release. they may come out separately. -7 military personnel, exemptions, what percent of the available pie of the $48 billion could be cut? >> i see what you mean. well, the problem is the investment -- divide 46 billion by -- divide $46 billion by 512, but that would not be right because the investment accounts tend to divest slowly. i would guess we are a quarter obligated now.

so we have three quarters left and we are taking $46 billion out. do not hold me to that too closely, but it is probably in that ballpark because investment accounts tend to obligate more towards the end of the year. >> thank you again. [inaudible]>> in a few moments, secretary of state john kerry talks about foreign policy in a speech at the university of virginia. and on "washington journal," a look at gun ownership in america. >> several live events to tell you about today. the georgetown university law center host a daylong for him on, state, and local energy policies on c-span two at nine

o'clock 30 eastern. also at nine o'clock 30 east -- also at 9:30 eastern, the us- india relations at the carnegie endowment for international peace. and they look at sequestration, and automatic spending cuts set to go into effect march 1 that will affect federal workers. that is a 2 --- that is at 2:30 p.m. eastern. >> from the start, we told the board that the approach we were going to take, pretty straightforward. remember, we were set -- sent there to fix gm. that was the mission. go make this thing a viable company again. so we were all focused, and brought the message we are going to design, build, and sell the world's best vehicles. we are going to move quickly, we need your support, your input, and so we changed a few

things about the board meeting. we shortened them considerably. we stayed away from the details or did not get in the weeds on how you build a car, but the bigger questions of financing, more out, positioning, marketing, that sort of thing. the board was very supportive of that, and we kept them informed. you know, we just took off. >> leading general motors through bankruptcy and the government bailout, former chairman and ceo ed whitaker on "american turnaround," sunday night at nine o'clock on "after words." secretary of state john kerry is calling on congress not to make what he terms senseless reductions and foreign aid through automatic spending cuts scheduled to begin march 1. he spoke at the university of virginia in charlottesville. he was introduced a virginia senator tim kane.

this is an hour. >> thank you very much. thank you. [applause] thank you so much. hello, uva. it is great to be back on the grounds, and i want to say to president sullivan what a treat it is to be here with you. thank you for hosting this great occasion. i am really looking forward to good work together, especially on this occasion. to introduce secretary kerry to you, but also to say a word -- right as i walked on the stage, i had a pang of memory. i stood on this stage in a debate for lieutenant governor, primary debate for lieutenant governor in february of 2001.

the first debate i have ever been in as a state -- [inaudible] so good to have you here, alan, and so good to be in a room of so many friends. to have the parentheis close on the foundation of this university, the secretary of state, the foundation laid by thomas jefferson, the founding by james monroe. you know john kerry's track record. he started as a decorated combat veteran in the vietnam war, then went to law school and served as a prosecutor. then went to local government, a wonderful way to serve. then state government in massachusetts, and then nearly 30 years as a united states senator, and the only committee

he has served on from the day he became a senator until his last day was the foreign relations committee. this is family for him and not just a vocation. it is a family calling. i will count it as a joy but a little bit of a bittersweet sadness that my service in the senate, i got to serve with him on the foreign relations committee for precisely one week. [laughter] i am the junior member of that committee, i sit way far out on the wing, but i was with him for one week. it might have been the first vote that i cast was to confirm him as the new secretary. senator, you're coming to a place that believes deeply in the values you share, as robert mentioned. president jefferson strongly believed in this connection of this wonderful exemplary nation to a world community, and we have been a global leader.

i always kind of like to think of the global leadership that tries to balance four things -- military strength. secretary strength knows the importance and limits of military strength. diplomatic strength, strength of our economy, strength of our moral example. we have to balance those things , and this university has been educating and training people to understand that balance since its very beginnings. i spoke this morning, mr. secretary, with a whole group of very talented young rotc students, many of whom are getting ready to graduate in the commissioned in the rotc programs operating. university of virginia has pulled 179,000 people into the peace corps in his 51 year history. numerous people have gone to work in the state department. and then we can go broader and teach for america, the students who have trained for generations to get the program

degrees, military law degrees. this is a university that is so committed to that global role that we are supposed to play as citizens. and to keeping those balances of examples of military and diplomatic strength. there is really no one today on our stage and in the country that keeps the balance better than our speaker, and i am so glad to welcome here -- welcome him here today. please give a warm welcome to secretary john kerry. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. thank you very, very much. thank you. good morning. thank you for an

extraordinarily warm welcome, charlotte. i am honored to be here. senator tim kane, thank you very much for your generous work. tim, as he mentioned, has only been on the foreign relations committee i guess now for a few weeks. but i can, based on his testimony a moment ago, positively commend him on his voting record. [laughter] he has found himself new job security, too, because in virginia you have a single term governor, four years. so he has traded one single four-year term for a six-year term with potential extension. so given the fact that i traded the several extensions for a four-year term and then i am finished, maybe he knows something i ought to be listening to.

i could learn a thing or two from him. i want to tell everybody here that we know each other pretty well from service as lieutenant governor and when he was governor of the state. i was lieutenant governor of my my state, so we have that in common, before being senators. i will tell you a quick story. i don't know what you do in virginia as lieutenant governor, but in massachusetts, once upon a time massachusetts -- once upon a time calvin coolidge was a lieutenant governor. his dinner party, his partner next to him said what do you do? he said i am lieutenant governor. wow, that is interesting. what do you -- tell me about it. he said i just did. [laughter]

i appreciate the path that tim kaine has followed. the congressman referred to his missionary work, catholic missionary work in honduras, helping people to lead healthy lives. i know because two weeks after the election, he called me and asked if he could serve on the foreign relations committee. in the senate, you do not always get those calls. people who step forward and volunteer that way on a committee that does not have the opportunity to bring the bacon back home and perhaps deliver it as easy in reelection. so i know that in tim kaine, virginia has a senator who will make his mark on that committee, for the commonwealth, and the country, and we are racial for your service. thank you very, very much. -- and we are grateful for your

service. thank you very, very much. [applause] i also am particularly grateful for -- i have left partisan politics, and it is wonderful for me to welcome people in the complete spirit of nonpartisanship, not just bipartisanship. nonpartisanship. i am particularly grateful for him, for his service. i am confident from the words that we expressed, that you will make a great contribution, and i thank you for your presence here today. president sullivan, thank you so much for welcoming me here to this historic, remarkable campus. i just feasted on the view as i walked across the long dash

across the lawn, and i have to say, you are all very lucky to go to school here. it is an honor to join you here on grounds with -- [applause] with the very beautiful monument to the potential of the human mind. i have to tell you, to stand here beneath the gaze of the sages of athens, those figures who gave us the idea of democracy, which we obviously still continue to perfect, not only in our own nation but around the world, we are grateful for that. i will tell you also, i was here a long time ago as an undergraduate. i play lacrosse down on that field over there against you guys, and my first active diplomacy is literally to forget who won. i don't know.

[laughter] i want to thank the folks in uniform, the rotc, and all of you who have served and will continue to serve in some way for our nation. there is no greater declaration of citizenship than that, and i happen to believe the word " citizen" is one of the most important in the american lexicon. some might ask why i am standing here at the university of virginia. why am i starting here as secretary of state, making his first speech in the united states? you might ask, doesn't diplomacy happened over there? overseas, far beyond the boundaries of our own backyards? so why is it that i am at the foot of the blue ridge and seven on the shores of the black sea? why am i here and not in kabul,

afghanistan? the reason is simple. i came here purposely to underscore that in today's global world, there is no longer anything foreign about foreign-policy. more than ever before, the decisions that we make from the safety of our shores do not just ripple outward. they also create a current right here in america. how we conduct our foreign- policy matters more than ever before to our everyday lives. the opportunities of all the students i met standing outside , what ever they are, thinking about the future. it is important not just in terms of the threats we face, but the products that we buy, the goods that we sell, and the opportunity that we provide for economic growth and vitality. it's not just about whether we will be compelled to send our troops to another battle, but

whether will be able to send our graduates -- but whether we will be able to send our graduates into a driving workforce. that is why i am here today. i am here because our lives as americans are more intertwined than ever before with the lives of people across the world that we have never visited. and the global challenge of diplomacy, development, economic security, environmental security. you will feel our success or failure just as strongly as those people in those other countries that you will ever meet. for all that we have gained in the 21st century, we have lost the luxury of just looking inward. instead, we look out and we see a new field of competitors. i think it gives us much reason to hope, but it also gives us many more rivals determined to create jobs and opportunities for our own people, a voracious

marketplace that sometimes forgets morality and values. i know that some of you, and many across the country wish that globalization would just go away, or you wistfully remember easier times. but, my friends, no politician, no matter how powerful, can put this genie back in the bottle. so our challenge is to tame the worst impulses of globalization , even as we harnessed its ability to spread information and possibility, to offer even the most remotes place on earth the same choices that have made us strong and free. so before i leave this weekend, to listen to our our allies and partners next week throughout europe and the middle east, and in the coming months across asia and africa, and the americas, i wanted to first

talk with you about the challenge that we face here at home. because our engagement with the rest of the world begins by making important choices together, particularly about our nation's budget. our sense of shared responsibility that we care about something bigger than ourselves is absolutely central to the spirit of this school. it is also central to the spirit of our nation. as you well know, and dr. sullivan reminded you a moment ago, our first secretary of state flaunted this state of universe dragged -- this university. but thomas jefferson had a vision and he believed that the american people should meet in a public place to learn a

diversity of discipline, studies of science, space, florida, -- flora, fauna, philosophy. he believed in the freedom of the human mind. today those of you who study here and teach here, along with the taxpayers, contributors, and parents who believe in your potential, you are all investing in mr. jefferson's vision. think for a moment about what that means. why do you spend the many days and the borrowed dollars it takes to earn an education here or anywhere? why did jefferson want this institution to remain public and accessible, not just to virginians but as a destination from everywhere? i know that he was not thinking just about your getting a degree and a job, it was about something more. jefferson believed we could not

be a strong country without investing in the kind of education that empowers us to be good citizens. that is why founding this university is among the few accomplishments that jefferson listed on his epitaph that he wrote for himself. to him, this place and its goal was a bigger part than his legacy of serving as secretary of state or even as president, neither of which made the cut. just as jefferson understood that we need to invest in education in order to produce good citizens, i joined president obama today in asserting with urgency that our citizenry deserves a strong foreign policy to protect our interests in the world. a wise investment in foreign- policy can yield for an nation the same return that education does for a student. and no investment that we make

that is as small as this investment puts forward such a sizable benefit for ourselves and for our fellow citizens of the world. that is why i wanted to have this conversation with you today, which i hope is a conversation that extends well beyond the borders of charlottesville, well beyond this university, to all americans. when i talk about a sport -- a small investment in foreign- policy in the united states, i mean it. not so long ago, someone pulled the american people and ask, how big is our international affairs budget? most pagan as 25% of our national budget, and they thought it out -- most paid it as 25% of our national budget. and they thought it should be pared back. would that that were true. i would take 10% in a heart beat, folks, because 10% is exactly 10 times greater than

what we invest in our efforts to protect america around the world. in fact, our whole foreign policy budget is just over one percent of our national budget. think about it a little bit. over one percent, a little bit more, funds all of our civilian and foreign affairs efforts. every embassy, program, saves a child from dirty greedy water, or from a -- or from aids. every person. we are not talking about pennies on the dollar, we are talking about one penny plus a bit on the single dollar. where do you think this idea comes from that we spend 25% of our budget? it is pretty simple. as a recovering politician, i can tell you that nothing gets a crowd clapping faster in a lot of places than saying i am going to washington to get them to stop spending all that money over there.

and sometimes they get a lot more specific. if you are looking for an applause line, it is about as guaranteed an applause line as you can get. but guess what -- it does nothing to guarantee our security. a strongerguarantee country. it doesn't guarantee a sound or a economy or a more stable job market. it does not guarantee that another young american, man or woman, won't go and lose their life because we weren't willing to make the right investments here in the first place. we need to say no to the politics of the lowest common denominator and the simplistic slogans and start making real choices that protect the interest of our country. that is imperative. [applause]

unfortunately, the state our ownnt doesn't have grover norquist pushing a pledge to protect it. we don't have millions of aarp seniors sending in their dues and rallying to protect american investments overseas. the kids whose lives we are helping save from aids, the women who are -- who we are helping to free from the horrors of sex trafficking, the students who can choose for the first time to walk into a school instead of a short life of terror, their strongest lobbyists are the rare, committed americans who stand up to them and for the resources that we need to help them. and i hope that includes all of you here and many listening. you understand why every time a

tough fiscal choice looms, the easiest place to point fingers -- foreign aid. as ronald reagan said, "foreign aid suffers from the lack of domestic constituency," and that is part of the reason everyone thinks it cost a lot more than it does. so we need to change that. i reject the excuse that americans just aren't interested in what happens outside the media field of vision. i don't believe that about anyone of you sitting here, and i don't believe that about americans. the real domestic constituency for what we do, if people could see the dots connected and understand what we are doing in its full measure, is really large. it is a 314 million americans whose lives are better today because of what we do. and if they think about it, we know our investment abroad makes them and our nation safer.

in this age when a shrinking world clashes with calls for shrinking budgets, we are not alone. it's our job to connect those dots, to connect them for the american people between what we do over there and the size of the difference it makes over here at home, why the price of abandoning our global efforts would be -- and why the vacuum we would leave by retreating within ourselves will quickly be filled by those whose interests differ dramatically from hours. we learned that lesson in the deserts of molly recently -- in the deserts of mali, in the deserts of afghanistan in 2001, and in the mountains of pakistan even today. here at uva, you are starting the second grade when a small

cabal of terrorists around the world shattered our sense of security, our skylines. so i know that you certainly have always understood that bad things happening over there threaten us right here. knowing that, the question is this -- how do we together make clear that the opposite is just as true, that if we do the right things, the good things, the smart things over there, it will strengthen us here at home? let me tell you my answer. i believe we do this in two ways. first, it's about telling the story of how we stand up for american jobs and businesses -- pretty practical, pretty straightforward, and pretty wheel -- pretty real on a day- to-day basis. and second, standing up for american values. i agree with president obama that there is nothing in this

current budget fight that requires us to make bad decisions, that forces us to retrench or to retreat. this is a time to continue to engage for the sake of the safety and economic health of our country. this is not optional, it is a necessity. the american people understand this, i believe. our businesses understand this. it is simple -- the more they sell a broad, the more they will hire here at home. since 95% of the world's customers live outside of our country, we can't hamstring our own ability to compete in those increasingly growing markets. virginia understands this as well as any state in the union. senator kaine took those trips as a governor to make that happen. international trade supports more than one million jobs right here in virginia.

more than one in five jobs in virginia, which actually today is the story of america. you have a company up near dulles called orbital sciences corporation. with the help of the persistent efforts of our -- virginia's orbital is teaming up with a california company called space exploration technologies that make satellite equipment. the deal that our embassy else secure, valued at $160 million, goes right back into american communities coast-to-coast. that is the difference that our embassies abroad actually can make back here at home. these success stories happen in partnership with countries all over the world because of the resources that we have deployed to bring business and jobs back to america. these investments, my friends,

are paying for themselves. we create more than 5000 jobs for every $1 billion of goods and services that we export. so the last thing that we should do is surrender this kind of leverage. these successes are happening in canada, where state department officers there got a local automotive firm to invest tens of millions of dollars in michigan, where the american auto industry is now making a remarkable comeback. in indonesia, thanks do with the embassy in jakarta, that nations privately owned airline does place an order for commercial aircraft, the largest boeing has

ever been asked to fill. the indonesian state railroad is buying its locomotives from general electric. more than 600 u.s. companies are doing business in south africa and where opec and the trade and development agency just opened an office to help close more investment deals between american companies and africa's booming energy and transportation sectors. a major south african energy company plans to build a multimillion-dollar plant in louisiana that would put more americans to work. let me tell you, this is happening. in cameroon and in bosnia and in other surprising places. in the shadows of world war ii, if you told someone that japan and germany would today be our fourth and its largest trading partners, someone would have thought you were crazy. before nixon's old opening with china, no one could imagine that today it would be our second- largest trading partner, but that is exactly what has

happened. 11 of our top 16 trading partners used to be the beneficiaries of u.s. foreign assistance. that's because our goal is not to keep a nation dependent on us forever. it is precisely to create these markets, to open these opportunities, to establish rule of law. our goal is to use assistance and development to help nations realize their own potential, develop their own ability to govern, and accomplish our economic partners. one of america's most incredible realities continues to be that we are a country without any permanent enemies. take vietnam. i will never forget standing next to john mccain in the east room of the white house. each of us on either side of president clinton as he announced the once unthinkable normalization of our relations

with vietnam, and efforts that john mccain and i worked on for about 10 years to try do. in the last decade, thanks in large part to the work of usaid, our exports to vietnam increased by more than 700%. every one of those percentage points our jobs here in america. in the last two decades, 1000 vietnamese students and scholars have studied spanish and taught have studied and taught in america through the fulbright program, including the foreign minister, who i just talked to the other day and who has feelings about america because of that engagement. the list goes on. as the emerging middle class in india, the world's largest democracy, buys our products, that means jobs and incomes for our own middle-class. as our traditional assistance to brazil and decreases, trade there is increasing.

brazil is one of the new tigers moving at a double-digit pace. it supports additional jobs here at home, many in the u.s. travel and tourism industry. when jefferson expanded our consular posts, precisely to promote trade, he never could have could the importance today. nor could be a predictable number of americans abroad that we help with passports, visas, with other problems that arise, or that will offer to those who want to grow their families to adoption or who find themselves in legal trouble or distressed far from home, or the role our diplomats play screening potential security threats and taking them off the radar screen before they ever reach your consciousness potential in the worst ways, or that we create a new american jobs for every 65 visitors that we help bring to our shores.

so we have to keep going. we cannot afford the kind of delay and disruption that stance on the horizon in washington. the exciting new trade negotiation that president obama announced last week between the united states and the european union will create the world's biggest bilateral deal with it comes to fruition, a trans- atlantic partnership that will match the scope and ambition of our trans-pacific partnership talks. but our work is far from over. seven of the 10 fastest-growing countries are on the african continent. and china understanding that, is already investing more than we do there. four of the five biggest oil and

gas natural discoveries happened off the coast of mozambique last year. developing economies are the epicenters of brokers and their open for business. and the united states needs to be at that table it. if we want a new list of assistance graduates, countries that used to receive aid from us, we cannot shy away from telling this story to the american people, to your members of congress, and to the world. let me emphasize, jobs and trade are not the whole story and nor should they be. the good work of the state department and usaid is measured not only in the value of the dollar, it's also measured in our deepest values. we got your security and stability in other parts of the world, knowing that failed states are among our greatest

security perhaps and the new partners are our greatest assets. the investments that we make support our efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism wherever it flourishes. we will continue to help countries provide their own security, use diplomacy when possible, and support those allies and take the fight to terrorists. remember, i cannot emphasize this enough, i'm looking at a soldier in front of me with a ribbon on his chest, deploying diplomats today is much cheaper than deploying troops tomorrow. [applause] we need to remember that. [applause]

as senator lindsey graham said, it's national security that we are buying. it sounds expensive, but it's not. the state department's conflict stabilization budget is about $60 million a year now. that's how much the movie "the avengers" took in on a single sunday last may. [laughter] the difference is the folks we have on the ground doing his job are real super heroes. we value human rights and we need to tell the story of america's good work there too. we know that the most effective way to promote the universal rights of all people, their rights and religious freedom is not from the podium or from either end of pennsylvania avenue. it is from the front lines, where ever freedom and basic

human dignity are denied. that's what tim kaine understood when he went to honduras. the brave employees of state and usaid and diplomatic security personnel who protect civilians serving as overseas work in some of the most dangerous places on merit and they do it is fully cognizant that we share stronger partnerships with countries that share our commitment to democratic values and human rights. despite corruption in nigeria. they support the rule of law in burma. they support democratic institutions in kurdistan and in georgia, mindful from our own experience that it takes a long time to get democracy right and that it rarely happens right away. in the end, all of those efforts, all that danger and risk that they take makes us more secure and we do value democracy just as you demonstrated here at uva through the presidential program that's training leaders in the emerging democracies.

thanks to a decade of intensive diplomatic efforts alongside our partners, a conflict that took more than 2 million lives. the book about the holocaust, 6 million over the course of world war ii. we lost 2 million people in the longest war in africa in our time in the last years. and south sudan was born out of that act as a free nation. securing its future and peace for all of its citizens will take continued diplomatic efforts alongside partners like the african union. we can develop the capacity of the african union, the less the u.s. will have to worry. i've stood in south sudan. they still face the world's newest country and its government. those challenges threaten to reverse hard-won progress and stability. that's why we are working

closely with that nation to help it provide its own citizens with essential services like water and health and education and agriculture practices. we value health and nutrition and the principle of helping people gain strength to help themselves the cornerstone initiatives like feed the future. we help countries not only to plant and harvest better food but we also help them break the cycle of poverty, of poor nutrition, of hunger. we seek to reduce maternal mortality, eradicate polio, and protect people from malaria, tuberculosis, and pandemic influenza. i will tell you probably that the global milk initiatives and programs i was proud to have an aunt in helping to create like pepfar, we have saved the lives of 5 million people in africa through the efforts of americans. [applause]

today, astonishingly, we are standing on the edge of the potential of an aids-free generation, because we know these diseases don't discriminate by nationality. and we believe that relieving preventable suffering does not need justification. i think that part of our values. we valued gender equality. knowing that countries are more peaceful and prosperous when women and girls are afforded full rights and equal opportunity. [applause]

in the last decade, the proportion of african women enrolled in higher education went from nearly zero to 20%. in 2002, there were fewer than 1 million boys in afghan schools and barely any girls. now with america's help, more than one-third of the almost 8 million students going to school in afghanistan are girls. and more than one-quarter of their representatives in parliament are women. we should be proud of that, and it helps make a difference in the long haul. the fulbright program enables talented citizens to share their devotion to diplomacy and to teach their belief that all the earth's sons and daughters are to have the opportunity to lift

themselves up. today these exchanges bring hundreds of thousands of students to america from other countries and vice versa. in the last year alone, more than attend thousand citizens of foreign countries participated in the state department both academic youth professional and cultural exchange programs right here in virginia. virginians also studied abroad through state department programs. senator fulbright, i had a privilege of testifying as a young veteran from vietnam. he knew the value of sharing our proudest values made a difference in the long run. he said having people understood your thoughts is much greater security than to have been suffering. our assistance is not a giveaway. it is not charity.

it is an investment in a strong america and in the free world. foreign assistance lips other people abandon reinforces their willingness to link arms with us in common. when we help others crackdown on corruption, it makes easier for our own compliance against corruption and it makes it easier for our companies to do business. we build partnerships that mean we don't have to fight nuclear battles alone. it means working with our partners around the world and making sure iran never obtained a weapon that could endanger our allies or our interests. when we help others create the space they need to build stability in their own communities, we are helping brave people build a better more democratic future and making sure that we don't pay more later in american blood and treasure.

the stories that we need to tell of standing up for american jobs and businesses and standing up for our american values intersects powerfully to in the opportunity that we have now in this moment of urgency to lead on the climate concerns that we share with our global neighbors. we as a nation must have the foresight and courage to make the investments necessary to safeguard the most sacred trust we keep for our children and our grandchildren. and that is an environment not ravaged by rising seas, deadly superstorms, devastating droughts, and the other hallmarks of a dramatically changing climate. president obama is committed to moving forward on that and so am i. so must you be ready to join us in that effort. [applause]

can we all say thank you to our signers? [applause] so, think about all these things i've listed. think about the world as you see it today. let's face it, we're all in this one together. no nation can stand alone. we share nothing so completely as our planet. when we work with others to develop and deploy clean technologies that will power a new world -- six trillion dollar market waiting -- huge amount of jobs, when we do that, we know we are helping create new markets and opportunities for america's second to none innovators and entrepreneurs so that we can succeed in the next great revolution in our marketplace.

we need to commit ourselves to doing the smart thing and the right thing and to truly take on this challenge. if we don't rise to meet it, then rising temperatures and rising the levels will surely lead to rising costs down the road. ask any insurance company in america. if we waste this opportunity, it may be the only thing our generations are remembered for. we need to find the courage to leave a far different legacy. we cannot talk about the unprecedented changes happening on our planet without also talked about the unprecedented changes in its population. opportunity at our fingertips. in countries across north africa and the middle east, the majority of people are younger than 30 years old.

60% under 30. 50% under 21. 40% under 18. half of the total under 20. they look for the same opportunities and the same things that you do -- opportunity. we have an interest in helping these young people, to develop the skills they need to defeat mass unemployment that is overwhelming their societies, so they can start contributing to their communities and rebuild their broken economies rather than engaging in some other terrorist caught or other kind of extremist activity. for the first time in human activity, young people around the world act as a global cohort, including many of the people in this room. we are more open-minded, more proficient with the technology that keep them connected as no generation in history has ever been before. we need to help all of them and us to use this remarkable network in a positive way. some may say not now, not while.

we have while. it's too expensive. believe me, my friends, these challenges will not get easier with time. there is no pause button on the future. we cannot choose when we would like to stop and restart our global responsibility or simply wait until the calendar says it is more convenient. it is not easy. but responding is the american thing to do. i will tell you, it is worth it. these programs which advance peace and security around the world, which open markets to american manufacturers, fostering stable societies to save lives by fighting disease and hunger, defended the universal rights of all people, advance freedom and dignity, bringing people together, nations together. addressing problems that transcend the separation of motions, giving hope to a new generation in an interactive world of citizens.

in all those things it costs us as i just mentioned, about one penny of every dollar that we invest. america, you will not find a better deal anywhere. i am particularly aware that in many ways the greatest challenge to america's foreign policy today is in the hands of our diplomats and policy makers in congress. it is often said we cannot be strong at home if we are not strong in the world. but in these days of the budget

sequester, which everyone wants to avoid -- or most -- we cannot be strong in the world unless we are strong at home. my credibility as a diplomat, working to help other countries create order is strongest when america at last put its own fiscal house in order. that has to be now. [applause] think about it. it is hard to tell the leadership of other countries that they have to resolve their economic issues when we do not resolve our own. let's reach a responsible agreement. let's not use this opportunity because of politics. as i have said many times before, america is not exceptional simply because we say we are.

we are exceptional because we do exceptional things. both where there are problems as well as where there is promise. both where there is danger as well as where there is democracy. i am optimistic that we will continue to do these exceptional things. i know that is who we are and it is who we have always been. as we ask for our next steps in this path, we would do well to learn a lesson from our own history. in the aftermath of world war ii, america had a choice, just like we do today, to turn inward. instead the secretary of state, george marshall, sought in both defeated and allied countries the threat of bankruptcy, homes

and railways destroyed, economies decimated. he had the foresight to know that there could be no political stability, no peace without renewed economic strength. he knew that we had an obligation to partner with europe, help them rebuild, modernize, give the push that it needed to become the powerful and peaceful trading partner it is today. after the war, my friends, we did not spike the football, we created another level playing field. we are stronger for it today. when i was 12 years old i had the privilege of living in germany, where my father, an officer, was called to duty. one day i visited the eastern side of berlin. the part that had not received any of the help from the united states and its courageous marshall plan. the difference was undeniable, even to my 12-year-old eyes. there were few people on the streets, a few smiles on the faces of those were there.

i saw the difference between hope, despair, freedom, and oppression. people who were given the chance to do something as opposed to the people who were not. as western europe regained its vibrant color, the place i visited was still in black and white. when i went back to west berlin, two things happened. first, i was summarily grounded for venturing without permission to the other side of the city. [laughter] second, i started to pay special attention to the plaques on the buildings that recommend -- that recognize the united states of america for lending a hand in rebuilding. i was proud. the marshall plan, imf, and other organizations led by the united states are evidence of our ability to make the right decisions at the right time, taking risks today in the

interest of tomorrow. we now face a similar crossroads. we can be complacent or competitive as markets bloom in every corner of the world. with or without us. we could be there to help plant the seeds or we can see the power to others. given the chance to lead a second great american century, we must not just look to the american landscape today. look at the days to come. we must marshal the courage that define the the marshall plan so that we might secure in the future freedom. let's remember the principles of jefferson's time. looking to independence echoing in our time.

america's national interest is in leading strongly and it still in doers in this world. let me leave you with a thought. when tragedy and terror visit our neighbors, whether by the hand of man or the hand of god, many nations give of themselves to help. only one is expected to. with the leadership of president obama i will work hard to secure for the congress the continuing of the lead of the separation. not because we view it as a burden, but because we know it to be a privilege. that is what is special about the united states of america. that is what the special about being an american. that exceptional quality that we share is what i will take with me on my travels on your behalf.

the responsibility cannot be reserved for responses to emergencies at home. it has to be exercised in the pursuit of exercising the disaster, of building markets. of standing up for our guidance. over the next four years i asked you to stand with our president and our country to continue to conduct ourselves with the understanding that what happens over there matters right here. and it matters that we get this right. thank you. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute] >> several live events this morning. the georgetown university law center hosts a form on that role, state, and local energy policies.

the indian foreign ministers at the carnegie endowment for national peas discussed us-india relations. in a few moments, today's headlines on "washington journal." a look at how sequestration will affect federal workers. and a half hour, we look at gun ownership in america with alan berlow. 8:00, live from the blue ridge arsenal, a gun range near chantilly, virginia. our guest will be larry pratt, ut