the way the republicans were running the government when george bush was in power. you want to go back. guest: george bush left and the deficit went up in his last term because of the bailout and the crisis in 2008. president obama has run trillion-dollar deficits every year. i have been critical of some of president bush's policies. mitt romney and paul ryan should run it as having their own agenda. they should not tie themselves too close.

it is reasonable for a voters to say that bush made mistakes. other parties were partly responsible for it. it was a pretty big thing to happen on bush's watch. that is a problem for republicans which i think they have dealt with it pretty well. i wanted paul ryan to run for president. i'm happy he is the vice presidential nominee. host: we have a question on twitter from cindy. >> president obama is in a good position where he has to win one of florida, virginia, and ohio.

the next group is florida, virginia, and ohio. ohio looks tougher. that what looks like it will go down to the wire. in looks like wisconsin is in play. there other ways to get their on the electoral college. move the states around and color them differently on the map. i think wisconsin is now dead even. minnesota is surprisingly close. social issues are hitting a little bit there. democrats voting for clinton and probably voted for bush and split their votes and then they voted for obama in 2008. they are not thrilled with what the democratic party is proposing.

therefore same-sex marriage and for abortion. there's more chance for republicans in iowa and minnesota and wisconsin than people realize. host: we're speaking with william standard from "the weekly standard." he once served as chief of staff for vice president dan quayle. he has taught politics at the iversity of pennsylvania and harvard school of government. frank from atlantic city. caller: good morning. the ad on ryan -- maybe obama is looking at ryan as another

dick cheney and we could have a bush-cheney ticket. i think that the war in iraq and afghanistan cost just around $4 trillion. the interest on the debt is probably around $350 billion a year. that is approximately 10% of their budget. what to make up for the deficit but do not want to raise taxes. you want to cut the entitlements.

10% is our interests. we have to cut 10% of the budget just to pay the interest. to make a dent in the deficit, we have to do 20%. that will be a lot of pressure on the budget to bring it down. you people run around and say, no more taxes. the capital gains situation with romney is atrocious. guest: we need more tax revenues. clinton did a tax bill. the way to get more revenue is not to raise tax rates and to reform the tax code. we had a surplus at the end of the 1990's. yes, we do need more tax revenues. they are low because we have no

economic growth. we have totally drawn down in iraq. we cannot afford the entitlements. we cannot afford the stimulus, which did not work well. we do need economic growth. republicans need to explain how their policies would increase economic growth. it is important for young people to have opportunities. it is important for more tax revenues to make the deficit more manageable. they have forgotten to explain why they think their policies would increase economic growth. i think they have a good story

to tell on this. host: let's hear a clip about the romney plan for the middle class. [video clip] >> it is a $5 trillion tax-cut geared toward the wealthy. for middle class taxpayers, that is about $2,000 more per taxpayer. you need to be honest with the middle class about what is ahead of them with the tax plan. i agree the central question in this campaign is how we're going to strengthen the middle class. we have plans on the table to do that. mitt romney advisers were saying it would be political

suicide to talk about those details. we like to talk about how to strengthen the middle class. host: what is your response? guest: i would like a debate, too. three presidential debates and one vice-presidential debate. they could have longer debates or more debates. they could debate three hours on economic issues. ryan did extremely well.

i would be comfortable with paul ryan is debating barack obama or joe biden. the romney-ryan ticket wants to keep tax rates where they are. i don't know how you describe that as a tax cut. the romney people why he to pay the same rates and the administration wants to raise your rates if you're making more than $250,000. caller: he said that he wanted to make obama a one-term president.

after kennedy died, the majority of the senate was gone and the senate went filibuster crazy. it was 276 filibusters, an all- time record. they killed in the country and put millions of people out of work and they are keeping it that way just so they can beat obama. can you explain 276 filibusters? guest: i support them stopping bad ideas. cap and trade -- would that have helped the economy? probably more labor actions. would that have helped the

country? i don't think so. president obama had a huge democratic majorities. obamacare is a huge problem for the economy. i believe if romney wins, repeals obamacare, able to begin steps to stop some of these regulations from the federal government's anti get some prospects from relief of regulatory and excessive government spending. i think we could have an economic boom in 2013 because

lots of investors will decide that the prospects for economic growth are pretty decent. the obama policies are making economic growth harder, not easily. host: this is a headline in "the new york times." we will be down in tampa next week watching the gop convention. the unavailing from the podium and staircases and the symbolism in play, trying to show openness. we have a twitter follower -- guest: i'm not a big theater guy. maybe we will have three presidential debates and the vice-presidential debate. two of them will have a moderator asking questions. i think we'll get a fair amount of substance. i think the romney ticket should challenge the obama ticket. i think people would be interested to see ryan debate more often and not just except the format and the arrangement of the debate schedule. we were talking before about mitt romney going to church and inviting reporters to go with him. there is a big piece and "the washington post" talking about

romney and the mormon church and the boston area. that will be interesting to see how that plays out. his faith and the volunteer work he is done over the years. teaching sunday school. it is pretty remarkable living the kind of life, and helping others through his church. he has not talked about that much because i guess they think the mormon church of latter-day saints is controversial. i think that you decided that, it would be used against us and we have to make clear that mitt

romney is a man of faith. host: here is a picture of mitt romney with ipad in hand arriving in church on sunday. this is from "the new york times" and the photo from a.p. caller: i have two comments. in regard to a previous caller that called and said there is no black faces in the background at the romney campaign or hispanics or asians, implying that there are not a lot of minorities that are republican. i remember watching a program,

i believe it was a glenn beck and i remember ostracizing a reporter. i have a lot of black friends and they are independent minded and they are going this time with mitt romney. that is the end of that statement. the other thing i wanted to address is the moderator brought the issue of romney paying only 13% and the average person pays 26%, which really sounds bad. when you take 13% of $10

million, what is the final figure? you're paying more taxes which could be the equivalent of maybe 10 or 20 average families. mitt romney stuck his neck out to invest in the businesses. this is a democratic ploy. if you file a long return, you have to list your doctors, your dentist, the charities that you contribute. there's a lot of personal information. i do not think any presidential

candidate should have to report his tax returns of who he contributed to for the last 20 years, what charities he gives to, what doctors he attended. host: we will leave it there and go to bill kristol. guest: the congressman filed disclosure forms. i'm not sure at the caller isn't right.

the customer has been to release at least a couple of years of tax returns. i think it is part of the price of running. i don't have a strong view. romney should probably do it to take the issue off the table. it is an interesting debate. i would have a tax code where mitt romney would pay more than 13%. i don't believe there would have been an economic detriment to pay more.

i would be for a tax reform and did away with the event is of the interest. host: rachel is an independent caller. caller: good morning. people call and with mitt romney associating with terrorists. when romney picked paul ryan, i did not think romney had a plan our budget and that is the reason why he picked him. the convention and the debates were coming up. he does not agree with paul ryan's bill. you never talk about the heroin

that is coming over here since we have been in afghanistan. there was 6% of heroin, over here and now it is over 70%. host: we have done what some interviews with reporters that cover the opium trade and how it gets over there. you can find that on our website, c-span.org. look for a series and "washington journal." our caller mentioned ron paul. ron paul is someone whose name will be coming up a lot as we head into tampa. jack asks -- guest: i didn't think he has a majority of the delegations of

five states. i have never been one to obsess about, "we have to be careful because the ron paul people will be there." i'm not a ron paul fan particularly. he got a lot of voters fair and square. so did rick santorum. i think there has been too much control and people assume the voters are total idiots. if they see anything diverging from the message, if the platform is not set up right -- i would be more relaxed about this and to left the convention play out. the key parts will not be ron paul or rick santorum. the key parts will be the romney's speech and the ryan

speech. one forgets if you're a political junkie that most americans have not voted for mitt romney before. an early republican state, they will have not seen much of mitt romney except in 30-second sound bites. a lot of people will watch the romney's speech on thursday night and the ryan speech on wednesday night. bill clinton's speech will be interesting at the democratic convention. we have seen president obama give many speeches to the nation. a lot of voters have not seen romney and ryan. those are the biggest moments that can cause a change in voters' perception. host: party planning tips for your next convention.

jimmy carter did give the advice to make party unity and high priority. guest: everybody remembers ted kennedy been difficult for carter to get on board. carter was even with reagan 10 days out. some voters were not happy with the carter presidency. people like to use conventions as excuses. i did not buy any of that. i come back to the alternative. reagan beat carter. clinton beat bush. clinton had a strong, positive agenda. i don't think you can beat an incumbent president just by saying, the guy is not doing a

good job. host: good morning. caller: good morning. i had not gone political until i retired. it was surprising to me. we had fought communism and marxism around the time i was born. it was surprising how much the democratic party has embraced these.

how did it happen and why? i don't understand people selling out our country for their own political gain or the freebies that they want handed to them. guest: people have different views for the country. i did not think there are a lot of real socialists left. left liberals who would prefer to have a much more active government. government-run health care. it is a policy question. we are a democracy and they are entitled to make their case.

america was wise to resist socialism at home. people are entitled to make their case. government-run health care is better than health care from the government. caller: good morning. my question is, who is running for president for the republicans? is it paul ryan or romney? paul ryan and john boehner voted down the bill as to where president obama was trying to get jobs for the infrastructure of america. they speak of paying taxes but they'll never say it. income taxes. guest: mitt romney is the

presidential candidate. some people think it is criticism of romney -- romney has not been in the national legislature. there is nothing wrong with taking a vp who was been identified with a lot of issues. i think ryan's strength is not an effective talking point against romney. i think it is a tribute to run it that he picked somebody strong. they have slight differences on there medicare proposals. it is a tribute romney that he took ryan. i've been around a lot of politicians and the typical tennessee is they do not want someone who will dominate or say something that could get that

news. it is good mitt romney understands that ryan adds something to the tickets. host: front-page cover of "the weekly standard" for this week. what do you think is happening? guest: ryan has more of a record than romney. romney has not been in federal office. it energized democrats who decided he was the target of attack and his agenda was the target of attack. a key moment is when the republicans realize they could turn the attack around. the attack on ryan and medicare

could be an attack on obamacare. now we've had a debate for four or five days which i think romney and ryan are winning. president obama has been in office for four years. he has to defend himself against republican attacks. even saying the words "the ryan plan" -- the idea that you have to attack the ryan plan -- that

is a big concession to the republicans and to paul ryan. romney is the nominee. i do they it could end up having been a turning point in the campaign where romney went from ok candidate and it went to an alternative to president obama and that the romney-ryan ticket could take the lead in this campaign. host: some comments about medicare by paul ryan. [video clip] >> it is a promise that was made and a promise that must be kept.

to make sure that we can guarantee that promise for my mom's generation, we must reform it for my generation. to save it for this generation, you have to reformate for my generation so does not go bankrupt when we want to retire. the good news is there are bipartisan solutions to do this. the plan would support originated in the clinton commission in the 1990's. it is a plan that says do not change benefits for people 55 and above. we get a choice of a guaranteed coverage options. guaranteed affordability.

we get to pick a plan for us when we retire. that means the providers compete for our business. host: congressman paul ryan speaking in florida on saturday. guest: that was a pretty striking performance by ryan. he brought his mom with him. look at the -- he turned around and criticized obamacare. i'm told there were people in boston that were nervous about this at romney headquarters, sending ryan to florida as a

high-stakes gamble. they were nervous when watching on tv. they became reassured and by the end of the speech, they were excited. i think ryan did an excellent job. they withstood the initial assault and began to go on the offensive. there was some talk of sending ryan to florida. they decided to send ryan to florida on saturday to show they were willing to go into the lion's den. host: bill kristol, thank you said much for joining us this morning, talking about campaign 2012.

>> i know there are those that considered -- that criticize me for seeing complexities. saying there are weapons of mass destruction in iraq does not make it so, saying we can fight a war on the cheap does not make it so and proclaiming mission accomplished certainly does not make it so. >> three days after september 11, i stood where americans died, in the ruins of the twin towers. workers and hard hats were shouting to me, whatever it takes. a fellow grabbed me by the arm and said, do not let me down. since that day, i wake up every morning thinking about how to better protect our country. i will never relent in defending america. whatever it takes. >> every minute of every major

party conventions since 1974 and our countdown to the convention continues with one week to go until the live coverage of the democrat and national republican conventions. all starting next morning with the gop convention with new jersey gov. chris christie in the keynote address. also, 2008 presidential nominee john mccain and former gov. jeb bush. speakers include julian castro, michelle obama, and bill clinton at the democratic national convention. >> a look at house and senate races across the country. and we look at the growing number of jobs that require post-secondary education. then, part of our week-long series about on-line campaign coverage.

"washington journal," with the day's headlines and your phone calls, live every day at 7:00 a.m. eastern. >> the republican platform committee is meeting in tampa to finalize a number of issues. over the next several hours, you will hear on reform policy, energy, and the economy. the chair is florida gov. bob mcdonnell. >> let me begin with a brief quote. in 1789, george washington said it was our duty to "acknowledge

the province of the almighty god, be grateful for his will, and look forward to his protection and favre." let's do that today. we remember that you tell us in your word that wisdom is an act of god. we are at -- we are asking for wisdom throughout this task. he also said you should write your vision down and communicate clearly. we ask the same thing here. you also tell us to dwell together in unity. we pray for unity as we undertake this work. we want to honor you and we want you to approve of our work. let us submit it to you in that realm.

we ask your age, your protection, and your favor. we ask it on this country, our leaders, our soldiers across the world. we asked to keep those soldiers in your hand and keep their families in your hand. we love to sing "god bless america," but today it is also our prayer. god bless america in your race and mercy. we pray you continue to bless our country today. we ask all of this in your name today, father. amen. >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

>> a few reminders. all of our proceedings are being covered by our friends at c- span. there are a lot of people here from national and international media that watch our proceedings. we would ask you to please quiet yourself phones. we have a lot to do in the next four hours. as i mentioned last night, it is an incredible honor to serve in this leadership position for you and with you over these couple of days, to craft a concise document that reflects the highest and best ideals of the country and the values in the heart and soul of the republican party. that is what we have all been called to do. we're the conservative party

that believes life, family, marriage, limited government, respect for the rule of law. all of the countries which have made our country great. our job today is to remember what has made us great during those times and look at the specific policy areas that you all have been working on this morning. take your good work and your good amendments and act on it as a body. it is exceptionally important work. it is important for people in america and people around the world to know what the republican party stands for. from the time of lincoln to the time of mitt romney, we have stood for some values that have ushered in liberty and freedom and the american dream for so many people. our job today is to encapsulate those thoughts and provide a

blueprint for our people over the next four years. it needs to be a document that we can hand to our standard bearer and say, here is -- here are some great ideas. 112 representatives of 50 states and six territories believe in. we would like these to be part of your message as you go about winning the country over these next 80 days. we know this is an exceptionally important time for the country. we are certainly at a crossroads. whether we are an opportunist excited that embraces opportunity. finally, we want it to be a document that will help us win an election. we want independent voters.

we want them to be encouraged and embrace what we have outlined and say, i want to be a part of that team. we have amazing energy in this party. 80% of you have not served on the platform committee before. to me, that is exciting. no matter who you might have supported in the primary, we have a great collection of men and women who have been elected to the to serve on this platform committee. i know that there is an immense energy, a tremendous capability, intelligence, and a desire to come up with a document. i think we have started to march down the road. as we go through this process, hearing the committee reports, i

anticipate amendments. you are the considered 250 or so amendments in the subcommittee. that is an awful lot. everybody finished on time except for one, but they had a lot to talk about. if you're talking about the u.s. constitution, there is a lot to talk about. not surprising they took a little longer. but it was great work. good work by the subcommittee chairman to get us to this point. with that, is the chairman here? hearing no chairman, i would like to proceed. first, with a brief presentation. the reason we arrived with a good, conservative, working document in campeau was because , over the last two months, you're incredibly dedicated staff, literally thousands of

people, have heard from thousands more through twitter, facebook, e-mail, and text messages. they have conducted countless meetings, met with any number of groups that wanted to have them here. have received 30,000 different ideas and process those -- processed those. it was already a good grass- roots, top-to-bottom document. to reflect on the process, if we could go ahead and outline that, that would be helpful. ♪

[applause] >> the chairman will be here any minute. in the meantime, let me introduce my co-chairmen. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, i present the gentleman from wisconsin, the home of paul ryan, scott walker, and green bay packers. [applause] >> thank you.

are we on? ok. we're having a bit of a cheese had revolution. we cannot be prouder. thank you for your hard work. we're asking me to keep pressing on. this will be so important for the future of this country. a talk about last night, this election is about liberty, freedom, and the american dream. this election is about big things. we have a president, as you know, that promised he was going he promised he was going to carpet the world. he promised he would get unemployment under control. he promised he would cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term. we are in a battle for freedom in this country.

is the same battle that abound in this country, that james madison reaffirmed in the bill of rights. we know that a country that has to surrender its sovereignty to its bondholders cannot guarantee prosperity or freedom to anybody. the country that buries its kids and grandkids in an avalanche of dead cannot rest on any vestiges of the moral high ground. we know, i know, everyone up here knows that none of you, nor i, are here because we're worried about the future of the american party. we are here on an important project because we're worried about the future of this country. mr. president has not followed through on his promises. we have gone down a road that is bound for this country and we know mitt romney and paul ryan will help save this country from the president whose priorities are not america's priorities.

how many of you have been to the world war ii memorial? you would agree it's one of those places where you get in when you put out -- get back what you put in. our kids, jack and grace, we give our kids normal names. we went the opposite direction of my parents. [laughter] my little guy, jack, is just a fun little guy. he loves geography, history. we went to the world war ii memorial in washington. we walk around the memorial and there are these great quotes from heroes of that time.

then we walked up to that wall with those 4,000 stars. with my little guy next to me, we are walking up. you read what it all means you realize for every one of those stars, it is 100 little guys just like jack, a little older obviously. as a parent, you could never put yourself in the shoes of what that feels like. for that flicker, you try to figure out what it would be like if little jack did not come home and it just hits you. in front of that wall it says, "here we mark the price of freedom." we are in a battle for freedom in this country. i just have to tell you that i

wish all of god's blessings on you as you continue to work through this document. this will help us start the week in a way that lights the path to victory in november. thank you very much. i want to thank governor mcdonnell, represent a blackburn, senator -- rep blackburn, senator hoeven. appreciate all the hard work you're going to do. thank you man got bless you. -- thank you and god bless you. [applause] >> thank you, chairman priebus. here is senator hoeven from north dakota. >> thank you to gov. bob mcdonnell for his hard work.

he did not know about the hard work that goes on behind the scenes. to his team in the whole staff. it's not just that they have worked hard on this progress, they really care about it. the effort to set the process in place so that we could get input on the internet, more than 30,000 comments came in. my point is this -- they just did not go through the motions. they really worked to set up an inclusive project and all culminates with you being here this week and all of our delegates being here next week. as we talked about in the earlier sessions, this puts forward our republican ideals

and philosophy. it is about our party, are candidates, and ultimately as the chairman just said, it's about the future of our country. that is why you're here. that is why you are working hard to put forward the very best document, the very best plan, we can for america. this morning, i had an opportunity to be in a number of the subcommittee's and they reflect the conversations i have had. they demonstrate people who really care, more fully engaged, who have not only thought about what they are presenting, but people who come from all over america helping us build a better future for ourselves and our children. i know we will go through the economic development piece, the economic approach, for the first several hours, then energy, and agriculture.

if you think about it, it is very appropriate. job creation is a job number one. we need to get people back to work. we had 13 million people unemployed and another 10 million who are underemployed. it is the small businesses of this country, the people in this country, the creativity, the entrepreneur ship is in our people and our small businesses. our job is to foster that environment. when we talk about building a plan, that's what we are talking about. not more government but empowering the people of this great nation, the opportunities in energy and agriculture which are unlimited.

their limited by the creative power and work ethic of the people of this great country. it is truly unlimited. i look forward to the discussion. i commend all of you for what i saw in the subcommittee today, a willingness to work hard, reach out, bring forward your ideas, and to listen to work with others and build the very best document we can not just for our party and are candidates for the people of this great country. thank you so much. i look forward to a grin after noon today and a great day tomorrow as well. -- i look forward to a great afternoon today. >> rep blackburn. >> i can just sit here and say ditto. we are greatly appreciative to reach of you -- each of you for being here, taking our time and money and helping to come craft this. when i was growing up in south mississippi and my dad sold oil deal production equipment, i

loved getting in the pickup truck with my daddy and driving down into louisiana, alabama, florida, somewhere in south mississippi to deliver a drill bit or some part for an oil production rig. as we would make these drives, he would let me have a sip of coffee milk and i thought i was really grown up. we would talk about what i wanted to do. i could come up with some of the most outlandish, grandiose plans for my life and my dad would always kind of rain me in and help me focus. he would say, "now, honey. let's begin with the end in mind." let's begin with the end in mind. exactly where do we want to go with this?

exactly what do you want to accomplish with this? i think that's a pretty good line of thought for us to take now. let's begin with the end in mind. the end, in the near term, is winning in november. making sure that we have candidates, of course our presidential and vice- presidential candidates, but members of the senate, people running for the senate, people running for the house, state legislature. they can hold a document and say this is a great pathway. it adds up context to what they can talk about with their future constituents. that is a worthy goal for us to have.

i think it is so important for us as we move forward to realize that we want to begin end remember through our deliver tiv process -- deliberative process to win and chart a new pathway for this country so that we return this country to its greatness, so that people continue to believe in the american dream. don't you love it? people do not talk about the chinese dream or the australian dream. they talk about the american dream. each and every one of you have the opportunity to impact bat. you have the opportunity to impact the future generations to experience that american dream. some of you have asked for the quotes that i used yesterday when we started.

dr. joseph warren was one of our founders and this was his charge in the revolution as they headed into battle. i think it is appropriate for today. the full quote is this, "our nation is in danger, but not to be despaired of." on you depends teh futures of americans yet unborn. act worthy of yourselves. that is such a great charge for rust today. thank you for your diligence and the diligence to have done prior to coming here. we are appreciative of it and i look forward to a tremendous finished product. i yield back. >> well said, marsha.

ben, the have any other administrative announcements? then we will also call on the associate general counsel, john? >> we had an issue that came out this morning for the gentleman from the virgin islands that we should include the territories as well and less -- unless we carve it out otherwise. >> briefly, i just wanted to make sure that everyone seated has sections on the economy and energy that have been revised. denotation a that the bottom with the date and time of today at 1:30 p.m. if you do not have the economy or any deception that this time, let us know. -- do not have the economy or energy section that this time, let us know.

we have all six sections ready. if the volunteers to distribute the other four section that this time, it may take a minute, but we can go ahead and do that now. you will have all six sections instead of distributing them later on. john is here to address that issue, governor. >> do not spend a lot of time reading them right now. we're focusing on jobs and the economy, energy, agriculture, the environment. you will have a lot of time to read them in length to prepare amendments tomorrow. go ahead, john. take the issue on the territories. >> thank you, governor. for clarification purposes in defining the term "state" and "states" in the platform, we can look to guidance in the rules of the republican party,

specifically rule 1b where we deal with this issue in defining what a state means and how we include the territories and the district of columbia in that definition. i will very quickly read the relevant part of that definition for informative purposes. rule 1b of the rules of the republican party states, "for the purposes of this rule and other rules state or states shall be taken to include american samoa, the district of columbia, guam, and the northern mariana islands, puerto rico, and the virgin islands." so for clarification and guidance proceeding with the definition of "state/states" as it is turned generally in your use of the platform, you can look to the rules of the republican party for that

guidance. >> great. ladies and gentlemen, we are ready to conduct our first order of business, review the work product of the jobs and economic development subcommittee. if you could turn to that, i will just make a few comments to start. i will call on the subcommittee chairman for report. we will have a general overview of that area and then the amendments that have been submitted, we will take them up in order. as other things come up, you can submit written amendments as they come up so we have a full exchange. why did we start with jobs and the economy? that is self-evident. there is no bigger issue facing the country nor any greater divide between our team and the

other team and it comes to getting the greatest country on earth out of debt and back to work. as you have already seen from listening to the candidates, there's a tremendous bulk between the two. overwhelmingly, americans say this is the issue most important to them, for their kids and grandkids, and frankly their own future. everyone knows somebody that is out of work or underemployed or hasn't given up looking. the job gives a person a sense of self-worth, dignity. it is their ability to be self- reliant, the great american virtues cannot depend on the government or government programs because they can take care of themselves and their families, something we strongly believe in a republican than americans. we look at what has happened over these last three years and it has been tragic for the

american dream. we are at 8.3% unemployment. we have been over 8.1% for 42 consecutive months. that is the longest trend we have had since the great depression for this kind of massive unemployment or underemployment. the number may be higher when you count the people who were not factored in to the bureau of labor and statistics numbers because they have given up and they have not had the hope that they were promised. we have the lowest number of entrepreneurs that have started a new business in 30 years under the reign of this president, only 400,000 or so who have started a business in the last 12 months, so the spirit of entrepreneurship that is the secret of a growing us out of this downturn, more prosperity, and therefore more growth, that engine is being shackled by the said administration.

why? they want more stimulus, more bailouts, more taxes, more litigation, more unionization. we know that is not the ticket to prosperity and success so it's no wonder we have an unemployment rate that continues to hover over 8%. that is why this is a job number one. the first thing we are taking not -- taking up. getting people back to work is the essence of the american dream come using their talents in an opportunistic society to find work. whats exactly congresswoman blackburn said. i'm very happy about the worked that has been done here. we will also be talking about balanced budgets and getting our great country out of debt. $16 trillion is a staggering amount of money. i think the american people and all of you need to know how

difficult the situation is. our country is literally broke. the president submitted a budget that was shut down 535-0 that would have gotten us to $25 trillion by the year 2021. the senate has not taken up a budget in three years because of harry reid refusal to have a budget document for the united states of america. so, those other problems well known to you. our job for this platform, in this section, in this document, is to chart the course about how we get out of debt and back to work. how do we honor the entrepreneurs who have always been the great engine of the american economy? i think the team has done a great job outlining some of those in a very concise way. let me introduce to you the leadership team from the jobs and economy section. andy posner from california.

lynn fitch, the state treasurer from mississippi. and jonathan barnett from arkansas, the republican national committee man from that state and a member of the legislature. andy, i will turn it over to you. tell us what you did. >> how about now? >> ok. how about we can ask you to stand so we can see you and thank you for your work? [applause] you are going to deliver the report? >> i will. thank you, as well to senator hoeven. i want to thank my co-chairs. it has been great working with you and the other committee

members, a great group of people. i would like to thank matt and andrew for the great job they have done. in our subcommittee, we had a very open discussion and exchange of ideas related to the economy, job creation, and the deck, and the policies we should pursue, not the tactics, but the policies, to get us back on the path to growth and prosperity, there was the economic freedom and creating prosperity, as well as the economic role in the string so critical to the national security. we have acknowledged that the government's role is limited and supportive, not controlling. the best way to boost economic growth is to pursue free-market policies as the last four years

have shown, that the government directing the economy does not work. we call for, one, a simpler, transparent, flatter, and fairer tax system. two, a reining in of government spending and regulations that strangle business both large and small. four, a federal-state partnership to invest in our nation's infrastructure and to assure that infrastructure dollars are actually spent on infrastructure. 5, an overhaul of the federal training programs to make them relevant for a 21st-century workplace, and six, we support right to work laws at the state and federal level, although i seem to be getting emails on that subject.

[laughter] small businesses and entrepreneurs create 90% of the jobs in this great nation. we call for cooperation between the president and congress to create a positive certainty and predictability potential employers need to create the jobs that our economy is so desperately needs. we acknowledge that our massive federal government is structurally and financially broken. we call for reduced spending, a balanced budget, and sound monetary policy as the means to fix it. to conclude, as the congresswoman stated earlier today, we are the great opportunity party, so we pledge to workers without jobs, to families without savings, and to neighborhoods without hope that together, we can get our nation back on track and fulfill the promise of a better life and a brighter future.

because as a people, we built this nation. we built the roads and bridges. [applause] we build and create the businesses and the products and rebuild our homes and our families. the government did not do that. we did. and because we built it, and because we understand where wealth and prosperity, from, president romney and vice president ryan, with a republican congress, will revitalize this nation and bring it back bigger and stronger and more prosperous than it has ever been. that is the message of the proposed platform and the job creation and debt. it was an honor to work on it, and we submit to the full committee for your consideration. thank you, mr. chairman. [applause]

>> would either of the co- chairmen like to make any comments? any comments before we go to the minutes? hearing none, let's go ahead and take up the amendments that have been offered from the floor. i'd like to recognize david from new hampshire. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate that you have gotten the pronunciation right. normally, it is "bough-ton." members of the platform committee, i propose an amendment that i think goes right to the heart of what i think we all stand for. we often talk about small

business, that small businesses are the engine of our economy and create jobs, and i think there is a second piece that is missing that i think needs to be emphasized, which is why is it important for small business to grow and prosper. it is because we want jobs created for our families, our friends, our neighbors, so i added those words to line 16 of page two, to say that we will reform the tax code to allow businesses to generate enough capital to grow and to create jobs for our family, friends, and neighbors all across america. i think that link is critical, and i took the other members of the committee will adopt the amendment. >> do you have the proper postures or a second? any discussion on the amendment? hearing none, all in favor of

that amendment, say aye. >> aye. >> that amendment is adopted. i wanted to make sure we have had a formal opportunity to review. while there were no amendments to subsection one, rebuilding the economy and creating jobs, i would like to see if there is any comment on this section before we close it. hearing none, then that section will be closed. second section, captioned "job creation" beginning on line 30. any discussion on that section? hearing none, the jobs section will be closed. the amendment we just adopt it was for the small business and entrepreneurship section. any comment or discussion on that section? ok, hearing none, that section

will also be closed. next session, starting page two, 21, tax relief to grow the economy and create jobs, carrying over to page 3. any comment or discussion on that section? ok, hearing none, that section will be closed. next, page 3, lowering the corporate tax rate.

any comments on that section? >> i have an amendment. >> i am sorry. my amendments were out of order. >> from indiana. my amendment would be on page three to add -- >> excuse me, jim. the amendments should be in your packets in this order. we will let you know if there is a new one that is not. go ahead, jim. >> line 19, quote, "and donations to them should continue to be tax deductible." this sentence addresses the vital role that religious organizations and fraternal benefit associations serve in fostering many of the civic values that we affirm, and, of course, very importantly, they

are the principal means in america of private charities by which many of our citizens, who are less fortunate than others, can be afforded the assistance that they need. the obama administration has, very cynically, sought to eliminate the tax deduction for charities in order to shut down private charities in the united states said that the government would be the sole provider of what has traditionally been private, a charitable activity in the united states, so this would modify the sentence which currently of firms that these organizations should not be subject to taxation so that they continue to enjoy tax deductibility. >> that has been moved and

seconded that that amendment be adopted. is there any discussion? hearing none, all in favor of that amendment, say aye. all opposed? that is adopted. the next section is page three, line 23. reining in out-of-control spending, assuring balance. we do have an amendment in that section, on page four. from mississippi, lynn. >> i am offering an amendment, page number four, number four. i strike the $800 billion and insert in place of that $1 trillion.

the congressional budget office and the joint committee on taxation has confirmed something we already know, that this obamacare is a $1 trillion tax hike that families and employers simply cannot afford. it contains 21 tax increases, 12 on the middle-class, and this new amount is nearly twice the advertised 10-year tax amount that was claimed by the democrats when they pushed the law through congress just two years ago. >> i have been informed that that is the right number by other experts up here, as well. >> mr. chairman, i second the amendment. >> the amendment has been seconded. any discussion? all in favor, say aye.

ok, then that section will be closed. page four, line 12, balancing the budget. any discussion on that section? >> excuse me. i have an amendment that i would like to propose. >> ok. >> i did submit it. >> i am sorry. who is speaking? can you raise your hand, please? >> from the district of columbia. >> is your amendment in writing? >> yes. >> procedurally, do you want to get that? >> what we want to do is get copies for 112 people. we welcome back to this section. thank you. >> ok.

>> we will not close out that section so we can come back to the amendment of the gentle lady from d.c. any other discussion at this time? ok, at the bottom of page four, inflation and federal reserve, any discussion on that section? from virginia? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i just wanted to make a brief comment. balancing the budget, etc.. this is one of the reasons we are here today, one of the often forgotten facets of what drives our economy and what can sink our economy, and the fact that we are doing this in the

platform, i am grateful, and i just wanted to commend the committee for actually putting together some great stuff here regarding monetary policy. i just want to say thank you very much. >> you are welcome, and, hopefully, next year, we will start on the fed. any other discussion on that section? >> i have an answer to comment at the beginning of a line 37. >> mike, can you just raise your hand? >> go ahead. >> i have a comment that i would like to insert online 36. i have that written down if you would like to copy that. >> on line 36 of page 5? >> correct.

>> ok, mike, we will come back to you, because we are still on the previous -- i am sorry. page 36. that is at the beginning of the section. go ahead, mike. >> i would like to add after a sound monetary policy is critical for maintaining trust and a strong economy, one half of every voluntary transaction unless it is honest and transparent. that would be my amendment. >> mike, what we need you to do is come and get a submission form. we need it in writing so everyone can have it. >> i have it on the submission form. >> great. we will leave that section open, as well. ok, so that section will remain open. on page 5, line 19, the housing

crisis. i know we have one amendment offered there. from kentucky. this one is not? ok. excuse me. those copies have not been -- that section will remain open, but let me just ask if there is any other discussion. sometimes, we have discussions that may answer them or might prod your need for one. are there any discussions are questions on the housing-crisis section? >> governor, if you have an amendment that you would like submitted and have copies, please raise your hand, and we will send runners up. you do have that? i am sorry. >> you have the one from kentucky? we have got that one. the chair will recognize kentucky. >> mr. chairman, shirley, from

lexington, kentucky. i would like to bring from page 5 and 6, 23 and 24 lines, in certificate we must preserve the mortgage interest deduction, period, because 95% of homeowners say they are happy with their opportunity to buy homes since the mortgage interest deduction has been in place since 1913, and because we have been in the housing recession for the past four years. we need to sustain what little liability we have left for future homebuyers. thank you. >> second the notion. april. >> is there any discussion on that?

i know for the average homeowner, that is obviously a significant issue. april? >> yes, mr. chairman, as a real estate broker for the last 30 years, i can tell you that the interest deduction is high on the list for all realtors across the country, and especially in light of the recent housing crisis, this is the last vestige as to why people would be interested in buying a home, because it is very difficult these days between making applications to the bank, having appraisers give proper appraisals, adding sellers seem realistic on the selling prices, having buyers having the opportunity to take advantage of some of the market prices, so the mortgage-interest deduction is paramount to the real-estate industry, excuse me, the home-builders industry, homebuyers, and sellers across

the country, so i hope everyone will vote favorably on this amendment. thank you. >> mr. chairman? >> yes? senator? >> thank you, mr. chairman. with respect to the amendment, and i certainly understand the impulse behind it, what we have now on tax relief and tax reform is a very simple, plain, and powerful statement of principle, that ends is in favor of the tax system that is simple, transparent, flatter, and fairer, promoting savings and innovation, and it goes on in that vein, avoiding getting into specifics about specific areas of the code which might be reformed or changed in the context of tax reform, and i am concerned about opening up subjects that they were not going to get into, because we could talk about these types of deductions and types of credits, and we can talk about caps and non-caps and that would take away unanimity, so i would

urge, and with respect, a no vote on this. >> let me ask, did this come up in the subcommittee, and how did you handle it? >> this particular issue did not come up. maintaining the charitable deduction that jim raised, it was my position in the meeting that we should not get into individual deductions and try to limit the candidates with respect to tax policy. we will have to amend the revenue code or toss it or replace it with policies, and i think those policies, in particular, i think this is more tactical. this is not policy. i think we should deal with the policy of a fairer, flatter system. we did not get into that at the committee meeting.

>> any other discussion on the amendment? april, do you want to be heard? >> mr. chairman, this has been a discussion in the congress and the senate for many years, and it sends a message to not only realtors but home buyers across the country, and i think it should be demonstrated and stated in the document, because it is so far reaching, and it really sends a signal that we care about homeownership. >> mr. chairman, if i may? >> i am sorry. raise your hand. >> clarance from columbus, ohio. i serve as the tax assessor for my county. my job, which is elected, is essentially to determine tax values, and in ohio, our school system is largely dependent on dollars raised from property taxes, so we have a great need to ensure about purchasing

homes. i am very supportive of the amendment because i support the concept of common ownership, and i know the economic value of responsible home ownership, particularly in ohio, many are dependent in the school districts, so anything we can do to encourage and incentivize home ownership matters. >> i would say this is one of those areas that creates the conflict between the broad, uplifting policies of our party, where we stand on principle, versus talking about specific issues that we feel strongly about. one with a certain degree of specificity. the challenge is, i think, several of the candidates running think we need to have a flatter and fairer tax system, where we try to broaden the base, and that is certainly an enterprise that maybe going.

i would just suggest that if we do it, this amendment, where many others that i am sure are equally important, as well, medical deductions and others, and i am sure we can go down the line. this one is for fair discussion. it gets to the basis of the american dream. two-thirds of americans own home. it is an industry that has had a real hit over the last six or seven years. it straddles the sense between principle and a real practical policy that we might embrace and want to preserve. we will entertain other discussion.

>> mr. chairman? i would like to offer a friendly amendment that we can maybe include some language before that that says until we are successful in reforming our tax code and make it at this. >> that would have to take -- do you need that in writing as well? if you would like to propose that for discussion, all we can do that but there is another comment on the amendment. i am having a little trouble seeing the lights go up. when i recognize you, just put your hand up and state -- state your name and state and then speak. >> mr. chairman. dover, delaware. i believe this particular amendment goes to the heart of policy rather than tactics. this shows the republican party's policy supporting

middle-class, supporting the uplifting of those who would like to enter the middle class. this sends a very important policy statement to the rest of the nation as to what exactly the republican party stands for. >> . yes, sir. >> devin of minnesota. i would argue that this is exactly why we have been unable to get any kind of comprehensive tax reform. as soon as we talk about it, everybody has one -- is an important deduction in our current system. but comprehensive tax reform that we stand for means the entire thing gets redone from the ground up. it is a fair -- arafat tax, we do not need the reductions. >> any final comments? i think everybody has heard both sides of the discussion.

>> i would oppose this amendment. i agree that it does not produce the document we need to produce if we get into specifics of tax policy. i suggest we adopt an understanding of the general view of promoting home ownership, especially for the middle class, but not way into the tax policy in our platform committee. thank you. >> ok. it has been moved. i believe there was a second on the mortgage interest deduction.

i am sorry. he spoke in favor. the amendment is probably in front of us. all in favor, aye. all post. no. the chair is in doubt. we should have a show of hands. all in favor of the amendment, raise your hands.

ok. all opposed? the amendment fails. we had another amendment the was originally offered as a substitute. do you still want to pursue? >> i would stop. >> that amendment is withdrawn. in the other discussion or comment on the housing crisis section beginning on page five, line 19? yes, ma'am? >> i am writing an amendment that we move on and leave this open.

>> we have another comment from that section but we will make sure we get back to you. ms. kennedy, the you have something? yes. i was wondering if he wanted in a stronger censoring of fannie mae and freddie mac. they essentially created this housing bubble we are dealing with and i wondered if there was any stronger language that could be put in their so these agencies be examined and some consideration be given to their viability as being a help to the housing market or a hindrance. >> it appears to be reasonably clear about their role as did the creating a housing crisis. if you would like to offer an amendment, we will leave this section open. >> thank you. >> ok. any other questions or discussion? i think there was still one

other comment. anything else? moving on to page 6. line 29. i cannot have any other written amendment in front of us for the remainder of the document. are there any others? others are being copied. they will be degette but once degette and. on the infrastructure section on page 6, -- they will be distr ibuted once we get them. on the infrastructure section on page 6. any questions? ok. hearing none, that section will be closed. page seven. mr. kennedy? >> this is a minor problem. line 23, you left out a space.

the federal government has a role. there is no space between "a" and "role." >> that is a technical correction and we will do that. thank you. pages seven, line 30. the trade section. questions or discussion? in the amendments on that section? -- any amendments on that section? hearing none, that section will be closed. page eight, 25. the 21st century work force. that is the remainder of the

document. any questions or discussions on that section? then that section will also be closed. we have now been distributed -- being distributed one additional amendments. i would like to recognize mike wallace from maine. page four, line 36. >> well, yes, i would like to propose an amendment. line 36 is read, unquote some monetary policy is critical for maintaining a strong economy. are would like to strike "some

economy" and replace its. -- replace it with trust in the economy. >> is there a second to that amendment? >> if i can ask, what exactly are we trying to accomplish with this amendment to the document that the document doesn't already say? >> i replied to expand on the language being used for inflation as being reconfirmed that they are for voluntary exchange and it should be genuine and free of fraud. >> ok, any discussion on the

amendment? >> i don't know what it means. i don't understand it. i do think that some monetary policy is critical for maintaining a strong economy. i do not know if it is necessary to trust in the economy, but it is important to maintain a strong economy. but i do not know what the second sentence even means. >> did this come up in your subcommittee? >> it did not. >> is it ok if i call you governor instead of mr. chairman? >> sure. >> your the governor of my state. the currency is one half of every single transaction. people say they do not understand. when you go to restore and to purchase an item, what do you purchase that with? a dollar bill or a credit card or whatever. you are using one item in exchange for another.

that is two parts. the significance of this is -- this is often overlooked a lot of times, that the value of products is gauged on supply and demand of the product itself and not so much the medium of exchange. this just recognizes that the medium of exchange also has an impact on the price of a product. if the value of the medium of exchange is diminished by inflation, then the value of the -- the price of the product is going to go higher. that is simply what this says. i think that is a pretty significant point that a lot of people do not intend to think about, but certainly ought to be incorporated in the text of the document. >> i do not think anybody disagrees with that. these points seem to be reasonably clearly inferred from those first two sentences. but let's have the -- any

discussion on the amendment? >> mr. chairman, i'm in the same position that the subcommittee chairman is in on this. as i read this, it suggests to me that half of every transaction has to be "in currency" as the way i read it. i do not know if that is intended. i don't think is intended. maybe of the sponsors, tried to redraft. if the subcommittee chairman could not be certain what it meant, i do not know that the people reading it will be certain. and then we can all know what we are voting on. as it is, to me, it seems like you have to pay half of your transactions in cash. i just do not think that is correct. >> as a point of clarification, i'm curious as to what is honest and transparent?

is the currency honest and transparent, or is the transaction? i do not think this language clearly defines what is supposed to be honest and transparent. and i also share the senator's concerns about the currency issue as well. >> i believe this person is actually spells it out very well for us. this on monetary policy is critical for maintaining a strong economy. i do not think it is important that we get into the munier shop. and i think it is distracting from the purpose that we are trying to forge. >> any final comments, ms. kennedy?

>> i think this amendment is more of a punctuation to what you were trying to say in the first sentence. and i do not think it was in any way misleading to have people think that all transactions are done in cash. a dollar on a credit card is the same as a dollar on a federal reserve note. i think what the individual is trying to do here, mr. wallace, was to punctuate the idea that the republican party is aware of the federal reserve's world in the value of our money. so many people think the federal reserve is part of our government and do not realize it is a private corporation. and the influence that they do have on the value of our money and power that has reached a state of crises, actually, because how many people are putting money in a bank anymore? when i was a little girl, i opened a bank account and i put my $5 christmas present money in there and i would watch it grow through college. nowadays, you cannot do that. you do not get any interest putting it in the bank. what the gentleman from wayne -- maine was trying to do was to pump tree die.

i do not know if you are going to see anything in the democratic party anything about the federal reserve. money is very important to people, and the idea of saving, and having the idea of saving being ingrained in part of america's growth and having people prospering. if we do not save money, or have any encouragement to save money, where will we be? >> i do not think anyone disagrees with that, or the importance of the federal reserve. i think the question to me was whether that was already not while said with these first two sentences. and then there is some question about the drafting clarity of the second sentence. at least, that is my view. anything else that we should act on with this amendment? during un-, it has been moved and it did. all in favor? all opposed? the no's have it.

the amendment is rejected. there was another amendment that i understand was withdrawn. are you withdrawing that? >> yes, i am. >> are there any other amendments on anything in this section? any other discussion on the section on page four, caption bouncing the budget. -- balancing the budget. hearing none, then that section will be closed. section 5, housing crisis, any further discussion on that? hearing none, no amendments pending that section, -- no amendments pending, that section will be closed.

any other amendments? ok, we have acted and accepted some and rejected some amendments. all of those sections are not closed. is there any further discussion on this subcommittee report on jobs and the economy? >> mr. chairman, this is just a clarity matter. i would ask that the staff in editing this for its final print not only in this section, but all sections of the platform document, where there is reference to administration, we want to be clear that we are talking about the current administration so that there is no misunderstanding in reference to what we all hope in this room to be the romney administration.

if that could be taking care of, i would appreciate it, mr. chairman. >> the chair is going to roll that any criticism of the administration means the current administration. we will make sure that is appropriately noted. any objection? i did not think so. any discussion on the remainder of this section? do you or your co-chairman have any concluding comments? >> no, i want to thank everybody on the committee for giving it all of their bought for consideration. we appreciate -- they're thoughtful consideration. we appreciate everybody's work. >> i think it speaks to what we believe and what is a solid prescription of principles to turn our economy around and get us out of debt.

this is good work. is there a motion on the subcommittee report? moved and seconded. >> can we have the name and the state of the individual who made the motion? >> [inaudible] >> [inaudible] >> april newland of the virgin islands and moved by the senator from wisconsin. we have a court reporter that need to keep track of this. >> all in favor? all opposed? it is adopted. [applause] ladies and gentleman, of regulations. you have earned a 10 minute break. please be back on time. there are refreshments outside. any additional amendments for

energy, please submit them right now. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] what the republican platform committee continued its meeting with this session on energy issues. it is a little less than an hour and a half. >> ladies and gentlemen. we are ready to get started. i want to bring up an issue if you could listen for a moment about potential changes in the schedule of what to put before the body. the subcommittee ports this afternoon would be jobs and the economy and then energy and the environment. we are proceeding on a good clips and i hate to waste your

time. we only have a couple of amendments right now in the energy. assuming that goes with some dispatch, we will of time. i would like to recommend, even though i set tomorrow we would do constitution, government reform, health care, and then the american century, since we will have an hour plus still remaining in the schedule time for today, that we begin to take up one of those. i would recommend the american century which is defense theory that had the least amount of amendments and was well worked through. what i would like to recommend is that at the conclusion of the energy section that we adjourn for recess for 30 minutes. dhs to look at that. prepare any amendments he would like -- give you a chance to look at that. prepare any amendments you would like. that would still give us an hour

to work through that, conserve your time as opposed to trying to do for tomorrow with government reform and the constitution. i anticipate we will have a discussion from what i have heard because that is what we had -- probably 125 amendments between those two subcommittees. but we bring that up. we will not do it in the body once more time. i want to conserve your time. the subcommittee did such great work and work out so many things. there where such concise discussions that we are in good posture now. that would be my suggestion to the group. take energy. in turn for half an hour. you have all force of committed reports that have been distributed at the break. i would suggest we recess for 30 minutes at the end of energy than combat and work until 6:00,

6:30. any discussion? ok. without objection, that will be the plan. >> thank you governor. we will proceed to the energy agriculture and the environment section. of what i want to thank congressman ed whitfield -- right upfront, i want to thank congressman ed whitfield for his leadership in this committee. i will begin with a few comments then turn things over to represent the but field for his comments and also to mary for her, as well. dam it will get right into it. -- then we will get right into it. we have tremendous opportunity in energy and agriculture. we are laying out a plan that is just incredibly important for

our country. it is not just energy. it is jobs, growing this economy. we have to grow this economy, combined with finding real savings and controlling government to get rid of this deficit and debt. we have to get people back to work and to get on top of the deficit. and it is about national security. we cannot continue to be dependent on the middle east for our oil and energy. it is a national security issue as well. it is all the above. we do have tremendous opportunity if we pursue the right kind of energy policy in this country. in my home state of north dakota, i started as governor there. i anthony -- i have a governor mcdonnell sometimes but it is great honor to serve their from 2000-2010. we built the comprehensive energy policy that empowered the private sector and unleashed

private sector investment in our state and brought incredible investment to our state. our state is truly an energy powerhouse for the nation. the only state that produces more oil than north dakota now is the great state of texas. that is it. texas is about 1 million barrels a day and we are closing on 700,000. it shows what can happen. the states are laboratories. we believe in article 10 of the constitution. this country can do incredible things. we can become energy secure within five to seven years if we pursue the right kind of policy. we have an administration now that says we will produce all the above, not only do they not do it, they block it. this is about a plan.

to energize this country. in a big way. i know we can do it. i have seen it happen in our state. but we talk about agriculture, all we are talking about the heartland of america along with our small businesses. they make this economy go. nobody in the world does it better than our farmers and ranchers. there are 16 million plus people throughout this country that either have their job in agriculture or their job is related to agriculture. this really is about a plan for the future that is important to this country in so many ways. with those remarks on the front end, of all like to call on somebody who is a real energy leader in the house of representatives and that is congressman ed wood field. >> senator, thank you very much. i also want to thank my co-

chair, mary dye, who inspired all of us. she was so energetic and sincere and interested in these issues. and then our entire group that .

this is asking for the automatic dumping of these names in the data base to cease and review of the process take place. this be more of a fair evaluation of each individual on a case by case basis. >> who was that speaking? >> the sponsor of the amendment. from delaware.

further discussion on the amendment? >> i just mentioned that it seemed awfully specific to go into the platform. some further understanding as to why the va did this to begin with. >> at this point, i'm going to call the question.

>> i asked for the support of this amendment. >> all right. we will call the question. all those in favor of the amendment -- i think we're going to need a show of hands. all those in favor of the amendment, raise your hand. hold them up.

put them down. those opposed -- motion carries. if you need verification of that? the motion is approved. all right. >> the motion is approved. we are on the section, "our veterans," page 8. anything else before we close the section? we close the section "our veterans." >> mr. chairman, i'd like to say as we close this section, there are signifigant statements that have never been as clearly stated by any party.

this is a statement that will cause veterans to rethink who they will vote for. >> when it comes to our veterans, the strong statements are appropriate for a country at war over a decade. we move on to page 8, soverign american leadership in international organizations. amendments, comments? hearing none, that section -- you have an amendment? >> it should be -- >> fp-2. does everyone have fp-2? >> from maine --

>> yes. i'd like to -- linda from maine. i'd like to suggest we add a phrase. i have fp-2. >> linda, where are you. can you hold a minute. does everyone have fp-2. raise your hand if you do not have fp-2. linda, if you would, go ahead. >> under the sentence starting on line six, "because of our concern for american sovereignty, i would like to add, domestic managment of our fisheries." we have the legal and tax machines inherent in the treaty, continuing.

we have, um, mr. chairman, we have three sides of our country surroudned with important and valuable fisheries over which we need to maintain domestic control and managment. we know them better than the u.n. would. that is why i urge we add this phrase. >> it is on the screens for those of you waiting for it. you see the suggested amendment. >> moved and seconded. >> i will say, i understand where the delegate is coming from. i don't see where this is an appropriate spot.

this should be a discussion we had in the previous discussion. i think it's in the long section. i urge a vote "no." >> my feeling is we talk about u.n. conventions in a group. and it seems to me there would be controlling influence over our managed fisheries. >> mrs. chairman. phyllis schafly. this is one of the busybody u.n. organizations that wants to control everyting in the sea. 8 10ths of the earth's surface.

their commissions like to rule against us. it belongs in this section, talking about american sovereignty. you shouldn't let the u.n. treaties interfere with that. >> from the virgin islands? >> i totally agree with the mover and phyllis schafly. we have water our local fisherman cannot fish due to various restrictions. foreign vessels take whatever they can get. this is an appropriate place to put this to protect local fishing industries.

>> i'd like to support the amendment also. i need to say the delegate from maine did raise the issue. i suggested if she could come up with the appropriate language, i would support this. i know why those unfamiliar may thing managment of fisheries is not a huge issue. but it is along our coasts. not just the kind of detail thing we don't want to put into the platform. >> we are ready to call the question. all those in favor, say aye. opposed? same side. motion carries. on we go.

anything else for this section. hearing none, we are on page 9. human rights. anything under the section? page 9? human rights. we will close and move on. international assistance. line 28, page 9. >> fp-10, mr. ford's ammendment. >> does everyone have fp-10. >> does everyone have fp-10? >> mr. ford?

>> i think foreign aide is useless and a burden to our economy. from the governemnt section, i don't see anywhere in our constitution we should put funds from another country when we have problems at home. >> is there a second? is there further discussion? we call -- >> is there further discussion? >> yes. >> it is jim talent. i do feel -- >> there was someone else here? >> right here. >> oh, i'm sorry. >> just clarification. we move forward just to read that out. clarity of this amendment.

>> clarity of the motion. >> can we go forward -- >> this is written the way you propose it. >> i say we remove it entirely. >> the written text says page 9, line 29. it begins -- >> line 28. removing it completely. this is -- it does nothing for national security. strike the section. >> just a minute. your amendment is to strike the entire section, 'international assistance.' i'm glad you asked for clarity. >> mr. chairman? >> the amendment is to strike this. sen. talent? >> the effect of this, if it strikes the second, it doesn't advocate ending foreign aide.

it takes out the provisions to reform how we give foreign aide. i think it has the opposite of the effect. i understand any delegate's frustration with how american foreign aide is abused. this enables us to protect our interests at little cost. our aide to israel, this strongly supports. i mean that. we advocate doing things that haven't been done before. and this is used to enhance american interests and security, but i have to oppose the amendment. >> all of those in favor, signify by saying "aye."

those opposed. >> no. >> motion fails. >> mr. chairman, we have fp-16. rich cochran from vermont. line 9. do you have fp-16? 1-6? >> fp-16. >> right, but it -- we closed out human rights. this is international assistance. mr. cochran from vermont. >> as sen. talent mentioned, foreign aide and assistance is important and medical diplomacy is extremely successful.

my only addition is to have a comment around foreign aide, supportive of economic base in the u.s. rather than foreign goods and services, giving u.s. companies preferential when aid is given. that is what what it addresses. >> does this begin at line 38? >> i marked it after "critical parts of the world." i suggested a new sentence at that location. it is essential -- >> you insert this as a sentence, after world, before assistance. >> is there a second.

>> second. >> it is moved and seconded. discussion. yes sir? >> brandon smart, american samoa. are we saying here that we would not give u.s. money to any foreign country, at all, ever? just goods and services? >> mr. cochran? >> my comment is that when the u.s. provides foreign aid and foreign assistance, there may be times when it is appropriate for cash dispersements, but when possible, u.s. companies should benefit from providing goods and services.

in pakistan we took u.s. dollars and went to european entities and purchased the equipment and we shipped this into pakistan. the suggestion is that foreign aid can be an important element. and i believe that this is an important element and governor romney believes this as well. but there would be some benefits to the u.s. companies when we offer for assistance. and the american public will appreciate this. >> mark baker, from montana. i oppose the amendment. i believe that line 37 adequately addresses the goal of foreign aid.

this should serve our national interest. this is the overriding issue and i will oppose this amendment. >> mr. chairman? >> i think that the gentleman who put forward this amendment, if he were to insert the word only instead of cash disbursement, i think this point would be clarified. >> the word that you are suggesting? >> only. >> only cash? >> this is correct. >> are you proposing that amendment?

or just suggesting it to see if he wants to do it? >> i am is suggesting for clarity purposes. >> this is fine. i think this is something that was debated through the primary and everyone sees the misuse of foreign assistance. >> is there a second to this amendment? this is proposed and seconded. i will call for -- >> i have lost where we are. >> on the screen, the word only has been added. >> we have a second-degree amendment to this amendment. to have the word only, which has now been added onto the screen. >> i have a question to the author of the motion. do you want to do this first?

my understanding is what is happening here, the nine states gives cash disbursement, and that country purchases goods and services from another country, giving us their business. >> this is correct. >> you know, i don't think that there should be a quid pro quo with this. we talked about the great program that george w. bush had in southern africa to fight aids, and the revocation of several diseases. those madison's came from germany. we cannot pick and choose. -- medicines came from germany.

we cannot pick and choose. we need the best bang for the buck. i can believe in buying caterpillar tractors but that sometimes it is not practical to get technology -- to not use technology with a much better answer. >> from nebraska? >> my concern about this amendment is that it almost as another level of bureaucracy for the government to deal with in the foreign aid decision. we have to decide if there is some sort of domestic way to purchase this product, at this issue. we are further confusing this, and my concern is that there may be situations where the government provides products instead of cash.

it may already make purchases and provide those. we say they only give cash disbursement. before we would go this direction, this idea needs to be further vetted. and we have to make sure that this is correct. i would oppose this amendment. what's the committee reconvened this morning at 8:00 eastern to finish the section on foreign- policy and dispense -- and defense. you can see that life on c- span2. the countdown to the convention. coverage of the republican

convention from tampa. your front row seat to the convention. and in hamster town hall meeting with gop presidential candidate mitt romney and paul ryan. and until more than an hour, president obama in yesterday's's what house briefing. speaking with reporters for about 20 minutes. >> i know there are those who criticize me for saying complexities, and i do. some issues just are not all that simple. saying the r. rupp -- weapons of mass destruction does not make it so. sein we can fight a war on the cheap does not make it so and proclaiming mission accomplished certainly does that make it so. -- does not make it so. >> three days after september

11, i stood where americans died in the ruins of the twin towers. workers were shouting to me, what ever it takes. it fellow grabbed me by the arm and said to not let me down. since that day, i wake up every morning thinking about how to better protect our country. i will never relent in defending america. what ever it takes. >> c-span has aired every major party conventions since 1984 and our countdown to the conventions continues with a week to go until our live coverage of the republican and democratic national conventions. live on c-span, c-span radio and online at c-span.org. all starting next monday with new jersey governor chris christie in the keynote address. also senator john mccain and former governor of florida, jeb bush. democratic convention speakers include mayor julian castro.

and first lady michelle obama and former president bill clinton. >> on tomorrow's washington journal, a look at house and senate content of around the country. our guests is washington post reporter ed okeefe. then as part of our week-long series about on-line campaign coverage, townhall.com's political editor. >> from time to time, i watched the proceedings of the house and the senate floor. interviews with people that are of interest. i have c-span on my ipod so i can check the schedule. if the timing is right, i can

get a live feed from the florida house of the senate -- floor of the house or senate and have my students watched that for several minutes and devote some conversation. >> c-span, created by america's cable companies in 1979. brought to you as a public service by your television provider. >> now republican presidential candidate mitt romney and his vice-presidential running mate paul ryan at a manchester, new hampshire, a town hall meeting. 100 townitt romney's hall. it is a little more than an hour. [music plays]

>> if it's good to be here for number 100. i want you to know i've got someone with me who i do not think you have met yet here. this will be the next vice- president, paul ryan. [applause] >> great to be back. good to see you. look at this.

how were you? good to see you. i was here a couple of years ago and i serve a in congress with some very capable legislators. thank you for sending usrank to congress. what an awesome guy. what about charlie bass? that is a man who knows fiscal responsibility. and kelly ayotte. you are the best. great to see you. it is nice to see some family. my cousin lives in portsmouth. it is great to see family here today. friends, we have a big decision to make.

this is no ordinary time. it is no ordinary election. the choice is basically this -- we can stay on the same path we are on, a nation in debt and nation in decline, or weakened elect a real leaders like mitt romney and get this country back on the right track. the problem we have been having in washington is that two many politicians like president obama

-- [boos] too many politicians have been more worried about their next election than they have been worrying about the next generation. that is not leadership. that's politics. we will not do that. we will lead. we want to earn your support. we want to deserve this victory. so that when we do this, we have the mandate to fix this country's problems, to reacquaint ourselves with the american ideal and get people back to work. [cheers] let's be very clear and fair. the president inherited a difficult situation. the problem is he made things worse. that is why the president has run out of ideas. and so his campaign has been relegated to waging a campaign based on frustration and anger, dividing people, to try to win an election by default. it is such an amazing moment in history.

the man at the moment meet so well like mitt romney does at this moment in history. [cheers] when you think of the challenges we confront, you need a leader. when you look at this man and his wife, the example, it spells "leadership." do you remember the olympics? all the stories about the corruption and the bloated spending. sounds kind of familiar. who did they call? they called this man, mitt romney. look at what he has done in business.

for me, i think it is a good thing that we have a leader that knows how to create jobs. [cheers] his success in business is the american dream. it is the american success story. it is the thing we want to see happen to our own children. he took small businesses and prove them. 80% success rate. that is astounding. i am proud to stand next to a man -- i am proud to stand with a man who knows that if you have a small business, you did build that. [cheers] that is what drives our economy. that is what gives us

prosperity. we should be proud of that. that is who we are. when we see people work hard, take risks, achieved success, we take pride in that. we do not resent that. it's as if the president is speaking to people like they are stuck in their current station in life. we believe in prosperity and upward mobility. those are the things we want to see. take a look at the record which is a contrast between the record mitt romney as the governor of massachusetts and president obama. remember when the president said when he came in office he would create jobs? unemployment would never get above 8%.

23 million americans -- back at you. 23 million americans are struggling to find work. nearly one out of every six americans. on poverty today. that is unacceptable. look at the record of this man. the credit rating was upgraded when he was governor of massachusetts. the credit rating was downgraded under president obama's fail to leadership as president. unemployment went down in massachusetts. household income over the past four years has dropped by more than $4,000 under president obama's failed leadership. family income was up by more than $5,000. real results with real leadership. [applause]

when he was governor of massachusetts, he worked with the people across the aisle. you have to work with the other people to get things done. president obama said we are the united states. we will put aside childish things. this is the third president i've served with and i've never seen such bitter partisan rhetoric like the kind we have today. when mitt romney was governor, he reached across the aisle and got things done and he balance the budget without raising taxes. now, we have heard a little about medicaid from the president. we want this debate, we need

this debate, and we're going to win this debate about medicare. like you, when i think about medicare, it is not just a program with numbers and words. it is personal security that has been there for my family when we needed it. i had my mom betty with me in florida. she has been on medicare for over 10 years. when my grandmother moved in with my mom and me when she was suffering alzheimer's, medicare was there when my family needed it and it is their for my mom when she needs it. the signature achievement, obamacare, raised $716 billion from medicare to pay for obamacare. [boos] he puts a new board of 15 unaccountable bureaucrats that he is about to appoint who are required to cut medicare and that will lead to denied care

for current seniors. his campaign calls this an achievement. do you think rating care to pay for obamacare is an achievement? >> no! >> i don't think so, either. pay our payroll taxes for two programs -- social security and medicare. that is how the law is supposed to work. it is being siphoned off to pay for obamacare as well. that is a raid on medicare and mitt romney are going to restore this program and get these bureaucrats out of the way stand between our senior citizens and their medicare.

[cheers and applause] >> whoo! >> medicare should not be a big bang for obamacare. it should be a guarantee for our seniors to count on. you have to reform it from my generation. it will not be there for us when we retire. the good news is there are bipartisan solutions to this problem. it originated in the current commission and has bipartisan support in congress today. for younger americans went they become medicare eligible, let them have a choice of coverage options including a traditional medicare that they can select from, just like i do as a member of congress. we choose.

i think the future a city medicare is to let the seniors decide how they go get their health care. that is the american way to say these programs so that we can guarantee the promise of medicare for today's seniors. i will not go into all the things we are proposing to do to get jobs back because i want to leave something for mitt romney to talk about. we're offering you solutions. the president has a failed record. he cannot talk about that. it is not just that we have to talk about. how to get people back to work. how to have more jobs and higher take-home pay. the romney-ryan will do that. will we stick with the path we're on or get the economy growing again?

my dad said a lot of things that stuck with me. "son, you're either part of the problem or part of the solution." today, president obama is part of the problem at mitt romney is the solution. [cheers] it is just that clear. that is what it is. [applause] >> [chanting "mitt"]

>> ladies and gentlemen, we're going to get this back. we'll turn this economy around. we will be truthful to our founding principles. we will not blame others. we'll take responsibility. we will not kick the can down the road. we will get things done. the way we will do this is we will elect leadership at the 11th hour -- [cheers] cue the bells. you know what, that reminds me of one of my favorite leaders in history, winston churchill and i have a bust of winston churchill in my office. >> [applause] >> churchill said the americans can be counted upon to do the right thing, but only after they've exhausted all the other possibilities.

>> [laughter] >> but i think that's kind of where we are right now. the good news is, it's not too late. we can get people back to work, we can get people out of poverty, we can reignite prosperity, we can save medicare, and we can do this by electing leadership. and the man who is going to lead this comeback for america is the man standing next to me. his name is mitt romney. and he is going to be the next president of the united states of america. >> [applause] >> thank you paul! oh, what a treat to be here! thank you! what an honor! thank you so much. you're terrific, thank you! and to frank and charlie, kelly, what a team here.

and only a catholic guy would be able to get the bells to toll just at the right time at saint anselm. father you did that for him, i know! oh my goodness. so many friends here in new hampshire. gosh, i feel like i'm almost a new hampshire resident. i come here and -- it would save me tax dollars, i think! but it's great to be here with you. you've been here for me on the day that i announced, you've been with me time and time again, at town meetings like this, and you voted for me when it counted most, and got me the nomination in a lot of respects, and i owe a great deal to the people of new hampshire and appreciate your willingness to be here with me today. thank you so much. >> [applause] >> it is delightful to have a guy, part of my team, who has character and integrity, who has the capacity to take on tough issues, who's willing to take on tough issues, and not just kick the ball down the field and hope someone else will deal with america's challenges.

i appreciate a man of courage, integrity and strength as paul ryan is. >> [applause] >> i appreciate the fact that he's learned how to work with people on the other side of the aisle. as you may appreciate, having served as governor of massachusetts, you either did that or you perished, and because my legislature was 87 percent democrat. and -- oh, they were okay, that's all right. anybody here from massachusetts? oh, my goodness, wow. i always comment, there's a border security problem here, all right? thanks for letting me across the border this morning. this is a guy who's been able to work with good democrats, fine people that -- find people who could look beyond partisanship to get things done and i'm planning to go to washington with paul ryan and we're going to get this country back on track for the american people. >> i am asked from time to time,

why are you doing this, mitt, why did you get into this and you know the reason, you've heard me say this before. you see, i want to make sure that everybody in america who wants a job can get a good job. i want to make sure that everybody who is thinking about retirement or in retirement knows they have a secure retirement. i want people to know that if they get ill, they're going to be able to get treated. they're going to have health care that's affordable. and i want every mom and dad to know that their child will get the best education in the world. these things, we have to provide to americans across the country.

and i know what it takes to get those things done. i've had the experience of working in the real world, if you will, the private sector, and seeing how enterprises get started and how they change the lives of people when they're successful and how by the way sometimes they're not successful and how we lose jobs. i understand those things. i want to bring that understanding to make sure we can create good jobs for every american that wants a good job. we've got to do that. and so i have a deep desire to make a difference for the people of america, of the middle class, of all classes, that we love so deeply. this is a great land and we owe our people a bright and prosperous future and that's what paul ryan and i will do with every ounce of our energy, that's what we'll bring to the american people. >> [applause] >> now, i've seen something about what it takes and one of the fun things of this campaign over the last year and some odd months has been to get to know the people of america, and see just how we tick and actually how new hampshire ticks as well.

i was at the madison lumber yard. i don't know whether you know madison, new hampshire. and there are a couple of guys there, jim smith, ken moore, international paper owned the lumber mill there and they decided that lumber was not part of their future so they were going to close it down and these two guys went to the bank and got some investors and loans and they bought the lumber yard from -- lumber mill, rather, from international paper and they keep it in business and they employ a lot of people there, and i respect the entrepreneurship, the innovativeness of individuals who step in, who take a risk, who make things happen. i met a young woman, in high point, north carolina, a few days ago, and her name is melanie mcnamara, she's into the furniture making business and i'll tell you, the chinese have just killed one job after another in furniture manufacturing for a lot of unfair reasons, but putting that aside, she figured she was going to lose her business and the jobs of the people that worked for her unless she could find some way to keep it in business and she had this idea, she's going to make furniture of a very specific nature, furniture that goes in the waiting rooms of hospitals.

that's her niche. and she does that well. the people who work for her are happy to have a job because she figured out how she could compete with the chinese and win and we're going to do that all over the country. [applause] >> i bet a guy in -- no, it's in southern illinois, jim leatode is his name, and jim graduated second in his class in high school, second from the bottom, that is, and -- >> [laughter] >> and he decided that college was not in his future, and so he went to his dad and said dad, can i borrow some money, i want to start a little business and he and his dad worked something out, his dad would own half the business, he'd own half and they were going to serve food and they went out to guy a hamburger griddle and the rollers that make hot dogs and he needed this big hood to take out the smoke and all that.

by the time he costed it out, he found he didn't begin to have enough money to buy all that stuff, so -- as a matter of fact, the conclusion was all he could really do was make sandwiches so he got some tables and went to a friend's garage and made sandwiches and then delivered them to peoples' homes. that was his idea. good sandwiches, delivered at work. now jimmy john's has 1500 restaurants and employs 60,000 people. >> [applause] >> isn't that amazing? it's just -- >> [applause] >> you see, it's just the way america works. it's individuals in their own ways, pursuing their own dreams, who take a risk in some cases, who work harder than they ever imagined they would, who use all their brain power to come up with ideas like okay, we're going to make hospital furniture or we're going to find a way to make this lumber yard work, even though this big company that owns it can't make it work profitably and we're

going to start this little restaurant and it's going to grow and go all over the country. this is the way america works. i understood that. the founders understood that. you see, when they understood what america would look like, they had extraordinary, i'll call them inspirational thoughts, one is this, that our right that is did not come from government, our rights came from the creator. >> [applause] >> and among our rights were life and liberty, and by the way, that includes religious liberty. we respect the right of religions to practice in a free and tolerant way. >> [applause]

>> and number three, the pursuit of happiness. americans should be free to pursue happiness as they choose. you see, the founders recognized that far more effective in guiding an economy than having bureaucrats tell people people what to make and how to make it and what to charge for it, instead of that we let free people decide what they want to do, each person going off in their own way, building enterprises like making sandwiches or hospital furniture or cutting lumber and this would create as you know the most powerful economy in the history of the world. you see, america's economy is driven by freedom. freedom is what makes america work. and the president -- the president said something and paul alluded to it just a moment ago, but the president said something extraordinarily revealing about himself, and about how he thinks about the economy.

you could see where he was coming from with what he did. you know what the stimulus dollars -- do you know how much money he invested in so called green energy companies? $90 billion. $90 billion. i guess he likes to pick winners and losers, in his case, losers, and those businesses -- he thinks in some respects that he and his people, by picking businesses, can do a better job than free people, consumers, making the choice of what's better for them, and it hasn't worked. it's the wrong approach. and what he said underscored his philosophy. he said this, and you heard it. he said if you have a business, you didn't build it, someone else did that. >> [booing] >> and i -- he said look, maybe you're taking me out of context. that's not really what i meant.

so by the way, go on youtube and look the a the context, all right? the context is worse than the quote. all right? >> [laughter] >> he says if you're suckle, you think it's because you're smart but there a lot of smart people and if you're successful you may think it's because you work hard but there are a lot of people who work hard and i wonder where is he going with this, is there something wrong with being smart and working hard? you see, in america, we value people who are smart, who work hard, who take risk, who build things for themselves and for others. >> [applause] >> and we recognize we're in this together and we help one another and america is coming together, by the way, out of many one. us coming together and uniting, that's creating a stronger nation. but nonetheless, we recognize and celebrate the success of each individual. and we acknowledge their success. we don't denigrate it.

we don't divide americans based upon their level of success. we come together. the other day, you know, i thought about a kid that works hard to get the honor roll, and she works real hard. i know that to get the honor roll she had to go on a school bus to get to school, but when she makes the honor roll, i credit the kid, not the bus driver. >> [applause] >> and so as opposed to having a president who thinks that government creates our economy and allows it to grow, i understand that it's free people and freedom that drive our economy. i'm going to do five things when i'm in washington with paul ryan, five things we're going to do. that are going to get this economy jump-started again. number one, we're going to take advantage of our energy resources, our coal, our oil, our gas, our renewables, even nuclear.

number one, energy. we got a lot of energy. low cost, low cost natural gas is going to bring manufacturing jobs. and by the way, keep our utility bills down. number two, i'm going to make sure that our schools are second to none. we need our kids to have the skills to succeed. that's number two. number three, i want trade that works for america. openmeans we're going to up new markets for our goods in latin america and other places and we're going to crack down on cheaters like china when they play on an unfair basis. >> [applause] >> number four, for people in this audience, to take a risk to start a business, or to invest with a friend that's got a good idea, or some big corporation overseas that's thinking about building a factory maybe in the united states or maybe somewhere else, for them to put money and put it at risk in america, they have to know we're not on the road to greece so we're going to have to do something and do it soon and that is show america that this team can put america on track to a balanced budget and stop the deficit spending.

>> [applause] >> and there's one more. and there's one more. and that's this. i want to champion small business. i want to make it easier for entrepreneurs and innovators, i want the small businesses you work in to find it easier to hold on to capital so they can grow their enterprise. the president wants to raise taxes on small business. i want them lower. i want to make sure that regulators and regulations are designed to make sure we encourage small business. and by the way, i want to take off that big cloud that's hanging over a lot of small businesses.

and that is i want to make sure that we get omabacare out of the way and replace it with something which will help encourage job growth in this country. >> [applause] >> you know how important this is. you know what a difference this will make in america, for the 23 million americans out of work, for the one in six out of poverty, we need to help those folks. we also need to do these things to help the coming generation. and one more thing. american strength is critical not just for us in this country but also for the world. i was fortunate enough to be in poland a couple of weeks ago and to have the chance to meet with lech walesa, a world hero. and i had just met with the prime minister and i came in and lech walesa said you must be tired, you came from overseas. he said sit down, i talk, you listen. so i did.

and he spoke for about 15 minutes, and he kept on hammering me with the same point. we need american leadership. where is american leadership. look at the challenges in the world. look what's happening in the middle east. look what's happening around the world. we need america to lead. let me tell you, if this man is your vice president and i'm your president, we will do everything in our power to keep america strong, to lead in the world, with strong values, strong homes, strong principles. we'll lead with a strong economy. get this economy going again. so people have good jobs and so that we can make sure we have a military that's second to none in the world. it's essential that america is strong. >> [applause]

>> that's my commitment to you. we're going to get america back. we're going to make sure it remains strong. and my request of you is that you also make a commitment. i'd like you to find one person, one person, who voted for barack obama who you can convince to vote for paul ryan and me, all right? now you each know someone, you each know someone who voted for barack obama and i know there are a lot of them out there that aren't quite sure what they're going to do so you guys, i want you to meet with them, talk to them, i want you to tell them that we're going to help them get good jobs, we're going to restore, strengthen our homes and schools, we're going to get america's economy so strong that we can afford a military that protects liberty for ourselves and preserves peace on the planet and i'll bet if you do that job we can make sure we win that job, not only for new hampshire, but help this man and i become the next vice president and president, and we can do that with your help. thank you very much. thank you!

>> [applause] it's our national debt. i'm wondering what you can say that will help us know that you will help end the national debt. not just the deficit but the actual debt. >> well, as you know, we have about $16 trillion of debt, which is about the size of the total economy. and passing on this debt to our kids -- oh, and by the way, not ju