electronic health record is challenging when you have two bureaucracies that have developed their own system over many years. and, you know, some of it's technical. but some of it's turf. and trying to figure out a way around that is really flummoxed secretary panetta and now secretary hagel. >> wanda, what's next for vet issues? >> what you're likely to see over the next weeks and months on capitol hill is a continued push on this. this seems to be an issue you saw leader pelosi speak on this issue earlier this week. there's a lot of voice for this, and also the issue that senator sanders discussed on military sexual assault, and those claims as well are going to be a big force, particularly as you have the house and senate looking at their defense bills, which will be targeting that particular issue, as well as separate legislation, moving in both chimers will to look at how claims for sex abuse are done within the department of veterans affairs as well. >> steve vogel, what are your thoughts on what -- what will

you be watching for in the weeks ahead? >> it will be interesting to see how this backlog, the amount of attention on it has been almost unprecedented in weeks and months and it's almost as if the v.a. tries to come up with a new deppingsstration of how committed it is. but before long, the dates are going to come due for whether these goals and deadlines are being met. so we're going to have some measurable data where we'll be able to gauge just how effective some of these steps the v.a. has been taken whether they're working or not. >> thank you both. ppreciate your time. >> next arks look at counter terrorism policy first from president obama at national defense university and then from republican senators

lindsey graham, kelly ayot, john mccain and sax by cham bliss. and then commencement addresses from members of congress. next, president obama outlines his counter terrorism policy. he talks about using drone strikes overseas against al qaeda, the guantanamo bay detention center in cuba and detainee transfers to yemen. this is an hour. >> it is a great honor to return to the national defense university. here, americans have served in uniform since 1791 standing guard in the earliest days of the republic and contemplating

warfare here in the 21st century for over two centuries the united states has been bound together by founding documents that define who we are as americans and served as our compass through every type of change. matters of war and peace are no different. americans are deeply ambivalent about war. about having fought for our independence, we know a price must be paid for freedom. from the civil war to our struggle against fashism, on through the long twilight struggle of the cold war. battlefields have changed and technology has evolved but our commitment to constitutional principles has weathered every war. and ever war has come to ab end. and with the collapse of the berlin wall, a new dawn of democracy took hold abroad. and a decade of peace and

prosperity arrived here at hometown. for a moment it seemed the 21st century would be a tranquil time. then on september 11, 2001, we were shaken out of conplaceny. thousands were taken from us. this was a different kind of war. no armies came to our shores. and our military was not the principle target. instead, a group of terrorists came to kill as many civilians as they could. and so our nation went to war. we have now been at war for well over a decade. i won't review the full history what is clear is that we quickly drove al qaeda out of afghanistan but then shifted our focus and began a new war in iraq. and this carried significant

consequences for our fight against al qaeda, our standing in the world, and to this day our interests in a vital region. meanwhile, we have strengthened our defenses, hardning targets, tightening transportation security, giving law enforcement new tools to prevent terror. most of these changes were sound. some caused inconvenience, but some, like expanded surveillance, raised difficult questions about the balance that we strike between our interests in security and our values of privacy. and in some cases, i believe we compromised our basic values by using torture to interrogate our enemies, and detaining individuals in a way that ran counter to the rule of law. so after i took office, we stepped up the war against al qaeda but we also sought to

change its course. we relentlessly targetted al qaeda's leadership. we ended the war in iraq and brought nearly 150,000 troops home. we pursued a new strategy in afghanistan that increased our training of afghan forces. we unequivocally banned torture, confirmed our commitment to civilian courts, worked to align our policies with the rule of law and expanded our consultations with congress. today, osama bin laden is dead and so are most of the top lieutenantents. there have been no large-scale attacks on the united states, and our homeland is more secure. fewer of our troops are in harm's way and over the next 19 months they will continue to come home. our alliances are strong and so is our standing in the world. in sum, we are safer because of our efforts.

now, make no mistake, our nation is still threatened by terrorists. from benghazi to boston, we have been tragically reminded of that truth. but we have to recognize that the threat has shifted and evolved from the one that came to our shores on 9/11. with a decade of experience now to draw from, this is the moment to ask ourselves hard questions. about the nature of today's threats and how we should confront them. and these questions matter to every american. for over the last decade, our nation has spent well over $1 trillion on war, helping to explode our deficits and constraining our ability to nation build here at home. our service members and their families have sacrificed far more on our behalf.

nearly 7,000 americans have made the ultimate sacrifice. many more have left a part of themselves on the battlefield or brought the shadows of battle back home. from our use of drones to the detention of terrorist suspects, the decisions that we are making now will define the type of nation and world that we leave to our children. so america is at a crossroads. we must define the nature and scope of this struggle or else it will define us. we have to be mindful of jay madison's warning that no nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare. neither i nor any president can promise the total defeat of

terror. we will never erase the evil that lies in the hearts of some human beings nor stamp out every danger to our open society. but what we can do -- what we must do -- is dismantle network that is pose a direct danger to us and make it less likely for new groups to gain a foothold, all the while maintaining the freedoms and ideals that we defend. and to define that strategy, we have to make decisions based not on fear but on hard-earned wisdom. and that begins with understanding the current threat that we face. today, the core of al qaeda in afghanistan and pakistan is on the path to defeat. their remaining operativeses spend more time thinking about their own safety than plotting against us. they did not direct the attacks

against benghazi or boston. they have not carried out a successful attack on our homeland since 9/11. instead, what we have seen is the emergence of various al qaeda affiliates. from yemen to iraq to somalia to north africa. the threat is more diffuse with al qaeda's affiliate in the arabian peninsula. and while none of aqap's efforts approach the scale of 9/11, they have continued to plot acts of terror like the amendments to blow up an airplane on christmas day in 2009. unrest in the arab world has also allowed extremists to gain a foothold in places like libya and syria. but here, too, there are differences from 9/11. in some cases, we continue to confront state-sponsed networks

like hezbollah who engage in acts of terror to achieve political goals. other of these groups are simply collections of local millishas or extremists, interested in seizing territory. and while we are vigilant for signs that these groups pose a national threat, most are interested in posing threats to countries in which they are based. and that means we'll face more localized threats like what we saw in benghazi or the bp oil facility in algeria in which local operativeses, perhaps in loose ooch fillation with regional networks, launch periodic attacks against western diplomats, companies, and other soft targets or resort to kidnapping and other criminal organizations to fund their operation. finally, we face a real threat from radicalized individuals here in the united states. whether it's a shooter at a seek temple in wisconsin, a

plane flying into a building in texas, or the extremists who killed 168 people at the federal building in oklahoma city, america has confronted many forms of violent extremism in our history. deranged or alienated individuals, often u.s. citizens or legal residents, can do enormous damage, particularly when inspired by larger notions of violent jihad. and that pull towards extremism appears to have led to the shooting at fort hood and the bombing of the boston marathon. so that's the current threat. lethal yet less capable al qaeda affiliates, threats to diplomatic facilities and businesses a abroad, home-grown extremists. this is the future of terrorism. we have to take these threats

seriously and do all that we can to confront them. but as we shape our response, we have to recognize that the scale of the threats closely resembles the types of attacks we face before 9/11. in the 1980s we lost americans to terrorism at our embassy in bay route, at our marine barracks in lebanon, on a cruise ship at sea, at a disco in berlin, and on a pan am flight, flight 103 over locker by. in the 1990s we lost americans to terrorism at the world trade center, at our military facilities in saudi arabia and at our embassy in kenya. these attacks were all brutal, they were all deadly, and we learned that, left unchecked, these threats can grow. but if dealt with smartly and proportionally, these threats

need not rise to the level that we saw on the eve of 9/11. moreover, we have to recognize that these threats don't arise in a vacuum. most, though not all, of the terrorism we face is fueled by a common ideology, a belief by some extremists that islam is in conflict with the united states and the west, and that violence against western targets, including civilions, is justified in pursuit of a larger cause. of course, this ideology is based on a lie. for the united states is not at war with islam. and this ideology is reject bid the vast majority of muslims who are the most frequent victims of terrorist attacks. nevertheless, this ideology persists. and in an age when ideas and images can travel the globe in an instanlt, our response to terrorism can't depend on

military or law enforcement alone. we need all elements of national power to win a battle of wills. the battle of ideas. so what i want to discuss here today is the components of such a comprehensive counter terrorism strategy. first, we must finish the work of defeating al qaeda and its associated forces. in afghanistan, we will complete our transition to afghan responsibility for that country's security. our troops will come home. our combat mission will come to an end. and we will work with the afghan government to train security forces and sustain a counter terrorism force which ensures that al qaeda can never again establish a safe haven to launch attacks against us or our allies.

beyond afghanistan, we must define our effort not as a boundless global war on terror, but rather as a series of persistent targeted efforts to dismantle specific networks of violent extremists that threaten america. in many cases this will involve partnerships with other countries. already, thousands of pakistani soldiers have lost their lives fighting extremists. in yemen, we are supporting security forces that have reclaimed territory from aqap. in somalia we helped a coalition of african nations to ush al-shabab out of its strongholds. we are pushing back al qaeda in the mag ra and help the people of malli reclaim their future. much of our best counter

terrorism results in the gathering and sharing of intelligence, the arrests and prosecution of terrorists. and that's how smali terrorist apprehended off the coast of yemen is in a prison in new york. that's how we worked with european allies to disrupt plots. that's how intelligence collected with saudi arabia helped us stop a cargo plane from being blown up over the atlantic. these partnerships work. but despite our strong preference for the detention and prosecution of terrorists, sometimes this approach is foreclosed. al qaeda and its affiliates try to gain foothold in some of the most distant and unforgiving places on earth. they take refuge in remote

tribal regions. they hide in caves and walled compounds. they train in empty deserts and rugged mountains. in some of these places such as parts of somalia and yemen, the state only has the most tenuous reach into the territory. in other cases the state lacks the capacity or will to take action. and it's also not possible for america to simply deploy a team of special forces to capture every terrorist. even when such an approach may be possible there are places where it would pose profound risks to our troops and local civilians. where a terrorist compound cannot be breached without triggering a firefight with surrounding tribal communities, for example, that pose no threat to us. times when putting u.s. boots

on the ground may trigger a major sbral crisis. to put it another way, our operation in pakistan against osama bin laden cannot be the norm. the risks in that case were immense. the likelihood of capture, although that was our preference, was remote given the certainty that our folks would confront resistance. the fact that we did not find ourselves confronted with civilian casualties or embroiled in an extended firefight was a testament to the meticulous planning and professionalism of our special forces, but it also depended on some luck. and it was supported by massive infrastructure in afghanistan. and even then, the cost to our relationship with pakistan and

the backlash among the pakistani public over encroachment on their territory was so severe that we are just now beginning to rebuild this important partnership. so it is in this context that the united states has taken lethal targeted action against al qaeda and its associated forces, including with remotely piloted aircraft commonly referred to as drones. as was true in previous armed conflicts, this new technology raises profound questions about who is targeted and why. about silion casualties and the risk of creating new enemies. about the legality of such strikes under u.s. and international law. about accountability and morality.

so let me address these questions. to begin with, our actions are effective. don't take my word for it. in the intelligence gathered at bin laden's compound, we found that he wrote, we could lose the reserves to enemy air strikes. we cannot fight air strikes with explosives. other communications confirm this as well. dozens of highly skilled al qaeda commanders, trainers, bomb-makers and operativeses have been taken off the battlefield. plots have been disrupted that would have targeted international aviation, u.s. transit systems, european cities, and our troops in afghanistan. simply put, these strikes have saved lives. moreover, america's actions are

legal. we were attacked on 9/11. within a week, congress overwhelmingly authorized the use of force. under domestic law and international law, the united states is at war with al qaeda. the taliban, and their associated forces. we are at war with an organization that, right now, would kill as many americans as they could if we did not stop them first. so this is a just war. a war waged proportionally in last resort and in self-defense. and yet, as our fight eentors a new phase, america's legitimate claim of self-defense cannot be the end of the discussion. to say a military tactic is legal or even effective is not to say it is wise or moral in

every instance. for the same progress that gives us the technology to strike half a world away also demands the discipline to constrain that power. or risk abusing it. and that's why over the last four years my administration has worked vigorously to establish a framework that governs our use of force against terror. insisting upon clear guidelines, oversight, and accountability that is now codified in presidential policy guidance that i signed yesterday. in the afghan war theater, we must and will continue to support our troops until the transition is complete at the end of 2014. and that means we will continue to take strikes against high-value al qaeda targets but also against forces that are massing the support attacks on coalition forces.

but by the end of 2014, we will no longer have the same need for force protection and the progress we've made against core al qaeda will reduce the need for unmanned strikes. beyond the afghan theater, we only target al qaeda and its associated forces and even then the use of drones is heavily constrained. america does not take strikes when we have the ability to capture individual terrorists. our preference is always to detain, interrogate, and prosecute. america cannot take strikes wherever we choose. our actions are bound by consultations with partners and respect for state sovereignty. america does not take strikes to punish individuals. we act against terrorists who pose a continuing and imminent

threat to the american people. and when there are no other governments capable of effectively addressing the threat, and before any strike is taken there must be near certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured. the highest standard we can set. now, this last point is critical because much of the criticism about drone strikes, both here at home and abroad, understandably centers on reports of civilian casualties. there's a wide gap of such assessments of casualties and nongovernmental reports. nevertheless, it is a hard fact that u.s. strikes have resulted in civilian casualties. a risk that exists in every war. and for the families of those

sivions, no words or legal construct can justify their loss. for me and those in my chain of command, those deaths will haunted us as long as we live. just as we are haunted by the civilian casualties that have occurred throughout conventional fighting in afghanistan and iraq. but as commander in chief, i must weigh these heart-breaking tragedies against the alternatives. to do nothing in the face of terrorist networks would invite far more civilian casualties -- not just in our cities, at home and our facilities abroad, but also in the very places like kabul and mogadishu, where terrorists seek a foothold. remember that the terrorists we are after target civilians. and the death toll from their acts of terrorism against

muslims dwarfs any estimate of civilian casualties from drone strikes. so doing nothing is not an option. where foreign governments cannot or will not effectively stop terrorism in their territory, the primary alternative to targeted lethal action would be the use of conventional military options. as i've already said, even small special operations carry enormous risks. conventional air power, or missiles, are far less precise than drones. and are likely to cause more civilian casualties and more local outrage. and invasions of these territories lead us to be viewed as occupying armies,

unleash a torrent of unintended consequences, are difficult to contain, result in large numbers of civilian casualties, and ultimately empower those who thrive on violent conflicts. so it is false to assert that putting boots on the ground is less likely to result in civilian deaths or less likely to create enemies in the muslim world. the results would be more u.s. deaths, more black hauks down, more confrontations with local populations, and an inevitable mission creep in support of such that could easily escalate into new wars. yes, the conflict with al qaeda, like all armed conflict, invites tragedy. but by narrowly targeting our action against those who want to kill us, and not the people

they hide amongst, we are choosing the course of action least likely to result in the loss of innocent life. our efforts must be measured against the history of putting american troops in distant lands among hostile populations. in vietnam, hundreds of thousands of civilians died in a war where the boundaries of battle were blurred. in iraq, and afghanistan, despite the extraordinary courage and discipline of our troops, thousands of civilions have been killed. so neither conventional military action nor waiting for moral to occur offers safe harbor. and neither does a sole reliance on law enforcement in territories that have no functioning police or security

services, and indeed have no functioning this is not to say that the risks are not real. any u.s. military action in foreign lands risks creating more enemies, and impacts public opinion overseas. moreover, our laws constrain the power of the president, even during wartime, and i have taken an oath to defend the constitution of the united states. the very precision of drone strikes, and the necessary secrecy involved in such actions can end up shielding our government from the public scrutiny that a troop deployment invites. it can also lead a president and his team to view drone strikes

as a cure-all for terrorism. for this reason, i've insisted on strong oversight of all lethal action. after i took office, my administration began briefing all strikes outside of iraq and afghanistan to the appropriate committees of congress. let me repeat that -- not only did congress authorize the use of force, it is briefed on every everye that america takes. strike. that includes the one instance when we targeted an american citizen, anwar awlaki, the chief of external operations for aqap. this week, i authorized the declassification of this action, and the deaths of three other americans in drone strikes, to facilitate transparency and debate on this issue, and to

dismiss some of the more outlandish claims. for the record, i do not believe it would be constitutional for the government to target and kill any u.s. citizen -- with a drone, or a shotgun -- without due process. nor should any president deploy armed drones over u.s. soil. but when a u.s. citizen goes abroad to wage war against america -- and is actively plotting to kill u.s. citizens, and when neither the united states, nor our partners are in a position to capture him before he carries out a plot -- his citizenship should no more serve as a shield than a sniper shooting down on an innocent crowd should be protected from a swat team. that's who anwar awlaki was -- he was continuously trying to kill people.

he helped oversee the 2010 plot to detonate explosive devices on two u.s.-bound cargo planes. he was involved in planning to blow up an airliner in 2009. when farouk abdulmutallab, the christmas day bomber, went to yemen in 2009, awlaki hosted him, approved his suicide operation, and helped him tape a martyrdom video to be shown after the attack. his last instructions were to blow up the airplane when it was over american soil. i would have detained and prosecuted awlaki if we captured him before he carried out a plot. but we couldn't. and as president, i would have been derelict in my duty had i not authorized the strike that took him out. of course, the targeting of any

american raises constitutional issues that are not present in other strikes -- which is why my administration submitted information about awlaki to the department of justice months before awlaki was killed, and briefed the congress before this strike as well. but the high threshold that we have set for taking lethal action applies to all potential terrorist targets, regardless of whether or not they are american citizens. this threshold respects the inherent dignity of every human life. alongside the decision to put our men and women in uniform in harm's way, the decision to use force against individuals or groups -- even against a sworn enemy of the united states -- is the hardest thing i do as president. but these decisions must be made, given my responsibility to protect the american people. going forward, i have asked my

administration to review proposals to extend oversight of lethal actions outside of warzones that go beyond our reporting to congress. each option has virtues in theory, but poses difficulties in practice. for example, the establishment of a special court to evaluate and authorize lethal action has the benefit of bringing a third branch of government into the process, but raises serious constitutional issues about presidential and judicial authority. another idea that's been suggested -- the establishment of an independent oversight board in the executive branch -- avoids those problems, but may introduce a layer of bureaucracy into national-security decision- making, without inspiring additional public confidence in the process.

despite these challenges, i look forward to actively engaging congress to explore these -- and other -- options for increased oversight. i believe, however, that the use of force must be seen as part of a larger discussion about a comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy. because for all the focus on the use of force, force alone cannot make us safe. we cannot use force everywhere that a radical ideology takes root, and in the absence of a strategy that reduces the well- spring of extremism, a perpetual war -- through drones or special forces or troop deployments -- will prove self-defeating, and alter our country in troubling ways. so the next element of our strategy involves addressing the underlying grievances and conflicts that feed extremism,

from north africa to south asia. as we've learned this past decade, this is a vast and complex undertaking. we must be humble in our expectation that we can quickly resolve deep rooted problems like poverty and sectarian hatred. moreover, no two countries are alike, and some will undergo chaotic change before things get better. but our security and values demand that we make the effort. this means patiently supporting transitions to democracy in places like egypt, tunisia and libya -- because the peaceful realization of individual aspirations will serve as a rebuke to violent extremists.-- extremism. we must strengthen the opposition in syria, while isolating extremist elements -- because the end of a tyrant must not give way to the tyranny of

terrorism. we are working to promote peace between israelis and palestinians -- because it is right, and because such a peace could help reshape attitudes in the region. and we must help countries modernize economies, upgrade education, and encourage entrepreneurship -- because american leadership has always been elevated by our ability to connect with peoples' hopes, and not simply their fears. success on these fronts requires sustained engagement, but it will also require resources. i know that foreign aid is one of the least popularexpenditures that there is. that is true for democrats and

republicans. i've seen the polling. even though it amounts to less than 1% of the federal budget.a lot of people think it is 25%, according to people on the streets. but foreign assistance cannot be viewed as charity. it is fundamental to our national security, and any sensible long-term strategy to battle extremism. moreover, foreign assistance is a tiny fraction of what we spend fighting wars that our assistance might ultimately prevent. for what we spent in a month in iraq at the height of the war, we could be training security forces in libya, maintaining peace agreements between israel and its neighbors, feeding the hungry in yemen, building schools in pakistan, and creating reservoirs of goodwill butt marginalize extremists.

that has to be part of our strategy. moreover, america cannot carry out this work if we do not have diplomats serving in some very dangerous places. over the past decade, we have strengthened security at our embassies, and i am implementing every recommendation of the accountability review board which found unacceptable failures in benghazi. i have called on congress to fully fund these efforts to bolster security, harden facilities, improve intelligence, and facilitate a quicker response time from our military if a crisis emerges. but even after we take these steps, some irreducible risks to our diplomats will remain. this is the price of being the world's most powerful nation, particularly as a wave of change washes over the arab world.

and in balancing the trade-offs between security and active diplomacy, i firmly believe that any retreat from challenging regions will only increase the dangers we face in the long run. targeted action against werorists.-- and that's why should be grateful to those diplomats who are willing to serve there. targeted action against terrorists. effective partnerships. diplomatic engagement and assistance. through such a comprehensive strategy we can significantly reduce the chances of large scale attacks on the homeland and mitigate threats to americans overseas. but as we guard against dangers from abroad, however, we cannot neglect the daunting challenge of terrorism from within our borders.

as i said earlier, this threat is not new. but technology and the internet increase its frequency and lethality. today, a person can consume hateful propaganda, commit themselves to a violent agenda, and learn how to kill without leaving their home. to address this threat, two years ago my administration did a comprehensive review, and engaged with law enforcement. the best way to prevent violent extremism is to work with the muslim american community -- which has consistently rejected terrorism -- to identify signs of radicalization, and partner with law enforcement when an individual is drifting towards violence. and these partnerships can only work when we recognize that

muslims are a fundamental part of the american family. indeed, the success of american muslims, and our determination to guard against any encroachments on their civil liberties, is the ultimate rebuke to those who say we are at war with islam. indeed, thwarting homegrown plots presents particular challenges in part because of our proud commitment to civil liberties for all who call america home. that's why, in the years to come, we will have to keep working hard to strike the appropriate balance between our need for security and preserving those freedoms that make us who we are. that means reviewing the authorities of law enforcement, so we can intercept new types of communication, and build in privacy protections to prevent abuse.

that means that, even after boston, we do not deport someone or throw someone in prison in the absence of evidence. that means putting careful constraints on the tools the government uses to protect sensitive information, such as the state secrets doctrine. and that means finally having a strong privacy and civil liberties board to review those issues where our counter- terrorism efforts and our values may come into tension. the justice department's investigation of national security leaks offers a recent example of the challenges involved in striking the right balance between our security and our open society. as commander-in chief, i believe we must keep information secret that protects our operations and our people in the field. to do so, we must enforce consequences for those who break the law and breach their commitment to protect classified

information. but a free press is also essential for our democracy. i am troubled by the possibility that leak investigations may chill the investigative journalism that holds government accountable. journalists should not be at legal risk for doing their jobs. our focus must be on those who break the law. that is why i have called on congress to pass a media shield law to guard against government over-reach. i have raised these issues with the attorney general, who shares my concern. so he has agreed to review existing department of justice guidelines governing investigations that involve reporters, and will convene a group of media organizations to hear their concerns as part of that review. and i have directed the attorney general to report back to me by

july 12th. all these issues remind us that the choices we make about war can impact -- in sometimes unintended ways -- the openness and freedom on which our way of life depends. and that is why i intend to engage congress about the existing authorization to use military force, or aumf, to determine how we can continue to fight terrorists without keeping america on a perpetual war-time footing. the aumf is now nearly 12 years old. the afghan war is coming to an end. core al qaeda is a shell of its former self. groups like aqap must be dealt with, but in the years to come, not every collection of thugs that labels themselves al qaeda will pose a credible threat to the united states. unless we discipline our

thinking, our definitions, and our actions, we may be drawn into more wars we don't need to fight, or continue to grant presidents unbound powers more suited for traditional armed conflicts between nation states. so, i look forward to engaging congress and the american people in efforts to refine, and ultimately repeal, the aumf's mandate. and i will not sign laws designed to expand this mandate further. our systematic effort to dismantle terrorist organizations must continue. but this war, like all wars, must end. that's what history advises. that's what our democracy demands. and that brings me to my final topic, the detention of terrorist suspects. to repeat, as a matter of policy, the preference of the united states is to capture

terrorist suspects. when we do detain a suspect, we interrogate them. and if the suspect can be prosecuted, we decide whether to try him in a civilian court or a military commission. during the past decade, the vast majority of those detained by our military were captured on the battlefield. in iraq, we turned over thousands of prisoners as we ended the war. in afghanistan, we have transitioned detention facilities to the afghans, as part of the process of restoring afghan sovereignty. so we bring law of war detention to an end, and we are committed to prosecuting terrorists wherever we can. the glaring exception to this time-tested approach is the detention center at guantanamo

bay. the original premise for opening gtmo -- that detainees would not be able to challenge their detention -- was found unconstitutional five years ago. in the meantime, gtmo has become a symbol around the world for an america that flouts the rule of law. our allies won't cooperate with us if they think a terrorist will end up at gtmo. during a time of budget cuts, we spend $150 million each year to imprison 166 people -- almost $1 million per prisoner. and the department of defense estimates that we must spend another $200 million to keep gtmo open at a time when we are cutting investments in education and research here at home.and when the pentagon is

struggling with sequester and buget -- budget cuts. as president, i have tried to close gtmo. i transferred 67 detainees to other countries before congress imposed restrictions to effectively prevent us from either transferring detainees to other countries, or imprisoning them in the united states. these restrictions make no sense. after all, under president bush, some 530 detainees were transferred from gtmo with congress' support. when i ran for president the first time, john mccain supported closing gtmo. this is a bipartisan issue. no person has ever escaped from one of our super-max or military prisons here in the united states. ever. our courts have convicted hundreds of people for

terrorism or terrorism-related offenses, including some who are more dangerous than most gtmo detainees. they're in our prisons. given my administration's relentless pursuit of al qaeda's leadership, there is no justification beyond politics for congress to prevent us from closing a facility that should never have been opened. >> [indiscernible] [applause] >> so, let me finish, ma'am. so today, once again -->> [indiscernible] >> i'm about to address it. let me address it. why don't you let me address it,

ma'am? why don't you sit down and i'm will tell you what i'll do. >> [indiscernible] >> thank you, ma'am. thank you. [applause] thank you.ma'am, thank you. you should let me finish my sentence. today, i once again call on congress to lift the restrictions on detainee transfers from gtmo. [applause] i have asked the department of defense to designate a site in the united states where we can hold military commissions. i am appointing a new, senior envoy at the state department and defense department whose sole responsibility will be to achieve the transfer of detainees to third countries. i am lifting the moratorium on detainee transfers to yemen, so we can review them on a case by case basis. to the greatest extent possible,

we will transfer detainees who have been cleared to go to other countries. >> [indiscernible] >> where appropriate, we will bring terrorists to justice in our courts and military justice system. and we will insist that judicial review be available for every detainee. >> [indiscernible] >> ma'am, let me finish. let me finish, ma'am. this is part of free speech, is you being able to speak, but you also you listening and let me be able to speak. [applause] thank you. now, even after we take these steps, one issue will remain,

how to deal with those gtmo detainees who we know have participated in dangerous plots or attacks, but who cannot be prosecuted -- for example because the evidence against them has been compromised or is inadmissible in a court of law. but once we commit to a process of closing gtmo, i am confident that this legacy problem can be resolved, consistent with our commitment to the rule of law. i know the politics are hard. but history will cast a harsh judgment on this aspect of our fight against terrorism, and those of us who fail to end it. imagine a future -- ten years from now, or 20 years from now when the united states of america is still holding people who have been charged with no crime on a piece of land that is not a part of our country. look at the current situation, where we are force-feeding

detainees who are being held on a hunger strike. i am willing to cut the young lady who interrupted me some slack because it is worth being passionate about. is this who we are? is that something that our founders foresaw? is that the america we want to leave to our children? our sense of justice is stronger than that. we have prosecuted scores of terrorists in our courts. that includes umar farouk abdulmutallab, who tried to blow up an airplane over detroit, and faisal shahzad, who put a car bomb in times square. it is in a court of law that we will try dzhokhar tsarnaev, who is accused of bombing the boston marathon.

richard reid, the shoe bomber, is as we speak serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison here in the united states. in sentencing reid, judge william young told him, "the way we treat you is the measure of our own liberty." >> how about [indiscernible] >> when we -- we went -- >> is that the way we treat [indiscernible] >> he went -- can you takeible] the drones out of the hands of the cia? can you stop them from killing people on the basis of suspicious activities? >> we are addressing that, ma'am. >> [indiscernible] you have killed. will you compensate the innocent families' victims?that will make

us safer here at home. i love my country. i love the rule of law. [indiscernible] >> you know, i think -- i am going off script, as you might expect here. [laughter] [applause] the voice of that woman is worth paying attention to. [applause] obviously, i do not agree with much of what she said. obviously, she was not listening to me in much of what i said. but, these are tough issues.

and the suggestion that we can gloss over them is wrong. and when that judge sentenced the shoe bomber, he went on to point to the american flag that flew in the courtroom -- "that flag," he said, "will fly there long after this is all forgotten. that flag still stands for freedom." america, we have faced down dangers far greater than al qaeda. by staying true to the values of our founding, and by using our constitutional compass, we have overcome slavery and civil war, fascism and communism. in just these last few years as president, i have watched the american people bounce back from

painful recession, mass shootings, and natural disasters like the recent tornados that devastated oklahoma. these events were heartbreaking, they shook our communities to the core. but because of the resilience of the american people, these events could not come close to breaking us. i think of lauren manning, the 9/11 survivor who had severe burns over 80% of her body, who said, "that's my reality. i put a band-aid on it, literally, and i move on." i think of the new yorkers who filled times square the day after an attempted car bomb as if nothing had happened. i think of the proud pakistani parents who, after their daughter was invited to the white house, wrote to us, "we

have raised an american muslim daughter to dream big and never give up because it does pay off." i think of the wounded warriors rebuilding their lives, and helping other vets to find jobs. i think of the runner planning to do the 2014 boston marathon, who said, "next year, you are going to have more people than ever. determination is not something to be messed with." that's who the american people are. determined, and not to be messed with. now, we need a strategy -- and a politics -that reflects this resilient spirit. our victory against terrorism won't be measured in a surrender ceremony on a battleship, or a statue being pulled to the

ground. victory will be measured in parents taking their kids to school, immigrants coming to our shores, fans taking in a ballgame, a veteran starting a business, a bustling city street, a citizen shouting her concerns at a president. the quiet determination, that strength of character and bond of fellowship, that refutation of fear -- that is both our sword and our shield. and long after the current messengers of hate have faded from the world's memory, alongside the brutal despots, deranged madmen, and ruthless demagogues who litter history -- the flag of the united states will still wave from small-town

cemeteries, to national monuments, to distant outposts abroad. and that flag will still stand and should you. you thank you very much. thank you. god bless you. and may god bless the united states of america. [applause] ["stars and stripes forever" playing] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] ♪

>> the president's speech was interrupted several times by a protester, madea benjamin. here is a look from the audience during the disruption. >> [indiscernible] >> how about [indiscernible] old american killed by drones. is that the way we treat a 16-

year-old american? why was he killed? can you tell us why he was killed? can you tell the muslim people their lives are as precious as our lives? can you take the drones out of the hands of the cia? can you stop the signature strikes that are killing people on the basis of suspicious activities? will you apologize to the thousands of muslims that you have killed? will you compensate innocent families' victims. i will make us safer here at home. [indiscernible] i love this country. i love the rule of law. [indiscernible] -- guantanamo is making us less safe. [indiscernible] >> i think -- ,> after the president's speech republican senators mccain, graham, ayotte, and -- held a

press conference on detainees at guantánamo bay. this is about half an hour. >> this is not a press briefing. this is a slideshow. >> good afternoon. i am joined by my colleagues, senator saxby chambliss, the ranking member on the senate intelligence committee, senator lindsey graham, who is both armed services and defense appropriations, and senator kelly ayotte of the armed services committee. all of us have been deeply involved in the issues that the president of the united eights articulated his ideas and proposals on -- the united a his ideasculated

and proposals on. there are some areas where we are in agreement. there are some areas where we are in disagreement. first of all, i have always advocated the closure of the prison at guantanamo bay for variety of reasons which i will not go into right now.-- will not discuss -- go into now since we have three other of my colleagues to speak. we always wanted a plan. in 2009, senator graham and i and the then white house counsel tried to articulate and come up with an agreement. we never got an agreement. the administration never came up with a coherent plan to close guantanamo bay. that is why it is still open today. in light of the president's speech today, we will pledge our willingness to work with the president to see that guantanamo bay is closed. but as my colleagues will also state, there are a lot of moving parts to closing guantanamo bay,

not the least of which is where you put these people, it's ones -- which ones have to be kept on an indefinite basis, those that are eligible for military courts, and those eligible for civilian courts. all those are tied together. on the issue of guantanamo bay, we pledge to work with the president, but this time we hope there is a coherent plan on that issue. on the issue of authorization for military force, we are in a long-drawn out conflict with al qaeda. to somehow argue that al qaeda is "on the run" comes from a degree of unreality that to me is incredible. -- iseda is on the run is expanding all over the middle east, from mali to yemen, and all places in between. to somehow think that we can bring the authorization of the

use of military force to a complete closure is contradicting reality with the facts on the ground. al qaeda will be with us for a long time. i specifically want to point out in the president's remarks, "we must strengthen the opposition in syria while isolating extremist elements, because the end of the tyrant does in no way -- end of the tyrant does not give way to the tyranny of terrorism. we must strengthen the opposition in syria." i agree, mr. president, and we have watched the last little over two years, 80,000, 100,000 people massacred, the presence of extremist elements on the increase, a destabilization of lebanon and jordan, all the things that the non- interventionists said would happen if we intervened have happened because we did not

intervene. i am dumbfounded that the president would say we must strengthen the opposition in syria when again we are banking on the goodwill of the russians and some kind of peace conference that may or may not take place next month. there is a number of other comments about the president's speech that i would be glad to go into, but maybe it is better addressed in the question-and- answer period. the middle east is in turmoil. the middle east crisis for-- cries out for american leadership. american leadership is absent in the middle east, and that is the price we have paid in iraq, the price we have paid in libya, the price we are paying in syria and other countries today. i asked the president to lead, be involved, be engaged, and

that does not mean troops on the ground, but it means an exercise of leadership, including providing a safe zone for the people who are struggling against bashar al-assad, and taking out assad's assets.-- air assets and giving hte -- the resistance the weapons they need as they are being massacred. senator chambliss? >> thank you, senator mccain. john and i have a difference of opinion about guantanamo bay.o -- i have been one to advocate maintaining guantanmo bay. my reasons are simple. if we were to capture some of the benghazi terrorists who we know today are running free, what are we going to do with them? we have no place to take them. are we going to bring them into an article 3 court?are we going to terust the -- trust the libyans to prosecute them?

what is going to happen to them? that is one question. the other one is we have 166 of the nastiest killers in the world located at guantanamo. the president said we are moving toward closure and that means the release of 86 of those individuals that have been authorized for transfer, but they were not transferred because a number of them are going to yemen. 56 of them are yemenis. following the 2009 christmas day bomber incident, all transfers to yemen were stopped. guess what -- between december 2009 and today, has yemen shown any indication that they are more capable of looking after those individuals? absolutely not. if we were to transfer them to yemen, it would be like turning them loose. i do not think that is the right thing to do. we have a state-of-the-art facility at guantanamo. we should try them in the

courtrooms there, then make a decision with what to do with them after that. the other issue i want to touch briefly on that the president talked about is the transparency that he now wants to see in the drone program. he was limited in what he said on the program, and i can only be limited in what i say about it, that suffice it to say that in the case of awlaki, we have complete transparency that was given to the public and congress. congress knew what was going on with respect to the targeting of awlaki. that is the type of transparency that is appropriate, but to open the books on the drone program does not make america a safer place in which to live. with that, i will send it to senator graham.>> thank you.

on detention policy, i would argue that administration's detention policy has been a failure. how many people have we captured and interrogated under the law of war? every time we capture a terrorist, if we do not kill them, we bring them into the civilian court system and read them their rights. that has got to stop. about guantanamo. it is not about the location of the jail. i do not mind if we try to move -- try to find a place to move it into the united states. i want a legal system consistent with being at war.the reason we don't close guantanmo b-- guantanamo bay is that we don't have a plan. you need a plan. you need a plan that would reassure the public that we are not talking about dealing with

people who robbed a liquor store, but terrorists, and we will have a legal system that will allow some to be tried in military court, some tried in federal civilian court where appropriate, some to be released when appropriate, and some to be held under the law of war, because if we let them back out into the system they will kill us. a 28% recidivism rate. it only makes sense if you are at war. under criminal law, you cannot hold anyone indefinitely under criminal law, nor should be allowed to, but if you are at war and you capture a prisoner, you can hold them as long as they are a threat. this would be a war without end. we have to find some long-term review policies that deal with the captures so they get more due process, but i will not sit on the sidelines and embrace the option you either try or let them go because that represents a dangerous choice. about the overarching theme that you cannot kill your way into safety and win the war through killing, count me against that-- in for that concept. but,

mr. president, what you say and do are disconnected. you talk about supporting democracies in countries in transition that are trying to reject radical islam. but your actions speak louder than your words. iraq was a country that went through hell, and it is falling apart because the president decided not to leave any -- any american. soldiers behind when 10,000 or 12,000 would have made a difference. mr. president, i agree with the concept we have to stand by those in the region and give them capacity where they have the will, because we cannot kill our way to safety, but when you're given choices, you made a poor choice in iraq and you have under with commanders in afghanistan. there are parts of his speech that i could have given. you cannot kill your way to victory. you have to help those willing to live in peace with you, but our track record in syria, iraqi, afghanistan is very

disturbing. i would end with this thought about drones. i have stood by this president because of the technology.-- because it is a technology that makes sense. there are parts of this world that are ungoverned and we do not have troops, and a drone is the best way to protect allies against terrorists. i would like you to be more transparent, and if you want to send it over to dod, prove that -- i won't object if you can prove that we are going to make the technology that will make us safe. the theme of the speech was that this war is winding down. i have relentlessly pursued the al qaeda leadership. there is no justification for congress to close a facility that never should have been opened.-- for congress to prevent us from closing a facility that never should have been opened. the justification is that we destroyed the leadership and were relentless in our pursuit

of terrorism -- that is not true. the enemy is morphing and spreading, there are more theaters of conflict today than in several years, and our policy toward syria and iraq, indecision about leaving troops in afghanistan, is creating instability. our allies are more afraid than i have ever seen.our enemies more emboldened. i support the concepts that the president talked about in many ways, but if he does not change his policy, the middle east is going to blow up and we are going to hit again here at home no matter how hard we try.we could get hit anyway. we are setting forward policies that will make it more likely embassies will be attacked, and terrorism is on the rise in our backyard. we told president bush to his face in 2006, mr. president, your policies are not working in iraq. to president obama, your foreign policies are not working. you need to adjust them.senator ayotte. >> thank you.

i would add certainly my view on guantanamo, similar to senator chambliss'.i would just point out tha tif y -- that if you loo we didyou look at what in the authorization in 2013 -- it was changed in conference to a year, so it has been a consistent policy of this party, -- body, and in part i share with senator chambliss about the use of-- said about the use of guantanamo, that is key and that remains an important key issue for us. also there is no plan from the president on an alternative. that is where things stand in congress, and they are likely to stand there with the absence of a cohesive plan that makes sense

and protects americans. i want to point out with regards to yemen, the president said in his speech, and a lot of time, on yemen, saying he was going to lift the transfer, and as the senator said, what has changed? we have had a return of recidivism, so if we think these individuals we are going to transfer from guantanamo, will be held in safety in prison in yemen, this incident in 2011, where members of al qaeda basically had a prison break in yemen, demonstrates issues we have there, and to quote the president's own speech, he clearly said that al qaeda in the arabian peninsula is the most active in plotting against our homeland. that is where we have already had significant activity, and you think about it, where do we get -- he was apprehended off the coast of yemen.

yemen has a tenuous reach in the territory, and what do we tell americans that travel to yemen? if you could put slide two up. the question is this, nothing has changed, and the issue in terms of transferring those out of guantanamo is will they reengage, will we add to the 28% reengagement rate, to continue attacks against our country, and yemen, what we tell our citizens in terms of the threat to al qaeda remains very significant and has not diminished since the administration made the decision not to transfer prisoners to yemen. this issue of transferring to yemen is very troubling, given the history we have with yemen, terrorist activity there, and i would add the president said in

his speech that he wants congress to overturn restrictions we have on transferring people from guantanamo to other countries. we put together a waiver process in the defense authorization process. the administration can transfer people from guantanamo, but if you look at what that process constitutes, they have to certify that they can mitigate the risk that all, like the-- that people like the terrorists that are being released from guantanamo, are not going to be reengaged, and if detained, the place they are going to be detained is secure, where they cannot escape from, and it has to be in the national security interests of unitedntry.-- of the states of america. i would submit we have given him a standard and if they cannot certify with respect to each individual at guantanamo that they have mitigated the risk so they are not attacking us again and they had made sure it is in the national security interest

of the united states, they can make decisions to transfer under the process we've created for them. it seems those are fair wesiderations.i don't think need to repeal the process we've given them. if they want to exercise it, justify to congress why these individuals do not present a risk if we transfer them. i was troubled to hear him say he wants to repeat the aumf. we remain at war with terrorists. we only need look at incidents from yemen, from somalia to north africa, and in benghazi we -- to know that now is not the time where we can consider repealing the authorization for the use of military force. >> senators who are open minded to closing the base -- also the -- i was wondering what you rpl -- your plan might be. also, the

administration has told reporters that [indiscernible] >> on your second question, i would expect they might revise his comments about the situation. in yemen today -- maybe it has not filtered down to thetravel advisory writers. i know they are not at the top of the food chain. the problem in 2009 when the white house counsel sat down with me and senator graham, they said we will have a plan so the american people can be sure these people will either he-- be tried, stay in detention because they are too difficult to release and sent to another country, or they will be tried in whether it be military or civilian court, they nevercame forward with a proposal because they could not send some of these people, yemenis, back to where they wanted them to go, to their home country, and also they have no--

had no plan as to where to move the detainees they were going to keep. senator graham, in defiance of all logic in my view, has offered that the charleston naval shipyard be a place for a trial. senator durbin has assured us the illinois max prison would be a place they could send them. at least i am willing to sit down and discuss how we could do this, because i happen to believe that guantanamo bay is a terrible image of the united states of america throughout the arab world. we can disagree on that, but all of us are in agreement until we have a plan from the administration, then the status quo has to remain. >> in 2009, i came up with a plan and spent two occasions to -- and handed it to the presidnet. -- president. and on two occasions, i talked to him about it.

i spent time with rahm emanuel to find a way to move the prisoners back to illinois. no one suggested they come to charleston. i will correct that. i would be willing, at the charleston naval brig, if they want to have a military commission trial, to look at that location as a place you can do trials. the jail in joliet, illinois, was going to be the site. here's the problem -- to move the prisoners, you have to move the concept we are at war. i believe in due process and humane treatment of detainees under the law of war as well as in our civilian system. i challenge the president to embrace that law of war detention would be one of the options available for our country. there is a certain class of detainees that senator chambliss knows better than anyone else, that the intelligence is strong, the evidence is of an intel nature, that this person is

imminently involved in activities against our country and meet the definition of our qaeda-affiliated person who is-- meets the definition of al- qaeda-affiliated person who is actively engaged in terrorist activities. you are not going to take that evidence into a courtroom, military or civilian, but you will have to prove to a federal judge if the person is in fact an enemy combatants.every detainee gets their day in court. under the law of war, you don't have to take them to trail -- trial. that is when it broke down. if you want to try to find a new location to move these detainees inside the united states, you need to have a plan that will assure the people that there will be a system to keep these people off the battlefield, and if you're going to put them in court, that we have a way to distinguish between military court and civilian court, and if you are going to release them, we have a plan to make sure they will not go back to the fight.

some, no matter what, probably will, but 28% is ridiculous. the difference between a concept and a plan is as follows. anybody who would send people back to yemen today is doing the people in yemen a disservice as well as the united states. the president of yemen has been a better partner. things are getting somewhat better in yemen. i cannot believe, given what i know about yemen, and senator mccain is going next week, that the conditions on the ground in yemen and three of the peoplewho attacked our embassy in benghazi came from yemen are such that it would be a good idea to release people we have held for years as terrorists back in the yemen. that is a difference between a concept and a plan. >> thank you very much. >> you talked about civilityin the middle east. [indiscernible] what would you like to see them do? >> arm the rebels, put in a safe zone, lead, go back and help the

-- take out assad's air on the ground, lead, go back in to help the libyans do what we could not do after gaddafi left, to help them with their border security, etc. hopefully try to assist this new refugee problem the lebanese have. 10% of the population is already refugees.can you imagine if 10% regug --pulation were refugees? the strain on the government, outbreak of fighting going on in lebanon, it comes down -- what would happen in the united states? lead. the president does not lead. i get this from every single leader in the middle east no matter where i go, and we sit by and watch these people massacred, and now we are relying on the goodwill of the russians, which we have been

relying now for over two years. i do not like to predict, but given the fact that the russians now have given more sophisticated weapons to their our weapons is stillights of going, the fact that the russians continue to supply them in every possible way does not give me a great deal of confidence, although i know geneva is a very nice place to meet, especially this time of year. >> i would like to add, i would like to see the president announced residual forces in afghanistan to avoid the consequences of what happened in iraq. people in afghanistan are trying to hedge their bets. the people with us are very uncertain about what we're going to do. the president announced a residual policy force. i think it could lead to a good outcome. we could win in afghanistan if we make the right choices after syria. if the president does not engage in change the tide of battle quickly, the king of jordan

could be overthrown in the next six months. the weapons that are moving around today in syria are going to get in the hands of has. -- of has below -- of hesbollah. call the chinese and russians and let them know, let the iranians change their behavior, there's going to be a conflict, and the best way to avoid it is for russia and china to get involved and help. on reports that you disagree with the president, what recourse does congress have to stop him? we passed through the foreign relations committee yesterday a resolution to provide arms to the rebels. that is a signal and the right direction. i would argue that six months ago you probably could not get that through. we had a resolution sponsored by senator graham concerning iran. it was pretty tough language. congress is finally waking up and acting in absence of

presidential leadership. you will see additional resolution from senator graham probably in the next month or so concerning iran. again, if the iranians are watching, the president of the united states who said if they use chemical weapons they would cross a red line, you would think that the iranians would think that we are serious about their redlines. . i do not think so. i we have an ability, which brought in the past, to bring amendments to address the detainee and interrogation issues. core speedthe administration plan to say, i would like to know why they can't justify under the labor process we have created for thesehe transfer of individuals. that tells me they cannot tell me it is in the national security interest of the united states. if we need to bring amendments , igotten -- on guantanamo

have done so, and i can do it again. greg thank you very much. -- >> thank you very much. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> on the next "washington journal," we will dedicate to memorial day. u.s. naval academy professor and author bruce fleming talks about the armed forces. then a look at the families of active-duty military members with kathleen moakler. and randy plunkett talks about jobs for veterans returning from iraq and afghanistan. s, will also take your tweet calls, and facebook messages. >> i am a member of the supreme court bar. that is a select group of attorneys permitted by law are to practice before the justices filing briefs and preventing

arguments. ande include the breeze all of the cases i have filed over more than 10 years of practice. in a time, i have argued 18 cases on a wide range of important federal law questions. i teach supreme court litigation. harvard law school in massachusetts and stanford and california. i have been called "the nations from your supreme court advocate? -- advocate." legal businesse cannot like that. >> i do not know, and i do not care. >> where did you do that? >> i did that in my office at the law firm. look, i think that people who do a lot of serious things in this town take themselves way too seriously. i do not think i walk on water. i enjoy what i do. i feel is is a privilege. i do not mind making light of what it is that i and other people who have this job do. i think we are lawyers, we represent people, we are not

the greatest thing since sliced bread, and if we cannot fun with it, then what is the point? >> more with tom goldstein tonight at 8:00 on c-span's q&a. on c-span, this year's commencement addresses from members of congress. first, representative paul ryan at benedictine college. then the house minority leader nancy pelosi at new york law school. then peter king at st. john's university. wisconsin representative and 2012 republican vice president candidate paul ryan gave the 2013 commencement address at benedictine college in kansas. this is about 20 minutes. [applause] >> thank you.

thank you. president, alex, where are you, alex? thank you for rekindling that feeling i had at the republican national convention after i followed condoleezza rice. thanks a lot. i appreciate that. [laughter] before i want to get into the commencement, i have heard so many good things about benedictine college. my friend, who spoke last year, called me up and told me about the school. he said you are a tightknit and broad-minded, small sized and bighearted. i have spent a little bit of time here.

i got to do p90x this morning. i got to do dinner with the archbishop. i got to check out the river. and i got to find out that 90% of the senior class had a problem when they were freshmen. that is how many people stood up and complained. [laughter] you made me feel at home. this is a special place. it is obvious. you have done a great honor by being here and getting a diploma. i want to thank you for sharing this. you know, as i have talked to you i have been struck by some of the changes you have seen. it is great to see one with dark hair. we have seen a new hope at st. peter's and the largest freshman class in history. on this beautiful day, there are three things that are clear -- you have been through a lot,

your parents have paid a lot. alex made that clear. and today we celebrate your congratulations. congratulations. [applause] now that we are done with the important stuff, it is time for my advice. whenever i am in the situation i ask myself, what do i know now that i wish i knew then? well, sorry. life is not that easy. you can't ask someone for the best shortcuts to take. you have to learn some lessons by living them. those lessons tend to be the hardest but also the most fulfilling. and often they are lessons of faith. i gather you know quite a bit about this topic. you know very well that faith is not a christmas ornament, it is

not something you save for a special occasion, it is something you live with and struggle with every day. that is why it is so frustrating and so comforting. it is always there. it is always there waiting for you. sometimes the hardest part is finding your faith, finding what you really believe. as you know, philosophy is not a book of answers, it is a search for wisdom. my advice is to keep up the search. if you have questions after four years of college, if you're not satisfied, discover for yourself what it is you really believe. boil things down to basics. see how they add up. keep looking. that is why they call this a commencement because there is no end to your spiritual and philosophical journey. but as you gain wisdom, you will find more often you will be

making refinements to your views instead of big changes. and if you form your views this way, through discovery and debate, through thought and prayer, your moral code will be far more durable and rewarding. but as you develop that code, you have to live up to it. you have to put it into practice. as catholics, we are meant to be in the world, not of the world. we are meant to take up a vocation god has given us and to do it well. several years ago i remember driving around the plains of kansas with my friend sam. thinking about, as a young man, what to do in life. i decided my vocation was to be public service. so today i want to talk to about my faith and attempt to live up

to it. i want to try to answer this question -- how does a catholic public servant apply teaching? it is an important question. there are different ways to answer this question. our support for free enterprise and for strong communities. good catholics can disagree, and we do. that is the difficulty and the beauty of our faith. on some issues the teaching is crystal clear. for instance, we always attempt the sanctity of life. on other issues, there is a broad art of judgment and there is room for everybody. i am not going to stand here and -- in short, what i hope to do is make the moral case for free enterprise. and in this effort i speak only for myself.

and i ask only for your consideration. like yours, my faith and understanding is very personal and far from complete. it began when my dad died. i was 16. it was tough on our family. it was tough on me. i was raised catholic, went to catholic school, served as an altar boy. i thought i had it figured out. when something like that happens to you, it makes you question everything. at a young age, i started a search for answers. i read everything i could get my hands on. freud, hagel, aristotle and aquinas, and everything you can imagine in between. in fact, you may have heard i enjoyed the work of a certain female author whose books are monuments to the idea that men and women should be true to their passions even in the face of social pressure to conform. it is true.

i was. and i remain a huge fan of the "twilight" saga. [laughter] that actually is a joke. after i was elected to congress, i was young. i had to wrestle with many issues, as a representative and as a catholic. as i wrestled with my views, i kept noticing two things in my beliefs. solidarity and subsidiary. that sounds intimidating. it is really simple. solidarity is this belief that we are all in this together. we must be good to one another. we must be generous with our love and we must withhold it from no one. and when we write the laws of our nation we ust never lose sight of the common good.

subsidiary, it is like federalism. the belief that every part of our country adds to the whole. but every part must be free to do its work on its own terms. yes, government must to do some things. but it can't do everything. it should not assume other people's roles and it should not tell them how to do their work. the people closest to the problem are the most likely to solve it. they know the community the best. we see this principle in the first amendment. religious communities do great things in our country. they care for the poor, the hungry and the sick. they do this in their own way, guided by their conscience and their beliefs. that is why i strongly support, and we must support, measures to protect religious liberty. [applause]

catholic institutions, like colleges and hospitals should be free to do their work according to their moral standards. it is essential to our society and to subsidiary. over the years we have been blessed to hear from three popes that make the case for these principles. it is an amazing time to be a catholic. take john paul ii, he rallied the polish people against the seven union. he said communism was wrong. there was some and be on this. there was a god and we were his children. by speaking the truth, he electrified the polish nation, 36 million strong. not with a promise of wealth but a simple call, do not be afraid. he showed solidarity with the polish people and he freed them from fear.

pope benedict the 16th warned us about another danger. i remember this, he called the dictatorship of relativism. the belief that there is no right or wrong. and the truth is self-confident and self-sustaining. it snuffs it out. it burns books and censors the press. as saint thomas aquinas wrote, all men are forced to give to reason. just as his predecessor freed poland from fear, benedict taught us how to protect the world from falsehood. these popes showed solidarity with the oppressed and now, today, pope francis is showing solidarity with the poor, as the church has done for 2000 years.

he is breathing new life into the fight into poverty. he has a chance to lift this dialog to a higher level. and i hope he will heal the divisions between the so-called catholic left in the so-called catholic right so that all may be one in christ. it is a spiritually impoverished that need the most help. pope francis calls the tierney of relativism the spiritual poverty of our time and it affects rich countries worst of all, including our own. to truly help the poor we have to help the whole person, not just the material merits but the spiritual ones, too. the fact is, the government can't give this help. the law is blind. it treats everyone the same. even though we are all equal, we

are not all the same. we have different needs. only people can meet these needs. the people in government are hard-working but they can only do so much. they can't give us the personal attention we need. so we need to look for people outside of government and we will find them in our communities. the students here at benedictine, in our churches, our schools, our neighborhoods, our friends and families. academics call this mediating institutions. in the end, it is just people. people working together to help other people. and government must not push them out. it must not crowd out society. it must support them.

it must show these groups that we are going to allow them to address our needs. they must expand this a space, the middle ground between the person and their government. on of the best examples of a partnership like this is the free enterprise system. free enterprise is an example of that second principle, allowing each person to contribute. it allows them to discover their talents and pursue their dreams is when they do, they add to the common good. they create jobs. they save lives. they feed people. they add to the store of knowledge. and free enterprise gives us the resources to care for ourselves and others. it helps to ease human suffering. we know the power of free people working together. we see it when it is absent. i want to borrow an example from a father. go onto google earth and look at the satellite photo of the world at night.

you will see light across the globe except in one part, the northern half of the korean peninsula. in north korea there is only one point of light, pyongyang. there is no free enterprise in that country. people are not allowed to build or create and they suffer immensely because of it. they are trapped in darkness. why is there such resistance to free enterprise? it is the old problem of greed. critics say nothing good comes from congress. it is all pinstripes. free enterprise makes more stuff but it relies on greed and people pursuing self-interest. isn't the love of money the root of all evil? look, many people want a chance to get ahead.

to get ahead in a free economy they must serve the needs of society. at some level we ask ourselves, how can i make ends meet? be successful ask a better question, what is something people need? voluntary exchange is an act of good faith. it gives the buyer in exchange for something of equal value. it creates a culture of personal responsibility and goodwill. to attract customers you you have to be trustworthy. to attract workers you have to treat them with dignity. free enterprise helps the workers because work gives people a sense of pride. a sense of purpose. it makes them part of their communities. when we share our gifts with other people, we show solidarity with one another. if farmers do not harvest, people would go hungry. if doctors and nurses did not practice, the sick would go and treated.

we do not think of ourselves as greedy even though we are taking part in the economy. and we shouldn't because we are working to help our families. we are putting food on the table and pay for our education, save for retirement. we must guard against greed but you know what, greed is always going to be with us. our job is to limit its power. free enterprise does not reward greed, it re-wards value. because competition checks greed. there is no greater opportunity in greed than government cronyism. greed knows how to exploit the pages of regulation. it knows how to navigate the halls of power. we should not give it more opportunities to grow. money is not everything. wealth is a means to an end.

and the end is not a full bank account. the end is a good life. one lived in accordance with god. to live a truly good life, we must look beyond ourselves. we must minister to be poor in the sick. we can't outsource that job. concern for the poor does not demand faith in the government. if we continue to believe that the war on poverty is a government responsibility, we will continue to weaken our communities. we will drift further apart as a people. as catholics, we know that happiness cannot be bought or sold. it can't be legislated. earning your just rewards from achievement and hard work promotes human happiness. it brings fulfillment to yourself and others. we find happiness only in the thrill of accomplishment.

in the comfort of community and in communion with god. this is how solidarity works together. they create a society that serves the poor. they build healthy relationships and on this philosophy, from this beachhead, we can fight back the growth of relativism. that is what good catholics must to do in this time. this is our charge. well, that is my take, this individual, that is my take on this aspect of catholic social teaching. as you can see, if it is not a step-by-step guide. it is a philosophy in certain principles. in a culture that stresses the "i," the church stretches the "we." discipline gets you freedom. in a world where relativism

threatens the week, the church works to protect the poor and the powerless. these are the truths that anchor catholic social teaching. they offer you guidance as you discover god's plan for you. your task is to consider that guidance as you continue your search for wisdom. this is the advice i plan and giving my own kids. naturally, i hope they take my own point of view. that is how most parents feel. but you can't be secure in your beliefs until you know how they stack up against others. so my advice is keep searching and questioning and make it stronger. and when you need a port of call, when you come full circle, when you really know it, i hope you take comfort in the church just as i have. and when you do, you will know for certain you are there to stay. the reason i say it this way, our catholic faith has endured

thousands of years for a reason. the world offers many challenges. you are entering into that. our legacy will endure if you can handle those challenges. if you're ready for it. here at benedictine, you're off to a great start. i wish you continued success in your path. and whether you walk on the left side of the street or on the right side, or whether you walk the straight and narrow or if you take the scenic route, i hope you will always walk with god. thank you very much. [applause]

>> the university of baltimore law school of baltimore law school awards nancy pelosi an honorary law degree. the california congresswoman is a baltimore native. her father and brother served as the city's mayor. this is just over 20 minutes. [applause] >> good afternoon. what an honor, baltimore, my baltimore to be back here and see this magnificent class of graduates, to become a member of your class with this degree.

thank you, mr. president. thank you, dean. i thank the entire leadership of the university of baltimore faculty and staff and thank you class of 2013 for adding me to your rank. for the graduates i offer you congratulations by what you have achieved by graduating and your opportunity to serve the public with a degree from this respected university. annie, that was wonderful. jessica, congratulations. how wonderful. we can applaud. [applause] what i would like to do now is have all of the students recognize the parents,

grandparents, spouses, entire families the sacrifices that helped make today possible for so many of the graduates. let us all stand up, turn around and acknowledge all of those who made this possibly. thank you, families. [applause] what a proud day. it's a personal pleasure for me to be here. as a young girl, i came here on every wednesday night with my mother to hear the baltimore symphony. then on saturdays, i would come with my classmates, we had music appreciation. how proud we are that same musical institution is now led by a woman. the first woman to head a major american orchestra. it is made by the generosity by making the arts center such a

magnificent venue. when it was mentioned i am from baltimore and represented san francisco and when annie spoke about the super bowl. i thought i should share with you what it was like to be there with the whole family dressed in purple and my family was in red for the game. everyone was thrilled for the ravens. i thank him for giving us the ravens. everyone was thrilled and happy for baltimore when the ravens won. only one thing would have made me happier but you couldn't have both all season. i was rooting for the ravens all season to go to the super bowl, and i was rooting if san francisco to go to the super bowl, little i did i know they would both end up there.

this has so many fond memories. outside looks different but the inside looks very much the same honoring the tradition as a symbol of baltimore and our commitment to the arts. because this is filled with so many fond memories for me and my family, it's a true honor to be here with you as a member of your class. it is a personal one to be with the class of 2013. this honorary degree means a great deal to me. on behalf of the people who made that possibly in the congress of the united states. it is a thrill to be here because my niece she graduated last year in the class of 2012. her father graduated from the university of baltimore, much earlier. my nephew graduated, his wife

graduated from here. my brother received an honorary degree and gave the address a number of years ago in 1997. the one thing that was really thrilling to me because when i was a little girl my mother used to say she wanted to be a lawyer. she started law school and she had seven children. four were sick at one time and she could never go back. she went to the university of baltimore. when my daughter became an attorney many years later in california my mother wrote to her you're living the dream. you're living the dream that so many women of us had at that time but it -- she went here in the 1930's. now you young women and young men are in a completely different world be you have the beauty of the mix of everyone of the decision making.

that's a great thing. it is, you know, an emotional for me. a member of my political family is a proud graduate of university of baltimore as well. in any case, i too want to join in acknowledging peter with the wonderful support he has given to the university. this is what this is about, honoring the opportunity that parents have given to us. as annie said what your calling is and what the president had said now much is expected to you to inspire others. others in the future. pick up the banner of honoring our constitution. it's the oath we all take. protect and defend the constitution, that beautiful document.

thank god they made it amendable, that is really important. standing before you today, i want to reference that this weekend on may 17, actually on friday, we observed the anniversary of the brown versus the board of education decision. may 17, 1954. i remember that day very well. i was in eighth grade. most of your parents weren't born yet. but i was in eighth grade. i remember it. it was so transformative. my dad went on tv. he went on tv that night and he said this is the law of the land. it will be enforced and honored in baltimore, maryland. that was really an important -- it was such a landmark and it meant so much to baltimore.

it because baltimore lawyer, thurgood marshall who practiced law and graduated from this institution. think about what your possibilities are. thurgood marshall graduated right here. other lawyers participated as well and he went on to be a justice of the supreme court as you know. it was the city of baltimore headed by eli frank who had the courage and this is the word that makes all the difference in the world. they had the courage to make the city's school district the first south of the mason-dixon line to peacefully integrate its schools. it was baltimore where we saw one of the most successful schools integration in the country. that includes the courageous

young woman at southern high school. her son now is the president, the national president of the naacp. i'm so proud of our maryland's connection to freedom in america. i was taught with a noble calling and citizenship has its responsibilities. i think my mother wanted to be a lawyer because she thought it was an enhanced role to exercise citizenship. when our common values of fairness and equality must not only be restated but strengthened. we need your courage to face, confront, and outcome some of the challenges of our time, the

challenges to our democracy. today, these challenges are being reflected over the meaning of our constitution. now i'm not going to go into every challenge we face. some that are currently on the front burner, a few before the court. in march, many of us gathered with civil rights leaders and fellow members of congress on the steps of the supreme court to call on the justices to uphold the voting rights act. to protect and preserve the rights of every citizen to vote and ensure that every vote was counted as cast. joining us in that fight were the leaders of the campaign for women's rights, for lbgt rights, all of us gathered together in coalition for voting rights. one week later, the same

coalition was gathered on the steps of the supreme court to advocate and some of us to go in and hear the oral arguments to overturn the defense of marriage act. again, it was the coalition together we stood to end discrimination and expand freedom. a recognition for the fight or marriage equality, a fight for women's rights, voting rights are each chapters of the same struggle for civil rights, liberty, and justice for all. one year ago, around the same time, we gathered on the steps of the capital of the court, gathered on the steps of the supreme court to advocate for the affordable care act. honoring the vows of our founders, all of these, honoring the vows of our founders for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. in each case, we knew the legal battles were about the foundations of our democracy.

we also knew that fundamental to our democracy is the middle class. middle class, the backbone of our democracy. we need to strengthen it. who do you think said this? it is manifest that the best political community is formed by citizens of the middle class. those stakes are likely to be well administered in which the middle class is larger and smaller if possible than both other classes. aristotle. that long ago there was a recognition that the middle class is a strength. the challenges we face today some of them threaten the middle class and we must strength it and keeping the american dream alive. we must honor the spirit of the great motto of this university.

knowledge that works. knowledge that works. i know parents like the world work -- like the world work. right now, the doors of opportunity are closed to many in our society. we must restore confidence in our economy, this is one of our challenges to restore confidence in our challenges by creating good-paying jobs for our workers by making it in america and reuniting the american dream. i have to address this challenge. i think it is important for us to recognize and it is the issue of income disparity. we must close this gaping hole. 40 years ago those who measure such thing determined that the average c.e.o. -- i'm going say the top 100 companies -- made

about 40 times what the average worker made. today, the average c.e.o. in the same line of those companies makes about 350 times the average worker. think of that. how can that be fair? productivity tends to increase but the workers do not get the reward. this is something we have to address. income disparity undermines the middle class. the backbone of our democracy, i keep saying. one of the ways that we can address the disparity and the income is to address the disparity in education. we have to make sure that every person can participant in our country's prosperity. we must end disparity in education by supporting our teachers, supporting education and by making college more

affordable to many more people. we must do that. and it's not as if by investing in education we will increase the deficit, we must decrease the deficit. nothing brings more money to the treasury than investing in education. so actually by investing in education, we reduce the deficit. we reduce educational disparity and we reduce income disparity and we strengthen the middle class. we must restore confidence into who we are as the people. we are by and large, i've had this conversation and he is so proud that the building was named after his grandfather. we are, by and large, a nation of immigrants.

that is why we must enact comprehensive immigration reform, recognizing that new comers to america reinvigorate our country. [applause] thank you. think of american traits, hope, aspirations for better future for our children, determination, optimism. those who come to our country bring that spirit with them. that spirit of optimism of america. in coming here every newcomer makes america more american. so we have to pass this so we have the inspiration that continues to keep america number one. we must restore confidence in our democracy by amplifying the voices of the people and reducing the role of money in

campaigns. annie has told us our founders have envisioned a government of democracy, a government of the many, not the government of the money. it is our task, yours as lawyers, mine as an elective official, ours together as citizens to restore confidence in our politics and our government. with your leadership we must increase the level of civility in politics and reduce the role of money. when we do, i promise you this, we will let more women, more minorities, more young people to public office much sooner and that is a wholesome thing for our great country. [applause] a great american labor leader once reminded us that the ballot

box is connected to the bread box. you cannot separate them. if we want to have more -- if we give people more say, if they are more equal in our democracy and what the outcomes of elections are, they will have a better chance in our economy. stronger say at the ballot box, stronger role in the economy. it is up to you. it is up to you. now, to make this happen and these are just a few of the challenges we face right now where decisions are being made. president lincoln once said public sentiment is everything. i'm hopeful we can get these things done because the public knows what is is at stake and that possibilities are then i

think we get the better outcome. it's up to you, to all americans to make this happen, demand a change. put the power of democracy much more firmly in the hands of the voters. elections must -- elections and public policy must reflect the will of the people. it up to you, tomorrow as lawyers, after you pass the bar, and in the meantime, to strengthen our democracy in the courts in public service, in day-to-day practice of the law, representing people, or perhaps in public office. who among you may take up that? that requires courage, that is not for the faint of heart. it is worth it and we need you. we need you to be in public office. it is up to you to have the courage to stand up for our values and keep the doors of opportunity open to all.

from our history, from the bill of rights to the brown versus the board of education, to individual, political economic rights have been central to the strength of our democratic ideals. my charge to you is to build on that tradition and make that legacy your own. to know that you have the confidence leaving here -- leaving here to have the confidence that legal education from this great and respected university and the morals to pursue the work of justice. as thurgood marshall declared sometimes history takes things into its own hands. today and in the future, the law school graduates class of 2013 of the university of baltimore must take history into your hands. when you do, your fellow americans and people across the

country will look to each of you as i look to my father a long time ago and my brother sooner than this. when you do, you will ensure that the constitution remains the cornerstone of the american dream. we can keep the doors of opportunity -- i keep saying it over and over -- open to every american. congratulations to all the graduates of the class of 2013. [applause] i'm honored to be a member of your class. as you go forward remember that you have a friend and a classmate in the capital of the united states. may god bless you. may god bless america. thank you for the opportunity. [applause]

>> st. john's university in queens, new york recognized republican congressman peter king for his work in congress in the aftermath of hurricane sandy. new york honored him an honorary law degree on may 19, despite a student protest of him being a commencement speaker. here's his 10 minute address. >> it is my honor to introduce our honorary speaker peter king of new york. thank you very much.

let me, first of all, congratulate today's graduates. i wish you continued success. based upon the outstanding education you have received at st. john's the lasting friendships you have formed the enriching experiences you have shared and the life lessons you have learned at this great university. i also commend and thank the father for his many years of dedicated service and for all of the accomplished in leading st. john's university to ever higher academic heights. it is an honor for me to be your commencement speaker and to receive the honorary degree. as someone who grew up in new york city, queens, this moment is particularly meaningful to me. i'm well aware that some of you are more enthusiastic than others. that is what separates our

country and our society from so much of the rest of the world. americans welcome the clash of ideas. they are not afraid to listen to opinions and ideas other than our own. we encourage free speech and do not attempt to silence those with who we might disagree. leading universities such as st. john's demand academic freedom and refuse to be intimidated by political correctness. st. john's has the commitment to service and welcomes all students as the integral part as the st. john's family, no matter what their religion, ethical backgrounds. st. john's is rooted in the principle of the st. paul who dedicated his life to serve the poor, the needy, the sick and the victims of tragedy and disaster.

these precepts are needed today. we live in a world that is increasingly seduced by wealth, status, and worldly possessions. this self-centerdness is, however, not the world of st. john's. that is why so many of you have donated during your years here at st. john's to voluntary in nursing homes, soup kitchens and what you did during hurricane sandy. thankfully, it was these kind of values that the great people of new york and new jersey demonstrated when we stood together as one after we were ravaged by superstorm sandy last fall. sandy was the worst natural disaster to hit our region in 75 years.

in new york alone, it was almost $33 billion in overall damage. more than 300,000 damaged homes, more than two million residents were without power, that is larger population of 15 states and over $300,000 in damage to hospitals and health facilities. this listing can go and an own. through the suffering and anguish, lesser people would have given up or worse, turned against one another or looked out for only themselves. that was not the spirit of new york or new jersey. not only did we refuse to give in but communities came together. police officer, firefighters, e.m.t.'s, voluntary associates displayed uncommon bravery and concern. political and government leaders in new york and new jersey worked across party lines and

state boundaries for the greater good. as you follow politics today, you know that is not the norm in our country. this unity proves to be essential. for the first time in recent history, congress was refusing to approve the natural disaster aid that was so desperately need. the storm that hit louisiana and mississippi congress gave them more than $65 billion. after two months after sandy, new jersey and new york has received almost nothing. instead of trying to blame it on another party we fought as hard as we could. the governors from the two states and all our senators and members of our congressional delegations knew our obligation

was the suffering people we represented and who so desperately needed help. governor christie and i in particular, have taken on the leadership of our own party. this was a small price to pay compared to our constituents whose homes were destroyed, who were without power, in many cases lost everything. this was a tough, difficult fight. we finally prevailed and congress appropriated the money and recovery is under way and we'll come back stronger than ever. by making sandy, the suffering and the aftermath the theme of your commencement today. you have demonstrated your commitment to the ideal which is what st. john's university is about.

today, you're entering into a world con fronted with many critical challenges, severe economic instability, north korean rockets and the constant threat of terror attack, which is what we saw in boston last month. i'm confident as you go forward from st. john's you will successfully and courageously confront and outcome those challenges, doing what is right, whether or not it is happens to be popular. the knowledge you have received and the ideals you have acquired and accept as your own, will guide your life as you make a lasting difference. i wish you well. thank you very much. [applause] >> i begin with integrity because it is so essential.to who and what you ultimately will become. many of you have a career path

in mind. many of you have no idea where you will end up. a few of you may be surprised at where life takes you. i certainly was. not only what is we do, but how we do it. i have to start by tweeting this. give me one second. i am a professional, so this will only take a second. when i woke up this morning and started writing my speech, i was thinking about my first month on campus in september when i was a freshman, and the full all team wanted to that -- the football's team wanted to that season ranked number one preseason. i remember that september -- there was all this excitement on campus. our first game was at wisconsin, and we went up there, and we lost our first game, 21-14. there was a crushing disappointment afterwards. i would like you to think of that soaring expectation

followed by a crushing disappointment as a metaphor for your next 20 minutes with me. >> nicely can, more stories and advice for graduates, friday night at analog eastern, including fbi director robert mueller and florida governor rick scott. costolo.er ceo dick find more commencement speeches online at c-span.org. next, more of this yours commencement addresses from members of congress. first, senator elizabeth warren at framing them state diversity. followed by representative bill flores at texas a&m university. then, senator mark warner at george mason university. -- senator elizabeth warren delivered the commencement address at framing

ham state university. her remarks are about 15 minutes. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you very much. thank you for that very kind introduction. thank you, president flanigan, board of trustees, the framing ham, and congratulations to the class of 2013. [applause] from onet to say, state schoolyou can do a lot mo. i'm really happy for you. i want to say to the class of 2013, as you are are going out

into the new world, as with any journey, it can be scary. no more lunchtime with edith. no more ice cream from mad willy's. and hardest of all, no more e- mails from the dean. [laughter] it is true. but seriously, as you head out, i know that some of you are very worried about graduating into a tough economy. some of you are concerned about finding a job. and some of you are working hard to persuade yourself that moving in with mom and dad is almost as good as having your own apartment. i know it is hard out there. what i have high hopes for everyone of you. i mean that. every single one of you. i have high hopes because even

at this time of transition, and in this hard economy, you have already done stuffing top. you have graduated. hoorah. hoorah. it was a smart decision, a good education is the foundation for a better future. people do graduate or more resilient financially and they weather economic downturns better than people that don't graduate. people who graduate are likely to be more economically secure, likely to be healthier and live longer. a college degree puts a lot in your corner and in just a few minutes you will have one. so, whatever comes your way, you have the right start. and you have that right start by planning carefully and working hard toward a specific goal. in fact, you got here today by following the advice of about a zillion teachers, cabdrivers,

bartenders, and everyone else who told you to set a goal and stick with it. but on this beautiful day, this last day before we turn you loose into the world, i want to make a pitch for something else. among all of the goal setting and the perseverance, i want to talk with you about something different. i want to talk with you about being open to the unexpected. about making room for the improbable and the unlikely. now, i know why i am here. it is not my fashion sense or my ability to telling a joke, i was invited here today because i'm your senator. what does that mean? for some of you it means i'm the person sending you e-mails asking for money.

it means i am the person standing between you and some more gatorade. [laughter] theothers of you, i am person you are wondering, will she finish in time for me to hit the bruins game? [cheers and applause] and the answer is, maybe. listen closely. so, in any case, i am here today because i am your senator. but the funny thing is, i never planned to get into politics. if you don't believe me, try to find a political consultant anywhere in the country who will tell you that the best way to get elected to office is to become a professor and pick fights with ceos of banks. nope. i pretty much that my whole career as a teacher. and after i graduated from a

commuter college, which cost 50 dollars a semester, i taught elementary school. i thought i had my life planned. two years and one baby later, i decided to go to law school, thinking i could be a trial lawyer. i thought i had my life planned. ande years and another baby another move later, i became a law professor. teaching bankruptcy and writing books about the economic issues facing middle-class families and i was sure i had my life all planned. and then one day i got a phone call. it was in the 1990s. i had been teaching law 15 years. it is a former congressman who has just been appointed to head up a commission to rewrite the bankruptcy laws. he wanted to be able to give help to families in terrible

financial trouble. he thought i could come to washington and help him. i thought he was crazy. i had a job. i was sure about what my job was. my job was to teach classes and do research and write books. i did not know anything about washington politics. frankly, i did not want to. and then he offered me a deal. he said if i come up with a few good ideas, ideas that would help families, he would figure out the politics and turn them into law. i did not think i could stand the politics but he pushed and i decided to try. for me, this first the trip ended up being about fighting for families that were getting squeezed out of the middle-class class. and taking on an army of lobbyists working for big banks. for me it was about the optimism that if we work hard and work together, we can make a difference that matters.

as it turned out, i had the honor of fighting along senator kennedy and others trying to protect families that were hanging on by their fingernails. one fight to lead to another, bringing accountability to the bank bailout, setting out a section bureau and now representing the people of massachusetts. so here is where i see this, the congressman made an improbable offer. he brought me into a fight that changed my life. it has been tough but all in all, it made me a believer in the incredible power of trying the unexpected. class of 2013, all of the planning and although the the preparation the world can't prepare you for the many twists that are coming your way. like just today, it you might need the guy you will marry or the guy you will divorce. [laughter] maybe both. you can't predict it all. people will tell you to plan

things as best you can. they will tell you to focus. they will tell you to follow your dreams and they will be right. but they will also be a little bit wrong. your be so faithful to plan, that you are unwilling to consider the unexpected. never be so unfaithful to your plan that you are unwilling to entertain improbable opportunities that come looking for you. and never be so faithful to your plan that when you hit a the road, or when it hits you, you don't have the fortitude, the grace, and the resiliency to rethink, and regroup. this openness to the improbable, the ability to get

out of your comfort zone and we work a plan, consider something new, this is part of the american spirit that has made our country great. not far from here, 400 years ago, puritans and pilgrims landed on the shore of a land they knew nothing about. they had left everything they knew, by the way, with no ability to call, text, or e- mail anyone they left behind. and they sat across a giant ocean to start something different. surely nobody spent a career planning that trip. a generation of people who had been born as colonists, who had lived as subjects of the most powerful empire decided they were going to get rid of the monarchy and create a democracy, a form of government that had really been seen on this earth since the ancient world. unexpected, you bet. end of the time their success was deeply improbable. but they did it anyway. and keep in mind, and it was not one of the elder statesman of the 19th century that freed the slaves and won the civil war. it was a newcomer, a country lawyer best known for debates that occurred during his senate campaign he lost.

it was not a diplomat who won the first nobel peace prize. it was teddy roosevelt who had been well known for wanting to take america in the war and the charge. but to left himself open to making peace. and it was not one of the dynastic families whose favorite son ended world war ii. nope, it was an ordinary fellow from missouri who came home and opened a haberdashery. i do not think anyone in this country particular plan or he would go. these are the stories we know from our political history.

but our country is filled with stories of the unexpected. people like ruth wakefield, class of 1924. she ran out of chocolate one day and improvised with roque and pieces of a chocolate bar and invented the chocolate chip cookie. people like o'neill who after tornadoes in massachusetts in 2011 created recovers.org to help communities with disaster recovery. and ended up a hero with a friendship forged in the heat of tragedy. haveghout our history, we seen people abandon their well constructed plans, when an opportunity opened up or a challenge hit them. this has been a driver of our success, the willingness to take risks, innovate, adapt when

we plans do not work out as expected. so to all of you that have always known exactly what you wanted to do when you grow up, go get them. good for you. but for everyone else, the people with plans, the people with no plans, keep space in your heart for the improbable. i promise you won't regret it. congratulations, class of 2013. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013]

>> republican congressman bill florence gave an address to texas a&m university in early may. he spoke to the class of 2013. his speeches about 30 minutes. [applause] >> howdy. thank you for that nice introduction and thank you for inviting me to join you at this commencement. i wife and i are thrilled to be here. i would also like to exercise one of the privileges that comes with finger speaker this evening. that is to give a shout out to my relatives in the audience. joining me is my mother, her husband, and my sister in law. toave a few more shout outs

offer in a few minutes. by the way, this commencement is being recorded by c-span. so if you think today is a great day to be a texas aggie, please let our c-span audience know. yes. it is a great day to be a texas aggie. here are a few of the reasons. 50,000home to more than students, the sixth largest university in the country. we have more than 360,000 former former students worldwide. or 500,000 in the extended family. we have a coveted membership in the association of american universities. one of only 61 universities with this distinction. we conduct research, valued at more than $705 million annually. current ranking among the top 20 universities nationally and third behind mit and the university of california at

berkeley for universities without medical schools. we have an endowment valued at $5 billion, ranking fourth among u.s. public universities and 10th overall. in sports, we claimed our true national team championships and nine conference titles last season, both of which were school best. we are the home to johnny football, the 20 12 heisman trophy winner. we are recognized as original and the current home of the 12th man, where students stand during the football game to show support for the team. few venues are more hostile than the maroon cow field where the eardrums are under constant assault from the band. the nation's best drill student body. our cadet is recognized among the largest uniform student

bodies at more than 2300 strong. we consistently commission more officers than any other school in the country outside of the military academies. in keeping with our land grant roots, we are one of the universities with the population of underrepresented groups. in keeping with the military roots, we were ranked as one of the most veteran-friendly colleges in the country. we have more than 800 student clubs and organizations. it is inculcated into our individual and group values. here's something interesting, we are recognized as having the most facebook fans of any university in the country. in terms of public service, texas a&m is privileged to have

many of its own in elected office, including an aggie governor. we have many members of the texas house and senate and four members of the united states congress. we also have hundreds more serving at all levels of local, state, and federal government. but most important, as you heard said, we will graduate almost 7200 graduates, the most of any class ever. you are the folks that will change the world and i am proud to call each of you a fellow aggies sister or brother. today is truly a great day to be a texas aggie. let's start with a q&a. i want you to answer by either raising your hand to the following. how many of you are the first generation in your family to receive a college education? how many of you are the first aggie in your family? that is awesome. how many of you have jobs?

that is impressive in this world. in many of you are confident your future? worried of you are about your future? i did not see any hands go up. how many of you are graduating in less than four years? i am glad it was not cricket. how many of your graduate and in more than four years? how many of your graduating in more than five years? i think we will stop there. now for the parents and family members in the audience, how many of you are happy about seeing your son or daughter or spouse graduate? when i served as chairman of the board of our association of former students, through my campaign and servicing

congress, i have given 200 speeches to over 150,000 people. why do i bring this up? i am saying this because even though i should be an experienced speaker, i consider this speech tonight to be one of the most difficult i have ever had to write and deliver. why do i feel this way? a number of reasons. first there are four persons that changed my life. a professor of accounting, the founder and director of msc, the former vice president of student affairs, and and dr. wendy graham, professor of economics. and i think of them, i am reminded of the words " soldiers, statement, or knightly gentleman." they try to mold me to model those words and they had a profound impact on me. so i wonder, what would they say if they were speaking to

you tonight instead of me? thend, our son is in audience today. he graduates on saturday. what should i say that will help him remember this graduation beyond having the degree placed in his hand? third, 37 years and one day ago, 1976, i graduated from this institution. it happened across the street. and the speaker for the commencement was a general, then the chief of staff of the united states army. what would he want me to repeat from the address he delivered that day? and what should i say that will be that little seed that may stick with you and that might germinate to help you become the best you can be and that will make you the aggie that other aggies aspire to follow? where do we start?

why am i here? here is what i hope we can share this evening. i want to congratulate you for your accomplishments and for the degrees you are about to receive. i want to tell you a little bit about the world in which you're about to enter. i want to share some reflections with you that i hope will be meaningful for your future. the future that will start at the point your degree is placed in your hand. congratulations to each of you upon completing your education. you have accomplished a significant milestone. education is a building block to becoming a productive part of our american society. and your education is one of the events where real-life change happens happens, for you, family and community and for our country.

today you join a group representing 36% of our population that will obtain a post high school degree. for most of you that is what you will need for your career. the rest of your education will come from on-the-job training or from life itself. your efforts, the giving of the community, the support of your families, and the commitments of a&m have prepared you well for this point of time. will each of you join me in a big round of applause for our graduate? [applause] while i want to congratulate all of you, i have some special

recognitions at this time. first, among this class are six aggies that have worked for me for my campaign. their names are nichole heath, madison fox, haley barnett, richard, and john landis. yours to each of you for help to me and congratulations. [applause] each of you has had your own particular challenges as you have gone through your education that you had to deal with. this week i received a letter from a graduate. in the letter she shared her challenges and accomplishments and i want to share that letter

with you tonight. dear congressman, i am a 38- year-old african-american woman who grew up in the deep south. soon i will be a first- generation college graduate. my mother spent her entire childhood on government assistance and she did not even finish high school. she did, however, received a ged. fortunately, past is not always prologue. through hard work as a single parent, she kept her children clothed, fed, and secure. such that we might have the opportunity to use our own sweat and tears to shape our futures. having left full-time employment to a half years ago to finish my bachelors degree, i have maintained a 4.0 gpa. and i will be starting a phd program this fall, having received a graduate research fellowship. i am the american dream. god bless. this story is the perfect example of a life change from higher education. thank you for your letter and congratulations to you.

[applause] third and most important, our son will graduate this weekend. after his last final, thereby completing his course work, he made a post on social media that included a hashtag "that took way too long." i think it describes the situation. that said, his graduating with a gpa that was higher than and whether it took four years or a few more, he he still has that degree and his mom and i are very proud of him. your mom and i want to say congratulations. lovee proud of you and we you. [applause] while it is important to congratulate all of you, it is

also important you recognize those who helped you get to this point. i would ask that all of the graduates stand. come on. there you go. graduate, please give your family members a big round of applause for all of the support they made. [applause] now, now, please give faculty and staff a round of applause for the commitments they have made toward your education. [applause] please remain standing. for those of you in the audience that are active military, veterans were first responders, including law enforcement, please stand also.

ok. without the selfless service of the group of eight just stood, we would not be able to enjoy the freedoms and security we have in this great country. i would ask everyone to stand and think this group. thank you for your service to america. [applause] everybody please be seated. you are entering a troubled time in the history of the world in the history of our nation. we are besieged by threats to national security and to our economic security. some countries in the european

union are close to economic meltdown and nobody knows what will happen if they fail. even our own country has seen its national debt soared to just under $17 trillion. the point where it exceeds our national output. the federal government has made another $100 trillion of financial promises in the form of social security, medicare, and other programs. these are the financial promises that cannot be kept unless the funding is taking from your generation. you're entering an economy where you are competing not only against your peers in this room across the nation, but your peers around the world. the competition for jobs in this economy has never been tougher. that is the bad news. the good news is that you guys are well-prepared to to take on these challenges. for 137 years, texas a&m has been educating, mentoring, and

molding the best and the brightest. aaron texas, and around the world. -- here in texas, and around the world. both of the classroom, and out of the classroom, uniquely prepared for the role that you are about to enter. texas a&m was ranked second in the nation by the "wall street journal" in a survey of top u.s. corporations, top profits, and government agencies aced on graduates preferred to hire. that is where the rubber meets the road. texas a&m is ranking the top 2025 nationally by washington monthly what colleges do for this country. he you graduates become part of an ever more competitive workforce that will distort the economy. from our founding as the first public institution of higher

education, a&m has awarded degrees and provided an experience for thousands more. because of texas a&m and your educational efforts, you have equip yourselves to hit the ground running. you've earned your education credentials that are economy needs today. you'll begin making a difference immediately. jordi future starts this weekend at the point that lofton places your degree in one hand and shakes her other hand. what happens after that? that is up to you. i have some thoughts for you to reflect upon. on april 25, i attended the memorial service for the memo -- survivors -- services because of the explosions and west. the brother of one of the 12 men killed in that explosion talked about his brother's life in terms of the -- between his

brother date of birth and his brothers date of death. this is what i want you to do. i want you to think about the dash in your life. they will obviously see your date of birth, and your date of death. more portly -- more portly, what will they see in between? i want all of your -- is to beef i want all of your dashes to be rich. i'm talking about rich with texture. in our thoughts about the link -- building your dashes. lived or execute that plan. strive to become a leader. serve others. let's dig into the details. along the way, i will try to build in our aggie values. let's talk about planning first. all of us know that without a plan, we do not know where we are going. take an inventory of your

skills, weaknesses, and knowledge. take these attitudes and decide what you're going to go in life, and build a plan to take you there. start now, do it tonight so that right after that diploma is placed in your hand, you can start. always keep in mind that your plan is a dynamic set of aspirations. each constantly assess how you are doing in achieving it, and adjuster plan to fit the changes and your goals. for what it is worth, i did have a plan.

it was written on a legal yellow pad, and it had one, 5, 19 your goals. i carried it with me everywhere i went. some may want to ask, how did i do versus my plan? that is a topic for another day. i want to tell you this. to prove my point about the for constant reassessment, until the summer of 2009, 9 of my plans ever contemplated me running for congress. here i am today. i think i have done pretty well versus my plan.

now that you have written your plan, and yet committed to follow it, and committed to revisit it, what is next? just do it. go live your plan. go execute it. when you live your plan, do it with aggie core values that you lived here -- learned here. for never some things when you're living your plan. do with self-confidence and gravitas. you build your plan in such a way to capitalize on your strengths and minimize her weaknesses. you should be confident in it. live every day. live it every day.

oak and the mayor is day and say what am i going to blip my today? realize you are going to have setbacks along the way. some of these will be because of your mistakes, and the actions of others. learn from them, but do not well on them. when others make mistakes, remember you cannot control their actions. yourer you can control actions and reactions. remember that in many cases, your ability to execute your plan will involve working with others. 18,e working as a group or

room number a couple of moments. the stronger the team, the better the outcome. through unity, strength. strong teams are based upon that aggie core value of respect. the golden rule is to treat others the way you want to be treated. avoid distractions read avoid fixation. the one easiest way to explain this is finding analogies. sometimes of people are flying, some minor thing will go wrong. this distraction can keep the pilot from paying attention to what he should, and they have accident. this would not happen if they forget about the distraction until they are sure they have a plane flying in a stable manner. then they can deal with the distractions. there are numerous examples where pilots have become overly fixated on one or two other instruments.

they have crashed because they have failed to see the warning signals from the other instruments they were ignoring. keep your field of view wide open at all times. you'll find opportunity there. remember that we do not control the number of days we have to live rate we do control -- we have to live. we do control how we live them. live it as if the day is your last. you have been living your plan. you are doing well enough that somebody notices you. it could involve being a mentor, becoming a new department manager. now what? again, we turn to our aggie core values of excellence. you should take these values your leadership style. how -- i had a few things for you to think about. always been willing to do what you ask others to do. if you will not do it yourself, they will not follow you. lead with integrity. if you do not have integrity,

others will not bother you. -- others will not follow you. if credit to others when you or your team does well because of them. this is the most important. watch out for pride. you have and probably been asked to lead at this time. do not let go to your your head. excessive pride leads to arrogance, and arrogance leads to narciso. the only person that likes arrogant or narcissistic person is themselves. if this happens to you, you'll be like the folks i work with in congress. then you can line up with the 12% approval rating but congress today. always a member that you put your pants on one leg at a time

like everybody else. you're not anyway more important that another person. let's take an assessment of where we are now. you have updated from time to time your plan. you're living your plan every day. done on the way you have these things, you'll been asked to leave and you're doing it well. you are a success. now what? before we answer that, let's make sure we have a clear understanding of what the success means in my view. success should not explicitly be measured in monetary terms. it can be measured by children raised, students taught, people comforted, lives saved, broken hearts heal. discoveries made, inventions created, and nation defended, local threats mitigated by first responders, and dozens of other actions. let's talk about serving. in my mind, some he can take a couple forms. they can include paying back others who helped you get to where you are, or paying it forward to help others get to where you are now. for this part of our

conversation, it is important to remember our aggie core values. it is these values that have impacted -- this value that has many times impacted the others. living, planning. when it comes to service, you can serve in a number of ways. by volunteering, by mentoring, and by sharing resources. it is also important to remember that while serving, our attitude is even more important. if you're serving but you are grumpy, the people that you are helping are going to know that. they're not going to know that you are doing it with an open heart. if you're smiling, genuinely, a will understand that. even though you are genuinely serving from your heart. i want to conclude with a conversation with an observation. i still consider my life a success in many ways. one of the areas i consider mike success to be the most the filling is the way that gina and i have helped others. some online are my -- some of my more meaningful days have

been when i helped others. you can build that dash that is bold, and meaningful. it will be the dash you are happy to leave as a legacy. before iraq that our conversation tonight, i would like to share a few other thoughts. the first that god has given us the 10 commandments. if you use these decision tree when you make your decisions, you will always make the right ones. i next got is that god put each of you on this earth for a purpose. please find that purpose. live it. before i close, please river to pray for our country during these difficult times. pry from and women who protect our country from threats abroad.

these men and women sacrifice and serve 24/7 to that uni can enjoy -- you and i can enjoy evenings like this. we have lost 24 brave americans in the military and first responders, including the 12 who were killed last month in west. thee men each exemplified names -- the names of jesus. these 24 man each have bold and meaningful dashes. when i look at this crowd, everybody, but the long -- young graduates in particular, i see a bunch of potential for meaningful dashes. will you go build those? will you? we signify with a strong aggie whoop? thank you. god bless you.

god bless texas aggies everywhere. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] >> mark warner was the commencement speaker in fairfax, virginia. the former virginia governor talked to the class of 2013 for about 15 minutes. [applause] >> thank you. president, members of the board of visitors, faculty and staff, family, most importantly

graduates, good morning. the first to say congratulations for a job well done. congratulations to the class of 2013. you did it. [applause] i have watched this university grow for over 30 years. back in 1972, when george mason watched, whiledependent there is a lot of success and you want to recognize, two of the original leaders who helped to make this possible, former president alan murphy.

i had the opportunity when i was to put together a higher education bond campaign. to newollars went construction right here on fairfax campuses, meaning that you have not only the fastest- growing university in virginia, but one of the universities with the best facilities. congratulations, george mason. president, you have obviously got big shoes to fill and are going to continue that proud tradition. 10 years ago i had the opportunity as i mentioned to receive a george mason honoraria degree. it is great to be back having a

chance to speak to graduates one more time. i have learned, giving a number of graduation speeches, the only remember if you talk for too long. so, i will be relatively brief. three points of advice, let me take one moment. when i heard dr. ferreira -- cabrerra celebrate those four stories, i think about the diversity of those students. i think about the young man who was a recent graduate who works with me. one of the things, as i look around at these graduates and that this crowd, this issue of facesity and the changing of virginia and america is represented here in this audience. and there is no better evidence that diversity makes us

stronger and i hope you will allow me one moment of editorial content -- comment. one more reason why in my day job need to pass major immigration reform this year. [applause] nobody should have to dream about getting an education, they should be able to stay here and build their dreams in the united states of america. i do remember sitting where you sat quite a few years ago. i was the first and still at this point only member of my family to ever graduate from college. i knew -- was worried about what was next. i also realize that was going to have opportunities well beyond anything my parents ever had. today you share that promise and you can realize those dreams.

withave been well prepared a mason diploma, but that degree brings with it certain responsibilities. i have three pieces of free advice. yourn number one, obligation should be with this degree to strive, to reach, and parents to not get upset, but also do not be afraid to fail. you heard that introduction. what the doctor did not mention was that i had failed at virtually everything i have ever tried at one point in my life. quite honestly, i have probably learned more from failures than successes. i founded a company called nextel, but i took my life savings when i started and invested it in an energy startup company, went to work for it and

in six weeks i help that company go totally broke. went into real estate. fail atme six months to real estate. at the ripe old age of 27, with my student loans coming due i was living out of my car sleeping on my friends' couches, but kind of only in america i got a third chance. i got hold about this new idea called cellular telephones. i remember all my law school classmates sang to me -- go give a real job. who's going to want a car phone? there are still practicing law. started means having nextel in the only speaker that you will ever have that says even wall i am speaking, leave your cellphone on. [applause]

when they go off? you hear an annoying sound, i hear catching. -- ka-ching. [laughter] let me and knowledge, had i not been a white guy with the right education, i might not have gotten the third shot, but the one thing that we need to make sure it is possible in america -- we cannot guarantee success, but everyone should be guaranteed a fair shot. so, go out there and strive for that. beyond thatr two, responsibility to yourself to also have a responsibility to your community, your country, and the world at large. you are graduating at a time when our nation's political and policy debates -- let me tell you, are pretty intense.

your generation has a lot at stake in these debates. you know, america has rolled up, i do not want to depress you with all of those student loans, but america has $16.50 trillion in debt. every night when you go to sleep it goes up by $4 billion. you do not need to be a mason math major to realize that those are big numbers. that is why in my day job i have been trying to work in washington to persuade my folks who occasionally take off their democrat and republican hats to put the country first to have it adult discussion about the challenge in front of us. [applause] because guess what? if we do not get it fixed, you pick up the bill. that conversation is a lot more difficult in today's overheated

environment. i have got to tell you, i understand why so many americans have become distrustful and somewhat alienated from our government. graduates, i urge you to do something that is going to be a little bit hard. participate in our nation's debates, but in a respectful manner. natione are engaged in a that often engages in too much confrontation and too little conversation. it seems like we are better connected but more divided. phones,o back to cell but you can access more information on your smart phone than your parents or grandparents could access in their whole life. but in this age of iphone and , and often seems like it is

.arder to look beyond the i do not misunderstand, rigorous debates about the issues of the day and challenges that we face are healthy, but we should be able to debate these critical issues without questioning each other's motives or commitments to our country. and i meanolitics -- no one, has a monopoly on virtue or patriotism or the truth. ,f you do one thing for me occasionally realize, turn off fox and turn off msnbc, neither one of them tell you the whole truth. [applause] remain great,y to you have to become informed citizens and hire folks that will put country first.

you all took a great challenge. you enrolled at mason at a time and our nation's economy was in free fall. there and today that investment is paying off. we hope the that stick to it nests is the commitment that you will again bring not only to yourself, to strive to take risks, to be willing even to fail, but to be involved also in your community. now i come to my third and last piece of advice. graduates, especially undergraduates, listen up, this may be the most important one. call your mother. [applause] here may. call your mother, your father, your grandparents, boyfriend,

girlfriend, husband, wife. whoever helped to get you here, because you did not get here by yourself. [applause] as the ceremony is over, find that special person who helped you along the way and tell them -- thank you, and tell them that you love them. do not simply tweet it or simply posted on your facebook page. go find that person face to face and tell them thank you. family and friends are a critical, critical part of your life. that is it. graduates, as you reflect upon your last four or five or six years that you spend here at

george mason, no doubt you will carry extraordinary special memories, a special friends, and carry you forwill a lifetime. graduates of the class of 2013, for all you have done and will do, congratulations. go patriots. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] i begin with integrity because it is so essential to who and what you will ultimately become. in many of you have a career path in mind. many of you have no idea where you will end up. a few of you may be surprised by where life takes you. i certainly was. in the end it is not only fought

we do, but how we do it. byhe now have to start treating this, so give me one second -- tweakeding -- twe4etineting this. givea professional, just me a second. i remember my first semester where the football team went into that preseason first ranked scenario. i remember there was all this excitement and campus. our first game was at wisconsin and we went up there and we lost our first game, 21-14. there was this crushing disappointment afterwards. i wanted to think of that soaring expectation followed by crushing x -- crushing devastation as a metaphor for your next 20 minutes with me.

fbi director- robert muller, rick scott, and business leaders, including the ceo of twitter and co-founder of apple. find more commencement speeches online ad c-span.org. president obama is in oklahoma today as he responds to recovery efforts firsthand. he is scheduled to visit with families, first as wanders, and is scheduled to give his remark shortly. >> now, live coverage of president obama in oklahoma. >> a picture is worth 1000 words. what we're seeing here can give

you a sense of what the people oklahoma have been dealing with over these last several days. there are a couple of acknowledgments that i want to make, but let me begin by just saying that whenever i come to an area that has been devastated by a natural disaster like this, and what you to understand i am speaking on behalf of the entire country. in just the messenger here. you are not alone. you have folks behind you. our heart goes out to the families impacted and. including the parents of the

children here. effortsbeen some heroic in dealing with this disaster. governor, thank you for your quick response. having been the mayor here before when there was a of hisr and because strong spirit he was able to lead the community. rep. coal, not only is this his congressional district, as and copper but this is -- district, but this is his hometown.

mayor coronet, a columbus city, we appreciate him being here. fugate is here and we are proud of the job that he and his team the team have done. i want to especially commend the plaza towers elementary school principal. they were on the ground when this happens. because of their quick response they are keeping a level head, kids first saved a lot people. they're still going through a lot. i can only imagine the panic i whenre they arwere feeling the tornado first struck. i know that