booktv.orgk 24 -- >> in two days, gavel-to-gavel coverage begins of the republican committed in tampa. coming up on c-span, administration officials speak at the annual naacp convicted in houston. and pat's republican convention speeches starting with sarah palin in 2008 and dick cheney in

2000. >> obama administration official spoke in july. they discussed naacp policy priorities that have been passed by the agency. this event is two hours. >> some people are working their way in. why don't we begin. people are coming in and buying their seats. good afternoon. let me warn you and share my joy that our good friends at c-span are covering this today.

give c-span a big hand. i like gavel-to-gavel coverage. after shelley schirra, editing makes me nervous. -- shirley sherrod, editing makes me nervous. if you are here to attend the workshop, reviewing the obama administration's implementation of naacp federal policy victories, you are in the right place. we fought hard over the last four years now to pass much of the naacp legislative agenda. we fought on all kinds of issues that are represented here today. we have done things like pass the loudly ledbetter -- lilly

ledbetter fair pay act that makes pay discrimination something of the past. we were able to pass the children's children's -- children's health insurance program. if the numbers serve me well, over 30% of those were african american children. we were able to move forward and swear in to office -- into office, someone in the justice department so we can put a face on justice that would represent our real issues of concern. you heard from eric holder yesterday. he sent one of his people and we will talk about some of those issues. i will introduce everybody in just a minute. we address things like the credit-card holders bill of

rights that address planetary lenders we moved on to take on the issues of hate crime and passed the that the shepherd tate crime prevention act. we were able to move and address issues like syringe exchange programs we had to be proactive and recognize that as much as we are not advocating illegal drug use, is there and we want to stop the spread of aids. we moved to pass things like and distort employer -- the employment act, a bill that gives greater incentive to small businesses and other businesses to hire people and make sure we have a larger work pool. he moved on to pass the affordable care act. it adds 40 million americans to the health care role -- rolls.

we took on the challenge of predatory lending with the dodd- frank act. we were able to swear in a number of supreme court justices. we swore in elena kagan and sonia sotomayor. it was great to put a latino sister on the supreme court with the heart of thurgood marshall. what a combination. [applause] the fair sentencing act, recognizing the challenges of crack cocaine disparities. another priority of the naacp. we increased funding for 160,000 teachers to take on something called the jobs and credit act of 2010.

our black farmers are having a major challenge. the department of agriculture treated them differently. we supported the farmers that became the pickford lawsuits. we had to protect our black farmers and make sure they were compensated for the losses and the discriminatory treatment of them by the department at the time. we passed the healthy, hunger free kids act. finally, we swore into office someone who would help restore the eeoc to the position of prominence. she is one of ours. we work hard and our democratic with a small d.

the naacp believes if we educate our members and actively engage in the process of voter registration and make sure voters can get out to the polls on election day this november and to make sure when they go to the polls, they will be protected -- that is a hard lesson in 103 years at the nation's oldest grass-roots civil rights organization. there is a paper i want to make sure you get before we get into the substance of how we move now to implement the law, the policies we pass, the letters you wrote, the congressional office visits you did, visiting the people back home, by its top aides and civic -- of a -- op- eds and the civic engagement. this year, we thought we would take a minute to take a look at

how we are moving forward in the thesess of and lamenting b wonderful new policies that will make america better for everyone. there are a couple of things i want you to take a look at. number one, we believe you should be allowed to keep up with your congress people. most of you know me. let me introduce myself. i am hillary shelton. i am the director of the naacp washington bureau and the senior vice president for policy and advocacy. [applause] thank you. i am your eyes and ears on capitol hill. i am glad in introduced my self -- myself new. the work of the naacp in washington is not new.

you heard the eloquent words of wisdom and clear indication of a strategy to move our nation forward. he is our friend. he is now the president of -- what is the name of the organization -- the conference on civil and human rights. we are delighted wade is here to join us. my phone number is on every single piece of paper you picked up on your way in. it is 202-463-2940.

that is the telephone number of the naacp's washington bureau. you can also access our information on the naacp's website. that is one of those complicated web site addresses. it is www.naacp.org. i have to give you my contact information, right? in this book is also the contact information for each of the members of the house of representatives, the members of the u.s. senate, the committees they serve on, the staff members on that committee, mailing addresses, e-mail addresses. you should have that. the next time you are watching tv and you hear an elected

member of congress say something and you billy wants to have a word with him about it, no longer should you talk to your spouse. you should pick up the book and make the phone call. knowledge is power. there is a little booklet like this. it is called a low -- federal policy priorities in the 112th congress. if you are concerned about the naacp having a position on the issue -- an issue, you pull out this booklet and you can be sure. he tells come out about what the issues are and what should happen. detailed policy action alerts on a number of issues.

voter rights, economic development, criminal-justice, health care. all of the issues we are going to discuss today are covered in one of those books with an action alert that tells you what the issue is, what the bill is we are working on, stopping point, sample letters, and all of the information you need to be eloquent on the issues. i want to get to this panel. this is our legislative agenda. he spent yesterday, before we celebrated the great hard work up attorney general eric holder, passing our legislative agenda moving into this next congress. on each of those bills we are addressing, these folks will not talk about bills. these are our implemented as that work for the government. they are non-partisans. their job is to implement the

policies passed by the congress. our job is to make sure congress passes those bills so that we can put these people to work. amen? excellent. so you have that. finally, we believe in accountability. we have 435 on the house side. each makes what it is $40,000 a year. we have 100 people on the senate side -- each makes $140,000 a year. we have one of the people on the senate side, and each makes $180,000 a year. your individual state report cards out of that are out there with all the information specific to your state. the-your individual report cards are out there with specific information for your state. i read to you -- your individual

report cards are out there with all of the specific information for your stay. what i also have here are some of the obstacles we have run into as we move into that direction. i hope you will grab both of these pamphlets so you have those as well. let's talk about how we implement these policies. what i have sitting before me are champions of the naacp. we have many legislative champions intent in the book. these are the administrated champions. these are the folks who, when we are trying to get things done and we run into a problem, i pick up the phone and i call them. they come from an incredible background. i will go from this end, to that end of the table and introduce you to just do we have in place. then i will begin from this end and you can say your name again because folks a lunch and that is a dangerous position to be in.

was fivee them talk minutes. the thing that most important is that you know what they do. also important at this workshop is that you are able to talk to them. our first speaker city closer to me is dr. ill sprin -- bill springs. -- spriggs. he develops the best policies to help disadvantaged young people get a solid footing on their future, to help disabled americans and connecting our veterans to job opportunities and ensuring that women are treated fairly on the job. he is on leave from the

department of economics at howard university. he has also taught at north carolina university. for six years, he served as director of the washington office of the national urban league. he has been a great friend to me. dr. bill spriggs. [applause] our next speaker is another troublemaking friend of mine. they are all trouble making friends of mine. you should know that. joe leonard served as assistant of civil rights. he holds a ph.d. in american history with a specialization in civil rights history from howard university in washington, d.c. he has also degrees from southern university in louisiana and houston university in texas.

his mission in the office of civil rights is to provide leadership and direction for the fair and ethical treatment of all usda -- us employees by delivering civil rights. it is a new era for civil rights in the usa. the issue is that all customers gets a fair shake. since receiving the support of his boss, the office of civil rights has connected past errors learned from mistakes and has charted a stroke path where all americans are treated with dignity by usda employees. our panelists have reached a historic settlement in the pigford ii discrimination case.

ladies and gentlemen, my good friend dr. dr. leonard. [applause] she is currently the council for science and public health at the u.s. department of health and human services. we are proud to claim her as one of our own. she is serving right under the secretary of health and human services. she started here at the naacp as director of our health department. she advises the secretary on the challenges in health care reform and prevention and public health policy. before joining the obama administration, she worked at the naacp and she was the deputy staff director for the senate health committee under the chairmanship of the late, great

naacp champion, doctors -- senator edward kennedy. she advised our good friend and champion on a range of issues, including public health and prevention, community health centers, and health care less. ladies and gentlemen, our dear friend, caya lewis. [applause] our next panelist return to the u.s. civil rights division as deputy assistant attorney general in january of 2010. he supplies become a section, the investigation section, religious land use, and the freedom of access to climate entrances and the professional development office. among numerous matters, he works on the pattern and practice investigations of new orleans police departments and the

maricopa county sheriff's department. he began his career as an honest trial attorney in the civil rights division investigating hate crime and police brutality cases. in addition to time spent in private practice, he has worked for the u.s. attorney's office for the district of columbia where he prosecuted domestic violence, him and trafficking, homicide, fraud, and public corruption cases. he often serves as a senior assistant to the u.s. district -- states attorney and works in the federal major crimes section in the d.c. crime section. my good friend, roy austin. [applause] next in line is sandra he

rnandez. she is responsible for hud's initiative to support low-income families across the u.s. and its territories. she is responsible for the native american, alaska natives, and native hawaiian program that helps recognized tribes and tribal designated housing entities. she spent 13 years as the administrative and chief administrative officer of the boston housing authority. during her tenure in boston, she made the boston housing authority one of the leading housing authorities for redeveloping public housing into thriving, mixed income communities. she also created housing strategies and programs that helped the homeless and introduce green principles in -- into the housing authority.

she also used in a performance contract thing to update the re- contract and to update heating systems -- she also used a performance contract to update been heating systems. in 2009, the organization name is racial justice award in her honor. ladies and gentlemen, miss sandra hernandez. [applause] my next friend is todd cox. he provides overall direction and support for the agency's communication and legislative efforts. he coordinates -- internal

agency collaboration and communication. he works on human rights and reentry issues. he recently represented the united states as a member of the u.s. delegation to the united nations human rights council in geneva, switzerland. this gentleman has a long and solid history in the civil rights arena. he has worked in advancing the rights for over 19 years. before joining the eeoc, was a program officer where he managed programs and strategies promoting the rights of ethnic minorities and indigenous people in the united states and latin america. he also addresses civil rights of americans in all forums. the naacp legal defense and education fund.

and he is a brand new daddy. ladies and gentlemen, todd cox. [applause] my next friend, for almost 8 years in response to continuing pressure from the naacp -- almost two years in response to continued pressure from the naacp, moved to make sure many provisions were put into place. in addition to outlawing several predatory mortgage practices, which led to this huge wave of home foreclosures and the economic turmoil of the last few years, the law created easton's -- created the consumer financial protection bureau. it officially opened its doors one year ago this month. it is the only governmental body charged specifically with educating and protecting the public when it comes too often -- the often confusing world of

financial services. she works to promote diversity at the cfpb and defect institutions it regulates. he served as our champion as a commissioner in the equal employment opportunity commission from 2003-2012. he was acting chairman from a 2009-2010. ladies and gentlemen, stuart ishimari was a project -- a product of the naacp. he was the deputy assistant attorney general of civil rights at the department of justice. he has also served as the acting staff director for the commission on civil rights and was on the professional staff of

the judiciary and armed service committee of the house of representatives. my good friend -- and our kids go to the same school -- stuart isimaru. [applause] finally playing cleanup. we expected one more. some cleanup on this panel right now. now what do we do? we have all of these great programs going on. we could expand its to include many things. we have to -- we could expand it. our next panelist is the deputy assistant to the president, a position he has held since august of 2009. the office of president of personnel overseas the processes for president to appointments. the staff members of the presidential personnel office work to recoup the best recruit

qualified candidates to serve the president in the departments and agencies throughout the -- to recruit the best qualified candidates to serve the president in the departments and agencies throughout the government. in 2000, he founded the jungle media group, an award winning media company feature magazines, websites, live events serving a variety of audiences, including z's college professionals. it is my pleasure to present mr. jonathan mcbride. [applause] this is how we will manage our time together. i will ask them each to take about five minutes. we are going to ask them each to

give them -- to give you an update on what is going on with these agencies as they moved to implement our agenda. brothers and sisters, ladies and gentlemen, what they are doing now really is implementing the naacp's agenda as passed by the u.s. congress and signed into law by president barack obama. let's just go down the line. i see you guys are salivating. i have some questions for them now. that is great. i am going to step down with his microphone. i will do my best oprah winfrey impersonation and walk around and let you ask questions. does that sound good? give them another big hand as we start with dr. bill spriggs. >> thank you for the great introduction. it is an honor to be on the panel with all of these folks.

if you would take a minute to reflect on what hillary said introducing all of us, if you do not get what you elected barack obama, understand that no other president -- people talk about head counts and how many people -- did you hear the background? all of us have worked in the black community, worked in it. when you bring us issues, we are not looking it up in a book. we are not calling somebody. we do not have to find it in the dictionary. we do not have with the pita -- wikipedia. it is important with people making personnel decisions to find people who represent the president and his accomplishments. legislatively, the things we wanted to do in the department of labour were incorporated into the recovery act, which in the

naacp had a big role in directing certain elements. i want toduring the recovery ace naacp was a big part of making sure we had some opportunities. because of the efforts of the naacp to make sure it was part of the recovery act. in addition, we trained well over 450,000 african american adults, of those 300,000 completed the training, and of those unemployed at the time -- well over 140,000 have been employed. the recovery act also included opportunity tax credit. that helps companies connect by certifying the workers. that included placing hundreds

of thousands of disconnected duke into job opportunities through the work opportunity tax credit. and placing thousands of people who were ex-offenders. people but would offer them jobs -- all of that was part of the recovery act. those were some of the things specifically pushed for by the naacp. the department has taken additional initiatives along those same lines. we have corrected a binding for companies that would hire these offenders. but they said they would not do it before because they would not pay for the bonding. now we have the bonding program. so that is not a valid excuse. we wanted to do some things, and the president wanted to do, many

of his efforts in the american jobs act and his efforts at getting congress to move forward and getting people jobs now. we had the help of the naacp. the president did not have the help of congress. i cannot report on the those. but we can say thank you to you. one thing we are doing that does not require legislation, but it is the -- to fill the longstanding fight with the naacp -- champion. one of the first things that they accomplished was to change the fair labor act for women who did work in the the household. because you know when we passed the minimum wage and overtime laws, we explicitly in that that law excluded domestic workers

and farm workers. we excluded at that time about 60% of the african americans. in the 1970's, one of the first things to do was to close the gap. unfortunately, there was something and that act that said that if someone was doing work with the elderly, that you could exclude them. it had to determine which of those workers would be projected. the president announced earlier this year and effort on the part of the department of labor to put in place the regulations that would put in those people who are doing home health care work. hundreds of thousands of black women will now get the full protection of the fair labor standards act for filling the work to make sure the domestic

workers would be covered and get the minimum wage protection and overtime protection that should have been there all along. this is an important piece of legislation. [applause] now, regulations are very open. you will soon be having an opportunity to comment on a regulation. and to offer your support for that regulation. we look for your comments and responses to it as it goes to the process. we look for your support in making sure that folks in congress do not act against closing this injustice. because everyone who works deserves to be treated decently. and the minimum decency is that you at least get the minimum wage and overtime. we look forward to your support on that. this is one of the things that

the president has the ability to do without congressional action. he is taking those steps. we issued a letter of clarification to our employment services to make sure that they understood that when jobs are posted at the employment service that they will fully comply with the eeoc's recent plea released guidelines on ex- offenders. to make sure that we would not have discrimination against people on the basis of their ex- offender status in a way that would create an impact on employment of african americans or hispanic americans. that letter of clarification to employers means that when you go to one of our one-stop centers and you go to look for a job, you can rest assured that employers have been well warned that they need to be in compliant with the eeoc guidance so that we do not see this

institutional racism that we know forms a barrier that causes high unemployment rates for african-americans and latinos. these are things that we can do that the president has done because he cannot continue to wait for congress to act. his continued to close these other gaps. but these are things that are strong steps that we can take now the president is taking now. >> thank you very much. >> thank you very much. thank you, bill. i want to thank president obama for the opportunity -- for what he is done the last three years. and for bill for allowing me to focus on civil rights. i also want to take chairwoman for this invitation to come here. i also want to thank hillary for being the 101 senator.

of the united states of america. everyone knows that they have only been -- there has only been six bureau chiefs in the last one know for years. i only missed it by one of. one person only stayed about one year. [laughter] this position has literally served at the beck and call for one of three years. i would not be here today without the naacp. but more than that, without the naacp and form of the state conference president gary bledsoe. i was a child in kindergarten and sixth grade when integrated a school in austin texas.

and the naacp and marched for me. and gary bledsoe was the austin chapter president of the naacp. that is why i came here three of the past four years have been in this position. i owe you that much. i owe you a lot more. for the past three and a half years, we have had the lowest number of eeo complaints. at the same time, having the highest number of bindings of discrimination. now, some people would be concerned about the bindings of discrimination. when he discussed the new era of civil rights, with about 110,000 people in our work force. that consistently, year after year, because of a civil rights of paradis not functioning, we would have won in the two findings of discrimination for

an organization with one matter 10,000 employees -- 110,000 employees. the last two years we have actually led the federal government and findings of discrimination, 22 and 27. however our eeo complain to have gone down because we are being transparent and holding people accountable. the rest of years we have had 406 -- 461 a complaint. but more than that, on the program side, we have had the lowest three years of formal complaints in the history of the united states department of agriculture. the lowest in three years. u s t da -- you know the meat. and i came on board because the secretary called me in 2009 and

said this is something we are going to do. are you on board? if you have the ability to touch 35,000 american american farmers who had been discriminated between years of 1981 and 1997. that is why i think -- think the president for serving. i do not think that any other job in my life i can touch a whole city of people and it right the wrongs of the past 30 years. right the wrongs of the past 30 years. that is not enough. what i come as a civil rights historian, and as an individual who has looked at the congressional black caucus and the black leadership forum. i really only want one thing. and that is to have the deed and creed of america to serve everyone.

we all know the pledge of allegiance. the last line of the pledge of allegiance is, we are one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the last three years and three months, that is what i have endeavored to do. provide liberty and justice for all. for spandex, women. -- for hispanics, women. these things are necessary. never forget, all things are possible. >> good afternoon a. it is good to be home again. when every walk anywhere with

hillary, whether in d.c. or houston, but i already saw some of my old friends and all of the people i considered to be might naacp family. i, too, want to thank the president. and my sister. your health director now, she got married, i think she has another name now i think, but you are so lucky to have her. she has been doing great work that makes me happy to know the work that i did is continued in an awesome way. and of course, think my big brother hillary for everything he has done over the years. continuing to allow me to come back here and talk with you all. i want to really think all of you as well. it always amazed me the amount

of time and effort and sacrifice that naacp members put in to fighting for justice. so much so, and you on notice, so many people think you get paid to do what you are doing in your town. they think you are employees of the naacp and a surprise to find out if your volunteers to sacrifice your time, your weekends to do work on behalf of others. so, thank you for doing that. this is the first place i learned how to make [unintelligible] we all learned it several years later. and this is where my deepened understanding and commitment to health care as a social justice issue was cemented. is an honor to be here. it is been a privilege to work for the obama administration and. for the president, and for the

secretary of health and human services, kathleen, who is a strong, tough fighter, for all the things that the department of health and human services stands for, and for the constituents that we serve. many of which are the most vulnerable amongst the people and neighbors that we have in the united states. and especially because during this special time when the affordable care act was passed, it has been at two it years. a little over two years since with us to the affordable care act. and you may have heard, the supreme court upheld the affordable care act a couple of weeks ago. and so we are continuing to do what we have always done, work on implementing the affordable care act. i am not sure if the congressional republicans that vote on repeal today or not, but

i know they were planning on a. >> it will not be the first time. >> it will be the 31st time. while they are doing that, we are continuing to implement the to beat we know hais going upheld and standing and benefit so many americans. i want to talk about what the affordable care act is doing now, what it has done, and what we know it will do, especially with the support of all of you, in educating your community about the affordable care act. right now there are over 3 million adults that have health insurance that did not have it before, because the affordable care act allows young people -- [applause] about 400,000 of those people are african americans here ar. it is said them over $3 billion

on a prescription drug costs, because with the affordable care act, we have cut the price of the drugs and what we call the doughnut hole, where singers have to pay even if they on medicare for drugs, already in half. and in several years that cost will go away completely. right now, there are millions of americans that have received preventive health care services with no deductible and no copiague, and as i am sure you all know, there are great health-care disparities between african americans from other goal of color, and the majority of the population in united states. and a vesting imperfection is something it makes a huge difference for quality of life, and also for health care cost over time. so, now there are many americans that, through their private insurance and also dramatic there will no longer have to take a pay for mayor gramm, for colonoscopy is, and other

things that can keep people healthy. right now, there are almost 70,000 people who had a pre- existing health condition of. and that can range from anything to as much too high blood pressure, or even acne. there are almost 70,000 people who have health insurance now through our pre-existing conditions program. there is one in every state. but these are people who could not get insurance on their own. insurance companies would deny them. and now they have health insurance. so that is doing something real for real people now. also, for people who have health insurance, the affordable care act has eliminated the the lifetime limits on health insurance. you may have known people who had a serious health condition

and their insurance has said, we have given you enough, there is not any more there for you. no longer can insurance companies do that. they could also the night children with health conditions from getting insurance. and no longer can that happened. so that is what is happening now with the affordable care act. that is why it is so important. there is so much to lose, should people push for repeal. this is what would be lost. in the future, we know that over 30 million americans will have access to health care coverage in 2014. and we will have a greater investments in health-care providers. some of the pieces get overlooked as the investment in committee healthcare's and into the service corps which pays young health providers to go into underserved areas.

we are investing in that now for the affordable care act so as coverage expand, there are people that will be able to see new folks coming into the system. there are so many things that we are pushing forward on with the affordable care act and look forward to working with you on of those things. i will say one quick thing about the other things happening at the department of human services, we have been focused on reducing health disparities. we have the first action plan that at the department. and the secretary is all about action. we meet every month to find out what every agency is doing to move forward and close that gap we see in health care outcome between people of color and others. we have been investing in the health profession, and we have also been focusing on, through the affordable care act, data collection on race, ethnicity, gender, disability status, sexual orientation, it is

important for us to know how we are doing with our health care program, so we can see with the disparities are, we can see where we are doing well and correct things. that is where -- the first time we have collected this information in this way. is extremely important. and finally, i saw that you all have been focusing on fighting obesity in our community, and in the children. and the department of health and human services is a major partner with the first lady, and we have many things across the department on trying to correct obesity, eating healthier, working on giving communities the funds that they need to work on physical activity, reducing high blood pressure and all of those things. and so, we look forward to working with you all, moving forward and i really, again, appreciate all that you do for all of us, every day.

thank you. >> thank you. [applause] >> a funny thing about our united states constitution and civil rights law, a funny thing about united states constitution and civil rights law -- they apply to everyone. they apply to everyone equally. it is not just for one race, one religion, what gender. it is for everyone. my boss understands that. understands that. and my bosses, bosses, boss president obama understand that. every day, eric holder, tom press and the 600,000 plus members of the civil rights to ensureision are fighting the civil rights of all americans.

and all on american soil. some have said that the civil rights division is unnecessary and this day and age, in the age of obama. those people need to open their eyes. the need to walk in the shoes and the people of the civil rights division, who are working day and night from absurdly early in the morning to ridiculously late at night, to weekends, to when they are supposedly on a vacation, fighting to ensure equal justice for all. and they do this because those who discriminate intentionally, and those who would ignore the discriminatory impact of their acts, and those who would engage and a violent racial violence do not take night off, do not take mornings off, do not take weekends off and do not take a vacation. for those who think that the civil rights division is

unnecessary, i asked them to consider the work of the civil rights division. the work of our voting section, which is right now, and has been for the last 3.5 years, fighting to ensure the rights of millions. millions of americans. right now, we are engaged in more cases than we have ever done as a voting rights section of. and that is breaking the record set last year in 2011. as i speak, we are litigating cases regarding a voter identification in texas and south carolina. as i speak, we are beginning a case involving the purge of voters in florida. we are reviewing thousands of section 5 applications. and we are currently working on a foreign lawsuits were the right of our service members are not being protected. these are for the loss to its --

zahren lawsuits against states. what continues to exist and work so hard, i ask you to consider the work of our housing section. and it is affecting people to the sum of millions of dollars. reeser the country ride for $335 million on allegations that they were discriminating against blacks and latino mortgage loan applicants. we recently settled a case for $2.7 million in the los angeles and the case for $2.1 million and kansas city regarding discrimination against minorities seeking rental properties. we recently settled a case for $2 million in manhattan involving the sexual harassment of people trying to find places to live. i mentioned the big cases,

unfortunately we of the steady docket of cases involving women who are trying to get housing in low-income housing developments are being forced to engage in sexual acts just to get the housing. we prosecute those people and sue those people. for those who think civil-rights is irreverent or unnecessary, consider the work of our disability rights section, where we are allowing for, making sure that thousands of individuals have the right to receive a community-based services, in georgia, in delaware, in of virginia. they either are or are soon to be receiving their care outside of institutions when they want that. for those who wonder about the relevance of civil rights in the civil rights division right now, consider the education section. while separate but equal is illegal, we are finding that

separate but unequal continues to exist. consider the case in louisiana that was recently settled. where the almost all-black school had zero honors and advanced placement courses. and the neighboring white school had 70 honors and advanced placement courses. we forced the school to settle with us and bring equal education to everyone. consider the work of our criminal section. there are nine new orleans officers who have been convicted for the shooting deaths and the shooting and a cover-up at the bridge. right after or in the wake of hurricane katrina. that is the work of the civil rights division of. consider the person who is now in the jail in washington state, when he planted a bomb on the side of the road during a martin

luther king jr. parade. consider the work of our criminal section in jackson, mississippi. were the people who were engaged in the act of running over a black man, in front of his hotel and killing him, are now serving time. consider, as hillary had mentioned, an act that president obama side that my boss thomas perez signed when he was working with kennedy on the senate. and our lgbt brothers and sisters. for people who are discriminated against, because of their gender. what we do in the special litigation's such as not to prosecute the police officers, but we try to make the police

department better. it is important to us to make them better i have to tell you, while police departments and police officers are wasting their time racially profiling the innocent, the guilty are continuing to commit crimes. that is why we are in new orleans, seattle, and it connecticut, and why we are working with the communities. we are working with those committees and police departments to make sure that they engage in constitutional policing and that they do not racially profiling and do not use excessive force and treat people the way people should be treated. and if you fail to engage with us in a cooperative fashion, then we are willing to sue you. and that is what we are doing right now. [applause] now we do not do this work alone. we work with the united states attorney's offices across this

country. we of better united states attorneys across this country that i think we have ever had. more supportive of the civil rights work than i have ever seen. we work with every agency that is on the stage right now. we are working across agencies, and within our agency. -- the past 3.5 years, we have made enormous strides from where we were just before that. enormous strides. but sadly, we have an enormous amount of work to do. the attorney general tom eric holder, has supported us, encouraged us, and has provided us with the resources to be successful in the work that we do. because of this president, and this attorney general, and this assistant attorney general, and the 600 men and women of the civil rights division, each day we grow a little bit closer to america's promise of justice for all. thank you. [applause]

>> i do not think i want to say anything. [laughter] >> thank you to hillary. thank you for being here and having us here. i want to recognize a few other people. i want to thank hillary. also want to thank congressman green and congressman jackson lee, and the naacp president come and the chairwoman. is a pleasure for me to be here. i just want to talk about why we all this work. when i was sworn in by the secretary, after we signed the official papers, and he said, ok, are you ready to change the world? that has stuck with me. i am probably the oldest person

it here. no one has said to me for a decade, are you willing to change the world? and i have signed on. the other thing that i learned as well was, hey quote that we used separately around here, at the heart of the universe is long and bends towards justice. but there is more to that. it talks about each of us having the responsibility to put our hand on that moral arc and bend it towards justice. that is what we are trying to do in implementing the laws of the land, and insuring equity for all. but securely in our housing programs. i will tell you that we are in the relentless drive to implement the president's vision for strong, fair, and functional environment. weather and homelessness, unfair lending, whether it is and that

housing veterans and getting them off of the street. whether it is looking around to say, everyone in america need to have a place to live to be able to build their lives from that foundation and, that is what we are doing. and we appreciate and apaud the work of the naacp to make sure that we are all having our hands on that moral arc. and what the programs we are doing, we talk about having a place based strategy. where you live is a place, and police matters. and please matters so much that it is the foundation for which we build our lives. but many of us take things for granted. like access to good public transportation or good schools, or good health care. but we want to make sure that that is extensible for everyone in america. we looked into certain

neighborhoods. we looked at stressed affordable housing. withve really partridgpartnered the department of education to see how we fit together all of our collective resources to make a neighborhood stronger, to make it better. not to gentrify it, not to send its people lived there for years some more calls, but to truly make sure that to the folks who live in those communities can return, and can return and live the kind of life that we all aspire to. you have heard lots of talk about fair housing. we partner with everyone here. we have said before, and we really have got to enforce with our partners at the table the fair housing laws. we are requiring all of our application, al -- all of -- is

a commitment that we have looked internally and externally to make sure that everyone who gets the federal dollars from hud, make sure that they embrace those as well. we are also about trying to help families in our housing, public housing, affordable housing for a voucher program. to think about economic independents. what it would mean. while home ownership has always been important and continues to be important, there are many foreclosure issues, and rental housing is just as important. many native affordability of rental housing. how we make that both available and how we provide the economic opportunities, whether it is through increased job

opportunities, getting people ready for work. getting people better skills to continue to get promoted in their world of work, and education for both children and adults. we are of looking at ways to make sure that we partner with the department of labor and jobs plus, and one-stop shopping for people to really want to engage in the self-sufficiency that is available. we are focused on a string of cities and strong communities. six cities thus far. we are really working with those administrations and city government levels to make sure that their growth capacity, they have access to programs, use -- and use those programs wisely in those cities. and we have to expand that moving forward. in public housing, which is near

and dear to my heart since i ran it in boston for a number of years. i know the challenges they are facing. but to preserve their current housing, but more importantly to improve their housing. as we look at how to do rental assistance demonstrations, how to preserve that, how to get private sector dollars to couple with the public sector dollars, so that we can expand and improve it, and sustain public housing for the long term. for 75 years, it is housed millions and millions of families. and will continue to do that across the country. and will make sure that it is done and the best possible way. we are also trying to move our public housing program into the 21st century. we need to have housing authorities proactively partner with us and partner with their city governments and a partner with the residents who live on those properties to make sure that we all share a vision and

move forward together. it is unfortunate for people like me to come share this with you, and to hear from you and take your questions. where is the model but we are all working toward, there is an appropriate place for government in the lives of its people and its citizens. we want to maturity taxpayer dollars are used successfully and efficiently, but there is a safety net that is needed and we want to make sure that we are able to do that. we have learned from the past. we know how to blend programs. how to work across the federal government and out of our -- we want to integrate our housing and programs with people. and we want to focus on the many needs of each and every neighborhood. if we have to blocked by block, city by city. we need to think about places based strategies. where you live matters. place matters.

more importantly though, we know that access to housing is a civil rights issue also. river wanting -- it is our duty. it is our obligation. we want to do it alongside you here at the naacp as we move forward together. thank you very much. [unintelligible] >> we have a really and balanced sound system. at the front you hear very clearly. that is because the speakers are right here. i am going to ask the rest of you to come up this way. please come on up. believe it or not, you can hear really well right up here. really well as a matter of fact. we are going to continue and

maximize the time that we have it. come on up. there are plenty of seats here. there are quite a few right up on this side, and many on this side as well. please come on up. it is better to have everybody closer together anyway. the air-conditioner is working very well up here too. [laughter] thank you very much. thank you for bringing that to our attention. >> i will try to speak loudly to and what to think hillary and the naacp for inviting me to participate. i am honored to be here. it is wonderful to be able to rejoin the naacp in this new capacity. for the tech orders office and d.c., and the field offices, serving all parts of the nation, the eeoc deals with lolls in recruitment, hiring and retention, promotion or termination of employees on a basis of race, national origin, sex, disability, family medical

history and senate confirmation. i also want to say or passalong regards and well wishes from our chair, hillary mention her name, jacqueline, and the reason it is exciting and thrilling to be here under the leadership as we try to revitalize our enforcement is that for the eeoc, economic justice cannot be separated from civil rights. they are integrated for us. and ensuring that the promise of our nation's laws -- for every person is given equal opportunity is central to helping ensure that we of strong economy and full employment. this afternoon, i would like to highlight just one area in my limited time. that is our work in the area of youth records and implement. and including the adoption of significant revised guidance that i knew the naacp urged, as well as others urged us to

promulgate. i would also like to end, perhaps, with one update on. henry also reference, if there is time. and during the q&a prep, talk about other things if we are working on to revitalize. with regard to employment. within a% have to do with barriers to employment. we know that in this economy, with unemployment rates as high as they are, this population is impacted and vulnerable. we also know that stable employment is one of the best predictors for those returning to society from it. of incarceration. and those want to support their families and contribute to our committee, there must be given the opportunity to compete for legitimate work opportunities. an important part of the eeoc's work in this area has been our involvement with the interagency federal council.

many of our panelists have talked about that agencies need to work in coalition, but we do. and this particular coalition, the attorney general -- 20 agencies including doj, department of education, hhs, and hud to discuss other ways to do a better job. one of the significant output of that work has been the creation of what we call mitt busters, these documents that clarify -- myth busters with regard to reentry and use of criminal records in our case. they also produced one of these documents and we are advising them not to currently reflect our new guidance in this area.

another significant aspect of our work on these records as i mentioned before is the promulgation of revised guidance on the use of the records and employment. many of you know, or hopefully many of you know, a four-one bipartisan vote this year, the eeoc updated this. the commission that -- in these meetings, they took testimony including testimony from dog, and hundreds of written comments that helped them consider how to revise this which was issued initially in 1987 and 1990. what we put out clarify and update our longstanding policy concerning the use of records and employment. the updated guidance is [unintelligible]

and to how employers can consider the use of these records and java applications as well as current employment. dataalso updates d eeoc's and knowledge and this area. and gives good examples for employers as they continue to grapple with how to use these records and employment. just some background for have criminal backgrounds be used in a discriminatory way question want their two ways. -- how could they be used in a discriminatory way? there are two ways. yet to be treated similarly when you are being considered for a job. the law also prohibits -- the

employer has to show that there are job related. that is actually not hard to do. the employer can make -- he can screen at the applicants. the time elapsed since the criminal act occurred. and gives an applicant excluded from the job and opportunity explain why he should not be excluded. we urge employers not to exclude folks with criminal records. which we believe, it would have a positive impact on employment. i brought many materials on the subject. what you should know document. it explains exactly what it says. we have a q&a document that explains this well. and we have examples of them myth busters that lays out how employers -- what the

responsibilities are using these documents. and finally, there's a document that i will share with you that has links to a number of other documents that gives them background in this area. one other point i want to make something that clearly alluded to. an area that we are working on significantly at the eeoc, report are an important member of the white house equal pay task force. and we are doing a significant amount of work in this area. i will leave these materials here and hopefully we will have a chance to go deeper into some of these issues and talk about other priorities the eeoc has. thank you. [applause] >> what hillary left out of my introduction, i am a product of the naacp. i have worked now almost 30 years during civil-rights work. what hillary left out was that the naacp in washington through its washington bureau has an

incredible way of working on a bipartisan basis. the naacp got me both nominated and confirmed on a president bush twice. i never thought that would happen. [applause] so, i have been at the consumer financial protection bureau, a new bureau, as hillary pointed out, that was started less than a year ago. as a creation of the dodd frank financial reform act. i have been there for two months. i was at todd's agency, the eeoc for years. as been a transition of new things, and learning about what the agency does. we recruited to put consumer financial protection in 1 -- instead of having to spread out through various agencies around the government, we wanted it and at one place. we know how important consumer

financial services are to our lives in america. people of savings accounts for the consumer to save for the american dream. people have a checking account to do everyday transactions. people use mortgages to help buy houses and pay for them over time. credit cards give us convenient access to money when we need it. in student loans allow people to go to school and pay for it over time. what we saw that the two dozen eight with the financial crisis, how financial products and services can get consumers to enter the general economy into trouble if people do not understand and do not know what this is all about. so, we at the cfpb are trying to make sure that consumers have timely and understandable to information to make responsible decisions about financial transactions. you are trying to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive

or abusive practices. and from discrimination. we are trying to deal with outdated, unnecessarily or burdensome regulations. any process of reaching more roles to help people understand what their roles are. we want to promote fair competition by consistent enforcement of the consumer protection laws and the bureau's jurisdiction. and make a consumer financial products and services markets work in a transparent and efficient way. now, how are we? doing we we are doing this by doing a number of things. i want to focus on a couple that have broad impacts to members of the naacp. first, we are trying to use technology to reach as many people as possible. one thing we have done is set up a website to try to make this information accessible and

usable to everyday folks. you are not dealing with the really fine print that we all get in credit card bills and other disclosures. that a lot of us do not read and do not understand. we are trying to make a similar, but also try to translate this into language that people can understand. and understand their rights. we are using our website to do that. we have created a consumer response help line. both on our web site, which is consumer finance.gov. and we have a toll-free number. to giveou can't call complaints. we can give you help and over 180 different languages for people who may not speak english well. we have on website, both the ability to send in the complaints like things about credit cards, mortgages, student

loans, we also have something called ask cfpb. this is something i found fascinating. it is a question and answer forums that the government puts out that is really in english. you can really understand it. and it puts its in understandable user friendly terms that people can actually use. i would encourage you to take a look at this as a way of how you can educate yourselves and your families about what these various sources do, what they do, what kind of risks they pose to you. and we have another thing on website, too, which i found fascinating. essentially, people do not have a complete, but they have and want to share their story. and we have a thing on our web site called tell your story. people are laying out with their story is. i encourage you to check that

out. in the absence of time, i want to give one a plug for the work i am doing, under dodd frank, dodd frank created the offices of minority and women in collision at the various financial-services agency, my friend and colleague, mickey from the fdic, i think he is in the room, we are trying to get a diversity inclusion of both at the cfpb, and we are looking at ways to assess the entities we regulate. and that is going to be about progress. i would encourage you to visit our website, come to our events. we are here to serve the american public and the consumer. one last load, we are hiring at the cfpb. if your interested in during examination of banks, or

interested in technology and innovation, there are jobs available now on our website. i would encourage you to check that out. the tech work fellowship program that we are doing actually closes this friday, friday 13. if you are a webbed designer, a graphic designer, i would encourage you to check out that program. you can work anywhere in the country to do this. there's a lot of flexibility. we are very excited about the system we are setting up. with that, i will turn it over to john that. -- to john. gues[applause] >> i will be a very brief. i will follow up with you offline if you want to discuss this in more detail. i am here to talk about two a quick things. to provide a reminder, and the second is to provide an opportunity. the reminders that, if you have

seen today, the people but to put around the table, the people that the president hires matter. they matter. in our office, we have a thought that is people is policy. it is the reminder that the people we choose to put employees are going to make hundreds of management decisions, leadership decisions that will impact people's lives. and so, i hope that as you think about how you will engage on policy matters, on creating a better, more citizen concentric government, and on the people side -- either by raising your hand to serve or thinking about the people in your communities, you should also be serving in government. and that is where the opportunity comes in. -- bailout you direct access to our office. it is about providing more open government. there is an e-mail address their. goes directly to our staff. we hope that you use it.

you raise your hand because you are interested in serving, or let us know you are interested in serving. as a last reminder, often, we see a panel like this and you see a group of superstars like the people who are here. two things about that, behind them are hundreds of thousands of more appointee's your working for the president every single day, as you heard earlier. our boss has given a very clear direction to not just find a senior folks with a lot of experience, but the very young people, just out of school, or the next generation of panelists for a panel down the road, and bring them in the government, especially in areas of garment where the been underrepresented in the past year to go back in your communities and think of who you would refer to us. think about the young bright people who could go in a lot of different directions.

thank you. >> thank you. [applause] just as we transition into q&a, these are real resources, every single person on this panel has gotten a number of phone calls, has responded with quite frankly an incredible amount of resource to the challenge. whether it is a joke or built, whether it is storeduart. in essence, think of these people's resources. for the work that to do from here on out. these are the people that actually represent the policy and program that you all worked so hard to put in place. you get this all the time, do not you? let me see your hands.

that means you need to fill out the form before you leave it. but all of this ties into something very important. i will do my best job of doing the oprah win a free thing in a minute. -- oprah winfrey thing and a minute. and actually leaves for the end of ministration. they are all administration officials. that being said, who is the ceo of the country? say it like you mean it. >> president obama. >> thank you so much. to tie all this together, many of you have participated in a phone calls, data and information about things we are doing directly with the administration. haven't you? you know there is one person who ties all of that together. you have heard the name many times. i want to introduce you to someone who i have talked to

every day. at least once a day. i talked to her all the time feared because quite frankly, we need the president every day for the work that we are doing. coordinates everything along these lines. our next panelist will bring up here before i come down there. is the white house -- works for the white house office of public engagement. her job is to create an coronate opportunities for direct -- between the obama administration and the african-american -- of the naacp. representing african-american table as well. in other words, she served as a primary liaison between the naacp and the obama administration. many of you may have received notices and phone calls between the administration and naacp members and our panelists with our person inside the white

house helping set them up and getting them to come out and speak here. it is great for me to call them, but it is even better when they are with the white house. she has served as an adviser at the center for [unintelligible] at the department of education. she did many other things. coming to us from washington, d.c. -- she was bumped around quite a bit before she landed. but she is my friend, someone i call to all the time. she is a champion for the naacp. she is my great friend heather. give her a hand. [applause] i am going to be sure and use my church boys, because that is where i got this started doing

public speaking. i want to make sure that we give hillary shelton a round of applause. it is true that hillary is the best advocate for the naacp, when of the best liaisons' that i work with. he is always responsive, making sure he is bringing all of your priorities to the white house continuously, day-in and day- out. as he graciously introduced me, i am have their foster. some of you are thinking they brought this little girl from the white house to speak to me? i am aging just as well as hillary, and have a couple of gray hairs, but i am in my early-30's, and i think in need to be young to be in this position due to the travel and the schedule. indeed to make sure you have the

energy. i am here to bring official greeting from the white house and the administration. his is a great to see my colleagues who have come in on airplanes as well, and they are the best people to update you on these policies are around consumer protection, housing, faith-based policies, education, health, and my colleague, jonathan mcbride. we wanted to be here today to make sure you could understand how all of the things that president obama is continuously working on a daily for the civil rights community. i also want to bring greetings to hear your chair roslyn brock and presidents benjamin jealous. it has been a great to have relationships, and it is great to be at the naacp today because

i realize this organization has opened doors for young people like me to have these type of physicians and be the new generation of leaders for -- positions and have a new generations of leaders. continuously at the white house we are once -- tried to make sure every policy that comes out, you have access to. we have our website. it is www.whitehouse.gov/africanameric ans. one word. i will say it again, slowly. www.whitehouse.gov/africanameric ans. now, on that side, we are sure that every time the president does in a speech, when there is a policy announcement, we break it down.

we do fact sheets, videos, everything to make sure you have access to what the president is talking about. an important thing to do, because we know not everyone has access to a website or a computer, you could order materials for your community. once again, they walked through some of the incredible accomplishments we have had in the last four years, of also explain where we are going in the future -- but also explain where we are going in the future. over the last four years it has been crucial to see the number of things we have been able to accomplish in terms of health care, criminal justice and education. i want to make sure you ask the questions to the panelists, has the difficult questions. i will take my seat, but i will be here to answer any questions

you have. this is a time we enjoy, make sure you are engaging, and you understand what is being done for the community. president obama is continually working to improve upon our economy and our country. we understand the rate of on employment in the african- american community. you can ask hillary. we talked daily. we talked in georgia last bit about the highs in critic housing crisis. we do these calls region a housing crisis. -- georgia last week about the housing crisis. we do these calls. we are doing a structure with education, health care, with our criminal justice department. we are going back to agriculture, housing, making

sure we create a strong country. thank you again. i will take my seat, and now we will have questions and answers. >> thank you very much. [applause] there we go. i will ask my panelists, if you wanted to answer questions, get up and take turns at the microphone. i'm going to pretend my hair is longer, and everything else oprah winfrey used to do. let's start over here. let me ask you to do this. questions. let them give the speeches. questions. >> i do not nullified look like i was going to talk a lot, but i am not -- i do not know if i looked like i was going to talk a lot, but i am not. first, i want to complement such a fine panel of.

do you know the oldest historically black university in the western hemisphere, and did you do, has that university ban designated a national landmark? bettis to the bureau. -- that is two. [unintelligible] >> oh, well. [laughter] >> and believe this one is on. -- i believe this one was on. it was when we started.

>> let's do it anyway. >> the question was about the oldest university in the western hemisphere, historically black. can you hear my voice? very good. my friends at c-span might be feeling nervous, but as long as you can hear me, i will keep going. tell us what it is. >> [unintelligible] i asked that because as a national treasure it should be designated as a national landmark, and i hope we could develop policies relative to that one -- to that. >> with all due respect, and i am not a graduate, but i am totally certain i am correct, i

know there has been discussion about it, but actually, lincoln university in pennsylvania -- [unintelligible] > let's do this -- [unintelligible] [laughter] [unintelligible] >> we we really need to talk about equal funding for a national treasury. if people know there contributions that the university has made [unintelligible] close -- [unintelligible] >> fabrice tourre in the black colleges in the country --

restoring the black colleges in the country is a major priority. i want to take it vantage of this panel right here -- advantage of this panel right here. [unintelligible] >> i would also like to have a microphone that works. >> i am from houston, texas. i want to direct a question to ms. lewis. what is going to happen when the governor -- in the state of texas we have the highest uninsured population -- he has said he is not going to do the expansion of the medicaid bill, nor the insurance exchange.

what can the group of us do to see that change? is it even possible? [unintelligible] >> i do not know if you all heard the question, but she is asking about -- >> please go to the microphone. >> how about back -- how about that? she was asking a question about region ther's governors, including the governor of texas saying they're not going to participate in the medicare expansion that the affordable care act heads and also not participate in state

exchanges, the private insurance market places that the affordable care act sets off and would help assist people within those exchanges to buy insurance. the first thing i would like to say is that we have consistently taken steps to provide flexibility for states throughout the implementation of the entire affordable care act, and to make sure states have the resources they need to implement the law. all 50 states will have access to the exchange, where people can purchase quality insurance, and that will definitely have been in 2014. we hope that the states, even the governor's better now saying that they will not, will take -- that are saying they will not, will take the -- will take the

advantage of the resources available to them. the federal government will cover 100% some of the time, and 90% going forward. we know with the children's health program, even though some states said they would not participate, eventually all 50 states did participate. we are just hopeful let those governors will move forward and go -- that those governors will move forward and go forward with exchanges. we know there will be exchanges in all 50 states and we look forward to working with people as it plays itself out. [unintelligible] >> i am from president obama's home state, right? >> that is right. >> i am a teacher, and i am interested in knowing [unintelligible]

>> well, we are working with the various sectors out there to try to make sure that the information that people get before they enter into student loans gets out there so that people do not buy more loans than they could actually afford. it is scary to hear people coming out of college with six- figure debt, and having no way to pay that back. we are working hard to figure that out and get the best information out to people so that they know that going in and do not make bad choices. that is where we are starting. >> i am back on. and going to go on this side. i have to keep going from left, to write, you all. >> my name is willie fitzgerald, from the great state of

virginia. my question is to mr. austin, we lived in a rural part of virginia -- we live in a rural part of virginia. we have a problem with this is my territory here, this is my territory here, we get good buys here, but they cannot service -- good service here, but they cannot service here. we have a problem in the rural part of virginia. what can we do? >> i am happy to have you answer that question. just for background, we have 53 field offices across the nation, divided into different regions and sections of the country.

what you are expressing is there are certain offices that have jurisdiction within our own construct jurisdiction. you are correct. some offices stay within their own jurisdiction for efficiency, for expertise, and what you should be getting is consistent service across all the offices. maybe afterwards we could talk to her i would like to hear more details, and we do take that -- we could talk. i would like to hear more details. we do take that seriously. i know from my own experiences that rural parts of the country present certain challenges, the dow. you -- but what i am hearing is you're getting inconsistent service. we should discuss that. i appreciate that. >> thank you, mr. shelton, and thank you again, for putting

together this cream of the crop. [applause] i would like to ask a question of miss henriquez. i would like to know specifically how i could get you to my home town, little rock, ark., and help us in effect neighborhoods and needs there? >> there are a couple of ways you could do that. you could send me an e-mail on the hud web site. sandra.b. henriquez@hud.gov. if you were to send me an e- mail on what you were interested

in me looking at, i could ask some of the local team to cover -- who covers little rock, to talk to you as well, but we would want to come with some background so that we could make decisions before we get there, or at least know what we need to do. >> excellent. thank you. next question. >> thank you. carol crag from indianapolis, branch 3053. again, thank you for this opportunity. for the civil rights committee, what action is the civil rights commission expected to take when there is a documented history of this proportionality in -- disk proportionality in suspensions, special-education placement? does there have to be a complaint filed, or can the

civil rights commission take action based upon the data that does exist? >> yes, i believe what you are asking about is the civil rights division, and we do have an educational opportunity senescent -- session. pilot test kit to pass along your information, and we would -- i would ask you to pass along your information, and we would make a decision on an investigation, and work with the department in determining whether or not a full investigation should be done. we would be happy to look at that issue. send me the information. i will give you my information as well, it is roy.austin@u sda.gov. >> i am from charleston, west virginia. when a case goes to an administrative law judge, when

it is commission goes to an administrative law judge, -- discrimination goes to an administrative law judge, several districts have been ruling that it is military in nature only, so you do not make decisions on military complaints. i understand that. these are people that have technician jobs, pay gs employees, but they say they're job relates directly to a military position. they are saying their military- nature. this is not just west virginia. four offices have made these rulings. these people have lost benefits, promotions, retirement, contributions to their tsp by these complaints being rolled -- being ruled military in nature.

this is my personal belief that the generals want to keep control, therefore if it is military nature, they have the final decision making process, and this has an impact on minorities and females in particular getting to those higher wages in gs 14 and 15 positions. >> the question relates to our federal sector work. in some ways we do work in the private companies, and also in the federal sector, where we adjudicate decisions made within federal agencies on discrimination. as discussed earlier on, everyone has an office. when someone complains, the discrimination starts there, and then we adjudicate the appeal,

and then do further adjudication. i do not have a direct answer right now for you as to why those decisions are made that way. again, i can talk to you afterwards and give you my information, and get yours. we have good folks to run our office of federal operations in our headquarters will receive all of this and might be able to answer that question. >> let me apologize. this will be the last question to the panel, however it is not just about the conversation we are having today. these are going to be, as they are to me, some of your best resources. i will have them give you their contact information. you'll be able to send them an e-mail, reach out to their website, find out how to take care of the problems that you have. we will go down the line as we close out. >> my name is skipped.

i am from north carolina. one of the most disturbing trends that we see in america today is the segregation of education. what is the administration doing to address that, and what can citizens due to address that in our own community? >> -- due to address that in our own community? >> unfortunately, we've seen efforts with respect to education and desegregation are still on going, and we are still looking at decades-old consent degrees, where there is the appearance of not fully integrating schools and ensuring equal access. under our leadership, we are continuing to do work in this

area. if you have a specific school district if you are interested in getting more information on, or heading us conduct an investigation of, send your information to me, and i will forward it to the right people and we will address it directly with you can >> brothers and sisters, ladies and -- with you. >> brothers and sisters, ladies and gentlemen, i want to have you give the best contact to access your resources. we will start with the department of labor. >> the web site for the department of labor is www. dol.gov. there is a box you could check to get on to newsletters, so you can receive updates on grant applications and other things we are doing. so, again, it is www.dol.gov.

be sure to get on the newsletter, so you can get updates. >> the department of agriculture. >> my name is joe leonard. joee-mail address is .leonard, the phone number tore offices to 02 -- 202-720-3808. >> health and human services. >> so come to the web sites. -- so, two web sites. the first is www.healthcar.gov,

which will give you everything you need to know about the affordable care act and more, and you can link to the hhs website, www.hss.gov. i am caya lewis, and the main number is 202-690-5400. >> the department of justice. >> if you have a hard question, hillary, what is your home number? >> they already have it. >> they already have it. the website is www.usdog.gov \

crt. my name is roy aud --austin. >> the department of housing and urban development. >> i will go through this again. i am sandra.b. henriquez @hud.gov. phone number, 202-708-0950, and

if you forget all of that, go to www.hud.gove, there is a search engine, you can attack programs, fine names and our contact information. >> the " employment opportunity commission. our office number is 202-663- 4191, and our website, which is very good at letting out information and a map to the regional offices is www.eeoc.gov. >> the consumer financial protection bureau. >> my name is stuart ishimaru@

cfpb.gov. our web site is www.consumerfin ance.gov. the website is terrific. i would encourage you to check it out, especially the jobs this page that has jobs all the time, and they are all over the country. my phone number is 202-435-9012. >> the white house office of personnel. >> in the back of the room, outside of the hallway we left these cards, but i will tell you what is on them.

the first is information about the types of jobs that exist in government. when people would not talk about serving before, they're not sure about what they would do, so the first information is a listing of all of the jobs at the end of the prior administration. it is a starting point. the second thing on here is the access to all website if you want to apply the easy way to get there is to go to whitehouse.gov, go to the bottom, and it will save jobs, and if you click on that you are in the application process. there is a lot of information. my advice is be exhaustive. my team searches the data base every single day. the more information we have, the more likely you are to come up in various searches. there is also an e-mail address. it is presidential personnel

office cspan.org/campaign2012who. eop.gov, and if you have a specific question, my name is jonathan mcbride@who.eop.gov. >> finally, heather foster, the white house let me now bad for all information affecting the african american community, and you go to, surprisingly, brothers and sisters, please

give them a huge hand. for that incredible information. they will be available to talk. some of them have to run for airplanes. thank you very match. -- a very much. >> i think our job is not to ask gotcha questions. it is trying to get a fair answers. that is how i approach my job. i am not looking to catch -- i

am not looking to necessarily catch him -- that is not what you said the other day. it is really trying to get information to inform people. >> more with julianna goldman sunday at 8:00. >> coverage begins of the republican convention in tampa. live on c-span. you're front-row seat to the convention. we will show you some of the past republican convention speeches, starting with sarah palin in 2008, followed by dick cheney from 2000. later, dan quayle from 1988.

[applause] >> thank you so much.

thank you so much. mr. chairman, delegates, and fellow citizens, i am honored to be considered for the nomination for vice president of the united states.

i accept the call to help our nominee for president to serve and defend america. i accept the challenge of a tough fight in this election, against confident opponents, at a crucial hour for our country. and i accept the privilege of serving with a man who has come through much harder missions and met far graver challenges and knows how tough fights are won -- the next president of the united states, john s. mccain. it was just a year ago when all the experts in washington

counted out our nominee because he refused to hedge his commitment to the security of the country he loves. with their usual certitude, they told us that all was lost -- there was no hope for this candidate who said that he would rather lose an election than see his country lose a war. but the pollsters and pundits overlooked just one thing when they wrote him off. they overlooked the caliber of the man himself -- the determination, resolve, and sheer guts of senator john mccain. the voters knew better. and maybe that's because they realize there is a time for politics and a time for

leadership, a time to campaign and a time to put our country first. our nominee for president is a true profile in courage, and people like that are hard to come by. he's a man who wore the uniform of this country for 22 years, and refused to break faith with those troops in iraq who have now brought victory within sight. and as the mother of one of those troops, that is exactly the kind of man i want as commander in chief.

i'm just one of many moms who'll say an extra prayer each night for our sons and daughters going into harm's way. our son track is 19. and one week from tomorrow -- september 11th -- he'll deploy to iraq with the army infantry in the service of his country. my nephew kasey also enlisted, and serves on a carrier in the persian gulf. my family is proud of both of them and of all the fine men and women serving the country in uniform. [applause]

track is the eldest of our five children. in our family, it's two boys and three girls in between -- my strong and kind-hearted daughters bristol, willow, and piper. and in april, my husband todd and i welcomed our littlest one into the world, a perfectly beautiful baby boy named trig.

from the inside, no family ever seems typical. that's how it is with us. our family has the same ups and downs as any other, the same challenges and the same joys. sometimes even the greatest joys bring challenge. and children with special needs inspire a special love. to the families of special- needs children all across this country, i have a message -- for years, you sought to make america a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters. i pledge to you that if we are

elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the white house. todd is a story all by himself. he's a lifelong commercial fisherman, a production operator in the oil fields of alaska's north slope, a proud member of the united steel workers' union, and world champion snow machine racer. throw in his yup'ik eskimo ancestry, and it all makes for quite a package. we met in high school, and two decades and five children later he's still my guy.

my mom and dad both worked at the elementary school in our small town. and among the many things i owe them is one simple lesson -- that this is america, and every woman can walk through every door of opportunity. my parents are here tonight, and i am so proud to be the daughter of chuck and sally heath.

long ago, a young farmer and habber-dasher from missouri followed an unlikely path to the vice presidency. a writer observed, "we grow good people in our small towns, with honesty, sincerity, and dignity." i know just the kind of people that writer had in mind when he praised harry truman. i grew up with those people. they are the ones who do some of the hardest work in america, who grow our food, run our factories, and fight our wars. they love their country, in good times and bad, and they're always proud of america.

i had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town. i was just your average hockey mom, and signed up for the pta because i wanted to make my kids' public education better.

when i ran for city council, i didn't need focus groups and voter profiles because i knew those voters, and knew their families, too. before i became governor of the great state of alaska, i was mayor of my hometown. and since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves. i guess a small-town mayor is

sort of like a "community organizer," except that you have actual responsibilities. i might add that in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening. we tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in scranton and another way in san francisco.

as for my running mate, you can be certain that wherever he goes, and whoever is listening, john mccain is the same man. i'm not a member of the permanent political establishment. and i've learned quickly, these past few days, that if you're not a member in good standing of the washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.

but here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators -- i'm not going to washington to seek their good opinion -- i'm going to washington to serve the people of this country.

americans expect us to go to washington for the right reasons, and not just to mingle with the right people. politics isn't just a game of clashing parties and competing interests. the right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to leave this nation better than we found it. no one expects us to agree on everything. but we are expected to govern with integrity, good will, clear convictions, and a servant's heart. i pledge to all americans that i will carry myself in this spirit as vice president of the united states.

this was the spirit that brought me to the governor's office, when i took on the old politics as usual in juneau, when i stood up to the special interests, the lobbyists, big oil companies, and the good ol' boys network. sudden and relentless reform never sits well with entrenched interests and power brokers. that's why true reform is so hard to achieve. but with the support of the citizens of alaska, we shook things up. and in short order we put the government of our state back on the side of the people.

i came to office promising major ethics reform, to end the culture of self-dealing. and today, that ethics reform is the law. while i was at it, i got rid of a few things in the governor's office that i didn't believe our citizens should have to pay for. that luxury jet was over the top. i put it on ebay. i also drive myself to work. and i thought we could muddle through without the governor's personal chef -- although i've got to admit that sometimes my kids sure miss her.

i came to office promising to control spending -- by request if possible and by veto if necessary. senator mccain also promises to use the power of veto in defense of the public interest -- and as a chief executive, i can assure you it works. our state budget is under control. we have a surplus. and i have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending -- nearly half a billion dollars in vetoes. i suspended the state fuel tax, and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by congress. i told the congress "thanks, but no thanks," for that bridge to nowhere. if our state wanted a bridge, we'd build it ourselves.

when oil and gas prices went up dramatically, and filled up the state treasury, i sent a large share of that revenue back where it belonged -- directly to the people of alaska. and despite fierce opposition from oil company lobbyists, who kind of liked things the way they were, we broke their monopoly on power and resources. as governor, i insisted on competition and basic fairness to end their control of our state and return it to the people. i fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in north american history. and when that deal was struck,

we began a nearly $40 billion natural gas pipeline to help lead america to energy independence. that pipeline, when the last section is laid and its valves are opened, will lead america one step farther away from dependence on dangerous foreign powers that do not have our interests at heart. the stakes for our nation could not be higher. when a hurricane strikes in the gulf of mexico, this country should not be so dependent on imported oil that we are forced to draw from our strategic petroleum reserve. and families cannot throw away more and more of their paychecks on gas and heating oil.

with russia wanting to control a vital pipeline in the caucasus, and to divide and intimidate our european allies by using energy as a weapon, we cannot leave ourselves at the mercy of foreign suppliers. to confront the threat that iran might seek to cut off nearly a fifth of world energy supplies or that terrorists might strike again at the abqaiq facility in saudi arabia or that venezuela might shut off its oil deliveries -- we americans need to produce more of our own oil and gas. and take it from a gal who knows the north slope of alaska --

we've got lots of both. our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of america's energy problems -- as if we all didn't know that already. but the fact that drilling won't solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all. starting in january, in a mccain-palin administration, we're going to lay more pipelines, build more new-clear plants, create jobs with clean coal, and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources. we need american energy resources, brought to you by american ingenuity, and produced by american workers.

i've noticed a pattern with our opponent. maybe you have, too. we've all heard his dramatic speeches before devoted followers. and there is much to like and admire about our opponent. but listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform -- not even in the state senate.

this is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars america is fighting, and never use the word "victory" except when he's talking about his own campaign. but when the cloud of rhetoric has passed, when the roar of the crowd fades away, when the stadium lights go out, and those styrofoam greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot, what exactly is our opponent's plan?

what does he actually seek to accomplish, after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet? the answer is to make government bigger, take more of your money, give you more orders from washington, and to reduce the strength of america in a dangerous world. america needs more energy. our opponent is against producing it. victory in iraq is finally in sight. he wants to forfeit. terrorist states are seeking new-clear weapons without delay. he wants to meet them without preconditions. al qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on america.

he's worried that someone won't read them their rights? government is too big. he wants to grow it. congress spends too much. he promises more. taxes are too high. he wants to raise them. his tax increases are the fine print in his economic plan, and let me be specific. the democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, raise

payroll taxes, raise investment income taxes, raise the death tax, raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the american people by hundreds of billions of dollars. my sister heather and her husband have just built a service station that's now opened for business, like millions of others who run small businesses. how are they going to be any better off if taxes go up? or maybe you're trying to keep your job at a plant in michigan or ohio or create jobs with clean coal from pennsylvania or west virginia or keep a small farm in the family right here in minnesota.

how are you going to be better off if our opponent adds a massive tax burden to the american economy? here's how i look at the choice americans face in this election. in politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. and then there are those, like john mccain, who use their careers to promote change. they're the ones whose names appear on laws and landmark reforms, not just on buttons and banners, or on self-designed presidential seals.

among politicians, there is the idealism of high-flown speechmaking, in which crowds are stirringly summoned to support great things. and then there is the idealism of those leaders, like john mccain, who actually do great things. they're the ones who are good for more than talk, the ones we have always been able to count on to serve and defend america. senator mccain's record of actual achievement and reform helps explain why so many special interests, lobbyists, and comfortable committee chairmen in congress have fought the prospect of a mccain presidency -- from the primary election of 2000 to this very day.

our nominee doesn't run with the washington herd. he's a man who's there to serve his country, and not just his party. a leader who's not looking for a fight, but is not afraid of one either. harry reid, the majority leader of the current do-nothing senate, not long ago summed up his feelings about our nominee. he said, quote, "i can't stand john mccain." ladies and gentlemen, perhaps no accolade we hear this week is better proof that we've chosen the right man.

clearly, what the majority leader was driving at is that he can't stand up to john mccain. that is only one more reason to take the maverick of the senate and put him in the white house. my fellow citizens, the american presidency is not supposed to be a journey of "personal discovery." this world of threats and dangers is not just a community, and it doesn't just need an organizer.

and though both senator obama and senator biden have been going on lately about how they are always, quote, "fighting for you," let us face the matter squarely. there is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you, in places where winning means survival and defeat means death, and that man is john mccain.

in our day, politicians have readily shared much lesser tales of adversity than the nightmare world in which this man, and others equally brave, served and suffered for their country. it's a long way from the fear and pain and squalor of a 6-by-4 cell in hanoi to the oval office. but if senator mccain is elected president, that is the journey he will have made. it's the journey of an upright and honorable man, the kind of fellow whose name you will find on war memorials in small towns across this country, only he was among those who came home. to the most powerful office on

earth, he would bring the compassion that comes from having once been powerless, the wisdom that comes even to the captives, by the grace of god, the special confidence of those who have seen evil, and seen how evil is overcome. a fellow prisoner of war, a man named tom moe of lancaster, ohio, recalls looking through a

pin-hole in his cell door as lieutenant commander john mccain was led down the hallway, by the guards, day after day. as the story is told, "when mccain shuffled back from torturous interrogations, he would turn toward moe's door and flash a grin and thumbs up," as if to say, "we're going to pull through this." my fellow americans, that is the kind of man america needs to see us through these next four years.

for a season, a gifted speaker can inspire with his words. for a lifetime, john mccain has inspired with his deeds. if character is the measure in this election, and hope the theme, and change the goal we share, then i ask you to join our cause. join our cause and help america elect a great man as the next president of the united states. thank you all, and may god bless america.

[applause]

[applause]

[applause]

>> don't think we made the right choice for the next vice president of the united states? what a beautiful family.

[applause]

>> we taken now to tampa, florida a. a number of groups protesting outside the republicans meeting this week.

we're bringing you live coverage of the national convention in tampa. a group calling itself occupy the rnc has created camp romneyville. we will have a preview of the convention starting at 5:00 eastern tomorrow. a look ahead at the schedule and a view from the floor and more. we can also let you know, check out c-span.org. send your thoughts via twitter. you can also watched video feeds, share some video clips and connected with other viewers at c-span.org/campaign2012. philadelphia in 2012, dick cheney. he was the ceo of halliburton

prior to becoming george bush's running mate. [applause]

♪ [applause]

>> thank you very much. mr. chairman, delegates, and fellow citizens, i am honored by your nomination, and i accept it. [applause]

i know all of you want to join me in wishing him a speedy recovery. [applause] i thank you for giving such a warm welcome to lynne and me and our family. and, my friends in the wyoming delegation, i especially want to thank you for your support. the first campaign stop that lynne and i were privileged to make with governor and laura bush was in casper, wyoming, our home town, where lynne and i graduated from high school 41 years ago. the love and support and enthusiasm of the people of our home state, have buoyed our spirits and strengthened our resolve. we are going to win this election.

we will prevail. i have to tell you that i never expected to be in this position. eight years ago, when i completed my years as secretary of defense, i loaded a u-haul truck and drove home to wyoming. i didn't plan on a return to public office. lynne and i settled into a new private life. there was time for fishing and grandchildren, and we were content. but now i am glad to be back in the arena, and let me tell you why.

i have been given an opportunity to serve beside a man who has the courage, and the vision, and the goodness, to be a great president: governor george w. bush. i have been in the company of leaders. i was there on august 9, 1974, when gerald ford assumed the presidency during our gravest constitutional crisis since the civil war. i saw how character and decency can dignify a great office and unite a great nation. i was a congressman when another man of integrity lived in the white house.

i saw a president restore america's confidence, and prepare the foundation for victory in the cold war. i saw how one man's will can set the nation on a new course. i learned the meaning of leadership from president ronald reagan. i left congress to join the cabinet of president reagan's successor. and i'm proud to say that i'm not the only man on this ticket who has learned from the example of president george bush. i saw resolve in times of crisis, the steady hand that shaped an alliance and threw back a tyrant.

he earned the respect and confidence of the men and women of america's armed forces. i have been in the company of leaders. i know what it takes. and i see in our nominee the qualities of mind and spirit our nation needs, and our history demands. big changes are coming to washington. to serve with this man, in this cause, is a chance i would not miss.

this country has given me so much opportunity. when lynne and i were growing up, we had so many blessings. we went to good public schools, where we had fine, dedicated teachers. our mothers, like our fathers, worked outside the home so that we could go to college. we lived in a caring community, where parents were confident that their children's lives could be even better than their own. and that is as it should be, and as it can be again. we can make our public schools better. we can reform the tax code, so

that families can keep more of what they earn, more dollars that they can spend on what they value, rather than on what the government thinks is important. we can restore the ideals of honesty and honor that must be a part of our national life, if our children are to thrive. when i look at the administration now in washington, i am dismayed by opportunities squandered. saddened by what might have been, but never was. these have been years of prosperity in our land, but little purpose in the white that is his right.

but, my friends, that last hour is coming. [applause]

that last day is near. the wheel has turned, and it is time. it is time for them to go.

[cheers and applause] go! go! go! go! go! go! [cheers and applause]

george w. bush will repair what has been damaged. he is a man without pretense, without cynicism, a man of principle, and man of honor. on the first hour of the first day, he will restore decency and integrity to the oval office. [cheers and applause]

he will show us that national leaders can be true to the word and that they can get things done by reaching across the aisle and working with political opponents in good faith and common purpose. i know we will do these things because for the last five years i have watched him do them in taxes. [cheers and applause] george w. bush came to the governor's office with a clear view of what he wanted to achieve. he said he would bring higher standards to public schools, and he has. walk into those schools today, and you will see children with better scores, classrooms with better discipline, teachers with better pay.

he pledged to reduce taxes, and he has. [applause] he did it twice with the biggest tax reduction in state history. and not only is the budget in balance, it is running a surplus of more than $1 billion. [cheers and applause] he promised to reform the legal system, to get rid of journal lawsuits, and he has -- to get rid of junk lawsuits, and he has. [cheers and applause] today, the legal system serves all the people, not just the trial lawyers. [cheers and applause]

none of these reforms came easily. when he took office, both houses of the legislature were controlled by democrats, and the house of representatives still is. but governor bush does not accept all lines of argument and division. he brings people together, reaching across party lines to do the people's business. he leads by conviction, not calculation. [cheers and applause] you will never see him pointing the finger of blame for failure and you'll only see him sharing the credit for success. [cheers and applause] that is exactly the spirit that is missing from washington today. in the last eight years, that

city has often become a scene of bitterness and ill will and partisan strife. american politics has always been a tough business. even in 1787 here in philadelphia when george washington himself wondered if delegates could ever agree on the constitution. dade -- they did agree, as americans always have, when it matters most. in washington today, politics has become war by other means -- and in less onslaught of accusation. this is what bill bradley was up against and those who were before him. the gore campaign, senator bradley said, is 1000 promises, 1000 attacks. we are all a little weary of the clinton/gore routine. [cheers and applause]

but the wheel has turned, and it is time. it is time for them to go. [cheers and applause]

in this election, they will speak endlessly of rest. we will speak of progress. they will make accusations. we will make proposals. they will seek fear. we will enable whole. they will offer more lectures and legalism and carefully worded denial. [cheers and applause] we offer another way -- a better way and a stiff dose of truth. [cheers and applause]

for eight years, the achievement gap in our schools has grown worse. disadvantaged children are falling further and further behind. for all their sentimental talk about children, clinton and gore have done nothing to help children oppressed by bureaucracy, monopoly, and mediocrity. [applause] but those days are ending. when george w. bush is president and i am vice-president, tests will be taken, results will be in majored, and no child will be left behind. [cheers and applause]

for eight years, clinton and gore have talked about social reform -- social security reform, never acting, never once offering a serious plan to save the system. in the time left to them, i have every confidence they will go right on talking about it. [cheers and applause]

those days are passing, too. [cheers and applause] there will be no more spreading of fear and panic, no more dividing of generations against one another, no more delaying and excuse-making and smirking -- shirking of our duties to the elderly. [cheers and applause] george w. bush and i with a united congress will save social security. [cheers and applause]

for eight years, clinton and gore have extended our military commitments while depleting our military power. rarely has so much been demanded of our armed forces and so little given to them in return. [cheers and applause] george w. bush and i are going to change that, too. i have seen our military at its finest with the best equipment, the best training, and the best leadership. i am proud of them. i have had the responsibility for their well-being, and i can promise them now -- help is on the way. [cheers and applause]

soon our men and women in uniform will once again have a commander in chief they can respect. [cheers and applause] the commander-in-chief who understands their mission and restores their morale. and now, as the man from hope goes home to new york -- [laughter]

mr. gore will try to separate himself from his leader's shadow. but somehow, we will never see one without thinking of the other. [cheers and applause] does anyone -- republican or democrat -- seriously believe that under mr. gore, the next four years will be any different from the last eight? if the goals tonight our country, make a fresh start in washington, change town in

washington, can anyone say with conviction that the man for that job is al gore? >> no! >> they came in together. now let us see them off together. [cheers and applause]

ladies and gentlemen, the wheel has turned, and it is time. it is time for them to go. [cheers and applause]

this campaign will not be easy. governor bush and i face a real fight. we are ready for it. we know the territory. we know the opposition, and we know what is at stake. we will give all we have for this cause.

and in the end -- in the and, with your help, george w. bush will defeat this vice-president, and i will replace him. [cheers and applause] ladies and gentlemen, we are so

privileged to be citizens of this great republic. [cheers and applause] i was reminded of that time and again when i was in my former job as secretary of defense. i traveled a lot, and when i came home, my plane would land at andrews air force base, and i would return to the pentagon by helicopter. when you make that trip from andrews to the pentagon, and you look down on the city of washington, one of the first things you see is the capital -- capitol, where all the great debates that have shaped the last 200 years of american history have taken place. you fly down the mall in see the monument to washington, a structure as grand as the man himself, to the white house

where john adams once praised that none but honest and wise men may ever rule under this roof. [applause] next, you see the memorial to thomas jefferson, our third president and the author of our declaration of independence. you fly over the memorial to abraham lincoln, this greatest of presidents, the man who saved the union, and then you cross the potomac on approach to the pentagon, but just before you settle down on the landing pad, you look out upon arlington national cemetery. it's gentle slopes and crosses row on row. i never once made that trip without being reminded how enormously fortunate we all are to be americans and what a --

[cheers and applause] i never made that trip without being reminded of how enormously fortunate we are to be americans and what a terrible price thousands have paid so that all of us and millions more around the world might live in freedom. [cheers and applause] this is a great country, ladies and gentlemen, and it deserves great leadership. let us go forth from this hall in confidence and courage, committed to restoring decency and honor to our republic. let us go fourth, knowing that our cause is just, and elect

george w. bush the 43rd president of the united states. [cheers and applause] >> tomorrow, 2012 republican presidential candidate ron paul will hold a "we are the future" rally at the university of south florida. our coverage begins at 3:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span. after that, we preview this year's republican convention in tampa, florida. we will be live from the "tampa

bay times" 4 with a look at the schedule, a view from the floor of the convention hall, and more. join us live at 5:00 eastern here on c-span. now, vice-presidential candidate dan quayle accepting the nomination in 1988 in new orleans. he was the republican running mate of george h. w. bush, and they campaigned against democratic nominees michael dukakis and lloyd bentsen. [cheers and applause] >> thanks. thank you. thank you very much. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you.

thank you very much. thank you very much. thank you. thank you. thank you very much. boy, i can tell you, we are going to have a lot of fun in this campaign. [cheers and applause] thank you. thank you very much. thank you.

mr. chairman -- mr. chairman, fellow republicans -- [cheers and applause] i accept your nomination for vice-president of the united states of america. [cheers and applause] just think -- 82 days from now, george bush and i are going to win one for you, when one for

america's future, and, yes, when one for the gipper -- win one for america's future, and, yes, win one for the gipper. [cheers and applause] my friends, i am standing here tonight because of the decision made by a great man and a great leader -- george bush. [cheers and applause] two days ago, he asked me if i would join him as his running mates. i am deeply grateful for georges confidence in me -- george's

confidence in me, and i am humboldt -- humbled by the task ahead. i would like to add a very personal note -- i am it also standing here tonight because of the decision my wife and i made nearly 16 years ago -- to be married. maryland and our children -- tucker, benjamin, and comment -- are my strength -- my strength, my pride, my joy. [applause]

they are and always will be my total life. many this week have asked -- who is dan quayle? the people of indiana know me. [cheers and applause] now the nation will. [cheers and applause] since 1980, i have been a united states senator from indiana and very proud of it. before that, i was a member of the united states house of representatives and proud of it. as a young man, i served six years in the national guard, and like millions of americans, and

i am proud of that. [cheers and applause]

in indiana, they call us hoosiers. [cheers and applause] and if you saw the movie " hoosiers," you have a feeling of what life is like in small towns of our state. my home town of huntington is a little bigger than the town in the movie. the high school i graduated from -- it was a little bigger than the one that fielded the basketball team in the film. still come i identify with that movie because it reflects the values i grew up with in our small town.

we believe very strongly in hard work and getting an education and offering an opportunity to our families. yes, we love basketball. [cheers and applause] we love underdogs. [cheers and applause] but most important, we love our country. [cheers and applause] >> usa! usa! usa! usa! usa! usa !

>> so tonight, i am 1 humble hoosier, whose efforts to devote part of his life to public service have led him here. i would have been quite happy spending my life in huntington in the newspaper business, watching my kids grow, seeing a community with plenty of opportunity to go around, but i looked around me in the mid- 1970's and saw a threat to the future of my family and to the values that could once be taken for granted in our country. beyond my town, there were communities torn by crime and drugs and there were neighborhoods where the very word "opportunity" -- it did not exist because there were no

jobs. i decided to try to change these things to make opportunity replace despair and to make the future just as good as the past. that was 1976 when i was first elected to the house of representatives. for both houses of congress and the hands of liberal democrats, it was a lot tougher than i imagined. in those jimmy carter years, the people running things thought government was the answer instead of part of the problem. they thought high taxes and big spending would solve anything. i think you know the rest. none of their policies worked,

and the american people knew it. [applause] in 1980, they voted for a bold new course for the country -- a course that brought us more jobs for working americans, more security for a peace-loving people, more respect from friends and foes around the globe, more opportunity for women and minorities, and a renewed believe that america is a land where you can make your dreams come true. [cheers and applause] the reagan/bush revolution has

already been written on the pages of history. now, george bush and dan quayle are going to add several bold, new chapters to the story of the greatest nation god ever put on this earth. [cheers and applause] >> usa! usa! usa! >> when i think of america under the leadership of george bush, three words come to my mind -- freedom, family, and future. [cheers and applause]

freedom first. because without it nothing else is possible. when i was a boy, my grandfather used to say to me -- and i say it to you here tonight -- that america is the greatest nation on earth because america is free. [cheers and applause] this is true today, and it will always be true.

next, family. george bush understands. you understand. i understand that the family has always been the very heart of civilization. we know the importance of the family to a child growing up. we know the help of family can leave your kid out of school. we know the importance of family where one generation helps take care of another -- young and old. and then, there is a future. that word symbolizes hope and opportunity. to make sure hope and

opportunity are always there, we need a strong economy, so there will be good jobs for all who seek them. [cheers and applause] we need an investment in our national defense that brings us long-term security in the world. we do not need the future of -- the future the democratic party sees, the party of george mcgovern, jimmy carter, walter mondale. [crowd boos] just wait -- it gets better -- ted kennedy. and now, everybody, michael dukakis. [crowd boos]

that future has america in retreat. that future has higher taxes and a guaranteed loss of job opportunities, and that future has more government intervention than the lives of all of us. the future under george bush means peace and economic opportunity for all. [cheers and applause] and i can tell you, you have george bush's track record to go on. the tax cuts to republicans -- the republicans have brought america have resulted in 17 million new jobs being created. let me tell you something --

george bush will not raise your taxes, period. [cheers and applause] and let me tell you something else -- michael dukakis will. [crowd boos] he has a track record, too, and that is what it tells us -- higher taxes. as the new jobs open up during our current economic expansion, not everyone has the necessary skills for them. some have lost their jobs. others could not find a first one. in 1983, the job training partnership act became law.

i was the author of that legislation, and i am proud of it. [cheers and applause] it established a nationwide training program that has a partnership of government and the private sector. today, because of the job training partnership act, hundreds of thousands of graduates of these programs have jobs with a future. one of them is pam snyder lou of utah, a single parents with four children. she was a high-school dropout and on welfare.

she joined the program. first, she earned her high school equivalency credentials. then she earned an accounting certificate. today she is a staff accountant at a vocational center. she is off welfare and proud to be making it on her own. [cheers and applause] she now has a future. we cannot have a secure economy at home if we do not have a peaceful world. as a member of the senate armed services committee, i know it was building our defense that persuaded the soviet union to

return to the negotiating table to get a treaty that for the first time actually reduces nuclear arms. [cheers and applause] today, our relationship with the soviet union is the best it has been since the end of world war ii. george bush will keep it that way, and i will be right there with him. [cheers and applause] freedom is the most precious commodity our nation has. let me say again -- everything rests on it. we have worked hard for 200 years to preserve freedom. in the soviet union, people are trying to get out.

in the united states, people are trying to get in. [cheers and applause] our freedom is the begin that draws them -- the beacon that draws them. the late thomas wolfe once wrote, "this is a fabulous country. the only fabulous country. the one where miracles not only happen, they happen all the time." [cheers and applause] miracles do happen all the time in america because we live in freedom and because the energy and imagination of our people makes their dreams come true every day.

i am privileged to be the first person of my generation to be on a national ticket. [cheers and applause] i do not presume to talk for every one of my generation, but i know that a great many will agree with me when i express my ofnks to the generation george bush for bringing us through an era -- to an era of peace and opportunity. [cheers and applause] my generation has a profound debt to them. we will pay it by making sure that our children and the generations that follow will

have the same freedom, the same family values, and a future bright with opportunity for all. thank you very much. [cheers and applause] [inaudible] [cheers and applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

>> as we take a look back at past republican conventions, here is a look from the ground at the upcoming convention in tampa that will be starting monday. this is the outpost of the group occupied the -- occupy the rnc, creating what they are calling romneyville. a number of groups involved here -- the poor people's economic human rights campaign is planning an opening day march for your lives. that is running the camp.

this is private property, subject to is being called the green ordinance, posted -- subject to the center. let's take a look here at some of the camps that have been established. again, this is the romneyville tent area, where some of the protesters are expected to be protesting outside the republican convention to regroup, re-gather, and restore themselves there with some of their freshness that are being set up here tomorrow, 2012 republican presidential candidate and texas congressman ron paul will be holding a rally of his son at the university of south florida. we will have live coverage of that. -- holding a rally of his own.

his son will be introducing his father tomorrow night, and rand paul will also appeal -- appear at the rnc convention. you can check out c-span's convention have. send your thoughts our way via twitter using #cspanrnc, and watch web exclusive video feeds and connect with other viewers. that is all at c-span.org /campaign2012. also, you can check out past rnc speeches like this one by ronald reagan who spoke after he lost the republican nomination for president to gerald ford in kansas city, 1976.

>> he is asking ronald reagan to come down and join him. gesturing to them, waving to him. he may not even be able to see the president. he is shouting into the microphone. "can you come down? and bring nancy," said the president. they just delivered the alabama standard to reagan. and the arizona standard to fletcher. boo

♪ >> it is possible governor reagan may in fact be making his way to the platform now. >> members of his staff. he may be going down the hallway.

there is the president now. senator dole. mrs. ford. mrs. dole. there is mrs. dole to the left there in the light dress with the string pearls.

they are waiting, i'm sure, for governor reagan to appear. ♪ and the reagans are just about on the platform now. you hear the chair of the crowd. they are out there now being greeted by mrs. ford. [cheers and applause]

>> this convention is full of things we have never seen before, including these two contestants appearing together, including one contest and who with 59 votes is standing there accepting the nomination. 59 votes.

as the president said tonight, they will need every vote they can get, not just the republican vote, but they have got to hold the republicans, and that picture you see is designed to do just that. [cheers and applause] >> everybody in this great auditorium tonight -- we are all tremendously pleased and honored to have ron reagan and nancy

reagan come down. [cheers and applause] we are all a part of this great, republican family that will give the leadership to the american people to win on november 2. i would like -- i would be honored on your behalf -- to ask my good friend, governor reagan, to say a few words at this time. [cheers and applause] >> thank you very much. [cheers and applause]

mr. president, mrs. ford, mr. , mr. vice-ent president-to-be -- [cheers and applause] the distinguished guest here, and you ladies and gentlemen. i will say fellow republicans because all those watching, the democrats and independents, who are looking for a cause around which to rally and which i believe we can give them. [cheers and applause] mr. president, before you arrived tonight, these wonderful people here, when we came in, gave nancy and myself a welcome. that, and this, and your that, and this, and your kindness and generosity