-third of our kids were above grade level. we responded $1 billion on failing schools. this was a very important for step. if you do not do this, a lot of people argue the status quo was fine. we had to argue that it was not fined. we passed a law lot this past year saying the dollars will follow the students instead of the students following the dollars. students can take the dollars and go to a private school or charter school, whatever made sense for this child.

>> basically, a voucher system. >> we call it scholarships. the teacher unions call it four- letter words. call it whatever you want. the average tuition was roughly $4,600. the kids are doing better. we had over 10,000 kids are applied. we had between 5000-6000 slots. one of the teacher indians came out and said that parents do not have a clue when it -- one of the teacher unions came out and said that parents do not have a clue. i want a couple of things out there. we reformed how we evaluate, hire, pay, and hire or fire our teachers.

it is no longer based on seniority. [applause] the teacher union said, we do not mind you evaluating teachers. just do not try to tie it closely to student achievement. we're very proud of what we're doing in louisiana. some people say this is ambitious. but i am here to tell you that are many governors doing similar things. bob has done great things. he has an education summit coming up. chris has been fighting for school choice in new jersey.

we look at what nikki is doing in south carolina. this is extremely important. if we want to compete economically with other states and other countries, we have to improve education in america. we cannot be 16th in the world. [applause] the teacher unions stopped by and announced they were suing schools participating in this program. they try to fight us every step of the way. you are trying to recall others. they are the coalition for the status quo. it cannot be about the adult in the school system. it has to be about the kids.

>> thank you, governor. governor chris christie, i want said thank you. he did wonderful things in new york. home run. you talked about newark and great reforms there. it said that charter and choice. explain that. >> we passed tenure reform in new jersey. it ties directly to student achievement. it allows a teacher to lose tenure at the two years in a row of partially affected operating are one year of an effective reading. we have all this tenure law in america.

it is 100 years old. the people who are paying to not have that amended was the teacher unions. we have a good charter law. we close some bad charters as well. we opened up more in new jersey. we focus on the struggling districts. some parents do not have the ability to send their kids into schools. we want to give them a choice. >> how are you working with cory? >> he is my favorite democrat.

what booker understands is that his city will never turn around until the educational system turns around. but he understands is that the status quo is not the unable in being able to turn his city around. we are working together on expanding charters and trying to get the choice in the city of newark. the teachers' unions make the argument that money equals folley. in new york, we spend $24,000 per student per year. the kids who entered ninth grade last year, 20% of them will graduate with a high school diploma in four years. the argument we are making is

that for 30 years, big teacher unions have saying things that are simply not true. what we find is that the more money we spend, the worst of the results debt. -- results get. we are paying for students to not go to class. >> day have a new contract? -- do you have a new contract? >> we do not have one yet. she ran the public school system in new york city. if she did work get there, we have a shot in newark. bottom line, newark's school system -- my parents made the decision that the school system was so bad that they wanted their son to have a future. they had to get us out. we have the ability to get out and go to a better school district.

most parents do not. pretty marta's into the district while carter's turn around. >> and john white, the person that you mentioned, the thing they have in common is that there were both teach for america members. speaking of unions, governor scott walker. [cheers and applause] you have had an interesting year.

what lessons did you learn from the recall? >> right on cue, our budget has turned into a surplus. i was able to put money into the rainy day fund. eight of these great governors are great friends of mine. they help me out on this campaign. the biggest lesson in our state, a state that is truly a swing state in the presidential election, the voters said they elect us and what leaders willing to make tough decisions. that was the most compelling message of all. we have heard it. [applause] all of us as candidates, we hear of voters complain about two things up -- to buy complain about candidates who say things

and then break their promises -- they complain about candidates who say things and then break their promises. why is it that all of us can see perfectly clearly what the problems are, what needs to be done, but the politicians in coppice failed to take heard on those issues? but we did. -- office failed to take action on those issues? but we did. people like my friend paul ryan is one of the most courageous men i know in politics. i knew that if we did not prevail in the election, it would set aside courage in congress and in washington.

the only thing that is different from me and the other governors is that i got a little bit more attention. but all of them have been doing. -- equally courageous things around the country. will it courageous things around the country. the results are really amazing. think about it. the states elected these governors in 2010. the unemployment rate is greater than the national average. republican-led states have a 1% difference lower in in the unemployment rate. that is because we're willing to take on tough decisions. voters want us to do that. [applause] >> one of the things that governor christie and governor jindal have in common is that if you are working very well with democratic mayors and legislators. you need every day with a democratic leadership.

after your recall, did you find a way to reduce the partisanship and reach out? it cannot be done? >> sure. mayors, it may be tough. it may take some time. my wife said before the election, on election night you have to say something that will bring the state back together. your supporters acknowledge this was a great win. bring the state back together. she suggested having the lawmakers over to eat. i love june cookouts. we will have bugers and beer.

we have 400 law makers and spouses come over and sor tof dave -- sort of gave them permission to be social again. it really put a freeze on the ability for people to work together because there were outside pressures. now that it was gone, each week lawmakers come over for breakfast or lunch to talk about things we can work on. when we talk about the economy, it is about moving our states forward. >> nikki haley, welcome back to the stage. on the national level when it comes to fiscal issues, it seems there is a cliff we are about to drive off but people are not ready to compromise.

at the state level, you always have to be ready to do that. you have a great reputation as anyone for being against taxes. at times, you have voted for a sales tax increase would have to be part of the package to keep a clip from happening. do you think it is possible vote on the federal level -- do you think it is possible on the federal level to find a solution somewhere to are the simpson- bowles came out? will there be tax reform, but also a larger proportion -- or do you think it is too big of a compromise? >> instead of steps looking at where the income will come from, how are we spending the money? [applause] whether you are a republican or

a democrat, everyone needs to understand that government money belongs to the people. how they spend it matters. this last budget, i said that any additional revenues that come in -- i do not think any states are out of the woods -- i think any additional revenues that come in should pay off debt or go into trust funds are back into that tracks fund relief. nothing else. -- or back into the tax fund relief. nothing else. and there are a great missions, but that is not the role of the government. one of the things i vetoed it was the arts commission. we love the arts. but our founding fathers did not say that the government should

control the rights of people and the arts commission. they said to control the rights of people and not be all things to people. we have some people saying, how dare you take out arts commission. we did not take the arts out of schools. but i told the people of south carolina, did you know we are paying $1.6 million for 18 people to work in and 18,000 sq. ft. building? there is no way they can do that. educational tv, would be towed back last year. every year, we're putting money on the line item and millions of dollars and they had nothing to show for it. we have reformed it. now it is paying for other programs. the key is that everyone is looking for money. the money is there. washington is in chaos. what we need to do in the state,

we need to balance the budget. we have to take on pension reform. we need to do it in a way that we can. i do not think we compromised on that. >> governor bob mcdonnell of virginia. thank you for joining us. >> thank you for putting this together. [applause] >> early in this institute, your 20 years in the army, is that right? others are here is saying, maybe it is time both for military and other ways to expect everyone to do a couple of years of national service. what did think of the idea of expected national service?

>> first, thank you for hosting the republican governors as you have done the last couple of years. we contributed by helping end the drought. we have other governors and others who will be here. by the wya, congratulations -- by the way, congratulations on the new book on steve jobs. we are all for jobs. entrepreneurship is something that needs to be encouraged and awarded at every level. your story about steve jobs is very important. america is the most generous country on earth. you name it. it goes back to the traditions

that our fathers planted here in virginia and other places as well. the military and -- we have people who voluntarily serve. including the husband of nikki haley. thank you for that. [applause] the people are willing to go to foreign soil and fight and defend and die for people they do not know because they love freedom so much. i am not sure, it has been a long time since the draft, but we have always done things in america because we are motivated by doing the right thing instead of being compelled by government. that may be a noble goal, but what we need is that people who have a blueprint from the president and others to celebrate and start to talk about duty they have as an american.

through much is given, much is required. we have a moral duty to give back. we need to talk about that at the heart of the service and not a new government obligation. we should want to do it because it is the right thing to do. it could be mentoring are volunteering at a local soup kitchen. to me, that is the way to keep america a great and not a new government mandate. [applause] >> any of the thoughts i national service? on governor christie, you are famous for working across the aisle. why does that not happen in washington? what lessons can we learn from new jersey and the lake district of columbia?

>> -- the district of columbia? >> it takes effort. one of the things that happened to me dramatic transition was that i saw a mentor of mine. we had weekly meetings. in the first meeting, he sent me the agenda. i sat down and said, what is today? he said, who is your best friend? i said, my wife. he said, no more. [laughter] i said, really? he said, the senate president will be your best friend. if he did not make yourself friends with the senate president, you will not get anything done.

you have to develop a trusting relationship with him. you will agree and disagree badly on some things, but you have to work hard as you can to develop a relationship with him. when there are difficult moments when you are really close anything get compromise, the last barrier in his experience to compromise is a trust. in the end, you are looking across at the other person from the other party. will they make this compromise? will they be true to their word? or will they stick it to me? i think the difference is the relationships in washington. the president did not spend any time trying to get to the john boehner because he did not need him. he ignored him. when he tried to develop a relationship with him when he became speaker, it was too plate.

what we learned in new jersey -- it was too late. what we live in new jersey -- we're not talking about a warm and cuddly guy. he cares deeply about the things he believes in. we have found a way to sit and talk with each other. we have an obligation that is bigger than our parties. we need to get things done. he was the sponsor of the pension and benefit reform bill. it raise the retirement age. it put bigger penalties in for early retirement. increase the contribution of every union member from the school board to the state.

he was the sponsor of the bill. he added that democratic assembly speaker posted a those bills with only one-third of their caucus vote for it. once the caucus and the republicans pass the bill -- he came in for the last meeting before posting it for a bout. our conversation was, we need to protect each other. we had tens of thousands of people for that week on the front steps of the capital. union workers of the public sector from both new jersey and around the country. you ever calling us all kinds of names. he said, we need to be with each other on this. by that time in june 2011, we had a year and have a working together and a year and a half of relationship. that makes a difference. if you do not start the, you have no hope of bridging the gap. because there is no trust. we need a strong leader in the white house who will develop personal relationships with not just republicans, if you are republican president, and not just democrats if you are a democratic president, but everyone.

he there now if you will need them. that is what being president -- you do not know if you will need them. that is what being president is all about. [applause] >> in the republican primaries this year so far in indiana, nebraska, and yesterday in texas, the republican who was best at working across the aisle and developing trust and sometimes compromising -- are you worried about our primary system and the ones who are did we cannot keep compromising as usual? >> i think this is a big difference here. i do not agree with their promise. -- your premise. in general, the candidate winds. -- wins. the more energetic and vigorous candidate won in all three of those. the job of a governor and president is -- you cannot have anyone sacrifice their principles. if you have to compromise your principles, you need to worry about that person. you cannot get everything you want.

the job of the governor is to find that boulevard. it exists between getting what you want and compromising your principles. your job as executive is to find your way on that the boulevard to make progress for your state to puree the sometimes it is obvious. sometimes it is -- to make progress for your state. but sometimes it is obvious. sometimes it is hard. they did not see the president as and distant, evil figure.

he became more human to them. why did he ask them for a compromise, maybe they will be willing to listen as long as it is not compromising their principles. >> governor walker? [applause] >> to follow up on what he said, chris talked about the protest he had. there was a protest in the capital around that time. christie + sweetie = walker was protestor sign.

the good is when you get good things accomplished. 96% of all of the bills i signed into law had the votes from republicans and democrats and independents. 96%. overwhelmingly, most of those bills were about wealth in the economy and things we could do the stimulate the government. republicans initiated them, and many democrats and in the pants went along with that as well. conversely -- and independents went along with that as well. for years in congress, we have

had are giving had a fair amount of members of congress not willing to make tough choices. that is why we face the kind of deficit problems we have today. in that case, that is bipartisanship in a way that i do not embrace. i want bipartisanship to reach across party lines that produces results. one other tidbit to add. the biggest thing missing in the debate -- they are taking a narrow focus. if these are things that this party and the party hates, if we take an equal number of this, we can balance the budget.

there is no growth agenda. there is no strategy for growth. growth is not come from our government. think about it. five simple things we should of the federal level. balance the budget is a big one. reduce the marginal tax rate like we did a generation ago to put more money back in the -- to the american people. rein in the epa. if we did all of those things -- [applause] >> bobby jindal. governor walker mentioned the repeal of the health care law.

i think you were 12 and came back from england. what would you do to agree a new health care law revision? >> one of my greatest disappointment in this president did is his failure to lead on entitlement reform. let at it. every time he talks, he always says, we know we need to reform the entitlement reform. get a little more time. he has said that four years in a row. go back even further when i was at the hhs.

you had democrats and others endorsing premium support. we need to reform medicare. it is not sustainable. one of the greatest failures back then was a failure of the clinton administration. you need to have democrats will not demonize people like paul ryan. everyone was looked up this program know that we cannot continue to do this. the president had a majority in the senate and house. he did i even tried to get republican votes. he have the bill written and then he tried to get them to sign it. >> do you agree there should be better health care? >> absolutely. >> what would you do to make sure people could have better health care? >> it is not that complicated. health care needs to be more affordable. indeed did give tax incentives to business owners.

people should not have to buy their health care. it should be able to. but if they want to buy it through their churches are their unions -- we need to reduce the costs of health care. it and send tens of millions of dollars a federal taxpayer dollars. [applause] i understand folks are worried and they want protection. give them a voluntary basis. if you are willing to adjust for the population growth and inflation, if you will produce lower inflation, in return you show us your health care outcomes as good or better than what you were doing before, i bet to every governor would take that deal in a heartbeat.

>> would you take that deal? >> if you would save millions of dollars. we have to adopt a -- younger working adults need march was in competition sitting dead innovative health care plans and will meet their needs. -- more in the competition and innovative health care plans that will meet their needs. instead of a consumer based health care, we would like the consumers incentives with the providers incentives with the employers' incentives. if you can save money, you get to pocket some of those savings. there are many other things we need to do. this is where we need to move to in the health care in america.

we have opened up dozens of clinics to get people out of the emergency room. we have a portable records. if the understand it in a way so consumers can make real choices. the what bureaucrats running your health care or do you want your provider's -- do you want bureaucrats running your health care idea what you're providers running the health care? >> governor haley, but you can governor jindal are both the children -- but both you and governor jindal of the children of immigrants. do we need to be more welcoming to illegal immigrants? how do that in immigration reform?

>> we have passed one of the strong as illegal immigration reform in the country. i tell people i am the proud daughter of indian parents remind us every day how blessed we are to live in this country. but they came here the right way. they've paid in their time and money. they are offended by people who come here illegally because they did the right way. what we have to say is that we will not take legal immigration in this country. we are a country of laws. , give up the laws, we give up everything america is made of -- when we give up the laws, we give up everything america is made up. [applause] the way we need to do this is understand that border control is not just every time someone crosses the border, there goes another one. we have a lot of good talent that comes to our universities.

they come here and we educate them and given the talent and emmys and the back to their country. we need to expend the working department so we keep the talent here and also do it legally so that it works. people think it is one or the other, but it is not. >> questions. raise your hand. i will call you out if i can. there in the red. >> i am a foot soldier at the white house. i miss having a discussion was someone about economic issues. had to deal with it ahmanson and recognizes there could be an issue on the policies?

>> governor christie, you are reaching for your microphone? >> in new jersey, i in the first pro-black governor who has been elected since roe versus wade. -- pro-life governor president- elect it since roe versus wade. i think what most people who are concerned about some of those issues where we have differences of opinion, what they want to here is your honest feel. usa did not want to hear your deriding someone else. what want to hear -- they do not want to hear you deriding someone. they want to hear your honest deal. don't try to be all thigns to all -- things to all people. we flat out talked about it.

here is where we stand. if you are talking to someone who is passionate about social issues that are opposite from the candidate you would support, he has the freedom to go. if you try to hedge and morph your view on these tough issues, then you are nothing. we don't need more people like that in politics. [applause] be up front with the person. >> scott walker. >> a message to them is the same as other swing voters out there. the most compelling issue is the future of our children.

our country is in a fiscal crisis. this president knew in 2008 knew what economy was facing at the time. we have lost almost half a million dollars in this country under this president. it is not working. it is a people who voted for him last of member that it is ok for them to try, but he has failed. we need to move on and find someone who can fix this. we're looking at this from an economic and fiscal standpoint. paul ryan and i earlier this summer stood up and remind the voters in our state that after years earlier, barack obama stood up and said it was on page added to add four trillion dollars to the national debt at that point. five trillion dollars has been added and. this president has failed.

what better candidate than someone who has turned businesses around? this is a candidate, mitt romney, who saved the olympics 10 years ago. he literally rolled up his sleeves and fixed something the federal government had screwed up abundantly. this is a guy who can turn america around. we need someone who can fix things. [applause] >> governor haley.

>> there is simple. what i would say is to tell your friends to ask who has lost jobs? it is all about the jobs in the economy. we can have our social issue debate. social issues are tough to talk about when you are seeing many people unemployed. >> governor christie, to follow up on what you are saying, do you think it would be possible and permissible in the republican party for governor romney to pick a running mate who was not pro-life? who was not pro-life? >> i have to say that the party will look at what governor romney wants to do and who he will pick and who he is comfortable with.

for me, i would not want to do that. if you're voting for someone wh -- people want consistency in that regard. in the end, it will be governor romney's choice. there is a one vote. he gets to make it. this is the kind of thing where people will only talk about that in our party. let me ask you the same question back. would barack obama be free to pick a pro-life president at the democratic national convention? i think we play defense of this too much because the question

always comes our way. why would we ask governor romney in this? let's turn the question around. all barack obama and pick a pro-left candidate? bob casey was not allowed to speak at a convention because he is pro-lifers. -- pro-life. my point is, the fact that the question is a sincere is proof of the context that we have included. that question is never asked of the democratic party. i have never heard it since the bob casey. but my predecessors was a pro- choice republican.

good to imagine the democrats making a pro-life democratic co- chair of the convention? -- could you imagine the democrats making a pro-let democratic co-chair of the conventions? it is possible. but i would not do it. [laughter] [applause] >> right there. and gentlemen in the back. >> as always, great the governors and great leadership for our country. thank you. >> please identify yourself. >> richards. unemployment among the young people has more than doubled. when we take a look at college graduates in their 20's, the bigger problem is under

employment. if we continue to have people pay for this education and come out as workers or managers of starbucks and begin to address the unemployment of our twentysomethings, we have a big problem. internships clearly help students get to the goal line of jobs. yet government who could clearly help with the resume does not pay interns. the government could use a lot of endurance, but we do not pay interns. >> governor mcdonnell. >> let me talk about the broader issue a workforce development and how to get the greatest country on earth back to work. that will determine who wins this election.

that is what this election is about. [applause] i'll give you the political answer and the policy answer. politically, that statistic that you give is one of the best reasons why mitt romney will win. those voting blocks that were attracted before, it did not work so well for those 10 people. they are getting out of college thousands of dollars in debt and there are no opportunities that used to be there. it is young voters that are suffering worse in the obama economy. the make up a majority of that 8.1% unemployed. growth through economic development and not more taxes is exactly the message to i want

to hear. second, that the voting block is the one that will pay the bills for the absolutely irrespo nsible tax policies of the last several years. we want to get it on track. let me tell you what the real answer is. paid it and ship -- internship. the top thing they want to know about is what to do long-term to train and motivate a workforce to sustain a business for the long haul? that is why when we look at china and singapore and other places, we have our work cut out for as. we have a great education system. we have the best workers in the

world. but if we do not have the focus, if we do not have the workers turning for the some people, we will not cut it. one of the most alarming statistics i have heard recently, and this is the biggest challenge for the next president and governors, is that we are the lowest level of new started businesses in america in 30 years. think about that. small businesses in america. there is no way for the existing corporations medium and large to create and sustain economic growth we need to keep america the hope of the earth. you need to have a steve jobs or bill gates. until we create a culture of entrepreneurship and we have every policy at the federal and state level focused on creating the next generation of entrepreneurs and motivate the some people are getting out of college and to think about the

american dream in a new way and be willing to take new risks and that is whyelail -- romney is the best for america. >> this is about jobs. what will we do to get people jobs? that goes back to, what are we doing to recruit businesses? i am looking forward to the day when we're not taking from each other. a south carolina has started to do that. in the south carolina, we build things. we build the cars and planes. all of that comes with a workforce to do it. there are three factors that allows south carolina to be a state where companies are coming in. we're keeping the costs of doing business low. i replaced my entire board --

tiem is money -- time is money. for them.he workers they tell me how many engineers and they need. i make sure i have those workers ready. i am telling you. i will continue to be a union buster all day long. we are still one of the lowest unionize states in the country. for all of you who have asked me about the national labor report, you need to go. what happened in south carolina, boeing, a great american company wanted to expand to thousand jobs in washington state. not one person was hurt. the ball and the national labor board sued and said -- president

obama and the national labor board sued. every one of the governor stepped up and said, this is the most on american thing we have ever seen. it being an election year, i think president obama realized it could be a problem. we ask every presidential candidate but they thought about it. everyone spoke about it except for president obama. that lawsuit was dropped. instead of those thousands employees in boston, a few weeks ago we saw one of those big mac daddy planes, onto the tarmac and saying made with pride in the south carolina, followed by 6000 non-union employees. [applause] >> thank you. i have heard some wonderfully

inspiring things. one of the things you said that one of the problem once of leadership is taking difficult positions, especially public decisions. why do i hear a few people stand up in the republican party speaking about weapons and reform and assault weapons that are designed to kill human beings? there is no excuse for them. [applause] >> who wants to take that? [laughter] >> any form of assault weapons or anything else that wiswe s hould consider.

>> we need to enforce the laws that are on the books. not think taking weapons away from law-abiding citizens will make it safer. we need to keep weapons away from those who will break our laws. it does not lack courage. there is a principled this agreement. we can have that this agreement. i think it is i have a different view. the left sometimes try to create rights that are not in the constitution. they find all these things. the spring -- the supreme court ruled our state cannot with the deaths convicted child molester, this said it was not constitutional for us to put him to death and get some of the same folks that said that do not want to read what is in the amendment. if folks want to sit -- change that, they should change the constitution. i think it is a principled stand. the way we make our communities safer is not by disarming the law-abiding citizens but focus

our efforts on enforcing laws on the books, stop these nonsensical operations like fast and furious. and crack down on the criminals, not the law-abiding people. [applause] >> i would agree with the premise. political courage is in the eyes of the beholder. i disagree with the premise of the question, too. in new jersey, we have some of the toughest gun laws of any state. with the most densely populated state in the country. we have people with some tempers there's a you have to be careful. you have to be careful about what is going on but the fact is the terminations -- these determinations should be made state-by-state. >> you have supported the gun control laws. which are produced it in new jersey. >> i have because that's what the people of our state want. they have been found to be constitutional.

i did not have any problem with that or different states making different determinations. but i disagree with the premise of the question. i have been really repelled by the reaction to the things that happen in this state. by politicians tripping over each other to take a tragedy, before people even have their funerals, and try to turn it into a political cause. i think it is wrong. it has been done by a number of politicians. toomey please have the funerals for the dead first before we start lining up with the bills in congress -- can we please have the funerals first in before we start winding up with the bills in congress. we should not use tragedy's in the day are to afterwards to have people jump up holding press conferences saying because of this, now we have to do a, b, or c. let's let people mourn and

recover first before we start to do a political grandstanding. that is why people hate politicians. things like that. these are people suffering and now we are going to turn it into a big political circus. we should not have that in this country. we should have more caring for each other and the human spirit and not have every politician running for a microphone every time there is a tragedy in this country. [applause] >> i want to take the all for being here. we will see you next year. i do want to stress we are not -- a non-partisan institute. there is a dinner for madeleine albright that i'm about to hand over to. but i really do appreciate all of you being here again. thank you very much. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

>> president obama and republican presidential candidate mitt romney, next on july's unemployment figures. and first lady michelle obama a campaign rally in new hampshire. after that, a campaign rally on capitol hill against the health care law. >> we did not begin as a city in kentucky. there was only a vague native american region and later a county in another state called ky. but we began in 1778. >> this wycombe, a joint book to

become american history tv and c-span's local content vehicles in lowell, ky. biographer john david dyche. three weeks at farmington plantation in 1841 would be key on shaping abraham lincoln's view on slavery. then the steamboat on ohio river. take a look at the belle of the ohio. -- the bill of louisville. this weekend, from louisville on c-span 2 and c-span 3. >> now, president obama speaks at the eyes and hair as yet the eisenhower executive building. the senate passed the bill last

month, but the house defeated a similar measure. instead, the house passed a bill that would extend the tax cuts for high-income earners as well. the president also comments on the july unemployment report with 163,000 jobs added, despite a rise in the -- in the unemployment rate from 8.2% to 8.3%. this is about 10 minutes. [applause] >> thank you, everybody. good morning. thank you. thank you so much. thank you. have a seat. it is great to see all of you. i hope you're having a wonderful summer. i am joined here today by moms and dads, husbands and wives. middle-class americans who work hard every single day to provide for their families.

like most americans, they work hard and they don't ask for much. they do expect, however, that their hard work will pay off. they want to know that, if they put in enough expert, if they're acting responsibly, then they can afford to pay the bills, that they can afford to own a home that they call their own, that they can afford to secure their retirement and, most of all, that they can afford to give their kids greater opportunity, the other children -- that their children and grandchildren can achieve things that they didn't even imagine. every single decision that i make is focused on giving them that chance. if we want to keep moving this country forward, these are the folks who will get us there. this morning, we learned that our businesses created 172,000

new jobs in the month of july. that means that we have now created 4.5 million new jobs over the last 29 months. and 1.1 million new jobs this year. those are our neighbors and family members finding work. and the security that comes with work. but let's acknowledge that we still have too many folks out there who are looking for work. we have more work to do on their behalf. not only to reclaim all the jobs that were lost in the recession, but also to reclaim the kind of financial security that too many americans have felt has been slipping away from them for too long. and we knew, when i started in this job, that this would take some time. we have not had to come back from an economic crisis this before this painful since the 1930's. but we also knew that, if we

were persistent, if we kept at it, and kept working, that we would gradually get to where we need to be. here is the thing. we will not get there -- we will let it to where we need to be if we go back to the policies that helped to create this mess in the first place. and the last thing that we should be doing is asking middle-class families who are still struggling to recover from this recession to pay more in taxes. the building a strong economy -- rebuilding a strong economy begins with rebuilding our middle-class. and what we should do right now is give middle-class families and small business owners a guarantee that their taxes will not go up next year. when families have the security of knowing that their taxes won't go up, they are more likely to spend and more likely to grow the economy. when small business owners have certainty on taxes and can plan ahead, they are more likely to

hire and create new jobs. and that benefits all of us. that is why, last week, i was pleasantly surprised -- i was glad to see the senate come together and extend tax cuts on the first $250,000 of every family's income. that means that 98% of americans will not see their taxes go up next year. that means that 97% of small businesses wouldn't see their income taxes go up next year, not a single dime. that would be important. that is why it is so disappointing that so far, at least, house republicans have refused to follow the senate's example and do the same thing. on wednesday, they bolted to hold these middle-class tax cuts -- they voted to hold these middle-class taxes hostage

unless we also spend a trillion dollars over the next decade on tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of americans. in fact, it is worse than that because their plan would actually raise taxes on 25 million hard-working american families by about $1,000 each. at a time when too many working families are already struggling to make ends meet, they want to give millionaires and billionaires and folks like me tax cuts that we don't need and that the country cannot afford, even if middle-class families have to pick up the tab for it. those are their priorities. this week, we learned that there are some in the republican party who do want to stop there. an independent nonpartisan study found that one plan at least would give more tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires and they would pay for those tax cuts by raising taxes on middle-class, an average tax hike of more than two thousand

dollars for families with children. i just think that we have our priorities skewed if the notion is that we give tax breaks to folks who don't need them and, to help pay for that, we tax folks who are already struggling to get by. that is not how you growing economy. you grow in economy from the middle up and from the bottom up. and the kind of approach that the house republicans are talking about is bad for families and bad for our economy. the people standing behind me should not have to pay more just so the wealthiest americans can payless. = -- can pay less. that is not just talk-down economics, but upside down economics. [laughter] instead of the middle class paying more, we should ask the

wealthiest americans to pay a little more, a modest amount, so we can reduce our deficit and still make investments in things like education that help our economy grow. we are talking about folks like me going back to the tax rates that existed under bill clinton. if you remember, that is when we created 23 million new jobs, we went from deficits to surplus, and most of the top did well, too, because, when middle class families have money in their pockets, they go out to buy that new car, the new appliance, the new computer for the kids come and go out where restaurant or, heaven forbid, they take a vacation every once in awhile. businesses do well because they have more customers. here is the thing. there are a lot of well-to-do americans, patriotic americans, who understand this and are willing to do the right thing, willing to do their part to make this country strong. for those of you who are keeping score at home, here's where we stand. we might have a whole bunch of

disagreements with folks in the other party on whether it is a good idea to spend more money giving tax breaks to millionaires were billionaires' and, frankly, that issue is probably not going to be resolved until after november. in the meantime, we say we all agree on extending tax cuts for middle-class families. the house says it agrees. the senate has already shown that it agrees. and i certainly agree. so let's at least work on what we agree on. let's keep taxes low for 98% of americans and we can argue about the other 2%. let's keep taxes low for the 97% of small-business owners and we can argue about the other 3%. if congress sends me a clean bill extending the tax cuts on the first $250,000 of every family's income, i will sign it

right away. [applause] i will sign it right away. there is no reason to wait. there is no reason to make families and small businesses anxious just so one party can score political points. go ahead and given that guarantee now that their taxes will go up next year. upthat their taxes won't go next year. keep in mind one last point that i want to make. we are saying that nobody's income taxes go up on the first $250,000 of their income. even someone who makes more than that will still get a tax break on the first $250,000. do you understand? even somebody who is worth $200 million, on that first to under $50,000, -- on that first $250,000, your taxes will be

lower. it is the right thing to do for our economy. thosehouldn't be one of things we argue about for the next five years. [applause] let's do what the american people sent us here to do. let's work on those things we can agree on. let's make progress. let's do right by the people behind me and the millions of americans that they represent. i will be fighting every single day to make sure that you have opportunity. i expect and i hope that congress will do the same. thank you very much, everybody. god bless you. [applause] god bless america and have a great weekend. [applause]

>> campaigning in nevada, mitt romney called the increase in and implement an extraordinary failure by the president. he also talked about his five- point plan. due to technical problems, we begin this five minutes into his remarks.

>> i understand you declared a state of emergency, and declared this a disaster area under state law. this economy has hurt american families, and we need help. this is a place that is really struggling. we just got a new number from the unemployment report. it is another hammer blow. the president has not kept policies that put america's families back to work. i will get america working again. [applause] i mean -- you know this. these numbers are not just statistics. these are real people, really suffering, having hard times. 23 million americans out of work, or stopped looking for work, or way underemployed. the official unemployment number, 8.3%. that is the longest time, 42 months -- the longest time we have had unemployment above 8%

in american history, since this has been recorded. this is an extraordinary record of failure. the president's policies have not worked, because he thinks government makes america work. he is wrong. it is people that make america work. [applause] i hope the president understands. but all the businesses that the mccandless family organized were not built by government. they were built by people, not by government. and so the time has come for a plan that will actually get america's workers back to work, that will create more jobs and

more take-home pay, and i know how to do that. this is not a mystery for me. this is not theory. this is practice. i have five things i am going to do, five things i am going to do in my plan to help get the middle class working again, with more jobs and more take- home pay. putting them in place, it will get the economy going again, get higher incomes again. we are going to take advantage of energy -- oil, gas, coal. [applause] nuclear, renewables. and when i say take advantage, let me tell you the gold. by the end of my second term, by the end of my second term -- [applause] you got that, did you? [laughter] by the end of my second term, north america will be energy independent.

will not be buying any oil from the middle east or venezuela. number two. the american workers of today and tomorrow will have the skills to succeed in america. that means better schools, better job training. we cannot continue to allow our schools to perform at the bottom of the world. we need our schools to be the best in the world. we did it in my state. we can give our kids the future they need with great schools. [applause] number 3, we have to have a trade that works for america. that means if people cheat like china, we do not let them keep doing that. we open new markets, so we can sell our products to new places. i want to open up latin america, so we can sell more goods to latin america. we have language skills that will help us get there.

i want to open up latin- american. number four, there is a problem in a country that has too much debt. what happens is the people who have looked at the amount of debt the country has have shown that if you have too much debt, it slows down the rate of growth of businesses and job creators, and the overall economy. we are going to have to get serious about doing something politicians talk about, but do not do. that is cut spending, cut the deficit, and finally get america on track to have a balanced budget, and i will do it. that is number four. [applause] number 5, we finally have to champion small business in this country, instead of attacking it.

almost everywhere i go, people who are in small business say, "why does it feel like the government treats me like i am the enemy? the government is always on my back." the government now has a plan to raise taxes on small business, taking the tax rate from 35% teel 40%. the national foundation of independent businesses has said those tax policies will cost 700,000 jobs. we cannot afford to lose more jobs. rice university looked at my tax plan and said it will create millions of jobs. that is what we have to do to help small business. [applause] there are a lot of things hurting small business these days, but there is something else that has been a cloud. i was talking to a guy who

owned a number of restaurants in the las vegas area. he said if obamacare goes through, i do not know how i can hold on to my businesses. i am going to take out the cloud of obamacare and return it to personal responsibility. [applause] let me tell you what those five things will do. in just four years, in my first term, we will add 12 million new jobs to america. will have more jobs and take home pay. as employers are competing, they will have to raise wages and benefits. i want better -- better benefits, better wages, and more jobs for american middle- class citizens and their families. this is the course america has to take. the road we are on now, you will see bigger government and fewer jobs. that is not the right way. let us get america working again. [applause]

by the way, by the way, this five. plan is not based -- five point plan is not based on spending years in academics, coming up with theories. [laughter] this is based on actually having had a job in the private sector. [applause] i started a business of my own, which started small and grew to become very large. i also was able to help invest in some other businesses that started up. you have heard some of those names. you have heard of staples, of course, but also the sports authority. my firm was able to help get it going. another is called bright horizons children's centers. each employs thousands of people today.

when free individuals, when the free market -- when individuals encourage the start of a new business, people are careful with their money and make sure every dollar is being spent as well as it possibly can be, for the right products, getting the customers, making sure your distribution is in place. staples, when we got going, we did not rent a fancy office building. we were brand new. the managers and our team said, "we are going to use the back of an old shopping center that has been abandoned." we got used furniture for the people who worked there. in the board room, we had a big table surrounded by used naugahyde chairs. these were so old that once you sat down, you had to be athletic to rise out of these things. i compare that with what happens with president obama's government giving hundreds of

millions of dollars to some start up a country -- company like someone drove -- like solyndra. the corporate headquarters looks like the taj mahal. i have been there. today, staples employs roughly 90,000 people. [applause] solyndra, i think you know how many people it employs. [laughter] the president does not understand how the private sector works, how small business works, what it takes for a business person to say, "let us hire another person. let us invest in that person." these are the people who build enterprises, not government. you heard what he said the other day. i could not believe what he said.

it may go down as the most famous "of his entire -- most famous quote of his entire presidency. he said, "if you have a business, you did not build that. someone did that for you." he does not understand that it is entrepreneurs of all kinds that have built this country, free individuals, reaching for excellence, reaching for achievement. it is kid saying, "i am going to study hard to make the honor roll." i appreciate the work of the bus driver who got them there. i love the bus driver. i want as many good bus drivers as possible. if that kid got the honor roll, it is because he or she earned it, not because the bus driver got them there. if somebody working in a factory or a shop like this decides, "i am going to get more skills, take more training to get a job promotion" -- to get those skills, he or she had to

drive their cars, which meant the dmv had to give them a license. but they deserve credit for that promotion, not the dmv. [applause] when john mccandless and his sons took the risk with the money they had saved, to start these businesses and hire other people -- if credit goes to them and the people they hired, the people they work here -- i appreciate government, but it did not build this. those people build this business. [applause] the prison and has been saying -- the president has been

saying we are taking him out of context. you go look at the rest of his speech. it is on youtube. the context is worse than the " -- the quote. he said, "a lot of people think they are smart, and think they are working hard." i do not know where he is going with this idea. we celebrate people who are smart and who work hard. we celebrate achievement in this country. we do not celebrate government. [applause] look. this goes back to the very beginning of america.

this is something that is so fundamental to the american spirit that we are surprised as we hear the president talked about smart and hard work and who built a business in the way that he did. it just seems so strange to us, because we know that when the founders wrote the declaration of independence, they saw something which was perhaps beyond their years and experience. they saw something perhaps inspired or brilliant. they said it was not government who gave us our rights. these rights were in doubt on us by our creator. -- endowed on us by our creator. among these rights were life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. three people in this country -- free people in this country

have come here for centuries. people come here today, seeking these freedoms. the right to pursue happiness as they choose. that has made america the powerhouse we are, respected around the world. i just came back from overseas. i got the chance to meet a hero. i met like wallace of -- lech wallesea. he said no to despots and oppression. i am always impressed by the power of one person to say no to people who would be oppressive, and to make a difference, and in some respects change their lives, the lives of their community, perhaps even the life of a nation. he said no to the tyrants from russia that were occupying his country, and the lead to a change that has brought freedom to millions of people. i think of rosa parks, who was on that bus. when the bus driver said, "give up your seat for this white man," she said no.

[applause] a fellow in tunisia was told by a government bureaucrat that he could not open his fruit stand. he, in protest, committed suicide by self immolation. from that came a revolution throughout the middle east that continues to roll. i think about the man who was leading his nation as a tyrant and a dictator, ceausescu. he got a crowd together, to tell them about the wonderful things he had done. 200,000 people came together. he stood up and began to speak to them, going through all the wonderful things he had done to make their life better.

an older woman looked up and said, "lawyer." -- and said, "liar." she said it again, "liar." people around her began saying it. it spreads through the entire crowd. he tried to flee, and a soldier grabbed him. ultimately, he was executed. individuals make a statement of freedom and say no to oppression. they change the world. these are times for all americans to stand for the things we believe in most equally. i love this country because of the freedom of our people, of our ability to change the world. [applause] this is a time when the world needs american leadership. that is what like woolsey -- lech walesea told me. we need leadership in our homes, in our economy, in our military.

a strong america is the best ally peace has ever known. [applause] this is a time for choice for america. we are going to decide whether we are going to continue to have the policies of a president who has not had a job in the private sector, policies that have led america to have 42 straight months of unemployment above 8%, 23 million out of work. those policies lead to an america that is not as strong as it must be for ourselves, for our children, and for the world. we can instead take a course which i will represent, which is to keep america strong air, do -- keep america stronger, do the things that will get jobs again, make sure that people know their future is bright and their kids' future is bright. i love this country. i will do everything in my power

to keep america strong. we will take back america, and keep america the hope of the earth. thank you so much. thank you. i was born free ♪ i was born free >> following his remarks in north las vegas, mitt romney followed up with remarks from harry that mr. romney had not paid his taxes. this is 15 minutes.

>> good morning. sorry for the extra noise. if we did not have the air conditioner on, you probably could not stand here. i turn to you for any questions you might have. please. >> with the jobs added last month, are we still in recession? >> we still have 23 million americans out of work. thatl see job numbers bounce around. there is no question we have 42 months with unemployment above 8%. this administration said, if they got there stimulus, they would hold unemployment below 8%. they said the measure and have -- they set the measure and have not been below 8% since. with this number of middle- class families struggling, it is

clear these policies have not worked. his team said that by now we would have unemployment at 5.5%. it is still above 8%, 8.3%. i am not going to look at every monthly statistic. but this continues a pattern of american families really struggling, having hard times. the president's policies are to blame for not having gotten the economy back on track. a lot of people are suffering in this country. i think it is an extraordinary failure of policy, a failure of leadership. and i think it is a moral failure for a country as successful and prosperous as our own to go for years in a mode -- to go now four years in a mode that feels too many people like a recession. some said that if you are unemployed, it is a depression. there are a lot of people having a hard time. the president's approach has not worked. we have listened to him give a

major speech on his economic plans to get people working, and there was nothing new. just another stimulus. i have laid out a plan which will get americans working again, will create 12 million jobs, and perhaps more than that. i am confident we can get america working again. it will take not government stepping in, but government encouraging the private sector to take the lead in creating new businesses, starting the kind of employment opportunities that americans look for. the economists will tell us what the future holds. we are all ready for the 23 million americans -- it is a recession for them, if not worse, if not a depression. >> we have heard about uncertainty for the prite sector, based on government decisions. big issues you would have to deal with -- one is the cuts to the pentagon, the automatic sequester. how urgent is it to address that? what are your ideas? some people are also saying tax reform, which provides

uncertainty and could take up to a year. what is your view of how long major tax reform would take, if you were elected president? >> the sequestration, i would like to see the president and congress come together and put a year-long run away from where we are now through the term of the next president. hopefully me, but if not me, president obama. give me or the next president the capacity to reform our tax system and make sure our military plans are consistent with the needs of american leadership. i think the idea of massive cuts to our military is a terrible idea. it is going to cause layoffs. it is good to cause a sensation of various programs essential to american workers. -- it is going to cause a cessassion of various programs essential to american workers. the secretary of defense called

these cuts disasters. clearly, the president should step forward and say these cuts are unacceptable. the cuts to the military are unacceptable. and the uncertainty caused by the tax changes -- some call it a tax cliff. these things do not help the american economy. we need stability. let us have at least a year of run with, or even six months after the new president is elected, so we can have the tax reform and the military spending plans and budget plans consistent with that individual's leadership and views. my own view on tax reform is that we should make our tax code simpler. we should bring down rates. high income people are not going to pay a smaller share of taxes in america if i am president. i have been interested in seeing that the president continues to say things that are patently untrue. my tax policy will not reduce

the taxes paid by high income americans. with regards to middle income americans, i want to lower the taxes paid. i know there are groups out there that put together assumptions and say different things, but my plan is clear. i will not raise taxes on the american people. i will not raise taxes on middle income americans. assertions to the contrary are simply false. i am afraid the campaign knows that, and i hope members of the media focus on that. i want to bring down rates, limits deductions and exemptions for high income people. but when you finish going to my plan, and we scored it properly, i will not have a plan that lowers the share paid by high income folks, or that raises taxes on middle income americans. >> individuals are looking for some sense of a plan. if you are a president, with tax reform takes six months?

a year? >> the length of time is dependent in part upon whether we elect republicans in the senate and house, and by what number, so i cannot give you a prediction of how long it would take to put in place a full tax reform program until we had those individuals in place. i can tell you i think one of the great opportunities for our nation was proposed when the tax commission, the budget commission, came back. i am talking about some symbols -- simpson-bowles. why the president did not seize upon that -- if he thought some aspects needed to be adjusted, make some adjustments. instead, it just died. we need to have presidential leadership. we have not had presidential leadership on budget matters. with regards to the senate, we have gone three years without a budget.

it is absolutely extraordinary that a nation like ours, by virtue of the failure of leadership, does not even have a budget in place. >> senator reed has said you did not pay taxes for 10 years. could you silence these remarks by disclosing more of your tax returns? >> harry reid really have to put up or shut up. who are your sources? let us have him explain who that is. by the way, i understand what he is trying to do. he is tried to deflect the fact that jobs numbers are bad, that americans are out of work, and throw anything up on the screen that will grab attention from the fact that policies of the white house have not worked to put americans to work, and the senate does not even have a budget in place. let me say categorically i have paid taxes every year, and a lot of taxes. a lot of taxes. he is simply wrong. that is what i am anxious for him to give us the names of the

people who put this forward. i would not be surprised to hear names from the white house or the obama campaign. like these other charges -- this is a time when i took the president at his word, when he called me. he said, "this is going to be an important campaign on the direction of the country, and a debate for the direction of the country." i had hoped it would be a debate on the direction of the country. what we are seeing instead is an attack -- one attack after the other, misleading, false attacks. the advertisements saying i will raise taxes on the middle class. that is patently false. by the way, the president has raised taxes on the middle class, as determined by the supreme court. that being said, the president has advertisements on my stand on life, which are also wrong,

and they know they are wrong. this is a time to have a debate on the direction of the country, not a series of attacks that are misguided, inaccurate, untrue, and detract from the real issues america faces. and those are important issues. i happen to believe that when we finally come to the debates and have a chance to talk about these things, and the american people really focus on what is happening, that they will put aside this silliness. i think that are putting it aside now. they realize what it is -- politics at its worst. >> instead of going back and forth with harry reid, when not release the tax returns and put the issue to bed? -- why not release the tax returns and put the issue to bed?

>> you can go on our website and see my financial disclosure statements, going back to 2002. you can see the tax returns i put out for 2010. those are, i think, hundreds of pages of documents. i have already received an estimate for 2011. as soon as that is completed, we are waiting for information to complete that. as soon as that is completed, we will put up the most recent year. i have already learned, from harry reid and others, that the people on the other side of the aisle will try to go to anything we give them, to distort it, to turn it into something it does not say, and to try to make political fodder. i am falling -- following the president of john mccain, putting out two years of income tax returns and our financial disclosure statements, as required by law. you'll be surprised to see the amazing amount of data associated with our disclosure on line. i do not know who has the microphone. >> the obama campaign filed suit in ohio to try to reduce early voting by a few days for military living overseas.

your reaction to that? the you think it is just unfair, -- and do you think it going after the military in that way? >> i have not seen that report, so i cannot comment on the specific filing that you describe. i can tell you that i believe our military and the men and women in uniform have an absolute right to speak in this election. their lives are affected by what happens in policies here in this country, and the direction of america. every effort should be taken by the government of the united states of america to assure that every member of the military has the right to vote, and their vote is counted. any effort to impede the right of our military members overseas or domestically in voting would be an extraordinary violation of the trust we should have for those who serve so valiantly. >> there are culture fights in your party recently -- a battle

about chick-fil-a and about the muslim brotherhood, with michele bachman and members of congress calling on an investigation of those in the federal government. the you think these are -- do you think these are important things your party is talking about now? >> those are not things that are part of my campaign. >> as your party puts together its platform, do you think auditing the senate should be part of that platform? >> my view is that we should audit the fed, and that the actions of the fed should be open for the review of congress and the understanding of the american people. >> your advisers have publicly hinted that you are close to making a decision about your running mate. why can't you address where you are in that process and whether you have made a decision? >> i will absolutely beside it--

absolutely decide and announce my running mate before the third day of the republican convention in august. other than that, i have nothing for you. please. >> than in the spotlight with the gsa. president obama cannot take a trip on the taxpayers' dime. what are your thoughts on coming to las vegas? we need the tourism dollars. we need the convention. what is your take, locally? >> i go back to the experience of what happened with rudy giuliani, in the case of a real national disaster. he said, "please come to new york." if i am president of the united states, i will tell people to come help nevada. las vegas is having tough times. north las vegas has declared a state of emergency, a disaster. the level of unemployment, the home prices are severe.

i hope people recognize that nevada is open for business, doing well. company meetings are welcome. it is a fabulous site for conventions. come and enjoy this environment of warmth and water and hospitality. i will certainly carry that message, and hope that people recognize this is a great place to come and visit. i know it is a great place to live as well. thank you. >> in the weeks ahead, the political parties are holding their platform hearings in advance of the summer conventions with the democrats voting next weekend in detroit. in mid-august, republicans began their platform process up their tent the convention site.

it begins august 10 with the reform party in philadelphia, followed by coverage of the republican national convention, beginning monday august 27 from tampa. and the democratic national convention from charlotte, north carolina, starting september 3. >> first lady michelle obama was on the campaign trail on thursday, making stops in new hampshire. she spoke with campaign supporters in manchester about her husband's accomplishments. and why he should be elected to a second term. this is about 30 minutes. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

>> thank you all so much. you know, thank you so much. first of all, i am so excited to be here and i wanted thank you all. it is hot in here and you guys are hanging in there. let me just say this, if anybody needs to sit down, sit down. i will not be offended. if you start feeling sick, said down. thank you some much. i am thrilled. i want to start by thanking meredith for that kind introduction. heartfelt, passionate. and for all for work and service to this campaign, to this country. let's give her a round of applause. [applause] and i want to thank the state party share for joining us as -- the state party chair for joining us as well as pam brown for her words earlier. most of all, i want to thank all of you. thank you everything you're

doing every single day to make this campaign possible. thank you for knocking on those doors, registering voters, giving people the information they need about the issues they care about. because the grass-roots work that you all are doing, that is at the core of everything we do in this campaign. that is how we did it for years ago. that is how we are going to do it again today. so thank you. [applause] and i know this work that you are doing, it is not easy. being involved in a campaign is not easy. i know you are all busy. everybody is busy. you have liked to live, jobs to do, class is to attend, families to raise. i also know there is a reason why you are here today. it is not just because we all support a phenomenal president, my husband. [applause]

and it is not just because we want to win an election, which we do and we will. [applause] what i remind people everywhere i go is that we are here and we are doing this because of the values we believe in. it is our values. we are doing this because of the vision for this country that we all share. we are doing this because people the that everyone in this country should have a fair shot and that means -- [applause] and that means that every single child in this country should have good schools to go to, right? [applause] all of our kids should be able to attend college without a mountain of debt. [applause] we believe that everyone should do their fair share which means teachers and firefighters could not pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires. [applause]

we believe that if you work hard, you should not go bankrupt because somebody gets sick. you should not lose your home because someone loses a job and after a lifetime of hard work, you should be able to retire with dignity and security. [applause] these are basic american values. these are the foundations of this country. the values that the many of us were raised with, including myself. you all know my story by now. my father was a pump operator at the city water plant. he did that job his entire life. neither of my parents had a chance to get a college degree. but let me tell you what my parents did for me which i know many people share this story --

my parents save for us. they sacrificed everything for us. they poured everything they had into me and my brother. so that we could get the kind of education and have the kind of opportunity could only dream of an education was everything in our family. it was our ticket to the middle-class. our pathway to the american dream. [applause] and when my brother and i finally made it to college, pretty much all of our tuition came from students loans and grants. people can understand that, right? but my dad still had to pay small portion of that to which in himself. -- a small portion of that

tuition himself. and let me tell you, every semester, he was determined to pay that bill and to pay it on time. my father was so proud to be sending his kids to college. he made sure that we never missed a registration deadline because his check was late. like so many people in this country, my father took great pride in being able to earn a living that allowed him to handle his responsibilities to his family. that is all he wanted. he wanted to be able to pay his bills and pay them on time. my father's life is a testament to the basic american promise that no matter who you are or how you started out in this country, if you work hard, you can build a decent life for yourself and an even better life for your kids. [applause]

and what i want people to understand is my husband understands that promise because that is his story as well. that is why i married him. [applause] he is the son of a single mother who struggle to put yourself through school and pay the bills. he is the grandson of a woman who will up every day before dawn to catch a bus at a job at the bank.

even though his grandmother was good at her job and she worked hard to support his family, like so many women, she hit that glass ceiling and watched men no more qualified than she was climb up the ladder ahead of per. but what he also saw was a woman that never complained, never complained. how many people do we know like that in our lives? she just kept getting up. he just kept giving her best every single day to support her family. so what i want you to know is that barack knows what it means to work hard because you want something better for your kids and your grandkids and like me and like so many of you, barack knows the american dream because he's lived it. [cheers and applause] and he believes that when you work hard, right, when you've worked hard and done well, and you've had the chance to walk through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. you reach back and you give other folks the chance to succeed and more than anything else, that's at stake in this election. it's that dream. it's that fundamental american promise. and from now until november,

we're going to need all of you, all of you to get out there and tell people -- tell them about barack's values. tell them about his vision, our vision and about the choice we face in this election. this election is a choice about our economy. it's about building a strong and growing middle-class. so i want you to remind people that barack has cut taxes for working families by $3,600. [cheers and applause] he has cut taxes for small businesses 18 times. because your president knows that rebuilding our economy starts with the restaurants and stores and the-ups in this country that create all new jobs in america. i want you to remind people how back when barack first took office, this economy was losing an average of 750,000 jobs a month.

a month. that's what he inherited. that's what he welcomed after his inauguration. -- that's what welcomed him after his inauguration. for the past 28 months we've been gaining private sector jobs a total of 20,000 jobs in this economy. while we have a long way to rebuild our economy, people have to understand today millions of people are collecting a paycheck again. millions of people like my dad are able to pay their bills again. this election is also a choice about the health of our family. the past is that over the past century, ok, 100 years so many presidents have tried and failed to meet the challenge of health care reform. but your president was

determined. [applause] yeah, he was determined. barack -- what was driven by the stories of the people he met, the grandparents who is couldn't afford their medicines, the families going broke because a child got sick, a woman dying of cancer who's insurance company wouldn't cover her care and that's what kept him going day after day. that's why he fought so hard for historic reform. and today because of that reform our parents and grandparents are paying less for their prescription drugs. our kids -- our kids can stay on our insurance until their 26 -- until they are 26 years old. [applause] so our young people in this country don't have to go without health care right after they graduate and they're out there trying to build their lives. because of this reform insurance companies have to

cover basic preventive care, things like contraception, cancer screening, prenatal care at no cost. they can no longer discriminate against you because you have an illness that they call a pre- existing condition. and also if you get a serious illness you know, something like breast cancer and you need really extensive treatment, your insurance company can no longer tell you, sorry, you've hit your lifetime limit and we're not paying anymore. that is now illegal thanks to health reform. no more. but making no mistake about it, this november, we get to decide. do we want these reforms to be repealed or do we want the people we love to have the care they need? it's our choice.

that's the choice we face in this election. this election is about a choice whether our kids can attend college without a mountain of debt. let me share something with you, when barack and i were starting out we were all in love and taking care -- our combined student loan bill was higher than our mortgage. how many people can relate to that? so when it comes to student debt, trust me, my husband and i we've been there. and that's why barack double funding for pell grants, fought so hard to stop student loan interest rates from increasing because he wants all young people to be able to get their education they need for the jobs they deserve. barack wants all of our kids to fulfill their promise. and that's why he's been fighting for the dream act. you know, he's fighting for

responsible young people who came to this country as children through no fault of their own and raised as americans. because he believes that yes, these young people deserve a chances to go to college, to contribute to our economy, to serve the country they know an love. all of our kids. [laughter] -- [applause] this election is a choice about keeping our country safe. so i want you to remind people that after 10 long years of war, after so many of our heroic men and women in uniform serve, sacrifice, gave their lives, osama bin laden is no longer a threat to this country. [cheers and applause] and you can remind folks that barack kept his promise to bring our troops home from iraq and he's working hard to make sure they get the benefits and

support they've earned. and today our troops no longer have to lie about who they are to serve the country they love because barack's policy of don't ask don't tell. -- because barack ended the policy of don't ask don't tell. this election is a choice about supporting women and families in this country. so be sure to let people know that your president believes that women should be able to make our own choices about health care. i want you to remind people that it's now easier for women to get equal pay for equal work because of the first bill he signed into law. first thing he did as president and of course, we have to remind people about those two brilliant supreme court justices he appointed and how for the first time in history we watched three women take their seat on our nation's highest court.

so when people ask you what this president has done for our country, here's what you tell them. tell them how many jobs he's created. tell them how much money he's put back in the pockets of american people. you tell them that more of our kids can afford college, more of our seniors can afford their medicines. remind people how he ended the war in iraq, past historic health reform and stood up for our most fundamental rights again and again and again. [applause] that's what i want you to tell them. [applause] that's what i want you to tell them. [cheers and applause] but i also -- i also want to remind everyone that all of that and so much more is all at stake this november.

it's all on the line. that is the choice we face. are we going to continue the change we've begun? and the progress we've made? or are we going to let everything we fought for to just slip away? no, we can't do that. we can't turn back now. we need to keep moving forward, right? [applause] this country needs to keep moving forward. forward. forward. [cheers and applause] and really more than anything else, that's what we're working for. that's why we're here, the chance to finish what we started, the chance to keep fighting for the values we believe in and the vision that we all share. i don't care who you are.

and that's what my husband's been doing every single day as president. [applause] but let me share something with you. see, as first lady, i have had the privilege for the last three and a half years of seeing up close and personal what being president looks like. and i've seen some things. [laughter] seenost importantly i've how the issues that come across a president's desk are always the hard ones. you know, the problems with no easy solutions. i don't care what anybody says. the judgment calls where is the stakes are so high and there's no margin for error. and i also seen that as president, you're going to get all kinds of advice and guidance from all kinds of people but at the end of the day when i comes to make that decision as president, all a president has to guide them are

their life experiences. all you have as president to guide you are your values an your vision for this country. in the end it all boils down to who you are and what you stand for. and we all know who my husband is, don't we? [cheers and applause] we all know what barack obama stands for. and we have seen again and again just how hard he's willing to fight for us. remember -- remember when folks in washington told barack to let the auto industry go under with more than a million jobs on the line? remember that? but fortunately, barack had the backs of american workers. he put his faith in the american people and as a result today the auto industry is back on its feet again. and more importantly people are

back at work earning a paycheck for their family. [applause] remember how folks were telling barack not to take on health care, right? remember that? because i do. they say leave it for another president. another day. just keep kicking that can down the road. but fortunately barack had the backs of american families. and as a result, millions of people in this country can see a doctor when they're sick. they can get the care that they need to stay well. so what you got tell people is that when it comes time to stand up for the middle-class so our kids can go to college and our families can make a decent living and save for retirement, you know what my husband's going to do, don't you?

when we need a president to protect our most basic rights no matter what we look like or who we love, you know, you can count on my husband because that's what he's been doing every single day as president of the united states. [cheers and applause] that's why i'm fired up. [applause] but i have said this before -- i have said this before and i will keep saying it, he cannot do this alone. that was never the promise. never the promise. you know, barack has said that this election will be closer than the last one. that is the only guarantee. in the end it could come down to those last few thousands votes particularly here in new

hampshire. and when you think about that number, right and remember that those votes are spread out across an entire state, across hundreds of cities and thousands offer precincts. -- thousands of precincts. so when you're out there wondering whether what you're doing is mattering, i want you to think that, that one new voter that you register in your precinct, that one neighbor that you help get to the poll on november 6th, i want you to think that could be the one that makes the difference. that one conversation that you have, you know, that one new volunteer, that could be the one that puts us over the top. that could be the difference between us waking up november the 7th and wondering could we have done more or feeling the promise of four more years? that's the difference. one person. one person. [cheers and applause] and that's why we're launching

our new initiative, it takes one. it takes one. let me explain it because it's simple. meredith explained it. with every action you take to move this campaign forward, we're asking you to inspire one more person, one more person bring them with you, have them step up and do their part. bring one more person. bring a friend. if you're going to an event bring a neighbor who's never been involved in an election before. when you're voting early or even on election day, one new voter along with you. everybody knows one person, right? one friend, one colleague, one somebody who's standing on the sideline who needs you to just shake them up, send them to barack obama.com/s one and help them get involved. -- barackobama.com/one and

help them get involved. it's like barack has always said it takes one voice to change a room. if one voice can change a room it can change a city. if it can change a city, it can change a state. and if it can change a state it can change a nation. that's the power of one person moving up and moving this country forward. so we want you all to multiply yourselves. and i'm not going to kid you. this journey is going to be long. and it is going to be hard. and there will be plenty of twists and turns along the way but i want you all to remember that's how change always happens in this country. real change is slow. but if we keep showing up, if we keep fighting the good fight, then eventually we get there, we always do. maybe not in our lifetimes but maybe in our childrens' lifetimes. maybe in our grandchildren's lifetime because in the end, that's really what this is about. in the end, i want you to remember that's what elections are all about.

don't let anybody tell you differently. elections are about hope. they're about our hopes for our children. they're about the world that we want to leave for them. it's not about us. that's what i think about every night when i put my girls to bed. i think about how i want to do to them what my dad did for me. -- i think about how i want to do for them what my dad did for me. what barack's grandmother and mother did for him. i want to give my daughters and all of our sons and daughters a real foundation for their dreams, you know? i want to give them opportunities worthy of their

promise because what each of us knows is all of our kids are worthy. they're all worthy. i want to give our kids that sense of limitless possibility, you know? that belief that here in america there's something better out there if you're willing to work for it. when i get tired, i just say to myself we just can't turn back now. not now. we have come so far. but we have so much more work to do. so wife got one last question to ask you -- are you in? one last question in?ask you -- are you are you way in? you ready to roll up your sleeves and fire it up and get it ready to go? we're going to need you every step of the way. multpy yourselves. bring one person into the fold. we're going to need you every step of the way. thank you all. god bless.

[cheers and applause]

>> a rally was posted on capitol hill opposing the health care law appeared dick morris and jim martin were among the speakers. this was about 50 minutes.

>> i tell you, you're making these ultimate sacrifice today. i am a southerner, but i think it is 193 degrees out here. all the folks in the back rows have to come on down up. we will shame you for just a few minutes. come around, guys. as hot as it is today, if we keep working this issue, it will get even hotter for harry reid. because i think the american people are fed up. don't you? today, united as one, we gather -- clear message for the united states senate whose offices are up there. repeal of this disastrous health care now. [applause]

and if you refuse to repeal this legislation, the american people will repeal you! [applause] and today, we have another message for the president of the united states. mr. president, with all due respect to you and your office, keep your hands off our health care. keep it off our health care. [applause] over the last two years, three years, really, and a great debate has taken place across our nation. it is over whether or not washington, d.c. health care is a good idea. i am here to tell you -- and you know this already -- the debate is over. the american people have spoken. they have made their views known loud and clear. in november of 2009, they had a

message for then speaker nancy pelosi. is it nice -- isn't it nice to say "then speaker nancy pelosi"? [applause] they said thanks but no thanks, you are fired. that is what they said to her. 37 days ago, the supreme court had a disastrous ruling, right? it was frustrating. no way around that. we will not sugarcoat it. it was disappointing to see chief justice roberts in upholding the constitutionality of a law that we believe is unconstitutional. forcing americans to buy a private product by law. that was wrong. it was frustrating. it was difficult. but here's the good news

appeared in the end, the supreme court of this great nation, as powerful as it is -- as it is, they don't have the last word. you have the last word. [applause] it is not over until we say it is over. and guess what. it's not over. we are starting again today. we are here in washington, d.c. with a clear message for the senate, for the house -- i will tell you this. we sometimes criticize the members of the house and the senate. they stepped up within days of the ruling and they voted to repeal obama care. they deserve a round of applause for that. [applause]

we are gathered here not for political reasons. we are gathered here for some basic common sense principles i have twin boys. where are they? right there. i don't know about you, but, when it comes to the government taking care of their health care, do we want that? we don't. we don't trust the government running health care for our children. if my mom and dad are in their late-70 paws, they battled hard issues for a decade. we are -- late-70's, they battled hard issues for a decade. thank god, they are doing better. do we want being counters in -- do we want bean counters in washington, d.c.?

i don't need some bureaucrat from washington telling me that my parents don't have enough quality of life to deserve treatment and we will let that happen. we will stop that from happening. and when it comes to holding down the cost of health care, this is almost laughable -- do we really trust the federal government to hold down the cost of anything? it is laughable. amtrak is not exactly -- every federal program does what? it goes over budget. it goes over spending. over the next 10 years, it will be a trillion dollars. trillion't be a dollars. it will be trillions of dollars that this government is spending and wasting. remember the gsa conferences in las vegas with our money? it will be gsa on steroids. these people will be spending money beyond belief and we will let that happen. when you look at obamacarol ready, you see also the

government cronyism -- when you look at obamacare already, you also see the government cronyism. if you are a well-connected union or a well-connected corporation, you get a waiver from obamacare. do you get a waiver from obamacare? no, you don't. if you happen to be a small business in nancy pelosi is district, congratulations, you get a waiver. they have given dozens and dozens of waivers to her district were connected. we will let government cronyism to get rid of the greatest health care system in the world. when they pass this on all of us, who do they exempt? themselves. the president come every member of congress who voted for this monstrosity, their staff -- they have the federal health- insurance program. this is not secret and i don't talk about this very often. i worked on capitol hill for three years.

i did come i'm sorry. i was a chief of staff regan conservative member. but i had the federal health insurance benefits. i had dozens of choices. the very thing that they want to deny you and me when it comes to health care, a choice, the ability to do what is best for us and our families and our children and our grandkids, they want to deny that to everyone else while exempting themselves and keeping their own health care. that is wrong and we won't let that happen. we won't let that happen, folks. we will appeal this bill. -- we will repeal this bill. we will repeal this bill. i said, we will repeal this bill. repeals the bill is what we will do. repeal the bill. that is exactly what we will do. i heard the voices. some of them are our friends and they are saying, look, we

cannot do it. we will never get 60 votes in the senate to overcome a filibuster. we will never have a president who will sign or overturn this legislation. but there was one silver lining and only one in that health care decision that chief justice roberts and for liberals on the court put through. they said that the individual mandate is what we know it is, a tax increase, right? so the senate rules, under reconciliation, means that, to strip out the tax increases and the spending increases, we don't need 60 votes. and we can do that. we can do that. and then, we need a president who will sign it. and i think we can do that. we can have a president who is convinced to do the right thing on this legislation and sign this.

so look, there is hope. we can beat this thing could we are not -- we can beat this thing. we are not saying it is over. the american people are with us. they are with you and me. how many of you called and e- mails and wrote your members of congress? almost all of you. we lost in congress. we won with the american people. and we're winning today. we have to make sure we keep on doing it. thank you for coming out here. today is another day closer to victory. and when we stand in the shadow of the senators, we're sending a message they need to hear. we have allies in this effort. we have a group called concerned women of america. don't you love them? [applause] we have traveled the country together. they are great allies. i think i saw jenny at the to fillet -- at the chick-fil-a yesterday. isn't it great to stand for freedom and also eat the best chicken in the world?

please welcome our good friend penny. >> thank you. good morning. thank you for coming out. you know, president reagan said to os freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. we did not pass it to our kids in the bloodstream. it must be fought for, protected and handed for them to do the same. our children and our children's children, we will tell them what was once like to be free. do you believe that? we are at a crucial moment in this nation's history. as a matter of fact, we are at a tipping point. i don't know, if we don't change the direction of this nation, if we will be the same, strong constitutionally sound freedom-loving government that we have always been.

i don't know, if we don't change the direction we're going, if we will be able to stand on all the work that our founding fathers fought for and died for on the bloody battlefield of lexington and concord and yorktown and boston. we have to change things. and a clear indication -- and there are so many, i could go on and on, but i will not. a clear indication of the differences of where we're going versus where we should be is this health care law. we were promised that we would have lower premiums. yet $2,400 per person on average increase. we were promised that we would not have to violate our consciousness -- our conscience and have to pay for abortion drugs. but we do, as of august 1, because of what the hhs mandate has done. we were promised that we could

choose their doctors and there wouldn't be a problem. it is not what we were promised. and it is not too late. we can repeal and we can ask for a change. so ladies in the audience, let me have your attention for a moment. this is what we call an ester moment. it is a moment where you have to think about leadership. you have to think about, even though all the things you have been given, will you take the stand -- because, perhaps you were born for such a time as this. do you believe that? [applause] so do i.. i believe that all of the things we have enjoyed in our lives, the blessings we have been giving, our freedom and families and the pier wealth has led up to this moment. so i am asking you to be the esters of your generation, to take a stand with concerned women for america right now,

right here. concerned women for america. i am climbing on a bus on monday morning. we will be oliver north -- we will be all over north carolina, virginia, montana, all over the country. and we will register conservative women all across the country. if you have heard something called the war on women, let me tell you something. it is a war for women. it is a war for your hearts and minds and your families and your future. and i need you to stand with us. so stand with us. register women to vote. register conservative women. did you know that in our churches today, half of the folks use it with on sunday -- half of the folks you are sitt

ing behind on sunday morning are not registered to vote. and they will not show up on election day. that is a shame. we cannot complain if we don't do something about it, right? so join with me, together, we can register thousands of people to vote, right? together, we can stand for our families and our future and our freedom. so say it with me coming together, c vote. c vote! -- she votes! thank you and god bless america. >> thank you, a penny. i wanted you to hear from one of the leading up-and-coming talk-show hosts in the country. he is based out of tennessee.

i met him years ago. we were doing an anti-cap and trade rally event in tennessee called the cost of hot air. where is al gore when you need money daylight this, right? -- when you need him on a day like this, right? come on. but want you to hear from him because talk radio is a crucial part of our alliance. please welcome rid of talk-show host phil valentine. [applause] >> to think that i missed the kiss-in at chick-fil-a for this. remember when nancy pelosi told us about all of these poor folks that we had to take care of? all of a sudden, the supreme court affirms obamacare and they are all the seven deadbeats. isn't that amazing? they went from being uninsured to being did be scared the-- to

being deadbeats. the number is not 40 million and it is not 50 million. the last study was that there were 3 million to 4 million people who are chronically uninsured and something needs to be done about that. but we don't change the entire system for a vast minority of people in this country. but i think our side has been missing the boat a little bit on this. it is not about the individual mandate. it is about the employer mandate. most of us get our insurance through the employer. the mandate is not that much of a problem, although i think it is unconstitutional. it is a golden parachute. it is a ski pass that they give employers now that obamacare budget it is an escape past that they give employers -- it is now an escape pass they give

employers now that obamacare pass. it will be 90% of us in obamacare and the government will run all of the insurance. do we really want the same people that run the post of us to run your insurance? it will also be a huge burden on small business. i read a figure today. $87 billion in the first in years it will cost small business when we're trying to create jobs, not kill jobs. this is a job-killing bill. they call it the affordable care act. it is the unaffordable care act, folks. we don't need it today. we don't need it tomorrow, next week -- we don't need it ever. thank you so much for having me and enjoy the day. >> how many of you are a little

tired of aarp? [cheers and applause] these guys whipped out the pompons and did some of the fastest endorsing of this health care disaster of any other group. in effect, selling out their own members for political gain is what they did. but i have good news for you. we have a seniors' group that stands for economic freedom. it is called safety plus. they are great allies in this effort. we have been all over the country together. he is 103 years old or something like that. i still cannot beat him at basketball. it is very frustrating. i want you to give a warm welcome to jim martin. [applause] >> i appreciate that. thank you very much.

thank you for that introduction. it is great to be here with all your good friends. i am recruiting for the 60 + association. i don't see anybody out there old enough to join 60 + yet. [laughter] but i will wait for you, ok? look, just so you know, 60 +, aarp is not for me, we used to carry around a bumper sticker, but it is too big to carry around. i'm a fan -- aarp is not for me. let me point out a couple of differences. the aarp makes millions of dollars on the backs of seniors. we don't. we depend on voluntary donations from you folks. they sell a lot of insurance. they are a nonprofit. let me ask you this. they make $600 million last year in profits. how does a nonprofit make $600 million in profits. they make on insurance.

-- they sell a lot of insurance. they make it on the backs of seniors. let me give another huge difference between the aarp and the 60 + association. they tout as other men of the year harry belafonte [. boo-hooing he is a great entertainer, but he is so far to the left that he makes president obama a moderate. tough t's a pretty thing to do. legendary singer pat boone is another legendary singer. [applause] pat boone, of course, likes to tout his friendship with his old buddy ronald reagan. those are some major differences. let me point out another one. just recently, on this particular bill, obamacare, and this is why i am recruiting 60 plus members. it was found out that an e-mail from a r.p. to the white house,

aarp to the white house, senior citizen voting is hard to beat. they were floating -- they were voting 14-1 against obamacare. a r p is -- aarp is now out on a listening tour. they were not listening before. what they did quite frankly is they ignored what they were hearing from their own members. that is almost criminal. the fact is, if you are representing seniors and they are voting 14-1 against you, all they have to do is hold a press conference publicly and say that seniors are against this bill. you know what they sent instead? they sent an e-mail saying that we must change our messaging. that is almost criminal. i want to thank you seniors in this crowd for what you did in 2009-2010.

i remember when seniors were the only ones who read the bill before the one that the former speaker said we had to pass it so we can find out what is in it. back then, she called the men and women, you senior citizens at a rally, she called you an american. -- she called you unamerican. there are men and women who fought for the right to allow her to say that. i won't name her, but her nationals are nancy pelosi. -- but her initials are nancy pelosi. [laughter] [applause] so we have been out there regarding your since then, bringing the message out to seniors. the supreme court of the land

passed the bill. guess what. we will not take it to a higher court -- we will now take it to a higher court. it is called the people's court. [applause] and we will repeal in november. thank you so much for your time. god bless. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, jim. the house wrapped up early and paul ryan did the right thing. he went home to see his family with young kids. but we have a special guest. does anybody here watch fox news at all? anyone? [applause] you may see him on fox news. would you please one of his books. they're the best ones out there. he is quiet. he is shy. he is unassuming. but we have coaxed him into talking today.

please welcome dick bourse. -- dick morris. >> this is my backup group. [laughter] this is a non-political rally. it is designed for public education. so there are some folks back there and on the other end of pennsylvania avenue that need some education. and we will make sure they get that education when the semester ends later this year and that education will serve them all very well in their retirement. [laughter] [applause] because they are headed for retirement. believe me. i am not as predicting that. i am telling you that.

>> thank you, dick. >> after 30 years, i know how to read those polls. the issue we're talking about today is health care and it is not life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. this is not pursuit of happiness. this is not about liberty even. this is about life. some of you may be pro-life, others may not be, but can we not all agree that we're pro- life to keep somebody alive when they are alive, what ever a federal bureaucrat says? [applause]

.

[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> it sounds like another newsmaker which i would love to do. since i worked on some of those products. but talk about the compensation issues and whether you think people have been -- anyone? >> i do not know that anyone on this panel has the tell knowledge -- has detailed knowledge. the court has taken it over. i do not have any insight into that. >> i think i have not seen a lot of people really upset with a lot of the heartfelt efforts that have been made by companies to reinvigorate the region. we know that they -- people were hurt by it. and there are lots of other issues that are at play here

but in both the government and bp and the effort to jointly have been targeted on trying to get people back to that region and get the economy moving again. anyone else have a question before i go back to ray? >> you mentioned that the importance of continuing the applications. the energy information administration has predicted a substantial increase in production in the next 10 years. can you comment on whether flat funding in this time of austerity is enough to keep up with the expected pace of applications? maybe you can comment on whether the impending sequestration cuts, how that would impact the drilling agencies. >> i think flat funding is insufficient.

we are making up slowly but finally making progress on a 28 year deficit when there was an adequate funding for the full range of responsibilities that the mms had. i think flat funding would be insufficient and i think they need to continue to ramp up the funding, as congress has done, in the last couple of years. i have not looked at what the impact of sequestration would be specifically on the agencies that we created through the reorganization but i suspect it cannot be good. >> anyone else want to talk about that at all? >> one of the things republicans did early on with a fully funded a lot of those new specters and things like that which was quiet opposite from some of the other things they were doing. i found that to be interesting. >> i know they are not earmarked by considering the billions of dollars that the

oil and gas industry pays in taxes, you would think some of that revenue could enhance the regulatory oversight programs. >> i did not think the interior cares where the money comes from. it does need the money. -- it just needs the money. >> how the law of the sea treaty might affect the arctic law and whether it has affected u.s. thinking on that law? >> the latest on law of the sea treaty is that it will come back in september after the recess. i think there will be some interesting discussions on that. >> i am not familiar with the law of the sea debate but just to comment on -- i would be interesting to know the time when there but russia is going to aggressively into the arctic.

there are three big contracts that have been met over the past eight months with the big players -- exxon mobil, et.c at an aggressive pace in an environment where there are not the type of regulations we have here, the most optimistic projection of first oil -- 2013. >> here is the last question for the panel -- five years from now, we are reconvening this panel to have a discussion of the next five-year plan. what has happened in the past five years that -- give me your predictions. what happens in that time? >> i think that production in

the gulf of mexico will be much higher than today. and that the oil industry will be complaining that it does not have enough access. >> that is a shocking prediction. >> i would hope that five years from now, the oil and gas industry will have created another 700,000 jobs as they have in the past five years. it is important to keep in mind that if we look a the economy today in terms of total employment, it is not back to where it was before the great recession. if you look at the oil and gas industry, net employment increase has been 700,000 since 2008. no other industry has come close in terms of job creation. >> i think five years from now, there will be an increase in domestic oil and gas production, largely on shore, due to what we're seeing in terms of shale.

i think we will still hear plenty of arguments about whether drilling off the virginia coast should be allowed. >> i think it is most likely that this is the discussion we will be having. i fear that unless people continue to focus on safety, we will be having a very different discussion. >> i want to thank the panel for being here. we will be here for a few minutes to answer any additional questions that you may have. we hope you enjoyed this and feel free to ask any questions. >> next, republican governors and the issues they face and bipartisan and then president obama and mitt comeny talk about the july unemployment figures. >> we did not begin as a city in kentucky.

there was only a big native american region and later a county in another state called kentucky. we began in 1778 as the -- virginia. >> this weekend, join book tv, american history tv and c-span's local content vehicles from louisville, kentucky, saturday at noon eastern. author jason ganus on booting american politics. three weeks at farmington plantation would be key on shaping abraham lincoln's views on slavery. and take a look back on the belle of louisville. once a month c-span's local content vehicles explore the history and literary life.

this weekend on louisville. c-span 2 and 3. >> republican governors gather to discuss education, health care, gun-control, and the shootings in colorado. chris christie of new jersey, bobby jindal of louisiana, bob mcdonled donnel and scott walker, -- this discussion is moderated by walter isaacson. this is an hour. >> welcome, everyone. please take your seats. it is good to have the republican governors panel back again. i want to thank those who have pulled this together. this is part of our speakers series.

thank you. [applause] thank you to our aspen residents. good to see you. we have carl. he has been a friend of the aspen institute and louisiana right after the storm. i will start with bobby jindal. thank you for being here. you have been a leader in education reform. you have not only reformed education, but it has been a revolution. in the sense that you created a new type of system. i think we first did it in new orleans. competition and choice. explain why you are doing that. >> first of all, thank you for your leadership. many of you may not realize that he was very involved in

louisiana in trying to help it get back on its feet. [applause] let's give them a round of applause for doing that. i want to talk briefly about education reform in new orleans and across the state. it is no exaggeration. katrina did not cause all the problems. it is tempting to say everything was fine for the -- and then katrina destroyed the school system. the school system was one of the worst public school systems in the entire country. we had dozens and dozens of employees being paid at companies that did not exist. dead people were geting paid in new orleans as well.

what was horrific was the lack of education. there were no supplies. it was terrible. katrina comes through and destroys the buildings. the state comes in. creates a state recovery school district to run andover see those schools. interestingly, charter schools. the state was not in a position to directly operate all of those schools. it is one of the most chartered cities in america. 80% of kids in new orleans go to charter schools. in the last five years, from 2007 until today, the percentage of kids who are reading and doing math in new

orleans has doubled. the percentage of kids has doubled. for anyone who says who you can not do this quickly, new orleans shows you can do it quickly. this does not mean you need a charter school everywhere. we have shut down charter schools that were bad. we have had great charter schools. several different groups have come in and help us do this. paul did a phenomenal job. the state superintendent. we now have a new guy from new york state doing a great job. we are doing this statewide. we have done several things at the state level. i want to highlight three very very important reforms we have done out of several. one, we gave a letter grade to all of our public schools. the letter grade is based on quantifiable data. how are students doing on standardized tests? are my kids learning? are they reading? are they doing math?

how are they comparing to other kids in other states? it turns out they were not doing as well as others. one-third of our kids were above grade level. -- below grade level. $1 billion on failing schools. this was a very important for step. if you do not do this, a lot of people argue the status quo was fine. we had to argue that it was not fine. we passed a law this past year saying the dollars will follow the students instead of the students following the dollars. students can take the dollars and go to a private school or charter school, whatever made sense for this child. >> basically, a voucher system. >> we call it scholarships. the teacher unions call it four-letter words.

call it whatever you want. the average tuition was roughly $4,600. the kids are doing better. we had over 10,000 kids who applied. we had between 5000-6000 slots. one of the teacher unions came out and said that parents do not have a clue. i want a couple of things out there. we reformed how we evaluate, hire, pay, and hire or fire our teachers. it is no longer based on seniority. [applause]

to get tenure in louisiana now, you have to be ranked in the top 10% for five years and now it is all linked to student -- the teacher union said, we do not mind you evaluating teachers, just do not try to tie it closely to student achievement. which is the most ridiculous thing you can say. we're very proud of what we're doing in louisiana. some people say this is ambitious. but i am here to tell you that many governors are doing similar things. there are governors all over the country doing similar things. bob has done great things. he has an education summit coming up. chris has been fighting for school choice in new jersey. in wisconsin, they have had

school choice for many, many years. we look at what nikki is doing is knowing south korea what jeb bush did in florida. this is extremely important. if we want to compete economically with other states and other countries, we have to improve education in america. we cannot be 16th in the world. [applause] this is another louisiana thing. the last point i'll make. the teachers union have to stop fighting. they announced they were suing schools participating in this program. they try to fight us every step of the way. they are trying to recall others. they are the coalition for the status quo. it cannot be about the adults in the school system. it has to be about the kids. if you remember that, it is amazing how much progress and reform you can make very quickly. >> thank you, governor. governor chris christie, i want

to say thank you. you did a wonderful event with the aspen institute in new york. it was a home run. we talked about this and you talked about newark and what you're doing and there is going to be great reform there. you also said in some parts of the state, charter and choice wasn't just a panacea. explain your thoughts on reform. >> bobby laid it out pretty well. we just passed the tight end tenure reform in new jersey which ties it directly to student achievement and allows a teacher to lose tenure after having two years in a row of partly ineffective rating or one year of ineffective teaching. we have all this tenure law in america. it is 100 years old. the people who are paying to not have that amended were the teacher unions.

we have a good charter law. we close some bad charters as well. we opened up more in new jersey. we focus on the struggling districts. some parents do not have the ability to send their kids to schools. we want to give them a choice. >> how are you working with cory booker? >> he is my favorite democrat. what booker understands is that his city will never turn around until the educational system turns around. benalt live in newark if they can't send their children to

school in newark. but he understands is that the status quo is not the unable in being able to turn his city around. we are working together on expanding charters and trying to get the choice in the city of newark. the teachers' unions make the argument that money equals folley. in newark, intend $24,000 per student per year. the kids who entered ninth grade last year, 20% of them will graduate with a high school diploma in four years. the argument we are making is that for 30 years, big teacher unions have saying things that are simply not true. what we find is that the more

money we spend, the worst of the results yet. we have 400 teachers now in newark because we did not have tenure reform until just this past june. there are 400 teachers in newark that we are paying not to go to class. >> do you have a new contract? >> we do not have one yet. she ran the public school system in new york city. if she did work there, we have a shot in newark. bottom line, newark's school system -- my parents made the decision that the school system

was so bad that they wanted their sons to have a future. they had to get us out. we had the ability to get out and go to a better school district. most parents do not. so bringing more choice into those districts, why you're trying to turn around is key. >> and john white, the person that you mentioned, the thing they have in common is that there were both teach for america members. also executive directors. speaking of unions, governor scott walker. [applause] you have had an interesting year. what lessons did you learn from the recall?

>> right on cue, our budget has turned into a surplus. i was able to put money into the rainy day fund. eight of these great governors are great friends of mine. they helped me out on this campaign. the biggest lesson in our state, a state that is truly a swing state in the presidential election, the voters said they elect us and want leaders willing to make tough decisions. that was the most compelling message of all. we have heard it. [applause] i know all of us as candidates -- all of us as candidates, we hear of voters complain about two things -- they complain

about candidates who say things and then break their promises. why is it that all of us can see perfectly clearly what the problems are, what needs to be done, but the politicians in office fail to take action on those issues? but we did. the concern i had wasn't so much about keeping my job. the concern i had was if we had failed june 5, it would have set aside political urge to, not just for myself. people like my friend paul ryan is one of the most courageous men i know in politics. i knew that if we did not prevail in the election, it would set aside courage in congress and in washington. in statehouses all across

america. the only thing that is different from me and the other governors is that i got a little bit more attention. but all of them have been doing courageous things around the country. the results are really amazing. think about it. the 17 states that elected republican governors in 2010, every one of those state has seen unemployment go down more than the national average. republican-led states have a 1% difference lower in the unemployment rate. that is because we're willing to make tough decisions. voters want us to do that. [applause] >> one of the things that governor christie and governor jindal have in common is that you are working very well with democratic mayors and legislators. you meet every day with a democratic leadership.

after your recall, did you find a way to reduce the partisanship and reach out? can it be done? >> sure. mayors, it may be tough. it may take some time. a week after the election in typical wisconsin fashion, my wife said before the election, on election night you have to say something that will bring the state back together. your supporters acknowledge this was a great win. bring the state back together. she suggested having the lawmakers over to eat. i love june cookouts. i said we're going to have bratz and burgers and beer. we have 400 lawmakers and spouses come over and sor tof

-- sort of gave them permission to be social again. it really put a freeze on the ability for people to work together because there were outside pressures. now that it was gone, each week lawmakers come over for breakfast or lunch to talk about things we can work on. when we talk about the economy, it is about moving our states forward. >> nikki haley, welcome back to the stage. on the national level when it comes to fiscal issues, it seems there is a cliff we are about to drive off but people are not ready to compromise. at the state level, you always have to be ready to do that.

you have a great reputation as anyone for being against taxes. at times, you have voted for a sales tax increase would have to be part of the package to keep a clip from happening. do you think it is possible vote on the federal level -- do you think it is possible on the federal level to find a solution somewhere to are the simpson-bowles came out? where there is some tax reform, but also a larger proportion -- or do you think it is too big of a compromise? >> we haven't proposed any sales tax increases. what we have tried to say that instead of just looking at where the income will come from, how are we spending the money? [applause] whether you are a republican or a democrat, everyone needs to understand that government money belongs to the people.

how they spend it matters. this last budget, i said that any additional revenues that come in -- i do not think any states are out of the woods -- i think any additional revenues that come in should pay off debt or go into trust funds or back into the tax fund relief. nothing else. my legislature decided to spend it all. almost $1 billion extra. we turned around and vetoed 81 things. the problem is we were vetoing memorial parks. habitat for humanity. these are great missions but these are not the role of government. one of the things that i vetoed was the arts commission. we love the arts. we will go to the arts. but our founding fathers did not say that the government should control the rights of

people and the arts commission. they said to control the rights of people and not be all things to people. we had this uproar of how dare you take out the arts commission? we did not take the arts out of schools. but i told the people of south carolina, did you know we are paying $1.6 million for 18 people to work in and 18,000 sq. ft. building? there is no way they can do that. educational television, we vetoed that last year. big uproar. every year, we're putting money on the line item and millions of dollars and they had nothing to show for it. we have reformed it. now it is paying for other programs. the key is that everyone is looking for money. the money is there. washington is in chaos. what we need to do in the state, we need to balance the budget. we have to take on pension reform. we need to do it in a way that we can.